"Dr. Gunnarssen, a fire has been detected in your quarters, do you require assistance?" Kara started at the sound of the AI.

She tore herself away from Loki's stunned gaze and forced the fire to burn even hotter until the last of the material was consumed. The flames died as ash drifted to the floor. "No, Jarvis. I was…providing a demonstration and neglected to inform you. I've put it out now."

"Noted. Please advise when you are ready for clean-up assistance."

"I will."

"That," Loki said quietly, "was incredible. Thor was right; your gifts are quite impressive. You are no monster, Kara. What you are is amazing."

"It's not a gift, it's a curse," she told him. "Three men who should have gone to prison died horribly because of this…this thing inside me. I will never get that sight, or the smell of burning flesh, out of my head."

He shook his head and held out a hand to her, sighing when she crossed her arms again and ignored it. "Sweet lady, if you had not administered your own justice, I would be plotting how to get out of here to track those cretins down and kill them myself. Their crime is one that is not tolerated or excused for any reason in Asgard."

"How nice for Asgard." She decided a lecture on U.S. law would be an exercise in frustration, so let that subject drop.

"I want you," Loki told her. She glared at him as she felt genuine desire flash through him.

"Okay, apparently that object lesson," she said, pointing at the pile of ash, "was lost on you. I don't do intimacy, not with anyone. What if I had a flashback? I could incinerate you before I even realized what I was doing."

…

Loki frowned. He needed to think, and that just wasn't happening in her presence. Her energy affected him strangely. Yes, she was lovely, and he had sympathy for victimized children, and certainly disgust for those who would use a woman as she had been used, but attraction? Wanting to champion her? She was mortal, an insect…albeit a powerful one. Ah, now that made sense. He was drawn to that core of power he could feel running through her. "I think you underestimate me, but no matter, I trust you."

"You don't get it. I don't trust myself." Kara again pointed at the settling pile of ash. "That could just as easily have been you. I won't risk it."

"Dr. Gunnarssen, Agent Barton requires your presence on the observation deck." Loki frowned; he could easily come to hate that disembodied voice. It was as annoying as knowing Heimdall could be watching and listening to him at any given second.

"I've got to go. I'm sorry, I'll have to lockdown the suite when I leave," Kara told him.

"I understand. I-I'll just finish my breakfast."

She looked at the abandoned plate, then walked over and held one hand above it. "It's pretty cold." After moving the milk and water to the bedside nightstand, she returned her hand to the plate. Concentration firmed her mouth for a moment. When she removed her hand away again he could see steam rising from the eggs.

His eyes widened. "Incredible."

Kara shrugged. "After I accepted the fact that I couldn't get rid of this thing inside me I started examining it scientifically, experimenting with it. If I concentrate, I can manage a very precise application of heat. Not enough to combust an item, but enough to raise its temperature rapidly." She frowned. "But my concentration has to be absolute. One slip and the item is incinerated."

"Still…"

"Don't," she said, holding up a hand. "I've got to go. Tell Jarvis if you need help. The system doesn't listen to everything, but if you say the name as part of a question, you'll trigger a response protocol." She headed out the door, closing it behind her.

A few seconds later he heard a heavier door slide down behind the inner one and got the same type of claustrophobic feeling the drop cage and the manacle/muzzle combination had given him, only on a far larger scale. "Well, well. I won't be using my power to go anywhere anytime soon," he mused. After making his way back to the chair, he dug back in to the omelet.

…

Clint and Nat were waiting for her in the observation lounge. "What's up?" she asked.

"You tell us," Clint told her. "We received a recall message telling us to get our asses here, pronto. What did he do that you had to back him off with your pyrokinetics?"

"What? Nothing. He…I…never mind, it's complicated."

"Oh, Christ. Look at me."

"What?" she demanded angrily.

"Hmm, your eyes are still hazel."

"Of course they're still…Clint, we've discussed this. No scepter, no mind control, remember?"

"Then what the hell is it?"

"You've lost me," she told him, trying to be patient.

He gave her a disgusted look. "Have you looked at yourself in the mirror? Your lips are swollen like you've been kissed. A lot."

Kara threw herself into a chair and sighed as Clint stalked out on the balcony and stared out at the city. How in hell was she supposed to reassure anyone else when she didn't understand it herself? She looked up when Natasha crouched in front of her with a lopsided smirk. "Playing with fire, hon?"

"Very funny."

The Black Widow shrugged. "He's handsome, no doubt about it. But he's a manipulative misogynistic murdering bastard."

Kara stared at Nat's serious expression. "Nat, what if it was all part of a war he was fighting against someone else. A war he couldn't tell us about without making things worse?"

"Hypothetically?" her eyes narrowed. "I take it you have a theory?"

"Yes."

"I'd still stand by the misogynistic bastard assessment."

She grinned. "Okay, let's break that down. Why?"

"Well, let's see. For one, he called me a mewling quim."

"Yes, but what were the circumstances?"

"Kara, you know very well, you saw the tape," Natasha reminded.

"I did, but I want you to remember. You went in there to manipulate him into telling you what his goal was. You shamelessly used your femininity, hoping he would underestimate you and spill his secrets."

"Of course; it was war, anything goes."

"Of course. Anything goes for you…but not for him?"

"What?" In one fluid movement, Natasha was on her feet and glaring at her.

Kara had to laugh. "Nat, you're applying a double-standard here, admit it. It was okay for you to fight with words, using your femininity, but it wasn't okay for him to fight back, again, with words, using your femininity against you? Was he just supposed to roll over before the superior woman and give her what she wanted?"

"Son of a bitch," Clint said from the balcony. "That...actually makes sense, I remember that, kind of. It was part of our orders through that damned scepter, fight the fight that's offered to you and no more, no less."

"Yes. Apparently in Asgard they're all about honorable combat. The question is: what war was he fighting?"

"He was trying to take over Earth, or maybe Asgard," Natasha said.

"Was he? I don't think so. Nat, from everything I've read, seen or heard he's smart, genius smart. Stirring up the only pot on the planet that could stop his so-called invasion isn't smart. He put you, all of you, on the field of play very deliberately. Why?"

…..

The omelet hadn't suffered much from reheating. Loki finished it and the milk and carefully made his way to the washroom. He could stand without assistance now, but the effort was exhausting, so he made use of the counter to lean on while he cleaned his teeth with the supplies that had been provided for him before he'd taken his bath. Staring at himself in the mirror, he reached within for his Jotun side. His skin swiftly turned blue, the trademark ridges appeared and red eyes stared back at him. A sheen of frost covered the counter. "No, sweet lady," he whispered. "I am still the monster." He reversed the change and made his way painfully to the bed.

He decided to enter the king-sized bed on the side closest to the washroom and roll over to the other side to spare himself the extra steps, his energy was waning. A moment after he lay down, Loki knew he'd made a mistake. The lavender and vanilla scent that was so distinctly Kara's washed over him. Closing his eyes he breathed it in for several long minutes before he forced himself to move. He'd just made it back to the far side of the bed when he heard the outer door slide open and felt the dampening circuitry disengage.

"Sorry I was gone so long," Kara said as she entered. Opening his eyes, he silently watched her cross the room and collect the plate, utensils and milk glass. The barely touched glass of water she left on the bedside stand. "I'll just run these to the kitchen and I'll be right back."

"Wait."

She frowned down at him. "What's wrong?"

"Ah, never mind. Go, it can wait until you return." Kara shrugged and left with the dishes. He turned to stare at her side of the bed. His contemplation of his reaction to her hadn't yielded any answers and that bothered him. He still had this, dare he say it? It was an insane urge to protect her, to make her his. It made no sense whatsoever. He'd turned it over in his mind, but none of the possible reasons rang true to him. Yes, she was a healer with talent that the healers of Asgard would envy. That alone made her priceless, but that-that wasn't why he wanted her. With her pyrokinetic abilities she would be a formidable weapon, but the thought of using her as such turned his stomach. Loki groaned and lay back to stare at the ceiling.

"What's wrong?" Kara asked as he felt the bed shift with her weight and then her hand slid under the hem of his garment to rest just above his navel. "I'm not feeling any issues," she said.

"I guarantee if you touched lower you'd feel an 'issue'," he couldn't resist saying as he felt his groin tighten.

Her hand froze in place and she sighed. "You really need to stop, Loki. I told you, I can't go there."

"Fine." He patted the bed. "Lay down and keep me company. I'm exhausted."

She frowned, but stretched out beside him. He tried not to smile when her hand was not removed. "You do have a drop in energy, but it feels like normal tiredness, nothing injury related."

"I said I was exhausted, not pained." He laid a hand on top of hers through the silky material as she started to withdraw it. "Please don't. I find your energy relaxing."

"All right."

He stared into her hazel eyes. The blue, green, and grey striations with small flecks of topaz that all seemed to move within her irises depending on the angle at which they were viewed reminded him of a kaleidoscope he'd brought back to Asgard as a present for his mother…his adoptive mother. His eyes drifted shut. Seeing the hurt and fear for him on Frigga's face had been the hardest part of facing the tribunal.

"Why suddenly so sad," Kara asked

"My-my mother. This, all of this has caused her a great deal of distress. I regret that."

"Why did you do it, Loki? I don't understand. Nothing seems to fit with what I can feel from you, what Thor has said about you, and what you have said about yourself. What you did here seems so out of character. I realize it was all part of a bigger plan, I need to know what that plan was so I can help you."

"It doesn't matter anymore," he told her, trying to keep the bitterness out of his voice. She'd feel it, but feelings were subject to interpretation, perhaps she'd think it was annoyance. The Other and his master would come, eventually, but at a time he could no longer predict or plan for. His underestimation of the combined genius of Stark and Banner that had resulted in them creating the damned energy dampening circuitry had ruined everything. His enemies and their legions of Chitauri would come, Asgard would fight…hopefully win, and Thor would be their hero. Again.

He frowned as she edged closer and laid her head on his shoulder. Before he truly realized what he was doing he had slipped his arm around her and hugged her closer still. "It matters to me," she said softly.

…..

Author's note: I'm still looking for an Avengers code name for Kara Gunnarssen. I've had a few suggestions, but nothing that "fits" for me. Please, leave me more suggestions, folks! I have to settle on something fairly soon.

Thanks for the lovely comments. You really make my day. As of today, over 500 people from 26 countries have read at least part of this story in less than a week. I'm jazzed by the numbers. Thank you all for reading, and I hope I continue to meet your expectations and satisfy your Loki cravings! - kiera