Loki, my darling

XXIII

Tony started by giving the journalists a brief overview of what had happened over the past week, why we were here, and then introduced all of us. And then it was time for questions. "Is it True you have brought two people back from the dead, Cassandra," "Well technically yes," I said as I had been told to keep it simplified regarding the comebacks of Loki and Gamora. Tony pointed at another raised hand, "Can you bring back more people?" he asked and before I could even answer, another person asked, "Can you bring back my husband, who Loki killed in 2009?" I felt Loki being really hurt by that question and his memories somehow started rolling before my eyes. Him growing up lonely and bullied, never getting his father's approval, considering himself a monster because of his real heritage, trying to kill himself but ending up on another planet, being tortured both physically and mentally. That was so painful I never could have imagined a living being doing that to another, but Loki had been through it, barely surviving, only to be sent to Earth and forced to kill hundreds of people. He never was a villain, he was being mind-controlled the whole time, but nobody had seen it. Nobody had cared enough to see it, not even Thor. He had never brought it up either, he thought he wouldn't be believed. He was blaming himself for Frigga's death too, and for Odin's death, which neither were actually his fault. And now for me hurting. He had been through so much pain without wanting to cause any, but still all people saw in him was evil. I felt tears running down my face, I looked at Loki, he looked absolutely broken, I think he knew I knew it all now. I turned to the press, who were still all asking questions, and instead of replying to any, I said "We are done here," pulled Loki up, and left the room with him. Before we could get far enough from that horrible room we were stopped by some guards, "Where are you going?" they asked, "Away", I replied. "We can't let you do that," "And why is that?" "Orders from S.W.O.R.D., they need to run some tests on you, miss," "Well, they need my permission to do that and I am not giving it," "I am afraid you own some property of the Government, miss," the other guard then said. I was getting really frustrated, all I wanted was some peaceful alone-time with Loki. Was a vacation too much to ask after literally saving the Universe? "And what would that property be?" I asked so that I could hand it over and leave, "The soul stone, miss," he said. The what? The stone had literally become one with me, how did they expect to get that from me? Unless... so those are the tests they wanted to do, they wanted the stone so they could weaponize it... Yeah, no way was going to happen. "First of all the stone is me, I am the stone, there's no way you could have it. Secondly, the stone isn't, never was, and never will be government property. So we are leaving," I said, almost yelling at them. "I'm afraid, we can't let that happen, miss," they said. I was preparing myself for a fight, but a voice from behind me saved the guards from that. "Let them go," the voice said. It was Fury, who the guards seemed to listen to even though he was definitely not a part of S.W.O.R.D... I mouthed "thank you" to him and me and Loki walked away until we were finally outside. "Where are we going?" he asked, "Away," I said, took his other hand as well, and somehow teleported us onto an empty island near New-Zealand. I didn't know I could do it up until I had the need to leave, not just the wish. When the stone was being endangered alongside me. Then I just felt it and knew how to do it. I realized the soul stone was indeed special - it connected with all the other ones, allowing me to use fragments of the others when I had a real need for it. Like the space stone to create a momentary worm-hole that brought us here. And like I now used the help of the reality stone, to hide away this little island, create a pocket reality for the two of us with protective walls around it. Once I had finished that I fell on the sandy beach, exhausted, using the stones' powers is no fun and games.