Imitations Carved Deep: Chapter 17
Every day I ask myself, why am I a science major again? The answer seems weaker the closer I get to tests. :/ Ugh. I need sleep. Don't mind me.
Please enjoy!
Disclaimer: I don't own them...so sad.
**Warnings: GROSS IMAGERY IN THIS CHAPTER! Severe angst. Torture (in the past). Implied rape (in past). Don't read if any of these trigger.
Guess Who's Back?
Kira had requested a open, quiet space to perform the ritual, so Tony had offered up on of his currently empty lounge floors near the middle of the Tower. Jarvis had indeed come through and within the hour the requested items were delivered. Everyone was carrying a box, sans Kira, and they exited the elevator on the sixteenth floor. Kira nodded approvingly at the space and directed everyone to open their boxes.
Tony ripped his open and took hold of a few bunches of lavender. He smirked in amusement as he held them out to Kira.
"So, why do you need my help?" Kira took the lavender and set it near the 'front' of the salt circle she had set. Thor passed her the knife which she held up in front of Tony's face.
"I need you to fix the symbols, so I can properly remove the curse." Tony's jaw dropped, and he took a hasty step back.
"What?! Fix them? Like…carve them into your skin fix them?!" Kira sighed and rubbed her temple with the hilt of the knife.
"Yes, Stark. I need you to carve the symbols properly, otherwise the removal spell, or counter-curse, will fail and potentially kill me. I need someone who…who cares about me and that I trust to do this part of the spell." Tony pointed at Thor.
"What about Hammer Time?! You know, you're brother? Or Steve-the-Boy-Scout? Or, I don't know, Bruce-the doctor!" Kira pointed at each of the named men in turn with the knife.
"Thor's natural magic would interfere. While the Captain might be a Saint, he cares more about the team than me." Steve looked like he wanted to protest but found that there was nothing he could say in his defense. "And the last thing any of us want is Dr. Banner hulking out in the middle of a volatile spell. I trust you to do what needs to be done, but do it to help me and no other reason. Magic can read intentions. If this is to work, it has to be you." Tony couldn't help but feel both honored and terrified at the same time.
After a few solid minutes of contemplating what he was taking on, Tony finally nodded.
"Okay. I'll do it." The inventor didn't miss the relieved half smile that bloomed on Kira's face. The woman was quick to conceal it, but Tony had seen it for a brief second and that was enough to strengthen his resolve.
To prepare for the ritual, Kira had each of the Avengers place a candle where directed. She limped the circle once more with salt before lighting the first candle. Taking a handful of lavender, Kira stuck the blooming end into the small flame, allowing the plant to catch alight. She then went about lighting each candle with the burning lavender. When all of the candles were lit and the lavender was burned out, Kira crushed the ashes in her hand and stepped into the circle.
The Avengers watched in curiosity and apprehension as Kira began chanting, and then she formed a small mountain on the marble floors with the lavender ash. She somehow managed to gracefully sit on the floor despite the cast and sling, while not pausing in her chanting at all. The room began to get warmer and all of the Avengers could feel it. No amount of discomfort could get them to leave the room at that point, however.
Suddenly, Kira stopped her chanting and stared straight ahead.
"Stark, take up the knife and step into the circle. Sit as I am, behind myself, and cut the back of my shirt open." Kinky. The word leapt unbidden into Tony's mind, and he quickly shook it out. It was not the time for his brand of commentary; even he could see that. Taking a deep breath, Tony grabbed the handle of the knife as Steve passed it to him. Without giving himself anymore time to think about it, the inventor stepped into the circle and sat cross legged facing Kira's back. Luckily for him, Kira had already removed the sling, so that was one less thing he had to worry about. Tony pinched the collar in his fingers, and with his rather great dexterity, stretched it apart to give it enough tension to make it easier to cut. The knife cut through the shirt like butter.
Random thoughts flitted about in the back of Tony's skull. He imagined the blueprints and patents surrounding a fabric that was entirely bullet proof and could withstand any number of dastardly weapons. Perhaps he could test it out with Steve's suit. Tony once again forced himself to focus back on the task at hand. This was honestly the first time in his life that Tony was unsure whether he should unhook a woman's bra.
His dilemma was solved for him when Kira reached back with one hand and unhooked it herself. Well isn't she a show off? I should ask her to teach me how to do that. Tony was now staring at Kira's back…which was not as mark free as he had seen earlier. It was like looking at a 3-D movie without the glasses as letters and symbols began to appear. After a few moments, which felt like an eternity to the impatient and anxious inventor, the symbols were perfectly clear to him.
That must have been what Kira was waiting for, because she breathed deeply and began speaking.
"Alright, Stark. I am going to guide you through this next part. I need you to pay close attention." Tony nodded though Kira couldn't see him. The inventor refused to look at his shaking hands and took more deep breaths to stave off a panic attack.
"The first symbol you need to fix looks like a circle with a line slashed vertically through it. Do you see it?" Again Tony nodded, but followed it up with verbal confirmation.
"Yeah. Yeah, I see it." It was just to the left of Kira's spine and up near her neck.
"The bottom of the vertical line needs to extend another centimeter downward and then have a ninety-degree turn towards my spine that goes until it just reaches the other side of my vertebrae." Stark felt a very strong urge to just up and run away, but he knew that was the last thing he should do. So, pushing that urge down, Tony pressed the tip of the knife into the divot of the already carved line and did as instructed. Tony almost stopped when Kira's blood started flowing, but once again thought of the consequences of him doing so and kept going.
Kira took deep breaths herself to keep from tensing or crying out during this part of the ritual. The pain would only get worse the closer she got to succeeding, part of why this curse was considered so dark. She waited for Tony's confirmation that he was finished before she instructed him on the next symbol.
"The next one is a rectangle with an open long side and an X connecting the corners." Tony found it up near her right shoulder.
"Got it." Kira went on to give Tony step by step instructions to fix five symbols all together. The Avengers outside the circle watched on in horrified curiosity. When Stark finished carving the last symbol, Kira took another deep breath and held out a hand.
"Thank you, Stark. Now, hand me the knife and carefully stand and exit the circle." Tony had to control himself to do as Kira suggested, rather than jumping up and running as far away as he could like he wanted to. He gently placed the handle of the knife into Kira's hand and stood. Careful not to knock over any candles or break the circle, Stark stepped out and immediately went to stand by Bruce. The doctor laid a comforting hand on his shoulder as he tried not to vomit at what he had just done.
They watched transfixed as Kira continued the ritual. She cut a diagonal line along one of her palms and set the knife down. Using the fingers of her other hand, Kira spilt some in the pile of lavender ash and drew symbols on the ground in her blood. The sorceress started chanting again. Now that her curse was settled correctly, she did not have long before its full effects hit her and she could no longer perform the ritual.
Those outside of the circle grew tense as a wind picked up from nowhere, and the electricity in the room started flickering. The pace and volume of Kira's chanting increased and the all watched, horrified, as the symbols on Kira's back began to rot and ooze black sludge. If he didn't know that it would certainly kill his brother and himself, Thor would have jumped into the circle and stopped Kira long ago. Her chanting began to sound more like cries of pain than anything clearly identifiable as words.
Then everything stopped. The mysterious wind stopped blowing; the candles had gone out. Kira didn't make any noise and if they looked closely they could see…she had stopped breathing. Her head was thrown back, and her mouth hung open in a silent scream. Then, without warning, there was a loud SNAP!
The candles flared to life once more but the flames grew until they were nothing but columns of fire that reached the ceiling. They could no longer see Kira, but they heard as soon as the screaming started up again. Heat poured from the circle and they were all forced to take steps back to avoid being burned.
Just when they thought it couldn't get any hotter or the flames any brighter, it was over. The candles were nothing more than flaking wax on the ground. Salt and ashes and blood and black sludge painted the area like a gory modern art piece, and in the center of the circle lay none other…than a dirtied and naked Loki Odinson.
None of them knew what to do. They didn't know if it was safe to enter what was left on the circle to see if Loki was alright. Thor started at his fallen brother, desperate to see some sign of life.
"Loki," he called. There was no movement, no answer. The Golden Prince felt his heart pounding as strong as Mjolnir in his chest, ready to break free and shatter on the ground.
"C'mon, Lokes. Get up. You've made a mess of my floors." Bruce had a hand on Tony's shoulder to stop the man from doing what most of them wanted to do, run over to Loki. The seconds ticked by and there was still no response.
"Hey, asshole! Wake up." Everyone turned to stare at Clint, jaws on the ground, but the archer only shrugged. Then he pointed at the fallen God of Mischief. Their heads swung around just in time to see the Trickster stir. Had he his cape, Thor would have swiftly covered Loki's modesty, but that was not to be.
Loki groaned and that was when his eyes flew open, shocked at the masculine sound coming from his own mouth. He lifted up a shaking hand and brought it to his face, taking in his male form. A smile tugged at his lips, but he was too exhausted for much more. Loki looked down at the rest of his body and sighed.
"A covering would be nice." His voice was raspy and deep. It sounded strange to his own ears, having been stuck in his female form for so long. He didn't see who it was, but someone draped a blanket over him, for which he was grateful.
Loki's arm and leg were still injured, but now that his magical core was completely freed, his natural magic would slowly begin to heal him. At the present, however, his injuries made it hard to stand on his own. Using his good arm he slowly pushed himself into a seated position and then sighed.
"Thor…some help, if you would." Thor had been soaking in the sight of his brother, and it took a moment for him to register the request. However, when he did, he was quick to act. In a moment, Thor had Loki scooped in his arms.
"This is not what I meant, and you know it," Loki croaked angrily. Tony snickered at the tall and slender God of Mischief being carried like a small child over to the couch. The Trickster turned his glare from his brother to the inventor, and Tony actually stopped in his tracks. Flashbacks to the battle started to press on his mind, but he quickly shook them away. Just because the real Loki hadn't been the one to attack New York, didn't mean his face wasn't still attached to the Avengers' memories of the battle.
Loki's eyes widened, and his mouth dropped open, realizing what had just happened.
"I…I am sorry, Stark. I didn't-" Loki's stilted apology jolted Tony from his stupor and he sent a smile Loki's way and walked over to flop in the chair next to him.
"It's fine. Just gonna take a little while to get used to Loki and not Kira." Loki didn't return his smile, and he sensed that the other Avengers were now even more uncomfortable around him. It was one thing to know that as Kira, he was also Loki and it was another to actually look like Loki.
Unfortunately, Thor picked up on this and decided to comment.
"Come, my friends. This is my true brother, not the evil one that attacked the great New York." Thor waved them over as he sat down by Loki's feet. Loki winced as the move jostled his still aching achilles.
Steve and Bruce were the first to move from their spots and approach. When they were standing with the Asgardians and Tony, they all looked over at the two assassins. Clint's fists were clenched, and he glared at the Trickster. Loki looked him square in the eyes, refusing to back down. Someone with his face had hurt Clint, but it hadn't been him. After what felt like hours, the archer slowly moved towards them, Natasha staying by his side.
Her eyes darted over the scene, and she deemed it safe…for now. Loki had his magic back, and that made him unpredictable.
Said Trickster shifted, uncomfortable with the feeling of his tendon and shoulder socket slowly, painfully healing themselves. Bruce's eyes narrowed, as he saw the pained pinch in Loki's expression.
"Ki- I mean, Loki…are you okay? I thought with your magic, you'd be healed." Loki smiled at the concerned doctor, though it came out as more of a grimace.
"I may have my magic and Asgardian healing back, Dr. Banner, but I spent all of my energy in the ritual. I will heal faster now, but it will still take a day or two before I am completely whole again and able to use all of my magical abilities."
"Sir," Jarvis suddenly spoke. "Director Fury is on his way up the elevator." Tony sighed.
"I wonder if he's actually going to blow a blood vessel this time."
And it's the Loki we all know and love! Gosh I missed him. :) But, do you think Kira will ever be back?
Please review:)