Disclaimer: I don't own the Avengers, nor Loki... sadly enough...
AN: So... Today's my birthday (happy birthday to me, yay!) and I can honestly say your reviews would be the best gift ever, so please do and I also thank you guys for sticking with me and reviewing so far...
I am also changing both Alexandria's and Rai's age to 19 and 17 consequently since this will suit my future plans better...
I know both Loki and Tony seem OC but I like to explore this softer side to them and I also like the fact that it is Alexandria that influences them so, even if Tony does have Pepper to help...
Lastly, a promise, I know we haven't seen much Avenger action unless you count Thor, Tony, and Barton, but I promise you'll see quite a bit of it once Alexandria meets the whole team...
"So...," Alexandria asked, a beaming smile on her face, "Who gave you my name? Was it Barton? Cause I bet it was, I mean, he tends to act like a little complacent monkey, you know?"
Loki looked at her as seriously as he could, trying his best to channel his god-of-mischief-and-lies persona, but failing to do so, he gives out a snort at the image of Barton her words conveyed. Seeing his walls lower a bit, she smiles, because if she is going to be forced to talk to Loki, she will at least do so with him being open to her as she is willing to be with him.
"Well, then, who was it? And just how much did they tell you?" Alexandria asks casually as she sits down on his green and golden bed, Really what's with gods and theme colours?, and crossing her right leg on top of her left.
Loki keeps his standing position in order to try and insert some fear on the girl as he overshadows her, "You are right, the complacent monkey told me."
She smiled and sensing his wish to convey no more, she could understand him trying to keep some cards to play later, she herself has many cards left to play. Wishing she could do just that, brandish her newest acquisition, she mentally sighs, because even if the greatest part of her wishes to open up and trust him, she hasn't been able to do so about this certain topic (ever) since it all started two years ago with 'The Incident.'
Knowing that whatever is holding her back will keep doing just that, she goes for a little white lie, "I researched you."
Back at S.H.I.E.L.D.'s air base, Tony Stark struggles to keep the urges of offing anyone and everyone he can get his hands on to himself. He cannot help but feel stressed out of his mind at the mere fact that his Lexy was somewhere with that Frost Giant monster that could so easily hurt her.
It was all of there fault, really, first that idiotic I-am-the-God-of Lighting-and-Thunder guy, and now this, not only does S.H.I.E.L.D. decide that kidnapping Lexy is acceptable, but they go and allow that monster to take her away. The mere thought makes all of those overly-protective-big-brother feelings to come to the surface, making it all that much worse.
Trying his best to distract himself, Tony turns to Fury and listens to his conversation with Agent Romanov, who is being given the mission to contact Dr. Banner so that the Hulk may join the group and so that his little green problem may be of an advantage for once.
Alexandria watched as Loki looked at her with questioning eyes. She decided it was time to explain at least a concise version of what happened two years back.
"Two years back... two years back, when I was seventeen, the strangest thing occurred in New Mexico, you see, a sort of meteor had crashed into the desert sands on the outskirts of a small, New Mexican town, however, when investigated, people could clearly see a sort of hammer or club encrusted on the earth. My curiosity, which usually gets the best of me drove not only me, but also Tony, who is also just as childish and curious and had decided to come alongside for the ride, there and well..." here she stopped to catch her breath and Loki interrupted.
"And being a foolish Midgardian, you thought to try and pry it out."
She smiled sheepishly, "Have you heard of Excalibur?" he nodded impatiently and she continued, "Well, I figured it was something similar, so yeah..."
Loki, who was leaning against the wall, rolled his eyes, "You just didn't count on it having a mind of its own and one hell of a willpower."
She giggled at his words before saying, "Sounds like you've been at the receiving end of it."
Blushing slightly he answers, "Yes and it isn't something I would wish to repeat."
Giggling again she answers, "I'll take your word for it."
Loki looks at her for a while, trying to analyze the girl in front of him. So far he knew her name, age, and about her first encounter with Mjolnir, but her really couldn't see anything special about her unless you counted her ability to keep her place in verbal sparrings and her surprising ability to kick ass when the situation required, there was nothing left, at least nothing that would attract Mjolnir enough to protect the girl as he did, because he was most certainly convinced that this was the child Mjolnir talked about.
Then again, he thought to himself, I've only known her for a day and so far she has managed to me surprise three times. Shaking his head of such thoughts, Loki scowled slightly and turned his attention back at the girl in front of him, who, in his opinion, was most certainly not a child, no matter what Mjolnir said.
Alexandria also sat there in quite analysis of the demi-god/frost giant in front of her. Her analysis had lead to an interest discovery of her feelings regarding the man in front of her and she currently found herself trying to get rid of the regret and longing she felt concerning said man. She couldn't bring herself to understand how in such a short time she managed to develop such deep feelings for Loki.
She knows that if she were to process her almost instant liking of him, as well as her desire to tell him the whole truth with her psychology-trained brain, she would indeed come to the conclusion that she was most probably either falling a victim of Stockholm's Syndrome, this she doubted, since no warm feeling towards S.H.I.E.L.D. (although, to be fair, they did have a past) nor Barton, or Loki was soon becoming what Tony would call one of her 'projects.'
Her thoughts were thankfully cut off by Loki's words.
"Darcy," he started but she stopped him by jumping up suddenly and standing in front of Loki, her eyes looking right into his as she shook her head.
She chuckles before answering, "Alexandria or something of the sort, Darcy sounds far the formal," she finishes drawling the last words a bit.
Loki neither blinks at her interruption nor seems to acknowledge her suggestion, "In the end, you are simply stating that finding this hammer caused your interest in myself?" He finishes with his eyebrow raised in a questioning manner.
Alexandria chuckles once more, "Not exactly, you see, 'The Incident' happened and well it piqued my curiosity even more and so I started researching and..."
She was suddenly cut-off by Loki who asked, "What is this 'incident' you speak of?"
Taken aback by the realization of her foolish admission she blinks, before deciding it is best to answer as honestly as she dared, "'The Incident' was the whole serious of events that happened concerning Mr. God-of-Thunder-and-Lighting and his foolishness and well, being me, I found myself slightly caught in the middle of it all until said events were moved to Asgard."
Loki tried to take in the information, as well as to keep himself from grinning like a fool at her slight insult concerning Thor, and nodded for her to continue.
"Well, all of this made me extremely curious and so I researched and took courses in all sorts of Mythology and some on Theology, and man do they give you a new perspective concerning cultures, and well I must admit I found you quite interesting," she finished changing her position on the bed so that she was in her favorite cross-legged position.
Loki, himself, shifted his weight around a bit before he found a comfortable standing position (he wasn't about to sit down and fall at ease with her, no matter how a part of him yearned for him to do so, he was also very pleased at the fact that she had found him interesting). He analyzed her words, and being the God of Lies, he could sense some gaps in her words, so he informed her of such.
Taken aback, once more, but really, it was a miracle she had managed to out-lie the God of Lies and so, already in very deep in her crazed web of lies she simply decided to give him another half-truth.
"Well, I did say my curiosity was piqued, so it is possible," here she paused, as she looked down and played with her fingers as she tried her best to look uncertain and nervous about confessing such things,"that I kind of got J to hack S.H.I.E.L.D.'s system and I copied and studied every fill they had concerning you, Thor, and Asgard."
Loki nodded slowly, although a part of him still felt like she was keeping something from him, something he knew concerned Mjolnir, after all he was still convinced that this was the entity's ward, but he let it go, knowing that such information he could probably get elsewhere, from the protector himself.
"However, what I cannot begin to comprehend is why people believe you could be of any help concerning the Tesseract," Loki asked, more to himself than to Alexandria.
Alexandria, decided to answer anyway, "Well, for one I know my Mythology pretty well and have been studying everything concerning the Tesseract that I could get my hands on; two: I do have an admittedly unusual way of seeing thing that works almost like a Sixth sense or a gut feeling of sort and allow me to see things others missed; and three: it's not the first contact I've had with the Tesseract," the last admission takes her slightly by surprised as she slowly starts recalling, a bit of her know understanding her deep desire to figure the puzzle out.
Hearing the last of her confessions he practically jumped in his surprise, for once all thought of decorum forgotten as he walked towards her and asked, "What do you mean? How is this not your first contact with the Tesseract?"
She turned to the side, ignoring her words, having no wish whatsoever to answer, the memories were to painful. Memories that she had slowly been recovering alongside those involving 'The Incident', memories she thought were best ignored and forgotten.
He leaned, shadowing her with his taller form (trying his best to get the answers he sought and needed by intimidating her), and sneered, "Explain! How is it that a meager Midgardian, an impudent little thing, something utterly worthless, came into contact with someone as powerful as the Tesseract, in more than one occasion?! Explain, I tell you!"
Alexandria was sure that had she been younger, she would have found herself in some corner, quivering and whimpering at his words and temper, however, having been at the receiving end of it once before, and of similar temperaments all of her life, has made her bolder and granted her a somewhat more level-headed reaction. Standing up, she pushes his chest with her hands, forcing him to back off as she keeps herself steady in front of him.
Glaring, she spits, "You want, to you sadistic bastard? Well, then I'll tell... That precious Tesseract of yours murdered my father!"
And with that she walks out of the room as tears threaten to spill.
Rai walks down the hall, eyes wide, ears pricked. Even with it being so late, it's now already officially past midnight, he cannot rest. Ever since this insanity started, he has vowed to protect his Miss and as such, rest still hasn't find him. Looking around once more he sighs and continues before deciding to turn and start on the next hall.
He starts to walk through the not-so-illuminated hall where he knows Loki's room is located only to be stopped by the sound of almost inaudible weeping. Stopping short, he narrows his eyes to see and the sight before him. There stands Alexandria kicking and punching the wall next to Loki's bedroom door.
"Oh, Miss, what has he done now?" Rai says as he grabs her into an embrace in an attempt to keep her still.
She stops fighting against him and shaking her head softly and refusing to speak at all, Alexandria puts her head against his shoulder as he hugged her in a comforting manner. She knew her reaction was ridiculous, really, usually she was in control of her emotions, but it seemed that ever since 'The Incident' and the first kidnapping, she was going through a horrible roller-coaster with more metaphorical downs than ups. Thinking back at her two years of psychology and sociology training she knew, however, that the traumas weren't the only cause, but they were indeed aided by years of scars and bottled up emotions.
"Come, Miss, let's find your room so you can rest," he whispers as he grabs her discarded messenger bag, places it on his left shoulder and guides her to the next hall, where he is certain her room must be located.
Finally reaching her room, she falls into her bed barely kicking her boots off. Once she is in bed, she feels someone talk her in and then move to turn off the lights. Just before leaving, she hears a soft whisper.
"You'll be fine, Mistress, Lord Loki will pay for his mistakes."
The voice and words sound oddly familiar and comforting, yet wrong at the same time, however she simply snuggles into her bed, because really whatever it is, it doesn't really matter, since things concerning her never went about the ordinary way, even if she was the main cause of at least half of those messy situations.
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