(1)The Avengers: The Lost Goddess

20

Something woke me in the early morning. Peter shifted under the blankets beside me, but stayed asleep. My head was throbbing and my cheeks were wet, I must've been crying. I squinted through the dark, trying to discern what had woken me up, but nothing was out of place.

I rolled over and tried going back to sleep. My eyes were nearly closed when I heard it: my name. It was barely a whisper, but I definitely heard it. I sat up, the covers falling off of me, and squinted again to try and see what was in the dark.

Suddenly, a figure materialized from the shadows. The green eyes startled me so much I let out a squeak of surprise. Peter shifted again but still slept soundly.

"How wonderful to see you again, Celestial."

"Get out of here Loki. I thought you were supposed to be in prison?"

"They can't contain an illusionist. Worth a shot, though."

His smirk was like a sliver of the moon; white teeth shone through making part of me want to smile with him. His flipped a stray piece of hair out of his eyes but never lost his cool composure.

"What do you want from me?"

"Just the powers you possess."

"I don't possess any powers."

He snorted, which was the last noise I ever thought I'd hear come from a god. "You have more powers as a mortal than either my brother or I have."

"Why do you need them? I'm a deity just like you."

"But your powers are far more powerful in mortal form. I don't expect you to understand. Just give them over."

He reached his hand out like a claw and I could feel it squeezing on my body. Something in me seemed to rip and pull. I was in agonizing pain but I couldn't even scream. Tears fell freely from my eyes and I found myself thinking over and over "Loki, Loki, Loki." My body was shaking, convulsing almost.

Then I woke up. My eyes shot open, I had a metallic taste in my mouth, realizing I had bitten my tongue and it was now bleeding. Tears still streamed down my face, my hair was stuck to my forehead with sweat, and my whole body was shivering.

Peter sat beside me, looking me over, waiting for me to say something. But I couldn't.

"Celestial, what happened?"

It was still dark outside.

"You were crying and seizing and calling out Loki. What happened?"

I realized the room was full of people. Peter sat beside me, the Cap sat by my feet, and a few others were standing throughout the rest of the room.

"Loki..." I couldn't say anything else.

"He's locked up, Celestial," Thor tried to assure me.

"A dream. He was in my dream. He...tried to take my powers?" I felt stupid saying it. But Thor looked like he'd just seen a ghost.

"He was here in your dream?"

"Yes?" I questioned.

"No. Oh no. That isn't good. He can do just as much damage in a dream as he can in real life. Maybe even more. What did he say?!"

My mind was spinning. "He said something about me possessing more power in my mortal form than both you and him have."

Thor's eyes widened. "Then what?"

"Then...I don't know. He just grabbed at me. Put his hand in the shape of a claw and just pulled. I felt like I was being ripped in two."

Thor ran out of the room and I looked over at Peter who shrugged. Thor will be Thor I guess. He came back a moment later with a glass of water. He held it up and looked at me like I knew what to do.