Taken Prisoner

Kona gasped awake, jerking up to find that she was lying on a bed of some sort, like a cot. She winced, pressing a hand to her head, wincing even more when her hand brushed against the bruise she could feel forming on her temple. She let out a hiss of pain before she moved to sit up, stopping short when she felt herself get dizzy and she was sure, if she could see, that the room would be spinning. She waited till the nausea subsided before slowly sitting up this time. She moved her legs over the side of the cot and took a deep breath, thankful she hadn't been restrained.

Her hand went to her wrist at that, feeling how tender it was to the touch and knowing a bruise was likely forming there from where she'd been handcuffed to the railing by that woman…and her jaw tensed. She stood up and felt her way around the room to what seemed to be a door.

"Let me out!" she shouted, slamming her palm against the small window she could feel, "Let me out of here! Let me out!" she started kicking the door as well, knowing that it wouldn't help but…maybe it would get someone's attention, "Hey! Let me out! Let me out! LET ME OUT!"

She started to hit the sides of her hands, curled into fists on the windows, on the door, on the walls, on anything she could to try and get someone out there to let her out. She didn't like this, she didn't like being so trapped and…she knew what it meant.

She was a prisoner.

She knew that Agent Barton had been taking her to Loki, and she knew that Loki had escaped, he had to have, she WANTED him to have. She wouldn't have wanted him to stay there and to risk being captured like she was. She…she knew what the entire attack on the base was about, it was a rescue mission, that was the only reason why Barton would be there. Oh they could have easily blown the flying base up, she knew that too, it would have been easy to destroy more of it than they had, but that hadn't been the point, the point hadn't been to destroy but to extract.

She hoped more than anything that Loki was safe, because…she knew it…she could feel it, he'd come back for her. No matter what, he wouldn't abandon her. That dream she'd had what felt like ages ago, of Loki appearing on Earth…the drive she'd seen him, the determination to find something…it had been HER. It really had been. He'd travelled so far and endured so much just to get back to her. She knew he wouldn't forsake her now.

She'd heard it in his words as well, when he'd been explaining what he could to her before she'd been removed, that he didn't want her to be frightened of him, he wanted her to feel safe, to trust him.

And she did.

She heard his admission that he had attacked and killed people, but there was something inside her telling her that was wrong. There was something so…WRONG…about it. That man she saw in her dreams, that man in that palace place, Loki in Asgard, he was…different than the man that had spoken to her before. But at the same time, he was the same. It was like…like there were two warring factions of him that were fighting for control. Around HER he was the man from Asgard, without her he was…she didn't know but it was NOT the same man.

She didn't know how to explain it, she'd just…always known things. She never knew how, sometimes the nurses at the hospital called her psychic, said she had the gift of sight despite being blind, it was an ironic joke between them all. She wondered now if, perhaps, she HAD been psychic in Asgard, maybe she'd been a seer of some sort (for some reason that actually felt familiar to her, like it might be true) and…if she had, even if she'd forgotten she was…perhaps something of it had stuck with her. She couldn't often remember her dreams, perhaps her feelings were just manifestations of them, of visions she was having that she couldn't remember.

Whatever it was…she KNEW that Loki…wasn't himself, there was something WRONG with him.

She just…didn't know what. And that was worse because not knowing what meant that there was no way she'd be able to explain it to anyone else, to make them believe her.

"LET ME OUT!" she cried again, growing more frantic as she pounded on the door. She didn't care if she bruised her hands or her knees or her foot or anything, she just wanted to get out. She didn't want to be a prisoner of these people, she didn't…

She didn't want them to use her against Loki.

Because she wouldn't put it past them to do that. They HAD done that, or they'd tried to at least. One thing they hadn't seemed to take into consideration if the…not shock but almost surprise…she'd heard in their voices when she refused to listen to Thor and demanded to be brought to Loki was anything…was that she would still trust Loki. They seemed to think that him lying about his name would lead her to doubt him, they seemed to think telling her about the crimes he had committed (both on Asgard and Earth) would set her against him. They didn't seem to realize that…she trusted him, more than the agents at the moment.

She knew that, by rights, she shouldn't trust Loki, because he HAD done all that they'd said he had. He'd let Frost Giants into Asgard, he'd attacked and killed people, but…she felt like there was more to it. She KNEW there was. They didn't seem to realize that she still retained some semblance of a memory of what had happened before she'd been apparently banished. There was more to the story that THEY didn't want to listen to, that they didn't want to investigate. And for that…she couldn't believe their side of the story.

They seemed to have forgotten that SHE had been banished for a reason, that SHE was there, she had been witness (or so it seemed) to what Loki had done and she could feel it, what they thought he'd done, what THOR thought Loki had done, was NOT at ALL what had really happened. And if that was the case for Asgard…it could be the case for Earth.

No…it WAS the case for Earth.

There was something else going on here that no one else besides her seemed to want to know about. And she hated that. They would all rather see Loki as the villain, as the enemy, than try to find out the truth. The Loki she knew, the Loki he was around her…he would NOT EVER do what they claimed he was. And yet they couldn't seem to see that.

THOR couldn't seem to see that.

She let out a breath, Thor…no matter what, she knew that the man was the true betrayer. Not just of her but of Loki. She didn't know why, true she didn't know the entire story, but…she felt it. THOR was the one responsible for all this.

"I swear to the gods you let me out of here!" she screamed, slamming her hands on the door…only to stumble back and gasp when she heard them open.

"Stop screaming!" she heard a man say, she didn't recognize his voice so she knew he had to be one of the guards. She felt him grab her hand and twist it down, "Stop struggling!" he hissed, "I'm supposed to take you to Director Fury and he wants you restrained, unless you'd rather stay here?"

She let out an irritated breath and stopped, holding out her wrists, hating the feel of the metal of the handcuffs on them once more but…if it would get her out of there…if it would mean she might get answers, she'd do it.

"Good," the man scoffed, "Let's go," he grabbed her arm and pulled her out of the room.

~8~

"Well if it isn't our guest of honor," Kona looked up in the direction of the voice that had spoken as she was led into the Bridge, knowing it was Director Fury that had called out.

"What do you want?" she asked, a bit of a spit in her voice.

"I want answers," Fury replied, a harsh quality to his voice as she was shoved down into a chair.

"Funny," she remarked, "So do I," she looked down, listening intently to the noises on the Bridge, she could hear…that it wasn't just her who was sitting there, there were…three other people sitting at the table, Fury was standing across from it and she could hear someone breathing gently beside him, likely also standing. There was another person idly pacing to the side, the steps too soft to be anything but the woman that had fought Agent Barton earlier.

The people at the table…she could recognize the sound of one man's breathing, it was Agent Barton himself, she didn't know why he was there, why he was apparently working for SHIELD now, but she didn't really care, the other two men…well, she knew they were men by their breathing and by how the chairs were creaking as they moved.

She was surrounded and she didn't like that.

"Well tough," Fury leaned in, placing his hands on the wood of the table to narrow his one eye at her.

He had managed to get Stark and Steve to finally stop bickering long enough to agree to plan this out, to plan on how to stop Loki, had to pull a bit of a dirty trick with Coulson's trading cards, talk about the Avengers that Coulson had believed in, but it got through to the men and they were willing to do what was necessary to stop Loki now. Barton and Natasha had joined them as well, Natasha vouching for Barton's recovery. It seemed the slam on the head she'd dealt him had been enough to knock Loki out of his head. It had been her idea to bring Kona in, something that Barton had been muttering when he first woke up, murmuring about Kona, had sparked an idea that perhaps Kona knew more than she was letting on if she was THAT important to Loki that Barton had been told about her, if he'd been sent to rescue Kona while the other team went after the god.

And if Kona didn't know anything…well, she was still clearly important to Loki and that could be the perfect advantage to get what they wanted, to get him to stop.

A trade.

Her for the Tesseract.

It seemed like it might even be one Loki would agree to.

"Why are you doing this?" Kona looked up in his direction, "Why am I being held as a prisoner? I didn't do anything!"

"No," Fury agreed, "But Loki did."

"He didn't," she shook her head.

Fury scoffed, "We have visual and audio evidence of the slaughtering he's inflicted on other humans," he told her, "Our Agents were there, I was there, Agent Barton was forcibly taken under Loki's control and made to do his bidding as he ruthlessly attacked and…"

"You're wrong," she insisted, jerking forward in her chair, hearing the two men on her right stiffen, the woman's pacing stop, as though she were about to attack the man, "Loki didn't do it."

"Do you want us to play the video?" the man glared, irritated at how the girl was denying all that Loki had done.

"I don't care if you do or if you don't, it WASN'T HIM."

"Are you under his control too?" the woman beside Fury asked, Agent Hill, "Has he used the Tesseract on you as well?"

"No," Barton cut in, "No she…" he swallowed, glancing at Kona feeling a…stirring in him, but he pushed it away, "She had no idea Loki was doing anything. Sir, I told you this," he looked at Fury, "She has no idea what his plans are."

Fury closed his eye and rubbed his head, he was starting to get that as well.

"Yeah, but why is she so adamant that he's innocent?" Steve had to wonder.

"Well," Stark cut in, "It's not like she SAW him doing anything."

"Stark," Natasha rolled her eyes at the dig against Kona's blindness, no matter what, you didn't poke fun at a disability.

"SHE is sitting right here," Kona threw a glare around the room, "And I have a name. It's Kona."

"Are you sure?" Fury eyed her, "Or was that something Loki called you? How much of what you think you know did HE have a hand in telling you?"

Kona shook her head, "And how much of what I can't remember is THOR's fault?" she countered, "The man on YOUR side is the reason I'm like this," she reminded them, "So don't you DARE try to tell me that what I do and don't remember is false or imply that Loki has manipulated me when the man YOU trust is the reason we're both the way we are."

The room fell silent, "What?" Hill asked, sound a bit…alarmed at that bit of information.

Kona looked down, her face scrunching as she shook her head, "I…don't know why I said that," she admitted before wincing, "No…I…I DO. Thor…cast us both out, but Loki fell somewhere else…" she nodded, "Everything that Loki does is because of what Thor did," she looked up at them, "You are casting blame in the wrong places."

"No matter the reason behind it," Fury argued, "Loki must still be held responsible for his actions, both in the past and the actions he plans to take," he frowned at Kona, "He has an army, he's planning to invade Earth and conquer it."

"Loki would never," Kona shook her head, speaking instantly, "He has never wanted to be king of anything."

She winced, rubbing her head, she didn't know why she was saying that but she knew it was true. That was why it felt so wrong, why all of this felt so WRONG to her, this…wasn't Loki. This wasn't HIM. To see him trying to conquer Earth, she couldn't reconcile that with the man from her memories, with the man who was so sweet and kind and warm to her, it just…didn't make sense.

"Times change," was all Fury said to contradict that, "And now he is. So we need to know…what do you know about Loki," he demanded, "What are his weaknesses?"

Kona shook her head, "You're asking me to betray him."

"I'm asking you to help us protect Earth, protect your home."

"Earth is NOT my home," she reminded them.

"It's the only home you've got left," Steve remarked.

"No," she turned a glare on him as she stood up so fast that the chair behind her rolled away from her, "LOKI is the only home I have left, and I will NOT betray him."

"Then you leave us no choice," Fury stated, glancing over at Natasha and nodding his head subtly, making Barton frown as he watched her walk over to Kona as quietly as she could…which was nearly silent.

"Than to what?" Kona looked at him, feeling a…pain strike her head. She winced rubbing it…seeing a flash of light behind her eyelids and gasped as an image flashed before her.

She spun around, swinging her arms around to block a punch that Natasha has been about to send her way to knock her out, grabbing the woman's wrist as she pushed, turning to twist her arm over her shoulder and yanking it down, making Natasha cry out in pain as her arm was nearly pulled from its socket.

She felt Natasha wrap her other arm around her waist, about to try and grab her and she spun around, jabbing her elbow back into the woman's face, feeling like…like it was a familiar move that someone had taught her. She moved her foot behind Natasha's and yanked it forward, knocking the woman to the ground. She turned, about to lunge for her when she felt someone wrap their arms around her waist and pull her back.

"Kona stop!" she heard Barton call in her ear and she let him pull her back…having been about to fight him too or struggle…when she felt him not pulling her away from Natasha, but away from the others, moving her behind him and standing in front of her protectively

It was then she heard it, realized that the others had all stood up and had been about to advance and attack her for attacking one of their own despite it being a defensive move on her own part.

She…didn't know how she'd done that, why she'd done that. She'd just…she'd gotten such at terrible headache just then and, the next thing she knew it was like she'd SEEN it, actually and truly seen it, seen a woman in a black catsuit with red hair behind her, jabbing her in the back of the neck to knock her out. And then she'd just…reacted, she'd…attacked her back, defended herself.

Well where had THAT been when those men had tried to attack her in the alley?

She knew where it had been, she…hadn't been as familiar with the odd things in her head as she was now. It was like…with Loki there, with all that he'd explained to her or tried to, the things that she hadn't understood in her mind made more sense. It was like she was starting to remember…without actually really remembering. She had no new memories of Asgard, nothing concrete but the things she felt like she remembered and the things she felt were stronger.

She'd just reacted and attacked and defended herself as though she had been trained to do so or taught to do so. The moves had felt familiar to her, and she knew it was Asgard, it was something she'd learned on Asgard, something…she was quite certain…that Loki had probably had a hand in teaching her.

"Agent Barton stand down!" Fury ordered, pulling her attention back to the present.

She could feel one of Barton's hands extended backwards, as though trying to keep her back, and the other was to the side, as though subtly blocking her and telling the others to keep back.

"I'm sorry sir," Barton spoke before her, a strain to his voice as though…as though he were trying very hard to do just what Fury ordered but finding himself unable to, "But I can't. I cannot let you harm her."

"Agent Barton…"

"I'm TRYING sir," Barton cut in, a small grunt in his words and she could feel him tensing, "But…I CAN'T flush that out. That's the…the most important command Loki gave me," he told them, "More important to him than even the Tesseract, her safety. I…I HAVE to protect her sir," he swallowed, "With my life if necessary."

It really was, it was the one order that he just couldn't push away. And he'd tried to. When Fury had spoken to them before Kona had been brought in, when he'd told them that if the girl didn't cooperate they would be forced to knock her out, sedate her, and chain her up to use against Loki…he had been able to keep silent. He'd literally bit his tongue to do so, the thought of them doing that to her, treating her like a criminal as opposed to a prisoner, not sitting right with him.

But now…to see Fury actually preparing to do that…it was wrong, and he couldn't stop himself from trying to defend her, protect her. Because she really had NO idea what Loki was capable of and no idea what his plans were and he COULDN'T let them hurt her and use her like that.

Fury stood there rigidly, staring down Barton but the man didn't back down, "Are you still compromised Agent Barton?" he demanded.

"No sir," Barton stated, "But…some things…stick. Some things ALWAYS stick," he gave Fury a meaningful look.

Fury's jaw tensed as he realized what Barton was getting at. This wasn't the first time the man had made a call against orders and it wouldn't be the last. He looked over at Natasha, at Steve helping her off the floor, the woman rubbing her shoulder where he knew she had to be sore from Kona's attack. He couldn't even reprimand or order the guards to seize her, not just because Barton was guarding her, but because she had acted in self defense against an attack HE ordered.

He looked at Barton again, understanding what this was about. Loki, when he'd first taken Barton under his control, had remarked that Barton had heart. Barton was…one of the better men he'd ever met, much like Steve Rogers but in a more…sly way. Barton was a master assassin yes, but he WAS a good man. He didn't attack unless he was ordered to, he didn't attack without cause, he watched over and guarded and protected…

He closed his eyes, realizing NOW why Loki had taken Barton in the first place. All along Loki had known that Kona was on Earth, all along he'd known that she would need protection. He'd CHOSEN Barton because he knew the man, once the order had been given, would protect the girl with everything he had. THAT was the sort of order that Barton's mind would latch onto, that he would hold close and refuse to let go of. It was the one order he wouldn't have an issue keeping to.

And now it was coming back to bite them all.

"Fine," Fury opened his eye to shoot Barton a hard look, "You will be responsible for the prisoner, Agent Barton," he spoke, emphasizing 'prisoner' so that Barton would understand that, no matter what command he'd been given by Loki, Kona was THEIR prisoner, "You will keep her in sight, at all times. She will be under YOUR watch. And if anything," he pointed at the man, "Slips by you…" he added with a pointed look as well, "You will have ME to answer to. Understood?"

"Understood sir," Barton slowly lowered his arm, sensing that the danger had passed for the moment.

Fury looked over at the others, "Captain," he called to Steve, "Prepare one of the shuttles. Stark, suit up. Agent Romanoff," he scoffed, shaking his head, disgusted, "Keep an eye on your partner."

Barton closed his eyes a moment, knowing he should have expected that, disobeying Fury's order before had been a sign that Loki wasn't 100 percent erased from his head, even if he was 99 percent. It was enough doubt for Fury to be concerned that he might still have a hold of him. He understood, but that didn't mean he liked it.

Really…he was just trying to be a good person.

He looked over, watching as the other men stalked out of the room, Natasha watching him warily, "Tasha…" he began, but she shook her head and moved away, to the other side of the room, still keeping an eye on him but not standing near him.

He sighed, rubbing his head.

"Thank you," he heard Kona murmur from behind him as he turned to look at her over his shoulder.

"I didn't do it for you," he muttered.

"Yes you did," she countered, "Loki may have ordered you to watch out for me…but you're CHOOSING to do it now," she looked into his eyes, even though she couldn't see it, "Because you're a good man, and…you have heart," she added quietly.

He stiffened and looked at her.

"I…saw it," she whispered, looking down, "I had a dream about…about Loki appearing, in…a room with a cube and YOU and Fury and…I saw it happen."

Barton eyed her closely, he'd been startled hearing her repeat the words Loki had said to him. He'd worked out what Fury had, the reason why HE'D been chosen to be taken by Loki, why HE had been ordered to protect her. Because he was like a hawk, he really was, he observed, he fought, he protected.

"If you saw that, then you saw what he did to the others," Barton countered, "You saw him attack them, you saw him kill them."

She shook her head, "What I saw and what was actually happening are two very different things," she murmured. She looked around the room, unable to see the people within yet he saw her gaze drift over Hill and Fury and even Natasha, lingering on them as though she knew where they were. Before she shook her head and looked back at him, "I may be blind, Agent Barton, but I have ALWAYS been able to see Loki. More than anyone else. More than even Thor."

She swallowed, not knowing where that was coming from but…knowing it was true. She felt like it was familiar, like she'd said it before, and just…couldn't argue with it anymore. She stopped arguing a while ago. Now that she knew that her memories were missing and why, that there was some sort of magic involved…she just went with it for now. For all she knew, what she felt and remembered had actually happened at one point or another.

"Or maybe you really ARE blinded to him," Barton countered, but feeling…uneasy about how SURE she sounded of what she was saying. It was like she had complete faith that what she was saying was true, that everything they thought was wrong and that SHE was right, "You know what they say about love."

She looked down a moment, knowing that what Barton was implying about her feelings were true. He had been there when Loki had come to see her, he had seen them kiss, had seen them together. She hadn't exactly said it at least…not from what she could truly remember…but she knew it was true.

"Yes," she nodded, "You're right, I DO love him. Very much," she looked up at him, "But the same is also true about hate, isn't it?" she let out a scoffing breath, "Maybe YOU all are seeing what you want to see. Maybe you're trying to see an enemy in him."

"Or maybe you're trying to see a hero where one doesn't exist," Barton frowned, it was…alarming how much trust she had in Loki despite knowing what he'd done, despite the man himself having admitted to attacking and killing people, she kept treating it like it was a giant lie, "Maybe you're letting your 'hate' of Thor influence you towards Loki."

Kona shook her head, "I don't hate Thor," she told him, startling him, given the reaction Natasha had told him about he was fully expecting it to be the opposite, "I may be terrified of him, but I don't hate him," she took a breath, "There is…something happening Agent Barton, that you can't see…that NONE of you can see."

He eyed her a moment, suspicious of what that could be, "What is it?"

She let out a breath, "I don't know," she admitted, "But just…" she glanced around the room, speaking quietly, "I…need you to trust me. Please. It's NOT Loki."

"Agent Barton!" he looked over, hearing Fury call him, "Time to go."

Barton nodded, before reaching out to take Kona's arm, "We need to leave," he muttered, turning to lead her off.

Kona closed her eyes as she was led away, tensing, not liking how people kept leading her everywhere. It was one thing when Loki did it…she didn't like it when others did. She didn't trust them, especially now, she just…didn't trust them at all. They hadn't given her a single reason to.

She took a breath, walking faster as they went on, she just hoped that everything would be ok. But no matter what she couldn't make herself believe that it would be. Because she felt like…what was coming was going to be terrible, for everyone and she just hoped she'd be able to get them to see what SHE saw in Loki. Because she knew that they would attack him first without question, they would attack him and fight him and hurt him…

And she couldn't let that happen.

A/N: Kona seems very set to believe Loki's not the villain here...hmm...I wonder why? I can say it has much more to do than just loving him }:) But we'll have to wait and see. I really wanted to put this original chapter in to show not only her faith in Loki but a bit of her old self appearing and explain Barton and his reaction to that particular command :) He always struck me as a good man in heart and I could see an order like that sticking with him no matter what.

Ought to make the battle interesting no? }:)

Oh! Also, I'm putting a poll up on my profile for a sort of 'pairing name' for Loki/Kona :) I'll announce the winner at the end of this story on the 12th ;) It should be up within an hour :)

Some notes on reviews...

I can say Kona's blindness will definitely start to shape into an advantage very soon ;)

We'll definitely see more on Loki's thoughts on the Chitauri and the voice in his head :) There'll be a reason why he keeps sort of pushing it away and yet why he acts the way he does around Kona (like normal) :)

I don't like how they treat her either :( Sort of worse here as they see her as the enemy. Even though she hasn't actually done anything, her silence and refusal to help (even when she literally can't because she truly doesn't know) puts he rin a bad light with them :( Good thing Barton was there :)