Chapter Twelve

Winter gasped as she bolted upright, eyes snapping open. She was sweating, dizzy, and disoriented. Her eyes locked onto the nurse, Megan, who was looking at her shocked. She quickly ran over, "Are you alright? What happened?" Winter's breathing finally slowed down to normal, and she stammered, "N-nothing…. Nothing it was just a dream." Megan's eyes brightened, "What was the dream?" Winter wasn't sure she wanted to tell her. This girl could claim that they had been friends, but that didn't mean Winter trusted her, "Uhh… it was just a nightmare, you know, basic…nightmare stuff." The lie was awkward and left her feeling guilty. Megan could tell it wasn't the truth, anyone could, but she attempted to keep her face neutral, "Oh." She had probably been hoping that Winter would gain some of her memory through dreaming. Bruce and Megan still thought that it was possible for her to get her memories back, they didn't know that that would never happen. Winter shuddered, remembering her conversation with Loki. What if it had just been a dream? No, she was sure that it had really happened, there was no way that she had made it up. That man was the reason she was here, he had gotten her hurt. He had also claimed he could get her memories back. Could he? She shouldn't trust him, wasn't going to trust him. "Am I allowed to get up?" Winter asked Megan, who thought for a moment, "Sure, slowly though, you're still healing." She walked over, helping Winter off the bed. She felt so weak, and her legs shook under the weight of her body. After a moment shse seemed to adjust, and felt a bit more coordinated. Before she could take a step, her stomach rumbled loudly. Megan's eyes met hers and they both laughed. Winter sat back down on the bed slowly, and Megan offered to grab her some food. She agreed, and it wasn't until Megan had left the room that she laid back down. How long had she been unconscious? Her body felt like it hadn't moved in weeks, and she had just realized how hungry she was. Megan came back with the other girl, Natalie, who was carrying a bowl of soup. Winter sat up slowly, taking the offered bowl into her lap. She lifted the spoon and took it into her mouth tentatively. Realizing it wasn't going to burn her, she began shoveling the soup into her mouth, Natalie and Megan forgotten. It wasn't until she was finished that she looked up to see them watching her amused. Her cheeks flushed, and she looked away embarrassed, "Uh… how long was I unconscious?" It was silent a moment, before Natalie answered "Almost two months." Winter's eyes widened, she had figured it had been at least two weeks, but two months? Just more time missed. No one spoke, the room was filled with an awkward silence. "Uh," Winter started, desperate for the silence to be broken, "Can I get more food?" Both girls looked relieved, and Natalie responded, "Sure! What do you want me to bring you? More soup?" Winter smiled lightly, nervous, "Well, I was actually wondering if I could go with you? Get a look around?" Natalie and Megan shared a look, and after a good thirty seconds of them just staring at each other, Winter was about to burst. Just as she was going to say "Never mind", Natalie said "Sure" throwing her off guard. Her face lit up, and she slowly pulled herself up off the bed. As soon as she was standing, Natalie came to her side, supporting her. The three of them left the room, slowly making their way down the hall. Everything looked familiar, but Winter couldn't place where she had seen any of it. "Where are we?" She asked the girls. "Were at the S.H.I.E.L.D. base you were taken to when Phil first found you." Megan replied carefully. Winter nodded slowly, deciding that asking any more questions would confuse her more. As they continued through the halls, a growing sense of dizziness was washing over her. She didn't say anything in fear they would march her back to her room. A few minutes later they turned through an open door, and the smell of food made her stomach growl. She broke away from Natalie and Megan, moving as fast as she could towards the smell of food. She made it all of two steps before her legs gave out. She lost consciousness before she hit the floor.

"Back so soon?" The voice cut through the darkness, and Winter forced her eyes open. She was on her side, laying on the ground. She wasn't in the cafeteria anymore, and she groaned as she recognized the room she was in, and the man occupying it. She rolled over, and looked up onto the sofa where Loki was laying, a book in hand and amusement on his face. "Wha…" Winter attempted to speak as she pushed herself up. "You just left a few hours ago, what brought you back? Interested in my offer?" Her head was fuzzy, and his confident smirk was not helping. "Offer?" He sighed, "You really are slow, maybe there's more damage to your head than I previously thought." Winter glared, offended, and pushed herself up off the ground. He stood too, towering over her. She turned away, took a deep breath, waiting for her head to clear. Loki gave her the time she needed. This whole situation was overwhelming, but finally the answer came. Loki had said he could get her memories back, that was what he was talking about. Her body stiffened, and as she turned to him she hoped her face didn't betray her, didn't show the desperation she felt. The satisfaction on his face told her that it did, and she stood still as he walked towards her. "So, have you made a decision?" She stared up at him, goodness he was tall, "I don't believe you." His eyebrows raised a fraction, "Oh?" Winter forced as much anger into her expression as she could, "You're locked up in a cell! You would say anything to get out…" The amusement in his face seemed genuine, but it was quickly being weighed down by sadness, "If only you were this cautious before, we could have avoided all of this." Winter was quiet a moment, he had insinuated that this was her fault, but the heaviness in his tone betrayed that wasn't how he felt. He thinks that he's responsible. Her gaze softened, and she met his eyes again, "Can you tell me what happened?" His expression went back to guarded, "Haven't your friends already told you?" He turned away from her, pacing the length of the cell. Winter shrugged, "They told me what they knew, but from what I understand most of the story takes place when I'm with you, not with them." He stopped pacing and stayed silent for several moments. Finally, after ages of silence, "I can show you." Her eyes widened, "You can?" He looked like he regretted the words, "Well, yes, but I'm not sure if it's such a good idea. It would probably just confuse you further-""Show me." Winter cut him off, making sure there was no question in her voice, it was a command. He sighed, but there was a faint smile on his face, "I'll show them to you, but you will only be able to see what happened, you will not gain the experiences back, at least not this way." Winter nodded, understanding, but still needing to see things for herself. He didn't move, didn't even touch her, but the cell around them fell away. Winter's head was spinning, and she too felt like she was falling.

All at once everything slammed back into focus, but instead of being met with the cell, Winter found herself in a giant room. She was on a balcony that stretched around the length of the room, and looking down she saw men and women in formal wear, mingling and sipping Champaign. Looking down she regarded her clothes self-consciously, only wearing grey sweatpants and a black shirt. "They can't see you." She whipped around to find Loki, no longer in his simple green shirt and black pants. He had on intricately detailed armor, made of black leather with bits of emerald green. He looked amazing, and Winter had to force her eyes up to meet his face, which was smirking down at her. "That's how you looked at me the first time you saw me." He said softly, almost pained. His gaze was quickly drawn away as he looked over your shoulder, and you turned around to follow his line of sight. A woman in an emerald green dress was walking through the crowd, making her way to the stairs. It took only a moment for Winter to recognize it as herself. "Woah…" She said, barely a whisper, "I did not look that good four years ago." Loki chuckled, "You don't even look that good now." Winter turned around, her expression an angry pout. It quickly dissipated when she saw the laughter on his face though. Plus, it was true, she had been in a coma for two months, she probably did not look her best. She nearly jumped when another Loki walked to stand beside them. She raised an eyebrow at her Loki, and he just shrugged. The two looked exactly the same, and even though this was obviously a memory, it still freaked her out. The other Loki had a suit on, a gold cane held loosely in one hand. She followed his gaze back to herself, across the room. The other her was looking down into the crowd. Winter turned to her Loki, "Why was I here?" He laughed, "You were looking for me." He nodded his head, gesturing for her to turn around. Loki number two had begun walking towards the other girl, and so they followed. They came up behind her, but she didn't seem to notice. The other Loki stared a moment, before saying, "The party is down there, you know." The girl didn't even flinch, and Winter smirked at how cool she looked as she turned around and said "I could say the same to you," Winter's smirk vanished as she saw the surprise in her other self's eyes, which slowly dragged down Loki's body, then back up. "Not very subtle." Her Loki said, a stupid smirk now on his face, and Winter's face burned. She scowled at him, remembering what he had said not minutes earlier about the first time she had seen him. The other Loki's response drew her from her self-loathing, "I'm not here for the party." "Then why are you here?" Winter 2.0 asked. "That, is none of your business." He replied, and a look of suspicion crossed her face. "Tell me why you're here." She demanded, and Winter assumed she was trying to control his mind, she had just learned that trick a few years ago. The other Loki looked confused, but it lasted barely a moment. He took a step towards her, raising his cane, which transformed into a scepter. "Where did that come from?" The other Winter asked, her eyes growing wide as she took a step back, pressing herself against the railing. She looked truly terrified, and as the other Loki raised the scepter up and touched it to her heart, she gasped, eyes turning black before her irises turned a brilliant shade of blue. Winter stared, appalled, before whipping around to Loki. He looked guilty, but prideful all the same. The scene quickly faded away, and a moment later they were back in the cell. "I think that's enough for today." He said softly. "What did you do to me?!" Winter demanded. He sighed, "I took over your mind." He said it so casually that Winter couldn't help but laugh, "You took over my mind? Everyone back at S.H.I.E.L.D. said you controlled me, but I didn't think they meant you literally took over my mind! You are absolutely insane." Loki shrugged, "Probably." She couldn't handle this anymore, "Look, I don't know why I keep coming here to visit you, it's quite annoying. So, if there's anything you are doing that is causing this, please stop." A cold smile creeped onto his face, "I'm not doing anything, this is all you." Suddenly, Winter became very dizzy, only staying on her feet when Loki reached out to steady her. "Don't forget about my offer, I can get your memories back." He waited a moment, before adding, "I enjoy this, visit me again, even if you, for some strange reason, decide against my help to retain your memory." Winter let out a soft laugh, head spinning, the world fading, "It's not like I have much of a choice, apparently."