Chapter Eleven
"Any response from him yet?" Doctor Benson asked his assistant, returning from his lunch break.
"He appears to be lucid." the younger man responded. "If only just. He seems only vaguely aware of where he is."
"Hmm," The doctor murmured, taking the clipboard away from his assistant and glancing up at the patient. This was undoubtedly the highest profile case he'd ever been presented with. This could be his ticket into the history books. This man was the product of repeated neural rewiring and cryogenic preservation. From a psychological standpoint, his brain was a goldmine of new information regarding PTSD and the effects of brainwashing. Soon, no doubt, the patient would be wanted by other medical professionals, people interested in the super soldier serum, and it's ability to allow humans to survive frozen states. Even his prosthetic arm was a wonder of robotics and engineering, so receptive to his commands it responded like a natural limb.
Doctor Benson was staring off over the top of the clipboard, picturing himself giving a TED talk about his findings. Lecturing as a special guest at ivy league schools. Young college students approaching him with trepidation, telling him how he was an inspiration to them. Some young university girls, nervously looking up with wide-eyed wonder, asking him if he had ever been scared in the presence of a such a dangerous man…
"Sir, um, I was just wondering…" The assistant pulled Doctor Benson from his reverie.
"Hmm?" Benson replied eyes still glued to the clipboard, pretending to be immersed in it.
"Well, it's just that the patient has been asking the same thing since he woke up."
Doctor Benson raised his eyes now to actually view the man inside the glass chamber. He was mouthing something weakly, and when Benson listened in, he could tell that the patient was repeating the same name in a slew of various other nonsense.
"What is he saying?" The doctor asked, turning the volume up on the speakers that connected them with the patient.
"He's asking 'where is Steve?'... in fifteen different languages, he's cycling through them. Russian, Dutch, English, Korean-"
"Have you told him anything?' The doctor asked.
"Well, I told him where we are right now… I don't actually know what Captain Rogers is doing- that is who he's asking about, isn't it? I mean, who else could he mean?"
"Who else… right." Doctor Benson placed the clipboard on the desk in front of him. Benson turned the microphone on the desk on.
"Hello?" He spoke into it. The patient behind the glass paused in his incessant mumbling for a second. "James, can you hear me?"
"He doesn't like that name sir-" The assistant cut in. "He responds to 'Bucky.'"
"Right, uh, Bucky, can you hear me?"
"Es" the patient said, in a raspy voice.
"How are you doing in there, Bucky?" The doctor asked him.
"Where's Steve?" the patient asked.
"You sound a little thirsty," The doctor went on, ignoring the question. "Would you like some water?"
Behind the glass, the patient was clearly struggling with how to answer this question. His adam's apple bobbed up and down in this throat and he licked his lips, but he refused to accept anything besides the answer to his question.
"Is that-is that a goddamn police checkpoint?" Alessia groaned, trying to see over the traffic in front of her.
"Can't you just turn around?" Loki asked lazily from the passenger side.
"Where? Where would I be able to turn around, genius?" Alessia snapped back. "Oh, this is not good, I don't have my license. Shit, who am I kidding, this checkpoint is probably just to find us." Alessia banged her head into the rim of the steering wheel. "Fuck. What do we do?"
"I don't know anything about Midgardian laws, why are you asking me?"
The car in front of Alessia rolled forward, forcing her to edge closer to the cop checking cars ahead.
"Alright, fuck it." Alessia responded, putting the car in park and undoing her seat belt. "Let's get out of here, try not to be obvious."
She slipped out of the car, slipping quickly through the almost motionless traffic to the other side of the highway, which gave way to a weedy patch of forestry. Despite Alessia doing nothing to help Loki keep up with her as she wove between the cars, he was at her elbows the whole time. They managed to get over the metal guard rail and dive into the greenery before several car horns started sounding off. It appeared that traffic ahead of the now abandoned car was moving, and the people behind them were noticing. Any second one or two of those cops would be turning around to investigate.
It didn't matter, because after the first several yards of forest, there was a steep incline, which Alessia took at a run, barely tripping when it leveled again, in a gravely ditch just lower than the mound in front of them. Alessia's heart was still beating urgently when Loki came to a halt behind her. I can't get caught by the cops… and jesus what a person to be caught with. A loud noise in the distance made her tense up again, until she realized what it was. She quickly climbed up onto the gravelly mound in front of her and realized with a grin that train tracks cut across their path. The sound was a train rolling slowly towards them.
"C'mon, follow me," Alessia called down to Loki. The ground beneath her feet was starting to vibrate and the train was visible now, having turned the corner that obstructed the view. Loki climbed up the mound to follow Alessia over the tracks and to the other side, slipping downhill again, off the gravel mound that the tracks were on. Alessia had only just regained her footing when the train started trundling past them.
"What is that thing?" Loki shouted, trying to be heard over the engine.
Alessia couldn't help laughing. "It's a train. They usually take a while to pass, so it's good we got here when we did." She shouted back to him. "C'mon, we should try and figure out what to do."
"Cannegevon?" Loki shouted at her.
"What!?" Alessia shouted back.
"GET ON?" He said, more clearly, gesturing at the train.
Alessia glanced up at the train. Of course, people jumped on and off of trains all the time, but Alessia had never done it before. However, the window of opportunity would be passing them soon, she noticed, seeing an open car approaching them. The train was moving just a little bit faster than she was able to run, but maybe that wouldn't make too big of a difference.
"LETS TRY" Alessia shouted back at him, pointing to the open car, coming up. Loki nodded, and offered her his hand. Alessia accepted, taking his icy cold fingers in her warm grasp.
"How are you doing Sam?" Natasha asked.
"Great, really great." Sam replied sarcastically. The rooms he had been confined to might not resemble a prison cell, but it was all too clear that he was a prisoner in them. The fact that Natasha wasn't even allowed to visit him without a chaperone was just insulting.
"Sam, I'm really sorry this has all gone down the way it has." Natasha commiserated. Sam refused to look her in the eye, despite the fact that she was offering him one of her rare smiles. "I brought you lunch," Natasha said, gesturing to the paper bag she had brought.
"Not hungry," Sam said coldly. That exact moment his stomach made an audible gurgle, making Sam's refusal sting even more.
"Sam," Natasha tried again. She let out a deep sigh. "I'm not going to beg you to forgive me."
"I don't know where Steve or Clint went. We split up, I don't even know if they're together or not."
"They're not the ones we're interested in finding," Natasha said calmly.
"-No, that's right, you guys have trackers on both of them, don't you?" Sam growled. He shot a look at the agent standing against the wall, arms crossed.
"Believe me, I had nothing to do with that," Natasha said, and Sam could tell that she was just as angry about that as he was. Sam opened the paper bag to observe the contents..
"Sam, what happened to Alessia?" Natasha asked. "We haven't seen a trace of her. Not since that boy's camp anyway. Was she with you guys when you left?"
"She-" Sam began, then stopped himself. "She's fine. I mean, last I saw her." He unwrapped the sandwich from the bag and took a bite.
"Which was…?" Natasha prompted him.
Sam shrugged, and gave a non-committal grunt through his mouthful of sandwich.
"Sam, she's just a kid. I'm worried about her." Natasha urged him.
"You shouldn't. She seems pretty capable of taking care of herself to me," Sam deflected. "And she's managed to keep herself out of trouble so far, which is more than I can say."
Natasha sighed. It was all too obvious that Sam wasn't going to be any help in locating Alessia. Of course, she didn't blame him. She was just as worried about what might happen to Alessia if she were caught by the military before Stark industries. Bucky's treatment wasn't exactly five star, but Alessia didn't have any criminal record, and Natasha was suspicious that any tests done on her would reveal something that would guarantee her release.
"How's Steve?" Sam asked.
"In the wind," Natasha replied.
"But I thought-"
"Yeah, but he's Captain America." Natasha said, and couldn't help smiling as she said it.
The New York skyline was glittering in the twilight. Pepper was standing at the window, checking her phone like it was a nervous tick. Nothing. Nothing. Nothing. The small golden puppy at her feet was watching her, knowing in that uncanny way that dogs do how nervous she was feeling.
The dog had been in the car with Bucky when he'd been captured. The nine agents who had managed to capture him had noted that he was extremely protective of the dog, and for that reason she had gone through an x-ray and had some blood tests to determine whether or not she was a threat. It was silly, really, worrying that the dog was somehow super powered. Even Pepper could tell she was just an ordinary puppy. Rather underfed, and Pepper had the feeling that the dog was probably a stray before Bucky had picked her up. It had struck her as interesting, however, because the man whom she had met at the compound had not seemed the type to be tempted by a puppy.
But who could resist you? Pepper, thought, looking down at the skinny little dog. The phone buzzing in her hand almost gave her a heart attack, and she answered the call on the first ring.
"Hello?" She said, trying to sound calm.
"Hey, Pepper, it's me…" Jane's voice came on the other end, and Pepper could tell by the way she was talking that she did not have good news.
Alessia shivered. The last time she had eaten had been a few hours after she left the mall with Loki, and the fast food had not sat well with her. That had been hours ago, and the cool night air was starting to get to her. She had toyed for a moment with the thought of asking Loki if they could bundle up for warmth. She had disregarded the idea, however, because aside from not wanting to cuddle with the god of mischief, Alessia had also realized very quickly that Loki wasn't affected by the cold. In fact, his body didn't even seem to put off any heat at all.
The train lurched forwards, the cabin Alessia and Loki sat inside rattled and shook. Alessia was sitting with her back to the wall across from the opening, watching the red sunset and the landscape speeding past her. She hugged her knees to her chest and pulled the sleeves of her sweatshirt over her hands.
"What are we going to do?" Alessia asked hopelessly, not really expecting Loki to answer. More just wondering what the heck was going to happen to her, and how the hell she was in a train with the would-be conqueror of earth. She almost wished she had just been caught with Sam and Bucky. For one, it would be a lot less stressful than worrying about getting caught, and for two, it would be a lot easier to explain. What if she were caught with Loki? She could almost feel Clint's disappointed eyes on her.
Loki, who had been standing with his back to Alessia, leaning on the side of the car and also watching the open field fly by, turned around. Catching sight of how obviously cold she was, he strode across the narrow box and stripped off his hoodie, wrapping it around her. His hoodie didn't carry any of the warmth you would expect from a recently removed piece of clothing, but Alessia accepted the extra layer of protection gladly.
"I'm working on an idea." Loki murmured, zipping the hoodie up over Alessia's shivering frame. This caught her off guard, and when she looked up questioningly, he smiled and shook his head. "Working, being the operative word. But don't worry, I'll make sure you're safe."
Loki sat next to her, and gave her a smile she could tell was supposed to be reassuring and charming. It probably would have worked on her if she wasn't so mixed up and if it had been anyone other than the god of douchebaggery- sorry, mischief who offered it. Alessia didn't trust him. Yet his story seemed to hold up.
"Can you explain it again?" She asked, trying her best to sound like the cute little orphan girl wanting to hear about her parents, and not like the scheming brat trying to find holes in his lie.
Loki had slung his arm over her shoulders, which would have been sweet if it kept her warm, or if she were scared of something and really believed he was her best bet to keeping her safe. Actually, the scariest idea was that he really was the most trustworthy person she'd found herself with so far. That being with him in this train car was actually safer than sleeping on Clint's couch (true) or a bunk bed with Captain America sleeping six feet away (still true,) or being entrusted in Sam and Bucky's care, only to be utterly ditched by them (...and true).
"You want me to tell you everything all over again?" Loki asked, sounding annoyed, but affectionately so, like she was a little kid he was babysitting and she wanted to him to read her the same picture book twice in the same night. She settled herself against his chest. After all, he was the one who kept initiating weirdly intimate contact, maybe this was how she could get on his good side.
"Please Loki," she said. Something devious clicked in her head, and the next thing that came out of her mouth was: "You're the only person in the world who knows how I feel."
Whichever of Alessia's tactics worked on him, he slid down on the wall and kicked his legs out in front of him. "Fine, but just the highlights," he assented.
"Twenty one years ago, Muspelheim's ruling family, the Sayr's, consisted of the king, Surt, the Queen, Sinmara, and the prince, Surt's younger brother Surmayath. Surmayath was very much younger than the king, and had always thought that he would come to throne after his brother's death, but that year Sinmara found that she was pregnant. Surmayath knew that if the baby was born he would lose his chance at the throne, and so he started organizing a coup, to dethrone his brother. He was able to gain enough support in the ensuing months that when the newborn princess was only a few months old, the house of Sayr was torn to ruins.
"The rebels Surmayath had corralled imprisoned the royal family, who was set to die in a public execution, but one of the rebels must have taken pity on the baby, because the next day when Surmayath checked on his prisoners, the princess was gone.
"Because Surmayath was not sure which one of his freedom fighters betrayed him, he grew suspicious of all of them, and his supporters started losing faith in him. As the years went by, Surmayath's supporters and the loyalist's he had overthrown began to meld and separate, creating another resistance, a younger generation, who hated the strict totalitarian rule of Surmayath, but didn't favor the extremism of the rebels who wanted total anarchy.
"I have met some of these younger resistance members, when I was still an honoured prince of Asgard… hmm... anyway, that faction believes that the princess was hidden away in one of the other nine realms, and that the best way to restore their planet to peace is to reinstate the rightful heir to the throne. Until very recently, no one knew which of the realms contained the princess. I personally thought the princess was long gone, and that Surmayath would eventually wipe out the resistance as well as the older loyalists who still wished to see him dethroned.
"A few years ago Surmayath sent a crony of his to Asgard to muck the place up, which was really just an excuse to get him in a cell with me. He asked me about how I had infiltrated Midgard and what eventually overpowered me. Of course I could see what he was doing. Taking control of another of the nine realms would practically ensure his victory. I tried to dissuade his man, told him that as long as the Avengers protected this planet, an outside force had little hope of conquering it. After all, there are few mightier armies than the Chitauri.
"I suppose he listened to me, because the first thing he did was build a little base here and try to blackmail the Avengers- not my intention- and, in the most remarkable twist of fate managed to kidnap the very little princess who could be his own undoing. Of course, the imbecilic humans he had hired had no idea how important you were, and you managed to escape within a day. I can't imagine how angry he must have been when he caught a look of you from the security footage. He would know you instantly, even if you didn't wear the royal crest, because you look exactly like Sinmara.
"I only heard the news yesterday, through the grapevine that Surmayath had located the princess and she had slipped through his fingers. He was the laughing stock of his planet, and all based on a rumour. I had to see for myself. I almost couldn't believe the coincidence, that you were kidnapped with my brother's Midgardian lover, that you'd been trained by Barton, and raised on the planet I sought to rule. I knew there was a bond between us, adopted into planets that were not our own, destined to rule, yet blocked from it one way or another. My brother, either too distracted by that… woman.. To notice your crest, or else plotting something that prevents him disclosing your identity, has not mentioned to his fellow teammates the possibility that you are royalty. I think it must be distraction, though, Thor does not do well in planning things in advance or keeping secrets…"
Outside the train car night had crept across the sky, replacing the blazing red of the sunset with an indigo blue that dazzled with stars. Beside him, Alessia had fallen asleep, shivering even though the night was not a particularly cold one. Loki knew that Muspelians, while powerful and dangerous when they were fully grown and well fed, greatly suffered when deprived of food. The little princess curled up in his arm had only barely reached her adult size, and was probably not quite at her adult strength or power.
Loki couldn't believe his luck. First, that the most powerful and advantageous ally of the century had practically walked right into him, and secondly that he had so much in common with her that he didn't even have to invent a personality to win her over. Thirdly, the girl, so very young, seemed so ready to trust him. Now she slept in his arms, and he had only known her for a few hours. Forget making friends with her, at this rate she would be in love with him before she took the throne if Muspelheim. He could certainly do worse. She was very pretty, after all, and if he were married to a proper queen he wouldn't have to put on the whole "Odin" charade any more. Loki fell asleep. still clutching the heir of Muspelheim, fantasies dancing around his head of uniting the planets under a single rulership- his own.