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The sapphire-colored cube boomed with thunder, the sound loud enough to shake the facility, causing panic in the current occupants as they moved faster in a desperate attempt to evacuate. The flaring rings and the glow of the tesseract began to spout out brighter and louder as if it was a pot of boiling water. Amelia covered her ears at the sound the bounced off the walls of the vacuum chamber, almost thinking that her ears would begin to bleed. She began to wish that she would have listened to her father's worried offer of letting her leave. Maybe she should have left and returned home for the night.
However, she was still there, frozen in fear as she watched the cube's energy build up before shooting out a strong beam of light that hit the platform ahead. Tendrils of blue light expanded as the maelstrom of the tesseract's energy continued to grow, forming into what she could describe as a vortex. Inside the black vortex, it looked as if she was staring into the inky darkness that was space. It was beautiful to her, yet held a mysterious feeling within her, making her stomach churn with unease. She could even see small sprinkles of stars, strewn across the blackness. It was mesmeric in an odd way.
A gust of blue smoke spread through the room, blinding everyone for a brief moment. Amelia closed her eyes, shielding her face from a potential explosion that she thought would occur. She stayed silent as if waiting for death to wrap its cold hands around her heart. It had been what she expected. Yet, there was a sound of faint heavy breathing. She could hear it from the platform ahead of her, where the vortex had been created by the tesseracts' vigorous power.
She lowered her hands from her face, opening her eyes to see what was now standing in place of where the door to space had opened. She studied the man that knelt on the floor, his long black hair looked to be thick with grease. Beads of sweat rolled down from his temples as his chest rose and fell with each tiring inhale. His head began to raise and the first thing she took notice of was the mischievous smile that was sprawled across his cracked, chapped lips. Yet, his smile faded fast when he made eye contact with her and the others standing with her.
The stare made her feel scared and uneasy, making her want to curl up in a ball and hide somewhere. She took a step or two back as her heart pounded in her chest, she could almost hear each thump, loud and blaring in her ears. In the corner of her eyes, she could see the SHIELD agents beginning to slowly make their way towards the unknown man, their weapons raised and ready in case they were needed to take care of the treacherous situation. They didn't know if this man was a threat to them. They didn't know if he held any ill intentions towards them.
When his eyes fell on her, she felt herself freeze in place. Yet, there was something about his gaze towards her. It was different compared to how he looked at Clint or Fury. It was with curiosity. She wanted to know why his look had shifted from malicious to inquisitive. Her eyes never left his as he moved to a standing position, staying up on the platform as he seemed to study his surroundings.
"Sir, please put down the spear," Fury had called out, bringing her attention to the golden-colored weapon that the man gripped in his hand. It was long with a sharp, pointed tip.
The man stood there, glancing down to his spear before suddenly pointing it towards the director. Unexpectedly, the scepter shot out a cerulean explosion of light. The sudden action causing panic to break loose. Amelia scrambled to hide beneath one of the desks, bringing her knees to her chest as she pressed her back into the back of the desk. The sounds of gunfire rang through the large room, making her cover her ears and close her eyes.
This had not been in the job description.
The room became silent, allowing her to peek her head out from beneath the desk, making eye contact with Clint, who was on the ground across from her. Amelia began to move out from her hiding place, wanting to get to him for a sense of safety. She watched her friend attempt to stand up to his feet and draw out his gun. The strange man swiftly rushed over, grabbing Barton's hand to keep him from firing his weapon.
"You have heart," the man spoke, his voice oddly soft-sounding, almost in a comforting manner before he raised the head of his spear towards Barton. Amelia watched her friend's eyes turn a deep black before forming into an electric blue color that filled her with uneasiness. Clint lowered his weapon completely, slipping it into the holster at his side. Her mind immediately went to the conclusion of mind control.
She stayed beneath the desk, her mind swirling with questions as she tried to figure out what to do. There were many options but it was hard to know what the outcome would be. She could be killed if she tried anything too drastic. It was not safe to even move out from beneath the desk. But if she stayed, she knew things would not end well. She could see the blue energy building up in the vacuum seal, knowing if it got to a certain point; it could cause something terrible. Catastrophic even.
Her eyes land on Nick as he removes the tesseract from its holder and places it into a suitcase that was made for the cube. Amelia moved from out of the desk, across the tiled floor before hiding behind one of the many filing cabinets that kept physical copies of readings. Her heart pounded in her chest as she watched this mysterious man move to the many SHIELD agents, pressing his spear to them as he had done with Clint. Their minds were in his hands to do with whatever he wanted with them.
Nick closed the suitcase, getting up from the ground to move out of the lab with the tesseract. However, he hadn't even taken a few steps when he was found out.
"Please don't. I still need that," the man spoke, his voice still soaked in that gentle tone that made her feel comfortable. It should not make her feel that way. But there was something about him that gave her a feeling of comfort and safety. It made her sick.
Fury pursed his lips, turning to face him, "this doesn't have to get any messer."
"Of course it does. I have come too far for anything else," he began to speak, holding his head proudly, "I am Loki of Asgard and I am burdened with glorious purpose."
Her heart dropped for a second when she heard him announce his identity. She had not been expecting this man to be from Asgard. Let alone be the god of mischief himself. She remembered reading the Norse mythology stories when sitting on the living room floor at home when she stilled lived in New Mexico with her father and their friends. She had wanted to know more of who their visitor from a year ago had claimed to be.
"Loki? Brother of Thor?" she heard her father speak, bringing her out from her thoughts. The moment her father had mentioned the god of thunder, she could see Loki's face contort into disgust before he turned his attention back to Fury, determined to get the case that the director held tightly in his hand.
"We have no quarrel with your people," Nick spoke in an attempt to calm down the current situation.
The man looked to Nick, "An ant has no quarrel with a boot," he stated simply, making Amelia feel uneasy. What did he plan on doing? Why was he there? Her mind raced with questions just wanting to know every answer to them.
"Are you planning to step on us?" Fury questioned, looking towards the god with cautiousness, trying to decide if he was a big enough threat. He already knew he was a threat when he began to place control over his agents.
Loki shook his head, a smile coming to his face, "I come with glad tidings, of a world made free."
"Free from what?"
"Freedom. Freedom is life's great lie. Once you accept that, in your heart," Loki began to say, turning swiftly to face her father before placing the tip of the golden scepter against his chest, where his heart was. Amelia watched in horror as her father's eyes turned a deep black, changing into the electric blue that made her feel uneasy. "You will know peace," the god whispered softly, his eyes making brief contact with Amelia's as she peaked out from behind the filing cabinet.
The girl quickly returned to her spot, pressing her back against the metal of the cabinet as her heart continued to beat frantically. She knew for a fact that he had seen her, there was no chance that he hadn't.
Loki stepped forward a little to move towards the filing cabinet but stopped when the director spoke once more. Nick looked to the god, "yeah, you say peace. I kind of think you mean the other thing."
She slowly peaked her head back out, hoping Fury had a plan. He had to have some kind of plan to get them out of there safely. Her eyes moved up to look towards the vacuum seal above as the tesseracts energy continued to build up to dangerous levels. She could tell by simply looking at the sight that things would not end well. She watched as Clint stepped forward to speak, "Sir, Director Fury is stalling. This place is about to blow, drop a hundred feet of rock on us. He means to bury us."
"Like The Pharaohs of Odin," Nick spoke, looking to them with a slight smile of amusement coming to his lips.
Erik stepped forward to glance at the tablet, nodding to confirm Clint's suspicions, "he's right. The portal is collapsing in on itself. You got maybe two minutes before this goes critical," her father informed.
"Well then," Loki said, his eyes landing on Barton with a look, almost telling him what he had to do with a simple glance. Clint removed his gun from the holster and fired a shot into Fury's body, quickly and effortlessly. He returned the weapon to the black leather holster before he approached the director, picking up the case he had placed the tesseract into.
Amelia felt a sense of horror come over her body, causing her heart to sink deep into her chest when she watched the god turn sharply toward her direction. Her eyes widened as she watched him begin to walk to her. She scrambled away from the filing cabinet, getting up to her feet in an attempt to make a run for it and get out of there. However, she felt his strong fingers wrap around her forearm in a tight grasp, yanking her back towards him in a forceful manner.
He clicked his tongue, "now.. where do you think you are going, my dear?" He spoke gently, his voice smooth as honey, fresh from the comb. She looked up to him, looking into his blue-tinted eyes, getting a better look at his face and the features upon it. His eyes had hints of green and the electric blue that resided in Clint and the other agent's eyes. Something was wrong, she could already see that.
"Let go of me," she begged, trying to pull her arm from his tight grasp but her attempts were fruitless. He pulled her along with him across the floor of the lab, heading towards Barton and her father to leave the building before things turned dangerous. Amelia glanced to Nick as they walked past, wishing that she could pull away from this man and assist her Director.
The group walked out of the lab entrance and made their way up the several amounts of floors towards the facility parking area, closer to the loading docks. Loki looked towards his captive with a slight smirk when he noticed an agent by the loading area, "speak or scream and your blood will be spilled upon this pavement," he whispered low, his hot breath grazing her ear, sending a fearful chill down her body. Amelia nodded in understanding, trying to keep the anxious feeling in her stomach at bay.
Maria Hill stood at the loading dock, her eyes scanning over the group as they came out of the building. She watched curiously as Clint and another agent gathered a few weapons before approaching a set of vehicles.
"Need these vehicles," Clint had spoken, nodding to the cars.
"Who's that?" Maria questioned, giving a nod towards the man in odd attire whom she failed to recognize, she had never seen him around the facility before, or any other facility she had visited. This man was a complete stranger in her eyes and she could not shake the feeling of uneasiness in her stomach, especially when she looked to Amelia. The way the other girl stood, her posture gave Maria an idea that something was truly wrong with the situation.
Her eyes left the strange man, following Clint as he hopped down from the loading dock onto the paved parking area. He walked toward one of the vehicles, moving to the drivers' side. Maria turned away, dismissing the group regardless of the gut feeling inside of her that screamed at her that something was not right about any of this. Even the look that Amelia had given her basically told her there was something at hand.
Suddenly, her walkie-talkie device clipped to her holster turned on before she heard the sound of the Director's voice tear through a moment of static, "Agent Hill?! Do you copy? Barton is-" She did not give the man a chance to explain what was happening, she already had a feeling that she knew. Quickly, the agent removed the gun from her holster before she spun around towards the group, firing shots immediately. However, she hadn't been the only one prepared for a fight as Clint had taken out his weapon and fired returning shots back to his colleague.
The god shoved Amelia into the back of the vehicle as the others climbed into the front, hurriedly driving away. His firm, iron grip remained focused on Amelia's arm, keeping her inside of the vehicle at his side to lessen her chance of escape. There was something about her that he knew could be potentially useful to him. He didn't know what it was, but there was a voice telling him to bring her along for the journey. Causing harm to her was not on his agenda but it was still a possibility if she failed to cooperate.
A chase had begun as the truck sped through a tunnel with Agent Hill following at a safe distance. Amelia looked around for anything she could use to help Maria and herself. There had to be something that she could do, but the sharp side of the scepter to her throat prohibited her from any sudden actions. She watched the god point the weapon towards Maria's jeep and she quickly grabbed ahold of it without a second thought, pushing it away from Hill's area, and watched as a beam of energy hit one of the tunnel walls.
Loki grew angry at the action and grabbed the girl around the waist, throwing her further back into the truck bed. Amelia's head smacked into the siding and she was plunged into the pitch-black world of unconsciousness.
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Hi, lovelies!!
I am sorry for the lack of updates as my mental health hasn't been on great terms. I have tried to write this chapter several times but I just lacked the motivation to do so. I apologize if this chapter is not the greatest work of mine as I did rush the ending of it but I will do better in future chapters, I promise.
I normally do little updates on here at the end of chapters but I feel annoying when I do give updates. (I doubt anyone reads them though) but my Etsy is being updated with more products over time. Currently, I have the bookmarks, paintings, tote bags, and some stickers. Eventually, I plan to increase the items in my shop so more stickers, different bookmark designs maybe. I even thought about doing comfort character letters cause that seemed kind of fun.
Another update, I have a twitch if you want to ever come by while I am streaming. I will try to keep my streams interesting and until I figure out how to stream video games off my PlayStation, it will simply just be me chatting and working on things. I thought it would be nice like just something to listen to in the background as a comfort. I even thought about reading books on there out loud because some of my friends like listening to me read.
This also brings me to a second idea, what if I made a Patreon where I converted some of my stories into audiobooks in a way for those who would rather listen to the story than read it themselves. I don't know, I have a lot of ideas on things I want to do but I tend to doubt those ideas because others might not be as interested in them as I am.
Anyway, I hope everyone is doing incredibly well and have a wonderful day. Don't forget to drink plenty of water and eat food, and also get a good amount of sleep. Your health matters, you matter.
I love you all so so so much.
- ken
♡