Ice Princess

18

"Matt, can we meet for lunch?" She said over her phone as a gust caught her. Melinoe was walking, but she didn't know where to, she just wanted to get away and try to figure out what to do and what the knowledge she just gained meant for her.

"I don't know, I'm pretty slammed at the office."

"I could bring you something. I just need to talk to someone, if only for a moment."

"Yeah, we could do lunch. I can work while you talk."

"Thank you." Taking his order and picking it up allowed her to get some of her thoughts in order. Karen and Foggy both smiled at each other thinking that Matt and Melinoe were liasoning.

"So what is so important that you have to speak to me?"

"I need to show you. Well sort of. Well, don't freak out. Promise me you won't freak out." She took off the necklace, then took his hands and ran them over her head.

"Wait, those are attached and warm. Those are real. How did...". Matt began. She stopped him putting the necklace back on and used his hands again on her head. Melinoe started explaining everything she learned that morning. "Meli, that's a lot to dump on a person."

"But this all means that I wasn't lying to you. My whole life has literally been a lie even to me." She was whisper yelling.

"You're not eating."

"That's all you have to say is 'you're not eating'?"

"Look at it this way, you have an opportunity to meet your parents."

"But why would they do this to me? Why did I do to deserve this?"

"I'm sure they had their reasons and you're not going to find that out if you don't meet them."

"You do understand, I need to go to space to meet them. And to the Greek underworld at least to meet them both at the same time. Otherwise, I could meet my mother in Spring."

"Well, meeting them both at the same time would be wise. This way they have the same story."

"Did you miss the part where I said underworld, right? I don't think that is easy."

"You've done harder things."

"Hades and Persephone, Matt. Think about it."

"So, for a short while I dated a goddess."

"I can't believe you."

"So who else knows about this?"

"Just you so far."

"Good, don't tell other people. You might get yourself committed."

"I'm thinking of committing myself after all this."

"Eat something."

"Matt."

"Meli."

"I have to talk to one other person. He suspected something but didn't say a word."

"What about going back to the orphanage, getting some answers there?"

"All the nuns and priests that were there when I was there are dead now."

"So a dead end."

"Yes, ha ha. Princess of the underworld and dead end."

"I aim to please."

"One good thing came out of this." She picked up his hand again and ran it over her wrist.

"They're gone."

"Yes, I don't know if what happened to me was real or implanted information. But the doctors' reports.... The police reports.... The news stories...."

"They could have been forged."

"Either way, I don't know what is real and not any more."

"I'm real." He kissed her cheek. Her time with him was up. He told her he would call her later tonight to see how the rest of her day went.

_______

Two people, there were two people she needed to talk to. Fury and Bruce. Fury would be harder to locate, but at least she could leave a message and eventually he would get back to her. Bruce was next on her list, she headed to the compound. Still that damn tingling on her forehead driving her insane.

"Bruce, can we talk, in your office now? Please?" He escorted her in. "How long did you know?"

"Strange called and shared what happened."

"How long?"

"I suspected. You have to understand I was trying to help you."

"Does this look like helping? I had problems before,"she removed the necklace, "Now, I really am a freak."

"Have you seen the people you work with?"

"Yes, it I really would only be accepted here." She replaced the necklace. "If people see me like this, they'll say I'm a monster, a demon."

"What do you think happens with me?"

"You have the benefit of already saving the world."

"We didn't know if you'd be like Loki or not."

"Loki, what does Thor's brother have to do with this?"

"Well, he did try to take over Earth multiple times."

"And you thought I would do the same?"

"In all honesty, yes. We don't know exactly who we were dealing with when it does to the gods." The look she gave him was so hurt. "Fury and I both thought that if we kept an eye on you..."

"I couldn't cause any problems." She folded into herself.

"We thought you created the background...."

"To be a Trojan Horse?"

"Precisely." He started to walk towards her. "It's nothing personal."

"Don't touch me. Just don't." She pushed herself up. Melinoe knew she couldn't stay in that room, she felt the panic attack starting. With every step towards the office door, it increased, it got worse as she reached the entrance to the lab. The hallway was spinning, she was in no condition to drive. She had to vent, to let out this energy or she'd black out like she did so many times before. Melinoe pushed a door open and fell in, leaning against the door behind her. Praying it was the right door, she let out a blood curdling scream and started pounding her fists against the floor. It was like she was the universe's joke and everyone but her was in on it. She begged for the tears to come, the weight of everything falling in on itself was too much for her to shoulder. She wanted the world to stop turning so she could fall off of it and enter oblivion. For if nothingness awaited her in death, she at least would be left alone.