AN: Okay, so I am very sorry that it has taken so much longer than usual to update! A combination of writer's block and school has been a pretty big impairment on the whole update schedule… :/

Hopefully this chapter will make up for it ;) I hope you like it!

and to Mac n' Meez: You asked for it, now I am giving it to you...the last scene of this is dedicated to you... hopefully you won't hate me too much XD

~Sirius

~Loki~

Loki watched Veronica go, exhaling sharply in irritation. Blasted woman. Fine, let her go.

His conscience soon got the best of him, however, and he started walking.

He kicked a bit of gravel with the toe of his boot as he walked back out the way she had gone. He had discarded his gun completely by now, dropping it somewhere along the way of getting to that confounded woman's rescue.

He looked around for her, trying to figure out where she had gone. She was carrying his child after all and he didn't think it right to let her wander around randomly. Especially after she had just been subject to the same tortures he had so long ago. He cursed the consience that had seemingly formed from no where in his mind.

The scar on his chest burned slightly, mirroring the anger she must have felt for him. He allowed himself a smirk through his irritation.

His amusement didn't last long, however. His thoughts were stopped in their tracks as a group of armed guards appeared out of nowhere. What had he expected? There was a battle going on. Just because he and Veronica had had a fight of their own did not leave a good enough excuse for everything else to stop in its tracks.

He stopped, allowing himself to be surrounded.

A fight they wanted? Fine. A Fight they would have.

Quick as a whip, Loki slashed out at the two guards nearest him, putting up a shield of magic to block the bullets of the others opposite him. In a burst of adrenaline, he kicked out, knocking the other two on their faces.

His senses heightened, he scanned the area for more guards or hellhounds. Nothing.

Until he heard the click of a rifle directly behind his left ear. He tensed, keeping his eyes dead ahead.

Another second later he heard the unmistakable zap of electricity and the soft thud of the guard that had snuck up on him falling to the ground.

"Who's helpless now, Love," Veronica's voice came across the square, mimicking his nickname for her. He turned around to face her, each and every one of his senses on fire.

"Why, you still, of course, My Little Veronica," he said, an arrogant tone slipping into his smooth voice.

~Veronica~

I glared at Loki, thinking about how much the tables had turned. If I hadn't happened to be walking through here, Loki would have had his head blown off. The irony of it was gripping.

He must have read my thoughts. "Keep in mind, dear, that if you had not disobeyed orders in the first place I would not be here."

I rolled my eyes, crossing my arms over my chest. "And the trip would have been far less interesting," I replied swiftly. "Now are we heading back to find the others or what?"

He brushed dust off of his armor, straightening up and looking at me intensely. "Perhaps," he said after a moment. He closed the distance between us, stopping when he was three feet away and mimicking my position by crossing his arms as well. "It would be better for you to head back before Captain Rogers and Fury discover your… indiscretion."

My head spun and I suddenly felt extremely dizzy. I swayed, chalking it up to the side-effects of Oberon's torture… or maybe the baby was growing or something. "Absolutely... Not…" I forced out. "I am needed here."

Loki's thin lips drew into a line so tight they looked as though they may disappear. I just stared at him, trying hard not to blink rapidly after that last bout of dizziness. Any sign of weakness was just more leverage for him to use against me… and I was NOT going back of my own accord.

Then something else shifted into that blue-green gaze. I didn't know what it was, but it made me squirm.

"Veronica, Darling," he said walking up to me to where our toes nearly touched. "I really wish you would not make me do this…"

He took me by the arm, backing me into an alley that would shelter us from any threat. He brought a cool hand to brush my hair behind my ear as he pressed his lips gently to the point under my ear, letting his mouth rest on the sensitive skin there.

"Oh, no you don't," I said, forcing out every word. "You are NOT seducing me into leaving."

He traced his lower lip down the length of my neck, resting it on my collarbone. "Oh?" he said. I could feel his cool breath exhale and his lips smile as I outwardly shivered. I cursed my body's willingness to give in to him. "I seem to remember a good deal of getting you to follow what I say…" He pulled away to meet my now unfocused eyes, resting a cool hand at my waist and trailing it to rest on my belly. I was still vaguely aware of artillery in the background, but it suddenly seemed far, far away.

Why did I let him do this to me?

I pushed him away deliberately. "No. We need to find the others."

He let out a sigh. "Of course, we do, my Darling," he said airily. He was humoring me.

"Loki, dammit," I said, slightly louder than I meant to. "Just let me-"

He kissed me on the lips once before he blew some sort of powder from the palm of his hand into my face. Everything grew foggy as I tried to cough what part of the powder I had inhaled up from my respiratory tract.

And then the darkness took me.

~Loki~

Loki lurched forward and caught Veronica as she passed out. The powder-like substance he had used to put her to sleep was of his own making. A blend of magic and Midgardian herbs, completely harmless, but extremely effective.

He wiped the remainder of the powder on his glove on the pant leg of his armor, bracing Veronica in the other hand.

Doing a double take of his surroundings, he brought her closer to him, lifting her up in both of his arms before teleporting to the front lines.

He landed squarely on his feet just as a blast went off a hundred feet from his touch down point. He staggered slightly, holding onto the girl in his arms for dear life.

Gathering his bearings, he was able to make out the figure of Iron Man in the distance blasting a whole in the outer wall. It looked like he had done so several times in different strategic points. A huge green figure had come through the wall now, signifying the rest of SHIELD had arrived. A bunch of men were swarming around like ants and hell hounds were everywhere.

"Loki?" Steve's voice came through the communicator in Loki's ear and it startled him. He had all but forgotten about the bug-like device in his ear.

"Yes?" he hissed.

"We need you back down at headquarters stat."

Loki looked down at Veronica. Well, she had brought it upon herself. Whatever Steve did to her now was entirely her fault. He was here to protect her from Oberon, not from herself.

With a shrug, he slung her over his shoulder and started walking towards the bunker. That the team had arrived in. it had moved gradually as the attack was mounted, so it was literally just a hop, skip, and a jump away from the outer wall. All he had to worry about was the enemy.

A few minutes later he was walking though the secret entrance with Veronica in his arms.

He deposited her, ignoring the looks the SHIELD agents and Rogers gave them, in one of the infirmary beds. There weren't that many wounded yet, so plenty of beds were open. The key word there was yet.

The battle had just begun.

Steve was so angry that he looked like he might spit fire. Normally, Loki would have been amused at the mortal's discomfort, but today he was just as angry as Steve was. Most of that anger, he realized, was directed at a certain mortal billionaire…

"I had nothing to do with this, Captain Rogers," Loki said as he realized that Steve's anger was directed at him. "Now if you will excuse me, I will be back. She will not be awake for an hour or two."

Before Steve could react, Loki had vanished in a puff of smoke.

Somewhere in transmission, he spotted Iron Man cutting through the sky.

Adding a layer of magic to his armor, he allowed himself to fall out of flight just as Iron Man passed under him.

Bracing himself for impact, he landed directly on the robotic figure. The force of his landing brought Stark from his flight and the two plummeted to earth.

"What the-" Stark said, shaking his head as the front plate of his helmet opened up and he saw Loki coming towards him… and flew through the air again as Loki's fist made contact with his face.

"Woah, Loki," Stark said, trying to get up. "What the hell did I do to y-"

Loki knocked him down again with his foot. "You know exactly, Mr. Stark. One word should jog your memory: Veronica? Yes, well she is here and I simply cannot fathom any other way that she would have gotten her hands on a SHIELD uniform to come with us when she was under direct orders not to."

Tony sat up, scratching his robotic head infuriatingly. "Well now, was that really a good enough reason to knock me down like that? How do you know it was me?"

Loki just glared at him.

"Woah. I've seen that look before." Then after a few minutes, " Fine. I helped her out. But she would have figured out a way with or without me. Just because you can't handle her doesn't mean that you can play a round of 'beat up Stark' every time she pisses you off. Get over yourself, buddy."

Stark cringed as Loki's fist made contact with the metal just over the round metal object in his chest that was his life source. "Damn, watch it!" Loki watched as Stark's eyes went even wider than usual at some unseen pain.

And then Stark fell over, unconscious.

Another cliffhanger, guys, so sorry! XD

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