Chapter 2

"Why aren't they mentioning all the documents I released from SHIELD and HYDRA's database servers?" Jane whispered as she watched the TVs over the bar. There'd been no breaking news alerts, not even a single mention in the scrawling words at the bottom of the screens.

Loki pushed his untouched beer away from him with a slight curl of his upper lip. Instead of the odd green attire she'd met him in, he'd changed his clothes with a flick of his hand. Now he wore an all-black suit that was as dark as his long hair. It made him even more handsome, though she did her best not to notice.

"Perhaps they never received it," he said.

"The virus was perfect." An older man walked by and gave her a double take. She shrunk into herself despite being disguised as an average-looking male patron. Her picture with the words 'dangerous criminal wanted' blazoned above it was the one thing the news had covered. "Are you certain no one can see through your magic?"

"You question my ability?"

She tensed at his hostile tone and gripped the bridge resting on her lap. Sitting up straighter, she turned to face him fully. "You don't intimidate me."

His gaze flicked down to her neck where she knew her artery would be ticking away, betraying her racing heartbeat. He smiled, and when he looked at her again, his eyes were blood-red.

Her jaw slackened, and she leaned in closer to better see in the dim light. The white was replaced with red. The irises were a darker shade, but the pupils were still black. "Is that your natural color? Do all Jotunns have similar eyes?"

Before she could ask another question, he backed away and his eyes returned to their normal green. "You are a strange Midgardian."

She shrugged and turned back to the TVs. Gesturing to the anchors, she said, "They either know everything and are hiding it, or the government is censoring them."

"So we eliminate the middleman."

"Eliminate, as in kill, or we make it public?"

"The dead don't spread lies."

She shook her head. "I'm not doing this to kill everyone or take over the country."

"You have the power of the Cosmic Cube at your fingertips. You could rule the nine realms."

After downing the last of her beer, she said, "I don't want to rule anything. I just want liberty." She stood. "And maybe a little revenge."

When the bartender no longer faced them, she touched Loki's arm and teleported them back to the dingy motel room she'd illegally acquired. With no money, she did what she had to do. It wasn't ideal, but there was a roof over their heads and a bathroom to clean up in. Loki had politely offered to hop into a bank's vault and take what they needed, but she'd declined.

He gingerly backed away from the curtains coated in a layer of gray dust. "To think I left a palace for this. If you'd see reason—"

"Where's Metal-Arm Man?" She charged by the bed Loki had tossed him on and into the bathroom. The cracked mirror, now missing a large chunk, grabbed her attention. Had he hurt himself?

The tub's half-hanging plastic curtain moved, though just barely. She stared at its multiple reflections in the mirror, thinking she was mistaken, and yet her pulse kicked into high gear.

As she slowly turned around, the curtain exploded open and the large man flew at her. The light glinted off the jagged piece of mirror he brandished in his metal hand.

Loki appeared next to Jane and shoved her out of the way. She hit the tiled wall hard, jamming her shoulder, and fell to the sticky floor. The bathroom spun as she righted herself to look for the bridge. It had fallen from her grasp and clattered to the floor.

The two men fought in the tight space as if it were a boon rather than a hindrance. They utilized everything, from the walls as a brace to the toilet as a launchpad. Loki was quick, dodging each jab and swipe of the sharp glass, but the shirtless man was a tank. None of the Asgardian's attacks seemed to faze him.

Just as she found the bridge behind the sink, the two men's vicious fight paused. They were locked in a stalemate with the assassin's makeshift blade a scant couple inches from Loki's chest. Neither moved, though their muscles quivered with the effort to overcome the other. Their eyes were fierce, but only Loki's were alight with a plethora of other emotions. The human still seemed part-dead inside.

The bionic arm whirred, the layered plates shifted, and then Loki hissed as the glass was suddenly imbedded into his upper chest.

Jane leapt for the bridge. She clasped onto the handholds and spun back around on her bottom to point the Tesseract where the two men had been just a moment ago. Only now, they were a foot away with Loki standing over the human with a slender dagger pressed to the kneeling man's throat. How he suddenly got the upper hand was beyond her.

"Don't kill him," she said.

Loki shot her a withering glare. "You presume to command me? After this filth nearly—"

"I don't think he's fully himself."

"Then that is an even better reason to end his miserable existence."

The metal-armed man looked at her through the long strands of hair hanging heavy with sweat over his face. They were no longer the eyes of a cold assassin. The truth of who he was flickered there.

"Let him go," she said.

"I knew you were odd, but I did not take you for a fool." Her jaw clenched at the insult. "How many more attempts on your life will need to happen before you see reason?"

She repeated her demand despite the spiked barb of doubt lodging itself into her brain.

After a tense stare down, Loki lifted his dagger and stepped away from the human. "Next time he tries to kill you, I won't stop him."

The shirtless man darted out of the room then through the front door before they took their eyes off each other. She leaned back against the wall and breathed out in relief. "He'll be a powerful ally."

"Or a powerful enemy." Loki held out a hand to help her up. "But what's one more?"

She accepted his assistance and did her best to wipe off the filth stuck to her jeans.

He clicked his tongue. "What a shame. I could procure you some new grabs, if I could only—"

"Alright, just do what you have to without making a scene."

He disappeared. "They won't even know I was there," his disembodied voice said before she felt him leave the room.

oOoOo

"So, we—"

"Midgardians," Loki clarified as a group of tourists wearing 'I heart NYC' shirts veered around him.

"—aren't capable of magic," Jane continued, pushing through the same group of people. "Like we lack the genetic makeup for it?"

"Exactly. It is why your realm has been left alone. For the most part, at least."

She knew he was referring to the story Erik had told her of the Jotunns attacking Earth. "But with the Tesseract under my control, I might be able to do what you can."

He laughed. "No, my dear. You'd have to fully connect to it. This contraption may allow you some modicum of control, but it will never be truly yours for you are a mere mortal."

While his condescension was grating, she knew he was right. The Red Skull's demise was proof enough. "But you said I could rule the nine realms."

"You can."

They stopped in front of a multistory building that looked like a hideous, bottom-heavy box and she almost tripped over her heels. "I don't know why you insisted I wear this." The black dress was too form fitting, too elegant.

With his fingertips on her elbow, he steadied her. The gentle touch was a searing hot poker. She jerked her arm back before she could stop herself, though he didn't seem to notice the odd effect he had on her.

"If we are to appear as rich philanthropists, then you must look the part," he said, commenting on the remark she'd half forgotten.

She wondered if he saw through the disguise he'd given her. The cover had been simpler this time: a change of hair color and length, fuller lips over a pointier chin, and larger eyes that matched the blue of a late-evening sky.

"Do stand up straight," he chided her. "My magic can't fake a regal posture."

"I don't see why we can't teleport in and get the information we need."

He looped an arm around her waist and lead her into the main lobby. With a dip of his head, he whispered into her ear. "Money talks. And it does so faster than us scouring through their encrypted files."

No matter how much she tried, she couldn't repress the shiver his cool breath caressing the shell of her ear brought on.

He looked down at her with a corner of his lips quirked upwards.

"Mr. and Mrs. Goldberg," a young man in a sharp suit said, "please follow me."

Loki held her close as they made their way through the lively building. He seemed to take pleasure in her discomfort. While she found him handsome, as well as equally charming and infuriating, she didn't trust him. His lust for the Tesseract was palpable. The bridge, neatly stored in her over-sized, luxury purse, bumped against her leg with each step they took and served as a constant reminder of her purpose.

They walked into a large, opulent office with a fantastic view of New York City. The CEO of the news agency behind the desk stood. His suit probably cost more than she'd made in her entire life.

"Welcome." The man shook their hands, then gestured for them to sit.

After Loki and the CEO exchanged the required pleasantries, sipped on glasses of scotch, and chatted about the business and the state of the world, the two stood, forcing her to clamber to her feet, and then shook hands.

As they followed the young man back through the lobby, Jane tried to work the kinks out of her cheeks. They ached from the smiling torture session.

"Stop that," Loki whispered. "You look like an orangutan with peanut butter stuck in its mouth."

She glared at him. "How do you even know about our primates."

"I know a great many things." He looked over his nose at the assistant in some kind of arrogant farewell and exited the building. "And I have the information you need."

She knew the two men were speaking in code. "Are they covering for SHIELD?"

He smiled down at her.

"Loki."

"When the time comes, I will ask for a favor. You must grant me this without quarrel."

She tried to pull away, but he didn't give her an inch as they continued down the road. He may be tall and thin, but he was not lacking in the strength department.

"You're not getting the Tesseract," she finally said.

"I know."

Tearing her gaze off him, she trained her eyes on the woman in front of her. "And I'm not having sex with you." Despite doing her best to not blush, warmth suffused her cheeks. Damn her pale skin and cloistered life.

"Trust me, Jane. If it came to that, you will be the one doing the begging."

The seductive lilt in his voice made her toes curl. She cleared her throat and squared her shoulders. "Lucky for me, you're not my type. Now, tell me if the news agency was in on the coverup."

His quiet mirth made his face glow, and made her want to punch his perfect nose.

He pulled her tighter to him. Any closer and they might as well share clothes. The one positive side effect of their proximity was that she no longer had to shove her way through the crowded streets to keep pace with him

"They are concealing information for not just the government," he said, "but anyone who is invested in the future of the agency. Our charitable donation would ensure our privacy as well."

Anger spread through her like a wild fire on a dry, windy day. "Then they must be eliminated. The public needs an unbiased news source. They need to know the truth."

"Didn't you say there are two others you sent the files to?"

"Yes."

"Shall we confirm our suspicions of them?" He stopped and turned her to face him. They were a boulder in a sea of people flowing around them. "Or do we wipe the slate clean? Give Midgard a fresh start?"

She repeated his words in her mind, playing out what a new beginning would mean. The corrupt leaders would finally be deposed, no more suppression, no more lies. Freedom.

Shaking her head, she said, "A judgment without a trial is not right."

He sighed, but nodded. "To London, then?"

"Paris."

He lifted a brow in question.

"I've always wanted to visit the Louvre."

oOoOo

"I can't believe they're all bought and sold," Jane said, tossing her coat over the chair in the elegant hotel suite Loki had procured for them.

"Your naiveté is charming." He walked to the floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking Manhattan and clasped his hands behind his back. "We could have saved two days if you had listened to me."

"What does a person with practically endless years ahead of them care about a couple days?"

"The games of mortal men bore me."

"Then go." She kicked off her ridiculous heels. "You're the one who asked to tag along."

His hands clenched into fists.

She shouldn't have said that. He had been nothing but helpful and she wouldn't have gotten as far as she had without him.

Taking a deep breath, she opened her mouth to apologize, but before she could utter a word, he teleported out of the room.

Great. She had no idea where to look for him.

She flopped onto the chair and rubbed her temples. She could continue with the plan without him. It wouldn't be easy, but that had been her life up until he came around.

Snatching the bridge out of the purse, she slipped on her shoes and caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror. She was no longer disguised, which wasn't a surprise since Loki was not there to maintain the illusion. What was surprising, though, was her appearance. She barely recognized herself. The dark circles around her eyes were no more, her skin looked radiant, and she stood taller. She was about to write it off as the effects of restful sleep, but she couldn't deny Loki's influence on her.

Steeling herself, she closed her eyes and replayed the plan in her mind. She had to be calm and quiet for it to work. The less conspicuous her actions were the higher the likelihood she would actually get to all three news agencies before they alerted the police.

It would've been easier with Loki, the barbed doubt said, burrowing deeper inside her.

She clenched her hands around the bridge and told the Tesseract to send her to the CEO's office.

As soon as she landed, she spun around, aiming the alien artifact at whomever might be there.

Empty.

She cursed under her breath, and paced the length of his ostentatiously large desk. Everything about the room irked her. The rich carpets, the all pervading mahogany wood, and the atrocious cologne that hung in the air like thick fog.

Catching sight of the glass container of scotch, she poured herself a drink and sat in his oversized leather chair. She would wait right there, let him see her occupying his space, and then turn him to ash.

As time ticked by, literally—the ornate analog clock was relentless—her eyes roamed over his desk. She chose not to look at the pictures of his family, and instead, decided to see what he stored in the drawers. She hoped it was something incriminating, but it ended up being even better. A day planner.

She flipped to the current date and discovered not only that he was out of town, but that he would be back for a board meeting the next day.

Smiling, she put the day planner back, teleported to her hotel room, placed a wide-brimmed hat to cover the upper half of her face and grabbed her purse, then left to treat herself to a well-deserved lunch.

No one stopped her, no one got in her way as she walked down the street. Even though she was five-foot nothing, she was taller than Loki. She had the power of the Tesseract. She had an even better plan. She was about to free all of these poor souls from their invisible chains.

"Jane Foster," Barton said.

She stopped dead in her tracks and jerked her head up to see under her hat. Her heart thudded offbeat at the sight of the SHIELD agent, alive and well, standing before her along with a redheaded woman Jane had never seen. They stood with commanding stances and hands that lingered near their weapons.

Pedestrians steered clear of them. Most didn't bother to stop, but some took up positions off to the side with their phones aimed at them.

"Thought I was dead?" he asked.

"Honestly, I was never quite sure." She inched her trembling hand closer to her purse so she could grab the bridge to teleport out.

They're arms snapped upwards. The redhead held a gun, and Barton had his bow and arrow, both weapons steadily trained on her.

"Hands up," the woman commanded.

Jane froze. She was only a good six inches from the opening in her purse, but they could shoot her faster than she could reach inside. Her jaw ached from the constant clenching of it. She should've had her hand on the bridge the entire time she was in public. She should've better disguised herself. She should've—

Shots wrung out in the air behind her, a quick tap, tap, tap. Jane flinched with each jarring sound Everyone near them ran away, creating a loud and chaotic splitting of the sea. The SHIELD agents' gazes jerked away from her while the redhead spoke quietly in her comms.

Jane eased her hand toward her purse, but Barton's bow was trained on her before she could get too close. "Is that your backup?" he asked.

"It would certainly be nice if I had a team of people behind me, or a whole government. But, no, it's just me."

He narrowed his eyes, as if he didn't quite believe her. "Then who's that?"

His question was punctuated with another gun shot. The redhead was a shade paler as she stared, slightly open mouthed, at the commotion.

Jane lowered her brows. The woman didn't seem like the easily-spooked type. Certain Barton wasn't going to shoot her in the back, Jane turned to look over her shoulder. Her pulse leapt into double time.

The man with the metal arm strode toward her, dispatching SHIELD soldiers left and right, if not with a gun, then with a knife and a brief tussle that barely slowed him down. His intense posture and death-glare meant he was the mindless killer again.

Loki was right. He should've killed him.

"Who is he?" Barton asked again.

She swallowed hard. "Someone who wants me dead."

Author's Note: I thought this story would be a one shot, and then I thought it would just be three chapters, then four, but now I have no idea. And that makes me nervous.

Thanks for letting me know you wanted the story to continue either by comment and/or favorite/follow. The power is in your hands. ;)