A/N: How are we at chapter 21 already?! I know I asked this last time, but still...gods. And I've still got like six more chapters left! Whoa... Anyway, as I said in the ending A/N of last chapter (sorry not sorry for the cliffhanger), the new information about Rumlow is explored more in this chapter - and this time, Loki needs his friends' help.
Disclaimer: Do I even have to put this anymore? Marvel/Disney's. Not mine.
21. Chorus
"I am such an idiot."
"Don't say that, Обманщик. None of the rest of us saw this either."
That didn't stop Loki from pacing around what Tasha had called the "war council," furious with himself for not having recognized Brock Rumlow before now. Now that he knew, it seemed obvious.
"Calm down, Trickster, you're making me nervous," Tony said. "Sit down and let's actually talk about this."
Resignedly, Loki took a seat, though he immediately started fidgeting with the eihwaz, which he'd taken off purely for this purpose. He looked around the table.
Tasha sat to his immediate right, Valkyrie to his left, like the pack they were. Tony sat directly across from him, Coulson and Bucky on either side. Barton, whom Loki had been intensely surprised to see, hung upside down from the vent near the table to listen.
"So." Tony began without any preamble. "What do we know?"
"Rumlow's pissed," Tasha said immediately. "At us, for dropping an exploding building on him in D.C."
"Rumlow's a werewolf that's been stalking me since he figured out who I am, for no apparent reason other than he hates me because of New York and thinks I'm a monster," Loki added, running his thumb along the M-shaped rune.
"Rumlow's S.T.R.I.K.E. team are presumably the majority of his pack," continued Coulson. "If his call last night was anything to go by."
"And whoever's not S.T.R.I.K.E. is still loyal to Hydra," Valkyrie said. "Presumably, since they all echoed his call."
"Despite being heavily scarred, Rumlow's still going strong," Bucky inserted. "Which makes sense, because Hydra agents have this pesky habit of not staying dead."
"Alright," Tony said. "So what's his play?"
"That's the question, isn't it?" Tasha sighed.
"He was ranting one night to his pack about the Alpha of the Ice," Valkyrie said. "I had gone out that night for no other reason than to clear my head and I stumbled across them. I kept myself downwind and listened. He mentioned something about 'I know who he is, and I know how to hurt him' at one point, which was when I took off to warn you guys." She looked a bit guilty. "Guess I should have stuck around to hear him spill his grand plan the way villains tend to do."
"It's alright," Tasha assured her. "We've got quite a few brilliant minds here. We can figure it out."
"So Rumlow said he knows how to hurt you," Bucky said. "There's probably quite a few ways to do that."
"Most of which, sadly, I'd probably be immune to," Loki sighed. The eihwaz was warm in his hand, and the feeling gave him comfort as he thought of Thor's warmth. "I've been through physical and psychological torture, I've been abused, I've been neglected...the list goes on."
"So what does he think he can do?" Tony asked. "If you've already been through hell at least twice, there's not much left."
"Which brings us nowhere either," Coulson grumbled.
"You guys are all idiots," Barton declared from the vent. All eyes turned to the archer as he lightly dropped to his feet and walked the few paces towards the table.
"Oh, really?" Tasha raised her eyebrow. "And what have you figured out, O Wise and Powerful Лучник?" [Лучник = Luchnik = Archer]
Barton didn't even blink at the sarcasm-filled nickname. "Rumlow's unstable, right? And that makes him dangerous. He's living on pure hatred and rage, not sparing time for other human emotions. But he's not completely insane. He's got enough sanity left to know he has to draw this out, make us play by his rules. So he'll hold this over our heads for a while, make us speculate, and then drop the bomb."
"Where's this leading, Clint?" Tasha asked, but Loki was cottoning on.
"He's onto something," Loki said, and cast a silent calming spell on himself to control his racing thoughts. "Rumlow's living on pure negativity, like Barton said, but that doesn't mean he's unaware that other emotions exist. He won't do anything physical, not to me - but he will to someone I care about."
"Exactly." Barton ignored the shocked expressions on everyone else's faces - he was agreeing with Loki? - and continued on. "So everyone, except possibly me, in this room could potentially be a target, as well as the other Avengers. Rumlow's unstable, just sane enough to dream something like this up and just insane enough to actually pull it off. We need to put the Tower on high alert; it's not likely that Rumlow will strike immediately, because he wants there to be an atmosphere of fear before he attacks, but we have to be extra careful anyway."
"What do we do in the meantime?" asked Tony. "Sit back and wait?"
"Keep hunting Hydra," Loki said firmly. "Our lives, and our jobs, won't go on hold just because some insane Hydra douchebag is trying to hunt me. After everything I've been through, I'm not afraid of him, and while I agree we should be cautious, that doesn't mean we stop being Avengers. We still have to stop the rest of Hydra, remember?"
"Still, it probably couldn't hurt for more ice reserve training sessions," Tasha suggested. "Just to make sure you know the extent of its power so you're not surprised like you were in the office three weeks ago."
"What happened in the office?" Coulson asked.
Loki filled in the gaps for Coulson, Bucky, Barton, and Tony about the ice reserve (which only Tony knew existed) and what had happened with the frozen Hydra agents in the office building (which none of them knew). Their expressions ranged from shock (Barton) to thoughtful contemplation (Tony) by the time he was finished.
"It may be a good idea to bring some of us with you as well," Bucky suggested. "Give you more moving targets and a variety of skill sets."
"You're my friends," Loki protested mildly, still a little shocked that he could say that. "I don't want to hurt you by accident, any of you."
"You've never hurt Nat or I before," Valkyrie pointed out.
Loki shrugged, conceding the point. "True. But there's more chance I'll slip up and actually hurt someone if there are more than two of you."
"Who says?" Tony asked. "It'll be good practice. Besides, if - and this is a very big if - one of us does get accidentally injured, you've got your healing magic to correct it."
Loki was caving, and he half hated how little effort it had taken on his friends' part. "I don't know..."
"Come on, Loki, it's a good idea," Tasha implored.
Loki scowled halfheartedly and gave in. "Alright, fine."
Tasha gave a mock cheer, and everyone - including Barton - laughed.
"There you are."
Loki turned to see Thor standing in the doorway. The others had dispersed a while ago, but Loki had remained, his mind whirling too fast to leave. He'd been sorting through his thoughts for the past hour, trying to calm his mind.
"Hey," he said now, smiling softly at Thor. The Thunderer's hair was wet; Loki assumed he'd come from a shower.
"Where've you been all day?" Thor asked, walking into the room.
"In here," Loki answered, somewhat absently due to his attention being focused on the way he moved.
"I'm not even going to ask why," Thor laughed, stopping on the other side of the table.
"Probably a good idea." Loki then proceeded to dramatically and teasingly pout. "Why'd you stop there?"
Thor smirked. "Come get me."
"Oh, come on," Loki complained, a teasing grin stealing across his face. "You know I've got an unfair advantage."
"Which is?" Thor somehow managed to pull off Loki's raised-eyebrow trick.
Loki's grin turned into a smirk as he made one of his illusions appear behind Thor and put a hand over his mouth. Thor's eyes widened, though of course the illusion wasn't actually touching him. That, of course, was Loki's point, as he made the illusion taunt Thor, breathing down his neck, tantalizingly close but not even real.
Thor groaned. "You always win."
"Again, unfair advantage," Loki said. "Come here."
Thor obeyed. Loki stood to meet him, pulling him into a kiss the moment he was close enough. Thor didn't object, returning it as Loki pulled him closer.
Pulling away, Loki studied him appreciatively. He was dressed in civilian clothes like Loki was: a gray T-shirt that Loki could clearly see his abs through and jeans - which Loki thought would look better on their room's floor, though now was not the time.
Loki's own outfit was similar: green T-shirt with the gold outline of a snake on it and black jeans. His nails were painted black, something he hadn't done in a while but that Tasha had encouraged him to do.
"So why are you here?" he asked, hooking his fingers through Thor's belt loops. "I'm not complaining, but..."
"I was looking for you," Thor replied.
"You found me," Loki replied with a grin.
"That I did," Thor laughed. Loki kissed him again.
"Any particular reason you were looking for me?" Loki asked curiously.
"I just feel like I haven't seen you as much lately," Thor said, his hand coming up to cup Loki's face gently. "Ever since Hydra we've been busy all the time. And while I'm glad to see you throwing yourself into this Avenger thing...you're also throwing yourself into the Avenger thing."
Loki chuckled lightly and turned his head to press a quick kiss to Thor's palm. "I know. I'm sorry. It's just, with Hydra on the loose and not caring what happens to civilians that get in their way..."
Thor smiled. "I really do love this hero thing you've got going on."
"You lot are getting to me," Loki laughed. "All your bravery and that tendency that heroes have to throw themselves into harm's way to protect random strangers...I've been living with you all for so long that it's rubbing off on me." He said it jokingly, but there was an undercurrent of truth to his words - something the Liesmith was still getting used to.
Thor ran his thumb across Loki's cheek gently, as if wiping away a tear - though Loki had long ago taught himself not to cry. "It's a good thing, Loki," Thor murmured. "All this, the way Stark made you an Avenger, the fact that you're willing to risk your life to save innocents - it shows you've changed. It shows you're not the villain everyone thought you were, not anymore."
Loki smiled slightly. "There you go doing my job for me again."
Thor chuckled. "That's hardly the most elequ- elok- ellocw-" He frowned comically as he struggled.
"Eloquent?" Loki suggested, smirking at Thor's struggle to prnounce the word correctly.
"Yes, that," Thor said, sounding relieved. "Anyway, hardly the most elo...eloquent?...I've ever been."
"I know," Loki smirked. "But you somehow knew exactly what to say anyway."
"I did?" Thor sounded genuinely surprised.
Loki kissed him again. "Of course you did, you дурак," he smiled. [дурак = fool]
Thor didn't even complain about being called a fool in Russian again, just pulled Loki back into a kiss, warm and rough and completely intoxicating. Loki closed his eyes as Thor's hand buried itself in his hair, the Thunderer's other arm snaking around his waist. It was moments like this that made Loki forget people like Brock Rumlow existed.
So naturally, the moment was shattered by Loki's phone ding-ing quite loudly with a text.
Reluctantly, Loki pulled away, glaring at his phone where it rested on the table.
"Don't answer," Thor complained.
"What if it's important?" Loki pointed out. "Something to do with Hydra?"
"Ugh, fine," Thor grumbled. "If you must."
Loki kissed him lightly and reached for his phone, making no move to leave Thor's arms. He pulled up his messages.
It was from Valkyrie. Tasha just returned with news.
What is it? Loki typed back, hoping his annoyance was conveyed accurately.
The werewolves, Valkyrie told him, and even through text Loki could sense the apprehension and urgency in her tone. Loki, it's the New York werewolves.
The way she phrased it instantly put Loki on edge. He was sure Thor noticed the way he stiffened.
I'm coming. Bringing Thor. Where r u?
Den. Hurry.
Loki hesitated a moment, then added, Call the rest. Even if they can't know about me, they can still help the others.
Valkyrie didn't reply. Loki hoped this meant she had listened.
"What's wrong?" Thor asked. "What happened?"
"Come with me," Loki said, putting his phone in his pocket and slipping his hand into Thor's. "It's the wolves."
Valkyrie had obeyed his text order and summoned the rest of the Avengers. Steve, Sam, and Banner all looked rather confused. The rest of them just looked grim.
"What happened?" Loki demanded of Tasha the moment he entered the room. He let go of Thor's hand and strode in ahead of him, Thor hurrying after looking quite confused.
"Hold it! Before we get into Наталья's explanation, we may want to fill in the others," Bucky said.
She didn't flinch at the name this time, which Loki guessed was a good sign.
"Good point," Coulson conceded.
"Fill us in on what, Buck?" Steve asked. He glanced at his boyfriend. "Tones? What's going on?"
They took turns explaining - all except Barton, whom Loki didn't trust not to spill his secret. They informed the four clueless Avengers about the werewolf situation: how New York was practically overrun with them, how Rumlow was the alpha of a pack loyal to Hydra, and - carefully, omitting the details about Loki's own transformations - how Rumlow seemed to have a grudge against Loki in particular, for no apparent reason other than New York.
By the end of the explanation, Banner looked thoughtful, Sam ready to punch someone, Steve slightly horrified and slightly awed, and Thor as grave as the rest of them.
Steve shook his head. "So there have been werewolves in Brooklyn this entire time?"
"All over New York, actually," Tasha said. "We exist everywhere, but we do tend to cluster in big cities or famous countries - New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, London, Paris, Berlin, Moscow, Beijing, all over Egypt. Probably quite a few more."
"And there are different types throughout the Nine Realms, too," Loki added. "Each are affiliated with a particular element more than the others, though in some cases they don't affect the wolf's abilities much. Fire wolves from Muspellheim, light wolves from Alfheim, Hel wolves - essentially dead werewolf spirits - from Helheim, ice wolves from Jotunheim, dark wolves from Svartalfheim, metal wolves from Nifflheim and Nidavellir, earth wolves from here on Midgard, water wolves from Vanaheim."
"What about Asgard?" asked Banner.
Loki shifted uncomfortably. "Werewolves on Asgard are a very rare occurrence."
"Why?" pressed Sam, actually sounding interested.
Loki glanced at Thor, who shrugged and gave him a look that clearly said You're the werewolf expert here. I have no more idea what you mean than they do.
Loki swallowed and replied carefully, "Werewolves on Asgard are hunted down and killed, ever since King Bor - Odin's father - got freaked out by what he percieved as unnatural and demonic magic and outlawed werewolves. The Einherjar have permission to kill on sight if they find a werewolf roaming the city." He took a shaky breath. "By any means necessary."
The expressions of horror on the assembled Avengers' faces (except of course Tasha and Valkyrie, whom he'd told this story to already) as they imagined the implications of Loki's final statement were well worth it. Steve looked absolutely horrified; Banner faintly sick; Sam like he was regretting asking; Bucky pained, as if Loki's description brought back memories of Hydra; Tony like he was ready to punch the long-dead Bor in the face with his armor on; Coulson alarmed; Barton had fallen out of his vent in shock; and Thor...Thor looked stricken, as if he couldn't believe his people were capable of such madness.
To break the horror-filled silence, Loki rounded on Natasha. "So what happened? What's going on with New York's wolves?"
Everyone looked grateful for the change of subject, even if this subject matter was only slightly less depressing than the last.
"I went out scouting - you know we have to be extra cautious now, what with Rumlow and all - and did a surveillance check on Central Park. I found it in chaos. The normal humans didn't seem to see the wolves, but they could at least sense something was off, because they were steering clear of the park - something they never do. There were wolves everywhere. Rumlow's pack seemed to be trying to impose their will on the others. There were fights...so many innocent wolves lay dead or dying. The ones that survived are trapped in the park. Rumlow's wolves have sealed it off; none of the innocent ones can get in or out," Natasha explained, her expression grim.
Loki resisted the urge to growl, which would probably have aptly given away his status as a werewolf. He couldn't prevent it entirely, but he hoped the sound was low enough that no one noticed.
"When we catch him," Loki growled (not literally this time) instead, "I'll kill him."
"Get in line," Natasha said coolly. Loki tilted his head, conceding the point.
"So what do we do?" asked Sam. "They're human too. Different, but still human."
"Well, obviously we need to rescue them," Tony said. "The question is how."
They fell silent, contemplating, trying to devise a plan that didn't involve getting anyone killed. It was Bucky that figured it out.
"I think I have a plan."
"Loki?"
Loki looked over. Again, everyone had dispersed to go prepare, leaving him alone in the room - or so he'd thought. Banner approached hesitantly.
"What?" The flat tone of his voice seemed to give Banner a little more confidence.
"This is awkward, but, um...what's going on with you?" Banner asked.
Loki raised an eyebrow, hiding his sudden panic well. "What do you mean?"
"You're...more jumpy than usual," Banner tried to explain. "On edge."
"It's just worry over the werewolves," Loki half-lied.
Banner studied him. "Yeah, I don't think that's it. This is deeper. This is...personal."
Loki was a little alarmed now. He knew Banner was a certified genius - seven PhDs to his credit, Loki believed - but even so, how close Banner was getting to the truth was a little unnerving.
"That's it, isn't it?" Banner asked. "You're one of them. You're a werewolf too."
Loki considered lying, denying it, but he figured it wouldn't do him much good. Banner had figured him out. Besides, that was just one less person he had to work up the courage to tell on his own.
Loki stood, bracing himself on the edge of the table, and admitted, "Yes. I'm a werewolf."
Banner nodded, not surprised in the least. Loki looked at him quizzically. "How'd you figure it out?"
Before Banner could reply, a clang in the vents made them both look up.
"BARTON!" Loki yelled. "GET OUT OF THE VENT!"
Muffled cursing was heard, then the grate swung open and Barton fell out, just managing to land on his feet. The archer straightened and brushed himself off as if nothing had happened.
"What were you doing up there?!" Loki demanded.
Barton shrugged, still looking everywhere but directly at Loki. "Eavesdropping."
"Figures," Loki grumbled.
Banner looked alarmed. "You heard -?"
"He knows," Loki told him, right as Barton said, "Don't worry, I knew already." Banner looked between them, confused.
"Quite a few of them know," Loki said. "Most figured it out on their own. I only actually told a couple of them."
"Who else -?" Banner seemed at a loss for words.
Loki glared at Barton. "Get out. Tell the others that Banner knows." He hesitated a moment, then added, "Bring them back. We need to hone the finer details of the plan."
Barton rolled his eyes, but seemed to understand and obligingly departed, something that would have shocked Loki a bit more if he wasn't miffed at being spied on.
"To answer your question, Banner - Tony, Coulson, Bucky, Barton, and obviously Tasha and Valkyrie," Loki continued as if Barton's interruption hadn't happened.
"Do you go out as a wolf with them?" Banner asked.
Loki smiled a little. "Yes. I'm their alpha."
"Can you...transform?" questioned Banner. "At will, I mean?"
"Not normally," Loki said, "but today's one of my transformation days, so it comes easier. It's still easier at full dark, but knowing the moon is full tonight helps."
"Could you show me?" asked Banner. "You don't have to," he added quickly. "I'm just curious."
Loki chuckled. "Yes, I can show you."
"Ah, you won't - er, your clothes won't -?" Banner sounded a little uncomfortable.
"I'm not like that," Loki told him, casting his blackout spell over the security cameras. "I'm...different."
With that, he held up a hand to silence further questions, then closed his eyes and concentrated.
He found what he was looking for quite quickly: the spirit of Frost, the wolf he'd named in his dream.
Frost? Loki asked.
The wolf woke up. Yes?
I need a favor.
Name it. It's not time to go out yet, is it?
No, but I do need to transform. To show a curious friend.
Alright. This'll feel wierd, but here we go.
Loki had no time to register that he had, in a sense, just talked to himself, because he transformed. Banner looked a bit horrified as he watched, but when Loki looked up again with his wolf vision the scientist's expression had become awe.
Loki's ears angled forward as Banner murmured, "Whoa..." If he could've, Loki probably would have smirked.
He padded closer to Banner, noting with a little alarm that, while on all four paws, he stood just a little above Banner's waist. It was possible his larger size had to do with being an alpha; Loki wasn't entirely sure.
Banner hesitantly reached out a hand to touch Loki's icy fur. Loki let him, watching him with his sharp eyes that were so curiously the same green as his normal ones.
"Absolutely remarkable," Banner breathed. "This is...unreal."
Loki heard the others' footsteps long before Banner did, but made no move to transform back into himself. They could see him as a wolf; as long as Frost didn't object, Loki was perfectly fine seeing the others' reactions.
Upon hearing the footsteps, Banner looked up; Loki used the moment to nudge his hand away before sitting neatly on his haunches, tail tucked beside him to await the others' arrival.
Tony entered first, and stopped dead. "Is that...?"
Banner nodded. Coulson, Bucky, Barton, Tasha, and Valkyrie filed in. Coulson looked a little awed; Bucky's face was impassive, but Loki could sense the spark of interest seeing a ice-furred wolf brought; Barton's eyes widened, and now he couldn't seem to stop looking at Loki; Valkyrie rolled her eyes; and Tasha just smirked.
"Really, Обманщик?" Tasha said.
Loki gave her a look.
"No," Tasha protested, reading his gaze perfectly. "I can't. Not here."
Loki gave her another look.
"Remember the whole clothes thing?" Tasha reminded him. "Yeah, that's a thing for Midgardian wolves."
Loki got to his paws and padded toward her, his gaze never straying.
"No, I don't have a replacement outfit! That's outside, stupid," Tasha admonished.
Loki tilted his head. Tasha shook hers. "You're impossible."
"Excuse me, are you having a conversation with him?" asked Tony. "While he's a wolf?"
"I thought that wasn't possible," Valkyrie said.
"I've got more of a connection to Loki than you do," Tasha explained. "I can't hear him, exactly, but I know him well enough to get the gist of what he's saying."
Loki barked abruptly, making Tony, Coulson, Banner, Barton, and Bucky jump. Tasha just ruffled his fur, something Loki made a mental note to admonish her for later, and Valkyrie rolled her eyes again.
After Tasha made sure his fur was flat, Loki padded towards the closest Avenger - Bucky. He gave the metal arm an inquisitive sniff, recoiled at the metalic scent, then looked up. Bucky looked a little lost, so Loki nudged his human hand, coaxing it onto his head. He didn't mind so much now when people touched him as a wolf, though it did still feel a little weird.
Somewhat awkwardly, Bucky ran his hand through Loki's fur in some semblance of petting. Internally, Loki laughed at the somewhat clumsy way he was doing this; he wasn't exactly used to something as domestic as petting an animal (even if, Loki thought wryly, that animal was one of his friends and teammates in wolf form).
Loki nosed his hand away and moved on. Coulson was next, and he reacted a lot quicker than Bucky had. Loki noted the instant Coulson's hand met his fur both by the weight of the agent's hand and the look of actual surprise at how soft it was on Coulson's face.
After allowing Coulson to pet him for a minute or two, Loki nudged his hand away as well and moved on to Tony. Tony seemed a little surprised, but hid it well as he reached out a hand. The process repeated, with Loki nosing away the hand to move on.
He stopped in front of Barton, whose face registered actual shock. "You - want me to -?"
Loki gave him a look and barked in agreement, making the archer jump. Tasha chuckled.
"Just do it, Лучник," Tasha said.
Hesitantly, Barton reached out a hand, as if he was worried Loki would try to bite him. Loki, finding that idea stimultaneously entertaining and horrifying, intended to do no such thing and simply sat there waiting.
Barton looked surprised that Loki didn't move when his hand came down on Loki's head. Loki gazed at him steadily, which Barton seemed only a little creeped out by.
After a minute of the uncertain petting, Loki padded away, back to his original position. As he walked, he transformed, so that by the time he was next to Banner again he was once more in his usual Asgardian form.
The stunned looks on his friends' faces were worth it.
Tasha began admonishing him in Russian. "Выпендриваться! Вы просто должны были, не так ли? Серьезно, Трикстер, я бы не подумал, что ты из тех, кто охотно хвастается своей волчьей формой даже для драматического эффекта-" [Show-off! You just had to, didn't you? Seriously, Trickster, I wouldn't have thought you'd be the type to willingly show off your wolf form, even for dramatic effe-]
Loki cut her off. "Это исходит от женщины, которая охотно рассказала Мстителям, что она оборотень, и совершенно не боится это показать." [This coming from the woman who willingly told the entirety of the Avengers she was a werewolf and is completely unafraid to show it.]
Tasha punched him in the arm. "Замолчи, Обманщик." [Shut up, Trickster.]
Loki grinned.
"Come on," he said in English. "There are some details of the plan that the others can't know about..."
It was late at night that they decided to put their plan into action.
They'd split off into two teams. Thor, Sam, Bucky, Valkyrie, and Barton were the scouting and defense team; Loki, Tasha, Tony, Banner, and Steve were the initial distraction and rescue team. Coulson ran point from the Quinjet. JARVIS was in everyone's ear as usual, and the comms were all switched on for easy communication.
"What's the situation in the park?" Loki asked, touching the comm in his ear.
"Rumlow's pack have made a perimeter around the trapped civilians," Valkyrie reported.
"Most of the civilians are in wolf form, but there are a handful still human," Sam added. "Will that be a problem in getting them out?"
"It won't," Tasha said. "I'll corral the wolves, and the others can get the humans."
"Rumlow's pack are also doing the half-human half-wolf thing," Barton noted. "Some of them are in human form with their guns and such, and the rest are wolves."
"What about Rumlow himself?" Steve asked.
"Wolf," reported Bucky.
"Does he have a guard around him?" asked Banner.
"Doesn't look like it," replied Thor, "but we can't be sure."
"How tight is the perimeter?" Tony asked.
"Tight enough that you'll have a hell of a time getting through," Barton remarked. "You guys ready with the distraction?"
"Yeah," Loki said. "Radio silence until we're in there."
"Good luck, guys," Coulson said.
The comms automatically went into power-saving mode: not quite off, but not active either. Loki glanced at his team.
"I'm going to take a look," he said. "Tasha, with me. The rest of you, stay. Here. I'll come back to retrieve you."
It had been a risky decision to put Steve on Loki's team, considering this part of the plan involved Loki briefly turning into a wolf, but it had been Barton that pointed out that putting only those who knew he was a wolf on one team might seem suspicious. Loki didn't entirely see his point, but had agreed it was better to run the risk than have possible suspicions abound about why Loki kept the same people around constantly.
Loki and Tasha crept forward, in front of the convenient vine-hidden clearing the others waited in. They weren't too far from the edge of the park, and it was a quick half-minute walk to where the trees ended.
"Ready to announce our presence?" Loki asked, shooting Tasha a sideways grin.
She grinned back. "Hell yeah. Show 'em what you got, alpha."
Both of them transformed. Loki immediately threw his head back, nose to the sky, and howled. The point, of course, was to start a Howling and distract Rumlow's wolves enough for Tasha to slip by and cause some trouble inside the perimeter, giving Valkyrie's team time to enter the park and engage the wolves in battle while the rest of Loki's team got the trapped wolves out.
Tasha howled as well, and the sound carried; soon enough all of Rumlow's wolves, as well as the civilians and Rumlow himself, were howling along; that was the beauty of a Howling, as they were contagious.
Go, Loki told Tasha, and cut off his howl to transform back. As Tasha darted away towards the encampment, Loki ran back to the others.
"Come on," he said.
They moved silently; Loki supposed that while part of it definitely had something to do with the silencing charm he'd placed upon them, the other part was just training keeping them quiet. They couldn't afford to lose. Innocent lives were at stake.
They reached the edge of the forest and stopped, surveying the scene before them. Valkyrie's team had done their job; the park was now a mess of Avengers and Rumlow's wolves fighting while the civilians watched in disbelief, guarded by only a few.
"Remember, wound, don't kill," Loki told them. "And that's only if you have to engage one of Rumlow's pack."
"Let's do this," Steve said.
The four Avengers moved forward, drawing closer to the battle. Slipping past the remaining guards proved to be quite easy. Loki drew a dagger and set about freeing the civilians. He noted with dismay that those in human form were bound with silver chains, which must have caused them unbearable pain. Strangely, it was only Earth wolves and Alfwolves that were affected negatively by silver; wolves from any other realm had varying degress of tolerance, but for the most part it wasn't harmful. Nifflwolves and Jotunwolves seemed the least bothered by it, able to wear it without flinching or feeling anything.
The Asgardian steel of his dagger cut through the silver easily, as if it were made of butter. The humans looked briefly confused, and then a few things happened at once: soft murmurs of "It's the Avengers!" rippled through them, most likely echoed by the wolves' mind-speak; the freed humans rubbed their wrists in pain, causing Loki to resolve that he needed to work his magic once they were out of the danger zone; Loki tossed three more daggers to Tony, Steve, and Banner respectfully with the murmured instruction, "Slice through the chains;" and a pair of Rumlow's wolves noticed Loki.
"Shit," Loki cursed. He looked to the human werewolf he'd stopped in front of and realized with a jolt that it was the same girl he'd charmed at the bakery the day of his first Thanksgiving - Rose. Her name was Rose. She looked somewhere between terrified, about to cry from the pain of the silver chains, and pissed off; Loki admired the spirit he saw in her.
He faced the incoming wolves, growling low in the back of his throat. It was as much an instinct as a warning to Rumlow's wolves that he meant business.
The first wolf leaped at him; Loki spun away, changing the wolves' direction so they wouldn't hit Rose. He knocked the first one out with the hilt of his dagger, then turned just as the other attacked.
Caught by surprise, Loki dropped his dagger and cursed as the wolf tied to bite him, which would do little good seeing as he was already a wolf. A combination of speed, magic, and intense swearing later found the other wolf knocked out. Loki magically bound them, instructing the ropes to tighten accordingly when the agents turned human again. He was about to pick up his dagger and head back to Rose when he noticed the wolf - one of Rumlow's inner circle, by the looks of things - fast approaching from behind her.
He didn't think. He just acted, slipping the dagger into his sleeve and transforming on the fly right as the Hydra wolf leaped.
Loki collided with the wolf in midair, sending them both crashing to the side and earning a shriek from Rose that was lost amid the clamor of the rest of the fight. The wolf looked genuinely startled for a moment (as startled as it is possible for a wolf to look, anyway) - Loki had seemingly come out of nowhere - before it turned into a snarl.
You will die tonight, Alpha of the Ice! the wolf growled. And I will be rewarded greatly!
If Loki could have raised an eyebrow, he would've. As it was, his mind-voice dripped sarcasm when he replied, Right. Exactly. Because I'm sure Rumlow will reward you for killing me when he wants to do that himself. Oh yes, I can definitely see the rewards you'll get. Exile from the pack, torture by silver, ooh, maybe even put to death. Sounds quite lovely, don't you think?
While the other wolf panicked as Loki's words sank in, Loki jumped. The two wolves tumbled much as Loki and Tasha did when they play-fought, but this time it was real - claws out, teeth bared, snarling and growling and trying to get in a good hit.
Loki won. He transformed back into himself and magically bound that wolf to the other two, then flipped his dagger back out and freed Rose.
She was staring at him. "Ice Alpha," she whispered. "It's you."
Loki paused. "What?"
"It's what they call you," she said, massaging her freed wrists.
"What who calls me?" Loki pressed.
"Everyone. Brock's still calling you the longer title, Alpha of the Ice, but it's the same thing basically. No one knows who you are - well, before now. Everyone just calls you the Ice Alpha, because of your fur." Rose sounded a little starstruck. "Wolves as far away as Los Angeles know your title. I should know; my cousin lives out there. I've heard rumors, too, that there are wolves in completely different countries that have heard of you."
"That's...semi-odd and semi-flattering," Loki said, slightly bemused.
He started to move on, but Rose's hand stopped him. "Wait," she said. "I want to help. Brock is going to pay for what he's done here."
Once again, Loki found himself admiring her fire. He gave her a dagger and instructed, "Help free the others and get them out of here. Fight only the wolves you see coming for you, and try not to kill. Find Bruce Banner; he'll know where to go to get you all a safe distance from here. The rest of us will meet there once the last of the civilians are out. Partially to make sure you're all okay, and partially so I can do this." He took her wrist and worked a little of his healing magic; the burned quality that the silver left disappeared. He repeated the process with the other wrist. He hesitated, then added, "Tell the others the Ice Alpha walks among them tonight. And spread the word - Brock's name is Agent Brock Rumlow, or as he likes to go by now, Crossbones. If the name resonates..." Loki hesitated again, then forged on: "You have permission to wound if he tries to stop you on your way out. He's for the rest of us to deal with, but if anyone wants a piece of him first...go ahead."
Rose's grin was a little terrifying. "You got it, Ice Alpha."
Before she slipped away, Loki added, "By the way...have you ever considered joining the CIA? They'd be quite lucky to have you."
Rose smiled. "I'll think about it."
With that, they went their separate ways.
Loki freed a few more chained civilians, then felt someone's eyes on him and looked up. He found it was Steve, who'd paused in his own endeavors to watch Loki. The Trickster met the super-soldier's blue eyes, a question and a challenge in his own green ones. After a few tense moments, Steve looked away.
Did he see? Loki wondered. Is that what the stare was about?
How long was he watching me?
The next twenty minutes passed in a blur. Loki freed civilians and directed them towards the edge of the forest where Banner waited; at one point he saw Valkyrie run past, chasing a pair of frankly terrified Hydra wolves; Mjolnir made its usual distinct noise as it flew around, banging into a few of the wolves and causing a distraction for others, while Thor himself provided another distraction; blunt arrows found their way to the wolves and real ones to humans from a tree where Barton was no doubt crouched; Bucky went hand-to-metal-hand with some of the humans, while Sam gave cover from above. Tasha did her part corralling the wolves, while Tony helped coax some of them to their paws, alternately helping the wolves and freeing the humans. Steve stuck to freeing the humans, and of course Banner waited at the edge of the trees to give directions away from the park.
It was rapidly becoming apparent that either Rumlow's pack had grown since the first time they'd met in wolf form, or far too many of these wolves were Hydra sympathizers.
"I think we got them all," said Tony over the comms. "Everyone head out."
"See you at the rendezvous in ten," Tasha said, surprising Loki; he hadn't noticed her change back.
The Avengers retreated towards the trees, chased by the reamaining Hydra wolves. A bone-chilling howl split the night, and Loki knew immediately it was Rumlow. He told himself not to turn around, but he did anyway, looking back as Rumlow's shout reached him even though he wasn't in wolf form.
You will pay for this, Alpha of the Ice! You will pay in blood - yours and the blood of those closest to you! And you will die!
Chills racing down his spine, Loki fled into the forest.
Coincidentally, the rendezvous was the same Baker's Square that Loki had met Rose in. It was just closing down, meaning there weren't any patrons, and at the sight of the Avengers accompanied by a large pack of wolves and assorted humans still in varying degress of pain, the management let them in. Loki and Tasha, familiar with the place, talked the management into leaving the keys with them, promising to lock up when they were done using the place.
Being Avengers, they got what they wanted.
"Everyone okay?" Steve asked once the thoroughly confused management had left.
There were barks of assent among the wolves and murmurs among the humans.
"I understand that because it's the full moon, some of you would rather stay as wolves, but this will be a little easier if you're all back in human form," Tony said.
"There might be a problem with that," Rose spoke up. "Our clothes kind of...explode...when we transform."
Loki did a quick headcount of the wolves in the room, then simply waved his hand and said, "There are clothes for all of them in the respective bathrooms. Forget modesty; you're werewolves, I'd think modesty went out the door a long time ago."
Rose shot him a look of thanks, then motioned a young man next to her forward. She selected a random middle-aged woman from the crowd too.
"Can you take the wolves?" she asked them. Both of them nodded, then disappeared, taking the wolves with them.
"You're quite the leader," Tasha noted, addressing Rose. "Weren't you the girl Loki messed with in this very same bakery a couple years ago?"
Rose nodded, an escaped strand of her blond hair falling in her face. Loki noticed for the first time tonight that her hair was up in a ponytail, her blue eyes serious. She still had the dagger Loki had given her tucked into the belt of her navy blue jeans, and her blouse was a white semiformal style. She had a gold necklace in the shape of the flower she was named after around her neck, and a few gold bracelets on her right wrist that she'd evidently added after the chains were removed.
"I've kind of been wondering what to do with my life for the last couple of years," Rose admitted. "So I formed a pack. Guys?"
Five of the human men raised their hands, all of them looking quite proud.
Valkyrie's and Tasha's faces echoed that. "A female alpha?" asked Valkyrie. "Nice!"
"Have you considered the CIA?" Tasha suggested, which Loki smothered a smirk at. "You look like a fighter."
"Loki actually suggested that when he freed me," Rose said, shooting Loki a grin that the Trickster returned. "My pack are also my band, actually - I'm a hard rock fan, so we decided to be a pack more than just as wolves. But I do think the CIA could be cool."
Tasha pulled out one of her guns and offered it to Rose. "Shoot the target." She looked pointedly at Loki, who magicked a target into existence on the wall behind the dessert counter.
Rose took it without hesitation and promptly fired, once, twice, three times. All three bullets hit the bulls-eye. Rose looked a little surprised. Her pack cheered. So did a few other civilians. So did most of the Avengers.
Rose handed Tasha her gun back. "Damn, girl," she said appreciatively. "You should definitely try the CIA."
"I've got a friend there, Sharon Carter," Steve said. "We can refer you to her."
"Thanks," Rose said.
"Who needs their wrists healed from the silver?" Loki asked. "I'd imagine most of you."
Murmurs and nods all around. Loki set about moving among them to heal as the conversation continued.
"Why was Rumlow keeping you all trapped there?" asked Barton. "It doesn't seem very logical."
"I don't entirely know, actually," Rose admitted, looking troubled.
"I think I do," said a young man from somewhere in the crowd.
"Where are you?" asked Banner, scanning the room.
The man raised his hand. He had serious brown eyes hidden behind thick-framed glasses, and a mop of darker brown hair.
"What's your name, son?" asked Steve. Tony glanced at him and smiled.
"Tobias," said the man. "I was far too close to the action the night R-Rumlow killed that wolf - he was my boyfriend. When Rumlow shouted 'Hail Hydra,' his pack echoed it; Rumlow then all but demanded that we swear loyalty to Hydra."
"Oh, yeah, I remember now," Rose said. "That night was brutal."
"Yeah. Wyatt didn't deserve to be torn apart like that," Tobias sighed. "Anyway, far too many of the wolves immediately agreed. The rest of us, those who are actually sane, we refused. Rose took charge. She united us against him. His wolves barricaded us in within the hour."
"Some of us turned human immediately, trying to fight. They just shackled us in silver, wearing gloves so they didn't get hurt themselves. Everyone else had the sense to stay wolves," Rose continued.
"Nat and I were there that night though," Valkyrie said. "So was the Ice Alpha. Everyone was more depressed than usual already."
"That's also Rumlow's doing," Tobias said, a note of anger creeping into his voice. "Ever since he got back from that fiasco in D.C., he's been more insane than usual. There were fights like the one where Wyatt died every night. Too many innocent people died because of him."
"Hold up, what's the Ice Alpha?" asked Sam. "Sounds pretty cool."
"The mysterious wolf that showed up in New York a few years ago, shows himself occasionally, and then disappears again. There was an incident with a wolf from another realm a while ago that he showed up and diffused the situation before Rumlow could attack him," Rose explained, carefully keeping Loki's identity hidden. "His fur looks like it's tipped with ice."
A look of recognition dawned on Thor's face. "I've seen him before," Thor said. "I was out wandering late one night despite the cold, and I found him in the forest there by Central Park. He even let me touch him."
Rose looked surprised, though Loki wondered if it was an act. "Really?"
Thor nodded.
Loki finished his rounds healing the humans as the others came back out, all in human form again. Rose thanked her volunteers.
"So what's the next move?" asked Banner.
"Well, I think professional CIA training is a good idea for me," Rose said. She turned to the crowd of werewolves. "Any of you interested?"
Quite a few hands went up - most of them, Loki noted with satisfaction, women. Rose grinned and turned back to them. "We're going to be professionally trained to kick Rumlow's ass, apparently."
"The rest of us can be your eyes and ears around the city," Tobias offered. "Keep an eye out for Crossbones or Hydra activity."
"Solid idea," Tony approved.
"It can't hurt to have extra eyes," Barton shrugged.
The others murmured their assent, even Bucky, who hadn't said anything in hours.
"We're all for it," Steve decided. He glanced at Loki. "As long as you're cool with it. This whole rescue operation was partially because you're so invested in the werewolves."
Loki shrugged. "It's a good idea."
"That settles it," Steve said. "Welcome to what's left of S.H.I.E.L.D., guys."
Tobias smiled. The others high-fived and murmured.
Loki surveyed these werewolves, who were all so willing to follow the Avengers, to follow him, and he couldn't shake the terrible feeling that the price for their loyalty would be their lives.
On that happy note, the chapter draws to a close. This one was an interesting one for me to write, mostly because I surprised myself (I had no idea Rose would return until she appeared in the text box). I hope I surprised you guys too. :) Please leave reviews!