AUTHORS NOTE- I know it took me forever to update and I'm REALLY sorry!!! As always thanks to KneelForYourKing, Lady Laufeyson, Agent Marvel and Scarlet Ink any anyone else who read, voted or commented. To Brina, Abby, Sarah and Elizabeth- hope you guys liked your lines :)
LOKI POV
I awoke with my heart beating right out of my chest, breathing like I had just run a marathon. I looked around, trying to see what had awoken me. Nothing was there and all was silent except for my labored breathing. I put my face into my hands, trying to remember. It suddenly came to me.
A scream.
Her scream.
I could have sworn that I heard her, as if she were right next to me. She sounded so pained, so desperate. Was it real? Or was it just my panicked imagination?
I looked out of the window leading to my own balcony and saw the faint glow of sunrise on the horizon. I knew sleep would not come to me anymore so I got up and changed into a simple green shirt and black pants. I walked out on to my balcony and took in the view. My thoughts once again drifted to Jang. Was she alright? Is she alive?
I thought back to our time together on Midgard. I remembered how she would always be singing, how she always had a clever remark to fire right back at me. How she would never back down from any challenge. She was a tough one, for sure. But she also had a sensitive side, a side not many people got to see. Jang had locked up her emotions so only people she choose to show could see them.
She let me see and for that, I was grateful.
A little while later, I heard a knock on my door.
"Come in." I said, not turning away from the balcony.
"Hey Loki. Come on, we're having a strategy meeting." I turned and saw Sarah leaning against the doorway.
I smirked. "You know, it isn't ladylike for a woman to enter a mans chambers."
She smiled and scoffed. "Who said I was ladylike?"
I chuckled and closed the door behind me. We walked down the halls in silence, both of us lost in thought. We reached the room and I opened the door to see Thor, Abby, Sabrina and Elizabeth standing around a circular table, maps of all the nine realms spread across it with notes scribbled on all of them.
Sarah spoke up. "So, what'd we miss?"
"Nothing much. We were waiting for you guys to get back." Elizabeth said, not looking up from the maps.
"Ok so now that you here, first things first. We need to figure out who our allies are. Who do we have here on Asgard that can help us?" Sabrina said, looking around the table at all of us.
"Well, as father said, he won't be of much assistance. But Heimdall is still looking. If he sees anything, I've ordered him to tell us right away. We also have the finest Asgardian soldiers searching for any sign of them now." Thor said.
Abby nodded. "Ok so Odin is a maybe. Heimdall definitely. And of course the soldiers. Who else?"
I had a sudden idea. "Hel!"
Elizabeth looked at me with raised eyebrows. "Excuse you?"
"No, no-my daughter Hel."
"Ah right. The zombie princess of the dead." Sarah snickered.
I looked at her, anger and annoyance building. "You would do well not to call my daughter a 'zombie.'"
She winced. "Sorry. So how could she help?"
"She is the goddess of the underworld. If Jang..." My voice broke. I took a deep breath and tried to compose myself. "If Jang or Thanos dies, she can be the first to tell us." I spoke softly.
"Very well. I shall send for her at once." Thor began to walk to the door but I stopped him.
"Thor! Wait. Could you...could you send for the others as well?" I asked.
Thor gave me a small smile before answering. "Of course." He turned and walked out the door.
"So we know who can help us here. What about back on Earth?" Elizabeth asked.
Sabrina began to speak. "Well, obviously we have the guys. But other than that, I'm not sure if Fury will be much help. And last I checked, Natasha was out on a mission so I-" Abby cut her off before she could finish.
"Ok ok ok. Wait. Hold on. Does Natasha even know about this? Cause I know that Clint isn't at all happy about helping a man who tried to destroy New York and quite frankly, I'm not either!" Abby said
"Woah woah woah! Abby calm down! Think for a minuet!" Elizabeth said, pleading.
"I can't! I can't calm down! Because every second, all I'm thinking about is what he did in New York and what he did to Jang! Its his fault this thing happened in the first place! Why are we even here?! Why are we helping a murderer?"
"Abby, stop it! You know why we're here! Why are we here, abby? Tell me!" Sarah yelled.
"For Jang, I know! But he's-" Abby began.
"Then why can you accept him? Why can't you accept the fact that he's changed?! The rest of us can see it, so why can't you?" Sabrina asked softly.
"Why?" Abby paused, breathing hard. "Why can't I accept him? You know why. You know DAMN well why I can't accept him!"She snarled and stomped out of the room in fury.
"What happened?" I whispered and looked at the three girls, hoping they could give me some answers.
Sarah crossed her arms and looked at her feet. Elizabeth bit her lip before starting to speak.
"When you first came to Earth with the Tessaract, the four of us were assigned to the case. We were supposed to find out who you were, what your motives were. We were all intrigued but Abby the most. Then the whole Germany thing happened and well...she devoted herself to it and she never stopped, hardly ever took breaks from her research and hadn't seen her family in a while." Elizabeth paused before continuing. "Fury noticed and he told Abby to go visit her family that was in New York that week."
Sabrina started again for her. "She left that day and she was um, called back a few hours later because your 'invasion' had started. The four of us were out there fighting with Jang and all the guys but um, Abby's...Abby's family didn't make it."
I put my face into my hands and groaned. No wonder she didn't trust me. I felt a hand on my shoulder and saw Sabrina looking at me, worry in her eyes.
"If it means anything, We believe you. We believe that you've changed."
I smiled, grateful for the trust of at least a few people. I stood and walked to the door.
"Uh Loki. Not a good idea," Sarah said. "You'll probably end up with a black eye."
I didn't turn around. "It wouldn't be the first time, milady."
I jogged around the palace, looking everywhere for Abby. I didn't know what I would say but I had to try and make amends. I finally found her on a balcony that overlooked the palace gardens. I stood behind her, trying to figure out what to say.
"What do you want?" She snarled, without turning around. "It's way too late to apologize now."
"I come and ask not for your forgiveness, but for your trust. I know there is nothing I can say to make you forgive me. But I beg for you to trust me, for Jang's sake." I stood silently, for there was nothing more that I could say.
She sighed. "Alright. But know this, it's only for Jang, not for you."
"Of course." I turned and walked off of the balcony, heading back towards the meeting.
"Jang," I said, under my breath. "I pray not just for my sake but for the sake of everyone who cares about you, please be ok."
JANG POV
I lunged from the bed and dived at Loki only for him and the whole room to disappear.
I lay on my knees in the cell, gasping and trying to think. 'That was only an illusion. It's only Thanos messing with your head.'
I heard his deranged chuckle above me.
"Does that prove my power to you?"
"Anybody can make illusions. That was nothing." I growled, still not looking up at him.
"Very well then. Perhaps you will react better to physical pain."
I flew across the cell into the far wall and was chained to it once more. He approached me slowly, as if he wanted to draw this out.
"Have you learned to fear me now?"
"Fear is for the weak. I'm not scared of a coward like you. The only reason you brought me was because you were too afraid to get Loki himself."
He smiled. "You are not as strong as you think, darling." A dagger appeared in his hands and he slashed it at my stomach. I bit back my screams as he kept going, giving me cuts on my arms and torso. With every cut I felt my energy slowly draining away.
He stopped and waved his hands. The chains disappeared and I fell to the floor in a heap. I didn't look up at Thanos but I heard him speak.
"Till the morrow, my pet." He spat and walked away, the cell door clanging behind him.
It went only like that for days. I couldn't be sure. I lost all sense of time. Sometimes it would be sudden visions of horrible things. My loved ones dying, me having to kill them. Every once in a while Thanos himself would come. Sometimes the tortures were right after each other, sometimes it would be a long time before the next one. I tried my hardest but it was difficult to separate illusion and reality.
The darker side of me admired his work. He was going to draw it out as long as he could. I sat there on the cell floor one day, staring at the scars the dagger had left. And I realized something. I was finding it harder and harder to remember the good times I had with the girls, with Loki.
Not only was Thanos draining me of my magic, my power and my life source.
He was draining me of my sanity as well.
AUTHORS NOTE-Hope you guys enjoyed! And please please follow me, vote and comment if you liked it!!! (Shameful self promotion, I know)