You know the future is worth the fight
Love With Your Life by Hollyn
Chapter 14
Jane leans over Lacey to look out the window. A speck, not any larger than a bird is leaving a trail of clouds. It looks like a rocket. And it is heading straight for them. The young brunette slams on the breaks.
"Darcy!" Jane, still with seatbelt off, is slammed into Loki's chair. Her head throbs in pain. Tires squeal as the young woman swerves them to a halt.
The road ahead of them cracks upon the impact of Ironman. He stands to arm his shoulder gun and his palm. He is shouting something, but it is muffled by the car.
Darcy Lewis begins to unbuckles herself. "He wants us to get out guys. And I don't know about you, but I wasn't planning on getting shot today. Lacey, come with me."
"Is that Ironman? He's so cool!" Lacey's face is lit even while she is clutching her stomach. Jane is the first to step out of the car. The British child walks around the car, but her eyes remain on Ironman.
"Girlfriend of Thor, may I remind you aiding and abetting a criminal is still a crime?" Ironman's voice is just as snarky as she remembers from the television reports.
Jane always dreamt of the day Thor would introduce her to his friends. Somehow she didn't ever think it would be in this way. "Mr. Stark-"
"Tony. Mr. Snark was my old man, but as I was saying, aiding and abetting Loki? Now that's a galactic offense against the whole of humanity. You should repent right now, sister."
Jane's stance goes from placating to defensive in a matter of seconds. "I'm definitely not abetting anyone."
A car door opens and the alien steps from the car. Loki moves to lean against the front hood as languidly as a bored cat. He doesn't say anything.
"Yeah? Then why don't you spell it out for me, Jane Snow Foster? Yes, I know who you are. Like how I know that the woman over there is your former intern. Who I don't know is the kid."
"Mist- Tony, I think this is all a simple misunderstanding."
"Misunderstanding? How is helping him escape from a secure SHIELD location, and probably an Asgard prison, a little misunderstanding? As far as I care, you're in big trouble."
"Would you listen for one second?" Jane takes a few steps forward and Tony's palm glows bright blue. Then all Jane can see is the back of Loki's shirt.
She peeks around Loki to see Ironman stay his weapon. The man of iron doesn't speak for a time. "Please tell me this isn't what it looks like."
Neither Jane nor Loki say anything. Jane glances back to see Darcy and the girl watching from their position by the trunk of the car.
Tony swears. "Dr. Foster, this better not be what I think it is. You're breaking the unspoken code- the good guy always gets the girl."
Jane blinks. "What?"
Stark groans. "Does Thor know about this?"
Loki angles his chin to speak over his shoulder. "I believe he thinks I have somehow stolen your affections from my... From Thor."
"You didn't deny it." Tony waves his deadly hand back to the vehicle, "Kidnapping women and children now, Loki? That's a new low for you."
"Don't insult me," the prince tenses even more. Jane finds herself laying a palm on his back, reminding him of her presence. She quickly removes it a second later after remembering that he wouldn't like it. She takes a step back.
Ironman shakes his head once. "I'll do whatever the hell I want. You're on my turf, pal. And if Asgard won't punish you and put you away then I will do what they won't. You will be tried, found guilty, and be put in a box for the rest of your miserable life... Which will be a long time from what I gather."
Jane finds herself stepping from behind her human shield. "What do you want, Tony?"
"Justice, something you can't give me."
A distant whirling sound grows louder and louder. Jane twists to see three large, black helicopters coming their way. It's SHIELD. She's never been as scared of the good guys as she is now. Tony is right, I did escape. What will they do with me once I am caught? What will they do to him?
Another sound joins the helicopter, but this sound was louder. Jane jerks her head up to see a big black ship looming overhead. The ship grows larger and larger until it lands about fifty feet away, kicking up all kinds of dirt.
"Hooray." Ironman tilts his metal head, "The Calvary is here."
"Loki, we can't run this time." She isn't sure if he hears her because he remains quiet. Shield agents come at Loki with their weapons up and he wordlessly allows them to usher him into their plane, much to her surprise. Ironman makes sure Jane and her friends join everyone onboard. By the time the main hatch seals, Loki is out of her sight.
"Ah, Jane Foster, we meet again." Agent Coulson comes down some metal stairs inside the ship. "Why is it every time we meet you attract trouble like a magnet?"
"I haven't done anything wrong-"
"See, that's not what my agents tell me."
"Your agents?" She glances at the people standing around the hovercraft. None of them seem very friendly.
"Until things change, I'm the Director of SHIELD. Agent Skye, please take Dr. Foster and her friends to a secure room."
"You got it." Jane's arm is grabbed by a girl who seems no older than eighteen. It would appear SHIELD is starting them off young. Jane finds herself in a room with metal walls of texture. Darcy and Lacey join her in the room.
This agent Skye hesitates by the door. "Hey... Word of advice. Keep your head down and the consequences won't be as severe." She left quickly after that, leaving a solemn silence in her wake.
Darcy takes a breath. "Is your middle name really Snow? How did I not know that?"
"Not many do..." Jane didn't know what to say after that. She took a seat on the bench next to Lacey. The cube-like room is around ten feet wide and at least ten feet tall. The items of the room are comprised of a bench and a table with two chairs.
Darcy spends her time pacing the room. Jane focuses on learning more about the British child. She discovers things about the girl's profile. Her age, five years old. Her eyes, blue, her hair, dark, her personality, very shy. Jane smiles at the child in the blue long sleeved shirt and tan shorts. Her eyes bare the bruise of little sleep and her skin color is very pale and, almost albino. That's worrisome. Someone who's been living in the desert for the past year should be more brown. Like I'm one to talk. Jane stares at her hands in her lap. I'm pretty pale myself.
Darcy continues to pace.
Things go a little haywire when agents come and retrieve Lacey. Darcy becomes mama bear in the span of a second. Jane latches onto her ex-intern before the woman has a chance to slap an agent. Darcy begins screaming obscenities and Jane winces at the volume. "Calm down!"
"Don't tell me to calm down! Don't you dare tell me to! You don't know what they are doing to my little girl!"
"Shhh, I'm sure it's just a routine checkup. She's a child, Darcy. They have to take her health seriously. They gave her into your care, right? They are responsible."
"Like hell they are."
"What if she is sick? Remember her tummy ache? They can help her."
"She is sick..."
"What?"
"SHE IS SICK! She is sick and it's all my fault! I don't know what's wrong with her." Darcy shivers and brings her hands up to her face. She looks so distraught that Jane wishes she could take whatever burden the young woman is carrying.
Jane stands. "Perhaps Loki is right and there is something inside of her-"
"You know what, Jane? I don't want to hear it. Lacey is my responsibility. You think I don't know what different kinds of medications are, what they can do? I have tried everything under the sun except for going to SHIELD. Different doctors say she has different things and I can never pin it down." She rubs her face. "Some say she has lupus, others tried to test her for some special type of cancer, while others think she's just faking it. You know how frustrating that is? I have to keep her on different kinds of migraine medicine each month. The only thing that seems to work is giving her crazy amount of vitamins and iron." Darcy slumps into a corner of the room and Jane approaches her placatingly.
"That doesn't sound like a bad thing. Medical doctors are always harping on taking your daily dose of vitamins, right?"
"The doses I'm giving her would kill a normal person."
"Oh." Jane folds her arms and leans her back against the wall. "So you think she's not normal."
"I pray to God she is normal! Special people always leave, but I have Lacey now and I'm not letting her go. I was going to have Oscar, a guy who works at SHIELD look at her. B-but if they find something... They could take her away. Oh God, all they have to do is look at her arms. Jane, her arms look like an addict's. And if I have to watch someone stick another needle in her, so help me..." Darcy's hands tangle in her short hair. "I don't know what I'll do."
"Hey, hey. It's going to be okay." Jane slides down the wall and pulls her ex-intern to her chest. "Do you hear me? It's going to be okay."
"Will it really?"
"It may not feel like it, but everything will be alright." Jane takes a determined breath and thinks. Something catches her eye in the far corner of the room. Something small and black sits in the top corner of their holding cell.
"Shh, shh." Jane glares at the camera, daring whoever is watching to use the their trust against them
-Currently, in another room-
Everything within him screams this is not alright. Having the the heavy weight put once more on his wrists disturbs him to no end. Collars, chains, muzzles, ropes, cuffs, cages all of which remind him of one thing, a subdued animal. Loki ignores the little voice inside his head telling him to give them what they expect. They fear him as a monster, a killer and he should act on that fear.
But he didn't. He won't. At least, not yet. If there is something Loki very much hates, aside from Odin, is being counterproductive.
"What were you thinking, taking an asset out of her place, her home? She is special and needs time to discover her powers."
Loki raises his eyes to stare at Coulson, the very same man who he aimed to kill on his last visit to Midgard. "What is in that child has a spirit all its own and it eats away at her little day by day. I would be worried if I were you."
"But you're not me." Coulson circles the room, hands in his pockets. "Feel free to be offended."
Loki remains silent as the older midgardian circles his chair.
"You let yourself be caught, but what's up your sleeve? You're like a magician, an illusionist. But the only way to do that is to be two to five steps ahead of everyone else. So now I'm wondering, just how many steps ahead are you right now?"
"You're off subject."
Coulson cants his head to the right. "I don't think I am."
The door to the cramp room opens. "Sir, we have just received word that Thor has returned. He will be meeting us at the next checkpoint."
"Well," agent Coulson heads for the door, "sit tight. You will be seeing your dear brother soon."
Loki yanks against his binds. "He's not my brother!" He yells again for anyone who cares to listen.
"Someone! Anyone! Help! My brother! My brother!" Loki clenches his eyelids against the memory, as if that would keep it at bay.
Thor's thirteen year old burgundy tunic was rapidly turning a brighter shade of red when he passed out. Thor had been bleeding for the last minute and his unconscious grip on Loki kept him from running for help. In Thor's side was one of Loki's thin daggers. A gift from the blond prince on his sordid birthday.
The raven prince was too frazzled to know if he should remove the blade or not. "You idiot! You said you would always see through my tricks! Liar!"
Loki's eyes feel slightly damp and he slouches over in his chair, as far as his bonds would allow. Whether anyone is watching or not doesn't matter. He will never allow anyone to see him weak. It doesn't matter if everyone thinks he's a liar, because the truth of the matter is that they were all liars. Everyone makes promises and everyone breaks them. Everyone loves and everyone hates. Everyone lives and everyone-
"Wake up, you liar!"
"He's not my brother..." Loki shakes his head, "He never was."
Thank you all for the inspiring reviews! And I thank you all for bearing with me on the Friday post being a day late hopefully this will not become a habit). As we can see we will be meeting Thor again very, very soon. A little bit more about Lacey is discovered in this post. Poor kid hasn't had an easy life since she took on the Aether. And if you feel like our list of important events have been abandoned, don't fret. They haven't. We are just setting the stage for a turn of events. Though I believe this may turn into an unconventional story, but we will have to wait and see!
Thank you mfaerie32, Mercury97 (TRUTH), Lady vampire of vampires, DarkFay, Vashka, keviana, and AvengersLoki.
Please check out my other stories as I will be taking turns to update each Friday.