Playing With Fire (EDITING)

Guilty or Not Guilty

Kitty and I burst into the gardens at the rendezvous point, panting and wheezing. After the injuries and the vertigo, I hadn't had a fight that rough for a long time and then the sprint afterward was killer whipped cream on top. My lungs screamed for air and I couldn't satisfy them fast enough. I stood as straight as I could and set my hands on my head to open my lungs.

"So- what- now?" Kitty gasped.

Clint and Natasha came around the corner at a jog, stuffing empty bags with traces of pixie dust into their pockets. "Now," Han began, giving Clint a slap on the back. "Un petit peu (a small amount/portion), we get caught."

For ease of conversation, instead of listing names when we wanted certain people in a group, we'd divided into four general categories. Un petit peu was Clint, Han, and myself; un grand peu (a large amount) was the entire group; un agê peu (an old amount) was Clint, Han, and Natasha; and un jeune peu (a young amount) was Doug, Kurt, Loki, Megan, Kitty, and myself.

I nodded and prepared myself to run again. Megan stretched her arms over the three of us and Han set a hand on my shoulder before there was a flash of light. When I opened my eyes, we were standing in the corridor connected to the atrium. "Run!" Han shouted when he saw a quintet of guards standing at the end of the corridor. As planned, when they heard his shout, they tried to stop us.

I took off at a dead sprint out of the palace and down the front path, keeping even with my uncle and Han. Banging against my leg, my sheath and sword began to slow me but I kept my feet pounding the road as I twisted my belt so the sheath was repositioned behind me. Slowly, I began to fall back and pretended to stumble. I had to make it convincing so the guards wouldn't suspect us, so I hadn't told Han or Clint what I was doing.

However, as I was about to force a stumble, I truly tripped over a loose paving stone and was sent tumbling painfully across the road. When I came to a stop, I was sprawled uncomfortably on the now smashed stone. "Uhhhh," I groaned. "Can't anything ever go my way?"

Several yards behind, the shouts and increased pounding footsteps of the guards told they were getting closer, but I could also hear the lighter, racing footsteps and frantic voices of Han and Clint coming back for me. They knew the plan though, so top speed was definitely not a priority.

The guards reached me first and roughly hauled me to my feet. Han reached me soon after and stretched to grab my wrist, but the guard holding me wrenched my arms behind my back and spun me behind a fellow guard. Before I could react, Clint released an arrow and it sprouted from the helmet of one guard. As he fell, I watched the serrated knife slip from his fingers and land in the road. The ensuing tousle was thick and confusing and I was jostled roughly around so I didn't see much of what went on, but in the end, Han and Clint were being held firmly at my side.

As planned, the guards ushered us straight to the throne room where supposedly Odin was waiting to deliver justice on the disturbence. Controlled by Loki, the Odin hologram quickly sentenced us to be taken to the Bifrost and returned to Midgard. And of course, the guards obeyed.

My wrists had been bound behind my back and I was being tugged along by a guard two or three times by size. Good thing we weren't trying to escape. And with the orders in place, we were almost out. I began to worry when the road was ending and the rainbow bridge came into sight; there had still been no sign of the others.

As if on cue, I caught a glimpse of a dark blue tail flitting out of the corner of my eye. The next thing I saw was the guard beside me getting a good swing at Pixie but she disappeared and reappeared behind him, bringing the pommel of her soul dagger down on his shoulder. This barely phased the burly man and he spun around, grabbing her forcefully by the waist and slinging her to the ground. She rolled aside when he tried to stomp on her but his boot caught her shoulder on the second try and she feigned defeat.