A/N 1

So... this took a while to post. Sorry about that? *Nervous laughter* My computer broke down, so that's a bit of an excuse, but mostly I forgot about, and then I was like 'Oh no, I'm being a really inconsiderate author right now, I should totally write something'. And then I didn't. But then I did, so you have this. Anything you like, thank my magnificent beta, Viressiel. Honestly, Viressiel is the best beta anyone could ask for, and definitely deserves a fan club. And of course, a quick shout out to my lovely reviewers, particularly Starfire201, I.C.2014, Sommersol-soendag, zaylo267, and of course the ever faithful Natalie Rushman and MidnightLokilover. Y'all are absolutely amazing. It would be difficult to do this without you.

Now, without further ado, read, and enjoy.

Loki writhed helplessly, his skeletal frame grinding against the frozen floor, his mind dimming to a type of white fuzziness that refused to recede to the oblivion that he now craved. His heart bucked and seized, stubbornly pumping poison through his veins. Through the roaring in his ears he heard shouting, but it was far away and utterly unimportant. His heart hammered erratically against his ribs, as if in a desperate bid to escape, and for a moment Loki wished it would succeed.

Then, as abruptly as it had started, the attack receded and Loki was left panting, on his side on the ground. His heart trembled in his chest like a frightened animal; had he the strength he would have cursed himself for such weakness. He felt a wetness seeping from his nose and ears, and tasted copper on his tongue. For a moment, he just lay there, eyes open but not seeing, his breath rasping and bubbling as his lungs shuddered unevenly. His throat felt raw and parched as though he had been screaming. He dimly noted that he was shivering, though he could not identify whether he felt hot or cold at the moment. Everything seemed distantly irrelevant.

It was with that realization that the vague fuzziness that he had been staring at began to coalesce into a shiny black leather shoe and starched white linen pants, surrounded by an indistinct ocean of dirty grey and red concrete. Something moved in his peripheral, and then he felt two sharp pokes in his shoulder. His cane, Loki realized belatedly. The mortal just poked him with his cane. He tried to say something, what it was he did not know, but all that came out was an undignified whimper. Pathetic. The cane was replaced on the floor with an oddly muted click, and then the foot lifted off the floor and pressed against Loki's shoulder. Hard. With a strangled groan, Loki rolled onto his back, his arm flopping out to his side, and his neck stretched to the side as his head knocked against the wall. He blinked blearily up at the oddly out of focus figures in the room. There were more than he remembered.

Loki's fogging eyes lazily drifted toward a hand reaching incongruously from the mist that seemed to surround him. He blinked at it, and the hand was suddenly plunging toward his throat and yanking him abruptly from his lethargy. Loki grasped desperately at cold metal, and caught a flash of chilling blue eyes, before the iron arm slammed him against the wall and held him, his feet dangling inches from the ground.

With a savage hiss, Loki raised both of his arms, and brought their combined weight down on on the mechanized elbow, pounding on the weakest part of the joint once, twice, three times, before the soldier's gand caught loki's left fist, turning it outward so his shoulder strained against his abused chest. Loki flailed desperately for a moment, tightening his grip over the metallic fingers in a desperate attempt to draw breath. Behind the Soldier, four armed guards had formed a tight perimeter, absurdly crowded in the small space. Burn marks and hairline cracks lined the once pristine walls, and the smell of ozone filled the air. Loki wondered if he did that. The guard's nervous expressions and tight grips certainly seemed to suggest it.

Loginov turned away from the little tableau, adding a quick note to a small rectangular device. Turning back, assessed Loki calmly from what he must have considered a safe distance. "So, in the end, you answer my questions after all" he smiled almost kindly. "The power in your veins," he paused as though for loss of words. "It is remarkable." He glanced around their smoking surrounding assessingly, a mixture of awe and greed concealed behind his reptilian eyes, before his attention returned to Loki. "Secure him" he ordered briskly, and the Soldier tightened his grip, lifting Loki higher off the ground.

"But perhaps you are not so powerful now, hmm?" Loginov mused as he made his way slowly to the Soldier's side, before staring up at Loki once more. "Smirnov was a fool, with his 'progressive' techniques. He saw only what you wanted him to see. Men like us, we cannot be read by men such as him. He was weak. You, I see, are strong. My organization could use men like you."

So that was their play. Loki glared angrily down at the diminutive man, fighting off the grey that crept along the edges of his vision. He attempted to rasp a response, low and sharp, but choked on his retort, the words reduced to little more than an angry growl in his battered throat as the iron arm pressed against his jugular.

He would not become another stolen relic.

To his surprise, the pressure on his throat lessened slightly, as the Soldier shifted his grip to the front of his tattered tunic, releasing the previously crushing force on his windpipe, despite Loginoz's sharp look. Aside from that shift in grip, Loki noticed that the Soldier's hold did not waver, though his metal arm had been holding Loki aloft for several minutes.

"There are no men like me."

Loginov almost smirked, before turning away to polish his already impeccable glasses, brushing past one of the twitchy gun men. "All men have their weakness. It would seem that arrogance is yours. A trait you share with your friend here." He gestured vaguely toward the soldier. "I assure you, his confidence did not save him."

The Soldier continued to stare straight ahead, seemingly oblivious to the doctor's words.

Loginov wandered back to his table, fingering his instruments absently as he spoke. "If you survive, you will become an agent for Hydra, operating in the shadows, ridding the world of its filth." He glanced up from his gleaming tools, meeting Loki's eyes. "This is a privilege we offer only to few. Be proud."

Loki raised an eyebrow derisively, ignoring the vague feeling of blood flaking along his hairline at the movement. "You flatter me." Deliberately ignoring Loginov, Loki turned his eyes to the Soldier, with as much languid disdain as he could summon while being pinned aloft by the immovable wall and the inexhaustible metal arm. "What a privilege indeed, tell me, Soldat, are you honored?"

The cold blue eyes did not waver, but a muscle clenched high on the soldier's jaw. Anger. He can work with that.

"Very well, Doctor. I am intrigued. Give me the power of which you speak, and I assure you, I will survive." He smirked down at the man, "It is rather my speciality."

Loginov scoffed quietly, "Do you think me an idiot? You will be enhanced, but spare no thoughts for your own treacherous ends. Whoever employed you before, they are of no consequence. They have abandoned you." His smile may have looked sympathetic to the unobservant. "From now on, your loyalty must lie only with Hydra." He filled a syringe and tapped it gently, staring down at it intently as he turned away from the table and toward Loki once more. "Consider this an assurance, to ensure that the power we give you will be properly used. It would be a tragedy if you to use the gifts we so graciously give you, against us." He finally glanced up at Loki, a dark glint in his eye. "You will become our glorious phoenix; you must be beaten down entirely before we can build you from the ashes." Once more the distant doctor, Loginov raised the poisonous needle deliberately toward Loki's neck.

"Stop!" Loki infused his voice with a strong suggestion to obey, raising his hand imperiously. Snaring the doctor's arctic stare with his own, Loki practically snarled, his voice smooth and sharp as a well tended dagger. "Loyalty fades, love dies. We are stronger men, we are not tied to such sentimentality. You offer me the power to stalk the world and rid it of your enemies, seen by none but feared by all. Do not believe for a second that I would hesitate to seize such a chance." He flicked his gaze to the soldier who yet held him. "Release me."

After the barest hesitation, the Soldier released his relentless hold and stepped back.

Stubbornly clamping down on a wave of vertigo, Loki straightened his torn tunic with a sharp tug. He was aware of nervous movement from his right, as the guards adjusted their weapons, but he kept his eyes on Loginov.

After the barest consideration, Loginov made a quick gesture, and the men stepped back, lowering their weapons slightly. A small, triumphant smile tugged at his face, as he stood, rooted to the spot, seemingly transfixed by Loki's steely gaze.

Loki prowled toward Loginov with the assurance of an officer approaching his commander. "You offer me the strength to rid this world of its filth." With a movement swifter than a striking snake, Loki reached around the doctor's head and snapped his fragile neck. "Consider it done."

A/N 2

Hope you liked it. I know, kind of short especially considering the wait. Hopefully this is enough to get me writing again, but also, I have enough papers coming up, you probably shouldn't bet on it. I want to be optimistic and will make a genuine effort to get something written quickly, but I don't want to make too many promises. If you want to know what helps, reviews do. They help a lot. I will write the next chapter for y'all even without them, but reviews make it more fun. Anywho, thank you for reading, you magnificent citizens of the internet.

Until next time,

Kementari