AN: Hello! And welcome to my story "Lacrimosa." This is the third installment in my stories between Loki and Anja, and I would suggest you read the first two stories "Deep and Dark and Dangerous" and "Starless Skies" before you read this one. If you don't want to, that's fine too, but you may get lost in some areas.

This will be slightly AU from the original Avengers movie, mainly because it will be focused on Loki and my character exploration with him and Anja. It will loosely follow the events of the movie, but a majority of it will be my own story. :D

As always, any thoughts are appreciated from my readers, so it would be great if you could leave me a note and let me know how I am doing!

Also, this first chapter will be rather short as it is more of a prologue. My usual long chapters will be back after this one. In keeping with tradition from last story, I am slipping right into the action with explanations as we go along, so bear with me?

But, enough of my rambling, I now present, "Lacrimosa"

"Out on your own

Cold and alone again

Can this be what you really wanted, Baby?"

~ "Lacrymosa" by Evanescence

The desert was dark… and cold… A single ribbon of highway cut through the sand like water, stretching into the horizon for miles in both directions. In the distance, a single vehicle sped down the road, kicking up a cloud of dust as it unzipped the calm sands in its wake.

A closer look revealed an armored vehicle, moving through the sands at high speeds. In the back of the truck, a man was clinging to the sides. A bladed staff was gripped tightly in one of his hands and a single blue orb glowed at the end of it, illuminating a pale face, raven hair, and sharp features. The face was a tired one, with dark circles under once lively emerald eyes and thin lips pressed into a tight line. As Loki looked down at the chest beside him his thin lips stretched into a smile.

He had done it.

Clearly he had overestimated the humans in their abilities to protect such an important piece of his plan. He reached down to the case, opening it up and gazing at the glowing blue cube before him. This would be the answer to his need for revenge. This would bring him back to his state of being a king. He wanted his home realm of Asgard to see him as a true king. He was going to bring this world to its knees, Thor's precious Earth.

His hatred increased at the thought of his older 'brother.' Earth had been no idle choice. He knew Thor loved this realm. Why? He wasn't sure. It was too filthy for his taste and, as he had just proven, Midgardians were far too fragile to be worthy opponents. He absentmindedly wiped a bit of blood from the blade of his staff as an afterthought.

He looked to the cab of the truck he was in to see the old scientist and the other agent he had gained control of. They were just other shining examples of the inferiority of these people. Thor had chosen so poorly in the planet he loved.

When he was the leader of this pitiful realm he would make it better. He would unite the constantly warring countries. He would turn Midgard into a shining realm fit to stand against Asgard and all the other realms. And then, perhaps, when he was ruler of such a shining place, she would return to him.

The image of the Midgardian moon brought forth the memories of silver eyes and sleepless nights in Asgard, and then Loki was focused once more on the road in front of him.

*o*O*o*

Dirt. That was what surrounded Loki by the time the truck he had used to get away from SHIELD headquarters made it to a safehouse. Grimy, disgusting dirt. Apparently the back of a truck was not the best place to ride when speeding through desert sand dunes. With a wave of his hand, Loki had manipulated the dirt molecules away from his face and clothing. He sleeked his hair back to its usual state, noticing in slight irritation that it had grown a bit too long for his liking.

The mortal called Barton parked the truck inside of the bunker before getting out and helping Loki out of the back of the truck. He had regained his strength to a degree, but he needed to rest. His journey here had taken a lot of his energy away from him.

He let out a huff of exasperation as he made it further into the dingy bunker that would be his living arrangements for the next few weeks. He looked back at Barton as the mortal brought the Tesseract into the bunker, followed by the mortal Doctor Selvig.

"Just place it there," he said with a wave of his hand in the direction of a metal table. It was the only piece of furniture in the room. Barton nodded and did what he was told. Loki could never get enough of this, telling people what to do… This was his rightful place. This was what he had been born to do.

He just needed a few weeks. That was all he needed before he would be ready to take over this realm. He turned away from the few agents he had managed to snare and looked around, hands clasped behind his back. The place would need to be well hidden from SHIELD's radar.

He closed his eyes, summoning a bit of magic to begin his spell. That was one thing he liked about Midgard. For a reason he could not explain, his magic seemed to be stronger here. But, then again, when compared to the meager abilities of mortals his powers were infinitely stronger.

Carefully, he paced the walls of the bunker, setting to work with dark magic in an effort to cloak the place from unwanted eyes, Midgardian or Asgardian alike. Nothing would stop him. Vengeance would be his.

*o*O*o*

"Sir?" Loki looked up quickly at the sound of one of his minions addressing him. It had been two days since the team had set up in the bunker and the mortal called Barton had gathered a variety of men from various resources to help in his endeavor with the Tesseract. Now Loki found himself being called upon in what he had deemed his own quarters. He had just come from speaking with the Chitaurian army leaders, a feeling that he never appreciated. It left him shaky to take such a vast amount of energy into his mind, but it was what was required to keep in contact with his benefactors. One of the men he had taken control of was speaking to him from the doorway, nothing if not subservient to Loki's command. "I am sorry to disturb you but-"

"Yes? What is it?" he said quickly, regaining his composure as he stood up. He tried not to show his disdain at his current living arrangements. He did not want to appear weak to the lesser being in front of him.

"Dr. Selvig has detected a high energy reading just a few miles north of here. What would you have us do?" The mortal was careful not to make eye contact with Loki.

Loki clenched his fist in aggravation. If this was his brother already coming for him… "Take me to it," he said in an exasperated manner. Best to handle this myself. He did not want the stupidity of these mortals to lead Thor back to the base he had.

The mortal bowed reverently, but Loki did not miss the fact that it was ever so slightly forced. His thin lips arched into a graceful smile as he reveled in the power he had over these beings. Mortals were so simple. But his attention was soon brought back to the present issue and he rose from his seat, brushing dust off his worn Asgardian clothes before walking out of his rooms.

*o*O*o*

The crater that the truck came upon was not a large one. It was far too small for his brother to have used, but Loki felt his grip on his staff tighten reflexively as he felt a wave of energy come from the still swirling cloud of dust. There was power involved here.

"Proceed," he commanded the armed men that surrounded him. He kept watch over the advance from his perch at the edge of the crater.

He watched as the small squadron inched into the crater that was still shrouded with dust. As the dust cleared, however, something else caught his eye. An unconscious form was in the dirt, curled up by the looks of it. As the dust settled completely, a dark head of curls came into his vision and if his heart had not sped up he was sure it would have stopped at the sight of them. He knew that head anywhere.

"Stop!" He yelled before he knew what had hit him. "Stop." He said this last comment a bit softer. He pushed one of the guards out of the way as he tried to contain himself. It couldn't be… her… could it? Just days before he had been thinking about how it would be to have her here with him… and here she was. But this could very well be a cruel trick, a test by the Chitauri to test how serious he was about his mission. They had read every thought that had ever passed through his mind during the time they had plucked him from the void of space he had fallen into. If Loki had a weakness, she was it…

He came upon the young woman, with tan skin and dark brown hair, curled in a fetal position at the center of the crater. He was so distracted by who the woman was that he took little notice to the fact that she had nary a stitch of clothing on her body. Oh, how he knew that body… He crouched down to check the young woman's pulse, and was even more surprised to find a silver arrowhead pendant round her neck.

His heart threatened to burst from his chest as it's rate accelerated even more. It was really her! His thumb traced the golden feather he had given to her so long ago… She had not taken it off.

"Anja?" he asked quietly, as if saying her name would make this illusion solidify before him.

The woman's silver eyes snapped open, peering back at Loki at the sound of his voice.