This chapter is short, but I feel that it stands alone nicely. I plan on having another chapter up soon because I hate to leave this one hanging for too long. Please enjoy.

Loki shifted his position on the little cot. Taking a deep breath through his nose, he let it sit in his lungs till it began to burn. Then he let it slowly and silently stream out. The mortal, Fury, knew that Elizabeth had been looking for him and had managed to find him. He had appeared at the cell door and scared the girl away. When Loki had finally looked the man in the eye, he could see that the director knew about Elizabeth's visit. Nothing was said, but Loki knew that Elizabeth was discovered.

Loki recrossed his long legs. He felt somehow responsible for whatever may happen because the girl had come looking for him. He was powerless. He hated feeling what he did for the girl. A sour taste rose in his throat. You are weak. Loki told himself. You know the mortal creatures are beneath you. You know that you are not responsible for any of the mortals, least of all that silly child. He told himself these things, but his heart fluttered in suppressed disagreement.

/

Time passed slowly for me. Being confined to one place was fine, it was the utter lack of anything to entertain myself with that was getting to me. Eventually, I settled on sleeping. Just as I was about to nod off, there came a faint tapping on my door. I opened one eye in what I hoped was an expression of annoyance. To my unexpected pleasure, the tapping was accompanied by Darcy's grinning face. She motioned me to the door and punched in the quick code to slide it open. I flung myself off of the bed and hit the floor before the door was fully open.

I reached Darcy in a heartbeat and wrapped my arms around her. She patted me on the back awkwardly and I released her. " Tony says we have three minutes. " she said as she turned and started jogging down the hall. I took a few steps after her bouncing brown hair, then stopped in my tracks. " Loki. " I turned and ran in the opposite direction. I could hear Darcy call something back at me, but I disappeared around a corner before I could make out what she said. I took only a few halls before I found a familiar landmark, and remembered where I was. A few more turns after that, I was standing in front of Loki's cell. He looked at me, puzzled.

I could only stand and grin for a moment. Then Darcy rounded the corner and practically collapsed, out of breath. She staggered to the keypad and punched in a series of digits. The door whooshed open quietly and Loki stood in the opening. Many questions flitted around his expression, but I offered no answers. Instead, I took him by the wrist and followed Darcy back through the maze of hallways.

/

Natasha tapped her fingers impatiently on the wheel of the car. If Darcy did not hurry, the window for a clean escape would close on them. Romanov rubbed her fingertips together lightly. She wondered if agreeing to go with Stark's plan was her best choice.

He had called her just before the fiasco with Elizabeth. Stark had threatened to reveal the location of several of her personal safehouses if she did not take Elizabeth to it. If Natasha helped, Tony promised to erase all of the information he had on her private escapes on all of the databases he had access to. Natasha agreed to aid him, but she told him that blackmailing her was unnecessary. She liked Elizabeth enough that she would have helped the girl escape anyway.

Natasha's thoughts were interrupted by the appearance of the bouncing dark tresses of Darcy Lewis. Romanov watched in the mirrors as Darcy was followed by Elizabeth and the tall form of Loki. The back door of the car slammed shut after the girl and the god. Natasha wasted no time in driving the car out of the building and onto a dirt road in desperate need of some care.

/

We bounced along in an uneasy silence for a while. Finally I asked Natasha "I thought you were on the other side. Why are you doing this? I'm grateful, but I'm really confused too. " Natasha looked at me in the rear view mirror. "I choose my own side." she said. "Tony planted a virus that wiped out all of the cameras and alarm systems in the base. I am just transporting you to a safe location. There, you will stay until something else can be arranged." I held her gaze in the mirror. "Thank you." I said with as much seriousness as I could. I understood that this was an incredible risk for her and I owed her more than I could ever repay.