Thanks to all of you for the very kind reviews on the last chapter! Yes, that story broke my heart too. I can't read Norse mythology anymore without just aching for Loki. No, I'm not saying that's where the "Seducer of Asgard" name definitely came from-the myths don't say that-but he took a ton of shit and had no one on his side. I really don't see how they can be surprised that he went from mischief to evil.
Also in the comments, several of you mentioned that you're DYING to get Loki's reaction to all this-just wait until next chapter, okay? I promise it's coming! I hope everyone had a fantastic holiday and is excited about the new year. I'm sitting in front of a roaring fire right now, writing the next chapter, and if all goes well, I'm hoping to have it up before 2013 rolls in. Wish me luck!
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When Tony returned with Bruce Banner and Steve Rogers in tow, Taryn's pain had receded again to a bearable level. She wasn't sure if it was because she was no longer upset or if the IV was giving her medication on a timer, but she was grateful for it.
She was less grateful to see Thor enter behind them.
Apparently it showed on her face, because his smile faltered and then died. "I would speak to you of my brother again, if it would not cause you undue distress." His voice was quiet, almost subdued, but his shockingly blue eyes were determined. Banner glanced at him with a little frown and Thor added, "After the good healer has given his permission, of course."
Taryn made another mental note–beeping watch causes everyone to freeze, Stark says he's not as harmless as he looks, he's able to cow a god with a mere look–Bruce Banner was quite the puzzle. She wondered if she'd be allowed to solve it. But right now there were more important things to concentrate on, she conceded reluctantly, and pushed her curiosity to the back of her mind. "I promised that I would help you stop him in any way that I can," she said. "I will answer all your questions."
"But first, I'd imagine you'd like a few answers of your own," Bruce said before Thor could start his interrogation. "What do you remember of what happened to you during the raid?"
Fury had asked her the same question but Taryn had been to frightened and in too much pain to really think about it. She took a moment to do so now, grateful that she was allowed to take her time. Finally she replied, "I heard the attack begin and thought I could escape during the confusion. I'd just made it to the main work space when there was some kind of grenade–I think it's called a flashbang? Whatever it was, it disoriented me and knocked out my hearing."
"Yes, we were using those," Steve confirmed with a nod. "It's a nonlethal way of subduing people."
Taryn remembered the way her head had spun, so dizzy and confused she could hardly string two thoughts together after the explosion. "Well, it works," she said dryly. "By the time I remembered that I should really be trying to get away, Loki's chief of security had recovered and made his way over to me. He picked me up and started to carry me away from the fighting. I tried to fight my way free of him but he was too strong and I was too scrambled, but then he suddenly dropped me–I think that's when I hurt my arm?" The inflection made it a question and she glanced at Bruce.
"Fractured your humerus just below the shoulder," he confirmed. "You have a hairline fracture of the collarbone as well, not serious, though."
"Then it felt like someone punched me in the back and I passed out," Taryn finished. Again she looked at Bruce. "Fury said I'd been shot."
"You were," he said, and even though she'd heard Fury say it, having it confirmed made her heart lurch. Bruce reached out and squeezed her hand reassuringly. Despite the way the rest of them reacted like he was something extremely dangerous, Taryn found his brown eyes and gentle smile soothing. "There's good news and bad news. Which do you want first?"
"The good," she said after a moment. She was running low on good news lately.
Bruce nodded. "All right. Fury and his minions must have done some emergency surgery on you when you first got here and that minimized the permanent damage. The bullet missed your spine and all your major blood vessels. And you can have a perfectly normal life once you're healed up."
Taryn bit her lip. Despite all that, she had a feeling there was a significant but in there somewhere. "And the bad news?"
His smile turned sympathetic. "I'm afraid that we're going to have to do another surgery very soon, Taryn. They did fine work on you, but I've been monitoring your blood levels and there's nothing I can do. You're going to lose a kidney." She gasped and he squeezed her hand again. "The bullet went right through it. You're lucky you didn't bleed out. They tried to save it but it's failing, and if I leave it much longer, it could necrose and cause a much bigger problem. Better to take it out first, and plenty of people live long, healthy lives with just one kidney. It could have been much worse," he said, still giving her that gentle smile. "And I know that doesn't help much. I'm sorry."
"Fury's a fuckstick," Tony growled, the only voice in the suddenly silent room. "He's a shit sucking donkey cock bitch and I'm gonna have JARVIS hack into his accounts and make him really miserable as soon as I'm back within reach of my toys."
"JARVIS?" Taryn asked at the same moment that Steve snapped, "Language, Stark!"
Tony ignored him. "My artificial intelligence program," he answered Taryn. "He can do nasty things in cyberspace that you wouldn't believe, and he doesn't give a shit how high Fury's security clearance is, no one's safe from him." This was said with a darkly gleeful smile that made Taryn glad he hadn't taken more offense at her, to use his phrase, Loki injection. "Trust me, sweetheart, he's not walking away from this one unscathed."
Steve's frown deepened. "Didn't anyone ever teach you to respect women?" he scolded. "You've just met the lady! I think sweetheart is a bit forward, not to mention your language."
Tony grinned, not a bit chagrined. "Hey, she's a gorgeous redhead, you expect me not to notice? C'mon, me?" Taryn blushed–really, getting complimented by the world's biggest playboy was enough to make anyone blush, even just after being told that she was going to have a major organ removed–and he winked lasciviously at her before turning that mocking smile back to Steve. "Or maybe you're jealous, is that it? Yeah, I admit you saw her first, but you snooze, you lose, Capsicle."
"What about Pepper?" Steve asked.
Tony shrugged. "I can look all I want, she doesn't mind. Besides, she knows I've got a thing for redheads. She won't be surprised."
Steve shot him a quelling look that had about as much impact as a water pistol against a charging rhino. "I don't suppose anyone's told you where you are yet, ma'am," he said with the air of one bringing a conversation back on topic.
"No," Taryn said, her brain whirling as it tried to process everything. It was shocking to realize that she'd been so distracted by everything else that she hadn't even had time to wonder where she'd been taken. "This looks like a ship, at least from what I saw when you carried me here," she added, glad both that she was starting to function again and that she had something to concentrate on besides Bruce's pronouncement.
Tony nodded. "It's a helicarrier–an aircraft carrier that flies. At this point classified status doesn't mean a whole lot," he added when Steve's frown turned into a full-fledged scowl.
"Yeah, she already knows pretty much everything there is to know about our super-classified enemy," Bruce agreed.
Tony spread his hands. "Exactly. After spending a few days with Thor's little brother and his magical jazz-hands, a flying aircraft carrier is probably small potatoes."
She wasn't sure about that but chose not to argue. "Where are you taking me?"
"You're free to go at any time," Steve replied. "But we'd like to ask you not to, please. This is a global threat and we sure could use your help."
"Of course," Taryn said quickly, then bit her lip. "As long as that Fury guy isn't the one doing the questioning–I'd be happy never to see him again. But I'm not all that eager for Loki to track me down again, either."
At that, Thor spoke up at last. "Do you think that he will try?"
"Yes." She didn't even have to think about it.
Thor crossed his massive arms and held her gaze for a long moment. Then, sighing, he reached into his pocket and withdrew a small glass vial. "Take this, then," he said, holding it out to her.
Taryn recognized the glowing green potion inside immediately. His eyebrows rose as she took it without hesitation. "You know what this is?" he asked.
She nodded. "Loki gave me one when I regained consciousness after he kidnapped me," she said. "I was ill from the aftereffects of his magic…" Her voice trailed off, unsure how to verbalize her surprise that Thor would give her such a thing after she'd inflicted all Loki's pain and hatred on him.
Apparently he was wrestling with surprise, too. "I would never have thought he would share such a treasure," Thor murmured, almost as though unaware he was speaking aloud. Then he looked up and met her eyes. "It would not have been easy for him to procure. These are rare and very valuable, and Loki has never been known for his generosity."
She wanted to argue that–she had plenty of memories of Loki giving gifts, things he'd fought and bled for, not least that hammer hanging at Thor's side–but forced that aside. "Why are you giving it to me?"
"And what is it?" Banner asked. "Because I'm suspicious of glowing green things, just so you know."
Thor ran a hand through his long hair. "It is a potion brewed by Lady Eir herself, the finest of Asgard's healers," he explained to the room at large. "It will heal any wound or ailment. Taryn Roswell, my brother has wronged you, and while I cannot undo that wrong, I can offer this, at least, to mend your hurts. Please accept this small gift in thanks for the aid you have offered our cause." He looked away briefly, but then held her gaze again. "And for showing me how my actions have harmed my brother," he added softly, painfully.
Taryn found her throat suddenly tight. Those blue eyes were shadowed with genuine pain, but beneath them she saw determination and, shockingly, love. Despite Loki's rejection, despite the memories showing how much he hated Thor, despite his attack on the world Thor had claimed for his own and lavished so much affection upon, Thor still loved his brother. How did Loki not see that? Because he didn't–that much she was sure of. He felt so alone, utterly abandoned. It would never, ever have occurred to him that Thor still held him in his heart.
If only she had some way to tell Loki! But he likely wouldn't believe it, not even from her. Instead of trying to force thanks through her constricted throat, she nodded to Thor and drank the little potion gratefully. The cool wave spread through her as it had days ago in Loki's bunker, but this time the process took longer. Tingling pressure settled over every wound, but especially in her low back, just where her kidney would be–the gunshot wound. When it receded, it took all her pain with it, and the haziness of the drugs as well.
Now she could speak. Meeting Thor's haunted gaze directly without trying to hide the grateful tears in her eyes, she said, "Thank you. And I am sorry for hurting you, earlier. I… I believe I may have misjudged you."
Thor bowed his head. "I fear you did not," he murmured. "But I am glad to have been of service to you."
Suddenly claustrophobic again, Taryn began to undo the velcro straps holding her formerly broken arm in place. After a moment, Bruce reached out to help her. Within minutes all her bandages were gone. When Bruce pulled the bandage from her back, he just stared at the smooth, unmarked skin for a long disbelieving moment before finally saying, "We really need to lay in a supply of those things. That's amazing."
"Yeah, says the guy who can't get hurt," Tony quipped, but he was also staring wide-eyed at her back. Taryn self-consciously tugged the gown back down and at her movement, Tony looked up with a wicked grin. "Aww, did you have to do that? I was enjoying the view!"
Taryn's cheeks heated but she was starting to realize that Stark's flirtation, while flattering, was completely harmless. Steve slapped the back of the billionaire's head. "Behave," he growled.
Bruce snorted. "That'll be the day."
Taryn swung her legs out of bed, stretched expansively and reveled in the lack of pain. "God, that's so much better," she groaned, letting her arms drop back down. Then she looked at the men before her one by one. "What's the plan now? What can I do to help you more?"
Steve scratched his chin as he thought. The others deferred to him, allowing him time to answer. Finally he replied, "We're on our way to New York now. Hopefully we'll find Loki before he has time to cause much chaos. You said you have his memories and you understand him. Can you give us any more details about his invasion force or the bridge he's planning to open to bring them here? Is there anything we could offer him, any way to negotiate with him to prevent this altogether?"
"I'm not sure. Let me think," she said, already beginning to search through the memories. But even as she did so, she had to fight the feeling that she was betraying Loki by helping his enemies–even though they had saved her from torture, even though they were fighting to save her very planet, part of her still hesitated.
The thought of hurting him upset her. And the fact that she gave the tiniest of damns about Loki's feelings made Taryn want to bang her head against the wall. If only that would get his memories out of there, before they further compromised her already-dented good sense.
Before the cost of understanding Loki became higher than she could bear to pay.
And that thought slapped her with the only thing that might have a chance of working. She closed her eyes, took a deep, shuddering breath, but nothing changed. It was still the only answer she could see.
"You have nothing to offer him," she finally said, forcing the words past suddenly numb lips. "But I might." Taryn opened her eyes, met Stark's. "Let me talk to him first. Let me try to reach him."
The others immediately protested, telling her all the reasons that was a terrible idea, but Stark just held her steady gaze. She wondered if he was thinking of that memory she'd given him. She hoped he was–hoped he realized now, on a visceral level that no words could ever convey, just how deeply she knew Loki.
"You got it," Stark said at last, his calm voice effectively silencing the others as they all stared at him in shock. "I'll fly you myself. How much time do you need?"
"Tony, what are you–"
"You can't just–"
"–returning her to my brother would–"
"An hour?" Taryn replied, ignoring the others just as Stark did. "More if I can have it."
"You probably can't," Tony replied, raising his voice a little to be heard over the uproar. "An hour's actually stretching it. But I'll give you as much time as I can. My jet will reach New York ahead of anything SHIELD has to offer. If we leave now, you should get close to an hour before the cavalry arrives."
"You can't seriously mean to drop her in Loki's lap without any protection!" Steve finally managed to make himself heard over the din.
Stark shrugged. "I'll be there with my suit. If things go bad, she can have JARVIS call me."
"That is slim comfort, Anthony Stark," Thor said, fists clenching and unclenching as though aching for something to punch. "If my brother chooses to harm her, your suit will avail you little."
"He won't hurt me," Taryn said quietly. Finally the room fell silent as every gaze fixed on her, caught by the surety in her voice. She felt her cheeks heat but didn't drop her eyes. "He won't. That's one thing I'm absolutely certain about."
Steve held her gaze for a long time before finally sighing. His shoulders drooped. "And you can convince him to put a stop to this invasion? You're really confident of that?"
Taryn spread her hands. "I won't lie and say I'm sure of it," she replied. "But I am sure that none of you have a chance in hell of talking him out of it. I want to try." She met each of their eyes in turn. "I want to try," she repeated softly, letting all her determination show in her gaze. "I may not be a superhero, but it's my planet, too."
The silence held for a long moment. Then Stark broke it by clapping his hands. "Well! If this is the plan, we gotta get it in gear, there's no time to waste," he said briskly. "I'll prep the jet while you get dressed. There's gotta be something you can wear somewhere on this flying monstrosity. Not that you don't look fabulous in the hospital gown, sweetheart," he added, grinning at her and dropping an outrageous wink, "but I don't think you want to fly across the world with your ass hanging out. Shame, too, since it's such a nice ass."
Romanov stepped forward and gave her a quick, appraising look. "I believe we are near the same size," she said after a moment. "I will lend you some jeans and a blouse."
"Damn," Stark sighed, clapping a hand over his arc-reactor. "You lucky girl, Taryn. I've been trying to get into her pants for years."
