Pain. Darkness.

I didn't know where I was. I couldn't remember what had happened. I tried to move. "Ouch." I exclaimed. I felt like I had been hit by a monster truck and trampled by elephants.

"Oh good, you're alive." a cold voice said somewhere close to me.

I tried opening my eyes, but the light felt so bright it hurt. After a moment, I got used to the light, and realized that I was in some kind of a prison cell. Oh great, I thought, realizing that I had been captured. I stood up and looked around the cell. I saw someone standing there just a few feet away from me. He was a tall man with jet black hair and almost hypnotic blue-green eyes, and he was wearing a long, black leather jacket with dark green and gold decorations. Somehow, he looked a bit … Asgardian. Something stirred within my memory.

"Loki!" I gasped.

"You recognize me? I'm flattered." he said sarcastically.

"I'd be a fool not to recognize you." I answered, trying to sound as confident as I could.

I began to remember what had happened before I had blacked out. There had been some monsters – what kind of monsters, I couldn't remember - and SHIELD had sent me to take care of them before they could cause much havoc. But one thing was sure: they couldn't have defeated me so easily, after all, they had not been dangerous enough for SHIELD to send more than one agent. Something felt wrong about that. Then, out of the blue, it hit me.

"It was you. You sent the monsters to Earth. You knew SHIELD was going to send someone to deal with them."

"Well, well, aren't you a clever one, Caitríona MacKenzie." Loki sneered.

I was stunned. "How do you know my name?"

"I know more than you realize." he replied with a devilish grin on his face.

That grin made me feel uneasy, not because I was afraid of him, but because it made me feel like an electric shock had just gone through me. I found it harder to concentrate. I had always been drawn to danger – that was why I had joined SHIELD in the first place – and he had a sense of danger about him. Everything about him screamed of danger.

"But why me?" I asked cautiously.

"Oh, it didn't really matter who SHIELD would send. I know they are so annoyingly loyal they would save any of their operatives. And once they make their attempt to rescue you, I will wipe them out." he said with a hint of contempt in his voice.

"That's where you're wrong."

He laughed at my remark. "I am a god! Mere humans have no chance against me."

"Ha! You're no god! You're nothing but a trickster."

That made him smile his wicked smile. "I like you, you've got spirit."

I felt my heart beat a little faster, and I was mad at myself. I couldn't be attracted to a villain like him.

The next day I was feeling a little better, although I couldn't remember much of what had happened since I woke up in this cell the day before. I was sitting on the dreary little bed that was on the back of my cell, trying to organize my thoughts. I had been kidnapped, that was for sure. Kidnapped by none other than Loki, the god of lies and mischief in Norse mythology. If someone had told me a few years ago that I was going to be kidnapped by a Norse god I would have laughed at their face. But since I joined SHIELD I had been forced to accept the fact that there is much more to the universe than I had thought, and that the world I lived on was just one of nine realms, and that amongst those realms was Asgard, home of the Norse gods. Even so, I could never have imagined that I would end up in the situation I was now. Right in the middle of Loki's evil scheme. I sighed. Getting out of this situation seemed very uncertain at the moment. Suddenly I heard something. A sound of someone moving outside of my cell.

"There's no need to hide in the shadows. I can hear you're in there."

Loki stepped out of the shadows smiling in his usual wicked manner. I felt a warm shudder go through my whole body. I quickly looked away. Not again, I thought. But there was no denying it. I had felt it again, just as last night. I looked slowly back at him. He just stood there, observing me with a curious look on his face. Like he was trying to read my mind.

"You know, I really can't figure you out, miss MacKenzie." he said, still looking at me almost analytically.

"Agent MacKenzie." I snapped before he could continue.

He looked rather amused. "What I really don't understand, agent MacKenzie, is that why would someone like you join an organisation such as SHIELD."

"Wouldn't you want to know."

"Oh, come now agent MacKenzie. Don't be like that." he smirked.

I sat quietly for a while, trying to avoid his gaze. The silence felt almost unbearable. After a very long silence I glanced at Loki, who was still standing on the other side of the glass wall of my cell. When our eyes met I could swear that for a moment I saw genuine interest in his look, hidden behind all that arrogance. Perhaps that is why I decided to tell him.

"I grew up hearing stories of heroes, brave heroes fighting villains and ridding the world of evil. I decided that once I grew up I wanted to be like that too. Then one day, many years later, I met people from SHIELD. I talked with them, and they asked me if I wanted to join. So, I did."

While I was speaking he listened to me in complete silence looking curious. After I had finished he stayed quiet for a brief moment. Then he said with a sarcastic tone: "Well, that must have been the worst decision of your life."

I sighed again, this time because I had begun to think he was right. Well, I guess I got what I wanted: excitement, and danger. Perhaps I should have been more careful what I wished for, I thought.

I was deep asleep, when suddenly I was woken up by an extremely loud noise. There was a loud bang followed by the distinct sound of glass breaking. I jumped out of my bed only to realize I was surrounded by SHIELD agents. I was baffled.

"Come on, agent MacKenzie! We don't have much time!" one of the agents yelled.

For a moment, I didn't move. I was too shocked to understand what was going on around me. Then I recovered from the shock caused by my unexpected wake-up call and ran out of the cell with the agents. I was free! There was a lot of noise all around me. Shouting. Banging. Crashing. I was taken to a car and away from the building the cell had been in. There were fires raging everywhere, helicopters flying all around and a vast number of cars that looked almost like a giant kid had thrown all their toy cars on the ground. I looked at the sight from the window of the car I was taken into as it drove away from the scene and took me to hospital. I couldn't help wondering what had happened to Loki.

I was in the hospital for three days before I was allowed to go home. I had survived with little physical injury, so there was no need to keep me in longer than that. I was kind of relieved, because I wanted to go back to my normal life as fast as possible. I had to take a few weeks leave from work however. I spent more of that time thinking about Loki than I wanted to admit. What had happened to him? The uncertainty was agonizing. When I finally returned to work, I was told what had happened since my capturing. It turned out Loki had summoned some ancient creatures from Vanaheim to keep the Avengers busy, but they had defeated them much faster than he had anticipated, and so they had been able to help SHIELD rescue me and capture Loki. I heard he was being held in one of SHIELD's most high-security cells in the prison section of the headquarters. I tried to forget all that had happened. But it proved to be much harder than I expected. The days were easier, because I could keep myself busy at work, investigating possible unearthly events and occasionally responding to terrorist threats. Business as usual. But nights were different. Almost every night I had dreams about my time in captivity, and more distractingly, dreams about Loki. Then, after one especially eventless day, as I was sitting in the agent's lounge I felt I couldn't take it anymore. So, I stood up and started walking determinedly towards the prison section. I had never realized how big the headquarters really was, or perhaps I just felt like that because of what I was about to do. I knew that going to see him was probably the most stupid thing anyone in my situation could possibly do. But I had to see him. Therefore, I kept walking when more sensible people would have turned back and forgotten all about it. Finally, I reached the entrance of the prison section. I showed my ID to the guard standing in front of the entrance, and he opened the door. No going back now, I thought. I headed to the high-security part of the prison section. I passed another guard and another door. Just a little further. I reached the end of the high-security part. I stopped. There he was, on the other side of the door. I asked the guards stationed at the door to open it.

"Why would you want to see him?" one of the guards asked.

"I…" I paused for a moment, trying to figure out what to say.

"I just have to. I know you don't understand. Hell, even I don't understand." I finally said.

"Very well then. But be careful. He's in there for a reason." said the guard and let me in.

As I entered the cell, I felt more nervous than ever before in my life. I looked at Loki, who had turned to face me as I had entered, and suddenly my mouth was dry. I couldn't say anything.

"Well you kept me waiting long enough." he smirked.

Once again, he had me stunned with just his words. He had known that I would come. I knew he was powerful, but still it surprised me. Finally, I got my ability to speak back. "Do I even dare to ask how you knew that I would come to see you?"

His smile got wider. "For an agent, you are quite easy to read. I'm just surprised it took you this long."

I stared. "What do you mean?"

He didn't say anything, just looked at me with a slight grin on his face.

"Whatever you're trying, it won't work. I'm not weak-minded enough to fall for your tricks."

He laughed mischievously. "If they had more agents like you instead of those mindless tin soldiers, SHIELD might actually be a worthy opponent."

"Oh, I don't know, they managed to imprison you well enough, didn't they?"

"Not on their own. Hadn't my brother and his ridiculous boy-band managed to come to their aid my plan would have succeeded." he said, his voice filled with contempt.

"And that's not the first time it has happened, is it?"

"I see you have done your homework. Well done." he said with a hint of sarcasm.

"Well, I guess I also know more than you realize" I quipped.

"Clearly." he chuckled. "But how can someone as clever as you live in such self-denial, that's beyond my reason."

"Cut the crap, Loki. You're just trying to get into my head. As I said, it won't work." I said, trying to sound convincing.

"I don't think I have to try."

I couldn't bring myself to say anything. He was right, even though I didn't admit it even to myself.

That night was the worst so far. Instead of the usual constant, distracting dreams I was lying awake on my bed and my head was spinning. I couldn't stop thinking about my encounter with Loki. I heard his voice in my head, and I constantly kept thinking about what he had said. Was it possible that he knew how he makes me feel? Because no matter how hard I tried I couldn't deny my feelings for him. I had never felt like that about anyone ever before. The feeling was much stronger than I could have imagined. Before this, I didn't know a human being could feel something so strong. I checked my phone for time. 5.30. It was no use trying to fall asleep anymore, since it was just a few hours before I had to be at work. I got up and made myself some coffee. I tried to figure out what I should do, but I couldn't come up with anything reasonable. After I had finished my coffee and eaten some breakfast I left for work, feeling more tired than ever. Because I was in no condition to go on the field today I stayed at the headquarters. People kept looking worried whenever they saw me, and no wonder, I probably looked like a ghost. Or a zombie. Most of the time I didn't pay much attention to what was going on around me. I was too lost in my thoughts. Does he really know? Or was he bluffing? I had to know. I stood up. Nobody seemed to notice. I started walking, trying to look like I was going to the toilet or something. I knew what I was about to do was stupid, but ever since my captivity reason had not been much present in my life. I headed once again towards the prison section. My heart was racing and my feet didn't want to cooperate. Nevertheless, I kept walking. Luckily the guards at the first entrance on my way didn't ask any questions, nor did the next ones. Finally, I reached the entrance to Loki's cell. Once again, the guards let me in and once again they warned me that it might not be a good idea. Like I didn't know. The door closed behind me with a silent thud. There he stood, a cunning expression on his face. I stopped.

"Here again, agent MacKenzie?" he asked with a slight grin on his face. "You just couldn't stay away from me, could you?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about." I said trying to keep my voice steady, but I wasn't entirely successful.

"And yet here you are." he said with almost victorious tone in his voice.

I tried to look as calm as I could, even though my heart was racing. I tried my best not to show a single sign of the emotional storm going on inside me. "You can't pull your tricks on me. Not anymore."

He laughed. "Tricks you say?" Then he vanished.

"Oh yeah, really funny." I said. Suddenly I felt a light touch on my shoulder. "How's this for a trick?" he whispered in my ear. I jumped and turned around swearing in Gaelic.

"Language!" he sniggered mischievously.

"That was a cheap trick, even by your standards." I said, still recovering from the fright.

He took a step closer to me. I stood perfectly still. He looked me in the eyes and said: "Now then, let's talk about why you're really here."

I gulped. I could barely stay on my feet. He was now so close to me I could feel his scent, which really didn't help my concentration. However, I looked back into his eyes, trying to stay brave. "I… I already told you I don't know what you mean."

"For an agent, you're a terrible liar." he said. "Perhaps you may have fooled everyone else, but you're not fooling me. No matter what you say, your body language gives it away. I know you're infatuated with me."

Crap, I thought knowing there was nothing I could say to save myself anymore. I took a deep breath and said: "Okay, fine, I admit it. You're right. Have been since I first saw you. The only reason I have been denying it is because it can never be. It's against everything I am. You're the villain I'm supposed to be fighting against. But I couldn't help it."

For a moment he said nothing, just looked at me with his devilish grin. But this time there was something I hadn't noticed before. There was… warmth in his eyes. Then he said: "You know, I never believed in denying one's true feelings. I think you should always be honest with yourself."

Without thinking it through, I asked: "And are you?"

He pulled me close to him, looked me deep in the eyes and said: "Always.". Then he kissed me. I felt like suddenly every cell in my body had caught fire. I felt intoxicated, hypnotic. I felt his hands moving gently on my back. I ran my fingers through his black hair. After what felt like an eternity we finally separated. The only thought in my mind was wow. He looked at me with an expression that made me feel he knew what I was thinking.

"Well, that was worth the wait." he said.

I couldn't help smiling.

During the following weeks, I used every opportunity I could find to visit Loki. I had to come up with a believable reason for my visits, therefore I told the guards that I had been ordered to interrogate him. Surprisingly enough, they believed it. I felt happier than I had in years, and yet I was more confused than ever. To be swept off my feet like that by a criminal! I knew it wasn't smart, it was absolutely mad. Even crazier was the fact that I constantly kept breaking the rules to be with him. That sure was something I could never have imagined doing. But it was worth the risk. I began to see a whole new side of him, like a ray of light in darkness. And I had discovered a new side in myself as well. In all my years, I had never before done anything illegal, I had never even been in detention during my school years! Now I was constantly breaking the rules, and I liked it. It made me feel alive. However, I realized that sooner or later I was going to be discovered. And if that should happen, I knew I would never be able to be with Loki again. As the days passed this made me more and more nervous. I couldn't bear the idea of losing him. I knew there was only one way I could avoid that. One reckless, dangerous way, more so than anything I had done so far. But I had decided to do it anyway. I had decided to help Loki escape.

Once again, I was walking along the familiar corridors leading to the prison section. I passed the guards as I had done so many times before, knowing this time would be the most dangerous of them all. I knew it had to be done now. I hoped the guards hadn't noticed my nervousness as I entered the cell once more.

"What is it? You look concerned." said Loki as soon as the cell's door had closed behind me. I smiled. Once again, he had read me like an open book.

"This is probably the most stupid thing I've ever said, but here goes. I'm going to help you out of here"

For a moment he said nothing, just looked at me, clearly surprised about what I had just said. Then he said: "You're going to do what?"

"I'm going to help you out of here. But you're going to have to promise something for me in return. You have to promise you will leave Earth and its inhabitants alone."

"Very well then. I promise." he said, still looking a bit baffled. "But how are we going to get out of here?"

I explained my plan to him. It was fairly simple. He had to create an illusion that he was still in his cell and maintain it long enough for us to escape. Then he simply had to follow me out of the cell and out of the headquarters. After that he would be free to go anywhere he liked.

He created an illusion of himself. For a moment, it looked as if there was two of him. Then the real him vanished leaving just the illusion of him in the cell. "Stay close to me." I said. I signalled the guard outside that I was ready to leave, and he opened the door for me. I started making my way towards the main entrance of the headquarters. My heart raced as I tried to look as casual as I could. Luckily no-one seemed to pay more attention to me than usual. Soon I was approaching the main entrance, and then I was out. I continued walking away from the headquarters the same route I always used. I had walked for a little while when I noticed someone walking beside me. I flinched before I realized that it was Loki, disguised as a normal Earth human.

"Jeez Loki, don't sneak upon me like that!"

"I didn't, I was here all along." he laughed.

"Good point." I had to admit. "Nice suit, by the way. Looks good on you."

He smiled, making my heart flutter. For some time, we just walked in silence. People around us didn't seem to pay any attention to us. Then, out of the blue, Loki said: "I want you to come with me."

I stopped, and looked at him. "What?"

"I mean, if you want to. We could go anywhere you like." he said smiling. "After all, it won't be safe for either of us in this realm for a while."

For a moment, I said nothing. That was something that had crossed my mind as well. Because I knew my part in Loki's escape would eventually be discovered. But I had never imagined that he would ask me to come with him. Even though I had secretly hoped he would. "I'd love to." I finally said. "But we have to find a more peaceful place to do it. After all, we can't simply vanish in front of all these people."

"I suppose you're right." he said smiling.

We continued walking for a while. Finally, we found an empty alleyway. "This seems like a good place." I said.

He took my hand, and said: "Ready?"

My heart was pounding and I shivered out of pure excitement. "Ready."

The whole world seemed to melt around us. I felt dizzy, like we were falling, spinning through nothingness. It became dark, so dark I thought I had gone blind. I could barely breathe. Then suddenly the darkness melted away and I could feel ground under my feet again. I saw a new, strange world around me and I was thrilled. As I looked at Loki, I felt more confident than ever. I was ready to begin my new life, together with him.