I told myself I was going to take a break and get my thoughts together, but...screw it. I totally want to finish this and then go back and edit. I have written down-on paper- what I want to happen, so I know where this story is going! Yay! Thanks to everyone who has been reading! I'm glad people like my writing! I don't own Marvel or the Avengers. Enjoy! :)
Flaming Crow: No problem! Yeah, Loki's a badass hehe Thanks for the review!
Carmen Aurora: I'll work on the follow-through! Thanks! :D
Livea: Haha :) Six hours?! I would cry lol Willow is definitely a mama bear! Thanks for your review!
CP3A: Oh goodness! Thank you so much! Your review made my day :) I know a lot of fics that could push my fic out of the water hehe
MemoLuvzU: You're too kind :) Update is here haha Loki is amazing and so gorgeous!
Chapter Nineteen
The Avengers had gone back to the Tower to plan and rest. Willow sat in the corner of the room, watching them argue over what to do. She was sorely tempted to leave, but she needed to find out if they came to any conclusions about what to do next. After a while, Clint sat down next to Willow and they didn't talk for a few minutes.
"Are you okay, Willow?" Clint wondered suddenly and she gave her cousin a weak smile.
"Yeah, I'm not dead," Willow said, laughing a bit.
"It's not like Loki's holding you hostage, is it?" Clint's voice was quiet.
"Hah, no, it's not like that. I would like to go back to my apartment at some point in time, but that's nearly impossible. Fury will have my head," Willow explained.
"Willow." Clint was trying to get her to tell him the truth.
"I'm perfectly fine, Clint. I can take care of myself to be quite honest," Willow assured him and got up from her seat. Clint watched as she walked over to stand in-between Thor and Loki. She was extremely short in comparison, but Clint watched as she edged closer to Loki. He moved a bit and placed his hand at the small of her back, as if keeping track of her.
Suddenly, the elevator dinged and Fury came out with Agent Hill behind him. Willow turned to hide behind Loki and he exchanged a look with Thor.
"Where is Willow?" Fury inquired and no one said anything.
"She isn't here," Tony said, gesturing around. Thor had moved to stand next to Loki in order to further shield Willow. The Asgardians knew that Willow was worried about Fury.
"I saw her enter the Tower. She couldn't have disappeared," Fury said and brushed past Thor to see Willow leaning against Loki's back.
"Director-" Clint tried to get his attention.
"Ms. Crecy, you will remain here until I decide what to do," Fury stated and Thor stood in Fury's path, blocking his view of Willow.
"Willow is under my protection. She has done nothing wrong," Thor stated.
"She is under the custody of SHIELD as of right now," Fury said evenly and the room went quiet.
"You need me, Director," Willow said, stepping out from behind Thor.
"You're a recent addition to the Avengers. I'm sure the others could defeat Thanos without you," Fury figured and Willow smirked. As she spoke, Willow had been slowly moving backward.
"But you still need me. If I wasn't with SHIELD I'd be dangerous in your opinion," Willow argued, eyeing Clint. He had caught on to what Willow was doing.
"You're not human, Ms. Crecy," Fury pointed out. Willow was standing right next to one of the glass walls.
"And that's why I can do this," Willow said, breaking the glass, and falling. The Avengers gathered near the broken glass and watched as Willow descended. Her wings then unfurled and she disappeared behind a building.
"Find her," Fury said, looking at the Avengers. Thor turned to speak with his brother, but Loki had disappeared as well.
X_X_X_X
Willow stood back from the Victorian house. Her wings had been furled and she couldn't decide on what she wanted to do. It was either go back to her apartment or enter that house. Before Willow could make a choice, Ethan came out and greeted Willow with a smile.
"Glad to see you're back, Willow," Ethan said and Willow figured she should follow him into the house. Loki's cronies were all over the place like security guards.
Ethan left Willow as she walked up the steps. She came to her room and closed the door with a heavy sigh. Looking down at her suit, she grimaced. There was Skrull blood and it would be nice to clean, so Willow grabbed a pair of clothes and headed into the bathroom. The hot water relaxed her muscles and made her back twitch. As soon as she was clean, she stepped out of the shower and got dressed.
Light shined through the curtains as Willow stepped out of the bathroom. The door to her room opened and Loki entered.
"I was wondering where you had disappeared," Loki mused and Willow rolled her eyes.
"It takes me a bit longer to get around. I can't teleport myself," Willow pointed out.
"Why do you fear Fury?" Loki wondered. It was a question that would make Willow think. She had no idea the reason.
"I'm not entirely sure, but I don't like being restricted. Fury would take away the freedom I have," Willow figured, thinking as she went.
There was a knock on the door and Ethan entered. He met Willow's gaze and stepped aside to reveal Mimi.
"I like the new place," Mimi noted and Willow smiled.
"It's not a castle, but it'll do," Willow figured sarcastically with a shrug of her shoulders.
"I've come to liberate you and take you shopping," Mimi said with her hands on her hips.
"That's really what you're here for?" Willow grabbed the towel and dried her hair with it while eyeing Mimi.
"Yes, I don't have an ulterior motive. Ethan called me and I decided that it would be best to hang out," Mimi explained.
"Fine, I'll be ready in about five minutes," Willow estimated and disappeared into the bathroom to dry her hair. It was awkward as Mimi stood in the room with Loki and Ethan. After a few moments, Loki and Ethan left Mimi alone with Willow.
"Why did you invite Mimi?" Loki asked Ethan as they walked.
"I thought it would be nice for Willow to have a friend here," Ethan said, but Loki didn't believe him. He didn't let it on, though.
When Willow was finished getting ready, she noticed the boys had left.
"Where did the guys go?" Willow wondered and Mimi stood from sitting on Willow's bed.
"Oh, it got too awkward in here and they left," Mimi replied, "Are you ready to go?"
Mimi had brought her car and led Willow down to it. The ride to the nearest mall was silent. Willow didn't know what to say to Mimi.
"What have you been up to recently?" Mimi asked suddenly, very cheerfully.
"I haven't been doing much," Willow replied quietly, not meeting Mimi's gaze.
"When did you decide to change residences?" Willow bit her lip.
"I guess it was Loki's idea. He wanted something different," Willow figured with a shrug.
"Why don't you go back to your apartment?"
"It's not safe there at the moment. Why are you curious?" Willow was getting annoyed with her friend's constant questions.
"You know how I feel about Loki. You were apprehensive about him in the beginning and now you're fawning over him. What happened, Willow? What did Loki do?" Mimi demanded, glancing over at Willow.
"I may actually love him, Mimi," Willow replied and Mimi pulled the car over. It screeched to a halt and Willow gave her best friend a look of confusion.
"You can't love him, Willow. He's not a good person. I'm trying to help you, Willow. You need to forget about him and move on," Mimi advised and Willow let out a breath.
"It doesn't concern you, Mimi. Why are you interested in my personal life?" Willow demanded.
"I'm worried about you with Loki. He's dangerous and not good for you," Mimi explained and Willow got out of the car.
Mimi got out of her car as well and walked over to Willow, stopping her.
"Where are you going?" Mimi wondered and Willow shrugged out of her grip.
"I can't stand you right now. You have no idea what I've gone through," Willow growled.
"Please, Willow," Mimi pleaded, but Willow ignored the request and walked away. She let out a gasp as Willow's wings unfurled and she took to the sky.
Willow wanted to get away from Mimi. It was Mimi who introduced Willow to Loki. At that moment, Willow wished she had never gone to that Halloween party. The Victorian house was in sight and Willow landed in the back. Slowly, she walked toward the front and was intercepted by two of Loki's henchmen. Raising her hands in surrender, she followed them inside. Ethan dismissed them immediately and when he was alone with Willow, she narrowed her eyes at him.
"If I knew you were plotting with Mimi, I would have kicked your ass a long time ago, Ethan," Willow stated and her fingernails grew with her canine teeth.
"Willow, calm down," Ethan said and backed away from her. He suddenly backed into someone and Willow grinned as Ethan turned to find Loki standing there.
Ethan immediately turned around and tried to figure out what to say. Willow brushed past Ethan and walked up the stairs. Loki didn't watch her, his gaze was trained on Ethan. When Willow had disappeared up the stairs and down the hall, Loki smirked.
"You plotted with Willow's best friend against me? How foolish of you," Loki mentioned.
"I only meant to help Mimi and Willow," Ethan said in defense.
"What would you gain in helping them?" Loki wondered, scanning Ethan's face.
"Willow deserves a normal life and you would only put her in danger," Ethan explained.
"You wish a normal life for Willow? As you have seen, Willow is not human," Loki pointed out.
"You're corrupting her," Ethan argued and Loki grinned.
"Oh, I would not give myself the credit. Director Fury has attempted to recruit her as a member of the Avengers," Loki replied in a calm tone.
"Willow was perfectly fine until you came along. You're the reason she's in this mess with the Avengers," Ethan stated and clenched his fists.
Loki merely looked at him.
"Willow needs to see reason, not follow you blindly," Ethan said and walked down the hall.
Mimi's betrayal ran through Willow's mind as she paced in her room. It was a blow to find that Willow couldn't trust her best friend. After a bit of pacing, she sat down on the edge of her bed and inspected one of her wings. The feathers were soft and comfortable, but they made her out to be something to be feared. As Willow released her wing, the door opened and Loki was there.
"Where's Ethan?" Willow wondered.
"I let him go. He is of use to me and I feel that his death would not solve anything," Loki explained and Willow nodded.
"I find it funny that you have more control than I do," Willow replied and smiled.
"My brother hopes to make amends with me by inviting me to return to Asgard," Loki mentioned, holding out a piece of paper, and Willow smiled slightly at the sudden change in topic.
"That should be good, shouldn't it?" Willow wasn't entirely sure what to think.
"Yes, but my brother insists that you come as well," Loki added.
"So you think he's baiting you to come back to Asgard to lock you up again?" Willow figured Loki was worried about being locked up again.
"In a way, yes," Loki confirmed and Willow placed her hands on her hips.
"Why would Thor invite me along if he was going to lock you up?"
"Perhaps he knows it is the only way I would go," Loki suggested with a smirk.
"Let's just go and see what happens. You can always get us out of there if something goes wrong," Willow assured him, "Now, when did Thor say we would go?"
"He mentioned tonight, if possible," Loki answered.
Weird? Strange? Off topic? I apologize for the sudden "Oh, let's go to Asgard now". I really really really really want Frigga to meet Willow and be happy and excited that Loki's found someone. I'm trying to get Willow back to her semi-independent self, so if she's still dependent and all wimpy let me know. I'll try to get another chapter up soon!
