Eviternity | Loki

saturday

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❝ I saw all the people behind their masks.

I saw through them and there was suffering. ❞

~Van Gogh

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She opened her eyes to a bright, sun filled morning. Her sleep had been better, but her head still throbbed and she was thankful she hadn't been booked to work this Saturday. Her dreams had been muddled. The two year old next door had been dreaming of puppies, and the neighbouring elderly couple were anxious. Ageing struck fear into the hearts of all humans, it hadn't taken her long to figure that out.

The most notable dream was arguably one of her own. It had consisted of flashes of symbols, people, weapons. The symbols were those of a red octopus, possibly a bird with an impossibly long acronym beneath it and Captain America's shield. The weapons were high tech, the people were high profile. 

Originally she wrote it off as something she'd seen in a documentary, but it became more and more apparent that she was looking at photographs and symbols with more pattern and intent. Unsure of who she should bring this information to, she pulled on a leather jacket and a pair of sunglasses before catching a cab to the Avengers Tower.

It was a magnificently large building, and she hadn't the slightest clue where to go once she entered. There was a receptionist on the main floor and she approached hesitantly.

"What can I do for ya?" The woman didn't even look up from her computer as Asta leaned against the tall desk. 

"I-I'm not really entirely sure. I have some information possibly, I think it may concern the Avengers?" The receptionist looked up at her pointedly.

"That's not enough to go on, you can't just come in here expecting to get to see the Avengers based on some dream." Asta ignored the negative thoughts radiating from the receptionist, imposing her will into the woman's brain. 

Just take me to see Tony Stark. Now.

The receptionist stood and walked around the desk. 

"If you'd follow me please." They entered a secured elevator and were lifted up above the city. The view was beautiful. Stepping off, the receptionist gestured to a conference room and a small sitting area. "He's in a conference at the moment, you can speak with him when he gets out."

"Thank you." She took a seat, releasing the receptionist the minute she was sitting back down at her desk. 

Stark was indeed in the conference room. She was surprised to see that the Captain was, too, in addition to a Nick Fury, who she'd never heard of. A little digging showed her that he was rather high up in this mysterious S.H.I.E.L.D organization. Out of respect, she didn't listen in on their conversation, but did identify a fourth person. They felt strangely familiar in the back of her brain, but she decided not to bother looking any further. 

It wasn't long before they left, and she stood. Fury exited, then Tony, and the Captain, holding a door for the fifth person. She froze as a silver wheelchair rolled out of the room. He looked so much older than when she'd left, and his lovely brown locks were nonexistent. He looked small and bare in the large chair.

Charles.

"Asta." He came to a stop just outside the door, and she made a conscious effort to keep up her guard. He'd never been as strong as her, but seeing him after all this time left her head feeling fuzzy. "It's been a while. You don't look a day over twenty." His eyes looked sad, but she ignored them.

"There's a good reason that it's been a while." She crossed her arms over her chest, ignoring the  compliment. He was right, though. "I don't like what you did with your hair by the way." He blushed, lowering his face. 

"I'm afraid I didn't have much say in it. It won't grow back either." She shrugged, and then sighed, meeting his gorgeous eyes for a fleeting moment. 

"I have some business to attend to, with these lovely folk." His eyes widened.

"You dreamt it too, didn't you?" She nodded slowly. "How much detail?" She thought for a moment before deciding to dive into his mind. His head slumped forward when she found the dream, playing it back. Not a minute later she released him.

"More detail than yours, Mr. Xavier." His face fell at her address. She turned to face Tony and the others, who were looking between them in confusion. "Mr. Stark, we need to have a word. It's of the same nature as Mr. Xavier's visit, though I might be able to shed some more light on the subject." He nodded.

"Yeah of course. We appreciate you coming to us."

"What the hell was all that about?" Fury looked expectantly at Asta and she blushed a deep shade of red. 

"My apologies. Charles and I have a long complicated history..."

"As much as I'd like to hear all of the juicy gossip, we're on a bit of a schedule. Give us the rundown miss..." Tony spoke, stepping back into the conference room.

"Asta," she followed him in, filling her name into his sentence. "Asta is just fine Mr. Stark."