Memory

Of Monsters and Other Dark Things

"Okay, so what do we do now?" I groan. "We're stuck in these mountains and we don't know where he is!"

"Well, you woke up in the place you died, correct?" Loki asks. When I nod, he says, "But you also woke up in the exact place your body was."

"Ohhhh!" Livvy says at the same time as me.

"Smart," I nod. "But what do we do now? Last time I could teleport. This time I can't," I add at their questioning looks.

"How do you know that?" Livvy asks.

"Okay, so you know Bruce Banner and how he's the Hulk?" I say.

Livvy nods, not knowing where this is going. "Yes..."

"So it's like there's two people in one person but only the original owner of the body can control the body. Do you understand?"

Even Loki is starting to look a little confused. "Why are you telling us--"

"Let me finish. Let's say I had another something sharing my consciousness. And she used to talk to me a lot in my head from five days ago until I died. For the past day, it's been quiet in my head. You guys saw how the fire during the battle was conscient?"

"Yes," Livvy says, piecing it together. "You're saying that she controlled your powers, and now since you're dead, you think she's gone, so your powers are, too?"

"Exactly," I say.

"But you could teleport from before five days ago. And you knew how to control that. So, surely that part is completely under your own control?" Loki suggests.

"I'm dead. But I can try," I say.

I close my eyes, willing myself to disappear and reappear behind Livvy. "It doesn't work." I open my eyes. "And we still don't know where Rowan is. So, what, SHIELD would know?"

"That depends. What happened to his body?" Livvy asks.

"Yeah, so SHIELD knows." I frown.

"Now are we to go to SHIELD?" Loki asks.

"I guess so," I say. "How the hell are we getting out of here?"

I don't like the answer.

(+)

"I hate walking," Livvy says, one mountain later and one mountain closer to the castle.

"That's a mood," I agree, limping along next to her.

"What else is going on that you haven't told me?" Livvy glances skeptically at Loki, who is walking some distance behind us, making sure we don't become visible to nearby Fae and monsters and... other dark things. He conveniently failed to specify what they were. "I mean, you're bringing people back from the dead, which is after you disappear for a month and fight some alien army, and you're not surprised by any of it at all. Not to mention the fact that you even know about this place."

If I could sigh, I would. "Livvy, I can't tell anyone why this is all going on. It's technically my fault for this mess, and I can't explain any of it to anyone. Ever. Not until I clean up this mess. Which isn't going to happen anytime soon, but I hope it will. One day."