~=High Rise=~

Survival Strategy

*Marvel

*Loki Odinson, Darcy Lewis, Amora, etc.

Battle Cry by Imagine Dragons. Ready Aim Fire by Imagine Dragons.

A moan was on his lips when his body shifted in his sleep, awakening him to the pain. His eyes blinked open, fogged mind trying to understand why he should be in pain, but it failed. At the strange but familiar juncture between being asleep and being cognitive, he was not even sure where he hurt, only that he did. Moving again to find out seemed very unwise but he could feel the sensation of discomfort building, focusing and radiating in the back of his head and neck.

Why did his head hurt? Why did his back hurt? He was fairly sure he had not exercised more than usual. But his spine! His neck might never feel normal again! The aching was increasing at it finally brought his mind to an understanding of the problem. He had stayed propped against the wall while Darcy fell asleep, which would not have been an issue if not for the fact that he had also fallen asleep. Somewhere after that point his body traveled down, but not far enough.

Groaning quietly, he wriggled his way down until his neck and shoulders were not on the verge of snapping. Head on the pillow where it should have been, the pain ebbed a little but not so much than he would be comfortable for several minutes more. Darcy did not even blink with all his jarring, a hard sleeper he supposed. She had not even moved from the last position he saw her. She clearly slept like a near literal rock.

He really needed to stretch though, and there was no room to do that in a shared space, so he slipped silently from the mattress. His stocking feet gave him added silence as he tiptoed away, opening the door slowly to avoid the noise and also to be sure he did not knock any of the books on the other side free. The shelves were all slanted to avoid that but he still was careful each and every time.

Loki was nothing but a dark shadow moving lazily before his windows, eyeing the blackness outside. The darkness was abated only by the few lights far below on the streets and other buildings scattered randomly. Sheets of water streamed down the glass like hundreds of waterfalls and a flash of lightning ignited the sky to chase away the darkness for a fleeting moment. The light made his skin glow in that instant, giving his an unearthly but sinister hue for a moment.

There was the rain. It took that storm a while but it had fallen full force upon them now. He arched his back, stretching his arms out behind him to get the kinks free. A glance back into the other room told him she was still sleeping in peace, looking like a dark haired angel stretched in his bed.

His jaw clenched in a strange mix of reflexes battling against each other. One part of him wanted to run in and kiss her awake, one wanted to run far enough away that he would forget her, one wanted climb back into bed and bask in her presence, one felt sickened by everything involved, and still another wanted to lift his head to the sky and scream out his frustration. She confused him, turned him all around until he could not even remember what he was doing.

He needed to recenter himself, needed to remember why he was doing all of this, why it began. Yes, he began it all long before he so much as knew her name, set eyes on her, and it would continue long after she was gone from his life. She would go, of course, because everyone did, so wasting his time with her was useless. This plan was what he had been working for all this time, all his life really.

Power is what he wanted, craved, needed since he watched the way everyone groveled at his father and brother's feet because they would control their lives. Being in control meant being feared and respected, having a place of worth in the world. Being one that no one had ever wanted, having been born an unwanted mistake, having that place of value was a much coveted thing. Once he ruled them all, had all the power, he would have proved to every last one of them what a mistake they had made in throwing him aside. He would watch them bow before him, knowing he decided their fate. That would be the moment he possessed everything he desired. Asgard was not enough, he needed it all, needed to ruin every one of them to finally gain the respect he deserved. Darcy could never change that.

The coils in his shoulders relaxed, a long breaths easing out his nose. There was his center, now he had it. Darcy was fleeting, this was forever. She could not ruin years of plotting and planning to get to this point. When he was this close to having everything he ever wanted in hand one girl was not going to stop him. At the end, when he had everything, she would beg to be part of it anyway. Having the deal meant having everything.

His chair received him gladly as he dropped into it, fingers steepled under his chin as he began to think again. The plan had to be perfect, no moves wasted, not time allowed to drag. While he was not the only player, he needed to be sure he had thought of every eventuality. All his players had to play their parts perfectly or it would all fail and they would all end up dead.

Little Darcy played a key roll; the prisoner locked away to be used. She could not be allowed out for her own good as well as theirs. He had toyed with ideas revolving around her before but he had never been sure how to make it happen until tonight - or maybe it was morning now -but this was the prime moment to spring. It was fortunate that Darcy had been an option in his plans all along or this might not have worked at all. Her vexatious boss forced him to move swiftly, but he was glad of it, it gave him the push he needed. There were times he needed a bit of inspiration to fall into his lap.

Loki, pulled one of his books from the corner of his desk, flipping the pages until he came onto the hidden paper with the times scribbled into it. Hiding information in view of everyone tended to be the best option, he had often found. His fingers raked his hair back into place and away from his eyes as he studied that paper one last time to be sure he would have every second timed correctly. He could not settle for less than perfect. Any plan would run into snags, that was the way of life, so he needed to plan for those prospects in the time line as well just in case.

His little blonde spy had done her job very, very well, providing him with maps of each key player's usual schedules, habits, and potential weak points. They had plotted out every piece of it, instigated situations to trigger the targets to be anywhere but where they should be. Once triggered, as his text had done, the plan would roll like a raging river to plow down everything that could ever stop them. They could only hope it worked as well as it very well should.

The clock read 3:15 so that meant Amora would be arriving in his office in less than three hours dressed as one of many cleaning workers. That woman had always been skilled at blending with her surroundings if she cared to, though the same was true for her younger sister. The two of them were chameleons, beautiful creatures of deception and they were exactly what he needed.

His fingers massaged his eyes to stave off the burning. With a bit of time to kill before everything began he was finding Darcy curled in his bed to be a very tempting sight. He had gone over his plan every way he knew and there would be nothing more he could do. Sleeping in what little peace he would have seemed not only a tempting option, but a wise one as well.

It took very little to convince him when the thought of curling up beside her, looking at the way her dark hair spilled over the mint pillow cover, and the curve of her body outlined in the blankets was all he really needed. She was a sight in that gown, he would never deny it to his own mind. The thought of running his hands over her curves, feeling her in that soft white fabric, so light to the touch had occurred to him more than once. Memory of the way it billowed around her when she walked left his imagination running utterly wild; thoughts of what he would like to do to her while she was in that gown were chief among his reasons for getting out of the chair.

A cotton gown that showed him so little of her should not have been as appealing as it was. She looked ravishing in it though, so delicate, sweet, free, and beautiful. Seeing so little of the body beneath while there was such a thin fabric in his way made his toes curl at the thought. He wanted to kiss her, explore her slowly, roll the fabric up to her hips and pleasure her until she screamed his name like a song ... and he had a lot of other detailed ideas he really did not need to entertain considering his body was never going to sleep if he wound it up again.

He sighed deeply through partly opened lips as he slipped back under the blankets with her, his fingers unable to avoid stroking her curls very carefully as he watched her. Loki snuggled down into the pillow, curled up on his side as he watched her sleep, his fingers finding her hand to tangle with again.

She was going to hate him so much after this was over, but he could win her back again. Power swayed everyone and it would sway her as well. Once he had the power to grant her anything it would hardly matter what he had taken from her in the beginning. There was no reason he could not win her back. Her trust might take a while but he could gain it back eventually.

A hard shiver ran through him when she gripped his hand in return, shifting to curl closer against him. He found he liked this closeness with her, relished it like water to the dry earth, feeling a warmth in his chest. He could have curled up with her and stayed the rest of his life. She was taking him off his center again with only a few moves, crippling his will to stray from her with no effort. It would not stop him though, he was still the bad guy. Loving the princess might make him want to stay in the tower with her but it could not keep him there.

No, he would enjoy these moments and then he would allow them to be dashed to tiny shards while he ruined her. He would love her as he destroyed her; that was what evil men did to the things they loved, it was part of their nature. He did not ever want to hurt her but he would sacrifice her misplaced trust. She should never have let him close. Perhaps he could protect her but the closer she was the darker her world would become. Nothing he could do would change that, not even if he called off this plan because they were all drowning no matter what he did. If he destroyed her world now, perhaps he could build her a new one after it was over.

Yes, maybe that was part of his new center. He needed power, craved it, strove for it! Power was what he had to have because power could give him everything, including Darcy, it could give him the ability to save her from what he had done.

His forehead rested against hers, "I will try to save you, I promise. I do want to protect you. I'm sorry you were unlucky enough to meet a big bad monster and I'm sorry it has to be this way. Just try not to hate me too terribly, would you?"

Darcy found that she ached when she awoke, bleary eyed, in the unfamiliar room. A touch of fear lasted only a second until she remembered the events preceding. The pain was from all the punishment and stress on her poor and abused frame. Her leg ached but not as badly as it always did by the end of the day in that vice. When she slowly rolled onto her back on Loki's bed she found she did not care to get up.

Her fingers carded through her curls as she stretched her arms up over her head, brushing them up the cool wall before dropping them down at her sides once again. A contented sigh was on her lips as she stared at the spackled ceiling. What reason did she have for moving early in the morning anyway? The order had been to stay close to Loki but how much closer could she be than hiding in his Batcave? Well, she did have other orders as well.

Her brow wrinkled slowly as she considered her position, her fingers finding her glasses on the table to slip them onto her nose. Loki was gone to some unknown place and she was in his office, virtually undetectable until he returned. Had she the energy, she could search this room to see if she could find those hidden notes of his, search everything in his hidden room. So long as he believed she was getting dressed, she could even search while he was in the office and be perfectly safe. It was a bit ideal.

Any time he left the office, she could even plant Thanos' little bug. It would all be perfectly easy, child's play for a computer person such as herself. If she planned to follow that particular order, which, in some way or other, she would have to. The rules had been quite clear the entire time that gun was at her temple.

Her knees pulled up to her chest as she rolled onto her side again, balling herself into a protective position. This spying business was turning into something she did not care for. She did not enjoy taking advantage of situations, especially when the man brought her here as a kindness, tipping his hand in helping her. Repaying a kindness with treachery was not something she felt comfortable with.

None of this was comfortable in any sense of it. She did not want to spy for any of them. It might have been comical that all the players in this had asked her to spy for them except Loki. All of them told her never to "tell Loki" for any reason. As odd as it was, he was the only one not telling her to keep secrets from anyone. To date, he had been more honest with her, to her knowledge, than she had been with him.

Her throat closed up and the backs of her eyes stung hot. She was a wicked person! Down right evil! Loki helped her, saved her twice and never even asked her for an ounce of inside information in return. While he was usually an absolute prick, he was also very kind to her in his own private way. No one had taken care of her like this since she was a child, and even then she could barely count that. Her entire life had been spent fending for herself and now that one person was taking the time to help her without asking for favors, she was spying on him for every enemy he had in the world.

This was just not okay in the slightest. Now that it was morning she really saw things a lot differently. None of it had seemed quite as dark while she was in shock and now it pretty nearly was crushing her under an invisible elephant. There were just so few options open to her that did not involve pain in extreme amounts.

Still, she knew she would never plant that worm for that monster, knew it even when she vowed to do it. Granted, she would plant it on a computer, just not the ones he wanted her to. Stark would even be getting the drive from her to plant on any computer he could convince Thanos was a normal one, but one that would not give anything unwanted away. That was her plan for that end, tell Stark about the entire thing and let him decide what to do about it. Loki was a more complex story.

There was no way to know how much he knew about Thanos, Fury never told her how much he knew. How could she tell him all about it if it tipped the scales the wrong way? For all she knew, Loki might willingly join sides with that psychopath, and if he did, that would make everything worse. She could not really know what he might do if he found out about that situation. He might do nothing at all, but he might do something horrible or very stupid, she just could not be exactly sure. If she landed Loki in that world with both feet she really would not forgive herself.

She wished she could trust him with the truth, wished she knew what he might do with the knowledge, but she just could not do it. While she trusted him, she also did not trust him. It might be similar to owning a tiger; you raised it, love it to pieces, but if you trusted it completely that might lead to a very bad end. She did not care to see any bad endings for any involved, save one horrible mountain of a man.

Darcy was out of her depth. She was used to cases, used to law and difficult problems, but this was dabbling in lives. If she did the wrong thing, money was not the only thing someone might lose. She did not want to be responsible for the outcome of lives she cared about. Figurative lives and figurative happy endings were different than looking into the eyes of people she felt anything for. She did not want to be in this game but there was no way out. She was a pawn in everyone's set now.

The only thing she could do was get Pepper and Tony in on it and see what they thought she should do with Loki. She did not honestly trust Fury enough to tell him about it. While he might have been her employer he also played a lot of sides and she could not be sure what he might do to Loki with this information. She trusted him to know what to do with Stark but it was no secret he was no friend of the younger Odinson. She would speak to Stark first.

Her body jolted, fingers clutching the blankets to her for what little support they might offer her, fearfully watching the door open. She only relaxed once she spotted inky hair and a wide, playful smile. It took her a few tries to take in a normal breath but she managed it and then smiled pleasantly. Two coffee cups were in his hands and she brightened instantly at the sight, grinning in earnest now. Coffee would clear her head right up!

"I thought you might like some when I woke you up." He held the large cup out to her with a sly expression, energy dancing around him like invisible fairies, "But you woke up all on your own, Sleeping Beauty."

Darcy grinned at him, propping herself on her elbow as she took her cup from him, "Sarcasm so early in the morning? You're in the wrong story anyway, I'm in the Sound of Music, remember?"

He chuckled deep and long, eyes sparkling with something she could not identify, "Any time it a good time for witty remarks, they never go out of style no matter the time of day." Taking a sip of his own latte, the playful expression only solidifying, "Though, let me just say, you should feel honored! I personally went and got you this coffee and I do not play delivery man for very many people."

Tipping her head dramatically, she grinned, "Well, Sir knight, I must offer you my deepest gratitude for replenishing my life's blood!"

"Well," Loki smirked wide, easing down to sit beside her, "Indeed, I could hardly deprive the world of a sarcastic and fair princess such as you, thus I could do nothing but ride to the rescue."

"Kind Sir, I am indeed in your debt. This liquid of the gods shall be my saving grace." Darcy giggled, enjoying how easily they could play and joke, relishing the way he could make her forget all those unpleasant thoughts with so little effort.

The glint in his eyes grew significantly as he sipped the beverage before speaking, "Oh, but how can you be so sure I am kind, fair lady?"

"Elementary, my dear Watson! You brought me coffee in bed!" She kept her tone light and whimsical, "You also showed me your weapons vault."

He barked a laugh before shaking his head, "I thought you said that sounded like a dirty joke!" He watched her take a long sip and shrugged one shoulder, dropping his eyes to his cup with his previous mirth settling lower, "Though I do not claim the rights to the title, it was actually Thor that titled it when we were children."

Darcy hummed and clicked her tongue, "Oh, so this jewel was not your idea, it was your father that put it in?"

Nodding, he took another drink and set the cup lightly on his knee, "Yes, it was put in when the place was built. It stayed a family secret, no one has ever known about it but our little clan."

"But you let me in." Her eyes dropped to the sheets as she took a drink of the smooth liquid gladly, more thirsty than she first thought she had been, "Doesn't that break all the rules?"

A sharp grin was on his lips as he leaned closer, voice lowered as if to tell a secret, "I believe I am well in the business of breaking family rules and disregarding secrets. Still, you are the first to know about it."

She returned his grin, equally conspiratory in her tone, "So, since this is your evil lair, does that make me your minion or something?"

Loki arched a brow, cocking his head to one side, "Are you offering to switch sides? Does this mean Stark is losing to his more appealing opponent?"

A nervous laugh bubbled up and she took a long drag of coffee to give herself a moment to decide how to answer, "Well, I don't know! What are you offering me for switching to the Dark Side? Stark already has cookies and lots of technology so that is very hard to beat."

He rumbled with another deep and dark laugh, nodding before he sipped at his latte, "You do have a valid point. Those are hard points to beat, I admit. I might be able to think up something if you give me a few days though."

Darcy took an even longer sip, mulling over how to dig herself out of the strange trap, "Well, you might have to take longer than a few days. I'm a pretty pricey minion, I tell you." Her fingers swirled the cup a bit to make sure it was fully stirred considering all the creamy goodness seemed to be at the top.

She took another drink, suddenly content with the silence, letting coffee be her excuse not to say more. This whole thing, her life had been getting so complicated lately. She hated how easily she got herself into trouble anymore, she did not even have to try. Trouble just rained right down on her head. Life used to be much more peaceful.

A sudden wave ran through her brain, making her vision sway like river raft. She actually felt light headed even though that was the most ludacris thing in the world to feel dizzy when she was in bed. Maybe she should have asked for a muffin to go with her coffee, if she had asked at all, that was. His hand came up to cup the top of her head a moment before he began petting his way down her hair. He muttered a question, something about how she was feeling but he sounded far away, like he was in another room. Her ears felt like they had water in them.

Another few desperate sips of coffee did not bring her the relief and clarity she hoped it would, and she wavered a bit in place, "Not sure, I must not be quite awake yet, guess."

"Finish your coffee, maybe that will help." His hand came to rest gently on her hip, brow creased with worry, watching her carefully as she obeyed and drained the cup.

Darcy whimpered as the room began turning darker, the spinning getting even worse. Desperation and fear started to take hold and she clutched at him. Her brain might not have been in the best of shape but she knew something was very wrong with her and it frightened her. He set his cup aside and took her empty one from her hand. His much larger palms took her hands between them. Leaning down over her, he whispered soothing words to her the way he had on the stairs. His arms were around her shoulders and she pressed into the touch, muttering questions she forgot the moment they left her lips.

Loki only curled up beside her, holding her gently to him as the darkness swallowed her. Her hold on him was quickly weakened until it no longer existed, her muscles turning to putty. Some part of her mind registered him speaking into her hair, whispering about being sorry as she lost herself to the dreamless nothing of darkness.

For several minutes after she faded away all he could do was sprinkle kisses over her face and on her shoulder. He loathed doing this to her, hated watching her sink away into the drug induced sleep. The frightened expression was similar to the one she wore on the steps when she was frightened. The girl had been through a lot in recent times because of him. It was unfortunate that it had to be that way.

Plucking the glasses from her nose to set them on the bedside table, he gently fixed her into a comfortable sleeping position, tucking the blanket around her to keep her warm. She did not look pleased, her nose crinkled slightly despite being gone to the world. Loki slid away slowly, planting one gentle kiss to her lips before standing and snatching up her purse, the jacket she had hanging beside his, and her walking boot. A last glance at her was all he allowed himself before he exited the room.

"She drift off alright?" Amora's sultry voice connected with him as he slid the door closed.

"Yes, she drank it all so she won't present us with any problems." He was lightly scowling as he handed the items over to her waiting hands. It was surprising how different she look with dark hair, replicas of Darcy's glasses, and make-up to alter her appearance. Had he not known better he might have been fooled, might have been as unsuspecting as everyone in her office was soon to be.

"Good! At least she behaves that way. A good, useful girl." Amora walked in a circle, showing off her practiced limp for him and grinning, "I nailed it, didn't I?"

Loki nodded, showing little reaction, a bit numb to it all, "You could fool her own mother so long as you don't talk."

She shook her head, still smirking, clearing her throat before she spoke again, "No, Mr. Odinson, I think I have that too!" It had flaws but she was close enough to Darcy's pitch that people who might not know her as well should be fooled.

In spite of it all, he had to smile, brows arching in surprise, "My dear, you are even better than I remembered. The only thing you will have to contend with is that you are taller than she is."

Returning to her normal voice, she waved him off, "No one is going to notice that when I have all the other details right." She reached up and nimbly unfastened the top button of the blouse to reveal more, "Besides, the men won't be looking too much past this."

Loki chuckled, crossing his arms as he watched her slip on the jacket, "It's a little small on you but not too much. You should pass."

"Oh, I will pass! Fury himself won't notice the difference." Her full lips pouted at him as she began strapping the boot on.

"Try to avoid Fury, Amora. He is the last person you want to see, but he should be busy chasing our rabbit." His fingers found his temple and he sighed, "I'm still hoping you don't see Stark either."

"Relax, have a little faith in me!" She dug swiftly through Darcy's bag until she came out with her identification badge, dangling it between her fingers before clipping it to the jacket. "I will be in, files downloaded to the drive, and out before they have reason to blink."

He sighed again, thrusting the paper in her direction, "Do you have the times memorized? You have to be in the right places in the right times or this is blown, you know that!"

Her green eyes scanned the paper a last time, "Yeah, I know. I know exactly where to be and when, I know the plan. We have been working on it long enough!"

"Is Lorelei clear on her part?" He leaned against the desk, watching her put on the finishing touches to assume Darcy's place.

"She's got it. I have Skurge staying with her too so she looks more convincing filling my spot at work. I made her roll clear to her even if she doesn't know what our scam is." Amora snickered, "Since neither you nor I see fit to trust her with information, I just told her to play me until I could come back and told her how much it would pay. She didn't ask any questions once I told her the price for working with us."

His tongue lapped at his dry lips, "Good. I'm not keen on her being involved but there is no one else to cover for you that could be convincing. If you left your metal head with her, no one should question it."

Amora stood up, shaking her hair and flipping it into place. "We have it all under control, my dear!" She bussed a kiss to his lips before hobbling away on the boot. A few strokes to smooth down her costume and she was slinging the bag over her shoulder. The pouch with the computer drive was stashed safely in the bag and she moved for the door. With a few last minute keys to the cameras to erase all traces of their leaving, he soon followed at her heels. They each had places to be and there was no time to waist. They were as ready as they could ever be.

In no time at all they would have Stark's Infinity thanks to Darcy's clearance badge. Everything would belong to them, the world and every person on it would be their slave. Or rather, his slave. He never told her exactly what the project was, told her very little besides the fact that he knew how to make them both richer than they could dream with it. It might not have been fair to keep her in the dark but he told her only what he could trust her not to go wild with.

Loki tried not to let his mind drift to the real Darcy as he looked at her double walking at his side. Everything had to be done perfectly! With the sedative Amora brought for her coffee, she was safely out of the way. Though it would be Darcy everyone would believe stole the Infinity project, it should not be a problem. He should have the program set and should have each of them under his thumb before Thanos, Fury, or Stark realized he had taken it, but if they found out he would have to keep that girl hidden for quite some time. She would be up on charges on one end and have her name on a hit list on another if he did not work fast enough, but he could work quickly.

The sooner he gained power the better. He could not afford to linger in this state of limbo for one more day. Enemies were closing in on him and he had to beat them before it was too late. He needed the Infinity and he needed to rule their lives and strip them down to nothing. Their lives would belong to him in no time, though he would be a massive nerve until it was finished, it would be worth it in the end.

He would soon have it all, all their deals, all their bank accounts, all their information. He would take it all and ruin them piece by piece until there was nothing left. Thanos would be first with Fury as a close second. The rest he would take his time one, savoring it all.

His brows twitched. They had to get it first though. The plan had to work! If not, they were all finished and they would all drown in the vast ocean of life and death. It needed to work because there would be no going back.

AN: I was really frustrated because I wrote this and then my computer decided to dump half of it I should have known it would happen because everything was just flowing out of me perfectly and I loved how it was falling on the page. I was super happy with it all and then it was gone so I just lost the drive to bring it back. Nothing I wrote after sounded as good even though I tried to remember it all. There was a lot of cursing and a near thrown computer when I dumped it all. I don't know how this all sounds this round. I don't like it as well but I hope it doesn't suck.