Chapter 18-We Remain.
"I don't think there's a way out of this one, "Emma yells.
I swallow hard as the five-hundred ft. water tsunami picks up speed rapidly, heading in our direction.
"Sir, we need to evacuate!" Hill shouts.
"We have about fifty seconds," Steve says, "Christy, let's go!"
I try to move but it feels like my feet are glued to the ground. All I can do is stare at the wave that could potentially drown me.
Steve rushes over and grabs my arms,
"There's nothing we can do," he says turning me.
Then it hits me.
There is someone who can stop this.
"It's me," I mutter.
"Christy, we have about thirty seconds. Please don't make this harder," Steve says.
"I can stop it. Just like that map!" I yell.
"You can't absorb the water!" Steve cries, "you'll die if you try that."
"I'm not going to absorb it," I say flatly.
Steve releases me,
"Don't make me regret this," he says walking backwards.
Twenty seconds.
I muster up the courage to face the wave again. Let it come. I'm ready.
Manipulating the gravity I fly above the tsunami. It's so tall that it takes over ten seconds to reach the top.
Ten seconds.
I've never used my feet to fly, so I hope this works.
"Please let this work," I pray in my head.
Because if this doesn't work, everyone I love is dead.
My hands tremble as I raise them directly at the wave.
Please work. Please work. Please work!
Five.
Four.
Three.
Two.
Now!
Using all my strength, I force the water off the ground. I honestly can't believe I'm still flying, but superheroes are weird.
Oh wait. I'm a superhero. Eh I'm still weird.
Somehow a scream escapes my mouth as I continue to raise the tsunami off New York. Slowly, the water responds to my command.
Now, it sits feet off the ground, as I hold it in place. The wave now, since it flattened when it hit the ground of NYC, is about two-hundred ft. long, and four-hundred ft. wide. Not sure how that worked out, but okay, it's Loki's wave.
That means it was spreading across four-hundred ft. of NY soil....asphalt. NY doesn't have soil.
Using all my strength, I force the water off the ground. I honestly can't believe I'm still flying, but superheroes are weird.
Oh wait. I'm a superhero. Eh I'm still weird.
Cheering comes from the ground below me.
"Don't cheer just yet," I mutter.
Now all I have to do is throw the wave back into the water. This might be a little trickier.
Pushing my hands forward, I manipulate gravity and thrust the tsunami back towards the water. A few remaining drops fall onto the harbor but I think it will live.
Everyone, even the New Yorkers, shout for joy as I gently float to the ground.
Steve is by my side before I can stop him,
"You did it, Christy!"
"That wasn't hard," I pant.
It wasn't hard until I feel my knees buckling beneath me. Steve catches me as I fall.
"Sorry," I whisper, "I've never moved something that big."
Steve laughs,
"Well, it's over n...."
"Did you really think it would be that easy?" A man asks behind us.
A woman in the crowd screams.
I thought it was that easy until I turned around to find Magneto and Loki hovering above Steve and I.
Three figures are thrown on the ground around us.
Derrick
Thor Odinson.
Tony Stark.
"No!" I yell pushing away from Steve and dashing over to Tony.
Quickly I check for a pulse.
He's still alive.
"How could you do this?" I ask harshly.
Surprisingly, Loki doesn't answer.
"Because, young one, they were trying to ruin my waves, but you did that on your own," Magneto says.
"I wasn't talking to you," I sneer, glaring at Loki.
He stutters.
"You don't have to be the bad guy, Loki. You could join S.H.I.E.L.D, fight for what's right," I plead.
Loki tries to speak but is interrupted by Magneto.
"No! It's already done!" Magneto yells.
The sun is completely gone, a blue moon sits peacefully in it's place. The NYC lights have ignited, filling the street with an aura of gold.
My energy is gone, so I crawl on my knees towards Loki,
"It's not to late. Help us....please," I say.
He's struggling.
I smile and hold out a hand. But that's when the second *crack* fills my ears.
"Magneto, did you say...waves?" I ask.
Magneto grins wildly.
He said waves.
Three tsunamis' line the harbor. The middle wave two times bigger than the first wave I stopped.
"You tried, hero. But nothing can stop me!" Magneto cries.
Tony stirs. When he sees Magneto, Loki, and I, he raises one hand,
"Christy....Loki isn't the villain," he says.
Of course! It all makes since now. Loki was used. Loki didn't hire Magneto....Magneto hired Loki. So that means Loki was really with Thor the day they returned to New York.
Robot Loki didn't appear until later! Magneto and Electro were in cahoots, but they needed Loki to distract the Avengers.
That means....
"He threatened to kill you," Loki says to me in my mind.
Great, Loki can read my mind again. Tony's serum must have worn off.
Wait? How did I hear that in my mind?
"I have connected our thoughts for a short time," Loki says in my thoughts.
This is creepy!
"Why did you join them. I can take care of myself," I think back.
"Because....I love you, Christy. I didn't want you dead before I told you," Loki says.
I scoot back. Please, no one noticed that.
"Christy, what's wrong?" Steve asks.
Why me?
"I'm okay," I reply.
Derrick and Thor begin to shift as well. They're fine.
"Why? How do you...can you love me?" I think.
"I know you can't return the love, Christy, but there is a way I can show you," Loki replies.
"Destroy them," Loki says to Magneto.
What? You tell me that you love me then you go and destroy us? Hmm...sound like song lyrics. I should be a writer.
Magneto raises his hands. The three waves begin crashing down on NYC.
Suddenly, the unexpected happens.
Literally, I was not expecting this.
Loki grabs Magneto by the shoulders, and throws him to the ground.
"What the...." Magneto starts to speak but Tony shoots him with his repulser guns, knocking him out.
"Good shot T-man!" I shout.
Now to stop those waves....
"Goodbye, Christy," Loki says out loud.
Turning to the tsunamis', Loki waves his arms, allowing the three water masses to merge into one giant super tsunami. Six times larger then the first.
"Push it, Loki!" I scream.
Loki shakes his head,
"No. Magic always has a price."
He flies directly at the wave.
No. This can't happen, it isn't the way it's supposed to end!
Loki, (basically) fist-bumps the tsunami as he dives head first into the water. The wave immediately turns green, Loki's signature color.
"Brother!" I hear Thor call out.
We stay frozen in silence as the wave suddenly shoots into the sky and bursts, showering white snowflakes on the city of New York.
Loki sacrificed himself for us...me.
I cover my mouth, to keep from squalling, as the first snowflake hits the ground.
Steve rushes over to me,
"He did the right thing."
I turn to Thor,
"What did he do?" I command.
A tear runs down Thor's cheek before he answers,
"My...my brother...traded his life...in exchange for something beautiful," he says.
Loki's dead.
I sink into Steve.
Why does this feel like it's my fault?
I never loved Loki, but he felt like any annoying, miserable, self-centered brother to me.
Emma runs over to Derrick and helps him off the asphalt. His face turns red when he sees her.
Four S.H.I.E.L.D agents, eight policemen, and nine firefighters restrain Magneto with the best technology in the world, and lock him away in a S.H.I.E.L.D villain jet.(which is actually designed for the Hulk.)
The snow continues to fall as Fury makes a decision,
"Alright, let's get the cleaning crew down here. Somebody put that fire out."
I glance around New York,
"Fury. No need," I say.
It may be pitch black outside, but New York is lit bright as always. The fire at Central Park no longer exits. The park looks greener and newer than before.
With the help of Steve pushing me up,I look at the rest of the city. It's perfect. As if the battle never happened.
Thor wasn't kidding when he said Loki gave his life for beauty. The city looks new...even beautiful. Then I realize I feel strong again. The snow lines my hair, hands, and clothes.
Anything the snow touches it heals. Loki healed everyone and everything in New York.
Loki is the hero.
Steve places a rough hand on my shoulder,
"Let's go home."
I smile.
Home.
************************************
*Two Days Later*
"I missed it?" Beka screams, "Loki's dead and I didn't even get to say thanks for nothing?"
I giggle. It's been two days and Beka is already healed.
Peter took longer because of what Loki did to him. I haven't seen Peter yet, but according to Fury, "he'll be perfectly fine, stop worrying about the poor kid,"
I didn't ask anymore questions after that.
Clint went to see Natasha today. I wanted to come but Fury said I was in charge of, "watching Beka."
Actually, I'm supposed to break the news about her being my cousin. I just....am taking my time. Her parents are dead, and she has no family (besides me and dad) or friends she cares about so Beka's staying here at S.H.I.E.L.D. Joy.
"How's Peter?" Beka asks.
"He's alright. But don't worry, give him a day or two and Peter will be back to his ridiculous self," I say.
We are sitting in the Helicarier's agent break room, waiting for Fury to escort Beka to her room.
We stare at each other in an annoying silence until two hands cover my eyes.
"Guess who," a male voice says.
I grin, that is a voice I could never forget,
"Phil Coulson," I turn to see dad's smiling face, "my father."
Dad notices Beka,
"You look just like your mother," he says.
Beka crosses her arms,
"How did you know my mom?"
Dad is taken aback,
"You haven't told her that you're cousins? You mother was my sister," he says.
Beka's eyes widen,
"Cousins!"
I shrug,
"Surprise?"
Steve (thankfully,) pokes his head in the door,
"Christy. Can I talk to you for minute?" He asks.
I nod, then stand and walk to the door.
"I can tell you stories about your mother, Anna," I hear dad say before I slip out of the room.
Steve stands on the other side, like me, dressed in regular twenty-first century garb.
"Can we talk?" He asks.
"Anytime," I reply nervously.
Most of the time in movies, "can we talk," ends in disaster.
"What did Loki say to you before he...died?" Steve asks.
I could lie...but I can't.
"He said he loved me," I say.
"What did you tell him?" Steve asks.
I step closer to Steve closing the awkward gap between us.
"I told him, that I only love one man," I say.
"What?" Steve says stepping back shocked, "who is the guy?"
I frown.
"Steve Rodgers."
"Oh. I see. I guess it's over," he says turning.
"Steve Rodgers!" I yell.
He stops, then relaxes, blushing,
"Steve Rodgers is...me."
"No," I say sarcastically.
He laughs slowly,
"Sorry," Steve says filling the empty space between us again.
"I hope you know that I could never love anyone more than you," I say.
Steve takes my hands,
"I love you, Christy Coulson. My seafood medley girl," he adds with a grin.
I stand on my tiptoes as I stare into his amazing blue eyes before saying,
"That's dang seafood medley girl to you."
Then he kisses me.
I've heard that every time you kiss someone you love, your life gets better. I didn't understand that quote until now. I wouldn't be complete without Steve Rodgers. And he wouldn't be complete without me.
There will always be villains in our lives. It may not be a crazy lunatic mutations, it may just be a bully. But we can stand up for what's right.
No matter what, we can't forget, that true heroes remain.
"Because when the dust clears, and we've done our best..."
We will remain.
**************************
A/N: 😭😭😭😭😭 that's the end of book two!
I know this chapter was short but I have an epilogue that will be posted Saturday:)
Soooo yeah. What did y'all think? And what what was your favorite part of this book?
Okay the next book let me tell you is intense. I mean it. Lol.
Thank you so much for reading this book:)
-AnnaBeth.
2/6/2014