VILLAINY - L.LAUFEYSON

twenty-one: STARK

"upon closer inspection, she sees two figures, seemingly fighting each other. one is clad in red and silver armor; the other emerald and gold."

AS THE TWO-YEAR MARK CONTINUES TO APPROACH, Amara continues to decline in happiness and motivation. It was the same for the one-year mark and will be the same for all of the May 17ths she lives to see.

   She tries to fight it off, portraying herself to be normal, but she knows she isn't fooling anyone. Sophie tells her that blatantly.

   "Something's got you down in the dumps, Ruerue," she says, smoking a cigarette out on the balcony. The door is open, so Amara can smell the nicotine stick as she sits at the small kitchen table, fighting her way through eating a bowl of cereal. "Care to share?"

   "Not really," Amara replies, taking a bite and forcing herself to swallow.

   Sophie sighs as she puts out her cigarette, stepping back inside the apartment. The smell lingers on her now, clinging to her red bedtime robe and messy blond hair. "You've been like this for days now. You depressed or something?"

   She stirs the soggy flakes in her bowl, sighing. She brings her other hand to run through her too-long, unwashed hair. She hasn't had the desire to go have it cut in some time, nor has she wanted to wash it in several days "No. I've just been tired."

   Sophie snorts. "Bullshit, Ruth. You're always tired and I've never seen you act like this. Is it some guy at the club? He been messing with you? You know I'll kill a bitch if he puts his hands on you."

   "No, no one is messing with me," Amara exclaims, shooting up from her chair. She angrily grabs her bowl and throws away the rest of the cereal, tossing the bowl in the sink for later. "I'm going for a walk."

   "Ah, geez, Ruth, I'm sorry!" Sophie calls after her as she grabs her pepper spray and heads for the door. "I'm just tryna help, it hurts me to see you all sad and shit!"

   Amara doesn't respond as she bounds out the door, rushing down the stairs and onto the New York City sidewalk. The streets are busy today, far too busy for her liking. The stench of sweat and pollution quickly consumes her.

   So much for using the fresh air to clear her mind.

   She stares at the digital billboards above her as she walks, needing to look at something that doesn't make her feel claustrophobic. The smaller boards advertise brands, such as Coca-Cola, Apple, and Amazon. Some of the larger boards advertise shows and movies, none of which interest Amara in the slightest.

   After staring at the boards for a while, her eyes wander back to the streets and the people on them. After nearly two years of living in New York, she has learned to distinguish the tourists from the locals. The tourists are usually wide-eyed, staring around at all the buildings and billboards with awe and wonder. The locals couldn't care less about the scenery - they are stone-faced and robotic, eager to get to where they're going as quickly as they can.

   She walks mindlessly and eventually finds herself in Times Square amidst a huge crowd of excited tourists. Her eyes wander up once again, a tactic she has devised to avoid feeling trapped by the masses of people.

   She stands still for a moment as she watches the Jumbotron, which is currently showing the news. Not the most exciting thing to put on the biggest screen in New York, but for the time being, it captivates her.

   Especially when the images begin to glitch.

   She furrows her eyebrows, taking a step closer as the gigantic screen's display glitches. The person speaking the news flickers between a man and a woman, the scene behind them flickering between a composed backdrop and a frantic city. Her eyes widen when the new display fully settles, showing a disheveled woman reporting news from a destroyed New York street. A crawling text along the bottom of the screen reads "May 17th, 2012."

   "This is Lindsay Sweeney reporting live from New York, where chaos is unfolding in the midst of an alien invasion," she is saying, trying to keep her voice calm. "It has been advised that anyone who is able to evacuate, do so immediately. These creatures are savagely attacking our city and show no signs of-"

   The woman then looks to her left and screams. A moment later, a vile, gray creature appears on screen and promptly rips her in half.

   Amara gasps as the image clicks away, her eyes returning to the streets. The normal, bustling New York is no longer - instead, a destroyed, panicked city filled with invaders has taken its place.

   Everywhere she looks there are people screaming and running from the Chitauri, fearing for their lives. Some run into her, but they simply pass straight through - she is not here, not really.

   Her eyes shoot up when something whizzes across the sky, landing on the helicopter pad of a tall building with the word "STARK" hanging from the side. Upon closer inspection, she sees two figures, seemingly fighting each other. One is clad in red and silver armor; the other emerald and gold.

   "Help him," a familiar voice echoes in her head. "You have to help him... You have to help him... You have to save him."

   Those words echo in her mother's voice so many times that she clamps her hands over her ears, tears blurring her vision. Her worst fear is occurring before her very eyes and will occur in reality in only two days. After all that had happened, after everything that she had told Loki about not letting vengeance and anger guide his decisions, he still invades Midgard, still becomes the villain that the prophecy predicted him to be. She never would have thought he would still do it, not in a million years, but her mother reaching out in this way solely details the urgency of the situation. Freya wouldn't risk reaching out to her unless the situation was a dire emergency - this Amara knows for certain. It is as if Freya is saying, "this is what will happen if you don't do something."

   But what? What can she do, a fallen Vanir with hardly any magic and no idea where to find Loki prior to the invasion?

   As her surroundings fade back into the normal New York streets, she spots the tall tower labeled "STARK" in the near distance, and receives her answer.