So, I'm finally done with chapter three! I had to rewrite this several times, by the way. Darcy and Loki finally meet. I'm curious to read your reactions.
Thanks to Alyss for the anonymous review, sorry to keep you waiting :)
A/N: I'd like to remind everyone Darcy's still very much not over her confrontation with Loki in Puente Antiguo. That's going to be a major point in the plot.
Okay, I'll leave you with the chapter now:) enjoy!
Chapter 3: You'll never be alone with him
Darcy spent at least ten minutes playing with her new toy. The S.H.I.E.L.D. badge was one of those special Easter eggs that keeps on giving. She discovered several apps hidden inside the gadget even before she had time to study the giant, intricate map of the buildings.
The great thing about said map was that you could enlarge it to your size and actually walk through the virtual corridors to get a better grasp of where you were.
Mostly, Darcy did it for fun.
She liked to pretend she was in an elaborate video game. It was the most fun she'd had in weeks. She hadn't allowed herself too much of that since news of her expulsion from the master's program.
If Jane's ominous "you're going out on the field" had registered, she hadn't worried too much about it. She was enjoying the novelty of her job too much.
She only put the "spy badge" down when one of the staff members intruded on her.
She quickly realized she had some cabinets to file.
Guiltily, she retreated to what was supposed to be Jane's office, but which could just as well have been a highly functional storage room.
Taking off her coat jacket and slipping out of her high heels, she rolled her sleeves and got to work.
First off, she made a list of all the rubbish that needed getting rid of, i.e. files that were no longer relevant, drafts, used paper, faulty office supplies such as binders, staplers and laminators that had clearly seen better days and any other stationery that dated back to 1985.
She made an inventory of all the files and projects on hold - those that had yet to be computerized, or were not going to be added to S.H.I.E.L.D.'s virtual data system for a specific reason - and placed some of them in special compact boxes labeled ESSENTIAL/NON-ESSENTIAL.
She was halfway through doing that, when at the end of the hour, Jane came back for her punctually.
Darcy was trying to apply scotch-tape to one of the boxes and failed to see her approaching.
Jane whistled in appreciation. "You don't waste any time, I see."
Darcy turned around and grinned, wiping sweat off her forehead. She was on her knees on the floor, her suit already a mess. So much for not wrinkling her best clothes.
She felt good. She hadn't worked with her hands in a while. She finally felt useful.
"Actually, I did spend ten minutes with the spy badge."
Jane smiled. "Good. I'm guessing you've familiarized yourself with its inner workings."
"Not even close, but I guess I can handle myself around here. Did you know the map is human-sized?"
Jane smiled again. "You're the only person who's still excited about that."
Darcy almost felt the urge to stick out her tongue.
"Some of us still have to use pagers for communication," she replied, referring to one of her uncles in Fairmont who owned a DIY store and made his employees use pagers only. She was lucky she hadn't had to work there for the summer. She'd take her mean aunt's copy center over DIY store any time.
"So, you've started work in my office. Brave of you."
"Well, I don't know if you're okay with my organizing system-" Darcy began, hesitating. She got up and looked around at the lists and boxes.
Jane dismissed her qualms.
"Your system seems fine. As long as it gets some of this stuff out of here. And I like the physical approach."
Darcy beamed. She felt confident that the field work Jane had mentioned before couldn't be much harder if it involved using her hands.
As if she'd read her mind, Jane continued,
"Well, you can leave this for tomorrow. I need to brief you in on the field work, anyway."
Darcy cleaned herself up a little and put her shoes back on. She no longer looked very professional or elegant, but it would do. She couldn't wait for the next day, when she would come to work in her regular garb.
The two women stepped into the elevator again.
Jane knew she could no longer prolong the inevitable. She had to be direct and straight-forward about it.
"I have a confession to make, Darcy. I wasn't entirely honest with you on the phone. I'm afraid I omitted some details about your job. I admit it was selfish at the time, but I do really wish to help you get back on your feet. I just didn't know how you'd react."
Darcy looked mildly confused.
"I know you've been around Thor, but he was different. You probably know by now we have taken his brother into custody."
Jane did not notice the change in her friend. She was staring at the elevator doors, too embarrassed to look her in the eye. If she had, she would have seen Darcy go completely white.
"Loki is...difficult, to put it lightly. He has to cooperate, he has no choice, but that doesn't mean he'll do it without being as insufferable as possible."
Jane chuckled, still oblivious to Darcy's inner turmoil.
The girl had turned towards the opposite wall, trying to hide her erratic breathing.
"I hired you because - well, for better or worse, I'm Loki's chaperone outside of S.H.I.E.L.D. and I have been for the past months. I can't go on with my work and everything else on the side with him in my schedule. I would like you to take over for me."
Darcy clenched her fists until she turned her knuckled white. She forced herself to remain calm.
She had been able to successfully bury the past for a whole year. Could she do it for - however long she needed this job?
Did she really need this job, after all? Was it worth reawakening a nightmare?
Darcy bit her lip. It had been a nightmare back then.
But what could he do to her now? He had been defeated, hadn't he? The Avengers had ensured it. She was safe from him, had been safe for a long time.
He probably did not even remember her. Yes, of course, he didn't. She hoped he wouldn't.
"Darcy? Are you all right?"
Jane had finally noticed something was wrong.
"I see I've shocked you. I forget Loki is classified information. You probably didn't know."
Darcy almost snorted. Oh, no, she knew. Had known since this morning when she had first seen him.
"I think I, uh, read something online. This stuff leaks anyways, conspiracy theories and everything," she stammered quickly, trying to get back on her normal footing.
"Well, I couldn't think of anyone I could trust with this than the person who was there with us from the beginning," Jane continued, touching Darcy's shoulder.
The girl didn't seem to notice.
"It's pretty standard work. You don't even have to talk to him all that much. You'll never be alone with him anyway. It's quite boring, actually. You only have to track his activity..."
As Jane droned on about what she was supposed to do as Loki's "chaperone", Darcy felt a slight pang of anger at her friend's inability to see what was wrong. She had already taken Darcy's silence as a yes. She hadn't even bothered to notice -
But Darcy quickly regretted thinking these things. Jane was different, she always had been. She was not the best at social interactions or empathy.
And Jane had no idea what had happened between her and Loki. Hell, she wasn't quite sure what had happened between them, either.
She couldn't blame the woman for thinking of her for this job. Had she told Jane and everyone else about her episode with him, this could have been avoided.
You could still tell her, a tiny voice in her head nudged her. Just tell her what happened. She'll understand.
"I know it's a lot to ask of you, but I've seen you interact with Thor. I've seen you with the Warriors Three. You're not impressed by the god-persona. You don't lose track of what's important. You've got a good head on your shoulders, Darcy Lewis. And I admire that."
"You...do?"
"Absolutely. A lesser person wouldn't have stood with us at Puente Antiguo."
And just like that, Darcy knew she could never tell her. She couldn't explain it. She just knew she couldn't.
It doesn't matter now anyway. You asked for a job. She gave you one. She is counting on you.
Be careful what you wish for, that was the saying.
"You're right, I'm not impressed by anything that falls from the sky," Darcy spoke in what she hoped was a cheerful voice.
Jane chuckled. "I'll try to get your taser back. I'm sure you'll feel better with it."
Darcy nodded, smiling crookedly. "I can't say the same for the god at the other end."
Jane looked relieved that Darcy had taken the news relatively well.
As for her, the young woman was still suppressing the small tremors that had wracked her body mere moments ago.
"Thank you for lending a hand, Darce. Maybe now I can get some actual work done. You're a life-saver."
Life-saver, Darcy mused.
Then, almost unawares, she laughed.
Jane was startled.
"I was just thinking of my ESSENTIAL/NON-ESSENTIAL boxes."
They seemed so trivial now.
The platform was long and unwelcoming. She felt the cold seep through her shoes into her skin. Darcy pulled the coat jacket around her body, trying to keep warm.
She checked the badge. The unit was moving at snail speed.
She was waiting for Loki.
He was being removed from his private wing into the transportation area of Mother Two. TRANS C-89, to be exact. She was standing on one of the low platforms, waiting, a sense of dread in the pit of her stomach.
The two guards behind her were no comfort.
Darcy pulled out Loki's schedule from Jane's file for the umpteenth time and stared at the small black figures.
He had gone out that morning when she had seen him, but he had returned quickly. Apparently, he had been needed close-by: the new wing being built not five miles from here.
Now he was departing again. This time to the New York headquarters for repairs.
And she was going with him.
Minutes ticked away slowly. She checked her badge again. The unit had stopped on the third level. She almost cherished the mad hope they'd forgotten all about her.
But no, there they went at it again.
Soon, she heard the clanks and chinks of the interior gates being opened.
He wasn't traveling in his glass-case this time around. They couldn't carry the thing all the way to New York. Not without causing a stir.
Instead, he was wearing a set of adamantium circles around his wrists and ankles. They pulsed green for now.
She had no idea what they would do to him. She didn't want to find out.
It was a good thing she had seen him earlier that morning. It made the second meeting more or less bearable.
He walked up to her, surrounded by the convoy of guards and supervisors.
Loki was just as tall, just as impressive, just as Agustin. And his eyes were just as terrible.
He can't hurt you, was her mantra. He can't hurt you.
The head supervisor threw her a suspicious look and was about to open his mouth, when he seemed to recall something which had slipped his mind.
"Oh, of course, the new agent. Miss Foster informed us. Right this way then," he mumbled impatiently, walking ahead of her down the steps.
Agent, she wondered. Why does he think I'm an agent?
But there was no time. She followed quickly, the two guards behind her.
Darcy knew, without turning her head, that Loki was watching her.
He had noticed something was amiss. But he hadn't said anything.
She tried to tell herself that was a good sign.
"I suppose you received all the available data. Miss Foster briefed you on your assignments? She claims you are a natural," the head supervisor told her, without any hint of believing such a thing.
"I don't know if I got the hang of -"
"Yes, yes, well, not all that complicated. First make sure you keep the log up to date."
Jane had mentioned something like that.
"Where's that exactly?" she asked, feigning nonchalance.
The head supervisor threw her a look.
"With Laufeyson, of course."
Darcy almost doubled up.
The man surveyed her with a critical eye. "Well, this isn't a one-way street. He needs to keep his share of the log up to date, as well. You will ask to read his current progress once you are in motion. C-89, permission to exit."
Darcy felt miserable already. So much for "you don't even have to talk with him all that much".
At least she could take comfort that the second thing would still apply. You'll never be alone with him. And she wouldn't. Not with this small army surrounding her.
The doors of the car slammed shut.
Darcy could have sunk into the back seat and vanished forever.
She was in a car with him.
In a car.
With him.
The two guard - her personal shadow by now - were sitting on each side. There was also the driver and one of the supervisors in the front seat.
But that didn't matter.
She was sitting opposite him. She could practically stretch her arm and touch his knee. She felt trapped.
If Loki had been watching her before, he was studying her now. But it was not the look of someone who wanted to find out more about a stranger. It was the look of a scientist, dissecting an animal.
But for the glowing eyes, she recognized that look. Nothing much had changed since that day in Puente Antiguo. Maybe he looked more haggard, but his effect on her was the same. Only now it was somewhat abated by the fact that they weren't alone and she knew, He can't hurt you.
"You're not Jane Foster," was the first thing he said to her, his voice as cool and calm as still water.
Darcy could have laughed. She could have choked on her own laughter.
How ironic when at their last meeting he had been so certain she was Jane. Give it your best shot, Jane Foster.
"No. I'm not," she agreed, finding her voice hoarser than she'd hoped. "I'm Darcy. That is, my name is Darcy Lewis -"
"I don't care," he rasped just as calmly. "Tell me why you're not Jane Foster."
Darcy was thrown off by the rebuke.
She looked sideways at the guards. For all appearances, they seemed mute and deaf.
The supervisor up front was talking on the phone in hushed tones.
"You weren't informed..." Darcy began, informally.
He fixed her sternly with his green eyes. They weren't glacial, as she had first believed. They were empty, devoid of both warmth and coldness.
"Okay, I guess not. Well, Ja - Miss Foster couldn't come anymore. She was - er - reassigned. She had to be replaced." Darcy knew how stupid she sounded, but no one had warned her about this.
Loki remained perfectly still.
"I am still waiting. Why are you not Jane Foster?"
Darcy sighed, pulling invisible strands of hair away from her face.
"I don't know what you want me to say."
"Tell me why you are not Jane Foster," he persisted stubbornly.
Darcy felt beads of sweat fall down her forehead.
Loki, on the other hand, looked perfectly composed. It wasn't fair.
"I already told you, I'm new."
"Nothing is new on Earth. You are not Jane Foster. Tell me why."
He just wouldn't relent. And she couldn't stand the proximity.
"You can read minds, can't you?" she suddenly retorted, trying to fight off the fear that was threatening to resurface.
That seemed to stir even the guards sitting next to her.
One of Loki's eyebrows visibly moved.
No one at S.H.I.E.L.D. so far had ever mentioned this to him. He was not sure how many even knew.
Seized by this sudden idea, he almost lost count of the girl. He almost missed his opportunity. For, he realized that, indirectly, she had given him permission to read her mind.
Something like a surge of energy coursed through him, awakening his senses.
Odin had made his terms clear. If he ever breached human consent, he would find himself in the worst possible torment.
Loki felt release, for the first time in months. He had been given human consent.
Without waiting for her to change her mind or realize what she had done, he attacked her mind hungrily.
He hadn't read someone's mind in so long, it was impossibly sweet.
He leaned back into his seat and shut his eyes in pleasure.
Darcy watched him, confused. She, herself, only felt a small twinge at her temples.
Jane doesn't want to come anymore. She thinks you're insufferable, was the first thought he ravenously swallowed. I don't want to do this, but I have to, for her, for - because- danger - eyes - green
I really need - job - master's - parents, scared, essential/non/essential, spy badge, scared, I'm in a video game... Thor, but it's not the same thing.
He ate so quickly that he couldn't discern one thought from another. They all came to him jumbled and incomplete. It was like the first gulp of water for a parched man. He would drink himself to death and still not satiate his thirst.
He was out of practice, that much was obvious.
Oh, but how delicious, how wonderful. He couldn't get enough of it.
And then, it all came to an abrupt halt, when she spoke again,
"Are you all right?"
His eyes snapped open. He no longer had consent. His heart shrank.
The young woman sitting before him was the water that had been taken from his lips. For a brief moment, he let himself feel. He stared at her with longing.
It unsettled her.
But he quickly straightened himself and sealed his features into imperviousness again before anyone realized anything serious had happened.
The supervisor in the front seat had turned towards him.
"Tired, Laufeyson?"
Loki shook his head.
"Meditating on something of cosmic importance?" he drawled, smirking obnoxiously.
Loki ignored him. He ignored most of them.
They were all the same bunch; stupid, close-minded, disrespectful, vulgar, arrogant. It was his punishment to bear their insults without responding.
Darcy coughed, trying to ignore the supervisor's comment.
"So Jane told me something about a log..." she trailed off, avoiding his gaze.
And that's when Loki realized he had managed to extract one or two thoughts from her head, after all.
The first one was about Jane Foster. The second...
"You're afraid of me," he stated, almost as if he were telling her about the weather.
Darcy's eyes widened.
"No, of course not, I'm not," she said, a bit too quickly, pulling at her coat jacket. Darcy thought it might be an assessment of her job performance so far. "I'm just nervous. I don't know what I'm supposed to do yet."
"Leave the girl alone, Laufeyson. No one likes having to sit that close to you," the supervisor drawled again.
Darcy was shocked at the casual, impertinent way the man kept addressing him. She could have been familiar with anyone, but him.
Loki couldn't care less. He knew the truth. She was frightened. She feared him.
No one feared him anymore.
They were disgusted by him. They loathed him. But fear had evolved into something mundane now that he was at their disposal.
And yet, this girl feared him in a primal, feral way. He could practically smell it on her.
Why?
Why did she fear him so much?
His mind was currently going over this riddle, when she asked him about the log again.
"They told me I have to keep it up to date," she told him, extending her hand weakly towards him.
His lips parted.
It was thrilling, being feared again.
In less than an hour, she had offered him consent and fear.
He pulled out the smooth moleskin agenda from his coat pocket and handed it over. She made sure their hands wouldn't touch. She only stared briefly at the adamantium circle.
"A notebook?" she questioned, puzzled.
"He's not allowed to use technology in his private wing," the supervisor explained, watching the agenda with curiosity.
Darcy opened it at the present date. A long string of undecipherable symbols were displayed before her.
It was then that she remembered Jane's endless instructions. They had established a communication system between them.
She pulled out the small note cards from Jane's file and sure enough, the key for the code was there. It was a strange sort of alphabet. It combined runes, numbers and some Greek letters, here and there.
Darcy noticed something odd. The same sequence of symbols kept repeating themselves for a whole page.
She looked up at him.
"Problem?" he asked, relishing her fear.
She found that his eyes were just as empty, but the corners of his mouth had moved slightly upwards.
"No," she replied evenly and seeing no other way out of this, she set to translating the gibberish.
It was painful at first. She was lucky there wasn't much to translate. She kept going through notes, checking and double-checking.
This couldn't be right.
He couldn't have written this one sentence so many times.
But the others were the same.
After a full-hour with her head in the agenda, she shut it closed and put it aside.
What could she write back to that?
It was clearly designed for Jane Foster.
What would he write for her?
Loki did not need to read her mind; he could see the mental struggle on her face.
Should she tell someone about this, or remain quiet?
She settled, for the time being, to ignore it. She would look out the tinted window and wait for them to arrive in New York. She'd decide what to do then.
The words kept flashing before her.
Thor is never coming back for you.
