Frustrated voices sounded from around the corner from her office. Dr. Gunnarssen waved her last patient off and turned to watch for the arrival of the next. Assuming Hawkeye didn't change his mind about coming based on the conversation he was having with the Black Widow.
"What do you mean he escaped?" Barton asked Romanov. "He was in frigging Asgard, awaiting judgment and sentencing. How the hell did he escape?"
Natasha's voice was every bit as aggravated as Clint's. "They don't know. He was standing before them, wearing the manacles and the muzzle and Odin had the tesseract and the scepter on the table in front of him as part of the evidence. Both of the artifacts started to glow and Loki simply disappeared."
"Shit, Nat. He set them all up. Bet the bastard is having a good laugh right about now."
"I'm not so certain. Thor said he looked petrified when the glowing began. Besides that, if he'd planned it, he'd have taken the tesseract and the scepter, don't you think?"
"That was all part of the act…oh, hi, Doc."
"Clint, Nat. Problems, I take it?" Kara greeted them.
"Yeah, that son of a bitch got away from the frigging Asgardians. Sorry, gotta cancel our appointment, I need to go help with the search," Hawkeye told her.
"Do you? Natasha, do they have any evidence that Loki is on Earth?" Kara asked.
The Black Widow smiled. "No, none whatsoever."
"Well then, no sense in you going off on a wild goose chase, Clint. Come on in and let's talk about this."
"Aw, hell. All right."
... ...
Clint threw himself down in the soft armchair that sat across from Dr. Gunnarssen's favorite spot. He frowned as he sank into the deep cushions and then reminded himself to be glad she didn't use a couch like some shrinks. He watched as the doctor sat and turned on her recorder. "Session 5 with Clint Barton," she said before turning to face him. "How are you feeling about the news of Loki's escape?" she asked.
He groaned and then relaxed as he felt her project calmness to him so that he could think straight. The woman didn't waste time, that was for sure. "Pissed. How else should I feel?"
"Anxious, uneasy…perhaps apprehensive?"
"You mean afraid. I'm not afraid of that bastard."
She smiled. "No, but you are afraid of hurting your friends, and that is something he forced you to do."
"Him and that frigging scepter."
"But he doesn't have the scepter, does he?"
"Ah, no. Odin still has it."
"Then he won't be able to take control of you again. Doesn't that even the playing field a bit? "
He grinned. "Yeah, it does at that. Add in the new arrowheads that Stark made with the stealth technology, and I have a shot at nailing that bastard's ass. He might still be able to hear it coming, but if he can't see it, it will be harder for him to catch."
"Just don't try long range shots. From what I understand about sounds, he might be able to pinpoint the trajectory if he hears it and knows where and how far away you are. A shorter shot would have a much better chance of beating his reaction time."
"Been studying, Doc?"
"A bit, yes. Oh, and Clint, promise me something, will you?"
He sighed. Kara Gunnarssen was big on promises. "What?"
"Make sure he's either actually doing something wrong or is about to seriously endanger innocents before you take that shot. This shouldn't be about revenge for what he did in the past. That isn't justice."
"You don't understand…"
"Don't I? Three men are dead who will never see true justice for their actions because I reacted out of fear and pain."
"Christ, Doc. That was different. Those men were…well, you were being…"
"Raped, Clint. I'm not squeamish about the word. And yes, that's true. But no one deserves to die that way."
"I'm not so sure," he grumbled. "Besides, you've never done anything like it since. You haven't even accidentally set a thing on fire, let alone a person, in over fifteen years."
"True. They were the first and, God willing, the last people I will ever use that…skill on."
"Give yourself a break, Doc. You were twelve. You couldn't be expected to control what you did."
"Give yourself a break, Clint. You were under the influence of an alien artifact. You could hardly be expected to have control of what you were doing."
He let his head drop back down on the chair. "Touché, Doc. Okay, I promise."
"Thank you."
... ...
Kara looked up from her notes as her door slid open, she wasn't expecting another patient today. "Nick, what brings you here?"
"You've heard?" the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. asked.
"About Loki? Yes, Clint and Natasha told me. Did you need something?"
Fury looked out her open door. "Thor, come in and meet Dr. Gunnarssen."
Kara watched the Norse god of Thunder walk into her office. He looked…defeated. Felt that way, too. She stood to greet the tall muscular blonde. "I'm glad to meet you," she began. "Though I do wish it were under happier circumstances."
He managed a small polite smile. "As do I, my lady…uh, doctor," he said. "I am told you may be able to help my brother, is this true?"
She looked sharply at Fury. Had he really told Thor that? "Well, I won't know that until I actually see him in person. I can promise you that I'll try."
"Nick Fury has tried to explain what it is you do that is so different from other psychologists, but I fail to understand it. I much doubt your mortal psychology will much impress Loki."
"Hmm. What I do is a form of mind healing, Thor. I use a combination of projective empathy and Reiki techniques. It transfers both energy and emotions to the patient. If there is physical damage, it will speed the natural healing. If the damage is strictly psychological, it will calm them so they can think clearly and they'll often solve their own problems without much in the way of standard therapy. It's been very effective on S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, and even on Dr. Banner."
"Then perhaps you can help him. I-I love my brother, my lady. I know he has done horrible things, committed terrible wrongs, but I ache for him." The Asgardian sighed heavily. "For many years he was lied to, and I also treated him harshly. I cannot tell you how deeply I regret my actions."
"He chose how to react to what I'm sure he saw as a betrayal. It isn't all on you, or on anyone else involved. Remember that."
"Doctor," Fury began. "I've sent all of the research and the video we have of Loki to your inbox. I was hoping you could review it and make a preliminary diagnosis."
She smiled. "One a bit more accurate than Bruce's favorite assessment? What was it? Oh, yes…'That guy's brain is a bag full of cats. You can smell crazy on him'."
"That would be helpful, yes."
"Sorry, Nick. I've been reviewing the files, but as I told Thor, I won't be able to tell much of anything until I see him in person. That's how my abilities work. I can't pick up on his energy from an image."
"We'll have to arrange some kind of security for you, he's too damn dangerous for you to be alone with him otherwise. Unless you can read through the safety material in the drop cage?"
"No, I can't. But I won't need security. You know I can put anyone on this boat on their knees in seconds."
"I beg your pardon, my lady. You cannot do so to me," Thor said.
"Ah, but I haven't tried. Care to join me in the gym for an experiment?"
"Will it help my brother?"
"It will tell us if it is safe for me to try and help your brother."
"Then, of course."
... ...
Fury watched as Kara directed Thor to a spot at one end of the gym. The rest of the team currently on board the Helicarrier were standing at the other end, well behind her. "Ready?" she asked.
Thor shrugged. "I still do not understand what it is you wish to do."
"I'm going to make you afraid…absolutely paralyzed with fear."
He chuckled. "I wish you much luck, I fear little." He was still grinning when his eyes widened in terror and he collapsed on the floor, panting. "What in the nine realms?" he yelled. "Make it stop, sweet gods, make it stop!"
Kara relaxed and Thor dropped down flat on his stomach, still gasping for breath. He looked up as the doctor approached and crouched down beside him. "Just breathe slowly, it will pass in a second," she told him. Fury frowned as he watched her lay both hands on the Asgardian's head. Thor's breathing calmed swiftly and he moved to his knees and stood, then held out a hand to gallantly assist Kara in rising. "How do you feel now?" she asked.
"I-I feel fine now. How did you do that?"
She shrugged. "I took a memory of a time I was feeling extreme terror, copied the emotion, amplified it, and sent it to you. Apparently Asgardians are every bit as susceptible to it as humans."
"That might not help us with Loki," Nick interjected. "He isn't Asgardian, Thor tells us he was an adopted Jotun, a Frost Giant."
"Actually," Bruce Banner began from where he had been sitting quietly on a weight bench watching the proceedings. "That's not entirely true. When his disappearance was reported, I pulled our records and finished running the samples we'd taken. I'd set it all aside before since we didn't think he was our problem anymore. Fully half of Loki's DNA markers appear to be of the same race as Thor, the rest something else entirely. In the absence of other data, I have to assume the other fifty percent of the markers are Jotun. It's kind of odd, though. The difference between the two races is so dramatic, I'm not sure how a hybrid was even possible."
... ...
"My brother is half Asgardian?" Thor asked. Kara noted that the big blonde looked happy at the prospect.
"So it seems."
"Good. Then he is not the monster he calls himself."
Kara shook her head. "Why would he call himself a monster?"
Thor sighed. "The Jotun…the Frost Giants have been our enemies for millennia. They are savage and ruthless, much like their frozen realm, Jotunheim. Loki's biological father, Laufey, was their king and the most dangerous of them all. The Jotun are the creatures Asgardian mothers threaten their unruly children with."
"Oh, no. And he found out his heritage accidentally? That must have been a horrible shock. No wonder he's acting out."
"Acting out?" Nick Fury all but bellowed. "Doctor, Loki is directly responsible for nearly a hundred deaths, and indirectly responsible for another five hundred as well as several billion U.S. dollars in damages to Manhattan. I would call that something a bit more appalling than acting out."
"Calm down Nick, before I calm you down. You need to look at the scale. Whether he is Asgardian or not, Loki was raised Asgardian. He has a lifespan that makes our lives look like a flash in the pan. He is stronger than any non-augmented human, and is fairly indestructible. Did you never watch Star Trek?"
"Of course I did. But what in blazes does Star Trek have to do with it?"
"Remember 'The Squire of Gothos' episode where the powerful being called 'Trelane' was nothing but a naughty child?"
Kara smiled as Fury's jaw dropped in comprehension. "Is that how you see Loki?" he asked.
She shrugged. "I don't know. But that's a lesson I'm going to keep in mind if I meet him. You really must take the scale into consideration. We're talking about god-like beings with awful abilities. Yes, they should be more responsible with those abilities, but sometimes responsibility is a very hard lesson to learn. From what I know about Asgard, I'd equate Loki's actions with a series of schoolyard brawls. So, yes, he may just be acting out." She shrugged again. "That view won't make me popular with your team, Nick, but as a professional healer, I have to take it into consideration."
Fury started to speak but broke off as Hawkeye pushed past them and left the gym. "Damn it, doctor, I think unpopular is going to be an understatement."
"I'll go talk to him," Natasha offered.
"Thank you, Agent Romanov." Fury turned back to her and Kara sighed. "Hopefully that didn't just undo all of your work with him."
"I have a lot more faith in Clint Barton than you do. He'll be fine."