Author's Note: First Avengers fanfic! Thanks to Aileen Autarkeia for the encouragement and support! I do not own the Avengers, but I do own Ilia! Yay! By the way, there's no pairings right now. If you want, go ahead and review with some ideas. (I'm not sure if it'll be a Loki/OC or not...) I don't do slash. Please read and review! ~Jazzy
Smudged
Chapter 1: Surprise, Surprise
She stood quietly on the roof of the Stark Tower, her legs dangling off of the edge. Down below her the city was silent. Eerily silent. New York was never this quiet. But it was the calm before the storm. She knew the plans Loki had developed for the world. Plans of domination and victory. He had told her in his excitement, he probably didn't mean to. She hadn't decided if she was going to stop it yet.
With a sigh, she jumped off the building.
The air rushed around her face, her hair billowing behind her. It blew into her ears, deafening her. Her clothes whipped around her. She felt free.
The ground approached quickly. She reached towards her right arm and gave it a tap. Large bird-like wings appeared behind her, catching the wind and elevating her aerial position. They were a light cream, dappled with dark brown spots. She manuevered them with ease, having developed flying muscles long ago.
She gently landed on the ground, the wings- having fulfilled their purpose- folded themselves up behind her, then dissolved into her skin. With a shudder, she walked down the street. She wasn't quite used to their dissolving yet. She pulled a communicator out of her jean pocket, turning it on with a click of a button.
"Requesting Transport to the Bird. Over." She murmured into the small speaker inside it. The communicator was small, barely bigger then a quarter. But it had incredible signal power. There were perks for working with the most brilliant minds around.
The communicator buzzed with a reply. "Helicopter has been deployed. Over." She turned it off with a smirk. They had wanted to her to return to the mothership immediately… 1 hour ago. They'd probably be a bit annoyed at her tardiness. She sat on a bench in a nearby bus stop. A few minutes passed uneventfully. Overhead, she heard the rotating propeller of the helicopter.
She stood herself up and walked over to it, stepping inside. The pilot nodded, and the helicopter took off. The assistant pilot tossed her a helmet with a smile. She frowned in reply. The ride lasted a little over an hour, even with the incredibly fast technology equipped. But she wasn't complaining. It was good thinking time.
The helicopter eventually approached the large hovercraft that was flying over Europe. It landed on a large red helipad. She took of her helmet, leaving it on the seat. She grabbed her ID out of her second pocket, flashing it to the military guard near the base entrance. He nodded.
"Go ahead, Ms. Ilia." He said, opening the door for her.
The ship was big. It flew on 4 huge fan propellers. Multiple cooridors and hallways awaited her inside. She walked down the dark hallway to the left noiselessly. You couldn't even hear her footprints.
She pushed open the bathroom door, stepping inside and locking it. She paused in front of the mirror, glancing at her appearance. She had looked better. She turned on the faucet, and splashed water in her face and hair. She had dark black hair and light blue, nearly grey, eyes. She was tall for her age of 18, at 5'11". She wore a black ribbed tee shirt and jeans. On her arms were a variety of tattoos. Her left wrist portrayed fire, on her bicep was a cloud of darkness, and on her inside arm was a small swirling current of wind. Her right arm contained a small drop of water on the wrist, a green vine on the inside, and on the bicep were two elegant wings.
She approached the lockers inside, opening one with a spare hairpin she always carried. She grabbed a purple jacket from the locker, slamming it shut. She pulled it on, disguising her tattoos. No one needed to see them. Especially since they were supposed to be a classified secret.
She walked outside of the bathroom, towards the conference room, where she was supposed to have been 2 hours ago. She pushed open both doors dramatically.
She was met with multiple glares.
"Ms. Ilia. So glad you decided to show up." The cold voice of Nick Fury echoed in the large room. With a frown, she pulled a chair out of the table and sat down at the opposite end. She raised a solitary eyebrow. Nick Fury wasn't very tall, but he could intimidate practically anyone. He wore a black eyepatch over his left eye. The one remaining eye stared unblinkingly at her.
"What was so urgent that you needed me here? Now of all times?" She asked. Ilia had been deep undercover, working, hiding, doing her job. What was so important she needed to go halfway across the world?
"I wanted you to meet the Avengers." He said simply, gesturing towards the filled chairs. That couldn't be all of it. There had to be more. But she played along, like a good girl should.
She looked at the people in the room. She knew who they were. But she hoped they didn't know who she was. She needed a clean slate. Especially if she was going to be working with them.
"Everyone," They all looked at Fury. "This is Ilia, a field agent… of sorts. She'll be working indirectly with you." He emphasized "indirectly" with a meaningful glance at Ilia. The Avengers nodded, adding small greetings.
"Tony Stark." Fury pointed at the man sitting next to him. Stark a rich genius with far too much time on his hands. His dark brown hair was messy, and he wore a simple shirt and jeans, a faint glow and humming noise coming from the arc reactor on his chest. He smiled at her, Ilia shook her head. She also knew his reputation with the ladies.
"Steve Rogers." Next to Stark sat a young man. He had light caramel colored hair and large muscles. He wore a uniform, red white and blue spandex. In the seat next to him was a large shield. A few bullet marks and soot covered it, yet it wasn't any worse for wear.
"Doctor Banner." Although the man looked quiet and calm now, Ilia could almost see the restricted anger in him. Banner had black hair and tanned skin. He wore a white laboratory-esc jacket. A filled notebook lay on the table in front of him.
"Natasha Romanoff." Ilia knew that the field agent had no "superpowers" but she was just as deadly as the rest of them. Her red hair was curled into a ponytail, and she wore a slick black suit. Natasha gave a knowing grin.
"And then there's Thor." Thor was tall, muscular, and intimidating. He had shoulder length blonde hair and wore thick armor decorated with metal circles and a long red cape. In his hand was a large hammer. Thor's blue eyes pierced Ilia's skin. Thor definitely knew something about her. His face was a carefully constructed mask.
"Thank you, Dr. Fury, for the introduction. But I know that this isn't what you brought me here for." Ilia said finally, twirling a pen on the large desk.
"On target as usual. I just wanted you to meet the Avengers first. If you would come this way…?" Fury stood up, striding towards the door. With a silent sigh, she followed him. The doors closed behind them with a slam. Muted voices sounded on the other side. They were talking about her.
"Ilia, we've got Loki." Fury said. She paused.
"How?"
"It's complicated" was all he offered.
"What do you want me to do?"
"Talk to him. Plan. Plot. Or whatever you do. We want to know his next move."
She snorted. "He's not an idiot. He probably knows he's being recorded and watched."
Fury shrugged. "Just go and do it." She gave a mock salute and walked towards the back of the ship.
The guards in front of the door moved noiselessly away from her as she approached. They had already been given the orders to let her in. The doors were automatic, and they slid open.
The room was large, and in the center of it was a giant glass cage. Inside stood Loki himself, standing with his eyes closed.
Instead of his usual green-and-yellow ensemble, he wore a black suit and tie, with a casual green scarf draped around it. He always had a touch of green in his outfit. Loki was tall, probably 6'1", but shorter than Thor. His raven-black hair was slicked back, curling at the tips. His strikingly emerald eyes opened as she approached. In one arm he clutched a walking cane.
"I admit I was not expecting you to be here, Ilia." He stated simply. His voice was incredibly smooth and calming. They didn't call him "Silver Tongue" for nothing.
"Honestly, I wasn't either…" She replied evenly. "How did this" She gestured at the glass dome that kept him prisoner, "happen?"
"Did they put you up to this?" He raised one black eyebrow, flicking his scarf over his shoulder.
"That's not what I asked." Ilia rested a hand against the thick glass.
"I know."
"But they're not going to get any answers…" Loki's voice rang out in her head. Somehow, he could communicate telepathically!
"I didn't know you could do that…" Ilia muttered.
"There's a lot of things you don't know about. Unlike you, I don't lay out all my cards on the table…" He chuckled out loud. Ilia frowned. "I am the Prince of Trickery after all."
"What are you going to do now?"
"Stand here." He laughed. His laugh was pleasingly light. She wished she could hear it more often.
"I'm being serious."
"Indeed." He mentioned out loud. His next words echoed in her mind.
"I'm not going to tell you. I enjoy the pleasure of secrets. And occasionally caution. You may work for me, but I don't underestimate Nick Fury's powers of… persuasion. And you my friend? You're as slippery as a fish. In your line of work, I can't be too careful. Who knows where my words might land?"
"You can trust me!" She said, removing her hand.
"I do. Just not with this". And with that, he fell silent, stepping back from the glass. He retook his position in the center of the dome. His ivory pale skin was obscured in shadow.
"Fine. If you need my help with…anything. You apparently know how to contact me." She said, tapping her head. The doors slid open as she exited.
"Goodbye Ilia." Loki said with a grin, and a mock wave. She watched his clothes spiral back to his normal costume. He had dressed like a human for her. However, it didn't make her feel any more special. It was probably just another one of his manipulative tricks.
Nick Fury was waiting for her outside.
"Get anything useful out of him?" He asked eagerly, or at least as eagerly as the serious man could muster.
"Nope."
End of Chapter One