"It's my family, Ophelia." I sigh, trying to figure out what I can say to ease Clint's fears.
"I know." I murmur, pinching the bridge of my nose in frustration. "I know, Clint. I just need you to trust me on this." I glance out the window, switching my phone to my other hand. "The, uh, Bond. I can tell when he's lying because of it. He wasn't lying about this, Clint. I promise." Clint sighs.
"I'm trying to trust this." Clint replies after a moment. "I'm trying, but what am I supposed to do? Not panic?"
"I'm not saying that, I'm just..." I trail off, shaking my head. "Take time to relax and think about it. Maybe when you get back, you can talk to Loki yourself. Without killing him." He sighs again.
"Okay." He murmurs quietly. "Have you talked to Nat yet?" I stay quiet. "Look, I don't know what she's up too. Nat's.... Nat. She's going to do whatever she's got planned. Just talk to her." I let out a long breath, frowning.
"I'm meeting my sister for coffee this afternoon. She only got back from her mission last night, so I'll talk to her after coffee, okay?" I finally compromise.
"Good." I hear child-like yelling in the background. "I've got to go. The kids want me to go on a hike in the woods."
"Have fun." He says goodbye, and we both hang up. Nat had gotten him to calm down before he left, though I hadn't had a chance to talk to him until now. I think it was good that he had gotten some time to think it through, but I was still worried about what he might do. I didn't know what he was willing to do.
I quickly get ready to go, throwing my short silver hair up into a small ponytail. A few strands fluttered loose, but I didn't mind. I head towards the elevator, knowing that pretty much everyone was busy. Nat had kidnapped Loki and took him to the training room, where Steve probably was as well, and Tony and Bruce where in the Lab. I wasn't quite sure where Thor was, seeing as he had gotten back from his trip to see Jane a few days ago.
Loki and I hadn't had the chance to talk much since the kiss. Tony had pulled me in to try out my new swords for the past few days, and Loki was spending most of his time in the common room reading, which meant someone was usually in there with him. It didn't give us much of a chance to talk, and it was rubbing me the wrong way.
The walk to the coffee shop doesn't take long, and I'm a block away when I notice. I can see the coffee shop from where I'm walking. There was a man in black pants and shirt, a leather jacket covering his arms standing outside the door to the coffee shop. He wouldn't have looked as suspicious if there wasn't another man dressed just like him on the street corner. One scan showed me two more men and a woman all dressed the same, keeping an eye out.
I change direction, moving so the building shields me. I knew my hair and scars would give away my position, so I quickly change it, channeling Mystique's power to give myself dirty blonde hair and clear skin. My eyes go from gold to blue, and I glance around the corner of the building before beginning my normal walk again. I didn't know who these people were, but they had known about the meeting with my sister. That meant she was in danger, and she probably had no idea.
I walk past the man outside the door, smiling politely at him as I walk inside. The place is busy, as per normal. It took me a second to locate my sister, but when I did, it was like my blood ran cold. She was sitting across from an older couple that I recognized immediately. My father's hair was no longer the dark brown, almost black color. Instead, it was salt and pepper, and there were a few age lines on his forehead. My mother's light brown hair was the same, through dye I was sure. I could still see the age in her face, some wrinkles giving away her true age.
My sister looked upset, but I couldn't really focus. I see my father turn slightly as my mother and sister talk, and he scans the room. I look away before he can catch me staring, but I feel the hair on the back of my neck raise when his eyes land on me. I pretend to look over the bagged coffee that the store sold, slowly pulling my phone out of my pocket.
I hit a number, bringing the phone to my ear slowly, casually. "Maria Hill." Maria answers, and I breathe a small sigh of relief.
"I need you to put together a small team and two prison vans." I say carefully, placing a smile on my face. "I'm at a coffee shop to meet my sister. There's an armed squad, I counted at least five. Four men, one woman." I let my mind roam out for a moment, my telekinesis touching minds lightly. "Scratch that, there's eight. Six men, two women."
"Where's your location?" Maria doesn't ask, knowing I'd have to explain one at or another. I rattle off the address of the coffee shop, picking up a bag of coffee with my free hand.
"There are also three civilians. My sister and parents." There's a moment of silence. "I'm pretty sure they hired the squad to kill me, or at least take me somewhere I'm pretty sure I don't want to go." Another pause.
"Do they know you're there?"
"No. I'm blonde haired and blue eyed with clearer skin than I've had in years." I inform her, placing the bag of coffee back on the shelf. "I'll keep myself in their minds. If they try to leave, I'll stop them."
"ETA is nine minutes." She informs me. "Get outside the shop if you can. We'll have a jet pick you up from the tower once we've got them in a secured location."
"Understood." I move towards the counter. "I'll see you then! Bye!" I chirp before hanging up. "I'll take an Iced Americano?" I order a drink under a false name, and feel my phone buzz twice as I move down the counter. I check it.
Maria: ETA six minutes.
Cordelia: Hey, where are you? I'm at our regular table.
I curse under my breath when I see Cordelia's text, quickly shooting one back.
Ophelia: Sorry! I'm like, five minutes out. Got held up at the tower.
My drink comes up, and I quickly grab it with a smile. I turn, heading out of the shop, but not before glancing at my sister again. She's looking down at her phone, and I see her look up and immediately relay the message to my parents.
Cordelia: Totally cool! I'll see you in a few!
It broke my heart a little, but I felt more stupid than anything else. What had I been expecting? The rest of my family had kicked me out, so why wouldn't Cordelia pull something like this? It had been ridiculous for me to believe she had been sincere about any of it. I had been so easily tricked, and it was my fault for trusting her.
I take a seat at an outside table where I could see the most of the squad that was here. I hated being in people's heads, but I didn't have many other options at the moment. I needed to be able to keep these people where they were, and if I was already in their heads, I'd be able to freeze them before they could hurt anyone.
My phone buzzes when Maria informs me that they're a minute out, and that's when I hear the sirens. Two large black prison vans pull onto the road, and I feel the minds I'm in move to escape. I get into their minds, making them stay completely still. Both vans and the SHIELD police cars pull up in front of the shop. Maria hops out of the front of one of the vans, and I'm a little surprised that she was close enough to ride along. She searches the front of the coffee shop.
"The men and women in leather jackets that aren't moving. If they can move, they aren't apart of the squad." I project my voice in Maria's mind, snorting a little when she flinches. She relays the orders. "I'll show you to my parents and sisters when you have everyone that's armed." I had frozen my family as well. Maria nods once, knowing I have eyes on her.
It takes the SHIELD squadron less than five minutes to get every member of the attack squad in the first van. Maria closes the back doors, and I stand, tossing my half-finished drink in the garbage can.
"Maria!" I shout, and she turns. I give her a two fingered salute, and she motions two SHIELD agents over to her. The three people walk up to me, and I nod behind me.
"I've got my sister, you guys take my parents."
"Ophelia-"
"I'm fine." Maria sighs as I cut her off, handing me a pair of handcuffs. I lead the two SHIELD agents into the shop. I give my parents enough function to move as the SHIELD agents handcuff them both and start walking them towards the van. My sister is staring up at me in shock, and when I let Mystique's power fade, my face coming back. Her eyes widen more if possible.
"Cordelia Winters, you are now under custody of SHIELD." I murmur, bringing her to her feet and quickly handcuffing her. People are staring, but I ignore it as I bring my sister to the van, putting her inside the van with my parents. My parents stare at me in shock, and I release their minds before I hear what they're thinking.
Maria shuts the door, pounding the back of the van twice to let them know to leave. The SHIELD regulated cars pull out, leaving Maria and I behind.
"They're taking them to the compound upstate. I'll go with you back to the tower, and once they're secured, we'll be pulled in." She glances at me, a small frown on her face. "Are you okay?"
"Would you be?" I counter, shaking my head. "Don't come back to the tower. I'll just come when you guys are ready."
"Too bad." I scowl. "Look, something is wrong, and I just want to know what's going on." She sighs, giving me a look. "Fury put you on suspended leave, and you barely fought it. Something is wrong, but you don't want to tell us."
"I don't want to tell you for a reason." I reply after a second. "And the moment you find out, you're going to report it to Fury. Not because you aren't a good friend, but because you're loyal to SHIELD." Maria is giving me a confused look.
"Is it really that bad?" She asks after a moment.
"You're going to think so." She waits, and I let out a long breath. "Fine. Lets go." She follows half a step behind me the entire way to the tower. We're a couple of blocks out when I pull out a phone. I dial Tony's number, knowing I should give him fair warning.
"Hello."
"Hey Tony, I'm giving you a heads up." I say after a moment. "I'm coming back to the Tower with Agent Hill, and then a SHIELD quin-jet is picking me up." There's a long pause.
"Um. What am I supposed to do about the god of mischief that you brought home like a stray cat? The one you asked all of us to keep a secret?" Tony asks.
"Apparently nothing." Another long pause.
"Okay then. I guess we'll see you when you get here." Tony says a quick goodbye and hangs up when Maria and I are half a block away from the tower. Maria glances at me, but I just keep my eyes forward.
The elevator ride up to the communal floor us quiet, save for the music coming softly through the elevator's speakers. Thee doors open, and it takes half a second for her to draw her gun.
"Ophelia." She hisses, not taking her eyes off of Loki. I grab her wrist, pulling her hands and the gun down.
"You can't shoot him."
"He destroyed New York!" She protests. "I'm calling Fury-"
"I know." I cut her off. "I'm not going to stop you." Loki arches an eyebrow, giving me a curious look. Nat, on the other hand, narrows her eyes.
"Lady Winters, I do not believe it would be a good idea to tell Fury of my brother's presence." Thor interrupts. I just shake my head.
"What happened?" Loki asks suddenly. "You aren't okay." Hill's eyes go back to Loki, narrowing as she puts in a call to SHIELD. I let out a long breath, running a hand through my hair. "Ophelia-"
"I just arrested my parents, sister, and the strike team they hired to kill me. I'm having a bit of a shitty day." Everyone's eyes widen at that, and Loki take a half-step forward. He stops, realizing we were around everyone else, but Nat notices. Her eyes narrow, her gaze bouncing between us.
"Really?"
"Not the time." I mutter, and she holds her hands up in mock surrender. Steve notices, though thankfully Tony and Bruce don't, a little distracted by something on Tony's phone. Steve moves to my right side, keeping his voice low enough that Maria wouldn't hear.
"You told him about your feelings for him?" Steve asks, and I shake my head.
"You know I'm a little too stubborn for that." He raises an eyebrow. "He confessed feelings for me." Steve glances at Loki, keeping the surprise out of his expression. "He won't hurt me Steve." Steve looks back at me.
"Are you going to be happy with him?" He asks. "Now that you know that he feels the same?" My eyes fall to Loki.
"I really think I can be, Steve. There's something in my chest, in the back of my mind. I know it. I can feel it." He gives me a long look before nodding.
"Then I'm happy for you." He sends me a small smile, but it falters after a moment. "Your family?" I let out a long breath.
"It's been a really, really bad day." I whisper. Maria hangs up, glancing around at the group.
"Fury's coming here."
"Oh goody."