Kalopsia ⊰ The Avengers

Anger

The golden energy pulses angrily around Layla's clenched fists. Tears build in her eyes, her bottom lip trembling as she stares at the man before her. 

Loki Laufeyson. 

Heimdall had never seen Layla this way. The pure energy and anger radiating off of her were suffocating. 

The inmates in the nearby cells back away from their window, cowering at the building tension. 

"You know who I am?" Loki questions. He attempts to remain strong while Layla's powers press down on him. He physically shudders, his legs begging to drop his weight. But he would not show weakness to this small girl. He had to maintain what little dignity he had left. 

Layla releases a shuddering breath, her eyes dropping down to her fists. 

It's silent for a moment as her blue eyes stare down at the pulsing energy. Unlimited power weaving around her small fists. 

It would be so easy, she realizes. But she remains stagnant, the pressure around not only her but of Asgard, growing as the time passes. 

And just like that, her power recedes. The heaviness in the air dissipating as the golden energy around Layla returns to her. She doesn't lift her gaze. Still staring down at her fists, at the veins popping around her knuckles and back of hands from how tightly she is holding herself.

"I know what you've done. Who you've associated with." She hisses, barely above a whisper. 

Loki flinches. He hears her words all the same. He hears the hatred and venom dripping from her tone. Loki didn't understand how so much anger could be held in such a small person without them exploding. Up until the girl met his gaze, she had seemed meek, small, and unimportant. 

Loki knew he would never forget her words. The way she emphasized who. And he knew exactly who she was referring to. There was only one person who could elicit such a reaction. What puzzled him, however, was how she knew. There was no way this mortal girl from Earth could know about his association with that man. 

If he could be even called a man.

More like a monster. 

Heimdall could see the questions building in Loki's mind. Initially, when he thought to bring Layla to Loki, Heimdall thought that since Layla had probably seen the struggles of Loki that meeting him would show her that despite his wrongdoings he wasn't entirely bad. 

There was no such thing as bad or good. There was a grey area that Layla had yet to be exposed to. 

From what Layla had told the man about her sight and her interpretation of what she was subjected to see, is that she saw things in two categories. People who cause pain and people who go through pain. 

It was an odd way of looking at the world but it was the lense that Layla saw through. Despite seeing everything, Layla had never really experienced anything. Only pain. Pain, sadly, was what she knew and that affected her world perspective. 

Layla also had a hard time of distinguishing what was real and what was her imagination. Her mind was always so full that she never really had her own time to think so her mind bled into the realms. 

In reality, there wasn't really a Layla Chase Mason. Just a girl who had the ability to see and hear all that was around her while not really existing herself. It was sad. 

Heimdall hoped he could help Layla find herself. Find out who she was apart from her powers.

With the restrictors Tony had made for her, she was slowly finding her way. The restrictors that the Second Hand had used on Layla only made her powers manageable from the outside. Tony's restrictors made it so Layla could manage them, on her own fruition. 

And yet Layla did not want to use her powers. But she felt an obligation to do so. Heimdall had shown her that. The Avengers had shown her that. 

But she would not use them to hurt people. She would not allow her anger to overcome her.

Layla was incredibly angry at Loki. She wanted to hurt him. She wanted to make him feel what pain his actions had caused. However, Heimdall was right in bringing Layla to meet him because standing in his presence Layla was seeing things in a new light. 

There were people who caused pain, people who felt pain, and people who caused pain because they felt pain. 

It was a small shift in her world view but it made all the difference. 

"But I forgive you." 

Loki wants to scoff, spit her forgiveness right in her face, but he doesn't because Layla doesn't give him a chance to.

Tugging on Heimdall's armored sleeve, Layla nods her head to the exit. 

Heimdall was floored by the entire interaction, wondering just what in the hell Layla really knew. Wondering what was going on in her complicated mind. 

There were places in the galaxy that Heimdall could not see. Small little pockets that existed outside of nearly everyone's knowledge and power of sight. So Heimdall didn't know about the monster Loki had associated with, he had no clue really what Layla was referring to. Or why Loki reacted the way he did. 

It was just another question to add to the very long list that was Layla Chase-Mason. 

Loki is left to stare as Heimdall leaves with Layla, the interaction not only having changed Layla but Loki as well. Just exactly how he changed would be the question.

It's not until Layla and Heimdall are back at the gate to the Bifrost that the girl speaks again. Having been lost in thought, Layla startles Heimdall with her gentle voice. 

"I've never been so angry before." She plays with her fingers in her lap, her gaze settled onto the metal bracelets. "But then I realized why he did what he did."

Heimdall was glad about her realization, not really understanding it himself. But he couldn't help but ask. If this was her first time being so angry, why at him? Why not at the Second Head? The people who had imprisoned her and forced her to do unspeakable things. 

Why was she so mad at Loki?

"Why?" He starts, watching as Layla flattens her hands, her pale fingers still shaking, "Why were you so mad at him?"

"Because he's the reason the Second Head got me."

.

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edited 10/4/2020

a/n; boom. mic drop