I am horribly torn as to the theme song for this chapter. I knew I wanted it to be from Swan Lake Act III, but I absolutely can't decide between the Allegro Agitato and the Finale. The Allegro Agitato is more appropriate for this point in the plot. But the Finale gives me goosebumps. Tchaikovsky is one of my top 3 favorite composers, and I just can't choose! Aw, just go listen to Swan Lake, ok?
Chapter 73: Appearances
Loki turned in her seat, trying to make out the figures in the boxes behind them through the darkness. With a sigh, Natasha tugged on her arm, turning her back around.
"Stop looking," she whispered. "Just relax and keep watching."
She sighed. They had made it almost all of the way through the ballet, and Pierce had yet to make his move. Loki was beginning to wonder if he would show up at all.
"Besides," Natasha's whisper softened, immediately sparking her attention, "You're going to miss the best part."
Squaring her shoulders, Loki tried to pay attention to the story at hand. It was easy enough to follow, since a detailed summary could be found in the program. Beyond that, Natasha had explained the entire ballet in detail during their shopping spree. On any other occasion, she might have been entranced. But the stress of facing either a battle with Pierce or worse, the press conference, was seriously damaging her concentration.
A ballerina in a black leotard made a grand entrance on the stage, and began a precise, exact number that instantly had Loki gaping. She began to flip through the program, but Natasha put a hand on hers, stopping her.
"Yes, it's the same ballerina," she murmured. She had explained beforehand that some companies chose to split the role, giving one ballerina the white swan and another the black swan parts. But the traditional way was to have one girl dance both characters, Odette and Odile, because they were supposed to be identical, and to show off the prima ballerina's talent.
While they were sitting close enough to see that the black swan looked identical in every way except costume to the white swan, she still found it hard to believe. Odette's dancing had been languid and tremulous, soft, the picture of fragile vulnerability and sorrow. This character, Odile, danced with a sharpness and energy that made her look nearly inhuman. No motion was wasted, nothing was slow, and each move looked perfect. She began to spin in place, over and over and over, and Loki tore her gaze away to see Natasha's lips move as she counted the turns. When the ballerina stopped, Natasha looked grimly satisfied.
Loki leaned over and whispered in her ear, "She makes me think of you."
Natasha smiled wryly, "Who, Odile?"
"The ballerina."
She looked as if she wanted to ask more, but pressed her lips together. It could wait until the show was over.
Once the final act had ended, and there was much applause and throwing of roses, the audience began to shuffle out, instantly surrounded by the buzz of conversation. As they waited for the finely clad gentlemen and ladies to shuffle out of their seats, Natasha turned to face Loki.
"What did you mean, the ballerina made me think of you? I used to dance, but..." she trailed off.
Loki tilted her head, an odd smile on her face. "You did, didn't you?"
Natasha looked a little uneasy. "But I think you only knew that from Clint."
She frowned a little, thinking. "Someone else must have mentioned it. But anyway, I meant the role, or rather two roles, actually. Yes, Odile very much makes me think of you, when you're... determined," she could not mention the infamous Black Widow in such a place, but it was clear what she meant. "But you're Odette, too, full of sorrow and regret and revulsion for the people who used you. You're both of them."
The way ahead of them cleared, and they began to make their way towards the back of the auditorium. Natasha took the opportunity to think about what Loki had said. When they reached the lobby, she asked, "But which is the real me, do you think? Odette or Odile? And which is the act?"
She shook her head. "They're both the real you. Or maybe, they're both an act. Everyone acts differently in different situations. It's just more clearly defined in some of us." Her eyes twinkled at the joke.
Natasha didn't know what to say to that. Fortunately, she didn't have to come up with an answer, as Tony chose that moment to show up, towing a good dozen paparazzi with the force of his personality alone.
"There she is! Come on, Lucy, it's time for the big show," he said cheerfully. "Just what you always wanted, your moment in the spotlight."
"Lucy" smiled, but her eyes said that she would probably kill Tony later. It was probably the most she had ever looked like her counterpart. Gesturing towards the podium that was set up outside the two-story glass windows, she said, "I'm sure you know the way."
"Oh, no, ladies first," he grinned, clearly relishing her discomfort.
Loki gave Natasha a look that clearly said and they think He's the sadist?
"All right, all right, kisses for good luck, but then we gotta go," he continued to tease.
Blushing, Loki looked from Tony, to the photographers, to Natasha. She seemed to take Tony's comment as a challenge. Loki laughed, and ducked her head to give her a quick peck on the lips. Immediately, there was a flurry of shutter clicks and flashes.
Natasha smiled wryly. "See, this is why I wanted to buy designer dresses. We're going to be all over the rags tomorrow, and I don't want them making snarky comments about your ensemble. Now go knock 'em dead," she teased.
As soon as Loki and Tony had lured away the vultures, Natasha made her way out to a small communications van. Inside was Bruce, posing as a networks manager.
"Any troublemakers?" she asked.
Bruce shook his head, but was too wrapped up in what was being said to say much more. The mayor had finished giving a very over-wrought speech that made Loki look twenty shades of uncomfortable, as most of it dwelled on all the pain and suffering she had brought to the city, and how valiant the citizens of New York were to rise above it. Finally Tony all but stole the microphone from the old windbag.
"Thank you so much, Mayor, for that very thoughtful reminder of what this city has gone through. Now, I'm always one to look forward, and that is why I'm very happy to introduce a friend of mine. Without her, none of this would have been possible."
"Geez, he's being an ass today," Natasha grumbled.
"He hates this stuff a lot more than you would think," Bruce murmured compassionately.
"So, what, he's going to throw her under the bus?"
Bruce chuckled. "No, he thinks he's being funny. He's nervous."
Natasha sighed. After waiting several hours for a sociopathic teenager with magical powers to show up, they were all a little on edge. Except Bruce. She was impressed, and told him so.
He shrugged. "Takes more than this to shake me, thank God."
Outside, Tony had finally finished gilding the lily, and announced "Lucy Norling" to a thunderous round of applause.
Loki stepped up to the half dozen microphones, squinting through the glare and trying to see her audience. She took a deep breath.
"Although I am not a citizen of this city, or even of this country, I found that I was moved by the tragedy that struck it. So much loss, so many lives, innocent lives..." her voice trailed off, tremulous with unfeigned emotion. "We can never bring them back." There was a long moment of silence. "And in my mourning, I then thought of all the precious works of art which had been lost, too. I could not bring back a single life, but perhaps I could replace some of the beauty that was shattered. That is why I decided to devote myself to this project.
"Mr. Stark has been incredibly generous in his sponsorship of my work. He has provided me with materials and tools, a place to work, and the resources to ensure my sculptures are as accurate as possible. I am very much indebted to him."
There was a polite round of applause, and then Tony announced that they would take questions. The first reporter, a slim brunette, asked exactly what was on everyone's mind.
"Miss Norling, your work is phenomenal - some of our finest art historians say they can barely tell the difference from the originals. How did you manage to make such accurate reproductions, and so many so quickly?"
Loki and Tony had known this question would come up, and planned their response. "Well," Loki demurred. "It involves a lot of technology that I don't really understand..."
"What she's trying to say is that's proprietary information," Tony put in. "The patents haven't gone through yet."
There were chuckles at that. The next reporter, a sharply dressed young man from one of the personality columns, snagged Tony's attention. "There are rumors that you're dating Natalie Rushman, former assistant to Stark Industries CEO Pepper Stark. Did you meet her on the job?"
Loki smiled. "No, I met her just before the attack on New York, actually. A friend of hers had told me all about her, and I liked her as soon as I met her."
"Natalie actually introduced us," Tony lied.
"We didn't start dating until recently, though," she added.
"Are there wedding bells in the future?" the young man asked, delighted.
Loki looked a little dumbstruck for a moment, then laughed. "I don't think so. Neither of us have had good experiences with the institution of marriage. Besides, the people where I come from aren't as forward-thinking in such matters as New York."
Another reporter chose this moment to ask, "You mentioned you weren't a citizen of the US. Where are you originally from, Miss Norlinger?"
She had expected this one too. "Oh, a very cold place far, far away that probably no one here knows the name of," she demurred. There were laughs.
"Enough with the personal questions," Tony laughed, and pointed to another reporter. A few harmless questions followed, mostly answered by the enigmatic Mr. Stark. Things were drawing to a close when a man towards the back of the press section managed to get his hand picked.
"Miss Norlinger... "Lucy," is it? Do you mind if I call you by your first name, Lucy?"
Loki tilted her head. "No..."
Inside the communications van, Natasha froze. There was something familiar about that reporter's voice, and she grabbed a pair of headphones and quickly jammed them over her ears.
"Lucy, what I want to ask you, what I'm dying to know is, what... is your connection to the source of all this destruction? The man who we know only as 'Loki?' Hmm?"
Natasha muttered something under her breath in Russian, and started flipping switches on the console. She quietly ordered all agents into position. Bruce frowned at her, and she shook her head. "It's him. Clint, do you have a bead on that reporter?"
"Two steps ahead of you," Clint's voice came over the radio. He was positioned on the roof of the Met, hidden in shadows. "That guy has wonky written all over him."
Bruce stared at the screen. The black-haired reporter didn't look anything like Pierce or his alter ego.
"I never saw what he really looked like," Natasha answered his questioning look, "But I would recognize that voice anywhere," she shuddered.
Outside, Tony was the first to regain the powers of speech. "That's... kind of a weird question," he laughed.
"No, it's ok," Loki smiled, although inside she was rattled to the core. "I guess... I suppose you could say, that since I have devoted myself to undoing the harm He caused... in a way, I am his antithesis," she shrugged. There was something about this man... "I'm sorry," she blurted, shielding her eyes from the glare of the lights in an attempt to see him better. "Do I know you? You seem very familiar to me somehow."
The man laughed. By now, SHIELD agents had surrounded the small crowd, and the other reporters were slowly backing away from this stranger in their midst. "Not as such," he admitted. "I don't think I got to meet you. Your girlfriend, on the other hand, now she I most definitely got to know better..."
At this moment Loki realized he looked odd because he was wearing a glamour. Suddenly, it clicked for Loki, as a name came screaming up at her from deep in her mind. "Pierce," she breathed.
He gave a little bow. "One and the same. I thought you might like to know, I had all of my security videos automatically upload to the cloud. And they made for some very interesting watching... 'Lucy.' But..." he looked around to see that most of the reporters had been quietly shuffled away, aside from the occasional camera flash. "I'm not here for an exposé."
"What are you here for then?" Loki asked, subtly winding magic around her fingers behind the podium. If only she could just take him down here...
"I'm here to offer an invitation; to you, and all of your little Avenger friends. You are friends now, aren't you? Doesn't that seem odd to you? Anyway," he snapped his fingers, and a piece of parchment floated through the air, drifting towards Tony and Loki.
"Don't touch it," Loki hissed, and Tony shot her a look that said not that stupid.
She managed to stop the invitation without any outward motion, making it look as if Pierce had intended it to do so. It contained a series of numbers.
"GPS coordinates," Tony muttered.
"I will be waiting at this location. Come and find me. If you dare!" and then, in a melodramatic puff of smoke, he disappeared.
"Who the fuck does this guy think he is? The Wicked Witch of the West?" Tony boggled.
"No," Loki breathed. "He's Faust."
A/N: Sorry it's so short! The next few chapters will be very long and meaty. We have come to the climax, my friends! Hopefully I won't take too long to write it, lol.
As always, your reviews are often the best part of my day. Thank you so much for all of your support, I'm not sure I would have the perseverance to finish this if it weren't for you. I rarely finish my stories, and I've certainly never written anything this long. But I'll hang in there for you guys!
