I was jolted awake as the jet touched down. I looked around, startled at first, before remembering where I was. Natasha had already exited the craft, followed by Tony. I noticed that Loki was back on board the ship, accompanied by the blonde-haired man.
"Who the hell are you?" The man looked at me with raised brows, I hadn't meant to sound so grumpy. Loki's eyes shone with amusement.
"I am Thor of Asgard. I'm here to take my brother to my father where he is to be charged for his crimes."
I looked between the two of them, noting how different they looked from each other, "Brother?"
"Adopted", Loki corrected, a hint of ice in his voice. He seemed to have regained his desire to speak. He met my eyes and I could swear that I saw pain in the emerald depths.
Rogers grabbed Loki's arm and pulled him up roughly from his seat, "Let's go pal."
"I'd prefer if the lady escorted me", Loki told Rogers in his velvet-like voice. Steve rolled his eyes before looking over at me, his brows raised in the unspoken question.
I gave him a slight nod, "I'll take him. I need to speak to Director Fury anyway." Steve stepped away from Loki and I grabbed his arm. For someone so thin, his arms were very muscular. I pulled him forward, leading him off the jet and onto the heli-carrier. Armed guards surrounded us as we stepped off the jet, escorting us inside. I let go of Loki's arm as we made it inside and stepped in front of him to lead the way. I wish I had time to change out of the tattered pantsuit before meeting with Fury so I didn't look so ragged, but there wasn't exactly time for that.
As we passed the lab, I saw Bruce look up from his project he was working on. He looked unsettled. I turned my head to look at Loki, who was giving Bruce a malicious grin.
"Come on", I snapped, blue energy crackling along my arms. Loki turned towards me, his grin replaced with a knowing smirk. I turned back around, following the armed guards onto the elevator.
Loki stepped in behind me, close enough that I could feel a chill coming from him. I suddenly became aware of something touching my hair, or rather, someone. I had forgotten that it was even down, and I'm sure it was a mess. I felt Loki's fingers comb gently through my hair and I felt a tingle shoot up my spine. Against my will, blue energy sparked along my fingertips and I clenched my fists, willing the power to disappear. Loki's dark chuckle sounded directly in my ear behind me and I suppressed a shiver.
"Fascinating", he whispered seductively, his cool lips brushing against my ear. At that moment, the elevator doors opened and I quickly stepped off. Loki followed behind me, surrounded by the guards. We came into a large room with a cylindrical, glass cell. The glass looked extremely thick. It looked like it was built to hold something powerful. Maybe the cell was the fail-safe in case I lost control. A guard pressed a button on a nearby control panel and the cell door slid open. I grabbed Loki by his arm and led him into the cell.
I turned to leave the cell and his hand shot out and grabbed my wrist; weapons all around were suddenly pointed in our direction.
His emerald eyes sought out my sapphire-colored eyes, "Are you sure you're on the right side here?"
I snatched my hand from him, "Whose side should I be on?" His brow furrowed, but he didn't say anything else. I left from the cell and the door slid closed behind me.
Fury strode into the room and came over to me. "Sir", I said, nodding my head.
"Agent Black. Any news?"
I shook my head, "Wherever he has it hidden, he doesn't keep it nearby. And I can't sense out that far. Besides, the spear is too similar to Tesseract, they feel too similar for me to differentiate."
He nodded, "I have Banner and Stark working on something." He walked over to the control panel, turning his attention towards Loki, who had regained his confident smirk.
"In case it's unclear, if you try to escape, if you so much as scratch that glass", he pressed a button on the control panel and a hatch opened beneath the cell, "It's 300,000 feet down in a steel trap. You get how that works?" Fury gestured at the cell, "Ant", and then gestured at the panel, "Boot."
Loki chuckled darkly, "It's an impressive cage. Not built, I think, for me."
"Built for things a lot stronger than you."
"Oh I've heard. A mindless beast, makes play he's still a man", he locked eyes with me, "Perhaps even for something more powerful than that, something more unstable." Energy crackled to life in my hands and Loki smiled at me, triumphant that he had gotten that reaction. I closed my fists, but the seeds of doubt had been planted. What if they had built this cell to try and hold me? "How desperate are you that you call on such lost creatures to defend you?" I glared at him, but his good mood was unwavering.
"How desperate am I? You threaten my world with war. You steal a force you can't hope to control and you kill because it's fun. You have made me very desperate. You may not be glad that you did."
"Ooh. It burns you to have come so close", his eyes lit up in amusement, "To have the Tesseract, to have power, unlimited power, and for what?" He grinned and a shiver went across my skin. "A warm light for all mankind to share. And then to be reminded of what real power is."
Fury turned to leave, "Well let me know if 'real power' wants a magazine or something." Fury looked over at me, "Agent Black, new orders. Guard Loki." Fury turned and left before I could interject. The guards followed behind him, leaving me alone with Loki.
"Humans are foolish."
I looked up at Loki, "And why is that?"
"They attempt to find something that they already have."
"What do you mean?" He grinned.
"I'm not some imbecile. You absorbed the energy from my spear. Your powers even bonded with the Tesseract. The answer is clear in your eyes. They glow with the same power that you are able to summon and manipulate at will."
I nodded, "Only a few of them know. But they aren't interested in using my powers, they've even helped me go into hiding."
He smiled, "Is that what you think, that they aren't interested in your power?"
I stepped closer, "What do you mean?"
"You should ask what Phase 3 is. Barton told me all about it. They know everything about you, and despite what you think, they have plans" My face paled at his words and he chuckled.
"You're just trying to get in my head." I was standing directly in front of him now, I hadn't even realized that I had walked so close to the cell.
He lips curled upward into a seductive smile and his eyes darkened, "Am I?" His voice was hypnotic. This was exactly why he was called silver tongue. He stepped closer to the glass, as close as he could get to me, "Is it working?"
I quickly turned around, breaking contact and trying to clear my head of his compelling voice, "What are you planning?"
"Must I be planning something?"
"You didn't let us take you for no reason. You gave up too easy. I think you are exactly where you want to be." He smiled and sat down at his bench in the cell, but he didn't say anything.
I turned to look at him, "For what it's worth you aren't as bad as they make you out to be."
"Is that so?"
"I'm sure you've done bad things, but who hasn't? S.H.I.E.L.D. certainly doesn't have any room to condemn you. I think you're in pain, and this is your way of trying to alleviate it. You're misunderstood and hurting; I can understand that."
He blinked in surprise a few times and then recovered, his eyes becoming angry, "You know nothing about me and I do not want your pity", he growled.
"I didn't say that I pitied you. I said I understand you." His face softened and his mouth opened as if he wanted to say something, but I didn't give him time for that. I walked briskly out of the room. Loki wasn't going anywhere, and I needed a shower and some fresh clothes.
I eventually found my bunk, not before getting lost twice though. After a scorching hot shower, I dressed in a black S.H.I.E.L.D. bodysuit. I threw the remains of the pantsuit in the trash, there was no chance of salvation for it. I quickly pulled on my boots and then ran a brush through my wet hair. I left my hair down so that it would dry, the white locks falling down to my waist in slight waves. Feeling refreshed and my mind just a bit clearer, I headed back to Loki's cell before Fury noticed my absence. Honestly, I was beginning to wonder who was actually the bad guy here. Loki didn't seem like some psychopath that they were making him out to be. I made a mental note to talk to his brother about him, he could probably give me an insight into Loki's head. At least, I hoped that he could.
Loki was reclining on the bench in his cell when I walked back into the room. The guards were still absent. He turned his head as I came back into the room, a smile appearing on his lips.
"Back so soon?" he questioned.
"I have orders to watch you", I said as I approached the glass.
His eyes darkened, "Do you always do what you're told?" His voice sounded velvety as he spoke, bringing back those tingling sensations in my body. He sat up from the bench, coming to stand directly in front of me, only the glass of the cell separating us. Loki stood taller than me, so I had to look up to meet his gaze.
"Sometimes." I looked at him closely. "Are you actually in there? Or have you already escaped?" He let out a dark chuckle.
"You know me so well."
"No, I don't. But, I'm not stupid, and I've seen your power."
"And I yours", he stated. "Were you born with it?" He sounded genuinely curious.
I shook my head, "No. I used to be normal. Human." I pulled a photo from my boot. It was tattered and faded with age, but it was one of the few things that I still had from my past so I always had it with me. I pressed the photo to the glass. Loki leaned closer, peering intently at the small black and white photo. I knew it was faded, but you could still see that in the photo I had dark hair and dark eyes. After a moment, I pulled the photo away from the glass and tucked it back into my boot.
Loki's intense gaze met my eyes, his brows furrowed, "That was you?"
"Yes. That was a photo from when I first enlisted with the military and before I went overseas."
"What happened?" he asked it softly.
"I was captured. Tortured. Then when Captain America came to save the day, I didn't get out in time and I got blown up in the H.Y.D.R.A. factory. The Tesseract did this to me." I turned away from him, sliding to the floor with my back pressed to the glass. "I should be an old woman by now", I said softly. Behind me, I heard Loki slide to the floor as well.
"Join me." He said it so softly that I almost thought I was hearing things. I turned my head to look at him and found his emerald eyes gazing back at me.
"What?"
"Join me", he said, a little louder this time. "Nobody else can hurt you with you by my side. I won't let them." My heart began to pound in my chest and the energy crackled to life full force on my hands. I couldn't seem to suppress the emotions that suddenly were surging through me. I looked closely at Loki's face, but his expression was sincere. I don't know how I knew it, but I knew he meant it.
"Are you only saying this because of my power?"
"No", he said. There was pain in his voice and at that moment I knew that I was seeing a side of him that he never allowed to show. "I know what it's like to be hurt. To be lied to. You're being lied to now. I wouldn't do that to you." He pressed his hand to the glass of the cell and I gingerly placed my palm upon it. I swear I could feel the coolness from his skin on my fingers through the cell wall.
"So join you? Just like that?" Loki nodded. "We hardly know each other, we've basically just met."
A trace of a smile graced his lips, "You're like me. In that way, we know each other. Don't deny that you don't feel it too." His emerald eyes bored into my own, "Join me", he whispered.
"I…." At that moment the door to the room opened and Natasha came in, accompanied by a few guards. I pulled my hand from the glass and stood, as did Loki. He seemed to be questioning me with his eyes, but I had so many conflicting thoughts in my head. I needed time to think. I calmed the energy within me, making it disappear from my hands.
Natasha came towards me, "You're needed in the lab. Fury's orders." I tried to discern something from her eyes, but I couldn't find anything. I was almost certain Fury had audio in addition to the video in here; he probably sent Natasha on purpose. I nodded, glancing back at Loki before I left the room.
I tried to clear my head; that wasn't the first time that Loki said that I was being lied to. He was really starting to strike me more as someone who had been hurt, not some supervillain. He had been right though, from the moment I met him, I had felt something between us. He felt real to me, and I hadn't felt that way in a long time. I shouldn't feel guilty about wanting to explore that.
I must not have been paying attention to where I was going because the next thing I knew I had bumped into someone.
"Sorry", I muttered, glancing up. "I wasn't watching where I was going." Thor, of all people, stood in front of me. He looked like he had been equally lost in thought.
He nodded, "Of course", he stated. He went to walk around me, but impulsively my hand shot out and grabbed his wrist.
"Wait, please. Could I ask you something?" His blue eyes searched my own for a moment. I felt as if he could see everything that was raging war within me. "It's about your brother", I prompted. He was taking a bit longer than I had hoped to answer me. His brows furrowed and he gave a slight nod of his head, but he didn't say anything.
"Do you think he's evil?" I needed to hear from someone that my thoughts weren't crazy. "Loki", I clarified.
Thor gave me a grim smile, "I've believed for some time now that my brother has been dead. I come here to find him causing this mischief. Everyone here keeps saying how evil he is, and all of the terrible things that he's done, but I'm just grateful that he is alive. You're the first to question me."
"Everyone has done horrible things", I said. "S.H.I.E.L.D. has done much more than most others. I need to know that I'm not crazy." I said the last part softly, but Thor still heard me. He looked me over carefully and his eyes seemed to light up in realization suddenly.
"Loki is in pain. Our father has lied to him, and I myself, have hurt him. I've only recently come to the realization of how I have treated him in the past. I believe he simply wants to be loved, to be someone's first choice. He has always been in the shadows. So no, despite what everyone here would have you believe, I do not think of him as evil. I believe that right now, he is being misguided."
"You think someone is controlling him?"
Thor nodded, "Or he is working for someone that is manipulating him. Loki has always been mischievous and a trickster, but he's never gone this far." Perhaps if I joined him, I could help him. The raging thoughts in my head were beginning to calm, thanks to Thor.
"He doesn't seem too fond of you", I stated.
"As I've said. I've hurt him in the past, and I was not even aware. He has all reason to not be fond of me."
"Do you love him?"
"He's my brother, of course I do."
"So you believe that he's not too far gone?"
"I believe not, so long as someone can pull him back from the edge", he said, giving me a pointed look. I felt my cheeks burn. I felt so stupid; I was never this open with anyone. I suddenly heard Natasha's voice on my comms.
"Loki means to unleash the Hulk. Keep Banner in the lab, I'm on my way. And send Thor." I shared a look with Thor before we both set off down the hall, headed towards the lab.