Chapter 14: A Threat and a Trip to Stuttgart, Germany

Loki lost himself in peaceful slumber. It was the first sleep he had since Thanos had captured him. He was grateful to be reunited once more with Brigid, although he worried he was putting her in terrible danger. As he drifted further into slumber, a black cloud descended over his restful sleep.

"Enjoying a peaceful rest, were we, Asgardian?" asked a voice.

No, it can't be, Loki thought.

"You think you can hide, escape on Midgard, but there is no escape from the mighty Thanos!" said the Other menacingly.

"You're not real. You're only in my mind," Loki said, trying to escape the Other's threats.

"I am everywhere, Asgardian. There is no escaping me, or my Lord Thanos," The Other said.

"You lied to me. You told me Brigid was dead," Loki said angrily.

"It was the perfect ploy to recruit you, break you," The Other cackled. "You think you are safe, that you can hide behind your pretty Midgardian? You made a grave mistake hiding behind her."

Loki glared at The Other. "I will die before he harms her."

The Other circled Loki and cackled menacingly. "No, there will be no death for you, Asgardian. He will make you watch as he tortures her in all the ways you can imagine. Once he's had his fun with her, he will kill her, slowly. And even then, he will only grant you pain!"

The Other touched Loki's head and Loki cried out as he felt a surge of pain course through his body.

"Loki! Loki, wake up, you're dreaming, my darling!" Brigid said.

Loki woke up, shaking violently, and drenched in sweat to Brigid by his side.

"Brigid, darling," Loki gasped.

Brigid fetched him a towel and wiped down his brow. "My love, what is it?"

"Thanos has a long reach, it seems," Loki sighed. "His companion, the Other, has a way to see into my mind. They know I'm here with you."

Loki immediately jumped off the bed and with the wave of his hand, he was dressed in his green and black leather tunic.

"My love, you are in no state to travel yet. What are you doing?" Brigid asked.

"I must go. I must continue my work with the Tesseract," Loki said urgently.

"No, you need to rest. You're lucky you didn't die out there," Brigid argued.

Loki took her hands. "No, you don't understand, my love. Thanos knows of you, he knows my love for you. His ally promised that if I fail, you will be the first to suffer and die. I cannot allow that to happen."

"Then we won't," Brigid said. "Let me help you take him out."

"No, whatever happens, you cannot be seen helping me. Thanos knows you're my greatest strength and my weakness, and the Midgardian police will certainly arrest you if you assist me," Loki said.

"So what do we do?" Brigid asked.

Loki smiled. "I do have a plan."

"Great, what is it?" Brigid asked.

"Have you heard of the Avengers Initiative, my love?" Loki asked.

"Tony was considered for it, but everyone reconsidered because he's not a team player. What's that got to do with this?" Brigid asked.

"I cannot say, only that it will be revealed in due time. For now, I ask you to remain with your mentor Tony Stark. When the time is right, you'll know what to do," Loki said. "I must return to see the progress on the Tesseract. Please, stay with Tony, and wait for my word."

"I will," Brigid said. "One more thing: did you say I was your greatest weakness and your strength?"

"Indeed, I did," Loki replied. "You prove to be my undoing, my love, but without you, I wouldn't have gotten through the shadow."

Brigid's heart swelled. "I'm glad I brought you some sunlight."

Loki kissed Brigid once more before he took the scepter and disappeared.

In the middle of a lab, Loki was pleased to see his S.H.I.E.L.D agents guarding the Tesseract. Eric Selvig was busy studying its components and how to keep the portal open and stable. Everything was going according to Loki's design. Loki knelt in the alley of the lab. Closing his eyes, he cleared his mind and the blue gem began to glow and suddenly he found himself on the moon where he stood before The Other.

"The Chitauri grow restless," the Other said.

"Let them gird themselves. I will lead them into glorious battle," Loki said confidently.

"Battle? Against the meager might of Earth?" The Other questioned.

"Glorious, not lengthy," Loki said. "If your force is as formidable as you claim."

"You question us?" The Other asked, outraged. "You question him, he who put he scepter in your hand? Who gave you ancient knowledge when you were cast out, defeated-"

"I was a king!" Loki snapped. "The rightful king of Asgard."

"Your ambition is little, born of childish need. We look beyond the Earth to worlds the Tessaract will unveil."

"You don't have the Tesseract yet," Loki countered.

The Other snarled and charged at him and Loki drew back. "I don't threaten, but until I open the doors, until your force is mine to command, you are but words."

The Other circled him once more. "You will have your war, Asgardian. But if you fail, if the Tessaract is kept from us, there will be no realm, no barren moon where he cannot find you. You think you know pain. He will make you long for something as sweet as pain!"

The Chitauri touched Loki's head once more and Loki groaned as he lifted his illusion. Loki knew for his and Brigid's sake, he had to succeed his plan.

As he went back to the lab, he found his servants, Dr. Selvig and Agent Barton, gladly doing their work with the Tessaract. He was pleased to see they were making excellent progress.

"Hey!" Dr. Selvig greeted. "The Tesseract has showed me so much. It's more than knowledge, it's truth."

"I know," Loki said. "What did it show you, Agent Barton?"

"My next target," Barton replied.

"Tell me what you need," Loki said.

Barton took out a bow from a suitcase. "Need a distraction. And an eyeball."

"And where would we be going?" Loki asked.

"Stuttgart, Germany," Barton replied. "We'll need a good distraction."

"Well, that is somewhere I can be of help," Loki said with a devilish smile.

Brigid got little sleep the next morning. She was too worried about Loki to sleep. She knew he was strong, but he was weary after his ordeal with Thanos. He should have been resting with her. She only hoped he was safe. Suddenly, she heard her cell phone, shaking her awake.

"Tony?" she asked.

"Kid, have you been watching the news?" Tony asked.

"No, should I be?" Brigid asked.

"Your guy Loki has been shredding through S.H.I.E.L.D agents and tearing up New York," Tony said gravely.

"What?" Brigid asked, her voice betraying her feelings.

"I'm not kidding. I don't know if you got Stockholm Syndrome or something, Leprechaun, but this guy's bad news," Tony said grimly.

"No, that's not him. He wouldn't do that," Brigid said.

"Well, open your eyes, kid. He just did. He killed almost eighty people," Tony said. "We're on our way to find him."

"Who's we?" Brigid asked.

"A special team Agent Coulson put together," Tony explained. "He was kinda mum on the details."

"And you're telling me this now? Why?"

"Kid, you've spent months with this guy, you've romanced him, maybe slept with him, I don't know. Point is, there are stars in your eyes and you can't see he's the Beast and you're the Beauty."

"Okay, one: for the last time I didn't sleep with him. Two, if you let me go with you, I am the only one he will listen to."

"Sorry, kid, but you gotta sit this one out," Tony said.

Tony cut her off without any further hesitation.

"Tony, I love you, but sometimes, you can be difficult to love," Brigid groaned.

Brigid sighed and used her magic to contact Loki. "Loki, where are you. I need to know where you are going."

Loki turned and saw Brigid's projection facing him. "Brigid, my darling, how did you?"

"Please, my love. I don't have much time. Where are you going?" she asked.

"I'm going to acquire my next ingredient for the Tessaract in Stuttgart, Germany," Loki replied.

"I will follow," Brigid said. "Tony tried to keep me behind, but I will not listen. He thinks your dangerous."

"I thought so. I don't like this, my love, but please, stay close to your mentor," Loki pleaded.

"I will," Brigid said.

Loki and his team of spies flew into Stuttgart, Germany by jet. Once there, Loki acquired his target, a curator at an art museum named Heinrich Schafer. Loki transfigured himself into Midgardian clothes. He wore a long black coat, a long black tie, a green patterned scarf, and a suit. When he arrived at the museum, he blended in with the other Midgardians, as there was an art gala thrown by Schafer. Loki, armed with his scepter, casually, strutted down the steps of the gallery, where he was met by a guard. He smacked the guard with his scepter. Then, he found the curator and took him by the throat. He threw him over the rail of the balcony and held him down while he prodded his eyeball with a crude looking device, enabling Barton to extract his identification. The guests at the ball screamed and scattered as Loki smiled. Loki emerged from the museum, transforming into his gold and green tunic and helmet. He shot a blast at an approaching police car, sending it into the air.

"Kneel before me," he said to the scattering crowd.

The crowd huddled together, but they did not obey. Loki sent out his projections, surrounding the terrified crowd.

"I said, kneel!" he shouted.

Horrified at the sight of Loki and his awesome magic, the huddled crowd knelt before him.

Loki smiled triumphantly. "Is not this simpler? Is this not your natural state? It's the unspoken truth of humanity, that you crave subjugation. The bright lure of freedom diminishes your life's joy in a mad scramble for power, your identity. You were made to be ruled. In the end, you will always kneel."

As Loki enjoyed his rule over this small band, an elderly man rose up to him. "Not to men like you."

"There are no men like me," Loki laughed.

"There are always men like you," the elder said.

Loki smiled and pointed his scepter. "Look to your elder, people. Let him be an example."

Loki fired a blast but he was sent off his feet when it backfired. Loki looked up and saw a man dressed in a blue suit with red and white strips armed with a striped shield emblazoned with a star standing before him.

"Last time I was in Germany, and saw a man standing above everyone else, we tended to disagree," the soldier said.

"The soldier," Loki snarled. "A man out of time."

"I'm not the one who's out of time," countered the solider.

Loki looked up and saw a Quinjet with its guns poised to fire upon him.

He heard a voice speak to him sternly. "Loki, drop the weapon and stand down!"

Defiantly, Loki fired at the jet, missing it by inches. The soldier threw his shield at him and punched him, but it had no effect. The soldier tried to bash Loki with his shield, but Loki tossed it away, and knocked his face with his scepter, disarming him.

Loki aimed his scepter at the top of he soldier's head. "Kneel."

"Not today," the soldier said defiantly.

He grabbed Loki's scepter and spun, kicking him in mid-air. Loki grabbed him, almost in a half-nelson and tossed him away. Before he could make a final work of his enemy, he heard blasting music.

"Agent Romanoff, you miss me?" asked a voice.

"Hey, got room for one more?" asked another.

Tony looked up and saw Brigid flying in his old model suit.

"Kid, what the heck are you doing here?" Tony asked. "And is that one of my suits?"

"I borrowed it," Brigid replied. "Looks good on me, doesn't it?"

"You and I need to talk about this," Tony said. "Give me a minute."

He blasted Loki with a beam from his suit, sending him off his feet. "Make your move, Reindeer Games."

"Go on, give it up. No point in fighting, Loki," Brigid said, readying her own beam at Loki.

Defeated, Loki reluctantly raised his hands in surrender.

"Good move," Tony said.

He nodded to the solder. "Cap"

The soldier acknowledged him with a nod. "Mr. Stark."

Brigid waved. "Oh, and I'm Brigid, by the way. Hi, Captain. Big fan."

Tony and Captain America took Loki on their Quinjet and strapped him in. They were wary as Loki had not said a word. More worrisome was that he gave up so quickly.

"I don't like it," Captain said.

"What? Rock of Ages giving up so easily?" Tony asked.

"I don't remember it being that easy," Captain said anxiously. "This guy packs a wallop."

"If you told me where he was, I could've handled this faster," Brigid said to Tony.

"Which brings me to my point, why I didn't Leprechaun," Tony argued. "You think this guy is a knight in shining armor. Furthermore, you stole my suit. How?"

"I hacked into Jarvis," Brigid said.

"Kid, look at this guy, he killed almost eighty people for fun. Wake up!" Tony said. "And here you are coming to his rescue. If I weren't there, you'd be dead."

"Well then, it's a good thing you were there," Brigid countered.

"Are we really doing this with that guy here?" Captain asked. "Seriously, he kills eighty people, puts up a fight and just gives up? It's too easy."

"Yeah, but still, you are pretty spry for an older fellow," Tony commented. "What's your thing, Pilates? It's like calisthenics. You might have missed a few things when you were doing time as a Capsicle."

"How old are you?" Brigid asked.

Suddenly, there was lightning and thunder all around. Loki began to tremble as the lightning cracked the sky.

Please don't let that be whom I think, Brigid prayed.

"What's the matter? Afraid of a little lightning?" Captain taunted at Loki.

"I'm not overly fond of what follows," Loki replied fearfully.

Suddenly, there was a thud! atop the Quinjet. Tony put on his helmet and Brigid pressed a button arming her suit and opened the door. Brigid's blood boiled as none other but Thor entered the jet, heading straight for Loki. Loki looked on with fright as he saw Thor approach him. Tony and Brigid tried to stop him, but Thor knocked Tony away with his hammer. Brigid managed to get in a furious punch before Thor pushed her down. Loki watched in terror as Thor took him by the throat and they flew out of the jet.

"Now there's that guy," Tony groaned.

"Another Asgardian?" asked Romanoff.

"That guy's a friendly?" asked Captain.

Trust me, he most certainly isn't, Brigid thought.

"Doesn't matter. If he frees Loki or kills him, the Tessaract's lost," Tony replied.

"Stark, we need a plan of attack," Captain said.

"I have a plan. Attack," Tony said.

"Tony, I know you won't like this, but this butthole is mine!" Brigid said, pushing Tony out of the way and jumping out of the plane.

"Great," Tony groaned. "Well, at least she's going after the other guy."

Tony jumped out of the plane after Brigid, who pursued Thor with hate swelling through her body, intent on making him pay for months of torment for her and Loki.

A/N: Uh-oh! What's Brigid gonna do? Thank you to my followers, reviews, favorites. This is awesome! I write for you. Keep reading and enjoy!