So I have an announcement of sorts. I have plotted out the rest of this story and I can say that it will be ending at 20 chapters. But that will not be the end! Nope, one look at that Avengers teaser and my little story was blown away. There will be a sequel story, but I can't begin to write it until I see the Avenger's movie. Which is, terribly/sadly/grossly/awfully coming in nine months. But I plan to fill that time writing drabbles and one shots concerning my Ellie and Loki and posting them here. I have written/dreamed up a number of scenarios between the two that never seemed to fit with this story but I would love to share them with you all.
Disclaimer of sorts: I loved Captain America and this last minute idea occurred to me. And I wanted to have a bit of fun so...Steve "ever-the-gentleman" Rogers does make an appearance. I hope you guys enjoy it. I've been itching to write another marvel character and...yeah. *Author hides under her covers out of bashfulness, nervousness, anxiousness, and excitement*
So, now that that is done...
Chapter 16
Promise
"Where exactly are we going?" Ellie called over the chatter of one hundred night walkers. Even though a thick fog hung over Times square, crowds of people flocked under the glaring neon lights. It was a Friday night. Musicals were just ending, bars were opening, and street performers were gaining their second wind.
Loki sighed. This was not the sort of place he ever wished to find himself. The noise, the colors, the sounds, it made him sick. When he obtained the power hidden by S.H.E.I.L.D. he would take great pleasure in annihilating areas such as this.
"You do not-" He began, his eyes intent on forging a trail through the throngs of pedestrians.
"Don't tell me that I do not need to know." Ellie snapped, almost playfully mimicking his fluid speech. She was still angry with him. The sight of him was maddening to her. However, she was thrilled to be outside. It was the first time in a week. She was also quite pleased to see that Loki was not in the best of spirits. He seemed distracted and miffed. What about, Ellie hadn't the faintest idea.
Loki wasn't terribly happy with his most recent idea, but he was running out of time.
Eric Selvig was beginning to pick up on the god's near constant intrusions. It was a neat little trick he had devised when he was only a child. He could shadow a person and follow them around for days. To any suspicious eyes, Loki would be nothing more than passing air. He could meld his own body, his soul, his energy into his prey. He would go unnoticed and his host would do as he commanded. Of course, such a brilliant bit of magic came with equally brilliant consequences. For Loki to manage control he was bound by the nature of his prey. He could not take Eric out to the raving, obnoxious clubs that were littered all over this wreck of a city. No, Eric would have to be Eric, lest careful eyes were watching. And, unfortunately, the trick could only last for so long. If too much time were spent in another's shadow, the prey would take notice.
At this time, the very last thing Loki wanted was to be noticed.
Which made his next move all the more unnerving...
S.H.I.E.L.D was abuzz with the most recent developments. Agents of all standings and ranks were whispering their own opinions. In fact, any manner of cliché had been passed around the New York Offices.
Some thought Agent Fury had lost his mind. Flown the coop. Jumped the shark. Let the dogs out.
Others were in awe of the almighty risks that man was willing to take. Words like genius, innovator, madman, and badass were also heard making their rounds.
A team of them? With Stark as a consultant? Insane. Ingenius. But really...Could it work? Of course it could work! How could it not? I'll give you dozens of reasons. If anyone could make it work it would be Fury. No, not even Fury. This will be it. Fury's Folly. I guarantee it. I don't know. The top okayed it. Coulson's on board. Coulson's itching for action. Heh. Aren't we all?
It was the first idea of its kind. A team of men and woman who were...well, much more than men and woman. What started out as a rumor, a joke to tell at the annual Christmas party was slowly becoming a reality.
Most of the agents scoffed at Fury's insistence. It could never happen. Who could lead such a team? Who would want to? It was these questions that kept the Avenger's Initiative floating along in the oblivion.
Until Steve Roger's rose from the grave.
Captain America, alive and well. Healthy and surprisingly sane. After waking up almost seventy years in the future, the S.H.E.I.L.D medical staff had predicted that Steve Roger's would need months of psychological support.
As usual, the Captain had exceeded every expectation that had been placed upon him.
For Nick Fury, this was the last gear that needed molding. He stormed around the New York offices with such uncharacteristic joy that some of his peers began to question his mental health.
Today was the day that Fury had been waiting for. They had been prepping the "Star-Spangled Man" for weeks now. It was time to see if he could match steps with the modern world.
It would be the first experiment of several. Everything had been planned, discussed, re-planned, and executed. Steve was ready and S.H.E.I.L.D. was standing by.
However, none of them could have predicted that the God of Mischief was waiting to strike and derail Nick Fury's carefully constructed train.
Loki had considered posing as a woman. He had done it in the past with much success. It delighted him that something as simple as a gender transformation could conjure up so much chaos. Still, he did not want to take any chances on being discovered. He could not know how much information his brother had divulged to the female scientist. If there was even a sliver of chance that S.H.E.I.L.D knew of his existence...
He had spent several days slithering around the S.H.E.I.L.D. offices, trying to understand their ways. They were, he believed, the only organization capable of challenging him. He would need to squash their efforts before they even began.
He could not risk being discovered. So, like he had with Eric, he would find other means.
Unfortunately for Ellie, Loki had made such arrangements. Still, something troubled him. It had taken him days to realize what. He didn't want to use Ellie. She was nothing like the bumbling Eric Selvig. Nothing like the twitter-pated Jane Foster. Nothing like the obnoxious Darcy...whatever her birth name was. She had already served a vital purpose to him. And would continue to do so until he saw fit.
Was it fair for him to send her into this? As blind as a new born babe?
Who cares for fairness these days? His thoughts hissed. Who cares?
He glanced down at her as he dragged her through the packed streets. They were almost towards his destination.
The sight of her always seemed so sudden and unexpected. She made him infinitely angry and comforted all at once. Even from the beginning, her presence brought him strength. He did not understand it and he did not wish to waste his time trying to.
No matter how peeved the mortal was, no matter how dismissive the god could be neither could deny the draw that held them together. This time Ellie snatched his hand into her own, her fragile fingers knitting into his as if they had always belonged there.
Even now, as she projected all her anger at him, her hand stayed clutched his, never wavering in grip. Loki looked down at the pair of hands clasped together. He would have never believed that his hand belonged in such a quaint little picture. His hand, pale as a statue, seemed so much larger next to her peachy one. He truly did look alien next to Ellie. She was a breath of warmth and color and light. He was a whisper of ice and shadow and darkness.
"Loki?" Ellie called. They had come to a sudden stop. Loki shook himself from his foolish thoughts.
"We are here?"
"Here?" Ellie sounded confused. They stood in front of a crowded bar. Ellie thought that she must have been here before. At least once. The name sounded somewhat familiar.
A line of people, shepherded by ropes of red velvet, crowded the sidewalk. Ellie wondered, with honest curiosity, what they were doing here.
Loki refused to divulge to her any information. She still did not know why they were in New York, where he went every day...
"We'll never get inside." Ellie grumbled. As happy as she was to be out of the hotel, she was cold and she didn't feel like going into a packed club.
"Please," Loki dismissed.
Has she no faith in my abilities? After all this time?
He could not understand the burst of disappointment that hovered in his chest.
He took several decisive steps forward, pulling Ellie along.
"Good evening, sir." He said, his voice as smooth as glass.
Ellie peeked out from behind Loki's shoulder. The pair of sharply dressed bouncer's turned their gaze towards Loki. She snorted to herself.
He may be a god...but he's just like any man...
Surprisingly enough, the larger of the two men, grinned and moved out of the way.
A thin smirk grew on Loki's face and he pulled Ellie along.
"What did you do to them?" Ellie stuttered. Loki's sneer stretched. She was finally catching on.
"Nothing harmful, I assure you." Loki said. A peppy girl with garishly blue hair approached them. With nary a thought, Loki pulled Ellie closer. His arm snaked around her shoulders, his thumb tracing the delicate curve.
"May I take your coats?" The girl said, her city accent thick.
Loki only nodded curtly. He had spotted his newest prey.
"You're doing just fine Cap." Nick Fury said, slapping the young man's back as a gesture of encouragement.
Steve Roger's just nodded into his beer. This was not his idea of training. He would rather be left alone in the underbelly of S.H.I.E.L.D. with his weights and sandbags.
Seventy years of sleep had left him feeling weak and useless. He had spent most of his time training himself, shaking off the frost that seemed to seep into the marrow of his bones.
It was Fury who had insisted that he learn to live in this modern world. Steve was taught and trained by specialists in every field. He knew everything he needed to know about technology, politics, culture, and history.
It had been both fascinating and depressing all at once. Was this the America he and his comrades had fought for all those years ago?
I can't even be sure. What do I know?
He sipped at his beer. His nose scrunched up and he gulped it down.
Not even beer tastes the same.
Once again, he found himself wishing that he could get drunk. Not just drunk but truly smashed. He needed one good go at it. Any other man in his position would agree.
This, like everything else, had been Fury's idea. Field testing.
If Steve Roger's was to truly understand the people of the modern world, he would have to interact with them. Which was exactly what he was doing. Mingling.
Is it midnight yet?
He had only spoken with the bartender and a handful of woman he had no interest in. Most of them were dressed rather rakishly and slurred phrases he could not understand.
He was content to sit at the bar and pretend he was a lonely, harrowed man of the modern day.
Is it even pretense anymore.
All of his friends dead and gone. Not a single one had lived long enough to see him return. He took another long swig from his bottle, wishing that maybe just this once the alcohol would do it's very worst.
"You want me to do what?" Ellie said, shouting over the blasting music. She sat perched on a high stool, her legs crossed in tepid defiance.
Loki leaned forward, his grip on his wrist tightening painfully. He whispers a string of directions into her ear.
This time Ellie didn't question him. She laughed.
Loki felt a new wave of impatience boiling in his throat. He would not tolerate being laughed at.
Ellie tossed her head back. She couldn't help it. A couple to their left stared at her with raised eyebrows.
"Why should I do anything for you?" Ellie questioned. She managed to slip her hand from Loki's grasp. She crossed her arms over her chest, genuinely interested in his answer.
Loki was stilled. He could force her. Slip into her shadow as he had done with Selvig. But...
It would be...less fun.
Ellie didn't wait for whatever half-baked answer the god was stirring up. She held up a hand.
"You tell me the truth. The real reason you are here. And...I'll do whatever you want."
Ellie watched closely as Loki considered her proposal. She knew very well that he was up to no good. But she was curious. So damned curious to know everything about this "god".
"Very well." Loki said. He didn't mean it, of course. He could process any number of lies to keep the girl satisfied. He stepped to the side, so that she could slip off of her seat and make her way over to the man in the corner.
Ellie hesitated. Then she held her hand out to Loki.
"Promise?" She ventured.
Loki looked down at her hand perplexed.
"You shake it." Ellie said, sensing his confusion. "As long as you promise to tell me the truth."
Loki lifted his hand to hers slowly. Ellie took his hand in hers and moved it up and down swiftly. Electric green eyes met stormy grey eyes.
"Well then," Ellie huffed. "I guess I'll be-"
Her words were trapped, when Loki's lips descended onto hers. Instinctively Ellie tried to push the god away, but his hand held the back of her head fast. He wasn't so much kissing her as pressing his lips against hers with excessive force.
Loki pulled away as quickly as he had come. A burst of air and noise flew out of Ellie.
"What was that?" She demanded.
"A lasting touch." Loki said, waving his hand to point behind her.
Ellie looked over her shoulder. She could just make out her reflection on the mirror over the bar. A fleeting gasp bubbled in her throat. She lifted her fingers to her lips. They had become as red as a rose.
Ellie turned back to Loki, a look of surprise and wonder etched in her eyes.
Loki smiled down at her, as a father would smile at his little girl. Reaching up he pushed her fingers aside and brushed a small, stray streak from under her bottom lip.
Not a word transpired between the two. Ellie felt her body move without her will and she left Loki's side.
"Hi."
Steve looked to his right, expecting see another flighty young woman. The last one had asked him repeatedly if he was a movie star. For all his patience and politeness he could not shake her easily.
I'll just send her away flat out. He thought, his hand clutching his bottle like a crutch.
This young woman was not like the others. She seemed as uncomfortable and as out of place as he did. Her ginger hair was tucked up in a classy, but messy bun. Unlike all the other women who had approached him, this one wore a simple black dress that covered her chest, her cleave, her shoulders, it even crawled down to her knees. A rusty red scraf was draped across her neck. Her finger's played with it's frayed edges. She didn't meet his gaze.
"Hello." Steve ventured.
She looked at him then, a thin smile on her lips. Her lips, deep red. Steve was bombarded by an image of Peggy. It slashed through his heart. All he wanted to do was stare at this poor woman's lips as if they belonged to Peggy.
He felt so silly and pathetic. This woman looked nothing like Peggy. But the color of her lips and the curtness of her smile hit him like a blow to the face.
The woman placed her elbows of the edge of the bar, resting her chin on her fists.
"You seem lonely." She said quietly.
Steve nodded his head, shifting in his seat. He must look a mess. A weak old mess.
"I am." He said.
"Mmm." She said, looking away from him again. "Me too."
Ellie glanced at her reflection in the mirror across the bar. She had no idea what she was doing. She had never tried to seduce a man sober. She wasn't entirely sure she had ever tried to seduce a man. An infamous misadventure from her college days, retold to her by an old roommate would support such a claim. But Ellie had always wondered.
"Can I buy you a drink, ma'am?"
Ellie turned her gaze back to the man, her eyes wide.
"Ma'am?" She repeated. A ghost of a smile tugged at her lips. "I don't think I have ever been called ma'am."
Steve felt his face flush. He had forgotten. It was one of his first lessons. Chivlary was long gone.
"What's you name?" Ellie asked.
"Steve Rogers." The man said, offering her his hand.
Ellie breathed a laugh. A man who knows what a handshake is...
Ellie placed her hand in his and he squeezed it gently as if he could break her.
"I'm Ellie." She said. "And I would love a drink."
Steve grinned. "A pleasure to meet you."
Thank you so very much for reading. And I will have the next chapter up tomorrow night!
BB