Playing With Fire (EDITING)

Up in Flames

I knelt on the grass, waiting for the swift bite of cold metal on my skin, but it never came. A concussive blast tossed my body against something large and metallic. "Lyrica!" Kitty's voice shouted. She sounded distant and muffled, as if my head was under water. When I opened my eyes, Colossus stood above me. Like the other mutants, his eyes were glowing blue. He raised one massive fist and lifted it over his head, preparing to crush me into fertilizer. Konnnggg! Colossus toppled to the earth, and in his place, the Hulk roared triumphantly. Rolling to get out of the way, I managed to get to my feet, but the ground was spinning. "This is one of those things where you pass out, isn't it?" Kitty asked, nervously biting her lip.

"Uh, yeah," I said, grabbing her shoulder for balance. "Where's my sword? And mon Grandpére? And Clint?"

"Your uncle and Agent Romanoff are kicking butt somewhere between Captain Rogers and Megan. Follow the rainbows and turn right, you can't miss it."

"And my grandfather?"

Kitty took a moment to repeatedly ram her heel into Warren's ribs until he fell onto the grass, his large wings folded beneath him. Not hesitating, I slammed his head against the ground and rolled him onto his back. It wasn't long before he sat up, groaning and holding his head. "Uhh, get him out!" he shouted.

"Fight it," I snapped. "Make him. Force him out." The more mutants pushed Loki out of their heads, the more would join our side in fighting those left over. The Othello effect. "Kitty! Go bash some heads. The more people we have on our side, the faster this battle will turn in our favor."

She nodded and phased away. I gave in to the dizziness long enough to fall onto my knees beside Warren. "Fight it. We need your help, Worthington. Loki brainwashed Xavier and the rest of the X-Men. To win this battle, you need to get Loki out of your head."

Ramming his fist into the ground, he let out another yell and flapped his wings. "He's backing out. Keep fighting, kid, and I'll find you when I'm ready."

I could barely get to my feet. Walking away, I staggered like a drunk. When someone grabbed me, I elbowed them in the diaphragm and followed with a weak punch toward their head. Air. My fist whiffed through empty air. The next sensation was pain in my scalp as fingers wrenched at my braid. Corn and sky swirled together in a psychedelic twist of yellow, green, blue, and brown. Another tug on my hair and I found myself face up in the grass, trying to make sense of the distorted face above me. Before I could identify my enemy, they were gone, replaced by a burst of rainbow sparkles and Megan's unmistakable pink hair. "We have to get you out of here. C'mon." Hoisted onto my feet, we jogged toward the tree line- er, corn line. Four times, Megan reached out and pulled me back in the right direction.

"Lyrica!" Clint's voice said. Hands closed on my arms as the green half of the world swung to the left. Something blue got much too close to my face before the world turned white, then suddenly black.

When I came to, my grandfather was sitting beside me. I jolted up. "What did I miss?"

Chuckling, he helped me to my feet and handed me my sword. "Nothing but chaos. Can you see straight?" I nodded and he chuckled again.

"But- you were- and we-" I shook my head and stared between him and my sword. "I fought you."

"And you won."

"I didn't. Something happened. An explosion. What exploded?"

He tilted his head and slowly said, "I don't remember an explosion. I don't remember a fight either. Did I hurt you?"

"Non, I'm fine, but-" Another concussive blast shook the battlefield, for that was what it had become. A battlefield. Mutants and Avengers alike were battered, bloody, panting, and fighting for a cause they didn't fully understand.