Chasing the tesseract

Chapter 55

The winds are cold, almost freezing the skin of my face with one simple touch. Shivering as the icy winds whip against my jacket, the fabric somehow able to keep me warm enough even in the dropping temperature, I stand alone on the small bridge across from a nightclub, my eyes fixed on the horizon. Small raindrops fall from the edge of my umbrella, glistening in the moonlight before splashing down at my feet, soaking the tips of my shoes. Normally I don't enjoy the rain. To me, it means loneliness, rain reminding me of the dreadful night I was left to cry myself to sleep. The nights I spent without anyone to comfort me whilst the rain and thunder shook my small frame. As a teenager though, I'd loved it. The cold. It was somewhere I could let go. Allow the tears to fall without anyone noticing them. And tonight, I did just that.

I pull the umbrella backward, exposing my face to the tiny water droplets which run onto the scarf that hangs around my neck, seeping into the fabric and onto my bare skin. As I take a deep breath, I inhale the damp scent of the streets, my mind wandering to my brief time on Asgard with Thor and Loki. Every night we would dance under the moonlight. Rain or sun. Snow or wind. We would dance until we could no longer stand. And after, Loki would take me to the library where he would read softly to me, carrying me to my bed when I fell asleep against his shoulder. The next morning I would wake to find Loki still sat in my chair, the book laid on his knee as he snored softly.

A sudden gust of wind blows the memories away, my attention drawn back to the darkened horizon that is not scattered with shadows, figures. Five males march towards me, side by side. A suit clings to their muscular figures, their shoes clicking against the floor even as they stand in puddles. Once they've grown closer, my eyes focus enough to make out the familiar features of Tony, Sam, Bucky, Loki, and Zemo. " Of all the people you could bring, you choose to bring these four," I ask Sam who is in a dark purple suit, the buttons clinging on for dear life.

"Well if this guy is dangerous, you may need all the back up you can get." he shrugs, walking past me and towards the club door, only stopping when small orange sparks form in the air. Oh great. Here we go again.

As the glow that shines from the sparks grows in size, a figure emerges dressed in a cape and all blue robes. Stepping forwards, I cross my arms against my chest, my eyes rolling backwards into my head as I do so. "It's also why none of you should be here." announces the voice from inside the portal.

"I certainly didn't bring him though." Sam promises me before following my lead as I walk straight past Stephen and towards the club. Taking a deep breath, I look the opposite direction, my arm brushing against Stephens when I push past him.

"Oh I know you didn't. He's been following me." I announce, no longer caring about protecting Stephens precious little ego. Nor his reputation.

"Because that's not weird at all." Tony steps between me and Stephen, blocking his view of me as he places a protective arm around me.

"Get lost Stephen." I hiss, shrugging Tony's arm away from my body, barging past Stephen and knocking him off balance. "I'm Your invite got worn out when you decided to kiss another woman." I assure him before turning back to the club door only for a hand to grab me on my upper arm, preventing me from moving any further.

"Look I don't think you understand just how much danger you're in Abi." hisses Stephen all the while his grip tightening on my arm, cutting off the circulation to my shoulder. Breathing becoming heavy, I glare into Stephens eyes, my hands curling into fists by my side and my muscles clenching.

"I don't care just stay out of my way." I warn him before pulling my arm from his grasp and once again heading for the club door which stands just a few feet from me. Heels cooking on the floor, I take a few wobbly steps towards it only to be once again stopped when a smaller figure emerges from the shadows beside the door.

Wanda steps towards me, a small dress clinging to her frame and a silver bag hung over her shoulder. Well, at least she looks the part. Even if she is glaring at me as though I've just murdered the Easter bunny or something.
"Didn't you just hear what Stephen just said?" she asks, grabbing my arm and pulling me to a halt causing the rest of the group behind me to do the same, a chorus of groans echoing through the street.

"I did but I chose to ignore it." I admit, pulling my arm from hers only to re-loop it through moments after. Forcing a smile onto my face, I pull Wanda closer to me and begin walking inside the club as I turn to face her. "Girls night out?"

As we enter the club, colour rains down on us, shoulders of party goers brushing against ours as we make our way over to the bar. Hundreds of people dance the night away, not caring if they splash their drink, nor if they wake with a hangover tomorrow. "Remember we're on a mission so stay focused." I snap, shrugging my jacket off and throwing on it onto a nearby chair, glaring at the male who begins walking towards us.

"Oooo, who are you trying to impress?" asks Wanda, raising her eyebrows before pulling out the chair beside me and taking a seat. Glancing down, my eyes wander over the dress that clings to my body, highlighting every curve under the red fabric. "Thats bit tight isn't it?"

"I like it." Zemo smirks, sliding down into the seat next to me with a smirk plastered on his face only for Tony to grab the back of his shirt, lifting him off the chair and backwards. Shaking his head, Tony nods towards the door to the club, gesturing for Zemo to keep watch before he takes a seat next to me.

Once Zemo's stomped off far enough he can't hear us, Wanda turns to me with a small smirk. "So we haven't had chance to talk for a while have we Abi?"

"What do you want to know?" I asks her, narrowing my eyes and leaning forward until my chin rests on my hand. Feeling a presence behind me, I turn to see Sam and Bucky approaching us, a huge smile plastered on Sam's face as he bounces with excitement.

"Oh it's not just Wanda who wants to know." he chuckles when he reaches the bar, the waiter handing him a drink which he takes a gulp of.

"Yeah I think pretty much everyone on the team wants to know." agrees Tony as he spins his chair to face me, his eyebrows raising before a mischievous glint lights up his eyes.

Rolling my eyes, I take a big gulp of my drink and shrug my shoulders. "I hardly believe everyone on the team is interested in my life."

"Oh yeah. Hey reindeer games." shouts Tony, glancing around the crowd until his eyes land on Loki whom is exchanging numbers with a petit girl, his usual mischievous smile plastered on his face. "Abi's finally going to tell us you know what."

With that, Loki's head shoots up. Quickly scrawling down a few numbers of the paper, Loki hands it to the girl before rushing towards us. "Wait a minute. I'm coming." he bumps into a woman, quickly apologizing before gently sliding past her. "Don't start until I'm there." Loki pants as he comes to a halt in front of us, holding his finger up and resting his hands on his knees. "okay I'm here now. You can start."

"What's going on between you and Zemo." Wanda asks, my eyes rolling as I scoff. Of corse. Of all the things the team want to know about my life, of course it's that.

Nudging me gently, Tony glances around, checking nobody but the six of us can hear before he begins. "Yeah did you just bring him here to make Strange jealous?"

"What- No!"

"Are you sure?" Loki raises his eyebrows at me, the whole team smirking as they wait for my response.

"I don't..." I stumble for words, taking a deep breath as I attempt to piece together an excuse. "maybe I did subconsciously but-" my words trail off, my eyes landing on a figure in the corner of the club, his long jacket clinging to his body under the bright lights. Turning on their heel, the figure pushes open the door leading to the stairs, his figure disappearing into the shadows. Placing my glass down on the bar, I slide off the chair and begin following the figure. "Hold that thought."