Double Trouble
Chapter 7: Double Trouble
It was a quarter past 9 in the evening. Stella woke up after almost 12 hours of sleep. She got out of bed, stretched, and decided to head out and get some fresh air. Might as well try that NY pizza while I'm here figuring out how to find Ares. She raised her hand and her black leather jacket showed up. She tossed the jacket over her shoulder then grabbed her phone and the amethyst necklace from the nightstand - the only 2 things she physically brought from Greece.
When she passed by the common area of her floor, she saw Natasha, Tony, and Bruce sprawled on the couches, talking. "Heading out?" Natasha asked. Bruce’s legs were up on the armrest.
"Yeah. Thinking of going for a walk and getting some fresh air while figuring out where Ares might be." Stella replied as she pressed the elevator button. "And about that, the list was not complete, Stark."
His lips pursed. "Figured that one out."
The elevator dinged. "I'll see you guys later."
When the doors closed, Bruce dropped his legs on the floor and rested his elbows on his knees. “Natasha, evaluation.”
“Well, she doesn’t give off any ounce of suspicion yet. But I did my research and I’m not sure if she’s really telling me the truth or she’s playing mind games with me, like Loki,” she explained.
Tony raised an eyebrow. “How so?” He walked to the cupboards and pulled out a bottle of wine. “You guys want a drink?” Bruce declined.
“I’ll have some.” Natasha raised a hand. Tony returned to the couches with a drink for her. “As I was saying, I interrogated her in the elevator.”
Tony choked on his wine. “You what?!”
Natasha took a sip on her drink. “I did what I have to do, Stark. I asked her the basics.”
“I could actually imagine you looking all smug while doing that,” Bruce commented. “I'm surprised there was no fistfight that night.”
“I think she knows better than to engage me. She’s too calm for someone who’s under interrogation by the Black Widow. She knows control.”
“And you still sound like you can’t trust her.” Tony asserted.
“Because she has control, like Loki.”
“You can’t trust her because the Black Widow can’t sway her?”
Natasha pursed her lips. “I’m being ridiculous, ain’t I?” The men nodded.
“She could engage you if she wanted. Most of the time when you corner people to interrogate they engage but she doesn't.” Bruce told her and she smirked; she remembered the time Fury asked her to bring Bruce back to the US.
“I’ll still be careful.” Natasha ended.
A floor above the three, Thor and Loki were in the former's room. "The daughter of Zeus talked to me this morning and said that she is having difficulty locating his children."
"Does she not have a list?" Loki was standing by the window, overlooking the city.
"She does but everyone in the list seems to be dead. There are others out there." Thor sat on a single-seat couch.
"Definitely. But what if we ask Heimdall to look out for us?" He suggested and looked at Thor.
"We can. He can possibly warn us for any magical activity anywhere in Midgard."
"After all, he has witnessed what happened in Greece, he just did not see who did it."
Thor stood up. "Why don't we talk to him?"
Back on the ground, Stella entered a pizza shop 3 blocks from the tower. The bell rang above her as she opened the door. The man on the counter lazily looked up at her. "Hey, good evening."
Stella's mouth curved into a small smile. "Hi." She studied the menu above her. "I'll have a slice of pepperoni and a glass of water."
The guy rang her order on the register and gave her the tray. She grabbed her tray and settled at the table at the corner of the pizza shop. Halfway through her slice, the bell rang and entered two tall men both dressed in a dark red, long-sleeved turtleneck shirt, black slacks, and leather shoes. Both have gold necklaces with an oval pendant hanging on their necks. She raised an eyebrow as she thought it peculiar. Weird uniform. She then studied them: they were tall, slender but strong. Both have tanned skin. Prominent cheekbones and set jaws. Almost in their 30s. They look almost the same. Twins? Maybe. But isn't it kinda weird for adult twins to wear exactly the same thing together?
Before they settled on the counter seats, the men took a quick glance at her and she immediately fixed her gaze on the street outside. She heard one of them order coffee. By instinct, she amplified her power to feel if these two have magical vibrations coursing through them. In seconds, one of the men slowly turned his head in her direction to look at her, malice written all over his gaze.
Stella drank her water. She could not feel them but that man definitely felt my energy.
She took a moment before standing up to leave. When she passed by them, she felt this weird shiver in her spine. She pushed the door and headed back to the direction of the tower.
The street was eerily silent and empty. She swore there were 8 shops on this strip that says they're open 24/7 but they look empty. Open, but empty. The street was also buzzing with people a while ago, given that this is a business strip. But now not a single soul was seen walking the street except for her. She passed by a coffee shop 2 doors down the pizza place. Several people were inside but it seems that they were in their own coffee shop world. She picked up a coin from the ground, walked past the coffee shop, and threw the coin to the window. The person next to the window did not react at all.
Her hands glowed and she threw blue mists all over the street. Her magic highlighted the enchantment that caused this eerily silent atmosphere.
This is bad. Should I break their enchantment or not? She looked around as she walked. No, if this escalates to a firefight civilians might die if I do.
Then she heard the bell from the pizza place. She looked back and the two peculiar men stepped out. They saw her and ran towards her direction. Stella started to dash away from them too, taking a turn away from the tower. Because the last thing I want to happen is them tracing me back to the tower. The streets were unusually empty and silent, it did not look like New York at all.
She looked back and saw that only one of them was now chasing her. Then she hit something solid and felt arms wrap around her. It was the other man. “You’re coming with us, dead or alive.”
“How about no!” She kicked the man on the groin and he let go of her, grunting. She sent balls of blue energy towards him, throwing him a couple of feet away from her.
She thought she could get away until the other man caught up with them and punched her in the gut. She threw upon impact. There goes my dinner. She straightened up and stepped back. Another wave of energy came from her hands, flinging the men.
One of the men sent a yellow beam and she deflected it with her own. She then landed a kick on the first man who was at her side then her foot connected to the chest of the second man. He did not flinch.
Definitely bad news. She threw another punch at the second man but he caught her fist mid-flight. He twisted her arm, making her scream in pain. The first man stood up and she jumped, twisting, and landing another kick on the first man. She managed to free her hand from his grip and sent another energy wave in his direction. The first man sent a punch, hitting her on the cheek.
She yelped a curse. Her hands glowed blue and it felt like pulling a bowstring, when she released it, it was like releasing a hundred arrows. The blue beams hit the men squarely in their chest and toppled them over. Stella used this opportunity to hit them again with another wave but the first man created a force shield around them, causing Stella’s beam recoil and throwing her to the other side of the road.
Don’t tell me they’re more powerful than that young man back in Kalambaka.
She scrambled up, creating a blue force shield around her but it broke apart when one of them threw a dagger to her and it broke the magic she was conjuring. She caught the blade. It was a foot long, the hilt was gold and had two crossed spears as a symbol.
It was from Ares’s army. She raised a hand and froze the men. “Did Ares send you?”
“We are his children,” they replied in unison.
“Huh. You don’t look like him.”
The hands of the twins glowed yellow and they removed Stella’s binding spell from themselves. Stella flung the knife back to them but one of them deflected it and it clattered on the ground.
She waved her glowing hand to their direction and her energy pushed them back. But then one of them moved swiftly to her and grabbed her by the neck. She held his arm and blasted her energy in it. The man released her, screaming in pain. But the other man caught up with them, punched her in the gut again, sending her flying at the wall of the building. Stella crouched in pain. She stood up, firing another blast of energy when she got hit by something metal on her neck. She gasped and a searing pain coursed through her veins. She raised a hand to her neck and her eyes widened in horror.
The collar was the same one she used on Ares to restrain his power. She grabbed on it, trying to pry it off her but it wouldn’t budge. She gave up on the collar and raised her fists, ready to punch them. “I’m not letting this stop me.” She spat at them.
“Nevertheless, we are here to ensure your end, Guardian.”
They sneered at her. She smirked back sardonically. The man on her right punched her and she caught his arm, pulling him and used his body to block the other man’s punch. They had exchanged punches when she heard a voice shout “Enough!”
The men stopped. Stella turned to the source of the voice. It was Loki, wearing his black and green Asgardian outfit with gold details. His gold, horned helmet is on as well. He was standing a few feet from them. “I will let you choose, walk away alive or we will send you to Hel.”
“I would like to capture them for interrogation, actually.” Stella said flippantly.
One of the men ran to attack Loki. Stella took the opportunity to distract the other one and beat him to a pulp.
"Why are you doing this? What is Ares up to?" She asked when she trapped the man on the ground.
"I believe you already know by now." The man replied and pushed Stella away from him.
Stella bounced back, ignoring the pain the band is giving her and kicked the man squarely on the chest. "How did you find me?"
The man stood up, his hands glowing yellow. "You are the guardian, of course, we have to stop you."
“Quit the rhetorics, will ya.” Stella jeered. The man sent a beam of yellow magic, Stella swerving just in time as it passed by her, missing her by inches, and hitting a trash can a few feet behind her.
The man attacking Loki brandishes a knife at him but he dodges it, sending spasms of green-gold beams to the man. Loki then flipped his blades before sending one to his attacker, stabbing him straight to the chest.
Stella, on the other hand, powerless because of the band on her neck, is physically dodging the yellow surge of energy the remaining attacker sends her. Loki thrust his hands and the man side-stepped against the impact. Then Loki caught the man by the neck.
“Stella,” Loki said as he grabbed her by the arm. Stella winced in pain as she looked at the Loki who grabbed her arm then to the other Loki choking her last attacker to death. “Heimdall saw you were being attacked.”
“Did he see who attacked me this time?” She said through the bated breath. The band is still holding her down and she feels as if molten lava was being injected to her.
Loki held her by the waist to keep her upright. “Unfortunately he did not, but he saw a surge of energy in this area. He saw your blues.” Stella wrapped her arms around Loki’s hips, grabbing a loose part of his leather coat. “You’re getting weaker,” he said worriedly. He looked at his illusion as it finished the last man. He flicked his free hand and his clone disappeared, dropping the lifeless body to the ground. “I will make them pay for what they have done to you,” he said scornfully.
Stella raised an eyebrow, surprised at Loki’s sudden concern for vengeance in her name. She looked at the twins as yellow mist hovered over their bodies as they disappeared. “Thanks. You don’t have to.” She patted Loki’s chest in a friendly way. “I could have handled them just fine.”
Loki wanted to catch her hand but he ended up giving her a disapproving look. “They were about to kill you if it weren’t for my arrival.”
“Yeah, that’s what they told me too.” She crouched like an old woman. Loki slid his hand under her arm to hoist her up. “Can you pick up that dagger over there?” She pointed at the blade and Loki summoned the blade to him.
“Can you walk?” Loki asked her as their once-empty surroundings started to fill with cars and people coming out of nowhere. Loki also changed his attire to his normal all-black Midgardian ensemble. Stella tried standing straight but a bolt of pain through her spine made her cry out loud, hot tears flowing from her eyes. She gasped when she noticed people walking around them. But no one seemed to hear her. That was a loud one. She realized she was in Loki’s illusion, that’s why no one seems to notice them.
“Right. You still can’t.” He then placed his arm around her back and another behind her knees and in one swoop he lifted her bridal-style. Stella’s arm that was holding on to his back moved to his shoulder. Loki looked at her and she has this confused look all over her face. He gave her a reassuring nod and Stella furrowed her eyebrows.
Loki started walking as Stella was trying not to pass out from the pain. It took them a few steps before Loki translocated and placed her on her bed. “How are you feeling?”
“Like shit,” she muttered.
“I beg your pardon?”
“Can you pull this band off me?” Stella perched herself up with difficulty. Loki helped her sit. He checked the band on her neck, feeling around it if there’s a latch of some sort.
“There’s no latch or any crevice that I can crack open. " Loki's worry is starting to overflow to the brim.
“Try the dagger.” Loki pulled out the men’s dagger and tried to use it to pry the band open. Nothing happened. He then tried his own blade but it still won’t budge. “Loki.”
“Yes?”
“Use your magic.” Her voice was hoarse.
“What?” He said ambivalently. “You might get killed.”
“This band will do,” she took a sharp breath and closed her eyes. “Look, this sucks out my energy and it’s searing me every minute. We have to take our chances. The only way I could get out of this is when a sorcerer destroys it. Now you’re the only powerful sorcerer I know.” She was losing color the longer she explains.
“Are you sure this will work?”
“For a god of mischief, why are you unsure of doing this?” She said impatiently.
“Okay, stop bickering!” Loki barked but he reluctantly wrapped his hand on her neck, on the band. He felt his energy pulse through his hand and on to the band. The gold band glowed green and it shattered. Stella’s eyes opened wide as she heaved, then she collapsed to the bed.
“Stella?” Loki shook her, praying he had not killed her. “Stella, wake up.” She was not responding. He leaned closer to her face and he sighed in relief as he felt Stella’s warm breath against his cheek, giving him goosebumps. He pulled the collar from her and placed it on the bedside table. The amethyst crystal fell and he also picked it up and pulled the broken string from her neck.
He took off her leather jacket and boots with a wave of his hand, sending it on the bedroom bench. He then noticed she was clutching a gold chain. He pulled it from her and studied the pendant. It was two crossed spears. He clutched his hand and he felt a low hum of energy from it. He placed it next to the dagger on her bedside table.
Loki sat next to her bed and rested his elbows on his knees and his chin on his hands. He studied the violet crystal and remembered seeing this dangling on her neck since they met in Greece. He sat back on the chair and clasped his other hand. His hand glowed golden-green and a silver string appeared. Before he could stop it, he already placed an enchantment for protection on the thread. His lips parted, surprised at what he had done. He could revoke the spell. Then he looked at Stella and realized she needed it.
He threaded her crystal and placed it properly on the table. Loki then decides to stay until she comes around.
Praying she comes around or else he’ll be back in the dungeons.