The Singer
Part 1
Siren
It was hard to miss the camera on the ceiling, it left no blind spots, as if there were blind spots in a circle. It is true that the top and the bottom were encased in metal but the clear substance that made the protective shield between Loki and the rest of the world was something truly not from Earth. The little blinking red dot told of its recording but not to whom it was transmitting the recorded images to but it did not take a lot of imagination to conjure the image of the one staring at the screen. While the cell was in one way a window allowing everything to see and be seen, it did not show the world that existed on the other side of the metal meaning that time itself had become an illusion here earmarked with only trial and error; their errors gave way to new trials and new ways of trying to carve the secrets out of him and on and on until the next. The only unknown was the end.
Natasha watched as Loki paced around the globe he now found himself in.
"Glorious purpose," she muttered to herself as if it were the key in which to unlock the door that led to a message that could be used to decipher a dream.
Her eyes stared unblinkingly at the wall as the neurons fired in her brain connecting intermittent thought and turned it into an idea. She blinked as the answer flashed in her mind and she brought her feet to the floor causing the chair beneath her to find the ground it had been hovering over with a crack. She was on her feet before the vibration had time to travel to the person nearest her, allowing a split second of a head start to the stairwell to her left. The door on the other side of the room was already closing before Clint could open the one from the hallway allowing for the room to appear empty to someone who didn't know Natasha as Clint did; he was able to follow her steps with ease almost as of there was an electric glow emanating from them allowing his to follow Natasha's path as it meandered through the hallways of the hovercraft. Up, down, and around, Clint was only a few precious steps behind her and he knew the importance and secrecy of her task became larger the deeper he followed her. When Clint finally reached Natasha she was hanging up a phone and placing it back into the zipper on her left sleeve. Clint's nearly inaudible footsteps would have allowed him to sneak up on anyone else but Nat knew he was coming and had accomplished her task before he was even close - she has engineered him walking upon her as the closed the phone as a deception. She put her right forefinger and thumb together to mimic the opening of a bird's beak telling Clint she knew of his presence and that he was welcome in the space she occupied. Nat knew she was the only person on Earth that could get away with having the nickname of "Bird" for Clint and living to tell the tale; not even Laura could do that nor his children and knowing the bond they shared Natasha felt quite lucky to be alive at that moment sharing it with her friend. She could tell from his eyes that he wanted to question her but he knew better than to try and pry Natasha's thoughts from her when she did not intend to let them see the light of day so instead Clint drew a deep breath in and motioned for her to lead the way back to the others.
The creaking of the metal door announced their arrival back into the common area of the suite the Avengers shared, revealing that the crimson couches only held Tony Stark and his glass of whiskey on the rocks.
"Any luck?" Stark questioned as the pair sank onto one of the couches nearby.
"More like the beginning of an idea," Natasha answered back. Clint smiled to himself, allowing the faintest of chuckles to come forward; he knew where most of Nat's ideas typically led to death and dread and very little else.
While the other pieces of the team toiled away at a solution, Natasha knew it was only a matter of time before the solution came walking in through the door. Rodgers, Banner, Thor, and Stark seemed to find a way to bicker over every tiny aspect of trying to get Loki to talk and yet they could never stop long enough to see that they were all talking about the same thing but only in circles. Circles were what Loki walked in his cell as well as if the friction from his steps could melt the floor. He had been there long enough to know that the extra guards that now stood around the crystal cell meant that the hovercraft would be landing soon in order to refuel - just a few tiny minutes but still the only chance he had to escape and not attempt to fly. The agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. surrounded the cell, not allowing Loki a peak beyond their armor and latest tech weaponry that each soldier wielded. Their efforts to keep him from evening glancing something that may draw breath from the outside was a part of their tactics to break him and Loki knew that so he closed his eyes and imagined the sun meeting his face in Asgard as it illuminated the golden arches of the palace and he could hear the music drifting out the banquet hall. The music was not what held him to this moment, instead it was the small feeling of home that he felt had been torn from him forever and sent tumbling out into the reaches of space. The stars went by the fast to grab and before he knew it or wanted to his body was careening to Earth at an unstoppable speed. Far from home and all alone.
The doors opened allowing fresh air into the hovercraft for the first time in weeks, the sun's rays, bird's song, the smell of lavender, and a stranger drifted in with it. After conferring with Maria Hill for a few moments the stranger was escorted into the heart of the hovercraft as it lifted back into the sky and found itself back on it's path slowly circling the globe buying the Avengers a small amount of time to solve the riddle of the location of the Tesseract. Each member of the team had had their chance to get Loki to reveal his secrets. Stark had tried using the muscle that the suit provided but the only thing that came out of Loki was laughter. Banner and Thor tried reason and logic, a bargain for the human race in general but to no avail. Clint only sent an arrow into the pillar nearest Loki's head, a reminder that their peace was contingent on space. Rodgers and Nat had had several conversations bordering on psychological warfare between the three of them and even though they had come the closest to learning the location of the Tesseract, Loki still held back the truth.
"So what do we do now? Send him back to Asgard?" questioned Stark.
"He is from Asgard," Thor responded. "It would be the right thing to do."
"Except we don't have the Tesseract yet," Banner replied as if it were the most obvious point to the conversation. "He won't bend to anything we've thrown at him."
"I'm willing to bet he will let some information slip if we torture him," Stark retorted. At this Thor stood at attention, Loki may have made a series of bad choices but he was still his little brother, another to protect.
Natasha entered the room bringing the stranger with her, catching the attention of everyone in the room, "I might have an idea," Nat said with a hint of a smile. Clint looked up at her, returning the smirk.
"Allow me to introduce a new interrogation tactic. Guys, this is Melody," Natasha held the petite woman closely to her side and beamed with pride. Clint walked over to Melody and extended his hand towards her but she pulled him in closer for a hug. They spoke to each other in quick sign language, their excitement at seeing one another again brimming over in the actions of their speech. It was obvious to the outsiders that Natasha, Clint, and Melody had already shared a lifetime of friendship and experience together.
"I hate to bust up the family reunion," interjected Stark, "But you mind letting the rest of us into the plan?"
Natasha laughed, "Melody has a special skill set that I think may just be what Loki needs to see the light." Natasha glanced at Melody who was attempting to wrangle her long, brunette hair out of her face.
"Oh, yeah?" questioned Stark. "And what's that?"
"Every man has their weakness, Mr. Stark." replied Melody, a hint of a smile appearing on her face as she tried to project the confidence she was hoping the others would see.
"Loki is not a man and he has a special dislike for all Midguardians, even the ones with special tricks, " Thor added to the ongoing dialogue.
"I'm sure we can find something that we have in common," Melody responded as she glanced around the room taking in its many aspects and people. There was something miraculous and exciting to see everywhere that she turned; a bank of computers with complex math configurations filling their screens, a sunken in bubble that held the row of crimson couches where a few of the occupants sat, and a screen where a man with long dark hair walked across a small room.
"Is that him?" Melody questioned turning towards Natasha and motioning towards the screen.
"That's him," Natasha confirmed. "Anything you need to know before you go in?"
"Nope," Melody said still looking around the room. "I'm sure he will tell me everything I need to know once I am in there with him."
"You can't be serious," protested Banner. "We don't know who she is or what she can do. This is not rational. We need an actual plan before anyone goes in there."
"I assure you that I will be ok but your concern is appreciated and noted." Melody said to Banner as she crossed the room to Clint with whom she resumed their conversation in sign language while walking toward the sleeping quarters.
Melody dropped off the navy blue and white striped overnight bag that she had brought with her onboard onto the small bunk in the room Clint showed her to. It wasn't much to look at but then again she didn't need much, just a safe place to stay for a little while where she did not have to run all the time. She sat down on the bed placing her back against the wall and bringing her knees to her chest allowing her a few moments of solace while she breathed in the ship around her. She closed her eyes and rested her forehead on the top of her knees and took a few deep breaths to allow her to settle in and refocus herself. The journey had not been hard but the call from Nat had been a surprise. Melody hadn't spoken to Nat in about a year but that was nothing between the two of them; they would always be family.
A few knocks at the door reverberated through the small room and brought Melody back to her body and the space it was inhabiting in the ship. She placed her feet on the floor and walked to the door opening it to reveal Steve Rodgers standing on the opposite side.
"Ma'am," Rodgers started, "If you would not mind coming back to the suite with me so we could ask you a few more questions?"
"Ah, so Nat has told you a little bit about what I can do?" asked Melody.
"No, ma'am. She thought it would be easier if you showed us."
"I suppose that would be easier," Melody said as she followed Steve back to the room where she had first met the Avengers.
They were all seated on the row of couches some looking eager and some looking annoyed but all expectant of what Melody would be able to do and Natasha was right it would be a great deal easier to show them what she could do rather than tell.
She didn't say anything or offer an explanation - she simply began to sing. A simple winding tune that was simply music without words. It allowed Melody to conjure any image she wished but what she chose was to show the group sitting before her was the place she spent the smallest and yet the happiest amount of her childhood. She allowed them to see the small home with the peeling white paint and hear the cows mooing softly in the background. The soft grass provided a space for her to lie under the shade of a cascading tree where the very Earth warmed her. The vision continued as Melody sang, sending the sun's warm rays onto the closed eyelids of the Avengers and a wind that tousled their hair and brought the smell of lavender faintly with it. The vision was as real as anything that Stark had ever encountered or Banner could ever cook up in a lab. Rodgers and Thor smiled happily, lost in the dream that Melody wove for them, shaping the images at will. Only Natasha and Clint seemed almost immune to her powers but Melody knew exactly what they were seeing; they were just expecting the augmented reality while the others were not.
As her song ended, Melody made sure to bring everyone back to the reality that the actually inhabiting as gently as possible - there were few things worse than having something ripped out from under you - and once her song was finished the group opened their eyes looking at each other in dumb belief and amazement. Melody clapped her hands together and said "Ta da" while the Avengers reconnected to their senses. Natasha smiled at her the way a big sister would when you accomplish something exciting and Clint patted her shoulder in a way of saying, "job well done."
"How… what… but… and then you…" Stark stammered and gave a voice to what the others in the room were thinking. Thor, Steve, and Banner nodded as if suggesting their agreement with Stark's statement and then looking desperately at Melody to provide the answers to what had happened to them and what they had experienced.
"Are you familiar with the old sailor's tales of encountering mermaids on the high seas? Or perhaps the Greek epics that spoke of sirens? These mythical creatures sang to lure men to their deaths enchanting them with images that drove them mad. Well, now you're meeting one in the flesh just without the tail," Melody explained.
"A siren? A siren in Vans?" Stark questioned as he eyed Melody's shoes.
Melody simply nodded and waited for their minds to wrap around the new information that they had just gained. It was better to let it settle it bit by bit instead of shattering their notion of reality like a hammer to a mirror.
"What will you make him see?" asked Thor.
"Whatever will get me answers," Melody responded.
"Send her in. What have we got to lose?" Rodgers said as he gave Melody a reassuring nod; with that Natasha led her to the command room and closer to the man on the monitor.