She awoke with the sound of the violin in her ear. The smell of disinfectant filled her nostrils as she took a deep breath. She was in an infirmary of one of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s helicarrier. She could tell by the hum of propellers outside. Someone had changed her out of the velvet dress she wore in Germany and into a silly patient's outfit. On the side table, she finds a cassette player where the music is coming from.
"Agent Hill, probably." the quiet voice in her head said and she agreed. Not much people knew how the hypnotizing strums of a violin could calm her sleep, and only two of them actually cared. She reached for the cassette and hit the stop button. Her eyes find a few more items on the table: a bowl of beef stew on rice, a small plate of steamed vegetables, a glass of water, and a vial holding 2 familiar pills.
Ignoring the medicines, she took the tray of food and consumed her meal quickly. She was glad to find her standard S.H.I.E.L.D. uniform laid on the aluminum chair and changed into it. "If only I was wearing this instead of that stupid dress, I would've kicked the bastard's ass." she says, not caring if anyone heard her behind the sheets that separated her bed from the rest.
"Yeah, who are you kidding? There's a reason why he's S.H.I.E.L.D.'s priority and you're just a Level 3 agent." the other voice bickered and she pulled the curtains away with a scowl. The nurse scribbling on the front desk gave a double take as she marched out of the infirmary.
She made her way to the control room after asking a guard for directions. Her expression bittered at the sight of Anthony Stark strutting out of the room along with Bruce Banner and 2 blonde and strongly built men she wasn't familiar with. "If Stark and Banner are here, something must definitely be up." the annoying voice commented.
"Agent Night Fox." Maria Hill called her after finishing her talk with the infamous Black Widow. "Glad to see you up."
"What's the situation, Agent Hill? Did the target escape?" she asked. Maria faced her monitor, pushing the touch screen and opened a surveillance video in a room dubbed "CAGE". There she saw the raven haired man pacing around his prison looking amused. "Director Fury had to pull together the Avengers Initiative for this guy. His name is Loki, he's from the same world as Coulson's assignment in New Mexico before."
"Definitely not a magician, then." the quiet voice pointed out. "At least, not from around here" the other voice added.
"He stole something from us. A top secret item under S.H.I.E.L.D.'s protection, one that can endanger the world if put in the wrong hands." Maria explained. "What is it?" she asked and the agent hesitated.
"Agent Hill." Director Fury's voice was stern behind them. "Come with me." He says before stepping out of the control room, Maria Hill following from behind.
"Looks fishy." The voice says as she follows them. She steps out into the hallway and find the two talking in hushed voices near an engine room. Planting herself against the wall at the corner, she eavesdrops on them.
"I didn't give clearance for you to say anything to her, agent." Fury said. "I don't even understand why she's still here."
"She has gotten involved in this, sir." Agent Hill argued but Director Fury held his hand up. "Much like a civilian is, Agent Hill. Now, I have too much in my hands that I cannot deal with a mentally handicapped agent who isn't even supposed to be here."
"Not to be rude, Director, but you're the one who signed her condition as an asset for an agent." Hill remarked and Fury sighed deeply. "Get her on a plane and let HQ deal with her. That's an order." He snapped before marching away.
She was about to duck into the maintenance room to hide when a hand reaches to her. "Long time no see, Night Fox" Phil Coulson smiled at her. "Walk with me." He said and she followed him. They navigated further away from the bridge before he spoke again. "How are you feeling?"
"A bit dazed." She answers, forgetting she was speaking to a superior. "But nothing I cannot handle, sir." she adds.
"The nurse informed me you skipped your medications." he says and she immediately responded, "I did not think it was necessary at the moment."
"Oh?" he raised an eyebrow, facing her. "Agent Romanoff found you unconscious from a blow to your head. It's good that she ID-ed you otherwise you would have to answer to HQ about your last mission right now."
"The enemy was different. I don't think I was trained to fight with someone like him." she argued. "That's true. But you know how narrow-minded they can be." he tells her. "I'm sorry, agent, but under your condition I must ask you to return to the infirmary for further observations."
She sighed deeply. "Of course, they wanna check if the impact did more damage to your brain." the voice said and she hated how right it was. "Okay. But, if it's not too much to ask, what can you tell me about our prisoner?" she asked as he lead her back to the infirmary.
Coulson was quiet at first, but she knew he was used to her curiosity. He was one of the people who monitored her training after all. Until now, she knows he also keeps an eye on the missions given to her. She often wonders why, she wasn't his responsibility. "But he has never shown any sign for you not to trust him." the quiet voice said. "But there's always room for doubt." the other one added.
"What do you already know about him?" Coulson finally spoke. "His name is Loki. He's not from this planet. And he stole something from S.H.I.E.L.D. and I don't have clearance to know what."
Coulson gave her a weary smile, but like Agent Hill, he hesitated. "He wishes to start a war with us. To him, we humans need to be put under control, and that he's the one who can rule us. He's powerful, and he has something that can put someone under his control. That's what he used on Clint Barton and other people involved in Project Pegasus."
Her brows furrowed, "He has Hawkeye?" They reached the infirmary and the door hissed open as Coulson nodded. "Yes. Keep yourself out of trouble now, Night Fox." He patted her on the back and she regretfully entered inside the room.
Time flew by with her shutting down her mind, trying her best to ignore the voices in her head as the doctor did the routine tests on her. It was dull, really. It was the same procedures over and over as the past nine years have been. She took a deep breath when she was finally relieved after minutes she didn't bother to count. The hall was empty with only a handful of guards roaming on duty.
"What now?" she asked herself. "Maria will still be in the control room." The quiet voice suggested. "So will Fury be, possibly. And he'll get my butt on a plane when he sees that I'm still around." She argued. "Wouldn't want that now, do we?"
"Coulson can give you something to do around here, he has authority. That way, Fury might delay your little trip out of here." The voice told her. "Yeah, but where will I find Coulson now? You know how much of a hands-on guy he is. He's not the type to sit around behind the desk." She remarked.
"Why are you so eager to stay here anyway? Is it only because you don't want to answer to HQ just yet?" the quiet voice asked and she stopped on her tracks. Why did she want to stay here? Last night, or what she figures was just last night, wasn't the first mission she failed. And she knows how to handle the higher-ups when they're upset, just nod along until they stopped talking. That's an advantage for being a lower-leveled agent; you have the option of being ignored. So what's stopping her from just getting over it all and wait for another assignment?
"You want to see him again." The quiet voice suggested, and unfortunately enough, she knew it was right. Closing her eyes, she could almost feel that chill down her spine when she first met eyes with him. Something about the coldness of his persona drew her in, but not as an attraction, more of curiosity.
"To him, we humans need to be put under control, and that he's the one who can rule us" The idea intrigued her, but he's not the first person or whatever he is who wants a entire race to be placed under his palm. She bit the inside of her cheek, "Why am I so curious about him?" she scolded herself and she heard one of the voices chuckled, "You know the only way to get over this is to indulge, right?"
She cocked her head to the side. Funny, the voices always suggest things that could pull her out of trouble, but now it's as if they're pushing her in one. Still, the hunger to have a word with the man was tugging at her stomach. She began to draw the map that lead to the Cage in her head, the one that popped up on Maria's monitor before the surveillance video opened. Her feet moved before her command, turning her from corner to corner until she found the heavy doors she was looking for.
"No guards. Probably locked." The quiet voice pointed out. She reached for her ID in her uniform, hoping that her Level 3 status will be enough to let her pass through. And indeed, it did.
The Cage was dark, the smell of metal filled the room. In the center was the cylindrical glass chamber where the only light of the area came from. The door behind her hissed close just as she found him, sitting inside the chamber. His costume had changed into a black and green leather ensemble. His hands unclenched as he lifts his head to her, his eyes amused at the sight of her.
"Oh, it's you again. Pity, I preferred you in that black dress."
A/N: This is just to introduce our protagonist a bit. Next up will have more Loki, I promise!