Chapter 10
Raven ordered another coffee and while sipping it, she actually started to question her sanity. After all, it wasn't really her fault that things had done wrong today; it was due to a series of unexpected circumstances she should rather blame Loki for because he had failed to tell her of his suspicion concerning Selvig.
She wondered when Selvig had turned Jane. Since he was friends with Thor and Jane there must have been plenty of opportunities but she assumed it had happened in the course of the last day- Thor must have told him of his impending departure and Selvig had panicked, afraid of losing the Tesseract. That was the most sensible explanation.
If there was any sense in this mess. After all, she had decided to travel to Asgard in order to set things right and warn Thor.
Great. Wonderful. Severus would simply love that.
Heaving a sigh, Raven shot a brief glance at Loki. Of course, she understood his reluctance- he had a lot to fear if he went back to Asgard and acknowledging that fear was no lack of bravery in her eyes. Only a fool would jump headlong into danger without even considering the risks, and Loki was definitely no fool.
Nevertheless, he had agreed to lead her into Asgard if she could manage to fix that Chitauri aircraft. Well, she couldn't. She was a witch, not an engineer. Therefore, her hopes were on Tony, who had already confirmed his cooperation and seemed to be eager to start tinkering.
But before they left for headquarters, there was still one thing she had to address.
"Tony, you may think you fell into rabbit hole, and we are actually going to meet Alice soon- don't be disappointed if she doesn't look like you expect her to- but this place here is not Wonderland. It's reality." Her face took on a more serious expression now. "It is a world that exists next to the one you know, and it has laws just like yours. Tonight, I broke one of them-"
"Why does that not surprise me?" Tony cut in, implying that she broke more than just one law this night. But when he saw the look on her face he was wise enough to keep his mouth shut for her to continue.
"The International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy is a law to safeguard the wizarding community from Muggles and hide its presence- I infringed upon it by taking you to the Mall. However, I wouldn't have taken you here in the first place if I weren't certain I can trust you with a secret."
Tony shot her a shrewd glance, then he nodded. "I appreciate your honesty. My lips are sealed."
Raven dropped a handful of strange and somewhat ancient looking silver coins on the table to pay for their coffees, before she led Tony and Loki further through the Magical Manhattan Mall and to another magical elevator that would take them upstairs to where Tony had parked his car. From there it would only be a short ride to headquarters... if the coast was clear, if her Memory Modifying Charm had actually worked and was still lasting, if S.H.I.E.L.D wasn't after them with the full force of their abilities, sending helicopters with infrared cameras and stuff like that.
They reappeared from the Wizarding world to the relative quietness of a sunny morning in the Muggle world. Of course, there were the noises of the city (which was never quiet) but no sound of helicopters, nor were any agents of S.H.I.E.L.D to be seen roaming the park, trying to hunt them down. No one seemed to be after them.
They got into Tony's car. Probably it was one of many but for for today he'd chosen a small and racy one with hardly enough space for three people. Soon they were on their way to WIIA headquarters.
Raven thought it would be a lot of fun to confront the guys with the ghost of Frank, the flower shop owner, but since she didn't know if Tony could see him at all- and it was a silly idea anyway- she opted for driving into the garage instead.
A simple Unlocking Charm opened a secret door to the subterranean parking lot which held the fleet of WIIA cars, most of them old and battered. Although wizards knew of better ways of transport than driving (especially if you considered the traffic in New York City) there were situations when a car was useful, and these old ones were probably less suspicious than the typical big, dark vehicles that organisations like S.H.I.E.L.D were so fond of.
While they walked along a narrow, dimly-lit corridor from the garage to Alice Steel's office, Raven took a deep breath. She had briefed her boss earlier about her plan to break into S.H.I.E.L.D central in order to get the Tesseract, and Al had been okay with that. Raven doubted, though, that she would be pleased with the final outcome... after all, things had gone pretty wrong. She also doubted Al would like her newest plan- travelling to Asgard to set things right.
On the other hand, her boss was probably much easier to convince of the necessity than her dear husband... Raven thought of the argument they'd had earlier today and couldn't help but feel guilty for hoping Alice would make it an official assignment. Simply because the old Auror still had an adventurous streak-
Damn! Almost instantly, she regretted her train of thoughts. She loved Severus; she was happy with him. He was her best friend, her lover, her husband. All was well. Life was perfect.
But at the same time there was that nagging feeling troubling her, particularly in moments like these when happiness didn't seem to satisfy her, when she wanted more- the thrill of adventure, of seeing and experiencing something new, something exciting. Travelling new ways, visiting a new world...
It even showed in her vita. Never stopping, always searching. That's why she knew the basics of many things but wasn't an expert in anything. So unlike Severus, who was the only steady thing in her life. He knew what he wanted, and he had worked hard to gain his reputation of being one of the world's best potion's master; that conference in Kathmandu, lasting for a fortnight, was his big chance to prove the world that he was probably the best.
The only time she had shown endurance and persistence was when she had strived to win Sev's love so many years ago, knowing they were meant to be together. She had had to face years of rejection because he had been in love with the idea of loving Lily- Saint-Lily-on-the-pedestal- therefore, Raven knew what it was like to live in the shadow of someone else's greatness... it was probably a reason why she understood Loki so well, why he had let go and didn't want to return to Asgard...
That moment, they reached the door to Alice Steel's office. Raven took another deep breath, knocked, and entered.
"Hi Al!" She greeted the old Auror, who was sitting behind her desk just like she always did; Alice Steel seemed to be living in her office. Raven, however, knew that her friend and mentor did have a private life and not really a quiet one. "May I introduce to you-"
"I know who they are." Alice rose from her chair in order to greet Tony and Loki, limping ever so slightly in the process. She had scars of many battles; some were visible while others were not, but no one in their sane state of mind would have dared to underestimate her, mistaking her for an old and disabled witch, because in spite of all her scars she still radiated an air of authority and power.
"Mr Stark, I'm pleased to meet the infamous Iron Man." She smiled at Tony before she turned her head to face the Asgardian. "Loki, son of Frigga, welcome to Midgard."
Loki frowned at her; although it was nice to finally being welcomed to this realm, that was probably the most unusual way he'd ever been addressed and he thought about reminding the old witch that either Odinson or Laufeyson were more appropriate names to entitle him... but then he thought about it again and refrained from voicing any protest because he actually liked that- son of Frigga. It had a nice ring (much nicer than Laufeyson anyway), even if she wasn't his real mother. She had not given birth to him, but she had given him more than anyone else when she had shared her magic with him.
And the old witch knew that.
Al smirked ever so slightly before she focussed her attention on Raven again, asking almost casually, "So, lass, what went wrong? Don't tell me you only came here to introduce these two charming boys to me."
Tony arched a brow. Of course he was used to be called charming, but it had been a while since someone has called him boy- on the other hand, he'd never met anyone as old (in an obvious way, not counting Thor or Loki who were even older but they were demigods from a faraway world) as Alice Steel.
Meanwhile, Raven gave her boss a short but efficient briefing about last night's events.
In the end, the old Auror nodded and glanced at Loki as if she was expecting him to add anything.
He shrugged. "Odin is vain but he won't present the Tesseract in a big parade; he will keep it in his vault where it is just as useless as all the other relics he collected. I doubt a mortal woman like Jane Foster will manage to break into the vault and steal it."
"He will keep it securely locked up in that vault all the time?" Al asked.
"Yes. Asgard is in no need of a meddling little witch to come and save it." Loki stole a quick glance at Raven, quite pleased with himself, when all of a sudden he realized the flaw in his plan. He cursed quietly. "Damn. Odin will use the Tesseract to restore the Bifrost-"
"Whoa! Stop!" Tony interjected in an alarmed tone. "Did you just say Odin will use one powerful energy source to... um, sort of kick-start another one which is a bridge between worlds? Sorry, rhetorical question. I assume- correct me if I'm wrong- that the combined powers of the Tesseract and the Bifrost will be all a clever and corrupted astrophysicist like our dear Jane Foster needs to open another portal-"
"Now you're wrong, Stark." Loki cut him off, but his face didn't show the satisfaction his words indicated. "There is no need to open a portal; the Bifrost itself is the portal."
"Yeah, right, that bridge between worlds thing..."
"Between the nine realms of Yggdrasil." Loki corrected him again.
"With the power of the Tesseract it may be possible to open the bridge beyond the borders of your nine realms. It's an invitation for the Chitauri to invade Asgard." Tony concluded.
"They will fall on thousands of Asgardian blades. The Chitauri forces lack finesse; they're no match for the Einherjar, our army of elite warriors."
"Who will be totally unprepared."
"Tony is right." Raven said. "Your people have to be warned, even if you don't care about anyone in Asgard-"
"Heimdall." Loki interrupted her. "He sees and hears everything. He will notice Thor's beloved mortal is being controlled by the Other, and he will tell Thor."
"He sees and hears everything? He will notice? Really? Just like he noticed you were... um, heavily influenced by the Chitauri?"
"Well, maybe he doesn't see and hear that much of everything." Loki replied casually, but he paled at the thought that Heimdall might have witnessed what had happened in Chitauri space. Then he shook his head. "Heimdall thought I was dead; he wasn't looking for me. I was galaxies away and he celebrated my demise. He never liked me much and since I turned him into an icicle he probably hates me."
"Whoa, you turned him into an icicle?" Tony asked, sounding slightly amused.
"He defied my orders as King of Asgard!" Loki snapped in a defensive tone. "I had to punish him for his act of treason."
"Ho! Don't take offence, Frosty. Just show me that trick in case I want to put the Captain back on ice." Tony quipped casually. Although they had fought together successfully, he still couldn't shake off a certain feeling of resentment, mainly because his father had never shut up about that guy.
Both men were smirking now; it eased the mood for a moment before Raven continued, spoiling it again.
"Anyway, that Heimdall guy may or may not notice what's wrong with Jane. Thor didn't notice and he spent all day with her. Either she's good at hiding it- which I doubt- or the Other uses her cooperation only in moments that suits him best. Therefore, it is still possible she will open the Bifrost for the Chitauri. But what will happen to her in the chaos of battle that will most likely ensue, then? Will your elite Asgardian warriors kill her and plunge Thor into despair because he lost the one he loves? Is that what you want, Loki? Do you really hate him that much?"
He chose to not reply, and although he tried to keep up a straight face, Raven noticed his uncertainty. It showed in tiny little expressions he just couldn't hide... no, he didn't hate Thor. He wanted to be light-years away from him, but it wasn't out of hatred. It was because he'd grown so weary of living in the shadow of his brother's apparent greatness, of always being second best.
Raven knew that feeling. Although Severus had chosen her over Lily in the end, and they were happy together for more than thirty years now, she had never forgotten how it was to live in the shadow of someone else.
"Loki," she whispered softly as she took a step closer to him, "It's not my intention to push you, or corner you. I know what's at stake for you if you return to Asgard... all I'm asking you is to show me the way."
Alice Steel cleared her throat. "You forgot to mention you're planning a little trip abroad, lass."
"Well, that's what we've been talking about this entire time..."
"Tell her it's madness!" Loki addressed the old Auror, hoping for her support. But she let him down, arching a stern white brow at him.
"Is it? What's madness anyway? Was it madness that sprang you from jail or Raven's stubborn belief that you're worth saving?" She asked calmly.
"Oh, you want to remind me that I owe her?"
Loki was back in a defensive mode. Raven shot Al a dark glance and sighed; things seemed to go totally wrong.
"Damn. This is not about collecting a debt." Actually, she had hoped she might be able to give him a gentle shove towards redemption he wasn't actively seeking. He didn't even consider trying to atone for his crimes, his fault, his follies. Perhaps he thought the price too high, and he would definitely risk a lot if he returned to Asgard, but there was also a lot to gain. She knew Thor would forgive Loki almost everything if he helped saving Jane Foster. It was a chance that might never come back, and Raven wanted him to take it, even if it was only grudgingly and she had to manipulate him a little.
"Do we still have a deal?" She was standing very close to him now, and her voice was a low whisper, bewitching him.
Loki stared at he for a long, indecisive moment, cursing her sparkling blue eyes, the soft smile on her lips, and the overall fact that she was a female and he hadn't been with one for what felt like ages... of course, he was aware that she used flirtation as a means of manipulation, but he enjoyed their little game too much to mind. Simply because she didn't even try to hide her poor attempt to outwit him.
It didn't make her more predictable, though.
Actually, he liked that, too.
"Show me that Chitauri chariot," he said at long last.
-ooOoo-
At first glance, WIIA headquarters didn't differ much from other investigative and intelligence agencies; perhaps it was less formal than the FBI and more casual than S.H.I.E.L.D. The people he saw on their way down the corridors weren't wearing suits or uniforms, and for a moment Tony almost forgot the rabbit hole he had fallen into. The offices they passed were equipped with computers and other technical devices just like everywhere else in the world- his world, he reminded himself- and they didn't appear as technically outdated as he would have expected. But after having met Director Alice Steel, who was quite a formidable person, he wasn't much surprised because he was quite certain she wouldn't tolerate anything less than the best.
Here and there he spotted an employee looking kinda weird, wearing billowing robes and a pointed hat; most of the agents, however, were dressed in a normal way.
Just like in every other base of an investigative organisation, there were a fair number of laboratories and workshops he could steal a glance at. From what he could see, they were also well equipped with modern technology- then they passed a potions lab and his eyes almost bulged at the sight of simmering cauldrons emitting colourful fumes, and in the dim light he saw ingredients he didn't really want to identify.
Loki noticed his unease and chuckled darkly.
Tony turned around to glare at him, but before he could say anything witty, he nearly got decapitated by a broomstick soaring over his head.
"Agent Primrose!" Raven barked in a sharp tone. "No broomstick races in the corridors!"
"Sorry, Ma'am," the young agents replied remorseful as he made an U-turn and came flying back towards them, "but the evidence escaped."
Tony thought he was just making a jest in order to evade her reprimand when he heard the snapping sound of sharp-toothed jaws. He cast a glance in the direction where it came from and stared in disbelief at the shrunken head dangling bodiless in mid-air right in front of his face, baring its yellowish teeth at him.
Before it could bite off his nose, Agent Primrose snatched the shrunken head by its ponytail of bright green hair and held it up it triumph.
"Got it!"
"Fantastic, Agent Primrose!" The sarcasm was dripping from Raven's words, "but you're aware that you wouldn't have to chase the evidence if you kept to one simply rule, are you?"
"Yes, Ma'am," the young agent had gotten off his broom and was standing in front of her now, his gaze lowered to the floor. "I will keep the door of the lab closed when examining dangerous evidence."
Then he risked a glance at the two man accompanying Raven. It was plain to see he recognized the famous Tony Stark and would have asked for his autograph if not for the stern expression on Raven's face. Since she was not only a senior agent, several level above him, but also the right hand of Alice Steel, he thought it wiser to not anger her even more. Therefore, he mounted his broomstick again and flew back to where he'd come from.
"And I thought that was just another myth- witches riding on broomsticks... except that he was a guy, a wizard." Tony said as they continued their way.
"Well, there are some traditions that'll never die," Raven replied, "like riding brooms or playing Quidditch-"
"Quidditch?"
"The most popular wizarding sport. However, the wizarding kids of today aren't as traditional as many of my generation are; they post the latest Quidditch results on Facebook and share them with their friends... a lot of things have changed since the invention of smartphones... " She fell silent for a while, pondering if things had changed for the better or the worse but couldn't make up her mind. Fortunately, neither Tony nor Loki expected her to.
A moment later they reached the room where the Chitauri spacecraft was being kept, standing there like an exhibit in a museum. There was even a chair on which you could sit and watch it. Apart from that, the room was empty.
Loki cast a fleeting glance at the chariot, and noticed, "It's broken."
Then he turned around in an attempt to leave the room, but Raven grabbed his arm to stop him
"I told you it crashed into Sev's greenhouse! Of course that leaves a scratch or two."
"Scratch? The whole front part including the handlebar is damaged."
"Well, that's what we've got Mr Technogod for."
"Oh, you're talking about me?" Tony had already walked closer to the Chitauri ship in order to give it a more scrutinizing glance.
"No, you're definitely not a god." Loki replied in a snappish tone. It was obvious he had hoped that the chariot was badly damaged, so Raven would have to give up her idiotic idea of travelling to Asgard, but he had forgotten that Tony might be able to repair it.
"A god like you?" Tony countered, sounding quite cheerful as he doubted Loki's divinity.
Fortunately, Loki was not in the mood to quarrel over it. He merely said, "Tell the witch you cannot fix it. Apparently, it is beyond repair or the wizarding agents of this fine organisation here would have done it already."
"Um..." Raven cut in, "I'm pretty sure no one has ever tried to fix it, simply because there are limits to the technical understanding of wizards and witches. We just don't care about the rules of physics. No matter how modern and advanced we are, our knowledge of technology is limited to operating technical devices without having a clue how these things work."
"Well, I assume the majority of non-witchy folks don't have a clue 'bout the technology of a smartphone either, and yet everyone's using them... but, yeah, I got your point. Physics and hocus-pocus don't match."
"In Asgard, they do." The words slipped Loki's lips and although he bit his tongue, he couldn't take them back. It had been his intention to mock the poorly advanced technology of Midgard, but instead he had just foolishly offered Tony his assistance. And Tony accepted it with a good-natured clap on his shoulder.
"Now that Frosty is going to help me, I'm certain we'll manage to fix that monstrous flying alien jet-ski. But," he took a look around the room and shook his head, "we can't do it here. I need Jarvis to run a diagnostic check on the actuation system and acceleration first, then I have to do a bit of tinkering here and there... so, we have to take it to Stark Tower- top ten floors all R&D-"
"I doubt it will fit in your vehicle." Loki reminded him.
Tony realized the problem at once and produced his phone in order to organize a truck, but before he could even dial any number, Raven had already brandished her wand and was aiming it at the Chitauri chariot.
"Whoa! What are you up to now?"
She muttered a spell, and Tony almost dropped his phone when he saw the alien spacecraft shrinking in size until it looked like a toy Chitauri chariot.
Raven picked it up and handed it to him with a smile on her face.
"I guess that solves the problem. Don't worry, the spell doesn't influence any technical aspect- I use it on my Harley every time I have to travel abroad and want to take it along. I will enlarge it again once it is in your tower, but first I have to inform Al that we took it."
While Loki left with Tony, heading for the garage, Raven took another deep breathe before she entered the office of her boss for the second time today. Without the guys around, Al might be less reluctant to chide her for her crazy idea of travelling to Asgard.
But the old Auror merely heaved a sigh and glanced at her protégé for a long time, then she asked a single question. "Do you thinks it's wise to trust him?"
Of course, she meant Loki.
"I've never been wise," Raven replied with a smile, "but I'm not foolish either. I know that Loki is not the most trustworthy person in the universe. However, in the end it doesn't matter if I trust him; all that matters is if he trusts me. If he does- and I believe he's at least beginning to- I won't let him down, and he won't betray me."
"I understand your strategy, and I hope you're right. Do me a favour and be careful, lass."
"Does that mean you green-light my trip to Asgard?"
"Only if you promise to come back safe and sound, because otherwise your dear husband will kill me..."
"Yeah, Sev will hate the very idea." Raven agreed.
"Ah," Al waved aside that thought with an impatient gesture, her green eyes sparkling mischievously, "don't worry about him. If I was as young as you are, I wouldn't want to miss the chance to see a new world, either. Just take care and keep me briefed on how you're proceeding with that alien spacecraft."
-ooOoo-
When Raven arrived at Stark Tower, Tony and Loki were cheerfully bitching at each other over the fact that Loki had not deemed it necessary to wait for her to enlarge the chariot, but had done it himself. Now Tony was fretting that the Asgardian might have blotched it up while frantically checking several computer screens of data Jarvis had provided him with.
"She said there's a special counter hocus-pocus!" Tony stressed.
"And I countered her hocus-pocus," Loki replied casually, lounging on a sofa that stood in the workshop as he watched the other man bustling from one screen to the other.
"Hey guys! Having fun?" Raven chirped as she entered the workshop, glancing around.
There were work benches piled with blueprints, tools, and what looked like half-finished pieces of armour, while at the other end of the room a complete Iron Man suit was standing. Raven knew his suits were numbered from Mark I to whatever number he had reached by now.
"Frosty chose to not wait for your return but enlarged the alien jet-ski on his own." Tony said in an accusing tone without even looking up from his holographic computer screens.
"I noticed." She sat down on the sofa next to Loki and stretched her legs, feeling tired. It's been a long, exhausting and exciting day that had started much too early the previous morning with Loki's nightmares. Now, more than twenty-four hours and some adventures later, she glanced at him and envied him for not looking as tired as she felt. But more than that she was curious to hear how he'd managed to counter her spell if he did really know as little about Midgardian magic as he claimed.
It was obvious he would have loved to keep her in the dark about it; he hesitated for a moment before he finally shrugged and replied with a smug smile on his face, "I simply reversed the magic you used."
Simple but effective, Raven realized when she checked the magical aura of the chariot; her charm had been lifted without using a specific counter-curse- and, what was even more important, without causing any more damage to the Chitauri spacecraft.
She arched a surprised brow at him because she had half-expected him to sabotage her plan of travelling to Asgard and with it the only means of transport that might get her there. But he had resisted that chance, which just proved she was right to trust in him, and that he wouldn't betray her if she did.
"Good move," she said appreciatory.
"We already established earlier that Asgardian and Midgardian magic doesn't differ much- except, of course, that you're much too fond of incantations and all that silly wand-waving."
Yeah, she remembered that- he had claimed she could do magic without using her wand, and she had replied that there was actually one spell she could do wandlessly, namely... Accio Wand. She could wandlessly Summon her wand. He had been amused.
Now, she ignored his comment and directed her attention to Tony instead, asking him to give her a briefing on the damage caused to the chariot due to its crash into Sev's greenhouse, and what it would take to repair that.
Tony gave a lengthy reply. He started with listing what was broken- and that was the only part of his monologue Raven got, simply because the damage was obvious. But then he continued with a lot of technobabble, and there she lost the threat. Whatever it needed to get the chariot back in the air and capable of travelling to other realms or planets, it sounded like Chinese villages or African tribes to her. Meaning, she had absolutely no clue of what he was talking about.
Soon, her eyelids became very heavy...
-ooOoo-
"I'm impressed. You managed to lull her to sleep with your babble."
Loki had joined Tony at the holographic projection screens in order to check the data Jarvis provided them with, but when he didn't hear a word from Raven for a while, he turned his head to cast a fleeting glance in her direction and saw her dozing on the sofa. He smirked.
"You like her, eh?"
Loki shrugged it off as if Tony's words were totally ludicrous, then he said casually, "I had worse allies. Compared to the Chitauri, she's quite pleasant."
"You really are a charmer. I'm wondering if you're ever lucky with girls if the nicest you can think of is to admit she's more pleasant than a bunch of alien freaks."
"Do me a favour and mind your own business, Stark. You're mistaking my interest for sentiments I do not possess, and if I seemed to be flirting with her it was just for the fun of manipulation."
"Oh, indeed?" Tony cocked a brow at the Asgardian. "Strangely, to me it seemed as if she bested you in that. She wound you 'round her little finger-"
"Don't be absurd!" Loki cut him off. "I merely allowed her to believe she's got the upper hand."
"Yeah, sure." It was obvious that Tony didn't believe him, but instead of unnecessarily exhausting that point, he said in a more conciliatory tone, "You know, Frosty, after all she's done for you, it's about time you come to trust her."
"Trust her? Just like you do, Stark? You speak of trust, and yet you don't put all your cards on the table, either. You lied to her the morning before when she asked what is troubling you. You always pretend to be different but you're just as dishonest as I am."
"I told her it's something personal."
"Something personal? In S.H.I.E.L.D's secret files? You aren't even a good liar."
"Um..." It didn't happen often that Tony Stark was at a loss and couldn't come up with a witty remark. He stared at Loki, wondering why he had to defend himself anyway. Maybe it was because Loki was right. At least a little. Yes, he had lied to Raven, and he knew that she knew it. But what he had discovered in Fury's secret files was so was so horrendous, so atrocious, it still gave him the creeps. He tried to keep telling himself that perhaps he had simply misinterpreted something- after all, he didn't know much about medicine, so probably he was making a fuss about something that wasn't really worth fretting about, which was the only reason he hadn't called Bruce yet... he didn't want Bruce to laugh and ask if he'd watched too many horror movies lately...
Lost in thoughts, Tony operated the coffee machine that sat in the corner of his workshop, and a little later, the smell of freshly grounded coffee filled the room.
But before he could take a sip, Loki had snatched the mug out of his hand and was taking it to Raven, rousing her.
"Wake up, little witch," he said with a devious smile, "Tony's dying to tell you what he lied about before."
Rotten little bastard, Tony thought while Raven sat up with a groan, running sleepy fingers through her hair as she greedily reached for the mug in Loki's hand.
After she had taken a few sips of the brew, Raven arched a quizzical brow at Tony. "What do you want to tell me?"
Meanwhile, Loki had taken a comfortable seat on the sofa next to her, expectantly glancing at Tony.
She noticed his unease at once; in spite of what Loki claimed, Tony didn't really want to talk about the things that still seemed to worry him as much as on the previous day.
"I... um..." He busied himself with the coffee machine again, feeling cornered. His pulse rate was accelerating and he had to fight the urge to call 'Deploy' and hide in one of his suits- they were all there, his latest creations, looking so tempting, so protective and safe...
"Tony," Raven said in a soft, assuring tone, "I'm not pressing you, calm down. You don't have to tell me anything if you don't want to."
Loki heaved a disappointed sounding sigh, and perhaps it was just that what finally sparked Tony's decisiveness.
After all, she had taken him to hocus-pocus-wonderland even though it was forbidden...
'I wouldn't have taken you here in the first place if I weren't certain I can trust you with a secret.'
"Okay... well, then... you studied medicine, if I recall correctly?"
"Only for three years," Raven reminded him, nevertheless he approached her with a tablet and handed it to her. The text seemed to show the health record of a middle-aged man. She skimmed it and was just about to tell Tony that she wasn't the right person to ask since she had tried to avoid living patients during her years at the medical school- after all, she had wanted to become a medical examiner, the Miss Quincy of the wizarding world, and not a doctor- but when she scrolled further down, she saw it was actually a death certificate.
"Well," she said then, "it seems the guy is dead. Stabbed in the back by a pointed object-"
"Yes. Yes, I know that." Tony stared at Loki with narrowed eyes.
"Oh shit!" Raven exclaimed when realisation hit her. "That guy is Agent Coulson."
The silence that followed was an uncomfortable one. Tony didn't have to confirm it, and Loki was too busy picking invisible lint from his trousers to make an attempt and defend himself.
"So, what do you want to know from me now, Tony? Are you wondering if Coulson could have been saved?" She shrugged. "I don't think so. The blade sliced through multiple vital organs; he died of massive internal bleeding." Raven scrolled down some more and frowned upon noticing, "They made a virtual autopsy."
Although it was obvious what and even who had killed him- she cast a brief glance at Loki, who avoided her eyes, but she doubted he was truly feeling guilty- the fact that S.H.I.E.L.D had opted for a virtual autopsy, using only MRI and CT as means of examinations, bewildered her a little. She had thought they would do it more... thoroughly.
Before she could voice her astonishment, Tony spoke up.
"Fury wants to bring him back. Is that possible?"
"In Pet Sematary, it is." It sounded like a jest with pop culture references, but his words rang an alarm and caused a cold shiver to run down Raven's spine. She tried to shake off the feeling of unease that had befallen her by giving Tony a more logical and scientifically plausible answer. "Coulson died the day of the attack on New York City. His heart stopped beating due to the drop of blood pressure caused by internal bleeding. They didn't even try to revive him, which means his brain suffered irreversible damage, and his death certificate was issued a day later. Even S.H.I.E.L.D with all its advanced technology cannot bring back a man dead for days."
"And yet, Fury means to do exactly that." Tony insisted.
"No matter how much I dislike Fury, I doubt he's in the zombie business- because that's all he would gain by trying to resurrect Coulson, who's as brain-dead as overcooked cauliflower. A zombie. And Fury isn't versed in the Dark Arts, let alone in magic in general, to achieve even that. Fortunately. Because there are rules to magic you simply do not overstep."
Her world had its share of Dark Lords; it was enough to last for a lifetime, and she was certain no new one had silently arisen just to tempt Fury. Tony must have misunderstood something...
"Well, look at Project T.A.H.I.T.I."
She would have loved to do so, but Loki had already snatched the tablet from her and was scrolling down the page. Frowning, he said, "I agree to the witch- even if the idea of creating an army of undead soldiers marching to my pipe is tempting- there are some rules even I wouldn't break thoughtlessly... but, apparently, Fury found a way. What is GH-325?"
"I thought you could tell me." Tony glanced at Raven, who was leaning over Loki's shoulder in order to read the text displayed on the tablet. "Is it a magical serum?"
"No." She looked up and shook her head. "We prefer to call things for what they are, like Babbling Beverage, Draught of Peace, Garotting Gas, Magical Mess Remover, Strengthening Solution, Wolfsbane Potion- you see, we're using names instead of letters and numbers. Whatever that GH-325 is, it is definitely not of magical origin. And whatever Fury is up to, he will fail. There's nothing you can do about it, Tony. Agent Phil Coulson is dead. He died almost a fortnight ago; he's a vegetable by now. Let him rest in peace and focus on our main problem instead." She pointed at the Chitauri chariot. "Get that thing back up in the air again."