The sessions to identify and desensitize Shay's triggers were grueling, and she was grateful for Loki's presence. He could sense when she was reaching her limits better than she could herself.
There was something uncanny about the bond they had formed through the nature of the magic they had in common, it continued to unnerve everyone around them, especially the Avengers who fought against him before. But Shay trusted him, implicitly. And Loki had fought with them and helped save her life. That would have to be enough for her friends.
A glance of her tired eyes and Loki was placing a hand on the technician's arm.
"I think that's quite enough for today, thank you."
Deft hands flipped switches, and the cradle powered down.
Shay accepted the offered hand as she lifted herself from the chair onto tired legs, and Loki tucked her hand into his arm in a way that disguised how heavily she leaned on it for support.
"Have you heard from Thor lately?" Shay asked as the elevator carried them to the ground level. The statesmen had been orbiting for two days now and she knew Loki was anxious about Thor's mission.
"Yes, he called last night, he and Banner have managed to convince the Norwegians to allow our people a tract of land to rebuild."
There was no hint of bitterness in his tone, but Shay could feel his frustration and she sent a wave of understanding comfort through her palm. The warmth of it broke through his cool façade.
"I should be there, Thor was never taught to navigate the delicacies of diplomacy, he was taught to rule with absolute authority. I don't begrudge him the throne, not anymore, but now, here, I could be of use and I can't even go to meet my people."
The words rushed in a torrent from his lips and he stopped, turning to face her, willing her to see his side of things, the way he'd often tried to argue his case before. He'd been left behind in Wakanda as his brother went to secure a new home for Asgard. Loki's history on Earth wasn't something that could be easily overlooked, and few believed the story that he had changed sides.
"I understand."
And she did, of course she did.
The momentary relief of being understood was broken by the sounds of shouting just outside the palace doors. Loki turned, tense, a staff appearing in his hand, ready.
"Is that Loki?"
"Why is a villain roaming around freely?"
"Angel, Angel, is Loki mind-controlling you?"
Shay placed a soothing hand on Loki's arm and golden light crept from her other hand to test the intentions of those beyond the glass.
"Reporters. I knew they'd find me eventually."
"They ought to leave you in peace." Loki stated roughly, his eyes still throwing imaginary daggers at the impertinent questioners.
"No, it's ok Loki, I'd rather get it over with," she sighed, "besides, I've got something to say, and you'll get me out of there if it gets crazy, right?" the look she gave him wasn't doubt, just a gentle reminder that she trusted him to keep her safe, and not lose his temper.
Camera's flashed as Shay stepped out of the palace doors on Loki's arm. Golden light becoming a near solid barrier at waist height that pushed the crowd back several paces. She raised a hand and a hush fell and the flashing and popping of camera's stopped altogether.
Sam noticed first, having perched on the arm of the couch as Bucky settled into his old room. The TV was playing silently, replaying snapshots of the video Stark had released between Newscasters comments and questions.
A banner ran across the screen.
Breaking news: live broadcast of the Avenging Angel in Wakanda.
"Hey, guys?" Sam asked, his tone strained as Shay stepped in front of the cameras and he hit unmute on the remote. "I think you should see this."
Steve and Bucky reached the living room just as the crowd on the screen quieted.
"I appreciate that you have questions, but I'd like to say a few things."
Shay breathed in and out slowly and the viewers seemed to breath with her as she steeled herself to speak again.
"First, Loki fought with us, fought with me against Thanos." Loki shifted uneasily beside her and her voice grew stronger. "Thanos was the puppet master behind the invasion of New York, and Loki was his puppet. Only time can prove to you all that he has truly changed, but I would ask you to give him that chance."
Muttering broke out among the reporters and one haughty voice shouted, "he's got you under a spell!" Shay flinched, her aura flickering to green.
"Watch how you speak to the Lady, sir." Loki's eyes flashed dangerously at the man though he didn't move from Shay's side.
"It's alright Loki, can't blame them for not understanding." Her soft words were barely picked up by the camera and she turned back to face the accuser. "How can I prove to you that I'm telling the truth?"
Beats passed and Shay focused on breathing and not crumbling under the pressure as she waited.
"Make him kneel." There was vindictive pleasure in the heckler's voice now.
"Yeah!" Several others shouted their agreement, laughing.
Loki shuddered as though the words struck him. Humiliation. Something they believed he would never do of his own free will.
"I won't." Shay said, removing her hand from his arm quickly. "Force him to kneel, for your pleasure? To embarrass the bully? What? We fight bad guys and then we become them? No."
A restless shifting grew amongst the reporters. Uneasy. On the one hand, her words shamed them for their petty power fantasy, on the other hand this could just be another Loki tactic.
"A Prince of Asgard does not take a knee to those beneath him." Loki spoke with an authority and formality that reminded them forcibly that he was raised in a royal court as rich with manners and proper etiquette as any monarchy on Earth.
The strength of his words left them entirely unprepared for what he did next.
"Lady Mercy." Loki turned to Shay and dropped to one knee, materializing a sheathed dagger in his raised palms and bowing low. "Take this weapon as my oath, and with it, strike me down if I fail."
The camera shook slightly as gasps rang out. There was ancient ceremony here, an offering of fealty that even the modern mind could comprehend.
Shay accepted the dagger, and smiled gently at him. "Thank you, Loki Laufeyson."
She offered him a hand and he bowed over it before rising smoothly to his feet and tucking it into his arm. Shay was again turning to the observers. "I trust that was sufficient? Good, because I still have one more thing to say."
She was tired now and it showed as she shifted from one foot to the other and leaned more and more heavily on the arm of the man beside her.
"I'm petitioning the President of the United States to pardon Sargent James Buchanon Barnes."
"The Winter Soldier?" a new voice called out, confused rather than combative.
Bucky couldn't tear himself away from the screen though he could feel the looks Steve and Sam passed behind his back as he sunk down onto the couch.
"Sargent Barnes was captured by Hydra, held as a Prisoner of War for nearly seventy years and subjected to nearly every war crime outlawed by the Geneva conventions provision for POW's. Hydra is responsible for what they have done, don't punish him for their crimes."
Shay's shoulders rose and fell with another long breath and then she was looking into- or rather- through the camera. Bucky felt as though she was looking right through him as she finished speaking.
"Sargent Barnes is a good man, and he deserves to be free."
The barrier wall shifted, wrapping Shay and Loki in a protective bubble as they made their way through the crowd to the waiting vehicle. From the right angle it was just possible to discern the woven gold and green brocade shimmering over its surface. The many questions that had been burning in the reporters minds mere minutes before had dissolved as the Angel spoke, replaced with a quiet kind of respect.
The impression left behind was of a woman who was tired, bearing a greater weight on her shoulders than the public had seen since her first dramatic debut, being dragged unconscious from the hospital in Poland by heavily armed operatives.
Still, though the price of their salvation had nearly cost her her life, she used her voice to champion the causes of others, to bring peace. And Loki- the monster of Stuttgart and New York, intent on subjugating a people he had seen as weak, showed deference to her.
Shay had been called by many names in her time as an Avenger.
Angel of Sokovia, Angel of Lagos, Angel of lights, the Avengers Golden Girl, and most recently, the Avenging Angel.
And while the title of 'Angel' would follow her for the rest of her life, the name that people would call out when they saw her in the street would from now on be Mercy.
