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Chapter Ten
~Thea's POV~
That night, I feel good enough to go down and eat dinner (in the basement eatery), with Jane's help. My legs are feeling a little weak, and I have a sort of limp, but I manage to get down in one piece.
To Leah's insistence (and Thor's gentle persuasion), I join the others at the table instead of eating by myself. All of the Avengers are present, except for Natasha and Dr. Banner, and Loki is also (unfortunately) here. And Leah and Jane of course.
I'm not very hungry, but I manage to choke down half of a chicken sandwich. Stark hungrily devours the rest, much to my chagrin, and I shoot him a disapproving look, which he pleasantly ignores. But I'm feeling too tired to protest so I don't press the matter.
Dinner is a mostly uneventful affair, which I spend picking at my sandwich, nodding along to whatever Leah or Jane are saying and ignoring Loki's incessant glances in my direction. Afterwards, I try to run to catch up with Jane while Thor takes Leah upstairs, trailed by his annoying brother and the equally annoying Stark.
"Jane!" I call. She turns around and upon seeing me, slows down with a smile.
"How are you, honey?" she asks.
I ignore the 'honey' in lieu of what I'm here for, even though it prickles in the back of my head. "So, um, I just wanted to apologize for what I said to you-er, about you."
She looks at me and then smiles. "It's alright. I am sorry that I offended you-"
"No, no," I interrupt, trying to keep up my calm demeanor, but my foot is beginning to hurt again and I think I need to lie down soon. "I'm um...glad that Leah can have someone to count on."
She smiles brightly, and I see that she is quite a bit younger than I had previously thought, and dimples accentuate her expression. "Of course. Are you feeling all right?"
"Um, ye-"
"Thea, I need to speak with you." Interrupts an annoyingly familiar voice.
'What if I don't want to speak with you?" I ask, not bothering to turn around to face Loki. I swear, I see a glimmer of a smile from Jane.
"I don't recall that I even asked," he says smugly.
"I'll leave you, I guess," Jane smiles at me and begins to walk away.
"No, Jane," I say hurriedly at the exact same time Loki says, "Yes, Jane, please do leave."
Jane gives me an apologetic look and turns a corner. I mentally curse and finally turn around to face Loki. Gone is the concerned apparel he had worn when my health (and arguably, my mental stability) and is instead replace by an air of perpetual self- conceit. "What?" I ask impatiently, trying to ignore the slight pain in my leg. "What do you want to 'speak to me about'?'
"About the future of you and your sister," he says.
"I don't know if I want to hear it from you," I retort.
"Well why not? What is the difference if you hear it from Thor, from Steve, or from me?"
"Because it is you."
I am satisfied to see a slightly annoyed frown flash across Loki's face, wiping away at least part of the smugness, although he recovers quickly. "Well, I apologize," he says sarcastically, "But I'm afraid we can't be picky at a time like this."
"I don't see what we need to discuss," I say, crossing my arms. "The Ideli poison-"
"Imeldi."
I resist the urge to roll my eyes as I keep talking right over him. "-is gone. I don't see why any of you need us anymore."
"So you wish to be dropped off in the middle of nowhere?"
"We aren't in the middle of nowhere. We're probably floating right above New York City as we speak."
Loki smirks and this is when I notice that his left cheek has a dark purple bruise across it. "Well, obviously, your brilliant sense of observation is incorrect. We are currently in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean."
My mouth drops open, which I quickly close, so as not to give Loki any satisfaction. "Well then," I say, trying to overcome my surprise. "I assure you that we no longer want to stay on here, particularly with you on board."
"And Thor doubted me when I said that your spite came not only from the poison," observes Loki with an air of amusement.
"You never answered my question." I state.
"You never asked me a question."
"Well, then let me make this clear to you, because clearly your 'high tech,'" I put this in air quotes, "brain cannot possibly wrap itself around this concept. I. Want. To. Be. Off. Of. This. Ship. When is that happening?"
"Before you call me unintelligent," says Loki, once again skillfully side-stepping my question. "Perhaps note the fact that I am the one who saved you and your precious sister's lives."
"I don't give you much credit for telling the Avengers what any good person should." I say. "But then again, you aren't a good person, are you, Loki?"
"I'm not a per-"
"I know what you did to New York." I state, trying to keep my emotions under control. "And I hate you over and over again for it. I will never be able to forgive you."
Loki's emerald eyes pierce into mine so that I want to look away. "I know you have something you have been wanting to tell me for a very long time." When I snarl at him, he adds, "Do not deny what is clear to my eyes, Thea."
"I don't know why I'm even talking to you about this," I snap, turning away.
"Thea, we never began to discuss-"
"I don't give a damn!" I yell at him, stalking down the corridor. I hear Loki protesting after me, but I ignore him, a burning feeling going through my chest. I choke back tears as I run through the hallway, not really caring where I am going.
Stark calls out for me as I dash past him, but Natasha holds him back. Ignoring both of them, I look for anywhere, anywhere at all I can be alone.
Thor finds me about an hour later, on the observatory deck, looking out at the miles and miles of clouds and sky as the sun sets like a crimson tide across the heavens. Tears still frame my face like chains.
"What happened?" he asks, his shadow falling over me.
I cross my arms. "Nothing."
"Thea," he says, sitting down next to me, although I still refuse to look at him. "Do not deny-"
"You sound just like your brother!" I hiss.
He raises his eyebrows, but says nothing. I cough, sniffing and wiping my eyes on my sleeve. The sky is darkening, and soon Thor and I are thrown into shadows, as the only light comes from the automatic lights that flash on above us.
"His name was Bryce," I say softly, looking at the floor. I try to keep my mouth from blabbering on, but it fails. "He...he liked to ride motorcycles. I would sometimes ride them with him, even though my parents didn't like it much. He wanted to be an engineer."
Thor says nothing, but I feel his dark eyes focus on me.
I slash some traitorous tears from my face. "We were best friends. I loved him. But then... then one day, he went into the city. He had an interview for a job, and he was so excited. I remember watching him leave. It was on the thirty fifth floor of a building. Something...we..." I choke on a sob. "He was found on the nineteenth floor, surrounded by the remains of the building." I can't restrain the tears that are pouring from my eyes. "He was my brother," I sob.
Thor puts a hand on my shoulder, and I don't bother to try to knock it off. "Thea, I am so sorry."
"That's why..." I cry. "That's why I hate him so much. Because," my breath rattles. "Because he killed Bryce. He was only twenty."
"Thea-"
"You wouldn't understand," I say bitterly, trying to control myself. "You're a god. You've never lost anyone you loved."
"That's not true," says Thor quietly. "I lost my mother."
I look up quickly. "Thor, I'm so sor-"
"Don't be, you didn't know." He says. Then, he adds with the slightest bit of a chuckle. "At least I know the reason for your faithful hatred of my brother."
"I loathe him," I spit. "I'll kill him. I'll kill him!"
Thor is quiet for a moment, then says, "Let me tell you something I learned several years ago. Revenge is not always the right path, and neither is vindictiveness."
"You are saying I should simply walk away from the monster that killed my brother, yet he treats Bryce like any other person, and probably even less."
"No," Thor smiles. "By all means, knock him senseless. You have already tried that quite often enough."
"It doesn't normally work."
Thor raises his eyebrow. "Well you successfully pummeled him in the face. During the procedure- I do not think you knew what you were doing."
"Well," I say darkly, remembering the dark mark around Loki's face, "I wish I had known- it would have given me at least some sort of consolation for what I had to go through." Even though my emotions are still tumbling, the thought that I have successfully marred an Asgardian god has lifted my spirits ever so slightly.
"Thea, I have told you that these violent-"
"It isn't violence," I state. "It's revenge."
"Revenge is not what-"
"It is what I want. I'm going to avenge Bryce's death. And you cannot stop me."
Thor, through all of this has remained extremely calm. He takes a deep breath and says, "I do not doubt that your intentions are clear. You seek revenge because my brother has taken someone you love. But if it falls to the death Loki, then yes, I will deal with you. And I can stop you."
"I think you might find I am hard to stop when-"
"Thea."
I look up quickly. His voice is firm.
"Stop this. I do not expect you to forgive Loki, but give up this wild, crazed passion. Loki made a horrid mistake, but-"
"How can I forgive him?" I yell. "He. Killed. My. Brother! The only one who could understand me. I will never forgive him?"
"I just said you did not have to forgive him."
"I won't stop!" I exclaim, standing feeling a furious tension flow through me. I feel hot. I feel alive. I want to kill. "He murdered Bryce!"
"The-"
Before I know what I am doing, I have flipped around so that my foot has connected with Thor's chest. He is thrown back, and for a minute, I am too shocked to move.
Thor stands, looking no worse for the wear. "Thea..."
"No!" I scream, feeling horrible all of sudden, wanting to lash out and kick at anything. "No! I won't stop until-"
"Until I lie dead at your feet?"
I whirl around.
"Loki, leave." Says Thor, his breath ragged.
"Why should I?" asks Loki. "The girl wants to challenge me." His eyes rest on me, and I see the challenge in them, mixed with a vision of superiority. "Let her. I want to see it."
"Loki-"
"You killed my brother." I say, my breath coming quickly.
Loki walks towards me and I stay in one place, trying to stop my body from shaking. "Your brother?" he asks. "I am so sorry. I, however do not know individually the humans I-"
"Murderer!!" I hiss.
"Loki." Thor's voice is distant.
Loki, however, ignores him. "Thea, you seek revenge for one tiny human that lived in the midst of billions of others. Why not use your talents, your skill set for something worthwhile."
"What do you know of any talents I have?" I ask, having no idea myself.
"Well why do we not discover them ourselves?"
"Loki. Loki." Thor's voice becomes more desperate as Loki comes to a stop in front of me. But I can barely hear him.
"Your brother is dead," says Loki calmly. My breath hitches. "There is nothing you can do to stop it or bring him back."
"I can kill you," I say, my breath between my teeth. "Then his life will be avenged for your stupid need to rule the earth."
"Thea!"
"Stupid need?" says Loki with a sickening grin on his face. "If I recall correctly, darling, my 'stupid need' led to plenty of destruction, including that..." he looks down at me, deep into my eyes. I can barely control my emotions. "Including that of your beloved brother."
My temper smashes.
I lunge at Loki, then slam him to the ground. I feel like red hot is coursing through my body as Loki hits the ground hard, with a barely muffled grunt. I hit him as hard as I can, but he grabs my leg, twisting it so that I fall as well. In this time, he jumps up, shouting something at Thor, but I do not hear it.
I grab Loki by the throat, surprised by my own strength as I slam him into the wall. I spot the bruise I had given to him and I smirk darkly, then crash into him, sending him to the floor. I don't know what is going on, but I feel so strong, I can take on even this puny god.
I hear more shouts, but ignore them. My eyes are only on the evil thing below me. I clench my fists and send them into Loki's face.
"Thea!" Suddenly, hands grasp my waist, yanking me back and sending Thor and I falling to the floor. I kick up, struggling, but Thor holds me to the ground. "Thea listen to me!" he roars. "Get control of yourself!" His face is close to me. "Revenge will not bring your brother back!"
"Well I will feel a lot damn better if I do kill him!" I scream. I wrench myself from his grasp, rolling. Loki has risen to his feet, and I lash out, striking his shoulder blade. He tumbles back, but then swings his arm around. I don't notice he has struck me until I am on the floor.
The door bangs open just as I spring at Loki again, but I am so intent on my prey that I do not really notice the presence of Clint, Steve, and Tony.
"What the hell is happening?" demands Tony, but I ignore him. I strike Loki again, and he falls. My hand is trembling. I lunge at Loki, but then someone else grabs me.
"Get off me!" I howl, trying to shake Barton off, but I am finding that my muscles are tiring, and his grip is now much stronger. He whirls me around so that Thor can grab my arms, which I am currently using to try to knock out Clint.
"Thea, listen to me," comes Thor's distant voice. My mind is fuzzy as I struggle against the two men, but to no avail. The furious strength that I had once possessed is fading. "Thea!"
I scream in defeat, letting Clint pull me against his chest as Thor says, close to my ear, "Thea, can you hear me?"
I pant against the leather of Clint's jacket. "Ye-yes." I swallow hard. "Where is Loki?"
"Right here," I hear Loki's voice say from behind me.
"I didn't...kill him?" I ask.
"'Fraid not," says Stark. Clint turns me around, but is still holding on to my arms. Tony is looking at me weirdly. "Hey kid, why are your eyes-"
"There will be time for that later," says Loki, who is looking at me in calm surprise.
"I wanted you dead," I snarl at Loki. This time, he does not say anything to provoke me. "And I will not stop until you are dead."
"Yeah, lots of people apparently want him dead," says Tony, while Loki says nothing. "Thor, take her upstairs. I'm pretty sure Thea needs to rest from her little grudge match."
"Grudge match?!" I scream, although I feel hot tears on my face. "He. Killed. My. Brother."
Tony and Steve turn to face Loki, both looking surprised, although Loki does not look surprised nor concerned. His voice near me, Clint says, "I'll take her upstairs."
When I try to escape from his grip, he only tightens it as he pulls me out of the room. I glare at Loki one last time before the door shuts.
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