Ablaze {Marvel} ||2||

16. Seth Joyce

Once S.H.I.E.L.D. gave Stark and Bruce the materials they requested, they barely saw sunlight. They barely breathed fresh air. All because they insisted on helping me solve my power problems. Even though we had been mere strangers, I felt like they were going into protective brother mode.

In the days and weeks following their lockdown in the laboratories, my struggle continued to have its ups and downs. I'd get a span of a day or two without issues, and then something would start up. My fire mishaps were practically a thing of the past now, it was more of feeling a burning sensation inside. Like I was about to explode at any second. Whenever I tried to reach someone through thoughts, nobody could receive the messages. Those times, I had to fight the mishaps on my own.

It was much harder to fight it off myself compared to having someone around to help.

The temperatures weren't helping either. Since spring was slowly turning into summer, the sun was getting hotter, and the humidity was growing thicker in the air.

I was on one of the upper levels of the tower, where a landing pad greeted me outside of the window. Yes, Stark decided to include that in his rebuilding of the tower. So far, nobody had landed a small jet on it.

I had to stick to rather exposing clothes in order to deal with the humidity and the heat. My hair was in a messy bun. I stood by one of the large windows, and my mind brought me back to some rather irritating, haunting thoughts. I couldn't exactly remember play-by-play of the battle of New York, but the sounds were enough to make my head hurt. I winced, closing my eyes, willing the pain away.

Loki? I reached out tenderly. Truthfully, I wasn't sure how effective this was going to be. I bit down on my lip. Thor? If technology and medicine on Earth couldn't fix me, there was perhaps a chance that something on Asgard could.

Kiara, how nice of you to strike conversation.

I smiled a little. Hello, Loki. I don't have a lot of time, my powers are a bit on the fritz. Is there anything on Asgard that could potentially cure me? I swallowed, feeling the slight burn creeping up my throat.

That answer requires research. If...noticed...a bit...right now.

I sighed. You're breaking up, Loki.

...worse...never happened...

Loki? If you can hear me just fine, ask Thor to help.

...preoccupied...even if there was a chance...no way to give it to you...

I growled in frustration.

I knew it wasn't worth stepping outside; I could feel the heat through the window, and it was stifling. I wonder what Bruce and Stark are up to?

Wait, I knew the answer to that. They were trying to find the thing that would cure me, if there was any. They'd taken some blood samples even after the first one they got from me while I was unconscious.

So far, like S.H.I.E.L.D., they were failing in their mission.

Todd? I reached out. I had no way to contact him other than thought at the moment. He had no phone, I guess to not distract him from his training. I could really use him right now. Todd would be the person to just sit by and comfort me, even if we didn't talk about the problem at hand. He was a good friend like that. Todd?

When I got no response, I didn't bother to try that way of communication again. Instead, I left the room, catching the elevator. I found the ground floor and was ready to walk out, but I got flagged by Stark.