All cats are grey in the dark

Chapter Four

She doesn't have time to ruminate on whose wedding it was that she saw in her vision because, as she pulls down the cloaking spell around her, a great bang sounds from the base of the tower. Immediately, every hero in the room unsheaths every manner of weapons, preparing themselves for the no doubt daring rescue that is to ensue. 

Whilst they clatter down the stairs and travel down in the elevator, Eldrid dresses both herself and Loki in their battle gear. As an extra precaution, though, she places a protection spell around him. Then, she transports them downstairs.

They arrive before the heroes to see a small woman holding a huge gun at the entrance to the tower. A crazed smile is stretched wide across her pale, gaunt face as she threatens the guards that try to quieten her. She swings the gun wildly, narrowly missing them as the gun fires out of her command. She has no control over it.

As the heroes hit the floor, she realizes that the woman doesn't know what she's doing. She hurries to stop the group of supers.

"Stop, stop! This woman does not know what is happening any more than we do, let me deal with it. Hold Loki."

She summons her face mask and battle gear, covering herself completely before holding a delicate finger before her and tiptoeing, crouched, over to the woman.

A silky smooth voice slips from between her lips. It bends in waves, entrancing the woman with the gun until she begins to droop slowly, her eyes glazing over. Eldrid steps closer still, extending her finger further and tapping the woman gently on the head. The woman collapses into her arms.

From around her, Eldrid hears whispers of confusion about who she is before she teleports herself and the strange woman upstairs.

She figures that the others will take a few minutes to get back upstairs sho she lays the woman on the sofa and begins to tend to her wounds. She has a large, gaping cut on her shoulder along with many small lacerations all over her bodice. Those oafs downstairs managed to destroy this woman before realizing that she was not in control.

No matter how idiotic their actions, they were completed and the woman now lay on the sofa in Stark's lounge. She needed help now. Eldrid could not change the past, so she begins working on the poor girl.

She flutters her hands over the poor girl's skin, binding her wounds with the shimmering swirls of magic. As she does so, the wounds knit over, closing with just barely visible golden threads. She watches the girl's skin begin to brighten. Another one saved.

In that moment of peace and healing, the world is still.

Then the others come thundering in. She rolls her eyes, steels herself and pushes herself up from beside the sofa.

"I'll thank you to be quiet, please, our patient is asleep."

"Patient?" Natasha whispers "She just tried to shoot up the tower. Will you please explain what is happening right now?"

"This girl was not aware of what she was doing. She was under the control of a powerful magician, more powerful than she could comprehend, she had no control over anything that she did. If you were to go in there, guns blazing, and 'take her out' then you would have been killing an innocent, would you have preferred that I let that happen?"

They mutter to themselves, not used to being wrong. "But," Clint begins "How did you know that she was being controlled?"

"How did you not?" They don't seem to understand. She sighs, rolling her eyes once more, and casts her the image in her mind into all of theirs. She ignores their gasps of shock and continues talking. "Look at her eyes, really look. Pupils: dilated. Not only that but look closer at the iris, the fine ring of gold ringing it, that's not an ordinary characteristic of anyone." she retreats from their minds. "You 'Heroes' need to stop relying on your weapons so much and take a minute to step back and actually think. Look. You look but you do not see! There is so much that you miss in your blind arrogance. Now, please, let me attend this woman in peace."

They leave the room feeling berated, bettered in their own line of work. Loki, however, stays.

"Was it you?" He asks.

Her head jerks up, suddenly, outraged at the accusation that he, of all people, dares to utter. "Are you serious? Did I manipulate this poor woman into trying to shoot up the building in which I am holding you to try and keep you out of trouble? Did I nearly destroy any chance that I had at fulfilling the deal I made with the Allfather and keeping my future my own? Did I nearly endanger my own livelihood for the mere sake of proving a point? No. I did not, Loki Odinson, and you will do well to remember that you are only out of prison because I sacrificed my life to get you out, much to the dismay of everyone around me. I could have just let you die, but I didn't."

"Don't pretend you did it for me." He mutters.

"Woah, there it is. That arrogance, so similar to that of your brother. No, I did not free you for your sake, rather for the sake of Asgard."

He straightens up immediately at that, a wondering look in his eyes. "What in the name of the Allfather is that supposed to mean?" 

She can't let him know. To tell him of this future would potentially derail the one that she had ensured by making the decision to bring him here. "Nothing, my Lord." She bows her head "Now if you would be so kind as to return to your room."

"No, I-" before he can finish, Eldrid sends him to their room with a flick of her hand and continues treating the mortal before her.

Word count: 984
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