LunashiranaRavyn: Really? Thank you so much, that makes me very happy. Sorry it took me so long to get this chapter up, but I hit a major roadblock. I've made it past, however, and I'll be updating regularly now. :) I hope you enjoy this one just as much.
Katherine Winchester:She's not, no, although she did mean it when she said she would - it's explained here as to why she leaves. Hopefully it makes sense. :)
VanillaSnowdrops:I KNOW :D That's really the reason I do it. I like throwing them together like they're a family, it makes me squeal with joy. :) I'm glad you don't think he's ooc. No, he shouldn't really, shes dangerous. unfortunately, he will learn this lesson quite acutely soon enough. One thing you can trust: Lizzie's rage. :P She's really someone who can easily kill you without a thought. They did. O_O I know, that look just... asdflkjsaf. Anyway, she leaves, unfortunately. -_- I don't want her to, but she's insisting.
KiyUzumaki:Well I hope you enjoy it :D
LizzieBug2000:Haha, I'm glad you enjoy it so much. :)
kittysayzmeow: I KNOW RIGHT :) I was writing and it just... flew into my head. I was totally shocked that my fingers were typing in that direction. I was like "Okay, I'm really going to do this... wow. This is going to be interesting." Well I hope so :) I've been working on it for 2 weeks. Don't worry about not reviewing, I'm sure you'll get to it when you do. :) Enjoy.
zaredowneyokumura:YAY :D Acceptable OOCness. I'm happy. Thank you.
heroherondaletotherescue:I completely understand where you're coming from, and comprehended everything you said. And let me just say I WAS SCREAMING AS I WROTE IT. I was freaking out, I swear. I was like 'I have to do this... but nobody's going to like it' and then THIS gets put in my review. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Not your regular review, but more than apt and perfectly acceptable. :D
Demidia:Thank you. A thousand thank you's. I'm so glad you liked it, really I am. And I'm glad to hear from you as well. :D
booklover698:I'm glad you liked it. :)
PurpleRageMonster:I was psyched to hear from you. To be told that my writing was well done on something I was insanely nervous about makes me jump with joy. I loved your review too. :) I originally was going to make her leave, but decided that you're right, it would crush Loki. However, to progress with the story, she *does* have to leave, and so here you are. I am so sorry, I hope you'll forgive me, but it is necessary for her to leave so that she can be free of Alex for sure, and Loki can really stop toeing the line on whether he cares for her - and so that Odin finally gets through his skull that Loki is repentant. it's needed, I'm so sorry. :(
Spottedivy:Haha, I actually was going to take that little addition out, and forgot, so I'm glad it worked. :D Yes, they actually did. She won't. And I'm definitely planning on epicness in the last few chapters as we have another few people to add to the cocktail - namely Erik Lehnsherr. I hope you enjoy this chapter despite the sound of heartbreak as Lizzie leaves Loki.
DeaththeKidbemine9:Hello there :) Well please don't cry, I don't want anyone to cry.
E4Me100: I loved your review - first off, I just have to say that. When I got a new email in my inbox saying you had reviewed, I was ECSTATIC. :D I loved the detail. Anyway, moving on. I'm so glad you love the story, and the little elements I've put in regarding other Marvel Characters and stuff. By the way, I love that part too, it's just so perfect I had to add that joke in. Now for that statment regarding Lizzie being pregnant: she's not, and I didn't intend her to be. Mostly because that would be very painful for her to lose another baby, and she's going to become an Aesir soon, and I feel that would be fatal for a baby. So no, she's not. It's also too complicated at this point for her to get pregnant due to what's about to happen... it would be too dangerous for the baby. However, I am glad you let me know what you thought of that, I love to hear everyone's opinions on where I'm going, or where they think I"m going, it gives me ideas and lets me know of certain problems. So thank you, Erin, I'm looking forward to hearing what you think in the future. :D I hope you enjoy this chapter, it is a *huge* turning point in the story.
Well, sorry I took so long but I hit a roadblock last week. I just could write for the life of me. Nothing made sense, it was horrible. Anyway, I'm back to business now, and hope to update regularly once again. My apologies, again. FYI, my computer is having issues, so the first and third sections are supposed to be in italics. Sorry. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter.
Fire surrounded her, the scorching heat of the blaze burning his skin. Loki looked around, his eyes widening as he saw something he wished he had not. Elizabeth was suspended in mid-air, her eyes wide, her mouth forming his name without sound. He ran toward her, only to be hurled farther away to land in a heap.
"Foolish boy." he heard a snarl come from his left. Turning, he saw Thanos stalk toward Lizzie, his magic obviously being that which held her where she was. "I warned you that you would wish for something as sweet as pain. Then, of course, I thought Frigga would be the one I would force you to watch as I slowly brought her life to an end... but it seems you have provided me with a much more painful alternative."
"No..." Loki whispered, his eyes going once more to Elizabeth. "Please... not her..."
"Did you honestly think I would not know?" Thanos mocked. "Our connection has not severed simply because you lost the Tesseract. I know how you care for her, how you have given your heart to her. I heard your vows throughout the night... I remember when you believed you were incapable of being loved. How quaint that you should find such a woman..."
Loki glared harshly, rage bubbling up as he heard how his time with Lizzie had not been his own. "You monster."
"Am I?" Thanos finished, laughing in the prince's face. "At least I do not hide what I am like you do. I do not pretend to be innocent as she does either."
"Do not speak of her!" Loki hissed. "She is nothing like you, nor am I!"
"What do you know but what she has told you?" Loki did not answer, watching as Thanos raked through her mind, not even allowing her the relief of crying out. Loki growled, trying to move only to find himself chained down. He pulled at the chains, but they only sent a magical fire through his veins, forcing him back to the ground.
"Please! Leave her be, your quarrel is with me!" Loki pleaded, his eyes never leaving Lizzie's look of pain.
"How pitiful you now look. The child who wanted to rule her kind now grovelling before me to save her." Thanos tutted, finally releasing her from her suspension. She fell to the ground in a heap, her cries finally being heard.
"Elizabeth!" Loki called her name, and she looked up at him with terror in her eyes.
"And I think I know exactly how I'm going to kill her..." Thanos told him. "You said it yourself once, and I think it was a rather marvelous plan for two lovers."
Loki didn't understand, his mind suddenly being taken over by a conscience which was not his own. The chains fell from his arms, and as if he was propelled by another force, he walked toward Elizabeth. He soon towered over her, and she looked up at him, her eyes brimming with tears. "Loki... please..." she whispered. "Please don't... I love you..." He didn't understand as his body knelt before her, his hands cradling her face, an intimate gesture which he couldn't help but feel was anything but. He kissed her, but there was no love in it, Thanos was doing it to him, and somehow it all fit into hs plan.
His mind suddenly flashed to his day in the Helicarrier, and he understood what Thanos was going to do. "No..." he whispered to himself, but his hands still moved of their own accord. "No!" He yelled as the fingers wrapped around her slender neck, already cutting off her air flow. She choked, her hands clutching at his, attempting to pull his fingers away from her throat. He watched in horror as she continued to struggle against him for a few more minutes, her eyelids fluttering shut as she succumbed to the darkness which he knew was beckoning to her. A few seconds more and she was no longer moving, his hands still on her neck as the life left her body.
"Elizabeth..." Loki sobbed, his body his own once more as he cradled her lifeless form to his chest, his hands brushing over her face as he willed her back to life. She was dead, and he had killed her. Thanos was right, this was a fate worse than pain, worse than death. It was as if Thanos knew exactly how to break him, how to destroy every part of him which may fight in any way. She was gone, and it was at his hands that it had happened...
Thanos chuckled maliciously as he weaved the nightmare in the Asgardian's mind, his form cloaked by the darkness of the room. He had watched the couple sleeping, their obvious lovemaking which had sealed their bond blatant to him. Even now, the young woman was wrapped securely in the Prince's arms, his breathing elevated as he continued to live through her death in his mind. As for her, she was too wrapped up in her own nightmare that she could not save him from his – they were far too easy to break, the mere thought of those who they loved dying being simply too cliché for Thanos to deal with. Mortals, and the Asgardians who loved them. Foolish. His gaze turned back to Loki.
It was amazing how easy it was to cause the man to crumble, the simple thought of his love's life being snuffed out breaking him into silent cries, which turned to outright screaming in his mind. Her life was precious to him... it was a shame that her only use was in torturing the man, when Shaw said she could be so much more. Still, this dream was more than simply that – Thanos had every plan to have this particular dream come true. This trial run was what he was judging Loki's feelings on, and now he was more than pleased with the results.
Elizabeth Donovan would die at his hands, and Loki Odinson would break all in the same breath. Grinning in glee, he continued with the dream, torturing the poor minds which lay in the bed.
The whitewashed walls of the laboratory blinded her, the metal table below her back biting through the thin material which she was wearing. Yet, she wasn't tied down – a strange thing, for usually she couldn't move when she was in that room – and she sat up, looking around the room to try to figure out what was going on. Hearing a scream, she ran, trying to find the source of the sound. Going through the lab into another room, she found the voice's body, a little girl strapped to a table.
"Mommy..." the girl weeped. "I want my mommy..."
"Well Mommy isn't here." Alex's sickeningly sweet voice cooed from a corner of the room. "She left you here."
"No." the little girl wailed.
"Oh, but she did." Alex replied. "She left you to start a new life. She doesn't care about you."
"Mommy cares!" the girl shouted, but Alex simply tutted, leaving the room.
Eyes widening, Lizzie understood just who it was on the table, and she ran to the side of the table. The girl turned to her, her brown eyes filled with tears as she looked up at her. "Saoirse?" Lizzie whispered, brushing her wispy bangs out of her eyes.
"Mommy..." Saoirse whimpered. "Help me, mommy."
Lizzie's thoughts went to Loki. "I can't." she whispered back.
"Elizabeth!" Loki's voice echoed in the room, the tone filled with panic, but he was nowhere to be seen.
"Loki?" she called back.
"Elizabeth... come back to me..."
"Please, mommy. It hurts." Saoirse cried, turning Lizzie's attention away from the disembodied voice.
"I know it does." Lizzie sobbed, remembering when she was in the same place as her daughter. "I'm coming for you, I promise."
Alex suddenly returned into the room, and Lizzie was thrown back, her daughter screaming for her – the sound of Alex's laughing echoing in her ears.
Lizzie was awoken by the force of Loki's arm holding her tightly, his breathing frantic as her name passing his lips in such a panic that she reached over to the lamp with her hackles up. For all she knew, Alex was in the room, somehow manipulating Loki's mind as he slept – but there was no Alex, and she was forced to accept that Loki was having a nightmare which featured her. Looking at the clock, she read that it was 2:30am. "Loki." she whispered, her hand resting on his face, trying to calm him somewhat as she kept calling to him. "Loki, wake up."
"Elizabeth!" he exclaimed, his eyes snapping open. The green orbs were filled with terror as he sat up, crushing her to his chest so as to instill in his conscience that she was truly there – alive. "You were lifeless in my arms." he started rambling into her neck. "He had me kill you—you died with my hands around your neck..."
"Shh..." Lizzie cooed in his ear. "I'm right here." She was, but now she wasn't sure. She didn't know what her daughters powers were, but she was sure that her dream was more than simply a dream. It shook her, and she questioned her promise to Loki... she couldn't stay, could she? Not if her daughter was in danger. It was confusing, and she wasn't sure what she was going to do. "Now what happened?" Loki sighed, loosening his hold on her slightly as he told her his dream. She listened patiently, helping him to relax. "Well you don't have to worry, I stayed last night, remember?"
"Yes, you did." he whispered, pulling away slightly to look her over. He still couldn't get the image of her lifeless body out of his mind, and he had to remind himself that she was very much alive... and very much naked. He couldn't help but drink in the sight of her, reminding him of how they were occupied mere hours before. He smirked, his cooler hands resting on her hips. "Yes, you definitely did, didn't you?"
Lizzie chuckled, kissing him gently. "None of that now." she teased. "We have a busy day tomorrow. Everyone's leaving."
"You and I have nothing to do." Loki murmured against her neck, his hands already roving over her back. "We can do what we want."
"Loki, are you forgetting that Midgard is currently in danger?" she asked him. "We don't have time to do what we want."
"Says the woman who can manipulate time." he retorted, continuing his ministrations. "Had I my powers, I wouldn't give you a choice in the matter."
"Is that so?" She asked breathlessly. "I'd stop you in your tracks if you ever dared."
"I'm sure you would." he replied, suddenly feeling her push him away. "What is the matter?"
Lizzie sighed, her eyes closing. She had to tell him she couldn't stay, she had to warn him. She opened her eyes, looking into his and lost all resolve... partially because she wanted to ignore everything, and simply pretend that nothing was going on in the world around her. "Nothing..." she eventually sighed. "Nothing at all, we should get back to sleep."
"Doubtful." Loki replied, laying back. "My dreams have been invaded, and I'm not keen on returning to Thanos' nightmare."
"I can understand that." she whispered, knowing she wouldn't get to sleep either. "Loki?"
"Mmm?" he replied.
She opened her mouth, about to tell him once again about her own dream. She wanted to be comforted, she wanted him to tell her nothing was going to happen to her or Saoirse... but she knew that if she told him, he wouldn't let her go. "Nothing, just a thought that I just lost." she replied, snuggling into his chest, and letting him wrap his arms around her once more. "Just sleep."
"I can't—I—I—" Loki mumbled off as her power cut off his consciousness
Leaning up, she kissed him softly. "I'll be right back." she whispered to him, slipping out from under his arm and pulling on her clothes. She couldn't help but feel like she was being watched, and frankly it unnerved her. Hearing the sound of someone's laughing from behind her, she spun, fully prepared to defend herself if need be. She found herself, however, face-to-face with Thanos. He smiled at her, and she felt a chill go down her spine – then he disappeared. Her heart beat quickly in her chest, and she looked at Loki who still slept on the bed. Despite her sudden fright, she couldn't wake him yet...
Jane was in the lab, unable to sleep due to her current problem of trying to create a Midgardian bridge to Asgard. It was a pain to try to figure out just how the mechanisms worked, but she wouldn't stop until she'd found a way to create one from Earth to Asgard. She just had to do it. It would make it easier for Thor to come and visit after this whole ordeal.
"Shouldn't you be sleeping, Dr. Foster?" she heard, and spinning around she let out a relived chuckle.
"Lizzie, you scared me." she said. "What are you doing up?"
Lizzie shrugged. "I couldn't sleep." she answered, her mind flashing to Thanos' grin. "I suppose Pepper told you what's going to happen tomorrow?"
Jane nodded. "Something about the trip not really being a trip?" she offered. "But I thought that you said that we'd be safer if we were in groups. How would that work under the circumstances?"
"Simply put, it has nothing to do with safety." Lizzie replied, sitting down at a chair opposite the girl who looked similar enough to her to be her sister. "Yet, everything to do with safety."
"Sorry, you lost me." Jane said.
"Pepper and I have a plan. A dangerous, and life-threatening plan which has about fifteen different ways that it can go wrong. However, we have come to the idea that it has to be risked." Lizzie told her. "Other lives depend on it going through, although mine is not for certain."
"What is the plan?" Jane asked. "That is, if you don't mind explaining it to me?"
Lizzie nodded. "You might as well know, that way you can explain it to everyone else when the time comes." she said. "I'm going with Pepper, in your place. That'll give Pepper a little more protection, and you'll be able to be with Thor when he comes back."
"What about Alex? You said he'd attack if he can get one of us?" Jane countered.
"He won't." Lizzie replied. "I'm afraid I can't explain that to you very well... but I can at least tell you that Alex won't be bothering anyone but me after this."
Jane tried to process what Lizzie was saying. "But if you go with Pepper to Malibu-"
"I'm not going to Malibu." Lizzie interrupted. "In fact, I'm not leaving New York. I'm meeting Alex tomorrow after we leave, I'm going to try to save my daughter from him."
"What the hell kind of plan is that?!" an outburst came from the doorway, causing the two brunettes to turn toward the voice. "Are you trying to turn Loki back into Mr. Kill-Everyone-Who-Is-Below-Me?"
"Loki will not be affected." Lizzie said slowly to Darcy, narrowing her eyes at the woman. "And you were not supposed to be involved, obviously. However you will be now, considering you have thrown yourself into this plan by eavesdropping."
"Hey, I just came by to make sure Jane wasn't working herself to the point that when Thor came back she was a ghost." Came Darcy's defense. "I didn't expect you to be all James Bond at the moment – maybe not James Bond, as this whole plan is suicidal."
"I'm not going to die, and it'll help everyone if Alex is out of the way." Lizzie said.
Darcy's blue eyes went big. "You're going to kill him?"
"Simply put... yes." Lizzie answered.
Darcy took a seat next to Jane. "Alright, you better start from the top. You have a lot of explaining to do..."
An hour later, Lizzie returned to Loki's room, slipping beneath the covers once more and snuggling into him. Still asleep, Loki encased her in his embrace, and she once more felt her heart sink. Everything was set in place, and now it was only a matter of completing the final steps... she could only hope that she returned to him in the end – and more than that, that he wouldn't hate her for lying to him.
The next morning, Loki woke with Elizabeth beside him, quite pleased that she wouldn't be going anywhere. He had succeeded in what Frigga had told him to do, and now it was only a matter of getting her daughter in her arms, safe and sound.
"Elizabeth?" he cooed in her ear, pulling her closer. "Elizabeth..."
"Go 'way." she mumbled, rolling her back to him. Chuckling to himself, Loki pulled her against him. "Lemme sleep, Lo."
"What did you just call me?" he asked, wondering if he'd heard her making a nickname for him.
"Lo." she answered cheekily. "One syllable, easy to say when you're still in the twilight zone. Speaking of, let me fall back into the edge of night." He peered over her bare shoulder to see her smirking.
"Well the women are leaving this morning, and seeing as this is your plan you should be there." Loki whispered into her hair.
Unseen to him, her eyes snapped open. "I think it'll be fine." she replied. "I'm pretty tired, something about nightmares – speaking of, did you get any sleep?"
"Prince Loki?" Jarvis' voice sounded, interrupting them. "Sorry to disturb you, but Mr. Stark requests that you be there, and was not specific about Miss Donovan."
Loki huffed. "I thought you disabled him."
"I was sleeping, Loki, the power doesn't necessarily work when I'm asleep." she murmured. "Just go. Tony will come in if you don't."
"Right. Stark's impeccably horrible timing." Loki sighed. "Very well." Getting up from the bed, he quickly dressed, kissing her just before he left. "I'll be back soon."
"Okay." she replied, letting him leave. Once the door shut, she jumped out of bed. "Jarvis?"
"Yes, Miss Donovan, I know..."
Emma and Justine left Avengers Tower, Andrew somewhat silent in it all. He hadn't spoken much since the mysterious mutant had almost kidnapped him, but it was obvious that the ordeal had left him a bit shaken. He stayed close to someone at all times until their departure, and when he left he seemed downtrodden. Lizzie wasn't there to see them go, as she had felt slightly guilty about what had nearly happened, and had yet to forgive herself. Loki, however, was given a hug and was requested by the boy to give Lizzie a kiss for him, to tell her 'he wasn't mad'. Loki agreed, and once the first group had left, he set off to find the brunette as Pepper set off.
"Loki..." Pepper had said. "I'm sorry."
"About what?" He had replied.
"Everything." she said, leaving him completely bewildered at what was going on. She and 'Jane' left soon afterward, and Loki was allowed to finally leave the Avengers. Something he was grateful for, as Tony nearly didn't allow his fiancee to leave, complaining that she might be safer with him. Still, he let her go, and returned to his workshop.
Loki nearly felt sorry for him, but his own heart soared with the prospect of Lizzie her staying in the Tower and abandoning her plan. He had given her a reason to stay, had given her his heart, what was left of it that was, and now he wondered why he had pushed her away for so long. He would not be so foolish now, that much he had decided, and he was already rehearsing what he would say to her when he saw her again. Upon entering his room, however, he found she had already vacated it. Concerned and confused, he left the room in search of Lizzie. Walking around, he found her figure outside of Stark's large windows, looking out on the city.
Going out on the patio, he approached her from behind, his hands resting on her waist as he dipped his head down to her neck. She spun around, and to his surprise he found himself looking into a pair of blue eyes, not a pair of brown. "Not that you aren't handsome – you are, and you definitely know how to kiss a girl's neck – but I think you need to cool it." It was Darcy.
"Forgive me, I thought you were Elizabeth." Loki apologized, letting her go as if touching her burned him – which wouldn't be too far off, she wasn't Elizabeth.
"Hey, it's cool, I understand. We're both short, big breasted, brunette, and awesome. I understand the confusion." Darcy replied flippantly. "Tell me, do you often grab her waist and kiss her neck? Is that a new thing? Or did you actually know it was me and were trying to make a move – because if you were, I will totally hit you."
Loki's brow furrowed. "I can hardly see how that matters to you." he said. "I assure you, I thought you were Elizabeth, and would not have touched you had I known who you were."
Darcy's mouth dropped. "Dude, you know how to make a girl feel special, don't you? Was it this kind of charm that turned Lizzie into your loyal companion for life?" she asked. "Cause she must be some kind of a sadist."
"Elizabeth is no sadist, in fact I'm sure she'd want to stay as far away from pain as possible." Loki snapped, feeling a little more than irritated at the busty brunette beside him. Elizabeth hated pain... she just didn't mind throwing herself in the way of it if it meant it would save someone she cared about.
She chuckled. "Whoa, easy there partner!" she exclaimed. "I know you're crazier for her than a bee for lavender, but you need to relax! I like Lizzie, in case you haven't noticed, so you don't have to worry about me hurting her, or insulting her, or stabbing her in the back."
Loki relaxed slightly at her words, remembering how Elizabeth talked about her fondness for the eccentric woman. "Well... as long as you remain that way, I don't see how we could have a problem."
"Good." Darcy replied. "Cause I wouldn't mind you, if you weren't so psychotic. What she sees in you romantically, I'm not quite sure – I mean, you're good-looking, and charming, and know how to romance a girl like her – okay, I guess I could see it. You're too skinny for me."
He resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "What a mournful situation I'm in that I'm too skinny to suit your tastes." he said sarcastically. "Now if you'll excuse me, I need to find Elizabeth." He wanted to find Elizabeth more than anything, and talking to Darcy wasn't helping him in that regard. The night before had changed everything, and they needed to discuss what they were going to do.
"She's not in the tower." Darcy said as he turned to leave.
"What?" Loki said.
Taking a deep breath, Darcy tried again. "I said she's not in the tower."
Silence followed as the words sunk in.
"Are you sure you want to do this?" Pepper asked Lizzie for the fourth time. "Because if you aren't, Happy can turn around."
"Pepper, I don't want to sound like a bitch, but I have to go through with this, that's all there is to it." Lizzie snapped. "Besides, Loki's noticed my absence by now, and is probably grilling Darcy and Jane. If I go back now, I won't get a chance like this again."
"Yes, but you won't lose him." Pepper replied. "I don't think he'll be half as upset if you return – not to mention Logan."
"Logan will know not to interfere." Lizzie retorted. "He may not agree with my methods, but he knows that it would be idiotic to try and stop me. Loki not so much. I don't know how he handles relationships overall, but I have a feeling that he's quite protective."
"You don't think he'll ever hurt you?" Pepper asked.
Lizzie shook her head. "When I say 'protective' I mean from everyone else. I have a feeling that he's not going to be able to protect me from himself if he wanted to... just look at his track record. He has a history of hurting the people he cares about." she replied, looking back out the window. "But he'll try."
Pepper chuckled. "You know, I don't know how you did it, but you have changed him." she said. "He's not the same man who turned up back in March."
"No, he's not is he?" Lizzie replied.
"Do you love him?" Pepper inquired.
Silence followed, and Pepper began to wonder if Lizzie had heard her, or just purposefully ignored her. "Yes." the younger woman finally answered. "That's why I'm keeping him clear of all of this."
"He could help you, you know?" Pepper retorted.
Lizzie sighed. "He's been stripped of his powers unless I'm in immediate danger. Alex doesn't want me dead, he wants me broken. Any danger I come into will not be immediate... it's not his style. Meaning that Loki would be completely helpless against him, save for his physical ability to incapacitate." she explained. "Alex would kill him in a heartbeat, for no other reason than to hurt me."
The car slowed, and Pepper swallowed the lump in her throat. "Tony knows something is up." she whispered to her companion.
"I'm sure he does, he's a genius." Lizzie replied, taking off her sunglasses and finally turning to Pepper. "It isn't too late to back out, you can still fly to Malibu and be safe, completely out of danger."
"I promised I'd help you get your daughter out of this guy's grip, I can handle myself." Pepper replied sternly. "Ready?"
Lizzie nodded. "Thanks Happy." she called to the front.
"You're welcome, Miss Donovan." Happy replied. "Be safe, Miss Potts. You know what to do if Mr. Stark needs to come immediately."
"Yes I do, Happy. Thanks." Pepper replied as she suddenly found herself unable to move. "That is not a good feeling."
"I know. You're fine, though, I just have to get Alex right now, and he'll come out here for you. Happy, you know the plan." Lizzie said, leaving the vehicle and walking up the steps of St. Patrick's Cathedral and going in.
Loki fought the panic which rose within him. "What do you mean 'she's not in the tower'?"
"I mean she's vacated the building." Darcy retorted. "She made like a vine and swung out of here? Does any of this register?"
"Yes, you daft woman, I understand what you're saying – she's not here – but my question is: why is she not here? Did Logan take her somewhere, or... what? And how do you know about it?" Loki corrected.
Darcy sighed, her eyes showing an unspoken apology. "I plead the fifth." she said, looking out toward the city.
"What does that mean?" Loki asked her. Lizzie had promised him she would stay... she had told him several times the night before... she didn't lie to him, did she? No. Impossible.
"It means I choose not to tell you where she is." Darcy tried to explain. "Mostly because she said you'd get upset."
Loki quickly grabbed her arms, forcing her to face him. "You are going to tell me where she went, and why!" he snarled. "I don't care what she told you, I need to know."
"I can't, Loki, she made me promise I wouldn't." Darcy replied.
"Made you pro—no. No, you're going to tell me where she is, and I'm going to get someone to go find her and bring her back." Loki's voice rose.
"I can't! If I tell you, it'll ruin everything!" Darcy exclaimed. "I shouldn't have even told you anything, but I suppose I thought you'd take it better form a human being than from Jarvis. Now let me go, or so help me—"
"What? You'll taser me like you did my idiotic brother?" Loki completed in a mocking tone. "Do you not realize how much she's in danger? Alex Shaw wants her dead, as far as I know, and you've given him the perfect opportunity."
"She'll be fine—OW!" Her cry of pain made him slacken his grip slightly, but he was still angry with her... or rather, with himself for allowing her out of his sight. He should have let the boy leave without seeing him, he shouldn't have allowed Lizzie to convince him that she'd be there when he got back. But there was truly only one thing which angered him: Elizabeth had lied to him.
To his surprise, Loki suddenly found himself on the ground, clutching his face as Fandral stood over him with his hand still in a fist, his blue eyes blazing in fury. "Ah, Fandral the Egotistical. To what do I owe the honor?" he asked, beginning to pick himself up.
The Asgardian didn't answer, simply picking Loki up by his shirt and preparing to hit him again. "Fanny, now that's enough!" Darcy's voice interjected, grabbing his hand. "Loki was simply worried about Lizzie, and he wasn't thinking. He didn't mean to hurt me."
"I don't give a damn, he should have known that squeezing your arms would cause you pain. He wouldn't do it to his beloved Elizabeth, why should he do it to you? Then again, perhaps he wouldn't mind hurting Elizabeth, he doesn't seem to care much for her, does he?" Fandral asked her, unknowingly hitting a spot in Loki which he should have left alone.
Fandral clutched his nose after Loki had headbutted him, thankful that the skinnier man didn't have his magic. He'd be done for in no time, that he could tell from the pure fury which burned in Loki's green orbs. He could faintly hear Darcy screaming for him to stop fighting with Loki, but it was just that – faint. Apparently Elizabeth was more of a pressure point on Loki than he had anticipated.
For three minutes the two men landed punches on each other, Loki putting up more of a fight than Fandral had expected. Darcy had enough, and ran inside to get some help, after all she wasn't wanting to taser Fandral and be helpless against Loki; but she knew if she tasered Loki she'd be unable to stop Fandral's tirade. Finding Steve first, she sent him outside and moved to get the other men.
Loki's nose was bleeding, and Fandral had a black eye forming. They had yet to notice Darcy's disappearance, but they were soon pulled apart by the Avengers and Volstagg. Bruce stayed inside, trying to keep himself from losing control and accidentally hurting someone, Darcy staying with him just in case.
"Okay, Prongs, time to calm down!" Tony yelled to the squirming Loki, trying to get through the other man's head. Loki ignored him, still trying to get out of his and Clint's grasp, hissing things in old Norse at Fandral that only he and Volstagg understood. Fandral's eyes widened comically before he fought against Volstagg and Steve's grip again, swearing he'd kill Loki.
Tony and Clint fought hard to keep a good hold on the much-taller Loki, his body being stronger than either one of them, and just below both of them combined. In short, they were getting tired. "If only I'd got my suit on first." Tony growled to himself.
"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?!" Logan's voice suddenly bellowed from the doorway, Natasha standing next to him. Silence followed as the mutant's eyes went from person to person, trying to piece together what had caused the strife between the two men.
It was Darcy who answered. "Lizzie left this morning, and Loki was asking me where she was." she told Logan. "Fandral thought he was going to hurt me, and came out here like some idiotic knight in shining armor – then, like the blockhead he is, he decided to make a stab at Lizzie's personality. Shazam! Catalyst."
"Lizzie's gone?" Clint asked.
"I am not a blockhead." Fandral growled lowly, earning himself a slap from Darcy, and garnering the attention away from the problem at hand.
"Yes, yes you are." she said. "You're a low-blow son-of-a-bitch – no offense to your mother, but your dad must have been a right bastard to raise you to pick on people by hitting their weakest points."
"Elizabeth is not my weak point." Loki hissed.
Tony laughed. "You're not foolin' anyone, Rudolph." he teased.
"Alright, that's enough." Logan interrupted the snide comment which was about to come out of Loki and Fandral's mouths. "Let the guys go, and I swear if you two start fighting again I'll put one – or both of you – out of commission."
Reluctantly, the two men were released, allowed only to glare at each other. "Where did Lizzie go?" Clint asked Darcy.
"I can't tell you." the brunette repeated once again. "She said we'd know soon enough anyway."
"What does that mean?" Natasha asked, looking at Logan – whose eyes were transfixed on Loki.
"Bad things." Logan replied. "It means that something is about to happen which could mean her life." Loki turned his head sharply, anger and fear reflected in his eyes.
"Her life?" Clint repeated, turning to Darcy, who looked very much like a deer in the headlights. "How could you not tell anyone?"
"Because Lizzie made her promise not to." Natasha answered, causing everyone to look at her, Jane – surprisingly to them – standing next to her.
"If you're here, that means that Lizzie is with..." Tony trailed off. "No... Pepper..."
Lizzie sat in a pew as she waited in the cathedral, wondering why Alex was taking so long to make himself known. She'd been waiting for five minutes, and still he had yet to appear.
"Patience was never your strong suit." His voice suddenly echoed through the vaulted ceilings. "Well... only in certain situations."
She stood, turning toward the pulpit. "Hello Alex." she replied, her voice cold. "You took your time."
Alex smirked. "With you in my grasp? I have all the time in the world."
Well? Sorry for those of you who hoped Lizzie stayed. Trust me, it's all according to plan. It is very necessary to destroying Alex and Thanos in the end... I'm sorry once more. Reviews?