A/N Okay, so I should be posting a very short epilogue after this chapter. Please tell me what you think! And please review if you think I should write another story. Thank you all for reading!
The beast's eyes were wide and it was staring at the little boy slowly approaching it, the blue haze cracking and splintering underneath his gaze.
"Kitty. Calm down. Time to go to sleep." The boy muttered this softly in German, reaching his hand up to stroke her mane. She could feel the blue screaming and thrashing behind her eyes, and she reared away.
"Kitty, close your eyes, it won't hurt a lot." The boy's voice grew slightly louder and before she knew what was happening, the man with the large shield was hitting her over the head with his weapon, and she reared back, roaring at the pain.
But something in the blue haze fell away from her vision and she felt as if some weight had been lifted from her shoulders. She grunted, and turned her body away from the small boy.
Jack tried to reach for Kitty again, seeing some clearing in her eyes, but she turned away and he feared the worse so he did what he had always done when things had gotten bad, he begin to sing.
"Guten Abend, gute Nacht, mit Rosen bedacht, mit Näglein [N] besteckt, schlupf′ unter dies Deck! Morgen früh, wenn Gott will, wirst du wieder geweckt"
Sorry to interrupt, but as a reminder, that was one of the songs that Kitty sang in the beginning, it is a german lullaby.-
Kitty felt her mind begin to fight against the violence and the cruelty in her head, she felt the smell of blood leave her lungs and she felt so tired.
Jack's voice carefully broke away the last few splinters left in her psyche and she collapsed to the ground, barely dressed and fragile again.
Across the city, Loki felt a tug in his own mind when their connection had begin to break and he feared for his plaything, that she had been overcome. When it had been completely split, he knew that his toy had been broken and he felt rage at the ruined fun. He turned the Chitauri vehilcle towards were he last had felt the prsence of his monster, with plans for revenge.
"Stay back. Where are –clothes?" the boy Jack tried to speak in english to the two avengers nearest to him, the woman with the soothing eyes and the man he had fought in Stuttgart.
They smiled apologetically and produced a few rag like garments and he glared at them until they turned back to the fighting, leaving him alone with his kitty.
He carefully lifted her up, cradling her softly so as not to harm her, and took her into the abandoned cafe he had been sittin in. He rested her head against the back of the counter and sat next to her, wating for the fighting to be over.
"I kind of ache, Jack. Do you have any water?" Kitty's voice croaked out from her throat and Jack started, surprised by her voice.
"Of course. Ummm, here." He found a small water bottle behind the counter that wasn't too banged up. "Drink slowly."
Kitty complied and looked down at the small garments coverin gher. She nidded her thanks then drfited off to sleep. Jack was tired too, but knew the dangers of doZing off in a war zone. Or at least, he could guess. So he leaned against the small wall and tried to keep his eyes open. He really did try.
But soon, the weariness in his limbs overcame his good sense and he began to drift off, Kitty's head resting on his shoulder. Her breathing lulling him to sleep.
The lay there together and did not stir when a chitauri entered the cafe. It's limbs moved mechanically and it seemed as if instead of military orders, it was foloowiing the whims of a puppet master.
It walked slowly towards the children, a small, haunting voice chanting in the back of its head orders to find the boy-child and the girl who was not a girl. He sniffed, smelling the mixture of human and chemicals.
The chitauri leant down, and slowly wrapped his hand around the throat of hte boy, the threat that the voice was now screaming about. He began to squeeze when he felt a small, soft hand holding on to his arm. That was the last thing he felt with his arm, because a few seconds later it was lying a few feet away from him, and his vision began to darken.
It all went black a few moments later, his last sight being the tear stained face of a child.
"Well, that wasn't very nice, darling." Kitty whirled towards the sound, flinching at the calm tone. She understand the danger behind soft words.
"I thought it was appropaite. Given the circumstances, he didn't even knock." Loki smiled, a thin, terrifying smile. He took a step towards her, and she flinched, casuing him to grin widely.
„"So my little monster is weak again. Weak and scared. Such a shame." He reached out to her and she suddenly felt so tired, she just went limp under his hand. "So complacent now! Your mind is no longer enlightened child, perhaps I should fix that."
Kitty grunted and pulled away from him, remembering hte burning of the blue in her mind. She turned from Loki, her eyes so heavy, and lay down next to her Jack. Putting her head into his lap, humming softly as he his breathing changed slightly.
"So sleep, child. Sleep, and when you awake, the monster will be let out again." Loki brought his hand out tio cup her face and sher egistered that perhaps this was some kind of magic before unconsciousness took over. The cool of Loki's hands the last thing registering before she slipped off into her dreams.
Kitty awoke with a splitting head ache, her head hot against the cool of hte floor of stark tower.
"Awake yet sweetheart?" she cringed, and let out a small gasp as she caught sight of Loki, his form completely unbroken and undefeated. She had hoped that the avengers, those people who had been fighting might have reached him already.
He laughed, he seemed to be doing that a lot lately.
"I do prefer you in this way, child. So fragile, so scared." His voice had teh same soft quality of before and Kitty suddenyl felt the absence of warmth beneath her disturbing.
"Where's Jack?" Loki simply snorted and prodded a small pile on the floor, the pile shifting and sighing. Kitty's hackles rose and she tried to lift herself from the floor, but found that her limbs were bound to the floor.
„"Soon your heroes will be arrivng here. One's trying to close the portal already. And," He turned towards the window, „"Here comes the final resort." Kitty caught a glimpse of the giant green mass that entered the window and growled at Loki. He simply grinned back however, slowly lfting the boy from the floor.
„"Careful where you tread, beast. Jack is very breakable." Loki sneer could be heard in his voice. Hulk grunted, but stayed where he was, his blood coarsing through his veins, the adrenaline rush objecting to his keeping still.
Loki inwardly congratualted himslef at finding the true weakness in the group. They were all monsters and creatures of violence, but this boy? This boy was an innocent, and could not be harmed.
As long as he held such innocence in his bloodstained hands, they could not hurt him. He could see the other avengers slowly gathering around him, and he knew that the battle had been lost. He cackled however, knowing htat they could do no harm to him.
Jack's eyes opened slightly and he looked directly at Kitty. His small form looking even smaller as he was held against Loki's chest.
"I'll be okay Kitty. I want you to know that." He murmered softly, as his hand suddenly shot out with a speed that no one had expected, gripping the scepter that was held behind him, and bringing it forward through his chest.
Kitty's eyes widened and she strained agaisnt the chains htat held her to the floor, and Loki screamed, „"NO!" As the boy grew limp in his arms, his heart pierced by his own scepter.
Kitty fought tears as the sickening smell of Jack's blood reached her nose. She could allow the baying monster to take over, she could tear Loki apart in animalistic pleasure, but hten she woulsn't be able to see his face as she broke him.
The violent side of her, the one being called forht by the smell of blood was soothed by the promise of even more bloodshed, if it could just aid Kitty in her strength.
She felt the familiar rush of blood throughout her body, and she grew slightly bigger, but her skin remained her own, and her eyes stayed clear and calculating. Her mind was now fully broken, it had snapped at the same moment that Jack had broken his heart in two.
The hulk roared but stayed still, grabbing thor as he ran to his brother, hammer lifted high. The giant understood rage, and he knew it well, it would multiply if she was interrupted, and a small part of her was grateful for his assistance.
None of the others stepped forward, either wary of hte Hulk, or of the terrifying scream erupting from her mouth. Loki dropped the boy and turned toward her, his eyes watching for hte tell-tale signs of her transformation.
His eyes widened as he noticed that she was only halfway there, but had somehow stopped the full process, leaving her her mind intact. He slowly moved his foot forward nudging the boy's body away from him.
"You broke him. You broke me, now I will break you." her voice was thick and slightly gravelly, but only an echo of the growl she used when in her other form. She leapt towards him, finding her arms obstructed by the chains. As Loki tried to move away, she growled and broke them in quick succession, then jumped towards him, pinning him to the floor of the penthouse.
"Beg. It won't help." The child whispered in his ear as she reached towards his neck and broke his clavicle, a feat that should not have been possible. He cried out, surprised by the pain. In his weakness she surged forward, her head touching his, her thoughts invading his mind, using strands of hte weak bond they had shared but hours before.
He cried out as thoughts of needles and broken bones coarsed through his head, the 'memories' resounding in his body, the feel of everything all at once, so tortuos and unforgiving, the only sight he could latch onto; her eyes. They were so cold so calculating and so empty. He felt tears prick his eyes and vaguely heard in the distance his brother shouting, and running towards him, roughly pulling the child off of him, sending her crashing into the wall across the room.
Loki was just so tired now, he leant up, hoping the tears didn't show and looked at Stark.
„"I'd liek that drink now." Stark just stared at him, seemingly unable to understand the situation fully anymore. Thor helped him up, being hte sentimental idiot that he was and he heard a small voice in the backround, singing.
Loki glanced over to where Kitty had been thrown and found htat she had crawled over to her beloved Jack, and was singing softly. He knew not what language, but thelyrivs were odd to say the least.
„"The Itsy Bitsy Spider fooled the God of lies,
Before he can save him, the loving man dies,
The itsy bitsy sparrow climbed up the great big tower,
down came the thunder and screwed with out power,
Up came the blood and dried upon his chest,
And the young boy agreed, he would look his best."
The osng resembeld a few nursery rhymes put together and Loki ducked his head, afraid taht he knew the girl's madness too well.
Natasha was the first to move forward, and she cradled the fragile girl in her arms, whispering to her in russian, calming her tears, until she lay still agaisnt the older woman's chest.
„"We all lose people, child. But the losses make us stronger. Those of us left, we are stronger, and it is best for those who cannot handle it to be lifted of the burden. Jack is happy now, understand?"
Natasha's words might have sounded harsh and unfeeling to anyone else, but Kitty suddenly nodded, smiling softly. She reached out and took Jack's hand in hers wanting to hold him, but he was taken from her by a man in a black suit.
She looked around and realized that now the place was swarming with them. Natasha nudged her forward and she stood up, shaking slightly. They held hands as she was led on to the helicarrier, and she made herself wait until she was alone. When all had left her she shed one last, final tear over Jack and then she slept. She dreamt of a better place with no more fear and no more nightmares. And she felt better.