With her arms still bound behind her back in S.H.I.E.L.D.'s handcuffs and her torso compressed under Loki's embrace, Elise plummeted to the earth from the Helicarrier. The wind whipped at her cheeks and drowned out her screams, and she kept her eyes tightly shut. If Loki had been scared, Elise would have had no way of knowing it. As they neared the ground below, Elise thought of her family, said a quick prayer – to God, not to Loki – and braced herself.

Fortunately, though, before they hit the floor of the forest into which they were falling, there was a flash. Time seemed to skew. As the blackness in Elise's consciousness gave way to dusky light, she came to realize that she was on the ground, and besides her blurred vision and aching head, she was alright.

Elise breathed sharply in, and as she exhaled, she started to cry. She lay face-down in the leaves and melting snow. She lifted her head momentarily to glance at Loki; he was already meandering around, gazing up at the trees as though he were suspicious of their intentions.

"Stop that," said Loki. He seemed distracted, likely by his own thoughts. "Stop that immediately."

"I'm not doing anything," Elise sobbed.

"Stop weeping." He stepped toward her. "You look ugly that way. Pathetic."

"Why would you say something like that?" Clumsily, without the use of her hands, she got to her knees. "What's wrong with you?"

"You must calm yourself before you say something you might regret." Loki stood over her and watched her as she knelt, crying, on the muddy ground. "Would you like me to free your wrists from those chains?" he asked condescendingly.

"Yes," Elise replied with a sniffle.

Loki smirked. "Ask me nicely."

"Will you please get me out of these handcuffs?" she requested facetiously, rolling her eyes.

"That didn't sound very nice," Loki scolded, his smirk broadening to a smile. "Try again."

"Loki, this is ridiculous," said Elise. "Just help me out."

"No," he laughed, "I shall do no such thing."

"It's not funny," Elise objected. Tears returned to her eyes; she was already at the end of her rope. "It's really not funny."

"I disagree," Loki said. His smile disappeared, and his tone grew firmer. "Perhaps you shall remain in shackles. Perhaps you will learn from this."

"Stop it," Elise insisted. "Stop trying to teach me lessons I don't want to learn."

"You poor creature. You must be confused." Loki stepped slowly around Elise's side to stand at her back. "Does your memory fail you?"

"That can happen with concussions," Elise remarked, "so I guess you could say-"

Before she could finish her sentence, the sole of Loki's boot hit the space between her shoulder blades. Elise's torso curled over her knees, and her cheek sank into the mud as Loki ground his heel harder and harder into her back.

"This resistance," he snarled, "this childish defiance... I grow tired of it, and it will cease." Once he had made his point, he removed his foot.

Elise lifted her head and gasped for breath. She was delirious; her head was foggy and her thoughts were scattered. Her condition only seemed to worsen as she rose to her knees once again.

"You love me," Loki said as he circled her, returned to her front, and assessed her dirty, bruised face. "You wept at my feet and swore that you did. Was that merely a performance? A lie?"

Elise couldn't be sure. It felt true at the time, but now she was scarred, bruised, and nearly broken, and she wanted to change her mind. But of course, she couldn't tell him that. "Of course not," she replied hoarsely. "I love you."

She flinched as Loki extended his arms downward to cradle her face in his hands.

"If you do love me, you will obey me," he lectured. "And if you obey me, I will care for you." The smile returned to his lips. "Sweet, pitiful thing. I so despise the sight of you suffering."

"Then why are you making me suffer?"

"Your pain will never abet if you cannot submit fully to me. Were it not for me, your struggle would be with yourself." Loki looked over his shoulder, then turned back to Elise. "I am your future. You cannot change what has already been predetermined. I am prepared to rule, but are you fit to stand at my side?"

"I don't get it," Elise mumbled.

"I shall have you as my queen," Loki said. "Is that not what you want?"

Elise didn't know what she wanted, but it wasn't that. "Doesn't it seem kind of sudden?"

"Not at all." Loki's eyes seemed to glaze over with ambition even as they remained fixed on Elise's. "I knew within moments of your arrival in Asgard that you would be my wife. I knew that if I could only break you, I could make you mine. Have I not succeeded? Are you not broken?"

At that moment, Elise resumed crying.

"My mortal bride," he said, "who is your king?"

"You," Elise answered automatically. She tasted salt and dirt as she parted her lips to form the word.

"Very good." Loki's hands left her face. "Now, if I recall, there was something you wanted from me. What was it?"

Defeated, Elise breathed a weak sigh before she asked, in her most sincere tone, "Will you please help me get out of these handcuffs?"

"Of course I will," Loki grinned. "Stand up."

Elise got to her feet and turned her back to him.

"Do you see how simple that was?" Loki asked as he pulled at the chain, attempting to separate its links. "All you had to do was ask me nicely."

With a metallic pop, Elise's arms were freed, though the halved set of cuffs remained on her wrists. "Thank you," she said.

"You are quite welcome." Loki began to wander, and his eyes seemed to take in everything. "Now, then," he said, "shall we find our way out of this forest?"

"I guess," Elise replied. "Do you know where we are?"

"No." Loki stared up at the canopy of the trees as he spoke. "But it matters not. We needed to leave that city. It was no longer safe."

"What are we going to do?"

"We will find a town and a place to sleep," Loki replied, turning his gaze to Elise. "It is already nearly dark."

"How?" Elise asked. "We can't go anywhere without someone recognizing you."

"I know." He smirked, seemingly satisfied with his own infamy. "We will go to town for supplies, and then we will sleep in the forest."

"But we don't have any money. It's not like we can just walk into Gander Mountain, pick out a tent, and leave with it."

"Walk into a mountain?" Loki appeared somewhat confused. "That's nonsense."

"No, not a real mountain..." Elise sighed. "What I'm trying to say is that I don't see how we're going to get what we need."

"Easily," Loki replied. "We shall simply take it."

"What?"

"I said, we shall take what supplies we need."

Elise frowned. "You want to steal camping equipment?"

Loki dismissed her question with a chuckle. "We must hurry," he said. "It will be dark before long."

Elise followed him closely, hustling to keep up, as he navigated through the trees. Her diminished sense of sight crippled her in the dusk and nearly blinded her in the night. She groped for his hand when they reached an incline and began to walk downhill, but her fingertips couldn't find him. As the hill became steeper, Elise lost her footing and slid on her bottom into what she could only assume was a creek.

Loki reached down and plucked her up by her forearm. "Do you see that fire in the valley?" he asked.

"I think so," Elise replied as she squinted to focus on the flicker of light. "Why?"

"Go down there."

"Huh?

"Go."

Elise looked to his face for a sign that he was joking. "Alone?"

"Yes," Loki replied. "Go down there."

"And do what?"

"Do you see those people?"

Elise narrowed her eyes further until she could make out two moving shapes in the light. "Yeah," she said, "but what do you want me to do?"

"Elise," Loki sighed, apparently irritated, "what did we discuss just a moment ago?"

"You want me to rob them?" Elise exclaimed.

"And what did we discuss just before that?" Loki snarled. "Do not pretend surprise. You will go down there, lure them away from their camp, and meet me here once you have overstayed your welcome."

Elise strained her eyes hard to try to see their faces, but she couldn't. That was probably for the best, she thought.

"You are wasting time," Loki scolded. "Move."

"Okay." Elise took a deep breath and steadied herself. "Alright. I'm going."

She started down the steep hill, shuffling slowly, sideways, hoping not to slip and fall in the mud again. She had neither a plan to enact nor an excuse to give to the poor campers. If the heist didn't go smoothly, Elise knew, there would be consequences for her, but worse consequences still for these strangers.

Approaching the campsite, the baffled and fearful expression on Elise's face did not change. When she stumbled out of the forest and into the clearing, she was met with long stares from two sets of eyes.

"Can we help you?" a young woman asked as she approached Elise. She looked like an odd creature in the light of the fire, with ponytailed dreadlocks forming bumps on her head and her coat, two sizes too big, hanging comically from her thin frame.

"Oh my God," her companion exclaimed as he emerged from their tent, "are you alright?" He was tall, bearded, and tattooed, just as peculiar-looking as his friend.

With eyes wide, Elise looked from one camper to the other as they closed in on her, but instead of hostility, there was sympathy and worry in their shadowed faces.

"Can you talk?" the woman asked, her voice low and kind. "Did something happen to you?"

Elise nodded. "Yeah," she replied absently, "yeah, something happened..."

"She's got handcuffs on," the man pointed out.

"What the hell?" The woman grabbed Elise's wrist and turned it over. "Are you okay? What happened?"

Elise looked directly into the woman's eyes and lied. "I was kidnapped," she said. "There was this crazy old man, he locked me in the trunk of his car, and I've been there for days." The story rolled almost effortlessly off her lips. "It was horrible. I don't even know where I am."

"Oh my God!" The woman covered her mouth with her hand.

"Don't worry," her companion said, though his tone of voice was uneven and panicked. "We'll just... we'll take you to the hospital. If we leave now, we'll-"

"No!" Elise interjected quickly. At the hospital, she knew, she would be too easy to find. "Isn't there a park ranger or something? Can you take me to the park ranger?"

"No way," the man replied. "The park's closed, they don't know we're here. We'll get arrested for trespassing, or something."

"Rob, come on," the woman urged. "This is an emergency!"

"No, Shannon, you come on," he retorted. "Rangers are like cops. You know you can't trust cops."

"Well, yeah," said Shannon, "but she's been through a trauma. You gotta put the power in the victim's hands, man."

Elise flashed Rob a helpless look. "Please," she said, pouting as convincingly as she could. "I've been through so much."

He sighed. "Shannon, you good to drive?"

"Yeah, whatever," she said as she started toward the bumper-stickered Jeep parked at the entrance to the campsite. "Get in, quick."

"Thank you," Elise said as she crept into the back seat of the strangers' car.

They drifted down the road that cut through the campground, and though Elise knew that it was probably best that she said as little as possible, she was curious.

"Where are we?" she asked.

"Allegheny," Rob replied. "Why? Where'd you come from?"

"Nowhere," said Elise, not having prepared for that question.

"You had to have come from somewhere," the camper said. "Where are you from?"

"New York City," Elise mumbled in response.

"Well, damn," said Rob. "I was gonna say we could drive you back, but you're a long way from home."

"What's stopping us?" Shannon said, her eyes still on the road. "We could just, like, go down there for a couple of days. It's not like we're doing anything."

"No, really, it's fine," said Elise, worried that the hippie driving the Jeep would turn around right then and there and start on a detour to Manhattan.

"Seriously," said Shannon, "we could just drive you back home. Don't you want to get back?"

"Not yet," Elise replied quietly.

"Don't push her," Rob told Shannon. "She's probably completely freaking out." He turned around in the passenger's seat to look at Elise. "Are you completely freaking out?"

"I guess," she said. "I mean, yeah, I'm freaking out a little, but-"

"Don't freak out," said Shannon. "It's alright. You're safe. We're safe people, and this is a safe space. It's fine."

"I think you came into our lives for a reason, or something," Rob said, lowering his voice. "Maybe you're, like, an omen from the universe. I don't know."

"Shut up, Rob," Shannon laughed. "You're high as balls."

That would explain their relative calm despite their bizarre situation, Elise thought. Perhaps it would make whatever Loki had planned for their campsite easier for them to accept.

They pulled up to the structure that housed the ranger station and stepped out of their vehicle. Elise wobbled when she stood, feeling faint. Rob noticed.

"You gonna be okay?" he asked. "You look kind of sick."

"Fine," Elise breathed, "I'm fine. Let's go in."

Shannon knocked hard on the door. "Hello?" she called. "Anyone there?" She kept pounding her fist against the green-painted wood until there was an answer.

The park ranger was a tall man, not too much older than Elise, and he wore the requisite grayish park police uniform. He stood in the entrance to the station, looking weary. "Park's closed, folks. Go on home."

Shannon began her explanation, prefacing it with an apology. "We're really sorry, officer, really, really sorry, but this is, like, an emergency."

The ranger seemed to perk up. "What is it?"

"We were camping out," Shannon said, "and I know it's off-season and we weren't supposed to, but-"

"Is she okay?" the ranger interrupted as he pointed to Elise.

"That's why we're here, man," said Rob. "She came out of the woods, and she just, like, needed help."

"Yeah," Shannon added, "it's some heavy stuff, but I guess she can tell you, right?"

"Come on in," the ranger said, stepping aside. "All of you."

"Do we get, like, immunity?" Rob asked dumbly. "You can't, like, arrest us, can you?"

"Don't worry about it," replied the tired ranger. "Just get inside."

In the ranger station, there were desks, a table and chairs, and a television, which mumbled the local news into the otherwise silent room. Once they were all inside, the ranger let the door fall shut, sat down behind his desk, and readied his pen. "What happened?" he asked.

There was a long pause, but after a few moments, Elise realized that the question had been directed at her. "Oh, well, I..." She had not expected to have to give a detailed report of her faked circumstances. "I was kidnapped, but I escaped."

The ranger looked up at her, mistrust written across his face. "I ain't heard about any missing persons in this area," he said. "Are you sure that's what happened?"

"Yeah, definitely," Elise answered nervously. "He picked me up somewhere else."

"Where?"

"Um..." Elise glanced at the television as she formed another lie. "Albany?"

"I thought you came from the City," Shannon said.

"No, yeah," said Elise. "But I was in Albany. I was visiting."

"What's your name?" the ranger asked, fixing his eyes on the paper in front of him.

As Elise struggled to invent an alias, a more interesting story brought the attention of everyone in the room to the television set.

"Breaking news unfolding in our region right now," the news anchor announced.

"Hang on a sec." The ranger reached for the remote control on his desk and turned up the volume on the television.

"Local police have just been informed that a dangerous fugitive may be on the loose in Allegheny State Park," the news story went. "Loki Laufeyson, the mastermind behind last year's terror attack on New York City, is reported to have escaped from custody, and he may be traveling in the region."

Elise watched in horror as her own picture, the same one that the news had been using since she began working on Loki's case, appeared on the screen.

"Laufeyson may be accompanied by his lawyer, Elise Milton," the news anchor said. "Both are considered extremely dangerous. If you see either of these people, you should contact law enforcement immediately. Again, both Laufeyson and Milton are considered extremely dangerous. Do not approach them. Call the police."

"Dude, that's her!" Rob exclaimed.

The ranger dislodged a cordless phone from its charger and dialed. "Stay right where you are," he instructed Elise as he balanced the phone between his shoulder and his cheek.

Stunned and indecisive, Elise stood, staring blankly back at the ranger.

He spoke excitedly into the phone. "Yes, hello, this is Officer Rowcevski, calling from the Park Police Station. I need backup..."

Without wasting another second, Elise bolted, her legs prickling with panic as they carried her out of the station and out into the dark forest.

"Hey, stop!" she heard Rob shout.

"I'm in pursuit," the ranger yelled into the phone before the sound of his feet on the ground joined Rob's.

"Rob! Wait!" Shannon called. "Don't chase her!"

Turning her head briefly, Elise caught a glimpse of the three figures running close behind her, and though she was dizzy and nearly blind in the night, she resolved to keep going until they were lost. The woods became impossibly dense, but she avoided the road and the light. Tripping on roots and slipping on unsteady soil, she kept going until she couldn't anymore.

Disoriented, weak, and out of breath, Elise had to stop, though she could still hear the ranger and the campers approaching. She gave up, falling to her knees as she began to cry. Certainly, she thought, she would go to prison forever if she was caught, but as the faint light of the ranger's flashlight grew brighter, she simply couldn't bring herself to stand up in order to run or fight. Just as she had begun to accept the inevitability of her fate, however, a set of hands snatched her and dragged her into the shadows. She was surprised, but unafraid; she knew just whose hands they were.

"Stay here, and be quiet," Loki whispered tensely.

Elise watched as he took several steps in the direction she had come from and stood, waiting, for the search party to find him.

It wasn't long before Rob emerged from the darkness. He stopped himself just before he reached Loki, nearly running right into him, and although Elise couldn't see the look on Rob's face, there were awe and terror in his silence.

"What's the matter?" Loki taunted. "Were you not expecting me?" His tone changed abruptly, becoming hostile. "Never again shall you pursue what is mine. Is that understood?"

"Whoa, man, be cool," Rob stuttered as he raised his hands defensively. "Just relax."

Elise cringed at Rob's choice of words and waited for the reaction that was sure to follow.

"Foolish mortal," Loki hissed. "Do you wish to lose your head?"

Rob began to shout. "Help! Someone, help!"

Without a moment's delay, Loki seized Rob's head and propelled him into the trunk of a tree, silencing him. Horrified, Elise stifled a scream as she watched the camper collapse on the ground, either lifeless or unconscious.

"Stop right there!" Officer Rowcevski shouted as he jogged toward Loki. He had holstered his flashlight, and he now wielded a gun with both hands.

Shannon wasn't far behind, and her arrival was marked by a harrowing shriek. "Holy shit, Rob!"

"Are you threatening me?" Loki snarled as he took a step toward the ranger.

"Come any closer, and I'll shoot," the ranger said, his voice wavering. "I'll shoot you dead!"

Loki wrapped both of his hands around Officer Rowcevski's neck and lifted him into the air. The weapon fell from the ranger's hands as he attempted to pry Loki's fingers off his throat.

"You will do no such thing," said Loki, and with that, he threw the officer to the ground and delivered a kick to his temple, causing him to cry out in agony.

"What the fuck?" Shannon yelled. "Stop it, you're killing him!"

Loki ignored her. He stomped on Officer Rowcevski's head, yielding a loud crack. The ranger's body convulsed, and Loki kicked him again.

"You're a murderer!" Shannon wailed. "A murderer!"

With one more kick to the head, Officer Rowcevski's involuntary movements ceased, and Loki turned his attention to Shannon.

"Be silent, you cur," Loki growled. "Be silent."

"That bitch," Shannon sobbed, "she tricked us..."

Elise cried, too. Having watched the whole bloody scene unfold before her wide eyes, the immense guilt and grief she felt weighed heavily on her conscience. She was disgusted with herself. She was an accomplice.

"Elise," Loki called, his tone somehow both playful and cruel, "come out from behind that shrub. There is nothing to be afraid of."

"I can't," she replied through the lump in her throat. "I really, really can't."

"But I insist," he said. "Come here."

Elise knew better than to make him ask a third time. Slowly, she stood, and she went to Loki's side.

"What shall we do with her?" he asked blithely. "We cannot let her go, and we cannot take her with us. What shall we do?"

"You're asking me?" Elise didn't know what to make of the question, much less how to answer.

"Look at her," Loki said. "Such hopelessness. Such sorrow." He smiled. "Is she not lovely?"

At first, Elise stared at the ground, unable to face the poor woman, but when she finally brought herself to look Shannon in the eye, she couldn't see what Loki wanted her to see. She wanted to say that she was sorry, to find some way to atone for what she had done, but instead, she just stared.

"Answer me, Elise," said Loki. "Is she not lovely?"

Not wanting to say the words, Elise just nodded.

"You're fucking sick," Shannon panted. "You're both fucking sick."

Elise looked to Loki to see that he was smiling. He took a step toward Shannon, and when she started to back away, he grabbed her upper arm to stop her.

"What shall we do, Elise?" Loki said. "You know what we must do if she is of no use to us."

"Can we let her go?" Elise asked, already knowing what his answer would be.

"No." Loki bent down, pulling Shannon with him, and he picked up a large, flat rock, which he held out to Elise. "End this."

"Don't do it," Shannon pleaded. "Please, don't kill me. Please."

Elise approached Loki and took the rock from his hand. Her heart beat against the cage of her chest, and her stomach was heavy with anxiety and regret. She held the rock in front of her and watched Shannon cry, then imagined her bleeding, lifeless, and growing cold. The weight of what she was being asked to do was incomprehensible. "Loki, I can't do this," she whimpered.

"Of course you can," he said. "You will see how easy it can be once you start. Now, start."

Elise lifted the rock and advanced on Shannon as Loki held her in place, but she stopped short of bringing the weapon down on her head. "Do we have to do this?" she asked. "Isn't there another way?"

"No, there is not," Loki said, and without another word, he placed his hands on Shannon's head and twisted it until her neck broke with a distinct snap. He let her limp body fall unceremoniously to the ground and began to walk away.

Elise followed him. "Why did you do that?" she asked when she caught up.

"Because I wanted to," Loki replied. "Actually, I wanted to watch you kill her, but my patience wore thin."

"That's awful…"

"No, it is incredible." Loki stopped walking and turned to Elise, smiling as he placed his hands on her upper arms. His eyes danced with excitement and madness. "To hold a life in your hands, Elise… it is the most wonderful feeling you will ever know." The joy left his face as he spoke his next words. "I wanted to give you that gift. Why did you refuse to accept it?"

"I can't do that," Elise replied. "I'm not a killer."

His smile returned. "You will be," he said as he brought his lips close to hers.

She turned away to avoid his kiss. "I don't want to."

With his thumb and forefinger on her chin, Loki turned her to face him. "It matters not," he said. "I want you to."