Well, it's only been a thousand years, but I am finally back with an update. Fair warning that things get really fucking dark in this chapter.
Loki stared dumbly at the place where Darcy had been, his brain refusing to accept what had clearly just happened. He felt as if he were in a trance and if as long as he did not wake from it, reality would not exist. Time itself seemed to have stopped, but Loki was more than fine with that, because the longer he could postpone acknowledging what he could not, the better it was. For everyone.
"Just got off the phone with Stark, and he's sending a private jet for us immediately, just as I thought he would," a voice drifted into Loki's bubble, startling him. He turned around in time to see Jane, cellular device still in hand, walk onto the balcony.
Jane looked from him, to Thor, to Erik. "Hey, um, where's Darcy?" she asked.
Something stirred inside Loki at the sound of Darcy's name.
"Jane . . ." Thor began, looking anguished, ". . . I am sorry, but it seems matters are even worse than we previously thought. Something . . . . Something terrible has happened."
And then the dam broke.
With a roar, Loki hurled himself at Thor and tackled him to the ground.
"YOU SAID SHE WOULD BE SAFE," he bellowed, and before he could stop himself or even think about what he was doing, his fist collided with Thor's jaw.
"Loki—" Thor stammered, raising his arms defensively, but not attempting to fight back.
"YOU TOLD ME THANOS WAS NO LONGER A THREAT," Loki screamed, his fists continuing to find their mark regardless of Thor's attempts to block them. "YOU SAID I WAS AN IDIOT FOR NOT BEING WITH HER."
Thor was trying to say something again, only to once more get ignored by his attacker. After several seconds of this, however, Loki finally became aware of two pairs of hands straining at his shoulders. He realized Jane and Erik must be trying to put a halt to his assault, despite their desperate tugging barely having any effect, so, after delivering one more sound punch to Thor's face, he allowed himself to be pulled off the thunder god.
"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON? WHERE IS DARCY?" Jane roared, as Loki and Thor got back to their feet, both breathing heavily.
"She was abducted, Jane," Erik answered grimly. "Taken using the Bifrost. They tried to take Loki first, but he resisted, so they took Darcy instead."
Jane stared, looking utterly dumbfounded. "So Darcy's on Asgard? Isn't that a good thing?"
Erik shook his head. "Asgard's been compromised."
"What do you mean, 'compromised'?" Jane demanded. "How can you possibly know that?"
"Uh, I think I'd rather let someone more qualified answer that one," Erik said, with a pointed look at Loki and Thor.
Taking the hint, Thor took over. "When Heimdall tried to take Loki, Loki felt that his magical signature was tainted with scepter magic. That is why he resisted."
"Scepter magic?" Jane exclaimed incredulously. "So Heimdall is being mind controlled? By whom?"
"Your guess is as good as ours, my love," Thor answered gravely. "Loki did not recognize the being's magical signature."
"So anyone could have Darcy right now . . . ." Jane muttered, her face turning white. "Jesus, why even take her in the first place?"
"Because they knew I'd go after her," Loki said.
Jane, Thor, and Erik turned and stared at him.
"I assume you know you'll be walking right into a trap, boy," Erik said testily.
"He knows," Thor said.
"Isn't there anything we can do to help?" Jane asked desperately, looking at Loki as if she were seeing him properly for the first time. "We can make a plan, use one of your secret passages to sneak into Asgard . . . ."
"No, Jane," Loki said. "I believe the one responsible for taking Darcy intends for me to come now and to come alone, and I will not bargain with her safety any further. The rest of you, go to Chicago. You are needed there." He turned to Thor. "I'm sorry I hit you, Brother."
"I am sorry too," Thor said, and Loki knew exactly what he was apologizing for. To his surprise, despite having received a beating from him minutes earlier, Thor proceeded to pull Loki into a close embrace "Good luck, Brother."
"Likewise," Loki growled, before freeing himself of Thor's affections.
"Bring her home," Jane instructed, her face still blanched, but her expression confident.
"I will do my best, I give you my word," Loki answered.
"Don't get yourself killed," Erik said. Of Loki's three companions, he was the only one who didn't look fully faithful in the mischief god.
"No promises," Loki said through gritted teeth. "Not when there's someone to die for." And before anyone could have the opportunity to say anything else, he stepped to the other end of the balcony, squared his shoulders, and raised his face, rageful, to the sky. "WELL, WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?" he bellowed into the beyond. "I HAVEN'T GOT ALL—"
The white light of the Bifrost descended once more, and this time, Loki didn't resist it. Moments later, his feet were making contact with the familiar floor of the Observatory. He looked around, desperate—
—and his eyes fell on Darcy. She stood a little way away, held in the grip of a—Loki scowled—Chitauri soldier. But she was alive and looked unharmed, and more than that, she was beaming happily at the sight of him. She didn't look at all surprised to see him, and that's when Loki knew—she'd never doubted that he'd come for her.
"Loki . . . Laufeyson," said a voice behind him slowly, and Loki's scowl turned into a grimace as he recognized it instantly, "I am so . . . glad . . . you could join us."
"Taneleer," Loki said, then turned around to face the source of the voice—the man better known across the galaxy as the Collector.
"I was informed you were . . . ah . . . banished . . . from Asgard?" the Collector continued. "How truly . . . inconvenient that must have been for you. But as you can see, the banishment is no longer in effect. No thanks to your adoptive father, if you must know."
As the Collector spoke, Loki took the opportunity to make note of some key details, the first and foremost being the scepter held in the Collector's white-gloved hand. This immediately answered several questions, but also confirmed Loki's worst suspicion. Branching out consequentially from this first observation, Loki went on to make a study of the other beings in the chamber: There were six Asgardians, including Heimdall, all under the control of the scepter. There were also five Chitauri, who presented no need for mind control: Being mercenaries paid off by Thanos, they were here of their own volition. And finally, the Collector was being accompanied by a Krylorian, undoubtedly his slave woman, although she was not the one whom Loki had met before, Carina. What gruesome fate had befallen Carina, Loki could only make guess.
"And where is my father?" he asked finally, his eyes sliding back to the scepter in the Collector's hand.
"Odin remains upon the mortal plane . . . if that is your meaning," the Collector answered smoothly. "And I expect he would give about anything to be able to . . . see . . . you right now."
"Then I better not keep him waiting," Loki said, and then space-shifted the scepter into his hand.
Except . . . he didn't. The scepter wouldn't budge. He tried again, but it was as before. So he tried to wrench it from the Collector's hand telekinetically, but it was as if the scepter, same as the Tesseract, had been physically blocked off from his magic.
The Collector looked down at the scepter ever so slightly, a rare smile slowly creeping across his face. "I felt that, you know," he breathed out, a tremor of excitement undeniable in his voice. "How . . . sneaky, Mr. Laufeyson. But how . . . naive . . . of you to think that I wouldn't have taken . . . precautions against your, ah . . . gifts."
"A protection spell," Loki stated, suddenly feeling a weight descend onto his shoulders.
"Surprise," the Collector said, still enjoying the moment far too much for Loki's liking. "And now, I think, would be prime time to set up some . . . boundaries. To the effect of, should you think to try one of your wonderful little magic tricks again . . . ." He nodded at the Chitauri restraining Darcy.
At once, the beast unsheathed a blade and pressed it to Darcy's throat, making her jump to the tips of her toes.
"NO—" Loki yelled, throwing up his hands in surrender. "I will yield!"
"Wonderful," the Collector said, his sick smile deepening. He nodded at the Chitauri again, who lowered his blade, a fraction. "You," the Collector then continued, using his weapon to point to one of the Einherjar in the room. "Search him."
The Asgardian guard obeyed immediately, approaching Loki and conducting a thorough search of his person. However, he discovered no weapons.
"Check the sleeve of his right arm. You will find a small dagger concealed there."
Loki shut his eyes as the words left the previously silent Heimdall's mouth. He had always suspected that Heimdall hated him, and this all but confirmed that suspicion.
The Einherjar did as he had been instructed, retrieving the dagger, Loki's only weapon, from inside Loki's sleeve, and delivering it to the Collector. Loki felt another weight descend onto his shoulders.
"By the Entities, Heimdall," the Collector whispered, slipping Loki's blade into the pocket of his coat and observing the gatekeeper with a fair amount of awe on his face, "you are . . . magnificent. I expect your services will become truly irreplaceable to the cause—"
"How do you have the scepter?" Loki interjected. "How did you find the HYDRA operatives who possessed it last?"
Getting cut off mid sentence seemed to have struck a nerve for the Collector. His hand tightened around the shaft of the scepter with a creak of leather, and it was several seconds before he spoke again. "It is very rude to interrupt . . . Mr. Laufeyson," he finally chastised, his lip curling into a slight sneer as he turned to face Loki again. "And we find them? No, no, no, no, no. They contacted us. By accident, of course. Opened a line of communication directly to Thanos during one of their little . . . experiments. And after he informed them of his glorious cause? Well . . . they were only too happy to give up the scepter. Small price to pay when your reward is dominion over an entire planet."
"You mean over Midgard," Loki inferred darkly.
"Well . . . of course," the Collector said with mock innocence. "Someone has to keep the peace after Thanos has finished bringing about the, ah . . . new world order. And you lost your chance a long time ago. Oh . . . and Thanos would like to have a word with you about that, once he's finished on Terra. After all . . . that is why he asked me to deliver you here. You see . . . he is not overly fond of beings who manage to lose him not one, but . . . two . . . Infinity Stones."
"What are you talking about?" Loki snapped. "My task was to acquire the Space Stone, nothing more."
The Collector blinked. The Collector blinked again. He looked down at the scepter, then back up at Loki. And then he grinned. "By the Entities . . . you still don't know what this is . . . do you?"
"The Mind Stone," Loki said instantly, the realization hitting him like a hammer in the face.
The Collector looked absolutely delighted. "Thanos did say the Tesseract-powered casing would shield the Stone's magical and radiational signatures even from the most powerful sensors . . . make the scepter pass for nothing more than a Tesseract weapon . . . but to go for years and not know you once had the power of two Infinity Stones in your grasp and yet done nothing? How does it feel . . . Mr. Laufeyson?"
Loki said nothing. There was nothing to say. He was therefore surprised when it was Darcy who spoke next:
"What does Anus want with Earth anyway?"
The Collector turned slowly and looked at her. "What . . . did you say?"
Darcy stared him dead in the eyes. "I said, what does Anus want with Earth anyway?"
A foreboding silence descended onto the chamber. And then, to everyone's amazement, the Krylorian girl giggled.
Without missing a beat, the Collector turned on the spot, raised the scepter, and fired at the girl. It wasn't a lethal shot, but the energy blast hurled her straight across the chamber and into the far wall, where she crumpled to the floor with a moan.
Loki lunged at the Collector, but was immediately intercepted and held back by two Einherjar guards. Darcy too was struggling furiously against the Chitauri restraining her, a hatred unlike Loki had ever seen on her etched into her face.
The Collector dusted himself off and faced Loki and Darcy once more, looking bored. "What . . . a blast . . . we're having . . . wouldn't you agree?"
"You didn't answer Miss Lewis's question," Loki forced out, physically shaking with anger.
"You two . . ." the Collector snapped, brandishing the scepter at Loki and Darcy now, ". . . have far . . . too many questions." He shut his eyes and took a long breath, and when he opened his eyes again, he appeared calmer. "But . . . luckily for you . . . I have time to spare. Odin can wait. So . . . Miss Lewis? Excellent question. In fact . . . one which I myself asked Thanos when he first requested my assistance in conquering Terra. What could one possibly want with a below-average world devoid of any advanced weaponry, modern spacecraft, or other even somewhat useful technology? But Thanos enlightened me as to Terra's . . . true . . . value."
"Oh, yeah?" Darcy asked sarcastically. "And what's that?"
The Collector smirked ever so slightly. "It is the only planet in the known galaxy with over seven billion people on it. Its lack of technological advancement also makes it fairly easy to conquer, so much so that even the dimwitted Chitauri should be able to easily accomplish the task."
Darcy looked questioningly at Loki, but he felt at as much of a loss as she looked. "What does Thanos want with the people of Midgard?" he demanded of the Collector.
"What every self-respecting commander wants: a large and obedient army to help him achieve his goals," the Collector answered. "If Thanos hopes to obtain the Power Stone, he must do battle with the entirety of Nova Corps. The same might be the case for the two Infinity Stones yet to be found, depending on who possesses them currently."
"If Thanos believes he can force the human race to fight for him, then he is truly deluded," Loki said smugly. "They bow to no one. Believe me, I know."
"This scepter might say . . . otherwise . . . as you also should know," the Collector replied, just as smugly.
Loki gritted his teeth, wondering how much more of this he could tolerate. "Thanos already has the Chitauri and the entire Einherjar army at his disposal," he ground out. "What could he possibly hope to gain from an army of mortals? Most of them aren't warriors."
"You are correct about the Chitauri and the Einherjar—Thanos does have both at his disposal," the Collector concurred, "and both will be highly useful to the cause. But the Chitauri, though fierce warriors, are limited by their intelligence—or rather lack thereof—and the Einherjar, while both fierce and highly intelligent, are simply too small in number. But seven billion organized, obedient, disposable pawns? They may be neither fierce nor intelligent, but their numbers alone will lead Thanos to any victory he desires."
"Yo, Snowball," Darcy interjected, sneering at the Collector, "did you and your dominatrix forget what happened last time someone tried to conquer us 'neither fierce nor intelligent' pawns with an army of dumb crustaceans? Hint: He failed. Miserably. What makes you think this time will be any different? No offense, Jazz," she added as an aside.
"Preparation," the Collector answered simply. "Having access to the Tesseract before the invasion makes for . . . quite a difference . . . and a weapons upgrade."
"The Chitauri have Tesseract weapons," Darcy concluded.
"Oh, yes," the Collector said, smiling sickly. "State of the art. Your Avengers . . . they do not stand a chance."
"But Thanos will not win," Loki said, this coming to him as a sudden certainty. "Midgard, the Avengers, Darcy, they will fight him with everything they have and more. And so will I. Once, I might have settled with being given my own world to rule over, not caring what would become of the rest of the galaxy, but not anymore. And what of the other worlds? They will rather perish than bow down to Thanos. He will have an empty galaxy to rule over."
To Loki's surprise, the Collector's smile only deepened at that. "Oh . . . but that is the plan . . . Mr. Laufeyson," he drawled. "For there is no better way to please Death than to . . . kill . . . no?"
"What the actual shit are you on about, Snowball?" Darcy exclaimed. "Jazz Hands? What's he talking about?"
"Thanos plans to end all life in the entire galaxy," Loki stated, feeling very numb. "As a show of worship to Death, one of the Cosmic Entities. And if he acquires all six Infinity Stones, he will have the power to do so."
"Thanos and Death will rule over this galaxy together," the Collector continued, sounding enamored. "And after that? The whole universe awaits."
"Thanos lied to me," Loki said, numbness replaced by repressed rage. "If I had known his plan from the start, I would have never allied myself with him."
"Well, of course not," the Collector said, scoffing. "Thanos wouldn't have half the allies he has now if they all knew of his true intentions. Take your father for example. Would he have so willingly surrendered the Tesseract if Thanos had told him what he was planning to do with it?"
"What do you mean, 'surrendered the Tesseract'?" Loki asked, dreading the answer.
"Oh, practically begged Thanos to have it," the Collector said. "But can you really blame your old man? A Chitauri mothership arrives carrying an army and a being wielding both the Reality and Mind Stones? Of course Odin took the deal Thanos gave him."
"And what deal was that?" Loki asked, bristling.
"The very same for which you once fell," the Collector supplied. "You provide Thanos with the Infinity Stone he desires, and in return, Thanos grants immunity to your world. Except . . . as you very well now know . . . he doesn't. You should have seen the look on Odin's face when he handed over the Tesseract and Thanos gave the order for the Chitauri to attack. The Asgardian army stood no chance without their Infinity Stone. I would say stupidity runs in the family, but . . . I know you and Odin aren't actually related. Speaking of Odin, what do you say we finally go and pay your daddy dearest a visit? I am sure he misses you so."
Suddenly, Loki found himself being unceremoniously shoved forward by the two Einherjar guarding him. He hardly noticed however; learning of Odin's surrender had been the weight to finally crush him; he now found himself in a stupor.
Darcy, on the other hand, was far from it. "And where does this end-all-life-in-the-galaxy plan leave you, huh?" she yelled angrily at the Collector. "Aren't you too part of the life in this galaxy? Ever stop to consider that?"
"Miss . . . Lewis . . ." the Collector replied, a look of mock softness on his face, ". . . while I am touched . . . truly . . . by your concern . . . I must inform you that you needn't worry about me. My deal with Thanos dictates that I will be left alive, and more than that, I will be allowed to collect and keep one living specimen of every single species in the galaxy . . . before the rest are obliterated of course. I will have the greatest collection in the entire universe!"
For a moment, Darcy was dead silent. She then burst into raucous laughter. "You talk about Loki and his dad being stupid—" she wheezed, "—but you're the biggest dumbass in this room! You really believe Anus will keep his promise? Fuck, no! He'll go back on his word like he will with all the rest of his so-called 'allies'. You're signing your own death sentence, and you're too dumb to even realize it!"
The Collector chuckled, a smirk twisting his lips. "Your fire . . . I like it. But I think I'd like extinguishing it even more. Perhaps . . . you can be the human specimen in my collection? Just imagine . . . eternity in a glass case . . . with no one but me to . . . keep you company."
Darcy snorted. "Yeah, dream on, buddy."
The Collector's smirk deepened. "Easy thing to do when your dream is already halfway to reality. But you are stalling, Miss Lewis. Didn't I say Odin is waiting to see his son?" With that, the Collector ordered Loki's guards to continue shoving him along to the Observatory exit. "You three, you come with us too," he then added, motioning at the three remaining Einherjar in the room. "You, bring her," he said, pointing with the scepter at Darcy and her Chitauri guard. "You five,"—he gestured at Heimdall and the four remaining Chitauri—"you stay here. And you,"—he turned and stared lengthily at the Krylorian girl, who winced—"you too are coming with us, my dear."
The Krylorian picked herself up obediently from the floor and, limping, joined her master at his side. The group complete, the Collector gave the order to leave the Observatory.
A skiff awaited them just outside the entrance, which Loki and Darcy were forced to board. The rest of the group joined them, with one of the Einherjar not guarding Loki taking the helm.
With the Einherjar steering, the boat-like hovercraft took off down the Rainbow Bridge toward the City of Asgard. With a craft of such speed, the journey took only a few minutes, and in Loki's state, he hardly registered even those. In no time at all, he and Darcy were being forced to disembark at the foot of the Asgardian Palace.
"Come along now," the Collector said, an unusual darkness gathering behind his eyes. "Not far left to go."
He led the group into the Palace, leading the way down golden corridors, through ornate archways, and up and down sets of stairs. Every once and again they passed a guard keeping watch, either a blue-eyed Einherjar or a Chitauri.
"Where are you taking us?" Darcy asked after several minutes of this.
"To the Allfather's Throne Room," Loki, who knew the way only too well, answered on the Collector's behalf.
And he was right: In a couple more minutes, the group passed through a final archway and entered a great chamber, at one end of which, on a raised platform, sat the king of Asgard's ornate golden throne.
And at the base of the platform, on the floor below the throne, stood Odin.
No less than twenty guards surrounded him, Asgardian and Chitauri alike, one of whom wielded Gungnir, Odin's spear. Odin himself stood facing the throne, his back to the entrance of the Throne Room, and as Loki took in his father's appearance, he felt sick.
Odin stood hunched, his head hung, looking exhausted even from this distance. Gone were his helm and golden armor, leaving him in nothing but his tunic, trousers, and boots. As the Collector's group approached him, he twitched and then, slowly, turned around.
Loki reeled.
The front of Odin's white tunic was stained crimson with blood. His golden eyepatch had been taken from his face, revealing the scarred hollow beneath. But his other eye . . . his other eye was gone too. All that remained was a gaping red socket, blood dried in rivulets down Odin's left cheek. And yet, though he was now completely blind, Odin looked at Loki as if he could see him plain as day.
"My son . . . ." he said, and there was love in his voice, and a smile on his lips.
"Father . . . ." Loki whispered.
"And the spirited Lady Darcy," Odin continued, once again looking directly at the object of his words.
"Yes," Loki affirmed.
Odin nodded once. "I give you my blessing."
Loki caught Darcy's gaze at that moment, and was unsettled to see that for the first time since he had arrived on Asgard, she looked afraid. And not for herself.
"What a . . . heartwarming . . . family reunion," the Collector drawled out then. "All by the will of Thanos of course. Except for the eye. That was exclusively my handiwork. I am afraid I became somewhat . . . overzealous."
"You fucking bastard," Loki growled. "I give you my word that you will suffer everything my father did."
"Don't . . . make promises you can't keep," the Collector replied, strolling over to the guard holding Gungnir. "May I see that?" he ordered, taking the spear from the guard and giving her the scepter instead. "Quality weapon, this," he continued, examining the spear and testing its weight in his hand. "Forged from uru, is it not?"
"Loki?" Odin called out.
"Yes, Father?" Loki said.
"Tell your brother and Lady Jane . . . they have my blessing also."
"I will. Of course, Father."
"And Son?"
"Father?"
"Make not the same mistakes as I."
"Father, don't say—"
A glint of gold and a swish of metal through air interrupted Loki mid sentence, as without warning the Collector turned on his heel and swung Gungnir at Odin's legs, quite literally knocking Odin's feet out from under him. The Allfather fell heavily onto his back.
"NO!" Loki roared. "DO NOT TOUCH HIM. YOU HEAR ME? LEAVE HIM BE, YOU DEVOLVED FUCK—"
"Too . . . much . . . damned . . . blabbering," the Collector interjected disinterestedly. "It's time we get back to the action. Watch carefully, Mr. Laufeyson. Thanos was very specific that you be present for this."
Loki was bracing against the guards restraining him so hard, he thought his arms might snap. "YOU LAY ONE FINGER ON HIM AND YOU ARE DEAD. THAT IS SOMETHING I CAN PROMISE YOU NO PROBLEM—"
But the Collector was not listening. Instead, he bent slightly toward Odin. "Any last words, Your Eternal Majesty?"
"Yes," Odin said with a smile. Once again, though he was blind, he seemed to look the Collector directly in the eyes. "May whoever takes your worthless life and frees Asgard from your tyrannous rule, be he Aesir . . . or Jotun, become King of Asgard in my stead, and may he rule justly and mercifully, and may he not rest until the scourge known as Thanos has been wiped from this universe."
Though Odin had not spoken loudly at all, his words seemed to reverberate through Loki's body, as if Loki were feeling them, not hearing them. Odin might as well have spoken directly into Loki's soul.
"Not bad," the Collector said, shrugging. He then turned the spear in his hands blade down and plunged it into Odin's chest.
And for the first time in his life, Loki felt a being's life be extinguished.
He faltered, dropping to his knees where he stood. Around him, commotion: The Krylorian woman was sobbing uncontrollably into her hands, the Chitauri were screeching and grunting their approval, and Darcy Lewis was struggling viciously, a stream of unsurpassably filthy profanity spewing from her lips.
The Collector withdrew Gungnir from Odin's chest and considered the spear for a moment, before tossing it to the ground beside Odin's body. "Well . . . that is that. Now, for some . . . real . . . fun." Retrieving the scepter from the Einherjar who had been keeping it for him, he left Odin's body and approached Darcy instead.
Loki was back on his feet in an instant. "Consider your next move very wisely, Tivan."
"Miss . . . Lewis," the Collector purred, ignoring Loki altogether.
Darcy spat in his face.
The Collector slowly wiped the spittle from his jaw with the back of his white-gloved hand. "Oh . . . you shouldn't have done that . . . Miss Lewis." And before Darcy could so much as blink, he raised the scepter and touched the tip of the weapon to Darcy's chest.
"NO!" Loki yelled.
But it was too late. The effect of the Mind Stone's power was instantaneous. Darcy relaxed in her Chitauri guard's grip, the angry tears which had been streaming down her cheeks seconds earlier drying up in her ethereal-blue eyes.
"Well, you can let go of her now, you idiot," the Collector snapped at the Chitauri, who obeyed, releasing his grip on Darcy's shoulders.
Darcy remained where she was, making no attempt to get away.
"Now, you two," the Collector said then, addressing the two Einherjar restraining Loki, "release him."
The guards obeyed immediately, and Loki found himself unexpectedly free of restraint.
"What are you playing at, Tivan?" he asked the Collector distrustfully.
The Collector once again ignored him, turning back to Darcy instead. "Now, you," he told her, using the scepter to point at Loki. "Kill him."
At once, without saying a word and with no expression on her face, Darcy marched up to Loki and immediately went for his neck. Loki caught her wrists in his hands, easily keeping her attempts to strangle him at bay, but she just continued to struggle against him, reaching with all her might toward him, her eyes cold and lifeless.
"Darcy . . . please . . . ." Loki begged, knowing full well . . . too well . . . how futile it was.
Meanwhile, the Collector burst into a fit of delighted giggles. "Oh, wonderful, wonderful!" he exclaimed, ambling over and watching on excitedly.
Abruptly, Darcy stopped struggling against Loki. At a loss, Loki let go of her wrists, only for her to immediately plunge a hand into the Collector's coat pocket and pull out Loki's dagger. Loki barely managed to deflect the blow she then proceeded to aim at his face, the dagger glancing off his breastplate instead. But Darcy did not stop. No, she continued to strike at him with increasing viciousness, Loki continuing to deflect her blows, and the dagger continuing to glance off his breastplate, his arms, with more and more force and at more and more concerning angles.
"Darcy, please, you'll hurt yourself!" Loki cried out, unable to keep the fear and desperation out of his voice.
"You know she won't stop . . . ." the Collector cooed in his ear. "Not until she kills you . . . or you kill her."
And finally, Loki knew what he had to do. He caught both Darcy's wrists in his left hand, stilling her movements, and wrapped his right hand around Darcy's throat. He steeled himself, and then, with infinite self control, he began to squeeze.
Darcy's eyes widened, her pulse quickening beneath Loki's fingers. She began to struggle, writhing and kicking frantically, the dagger dropping out of her hand, but she might as well have been attempting to struggle against a stone wall. Her pulse grew erratic, her eyes bulged, and it took everything Loki had for him to keep choking her.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry," he repeated endlessly, shutting his eyes against his own brutality, unable to bear the sight of Darcy's face anymore.
Until quite suddenly, Darcy stopped struggling, going limp as a sleeping baby underneath Loki's hands. Loki immediately released the pressure on her throat and caught her in his arms, placing one hand on her chest and two fingers on her carotid. Her chest rose and fell as her lungs finally refilled with air, her pulse slowing to normal, but she remained, thankfully, unconscious. Loki breathed a sigh of relief.
"Oh," the Collector, who had been watching on with utter rapture on his face, said. "Well, that was . . . underwhelming."
"Sorry to disappoint," Loki answered, hoping the look on his face conveyed sufficiently his desire for the Collector's blood.
"Whatever," the Collector huffed. "I was getting bored of you two anyway. In fact . . . I think it's prime time you went away and let me get on with my work. I have an Asgardian army to assemble, you know." He looked around at the guards at his disposal, before calling forward two Einherjar and two Chitauri. "You four will escort Prince Loki down to the dungeons. You two"—he pointed at the Chitauri—"will remain down there to guard his cell, but you"—he pointed at the Einherjar—"will return and meet me in the Hall."
"Yes, sir," said the first Einherjar.
"What of the mortal?" inquired the second. "Should we dispose of her now?"
"No," the Collector said, looking at Darcy with something akin to hunger in his eyes. "I have grown rather fond of her boldness. Perhaps . . . . Perhaps I will make her my escort. My current one is getting somewhat boring, so an update is probably due."
The Collector's current "escort" squeaked and paled at the threat of being replaced, which the Collector completely ignored.
Loki smirked at him. "Miss Lewis would rather die than become your slave. I can guarantee that."
The Collector shrugged. "I would honestly be fine with that too." He nodded at the four guards who had surrounded Loki and Darcy. "Take them away. And . . . put them in the same cell . . . for fun. Miss Lewis still has her order . . . and how many times can one strangle another being half to death?"
The guards moved in, one of the Chitauri reaching for Darcy, still completely unconscious. It took all of Loki's self control to keep himself from telekinetically breaking the beast's neck.
"Don't even think about it," he growled, lifting Darcy into his arms. "I'll carry her."
The Chitauri did not argue. Instead, Loki was shoved in the back and forced to turn around and walk back toward the entrance to the Throne Room. Once back out in the hallway, he chose a moment when his actions would go unnoticed by the guards to finally free Darcy from the scepter's curse: Laying a hand on Darcy's chest, he used his magic to fixate on the Mind Stone's power within her. He then proceeded to siphon that power into his own body, but since he was impervious to it, he simply expelled it in a burst of magic energy.
It was then that he noticed the red bruises which had appeared on Darcy's neck. Clearly, his so-called "saving" of her would leave a lasting mark. Guilt and self hatred filling him, he wondered how Darcy could ever forgive him.
More importantly, he wondered how he could ever forgive himself.