In The Shadows | Loki

IT'S A REALLY LONG STORY

"Steve called." Storm informs me as she steps into the kitchen where I was with Rogue and Logan. "They're about five minutes out."

        "Thanks." I murmur, sliding off of where I was sitting on the counter and standing. "I'll go check on Thor and Loki." She nods once, hesitating before leaving. "What?"

        "The professor explained what happened." She says after a moment. "Are you okay?" I sigh, but nod.

        "I'm still... I think my mind is still processing what happened." I reply. "I probably need to get some rest, but the thought of laying down..." I shake my head.

        "Do you know what you're going to do?" She asks, concerned.

        "Do I ever?" I shoot back. "I'll figure it out, just give me some time." I step around her. "I'll be back with Thor and Loki in a minute." She nods, and I leave, heading for the large staircase in the entrance of the mansion. Thor wasn't hard to find, seeing as he was outside of my old room, talking excitedly to Colosuss, who gives me a small wave. I wave back before slipping inside my old room.

        After my conversation with the professor, Loki and I had walked up to my old room. Thor had already fallen asleep on one of the beds, and I was surprised when Loki went to one of the others, clearly exhausted. He had hidden it well, but it must've caught up to him if he was willing to sleep in such an unfamiliar place. I, on the other hand, was much to wired to sleep. Resting just wasn't sitting well with me at all.

        "Loki?" He doesn't stir, and I sigh before moving towards the bed. I set my hand on his shoulder, shaking him. "Loki." I say louder. One of his hands suddenly shoots up, grasping my wrist tightly as he pushes me back. He had jerked awake, eyes wide as he looked around. "You're on earth, remember?" I say after a second, rubbing my wrist. He takes a deep breath.

        "I apologize." He says after a second, and I shake my head.

        "The Avengers will be here in a minute." I say, nodding towards the window where I could see the incoming jet. "I was just coming to get you." He frowns, but nods, quickly standing. We walk out, snagging Thor and heading down the stairs. When we hit the bottom, I hear the group outside. The doors open, and I have to shield my eyes from the bright sunlight.

        "What the hell is he doing here?" I hear Clint ask. I watch him pull his bow, knocking an arrow in half a second.

        "Agent Barton, I would rather not have weapons used in my home." Xavier says as he rolls into the room, Logan slightly behind him. Clint blinks in surprise, clearly not prepared for some stranger to call him by name. He scowls.

        "Fine." He puts the arrow back in his quiver and secures the bow on his back. I let out a long breath, my shoulders dropping. Then Clint lunges forward and punches Loki.

        Pain explodes across my left cheek, travelling across my face. I curse, one hand flying up to touch my untouched skin. "Dammit Clint!" I shout. Pain pulsed in my nose, and one glance at Loki showed me the blood trickling from his nose. His hand goes up, dabbing at the blood running onto his top lip.

        "I suppose I deserved that." He murmurs.

        "I didn't." I snap. He looks at me, eyes widening in realization. "I didn't think you felt all the pain I felt. I thought it was a dimmed down version." I rub my nose lightly, even though I knew it would do no good.

        "What is going on here?" Nat asks, looking between Loki and I. "Ophelia, the last we knew, you were attacking London." I hesitate before sending her a small smile.

        "It's kind of a long story. I can tell you on the way back to the tower." I murmur.

        "There is no way in hell I'm letting him near my tower." Tony interrupts, gesturing to Loki. "Not a chance."

        "Well," I shrug, "Where he goes, I go Stark."

        "What?" Tony asks, confused.

        "As just demonstrated by Clint, When he feels pain, I feel pain. if he dies, I die. I'd rather keep him close by, if you don't mind." Tony blinks in surprise before nodding.

        "Dr. Banner." Xavier speaks up, and I watch Bruce's head snap up in surprise. "If you're that concerned about the condition of her health, I'm sure she and Jean could show you to our medical lab before you leave." I watch Bruce's eyes dart to my bandages. I hadn't even realized he had been worried. I shake my head quickly.
        "I'm healing Bruce, I promise." I say after a second. He frowns a little more.
        "I just-" He stops. "I mean, if you got back hours ago, and I'm assuming you didn't leave right after you received those injuries, you should be healed already, right?" 
        "She should." Jean speaks up before I can. "Hank and I," She nods at Hank, who sends Bruce a small wave, did a study on how fast her healing was. The best ratio is..." She shrugs. "An injury that would normally take two weeks to heal takes her about thirty seconds to a minute. Not nearly as fast as Logan here, but fast enough to have saved her life multiple times." 
        "I'm right here." I snap, frustrated. Jean just smiles a little, narrowing her eyes.
        "When did you sleep last?" She asks, and I scowl. "What? You're grumpy. Anyway, I'm curious too, and I would've dragged you down their earlier if you hadn't been talking to the Professor." I sigh, running my gauze-wrapped fingers through my hair. 
        "Fine." I murmur. "Fine. Whatever." 
        "You really are crabby." I hear Nat murmur. Jean catches my attention, nodding towards the elevator. Bruce follows me, and I notice Loki stick close to my side, causing Nat to follow as well. She makes Clint stay behind with the others. 
        Jean and Bruce look over my cracked and still bleeding skin, changing out the gauze. Loki stands near the door, And Nat stands at a calculated distance from him, keeping her eyes on him with a few glances my direction. "You're healing slowly. This will take days to disappear." Jean murmurs with a frown. I snort.
        "I could just use Rogues power to grab Logan and speed this up." I murmur. Jean shrugs, nodding.
        "I think it would work." She replies. I watch as she glances towards Loki, then back to me. "Seriously Ophelia, when was the last time you slept?" I open my mouth to answer, but hesitate. 
        "Um-"
        "Nearly two days." Loki says, speaking up much to all of our surprise. "Ophelia, you haven't slept since you woke up from the aftermath of the spell." Nat's eyebrow raises.
        "What spell?" She hisses. I let out a huff of laughter as Jean finishes tying off the gauze. 
        "Do you want to explain, or do you want me too?" I ask Loki dryly, shaking my head.
        "I fear if I try to explain, she'll kill me." He replies. 
        "Oh don't worry about that." Nat pipes up. "Apparently if I do that, I'll kill her too. But don't worry. I'll find something." I sigh, standing up. "Ophelia, I want to know what the hell is going on. You can start with why he's even here." 
        "It's a really long story." I say after a moment.
        "I'll say." Jean murmurs.
        "I can explain on the way home." I finish, resisting the urge to flip Jean off. "That way I don't have to go through it a thousand times." Nat frowns, but nods. Bruce nods as well, and I notice him look at Jean.
        "Um, do I know you?" He asks. Jean shrugs.
        "I'm the woman that attacked Alcatraz?" She offers. Bruce's eyes widen, and his mouth opens before snapping shut again.
        "I... I was going to say that I think I was at a conference you spoke at about mutant rights, but... yeah. That too." Bruce stutters. "Um, I think everyone's waiting upstairs, yeah?" He's red in the face, and I have to resist the urge to laugh. Loki is watching the situation curiously.
        "Yeah." I agree. "I'm going to go take advantage of Logan's healing ability, and then I really want to go home."
        "I think Fury wants to talk to you too." Nat adds, and I curse under my breath.
        "Great. Well, great."