Disclaimer: Not my characters, etc. etc. Don't own anything, etc. etc. Enjoy!
It was dark, it was rainy, and all Jane wanted to do was drink a nice hot cup of coffee and finish the calculations she was currently working on. Unfortunately she wasn't at home, but rather visiting the university in Albuquerque, and the cheap motel she was staying at couldn't even afford in-room coffee pots. It was one of the rare trips to campus she made to prove to her department she wasn't just sitting in the middle of the desert dicking around with grant money.
She sighed in frustration after failing for the fourth time to get a relatively simple equation to balance out. Deciding continuing without adequate caffeine was an exercise in futility she quickly looked up the closest coffee shop online. She was in luck, as it was just a block down the street. She had, however, failed to pack an umbrella. Throwing her papers and laptop in a bag and clutching it to her chest, Jane prepared to speed walk down the street.
It was after sunset, but not terribly late. The sidewalk was nearly deserted due to the rain and Jane didn't pass anyone on her short trip to the coffee shop. From the outside it looked warm and inviting.
She barged in the door quickly, pausing once inside to shake some of the rain off. Jane ordered the largest latte they had and found a place to work while waiting. It was small, only ten tables and a few scattered chairs and couches. There was a couple sitting by the window, oblivious to the world around them, a small study group on a couch by the fireplace debating the merits of Freudian psychology, and a man in the back corner reading a newspaper in between sips of a Turkish coffee.
Jane chose a table near the back large enough for four or five people. Spreading out her papers and computer, she covered the entire surface. By the time she was settled in her drink was up. She smiled at the young college girl who handed it to her before retreating to her make-shift desk. On one half was spread pages of graph paper cramped with close-written pencil equations and diagrams. Dominating the other was a Norse mythology reference book and her laptop. Before long Jane was in her own caffeine-fueled world, finally seeing what the formula had been missing. She truly felt she was one step closer to figuring out how to begin a connection to another world. It was all highly theoretical, of course, but she knew it could be done, she'd seen it happen, and that thought filled her with confidence.
Half an hour or so after starting, she paused to stretch languidly, raising her arms overhead and cracking her knuckles. She glanced around the shop. The couple had disappeared, the study group had grown, and the man in the corner was watching her over the top of his newspaper. His green eyes glimmered as he lowered the paper so she could see his smile. Jane hesitantly returned a grin before turning back to her work. She rolled her shoulders, fighting the urge to look back at the man. Surely he was just trying to be friendly, she reassured herself. But something in his face had seemed off, mischievous almost, and despite being dressed in a tailored suit he gave off a animalistic air.
Jane took a sip of her latte, which was growing cold, before switching gears. Setting aside the sheaf of papers she'd been furiously scratching notes on she turned to the reference book. It was a large tome which compiled the majority of existing written Norse myths translated into English with innumerable footnotes about composition, variations, approximate time frames, and so on. Since Thor's appearance and subsequent disappearance from Earth she'd been slowly reading through it, trying to discern what other magic mentioned in the stories may be based on achievable scientific feats. It was, she had to admit, rather tedious work. The myths were inconsistent and vague on key points, in addition to being written, or rather translated, into rather flowery prose.
She had barely gotten through half a page before she sensed someone hovering just out of her range of vision. Looking up and across the table, she saw the newspaper man standing next to a chair holding out a fresh latte.
"Oh, um, hi," Jane sputtered.
"May I join you?" the man asked, voice smooth and confident. Without waiting for an answer he moved closer to set the latte in front of her, taking her cold one out of reach.
Jane smiled nervously. "Um, sure," she replied in shocked tone. This was new, this was something she wasn't used to. She couldn't recall the last time she'd been hit on by a stranger, let alone one who obviously used more hair product than she would in her whole life to slick back his dark hair.
The man appeared oblivious to her internal dialogue and pulled out a chair directly across from her, briefly rearranging his green scarf as he sat. "I could not help noticing you are studying an odd combination of subjects." Jane swore he drawled it as his eyes bored into hers.
She glanced down at the book open in front of her and then to the stack of papers next to it. "Yes, I suppose I am," she nearly giggled, feeling nervous. She had the unfortunate feeling he was about to ask why and in the process make her look incredibly foolish. She wasn't disappointed.
"Strange, yet I wonder how does one combine astrophysics with Norse mythology?" His tone was carefully measured and he tilted his head a fraction to the side, a grin playing at his lips.
"Just two separate interests I happen to be studying tonight," she attempted to dismiss any connection.
"Truthfully?" the man laughed, literally laughed at her. She felt her face flush as her gaze dropped momentarily. "I do not believe you."
Jane grabbed the latte he had set in front of her for something to do with her hands. "Honestly?" she shook her head. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you."
The man clasped his hands on the table in front of him. "Please," he pleaded, voice sounding exceptionally earnest, "I insist."
She rolled her eyes and took a long sip of the fresh latte in her hands. It seemed quite strong, but she didn't mind. Taking a deep breath, and without quite knowing why, Jane burst out, "I met a Norse god who told me magic is just science we haven't figured out yet so now I'm trying to figure it out so I can bring him back to Earth, or maybe get to him, I'm not really clear on all the details yet, but I know it can be done since I saw him do it and I'm not going to stop until-" she cut off abruptly and stared open-mouthed at the man across from her. "And now you think I'm crazy..." she trailed off.
The man smiled, but a hint of darkness touched his eyes. "I will admit," he began, "it appears quite a fantastic tale. But," he leaned in closer, "truth can, at times, be far from the realm of accepted possibility." His word choice and grammar were beginning to set off tiny warning bells in Jane's mind, adding to the suspicions his gaze and tone had already inspired.
"I'm sorry," she said, a slightly worried tone coming through despite herself. "I have to get going." She shut her laptop and slid it quickly into her bag. "Meetings in the morning," she continued, feeling the need to make an excuse.
"Apologies are not necessary," the man easily stated. Jane reached for her papers, starting to stand. "But might I request your name, miss...?" he asked, holding out a hand as if to shake hers.
By reflex Jane grasped his hand and said, "Foster. Sorry, I meant Jane."
"Pleasure to meet you," the man grinned up at her. He still hadn't released her hand and it was making her rather uncomfortable.
"Um, I have to leave now." Her voice was plainly distraught and she glanced over at the other customers, who were unfortunately oblivious to the pair.
"Do you not wish to know who I am?" His cocked eyebrow told her she was being mocked while the tightened grip on her hand let her know she was being threatened.
"Not in particular, no," Jane raised her voice and tried to pull her hand free to no avail. "Let me go," she demanded, "or I will scream bloody murder." Her free hand picked her bag up from the chair next to her and lifted it slightly, ready to swing back and hit the man.
"Laufeyson." Jane froze, dropping the bag back to the chair. "Sorry, I meant Loki," he deadpanned.
"You're not fucking funny," she shouted, trying to step back but held in place. No one else in the coffee shop even reacted, as though they couldn't hear her at all.
"That was not an attempt at humor, Jane Foster," Loki replied, all pretense gone. "A mere statement of fact." He pulled her arm down, making her crumple back into her chair. "Sit and stay awhile longer, if it so pleases you."
Jane wasn't entirely convinced yet, but whether or not this man was Thor's brother was much less an issue than her safety. "Help me!" she screamed, voice growing shrill as she tried to use the table as leverage to free her hand, still secure in his grip. In the front of the store the other customers and the barista carried on, smiling and chatting with one another.
"They cannot hear you," Loki told her in a patronizing tone.
Her gaze snapped back to him and she froze. "Why not?"
"Because I wish to speak with you uninterrupted. Now," he brought his free hand to rest on her forearm, a painful chill sinking into Jane's skin, "will you listen?"
Unable to deny that this must indeed be Loki, she took a slow shaky breath to ignore the pain before replying. "Why are you here?" she asked softly, fear evident.
Loki's face was unreadable as he lightly told her, "It is rather simple, I am a bit disappointed you must ask." He released her hand, which she quickly snatched back, contemplating making a run for the door. Her lingering gaze on it alerted Loki to her thoughts. "Were I you, I would not test my patience."
She sat back in the chair and crossed her arms tightly across her chest. "What do you want?" she repeated her question, voice a little stronger now that she wasn't in pain.
"You are attempting to rebuild the Bifrost, are you not?" he demanded, tone low.
She shifted her gaze away from his, finding it too intimidating. "Not exactly," she dodged, concerned the full honest answer might be dangerous, though she was interested to hear the Bifrost had been destroyed.
"I am not a fool, Jane Foster." Loki leaned forward. "Though primitive, I can read your half-formed theories. I know you wish to bring him back."
"Thor," she whispered, almost unconsciously. Loki scoffed and it suddenly occurred to Jane that he shouldn't be here if the Bifrost was broken. There had to be another way across. "Where is he?" she begged, slightly ashamed of how much the thought of Thor injured disturbed her.
"How predictable," Loki derided her. "Would you like the truth or a pretty lie?"
Jane shook her head, realization dawning. "No, I know what you're doing. You're just going to tell me he's dead whether or not it's true so I'll stop trying to find him," she accused. Loki didn't respond, aside from a small quirk of his lips. "He has to be alive, or you wouldn't care if I found a way to Asgard."
He didn't miss a beat. "You mistakenly assume Thor is the only enemy I have there," he countered.
She faltered for a moment before her face lit up and she met his gaze full on. "But you didn't say I wanted to find a way to Asgard. You specifically said I wanted to bring Thor back to Earth." She spared a glance at the other people in the shop, still blissfully ignorant and when she looked back to Loki she saw a quiet anger in his eyes.
"You will stop this pursuit," he told her, clearly threatening, "or you will be made to stop."
Jane stilled and was suddenly aware of the fact that this man, or god, had almost destroyed an entire town, her town. "And if I don't?" She wasn't sure why she asked, but for some reason she needed to hear him say it.
He softly began, "Should you be so careless as to disobey me," his voice grew louder, "you will find yourself alone, broken, at the end of a trail of blood." Jane shrank back, but he wasn't finished. "I will personally destroy all those you cherish, Jane Foster, and when I am finished, when you are without friend or family or a place of refuge and all you have left is the thought of how short and pathetic all your lives truly are, I will crush you," he slammed his hand on the table and Jane jumped. Leaning back he ran a hand through his hair. "For that is how easy it would be." Jane's eyes brimmed with tears and Loki seized on that fact to mock her. "How weak you are, how utterly foolish to think you could do anything but what I command."
Jane shook her head, a few tears escaping to run down her cheek. "He'll find a way back," she sniffled, attempting and failing to sound defiant.
"Oh I am certain of that," Loki scowled. "But you will not aid him in this task." He picked up her stack of papers and Jane automatically reached out to stop him without thinking. Standing quickly he captured her wrist with his other hand and twisted it painfully to the side, making Jane stand to try and ease the strain. "Are you really that careless with your life?"
"That's my life's work," she grimaced, making a grab for the papers with her free hand. Loki dropped them and before they hit the ground they were ashes. Jane cried out in shock as she was shoved roughly against the wall behind her, hands pinned to either side of her head.
"That is nothing but paper you can easily reproduce," he pointed out, effortlessly containing her struggles. "If you cannot assure me you will not do so, I will kill you where you stand." The cool matter-of-fact way he said it sent a chill down her spine.
"So kill me," Jane spat, anger winning over fear at that particular moment. "What's stopping you?"
Loki sighed and glanced to the side for a moment. "Because when my idiot brother inevitably returns to Midgard, you will be an exceptional weakness I can exploit." He searched her face briefly. "Though I cannot understand what he sees in such a frail creature," he muttered disdainfully.
Jane sagged against the wall, aghast. "You're keeping me alive so you can torture me later," she restated, voice disturbingly flat.
He shrugged in response, a seemingly uncharacteristic move, and released her arms without stepping back. "Yes." Despite his penchant for lies and manipulation, Jane had the feeling he was perfectly serious.
"Wonderful." She felt weak and he allowed her to brush past him and sink into a chair.
Loki pulled a second chair close in front of hers and sat down, invading her personal space again. "Do we have an agreement, then?" Jane closed her eyes and nodded her head. "Good," he replied, and she felt him stand. Opening her eyes she saw him looking down at her curiously.
"I'm not the only one working on it," she halfheartedly threatened.
"I am well aware of the others," he grinned. "They, too, will be stopped." He turned to walk away but only got a few steps before turning around. "I will be watching, Jane Foster, so do not think to take up this search again."
"Why are you doing this?" she insisted boldly, needing to know what she could expect from him in the future.
He stopped and turned halfway to face her. "I thought I made it clear I do not want Thor to return to Midgard," he said, raising an eyebrow.
"But why?" Jane pressed, standing and placing her hands on the table between them.
Loki smiled and shook his head lightly, a soft chuckle escaping his lips. Spreading his arms wide and looking to either side of him he laughed loudly, seemingly unable to hold it in. "Because I intend to rule the world." Still grinning broadly he turned and walked out the door into the rain.
Jane stood shocked for several long minutes, mouth hanging open. The other patrons in the shop starting sending furtive glances at her, apparently able to notice her once more. Their attention snapped her back to reality and quickly she grabbed her things and dashed out the door. Once on the street she searched up and down for Loki, but there was no sign of him. She supposed she should find this unsurprising, but it disturbed her greatly. After quickly walking back to the hotel to grab her belongings she checked out, threw everything in her van, and hit the road back to Puente Antiguo, more determined than ever to bring Thor back.