ACE'S POV
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I can't- why can't I move. Or...see or... do anything. Where the hell am I...

I tried my hardest to move ever so slightly, to shift one of my fingers, my hand, or anything. But nothing would work. The only thing moving was my rapid thoughts speeding round my head in a manic whirl.

I inhaled deeply, calming my frantic conscience whilst subconsciously honing in on the other senses that hadn't abandoned me, enough to discern my surroundings. I knew that there was a periodical beep from some sort of machine to the left of me. I also knew that I was lay facing up on a sturdy mattress, covered by a thin blanket.

One other thing I knew, I couldn't move for the life of me and my eyelids were sealed tightly shut. Irritatingly I couldn't move to satisfy the itch on my cheek and all I could do was lay. Lay there, and listen, and cringe at the heavily concentrated antiseptic scent abusing my nose.

It didn't take a genius to figure out I was in a medical room of some sort, probably being treated for the little scratch I'd obtained during the fight from that alien fuckhead that had knocked me down. However, I was unsure of why I'd lost complete control over my mobility. Though it was incredibly reminiscent of when I'd been put into a medically induced coma last year.

I lay there for a while, contemplating just falling back asleep as there was not much else I could do. God knows I'd recited the Phineas and Ferb theme tune over and over in my head enough times and I wasn't quite bored enough to work out some mathematical equations.

I was just in the middle of wiping my thoughts blank to attempt to drift into unconsciousness when the door opened to my relief, showing me I had company, whoever that might be.

"-This time is different as we have given the option for when she decides to wake up, completely into her hands. That way we'll know she's completely ready." I heard a soft spoken female voice ring out as a few pairs of feet clicked over what sounded like a linoleum floor. Nurse? I guess so

"And you said she can hear us?" I heard a voice I immediately recognised as Steve's concerned tone reply to her. There was no immediate reply so I guessed she'd nodded and I rolled my eyes inwardly. I swear to god If anyone starts reading me stories I'm going to force myself awake, just so I can throw something at this nurse for revealing what could have been a very useful predicament.

"The brain scan shows activity that may mean she's currently mentally conscious of everything that's going on around her." The nurse added in an irritatingly matter of factly tone.

Oh really? Does your brain scan show just how much I'm blissfully thinking about dashing your head into a brick wall huh?

"What a sneaky..little bitch." I heard Tony's voice quip from the opposite side of the room and I grinned in relief. well, I would have if I wasn't...y'know...paralysed. I knew for a fact Tony would happily keep Steve or anyone from reading dumb stories to me while he was present. Something I was incredibly thankful for.

"What?" Steve questioned tiredly.

"She's totally going to listen to our conversations and find out all of our dirty little secrets." Tony added and I rolled my eyes inwardly again. Don't tell him you asshole.

"Tony." Came Steve's weary reply but Tony cut him off once more.

"No no she is. Aren't you, you little snake?" I laughed mentally as I could already picture Steve's peeved expression.

"Hey, poltergeist, raise your hand if you're not trying to listen in on our conversations." He added with a sarcastic flair and I just lay there, not moving a muscle... obviously.

"Tony she can't-"

"See, I was right, she's a sneaky son of a bitch. She won't get anything from me." Tony interrupted, his voice slightly muffled from whatever food he was chewing on.

The nurse, beside me now, let out a sigh and readjusted the position of the pillow my head was resting on. I frowned inwardly when the new position seemed to cause an irritating amount of tension in the base of my neck and I tried to force my mouth open and yell at her to put it back but to no avail.

"Oh." The nurse uttered lowly out of nowhere, and I briefly wondered if I'd managed to gain a new power and had just telepathically expressed my abuse in her head.

"Her heart rate just spiked a little bit suddenly." She muttered aloud when Steve asked what was up. Yeah maybe because you literally just put me in more discomfort than I was originally, you fucking invalid.

"Its probably nothing." She dismissed authoritatively, sidling to the other side of the bed I was lay on and moving to adjust what was probably a tube stuck in my arm. Oh it is, is it?

I could now hear the low murmur of what sounded like a hushed conversation between Tony and Steve at the other side of the room. I could hear the tremoring tones of their quietened mumbling but it was impossible to make out anything intelligible. I crudely cursed the big mouthed nurse and seethed at the fact that they were going out of their way to whisper secrets my precious little comatose ears couldn't hear instead of just leaving the damn room and conversing there.

"...and they were roommates..." Tony spoke as I managed to pick up a stressed part of the conversation between them, unfortunately finding no relevance with the comprehended statement and simply staying well and truly in the dark. I rolled my eyes and just accepted the fact that I'd been handed the shittiest predicament all because of the fact I'd thrown myself into this fight to save peoples god damn lives.

"I can't believe you're seriously considering this." I managed to discern the retorted statement from Steve, it being spoken louder than any of the other pieces of the conversation. Tony quickly shushed him and I got the feeling he was silently signalling over to my "unconscious" body.

"No, Tony I don't give a damn if she hears this or not." Steve suddenly stressed, his booming voice shattering the omnipresent vessel of silence and thundering off the walls around me, drowning the incessant machinery beeping.

I give a damn. I want to hear this. I wanna know what this is about. Spill it.

"How the hell do you believe this is a good idea." He recited, clearly agitated, whether it be because of Tony's natural irritating persona or because of what they were just discussing. I could practically see the eye roll that Tony was currently giving him, ready to spur an onset of witty comebacks and unnecessary jibes. At least I hoped that was what was gonna happen.

Fight, fight, fight

I heard the door open and shut again, and could've moaned in annoyance at the sudden  loss of entertainment, until I realised the footsteps that had exited the room belonged to a light footed female, and not to two, frankly well cut, guys. It was just the nurse.

"Honestly, I obviously don't trust the guy, or even his brother to be frank." Tony admitted, finally speaking aloud as Steve had dropped the whole whispering act.

"I'm just...concerned, to tell you the truth. And I think that if his brother insists he's able to help with the whole process, it might hold some semblance of truth." Tony added, being casually unspecific in a way that made me believe he was still trying to stop me from knowing what they were talking about.

"If we give him the ability to heal her, then we are simultaneously giving him countless ways to kill her, before we can do anything about it." Steve chimed in, his tone laced with disbelief aimed at Tony. Thank you Steve. Now I knew for a fact they were talking about me and the state I was in. And...healing...me.

"You're right, but I don't think he'll want to do that." Tony argued, his point annoyingly ambiguous and open ended.

"Yeah of course I forgot he wasn't a bloodthirsty, crazed maniac with a vengeance for anyone who'd stood in his way." Steve scoffed dryly.

"You're telling me you didn't see the look on his face, as we all stood in my tower and he had his stare fixated on miss 'I'm bleeding out here but I don't give a shit'?" Tony implored has purposefully.

"Tony-"

"They did spend a lot of time together.."

"Tony don't-"

"I'm just saying."

"Stop."

"Stockholm syndrome is a real thing." Tony concluded matter of factly. Ok now I knew exactly what they were on about. Stockholm syndrome my ass. Last time I checked I was the one who freed him from the cell, not kidnapped him.

"Don't even entertain the idea, Stark." Steve warned, his voice low and dangerous as I pictured his classic furrowed brow expression that always accompanied the tone of voice he was using. Clearly he found the thought of Loki having feelings for me as disgusting as I did.

"I'm sorry, cap but I'm gonna go with Thor on this one." Tony concurred, finalising his views on the matter with a blunt, forceful tone. Steve just sighed in response and I was left to figure out what exactly was going on.

Well...I say figure out, there wasn't much left up to the imagination really. Clearly Thor was insisting Loki could aid in my healing process with his sorcery. Steve wasn't a fan of the idea, no surprise there. But for some reason Tony was all for it, probably cause he just wanted Loki to turn me into a real life poltergeist.

Swear to god if Loki comes anywhere near me, whether to heal me or kill me, I'm gonna throw some fucking hands with him, and then Tony, and then Thor. And then that goddamn nurse.

I lay there seething as Tony and Steve argued more. I didn't want to be healed by him, God knows he's already fucked up my natural healing process twice before. If I could just have this one part of me that was independent, that was natural, that was human. Instead of having that taken away as well.

It was the only process I could ever truly rely on. No matter if I lost control over my ability to sleep, my ability to eat, my ability to...trust. I would always have that one process that proved I was still human, however small that human part of me was. Cuts and scrapes would heal the exact same as they did when I was younger, when I was innocent, before all this.

I guess I just hated the idea that he'd gained control over one of the few things I had left. Because, as much as I loathed the idea with every ounce of my being, I knew that he'd somehow broken through a few of the outer shells I encased myself in. He drilled his way into my mind, my memory, my conscience. I didn't want to remember him, but I would.

I lay there motionless, in disbelief about just how shitty the situation was. I was paralysed in a coma, unable to make my witty jokes and comebacks, hearing my two favourite forms of entertainment having an argument without being able to chip in with my unhelfpul comments. and there was a possibility Loki would make an appearance, waving his magic hands about.

Magic hands. The most capable magic hands I'd ever experienced. God they could do things. Wait no, stop thinking about that. I frowned and mentally shook myself out of it, reluctant to relive that night at this very moment, though still hyper-aware of the fact it would somehow end up in my dream...again.

Despite that fact, I still found myself deciding to succumb to the alluring embrace of sleep once more.

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Over the next few...hours? Days? Unspecified amount of time, I found myself drifting in and out of consciousness. waking up to hear the nurse listing off various findings when studying my vitals or coming back to consciousness in the middle of a full blown argument between Steve and Tony, before falling back into a restless sleep no less confusing. Filled with dreams that could've been memories, some that were in fact memories of times with Loki or Steve or training with Nat.

Eventually I dragged myself back into forced consciousness, suddenly becoming blissfully aware of everything around me, every sensation I was feeling and every noise that sounded within the room. I shook off the resilient claws, that desperately grasped at me,, aiming to pull me back into another bout of restless slumber and focused on what was currently going on.

"He requests for the room to be empty besides him and lady Ace." I heard a deep rumbling voice, I vaguely recognised as Thor's, shudder in echoes round the room. There was a harsh scoff in response and a shuffle of feet on the lino floor.

"I don't think He's in any position to be requesting things, do you?" Came Steve's dry, irritated reply and I went to bite my cheek viciously, mentally groaning when I remembered my jaw, and every other part of me as a matter of fact, were still unresponsive to my brain's demands.

"I'm afraid he is. Lady Ace's well-being is currently in his hands." What? No it isn't. I'm perfectly fine apart from being unable to move. But that's their fault anyway for putting me into this stupid fucking coma. There was a heavy sigh and I bristled, feeling my apprehension and anger flare higher than it should've been at this very moment. Don't even think about it Rogers.

"She is making far less progress than we'd expect her to be doing at this stage." Came the voice of a nurse from the other side of the room. Excuse you. I'm trying as hard as I bloody can thank you. There was a brief moment of smothering silence as Steve sorted through his mental conflict, then he sighed in defeat.

"Tell him we'll be keeping a close eye, from the corridor.Any funny business and I won't hesitate to break his neck." Steve stated reluctantly, not even bothering to hide his distinct aversion behind the venomous words. Or you could just wake me up and I'll snap his neck myself right now.

There was a shaky sigh, then thundering footsteps as they left the room and I tensed up harshly, bracing myself for what would happen next. My mind raced with uneasy thoughts as I lay there, tightly strung in anticipation.

If I could just wake up properly, just force myself to move god damnit. I could just-move my fingers.. or anything.. oh for gods sake. You know what will happen if you don't just wake the hell up. Move please move, come on.

" My dearest inconvenience." A smooth voice suddenly shook me out of my thoughts, spiking my anger and leaving me to wonder how he'd come in so quietly. I desperately tried to grit my teeth, to open my jaw just the slightest so I could let him know exactly what I thought in this very moment, but to no avail.

His gait was swift, quiet as he approached me and I cursed myself for the intense rush of pleasant suspense that gripped me as he made his way closer. My stomach jolted familiarly as I caught the indelible trace of his scent. worn leather and pine. The combination of such and his gradual closeness sent uncontrollable shivers down my spine.

"You appear...debilitated, my little hex." He mused mockingly in his silken threaded tone, a delicately woven declaration that cut sharply into my skin as it settled over me. I felt a bubbling aggravation take its hold on me, swirling dizzyingly with my conflicting intoxication at the velvet proclamation that spilled from his poisoned, bittersweet lips.

I felt a touch, feather light but needy, dance across the skin on the inside of my elbow. My heart rate slowly climbed as I foolishly revelled in the notion of being able to feel his caress, shivering as a path of determined goosebumps splayed out over the nape of my neck.

His delicate fingertips dragged lightly down my forearm as he inhaled a breath saturated with dejected want. The air was thick with unspoken feeling and it encased both of our forms in a vice like grip and smothered every sincere declaration at our lips. We both fell helpless to its urged quiet.

"You should've stayed where I left you, Ora." He uttered coolly against the pleading silence, his words splaying out in looser threads of haphazard sincerity and the underlying derision slipping away under false pretence.

My anger began to dissipate as his dizzying touch traced delicate circles over the skin on the underside of my wrist, shuddering ever so slightly with each beep of the monitor next to me. Like you seriously believed you could keep me in one place, like a caged pet. You knew I'd escape, just as I did, you.

His steady fingers closed around my wrist and turned my hand palm side up with the gentleness of a simple, fluttering exhale. Then he traced the path over the heel of my palm, lightly dusting his fingertips over the marred flesh when he reached the scar. It was fairly reminiscent of the first time he'd grazed his hand over my freshly seared branding after showing me his identical mark, gazing deeply into my eyes as he did so.

When his palm found mine and hesitantly brushed his scar align with mine, I felt the exact same jolt of energy rock through my entire being starting with a pleasant spark that travelled up my forearm, just as it had the first time. My heart rate increased ever so slightly and I felt a shiver cross the better part of my neck. I could hear his husky breath become heavier as he held onto my hand, our palms buzzing with pleasant shocks of energy.

"Do not worry yourself, little hex. It's not a curse as I feared, but rather a mark of warning. A sign that links both of us in the act of tampering with such power." He elucidated smoothly, his silken voice uttering a velvet melody as he spoke, quiet enough so only I could hear him perfectly.

His thumb lightly brushed against the back of my hand continuously as he quietened for a bit, weakly battling the harsh sounds of machinery I was hooked up to with every steady intake of breath. I cursed myself and just lay there for a while, admitting defeat as I recognised the intense pressure on my chest and throbbing between my rib cage. It was one I was fairly sure was reminiscent of a consistent pain I'd worn when I was younger, before I'd built myself up to be stronger, more efficient, less feeling.

After a while of pure silence and the feeling of Loki's caress, I found that I couldn't for the life of me, dull the burning urge to wrench my eyes open in any way that I could, just to explore every fragment that formed the ever-changing landscape of his entrancing eyes once more. I needed to adhere to his intense stare again, I needed to battle it out in a conflicting fight between both of our swirling gazes, that refused to look away, once more.

But I couldn't.

I suddenly felt the cold rush of air hit my palm as he removed his hand, causing a fleet of unpleasant chills to splay out over my arm that no longer hummed with energy but rather felt heavy and numb once again. He stepped closer to the head of the bed and leaned over me, flooding my senses with every intoxicating thing I remembered about him.

I felt his cool fingers press lightly against either side of my head at my temples as he breathed deeply, a sigh that bled with his discomfort and pain and mingled with my feigned breaths that pumped from a plastic tubing. I knew exactly where this was going.

"Don't resist," he uttered quietly, each syllable a wounding caress that lacerated the forgiving flesh at my cheeks. Don't resist? What the hell am I supposed to do? Jesus fucking christ you better not pour even one ounce of your healing shit into me. Don't you dare. You know how much I despise it. How much I despise you.

I inwardly moaned with the force I was battling to exert upon my muscles and my limbs, hoping beyond a doubt that I could push some movement into them and tear his hands away from my head. I struggled and fought, desperately pumping signal after signal into my unresponsive muscles, trying my utmost to lift even a finger.

I felt the pull of his magic through my veins before I could even get a muscle to twitch. It dissolved into every fibre of my form with an enlivened burst of energy and I couldn't help but lie there as more and more of my desperate rage slipped from beneath me with each wave of euphoria he administered to me.

The dull ache in my head seemingly alleviated as the magic pulsed through me and I felt the stabbing pain that radiated from my abdomen begin to diminish into a light throb. He'd fucking done it. I was 'healing'. Quicker than I ever should in the mortal, human form that I was.

Bastard...

He continued his poisoned torture for a while, threading the magic through my skin until I steadily began to feel a newfound vitality blossoming over my muscles and tired limbs. He pulled his hands back, his breathing worryingly heavy as he leaned over me, gripping the bed or something next to me for stability.

I was unaware of how he could be affected by using his magic for such healing. my guess would be that it was as tiring for him as altering people's emotions was for me, Something I'd only ever tried once and it sent me into a two day long sleep when I'd gone to bed that night. Fury simply wanted to know what I could do.

"Why do you plague my mind so." Loki spoke after a while, his voice cracking ever so slightly as he moved closer to where my head was lay. He drifted his fingertips lightly over my cheek, simultaneously grazing my bottom lip with his thumb.

Oh god. Someone bring Steve in...or Tony. Honestly I'll take anyone at this point. Just get him to leave. He's done enough already goddamnit. My mind raced with unsettled thoughts as I battled the coercing pull of sleep, trying my hardest to wake up a bit so I could show just how much hatred flowed through me for him. For only him.

There was a slight ruffle of clothes as he stood up, then he pressed his cool hand to my forehead, sending a buzzing shiver throughout me. How I hated how strongly I reacted to his touch.

"Ease your mind, little hex." He muttered under his breath, his soft-spoken words a velvet caress as his adept tongue mastered each woven syllable. His hand shifted a little and there was a flash of green behind my eyes as the spell hit me.

I grimaced uncomfortably as my foot pushed down on the traitorous wooden slat, emitting a whining croak that screamed of my presence, alerting everyone that should know, that I was up. I quickly darted away from the problem areas, hopping a quiet, dangerous hopscotch across the wooden corridor. A primary school game that had to be played exactly right for fear of punishment should I stumble.

My bare foot caught on the slightly elevated plank of wood that lay guard outside my parents bedroom, hoping to catch the red handed criminals of children who shouldn't be walking around at night. I wavered a bit but did not fall. My swift light-footedness helped with that. I wasn't the best behaved of children, in fact I was disobedient and devious, but I was careful about it. My small, slight figure aided in my sneaking perfectly.

I carried on down the screaming corridor, hoping against all hope that I would not be caught today. I couldn't go back to the cellars again. That place... drove fear into every fragment of my mind. I wasn't a sensitive girl by any means, and there was little that could actually prompt an emotion fuelled reaction out of me. But the cellars were simply something else.

I breathed a hushed sigh of relief as I neared his door, carefully stepping a wide stride over the loud floor plank by the entryway. The room was dark as I slipped in, the only source of light coming from the plug in night light that sat in front of the large wooden cot in the corner of the room.

The silence reprimanded my presence as I  ventured further into the stifling quiet of the room. Every sound became engulfed and crushed within the splintering grasp and deadened under its swift cotton claws.

I tracked my steps closer and closer to the crib, each one shattering more of my confident, focused mindset. By the time I'd reached the caged contraption, close enough to cling to the wooden bars, I'd lost all focus on why I'd even come in the first place.

Then I looked down at the little creature that lay swaddled in the blankets and smiled to myself as everything came back to me. The 3 year old that lay sound asleep across the mattress had been the reason for my late venture. As I gazed upon his small form, it sent a rush of guilt flooding through me. He shouldn't be here. He's too small, too innocent. He didn't deserve this.

I bit my lip as a fierce protectiveness washed over me, watching the small fist close around my hand as I drifted my finger over his palm. Why wasn't I allowed to see him yet. Why did they keep my own little brother from me. I wouldn't hurt him. In fact, looking down at him now, his soft rosy cheek slightly imprinted with the fabric of the blanket he clutched to him, his petite mouth softly sighing as he slept, I would do everything in my power to make sure he was safe.

I heard a growling shout suddenly ricochet off the walls from beyond the door, somewhere down the corridor. Fear gripped its icy grasp over my entire frozen body as I heard the thundering footsteps grow closer and closer. I began to feel my chest constricting as it neared,  finding my heart racing as my chest closed up.

The door to the bedroom slammed open with a an immense bang and I suddenly lost the ability to draw breath into my cast iron lungs as I teared up in fear, horror, awaiting my fate.

I'd been caught.
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Autocorrect please stop changing 'Tony' to 'Tiny' thank you. Even Though it makes me snort when I'm reading it back, it's annoying to change.
(ノಠ益ಠ)ノ彡┻━┻

So we've been in lockdown so long I forgot what the outside looks like beyond my gaRdEn. I also cut a fringe and despise it which is fUn. But I guess one good thing came from c o v i d because I'm getting hella time to write more of this story which is literally the only thing that gives me life anymore...and you guys of course ♥‿♥

I know this chapter was d u l l as fuck and short :( because she do be in a coma for all of it and there's only so much a gal can write from the perspective of a comatose patient without making every sentence 𝓯𝓵𝓸𝔀𝓮𝓻𝔂. But I hope y'all still enjoyed it.

what are your thoughts on that little snippet of Ace's past she just experienced? Y'all reckon she got a fucked up childhood or ish?

comment your shit I wanna hear.    
a l l o f i t

love you guys

xxx