Hello to all readers! Here I am with the tie-in as I promised earlier. So, this is a companion piece to Sunrise, Solace, Stargazers and Successor. You can read those, but it is not necessary for catching up here.
And yes, I know, next Loki/Jane story of mine... However, I'm afraid I am a hopeless Lokane fan :) And if you feel as one yourself, make sure to check payheravisit community at livejournal! Such a great place, you won't regret it!
As usual, I own nothing. Not even the title of this story - if you check on the last album by Joe Satriani, you will know what I mean :) Speaking of which - it is truly an amazing piece of music, and hereby I encourage everyone to listen to it while reading this story.
Important note: This takes place right after Loki's first fall to Earth at the end of the Thor movie.
Chapter 1: Behind Green Eyes
No one knows what it's like
To be hated
To be fated
To telling only lies…
(The Who; Behind Blue Eyes)
A lone figure was lying in the vast desert dirt. No footprint around, no tracks. Just a lonesome, black-haired man on the ground.
He didn't know how long he had been lying there. He didn't know where he was. He didn't know where he came from. And with that realization lingering somewhere near his consciousness and the flickering starlight above him, he fell asleep again.
Next day, he stirred as the intense sunbeams penetrated the thin skin of his eyelids. He was sweating heavily. He remembered falling. And fear.
He felt bruised all over. But that did not matter as a thought came to existence in his blank mind.
Loki.
Is this my name?
He spoke the word aloud, weighing it, judging it from different angles. The sound was odd and dull, spoken in a place like this; it just dissolved and faded away in the dry air. But yes, he was certain now. It was his name. With that, he realized one more thing. He was able to get himself out of the place. However, the power needed had been depleted. Even the power source to move was away. So he decided to think and explore his mind, lying still under the burning sun.
How many times the golden-and-blue sky was replaced by the comforting night?
A silly question.
But it was enough to fill his veins with strength to get up and flee this long forgotten, abandoned land. It was enough to give him time to find out everything he needed to know about his personality and past.
How could I have ended up like this? He asked himself. It wasn't that bad after all. However, his first travel through the wormhole turned out to be quite clumsy and unpleasant. I must improve next time.
It was night again. And with something very close to determination, he stood up and stretched his tall, lean body. He looked up. The constellations were wrong. Where is this darn place? He turned around to have a full view of the dimly illuminated landscape.
No.
This can't be…
Midgard.
He noticed a weak glow on the east side of the horizon. But he still felt too weak to just let himself vanish in the air and reappear in the town. But on the contrary, after a few strides he felt strong enough to transform into something that would get him there quickly enough.
So he breathed out and fell on his knees. And in a moment, a black mare was striding down the desert. It stopped, prickling its ears. And then, the horse set off towards the lights and ran.
Loki dilated his nostrils, taking in gulps of the cool night air. It felt so refreshing. It felt so good…
He laughed to himself, what came out as an enthusiastic whinny, and low energy reserves or not, he sped up.
Loki, now sitting behind a table in a fast food restaurant, looked around the room. At the table next to him, a person called 'truck driver Eddie' was feeding on a too big, unappealing piece of his meal. Said person cursed as the sauce dripped on his shirt. The smell of this ugly being reached Loki's senses, making his brows knit together in disgust. Loki turned away and looked outside the window. A van with a noisy, malfunctioning engine passed by, stirring the dust.
Midgard kept always to itself. It was too long ago since its inhabitants broke all the bonds with the other realms. Loki laughed, full of disdain. Well, there's certainly not much to regret about it.
Truth, it looked very different now, but did it look better? Was there any progress towards perfection and beauty, towards something higher, superior and eternal?
No.
If there were any words to describe this place, in wouldn't be wondrous or beautiful. Or even interesting. Loki frowned.
No. This place was dirty. Noisy. Meaningless.
Pointless.
That was the right word.
Loki brought his hand slowly up to his lips and took another small bite of one of the French fries. Then he washed it down with a sip of water, got up to his feet and walked outside.
It was night again. And standing on the top of the highest rock around the town of Puente Antiguo, embracing himself, Loki let his supernatural senses spread around the landscape. He was determined to leave this place, but before that he decided, for the last time, to search for something worthy his attention. And suddenly, his eyes shot open in surprise.
It seems I underestimated you, humans.
His wide emerald eyes narrowed as he turned in the direction of the source of power so endless.
Far in the distance, he saw flickering lights of a few buildings hidden in the night. There it was.
And pure fury and hatred started oozing through Loki's veins.
You dull, stupid mortals. You don't have a slightest clue what are you handling right now. It's of no use in your incompetent hands.
There's no use. There's no excuse for your impudent behavior. For there's no other rightful owner than me.
Me.
He looked back at the small town.
Prepare yourselves, filthy little rats. Prepare to bow to a new master.
Loki stepped closer and let the dim glow emitted by the computer screen pour over him. Just a few inches were separating them now.
Him and this fragile mortal.
Jane Foster.
He allowed a small smirk to his features and slowly, so slowly, he bent forward. Quickly he went through and absorbed all the data being displayed on the screen.
Seemingly, Miss Foster needed a considerably longer time to do the same, so in the meantime, Loki shifted slightly to the side of her chair and focused on the mighty Thor's plaything.
An oasis in the dullness of this world, aren't you, Jane? Not that you are some kind of exception, or something special amongst the poor human race. But, you see, you have a meaning. You have a purpose in my scheme. You offer me all the possible knowledge so openly, so eagerly.
However, this spring will inevitably run dry in the end.
And then, together we'll let my dearest, so-called brother know what it means to become a plaything of mine.
My sweetest Jane.
He bent forward again, slowly, deliberately. And his eyes went shut as he took in the scent of her skin rather unintentionally.
A sudden, startled movement sent him immediately back. Now standing engulfed in the shadow of the dark room he listened to his quickened breath and waited, digging his stare into Jane's searching eyes. Her breath became shallow, her heart was racing; he could sense it all even from this distance.
However, it meant nothing. Because Loki knew that Jane Foster might have been many things, but in the end, she was still a mere mortal. And even if she suspected something, she had no clue about what was happening in front of her.
Jane looked around the empty room and stopped at the surveillance camera in the corner. She furrowed her brows. Surely you must be having fun, Stark. She snorted in her thoughts as she turned back to the screen.
Maybe the time had come to go home, Jane. She decided eventually.
Jane ran her fingers through her wet hair for one last time and turned the shower off. She stepped outside, grabbed a towel hanging on the wall and started to dry her hair. But suddenly she stopped, looked up and around the bathroom.
Since afternoon she couldn't get rid of the strange feeling of being watched.
She sighed. After those few recent security alerts they had more video cameras and microphones in the research compound than at the Super Bowl match.
Maybe even here..? Or maybe I'm just being paranoid. Or… Okay, that was the last shower I took here.
She then dried her body rather quickly and slipped into clean underwear and clothes and walked out the room in a hurry.
As the door closed, Loki looked in the partly steamed mirror and smiled slightly at his reflection.
Perhaps I should rearrange my schedule a bit. He thought and gave the 'Visit Jane Foster' task a high priority tag.
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