Heart Of Stone

Chapter 3

Since I convinced Thor to allow Loki free, I have been introduced to everyone else. There is Tony (the armoured man), Steve (the one with the shield who rescued me), Bruce (the one who was there when I woke up), Clint, Natasha, Sam, Wanda and Vision. The last three were unknown to even Loki, so it was clear that they were new to the team.

We were all sat around in what they call the penthouse. I was one of the many topics of conversation, though Loki's probation was another.

"How do we know we can trust him?" Tony asked. "The mortal read my mind for over a fortnight," Loki gestured to me. "So she says, anyway."

"He only thought about a few things," I add. "How much he wanted to end the lives of those who did this to him, how much he wanted his powers back and how he would rather join his brother's team than let people continue seeing him as a monster as that was never his goal."

Everyone stopped to look at me. "Are you reading our minds right now?" Natasha asked. "Of course," I reply shamelessly. "It shows me who you people truly are and what your intentions may be if I listen to the one place you don't hide from the world as the world can't usually reach it."

"Well I for one prefer to keep my thoughts private," Loki sighed. He even managed to block me out of his mind. "Hm... that's never happened to me before," I remark. "I've always been able to get in."

"Clearly you've never dealt with real magic, then," he replied with a small smirk, tapping his temple. "Well if that's the case..." I muse, blocking out my own mind. "Very clever," he admits. "You're not so dumb yourself," I reply. You have to give credit where it's due.

"He's just trying to boost his ego after he couldn't mind control me," Tony said casually. "I still don't know how that didn't work," Loki looks to Tony curiously. "No heart, which means none of your mind control," Tony shrugged, pointing to the light on his chest.

"What does one's heart have to do with one's mind?" I question. "Well, miss...?" Steve trails off when he realises I haven't said my name. "Lexis," I offer. "Wait, Lexus? You're a car?" Tony butts in.

"My full name is Alessandra Gardenia Grey," I retort. "If you would prefer to call me that mouthful, be my guest."

"Hm... I'll just stick to calling you a car," he agrees. I sigh. "Is he always this annoying?" "Yes," half the people in the room, including Loki, agrees instantly. I can't help but to chuckle. "Exactly as I expected."

"Now back to the topic of Reindeer Games," Tony said, gesturing to Loki. "Should we really be keeping him on probation and not locking him up or sending him to Asgard or something?"

"I'll just break out again," Loki shrugged boredly. "Was that supposed to make this easier for you or harder?" I question. "Because the latter appears much more likely."

"You cannot blame one for trying," Loki shrugs. "Well you tried and you failed," I retort. "She's right, brother, even if I was on your side I'd have to admit it," Thor stated, causing Loki to keep quiet from now on.

"I will go to Asgard and discuss this with my father," Thor continued. "Whatever he says shall be final. Agreed?"

Nobody had anything negative to say about the plan.

"Now that we've got Loki sorted, what should we do about Little Miss Car?" Tony questioned. All eyes snapped back to me. I probed their minds, looking for something to tell me what their opinions on me were. They didn't trust me, but they were overall happy to work on that.

"What are you planning to do with me?" I ask, not getting many ideas out of them even when searching their thoughts. I start growing nervous.

"Do you have a home?" Steve asked. "Of course," I nod in reply, making sure I kept my mental barriers up to prevent Loki from seeing my thoughts of my home. "Where is it?" He persists. He's thinking that it can't be the best idea to let me go near too many people. Thoughtful.

"In a forest," I shrug, expecting this to calm his worries. "Nobody gets to my home and even if they try I just send them off again."

"You live in the woods?!" He seems even more concerned now. "It's not a bad place," I add quickly, then send him a thought. It's of my home. The angle catches the glistening lake perfectly as well as the lovely log cabin I've always called home. I send him feelings of contentment to back up my statement that I'm happy there.

He seems shocked that I can do that. "What else can you do?" He asks. "You'll simply have to find out if I stick around long enough," I reply.

"Then stick around," he suggests. I blink. He's serious. What? Why would he want me to be here? "She's confused," Loki remarks. I must've accidentally let my wall down. I quickly set it back up again, glaring at him while he gives me a knowing smirk. I held his gaze for a minute until he started to appear uncomfortable, squirming slightly in his seat. Good. He shall learn to fear me if he gets too cocky.

"What did you mean by that?" I turn my attention back to Steve, much to Loki's relief. "Good old Capsicle here meant that he thinks you should join us," Tony spoke up. "We've got a little sorta club thing going on here. You know, save the world kinda deal?"

"I'm familiar with the term," I roll my eyes. "And why would you offer this? What are you asking for in return?"

"Frankly we could use all the help we can get," Clint shrugged. "You taking our offer would be a huge help in itself."

Then he leaned forward. "Can you fight, kid?"

Oh boy.

This is going to be fun.