Appeal to My Humanity

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All of this is un-beta'd and I apologize in advance. Read at your own risk.

Chapter 2

"Let me see if I understand this correctly, Fury," said Tony Stark, a look of utter disbelief on his face. "The big blonde surfer sent his psycho brother back to us weeks after he destroyed our city and tried to take over our world, and you're just going to take him in? Am I right?"

Nick Fury surveyed the room full of angry faces. He had called in a meeting and every higher-up member of SHIELD was there – management, representatives from the White House, and of course every member of the Avengers (with the exception of Thor).

"You are correct," Fury responded evenly, "Normally something like this would be kept a little more... private, however, considering the circumstances... this may turn out to be a bit more public than we had originally anticipated."

"It can't be any more public than anything he's already done here," Clint Barton muttered, earning him a stern glare from Fury but nods of agreement from the people around him who had heard the comment.

"Thor left an extremely thorough note describing why Loki is here and what he hopes to accomplish through his stay under our... care," Fury explained, choosing his words carefully. "He was very specific about how Loki should be treated while he's here. And-" he said, making sure he had the attention of everyone in the room, "he wants us to put Loki to work."

"To work doing what?" Tony asked. "Burning ants with a magnifying glass? He doesn't know anything about our world or how anything works here-"

"That's not entirely true," Bruce Banner cut in, "He's surprisingly smart. While he may not know the specifics, the guy is, I hate to say it, kind of a genius. He would be able to learn quickly." Bruce's statement caused a flurry of conversation and outbursts from everyone in the room. Fury raised his hands in the air to motion for silence.

"What's your angle in all of this, Fury?" Natasha asked quietly.

"Thor has promised Earth, and more specifically SHIELD, the assistance of Asgard if we are able to find a way to connect the two planets and help rehabilitate Loki. As I'm sure you all know, right now their main mode of transportation is busted. Their little prince is stranded here, and I couldn't send him back if I wanted to," Nick explained simply. "While I know emotions are high right now, it would behoove us as a planet to try our best to fulfill Thor's request. Asgard has technology that we haven't even dreamed of yet, and we could use that kind of power if we face alien invasion again."

Steve Rogers looked pensive. "How is this going to work? Will we be watching him in shifts?"

"You guys are talking about this like we're actually going to be keeping him here," Clint cut in.

Nick turned to Clint, "We can't risk having him in the hands of anyone else. We are keeping him here. As for your question, Mr. Rogers, no, you will not be watching him in shifts. The only reason you big guns were called in here is to be informed of what's happening. Thor managed to keep Loki from accessing his powers and he doesn't even need to be put in a special cell. He's basically like an indestructible human at this point."

"Really. I think we should test that theory," Tony chimed in.

"We already did," Phil Coulson interjected. Tony looked between Director Fury and Agent Coulson. Fury rolled his eyes.

"Our agents were a little... overzealous when Loki suddenly appeared in middle of the lunch room," Fury admitted. "Regardless, our tests have confirmed that he is very much indestructible and cannot access his powers, or magic, or whatever you want to call it. He is the equivalent of any other high-profile prisoner who is to be given certain privileges and as much as I hate to do so, we will oblige Thor's request of his brother's safekeeping."

A disconcerted murmur spiked through the room, but Fury did not allow for any further questions or comments.

"I expect every member of SHIELD to know that Loki will be with us for an indeterminate amount of time. Please disseminate this information to your people," Fury advised, nodding toward the SHIELD management. "That is all."

The room was filled with hushed opinions and the scraping of chairs against the floor as people rose to leave. Steve Rogers stood quickly and jogged after Fury.

"Director Fury, sir!" Steve called after the leather-clad man.

"Captain! what can I do for you?" Fury called back to him, not bothering to turn around or slow his pace.

Steve's voice was full of concern. "You said that your people ran tests to see if Loki was indestructible. Have you been having him tortured? Because I can not abide an agency using such tactics against a prisoner."

Fury stopped walking and turned to Steve. "It's nothing he can't handle, Steve. Even when our agents shot him his wounds closed in a matter of minutes without any lasting damage to his little princely head. Besides, Thor made it pretty clear that any slight against his brother would be considered a slight against Asgard itself. At this point we're going to keep him under close surveillance in a cell, and then we will progress toward moving him to some more comfortable surroundings."

Steve thought it over for a moment and nodded. "Please let me know if you need my assistance."

"You can count on it."

x

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x

The four white walls of Loki's cell taunted him. It had been 37 days by his count since he was banished to this wretched planet and he only ever saw the same. Four. White. Walls.

Each day was startlingly more dull than the last. At first it was almost amusing to see the murder in the guards' eyes as they watched over him. But without anything to read or his magic to pass the time, he was stuck in a cell with nothing but his thoughts to keep him company.

The only thing that was ever different were the guards. Loki could hear their venomous tongues as they discussed him as though he were a dog. He spent most of his time fantasizing about killing them, Thor, and Odin.

Odin. Even thinking about the name alone left a sour taste in his mouth. What cruel joke was it that he should be called the God of Lies when he was raised by the most talented liar in the nine realms? If he had known all along that he was adopted, would it have made a difference? Would he have felt more at ease with his family by knowing the truth?

As the days passed, Loki slipped deeper into his depression. Without his magic, who was he? What defined him? Was he truly the monster that his father had told of when he was a child? And if he was, was that the life he was doomed to face forever? Who could even want him back after the deplorable crimes he had committed in a seething fit of temporary rage?

Loki had come to the finite conclusion that he had no home. He was an outcast on Jotunheim due to his stature alone. The situation wasn't much better on Asgard, where his pale complexion and coal-black hair stood out like a sore thumb amongst its golden-haired, bronzed residents. He had honed his magic to the point where his talents were revered, but to what end? It was still brawn that was favored and rewarded in the realm eternal. He doubted that if were not a prince he would not be looked at twice by any female in his home world.

And then there was Midgard. The humans were so convinced of their superiority and all the while unknowingly they were simply waiting to be crushed by the first alien race that came along. He had tried to rule them and they showed much more strength and vigor than he had been prepared for. If Thor and Frigga truly felt that he would learn anything from these barbaric creatures then they were in for a nasty surprise.

Loki would think, unblinkingly, for hours, to the point where a guard would rap harshly on his cell door just to bring him back down to earth. He would spend even more hours attempting to rid himself of the necklace Frigga had burdened him with and he found that he couldn't even touch it. He would go to unclasp it and his fingers would miss it, somehow. His irritation only increased with each passing day, not knowing what he would even do with himself from this point onward.

By the 60th day of his imprisonment, he determined that the sweet release of death would be better than staring at the white walls of his cell any longer, and he finally asked the guard on duty for a book.

x

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Darcy Lewis held two large cups of coffee as she walked through the halls of SHIELD's massive building, making her way down to the the subterranean laboratory that had become like her home. She was fresh out of college (those six credits were the last ones she needed- why the hell else would she sign up to be an astrophysicist's assistant if she was a poly-sci major?) when she was made an offer she couldn't refuse by SHIELD. They paid her a hefty stipend, they paid for her rent and utilities, and they even gave her a per diem which she mostly spent on junk food and Starbucks. How could she argue with a deal like that?

Plus they essentially told her that she didn't really have a choice, considering the knowledge she had of Thor.

They allowed her to be assigned to Jane Foster as her assistant and, knowing that Darcy already knew how to work Jane's home-made equipment, she was truly the best person for the job.

Darcy stepped into the lab to find Jane completely engrossed in her research, hunched over one of her instruments and absentmindedly clutching a hardly-bitten doughnut in one hand. Darcy placed one cup of coffee onto Jane's desk before setting her own coffee along with her purse down on her own desk. She immediately rolled up her crisp white blouse's sleeves to her elbows and tried her hair into a high ponytail. Although her casualness wasn't exactly up to SHIELD's dress codes, it was summertime and that laboratory was surprisingly warm, considering that is was underground.

"Any luck?" She asked Jane, booting up her computer.

Jane glanced up from her readings and sighed in defeat. "No, actually. I haven't been able to find what I'm looking for and I don't feel like I'm even close." She turned away from the instrument, collapsing into her own desk's chair. The dark shadows beneath her eyes were clearly visible to Darcy even from across the room.

Darcy appraised her older friend with a concerned look before picking up her coffee and eying it before taking a large sip. "You ain't lookin' so hot there, babe. Did you get any sleep last night?"

Jane closed her eyes and groaned. "I didn't even leave the lab last night."

"Oh my god. Jane!" Darcy exclaimed, She hadn't noticed that her friend was wearing the same clothing until now. "You need to go home," Darcy continued.

Jane looked up at her wearily.

"Seriously. I'll deal with Fury, okay? And I'll input whatever data you collected. Go home and sleep. You're not going to find the droids you're looking for on doughnuts and coffee alone."

Jane raised a fatigued eyebrow at her assistant and gave a weak smile. She picked up her purse and, after turning off her computer, she brought over all of the data she had gathered from yesterday evening and brought it to Darcy's desk.

"You're a saint," Jane told her.

"Hey! Don't go telling people, you'll ruin my reputation," Darcy feigned a scandalous look, taking the folder from Jane. With that Jane turned and left.

Darcy sighed and shot off a quick e-mail to Nick Fury with the last day's findings, describing that Jane felt that she had hit a wall with her research. She then turned to her normal day's tasks of tidying up the room and transferring Jane's quick, messy handwriting into a legible format on the computer.

Darcy was about an hour into inputting the new data into the system when she got up to hook up her iPod to the iHome speakers she bought for the lab, thankful she was able to turn the volume up to a decent level since Jane wasn't around to tell her to turn it down. She went back to her computer and was singing along with Fleetwood Mac's Tell Me Lies at full volume, bobbing her head from side to side with the beat. Her back was turned away from the entrance of the laboratory which is why she didn't notice a group of people walk into her lab.

"Tell me lies, tell me sweet little lies," she sang when she was interrupted by a loud cough directly behind her.

Darcy jumped in surprise and hit the 'pause' button on her iHome remote, turning around to find that Nick Fury had arrived in the lab, towing along none other than Loki in his full Asgardian garb and was flanked by three guards. To say that Darcy was shocked to see the man that had tried to commit a hostile take-over in her lab was the understatement of the century. Loki, however, retained the arrogant air of self-confidence that she had seen on the news but there was... how could she describe it? Less of it. His amused expression at her candid singing only flashed across his face for a moment, but in that moment it made him look almost pleasant.

She immediately turned her gaze to Fury. It was uncomfortable enough having Loki in the same room without him staring at her.

"Nick. What's happening?" Darcy greeted him with the casual ease she had come to develop with him. He didn't seem to mind and what were they going to do? Fire her? She pushed her glasses up her nose and rose from her desk.

"Not much down here according to your e-mail this morning. So I have brought along a consultant," Fury said, motioning towards Loki.

"A consultant? Darcy asked, looking apprehensive as her gaze shot briefly toward the tall god standing next to Fury.

"He's not much good to us caged up in a cell and I'm certain he will be nothing short of helpful to you and Jane with her research," Fury said pointedly, turning toward Loki. Loki said nothing, so Fury turned back to Darcy. "His majesty here is aware that if he's helpful and integral in connecting Earth and Asgard, we will allow him a few more privileges than just the books he has access to right now. The guards will be here in case anything gets out of hand. Just show him around today and you three can get started tomorrow."

With that, Fury turned his back towards her and swept out of the room in a flurry of black leather.

To say the silence that followed in the moments after Fury's departure were 'awkward' would be like saying that a blue whale was 'somewhat large.' Darcy took a deep breath and clapped her hands together. "Okay, so... here's the lab," she said lamely, motioning around with her hands. Loki looked thoroughly unimpressed.

Darcy cleared her throat and glanced at the guards who were absolutely no help. They remained passive and simply kept their gaze on Loki.

"Jane can explain the instruments better than I could, so we can save that for tomorrow. Would you like to look at the data we've collected so far?" She asked him, and he gave her a silent nod.

Darcy motioned toward her computer and Loki looked at it for a moment as though he expected it to do tricks. "Do you know how to use a computer?" she asked him. She took his silence to mean 'no', but when she turned to the computer herself he moved past her, sitting on the chair and scrolling through the data she still had up on her screen.

Darcy stood awkwardly for a moment while Loki looked through the data on the computer. The guards were extremely close to both her and Loki, and after about a minute Darcy gathered the courage to say something.

"Do you guys mind backing off a little bit? I'll make sure he doesn't hack the system or anything. If you're going to be with us down here then we're going to need some space to breathe," she told the three guards. They only stared for a moment before retreating to the front of the room, their guns in hand. Darcy gave a small sigh of relief at the sheer amount of personal space she had and turned her attention again toward Loki.

His quick, graceful fingers easily managed to find whatever they were looking for. His posture was almost languid, and Darcy was no small amount of surprised when she found that he was rather attractive in this state. Without the snarling shouts coming from him in the heat of battle, he was actually pretty hot.

He seemed to be thoroughly engrossed in what the screen was telling him, so she reached into her purse and pulled out her phone, flipping the screen to Facebook. She picked up her coffee and sipped it while flipping through her friends' status updates and after a moment she noticed that Jane's coffee was still on her desk from before she left.

"Hey, um, do I like, feed him?" Darcy called to the guards at the front of the room. They looked at one another and shrugged. She made her way over to Jane's desk and grabbed the now-cold coffee, bringing it back to her own desk and sitting it by Loki.

"You can have it. There's no use wasting good coffee; it's cold but it's still good," she said in his direction. He did not acknowledge her and continued to pore over the data on the screen.

She turned her gaze back to her phone and sighed inwardly. This was going to suck.

x

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Loki was escorted back to his cell by the three guards after a few hours of going through the particle data that had been obtained by the astrophysicist. He sat in silence for the remainder of the evening, considering his current situation. He noted that she had come impressively far given the crude tools she had at her disposal, but of course he would never admit that aloud.

Fury had made it clear that it would be in Loki's best interest if he were to help with the development of inter-planetary travel. Loki did eventually wish to have his powers returned to him, and the only way of doing that was to get Frigga to take the necklace off of him herself.

And, quite frankly, spending his time in the company of an attractive woman with access to research equipment seemed to be immensely more entertaining than staring at his four blank cells walls any longer.

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