The Call [Loki x Siren Fanfiction]

Prologue

Serendipity (sare-en-dip-it-ee):  the occurrence and development of events by chance in a happy or beneficial way

My feet kick up sand behind me as I break into a run, heading for the ocean. I'm so close. Every atom in my body is longing to step into the salty haven that has sheltered me for centuries. It is almost to the point of it being physically paining for me to not be in it. I'm so desperate that I hardly notice the bullets whizzing past my head, sweeping up my blue hair as they narrowly miss me.

Finally, my feet hit the soft sand still wet with a receding wave. I feel my power flow into me once more and I start wading into the ocean. I'm up to my calves and I'm on a power high, sick with the strength that I have not had in almost two weeks. A wave splashes against my legs as I begin to calm, feeling like myself again. I take a deep breath as I slowly turn around, facing the small crowd of armored humans, all pointing their weapons at me; foolishly believing that they possess a weapon strong enough to obtain me once more.

They pause in their approach, looking at each other for indication of what to do.

"If you leave now, I will let you live. You do not have to face my wrath. Flee now, with your life." I state, relaxing myself in the grasp of my home. Once again, they raise their weapons at me. I release a small sigh, but begin to gather my strength. A woman steps forward and begins shouting at me a warning to surrender. I am not listening. I am reveling in the feeling of the water beginning to churn around my legs, beginning to rise although the waves maintain their normal height.

The leader does not notice. She continues threatening me with petty things such as imprisonment and required collection of human fines. As my feet are swept off the ground, her men begin to drop their jaws, gaping at me.

"So it shall be. You will atone for your crimes in a watery grave." I calmly address them, before I begin to sing. It starts out small, as a slight hum that could barely be heard over the water, but it began to rise. My waters part at the call of my voice, making a path into the depths. One by one, each of the human law enforcement figures begin to walk down the path I clear. Blindly searching for the life my voice promises.

My song sings, and my soul cries out to the depths in mourning of our waters, and of the newest murders for the ocean. One after another, they stumble down the path and step into the water. As the leader steps into the water, my song changes. It rises for the last time as the waves seal their fate. Onlookers gasp as I step off my platform and dive once more into the depths.

--

After floating lazily through the water for a few hours, I find a cave to bask in that is far enough away from the coast that I most likely won't be found again. It's not that I'm scared of them. Most of the time there isn't anything they can do, even when I'm on land. Unless I stayed on the surface and lost my vial. Like I did earlier. When I'm on the surface for more than a day or two without any ocean water I begin to weaken and I can't sing. It still sounds pleasing by human standards, but it isn't powerful enough to lure dozens of humans to their deaths. That's when my vial comes in. I keep a few drops of the ocean in it for emergencies, and if I need assistance, I open it and pour it in my hand. My skin absorbs it, and I am ready to defend myself once more.

I lay down on my cave floor and nestle my head into the sand while I replay the last incident. So many dead. It has to be thousands over the years. Contrary to what the humans believe, I do not enjoy killing. I remember every time I am forced to kill. I try to let them escape. Every time, I tell them, you can leave now and I will not harm you. Most of the time they listen, knowing that there are forces too much for them to comprehend; but sometimes they are stubborn and I am reduced to a monster.

Unlike the guardians before me, I do not release them from the song once they have begun to drown. These people may have chosen death, but they do not deserve for it to be a terrifying death.

I do understand why the others kill and inflict pain. Our job is to maintain the balance. We stop the humans from fully exploring our realm, avenge our own, and under all circumstances, we protect the ocean. We suffer from every ounce of garbage they put in our home. We suffer when the creatures of the depths cannot survive. We mourn when the ocean's waters become too polluted to support our life or another's.

Killing them is our sworn duty. Terrifying them is not required. But none of us ever fully agree on the extent of their penance for their crimes. How the others fulfill their duties is none of my concern. I protect my space, and they protect theirs.

Sometimes I wonder what the others are like. We almost never see each other. The last time I saw another guardian was over a hundred years ago. The humans had built a huge ship and were preparing to sail across our ocean much too quickly. We assembled a large piece of frozen ocean, I believe the humans call them icebergs, and put it in front of the ship before anyone could see it was there. The ship sank, and they left us alone for the next few decades.

The not seeing the other guardians is what encourages me to go to the surface. It gets lonely. I still feel kind of human, even though I've been a guardian for so long. So it's nice to go to the surface. I sometimes take short jobs as an entertainer for the humans. I sing a toned down version of my songs and the humans pay me. It gives me opportunities to live among them sometimes. Every once in a while I get a large pay day and rent an apartment for a couple months.

I buy clothes and trinkets and food, even though I don't need to eat to survive. It can be fun, but I always have to return eventually. But recently, they've been forcing me to return earlier than I would like. The humans believe I am what they refer to as a mutant. I am not sure if they are right or not, but based on what is happening to those who are regarded as mutants, I do not wish to find out.

When they find someone who is a mutant, they either shun them or arrest them. If they shun them, it's public. Everyone knows, and almost everyone abandons you. They call you a freak and are terrified of you. They don't let you exist in public, you have to hide your identity or have your name changed, but usually you can't get it changed to hide.

If they arrest you... well, it isn't pretty. They can leave you in their jails for however long they want, just for having one gene that doesn't behave like everyone else's. They might also experiment on you, trying to both figure out how to create and how to kill mutants.

So I can't stay long. Usually I only last a few days before someone sees me and I have to run again, but sometimes I make it longer, and I stay away until it is physically painful for me to not be home.

The past few times I have been on the surface, it has been in tumult. They have powerful beings settling their debts amongst each other, and many do not care who pays for their anger. Some however, try to save those who cannot save themselves. There is a group of beings who are powerful, but who try to save the humans. They work together to save those who cannot save themselves.

Despite their efforts, there is still chaos, destruction, and chaos among themselves. Somehow, they still focus on chasing me, rather than chasing the enemies of their own kind. I worry that, one day, they will stop sending small pawns to attempt to capture me and take what would probably be more effective and send their own guardians instead.

I don't know if I could defend myself against them.