Chapter 10
Loki didn't know what to think of Jane Foster except that she was entirely, undoubtedly irritating, or more truthfully, his response to her was thus so. Ever since the dream, he wanted to be near the real her, wanted to touch her real skin, smell her real scent. She was the worst kind of temptress, for she did not know of the dissension she caused within him, nor did she try to create it.
He left her presence for an even more irksome one, the Cosmic Cube. It stared at him, as much as a sentient box could stare, as if it expected something from him. He wished he knew why it left Jotunheim open to him, why it had chosen Jane, and what its true purpose was.
After walking a full circle around the Tesseract, along with multiple failed magical tests, pokes, and prods, he stopped beside it and hovered a hand as close to the blue light as he dared. "I will have you by this night. Surrender now and things will be much simpler."
Nothing happened, its shields didn't waver nor did it flare. He hadn't really expected anything. Still, he sighed. For once in his life, he wished he didn't have to turn to duplicity, that things would go his way like they did for Thor.
With a twitch of his hand, a tunnel opened and closed over him. He appeared in the Jotunn temple, visible to everyone as the proceedings commenced.
Laufey stood in front of his throne, taller than all the assembled Frost Giants, his mien solemn yet proud. "Three are needed. Who will bring glory to our world?" They stomped and shouted once in unison. "Who will bring honor to our race?" Another enthusiastic bellow. "Who will brave the void to bring about a new era?"
A steady stream of stomping, thumping, and pounding, all in time, vibrated the floor. Hands rose from everywhere except the very old and young standing on the outskirts. Fervor filled each one, though. Bloodlust lit their eager faces. Sharpened teeth gnashed. Blood-red eyes flashed.
Beasts, all of them.
Laufey pointed three out and spoke over the clangor. "Our time has come. No more will we suffer the indecencies the Aesir have forced upon us. We will reclaim what is ours and show the nine realms our might, our superiority." He gestured to the exit. "Go, bring about a winter the likes none have seen and will never forget."
The crowd, suddenly silent and grave, flowed out and lined the walls to watch Laufey lead the chosen three to another room. As the King passed Loki, he cast him a sideways glance and nodded for him to follow.
A wisp of doubt settled low in his stomach, but he pushed it aside. This was the only way. The Trickster God fell in line behind the last of the three and trained his gaze straight forward. He did not want to look at any of them. He'd be happy to never see another Jotunn again.
A Frost Giant, sitting to the side of the cave, grumbled about needing an Asgardian, though in more colorful words. Loki's steps slowed, but he ignored him and proceeded down the tunnel.
"Little princess needs us to fight his battles." The insult was said loud enough for all to hear.
Loki's feet halted as Laufey and the three continued on. He looked right at the craggy-faced monster and recognized him as one of the few who did not raise their hand. He curled his lip in distaste at the Jotunn.
The God of Mischief looked around as if he did not know where the voice had come from. "What little creature goes crawling there, snuffling and snapping about?"
A deep grating sound came from the Frost Giant's throat: the Jotunn's equivalent to a growl, but still he did not stand. "I'd drink the marrow from your bones if you were not so ill of taste."
"Bold words from one too fearful to volunteer. Is it your bench that now gives you bravery?"
The giant sprang to his feet and stepped to him with a sneer distorting his already revolting face. Before he got too close, a firm hand clamped onto his shoulder and stayed his advance.
Skadi, magic-wielder and next in line to take the Jotunn throne, blocked his path. "If anyone lays a hand on this Asgardian filth, it will be me."
Loki gave her a mock-bow. "You wound me."
"I will bind you with your innards under a snake so venomous each drop will cause Jotunheim to quake from your writhing."
Now, that was a creative threat. Loki smiled in delight. "Why, Skadi, your words were much sweeter the last time you offered me your bed."
A loaded silence ensued. All eyes were on them now. He knew he should have let her insults go, but he just couldn't resist a good sparring match.
"You will pay for my father's death."
He said nothing to that because nothing he had said or could say would convince her otherwise. He may have brought about Thiazi's death, but it was not he who dealt the killing blow. That distinction belonged to Thor.
She turned away from him and moved down the path with him in her wake. The observers lining the walls watched his every move and snarled as he passed. Their hate nearly masked another emotion, righteousness. They truly thought the Winter Casket would be theirs. The fools.
The tunnel opened to a cavernous room with darkness eating away at the edges. It threatened to consume the smokeless green fire burning away in the center, snuffing out what light it offered. Laufey stood next to the magical blaze, silent and stoic. He did not acknowledge the God of Mischief or Skadi.
The female Jotunn bowed to her King, then spun to face the remaining four. She gestured for Loki to come forward, then she lowered to one knee, not out of respect but of necessity due to their height difference.
She did not flinch when Loki hovered his hands over her temples, casting a spell to join their minds. Words were useless in this situation, she had to see how he held open the tunnel otherwise it would close behind him as soon as he passed.
He spoke into her mind, "Remember, I can only conceal these three. Send any more and our plan is ruined."
The external growl was impatient and petulant. "Show me, so I may be done with you."
He'd like nothing more than to irritate her, but he was loathe to stay there any longer than required. He opened himself to the void and all the invisible crisscrossing paths. Most led to death or something that made you wish for such a release, and a select few actually connected to a realm.
Even though she'd be unable to repeat the complexities of the spell, he kept her blind to all other tunnels except the one to Midgard. A familiar doubt uncoiled in his stomach, but again, he dismissed it. Skadi was not adept enough to be able to open one by herself.
He bent the portal to his will to arrive exactly where he intended. Focus on the destination was of the utmost importance. Lose your concentration and you could end up anywhere on the world, from the deepest ocean floor to the highest mountaintop.
Normally, the learning process took time and care, but he besieged her mind, forcing her to understand this aspect of the specialized magic. He'd give her no rest or leniency. There were only so many hours left before Midgard's evening rushed by, and he didn't want to have to wait another day.
The Cosmic Cube would be his, and he'd finally be Thor's equal.
oOoOo
"I don't know what to tell you." Jane tapped her foot as she leaned against a workstation while sneaking glances at the Tesseract. The humming was constant now. It was oddly comforting, like the whispering of water lapping the shore.
Fury rubbed his forehead. "I've read Agent Barton's report."
Said agent was standing next to him refusing to look at her. At least directly. She had a feeling he was keeping an even more watchful eye on her now.
"You ran practically every medical test and scan known to man," Jane said, "and they all came back normal. What else do you want from me?"
"The truth." He slammed his fists on her desk and leaned forward. "And if I don't get it, you will be removed from this project."
Her jaw fell open.
"Now, just hold up." Tony raised a hand, but not so high for his elbow to lift away from the armrest of the chair he lounged in. "You need her."
"Not if she's a liability. The Tesseract is alien technology whose capabilities are unknown. We are in uncharted territory here and we can't risk anything."
She stared at him to see if he was bluffing, but he looked the same, as if he'd been constipated for the majority of his life.
Gazing at the cube again, she said, "I believe it to be sentient and that it knew I thought the containment unit was holding it back."
"Which is why we"—Tony sat up straighter and gestured to himself and Barton—"triggered the field region."
Fury stepped into her line of sight, blocking her view of the iridescent blue cube. "What you're telling me is that it knows our thoughts?"
She nodded.
Tony's chair creaked as he stood. "The infrasound. It started the night of your introduction." His eyes widened as they focused on her. "It's established a connection with you."
"It what?" Fury's voice rose.
Agent Barton finally joined the interrogation. "You knew it wouldn't affect you, that you were safe around it."
Her pulse jumped. She looked back and forth between them. "I... I had a feeling."
Stark moved closer to her. "Is that how it communicates? Through emotions?"
"What I want to know is why this wasn't reported?" Fury glowered at her as he stepped around the table, closing in on her.
"I knew something wasn't right." Barton said. "All those times you stared at it was never like the other scientists."
The bombardment of questions and accusations, their demanding gazes, their formidable presences choked the air around her, leaving her practically gasping and straining for breath.
"Why didn't you report this, Doctor?"
Tony rubbed his goatee. "No, not emotions. You couldn't hear me during the incident. Does it talk to you?"
"Doctor?" Fury pounded the table.
She flinched at the sound. The blood pounding in her ears drowned out the rest of their words. She looked to the sides, then back to the partition. She needed more space.
The Tesseract flared and energy radiated outward. The men scrambled out of the way of the field region as it passed over her without so much as a tingle. She whirled around. The cube looked the same, no straining and no shapeless energy source.
"Call it off, Doctor," the director commanded.
She glanced over her shoulder at them. Despite the shimmering border, Fury's glower was clear. It made the previous one look like puppy-dog eyes.
"I..." She went to swallow but found her mouth too dry. It had responded to her need. But why her? She wasn't a superhero or superspy or super anything. "It wasn't me. I don't know why it's doing what it's doing."
"It's protecting you." Tony came around to the side of her, inspecting the field region. "Do you know what this means?"
Fury's voice hardened further. "It means you're off the project."
The cube pulsed and they shielded their eyes.
"I don't think that's a good idea." Tony laughed.
"It's already gotten out of hand—"
"Director," Jane said, interrupting him. She hoped that wouldn't count against her. "You're running out of time and I've made more progress in these past days than you've had for who knows how long."
"I don't like it." He clasped his hands behind his back as his eyes drifted to the side in thought. "It's been used for evil purposes before," he said more to himself.
"By evil people," she reminded him.
Tony walked back to the men. "And Jane doesn't have one evil bone in her body."
Fury seemed to actually consider it. She held her breath, waiting.
He directed his gaze to Barton whose hand drifted over his bow. The archer nodded once, grim but resolute, as if he'd just agreed to take her down if she turned bad.
Jane shivered. They had no reason to worry, though, taking over the world wasn't where her interests lie.
"Alright, Doctor, you can stay. But be warned"—he released his hands from behind his back and pointed at her—"this will not end well if you do anything remotely suspicious."
She strangled the giddy smile fighting to slip out. "I understand."
Silence fell over them. She shifted on her feet as they continued to stare at her, waiting for something. She didn't know what they expected to happen. She thought once things were resolved the Tesseract would've gone dormant again, but that didn't seem to be the case.
"Lower the force field," Fury said with a huff.
She stretched open her palms. "I told you that wasn't me."
"Try, Doctor."
She turned to the Tesseract and took a deep breath. Thinking to it and exuding feelings of safety did nothing.
Not wanting the men to gawk at her while she talked out loud to a seemingly inanimate object, she turned her back to them. "Deactivate the field region." She waited. "Please?"
Tony snickered. "Did you try using your emotions?"
Throwing up her hands, she spun around. "Of course I did." She looked at Fury. "I told you I don't control it. Who knows what it's thinking, or if it is thinking."
He paced the outer boundary like a caged animal. "Fine. See if you can walk through."
She raised an imperious eyebrow. Shouldn't that be her choice?
"Come on," Tony added his two cents. "Where's your sense of curiosity?"
Currently suppressed by a sense of survival. She walked to the coruscating border, steeled herself, then reached out with an index finger.
It passed through as if it were air.
She marveled at the energy rippling along her skin just before the dome flickered and disappeared.
Fury gave her one meaningful, quasi-threatening look, then spun on his heel and marched out with his trench coat billowing around his legs. Barton followed suit, except his exit consisted of shooting himself up into the rafters.
"Stabilizing the quantum tunneling effect worked," Tony said. "Now, we just need to channel the energy before we can open a wormhole."
Needing a moment to collect herself, she stepped to a chair and collapsed in it.
Tony, however, needed no moment. He turned to her and headed to the elevator. "Call in your team, fill them in, and let's see if we can't get this solved by tomorrow."
She sighed, and stood to do as he'd said, wondering how it could still be morning.
The day had passed without much development, and as night fell, everyone except Jane left. She stayed behind in her part of the lab, searching for the other realms, and was deep in her world of galaxies and anomalies, when a crash in the SHIELD lab grabbed her attention.
The soldiers standing guard at the entrance snapped their rifles at the ready, spoke into their comms, and turned toward the noise. She stood. Something wasn't right. The humming in her mind sped up and seemed to pull her toward the cube.
She tried to convince herself something had fallen off a shelf, but then an explosion split the air. Slipping through the guards blocking her path, she ran straight into the lab. The sight of three very tall, blue, and dangerous-looking aliens—the very same beings from Loki's book—had her skidding to a stop.
As one, they spun to face her with blood-red eyes.
The Tesseract's vision was real.
Author's Note: I'm not sure if anyone noticed, but I missed last Friday's update. I blame it on Loki. I wrote this chapter backwards, inside-out, and in random clumps that had to be lassoed and hogtied together. The good news is that I'm caught up and won't have to worry about stressing myself and my fabulous beta out with last minute chapters.
Thank you to everyone who reviewed, favorited, and followed. I make a seriously mean chocolate chip cookie. I use browned butter and a higher ratio of dark brown sugar to normal that's been slightly caramelized for these ridiculous toffee and butterscotch notes that are to-die-for. Holy moly, now I have a serious hankering for these babies. *mouth salivating. Must stop*
Anyway, if I could, I'd give one to each of you. A dozen would go to my sister and beta, DreamFlight, because you girls have certainly earned them.
The response to Mischief and Seduction has been really awesome and I look forward to writing more for it when the time is right in this story. Don't worry, it'll pick up again in the second quarter because... Well, you'll just have to wait and see.
One more thing, I used lines from the Lokasenna for the interaction between Loki, Skadi, and the Frost Giant. I also like to use dialogue from the movies, but I'm sure all of you knew that. That was actually one of the things I always liked in reading fanfiction: to see how the writer would take bits of the movie and mash it together in their own way.
Up Next: First quarter mark! Frost Giants and betrayal and disaster, oh, my!