So it goes with saying that only things I own with any connection to MARVEL I bought on Ebay or Etsy. MARVEL COMICS & MARVEL CINEMATIC UNIVERSE are their own creatures and I have nothing to do with either of them aside from the fact I enjoy reading or watching them, and am grateful for the ability to play in their world. I claim nothing, and I receive nothing for this, expect the pleasure of putting something out into the world.
You can also find this story on ARCHIVE OF OUR OWN under the same title and pen name along with a place to post suggestions.
Don't forget to check out the Photobucket album listed on my profile page too. (My apologies. I didn't realize FF removed the links. I have corrected the problem in what way I can, so for those who like the visual additions, feel free to check them out.)
DAY THREE
CHAPTER EIGHTY FOUR
THURSDAY, MAY 3RD 2012
1504 HOURS
OHIO STATE REFORMATORY
MANSFIELD OHIO, USA
LOKI
I knew it would not take long, once she sank her teeth into one of the apples it would only be a matter of minutes, and when I returned, a little less than twenty later, I found my estimation correct.
The partially eaten apple greeted me before she did, having traveled across the floor almost theatrically from where it rolled free of her slack fingers and her hanging arm.
Just as there are spells to help a restless child sleep, there are similar spells of greater potency.
Her trust would have been better placed in someone else. She never even thought to ask if those apples were really of Idunn's trees, and she was not acquainted enough with the taste to know the difference. Idunn's apples hold so much magick they would have nullified any enchantment I tried to place on them, these were just apples, and enough magick to render even Thor unconscious for a span of days. She will need it, the ritual will burn through it quickly.
I find a small measure of relief that she apparently ate slowly enough she was able to seat herself before she passed out, her body draped over the edge of the bed instead of collapsed where she stood on the floor. The fall would not have harmed her, I doubt at this point she would have even formed a bruise from it. The real apples of Idunn I did feed her, and the exposure to magick again have begun restoring her to her former strength.
It is more that I do not wish for her discomfort, as hypocritical as that is.
Agent Barton is currently taking care of the preparations for his mission in Stuttgart, packing weapons and equipment into transportable containers, choosing which of the mercenaries he wants as his support team, and planning our route and transportation for when we arrive in Germany. Once the healing magick of the stones finished sinking into his flesh he seemed to have even more energy then when he tried to kill me at that broken base.
As for Dr. Selvig, well, he is eagerly assembling pieces of metal in anticipation for the materials he requires to truly make that machine work.
I kept my word to her, even though the very next thing I did was betray her, and my intention is to do it again, even as I stand here next to her. I could just let her sleep, I could just tell her she must have been more exhausted then she realized. She looks so peaceful, like she detected nothing suspicious in the the fruit. I could just leave her like this. I could just risk losing.
They say this ritual was made for, and by monsters. It was never favorably looked upon even when its use was considered tolerable, but under Odin's rule, being the hypocrite that he is, it was a practice punishable by death and all the records of the ritual were supposed to have been destroyed. My knowledge of it was gained accidently, I found it hidden in a book of what Midgard considered alchemy, that I brought back as a quaint souvenir meant to amuse me.
It did not survive long in Asgard, when I realized what I had I gave the book to Frigga immediately. I am sure she destroyed it herself since I heard nothing else about it and received no punishment for my possession of it. I can be a little bit of a monster if it will keep us safe from an even greater monster.
Her weight is a pleasant torture as I roll her carefully onto her back and slip my arms under her knees and shoulders. Her head rolls too and it rests against my unarmored shoulder. It makes the temptation to press a kiss against her hair irresistible, not that I put any effort into it.
If there were eyes on us as I carried her through those hallways and up those stairs I did not notice. I barely acknowledge anything beyond the beautiful woman in my arms until I found myself inside the doorway of the surgery suite.
When I was shown this room originally it was quite a mess, not that it mattered for the preparations I placed. Around the permit of the room I erected a barrier to contain any wayward energy that might escape my control. Given the type of magick I intend to use it is unlikely, but this magick is also known for its unpredictability so I would prefer not to take any chances. I also raised a barrier to contain the sounds within.
They have cleaned the room, or at least as much as one can with a building in such a state of decay. The debris that had been decorating the wide and worn square tiles has been swept away. Though more is waiting to cover it again when we depart, the pale green paint curling off the walls almost in anticipation.
Beyond that, the original furnishings of the room are three metal cupboards with glass panes for the doors. Despite their age they seem to have held their sheen as if in defiance of the decay around them. They are joined by pieces of 'modern' medicine. White trays with sealed instruments have been set on old carts as they wait to be opened and poles that are even more reflective and decorated with plastic bags of liquid, two that are so full of dissolved healing stones the mixture within is opaque.
The ritual is intended to be performed in the presence of mistresses of the healing arts, but in the absence of those I am hoping that two hundred healing stones administered intravenously will be enough. It has to be since the only healer I have is the one I am performing the ritual on.
They already have the operating table prepared for her. The series of thick white plastic straps and metal eyelets waiting to lock her in place hang casually for the time being, the quantity of them so thick I can barely see the actual surface beneath them.
It is a thirteen point restraint system according to Terrance. It will be secured at her ankles, knees and her thighs. Her wrist will also be bound, and straps will be tightened across her shoulders to prevent twisting. A thick strap will hug her waist and there is even a collar for her neck and a strap that will sit against her forehead. She will be completely immobilized in this device. I had him acquire it even though he assured me the anesthesia and my magick would be sufficient.
One of the humans, a face I did not even care to drag up from memory made the mistake of offering to take her from me and start fixing the restraints. It was only the way he recognized his mistake mid sentence and apologized with a nervous swallow that saved his life, that and the fact I did not want to free my hands of her long enough to kill him with them. I was savoring the last few seconds I could allow myself.
After ten more seconds the table ends up holding her weight more then my arms are as I lay her down. I steal a few more from the universe as I brush the stray hairs back in place, hating how she still looks so trusting in her sleep. Then making a minor adjustment to the dress to accommodate the straps for her thighs I start locking each restraint gently into place.
When I am finished I finally allow the humans the luxury of touching either of us. The one the Mind Stone conquered for me lightly wipes the inner curve of her elbow with an antiseptic to prevent infection before he slides the needle for the IV into her vein and opens the valve to start the drip. He repeats the process with the substance he called Sufentanil.
The sleeves of my attire dispels first before the rest of my upper armor follows when he finishes prepping the second IV of healing stones for me. I am not going to go through this ritual unscatched, and the needle sinking into my vein, or the human skin putting it there is the least of my concerns right now. I am more concerned with waiting for the prickle of the magick to sink deeply into my muscles before I begin.
My IV is not joined by a second IV of anesthesia, and his hand retreats quickly, not out of fear but to slide the cart of equipment within reach now that I'm tethered inconveniently by this pole.
The most important item on the tray isn't the tall stack of clean linen squares or the large bowl for used ones, or the mouth guard that I carefully insert between her teeth to keep her from biting off her own tongue, but the addition out of my own collection.
The blade I wove all the necessary spells into. Midgardians may need a vast array of tools and and substances to perform magick, but on Asgard the process is much more utilitarian.
I remember buying this blade, though I can not recall where the trader said it was from, only that he collected his wares from all across the nine realms. I did not buy it for its origin but for the unique shape of its blade. It is double sided, but on the top the blade only travels half the length of the bottom.
I intended to use it as a carving tool for making small wood golems and the difference in blade sizes would allow making their appearance more refined without needing two knives. Now I am using it because it splits the skin of my pointer finger and lets my blood coat the blade.
As I wait for my blood to bead heavily at the tip I steal another kiss, mourning the way her lips don't move against mine. Then I place one of apology over her heart before I touch the other side of this blade against her skin and drag it across, a line of red that is not my blood alone opening in its wake.
The matching burn igniting on my own skin as the binding proof that its real. It will be the first line of many and it only takes five minutes before she starts to cry despite all our preparations.