Chapter Thirteen - Empty

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LOKI POV

I stayed by Emily's side for the rest of the day, keeping a steady eye on the machines monitoring her for any sign of a decrease in her heart rate while Stark and Banner slept.

The rest of the Avengers drifted in and out through the day, though I wasn't completely aware of them. Thor tried to get me to eat some food, and I only ate a little before I set it aside, not really in the mood to be eating.

Wanda was the only one who managed to convince me to actually move away from Emily's side, telling me I looked ready to collapse and fall asleep. I was reluctant at first but she promised me that she would wake me up immediately if something happened or if any of the other Avengers came in. I wasn't going to leave the Lab, so I moved over to a couch hidden in the corner of the room and I fell asleep.

Everything around me was covered in darkness except for a small light in the distance. I spun around in confusion and slowly began to walk towards the light, watching it warily. It seemed to be hovering in mid-air and was just pulsing softly. As I got closer to it, I saw that there was something laying under it. The small light illuminated it slightly and I immediately recognised Emily's peaceful, sleeping face.

The light above her pulsed again and I realized that it was beating like a heartbeat, Emily's heartbeat. I watched it in amazement and slowly looked back down her face, brushing a strand of hair out of her face, her skin warm under my fingers.

Suddenly, a ear-splitting beeping filled my head and I immediately clutched my head, collapsing to my knees at how loud it was. I looked up at Emily, my whole face twisted in pain, only to see that the light above her body was no longer pulsing. My heart stuttered and I immediately scrambled upright, ignoring the horrific pain that threatened to split my skull from the sound of the beeping.

I grabbed the light and desperately held it in my hand. No, this couldn't happen again. I wasn't going to let it. I wasn't going to let her die. I desperately sent some of my magic into the slowly dying light, trying to start it up again. Suddenly, some sort of liquid began to leak through my hands and I realized, with a roiling stomach, that it was blood. And it wasn't my blood. It coated my hands and dripped down my arms and only Emily's perfect face.

As soon as the blood touched her skin, her body crumbled and began to flake away. My eyes widened in shock as her blood continued to coat my hands, the metallic tang sharp in the air. Her body flaked away, drifting away in the breeze. I dropped the light and immediately tried to stop her from disappearing, but if anything, as soon as my hands touched her body, she disappeared even more.

"Loki!" A voice yelled out and I immediately bolted upright, a pair of gentle hands holding my shoulders, only to lurch backwards as I sat up, my chest heaving as I tried to get a baring of where I was.

"Loki, calm down." A voice spoke gently, a hint of fear in it, and my eyes darted in the direction to see Wanda standing there, her hands held out warily as she stood a couple of steps away from me. "It's okay."

"Is Emily okay?" I croaked, before wincing at the sound of my voice, though thankfully, Wanda didn't say anything.

"She's fine." She smiled softly, her eyes darting over my face in a soft way and I looked past her and back at Emily, who was still the same as when I last left her. "Are you okay though?"

"I'm fine." I replied, perhaps a little harsher than I probably should have, looking away from her and roughly rubbing a stupid tear that was trickling down my cheek.

"Do you want a glass of water?" She offered softly and I shook my head, slipping off the couch and standing up, running a hand through my hair as I tried to bring my breathing back to a steady pace.

I walked back over Emily and gently took her hand in mind, brushing my finger over her wrist to feel her pulse under her skin, trying to bring myself out the nightmare where she was dead. I closed my eyes and focused on the steady thumping, imagining her heart beating steadily. I reached out to her mind again and was met with the same continuous darkness.

"Emily." I spoke into it, sending out a flash of light for any sign of life. "Emily, are you there?"

Silence greeted me and I slowly pulled out of her mind, opening my eyes and looking down at her peaceful face.

"I know my telepathy skills aren't as advanced as yours." Wanda spoke up, causing me to almost have a heart attack as I spun around to see her standing at the foot of Emily's bed. "But I can sense that her mind seems almost..."

"Empty?" I supplied and she nodded, smiling sadly at Emily's face. "I know. I've tried to reach out to her, but there was no reaction."

"Do you really think your Mother was able to heal her enough?" Wanda asked softly and I sighed slightly.

"I don't doubt her skills." I murmured. "But we haven't seen anything like this before. I just hope it was enough."

"She's strong." Wanda smiled softly up at me. "I'm sure she'll pull through this."

-{+}-

EMILY POV:

The darkness was suffocating. It felt like it was pressing down on my chest, pinning me down. It was an effort to breathe, though it felt like something was helping me, something was moving air in and out of my mouth. At least I wasn't in pain anymore. That rippling pain straight through my stomach a little while ago made me want to throw up, I probably would of if I was able to move.

LOKI POV

There was no change in Emily for the rest of the day, she didn't move and her breathing and heartrate remained steady. Bruce and Tony kicked me out of the Lab to go join the rest of the Avengers for dinner, saying that they wanted to perform a few tests on the poison and could keep a close eye on her.

I didn't sit with the rest of the Avengers though, I took my plate up to the roof of the compound and sat on the edge, chewing thoughtfully on the garlic bread that Potts had made. It was quite tasty, but Emily's condition didn't allow me to enjoy it enough. I didn't know why I was so worried about her, I knew she was my friend, the only one I had among the Avengers, but I shouldn't be caring about her this much. Maybe I was becoming soft. I couldn't afford to let that happen.

"Loki?" Came a voice and I looked over my shoulder sharply to see Rogers standing at the lift that was the entry to the roof top. "What are you doing up here? Why aren't you eating downstairs?"

"I needed fresh air." I turned my head away from him, looking back over the edge of the roof top.

"How is Emily?" He asked. "Tony won't let us see her, he said that he doesn't want us all crowding the Lab. I heard she flatlined."

"Yes." Was all I said, watching him out of the corner of my eye as he sat down next to me on the edge.

"Will she be okay?" He asked, his voice full of worry.

"Hopefully." I replied, picking at the crumbs on my plate. "Her heartrate is steadier now and her breathing is normal. She still has to have the oxygen mask on to help her breathe enough. We managed to get the poison out of her but Stark isn't sure if its left any lasting effect on her insides. They still don't even know what the cause of her flatlining was. It apparently going to be around three more days until she wakes up but –". I broke off.

"Why did you stop?" Rogers asked, looking over at me.

"I was rambling." I muttered, annoyed that I had let my guard down again, especially to Rogers.

"Its fine." Rogers smiled sympathetically. "I get your worried about her, we all are."

I didn't say anything, staying silent as I stared down at my plate, not willing to speak anymore.

"She'll wake up." He squeezed my shoulder softly, causing me to stiffen. "I'm sure of it. 

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