"Well?" Loki's sharp voice cut through her thoughts. "Give me a reason why I shouldn't kill you. You have my attention; don't waste it."

"I know everything." Melody blurted. This seemed pretty stupid to say, but on second thought, as far as they were concerned, she was right. She knew about the whole of the MCU, and if she was correct, that's all that mattered. Not only that, she knew a little bit of the comics universe, and the myths, concerning the Asgardians. They could ask her questions about the future, and, depending on what the questions were, she would be able to answer, like some sort of fortune-teller.

This could be fun.

A few fanfictions she'd read, in which someone from her world was forced into theirs, that they would get worried about creating alternate universes or revealing too much of the future.

Melody, to her great surprise, didn't care.

Creating a branch timeline would only annoy the TVA, and she could live with that. She was dead, anyway. Maybe she'd get to meet Agent Mobius.

"Everything?" Loki raised an eyebrow skeptically. "Alright, then. What's my mother's name?"

Melody hesitated. This was, quite obviously, a test. Was she supposed to say Frigga? If so, she would be equating him with the Asgardians, and he wanted to be a god, if she was gauging the timeline correctly. But Frigga was not his biological mother, so that might not be the answer he was looking for. "Farbauti." She answered, instead.

"I beg your pardon?" Loki narrowed his eyes.

"Farbauti, queen of Jotunheim, wife of Laufey, and mother of you and your two brothers." Melody elaborated with a winning smile. Mentally, she patted herself on the back for reading up on the myths.

Loki's expression was unreadable, and he slowly turned and stared out the window. "You're bluffing." He quietly stated. "You don't know; you made up a name."

"Well." Melody went on, trying to find something she knew that he hadn't told her yet. "There was one time you transformed yourself into a snake, because you know Thor loves snakes, so he went to pick up the snake to admire it, but then you transformed back into yourself and you were like MBLERG IT'S ME and then you stabbed him." She snickered quietly. "You were eight at the time."

The man driving the car, who Melody decided must be Hawkeye, but mind-controlled, snorted, and began laughing so hard, the car swerved, and nearly hit a ditch.

"Focus, Barton." Loki hissed, placing a hand on the driver's seat in front of him to keep himself from slamming into the window. Melody had no such reflexes, and she was thrown to he side of the seat, her shoulder hitting rather hard against the wall.

"Sorry, sir." Clint replied, but Melody could tell from his voice he was smiling.

"And then there was the one time you turned Thor into a frog." Melody went on.

A small smile crept onto Loki's face in fond reminiscence, melting a bit of his harsh, proud façade. "It was a wonderful joke." He stated.

"Twas indeed hilarious." Melody quoted. It seemed like he wasn't going to hurt her, anymore, so she began to relax, and leaned her head against the back of the car's seat. "Do you believe me now?"

Loki glanced back at her, having evidently forgotten he was supposed to be interrogating her. "Ah. Yes. I believe I do. Were you searching my memories, or using a different form of magic?"

"No magic." Melody smiled mysteriously, but didn't elaborate. "Can I ask you a question, though?" Respect seemed like a helpful thing to be able to give when she felt like it, so she added, "Your highness?"

Loki gave her a cold look, the gears turning in his head visible through his eyes. "No." He decided. "You claim to know everything, so you surely know what my business is on your realm, yes?"

"You want to take over?" Melody guessed, based on his outfit, which lined up with the clothes he was wearing when he invaded. "To rule the Midgardians with an iron fist? Because the first and most impressive lie ever told was the song of freedom?"

Loki's cool gaze pierced into her soul, and for a moment, she felt as if he was actually reading her mind. Could he do that? She wasn't sure. "Precisely." He finally said, his voice giving away not a hint of emotion. "I believe a girl who knows everything would be extremely helpful in my strategical department. Wouldn't you agree?"

"Oh, boy!" Melody grinned. "I never had a job, before! How much do I get paid?"

Loki disregarded the question. "I'll need you to answer a few questions, however, before we begin. How old are you?"

"Twelve." Melody replied.

"You're rather confident for a twelve-year-old." He noticed. "Why don't you cry for your mummy, and beg me not to kill you?"

She only shrugged. She wasn't sure if her mom was still alive, even, and killing someone who'd already died seemed just a tad redundant. Loki had no need to know these thoughts of hers, however, so she kept them to herself. "I guess if you wanted to kill me, I'd already be dead." She mumbled, glancing out the window of the car at the dark landscape rushing by. Where were they even going? The movies had never spelled out exactly where the lair was, just that it was underground.

"I suppose." Loki murmured, almost as if speaking to himself. "Do you know what this is?" He held up his scepter that had been concealed by the edge of his coat.

The realization struck Melody at full force that she was in the same room as an infinity stone. "I told you; I know everything." She played it cool. "That's the Mind stone." Any self-respecting Marvel fan would know that. Unable to restrain herself from the awesomeness any longer, she reached for the handle with grabby hands. "PleasecanIholditit'ssocool!"

"Decidedly not." Loki scowled, despite obviously being flattered by her enthusiasm, even if it wasn't directed towards him. That would come later, when it sunk in that she was also in the same room as her very favorite character in the MCU. "You'd blow us sky-high." Loki explained with put-on gruffness.

That was actually more likely than not. Too bad.

"However, you're aware what I can do you with it, yes?"

She nodded slowly. "I don't think that'll be necessary, though. I have no plans to die today."

"None do." Loki quietly stated, a slow, wicked smile growing on his face. "You shall obey me, then, whatever I ask?"

Melody hesitated, pondering over what he would possibly ask her to do. "I won't kill anyone." She stated. "Not for a million dollars."

"I wouldn't ask you to." He immediately assured. "You're too young to have blood on your hands; even in war."

"Sweet." Melody cheered. "Then so long as you don't try to Do Anything with me…" She trailed off, raising an eyebrow at him.

"Of course not." He sighed, obviously thinking her to be dramatic. "I'm not a monster…?"

The young girl didn't miss how he had almost phrased that as a question. "Right. Then what will have me doing?"

"No questions." Loki reminded. "Children your age ask far too many, in my experience, and if I allow a single one, you'll never shut up."

"Fair enough." She laughed. She, of all people, knew how likely she was to talk someone's ears off the moment they let her.

"You'll have no wages." He went on. "None but the rights to tell your tale."

That seemed very dramatic, to Melody, and she couldn't help but grin in excitement. "Sounds good to me." She wouldn't have a problem with unquestionable orders if she wasn't hurting anyone, or herself, and the idea of sitting in an old, Middle-Earth style tavern, telling her tales of yore quite appealed to her.

"Very well, then." He decided, reaching forward, and taking a syringe from the briefcase resting between the shotgun and driver's seat. "One last question. How did you get here?"

"Not 'what's your name'?" Melody blinked up at him, pretending to be betrayed.

Rolling his eyes to show exactly how much he considered the pleasantries to be completely unnecessary, he relented. "Fine. Two more questions."

"I'm Melody. Melody Brooks."

"Charmed, I'm sure." He gave a polite smile. "Now, how did you get here?"

That really was the question, wasn't it?

How had she gotten here? Telling Loki this was her afterlife seemed a little far-fetched, but there was no other conclusion she could see. "I… I don't know." She finally whispered.

"I thought you knew everything." His expression darkened dangerously.

It was a little intimidating to see him switch so suddenly from "Oh, okay, let's humor the kid" to "I just caught her in a lie."

Hurriedly, she scrambled through her mind to explain. "Well…. I don't know everything…."

"You lied to me."

"No! No, I didn't!" She insisted, shrinking back against the corner between the seat's back, and the wall of the car. "I just… stretched the truth a little? I don't know everything. But I do know the stories. All the stories of this world, at least, all the ones that matter, and I know yours the best."

"My story." He echoed, softening a bit. "And all the ones that matter."

Silently, she could do nothing but nod her head.

"And you don't know how you got here, because you don't know your own story." He smiled a little, but, to her surprise, the expression held no cruelty. It was a smile of understanding. "Therefore, you can be seen as a minor character. How… depressing."

Melody hadn't thought of it that way, but honestly, he was right. Compared to him, or any of the Avengers, heck, any fictional character in any major fandom at all, she was a nobody. Her story hadn't inspired anyone to do better, or helped them through hard times. At least, not yet. She wanted to be the kind of person people wanted to read about, or watch a movie of, but this, this entering the MCU, it was the most exciting thing that had ever happened to her. Maybe she had to make it count, from here.

"Never mind that." Loki was saying, his gaze fastened on the lights ahead of them, on the road, reflecting from the headlights. "You're part of my story, now, and that has to count for something."

Melody smiled in the darkness, reminded of why she loved Loki as a character. He could try to be so cold, and unfeeling, burying his emotions six feet within himself, but no matter how hard he tried, they always shone through some way or another. That sentence had obviously been his subtle of way of assuring her that she wasn't pointless, of comforting her when she needed it the most. She was still confused, and disoriented, and trying to figure everything out in this world, and he was doing his best to make her feel at least a little important.

It was beautiful, in a way, to see his soul shining through the cracks of the cage created by his hardships.

"Thank you." She whispered, unsure if he would even hear her. He did, though, as he bobbed his head once in acknowledgement.

He turned to her, after another moment of silence, and held up the syringe, full of clear fluid. "This is a Midgardian mixture designed to make you fall asleep." He informed her. "I'm going to inject it into your vein, so you won't know the location of my base. You have no need to. There will be no ill effects save a bit of confusion, when you awaken. Don't move."

It would be just like getting a shot, Melody told herself, and turned away, holding out her arm for Loki to take. The last thing she felt was his firm grip on her upper arm, a sharp pinch, and then she was asleep.

TheOnlyHuman.