Chapter Five

For the Term of His Unnatural Life

Alex had little time nor inclination to ponder what kind of punishment Loki had in store for her. He was a subtle creature. It was unlikely her punishment would be as blatant as whipping or bondage, though she pondered whether Loki would want to indulge in such acts before he grew tired of her.

Alex scolded herself for dwelling on such unhealthy thoughts. Thor had been less than forthcoming with information: maybe she would be on Earth – Midgard – for months, even years? Would Loki's interest in her survive such a length of time? Not that it necessarily mattered...

Hoisting her rucksack higher onto her shoulder, Alex followed Thor down the expanse of the Rainbow Bridge. At its end perched the skeletal beginnings of a new observatory, the Tesseract glowing at its heart. According to those designing it, the beauty of this new structure would make the old observatory resemble a dirty barn. Alex seriously doubted anyone in Asgard even knew what a dirty barn was.

It was only once they stood before the high archway that would one day be the entrance, exchanging silent greetings with the ever stoic Heimdall, that Alex began to ponder the reasoning behind her summons. Thor had told her to be ready within the hour, but in no way insinuated that it was a life or death situation. No doubt it would be nothing more than a standard S.H.I.E.L.D meeting, which apparently Alex needed to attend. Nevertheless, she could not shake the feeling that maybe, just maybe, Thor and the Avengers had found out about her nightly activities.

Of course this was ridiculous. She and Loki had only been at it two nights...

Still...

Gulping, Alex avoided the direct glance of the all-seeing Heimdall before following Thor into the observatory. Despite the marvel of Asgardian architecture being constructed around it, the Tesseract remained safely encased within the vessel designed by Tony Stark. Taking the second handle of the device, Alex prepared herself from the gut churning journey through space and time.

"Are you ready?" Thor's voice seemed distant, despite their proximity. Alex could not help but wonder what was on his mind. The God of Thunder hardly seemed the contemplative type, but the last few hours he had seemed... preoccupied.

Alex nodded. "As I'll ever be."

The moment the handles were turned, both she and Thor were plunged into a dancing ocean of rainbow light. It was as though she had been snagged by a giant fishing line, the hook imbedded deep in her naval, dragging her forward. It was not painful. Disorientating, yes, but not painful. After what seemed like millennia, or perhaps only a millisecond, her booted feet collided with solid ground. The stench of ozone filled her nostrils, soon to be followed by the much more homely aroma of... coffee?

"Welcome back, Alexandra."

Alex blinked several times, barely registering the fact that there were several faces looking straight at her. She followed the scent of coffee, her eyes finally falling upon a tall, fit middle-aged man with a shock of dark hair. He held the cup of coffee out to her with a tanned hand, deep brown eyes gleaming. Alex paled but took the coffee anyway.

Of course she should have known he would be there. He was her supervisor after all, the man who had brought her out from Australia to work for S.H.I.E.L.D. If it were not for Lucas Malory she would still be an analyst, wasting away in an office writing reports for the government. He said he saw her potential: that was why he got her reassigned. That was why she spent the next two years training at a top secret facility in the Australian outback. It was only one year into this training that she realised that Malory wanted something in return.

"Lucas." Her voice was weak, but she was fortunately saved from further conversation by the deep tones of Nick Fury. Even though she had met the likes of Odin, Fury still scared the living daylights out of Alex. His lips never seemed to crack into a smile, his one remaining eye boring into hers so intensely it was as though he could read her thoughts.

A disturbing concept, considering their lascivious nature.

"Agent Beckett. No doubt you are wondering why we have called you here."

Alex sipped the coffee. It took almost everything she had not to groan. Malory might be a controlling prick, but he knew her coffee preferences down to a tee. She nodded at Fury. It was only now that she realised that she was standing on top of Stark Tower, high above the decimated city of New York. Even from here, she could see the repair work starting on the surrounding buildings. In the distance, one of the Chitauri leviathans was being dismembered, lowered down in pieces from its final resting place atop a several story apartment block.

Stark Tower was not exactly looking chipper itself. All the letters but one had been torn from its side, the smashed windows now covered in semi-transparent tarpaulins. Tony Stark himself was one of their greeting party, along with Steve "Captain America" Rogers and Dr Bruce "The Hulk" Banner.

Fury continued. "It's probably best if we talk about this inside."

The group was anything but silent as they headed into the tower. Stark, unused to keeping his tongue still, was talking to Thor who seemed to take everything the mortal man said with a stab of insult. Alex was not really paying attention. Instead, her ears were tuned only to the smooth words of Malory.

"I have been trying to get you assigned to my project for weeks now."

Alex simply sipped her coffee, allowing her supervisor free reign of the conversation.

"Asgard is a dangerous place, and while I am flattered that Fury would choose one of my agents for this assignment I can't help but feel that-"

His greasy tones were cut short as they entered a conference room to find Agents Natasha Romanoff and Maria Hill sipping coffee in silence. Clint "Hawkeye" Barton was perched by the large windows, peering out toward the broken cityscape. Upon Fury's entrance, everyone took a seat. Alex did not even have enough energy to gasp in surprise when a holographic monitor appeared before her, an illusion that reeked of Stark tech.

Fury ran a finger against the display in front of them, synchronising all of the monitors. "Since the defeat of the war criminal Loki four weeks ago, I have been working with Thor, Stark and Malory to develop a way to permanently incarcerate him here on Earth." Fury was never one to waste words, and this blunt beginning caused Alex, as well as several of the others seated at the table, to look up in surprise.

Rogers was the first to comment. "I was under the impression that he would remain with Thor's people."

Thor looked somewhat uncomfortable at this. "Loki is only being punished for his crimes against Asgard. Odin believes it is up to Midgard to punish him for the actions he committed here."

Stark snorted. "In other words, your dad doesn't give a crap."

"I did not say that," growled Thor. Stark opened his mouth to respond, only to be cut short by Fury.

"The only problem with this project has been finding a location for Loki's prison, a problem we think we have now solved."

The information on the monitors changed. Now they could see a red landscape dotted with gnarled trees. In the distance a vast expanse of coastline ran into the horizon. The picture zoomed in, finally bringing them to what looked like an abandoned mine bordered by an empty campsite.

"I've been here," Alex started. "A few years back. There's nothing out there, what makes you think..?"

"Exactly," Malory smirked. "There is nothing out there. What we do have is a system of empty mining tunnels, and easy access through these shafts." He gestured to three main points, the impact of his finger against the monitor highlighting these areas in red on the adjoining screens. "The campsite nearby can be easily monitored by S.H.I.E.L.D personnel, any tourists deterred. It's the perfect location."

"How do you intend to deter the tourists?" Alex asked dryly. "I camped there."

Fury almost cracked a smile at this. "I believe men with guns usually make a pretty good deterrent, Agent Beckett."

"I was under the impression that we wanted to keep the location top secret," Stark drawled. "It's hardly secret if we have a bunch of S.H.I.E.L.D lackeys hanging about."

"We'll just say it's a military base," Malory replied. "The Geraldine lead mine is kilometres away from anything. If the prisoner did escape, we would spot him long before he makes it to any populated areas. Besides, no one would suspect a top secret facility of existing in the middle of Western Australia." He shot a quick, knowing wink in Alex's direction. She frowned.

"How long will we keep him there?"

"For the term of his natural life," Malory replied. "Or unnatural life, as the case may be."

A quick glance around the room revealed to Alex that most of the Avengers thought the idea as preposterous as she did. Yet, there was something else that neither Fury nor Malory were saying, something that made her feel even more uncomfortable. If Loki did manage to escape, if he made it to one of the surrounding population centres down the Western coast of Australian, the damage would be considered minimal. Her home, her country had only twenty-million people. Should they keep Loki in the United States, they would be endangering the lives of over three-hundred million.

It was Barton that broke the uncomfortable silence. "What's the point exactly? I agree he needs to be punished, but why not let him rot away in Asgard?"

Once again the monitors changed, flashing the cobalt cube of the Tesseract. Fury cleared his throat. "Loki had allies. Thor tells us that one of these goes by the name of Thanos. Should he come to earth, having Loki here could be of use to us."

"Or a danger," Barton suggested.

"Either way, development of the complex has started." Fury flicked the screen once more. The idyllic tree strewn scene they had seen before was now covered in a number of tents and SUVs. One of the water filled mine shafts was being emptied. "We estimate it will be completed within a year. Thor tells us that Odin has agreed to hand over the prisoner at this time. This brings me to Agent Beckett-"

Alex looked up from her monitor. So far she had been pondering the reasons why she had even been summoned. She may have visited the Geraldine campsite in the past, yet two nights sitting around a campfire singing lewd songs hardly made her an expert.

"You will remain on Asgard for the next year to monitor the prisoner."

At this Malory stood up, evidently shocked by this decision. "I thought we agreed-!"

Fury cut him short. "Once Loki is here, you will be assigned to the Geraldine outpost, under the supervision of Malory."

"This is not what we agreed," hissed Malory. "She was meant to stay with me!"

Fury did not even stir. "When you brought Agent Beckett to S.H.I.E.L.D headquarters, you put her under my jurisdiction."

Malory continued to seethe, but thankfully chose to keep his lips shut. Had Alex slept a wink the night before, rather than spending the time twisting the sheets with Thor's adopted brother, she may have been able to contemplate the situation a little better. She would be on Asgard for another year. A year of drunken Asgardians, of days spent wandering around the golden city, of nights interrupted by the God of Mischief. It was a truly terrifying thought.

"Director Fury," she stammered slowly, her voice almost inaudible. "I'm not exactly sure I am the best person for this."

"You are the only person for this. You have spent the most time with the prisoner, apart from those assembled here."

Alex almost smiled. In other words, she was the only one at the table who was not indispensable. She could feel almost every set of eyes trained on her. It was by far the most unusual meeting she had ever attended, everyone dead silent, the topic of conversation so vague as to almost be ridiculous.

Finally, she nodded. "I will do it."

oOoOoOo

The tunnels and hidden paths channelled through Odin's palace like arterial veins. They had been there for millennia, originally constructed so that the servants could flitter from room to room unseen. It had been many years since that sort of practice was deemed politically incorrect in Odin's eyes, and now the tunnels were all but forgotten. As a child, Loki had used them in aid of his mischief, as an adult he continued this practice, though the mischief had taken on a darker, more nefarious, air.

The journey to the mortal's chambers was one he had made every day since her departure two weeks previous. Of course, there was no reason for Thor or Odin to inform him when she returned. At the end of the first week he had been utterly furious. The stupid chit was meant to be his balm!

Though the anger remained, Loki did not stop returning to the room. He slept in her bed, read her quaint Midgardian books, even experimented with some of the little devices she had brought along from home. He did not know why he kept coming back, knowing full well that there was a high likelihood she would not be returning. Perhaps it was the fact that his own chambers offered little comfort? That was the haven of his past, a place drenched with foolish childhood dreams and his father's cruel lie.

The panel that led into her chambers opened easily, silently. The room was dark, lit only by the full moon gleaming through slightly open curtains. While most nights he would be content to simply read or even take his pleasure upon her bed, his mind was unnaturally active this evening. His brother had finally returned from Midgard, but from what Loki could tell, Agent Beckett had not accompanied him. Loki had followed his brother's stomping footsteps through the halls, unheard in his secret tunnels. Every so often he peeked out through tiny concealed holes, catching a glimpse of the red and silver clad God of Thunder. Thor had led him straight to Odin's chamber.

"My son." The wisened king smiled. "I trust I find you well this night?"

Thor nodded deeply. "I apologise for my prolonged stay on Midgard, father." Much to Loki's delight, Thor looked positively uncomfortable. "I was spending time with Jane."

Spending time with Jane. Loki almost snorted. Pushing her into the mattress with his animalistic rutting more like. At least Loki could boast finesse as a lover.

"Heimdall informs me that the business on Midgard went well."

Thor looked up at his father's words. "Those who call themselves S.H.I.E.L.D believe they have found a suitable location for-"

"Hush, Thor." Odin held out his hand. Loki could have sworn he saw a rush of panic spread across the old man's face. "These halls have ears."

"Loki? But he is imprisoned within his chambers..?"

"Your brother wanders, though we are sworn not to see him." For an instant Loki was sure Odin was looking straight at him through the hole in the wall. "It would be wise to watch your tongue. Now tell me, is Agent Beckett to return?"

"Lady Alex agreed to continue observing Loki," Thor replied. "I am to return to Midgard to collect her in a week. She has been, as the Midgardians call it, on leave."

Loki had departed his hiding place at this stage, sure that he would derive no further information from the conversation. Though he had gathered the knowledge he wanted: that the silly little mortal would be back, his mind was occupied by something else. What was it that Odin did not want him to hear? What did Thor mean by location? Location for what? The only thing Loki knew for certain was that Alexandra knew the answers, and upon her return, he was determined to get them from her.

In every way he knew how.