Loki lifts his scepter and points it at my chest, pausing to make eye contact. It's almost like time stops as I fully comprehend what is about to happen to me. He's going to touch that scepter to my chest, and then I will be his to command as he wishes, nothing more than a robot in human skin. I've never faced anything like this. What do I do? Try to flee? No, I won't get beyond two feet before Jere- Clint- catches me. Attack? I'll be dead in a heartbeat, stabbed through the chest like Coulson was...or will be. I refuse to beg for my freedom, so there's only one option left for me.

I straighten my posture, lift my chin, and look Loki straight in the eyes, defying him. I let him know, without a single word passing my lips, that no matter what he does next, he will never have my spirit. He can take control of my body, but he cannot take my mind. I've seen the movie. The mind stone temporarily takes over the body, removing the mind's control over it. But when he loses the battle, I'll have my body back, and he will have accomplished nothing.

Well, except terrifying the world with the Chitauri attack.

Loki's eyebrows arch slightly, and he hesitates. I can tell he wasn't expecting my sudden change of attitude. But it's not in my nature to cower to evil, and I want him to know that, so my gaze doesn't waver. He looks into my eyes for a moment, searching them. "It is foolish for you to defy me when I could snuff out your life in an instant," he says.

I glare at him. "Then I guess I'm a foolish woman, because I'll never cower to the likes of you," I say, my voice ringing with confidence. I'm glad to have my confidence back, for however long I have left. I wish I had never stepped foot in my uncle's garage, but I won't be a coward, no matter what this horned alien has in store for me.

Loki's hand tightens on his scepter. I've angered him. Great. Way to go, Vikki. You made the psycho mad. He glares at me. "Give me one reason why I shouldn't kill you where you stand."

I snort, keeping up my confident appearance, though I'm starting to lose my nerve. He was going to just kill me? "You want just one? How about the fact that murder is punishable by death here on earth? Or that you don't know who I am, if I can be useful to you? You don't even know where I came from, or how I got into your lair." I return the condescending smile he gave me a moment ago, hoping I'm not pushing too far. "Killing me would be a mistake, and we both know it."

"Do I?" Loki asks, his eyes boring into mine. My heart speeds up a bit at the implication in his words. But then, I suddenly have the feeling that he is testing me. He wants to know if I'm bluffing.

Am I bluffing? I really don't know. But if I want to live, I had better convince him that I'm not. About to blurt something I'd probably regret, I suddenly stop. What if I could be of use to him? Would I do it to save my life? Help a man who is working for Thanos, the guy who wants to kill half the universe? The very idea of helping him makes my blood boil. But I can play it to my advantage, can't I? What if I pretend to help him, then escape and get to Stark Tower or SHIELD? They'll know what to do.

Then, all of a sudden, it hits me. How I can convince him to let me live. I narrow my eyes, leaning forward in Clint's grip. "Yes. Because I have something you don't. Something you need."

He looks skeptical, but sightly interested. "And what might that be?" he asks. I hold my silence for a moment, wondering if this is such a good idea. But there is nothing else I can do.

"The ability to predict the future."

Loki's brows immediately furrow, surprise flashing in his eyes. He pulls his scepter back and eyes me, obviously trying to decide if I'm telling the truth. "No mortal can tell the future."

"This mortal can. Though the ability is rather limited."

Loki huffs a mirthless laugh. "Then how are you helpful to me?"

I frown. "Limited is better than nothing, Loki of Asgard."

Loki's eyes narrow. He hasn't told me his name yet. "How do you know my name?"

"I know a lot of things," I return. I am playing a dangerous game. If I give away too much information, I may alter the course of events that have to happen in order for Loki to fail. I definitely don't want to do that. But I have to gain his trust in order for him to let me live. "You don't believe me, do you?"

He smirks. "Why should I?"

"Because I can prove it."

"How?"

"Take me to Dr. Eric Selvig."

"I've never heard of him," Loki says. I know he's testing me again.

"Yes you have. He's working for you, designing a device that will allow the Space Stone to open a portal that will let the Chitauri into the earth."

Loki stares at me in silence for a moment, his expression unreadable this time. "Who sent you?'

I frown. "What?"

Loki steps closer, his face filling with anger. "You heard me, mortal. Answer the question."

"I... I sent myself. By accident."

"How?"

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

Loki just stares at me. I sigh.

"My uncle created a door of some sort that leads from my world to this one. I stepped through it without realizing what would happen, and found myself on the ground a few hundred feet down the tunnel about twenty minutes ago," I say, pointing in the direction I'd come from. Loki continues to stare at me, and I frown in annoyance. "Look, I know it sounds crazy, but it's not any crazier than you appearing out of nowhere in the middle of a lab experiment. Same thing happened to me, just with a magic door instead of a magic cube."

Loki's eyes narrow again. He's probably wondering where I got that information. "When did you begin working for SHIELD?" he suddenly asks. Yet another test. I frown.

"I don't work for SHIELD. And if you want proof, ask one of your men to look me up. Victoria Lillian Benton, Vikki for short. You won't find anything." I think for a minute. "Actually, you won't find me anywhere at all. Since I'm from another world, there won't be any record of me even existing before today."

For once, I'm glad Loki can usually tell when someone is lying. He knows I'm not. A silence falls after that, broken only when Loki abruptly spins on his heel and begins heading further underground through another tunnel. "Barton, bring her," he orders over his shoulder.

Clint immediately propels me forward by my arm. We follow him into a large, open underground area, filled with armed men, scientists, scientific equipment, weapons, and a host of other technological items that I can't identify. I am marched straight to the center of the surrounding chaos, to a curtained off area with several large pieces of equipment inside, and multiple scientists moving about busily. One of the constructions has a glowing blue cube within its inner workings. I purse my lips. I know exactly what that is.

Loki halts just outside the curtained area. "Dr. Selvig!" he barks. After a moment, a disheveled man with a huge smile and unnaturally bright blue eyes steps out.

"Ah! Welcome back! Have you come to-"

Loki waves his hand, silencing the doctor. Then he turns to me with a chilling look in his eyes. "You said to take you to the doctor. Now prove to me that you can tell the future."