Author's Note: Hello everyone, thanks a lot for reading and reviewing. You are too kind, and by that I mean you are so kind it makes me cry in happiness, which I very much appreciate.
Once again I borrowed a villain from the Marvel universe, and once again, it's not actually the Avengers arc, but I liked that one for my own evil purposes. I make no claims that this characterization is by any means accurate, nor that he is mine. It's just internet-based research.
Anyways, I hope you'll like it.
Read, review and hopefully enjoy ;)
After Thor came back to Earth, things have changed between the Gods, at least that is the impression Thor gets. Loki is rather distant these days. Not that she is really mean to him or has breakouts. No, it's small things, almost too small to meet the eye. She spends more hours in the lab than usually, and when they are alone, she often goes to bed early. They still hold hands and she actually leans against him more often most of the time, but she almost flinches away from his touch once he wants to hold her close in turn. When he asks her about it, she rebuffs him.
Thor of course knows that Loki is a moody creature. She has always been, but... this is not just moody. She withdraws, from him. And he had hoped that this finally came to an end now that their souls linked. He wants to catch up to her, but... now she is drifting away beneath his fingertips.
And now they find themselves on a mission for the Avengers, looking at the city below them as the helicopters bring them to the location.
"Okay, so the plan is that Clint goes through the top of the building along with Tony. Natasha, Bruce and I form the ground forces. Thor and Loki will go through the glass dome to first of all serve as distraction, and give us a chance to come inside at that moment to start our attacks," Steve suggests. "Can everyone agree to that?"
"Yes," all say in unison. Soon the others spread out while Thor and Loki stay in the helicopter.
"How would you like to handle it?" Thor asks, trying hard not to let his disappointment waver his voice, though he has to realize his wishes are rather fruitless.
"What does it matter? Who smashes through the windows first hardly seems to make a difference," Loki says, not meeting his eyes.
"I just thought that it would be good to discuss a tactic before going in," Thor retorts.
"Since when do you give anything on tactic, God of Thunder?" she scolds him playfully, though it comes out as icily as he still remembers from her first days on Earth.
"Could you take this serious for a second?" Thor argues.
"Oh, I take it serious," Loki replies in a soft hiss.
"What is it with you lately?" Thor asks gruffly.
"You are sincere?" she looks at him with hard eyes. "You seek to have such discussion... now."
"Well, yes! Because you don't answer me whatever occasion I approach you in. At home you try to keep away from me most of the day. And when I ask you, you say you would rather not talk about this with the others around. And now we are to head to battle and you do not even look at me!" Thor argues, his voice raising in anger.
"Now you're being dramatic again," she rolls her eyes.
"I thought we wanted to use the time we have together," Thor shakes his head. He would rather use the little time they have before he is called off to Asgard again. He would love to make the time matter, but that seems hardly possible when she withdraws from him all over again.
"If you don't want to spend time with me, that is hardly my problem. You are a free man, Thor," she snorts.
At least one of them is.
"What?! What are you talking about?!" he breaks out. That is not what he means, and she knows it!
"Again, you're being overly dramatic. Now don't take everything I say so literally," she sighs.
"Just tell me what is wrong with you!" Thor tries another time.
"What would that be good for?" Loki argues. "I mean, even if something were to be wrong with me, what would talk change about it?"
You can say a lot, and it won't fix anything, something that Loki had to learn a long time ago. Even if she is called the Silvertongue, it's actually quite a useless condition. You can convince people, yes, you can move them, but words are crushed in the face of reality.
"Then I can fix this!" Thor argues.
"I hardly doubt you'd be able to fix it," Loki snorts.
"What's that supposed to mean?!" Thor blinks at her.
"Nothing," she sighs.
"By the Gods, Loki...," he mutters.
"We are almost there," Loki says in a soft voice, though it comes out more like a hiss.
"Now answer me!" Thor demands.
"You didn't ask a question," Loki argues.
"Loki, stop it!" Thor snarls. However, that is when Natasha's voice rings over the comm, "Guys, we're there. Are you ready to move?"
"Yes, Natasha," Loki says.
"Yes," Thor agrees, but then turns to Loki another time. "Say something!"
"Something," she retorts.
"Loki!" the thunderer cries out, but she already stands on the railing, glancing down, her hair flipping around furiously.
"I'm pregnant," she says, her voice no more than a whisper.
"What?" Thor cries out with wide eyes, but then she already steps over the edge and flies down through the roof, allowing the feeling of falling to give her a sense of freedom for once.
Thor stumbles for a second, but then he hears the rumbling of battle – and understands that it has to wait until later. He rushes over to the railing as well and jumps from the building, Mjölnir ready at hand.
The battle that follows is a sheer mess. Even if the name sounds somewhat comedic, Mister Sinister is one tough cookie, especially since he has some strong people to support him in his enterprise. Sadly, the villain actually manages to escape, even if, and that is the success, his plans of using DNA samples from a laboratory also run by the SHIELD did not work out. So... at least half a victory, right?
The Avengers, battered and exhausted, meet up amidst the debris and collapsed walls of the building.
"... what a day," Bruce sighs, looking around at the sheer mass of destruction. He then tilts his head at Tony, "Why are we not yet hearing one of your infamous comments?"
Tony still looks around with a frown.
"Tony?" the doctor tries again.
"Guys, even at the risk of asking a stupid question: Where is our little morbid she-trickster?" the Iron Man says with a grimace. All glance around, trying to spot said woman.
"LOKI!" Natasha cries out. They all know that she likes to stay aloof at times, but usually not after a battle. Nothing stirs, however, other than some loose debris still falling off the walls and ceiling.
"I thought she was with you?" Tony frowns at the female agent, who shakes her head, "She was, but then she helped Steve."
"She was only there for a sec before she headed off for... you, Tony!" Steve argues.
"But she just yanked a dagger and took off... to the Hulk," Tony replies.
"But that was just a replica of hers. I saw the real her running to Clint," Bruce objects.
"She had my back for a while, but after that she was just gone," Clint shrugs.
"For the record, that means you lost her," Tony says, pointing his finger at the archer.
"Shut up, Stark," all say in unison. Tony puts his helmet back on to scan the area, "... she is not under any of the rubble or debris... neither outside... I'm running a scan... moment... no. Guys, I think that our enemy just took one of our team."
Clint already turns away to communicate with SHIELD. Thor stands there, totally perplex.
"Thor?" Natasha asks once she realizes his reaction, but that is when he swings his hammer and starts to smash into the debris.
"Oh, okay...," Tony makes a face, moving a little away.
"Thor! Thor! Now stop already!" Natasha cries out.
"Shall the Hulk stop him?" Bruce grimaces.
"No. Not yet," she tells Bruce before turning back to the thunderer, "THOR!"
He turns to face her. The bitterness, pain and fear is clear in his tensed features.
"We will find her," she assures him.
"We have to," Thor bites his lower lip.
"I know, but you gotta keep in mind that this is Loki we are talking about. If someone gets out of such a situation, it's her," Natasha argues.
"We have to find them, right now," Thor narrows his eyes angrily.
How could he let that happen?
How could she?
Just why?!
"As I already said...," Natasha means to say, but the God of Thunder interrupts her, "We have to. She is bearing a child."
"What?!" Tony cries out in a high-pitched voice.
"What?" the others join the chorus.
"Loki is bearing our child," Thor repeats, now almost sheepishly.
"What? How did that... when...," Tony babbles helplessly, but that is when Natasha cuts him off, "Stark, look it up in your child's book, now is not the time to give you the talk... Thor, you're sure she is?"
"She told me. Oh, by the Gods! She is in the hands of the enemy, and that with child! They are both in gravest danger!" Thor cries out, pulling at his hair.
"Thor, don't worry. We will find them. Everything will be fine," Natasha tries to assure him, though she knows this is pretty much a lost cause.
"How long...," Steve grimaces, but Thor can only shrug, "I don't know... she told me only just now."
"You mean... like...," Steve makes a face.
"Before we landed," Thor approves.
"Wow, okay...," Bruce knits his eyebrows. She has a tendency to go for the dramatic moments, really.
"But that's not the matter. It's important to find her and bring both of them safely home. Everything else will have to wait," Steve argues.
"SHIELD is working on a way to locate the secret hideout of that guy, but it will take some time, they say," Clint says.
"We should head back to the headquarters. I might aid them along with Tony to perhaps find a more efficient searching program," Bruce suggests.
"Right, maybe we can get an energy identification if we analyze what was fired off in the combat," Tony agrees.
"Just my thinking," the doctor nods.
"Then we're heading back," Clint says. And so they do, Thor not saying anything anymore. Bruce and Tony immediately start to work on the searching algorithms. Clint and Steve are going through the maps, taking it more from a military angle along with other SHIELD agents. Natasha took Thor to one of the rooms so that he gets a moment to calm himself.
"She lied to me! She never should have been on that mission," Thor cries out, somehow trying to get a hold of himself, but this makes him furious. She knew, and still she joined the battle. At the risk of endangering herself and that child... his child.
"We can't possibly change that, Thor. It happened," Natasha argues.
"... I should have seen it... she was acting so... differently," Thor grunts.
"Well, Loki has always been quite moody," Natasha shrugs.
"... I should have seen it," he argues.
"We will find her, you know that. She is strong. Stronger than most people I know. And I know a few tough guys, and apparently work with them," Natasha manages a feeble smile.
"If something happened to her or the child... I wouldn't ever be able to forgive myself," Thor says. He swore to keep her safe, but now it's also about a part of himself that may be there now, within her, growing, alive. He can't allow that either one is hurt. No, just no.
"Thor, we will find her. Okay? … But I don't think that's what you blame yourself for most, is it?" Natasha argues. Thor glances at her, so she continues. "Something else is on your mind, I can see that."
"We argued before... before the battle," Thor admits.
"Thor, you couldn't have known," Natasha assures him.
"It doesn't matter. You don't enter a fight like this, no matter what. It is dangerous. I stayed away from her in battle because I was angry with her. I stayed away from her so that I don't have to face her. But by staying away from her... I missed out on perhaps this one chance to prevent her from being taken. And that was not an accident, as her taking was, but... it was a decision of the mind. Conscious. I let her down. I let my feelings get the better of me in the battle. That mustn't happen, ever," Thor argues. He swore to protect her. And now he let her down because of what? A bit of anger? That is so utterly ridiculous.
He is doing the same mistakes again.
Just as she seemingly is.
Are they always bound to make the same mistakes?
Are they always the same pawn on the same checkerboard?
Bound to fail?
"Okay, enough of wallowing in self-pity... here is what's gonna happen: We will find Loki, and your child, and once they are safe and sound, you will apologize and then you'll talk about this... and then it's going to be fine," Natasha encourages him. "You overcame quite a bit, I don't think that this is something that you can't fix. You fixed coming back from the friggin' dead."
Thor manages a feeble smile. Right, they cheated death before, didn't they? That is something not many can pride themselves with. They came together through all those hardships. Loki considered that her greatest achievement. Now it's seemingly up to Thor to make an even greater achievement happening.
"Guys, we may have something," Clint says, popping his head in.
"C'mon, let's go," she says, patting the thunderer on the lower arm once.
"Yes," Thor nods, getting up as well and following the two agents to the headquarters.
He has to find them.
He won't accept to be at checkmate.
Loki blinks up at the ceiling, frowning at its color. That is no hue she remembers. Just as she doesn't remember the headache throbbing beneath her temple.
Ah, right... there was that. One moment she saw the minions and machines retreat, the next she saw nothing but darkness, and then that filthy ceiling she already starts to hate.
"See who's finally awake," a voice rings out from... somewhere. Her mind is still too fuzzy to tell clearly.
"I would have to extract myself from my body to see that I am awake. I really find this saying rather dull," Loki drawls.
"A witty one after all," the villain says, stepping over to her.
"And you must have lost your wit for this action," Loki says, meaning to sit up, but finding her limbs bound. The trickster rolls her eyes, but has to realize that she can't change her appearance to escape. She rolls her eyes. That man really means it.
"Do you even know what I want with you?" he smiles.
"Frankly, I do not care, for you will not succeed," Loki tells him in a flat voice.
"So you count on your friends to come and fetch you. I see," he chuckles.
"No, I count on your foolery and my own capabilities. You might be, what? A mutant? But I am a God," Loki tells him.
"Which is ever so much a reason for me to have you here with me now," he smiles almost gleefully.
"I actually do wonder what you would want with me. You know that you took a huge risk by abducting me. If you just wanted a sample of my DNA, as far as I'm concerned, a few strands of hair would have been more than enough. Why take along the rest of the body attached to it?" Loki tilts her head at him.
"Because I just saw you and decided that I had to have you," Sinister shrugs.
"... I'm spoken for, thank you," she huffs.
"And that's not what I'm talking about," the villain replies.
"Then what?" she questions.
"Well, I don't know how much you know about me, but I am a master of my field. I spent a long time refining my skills," he begins.
"Oh, yes, evil doctor back and forth. Live for as long as I've lived, then we talk about experience," Loki huffs. "So now, back to business. What is it that you want?"
"I want to decipher a God and break it down to its very molecules," he replies.
"Good luck with that," Loki rolls her eyes.
"What?" he tilts his head at her.
"You build on the premise that I will let you," Loki tells him with a devilish smile tugging at her lips.
"And you build on the premise that there is anything you can do about it to stop me," Sinister argues, not in the least wavered.
"Didn't you just say it? I am a God. You, by contrast... are just a mixture of human megalomania and... a bad choice of name," Loki tells him in a soft voice, though the message is clear and strong.
"We will see about that, God of Mischief," Sinister smirks.
"Oh, we most definitely will," Loki retorts as the madman turns around and heads back to his apparatuses.
The question, however, is... how does she do that?
"Okay, this might be something," Bruce says, gesturing at Tony to take a look at one of the screens.
"What?" Tony blinks at the device.
"Well, look, if you take this into consideration, then...," Bruce begins, but that is when Natasha and Thor walk inside, and the God of Thunder instantly seeks them, "Did you find anything yet?"
"We are working on it, but we actually have three signals that would fit the pattern," Tony admits.
"Why is that?" Clint frowns.
"We are looking for specific energy output we know comes from Sinister's machines. He seemingly has more than one home base, though," Tony explains.
"And can't you detect Loki in it somehow," Natasha questions.
"If so, we would know which of the three it is," Bruce shrugs.
"But how is that possible?" Steve shakes his head.
"Well, energy needs to be released in some way. In case of the machines that is what you can observe. The same does not apply to Loki. Unless she goes havoc in there, her energy won't be released. That is actually one of the problems we have with our dear she-trickster. Our machines have a hard time finding her because she sends out almost no signals," Tony says. They discovered it early on that she could just disappear from the radar.
"Maybe she will go havoc or otherwise make herself known," Natasha shrugs.
"We hope she does. Loki is smart, after all," Tony replies. That is actually what they build on. The question is just how she will do that... and the question he does not mean to ask yet is if... she still can.
"Well, we should check out those places, though. That can't harm," Steve argues, nodding at the screen.
"Right," Clint nods.
"I'd suggest that you guys go ahead while we keep an observant eye on the screens. Take the cubes along, then we can transport to your location the moment you need us there," Bruce suggests.
"Good," Steve nods. The others do the same to show their agreement.
"Let's hope it's not the last gate for once," Tony mutters to himself. No, he honestly hopes that they are lucky for once and they end up with the right location upon first try.
Sinister roams over his apparatuses and instruments with a wicked smile tugging at his lips. Loki's eyes follow him on every step he takes. She will catch every detail to figure out how to get out of this pitiful a situation.
"So? What do you have in store for me? Will you clone me? I may tell you now – we already had that," Loki taunts him. "And it was little fruitful, to put it nicely."
"Oh, please, that was... kindergarten compared to what I have in mind. Demonicus was only after having some decal that did not even look like you in the end. No, I am working on a perfect creature so that I may perfect my body," Sinister tells her.
"Your body seems just fine," she shrugs.
"It's old an weak and... slowly dying. I need a fresh start, and you might be just that," Sinister says.
"Why choose me of all people, I do wonder?" Loki asks.
"Other than that you are a little weaker than your fellow?" he grins.
"I'm not weaker than him," Loki hisses.
"Physically you are," he argues.
"Brute force is not everything," Loki retorts.
"And what tells you that I won't try to get to him too?" he hums.
"Oh, so you seek to create a hybrid creature out of us both? Now that is... ironic," Loki snorts.
As if she didn't already have a spawn of just that material inside of her.
"A hybrid? No, that would be too easy. I seek to find the God-gene. I mean, I know what humans are made of. I can tell them to their very molecules, but a God? The Gods? You are a whole new field of study for me. And I will take my time and pleasure to explore," he says.
"Well, let's hope you don't get lost on your exploration," she huffs.
"You see, your fellow God will walk right into my trap the moment he sets foot upon my playgrounds, but it will take them some time to find this place. So we can already start without him," he then says. Loki licks her lips for a moment, but then flashes her signature smirk, "Now I feel honored that I shall be your first."
Because she plans on being his last, too. Ever.
Sinister turns around with a syringe.
"I hate shots," she snorts.
"This is no shot yet. I need a little blood sample. I assure you it won't hurt... too much," Sinister shrugs.
"It's not nice to poke a Lady," Loki scolds him.
"It's in the service of science," he says as he comes up to her.
"... oh, well, if that's the case...," she huffs. He plunges the needle into the inside of her elbow. Red liquid soon fills the container and he takes the syringe back out.
"Thank you for the donation," the man grins wickedly. Loki grunts at him. The man retreats.
"Oh, no, I thank you," she mutters under her breath, a small smirk spreading across her features. And suddenly she has a how-to.
"Okay, that was an empty shell," Steve grimaces as they make their way out of the first location they got.
"This was a waste of time," Thor grunts, eyes almost searing with fire.
"We couldn't know," Natasha shrugs. "It was worth the shot."
"Yes, yes," the thunderer sighs. He knows that his friends do anything to find Loki, but he hates it that he can't just slay some enemy to get to her. No, he is searching for her, again. And that was something he hoped they were finally past.
"Which one next?" Clint questions.
"I'd say this one, it's closest," Natasha shrugs, nodding at the device in her hand.
"Okay, then we should...," Steve means to say, but that is when a loud voice shrills, "GUYS!"
"What is it, Tony? We were just about to head out," Steve makes a face.
"Stay where you are!" he orders.
"Why?" Natasha frowns.
"We just got a signal. Hold on a second, we're coming to you," Bruce says.
"Fine," Clint snorts. Two minutes later, Bruce and Tony, already ready in his suit, are standing next to them. Bless the God of Mischief for the cubes, really.
"What's the matter?" Thor asks. He would rather act, and now wait for a get-together.
"We just got a signal from neither one of the locations on that list," Bruce explains.
"Okay," Clint grimaces.
"Loki sent us, somehow, coordinates. So we'll be heading to that location," Tony then goes on.
"How do we know it's not a trick?" Natasha argues. "Sinister might send us that signal to lure us there."
But before she can go on, the violin song from the bar they went to hums from the device in Bruce's hand.
"I don't think he'd know that," Bruce argues.
"What is this?" Thor furrows his eyebrows in sheer confusion.
"Loki played that song in a bar while you were gone. She knows that we'd recognize it. So this must be her. I mean... why would he send that? Even if I have absolutely no clue how she does that," Tony makes a face. Really, that woman never ceases to amaze him.
"Let's not waste our time, though. We have to move," Steve urges them.
"Right," all agree. The Avengers get ready to jump into action and walk into the white light erupting in front of them.
"This is... nothing like I ever saw it before," the man smiles broadly as he observes the findings on the screens.
"I always knew I was quite special," Loki snorts.
"Oh, you are. That is... I am missing the words," he muses.
"I thank the Gods. That is a verbal assault I would not look forward to," she huffs. Sinister turns around, now with a metal device in hand. Loki tenses, but knows how to hide it.
"What is that? Are you taking a picture for later?" she manages to hiss.
"In a sense. I want to map your brain, your vitals, everything, very thoroughly," Sinister explains.
"You could have asked SHIELD for it. They did a thorough check before," Loki sighs.
"Not the way I do. It's a little... more painful, but much... deeper, too," Sinister chuckles.
"I can only advise you to stop that," Loki tells him.
"Why?" he questions, mostly amused, though.
"My brain is a very dark place," she hums.
"Then let's shed some light on it," Sinister shrugs. He attaches the small device to her temples.
"That may twinge now a bit," he warns her. Loki closes her eyes against the small lightnings in her head that soon erupts, making her quiver. Though she can tell even through the haze that this is nothing she can't take, really, even if this will surely leave her with migraines for a week.
A few moments later, the pain finally fades away and colorful dots dance before her eyelids.
"My apologies for the inconvenience, but it's the only way to make it thoroughly," Sinister mocks her.
"Oh, I understand, fully," she retorts, still catching her breath. "In the service of science."
Loki just hopes that the small creature within her didn't suffer because of it, even if she did anything to control the damage. She eases down a bit, closing her eyes... it's good. It's okay. She lets out a sigh.
"Hey, don't you serve drinks here, too? Or else I consider you a very bad host," she yells after him as Sinister begins to evaluate the results.
Just how long do they take to catch the hint here?!
The Avengers come out at the location. It's outside the city, a former industrial park where most buildings were torn down.
"Tony? Can you locate a secret hideout here," Steve asks.
"Running the scan... yep, just beneath our feet," the Iron Man confirms.
"Okay, we don't know what awaits us down there, but I don't think it's farfetched to suppose that they will not exactly welcome us with open arms," Steve shrugs.
"Okay, then let's find our way inside and get rolling," Tony says.
Thanks to Tony's and Clint's doing (an amazing bow-shoot and they have a flash drive right where they need it), they soon have access to the underground hideout. Curiously, they don't have much trouble to disband the alarm.
"I take any bet that the little Empress has her hands in this," Tony mutters under his breath.
However, regardless of the missing alarm, the team soon finds itself confronted with Sinister's minions attacking them.
"We should split up," Natasha suggests as she knocks one of the machines Sinister also uses against a wall before quickly firing a bullet through the apparatus.
"Good idea," Steve agrees. "Let's make two teams. Tony, Clint and I go this way, Thor, Bruce and Natasha head this way around."
"Got it," all say. They spread out.
Sinister roams over his machines as suddenly red lights flicker on his panels. He glances at the screens, which reveal the Avengers, now already far into his maze of corridors. He frowns. That was not supposed to happen.
"... they are already here, now that comes as a surprise," he mutters, even if he doesn't look really impressed.
"Maybe your secret hideout is not as much of a secret after all," Loki snorts.
"Well, I wanted them to come here anyways," Sinister shrugs.
"Last time we almost beat you, keeping in mind you had to run away. What makes you confident that you will be any more successful now?" Loki taunts him.
"Now they are on my playgrounds," he explains.
"Is that supposed to make me scared?" she huffs.
"If I were you, yes," Sinister tells her, making Loki frown, "Why?"
"On my playgrounds, I have absolute control. I can make the walls collapse, suck them into a hole, fill the hallways with gas... the possibilities are sheer endless," he muses.
"As is your madness. And that comes from a madwoman, so this is definitely no compliment," Loki retorts.
"So what do you suggest do I do first? Get the other God to join you? Or get rid of the troupe of humans who parted from him?" he hums, his fingers dancing over the panels.
"You actually leave me the choice?" she grimaces.
"Yes. You say, either this God is taken captive or the humans are killed. That is up to you," Sinister smiles, seemingly impressed by that new torture.
"Then take the humans," Loki replies in a strong voice.
"Then let's send some gas their way," he smiles, but then furrows his eyebrows. "But I find it curious that you made that choice so easily. I mean, I was actually under the impression that you... cared for them in some way."
"I'm a God. Then you have different priorities," Loki shrugs, narrowing her eyes.
"Well, then let's see what your priorities will do to those poor creatures that you doomed to death," he grins. A screen switches on in front of her, revealing Tony, Steve and Clint making their way down the corridors, fighting their way to them. Loki licks her lips nervously, breathing harder.
"Say your goodbyes," he smiles. Loki closes her eyes for a moment, but the moment she opens them, the poisonous gas floods the hallway. Clint and Tony gag for air, trying to escape, but unable to once paralysis has them. Even Tony goes to the ground, all limp figures within seconds.
"It works very fast," Sinister grins.
"Well, at least you show that much mercy," Loki replies, her voice quivering.
"Then let's see if your other God finds his way here to join you soon. And that Hulk might be a nice extra to add to my studies," Sinister shrugs, going on with his work. Loki shakes her head sadly, but that is when the door bursts open and a very angry Hulk and an even angrier Thor run inside.
"I already awaited you," Sinister says, turning to the trio with his signature dark grin.
"Loki!" Thor cries out, relief washing over him that the trickster seems to be fine.
"Stay right where you are or I will kill her," Sinister hisses as Thor means to walk to her.
"Don't you dare touch her," the thunderer barks.
"Oh, I don't have to touch her," Sinister argues. Suddenly one of the apparatuses from the ceiling moves on its own.
"This fine machine was fed with her data. It will send out a beam that will affect her on the molecular level, so you should not move, unless you want me to activate it," Sinister threatens.
"I thought you wanted me for your little experiment," Loki snarls.
"I have all the data I need. For the rest I don't need a living creature necessarily," the madman shrugs. "Even if I would rather not have to kill you, I have to admit."
"Leave her alone!" Thor demands, his eyes narrow slits.
"Only if you become my personal guinea pig as well," Sinister bargains.
"Which he will not," Loki jumps in, her eyes fixed on Thor. No, or else this is all meant to fail.
"Which he will if your life is any dear to him," Sinister argues.
"I tell you again, God of Thunder, you make just one step over and I shall behead you myself," Loki growls in a deep voice, her features resembling those of a cheetah.
"For him you actually care, huh? The same cannot be said about your dear fellows, though," Sinister chuckles.
"What?" Natasha frowns.
"Well, let me show you," Sinister smiles evilly. The pictures of the other three members collapsing to the ground in the poisonous gas play in endless loop. The others stare at it in shock.
What?
What?!
"She had the choice. She could have let me take you or kill them. She chose the latter. So, will you pay the same price, I wonder?" Sinister asks Thor.
"What now?" he blinks at him.
"Your life against hers, easy as that," the madman shrugs. The thunderer already means to lunge at the man, but Loki cries out again, "You stay where you are."
"But...," Thor means to say, but the trickster is faster, "Thor! Stay! All of you! No one moves! No one does anything!"
"They are turning against you, God of Mischief. They hate you for it. You killed their friends, and that not in exchange for his life, but just for what I took from you, a few blood samples and some scans. You sold them pretty cheap in the end," Sinister hums.
"This is madness!" Thor cries out, meaning to make a step towards them once again, but that only gets Loki raging at him again, baring her teeth at him, "I tell you again! Stay there, by Odin's beard!"
Just why is that man not listening?!
"I need a decision," Sinister hums.
"He will not bargain with you," Loki snarls.
"Really? I mean, actually, it's not only your life at stake, or is it?" he argues. Loki narrows her eyes at him.
"From the tests I can take that she might actually have inside of her more than meets the eye. You want to risk that unborn life? I mean, this surely would be an even more interesting project to research very thoroughly," Sinister threatens the God of Thunder with a devious smile tugging at his lips.
"You will not...," Thor growls, his entire body shaking.
"Stay! There!" Loki yells.
This is so ridiculous.
"So? Is it yours? That child? That would be fantastic. Already a hybrid, no? All the possibilities to experiment, explore...," Sinister muses.
"You will not or you will...," Thor growls, his voice shaking with the purest of angers.
"Hush now!" Loki hisses at the other God, but then turns her attention back to Sinister. "You think you're so smart, don't you?"
"Well, apparently, half the team is down already, and I'm holding all the threads. I don't see how I am not the smart one here," Sinister shrugs.
"You are not the smart one for you made three fatal mistakes," Loki tells him.
"Yeah? What did I do wrong?" Sinister huffs.
"One, you took me. Bad idea," Loki says.
"Right," he snorts, unimpressed.
"Two, you did not do your homework," Loki tells him.
"What did I miss?" he frowns.
"Where to draw blood, you witless fool," she hisses.
"What?" Sinister furrows his eyebrows at her.
"What you thought was blood... was nothing but thin air. You should know the nature of the God you mean to probe your fingers into. I am Jotun. We have a different physiology," she explains.
"But the vial filled," he frowns.
"With what I wanted to make you believe. In fact, all it did was to transfer a part of my energy into that container," Loki corrects him. Humans are so easy to fool.
"So what?" he retorts.
"When you thought you were taking advantage of me, I took advantage of you. You opened the gates for me to enter your computer system, with that little vial you fed your computer," Loki smiles at him wickedly.
"So that's how they found here so fast," the man grimaces.
"I actually have to thank you for that. You made my rescue only possible," she huffs.
"What was my third mistake, then?" the man questions.
"Well, you actually did right by taking my weapons from me," she smiles.
"So how is that my mistake?" Sinister frowns.
"What your analysis seemingly failed to tell you is that simply putting them on a pedestal in the same room with me still in it will hardly solve the problem," Loki tells him, her emerald eyes flashing brightly. Sinister means to say something, but that is when Loki's daggers appear behind him and mean to stab him. The man shrieks, but manages to roll away, only gaining a few grazes.
"You shouldn't have done that," he bellows.
The machine above her now looms closer, a red gleam coming out of its center. Thor and the Hulk already mean to lunge forward, but that is when the wall next to them explodes in blue-white light. A circular object flies through the air and deforms the metal arm so that the red blow hits the ground. And out of the dust and smoke step three very healthy Avengers.
Loki lets out a sigh of relief – it worked. She had to make sure that this way was kept free for Steve, Tony and Clint to move in, which is why she had to ensure that Thor and the others stayed where they were. Really, such bothersome business.
"What?! How is that possible?! You were exposed to deadly chemicals?!" Sinister cries out, totally perplex. His eyes fall back on Loki, who grins at him, "You were under the impression that they were, once again. See mistake two."
"What?" he gasps.
"I told you, my mind is a dark place. I took you into one of its corners," Loki grins at him evilly.
"But it's on camera," he insists.
"Which is part of your computer system, so again, look back to mistake two. All I had to do was to create those pictures and have them flicker across the screen. You are truly foolish if you believe that you can trick a trickster," Loki snarls, narrowing her eyes.
He picked the wrong God to battle.
And he definitely picked the wrong time, too.
"But, but, but...," he stammers, honestly shocked.
"That's the difference between a mutant and a God," she huffs.
"She's right. And that means, you're so going down now, fella," Tony smirks, already raising his hand to fire at him.
"Not yet," he mutters, before pushing a few buttons on his panel. Clint already sends an arrow flying through the man's hand, making him shriek. Tony fires some blasts at him and Steve tosses his shield into the mix, too. Thor meanwhile, runs up to Loki to get her out of that stool. Their eyes meet for a second, the unspoken message clear.
We get you out of here.
Everything else comes later.
"Those chains won't come off," he growls as he tears at them with all his might. Loki already guessed that, but she is still disappointed that not everything seems to work out.
Because you can't plan everything, sadly.
A lesson she has to learn over and over.
"Stark?! We need your help here," Loki cries out.
"On my way," Tony says, shooting one last beam at Sinister and his men before turning to Bruce. "Hulk? Wanna smash a little?"
The Hulk already jumps ahead.
"Just what I thought," he chuckles as he makes his way over to the two Norse Gods.
"We can't get these off," Thor growls, utterly disappointed that he can't do much to save the one person he cares about.
"God Chains? Sinister really managed?" Tony can't help but comment.
"Yeah, SHIELD will eat its heart out," Loki huffs. "I think I saw a panel down there. Maybe you can switch it off or disable it."
Tony makes the helmet go up and bends down to take a look at the device.
"Crackers, that will take a bit," he grimaces. That is when Sinister's remaining machines swarm in. "Work as fast as you can," Thor tells him, already swinging his hammer. "I entrust her into your care."
"... oh, please," she rolls her eyes, but Thor is already away and fights off the machines so that Tony has time to work on the restraints.
"So... you made him believe that you killed us?" Tony asks casually, his fingers swiftly working on the panel.
"I saw no other way to fool him," Loki replies. She could affect the screens to leave Sinister under the impression that they were killed so that he wouldn't bother about them anymore. If she had chosen Thor, she would have been forced to fake his appearance there, and that would have been discovered within seconds.
"Hey, I would only say something if you actually did," Tony shrugs.
"Then you'd be dead and wouldn't say anything at all," she argues.
"I'd come to haunt you as a ghost," he warns her.
"... that is upsetting," she makes a face.
"Right, so you better never kill us... again," Tony smirks.
"Noted," Loki agrees.
"Okay, no, that won't budge," Tony says, straightening up. "Can't you shapeshift into a worm or something to get away?"
"... you seriously think I wouldn't have tried that?" she rolls her eyes.
"You can't access them through the mental connection with the computer?" Tony questions.
"No, I tried. This is controlled by a different mechanism as far as I'm concerned," she sighs. Otherwise, she would have escaped a long time ago.
"Alright, then stay where you are. I go looking for the right mechanism and switch it off," Tony tells her.
"Stay where I am?! What else am I supposed to do?!" she huffs. Tony winks at her before putting the helmet back on and making his way to the panels, charging Sinister along the way. Loki rolls her eyes, hitting the back of her head against the metal table angrily. Meanwhile, Tony managed to get past Sinister to work on the computers thanks to Steve's help. He, Thor and Clint now keep the man at bay while the mechanic tries to bring the restraints off.
"You will not succeed," Sinister cries out.
"No, you will lose," Steve argues, firing his shield at him another time. Sinister manages to escape and in the same motion produces a device out of his pocket.
"... please let it not be a self-destruction button, that's so cliché," Tony mutters, but that is when the man already cries out, "I will blow up the entire building along with you!"
Tony rolls his eyes. Clint fires one of his arrows his way, but sadly it's too late. The man already pushed the button. The walls start to shake and crumble.
"We have to get out of here!" Natasha cries out.
"Not without Loki," Thor insists.
"Well, obviously!" the agent huffs. "Tony?"
"I need... two more minutes," Tony grimaces, his fingers dancing over the keyboard.
"We don't have...," she means to say, but she is suddenly met by a wave of anger from the mechanic she didn't expect.
"I know, alright?!" Tony growls, now perfectly sincere. He knows it's cliché, but he needs two minutes, at least. Fussing about it won't help it. Tony hears a cracking sound above him. A huge part of the ceiling is about to fall down on him. The Iron Man already braces himself to dodge, but that is when the bit of ceiling is engulfed in a translucent green light and slowly moved away behind him to hit the ground in a loud thud. His eyes drift off to the table where Loki looks back at him, giving a small nod.
Maybe she can at least do that for the team.
"Hey! Let's try to transport out with the cubes!" Natasha suggests.
"Do it! Use one on Loki!" Clint adds. The female agent rushes to the other woman. She puts it right beneath the table. The cube opens, the light appears, but... nothing happens.
"The heck?!" she cries out.
"You seriously think I didn't know about that little trick of yours yet? I took precautions," Sinister laughs.
"I can't even express how much I hate you right now," Natasha grumbles. Clint kicks him in the back to underline her point.
"What do we do now?" Steve asks, busily using his shield to protect himself against the debris.
"Okay, guys! Everyone else goes, I get out Loki and then we make our escape," Tony then speaks up in a sincere voice.
"That's not happening and you know it," Natasha argues.
"It's the best choice," Loki argues, her eyes fixed on another piece meaning to crush one of her fellows. "I don't know how long I can hold this up. It's enough to keep the stones away from Stark, but I can't do it for all of you over an extended period of time."
"Go!" Tony agrees.
"Use one of the cubes and go, we use the other," Loki adds.
"Fine!" Natasha holds up her hands. She knows that they are of no help now. As much as it sucks, they can't do what either one of them can do, well, except for Bruce, maybe. The Hulk takes a hold of Sinister and he and the other three humans make their way to the cube which already erupts in its bright light.
"Thor, you go with them, too," Loki says to the thunderer. She knows that he would rather hold her hand, as foolish as it is, but foolishness is a luxury they don't have now.
"I'm short up behind you," she adds, now in a softer voice.
"I'm waiting," Thor says before he runs into the light of the cube as well. He is swallowed by it along with the others. Then the lights die out, leaving Tony and Loki in the collapsing building.
"So, just you and I, Princess," Tony says in a casual tone.
"How... was your day?" Loki sighs. Curiously, it actually works for both of them to joke about a situation or revert to trivial conversation in situations of crisis.
"Tiring. Yours?" Tony grins, his fingers erratically working on the panels.
"One pain in the arse," she huffs.
"Cash that," he snorts. Loki moves another huge chunk of the ceiling away, her breathing labored.
"How are you holding up there, Empress?" Tony grimaces, realizing her shallow breathing.
"I'm literally... hanging in... there," she grunts, pulling against her restraints to underline her point.
"That's the spirit," Tony grimaces.
"How far are you?" she asks, her voice quivering, though she keeps calm.
"The firewall is one pain in the ass, but I'm almost there," Tony assures her.
"If you do not break through within the next minute, you will go as well," Loki then says in a flat voice.
"You seriously think that I'd leave you behind now?" Tony makes a face.
She can't be serious, right?
"I will toss you into the cube's flux. That is a matter of fact, and not of your choice," Loki tells him. It's one thing to have them rescue her, but another to risk their lives in her name. She will not accept that, no.
She cares for those people... maybe even more than she does for herself.
"That's not happening. All for one and one for all," Tony argues.
"I'm no Musketeer," Loki sighs.
"You're an Avenger," Tony retorts.
"Forty seconds," Loki hisses, not in the least impressed.
She will not allow that someone else pays for her mistakes.
And she will not allow it that severe harm is done to her... friends.
"I will not go," Tony tells her.
"You will," she growls, moving more pieces away.
"You can't force me," he argues.
"Try me," Loki huffs.
"Congratulations, by the way," Tony says, a smirk tugging at his lips.
"Shut up," she mutters.
"Hey, will you name it after me? I mean, for saving your life and all?" Tony grins.
"Not in all eternities," the trickster shakes her head.
"Anyways, I'm almost done, Empress," Tony tells her. Another huge pieces comes down on him. Loki closes her eyes, trying to concentrate, but her mind is flooding back and forth like waves.
Pain comes in, certainty goes out, worry comes in, strength goes out, death comes in, life goes out.
If only she had all her powers, then this would be much an easier endeavor, but no, of course, it must be Odin's punishment for her actions that may now lead to her downfall, and possibly of that of one of her friends, too, which is unacceptable.
Black dots dance in front of her, taunt her.
Just let go.
Then it's all over.
She shakes her head.
No, no more giving up.
She found a will to fight.
For her friends. For that small creature within her, whatever it will be.
For her new family.
Loki pushes the huge stone further, but finds her powers fading even more.
"I can't hold it anymore!" she whimpers.
"Oh, dammit!" Tony cries out as he sees the huge block coming down now over Loki's head. She is still too preoccupied with the stone roaming above his head that she doesn't even realize it. Tony finally hears the beep he hoped for and then the glorious chink of the restraints coming off. He instantly flies in Loki's direction, the ceiling only inches from her. He tosses the cube ahead, past Loki.
"Duck, duck, duck...," he mutters. The white light erupts, but that is when the stone comes down.
Everything collapses.
"Where are they?!" Thor cries out, nervously pacing.
It can't be that they lost now, right?
They can't lose.
They cheated death together.
No checkmate, no.
However, that is when the white light erupts next to them, spitting out Tony, who, still in flight, tumbles to the ground, leaving a massive crater behind.
"Goose!" he cries out as he tumbles over the ground. The others hurry over while Tony gets on his knees, his helmet going up. Beneath him is Loki whom he managed to capture last second.
"Empress? Hey, c'mon, no time for beauty sleep now," he says worriedly once he realizes she is unconscious.
"Are you guys alright?" Steve yells as they finally reach them.
"I'm fine, but I don't know about Loki," Tony admits, sliding to the side to give Bruce space, and of course Thor, whose eyes are wide and bloodshot from unshed tears.
"What is it with her?" Thor asks.
"I guess she used up all her energy to keep the ceiling from falling down on us," Tony shrugs.
"She seems fine," Bruce speaks up. "I think she is just exhausted.
Thor runs his palm over the side of her face where a bruise is already forming.
"What about the child?" he asks, his voice thick.
"I don't know. I have no equipment to check," Bruce admits. "I can only hope that this didn't... cause damage."
"Then let's bring her to the Mansion, now," Clint says, already tossing one of the cubes ahead. Thor picks up Loki's still form and hurries into the light. The others follow them.
One last thing:
To sakiko of soleana: THANK YOU SOOOOOOO MUCH.
To Robotic Worm and the anonymous reviewer – you obviously guessed correctly. Confetti for you!