"What did you just call me?"
He started to walk to his left, trying to gain on me. I went to my left as well, trying to keep my distance.
"I've heard about you. The girl who was cast from Asgard because of how powerful she is? I guess that makes two of us," he smirked, folding his hands behind his back.
"No one ever said I was an outcast," I said, crossing my hands over my chest.
"Yes, well, everyone thinks that, Azeli."
I felt a pang. Did Natasha think I was an outcast? Bruce? What if Tony thought it too? Or Steve?
Breathe, Tessa.
I didn't raise my right foot enough so I stumbled forward. He watched as I tried to compose myself and smiled. He hummed in approval.
"I knew that would get you."
"I'm not an outcast," I told him, "All that happened was I was sent to Earth. Big deal."
"You're right. It is a big deal," he nodded at me.
We stared at each other for a few seconds before I broke the silence.
"What did you mean by 'that makes two of us'?"
"If it hadn't have been for my mother, my father would have casted me out as a child as well," Loki admitted.
I bit my bottom lip.
"My entire life, I felt unloved," he started, dipping his head down to stare at the floor as he talked. He started to pace. "I was mistreated and underestimated. Thor was always my superior. Which caused me to feel nothing but anger. Towards everyone."
"Why?" I couldn't help but ask.
He chuckled, looking up to me. "I'll tell you what I have always told Thor. I am tired of living in his shadow. I am tired of everyone thinking Thor is the rightful heir when it should be me!" He shouted, inhaling sharply through his nose and closing his eyes.
"But you see, the thing is, everyone thinks that I'm just the villain. That I want unlimited power to myself. That may be true, but I didn't used to be like this. But it all changed when Thor came here, to your planet."
"What happened?" I asked.
"I'll tell you one thing," he said. "I did everything in my power to show your people that I am better than him. But... they wanted a hero, which I am not. So I figured, if I can't rule in my own realm, I will overcome yours."
"What made you think that?"
"I-wait," he interrupted himself, "What makes you think I'll tell you everything? I'm trying to manipulate you."
"Well, you've already started. You can't just not finish something."
"Who says I can't?"
I sighed, figuring this conversation was over.
"Why are you here? And... how did you hear about me?"
"I'm here for you," he scowled at me.
"But... why? I have nothing you want." I admitted.
"That's where you're wrong," he cocked his head to the side. "You really don't know anything about the power you hold?"
"All I know is what you've told me."
"Well then the rest is for me to know and you to find out," he smirked.
I threw my arms up in exasperation. "So what, then? What's your plan? Kidnap me?"
"Well, yes, but I was hoping you'd come willingly."
"What makes you think I'll do that?" I gave him a dumb look.
"I can make you," he shrugged.
"Ooh," I waved my arms.
Loki scoffed. "If I had known you'd be this... difficult, I would have dealt with this a lot differently."
"I mean, to be fair, you haven't given me a reason to trust you, or even understand where you're coming from," I reasoned with him. "If you're lucky, maybe we could plan world domination together," I joked.
"You mean it?" His eyes lit up.
"No."
"Look," he said quickly and started to walk again. "I've come back for one reason only."
"Okay," I played along.
I reached into my back pocket to make sure that the voice recorder I had was still recording. I clicked it on as soon as I was far away enough from Loki to make sure he wouldn't notice. If I'm able to get away and get back to Tony or Steve, I'll be able to tell and show them everything.
"I already told you. I'm here for you," he pointed at me. He rolled out his hand and pointed all five fingers towards me. It looked unnatural so I figured he was trying to use magic on me.
"That's not going to work on m-e..." I couldn't finish my sentence before my eyelids started to droop. My head felt like someone was literally trying to pry it open and all the energy escaped from my muscles. I could feel my knees about to buckle, but I took a deep breath and used what energy I could muster to try to fight it.
After a moment, it looked as if his magic had bounced off of me and rebounded on him. He looked the same as I just felt; his eyelids drooping and his body sagging. I watched in shock as he actually fainted, and I ran as fast as I could to try to catch him before his head hit the ground.
I didn't want to hurt him.
As I cradled his head on the floor, I noticed that he was actually very handsome when his face muscles were relaxed and he didn't look so angry. His features were very prominent; a long nose and eyelashes, high cheekbones, and a strong jawline.
I blinked out of my haze and looked between him and the cylinder.
I didn't know how long his own magic would last on him, so I dragged him into the cage and ran out as fast as I could in case it was motion censored. As I hit the "CLOSE" button on the panel, I couldn't help but feel bad.
Maybe I should have just convinced him to leave. Or maybe I should have just gone with him. I don't want to hurt anyone and I don't want anything to be my fault.
I turned on my heel, ran towards the door, and desperately tried to open it. After a few seconds, the door automatically opened with a whoosh and I came face-to-face with Steve.
He was wearing his Captain America suit and was holding his shield. It seemed as if he had been fighting because he was panting so hard, but I couldn't see any physical injuries.
"I have been trying to open that door for a long time."
I reached into my back pocket and pressed STOP on the recorder, handing it to him. He gave me a look of confusion and I mentally sighed.
I forgot. Of course he wouldn't know what this was.
"This is a voice recorder. I got Loki to talk a little and it recorded everything we said."
I didn't notice that I was shaking until Steve reached forwards and pulled me into a hug, dropping his shield. I wrapped my arms around him and buried my face into his chest.
"How did you get him asleep and into the cage?" He laughed in surprise, letting me go.
"I think he tried to use his powers on me, but I must've shielded myself and they ricocheted back to him. I didn't think that someone's powers would affect themselves," I explained.
"That is weird," Steve confessed. He pulled me out of the room gently and shut the door behind me, punching in a useless code.
I allowed him to go first and followed him as we walked through the dimly lit halls. I stepped over glass, broken doors, and walked through empty doorways.
"Hey Steve."
"Yeah?" He whirled around to face me.
"What happened to Bruce?" I asked, taking a nervous gulp.
He sighed. "We got him. He fell out of the helicarrier... again."
"In his Hulk form?"
He nodded.
"Where do you think he landed?" I asked as we started to walk again.
"We're still above New York so he couldn't have gone far. Fury sent out a team to go search for him."
I nodded in understanding.
Fury seemed to trust Steve. He always keeps him in the loop of things, which is why I'm never afraid to ask him anything about this job.
Finally, we reached a door that seemed to be our destination.
Steve reached forward to open it, but it seemed to open from the other side first.
"Hello Tessa," Fury greeted me warmly with a smile. It looked somewhat genuine, but he also looked kind of nervous.
I've noticed that Fury doesn't like me. He tries to smile at me, but I'm pretty good at calling bullshit. I've never done anything to him to make him dislike me, but I've never really bothered to make him like me either.
But the feeling is pretty mutual.
He gestured me and Steve into the room and shut the door behind us.
"Hey," I replied casually, taking a seat.
"We are assembling the Avengers at the moment since Banner has... fallen off the ship. Along with Agent Romanoff."
"What?!" Steve asked in surprise. This was obviously news to him too.
Fury nodded. "Natasha was attempting to trick Dr. Banner into changing back into his human form or jumping. Unfortunately for all parties, he decided to jump and grab her at the last second," Fury explained, glancing between Steve, me, and the window every few seconds.
My eyes widened in surprise. I hope Natasha was okay. She may be a kickass agent but she is only human. And she probably didn't have any emergency skydiving equipment, so I'm hoping Bruce held onto her until they crashed.
"But you, Thor, Mr. Stark, and Agent Barton are the only ones we can gather at the moment." Fury said, nodding at Steve.
"So we're the ones who have to carry out the mission?" Steve asked.
"I'm afraid so until we retrieve Agent Romanoff and Dr. Banner," Fury admitted.
"What's the mission?" I asked curiously. "Maybe I can help."
I watched as Steve looked at me, or tried.
"Tessa," he started, "where are you?"
"What do you mean?" I was confused.
"Are you still sitting in your seat?"
"Yeah, why?"
Fury uncrossed his arms and facepalmed, sliding his hand down his face and rubbing his jaw. He opened his mouth to say something, but stopped himself. "They're starting."
"What?!" I stood up, the chair sliding back noisily.
"You're invisible," Steve finally told me.
"HA!" I snorted. "That was a good one."
"Try to look at yourself if you don't believe us," Fury suggested.
I gave him a look before I reached my hands out in front of me. But I saw nothing. I could feel my hands move, my arms raise, and my fingers flex, but I couldn't see anything.
"Oh my god," I gasped, "I don't like it, please do something!" I stumbled towards Steve and tried to grab his arm, but he cringed away.
I wish I could say it didn't offend me, but I probably would have done the same thing.
"Why am I invisible?!" I cried out.
"It's your powers, Tessa," Fury said in a condescending tone.
"No shit Sherlock, tell me how to turn them off." I demanded, and I saw Fury glare at me. Oops.
"Try to maybe think about being visible again," Steve offered.
I gave him a weird look, forgetting that he couldn't see it.
"How?"
"You close your eyes and think about it," Fury said again, using the same tone. "Concentrate."
I ought to kick his ass since he can't see me.
Okay Tessa, just try to focus. Think about the fact of being visible. The color of your hair, eyes, skin tone, what I was wearing today...
After a few moments, I opened one eye and peeked down at a hand. I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding and looked over at Steve.
He might as well have been gaping at me, and Fury just looked mad.
His last name is actually so fitting for him.
"How did that just happen?" Steve said in wonder.
"I don't know," Fury admitted. Maybe that's why he looked so upset.
Maybe his anger and dislike towards me doesn't have anything to do with me at all. Maybe he just doesn't like the fact that, for once, he's not in control and more intelligent. He was the one given information, not giving.
No, Tessa, a voice said in my head. You know he's never really liked you, even before this mess.
But I couldn't help but just wonder.
"Are you sure?" I found myself asking him. "Because to be honest, that was a little creepy."
"Honestly, Tessa, I'll bet that they're just getting started," Fury told me.
I frowned. "Did... Thor happen to tell you... who my biological parents are?"
Fury shook his head. "His father didn't disclose that information."
My eyebrows furrowed together as I heard the door open. I heard someone approach me quickly and looked up to see Thor walking in the room and Tony wrapping me into a hug.
"Thor just told me everything that happened. Are you okay?!" He let me go quickly to grab both my arms and really look at me.
But just as sudden as Tony hugged me, he pushed me away and jumped backwards.
"What the fuck. Where did she go?!" Tony demanded, looking around nervously.
"Am I invisible again?" I groaned quietly.
"Yes," Steve and Fury said in unison.
"Invisible?!" Tony yelled.
Steve gently placed a hand on his shoulder and shushed him, allowing me to close my eyes again and concentrate.
This time took a few more seconds, but again, I peeked and was in full color again. I quickly took a seat at the far end of the table, away from everyone.
"How did she do that?" Tony murmured, leaning towards Steve but staring right at me.
Steve was going to reply, but Thor spoke up.
"I think Loki triggered her magic."
I craned my neck to give him a crazy look. "What?"
I've found myself saying that a lot.
I placed my elbow on the table and rested my head in my palm, glancing down at the reflective glass. I watched as my reflection faltered, almost shimmered between three different stages; fully visible, transparent like a hologram, or completely invisible. For a millisecond I would look like two of the three, and it was changing so fast that I actually had to look away.
I wondered what I looked like to everyone else.
My heart started to race as Thor took a seat next to me.
"It means," he started, "that when Loki tried to use his powers on you, your own powers deflected his back to him. And you've also never used your magic before. There's probably lots of it built up inside of you, which is why they are out of control now."
"So you're saying Tessa is stronger than Loki?" Tony asked curiously, leaning back in his chair.
"Not necessarily," Thor said.
"So how do I control this?" I tried to ask without my voice wavering.
I failed.
Thor gave me a sad look, finally understanding that I wasn't happy about any of this. "Well, unfortunately I don't hold the power of invisibility, but I know someone who does. And he says that how he controls it is just by thinking about it. Using and controlling magic has a lot more to do with the mind than the body."
I nodded, soaking in his advice.
"But," he said, "that really only works if you are at an intermediate level, which you are not. The only way I can think to help you is to bring you to Asgard and have my friends help train and show you how to use your magic."
My head jerked up to him and I gave him a confused look.
"Tessa's not going to Asgard, Thor," Tony laughed. "You're saying that you want her to come back to your planet, where she was cast out, where your father is, who is the one who cast her out, where you'll bring your brother, who was stupid enough to break into S.H.I.E.L.D. again, just to get to her? You want to take her somewhere where I can't protect her? I don't think so," Tony ranted.
I smiled a little inside. So the news hasn't changed the way he feels about me...
"If you want her to be trained right, then yes, I think she should come with me." Thor said simply.
"What kind of training are you talking about anyway, Thor?" Steve spoke up.
Tony looked over at him. "This doesn't have anything to do with you."
Steve ignored him.
"Like I said; magic and fighting."
"Oh," Tony raised his eyebrows, "so you want Tessa to become an Asgardian warrior for you-?"
"That's not what I said-," Thor argued.
"My Tessa become a cold-hearted killer? Sorry, but it's just not gonna happen-." Tony was saying.
"People change, Stark. This is a serious matter that will require Tessa to make some changes so she can follow her destiny."
Tony scoffed. "Oh, God, here we go-."
"You can't change fate-" Thor argued more.
"No, but I can stop it," Tony crossed his arms.
"Guys," I finally broke in, but they didn't stop.
"When something happens, Stark, you do something about it. You don't just keep trying to avoid it or--or make it wait-"
"You're not taking her to Asgard without my permission and I say no," Tony shrugged, not budging.
"She doesn't need your permission, she is a woman," Thor seemed offended, glancing over at me.
"Yes, but she's my niece, and she needs someone to protect her-"
"She can go if she wants."
"Nope."
"Fine, let's ask her," Thor suggested, causing everyone to turn to me.
I was staring out of the window, and looked over as soon as I felt everyone's eyes on me.
"Oh, I was starting to think I turned invisible again," I glared at them. "Now you'll hear what I have to say?"
Thor and Tony looked a bit ashamed, but Steve was smirking.
"I guess whatever's best. Like Fury said," I gestured towards him, "my powers might just be getting started, and I don't want to hurt anyone, so maybe it is best for me to go get the help and guidance Thor says I need."
Tony just shook his head at me. He didn't look disappointed, just upset.
"Then it's settled," Thor smiled, "Will you be ready as soon as the BiFrost is done recharging?" He asked me politely.
"Sure," I gulped. "When do you think that will be?"
"Probably sometime next week," he said.
"How long do you think I'll be gone?" I asked curiously.
I couldn't help but feel just a little excited at the idea of something new. But it was also that feeling where excitement and anxiety almost cancel each other out, but you can't help but feel them both at the same time.
"A few weeks, probably months," Tony whispered to himself, but I somehow heard it.
The conversation seemed to die off there, and Fury, who I almost forgot was here, left the room. Thor and Steve started talking about something and Tony had found his way to the transparent computers.
I noticed that even after everything that had just happened, I couldn't get my mind off of someone.
* * * * *
unedited
-gray avery