You Want It Darker? (OC x Loki x Winter Soldier)

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

"We can't stay here," a vaguely familiar voice says to me firmly.

I look up and see a dark figure loom over me. Although it's dark outside the figure is wearing a sleek pair of sunglasses.

Before I can react I'm swept off my feet and dragged across a hallway filled with tiles. In the distance I can hear the thumping of rhythmic music blasting.

"Do you possess parents, ghost child?" The man asks me in a low voice, running a strand of my white hair through his fingers.

"I- I don't know" I stammer, confused as to why this man is asking me this.

"Find daylight, you'll be safe there, tiny," the man says to me again.

"What do you mean?" I ask him, but before he can respond he fades into the darkness.

The world around me dissolves into thin air, and wraps around itself into nothingness. Bright clouds surround me, and in front of me appears a long brick road.

"You own something that does not belong to you, Shadow," a now new voice whispers through the air. The voice is almost melodic, soft to the ear, elegant and refined to listen to.

In the ethereal expanse around me, I am surrounded by a voice that seems to emerge from the very fabric of the cosmos. But when I look for where this voice came from, my gaze meets only billowing wisps of clouds, illuminated by the soft glow of a celestial moon, casting its radiant spell upon the heavens. Through the veils of night, particles of dark matter dance in a cosmic ballet, drifting like whispers across the vast expanse of the universe, weaving tales of mystery and wonder.

"How do I give it back?" I ask the vast space around me.

"A mortal such as yourself should not own such powers," the voice silks through the air as if whispers carry them.

"I never asked for this!" I now yell, trying to locate where the voice is coming from. Clouds swarm around me, surrounding my world and being. The path before me closing in.

"The gift you have been given will doom all of humanity. It will consume your heart and mind, Shadow," the voice thins out. "Thread carefully, as for now I will only be able to guide you through dreams and nightmares, mastering your powers by my will only with your sole permission. The force of anti-all will soon wreak upon us, recognizing you as their host. Remind them, and take from them what you require."

A soft wind breeze flushes over my face, and with a heavy force, pulls me into the thickening clouds.

I draw in a deep breath as I jolt upright from the bed I'm lying on. My body feels weary, my mind drained. Every ounce of energy has been sapped from me. I rub the sleep from my eyes and survey the familiar prison cell where I had been left before losing consciousness. Memories flood back, reminding me of the recent events. I have no sense of how much time has passed; my grasp on reality is tenuous at best. It could be hours, days, weeks, or even months. Whatever this foreign substance in my body is, and why HYDRA wanted me and the Winter Soldier to steal it, it must be for a damn good reason.

"I'm glad you've decided to join the waking world again, Miss Rushmore," an unfamiliar voice sounds from behind the glass. I look up and notice that the cracks that had appeared on the thick transparent wall after my outburst are no longer there. The rest of the room also seems to be in mint condition again. Behind the glass barrier a tall strong looking man with a long leather coat and a leather eyepatch walks up to my cell.

I push myself up on my arms and swing my legs over the side of the bed I was once again laying on and raise my head to look at the man.

"What are you? Some kind of fucked up cyber pirate?" I grin, taking in the sight of the character now standing in front of the glass.