Chapter 5
"Today's the big day people." Fury announces. A small, triumphant smile rests on his face. Most of the team seems, a little more than curious. Loki, however, was hesitant. The more he thought about it, the more disturbing it was. A young mortal girl would be mutated into… what? No one had told him what she would become. Perhaps, he thought, she will become something similar to what Banner is.
The assembled men and women walked in a group down to the bowels of the Heli-Carrier. In less than no time, the crowd gazed at a large, circular glass case. The cage was held in place by clamps that at a push of a button, would release the enclosure. The box was suspended ten feet off the ground; the floor could open up and drop the container into the air, falling to earth. It was similar to the cage made for the Hulk, except this one was smaller… and occupied.
Loki watched the girl curiously. Her face was equal parts nervous and sleepy. The drugs they had put in her, left her pale and shaky. Kate glanced at the scientists, doctors, and other men and women watching. There was no emotion in her gaze. Her stare lingered on Loki; a flicker of… something crossed her face for an instant. She just looked around idly. Loki smirked at her; maybe there was some anxiety. Her hands twisted the hem of her shirt; Kate was biting her lip; a small fidgeting every few seconds. He grinned at her. She was so human. When asked if she wanted to be mutated, she said she wanted to, but when it was time to act, she was slightly hesitant. Any sane being would have never even have allowed this to be done to them. Then again, Loki himself wasn't sure if he was truly sane. He continued his ponderings, while Fury explained to the gathering what was about to happen.
After a while he concluded his speech. Loki yawned obnoxiously. He snickered at a scientist who had tried to give him a scathing look, but his attempts were in vain considering how over-weight he was; like he could possibly intimidate Loki the God of Mischief.
A machine in the roof of the container lowered a large needle behind Kate's back. She twitched, as the needle was adjusted. At the last moment she yelled, "Wait!" Droplets of sweat glistened on her forehead. Her left hand twitched slightly. Those large eyes of hers glittered with emotion. Even from where he was standing, Loki knew they were more grey than normal.
She can't possibly be asking for this to not happen. Loki thought incredulously. With an amused smile he looked to Fury. His eye widened slightly, whether in surprise of disbelief, Loki would never know, but he motioned for Kate to speak, stopping the needle.
"Can't you at least knock me out?" she whined. Loki never had imagined that would come out of her mouth. He had fully expected her to beg him to not do it; to look to Loki for salvation. A small cold laugh escaped him, earning irritated glances from some of the scientists who were scribbling on their notepads. He paid them no heed; the girl had his full attention. How she intrigued him.
Even the emotionless director's mouth twitched in amusement. The man considered Kate for a moment, before talking quietly with the doctors and scientists. A few doctors shook their heads, arguing with each other, before deciding. One high strung scientist broke his pencil in utter anger before storming out of the room. Humans, so trivial, Loki thought.
"Sorry Kate, that's not possible." He said. Her shoulders slumped and if anything, the anxiety faded. How strange.
The needle was powered on again and started to slowly move toward Kate. Loki watched curiously as she gripped the hem of her shirt in her fists. Her body instinctively curved away from the needle. With her eyes shut tight, the needle finally pushed into her skin; right between the shoulder blades. A shocked gasp came out of her mouth. Loki took a step back in surprise when she started screaming.
The low wail echoed in the glass cage. Kate never moved an inch, not even her eyes opened, but her screaming continued to climb in crescendo. It didn't stop; it seemed like it would never stop. A variety of emotions graced the faces of the people. Shock, horror, curiosity, anxiety, and regret are just a few. Loki's current emotion was disgust. This was what experimentation did, causing destruction and pain. A feeling to help her started to form in his head. What was he thinking? He didn't care about the girl so much as he did the idea. This was wrong. And, besides, what could he do? If he tried to free her in this state, she wouldn't be able to move.
Unsurprisingly, Fury's face didn't display any such emotion. The only change was that his mouth had turned into a slight frown. This, for reasons unknown to him, made Loki infuriated. He finally gave up fighting his feelings. Didn't this man care that Kate was obviously in pain? Why didn't he stop this experiment? Could this kill her?
Loki was just about to ask all these questions, but someone else got there first.
"Fury! You have to stop this!" Rogers shouted. The super soldier shoved through the crowd and stood right in front of Fury. Some members of the group nodded their heads in agreement, including Loki. It was then that he noticed that the Avengers weren't present. The only one here was Rogers and he had forced his way in, judging by the collapsed door in the corner and the unconscious guards.
"The process can't be stopped and it hasn't killed her yet." He replied. This quieted the room. All eyes turned to Fury and Rogers. Revulsion and horror filled the pit of Loki's stomach. This was wrong. Loki's hands were clenched into fists. There was an adolescent mortal girl in a glass cage, like some sort of rodent being experimented on. This had to be stopped.
When did you grow a consceinness? A little voice in the back of his mind whispered. Where was this feeling when all those mortals died at your feet? It continued. You weren't worried about anyone, but yourself, especially with the idea of all those mortals on their knees before you.
Shut up. He told it.
A shouting match had erupted between the soldier and Fury. Until, "When did she stop?" a timid voice asked. His head snapped to the side to look at the glass cage. Anxiety warred with the compulsion to break the glass. Settling his emotions quickly, he rationalized that he should wait for the opportune moment to free Kate. A premature liberation could end in disaster.
The girl lay curled up in a ball. Violent tremors lanced through her body. She no longer screamed, but heart wrenching whimpers reached the ears of everyone present. The strange brown eyes were shut. Green and yellow lines raced under skin, forming complicated designs that faded after only a few seconds. Her rapid breathing never ceased. Kate dug her nails into the smooth floor again and again, like that would lessen her pain. There was no way to tell if she was unconscious or not.
Monitors in the room started going off. Her heart rate went to well over two hundred, and then down to the thirties in minutes. Her body would slack, but then she would grab her shirt and tug at it. This happened repeatedly.
"Sir, it's starting!" a woman called from a catwalk above. What's starting? Oh.
Colors shifted over her skin, eyelids, and hair. From vibrant blues to dull yellows, it at some point flashed across her skin. All the colors of the rainbow and many more Loki couldn't even name. And then, the ears came. Long, pointed ears sprouted out of the top of her head. They were similar to cat's ears, but more pointed. Her hair had an eerie silver sheen.
"What have we done?" someone whispered, clearly horrified.
Loki, frankly, couldn't comprehend what was happening. What had they given her, to make her this…animal? By now the initial commotion had died down. Scientists rushed from monitor to monitor adjusting things and muttering. All Loki could do was stand at the railing, stunned and wishing he had something else to do besides watch her gruesome transformation.
"Director, her transformation will be complete in six days." A man said quietly to Fury. The man nodded, clapped his hands together, and announced, "If you are not instrumental in this phase of the experiment please leave."
Several men and women left. A few glanced at the creature in the cage before leaving reluctantly. In no time, only Rogers, Fury, Loki, and four scientists remained.
"Steve, Loki you can go now." Fury said coolly. Rogers shot him a glare before storming out of the room. Loki, however, stayed. "Loki, do I need to force you out?" he asked sarcastically.
"Can I not remain?" he murmured just loud enough for Fury to hear. No malice or disrespect filled his voice; only calm; the complete opposite to the storm inside of him.
The director considered him. He seemed puzzled, but hid it well. "No. Your time will come to work with her. Anyone can come and watch tomorrow, but right now the main doctors are working; so do not cause any trouble." A faint blush rose to Loki's cheeks. Why must this man assume he always wanted to cause trouble? He did want to observe, if for the purpose of entertainment. That was what he wanted, right; distraction from his own troubles for a time… but what about the girl? Was this solely for his amusement? Great, he thought, irritated, Am I really starting to contradict myself? I've been around mortals for far too long. Perhaps it is time to return to Asgard. No, I can still have some fun here.
Loki turned around and walked briskly out of the room, feeling reluctant. As he left, he didn't notice the Widow on a cat walk above him, tense and watching the girl. The little mortal girl needed somebody besides those cold people to be with her. Then again, he wasn't necessarily a kind person either. He sighed. Maybe he needed some fresh air to clear his head.
With, quick decisive footsteps, he got to the top of the Heli carrier. It was great. The brisk air whipped through his hair and cooled him down a little. He took a deep breath. Lost in his own thoughts, he never noticed the SHIELD agent behind him.
"Hey, could you change my hair back?" she asked quickly. Loki turned around and looked at her. She smiled hopefully at him slightly, but the smile was quenched from her face. No sound was made as they looked at each other. It took him a moment to understand what she meant. His eyes narrowed in thought.
"What is your name mortal?" he asked. She looked at him, puzzled.
"Um, Agent Batler. You turned my hair green a few days ago, and it looks like something barfed on me. Can you change it back?" she bit her lip the whole time she talked. It made her voice muffled and it was slightly annoying. Nevertheless, Loki was curious as to what he could get out of the situation. She was bold to ask him. Half the agents feared him, while the other half looked down at him with disdain.
"Hey. Cassia, why you with him? I have a shotgun in my bunk if you need it." A gangly man sidled up to Agent Batler and put his arm around her, chuckling like he had just said the most hilarious thing. Loki gave him a cold glare. Agent Batler, on the other hand, blushed and muttered something about favors.
"Well, if you need anything doll, you know where to find me. As for you, scum, stay away from me if you know what's good for you." He sneered at Loki before spitting on his shoes. Something dangerous flashed in Loki's eyes. How dare this pompous mortal say such a thing? Rage pulsed through him, but he quickly reined it in before he lost control.
He gave the man a simpering smile. "That's something I've always had trouble with, you see. Knowing what's good for me. One thing I know for certain though is that an insolent, obnoxious, and cocky mortal like you, needs to be taught a lesson." Loki got right up in the man's face, each word coming out as a hiss.
A deep green light wreathed Loki's fingers and transferred into the agent. The man started to shake and whine. Loki hastily returned the magic to himself as Thor lumbered over.
"Brother! How are you? Have you heard anything about Kate?" he asked. Thor didn't notice the quivering agent beside him.
"Last I heard she was being injected." Loki lied. Thor didn't know about the planned injection? Why had Loki been the only one to know? There was something going on here.
"Ah. Who are you, fair mortal?" he asked Agent Batler. Loki tried to hide his grin as the agent fumbled for words. The woman seemed to be tongue-tied. It was extremely amusing. Her blush was as obvious as her hair.
"Agent Batler, Mr. Odinson." She replied. Loki's smile dropped. Of course Thor was addressed so formally. After all he wasn't just the God of Mischief; he was the Fallen Prince of Asgard. Loki's gaze darkened.
"It's getting rather bright out here. I think I'll go inside." Loki said, but was held back by Thor.
"Wait brother, do you not wish to talk to us?" Thor seemed genuinely curious. Agent Batler however, looked sheepish.
"I don't enjoy the company of naïve mortals, Thor. You have something in common with them." He snapped. "Let go of me, Thor." He added darkly. The oaf released him and Loki stormed back into the Heli carrier, only feeling slightly guilty at what he had said.
It had been four days. Four days since Kate had been injected and Bruce was worried. She shouldn't be changing this fast. Her growth rate had accelerated astronomically. Her age was still twelve, but she had grown. She resembled an older teenager. Not only had she grown, but she now had a tail and wings. Her tail wasn't as long as it would be. At the moment it was small, but would someday be very long. Her wings were like young bird wings, fragile but soon growing. The pigment in her cells was constantly changing, but it seemed they preferred a light cobalt and white look. Every once and a while a few words would float over her skin, like space, bananas, and fantastic. He wasn't completely sure what 'bananas' had to do with anything, but it was her mind. Overall, she looked like something out of a comic book.
"How's today's progress Banner?" Fury asked from a catwalk. Bruce was annoyed with his hovering. Literally and metaphorically; the man never left the cat walks. He forced down his irritation, trying to seem patient.
"Better. She seems to be growing fine and will soon be awake… I think. Her bones are reconfiguring and it is, quite frankly, amazing. Her skin can't seem to decide on pigment though. The skin cells could be one color, normal pigment, or even constantly shifting to adapt to her surroundings. We won't know much else until tests are run when she wakes up." He called up to the man. While talking, he furiously typed in commands on his tablet. A young doctor eagerly showed him her readings on Kate's bones. He nodded and smiled, wishing she would leave him alone. All this stress was really making it hard for him to keep the other guy away.
He glanced worriedly at the sleeping girl. She hadn't moved position in two days. At some points, her breathing had stopped. Bruce didn't like this. Now that he knew the girl, it was hard to have a clear conscious. He had to keep reminding himself that his job was to carry out the experiment, not give therapy. That was another guy's job.
How can this be right? A little voice murmured. Lately that little voice had been reminding him of his doubts. It was irritating. He shook his head and went back to work. At least it's me and not some other idiot doing this. That was some consolation.
"Sir, he's here again. Should I let him in?" a guard asked. The graphs he was seeing had him completely immersed. Bruce had assumed the guard was asking Fury, not him, after all Fury was the head Director of SHIELD.
"Doctor Banner?" he asked. Bruce looked at the guard, surprised.
"It's really not my concern. Director Fury is the one you should be asking." He smiled at the guard's sheepish look and turned back to his work. Must be a newbie, he thought.
"But sir? He told me to defer to you."
"To me? Okay, well go let him in." he said heavily. With a sigh, he turned to meet his guest.
"Let me in." he restated. The guard ignored him, again.
"Do you know who I am? I could easily kill you without my magic!" he seethed. The insolent guard continued ignoring him. In truth, Loki actually couldn't kill him, it was part of the enchantments Odin had placed on him, but he wanted to see the girl. He wanted to see what had happened to her. His curiosity was driving him mad. That's what he told himself; only curiosity, no other emotions.
"Mr. Lafeyson-" the guard never finished because something had snapped. Deep rage filled Loki. In a flash he had grabbed the jaw of the man and looked him in the eyes.
"Never. Call. Me. That. Again." He threatened. His voice remained soft, but there was an underlying tone that was chilling. Now, the guard was nervous, and Loki relished in the terror. How he had missed striking fear in others, especially those below him.
"Yes, Sir." The guard said, his voice shaky. Loki let go, but not before squeezing hard. The guard rubbed his jaw and muttered into a mouthpiece, before walking into the room beyond the doors he was guarding. He tried to look over the guard's shoulder, to get a peek, but it was in vain. He was too slow.
"Come on, come on." Loki muttered to himself. The stupid man had been in there for at least five minutes. Did it take this long to ask to be let inside? He was sorely tempted to just barge in, but thought otherwise. A better way to win trust is to cooperate, even if he was impatient while doing so.
It was another minute, but the guard finally returned, telling him he could go in.
"So as not to waste my time again, just let me enter when I ask!" he spat. The guard resumed his position and his face went blank. Loki rolled his eyes in annoyance.
With more force than necessary, he pushed the doors open, leaving imprints from his hands. His eyes searched the room, finding the glass cage instantly. What have they done? All the blood drained from his face when he saw her. Loki stood in the doorway, overcome by disbelief and revulsion. They had turned an innocent girl into a monster. The only way he could describe her, was a mound of fur and feathers; all a violent shade of orange sprinkled through with white streaks. Smudges of green would appear, but those spots would fade quickly. He swept over to Banner, who stood , completely relaxed, looking at a screen.
"What have you done?" he breathed venomously in Banner's ear. The scientist whipped around, surprise flashing in his eyes. The man tapped a button and all the data on the screen was put away from Loki's prying eyes.
"What I was told to do. She's fine, but I thought you didn't care?" he asked, with an eyebrow raised slightly. The two men stood close together, Banner calculated something in his head quickly. He pressed something into Loki's hand discreetly, before resuming his neutral expression.
For a moment, Loki was lost for words. "I don't care about your project or the girl, just the small fact that what you have created is a monster, and it will most likely kill anything in its path." As he talked, Loki shoved his hand in his pocket to put whatever it was away. He was a little surprised that he meant it. That thing would be killing machine.
"She isn't an 'it'. Once her wings are fully grown, we will put on special clips that prevent her from using them. When she awakes, you will be here to settle her mind." Fury said as he walked down a stair case in a corner. Loki grudgingly respected his timing in these types of circumstances. Hopefully he hadn't seen Banner.
"Oh, I forgot, you don't really care how dangerous or wrong something is, unless it is in your control do you? Remember the Tesseract?" he spat the director.
"Oh, come on, now. I thought we were over that." He replied calmly, with a little mock sadness mixed in.
Loki's lip curled. "We will never 'get over' what happened." How could he just stand there while that thing in the cage grew and grew. Forget what feelings he'd had for the girl. She had been changed too greatly. He couldn't even imagine the state her mind would be in, once she, no it, woke up.
Loki and Fury continued to argue, the quarrel escalating in both volume and ferocity. Loki didn't notice that while he and Fury argued, the thing in the cage had woken up.
Food. Pain. Cap. Kentucky. Help. Hole. Darkness. Food.
So many disjointed thoughts clouded Kate's mind that she didn't even think about where she was, who she was, or what she was.
Focus. She started to calm her breathing and suppress the jagged, broken thoughts swarming her head. A focus point was what she needed. In her head, a memory surfaced; it was a memory of a green baseball cap. Slowly, her mind came together again, piece by piece, fragment by fragment.
Kate Smithton, I was homeless, taken by SHIELD, a god helped abduct me, I was changed. She repeated this in her head until she felt confident she wouldn't go insane.
With a little hesitation, her eyes opened. It was bright, very bright. She was warm and felt reasonably comfortable. She was lying partially on her stomach and partially on her side. One wing was draped over her arm. Was there something wrong with that sentence? What was it? It took her longer than it should have to realize what was amiss.
What?! Wings?! How?! She had wings; large, soft, wings that shifted color constantly. One moment they were blue, then brown, and then they were swirls of colors. She propped her elbow under her, but it collapsed from exhaustion. Now, that she looked closer, she saw how long she was. Her entire body was covered in feathers, fur, and scales. A scream threatened to erupt in her throat. The only thing stopping it was the fact that she worried it would sound like a roar. Kate slumped back to the floor in defeat. The jagged thoughts were taking over. The shock of seeing herself had let her walls down. An eternity must have passed by the time she opened her eyes again.
Instead of looking at herself, she looked through the glass of her cage. Loki, Dr. Banner, and Fury stared at her. A mixture of disbelief and other conflicting emotions crossed their faces. She noted the look of disgust in Loki's eyes. A flicker of movement on a cat walk above caught her eye, but she couldn't focus enough for the image to settle.
She couldn't help but feel a little hurt Loki's look. Brief confusion at his reaction sparked anger. Was he disgusted with her? Why would he be? That didn't matter though. Dr. Banner was saying something to her. Her ears picked up the frequencies, but it was so loud. A head ache started to grow in her left temple, until it spread to the rest of her brain.
The instinct to rub her ears was the first thing she felt. She reached up and touched them; cat ears. I have cat ears. At that point, she gave up. The horrible jagged thoughts took back over, engulfing Kate in her own mind. It was better this way.
"How is she awake?" Banner muttered. Loki didn't care about the science involved or anything else. All that mattered was the mutated creature just feet away. She looked at him, with those strange brown eyes and he could see that her mind was broken. He saw her fight the pain and think. Something along the lines of respect started to form. This girl had been mutated, for lack of a better word, yet she still tried to still be Kate Smithton. Too bad that would never happen.
"She shouldn't even be awake for another day or so. This isn't possible." He continued. The man continued his muttering, while measuring things on a tablet. Loki couldn't help but feel exasperated at him. A lot of things mortals called 'impossible' were very possible.
"What exactly did you have in mind for me to do?" Loki asked Fury. He needed to change the topic, if ever so slightly.
"To stabilize her mind." Fury gave him a look that said, 'What other stupid questions do you have?'
When he asked when he was to start, all the Director said was, "Not now." And turned away, disappearing into the shadows.
The shadows were her favorite place. No one noticed individual shadows. Perhaps she was the only one who still counted the shadows at night. Either way, shadows were not important at the moment; Kate was.
Below, she watched Bruce work. Fury was lingering in the stairwell, and Kate was curled up in a ball like normal. She had been waiting in the highest catwalks for days, not sleeping. She had to continue watching and documenting everything until she could do something. Never, had she been told of this plan. And that was maddening, but not important any more.
The nightmares she had every night, didn't stop. They weren't nightmares about all the people she had killed, all the horrible scenarios she had been in, or even the battle of New York. No, her terrible nightmares were of how she had become what she was. Kate didn't need that.
The woman watching the proceedings below knew what had to happen; especially when Bruce pressed the paper into Loki's hand. It was time to start Avenger One protocol.
Loki stared at the note again and again. As soon as he had gotten to his room, he had taken out the thing Banner had given him. It was a note. It said: LHR 394, 23:27, we agree. The note was cryptic. He assumed 23:27 was the time. A few suspicions formed as to who 'we' was.
This could be a trap, He thought. No, it wouldn't be logical or wise. Banner didn't seem to hold any malice towards him anyhow. So why would he need to go? This was certainly about Kate. After a few minutes contemplating the pros and cons, he made up his mind. It wouldn't hurt to go and see what this was about. After memorizing the short message, he promptly destroyed it.
He had a few hours until he had to leave, so Loki decided to scope out the area. With quick footsteps, he left his room and searched for room 394. He passed room after room. Meandered down hallway after hallway and still couldn't find it. In his head he pictured the note. It had said 'LHR 394'. He had assumed LHR was just a phrase used for room, but not anymore. The SHIELD badge around his neck had a map in it and he tapped the icon on the little screen. His long fingers scrolled down the holographic Heli carrier. Finally he zoomed in. Each level had a number. Maybe the letters corresponded with the numbers. In his mind's eye he put the letters above the numbers. 'LHR' must stand for Level, Hallway, and Room. With deft hands he located hallway nine on level three. The room wasn't even listed on the map. Strange, but he felt he was onto something.
In a flash, he was in hallway nine. This hallway was dedicated to science that much was obvious. Large glass windows offered view into the spacious sterile labs. The scientists scurried from station to station, scribbling on notepads and conversing. Each lab had a number; one, two, and three. Obviously, four had yet to be built. Frustration started to form. He must be wrong. He was about to leave and forget about the note, when something clicked. There were four doors. Yes, three led to labs, but the fourth was marked, Sanitation; an unmarked janitor's closet. How clever. It was tucked away from the snooping security camera's view.
Loki sidled over the door and tugged the handle; locked. All he had to do was will the lock to open and it did. He smiled mischievously. This was too easy. Without a sound, he slipped in. Loki didn't bother with the light switch; he just conjured a glowing ball of light that floated around the room. The contents of the closet were what you would expect; a few nondescript brooms and mops, bottles of cleaning liquids, a mechanics toolbox, and rags in varying states of disrepair. The walls were chipped and rough. Nothing out of the ordinary what so ever.
A frown formed on his face. He now knew that this might take some time. He looked over the contents of the room two, three, four times but found nothing. This was absolutely frustrating. He must have looked over something. In his head, he pictured everything in the room; brooms, bottles, rags, buckets, box-. Wait.
His anger forgotten, he picked up a small blue box on the highest shelf. It was small, no bigger than his hand, and very detailed. The blue box said 'Police Box'. He puzzled over it. Who would put such a thing in a closet? Something inside rattled when he shook it. He carefully pushed the little door open and looked inside. 'It's bigger on the inside.' was written in curly lettering on the back wall. The box housed a very small card, similar to his SHIELD badge. The card fell into his hand. It was much smaller than his SHIELD badge and very ostentatious; bright gold with red accents. It looked like something Stark would like. On one side, in white lettering was, 'Bucket three, twist, enter awesomeness.' Loki would have preferred a code. This was ridiculous. He studied the card further before putting it back into the little blue box and returning it to the shelf. The buckets on the ground were arranged in numerical order. What is it with SHIELD and numbers? He wondered absently. Bucket three was just like the others. He tried to move it, but it was cemented to the floor. Strange, he thought. He tried opening it, but to no avail. He noticed a small slit in the side. Reaching up again, he grabbed the box and took the card out. With quick fingers he inserted the card. The lid to the bucket popped off. Inside was another slit just like the first, but this one was in the bottom. Again, he inserted the card. There was a beep before a small screen appeared next the slit. It was a fingerprint scanner. Loki didn't try it. Now that he knew were the meeting was, he didn't need to try to get anywhere else. Satisfied, he replaced the card to the box again. Making sure to leave everything as it was before, Loki slipped back into the hall.
A strange thrill settled in his stomach, as hours later, he made his way discreetly to the closet. In his mind he planned to be five minutes early. That way he wouldn't look uneasy about his surroundings. In his brisk pace, he made it to the closet quickly. He opened the door and slipped inside. With deft movements, he opened the box, got the card, and inserted it into the slots. When it came time for his fingerprint, he didn't hesitate. It beeped and the screen flashed green.
"Welcome, Loki of Asgard." said a voice. It startled Loki slightly. He hadn't expected that. A moment later a 'ding' was heard. He looked at the wall opposite him, wide eyed. What he had thought was just a blank wall was actually a concealed elevator. The doors opened and Loki hesitantly entered. The interior of the elevator was shabby and almost seemed cobbled together; one wall was cardboard, another plaster. A panel near the doors had a few buttons on it, all painted different colors. He was at a loss as to which he should push.
"Do you require assistance?" The voice said again. Even though he knew it was just a computer generated voice, he thought he detected amusement in its words.
"Yes, which button am I supposed to press?" he asked wearily. He had never talked to any other A.I. other than Jarvis. Jarvis was so like a person it wasn't strange, but this A.I. was different.
"Mr. Stark and the rest of the Avengers are meeting in S.C. A." it answered.
All the buttons had strange symbols, but none were simply the letter A. "Would you like me to just take you there, sir?"
Loki was relieved. Maybe it was similar to Jarvis. "Yes, please. What is your name?" he asked as the lift started to descend.
"I do not have a name. My name could be N4HR.5." it droned. Loki nodded. "Besides Jarvis I am the only other fully functioning A.I." it continued steadily.
A short period of silence took place. Loki stood in the back of the elevator, thinking. The doors started to slide open slowly. Before he left though, the A.I. spoke again. "I have always liked the name Rose, though." Loki stopped a moment. Did the A.I. just name itself?
A small smile came to his face before he turned around and said, "Thank you for all your help, Rose."
"You are welcome Loki of Asgard." It said. This time when it spoke, it sounded female. Yes, she is very much like Jarvis. Loki thought.
He turned on his heel and entered the room before him. Dull grey walls, a large round conference table, and a myriad of fast-food bags littered the floor. Loki's nose wrinkled at the smell.
"I know it smells bad. I've been telling the boys for weeks now to clean." Agent Romanoff said from the other side of the room. She leaned against the wall, taking refuge in the shadows. A light in the ceiling offered the only luminance. Even with the dim light, it was hard to make out the trash on the floor. He tripped a few times. This earned chuckles from the agent. He glared at her briefly before taking a seat at the table.
"So," he said casually, "What is this place?"
"Stark wanted a 'Club House' for the Avengers and he made this place. He didn't think about the fact that it would need to be clean." She muttered. He nodded. That definitely seemed like something Stark would do.
"Did you have trouble finding this place?" she asked, trying to strike up conversation.
Loki changed the topic, not wishing to discuss that at the moment. "Why am I here Agent Romanoff?" He asked with a sigh.
She eyed him wearily. "Haven't you figured it out yet? I thought you were smarter than that." She scoffed. Loki's eyes darkened. He slowly stood up and deliberately made his way over to her. She shifted uncomfortably as he got closer, but held her ground. He grudgingly respected her for that. Loki loomed over her. Too late the widow realized he had backed her up into a corner. Her brow furrowed as she looked up at him.
"I am many things Romanoff, but I am not stupid. If you doubt that again, you may not like the consequences." He growled. For a few extra seconds, he stood over her, glaring at her darkly. Then suddenly, he whirled away, settling back in his chair like nothing had happened. He smirked at the glare she sent him.
Just as he was wondering if anyone else would show up, Rogers entered the room. The soldier nodded at him and Romanoff before taking a seat.
"Thought you guys would have cleaned up." The widow said to Rogers. He just shrugged and looked at Loki.
"So you got the message." Loki rolled his eyes and gave him a look that said, 'Really?' "I knew you were called Captain America, not Captain Obvious." He retorted. Loki outwardly cringed. It was really a horrible response. The captain just rolled his eyes, while the widow snorted. He was surprised to see a few somber faced agents walk in through a different elevator towards the back of the room, then again, humans were cleverer than they seemed. One of the entering agents was Agent Batler. She stood out from the other agents, with her green hair and large, observing eyes. When she saw him, she blushed slightly. He simply frowned and turned away. The three agents sat down and looked at him silently. He stared back at them, memorizing their faces. One, a woman seemed oddly familiar.
Another ten minutes past before Banner and Stark exited the elevator. Stark smiled cheekily at Loki and winked at Agent Batler, who intern, rolled her eyes. Pepper came through yet another door in the wall. This one was very hard to see when it closed behind her. He had to give it to Stark; he did know how to design secret doorways. Thor came in via the door Pepper had used.
"Alright, is everyone here?" Stark stood up and asked. He looked around at the all the faces.
"I would like to know why I am here. I gather that this isn't something Fury knows about." Loki stated, eyeing Rogers.
Banner looked at him and said, "You agree with us that what is happening to Kate is wrong." Loki nodded, made sense really. But he performed the experiment? There was definitely more to this story than meets the eye.
"Now that applies to all of you. So, what are we going to do about it?" Stark asked. He almost sounded like he was talking to a group of children.
"We could break her out." A young agent suggested. This was met with a lot of nodding and a scoff from Loki. Like this hadn't occurred to most of them.
"I'm sorry bu-" Loki was interrupted by Stark. "No, I don't think you are." The man muttered loud enough for everyone to hear.
"Tony!" Pepper hissed. "I mean, please enlighten us, oh mighty Loki!" he said dramatically. He made a flamboyant wave in Loki's direction.
Loki narrowed his eyes and glowered at him. Then he continued, with just a hint of anger, "If you don't agree with this, why did you even carry out the experiment, Banner?" He honestly wasn't that mad about Stark's behavior, but about Banner's actions.
The scientist sighed heavily, the guilt plainly written across his face. "Just let me explain. Three years ago, after Ultron, Fury approached me with an idea. A genetically altered human who could be the next Hulk slash Captain America. At the time, I had no idea about Kate. I just assumed it would be used on a willing participant, not a twelve year old kidnapped girl. I agreed to make the serum. About a year ago, I saw the list of subjects; three, two boys and a girl. I researched the three of them, coming up with little information; there was a little less than normal for the boys and next to nothing on Kate. I'm still not sure why." He stopped for a moment, tracing a pattern on the table, his brow furrowed with frustration and confusion. He took a deep breath and continued.
"The two boys were twins, sons of one of the scientist in the bio-chemical lab. There genes weren't compatible with my serum. Fury was very specific. He wanted this, for lack of a better word, mutant, to be able to camouflage into its surroundings, be incredibly strong, fast, and intelligent. He also asked me to try to give the subject wings. That was tricky, but obviously it worked." He paused, a quirky, humorless smile showed through briefly. "As soon as I found out it was going to be used on a kid I backed out. I told Fury I wouldn't perform the procedure on a child. He told me he would do it with or without me. I had to do it then. If some other idiot from bio-chem did it, the consequences could be drastic. I didn't want her to be impaired, so I agreed. The only reason why I did it was to make sure she wasn't injured severely in the experiment." He finished. Banner's eyes were so sad and guilt ridden, it was pitiful. Loki knew he wasn't lying and felt much better because of it. He would always deny feelings for Kate, but she needed someone to look after her. He was very glad he wasn't the only one who wanted to help. It would make this much easier.
"Alright then, let's make a plan to break her out." Stark said into the murky silence filling the room.
Banner straightened in his chair, and looked at Stark. "We can't get her out of here until after she wakes up. If we get her out now, she won't be able to operate. She could hurt herself or others at the moment. I say we wait to make a move until after she's awake and can function. Another thing to take into consideration is that her mind when she wakes up won't be like it was." When he finished, several of the attendants made notes. Loki just turned the pad of paper in front of him into a small dragon that flew into the Widow's hair. She turned and gave Loki a savage look before snatching the poor little creature back at him. He snapped his fingers and it disappeared into a puff of smoke that smelled like paper. A few snickers were heard and plenty of glares were sent his way; except a few people did ignore the stunt, such as Pepper. But Stark did smirk at Romanoff. Rogers simply put his head in his hands and sighed.
"But surely she'll want to leave, to escape." Pepper said. Her statement snapped the group back to seriousness, and even Loki straightened slightly in his chair.
"Not necessarily, she may be so confused that she might think SHIELD is-" Stark was cut off as the elevator dinged behind him. He turned around in surprise, so did Loki. The doors parted to reveal Agent Maria Hill. Loki groaned internally. As much as he detested the Avengers, he had a special hatred reserved for Agent Hill. She had shot him in the shoulder mere minutes after he showed up on Midgard. Although bullets wouldn't kill him, they still hurt, very much so. Hill most likely didn't know, but he still felt his pride wounded by the fact. He made a mental note to get revenge on her for it.
"Sorry I'm late. Thanks for the invite, Natasha." Romanoff nodded her head slightly, and a small smile lit her cold face before it vanished. There were no empty seats available, so Hill leaned against the wall, observing the group.
"Loki," She said coldly, when she saw him. "I didn't think you cared about anything but world domination?"
"Contrary, to common belief I was not my self during that time. I actually care about the severity of the situation, even though I don't harbor any emotional feelings for her." That last part was a complete lie, but no one could lie better than Loki himself. Too late though, Loki realized he had let himself slip during his explanation to Hill. The anger in him was always there, but normally he was better at controlling his emotions. It was getting harder and harder every day now.
"What do you mean, 'You weren't yourself?'" she asked skeptically. By now, the room was silent and all eyes were trained on the god. The tense feeling in the air was thick enough to cut with a knife. Only Thor and Frigga knew what had happened to him, but even then, they only knew bits and pieces. It was his story and no one would understand; ever.
"We are here to talk about the girl, not myself." He replied coldly. His words carried through the room, ending their small debate with finality. No one would meet his eyes, but it wasn't with fear… were they uncomfortable? Good, he thought, that is not something I wish to discuss, now or ever.
Banner briefly explained what they had been talking about previously. Hill nodded and offered her own thoughts on the break out.
"Hey, guys listen. You're planning this whole big scheme on getting her out, but you realize you don't even know how her mental state is. We need to find out how her brain is thinking, before doing anything else." Romanoff said. Banner, Pepper, and Hill nodded in agreement.
"Okay and who can do that?" Stark asked, with fake look of confusion. "Oh yeah. Our resident magician Loki." Stark turned to look at him, smiling cheekily. Loki's face remained impassive.
"If you hadn't realized, I can't very well get into her cage. Even if I could, I can't guarantee helpful results. The mind is complex. Extremely elaborate plains of thought exist. Her mind could be broken so completely that I can't even get in. It would be like she was dead. Or, she could just be in a kind of disjointed nightmare. Those are the most common, but there are multiple possibilities." Loki explained. For once, there was no malice or sarcasm in his statement. At the moment, he and SHIELD and the Avengers were on the same team; if temporarily.
"Ah, well you should get in easily. Agent Batler here works in diagnostics."
The agent studied Loki's face. "I can't promise much. Only that the door will be open between 4:15 and 4:16 a.m. tomorrow morning; right when my shift ends." Loki nodded. He couldn't waste a second. Plans started to form without him even needing to consciously try. He even had a mental checklist of everything he needed to do.
After that was settled, the other agents that accompanied Batler entered the discussion, offering their areas of expertise. Loki's attention was diverted to Thor. He was tapping his fingers on the table. There was no rhythm whatsoever and it was more irritating than Oden. Loki snapped his fingers briskly. The burst of magic he sent, slithered across the table, like some surreal serpent. The pale green magic wound around Thor's fingers, stopping the movement before fading into the air. The tapping stopped, but he sent him a glare. In return, he flashed a smirk and shrugged.
After many dull hours of conversation on topics that didn't concern him, he found his mind drifting to other things. More than once he had wondered about Kate's past. What had happened to her parents? What had happened to her? She couldn't have been homeless for more than a year. Why did she always flinch when she was touched? He remembered when she had hugged him; she had instinctively flinched, even though she had initiated the hug. There had to be a reason behind that.
But these weren't the most pressing of issues. His main query was why he even cared. He could be back on Asgard, planning a way to escape the All Father. After searching his inner most thoughts, he came to the only plausible conclusion; he could use Kate to break free.
Loki was thoroughly bored. Never be early to a jail break. That would be his advice to anyone curious, because at the moment, he was just standing in the shadows, waiting. Although, he didn't have enough magic to be invisible, he had just enough to make himself look like a shadow. A few guards had passed by already and hadn't even glanced.
Ten minutes early! Why had he thought that a good idea? Why?
Finally, it was 4:14. He let the shadow illusion drop and quietly slunk inside. The only thing he focused on was getting to the control panel, and not getting caught. By no means, was he to look inside that glass cage until absolutely necessary.
"Okay, almost time." He muttered. The seconds were like hours, ticking on and on. No one was in the room but himself and Kate. With a deep breath, he walked over the door and waited. Finally, he heard the tell-tale click of the door opening. It was now or never.
Loki walked inside. Within seconds, the door clicked and slid closed behind him. He was vaguely aware that he was now locked inside with the creature. He didn't really care. This was his chance to see what was in this thing's head. To see if any human was left of the girl.
Hello! Welcome back to my odd story! Hope you liked it and I just saw Civil War and oh my gosh oh my gosh oh my gosh oh my gosh! It's so freaking amazing! Won't spoil anything but it's so freakin cool! Please REVIEW! I love review! Great motivation! I'll post every Monday! By the way, someone from India read this! That's so cool! Review, Fave, and Follow!