Abduction

Chapter 14

"...Was it really necessary that I betray them?" Sybil asked quietly as she stared at the ground.

"Would you rather the alternative?" She could feel Loki's unsympathetic gaze on her as she spoke.

"...No..."

Loki shouldered past her silently in response and Sybil flinched back and moved in the opposite direction. Pain was still radiating from a large bruise in her side, which would've come paired with broken ribs if she'd still been completely human, and that jostle hadn't helped. Of course, the man who'd given it to her was far from better off.

"I hope Valda isn't too hurt..." An image of her unconscious friend appeared in her mind; alone and injured in the tunnel of pipes. "What if they didn't find her? Or if I hit her too hard?"

"Sentiment." Loki hissed from where he was examining something in the large room behind her.

Of course he was in her mind now... Sybil rolled her eyes, half in annoyance and half to hide how unsettled she was at that fact. If Loki noticed he didn't comment and the silence stretched on between them like it had been since finding the abandoned factory. She casually walked between the dead and broken machinery, trying to think about what this place had even produced, before finally getting the nerve to reply to the Asgardian's earlier remark.

"It's not a bad thing to care." She muttered- her resolve to continue the argument dissolving rapidly- and limped off to an office area that had been turned into her living quarters.

She could almost feel the anger radiating off Loki as she walked away. Sybil hoped he wouldn't do anything to her friend because of her remark, it would render everything she'd done up to this point well, pointless... She'd already betrayed Valda to save her life- though Valda probably didn't even consider them friends anymore... especially after what she'd done after knocking Valda out. None of the Avengers would trust her.

"Maybe... maybe he is right... Sentiment does get in the way... Look at me. Moping around in this dusty place over what I did. I wouldn't even be in this mess if I hadn't let my feelings get in the way of protecting those I care about." Sybil scowled, angered at herself for being so weak. If she hadn't cared then Loki wouldn't even have a way to hurt her.

She glared at the water damaged wall from the back corner of the dark office. Nothing she did was ever going to be right. It hadn't been before Loki had kidnapped her and it certainly wasn't going right now; she'd bet it wouldn't go right for some reason or another after this mess either. Someone would always find fault with what she did whether it was S.H.I.E.L.D. or Loki or someone else. Like the saying went; 'you can't please everyone'. Sybil clenched her teeth and jumped back to her feet; she couldn't just sit around! Loki was manipulating here even if he wasn't in her mind directly.

"I have powers. I can protect Valda and my family with them even if it is sentimental! My feelings- sentiment- help protect them. If I had done it to begin with, or if I had helped the Avengers against Loki on the helicarrier... We could've stopped him. Everyone would be safe by now.... I'm so stupid..." She slammed the door open and walked back out, the pain in her side forgotten as her anger took hold of her thoughts.

Loki was already waiting for her. He was standing there in the center of the room, daggers drawn and waiting for her; he'd known she was going to do this. Of course he had. Sybil's body was shaking from her growing frustration as she made her scythe and armor appear.

He smirked at her but made no move to attack, though his eyes held the dangerous look of a snake about to strike. "Do you really think you can defeat me? I am a god! You are just a mutt, and experiment, a disposable tool I can replace."

"Shut up!" Sybil snapped back and continued her approach. "You have no idea how strong I've gotten waiting for you to attack the Avengers. And unlike you... I have a reason to fight."

"Right, to protect friends, family, your mortal pride... Spare me the details." He shifted ever so slightly. "They hate you. You betray their trust. Some even think you're dead... Nothing you do will ever change that."

Her steps faltered slightly but she didn't stop. He wasn't going to trick her into giving up. Sybil was almost close enough to swing her weapon at him... just a few more steps...

"So be it." Loki's gaze turned darker, crueler, and within a blink of an eye he'd disappeared.

She whirled around in anticipation of an attack from behind before a heavy kick from her right sent her sprawling on the ground. Her weapon was in reach but Loki was already looming over her, his foot smashing down on her wrist. Sybil shot a small knife sized blade of ice at him but he merely twitched his hand and shattered it with the dagger he held.

"Pathetic."

Sybil gave a stifled sound of pain and his foot pressed down harder. Still, he didn't show any sign of moving. This had been a bad idea. Sure, she could start using her magic to teleport and try freezing him in place but it was clear already that despite how much she'd grown in her abilities, he was still far better than her. He'd predict every move she made and fight back with little difficulty.

His smirk was back and he stepped back before kicking her onto her back and pacing around her. "You want to be a hero now? Well, let me show you what happens to those. I'll teach you were your sentiment gets you. Afterwards you won't care who it is that dies. They'll all be the same to you... you'll be the perfected weapon I created you to be."

Sybil didn't even have time to shudder from fear before the pain began. Her screams deafened and blinded her to anything else other than the torture... "What have I done...?"