FLIGHT ✔P.M. ₂

chapter twenty-five

AS IT TURNED OUT, the shop was occupied. It was a small bookshop, and at the current moment, there were no visitors inside. Only an employee. Robin and Loki, who, upon bursting in, had closed the door and taken to spying out the window, slowly turned around. Behind the counter was a young worker, who Robin determined was only slightly older than him. They wore round gold glasses and had fluffy hair that was dyed a light blue. They were looking between the two men in the store, waiting to see who would speak first.

Loki reacted in the way you would expect from the temperamental god - he took out a knife. The person simply raised an eyebrow while Robin went for the more sensible reaction, grabbing the god's arm and stopping him.

"Sorry about him, he's not a people person," Robin apologized awkwardly.

The bookshop employee shrugged. "It's alright," They said. "Happens more than you'd think. Gay problems, am I right?" They joked, smiling.

Robin snorted, and shook his head. This person certainly was weird. No sane person would react that way upon getting threatened by a man with a knife, or say that to a stranger they just met.

"So, how can I help you gays?" They asked, clasping their ring-ridden hands together.

Robin furrowed his eyebrows. "Did you mean guys..?" He asked, blinking at this stranger.

They stared back at him. "I said what I said. I have an excellent gaydar, you know." They shrugged to themselves. "Plus, you aren't exactly subtle. Pink hair? Come on, I have never met a straight person with hair that colour." They directed their gaze then to Loki. "And you just have that energy. Straight people prefer guns to knives, too, so I guess there's that."

"Listen here, you pathetic mortal-" Loki started, taking a step closer with his knife still in hand.

"Loki! Woah, relax," Robin instructed, pulling him back once more.

The blue-haired person raised an eyebrow. "Loki? Like the Norse God?"

"Obviously," Loki hissed in reply.

They smiled. "You should've just said so!" They held a hand out. "Blake Parker, professional superhuman harbourer," They introduced happily.

"That's not a thing-" Loki started, but Robin cut him off.

"Robin Carter, this is Loki, but you knew that," He replied, shaking their hand.

Blake smiled. "Nice to meet you! So, how can I help? Running from the cops? RCMP? FBI?" They inquired, leaning over the counter with interest.

"The Avengers," Robin admitted sheepishly, ignoring the annoyed look Loki was giving him. It was clear the god did not trust this person. But come on, they're a non binary Canadian who is offering their help. What's not to trust?

Blake hummed. "Impressive," They commented. "Well, you guys could be really bad people... but honestly, I don't care. Just promise me that if you kill anyone, you go after Republicans. Oh, and spare me, I guess. I haven't seen Lord of the Rings yet."

"I'm not killing anyone!" Robin said quickly, worried once more about what Loki would say.

"Oh, that's a first," Blake said, then shrugged. "Follow me. Wouldn't want to be caught, would you?" They made their way towards the back, not glancing back to see if the two were following.

Before following, Loki grabbed Robin's arm. "I don't trust this," He muttered.

Robin rolled his eyes. "I know you don't. Just trust me, okay? They want to help us - and we need all the help we can get right now." He tugged his arm away and followed Blake to the back, aware of Loki trailing behind him.

Blake lead the pair to a door that said employees only, letting them go first. When Robin walked in, he was not sure what he expected. Maybe something more exciting, but it was literally just a storage room full of boxes of books. Blake instructed that they take their hands, which the two boys reluctantly did. In the blink of an eye, the confusion was replied by nausea.

Robin blinked, and tried to grab onto something to stabilize himself, but the boxes had disappeared. He looked around him, and found himself in a new location once more. His eyes widened in shock. He spun around. He did not think he was in Canada anymore. He spared a glance towards Loki, who was equally as confused.

Blake was sitting on a rather tall rock, one leg crossed over the other. They grinned down at the two boys. "Welcome to 1190 BC, Greece, gentlemen," They said.

"This is-" Robin started, eyes widening in realization.

"Trojan War time? You get a cookie!" They chuckled darkly. "Well, with a twist."

"What have you done?" Loki demanded.

Blake just smiled and jumped down from the rock. "I'll let you two in on a little secret," They pushed Loki down to his knees and wrapped an arm around Robin's shoulder, bringing the two boys down to their height. "You're not the only superpowered individuals around," They whispered, an adroit edge to their voice. Then they stepped back, acting as if they did not say anything. "I'll be sure to be back after I get those Avengers off your trail," The promised, and just as soon, disappeared back to the present.

Loki picked himself off the ground, a painful scowl on his face. "I knew it was a trap," He snarled.

Robin shook his head, eyes scanning the terrain before them. "This might have worked out in our favour," He muttered as he spotted a figure in the distance.

Loki followed his gaze, eyes landing on the person whom Robin was fixated on. They seemed oddly familiar. Not by the looks, no. But there was something about them that both Robin and Loki recognized. Something about this person drew them in. And who are they to test fate?

Thanks to Stephan's perception, the group of heroes found themselves at a small local bookstore. They burst in, in a manner that was impolite for Canada (which we know is not always sunshine and rainbow, but come on. Don't break the door.) This seemed to startle the person inside, but it was neither Robin or Loki, much to their disappointment.

Steve nonverbally instructed the others to look around the shop while he talked to the cashier, who looked more unamused than freaked out. An unexpected reaction.

"Excuse me, sir-" Steve started, but he was cut off.

"Not a man," Blake responded in a bored tone.

"Sorry, ma'am-"

"Not a woman."

"Right, sorry..." Steve was unsure how to respond but even though he's old as fuck, he was going to be respectful. BECAUSE IT ISN'T FUCKING HARD YA TRANSPHOBES. "Two dangerous individuals have entered this shop. Did you see where they went?" Steve proceeded to ask.

Blake gave a disturbingly fake smile. It wasn't that they hated him, but I mean, he did kiss their girlfriend... so maybe they were a little salty, no matter if it was a mission. "Sorry, I won't speak to a dinosaur." Their fake smile transformed into a frown quickly as they stared at the cis white man in front of them. It was literally men like him who caused most problems in the world. And if he wants to demand answers for something they might know nothing about, they were going to be rude.

Steve sighed, but decided not to aggravate them further, and went to switch places with Wanda.

The moment Wanda asked the same question Steve had, Blake smiled and explained that they somehow disappeared, saying something about Greece. They had, however, failed to mention that it was Greece from centuries ago... and in a different reality.