Like a Hurricane
Chapter 3 – At each other's throat
Loki looked puzzled at her statement.
'What?'
'My violin, which had been smashed into smithereens by your attack, was a Stradivarius' Chantrea elaborated, while crossing her arms, impatiently.
Loki lifted a finger and slowly shook his head.
'If I recall correctly, you were the one who jumped right in.'
'I wouldn't have if you didn't attack.'
'I simply wished to make an example' Loki replied, matter-of-factly.
Chantrea bit the inside of her cheek and narrowed her eyes. "This is going nowhere."
'This is going nowhere.'
Loki cocked his head to the side and took a step forward. Chantrea immediately unfolded her arms and shifted her weight to be prepared if she needed to move quickly. Loki smirked, enjoying her reaction and stopped a couple of steps before her.
'And where, pray tell, do you want it to go?'
Chantrea kept silent. Most likely, because she herself didn't have a clue, but Loki didn't need to know that. The man continued with a fleeting smile.
'I do not think you understand your situation, undead woman.'
'Your logic is flawed' Chantrea bit out. She felt the vein on her forehead throb as the restraints on her anger slowly slipped away, one by one. The man was that infuriating.
'Oh?' he faked surprise, clearly enjoying her reactions.
Chantrea closed her eyes for a moment to calm herself. The last thing she wanted was to entertain a man like him. She kept a carefully blank face as she met his emerald green gaze, again.
'It failed when you assumed I was human.'
"It doesn't really matter in this situation" she convinced herself. "But I don't do well when I'm insulted and those others already know this much."
'How very interesting.' It was clear from his tone that he thought the exact opposite. Loki went to circle around the edge of the cage, with his hands clasped behind his back. Chantrea didn't let her gaze wander away his form, not even for a moment. They really were like two caged animals. Two, very dangerous animals. 'You look human enough to me.'
'You look human enough to me' she used his own words, knowing the weight of the insult as he would take it.
He was suddenly in front of her, leaning into her face. She blinked, not expecting the abrupt movement, but stayed still, not wanting to give him the satisfaction to see her intimidated.
'I am the God of Mischief!' he said, uncomfortably close. And if it wasn't enough, he pointed a finger in her face. Chantrea was tempted to snatch at his finger, just to see his reaction. She barely restrained herself. Then the words registered. 'I am–'
'Wait' she held up an open palm and guided his finger away from her nose. He was surprised enough at this reaction not to protest immediately. 'You're Loki?'
He nodded, gauging her reaction.
'So you've heard of me' he said and it didn't escape Chantrea that he used almost the exact same words as his brother a little while ago. But he still didn't retreat.
'The Loki they're warring against?' Chantrea asked, gesturing outside. She looked confused.
'Yes.'
'But if you're here, you can't lead your army; why are they so jumpy as to want to recruit me?' she mumbled, more to herself than to Loki as she raked a hand through her hair. Nonetheless, he replied:
'That won't always be the case.'
'Right.' Sarcasm was heavily dripping from her voice.
'You don't believe me' Loki observed, cocking his head to the side as he planted a hand next to Chantrea's head, on the glass wall. She felt the close proximity beginning to get on her nerves. Her eyes flashed and she placed her palms on his chest, trying to shove him away. No such luck. He was as solid as rock.
Chantrea glared at him, even more when she noticed his eyes which betrayed his brief amusement at her struggle.
'If you can't get out now, you won't be able to get out later. And if you can get out now, why wait later?'
'Wouldn't you like to know?' Loki echoed her answer to Tony's question. He couldn't had possibly known this; nonetheless, it pissed Chantrea off that much more.
She shoved him away – this time using her power and with success. He landed on his back, on the other side of the glass cage. He leant up on his elbows, looking at her puzzled for a second. The brief surprise left as quickly as it came when he realized what she did. A calculating smile graced his face as he rose, dusting off his clothes.
He chuckled, nodding to himself and spared a glance at Chantrea from the corner of his eyes.
'You know, I could use that talent of yours.'
'I won't be used.'
'Is that what you had told them, before they tossed you inside this contraption?' Loki asked, smirking. He started to walk along the perimeter and Chantrea matched his steps to put as much distance between them as she could.
When he reached the bench opposite of the exit, he sat down.
Chantrea glared at him.
'Has anyone ever told you you're infuriating?'
'Hn. I've been called many things.'
And that was that. The conversation – if it could be called that – ended and they spent the next couple of hours in absolute silence. Chantrea's legs became tired, so she sat down on the floor, but it was uncomfortable. Using telekinesis, she floated a few inches above the cold floor, organizing her thoughts and concentrating to find her restraint over her gifts.
Their solitude was interrupted by agent Romanov, just as Chantrea was trying to decide whether she had enough control by that time to make her escape. She sighed and moved herself away from the door as the Black Widow appeared. She didn't forget Loki's presence, either; so in the end, the three of them made a triangle.
'I bet you figured out I'd come' Natasha said, her gaze on Loki. He stood up and took a couple of steps towards her. Chantrea was happy to be ignored for the moment.
'After' he replied. Loki continued as he slowly made his way closer to the agent. 'After whatever tortures Fury can concoct, you would appear as a friend, as a balm. And I would cooperate.' His smile was wide.
'I wanna know what you've done to agent Barton' Natasha bit out, tense.
'I'd say I've expanded his mind.'
'And once you've won...' she walked up the ramp and stood directly in front of him as she spoke, 'Once you're king of the mountain,' she crossed her arms, 'what happens to his mind?'
'Is this love, agent Romanov?' Loki asked, seemingly curious.
'Love is for children' she replied, smoothly. 'I owe him a debt.'
'Tell me.'
Loki retreated back to the bench and sat down. As relaxed and in charge he looked like, Chantrea could easily imagine him sipping a cup of tea and eating some cookies as he waited for Natasha to tell him a story. As if they were in a garden, on a pleasant afternoon.
Except in reality, there was no sunshine, no tea and certainly not any cookies; only a cage made of metal and glass. Chantrea shook her head to chase the image from her mind. This man didn't seem to care about the situation, at all.
Natasha took a deep breath and licked her lips nervously. Finally, she gave in.
'Before I worked for SHIELD...' she began as she walked over to the chair on the side of the ramp and sat down, before continuing: 'I... well, I made a name for myself. I have a very specific skillset. I didn't care what I used it for... or on.'
Chantrea perked up her ears, curiously listening to the story. Thankfully, Loki remained quiet throughout the Black Widow's reminiscence.
'I got on SHIELD's radar in a bad way' Natasha confessed. 'Agent Barton was sent to kill me... he made a different call.'
Loki was nodding in understanding.
'And what will you do if I vow spare him?'
'I'll not let you out' she shook her head.
'Oh, no, but I like this' Loki said, leaning forward on his seat with a smile. He clearly enjoyed the situation. 'Your world in the balance, and you bargain for one man.'
'Regimes fall everyday' Natasha replied easily, shaking her head, again. 'I tend not to weep over that; I'm Russian.'
She added, as an afterthought: 'Or I was.'
Chantrea suppressed a chuckle at this, and Loki glanced her way, briefly, before bringing his attention back to the conversation at hand:
'And what are you now?'
'It's really not that complicated' Natasha stood up, crossing her arms and walking over to the glass, again. 'I've got red in my ledger, I'd like to wipe it out.'
'Can you?' Loki asked, sceptical. 'Can you wipe out that much red...?' Then he started listing some of her crimes: 'Drakov's daughter? Sao Paulo? The hospital fire?'
Natasha was silent, but her discomfort could be easily seen.
'Barton told me everything' Loki admitted, standing up. Chantrea followed his every motion with her gaze, sensing a dangerous aura gradually unfolding around him. She most definitely didn't want to get caught in the crossfire, again.
'Your ledger is dripping; it's gushing red!' Loki said fiercely as he neared Natasha. He seemed to forget that there was anyone else there or that the camera was recording everything. 'You think saving a man no more virtuous than yourself will change anything? This is the basest sentimentality...' he scoffed. 'This is a child's prayer; pathetic!' he spat. Natasha gulped nervously, hearing his speech, but he wasn't done.
'You lie, and kill; in the service of liars and killers... You pretend to be separate, to have your own code – something that makes up for the horrors. But they are a part of you... and they will never go away.'
BAM!
Chantrea gave a start at the sudden noise Loki just made by banging his fist on the reinforced glass. He looked... feral.
'You won't touch Barton! Not till I make him kill you...' Loki carefully pronounced each and every word he spat into Natasha's alarmed face. 'Slowly... intimately... in every way he knows you fear; and then he'll wake just long enough to see his good work, and when he screams I'll split his skull!' he explained convincingly. By this time, Natasha wasn't facing him as she cowered in fear.
'This is my bargain, you mewling quim!' Loki ended his tirade and Chantrea winced at his choice of words.
She watched the exchange, full of tension. On one hand, she wanted to curse Natasha to hell and back for riling up Loki this much when she was in his close vicinity, on the other hand... she was enthralled by his speech and the passion behind his words. Even if that insult was one of the harshest she heard in the last century.
Since slapping herself harshly on the cheek would had drawn unwanted attention, she opted for biting the inside of her cheek to scramble for the last bit of common sense she possessed. It was definitely not a good idea to lose sight of her goals. She glanced at Natasha, who was sobbing, and this made her momentarily forget her own delicate situation. Though she hardly knew the agent, she doubted her personality and training would allow her to cry over a threat, no matter how cruel it sounded. Chantrea narrowed her eyes, suspiciously.
'You're a monster' Natasha whispered through her tears. "Oh, she's good" Chantrea approved in her mind. But Loki seemed oblivious. Evil or not, he was still a man in the end.
'Oh, no' he said, laughing. 'You brought the monster.'
The change in Natasha was instantaneous, and didn't surprise Chantrea as much as it threw Loki off.
'So, Banner? That's your play?' the agent inquired.
'What?' Loki looked honestly confused.
Natasha didn't waste any time as she walked away, already speaking into her earpiece.
'Loki means to unleash the Hulk. Keep Banner in the lab; I'm on my way. See that the door is locked.' She stopped for a moment, in front of the exit to the corridor, turning to Loki.
'Thank you, for your cooperation' Natasha said, allowing a small, polite smile, before turning and leaving a flabbergasted Loki behind.
Chantrea couldn't help it; she let out a chuckle, trying to muffle it with her hands, but she was unsuccessful. She drew Loki's attention to herself. He moved toward her, but this time, she was prepared and used her powers to launch herself to the opposite side of the glass cage. She twirled in the air, enjoying the fact that her telekinetic powers fully returned to her, before softly landing on her feet.
'She got you good' Chantrea smirked, as her eyes twinkled with mirth.
Loki let out a short laugh, before walking closer to her. Chantrea moved to avoid him, but a hand on her neck stilled her immediately. She flicked her gaze toward the Loki on the other side of the cage, then back at the one, holding her.
The image of him which stood farther, faded away and the real Loki's lips pulled up in a sneer. His grasp on Chantrea's neck tightened, barely allowing her to breathe. She grabbed onto his arm. Loki leant forward, completely ignoring her personal space.
'You think yourself mighty?' he mocked her. 'With one, tiny motion, I could rip your slender throat out, painting the glass as red as your eyes!'
Chantrea blinked with watery eyes, but her pride didn't allow her to back down from his challenge.
'I could snap yours before you could move' she hissed and lifted her index finger from his wrist, curling it. Loki immediately felt pressure on his Adam's apple.
For a long moment, neither of them moved, only examined each other's face, weighing their options. Then, Loki's fingers increased the pressure on Chantrea's neck and he was suddenly cut off of air. This silent battle lasted for a couple of heartbeats, until Loki loosened his grip and Chantrea eased the invisible hold she had over his throat.
They still didn't let go of each other, and Loki looked at the woman with fire in his eyes. He wanted nothing more than to remind her of her place, to break her wild spirit. But at the same time, he was painfully reminded of her power, which he wished to use, whenever his grip tightened if only by a fraction.
Chantrea could see him struggling and it was clear for her that they were both too stubborn and proud to yield. But what made it truly complicated was her battle with her inner demons. Oh, how easy and fun it would be to join Loki in his plan to overtake the humans! She could easily accomplish it with such a partner, certainly.
If only the memory of her punishment didn't linger in the back of her mind like a suffocating, cold and heavy blanket wrapped around her, holding her back... She didn't want to relive the ignorance, the fear of being found out, always hiding and fleeing and struggling to survive, without her powers and precious memories. Not understanding why she didn't age or fell ill. Cursed, not belonging to humans, nor her own people.
'What a pity;' Chantrea sighed bitterly, breaking the silence between them, 'that we didn't meet centuries sooner.' She meant every word and wistfulness laced her voice for that moment. 'We would've made a fantastic couple! ... Of gods. A fantastic couple of gods.'
Internally, she winced at her traitorous tongue. Outwardly, she kept a completely blank face, and hoped against all that Loki didn't catch her slight pause.
The Aesir smirked, and was going to say something, but a loud sound interrupted him. He glanced up in the direction from where the explosion was heard. Then he gazed back into Chantrea's eyes and simply said:
'It's time.'
To be continued...
A/N: Thank for being my experimental reader, Jazz :)
Actually, I'm more nervous about this chapter than the first two, because this is the first time we see any real interaction between Loki and Chantrea. And I would be immensely grateful if you could tell me what you think about it. Was it believable, how they acted? Were they in character? And did it come out alright when Chantrea was just observing Loki and Natasha's conversation?
I hope you liked it. And thank you very much for those fantastic reviews; the lots of favs and alerts. And it's also in a C2 now! Yay! Thank you^^
