AN: Thank you everyone for reading and reviewing, oh my gosh seriously! I know I say it every chapter but I love you all! I hope you all had a fantastic holiday season! My shamisen sounds pretty sweet! ( Though my family may not agree...)
This chapter is a little violent, so a warning up front. I want to thank you all for reading, and I hope you enjoy it!
Chapter 16: Monsters and Men
Gold eyes closed quickly as they saw the woman reflected before them. In the mirror before her, Eir could hardly recognize the figure that stared back at her—a thinning face, exhausted eyes, and chapped lips dominated the reflection. Casting a gaze down to her wrists, her delicate fingers ran themselves over the healing burgundy rings...an unfriendly reminder of the handcuffs that had entrapped her too tightly.
But what had really hurt hadn't left a scar on her body. Rubbing her forehead, she cringed as she remembered the people they had brought in to dive into her mind. Strange mortals, who had made her remember every horrible moment in her life—mortals who made her remember everything she was trying so hard to forget.
Swallowing hard, the Goddess cringed as the pain of a throat made raw assaulted her senses. In her ears, she could hear the echo of her screams as they probed her subconscious—gathering every secret about her and everyone who had ever meant anything to her. She could remember the terrifying feeling of losing her perception of time…not knowing how long she had been begging for them to stop whatever magic they were using on her.
Letting out a sigh, the woman looked at her reflection once again. For all the torture they had put her through, she dreaded to think of the horrors Loki had faced. Unlike her, she doubted that these people would grant him his freedom. For what these mortals were capable of, she was suddenly wondering if death on Asgard would have been more merciful to him.
Before she could think further, her attention was diverted as the click of the metal door rang through the room. At it, a woman with fiery-red hair gave her a small smile.
"Time to go." She chimed, "Thor and the others are waiting for you."
Standing up, Eir was suddenly made aware of the absurdity of the Midgardian clothes that clung to her small form. Delicate laces and golds were replaced with an ill-fitting sweater and jeans…in the mirror, a woman of Asgard was replaced with a prisoner of Earth. Walking over to the Midgardian woman, golden eyes blinked as she was handcuffed once again—the metal of the cuffs reopening dried wounds.
"Just a formality." The human assured, "SHIELD policy."
With that, Eir gave a small smile as she took her first steps into the hallway to freedom.
Loki stared blankly at the dark ceiling of his cell for what seemed like eternity. Since his last bought with Fury, he had not had the pleasure of another visitor. Instead, his only company was the surrounding cameras and occasional sounds of footsteps from the hallway. In truth, he didn't know what these mortals' play was. Were they trying to force him to think? Were they trying to see if he would crack? If so, they were poorly mistaken.
Still, in such solitude it was impossible to stop the thoughts from crawling their way into his subconscious. In silence, his mind would reel with poisonous hypothetical situations of "what if"? He could feel his anger rage as he wondered about how life would have been better had he succeeded in his endeavors on Jotunheim—on Midgard. He could feel a guilt wash over him as he thought of how his life could have been better if he hadn't sought the throne, or if he had treated those he loved better. If anything, such solitude only made him more displeased with where his life had taken him.
Turning his head on the cold bed, green eyes watched as he was once again met with the challenging gaze of Director Fury. Giving the man a small mischievous smile, the God of Lies rose to meet his captor.
"I feared you had forgotten me." Loki greeted smoothly, "Have you come to seek answers once again? You mortals never learn."
As Loki looked to the smirking man, a chill came over him as he noticed an unmistakable glint of satisfaction in the man's visible eye. With curiosity, the God watched as the director walked across the room, looking as though he was trying to suppress a laugh. Before Loki could ask, his eyes darted to the door where two figures had entered. Biting down on his teeth firmly, Loki watched as Black Widow sat a handcuffed Eir on the seat in front of his glass cell.
"I don't think you've been completely truthful with us, Loki." Nick remarked, casting a gaze towards the Asgardian, "It's in your best interest to talk."
Green eyes looked at the terrified gold staring back at him. Behind her, he could see a bright crimson staining the sleeves of her Midgardian clothes as she tried to pull her hands out of the shackles. To her left, Loki could see a satisfied look come over Fury's face as Eir sent him a desperate look. Breathing slowly, Loki sent a cautious look towards the man.
"If this is truly between us, there is no need for Lady Eir." Loki said carefully, "I swear, I have told you all I know."
Loki's eyes shut quickly as a sickening crack rang through the room. Opening them slowly, he could see Eir closing her eyes tightly as blood dripped from her nose—creating a bloodied pattern across her sweater. Looking at the woman before him, he could feel an uncomfortable tightness in his chest as he watched her readjust her jaw with a painful click. Blinking a few times, he looked back to Fury.
"Now, you were saying?" Nick asked again.
For once in his life, his deceitful mind had gone blank.
The Jotun cringed as he watched Black Widow strike Eir again. Loki could feel the tightness in his chest growing as he watched the Asgardian spit out blood, her bottom lip trembling in pain. Tensing his jaw further, Loki could feel his nails unconsciously digging into his palms as his fists tightened. Not willing it to, a growl escaped his lips as Black Widow pulled Eir's long dark hair back roughly.
"She's pretty." Widow admitted, "It would be a shame if she became unrecognizable."
"I swear to you, I have no hand in this!" Loki insisted, with more emotion dripping from his voice than he wanted, "Eir has nothing to do with this, I…"
Before he could finish, Loki could feel his heart stop as he heard an unmistakable metallic click. In front of him, the God looked on helplessly as the Director put a weapon to Eir's head. Loki could taste the saline on his lips as he looked into the terrified eyes of the Asgardian before him. With each passing second, he could hear his heartbeat pounding louder in his head as he watched the tears well up in her unique eyes—a silent prayer etched across her bloodied lips. For the first time since his time on Midgard, he truly felt powerless.
"Nick, this wasn't part of the plan." Widow said shakily, "This—"
"Shut up." Nick ordered, pushing the weapon harder into the dark hair, "This is taking too long."
Letting out a jagged sigh, Loki felt an uncomfortable weight of guilt come over him as he saw the immense sadness in her eyes. His whole body hurt as he was reminded that this was not the first time he had seen such devastation in them. These people were monsters…and so was he.
Looking between the figures before him, his instincts told him that these people were playing him—that they wouldn't do it. As he watched the Asgardian close her eyes for impact, however, he knew he couldn't live with himself if he took the chance.
"Thanos." Loki whispered, his voice cracking, "I know he desires the stones, and I know he likes not to work alone. I swear to you…I know not more. Please."
Blinking a few times, Loki felt warm tears fall down his face as Nick clicked the trigger anyway—only for nothing to happen. Looking on in shock, he watched as the man sent him a satisfied smile. Casting his gaze to Black Widow, Loki could see a bitter look of disgust written over her features as she narrowed her eyes between the director and the Asgardian.
"I told you, we have ways of breaking you." Nick grinned before walking towards the door, "Widow, clean her up and debrief them. I don't want to see their faces again."
Speechless, Loki watched as the redheaded woman sent him a look that bordered on sympathy, before dragging the broken Asgardian out of the detention wing. Alone once again, Loki closed his eyes tightly and hit his fist hard against his glass cell. Screaming out a string of profanities, he tightened his fists further as a wave of emotion overtook him. Sinking down to the floor, Loki simply put his hand over his eyes and let it out.
Sif could feel her heart breaking as she looked out of the small window of Tony's private jet. On the tarmac, she could see a bright smile across Thor's face as he embraced Jane. The two were laughing about something—a happiness about them that pained her. She had purposely willed herself and the Warriors Three to Alfheim to avoid this torture. Being this close to Thor- seeing the happiness this mortal brought him—hurt her in ways no war ever could.
As she watched the couple walk over and greet the owner of the jet, she got a bitter taste in her mouth. Though hospitable, she dreaded living in Tony Stark's tower for her duration on Midgard. By living in the tower, she would be forced to see scenes like the one before her on a daily basis. She would be forced to pretend she was happy for them. She would be forced to pretend like they were a good couple. She would be forced to remember all the times Thor would fancy every other maiden on Asgard but her.
"If it means anything, Lady Sif." Heimdall whispered from his seat next to her, "I would rather see you as Queen."
Blinking a few times, Sif turned to see the Gatekeeper relaxing in his seat with his eyes closed. She knew that, if anyone, Heimdall would be most aware of the pain she was feeling. Though he would never admit to it, she knew well that the All-Seeing knew more of the affairs of Asgardians than most.
"You must be mistaken." Sif lied, "I know not what you mean."
To this, Heimdall let out a small laugh.
"I need not these eyes to see you are not yourself, Sif." He smiled, "I can see the worry on your fair face."
Sif remained quiet as he spoke.
"I know the Prince well." Heimdall explained, "This phase will pass. The mortal would make a poor leader."
The female warrior looked out of the window again. She could see that the group of them was now talking to a man in a long trench coat with an eye-patch. The mortal that Thor now had an arm around had a serious face on as she listened to what the man had to say. Jane may have been smart, but she knew nothing of Asgard or its people. Love, she knew, only went so far when it came to royalty.
"We both know that means little." Sif muttered, "I'm sorry Heimdall, I'm being weak."
To this, Sif watched as a pair of warm eyes met hers and put a hand on her shoulder.
"You are the strongest lady I know, Sif." He smiled, "Do not let these worries consume you. All will be well in the end."
Nodding slightly, Sif took one last look out towards the others. In the distance, she could see another dark vehicle coming into sight. At this, she could see Thor tighten his grip on Jane, a small look of worry across his bearded face. Closing the blind to her window, Sif closed her eyes and hoped that Heimdall somehow saw something she didn't.
She hoped that he was right.
"Believe me, Patches, everything will be fine." Stark assured, "Jarvis is ready to monitor any threats. Loki won't be able to breathe wrong without me knowing."
Tony watched as Fury gave him a satisfied nod. After Jane had called him with her concerns, he had done everything in his power to convince the Director to relocate the Asgardians to his place. With the stones under his possession, him and Bruce could work to learn of their secrets without SHIELD trying to weaponize them. With the Tesseract project, Stark knew all too well that SHIELD had ulterior motives behind their good intentions. No doubt, they would do the same with these gems.
"I'm surprised he talked, to be honest." Tony mused, "Not exactly in his character."
"We were very persuasive." Fury explained, "Freedom is a tempting prize."
In the corner of his eye, Stark could see Natasha averting her eyes from his. From behind Fury, he could see Bruce and Kate approaching with a thick steel case. From what he suspected, the stones that were to be studied found their temporary home in that case.
"I've outfitted the tower with everything we need." Stark explained, "I've also set up your toys upstairs, Janey. We will have some great data to send back to you, Fury."
Seemingly pleased with the necessary preparations, Stark watched as Nick Fury gave them a small nod before leaving. There was an awkward silence amongst the group of Avengers, an unspoken nervousness about them that was unsettling.
"My brother approaches." Thor whispered, "I can feel it."
Tony noticed that Thor pulled Jane in closer to him and watched an approaching black car in the distance. The genius would be lying if he said he wasn't apprehensive about agreeing to house the villain in his tower. Loki had already tried to kill them all before, and having him close enough to try again was frightening. Stark could only hope that—perhaps beyond all odds—Loki would be able to help them keep Earth safe.
Somehow, though, he doubted it.
Looking out the window, Loki could see small figures coming into view. Amongst them, he could see the outline of his brother and the mortal woman. The prince could feel himself unconsciously gripping the fabric on his coat as the others came into view—Fury and Stark included.
Closing his eyes, he tried to keep the anger at bay. SHIELD had granted him freedom on the condition that he cooperate with the Avengers on everything they needed. While the God of Mischief wanted nothing more than to see his brother and these mortals fall to the power they hopelessly wanted to control, he was powerless to object. SHIELD made it very clear the consequences that would await him if he were uncooperative. It was as if he was still a prisoner, under the guise of a free man.
"Loki…about earlier."
Breaking his thoughts, green eyes moved ever so slightly towards the passenger next to him. He could see the woman averting her gaze from him—her eyes seemingly intrigued by her own hands as she spoke.
"What happened back there—"
"I don't want to speak of it."
In the corner of his eyes, Loki could see confusion wash over the woman's face as he interrupted her. He watched as she blinked a few times before averting her bruised face away from him. As she looked out the window, he noticed that she bit her broken bottom lip anxiously—wanting very much to talk. Despite his requests, she did.
"I know well you hate me." She whispered, "So…thank you. Thank you for sparing me."
Loki noticed that she was still looking away from him as she spoke—perhaps not wanting to see the angry look that now adorned his face. Letting out a frustrated sigh, the man turned away from the woman and continued to watch as his brother's figure came into better view. In the silence, the Jotun could feel the heavy guilt from her words. While he remembered the words passing his lips fluidly, this hate she spoke of had little substance.
He hated many things—and she represented many of them. Even now, part of him wished that he had allowed Fury to take her life. In ridding her from this world, he could have spared himself the torturous hate she brought out of him. Eir represented everything he hated about himself—and with every look she gave him, he was reminded of the good man he had been and the start of the monster he was now.
But he hadn't let her die, despite every fiber of his being begging him to—and it terrified him.
Shaking the thoughts, Loki could feel his heart race as the vehicle came to its stop in front of Thor. Locking eyes, green irises were met with the disappointment-laden blue of his brother's. Taking a deep breath, the prince put a nervous hand to the door handle. Sending a small glance towards the Goddess next to him, Loki closed his eyes…
And took his first steps to freedom.
Thank you sooo much for reading! Much love! ありがとうございます!
