Frozen soul

Chapter 29

Chara didn't see Loki for rest of evening. She talk with others and even some guest were brave enough to approach her. She has fake smile on her face for whole night. She try to find Loki without success. When last guest finally left they all move to upstairs on lounge room. Others flop on couches with tired sigh. Chara sit down on armchair and take of her heels. She rise skirt enough to massage her right knee. It didn't take well walking on heels. She notice others stare at her after a while. She rise her head. "What?" She ask confuse. Others share a look. "We haven't see it before." Steve explain. Chara rise her eyebrow. "Your leg. It look worse that I thought." He continue. 

Chara sigh tiredly and lower her skirt. "I told you I cut it off myself. What else you expected. It is much better than before. Wakanda's doctors cut some scar tissue off and fix it's circulation." Chara answer and lean on backrest. Others share worried look again. "Guys I'm fine. I have been living with it over two centuries." She dismiss it with wave of her hand. Others still look sad and pity evident in their behavior. Chara sigh and rise to her feet. "I'm going back to compound. Kiba is surely worried. If you see Loki tell him to come down. I give him 15 minutes before I leave. After that he has to go back with you guys." She say and teleport to garage. 

Chara sigh again and walk to her car. She toss her heels in backseat and drop behind the wheel. She lean on backrest. She close her eyes and relax. Her right leg hurt some and she made ice top of it to ease the pain. Suddenly she hear someone move inside quiet garage. She open her eyes and look around. She see two dark figures move around. Chara frown and tilt her head confuse. Then she see something twinkle on sills. She quietly slip out of car. She use darkness and tiptoe to closest light. She look at it and realize it is a bomb. Fear creep up her spine. She quickly evaluate how many of these there are. "Everything is done. Move out. They will explode in a minute." Quiet whisper come to Chara's ears. "Fuck." She whisper and made a plan. She didn't have time to warn others upstairs.

Chara rush to stand middle of garage. There is over ten bombs around her and more further away. She didn't use her magic to chance to her armor. She knew she will need every single drop of it to keep building stand. She dive inside her magic, trying desperately to collect as much as she could in so little time without losing control. Then explodes start around her. She pour her magic toward sills, repairing them and putting out fires. Chara feel how ice creep up her spine, first sign of coming closer the edge. Chara grit her teeth and push herself more. She feel how one bomb hit her too before she put fire out. She groan in pain and use her magic to stop her skin to burn more badly. 

She didn't know how long she has been holding the building up until first yells came from stairs. Chara sigh in relief and relax a little. Immediately couple hills crack. She concentrate again and fix them. "WINTER? ARE YOU HERE?!" Chara hear Tony and Steve to yell. She can't yell back to them. She feel how control of her magic start to slip. Ice start to appear around her. Then others notice her and rush toward her. "Don't come too close." She warn them between gritted teeth. They stop edge of ice around her. Chara hiss in pain when her spine cramp. "Winter?" Tony ask worried. "Use your robots to fix hills. I keep them up until then." Chara manage to say. "It could take hours." Tony say worried. "Then you better start. None of you approach me until I can lift my spells." She answer and glare at them. Tony nod and start to yell at JARVIS some commands. 

"I can help you Winter." Wanda say and red mist appear in her hands. "Don't interfere. I could accidentally freeze you too if you touch them." Chara growl. "But-" "No buts or ifs. Go away from here. If Stark couldn't fix them in time or I lose control you could all die." Chara command. "We are n-" "LEAVE NOW!" Chara yell and cold breeze came toward others. They stare at her shocked and after sharing a look Steve nod. "Okay. But you don't die. Hang in there." he say and start to rush everyone out. Chara sigh in relief when they leave and concentrate again her doing. She couldn't use too powerful magic so Tony's robots can break it and fix hills. She has to pour magic to them all the time. She grit her teeth and close her eyes. She didn't tell others that her back has some bad burns or that her muscles and spine cramps time to time, signaling that she is almost at her limit, her magic would swallow her up if she loose control. 

Chara's knees start to buckle after 1,5 hour. She force them straight with pained groan. It has become easier with every fixed hills but she still has over half to keep up. Suddenly she hear crack above her. Chara slowly look up and see crack growing above her head. "Just my luck." She mumble same time as piece of ceiling drop. She made dome around herself. Piece drop on it with loud thud. Chara groan when it hit the dome. Piece slide to ground but dome has huge crack. Chara made new hill next to crack to support it. Her spine cramp so badly she fell on one knee with pained groan. Chara grimace and push herself back up. Her whole body sway. I can do it. Dive deeper, collect more. She push herself. After 4 hours Chara feel how last hill got fixed. She slowly vanish her ice around garage. Then Tony land front of her. "It is all fixed. Well done Winter." Tony praise her. 

Chara smile to him tiredly. "I agree." She answer and move her legs wider for better balance. Her whole body shake, she feel how her magic still bubble inside her. "Come on, time to rest." Tony say and reach toward her. "Don't." Chara command just seconds before ice jump toward Tony. Tony dodge it and near car got covered in ice. Tony look shocked at it. Chara groan in pain and hug herself. Her breath turn to white. "What is happening?" Tony ask worried. Chara crouch down still hugging herself. "I need to get my magic under control. I didn't have time to collect it properly." She manage to answer between gritted teeth. "What you mean?" Tony ask more worried. Chara groan in pain and ice blue mist start to circle around her. Tony step back scared. "Winter?" Chara ignore him and concentrate to breath. 

Slowly, very slowly storm inside her start to calm down, her cramps get ease. She start to relax her muscles. Chara open her eyes and see ice walls around her, cube around her has snow inside it. Snow is 20 centimetres deep. Chara slowly stand up with help of wall. "Winter?" Tony ask worried from other side. "I'm okay." She answer and vanish the cube. "CHARA?!" She turn to look at running Loki rushing toward her. Chara smile comforting. "I'm okay." She say again and step toward Loki. Her legs give up under her. Loki catch her in his arms before she hit the ground. Chara's whole body scream in pain and tiredness. "I'm okay." She mumble again when she turn to look at Loki's worried face. "Just tired." She mumble and close her eyes. "CHARA?!" Loki's worried plead is last thing she hear before she pass out.