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Thanks for the kind reviews, people! And thanks to my beta, dristi5683. "As iron sharpens iron…"
Day 126...continued
Puente Antiguo, New Mexico
Loki's superior intellect, combined with his capacity for magic, allows him to predict a nearly infinite number of outcomes to any situation. This enables him to manipulate most people. If he says these words or makes this gesture, that person will do this. That was how he got Thor to recklessly barge into Jotunheim. Seeing multiple variations of every interaction ensures that Loki is virtually never caught off guard.
And yet.
In no permutation of his universe has Jane Foster uttered such words to him.
He has envisioned Jane screaming in terror, trying to escape him, collapsing in a breakdown, plotting his death. But never proclaiming her admiration for his beauty.
He is, quite simply, speechless.
An excruciating moment passes while he remains locked in place, unable to look away from Jane's exploring gaze. His mind screams commands: Say something! Take control of the dream! Stop staring at her!, but it fails to provide him with actual words to say.
"I guess that makes sense, though." Jane goes on, unaware of his internal struggle. "I mean, if this is my dream, this all comes from me—from my subconscious, right?"
Perhaps she expects a reply, but Loki is still scrambling to find which circuits have tripped in his brain. Jane, on the other hand, seems to have recovered spectacularly from the trauma of a moment ago.
"So I must have created you the way I wanted you. And if this isn't real, then I don't have to just be plain old Jane, do I? I can be however I want, too. Hmm...what would Darcy do? I think...she would tell you..."
Jane looks at Loki through her lashes. "Tall, dark, and handsome gets me. Every. Single. Time."
You can use this. Run with it. Use this. It isn't the most degrading thing you've ever done. Finally. He lowers his eyelids a fraction and allows a slow smile to spread. He leans toward her and notes that her eyes widen, but she doesn't pull away. Pitching his voice to a lazy growl, he brushes the shell of her ear with his lips.
"As you wish, Jane Foster."
Loki fluidly rises to his feet and offers his hand to Jane. She stares at him, her pupils slightly dilated. Good. Keep calm, stay in control. Jane makes a leisurely scan of his whole form before accepting the proffered hand and standing.
"What now? Why are you here?" Jane pushes her hair behind her ears and straightens her skewed t-shirt. "Other than as eye candy. 'Cause—black leather? You're pushin' all my buttons, sweetheart."
It's hard to stay on an even keel when she keeps knocking him off balance. Loki holds her gaze for a few seconds before replying. "I'm here to teach you to conquer the Destroyer."
Jane's flirtatious smile drops. She folds her arms across her chest and shifts her gaze to the ground.
Loki reaches out and gently tips her chin so she meets his eyes again. "It will return again and again unless you vanquish it."
Jane moves out of his grasp and turns her back to him. "Where is it?" Puente Antiguo has disappeared, and they now stand under a wide expanse of stars in the open desert. "Where is everything? Where are we?"
"I don't know. This is your dream, Jane Foster."
Jane turns in a circle, knitting her eyebrows as she takes in the harsh landscape. She absently pulls her hair over her shoulder, the moonlight catching the caramel highlights. Coming to a stop in front of him, her face clears and a smile touches her lips. "Oh, I know! This is where I watched the Comet McNaught. Look!" She points past him, to the sky. "There it is now!"
Her whole face lights up. Loki blinks, trying to reconcile this vivacious woman with the dull creature he had found in her lab. The eager, open expression. The full, parted lips. The sparkling, intelligent eyes...Jane suddenly turns those eyes on him, beaming. "Wasn't that amazing?"
He responds with a genuine smile, unable to help himself. "Yes, it was."
She gapes at him. "Wow, when you smile like that…" Then she shakes her head, as if clearing her thoughts, "But you weren't even looking!"
"I was looking at something amazing."
Her eyes widen. This is easier than he has anticipated.
Abruptly, she grasps the lapels of his overcoat, throws her head back, squeezes her eyes shut, and begs, "Teach me!"
Loki's inky eyebrows shoot up at her boldness.
Jane opens one eye to peer at him. "Don't worry, it's just a dream. Now teach me to stop that monster!"
Shaking his head, Loki replies, "The Destroyer must be present in order to teach you."
Jane lowers her arms and opens both eyes. "Ugh. Well, then, teach me something else. I'm a fast learner."
This situation is out of hand. He should end the dream. And yet he hears himself say, "What would you like me to teach you, Jane Foster?"
Jane takes a deliberate step closer, the toes of her scuffed brown boots now touching his sleek black ones. She tilts her head back—way back—and fixes him with those whiskey eyes. Her hair slides off her shoulder and swings freely down her back.
"Anything you want," she whispers.
That's enough. They're done here.
oooOOOooo
Day 127
Puente Antiguo, New Mexico
"Wait—you said what to this guy?"
Jane giggled, covering her eyes with her free hand. "I know, right? I couldn't even believe it myself. I'm never that bold. It was just a dream, so what the heck? I just asked myself, 'What would Darcy do?'"
Darcy's smile carried through the phone. "It's just so good to hear you laugh again, boss. Shoot, you can steal my identity if it makes you happy."
Jane sighed and lay back on the couch, resting one leg on the raised knee of the other. "You should have seen him, Darcy. This man was exactly my type."
"You said he had dark hair?"
"Yes. Long, silky, wavy black—raven, obsidian, ebony, charcoal...shall I go on? And he was tall. Really tall. Deliciously long legs. And built, but in that lean way, you know? Mmm-mmm. And his cheekbones...and those eyes...oh, and the leather!—"
Darcy cut her off. "Chick. I get it. Dark and lean is your type. But what about Thor? Blond? Hunky hunk of manflesh? I thought he was the perfect man."
Jane sat up, sobered. Light from the one blind she had opened stabbed at her face. "As you said, it was just a dream. It was really nice after all those nightmares, you know?"
"Yeah, I know. I really am happy for you. So how's your awake time going?"
"Ummm…okay. I'm working on this project for Erik."
"Yeah? Cool."
"Yeah, maybe. I found out—"
"What?"
"I probably shouldn't just blab it over the phone, you know?"
"Yeah, okay, I get it. Hey, have you ever heard of lucid dreaming?"
"Lucy what?"
"No, lucid dreaming. I just googled some stuff about your dream and this popped up. It's when you are dreaming, but you know that you're dreaming, so you can choose what to do and say."
"That's what happened. I totally knew that I was dreaming. At first, when it was a nightmare, I thought it was real, like always. But then, when this guy healed me, I just knew somehow that it was a dream."
"And you say he wants to teach you to stop the Destroyer?"
"That's what he said."
"Jane, I think that might be great news. Listen, according to this article, lucid dreaming is used as therapy. It's really tricky, but if a patient is aware that he is dreaming, he can try to fix what is bothering him. Maybe your genius brain has finally had enough torture and is fighting back? Trying to make you better?"
Jane transferred the phone to her other hand, biting her lip in thought. "You think?"
"Look it up for yourself. This sounds just like what you told me."
A trickle of hope made its way down her insides. Could this be true?
"Thanks, Darcy. You're the best."
"I know, sweetie! I gotta run, okay? Love you, bye-bye."
Jane disconnected the call and rested her head on the back of the couch. Was her brain ready to heal? A shaft of sunlight fell across her torso, warming her, mirroring her emotions. What time was it? She was eager to see what would happen next in her dreams. Her phone display read 10:43 a.m. A bit early to go to bed. She giggled again. Probably should try to do some work first.
Work. SHIELD. Those SOBs. Her mood dampened, she sat up, reached for her notebook and studied the diagrams she'd drawn yesterday. Jane stared across the room at her laptop. The one that SHIELD confiscated, then returned to her. The one she stupidly didn't scour for spyware before she began using it again. She had to keep using it now, or whoever was keeping tabs on her would realize something was up.
Her heart rate sped up and nausea made her swallow hard. Breathe...breathe. SHIELD didn't own her. Jane was willing to work with them, to take advantage of their resources and connections, but she was not going to let them take advantage of her. Not again. She would never forget the feeling of standing by impotently while they carted her life's work away. But could she outwit SHIELD?
She was sure going to try. Suddenly inspired, Jane picked up her phone and scrolled through her contacts to one marked "That Guy." She was pretty sure her phone was clean. SHIELD had never touched it, and she had found no foreign components when she had taken it apart this morning. But what if there were bugs or hidden cameras somewhere around the lab? It would be better to make this call outside. Jane hesitated, her heartbeat accelerating. Breathe, Jane. Enough.
Her fingers trembled when she pulled the door open, but she set her jaw. She stepped outside, keeping her eyes on the ground. This is not a dream. This is real, and you can do this. Lifting her gaze, she held her breath as Puente Antiguo's ruined main street came into focus. A few buildings—like Isabel's diner—showed signs of reconstruction. Most were condemned, chunks of facade missing, windows blasted out, a couple completely demolished. The debris had been trucked away, but it was plain that something terrible had happened here.
Tears stung Jane's eyes, and she covered her mouth with her free hand. Here was the stark evidence that her nightmares were based in reality. Nausea swelled in her stomach and pushed at her throat. The ringing in her ears was deafening. Jane struggled to keep herself composed. She spoke aloud to herself, drawing on the fragile hope that she was ready to heal.
"Jane. Look around you. This is why you need to help Erik understand the Tesseract. This is your motivation, to try your best to keep something like this from ever happening to anyone else. Yes, SHIELD is full of liars and murderers, in the service of other liars and murderers. But the Tesseract is real, and it might be able to help us defend ourselves the next time an insane alien decides to work out his personal issues here."
Drawing three deep breaths, Jane felt her heart slow to a normal rhythm. She sent the call and waited.
A wary voice answered. "Hello? Who is this?"
"Hi. This is Jane Foster, um, the scientist?" Jane bit her lip, hoping he remembered her.
"Jane Foster? Yeah, okay. What do you want?"
His brusqueness made her smile. "I'm working on a new project and I need an...equipment upgrade. Could you come see me, give me some recommendations? I'm still in Puente Antiguo."
"Okay, I can come today. Three o'clock, okay?
"Okay," she repeated. "Should—"
But he had already hung up.
oooOOOooo
He felt a strong tug on one of his spells, like when a fish takes the bait. Loki groaned and rolled over. There it was again. He flicked his fingers and sent out a feeler. Which spell was it? The answer came to him, and he groaned again. Of course it had to be that woman. After thinking her missing yesterday, he had strung a simple spell across the doors of the lab to alert him if she left.
Loki pulled on his breeches and tunic with fingers made clumsy by sleep, then sent himself to the street. Jane was standing outside her lab. She looked distraught, then she began to talk. To whom, Loki could not tell. He drifted closer, but saw no one else. Apparently she was conversing with herself. He caught enough of her speech to get the gist. The "insane alien" line provoked a scowl, but he was nonetheless pleased that she was talking herself into more study of the Tesseract. She was stronger than he had imagined her to be.
Loki listened to both sides of the phone conversation, then watched Jane return to the confines of her lab. He wasn't sure what this assignation was, but he planned to be there.
For now, he needed to sleep. His energy reserves were still low. After he had broken the connection with Jane's dream the night before, he hadn't stayed to see how Jane would fare. He had transported directly to his dingy little refuge and had lain on the bed, willing himself to rest. Instead, he ended up pacing the worn carpet, attempting to formulate a plan. A new plan. A third plan, actually.
Jane had a maddening way of derailing his machinations. His first objective was to kill her. Then he was going to force her submission, instill awe and fear as he commanded her to stop the Destroyer. Now...now he suspected he wouldn't have to force her to submit to his wishes. He was still recovering from the dual shocks Jane had dealt him: that she had made advances toward him, and more humiliating, that he hadn't seen it coming.
But no woman—not a single one, not ever, not in any Realm—who had tasted Thor's lips had ever given Loki a second look. It was a universally accepted fact. Very few women in Asgard were willing to consider him as a lover, and each of them had been rejected first by Thor. They wanted to bed a prince, any prince, apparently, and Loki fit that bill. Barely. Of course, after the fact, they all begged to see him again, but he took great pleasure in cutting each of them off cold.
So perhaps he could forgive himself for not once considering that Jane Foster might find him attractive. And perhaps he could excuse the secret, vicious joy he felt at catching the eye of a woman who had his not-brother wrapped around her little finger. Even if she was nothing more than a Midgardian. A new idea formed. Could he bring himself to seduce her? If he could stomach the task, it might accomplish all his purposes. It would certainly make Jane more willing to please him. And it would secure at least a type of revenge on Thor. He knew that Thor and Jane had shared only a kiss. How lovely it would be to...enjoy...Jane first.
After all, Jane wasn't the ugliest woman in the Nine Realms. When she bathed and wore clean garments, she wasn't completely revolting. When she ate and slept, her skin wasn't so rough and dull. Her flannel shirts and blue jeans made her sexless and dumpy, but when she wore that dressing gown—in his color, no less—it was plain that she was, indeed, a proper woman. And when her hair waved heavily down her slender back, when she tilted her head back and bared her creamy throat, when her eyes shone with the delight of discovery, when her rosy lips fell open in wonder...
Loki stopped his pacing. Well. Perhaps seducing her wouldn't be such a chore.
