Here's another chapter! I hope you enjoy! :) Love you all, and thanks so much for the beautiful comments and votes and reads!!! Blue Moon was more of a past time at first, but now it's such a big part of my life. I've loved meeting so many of you. Thanks for the support and never shy away from your dreams-- shoot for the moon cause even if you miss, you will still land among the stars.

xoxo,

Sierra

Chapter Thirty Six:

~Thea's POV~

"What's up with you?" asks Jack as I turn the corner and find him waiting, with Peter and Steve. "Are you okay?"

"Leave it Jack," says Max before I can say anything. I close my mouth with my silence.

Jack gives Max a nasty look and then slows down his pace so that he can walk alongside me. "Did anything happen?" he asks in a terse whisper, casting glances at both Max and Loki.

I shake my head. "I'm good."

Jack keeps looking at me, but then finally turns away as we enter the a top layer of the house, which I come to realize also houses some mechanisms for flight. As in: a couple planes, a helicopter, and various assorted parts. It smells like machinery and iron.

Tony joins us, handing a duffel bag apiece to Jack and me. He then "goes over" some things with Steve. I lean against a dozen or so steel planks and try to listen in, but they're talking too softly for that.

I glance towards Loki; he's talking with Max and Thor about something that I honestly don't care about. Then, as casually as possible, I meander around the steel beams and innocently place the iPhone at the back. The entire process takes around five seconds, and I'm relieved to see that nobody is the wiser.

Resisting the urge to whistle a victorious tune, I join Jack who, like the others, has been perfectly oblivious to my little stunt, and smile at him happily. Maybe some good will come out of this trip after all.

Apparently, as I discover, Max will be flying the plane. I find it amusing that with a combination of a WWII war hero and a Norse god, they can't manage to fly an airplane. Jack amuses me by offering to fly it himself, but Max punches his shoulder (relatively gently, although with a guy the size of Max, it can't be all that gentle) and tells him to stop eavesdropping.

Tony gets on the plane first, a small one very similar to the one I took to the jungle. Ironic enough, that's probably exactly where I'm going to be heading again. As I make my way to the iron walkway that leads up to the plane's opening, I trip and flail my arms around to try and steady my balance.

"Such grace," says Loki belittlingly, and I realize that it's he who has helped me get my balance back. For some reason, his comment puts me off and I slap him across the face before I can stop myself.

There is absolute silence, and my eyes widen as I realize what I just did. Then, blinking back tears, I stalk onto the plane, trying not to stomp.

"Thea," Peter begins, but out of the corner of my eye, I see Max shake his head at the older boy subtly.

Trying to distract myself, I glance around the plane. The only main differences between the previous one and this plane are that it this one is a little bigger, with three mini cabins that hold bunk beds, against the walls, plus a tiny kitchenette- basically, a sink and some counter space. There are also lots of storage areas and places for weapons, parachutes, and the ilk.

Jack and I immediately claim the back cabin, against the far wall. He slides the wooden compartment closed and clicks the lock. "Top or bottom?"

"Don't care."

We both eye the top bunk greedily.

"Rock, paper, scissors?" Jack suggests.

"Damn it!" I exclaim when Jack offers me some scissors for my paper.  

 He grins at me before leaping up to the top bunk, dragging his duffel bag with him.

"Can we take turns?" I ask sweetly.

"It's only one night."

"Damn it." I say again.

"Such language, Thea!" he says joyfully. I throw my pillow at him, but he ducks, causing it to crash into the wall.

"Shut up," I mutter, climbing onto the lower bunk.

"Hey," says Jack, and I hear him skittering down the short ladder. His bright face appears in front of me as he sits next to me on the mattress. "What's wrong?"

I almost lie. Lying is easier than facing the truth. But Jack's eyes are gentle and caring, and I finally sigh. "I'm not sure."

"Not that I care that you hit Loki," adds Jack. "I don't give a crap about him. But, I mean, it's just that you're not...you."

"'Me' isn't that good of a person," I mutter out of the corner of my mouth.

"Thea." Says Jack authoritatively. "You're the only girl I've known who has all of this sort of crap, and is still going strong."

I point to my tears-threatening-to-spill face. "Does this look strong?"

Jack bats my hand away. "Of course it does. The strongest people are the ones that feel pain and still go at it as if their life depends on it."

"My life does depend on it."

"Exactly," says Jack, "And considering our record, I think that we should probably get out of here before someone knocks down the door and thinks we're in the middle of making out or something."

"You bring up an excellent point," I say, nodding and also trying to forget the fact that I had slapped Loki without any reason at all. Not that I care.

"They're idiots, you know, and tend to-."

"Oh, um, there's one more thing," I say, grabbing his arm as he moves to stand. "I might have... deposited my phone at the hanger."

His smile transforms into a smirk. Then, he reaches into his back pocket and holds up what I recognize as the standard case for our special iPhones. It takes me a few seconds to realize that it's empty.

I begin to laugh, trying to keep the volume down. Holding my other hand to my mouth, I manage to gasp, "You too?"

He raises his eyebrows, "I'm not sure why this is so funny."

I keep laughing hysterically. "I... don't... know..."

"Sh..." he says, patting my shoulder. But he's also laughing.

We spend a few minutes just laughing. I didn't know that I was capable of doing something like that- just enjoying the company of someone else and laughing off our mirth. I've been surrounded with such misery and seriousness, I haven't been able to live. Really live, not just breathe and survive. And that's the gift Jack is giving me. He's helping me remember how to live.

~Nobody's POV~

Eventually, Thea and Jack sneak out of the cabin, nearly running into Steve, who is shouldering some heavy pack. Feeling a little bad about not helping, they volunteer to help Tony drag some canteens of gasoline into the back section of storage of the plane.

Thea is in a far better mood. She gaily swings the lid of the canteen up to Tony, who gives her a really weird look, as if she is incapable of being cheerful. Jack is the mirror of her smile, laughing alongside her as he helps her shove the heavy canteen up the ramp.

"What the hell happened to you two?" asks Tony grimly, but he affectionately ruffles Thea's hair, belying his whining tone.

Up in the plane, Max and Loki watch the two kids scampering around. Max is standing, tall and powerful as always, his arms crossed. Loki is next to him, leaning against a steel pole. His chin is still swollen.

Frowning, Loki steps forward as if to walk out of the plane to the children. Before he can make it, however, Max steps forward and stops him with his hand- and when Max stops you, you listen. "Let them be, Loki."

"How would you know what my intentions are?"

"Just because Thea clocked you and you're annoyed that she actually managed to hit you, well, I don't think you should ruin their fun."

"I'm not annoyed, but she needs to control-"

"Let her be. She's having a laugh in God knows how long, and actually relishing being alive. The kid has been to hell and back too many times. She's an orphan, she's trying to recognize these powers that are unfamiliar to her, and quite frankly, she's scared. Now, she's actually having fun. Give her time to enjoy it while she can. It won't last long."

Loki's brow is furrowed but his eyes are gentle as he watches Thea and Jack. Then, he sighs and not looking at Max, he walks past, towards the cockpit of the plane. He glances back. "Perhaps you're right."

~Thea's POV~

Before I know it, the plane's engines are running and Max has taken a seat in the pilot's seat. Steve orders Jack, Peter, and me to hang onto some of the nylon straps hanging off of the steel poles alongside the long aisle of the plane while we take off. Peter amuses the two of us by literally hanging off the straps; upside down and grinning at Steve mischievously.

"I don't want you getting hurt, son," says Steve, pointing at Peter.

"I'm good, I'm good," says Peter, swinging ever so slightly from the handle.

Shaking his head, Steve walks back to Loki, who is near the front of the plane. They begin to talk relatively quickly, but too quiet for my sense of hearing to perceive. I really wish these wacky powers that are taking over me could give me super sonic hearing or sight.

Then again, as I think back to my fits of rage, I find myself realizing that perhaps I don't exactly gain super sonic hearing and sight, but I gain something else. I have a more intense realization of the world around me. Each sound is magnified, each sound, each movement. Although my vision and other senses hum with the pulsating energy of the kill, I see now that my transformation bring me closer to the earth and those people and things that make it up.

My physiological thoughts are actually in part to distract me from the iPhone affair. Both Jack and I, although happy in all, are both on pins and needles trying to overcome our nerves regarding the phones.

We very briefly considered telling Peter, but the idea was shot out immediately. Although clearly interested in our ambitions, Peter's allegiance is shifted in two directions. He's not bad in that way- I come to find that I really like him- but he's not reliable enough for something as important as this.

Finally though, as the plane tips back and we roar out of Stark Tower, into the sky, Jack and I breathe sighs of relief. We're safe.

Peter, Jack, and I head back to the middle of the plane, where there is a small table set up. I'm pretty sure its original purpose was for a screen controller or some other fancy mechanism, but Peter puts his brilliance into effects. Re-wiring some cables and routers, Peter sets up his computer and even manages to connect it to Wi-Fi, switching signals as we pass through different wireless zones.

"How about we watch..." Peter scrolls through some videos that he has apparently uploaded (which, I suspect, he might have uploaded without legal permission).

"Pirates of the Caribbean!" crows Jack, laughing at my wrinkled nose.

Peter apparently shares my disregard. "Even if I had that, we aren't going to do that. How about the Big Bang Theory?"

"Ew yuck," I say.

"No way." agrees Jack.

"You guys are pathetic," says Peter.

"So are you," retorts Jack.

Eventually, we compromise with watching Titanic. Actually, Peter really doesn't want to watch it (leading me to wonder why he has it on his computer in the first place), but gives in at Jack's and my pleading. Peter re-routes a couple of ear buds so that all three of us have a pair- we doubt the adults want to hear the movie.

We are about an hour into the movie when I feel a hand on my shoulder. Instinctively, I wince and yank back, but then realize it's only Max.

"Can I have a word?" he asks.

His tone is serious, giving me a really bad feeling. Jack gives me a look that is clearly 'good luck', further making me more nervous.

Max takes me into what I guess is his cabin; it's definitely the largest, anyway. He crosses his arms and looks at me sternly for a few minutes, minutes in which I find myself beginning to shrivel under his gaze.

Finally, he says, "I might have discovered a little glitch with those phones of yours."

"Really..." I say, my mind zooming a mile a minute, trying to think of a way out of this, but not succeeding very much. "Shouldn't you be flying the plane?"

"It's on autopilot."

His tone is clipped. Gosh dang it.

"So." Says Max. "I wanted to try and fix that particular glitch. But I guess that's hard to do when you don't have it anymore.'

Dear lord help me.

"Um." I say. "Er, I thought I had it."

His gaze is steely. "You dumped it somewhere. Now Loki saw you with it just before we left for the airplane hanger, which means you deposited it elsewhere."

I clench my jaw. "Why do you always think that what I do isn't an accident? I accidentally left it in my room, probably."

As soon as I say it, I know it's a pitiful excuse for an excuse.

"Please don't insult my intelligence. Now we have two options. We can turn this damn plane around and go get it, or go on with this mission."

"Is it really that important to turn this whole plane around?" I ask, my voice light, trying to take away the shaking in it.

"Thea, that phone enabled your safety. You don't know half of the things it was capable of doing to protect you."

"Like track my every move?"

"Damn it, Thea!" yells Max, and I flinch. "Stop thinking that everyone is after you! This mission is dangerous, and we assumed that you were responsible enough to take it on. That meant doing things you don't want to do. What happens if we get separated and we can't find you? What then? You fend for yourself?"

"I...I can probably manage," I say, a tear trickling down my cheek. Max isn't usually like this. I almost would rather Kyle be standing in front of me- he is more fun to disappoint.

"Thea, you're a child. A child we maybe special abilities, but you're not invincible. We're the adults in this situation. That means you need to listen to us and trust us to do the right thing. That phone was our link to you in case you got hurt, in case of anything. It could protect you."

"Protect me how?" I ask curiously.

"Well it doesn't matter now, does it!?" Max bangs his fist on the wall, and I flinch.

"I'm sorry," I whisper.

"Are you really?"

Yes, I'm sorry for getting Max this worked up, and now that I think about it, I might should have analyzed my choices before rashly throwing out the phone. "Yes." I say, biting my lip.

His breathing is irregular, like a tempted bull. "I believe in you, Thea, but your recent actions are almost making me regret that belief. Just because he said something you didn't like, you hit Loki. He's bruised now."

"But I-" I try to say, feeling a mixture of satisfaction and regret.

"You toss a phone out that could save your life just because you don't want other people involved in your life. Stop trying to be invincible, Thea, and start looking at reality! You can't do everything by yourself."

"I'm sorry," I whisper again, crying silently.

Max looks at me. Then, he sighs. "C'mere." Before I can move, he has taken me in a hug. Kissing my hair (I resist the urge to roll my eyes), he says, "I'm just trying to protect you, Thea. You're a special kid. Now go back out there."

I barely make it five feet out of Max's cabin when I run into Loki. He looks furious.

"Hi?" I say in a high-pitched voice.

He just glares at me and continues past me. I notice that his chin is bruised, just like Max said.

I slump into the chair next to Jack and mutter, "Why didn't you get in trouble?"

He gives me a guilty look. "I re-wired the connection to make it look like my location was on the plane, like it is, even though the phone, the tracking device is back at Stark Tower. I was gonna do the same to yours, but I didn't get the chance." He says all this in an undertone, and Peter, now fully engrossed in the movie, doesn't notice.

"Hmph," I say, crossing my arms. My good mood has diminished greatly, but I try to wipe it away. I might as well try to enjoy some part of my life. 

Hey all! Hope you enjoyed! :) By the way, I'd like to give a shout out to the lovely Rachel Cena for her wonderful comment on the trailer Youtube video for Blue Moon. Your comment literally turned my day around, hope you realize how much one little thing can do :) 

Have a wonderful day everyone! :) :)