The Sorcerer's Apprentice
Written by: Adventure-Seeking-Juliet
Summary: Loki discovers that Jane Foster's seemingly insignificant intern, Darcy, has the ability to wield magic. For reasons unknown, Loki agrees to train her. Chaos ensues.
A/N This fic is set post Thor: The Dark World, but I'll try to keep the spoilers to a minimum. The story really isn't dependent upon having seen the movie, and I've basically made up my own facts that will bridge the movie's ending to the beginning of this story. That being said, if you don't want to be spoiled on some of the basic plot points of The Dark World, then I suggest you hold off on reading until after you've seen the movie. I have the plot fleshed out, but I'm not quite sure how many chapters there will be. However, I'd say it's safe to expect this fic to be fairly long and multi-chaptered. Just a few apologies: I have never been to New York City, so I probably didn't capture the city in an accurate way. I'm also a bit foggy on the state of Stark Tower (which I'll be calling Avenger's Tower) after TDW, so I'm just going to assume it's up and running. I hope everyone enjoys the story. Cheers!
Trigger Warning: This chapter contains a short scene/memory depicting child abuse and profanity. If you are uncomfortable reading something with this content, then I advise you to stop reading when you see the words, "For Darcy, the memory seemed to unfurl slowly..." You can resume reading when you see the words, "And it pissed Darcy off."
Chapter One: Devil's Backbone
"Hello, you've reached the voicemail box of Dr. Jane Foster. Unfortunately, I can't come to the phone right now, so please leave a message after the tone. Thank you."
Darcy sighed. This was the third time she'd tried to call Jane in about as many minutes, "Hey Jane, it's Darcy...again. I know I called in sick for the day, but I kinda, maybe left my ipod at the lab yesterday, so I'm just gonna stop by and pick it up, if that's cool with you."
Darcy paused, unsure of what else to say. When she'd called in a few hours ago to tell Jane she was sick, her boss had been totally fine with her taking the day off. Unfortunately, after deciding to play hooky, Darcy had realized that she'd forgotten her brand new Ipod at the lab.
She'd tried to get through her morning without her favorite bit of technology, but, sometime during her annoyingly silent and music-free shower, Darcy had decided she just couldn't take it anymore. What was the point of taking an hour long shower if she couldn't sing along to the dulcet tones of Britney's Toxic? Lost in her inner monologue, Darcy almost forgot she was still talking to Jane's voicemail box. She racked her brain for something else to say, but after a moment of hesitation, she just shrugged and muttered a quick farewell before ending the call.
The ride to the lab was surprisingly quick, all things considered. Like usual, lunch-time traffic clogged nearly every pore of N.Y.C.'s main thoroughfare, but Darcy spent the majority of the time enjoying the scenery. She and Jane had only moved to the big city a few weeks ago at the request of S.H.I.E.L.D, and Darcy still hadn't gotten used to the intricate cityscape.
Jane's lab was situated about a block away from Avengers Tower, which Darcy, like always, had to remind herself not to call Stark Tower. Old habits die hard, right? The tower loomed over the street almost menacingly. Even though Darcy knew it was a symbol of protection, a feeling of dread washed over her at the sight of it. No matter how hard she tried, Darcy just couldn't shake the uneasy feeling that was building in her chest. (According to Jane, whenever she usually saw the tower she reacted like an overexcited puppy. She'd been begging Jane to introduce her to Tony Stark for weeks.) But something was different today.
As soon as the cab had stopped, her driver had looked at her imploringly as he rattled off her total. Darcy nearly winced at the amount. She really should've taken the subway. With one more apprehensive glance toward the Tower, she paid her driver and hopped from the cab just in time to avoid being ran over by the car behind her.
Darcy hastily let herself into the building. The lab was on the top floor, a fact which usually wouldn't have bothered Darcy, but the elevator had been busted for nearly three days, and she didn't enjoy the trek up the steep staircase.
Darcy climbed the stairs at the slowest possible pace, quietly cursing S.H.I.E.L.D.'s maintenance team for their laziness. She'd called them at least once every day since the elevator had broken down, and they still hadn't bothered to fix it.
When she reached the lab door, she sighed and leaned against the wall. She's skipped one too many workouts for this "broken elevator" bullshit. She rifled through her pockets in search of her keys, but before she managed to snag her key-chain (complete with a cute little Thor hammer and a hulk-styled flash drive) the door clicked open as if it had never been locked.
"Hello?" Darcy called into the now open doorway. At first, she'd thought maybe Jane had unlocked the door, but when no one answered, Darcy just shrugged, "Weird."
Ignoring the anxiety that was beginning to pool in the pit of her stomach, she pocketed her keys and entered the lab. The place looked like a renovated apartment. There was a small kitchen area in the front that led into the huge "lab" area. The room was spacious, with ceiling to floor windows and tons of high-tech Stark equipment that Darcy never bothered to call by name. All the desks in the room were covered in papers and notes, save for Darcy's, which was surprisingly neat.
As she made her way to her own desk, Darcy pointedly ignored the three empty cups of coffee on Jane's desk and the discarded pair of pants thrown over Erik's chair. Today was her day off, and there was no way she was going to spend her free day cleaning up after her two favorite scientists. Again.
The missing Ipod wasn't on her desk, so Darcy plopped down in her seat. After rummaging in her desk for nearly ten minutes, she was about ready to try calling Jane again. Maybe, the astrophysicist had grabbed the Ipod by mistake.
She had just pulled her phone out of her pocket and was scrolling through her contacts when she heard the sound. Footsteps. Thinking it was probably Jane, Darcy didn't bother to turn around. Instead she lounged back in her chair, and said, a bit petulantly, "Where have you been all day? I've been calling you nonstop."
"I believe you have me confused with someone else, Miss Lewis."
Darcy jumped at the sound of the deep male voice. Definitely not Jane. She haphazardly disentangled herself from the desk chair before turning to face the intruder. He was tall, that much was obvious. Darcy thought that her head might reach his shoulders. He was pale and lean...and, although he wasn't as muscely as Thor, Darcy had to admit that he was ridiculously hot.
So hot, in fact, that she couldn't stop staring. There was something uncannily familiar about the dude. Darcy could swear she'd seen him somewhere before. He probably worked for S.H.I.E.L.D or delivered pizza or something.
"Um, I'm sorry. Do I know you, Mister..." She purposely let her voice trail off, hoping he'd fill in the gap.
The man didn't disappoint, "Lewis Fitzgerald, PhD. I'm looking for Doctor Foster."
He didn't offer to shake her hand, so Darcy didn't bother to introduce herself. He obviously already knew who she was. She watched quietly as he fiddled with his tie and straightened his collar. Fortunately, Fitzgerald looked impeccable in his suit. Unfortunately, he seemed like one of those stuffy, judgmental academic types that Darcy couldn't stand. Typical.
Darcy was about to tell him he could wait for Jane in the kitchen area, when something else caught her attention. He was wearing a green tie that so closely reflected the color of his eyes that it had to have been chosen for that particular purpose. His eyes were so green that they seemed almost inhuman, and it was while she was staring at his eyes that she finally figured it out.
Her stomach fluttered nervously. The eyes...the pale skin...the arrogant set of his mouth. Loki. Thor's psychotic, villainous little brother was standing five feet away from her. Sure, he was dressed in a suit and tie instead of a horned helmet and battle regalia, but it was definitely him.
Darcy anxiously ran her hand over the outline of her taser in her pocket. She fingered the trigger as she quickly ran through a plan in her head. It was a stupid plan, but it was her only chance. She had to get out of the lab and warn Jane.
"I'm really sorry, Doctor Fitzgerald. Jane was transferred to a new location in France about a week ago. I can get you the address-"
Before she could finish the sentence, Loki had his hand around her throat. He'd shoved Darcy against the wall with enough force to knock the breath out of her.
Darcy struggled beneath his grip. She tried to pry his hand away from her throat, but his grip was like iron, so she settled for kicking him in the shins. Sadly, her kicks didn't even seem to phase the trickster. Her feeble attempts at escape only made him smirk.
Loki squeezed his fingers around her neck, effectively cutting off most of her air supply, "You dare attempt to lie to me? I am the god of lies, you foolish mortal."
Despite his firm grip on her throat, Darcy managed to gasp out, "Can't blame a girl for trying, right?"
Before Loki could respond, Darcy pressed her taser to his stomach.
Loki blinked, confusion written across his pale face, "You actually think your puny mortal weapon can harm me? I am a god-"
Darcy pulled the trigger before Loki could finish his sentence, and, to her immense enjoyment, the taser electrocuted his godly ass just as well as it had every human douchebag who'd ever tried to assault her.
She only allowed herself a tiny moment of satisfaction before she started running. She raced out of the lab and down the first flight of stairs at a breakneck pace, attempting to dial Jane as she ran.
Luckily, before she managed to call and warn her boss, the astrophysicist in question called her. Darcy answered the phone on the first ring, "Jane! Finally. Where have you been? You'll never believe what just happened."
"Darcy," Jane interrupted, "There's no time. Something's happening-"
"No offense, Jane, but I'm pretty sure science can wait a few minutes. Loki just showed up in the lab and tried to choke me to death!"
That seemed to make Jane pause, "Wait, what? Loki? What are you talking about? He died months ago-"
"Yeah, I know, but-"
"Listen to me, Darcy. Someone's attacking the city. Thor and the others are dealing with it, but I'm coming to pick you up right now! We've got to get the equipment to safety. If any of it is damaged, we'll lose all of our data."
Darcy groaned, "No! Jane you can't come here!"
But it was too late. Jane had already hung up. A second later, the phone was torn from Darcy's hand by an unseen force, and she was thrown against the wall. Again.
Loki used one hand to keep Darcy firmly in place and used the other to crush her cell phone.
She groaned, "Twice in one day? Really? Don't you have anything better to do?"
Loki only growled in response, "You'll pay for your subterfuge, mortal."
He wrapped one hand around both of her wrists so he could hold her firmly in place, then, he pierced her with an unblinking stare. Darcy could only watch in awe as a strange mist clouded her vision. They were no longer standing on the stairs. Instead, she and Loki were at a playground she recognized from her childhood.
She felt a burning pain in her head.
"You will relive the worst of your memories," Loki said, calmly, "then, after you have led me to Jane Foster, I will kill you. Slowly."
Darcy rubbed her head, "Sounds like fun, but wouldn't your rather do something else? Like lay waste to New York? Antagonize your brother? Grow a heart?"
Loki pointedly ignored her sarcasm as the two of them were propelled through a string of some of Darcy's worst moments...the time she was dumped at junior prom...the day her mom left...her grandmother's funeral...and then they stopped.
The two of them were standing in her childhood home. It was the little apartment where she'd lived with her parents for eight years before the government had permanently placed her in her grandmother's custody.
"Hmm," Loki nodded, "This seems like an important memory. Let's take a look, shall we?"
To her embarrassment, Darcy gasped and grabbed Loki's arm, "No! Stop. I don't want to see this."
Loki only offered her a grim smile and removed her hand from his arm.
For Darcy, the memory seemed to unfurl slowly, like a scary scene from a horror film. The room was dark, and a younger version of herself was sitting in front of the television. There was a loud thud from the other room, then a series of angry footfalls...and even though Darcy already knew what was going to happen, she couldn't make herself look away.
A man stormed into the room. He was covered in sweat and dirt, and, despite herself, Darcy could still remember the terrible stench of whiskey on his breath. It had made her gag.
Little Darcy scurried to a corner of the room, blue eyes wide with terror, but the man, her father, cut her off before she could make it to the door. He grabbed her upper arm hard enough to leave a smattering of bruises that Darcy could remember sporting for weeks.
"It's your fault, you little bitch. You did this to me! You made her leave, stupid, goddamn piece of shit-" Her father slapped her face, hard. Little Darcy's glasses were cracked and knocked askew from the force of the blow, and, in the glow from the television, Darcy could see the trickle of blood run down her face.
Darcy couldn't stand it. Instead of watching the rest of the scene, she looked up at Loki. To her surprise, he didn't look like he was enjoying the scene at all. His face was somber, but his eyes were angry. He looked on at the scene with contempt, and Darcy couldn't help but notice the murderous glint that entered his eye when he watched her father land another blow to her face.
As if sensing her gaze, Loki looked down at her. Despite his attempts to look satisfied with her pain, she could see his pity. His understanding.
And, it pissed Darcy off.
Her anger swelled like a tide, and, before Darcy had really realized what she was doing, the memory was gone. Instead of standing in her old living room, the two of them were standing in a gilded throne room, surrounded by guards and royalty.
Loki stared at the scene in shock, "This isn't possible..."
His voice trailed off as new scenes appeared. Odin chastising Loki for his magic, Thor and several other young Asgardians making fun of a young Loki...Thanos torturing Loki...
Darcy and Loki both stared in shock as scenes of darkness and chaos flashed by, before finally stopping on one memory in particular. Loki was holding a glowing box. His skin slowly transformed from pale white to blue...and when he looked up, his green eyes were red.
Loki launched himself at Darcy, anger and fear etched on his face, "How are you doing this? HOW?!"
With a bang, the two of them were back on the staircase. Loki released her arms in shock, and Darcy, still shaking with residual fear from the journey through their worst memories, bolted down the stairs.