Chapter Forty-Nine: Witness
"She's not here," Darcy cried in aggravation as she launched one of her pillows across the room. Loki was having fun antagonizing her until it sunk in that he should have some sense of urgency. All of the Avengers, save for his sibling, were in the building looking for answers. He allowed the fidgeting Sasha to be seen once again. Then he tucked her under the heap of blankets on the ground while Darcy's back was turned. The puppy struggled to get out from under them but did so quickly, running to console her stressed temporary guardian upon her success.
Darcy was ecstatic and looked not for answers concerning where the dog had actually been. She scooped her up and thrust her at Loki. "That only took a lifetime," he sneered. She started to grumble and he glared. "Listen very carefully," he instructed with grave severity. It was challenging to take him seriously with Sasha gazing up at him, eyes shining with affection, tongue dangling off to the side, tail wagging fiercely. Challenging, yes, but not impossible. "You are not to tell anyone anything you've witnessed or been a part of."
Darcy rejected his premise with a forced, "Ha!"
"Would it really be so far-fetched to ask this of you? Are you truly incapable of secrecy?"
"Incapable of secrecy is my middle name," she sounded proud somehow.
"Allow me to provide you with some incentive," Loki cooed.
"I could use a new car, or-"
"If you tell a soul anything, one fraction of a quarter detail, you will be invisible and inaudible for the rest of your days." A spell such as this that depended on hard-to-define conditions was not unheard of. In fact, he'd studied and experimented with them in his youth. But in this instance a threat would suffice. By the time she slipped up and figured out he'd misled her, he'd be long gone.
"Do I at least get to be visible now?" Darcy begged with a childish stamp of her foot.
"It will wear off by sundown tomorrow," Loki bluffed. At the very least, her thinking she couldn't be seen had potential to buy him some time. He tapped her shoulder in mock assurance and stole back what magic he could from her.
"Shut up, you could totally just fix it!" She pouted. He grimaced at her and she sighed dejectedly, realizing she should be more careful about who she told to shut up.
"You're right, I could," Loki feigned kind sincerity before turning his back to her. As he made his way out, he slipped her phone and keycard into a random drawer in the bathroom. When he got to the door, he heard the familiar tones of it unlocking. He took a millisecond to peek through the barrier and found Steve's urgent stare, already heading inside. He teleported instantly to the stairwell nearby, ashamed by the close call.
Steve dashed in the room, which now looked like a hurricane had come barreling through. He saw Darcy clearly and eyed her with confusion, unsure what to say at first. He'd been expecting the menace or at least some mystery. The only mystery was why everything in the space was upside down. He looked around from one disaster area to the next, averting his eyes from a lacey thong he happened to catch in his sight.
These few seconds were enough time to solidify Darcy's invisibility in her own mind. She threw her hands to her hips and rolled her eyes. "Come on," she groaned, "why don't hotties ever stop by my room when I can actually do something about it?"
Steve's eyes shot to her, his mouth open cautiously. "What?" He wondered with a sly smile.
Darcy panicked. What else was there to do? "What?" She managed not to stutter.
Steve smiled wider despite himself. "Hottie?"
"It's a, well, fairly modern term, for, well," she realized quickly that with everything scattered around the room, her undergarments were included. She frantically began collecting them and chucking them to the opposite side of the bed where he couldn't see.
"No, I know what it means," he chuckled.
Darcy tried her best to fit every single shade of red onto her frazzled face. She very quickly stopped trying to save herself some embarrassment somehow. "God damnit."
Elsewhere
Jane's fantasy of a dream had progressed rather far. She'd lived several days in her fantasy home with her lover, skipping over mundane daily activities for more satisfying escapades. Hints of reality kept trying to creep into her happy bubble world, especially once the spell lifted. She fought them off with no problem, stopping every soon-to-be argument with a passionate kiss. She won over every scientist who doubted her research with a charming smile/laugh combination and drank wine with every meal without getting sloppy.
Still, all good things must come to an end. The thinker in Jane, which was most of Jane, truly, knew this undoubtedly. So when Loki, disguised as her perky, absentminded friend, wandered into the room, her woven reality began to unravel. A kiss would no longer do. Her explanations were not accepted simply because of her beauty. In fact, they were doubted because of it. How could someone so beautiful be so intelligent? It didn't add up. Outraged colleagues insisted that she must be a hired actress, some stunt pulled by a man behind the scenes. There was no other explanation.
Loki stared down at her. Such a fuss over this creature? He furrowed his brow when he noticed her head resting on the head of a mop. He looked around just to be sure, but, no, they were not in a janitor's closet. It was just a storage room, full of mainly filing cabinets and boxes of papers. Why was there a mop? It made no difference. He knelt down next to her and shook her awake gently, the way he imagined a friend would. She clung to her sleep, jamming her eyes closed and grunting in protest. "Jane," he said in Darcy's most comforting tone.
Her eyes flickered open reluctantly. "I am too a scientist," she grumbled.
"Yes," Loki affirmed before examining her. He helped her sit up and she was completely unaware of her surroundings. She asked no questions. She refused to keep her eyes open, groggy in a stubborn way. She was weak, no doubt she was hungry and thirsty as well. Instead of taking over her mind like he'd planned, he cast a simple spell that could only be described as agreeability. It ensured she would follow him and ask no questions, so long as nothing too stimulating came up.
"Did I fall asleep?" Jane peered over at him curiously, innocently.
"For a little while," Loki smiled. Jane reached for her purse, which had been draped around her like a sash the entire time. He gave her no time to sit and think. "we're going to see Thor now, okay?" He helped her to stand and she smiled pleasantly.
"I like him very much," she enthused as he led her out the door. He kept them both unseen and opted for the stairs over the elevator. He pulled her along by her forearm and tried to rush her past the lower level's door as it swung open. Jane's face almost held a childlike curiosity as she stopped dead in her tracks to see who came ambling through. It was Steve and, to her, another Darcy. Loki made an attempt at dragging her away from the confusing scene, but she wouldn't budge. He dared not risk using force and bruising her, lest his brother go back on his word.
"It's fine," Steve grumbled.
"No! I'm not lying to be polite! Hey! Stop!" Real Darcy snatched Steve's muscular arm so he turned to face her. "I will gladly give you my number, but I don't know where my phone is. That's why my room is torn apart."
"Darcy, it's fine. You're not interested. I get it," he tried to walk away again but she was persistent.
"I will go out and buy a brand new phone tomorrow and give you that number. I'll even see if I can request a number that spells out OH STEVE, if that will help convince you." Steve rolled his eyes and broke away from her at last, jogging up the stairs in a defeated haze. "How many other ways are there to say it?" Darcy begged, bouncing after him. "Man, you are really fast. It's almost unnatural."
Jane leaned into Loki with a dopey grin on her face. "That's a neat trick," she giggled, then affectionately added, "you should join the circus."
"Maybe someday," Loki appeased her as he coaxed her forward.
She stumbled and clung to his arm like a drunk girl just leaving the bar. "I hope everything works out with you and Steve," she breathed hopefully.
Loki forced a smile. He would have to confuse her some. Every though grounded in reality was one step closer to her breaking down his sorcery. And such a fragile spell would not cast again with ease, especially not after she'd found her mental footing. "Who's that?"
"Who's...who…?"
That was easy. The basement door was the first to have any indication of what awaited anyone who passed through. Luckily, it was the only hint of direction he needed-the parking garage was there. Seeing as it was getting late, most of the cars were parked in the section designated for employees. There wasn't a soul around. He propped Jane up against a sturdy concrete wall and approached the nearest motor vehicle. He closed his eyes and felt around the mechanical workings of the thing. He scowled. No, it wouldn't do. He could manipulate technology for the most part but understanding how it worked was a major factor. He could do it, if given an hour to study up. Unfortunately, that time would not be allotted to him. He knew how to operate the damned things, if only he had a key.
Not until now had Loki recognized the flaws in his lack of planning. So far, most things had turned out okay. Even being hurled into a wall by Mjolnir had given him the opportunity to negotiate this deal. He was adaptable-he wrote the book on the word-but it seemed that his plan had come to a stand still. He handed Sasha to Jane so he could think. After observing the woman nearly drop the pup, giggling as it happened, he sought another solution. He took the hem of her dress in his hands and ripped it, then all the way across so he had a long strip of fabric. He then tore that in half, stopping just before the edge to elongate it.
Jane curled her hands into fists. "DARCY, you have GOT to stop doing that! I like all my clothes the length they are. That's why I buy them that way!"
Loki sighed. He'd accidentally hurt his own cause by doing something that real Darcy had done before. As he fashioned a makeshift leash out of the cloth, he eased her back into his spell. "I just thought you'd want to try a little harder to be attractive now. Since Thor left you and all."
"What!? He didn't...he would never…"
"Jane! How did your dress get ripped?" Jane, distraught, clutched the hem in her palms. "I'm not sure," she sounded amply defeated yet he pushed once more. "Hold this," he handed her the homemade restraint with urgency, the other end tied firmly to Sasha's green collar. "It's very important that you don't let go."
Jane gripped the leash with intense determination. "Darcy, I swear I won't let you down." She then affixed her eyes to the strap and only blinked when she absolutely needed to.
As Loki sifted through his options-none of them quite clear or well defined-the elevator dinged and the B (for basement) light lit up. He grinned, things were apt to keep going his way. He loosened his shoulders and stretched, feeling cocky. He would simply steal the mortal's key's and-
The doors slid open and Natasha stepped out.
A/N:
First things first! I sketched Loki and Sasha. Nothing fancy, just a rough sketch, but you can find the link on my profile. I got the urge to do it since he's carrying her around for most of this chapter. Now, since the next chapter will be the fiftieth, I want to do something special. So I've prepared an extra long action packed story line for you guys! It's going to be loads of fun and my outline is done so I'll try to bang it out for you all as quickly as possible.
Fun fact, the OH STEVE phone number is 647-8383.
