*Re-written as of 02.10.2018*
I have to laugh - guess who is back with yet another story. This was something I had stashed away and I'm kinda back into writing now but whatever...I just want to upload for funnies so I hope you all enjoy the read.
Full Summery - Neither human nor Asgardian, Caelum Turner lives his life with a foot in both worlds but never truly belonging in either. Having grown up in the custody of SHIELD after the death of his father, Cale has the pleasure of being known as the youngest Avenger. His entire life Cale has lived by a very clear set of rules; protect those who can't protect themselves, keep your powers hidden from the public, do not befriend the enemy. When the God of Mischief enters his life, everything that Cale knows is turned upside down, friendships grown and romance starts to bloom. Lines that were once so clear, start to blur. As it turns out, Cale was never really one to follow the rules.
Tell me where do I go
The first time he truly met Loki Laufeyson was right after the Battle of New York. Close encounters and exchanges of magic were not enough in Caelum Turner's eyes to be considered a true meeting. He wanted to know why the Asgardian was the monster under the bed according to the other Avengers. From all the stories his father had read to him as a kid, it only made Cale think of one thing - the god deserved to be pissed off at everyone. Laying in bed staring at the plasterboard wall of his standard issue bedroom, it was the only thing on Cale's mind.
And it wasn't through lack of trying.
Natasha would chastise him for even thinking that way, but right now he really couldn't care less about the state of his mind. Cale was curious by nature, he always had been, and the assassin was always telling him that curiosity killed the cat, especially when it came to a sociopath like Loki. Clint would tell him that he was only nineteen, just a kid, that he didn't understand what was going on despite the fact that SHIELD and the Avengers had used him to fight for them. Cale but his lip and threw back the covers. "This is stupid," the teenager muttered.
Only twenty-four hours had passed since the fight, and the World Security Council argued over what was going to happen to the enemy commander. Loki was locked away in a prison cell, bound and muzzled to prevent him from using his powers. Cale was going to pay the man a visit, or at least try to. He pulled on a shirt, wincing at the stitches in his chest that pulled against his skin. He may have an Asgardian mother but it didn't mean he had their ability to heal instantly. He opened the door and made his way down the corridor or the SHIELD facility they were staying in. Tony had offered him a room at Stark Tower but Cale declined, in hindsight, this was probably the reason why.
"Is there a problem Agent Turner?" The man that had asked the question was one of the guards the frequently patrolled this level. Cale was pretty sure his name was Aaron but the tag on his uniform just said WEST. They did this whenever the teenager was struck with one of his infamous bouts of insomnia. It was almost like it was a game at this point.
Cale shook his head. "Nope. No problem. Just going for a walk. Like I always do when I can't sleep." He smiled warmly at him, pausing casually. "How's Lorna? What about the kids?" he questioned, curious about the man's wife and family. He'd gotten to know about them one day during lunch by accident, since then he'd been a well of information on them.
"Lorna's good, so is the baby," West grinned. "We had the nineteen week scan the other day and the baby's a girl. Lorna is over the moon, she's finally gotten that girl she always wanted. And Tommy scored his first goal at soccer the other day, Bradley managed to play his first song on the piano. The family is going pretty damn well Cale."
He grinned. "Well that's great, say hi to them for me when you get home," Cale urged him. "And tell Tommy to keep up the good work and I'm dying to hear Bradley play something...anything really."
West chuckled. "You'll probably regret saying that but I'm sure Bradley would love it." He checked his watch and sighed. "I'm overdue for my next checkpoint call-in. Sorry Cale, gotta go."
Satisfied that West actually believed him, Cale continued on his way. It really wasn't uncommon for any of them to see the redhead walking around the building in his pajamas late at night, often barefoot and munching on candy of some kind. Cale stopped near a stairwell and headed on down, eventually leaving the building altogether.
The facility that Cale had lived in for the past five years of his life had its own prison on the other side of the compound, but mostly it was just living quarters. Whilst it was rarely used due to the minimal security, the last day had been incredibly interesting to say the least. There were people everywhere, even at this time of night. None of them seemed to be bothered by the teenager walking around in Captain America pajamas and an Iron Man shirt {Tony would have a field day}. Cale ventured inside the building only to find himself immediately stopped by two men he'd never seen before. "You can't be here kid."
"Um...why?" he asked innocently, tilting his head to the side. For whatever reason, Cale figured that none of them knew exactly who he was or what he could do.
"Junior agents don't have the security clearance to be in here." The second of the pair lent over and whispered something in his companions ear, his eyes grew wide and he stared at Cale like he'd suddenly grown an extra head or something. "You're an Avenger?" It was almost hard to believe that a skinny kid with red hair and too many freckles could be a defender of the Earth...especially seeing him standing there looking like he needed a solid twenty hours sleep.
Cale nodded. "Yup. Caelum Turner. I'm just checking shit out incase Loki pulls a fast one. So that gives me...like five minutes before you dob me into the brass right?" he asked. "Ten at most?" Seeing the dumbfounded looks on both their faces made him grin like the Cheshire Cat. "Thanks guys. Appreciate it. I'm sure I can get you a fruit basket for the trouble. Or one off those chocolate flower things. But you gotta share." He stepped between the two and continued on down the corridor, taking another two flights of stairs before he found the floor that he was looking for.
The cells were running parallel to each other were empty aside from the life force at the end of the corridor. The two guards guarding the only occupied cell hadn't even noticed that Cale was there. He squared his shoulders and immediately started to weave a spell inside his mind. His mother was an Asgardian sorceress, and his father was a former member of the Masters of the Mystic Arts. Magic was in his blood, no matter how he choose to look at it. Once the spell was weaved together, Cale flicked his wrist, layering the entire thing over the level, allowing him to walk right through the walls. The sight inside the cell made his heart pound inside his chest.
And he wasn't sure if it was in a good way or not.
He stepped forward and knelt in front of the bound god, not phased in the slightest when those emerald eyes flickered open, glaring daggers at him. "Hello," Cale waved, smiling widely. "I'm Caelum...you probably remember me from when you took the Tesseract from SHIELD and brainwashed my adoptive brother. Stay still for me for a second." He reached forward and took the muzzle off the god, letting it drop to the ground. "Better?"
"What are you doing mortal?" he sneered. The god's lips were curled in a cruel scowl that twisted his sharply perfect features.
Cale found himself a spot on the floor where he looked up at Loki. "You're interesting and well...frankly I wanted to say I can understand why you're pissed off at the system." With a wave of his hand, a glass of water appeared on the ground in front of him. "You want a drink of water?" He propped himself up on his knees to offer the fallen god a drink. Loki appeared to think about it before relenting and allowing him to help. "Better?"
"Why are you being kind to me?" Loki demanded to know. There had to be an ulterior motive in the human's actions, they were a species not to be trusted.
"Because that's what humans do don't we?" Cale shrugged. There was so little truth in that statement that it made him die a little inside. "Well the good ones anyway. Sure we fight over petty things but in the end, most of us are good." He glanced back at the door and sighed, "I've probably got about a hundred and twenty seconds before someone comes busting through the door to drag my ass out of here. It was nice talking to you Loki, even if I was doing most of the talking. I'll probably have to put the muzzle back on, which by the way, given what has happened to you over your life, is pretty cruel."
"And what do you mean by that mortal?" he scowled.
"You were always my favorite god," Cale confessed. "My dad used to read me stories of you when I was a kid much to my mum's annoyance. She was all the Trickster god is the worst god of the lot of them." He held the glass up a second time as to offer him another drink which the god took without question but the sneer remained. Cale had a feeling that Loki always held a constant sneer on his face but guess that his smile had to be stunning. "Can I ask you to do something for me? I get that you don't owe me anything considering we royally kicked your ass, but I don't know what's going to happen to you but if you end up in your super secret Asgard prison and they don't kill you, can you keep an eye out for my mum?"
Now it was Loki's turn to be curious about the mortal sitting in front of him. "Your mother? Who is your mother? And why do you get the impression that your mother would be on Asgard?"
"That's because she's from Asgard," he answered. "I had eight glorious years with her before daddy Odin came knocking and stealing her away from me. Her name is Lorelei," Cale smiled softly, putting the muzzle back on the god left a sour taste in his mouth. He just put the final clasp in when the door flew open with a crash and the two of them found Thor standing there with a thunderous look on his face. Behind him were Clint and Natasha who, whilst looking like perfectly crafted stone, had anger in their eyes. "And that's my cue. It was a pleasure to officially meet you Loki."
"What in the world do you think you're doing kid?" Clint demanded to know. He grabbed Cale under the arm, practically dragging him out of the cell. "You don't just stand there and have a chat with him, he's the enemy! He's not your best friend Caelum!"
Cale rolled his eyes. "Pity, next I was thinking we could sit there and braid each other's hair, talk about boys. That sort of thing." Seeing the glare on Clint's face made the sorcerer snort. "I couldn't sleep, I was curious. So I wanted to see Loki. Seriously Clint that's some fucked up human rights violations. No food, no water? I offered him something to drink. So sue me." The theenager crossed his arms and tilted his head to the side, daring them to challenge him. "You SHIELD guys can be pretty heartless sometimes you know that?" he pouted as Thor came out of the cell, slamming the door behind him.
"What kind of game are you playing Son of Turner?!" Thor demanded to know. He crossed his arms, trying to impose his height on the younger male. "You need to explain yourself immediately."
"I don't need to do anything," Cale answered. He yawned and ran a hand through his hair, making the red strands stick up all over the place. "I'm tired, guess we'll see each other later Thor." The teenager walked back in the direction of his bedroom. He almost thought he'd gotten back to his room scott-free but before he could open his door, Cale felt a hand on his arm. When he looked down, he saw the familiar feminine hand that belonged to Natasha. She was here to give him that lecture he knew was coming. "Can it wait until morning? I'm tired."
"Afraid not kiddo," Natasha responded. "You know the rules about pulling stuff like that. The fact those agents even let you pass just because you're one of-"
"Hey, you guys recruited me to the team in the first place," Cale cut her off. "Honestly Nat, I can look after myself even when it comes to sociopathic guy like Loki, who, by the way, is so misunderstood."
"Misunderstood?" Natasha quoted. The assassin had the trademark explain yourself immediately look on her face or she was going to make you. The look had a habit of making Cale want to confess his every crime. Coming into SHIELD custody at the age of eleven, and growing up with older sibling figures like Natasha Romanoff and Clint Barton meant that Cale had a minor ability to resist that. "He murdered thousands of people over the last week Caelum. Directly or indirectly. He's not just misunderstood. You need to be more careful. Now go back to sleep and we can talk with Director Fury about this in the morning."
"Do I have to Nat?" Cale pouted.
"It's either that or you can look at the college applications that Tony left for you," the assassin grinned, a feral glint in her eyes. Both she and Clint were trying to get Cale to find an interest in attending university. They were of the like mind that there was more to life than just using your powers to fight crime. Apparently he could be out there getting drunk, enjoying life...or something like that. Ever since he'd met both Tony and Pepper, the pressure to be normal was getting more intense. It was hard for them to understand that Cale didn't want normal. He wasn't even remotely like that. Caelum Turned embraced the weird and everything that came with it.
Cale sighed and crossed his arms. "Fine. We can talk to Director Fury after eleven. Anything earlier than that is just straight out horrible."
Natasha arched an eyebrow. "Caelum, you're a SHIELD agent-"
"Who just participated in a giant battle of New York and used nearly all my magic reserves," Cale cut her off. "I'm tapped out. I need sleep but I'm wired and my body won't allow me to do any of that. I'm half Asgardian, half human. The human part of me gives me my limitations Nat."
"Over tired huh?" the assassin concluded. "Look, Cale, just try and get some sleep okay? And stay away from Loki." Yeah he was never living that one down. "He'll be gone tomorrow with Thor, and as you said when he first came to Earth, you don't know if you can trust him not to report your existence back to Odin considering the man doesn't know you exist. Just be careful Cale."
Cale nodded as he opened his door, the memory of him coming home from school to find his father on the sofa crying and his mother gone was still fresh in his mind. "I always am red. Night Nat." The teenager closed the door in her face and trudged back over to his bed. Putting aside the lecture that he knew he was going to get from Fury in the morning, Cale couldn't stop grinning. He was officially curious about Loki Laufeyson and you know what they say about curiosity killing the cat...Cale always wanted to know if he had nine lives.