Explosions
A/N Hello everyone! One more chapter after this one (sad face) and then I start 'Walls of Ivy' (yay!). Anyways, thanks for reading and please review!
Clint grabs his bow and two quivers of arrows without talking to anyone. Talking would slow him down, and that's something he defiantly needs to avoid. The only words he speaks are quietly hurrying along his friends, who seem nearly as silent and worried as him.
Thor is the only one really making any noise, asking Gaia and Sif to retell the story of exactly what happened. Thor's heart is telling him that Loki can't have really done this, but his faith in his brother is dwindling rapidly as Sid and Gaia inform him of all that has happened. When Gaia describes Loki's madness and rage just before he sent her away, Thor steps back, and puts his head in his hands. He doesn't want to believe it, but it appears he has no choice.
Even Tony is quiet, and the room seems kind of empty without all his witty, sarcastic remarks. If he was in a good mood, Clint would find this funny, and tease Tony about it being a relief that his seeming endless supply of annoying comments had dried out. But he's not.
Thor leads the group to Central Park, despite the fact that they know the city better than he does. As he quite rightly pointed out, they are going to his realm, so therefore what he says goes. Nobody could be bothered to argue anyway.
They've been on life threatening missions before, missions with a lot at stake, but this one feels different. Maybe it's because it's one of them in trouble, and it's more personal. They aren't looking forward to it.
Sif pushes through the thick trees, and feels a bubble of anxiety inside her pop when she spots the burn marks made by her and Gaia's entrance to Earth. One step down, lots to go.
The Asgardians assemble themselves in a group, and the uncertain Midgardians copy them. Thor looks up, and nods at an invisible person.
Clint takes a deep breath. He's not sure how they are getting to Asgard, and it doesn't seem immediately obvious. He checks his watch nervously, even though he checked it ten seconds ago, and looks up at the sky.
Tony hopes his suit works in Asgard.
They are swallowed by rainbow light. And if Steve thought the modern world had ceased to amaze and surprise him, he was wrong. This is terrifying.
On day 657, Lena notices that she's regaining her lost strength. If her maths is correct( which it usually is), Loki hasn't thrown her for a week. Her cuts are beginning to heal, and her head has stopped spinning. It aches, but not as much as it did.
Lena makes a quiet, harsh sound that slightly resembles a laugh. She doesn't think anything could match how much her head used to hurt.
She feels lost thoughts and memories form in her head, filling her up with relief. All those blows to the head, and nothing lost. Well, maybe something was lost, but she hasn't noticed it yet, so it obviously wasn't important( she hopes).
She remembers her name (Eleanor Laufeyson, although this makes her wince slightly), she remembers her birthday (25th of April) and she remembers why she's here( because she married a madman who locked her up in another world). She remembers years of memories; training sessions with Clint, coffee mornings with her mum, and even meeting Charles Xavier in that parallel reality and copying his powerful telepathy mutation.
Lena wonders where this reality's Xavier is, and if she'll ever meet him. It's probably unlikely.
She's confused about the sudden stop in Loki's weird magic throws. He still sends in sandwiches, always cheese, and Lena knows when ( when, not if) she gets out of here, she's probably never going to eat another cheese sandwich. So he obviously hasn't forgotten about her.
Maybe his kinder streak has overpowered the mean one slightly, enough to stop him hurting her. Not enough to let her go, of course, but this small hint at the former Loki Lena knew makes her sad. In all this physical pain, she didn't have the time, or the effort, to feel the emotional pain of being heartbroken and betrayed by the man she loved. Now it hits her, after years of waiting, in large waves. She feels as though she is drowning.
Anything made better by the pain lessening in her head is extinguished by the realisation of the true extent of Loki's betrayal.
Lena cries, and it's a sort of out of body experience, as all she can see is her small, thin form curled up against one blood stained wall, sobbing uncontrollably. A loud, seal like sound erupts from her, and she sniffs. She needs to be quiet.
The memory and sensation of the seal like sound plays over and over in her mind, until it's like watching a TV show, and a particularly funny scene which will always make you laugh. Lena laughs, quietly, and to herself, amazed by her newfound weakness which she'd never dreamt she'd have.
Lena laughs, and it's a hollow sound, but this only makes her laugh more. Then she remembers the randomness of the situation, and she laughs more, until there are tears streaming down her face, and for the first time in two years, the tears are from happiness.
She stands up slowly, onto painfully thin legs, which shake slightly. She stretches out her arms to steady herself, leaning her left palm against the wall. Lena looks down at her shoe less feet, and wriggles her toes. She smiles. She can do this.
The grate at the bottom of the door across the room slides open, and a cheese sandwich slides through, followed by a bottle of water, which rolls with such force it comes to rest at Lena's feet. Speak of the devil. Or rather, think of the devil.
Lena picks up the water bottle, and takes careful, slow sips from it. She eats the sandwich slowly, sitting cross legged in the floor, smiling slightly. She imagines herself eating the sandwich on top of a hill in Hyde Park, London, the sun shining and a pack of scones in her cool bag, which is on the rug next to her. Down the hill is her mum, who had to run back to the flat for some butter, and her father is retrieving the frisbee from where he threw it in the tree above their heads.
It's a silly dream, she knows, but it keeps her sane.
After all, picnics are her favourite thing in the world.
When Clint's feet touch the ground, he can't see anything, and he's momentarily confused. Wasn't Asgard meant to be a world of light and colour? Then he realises he must have shut his eyes at some point, too overwhelmed by the view which he was presented with when he was flying through the air.
He opens his eyes, and looks around him. His eyes widen in shock( a good kind though). He knew Thor said Asgard was amazing and whatever, but this, this is truly amazing.
He blinks, and looks at the floor. He can't be distracted.
Clint watches as Thor takes a few long strides up to a man dressed in gold holding a large sword. The man bows, and Clint frowns. Oh, of course, he remembers, Thor is a prince. When you put Thor in Midgard, and take away the people who know him, you forget how powerful, regal and important he is. It's like realising that that kid who never got picked for baseball teams is suddenly the worlds best football player.
The man and Thor converse in quiet voices, and then Thor turns back to the assembled group of confused and slightly travel sick Avengers behind him.
The man steps forward.
"I am Heimdall." He introduces himself. Clint and the others nod, not quite sure of how to reply. Thor takes over.
"My friends, it is essential that nobody except Heimdall sees you, and knows of your arrival." He pauses, and takes in the curious looks on their faces. "If my sources are correct, which they are( Sif and Gaia shift uncomfortably) then Odin has banned anyone from going anywhere near Loki, and he has a strong dislike of Midgardians."
Clint sighs and looks down at his feet. He's pretty good at not being seen, as is Natasha, but Tony? Tony likes to be seen.
He gives Tony a look, and to Clint's surprise, Tony nods, his face solemn.
Then they follow an anxious looking Thor out into Asgard, and are quickly led to a large golden boat, which rises up into the air, and flies them away from the golden city beneath them.
On day 664, Lena feels she has enough strength to try and escape. She's been having lots of imaginary picnics, and hasn't been thrown against the walls( Yippee!). She has also formed a mental list of steps which she needs to follow.
1. Get out the cell.
2. Hide from Loki.
3. Find food, shoes and new clothes.
4. Find a way to contact either Clint or Gaia.
5. Run away. Very, very, very fast.
She's going to have to hide, and run very fast, because she isn't strong enough to use her invisibility powers. The only things she can use are her telepathy and Human torch powers, which she can use to burn down the door of the cell.
She takes a few steps towards the door, and lifts up her hands in front of her. It takes her a few seconds of hard concentration for them to light up, but she does it, smiling slightly at her small but important achievement.
The door burns easily enough, and soon she's out the cell, breathing in relatively fresh air. The taste of freedom in her mouth is strong, overwhelming, and making her want more. She smiles. Step one complete.
Time to run.
She finds Loki in his study, and she steps through the door cautiously. Lena lets out a long breath and closes her eyes in relief when she sees him asleep, his head racing the wall opposite her, on the desk.
She feels a pang of regret when she sees all the empty bottles surrounding him. Then she dismisses it. He deserves it, doesn't he?
Something her mum always used to tell her swirls in her mind. Two wrongs don't make a right. She's always tried to believe this, and follow this rule, but in is case, it kind of seems difficult.
It still hurts slightly to see him broken like this. It makes her pity him slightly, and finds a hole through the armour which she built around herself to feel nothing for him. Through the hole drips sadness and a tad of understanding, although it's not much. He was broken and confused. Lena pities that.
Then a memory flashes before her eyes, replaying at least ten times as she leans against the door frame.
The hatred and despair in Loki's eyes as he dragged her towards the room. Like he blamed her for something that he'd lost, and could never ever get back.
Then, as she pushes herself off the wall, all pity fades, and the armour reveals itself, determination flooding through her. Along with two years worth of anger.
Lena takes the few strides needed to get to his desk, and then pauses, checking down her mental list, which has been rewritten slightly.
1. Get out the cell
2. Find Loki and rip his head off( although not literally)
3. Find shoes etc
4. Destroy the castle.
5. Run away.
She knows that steps two and four are not like her, but for some reason, she doesn't really care. It sets the seal on her getting over Loki, and tells her emotions she doesn't care, and never will again.
She sticks out her chin, and smashes one of the bottles on the table.
This loud noise has the desired effect, and Loki sits up suddenly, panting, green in the face. Looks like he's consumed rather too much alcohol. His drunken eyes widen when they see her, and he reaches out with a grubby arm, as though checking to see if she's there.
Lena steps back, a disgusted look on her face.
"Don't touch me." She says, and Loki nods.
"I suppose that's fair." He tells her sadly, looking back down at the table.
"Yes it bloody well is." She retorts, harsher than she expected. He winces, as does she. How did it come to this? Lena thinks. Well, she knows how, but why is a different matter. She suddenly remembers she never got an explanation as to why she was treated in this way. She's certainly going to get one now.
She never wanted this to happen. Her and Loki, snapping at each other like this. She thought they could be happy, and so did he.
No, Lena, she reprimands herself sternly. You do not care. He's worthless, move on.
"Why did you do it?" Lena asks, her voice slightly softer, but still with a hard edge. Loki blinks, then lets out a breath and sits back. Lena can see he's incredibly drunk, and this is finding honesty in him that would otherwise be buried deep down.
"Honestly?" He asks. Lena nods. No, I want you to tell me it's because you wanted a pet unicorn and I wouldn't let you.
"It's because Odin told me I betrayed him. I couldn't compute that amount of loss, so I blamed it on you. Sorry." He says, and pinches the bridge of his nose.
Lena feels an urge to be somewhere far away from here grow within her. Her desire to destroy Loki has vanished, replaced by a longing for home. She wonders if her parents and Clint are missing her. She hopes so.
"Sorry will never be enough." She replies curtly, and walks away, blinking back tears. She has to leave.
Loki watches her go with a certain sadness. He knows he blew it, his only chance of love, and he's sorry for that as well. But he doesn't try and follow her. He knows that there is no way she could ever forgive him. So he has to let her go. Be happy, he thinks. You deserve it. And she does.
Lena walks down the corridor, down to the storage room. On the way though, she passes the cell. Her feet pause, although her brain is screaming to continue. Something, probably the small part of her that still wants revenge takes over, and her hands light up. She doesn't try to stop herself, and sets fire to the door.
She thinks it's fair, and it destroys painful memories. She turns away from the blaze, and runs quickly down the corridor.
As she runs away, she doesn't notice the puddle of alcohol left by Loki on the floor. When that catches fire ten minutes later, the whole place goes boom. It was Asgardian alcohol, of course, which is way stronger than the Midgardian drinks.
The fires burn.
Clint screams when the castle blows up. Oh no. He makes to scramble over the rocks, screaming Lena's name, but Thor and Steve grab him around the waist, pinning him to the ground.
No. No. No. This is his fault. Oh no.
Clint tucks his head in his hands, and begins to cry. He doesn't care that there are other people watching him, or that he's meant to be a master assassin, he just cries.
He blocks out the sound of the castle burning, of the shouts of the others, of the sound of the river flowing behind him. His best friend is gone, and he was too late to save her.
The guilt is nothing he's ever known before.
And then, it stops.
"Clint!" Somebody yells his name, and it's a voice he recognises. His head snaps up, relief forming, and then he's over the rocks before anyone can stop him. Not that anybody tries, of course. They're too busy taking deep breaths, choking down the grief and replacing it with relief.
Clint sprints the 50 odd metres to Lena as fast as his legs can carry him, as she doesn't look strong enough to move on her own. As soon as he reaches her, enveloping her in a hug, she seems to collapse, drained and tired. Clint is crying again, although from happiness, and so is Lena( tiredness also contributes to her tears).
"Clint." She murmurs. "It's so good to see you." Clint nods, hugging her tighter. "Am I safe now?" She asks, smiling slightly.
Clint keeps nodding.
"Yes, yes you are."