Chasing the tesseract

Chapter 30

"What are you doing?" shouts Tony as the blue glow from the portal fades plunging the forest into darkness. Tapping into my powers, I flick my wrist towards a small pile of wood, setting it alight and illuminating the forest. "We need to go after them." he exclaims, gesturing to where Thanos and Hela stood moments before as he begins marching towards me.

"If we go after them then we're handing them the stones." interrupts Thor, stepping between me and Tony as he looks down on him. Coming to a sudden stop, Tony glares up at Thor, his dark eyes clouded over with rage that begins to bubble over the edges.

"And if we don't they're going to find the others." he grunts, his voice a low growl as he narrows his eyes at Thor. Unfazed by Tony's burning eyes, Thor remains locked in his position as silence hangs in the air.

"I agree with Stark." comments Loki causing a chorus of agreement from the rest of the group as Tony smirks up at a now furious Thor. Rolling his eyes, Tony pushes past him and walks towards me, his eyes narrow and unwelcoming. Not a surprise.

"Then what are we waiting for Abi?" he asks, raising his eyebrows at me as he points to where Hela and my father stood moments before. When I make no movement, Tony crosses his arms against his chest, staring at me as he impatiently taps his foot on the floor. "Find them."

"No." I argue, crossing my own arms across my chest as something snaps witching Tony.

"What do you mean no?" he screams as he steps closer to me, his voice echoing through the empty forest. "You got us into this mess so get us out."

"I'm going to" I agree causing him to calm down slightly, his breathing steadying as his muscles relax slightly. "but you're not."

"Why not?" asks Peter form behind me, his voice calm and soft compared to Tony's as he steps into my view. Turning to face him, I soften my expression slightly, uncrossing my arms and letting them drop at my side.

"It's too dangerous for you to come." I explain, placing a gentle hand on Peters shoulder resulting in a glare from Tony as he steps closer.

"We're coming." demands Stephen as my head whips around to face him, my eyes wide. He's definitely not coming. Turning my body with my head, I walk towards him, stopping a fee feet from him as I take a deep breath, trying to keep my cool.

"No, you're not." I argue, my voice surprisingly calm and collected compared to the storm that rages within me.

"You can't control us anymore Abi." replied Stephen, his eyes cold as he stares into mine. As his words sink in, I find a strange feeling creeping into my chest that I've never felt before. It's unfamiliar and brings tears to my eyes. I really have lost him haven't I. Raising his eyebrows at me, he clears his throat as a small smirk appears on his face. Clearly he thinks he's in control here.

"I think you'll find I can." I hiss back at him, pulling all the emotion from my eyes and locking it away deep inside me. He wants to play this game then I'll show him how it's played.

"You're going to take us to wherever Hela and Thanos are and you're going to do it with a little less attitude." he demands, stepping slightly closer to me and he looks down on me as though I'm an ant and him a boot.

"Oh so now you're the boss of me?" I ask, standing up taller so that I'm only a few millimetres shorter than him, our eyes at the same level as we glare at each other. Now I'm in control. "Let me tell you something Stephen," I grunt at him, spitting the words out as though they burn my tongue. "If I was designed to be controlled then I'd have come with a remote and even then, the only person who'd use that remote would be me." I hiss, my voice colder than I intended as Stephen stares at me in shock. I've not spoken to him like this since we first met.