"Here you stand with a title you could not hope to own up to! A team in which you cannot win their blessing of approval. What kind of a hero are you?"
"The kind that is willing to sacrifice everything they have in order to sustain peace on their pla...
Every muscle in my body ached as my recent encounter with Loki lingered as pain. My skin stung where I was slashed, resulting in new tears in my jacket. Luckily, hardly any blood was spilled, perhaps only a drop or two were able to escape.
Loki, on the other hand, managed to escape without so much as a scratch and showed no sign of weakness, other than surrendering once Stark gave him a good run in.
However, my instincts imagined there was something behind his choice. Loki didn't come across as the type to surrender.
We had him strapped into a seat, well harnessed to prevent any means of escape. Though he didn't appear so intimidating now in this state. His head hung low as he stared at his lap, making pretense he was forever discouraged of victory.
Thunder loomed overhead, adding to my aching head, as the sky flashed with every rumble.
"Said anything?" Director Fury's voice sounded over the radio.
"Not a word," Natasha replied.
"Just get him here," he ordered urgently. "We're low on time."
I lounged on a bench with my back against the wall, attempting to ease my aching limbs, my left leg propped up with the other resting flat just behind.
My mind raced furiously as it replayed the events of my first fight. Every swing I made. Every dodge. Every punch I threw, and the magic I used. And the one mistake I could not have made. All the mistakes I could not have made.
"I knew this was a mistake," Steve uttered to Tony.
"What?" Tony questioned. "Was the music too much? Too big of an entrance? Not the right music?"
"Having a kid handle a hero's job."
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"And who decided to take a nap?" Stark fired in my defense.
"Yeah," I added in, "I don't recall the 'hero' doing all of the work."
"It wasn't by choice," he defended.
"I'd say she handled it pretty well. Even if she is just a kid, she's the one I'd call for a rescue."
While Steve rolled his eyes in this pursuit to discredit him, Stark flashed me a wink that said, I got you, kid. But even that couldn't sway the power of my thoughts.
There was only one mistake that flashed into mind. Again and again, it irked me.
I could still see it, as I stared down at my hand, watching it spark, sparking, unable to produce the flame I intended to conjure. Everything had moved too quickly at that moment for me to understand the reasons behind this.
Now the guilt was piling on all at once.
I started listing the possibilities for this unexpected occurrence. Perhaps I was distracted; maybe I was panicking; I was moving too fast; possibly the excitement was too much; whatever the case, it was no excuse.
