In The Shadows | Loki

IT'S QUITE SAD

Loki~*~*~*~*~*~*~

        "So we've got nothing? Really Romanoff?" 
        "SHIELD hasn't been able to pick up on any unusual activity, and all the people we've looked into have checked out. Fury is in a rage. He expected something by now." Natasha replies to Stark, staying calm. I stay silent from where I'm listening. Someone lets out a long breath, and it takes me only a second to recognize the Captain's voice.
        "You all know that Ophelia's got a lead that we don't have, right?" He asks. "Every time any of us walk into a room while she's working with one of the X-Men, they go quiet. They're onto something that we're not."
        "Wasn't that the point of having her quit SHIELD without her knowledge? That she'd find something that we wouldn't have to tell SHIELD and whoever the mole is? Who we still can't find, by the way." Clint speaks up. "We can't be mad that she's a few steps ahead when that was what we wanted."
        "We didn't want her to be caught off guard. That doesn't mean we should be." I sigh and step away from the door, tired of listening to their squabble. They truly knew nothing. Just as I turn to leave, the door opens, and Romanoff stands there with a raised eyebrow.
        "Something you wanna say, Loki?" She asks, and I see the others behind her, watching me.
        "You all really know nothing, and it's quite sad." I say with a smirk. 
        "We're trying to keep her safe." The Captain speaks up. I shrug, turning to walk away.
        "And I'm actually doing that. Isn't it funny that the villain is doing the hero's work?" I hum.
        "Loki." The Captain's voice makes me stop and turn back slightly, and I raise an eyebrow in question. "We're just trying to protect her too. If we have your help, we can help her better than we can on our own." My teeth clench at the near pleading look on his face, thinking through the situation. 
        "I will not tell you anything that SHIELD's mole will hear, and I am only working with you people because I love her." I hiss, looking around at all of them. "Is that understood?" There's a long moment of silence.
        "So what can you tell us?"

Ophelia~*~*~*~*~*~

        The thought of the cure scared me even though I knew what it felt like. Well, I thought I did. It couldn't feel much off from Leech's ability. 
        The first time I had touched Leech, I didn't know what his ability was. Honestly, because of his ability, I shouldn't have been able to pick up his power like I had. Mutants within so many feet of Leech couldn't use their powers. It was like they were... normal. Being close enough to touch him meant that my powers should have been nullified by his.
        Somehow though, I had picked up his ability. It had taken me so much longer than normal to figure out how to use it. The ability had felt like poison in my veins, a drug that slowed me down and made me feel ill. I had control of it now, but back then? It had been terrible. 
        I look up into the large mirror over the sink in my bathroom with a frown, slowly letting Leech's power cover my skin. My appearance slowly shifts as I feel the other powers fade to the back of my mind. I watch as the gold in my eyes fades back to the blue I had known in my childhood, my silver hair slowly changes, the brown coming back. In a few seconds, it's like I'm looking back at my nineteen year old self. There's an empty feeling throughout my body. 
        I nearly jump when there's a knock on my bedroom door, turning to look out of the bathroom. I force Leech's power down, my normal appearance returning quickly as I feel my power flood back through my veins. I take a deep breath, quickly moving and opening the door as I force a smile onto my face. 
        "Hey." Cordelia fidgets, glancing down the hallway as she greets me. "Can I come in?" She asks, looking at me pleadingly. I nod, confused by her anxious demeanor. She slips inside, and I shut the door behind us. 
        "What's wrong?" I ask, concerned. She immediately pulls her phone from her pocket and holds it out to me. I raise an eyebrow, taking it. "Is there something I'm supposed to do with this?" 
        "I got a call. The guy on the other end, he said that if I didn't cooperate, he'd kill mom and dad." I blink in surprise, taking the phone and quickly opening it. 
        "You don't know who it was?" I ask, glancing up at her as I open her call history. Cordelia shakes her head, looking... scared. "What did they ask you to do?"
        "Bring you to a bar a few blocks away tomorrow night." She replies, shifting on her feet. "I think they wanted to ambush you there." I quickly pull out my own phone, putting the number in my notes before deleting it from her phone.
        "Is this backed up?" I ask, and she nods. I drop it to the floor before slamming my foot down on the device, breaking it. "I'll get you a new one. You and your fiancé need to call into work. Neither of you are leaving this tower, and I'm going to ask Happy to up the security." 
        "What about mom and dad?" I hesitate, not sure what to do. I'd have to contact SHIELD. 
        "I'll figure it out. I promise. Just... don't leave the tower. They won't hesitate to hurt you, alright?" Cordelia nods, hugging herself tightly. "Hey." She glances up, and I move forward, wrapping her in a tight hug. "It's going to be okay. I'll make sure of it." 
        "I'm just really worried. They're threatening all of you. I don't want anyone else to get hurt." She whispers, voice cracking as if she was about to cry. 
        "Nothing is going to happen, I promise. I'll make sure everything is going to be okay." I reply. There's another knock on the door, and I let Cordelia go. She wipes at her eyes as I turn and open the door to see Loki standing there. He opens his mouth to say something before glancing behind me and taking in my sister. 
        "What's going on?" I glance at Cordelia before taking in a deep breath.
        "We have a problem."