Disclaimer: I don't own anything except Agent Moreau. Everything else belongs to the copyright holders. Contains a scene almost verbatim from the Avengers Movie.
Authors Notes at the end of the chapter.
Warnings for Violence.
Moira awoke the next morning feeling slightly stiff from the cold of the metal and glass she'd slept against. She stretched her arms and legs out, giving a silent yawn as her eyes adjusted to the light and she looked around. She froze stock still when she saw Loki sitting opposite her his legs stretched out in front of him, hands in his lap, his own head leaning on the glass. He appeared to be asleep, so she quietly crept out of the holding bay through the air vents she entered by last night and went to the bathroom to wash her face and fix her hair.
By the time she returned by the proper door, Loki was awake, talking to Agent Romanov. Moira jumped as he slammed his hand on the glass and growled at the senior agent. She stayed in the shadows as he spoke, biting her lip to keep herself from telling Loki that he was walking straight into the Black Widow's trap. She had a marvellous interrogation technique, one that Moira herself was studying carefully to emulate. She'd never actually seen the agent in action before, though. It was fascinating to watch as she played the meek, cowed woman while Loki stormed straight into her trap with his head held high, totally oblivious that he was not in control of the situation until Agent Romanov had all the information she required.
"Thank-you, for your co-operation," Agent Romanov said by way of farewell to Loki, before leaving the holding bay, barely noticing Agent Moreau on her way passed.
Moira walked up the stairs to fetch her bag, not making eye contact with the furious Asgardian.
"You were watching, weren't you?" he demanded of her.
"I saw some of it," Moira admitted.
"Why did you not tell me I was walking into a trap?!"
Moira sighed sadly before looking into his angry, green eyes and replying, "because I'm not on your team, Loki. I am an Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D."
"Then you shall die with the rest of them!" he roared, feeling betrayed.
"I know," Moira said softly, shoulders slumped. "I was always going to. Even if I don't want to. I never had a choice in it." She slung her bag over her shoulder and walked slowly down the steps and out the door once more.
"Where are you going?" Loki demanded angrily.
"Breakfast," was the emotionless reply, and then she was gone.
Loki paced his cell angrily. He wasn't sure if he was mad at himself for falling into Romanov's trap, if he was angry at Moira for her 'betrayal', or if he was angry because he should have remembered that Moira wasn't 'on his team', as she put it. He had enjoyed her company over the passed day. He stopped when he realised that it had only been a day that he and Agent Moreau had been talking to one another with a degree of civility. He sat back down against the glass, one knee bent with his arm extended across it, the other leg out in front of him, and other hand in his lap. He let his head drop back against the wall with a long sigh through his nose.
She'll be dead soon enough, he thought to himself. It was supposed to be a comforting thought. It wasn't.
A few minutes later there was a large explosion as Barton took out one of the engines, and pandemonium ensued.
Moira was half way back to the detention level when the explosion rocked the Helicarrier, throwing her against the wall.
Loki!
She quickly regained her balance and ran as fast as she could back to his cell, dodging her fellow agents and debris along the way. She didn't know why she was running, but she felt she had to. Barely a few minutes later, she was approaching the holding bay. The door was wide open and she ran through. The next few seconds passed in a blur.
Moira ran through the door, without realising that there were already armed agents in the room. One took a shot at her before he realised who it was, the bullet thankfully only grazing across the top of her left shoulder. Loki was watching her as she ran up the corridor, crying out her name and running into the glass as the gun fired.
"Moira!"
The agent apologised in shock and lifted his weapon, "Agent Moreau!"
Moira dropped to one knee and held her shoulder in pain as the shot ripped her suit and opened her skin. Looking up at Loki, she took her hand from her wound, the blood sticky on her palm. She grinned a feral grin, and Loki almost thought he was looking at a different woman because of the fire burning in her stormy blue eyes.
"Lucky number thirteen," she grinned at him before exploding into action.
She was a whirlwind. Ducking and weaving with almost preternatural agility and flexibility, she took down twelve armed guards with her bare hands and a dancer's grace in just a few heartbeats. As the last body slumped to the floor with a broken neck, she giggled and turned to face the glass cage, taking a bow. Loki stood dumbstruck, his mouth hanging open.
"What?" Moira asked with a grin.
Loki stammered for a moment. "I have never seen the like…"
"Is this an appropriate moment to say 'thank you'?"
"Most assuredly!" Loki laughed the nervous laugh of a man who couldn't believe what he had just seen.
Moira's smile faded and her attitude turned sombre. "Loki, I'm going to do you a favour. But I need you to do one for me."
Loki canted his head, looking at her suspiciously. "What sort of favour?"
"I'm going to let you out."
"And what favour would you ask of me?"
"I want you to kill me."
"What?!"
"I want you to kill me. I know you were only being nice to me so you could manipulate me, and I know you'll probably kill me anyways, but I want to make sure."
Loki looked at her dumbstruck for a second time. "Moira.. I-"
"Do you want me to open the door, or not?" she demanded angrily.
"Why do you want to die?"
"Because I just want peace," Moira replied sadly. "I don't want to have to live a life alone anymore, or live in fear of my father. I want to be free, but I'm too much of a coward to do it myself."
Loki looked at the sad little human woman for a moment before replying. "Open the door, Moira."
She gave him a small, sad smile before turning and stepping over the bodies of the fallen guards to access the control panel. It only took her a few moments to open the door, and as the bolts retracted, she stepped back over to Loki, looking up at him expectantly. When he just stood there for a moment, looking down at her, she frowned and took his hands and put them around her throat.
"Well, come on!" she goaded.
"Moira, I can't…" he replied softly.
"Yes, you can! I'm just a stupid, snivelling human! You could snap my neck like a twig!" Moira yelled at him, tightening her grip on his hands, making them tighten around her neck. "What are you waiting for?! Kill me!"
"Moira-" he started.
"What? Do you want me to hit you first?!" she snarled, her right hand flying out from her grip on his hands and her throat to strike at his face.
Loki caught her wrist easily, but surprised even himself when he used her trapped wrist to pull her closer, the hand still around her neck shifting up and into the hair at the base of her skull, weaving between the taught strands pulled into her bun and tilting her head back as his lips crashed down on hers. He felt Moira go rigid with shock, but he didn't care. She tasted soft and sweet, and as she relaxed into the kiss, he deepened it, claiming her roughly.
"Come with me," he whispered against her lips as he broke the kiss.
"What?" she asked, shocked as she tried to back away.
"Come with me, Moira," he repeated, the hand that was holding her head grabbing her other wrist. "I'll take you away from all this. I'll kill your father for you!"
"Loki, no-" she started, trying to pull her wrists out of his grasp.
"Come with me!" he demanded, pulling her closer to him. At her yelp of pain and fright, he loosened his grip slightly, before adding more gently, almost begging; "Let me be the hero you thought of me as a child…"
Moira looked into Loki's eyes. The façade she could see was one of him being sincere, and he truly wanted to take her away. His eyes projected that he 'knew' deep down his plan for earth was vengeful and cruel. He needed to be at least one person's hero, instead of always being the villain. He was a brilliant liar, but she went along with it.
Her features softened, and she nodded with a small smile, one hand reaching up to cup Loki's cheek. "What's the plan?"
"Sir!" A male agent dressed in black, obviously one of Loki's ran in, holding a gun up at the woman.
"She's with me," Loki replied, and the man stood down. He quickly outlined his plan to Moira, who closed the cage door as he conjured a duplicate inside it.
They set the door to open just as Thor came running in, intending to tackle Loki back into the cage, instead passing through the illusion as the door closed behind him.
"Are you ever not going to fall for that?" the second illusion asked, almost with pity.
Thor smacked his hammer onto the glass in response, intending to smash his way out. He baulked when the cage shifted dangerously, threatening to plummet towards the ground.
Loki's second illusion chuckled, before turning to the control panel. "The humans think us immortal. Should we test that?" he had just lifted the glass panel covering the disengage button when Agent Coulson appeared, killing Loki's agent, who had been left on watch.
"Move away, please," he requested evenly. He saw 'Loki's' look at the large gun he was brandishing. "You like this? We started working on the prototype after you sent the Destroyer. Even I don't know what it does. Wanna find out?" he cocked the weapon and aimed it at the illusion, right before the real Loki had returned with his sceptre and drove it into Coulson's back.
"Noooo!" Thor's anguished cry echoed around the holding bay as Loki stepped around Coulson's dying body. Moira was white as a sheet as she saw Agent Coulson slumped against the wall, panting for breath, but she did not go to him. She stayed watch on the door as Loki went and opened the hatch and sent his brother's trap hurtling towards the ground.
"You're going to lose," Coulson remarked from the floor.
"Am I?" Loki questioned.
"It's in your nature," Coulson replied.
"Your heroes are scattered, your floating fortress falls from the sky; where is my disadvantage?" Loki retorted incredulously.
"You lack conviction," he replied with a glance at Moira. A glance filled with disappointment.
"I don't think I-" Loki started as he advanced on Coulson, but he pulled the trigger on the weapon, sending out a blast of orange energy that sent the Asgardian flying through the walls.
"So that's what it does…" Coulson remarked to himself dryly as Moira ran passed him to go to Loki's aid.
"Loki!" she cried as she turned him onto his back. "Loki are you alright?"
"I'm fine, just…" He coughed and winced slightly as he sat up. "It's time we got out of here." He squeezed her arm gently as she helped him to his feet. She propped him up against the wall, and went back for a couple of guns.
"He's lying to you, you know," Coulson panted softly as he watched Moira fleece the fallen guards for their weapons. "He'll kill you when he has no further use of you."
Moira looked sadly at the dying man. "I know."
"Then.. Why?"
"Because I want to die. I might as well be useful to somebody who is going to give me what I want."
"You had so much promise, Agent Moreau…" Coulson despaired softly. "Instead you choose to be a puppet."
"I've always been a puppet, Agent Coulson. The only thing that has changed is the man pulling the strings," Moira replied, just as softly as she stood up, various knives and guns hanging off her person. "At least Loki pretends to be kind to me, and feigns an interest in me, unlike the Councilman. Thank you, though, for showing concern. Goodbye, Agent Coulson."
She turned away and walked back to Loki, who was now standing steadily on his own two feet.
"Are you alright?" she asked as she approached.
He nodded curtly, and Moira nodded back, motioning for him to follow her, guiding him on the quickest, safest route back to the runway, together eliminating every agent that stood in their way, either with Loki sceptre, or Moira's combat skills. They made their way back to his craft in next to no time, and were soon heading back to Loki's base of operations.
Authors Notes: Now we're getting somewhere! XD
Please Review! :3 ~ Kalliope