Invincible
By: Eva Grimm
Preview of the Sequel: Incorruptible

Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to Iron Man, Tony Stark, or any other Marvel intellectual property. Invincible and Incorruptible are fan-based works and not sold for profit.

***SPOILER ALERT: Spoilers for any Marvel movie and comic book — they're going to happen. You've been warned.

"You've used that terminology a couple of times now: 'Be yourself,'" Megan remarked, her head cocked slightly to the side, her curiosity evident. "Tell me, Loki, who do you think I am?"

The Asgardian steepled his hands in front of himself, taking a moment to carefully consider his choice of words, before replying, "You are a female spirit trapped within a body that repulses you so much that you cannot bear to be touched. Your spirit cries out, desperately pleading for you to feel touch upon your true self once more — to shed this lie you have been forced into. You have done your best to deal with being thrust into this form, done your best to return yourself to normal, but it affects you so much that you have become trapped in a perpetuating circle. Needing to be yourself again, but unable to make it happen because you are not. Even what you are experiencing now is a temporary reprieve. You feel better because you are interacting with me, someone who knows you for who you are, but eventually, the feeling will be tempered by the truth of your situation, which will grow ever more unavoidable." He paused. "Simply put, you are someone who will invariably die unless someone helps you."

The duo sat there in silence for a time, Megan's eyes locked onto his, boring into them as though the truth of his words could be ascertained if she merely stared into them long enough. She was losing herself in a sea of pale green, his words washing over and through her, his baritone voice piercing straight to her core. I don't want to go back to that. "Loki," she breathed out, now aware that her words were spoken by her true, soprano voice. "I don't want to die." She bit her lip softly, her conflict evident. Her upper teeth rubbed briefly against the skin beneath her bottom lip, revealing that her face was once again free of the course beard it had born for so long. The word danced from her lips: "Please…"

A toothy smile began to grow on the Asgardian's lips. Almost. "Please what, Megan?"

She whined softly at his use of her name, reveling in the fact that for the first time in nigh half a year someone saw her as herself. She wrapped her arms around herself, reveling in the feeling of the return of her voice's true timbre — of the return of her petite frame. Gods, I don't care if it is an illusion. "Please, Loki… Help me… I don't want to go back."

"That, Megan, is why I am here."

Invincible has ended, but it's just one part of the Inverse universe. The story continues in Incorruptible: