V I G I L A N C E ~ (Marvel) ~

C H A P T E R 7_

(song: "Lasiurus" by Hans Zimmer)

I turn over and blink at the ash filled sky. I use my scraped and bloody hands to push my body up from the ground. I groan as a wave of exhaustion rolls over me, my face cringing from pain. Everything aches and my head is pounding from the smoke and from all of the noise. In the distance, I can hear sirens, the cries of the injured and mourners, and I hear the loud bangs and crashes of buildings that are collapsing. I slowly stand up, the shaking ground making it difficult due to my lack of energy. I peer through the thickness that is around me and I spot Loki, who is already standing up and assessing his surroundings.

His face is hard but relieved that we lived, not that he seems to have ever doubted it. His eyes scan around the city as it burns and people cry out in the distance. Embers fall around us eerily as if death is welcoming us. He is looking up at something in the sky far off. And when I follow his gaze I spot a massive ship the size of a planet and round like one too, so far off that it's hidden by smoke and clouds in the sky.

From here I can see flares of bombs going off and striking various areas around us from this enormous force among the clouds, distant booms of where they hit... just sprinkling our planet with more destruction...

I manage to walk over and stand beside him, pain shooting through my bones with each step, my body stiff. I can feel tears well up in my eyes. "This is not how I pictured my day going," I whisper quietly, but loud enough for him to hear me.

He doesn't reply, just stares at the ship in the distance with a growing anger in his mannerisms. He doesn't move his gaze for a while until he does and then just fixes his gauntlet before starting to walk away.

I follow after him, wiping the tears that are now streaming down my face with the sleeve of my suit. "Where are you going?" I call out after him.

"Somewhere else," he replies, taking slow steps as if he has no idea where that destination is. "Your heroes will be arriving here soon and if I'm lucky I won't be anywhere in sight."

My eyes widen when I hear that. He can't just go. I shout after him, "Wait, you can't just leave!"

He stops and looks upwards. I can almost hear him sigh. "And why not, princess?" he demands.

I stand there with my arms crossed. "Because... because you are one of the 'heroes' now. You saved my life two times, which, I do believe, makes you a hero. And besides, what is wrong with the Avengers coming here? They can't harm you."

He snickers and turns to look at me. "As much as I believe that last part is true what do you think will happen?" he asks harshly. "Do you think we'll all just get along and drink together while enjoying spoils of war? In case you haven't noticed I declared war with every single one of them. I'm not one of those buffoons and I never will be."

I shake my head. "I didn't say that you were an Avenger. I just said that you were one of the heroes," I pause, pursing my lips and placing my hands on my hips, "Also, you didn't declare war on me and I'm an Avenger. Why is that?"