Eva Odinsdottir *On Hold*

Chapter 5

Loki sprinted after his sister through the halls of the compound until they found themselves in the gardens of the compound. Eva falls to her knees, allowing her sobs to be released. Loki immediately kneels in front of her and pulls her into his chest. "I'm sorry, Loki. I'm sorry." Eva continuously repeats between sobs, her wings now turning black, purple, and dark blue. "Shh, Eva. You have nothing to be sorry for. They were just shocked. Please, sister, just calm down." Loki whispers into her ear.

He's always hated the insecurities that had a tight grasp on his little sister. He tried to help her with his mind powers, but it never worked. He's never understood where her worries came from as when she was younger she didn't care. However, he noticed a sudden change in her attitude when her power to see into the future developed. Maybe she saw something that made her change the way she saw herself. Either way, Loki didn't like the woman she had become. Someone as wonderful and kind-hearted as her shouldn't worry about the way people perceive her.

Loki's attention is pulled towards the door as Thor runs through in seek of the pair. His energy changes when he sees their sister breaking down in the arms of his brother. He gently makes his way over and kneels next to them, placing a comforting hand on Eva's shoulder. She quickly flashes her eyes towards him in shock before relaxing back into Loki's chest. The trio sit there for a while as Eva's cries begin to stop. Thor and Loki look at each other, having a silent conversation about how to handle the situation.

"I'm sorry if I embarrassed you in front of your friends." Eva says quietly as she sits up. "You didn't embarrass us, Eva. You helped us. Imagine what could have happened if you weren't here." Loki replies reassuringly. "Exactly." Thor agrees. "But they were all staring. They saw my colours change. What if they don't let us stay here because of me?" Eva says, her tears building in her eyes once more. "Eva, you have nothing to worry about. They're our friends. They just need time to understand you, after all we never told them about your wings. Everything will be ok." Thor says, wiping the tears from his sister's face. "Now, come back inside. We have to discuss everything." He then says, standing from the floor. His siblings nod simultaneously and stand to join him. As they all make their way back inside, Eva grabs Loki's hand as she retracts her wings. "Please don't leave me." she whispers to him, causing his grip to tighten. "Never." He whispers in reply, following his brother into Tony's workshop.

"Everything ok?" Natasha asks as the siblings return. "Yes, everything is fine." Loki replies, side-eying his sister to make sure she is ok. "Good. So, what shall we discuss first?" Tony says as he leans on his desk. "How about we start with the fact that you were building that thing without our knowledge?" Steve says through gritted teeth. "Ultron cleared out. He used the internet as an escape, taking all of our information with him." Bruce says, noticing how uncomfortable Tony is feeling. "Ultron? That's its name?" Bucky scoffs in reply. "He's been in everything. Files. Surveillance. He probably knows more about us that we know about each other." Natasha chimes in.

"We're gonna have to make some calls, assuming we still can. Who knows what he could do with all our information? What if he decides to have a little fun with the nukes?" Rhodey says, rubbing his injured shoulder from the fight. "He said he wanted us dead." Natasha says, clearly confused. "He didn't say dead, he said extinct." Sam says as he ices his black eye. "He also said he killed someone, but there was no one else in the building." Clint says as he leans his weight on his hands which are now placed behind Tony on the desk. "Yes there was." Tony says sadly before waving some sort of technology in the centre of the room.

Everyone stares in confusion as a mangled ball of orange light appears with hints of blue thrown between it. "What? This is insane." Bruce says as he studies the projection. "Jarvis was the first line of defence. He would have shut Ultron down. It makes sense that he killed him." Steve says with a disappointed look. "No, Ultron could have assimilated Jarvis. This isn't strategy. This was an act of rage." Bruce clarifies, never taking his eyes off what used to be Jarvis.

Thor suddenly pulls everyone from their thoughts as he storms over to Tony and wraps his hand around his neck, lifting the smaller man off the ground. "Woah, use your words buddy." Tony says as he struggles. "I have more than enough words for you, Stark. This is all your fault." Thor replies angrily. "Thor! Stop it. Put him down." Eva says sternly, making her brother roll his eyes before dropping Tony to his feet.

"Guys, fighting is not going to help. We need to find a way to track where Ultron went." Wanda says, finally speaking up. "Well, it's lucky I put a tracker on the sceptre then, isn't it?" Tony says smugly, even though he is still slightly choking. "Well, at least you did something right." Sam and Steve scoff at the same time. Bruce immediately starts typing on the computer. "He's heading north." He then says after a couple of minutes. "We can follow him tomorrow. I think we all need to sleep it off and recover as best we can." Bucky says, sensing how uncomfortable the atmosphere is between the group.

Just as people start to leave the room, Eva stops them by clearing her throat. "Wait." She says quietly, making everyone stare at her. "I want to explain myself." She continues, prompting the group to re-enter the space and find a seat. "I, uhm, just wanted to apologise for not being totally honest with you all. The truth is, I hid my wings because I was worried about how you would react." She says, stepping away from Loki slightly. She releases her wings and turns to face away from the group. "My wings glow different colours to represent my emotions, which is why I hide them. I never told you because I was scared of how you might perceive me." she admits, bowing her head in shame.

"Can we ask you about them?" Wanda says kindly, moving towards Eva and spinning her around to face the team. "If you want to." Eva replies nervously, fiddling with her hands. "What do the colours mean? I mean, don't get me wrong, they're absolutely beautiful but I doubt anything you're feeling right now is positive." Bruce asks, admiring the goddess. "I've come to understand that white represents nerves, purple represents embarrassment, the small streaks of black are guilt, and this particular shade of green is fear." Loki answers before his sister can. "We've spent a lot of time trying to figure them all out." He adds, noticing the confused looks of the group. "Why are you scared? We're not going to do anything to hurt you." Sam chimes in. "I guess I just didn't expect you all to be so nice about this." Eva replies, the hints of green now turning to purple.

There are a few moments of silence before Wanda and Natasha stand from their seats. They quickly make their way over to Eva and wrap her in their arms. "We love them. You don't need to hide them anymore. Unless you want to, of course. You had nothing to worry about." Natasha whispers into her ear before the pair pull away. "Thanks, girls. I feel better." Eva replies with a small smile. "Great! Now that's cleared up, I think it's time we all hit the sack." Tony says before leaving the room.

Loki and Eva are the last to leave the workshop. Eva felt a huge relief wash over her as everyone sends her warm, reassuring smiles. "Do you want to stay with me tonight?" Loki asks gently as they make their way to the elevators. "No, I'd best stay in my room. I mean, it's not like a can stay with you the whole time we're here. Thank you though. I love you, big brother. Thank you for helping me." Eva replies, giving Loki a big hug as the elevator doors close. "I will always help you, dear sister." Loki says as he pulls away.

Eva is soon in her room. She changes into her night dress and slides into the enormous bed. She thought her bed at home was big, but this? It might as well be a planet. She lays down, cuddling the warm covers close to her chest, and closes her eyes. She is soon fast asleep, dreaming of home.