You didn't know what the seethe had done to get on the Avenger's radar. Hell, you hadn't even known who the team of superheroes in costumeswere when they burst into the underground lair of the seethe. You recognized Iron Man from the news, but Tony Stark had announced himself before you'd been taken. There was chaos among the vampires when the team burst in, looking for the queen of the seethe, bringing the sunlight in with them.
You rose from the thin blanket that was your bed. You were the youngest vampire here, with the least status, plus you were here against your will, so you hadn't gotten comfort when you were supposed to be passed out during the daylight hours. Something had told you to stay conscious that morning and you thanked your mother's heritage for keeping you awake and ultimately alive.
The rest of the vampires rose as well, rose to fight off the intruders, to protect the queen. Most of the younger vampires didn't wake, too drained by the sun. You did. The vampires expected you to fight with them.
Morons.
You waited for your chance, then rushed forward and stopped one of the seethe from ripping the arrow-guy's throat out. You summoned a small flame, shoved it into the vampire and shoved him far away from arrow-guy. "Those things wood?" you asked him. He nodded. "Straight to the heart. They're also weak against fire," you told him.
"Can you light them?" He asked, holding out a handful of arrows. You had to be careful playing with fire, but you lit them for him with magic. He nodded. You jumped from hero to hero, helping advising, doing what you could to help. You helped the woman shove a group of the oldest vampires into the sunlight where they were much easier to take down. Iron Man's repulsers were effective in lighting them on fire, so you mostly stayed out of his way. Fire was not your friend.
You should have been tied to the seethe, should have been bound to protect them, just like the others, but you hadn't chosen this, and they could beat you into obedience, but not into metaphysical control. The same reason they had taken you in the first place was the same reason they couldn't control you now. You'd just needed help to escape and help had come from a group of six superheros.
Once the main seethe was defeated, you showed them the secret stairwell that led to the queen's resting place. "I can't go with you-" you admitted when you had opened the secret door. "I can't. I'm sorry-"
"Easy, kid, you've helped us plenty. Wait here," the guy with the shield told you. The others agreed. You had helped as much as you could. Even you couldn't face off against the queen. You found the darkest corner to wait for their return and wondered what was going to happen now that you were free. You couldn't go home, your family thought you dead, and...well... they weren't wrong.
You felt the queen's death and you didn't mourn her. You could have rejoiced in her demise. It was she who had decided you should be ripped from your life and added to her collection of vampires.
Moments later the super heroes came back up, just as a group of men in black suits stormed down the stairs. You stayed in your quiet corner out of the way and as invisible as you could make yourself until arrow-guy came over to you. "You ok, kid?" he asked.
You nodded shakily. "I can't believe they're finally dead," you told him, relieved, excited, nervous. There were too many emotions and you didn't know how to deal with any of them.
"You're ok now. We'll get you out of here. What's your name?" arrow-guy asked. The rest of the superheros were dealing with the guys in suits.
"Y/N," you said softly, unused to kind attention. Vampires were not usually pleasant, especially to you. The queen shouldn't have chosen you and they all knew it.
"You got somewhere to go?" he asked, kindness and concern in his voice. He seemed like the kind of guy who adopted every stray puppy he came across. You shook your head. "Come with us. We have plenty of room and we'll help you get back on your feet," he offered.
"Really?" you asked suspiciously. You weren't used to kindness anymore. You really weren't.
"Really. You saved our skins. It's the least we can do," he replied warmly and took your arm to lead you out of the seethe's hideyhole. You protested at the sunlight, planting your feet before your reached it. "It'll be ok," arrow-guy promised again, misunderstanding the problem. He didn't know what you were. They thought you were a human and that's why you had been able to fight the vampires with the team.
You shrieked when the light hit your sensitive eyes when arrow-guy pulled you forward anyway. You stepped back into the shadows, hands over your eyes, hissing in pain, even as you felt the sun drain your strength, felt your skin starting to burn. You were too young to burst into flames at the sun except at very prolonged exposure, only the oldest of the vampires did that, but it could still give you a wicked sunburn or worse.
"Shit, she's one of them!" one of the team protested
"What do we do with it?"
"We have to take her with us,"
"She helped us!"
You couldn't distinguish the voices as they argued over your fate. They argued for a long time before you got sick of it. "If I'm for the axe, then for mercy's sake, just swing it!" you told them with tears in your eyes, partially still stinging from the sun, but mostly from the people you helped arguing with a bunch of suits about what to do with you when you were this...thing... against your will. You hadn't chosen this and all you had done was help.
"She comes with us," the guy with the hammer said firmly, tears in his eyes, and a haunted expression at your words. "She comes with us,"
"Fine, but there are conditions," some angry pirate guy in black with an eyepatch said.
*
Which is how you found yourself in your current predicament. In a cell in the basement of what you would learn was the Avenger's tower. There were thick manacles around your wrists with a length of chain in between, and an equally thick metal collar around your neck, secured to two walls with equally thick chains, which barely let you move from the cot in the cell.
The pirate man didn't trust you just becuase of what you were.
You didn't exactly blame him...but it still wasn't fair.
"It's just for a couple days," Clint, AKA arrow-guy insisted every time he came to visit. "Just until we convince Fury that it's safe,"
"I'm not going to hurt any of you!" you protested. You had helped them.
"I know, kid. I'm sorry. We'll convince Fury soon, just hold on a couple of days," he bid you. You also protested that you weren't a kid, but no one listened to that either. You'd been 18 when you were turned, a young-looking 18 at that. Clint brought you water, food, though no one brought the hungry vampire blood. You could eat human food, and it helped a little, but...
You were withering, and couldn't tell them why without them thinking you were even more of a monster than they already knew. They knew of course, they had to, it had to be a plot on their convincing of Fury that you weren't any more dangerous than the rest of them.
It had to be.
*
You stood when you heard footsteps, a casual stride, soft steps you didn't recognize. You stepped forward as far as the chains would allow. "Hello?" you asked, desperate for contact, company, and hopefully kindness. A thin man with long raven black hair and vampire-pale skin stepped into view. You hadn't seen him before. It was also strange that you couldn't feel his body temperature. He had a pulse, you could feel that just fine, but no warmth. Weird.
"The Avengers keep all sorts of interesting things in the tower, it seems," he commented casually as he looked you over, interested. His voice and accent were warm honey and just added to his charm and attractiveness. "Including gorgeous young ladies in chains," you flushed at that, embarrassed by your predicament. You hadn't chosen this anymore than you'd chosen to be turned. You saw a hint of mischief in his eyes. You had a feeling whoever he was, he wasn't supposed to be down here.
"Any chance you're down here to let me go?" you asked hopefully. He was up to something, and maybe if you gave him the idea to let you go, he would.
He smirked, but held up his left arm, there was some kind of technology-metal manacle thing on it. It looked like something Tony Stark had created, based on what you knew of the billionaire. "Fun as that would be, I cannot as I am also a prisoner here," he told you, sounding actually sad that he couldn't. He actually seemed friendly, and wasn't in a hurry to leave, so you decided to be nice. Company was better than nothing.
You sighed. "Worth a try," you told him with a shrug.
"I am curious what you did that is worse than what I did," he commented. He seemed truly curious.
"Guess you'll have to tell me what you did. Who you are would also be nice," you teased and sat back on your cot. You were going to be comfortable for this conversation, plus if you were sitting, he might decide to stay longer. He raised an eyebrow.
"You don't know who I am?" he asked, incredulously, pulling over a chair from somewhere and sitting down on the other side of the glass of the cell. He didn't believe you.
You shrugged again. "I've been locked up for awhile and quite literally living underground. Sorry if you're uber famous or something," you said the words lightly, but he thought them over anyway. He was listening for something in your words, judging something by them.
"Hmm, no lies, how interesting," he commented, bemused. He thought it over a moment longer before he said: "Very well. I am Loki prince of Asgard-"
You sat foward on your cot and couldn't help jumping in to interrupt. "What's Asgard? You're a prince?" you asked quickly, immesenly interested in this stranger, really in any friendly contact, but he seemed so very different from the others. So different than anyone you had met.
He laughed, but seemed pleased by your interest. "One question at a time, little one, and I believe you still owe me your name and what you did to end up here," he held up a hand before you could protest he hadn't told you his crime yet. "I tried to take over Midgard, what you call Earth, under the influence of mind control and torture. My idiot brother," you raised an eyebrow, so he clarified. "The big oaf with the hammer," you nodded, remembering hammer-guy. "Felt that I should make amends so he brought me here to work with him and his friends to protect this realm. They do not trust me, so..." he gestured to the piece of tech on his wrist.
"Surely not everyone on Earth is stupid," you suggested, afriad that if he felt that way, he'd get bored with you quickly and leave you without company again. He looked you over, considering.
"Maybe, but Thor's friends in either realm are stupid," he shrugged, then sat back in his chair and gestured for you to tell your story.
"Ah, I'm sure you'll find my crimes very terrible," you told him with a smirk. He gestured for you to go on, interested. "I helped the team when they came to destroy a group of vampires," he raised an eyebrow, questioning the word "a type of humanoid creature that is generally considered a monster. The group they destroyed were monsters," you added quickly. They were. They were evil examples of vampires. "Anyway, I helped them defeat the monsters, saved Clint's life, and showed them where the monsters' queen lived. In exchange, I ended up here," you gestured to your cell.
"That hardly seems fair," he commented. You could see him getting angry at your treatment.
You shrugged. "It's not, but... they found out after the battle that I'm a vampire too," you added a little hesitantly. You'd had a feeling this man could be your friend, but if he was scared away by you being a monster... You didn't dare look up from your lap.
"And assume that you are as monsterous as the rest of your kind, despite evidence to the contrary?" he surmised. You looked up at him shocked. "I have some experience in that area," you raised an eyebrow. He sighed and steeled himself. "I mentioned that I am a prince of Asgard, but I was adopted. My true parents were frost giants, creatures considered monsterous by the Asgaridnas. So yes, I am well acquainted with how you feel, and how the morons are treating you,"
You both looked up when you heard new footsteps down the hall. "Shit," Loki cursed softly and stood quickly, pushing the chair back to where it was supposed to be. "I'm not exactly supposed to be down here. I'll see what I can do to help get you out of here," he told you equally softly.
"Don't get yourself in trouble on my account," you bid him. He gave you a warm smile with a mischievous air about it.
"Don't fret, little one, I am due for a little trouble and mischief. I am the god of mischief, chaos, and lies, after all," he told you. The footsteps were coming closer. "Until later, Lady Y/N," Loki bid you and after an elegant bow, vanished in a shimmer of green light.
He had magic too!
Yes, he was going to be quite fun to befriend.