Hero (Loki & Avengers)

Ten

"Can a stone really be worth traveling across the universe for?" I ask, not really meaning to say it out loud.

It's the next morning, and all of us are again gathered in a conference room to discuss ideas for added security measures here.

"Well, do you want to see them?" Tony counters with another question and I sit up straighter, intrigued.

"Yes, absolutely." I nod.

"Then let's go check them out. Everyone should probably see the inside of that compound anyways in case we need to do an emergency evacuation of the stones." Tony tells everyone.

"Field trip." Clint says, standing up. Everyone else follows suit, except for Loki. I see Thor whisper something to him and he nods, taking a step back and walking off to go back towards his room.

I see Natasha give him a confused look, but Thor simply replies, "It's for the best."

We all make our way outside, and the dead lizards are notably absent from the grass. The backyard already looks like a different place to the war zone of last night. Thanks to the security and isolation of this place, no police were even made aware of what happened last night. Thankfully, too, because Tony and the others agree that they aren't quite sure they want the US Government knowing what's going on with the stones just yet.

Tony takes us through compound A7, which has about half a dozen layers of security, until we finally reach an all white room underground, with two pedestals on either side of the room.

The door closes behind us, and the second I'm sealed in here a wave of vibration rushes through me. It's the same buzzing I felt in my blood when I met Loki, because he just held the space stone. It must be the stones. They have a pull on me.

I can't take my eyes off of them. One, a beautiful sparkling blue gem to my right. The other, a fiery glistening red gem to my left. The red gem, the reality stone, it whispers to me. I walk closer to it, though everyone else seems to have walked the other way towards the space stone first.

I listen closely, hearing high pitched lulls from within the red core of the stone. My eyes widen, my heart rate speeds up, and it's like I can't even control what I'm doing. I remove the glass cover over the stone and place it gently on the floor, and then I reach out.

I grab the stone. I had no choice in the matter.

It's like I was in a trance, but the second I hold the stone I snap back into reality. Power surges through me, like I'm being electrified. It feels right to have this stone in my hand.

"Cassidy, no!" Someone screams from behind me and I whip around to see everyone staring at me with horror on their faces.

Tony puts his hands up like I'm a wild tiger he's trying to tame.

"H-how do you feel?" He asks and I raise an eyebrow.

"I feel fine. I feel incredible, actually." I roll the stone to my other hand and everyone jumps again, "What?" I shout.

"Cassidy, nobody can touch infinity stones. Not without being turned into ash anyways." Tony tells me.

My eyes widen.

"Am I going to die?" I gulp.

"You would've already been destroyed by it. But you're wielding it. It's unheard of." Cap tells me.

I look down at the gem in my hands, and I feel no fear. I feel like it's somehow a part of me. I play with it in my hands, and oddly enough it no longer feels like solid rock. I can manipulate the stone like it's putty in my hands.