Guardian

Chapter 36

(Liv's POV):
I glanced over my shoulder, an unnerving feeling of being watched flooding my body. There was only one other person on the sidewalk with me and they were buried in their phone, clearly paying me no mind. The lack of anything suspicious should have set me at ease, but instead it only made me more anxious. I began to wonder if I was just being paranoid, but if I was not then that meant whoever was following me was trained.

My heartbeat was pounding loudly in my head, blocking out every other noise around me and my mind began to spin. I could not have been found out, right? I mean, I could not think of any way anyone could have figured out what I was. But why else would I be being followed?

Hoping to ease lose whoever was following me, I ducked onto a street that was having construction done and hid behind the barrier that they had put up, making it seem that I had vanished into thin air. I heard footsteps coming down the street not long after getting into my hiding spot and made out a pair of black combat boots of someone on the sidewalk. Trying to slow my breathing so he would not hear, I watched their boots slow down, as though the person was hesitating. He then turned back the way that he had come and I peered around the barrier to get a glimpse of the man following me.

I knew immediately that I was not going crazy. He was wearing a black tactical suit, clearly belonging to some sort of organization, one that I knew was after me. My first guess was HYDRA, as I knew that they were still going strong despite the rest of the world believing that they were dead. The man sent to follow me certainly fit the bill: his outfit and posture radiated I'm an evil secret agent. He stopped at the end of the street before turning his head back towards me, causing me to quickly duck behind the barrier again.

My pulse began to rapidly speed up as I rested my head against the barrier in an attempt to calm myself. I was praying that he had not seen the rapid movement and this would not escalate into a fight. Even though this part of the city was not as populated as it was closer to the heart, there were still plenty of people around who would see my powers should I have to use them. I dared to peer through the bottom of the barrier, my face too close to the dirty concrete for my liking, but I was willing to do so to avoid whomever it was following me.

The man had hesitated at the end of the road, but after a minute he walked away, clearly assuming that I had gone down a different street. I remained hidden for a few minutes more, making sure that I had actually lost him, before finally rising up from the sidewalk and backtracking my movements and taking a roundabout way home, afraid that I would run into him again. I practically ran up the stairs to my apartment, my heart pounding the entire way.

As soon as I was inside, I glanced around the apartment to see if there was anything out of place and then locked the door behind me. Loki greeted me as I walked in, but I ignored him as I ran to the window and peaked through the curtains down onto the street below. I did not know if whoever was following me knew where I lived, but I was convinced that I would find him standing outside, watching my every movement.

"Liv, what's wrong?" I heard a tender voice ask as Loki placed a hand on my shoulder. I tensed up at the contact, but relaxed when I realized that it was just Loki, and closed the curtain as I turned to face him.

"I was followed home today," I told him, collapsing onto the couch that had been pushed back near the window to open up the living space a bit, allowing Loki room for the paintings that he continued to create even while living with me. It had been about three weeks since he had moved in and it already felt like we had been living together for years.

Loki sat next to me and grasped my hand in his, "are you sure that it was not some random pedestrian happening to go the same way as you?"

His comment aroused anger within me and I growled at him, "I have been hunted for a thousand years, do you really think I don't know when someone is actually following me? Besides, I got a glimpse of him, he was wearing a tactical suit, which is abnormal, even for New York. Not to mention he was well trained."

"I apologize, Liv, I did not want you to think that I did not believe you, I suppose I was just hoping that it could have been a mistake. But I promise you that I will not let whoever this is lay a hand on you and if you wish to relocate, I will help you do so."

I buried my face in my hands and Loki began to rub my back in comforting nature, "I suppose I will have to move. I mean, better safe than sorry, right? But I am just so tired of running."

"Is there anyone who we could reach out to to help you? The Avengers, perhaps? They believe I am simply a childhood friend so I could potentially remain safe in my disguise."

"Loki, the minute I tell them who I am, they would know that our entire story was a lie."

"So then we alter it," he assured, taking my hand again. "Liv, I do not care if the Avengers figure out who I am, not if it means that you will be safe."

"I am not going to do that to you, even if going to the Avengers was a viable option. The truth is that I do not trust them, they technically work for SHIELD."

Loki frowned, "so? I thought SHIELD was supposed to be the good guys? Their base was the one I was taken to when I was captured in Stuttgart."

"SHIELD masquarades as the good guys, but they are no better than HYDRA," I spat, no longer able to keep seated.

Loki watched me as I paced in front of him and inquired, "what do you mean, Liv? I don't recall you mentioning that you were ever held by them."

"I wasn't. But I knew someone who was." I paused, wondering if I should tell him about her. I believed that she was still an active SHIELD operative and I did not want to put her into any more danger, but I believed that I could trust Loki with this information.

"There was a young girl I had heard about in Argentina who had been in an accident, leaving her with a rare disability. I would visit her, hoping that I could give her a friend as I knew what it was like to be different. SHIELD heard about her as well and did not see a young child in pain, instead they saw an oppotunity. As opposed to using their resources to cure her, they capitilized on her suffering and made her an asset. Her cells are literally tearing themselves apart and then putting themselves back together and all they cared about was that it allowed her to pass through solid objects. I should have pulled her out while I still could, but both of us were so hopeful that they would help take her pain away."

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(A/N): And the little girl is back! If you haven't realized it by the end of this chapter it's Ava Starr (aka Ghost) from Ant-Man and the Wasp! I don't really know why I felt compelled to add her, I just thought it would be a good way for Liv to have a bad experience with S.H.I.E.L.D. without actually getting captured by them!