Chapter 4
Hayley stayed in the library all night reading books on magic, spellcasting, astral energy, anything she could her hands on.
“Hayley, umm... It’s midnight and you should probably go to bed,” Wong told her, startling the girl from the book she was reading.
“Oh c’mon Wong, just let me finish this last book. Pretty please,” she begged.
He chuckled.
“You are just like Strange. He read every book in here,” Wong told her, “and even he needs sleep.”
She pouted as she looked down at the book. He saw her disappointment and gave her a small smile.
“You can take some books to your room,” he said.
“I can? Really?!”
Hayley jumped up and down, clapping her hands in excitement.
“Of course. Just be sure to bring back the books that finish,” he told her sternly.
She smiled and jumped to give him a hug before grabbing her books on astral manipulation and bounding to her room. Hayley sat on her bed, reading about astral projection and staying up all night to practice before, eventually, she finally fell asleep.
Hayley sat with Alexis in their cell. Footsteps interrupted Alexis’s story of what her life was like before getting kidnapped. The two girls looked up to see a group of doctors approaching their cell. They scurried to the back of the cell, huddling together as if it would save them from their inevitable fate. The doctors opened the door and yanked Hayley away from her lover.
“Hayley,” Alexis yelled as they dragged her away.
Hayley screamed and thrashed weakly in their arms as they dragged her and threw her inside a strange room by herself. The doctors left and the door locked behind them. Hayley banged against the door, screaming and crying loudly as they left her alone in the room with the lights shutting off one by one before she was left in complete darkness.
“Please open the door,” she cried.
She sank down on the floor, curling into a corner as she cried, praying for Lex, praying to be cut into or strangled or something. Anything was better than being locked in the dark where her imagination could run wild. Not to mention the weird sounds in the room. She tried to stay calm, to remember the promise she made to Lex about not letting win, but it was getting harder and harder the longer she was in the dark. Panic coursed through her veins as she cried and cried and cried, feeling a burning in her veins as her heartbeat pounded in her chest wildly. The darkness strangled her and Hayley felt as though she couldn’t breathe: pain coursing through her veins as she fell to the ground, screaming in pain. When the lights came back on, two doctors stood in the doorway.
“We did it, sir. She changed.”
Hayley bolted awake, gasping in panic as she looked around the room, lit up by a small lamp on the nightstand next to her bed. She curled into a ball and cried softly, trying not to wake everyone up. The thought of being alone at the moment was only making things worse so she got out of her bed and quickly stumbled through the dark halls and to Loki’s room. To her luck and surprise, she found it unlocked and quietly opened the door to see Loki reading. He looked up with wide, concerned eyes at the girl. She ran to the Trickster, still crying and sobbing from her dream.
“Little dove? Is everything alright,” he asked, standing up to approach the frightened girl.
She latched onto him, sobbing in his chest.
“N-n-nightmare... .S’ back in the Bad Place....It was so dark. . .so dark... .,” she sobbed.
“Shh...Breathe little sorceress. You’re safe,” he cooed softly.
He guided her to his bed and let her lay with him as he held her and stroked her hair gently. She took deep, hiccupy breaths to calm herself.
“That’s it...Just breathe. You’re alright.”
Even with everything this man had supposedly done, how she was supposed to fear him, Hayley found herself clinging to Loki: feeling safe and secure whenever she was around him.
“Promise you won’t let them take me,” she whimpered quietly as she sniffled.
“I promise... .,” he told her softly.
She cuddled against him, sniffling softly as her eyes drooped closed. Hayley believed him. He would keep her safe and protect her.
“Rest well little dove. You have a long day tomorrow,” he whispered, placing a kiss on her forehead.
No nightmares plagued her for the rest of the night.
When Hayley woke up to train with Loki and Strange, she felt like she had been hit by a ton of bricks, but she was determined to tackle the day so she forced her mind to catch up as she met the two sorcerers in the training area. It looked like Strange and Loki were arguing. Go figure.
“Good morning,” she yawned, getting their attention to break up the fight.
They greeted her and from there proceeded to teach her ways to control her powers as well as different spells and tricks. She was shocked by how patient they were, not pushing her when she had a panic attack, or getting frustrated when she couldn’t get it right the first time. Overall, she was excelling quite quickly and mastered astral projection within the first day.
Loki had turned out to be a saving grace as they were about to train in combat. Hayley’s panic overtook her almost instantly when Strange started and they stopped to calm her down. This panic attack was worse than the others as she blasted Strange with her astral energy, tendril-like arms like an extension of her body grabbing the Sorcerer Supreme and lifting him in the air before throwing him down. Loki ran over to her and proceeded to calm her down. Hayley apologized profusely, shame coursing through her veins as she teleported away and to her room where she continued to cry on her bed. Training ended earlier than expected as the two sorcerers decided to let Hayley have a break. She spent the rest of the day in the library, reading and going to her room to practice magic on her own.
“I’m sorry for today, Hayley,” Stephen’s voice startled her as she looked up to the brown-haired man walking toward her.
“I-It’s alright. It’s not your fault... .,” she replied, mentally kicking herself in the face.
“I don’t know what you went through, or what happened, but I promise that I would never mean to hurt you,” he said.
“I know... .,” she gave him a sad smile.
“Don’t stay up too late. I expect you awake at sunrise for training,” he told her sternly.
“Ha. What’s sleep?”
Hayley meant it as a joke, but she rarely did sleep, plagued by nightmares almost every night.
“If you ever need to talk, I’m here for you,” he said sympathetically before walking out, leaving Hayley alone with her thoughts and music.
Hayley was out in the training yard before sunrise, blocking out the world around her as she meditated. By the time Strange and Loki had arrived, Hayley was fully awake and ready. Over the past few weeks, her fear of the Sorcerer Supreme and doctors slowly diminished as she grew closer to the two men. She had less and fewer panic attacks until they vanished altogether. Now if only her nightmares would vanish.
Hayley did find something to help keep her nightmares under control. Her discovery of all that YoutTube had to offer had led her to a strange, yet an oddly satisfying way for her to help her anxiety: pimple popping videos. Watching the grotesque and disgusting videos of Dr. Pimple Popper for about two hours before bed had helped Hayley sleep better and lessen her nightmares. Strange, but what helps, helps.
Aside from that, Hayley had gotten her powers under control and kept getting stronger and stronger. Soon, Hayley found herself falling for the two men, but still unable to get Lex out of her mind, she held back. Besides, what if they didn’t want her? What if they didn’t want to be with her because she never slept with a man and had no experience? What if they judged her for sleeping with a woman? A jab to the ribs brought her back to reality.
“You’re distracted,” Loki commented.
“Sorry.”
“You’re usually always focused. What’s wrong,” Strange asked.
“Nothing,” she blurted out quickly.
Loki and Strange obviously didn’t believe her.
“I just didn’t sleep well last night,” she told them before they could press. It wasn’t a complete lie either.
Luckily, they dropped it and were about to end the session, but Hayley wanted to try one thing with her powers.
“Wait a minute. Can I try something,” she asked them, earning two confused looks from the sorcerers.
“What is it,” Loki asked.
“You’ll find out.”
Loki and Stephen looked at each other before agreeing and the three of them sat in a circle. She took Loki’s hands in hers and concentrated as she closed her eyes, feeling the power coursing through her veins as she let it flow from her to Loki, creating a link between her and the Trickster. She created the link to sense when he was in dangers through his emotions and could communicate with him telepathically via thoughts and emotions as well. She did the same with Strange before pulling away and looking at the two sorcerers.
“What was that,” Stephen asked.
“It’s called Clairvoyance and Telempathy. I created an emotional link with the two of you so I can sense when you're in danger and locate you with your ‘emotional scent’. I can also communicate with you and send messages of echoes: images through emotion.”
To prove this, she focused on what made her scared and sent them images of being tortured by doctors and complete darkness. They looked extremely impressed.
“You are excelling fast Hayley,” Strange praised.
She blushed, her face burning red as she scratched her neck.
“Thank you,” she said bashfully.
“I believe that is enough for today. Would you agree,” Loki said, looking at Strange for confirmation.
He nodded, telling her to back here at six in the morning. Hayley darted to the library: her escape from everything where she could unwind. Music blasted in her headphones that she had brought with her. She hummed along to Sanctuary by Utada Hikaru.
“You really need to learn to lie better little dove,” Loki’s voice startled Hayley as she looked up to see the Trickster sitting on a chair in front of her.
“Lie about what?”
“Sleep isn’t the only thing distracting you, is it,” he purred, much like a cat as he got up, walking up to Hayley before kneeling down in front of her.
“W-wh-what? I just- N-no... .I-I-I just cou-couldn’t sleep,” she stuttered.
Loki chuckled and Hayley felt like a rabbit caught in headlights as she tried to scramble backward, a blush invading across her cheeks. This only allowed Loki to pin her below him, sprawled out beneath him in a... .intimate looking position. His face was inches away from hers, and his closeness sent shivers down Hayley’s spine as she trembled beneath him.
“Was it just sleep,” he said smugly.
Hayley couldn’t answer, only stare dumbly at the Trickster who chuckled before getting up and leaving her alone to wonder what had just happened as her core throbbed with arousal.
Hayley woke up early the next morning and went to the training yard to meditate. The cool air hit her face as she took deep breaths.
“What are you doing out here?”
Hayley turned around to see Stephen walking towards her.
“Can’t sleep,” she replied.
“Another nightmare?”
“Sort of... .,” she replied before going back to meditating.
Strange sat next to her and she shifted under his gaze, heat rushing to her face.
“What’s bothering you,” he asked.
My two sexy mentors. Aka you. . .
She just hummed, not answering his question as she got up to go get some water. As she reached for a glass, his hand caught hers, holding it gently. There was a lustful gleam in his eyes as she held his gaze.
“Let me,” his voice was smooth and made Hayley’s mouth dry.
He filled the glass with water and gave it to the blushing girl as she muttered out a thank you. He looked at her with a smirk, making Hayley shudder. He walked up to her, close and personal as his eyes trailed up and down her body. Hayley stared at her mentor with wide eyes as he gently stroked her shoulders.
He leaned in close, his breath hitting her ear as he whispered, “If you need anything else, just let me know.”
The doctor left, leaving Hayley’s head spinning and aroused. These men were going to be the death of her.
Their advancements only got stronger as time went on, and it served to make Hayley confused for multiple reasons: one is that she couldn’t decide between them. Number two is she was nervous that they would reject her if they found out about her lack of experience in the sexual field as she only had ever had one lover and that love was a girl. And number three was all the emotional and conflicting thoughts that held her back from pursuit.
Sometimes she would not return their affectionate gestures and she could see that it was hurting them. It wasn’t that she didn’t care, but more that she didn’t know how she should feel, and that she didn’t want the other to feel jealous. Hayley wanted them both, but she doubted they would actually want her if they really knew who she was and what she had done.
Unfortunately, she couldn’t always keep her love in check as she would give them responses from time to time. There was one time when Hayley was training with Loki when he suddenly pinned her against the stone wall and pressed his body against hers. She couldn’t help the way her mouth went dry and the small gasps that left her lips. Hayley had been at a loss of words, but that was when she felt a burning jealousy radiating from beyond the training area. Her eyes locked with Stephen who looked like he wanted to rip Loki’s heart out as he stormed away, but not before she felt his sadness and rejection.
That was the first event. They seemed to compete with each other, trying to win her over first, like she was a trophy or something. Hayley didn’t know whether to be offended or flattered. All of the love thoughts served to stress the girl out as she let out a long sigh and listened to One More Night by Cascada. A negative energy hit her in strong waves as she heard yelling down the hallway. Suddenly, a loud knock banged on her door and she could feel the anger, resentment, pride, and jealousy wash over her like a tsunami, threatening to cripple the girl and rip the air out of her lungs. She paused her song and opened the door to see two angry sorcerers standing in her doorway. Their faces were red and both wore scowls as though they were fighting, which Hayley assumed they probably were.
“You need to choose,” Loki seethed, not giving Hayley a chance to even say hello.
“Choose what?”
“Between me or this pathetic excuse for a sorcerer,” he growled.
That only caused the two of them to argue as Strange was tired of Loki’s jabs. Hayley, on the other hand, was thoroughly confused and conflicted.
“I can shapeshift if that sways your decision,” Loki boasted.
“And I can manipulate time. What’s your point,” Strange growled.
They then began to chant for her to choose, arguing over why she should pick one over the other. She couldn’t think over their voices and yelling and was soon overwhelmed by all the emotions flying through the air.
“SHUTUPSHUTUPSHUTUPSHUTUP! SHUT! UP! I CAN’T THINK WITH YOUR YELLING,” Hayley screamed, “I CAN’T CHOOSE! I WON’T CHOOSE! I LOVE BOTH OF YOU AND I CAN’T BE WITH TWO IMMATURE IDIOTS WHO TREAT ME LIKE A TROPHY! I LOVE BOTH OF YOU AND I SHOULDN’T! THE LAST TIME I LOVED SOMEONE I GOT THEM KILLED AND I WON’T STAND FOR IT AGAIN! SO SHUT UP AND LEAVE ME ALONE AND STOP LOVING ME!”
Her powers went hay-wire as her lamp shattered, her nightstand cracked, and the door was enveloped by a black energy that slammed it shut in the two sorcerers faces. She proceeded to flop onto her bed and cry, ignoring the knocks on her door and their constant telepathic pestering of if she was OK and apologies. Hayley had eventually tuned them out as she curled up into a ball and was plagued with thoughts of her lost lover.