Chapter 17

The salt topping Great Salt Lake crumbles under me and my suit – over 300 pounds combined – as the water rushes over my head, poking at my suit for cracks to seep into.

I'm sinking, because hello, suit, and everything is dark and where is Jarvis?! I pant heavily, trying to see through the dark water as I hit the gritty lake bottom, the darkness only slightly pierced by my reactor and nothing else. Almost everything else was offline.

Why didn't we make this waterproof again?

I try and move my legs, arms, something, and I curse softly when I realize that my suit, which was over one hundred fifty pounds already, plus the water resistance (which I would normally calculate if I weren't at the bottom of a lake) was making my suit feel like I had an elephant sitting on my arms, legs, and chest.

I don't notice that the water has found a chink in my literal armor before my ankles are doused. My breaths get shorter and fewer between as the water slowly climbs my legs.

Oh my god, oh my god, please don't let me drown, I don't want to die, please, please, please…

Just as I feel water on the back of my thighs, something activates in my suit and my comm pops and fizzes loudly.

"-lor? Ta-….et…ou….you…uit! Not…safe…"

"Dad? Dad, I can't hear you!"

"Get…free…suit! Heavy…water!

Did he just say what I think he just said? Does my dad really want me to abandon my suit…again?

I mentally slap myself and force myself to take deeper breaths and focus my genius.

Step 1: get out of the suit. Okay, breathe, Taylor. Find the release…

There! I slide a fingernail into a tiny groove under my arm, then under the other arm, the on the inside of both knees.

The lights in certain parts of the suit dim as my gauntlets and arm pieces split in half and expand as they draw away from my arms, followed by my leg pieces doing the same.

Then my torso plates and helmet pull away, and the water floods forward to cover my nose and mouth, fill my ears, saturate my clothes, and blanket my reactor.

Suddenly my mind is slammed with the smell of blood, and cold, and pain.

Loki…no…blood…NO!...scream…pain….hurts! Hurts, hurts! Make it stop, stop, stop stop stop!

Dad…dad! Make him stop, please, please make it stop…Loki…stick…dad!

No…hurts…please…

The smell of salty water burns my nostrils and washes the bloody shadows away as I realize that there are no sticks, no gods, and the only blood is either dried or from that wolf biting my leg.

And I am underwater, suit less, and I need to go up. Now.

I take stock of my surroundings, ignoring the fact that my eyes are completely unprotected against bacteria and such.

The water is cold. And dark. And also water, which I cannot breathe without ultimately drowning myself, so I need to find the right direction right now.

I tip my head back to face what I assume to be the surface. The water I am looking at now seems to be a little brighter, like a light is shining through it.

I start to kick my way up, wincing at my bitten leg, but then I pause. Every movie character ever knows never to go towards the light. Like, ever.

But then I remember: it was sunny outside. I mean, in the middle of Utah, here…

I mentally sigh and decide to go ahead, If it is the sun, then I get saved and onto dry land. Otherwise…

…let's not think about otherwise.

I kick my way up, ignoring the wails from my bitten leg, and just focus on breathe and move.

I eventually get close to the light, close enough that I can almost touch it.

I reach out a hand…almost…

Then the light explodes.

Because all of a sudden, it is really bright, and I'm not wet, and strong arms are hauling me away from the water.

The arms eventually set me down on to the burning desert sand, but I never notice because at least it is dry.

I slam my eyes shut against the light and immediately curl around my reactor, and all the while my body is trying to expel the water it ingested.

"Taylor, Taylor, shh, you're okay, I swear. You are not there, you are here, with your team. Come on, open your eyes."

I crack open one eye a fraction of an inch and find a tear-blurred figure staring back at me. Broad shoulders mean that the figure is male. Blonde hair means not Loki. The figure is not speaking like they just jumped out of a Shakespeare play, so not Thor, either.

Steve. I instantly relax and uncurl, still keeping one hand on top of the reactor as a knee-jerk reaction. I blink up at him and open my mouth to speak, but whatever I was going to say was cut off by my stomach sending up a wave of nausea.

Steve helps me onto my hands and knees as I bring up bile and lake water, keeping one reassuring hand on my back.

Eventually I sit back onto my haunches and pause to look around.

There are more dead wolves and soldiers than when I took my dive, but my team is nowhere to be found, probably off fighting with more bad guys somewhere else.

I glance at Steve to see him staring back at me with a cautious concern. He looks exhausted. His cowl is ripped and hanging limp around his neck, his usually bright uniform is torn and blood splattered, and his shield is scratched to the point of paint deterioration.

"Thanks, Steve." My voice is soft and slightly shaky.

Steve grins and stands, offering me a hand. "No problem, Beta."

I nod and take the offered hand, my knees wobbling like a new born foal's. Steve steadies me with a hand on my elbow, letting me regain my footing.

I steady my equilibrium as I do a mental health check.

My entire body is sore, of course, my left arm, shoulder, and right leg especially, but I do not seem to be in mortal peril.

A weapons check turns up my bow secured to my back, knives on my hip, ankle, and tucked inside my collar, and guns on my hip, thigh, and next to my bow.

I groan as I realize I never got around to compacting my quiver to fit inside my suit. So that rules my bow out, unless I want to use it as a club.

I turn back to Steve, ready to charge back in to the fray, but his wide eyes and finger pointing behind me make me turn slowly.

And then groan again.

Because Loki is looking like a kid on Christmas.

And my team are wrapped like presents.