Thank you for your patience. This is a rather long chapter to try and make up for the previous quick one. Thank you to those that commented for their wonderful motivation. Please enjoy.
I was wearing another gown of Frigga's design. It was a soft felted fabric in a light blue. The scoop neckline and long sleeves were trimmed in a white fur much softer than any that I had felt on earth. She had also presented me with a long cape of the same color lined with the same fur. The front of the cape fastened under wide fur lined strips. On the top of the fastening, she had affixed my simple bit of embroidery.
When I asked her why she was sending me home in an outfit only fit for the beauty of Asgard, she replied with a cryptic smile. "It is a bit chill today. In both Asgard and Midgard." I decided it was better to thank her and not question the gift further.
...
Breakfast was pleasantly shared with all of the visiting Avengers and the tone of conversation was carefully centered on the wonderful sights and experiences in Asgard. It seemed that no one wanted to acknowledge that, in a few hours, we would all be sitting at Loki's trial, watching his fate be decided.
/
Loki sat on his bed and stared at his reflection in the mirror. Looking at himself, he saw his health was slowly returning after his time serving Thanos. His cheeks were still gaunt but a warmer tinge had taken root. His eyes were the most changed feature. When handling the tesseract, they had taken on a much bluer hue. Now, they were returned to the green color of an angry sea.
He rubbed the almost disappeared bullet scar on his side absently. It was still a vague red mark on his otherwise unmarred skin. Frigga's healing magic had helped his body to repair torn organs and flesh, but magic was incapable of healing all of the damage. His body was efficiently fixing itself more each day. All that was left now was a mild itch and ache beneath his ribs.
Standing, he pulled his tunic over his head and endeavored to find something to eat before the trial.
/
The trial was being held in the great court. I was thankful of Frigga's gift as it was rather chill in the giant room. A collection of Asgardians stood in the far corner to watch the proceedings. I stood with the Avengers.
Thor had opted to keep the armored company of Sif and the warriors three. I recognized both the blonde and the vaguely Asian members as men I had danced with last night. I also recognized some of the other Asgardians gathered but it was hard to tell because the glamorous armor had been shed in favor of more somber attire.
Frigga had taken a position just to the right of the grand golden throne. On the throne itself sat Odin. I recalled that he was a respectable figure from the feast last night, but now he was downright terrifying. He wore a gold eyepatch that was affixed there by no visible means. His helmet rested on the arm of the chair and a large spear-like weapon was clutched in his fingers.
When Loki was finally escorted into the great room, Odin stood and silence fell over all those in attendance. Loki looked small stranded in the center of the gathering. I was nervous and uncomfortable but he stood straight and proud.
Odin stood silent for a few nerve wracking moments then his voice boomed out, almost making me jump. "Loki Odinson, you are brought before us to determine what consequences you must face. They will be fair and justly executed as in accordance with our laws." He looked around the room. "The crimes you are held responsible for are thus: attempting to destroy a realm, attempting to subjugate a realm, and attempting to harm a race under the protection of Asgard. What do you have to say for your actions?" Odin's voice lingered in the room as he set his hard gaze on Loki.
Loki straightened his back. "All I have done, I have done with just cause." Odin and Loki held each other's gaze. "What cause was so great to readily harm so many?" Odin looked genuinely confused now. Loki's reply hung in the air, "peace".
A few murmurs were audible but cut out when Odin banged his spear on the floor. "There is no peace to be achieved through these means." Loki wrinkled his brow and began a protest. "Silence!" Odin cut him off with a bark. "I have deliberated at great length as to the consequences you have incurred." With a look at Fury, he continued. "As it was Midgard you tried to subjugate, it will be Midgard that will decide your fate. You will be sent with these warriors to face the justice system there." Loki looked somewhat relieved and worried at the same time. Odin continued, "your magic will remain suppressed." Loki looked physically pained at this. "This has been agreed upon by all parties that you have wronged." With a final pound of his staff, Odin solidified Loki's punishment and Loki was escorted from the room.
As all of the onlookers trickled out the doors, Odin sat back in the throne and took Frigga's hand. He still held himself strong but his eyes looked tired and sorrowful. Frigga stepped forward and stood in front of the collected Avengers. She too looked tired but maintained her polite manner. "Heimdal will send all of you, as well as Loki, back. I will escort you there now." She turned and strode from the room with everyone close at her heels.
...
Heimdal was waiting with Loki and his guards at the entrance to the rainbow bridge dome. Fury went to speak with Heimdal and the rest of the Avengers stood by uncomfortably. Frigga pulled me to the side. Leaning down and taking me by the shoulders, she looked pleadingly into my eyes. "Please take care of my son. I know he has done terrible things, to you and many others. But he is still my son, and I still love him." I nodded and she gripped my shoulder a bit tighter. "I have a feeling that you can protect him more than I." She smiled suddenly and reached into a pocket. She pulled out a small, folded piece of silvery fabric. Placing it in my hand, she said "I have enchanted it so that no matter how much you use, there will always be more. No matter how much it is cut, it will never be gone. It will change color as you wish it to. I did the same with the thread." "Thank you." I said incredulously.
Then Frigga turned to Loki. Placing her hand on the side of his face, she murmured something into his ear and planted a soft kiss on his cheek. Loki's mask flickered for a moment. Then Frigga turned to Heimdal. With a nod she turned and hurried back across the colorful bridge followed by Thor.
The huge man then escorted us inside and turned the thing on. The guards stepped carefully away as the dome spun faster and faster and the light within grew to a blinding glare. The same 'pulled in every direction' feeling as when Loki teleported grew with the light until it became almost unbearable.
Then the Avengers, Loki, and I were left standing on the top of a very large machine. I recognized the deck markings that indicated an aircraft carrier but I couldn't see past the thick fog around us. I hugged the cape closer to me. Frigga was right. I thought to myself. It is cold here. We were standing there for only a few moments before a group of about seven men and women came running across the deck to meet us. When they reached us, they were hardly winded despite the thin air.
Four of the agents surrounded Loki and trained their guns on him. The other two positioned themselves next to me and the woman that appeared to be in charge was already engaged in conversation with Fury.
...
Before long, I had learned that we were on a flying aircraft carrier. I felt like that seemed a little redundant but the views were really neat. I let myself be caught up in the human rush of activity and carried along in its current. Not long after arriving on the carrier, Fury, Loki, Banner, a whole squadron of agents, and I were boarding a much smaller aircraft returning to the ground station. We must not have been too far away because it took only about ten minutes before we landed on solid earth.
Inside the station, Banner bid me goodbye and hurried off. Fury led Loki and I outside to an armored van. He opened the door for us and our entourage of two remaining agents. Two more took the front seat of the van. Fury set Loki and I on the same bench while he took the opposite with the two agents. As soon as the doors were closed, the two agents slapped a pair of handcuffs on both Loki's and my wrists.
Confused, I turned to look at Fury for an answer. "I can understand him," I said with a gesture at Loki. "but what have I done?" He leaned back on the wall and gestured with a finger. "I don't trust him. And because I don't trust him, I don't trust you. I don't know what sort of voodoo crap he's done to you." He glared at Loki.
Looking taken aback, Loki squared his shoulders. "I have done nothing at all to her." Fury's face twisted in disgust. "I don't want to hear any of your shit."
Loki opened his mouth to protest again. One of the agents quickly slapped something over his mouth. Loki made a stifled noise and the man removed his hand. Covering Loki's chin and mouth was a metal contraption whose purpose was obvious. An unhappy noise emanated from behind it but Loki fell silent after that. He dipped his head and inspected the chain on the cuffs intensely.
Momentarily shocked at the inhumanity of gagging Loki, I recovered my wits and looked up at Fury. "What the hell?! He wasn't hurting you!" Fury raised an eyebrow at me. "Unless you would like to join him, I would shut up." I quickly thought better of my next comment and closed my mouth.
I spent the rest of the very long trip alternately inspecting the cuffs and eyeing the gun barrel pointed at my knee. The trip seemed to take forever and the seating was less than comfortable. Loki was very tense and each little bump jostled me into his sharp angles. When we finally came to a stop, one of the agents had to help me stumble stiffly down from the vehicle.
Loki was trundled rather harshly out behind me and the agents escorted us down several winding halls. We passed a few other agents along the way. Most spared no more than a passing glance. Eventually, a pair of agents split away and directed me off down another hall. I managed a look back at Loki but he stolidly ignored me.
The agents seemed to relax now that they were away from Loki and Fury. They slowed their pace and even holstered their guns. I felt a bit of my own nervousness fade and I ventured a question. "So," I began timidly, "where are we going?" The first agent, a woman, shot a look a her male counterpart. "I don't see the harm in telling you." The man shrugged his shoulders dismissively. "You have to go to the medical bay for some tests." He said matter-of-factly. "It won't take long. Then we have to ask you some questions."
I looked down and fingered the furred sleeve. "Oh." I wasn't sure what else to say. The woman laid a reassuring hand on my shoulder. "Don't worry." She smiled down at me. "It's not like an interrogation, we just want to know what happened and that you are okay." I managed a weak smile. "I'm not worried about that, I just really don't like medical needles or tests." It was only a half-truth, I was worried about both. She smiled back at me. "It will be fine." She gestured at the man, "James and I will be right there with you. You can bury your head in me if you like, that used to help me when I was little."
I nodded an acceptance to her offer and a little bit of the worry bled away. These were very kind people. I hoped that they would be the ones to 'ask questions'. I didn't think I could handle an actual interrogation like I had seen on TV.
/
Loki sat with his back against the white concrete wall. Fury had shut him in the plain cell without a word. Loki had paced till he was tired then slumped against the far wall. The handcuffs were still firmly clamped on his wrists and his jaw was becoming sore. The harsh fluorescent lights hummed as they glared unnatural light down at the god.
He understood. They intended to punish him first by giving him no liberties. Then, eventually, he would be given partial freedom and expected to cooperate under the threat of reinstating previous restraints.
Loki sat and contemplated this drawn out form of punishment. Slowly his thoughts turned to Elizabeth. Fury was convinced that she was currently a threat. S.H.I.E.L.D. would not let her go until they were completely assured that she was harmless. Maybe not even then. Loki sat and thought about this for a long time before realizing that he felt guilty about what might happen to her.
/
I really hate needles. I thought to myself over and over. Angela, the female agent, had decided to remove the cuffs and was working to distract me while vial after vial of blood was being drawn from my arm. "It can't help to stress you out more with these." She had told me when she took the shiny metal from around my wrists. She wrapped me in a firm hug when I had tried to stand up and move to a corner of the room.
She was asking me questions about my family and home and I was trying to answer her through the rising panic. So far, I had told her about my brother and sister, my cat, and what flavor of ice cream was my favorite. She responded to each of my choked and jumbled sentences with calm nods and smiles. She told me that she had three older brothers and they were all raised on a small ranch in Nebraska. James was holding my arm still for the doctor and he chimed into the conversation whenever I couldn't manage a coherent answer. I learned that he was raised in Chicago as the middle child with two sisters. He was about to go to an Ivy League school but when he was offered a job at S.H.I.E.L.D., he took it without hesitation.
Not long after I became completely unable to answer any questions, the doctor announced that he was done and James let go of my arm. A cotton ball was taped to my arm and I began to breathe again. I caught a glimpse of the tray of red filled vials and almost fainted right into James's arms.
A few minutes later, I was recovered enough to walk on my own. Angela kept her hand on my back, just in case, as we slowly made our way to another part of the facility. The room we finally stopped in held a table and three chairs. James sat me down in one and claimed another seat on the other side for his own. Angela had not seated herself yet. Instead, she smiled at me pleasantly and asked if I wanted anything to eat or drink. "You look really pale still." I shook my head weakly no but she hurried off anyway.
Left with James, I took a deep breath and tried to stop my nervous shaking. He reached across the table and patted my hand. "It's okay. It is only a few questions." I managed to smile at him. "No, it's not that, I just think they took about half of my blood." He chuckled. "Your heart was beating pretty fast there." My stomach churned and I nodded in what I hoped looked like a gesture of entertained agreement.
Angela saved me from any more forced conversation by pushing through the door with a plate laden with food. In her other hand, she carried three cups. She set the plate down in the middle of the table and distributed the cups before sitting down. She reached out and took a piece of apple from the plate and looked at me expectantly. "You should eat something sugary." I nodded and reached for a cookie with shaky hands. James took a brownie and sat back in the chair.
After I had munched through the cookie and half my cup of water, James asked if we could start with the questions. I nodded my assent and he left the room to go get supplies from another room. I brushed a few crumbs off of my lap. "I'm sorry." I said looking at Angela. "Im sorry I've been so much trouble." She laughed and gestured dismissively. "Please, you haven't been any trouble. This is probably the most pleasant day at work I have had in a long time."
James interrupted the story Angela seemed about to tell by opening the door and locking it behind him. "Procedure" he said as he slipped the key into his pocket. He tossed the pad of yellow paper down on the table. He pulled his chair in close to the table and pulled a pen from his jacket. "Please," he said with a businesslike tone, "can you tell us all that has happened since Loki escaped with you eleven days ago?"
I sat back in the chair. Had it really only been eleven days since Loki and I had been attached at the wrist? Only eleven days had changed me so much? In eleven days I had begun to feel emotions other than loathing for a man that had ruined my life. I tried to count backward. I had lost track of time in Loki's underground hideaway but I supposed that, in all, it really had been just over a week. "Elizabeth." Angela gently pulled me back to the present. "Elizabeth, we need to know what happened."