41 | THE RING
NAYARA SAT DOWNon her computer, typing away. She was trying to look for anybody who had the initials 'TT'. She groaned in annoyance, leaning back into the couch. "It's impossible!" She sighed. "How the hell does Batman do it?" Nayara questioned.
"He does." A voice said behind her. Nayara dropped her computer on the floor as she jumped away out of fright. Then she saw it was Wally on his Kid Flash costume. Nayara held her chest, breathing rapidly.
"Don't do that. Please." Nayara said, falling into the floor.
Wally ran to her and looked down at her with a big smile. "You should have seen your face." Wally said, smiling brightly at her. "Are you busy?" Wally asked her. Nayara shook her head. "I need you to come with me." He told her.
"Shouldn't you be in Central City?" Nayara asked him.
"Barry can deal with that. Come on." Wally told her. Nayara sighed, accepting Wally's hand. With the held of Wally she stood up. He took a hold of her arm and before she could ask where they were going he had left.
. . .
Wally stopped at an empty field, near a lake. "What are we doing here?" Nayara asked him.
"Do your Avatar thing." Wally answered. Nayara looked at him confused. "Look, like you clearly have a gift, why don't you use it?" Wally asked her.
Nayara sighed, shaking her head. "Why today?" Nayara asked him. "I'm busy trying to find somebody." Nayara added.
"Who?" Wally asked her.
"Somebody." Nayara told him.
"Alright, so if you defeat me in combat, then I would help you." Wally told her.
Nayara frowned, looking at him. "Something is defently up." She sighed, looking around the field. Wally sighed, speeding up so he stood in front of her. He took out his mask so that Nayara could see his whole face.
"Do you trust me?" Wally asked her.
Nayara cringed at him. "I don't tend to trust people easily, but I trust you." Nayara answered him. Wally then nodded at her. "It's just this is out of your character, Wally. Why today? It is too much of a surprise." Nayara answered him.
Wally sighed, going to punch her and Nayara avoided it. "What's wrong with you?" Nayara asked him, giving him a slight offended look.
"Come on, use your powers against me." Wally told her.
Nayara shook her head. Wally send another punch at her, and she blocked. She quickly turned around and used the skills that Steve told her to put Wally into a headlock. She quickly let go, looking down at Wally.
Wally sighed, using his speed to corner her against a tree. Nayara kicked the back of his leg, and elbow him on the nose. She cringed when she did it. "I'm so sorry, Walls." Nayara whispered to him, kneeling to check his face.
Wally then speed around her. Nayara sighed, getting annoyed by Wally. "That is not going to work, Wally." Nayara told him, seeing him run more and more around her. "What do you want me to do?" Nayara asked him.
Wally stopped in front of her face. "I want you to use your powers." Wally told her.
"Fine, alright?" Nayara told him. "Just stop this nonsense because I really don't want to fight you." Nayara told him, brushing the strands of hair off her face. She walked closer to the water. She gave one last look at Wally from over her shoulder before using her powers.
She closed her eyes, taking deep breath. She opened it and nothing happened. "Where is the water?" Wally asked her, speeding to stand next to her.
"I don't know. When I was fighting Deathstroke I was using my anger. And before you even think of it, don't try to make me mad." Nayara told him.
"Why were you mad in the first place?" Wally asked her.
Nayara sighed, looking down at the water. "Supergirl." Nayara mumbled. Wally looked at her. "She is important to me. She helped me, and was always there and...I just couldn't loose her. I was so mad at Deathstroke...and annoyed at Superman....but it was Supergirl that I was worried for." Nayara explained to him.
"Then use that. Don't use rage, try to use something else." Wally told her, before giving her a big grin. Nayara sighed, shaking her head. "Come on. I believe in you." Wally told her, patting her shoulder.
Nayara sighed, concentrating in the water. She thought of Emma, Peter and Steve. She thought how she wanted to make them proud. She thought of how she wants to make Kara proud. She thought about what she could do, and who she could protect.
The brunette opened her eyes, seeing the water rise from the lake. Then it took form of a human. Nayara moved her hands, forming the face and the body. A small tear escape her eyes when she saw who was: Steve.
The girl moved her hands again, and another body formed. A few more tears escaped her eyes when she saw her father. He had a huge smile on his face. She turned to look at Steve who was smiling at her.
Wally looked at Nayara and back on the bodies. "Wow." Wally told her, causing her to lose her concentration. The bodies fell to the water. "Who were they?" Wally asked her.
"Nobody." Nayara sighed as she dried her tears. "I....figured out a way to change the state of the water. I haven't figured out the whole ice thing yet, but I'm working on it." Nayara told him. Nayara turned her eyes to the water.
Nayara raised a hand, making the water raise again. Then a few butterflies formed and levitated above Wally's head. Nayara smiled, but it soon fell when she saw a shadow up in a tree. Without hesitation, she moved her hands to put all the butterflies together into a big ball. Then she raised her hands, levitating some more water the lake. She turned to the shadow and threw all the water towards it.
The force of the water had knocked out the young adult from the tree so fast that he could not even process it. A loud grunt signaled Nayara's win. She smirked before walking quickly to the shadow.
Nayara ignored Wally's swearing as she came nearer it. When she was close enough, she understood Wally's reaction.
Panic filled her eyes as she quickened the pace before kneeling next to the body. "Oh my god! I killed Nightwing." Nayara exclaimed in pure panic. She looked around for any sign of blood. She looked at Wally from over her shoulder. "Is that why you were insisting to use my powers? To show case myself?" Nayara asked him.
Then she turned to Nightwing who was opening his eyes. "I'm so sorry. Are you okay?" Nayara asked him, looking down at him. She leant closer to know if he was breathing. She leant back, resting a hand on her chest. "He is alive." She sighed.
"You got nice eyes." Nightwing told her. Nayara let out a shaky laugh.
"I'm really sorry." Nayara said in a rushed tone. "Where does it hurt?" Nayara asked him, helping him raise up. She lifted up his head, checking from any blood behind his head. "At least he isn't bleeding." She whispered to herself.
"I have fallen from higher places." He told her, trying to act tough.
Nayara's eyes widen. "Yeah, why do you think he is that stupid." Wally joked. Nayara turned around and gave him a deadly glare.
She looked back at Nightwing. "Birds....s-suppo-supposed to fly. Not fall." Nayara stuttered out as she looked at Nightwing in the face. The hero smirked at her, sitting up. Nayara stood frozen on her spot when she noticed how close he was to her face.
She cleared her throat, quickly standing up. "Wally, why don't you help me get him up?" Nayara asked him as she blushed when she took a hold of Nightwing's arm to help him up.
"You really know how to make an impression. You knocked me out of my feet." Nightwing replied to Nayara with a proud smirk. Nayara sighed, shaking her head.
"He hurt his head, pretty bad" Nayara told Wally, shaking her head. Nightwing send a small smile to Wally who was rolling his eyes at his friend's attempt to flirt. Wally then moved Nightwing away from Nayara to stand between the two of them. He took a good hold of both of them before flashing out of the field.
. . .
Nayara sighed, knocking inside the room in the Teen Titans tower. She had an ice pack on her hands. "Come on in." A voice said from the inside. She opened the door, giving a wary smile to Nightwing.
"KF said he was to busy...he told....me to...umm...to give it to you." Nayara said, looking down at the floor. She raised her eyes, looking at him. Nayara threw up the ice pack at Nightwing who caught it with ease.
She nodded at him goodbye and was about to leave when his voice stopped her. "You don't happen to live near Gotham, anymore do you?" Nightwing asked her.
"National City." Nayara replied.
"Right. Wally said it." Nightwing said to her.
"You asked?" Nayara asked him, being able for the first time to ask and still look at his face. The masked hero gave her a smile. "Umm...yeah." Nayara answered. She sighed, looking down at her watch. "I'm....go...bye." Nayara said before leaving the room. She sighed, leaning on the opposite wall to the room.
Really, Nayara? Way to make an impression.Nayara thought.
Nayara was looking for Wally through the building, she almost triped over something. When she saw what was it, she screamed loudly jumping a few feet. Then she realized that the snake was bright green. Damn it, Beast Boy. Nayara thought.
Wally ran and stood right next to her. "Are you okay? You don't seem to be bleeding?" Wally asked her, looking at Nayara while she was still catching her breath.
Nayara smiled a little when she saw the snake transform into a teen. He gave her a querky smile. "Sorry about that. I was trying to hide from Starfire." He told her. Wally smirked at Nayara. "Beast Boy." He told her, showing her his hand.
Nayara shook it, smiling at him as her other hand was placed tightly in front of her chest. "That's a cool power. I just...ummm....wasn't expecting a snake." Nayara said, smiling at him. "Why are you hiding from Starfire?" Nayara asked him.
The boy laughed quietly. "The less people that know the better." He told her before walking away.
Wally chuckled next to Nayara. Nayara smiled at him. "Could you please get me home?" Nayara asked him. Wally nodded before following her demands.
Wally left her at the front of the door. He waved her a goodbye, before leaving. Nayara entered the apartment and stopped when she saw something shiny come towards one of the windows. The object broke one of the windows and landed near the television.
Nayara quickly walked to it, spotting a bright pink glow coming from it. A sudden gush of wind made her fall back. "Don't touch." Wally yelled at her in panic.
"Do you know what it is?" Nayara asked him.
The speedsters shook his head. He walked over to it, but Nayara stopped him by taking a hold of his arm. "If I can't touch it, why can you." Nayara questioned him. She walked ahead of Wally and knelt next to the object that was emitting the light.
A ring.
Nayara swore loudly as she sat on the floor. "Oh my, oh my!" Nayara exclaimed, looking at it with wide eyes. Of course she knew what it was, she had seen the same ring – but in green – countless of times in the comics.
"Hal." Nayara whispered to herself.
"Hal who?" Wally asked her.
"Just call the Green Lantern. Like right now." Nayara said in pure panic. When Wally had left, she took a hold of it, examining it. "Pink? Why pink?" She asked looking at him in thought.
Wally came back, looking at her with an annoyed face. "Did you touch it?" Wally asked her with annoyance.
"What does it look like?" Nayara questioned him. "So, no Lantern?" Nayara asked him. Wally shook his head. Then she smirked. "Then find Hal Jordan." Nayara told him. Wally did not question her. Instead he left, trying to find the man that Nayara was looking for.
. . .
Nayara looked at the pink ring that was on Kara's coffee table. She paced around, looking at it. "Alright, so Pink Lanterns. Pink Lanterns. Come on, Nayara. What do you remember of the Pink Lanterns?" Nayara asked herself. "Oh my, this is big. This is very big. Is it for Kara? Maybe it is for Kara." Nayara said to herself as she walked around the room.
Then the door was slammed opened, and a gush of wind passed through the entire room. Nayara looked up to see Wally and a tall muscular slim man. Nayara walked to the man. "Hal Jordan?" Nayara questioned him.
The man narrowed his eyes at her. Nayara then looked down at his hands. She smirked, seeing the green ring. "Yeah, you are." Nayara said, pointing at the ring in his hand. "So, ummm...I'm Nayara and since you are so familiar with the whole Lanterns thing I need you help with something." Nayara said to him.
Before Hal could said anything else, like protest, Nayara had pointed at the table. The man followed her hand, spotting the pink ring. "How do you know my name?" Hal asked her.
"Barry. He accidentaly led it slip." Nayara said, giving him a fake smile. Wally looked at her wide wide eyes. She gave him a look to keep quiet. She let Hal walk to the ring before she pulled Wally to her room.
"You lied to him?" Wally asked her.
"Well, I was a Pink Lantern ring in my coffee table. I want to know what to do." Nayara told Wally.
"Then tell Barry. He is the adult." Wally told him.
"Technically we are both legally adults." Nayara said, shrugging.
"Well, Barry has been legally an adult longer than us." Wally replied.
Nayara shook her head. "Wally he can't know. If he learns about this, I'm dead. He would not let me out of this apartment at all. It is hard enough that he doesn't want me out there using my powers because of he is scare of what might happen to me." Nayara explained.
Wally started to fast pace around the room. He took out his mask, taking deep breath. "What do we do? I can't let you stay here with that thing. I mean...it can be radioactive." Wally said to her.
"Oh, please if it were Green Lantern would be dead by now." Nayara scoffed. Then she send an apologetic look to Wally. "Sorry, I know Barry is your mentor and all you are doing is trying to look after me." Nayara said.
"Aren't friends supposed to do that." Wally reminded her. Nayara gave him a small smile before opening the door to see Hal trying to sneak out.
Nayara turned on her shield and hoped that the when she moved her arm the shield would be thrown. Oh, it did. However, Nayara had never tried this before so she accidentally hit Hal Jordan on the face.
The man fell to the floor. "I'm so sorry. I still haven't perfectionate this." Nayara said, picking up the shield. She knelt down next to Hal. "Well, you aren't missing any teeth, and your face seems fine, so I think you would be okay." Nayara explained to him as she helped him up.
"Where did you find this?" He asked her, putting the pink ring close to her face.
"It just crashed into my window." Nayara told him. "I don't know about it. It isn't Green but Pink." Nayara noted to him. Hal frowned at her.
"Did you try it on?" He asked her.
"I'm smarter than that. I don't know any of the repercussions it would have if I do." Nayara explained to him. "What if I die because I am not worthy of it?" Nayara said as she looked at him. "What does the pink even stand for?" Nayara asked him.
"I...I have to ask a friend." Hal answered her. "I will see you later." He told her, leaving the girl slightly confused.
"But the ring? You can't take the ring." Nayara told him, shaking her head. "I mean, I thought the only person who can wear it, is the one to be chosen." Nayara told him as she chased after him.
"And you were chosen?" Hal asked her, half amused by the girl.
Nayara quickly stop talking, shaking her head. "Well, I umm....I....you know...maybe? I mean, maybe I was chosen and that is actually great news that I wasn't expecting." Nayara added, looking at him in thought.
"Why don't we do this? I go and figure what is going on with this ring while you stay here." Hal told you. Nayara frowned at him in thought.
"You promise you will come back with it? Because I'm trusting you, alright? You are the Green Lantern and honestly, I trust you more than Superman. No offense to him of course. If not, I will personally ask the Bat to go and find you." Nayara said to him. "I might be young, but I am smart." She added.
"Alright, then." Hal told her. "I promise I will come back with the ring." He said before starting to leave. He gave one last nod before leaving Nayara's eye sight.
Nayara sighed, shaking her head. She thought that this world will be easy to leave, but it seemed like her wish has started to fade.
. . .
Steve paced around his office, deep in thought. He was restless ever since he saw the blue light eat Nayara out of her existence. He knew that the girl had disappeared without a trace, and now that he had seen her and was able to fix the bridge that he had accidentally built between them after they had caught Loki.
He suddenly stopped when he heard his door being opened. "Of course, Stark, let yourself right in." Steve sighed, looking at him from over her shoulder.
He shrugged at him. "It's my tower. Why haven't you been back at the mansion?" Tony asked him.
"I have been busy." Steve told him. Tony hummed a response, that showed to Steve that he did not believe a single word that the Captain had said.
"Still trying to find the kid?" Tony asked him, knowing what the Captain was truly doing. Years of working together had led them to know each other, led to build up their friendship which neither of them will openly admit.
Steve sighed again, finally taking a seat on the couch with Tony following a suit. "You got your suit in a twist or something?" Tony tried to joke but the Captain did not answer. It was this time to sigh. "Silent treatment, fine. I will seat here with you in silence, or at least try to." Tony added.
After a few minutes of silence, Steve finally spoke up. "Yeah, it's Nayara." Steve mumbled to Tony. Tony looked at him as he waited to continue on. "I finally saw her.... when she appeared again to talk to Emma, then I caught her when she was with Peter. She would not talk to me. It was like she was scare, and I think I know why she was scared." Steve told Tony. "When I saw her taking to Peter, I was glad I could talk to her and make sure she was alright. Then I tried to reach her, and...and a blue light emerged and she disappeared. It was like she was never here in the first place." Steve told Tony.
Tony frowned at the news. "A blue light?" Tony asked him. Steve nodded at him. "And she didn't act strange or anything?" Tony asked him.
"No. She just came and left." Steve sighed. "I have been trying to find her but, nothing." He added.
Tony frowned looking ahead. "Maybe she was trying to escape something." Tony told him. Steve frowned, turning to fully face the billionaire. "You know those files that I mentioned you about after you woke up. The HYDRA ones." Tony said. Steve nodded at him. "I didn't tell you because I know you were already freaked out about trying to find her, and I didn't want to add fuel to your worry, but...she send them. She picked them up when she was looking for the antidote. Maybe she was scare of them, of HYDRA. It wouldn't be the first time that they have tried to get a hold of her." Tony told Steve.
"But it doesn't explain why she was avoiding me." Steve argued.
Tony rolled his eyes, leaning him as he rested his arms on his knees. "Do you remember when Nayara quit the internship after the two of you got into trouble?" Tony asked Steve. The blonde nodded at him. "Maybe she thinks that by pushing you away, she is protecting you." Tony pointed out. Before he could say anything else, he was cut off by Natasha running inside the room, holding out a tablet.
"We got something big." She said to them. The two men stood up, following the woman as she spoke. "There has been a street fight that has been escalating a couple of blocks away. Mutants vs non-mutants, and it is not the only one." Natasha told them, passing the tablet to Tony. "The problem here is not is expredding, people are picking sides now that Senator Kelly is on his campaign to introduce the Superhero Registration Act." Natasha told them.
"Which is....?" Tony asked her.
"That we all have to forget about our secret identities." Natasha told them.
Tony stopped walking when he saw something in one of the footage. Steve stopped, noticing Tony's sudden change in his face. "Maybe she didn't disappear. Maybe she just teleported." Tony mumbled. "teleportation....mutation...blue light." Tony mumbled the incoherent words out.
Steve sighed, looking at him. "Tony!" He called out to the billionaire.
"That son of a bitch!" Tony exclaimed, having a small revelation of – who he thought at least – was the cause of Nayara's disappearance. Shaking his head as he walked the opposite way. Steve sighed, following him around. "Of course, it was too easy. Maybe it isn't, HYDRA." He continued.
"Tony, what the hell are you talking about?" Steve asked but in return he just received silence. He turned to Natasha. "You send the teams out. I will go with Tony." Steve told her before following the man.
He easily caught up with the billionaire. "Tony, what the hell are you talking about? You are not making sense." Steve told him.
"Nayara." Tony told him. "I think I know who took her, and you will be pissed." Tony said, walking to the elevators to reach the lower levels of the tower. "That little bastard, putting kids to fight battles he can't figth himself." Tony mumbled under his breath, annoyed he could not have thought it sooner.
"Tony!" Steve exclaimed, making the other man jump. "What are you talking about! It is the last time I will ask it." Steve told him, his voice rising slightly.
Tony turned to fully face him. "Who do we both know that can travel through realms with a blink of an eye?" Tony asked Steve. "What if you and me have been looking it all wrong? Maybe we can't find her because she isn't here on earth." Tony said, giving Steve hints.
The normal calm face of Steve turned into one filled with rage. Tony gulped at the sight before him. Never in his life he had seen Steve's face so red. The second the doors opened, Steve was already out taking quick steps towards a certain cell. Tony did not even tried to catch up to the man that was fueled by anger.
Bang!
The door to the cell opened, making the tall raven-haired man jump at the sudden noise. Steve clenched his jaw as he walked closer to the glass wall. "Where is she?" Steve asked, trying his best not to break into the cell and destroy the god that seemed to only cause chaos.
Loki looked at him with a small frown. "What?" He asked him.
"Where. Is. She!" Steve yelled at him.
Loki gave him an amused look before letting out a low chuckle. "I beg you pardon?" Loki asked him, walking closer to the glass doors.
"Where is Nayara?" Steve asked him, looking right through him. Loki raised an eyebrow at him. He could have asked the same thing to him but refrained from doing so. The last time he had seen Nayara was before he was put on this cell. Steve hit the glass once more, making a slight dent. "I will not ask again." Steve said in a low threatening voice. "Where do you have Nayara?" Steve asked him.
Loki frowned, looking at him with a slight confusion. "I heard you first time. I am not deaf." Loki answered him. He reminded quiet for a few seconds, trying to hide his worry for the girl. "But to answer your question, I have not seen her. I do not know her at all." Loki added.
Steve clenched his jaw. "She came clean and told me what had happened." Steve told Loki. Loki shrugged at him. "She had to because you messed up on your own lies. She might have fallen for them before and now, but she will stop falling for them soon enough." Steve told him.
Loki stiffened. "Thor promised she would not be caught in any of this. She had no idea of who I was." Loki told him. "Why the questioning?" Loki asked him, tiring his eyes away from him.
"She has gone missing." Tony said to him, entering the room now that he had finally caught up with Steve.
Loki's mask changed. The smirk he was wearing had fallen of his face. "How long?" Loki asked them.
Tony scoffed at him. "Not that you care." Tony told Loki.
Loki glared at the man, his anger boiling up. "Neither do you, tin man." Loki snapped at him. He turned to Steve, sending him a small smirk. "You are a fool to think I have been part in any of this." Loki said, his words directed to Steve. Before he could say anything else, Steve opened the glass doors and took Loki by the throat.
"I wouldn't ask again. I swear to you that if anything happens to that kid, you will pay for every single bit of it. Cut the crap and tell me where she is, now." Steve told him, pinning him against the wall by the throat.
Loki let out a small chuckle. "I can't tell you if I knew." Loki snapped at him.
"Captain!" Thor said from the door, approaching the scene. Tony stood on the side, watching the two of them with curiosity.
The words of Thor did not change Steve's hold of Loki. "Stark, will you leave the three of us for a moment." Thor said it. It was intended to be a question, but his tone said it otherwise.
Tony rolled his eyes. "Fine, I will just ask for JARVIS to tell me the gossip later." Tony said before closing the door behind him.
Thor approached his brother and Steve. "He is telling the truth." Thor told Steve.
"How do you know?" Steve asked him.
"Because it seems that Loki's heart is not as cold as I thought." Thor told Steve. He had witnessed a look that he had never seen on his own brother before. Steve did not let go. "Why do you believe my brother has anything to do with this?" Thor asked him.
"Because before I saw Nayara disappear, there was a blue light. He knows how to transport himself from Asgard to Earth." Steve told Thor.
"He cannot do such thing without the Bifrost or the Tesseract." Thor informed him. Steve sighed, taking his hands off Loki. "I understand that you are worri-" Thor was cut off by Steve.
"You do not understand!" Steve snapped at Thor. The stress that he had endured for weeks now were about to detonate him. "You don't understand that whatever happens to that girl is on me. You don't understand how worried sick I am because I don't know if HYDRA has her or not. Or even if she is safe at all?" Steve admitted before walking out of the cell with Thor following him.
"Maybe she decided that maybe she had nothing else to live for on this earth." Loki said to him. Steve turned to face him. Steve punched the numbers, locking the cell. Loki smirked at him. "You know, there are worst people out there who will threaten her. I'm not surprised is she had been taken because let me tell you one thing, you suck at protecting her." Loki told him before walking to take a seat next to a wall.
"Brother." Thor mumbled, sending a pleading look to Loki who was angering the Captain more than he had.
"How will you ever know about that?" Steve asked him.
"Weren't you surprised that HYDRA had cooled off and did not attacked her anymore? Do you think that those puny mortals suddenly had a change of heart?" Loki questioned Steve. Steve stopped turning to face him. "It just didn't happen overnight. Nayara decided to save my life, even though she knew who she was. If you decide to punish her instead of me, I will stab in your sleep." Loki said. "She saved my life and there is nothing that is going to stop me from saving hers. I will kill anyone who harms her." Loki told him.
"You really think I believe that monologue." Steve told him.
"At least I didn't make her feel like I was a shame of her decisions." Loki told Steve. He turned to his brother. "Brother, get me out of this cell so that I could go and find Nayara since this big idiot would not do." Loki told his brother who did not look at him in the eye.
"You took her to Asgard, bring her back." Steve told him. "I saw the blue light take her away." Steve repeated. He saw Loki's skillful eye shift slightly to the soldier.
"When do you saw her last?" Loki asked the soldier in response, dismissing Steve's words once again.
Thor gulped, seeing the furious look that his brother had. "I never laid a hand on her. I'm not a savage. Now tell me before I kill you and leave to her myself." Loki said in a very low voice as he approached closer to Steve with a deadly look. Steve gave one last look before leaving the room.
Loki punched the glass door at annoyance. "She has been gone for weeks." Thor told Loki. His words seemed to struck a nerve of the other god. Loki turned to his brother. "We will find her." Thor told his brother. Thor ignored his brothers yells as he stepped out of the dentation room.
. . .
gif set: nayara lilly (pink lantern)
gif: concerned loki
Bạn đang đọc truyện trên: AzTruyen.Top