Loki shrugged, he hadn't been around for that little episode.

"I'm talking about you my dear" the man interjected, "You burned Ms. Talith's eyes right out of their sockets. It was quite interesting to see the extent of the damage. Thankfully you won't have that issue with me" he grinned, there was something sinister about it though, particularly as he added the last part, "I regenerate"

Ceres face turned rather pale at the reminder of her last encounter with a Scientist. She blinked, she had no idea that had occurred. She'd been so traumatized by the whole thing and had been somewhat unconscious while the woman poked and cut at her.

"Somethings Mortals are just not meant to see." Ceres replied getting up and going up to the glass wall. "WHat have you done with Moon and Coco?" She demanded.

For a moment he looked confused, then it clicked, "the cat and the dragon I presume. Yes, you named it, that was interesting to watch. I didn't realize it could speak, quite a breakthrough really, thank you for that." he hopped down from the table, "They call me Mister Sinister by the way, normally I'd be using my other name under these circumstances but my counter part seems to have claimed it for his every day use-and well, that would just get confusing." he chuckled.

"...Most Mystical creatures can talk." Ceres did not look amused, still intimidated by his sheer present but not amused. "Also... never heard of you, I think." She clapped her hands and pulled out her book. "...Sin eater... Sincery gland.... Sinnery: A place where people go to sin...Sinking fish gland... nope-" She slamed the book closed and put it away and looked back up and her eyes locked on his red gem on his forehead. "..." She seemed to space out, staring. Why did that look familiar?

"Where did you get that?" She pointed. Clearly her mind was not doing well with keeping focused.

"Hm?" He raised his hand to his forehead, touching the gem lightly, "Oh, I've had it most of my life" he shrugged, "Why do you ask?"

Ceres seemed to zone out for a moment.

Ceres...Ceres...

"Ceres."
"Hm?" Little Ceres sat up, rubbing her eyes. "Big Brother?"
"Hey, I want to show you something" Hope sat on the side of the bed, poking Ceres' rosey sleepy cheeks. She looked rather small for her age. Like a small flower bud who would one day blossom into a beautiful young woman.
"But it's early, Big brother."
Hope chuckled, pointing her forehead, "Come on sleepy rose, I'll carry you." He picked her up and they headed on their way.

They came to the tree of many colours, it's white branches bearing leaves of every colour under the sun, including ones that didn't even have a name. Large red crystals creeped up beneath it's large deep roots. Upon approaching the tree, a door appeared in the base of the tree and opened for Hope.

Ceres nibbled on a purple and blue star shaped fruit, slowly waking up. "Is this where you work?" She asked, rubbing some sleep out of her eyes.

"That's right. Today, I'm making another universe today. We're going to see what you can do."

Ceres gasped with excitement, "I get to come with you?!"

"Only if you promise to be brave and listen to what I say."
"Aye Aye, Captain." She saluted him, a wide smile on her face.

Down, down they went, down the white slab stairs, around and around they went till they reached the very bottom where the very heart of the tree lay in a sea of warm glowing crystals. It was so warm and peaceful. Water dripped in the distance, a thin layer of it on the white stoned path.

Hope carried Ceres to the large circle in the middle.

"Ready for some magic?"

Ceres nodded.

Hope placed a hand on the ground and arose growing red crystal which formed a large round oval before shattering in the middle. It was pitch black and the a strange wind began to pull at them.

Ceres held tight, pushing her face into his chest, "I'm scared! I don't want to!"

"Hey, I know it's scary but would I ever lead you wrong?" He said holding his pinkie finger up. She latched hers onto his pinkie and held on tight as he jumped through.

The wind rushed back and forth, pushing them this way and that. When it was all said and done, it was silent.

"...Ok, it's over now." Hope encouraged her and slowly she opened her eyes. Hope put her down.

"Wow...It's so black and empty." She said hearing her voice echo on nothing.

"Well, we'll have to fix that." He sat down and patted beside him but she was staring at the exit portal. "What is all that around the portal?"

"Hmm?" Hope pulled her into his lap and turned around to face the now calm and clear portal. "That's the crystals. When I create a new world, extra crystal forms on this side. Each world will have some residue crystal from the tree, it helps link all the worlds together."

"And your portals?"
He tickled her proudly, "And my portals. You're so smart. Think you can create some grass for me?" He said starting to teach her magic...


"Why do you ask?" The question rang in her head like a gong, she looked back at him. "I can't remember why." But she knew it reminded her of something... She just couldn't remember what.

Sinister eyed her curiously but let it slide for now. Strolling over to the glass in front of Ceres. "You have a bit of a memory problem don't you?" He commented.

"The only problem either of us have are with you" Loki piped up. He was trying to distract sinister from Ceres but it wasn't working very well.

Ceres took a step back away from the glass, feeling like answering this man's questions was not the best idea. She sub consciously/nervously played with her bracelet. Polly had given it to her after Loki and her got back. It had a built in GPS, very small, hard to notice on a quick examination of her person.

She still had her bracelet and she seemed to be able to use magic. She had limited abilities, mostly defensive.... Now if she could focus on making an escape plan of some kind...

Loki was the one they had actually locked down when it came to magic. Apparently they didn't think Ceres was much of a threat in her current state but after New York, clearly Loki was a threat and the Azgardian was trying to use that to his advantage, by keeping the attention away from Ceres.

"You aren't very bright, are you?" Loki commented, continuing to speak from before, "Shield has his obsessively controlling nature when it comes to, well, me" he smiled sourly, "They aren't going to sit idly by while I'm missing."

"They are welcome to try and find you" Sinister shrugged, "but I think that you must be mistaken about something. You don't have to be here, we have an old, mutual friend who would like to see you again."

"Loki" Lex Luther greeted as he strolled into the room, "I came as soon as I heard. Sinister really, do you have to keep him locked up like that?"

Sinister shrugged, "he was with Shield. Call it a precaution."

"Come now" Luther grinned, "he wouldn't side with the scoundrels who have kept him from his birthright, tell him Loki" he looked to the Azgardian, clearly seeking the answer himself.

Loki looked between the two for a moment before rising to his feet and brushing himself off, "of course not." he replied, "I've merely been waiting for my chance to leave but they are incredibly stubborn with these" he held up his hands to show off the bracers. "I noticed you managed to activate them."

"That much, yes" Sinister replied, his eyes narrow and suspicious of the trickster, "but I haven't worked out how to remove them just yet."

Loki just smiled, "of course you haven't. I'm sure that will just take a little more time."

As the men spoke, Ceres wandered slowly to the far side of her cell. She placed a hand on the glass behind her and started to work her magic. The glass behind her began to disappear , trying into rose petals that fell silently. She had a Ceres shaped hole as she slowly moved backward, out of her cell and into the room.

"Now," Loki continued, "How about you open this up and we talk like civilized men?"

Luther agreed and Sinister sighed, releasing Loki from the cell. "And what about the girl who is trying to escape?" Sinister asked, "Shall we let her run off as well?"

"Of course not" Luther replied, "but she can certainly try. I think Klarion may have something to say about it though"

Ceres had almost made it to the door, never turning her back to the two men. Though as soon as they mentioned her she froze. She turned on her heels to make a break for it, narrowing deflecting a beam of red light which shot up into the ceiling leaving a dent.

As her hand reflected the magic she could have sworn something about it was familiar but there was no time to let her mind drift.

She lay her hands on the ground and spoke a strange word, pink vines burst through the floor and wrapped around Luthor's and Sinister's legs. Then she dashed out the door.

"Hmmm... Still has some fight in her..." Klarion appeared, stepping out of the shadows. His eyes glowing red and with a snap of his fingers, Ceres' spell broke, the vines turning red and dying in place. He grinned, "Oh this should be quite fun indeed..." He clapped his hands, walking toward the exit. "I'll try not to destroy too much of your lab."

Luther and Sinister didn't make much protest to Ceres' escape attempt. Luthor had told Klarion specifically that if he wouldn't ward against Ceres' magic then she was his problem. Loki didn't make a move either way, it wasn't as though it would have been much help or hindrance at any rate without his magic so he elected to see just how things played out. They didn't play out very well in his opinion.

"Take your destruction elsewhere" Sinister shot Klarion a glare, "I have sensitive research ongoing in here."

Klarion waved his hand at the comment, "Yeah, Yeah. Sensitive blah blah." He wasn't really paying much attention, he'd slammed his hand on the door frame and the hallway turned pitch black. "We should be back in about oh, 3 mins or so... Try not to touch the circle. It's still drying." He grinned running off into the darkness.

"... he seems... cheerful" Loki commented, eyeing the dark space as a pit grew in his stomach. He wanted to get Ceres out of there but he wasn't sure how to do so at the moment.

((I don't know how to respond to that. You do realize Loki is in a room with 2 other characters who I don't rp :p))

((yeah, and Ceres is off with Klarion...))

((LOL))

2 mins and 30 seconds later...

Ceres came running into the room, exiting the dark maze she'd been ensnared in. She looked to have been through quite a lot, perhaps the darkness had lead her into an alter dimension and perhaps she'd run through a marsh, a lava volcano based realm and around a black lit maze like a rat.
She barrel rolled to the side, just missing the red beams of light and looked around confused as hell. How the crap had she made it back her. She was panting heavily,"What the-"

Ceres quickly turned slapping the advancing Klarion's hand away but that had left her wide open. Klarion grinned as he moved his left glowing hand up and wrapped his fingers around her soul gem; his fingers fazing through her skin, making a fist around it.

Ceres felt all the air in her lungs vanish, her eyes grew wide in horror as a tramitzing memory resurfaced. The moment True Father ripped Hope's Soul gem from his chest. Tears formed on in the corners of her eyes as she put both of her hands on his hand.

"Oh, did I make you remember something deary?" Klarion asked sweetly, walking forward, making Ceres walk backwards with him, "Painful is it?"

Ceres bit her lip as she managed to look somewhat behind her, he was leading her into a magic circle... The same circle trap Juno had had.

Ceres looked toward Loki, "h-help" She barely managed to say, pure horror on her face.

"Shh.Shh." Klarion twisted his wrist slightly, causing her to actually whimper in pain rather than be quiet. "Good girl." He coced, grinningly.

"How-?" She tried to ask. As they approached the middle, Ceres felt like she was being rolled onto a large exerise ball as her body arched backward and held her in the air.

"A magician never reveals his secrets..."

Ceres was going to past out, it hurt so much. "Loki, please save.." A tear ran down her cheek as she mouthed the words, passing out in the air.

Klarion pulled his hand out of her chest and snapped his fingers. Like a wave, the runes on Ceres bones lit up in red. Her body flinched in pain but she soon flomped backward once more. "...What a mess they've made of you..." He mumbled to himself looking over the destroyed runes.

Sinister watched with hungry interest though Luthor seemed more bored than anything at the events. Still, the head of luthor corp was watching Loki more than anyone else, to be honest he wasn't entirely certain of the trickster's loyalty. He had, after all, completely disappeared before, putting an irritating halt to the great leaps in progress his company had been making.

Loki's expression was unreadable but as he saw Klarion sieze Ceres' gem, the azgardian's eyes gave a flicker of betrayal to his poker face. "Is this really necessary?" Loki demanded, managing to sound more irritated than angry, "I can tell you anything you want to know about the girl. She's already a broken mess, prodding her won't make much of a difference."

Klarion grinned, "Broken but repairable. If...you're willing to go the distance." He stated, looking toward Sinister. "Besides, simply reading a soul tome does not mean you know much..." He said giving Loki a look. A look that clearly meant he knew much more than Loki would ever know.

"Unless you-" He paused, his hand holding onto something that was not visible to the eye, "Interesting..." He whispered softly, a smirk on his face as he ran his hand along the invisible thread.

Loki's fingers ran along the edges of the runes bound to his wrists, it had become something of a habit for him over the last few months.

"Come Loki" Luthor placed a hand on his shoulder, "Let's leave them to it. We have other matters to discuss"

The bracers had been made to be impervious to any magical attempt at removal but they were still made of simply metal and while very strong, metal could succumb to wear and tear. In truth, Loki had spent every waking moment in the past few months, finding quiet and subtle ways to wear down the edges of the runes until they were rendered useless. It had been his escape plan, though he was waiting for a time when Ceres wouldn't be there to stop him from disappearing. Or so he told himself.
~Just walk away~ the Azgardian thought quietly, ~she'll be fine. They won't kill her-and even if they did she would just come back in a number of years. It isn't a big deal so turn around and walk away. Damnit why aren't you walking?! Defending her is going to get you killed, clearly this being is no mortal and you haven't used magic properly in months. You're rusty, you're... not going to leave without her. Sigh. What has she done to you Loki?~

With a swift motion, Loki grabbed Luthor's hand that was still on his shoulder and twisted it around, causing a sickening SNAP to resound through the room as he broke Lex's arm. Without missing a beat, the Azgardian slammed his elbow into the gem on Sinister's forehead, sending the scientist reeling back as his head spun.
Then Loki turned to Klarion, throwing a table that stood between them at the chaotic being-not a terribly effective method but it served it's purpose. The table would break his line of sight so Loki could send an illusion of himself running around to attack Klarion on the left, while the real Loki rounded to the right side to try and grab Ceres to get her out of there.

Klarion remained calm as his familiar jumped in between him and the incoming table. Klarion took hold of the invisible thread and pulled tightly, away from Loki. This would send a shocking pain through Loki's chest. Like his heart strings where being pulled roughly.

Letting out a sharp yelp of combined surprise and pain, Loki stumbled to a halt. The illusion instantly faded and his hand reached out for stability against a nearby support pillar, "W-what in the nine realms was that?!" he gasped.

"Your fate thread... one of them anyways... Who would have thought the Prince of Mischief would find himself having feelings for someone other than himself." Klarion stated, walking over, pulling lightly, making it clear Loki was not in control of the situation. "You got rather friendly with Miss Ceres." He purred, floating up higher than Loki and tilting his head up, "...Though you never completed the ritual, a bond has been made between you two, and your lives will forever intertwine with one another." He looked over Loki's shoulder at the two on the ground then back to Loki.

"I can mend the damage- most of it anyways." He stated, looking over toward Ceres. " So tell me, What will you do, Prince Loki? Rescue the girl from her tower and capturers but have her broken and damaged forever or let the serpent and the Prince of Chaos have their fun mending her?" He asked, letting go of the fate string and crossing his arms.

Loki's hand gripped the pillar like a claw while his other clutched his chest. Such pain and from what? Some invisible bond that this maniac could tap into? He glared up at Klarion but he couldn't help but question, "You can fix her?" the constant weariness, the trembling hands. Loki could see how much damage he had caused in Ceres but no one had ever mentioned that she could be fixed. Not without sending her to her next life anyway, and even so that might not do it. They had no way of knowing.

"What's the catch?" Loki demanded, by the sounds of it, the process would likely be painful but if she came out of it better then wasn't it worth it? Unless of course Klarion was working another angle-and that was what made the azgardian skeptical about it.