A/N: Here's chapter 3! W00T! Thank you Erikstrulove and j-swan for your reviews! Yeah, I am updating this one pretty fast, aren't I? I came up with the original concept years ago, and I had an outline sitting on my computer. I've updated it a lot based on a more thorough analysis of Hiddleston's portrayal of the character, the various avengers' backstories as we see them in later movies, and just plain me being older and a little more discerning about what would actually happen among the characters.
I remember when I was first coming up with the idea that I was in high school, and I know this because I was describing some of the shenanigans Darcy and her friends at her old school pulled, and my mom said, "you wanna know what college looks like? Here's a movie for educational purposes!" and put me in front of Animal House. (Incidentally, I'm about to graduate my second college, and I haven't seen anything like that. I'm not sure if I feel relieved or cheated. But I digress.)
But anyhow, this story's practically writing itself, because it's been fermenting in my head for over four years!
Truth
Darcy Lewis was surprisingly good at reading people. Perhaps it was a side effect of growing up with an angry alcoholic and an absentee drug addict—when she was small, she had to learn quickly to find her parents' tells, to know when they meant what they said, how sober they were, how long they'd be conscious, if they'd remember a request in the morning. Perhaps it was her struggle to get through high school and college; her personality clashed intensely with that of most authority figures, so if she wanted to succeed academically, she had to develop almost a sixth sense to tell her when she was pushing too far, and how to get out of trouble when she'd gone and stepped right in it.
She supposed it might have been easier to simply behave, but where was the fun in that? It went against her very nature—and she couldn't deny that the skills were coming in handy.
She sat in what she now referred to as her office chair, arms folded, legs crossed, staring holes into Loki's tense back. His neck was tight like the muscles were clamping down on a torrent of unwanted words, not letting them reach his mouth. He hadn't spoken a word to her since Thor had left, but simply stood with his back to her, hands balled into white-knuckled fists. Anyone else might have assumed he was angry.
But Darcy Lewis wasn't anyone else.
"What are you so scared of?" she asked quietly, knowing that his alien ears would pick up her low voice but the cameras probably wouldn't. He didn't turn, didn't speak, but he shifted his posture slightly, standing a bit straighter, his shoulders coming up a little, like hackles rising. She saw the twitch in his neck when he swallowed.
"When you're angry," she continued, wanting to show her reasoning, and prove to this intelligent individual that she wasn't just hazarding a guess, "you usually insult people's intelligence, or you rant like someone out of a Shakespeare play, all SAT words and poetry. It just comes pouring out of you." She'd seen it a few times over the last week. He was angry at Thor, and angry at earth, and when he got angry, it was always because everyone was stupid. He would get frustrated, as—in his opinion—the only clever person in the room, and that frustration would boil into a rage when no one would listen to him.
But this was not that.
"But when you're scared," she continued, "you mask it with anger—but you talk differently. You're shorter with people, you insult them personally. It's like…" she paused, searching for a way to explain it. He turned his head minutely, just enough to look at her out of the corner of his eye, his long, moderately unkempt hair shadowing what little of his face he exposed. "It's like you want to devalue them, make them less than you—like you're trying to convince yourself that they aren't worth being scared of." He'd been scared of Odin, she'd noticed when his adoptive father came up.
He turned all the way around, and sat down on his bed, folding his arms and staring at her, face inscrutable, not wanting to let anything slip.
"So," she carried on, determined to work this out, "if you're scared, and if you weren't the one in control of the invasion, then there is someone else—someone who scares even you. And…" she paused, swallowing, her voice coming out dry, "if whoever it is scared you, they terrify me."
Loki's eyes flicked down to his shoes, and he contemplated them, face still blank, for several minutes. Darcy held her tongue, letting him think about that for a while. Maybe it was presumptuous of her, to think he'd tell her and not Thor. But they didn't have all the emotional baggage that he had with Thor, and perhaps he'd even trust her to be more discreet about it than Thor.
"I don't know," he finally admitted in a hollow whisper. She blinked, and he looked up at her, façade cracking, face briefly twisting in misery before he got it under control. "I don't remember much," he confessed. "But from what I do re—" his voice cut out suddenly, and he swallowed thickly, clearing his throat before he could continue.
"What you have to understand, Darcy," he explained after getting ahold of himself, "is that when I caused trouble on Asgard—or even when I was just in proximity to it and could be blamed," he added with a flash of irritation, "the All-Father would always insist that I take responsibility. That I clean up my own mess," he clarified, gesturing vaguely with his hand. He cleared his throat again and carried on doggedly; clearly it was difficult for him to talk about his past, but he was tenacious, and now that he'd decided to explain, he planned to go through with it, whatever it cost him.
"And that worked out for him, for the most part," Loki explained. "I procured treasures and solidified treaties… I did more for Asgard just trying to make up for my own transgressions than Thor has done in all his years as crown prince." His voice was bitter now, and he glared off into space, mind clearly dwelling on Thor's inadequacies.
"But… this time," he snarled—well, it was a snarl until his voice cracked. "I don't remember much," he repeated, "and I'm afraid that… if I do remember…"
"That they'll want you to go back and deal with it," Darcy finished for him when it became evident that he could not. He nodded, pinching the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger, clearly trying to hide his face or stop himself from crying, but trying the whole time to look put together, instead of simply covering his face with his hands and sobbing.
"I cannot do that," he finally asserted. "I will not. I'll go to prison for the rest of my very long life—Asgard can punish me however they wish. Because… even their darkest nightmares are dreams compared to what's behind me," he finished, finally looking up at her, eyes red but determined.
"Unless," she whispered, a half-formed idea trotting out her mouth without her say-so. He cocked his head to one side ever so slightly, indicating curiosity.
"Well," she reasoned, "you've made a pretty damn big mess here, haven't you?"
-0-
"You want us to what?" Fury demanded, incredulous, as Darcy stood in front of his desk, feet planted, jaw set, determination written on every line of her body.
"I want you to grant Loki asylum on earth," she repeated, slowly and clearly, "in exchange for consultant work with SHIELD and the Avengers, regarding interplanetary threats and how to best defend ourselves from what's out there."
"Are you out of your mind?" Fury exclaimed. The other Avengers sat in the background, still processing. Darcy had invited them all to Fury's office for an impromptu meeting, but hadn't told any of them what it was about.
"Look," she reasoned, "if I have my facts straight—and Thor can verify this," she added, gesturing at the Asgardian god, "Loki has a history of fixing what he breaks—he makes up for his crappy behavior in spades. Am I wrong?" she asked, nodding at Thor. Thor shook his head.
"No, you are not wrong," he rumbled. "Loki's mischief was a plague to the nine realms, it is true, but he has always made up for his wrongs, and then some."
"So," Darcy continued, "I think this time we're the ones entitled to that, yeah? Weren't you the ones who were all concerned about the number of super-people and alien shenanigans in the world these days? Who better to teach us about how to deal with all that than the smartest guy in the galaxy, who owes us some serious reparations?"
Fury's eye narrowed as he appraised her. It wasn't like he hadn't taken in dangerous strays before, on the off-chance that they'd be useful. Of course, it was usually Barton bringing them in, but still.
"What exactly did you have in mind?" he asked thoughtfully. Darcy took a deep breath. This was the hard part to pitch.
"If we keep him here as a prisoner," she started, "he has no incentive to help us. If he goes back to Asgard, he has no incentive to help anyone. If his options are where to sit in a cage, I imagine he'd pick the one with amenities he's more accustomed to." She nodded towards Thor, indicating Asgard.
"But." She paused, collecting herself. "If Thor can convince his dad to banish Loki, exactly like he banished Thor when we first met him—no powers, no title, just a regular joe cast down to earth, then he wouldn't be much of a threat to us, and his knowledge would still be helpful. And if we allowed him a measure of freedom, maybe helped enroll him in college, let him socialize with people from this planet, give him academic stimulation and the chance to have the same everyday struggles and challenges that humans face; if we give him a chance to live a life that's better than living in a cage, then the deal where he becomes a consultant suddenly benefits him. And," she added, "if he does go bad again, he's not going to start by torching the only planet willing to shelter him—plus, Asgard knows where he is.
"Hell," she added, "I have a spare room and was looking for a roommate—he can come live with me; enroll him in University of Colorado. There's an empty apartment two doors down, and the landlord's been having trouble finding a tenant because it's bigger and more expensive, since it's on a corner. SHIELD can rent it, have a couple of babysitter agents move in—I happen to know that there's a SHIELD base in Larimer, since you guys hired Jane," here she nodded at her boss.
"And if he goes bad, and you're in the line of fire?" Fury asked, eyebrow raised.
"Like I said," Darcy repeated, "he's smart—he won't alienate the only person willing to go to bat for him. And if he does…" she shrugged, "then that's my problem. I'll sign whatever wavers you want—but I'm willing to take the risk."
"And if whoever controlled him decides to come find him?" Natasha asked.
"Then they'll assume we sent him back to Asgard, I'd imagine," Darcy replied quickly. "Why would humans in their right minds keep someone as powerful as him around. And if whoever it is was powerful enough to attack Asgard," she added, "why would they bother trying to take over earth?" Thor nodded, substantiating her claim.
Fury studied his own interlocked fingers broodingly.
"If he does betray us," he finally said, looking up at the Avengers, "it'll likely become your problem real quick. So, thoughts?"
"I agree with lady Darcy," Thor said immediately. "I am confident that I can convince the All-Father to agree as well. His crimes against Asgard were minimal, and were largely committed against myself," he added, "so I am the only one with the right to charge him with wrongdoing. The Jotuns would probably wish him ill for his much more serious crimes against their people, but as they are still considered our enemies, we do not have to hand him over to them."
"I'm for it, too," Bruce said quietly.
"Well, I'm not," Natasha shot back, stone-faced. "But if that's what everyone decides, then I'll go with it."
"You're sure he was mind-controlled?" Barton checked. Bruce answered before Darcy could get a word in.
"And then some," the mild-mannered doctor said darkly. Everyone looked at him in varying states of confusion. Tony's face morphed into several different expressions in about three seconds, like he'd just realized something gut-wrenchingly horrible. Darcy frowned, still not getting it.
"Oh, god," Tony finally croaked, as Bruce passed him a tablet.
"What?" Darcy demanded, not liking to be out of the loop while they discussed her plan.
"He shows signs in this recording of prolonged torture," Bruce admitted with a sigh, taking off his glasses and rubbing his face. "I'm guessing his head is a little harder to get into than ours."
Thor bounded to his feet, rage twisting his face, and Jane flung herself at his chest, imploring him to stay calm and not destroy the tower or anything else Thor-scale.
"Then I'm for the plan," Barton agreed evenly, bringing them back to the topic at hand. "With all the necessary safeguards, of course," he amended. Natasha looked at him with a hint of surprise. "Well," he added, answering her unspoken question, "I wasn't locked up for what I did under the influence of the scepter. Selvig's a free man, the other surviving agents are free men—it would be kinda' unfair to hold him to a different standard just 'cause we didn't know him personally before he got taken over." Natasha pursed her lips, but said nothing.
"Cap, Stark," Fury said, looking between the two men, "you've both been awfully quiet."
"I fail to see a downside," Steve shrugged, mind still reeling a little from Banner's announcement, but bringing himself back to the present discussion with practiced professionalism. "As long as miss Lewis is comfortable with the risks, of course. I'm sure he could stay with agents…" Darcy was shaking her head.
"He's comfortable with me," she explained simply. "And the point isn't to keep him prisoner, or even make him feel like a prisoner. The point is to get him to make a home here—and I think I can do that better than any agent. No offense," she added, turning to Widow and Hawkeye.
"None taken," Natasha assured her, shaking her head.
"Stark?" Steve asked, turning to the billionare.
"Yeah," he said tightly, eyes still riveted on the tablet screen. "Good. Let's do it."
"Great," Darcy said, relief washing over her. "Now… he's going to need a civilian identity. Know anyone who can make that happen?" she asked, smiling expectantly at Fury.
A/N: So, I don't remember if I had any in previous chapters, but from here on there will be plenty of Easter Eggs for other fandoms or other parts of the MCU. This one includes a line from Guardians of the Galaxy—kudos to anyone who can find it!
Please review and tell me what you think! Lemmie know what you like—what is it that keeps you coming back for more, what was it that made you keep reading after the first and second chapters?