Authors' Note: Aloha! Thanks of the reviews and comments, and sorry for the formatting error initially for the last chapter. I have no idea what happened, it's never done that to me before. Weird. To the guest reviews and those to have asked, yes. There will be lemons. Good old fashioned smut. However, as this is my first fanfic EVER, I'm working my way up to it. I'd like to make sure it's at least good smut. ;-) I tried Loki's perspective here, so if you have any suggestions on better characterization, please drop me a line.
Loki left the exhausted mortal woman to her own devices and stalked out, closing the bedroom door behind him. He didn't bother locking it, she was in no condition to move, let alone attempt any sort of escape. Humans were so fragile. He continued through the living room area past the attached kitchenette of the quarters and out into the hallway. Glancing at the two Chitauri guards outside the entrance, he uttered a simple command, "No one enters or exits but me. No one." They grunted their assent as he brushed past their hulking forms.
The trickster pondered the various paths he could get to his ultimate goal with Jane. He planned to have her continue Selvig's work with the Tesseract, building a stabilizer and mechanical focus for the Tesseract to open portals of the size and magnitude necessary to bring the bulk of his army through. This bringing a trickle of Chitauri through magical paths into Midgard was both taxing and frustrating. All he could really do with the forces he had was keep the Avengers and SHEILD too busy putting out the proverbial fires he started with small elements of his army to try to track him down. He was marvelous at keeping himself, his forces, and his hideouts hidden. Oh what joy it was to be the God of Lies and Mischief. That and being incredibly gifted with cloaking magics. Mixed in with the rampant chaos was the occasional directed strike, collecting important technology or personnel for his plans.
Important personnel like Doctor Jane Foster. She was like a fabulous two for one deal for his plans. Now that he had her, he planned to keep her out of Thor's reach for as long as possible. Forever if he could. Loki wanted to punish his brother in the most painful way possible, shattering his confidence and breaking his heart. Loki would own Jane Foster until the day she died.
He considered why Thor was so drawn to this mortal. What about her intrigued him so? She was pretty yes. She could even be considered beautiful once she was cleaned up a bit, but he'd seen woman who were more so. She was quite spirited, which he truly enjoyed. He was not lying when he'd said he liked her. Not many would be willing to spit fire at a Prince of Asgard. Or a former Prince of Asgard, he thought bitterly. But she was weak as were all mortals. Pathetic. Utterly infuriating. Though it was awfully fun to bait and humiliate her. Keeping her off balance was shaping up to be one of the most entertaining games he had at the present. She was quite a puzzle, and he simply adored puzzles. Jane did smell and taste quite lovely, however. He licked his lips, smirking, and was reminded of lavender and raspberries and the scent of libraries in the summer.
He frowned and shook his head, trying to clear it of such sentimental nonsense. She was a tool, he reminded himself as he stalked down the corridors. A toy, a plaything, and a means to an end. Nothing more.
He lamented the loss of his scepter, it would be the simplest, more expedient way to control her. Even without it, his enslaved mortals still obeyed him. It was a clear sign the staff was still intact and active, but it was not in his possession, nor was it easy to find. The Chitauri were anything but subtle, so he had sent his more skilled mortals, both enslaved and the mercenary enemies of SHEILD Clint Barton had put him in contact with, in search of the staff. It burned him so to rely on such weak creatures. But until such a time as the scepter was returned to his control, he would simply have to rely on manipulation.
He laughed out loud as he continued through the maze like corridors of the base, passing the occasional Chitauri or mortal under his employ. Loki did enjoy his games, and the challenge of possessing Jane Foster, of earning her compliance with merely the use of his Silver Tongue was one that appealed to him.
He would begin by continuing what he was already doing – taking care of her. It was really a stroke of luck that she had been damaged by the car accident, it allowed him access to her and her person that would otherwise be difficult to obtain from her willingly. He would make her rely on him for everything. She would be utterly dependant on him; her food, her safety, her very health would all stem from his generosity. He would get her used to him taking care of her, and eventually gain, if not her trust, than her cooperation.
Loki smirked at the memory of her face when he said he couldn't heal her magically, only enhance and accelerate her own healing ability. He, of course, had been lying through his teeth. He could have healed all her injuries, made her body whole again, even better than new. But it was inefficient for his plans. It also would have drained much of his magical power, and he had other business to attend to today. Thus, it was most advantageous to feed her a story that would ensure her dependence on his good favor.
He growled out of frustration at the thought that he would have to keep up the charade of caring for several weeks. Maybe even months if she was not able to unravel Eric Selvig's data.
The God of Mischief snorted and pushed thoughts of Jane from his mind. He had arrived at his destination, the epicenter of this base, the Command Room. As expansive as the bridge of SHEILD's helicarrier, the underground chamber was filled with screens, computers, equipment, and soldiers – both human and Chitauri. He strode up to the round table in the center of the room, a holographic map of the globe in red light hung above the touch-screen table top, indicating last known locations of threats to Loki's plans.
"Report" was the only thing he spoke to the five Chitauri generals and three mortals standing there talking quietly among themselves. Or screeching among themselves, in the case of the Chitauri.
The Chitauri generals spoke first, providing reports on equipment brought through the portals, equipment remaining in stand by, and equipment salvaged from the various skirmishes with Loki's enemies. They also provided information on provisions and the growing number of troops available for Loki's assaults. The Chitauri were bred and created to be the most efficient killing machines possible, they needed very little in the way of provisions. He suspected that if he took his entire current army and attacked SHEILD's current headquarters, there was a very strong chance that they would succeed in destroying the organization. A strong chance, however, was not enough for Loki. He wanted to crush them so completely that no other would stand up to his might again in fear of retaliation.
For this, he needed the rest of his army.
He listened to the creatures report on the latest of their attacks, they were succeeding in causing havoc, chaos, and rampant paranoia in countries, governments, and organizations all over Midgard. The Avengers appeared to be in a stalemate with Loki, letting him get no closer to his goal, but they were no closer to catching him than the Hulk was going to dress in a pink tutu and dance around for his entertainment. As the mortals brought forth their own information, his arrogant smile grew. The reports confirmed his supposition; the Avengers were no more likely to see through his political and tactical illusions than they were to see through his magical ones. Will they ever not fall for that?
The paranoia and chaos he was spreading was working it's way into the hearts and minds of men. Their fear and greed was provoking them to do just what Loki had intended. They were coming to him. The reports were coming in of several countries clandestinely attempting to contact him, willing to negotiate surrender in return for their own amnesty, loyalty, or servitude. Enemies of SHEILD were crawling out of the woodwork, wanting nothing more than to assist in taking down the hated organization. Some desired more material personal gain for their betrayal of their own world. Loki considered whether he would be a kind or a vengeful God to such turncoats.
He turned such pleasant thoughts of domination aside as he focused his attention to the final mortal, relaying the information passed on by his mole inside SHEILD. Aside from confirmation that SHEILD had no idea where to look for him, they were in an uproar over his capture of Jane. While Fury probably professed to Thor that he cared for Jane and was doing everything he could to get her back, Loki suspected that the Director was more disappointed that he had lost his last best hope of locating Loki or Loki's otherworldly portals. Thor, it seemed, has pitched a royal fit, reminiscent of his tantrums of old. It had stormed so violently and so long that SHEILD had to land their helicarrier until Thor spent his anger and calmed, lest they be knocked from the sky via lightning and tornados.
Thor's rage and impotence to do anything pleased Loki to no end. Yes, let his former brother suffer. Let him feel what it's like to live in the shadows for a turn. His face twisted into a wicked snarl, and the man relaying the report faltered.
"My Lord….?" He questioned uncertainly.
Loki's expression dropped, his face a blank mask once again. "What?"
"There is one last thing from your informant. They state that they will shortly be able to obtain the tracking algorithm program that Tony Stark and Doctor Banner created to trace the Tesseract's gamma radiation output. You will then be able to locate where they're holding the Tesseract, which they regret to relay that they have as yet been able to discern."
Loki's face stretched into a smug grin while the man continued. "They also wish to inform you that they believe the algorithm capable of being reprogrammed to search for your scepter, which emitted similar gamma radiation to the Tesseract. SHEILD believes the staff to be destroyed at this time, so has relegated it's importance to the back burner. Because of Banner and Stark's preoccupation with your forces, it has not yet occurred to them to reprogram the algorithm in such a manner. Additionally, the informant believes that even if the thought did cross their mind, SHEILD does not have the data that you do on the scepter and it's gamma signature, and would be unable to trace it without that data. "
Elated with the news, Loki dismissed his captains and stalked from the Control Room, long leather coat swishing behind him. His thoughts turned again to Jane, and how he might not have to keep up his pretense for as long as he thought, but he would certainly not stop on account of mere possibilities. He would not make the mistake of assuming promises made to him would be fulfilled again.
Loki had one more task to attend to tonight before he could allow himself the luxury of sleep to recuperate his soon to be exhausted reserves of magic.
His thoughts drifted until he arrived at a different section of the base, near to where the Chitauri were quartered. The construction was older here, some of the stark cement walls of the newer sections giving way to carved and dynamited out stone passageways. He came to what appeared to be a large blank wall, a dead end in the rock. Concentrating and gathering his energy, Loki pushed at the boundaries of space-time between worlds. The more he did it at this location, the easier it became to use the path, but it still was incredibly draining.
When he arrived on the rocky face of a barren abandoned moon, breathing heavily in exertion, there were six armed Chitauri waiting for him. Faintly, he could see the countless masses of his army, warships and speeders and the bizarre war whales, hanging in the distant atmosphere. He grit his teeth in fury and frustration, nodded to the Chitauri, and led them back through the small pathway, one of his magical backdoors through the fabric of reality. Upon arrival back in the base, he pointed them in the direction of their fellows and commanded them to report to their squad leaders, then stalked off down the hallways, hiding his exhaustion and weakness behind a false veneer of fury.
No one dared speak to Loki when he wore that expression. It was quite convenient.
Before long he found himself in front of the entrance to Jane's quarters, staring at the closed door. He ignored the two vigilant Chitauri guards, suddenly at a loss for why he was standing there. He frowned, turned, and swept across the hallway to his own quarters, directly across from where he had placed Jane.
He disappeared his armor and headed straight for the bed, magically warding the room against all entry. An act so practiced that it barely took any energy at all, and a thousand times more trusted than pathetic mortal midgardian locks or any Chitauri guards. Collapsing to the bed and shucking his heavy leather boots, he began to plan out his continued manipulation of Jane and ways to make his not-brother suffer when the most brilliant idea occurred to him. It tickled him so and he grinned, eventually breaking out into fits of laughter. Loki drifted off to the light sleep of a soldier in enemy territory, his last thoughts were of revenge tasting like raspberries and lavender.