Lost Before The Dawn
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Warnings: None.
Chapter Playlist: 'Science and Magic' from 'Thor' and 'Aslan Appears' from 'Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader'.
'Stab the body and it heals, but injure the heart and the wound lasts a lifetime.'
- Mineko Iwasaki
'It is easier to forgive an enemy than to forgive a friend.'
- William Blake
Jane had never been on a Quinjet before. It was silent, gliding through the night as gracefully as a bird of prey. She was buckled into one of the chairs welded to the floors, her flimsy dress covered by a SHIELD issue jacket, thrust at her by Agent Romanoff.
She had only seen the flame-haired agent once before, on one of Fury's visits, and even then there had been something about her that had disturbed Jane.
But not even the barely hidden flash of suspicion in Romanoff's eyes had been enough to distract her from the cool blue eyes watching her every move opposite.
Loki sat in the seat opposite, strapped in tightly. Jane had little doubt he could break free in an instant. He seemed completely at ease, nonchalant, as he reclined in the chair, ignoring the wary glances from the Captain and Stark up front.
He had to be up to something. Even though she bet Stark's repulsors hurt, she somehow didn't think that would have been enough to stop him in his tracks completely.
She shifted, wincing as her ribs twinged, and she felt his gaze sharpen, like a knife being dragged over her skin, taunting but not cutting. She shuddered, and raised her eyes to his.
She saw him smirk a little, before he extended his fingers, subtly and almost too slight a movement to see properly, and Jane had to fight back a gasp as the familiar sensation of warmth trickled over her side, washing away the pain. His eyes gleamed, and her heart pounded even as she put all her suspicion and her anger into her look, as if she could communicate with him telepathically.
I know you're planning something…
She fought back a flinch when his voice came, seductive and wry in her head.
Wait and see, sweetling. Wait and see…
Lightning crashed outside, interrupting Jane and Loki's silent battle of wills. Jane was immersed so deeply in his eyes that she saw the sudden unease, as his focus shifted away from her, and he glanced up, towards the flashes of the stormy sky outside the Quinjet's windows.
"Where's this coming from?" she heard Romanoff mutter quietly, as Jane leant forward, gazing out at the dark clouds amassing above and around them. When she glanced back at Loki, that unease raged in his eyes and he seemed almost…afraid.
It seemed she was not the only one, as the Captain called over to Loki. "What's the matter? Scared of a little lightning?" he asked coolly, and Jane watched Loki intently.
"I'm not overly fond of what follows," was all he replied, smoothly and unruffled by the contempt in the Captain's voice, but that unease was still there as he glanced back up at the sky, then at Jane as she watched him.
The Quinjet shuddered as it hit a patch of turbulence, then it shook violently as something collided with the hull, with a dull clang. A bird…?
The thought filtered in as Jane was shoved back into her seat by the hit. That was no bird.
Stark leapt into action, covering his head with his helmet, the gold and scarlet metal sliding into place as he opened the cargo doors. A figure appeared that made Jane freeze, her breath caught in her throat.
Thor.
His golden hair was longer than she remembered and the wind made his long scarlet cloak ripple behind him. Mjolnir clanged against the landing ramp, as Thor, unaffected by the wind or gravity seemingly, rose from his crouch, his eyes instantly going to his brother.
Jane didn't know what to feel. Joy or anger, both warred inside her.
She heard Loki gasp and recoil, and turned to look at him but Thor hit Stark in the chest with Mjolnir, sending him flying back into the Captain, before grabbing Loki by the neck and yanking him free of his restraints. Jane's shout was drowned out by the wind, as her eyes darted between the two, as Thor met her eye and smiled, just a little.
Mjolnir spun in his hand, and then they were both gone, leaving Jane behind.
"Now's there that guy!" Stark sighed, as he clambered to his feet.
"Another Asgardian?" Romanoff called questioningly from the cockpit, trying to steady the jet through the turbulence.
"Think the guy's a friendly?" the Captain asked, pulling himself upright.
"Doesn't matter. If he frees Loki or kills him, the Tesseract's lost!" Stark retorted.
"Wait!" Jane shouted, freeing herself from her restraints. "That was Thor. He's on our side!"
"Thor? As in Loki's brother?" Romanoff eyed her over her shoulder.
"Great, that's all we need," Stark sighed. "Brotherly love."
"Stark, we need a plan of attack!" the Captain called as Stark marched towards the landing ramp.
Stark barely bothered to glance back over his shoulder. "I have a plan. Attack!" he blasted off, disappearing into the clouds. The Captain sighed in frustration, before grabbing a parachute from a rack.
"What are you doing?" Jane asked, eyes wide. The Captain smiled reassuringly at her. "You're not going down there?"
"I'll be fine, Miss," he assured her.
"She's right, Cap. You might want to sit this one out," Romanoff agreed from the cockpit. "These guys come from legend, they're basically Gods."
"I've seen what they can do," Jane added. "You do not want to get in the middle of that. Thor won't let Loki escape."
"Whoever he is, Miss, we're under orders to bring Loki in. I've got a job to do. They're not Gods, Miss. There's only one of those, and I'm pretty sure he doesn't dress like that!" the Captain grinned once, before diving off the ramp and into the darkness. Jane watched him go, the wind plucking at her hair, when Romanoff's curt voice cut through her reverie.
"You might want to sit down and buckle up, Foster. I need to find a landing spot!"
Taking a deep breath, inwardly reeling from the events of the last few minutes, Jane sat back down, unaware of the broken straps flapping against her arm where Thor had torn Loki free from it only seconds before.
Loki's world narrowed down to one of sensation. The chill of the Midgardian wind rushing through his hair from their flight, Thor's hand like a chain around his throat, and then the backbreaking agony of the mountaintop against his spine as Thor threw him to the ground.
He laughed and groaned in equal measure. If Thor believed something as paltry as throwing him around would be enough to cow him…
The familiar anger and pain that were his constant companions welled up within him, but he restrained them easily. Centuries in the Aesir court and long months under Thanos's hand had taught him the art of restraint.
Instead of shouting out his rage to the universe, as he ached to do, or of yielding to the torrent of conflicting emotions within him, Loki settled for a taunting laugh. Such a show of nonchalance would annoy Thor more than any anger or aggression.
"Where is the Tesseract?" his former brother growled lowly, making Loki chuckle again.
"I missed you, too," he muttered laughingly.
"Do I look to be in a gaming mood?" Thor snapped warningly, hefting Mjolnir as he stood over Loki. Just like the last time he had seen him.
"You should thank me!" Loki retorted, pulling himself upright with difficulty. He didn't see the flash of concern in Thor's eyes, beneath the anger, as he struggled upright. Neither the boy soldier's blows, nor the metal man's silly little weapons had hurt him badly, but Thor's strength was another matter. He could feel a bruised rib or two repairing itself, as he laboriously forced himself upright, pouring as much scorn into his words as possible to make up for his momentary weakness. "With the Bifrost gone, how much dark energy did the All-Father have to muster to conjure you here? Your precious Earth!"
For a moment, Jane slipped to the forefront of his mind, her wide eyes and dishevelled hair as she had watched Thor take him from the Quinjet. A part of him felt some satisfaction that there had been no softness in her eyes when she had looked at Thor, only shock and concern.
His brother was in for a big surprise, when they were reunited. His appearance on Earth was not unexpected nor all that problematic. It was only a matter of time before Heimdall reported his activities, and informed the All-Father. He was just slightly surprised that the All-Father had used such unstable forces to send Thor. He must be worried.
A savage pleasure welled up within him at the thought, overwhelming any other emotion, as Thor grabbed him, dropping Mjolnir with a resonant clank, and pulled him upright.
His once-brother held him close by the neck, making Loki want to shove him away. Such closeness was unnerving, and he rarely allowed anyone to get too close to him anymore.
Except Jane…
The thought filtered in and out, as his anger, black and poisonous, swirled inside him at Thor's words, steeped in pain and disbelief. "I thought you dead."
"Did you mourn?" he asked contemptuously.
"We all did. Our father-" Thor began earnestly, but Loki, his control snapping, held a finger to silence him.
"Your father." he ground out before shoving Thor away. "He did tell you my true parentage, did he not?"
If anything, Thor's show of brotherly concern was a lie, a deception, to lull Loki back into captivity at the All-Father's feet. Revelations of Loki's birth would only have ensured that Thor's hunt for him would be twice as passionate as heretofore. He could not trust the memories that welled up, of them as boys.
"We were raised together. We played together, we fought together. Do you remember none of that!?" Thor called entreatingly, following him as Loki took a few steps down the mountaintop where they had landed, the clouds above them masking the moon. A raven cawed as it took flight, and a strange shiver of warmth slivered through him as its beady eye met his, for a second. Thor was cleverer than he gave him credit for, sometimes. His words simply made the memories fighting for dominance within him all the more insidious.
You are son of no one, Loki of Asgard. All your life is a lie, and your past is insignificant. It makes you weak, pathetic…
Thanos's voice intruded, piercing, grating, as painful as any torture, as Loki turned, trying to block the memory of it out, as well as the memories Thor sought to evoke.
Nevertheless, his voice was pained, trembling with desolation and sorrow, as he turned to face the man he had loved as a brother. "I remember a shadow. Living in the shade of yourgreatness. I remember you tossing me into an abyss, I who was and should be King!" he snarled, before cursing his loss of control and forcing himself to calm.
"So you take the world I love as a recompense for your imagined slights?" Thor asked, as Loki saw and heard only contempt in him. "No, the Earth is under my protection, Loki."
At that ridiculous thought, Loki laughed. "And you're doing a marvellous job with that! The humans slaughter each other in droves as you idly fret! I mean to rule them, as why should I not?"
"You think yourself above them," Thor stated, as Loki stared. Was that not what he had just said?
"Well, yes," he replied. Immediately, Jane sprang to mind, but he pushed it away for the time being. He could ill afford distractions now.
"Then you miss the truth of ruling, brother. A throne would suit you ill!" Thor replied gently, and Loki growled, striking him on the chest as he stalked past. The fool, the arrogant brute, the one who had destroyed peace in the Realms for the mere sake of avenging an insult, and he lectured to him!
"And what of Jane?" Thor continued, stopping Loki in his tracks as he silently turned to look at Thor. The blonde Aesir looked…troubled, uncertain, as he moved forward. "Heimdall told me of your abduction and treatment of her. You did not use your magic to control her. You've protected her, healed her. Do you think her below you?"
Loki's control finally snapped at Thor's impudence, trying to expose his weaknesses. For Jane was that, a weakness, but one he could not rid himself of. Why, he knew not, but his inability to harm her or possess her in the square in Stuttgart proved that.
"I've seen worlds you've never known about!" Loki roared, enraged as he stalked away. "I have grown, Odinson, in my exile. I have seen the true power of the Tesseract, and when I wield it, all will fall before me! Your precious Jane among them!"
Thor did not react as Loki expected, with anger or defiance, but with disbelief. "You lie, brother."
"I am not your brother. Accept that and leave this world," Loki replied coldly. "I will not hesitate to destroy you otherwise. The power of the Tesseract will be mine and you will not stop me. Not this time."
"Who showed you this power?" Thor demanded, apparently abandoning all pretence of gentility. "Who controls the would-be King?"
"I AM A KING!" he snarled, as Thor grabbed him, nearly shaking him in his anger.
"Not here. You give up the Tesseract, you give up this poisonous dream. You come home!" the Aesir replied, his voice lowering from roar to plea, as he gripped Loki's face, as he had done when they were boys.
Loki blocked out the memory once more, as pain spiked inside of him.
"I don't have it," he breathed. Thor flung him away with a growl and summoned Mjolnir, hefting it threateningly. "You need the Cube to bring me home, but I've sent it off, I know not where."
"Listen well, brother," Thor pointed at him with Mjolnir. "I-"
Thor's words were lost on the wind, as a streak of red and gold hit him, tackling him off the side of the mountain, leaving Loki behind, staring at an empty space.
"I'm listening."
Loki turned and watched as Thor squared up to Stark, exchanging words he could not hear, before Thor struck him with Mjolnir. The Aesir glanced up at him as the great hammer flew in his hand, and Loki smirked as he sat down on the rocks to watch. He had no intention of going anywhere, and this would be amusing.
"Go on, Thor! Stay focussed!" he shouted, as he watched the muscular form of his brother sparring with Volstagg, hair ruffled and muscles straining as the young Prince wrestled the giant.
With a roar, Thor threw Volstagg down, throwing his fist in the air as the surrounding warriors laughed and clapped their Prince's victory, but it was to Loki that Thor looked for approval.
And Loki looked back.
Loki mentally snarled at himself. He would not allow these momentary weaknesses to stop him, as he watched the fight unfold below. If such behaviour continued, then Fury's precious Avengers would destroy themselves. Once the Tesseract and the Earth were his, these lapses would cease, he was sure of it. He refused to be weak, and let his emotions rule him as they had just done.
The fight only lasted a few minutes before it was halted by the soldier. Loki noted with interest that the Captain's shield was capable of withstanding Mjolnir.
It seemed they had reached some kind of understanding, as he was returned to his seat in the Quinjet, Thor, Stark and Rogers watching him closely, but he did not speak another word.
He felt Jane's worried eyes on him, but did not open his own.
Jane didn't know what had happened on the mountaintop, only that Stark, Rogers and Thor were treating each other with wary respect when they returned to the Quinjet, Loki in tow, silent and cold. He did not look at her, or anyone, merely closed his eyes and appeared to be asleep, were it not for the tension in his frame and his clenched fists.
Thor turned to her, at last, and smiled gently. "Jane," he breathed, and she looked up at him. "It is good to see you."
Jane's voice was strained as she looked up at him, tall, golden and real, and felt Loki's attention on her, even as he kept his eyes closed. "Hello, Thor. Long time, no see."
She glimpsed Loki's fist clenching tighter on his lap out the corner of her eye, and wondered why that, not Thor's warm gaze, made her stomach bottom out.