thank you very kindly for reviews. afraid you all will hate me in two chapters. eheheheh x
"He's done something to her," stated the Captain. "Elle, has he hurt you?"
"You will be quiet!" I hissed, his voice sounding like nails on a chalkboard. "You're foolish, Captain. Do you think a metal shield will save you from this?" I motioned to the spear. "I will kill you, and then I will mildly injure the archer, and make you watch him suffer and bleed to death. And when I'm finished with him, I'll put a hole through your chest!" I spat, looking at Natasha.
"He's got her," said the archer grimly. "'Tasha?"
"Cognitive recalibration," she panted, her narrow eyes examining me. I tightened my hands on the spear. One movement, and I would kill her. I only wanted them to move first, so when they slowly slipped into the clutches of death, they would feel nothing but humiliation, knowing they didn't even have a chance to defend themselves.
"What are you waiting for?" asked the archer. "Shoot us."
"I'd rather you move first. It would make this more exciting for me," I said through my teeth, looking upon the man with distaste. Yes, he would die first.
They looked between each other and I watched them, moving the spear between them. This is all simply a tactic to distract me, and I wasn't going to fall for it.
While they mentally debated what to do, I could see Zhag, slowly crawling down the length of a building, hissing quietly. I resisted the urge to smile at them; perhaps watching Zhag tear them to pieces would be more entertaining after all.
"We could..." the redhead murmured, nodding. "It would be the simplest." I could not stop the grin from spreading across my face as Zhag leaned over them, his tongue curling past his teeth to taste their scent. "I like it."
The Captain raised his eyes, and then recoiled, seeing Zhag. "I do not like that!"
With a snarl, Zhag lunged for the Captain, baring his teeth to sink into the mortal's neck. At the last moment, he dodged, slamming the shield into his head. The archer and the redhead jumped backwards, taken by complete surprise. Laughing, I fired the spear for them both. Let them die holding each other.
Smoke filled the air, and I could hear Zhag snarling twice before falling completely silent. I lowered the spear, trying to see. Was he successful?
The sounds of whining filled the air and they were Zhag's. Screeching, I fired twice more into the smoke. How dare they kill him!
Inside, I rejoiced.
The smoke grew, and I waved my hands wildly to see if I'd killed the assassins. From where I stood, I was able to see a dark shadow standing upright. It was the archer.
Baring my teeth, I raised my spear again to fire at him. Before I could, a dark shadow moved in front of me, and then there was blinding pain in the side of my head. I recoiled with a yell, grasping my head as the pain spread. I could no longer see the archer in front of me, only a haze of smoke.
It hurts, I thought wildly, clutching my head. I heard the sound of a faint roar in the back of my mind, and I shook my head, dropping to the ground while two sides of me battled for control of my mind. I kicked and scratched at the mental prison.
"Elliot. ELLE!" I was being roughly shaken, and it didn't help. "ELLE, you have to get up!"
Get out! The overwhelming sensation to submit to his magic grew, but I struggled, trying to push the alien presence from my mind.
"ELLIOT!"
The voice was closer to me, and I recognized it. Someone gripped my hands and pulled them from my head. "Elle, please, say something!"
Steve, I remembered, peeling my eyes open to look into his worried eyes. I licked my cracked, dry lips. "Ow."
My mind felt clear, and it was my own.
Once I had sufficiently recovered from the blow to my head, Steve stood me gently upright and helped me limp over towards Natasha and Barton, who sat on top of an overturned car, discussing attack plans. When I neared, Barton tensed, his hands gripping his bow.
"I'm not going to hurt you," I croaked, wincing when the pain in my head spiked.
"He got to her," Steve stated with worry, tightening his hold on my waist. I rubbed my head and a mixture of dirt, dust, and blood stuck to my fingertips. "I'm sorry I had to hit you, Agent Pedagia." Natasha hurriedly sat me down on the edge of the car.
"Rogers, 'Tasha and I need to go," Barton said curtly, opening his bow. "Catch up with us."
God, that hurt, I thought, groaning quietly. What a punch. "Barton, I'm sorry about...those things I said," I said hoarsely. "Just-"
"I know." Barton's blue eyes were speculative. "I was there. Come on." Natasha turned to look at me once more, her eyes filled with worry, but she followed Barton.
"Are you okay?" Steve asked, sliding into my line of vision. "We need to get you to a hospital, you're bleeding."
"I'm fine." The words took me a few minutes to slur. "Why'd you hit me so hard?"
"To get him out of your mind!" Steve's blue eyes were panicked. "Elle, you were speaking alien languages! You were two seconds away from killing Barton. I knew that wasn't you up there, shooting those buildings."
I tuned him out and listened to the sound of exploding buildings around me. "What did I do? This? I did all of it?" I motioned to the rubble in the street.
"Mostly."
I'm going to be killed if S.H.I.E.L.D. ever gets hold of me, I thought with worry.
"Barton already contacted S.H.I.E.L.D. I've got Thor going after Loki, and we found Dr. Banner-"
"You did?"
Steve nodded quickly, looking past me. "But I have to leave you, Elle. I can't stay here...are you sure you're okay?"
I took a few breaths to focus on saying words. "No, but you have to leave, so go." Steve didn't try to convince me to make him stay. Still worried, he left me, looking over his shoulder every now and then, until he disappeared around the corner, holding up his shield for protection.
I was left alone, sitting on top of an overturned car, that I probably caused. I felt around my forehead again, trying to remove dirt from the wound so it wouldn't become infected. Now that I was returned to my body, I was able to feel the dull ache building in my shoulders, the throbbing pain in my ankle. While I was imprisoned, my body rejected all of this. It was the scariest feeling in the world, watching yourself run, and knowing that you weren't doing the running. Someone else controlled your lips, your arms.
My mind, I thought, relishing in the ability to think again.
It was the most horrifying experience.
I had to clench my jaw as tightly as possible to stop the potential onslaught of angry tears. What do I do now? I'm injured, all the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents are dead, and I don't have any abilities like Barton or Steve. In short, I'm a liability. So gingerly, I slid off the edge of the car, onto the ground, and searched for a place to hide until this was all over. There was no way I'd be able to make it back to S.H.I.E.L.D., and who knew when the Chitauri would stop?
One of the buildings, an old pharmacy, lay partially destroyed nearby, the entire half top gone. What was left was big enough to hide in. I listened carefully for the explosions if they came closer to me while I climbed over the building and looked around. Nothing but dirt and rubble was left of the foundation. Luckily, I found no bodies.
I can't believe this, I thought, feeling helpless as I sagged against the partially destroyed wall. My earpiece had fallen out of my ear sometime ago, so I couldn't contact anyone for help. My phone was gone, so I couldn't call for help, or for Katie. The only thing I had on me, thankfully, was my gun.
Above me, I heard a shrill cry that echoed throughout the entire city and I raised my eyes to see another batch of Leviathans emerge from the portal, turning five buildings into ash with one movement of their tails. One of them sailed overhead and I held my breath, hoping they wouldn't decide to completely wipe this building off the map.
The sounds of gunshots, and loud thuds came from the other side of the street, so I hobbled over the rubble to see what was going on. Peering through what probably held a shattered window, I watched as Steve and Thor battled against four or five Chitauri. With a grunt, Steve slammed his shield into one of the warriors, sending it flying into a truck, but while he was occupied, one of the Chitauri fired at his side.
I have to do something, I thought firmly, watching Steve sink to the ground. My arms were shaking, but I still managed to fire a few clean shots into the soft gray flesh between their armor. The recoil spread throughout my already sore arms. Success. I allowed myself the tiniest of smiles.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw something move, and I pivoted quickly, pointing my sidearm at Loki.
He was in the process of stepping over some rubble, and then quickly raised his hands to the sky, widening his eyes with fake innocence.
"I've come to help you," he spoke slowly.
No, you haven't, I thought angrily, steadying my firearm. "Loki, I swear that if you take one more step towards me, I am going to shoot you. And I know exactly where your weak spots are. I know where I can fire to kill you," I said through my teeth.
His innocent mask faded away and was replaced with a cruel smirk. "Did you not enjoy it, Elliot? Was it not easier?" he crooned, lowering his arms. When he took another step, I fired.
The sound of the bullet firing never reached my ears, because nothing fired. The gun was empty. I'd fired too many rounds.
"Just my luck that you'd show up when I'm out of rounds!" I screamed, throwing the empty gun in his direction, but he deflected it with his wrist armor. His tongue stroked his lower lip as he moved deftly over the rubble towards me. I glanced over my shoulder at Steve and Thor, but they were gone, off fighting with the others.
A hand pressed against my chest and pushed me back into the brick wall. "Now, now, Agent Pedagia, you shouldn't exert so much energy. You are weakened, after all." His smile widened, and I figured he was trying to figure out what to do. I scanned my brain for the defensive moves Natasha taught me.
If I moved my arm just right, I could punch him in the nose.
"Your mortal body is too weak." Even in the sounds of explosions around me, I could hear him speak softly. "You must get yourself taken to a healing room, before you do further damage to your ankle."
"What?" I snapped, taken aback by his words. His face slackened, the smirk disappearing, and his eyebrows came together with concern while he looked me up and down, stepping closer. Loki raised one hand hesitantly, his eyes asking for permission - and then he stroked my brow. Like a curious child, he looked at the stained blood on his fingertips as if it was unfamiliar to him. In one of his startling transformations, he was suddenly back to the vulnerable, scared prince who feared for his life. Despite the sincerity of his words, my wariness only eased a fraction.
A few explosions sounded behind me and I stilled, waiting for the building to collapse, but I was spared. I took a slow breath, raising my eyes to his. "You can stop this," I tried. "You can end this now, before more people are hurt. If you cooperate, S.H.I.E.L.D. can protect you from whoever threatened to kill you."
"It isn't enough." Loki licked his lips anxiously, staring at me through the hood of his helmet. "They will come for me."
"We can help you," I emphasized. "It's not too late to stop this." If he's this vulnerable, maybe I can talk him out of it. I could end this all, right now. It was a long shot, but just maybe, if I could get through that thick skull of his, everyone would be spared. The ones that were alive, at least. "I can find them."
"You must stay here," he commanded, his vulnerability slipping away.
This tone didn't settle well with me. "You know I don't like being told what to do. You don't have your scepter, either. I'm hurt, but I can still climb over that wall, and bring more agents," I threatened, pointing down the road. He remained quiet, examining me with his cold eyes. Your move.
I didn't expect that he would settle his cold hands on either side of my neck and kiss me with enough force to crush me against the wall.