AN: Slight mentions of blood and gore. But this is a fic with flesh-eating zombie monsters, what are you expecting?

Disclaimer: I do not own Marvel or the Avengers.

Chapter Six: Alliance

By ObsydianDreamer

{Darcy}

Two Weeks After

Beep! Beep! Beep!

Darcy was startled awake by the sound of her phone's alarm going off, the shrill noise piercing through the inside of the car. Instantly alert, she fumbled around in the near-dark for the source of the noise, her poor eyesight not helping matters. Finally, reaching over to the seat next to her, she managed to wrap her fingers around the device, silencing it before it could make any more noise.

Sitting straight back up, she looked out the windows at the area around, her eyes darting frantically in all directions to ensure it was safe and that nothing else had heard the alarm. She doubted that anything would have, but it was always better to be safe than sorry.

The coast was clear. Relaxing a little, she leaned back against the seat and put on her glasses, before watching the sun rise. It was still the same sun that rose over New York City every day, but that morning it seemed slightly more exquisite. The rays, which were just starting to peek over the horizon, painted the early morning sky in gold and orange.

Darcy smiled. The sun still rose every day, without fail, even when the entirety of human civilisation on the continent had gone to hell.

There was no other way to describe it. It was just like all those cheesy cliché horror movies Darcy used to watch; the aliens attacked with their weird metal pod things, and only hours after, people became really sick.

Not long after that, they became violent, bloodthirsty and just a little bit scary.

Okay, really scary.

They had become, for all intents and purposes, zombies. Really, Darcy could think of a better way to describe them; they were exactly like the creepy, half-dead monsters she'd seen in countless movies and TV shows.

But it wasn't the zombies themselves that were the worst part. Darcy knew she could deal with them easily; a well aimed shot to the head and they that was that. No, the worst part was the sheer emptiness of the surrounds.

The city looked like it had been totally abandoned. Cars of all makes and models lay deserted in street, some with their doors left open. Houses and buildings still stood, but many had windows broken and some had been looted. Everywhere she went had an eerie feel to it; making her feel vulnerable and paranoid, always checking behind her back.

She wished she had a partner. It would make everything so much easier; she wouldn't have to worry about the zombies getting her while she slept, or when she gathered supplies.

But most of all, Darcy just wanted someone to talk to. She hadn't talked to someone since the virus broke out; it was very possible that she was the last person left uninfected in the whole city. She'd spent the first week looking for survivors in the city, but eventually, she'd given up; the large number of zombies making it too dangerous to continue searching.

Darcy absentmindedly wondered what the centre of New York looked like. She had only been on the outskirts of the city, the sheer number of the infected making it impossible to travel in any further. Millions of people had called this city home; with so many living in such close proximity, the virus had infected everyone in a matter of days, quickly overrunning the quarantines and defences. Whoever had managed to avoid the initial outbreak didn't survive long; with the incredible number of zombies swarming around the city, they either became infected themselves or got eaten.

Because of the constant danger of living in a place populated solely by flesh-eating monsters, Darcy had made the decision to leave.

That was the plan for the morning. She would get the last of the supplies she needed, before heading out south west. Her aunt owned a farm out that way; it was located in the middle of nowhere, miles away from any of the big cities that the aliens had targeted.

If anywhere was going to be safe, it was there.

Feeling confident in her plan, Darcy gazed over her shoulder into the back of her four-wheeled drive. The trunk was acting as the storeroom, filled with food that she'd managed to come across and ammunitions. However, there wasn't enough to make the trip, yet alone sufficient to support herself as she waited out the virus at the farm.

Her eyes skimmed over to the backseat, where even fewer items lay. She didn't have much time to grab her possessions once the virus had broken out; instead, she just took the most important ones. She managed to take her SHIELD handgun; the one she received when she'd become employed by the agency after Thor and everything that had happened in New Mexico. She'd also managed to grab her taser, but that was a given; she never went anywhere without it.

In addition, Darcy had also taken her most prized possession: a mythology book. It was old, a green, leather bound book given to her as a gift from her grandmother many years before. Even more so, Thor had gone through it, carefully editing the text, adding notes about Asgard and the Nine Realms from his own experience.

She hoped that after everything that had transpired in the past two weeks, Thor was still okay. Darcy hadn't heard anything about the Avengers since the outbreak had occurred, apart from hearing that they'd been split up, and sent across the country.

"Whose dumb idea was that?" Darcy thought. The Avengers worked much better together as a team than any one of them could work alone. "Anyway, I'm sure he's fine. They're probably all fine. If anyone can survive in a post-apocalyptic zombie world, it's the Avengers."

Not allowing herself to become too distracted, Darcy turned her attention back to her own predicament. The zombies seemed to be least active around dawn, so she had to get moving soon. Without wasting any more time, Darcy started up the car and drove down the road, trying to avoid obstacles and stay as quiet as possible.

A few minutes later, she arrived at her destination. She'd managed to find a small supermarket; one that looked like it hadn't been too badly looted or damaged. After doing a quick scout around to make sure there were no large groups of the infected nearby, Darcy parked the four wheel drive right next to the store, before readying her weapons.

After loading the handgun and ensuring she had extra ammo clips in her pockets, Darcy carefully opened the door and stepped out of the car. Making as little noise as possible, she crept over to the door of the supermarket and opened it.

The door gave a loud creak. Stopping for a moment, Darcy scanned the surrounds, hoping that none of the infected had heard.

She waited, but nothing came. Gun ready and loaded in her hand, she entered the store.

Inside, the place looked dilapidated. Shelves had been knocked over, spilling produce everywhere. The building had also obviously been without power for some time; the lights weren't turning on, and the freezer section had well and truly melted, leaving puddles around on the floor.

There was also the strong smell of something rotting in the air, which Darcy sincerely hoped was coming from the decomposing fruits and meat, and not from something else.

Making her way around the store, Darcy took everything she thought she'd need for the journey. Canned food, bottled water, and she'd even managed to procure a blanket and some first aid supplies. Dumping everything into the back seat, she contemplated making another trip back into the store when she heard something.

In the distance, not very far away, she could hear snarling. Not wasting any time, she climbed into her car, quickly locking the doors and waiting to see if it was safe.

The snarling continued. The zombie-people were definitely on the move, and they were coming her way. Without another thought, she put the key in the ignition, turning on the car, and sped out in reverse, not looking back.

THUD!

The sudden noise spooked Darcy, and she hit the brakes, causing them to squeal, bringing the car to a rapid stop.

She'd hit something. That, Darcy was entirely sure of.

Adjusting the rear-view mirrors to see what she'd managed to run down, she was shocked. There, lying on the ground, unconscious, was a man in green clothing.

And he wasn't infected. He had none of the tell tale signs of infection; no pale green skin, or bleeding sores.

He was a survivor, just like her.

He was possibly the only other survivor in the entire city, and she'd just hit him with her car.

And this time, it would legally be her fault.

Grabbing the gun on the seat next to her, she left the car and took a few steps forward. She needed to help him, but she needed to be careful herself. The zombies she'd heard earlier were probably after him, and they couldn't be far away.

Peering around the corner of the building, she saw them. A pack of about five, with furious red eyes and green skin, closing the distance between themselves and the man. Taking careful aim from her hiding spot, Darcy fired at them, sending them dead to the ground. She'd managed to get three of them before the other two figured out where she was. Turning their full attention to her, they ran straight for her, growling angrily at her.

Trying not to panic, Darcy continued to fire. She reminded herself that they weren't people, that they were monsters, and that if she didn't kill them, then they would certainly kill her. Continuing to fire at them, she managed to kill one with a lucky headshot.

The last one however was proving a challenge. It advanced toward her, so close now that she could see its creepy red eyes and green rotting skin. It tried swiping at her as it got closer, and Darcy jumped back, her heart pounding in her chest.

She kept firing at it, hitting it in the chest and thigh, sending it down to the ground. But it kept going, crawling its way along the ground, leaving a dark blood trail behind it. Taking one more step back, Darcy aimed her gun at its head and fired, splattering the rotting contents of its skull all across the pavement.

Turning away from the gruesome sight in front of her, Darcy went to check on the man. She had to move quickly; the gunshot sounds would have alerted other zombies nearby. She briskly walked over to the man, kneeling next to him as she checked his pulse to see if he was still alive.

Darcy had to admit that he was attractive. He was rather tall, but lightly built, with slightly messy jet black hair and a pale complexion. On closer inspection, Darcy also noticed that the clothes he was wearing were completely strange and out of this world. He was covered from head to toe in some kind of green leather armour, trimmed with metallic edges that sported intricate carved patterns.

"Heh. It kinda looks like the armour the Asgardians wear..." Darcy thought, her mind reeling as she came to a realisation. "Oh no...It can't be..."

The person wasn't human at all; they were an Asgardian. Trying to figure out who they were, Darcy looked again at the patterns on the armour.

Most of the symbols Darcy hadn't seen before, but there was one she could identify. It meant Prince of Asgard, and it adorned Thor's armour as well.

Asgard had two Princes. Thor and –

Darcy scrambled back from the unconscious Asgardian, suddenly recognising exactly who it was.

Loki.

She couldn't believe it.

She'd run down Loki, Thor's brother and the freaking god of mischief and lies.

What was the Norse god of mischief and lies even doing on Earth? Thor had said that Loki had been imprisoned in Asgard for his crimes, having nearly succeeded in destroying Jotunheim and taking over the Earth.

"He must've escaped or something," Darcy thought. "Hmm. What do I do now?"

She couldn't just leave him here; the infected would get him before he could wake up. On the other hand, Darcy wasn't sure if taking him with her was the right idea either. He was an incredibly powerful being, who was somewhat mentally unhinged, potentially dangerous and had a track record of not taking well to mortals.

"I'm damned if I do, and damned if I don't," Darcy thought, knowing that she'd have to make a decision quickly; the infected would not be far away. "What do I do?"

[Loki]

Loki's head spun painfully as he regained consciousness. It was much worse than the first time he'd woken up like his; not only did he have a pounding headache, but this time he also felt rather nauseous and very disorientated, with the rest of his body feeling quite sore as well.

He tried to remember what had happened that put him in his state. Thinking back, he remembered teleporting to Midgard, finding the monstrous humans that fed on the flesh of their own, and fleeing from them when they chased after him.

Everything after that was blank. He had no idea where he was, or how much time had passed.

Realising the danger he could be in, Loki snapped open his eyes and tried to move. However, his left arm was restrained by something, and his vision was blurred to the point of being unable to see almost anything. Fumbling around, he tried to find whatever was pinning down his arm when he heard a voice.

"Don't panic," The voice said. It sounded feminine, but distant, as if it was underwater. "You're safe here."

He couldn't trust the voice. It could belong to a potential ally, but the chances of it belonging to an enemy were much higher. Not wasting any time, he pulled on his arm, trying to free it.

"Don't do that," The voice spoke again, softer and more reassuring, but still distant and this time a little distorted. "You'll only make yourself feel worse..."

The voice was right. Suddenly, Loki was overcome with a sickening pang of dizziness that made him feel like he was spinning and caused his stomach to churn.

With little other option, he let darkness overtake him and he slipped again into unconsciousness.

Loki was a lot more careful the second time he woke up.

Rather than trying to leave straight away, he waited, allowing himself time to recover from his injuries and assess the situation.

All the while, he kept his eyes shut and continued pretending to be unconscious.

From what information he'd managed to gather, he was fairly certain that there was only one person holding him captive, and that he was inside one of the metal transport machines that the midgardians often used. A thin rope was tied around his left arm, chaining him to something heavy, and although he could tell it was done by an amateur, it was still too strong for him to just break out of. His right arm was still free though.

With this new information in mind, Loki waited patiently for the midgardian transport machine to stop moving so he could put his plan into motion.

As he felt the machine rumble to a halt, he braced himself, ready to attack. A few moments later, he heard a quiet voice.

"I don't know if you're awake, but if you are, please know that I'm not going to hurt you," It was the same voice he'd heard before, he was sure.

Loki assessed the situation in his head. He couldn't know for sure if the voice was telling the truth, although it did sound sincere, but it was definitely only a single midgardian holding him captive. He might have been one of the physically weakest on Asgard, but he could easily take down a single midgardian. Plus, he could get information off the mortal, and a servant could be useful, provided it wasn't savage like the ones he'd encountered earlier.

Slowly, he opened his eyes and looked at the Midgardian. They were female, with long, dark brown hair that was slightly curled. Her vision must have been impaired, since she was wearing the so called "glasses" that some midgardians used. Her expression showed that she was somewhat scared, but also curious.

"Tell me, mortal," Loki said, putting emphasis on the word mortal. "Where am I, and why has your already pitiful and unintelligent species turned upon itself?"

The midgardian woman edged forward slightly before speaking. "You're inside my car. I found you, um, unconscious on the road..."

He could tell by the hesitance and uneasiness in her voice that she was only telling a half-truth. Nevertheless, he let the female continue with her tale.

"As for my 'species turning upon itself', that's because of the virus."

The midgardian was providing more questions than answers. "A virus?"

"Yeah. I know more than most people, since I worked for SHIELD before it happened," The midgardian began to explain. "About two weeks ago, some robotic aliens released a virus in an attempt to take over. It worked, and everyone who got infected mutated into the flesh-eating crazy people you met earlier."

"How unfortunate." He said, his voice taut and sarcastic. The fact that someone else had managed to succeed where he had failed with the Chitauri invasion, and so soon after, infuriated him to no end. The midgardian, meanwhile, looked completely unimpressed by his comment, a scowl gracing her face.

Not caring about the midgardian, he looked out the window of the transport machine. It was dusk, the sun having just dipped below the horizon.

He'd been out far longer than he realised. Shifting across to the door, he went to leave, when he was stopped by the voice of the midgardian.

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" She said, rather nonchalantly. "They're most active at night, and usually feed around dusk."

"I'm quite sure I can easily deal with a few sickly members of your species." Loki snapped back, his already short patience thinning.

"Without getting bitten or scratched?"

"Effortlessly. But I fail to see how that's important."

"Oh, no reason. But before you go, I should mention that they're really contagious. When someone gets bitten or scratched by one of the infected, they turn into one of them too."

Loki stopped and thought for a moment. The new information was unsettling, and while it was likely that the illness could only be passed to humans, he did not want to take the chance.

This whole situation was proving to be far more difficult and problematic than he had ever anticipated.

"Perhaps leaving isn't the best course of action." Loki muttered, after a while.

"Perhaps not," The midgardian replied. A little quieter, she added. "Looks like we're stuck in this together."

Loki sighed. As much as he absolutely loathed the idea of working with such a lowly creature, there wasn't much else he could do. Turning to face the midgardian, he spoke regally and introduced himself.

"I am Loki Son-of-None, true heir to both Jotunheim and Asgard."

The midgardian looked like she already knew.

"I'm just Darcy Lewis."

AN: Thanks to Tanya Meridia for Beta reading.