Recap:
His suspicions were correct because not even a second later, Reyna pounced.
♤
Reyna immediately forced Loki into a defensive position while she went on the offensive. She fought with an unpredictability he had never seen in his many years of training. Not even in Lady Sif's impeccable fighting style.
"You don't think it's a little early to fight me full force?" Loki asked as he blocked a swipe from above. He jabbed, and she deflected. She came at him again, stab, slash, parry, repeat. Reyna got a hit on the hilt of Loki's dagger, sending it flying across the room.
"What? Don't you think you can handle me?" Reyna mocked, thrusting forward, forcing Loki to back up. Her taunting worked. Loki's face grew colder as he summoned a new dagger. Reyna didn't know what flew in her, but it felt so natural to fight like this. Parry, slice, duck. She almost stopped for a moment, shocked by her own skill. Never in her life had she fought with any weapon yet she felt like she had perfected her swordsmanship for years. Loki was upon her again, forcing all her focus back to the fight. He tried to trick her with illusions and feints, but soon realized that they didn't work on Reyna.
"I think I can handle a girl without training," Loki growled when they came toe to toe. Reyna smirked and dropped into a crouch. All his pressure went forward, losing Loki his balance. She spun on her way down, stretched out her leg, and swiped at Loki's legs, sending him to the ground. He tucked and rolled to his feet again. Reyna spun her sword as she stood.
"You do?" She quirked an eyebrow. She jumped straight up when Loki went for her shins. Cutting down forced Loki to use both daggers to stop her momentum. Loki dropped one of his blades, caught it lower, and swiped. Click.
"Við hamri Þórs," Loki cursed when the second sword evaded his attack. He had completely forgotten that her sword split in two. Now he had two hazards to keep watch of instead of one. He spun around, pulling the same trick Reyna had pulled on him. She staggered but stayed standing. Loki tried to deliver a blow to her back while her attention was till elsewhere, but Reyna parried. She hadn't even seen the attack come yet avoided it expertly, shocking Loki and losing him precious seconds. Reyna spun around, eyes blazing, attacking in weak spots Loki had forgotten he had. She moved faster now with more precise movements, forcing Loki to up his input to match her. Thor chose that moment to enter the room.
"Brother, how many times do I have to remind you not to use my hammer as a curse?" Thor complained before he noticed the commotion. "What's the meaning of this?" He boomed and readied his hammer. Reyna didn't let herself get distracted. Loki made a feint and bought himself a look at his brother.
"Just a friendly duel between teacher and apprentice," Loki ducked for a blow.
"He's getting his ass handed to him," Reyna growled, voice slightly darker than usual. Thor gripped his hammer tighter. Clang. Loki had once again tried to attack her when her focus was elsewhere, and Reyna met him halfway. She turned her gaze back to Loki. His eyes widened at the ferocity in her black eyes. In a few expertly made movements, she had not only disarmed Loki but also placed one blade at the back of his neck and the other's point at his throat. Loki raised his hands.
"That's how you humble a god," Reyna whispered as her eyes slowly cleared to the yellow they all knew. She removed the swords from his neck and clicked them together. Both Reyna and Loki were panting like dogs from exhaustion. Reyna had yellow dots sprinkled across her vision and made the wise choice to sit down, her whole body shaking from excursion.
"Where did you learn to fight like that?" Thor asked in awe.
"I didn't know I could fight until, like, 20 minutes ago," Reyna rasped out. Loki was a tad more composed and summoned two water bottles, one for Reyna and one for himself. Reyna took it with shaking hands and a small thank you. Loki had gotten a hard workout from that fight. He had never fought an opponent like her. It was refreshing.
"You'll have to teach me some of those tricks," Loki praised.
"I'll think about it," Reyna grinned.
"What is that? I have never seen the liking." Thor gestured to the sword next to Reyna. She picked it up and spun it in her hand before handing it to Thor by the hilt.
"Xiphos. Greek short-sword. Iron age," she huffed between deep breaths.
"But you wielded two swords earlier?" Thor asked, confused. Reyna waved him to her and took the sword back. She pressed a raven's head, and the blade clicked, giving her two swords again.
"Amazing," Thor praised. "When did you acquire this?"
"About 20 minutes ago."
"And you can already fight so well?"
"Thor, unlike you, we create our own weapons. I tasked her with creating her signature weapon, and this was the result. You remember when mother helped me make my daggers while you and the Allfader almost destroyed the courtyard?" Loki explained.
"Yes, how could I forget? It was a joyous day when Mother finally allowed us to spar," Thor remembered.
"Yes, it was a catastrophe for the entire court the day we started testing each other," Loki chuckled before turning to the still panting woman again. "Though, Reyna, I wonder how you were able to deflect my surprise attacks."
"When you messed up my balance, it was like I got danger sensors, just like the tingle thing Peter gets if there's danger around. I felt where you were and what you were doing," Reyna explained with furrowed brows, clearly not enjoying said feeling. She emptied the last of the water from her bottle and setting it down beside her.
"Can you feel it now?" Loki asked, taking her empty water bottle and refilling it before handing it back to her.
"Thank you. No. Theoretically, it would only work when I'm in danger or something."
"Fascinating," Thor marveled.
"I think we're done here for today. Let's go get some lunch," Loki declared. He helped Reyna off the floor.
"Never have you had a better idea, Loki," Reyna grinned at the thought. Thor and Loki couldn't help but smile at her childlike excitement about something as simple as food. Both brothers simultaneously offered their arms for Reyna to steady herself on. They realized this and glared at each other with pretended rivalry. Reyna just laughed at them both and placed a hand on each arm.
"That's some nice moves for someone who has never touched a sword before. Tell me, where did you get it?" Natasha's stern, almost disappointed voice filled the room. The three looked up and saw Natasha, Steve, Clint, and Tony entering the room, disappointed and guarded expressions on their faces. Loki's face gained the court mask he always wore, and Thor's hardened significantly. Reyna slowly let go of both arms and stepped forward.
"I didn't have it until about half an hour ago. We were just about to go down and show it to you." Reyna explained calmly. She was still exhausted to the point of collapse, but kept a straight face.
"Then explain the fight you just had." Tony took a few steps forward. The brothers automatically stepped in front of Reyna to protect her from whatever harm the others might inflict on her.
"The lady has done nothing wrong. It was a spar, not a fight," Thor boomed.
"She created the sword just now. Just rewind the footage on your beloved cameras and you will see her creating it," Loki argued.
"Then how did she fight and win against you?" Clint asked.
"When you create a weapon from your very soul, you automatically know everything about it. The same happened when I first conjured my daggers. I instantly knew how to use them, and so did she. Her magic may differ from mine, but there are still many similarities," Loki explained.
"Why are you defending her? She almost took your neck off," Tony asked and took a step forward. Something flared in Loki's eyes at the accusation.
"Reyna won a fair spar. She put me in checkmate and waited for a yield. We have had this conversation before. Only you accused me then, Stark. Learn the rules of a traditional spar before you accuse anyone of murder," Loki growled, taking a threatening step forward, but Reyna wouldn't have it.
"Loki, enough," Reyna cut him off with a sigh. She took his hand in hers and pulled him behind her, using him as a wall to lean against. Loki stared at the exhausted woman leaning against him with an incredulous look. She stood in a way that let him support her weight and keep him from rushing forward while, to the others, it looked like he was simply standing behind her. He was angry that someone had accused Reyna of disloyalty. That the brothers protected her confused Reyna more than anything, but letting them continue would only get them in trouble. She turned to the others again. "I get that it's suspicious that I can fight so well already. To be honest, I'm just as surprised as you are. It felt natural to fight with her, so I went for it, and somehow, I won. I'm sorry we didn't talk to you about it first. I'll think about it next time."
"Alright. I won't pretend I understand any of that, but I believe you," Natasha decided.
"So, you'll drop it?" Reyna asked hopefully.
"On one condition."
"Okay?"
"We'll get to see the sword."
"Why?"
"Well, I want to know what's it made of," Tony shrugged. "Plus, I'm sure Bruce wants to have a look at it, too."
"Do you have to? Can I come with?" Reyna almost pleaded, but Tony just dismissed her.
"We're just going to run a few experiments. You'll be fine without it for a couple of hours."
"Fine, but I will have her back by the end of the day," Reyna said, more matter of fact than a request. She had steeled and extracted herself from Loki and walked past Thor, sword in a tight grip as she walked closer to Tony.
"Should be enough time," Tony agreed, like he didn't care, but Reyna noticed how tense everyone in the room was. Loki and Thor were ready to defend her, while the rest were ready to detain her. Fast and efficient. She relaxed her whole body and minimized the threat she posed, all while calming the surrounding people, removing the risk of getting shot. Enough for it to affect them, but not enough to be noticed. Reyna took hold of the blade, turned it, and laid it on her forearm, pointing the hilt to Tony. The edges cut her skin, but she kept a straight face. When Reyna got close enough, she locked eyes with Tony and nodded. Tony took hold of her sword and pulled it out of her grasp, drawing blood, but no one saw that.
"Unless you want to experiment on me too, I'll take my leave." Reyna bid them in a sweet tone as she moved past them. She knew they were still suspicious, but there was nothing she could do about it. Right now, she needed to focus on stopping her bleeding before puddles started appearing everywhere she went.
"Reyna, we wouldn't hurt you. Not after everything you've been through," Steve called before she left. Reyna stopped, turned around, and looked at the Captain. She willed her eyes black and took a quick step forward. Two guns clicked, a bowstring strung, a repulsor charged, a shield clanged, two daggers, and a hammer readied. She stopped, and a bitter smile pulled at her lips. Reyna looked around at the people in the room as her eyes became a bright yellow again.
"You wouldn't hurt me?" Reyna asked with amusement in her voice and fixed Steve with her piercing gaze. "Captain, with all due respect, the assassins have two bullets and an arrow with my name on them. The billionaire is just a press away from sending me into a wall. You throw that shield and take my head off. I've got no idea if those two will electrocute and bind me with magic or defend me. I know that I'm dangerous and so do you. You can and will hurt me if I lose control or do something deemed out of line to keep yourselves safe. Nothing wrong with that, but there is no need for sentiments. Choose better words next time, Captain." And with that, Reyna left the room, leaving choked silence in her wake.
"She really does have to make us feel bad, doesn't she?" Clint commented after a few minutes.
"Yes. You lot are simplyincapable of having even a little faith in her, are you? Come, Loki. We need tofind her." Thor berated his team before taking a firm grip on Loki and marchingout of the training room to go find the mutant.