Awakening
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Blood dripped from my sword as wind ripped through the shredded tents.
"Long ago there was a tale,
Of a young man who lived by the sea."
I flipped over the waffle iron and stirred the eggs, trying to shake of the memory that was playing before my eyes.
I gazed around, looking for the man I called my king.
"He cared not for women, riches, or gold,
but only the magic washed up from the waters."
Dad, Pepper, and Phil were talking about the repairs that the Tower and NYC were under, as well as their estimated time with warm drinks in their hands.
"People called him odd,
He would call them slow.
And every day he fished on the beach,
looking for magic to ensnare."
Pulling the warm golden waffle from the iron and tossing it onto the tower, I poured more batter on.
"Then one day, when the sky was dark
he found a small cage,
twas barely a hand's length
and built from cold steel."
I couldn't place this memory, but it was the longest I had suffered. No one had said a word, so perhaps I had managed to hide the flashes, though I wasn't sure how.
I stepped through the ruins, of the small seaside town. Looking for the small device, that had caused all of this trouble.
"He soon became possessed,
his heart twisted and black
The devil trapped inside the cage,
soon claimed his soul as his own."
"Those smell great," Bruce smiled at me and I tried to return it, but it came out more of a grimace.
My Duties screamed at me, and I glanced down to see the small black cubical cage, laying in a large pool of blood. It glittered with power, the air thick with mirth. It had enjoyed the torment it caused, the death that it had felled.
"You alright?"
I blinked and smiled at Bruce's worried look. Had he noticed the emotions flashing in my eyes? Or had I zoned out again?
"Of course," I replied softly, sending a small smile to my friend.
"Soon blood dripped onto the land,
as screams filled the air,
and the cage claimed the souls,
one by one."
This vile piece of magic, the darkest I had seen in this world. It had caused this massacre, it was the reason I was here. The Cage had disrupted the Balance, and it was my job to set it right.
"You sure?" Bruce pressed as I stirred the eggs again, trying to push the invading memory again. But it was pointless.
"Yeah," I replied with a nod. But I could tell he didn't believe me.
As my being shook in power, my energy gathering to attack. I would not let such an evil thing to survive.
I vaguely noticed as Bruce gave Dad a look, a look that he caught and understood. But I was too ensnared by my memory, and my attempt at cooking, to really realize it.
"And soon the Cage realized,
that it's days were numbered,
so with one last burst of power,
it released the tormented souls."
A wave of power whipped across the land. I was knocked back, tumbling across the ground as pure darkness clawed at my soul.
"Penny?" Dad asked as he stood up from the table, worry now stretched across his face. The whole room was quiet, the sizzling of the eggs and the soft whistling from the waffle iron the only noises to penetrate our ears.
"The Cage destroyed itself,
along with the world.
At the price of all life,
it won."
Many years later, I still trudged through the red stained land, waiting for this life to end. How many worlds would I watch burn?
"Penny?"
How many worlds would I watch die?
"For centuries, the blood dripped free,
until the stars in the sky died,
and the crust of the planet chipped away.
Only one Soul survived."
"Penny?!"
"The echoing screams,
the land stained red,
burned, charred, decimated,
just waiting for the end."
"Penny!"
I blinked as Dad's rough hands gripped my shoulders and shook me, finally allowing the memory to drift away, and for me to realize just what I had relived. I shivered, not wanting to think of that life at all.
It had been painful, watching yet another world burn and end around me. Then I was once again alone. Though not as long as my first life, I still wandered alone. The only company to keep were my own ghosts and the dark energy that still swirled in the air.
Not one living thing had been left, and no Immortal set foot on the world.
Mortem may blame Fati for my first fall into madness, when the world became soaked in blood because of me.
But now that I could remember, I knew that it wasn't just Fati who pushed me over the edge. The life of my insanity followed the life with the cage, and all that destruction, all that loss, all that dark energy had caused the cracks in my mind and soul.
The cracks that Fati had used for her own agenda.
By the time my mortal shell had finally passed on, I had been walking on the edge of insanity, and Fati had just given me the nudge to tople.
In the end of that life, all I did was sing the song of the Cage. The one that I had created.
"Don't you dare tell me that you're alright, now what on earth is going on with you!?" Dad exclaimed and I realized that he had barely paused between exclamations. I blinked again, and sighed.
"I'm…"
"You're not alright so stop saying that! You keep drifting off, and randomly started singing a second ago!" Dad sounded scolding, but I could hear the panicking worry lacing his undertone.
Shaking my head I looked around the room to see everyone staring at me. Bruce, Pepper, and Phil were all looking at me in worry, while Rogers looked extremely uneasy.
But then again, if someone had just randomly started singing a slightly demented song without realizing it, I would be uneasy as well.
Well, possibly. I was used to strange, sudden, and slightly insane things in my life.
"Was I singing?" I asked with a tilted head, as I tried to fight from another memory from taking over. This was getting a bit out of hand. A few fragmented flashbacks I could deal with, but these?
I really needed to get back into my mindscape and finish sorting all of the memories out.
"Yes, yes you were." Dad said slowly as his worry grew. I glanced between him and everyone else in the room before plastering a smile on my face and shrugging it off.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't realize." I apologized before waving my hand and all of the food appeared on the table, steaming and ready to eat.
Another blink and a plate full of food appeared in my hand. I gave one more smile to the crowd before me and picked up my own cup of tea.
"Don't worry about it, I tend to do things without realizing it all of the time. Just ask Dad, he does it sometimes too." I said as Pepper and Phil relaxed slightly. Rogers still looked uneasy, and Bruce looked like he didn't believe me.
Dad had the same look in his eyes, but thankfully both men were good at constructing masks.
"Anyway, I'll be in my room if you need me." I said before disappearing in a whirl of sparks.
Reappearing on my bed, I wished I was back in Malibu. At least there I wouldn't have to deal with the Avengers and SHIELD snooping around.
There I would've felt safe just telling Dad what was going on outright.
But no, with everyone else here we had to sneak around; again.
Groaning as my temple throbbed I put the plate on my bedside table and collapsed onto the bed.
Another blink, and flare in my Core and I was dressed in a comfy pair of jeans and tshirt.
I closed my eyes, but didn't dive into my mindscape. I could already sense Dad and Bruce making their way up to my room. They were going to demand explanations, and it was time to give them one.
Instead of diving into my mind, I let the memories wash over me as I went into a light meditation. As the memories, fragments or whole, drifted through my mind, I gave mental 'commands' and sent each memory to it's room, if I recognized it.
Will all of the Lives I had lived, I no longer was able to recognize all of them on sight.
Sorting through my memories on just a...basic and detatched level wasn't the best of ideas. It usually left me with a headache, which I already had, and the memories out of order in each life.
But at this point, I just wanted them to stop flashing through my mind.
Even in my meditative state, I sensed as Bruce and Dad paused outside of my doorway. Pulling myself back to awareness I willed the door open just as Dad was about to knock.
"Come on in." I said with a sad smile, "I'm sure you have questions."
Dad nodded and strode into my room as Bruce gazed around uncertainly. I tried to give the doctor a reassuring smile, but it didn't help. Even if Bruce was my friend, this was rather...weird, even for him. It was uncharted territory, and I could tell from his aura that he was on edge.
"Let me call Thor here, and then I'll start the tale." I spoke softly, and neither man said a word as Dad sat on the edge of my bed, and Bruce took my black armchair.
"How are you going to do that?" Dad asked in curiosity. I smiled at him softly. He had known almost everything about my powers and abilities just a few days ago, and now...I bet I was causing his head to spin in circles much more than he liked.
"I suppose you could call it long range telepathy." I told him at the same time as I reached out with my mind towards Thor, who I was unsurprised to find sitting on the 'roof'; or aka, the remaining rubble that had been the upper floors.
"Thor, do you wish to hear my story? I'm explaining to Bruce and Dad." I could feel his conflicting emotions, and knew that the last few days had affected him more then he would say or admit.
Even I had trouble identifying his wild storm of emotions, and in the end didn't try to. If he needed anything from me, he would mention it.
Or at least I hoped he would.
"I shall be there momentarily, E're," Thor replied a few moments later. "I would like to learn what became of you after you...left Asgard."
Nodding mentally, I severed the link with a mental sigh. My poor little godson…
"E're!"
I glanced down just in time to see the tiny Prince latch onto my legs. He had sugar coating his face, and his hands were sticky. Glancing back up I noticed that a few members of the kitchen staff had been pursuing him.
With a sigh I lefted Thor into my arms and waved off the staff. They nodded to me but left, knowing that I would take care of *cough*scold*cough* the little prince.
"Thor, what did I tell you about sneaking sweets from the kitchen?" I asked as I held the toddler in my arms and made my way towards the library. It was almost dinner, and the library was the most likely place I would find the Queen. She would want to know what her son was up to.
"Not to," Thor said with a frown before he looked up at me with wide eyes. "But E're! Loki said that you let him sneak into the kitchens all the time!"
Mentalling telling myself to speak with the young trickster, I sighed. "Yes, I do allow Loki to sneak into the kitchens. But it is to let him practice his magic, his invisibility; he is not allowed to steal sweets Thor. Besides, just because your brother does something, doesn't mean you must as well."
Thor pouted again. "But that's not fair!"
Trying not to chuckle, I pushed the memory away. Thankfully Dad and Bruce were both so lost in their own thoughts and musings that they hadn't noticed that I had drifted away.
I could sense approaching the door, and knew that the man who had once been such a small child had followed my aura...like I had taught him all of those years ago.
Waving my hand just for show, the door swung open again as Thor appeared on the other side.
Smiling at my now grown godson, Thor stepped inside. The men all greeted one another as I swiftly threw up a ward around this floor. It wouldn't stop Immortals or Asgardians, but it would definitly keep any curious Mortals away.
"So," I said as Thor settled down onto the floor.
Thor looked up at me wide eyed as he plopped down on the floor. "Tell me another of your tales, E're!"
"I assume you all would like some answers?" I asked pointlessly, causing the three men to nod.
Now I just had to figure out what the hell I was going to tell them.
Heeey! Who's surprised at my fast update? To be honest, I am. I wrote most of this in Spanish, and then the ending in Language. I'm hoping to get this up by/during lunch.
Hope you all enjoyed it, let me know what you think!
You all rock!
Cp