Loki Laufeyson - The Experiment {1}

Chapter Forty Three - Taken Again

Recommended Song: The Winter Soldier (Henry Jackman) 

My ears were no longer ringing, rather everything was too silent. My heart was pounding hard against my chest, but I couldn't hear it. Something touched my cheek, wiping away moisture, but I barely felt it. Everything inside me was just suddenly numb.

And then the pain hit again, and it was worse.

The fire under my skin burnt more fiercely than ever and I was desperately need to pull off the bracelets. My breath was coming out in short gasps as my throat tightened, not allowing any oxygen to pass through.

My stomach squirmed. I needed to vomit. But I couldn't breathe. It was a battle between my stomach and lungs. Tears were streaming down my face, but I could barely feel them. My vision was still blurry, I knew my eyes were already orange. The edges of my vision began to turn dark.

The side of my face hit something hard, but soft at the same time. Something touched my shoulder and someone rolled me on to my back. My lungs tightened further. My stomach flipped over itself multiple times, vomit rising up in my constricted throat.

There was faint yelling. My head was pounding. My fire was burning me inside, it was heating my skin. I needed to break free from the bracelets. Something rolled me onto my side. I heard a voice, either outside or in my mind. I couldn't tell what it was saying. There were flashes of memories. They were flashing by so quickly I couldn't see what they were. My brain felt like it was splitting in half, like I was becoming two different people. It felt like my current body was dying and I was changing into something else. Someone else.

Then suddenly it all stopped again.

My lungs loosened and I quickly sat up a little as my stomach emptied its contents. Someone pulled the bracelets off my arms I could feel my fire leaping across my skin. My vision was blurry, but I could see everything in tiny details through the orange haze. It made me feel alive. I was standing before I even thought about it, my flames leaping high in the air.

"Emily." Said a voice from nearby and I looked sharply to my left. "Are you with us?"

I immediately recognised the person as Tony, who's tone was wary as he slowly walked towards me. I looked away from him, my enhanced senses picking up the sounds of footsteps in the tree line. I clenched my hands and looked through the trees, picking up several heat signatures hidden behind the bushes and trunks. Suddenly, there was a sharp bang and I threw up my hands in front of me, creating a massive shield around everyone without even thinking. Something bounced off the fiery shield and I threw out another hand, catching the hand grenade before it could hit the ground. I closed my hand in a fist and crushed it in fire, dropping the bent metal onto the ground. Another grenade was fired from the tree line, but I yet again caught it outside the shield, crushing it.

"Emily?" Asked a voice cautiously and I looked over my shoulder, keeping my hands raised as fire from my palms burst out and strengthened the shield. Tony was standing in the front, already dressed in his red and gold suit, just without the helmet. Steve not standing too far behind him with his shield grasped in his hand. The others remained behind them, shock and fear written all over their faces.

"They have completely surrounded us." I told them all in a voice that I barely recognised. The cloudiness in my head increased and I struggled to keep control of my actions. A voice in my head was whispering for me to drop my hands, urging me to let the shield down. It sounded slightly like Strucker's voice, but I'm not sure if my brain was just tricking me to make it sound that way.

"I say we come up with a plan pretty quickly." Nat said, watching me carefully as I turned back around to face the forest. "I'm not sure how much longer she can hold that up."