Chapter Text
Loki quickly grabbed my arm and pulled me with him up the stairs. My heart was pounding so fast as we hurried to where the crashing sounds were loudest. There was glass everywhere, so I had to be careful not to step on the shards along with pieces of broken furniture.
We stopped in the doorway of the lounge room. I swallowed thickly as I saw Lorelei standing there, smirking at us. The rest of the team had already circled her with their armor on, and we were the last to join.
Loki’s hand on my arm tightened a little, and I knew that was his way of telling me to stay put. I watched him with panic as he stepped towards the goddess. I didn’t trust myself not to react if she were to attack him. I could already feel my power begin to flow through my hands.
Loki stopped a few feet in front of her, obviously confident that she couldn’t hurt him. I was less so. “Lorelei, end this now,” he scolded. “You know you won’t win.”
Lorelei’s smirk widened. “But why should I? Not when it’s this fun.” She laughed, taking a step towards him.
“Hm.” For a moment, Loki looked deep in thought before he purred, “It will be fun to see you fall.”
Now Lorelei laughed louder. “And who will do that? These mortals? Thor? You? I highly doubt it Loki. You couldn’t even kill me when you most wanted to.” She smirked as she saw her words had their intended effect on Loki.
Loki clenched his fists together, barely constraining his rage. “Death was too kind for you. Not when I could have you locked away for centuries with no power and nothing to live for.”
It all happened a bit quickly. Lorelei pulled a hidden dagger from her dress and threw it straight at him. Before I could even scream, Loki had dodged it and magicked his own blade in his hand. He ran at her, but she was quick, too. She moved away in time and slapped her hand in the air, causing Loki to go flying across the room.
Thor bolted for her, swinging his hammer with a ferocious growl. The team then began to close in on her as they tried to keep her at bay. It was six against one. Tony tried to disarm her with his blasters, but she blocked them so easily.
“Is this all you have?” she yelled.
I ran over to Loki, who was trying to sit up in the corner. Hurriedly, I scanned his face and body to see if there were any major injuries, but I found none.
“Loki, are you okay?” I exclaimed.
He nodded his head, wincing a bit at the pain, but he quickly hid it. “I’m fine love,” he grit through his teeth. “You need to get to safety.”
“The hell I do! I’m not going anywhere, Loki.”
His eyes turned to me, and I could see the desperation and pleading in his gaze. “Darling, please.” He took my hand and held it firmly for a moment, before he got back up and went back to the fight. I understood that Loki could not stand to see me hurt, and, while I so greatly wanted to prove myself, I knew it wouldn’t be fair to Loki for him to see me in pain as he tried to fight Lorelei.
However, there was no way I was leaving. Instead, I stood back by the bar as the fight raged on in front of me.
I could see that we weren’t winning. She was too strong, and the only one that could keep up were Loki and Thor. But then, as she spun around Thor, she sneaked her dagger back into her hand and stabbed Thor between his armor. He cried out before kneeling to the floor as the blood dripped down his abdomen.
“Thor!” I shouted to no avail.
Now it was Loki’s turn to growl. He moved with such grace as he danced around her, their daggers causing a loud sound when they met. Bruce and Clint were dragging Thor away from the action to get him medical attention. Natasha was unconscious on the ground, and I couldn’t find Tony anywhere around the room.
I started to really panic. Loki was our last defense, and I couldn’t keep my eyes off of him. If he failed, he would not survive, and I couldn’t let that happen.
They were truly equals. They knew each other’s tricks and moves after having grown up with one another. He could easily predict her next attack, and she kept coming at him with the same ferocity. Neither were letting up as their blades cut through the other’s skin, and blood was starting to stain the floor.
Suddenly, as Loki shielded her dagger with his hand, Lorelei magicked another blade into her other hand. It felt like time slowed down as I watched her drag the knife through Loki’s side.
He fell to the floor with shock, and I cried out. I could not watch anymore.
You know who you are. Death. The mystery man’s words rang in my head. You have the power to destroy it all. I could end this all, here and now, and save my friends’ lives. I could protect Loki this way.
Slowly, I let my power flow out of my hands as I walked over to them, not caring about stepping on glass anymore. Lorelei heard me approach, and smiled widely at the challenge.
“And what can you do little girl?” she taunted. “You are nothing compared to me.” I didn’t stop as I headed to her. “Do you actually have what it takes?”
I stood still in front of her, my breath slowing. In and out. My whole body was on fire with my barely contained strength. I could feel my heart beat in my chest, pumping my blood along with my power. Everyone’s eyes were on me, but I could only sense my body burning with rage. Rage at Lorelei. Anger at the team’s imprisonment of me. Anger at the world for how its tried to weaken me.
Do you actually have what it takes?
My eyes met Lorelei’s once again, taking a good breath. Then, I let my chaos explode.
I flung my hands out, and black smoke burst from my hands. Vaguely, I could hear Lorelei screaming, but she was fighting me. She tried to block me, but I was stronger. I was more powerful. My forehead started to bead with sweat, and I screamed as I gave my all.
After what felt like hours, I dropped my hands in exhaustion. The black smoke faded in silence as Lorelei’s dead body appeared on the floor. Her face was covered with black veins along with black eyes. I assumed the rest of her body must have looked the same.
The room was so still with an eerie quiet that had settled over us. I stood there for a few more moments to simply look at what I had done. All the damage I had caused. I did this.
I had killed someone for the first time in my life. I took a life. Deep down I found myself conflicted on my contrasting emotions. The human part of me was afraid, almost disgusted that I had done such a thing. But the other part of me, the dark part, was elated. I had defeated her when no one else could and with no one else’s help.
Rapidly, I felt a bone-aching exhaustion take over my body after emitting so much of my strength. My knees tumbled to the tiled floor, and as soon as my body hit the ground, sleep overtook me.