Ragnarök (CANCELLED)

Dreams of Damian and Visions of Loki

Raven

His face blurs and sways, shifting in and out of focus. Something shiny glistens on his cheeks. His voice shifts into the background.

I try to keep my eyes open. They flutter open, then close and open again. Each time Damian seems less real, more a hazy shape than a person. Drifting farther apart with every heartbeat, every second.

My grip falters on the knife and it drops. The cruel blade sharpens. I see the black outline, the cut edges of its blue stone and my blood staining the silver. Lilith's screech claws through the haze to pierce my eardrums.

Eight lines lacerate each forearm gushing golden ichor.

Damian's green eyes stare into mine with such sadness. He squeezes my hand. I mouth, I'm sorry. He nods.

Her wicked red eyes laugh as the sword pierces his back. It slides through his chest and comes out at the bottom of his rib cage.

Damian's head drops and his body crumples to the floor. "Goodbye, my brother" I barely whisper. My tears fall to mix with blood.

Lilith kicks aside his body, I clench my teeth. She bends down to my level. "Three siblings dead and your arms mutilated forever, surely you will give up this pointless game of silence. Tell me where the Infinity Stones are"

I shake my head. "Fair enough, there are other ways to get you to talk"

I open my eyes to a popcorn ceiling. I miss Damian, Carla and Hunter so much. Can it be just three years since they were sent to Valhalla? The world was a lonely place with six of us, we the only ones of our kind. Now, we are half our number and even surrounded by five humans, I feel alone.

Throwing off my blanket, I sit up. The living room couch, Jane let me sleep on, creaks and groans under my weight. I stop moving. Eric sleeps in the adjacent room amid his inventions. So far, he hasn't noticed that his papers are gone, I hope it stays that way.

I jump off the couch before it can make another damn noise and pitter-patter out the door. A cool night smelling of the last fallen rain greets me. I smile, remembering. Aether, Damian and I used to sneak out of the Erisian palace to play in the nightly rain storms. We would be soaked and exhausted by the time dawn came around but it was worth it. Even the scoldings from Tess each morning couldn't stop us. Funny how such meaningless games in my youth are so important to me now.

The bottoms of my feet slap against the wet concrete stairs. I make my way down the driveway and along the quiet street.

The blows rain down ceaselessly, every time I try to protect a part of my body, the frost giants find another place to hit. I want to scream, I want to give up but then I remember my siblings' sacrifice and I hold on. My body is broken beyond recognition but my mind is clear.

My anger and pain explodes into a single blast of telepathic energy that breaks into the minds of Lilith's minions. They howl and claw at their temples. They smash their heads against the walls. "Stop, you fools!" Lilith cries, "Kill her!"

Her words go unheard. Each frost giant slumps to the icy ground as I tighten my fists and their necks break. Lilith face displays a look of shear shock and bewilderment. She doesn't notice me.

I struggle to my feet, my legs trembling and my chest screaming from broken ribs. Power I've tried to supress for so long rises out of me like a tidal wave. It clads me in my old, glowing gold armor back when I was still in possession of my power source. Lilith cowers in a corner of the room as I unleash my old self.