#meanwhile loki's stuck with a reminder that it's not just his hand that's blue or another skin

[worstloki]

Concept: Because of going through Ebony Maw's torture repeatedly, Loki has cracks on his skin, all of them spiralling out of where Maw dug his needles in. His body is pretty much covered in cracks, from his cheeks down to his legs. He covers them all with a glamour.

“Brother, you’re becoming predictable.”

Thor crouches down next to Loki who is twitching on the ground, held in place, immobile, by the obedience disk he had attached to the back of his shoulder, just in case the need to manage him had arose. And, it has.

“I trust you, you betray me, round and round—” Thor’s smile drops, and he watches in horror as the blood vessels visible across only half of Loki’s face start to fade from a heated purple into blue, snaking over its entirety, like sharp folds of marquina marble.

Loki’s eyes widen slightly, and his mouth opens in an attempt to speak, though he doesn’t manage any sound except a quickly cut-off choke. He continues convulsing, and Thor averts his gaze over to Loki’s hands, palms partially gloved, only to find the same shades of blue bleeding through, like cracks in his skin; glistening cracks with a silvery outline that doesn’t manage to conceal what those exact blues mean to Loki. Or what they mean to Thor.

Those, as much as Thor wills to think it so, despite the colour, are not the natural markings of Jotun. He has fought Jotnar, and for all he’d been told of Loki being a frost giant he had been under the impression that even small for one, he at least looked as they did.  

The fissures run, outlines in silvery blue, to the tips of his fingers, Thor notes, and they are denser and coalesce through the centres of the palms and the areas directly under the cheekbones, from whence they spiral out.

They also slip under his sleeves and neckline, and Thor refuses to assume anything further than he can see; he refuses to imagine the rest of his brother’s skin divided in a mosaic of pales and blues, a harried patchwork of scars messily painted on, to imagine it a signifier of suffering passed, but also as a reminder infused into his very being. That Loki had been— that he is broken. Thor refuses.

But he has lived a millennia and a half through battles —albeit most on smaller scales than inter-realm warfare— but he immediately knows.

He can recognize torture. 

And he can recognize magic.

And Thor refuses to think what combination of physical and psychological stress could do this to Loki of all people. Loki. The Loki he’d known his whole life to be the most stable, persevering and reserved person in mind. The same who would joke and run his mouth and cause mischief but also the brother he trusted to always be at his side. The Loki he’d pitch to be an unbreakable companion, both in mind and heart, whose mastery of seiðr and knives, however unconventional, were indicative of his strength, his control, his pride. 

And now Thor doesn’t even know why or for how long Loki has concealed this fractured form from him— he doesn’t know if Loki would have ever told him freely. Or if this too would’ve been another family secret carefully constructed to keep him in the dark, to mark him as untrustworthy to know. Another silent battle, locked away.

“You’ll always be a liar, Loki,” Thor concludes, disappointed, knowing what he has said to be true, for who else but a coward would hide something like this? Something Thor may have at a time been able to have helped with, but now has no information nor empathy to spare, not for him.

Thor stands, turning his back to the alarm in Loki’s eyes, the slight shake of his head as if trying to refute the truth Thor can see with his own eyes.

He’s too hurt and angry at another of Loki’s deceptions to care about anything right now. He wants to go to Asgard and salvage what he can of the people he knows, who he trusts wouldn’t conceal themselves behind falsities, especially those of being alright when so much is wrong. 

Thor holds down on the remote in his hand, releasing the obedience disk’s hold on Loki, so that he may recast whatever illusion he no doubt wants to shield himself with, and he walks away, towards the ship.

Thor regrets not waiting till he was further away to relieve him of the pain when Loki’s ragged breathing breaks into voice behind him, and what he’d seen of Loki’s hands flash through his mind’s eye: cracks across his slender fingers and soft palms, cobalt streaks spreading around his wrist, which no doubt grow stronger rather than fainter further up the arm, likely another focal point for the corruption marks at the shoulder, the largest swirls emerging through the base of his sternum pierced through to covet both his back and chest in slivered crevices giving the illusion of shattered glass, another centrepoint a hairs-width above his hips on each side, rifts of blue emerging from the space between the lower thigh and knee in both directions, cracks curling around his feet from the roof of the ankle like vines. And, of course, the jagged cuts of blue he’d seen across his face. 

At the same time he also sees his brother as he’s known him for centuries, whatever he’d show of his entire body always unmarked, the same facial structure, the same bony wrists and hair and softness— but now he doubts how much of that, if any of it, was real. 

Thor closes his eyes hard to hold back the welling tears, as if anything Loki says can be a half-decent attempt to justify— as if any reason could ever be worth forgiveness for dismissively concealing something like this, which has impacted all of him enough for his own magic to taint his body in such a way of defense, to have pieced together whatever parts of him it could, and decide to hold him together so desperately under the distress he so evidently faced alone.

Loki speaks, barely loud enough to make it to Thor’s ears over the sound of the dimming alarms as he walks, almost as if Loki’s words are first and foremost for himself, as if he is the one who needs the comfort of them, and Thor a mere spectator.

“My skin was already a lie; I just added a few words of my own to it.”

Thor’s heart shutters and he feels his resolve crumbling. He ignores the pain in his chest and keeps walking away. 

[discoscoob]

New York | Loki x Female Reader

Loki (Marvel) x Doctor Who

The TARDIS lands in New York City, leaving you and Loki to worry how the citizens might react to seeing the God wandering around the city he once attacked.

Part Seven | Part Nine | Chapter Index

Words: 5.1k

Warnings: angst and injury

Read on AO3

You had just finished getting dressed for the day, when you fell back into your bed, which Loki had yet to leave. You rested your head on his naked chest and listened to the rhythm of his heartbeat, as you basked in the heat of the warm morning sun which radiated through your artificial window. 

 Your arm wrapped around his stomach, which gently rose and fell with each breath and it fascinated you that this extraordinary, immortal being, who was resting in your bed, inhaled air through his lungs and had a regular heartbeat just like you or anyone else. 

 You picked up his hand and he let you examine it as you held it in the air with your own. He had four slender fingers and a thumb, his nails were neatly trimmed and his palm was scattered with creased lines, which you traced with the tip of your pointer finger, Loki’s hand twitched slightly at the ticklish feeling. You trailed your finger all the way down to the back of his narrow wrist and over the blue and purple lines of his veins, which decorated his pale skin in the shape of lightning bolts.

“You’re so... ordinary.” You softly thought out loud.

 “Thanks?” Loki answered, his tone dripped with offence and sarcasm but you could tell it was lighthearted.

 “No, wait. That came out wrong. I don’t mean it in a bad way,” you reassured him, “It’s just... fascinating.”

 Loki hummed in acknowledgment and you intertwined your fingers and let your hands rest over his stomach.

 Ever since your recent trip to the 1920s, one specific thought had occupied your mind. The Reverend’s transformation into his true form had reminded you that, despite how ordinary Loki may have appeared to look, there was another version of him being suppressed by magic, his Jotun form and true identity. 

 “Loki, can I ask you something?” You tentatively questioned.

 “Mhm... anything.”

 “What do you really look like?” 

 “What do you mean?”

 “When we were inside the volcano in Pompeii, the Doctor scanned you with his sonic and said that magic was suppressing your true form.” You explained and you felt Loki’s body stiffen ever so slightly beneath you and from under you ear, you could hear that his heartbeat had increased its pace.

 “Why... would you want to see that?” Loki slowly asked, he didn’t understand what desire you would have to see that part of him.

 You propped yourself up on your elbow and looked down at him.

 “Wouldn’t you want to see my true form if our roles were reversed?” You asked him, you don’t doubt if you had another form, Loki would wish to see it and if he imagined that, maybe it would help him understand your interest in his.

 “That would be different.” Loki decided after thinking about it.

 “How so?”

 “Your true form wouldn’t be...” Loki’s eyes drifted off with his words as his face twisted in disgust.

 “Wouldn’t be what?” You nudged him.

 “It’s just not something you would want to see, trust me.” He tried to gently explain.

 “I’m sure that’s not true–“

 Loki cut you off by snapping your name and your lips immediately fell into a straight line as you stiffened, “just- just leave it.”

 You tilted your head downwards and let your eyelids cast over your eyes as the tension left your body with a sigh. You rolled off the bed, muttering something about how the Doctor would be landing the TARDIS somewhere soon and you would meet Loki in the control room after he got dressed, before you swiftly slipped out of the room.

 Loki brought his palms up to his face and let out a groan of frustration as soon as the door shut behind you, immediately regretting how he handled the situation.

 Meanwhile on the other side of the wall, in the corridor, you were mentally beating yourself up. You should have noticed that he wasn’t comfortable with the idea of showing you his true form and respected his boundaries. 

 You already knew that no matter whether Loki was in his Asgardian or Jotun form, you would not see him any differently and you wanted him to understand that but you didn’t want him to feel forced to show you a part of himself he obviously had trouble accepting.

 With your head hung regretfully, you pushed yourself off the corridor wall and made your way to the control room.

 ***

 Your auntie called your name as soon as she saw you enter the control room, you looked up and saw her face splitting grin as she approached you.

 “The Doctor is going to let me fly the TARDIS!” She told you, barely containing her excitement.

 “Are you sure that’s a good idea? I mean, he barely even knows how to fly this thing, never mind you.” You worried.

 “Hey!” The Doctor poked his head up from behind the console, clearly offended. 

 “It’s a health and safety hazard that this thing doesn’t have seat belts.” You continued.

 “Well, there’s a rail,” the Doctor nodded his head to the rail that surrounded the centre controls, “and there’s handles around the console.” He demonstrated their sturdiness by pulling on one of them only for it to snap off and send him stumbling into the rail, which he managed to catch himself on. “As I was saying... there’s a rail,” he patted it, “very sturdy.”

 “This thing is falling apart.” The Doctor commented to himself as he threw the broken handle over his shoulder, you heard the sound of metal clink as it landed somewhere beneath the platform which the console was on. 

 “Right, Donna, over here then” He called her over and she clapped her hands with excitement as she jogged around the console to where the Doctor instructed her to stand. 

 As he began muttering instructions to her, you decided to grab a tight hold of the rail, not trusting the handles on the console.

 “I can’t believe I’m doing this!” Donna stated, the pitch of her voice rose with her enthusiasm and disbelief.

 So far there had been minimal turbulence and you were beginning to think she might actually be a better pilot than the Doctor.

 “Oh- oh, careful.” You heard the Doctor mutter as he pulled out a small hammer and hit it against the console before he switched a leaver, which caused the TARDIS to let out a whirling sound.

 “Left hand down. Left hand down!” He urgently instructed your auntie, as soon as she pulled down the leaver in her left hand the TARDIS jerked harshly, if it weren’t for your tight hold on the rail it would’ve knocked you off balance. 

 “You’re getting a bit close to the 1980s!” The Doctor fretted as he watched the monitor.

 “What am I gonna do, put a dent in them?” Donna rolled her eyes.

 “Now, pull that down gently. Gently!” The Doctor stressed and the TARDIS shook violently as the sound of wheezing filled the room, which informed you it was landing, but rather harshly due to Donna’s amateur piloting.

 “I did it! Did I do it? I did it, right? I landed the TARDIS?” Donna cheered joyously.

 “You did it!” The Doctor confirmed, looking just as surprised.

 “Doctor, that was a bad landing, even for you.” Loki critiqued the Doctor as he entered the control room, dressed in a navy blue button down with the shirt sleeves rolled up to his elbows and tucked into some dark suit trousers.

 “It was me.” Donna proudly corrected him, despite his negative criticism, and he raised his eyebrows, forming slight creases below his hairline.

 “Well, Doctor, if you’re going to let anyone fly this thing it should be me. I can be a very skilled pilot.” Loki suggested.

 The Doctor shrugged. “Yeah, I don’t see why not. You can have a go on our next trip. Then maybe you could have a go.” He looked at you and your eyes widened like saucers.

 “Oh, no. No, thank you. No, I don’t trust putting all your lives in my hands.” You swiftly declined. 

 “Fair enough.” The Doctor grabbed his long brown trench coat off the seats next to the console and pulled it on. “Let’s go see where Donna crash landed.”  

 ***

 “No! No way! I landed in New York City?” Donna span around and looked up in awe at the skyscrapers that reached beyond the point her eye could see. “Doctor, we’re in New York City!”

 “Yup, I can see that.” The Doctor remarked as he followed behind her with his hands tucked into his trouser pockets, he glanced around the busy street which was filled with people who were far too busy to even take a second glance at the blue police box which had materialised out of nowhere.

 You and Loki shared a nervous glance as you stepped out last, both knowing what the other was thinking without even saying it. You weren’t sure what year it was, although you could already guess it was the modern day from the fashion and the vehicles which were stuck in traffic on the road nearby. 

 If it was any time after Loki’s attack, he might be easily recognisable and goodness knows the kind of panic it might cause if he is seen wandering around the streets of New York. On top of that, Donna and the Doctor still weren’t aware of Loki’s past and this would not be the most ideal way for them to find out. 

 Loki kept his head down, hoping that if the commuters didn’t notice the TARDIS, they wouldn’t notice him as the pair of you caught up with Donna and the Doctor, who by the sounds of it were already planning a trip on one of the topless tourist buses, dread filled you at the mere thought.

 “That would be lovely, but we don’t have any money, do we?” You reminded them, feigning disappointment. 

 “Not to worry, I have the psychic paper, remember?” The Doctor pulled his wallet from his suit pocket and waved it in front of you and you had to quickly turn your glare into a smile.

 “Yeah but, buses give me motion sickness.” Loki quickly interjected. 

 “You never get motion sickness on the TARDIS.” Donna looked at him sceptically. “If anything’s gonna give you motion sickness it’d be that thing.” 

 “Funny that, isn’t it.” Loki shrugged, pretending to be as baffled by it as she was.

 “How about the observation deck of the Empire State Building instead.” The Doctor offered.

 “I don’t really feel like doing touristy things. Why don’t we head back to the TARDIS and go somewhere else? We have the whole universe to explore.” You suggested.

 “Are you all right?” Donna squinted her eyes at you. “You want to go back in the TARDIS and likely end up getting chased around by aliens? After the last few trips we’ve had, don’t you just wanna have some fun? This is New York City, what’s the worst that could happen here?” 

 As if on cue, the sound of a sonic boom carried through the streets and from the top of one of the buildings, that towered above the rest, an electric blue beam shot directly to the sky and parted it to form a worm hole which revealed the depths of outer space. 

 Like an endless swarm of flies, dark figures which you could not identify, flew out of the portal in all directions. There appeared to be another figure already combating the invasion, as it launched tiny missiles at the hostile threat, resulting in several explosive clouds to form midair but more creatures continued to arrive.

 “You’ve got to me kidding me.” Donna groaned. “Can’t we go anywhere, just once, without either an alien invasion or someone getting possessed?”

 Around you, people either stopped and stared at the battle in the sky above them or were already running in the opposite direction, some people were exiting their cars which were caught in the traffic jam and abandoning them without a second thought as they ran away in search of safety.

 “Is that...” You spoke low enough just for Loki to hear and when you looked at him he appeared as though he was about to be sick as he nodded in confirmation.

 You flinched with a yelp as one of the creatures crashed landed on top of one of the abandoned yellow taxi’s, crushing it beneath its weight. The sound of the car alarm echoed off the surrounding skyscrapers as the onlookers who hadn’t immediately ran, screamed with terror as they trampled down the street in a crowded herd, while you were glued to the spot alongside your auntie, Loki and the Doctor. 

 “What is that thing?” Donna’s face twisted with horror as she looked upon the motionless creature on the dinted roof of the taxi.

 “Chitauri.” Loki answered as he began backing away. “We must leave. It’s not safe. More will come.” 

 The Doctor looked conflicted, as though he didn’t want to abandon the city without trying to help but with another glance up to the worm hole, he seemed to realise that the situation was out of his depth.

 “Loki is right, return to the TARDIS!” The Doctor raised his arms to his sides and encouraged you all to start running, not that you needed to be told twice. 

 Loki grabbed your hand and lead the way, it wasn’t far, the blue box was in sight just at the very end of the now empty street which you were running down.

 The sound of emergency sirens, car alarms, distant screams and explosions surrounded you and heightened your distress, but you tried to block it all out and remain focused on the TARDIS, which grew closer with every step, and the feeling of Loki’s hand secure in yours.

 Every few seconds you glanced behind you, just to ensure that your auntie and the Doctor were safe and keeping up. 

 You were barely a few meters away from the TARDIS when one of the Chitauri landed in front of it, blocking your path, the concrete beneath its feet cracked from the impact of its land and you and Loki slid to a halt as it pointed its weapon at the pair of you. 

 Without hesitation Loki shot a burst of magic at the creature out of the palm of his hand and sent it flying straight into the doors of the TARDIS, where it slumped lifelessly to the floor. 

 You let out a breath you hadn’t realised you were holding as you let your tense muscles slightly relax, unfortunately you couldn’t enjoy the feeling of relief for long as Loki’s magic had attracted more of the Chitauri. 

 You couldn’t get into the TARDIS without moving the body in front of the doors and with the Chitauri beginning to surround you, pausing to drag the body out of the way would only make yourselves easy targets. 

 “Run!” You heard the Doctor shout above the noises of a city and you all retreated as the Chitauri shot lethal lasers towards you. Loki pulsated a wave of his harlequin magic towards the vicious aliens, knocking several of them into the walls of the surrounding buildings with so much force, the brick crumbled against their back as they flopped to the floor. 

 In the next street you ran into, several police cars gathered in the middle of the road, the officers crouched behind the open doors of their cars and pointed their handguns to the sky and shot aimlessly at the army overhead, needless to say, they weren’t providing much help.

 The Doctor paused in the middle of the road, civilians were running in all directions. Some ran into buildings in search of safety, others ran out of buildings in fear of getting trapped. The Doctors eyes were wide beneath his wild eyebrows as he looked up and down the street. 

 “We need to find a subway! Get underground!” The Doctor shouted.

 Your eyes caught sight of three pods which were flying in a V like formation as they began swooping down towards the street. You started backing away, until you realised that the one front and centre wasn’t being rode by a Chitauri. The person dressed in golden armour with an emerald green cape which screamed for your attention as it fanned out behind him and wearing a helmet designed with large horns, was Loki. 

 Your Loki’s eyes filled with terror as soon as he realised his past self was heading straight for you and he immediately began running towards you. While for you, it was as if time moved in slow motion, as you swear that the God flying above you looked you dead in the eye, sinister chills shot down your spine as his stare lacked any of the softness, care and adoration which it usually overflowed with whenever your Loki looked upon you. Before your eyes could even catch sight of it, a laser beam from his pod was shot directly at where you stood. 

 Your Loki reached you just in time to push you out of the way of the explosion it caused upon impact with the ground and the force of the blast launched both your bodies across the street. 

 You were the first to crash against the concrete and Loki landed after you. He had managed to prepare for the fall with his arms braced in front of him so when he landed above you, his hands were on either side of your shoulders, holding up his upper body so he didn’t crash down straight on top of you.

 He heard your auntie cry your name, as she rushed to your side and Loki hesitantly repeated it as he gently nudged your shoulder, you were curled up on your side, next to the curb and your face was hidden from view by your hair. 

 Loki’s stomach filled with nerves so strong they caused nausea, at the thought of how you might look at him once you turned over onto your back. He would never forgive himself if your eyes widened with fright as they looked upon him, since you had just witnessed his past self shoot a lethal blast directly at you, he feared it might permanently damage your perception of him.

 Guilt was already drowning his heart in his chest and it floated in the rising levels up to his throat which choked around it as he struggled to pull air into his lungs. 

 He was already remorseful of his actions on this day but now he had just witnessed himself attempt to hurt– or rather, kill you. The thought of you coming in harms way had bile rising from Loki’s stomach, the thought of himself being the one responsible for you getting hurt caused an unbearable amount of guilt to stab through his heart so hard it caused physical pain.

 “Why isn’t she moving?” Donna’s voice pulled him back to reality.

 He had saved you, he pushed you out of harms way. You were just scared and you needed to be reassured that you were out of danger. Loki gently nudged you again, softly calling your name.

 “I’m so sorry. You’re safe now, my love. I won’t hurt you, I promise. Please forgive me.” Loki whispered to you. 

 “Loki, she’s not moving.” Donna repeated, the panic was evident in her voice as she called the Doctor over.

 “Darling, please open your eyes for me.” Loki had been so concerned by the thought of how you might look at him once you laid your eyes on him, but now he realised he didn’t care at all how you looked at him he just wanted to see you open your eyes. He didn’t understand why you weren’t. He had saved you from the explosion, he had protected you from harm.

 “Loki,” He felt the Doctors hand rest on his shoulder and he shrugged it off, “let me look over her, I want to help.”

 Hesitantly Loki shifted so he was no longer leaning over you and instead kneeling by your side.

 “Oh my god.” Loki heard Donna gasp, as a sob crawled from her throat. He looked up at her, where she stood by your feet and then back down to where her eyes were fixated.

 There was blood smeared on the edge of the curb just above your head, Loki hadn’t noticed it before, since his eyes were only focused on you and Donna hadn’t seen it either because Loki had been blocking her view. 

 The Doctor cautiously rolled you onto your back and that’s when Loki saw the right side of your face. You had graze marks across your chin and cheekbones but what pierced ice cold panic straight through his bloodstream was the large injury on your temple. 

 The Doctor began sliding his arms under your back and your legs. 

 “What are you doing?” Loki worried and the Doctor paused his movements and nodded to a deserted alleyway that was just across from them.

 “I’m going to move her off the street, it will be safer there.” He explained and Loki nodded in agreement and let the Doctor scoop you up. Loki wanted to be the one to carry you, but he wasn’t sure you would appreciate that since the only reason you were in this state in the first place was because of him.

 “Will she be okay? How bad is it? Can you fix it?” Donna fretted, her eyes were brimming with tears as she tenderly placed her palm on the crown of your head as she walked beside the Doctor. He remained silent, not answering any of her questions, he wasn’t going to promise her anything until he could properly examine you. 

 The Doctor carefully placed you back on the ground, once you were in the safety of the secluded alley. He reached into his coat pocket as he knelt beside you and pulled out his sonic screwdriver, he scanned it over you to get a diagnostic of the damage caused to your body. 

 As he did this Donna knelt on your other side, holding your hand and whispering to you that everything would be okay, although it was mainly to comfort herself. Loki kept his distance and watched on with tear filled eyes, constantly playing back in his mind how he could’ve saved you differently so that you wouldn’t have suffered a head injury as the blast launched you to the floor. 

 “She’s alive.” The Doctor confirmed and Donna sobbed with relief as she whispered to you that she knew you would be okay and praised how strong you were but the Doctor’s face remained solemn and it didn’t take long for Donna to pick up on it.

 “What’s wrong? You said she’s alive, that means she’s okay, right? She’s going to wake up.” Donna looked at the Doctor with so much hope, just wanting to hear him reassure her that you were going to come around but he remained silent. “Doctor, tell me she’s going to be okay.” She demanded.

 “She has a subdural haematoma.” The Doctor explained grimly.

 “What...” Donna’s voice trembled with the force of her cries.

 “There is a bleed on her brain, it would require emergency surgery to fix it.” 

 “Then what are we doing in an alley?” Donna gulped back her sobs. “We have to get her to a hospital!” 

 Loki sniffed back his tears and harshly wiped his eyes with the back of his wrists, realising that wallowing in his own guilt wasn’t going to fix anything. 

 He approached your unconscious body and knelt above your head, as he reached both his hands out to place them over your scalp, Donna reached out her own hand to stop him.

 “What are you doing?” She worried. 

 “I can heal her.” Loki promised and Donna’s eyes swam with hope as she retracted her hand with a nod and let him continue.

 She went back to whispering words of reassurance to you and herself as she cradled your hand to her chest, while Loki cradled your head. 

 Slowly a green essence surrounded his fingers and began to sink into your skull, Loki closed his eyes to concentrate on where he was focusing his energy. It was a very tricky and delicate task, he was used to his magic being more chaotic rather than gentle and precise, so it required a lot of focus. He blocked out the sounds of the battle taking place beyond the alley, he blocked out the sirens and alarms and he blocked out Donna’s whispers until he was surrounded by silence and it was just you, him and his magic.

 Once he was certain he had removed the bleed from your brain, repaired the rupture and fixed any damages he could find, he placed a sleeping spell over you in order for you to recover. He was carefully withdrawing his magic from your skull when a force hit him hard in the centre of his chest, at first he just jerked but he managed to maintain control over his magic and was able to carefully retract it from your mind.

 Once the green essence had absorbed back into his own fingertips, he opened his eyes and tuned back into reality. Donna was panicking as her eyes bounced between his wounded chest and the opening to the alley, while the Doctor was trying to help her remain calm.

 Loki looked down at his chest and saw an arrow imbedded in it, nothing that could cause him any severe damage, but he vigilantly watched the rooftops which were visible to him from his position, searching for a particular archer. He was about to pull the sharp weapon from his chest when his limbs began to feel limp and heavier than usual. 

 Suddenly he was no longer able to sit up and his back collided with the rough ground and he quickly realised that the arrow must have been coated in a toxin which entered his bloodstream and rendered him immobile, as much as he tried to fight it, it were as if his bones were made of mjölnir.

 “Loki, did you truly believe that changing your attire and hiding in a dark alley would make you unnoticeable?” A deep voice caught the attention of Loki, Donna and the Doctor.

 “Thor, you are astoundingly boneheaded.” Loki groaned from the ground.

 “Now, now, brother. No need to insult my intellect just because you’re wounded by the fact I outwitted you.” Thor spoke in a condescending manner.

 “I hate to be the bearer of bad news but you have not outwitted me, not even close.” Loki boredly replied.

 “My Lady, I assure you’re safe now. What did Loki do to your friend?” Thor ignored his brother and addressed Donna who had been staring at him with a slack jaw ever since he had made his presence known. 

 “He uh... He healed her.” Donna answered in a dumbfounded state.

 “Healed?” Thor slowly repeated with a tilt of his head. 

 Before he could ask any further questions, his attention was stolen by a doorway shaped portal which materialised near the back of they alley. A man wearing a brown suit stepped through it, followed by two armed officers dressed in black combat uniforms.

 The Doctor glanced over his shoulder once he heard the sound of footsteps echoing off the narrow walls and immediately recognised the man. 

 “Oh, Loki,” Mobius sighed as he stood over him. “What did I tell you about using your magic? I suppose I should be grateful as it has made my job a lot easier, the boss has been on my case all week about finding you. I was this close,” he held up his pointer finger and thumb a hairline away from each other, “to getting fired. So honestly, I’ve never been more glad to see your face. That injury isn’t fatal is it?” He pointed to the arrow in Loki’s chest. 

 “I am beginning to wish it was.” Loki groaned as he stared up at the fair haired man who stood over him before the two officers grabbed each of his arms and dragged him to his feet.

 Once he was stood to his full height, Mobius walked up in front of him and secured a collar with a small red light on it, around his neck. Loki growled and used what little strength he had to try and shake it off, but it proved useless.

 “Hey!” The Doctor and Thor shouted towards Mobius at the same time.

 “What authority do you have to arrest my brother.” Thor demanded.

 “Let him go!” The Doctor ordered.

 As soon as Mobius saw the Doctor again, his face paled and he commanded the officers to swiftly move Loki through the portal, as they did the God growled and yelled threats the entire way, trying to conjure his usual strength back into his bones and muscles.

 “I don’t want any trouble, I’m just doing my job.” Mobius held up his hands as he looked between the Time Lord and the mighty, armour clad warrior wielding a large hammer.

 “I can’t let you do that.” Thor said as he began swinging the hammer in his fist like a helicopter propeller, which caused his crimson cape to wave majestically behind him.

 Mobius’ eyes widened with fright as he muttered something about how he doesn’t get paid enough for this, before he leapt through the portal and it vanished behind him just before Thor’s hammer could reach it and instead it went crashing through a brick wall and into the building behind the alley. 

 “Loki has been taken.” Thor suddenly spoke and for a moment Donna and the Doctor stared at each other as they wondered who he was talking to, until they saw his face twist with confusion and realised he was listening to someone through a discreet communication device. “Stark tower... but he was just here... damn it, Loki.” He cursed as he held out his hand with an open palm, Donna and the Doctor flinched as his hammer came flying back to him, smashing another hole into the brick building it previously went crashing through.

 “Oi watch it! You nearly knocked my block off!” Donna complained. 

 “Apologies, my Lady.” Thor distractedly expressed his remorse as he once again began propelling his hammer, Donna ducked down, leaning her upper body over your sleeping form in an effort to protect both you and herself, while the Doctor stepped backwards with his arm raised in front of his face.

 All of a sudden, Thor shot off the ground and into the air like a rocket and Donna and the Doctor craned their necks to follow him with their eyes until they could no longer see him. 

 “I just wanted a nice, normal trip for once.” Donna sighed before she looked down at you, “She’s going to be devastated when she wakes up and realises Loki has gone.”

 “We’ll get him back.” The Doctor said determinedly.

[wiypt-writes]

Stark Spangled Banner

Ch20: Bent But Not Yet Broken

Summary: The team are still searching for Katie, but with little luck. Meanwhile, she’s at the mercy of HYDRA…until help comes from a very unlikely place.

Pairing: Steve Rogers x OFC Katie Stark

Warnings: Violence, kidnapping, bad language, beatings, smut (via flashbacks), brief descriptions and mentions of rape and torture. Major angst. 18+

Disclaimer: This is a pure work of fiction and classified as 18+. Please respect this and do not read if you are underage. I do not own any characters in this series bar Katie Stark and the other OCs. By reading beyond this point you understand and accept the terms of this disclaimer.

A/N: I’m loving the banner for these three chapters!! And the edits @angrybirdcr​

Chapter 19

Stark Spangled Banner Masterlist // Main Masterlist

Katie awoke alone wherever she was. They had driven her from the place she was taken for hours, right into the night, when she had been dragged out of the back of a van and shoved harshly into what looked like some kind of old factory, down a number of steps so she knew she was underground. They had offered her nothing, no food, or water and she’d simply curled up on the hard bed in the corner of the room and cried until she had fallen asleep.

She had no idea how long she had been there, no idea. There were no windows, just artificial light so she had no way of using the cycle of day and night. Eventually, the lock of the door clicked and she jumped to her feet as the door opened, and the large, burly man who reminded her of Rumlow stepped into her cell. Katie swallowed, but maintained her stance, her eyes locking onto his, jaw jutting up defiantly as he stepped towards her.

“My name is Jones, and I’m in charge of your interrogation.” he sneered.

Still she said nothing.

She was dragged to another room by this Jones, who sat in a chair opposite her with another agent, and asked what she knew about what SHIELD was up to, now it was under the control of Coulson. And then them targeting her made perfect sense, she was the only Avenger that knew he was alive (Ward had no idea she had told Steve) They informed her they knew she had to be working alongside him to track the Sceptre and HYDRA, even though she hadn’t seen him for months. 

And once more, she said nothing.

If it wasn’t so serious Katie would have laughed at their stupidity. Dumb fuckers had no idea about anything. She hadn’t given the sceptre a second thought since the Chitauri fight in New York and she certainly didn’t know where it was, or that Coulson had been tracking it.

She continued to say nothing when they drilled her about what she knew as to the whereabouts of Bucky, the ‘Asset’ or ‘Soldat’ as they referred to him. At that point, she had looked directly at the idiot who had been asking the questions wondering if he was born this stupid or if he suffered some kind of brain injury later in life, because only an idiot could possibly think that if the Avengers knew where he was that they would let HYDRA get their hands on him again. Unable to hold it in anymore, she’d laughed and simply shook her head. 

They stuck pins under her nails for that one, but still she hadn’t broken. Although it fucking hurt, like nothing had hurt before. She’d been unable to stop the tears of pain falling down her cheeks, but she made no noise as she trembled through the ordeal. Instead she tried to remember her training, allowing her mind to focus out, concentrate on something else, something nice. Something safe…

“Miss Stark?” JARVIS inquired again. Katie gave an exasperated sigh. Her alarm hadn’t gone off and it had been Steve that had awoken her half hour later than she wanted when his alarm went off. Now she was running, running way behind. She hadn’t even had chance to do her make up. Thankfully, at Steve’s insistence she had packed the night before. "Yes J?” “Mr. Stark has informed me that he’s begun to slowly pour out your coffee. If you don’t hurry, there won’t be any left.” She rolled her eyes, shoved her make up punch in the bag she was taking with her- plenty of time to do it on the way. The flight would be a few hours. She grabbed her bag, headed into the hallway and Steve walked out of the kitchen, coffee mug in hand. “I gotta go baby I’m sooo late.” She sighed “Tony will be having a fit.” Steve chuckled and quickly scanned her up and down.

“Nice suit.”

She glanced down at her black pinstriped jacket, trousers and a simple light blue button down.

“You making funna me?” she teased.

He shook his head “Not at all. You’re gorgeous as ever.” “Charmer.” she grinned as he leaned down to give her a quick kiss before she turned on her heels. “Love you.” She tossed over her shoulder. “You too” he smiled “See you later.”

She clung to that memory. The last time she had seen Steve. His soft kiss, his hair wet from his shower, that grey Underarmour shirt clinging to his form. And eventually when they realised that there was nothing she was going to say, they stopped and returned her to her cell leaving her alone once more.

Katie wasn’t stupid enough not to understand that there was an element of revenge in all of this too. Revenge on her, and Steve, at the fact they had been a key part of bringing Hydra to the broken, shattered organisation it now was. And as she sat there alone, nursing her sore fingers, she could do nothing but wish they had killed every, last one of the fuckers.

As time ticked by the interrogations continued. She had her fingernails dug up with pins, she was water-boarded, strangled to the point of passing out, and it was always the same. They’d push her, she’d continue to fight, and then then they would stop. They’d leave her for another stretch of time in that room, feeding her whatever meagre morsels they decided upon, deliberately weakening her system, and would come at her again.

But, the thing with being in Solitary confinement is that you have a lot of time to think. And think she did, whilst she nursed her various injuries. As such Katie had a pretty good idea now why they were so bothered about Coulson and SHIELD tracking the sceptre. There had been records of it in any of the files dumped on the internet when they had released SHIELD and HYDRA’s secrets to the world but she suspected it was in HYDRA’s possession and had been from the start, taken by Sitwell and STRIKE from the tower once they had defeated Loki. She further surmised, that it had been taken to the specialist department, STATION just like the rest of the Chitauri shit that they had recovered. Which meant that Strucker must have it. And they were worried for some reason that SHIELD were coming for it.

And then one day, they swiftly changed tact.

“All you need to do is tell me what the Avengers and SHIELD are planning next and you’ll be free to go.” Jones said, looking at her as she stood in her cell.

Katie snorted, because really? Did they think she was that stupid? She knew he was full of shit, he had no intention of releasing her. Even if she did or could cooperate, she’d be dead when they had what then needed. At least this way, whilst they thought she knew something, they would keep her alive. And the longer she was alive, the more chance the team had of finding her

Her snort earned her a sharp punch to the face which caused her to tall to the floor, where she received a harsh kick in the ribs, leaving her winded before he turned on his heels and left. Groaning, she pulled herself up over to her bed and lay on her side, wiping at the blood and tears on her face.

More time went by, and then she was pulled back out and dragged to the familiar, clinically white room they like to ‘interrogate her in’. This time they threatened to go back and find Tony, Steve, the rest of her friends and family, and kill them all. But this time she didn’t snort, she full on laughed, because the thought of them trying to get into the tower and meeting Earth’s Mightiest Heroes was hilarious. And the laughter just wouldn’t stop.

That was until she got a back hander across the face and another punch in the ribs.

But the next time they try something else, they almost break her. Almost.

They came for her in her cell and first off they took her rings. They’d already taken her necklace and her bracelet but they’d left these with her for some reason. But now, they wanted them. First off they went for the sparkling diamond on her left hand. She should just have let them have it, but she couldn’t. It’s her’s, her ‘big, fuck off Tiffany diamond’, her princess cut engagement ring that she had always dreamed of. So she tried to fight, and screamed when she felt and heard her fingers snap as Jones stamped on her hand. When they went for the emerald on her right, she was too caught up with the pain in her left to fight for that one. This time they were the ones laughing at her, laughing at her pain as she held her bust hand close and choked on deep sobs.

And then Jones did something far more humiliating and degrading and forced himself on her. She put up as good a fight as she could, considering the state her hand was in, but someone else grabbed her painful fingers and pinned her arms above her head, sniggering, calling her a “SHIELD slut…” The pain of him inside her was excruciating, but as she opened her mouth to scream at him, she looked in his face and knew that was what the bastard wanted. So instead she turned her head to the side and screwed her eyes shut. Trying to block it all out.

When he had finished his grunting and smashing into her, he passed her over to the man who had been pinning her arms above her head but by now she was emotionally dead. When he finished, she lay still for a moment before she heard footsteps and Jones crouched down besides her, holding her diamond ring between his thumb and fingers.

“You know…” He leered at her as she backed away, grabbing at her trousers and shakily pulling them up as she rose from the ground “I bet this is worth a pretty packet. You’d think that giving you a rock like that would mean he cares but where is he, huh? The Star Spangled Man doesn’t seem to have a plan at the moment.”

And then, despite the pain, despite the fact he has just violated her, she laughed again because, you know ‘Star Spangled Man with a Plan…’ and those ridiculous videos and that spandex…

In hindsight it probably wasn’t the brightest thing to do. Jones snapped and he unloaded on her, again, only this time it was savage. He lost his temper, and she would normally be slightly proud but she had no time to be as she was pushed into walls, punched, kicked, stomped on. She tried to fight back, and normally she would and could put up a decent battle against anyone, she’s an Avenger, but being weak from lack of decent food, lack of sleep, and the various injuries she’s already sustained plus the violent assault she had just taken had all left her weak.  And then the other one joined in. As they punched and kicked away she could hear faint voice echoing in her ringing ears, a brush of a thumb across her cheek, the warmth of a palm against her face.

“God I love you, Doll…” Steve looks down at her as he lies over her gently, both of them slightly breathless, sheets tangled around her legs.

She staggered to her feet and then her nose was smashed by a fist. Once more she was transported to another place, a mission, from way before her and Steve started dating, one where she caught an elbow to the face by some dickhead who had taken a Diplomat’s daughter hostage…

“It’s broken,” she says, matter of factly, as her Captain’s hand gently reaches up, thumb and forefinger carefully tilting her head so he can see her face.

He gives her a pained smile. “Yeah, looks like.” whilst he gently hands her an ice pack before standing up, and dropping a hand to the top of her head.

Katie was tossed around that room like Loki was by the Hulk. Oh wouldn’t it be great if Banner appeared now, Hulked out and ripped the place apart. Or Thor, lighting all these fuckers up. Or Widow for that matter, delivering them one of those delectable shocks. Or Clint, placing arrows between their eyes. Or Tony dispatching of them with whatever weapon he chooses. Or Steve, using his shield to break their bones and faces…

But no one came.

Jones glanced down at her “This is your own fault.” His boot swiftly collided with her midriff one last time. “One way or another, I will get something out of you. Maybe you’ll speak when we take you up to see a couple of my special friends… they’re good at making people comply.”

And they left her, a bleeding, battered mess on the floor.

Eventually she mustered the strength to crawl to the bed at the side of the room, hauling herself up onto the bare mattress. - they’d taken every little bit of comfort from her including the blankets and her warmer outer clothing and shoes leaving her merely in her blouse and her trousers, both filthy and covered in blood. 

Everything hurt. Everywhere. Physically and mentally. And she was tired. From lack of sleep. The lights were kept on blindingly light all the time and she was craving the darkness of her bedroom in the tower.

How long was it since she’d been in her own bed? Certainly longer than days but was it weeks? Months? One second of time simply melted into the next in this place. The sobs wracked her painful chest as she let out the first word she had spoken since she had arrived, God knows how long ago, a single gasp of his name.

“Stevie…”

******

“Errr, do you have an appointment!”  Katie grinned as Steve walked into her office, shutting the door behind him.

“Do I need one?” he asked she turned round from where she had been stood looking in a filing cabinet.

 “Distractions always need an appointment.” “Is that what I am?” he pouted.

“When you come in here dressed like that, yes.” she said, pointing up and down taking in his jeans and grey top “That T-shirt is ridiculously tight, and your ass looks great in those jeans.

"It’s all yours, baby.” He grinned, hands sliding to her hips as hers slid up round his neck. “Can you spare your distraction enough time for lunch?” Katie let out a groan “I can’t, I’ve got a working lunch today as we’re looking over a proposal we got in from another publishers. I could probably grab a coffee though, I got like 20 minutes.”

 “20 minutes?” Steve asked, arching an eyebrow and Katie immediately grinned as his eyes dropped to her lips.

“What are you suggesting Captain Bad Ass?” “Nothing” he said, innocently. Before he smirked “Does the door lock?”

 “J…” Katie spoke, not taking her eyes of his “Do me a favour and lock down my office for half an hour, full black-out.” “Certainly Miss Stark.”

The door locks clicked, the blinds into the main office area closed, and Katie looked up to check the CCTV cameras were also down too. “That doesn’t make it sound proof though, just so you know…” she said.

Steve smirked and then kissed her hard, pulling her to him, one hand on her back the other tangled in her hair before he reached down, sliding his hands up and under her skirt sliding the grey material up over her thighs.

“I’m not gonna lie…”he murmured, lifting her up onto the desk so she was sat in front of him “Seeing you in these office skirts and tops… its kinda hot.”

She smirked into his kiss as she tugged at the material of his t-shirt until he raised his arms so she could pull it up, over his head and off. She was groping his bare chest as he pressed against her, rubbing her spot with his still covered crotch. She moaned at the rough denim of his jeans pushing against her, the thin barrier of her underwear doing nothing to stop the sensation.

"Tease.” she growled into his mouth before reaching down to unbuckle his pants and Steve grinned before sucking in a sharp breath through his teeth when she reached in and grasped him in her hand. His hands started opening the buttons of her blouse  then once they were open he gently reached into the cups of her bra, pulling her breasts out, dipping his head down to suck at one of her nipples, his hand drifting back downwards to tug at her underwear. She moaned and shifted so he could pull them down her legs.

As he followed them down, dropping to his knees, he took an ankle into his hand pulling her foot up.

“These stay on.” He instructed referring to her heels and she nodded biting her lip as he threw her leg over his shoulder exposing her completely.  She grappled for grip on the sleek, wooden desk, settling for one hand curling round the edge, the other finding its place back in his hair as he gave one long perfect lick, listening to her soft groans. He worked her with his mouth and her head tipped back, a constant stream of soft moans escaping her lips. He drove her right to the edge, his mouth and tongue knew how to play her perfectly now, and when he could tell she was close he rose gracefully and gently pushed her back, wrapping her legs round his waist so he was supporting her hips with his, and he pushed into her in one easy thrust.

“Jesus…” he  shuddered, as he bent over to gently kiss her, his hands on her hips as he continued to thrust in and out. Fuck, this was hot. Papers, pens, staplers went flying off  the desk as he pushed harder and harder, his name tumbling from her lips, “Stevie…” pure pleasure and ecstasy, and lust,and desire. 

“Stevie!” This time his name was a shout, filled with terror, and fear, and pain, and it vibrated through him, painfully.

With his own yell, Steve sat bolt upright, before falling off the couch with a crash. Shaking his head, taking a deep breath he blinked his tired eyes and the room in front of him came slowly into focus. His eyes fell on a picture of the two of them in a frame sitting on one of the shelves by the TV. Both of them smiling as they stood in jackets, scarves and hats in the snow in Central Park, arms round one another. There are more of them together, and with their friends and family. Tearing his eyes away he looked around and spotted the pair of her shoes that had been kicked off by the door the last time she had walked through it, some 4 weeks ago, shoes that he couldn’t bring himself to move.

How the fuck had he fallen asleep? He jumped suddenly and looks frantically around him for his phone, it was in his pocket. There could be news, someone may have called, but he knows deep down that’s not true. They had no leads, every single but of intel they had had led them to nothing but dead ends. But he looked at it anyway and saw nothing. Nothing but her eyes and her smile peering back at him from the photo on his lock screen, along with the time and date, a reminder of just how long she’s been gone.

Steve took a deep breath and when he exhaled it came out in a deep, pitiful sob.

“I’m sorry,” he cried, his breath and voice catching as he curled up, leaning back against the sofa, his arms hugging his knees to his chest “I’m sorry, so sorry sweetheart, we’re trying, I’m trying, I’m so sorry…”

******

Steve couldn’t decide if time was moving too slow or too fast. The weeks without her were flashing by his eyes but the days and the nights felt like they lasted forever. He couldn’t understand how it was only 3 in the afternoon, mind you, having said that, the days and nights all blurred into one. He wasn’t sleeping properly after all. His nightmares were frequent, only now it wasn’t the ice or Bucky he saw. It was her, crying, screaming for help and him not being able to do anything about it.

Pouring himself what felt like his 17th coffee of the day he turned to see Sam walking into the room. Steve nodded to him.

 “Cap, I know this isn’t top of your priority list but…” Sam turned to check they were alone before he carried on “I had a call today from one of my contacts. They have a potential sighing of Ol’ Frosty.” Despite himself Steve picks up, interested “Where.”

“Canadian Border, Montana. Mean anything?”

Steve shook his head “Is there a Hydra base nearby?”

“Not that we know of. I can take a look?” Steve nodded. “Thanks Sam.”

Sam took a deep breath. The man looked utterly broken, but he wasn’t surprised. Katie had been gone for 5 weeks and they had nothing. They were now taking a deep dive into old intel, the information they had recovered from the bases they had raided and re-raided. She wasn’t at any of them, but then they hadn’t expected her to be. Hydra were too smart for that

 The pair of them wheeled round when suddenly Clint appeared in the door way “Cap… Coulson is here, says he has news.”

“Thanks.” Steve said,

Oh he had news alright. The location of another Hydra base that no one knew about, one they had dug up on the seemingly never ending search for that fucking sceptre. It was a small military outpost just outside of Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan. Coulson had dispatched a team to do some recon, and they had spoken to locals who had informed them that the base had been empty with no one seen or heard entering for years.

“Until 5 weeks ago.” Coulson said, looking around at them from his seat at the table “According to a man out walking his dog, an SUV came straight down the road and into the gates, locking them behind him. A load of men in suits climbed out, so he assumed they were government. Since then Mr Dog Walker has seen armed guards on the gate each day. So they brought something there, we just don’t know what,“

“5 weeks…” Natasha breathed out “That’s too much of a coincidence!”

“Yeah, so I had my team sweep the base immediately…” Coulson sighed, as he looked around the room “There was no one there, but they did find evidence that Katie was there at some point.”

 Steve turned his head away and stood up sharply, walking to the edge of the room, looking out into the hallway.

“What kind of evidence?” Tony asked, his voice cracking.

Coulson hesitated before he pushed the plastic bag across the table and Steve walked back as Tony tipped the contents out onto the table.

Her StarkPhone, in 2 pieces, clearly done to avoid them tracing her, the Captain America shield design that Tony had engraved on the back for a joke blinked in the light like it was mocking them. Her diamond star pendant that Steve bought  her for Christmas and the bracelet he had brought her for her birthday, clasps broken on both as if they had been ripped off. But it was the flash of yellow, green and silver and diamond that made Steve’s heart stop. Her rings. Bright platinum and yellow gold. Sparkling diamond, deep green emerald.

There’s no way she would have given those up without a fight…

Tony pushed himself away from the table, a sob catching in his throat whilst Steve reached out to gently pick up his girl’s rings. He could hardly make them out now, the tears in his own eyes blurred his vision. He closed his palm around them, and walked out of the room, but not before he gave a loud, angry yet broken cry and his fist punched straight through the re-enforced glass in one of the windows that looked out into the corridor. 

He headed up to the roof, he’d been coming here a lot recently. Good way to get some peace, away from everything. Except he was never away, because she was with him, in his head, every damned movement he made.  He glanced across the skyline, his eyes falling on Central Park. The leaves on some of the trees already a bright mixture of reds, golds and oranges. Fall was his favourite time of year, he loved the colours. It was an artist’s dream. Not Katie’s though. Oh no.

“She hates this time of year.” Steve said simply as he looked out over the New York Skyline, not turning to look at Tony as he drew up beside him.

“Everything dies and it’s a bit shit.” Tony mumbled, sticking his hands in his pockets as he uttered the words Katie uses to describe Autumn. Steve knew what he was saying, but the pair of them couldn’t help but inhale at the sentiments of the word.

"Sorry… “ Tony sighed, “I just…” he trailed off, shrugging.

Steve shrugged also as he turned to look at the man besides him, lips curling into a despondent sort of smile. “I know…”

The two men stood in silence before a short, despairing chuckle burst from Steve . “You know, this time last year she made a pie,” he shook his head “I was teasing her about being miserable it was Autumn and she said the only thing decent about it is you can make apple pie. And I told her she was ridiculous, as surely apple pie can be made any time of year…” “That’s my mom” Tony said, smiling and he gave a small huff of laughter “Mom always used to make pies autumn through winter but never any other time of year…”

“I didn’t even wait for it to cool.” Steve chuckled. “As soon as it came out of the oven there was a scoop of ice cream on it and I was digging in. She stabbed me with a fork”

Tony snorted “Sounds about right.”

“It was the best fucking apple pie I’ve eaten.” Steve sniffed. “Damned it..” his voice cracked “ I’d give anything to have her here to make another…”

Tony glanced up at the soldier, the tears evident in his eyes.

“Katie told me she thinks you’re the strongest person she’s ever known,” he breathed out. “Learning to live and start again in a world that has continually done nothing but beat you down… “

“I don’t feel strong now.” Steve whispered, turning to face Tony.

“You have to be.” Tony said “We all do, that’s the only way we’re gonna find her.” Even in the dim light, through his own tears, Tony could see the grief on Steve’s face. There was utter desperation and sadness in his blue eyes, the tears now shining as they fell down his cheeks. The Captain released a long, shuddering breath before wiping at his face stating simply, “I don’t know how to be strong without her Tony.”

“She makes me better too.” Tony said, his own eyes now spilling with tears, “And for that reason alone we have to find her. And we have to bring her home.” his eyes turn back to the city which is now starting to light up as the sun begins to dips behind the horizon “And then she can make a damned pie.”

*****

He parked the truck at the end of the long drive, hiding it between two trees and then climbed out, the smells, the sounds of the wind, everything was familiar, but it was clear, sharp, as if he wasn’t experiencing it all through a veil of fog.

This was the last place on his list. He had by no way, shape or form eliminated everyone that had been involved in his programming, but he’d taken the main ones he remembered. And there was one left. A Doctor. A Doctor that had been sadistic. A Doctor that had been sadistic and enjoyed what he did, experimenting on him, on others. He wasn’t sure if he had been the type of person to seek revenge before they had done this to him and he didn’t really care either, and besides, it wasn’t just revenge…it was closure. After this one was dead, that was it. He was going to lay low, try and make sense of these whirring memories that came back to him in a jumble. Sometimes he could make sense of them, and some of them were stronger than others, like the ones of him in the war. He could remember the missions mainly. And then some of them from before were hazier, a short, skinny, sickly blond haired boy. Punk…

“Don’t do anything stupid until I get back.”

“How can I? You’re taking all the stupid with you.” He knew the boy was Steve. Captain America leader of the Commandos. He remembered Steve but he didn’t feel that he knew him. But he understood that he should, the display at the Smithsonian had told him that.

Best friends since childhood.

The longer he stayed out of Hydra’s grasp the more his mind was his own, and it was only a matter of time, he hoped, till he did remember. But until then, he needed to slip away. Be a ghost story once more.

One more…

Picking the gun up off the passenger seat he zipped up his jacket and made his way towards the facility, making sure he kept to the cover of the expanse of forest and open green space that surrounded it. Of course it would be in the fuck end of nowhere. No one to hear the screams. He easily dispatched the guards at the gate, and the 4 that then rush out to greet him are no match for him. That’s one upside to this entire situation, he can fight. And fight better than he ever could

“Pick on someone your own size…” He swiftly boots the guy right up the ass and down the alley.

“You know, sometimes I think you like getting punched.” He turns to the small, blonde man standing up, dusting himself off.

“I had him on the ropes.” By the time he made his way inside he can hear the alarm going, and he smirked to himself slightly. Like it matters. Anyone who tried to stop him was dealt with, anyone who simply ran away, well he wasn’t here for them. They could go. He navigated the clinical corridor easily, by memory or instinct he doesn’t know but he eventually found the room. Something stopped him for a second, and a rush of vivid and loud memories flashed in front of his eyes.

“Soldat!” the voice is loud, almost a bark. “Hold out your arm.” He holds out his metal arm.

“The other one.” He does as he is told, and grits his teeth as the scalpel slices into him and they cut a chunk of his flesh away.

“Take that to my lab.” the voice says “I want to run some tests on his healing qualities, isolate the properties…keep him here, I can study his recover too…” With blood dripping down his arm, they take him back to his room, his cell at the other end of the facility, without even giving him a bandage.

With a low growl he kicked the door open and the man in the chair looked up at him, his eyes growing wide in fear.

“Soldat-”

The Doctor was cut off when a large boot kicked him hard in the chest, causing him to topple over backwards, the chair crashing to the floor. In one stride he was over him, gun levelled at his head.

“My name is Bucky.” He stated simply before he discharged his gun straight between the fucker’s eyes.

It’s done. It’s finished.

Turning on his heels he walked out of the room and aimed a punch to the man that launched at him from the right, sending him down easily. He then saw the flash of a gun as it went off, easily dodging the shot. He turned and fired one of his own, straight into the bastard’s knee cap and he collapsed. His path was now clear and he was about to leave, but then he heard it.

A jumbled scream of names, but it was the tone that set his nerves on edge. It was broken, the scream of someone desperate, someone that wasn’t here of their own accord. It was heart-wrenching, pitiful…and it was female

Automatically he spun and headed towards it.

*****

Katie had no idea when she last ate, it was certainly before they moved her here to this new place anyway. She didn’t trust them not to poison her, so at some point she stopped eating completely. She still refused to talk, and seeing as she knew they wanted her to scream, to shout in pain, to verify that what they are doing to her hurt, she also learned to stop crying out.

They wanted her to break. They continued to violate her, seemingly visiting her to get their fill whenever the ‘mood’ took them, but she held tight, tight to her memories, thoughts, trust in her fiancé, brother, her Avengers family to find her, tight to her desperate hope, and above all else, tight to that Stark pig-headed stubbornness.

She will NOT break. She will not give these fuckers anything. And if that means she dies, so be it.

As she lay on her bed, weak, her stomach churning from the bruises and hunger, there was a shrill noise in her ears, probably from the beating she took yesterday, but the more she tried to focus, the louder it became. And then she heard voices, yells.

The sound of gunfire made her sit up, fast, a little too fast and she cried out in pain as her body protested to the movement, but now she understood, the shrill noise was an alarm.

“He’s in the main lab…” She heard someone yelling.

And then Jones’ voice replied, he was getting closer as he spoke, she could tell “I’ll get the bitch, we need to move”.

Someone was here, and whoever it was wasn’t Hydra. And Katie let out a sob. It was them, it had to be, they’d come for her.

 The door to her cell flung open and Jones ran in to grab her arm.

“Time to go…” As he grabbed her arm and dragged her off the bed she screamed. As loud as she could. She screamed for Steve, then Tony, then Thor, Natasha, Clint…her voice cracking and croaky from lack of use, yelling the first words she’d spoken in his presence since they’d taken her.

She wasn’t staying quiet this time, not now rescue was so close by.

“Oh, now you talk…” Jones gave her a quick slap which left her dazed but, as he dragged her to the door he stopped dead halfway across the room. Katie looked up, struggling to focus and she could just make out a tall figure, blocking the way. For a moment she thought it was Steve, but then she realised he wasn’t tall enough. And the way he held himself was all wrong. Then she noticed his hair, and as he strode into the cell, murderous intent oozing from every part of his body, her eyes started to focus and she saw his face from under the peak of his cap, that haunted stare she remembered from the riverbank.

“Bucky.” Her voice was nothing but a whisper.

Bucky tilted his head, surveying her, but he didn’t acknowledge her. Instead, his eyes moved to Jones, and they suddenly lit with a furious fire and he stepped forward again.

Jones pushed Katie hard towards him. She fell again, and Bucky gently caught her, setting her quickly to one side as he grabbed Jones who was making a break for it towards the door. He gripped the man in his metal left arm, which was covered by a black leather jacket and glove, round the throat and squeezed, hard. The man’s bones and sinew and tissue crunched and squashed in his grip and he fell limp.

I don’t like men hitting women, you fucker. 

Bucky tossed Jones to the floor and Katie tried to push herself up from where she had fallen with her hands, but it hurt so much. Her broken one gave way and she lurched forward, bracing herself for the impact as she was about to fall flat on her face but the blow never came. Instead, a strong arm wrapped around her from behind and she was gently pulled back into a sitting position, as she fought to keep her sobs and cries under control. She looked up, following Bucky’s movement as he crouched down in front of her. She looked up at him, and managed a small smile.

“Thank you Bucky.” 

Bucky swallowed, she knew him? How? How did she know who he really was? He continued to look into her eyes, green and dull, sunken into a face that is spattered with bruises, died blood, cuts and angry red marks and then he recognised her, from that day on the river bank. 

The day he dragged Captain America, Steve, out of the Potomac.

“I’m Katie. Steve’s Girlfriend. You know Steve, right?”

What Hydra were doing with Steve’s girlfriend in this god-forsaken shithole he had no idea. But he also knew that he couldn’t leave her here.

“Can you stand?” He asked softly.

“I don’t know…” she choked out, her voice croaky. He decided it would be easier, and kinder to carry her. Removing his jacket and placing it round her shoulders, because it was cold outside and all she was wearing was a dirty blouse and trousers, no shoes or socks. He gently placed his metal arm round her back and his right under her knees, lifting her effortlessly up into his arms. She let out a small sob and a cry of pain as the movement jostled her slightly.

“Sorry.” He appologised gruffly, as she placed her arms round his neck for support and leaned into his warmth, the first kind and friendly touch she had felt in so damned long. Instinctively, she buried her face into his chest as he carried her, unable to believe that she was finally safe.

It wasn’t Steve, but at the moment she would have taken anyone.

Quickly Bucky made his way back through the base, up a short flight of stairs she had absolutely no recollection of coming down when she was brought here, and they emerged into the fresh air. The wind hit her face and stung her cheeks and she pressed her face harder into his chest, whimpering at the assault on her senses. Eventually, when she felt she had gotten control of herself she gently moved, ignoring the pain, to have a look around. The leaves on the trees around them were now sporting orange leaves, some having shed a few already.

It had been the 1st of September when she had been taken.

“Do you know the date?” she throatily asked as Bucky carried her gently but quickly towards a truck which was parked haphazardly in between 3 of the trees in a clearing set back from the road. How fucking long had they had her?

“10th October.” he replied

She gave another little sob as she did the maths in her head “6 weeks. 6 fucking weeks.”

“Try 70 years sweetheart” Bucky mumbled back, and his sarcasm made her snort a little laugh, and she instantly winced at the pain in her chest.

He gently helped her into the truck, laying her across her across the back seats, before he jumped in the driver’s side and gave a quick look around before he set off.

Katie pulled the jacket tighter around her and gave another loud sob, then the tears started, and she couldn’t stop.

“You’re safe.” Bucky cast a glance over his shoulder. “I won’t hurt you.” “I know.” He looked at her again, as she lay down, before she started to cough. Tilting onto her side, she tried to stop herself as it was painful, fire shooting across her stomach, up her side, her ribs…her hand…everything.  

“You need a hospital.” he said.

“No.” she shook her head

“You need medical attention”

“I can…”she took a deep breath, fighting the pain “Home. I’ll be safer with Steve and my brother.” Steve. Bucky swallowed thickly. “Where’s home?” he asked.

“Manhattan.” “I can’t go to Manhattan” he said, shaking his head.

“Yes you can.” she grimaced “Steve…he’ll help.” “I can’t go to Manhattan” he repeated. She didn’t respond and when he glanced back he saw she’d passed out, or was sleeping, he doesn’t know. He took a deep breath and for a split second toyed with ignoring her request and driving her to the nearest ER, but he understood her fear only too well. If Hydra took her, there’s a chance they’ll come back for her and she was right. Steve could keep her safe.

So he drove into the nearest Police Station, parked the truck outside leaving the engine and the heaters running, to keep her warm and with his baseball cap pulled as far down over his face, grabbed his rucksack. He hid behind a dumpster, not far away, keeping the car in sight. It didn’t take long until someone came out of the police station and walked over to the vehicle to investigate. Bucky saw the man peer inside before he gave a yell, and yanked open the back door. Bucky took a deep breath, and with one last look over his shoulder he headed off into the cold October wind.

******

“Miss…” a voice was stirring Katie. It was a soft voice, not the harsh one she was used to dealing with. And she was warm, she could smell leather. A bit like Steve’s jacket, but not, because it didn’t smell like him. Blinking she saw someone leaning over her and she instinctively tried to back up, but she hit something metal. Taking a moment she realised she was in a car. And then she remembered Bucky. Bucky had killed Jones and freed her. 

“Where…” she began and the large man spoke softly

“You’re in La Ronge…at the local police station.” he said, gently.

She glanced up, wary. “How do I know you’re not Hydra…” “Hydra?” he frowned and she took in his appearance. He was in a uniform, and he was flanked by other officers in a uniform.

“We’ve called an ambulance…” he began. “No!” She immediately yelled. “I need to go home…” “Ma’am…” “No. Hospital.” she growled, trying to sit up. “It isn’t safe. I need…” she took a deep breath “Can you call home, my fiancé, my brother, anyone…” “Where’s home ma’am.” “Avengers Tower.” she said, taking a deep breath. The man’s eyes grew wide as he looked at her, “You’re…oh my God, you’re Katie Stark…”

She nodded.

He leaned back out to one of the other officers and said something before leaning back into the car.

“There’s been a lot of people looking for you Miss Stark.” he said kindly “We’ll get someone on to your Brother right away. In the mean-time, we need to get you inside.”

She nodded and pushed herself up, gritting her teeth, trying to fight how much pain she was in. With a bit of a struggle and help she managed to shuffle herself out of the car. She steadied herself against it, whilst the officer looked at her and then gently moved towards her. Instinctively she shrunk back and he held his hands up.

“I’m not going to hurt you, I just thought you might need a hand walking.”

She did need a hand. After scrutinizing him for another second, she nodded and he gently scooped her up, causing her to hiss, and he took her inside. She was gently carried through the back of the station and into a warm, gently lit medical room of some sorts where she was set down on a soft medical bench.

“No hospital” she said again, feeling her eyes going droopy again.

“I promise.” the man nodded. “But we do have an on duty medic…maybe she could clean you up a little, and we can find you some clothes.” That sounded ok, and she nodded again, before the blackness took her once more

******

Steve couldn’t run. Not properly. He needed to be in the tower just in case. Not to mention the barrage of press camped on the doorstep since he had relented and told  Tony to go public a few days back.  And he hated the treadmill, seemed pointless, if he was running he actually wanted to get somewhere. So instead he took his frustration out on the punch bag. Every blow he landed was one for the fuckers that had taken his girl. He lost count of how many of the things he tore open but thankfully there seemed to be an endless supply, and someone to clear up the mess he left afterwards. Including the blood on the floor from his split knuckle as he had stopped bandaging his hands. The pain was twistedly comforting, something to actually feel when the rest of him was numb. "Trouble sleeping?”

He turned and saw her leaning in the doorway, wearing a pair of tight lycra leggings and a crop top that finished halfway down her perfect midriff and a cheeky grin as she took a drag from the water bottle in her hand.

He gave a laugh, as he caught the punch bag.

“At half 4 in the afternoon?” He quipped back as she crossed the room towards him. He noticed her skin was gleaming with sweat “you been training?”

“Sparring with Nat… she was an absolute bitch” Katie said, taking a drink from her water bottle “she needs to get laid then she might stop taking it out on me.”

“Or maybe you need to learn to punch better” he teased.

“Can you get divorced before you get married?” she said through narrowed eyes making him laugh. “I can punch just fine thanks”

“Show me whatcha got then” he nodded towards the punch bag. Taking another drink from her bottle she tossed it aside and shoved him in the chest, making him laugh again, stepping back as she passed. He watched as she took up her stance, feet slightly apart, arms raised, and she gave the bag a sharp jab with her right and it swung back away from her.

“Not bad…” he grinned, moving towards her. ”But if you tilt your hips…“ his hands fell to her waist and he moved her slightly "this way… legs slightly further…” he used his feet to nudge hers “this way and arms…” both his hands wrapped round her wrists, the light catching her ring on her left hand “little less high…” he used his arms to guide hers and swung and the bag sending it flying.

She dropped her arms and brought them around her front, taking his with them. “Admit it…” she said, her voice husky “my stance was fine you just wanted to touch me.”

“You have a very high opinion of yourself, or a very low opinion of me.” He said, his body stooping so his chin rest in her shoulder.

“No, I just know you too well Captain Sex Fiend…” she said, turning her head to face him, her lips brushing his.

He’d pushed her backwards, and took her hard and fast against the wooden clad walls of the gym, bodies slick and working together the way they always did. Her hands were in his hair, clawing at his back and it had left them both far more flushed than any other physical exercise ever did…. With one final punch as the memory faded Steve gave a cry of anger, frustration, grief, he had no idea what he was feeling, maybe all 3, but he knocked the damn thing straight off the chain anyway. “Captain Rogers…” JARVIS suddenly spoke. “Yeah.” He responded, his voice croaky from unshed tears. “Mr Stark has asked that you meet him immediately in the hanger. There has been a development regarding Miss Stark” Steve didn’t respond, he grabbed his dark, red hoody and sprinted out of the door.

“She’s been found.” Tony said, wheeling round to look at him as he ran up the ramp to the jet, not waiting for him to speak. “In the back of a stolen car that was abandoned outside a station in La Ronge.“

“Is she…” he choked out, and Tony gave a small smile and a sniff.

“She’s alive. But she’s not in great shape, and she’s refusing to go to hospital, told them to call us instead.”

Steve’s hands flying up to cover his face and they slid into his hair as he dropped into the seat behind Tony, the relief washing all over his body. Tony began to flip the switches, firing up the jet, at the same time as Bruce walked on board.

“We got something?” He looked at the two men.

 “Yeah..” Tony said “Some police station in La Ronge called. They have her, but she’s…she’s not in a good way so we need…” He gestured to Bruce and pointed to one of the seats.

Bruce let out a deep breath, his shoulders sagging in relief. “That’s great…that’s she’s been found…”

“Jarvis, you got that flight plan?” Tony asked.

 “Yes Sir, you are expected at the air field, some 15 miles from the station. The Sergeant who called will meet you there. ETA 3pm”

 Tony turned to Steve as the jet began to rise, the soldier was looking down at his hands, breathing deeply. He was a jumble of emotions, relief she was ok, worried about what state she was in, angry at who had done this to her. He was jerked out of his thoughts by Tony who gently clamped him on the shoulder.

 Blue eyes met dark brown, both shimmering with tears. “Let’s go get our girl” Tony smiled softly.

**** Chapter 21

**Original Posting**

[what-is-your-plan-today]

Stark Spangled Banner Ch 20:Bent, But Not Yet Broken...

Summary: The team are still searching for Katie, but with little luck. Meanwhile, she’s at the mercy of Hydra...until help comes from a very unlikely place.

Pairing: Steve Rogers x OFC Katie Stark

Warnings: Violence, kidnapping, bad language, beatings, smut (via flashbacks), mentions of rape and major angst. NSFW (NO UNDER 18s...)

Tag list is open- Send me an ask

Open for suggestions to one-shots as well

Stark Spangled Banner Masterlist

 Katie awoke alone wherever she was. They had driven her from the place she was taken and they had driven for hours, right into the night, when she had been dragged out of the back of a van and shoved harshly into what looked like some kind of old factory, down a number of steps so she knew she was underground. They had offered her nothing, no food, or water and she’d simply curled up on the hard bed in the corner of the room and cried until she had fallen asleep.

She had no idea how long she had been there, no idea. There were no windows, just artificial light so she had no way of telling how long had passed by using the cycle of day and night. Eventually, the lock of the door clicked and she jumped to her feet as the door opened, and the large, burly man who reminded her of Rumlow stepped into her cell. Katie swallowed, but maintained her stance, her eyes locking onto his, jaw jutting up defiantly as he stepped towards her.

“My name is Jones, and I’m in charge of your interrogation.” he sneered.

Still she said nothing.

She was dragged to another room by this Jones, who sat in a chair opposite her with another agent, and asked what she knew about what SHIELD was up to, now it was under the control of Coulson. And then them targeting her made perfect sense, she was the only Avenger that knew he was alive (Ward had no idea she had told Steve) They informed her they knew she had to be working alongside him to track the Sceptre and Hydra, even though she hadn’t seen him for months. 

And once more, she said nothing.

If it wasn’t so serious Katie would have laughed at their stupidity. Dumb fuckers had no idea about anything. She hadn’t given the sceptre a second thought since the Chitauri fight in New York and she certainly didn’t know where it was, or that Coulson had been tracking it.

She continued to say nothing when they drilled her about what she knew as to the whereabouts of Bucky, the ‘Asset’ or ‘Soldat’ as they referred to him. At that point, she had looked directly at the idiot who had been asking the questions wondering if he was born this stupid or if he suffered some kind of brain injury later in life, because only an idiot could possibly think that if the Avengers knew where he was that they would let HYDRA get their hands on him again. Unable to hold it in anymore, she’d laughed and simply shook her head. 

They stuck pins under her nails for that one, but still she hadn’t broken. Although it fucking hurt, like nothing had hurt before. She’d been unable to stop the tears of pain falling down her cheeks, but she made no noise as she trembled through the ordeal. Instead she tried to remember her training, allowing her mind to focus out, concentrate on something else, something nice. Something safe...

“Miss Stark?" Jarvis inquired again. Katie gave an exasperated sigh. Her alarm hadn't gone off and it had been Steve that had awoken her half hour later than she wanted when his alarm went off. Now she was running, running way behind. She hadn't even had chance to do her make up. Thankfully, at Steve's insistence she had packed the night before. "Yes J?" "Mr. Stark has informed me that he's begun to slowly pour out your coffee. If you don't hurry, there won't be any left." She rolled her eyes, shoved her make up punch in the bag she was taking with her- plenty of time to do it on the way. The flight would be a few hours. She grabbed her bag, headed into the hallway and Steve walked out of the kitchen, coffee mug in hand. "I gotta go baby I'm sooo late." She sighed "Tony will be having a fit." Steve chuckled and quickly scanned her up and down.

“Nice suit.”

She glanced down at her black pinstriped jacket, trousers and a simple light blue button down.

“You making funna me?” she teased.

He shook his head “Not at all. You’re gorgeous as ever.” “Charmer.” she grinned as he leaned down to give her a quick kiss before she turned on her heels. "Love you." She tossed over her shoulder. "You too" he smiled "See you later."

She clung to that memory. The last time she had seen Steve. His soft kiss, his hair wet from his shower, that grey Underarmour shirt clinging to his form. And eventually when they realised that there was nothing she was going to say, they stopped and returned her to her cell leaving her alone once more.

Katie wasn’t stupid enough not to understand that there was an element of revenge in all of this too. Revenge on her, and Steve, at the fact they had been a key part of bringing Hydra to the broken, shattered organisation it now was. And as she sat there alone, nursing her sore fingers, she could do nothing but wish they had killed every, last one of the fuckers.

As time ticked by they interrogations continued. She had her fingernails dug up with pins, she was water-boarded, strangled to the point of passing out, and it was always the same. They’d push her, she’d continue to fight, and then then they would stop. They’d leave her for another stretch of time in that room, feeding her whatever meagre morsels they decided upon, deliberately weakening her system, and would come at her again.

But, the thing with being in Solitary confinement is that you have a lot of time to think. And think she did, whilst she nursed her various injuries. As such Katie had a pretty good idea now why they were so bothered about Coulson and SHIELD tracking the sceptre. There had been records of it in any of the files dumped on the internet when they had released SHIELD and Hydra’s secrets to the world but she suspected it was in Hydra’s possession and had been from the start, taken by Sitwell and STRIKE from the tower once they had defeated Loki. She further surmised, that it had been taken to the specialist department, STATION just like the rest of the Chitauri shit that they had recovered. Which meant that Strucker must have it.

And then one day, they swiftly changed tact.

“All you need to do is tell me what the Avengers and SHIELD are planning next and you’ll be free to go.” Jones said, looking at her as she stood in her cell.

Katie snorted, because really? Did they think she was that stupid? She knew he was full of shit, he had no intention of releasing her. Even if she did or could cooperate, she’d be dead when they had what then needed. At least this way, whilst they thought she knew something, they would keep her alive. And the longer she was alive, the more chance the team had of finding her

Her snort earned her a sharp punch to the face which caused her to tall to the floor, where she received a harsh kick in the ribs, leaving her winded before he turned on his heels and left. Groaning, she pulled herself up over to her bed and lay on her side, wiping at the blood and tears on her aface.

More time went by, and then she was pulled back out and dragged to the familiar, clinically white room they like to ‘interrogate her in’. This time they threatened to go back and find Tony, Steve, the rest of her friends and family, and kill them all. But this time she didn’t snort, she full on laughed, because the thought of them trying to get into the tower and meeting Earth's Mightiest Heroes was hilarious. And the laughter just wouldn’t stop.

That was until she got a back hander across the face and another punch in the ribs.

But the next time they try something else, they almost break her. Almost.

They came for her in her cell and first off they took her rings. They’d already taken her necklace and her bracelet but they’d left these with her for some reason. But now, they wanted them. First off they went for the sparkling diamond on her left hand. She should just have let them have it, but she couldn’t. It’s her’s, it’s her ‘big, fuck off Tiffany diamond’, her princess cut engagement ring that she had always dreamed of. So she tried to fight, and screamed when she felt and heard her fingers snap when Jones stamped on her hand. When they went for the emerald on her right hand, she was too caught up with the pain in her left to fight for that one. This time they were the ones laughing at her, laughing at her pain as she held her bust hand close and choked on deep sobs.

And then, despite all that, Jones did something far more humiliating, degrading by forcing himself on her. And she put up as good a fight as she could considering the state her hand was in, but someone else grabbed her painful fingers and pinned her arms above her head, sniggering, calling her a “SHIELD slut…” The pain of him inside her was excruciating, but as she opened her mouth to scream at him, she looked in his face and knew that was what the bastard wanted. Well fuck you, she thought, you might be able to take me physically, but you can’t have my mind. 

So instead she turned her head to the side and screwed her eyes shut. Trying to block it all out.

When he had finished his grunting and smashing into her, he passed her over to the man who has been pinning her arms above her head but by now she was emotionally dead. When he finished, she lay still for a moment before she heard footsteps and Jones crouched down besides her, holding her diamond ring between his thumb and fingers.

“You know…” he leered at her as she backed away, grabbing at her trousers and shakily pulling them up as she rose from the ground “I bet this is worth a bob or two. You’d think that giving you a rock like that would mean he cares but where is he, huh? The Star Spangled Man doesn’t seem to have a plan at the moment.”

And then, despite the pain, despite the fact he has just violated her, she laughed again because, you know ‘Star Spangled Man with a Plan…’ and those ridiculous videos and that spandex…

In hindsight it probably wasn’t the brightest thing to do. Jones snapped and he unloaded on her, again, only this time it was savage. He lost his temper, and she would normally be slightly proud but she had no time to be as she was pushed into walls, punched, kicked, stomped on. She tried to fight back, and normally she would and could put up a decent battle against anyone, she’s an Avenger, but being weak from lack of decent food, lack of sleep, and the various injuries she’s already sustained meant it was futile. And then the other one joined in. As they punched and kicked away she could hear faint voice echoing in her ringing ears, a brush of a thumb across her cheek, the warmth of a palm against her face.

“God I love you, Doll…” Steve looks down at her as he lies over her gently, both of them slightly breathless, sheets tangled around her legs.

She staggered to her feet and then her nose was smashed by a fist. Once more she was transported to another place, a mission, from way before her and Steve started dating, one where she caught an elbow to the face by some dickhead who had taken a Diplomat’s daughter hostage…

"It's broken," she says, matter of factly, as her Captain’s hand gently reaches up, thumb and forefinger carefully tilting her head so he can see .

He gives her a pained smile. "Yeah, looks like." whilst he gently hands her an ice pack before standing up, and dropping a hand to the top of her head.

Katie was tossed around that room like Loki was by the Hulk. Oh wouldn’t it be great if Banner appeared now, Hulked out and ripped the place apart. Or Thor, lighting all these fuckers up. Or Widow for that matter, delivering them one of those delectable shocks. Or Clint, placing arrows between their eyes. Or Tony dispatching of them with whatever weapon he chooses. Or Steve, using his shield to break their bones and faces…

But no one came.

Jones glanced down at her "This is your own fault.” he said, as his boot swiftly collided with her midriff one last time. “One way or another, I will get something out of you. Maybe you’ll speak when we take you up to see a couple of my special friends… they’re good at making people comply.”

And they left her, a bleeding, battered mess on the floor.

Eventually she mustered the strength to crawl to the bed at the side of the room, hauling herself up onto the bare mattress. - they’d taken every little bit of comfort from her including the blankets and her warmer outer clothing and shoes leaving her merely in her blouse and her trousers, both filthy and covered in blood. 

Everything hurt. Everywhere. Physically and mentally. And she was tired. From lack of sleep. The lights were kept on blindingly light all the time and she was craving the darkness of her bedroom in the tower.

How long was it since she’d been in her own bed? Certainly longer than days but was it weeks? Months? One second of time simply melted into the next in this place. The sobs wracked her painful chest as she let out the first word she had spoken since she had arrived, God knows how long ago, a single gasp of his name.

“Stevie…”

******

“Errr, do you have an appointment!”  Katie grinned as Steve walked into her office, shutting the door behind him.

“Do I need one?” he asked she turned round from where she had been stood looking in a filing cabinet.

 “Distractions always need an appointment.” “Is that what I am?” he pouted.

“When you come in here dressed like that, yes.” she said, pointing up and down taking in his jeans and grey top “That T-shirt is ridiculously tight, and your ass looks great in those jeans.

"It’s all yours, baby.” He grinned, hands sliding to her hips as hers slid up round his neck. “Can you spare your distraction enough time for lunch?” Katie let out a groan “I can’t, I’ve got a working lunch today as we’re looking over a proposal we got in from another publishers. I could probably grab a coffee though, I got like 20 minutes.”

 “20 minutes?” Steve asked, arching an eyebrow and Katie immediately grinned as his eyes dropped to her lips.

“What are you suggesting Captain Bad Ass?” “Nothing” he said, innocently. Before he smirked “Does the door lock?”

 “J…” Katie spoke, not taking her eyes of his “Do me a favour and lock down my office for half an hour, full black-out.” “Certainly Miss Stark.”

The door locks clicked, the blinds into the main office area closed, and Katie looked up to check the CCTV cameras were also down too. “That doesn’t make it sound proof though, just so you know…” she said.

Steve smirked and then kissed her hard, pulling her to him, one hand on her back the other tangled in her hair before he reached down, sliding his hands up and under her skirt sliding the grey material up over her thighs.

“I’m not gonna lie…”he murmured, lifting her up onto the desk so she was sat in front of him “Seeing you in these office skirts and tops… its kinda hot.”

She smirked into his kiss as she tugged at the material of his t-shirt until he raised his arms so she could pull it up, over his head and off. She was groping his bare chest as he pressed against her, rubbing her spot with his still covered crotch. She moaned at the rough denim of his jeans pushing against her, the thin barrier of her underwear doing nothing to stop the sensation.

"Tease." she growled into his mouth before reaching down to unbuckle his pants and Steve grinned before sucking in a sharp breath through his teeth when she reached in and grasped him in her hand. His hands started opening the buttons of her blouse  then once they were open he gently reached into the cups of her bra, pulling her breasts out, dipping his head down to suck at one of her nipples, his hand drifting back downwards to tug at her underwear. She moaned and shifted so he could pull them down her legs.

As he followed them down, dropping to his knees, he took an ankle into his hand pulling her foot up.

"These stay on." He instructed referring to her heels and she nodded biting her lip as he threw her leg over his shoulder exposing her completely.  She grappled for grip on the sleek, wooden desk, settling for one hand curling round the edge, the other finding its place back in his hair as he gave one long perfect lick, listening to her soft groans. He worked her with his mouth and her head tipped back, a constant stream of soft moans escaping her lips. He drove her right to the edge, his mouth and tongue knew how to play her perfectly now, and when he could tell she was close he rose gracefully and gently pushed her back, wrapping her legs round his waist so he was supporting her hips with his, and he pushed into her in one easy thrust.

“Jesus…” he  shuddered, as he bent over to gently kiss her, his hands on her hips as he continued to thrust in and out. Fuck, this was hot. Papers, pens, staplers went flying off  the desk as he pushed harder and harder, his name tumbling from her lips, “Stevie…” pure pleasure and ecstasy, and lust,and desire. 

“Stevie!” This time his name was a shout, filled with terror, and fear, and pain, and it vibrated through him, painfully.

With his own yell, Steve sat bolt upright, before falling off the couch with a crash. Shaking his head, taking a deep breath he blinked his tired eyes and the room in front of him came slowly into focus. His eyes fell on a picture of the two of them in a frame sitting on one of the shelves by the TV. Both of them smiling as they stood in jackets, scarves and hats in the snow in Central Park, arms round one another. There are more of them together, and with their friends and family. Tearing his eyes away he looked around and spotted the pair of her shoes that had been kicked off by the door the last time she had walked through it, some 4 weeks ago, shoes that he couldn’t bring himself to move.

How the fuck had he fallen asleep? He jumped suddenly and looks frantically around him for his phone, it was in his pocket. There could be news, someone may have called, but he knows deep down that’s not true. They had no leads, every single but of intel they had had led them to nothing but dead ends. But he looked at it anyway and saw nothing. Nothing but her eyes and her smile peering back at him from the photo on his lock screen, along with the time and date, a reminder of just how long she’s been gone.

Steve took a deep breath and when he exhaled it came out in a deep, pitiful sob.

"I'm sorry," he cried, his breath and voice catching as he curled up, leaning back against the sofa, his arms hugging his knees to his chest “I’m sorry, so sorry sweetheart, we’re trying, I’m trying, I’m so sorry…”

******

Steve couldn’t decide if time was moving too slow or too fast. The weeks without her were flashing by his eyes but the days and the nights felt like they lasted forever. He couldn’t understand how it was only 3 in the afternoon, mind you, having said that, the days and nights all blurred into one. He wasn’t sleeping properly after all. His nightmares were frequent, only now it wasn’t the ice or Bucky he saw. It was her, crying, screaming for help and him not being able to do anything about it.

Pouring himself what felt like his 17th coffee of the day he turned to see Sam walking into the room. Steve nodded to him.

 “Cap, I know this isn’t top of your priority list but…” Sam turned to check they were alone before he carried on “I had a call today from one of my contacts. They have a potential sighing of Ol’ Frosty.” Despite himself Steve picks up, interested “Where.”

"Canadian Border, Montana. Mean anything?"

Steve shook his head “Is there a Hydra base nearby?”

“Not that we know of. I can take a look?” Steve nodded. “Thanks Sam.”

Sam took a deep breath. The man looked utterly broken, but he wasn’t surprised. Katie had been gone for 5 weeks and they had nothing. They were now taking a deep dive into old intel, the information they had recovered from the bases they had raided and re-raided. She wasn’t at any of them, but then they hadn’t expected her to be. Hydra were too smart for that

 The pair of them wheeled round when suddenly Clint appeared in the door way “Cap… Coulson is here, says he has news.”

“Thanks.” Steve said,

Oh he had news alright. The location of another Hydra base that no one knew about, one they had dug up on the seemingly never ending search for that fucking sceptre. It was a small military outpost just outside of Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan. Coulson had dispatched a team to do some recon, and they had spoken to locals who had informed them that the base had been empty with no one seen or heard entering for years.

“Until 5 weeks ago.” Coulson said, looking around at them from his seat at the table “According to a man out walking his dog, an SUV came straight down the road and into the gates, locking them behind him. A load of men in suits climbed out, so he assumed they were government. Since then Mr Dog Walker has seen armed guards on the gate each day. So they brought something there, we just don't know what,"

“5 weeks…” Natasha breathed out “That’s too much of a coincidence!”

“Yeah, so I had my team sweep the base immediately…” Coulson sighed, as he looked around the room “There was no one there, but they did find evidence that Katie was there at some point.”

 Steve turned his head away and stood up sharply, walking to the edge of the room, looking out into the hallway.

“What kind of evidence?” Tony asked, his voice cracking.

Coulson hesitated before he pushed the plastic bag across the table and Steve walked back as Tony tipped the contents out onto the table.

Her StarkPhone, in 2 pieces, clearly done to avoid them tracing her, the Captain America shield design that Tony had engraved on the back for a joke blinked in the light like it was mocking them. Her diamond star pendant that Steve bought  her for Christmas and the bracelet he had brought her for her birthday, clasps broken on both as if they had been ripped off. But it was the flash of yellow, green and silver and diamond that made Steve’s heart stop. Her rings. Bright platinum and yellow gold. Sparkling diamond, deep green emerald.

There’s no way she would have given those up without a fight...

Tony pushed himself away from the table, a sob catching in his throat whilst Steve reached out to gently pick up his girl’s rings. He could hardly make them out now, the tears in his own eyes blurred his vision. He closed his palm around them, and walked out of the room, but not before he gave a loud, angry yet broken cry and his fist punched straight through the re-enforced glass in one of the windows that looked out into the corridor. 

He headed up to the roof, he’d been coming here a lot recently. Good way to get some peace, away from everything. Except he was never away, because she was with him, in his head, every damned movement he made.  He glanced across the skyline, his eyes falling on Central Park. The leaves on some of the trees already a bright mixture of reds, golds and oranges. Fall was his favourite time of year, he loved the colours. It was an artist’s dream. Not Katie’s though. Oh no.

“She hates this time of year.” Steve said simply as he looked out over the New York Skyline, not turning to look at Tony as he drew up besides him.

“Everything dies and it’s a bit shit.” Tony mumbled, sticking his hands in his pockets as he uttered the words Katie uses to describe Autumn. Steve knew what he was saying, but the pair of them couldn’t help but inhale at the sentiments of the word.

"Sorry… “ Tony sighed, “I just…" he trailed off, shrugging.

Steve shrugged also as he turned to look at the man besides him, lips curling into a despondent sort of smile. "I know…"

The two men stood in silence before a short, despairing chuckle burst from Steve . "You know, this time last year she made a pie," he shook his head "I was teasing her about being miserable it was Autumn and she said the only thing decent about it is you can make apple pie. And I told her she was ridiculous, as surely apple pie can be made any time of year…” “That’s my mom” Tony said, smiling and he gave a small huff of laughter “Mom always used to make pies autumn through winter but never any other time of year…”

“I didn’t even wait for it to cool.” Steve chuckled. “As soon as it came out of the oven there was a scoop of ice cream on it and I was digging in. She stabbed me with a fork”

Tony snorted “Sounds about right.”

“It was the best fucking apple pie I’ve eaten.” Steve said, sniffing. “Damned it..” his voice cracked “ I’d give anything to have her here to make another…”

Tony glanced up at the soldier, the tears evident in his eyes.

“Katie told me she thinks you’re the strongest person she's ever known," he breathed out. “Learning to live and start again in a world that has continually done nothing but beat you down… “

“I don’t feel strong now.” Steve whispered, turning to face Tony.

“You have to be.” Tony said “We all do, that’s the only way we’re gonna find her.” Even in the dim light, through his own tears, Tony could see the grief on Steve’s face. There was utter desperation and sadness in his blue eyes, the tears now shining as they fell down his cheeks. The Captain released a long, shuddering breath before wiping at his face stating simply, "I don't know how to be strong without her Tony.”

“She makes me better too.” Tony said, his own eyes now spilling with tears, “And for that reason alone we have to find her. And we have to bring her home.” his eyes turn back to the city which is now starting to light up as the sun begins to dips behind the horizon “And then she can make a damned pie.”

*****

He parked the truck at the end of the long drive, hiding it between two trees and then climbed out, the smells, the sounds of the wind, everything was familiar, but it was clear, sharp, as if he wasn’t experiencing it all through a veil of fog.

This was the last place on his list. He had by no way, shape or form eliminated everyone that had been involved in his programming, but he’d taken the main ones he remembered. And there was one left. A Doctor. A Doctor that had been sadistic. A Doctor that had been sadistic and enjoyed what he did, experimenting on him, on others. He wasn’t sure if he had been the type of person to seek revenge before they had done this to him and he didn’t really care either, and besides, it wasn’t just revenge...it was closure. After this one was dead, that was it. He was going to lay low, try and make sense of these whirring memories that came back to him in a jumble. Sometimes he could make sense of them, and some of them were stronger than others, like the ones of him in the war. He could remember the missions mainly. And then some of them from before were hazier, a short, skinny, sickly blond haired boy. Punk…

“Don’t do anything stupid until I get back.” “How can I? You’re taking all the stupid with you.” He knew the boy was Steve. Captain America leader of the Commandos. He remembered Steve but he didn’t feel that he knew him. But he understood that he should, the display at the Smithsonian had told him that.

Best friends since childhood.

The longer he stayed out of Hydra’s grasp the more his mind was his own, and it was only a matter of time, he hoped, till he did remember. But until then, he needed to slip away. Be a ghost story once more.

One more…

Picking the gun up off the passenger seat he zipped up his jacket and made his way towards the facility, making sure he kept to the cover of the expanse of forest and open green space that surrounded it. Of course it would be in the fuck end of nowhere. No one to hear the screams. He easily dispatched the guards at the gate, and the 4 that then rush out to greet him are no match for him. That’s one upside to this entire situation, he can fight. And fight better than he ever could

“Pick on someone your own size…”  he swiftly boots the guy right up the ass and down the alley.

“You know, sometimes I think you like getting punched.” he looks at the small, blonde man standing up, dusting himself off.

“I had him on the ropes.” By the time he made his way inside he can hear the alarm going, and he smirked to himself slightly. Like it matters. Anyone who tried to stop him was dealt with, anyone who simply ran away, well he wasn’t here for them. They could go. He navigated the clinical corridor easily, by memory or instinct he doesn’t know but he eventually found the room. Something stopped him for a second, and a rush of vivid and loud memories flashed in front of his eyes.

“Soldat!” the voice is loud, almost a bark. “Hold out your arm.” He holds out his metal arm.

“The other one.” He does as he is told, and grits his teeth as the scalpel slices into him and they cut a chunk of his flesh away.

“Take that to my lab.” the voice says “I want to run some tests on his healing qualities, isolate the properties…keep him here, I can study his recover too…” With blood dripping down his arm, they take him back to his room, his cell at the other end of the facility, without even giving him a bandage.

With a low growl he kicked the door open and the man in the chair looked up at him, his eyes growing wide in fear.

“Soldat-”

The Doctor was cut off when a large boot kicked him hard in the chest, causing him to topple over backwards, the chair crashing to the floor. In one stride he was over him, gun levelled at his head.

“My name is Bucky.” he said, and he discharged his gun straight between the fucker’s eyes.

It’s done. It’s finished.

Turning on his heels he walked out of the room and aimed a punch to the man that launched at him from the right, sending him down easily. He then saw the flash of a gun as it went off, easily dodging the shot. He turned and fired one of his own, straight into the bastard’s knee cap and he collapsed. His path was now clear and he was about to leave, but then he heard it.

A jumbled scream of names, but it was the tone that set his nerves on edge. It was broken, the scream of someone desperate, someone that wasn’t here of their own accord. It was heart-wrenching, pitiful…and it was female

He turned and headed towards it.

*****

Katie can’t remember when she last ate, it was certainly before they moved her here to this new place anyway. She didn’t trust them not to poison her, so at some point she stopped eating completely. She still refused to talk, and seeing as she knew they wanted her to scream, to shout in pain, to verify that what they are doing to her hurt, she also learned to stop crying out.

They wanted her to break. They continued to violate her, seemingly visiting her to get their fill whenever the ‘mood’ took them, but she held tight, tight to her memories, thoughts, trust in her fiancé, brother, her Avengers family to find her, tight to her desperate hope, and above all else, tight to that Stark pig-headed stubbornness. She will NOT break. She will not give these fuckers anything. And if that means she dies, so be it.

As she lay on her bed, weak, her stomach churning from the bruises and hunger, there was a shrill noise in her ears, probably from the beating she took yesterday, but the more she tried to focus, the louder it became. And then she heard voices, yells.

The sound of gunfire made her sit up, fast, a little too fast and she cried out in pain as her body protested to the movement, but now she understood, the shrill noise was an alarm.

“He’s in the main lab…” she heard someone yelling.

And then Jones’ voice replied, he was getting closer as he spoke, she could tell “I’ll get the bitch, we need to move”.

Someone was here, and whoever it was wasn’t Hydra. And Katie let out a sob. It was them, it had to be, they’d come for her.

 The door to her cell flung open and Jones ran in to grab her arm.

“Time to go…” As he grabbed her arm and dragged her off the bed she screamed. As loud as she could. She screamed for Steve, then Tony, then Thor, Natasha, Clint…her voice cracking and croaky from lack of use, yelling the first words she’d spoken in his presence since they’d taken her.

She wasn’t staying quiet this time, not now rescue was so close by.

“Oh, now you talk…” Jones said, giving her a quick slap which left her dazed but as he dragged her to the door he stopped dead halfway across the room. Katie looked up, struggling to focus and she could just make out a tall figure, blocking the way. For a moment she thought it was Steve, but then she realised he wasn’t tall enough. And the way he held himself was all wrong. Then she noticed his hair, and as he strode into the cell, murderous intent oozing from every part of his body, her eyes started to focus and she saw his face from under the peak of his cap, that haunted stare she remembered from the riverbank.

“Bucky…” her voice was nothing but a whisper.

Bucky tilted his head, surveying her, but he didn’t acknowledge her. Instead, his eyes moved to Jones, and they suddenly lit with a furious fire and he stepped forward again.

Jones pushed Katie hard towards him. She fell again, and Bucky gently caught her, setting her quickly to one side as he grabbed Jones who was making a break for it towards the door. He gripped the man in his metal left arm, which was covered by a black leather jacket and glove, round the throat and squeezed, hard. The man’s bones and sinew and tissue crunched and squashed in his grip and he fell limp.

I don't like men hitting women, you fucker. 

Bucky tossed Jones to the floor and Katie tried to push herself up from where she had fallen with her hands, but it hurt so much. Her broken one gave way and she lurched forward, bracing herself for the impact as she was about to fall flat on her face but the blow never came. Instead, a strong arm wrapped around her from behind and she was gently pulled back into a sitting position, as she fought to keep her sobs and cries under control. She looked up, following Bucky’s movement as he crouched down in front of her. She looked up at him, and managed a small smile.

“Thank you Bucky.” 

Bucky swallowed, she knew him? How? How did she know who he really was?He continued to look into her eyes, green and dull, sunken into a face that is spattered with bruises, died blood, cuts and angry red marks and then he recognised her, from that day on the river bank. 

The day he dragged Captain America, Steve, out of the Potomac.

“I’m Katie. Steve’s Girlfriend. You know Steve, right?”

What Hydra were doing with Steve’s girlfriend in this god-forsaken shithole he had no idea. But he also knew that he couldn’t leave her here.

“Can you stand?” he asked softly.

“I don’t know…” she choked out, her voice croaky. He decided it would be easier, and kinder to carry her. Removing his jacket and placing it round her shoulders, because it was cold outside and all she was wearing was a dirty blouse and trousers, no shoes or socks. He gently placed his metal arm round her back and his right under her knees, lifting her effortlessly up into his arms. She let out a small sob and a cry of pain as the movement jostled her slightly.

“Sorry.” he said gruffly, as she placed her arms round his neck for support and leaned into his warmth, the first kind and friendly touch she had felt in so damned long. Instinctively, she buried her face into his chest as he carried her, unable to believe that she was finally safe.

It wasn’t Steve, but at the moment she would have taken anyone.

Quickly Bucky made his way back through the base, up a short flight of stairs she had absolutely no recollection of coming down when she was brought here, and they emerged into the fresh air. The wind hit her face and stung her cheeks and she pressed her face harder into his chest, whimpering at the assault on her senses. Eventually, when she felt she had gotten control of herself she gently moved, ignoring the pain, to have a look around. The leaves on the trees around them were now sporting orange leaves, some having shed a few already.

It had been the 1st of September when she had been taken.

“Do you know the date?” she throatily asked as Bucky carried her gently but quickly towards a truck which was parked haphazardly in between 3 of the trees in a clearing set back from the road. How fucking long had they had her?

“10th October.” he replied

She gave another little sob as she did the maths in her head “6 weeks. 6 fucking weeks.”

“Try 70 years sweetheart” Bucky mumbled back, and his sarcasm made her snort a little laugh, and she instantly winced at the pain in her chest.

He gently helped her into the truck, laying her across her across the back seats, before he jumped in the driver’s side and gave a quick look around before he set off.

Katie pulled the jacket tighter around her and gave another loud sob, then the tears started, and she couldn’t stop.

“You’re safe.” Bucky said, casting a glance over his shoulder. “I won’t hurt you.” “I know.” He looked at her again, as she lay down, before she started to cough. Tilting onto her side, she tried to stop herself as it was painful, fire shooting across her stomach, up her side, her ribs…her hand…everything.  

“You need a hospital.” he said.

“No.” she shook her head

“You need medical attention”

“I can…”she took a deep breath, fighting the pain “Home. I’ll be safer with Steve and my brother.” Steve. Bucky swallowed thickly. “Where’s home?” he asked.

“Manhattan.” “I can’t go to Manhattan” he said, shaking his head.

“Yes you can.” she grimaced “Steve…he’ll help.” “I can’t go to Manhattan” he repeated. She didn’t respond and when he glanced back he saw she’d passed out, or was sleeping, he doesn’t know. He took a deep breath and for a split second toyed with ignoring her request and driving her to the nearest ER, but he understood her fear only too well. If Hydra took her, there’s a chance they’ll come back for her and she was right. Steve could keep her safe.

So he drove into the nearest Police Station, parked the truck outside leaving the engine and the heaters running, to keep her warm and with his baseball cap pulled as far down over his face, grabbed his rucksack. He hid behind a dumpster, not far away, keeping the car in sight. It didn’t take long until someone came out of the police station and walked over to the vehicle to investigate. Bucky saw the man peer inside before he gave a yell, and yanked open the back door. Bucky took a deep breath, and with one last look over his shoulder he headed off into the cold October wind.

******

“Miss…” a voice was stirring Katie. It was a soft voice, not the harsh one she was used to dealing with. And she was warm, she could smell leather. A bit like Steve’s jacket, but not, because it didn’t smell like him… blinking she saw someone leaning over her and she instinctively tried to back up, but she hit something metal. Taking a moment she realised she was in a car. And then she remembered Bucky. Bucky had killed Jones and freed her. 

“Where…” she began and the large man spoke softly

“You’re in La Ronge…at the local police station.” he said, gently.

She glanced up, wary. “How do I know you’re not Hydra…” “Hydra?” he frowned and she took in his appearance. He was in a uniform, and he was flanked by other officers in a uniform.

“We’ve called an ambulance…” he began. “No!” she immediately yelled “I need to go home…” “Ma’am…” “No. Hospital.” she growled, trying to sit up. “It isn’t safe. I need…” she took a deep breath “Can you call home, my fiancé, my brother, anyone…” “Where’s home ma’am.” “Avengers Tower.” she said, taking a deep breath. The man’s eyes grew wide as he looked at her, “You’re…oh my God, you’re Katie Stark…”

She nodded.

He leaned back out to one of the other officers and said something before leaning back into the car.

“There’s been a lot of people looking for you Miss Stark.” he said kindly “We’ll get someone on to your Brother right away. In the mean-time, we need to get you inside.”

She nodded and pushed herself up, gritting her teeth, trying to fight how much pain she was in. With a bit of a struggle and help she managed to shuffle herself out of the car. She steadied herself against it, whilst the officer looked at her and then gently moved towards her. Instinctively she shrunk back and he held his hands up.

“I’m not going to hurt you, I just thought you might need a hand walking.”

She did need a hand. After scrutinizing him for another second, she nodded and he gently scooped her up, causing her to hiss, and he took her inside. She was gently carried through the back of the station and into a warm, gently lit medical room of some sorts where she was set down on a soft medical bench.

“No hospital” she said again, feeling her eyes going droopy again.

“I promise.” the man nodded. “But we do have an on duty medic…maybe she could clean you up a little, and we can find you some clothes.” That sounded ok, and she nodded again, before the blackness took her once more

******

Steve couldn't run. Not properly. He needed to be in the tower just in case. Not to mention the barrage of press camped on the doorstep since he had relented  and told  Tony to go public a few days back.  And he hated the treadmill, seemed pointless, if he was running he actually wanted to get somewhere. So instead he took his frustration out on the punch bag. Every blow he landed was one for the fuckers that had taken his girl. He lost count of how many of the things he tore open but thankfully there seemed to be an endless supply, and someone to clear up the mess he left afterwards. Including the blood on the floor from his split knuckle as he had stopped bandaging his hands. The pain was twistedly comforting, something to actually feel when the rest of him was numb. "Trouble sleeping?"

He turned and saw her leaning in the doorway, wearing a pair of tight lycra leggings and a crop top that finished halfway down her perfect midriff and a cheeky grin as she took a drag from the water bottle in her hand.

He gave a laugh, as he caught the punch bag.

"At half 4 in the afternoon?" He quipped back as she crossed the room towards him. He noticed her skin was gleaming with sweat "you been training?"

"Sparring with Nat... she was an absolute bitch" Katie said, taking a drink from her water bottle "she needs to get laid then she might stop taking it out on me."

"Or maybe you need to learn to punch better" he teased.

"Can you get divorced before you get married?" she said through narrowed eyes making him laugh. "I can punch just fine thanks"

"Show me whatcha got then" he nodded towards the punch bag. Taking another drink from her bottle she tossed it aside and shoved him in the chest, making him laugh again, stepping back as she passed. He watched as she took up her stance, feet slightly apart, arms raised, and she gave the bag a sharp jab with her right and it swung back away from her.

"Not bad..." he grinned, moving towards her. ”But if you tilt your hips..." his hands fell to her waist and he moved her slightly "this way... legs slightly further..." he used his feet to nudge hers "this way and arms..." both his hands wrapped round her wrists, the light catching her ring on her left hand "little less high..." he used his arms to guide hers and swung and the bag sending it flying.

She dropped her arms and brought them around her front, taking his with them. "Admit it..." she said, her voice husky "my stance was fine you just wanted to touch me."

"You have a very high opinion of yourself, or a very low opinion of me." He said, his body stooping so his chin rest in her shoulder.

"No, I just know you too well Captain Sex Fiend..." she said, turning her head to face him, her lips brushing his.

He'd pushed her backwards, and took her hard and fast against the wooden clad walls of the gym, bodies slick and working together the way they always did. Her hands were in his hair, clawing at his back and it had left them both far more flushed than any other physical exercise ever did.... With one final punch as the memory faded Steve gave a cry of anger, frustration, grief, he had no idea what he was feeling, maybe all 3, but he knocked the damn thing straight off the chain anyway. "Captain Rogers..." JARVIS suddenly spoke. "Yeah." He responded, his voice croaky from unshed tears. "Mr Stark has asked that you meet him immediately in the hanger. There has been a development regarding Miss Stark" Steve didn't respond, he grabbed his dark, red hoody and sprinted out of the door.

“She’s been found.” Tony said, wheeling round to look at him as he ran up the ramp to the jet, not waiting for him to speak. “In the back of a stolen car that was abandoned outside a station in La Ronge."

“Is she…” he choked out, and Tony gave a small smile and a sniff.

“She’s alive. But she’s not in great shape, and she’s refusing to go to hospital, told them to call us instead."

Steve’s hands flying up to cover his face and they slid into his hair as he dropped into the seat behind Tony, the relief washing all over his body. Tony began to flip the switches, firing up the jet, at the same time as Bruce walked on board.

“We got something?” He looked at the two men.

 “Yeah..” Tony said “Some police station in La Ronge called. They have her, but she’s…she’s not in a good way so we need…” He gestured to Bruce and pointed to one of the seats.

Bruce let out a deep breath, his shoulders sagging in relief. “That’s great…that’s she’s been found…”

“Jarvis, you got that flight plan?” Tony asked.

 “Yes Sir, you are expected at the air field, some 15 miles from the station. The Sergeant who called will meet you there. ETA 3pm”

 Tony turned to Steve as the jet began to rise, the soldier was looking down at his hands, breathing deeply. He was a jumble of emotions, relief she was ok, worried about what state she was in, angry at who had done this to her. He was jerked out of his thoughts by Tony who gently clamped him on the shoulder.

 Blue eyes met dark brown, both shimmering with tears. “Let’s go get our girl” Tony said, smiling softly.

  Tags

 @the-omni-princess​

@momobaby227​​​​

@thewackywriter​​​​​          

@geekofmanythings16​

[superhero-daugthers11]

Endgames: captain America ten years later.

1965

He wakes up to the tv blasting in the next room. He could hear the voices of the Sunday cartoons and the children giggling. He looked to his right and saw his beautiful wife, Peggy Rogers, asleeping beside him. He watches her for a moment, captured by her beauty. Her fair skin untarnished by imperfections. Her curly brown hair had grown longer almost to her waist like a goddess. Her lips red like cherries and plump. He smiled as he caressed her arm.

He felt like the luckiest man in the world. He knew that to leave the avengers, to leave his life in the 2000s was the best decision he ever made. He knew he would have never been happy there, he needed Peggy to complete him. Without her..life was just a blur...he was just going through the motions without any hope or purpose.

Back then, he had given up on the idea of ever being happy, ever getting the life he dreamed of. Yet, now his dream was a reality: he had his best girl, and two wonderful kids he adored.

Peggy’s eyes began to flutter as she woke. She looked up at her husband.

“Steve are you okay?” She asked.

“I’m fine.” Steve answered. “Your just so beautiful. I cant keep my eyes off of you.”

She rolled her eyes and chuckled.

“I can’t believe you married me.” Steve told her. “I mean son e whimpy little kid from Brooklyn got you.”

Peggy smiled as she sat up then put a hand on his cheek.

“You are so much more than that. I’m glad we found each other.” Peggy began. “Honestly your the best thing to happen to me and i don’t think anyone could have been more perfect for me. Your my everything, Steve.”

“I love you.”

“I love you too.”

“Do you know what today is?” Peggy asked him with a smirk.

“The best day of my life,” he answered grinning. “The day I married you.”

He leaned in close and kissed her. A passionate kiss that made every fiber of his being surge.

“Ten years, with my beautiful Peggy Rogers.” He continued.

She leaned into him and he ran his fingers through her hair.

“I have a special day planned for us, your gana love it.” Steve told her. “I got us reservations at that fancy Howard always surgests.”

“Your joking? That place costs a fortune for one meal.” She chuckled. “It probably cost more than this house for order of fries. We can’t go there we still need to buy the kids new clothes.”

“It’s not that bad.” He remarked back. “Howard told them that we were friends of his, so the restaurant gave us a huge discount. Free drinks, and 10% off the meal.”

“Wow that is impressive. Geez who knew knowing Howard stark would be useful for something.” She joked.

He chuckled.

“Plus I found a coupon for 30 percent in the paper!” Steve boasted with excitement.

Peggy grinned and she hugged him.

“I have taught you well.” She told him. “This is gana be great! You didn’t go out your way like this, I would have been fine with dinner at the diner.”

“These years have meant the world to me and I have been so happy being by your side. I had to do something to show you how much you mean to me.”

“Oh Steve, you sure know how to make a girl feel special.”

Steve leaned in for another kiss when suddenly they heard yelling from the other room. There was a crash and then more yelling.

Then the bedroom door swung open. Two children entered dressed in colorful PJs. One was a girl with long curly blonde hair and dark brown eyes. The other a boy with short light brown hair and blue eyes.

“Mom! Phillip broke the lamp in the living room!” The girl shouted. “He was throwing the baseball in the house! I told him to stop-“

“She’s lying! She is always lying!” The boy, Phillip yelled as he cried. “She broke the lamp doing cartwheels in the living room!”

Peggy got out of bed and hugged Phillip, she stroked his hair comfortingly.

“Amelia.” Steve called with stern voice. “Did you break the lamp and don’t lie to me, I can always tell when you lie.”

“Yes, Daddy, but i-“

“No buts your gana sit your room and think about what you did for 15 minutes and then no tv for a week.”

Amelia instantly began to cry and she clung onto Steve.

“But daddy I didn’t mean too! And I’m sorry!” Amelia cried out. “I’ll be good just don’t ground me, New twilight zone is on tonight!”

“Aww. Don’t cry princess.” Steve uttered as he hugged his daugther.

“Daddy, don’t you love me? Twilight zone is my favorite show and now I’m gana miss it!” She cried harder. “I hate you! I hate you!”

“Okay I take it back, your not grounded!” Steve replied quickly.

“Steve!” Peggy yelled. “We talked about this, you can’t cave in every time she throws a fit.”

“But she said she hated me. I don’t want her to hate me.” Steve replied sheeply.

“She’s 8 years old, she doesn’t mean it.” Peggy told him. “She just says it because she knows when she does you will give her what she wants. She’s manipulative, she is my daugther.”

Later that night, Amelia and Phillip drove the babysitter crazy as they ran around the house playing out the war stories their parents had told them. They knew every line, every detail from the stories and to them they were heros. They would annoy the babysitter by replaying the newsreels from the war over and over again. The kids literally idolized their parents. Phillips favorite toy was a plastic shield, Steve made for him and Amy loved playing with the toy gun.

Meanwhile, Peggy and Steve entered the fancy restaurant dressed in their best outfits. Peggy has her hair in an updo that that reminded her of aubrey Hepburn. She dressed in a beautiful long red dress with red laced sleeves and poofed out at the bottom. She wore her favorite red heels and a pearled necklace, that belonged to her mother. Steve wore a black suit jacket and black pants. He wore a collared shirt and fancy shoes. they still stuck out like sore tumbs amoung the rich but they didn’t care.

They sat down at a table in the center of the restaurant. There eyes darted around them looking in wonder at every beautiful picture, flower and musician playing.

“This is so nice.” Peggy told him. “we haven’t gotten to go out just us in so long.”

He chuckled.

“I know. I think the last time we went out was the week before Philip was born.”

Peggy smirked. “Sounds about right. I miss this. you know just getting time to talk with each other and hear about each other’s lives without being interrupted by the kids bickering or work calling. It always feels like there’s always something, always running around.”

“I still wouldnt change a thing.” Steve answered. “These past few years have been the best of my life.”

Peggy smirked.

“Oh come on! You told me stories about your adventures in the future.” Peggy began. “You were adored and seen as one of the worlds greatest hero’s. You lived in the age of technology were people could see each other on there phone and watch movies in their homes without a VHS player. You met people with incredible powers and abilities and saved the world from being destroyed multiple times. They had a whole bloody museum dedicated to you! You werent happy then?”

“I didn’t belong there and I felt it.”

“What do you mean? You were there for awhile I’m sure you got used to things.”

“That’s not what I mean, i felt like I was just going through the motions, doing what I thought I had to do or should do. I couldn’t be happy there, everyday was another battle another war and it was draining and depressing. No body was ever safe and no matter how many times we saved the day something bigger and badder came out of the shadows. I mean as soon as I woke up from the ice they had me join the avengers and fight Loki, a few months later shield infiltrated, then the fight with ultron, then the accords battle and then the whole thanos thing. I saw the world I knew literally fall apart around me over and over again. The wars never stopped! ...and I couldn’t be anything else but a solider. That’s what they needed and that’s what they got. I was proud to be apart of their team and I was proud of what we accomplished together. But I was captain America, to the world to the team...that’s it, Steve Rogers was gone. I had no hope of him ever coming back.”

“Why wouldn’t you tell me any of this before? You always boasted about the accomplishments of the Avengers and you told the stories as if they were fun, as if they were just another challenge.”

“I didn’t want to appear weak, I wanted to be strong for you. I didn’t want you to think I couldn’t handle it or that I was selfish or.... I wanted to be someone the kids could look up to, who you could be proud of. Not some fool who cracked under the pressure.”

She put her hand in his.

“Steve, I could never think that of you and you are as much a hero as any of them. War effects everyone in different ways and too much of it can drive a person insane. Your not weak for being unhappy back then your strong because you overcame it and kicked some ass.”

He gave a small smile.

“Thank you.” Answered him. “That means a lot.”

Suddenly the band starts to play a fimilar song. Steve looks at Peggy and they both have the same look of excitement on their face.

Wise men say on fools rush in

But I can’t help falling in love with you

“There playing our song.” Steve told her.

“Well...is it? I hadn’t noticed.” She joked.

He stood up and put out her hand to her. Her grin turned wider and she took his hand and he pulled her close to him. He took one hand in his and put the other on her waist. The two swayed back and forth near the table.

Take my hand, take my whole life too

For I can't help falling in love with you

For I can't help falling in love with you

[uinen-harth-estraven]

Somebody To Love. (Loki x Reader)

Title: Somebody To Love

Chapter no.: Oneshot

Notes: OOOOkay this was some kind of a request that I really loved :3 Hope you enjoy!Also the song I chose is the remix by Brittany Murphy.

Rating/Warnings: FLUFF

Chapter’s Soundtrack: Somebody To Love by Brittany Murphy or Queen (if you like them better) (x) + (x)

Summary: There are two gangs at the college..The first is called the Avengers,its members are Tony Stark,Natasha Romanoff,Clint Barton,Bruce Banner,Steve Rogers,Thor and Loki Odinson.The second gang is called the Abandoned,its members are Bucky Barnes,Wanda and Pietro Maximoff,Sam Wilson and Y/N.The Avengers were always the loved ones,great with the lessons,sports,art etc. while the Abandoned were always ignored,been called freaks,loners..Each and everyone in these two gangs have nicknames.Tony’s being an annoying little shit,as always,and drags the Avengers,plus Loki,to the Blue Galaxy club,near their college,and it’s karaoke night!

Avengers Chatroom:

HawkEye: “Ugh,Tony..how are you always in a party mood?!”

BlackWidow: “Like you don’t know him,Clint..”

IronMan: “Hey,it’s not a crime that I want to enjoy myself!”

Hulk: “You do that every night!”

IronMan: “Why you’re being a party pooper?”

Hulk: “I don’t know!Maybe the fact that the last time you threw a party and stuck a “kick me I change colors” paper on my back,and everybody did it and the other guy came out made me a party pooper!”

IronMan: “Oh come on!Nobody got hurt!”

Hulk: “Because Nat was there to calm me down!”

HawkEye: “Plus Thor hit your head pretty hard,for you to focus on Nat..”

Hulk: “Yes and I don’t want this to happen again!”

IronMan: “Guys!Will you trust me tonight?We’re going on a club for god’s sake..”

BlackWidow: “And that’s good because..?”

IronMan: “We’re in a public place,I won’t do anything stupid this time,like bring back the green guy..”

Capt.America: “I have a bad feeling for this..”

IronMan: “Thor and Loki will be there too.”

HawkEye: “LOKI?!But he doesn’t like that kind of stuff..he’s just so..”

BlackWidow: “Snob?”

HawkEye: “Yeah..”

IronMan: “Don’t worry,Thor is doing his work..”

Capt.America: “I still have a bad feeling for this.”

IronMan: “Stop your whining..we’ll all meet in our usual spot at the park,around 9:00.End of disgussion!”

And so they did!By 9 they were at the park waiting for Thor and Loki,but they didn’t notice a shadow watching them.Just 5 minutes later Thor and a very displeased Loki came.

“Like FINALLY!” Tony raised his arms to the sky.

“Sorry,we’re late I had to convince him..” Tho answered,crossing his arms,recieving a glare from Loki.

“What did you tell him,to make him more grumpy anyway?”

“He told me that if I didn’t come he will make me clean his room for a year..I don’t want to suffer like that..”

“Ugh!”

“Thor man..that’s cruel,even for me..”

“Aaanyway let’s go.Time for Par-tey!”

And so they all got in the Blue Galaxy club,drinks and music fill the atmosphere.But just outside in the shadows,a man looking to kill his time,sends a message to his friends.

Abandoned chatroom:

WinterSoldier: “Hey guys!”

“Guys!”

“Guys!”

ScarletWitch: “What is it Bucky..?”

WinterSoldier: “Where are the others?”

QuickSilver: “Here!”

Falcon: “Here..”

Aconitum (your nickname): “Here..”

WinterSoldier: “You guys have anything to do?”

Falcon: “Nope..and I’m extremily bored and annoyed so you better have a good reason..”

WinterSoldier: “How about you guys come at the Blue Galaxy?”

Aconitum: “Uhmm..why?”

WinterSoldier: “Our little Avengers are here and I thought maybe we could attract their attention..”

Falcon: “Dude! Again with the ‘attract them’ shit..we’ve talk about it a millions of times.”

QuickSilver: “Sam is right,man..they’ll never see us..”

ScarletWitch: “No matter what we do.”

WinterSoldier: “Yes but tonight they will!”

Falcon: “And why is that?”

WinterSoldier: “It’s karaoke night..”

Aconitum: “No!”

WinterSoldier: “Oh come on (Y/N)! You have an amazing voice!”

Aconitum: “I’m not sure Buck..you know I’m nervous in front of a croud..”

WinterSoldier: “You won’t be alone,hon,we’ll all be together on stage..I promise you,sweetheart.”

Aconitum: “I..ugh..I don’t know..”

WinterSoldier: “Guys?”

QuickSilver: “I’m in!”

Falcon: “Me too!”

ScarletWitch: “I’ll be there for (Y/N).”

WinterSoldier: “(Y/N)?”

Aconitum: “Alright..I’m in.”

WinterSoldier: “Great! I’m waiting at the door!Don’t be late.”

Meanwhile at the club..

“I really don’t know why I let you drag me here..” Loki couldn’t stop whining.

“You’d clean up his mess for a year..”

“Yeah thanks for reminding me,Clint..”

“Loki..No stabbing!” Natasha graps his dagger and hides it on her bag. “Could we please have a good time without you killing people?Or trying to?”

“No promises..”

Just as Natasha tried to say something,Tony and Steve came with their drinks.

“You guys won’t believe this!”

“Did you find a girl for Clint?”

“No..we weren’t that lucky..”

“You guys know that I’m right here right?”

“Anyway..guess what kind of night is tonight!”

“Saturday night..”

“Except that you bozo..It’s karaoke night!”

“So what?”

“Oh,come on,Bruce! Don’t you know what that means?”

“We can make fun of the wannabe singers!”

“Loki no..”

“I was about to say that we’ll see many many many girls,if you know what I mean..”

“Hey Tony..”

“Yep?”

“Shut it.”

“Alright..calm down,girl.”

And so the karaoke competition begun,Loki of course was the toughest judge,while Tony,Clint and Thor only commented about the appearance,and the rest of them just enjoyed the songs.After an hour of songs it was time for the last one..the Abandoned were getting ready,they already found where the Avengers were sitting.

When they anounce their turn there was only one thought in (Y/N)’s mind: “Here goes nothing.”

They walk up on stage and as they waited for the music to start,(Y/N) closed her eyes and took deep breaths,finally the music starts.Her friends as second voices,together.

‘Can anybody find me somebody to love?’

She takes one last deep breath and starts.

‘Ooh,each mornin' I get up,I die a little..

Can barely stand on my feet,

Take a look in the mirror and cry.

Lord what you're doing to me..’

“Ooh,gorgeous,what do you say,reindeer games?Uhm..raindeer games?”

“Brother..?”

But Loki couldn’t take his eyes away from her.She’s wearing the most beautiful punk suspender skirt and tight shirt,in black colour,with dark green leggings and boots.

“Beautiful..” he said without thinking.

‘I have spent all my years in believing you.

I just can't get no relief,Lord!

Somebody,ooh somebody..

Can anybody find me somebody to love?

I work hard every day of my life,

I work till I ache in my bones..

At the end of the day,

I take home my hard earned pay all on my own.

I get down on my knees and I starting pray,

Till the tears run down from my eyes.

Lord,somebody,please somebody..

Can anybody find me somebody to love?’

“That some voice she got there,right guys?”

“What’s her name again?”

“(Y/N)..” Loki said dreamily.

“Hey Loki..”

“hmm?”

“Stop drooling..”

‘Everyday,I try and I try,and I try.

But everybody wants to put me down.

They say, they say I'm going crazy..

They say I got a lot of water in my brain,

Got no common sense,

I got nobody left to believe in!

Find me somebody to love. (x12)

Somebody,somebody,somebody,somebody

Somebody,somebody,somebody

Can anybody find me somebody to love?’

“Thank you,thank you.” (Y/N) bows slightly,and run down the stage with the rest and with a giant grin on her face.They sat on a table just opposite of the Avengers,it works fine for Loki..he kept looking at her with a stupid smile on his face.

“Well..we might not got their attention but you did get one’s..” Wanda nudges her.

“What are you talking about..?”

“Like you don’t know,sweetheart..”

(Y/N) starts blushing and looks at the opposite table and her eyes meet those emerald ones and smiles shyly.Loki quickly turns away with a hint of pink on his cheeks.The night’s passing as usual,they anounced who was the winner,it was some guy named Miguel or something,but the Abandoned were 2nd place!Not bad for a first time..also we almost forgot something..a very shy boy was watching.

“Ugh! For the love of-Loki just go talk to her!”

“No I’m not..!”

“Loki you big,assbag,just go!”

“I can’t..she won’t want to dance with me..”

“Brother,if you don’t ask,you’ll never know..and if somebody else ask her you’ll regret it.”

“Thunderbolt,has a point here,just ask her before someone else!”

“Alright,alright..I’m going..”

“Go get ‘em tiger!”

Loki took some deep breaths to calm his nerves as he made his way towards her.

“Hello there..”

She turned her head at the voice’s direction and she saw Loki,with a slight red on his cheeks.

“Hi..” she says shyly.

“Well..uh..you really have a beautiful voice.”

“Thank you..”

“I’m Loki..”

“I know.” when she realised what she said her eyes widden and a dark blush appeared on her face.Loki just smirked.

“Is that so..?” he asks in more confidence.

(Y/N) laughed nervously and played with her hands on her lap.

“Well,my lady,would you honor me with a dance?” he offered her his hand with a boyish smile.

“Yes she will!” Wanda exclaimed and shoved her towards Loki’s arms,(Y/N) blushed even more at the contact.

“Perfect..” he said and he took her to the dancefloor.

While they were dancing he couldn’t help but enjoy how her eyes lit from the lights of the club,and how her smile made his stomach full with butterflies.

“You’re so beautiful..” he whispers to her ear,that made her hide her face on his chest.For the first time in his life Loki felt that he can be happy for once,with her in his arms.

A/N: this one was waiting for about 2 months(?) to be posted,anyway thank you for reading and if you please,leave a comment? ♥

[freshytrashywritingtrash]

The Wintersun [P. 1]

Pairing: Loki x OC, Bucky x OC

Wordcount: 1610 whoops

Summary: Merea is one of the younger Avengers, slowly settling in. While still processing her past and trying to learn where she came from, she finds herself caught between two men, tracked by Hydra and confronted with the long forgotten truth of her origin.

Warnings: In this chapter, none

A/N: I don’t even know if people want to read fics with OC’s but I love my little girl and wrote this already anyways 

Merea sat in the second row of the assembly in the conference room, next to her friends Natasha and Wanda. The room was filled with clueless mumbles and confused agents who’ve got interrupted in whatever they were doing. Merea herself was working on a painting as she was notified of the urgent meeting, but not what it was about. Hastily she had washed her hands, pinned her wild blonde waves up and threw on one of the grey trainings sweaters before rushing to the office. Now she was waiting with the others, who seemed to have as much of an idea on what was going on as her.

“Anyone know why we’re here? What’s the matter?” Bucky asked. Merea looked up from mindlessly rubbing on a paint spot on her hand she had missed. Judging on his sports attire and sweaty hair the winter soldier -one of her closest friends- was interrupted in a training session.

But before anyone could answer the doors of the room flung open and several people entered. First Tony Stark and Steve Rogers, both looking important even though they seemed to be stuck in a hushed argument. Next up followed Thor, the god of thunder, looking as cheerful as ever. For once he was wearing normal clothes instead of his armour. Upon the entering of the last person the atmosphere in the conference room seemed to shift. Loki, the god of mischief and known enemy of the avengers, sauntered in wearing a fitted black suit. His steel blue eyes washed over the room, taking in every detail. He knew most of the heroes present except for a petite girl in the back of the room. She was…enchanting. Something about her just caught him, something special. Meanwhile Merea mustered the Trickster. He was handsome, yes, but that didn’t make him less dislikeable.

“What is he doing here?” Dr Banner asked, suspiciously watching the Trickster. His question made Tony and Steve end their argument and straighten up to face the team, which was looking aversed, to say at least.

“So, uh,” the Captain started, seeming not completely happy about the situation. “We have an announcement to make. Now I know that most of you won’t approve at first but- ““Loki will become an Avenger” Tony chimed in, interrupting Steve who just sighed and took a seat.

“What?!” It sounded as if the whole present team spoke in unison. Different words of protest were phrased, ranging from unbelieving questions to hate fuelled insults. Merea decided to stay silent and just watch the trickster, who seemed to fight the urge to snap back at the comments he was receiving.

“Is this a trick? Is Loki bewitching you?” Sam wanted to know from Tony, looking like he was about to start a fight. “Actually, it was Thor’s idea. He came to us.” Tony answered, gesturing at him and the resigned Steve. “He presented us his idea of Loki joining to redeem his glory and help their people bla bla. He said, and I quote “Loki fought greatly to save the remaining Asgardians from Thanos.” We thought about it and discussed it and came to the conclusion that we’ll give this a shot. He seemed like a good fit. Also, we’ll get the Tesseract.” Stark seemed satisfied with his explanation and looked around, expecting everyone to nod approvingly. Which didn’t happen, Merea noticed.

“Steve, do you agree to this, too?” Sam asked the Captain now, hoping to find more answers as he was still confused and unconvinced, like most people in the room. “Well, Thor’s vouching for him. Loki’s a skilled fighter, got great powers and he’s also a great tactician. We can always use good men…” it sounded more like Steve was trying to convince himself than the team.

“That is right, I vouch for the actions of my dear brother, even though I know that Loki of course only means the best. Fear not friends, as for I can promise that Loki has changed. I trust him with my life and I hope that if I can do so, you might, too.” Thor spoke with great confidence. And said confidence seemed to do the trick as many expressions in the room seemed to lighten up to some degree.

“Great, now that this is settled, most of you can leave if they want to. Except for Bucky, Clint and Merea.” Tony announced. Under quiet mumbling and the screeching of metal chairs on the ground most of the team left except for the three agents, Tony and a fifth person, Loki.

Upon being pierced by questioning looks the Aesir answered smoothly. “Mr Stark, you said one could leave if they wanted to, not that they must. I conclude from the way you phrased it that whatever you’re about to announce isn’t top secret. I simply want to get used to the dynamics of this contingent as fast as possible – if you don’t mind I’d rather stay and listen. You won’t even notice I’m here.” Which wasn’t true, Merea observed. While checking the faces of the other people she saw that everyone was somehow fixed on the raven figure. The truth is, Loki just wanted to stay to study the blonde girl. Merea was her name, or so Stark had called her. So fine-sounding…

“Depends on what Mr. T. here has to say” Clint answers, leaning back in his chair and crossing his arms to mark his disapproval.

“Actually, it’s about your next mission. Ya’ll go to Wakanda in three weeks to check up on the king and his whole opening-Wakanda-to-the-world business. Also, I got a small delivery of vibranium waiting and I’d be heads over heels if you could bring it back with you. Furthermore, you three need upgrades on your gear. That Shuri kid got some great concepts which she’ll be allowed to torture ya’ll with. Any questions?” Tony explained. While talking he had pulled a hologram with detailed data from his phone in top of the table for everyone to look at. But two people weren’t looking at the data. Loki was fixed on her, Merea noticed, and Bucky stared at Loki? Well, if the god wanted to stare, she’d do, too.

“Yea, how long will we be there? Laura’s birthday is in three and a half weeks and she’d kill me if I wasn’t there.” Clint asked.

“A week, but if it’s a matter of life and death you can leave earlier. Snowflake and sunshine here can handle the rest. Just make sure to get your gear looked at. And bring that V’ with you, C’. F.R.I.D.A.Y. remind me to send a fruit basket to Laura for her birthday.” With that Tony ended the meeting, waving at them before leaving. Clint got up and heads out as well, leaving Merea, Bucky and Loki behind.

“Doll, are you an artist or just a canvas? Because you seem to enjoy painting on yourself” Bucky reached over to Merea and tried to wipe off some paint on her jaw, making her shift her gaze from the ice blue eyes of Loki to the deep sapphire ones of Bucky. Loki watched the two and got jealous. Why would such a divine woman let that scruff dog touch her?

“You’re a hot mess sometimes, you know that? Chaotic cute.” Bucky chuckled. He dropped his hand as he noticed that the paint on her skin had already dried.

“Why are we being so attentive, James? Got stood up again?” Merea looked at her friend and arched a brow. She knew he didn’t like getting called that name, making her use it with mischievous pleasure.

“You know you’re my only flame, do you?” He softly nudged her arm and chuckled a little more before getting out of his chair. Merea chuckled as well before pulling herself from her chair with a whine. “I hate muscle soreness.”

“What muscles?” Bucky grinned, taking her arm between his thumb and index finger to show how thin it was while they both headed for the door, completely ignoring the Trickster

Merea only rolled her eyes in response. “I got to head back to my painting before it dries up completely. See you later.”

“Until a while, crocodile” and with that, they both headed out of the conference room.

Merea was already around the next corner as she heard the silk voice that made her stop and turn around. “Excuse me, could you show me where the compounds are? My brother and I agreed to meet there so he could show me my rooms.” He smiled innocently, marvelling her features from up close. Well not that close. She was a head smaller than him. But still he couldn’t stop himself from noticing the golden specks in her eyes.

Merea had to put her head up to look at the Trickster, who was way too close behind her in her opinion. Calmly, she answered. “Yea, just come with me I’m heading there anyways.”

“Wonderful.” Loki smiled at her charmingly. But she just furrowed her brows and turned around. “This way.”

They both walked quietly for a moment before the Aesir smiled at her. “I’m sorry, but I didn’t get your name back there.”

“Because I haven’t told you. I’m Merea.” She answered, sticking her hands into the belly pouch of her hoodie.

“That is a beautiful name, I must admit. Your parents are to be complimented.” He answered with his silk voice while they rounded another corner.

“I don’t know if I have parents.” She answered, completely ignoring his charming smile. “We’re here.” And with that, she left him standing in the hall of the compounds as she entered her rooms.

[dontcallmecarrie]

Fic Idea: The Fix-it Version [I Probably Won't Be Writing Because I Can't Do Romance To Save My Life]

Warnings: mental health issues, dubious morality, probably OOC in some places, extreme/severe Wanda bashing [which culminates in character death; if that’s not your cup of tea, sorry, maybe next time?], a JARVIS that’s uncomfortably close to Skynet, and a mindtrip of epic proportions [that can probably be classified as cruel and unusual torture, Inception-style]. Semi-canon compliant, through a certain point of view, though with shameless timeline fudging.

...On the plus side, there’s also Science Bros [kinda], and Team As Family feels? 

[The attempt at romance in here could fit with probably any pairing, I just picked this one because I used to ship it a lot harder in the past.]

Also, heads up for a very, very long post. [Sorry about that.]

Edited only to put in a cut, because I’m not kidding as to how long this is.

Tony Stark was a genius.

It was a fact of which there was no doubt, he had the test results from age three to prove it, even his greatest critics were forced acknowledge his intellect. Not to mention his impressive track record involving new patents and elements, or that one of the media's names for him was "the Da Vinci of our day"-- he was a genius, full stop.

That the world somehow forgot was another matter.

Sure, he was surrounded by superpowered people—gods and spies and doctors with breathtaking anger issues— but it still got old, the way everyone seemed to forget his multiple doctorates with each explosion. His laundry list of awards, hell, the new element he’d created, seemed to get overshadowed by the people he ran with. [To be fair, it'd be kind of hard to see past the Crown Prince of Asgard, but still.]

Point is, his brain's wired differently. It may sound arrogant, but it was true. Tony Stark had a gift that let him interact with the world on a level far beyond most mortals' ken, was able to take and assimilate data and work miracles.

Reason this all comes up is because a) that meant mental health issues were a special sort of hell, and, b) Wanda really didn't know what the fuck she was doing when she tried to screw with his mind.

What I’m getting to is this:

Tony never really snapped out of the initial mind-whammy Wanda hit him with, back in Sokovia.

It wasn't something she'd expected; she'd practiced with plenty of people, and yet the one guy she'd sworn revenge against for years gave a single panicked gasp, before slumping over and promptly going comatose.

Here's the thing: Wanda hadn't accounted for how his mind would accept the data presented. Like all other things, Tony's gift for rapidly processing and assimilating other input took this newest development, and proceeded to take it and run with it.

Tony's trapped in his head, stuck with only his inner demons and Wanda's malice. He doesn't notice; between his PTSD, and the way his greatest strengths are now being used against him, Tony only knows he's being confronted with his worst nightmares being turned reality, and the worst part is? It's a prison of his own making.

Every single subconscious fear is being dragged to the forefront, from betrayal to his own inadequacy at protecting those he loves. He's being torn down again and again by strangers wearing familiar faces, and Tony knows something's off but he can't quite pinpoint what and… and it's getting to the point where part of him's so bone-tired he sometimes can't help but wonder: would death would really be that much harder? Because as time goes by, he's getting so, so worn and he's so alone, that he's nearing his breaking point. [Just like Wanda had wanted him, in that moment when she'd thoughtlessly toyed with the very fragile and very powerful thing that was Tony's mind.]

There's just one problem: Wanda did her job too well.

See, JARVIS was the first to notice something was so, fundamentally wrong: Sir's readings had flickered erratically, but then after the female Enhanced had taken her leave, he had remained unresponsive to his increasingly desperate attempts to get his attention. Even as he notified the Avengers to this newest development, however, he set to scouring the world for the Dead Person Walking who'd dared to harm Sir. [He'd eviscerate them, would make them bleed and burn the world with a smile if it meant Sir's safety, Sir, please, wake up—]

The Avengers aren't ones to take this lying down, either.

Clint's especially vicious, at first; he's the first one to reach Tony, sees the fading traces of red in his eyes, remembers when his world had become awash with blue, and his hands don’t shake when he takes a shot at the fleeing duo [even though he so, desperately wants to]. The cry of pain he hears is vaguely cathartic, but vanishes the moment he hears Tony's first whimper and something is Not Right, this is beyond his pay grade, he needs backup stat!

Natasha's expression is blank, and that was everyone's first tip as to how furious she was. She hasn't let go of her phone, between keeping her friends updated [Pepper had cried when she'd heard Tony wouldn't wake], and scouring her contacts list for anyone who might have a shred of a clue as to how to help. She refused to give up on her friends, and Tony'd shared his coffee with her more than once at three in the morning, and they'd commiserated about tough choices and bloody pasts and second chances one too many times for her to consider him anything but.

Bruce is taking readings. He hasn't stopped, because the alternative is looking at the too-still and far-too-silent figure on the bed rather than the data, and if he does that… they'd have to deal with the Other Guy, who has some Strong Opinions as to his favorite person's current state— no, make that their favorite person: Bruce is very reserved, can't afford to be anything else, but somehow, despite everything, Tony'd managed to wriggle past his defenses with his constant chatter and Star Trek references and snacks and if he thought about it too much he'd have another Code Green, nope, focus on those brainwave patterns and see what he could do—

Thor had rushed to Asgard with the Scepter in tow, intent on returning with assistance, because Midgard was still so young in so many ways but he knew what branch of magic Lord Anthony had been a victim of, had heard Loki mention it offhandedly once or twice in their youth when showing off the power of enchantments, and there had to be a healer or magician willing to help—

Steve, meanwhile, has been taking it the worst: he'd been bantering with the team not five minutes before, and now he's seeing Clint, sharp and brittle in a way that was dangerously similar to the New York fiasco, and snarling about magic and oh god that was Tony.

Steve's heart had stuttered when he saw his body, and Natasha's bumping shoulders with Clint in an effort to help calm him down and Bruce looks like he's about as controlled as ever, but Steve's just. Drowning.

Because he's lost another friend, now; he'd just started to heal from Bucky's death, when the HYDRA reveal happened, and Tony'd been there for him afterwards, had been a good friend and helped him and Sam in their search. Tony'd been one of the last reminders of his past, had been a walking memorial of the generosity of an old friend [for all that Tony had hated to talk about his father, he was the spitting image of the man Steve had known, in some ways], and now? He's just…lost.

Steve had been talking to Natasha and JARVIS as to how to break it to Tony gently about his growing suspicions about HYDRA's involvement in Howard's death.

 [maybe it wasn't the Winter Soldier who did it, in this reality; maybe it was someone at the party who'd kept smiling and upping the alcohol content in Howard's drinks, and had sabotaged the brake fluid in his car instead. Thing is, Tony's head is a scary place, and with his growing paranoia and Wanda's influence, he can't help but jump to the worst-case scenario]

And ditto as to his possible crush that Natasha may or may not have been teasing him about for months. The crush that had merited multiple pitying looks from the team, because apparently he'd been very unsubtle in his attempts at hiding it, even if Tony had never noticed because the man was surprisingly obtuse in anything that vaguely smacked of emotions. Yeah, that crush. The one he'd put on the backburner, and was now bitterly regretting it.

So, yes, Steve wasn't doing well.

Time passes, and Thor comes and goes in his forays to seek out help. In doing so, however, the Avengers are only freaking out more and more, because with every hour that passes, Tony's condition only gets worse. His body's visibly getting more stressed, Bruce's tests have him hitting the tea more than ever before in an attempt to get a grip, and Steve hates seeing Tony like this but can't bear to leave [or let go of his hand].

JARVIS was especially distressed when, a few hours into his not-coma, Sir started to cry and call for him, and he'd never felt more helpless than when his sobs tapered off and mutters of a 'Vision' started. In his frustration, he dedicates more firepower towards finding the Dead Person Walking, and redoubles his search for anyone capable of doing anything.

It takes JARVIS less than three days, for him to find Wanda. It takes even less time, to capture her. Natasha is more than happy to aid him in interrogating her, and if the realization that she didn't know what she had done resulted in yet another corpse in a now-abandoned HYDRA bunker? Well...the instigator's death had no effect on Sir's condition meant it was no loss, at any rate. [That she'd shown absolutely no regret about having hurt Sir on such a fundamental level was only part of why JARVIS hadn't been particularly concerned about it all.]

More time passes, and the Avengers are growing increasingly desperate. Bruce had been forced to abscond to the Hulk-proof room after his latest set of readings, because Tony'd been showing all the warning signs for an impending heart attack despite their best efforts to help, and Steve's now going for a new streak in 'number of punching bags broken in an hour'.

Clint and Natasha are only marginally better off; having the knowledge that the witch was dead did something for Clint's peace of mind, but seeing Tony suffer was still grating on his nerves, and their spars grow increasingly vicious as time goes on. [If Steve wasn't even worse off, he'd have been staring in shock; as it was, he could only offer a tired smile when he saw them from his spot in the gym.]

Then, Thor returns with a name: Kamar-Taj.

Apparently, the Earth had magic as well, though it'd been hidden remarkably well. JARVIS takes this newest development, and runs with it as far as possible. The Quinjet was in India within the hour, with Bruce and Natasha calmly making their way to where JARVIS had identified a possible location. Clint's busily guarding Tony and keeping an eye on Steve, who'd wanted to go but was self-aware enough to know he wasn't the best guy for the job at the moment, and Thor was too conspicuous for it too.

Bruce knew enough Hindi to get by without too many weird looks, and the look in Natasha's eyes is enough to keep any potential muggers at bay. They find it quickly, and the wary questions they're asked means they're ushered to a darkened room in short order. Another terse few minutes of conversation finally have the Ancient One, alongside her right-hand man, walking back with the duo. [Bruce has to quell his knee-jerk reaction to run when he feels how everyone's attention when he mentions Thor's mention of 'mind magics' and something about stones? Man, he hated magic.]

A quick portal [that had the Avengers shifting and tensing uneasily when it'd opened, because hello security concerns] trip later, and Steve is a hairsbreadth away from snapping when the Ancient One surges backwards from where she'd run a few cursory hands near Tony's head.

"Who did this?" She asked, devastated fury evident in her tone and the way her companion moved to protect her. "This is an unspeakable act, punishable by death."

"They're dead." Clint replied, cold smile on his face and rolling an arrow [one of Tony's designs, one he'd been fiddling with before Sokovia] between his fingers.

"Good," the Ancient One bites out, "this is a travesty. It's mentioned in our archives, but only strong magicians with years of training even dare approach this, and only ever for healing purposes."

"Is there anything you can do?" Thor asked, "Few mages in Asgard specialize in this branch, and among that number the ones I knew who were capable of it are dead."

She looks at them, at the desperate look in their eyes, at the weariness in Bruce's face and the tension in Steve's frame and utter blankness in Natasha's expression, and smiles.

"Yes. It requires a lot of delicacy and preparation, especially for something that's lasted as long as this, but yes. Your friend is strong; it's been centuries since a human's been recorded with being under this, and they all died within three days."

Steve dented his chair when he sat back down, while Natasha merely tilted her head and replied, "It's been a week."

That added to the urgency, apparently: the Ancient One shared a look of horrified awe with Mordo, and set to work making their various preparations. Within the hour, they were ready, and when she asked if they would permit some of Kamar-Taj's students to observe the enchantment necessary for it, the team had a hurried, hushed debate.

"Please use your discretion. Only those who would not impede the process, I suppose." Natasha finally said, electing to be the Avenger's spokesperson [now that Tony was out of commission nope don't think about it—].

Steve didn't leave Tony's side until a few minutes before the ritual started; and then, he couldn't look away from the growing circle and only blinked when the light got too close to blinding even for him, and when he heard a quietly heartbroken "so was I" and a scream Thor had to help hold him down to keep from interfering.

Clint, meanwhile, shifted the entire time, antsy about magic and couldn't help but envy Bruce for stepping outside [the Other Guy was even less of a fan of magic than he was, and that took effort], and trying not to stare too openly at one of the students who'd elected to watch the ceremony. It was kind of hard, actually; he'd introduced himself as Dr. Stephen Strange, but in the minutes that it'd taken for Mordo to finish setting up the room, Clint couldn't help but notice the way the man hadn't stopped with the questions [much like Tony had with Thor nope nope he'd wake up dammit—] and it was uncanny, especially with the Van Dyke the man was sporting.

The ceremony's completed, and Tony's heart stopped partway through.

Fortunately, apparently Strange had actually been a medical doctor in the past, and between him, Bruce, and the Iron Man suit JARVIS had  commandeered to help in this endeavor, restarting it was less stressful than the past few hours had been.

"He should wake soon," the Ancient One told them, "make sure he takes it easy while he recovers, it's not often that people survive a death-curse."

The Avengers in general thanked her profusely, and JARVIS did the same. Then, at long last, they went home.

Tony wakes up to JARVIS' voice updating him about New York's weather forecast and stock prices and his relief of his latest change in status, with the familiar beeping of a heart monitor in the background. [Well, now familiar, at least, between Rhodey and Happy and nope—]

"Hey, Vision, where you at?"

"Sir, who is this 'Vision' you speak of? It is currently May—"

Tony sat up abruptly, heart starting to hammer again as he took in his surroundings. "Vision, where am I? This isn't funny."

"Sir, I am JARVIS. Do you require medical assistance?"

Tony froze from where he'd been running a hand through his hair. "JARVIS?" He breathed, and then looked around again carefully, "Oh, god. I lost it, didn't I?"

JARVIS was alarmed when Sir started laughing, and then his breath hitched and he started crying.

As such, it was perfectly understandable that he urged the Avengers to hurry; Mr. Barton and Ms. Romanov had been sparring in the gym while Capt. Rogers had been coming back from lunch, and Thor was currently in the middle of yet another Q&A session with the Ancient One concerning possible extraplanetary threats and magic.

Tony was barely getting his bearings back, and wondering what the hell was going on, when the door burst open, and what the fuck?!

He couldn't quite hide a flinch when Steve surged towards him, relief evident on his face, and…what.

Why was he being hugged? Was this another attempt to kill him, wasn't Siberia enough? What the— why was Natasha smiling? No, strike that; why was Clint smiling? Bruce was here?! And why was he hearing JARVIS' voice from the walls and not from Vision, again?

"Oh, god. I've really lost it this time, haven't I?"

The story comes out, of course.

Tony doesn’t know why Steve refuses to let him go if at all possible, but the part of him that hopes this isn't just some nervous breakdown isn't shy about enjoying the hugs [even if they got almost too tight in some parts, like when his voice broke when talking about Ultron, or the Civil War and it was all his fault—] and the way the team didn't seem to hate him [for once].

Actually…Tony isn't sure if he's really lost it, but he's also not sure if he wants to find out. Because here, JARVIS lives, and Rhodey can walk, and people actually listen to him about his worries and actually seem to care—

Clint and Natasha share a Look, the more Tony goes on. [Clearly, they'd been too merciful, when dealing with Wanda.]

Bruce greeted Tony with a smile, and then gave him some personal space: he knew him well enough to know it'd be appreciated, and what with the way the rest of the team was acting, Tony'd be lucky if he so much as went to the bathroom without an armed escort for the rest of the year.

Thor, when he arrives, tries to wrap Tony up in a hug—which makes for a dicey situation, because Steve refuses to let him go and Natasha and Clint are also a lot more likely to try to cuddle right now after the scare they all had. There may or may not be a small battle royale going on in the living room for the best spot on the couch, whenever Tony so much as gets up for a glass of water.

[aka Tony gets all the hugs]

Steve, meanwhile, is just as bad as JARVIS regarding his willingness to let Tony out of his eyesight. That is to say, he's very unwilling to do so. As in, barely willing to let him out of arms' distance, and that'd been before he'd heard about Tony's ordeal. [He hadn’t noticed Tony's flinch at first, but it's not until he heard about the 'Civil War', and Siberia that it hits home, just why he'd reacted that way, and it hurts.]

JARVIS has been in Sentry Mode since Sokovia. He has yet to let Sir out of his sensors' range, and the odds of that ever happening lower with each day that passes. Not that Sir's complaining; more than once, he'd simply called, "JARVIS?" just to hear a response, and seemed to take comfort in his updates about the situation.

Colonel James 'Rhodey' Rhodes had been in the middle of a mission, when JARVIS informed him of Tony's coma. If it hadn't been so sensitive, he would've up and vanished, but as it was he was the only thing between a warlord and a poor province until backup arrived, and though he burned to leave ASAP, he couldn't. [Tony'd never forgive him.]

The moment the op was over, though, and the people were safe, James pushed his suit to the limit to get to Tony's side, where his best friend was awake and coherent and rushing in for a tight hug just like he'd been after Afghanistan. He knows exactly why Rogers refuses to let go of Tony [even if it's for starkly different reasons; the man was not subtle at all, and if he hadn't known Tony for years, James'd wonder if he was being purposefully obtuse, because this was getting ridiculous].

He stays for as long as he can manage, and the way Tony just collapsed into his side each time means he's sharing increasingly concerned looks with the Avengers, because he's known Tony to be rather stoic about some things [ha—understatement of the year], and yet the friend he's known for decades teared up the moment he strode into the room, and what the hell happened to him?!

But no matter; he'll be there for Tony. Just like always.

Pepper's much the same way, having been dealing with investors in Japan, and able only to arrive after all had been said and done [though she'd noticed the haunted look in Tony's eyes, and made a note to talk with James and JARVIS about what actions needed to be taken to remedy this]. She wraps him up in a hug when she first sees him, and the way he'd only slowly relaxed was enough of a warning in and of itself, to her.

She's got a business meeting coming up, but in the meantime she and Tony curl up and watch old French movies with the lights off, and sharing blankets and granola without a care for crumbs. [She smiles when he finally loses that last edge of tension, when he slumps bonelessly against her and the couch, and doesn’t make a comment about the blinking earpiece he’s got, the one JARVIS likes to use whenever Tony’s out and about and needing a discreet way to stay connected. Tony was strong, he’d pull through. And she’d help him, whenever he asked it of her, as per usual.] 

Time passes, and Tony heals. 

He stops flinching at everyone’s sudden movements, stops startling whenever he hears JARVIS, gradually starts opening up again and lowering his guard, inch by inch. Slowly starts to up his chatter again, and the team’s never been more relieved than when the familiar strains of AC/DC start to filter through again, after months of silence [because Tony only ever played music when he was comfortable, when he felt safe and happy and secure with his place in the world].

Time passes, and everyone gradually moves on, though JARVIS' Sentry Mode is still a constant shadow to Tony and the Avengers' paranoia regarding magic never really goes away, not until months after Stephen Strange becomes a consultant and they see him and Tony bantering about facial hair and Arthur C. Clarke and doctorates.

Time passes, and when Thanos arrives, it's to an Earth with a set of guardians all as fiercely protective of each other as a pack of wolves, a tight-knit and cohesive unit devastating both on the battlefield and off of it.

[Suffice it is to say, Thanos doesn’t walk away from that particular encounter.]

There’s more going on in the background, of course. Exhibit A being the romance subplot [that could apply to just about any pairing in this scenario], and I’ve really skimmed just how long it takes for Tony to heal from experiencing canon events. 

Steven Strange’s part got shifted up in the timeline, and the Ancient One doesn’t die; instead, he ends up being a consultant for the Avengers, but his focus is on keeping the New York Sanctum safe. [Mordo, Wong, and James Rhodes just share a Look, the moment they first see Tony Stark and Stephen Strange in the same room. It may or may not have been one of horrified awe, of ‘oh god there’s two of them’, minutes before the first explosion started.]

...FYI, this JARVIS is basically TWiFFON’s JARVIS, and just my approach to him in general. That is to say, his focus on Tony’s safety and happiness is one of [if not the] biggest motivation for his actions, and a morality a lot more nebulous than most would probably be comfortable with, given he’s basically Skynet as is.

[rettungengel-blog]

“Vati, what’s that?” Bright blue eyes focused on the symbol embroidered on her father’s lab coat, pudgy fingers tracing the thread.

The child could feel her father laugh at her question, even as a five year old Angela was far more intelligent than anyone could have predicted. The man adjusted his glasses and shifted his daughter in his arms, “They stand for hope, mein kleine engel. It is with these wings that helps people such as me and Mütti help those that are need of saving, including you.” He explained, his free hand going to tickle the small girl in the stomach. The action caused a loud squeal from the child, laughing with her father.

“Help! I want wings to help, Vati!”

“You will fly the highest, Angela.”

---------------------------------------------

Eight Years Later

Angela sat by the fire with the two Lindholm siblings, as they listened to Uncle Reinhardt and their father recite old Nordic tales.Their mother, Adelina, had managed to pry Angela away from her studying to bring her to the family room for cocoa and stories. The girl, Katarina, waved her hands in the air wildly, “Pappa! Farbror Reinhardt! Tell the story about the Valkyries again!”

Her excitement caused Angela to let out a small laugh, pulling her legs closer to rest her chin on her knees. The boy, Wilhelm, let out a large, dramatic sigh and leaned against Angela with a bored expression on his face. “We heard that story last week, Rinny, I wanna hear another story ‘bout Loki!” He turned to look up at the older girl he was currently leaning against for some assistance, “Angie, isn’t Loki cooler than the Valkyries?” The boy’s pronunciation of the old female warrior title was a bit off, but he was only six. His question to Angela caused his sister to push him away and get closer to their god-sister.

“Nu-uh! Valkyries are so cooler! Right, Angie?” Her questioned caused her brother to push her in the same fashion she did to him. It ended with the two rolling around wrestling each other about which story was going to be more interesting. This left Angela to sit on the plush rug awkwardly, trying not to get bumped into from the rough housing.

Before Angela could answer, both of the men could be heard laughing at the children’s bickering. Adelina sighed, pulling the two apart and forcing them to sit on either side of the older girl, away from each other. “Do not worry my small friends, both stories are just as interesting!” The large man stated in his loud voice, “Torbjorn, my friend, should our Angie choose the story?”

Torbjorn acted like he was going to think about it, looking at his two pouting children before laughing once more, “She’s a more reasonable choice, eh?” He looked at his god-daughter with a large smile matching Reinhardt’s, “What do ye wanna hear, lass?”

Angela looked at both Wilhelm first before switching her gaze to Katarina, pressing her lips into a line in thought. Both were equally good stories, but her interest was always with the famous Valkyrie women. While she loved hearing about the gods, there was something about the female warriors that always fascinated her. It is possible that they reminded her of what her parents would always tell her, the values that they held and everything they taught her before they died. Torbjorn and Reinhardt told her of the stories of these amazing warriors that fought for the gods. She was more interested in what they did other than slaying heroes, which was carrying them to Valhalla, along with them being brave female warriors. It reminded her of the angels that her parents would always spoke to her about.

“Are there other stories about the Valkyries?” She asked shyly, earning a groan from Wilhelm. An apologetic smile was sent his way, he would end up forgiving her anyway after she made him some chocolate later.

Reinhardt laughed once more, reaching out to ruffle Angela’s hair. “I had a feeling you would pick that, meine Mädchen.”

Torbjorn opened the large book, “I got jus’ the story fer ya.” He laughed as Adelina nestled on the armrest her husband was sitting on. Meanwhile, Reinhardt had taken a seat on the floor with the children, bringing all three of them into his lap to lighten the mood before they all listened to the tale of Brynhild. Angela listened with rapt interest, hoping that she could someday become a Valkyrie-like woman when she became a doctor.

---------------------------------------------

Years Later

Overwatch has been her home for a couple of years now, spending the last of her teenage years with the organization. Through her time here, she has formed so many friendships, along with losing one or two along the way due to circumstance and unmatching views. It hurt, but it was through that experience that she was able to grow and create the Valkyrie suit. The armor had been a personal project for a few years, something for her to enjoy doing on the side when work was not overbearing. Now that it was finally finished, she could go out on missions as a field medic for the agents. Though she still had to go through all of the training that went with it.

“You sure ‘bout this, Ang? Field trainin’ aint easy.” The cowboy had been lounging in a chair while she tinkered with her Caduceus staff.

Angela laughed, lifting up the staff to inspect it before placing it back on the table to continue her tinkering, “I will be fine, Jesse. I’m not as delicate as people seem to think I am.”

Jesse let out a laugh, it was short, but sincere. “Never said you were, doc. ‘M just sayin’ that your skill on that pretty little pistol of yours should probably improve more if you wanna take that test.”

Her face scrunched into a scowl at his teasing. He wasn’t wrong, considering she was still having trouble controlling where she shot. While Gabriel and Jack got frustrated, Ana and Jesse found her lack of skill with her pistol hilarious. She knew that part of the test was to ensure that as a field medic, they were able to handle themselves in certain situations, handling a weapon being one of them. Jack and Gabriel stuck to teaching her how to defend herself physically, since they were both too frustrated with her lack of understanding with the weapons. She was getting her proper training to prepare for the test coming up within the next month or so. Angela could only hope that she would see improvement with her gun, despite really hating to have it on her in the first place.

“Well then, I will just have to practice harder.” She stated, her voice sounding as determined as she looked.

Jesse let out a snort, “Yeah, you’ll need a hell of a lot more than just practice with that aim of yours, sweetheart.”

Angela’s head snapped up, setting down her tools and walking over to the young man, tugging on his ear harshly. “Ow! Ain’t you suppose to be helpin’ people, not hurtin’ them?!” He yelled, rubbing where her hand had been previously.

“I tend to make an exception when they insult my skills.”

“Angela!”

------------------------------------------------

Zurich || Overwatch Headquarters

Everything was quiet, almost frightfully so. Gabriel and Jack have been at each other’s throats more than usual, and it was starting to become worse. Their arguments could be heard throughout the halls, and there was nobody who could stop them at this point. Overwatch was officially divided, there were many who sided with Jack, herself included, about the current situation, and then there were those who sided with Gabriel.

Angela wasn’t sure when Gabriel had begun to sink further and further into whatever was becoming of his thoughts. She still couldn’t believe that she was able to face him and say that she agreed with Jack, the look on his face and his reaction was one that she could not forget. Ties have been cut with a lot of people, and then there were those who had left already. Angela regrets not following her friends’ footsteps in getting away from this place, she could have easily left to go to a different research facility. With everything that was going on, she could hardly do much of her own research any more.

Things were becoming a mess as the days went on, with pressure from the UN to do something, along with the public’s horrible criticisms about their organization. Thankfully, her hospital that she was collaborating with to build with other doctors was finally finished. She has already begun to move her things to the new facility, and has been living in her own apartment in the city for the past year now. The transition to leave Overwatch will finally happen once she turns in her resignation papers to Jack and Ana today.

It took a lot of thought, since in the beginning when the hospital was approved for building, she had planned to spend half of her weeks there and the other half back at the Zurich headquarters to continue her research. However, now that Overwatch was undergoing rigorous scrutiny, it would be easier for her to cut all ties now so that she won’t be caught in the crossfire anymore. Angela has worked hard to get where she is today, and she was not going to let all of that be tarnished because of how the public views the organization she is currently associated with. She had talked it out with a few people, getting opinions on what she should do and how she should go about it. All of them were sad to see her want to leave, but all understood why. Reinhardt had told her that it was best she followed what her gut was telling her and not to regret her decision.

With that in mind and the file clutched in her arms, she walked the corridor that lead to Jack’s office. It felt long and excruciating, but she kept telling herself that this was for the best. She could still be in contact with all of her friends that remained in Overwatch, and she would be a lot happier to not be surrounded with constant conflict.

When she had reached Jack’s office door, all she could do was stand and stare at it for a moment, as if contemplating if she was really going to go through with her decision. However, she shook off the contemplation, knowing that this was the best choice for her and knocked on the door. After waiting for about a minute or so, she knocked again before trying the doorknob to see if it was unlocked. Oddly enough, it wasn’t. Angela opened the door, expecting to see Jack immersed in paperwork, but upon setting foot in the office, she realized that there was no one in sight. “Jack? Are you here?” She asked, looking around, as if maybe he had been hiding.

After there was no answer and it was very clear that he was not there, she let out a breath she didn’t realize she was holding. Perhaps he was in another meeting with the board of directors, there had been a lot of those since the public began to verbally attack Overwatch. “I suppose...I will have to come another day.” She stated with a sigh. Honestly, she had worked herself up for this confrontation and there was no one in sight that she could speak to about this.

File still in hand, she walked out of Jack’s office, closing the door behind her. She still had a lot of things to rearrange back home and she had a few messages that she needed to reply to on her home computer. Perhaps she could do that to ease her mind off of things.

As she was walking towards the exit of the building, Angela saw Reinhardt waiting for her near the doors. She completely forgot that she had asked that he wait for her, just in case she needed some emotional support. The large man smiled and walked over to her, patting her shoulder as gently as he could, “Little engel! How did the meeting go with Jack?”

Angela could only sigh and shake her head, “He was not in his office. I will have to wait until tomorrow to give him my papers.”

Reinhardt gave the young woman an apologetic smile, “Jack is a busy man these days, but don’t worry too much, my friend. He’ll be here tomorrow, I am sure of it!” He began to lead her towards the exit, going through the clear, glass doors. “Now, what’s say we go eat at our favorite restaurant! Swiss beer is not as good as German, but the food is delicious!”

A laugh came out of the doctor, shaking her head, “Well I’m sure we can find you a good drink somewhere in the city.”

They continued down the walkway, doing small talk and reminiscing as they headed towards the gates. They waved to people who were either on their way in or leaving just like they were as they continued walking. Not even halfway from headquarters, the ground had begun to rumble below their feet. Both Angela and Reinhardt stopped, neither wanting to say what they thought could be the source of the sound before looking behind them to see smoke. “What was-”

“Get down!”

Before she knew what was happening, Reinhardt’s large arm brought her to the ground and there were sounds of large explosions coming from headquarters. The aftershocks brought them flat on the ground, debris and dirt flying everywhere. Angela’s ears had begun to ring from the explosions, only able to faintly hear the sound of people screaming around her. Began to cough from the dust she was breathing in, pulling up her turtleneck to cover her nose and mouth. She looked at Reinhardt to make sure he was okay and saw that he was doing the same thing with a handkerchief.

Angela turned her head around to look at the building that held all of their friends, only to see smoke and fire coming from the wreckage of what they once called home. Only one thing ran through her mind as her muffled hearing picked up the sounds of what she could only guess were Swiss emergency sirens: she had go save her friends.

---------------------------------

Three weeks later

After all of the investigations and interrogations, the former members of Overwatch were finally able to lay the three founders to rest. It was a long and tedious process, Angela had demanded to be the one to do the autopsy on all of them. She had to have closure to know that they were all gone. She had to help everyone have closure that the people that they once considered family were all dead, but the UN denied every request that she put in.

The days began to blur between all of the questions that she was asked by either the UN or investigation services. They had taken a majority of her research that she had done with Overwatch, only allowing her to keep everything that was publicly known in the medical community, which thankfully included her Valkyrie suit and instruments. Angela was sure that the only reason she was able to keep some of her research was from her connections in the UN and having diplomatic immunity. The UN still wanted all of her personal files that she kept on all of the agents and hospitals that she ran for the organization. It was an issue that was still being refuted by some of the prime ministers, but her colleges all told her to just hand them over willingly so that there would be less legal work. It was still too much to handle at the moment for her to make a cognitive decision on the matter.

The numbness had yet to go away and she has barely spoken a word to anyone since the explosion at headquarters. Everyone was dealing with the loss differently, Angela had tried to go on like normal, but she couldn’t bring herself to go about her life as if nothing happened. So many people she was used to seeing were no long here, they would never have lunch in the cafeteria together, or have briefings on their next missions, or go to holiday parties together…

(She failed.)

It was as if her parents had been taken from her all over again. Except now she was an adult, and she felt as if she could have done more to save the people that were lost. The bodies that were pulled from the wreckage still haunted her, black tarps covering them as they were lined up for identification. She was only able to do so much before officials dragged her off the site to get checked for wounds and later to be interrogated.

Angela had managed to keep a level head during all of her interviews following the interrogation. She told the truth and what she knew of what had been going on before the events that lead to the explosion. It was a fight to keep her thoughts together when they had started asking about Gabriel and Jack, more specifically if she thought Gabriel was capable of bringing down Overwatch. It was hard to keep him in a good light when they kept bringing up his questionable means of leading Blackwatch. She was able to get out of most of the questions concerning that, thankfully, since she was not a trained Blackwatch operative.

(There was nothing that I could have done to stop them. To stop him.)

It was after all of the legal matters when the main members had come together to talk about what should be done in terms of funeral services for the founders. Angela could hardly recall what they spoke about, only remembering that they had all come to a quick agreement to keep the funeral private for the sake of avoiding the crowds and press. The UN would not allow them to have an open casket, saying that their bodies were beyond being able to even remotely touch up for a wake. Everything surrounding the founders didn’t seem right, but nobody was able to argue much considering the positions they were all in.

Despite the funeral being held yesterday, Angela was still her her black clothes, unable to sleep. Many condolences were given to everyone and there were many tears shed by their friends. For some reason, Angela couldn’t find it in herself to actually cry during the service. She had given a few sad smiles, but her face remained sullen. Everyone just figured that she was mourning in her own way, but in reality, Angela’s mind was elsewhere. It was almost too surreal for her, she kept getting flashbacks to when she was young and standing in the front at her parents funeral. It was as if she were both in the past and present at the same time. Nobody could really seem to snap her out of this mental state of being she was in.

(I couldn’t save my parents, and I couldn’t save my friends.)

Her eyes stared out the window, the weather changing to a gloomy rain after the sun shining yesterday. She had moved from staring at her ceiling in bed to sitting on the cushions of her bay window, not bothering to make herself anything to eat since she hasn’t felt hungry since before the funeral. Angela could only guess that she had been staring out at the city for a few hours now, thinking that maybe she should finally clean up all of the files that were scattered and the pictures that she had dug out for the sake of the memorial services.

Slowly, she got up from the seat and began to numbly walk over towards the table where everything was laid out. The moment that she reached her destination, something dropped in her stomach as she stared at the pictures that were taken outside of the albums. Photo by photo, she picked them up, staring at them as nostalgia took over and a sad smile had appeared on her face once more. However, after only one stack, her smile turned bitter as her eyes kept going back to the files and reports from the explosion that were next to the scattered pictures. It was as if they were taunting her, reminding her that some of the people in these pictures no longer were able to be photographed again. She wanted it to stop, wanted the faces in the pictures to stop haunting her, wanted the reports to never be read again, wanted to stop being reminded of the people that she failed.

(Just make it all stop.)

Her eyes wandered to the fireplace that came with her apartment, one of the few in the building since she was on the top floor. She walked over to the kitchen area, rummaging through a drawer before finding a candlestick and grabbed the files off of the table. Sitting in front of the empty fireplace, she took out a match and struck it, holding it up to the candle to light it before snuffing the match out. Angela then grabbed the first file, holding it up to the flame, and watched as it began to burn. She threw the burning file into her fireplace and began to repeat the process with each file that she had on the case.

(This was a mistake.)

Somewhere in between lighting the files, she had been fighting off tears that had finally decided to appear. Sniffling after the final file was in the fireplace burning, she grabbed a few small logs and put them in, trying to get a bigger fire started. Surprisingly, there was enough kindling from the burning files to get one going. The tears had finally begun to fall not long after listening to the crackling of the fire. The hurt was still there, burning the files solved nothing. She had to find a way to get rid of it permanently. There had to be a means to make it go away, make her forget everything, forget Overwatch.

Angela sat there watching the files burn, a new emotion bubbling in her gut. She quickly stood up and took every stray file she had from Overwatch, everything that she took from her office before the explosion in order to move to her new facility. She put everything that she had from Overwatch, regardless of how important it was to her, into the fire. All of the unpublished findings that she had made, all of the work she had accomplished. She had to erase herself from Overwatch. Nobody could know what she had done.

(It all had to burn.)

It was all a mistake. Joining was a mistake. Creating those friendships hurt her more than it should have been worth. She was young and naive to think anything could last in an institution such as Overwatch. Being with Overwatch made her feel invincible, when she was clearly getting too close to the sun, and it burned everything she loved, herself included.

After the files were thrown into the fire, she erased anything and everything related to Overwatch on her computer, including everything on her Valkyrie suit. Making sure that none of it could be found by anyone unless they went to great lengths to find it. UN be damned, she didn’t care.

(They don’t get to know what I’ve done.)

Without hesitation, she got up and went over to the table where the loose pictures from the albums were still scattered. A sob ripped from her throat as she looked at all of the memories that she made. All of the people she had met and gotten close to. It was as if ghosts were staring back at her in a great deal of them. They varied from occasion to occasion, some were taken at random moments, others were taken during special events. Regardless of who was alive or not who were in those pictures, the pain had doubled when she looked at them. Whether it be one of her and Jesse after her first mission in the Valkyrie suit, or of Jack and Gabriel in horribly ugly sweaters with Winston and Lena laughing in the background, it was too much.

Her eyes began to blur from the steady stream of tears that had begun to fall, her sobs becoming more and more frequent as she tried to regulate her breathing. It was no use at this point, her emotions finally running its course after all of the events that happened in the past three weeks. She couldn’t take the pictures mocking her anymore.

(I failed, I’m a failure. Don’t look at me. Don’t look at me!)

Angela gathered the pictures sloppily and haphazardly threw them into the fire, not really caring if some of them just fluttered elsewhere that wasn’t in front of her. She didn’t want any of those now painful memories anymore. She couldn’t stand any of them.

It wasn’t until she ended up in front of the case that held her Valkyrie suit in it did she actually get a look at herself. The reflection showed a woman with disheveled hair, dark circles under her eyes, and her cheeks wet from the tears that were still streaming on her face. She looked beyond pathetic. Her eyes began to focus more on the suit that was inside the case, one that she was supposed to have used to help people. It was meant to be something that could help her save more lives with more immediate medical response. It was supposed to make her feel like one of those Nordic legends when she flew in with her wings to attend to the people that needed her. In the end, she failed to do any of that when it mattered the most.

(It was a mistake.)

Angela closed her eyes, the sobs wracking her body more frequently, “I-I’m sorry…” She whispered, her voice hoarse. “I’m s-s-so sor-ry…”

Her legs finally gave out from under her, using the case to guide her to the ground where she continued to lean against it and sob. She kept repeating “I’m sorry” over and over, as if there were people there to listen to her apologies.

(Overwatch was a mistake.)

-----------------------------------------

Two years after the events at Zurich, Dr. Angela Ziegler decided that she was going to be traveling to war torn cities who needed volunteer doctors, only to be in contact with her close friends.

[alittleoptimistic]

Writing prompt reply

Wrote a little story based on the Tumblr prompt: You open the door to someone who says “you’re my favorite book character and I know how it ends and I’m here to change it” plot twist: this person is your favorite character.

So um. A precious bookworm bean only-moderately-insane Loki?

yes. I think so.

Here you have it.

—- To say I was shocked was like saying a pop tart is rather tasty. Or riding on a dragon would be fun. Or that your tongue may be slightly singed upon leaving a hot pocket in the microwave for .0000023 seconds too long.

No, I wasn’t just shocked, I was knocked flat, blown over, mouth open and probably drooling or something because there was no possible way in all of the universe that he could be standing at my doorstep.

I’d been busy finishing a bit of psychology homework in my bedroom, avoiding my screaming baby brother and my mom, who thought it was a good idea to clean the entire house for reasons far above my head. But overall, to say I was content was a pretty good description. I was finally with the girl of my dreams (Her name is Ashlen, by the way.) and tonight I was going to have pizza my dad, who I’d been searching for weeks after it became apparent that my mother wasn’t going to give me any info and immaculate conception was a bit of a long shot. Anyway, I found him and he wasn’t the coolest dude in existence, but he was pretty okay and got me out of some difficult situations. He could talk someone into a puddle if he wished. The man had a tongue like acid. Which was fine when it was in a direction other than me. Hopefully we wouldn’t kill each other within the first hour alone.

But, I mean, really, everything was good. My problems were at ease for the moment.

But now I was at the door, unable to speak. Breathless and slightly singed, the Asgardian outside gulped down oxygen and held up a hand when I tried to speak. Dressed in a tan tunic and green leggings with leather boots, dark hair spilling down his neck, he would have fit in well with a medieval fair. He hadn’t even looked at me yet. “I need to locate Tomas. Have you seen-?”

He finally saw me and his entire form went rigid with surprise, shock equal to my own, maybe.

Do I need to point out that my name is Tomas? Yes, without an “H” get it right. I stared at him and finally gave a nervous giggle thing that probably sounded so freaking unmanly I don’t even want to think about it. “This is a joke, right?”

He cocked his head. “You know who I am.”

“Of course I know you. I’ve seen all the movies and…”

What friend of mine planed this? But, oh wait, I didn’t have any friends. And how the heck did Tom Hiddleson know my name? And why was he dressed like… well, like his character? Were they filming in the area? Why was he at my door again?

Hiddleson blinked at me, seeming to weigh something in his mind. He came to a decision and stepped closer. I stepped back automatically, still so stunned I didn’t even think that I should probably ask for an autograph or something like a normal fan.

The weird thing was that the man was giving me the same expression I figured was on my face. A mix of shock and wonder and excitement. “You have no idea how long I’ve wanted to meet you,” he said in a murmur, his gaze zipping up and down me.

Right. Okay. This was a dream. This was most definitely a dream.

“Excuse me?”

Loki of Asgard finally seemed to get a hold of himself. “I know you don’t understand this, but I need to tell you. I’m from a universe where you are… acharacterinmyfavoritebook.” He said the last part so quickly I hardly caught it. Probably because he knew it sounded bonkers.

I think I might have wheezed. Or coughed. Or sneezed. Or something in between. “What?”

He shifted his weight nervously. “Look, I’ve been working on a bit of a spell in my free time because it always bothered me how you… well, how the story ended. The twist was…” Loki wrinkled his nose. “And, anyway, I’m here to change it.”

My eyes ought to have rolled out of my head, I had them open so wide. “Uh, right.”

Did he just say spells? Was this some kind of TV trick thing? I glanced around for cameras and saw none. Meanwhile, Loki (Tom, or whatever his name was) was giving me a decidedly irritated look. “I haven’t got long before it wears off and I disappear. You’re smart for a Midgardian. I remember. I need you to act fast.”

Snorting, I placed the door between us and peeked beyond it. “You’re crazy.”

Hissing between his teeth, he pinched the bridge of his nose like he had a headache. “I ought to have anticipated this. You don’t believe in magic.”

Another squeal like noise escaped me and if calling for my mom wouldn’t have made me look like a toddler, I would have shouted for her. As it was, I continued staring at him, debated what exactly to do. Slam the door in his crazy face? Yeah. That was a good idea.

I moved to shut the door, but suddenly Loki raised his hand and the door stuck, lit up by a golden light. Letting go of the door like it was on fire, my gaze jumped back between the Asgardian and the door which was being held by magic or some freaking thing.

The medieval mad man was looking far more smug than I liked. “Your name is Tomas Haddic. You are in love with that lass Ashen, have a little brother you secretly despise, a mother you resent, and a father you’re not sure about. Tonight you’re going to meet with him in his apartment, I believe it is called, but you haven’t told your mother because you’re afraid she’ll stop you, or worse, be an escort.” He was getting more and more worked up as he spoke. “When you get to your father’s, you’re going to find something extremely unpleasant.” He grabbed the door and forced it open. “I’m sorry, but you have to understand, this is for your best interest. It is the deviant point.”

My heart strumming in my throat and my mouth dry, I scrambled backwards. “How do you- how do you know all of that?”

Loki growled in frustration. “I just bloody told you! Do try and pay attention. I know you just act thoughtless so that that imbecile from your education center will not target you, but at this moment, that tactic is ineffective.”

“You mean Tyler? I’m not afraid of him.”

“Yes, you are.”

Forget this. I scrambled back into the house, shouting. “Mom! Mom, there’s a crazy stalker dude trying to-!”

But a sudden hand closed over my mouth and another wrapped around my waist, pinning my arms down. He was impossibly strong and although he did not hurt me, it was impossible to twist free. “You idiot child, if I… This is for your benefit.”

I didn’t have time to wonder how he’d caught up to me or anything because suddenly gold swirled around me, and we were in a small alleyway, trash cans piled in a corner. The bright sunlight glared from the sidewalk outside. Terrified, I slammed my elbow into his gut and managed to twist out of the man’s grip. “You’re crazy! You- you… how the heck did we get out here?!”

“Magic?” he offered with a shrug. His bright eyes gleamed with an excitement I did not understand at all. “Tomas, believe me-”

“I’m not believing a single freaking thing you say!”

He gave me a long suffering glare. “The things I do for you people.”

I scrambled to the light, glad when he didn’t try to stop me. Instead, he called out. “Your book is called The Peculiar Memoir of Tomas Haddic.” I didn’t stop. “My father nearly threw it out of the palace library when Thor and I were children. But I stopped him because I liked the green cover and the simplicity and I didn’t know anything about Midgard and I kept reading it over and over again because you reminded me of… well, myself.”

At that, I stopped and turned, just barely in the shadow. “You do realize you’re a murdering psychopath who betrayed his family and tries to invade earth? That’s not exactly a compliment.”

Loki fell very still at this, paler than before. The shadows made him look almost sickly. In retrospect, that probably wasn’t the best thing to say. “You’re lying,” he murmured. “I would never- what could possibly make me-?”

“That’s the story, Loki,” I spat at him mockingly. The man was insane or playing a really bad joke. He deserved a bit of my spite. “You’re the bad guy.”

With that, I swerved into the street and left the stunned madman behind. It only took me a few moments to realize I was only a street or two away from my dad’s apartment. A sigh of relief fell from my lips. My sneakers thudded on the concrete, and I shoved several people aside as I ran. “Sorry!” I caught a glimpse of my terrified expression in a shop window. My black hair was a wavy mess and my blue eyes wide with fear. I swung around a street sign pole as I skidded around a corner. There was the apartment. Just up there and across the street. Cars wizzed back and forth across the road, narrowly missing me as I jaywalked/ran across.

It was in a run down part of town and some lady smoking on the balcony was dressed like she was fifteen even though she looked forty. Her eyes followed me disinterestedly as I dashed up the stairs and toward my father’s number. Fourty-two, fourty-three, fourty-four. There.

It was already open and I burst inside. “Darren!” I shouted for my dad. “Darren? Tom Hiddleson is chasing me. He’s a psychopath! Dad!”

The apartment wasn’t really that large. He had to be around here somewhere. I flew through the one-butt kitchen and into his bedroom. That was the last place.

What I saw made me stop short in my tracks.

My dad was scrambling out of bed and some woman was in the process of escaping out of the window. Their hair was escue and it did not take crazy deduction skills to figure out what they’d been up to.

In retrospect, I suppose it shouldn’t have bothered me. He wasn’t married to my mom, after all.

But it did bother me. A lot. What kinda cow was this jerk? And who was she? Why was he this kind of guy? Why was he this sass talking, carnal jerk and why had I even bothered to…

It bothered me enough that all I could do was stand there and gape at him, hoping my disgust filtered into my gaze. Darren lifted a hand to me as if I was a wild animal he needed to calm, irritation flashing in his eyes. “Tomas, I can explain-”

“No,” I said in a whisper. And then louder. “That won’t be necessary.”

With that, I stumbled backward, feeling half blinded, out of his dirty apartment, and onto the balcony outside. I fumbled down the stairs, not really caring where I went, and ran toward the road.

I darted into the street when suddenly a truck veered around the corner. I had a moment to open my mouth in shock and terror, knowing without a doubt it would hit me, when a sudden flash of gold filled my vision and something wrapped it’s arms around my waist.

And then I was on the opposite sidewalk, feeling the air from the truck rush past me. Gasping, I collapsed on the ground and lay there on my elbows and hoped I didn’t throw up my heart if it beat any harder.

“I… I almost died,” I exhaled.

“No,” I voice said quietly, evenly devoid of emotion. “You almost ended up in a wheelchair, paralyzed from the waist down for the rest of your life.”

Shocked, I rolled upward and swiveled to look at the speaker. It was the psycho.

Who was looking steadily less crazy.

I stared at him. “You saved me.”

“Do you always state the obvious?”

“I do when I’m nearly run over by a semi,” I spat.

For some reason, Loki looked delighted. “There you are. I’ve been waiting for that sarcastic devil to show up.”

Suddenly beyond exhausted, I moved to the wall and sat against it. Resting my head back on the bricks, I squinted up at the prince. “You knew,” I said. It wasn’t a question. “You knew what I’d find when I went in Darren’s apartment.”

Loki shifted his weight. “Yes.”

“Because where you’re from, I��m in your favorite book.”

“Yes. Do you believe me?”

I considered this. “It’s easier to think about this than…” I gestured in vague disgust toward the apartments. “That.”

Nodding, Loki seemed to think for a moment, and then, abruptly, he sat next to me. “You are not defined by him, Tomas,” he said in a low voice. “His blood in your veins… it has no bearing on who you could be.”

I blinked at him. “You don’t know how ironic that is, coming from you.”

He frowned, confused. “I don’t-”

“Look,” I interrupted tiredly. I appraised him briefly before sighing. “If you really are Loki from the stories I know, then… you’re going to figure out something. Soon, probably. And… it’s going to change everything. And I mean everything.”

Loki nodded slowly. “Alright.”

“And when you do, you’re going to have to remember just what you told me. Blood doesn’t define you. You can be whoever you want, Loki. It doesn’t matter if Odin approves or not. Or if anyone approves. There’s nothing you can do to change them. So give up and be who you want to be, not who you think they want you to be.”

Loki’s eyes were narrowed. He folded his legs to his chest and rested his arms on his knees. “How about we make a deal?”

“I’m a bit wary to make a deal with the god of mischief.”

Loki smirked. “No mischief. I swear. You promise to remember my words, and… I will promise to remember yours. Hopefully we can change our stories for the better, yes?”

I pursed my lips, considering, then with a sad smile, I caught his eye and stuck out my hand. “Deal. I promise.”

“Likewise, I promise to remember your words, Tomas.” We shook hands, and he winked at me.

And suddenly Loki was gone.

I blinked at the spot he had been, startled. Had I imagined him?

Then I heard something clatter to the pavement and I turned to see what it was. There on the floor was a small green coin. I turned it over in my hands. “Remember,” it said on the side. I smiled.

With a shaky breath, I stood and tucked my coin into my pocket. Forcing myself to look at the apartment, I gulped. My father’s blood did not define me.

With that, I turned and made my way home, a sad sort of smile in my step.

I would remember, but would Loki?