When Ayda Dupoint was born, her parents knew she was special, after all, she was their miracle. At the age of 10, they found she had magical power. Two years later, when she developed her soulmarks, they lost their lives.
Ever since then she's lived...
The plane was silent on the way to Loki's location in Germany. Steve had put on his classic Captain America suit and shield. The jet was being flown by Natasha, who I have dubbed Tasha. I scratched Circe's head from her perch on my shoulder. Her light trilling caught the Captain's attention. "I know you said she isn't a pet but what is Circe exactly? She doesn't look like any cat or creature I've ever seen." My mark for him on my shoulder was itching like crazy. Same with Tasha's on my thigh. They might seem like great people, but I'm not letting the bond form until I know for sure.
"Good question. You might be surprised by the answer. Circe here is my familiar. She helps me manage my powers and control outbursts. It's why I can understand her telepathically, she's literally a part of me, but with a more solid form. As for what creature she is, she can be anything I want as long as it's alive. Right now she's in my favorite form, the one she took when she first appeared to me, something called a fox-squirrel. When I was young, I was obsessed with these Japanese animated films from Studio Ghibli. I was watching one when she appeared. Surprised me and nearly gave my mom a heart attack. She's a different color but otherwise looks the same." Circe blinked her rosy eyes at the Captain intelligently. I could tell Natasha was paying attention from her seat up in the front. "Should we give them a demonstration, Circe?" If we must.
"We'll keep it small for now. Don't know if I'll need the energy later." Circe hopped lightly to the floor from my shoulder. I held my hand in front of me, "Subcinctus" The familiar Latin phrase slipped from my lips. My hand, eyes, and Circe all glowed lilac. Her form shifted from four legs to six. She shrank in size and small wings sprouted from her back. In a few moments, she had changed from a silver fox-squirrel to a small silver butterfly with the same red eyes. She fluttered from the floor to my head, now no bigger than my fist.
Steve's eyes were the size of quarters. He calmed his expression and opened his mouth to ask another question when Fury's voice cut him off from the intercom, "Dupoint, you said you had a teleportation spell, correct?"
"Yeah. Why?" I raised an eyebrow.
"How many can you take at once?"
I put a finger on my chin. "If I want to stay awake afterward, probably just myself. Any more than that and I run the risk of passing out on arrival."
"I want you to go ahead. We don't know what Loki is planning, and any moment wasted is another he could be preparing a weapon or hurting innocent citizens."
"Sure." An idea flashed in my mind. "He was last seen outside of a gala, right?"
"Yes?" Steve answered uncertainly.
"Perfect. I needed an outfit change." I waved a hand over my head. Small sparkles fell a lá Cinderella. "Vestitus" My purple shirt and jeans melted into a wine-colored dress. It faded to lavender at the bottom. Violet fingerless gloves reached up to my elbows where they met plum mesh that went from my forearms to my neck. Silver crescent-shaped earrings with magenta crystals dangled delicately from my ears. Black flats graced my feet, hidden by the length of the dress. My hair tied itself up in a loose bun at the nape of my neck. Two small curls fell on either side of my face and one sat in the center of my forehead.
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Circe posed as a pin in my hair along with an actual pin to help disguise her.
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"Perfect." Steve's jaw was practically on the floor. Natasha looked back at me. "Nice. If we hang out after this is over, you have to do my wardrobe."
I winked at her, "You got it. Do you have a picture of the Gala entrance? It'll be easier for me to get there if I have a picture." An image popped up on a screen next to me, I studied it closely. "Okay, I'm off. Don't keep me waiting." I raised my arms above my head, ready to leave.
"Wait!" called Steve. "What if you need help sooner? There has to be a way for us to communicate in case of trouble."
"I'll be fine Steve. I did say I could take care of myself didn't I?" I gave him a small closed-eye smile. He shouldn't be this attached already. I needed to leave before something went wrong. "Lacus." A bright light shone from around me. In an instant, I was several miles away at Loki's last known location. "Let's do this. Circe."
(Steve's POV)
I watched as Ayda vanished from in front of me. I knew it was strange, but I felt the need to protect her. When I was around her the small book-shaped mark on my left shoulder itched. Which made no sense, she wasn't my soulmate. I checked when I changed. We had shaken hands in the Hellicarrier, if we had been soulmates it would have been black but it was still a dull grey. But I couldn't help the connection I felt with her.
"Something on your mind, Cap?" Agent Romanoff called me from the front of the plane.
"She's seemed odd. Like she was hiding something. It was weird."
"Fury said she might be like that. It took them three years to finally track her down and convince her to join. Seven agents across three continents and seven different countries tried to talk to her. As soon as she found out they were with S.H.I.E.L.D. she stopped them and disappeared. Tech doesn't work around her, so we couldn't hack into cameras to find her. The only reason the Hellicarrier and jet weren't affected is cause they were special made to protect against her aura."
Steve remembered most of this stuff from the file he had read about her. He also remembered what they had on her parents. On January 17 20XX, (eight years ago) the house of Henry and Chelsa Dupoint was attacked by an unknown person(s). It was then set on fire from the inside. When authorities arrived, the bodies of Mr. and Ms. Dupoint were discovered. The body of Ayda was not amongst the wreckage. She was classified as missing. All though there were no other living family members, the Dupoints' funeral and burial costs were paid in full and they now rest [redacted] cemetery. Ayda is still presumed to be missing to this day.
It went on to talk about the various sightings and attempts to get her to join.
"Do you remember her file listing any soulmates?" I asked Romanoff.
"Now that I think about it, no. Which is odd. When they appear, they're normally marked down in the persons' medical file by doctors. And don't remember seeing any on her before she left. She has to have at least one, everybody does." She scratched at something on her thigh. "Get ready, we're two minutes out."
"Let's kick some ass" _________________________ Language.So some clarification. When I say medical files, I mean the ones doctors keep on their patients. You know where they write down complaints and such. I'm assuming SHIELD would be able to get their hands on them. Also, even though you can't see them in the picture, the marks are still there. She just has them covered with some super-strength concealer. However, even with the concealer and mind shields, Ayda and the others are still affected by the feel of the bond. The mind shields make it so they can't form, but all that does is keep the marks from darkening on contact and keeps the itching from going away.
I'm finally feeling inspired so I should have another chapter out by the end of this weekend.
