Unbeta'd just as a warning. Also this is my first fanfiction in a long time. I may or may not continue to post. When I do post, it won't be on a regular basis (in between five to twelve days give or take). I have the story plotted out, its getting the motivation (and the time) to write it. This is an AR, as in Alternate Reality. I use this term differently than AU (Alternate Universe). Meaning, things still happen closely to what the movie projects. This is a serious What-If, factors of which you will soon find out.
Pairing: (Main) Loki/Female!Steve
(Second) Female!Tony/Male!Pepper
Warnings include: Mature Content, sexual references, cursing, graphic fight scenes, Mentions of suicide, and a little dark content.
Red
I
Captain Stephanie Rogers woke with a start. The half strangled scream died on her lips as the last fleeting images of her nightmare retreated into the darkness of the predawn hours.
It was always the same, her last words to Bucky, the explosive crash of cold arctic water flooding over her...the feeling of drowning over and over again, feeling herself slowly be covered in ice, then the blessed darkness...
She had told no-one about what happened after she crashed the Valkyrie. She told no-one that not only the serum made her virtually invincible but also seemingly immortal. She shuddered as she forced the pure terror down and wiped the sweat from her brow.
Sapphire eyes turned to look at the white metal door and there was no doubt two Shield agents standing outside. The room she was in was off white with light gray linoleum floor. There was a white dresser and a bed and the florescent lights that hung over the room flickered occasionally.
It was the same room she had been in for the passed six months. It was recovery room she knew, but it felt like a prison. She sighed before throwing the starchy white blanket off of her body and slid her long slender legs over the edge of the bed. She ran a shaky hand through her messy shoulder length sandy blond colored hair before she stood to her full height of five foot nine.
Slowly she walked to the small bathroom adjoined to her room. After splashing some water on her face she stared at her self in the mirror, a frown marring her bow shaped lips. She was a woman out of time and she didn't know if she would be able to adjust. There were too many things that were just so different.
Then she remembered meeting Howard Stark's daughter the week before. She wasn't supposed to be there but for some reason she had shown up, had heard whispers of 'Captain America' and had to come see for herself. How she had heard those whispers irked Director Fury to no end.
At first she saw a lot of Howard in her and it was eerie. She knew that Antonia Stark was her own person but she couldn't let go. Just like she couldn't let go of Bucky...She knew Bucky was dead, the agents 'guarding' her had told her so, and that he had married Peggy which hadn't shocked Stephanie too much. It didn't make it hurt any less.
It wasn't until meeting Stark for the second time (the day before in fact) that Stephanie realized that Antonia wasn't like her father at all. Sure some of his quirks were seen in her but Toni seemed more cut off, worn, than he had been. She hid it all behind her humor, witty snark, and her work ethics.
Stephanie knew it was because of the betrayal of her father figure and that caused a pang of sympathy for the billionaire to bubble up inside her. She kept it to herself because she knew that the Stark Pride would not allow for pity.
It was some hours later that Stephanie found herself in an old boxing studio. The only sound in the run down building was the sound of her fists hitting the punching bag and the sound of her breathing. A lot of people found reading or listening to music relaxing.
Stephanie found solace in training. She was wearing a pair of khaki pants and a white tank top. She had chosen to wrap her chest in bandages because the brassiere she was offered was too loose and she needed free arm movement. Even though her hair was tied back in a tight ponytail strands of her silky pale hair escaped covering her forehead and occasionally fell into her eyes.
Sweat rolled down her face as she hit the bag and she stopped in her steady rhythm to wipe it away with the back of her wrapped hand. Then thoughts about the nightmare crept back into the forefront of her mind and she began hitting the bag again.
She was so wound up by trying to block out the memories that she punched the bag clear across the room where it landed with a reverberating thud. Stephanie breathed deeply before turning and grabbing another punching bag from the lineup. After setting it on the hook she was about to start on that bag when a familiar voice stopped her.
"You know, most people just take a vacation or watch a movie to unwind." the blond turned her head to look at the Director of Shield. Stephanie hadn't heard the other woman come in and that slightly unnerved her.
"Is there something I can help you with Director Fury?" Stephanie asked as she started punching the new bag. The dark skinned woman watched the super soldier for a minute before replying.
"I just want to talk." Fury said as she walked over to one of the benches against the wall and sat down. She looked pointedly at the blond before patting the seat next to her. Stephanie sighed and stood straight. She walked over to the bench and took her towel to wipe her face off.
"You know, women have a real shot for power now." Stephanie raised her eyebrow at those words. She knew about a lot of the changes the world had gone through, including women's rights.
"Ma'am, with all due respects I'm not looking for power. I wasn't looking for power when I signed up, I just wanted to fight." the blond said as she threw her towel over her shoulder.
"You are a captain, Captain. You're a leader, a natural born leader at that. I'd say that's plenty power." Fury said and Stephanie just watched her. The dark skinned woman sighed and stood.
"Anyway that's not what I'm here to talk about. What do you know about Asgardians?" she asked and Stephanie had to stop and stare. She had been briefed on the situation about the Asgardians. Apparently they had thought their golden prince had survived and somehow managed to find his way to Earth.
The Agents on the scene barely fought them back and then told them that they were the only Asgardians to visit Earth in a thousand years. Stephanie had a feeling that the aliens were holding back when they fought the humans, and that prospect scared her. Hundreds (if not thousands) of beings that were stronger than she was. She didn't dare think about the possibilities. She was only one woman however super-powered she may be.
"You mean like the incident in the desert some few months ago?" the blond asked and Fury nodded.
"We have another such case, a man who goes by the name of Loki Odinson appeared on the Helicarrier a few hours ago." the dark skinned woman told her. Stephanie furrowed her eyebrows in confusion.
"What's that got to do with me?" the blond asked perplexed.
"I want you to talk to him. See what he's hiding for all we know he could be set on world domination." Fury said with seriousness coloring her tone. Stephanie sighed and crossed her arms over her chest. She had a strange feeling about it, about this Loki.
"I thought you had spies for interrogation." the blond deadpanned. Fury shook her head.
"This isn't interrogation, its just an interview. So far the only threatening thing he did was teleport in." was her reply. Stephanie bit her bottom lip as she thought it over. That must have caused quite the uproar. Of the four Asgardians that had appeared on Earth none of them possessed the ability to teleport. Even the four had admitted to using something called the Bi-frost.
If she did this then Fury might leave her in peace. If she didn't do it...so far the only excuse she could think of why she didn't want to do it was because she just wanted to be left alone. She sighed.
"Ten minutes." she agreed and hoped she wouldn't regret it.
Stephanie was already regretting it and she hadn't even talked to him yet. Director Fury had briefed her a little more about this god, Loki. He was apparently the brother to the Norse god Thor and had a taste for mischief and lies. After she had showered she dressed in army fatigues, he clothes were still being brought out of storage. She had left the camo jacket open and untucked showing the white shirt underneath. She shifted her weight to her other foot and was thankful the shining black standard issue boots were quiet.
She played with her dog tags while she watched the man who called himself a god. There was a smug satisfaction on his face as he sat in the interview room. She knew he couldn't see her, but even through the odd glass (one way mirror she'd been told) she could feel his eyes on her. It sent chills up her spine.
He looked like a man who had stepped out of a mid-evil novel. Black covered most of his body in the form of a calf length leather duster, a leather cuirass, and black leather trousers that were tucked into knee high leather boots. There were patches of green fabric that were cut in a triangle on either side just below the collar of the coat and on the shoulders.
Gold colored strips of metal adorned the cuirass made it seem more ceremonial than combat ready and matched the golden vampbraces covered his forearms, each etched with an intricate design. He sat with one leg over the other, leaning against the back of the chair with one arm resting on the back and one on his knee. His body language screamed arrogance, nobility, and a cunning intelligence.
"Are you sure he can't see me?" she asked for the fourth time in ten minutes. The agent manning the monitoring station turned to look at her with an exasperated look on his face. He was a short man in a dark suit with short brown hair and dark brown eyes. She thought he'd introduced himself as Agent Richards but she wasn't sure.
"Just go in and talk to him already." was his reply. Stephanie sighed and walked out of the observation room. She stood in front of the interview room, hand hovering over the knob with indecision. She hardened her gaze. She had fought a platoon of Nazi soldiers with nothing but a pistol and a shield and she was afraid of one man?
'No...a god.' she thought before dismissing it.
"There is only one God and I'm pretty sure he don't dress like that." she whispered to herself. She opened the door quite forcefully and wince when she felt the jam squeak in protest.
His emerald green eyes were instantly on her, a strange light in their sparkling depths. She straightened her posture, closed the door softly and walked into the room, taking the seat across from him.
"Are you to be my interrogator?" He asked, tone arrogant. His deep voice was almost musical, hypnotic even and if she wasn't mistaken slightly British sounding. She clenched her jaw, the muscles popping on the side of her face.
"No. This isn't an interrogation. You haven't done anything to warrant that." she told him and his eyebrow raised. Of all the people Fury could have sent to speak with him, she had sent a warrior. He eyed her carefully, there was a strange awareness in her eyes that spoke of experience. She was definitely a veteran, someone who had seen war.
She was stunningly beautiful never the less. With dark blue eyes, shoulder length sandy blond hair and dark pink bow shaped lips. She had high cheekbones a strong feminine jaw. He could see from where he sat that she was well built, a dirty smirk crossed his face, and well endowed even if she tried to hide it.
"Then why pray tell, are you here?" he asked, mirth coloring his tone. Stephanie leaned back against the backrest, folded her arms over her chest, and crossed her legs. She could feel his eyes on her even if his gaze never left her face. She knew he was assessing her, as she was him.
She had agreed he was arrogant, but she also had agreed with herself that he was handsome. He had aristocratic features, a strong nose and sharp cheekbones. She knew he was of a slender build, but speaking from experience that didn't always mean lesser strength. And he was tall, at least six foot two she guessed.
He had black hair that went down to his shoulders. It was slicked back but even so it curled slightly at the ends.
"That's supposed to be my question." she told him. He leaned forward, resting his elbow on his crossed knee as if he was about to tell her a secret. A rogue strand of dark hair escaped and fell over his forehead but he ignored it.
"Is it not polite to introduce yourself first?" he said with a raised brow and a waved hand. Stephanie sighed. She had already decided this man was beyond arrogant.
"My name is Captain Stephanie Rogers." she told him, in the politest tone she could manage, which didn't sound as polite as it did exasperated. She started to play with her dog tags, ignoring the itch to push that strand of hair back where it belonged. His eyes were instantly drawn to the oval shaped strips of metal.
"Hello Lady Stephanie, I am Loki Odinson of Asgard." he purred with pure seduction and she couldn't fight the blush that bloomed on her face. A knowing smirk crossed his face as his eyes met hers. Somehow she felt like she was being set up, like he was the one conducting the interview and not her.
The mortal warrior in front of him was so much fun. He could make her blush with the tone of his voice alone. He leaned back to the way he had been sitting in before she had come in. This Lady Stephanie was intriguing.
"This is going nowhere," she said as she began to stand. A light chuckle came from the dark haired man which caused her to stop in her action. She looked at him then, his emerald colored eyes sparkling with mirth. She clenched her teeth again.
"So impatient! Relax Lady Stephanie, I am merely setting the mood." he told her and against her better judgment she sat back down. She glared mildly at him, waiting for him to speak. And oh did he enjoy that silence.
"What do you know of the Tesseract?" he finally asked. Stephanie froze, eyes wide at the name. She had a sudden flashback to her fight with the Red Skull, the freezing cold, drowning, and she swallowed thickly.
"I know Hydra used it to make weapons during World War Two." she said in a carefully even voice. She watched him, watching her. The slow sensual curve of his lips sent a flare of heat inside her stomach and she was almost ready to leave again. Escape her senses screamed, this man was dangerous. He would devour her.
"Ah but it was an artifact of Asgard long before it was a tool for this Hydra." he told her. Stephanie sat a little straighter, ignoring the need to play with her dog tags as she looked him in the eye.
In all his millennia of life never met a woman of such will. Loki mentally frowned. No, it wasn't just will, she was intelligent. She had the foresight of presence, the ability to read people like an open book no matter how guarded. He could tell this woman was strong. Stronger than perhaps even his brother had been, if not in body than in mind. She set his veins aflame with desire.
"It was lost seventy years ago." Stephanie told him. The way he was looking at her half thrilled her half terrified her. The earlier feeling that he would devour her came back tenfold. His lip quirked up and his eyes sparkled with mischief. Stephanie steeled herself.
"Is that what they led you to believe? 'Clean energy and a warm light for mankind' I believe is what your Director said." he spoke, his voice full of mirth. Stephanie's eyebrows furrowed. What was he insinuating? That Shield had found the Tesseract? She was about to voice her question when Fury's voice cut in over the intercom.
"Captain Rogers if I might speak with you for a moment?" it was spoken like a question but Stephanie knew it was more of a demand. Slowly, with her eyes still on Loki, the blond stood. The clear message of 'we'll finish this later' flashed in her eyes. The mirthful sparkle in his told her that he was looking forward to it.
She walked to the door and opened it, stepping outside to see not only Fury but Toni Stark. As the door closed behind her in a quiet snick Stephanie turned her questioning gaze towards the brunette haired billionaire.
She was wearing an expensive looking charcoal gray with white pinstripe jacket and skirt with a white silk blouse that was cut rather low, low enough to show off most of her Arch Reactor. Toni tapped her foot in irritation, expensive (and dangerous) looking high heels adorned her feet.
'You could feed a small country with the price of those shoes alone, I think.' Stephanie thought.
"As much fun as it was to watch you flirt with the guy," Stephanie glared at Toni, jaw locking, "This Tesseract business is legit." Toni finished. The blond looked over to Fury who had a frown on her face.
"Howard Stark found and fished the Tesseract out of the ocean when he was looking for you." The dark skinned woman stated. Stephanie's raised an eyebrow.
"I've been trying to get Fury here to let me mess around with it, but she won't let me." the billionaire said with a pout on her face. Stephanie allowed a dry laugh at that.
"But, with as much fun as it would be to spend the rest of my life unlocking the secrets of that thing, I've got better things to do." the blond's almost retort to that would have been scathing, but she bit her tongue.
"And why didn't you tell me this before?" Stephanie asked, Toni laughed.
"Because Fury likes to keep everyone in the dark. We can't give the Tesseract to him, no matter how sexy he is." the brunette's statement caused an exasperated 'Stark...' to escape Fury's lips. Stephanie shot Toni a deadpanned look.
"No seriously, he was laying it on pretty thick in there, for a moment I thought you were going to either jump his bones or run out the door. I bet on out the door." Fury elbowed the brunette for the comment before speaking. Stephanie sent the brunette a scathing glare.
"The Tesseract is dangerous, and I don't trust this Loki Odinson for about as far as I can throw him." Stephanie nodded to Fury's statement. She didn't trust him either, but she also knew he didn't have any reason to lie. If what he said about the Tesseract being an artifact of Asgard was true then the cube didn't belong on Earth.
"But the Tesseract belongs to Asgard, what right do we have to keep it?" the blond spoke. Fury and Toni looked at her like she'd lost her mind.
"Hold on there Cap, you're not seriously-" the billionaire tried but the blond cut her off.
"It doesn't belong to us." Stephanie stated firmly and I her mind, 'Like I don't belong in this time...'
"If Loki cared anything about the Tesseract, he would have taken it from Earth a long time ago." the Director of Shield bit out. Stephanie glared at the dark skinned woman, jaw locking in her anger.
"And what exactly would you do with it Director. And don't lie to me about clean energy because I know that's horse feathers. All you talk about is power." she nearly shouted, she could see Toni mouthing 'horse feathers?' with a confused look out of the corner of her eye.
"We need to be able to defend ourselves!" Fury shouted, not denying the truth any longer. Stephanie narrowed her eyes and spat in the most venomous voice.
"You are no better than Hydra..." before stomping away. The dark skinned woman glared at her retreating form but said nothing. Toni was shocked, looking between both woman with mouth open wide.
"Way to go Popeye." Toni said as she turned and started walking down the hall the same way Stephanie had gone in, her clicking heels the only sound. Director Fury locked her jaw in anger before turning her attention to the agent that had came out of the interview monitoring station.
"Ma'am, the subject is gone." the poor man flinched when Fury turned her rage to him.
"Lock this place down! No one in, no one out!"
Stephanie packed what little things she had in her duffel bag before stalking to the door. She was done. She wouldn't work for an organization that would make weapons of mass destruction. She didn't know where she was going only that she had to go. She gave one last glare at the room they had kept her in and flicked the lights off, slamming the door so hard that chunks of plaster flew off the wall.
She was slightly surprised when no-one tried to stop her as she stormed down the hall and out the door. She stopped once she saw who was waiting on her however, with a friendly smile. Toni leaned against a sleek red sports car, expensive looking shades resting on the top of her head as chocolate brown eyes watched the soldier.
"Need a place to crash?" she asked. Stephanie glared at her before she turned and started to walk away from the billionaire.
"Hey Cap wait, seriously. I know you're angry but where are you going to go? Come on we can have slumber parties with pillow fights, I can hire someone to do our hair. I got a spa!" Toni said as she scrambled to catch up with the blond. Stephanie stopped and turned to look at her.
"You just want to stick it to Fury." Toni stopped at her words and chuckled lightly.
"There you go, modern idiom! And yeah I do, because Fury's a bitch." the billionaire said almost nonchalantly. Some of Stephanie's rage burn out. She didn't know why her and Toni fought so much, but sometimes like right then, she realized that the brunette wasn't that bad of a person.
"No." Stephanie said before she turned back and continued walking. She could hear Toni mumble under her breath 'For Christ's sake, my dad's going to come back and haunt me if something happens to her...'
"Steph pleeeeease." the words from the darker haired woman sounded more like exasperation than begging. the blond stopped in her tracks. Bucky used to call her Steph. It was almost blasphemous to hear it come from such a vain self centered woman. No, that was just Toni's mask. She knew deep down that Toni was a good woman.
"Don't call me that." she tried to bite out, but her words held no true venom. Which meant that Toni took it that she could call her that.
"Come on Steph! I got expensive wine and we can watch movies and ill even order food, because lets face it I can't cook to save my life and the last time I did I nearly burnt my penthouse down making toast-" the billionaire was rambling and it was driving the blond haired soldier insane.
"If I agree will you shut up?" Stephanie hissed out. The brunette's mouth closed with an audible click before a grin worked its way across her face.
"You bet!"