Merciful
Chapter Thirteen: At Their Mercy
Last Chapter:
"I trusted you," I snarled defiantly, waiting for that final, fateful slash.
3rd Person
To be at one's mercy is to be powerless, weak before them. When you are at someone's mercy, you know that they hold your life in their hands. What you don't know is what words, what action, will turn the situation around.
Now:
Hill ran out of the interrogation room, leaving Tri behind.
"Hill? Training area."
"I know, Director," she said shortly, already nearing a few tussles and joining the fight. S.H.I.E.L.D. wasn't faring well. There seemed to be more casualties and fatalities on the side of the Red Room, but there were less agents, and they were tiring quickly. Slowly, Ivan Petrovitch's army corralled S.H.I.E.L.D. up, leaving them in a cluster in the center of a roiling mass of vicious dogs and angry looking men and women.
"Not very impressive," Ivan said with a smirk. "I could have taken you years ago! Of course, I had to be sure… why, Director Fury! Things must have been dire if you yourself joined in the battle."
"More like I wanted the satisfaction of wringing your neck myself," Fury said defiantly from amongst his agents.
Petrovitch sighed. "I suppose that will have to wait for another day. Perhaps another life. After all, you seem to be at my mercy."
"That's what they always say," Coulson sighed. "Like I told Loki; it's in your nature to lose."
"Yeah," said a new voice. "That's why I brought back up."
Jaida
I was certain I was going to die. Alright, I wasn't happy about it - I had trusted Loki, I had given him a chance - but I didn't have a choice. I was completely at his mercy, and as of right now, I could see no way whatsoever to survive this. He wasn't going to let me walk free and alive, I could see it in his eyes. Then, I told him that I had trusted him. His eyes actually widened, the beautiful blue brightening with - were those tears?!
"What now?" I grumbled, slowly scooting away. Hopefully, I could reach my gun. Of course, even when he's in distress, Loki is still smart enough to know when he's being threatened. The small, black gun flew off into the forest. Then Loki grabbed my wrists, pulling me up, looking down at me.
"You trusted me?" he asked. "You truly trusted me?"
"It was obviously misplaced."
Loki hung his head, and I could practically feel my heart breaking. "Obviously. Like me, you trust much too easily. Some might find that a blessing; however, it is truly a curse. I cannot trust just anyone. I cannot allow myself to."
He was a broken man, that much I could see. It had been only a few years, but in that few years, trust more than a thousand years strong had been shattered, leaving Loki a cornered animal, taking every advantage to lash out at anyone. Petrovitch had used that to his own advantage. Someone cornered and broken was a dangerous weapon, and Loki had welcomed the opportunity to try to take down the organization that had stopped each of his revenge attempts.
"Don't trust just anyone, then," I said, taking a leap of faith. "Trust someone. Someone who can trust you back."
I slowly and carefully put my hands on either side of Loki's face, hoping he wouldn't lash out again. Then I pressed my lips to Loki's, and this time, neither of us pulled away until we needed air.
"I trust you," I said, no longer in the past tense.
"I trust you," Loki replied, staring into my eyes. No uncertainty, no animalistic violence was left in his eyes. I knew that he had finally accepted that his life was what it was, and maybe he couldn't change the past, but he could change the course of the future. I could see that he was willing to trust me to help him.
"We need to get back," I said suddenly. "S.H.I.E.L.D. is outnumbered. They need help."
"I could help with that," Loki said slowly. "Transportation. Who do you want?"
"All of the other S.H.I.E.L.D. agents," I said immediately. "I also think it's about time the Avengers come out of hibernation."
It was now a race against the clock. I could tell that the base didn't have much time left, maybe ten minutes, so, I instructed Loki to bring everyone we needed to the clearing we were in. We were both unsurprised when hundreds of weapons were aimed at Loki, even less surprised when half of them discharged and absorbed into the barrier Loki had put up around us.
"Shut up!" I said. "Loki is not the enemy! Listen to me!"
Nothing. Yelling. Shooting, screaming. Desperate times….
"You are now all guilty of disobeying a direct order from the acting Director of S.H.I.E.L.D.!" I called out. That got them quiet. Of course, not for long.
"How are you acting Director?" someone asked suspiciously. "Where is Director Fury?"
"Captured."
"Hill?"
"Captured."
"Coulson?"
"Same," I growled. "So are Romanoff, Barton, The Cavalry, May, Ward, everyone."
They still didn't understand. "Does that mean I get to pick out a criminal and call myself Director?"
"I am Jaida Liao!" I said. "Sixth in command! Loki is not our enemy at the moment! Our enemy, as I am sure you have all heard, is the Red Room. As of right now, they have the Texas base hopelessly outnumbered. I need you to help them. In six minutes, Loki will transport us there. I need you to follow my orders up until the fighting begins, at which point the highest living official will take over. Deal?"
The agents finally gave their assent, and Loki summoned the Avengers, disorienting them.
"Listen closely," I said, not giving them any room for argument. "I am Jaida Liao, current acting Director of S.H.I.E.L.D.. S.H.I.E.L.D. is practically under siege, and we need the Avengers to lead in the coming fight. No, Loki is not the enemy. Any questions?"
"Yes," Tony said, raising a hand. "Why are you trying to order us around when we haven't even said hello to each other?"
"Stark," Rogers said sharply. I could already see the team falling into its old rythm. "Did you not hear her?"
"Did you not?" Tony countered. "Loki? Not the enemy?"
"He isn't," Thor said in his deep voice. "A little over a week ago, I brought him to S.H.I.E.L.D. for what you Midgardians would call rehabilitation."
"Where are Natasha and Clint?" Bruce asked me suddenly.
"With those within the base," I said grimly. "Otherwise they would be out here leading. We don't have much time. Will you four fight?"
"I don't kn-"
"Oh, come on!" Tony said excitedly. "Just like old times! We can even get shawarma and beer afterwards!"
"No!" the other three said immediately.
"How about we fight, and we'll just go for the drink?" Rogers said. Bruce sighed lightly, but the others were all for it.
"Great," I said. "We'd better go. Loki? Would you do the honors?"
"It would be my pleasure," he said with a grin, though still shaken from earlier. I couldn't blame him; I was, as well.
When we showed up, I could see it was just in time as Petrovitch finished his little spiel.
"That's not what it looks like right now," he hissed. "Now, it looks like you are the ones losing."
I smirked, stepping forward. Just behind me stood Loki and the Avengers. Behind them was a mass of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, all armed and dangerously mad. "Yeah. That's why I brought back up."
Petrovitch spun around, his expression nearly feral. "Nine. You should be dead," he spat.
Loki stepped forward, glancing at Nat and Clint, both of whom were glaring at him. "I made a different call. Besides that, her name is not Nine; it's Jaida."
"Attack," Petrovitch said in a deadly calm voice, slowly stalking towards us.
"Open fire," I said in the same tone, not removing my eyes from the man who had fathered me. Gunshots burst out, along with growls, snarls, screams, yips, and yelps. I ignored it as Petrovitch approached. I could feel red flicking over my eyes, but I didn't flinch.
"You've been a bad girl, moya malen'kaya Devyat'," Petrovitch said. "And you, Laufeyson. I believe I gave you a very specific task."
"Like I said," Loki began. I could practically feel the ice in his voice. "I made a different call. Now, Petrovitch, would you like to, what do the mortals say, 'come quietly'?"
"He won't," I said, pulling an arrow from my quiver, and resting it on the bow string, which was still resting at my side.
"She is correct," Ivan snarled. Then, something I did not expect, happened. He shifted. His body roiled and groaned, as if he hadn't changed in a while, before finally leaving him as a ginormous polar bear. The battles near him faltered long enough for them to scatter away from the roaring, and huge bear, while I stared at the beast in horror.
"Loki?" I whispered. "Any brilliant plans?"
Loki didn't move a muscle, just as horrified at the incredible mass of the horrific beast before us. That was worrying. If the god of trickery and magic (emphasis on the magic) was terrified of the bear, then I believed I had the right to be worried, as well.
"Okay. Um… let's go for distraction, then!" I said with a grimace. I shifted into my owl form, hoping Loki would snap out of that funk and help me; at the moment, I just wated Ivan away from the rest of the fighting. Those horrendous claws would be able to do some damage, which I was rather keen on avoiding.
Screeching loudly, I swooped over and pecked at Ivan's head. He roared and stood on his hind paws, batting at me, before charging towards Loki, who flickered and disappeared, reappearing in front of Ivan again. However, he wasn't just a mindless animal; he was a dangerous monster with a human mind, and he wasn't going to fall for Loki's trick. Loki realized this, and his scepter materialized in his hand, his helmet already on his head. I dove at Ivan's head again as Loki materialized in front of him, jabbing at the bear's stomach. Ivan batted him away like a doll, too late to avoid me as my beak drilled into one of his eyes, crimson now staining his white pelt as he screamed in agony. With his one good eye, Ivan glared at me, promising death. I zoomed away towards Loki, temporarily taking my human form as Ivan shook the pain off.
"How can we defeat him?" Loki asked, wincing as he stood. I helped him up, shaking my head.
"I don't know. Normally the only way I could be forced to take my human form is if the pain were too great for my owl body to withstand. The bear obviously has a higher pain threshold than Ivan would as a human."
Loki nodded. "Then we will have to find a way to kill him as this beast. We will have to work together. Perhaps if we could work with-"
A loud and familiar shout of pain caught my attention, pulling it away from Loki, and my head snapped over to see that Ivan had decided to stop directly attacking us, and was instead attacking S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, who had no defense from the giant bear. Ivan now stood several yards from me, breathing heavily. In his mouth dangled the body of Grant Ward.
"Let's just attack," I growled. "I'm sick of Ivan, I am sick of my past haunting me and following me. It's time to face it."
Then there was a screech.
A familiar screech, a greeting.
I looked up into the sky, completely forgetting what I had just said.
Up there, in the sky, flew a flock of birds. My sisters.
…
A/N: Well then! Sorry for leaving you at a cliffie last time… and this time… I'm making this quick, I want to go update my Wattpad, but just so you know, there are only 2-3 chapters left. I will do my best to update again soon!