"Are you ever going to not fall for that?" Loki asked of his brother. Thor had experienced the wrong end of the sorcerer's abilities for centuries. The trickster god thought he would have learned to at least do a double take before charging into a prison cell. Thor gave him a betrayed look, even having the audacity to seem surprised.
"The bay has been unlocked," Loki heard behind him. The light, unconcerned voice of his young computer hacker approached in perfect timing. "We have a craft just outside. We should get moving before they see it." Loki chanced another look at his brother, delighting in the agony at seeing Darcy under his command written on his face.
"Darcy," Thor almost whispered. Loki watched as grief carved itself into his brothers features. Anticipation could sometimes leave reality a bit lacking when a long-awaited end was finally achieved. This was not such a case. His brother agony was every bit as satisfying as he imagined.
"Thor!" Darcy greeted happily. "You look less homeless than last time." She gave his cell a once over as if to emphasize her point. This drew a smile from the green-clad demi-god standing in front of her.
"A treasure, is she not? So very useful for a mortal." Loki said, his eyes fixed on his brother. No one in the room, including Loki himself, knew if his comment was sincere as he walked passed Darcy to the controls of the cage. "Of course that would imply that we are immortal, would it not? The humans like to think so. Should we test that theory?"
Darcy let out a soft, but still audible, gasp when she realized what he meant to do. Loki, surprisingly to all parties in the room, gave pause when he heard it. He narrowed his eyes at her, straightening up from the controls. His smile was dangerous. "Does this displease you, Miss Lewis?" He could see the wheels turning in her mind, and her thoughts were getting more difficult to read.
""We... we have your escape. He can't stop you from in there." she said quietly. Carefully. He approached her slowly.
"Loki," Thor warned. The dark-haired god tossed his brother a glance, but ignored his unspoken threat.
"You wish me to spare him, my little minion?" he asked in a sickeningly saccharine voice. Her brows came together, as if she was surprised at her own words. His control was slipping.
"He's your brother. I know you want to prove you hate him, but we both know this isn't going to kill him. And even if it did, you'd gonna regret it later." He sometimes forgot their linked minds could reveal the other way, on occasion.
A touch of the Scepter would put her mind back in his control, fully. In the moment, however, he stayed his hand.
"Would I?" he said with a casual laugh, turning to Thor. "I see why you are so intrigued with these creatures, brother. Look at this little one." His gaze fell back onto the girl before him, humor in his voice. She stiffened, raising her chin and crossing her arms over her chest. She always seemed to find her courage when anticipating an insult. How adorable. "I could crack her neck with a thought, and she stands here, questioning me."
"I tend to question most things that are unreasonable," she retorted as Loki casually walked back to the controls. "Are we going to keep standing here while this tub crumbles around us so you guys can measure your-"
She was cut off by a sickening thud.
"Stop right there, please," Agent Coulson said. Loki turned to see Darcy unconscious on the floor before he looked back up to the agent, his green eyes alight with fury. The human began mumbling something about the power of the weapon he held while Loki was only interested in throwing himself into a double behind him. He had been in the middle of threatening Darcy properly. He would not tolerate interruptions. He managed to project himself behind the agent, his spear in hand. Thor roared as he plunged the spear into Coulson's back, pulling it out quickly. The agent fell to the floor. If he was strong, he would live. If not, all the better. Loki paused for a moment, looking down at Darcy's unconscious form next to the dying agent. Something in the back of his mind told him that Darcy would have disapproved, not that it mattered. Still, he had grown accustomed to her non-violent suggestions in his ear, ignored as they were. The silly girl was getting into his head.
"Good help is hard to come by," Loki complained to his brother, completely unconcerned with the God of Thunder's rage at the death of the agent. The hint of mirth that had been in Loki's eyes was gone. H e walked back over to the pad that would drop his brother 30,000 feet to the ground. He paused, looking down at the girl in his arms as her words echoed in his mind. Perhaps there was a partial, ever-so-slight modicum of truth to what she said.
But dropping him from the helicarrier was not the only way to hurt his oaf of a brother.
"I must say, you may color me intrigued," The God of Mischief continued. "You were down here a mere week before you found yourself besotted with a human woman. Perhaps I should see if there is something to it when she wakes, no? You should see some of the looks she gives. I doubt she would object. Was your Miss Foster so obviously taken with you upon meeting? I can see why you wanted to indulge, if she looks anything like this one." Thor stood completely straight, glaring dangerously as he understood the implications of his words.
"Loki," Thor said dangerously. "You can still put an end to this villainy. Darcy is not even in her right mind. Anything she does is not of her own will. I swear to you, brother, I will make you rue the day Odin found you in that temple if you-" Loki laughed heartily, interrupting his brother's threats.
"That day has already come and gone, I assure you, Odinson," he said, venom in his last word. "Besides, I did not put her little infatuation in her mind. I do not see what the difference would be. Did you not accuse me of thinking them beneath me? It seems only appropriate to experiment with a more literal interpretation." With that, he left, leaving his brother trapped in the cage of glass.
