Chapter 3
The throne room doors swung open and a wide smile broke out on Loki's face as two guards entered carrying a limp figure between them – his twisted legs dragging against the floor.
Loki waved a hand and the group in front of him stood and parted to the side without a word.
The guards threw the figure towards the King's feet.
Scratches, cuts and bruises were littered across his black skin; his nails had been ripped from his fingers and were crusted with blood. The prisoner wheezed as he sucked in a laboured breath, wincing as he straightened his battered body.
"I see that my guards have done an excellent job with you." Loki sneered.
The prisoner kept his one eye on the King, remaining silent. His expression was cool and determined – he obviously wasn't broken yet.
The edge of Loki's sceptre collided with the victim's head, knocking him to the ground. The King gave an echoing cackle as the prisoner weakly struggled to raise himself.
"It seems that you're stubbornness is stead fast, Fury." Loki jeered. "Why not choose the simpler option and accept what is meant to be?"
He thrusted a sharp kick into the director's ribs for good measure, causing the man to grunt once more in pain as he lay twisted on his side.
"You are witnessing unlimited power and yet your mortal mind still denies the truth."
"Unlimited power still don't have a magazine yet though, does it?" The director spat, gingerly touching his battered skull and wiping away the seeping blood from the wound.
"Hmm." Loki sighed, shoulders dropping. "Look around you, at your group of 'Avengers'." The King gestured to the group, watching blankly at the side. "You have lost, Fury. Your S.H.I.E.L.D is dispersed; your planet belongs to me. I am your King! Why is this so difficult for you to understand?"
"Listen." Fury sighed, lifting up his head. "Can you just save the monologue and kill me already, you've kept me longer then you need to."
"But where is the fun in just finishing you off quickly? I have been more than kind, director."
"Kind? Really?" asked Fury sarcastically. "You could have turned me into one of your flying monkeys at the start, but apparently torturing me for weeks is kind thing to do?"
"You are still alive, are you not?"
"That's not the point. You didn't need to keep me and yet you did. All that torture was pointless; you just want an ego boost." The director exhaled heavily and turned his head away as if to think. A weak laugh suddenly echoed from him, he looked up at Loki whose face was marred with confusion. "Dr Banner was right; your brain is a bag full of cats."
"We are not here to discuss the beast." Loki snapped.
"So you are going to kill me then!" Fury exasperated.
"Well that all depends." Loki began to circle the man on the floor like a vulture. "I am going to give you a choice. You can either become one of them-"He nodded to the group at the side. "-or die."
The King halted in front of him. "The choice is yours."
Fury raised his head, his expression hard. "I will never join you."
"Very well." Loki nodded to the guards who promptly came and grabbed the prisoner, about to drag him out.
"You're not going to kill me?" Fury asked with confusion.
"Oh, don't worry. Your death will come. I just think an execution such as yours should be saved for a special occasion." It was Loki's turn to laugh as he howled with sadistic madness, watching the guards exit with Fury in tow.
Darcy closed the wall behind her, relieved that she didn't accidently lock in herself behind it - though would that necessarily be a bad thing?
Making a mental map, she scampered down the endless corridor, pondering on how much time she had wasted by getting lost in this place and if Jane would ever find her. Her musings, however, were interrupted when Darcy once again came across the large mahogany doors.
A library - she was, not so subtly, told.
Her curiosity peaked a second time as she slowly gripped the gold handle and pulled it open. Inside was a vast sprawling room filled with mile high shelves of thick sagas and intricate scrolls. Darcy was a mere speck of dust amongst the largeness of her surroundings, intimidated by the shelves covering the length and width of each wall. At the very centre of the room lay a circular table with a single green cushioned chair. At the very centre of the table lay a brick of a book with a blank wooden cover.
Darcy had a suspicious inkling that the book left lying in front of her was no coincidence. Intrigued, she sat down and heaved it open. Flicking through the pages for a while, Darcy deemed that the book had something to do with magical objects from space, though it wasn't as interesting as it sounded. What was interesting, however, was the reason why this book in particular was left here for her to find? There was a mystery to be solved, and Darcy was strangely glad of it.
The library door opened with an echo. "Your Highness." Darcy internally groaned.
"What's up Jane!"
"Time for your dress fitting, you're already ten minutes late."
"I'm coming, I'm coming."
The next week flew by way too fast.
As each day reluctantly rolled on, more dread built up within Darcy and her heart thumped faster. She didn't know if it would be lucky or not if she suffered a heart attack as it seemed that was the direction she was heading in if she didn't calm down.
Darcy didn't want to admit it, but she was terrified. She was constantly jumpy and skittish about everything – which was ridiculous since Darcy Lewis was never skittish. But the constant fear of Loki stayed with her – she hadn't seen him all week, he was bound to appear before Darcy sooner or later and she feared what he might do.
It wasn't just the looming thought of Loki that made her worry, it was also the fact that the 'Avengers' (As Jane told her.) were watching her every move – or it seemed that way, at least.
After being mollycoddled by Jane for a number of hours, Darcy was relieved when the astrophysicist was called off somewhere else as she would find herself blissfully alone and take that opportunity to visit try and visit Bruce.
That was easier said than done, as Darcy would always somehow manage to get herself lost. One more thing also made it difficult – The Avengers.
(Not all of them, but always one would suddenly appear out of nowhere. She must have run into each Avenger by now.)
"Where are you going?" The certain Avenger would ask, blankly.
Now, Darcy could have said: "I'm just going to visit my prison buddy who's locked in a cell, which is behind a door disguised as a wall and was put in there by Loki. Don't mind me!" However, she doubted that that would go down well.
So instead, Darcy panicked and told the Avenger: "I'm looking for the library."
They seemed to buy it and were kind enough to escort her to the mahogany doors that held bookshelf after bookshelf of books. Unfortunately, they were less inclined to let Darcy out of their sight. So Darcy was stuck under an Avenger's blue gaze, half-heartedly reading the brick-book of magical objects and more whole-heartedly pondering about why it was there. This carried on for a few hours until Jane picked her up and took her back to her chambers.
She hated the fact that Jane was her babysitter. Hell, she used to be Jane's babysitter – how the tables had turned.
The night before the dreaded day had arrived, and there was no longer any hope for Darcy. Tomorrow she would be married to a mad ruler and be queen of her own enslaved race.
"Aren't you excited?" Jane asked as she cleared objects off her dressing table.
"I am absolutely ecstatic Jane, look how I leap for joy." Darcy said sarcastically, lounging on her bed in silk pyjamas, fiddling with the chain around her neck.
"You are going to be married to your soul mate, who is also a benevolent ruler. You're going to live a life people have only dreamed about."
Darcy lifted her head. "Do you really believe in all that soul mate crap?"
Jane turned to face her. "It is how fate has planned it."
"Ha!" Darcy exclaimed, rolling back on the pillows. "So this is all fate's fault. Well screw you too, Fate!" She extended her middle finger to the ceiling. "Hope you get fucked down to hell."
Jane ignored her outburst. "Rest, your Highness. You've got a big day tomorrow."
"Don't I know it?" She muttered as Jane switched the light off and quietly left.
Darcy tossed and turned throughout the night, fading in and out of a dreamy limbo that she couldn't quite stay in. Exasperated, nervous, and lonely, Darcy at last opened her eyes and stood from the bed. She stumbled over to the wall and felt around for the light switch, which she eventually found and flicked on. Darcy went over to the dressing table for her glasses and then to the golden closet door to hunt around for a pair of slippers. When she at last found some and donned them, she hastily switched the room into darkness and cautiously cracked open the door.
Her breath hitched in suspense. The corridor was empty. Dim light shone from glowing orbs in the walls like lit torches in a castle. They seemed to float and flicker like a suspended ball of energy. Perhaps that is what they are. Darcy thought, amazed and puzzled by the alien technology.
Deeming the corridor safe, Darcy slipped out and, as gently as she could, creeped through to reach the stairwell. Over the past week, Darcy had perfected her mental map of the maze and was certain that she knew where she was going. Her quiet confidence, however, could not stop her from shaking at the thought of being caught. Darcy quickly bundled together a few excuses she could say if anyone spotted her, but the vast emptiness and ghostly lights she floated through told her that it would be unlikely.
When she passed the library doors, Darcy knew she was on the right track. She felt oddly proud of herself for at last knowing the way and was soon at the disguised door. She pushed a couple of bricks with her foot before finding the right one - the secret door opened. She entered, and closing the wall behind her, descended into darkness.
Darcy soon reached the light.
"Bruce?" She gently called.
"Mmm...what?" Bruce sleepily sat up in his cage. "Oh! Darcy." He said when he spotted her. He lazily ruffled his hair and crawled closer to the glass as Darcy sat opposite him.
"Sorry, I should have guessed you'd be asleep. It's just that I couldn't, and I have been meaning to talk to you all week, but the 'Avengers' – or whatever – kept on stopping me so I never got the chance. Are you holding up alright?"
"Yeah, yeah. Well - as well as I can stuck in a... are you wearing pyjamas?"
Darcy bashfully smiled. "Yeah, I thought we could have a slumber party. Please ignore my nipples."
Bruce shook with laughter as Darcy giggled. The hilarity eventually died down.
"This is the first time I've laughed since – well not for a while." said Bruce, his head tilting to the side slightly.
"Same here." Darcy replied.
"A week." Bruce thought aloud, stroking his chin. "That means-"
"The wedding's tomorrow." Darcy nodded sadly.
"Does this make it a hen night, then?"
Darcy bent double as she burst out laughing. "You're terrible!"
Bruce chuckled silently. "I'm sorry."
"Oh don't be sorry, this is exactly what I needed at the moment."
Bruce's subdued look sobered her. "But what you want is to escape."
Darcy inhaled, nibbling her lip. "I've given up all hope of escaping. It's so frustrating! I'm powerless and I feel so alone in all of this. No, I shouldn't complain. I could be a mind slave – or even dead but ... sometimes I think that might be a better option. I could have died with free will or be a zombie that's completely oblivious to what's happening and not feel so useless. Does that sound weird?"
Bruce smiled kindly. "No, it makes sense." He tenderly put his hand on the glass. "But Darcy, you know you don't have to be alone in this?"
She looked up into his soft brown eyes. They were sincere, kind, yet deep in his irises lay something that had been tucked away and was peeking out in the corners, ready to be provoked. It unnerved Darcy, but a thought came to her that Bruce was letting her see his innermost being - just for a moment – to give her the blink of trust she needed to lean against him. And so she put her hand on the glass next to his. "Thanks." Darcy whispered.
He smiled back, almost blushing.
"Don't you hate the universe sometimes?" Darcy said after a moment.
"I guess I do." Bruce realized. "In a metaphorical sense, I suppose."
"It's just I'm trying to get my head around this whole 'fate's plan' or whatever."
"I didn't think that you were a fatalist." said Bruce.
"I'm not, believe me." Darcy crowed. "But all I've heard about since being kidnapped is how I'm Loki's soul mate and it's meant to be. I don't really know what to think anymore."
"Hmm. Being the soul mate to an Asgardian, with a God complex as big and as messed up as his ego, yet not allowed to have a say in any of it." Bruce pondered before flippantly nodding. "Yeah, Fate's a bitch in this scenario."
"I didn't even say a word before pouncing on him." She said retrospectively. "Honestly, we couldn't keep our hands off each other. It was as if the universe was just pushing our heads together to make us kiss. I couldn't stop myself; I had absolutely no control over what happened. Oh God, I think I'm going to throw up in the middle of the aisle in front of everybody, tomorrow."
Bruce bent his head slightly to look into her eyes. "You can't give up hope, Darcy. Please don't."
"I'm trying not to."
"Then don't." He gently said. "You're a brave person, Darcy. You're going to look absolutely beautiful as you walk down that aisle – even though at the end of it will be somebody we both hate – but you're going to be a queen. So even though Fate has screwed us both over and we have lost everything, we have to take whatever we have left and hold our chins up high. You won't break Darcy, and as long as we stick together, I won't either."
"Are you a therapist or something?" Darcy inquired with a small smile.
Bruce shook his head. "Well, I am a-a doctor."
"Ooh, that's cool."
"Well ... it's in, uh, nuclear physics." He said quietly.
"That explains how you heard of Jane and Erik." Darcy realized.
"Um ... yeah. Well, you see I've actually, uh, met them." Bruce shuffled backwards with his eyes down cast. A singular thought pushed to the front of Darcy's mind.
"You were with them, weren't you?" She quietly asked. Bruce huffed in conformation.
"What happened?" Darcy leaned her shoulder against the glass, holding her knees like Bruce was.
"You've heard of S.H.I.E.L.D I presume?"
Darcy nodded.
"Well S.H.I.E.L.D had something called the Tesseract. It's –uh- a blue cube filled with unlimited radioactive energy. S.H.I.E.L.D wanted to harness that energy to make it into a weapon and Dr Foster and Dr Selvig were working with S.H.I.E.L.D to research what the Tesseract was. From my own understanding, Loki came through the Tesseract, stole it, and used the sceptre to take over the minds of several people – including Jane and Erik."
Darcy shuddered. "The sceptre, that's the reason why they all have blue eyes. It's his staff!" She realized.
"He carries it around everywhere." Bruce said.
"How did you become involved in this?" Darcy asked.
"Well, I was ... located to help locate the Tesseract. Long story short, Loki used the Tesseract to unleash his army, he won and ... well, you know the rest."
Bruce sighed deeply, wringing his hands. "It's hard to get your head around it, I know."
"There's one thing I don't understand. If Loki has mind-controlled everyone else, why hasn't he done it to you?" Darcy asked.
Bruce's lips were pressed into a thin line. "Because he can't."
"Huh?"
"Darcy I-" He closed his mouth. "I would rather not talk about it." Bruce had curled himself up even tighter, the muscles were tense and looked like they were about to burst. "Darcy, I think you should leave."
She blinked at the command, not knowing what else to do, she stood to leave.
"Good night Bruce." She said uncertainly as she hesitantly walked back to ascend the stairs.
A horrifying pained noise sounded behind her; she moved to turn around.
SLAM. "DON'T LOOK AT ME!"
Darcy shot into a run. Her heart screamed in her ears. As a deafly roar chased her, a solid step tripped her up, sending her knee to collide with the unmerciful concrete. Darcy scrambled up through the rest of the darkness, slid open the door, hopped out, and hastily slid it shut. Calming down from the adrenalin, Darcy found that she could not stop shaking; her heart had not ceased trying to escape from her chest.
Oh Bruce. She thought. What has happened to you?
Fatigue had started to rest over her mind and Darcy heartily agreed that going to bed was the next best thing.
"Ah!" She howled as she took a step. Must have really done some damage.
As silently as possible, Darcy hopped through the maze on her good leg and made it back to her chambers unspotted. Hiding under the sheets, she soon drifted off to sleep – her nightmares filled with the colour green.
