Survivor's Guilt ~ A Marvel Story

~ 9 ~

After escaping the collapsed compound with the Tesseract, we made our way to a lab that I had covered so no one but us could see it. We spent a day, and by 'we' I mean Eric Selving, spent a day in the lab tracking down Iridium. The scientist didn't make any sense to me but all I knew was that we needed to get it and Clint already had a plan. 

Clint was going to break into a highly guarded lab while Loki and I went to a gala in Germany. There, we will find the man who is the lead scientist of this said lab. To get into the lab where the Iridium is kept, we needed an eyeball. His eyeball.

Before I knew it, Loki and I were wearing the finest clothing that Midgaurdians had. Their clothing was strange and oversimplified. I was wearing a dark red crushed velvet floor-length gown. Loki wore a suit with a decorative scarf instead of a tie. 

We walked up to the greeter.

"Name?" He asks us with a joy that was forced.

"Oh, a name won't be necessary," I smiled at him. A wave of confusion passed over him before my mind crept into his. 

"Of course, ma'am. You two enjoy your night." I nodded curtly to him as we walked past.

Loki looked down at me with a proud look as we walked through the large doors. A smirk landed on my lips as we walked in, arm in arm, reminding me of how we walked into the throne room before Thor was almost crowned King. Almost.

The sheer excitement I felt at the ease of controlling the greeter made me giddy with power.

The building this party was held in was admittedly gorgeous. Nothing compared to Asgardian party rooms but the artwork that decorated the walls was perfect. 

Lokis staff, disguised as a cane, clicked across the marble floor that was so clean I could see myself staring back up at me. I pulled my head back up, keeping my posture straight as Loki and I glided down the stairs. 

My thin fingers ran across the large marble railing delicately as Loki let go of me, skipping down the stairs. I took my time to stare at the crowd below me. Everyone wearing their best, unknowing of who Loki and I were. They should know.

A theme amongst the paintings on the wall was Greek Gods or Goddesses or other classical events in history put into paintings. No Norse paintings, however.

If nothing else, tonight they will know our names.

As Loki and I made it to the final staircase, the grandest of them all, we gave each other a slight nod. I wasn't going to cause a distraction per se, I was just going to stop anyone from messing my brother up.

I watched as his eyes locked onto his target. An older man was speaking German at a microphone, and the entire crowd's attention was glued to him.

As quickly as we stepped off the stairs, Loki made a guard fall and had his left hand wrapped around the target's throat. 

I scanned the area for anyone trying to stop Loki and as soon as my brother laid the target down against a slab of stone, another guard appeared. 

I quickly lunged toward him, knocking the weapon from his hand, and letting it clatter to the ground. His thin arms went up immediately, a strange mix of fear and confusion shifting through his eyes. A gut-wrenching scream erupted behind me, which I assumed to be that of the target.

The man in front of me flinched at the sound and backed up, blending into the crowd that was scrambling out of the doors. 

I saw my brother appear beside me, an affirmative nod shaking his long black hair. He began to change our clothing from the Midgardian attire to our Asgardian armor. Him with his golden-lined green robes and me with my white and gold chest plate.

Soon we left the fluorescent lights and stepped into the moonlight.

People's panicked screams filled the night sky. "Cover me," My brother told me as he looked to our right and saw a vehicle with sirens speeding towards us. 

I let him continue walking, no doubt to herd the Midgardians and give the speech he's been dying to give. 

I faced the small vehicle and felt the stir of energy begin to spark through the palms of my hands before I envisioned a group of daggers. When I knew I was ready, I twisted my torso and threw my arms out one at a time, each throwing about three knives. All six hit the screaming car, sending it to speed across the black pavement on the hood. I stepped out of the way, watching as it left sparks across the road before landing upside down.

The people around stared at me in amazement. Or maybe fear. But when you're a Goddess, what's the difference, really?

As the Midgaurdians knelt before us, Loki began his speech. He spoke of how freedom crushes joy. How freedom gives them the urge to scramble for power leaving them unfulfilled and power-hungry. A monarchy has always worked back home so I agreed. Our people back home are happy with their lives. 

"In the end, you will always kneel." I zoned back in and watched as an old man stood up among the sea of kneeling Midgaurdians. A ripple of heads turned and glared at him, wondering what would happen next.

My brother stood with his mouth open like a fish wondering how anyone could defy him in such a way. "Not to men like you," The old man stated firmly, shaking from age as he stood up straight.

My brother let out a snarky laugh. "There are no men like me."

"There are always men like you," He countered. 

I hadn't taken into consideration that maybe people wouldn't see me and Loki kindly. They would understand eventually. Sometimes hard decisions need to be made.

An itch began to spread through my senses. Something was wrong. I could feel it.

The statement from the man angered Loki. He raised his staff and pointed it at him. "Look to your elder, people. Let him be an example."

I looked up on instinct and watched a figure fall from the sky. He held a shield out in front of the old man as Loki attempted to shoot him. The blast ricocheted and the blue light targeted Loki as the man in a bright red, white, and blue outfit stood up and glared at my fallen brother. I let my energy begin to form on my fingertips so it would be ready in case a fight broke out. 

My white skirt billowed around my ankles as I stared down the strange man. 

"You know, the last time I was in Germany and saw a man standing above everybody else, we ended up disagreeing," He said as he slowly approached Loki. 

"The soldier," Loki replied with so much venom in his voice. I didn't know who this man was but obviously Loki did. "The man out of time." Loki stood up with the help of his staff.

"I'm not the one who's out of time," he threatened. 

Above us, a ship appeared. I knew there was something in the sky. "Loki, drop the weapon and stand down." The ship spoke loudly. 

Quickly, the soldier, as Loki called him, charged at him, knocking him down. I went to help, wielding my energy. 

"So you're the sister," He spoke, looking at me as I stepped between him and Loki.

I cocked my head to the side as I let my sword grow from my palm. We started to fight back and forth. For a man who was tall and strong, he was strangely agile. Loki joined the fight again and ended up besting the soldier.

Then a loud Midgardian song began to blare around us. I looked up towards the ship and another figure, this time in a metallic red suit, flew towards us. He shot blasters at us which I managed to block with an energy shield. But then he shot another one which sent me flying, knocking into my brother.

Loki whispered into my ear, "Follow me." And I did.