Amber Sunstrike- Hello my fellow Fictioners, we're sorry we hadn't updated sooner than preferred, it's just that we had a lot on our plates and we want to deliver the best chapter possible. Anyways, read, review, and if you like it enough favorite/follow! And curtain.
Astrid had been listening to their conversation through the door and realized that even though Tony Stark acted childish, he definitely had some intellect. She'd have to be more careful with her words among him. Deep in thought, she walked back to her room and sat down on her bed. Looking around, she studied the design. It was simple yet showed the fineness of the place, like all the other rooms; white with metallic touches. It wasn't her style, but style nevertheless. She glanced at the paper and pencils on her desk with a hunger, but resisted. Whatever she made might give hints to the enemy, however subtle. With a lasting sigh, she laid down again, staring at the ceiling. Was this to be her fate, wasting away among her enemies? Mother surely didn't mean for this, she knew she always had a plan. She'd just have to go through with it, and might as well enjoy her time. Walking over to the desk, she picked up a pencil and began to sketch. This'd give them something to think about.
Her long, deft fingers started drawing long lines and swirls all over her paper. Finishing the last stroke, she set down her pencil and looked her sketch in satisfaction. She pulled the colored pencils out and selected a few, coloring everything but the palace in intricate detail. With a final stroke of yellow, she neatly packed up the pencils and left the picture in plain view of the camera.
Tony clicked on the monitor to zoom, and screenshots the picture. Pulling up another tab, he dragged the image off of the monitor to float in the view if all the Avengers.
"What's that?" Steve asked, staring at the hologram.
"Looks like a city. Asgard?" Bruce guessed, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. Steve didn't mention he didn't know what the hologram was.
"That would make sense," Natasha mused, setting down her Guns & Ammo magazine to study it.
"But why isn't the big building colored?" Clint asked, relaxing a foot in the table.
"Maybe it's contextual," Bruce offered. "In not that good at art, but I know when something is left like that it is for a purpose."
"Let's just take it out and report it. I don't think mass murderers draw sunsets," Clint suggested, reaching for a magazine of his own.
"No. The whole point of this operation is to make her feel comfortable, taking out the drawings will discourage her from making anymore," Natasha protested.
"Let's at least send the screenshot," He said, picking up his magazine of choice.
"That's acceptable," She said, "but no taking anything out. At all." She looked around at the Avengers. "Understood?"
"Yes, mother," Tony mocked, slipping the hologram back into the screen. After he quickly clicked some buttons and typed a few words with practised ease, Tony looked up and grinned.
"Done," He announced. "Fury will be receiving his picture, along with some complimentary kitten spam!" Steve quirked an eyebrow.
"How do you spam someone with pictures?"
"Technology, Grandpa. Technology!" He said, walking to the kitchen. "Pepper, where's the wine?"
"Sixth…" Bruce noted unhappily. "Your sixth."
"Tony!" Pepper exclaimed. "I thought we talked about your habits! That much alcohol-"
"-Is bad for me, blah, blah, I don't want you having any fun, blah, blah. Now, seriously, where is it?"
"How do you do it?" Natasha muttered to Pepper, astounded at how long she could stand up with Stark, never mind date the guy.
"I really don't know..." Pepper trailed off staring at Tony with obvious adoration in her eyes mixed with some underlying annoyance. "He's like a little kid, and well… I really like kids, I guess.
"Heard that!" Tony sing-songed, pulling out the wine and a shot glass. Pepper rolled her eyes.
"If you really like kids, why don't you make one?" Clint snickered from behind his magazine. Pepper looked fit to kill.
"Clint," Steve scolded. "You really shouldn't talk to people about that!"
"Says the virgin." He would have sounded serious if he wasn't giggling so much. Tony walked over, drink in hand, much to Pepper's unhappiness.
"Shouldn't we be concentrating on Cloudy, not how Steve decides to use his-"
"Tony!"
"Sheesh, this isn't a kid's show! But to the point of Cloudy." Bruce walked over and studied the screen with him.
"Why is she biting her nails?" Bruce asked, but mostly to himself.
"Nervous habit? Deep in thought? Absent-minded?" Tony browsed the options aloud.
"Got it," Bruce said as he typed in the bullets on an adjacent screen.
"Wait, she's on the move- the bed, really?" He looked up. "Does anyone have any idea why she always goes to the bed?"
Clint snickered.
"It's comfy? Asgardian meditation? She's bored?" Bruce offered on instinct.
"Type it in, Brucey Boy. Tasha, help us out. You're the freaky person-study-emotion of the group."
"I'll try taking that as a compliment." Natasha walked over to watch the screen with Tony and Bruce. "She's just not used to this place yet. Laying down is the best way to give out the least information possible."
"She just doodled Asgard," Tony pointed out, gesturing to the screenshot.
"Well, maybe that was just a teaser for the big film."
"We don't need another diva, thank you very much. Just remember what the last one did to my tower!"
"And New York," Pepper said from the couch where she was now reclining.
"Forget New York, my tower!" Tony complained.
"Billionaire?" Clint said. "You're a billionaire, right?"
"Of course, but I had just put in that new energy source, and my name was-"
"Okay, okay, screen. Please?" Bruce interjected. Tony looked back to his work but still had on a pouty face.
"She's just laying down and glowing, nothing special. My name used to glow-"
"She's glowing?" Bruce exclaimed, putting on his glasses.
"Well, yeah. She used magic earlier, why not?" Tony asked as if the answer were obvious.
"But… she can just leave! We need to- Natasha, can you go check on her?" He looked over to see she was already out of the room.
~0.0~
Astrid concentrated all her energy on the center of her being, and then allowed it to radiate and shift her soul. The pulling sensation was slightly painful, but only momentary. In the next minute her mind teleported to check on a significant other.
~0.0~
Loki lounged in his cell, reading a book he didn't really care for. He didn't care for much anymore, anyways, and this book was no different. A sob story about two lovers and their disgusting affairs; it was of poor quality, but who said he had any input?
Loki had two choices; read or be bored, and the first was definitely more appealing. He was just internally criticising the latest move of the ignorant male when Thor bust in with all the rowdiness he could muster. Or wasn't that natural? Loki thought to himself as he set down the book and immediately plastered on his signature smirk.
"Come to visit me, have we, Odinson?" Loki purred with underlying venom. Thor didn't answer; instead, he opened to door to the cell and four guards walked in, shackles in hand. They looked slightly skittish in Loki's presence. Fools, he thought, and held out his hands. After a few minutes of locking and twisting, the guards ushered him out on the chains like a dog. Loki didn't give them the satisfaction of resistance, and instead followed along with his head held high. Thor walked ahead and soon disappeared around a turn. The guards had to slow their pace because Loki's walking was ever so slightly hampered by the chains. His pride overtook him and he made an effort to walk faster, but nearly fell. Slowing down again, he trudged along to attend his trial.
Odin sat on his throne, regal and so many other things Loki despised. He offered a mock salute.
"I really don't see what all the fuss is about," Loki said with all the indifference of the statement.
"Do you not truly feel the gravity of your crimes?" Odin barked. "Wherever you go there is war, ruin, and death!"
"I went down to rule Earth as a benevolent god, just like you." The words slipped over his silver tongue, but Odin brushed them off.
"We are not gods!" Odin corrected, loud as always. We're born, we live, we die, just like humans do."
"Give or take five thousand years." Loki countered smoothly, but his statement was cut off with a loud bang as the gates to the throne room opened.
"Was this not a private trial?" Odin scolded the guard.
"Forgive me, my lord," The guard answered, kneeling. "Heimdall requests you come." Odin stared in silence until he rose.
"I expect we shall pick up this trial when I return. Should I be gone until sunset, return the prisoner to his cell." With that, he walked right out of the throne room. Frigga made some indecisive movements until she, too, walked out after Odin.
All of the remaining guards, Loki, and Thor stood in silence. Loki was completely fine with this; movement wasn't easy in the chains. He was deep in thought when an aura entered his field. It floated over by a pillar in his peripheral vision and had what he supposed was a clear view of the entire room. It danced a bit until an unseen force sucked it away toward the bifrost.
~0.0~
Natasha wasn't experienced with magic, so she did the first thing you should do when waking someone up from anything.
Shake them.
It worked on everybody, so why not a teen doing voodoo? The results were rather pleasing. Astrid stayed in her trance for a few more moments, then her eyes opened and she took a loud, deep breath. Noticing Natasha was above her, she frowned and pushed her away.
"You could've killed me doing that!" She shot, still freshly shocked from the forcible bonding of her body and mind. Astrid sat up as her breathing became less ragged. Natasha shook her head slightly, confused.
"What?" Astrid eyes flashed with anger, and she reached for a pocket in her jeans. When her hand made no contact with whatever she seeked, she pat around then looked up.
"You took it," She growled, standing up and walking forward.
"Took what?" Natasha backed away, hands raised.
"You know what I'm talking about!" She snapped, gesturing to her empty pocket. "You took it, you and that group of mortals! Give it back!"
"I have no idea what you're referring to. Now, I suggest you back off, I will not hesitate to defend myself."
"Oh, you do," Astrid chuckled darkly, much to darkly for a teen like herself. "You took it, and know you play innocent. Well, I can see. I'm not backing off until I have what is rightfully mine. I'll shred you if you don't! Slowly… with whatever I see fit!" She lunged, materializing a dagger. Natasha brought up a quick arm and swept her legs out from under her. Astrid landed with a grunt and streamed curses. Spinning, she stood, and was about to leap again when something grabbed her wrists. Astrid grunted with the effort, struggling to get at Natasha. She sent a leg back into whoever's chest, but it bounced off.
"Calm down," Steve ordered. He forcibly sat her down on the bed. She struggled for a millisecond, then relaxed, but her eyes were still lit up by a fierce fire. "Now, what did we take?" She made that dark noise again.
"Oh, you know."
Steve shrugged. "I don't. They might, but I don't. If you want any help, I suggest you tell me what it is."
Astrid stared at him impassively, trying to determine whether or not this "Steve" (mortals and their odd names) was trying to get information out of her.
After a few minutes of staring at Steve, Astrid gave in. "My stone, you numskull. Now go get it and give it back." It wasn't her most tactful approach, but she needed results quicker. Steve nodded and walked out with Natasha.
"Do you have any idea what she's referring to?" Steve questioned as he stepped into the elevator.
Natasha shook her head. "S.H.I.E.L.D. must've gotten a hold on it before I was assigned to take care of her. They do take out anything that is potentially dangerous before allowing any contact with subjects. They did that with the staff, and anything else that can come out of loose pockets," Natasha finished with a matter-of-fact voice.
"There is no way I'm giving Astrid a magic stone. If it's anything like that staff, well, we've got problems," Steve concluded, punching the floor number. He'd finally gotten used to these elevators, but had yet to master the mobile phone.
The other Avengers were lounging, paying no mind to the screens.
"Why aren't you guys watching her?" Steve asked, clearly confused.
"Capsicle, if a pebble is this kid's greatest weapon, I'm pretty sure we'll be fine," Tony scoffed, sneaking yet another shot when Pepper turned.
"Well, Tony is right in the sense we can't be constantly staring at a screen. We have lives, and gosh, it's ten?!" Bruce exclaimed.
"Calm down, we're constantly staying up doing science," Tony reassured, then noticed what he just said. "Uh, not the type of staying up that we don't tell Pepper about, eh, no, that's just, no." Pepper gave him the 'really?' look, followed by a 'we need to talk' stare.
"Well, if you've realised, we don't have any science right now. I'm hitting the hay." Bruce dismissed himself, followed by Steve, then Clint and Natasha. They were close enough to be satisfied but not overly touchy. Pepper snatched Tony's glass and started to lecture as he shut off the various systems.
"I've told you so many times you can't stay up all of the time! Your systems need to recharge-" And all that other stuff Tony ignored. This continued all the way into the room and she fell asleep in the middle of her eighteenth point. Tony carefully picked her up and tucked her in. Tony quickly changed and got in bed with her, quickly falling asleep himself.
~0.0~
Astrid tossed and turned on the unbearable mattress. It seemed no matter what she did there was some spring poking her side. She flopped again with a groan and stared into oblivion. It wasn't long until a new sort of pain emerged. Her stomach growled, and she recalled how she had skipped eating dinner with the mortals. After a few minutes of trying to force it down, she shook off the covers and started trudging down the hall to where the… what was it called? Ellie Vater? was stationed. She stood a moment, unsure how the mortal technology worked, and pressed a button pointing down. The doors dinged, and she hopped backwards, shocked by the sudden movement. She carefully stepped in, and the doors closed behind her. What now? She scanned the buttons on the side, but had no idea what they meant. Speed? Maybe the number of people?
-Do you need help getting to a floor?- JARVIS asked, scaring Astrid out of her skin.
"Ah, yes, but how can you help me, ceiling spirit?" She asked, looking up.
-Just tell me what you need and I'll send you there.- Jarvis explained in British monotone.
"Where the food is stored… please," She ordered.
-That would be on the 36th floor, where you were stationed earlier with the Avengers.- JARVIS started the elevator up, and Astrid looked for something to hold on to.
"How is it moving?" She asked, trying to locate a pulley of some sort.
-Just simple mechanisms in the exterior. you have arrived on the 36th floor. The refrigerator is behind the bar and about three steps to the left. Talk to me if you need anything, I'm always there.-
"Thank you, but that is rather creepy," She said, mumbling the last part as she tried locating the Re-bridge of Ator. Taking three steps to the left, she stood in front of a big metal case.
"Is that the Re-bridge of Ator?" She asked, looking up.
-Re-fridge-or-ator, and yes. Just open it and you can eat.-
Astrid pulled on the handle and was met by a blast of cold air. Weird mortals and their boxes. She looked inside, reading the labels. She spotted a bottle of red liquid which she pulled out. Was this blood? She grabbed a knife and stabbed the top. Holding it above her head, Astrid let some of the mysterious substance drip. As soon as her tongue made contact with the salty red liquid, she threw down the bottle in disgust. How do mortals eat such things? Pulling out a jar, she pried it open and fished for one of the green tubes. This was no better, and she let it drop on the floor with a crash. She had worked through the entire shelf and only found a single substance that interested her- a peculiar yellow sauce labeled "Sweet Mustard". Even that was thrown on the floor after a mouthful. Deciding mortal food was hopeless, she walked out with the Re-bridge of Ator's door wide open.
hihiitsbooksandstuff-
So what did you guys think? Do you like it? Well, comment to show us how you feel. And guess what? LOKI SHOWED UP! *squeals- which isn't like me at all*
Amber-
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