Loki Laufeyson - The Experiment {1}

Chapter Eighteen - Nightmare

Thankfully, when we landed back on the Helipad of Stark Tower, I didn't pass out, but I was very close to it. Loki had to support me back inside and I was trying to calm down my pounding heart which was feeling like it was about to explode. Heights were definitely not something I was a fan of.

We walked into the lift and Thor pressed the button to take me to my room. However, as soon as the doors opened to the third level, I was hit with a wave of noise from all of the Avengers as they Gathered around me. Loki instantly noticed how overwhelmed I became and stepped in front of me, as if trying to shield me from all of the noise.

"Step back." Thor spoke up, his voice immediately silencing all of the Avengers.

"Don't think you can throw out orders Pointbreak." Tony pushed his way to the front of the crowd. "Care to tell us why you just whisked Emily away to your magical fantasy land without asking any of us?"

"I wasn't aware that I had to tell you where I was going every second." Thor replied, taking a step forward.

"You know what I mean." Tony glared at him before his eyes darted to me. "Emily, are you okay?" I nodded, my throat too tight to talk and Loki gently touched my arm, sending the wave of calm through me. My body instantly relaxed and I looked up at Loki and gave him a small smile, which he returned before looking up at Tony.

"She needs to get some sleep." He told him in a way that left no room for argument. Tony seemed like he wanted to argue but eventually nodded, stepping aside and letting Loki walk me to my room. When he opened up my door, I noticed that Tony had changed my room a lot, not only the carpet, but I was too exhausted from the trip with the Bifrost to notice much more.

As soon as I sunk into my bed, I felt my eyes beginning to close but I made my eyes stay open as I looked over at Loki, just before he began to walk out.

"Loki." I called him back quietly, but he still heard me and walked back over to the end of the bed. "Thank you... for everything."

"Its okay." He gave me a small smile. He hesitated for a moment, seeming like he wanted to say something more, but thought better of it and gave me a small smile. "Get some sleep, you need it." I nodded and gave him a small smile before closing my eye, the door locking behind him as he left.

LOKI POV

"So do either of you care to tell us why you decided to whisk Emily to your magical fairy land?" Asked Stark as soon as we sat down at the table for lunch. I wasn't particularly hungry, I had already eaten plenty at Asguard this morning. Instead, I just poked at the salad on my plate with my fork. As Stark spoke, I looked up at him slightly before I looked back at Thor, who gave me a look and set down his fork, clearing his throat.

"Did Lady Maximoff not tell you we were leaving?" Thor asked, looking over at Wanda.

"She did tell us that you were going somewhere." Stark nodded. "But it wasn't until we looked at the security footage from JARV did we hear that you were going to Asguard."

"Well then you would have also heard that I decided to take Lady Emily to Asguard to see if my Mother could help her control her power." Thor replied, seeming almost annoyed at all of the questions.

"Can she control it now?" Interrupted Romanoff and Thor looked back over at me, causing me to sigh and sit up a little straighter

"Yes she can." I replied, nodding. "Not very well, but enough to not to loose control easily."

"Will she still need the bracelets?" Asked Banner and Thor looked over at me before answering.

"As a safety precaution, yes." Thor nodded. Tony opened his mouth to say something but the voice of the AI filled the room.

"Mr. Stark, Miss Emily is having a nightmare."

Immediately, several people jumped up, including myself. I teleported up to outside her door and opened it up, immediately hit with panicked thoughts from Emily's mind. She did have a good mental barrier but when she was in weakened states, she tended to project every thought she was having, and right now, her thoughts involved a lot of screaming and pain.

EMILY POV

There was blinding light all around me, flickering like flames. The air was heavy, getting stuck in my throat, stopping me from breathing. A wind picked up, whipping through my hair and carrying voices past my ears, but I couldn't understand what was being said. I tried to walk forward, to get away from the blinding light, but it pushed me back, pinning me down. I tried to scream out for help from someone, anyone, but my voice got stuck in my throat. I thrashed around under the invisible grip, feeling the fire rise up inside me.

"Emily!" A voice yelled, loud and clear, and I bolted upright. My heart was pounding hard and my chest heaving painfully, causing me to hunch over as I tried to catch my breath, tears pricking at my eyes. A pair of cool hands grabbed my shoulders and I looked up with teary eyes to see Loki kneeling on the bed in front of me.

"Emily, look at me." He said and I immediately recognised the process that Frigga had taught us and I knew what was next. "Emily, look at my eyes. Block out everything around you. Focus on me." I did what he said, wiping tears away from my eyes so I could watch him clearer. "Take deep breaths, nice and steady. In and then out. Keep focusing on me." I continued to look into his eyes, trying to calm down my rapid breathing, my chest still twinging painfully.

"Emily." A new voice broke through my concentration and I looked away from Loki's eyes to see Tony and the rest of the Avengers rushing towards me. Immediately, I scrambled backwards, fear pulsing through me again. It wasn't necessarily the Avengers that I was afraid of, more the fact that they were all coming towards me at once.

"Stark." Interrupted Thor's booming voice, moving to stand in front of Tony.

"Move Pointbreak." Tony glared. "She was just having a nightmare."

"My brother is calming her down." Thor replied. "She needs to practice what she learnt in Asguard." Loki, who had been watching the whole interaction between Tony and Thor unfold, looked back at me and my eyes immediately darted to him before he looked back over his shoulder at Thor again.

"Thor, can you take them back out?" He said, voice seeming tightly controlled. Tony looked like he wanted to argue, but Steve pulled him out with the rest of them until it was just Loki and me again. Loki looked back at me and slowly crossed his legs as he sat on the edge of my bed, trying not to startle me with any sudden movements.

"Focus on me again." He said softly and I followed, trying to slow down my breathing as I looked into his eyes. I was uncomfortable with making and maintaining eye contact, since the HYDRA scientists hated it when I looked at them, I think they saw it as an act of defiance.

"Now focus on your heart." Loki said. "Close your eyes and imagine it in your chest. Try and steady it." I closed my eyes and tried to focus on my heart, and very slowly, it began to slow down. My breathing became steady again and when it didn't feel like my power was going to burst free at any moment, I slowly opened my eyes. Loki was still sitting in front of me, and he smiled softly when I looked up at him.

"Thanks." I said softly.

"No problem." He replied, slowly hopping off the end of the bed. "I'm just glad we managed to figure out a way to calm you down. And you didn't burn anything this time either." I looked down at the bed and saw that there indeed were no burn marks on the bed around me.

"Do you want some lunch?" He asked, standing up. "There is still some downstairs."

"I'm okay." I shook my head, still slightly unnerved by being around so many people again after being around only Frigga and Loki, and sometimes Thor, for two weeks. "I think I might just relax here." He seemed slightly hesitant, but nodded, giving me a small smile before he disappeared down the hallway, the door clicking shut a couple of seconds later.

I slowly climbed out of bed, peeling the sheets off my body and walking over to the balcony. I opened up the glass door and I was immediately hit with the sounds of the city below. Somehow it was comforting though. I sat down in the chair near the railing and let out a heavy breath, letting myself relax.