My Allegiance (3)

Chapter 30

(Avengers' Tower, Loki's POV)

There's the sound of the aircraft landing outside, and it doesn't take long for them to come running in.

"What the hell happened?" Romanoff demands.

"I don't know! There was this man and he was on his way out as I got to her."

"And you let him leave? Are you insane?"

"I wasn't about to leave her like that."

"Well it's all well and good saying that after the damage has been done!"

"Nat, calm down," Barton comes in behind her, followed by Banner.

"No! We swore to look after her, and we've failed her. Yet again."

"Not us. Him," Banner points at me.

"I came running as soon as I heard her call. I got there as fast as I could, and I found her lying on the floor."

"Why was she on her own in the first place?" Romanoff is absolutely furious.

"She was preparing for your stupid mission! She shouldn't need a bodyguard when she's going to get a few knives!"

"Well clearly she does. She definitely won't be left alone with you again."

"Has she been like this the whole time?" Banner kneels beside the sofa she's lying on.

"Yes. I found her on the ground in the armoury, passed out and with that thing stuck on her head. I didn't want to try and remove it because I don't know what it is."

"At least you did one thing right," she mutters.

"What's wrong with her? What is that thing?"

"Nat, we have to go," Barton says to her.

"What? No. I don't want to leave her."

"I understand that, but we don't have much choice. We have to go stop Ultron."

Her face looks distressed as she turns back to y/n.

"It's alright Natasha," Banner says with his glasses now on his face. "You go, I'll stay here and take care of her."

She's torn, but she knows she has to leave.

"Promise you'll keep her safe."

"I promise. Now please, go stop Ultron."

She nods, clearly hating the decision, and follows Barton back out the door.

I don't like being left alone with Banner. The last time that happened, he was big and green, and he was throwing me around the room like a rag doll.

I clear my throat, "So what is it? What's wrong with her?"

"I'm not sure. I've never seen one of these things before. I can make assumptions, but none accurate until I can study it properly."

"Assume away. Right now that's better than nothing."

"Well my best guess would be it's sending electrical impulses to her brain that are overriding the controls of her power."

"I don't know what that means."

"It means, if it's right, that whoever put this on her is trying to suppress her power. Like trying to put a cork back in a bottle that's already been opened. Y/n's power isn't confined to one part of her body, it's her whole being. It's a part of her. So this thing isn't just overriding a small part of her brain, it's taking over everything."

"Meaning?"

"Meaning that every minute it's on there, it's shutting down her brain. It could possibly be replacing her conscience and we run the risk of her being a brain dead zombie-"

"A zombie? Really? I'm sorry but that does seem a bit preposterous."

"Okay, not exactly a zombie," he takes off his glasses and turns to look at me. "But she likely wouldn't have her power and she would have no control over her own body. Or....."

"Or?"

"Or she might not wake up."

"Hang on. She said before about some man at Hydra who had been brainwashed. Could this be it? Could this be what's happening?"

"Possibly. But then again she'd need whoever's controlling her to be nearby at all times to give directions and commands, otherwise she'd basically be an ornament."

"Please. Do not compare her to an ornament."

"I'm sorry, I'm just spit balling here. I think, as the device has been placed in the spot closest to her brain, this is what's happening. It's like a computer being affected by a virus. The code is being rewritten."

"And how do we stop it?"

He sighs and rubs his hands over his face, "I don't know. I don't know if we can. I could potentially slow it down by inducing a coma. It'd shut down her brain, so if there's nothing switched on then there's nothing to control."

"How long for?"

"Goddamit Loki! I don't know! I wish I had the answers but I don't. I'm sorry."

I sit down on the edge of the sofa and take hold of her hand.

"Just.... Do whatever it is you have to do to stop this. And do it quickly."