Toni resisted smacking Loki’s hand away, and the next moment her vision brightened. She blinked a few times, expecting it to clear, and then realized that she had gotten used to Betty’s view of the world - darker, like Toni’s eyes were a hi-def screen and Betty’s were merely normal. The voices had gone away too - were they voices? She had never really figured out how to describe the fourth wall. It was like hearing voices and seeing her life in front of her eyes at the same time, and yet going through her life normally; she would probably never forget it, or stop missing it.
She looked down at her hand - her slim, perfectly manicured hand - and flexed it, the familiar movement sending shivers down her spine. A pulsing in her chest caught her attention, and she resisted gasping aloud as her senses re-accustomed themselves to the hum of the arc reactor. God, that feels so weird, she thought, placing her hand against the device unconsciously. “Did you miss me, baby?” she murmured to it, in a jokingly endearing fashion.
Loki’s voice startled her out of her thoughts. She glanced up and opened her mouth to shoot some sort of snarky reply to Loki’s arrogant acceptance of their ungiven thanks, but the goddess was gone, leaving only a faint chill to the air. Toni grumbled and rolled her eyes. Bitch. At least I’m not hungry anymore.
Betty’s breathing was slightly shuddering in her grip on control to not hurt her. Loki’s touch was never something she liked, even if the warmer skin helped a bit. She felt like she could still feel the cold pulsing blood that rushed through her veins underneath her fingertips. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. A wave of power surged through her. It gave her shivers, flashbacks of the initial gamma exposure. She shrugged the thoughts aside. She could have these feelings later, when she was normal. When she was normal, she repeated to herself.
She opened her eyes in great surprise at the new and familiar height difference she now had again. Her brown hair rested in waves on her chest. Her chest. She was slightly confused about the bag of snacks in her hand, and shrugged a bit, and continued eating it a pretzel. She grimaced at her stomach’s fullness. “Toni, I’m not even hungry. How did you do that?” Betty looked at her much smaller friend with a curious and somewhat peeved face. Her anger was less controllable now, but she could hold it longer as it bubbled at her surface. She had before.
She flashed her eyes green, and let them fade back to hazel. Am I glad to have that back. She let her hand fade to green from her fingertips to her wrist and let it fade back to her normal olive skin tone. She sighed a bit in relief. She looked at her hand in the air seeing Toni had bitten her nails down. She shuffled her shoulders and wiggled her toes. “Man, am I glad to be back where everything fits so snug and right. ” She-Hulk remained at a quiet growl that hummed lowly in her head. She was happier to be back, taking advantage of the ability to green her skin her natural color again, but still was rather pissed at Loki and how Betty hadn’t let her do anything during the whole time. She was more relaxed to see her gone, but not by much. She looked at Toni with relief on her face, though with slight tense eyebrows.
‘Silly humans’, Loki thought to herself as she watched them. Her body was no longer there, in the room with them, but she was there. And she watched her reactions. They seemed but kids after receiving a gift. Deep down, Loki wanted to let them stuck on each other’s bodies, but until the time came, Stark and Banner would be much more productive if their outsides matched their insides. It was all a sign of good faith, as Banner had said. A token of appreciation, but also a reminder that Loki could do the opposite and make their minds inhabit rabbits or hamsters or dogs. She wondered if they were ‘weirded out’ by that simple party trick. That was what it was. A prank, a simple joke. At least to Loki. ‘Silly humans indeed’.
Toni shook her head slightly. “Makes me wonder what else that bitch can do,” she mumbled. “I wonder if she can animate statues and shit like that. Piertotum Locomotor.” She chuckled quietly at her private joke and stood up, looking at Betty. “I dunno, I just felt so hungry, all the time, in your body. Maybe my mind became addicted to the feeling and then just couldn’t let go. As I said, placebo.” There was a slight rise and fall of her shoulders as she moved toward the door. “Anyway, we’d better get started thinking up stuff to fight off this supposed army that’s coming. I don’t wanna be caught off-guard. Have a few additions to the suit I thought up while in your body, too, some hulkish things.” She flashed a smirk Betty’s way from the door. “I liked feeling powerful, made me feel… well, powerful,” she finished eloquently. “You comin’?”
(Source: llaufeydottirarchive, via llaufeydottirarchive)
