Don't own anything except original characters. All material (c) to respective owners. I write these for fun and make no profit. They're just random plot bunnies that live within my strange mind
A/N: New chapters up, more coming. Thanks for reading I appreciate it. :)
Chapter 10: One Moment
"How are you doing?"
I pause lifting a brow surprised by the soft feminine voice. I hadn't expected her to care let alone worry about my welfare. What was Natasha's plan? Prove me a threat to the Avengers and leave me to ponder the forever puzzle of Loki?
"Surviving," I managed staring across the city roofs to the towers. "Trying to grasp my sanity."
"He's difficult to decipher. Personally I am surprised you've survived these encounters and still sounded calm. We will be doing sweeps be ready for us."
I can't believe it but maybe Natasha finally got the hint, I wasn't part of Loki's idealistic army and needed help before I fell into a hell of my own making. I continue to pace hearing the door open and turn sharply seeing Loki has emerged from wherever he crawled to after our morning tiff.
"Is this what mortals call lovers quarrels?" I stare at him my mouth hanging open caught off guard. "I should not find you attractive in any sense. I should see you as a slave an amusing pet. Not some she witch that somehow has any semblance to being an equal."
"I'm not your equal Loki…I also resent being called a witch."
"That is the problem. Why do I find myself wanting to treat you humanely?" I stare at him unable to answer that myself. "I find you the one bewitching me. Captivating me and taking away the semblance I have of myself." His voice slowly starts to rise verging on ranting before he suddenly goes deadly quiet.
"You the one that lured yourself into that trap…I didn't ask to be taken." He comes out of that strange silence his eyes darting to mine a confused expression hinting at his features.
"Did someone mention a trap?" I pause realizing the voice belongs to Tony and know that my time to argue with Loki is for the moment not my choice.
"I was drawn to you and still am. I do in fact care for your wellbeing." Loki pauses his face growing strangely stony. "The trap of affection is hard to deny."
He stares at me searching my expression before seemingly getting the message. I meet his gaze and very carefully form one silent word. 'Run' I hear the others in the earpiece, Tony mentioning he can see me and hear Thor say he will take out his brother. I see need for self-preservation kick in and watch Loki move quickly into the apartments. I turn sharply hearing someone behind me and pause when she catches my hand with a subtle smirk.
"A little raw but good fluid movement." I smile regardless of the Loki situation and feel at ease when the others arrive from all directions. "Steve gave me the boost for the drop in and-
"Miss me?" I laugh at the dirty look Natasha offers Tony as he lands in front of us as if taking all the credit. "I resent your opinion…the towers look good from here, royalty would like to live there."
"Royal ego driven people with no fashion sense." I laugh softly at the unpleasant look I receive for the comment before feeling a heavy thud and turning watching cracks appear where Hulk landed. ''Hi big green."
"Hulk smash!"
"No civilian casualties, only smash Loki." Hulk looks put off by the order but does move swiftly down several floors careful of hurting anyone other than who he was ordered to. "Thor has Loki cornered and needs our help." Steve takes off with Tony following in hot pursuit.
I wait with Natasha on the roof knowing full well that Hulk is probably down heading of his attempt to flee. This time Loki made one major mistake, he didn't call me as the threat to his freedom. I find that it hurt, wrenching my heart but I refused to acknowledge my feelings on the matter for the moment.
I follow Natasha slowly inside the familiar apartments before we both make our way to the missing doors where I assumed Loki locked them on his way to freedom. Glancing out in the hall I see one solid hall of crème walls and a deep ruby woven rug leading to a set of stairs and an elevator. I realize that he had a lot of pull to get his own personal floor, despite that I follow Natasha who leads the way down the stairs. I do my best to maintain her pace before I see the bottom floor is missing a considerable amount of wall and there is no sign of a door. I hear a lot of noise before she carefully steps out into the open.
I watch Tony peel himself off the floor as the others start regrouping. Thor is holding Loki by the neck while Clint snaps on the finishing touches of the cuffs and Hulk not so subtly stares down the god of mischief with an unkind dark look. Natasha stares at their captive finding the headache of Loki for once a distant memory and offers me an outstretched hand to join the others in their moment.
"I must take him to Asgard for his immediate punishment." I see Loki flinch at this looking straight at me, pleadingly if I could believe he even knew how to do so.
"Can I walk with Thor?" I question getting no arguments from the team knowing full well they no longer see him as a threat.
"No lift to the Barbie towers?" Clint asks seeing Tony give him the finger.
"I'm fine." I watch the others slowly move off knowing that my conversation with Thor will be short.
"I will wait for you." Natasha said before giving me a slight smile, I believed at this point she was beginning to like me.
I walk slowly with the thunder god finding myself watching Loki seeing his proud stance is reserved and he won't meet my gaze. He won't even speak and I find that alone troubling. When we reach the outdoors I look up seeing hints of the storm already starting for their return and meet Thor's gaze.
"Thor…if my world's reality should shatter that infallible image of your father, I'm sorry. Just do me one grace since you find good in Loki?" he looks at me unconvinced before conceding to my request.
"Don't let the punishment be carried out by anyone that wishes him real harm." Loki lifted his head at this looking straight at me; I grace him with my look and hesitate in saying anything that might reveal any truths to how I really felt for him. "Come back to the towers safe friend." I smile seeing Thor start away and watch Loki turn his head eyeing me.
I would have said he was grateful for what I asked of Thor; however that would be against his code and his belief that anyone could like him. I wait for the dust to settle pushing my hair back out of my face and stare around before spotting a familiar redhead waiting down the street to walk with me. Despite the state of his formal attire Bruce is standing with her in ragged ass pants and has a shirt half buttoned with Natasha talking softly to him.
They were my friends, I did what I could for Loki and now I was safe to go back to my new home. Why did I feel that this was all wrong? Why did I not try harder to keep Loki free and why did I feel like I had only gotten him a very small grace period? Kicking at the sidewalk I look up at the tops of the buildings of the city and wonder why I felt so at home in this particular world and City.
It took me a couple of days but it was easy to get into the swing of helping Tony organize things to give to Pepper. Being the go between wasn't the most suitable of jobs but it kept the piece and I had become a useful team member of the Avengers. I did what I could to aid them, listed of things that I remembered from the comic universe and found being around Fury during meetings to be entertaining when he picked arguments with Tony.
This went on easily enough for a while after Loki was taken back to Asgard for punishment. My mind often drifted to that green eyed mischief maker that had somehow managed to take my heart with him. A subtle memory of that one encounter that left an impression had lingered for a few days; I kept it concealed until the mark on my neck finally healed. I still touch the now empty place allowing thoughts to run amuck on the man that stole what sanity I might have had. I had fallen into the dark, stripped of light and found the green jewel of my heart.
The longer I was around the more I noticed hints of Tony flirting. Not that I minded, he wasn't unattractive but there were often times I would ask Bruce as kindly as possible to get angry for my sake and he usually backed off. I had become close with both of them, the genius and the ego driven genius. I noticed Natasha and Clint had been getting closer despite the clear distance in the romance department. I had been training with her often and learning some boxing techniques from Steve.
Overall I had gotten into a settle routine of my new life. It was perfect except for the draw backs of wondering what the hell happened to Loki. That question was answered that afternoon when Natasha was busily kicking my ass in the training area that Tony had devised in the workshop for us. So far she had pinned me twice and I had almost gotten the upper hand when we both looked up at the sudden darkness and rumbling of a storm.
"Incoming!" Tony's unenthusiastic announcement made me smile; I think he was getting used to the lack of Thor thumping around.
We went outside the building where the balcony stretched further than ever. Thor had arrived like Tony said and he had a familiar figure with him. I stare seeing Loki at his side looking far from proud like I remembered. He instead looked like an animal that had been kicked around one too many times. Feeling my heart go out to him I stopped short of running up to him and giving myself away.
"What is he doing here?" Asked Clint sounding the most venomous of the others that chorused that together.
"Loki has been punished by the all father." Thor made eye contact with me looking strangely broken. "Odin has decreed that he be cared for by a mortal of my choosing, not one of the avengers. Loki's powers have been caged until he can learn to work among us instead of against us. He has no voice…the only way he can talk is if he learns to truly care for someone. I don't count in Odin's decree." I looked at Thor astonished by these demands, I can see in his eyes that Odin had planned worse but took account the Thunderer's refusal to allow it.
"Who is the mortal?" Asked Bruce stepping from the others and coming to my side as if he knew the answer already.
"Aspen, if she will accept the task?" Everyone started to protest this, everyone accept two people.