A/N: Wow, three chapters in one evening. That must be some kind of record. Okay, just a little warning here, this chapter gets pretty violent, hence the T rating. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: (I totally forgot to put this on the last two chapters but it applies to the whole story.) I do not own Avengers! That is all.
Susan felt sick to her stomach. That man who had claimed to be her father was… well she wasn't sure exactly what she was doing to that man, but it looked painful. Then the dark haired man looked up at her with a smirk of satisfaction on his face. They held each other's gaze for a moment and then Max began to drag her out of the building along with the fleeing masses. Just before she was out of view of the terrifying man he winked at her. This made her feel sicker yet.
When Susan and Max made it outside with all of the other people from the building they assumed they would be safe, they began to rush from the area, but before anyone could get far the man who claimed to be Loki stepped out in the square, now it full gold and green armor. When the people went one direction he appeared there by some form of magic or technology - Susan didn't know which, but it was terrifying whatever it was. When the people were sufficiently herded the man spoke.
"Kneel before me!" He ordered. No one obliged to this command. Susan was trembling as she felt his eyes on her. It seemed as if he was putting on this show just to prove to her what he actually was. He slammed his staff down on the ground and three copies of himself spread around them, corralling them like animals, "I said… kneeeeeeel!" This time not a soul hesitated to do as he commanded. Even in their finery, the German people got down on their knees and tried not to look the man in the armor in the eye.
Susan kneeled along with the rest of the people, as did Max. Neither of them wanted to be picked out at this time, for who knew what the madman was capable of doing? Susan trembled and Max wrapped his arm around her shoulder in a comforting way.
"Is not this simpler?" The man before them asked smugly. He began to walk through the crowd like a king amongst his subjects, "Is this not your natural state? It's the unspoken truth of humanity, that you crave subjugation. The bright lure of freedom diminishes your life's joy in a mad scramble for power, for identity. You were made to be ruled. In the end you will always kneel…"
Susan shuddered as he passed by her and his cloak brushed her arm. To think, she had been having a conversation with this crazy guy less than twenty minutes ago. A scarier thought was that this display of power proved what he said was true. He was Loki of the old Norse myths. If he hadn't been lying about that then why would he lie about being her father? He wouldn't and that thought made Susan more afraid than she had ever been in her life.
It gave Loki great satisfaction to see the Midgardians bowing before him - on their knees in a pathetic surrender to his power. As he walked above these worthless creatures a head of auburn hair caught his attention. Sigrid. She kneeled with the rest of them, with the man named Quigley's arm wrapped around her shoulders to keep her from trembling. Whether she trembled from cold or fear he did not know, but seeing that man's arm on his child's shoulders made him angry. Before he moved on through the crowd he decided to deal with this issue then and there. It would do no good to leave loose ends when he was king of this wretched lot.
"You there," He called out, tapping Quigley with his scepter harshly, "Rise."
The man took a shuddering breath and took his hand off of Sigrid and standing up. He did not meet Loki's gaze, which only served to irritate the Asgardian more. He extended his scepter once more and used the curved blade to lift the Midgardian's face so their eyes met.
"What do they call you?" Loki asked, as if he did not know, as if the name wasn't seared into his mind in jealousy.
"Maxwell Quigley, of New York." Quigley said in a surprisingly calm voice.
"Well then, Maxwell Quigley of New York," Loki mocked, "What do you think of my little speech here? Do you agree that humanity craves subjugation?"
Susan held her breath. Just say yes, Max, my mom needs you to come back to her. Just say yes, just say yes!
"No. Freedom may 'diminish our joy', but it's one of the only things that keeps us going." Max said bravely. Susan felt like smacking him silly. How could he be so stupid and brave? Now was not the time to be courageous, now was the time to do as the big scary man said and hope he passed them by.
"Oh? Is this what you believe deeply? Does this belief define your very being?"
Max nodded confidently. "Yes."
The man with the curly horned helmet smiled and thrust the scepter forward, piercing Max's throat and making him crumple to his knees. Susan let out a shocked cry and scrambled over to where the body had fallen.
"Max! No, no, no! Max! Don't do this!" Susan cried, tears welling as she held his head in her lap, "Mom needs you to make it back home Max, you can't do this." She began whispering hoarsely. As she held his lifeless form the man in the armor - Loki - moved forward once more.
"Yes, you will always kneel, whether you like to or not."
An old man stood and boldly declared that they would not kneel to men like him.
"There are no men like me." Loki smirked.
"There are always men like you."
"Look to your elder people," He gestured to the old man with his staff and then at Max's bloody corpse with his other hand, "And the brave among you. Let them be an example."
Susan feared for the old man as a blue energy surge welled in the staff and then shot toward him. Then out of no where a man in an outfit that rather resembled the American flag jumped in front of the man with a red, white, and blue shield and reflected the blast. It hit Loki and knocked him to the ground, right by Susan's side. She screamed, but did not leave Max. Her brain could not accept the fact that her soon to be stepfather was gone so she stayed by his side.
"You know," Said the man in the American flag suit, "The last time I was in Germany, and saw a man standing above everyone else… we ended up disagreeing."
Loki glared at the man before him. "The soldier," He laughed, rising to his feet, "The man out of time."
"I'm not the one who's out of time." The man grunted and a jet swooped out of the night sky and aimed it's guns at Loki. Susan cringed, she hoped there would not be a fight, she couldn't leave Max here alone.
"Loki," A voice from the jet called, "Drop the weapon and stand down."
Loki was slightly irritated to be interrupted whilst making an example of the old man and Sigrid's stepfather, but he supposed in the long run it was all part of the plan so he let it go. When the jet flew down and ordered him to drop his scepter he glanced at Sigrid, who was at his feet. Her hands were covered in Quigley's blood and there were tears streaking her face. The smallest pinch of guilt sparked in Loki's heart, but he quickly pushed it aside and fired a shot at the jet. The blue energy just missed. Captain America threw his shield and it bounced off of Loki's chest. While Loki was recovering all of the crowd rushed away to safety and the soldier ran forward and hit him in the face.
Loki noticed that Sigrid did not move, only cowered over the corpse. It would not do to have his daughter wounded in this inevitable duel, he must get her to safety before retaliating against the captain. Quickly, Loki bent down and picked Sigrid up by her arm. The poor, foolish captain was unsure of what to do now that it appeared Loki had a hostage.
"I am sorry, Sigrid, but I am doing this for reasons beyond your comprehension." Loki whispered. Before the girl could respond he used his Asgardian/Jotun strength and threw her across the square where she landed safely in a bush. The only matter now was the corpse of Quigley, but that could easily be stepped around.
Loki used his scepter and jabbed at Captain America, clanging against his shield. The soldier blocked a few more hits, but then Loki got one in that sent him spiraling backwards and into the pavement. Captain America rolled back into fighting position and threw his brightly painted shield at the Asgardian. Loki batted it away easily and then swiped at the captain again. He ducked and swung his own punches, but neither man connected for a moment. Finally, Loki knocked him back again, this time the super soldier was not quick enough to roll back into action and he landed on his stomach. As he got up, Loki held his head down with the scepter, triumphant.
Susan ached all over after being thrown into the bush. She shrieked as she saw the man who claimed to be her father and the man in the American flag suit fighting each other. Loki pushed the other man into the ground and held his head down with the golden staff menacingly.
"Kneel." It was barely a whisper, but it sounded so victorious that it filled Susan with fright once more. This madman, Loki, could not win. He could not. Couldn't the police do anything? If Loki won who was to say what would happen to Susan? He claimed to be her father, but if he was bent on world domination then he wouldn't want her around, perhaps he'd let her go. Who was she kidding? He was a complete psycho and he seemed to be very possessive - that was why he'd killed Max wasn't it?
The man in the red, white, and blue suit suddenly got up and kicked Loki, proudly exclaiming: "Not today!"
The two men began to wrestle all over the square and the jet lowered, trying to get a clear shot. All of a sudden loud rock 'n roll music played out. What looked to be a red and gold robot man zoomed onto the scene.
"Iron Man." Susan whispered, just as the superhero fired a blast at Loki, sending him flying backwards and landing with a sickening thud on the stairs.
"Make a move, Reindeer Games." Tony Stark, the billionaire superhero said through his metal mask. Loki raised his hands and his helmet and armor vanished, "Good move."
Susan cringed when Loki looked her way with a concerned expression. She tried to sink lower into the bush, but no extra cover could be provided. The man in the green and gold had his eyes fixed on her while Iron Man and the American flag guy exchanged greetings. Loki scowled and took a few calming breaths, still staring at her.
"Before you drag me off, there is one thing I'd like to collect." Loki said somewhat meekly.
"And what's that?" Iron Man asked, glancing around. He spotted Susan in the bush, "Hey kid, are you alright over there?"
"That 'kid' is what I would like to collect." Loki told them, slowly getting up while keeping his hands in the air.
"Why?" The star spangled superhero asked.
"Little girl, do you know this crazy reindeer?" Iron Man asked.
Susan nodded shakily. "He says that he's my father and I think he's telling the truth."
A small smile found it's way to Loki's face and Susan tried to shut him out by looking to Iron Man. She climbed out of the bush and brushed off her torn party dress. It pained her as that thought sunk in a little. Her biological father was a Norse myth who had just killed her stepfather and terrorized a hundred or so people by forcing them to bow down to him. She had his blood running through her own veins and that fact had just now sunk in.
"Your father? Yeesh, and I thought I had daddy issues," Iron Man joked, "Loki, does your family know about her? Or is this your first time meeting? You two must have so much bonding to do."
"So you admit that I am your father, Sigrid? What changed your mind, the murder or the speech?" Loki took a step toward her and she took a step back. The man in the American flag suit, who Susan was guessing was Captain America, put handcuffs on her father's wrists, but the trickster remained smiling at her.
"Well, if you're important to Loki then you'll be important to SHIELD. You'll be coming with us, miss." The captain told her leading Loki over to the landing jet.
"What? No! I've got to get home. And what about…" She got choked up on tears, "What about Max?"
"Who?"
"My stepfather, well, my mom's fiance."
Loki smiled wickedly. "To clarify, captain, the corpse on the ground over there."
Captain America looked at the body with a hint of disgust on his face and then back at Susan. She had fresh tears starting to trickle down her cheeks.
"We can't just leave him here."
"Romanoff?" Captain America said into his earpiece, "Send in paramedics for the man down. We're bringing Loki aboard along with a teenage girl."
"I told you, I can't go, I need to go back to my mom! If she hears about this on the news she'll be worried sick! Please, let me go home." Susan pleaded.
Iron Man opened his face mask and rolled his eyes. "It's not like you're in any trouble, kid, we just want a little bit of information. We can have you back to your mom as soon as we're done dealing with your dad."
Not knowing what else to do, Susan let the two superheroes lead her aboard the jet.
A/N: Well? What did you think? Is it worth your time? Stupid? You tell me. Leave a review, I love them so! :)