Again, I'm overwhelmed by the love my story has received thus far. To everyone who has been kind enough to leave me reviews, I send you my very best bone-crushing hug! They make me all sorts of giddy (sometimes unflatteringly so). I do need to apologize for the last chapter. I rushed it in the early morning hours and the quality dipped. I'll be much more careful in the future! Also, and I cringe when I write this, I'm fudging a bit on time in this chapter. I'm a stickler about continuity (the biggest reason we don't see Ellie ever boarding the Helicarrier), but I needed her back in New York. And with that…

Chapter 3

Mind Games

Once the rapture is complete…

You know…the last time I was in Germany…

The soldier…

…So eager to fall…I should have never left you...

I'm not the one who's out of time…

You were made to be ruled…

Words. There were far too many words. They swirled in Ellie's head like nattering fireflies, too tempting to touch, too quick to be caught. They drowned out everything, including the dull throbbing of her heart.

Images fluttered in her mind like tickertape, they were all too dark and too fast for her to process. Flashes of gold and blue, brushing the tips of her consciousness.

"Miss? We're, uh, here."

Blinking, Ellie tried to remember where exactly here was.

Yes. She thought, her mind as thick as a mud puddle. Of course. Home.

The taxi driver was peering at her from over his shoulder, a look of New York concern on his face. Concern that the deathly quiet girl he had picked up would actually pay him or not.

Ellie sat, hunched in the stiffly plush leather seats, her arms crisscrossed and draped, like dead weights, across her waist. She was so tired, tired to the point of aching. Her eyes felt dry and frozen. Her head was heavy on her shoulders. God, was she tired. And dragging herself and her lone bag from the cab seemed like a terrible amount of effort. But she knew, the driver would be less than accepting of a straggler in his cab. Especially considering it was only minutes after dawn.

"Look, lady-"

Jumping up, shocked into a state of alertness at the driver's abrasive tone, she dug around in her purse. Pulling out the correct amount of dollars and change, she all but tossed it over the seat.

She thought about mumbling some sort of thank you or goodbye, but the slithering voice in her head spoke the only words she could muster.

That you crave subjugation…

I'm sure he doesn't want to hear that.Ellie thought, slinging her bag over her shoulder.

She threw the door shut and the taxi drove down the empty street. Ellie wobbled on her feet, the weight of the bag and the bright morning sun leaving her quite baffled.

Saturday Morning. She thought.

Most of the city was still lost to sleep. Joyously lost, soaking in the free morning hours they usually spent waiting in crowded coffee houses, commuting, and grumbling.

Ellie absentmindedly wondered at what she was doing last Saturday morning, when she remembered her heart swelled painfully, as if it had been jolted by an invisible bolt of lightning.

A flurry of memories began swirling in her head. Even in her exhausted state, she could see what would happen when they pieced themselves together. She shook her head from side to side, unwilling to put two and two together. The thought was creeping closer and closer to cognition, she could feel it coming.

She groaned aloud and ran up the stairs to the door of Steve's complex. The rattling of the keys was almost enough to still the thought she never wanted to think…

Steve's been lying to you.

Damn.Ellie thought, jiggling the door open. So close.

And you've been lying to him.

Yeah, I know. She thought viciously. We're a pair of dirty old liars. It was all a lie.

She stopped at the top of the stairs as the thought sunk into her skin, pouring over her bones and settling into her deepest crevices.

Oh god. Was it all a lie?

A single, sorrowful tear threatened to escape from her eyes, she hurriedly wiped it away. Returning her attentions to the door in front of her she went about opening it.

Stop it, Ellie. You have no time for tears.

Steve was shaken, to say the very least. Though he would never admit to it. His bones still quivered under the powerful blows of the deceptively slim god of mischief. All of the reading and research couldn't have prepared him for that battle.

Standing behind the pilot of the Quinjet, Steve tried to steady himself without belaying the pain that racked his body. He glanced over his shoulder to observe his latest opponent.

This was the power that Johann Schmidt had been searching for. The power of the gods.

I guess I owe Fury another 10. Or twenty.

What had always been a far off dream to the Red Skull was now sitting before Steve Rogers, seemingly secured. Though Steve had his doubts.

It was too easy. And Steve knew from experience, with slippery foes like this Loki character…

Nothing was ever easy.

Slipping into the soldier's mind had been easy enough. It was a trick Loki had crafted all on his own. While he couldn't see the thoughts that swam in the Captain's head, what he could see were memories.

In his travels through the negative space, Loki had learned a great many things. There were recesses of the mind much like long forgotten corridors. They were many, stretching out before him like a maze. If one could navigate their narrow paths, then he could control the memories of his victims. Gaze on them without detection and use them to assert his will.

The soldiers mind was blacker than most, lost to years of sleep. What memories he had gathered since his reawakening were easy enough to find.

And Loki could see them all. And in the strongest and brightest of these memories, was Ellie.

It was vile. A man so undeserving of his love's affections…He had been showered in them.

Loki could only stew in his own anger as he watched memory and memory. Ellie sleeping in the soliders arms, smiling at his antics, holding him, kissing him, loving him.

He was tempted to end the soldier's life right there, tear the flimsy restraints from his body and pull the human's heart from his chest.

He might have done it were he not interrupted by a telling clash of lightening.

So…he's come after all.

Ellie had managed to drag herself into the apartment and shut the door behind her. She leaned against it, longing to fall into bed. But how could she? How could she sleep now?

What you need is coffee, something to kick start actual thought. Then…there must be something you can-

Her thoughts were interrupted. By another voice.

It came quiet at first, a breath of a whisper. But she recognized it immediately. And when she did, heart dropped into her stomach like a stone plucked from the forest floor and tossed into the ocean.

Ellie, darling girl…

Oh god no. Am I going crazy now? Hearing voices…

The hallway began to spin, the walls stretching the to the ceiling. An opaque fog clouded her already fading vision. And she realized, she wasn't imaging his voice. An itch like a spider's wake tickled her brain. He was there. Inside her head.

I can't understand it. Why your affections would shy away…She thought he would be angry with her. But he didn't sound it. He sounded positively delighted. And it frightened her more than his rage ever could.

Of all the men who trudge this earth you just had to set your sights on the soldier. He whispered sardonically. I will say, Ellie, his loyalty is...admirable. But his steadfast morality is more than a little cloying. Even you must agree with me.

"Stop it, Loki." Ellie said aloud, she pulled her hands away from her ears, realizing that nothing would quiet his shrill whispers. But Loki was well on his way. He only scoffed at her commands.

I suppose I could allow you a pet, darling. He said with great derision. Something to entertain you while I busy myself with righting the grievous wrongs of your world. I wouldn't want you to be bored…or lonely.

"He's not-" Ellie started, but she didn't know what to say. Pet? What is he…

She tried to put his words together but he kept going on. She couldn't shut his voice away. It was everywhere. Ellie's stomach turned over as Loki's laughter became louder and louder.

Such trivial matters aside…Something changed. His voice became fractured and lilting.

You must know that you will be held responsible for this upsetting weakness of yours. I can't have you wandering away from me every time I leave…

Ellie could sense it now, his teasing, playful tones drowned in something new.

Yes, I believe, a lesson is in order, Ellie. You seem to have forgotten…

A long silence followed. The room stopped spinning. And for a brief second, Ellie believed he had gone.

How wrong she was.

Suddenly, a burst raw pleasure blossomed in her gut. Ellie gasped, doubling over in surprise. She could feel his touch, his long fingers skirting over her skin. Even though she could see her legs sheathed in dark jeans, her torso dressed in a evergreen blouse, she felt as though she was wearing nothing at all. She had been stripped bare.

Her skin bristled as his fingers slid to her neck, teasing her tender skin. She gasped when she felt his tongue slid up the side of her neck, it was as though his lips were right there, by her ear. Hands snaked around her waist. A touch that wasn't even there.

All the while, the familiar, practically euphoric feeling in her gut grew and grew until Ellie couldn't take it anymore. A small moan escaped her lips. It was all Loki needed to hear.

Did you think your soldier could give you what I have given you? No…He's whispers had grown louder, clouded with lust and rage. She felt his hand rake over her stomach, his nails catching her skin.

Oh, Ellie, he cooed, I've missed you. Longed for you. As we once were.

The sensations, Ellie discovered, were only the beginning. Visions she had not called upon herself flashed before her eyes. The clean white sheets of the hotel room she had been trapped in for so many weeks. She could see him then, his eyes soft and sweet. His skin, as white and as cold as alabaster.

"Loki!" She cried, but what was meant to be horror left her in a suppressed mewl.

Ah...she heard his voice, reveling in her sweet torment. How I missed my name on your lips. Say it again.

Ellie bit her lip, and another wave of white hot pleasure ripped through her. She drew he head back, helpless under its pressing weight.

Again, Ellie…She could barely hear.

The flames gathered together in her chest, like a second heart beating and rumbling and causing her bones to shiver.

"No." She said, trying to corral her wits.

So eager to defy me, when you know in your heart cannot…He tutted. What will your soldier think, when he learns the truth?

In a moment, every sensation left her and she felt as lifeless as a leaf.

Can you imagine the look on his face? Will he want you once he knows? Or will he be disgusted? How you lied. You think yourself more noble than I, but you are no better. And neither is he. We are all liars in the end, Ellie. All of us.

"No!" Ellie cried, breaking at the idea of Steve learning of Loki through someone other than herself. "you can't, Loki, don't you even speak to-"

Beg for it. Loki spat inside her mind, his whispers overpowering her cries. Beg me to keep silent. I want to hear it.

Ellie flinched at the terrible spite laced in his words.. She knew how Loki could spin words; he used them as carefully crafted weapons.

Shuddering, she pulled her breath to her. "Loki, please, I-I,"

Ellie stalled, she had never begged. Not once in her life. But she could do it; she would do it, for Steve.

"Loki, I beg you." Ellie said, her voice raw and shaking. "Don't."

She could hear his satisfied breath as it left him, feel it against her skin.

It's too late, darling. Came his voice. This is the punishment you deserve. And once it is done, once I have pierced the Captains heart with the truth of your…fidelity…once his faith is shattered, once his heart is made as black as yours and as mine…Then, all will be forgiven.

She could hear some deft affection in his voice now. Even though she had loved another, he still loved her. He still wanted her. Or at least, he believed he did. Ellie couldn't stand it. She didn't want to be loved by such a monster. Tears threatened to spill from her eyes.

Loki only laughed.

And once this world has become my kingdom…I will have you. Again and again. It will be as it once was. Now, tell me my love…Have I brought you to your knees yet?

The fog slipped away and the walls returned to their rightful spots. She looked up and realized that she had in fact fallen to her knees, her hands splayed out on the wood floors. She leaned into the wall, he face hot with shame.

All she could hear was his laughter, ringing in her ears louder than a claxon bell.

The dawn was fast approaching. As far as Steve was concerned it could not come any faster.

It had been a close to hellish night for Captain America and the Agents of SHIELD. First, they had lost Loki to his brother. Then, the fight in the woods had been entirely unnecessary, no thanks to the riotous Tony Stark. Steve was beginning to believe all the rumors he had heard about the infamous Iron Man were true. Steve never could pin down the heavily guarded mind that was Nick Fury's. Bringing such a rag tag group of people together was not the way to go about saving the world.

Steve was beginning to feel as though they would never discover what lurked in the meddling god's head. It was as Bruce had said: Loki's mind was a box of cats.

However, larger problems presented themselves to Steve. A dangerous seed had been planted in the soldiers mind. Both Dr. Banner and Stark believed SHIELD was withholding potentially devastating information.

As the door to the Wishbone lab slid shut behind him, Tony Stark's words to the jumpy scientist managed to creep out.

"That's the guy my father never shut up about?"

Steve pushed the jab away. He didn't want to believe that the brash, trouble-courting Tony Stark was the son of the man that helped end World War II. But he shook the thought away, the seed was growing healthy. Steve would have to do a little digging of his own. In his own way.

He was interrupted however, when a new voice slithered into his head.

Captain, the voice said, dripping with disdain. I would have words with you.

But that wasn't all. A vision accompanied the voice. It appeared in his mind's eye entirely against his will. It was the holding cell; Loki sat inside it, hunched over, his hands clenched together, his elbows resting on his knees. There was a sly grin on his face, but his dark eyes were burning slits of rage.

So the god had a few more tricks up his sleeve. He was beginning to think that Loki wanted to be on this ship. But why would he want to talk to him?

He's trying to wind us up. If can't do it as a group, then he'll attack us one by one.

Steve only smiled grimly. Mind tricks could only work if the recipient was foolish enough to accept the call. And Steve was no fool. He had other matter that needed attending to.

Steve pushed the voice away, he needed to understand. If SHIELD was hiding something from him, he would find it one his own. He wouldn't wait for Stark's technology to-

An new image flashed before Steve's mind that quieted his thoughts and stilled his stride.

It had come and gone in a flash, but there was no mistaking what he saw: Ellie.

In the vision, Steve was looking down at her, she was lying on her side, her body tangled in white sheets, with not a stitch of clothing. Her eyes were closed, and she appeared to be sleeping.

She's quite the vixen is she not? Loki's voice taunted in his head.

Steve flushed. It wasn't a memory, Steve had never, not even in his wildest dreams, fathomed such a sight.

No. Not her. Steve shuddered, his hands balling into fists. Loki.

Loki lounged in the glass cage, waiting. The bait had been dropped into the sea. There wasn't a doubt in his mind, the captain would come.

Sooner than he could have expected, the now familiar sound of the mechanical doors sliding open reached his ears.

And there he stood. Steve Rogers, the man who had dared to steal his love away. Still clothed in his garish patriotic colors, he stepped up to the glass his eyes raging.

Loki only smiled. He had been hoping for a moment alone. Oh, how he would enjoy this.

"I don't believe we were properly introduced." Loki said, rising from his seat.

Oh yes, this would be fun.

He stood, stalking over to the glass. Raising a hand, he touched it to his chest.

"I am Loki, god of mischief, lost prince of Asgard…" His voice slid to silence before dropping one last, tortuous misnomer,

Steve only scoffed, his breath leaving him in a sarcastic snort. For all his morality, Steve was an imposing figure, hands clutching his belt, his height and stature as towering as a roman statue.

A thick silence hung heavy in the air.

"So this is your play?" Steve said finally. "You think you can bully me with treacherous lies? You think I'm that naïve?"

Loki only laughed. "You're conviction is admirable Captain, but entirely misguided."

Steve crossed his arms over his chest, unimpressed. It was an artless strategy. The god must think him naïve. He wouldn't fall for such tricks.

He stepped closer. "Look I don't know how you found her, but let me make it clear. You won't touch her."

How…endearing. Loki thought. Pathetically so.

"Oh, but I already have Captain." Loki said smoothly. "Though, not in the way you must be imagining."

To illustrate his point, Loki conjured the image into Steve's mind once more. Though this time the vision persisted. Ellie was no longer alone, another body was with her. Steve could only watch, horrified, as a lewd scene played out in his mind. The two bodies writhing and clutching one another, whispered moans ringing in his ears.

Steve nearly choked, as he was bombarded with visions of the woman he loved, so feverishly loving another.

"Did she never tell you?" Loki grinned, thoroughly enjoying the Captain's visible shock. Steve shook his head from side to side trying to escape the vision.

"I can assure you these are not illusions." He continued, sending another barrage of sensuous images to the poor Captains mind.

"She never did speak of me, did she? Speak of how she came to meet you in the bar? How I set her upon you; as a flighty distraction. Ellie is a very empathetic little creature, I was right to assume she could draw you in. Like a moth to a flame."

To prove the truth of his visions, he played the scenes in Steve's head. Steve reeled, realizing that these were his own memories. With a dark heart, he realized that the first visions were Loki's memories.

Loki dropped his control of the Captains mind. He stood before the glass, bearing down on Steve.

"She belongs to me Captain." Loki growled. "She was mine long before she stumbled into your path.

"She doesn't belong to anyone." Steve growled back.

"So you believe."

"So I know." Steve said.

Loki's fist hit the glass, mirroring the center of Steve's face.

"She is not your savior, Captain," The god said, his voice savage.

Steve tried to quell the fiery rage that was killing his heart. He took a step closer to the glass. Blue eyes sparkling with anger, Green eyes dancing with delight.

"You're nothing but a man." Loki hissed, "Why would she have you…when she already has me?"

Steve had no answer for the god. Doubt, an evil that rivaled that of the great sins, sprung to life in his head. He opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came. Loki sneered, his deed done.

Stepping away from the glass, Steve turned. He left the god to his madness, but his mind was a flurry. Visions of Ellie, spinning in his head.

No Ellie…You couldn't…He thought. But as the door slid shut behind him, as Steve allowed for one glance over his shoulder, he could see the truth of it in the god's eyes.

But she did.

Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed it, please let me know if you did! I may feel like, I'm speeding through the events of the movie. Honestly, the plot of The Avengers takes up about 1/3 of my story. Loki coming to earth is only the beginning. There will be strings of consequences for his actions. I'll just leave it at that I suppose.