AN: Sorry it's been so long. Next chapter will be pretty action-y so the story will start to pick up from here. Thanks for all the reviews/favorites/follows. I hope you like!
I own nothing.
Chapter Four:
Fury had never been more furious. One of his best agents, Clint Barton, Hawkeye had gone AWOL. Fury didn't believe it. Barton was his best marksmen, he had never failed a mission before. What in all of hell was Clint thinking? Running off with Loki to lord knows where; probably walking straight into a trap. And after he, the director of SHIELD, had forbade any rash action. It made Fury's blood boil. He couldn't care less about Loki, but if Barton got himself killed….
Fury stood roughly from his chair and began pacing his office. He had been doing this repeatedly for the past few hours, ever since he had found out Barton and Loki had left. Fury clenched his hands behind his back and stared at the floor, trying to calm himself down. From the other side of his desk, he felt Agent Romanoff's eyes following his every movement. Pausing in his endless walk, Fury looked up at Natasha.
"I just don't understand what he was thinking."
"With all due respect, sir," Natasha said slowly and carefully, "This is his sister we're talking about."
"But teaming up with Loki?!" Fury asked incredulously. "After what that slime ball did to him?"
Natasha shrugged. "Sir, if I may, I think Clint made the right choice."
Fury raised an eyebrow curiously, signaling Natasha to explain herself.
"Clint is one of your best assassins. Loki is the god of mischief. We both know how skilled both of them are. With just the two of them going after Waverly, I think it's quite possible they can infiltrate The Other's realm without being noticed. They might be able to finally get rid of him."
Fury sat back down at his desk. He looked across it at Natasha while thinking over what she had just said. He propped his elbows on the desktop and rested his chin on his hands.
Natasha spoke again. "Director, nothing's going to stop Clint from rescuing Waverly. Let him and Loki handle this while we start focusing on The Other's master."
After another long silence in which Fury sat thinking, the director sighed. "Very well. I hope you're right, Natasha." With that, Fury stood and strode out of his office, closing the door behind him with a soft snap.
Natasha took a deep breath, as if steadying herself. "So do I," she mumbled. Natasha leaned across the Fury's desk to look at his computer monitor. It was currently showing Clint and Loki's location relative to Earth. Swallowing a feeling she wasn't quite familiar with, Natasha looked away from the screen and stood up. Clint would be fine; there was nothing she could do now, anyway. It was all up to Clint and Loki.
The hyper-jet was careening along at mindboggling speed. Yet, sitting in the passenger area with his head propped up on an arm, Loki couldn't feel a thing. The god had just woken up from a magic induced sleep. He had attempted to fall asleep on his own a few minutes after Clint had taken off, but he was too restless. Every time he closed his eyes, horrible images of what The Other may be doing to Waverly filled his mind's eye. Plus, the nervousness squirming around in his stomach made it nearly impossible to relax. So, Loki had cast a spell on himself that would ease him into a dreamless sleep. He was still sitting with his eyes closed, but every other sense was on high alert as he planned his and Barton's next phase of their plan.
Loki knew stealth and the element of surprise were their best tools at this point in time, but he was so angry, so worried, he had half a mind to just locate Waverly by any means necessary and then blow up The Other's realm without a second thought. However, Loki didn't have the magic required to blow up a whole realm. He'd have to settle for something smaller. At the beginning of this mission, Clint had told Loki that as long as Waverly still had her SHIELD I.D. badge, they could use the jet's onboard computer to locate her position. So, after finding Waverly, it would be an easy task to sneak into whatever prison she was contained in. With Loki's magic and Barton's exceptional skills as a master assassin, this part of the plan would be all too easy. The hard part would be dealing with The Other. Loki was by no means going to let that foul beast live after this. Loki was determined that by the time they left this realm, The Other would be dead.
It was a shocking feeling. Loki hadn't felt this homicidal and bloodthirsty for… well since before he met Waverly. It was strange. He didn't really feel himself. What was even more compelling, it wasn't so much his rage and hatred of The Other that was fueling this feeling; it was love. His worry and concern for Waverly's safety were stronger than his anger. The thought scared Loki. For so long, his actions had been driven by rage, anger, and jealousy. If love was what was driving his actions now, how would that play into his future? What was going to happen once all this was over? Would he go back to his bloodthirsty ways or would he be forever changed by his feelings for Waverly?
Loki was so lost in thought, he didn't hear Barton come to wake him. The archer shook Loki lightly on his shoulder, and Loki jumped, opening his eyes and looking around.
"Oh," he said, "It's only you." Looking at Clint, Loki saw how exhausted he looked. Dark circles were under his eyes and he looked paler than usual. His hair hung down over his eyebrows in an unkempt mess. Etched across his face was the same fear Loki had been feeling since all this began.
"Your turn to fly," Clint said shortly. "It's pretty much on autopilot. You just need to monitor the gages. Come on." Clint beckoned over his shoulder and took off for the cockpit.
Loki followed. Once in the pilot's seat, Clint told him what to do. It wasn't that hard to follow, even if he didn't understand all of the Midgardian technology behind what he was doing. Loki assured the archer that he could handle the hyper-jet. As Clint was heading back to the passenger area, Loki cast the same spell on Clint that he had used on himself. It is not because I am being kind to this mortal. If we are to save Waverly, we both need to be at our best. The man could do with some peaceful sleep.
All the gauges were within normal ranges, as they had been ever since Loki had taken over for Clint. They were still some ways away from The Other's location. Clint had told Loki to wake him when they were within 200 miles so that Clint could activate the jet's cloaking device. The monotony of this task allowed Loki's mind to wander to that which he was most concerned of; Waverly.
He was not, however, thinking of the horrors she may be facing at that exact moment. Though an underlying sense of worry pervaded him, he was not thinking about what state she may be in. He was simply thinking of her; the way she put her head against his chest every time they embraced each other; the way her body fit next to his when they slept; the taste of her lips and the smell of her hair. She was simply intoxicating. Since Loki had met her, she was all he could think about and the thing he cared about most. Loki knew he didn't want to end up in a prison cell for the rest of his life, but as for the path he chose, he honestly didn't care what he did next as long as he was with Waverly.
"I will rescue you," Loki muttered as if Waverly could hear him. "And then we never be separated again. I swear it."
Heavy footsteps filled the air. Waverly looked up from her hunched position in the corner of her cell. The Other's tall dark shadow fell across the corridor outside the cell's barred entrance. No doubt The Other was coming down for Waverly's hourly dose of antiserum. Sure enough, a few seconds later, Waverly could see The Other's vile face leering at her through the prison bars. A syringe was in one of his hands, its contents glowing a venomous blue in the dimness of the dungeon. In his other hand, The Other held the keys to Waverly's cell. As he began unlocking the door, Waverly had the fleeting desire to try and escape, but she knew with her powers subdued she was no match against The Other. The door clanked open and The Other positioned himself on the threshold.
"Come here," he ordered.
Waverly stared at him defiantly and remained seated on the cold stone floor.
"I said get over here!" The Other sneered.
"Make me." Waverly spat back.
With a growl, The Other lifted the hand not holding the antiserum. Using his own brand of magic, he forced Waverly up off the floor and towards him. To Waverly it felt as if a giant hand had squeezed around her torso, crushing her lungs and forcing all the air out. She gasped and choked, beginning to feel lightheaded. When she reached The Other, he plunged the syringe deep into her neck and pulled it out with such force that Waverly couldn't help but whimper in pain. When he was finished, The Other released the magic holding Waverly and she fell painfully back to the stone floor. The Other turned on his heel and swept back out of the cell. He slammed the door shut and began to lock it back again.
Waverly pushed herself up onto her knees. Pain and exhaustion were clouding her vision, but she saw The Other turn the key. He was about to leave. Abandoning all caution, Waverly thrust her arm through the bars of her cage and made a mad grab for the key in The Other's hand.
With a deep, cruel laugh, The Other took a step back. "Silly girl." He knocked Waverly's hand away before reaching across the bars himself. He grabbed a handful of her hair and forced her up onto her feet. "Haven't you learned? You cannot escape. You are the bait, Loki is my prey. As soon as he bites, I'll kill you all." The Other released Waverly and strode down the corridor and up the stairs, laughing all the while.
Waverly crawled back to her corner. She sat down and began massaging her head where The Other had grabbed her. She should have known she wasn't going to wrestle the key away from him but the antiserum was making her head foggy. Waverly shut her eyes tight and gritted her teeth against the soreness in her body. Pull it together. You're Waverly Barton; Ice Hawk. You're an Avenger for crying out loud.
Breathing slowly in through her nose and out through her mouth to the rhythm of the water dripping from the ceiling, Waverly forced herself to not think about the pain or the direness of her situation. She forced her mind to clear, become empty. But she couldn't. There was one thing that kept popping up. Loki. Waverly knew that it was highly likely she would never see him again. Things looked bad and Waverly couldn't see how they were both going to make it out of this.
Waverly's eyes snapped open. No, she thought forcefully. Don't think like that. You rescued Loki from the Frost Giants twice and you got away from Tyson; you'll find a way out of this mess. Then, almost unbidden, another thought crossed her mind. After this you and Loki will never be separated again. I swear it.
The navigation system on the hyper-jet's dashboard began beeping and blinking, pulling Loki from his thoughts. He glanced at it and gleaned that they were approaching the 200 mile mark Clint had mentioned. Swiftly, Loki stood and made his way out of the cockpit and into the jet's cabin.
His spell had worked, perhaps a little too well. Clint was conked out in a chair, his head rolling on his shoulder and a trickle of droll at the corner of his mouth. He was snoring loud enough to rival Thor.
Humans, Loki thought, a disgusting race… well, most of them anyway. Loki strode over and shook Clint on the opposite shoulder. Loki had no desire to be bathed in Barton's saliva.
Clint woke with a grunt and a start. "What? Are we there?"
Loki nodded. "Nearly."
Clint gave a grunt of recognition, stood and stretched, and then disappeared back into the cockpit. Loki followed. With a few quick button presses and lever pulls, Clint indicated that the jet was concealed by the same reflecting technology that hid the helicarrier. "We just need to find somewhere concealed to land once we get there."
Loki gave another nod.
"Have you figured out what we're going to do next?" Clint asked.
Loki settled into the copilot's chair. "Yes. Once you have landed this contraption, we locate Waverly using the I.D. badge you mentioned." Loki paused to allow Clint a nod. "Then I shall use magic to conceal one of us in order to slip in undetected and rescue Waverly. The other one shall act as a diversion to make doubly sure Waverly's rescue goes undetected. Once she is safe on this jet, you and I will deal with The Other."
Clint nodded again. "Awesome. Who's going to rescue Waverly and who's going to be the diversion."
"I shall rescue Waverly," Loki answered.
Clint gave an unamused laugh. "Wrong answer pal. You distract The Other. I'll get Wave."
Loki snorted. "I think not. I will be rescuing Waverly while you do the distracting. I think I am quite more capable of sneaking into a prison whist you are better at being loud an obnoxious."
Clint raised an eyebrow. "Um, hello? I'm a master assassin."
"And I am a god."
Clint sighed. "You're irritating, you know that."
Loki smiled slyly. "Thank you."
"Fine. I'll be the distraction, you get Waverly."
Loki's sly smile spread even wider. "Very well."