Epic reviews of epicness! Thanks to everyone who reviewed. It made my day to wake up to a bunch of emails that informed me of reviews on all three of my updates! I think the whole update-all-three-of-my-active-stories-at-one-time thing is working pretty well, so I'll keep it up. As a thank-you to everyone who has reviewed, here is the next set of updates from Yours Truly! Note that I update faster if I get a lot of reviews, because otherwise I'm stuck waiting to see if anyone will comment. Hint, hint. ;)
JapanRule555: I'm not entirely sure when to put them in yet. They will come, don't worry.
Ayy Kaim: THAT'S funny. That would so be me. Actually, I'd have a Loki cutout in my classroom. And my blackboard would say "I've been burdened with a glorious purpose…to instill knowledge in the ignorant Midgardians." I'm so glad you and AaylaKit got to see the Avengers! I hope you like this fic.
laureas: Ooh, good idea! Anakin vs. the Hulk. I'll store that in the Fanfiction Ideas section of my brain. And don't worry about Loki. It's coming.
AaylaKit: Yes! Winning! I was so worried that I wouldn't capture the Avengers' characterizations right, so that is very reassuring. Thank you. And YES Thor and Loki are EPIC and AWESOME and a LOT OF OTHER THINGS! :D
Pergjithshme: Thank you! Heck yeah on the "Loki'd" thing! Poor guy. That thing on his mouth has to be annoying. It has got to go. And since I've got a lot of great reviews, I pretty much decided to wait for yours so that I can update all three. I didn't see a review on The Force of Mischief yet, though, but I figured I'd update all three anyway.
That night, everyone was well-taken care of. Tony, of course, had seen to that. The Avengers, with the exception of Agent Barton, were sleeping soundly. It was Barton's turn to watch Loki, so neither prisoner nor guard was happy.
"Thor never should have brought you here," he grumbled bad-temperedly. Loki glared at him to indicate that he did not appreciate being there any more than Barton did. "You know, I really enjoyed being your puppet," the archer said, playing with his bow. "But personally, I think this is much better, don't you think?"
Loki leaned against the wall, his eyes on the ceiling. He knew that Barton actually semi-enjoyed this, though the agent wouldn't admit it. There was a degree of pleasure in being in a state of control over the very person that had once controlled him. No matter what one's virtues were, revenge was still a sweet feeling. Barton probably felt like he was giving Loki a taste of his own medicine. At this point, Loki didn't care. He wanted to be left alone, but that was not an option.
Barton put his bow away. "What's the point of this anyway?" he asked himself. "There's no way he's going anywhere."
No, but it looks like you are, Loki thought when his eyes fixed on an unfamiliar figure. Before he could think anything else, the figure shot Barton with a dart, making the agent collapse on the spot. What are you doing? Loki eyed the stranger uncertainly.
"Sorry for the mess," a flat voice said. "I'm afraid you'll have to join him." He positioned to attack Loki in the same way he had knocked Barton out. Loki, however, ducked and rolled as soon as the dart was shot at him. "Don't make this difficult!" the figure warned, shooting more darts at Loki.
Okay, fine. Loki fell to the ground, went limp, and closed his eyes. He felt someone kick him in the side to make sure that he was out. He heard a satisfied sound that was not quite human enough to be a grunt, then retreating footsteps. As soon as the figure had gone, Loki opened his eyes and sat up. What are you up to? He pulled himself to his feet, though it was difficult with his chained hands. It would be helpful if I had my magic, he thought grimly. Shrugging, he resorted to silently following the unexpected visitor.
He reached an unfamiliar part of Stark's tower, where the stranger stood, whispering to someone who was not there. "I have infiltrated the building," he said. "It is safe to come in now."
"Is anyone awake?" a voice hissed. It sounded like it was coming from the collar around the figure's neck. "Did you take care of the system?"
"Everyone is asleep. I had to knock out two that were awake, but it is taken care of now. I successfully overrode the computer system that Stark calls 'JARVIS.' Meet me at these coordinates at your leisure, but I suggest you hurry because anyone could wake up at any time."
"I will be right there. Dooku out."
Loki watched, eyes wide, as the stranger began to set something up. It was some kind of device that he did not recognize. Perhaps it was what Dooku would use to make contact with his army. All right, Laufeyson, time to come up with a plan. He didn't know why he was doing this, but something compelled him to stop this plot immediately. He tried to tell himself that he was just doing it because he didn't want someone else trying to rule Midgard. Was that really the reason? No need to think about this now. He had important things to do. In one fluid motion, Loki jumped out and drop-kicked the stranger that had made contact with Dooku. It was made of a strange, un-flesh-like substance. Was it a machine? Before Loki could determine this, it immediately retaliated and attacked him back, nailing him in the stomach. Loki faltered for a moment, then got right back up and did a flying kick to the thing's head. It fell to the ground and used its arms to unbalance Loki's landing, causing the god of mischief to fall as well.
"Enough," a new voice said. Loki looked up to see the looming figure of Count Dooku, whom he had gotten a glimpse of in Thor's folder. "Pilot," he said, turning to the machine, "is it ready?"
"Mostly, sir," the pilot said. "He came in before I could get it finished."
"Droids are so useless," Dooku scowled. "I'll do it myself." He resumed the droid's work. "I thought you said everyone was out."
"They were, sir. I had to tranquilize this one."
"Well, obviously it didn't work."
Loki, who had listened idly to the conversation, got back to his feet and threw himself at Count Dooku. The cloaked man easily swatted him away and zapped him with what looked like lightning. What is that? Loki thought, feeling electricity course through his body. He remembered when Captain America and Iron Man had taunted him about being afraid of lightning. He had simply stated that he wasn't fond of what followed. Now, as he lay helpless on the ground, he realized that there was in fact a reason to be afraid of lightning.
"Like it?" Dooku sneered. "It's Force Lightning. The Dark Side of the Force has many uses, including silencing fools like you." He chuckled evilly. "Not that you aren't silenced already by that contraption around your mouth. If I had the time of day, I'd ask you why you are wearing such a thing. But, unfortunately, I don't have time to chat one-sidedly with you." He took the lightning away and returned to his work. "It's all set," he told the droid. "Make sure our friend here does not interfere."
"Yes, sir." The pilot grabbed Loki by the arm and yanked him to his feet.
"General," Dooku said. A blue hologram of a gigantic machine-like thing appeared in front of them. It was different in appearance from the pilot droid. Loki wasn't sure what to make of it. "Assemble the army and bring as many troops as you can spare. I will send you the coordinates and the means of getting here. Make sure that the ships are powerful. I will explain the situation upon your arrival."
"Yes, Count Dooku," the thing said in the strangest voice Loki had ever heard. "I will be there."
"I will be expecting you." The hologram disappeared. "Now for my Master." He stooped into a kneeling position and switched on another figure. This one wore a dark robe that covered most of his face. "Master Sideous," he greeted him.
"Lord Tyranus. You are doing very well. I sense that you are on your way to the glorious battle the Force has promised us."
Before Dooku could reply, Loki elbowed the droid as hard as he could and sprinted away. The pilot followed him on Dooku's orders. Since Loki had a head start, he was able to seize his chance to alert the Avengers. Since his hands were chained and his muzzle kept him from crying out, he resorted to body-slamming one of the doors in hopes that it would either break or the sound would wake the sleeping form inside the room. Thor! Now would be a good time for one of you to get up!
Loki was attacked once again by the droid; this time from behind. "You are making my job very difficult!" it said, latching its arm around the trickster's neck.
Loki tried to shake it off, but it had a firm lock on him and it was closing the airways to his lungs. He could not breathe. Thor, please! He never would have thought that he would stoop to silently begging for his adoptive brother.
Just then, the door banged open, revealing a very disheveled and ticked-off Tony Stark. "What's going on here?" he demanded, then stopped when he saw the droid on Loki's back. Its grip loosened out of sheer surprise when Stark appeared, so it was easy for him to jump forward and knock the thing off of the god of mischief. "Loki, what happened?" Loki's eyes locked with Tony's, pleading for him to understand. He jerked his head toward Dooku, who was walking slowly toward them.
"Bravo, you defeated a puny droid," Dooku said, clapping. "I'd rather not have any witnesses for the time being, nor would I like either of you to alert the rest of the building, so I advise you to put your hands where I can see them and follow me quietly."
"So you're Count Dooku," Tony said, stalling. "Meet Loki. You two have got a lot in common. You know, the whole taking-over-the-Earth thing might make for good bonding time." Loki flashed him an irritated glance. Tony mouthed Go with it.
Loki's gaze flickered from his mouth restraint to Dooku. He then shrugged, sending the message that he was subjugated and had been thwarted by the Avengers. His expression basically said, Don't try it, or you'll look like me.
Tony nodded. "See? If we can beat this guy, you know we can beat you. Now, why don't you two sit down and chat while I get some drinks?"
Dooku laughed. "So this is Loki." Loki nodded. "I'm guessing you are Tony Stark." Tony nodded as well. "Well, Stark, first of all, you do not know how powerful I am. Loki here, however, got a pretty good taste of it." He demonstrated by zapping Loki again, making him fall to the ground. Chuckling, he made the lightning disappear. "Second, I have an army."
"We have a Hulk," Tony said, slightly excited that he got to use that line again.
Loki snorted, then nodded avidly. Don't mess with him, he thought. You do not want them to bring out the green one.
Dooku looked confused, then shook his head. "You are stalling me." He zapped Tony backward and seized him by the shirt. "You're coming with me." He dragged Stark into a room and tossed him in a closet. Loki could only watch helplessly as Dooku knocked him out cold. "Sweet dreams," he said unpleasantly. He then turned to Loki. "You're next."
Loki steeled himself. He would not go down without a fight. If he had his magic, he would be able to defeat this man easily. Unfortunately, he would have to use brute force to defend himself. Before either of them could make the first move, Loki felt something very hard connect with his face. The droid had hit him with a frying pan. Everything started to spin and blur, and then there was darkness as Loki hit the ground.
"You're nuts. There's no way you're taking that thing off of him," Loki heard someone say. It was definitely one of the Avengers, but he could not tell which one.
"I am removing it," Thor's deep voice said. "My brother needs to tell us what happened last night."
"Don't you remember what he's capable of?" Loki identified that voice as Captain Steve Rogers.
"Of course I do." There was a pause. "Loki…Brother, wake up."
Loki's eyes fluttered open. The first thing he saw was Thor's worried face. The other Avengers were there too, but at a distance. Loki blinked, not entirely remembering where he was. In a moment, though, everything came back to him. Dooku. The army. Stark. His half-closed eyes immediately widened and he tried to scramble up into a sitting position. Pain suddenly shot into his head and he was on the ground again, clenching his fists. Thor…Thor, please…You've got to listen to me…! He knew that his adoptive brother would not be able to hear his thoughts, so he willed Thor to understand that something was terribly wrong.
Thor put a hand on Loki's arm. "Hold still, brother," he urged. "You're hurt."
Loki didn't care. He had to warn them. His gaze flickered from one person to another, and he suddenly realized that Stark was not with them. Where was he? Loki tried once again to get up, but Thor pushed him back down. Now's not the time for this, Thor, he thought desperately. How can I make you understand? Just take the thing off of me.
Thor could not hear what Loki was thinking, but he knew what his brother wanted. "Friends, I am making an executive decision as prince of Asgard," he said. Without another word, Thor detached the muzzle from Loki's mouth.
Loki let out a breath of relief. Just having that removed made him feel so much better. He could only silently enjoy the freedom for a few moments, though. He had a lot to say and needed to say it quickly. "Thor, you've got to listen!" he said urgently.
"I'm listening, brother," Thor said.
"It's Dooku—he broke in last night. He came in with what he called a 'droid.' I assume it is some sort of intelligent robot. The droid came in and knocked Agent Barton out." His eyes averted to Barton. "Do you remember this?"
"I didn't see what attacked me, but I remember a little bit," Barton said. "When I woke up and saw that you weren't there, I thought that you'd played one of your tricks on me."
"Well, I didn't," Loki said curtly. He looked at Thor again. "It tried to do the same to me, so I pretended to be unconscious so that I could follow it. It then made contact with Count Dooku and brought him up here so that they could use Stark's energy source to contact the army."
"Did they?" Natasha prompted.
Loki nodded. "I couldn't stop them. He was too powerful. He used lightning, Thor. It came out of his hands. So I escaped and tried to alert Stark by slamming into his door."
"Where is Stark?" Steve demanded, leaning forward. "What happened to him?"
"There was a fight," Loki explained. "I think he is unconscious in a closet. Hopefully he is still there. I do not know, as I had a very unpleasant experience with the mortal's frying pan in my face."
"That explains a lot," Barton commented, eyeing the trickster god's injured face. "You certainly look like you've had better days."
"He hasn't looked that bad since the day he led the army against New York," Natasha commented. "I just thought I'd bring it up, considering most of you seem to forget who we are talking to here."
"He was in a pretty bad state after the other guy got him," Banner commented, shivering slightly at the memory.
"Can we focus on Dooku and Stark for a moment, please?" Steve asked. "We'll deal with Loki later. Right now, we need to find Tony."
"He's right here." Barton, who had slipped away from the group, called everybody over to the closet that Dooku had locked Tony in. "Help me get him out of here."
All of the Avengers except Thor went to help. The god of thunder was too busy staring down at Loki. "You tried to stop them, brother," he whispered. "Why?"
Loki shook his head. He still had no idea what his motives were last night. "It matters not. What matters now is that he has an army on the way. You've got to stop them from doing what the Chitauri did."
"No, Loki," Thor said. He gripped his brother's arm a little tighter. "We've got to stop them."
Disclaimer: I do not own the Avengers (including the quote that I used directly from the movie) and I do not own Star Wars. I only own the pilot.