There were few reactions to be had in the lobby of Stark's tower: blind acceptance; slight curiosity; outright fear; and imperceptibly backing away. Or any combination of the above. Some not very dormant part of Loki greatly enjoyed being the subject of such attention, though he did not let it show. Black Widow (as she was very much in Business Mode) spoke a few muffled words to the guards at the front desk which he could have easily overheard had he so desired. It was much more amusing to observe the reactions of various S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, scattered Stark employees, and the occasional human whose role he did not care to probe. His escort gestured for him to follow, and they entered the elevators alone. Natasha clicked a button a few floors below the top.
"So, you trust me not to attack?" Loki asked as the digital display flashed consecutively higher numbers.
She gave him a condescending look before facing the doors again. "If you do, I can handle it."
"Are you so sure?" He began a smooth hand movement to emit light. She had him up against the wall with a knife against his thigh when he had only just registered movement. The door pinged open and Natasha was standing back where she started. No one outside noticed her: they were all giving him strange looks, varying only in magnitude, for leaning on the wall in such an awkward position.
Black Widow left the elevator without looking back and Loki was given a wide berth in her wake. Much though it pained him to admit, he would have to be more careful with this one. To his relief, the man who called Loki his brother did not appear to be anywhere nearby, though he did not expect this would last. Thor did seem to have impeccable timing when his presence was unwanted.
Loki was eventually lead through various identical, brightly lit corridors to a starkly bare room furnished by one large table and a few basic chairs. An adjacent wall was fully covered by a mirror. A black leather chair was currently occupied by a man Loki recognized from the airship's prison, currently leaning on the table with his fingers intertwined. Director Fury was appropriately named for how he looked at the moment.
"So, I've been told that you have some intel you're willing to share."
"I do."
"About a species called the Kybant. I find it interesting that I've never heard of them before, despite the fact," Fury scrunched his eyebrows and turned to face him, "that we have accurate information about any planets close enough to pose a threat. Are they close enough to be a threat? I'm going to be honest with you: I don't quite believe your story."
"They will destroy your home whether you believe they will or not."
"And I say I'm not going to take any action based on what you say without evidence. So find me some or I will give the order for every agent sitting behind that screen to try to take you down and lock you up before I shoot you. Got it?"
"How fortunate I thought to bring this with me," Loki replied with an eye roll. He gestured and an ornate blue box appeared on the table in front of him. "This is one of their weapons. Or rather, it belonged to others, more powerful than they, and the Kybant stole it." They all looked at the artefact in temporary silence.
"What about Thor?" Black Widow asked.
"What about Thor?" Loki retorted.
"Are these amazingly well-hidden aliens so dangerous that you and a God of Thunder couldn't handle them?" Fury asked.
"Human, you might not have noticed: he and I are not on the best of terms at this precise moment. I would rather not speak to him if it is not required of me."
"And yet you want to save a planet he has named himself protector of? I want to know why you're so invested in helping us all of a sudden."
"I had hoped Natasha would have filled you in on the boring details for me," Loki glanced in her direction near the doorway and could have sworn he saw her stiffen at the unfamiliar use of her name.
"I want to hear every word from you personally, Loki."
"I suppose the most succinct answer would be to repeat that I cannot rule a dead planet. Much though your agent may disagree."
"First believable thing you've said all day! No one gets to destroy your toys before you do, huh?"
"I do not destroy my things," the effective god said, examining his fingernails and hoping to somehow move this dull conversation on.
"Alright. I want you debriefed – and you will cooperate this time – and you will be under observation all the time. If I decide anything you do is suspicious, you will be sedated. Capiche?"
"This is nothing unexpected. I do hope you will include the recording from earlier: it would be tiresome to explain the basics again..." Loki's voice trailed off as three anonymous agents entered the room; one of them stuck something to the lapel of his suit. He looked down to see his name in their language, upside-down. The bemusement must have shown on his face.
"In case there's anyone unaware of who you are and the danger you pose. Plotting aliens worlds away there might be, but I'm looking at enemy number one in my own headquarters."
Said enemy gave the director an unconcerned smile and turned to find his earlier escort gone. Given what little he knew of Black Widow, it did not surprise him. The new guards eyed him warily and one motioned out the door. He followed and spent the next ten minutes finalizing the next stage of his plan. Being contained and under suspicion was no more than he could expect and did not interfere too much for what he had in mind.
It did come as a surprise to Loki, now wearing his Asgardian coat and matching black leather attire, that he was to be visited so soon by Agent Romanoff. To be caught off guard twice in the same day, and by the same person, was almost unprecedented. He also found it distasteful that it was a woman who had done so. However, if his plan was to succeed, he would have to stop underestimating her. It was also slightly disconcerting that she had now been stood at the doorway for several minutes in absolute silence. This must be some Midgardian interrogation technique, and not one he would allow himself to succumb to.
When he looked away to consider any minute faults in the starkly decorated room (how many times would he be forced to describe it thusly? Did S.H.I.E.L.D. not impose some new style regulations upon seizing the building for their purposes?) Loki commented almost without realizing, "Does Stark have no taste in surroundings whatsoever? This place would look more interesting with several holes in the walls." He leant back on a chair to rest his head on the wall presumably in need of the holes.
"Am I to take that as 'suspicious behaviour', Mr. Odinson?" Romanoff asked.
He tilted his head forward to speak, "Testing my patience will not aid you."
She closed her eyes briefly in a wide smile. "Well, then. I came to check up on you. Settled in?"
He trusted her about as far as he could throw her, which did not turn out to describe the situation accurately as, upon reflection, he estimated he could throw her quite far indeed. "One could infer, Ms. Romanoff, that you are being rather friendly with a known hostile, as I think you would say."
"A known hostile with useful, potentially life-saving information. Many lives. Courtesy costs you nothing."
"Really? You would be courteous to a man who compromised a very close friend of yours, destroyed most of this city, and repeatedly stated his intention to rule your entire race? You would be respectful to that person."
She raised an eyebrow, waiting for him to finish but did not offer a rebuttal when he did. Black Widow stood and Loki sat in the resumed quiet. It would have been silence save for the pair of agents stationed outside the room engaging in some small discussion. From the muffled sounds, the topic could have been anything. This lasted until Loki's composure broke once more.
"Why are you here, in truth?" He was finding it difficult to strike a balance between acting as he would normally (as would be expected) and progressing towards a more amicable, hopefully disarming guise.
"If I had an ulterior motive, you would not be able to force it out of me with any tool at your disposal."
Another question along the lines of 'Are you so sure?' nearly spilled out, but he had no immediate desire to be shown up a fool yet again, intriguing though he found the incident in the elevator: both her extraordinary reflexes and his own lack of retaliation. The day, though mostly within reasonable bounds, held some thought-provoking moments already.