A New Infinity Stone

THREE

I wake up with a sudden and violent jolt. It is pitch black. Am I still asleep? My body aches all over, and I manage to sit up with only a few joints popping. The last thing I remember is being with Wanda and then ... and then the man from my nightmare turning up. My eyes scan the room with confusion as they start to get used to the dark. There only seems to be a bench in the room, which I am currently inhabiting. Maybe that is why I am so sore?

A door cracks open, letting in a bright light, and I squint as I am blinded for a few seconds. The man struts into the room with a stupid smirk plastered on his stupid face.
"You are awake." His voice is like a lullaby, and I feel like I'm about to slide into a trance.
Focus, Mel, this man has kidnapped you. He is clearly deranged, and why does he look like he has just left a Comic Con?
"Clearly." I clear my throat to sound more confident. "Where in seven shades of hell am I, and who the hell are you?"
He grins. "I am Loki, of Asgard, and I am burdened-"
I cut him off. "With glorious purpose." I mock. "Yes, yes, I know your little catchphrase. What do you want with me?"
"I assume you received my message last night." He carries on talking without waiting for my answer. "And I assume that you have noticed some strange things happening to your body."
"Why does this sound like the puberty talk I had when I was twelve?" I mutter to myself.
Loki scowls at me as I interrupt him.
"You, Mellona Barton, possess a great power. A power that someone very influential desires. I am tasked to prepare you for delivery."
"Delivery? Like an amazon parcel? To whom?"
"The mad titan, Thanos."
I pause. "Who?"
Loki rolls his eyes and glares viciously at me.
"Thanos. He is power-hungry, searching for Infinity Stones with the apparent goal of controlling all of existence. He desired to use the Tesseract to look beyond the known worlds to find greater ones that it would unveil. He is sadistic and cruel, finding children that he can raise to be assassins and forcing them to watch as he murders their familiar." Loki grins. "I happen to have an alliance with him."
"The Tesseract? What's that? And what are Infinity Stones?"
"The Infinity Stones are six immensely powerful objects tied to different aspects of the universe. Each of the stones possesses unique capabilities enhanced and altered by various alien civilizations through the millennia. Before the universe began, six singularities existed. Sometime after the universe came into existence, these were formed into the six Infinity Stones by the Cosmic Entities. Each stone represents a different aspect of the universe: Space, Mind, Reality, Power, Stone, and Time."

I take a couple of moments to process the information before asking him another question.
"What power do I possess? I suppose Time would be cool. I could go back to fifth grade and kick Brendon Smith's ass. But, on the other hand, reality would be pretty awesome; I could live in the set of Supernatural. Oooh, but then there's m-"
"Cease your endless nonsense!" Loki growls. "You do not possess any of these Infinity Stones. It is a new one. Thanos felt its power when you were born. It is nothing he has ever felt before. He told me to retrieve it, but there are others who will do anything to get their hands on it. It is a Death Stone. You can control the lives and ghosts of many. You can kill with one touch. The full extent of your powers is currently unknown. I am amazed you have lasted this long."

I look down at my arms as the black shadows swirl around. This can't be true. Dad has spent his whole life protecting the world from these things, and I had one in me all along. Why have I never noticed it before? And what is Thanos going to do to me so he can have this power?
I glance at Loki with a look of dread; my confident façade drops. He shows no emotion. Why is he staying silent? Surely, he wants to help me. I've heard stories about Loki, the good and the bad. I saw what he did to New York when he took my dad and put him under some kind of spell. Yet, I cannot believe that one man is entirely evil and corrupted.

"Are you going to help me?"