here's a longer chapter! thank you for reviews, as always, and for your constructive criticism. i'm aware that for the most part, i'm sticking to the plot, so i can't add as many twists and turns as i'd like, but i'll try to sneak some in. enjoy!
Gathering his scepter, he exited the cargo hold and slipped through an open door that I supposed led to the cockpit, his task finished. I laid on the bench for a while and eventually drifted off, but I didn't really sleep. I don't really like people watching me when I sleep because that when I'm at my most vulnerable.
My thoughts kept swirling around. I worried more about Dr. Banner than anyone. I didn't know anything more about him than his name, his research, and what he could turn into. Why was I so worried about him? Perhaps because he was the kindest to me.
Cold calculations and hard facts weren't going to help me now. I couldn't make any conjectures whatsoever. Right now, I was flying blind on pure instinct and feelings, which I wasn't good at. Since meeting Loki, that's all that I'd been doing: feeling things. Rage, heat, shame, fear, sadness, joy...
And another emotion I couldn't escape. The lingering feeling of Loki's slender hands on my ankle hadn't left me, and that unnerved me.
Feeling like something was about to happen, I sat upright, staring at the plane's hatch. My eyes scanned the room for parachutes, but there was nothing now. Not that I was looking forward to jumping thousands of feet out of a plane, and I'd surely be killed. But it was worth a try. Below me laid my discarded boot and sock; wearily, I put them on, trying to put as little pressure on my injured ankle as possible.
Next to him, the door opened, and it was Loki who strode through, irritation etched on his face. "Tell me what you know about the arc reactor."
"Pardon?" I twisted my neck to glance at him. "I don't know anything about that."
"It is the arc reactor that powers the building of Tony Stark," he clarified with a grunt. "The power source."
What more did he want from me? The lines of Loki's face tightened while he waited for an answer, but I wasn't going to give one. There wasn't anything on the arc reactor of any value on the disk.
"It's clean energy," I grumbled, laying back down on the bench. CNN and MSNBC wouldn't shut up about how amazing the technology was.
Next to me, he released a sigh of annoyance. "Elliot, I grow tired of your refusal to accept-"
"I said I don't know anything," I repeated firmly, sitting upright again. "I don't remember anything, and if I did, don't you think I'd tell you? You have that damned scepter in your hand, anyway."
His words held a slight tremor to them. "And I very, very prepared to use it." For the second time, he looked terror-stricken, his eyes darting around the cargo hold as if he knew someone was watching him. An idea came back to me.
Hypothesis: There's more to this than just Loki.
In science experiments, I learned that I had to test my hypothesis to prove it. I searched my mind for anything that I might've known about it. Carefully, I spoke, keeping my eyes on his face. "It can power a building for a year."
Visibly, relief flashed across his face, and his shoulders relaxed. "Perfect. Are you aware you've betrayed your friends yet again?" he questioned, his lip curling to the side.
I took no notice of his words, knowing he was trying to distract me. What he'd just done was nearly enough to prove my hypothesis. He was working for someone. And whoever that someone was, he was intimidating.
"Who're you working for?" I asked bluntly, watching him still.
He began to take slow steps backwards. "I work alone." Loki raised an eyebrow, clearly amused with my question. "Don't go anywhere."
As if I could.
I estimated that four more hours passed before the plane landed. The aircraft came to a surprisingly gentle stop on the ground. Where had we landed? We could be in Europe, for all I know. I stood upright, putting as little weight on my injured ankle as possible. At that same moment, the metal door opened ceremoniously, and Loki entered, flanked by two guards. One of them pulled a pair of handcuffs from his belt, dangling them from his pointer finger tauntingly.
"Cuff her," murmured Loki. Without hesitation, the guard stepped behind me, clamping the silver cuffs around my wrists. None too gently, I was nudged down the ramp, and into the light. The brightness of the sun stung my eyelids and I recoiled, squinting my eyes. The moment I stepped into the sunlight, I began to sweat, beads of perspiration forming on my forehead. My uniform felt tighter than normal.
Once my vision cleared, and I glanced around. "Why are we in New York?"
I surmised that we were in Midtown Manhattan, judging by the skyline. The plane had landed on the top of a roof somewhere. I turned in the guard's arms, surveying the city before me. Tall, gray buildings filled the landscape, with roads crisscrossing in nearly every direction.
The answer to my question was right behind me. As I turned around again, I found myself staring at five letters that formed a familiar name: Stark.
You're kidding.
"How am I supposed to power a machine to bring Chitauri to Earth if it will only last two minutes?" inquired Loki, sliding into my line of vision. His emerald eyes stared intently at me, as if he were concentrating very hard at something.
"The what?" I repeated. With an air of flair, he motioned to something behind him.
Leaning past him, I saw what Dr. Eric Selvig had been working on for days.
In the middle of the device was the Tesseract, burning brighter than ever, held in suspended animation by two large, silver bolts. Below it seemed to be an electric field. Above the Tesseract was an intricately designed contraption that seemed to support a tunnel extending towards the sky, surrounded by silver, red, and yellow items, holding a circular ring in place. Above that ring was a larger silver ring supporting a golden orange, rotating device. Standing in front of it was Dr. Selvig, hunched over a computer which was plugged in at least 5 places from cords.
The sound of the aircraft taking off alerted him to our presence and he turned around, shielding his eyes from the breeze. I twisted my neck around uncomfortably to watch the plane until it became a dark spot in the horizon.
"Loki!" Selvig exclaimed. He shuffled across the gravel over to the Asgardian, who smiled at the man with fondness. "It's nearly done." Selvig wiped perspiration from his forehead and wiped it onto his stained plaid shirt. Since I'd seen him, he turned from the respectable astrophysicist I knew to a man suffering from the effects of Loki's magic; he'd lost weight, his blond hair was matted against his skin, and his face was covered in dirt. If I didn't know him, I would have thought he was homeless.
"You've done so well, my friend. Have you harnessed enough power?" Loki clapped his hand on Selvig's shoulder.
"Nearly enough, I just need a little more and it will be complete," the scientist said, pointing to the device. "The arc reactor will be just enough power."
Then Selvig turned to me, clearly pleased that I was there. He extended his hands, reaching for me, but I moved away as much as I could while restrained. I wrinkled my nose, the scent of sweat hitting my nostrils. What did Loki have him on?
Selvig drew back, hurt, but then he smiled anxiously, rubbing his hands.
"You should see what I've done," he tried hopefully. "It is miraculous."
"What is it?" I glanced at the device again, eyeing the Tesseract. For a moment, I glanced around Manhattan; how was no one noticing this?
It was Loki who answered. "What it is doesn't matter at the moment. What matters most is that my final part of the plan is completed." Suggestively, he raised the scepter to eye level.
Again with the scepter? My gut twisted, eyeing the gleaming curved tip.
"And what do I have to do with it?" I asked warily, shifting my feet in the gravel. "You got what you wanted." He has the power for the device - what else did he need? "All you really need to do is ask me and you know I'll do it."
With a wicked gleam in his eye, Loki smiled. "I'm not too sure about that anymore, Elliot. I think you're a liability. I can't just let you go running off through the streets on your own," he chastised, widening his eyes with innocence. "You are in my care." Instinctively, I leaned backwards from his towering frame.
Loki's lips quirked while he examined my face, clearly in the middle of some internal debate. The only sounds around me were my breathing and the humming from the device while I waited for Loki's decision.
"However...you are a trustworthy young woman...release her." My heart leapt at his words, and a smile threatened to break through my lips, until my brain kicked into action, reminding me of who I was dealing with. Loki spun away from me, turning his attention to the device.
"What?" Behind me, there was a click, and my hands dropped limply to my sides.
"I said you can go," Loki replied simply, twisting his head to look at me. "You can leave. Run to your precious S.H.I.E.L.D, back to their arms, little Elliot. Your job is done. Selvig, return to your work." His words were clipped, and Selvig hastily scurried back towards the computer.
I remained rooted to the spot. Frankly speaking, it wasn't possible. "You and I both know you're lying." My voice was stronger than it had ever been, because I knew I was right. "My job isn't finished. You still have something planned for me." Loki glanced at me out of the corner of his eye. "We both know you wouldn't let me go without a fight. It doesn't make sense."
"I'm telling you to leave. As I have said, you are finished here, and I no longer wish to be in your presence. If you do not leave, I will make you."
I knew that this was another one of this tricks, just a ploy to make me think that I was free. Later, I knew he was going to try something underhanded. It was just in his nature.
"Your friends are on their way," continued Loki, his voice low. "Would you wish to be seen in my presence? Your darling captain, your iron man? No, of course not. So leave." His tone allowed no room for argument. Without another word, he returned to the device, stroking the metal of the device with his slim fingers like it was precious to him.
Chewing on my lip, I turned away, my eyes falling down to look through the glass windows of Tony's living room. "Why?" If you're not up to your tricks, what are you up to?
Loki didn't answer, and I curiously glanced over my shoulder, to see if he'd heard. He still stroked the metal of the device lovingly.
"Because when the Chitauri come, they will come for everyone, and you'd be the first to die if you were here." He chuckled quietly. "So run."
Stark's Tower was difficult to get out of, but after I'd gotten out of the building and onto the street, my mind registered that I was a tough situation. Loki allowed me to escape because he knew I would die first (supposedly). What was I going to do now?
Obviously, the first step was to get into S.H.I.E.L.D.'s hands and tell them of what he was trying to do.
I rubbed my sore wrists and limped down the streets of Manhattan nervously, ignoring stares of people interested in my uniform. My main mission was to get to a phone.
Around me, Manhattan was busy as always, people crossing the street, sitting outside at a cafe ordering a sandwich or a coffee, completely unaware of what was going on. Unless S.H.I.E.L.D. did something, and rather quickly, they would find themselves mixed up in all of this.
My efforts to find a phone took me into a local public library. I swallowed my embarrassment as I strode across the foyer, earning curious looks, until I reached the pay-phone that offered free calls.
For the second time, I dialed S.H.I.E.L.D.
"Hello, you've reached Rich's Record Shop, with all your record needs," a cheerful female voice said at the other. I exhaled, knowing this was standard. No one ever actually answered, "Hello, we kill aliens, how may we help you?"
"Access code 7342442," I murmured quietly. There was some rustling on the line.
"Agent Pedagia, is that you?" Helen's voice said sharply on the other line. "What the hell are you doing in New York? I thought you were dead!"
"Skip the theatrics, Helen, I need you to patch me to Fury."
"What the hell for?" she demanded, her voice rising in pitch. "I want you to tell me what happened right now!"
"There's no time!" I whispered urgently, looking around the crowded foyer. "Loki is on top of Stark Tower with the Tesseract right now."
She was silent for a long while, and then I realized she was patching me through.
"Agent Pedagia, I don't know what the hell is going on here, but I'm damn tired of it," Fury's voice barked. "Are you on our side, or his?"
"I have been, and always will be on S.H.I.E.L.D.'s side, sir."