Chapter 20

Odd ball was the first to notice my presence, given he had been facing the outer windows.

Thor followed his gaze as I approach both of them, steps purposely loud so as to not startle anyone.

"You went missing," I stopped just before the edge of the balcony in order to keep a distance and directed my words to Thor loosely.

The god nodded at that, an apologetic expression crossing his face.

"I am sorry. There was something that needed to be done."

I don't know what he saw in his vision, but I know for a fact that it had something to do with the stones I've been seeing.

The question was practically looming in everybody's faces.

Why now?

What's changed?

What did this mean?

Crossing my arms over my chest, I tried to sound relaxed. "Did you find what you were looking for?"

"Not entirely," Thor confesses, honestly. "I was only shown what I was allowed. Any further than that and we would be tampering with fate."

Fate.

Was all this happening because of that one word?

It didn't sound believable, but then again just a few years ago, no one knew there were such things as aliens.

Look at us now.

"Thor," I cleared my throat, hoping whatever I wanted to ask, didn't come out weak. "I need to ask you something, do you promise to answer truthfully?"

Now concerned, the god of thunder willed his whole body to face me. His red cap billowed in the wind, long blond hair curtaining that jaw.

I don't know what expression I was making but it made him all the more aware.

"Lady Lorelie, whatever it is you require, I will answer it to the best of my abilities."

Good.

I had his word then.

Taking a deep breath, I try to find the words, the sentence forming in my mind like puzzle pieces.

"The Tesseract..." I say. "It's an infinity stone, isn't it?"

Thor's expression changed to one that can only be described as discomfort.

He'd only said that the Scepter was an infinity stone, he didn't mention anything about the Tesseract. I think he was surprised by how quickly I've caught on as compared to the others.

It just made sense somehow. All of it.

I just never knew why.

Until now.

The god of thunder proceeds to hold my gaze, mouth turned down gravely. "I'm afraid so."

That's the secret he's been hiding.

The hidden glances and the odd moments when he would shut up if I did something that no human ever could.

"This... thing--" Odd ball speaks up from beside Thor, breaking the tense atmosphere.

I turn to face him, only to realize he was touching the yellow stone above his head in obvious discomfort.

"What is it?" Stepping forward, I reach out a hand.

He shakes his head. "I can feel it, calling you, but you're not responding."

At that, I halted in my movements, mind processing with rapid speed at what he'd just mentioned.

"Well..." The chuckle that peels out of my mouth sounds nervous. "I guess I can't hear it now that it's connected to you."

Thor's emotions abruptly spiked, revealing anxiety.

He shifts the hammer in the other hand so his massive figure could tower over me. "What do you mean Lady Lorelie? Hasn't the connection between the Tesseract and you, been severed?"

I shook my head and ran a hand through my brown hair. "I told you before Thor, yes, I may no longer share a connection with the Tesseract, but it doesn't change the fact that I can still feel it--"

"How long has this been happening?" He stops me. "When did it start?"

"I can't give you a time frame,  all I know is that they've always been there--all six of them."

There's never been a time when I've seen the god of thunder become so visibly afraid.

I just told him that I could feel the rest of the Infinity stones and he has no idea how to react.

My words must've set some sort of light because those eyes began to watch me with the upmost wariness yet.

"This should not have happened. You are a mortal--"

"That can shoot deadly lights out of her hands," I cut him off, my glare hitting deep. "Yeah, Howard really fucked up didn't he?"

Did he think I didn't know that?

Odd ball was watching our interaction curiously from where he stood.

Whatever was happening to me, it was out of this world. Thor just happens to be from out of this world.

He was the only one that can help me understand this. He should have my answers, yet why were we running around in circles?

"The twins gained their power from the mind stone and yet, they don't feel the call. In fact, they don't feel a thing. So why me?"

"I..."

Even the god could not answer me.

He was struggling to even compile a single word.

"I just don't understand--" My frustration merely grows. "This could have happened years ago, but why now? Why not then?" 

"Perhaps it is not why, but the circumstances." Odd ball speaks out softly and I'm forced to look at him in order to understand what he's trying to say.

He locks eyes with me, gaze compliant.

"Your connection to the mind stone's... sibling, is unique. You share a bond, they can't understand."

He was referring to the other stones.

Considering he did have one of them on his head, it was perfectly reasonable to listen to him.

Yet instead of feeling relieved, something like ice began to freeze my veins.

"So you're saying, that even if I'm not connected to it. I'm..." I search for the word. "One of them?"

Thor's face looked even more troubled as we awaited Odd ball's answer.

He frowns for a moment-- as if trying to listen and understand whatever it was that was speaking to him.

I didn't have to hear the words come out of his mouth to know the answer. His emotions tell me so.

"Yes,"

;-;-;-;-;-;-;-;-;-;-;-;-;-;-;-;-;-;

Another secret to keep.

I was getting real antsy over the whole; don't tell anyone, it's not safe.

Hell, you wonder why I'm so unstable.

Swallowing a sigh, I walk onto the weapons area, boots on glass floors. There, I stopped just before my locker and leaned my head over the cooling metal.

Blood was rushing through my ears and all I felt was this heavy, weight attaching itself to my heart, locking it down.

Time... I don't have enough time.

"You're in pain,"

Two familiar energy sources enter the room and I sighed, reluctantly raising my head to meet the twins.

"Can you read emotions too?"

Scarlet shakes her head and her brown orbs glint in concern and confusion. "The bond we share."

Well if they were indeed connected to me, then it'd make sense she knows what I'm feeling.

"Put up a mental block. You won't feel me if you do that," Unlocking my locker, I took out some extra clothes and piled them in my hands.

Snow White glided across the room with super speed and leans on the wall behind me. The twins watch me from where they stand, gaze curious, almost scrutinizing.

"Is there something on my face?" I didn't appreciate being looked at like that. "As you can see I'm quite busy."

"Yes, staring at your locker must be very tiring," Snow White smiles sarcastically.

"It doesn't help that I have to stare at an albino in the process," Came my cheeky response.

His mouth hung agape, offended. "Why you--"

"Pietro," Scarlet slapped the back of his arm and promptly stopped her brother from saying anything else.

Even from here, I can detect the affection she had for her brother.

It was comical.

I wondered if that was how others viewed my relationship with Tony.

"I don't know if you know this, but this won't be like HYDRA's simulations anymore, this is a real battle," I rearrange the materials in my locker, with no actual intent to organize in the first place.

"If you get hurt, you can die."

"We know," She answers, although not at all confident. "I cannot say the same for the others. They do not trust us."

"Gee, I wonder why? It's not like you showcased their deepest darkest fears and turned it against them--" Throwing a pair of clothes in Snow White's direction, he grabs it, surprised.

"Wear that, it's laced with synthetics. Should keep your super-speed intact without worry."

If he was grateful, I didn't notice. I've opened up Natasha's locker and grabbed hold of a red jacket.

Scarlet catches the attire, the moment I threw it at her.

Both of them proceed to inspect the outfit choices, frowning curiously, seemingly oblivious to my growing distress.

Staring at them now, where they stand, their gazes filled with age over the trauma they've experienced... The innocence was still there--an innocence that was familiar to me.

"What changed your mind?" The question came out of my lips as effortlessly water.

They changed sides after realizing where they went wrong, but did they truly know, where they went wrong?

Or were they simply pretending that they do?

"Ultron seek to destroy the world. We could not let that happen," Snow White explained, slightly cautious at where this was going.

So in that case, they didn't know at all.

"Mmhm," Slamming my locker closed, I headed to the equipment area, one hand reaching out to flip through the panel, past Clint's arrows.

The walls shifted to reveal a set of blades and knives all designed and curated for the team's uses.

I grabbed a bunch of daggers--two, that were normal sized and another two, spanning the size of my palm.

Scarlet and Snow White hovered nearby, their figures trailing after me and their emotions high.

They were offended by my coldness.

Well, tough love.

It's not like they decided to risk their lives, get experimented on by a bloodthirsty organization, then proceeds to kill, for said, organization, potentially giving birth to victims that may walk the same path.

"You are angry," Scarlet was speaking the obvious. She didn't need to feel the bond to know. "Why?"

Stopping my actions, I shut my eyes and reopened them when the tension grew too much.

"What were you thinking...?" My back was to them, my voice floating in the air between us. "Volunteering for Strucker's experiments?"

Silence.

They didn't reply.

"Why? Was I not clear enough?" Annoyed, I whirled around, dealing death glares in both their directions. "Do you need me to repeat myself?"

Scarlet shifted uneasily on her feet and she hid by her brother who runs over to appease her as soon as he notices she's uncomfortable.

"We wanted revenge," He tells me, voice harsh and pressing. "Our parents died in the bombings and the one who set it off was Stark Industries."

My mind goes blank and my fists clenched on their own.

Revenge...

They didn't do this for their country. They didn't do this to save others. Hell, they didn't even do it to help.

And it doesn't matter who they hurt in the process, who they kill on their journey, it didn't matter if they died or take risks, no... so as long as they got their revenge.

"That's what this is all about?" My voice was breathless, filled with utter disbelief. "Your beef with Tony?"

The subjugation of Sokovia wasn't even under our control. People had used Tony's weapons against the innocents. My brother had put a stopped to it, but no one can ever control anything.

There were always cracks.

But this? Doing this for revenge?

Did they even know what they were doing? Did they even know what that felt like?

How it could destroy someone from the inside out? How it could shatter hearts and souls?

Something about that revelation sparks the dark energy that had been dormant thus far.

"Have you ever stopped to think about what your actions have done?" I demanded, my voice rising. "Did it cross your mind?"

Stepping forward, I ignored how Snow White tensed up, apparently prepared to fight me if it comes to it.

"You could've died!" I shouted.

"We weren't sure at first," Scarlet retorts and although she is defensive, I can hear the trickle of nervousness coming from her. "Strucker promised us that he won't fail and he didn't,"

"Look where that got you," Crossing my arms over my chest I raised an unimpressed eyebrow. "You have abilities you can't even control."

That jab hits them hard and I watch as Scarlet and Snow White's anger grew. "What we chose, defines us, yes--"

"We were sure we would live," Scarlet adds to her brother's words.

Their emotions ripple back at me slowly.

They truly believed they weren't wrong for doing what they did.

In fact, if they could go back in time, they would do it again.

I quickly realized there was something more to this.

Something they were hiding.

Scarlet raised her eyes to meet me reluctantly. "Strucker spoke of a girl who he helped shape."

The blood in my veins froze.

"She was the greatest achievement they've ever created. A catharsis to end all pain."

"When you wake up, you'll know. You belong with us."

HYDRA.

Stupid, parasitic, piece of shit--

They've used me as a beacon in their work.

Some sort of an idol for impressionable kids to follow. Because they experimented on me, they could have abilities, they could annihilate cities and Governments, they could seek power and no one will be able to stop them.

They turned my alias, the creation of the Dark Witch into some sort of good--a good that is needed in this world, whatever that, meant in HYDRA's vocabulary.

It hits me hard as I watch these two people in front of me.

"So you got your inspiration... from me?"

There's a deadly still silence that grows and grows.

No one moves.

No one says a word.

No one does a thing.

And I am unable to stop it.

A dark humourless chuckle has escape my lips and I found myself bitterly smiling at the twins.

"Me, who's killed more than any of you? Me, whose mind was erased, over and over again, ripped apart, torn, destroyed--over the slightest hint of disobedience?"

A crackle sweeps through the room.

You could feel my abilities rising up to the challenge.

Meanwhile, the twins refused to look me in the eye. They are realizing just how twisted Strucker has made them.

That only infuriates me even more.

"No," I say, snapping them back to focus. "You guys had a choice. I didn't, and I will live, the rest of my life knowing I've killed people--people I can't remember, people whose faces will remain lost, until the day I die."

Flexing my fingers, I willed the lights to go away and gave them one last chilling look.

"So yes, be inspired by a cold-blooded killer."

My feet moved on their own out of the equipment area and away from them.

I was the reason they chose this path.

I was the reason Tony built that bot.

I was the reason why everybody was going to get hurt.

I was the reason, for the Avenger's extinction.

~~@ @ @~~

A/N

So there you have it, the truth about Lorelie's powers. Its not a hundred percent, but I've given enough clues as of lately.

Thor agrees that Lorelie should have never had these powers. It shouldn't have happened yet it did. And whats up with the Infinity Stones?

Why is the god, so worried?

0_0

Nothing ever goes well for Lorelie does it? Hopefully this gives all of you a better insight into whats happening.

And I know you're frustrated at how Tony and Steve act around her but I'm trying to make it as realistic as possible.

Tony and Steve's personalities are like two halves of a coin.

They can't stand each other but need each other. That's where Lorelie will eventually come in. 

Read Book 2 carefully guys.

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