Ugh. I am horrible to you guys. Between going on vacation and whatnot, I just had no time to write. I mean, I did, but all of it was bad. This chapter went through about five revisions, and I am still not completely happy, but I can't keep you all waiting anymore. I will post the next chapter tomorrow morning, and I will try to update several time in the following week to make up for all of this. Thanks to everyone that hasn't given up on this story :)

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Loki and Atella did not speak very much after the incident with her communication device. In fact, that's how things were for the next few days. Atella would walk in early in the morning, exchange pleasantries with Thor, and sit in her chair, silent, until it was time for her to leave. She always brought food with her to give to Loki in the mornings, and she would usually put whatever food Thor brought with him into the cell before leaving.

Loki was fine with the silence. He would rather her not say a word to him than talk his ear off, or insistently try to interrogate him. He never saw much of anyone else besides his brother or the agent. Nick Fury stopped by every once in a while, but it was just to ask something of Thor or Atella.

Nothing really changed until a week and a half after his capture. Atella walked in as she normally did and stood chatting with Thor for a few minutes. After he left, she dropped her bag on the floor as she normally did and went to the control panel. Loki felt the familiar sudden urge to sleep overcome him, and when he opened his eyes again, there was a container of food and a plate sitting beside him. She usually sat it in the same place right inside the door of the cell, and this was the first time he had found it this close to him.

He looked over to her usual place in the chair and found her, not staring off into nothingness, but lounging lazily and reading a book. This was the first time she had ever brought anything besides food with her into the cell had been so quiet between them lately, and he wasn't sure that he wanted to break that, but he was curious as to what brought this change. The agent had appeared more than happy to sit in silence with him, doing nothing.

He sat there for a few more minutes, watching her, before making up his mind.

"Tell me about this realm," he said.

Atella put her book down and looked at him.

"What?"

"I do have a genuine interest in the place that I will be ruling over. Unfortunately, I was not taught the finer details of Midgardian history," he said, leaning back against the glass, waiting for her to speak.

"Well… what did you want to know more about?" Atella said uncertainly. Fury never said anything about talking to Loki, but she knew that it was unwise to divulge any kind of information about the planet to the enemy.

Loki considered his answer for a few moments before saying, "How many rulers are there on this planet?"

Atella had a quick internal battle with herself before coming to a decision. "I'm not going to do this," she said, picking her book back up to begin reading again.

"Are you afraid of what Fury will think? There's nothing wrong with talking."

Atella didn't make any sign that she had listened to a word Loki had said. She acted as thought she was still reading her book, but her voice began speaking in his head.

"It would depend on what you would classify as a ruler. My country, the part of the Earth that you are on, has a president. Different places call their leaders different things," Atella paused for a moment then continued. "But you want to know about leaders. That is a very broad term. There are many different kinds of leaders on this planet. Some are obvious, like a person that is the head of a country, but some people manage to lead through books or film or even science."

"And how does one rule over millions through a book?" Loki asked. It was not condescending. He sounded genuinely interested.

"I didn't say rule. I said lead. We try not to use the word 'rule' here. Any person that has attempted to rule over a country has been killed or ended up taking their own life," she stopped to let the words sink in. "All it takes to lead people is to inspire them. You have met Captain America, right? He has all of the qualities of a good leader. I've only known him for a few weeks, and I already look up to him. It's just something that you're born with, I guess. I've never been able to do that… get a room full of people that I don't know and that don't know me to listen to a single word that I had said. Even your brother has the potential to be a great leader. He can inspire people, but in a different way. We are lucky to have them together on one team," Atella said, not looking up from her book still.

Loki instantly felt his anger rising at the mention of his brother. Atella saw this reaction in his face and continued, amused by the fact she could irritate him so easily.

"Like it or not, Loki, your brother was born to be a king. It makes perfect sense for him to have leadership qualities instilled into him. Of course, I haven't' known him all of my life, but he seems like a good-"

"My step-brother is a pathetic coward that only cares for himself. He only does things that he thinks will make him look good to other people. Had it been fair, Odin would have placed me in the throne of Asgard while Thor took a few years and grew up. Thor will be an arrogant king, not capable of completing the smallest task. Asgard will be in disarray by the end of his first year on the throne."

Atella glanced up from her book to Loki and said, "Can't you tell he has changed? Whatever you knew your brother to be is not what he is now. And how do you think your first year would go as king here? You would be dealing with riot after riot, and, maybe at the end of the first year you still have people to actually command that are not dead or opposing you, you will still be in charge of keeping these people alive. Every man that has decided that, for whatever reason, the world owes him something, and who tries to get that something by killing a bunch of people and declaring himself superior to all other beings, usually is murdered.'' Atella looked up again to see Loki nearly shaking with rage and couldn't resist. "I bet your brother wouldn't have any trouble with this."

Through a giant effort of will, Loki tried to keep his voice calm and said, "It sounds to me like Midgard has not found someone that is suited for ruling over everyone as a whole. It will be different when I am king."

"No. It won't. If you don't give up on this idea now, this will only end with your death."

"You said yourself that the only two people capable of killing me with ease are my brother, who could never bring himself to do so, and yourself."

"Well, there you go," Atella said.

Loki smirked at the assassin. "I can't help but notice how you're the only one on this planet that seems to genuinely care about my well being. My idiotic brother would not have thought to bring me food or water. Fury would not give me the best food available on this vessel. But you do all of that. Forgive me, agent, but I do not think that you would kill me at this point. You don't have it in you. And, I'm curious, but what is that saying about how you feel towards me?"

Atella fought to keep her voice steady and said, "I feel nothing more for you than a deep loathing. I show you kindness in hopes that you don't attempt to escape and kill everyone on this ship. I would do the same for any prisoner that we needed information from… and that I couldn't simply torture for that information. You could not mean any less to me than you do right now. You're just another job to me."

"You should have listened to your parents," he paused to let his words sink in, and to see her reaction. She didn't move, but clutched the sides of her book tighter.

"How do you know anything about my parents?"

Loki didn't resound to the question, but said, "Do you think, had you not got them killed, that they would be proud of you today? You know it is you're fault that they are dead, right?"

In an instant, Atella stood up and ran back to the control panel and hit the button that opened the door to the cell. Before Loki could even think to run out of the door, Atella shifted into diamond form and was in the cell holding the god in the air by the throat, just as he had done to her on their first meeting.

"You think I give a shit about you? You are threatening my planet's existence. Everyone that I have ever known or loved. Anyone that I have ever passed on the street, or stood in an elevator with. They could all be dead because of what you are bringing to my home."

Atella tightened her already iron grip on his throat. Loki was gasping for air, but none of it was reaching him. He tried pulling her arm off of him, but he was already weak from the lack of oxygen. He felt the sleepiness hitting him, as it did when Atella would open the door to bring him food, and, for whatever reason, he felt at peace for the first time in his life. In the distance, he thought that he heard yelling and footsteps, but the idea of sleep felt so good, and this feeling of peace he never wanted to let go of.

8-8-8-8-8

Atella could hear the guards outside of the door, and knew that they were going to come in any minute. Loki was on the verge of passing out, and he had stopped struggling completely and his eyes were fluttering shut. Just a few more moments, and this could all be over. In a few more moments, he would be dead, and it would be one less thing that they had to worry about.

That didn't happen. In the moment that about twenty SHIELD agents poured into the room, and Atella's temporary distraction, Loki held on to her arm and twisted out of her grasp. He landed very shakily and had to lean heavily on the wall to avoid falling down. He was taking deep breathes of air, and all the while he never took his eyes off of Atella.

The door was closed to the cell, so she didn't have to worry about him escaping, she just had to worry about herself. She tried to reach out to take control of his mind, but he was prepared for her. She felt what could only be described as a bad headache as he pushed her out of his mind. Being that he wasn't as strong as she was when it came to telepathy, she was still inside his head, but she was unable to control him or make him fall asleep without taking the time to really concentrate. All she could do was talk to him, and that was the last thing she wanted right now.

Loki had stopped leaning on the wall and they were circling each other, waiting for the other to strike out. Loki had his fists clenched, and Atella remembered his vice like grip, which was so much stronger than her own. He had raw power, and she had to go into her diamond form just to come close to matching him. She remembered what it felt like when she started cracking, when her skin began to shatter beneath his fingers, and he had shown almost no effort in doing it. She knew that without control of his mind, he would, most likely, kill her, even if she was able to heal after being broken.

Atella looked behind Loki at all of the SHIELD agents with their guns targeted on him. If even one of them fired, Atella and Loki both would be dropped from the aircraft and into oblivion. One or several of them would fire if he attacked her; they wouldn't know what their actions would cause. Loki seemed to have the same thought because he was looking behind her as well, and he had unclenched his fists.

Atella was still trying to figure out how to handle this situation when Fury walked in with a gun of his own. Fury never held a gun in his hands unless he planned on using it.

8-8-8-8-8

Loki looked between Nick Fury and Atella. She kept looking down at the gun in his hands, and, at this distance, he could tell that she was nervous by the crease in her brow.

Was Fury planning on killing him? Although this was clearly Atella's fault, seeing as she opened the door to get herself trapped in here with himself, he was sure that, while Atella would only get yelled at, Loki would be shot and killed without a second thought.

"Agent Vorst, please subdue the prisoner so that I can let you out."

Loki realized that, for the first time, he was free of her mind. He didn't feel her presence in his thoughts as one would notice a fly buzzing around a room.

She tried to break her way into his mind again, but he managed to turn her away. He took a lot for him to resist her, and he would break eventually. He could take a chance, but it could result in his death if Fury decided to use that gun on him. However, it had a stronger chance of getting them both out of this mess.

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Atella started to look worried, and tried again, with more force this time, but Loki's expression didn't change as he, again, did not allow her access.

Fury, who must have assumed she had control over Loki, lowered his gun and went to hit the button that opened the door. Atella noticed this too and said, "Hold on."

"I don't have all day Agent. I want you out of there."

"I don't have con-"

She stopped short because Loki, who appeared to be in a daze, walked over to the bench and sat down on it and closed his eyes.

Fury hit the button and the door opened. Atella looked back at it, then quickly back to the god pretending to be asleep. She started to back out, never taking her eyes off of him the entire time.

As soon as she had both feet on the walkway on the other side of the door, the door shut right in her face. Once the door had closed, Loki sat up suddenly and looked around, confused, as though he just got out of a telepathically induced sleep.

"We need to talk," said Fury.

8-8-8-8-8

Atella and Fury left all of the guards in the cell room with their guns pointed directly at Loki. He would be fine for a few minutes. Fury didn't say a word, but Atella could tell that they were going to his office.

They walked past Banner and Stark's lab, and the two men were both typing furiously into computers, and didn't even take notice of Fury or herself. Atella meant to visit with Banner more. He had an incredibly calming effect on her, and she just enjoyed being in the company of someone that she could just talk to casually. Every time Stark walked into the room, it was like the energy level rose ten times more than what it usually was.

Atella felt something poking clumsily at her mind. When she reached out with her own thoughts and touched it, she heard Loki's voice, but it was like it was coming through an old, crackling radio.

"What do you want?" she asked him.

"You need to lie to Fury. Don't tell him that we were talking."

"No shit." Atella felt frustration on Loki's end, but was surprised when he was still being civil.

"They are going to be watching you closely now, that is if Fury even still let's you stay on this vessel," he paused shortly then said, "You know, this would all be much easier if you just got me out of here and helped me take over this planet."

"Fuck off. Fury wouldn't just kick me off of the ship, no matter how pissed he may be at me." Atella ignored Loki's last words on purpose.

Loki was quite for a moment, then said, "You might be very surprised at what Nick Fury would do."

Atella was so lost in the conversation that she didn't notice that they were standing outside of Fury's office. She pushed Loki out of her thoughts just as Fury opened the door and stood back, allowing Atella to enter first. She knew better than to sit down and just took a few steps inside before turning to face him.

Fury closed the door and turned to her and said, "Well? What in the hell was that all about? What happened?"

Atella took a moment to collect her thoughts. She knew that at this point, Loki was most likely just trying to mess with her. Fury had been with her for pretty much her entire life, and she couldn't forget everything that he has done for her just because one person filled her mind with doubt. But then… would she really be doubting Fury if she trusted him? She had been with SHIELD long enough not to feel any sort of confusion or fear over her chosen career.

"Loki has been… testing me. Over the last few days, he has been attempting to break into my own mind. I made it seem like I didn't notice, but it just became too much… too bothersome. He was trying to go through my memories, and I let him at first, just to try to figure out what it was he was looking for. Then he started looking at memories of my parents, and, I just… I don't know what happened."

"You lost control," Fury said softly.

"Yeah. Listen, I am not sorry for what I did. I doubt that he will try anything like that again, but I will apologize for the panic that it caused," Atella said, staring into Fury's one good eye.

"You are an agent of SHIELD, and I expect you to have better control over your anger. However, if you had been keeping that anger at bay for several days, I will overlook it for now. If you attempt to kill him again, you will be reassigned to the other side of this ship. For today, your shift is done. I will have other guards watch over him until Thor's shift begins, and until then, you stay as far away from that room as you can. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, sir," Atella said.

Fury looked her up and down once and said, "Make no mistake Agent Vorst, I am upset about this, but I will be understanding this once because it concerns your parents."

Atella was silent. It was now or never. "Actually… I was wondering if I could talk to you about my parents."

"I would gladly stay to talk to you, but I am needed to do some clean up after your little tantrum. Perhaps after this situation is dealt with, then we can talk," he said.

Fury didn't wait for an answer from Atella. Before she had a chance to stop him, he was out the door, leaving her alone with her thoughts.

8-8-8-8

This chapter started out very different.e. It started out with Loki telling Atella more about magic and his family, but it felt too out of character for me. Atella was too sweet and nice to him, and Loki was becoming like some of the other Loki's that I have read in other stories. I know that he is still slightly out of character here, but I decided that I wanted my Loki to be more cunning than anything. I also had to figure out just how much he wants Atella on his side, and how much he is willing to put up with from her without trying to kill her. Anyway, this chapter went from being to nice and sweet, to Atella nearly killing Loki, to Loki nearly killing Atella (again), to Loki being to much of a creeper. All of it felt so wrong, and I actually sort of like this chapter. What do you guys think?

So I was thinking, what would you all like to see more of? Anything that I haven't added yet that you want to see. The next big plot point that happens, I don't want to happen for a bit, story wise. I just want to write a fun little filler chapter in between to give the characters time to settle and emotions to cool off. So, if you want to see anything added into the story, or see more of anything (dialogue between certain characters, more Stark, more from Loki's POV, etc.) just let me know. I will try to add as much as I can while still keeping true to the story.

Thanks a lot guys! You are all the best