Elemental {Avengers}

26. #TeamMaeve

The drive into town was pleasant. And I'm not one that finds many things enjoyable, let alone pleasant. I had insisted on driving to the second town closest to us, just in case we're spotted. If we were, the house would be at least twenty minutes away, and we would have more time to pack up and leave. Not that it was a lot of time, but still enough. We were in the busy part of Quebec, with little towns dotted all over the place, all to do with the winter season, all sporting large mountains and snow capped peaks.

Loki and I still held the Walkie-Talkie with us to contact the Avengers; we were still under alert, still wary of followers. Perhaps even more wary now that we had been followed, and it hadn't ended well.

My body ached, not just from my little swim this morning, but from the whole of the previous week. My bullet wounds had been aggravated so much that they had taken longer than expected to heal, throbbing even now. The fight yesterday had been brutal, and even though we came out alive, bruises lined my neck, my cheek, my arms, small burns where the cuffs used to be. Maybe this house in the woods would be good for me. Let me heal. So that I could be at my strongest if the time came to fight. When the time came.

I'd taken some pain killers again this morning, and they were wearing off. Loki had joked that I'd develop an addiction, going as far as saying that the bags under my eyes looked like they'd swallow Storm whole. One long glare from me and he backed off; I hadn't been in the mood for jokes. But talking with Loki on the way here was nice, even though he did most of the talking. He still held Storm in his arms, and I was more than surprised, expecting him to treat the puppy with disgust for a creature lesser than his 'divine' self. Apparently not, which I was happy about. At least he felt inclined to care about one thing in my life.

"-and so that was how I nearly won a fight against Thor for the throne of Asgard. I was this close to winning. This close!" he gestured with his fingers. " Of course, Odin wasn't pleased that I had pretty much uncovered him for Thor and Frigga to see who he really was. Had me locked up, unable to see my mother for eternity. Of course, Thor visited, much to my annoyance. And then... Frigga died." His face fell, into a sea of grief and sadness.

" Your mother?"

" My adopted mother. I could do nothing. I couldn't protect her from the Dark elves. Didn't have any power to stop them. It was my breaking point, then. Fortunately, Thor recruited me on a mission. To destroy the dark elves or something or other. I did it, risking my life heroically, sacrificing myself as I killed a dark elf, but he managed to stab me, killing me."

" Your still alive."

Loki continued as if I hadn't said anything. " It was indeed a brave and courageous act. I faked it. You see, death is my mistress."

" How close were you to your mother?" I asked.

" Very close. Closer than I have been to anyone. I loved her. And she loved me like her own child. You can understand that when Odin banned me from ever speaking to Frigga again... and then her dying-" he sighed.

" Have you ever talked to anyone about this?"

" You see, I haven't trusted anyone with it. They could use it against me"

" And you trust me? I am not someone you should trust your feelings to. I have the tendency to... kill people"

" Me too"

" But like, actually enjoy killing them. Which is completely wrong, I know"

" Me too"

I shifted my eyes to him, almost whispering. " Do you know what I have done, Loki? Do you know what I was forced to do under my imprisonment? The terrible things that I will never, ever forget, things that made me feared throughout Russia, throughout Asia. Things that made me into a monster. Loki, you shouldn't waste your time with trusting me."