| The Amelie Chronicles | (MCU)

Part One: Chapter Seven

A purple aura surrounded Amelie and the playing cards in front of her. She shuffled them with her powers, and used only her powers to set up and play a few games of solitaire. It was good practice for her, and was quite entertaining to see the cards magically shuffle themselves without the use of hands.

Amelie had gone through another few chapters in the book, picking up words and reading speed rather quickly the more she seemed to learn. When her eyes were tired of reading, or she was stuck on a word she didn't know, she switched to the cards.

Turns out, the fortieth game of Solitaire gets pretty boring.

The young girl glanced out her window to see how Loki spent the boring hours sitting in his cell. However, when she peered out the window to spot him two dozen yards away- he was staring right at her.

Amelie nearly screamed, covering her mouth to muffle a loud gasp. The cards that were floating over her head dropped the scattered around the room.

"Schiesse." She mumbled under her breath, turning back around to collect the cards she dropped.

He was standing right in front of her.

This time she did scream.

However, Loki seemed to have planned for that, for he didn't seem bothered by the volume at which she yelled.

"Hello, Amelie, we meet again." He was literally right in front of her, but when Amelie glanced back out her window, he was sitting there too. Then, she glanced at the camera in the corner of her room.

"Don't worry. It's all an illusion." Loki smirked, "All they see is exactly what they want to see."

"Why are you here?" She asked, beginning to gather the scattered cards. Ones that were out of her reach she summoned with her powers, which landed perfectly inside the open card pack by her side.

"Can't a prisoner visit his cellmate?" He asked in defense, hands raised slightly.

"I am not a prisoner." Amelie argued. Why would Coulson be so nice to her if she was a prisoner?

"That's what they want you to think." Loki said, "So you won't rebel against them."

"You're lying." She shook her head, "Steve told me-"

"Steve Rogers doesn't know anything. He can't keep his word for you." Loki cut Amelie off, taking a seat on the chair in front of her. The young girl backed up, biting her lip as she searched for the right words to say.

"Amelie." Loki spoke more gently, "Don't you want to see what is outside these walls?"

"What do you mean?"

"They are going to keep you here for the rest of your life. To them- you're just a Hydra asset."

"I am not with Hydra." Amelie said, anger building in her veins. Why was Loki pestering her like this? What did he want?

"I know that, but they do not." Loki paused, "You posses a gift- a very special gift- that deserves to be used for more than just experiments and weapons."

Amelie was silent, shuffling cards in her lap with hands that shook with a building anger and anxiety. She needed to calm down- or something terrible is certainly going that happen that she can't control.

"I can teach you to control these gifts. To use them for your advantage." Loki offered. He was kind to her, his grin less wicked and more welcoming.

"I can control them." Amelie insisted, arguing almost like a desperate child.

"You can't. Not to your full potential, anyway." The Asgardian shook his head, "You cannot trust these people."

"I cannot trust you." Amelie shook her head, "They said you're dangerous."

"They say that about all things they can't understand. Do you think they understand you?"

Amelie paused, biting her lip, "No."

"Exactly. If they did, do you think you'd be locked up here? They haven't even given you shoes." Loki pointed to Amelie's socked feet, the bottoms slightly blackened from the dusty floor.

"Steve said things would be different here." Amelie said quietly, "Not like at Hydra."

She was sad, blinking back the tears that pricked her eyes as she glanced down at her lap. Was Steve lying to her? Was Coulson lying to her? Were they playing the same mind games Strucker did to get her to cooperate?

Quickly wiping away a stray tear, she sniffed, her gaze still fixed on her lap. All she wanted was to get away from Hydra- from the tests, experiments, the time being trapped in a small room until they needed her.

Loki was right... she was back to square one. Amelie squeezed her hands into tight fists, all the pent up anger and energy she's fought for years to internalize was finally starting to come out. She was terrified, the energy feeling as if it was slipping from her grasp and out of her immediate control.

"It is okay to be upset." Loki kneeled down in front of the girl, "You have the right to be."

The cards scattered in her lap slowly lifted themselves up into the air. With her heart pounding loudly in her ears, Amelie let some of those frustrations go with a yell. A wave of purple energy gathered around her, collecting in things like the playing cards, or the folded pile of spare clothes across the room. Overall, the whole room was filled with a strange telepathic energy. Even Loki's illusion-state felt it.

The cards shot out of her lap across the room- spinning with purple auras like ninja stars. They simply passed through Loki, who seemed to be watching the girl with interest, and struck the wall like darts on a dart-board.

Eyes shimmering purple, she glanced up at the Asgardian with a small line of blood trailing from one of her nostrils. Slowly, she exhaled, her whole body tingling after unleashing the energy. Immediately, she was scared. Frightened, even.

"Sorry... I-"

"Don't apologize for your gifts." Loki told her, "You possess great potential. Great power. You were made for so much for than this, Amelie."

"I just want someone to understand." The young girl whispered. Wiping her nose with her sleeve. She glanced up at Loki, who offered her a kind smile. They told her he was dangerous... but Amelie was also considered dangerous.

Were they really so bad? All they wanted was to be understood. To belong somewhere. To lead a life they desired.

"You can." Loki nodded, "You will. In two hours, I have a jet coming."

"To here?"

"They're going to attack the helicarrier. It gives us time to escape these cells and climb aboard." Loki explained, "All I need is one favor from you."

"What is it?"

"Get the spear from the lab. It will be messy- so I'll have some shoes brought to you. We'll meet on the south side of the helicarrier. Do you think you can do that for me?" The Asgardian asked, kneeling so he was eye-level with Amelie. The girl nodded her head, glancing at the clock that hung over the door.

"You trust me?" Amelie asked.

"Of course." Loki nodded his head, "The question is, do you trust me?"