ten
"declare your war"
What they found in that room was weaponry. The Captain's face had fallen at it and Lusine found herself extending a hand to him, placing it on his broad shoulder to comfort the man who'd wanted to believe in the good, but had only found the bad.
"This does not mean that all is lost, Captain," Lusine said, offering words of comfort that bore no underlying lies. The crestfallen face of Steve was enough to bring it out of her as golden as the sunlight, not faltering through the dark.
"I know." He pulled the gun from the box, weighing it up in his grasp. "I thought that maybe this time things were going to get done right."
Lusine's hand dropped to her side. "It seems there is no right and there is no wrong where this organisation is concerned. Everything is grey."
Steve declined to respond, squaring his broad shoulders.
The gun was odd in his hands: a weapon of destruction where those palms upheld justice like an unauthorised God in his own right.
Maybe it was being around Midguardians that was rubbing off on her, making her soft, but she found herself wanting to be more just in her ways. That little slither of light leapt with joy at the thought, breathing in the strength just as the fist of the void brought it down again, but hit the ground with a grin at its mouth as it knew it had made its mark.
Betrayal after betrayal had left her questioning more about herself and those she'd chosen to surround herself with.
"We should show this to Tony and Doctor Banner," Steve said at last, meeting her eyes with that wave of frustration toiling back and forth.
-
Lusine remained to watch the confrontation. Had to keep her face cool as Fury butted heads with Tony and Steve over the discovery of the Hydra weaponry and plans for missiles that he had attempted to lie about.
As amusing as it was to see their little team forming cracks, she needed them to hold steady long enough for her to get her revenge on Loki and then go home, if that was even still her home.
Of course it was.
No place in the universe could ever compare to the Wolf Moon, her birth place where she had grown into the woman who could warp minds of men and women alike, steal wives for herself, use the husbands as a one-night stand. Where she had fallen in love and lost that love. Where she'd fought alongside her people when invaders threatened their home. Fought alongside her brother and her cousins.
Where she would rise to the throne as heir of her father and rule as the true Queen of the Wolf Moon.
When the familiar red head of Natasha entered the laboratory, Lusine took it as her cue to leave. Rising from the stool, she brushed out her dress and swept from the room.
"And where do you think you're going?" Tony Stark's voice called, halting her in the doorway.
Lusine looked over her shoulder at him. "Are you talking to me?" She responded, voice steady even as the power rumbled deep inside of her. A slumbering volcano, an arrow locked in its bow, a turning tide.
"Yes, I'm talking to you. Does no one else think that she shouldn't be left alone because, oh I don't know, she almost killed someone!" He said exasperated, gesturing to her with a pointed finger.
Lusine turned to face him, stepping back into the room. "But I didn't."
"Severely injuring someone isn't much better," Natasha commented, unfolding her arms, her quick hands hovering at her sides. Lusine noted where her hands lay within a moments reach of the gun and rolled her eyes.
She was too late to yank the reins back. "And if you don't watch your tongue, you'll be next," She growled. "You think you're above me because you're part of this organisation? But you've killed, haven't you?" She took another step and Natasha's gun was on her in the blink of an eye. Lusine regarded the gun with a low laugh. "Oh, yes. You've definitely killed more than you're willing to let on."
"Stand down, Miss Volkov," Steve said, stepping in.
Lusine's eyes snapped to him. "I'm not the one with a weapon out," She hissed, turning her attention back to Natasha. "How about you put that weapon down before I show you what the Goddess of Chaos can really do."
"Goddess of Chaos?" Tony's eyebrows raised. "You're meaning to tell me we've been letting a goddess of chaos walk around this ship unchecked?"
Natasha's hands flexed around the gun in silent warning.
Lusine grinned and clicked her fingers, instantly her image split into ten versions of herself, all snarling and converging on Natasha. Holding the illusion, Lusine made her get away as the first bullet fired, wondering how long it would take them to realise that she was gone.
-
-
Lusine walked. Running would attract too much attention, make it known that those bullets firing were meant for her skull. She could hear Thor telling them it was no use, that bullets would not stop her and that she would not harm them, but those bullets kept on firing.
Lusine drew in a breath as she scanned the room for who she needed. There he was. Coulson was talking with Agent Hill, but Lusine strode over nonetheless, blood thumping in the caverns of her heart.
"Coulson, can we talk for a moment? It's urgent," She asked him, begging with her eyes. She did not want to be caged like Loki. Or tested on like some animal as if she had a disease to be cured or a power that could be weaponized.
He looked her in the eyes, seeing into their blue depths and not missing the dread for a second. "Agent Hill, will you give us a minute alone?"
The woman noted Lusine and then nodded, leaving to give orders to an agent scanning through pages on his screen.
"What can I do for you, Miss Volkov?" He asked, giving her a genuine smile. He reminded her of her father in that moment. And she found comfort in it, even as she knew her illusions were no more.
Oh Gods, she missed her father. The realisation hit her like a shot to the stomach.
"They think I'm a monster," She breathed, eyes flickering all across his expression for any hint of agreement with that statement. "You don't think me a monster, do you?" She asked as she put a slender hand on his shoulder, eyes flicking to their powerful ebony, unwavering.
"Of course not," He replied woodenly, words not his own.
"Then, I ask you to defend me. Not with your weapons, but with your persuasion. Tell them that I am no monster. Tell them that I have not come here to harm anyone. I have not come here in league with Loki. Help me for I do not want to become a caged wolf, pacing back and forth day in day out." With her demand, she released him just as Natasha, Thor, Steve and Fury came rushing into the main room.
And she looked to Steve as Natasha's bullet went through her shoulder, stared up at him with open eyes as the black blood began to wet her palm where she clutched the wound.
As the second bullet ripped into her, she fell to her knees, crackling with controlled energy.
"You must stop," Thor persisted, reaching towards Natasha, but she dodged him. "If she was going to kill us she would have done it already!"
Coulson stepped in front of her, in the path of the bullets meeting their target.
"Agent Coulson, stand aside," Natasha demanded, every single one of her muscles tensed to spring into action at even the slightest move from the goddess who bled black. "She has no place on this team."
"Miss Volkov is not an enemy of S.H.I.E.L.D, Agent Romanoff, and you will do only harm in treating her that way," Agent Coulson replied, holding his ground as the magic fastened his bones and rooted him to the ground between its master and the black widow.
"The only harm is letting an ally of Loki live within our ranks," She called back, fingers curling tighter around the gun. "She needs to be detained."
Lusine clutched her wound, extending an arm as if to steady herself as she rose to her feet. "I am no ally of Loki any longer," She hissed in response, holding her tongue as much as she could, "and yet you still want me dead. I am no threat, Agent Romanoff."
"Miss Volkov has not come here to harm anyone but those who have betrayed her. Loki betrayed her and now she wishes to put an end to his plans, just like we do," Coulson said.
"It is true," Thor added grimly, "He betrayed her, but he is also a man who she loves."
Lusine's eyes flickered as she wrapped the reins around her wrists and yanked back with all her might and will, replicating the strength she had witnessed. "I will never forgive him for what he did to me."
"He seems to think you already have," Natasha said coolly, gun still poised for action.
Lusine placed a bloody hand on Coulson's shoulder, but stood with a steady ease. "And who has told you this?"
"The man himself. Yourself and Hulk seem to be his play in, one, getting out of here, and two, tearing this team apart," Natasha explained. Lusine squared her shoulders and held her chin high, even as her body deflated and shoulders wished to sag.
Lusine swallowed and looked away.
"You were unaware of his plan?" Steve asked, taking the chance to force Natasha to lower her gun. She obliged, but did not put it back in her belt.
"Completely," Lusine replied lowly, all power that had surged within her now turned to nothing but dust within her as she mourned the love she'd once had. Cradling it in her hands as it dissolved. "Time and time again he uses me. Thinks of me as nothing but a weapon for his disposal and today is no different."
"So, you could've guessed you were his play?" Natasha's voice was subtly accusatory and Lusine didn't fail to pick up on it.
"Natasha," Steve warned. Maybe he noticed the light dimming in her with every word she spoke, or maybe he just knew when enough was enough, but either way Lusine felt a dreadful sense of gratitude.
"I hoped that this time would be different," Lusine said.
"Captain," Fury began, having witnessed the whole thing and taken the evidence to make his judgement. "will you show Miss Volkov to the infirmary? She has some wounds that need patching up."
"Thank you, Director," Lusine rasped, maintaining the facade of the injuries being worse than they actually were even as her body already began to heal itself.
"Certainly," Steve said, striding over to Lusine and looping an arm around her for support as he guided her away.
Lusine locked eyes with Natasha as she was led past, holding the stare as they went and gave her a flash of her black eyes just to let her know that she would not forgive or forget the bullets embedded in her flesh.
And that one day she might just repay the favour.
-
-
As soon as they were around the corner, Lusine craned her neck to look up at the Captain with a gentle smile.
"You don't need to take me there," she said, "I can get the bullets out myself."
"And what about the rest?" Steve frowned, tilting his head to peer down at the otherworldly woman under his arm. She felt the strength of that arm on her spine as he readjusted.
"What? Stitching? No need. My body will heal quickly. All I need to do is get those bullets out before my skin heals around them," She explained. "Two bullets is mild compared to some of the horrors I've faced, Rogers."
His eyes flicked across her face in one breath. She blinked and those baby blues were locked right on her own set of piercing eyes. "Back to your room it is then."
Lusine raised an eyebrow, the corner of her mouth tilting upwards.
"That sounded more promiscuous than intended," He commented, but surprisingly held his ground as they walked around a corner. Suddenly aware of her fingers on his lower-back, the way they shifted and moved and tapped with every breath she took that surged the sting of the wounds deeper.
Lusine laughed lowly, ignoring the pain as if it were as little as a bee sting. "While I can assure you I'm not looking for romance of any kind, a little company wouldn't be hated," She said softly and, even with her once beautiful green dress soaked through with blood so dark it appeared black, he couldn't help but find her rather appealing.
Sensing his interest, her smile widened as they reached her door. Lusine lifted herself onto her toes and moved her mouth so close to his ear it brushed the skin and said, "So, anytime you're feeling a little lonely, come and find me. I'll show you exactly what the Goddess of Chaos can do."
Her breath danced across his reddened skin, smelling faintly of red wine. Lusine stepped away, back to her door as she pushed down the handle, chuckling despite herself, despite the state she'd gotten into just to prove to these people that she was not here to draw Midguardian blood.
"I should go," Steve managed. "I think Natasha wanted to speak with Doctor Banner. It's probably best that I be there for that just in case..."
"Yes," Lusine said. "I'm sure your presence is necessary. Goodbye, Captain." She pushed the door open behind her, forcing herself to step away from him, even as everything about him seemed to intrigue her beyond her ulterior motives and interests.
She turned and slipped into her room, locking the door behind her.
-
Lusine sat before the mirror as she held the tweezers between her fingers, prying the bullets from her flesh. Her jaw was tight, teeth locked together through the pain of the bullets being ripped out.
In an aim to distract herself, she questioned herself of why she dared to tempt the Captain as she had. It wasn't that she was past Loki. If what she yearned for was revenge, very clearly she was not beyond Loki's reach. It would be a lie to claim so.
And yet, she hadn't thought about him in hours, beyond what was necessary to save her own skin.
A wash of shame flooded her, followed by guiltless relief. After everything that had happened to her, after everything she'd been through, she somehow could see that flicker of a candle inside of herself and, though it burned low, it lived and breathed and smiled with teeth of flame as she peered in, face hot in its presence.
A knock at her door sounded only moments after she'd pulled the second bullet from her shoulder and dropped it into the tissue. Pulling on the robe, she strode to the door and yanked it open, surprised to see Agent Coulson stood there with a disappointed look pressed into his expression.
"May I come in, Miss Volkov?" He asked, sickeningly solemnly. Lusine frowned but nodded her head, stepping back to allow him in.
In an instant, she was a child again, bowing her head in shame before her father as he caught her in another one of her lies, pretending she didn't control the maid to bring her extra servings of dessert, when Coulson looked at her with that sadness.
"Did you need something from me, Agent?" Lusine questioned, lacing her fingers together behind her back.
"Did you use your magic on me?" He asked bluntly. "Please, be honest," his fists clenched at his sides, more in frustration than aggression. "I need to know."
"Yes," She replied, voice calm. "I did."
"It was not necessary. I would have told them you were not here to murder and destroy without the magic forcing me to," He said, a smile twisted with sadness and other emotions that Lusine couldn't quite figure out.
Lusine's chest tightened. "And you really believe that?" She dared ask, even as she feared the answer that could either make or break her. Following everything she'd endured over the past couple of days, hearing these next words could either send her spiralling downwards or keep her taking steps up the steep stairs of repair, one by one. A long journey, but one she found herself more and more willing to continue.
"I do," Coulson replied. "I do not believe you are an evil being. Chaotic by nature, but not evil. You do not seem to want to kill any of us."
Lusine let herself smile and breathe again. "I am sorry for using my magic on you. I was," she sucked in a sharp breath as the admitting of a fear was a dagger into the heart of the fearless woman she'd been forged into by everything life had thrown at her. "scared. I was terrified that they would lock me away. I do not think that my mind could bear being a prisoner."
"Then it is a blessing that you still roam free," He said, matching her smile and putting a hand on her shoulder. "And will continue to do so until you prove other actions are necessary."
She trusted the man in front of her with an open heart that lurched and bounded across the planes, chasing the light that speared into the dark skies above.
A lone wolf chasing the moon.
"Thank you, Agent Coulson," She said, thinking of her father and praying that he did not despise her for ripping his son from him and turning his family upside down.
-
3008 words
this was a long one...