Daughter of Stark (Re-edit)

Chapter 17

Jess' POV

Standing before me was Loki. He sported a wide grin, his eyes dancing mischievously as he gazed down at me. Fear was quickly taking over, and I found that I couldn't look away from him, nor could I move. 

"Hello again, darling," Loki greeted, still flashing his wicked grin.

Someone grabbed me from behind, and I spun around to meet Bucky's gaze. He was not looking at me, instead he was glaring furiously at Loki. I took hold of his hand, feeling his metal arm slide around my waist as I did so. I pushed myself closer against him, wanting to put as much distance between me and Loki as was possible. 

"Brother," Thor's booming voice sounded. "You were imprisoned in Asgard. How did you escape?" 

Loki only smiled, his eyes never leaving mine. "Let us just say that I have friends in dark places. And they were more than willing to help me escape." 

I shuddered almost violently at his words. I glanced back at Steve as he approached me. He placed a hand on my shoulder, and I stepped further away from Loki. Before I could blink, I felt the cool metal of a blade against the skin of my throat once again. 

"Don't you remember? I have the ability to clone myself, darling," Loki's voice sent shivers down my spine as he whispered silkily in my ear. Making a move to escape, his hand pressed tighter against my skin, drawing blood as the blade moved. 

I hissed in pain. "Please..." I whispered. "Let me go."

His response was laughter. "Darling, I find you rather intriguing. You amuse me. I have the desire to keep you around for quite some time." 

"No," my voice broke as I continued to speak. "Please... why are you doing this?" 

He was suddenly before me, though the blade was still pressed against my throat. Loki was cloning himself, trapping me. "As I said before, darling... you amuse me." He began laughing, as did his clones. "Jess..." 

I closed my eyes, wanting Loki to go away. 

"Jess, honey..." Loki's voice continued. 

I bit down on my lip, trying to drown out his voice. 

"Jess!" 

My eyes opened as I sat up in a blind panic, gasping for breath. My body shook as my heart thumped against my chest. Sweat was dripping down my face, though I felt cold at the same time. Gripping my throat, I felt along the skin to feel for any cuts. There were none.

My light suddenly flickered on, and I squinted at the light. Dad and the others were standing in my room, confusion and worry etched onto their faces. Dad started to walk towards me, but still fearing my nightmare, I pushed myself back up against the headboard. 

He paused where he was. "Jess..." Lifting his hands, showing me he wouldn't hurt me, he took slow, cautious steps toward me. "Honey... it's okay. Everything's fine. It was only a dream." 

And though I knew that, I still could not calm my racing heart or stop the fear of anyone touching me. So when dad held out his hand, wanting to take mine, I scooted away from him. It was hard not to see the hurt in his eyes as he gazed at me. I ran my hands through my hair, gripping fistfuls of it as I did so. 

"Kiddo, I'm not going to hurt you. None of us are. I just want to make sure you're okay," Seeing the look of promise and truth in his eyes began to soothe my fears. Slowly, he reached a hand out to me again. It was a minute longer before I decided to take it. 

The second my hand touched his, I was suddenly sobbing as tears flowed freely down my cheeks. Dad pulled me into his arms as I cried, telling me that everything was fine. His statement about me only dreaming made me cry harder. 

"It wasn't just a dream!" I told him. "It was horrible." 

The door closed softly with a click, and I realized the others were giving me time alone with my father, for which I was grateful. For in this moment, my father was all I needed.

Tony's POV

"Honey, what did you dream about? What happened?" 

Jess released a shaky breath. "I dreamed that I said something about Uncle Bucky, and then Clint said something in response that made me embarrassed. I wanted to get out of the room, so I headed for the kitchen, but Pietro was suddenly there, blocking my way. Instead, I went for the elevator, but then Loki was there. Uncle Bucky pulled me against him, trying to get me away from him. Then Steve was there, and the next thing I knew it was all clones of Loki. He had pressed a knife against my throat, telling me that he wanted to keep me around for a while because he found me amusing." 

This angered me. Not only was she still having nightmares, but now she was dreaming of us as the bad guys. And I had a feeling I knew why.