"Keep drawing it from your chest. If you have no belief in your abilities you will fail." I sat there cross legged on the ground. I wasn't allowed to touch the powers Loki had bestowed on me. I was now reduced to my basics, magnetism, electrical manipulation and telepathy.
"Liberty stop." I opened my eyes to see strange sitting across from me. He had his legs crossed like mine, but instead of having his palms open facing up like me, he rested his elbow on his knee and his chin on his fist. His grey eyes searching my own, for some unknown understanding that the possessed in their depths.
"You believe you are nothing without Loki's powers. You see them as our only weapons, but you forget Liberty, who was the woman who single handily took down the biggest threat this world has ever seen, without Loki, or the avengers. You did it purely with you and your mind. If Loki was your only weapon then he would have been the one to save the world not you." I felt the tears prick the corners of my eyes, I ducked m head and took in a deep breath allowing the tears to fall.
"Try again." He spoke softly as I lifted my head, my crystal like tears hardened to glass as they cropped off my chin and shattered against the carpeted floor in a silver haze. I took in another deep breath, and slowly closed my eyes.
"Believe you are floating, feel the air beneath you...around you, lift yourself feel the current in the air, everything has a natural flow just like electricity, focus of that Liberty." I let my breath out slowly, my body stayed rigid yet I felt complete ease. I felt my heart slow in my chest, beating only one every few seconds. I took in another deep breath filling my lungs. This time I kept it, and focused on nothing but the flow.
The flow of my own electrical impulses, the flow of the air, the flow of nature, the universe. I finally let out the breath, as I began to feel myself pull away from the ground beneath me. The air quickly filled the void I had left, I felt the air shift around my levitating form. The hairs on my arms and the back of my neck stood on end as my electrical impulses grow with each concentrated second.
"Yes Liberty, keep focused on solely that, but let your mind wander. Exit this world and venture further into another." I tried to listen to his voice be the more he spoke the further I was pulled away. The flow of the world around me was different, the impulses were silent, and the world was my own.
I slowly opened one eye, and saw myself. My multiple selves, they all were there each with in their own frame, on display in my own little world. The Astral Plane. I walked over to the figures stood in front of me, like static mirror images.
But there was a figure I didn't expect, there was Loki stood in all of his Asgardien glory. I reached out to touch the image to be met by a pane of glass.
"He's as much a part of you as any of these images Liberty." I twisted around to see Stephen Strange sitting next to a small café table with a mug of tea in hand and comfortably seated in a plush armchair.
I looked back at the images and saw myself standing next to Loki, dressed in my own Asgardien garb. I looked next to that one and saw myself bloody and fighting for my life, pain twisted on my features, bullet wounds riddling my body.
"These versions of you are formed by past present and future life events, some will be more detailed and clean compared to others, as some a yet to be fully found." I nodded as I looked at another to see a blurred bloody vision, I could see the white bone against the mutilated muscle and flesh. I could feel this one coming at the hand of the Hulk.
"Have you ever seen yourself in the Astral Plane Liberty?" I nodded as I looked away from the future visions of myself back to Stephen Strange. The last time I saw what I looked like, I looked much like the figure stood next to Loki, dressed in the intimidating garb, of my husband.
"Have you seen yourself recently?" I looked at him questioningly.
"I though the representation of you in the ether was a reflection of our soul." Doctor Strange nodded and as looked me up and down with his well-worn smirk.
"You are completely right, but the soul is a very fluid thing, if changes all the time with deeds preformed and the input of your conscious, it fluctuates all the time Liberty." I twisted around and touched the surface of the figure of me dressed in my Asgardien armour and watched as the pane of glass morphed into a mirror reflecting my soul.
I trailed a hand over my cheek as I looked at my reflection. I stayed concentrated on my eyes as I saw that there was barely any green left in them, more like a thinning ring around my pupil, as my storm blue eyes began to consume my iris. My eyes trailed over my body, to see something new. I was dressed in an Asgardien garb but this was much less intimidating, the gentle feminine curves of the silver metal, was highlighted with bronze across the edges, the colours had changed from the midnight black and ivy green, to white silk and deep teal, which were draped underneath and through my armour falling as a dress. I wore a head piece that stayed true to my husband, the silver horns were much smaller but still showed that part of my soul I was dearly loyal too. And instead of consuming my whole head it was a delicate silver band covered with silver ivy leaves.
I reached up attentively and touched the silver horned grown on my head.
"The more that you find of yourself the more your soul becomes dominant; these changes will be reflected outwardly, like your eyes for example." I looked behind me in the mirror to see Stephen standing behind me.
"Now I want you to focus, I want you to leave this place, your mind is still concentrated on levitating, but now I want you to focus on materialising this form on to your physical body. I nodded as I looked at his through the mirror. I met my own eyes as my next figure added to my own collection of selves. I slowly closed my eyes and felt myself leave the astral plane, the impulses began to leak into my body as I slowly drifted back into my own mind, the impulses now hit in waves, growing from a gentle lapping to tidal force. I felt alive, wired as my own electrical impulses cracked against my skin. Soon Stephen's voice which was once lost to me re-joined my consciousness.
I slowly opened one eye and looked around. Stephen was levitating with me, his legs cross and his elbow still resting on his knee and his chin on his fist. He gave me a large genuine smile which was taut on his face from the lack of laughter and smile lines.
I opened my other eye and smiled at him. I kept still as I looked down at myself, to see my new Asgardien garb flowing around me still humming with astral energy.
"That was all you Liberty; Loki had nothing to do with it. You are much more powerful than you know, as well as I know. You have unlimited potential Liberty, and it all it took was a little push." I smiled at Stephen Strange as he sat there with me. I felt my potential surround me like a blanket of warmth. I felt safe and secured in my destiny.
"Due to the fact you have been able to demonstrate feats of altering existing molecular and atomic structures on a subatomic level, I cannot see how you are any different to Loki." My heart stammered as I remembered the figure of myself riddled with gun shots which poured blood heavily.
"Loki is immortal, he cannot die, he cannot be gravely injured, without his soul, I would have never came back after killing Thanos, I would be buried in a hero's grave, for saving a world from a threat they didn't even know existed." I sighed as I looked into Doctor Strange's suddenly saddened eyes.
"I was there that day. I was ready to leave this world without anything on my conscious, I knew the avengers would try to save us, but the few of us that knew of the threat, there was very little we could do. Except hope and pray. That day was the day we counted our blessing and hoped that it was enough. Then out from nowhere like a little miracle, a young woman, who had never experienced the world, who had been kept from it and shunned from it came into the light as a hero, that very few people could say they that they had ever seen or spoken too, before she died that day. I felt you, all that energy you projected it, it dissipated across the earth across the universe, and those of us sensitive to feel it felt it in all its glory as we waited to see if the world would end, as the rest obviously went on with their lives. The astral plane was alight that day in a blaze of metal power, a struggle between the two greatest metal minds this world would never get to see." Stephen moved closer to me and grabbed my hands off my lap and held them in his much larger hands. His eyes had glazed over in admiration and sorrow as he retold my story from his point of view.
"We knew you had won, but it had been the most devastating way of winning anyone could have possibly imagined. When we saw Thanos power dissipate across the cosmos and astral plane we knew we were safe, but we saw the dying light that was your power, slowly ebbed away by the oncoming darkness. Your power flowed across the universe, in a beautiful bright white haze, igniting stars and giving power to the rest of us. Your life was much more important, than anyone had ever realised. We counted you as one of the many lives that surrounded us, that day when we saw your sacrifice for us, we tried everything to get you back, many of us scarified waves of power on summoning and resurrecting you that day, trying to find, trying to bring back the spark of wondrous light that had changed our world forever." Tears flowed heavily from his deep grey eyes now; I moved my thumbs gently over his comforting him in some sense. He looked into my own storm blue and green eyes and smiled sorrowful smile at me.
"You came back into the world like a gift from a god we did not deserve. Alive with new energy, with the laws of conservation energy cannot be destroyed only transferred or changed from one form to another. Many of us sensitives had gathered together and willing gave our own energy in order to sustain you, you drew of us as we drew on you." He bent his head down and kissed the thumbs that were gently stroking his.
"Your return, pulled energy from dying stars causing hundreds of implosions across the universe, you came back stronger than before, more energy had been transferred to you that you had given out, you were special and the cosmos knew that." He rested his forehead against mine and his hands as he levitated in the middle of the library.
He pulled his face up from our hands and gave me a small heartfelt smile. I could see that Doctor Strange was not a man used to revealing highly intense emotions. He was used to be in control yet around me he wished to lose if wished to show me the burden, the pain he carried.
Suddenly there was a knock on the door causing me to look towards it. I could hear no mental voice on the other side. Strange pulled one of his hands away from mine to point towards the door without even looking away from me, which opened quickly to reveal Logan standing there. He had a cigar in his mouth and a scowl directed straight towards Stephen, as he stood there in the doorway.
The Library was shielded meaning I had to push myself to hear the outside world, and with Logan's adamantium skull I would have to push even harder to even here a mental whisper of his thoughts. Stephen didn't pull his other hand away from mine, as he continued to look at me with his now piercing grey eyes. the soft emotional side had vanished beneath layers of thick concealing smoke.
"Liberty I want to move your legs as if to stand like this." He uncrossed his legs and stood there in mid-air feet slightly pointed. I nodded and copied his movements.
"Now, concentrate on lowering yourself to the ground. Ignore anything in the room." He growled slightly as he looked out of the corner of his eye to Logan, causing Logan to suddenly bite back.
"What do you mean by ignore Bub?!" Logan suddenly marched forward, as I tried desperately to concentrate, Strange was suddenly pulled from my grasp by Logan. I stood there in mid-air hovering, as Stephen was pulled up by the lapels of his blazer to Logan's eye line.
"You really think it's a good move moving in on another guy's girl like that? Do ya' Bub!?" he growled as his teeth bit through the cigar held between his canines, snapping it in two. Logan drew back a fist, about to punch. Suddenly Strange ducked his arms through Logan's and pushed his strong arms apart. Releasing Logan's grip on him. He then moved his hands, he balled his hand into a fist and pressed his thumb into his chest them raised his forefinger and middle finger together them pushed it forward, sending the obviously seething form of Logan sprawling across the library, and into a book case which quickly cracked under the force that Logan was thrown.
He lowered his symbolic hand, and sighed. He walked over to me with a small smile on his lips.
"Sorry for that interruption Liberty. Now give your hands to me." I reached out to him, but suddenly he vanished. A large crack sounded out as Logan and Strange tackled a book case. My mind lost all concentration, as I saw Logan punch Stephen. He uppercutted him slamming his teeth together resounding in a frightful crack, blood spurted from between his teeth, as he then punched Logan in the rib, but as his fist followed through with the punch it was surrounded in green light. Logan howled out as his ribs crumpled beneath the force of the hit.
I tried to regain balance mid-air and failed miserably, sending myself sprawling across the floor. As I kneeled on all fours on the ground I reached out a splayed out hand to Logan and then threw it left sending his through the open Library doors. I then pulled the doors closed behind him as he tried to get up. I sobbed as I heard Logan's fists pounding and metal claws etching against the door. I threw a book case against the door and quickly pushed myself through all of the defensive barriers against me.
Tears poured down my cheeks as I forced myself into Logan's violent mind. This wasn't the Logan I knew. This was not the man I spent last night with. This is not the same man that travelled across the world to find me.
I manipulated the metal surrounding his skull and entered his mind.
My breathing staggered at the sight. Darkness infected his mind, filling every crevice, every missing memory. It was all replaced with wrath and hatred. Any recent memories at the forefront of his mind had been replaced with memories of pain, suffering and loss. This was torment, this was meant to drive him insane, and to break is already fragile mind.
"I'm sorry Logan." I spoke softly into his raging mind as I forced his body to bend underneath my mental power. The sound of etching and fisting pounding ceased all together as I slowly withdrew myself from his unconscious mind.
I sat back on the palms of my hands.as tears rolled down my cheeks.
I looked over my shoulder to the devastation behind me. I beaten and bloody Stephen Strange lay unconscious inside a crumpled book case, books and documents laid scattered and threw into the air as I sat there amongst the fallen debris.
I watched through Logan's eyes my actions portrayed through him. It was like poetry in motion. It was believable, a jealous lover and a man who showed her admiration above that she had ever felt. It was believable in any sense. The blood that fell from Doctor Strange's mouth was visceral and exciting. I would make her loose trust in those she held close. I watched as Logan was suddenly thrown back, I expected it to be Stephen strange, but there he lay unconscious; I had Logan look to his right to see Liberty throwing him through the library doors.
I scowled at her as she slammed the doors closed on my vision. I pushed Logan's claws through the wood work of the door, trying desperately to claw through only to suddenly be pulled away from my Logan's vision and into his mind. She was here with me in Logan's mind, like a heavenly light casting across the shadows in his mind.
Maybe she knew Logan better than I anticipated. She looked across his mind with guilt fed gaze. I could hear her thoughts. She knew this was not the man who had travelled across continents to find her, or risk his life in battle just for her. I scowled at her presence and slowly receded, until pulling away completely as she uttered those words.
"I'm sorry Logan." The Logan's vison went black as he was knocked unconscious by Liberty. She was getting stronger. I could see that just by seeing her levitate. With the help of Stephen Strange she would become unstoppable, and well...that just wouldn't do. Especially with the plans Hydra has.
They share my ideals, they all have had a taste of what the new world could be, stronger more diverse and mutated. Soon the world would know of this new world order, but a significant test ground is needed. Millions of people in a small area, plenty of areas of contact with the contagion.
I held the bag of blood in hand. Each tainted with contagion X. with the high levels of crime in New York we would easily see hundreds turning a day, as soon as it is activated. A weaponised mutation, controlled by Hydra, hundreds of litres of blood has already been dispensed; it is now the time for wait, for the perfect opportune moment. When Liberty is at her weakest.
Stephen sat there on the edge of the medical cot. His teeth, from what we could see from the x-ray were riddled with hairline cracks. Hank pulled down his glasses to the end of his nose to look more closely at the x-rays.
"Well I must say Doctor Strange; you have come away rather scathed. This will not heal naturally." Hank's eyes flickered to me as she said this. Stephen continued to cradle his jaw as he sat with blood dripping off of his goateed chin and onto the bleach white floor. He mumbled something, only for it to end in a pained whine, as his jaw slackened letting blood pour from his mouth. He moved his hand over the gathering blood, and I watched as it faded into thick blue smoke leaving no trace except for the freshly pooling blood.
"I'll leave you two alone." Hank muttered as he pushed his glasses back onto the bridge of his nose and excited the glass automatic doors. I looked at Stephen who sat there blood dripping from his pain filled mouth. I gently reached out my fingers and wiped away the blood from his lips. He sat up straighter pulling his hand away from his jaw, and looked at me with pained grey eyes. I felt the blood lift away from my fingers and dissipate into the air as ash.
"I'm sorry for what he did to you, but I went into his mind, that was not him, these was something else there, something controlling him." Stephen raised an eyebrow, and opened his mouth to speak only for blood to trail out.
"It's a good jobs he's restrained in there then isn't it." I nodded at Stephens mental words, and sighed. I wiped another trail of blood away from his lips and moved closer to him. he obviously knew what had to come next, seeing me through my memories he could see what I could do, and he wasn't going to stop me from doing it.
I pressed my lip lacquer painted lips against his blood painted ones and felt his sigh in relief as his blood receded back into his body, and as the hair line cracks dissipated into white porcelain. His arms wrapped around me one hand anchored my mouth to his, and his other hand pushed on my lower back keeping me close to him. I wrapped my arms around his neck as I felt each swollen piece of flesh become pale and unblemished again.
I pulled away to see this usual piercing grey eyes looking down at me. I gave him a small smile and hopped down from the medical bay table. Leaving him to recover from his sudden recovery. With slightly more dishevelled hair than before, and a rouge in cheeks.
As I walked away from Strange I peered into a secondary lab to see Logan, pinned to a table with adamantium straps, and a sedative being dripped into his system. I opened the door, and quietly ventured inside. I placed a calming hand on his bare bicep and ran my thumb over the curvature of the muscle. I leaned down and pressed a gentle kiss to his lips. And continued to soothe his infected mind.
As I moved as if to sit down I materialised a chair beneath me without the use of Loki's powers and sat there in the dim white spot lights that surrounded the floor of the medical bay. I could feel his steady pulse beneath his burning skin as the sedative kept him under and his mind foggy.
"Logan I know this wasn't you doing. I'm sorry we have to do this to you." I whispered gently into his ear as I sat there with my thumb soothingly grazing his skin. I bent my head, as tears rolled out over the edge of my eyes. How could I defend the world if I couldn't protect one person? My body shook, not in self-pity but in fear of what was to come, and if I could live up to the expectations of the world.
I had sat there for hours unknown of the time, as daylight did not enter this underground place. The tears had long since dried on my cheeks and the wracking sobs and silenced into cold silence. I may not be what this world is looking for but I will damn well try to be. I looked down at Logan's bicep and saw the crescent moons my nails had left in his flesh. I pulled my hand away from him removing my nails. I watched as the bloody marks healed into perfected unmarked skin.
Suddenly my silent little world was shattered by a blaring alarm. The dim lights of the labs suddenly reached critical filling the darkness with bright white light. I ran towards the automatic door and up towards the main house. I could hear students panicked verbal and mental voices as I emerged to see the X-men readying themselves for battle.
There was no clear truth to what was being said, many theories filled my head, of what was happening, but the main point that was constant in all the information, was one word, one world that made my skin crawl and made my head beat that little bit faster, that made my teeth grind and my breathing laboured.
Hydra.