Author's Note: Chapter 6 revised now!
A few hours later, they all have to assemble in the lab, upon a call from Coulson. As Loki enters, now in a plain outfit, but still with the same appearance, all eyes are instantly on her. She smirks her trademark smile and takes a stance aside without a word, casually leaning against the wall, hugging her arms. She expected no less.
"Coulson just informed us about this here," Natasha says and nods at the screens. The display shows a bunch of Gremlin-like creatures.
"Eww, I bet those are slimy," Tony makes a face.
"They are not from here," Thor shakes his head.
"Who could've guessed?" Tony rolls his eyes.
"Thor, you know these?" Steve asks the thunderer, who shakes his head, "No, I never crossed with such creatures. Whatever realm they stem from, I do not know it."
"Awesome, more aliens," Tony snorts.
"As far as SHIELD could gather, they found a way here because of some funny portal open for their use. They already terrorized a whole city – and they work on expanding their territory, fast," Clint tells them.
"How many are we talking about?" Steve asks and Natasha replies with a grimace, "One hundred, until now."
"Until now?" Steve frowns.
"New ones continue coming through the portal," she shrugs. "So our task is to stop those Gremlin-things and then shove what is still alive back through the portal to close it again."
"Do we have anything on those monsters and what their weaknesses might be?" Tony asks.
"So far no bombs or explosives worked on them. When shotguns were fired at them... nothing... this is gonna be so much fun," she puckers her lips.
"We are leaving immediately," Clint tells them. "Banner? Would you stay here to look for a way to break through the portal?"
"Sure," Bruce nods.
Clint glances at Loki and snarls, "And you, don't do anything stupid while we are gone."
Loki says nothing, just remains in her spot as the others leave the room. Soon one can hear the helicopters leaving, still, Loki remains in her spot, not moving by just an inch.
"... you may also sit down somewhere. You don't have to stay in the corner," Bruce tells her. That being said, Loki moves up to one of the chairs to settle down on, far away enough not to make Bruce feel uncomfortable, but not too far away to give him the feeling that she is afraid. She really knows the fine line, the doctor has to admit.
"I didn't think you'd actually be that... obedient?" Bruce asks, eyes fixed on the screens. She glances at him, squinting her thickly eye-lashed eyes together. She really is a beauty.
"Well, before you gave more of the impression that no one gets to tell you anything, yet...," Bruce shrugs, and Loki replies calmly, "I know my place."
"Yeah?" Bruce blinks at her. That seems hardly possible for someone like Loki.
"I'm the ant under the boot. I have no trouble with that, though. It does not burden me," Loki sighs.
"It doesn't? It would bother me to consider myself that," Bruce makes a face, but she only gives it a shrug, "Given what I have done... it really doesn't bother me, and it would be folly to be adamant about my status being any higher."
"Alright...," the doctor grimaces. Bruce goes on with his work and tries to ignore the woman beside him. He wants to hate this woman. A part of him really wants to, after what Loki almost brought him to with his tricks when they first got to know each other. It may have been brief, but it was enough for Bruce to decide that this person could never become his friend. Yet, here he sits and feels not in the least uncomfortable about her presence. The only discomfort he feels stems from the lack of it. Bruce tries to find something that annoys him about her. But she does not stomp her foot or makes weird noises, she doesn't wander around, watches over his shoulder... she just sits there silently and watches the screens, her eyes soft, not staring, not demanding information, just taking in. She doesn't look, she sees. There is nothing he could figure now that would be... bad.
The doctor shakes his head as he tries to regain focus on the task ahead. Yet, after a longer while of research and typing, he has to painfully realize that somehow things seem to be standing still. He turns in his chair and mutters under his breath, "Darn."
He feels Loki's eyes on him. This time he turns to face her. She actually bows her head, though.
"What is it?" he demands, harsher than he wanted to.
"I apologize, I was just... curious," Loki says, almost sheepishly.
"About what?" Bruce blinks at her.
"May I ask what is causing your distress exactly? I take that there are setbacks, yet the nature of them remains unclear to me," Loki asks him. Bruce doesn't see anything else to do now anyway, so he might as well tell her, "This portal is working on a level I do not come to know. I don't see how I would shut it down. Electricity won't work. Water won't work. We cannot overload the system, we can't alter the route. We can't send in a new frequency or overcome the output. We can't create a short circuit. This path is designed to stay open, as it seems. Whatever path I take... it leads me to this point again: there is nothing we can do to shut this down."
"The Firin have this certain habit to set things like this, as far as I recall...," she puckers her lips mindfully.
"Firin? You mean you know these guys?" Bruce gapes, but Loki shakes her head, "Not really. I just read about this race in an old story book, a child's book. If so I would have informed you, Doctor. It's just that the words came back to my mind: 'For when they opened a gate, they never meant to close it.' I simply remembered, so... this might be the Firin."
"Might?" Bruce grimaces.
"I never crossed lines with them, just like Thor. The thing about the Firin is that no one knows them, at least in Asgard. They were those shapeless creatures children were afraid of at night, looming in the darkness. For a long time I believed they were no more than a story," Loki frowns at the screens. Truly, she never thought that other creatures of her child's book could creep out to haunt the people, just like the Jotun did... thanks to her, but that doesn't matter anymore.
"So you don't come to know how I would shut that portal down, or... did it say in the story books?" Bruce makes a face.
"Am I allowed to even talk about the matter?" Loki blinks at him.
"Of course," Bruce nods.
"Very well. I already feared I was just put here so that someone can make sure I do not take off," Loki flashes a faint smirk.
"I think it kinda was that reason also," Bruce has to admit, but Loki doesn't seemed all too shocked at the revelation, but instead shrugs her shoulders, "Hm, I am quite used to this concept, yet it surprises me that this was not the only motive."
"Would you mind having a look at this, then? Perhaps something strikes you? You have seen more of the like?" Bruce asks. Loki gets up from her chair and walks over, glancing at the screens. The woman almost instantly uses the computer quite rightly, running her hands swiftly over the boards.
"You used those before?" Bruce frowns in surprise.
"No, but they work logically," Loki tells him, still keeping up with punching in some algorithms.
"Impressive," he whistles softly. Thor, to the day, still has a hard time using these. Bruce lost count of how many new panels and computers they had to get because Thor smashed them or bore his finger in so hard that the panel just broke in the middle. And of course... Thor is the only one who ever managed to shut down the entire house with a funny combination he punched in by mere chance. Yet, Loki... she knows what she is doing.
"I'm quite good at adapting to new situations and new things. This is a new thing, so I adapt to it. I have to say that my... troublesome lifestyle, so to speak, demands a certain ability to adaptation to new surroundings... Though I thank you for the compliment," Loki speaks softly. She continues to work through files and charts, Bruce following her every step of the way, visibly impressed by her approach. It is not really what you would call the scientific method, but she actually seems to have a vast knowledge of it, simply doesn't take it as such. Suddenly she starts to hum a song, very softly, and, as the doctor has to note, quite beautifully also. Her singing voice is really soothing, "And here we stood by the gate worlds apart. Even after working so very hard. The world in ashes and everyone cried. Mother and son and small little child. But once they went through and never came back, all were gone and ashes remained. All begun with their vicious attack. Now in shackles binding them so pained. They came to conquer and took it all. Are they now past the great and the tall. The warriors fight and die on the field, the women they weep, the gates are sealed. The villains they laugh at their masterpiece. The women they weep and won't start to cease. Cries fill the world and make it spin, that is the fight they cannot win. Now on their knees and on their own, watching the unfolded deadly doom, whilst losing the throne, the world starts to bloom..."
"Is that one of the lullabies from your home?" Bruce frowns.
"It's a song I read in an old book eons ago," Loki grimaces. "It was not referring to the Firin specifically, but just told about long since dead tribes, or so thought at least. I was intrigued into old folklore for quite some decades... and what one has to know about folklore is that there is always an ounce of truth in it."
"Such as?" Bruce asks.
"Well, the men who conquer the worlds traveling through the gate... does that sound any familiar to you, Doctor?" she smirks at him, ad that is when realization dawns on Bruce, "Oh, so you mean to say..."
"I was just recalling it as I went. This song describes what the Firin do and how they fall...," Loki bites her lower lip.
"But does it really just take a few women crying? I really doubt that," Bruce grimaces.
"You have to see the bigger picture, I fear," Loki argues.
"What now?" Bruce frowns at her incredulously.
"They go down at the sound of the women weeping. What is weeping?" Loki asks him.
"A strong emotional reaction?" Bruce makes a face.
"More scientifically, Doctor Banner," she scolds.
"... sound," Bruce answers, finally getting it. Loki flashes a soft smile at him as she speaks, "Quite right. I take it from this chart over here that there was a change in the energy fluctuations as there was this certain frequency."
"It's not audible for us, but yes, this... this really correlates," Bruce nods.
"And then... if you compare those pictures in motion with the time of the frequency...," Loki points at the video footage, and Bruce can only agree, "They seem distressed for a moment."
"They heard it – and they were afraid of this sound," Loki nods her head, which makes her raven hair fall over her shoulders.
"They know that something will happen when that sound is made for too long. It seemingly pains them also," Bruce says, pushing the glasses up his nose as he mulls this over inside his head.
"I think, and of course I may be wrong about this, we might have good chances sending out that frequency. That might destabilize the portal – and perhaps force them to retreat," Loki suggests. She knows that none of the Avengers will be pleased about her involvement into the mission, but Loki couldn't care less anyways. She is here to protect what is left of her new life - and that means she has to make sure that they don't lose.
"We just have to send that in an infinite loop until they retreat or the portal collapses. That is great, we just have to sync that with the output... and then...," Bruce says, already working on strategies inside his head. He is instantly back to his work, punching in numbers. Loki silently draws away again to sit in her spot. Bruce only realizes after a few minutes, but is actually surprised. He thought that she would be overly proud of herself and gloat about this triumph, yet... here she sits and says nothing, even though she just saved their asses.
"Thanks," he says in all honesty. Loki glances at him - and now she is the one who actually looks surprised.
"I wouldn't have come up with the idea," Bruce admits.
"I think you would have eventually," Loki argues politely.
"But now it was perhaps fast enough," Bruce argues.
"... you are welcome," she flashes a brief but gentle smirk at him. Bruce then starts to call for the other Avengers.
Tony, fighting off a bunch of Firin, contacts Bruce over the comms, "Bruce?! Finally got anything?! Those Gremlins are bitches! Hey, don't you make scratches in that suit, I just polished it!"
"Guys, I think there is a way to shut down the portal," Bruce tells them.
"Then get it going!" Clint grumbles, shooting another one with his arrows.
"We have to send out a certain sound. That will hopefully destabilize the portal and perhaps weaken them enough for you to shove them back," Bruce explains.
"Sound?" Steve frowns. He hoped that the doctor would have more in store by now.
"Yes. There is a certain frequency that does something to the energy output of the portal," Bruce nods.
"Well, then get the subwoofers going and start the party," Tony snorts, firing at the next group of Firin.
"I fear the sound has to be strong enough to actually trigger the reaction. If I just put this on loudspeaker, we might not achieve anything," Bruce makes a face.
"We better try before we," Tony means to say, but is interrupted by one of the Firin attack him. "Oh, you did not just slime on me!"
He pushes one of the Firin off of him.
"Okay, Tony, can I send it through your system for starters?" Bruce asks.
"Get it going before they slime me full," Tony whines mockingly. Bruce punches in some numbers and says, "Okay, that is the right frequency. You guys see any change?"
"They only get mad at me. Fuck off, slimy!" Tony grimaces.
"The portal seems to be... I don't know, it pulsates somehow, but nothing else," Natasha tells Bruce, who curses under his breath, "Darn, we have to make it louder somehow. But for that we need the amplifier."
Loki grimaces, seemingly contemplating with herself about what to do, but eventually she walks up to Bruce to be on-screen.
"What does it want?" Tony grumbles. Of course he is not past that yet. Loki stifles the roll of her eyes, but focuses on the task instead.
"Thor has to hit his hammer on the Captain's shield once again, as he did when they first fought," Loki says, ignoring Tony's comment completely.
"What? What madness are you up to once again?" Thor growls as he smashes his hammer against another enemy.
"You want us to fight each other?!" Steve grimaces as he throws his shield.
"The sound that is created by the impact bears the frequency we need – and it should be strong enough to destabilize the portal. You just have to hit very exactly - and very hard," Loki rolls her eyes. They are wasting valuable time, not her.
"Loki, now is not the time to...," Thor wants to threaten, but Loki quickly interrupts him, "It's either that you do it, or those creatures will continue their ambush. It is not my choice, but yours."
"What can happen other than some noise, huh?" Steve shrugs.
"Fine," Thor grunts.
"You have to hit just above the star, heard that? Just above the star, in the middle," Loki tells Thor, who nods with determination, "Yes."
"Captain, you have to stand with your back to the portal. The sound has to travel past you. Keep it above you heard while crouching. At a 45° angle. You have to hold the shield up in the air for as long as you can so that it can fully vibrate and send out the frequency," she tells Steve.
"Fine," Steve nods. He positions himself while the others keep the Gremlins away from them. Thor swings his hammer, jumps high in the air and brings Mjölnir down on the shield, a deafening sound and shock wave hitting them all, almost knocking them off their feet, but that is when the Firin start to shriek in pain, some of them cowering on the ground. The portal pulsates stronger and faster, the light leaping out over its edges. Suddenly there is a strong pull and the Firin are sucked in before the portal simply disappears. Silence falls.
"Wow... okay. That came unexpected," Tony blinks.
"Everyone okay?" Natasha asks.
"Yes," all reply.
"That is one neat trick...," Tony grimaces, but then cries out loudly, "Eww, I think I just stepped in Gremlin... oh, please tell me that this is not Gremlin poop,"
"We should be heading back. SHIELD takes care of the rest," Clint mutters.
"Great thing that SHIELD is also our personal cleaning service," Tony smirks. Bruce turns to face Loki, actually wanting to tell her thanks, but she is crossing over to the door.
"Where are you going?" Bruce frowns at her. She turns around to glance at him, "My services are no longer required. I suppose I would do better at refraining to my chambers and staying there until my work is needed again."
"You can stay," Bruce frowns, now actually feeling bad all of a sudden.
"That is very kind of you, but I think I made them angry enough by interrupting them in their fight. I do not wish to be present for yet another lecture," Loki smirks faintly.
"You saved the day," Bruce grimaces. Really, that is the last thing Bruce expected to hear from her, now that she proved herself all over again.
"It does not matter," she argues silently. With that she heads out, leaving Bruce confused. This is not the Loki he would have pictured, ever. She is so mute and... depressed, actually, more of a sad clown if you think about how she acted in the past. Was this all a farce?
The Avengers return a few hours later.
"How do I get off that slime?!" Tony whines.
"Soap," Clint rolls his eyes at him.
"I won't soap my suit," Tony shakes his head.
"Then don't. Is not like I care about what you do to your suit," Clint snorts. Bruce walks up to them.
"Hey there, Mastermind. You just saved our asses," Tony flashes a broad smile at the doctor. He claps him on the shoulder, but Bruce only frowns at him, "Huh?"
"Well, the idea with the sounds... that could've come from me, you know?" Tony grimaces.
"That was entirely Loki's idea," Bruce argues in all honesty.
"You're serious?" Natasha grimaces. She guessed that Loki had her hands in it at some point, but that she made up this plan... Black Widow didn't see that coming.
"She was the one to suggest it, yes. She found the correlation with the frequency and the energy output. I didn't even pay attention to that, I have to admit," Bruce tells her.
"And where is... she?" Clint mutters angrily.
"In her room," Bruce declares.
"What now? Not up to gloat about her success, then?" Clint snorts. Bruce, with a bit of anger in his voice that comes as a surprise to even him, says, "No, she actually feared that this would be the reaction she'd get."
"Ugh, whatever," Clint grunts before he heads off.
"Well... at least she is doing her job, I guess. She is proving herself," Natasha shrugs.
"Without the trick with the sound, we would have been toast. Still fail to figure how she came up with the hammer and the shield, though," Steve says mindfully.
Thor, arms crossed over his chest, tells him, "Loki was present when we fought. He heard us."
"So?" Steve blinks at the Norse God.
"Well, she seemingly has a great hearing. She even heard the frequency that normally us people can't make out. I take it that her hearing memory is about just as good then, no?" Bruce explains, and Thor nods, "Loki can remember almost anything."
"Eidetic memory, pretty much," Bruce smirks. One thing you have to give her - she is more than meets the eye.
"Ha!" Tony smirks.
"Finally found someone who has it, too, Tony?" Bruce grins at him briefly.
"I just find it funny," Tony shrugs.
"I'm retreating to my room," Thor declares silently, then turns around, and leaves the room.
"And I will wash that," Steve makes a face as he grabs his slimed suit.
"I'll join you on that one," Tony grimaces, nodding at his own suit full of slime.
"I'm reporting to authorities," Natasha sighs.
"Won't join you on that one," Tony smirks. Bruce nods as they head off. He decides to go see Loki. As he enters the room, he finds her sitting on the bed with a book in her lap. Once she realizes his presence, her emerald eyes are instantly on him.
"Ah, Doctor Banner. Have the Avengers returned?" Loki blinks at him.
"Yeah," Bruce nods.
"Very well so. Is everyone alright?" Loki asks with surprisingly much concern.
"They are all fine... thank you?" Bruce frowns. He actually didn't expect her to ask about their well-being... he never thought she would possibly... care? Well, but that woman is one bundle of surprises.
"Well... Then what brings you here to me?" Loki asks curiously.
"I wanted to ask you if you had interest in working in the lab with me for the time being," Bruce tells her, which actually seems to catch her off-guard.
"I beg your pardon?" she blinks at him.
"You have a vast knowledge of pretty much everything, let's face it. I mean, I know we are not on the best terms, but... I see that I can profit from your knowledge, but more importantly, I'd like to profit from your knowledge – and I think you might profit from this also," Bruce shrugs.
"In how far?" Loki asks, now skeptically. It might be that she is very interested in such things, but that doesn't mean she will just blindly agree to everything. It's enough that she had to agree to this pitiful situation she finds herself in now.
"Well, I'd grant you more say. You'd be more of my... lab partner, if that concept is familiar to you," Bruce tells her. "You said you have to prove yourself in some way, well, I think this might be a good way. We exchange knowledge."
"I am quite fond of the idea of enlarging my horizon, Doctor, but I do not come around the feeling that you just do that out of pity for me," Loki argues. And pity is the last thing she needs - or would ever accept.
"I don't," Bruce assures her, though she obviously doesn't buy it yet, "Ah-ha."
"You have to see, Loki... I'm living proof that there isn't just black and white. I'm a living grey zone, given my status as the Hulk. And I think you're not far different from me in that regard. Perhaps I'm mistaken, but I take you for genuine now, until you give me a reason to believe so otherwise. If you are genuine in your want to learn and to help, then I would be glad to help you do that. And I would be glad to profit from your knowledge. As a scientist, I'm quite intrigued with your skills and approaches. I would like to learn more. If this means that we both actually gain from this arrangement, then I don't see anything that would speak against it," Bruce explains, which makes Loki whistle softly, "I didn't think I would be able to gain more freedoms that fast, really."
"Well, let's just say they are exclusively for me and my lab, but... perhaps people will see that you are hardworking and then grant you more rights in turn," Bruce offers.
"It is very kind of you to do that... especially if one considers what I did to you and your friends in the past," Loki says.
"I broke some glass also, as the Hulk. I think I'm the last one who should raise the finger and say that he is that much better than the rest," Bruce replies.
"I see," Loki nods.
"Well, question is if you liked that. You would have to spend a lot of time in the lab with me – and I can get really mean if people don't get the job done. It's tough," Bruce warns her, but that actually makes her smile at him, "I never was afraid of a challenge."
"Well, and of course question is if you want to work with me of all people," Bruce coughs lightly.
"I bear the highest respect for you, Doctor Banner," Loki assures him in all honesty.
"You mean that?" Bruce grimaces. When Loki told him back when they did the check-up, Bruce thought it was the trickster's way of making fun of him.
"You are the closest thing to a sorcerer here on earth as it can get," Loki shrugs.
"Houdini?" Bruce argues with a smirk.
"Oh please, those handcuffs were a joke," Loki huffs playfully. Bruce can't help but smirk at that.
"I see in a sorcerer someone who is curious, open to the world, someone who tries to understand the universes, daring to go one step further each time. I regard myself a sorceress and more than anything I wish to learn. I'd do a lot of things to gain knowledge. And I think you are not far different from me in that regard – and I highly respect that attitude, especially if it is coupled with such a capable mind such as yours," Loki grins at him.
"So we have a deal?" he asks, and Loki shrugs, "For as long as that means I do not violate my contract, then this is perhaps one of the few chances I will get to do something productive."
He holds out his hand to her, she takes it and gets up from her seat.
"Good, then how about we talk about... interdimensional portals for a while?" Bruce smirks at her.
"Oh, Doctor Banner, how tempting. You choose one of my absolute favorite topics," Loki grins at him.
They make their way back to the lab while discussing about all kinds of things.
And Bruce finds himself smiling quite earnestly in a long while now.