Of Greater Sires

The next week passed far too quickly for Raeyn’s liking. She did not visit the cellar any more, but she did pick up several dangerous activities such as sword fighting, fist fighting, and knife throwing in a poor attempt to relieve stress. All of this was practiced on dummies given to her by JARVIS, of course, in her painting floor. Though she did not become any better a warrior than the pathetic excuse that she was before, it did help her through the week. And by the time Wednesday arrived, she made it to the cellar with nothing more than quivering hands. She was welcomed by wide smiles and quiet greetings, but it was obvious that this was quite a bit more subdued that usual.

They traveled as whispers that floated along the outskirts of town. The farther they walked, the more groups quite like Raeyn’s she saw. It was quite a bigger movement than she would have otherwise thought. The building they arrived at was in a part out town so destroyed that it had simply been abandoned. After they entered, Raeyn quickly realized that it was an old subway station. The trains didn’t run anymore, seeing as half of them had crashed either here or at the other stations, so it was a genius place to set up all of this. Raeyn marveled at the amounts of people flooding in, yet there was a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach that only increased with each step she took.

“All these people should not be here,” Colina said shrewdly. “They were given specific times as to not draw attention to ourselves.”

They finally stepped through the second wall of doors and into the actual station. Down below them was quite a large waiting area, and in the center of the masses of people stood a roughly made statue that was unrecognizable to Raeyn, and it was surrounded by an island of flowers, candles, and handwritten letters.

“Who’s memorial?” Raeyn whispered, turning slightly to Eyre.

“Steve Rogers… Captain America. This is where he was last seen.” From the corner of her eye, she saw Agent stop to salute the memorial as he passed.

Raeyn nodded silently as the group shuffled down the two cases of stairs and into the mix of people. It was a long wait until they finally reached the stairs down to the boarding station… and then were directed into the tunnels.

Hesitant and surprised, Raeyn automatically reached to hike up her dress before jumping down onto the tracks, however she grabbed thin air. Pink in the cheeks, she hoped no one noticed as they began their trek through the tunnels. They walked slowly as it grew increasingly darker, but as soon as Raeyn thought that it would become pitch black, lights began to appear all around them; little bitty LED lights that lined the walls.

“They’re holding it in the tunnels because of security reasons,” Agent said from beside Raeyn. She had not even noticed that he was walking beside her. “Almost no one will be able to see the people speaking or each other so that if one of us is caught, they cannot give any names. Also, it will echo throughout this entire portion of track. Everyone will be able to hear just fine.”

“How do you know all this?” Raeyn asked, looking up at him. The LED lights shined on his balding head at an odd angle, making him look more alien than human.

“They’re in charge of all this,” Lew piped up from Raeyn’s other side. She pushed her glasses higher up on her nose before giving the two of them an excited smile. Raeyn hardly noticed, because she ad whipped her head back around to gawk at Agent.

“ You’re in charge of all this?” she whispered, her green as jade eyes wide with disbelief.

Agent just shrugged, and then nodded over to the woman heading the group. “It was mostly Colina,” he said modestly. “She does all the dirty work.”

“And it is just you two?”

“We passed out flyers!” Lew said happily.

“Flyers?”

“They were in code, of course,” Eyre explained while walking before them. “Not a complicated code, seeing as the soldiers mostly can’t speak English, much less read it. But yes, we passed out flyers.”

Raeyn gave a look of appreciation to her friends. She knew that they were rebels, but she never figured they were so… involved. So motivated and determined.

It did not feel like such a long walk for Raeyn, but Lew beside her was complaining about cramps and a headache by the time the crowd had come to a slow, and finally, a stop. Since their time to arrive was over and hour early, Lew pulled out a large blanket to sit on, and she, Raeyn, Eyre, Agent, Route, and Cayenne all sat on it — the latter spent her time sipping from several silver flasks as they waited.

Route pulled out a pack of cards. “Anyone want to play?” he asked as he began to shuffle them.

“Ooh, can we play Bullshit?” Lew asked, sitting up next to Raeyn.

Route gave her a look that seemed less than pleased but eventually asked, “Does anyone else want to play?”

“I will,” Raeyn said with a smile, sitting forward.

“Same.”

“Me too!”

Cayenne raised her flask to announce that she, too would be playing.

Much to Raeyn’s surprise, Agent was certainly the best at the game. He could lie his way through anything, it seemed. Cayenne was losing by quite a bit, but only because she’d start giggling and hiccupping every time she was lying. If it hadn’t been Cayenne, then it certainly would have been Lew, who couldn’t hold her cards up for the life of her. And if it hadn’t been for Agent, Route certainly would have won because every time you accused him of bull-shitting, his face hardened into a rather terrifying glare until you took the accusation back.

As expected, the time passed quickly. People filled in all around them and were quite friendly, making conversation with you just based on the fact that you were there for the same cause as they. Laughs rang out through the tunnels, flasks were passed around regularly, and quite a few jokes were made at the Chitauri’s and Loki’s expense. At the moment, Raeyn didn’t seem to mind. After a little while, Agent pulled back his suit jacket’s sleeve to look at the time. Just as he pushed it back down, people ahead of Raeyn’s group began to quiet down and the occasional “ Shh! ” could be heard.

Raeyn’s smile faded as she turned her attention to the people in front of her — not that she could see anything, but that was the direction where the speaker was supposed to be. The noise behind them slowly calmed down, and once the entire tunnel was silent, someone far far away could he heard speaking.

“Welcome, all of you, to this meeting!” The woman’s voice echoed and reverberated all the way through the tunnel again and again, making it hard to understand. Everyone had to remain perfectly silent and paying attention to catch everything she said. She spoke her sentences slowly and with long pauses between, knowing what it must sound like all the way back here.

“We know how far some of you had to travel to find us, and we thank you for your patience!

“This meeting will be kept short so we do not call too much attention to ourselves. We are here today because our freedom has been stolen from us, and we do not plan on going down without a fight!”

Cheers erupted throughout the tunnels, so loud it was almost deafening. It lasted quite some time, and even after most of it calmed down it was a few more moments until she spoke again.

“While many are afraid to join us, you are the courageous few who will know victory!”

“Fancy words without any real meaning,” Raeyn said lowly to Agent.

“It’s just to keep people’s attention,” he whispered back. And so these rally cries continued for quite some time, until finally, the woman announced that she had someone she would like the crowd to meet, someone who could turn the tide of the rebellion, and then the bullhorn was passed to someone else -- the “secret weapon.”

“Erm — hello,” he said, swallowing loudly. He sounded quite young — nineteen, maybe? “I was told to come up here and motivate you guys. But see, I’m not really good at that kind of stuff. I’m the one with the sarcastic remark for every situation. But I’ll leave you with this: Not everyone is meant to make a difference. But for us, the choice to lead an ordinary life is no longer an option. Thank you.”

And with that, the horn fell silent. The tunnels remained silent until people began to stand, gathering their things, and began to head out. Raeyn’s group, like most everyone else, said close to nothing as they walked through the tunnels to emerge back on the platform that they have arrived. They passed the memorial quietly, walked up the steps slowly, and finally exited the hot building into the cool summer night. It must have been around one in the morning, by then.

“It’s easier for me to just leave you guys here,” she finally said as they stepped out into the road. “I guess I’ll see you later?”

Everyone turned to look at her in surprise. They really weren’t on such a great side of town.

“I can walk back with you, if you need,” Happy offered immediately.

“Same here,” replied Route just as quickly.

Raeyn smiled. “It’s fine guys, I’ve got this.”

Both men raised a brow at her. Her smile faltered and she gave them a serious look.

“Really, guys. I can handle myself.”

Most of the group looked ready to argue, but Agent spoke up first.

“I believe her, she can take care of herself. Just let her go,” Agent said, giving her a knowing nod. She tried to give him an appreciative smile, but it faltered as he turned with the rest of the group and began to walk the opposite direction. What made him believe her? Did he suspect her? Biting her lip out of nerves, she swung around and began her way home through the alleyways and the shadows.

It took her about an hour to walk all the way back home, and not once did she get any trouble. Lucky though that was, it gave her time to think about the meeting. Who was this secret weapon that the rebels had? Could he actually challenge Loki’s rule? And all those people… and surely there were hundreds more than Raeyn ever saw. What little hope Raeyn held before of a small time of peace quickly vanished. These people meant to strike fast, and strike hard. But what to do about it? One conversation, a few character descriptions, and Raeyn could bring the entire organization to its knees. Must she though? And where would that leave her? Would Loki forsake her, and leave her to the mercy of the remaining of those she betrayed? Though she was still unsettled with him, and he with her, she could not imagine him doing such a thing to her. He had always been so gentle… But at the same time, he was always so unpredictable. So broken. What would this betrayal do to him? She would not go to the cellar again, she decided. And if they contacted her, she would tell Loki. She would leave this up to the fates, and let them decide for her.

The air seemed quite thin to Raeyn as she stepped into the lobby of Stark Tower. Before she walked across the carpet to the elevator, she sat on the fluffy red floor and pulled her Converse off, revealing several nasty blisters. That’s what she got for walking all across Manhattan and back in new shoes. Tying the laces together and tossing them over her shoulder, she began picking at her appearance as she walked to the elevator. When the doors opened once more, she was wearing her comfortable but worn robin’s egg blue dress, slippers, her hair braiding down her back, and some bright red high tops around her neck that suck out like a sore thumb. Giving a large yawn and popping her back, she stepped out of the elevator and began to head back to her rooms.

“Where is it that you go on these nights out?” A voice asked suddenly, causing Raeyn to stiffen and jerk around. Loki stood a distance behind her, scowling. Her expression flipped from bewilderment, to guilt, and finally back to surprise. She stared at him, her jade eyes wide and confused, her lips parted and her brows knit.

“You consistently come back at all hours of the night from who knows where, smelling like Midgardian alcohol and cigarette smoke. And just now you seemed contrite, culpable even!”

Raeyn said nothing, simply continuing to gaze at him in awe.

His scowl quickly turned into confusion as well, but with anger behind it. “What, have you found yourself a lover? A mortal? Who is he!”

At this, Raeyn’s mouth opened in shock and indignation. “A consort? With a Midgardian? Are you out of your mind? You say that I smell like alcohol, but you act like you are the one consuming it!”

Loki’s anger seemed to die down. “So you do not have one?”

“No!”

He seemed content for a moment before taking a step forward, his confusion showing once more. “So you mean to tell me that you’ve never-?”

“No! Must we speak of such things… at this hour?”

Loki seemed confused, but a bit of a smirk appeared on his lips. “Innocent little Raeyn…” he cooed mockingly. Her expression soured quickly.

“And what else was I to do? Have relations with a mortal?”

Loki’s mocking smirk quickly fell. “Well, yes, now that you put it that way, it does seem rather repulsive…”

Raeyn rolled her eyes. “Repulsive is not what I was thinking. They are just so young and so fragile.”

Loki grinned -- Raeyn shot him a glare. “Not fragile in that sense!” But when he would not stop laughing, she stomped her way to her room, yelled a “Goodnight!” and slammed her door closed.