Chapter Three: Faith In Madness:
The chair in which Darcy sat creaked ominously, the uncomfortable metal digging into the backs of her thighs. She shifted, trying to make as little sound as she could so as not to draw attention to herself. Not that anyone would have noticed had she stripped nude and did the Macarena.
The chair in which she sat was located in an unused office in the upper floors of the hospital. Her and Clint had been led to the room shortly after he had gotten off the phone, and a pair of male nurses had come to take the tall man back to his room. One by one the rest of the Avengers filtered in, various expressions on their faces. Fury, who was currently leaning against the wall with his arms crossed, had been the last to enter. And Darcy wouldn't hesitate to admit the man freaked her out just a little.
Darcy watched on as the Avengers argued back and forth. No one seemed to be able to come to an agreement on what to do about the situation they were suddenly faced with. It appeared that Loki was back on Earth, but no one was sure how that happened, and the fact that Thor hadn't contacted any of them wasn't helping matters any.
Darcy still wasn't fully convinced that the man she had to pry from Clint's arms was Loki, but everyone else did. Of course what did she know, out of those in the room only her and Pepper; who Tony had dragged along; hadn't come face to face with the man.
With the consensus on who the man was, the group had began discussing the hows, whys, and what nows. The only thing everyone could agree upon was the how, that Loki must have overpowered his brother and returned to Earth. Darcy thought they all were overlooking a few too many things. Like the fact that the man they all claimed was a murdering alien god didn't even know who he was.
She had grown tired of them all fighting over what they would do with him, which ranged from locking him up to driving arrows through his eyes and balls. The last of course from Clint who was actually seething, clenched jaw and all. She leaned her chair back on two legs, ignoring how loudly it creaked.
"Hey!" One by one everyone stopped talking, their eyes turning to look at her as though they had forgotten she was even there. Which Darcy pretty much figured was the truth.
"Has anyone actually taken a moment to think about this past how to castrate and otherwise mutilate that man?" No one spoke, though Darcy noticed how Clint shrugged his shoulders, totally unashamed about his behavior. She sighed and ran a hand through her hair. That was the problem with superheroes, pretty much ninety-eight percent of the time they acted before thinking. It was all get the bad guy, save the damsel, ride off into the sunset. They rarely ever stopped to think that maybe there were reasons behind the evil, and that the damsel might be able to save herself.
"Alright, let's think then. If that man is Loki, maybe he's already being punished? Do we have the right to interfere in the laws of another planet?" She expected a few cries of outrage, mostly from Clint. He had made it perfectly clear he thought she was crazy when it came to the situation. What she hadn't expected was silence, or for Steve to be the one to speak first.
"What do you mean? Loki is running free on Earth, how can that be a punishment?" Darcy shook her head, she knew that everyone in that room equated punishment with some kind of physical harm or incarceration. No one seemed able to contemplate the more subtle and intimate punishments.
"He is in the mental ward at the hospital, doesn't know who or what he is. This doesn't look like some evil plan to take over the world to me. It doesn't seem his M.O. anyway, mental patient just doesn't seem in line with metal robots of death and techno-alien armies." Steve shook his head, standing straight as he looked down at Darcy.
"It still doesn't make sense." Darcy couldn't help but roll her eyes. No subtly at all.
"Think about it. Loki is a man that craves attention, who is so full of himself that he thought he had the right to rule over our planet. What better way to punish him than make him nothing, a nobody?" No one spoke for awhile, though Clint had moved across the room, not looking at Darcy. She watched as Tony opened his mouth to speak after a couple of minutes. Before he could say anything Pepper hit him across the shoulder.
" It does make sense actually. Now he is no more important than the humans he tried to take over. Even less since he has no identity, just a nameless man in a world of nameless men." Tony rubbed his shoulder and gave Pepper a little glare.
"Oh, so we're just suppose to forget what he did, just because what, his Daddy thought a few days without his memories was punishment enough for the deaths of all those people? How do we even know that he isn't acting?" Pepper responded before Darcy could, her voice much more calm than Darcy's ever would have been by then.
"From what I've been able to gather, Loki was found a few days after the battle in the middle of the rubble of a building. His clothes had been torn and covered in blood.
"After they brought him to the hospital and he woke, he had seemed to have no memory of who he was, where he was at, or why he was there. Even though he had been bloody, he hadn't seemed too injured. They placed him in the mental health wing for his own protection. According to the nurses, they haven't noticed anything strange. Nothing that I can see that could prove that he's only acting. They said the only thing he does all day is look out the window or try to escape. Whenever they catch him he always says that he had to leave, but he is never able to answer the question to where." Darcy listened, not having heard any of that before then.
"Bullshit!" Darcy and Pepper's eyes went wide as Tony and Clint both shouted at the same time.
"That is bullshit, and you know it!" Darcy sighed and shook her head at Clint.
"And surely you know it would be wrong to punish him like he is now?" Bruce, who had been quiet up until then, stood from his spot across the room.
"Just what are you thinking then Darcy?" His voice was quiet, and though he spoke softly she could hear the contained rage.
"It won't do any good to punish him when he doesn't even know what he is being punished for. If we did punish him, we would be the monsters. Imagine you couldn't remember who you were and instead of finding help, someone took you away and hurt you. Punished you for something you can't even remember. You can't tell me that any of you would be comfortable doing that." Several pairs of eyes blinked at her, probably not one of them having thought of that before. Only Clint still looked pissed beyond reason. During the silence Fury pushed himself from off the wall and came to stand in the middle of the room.
"I can't make the mistake that Loki is playing possum, but Ms. Lewis has a point. I can't, in good conscience take action against a man that can't even remember his own name." Darcy was surprised, she had been sure Fury would have agreed with Clint and Tony.
"What do you have in mind then, Director?" Nat who had actually been pretty quiet on the subject so far, spoke up from her spot by Clint.
"We will await Thor's return to determine what the situation calls for. Meanwhile we will detain Loki, observing him constantly to make sure he isn't acting." Fury looked calmly at everyone in the room, his one eye daring someone to disagree with him.
"And while he is being detained someone will have to be on duty to watch over him. And I have the perfect candidate." His eye locked on Darcy, causing her heart to momentarily stop.
"Me?" Fury nodded, ignoring the squeaking in her voice.
"Yes, you, Ms. Lewis. You are the only one that seems to be acting objectively in this manner. Not to mention you were the one that opened your mouth, and now you will take on the responsibility." Fury turned from her, seemingly ignoring the fact that she didn't even work for him.
"Agent Romanoff, I want you to get to work on creating an identity for Loki, and getting him released to the custody of one of the Avengers.
"Stark, because of the state of things, we will need you to ready rooms at the tower for Ms. Lewis and Loki. I want cameras, mics, and a twenty-four-seven watch by JARVIS on the rooms." Nat nodded and pulled a phone from her pocket, already dialing before Fury finished. Tony merely shrugged, but Darcy could see the anger behind his eyes.
Darcy figured that was the end of things, but as Fury was leaving he turned to level her with a heavy stare.
"It's now your job to watch Loki, Ms. Lewis. I'm putting my faith in you, so you better hope you're were right, because you won't like what will happen if you're wrong." Darcy gulped as Fury left. What the hell had she gotten herself into?
Frigga sat in the palace gardens, weaving a crown of flowers as she had many times in her youth. She did not smile when she heard Thor walk up beside her and take a seat on the bench where she sat. She knew that he would eventually find her, not that she really wanted to have this talk, though she knew it was needed.
"Mother, what happened to Loki? I know you did something." Frigga set the crown of flowers down on her lap and turned to look at her oldest son. She saw no condemnation in his eyes, as she had feared. Only curiosity and concern.
"I have sent him where he may learn his lesson the best. Do not worry my Son, I have kept watch of him from the moment I sent him away. I will not allow any harm to come to Loki. No matter what he has done, he is still my son, as he is still your brother." Thor looked at his mother in silence for a moment, but it didn't take long for his eyes to shine with realization.
People might have thought him to be ignorant, but oftentimes it was just a show he put on. He had seen how others treated his brother. Loki was more of a scholar than he was, and while he hid a great many things, that was one aspect of himself that he proudly displayed. And Thor had seen how others had teased him for it, even he himself had made fun of his brother's talents.
"Why, Mother? Why there, why send him at all? Do not mistake me, I love my brother. But I do not understand." Frigga gave him a soft, but sad smile. Thor was a strong warrior, and though he had heart he lacked the ability to see such subtle actions. She knew if it hadn't been for Loki's deception and his sending of the Destroyer, Thor would have taken much longer on Midgard.
"Because, Thor, he needs to see what his actions have caused. To learn that he must think about the consequences before he acts. He must learn that things are not just about him. It will be hard, and he will most likely be there for some time. But I am absolutely sure that he will be able to do what is needed where I have sent him." Frigga mentally shook her head. Those lessons should have been taught long ago, to both Loki and Thor. Neither of them should have had to be punished in such a way at their age. Both her and Odin had failed on so many levels.
"Do you really have that much faith in Loki? To be sure that he will learn and be allowed to return home?" Thor had seen his brother on Earth, seen the insanity in his eyes. It wasn't that he had lost faith in his brother, just that he wasn't sure if that faith was misplaced.
"Of course! Loki isn't as evil as everyone wants to make him out to be. He is hurt and we have all failed him over the years. Your father for obviously favoring you and holding to a double standard when it came to punishing the both of you. Myself for not standing up to your father, allowing him to treat him as such. And even you, Thor, for the way you have treated Loki all these years." Thor looked over at his mother with furrowed brows, a bit of hurt and confusion on his face. Frigga shook her head.
"Can you not see the way you have teased Loki, lessened the importance of his gifts in battle and everyday life, the way you have at times treated Loki more like a subject than a brother? Can you not see what that has done to him?
"He has been made to feel less than he is, second always to you, second in the eyes of his father. And then to find out he is a frost Giant, a race our people have always made out to be monsters.
"Loki has lived on the edge of madness his whole life, and that one revelation was what pushed him over the edge. And we all just allowed it to happen, even helped to push him." Frigga looked away from her son, staring off across the gardens.
"Now, I am doing what I can in order to undo the damage that has been done. And if your father knows what is good for him, he won't interfere."
Remembering the look on his father's face when his mother had told him she would always choose her sons, Thor had no doubt his father knew his mother was not making idle threats.
"What is there that I may do to help?" Frigga looked back and smiled at her son. She had always known in her heart that both her sons were good.
"For now all I ask is for you to allow me to handle the situation on my own. I will let you know when your help is needed." He nodded and stood, looking down at his mother he gave her a distracted smile, bid her farewell and left her to her thoughts.
Frigga just continued to weave her crown of flowers. It was all just a waiting game now.
Author's Note: Wow, moving through these a whole lot faster than I had expected. Shorter chapter than the last few, but this felt like a good stopping point for this chap. Hopefully the next chap will be longer, but ya never know with me, my chaps can be anywhere between 1,000 to 16,000 words, all just depending on how it goes.
Ok, also wanted to ask all ya'll. Though I don't write them in the stories, I do tend to have missing scenes, would anyone like to read them? Like the missing scene from the last chap of Tony and Clint in the kitchen after Darcy ran off to get dressed. Anyone like to read snarky Tony and an annoyed Clint?
Also, just posted last night a Coulson/Stark Humor oneshot called "Beam Me Up, Scotty"
Next Chap: Loki comes to Stark Tower!
Disclaimer:
All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.