Rate M : Contain violent scene, kidnapping and torturing. Skip this chapter if it trigger you.
I don't know that this is necessary but better to take a precaution
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Let's enjoy the chapter :) The mysterious man revealed!
16 : UNEXPECTED RETURN
He threw his shield but the man simply caught it and threw it back to the soldier.
"You…" was all Steve could say.
"Greetings, Captain"
"How can this be?" He asked "Thor said you were killed in Svartalfheim"
"Oh, my dear brother keeps falling for that trick, its depressing nowadays he's yet to catch on. You were the only one who could feel my presence enough to believe that I am here while your friends feigned ignorance" Loki said, while his green eyes asserted the captain.
The last time he didn't have a chance to play with this one. The soldier had always had the perfect armor around him and the god didn't have a chance to penetrate that wall and find his weaknesses like he did with the captain's teammates.
But everyone has a weakness and the Captain was no exception.
"What are you doing here, Loki?"
"I just simply missed Midgard. That's all"
"Don't play with me, Loki. I know you have something up your sleeve"
"Let's just say I will try to conquer Midgard again"
"What army will you lead this time? Klingons? Wookies? Storm Troopers?" Steve taunted, boasting some of the knowledge he obtained in the years he'd been in the future. He could see the anger in the god's eyes.
Steve Rogers was the perfect challenge for the god of mischief. His teammates were easy to manipulate. This time, it will give Loki great pleasure in turning their precious captain against them.
He will break Steve Rogers. Even with that strong mind of his, Loki will twist it to his own design.
He just needed to find the perfect tools to break the man.
"No, I have something much stronger"
Steve charged in to attack the god. He had to stop Loki before he could do anything to harm this world again. But the god was stronger and faster than the soldier and Loki sent him flat to the ground, pressing his foot on the Captain's chest.
"You are no match for me, soldier. I can kill you in-"
The ringtone from Steve's iPhone rang, interrupting the god's speech. Loki picked up the phone from the ground where it fell. Green eyes went wide after he saw the screen.
The lock screen was of Steve and Natasha hugging one another while they napped in a park. Her caller ID was what intrigued Loki the most.
"Angel" he read aloud. "You gave her a very cute pet name, soldier" The god taunted. His foot still pressed on Steve's chest. "Wait! This is love, isn't it?"
From the looks of the captain's face and eyes that flashed with emotion and feeling, Loki knew the answer.
The god had found his perfect tool against the invincible Captain America.
"Oh captain, you must know that she doesn't deserve you. She is everything you are not."
"Nobody's perfect, including me"
Loki grabbed the captain's chin, "Then I shall test you, test how much you love her but I must warn you, the more you love her, the more fun it's going to be"
The god of mischief knocked Steve unconscious before answering his phone.
"Steve Where are —"
It was her. The one who he loathed the most. Now he had his chance to make her suffer. By using the one she loved against him. He answered the phone.
"Your precious Captain is indisposed at the moment. Please, call back at a more convenient time" and with that he dropped the phone from his hand.
Natasha remembered the voice that replied her. It was not Steve but the voice that she will remember to the day she died, the voice that still haunted her sometimes, filled with poison and persuasion.
"What's wrong, Red?" Tony asked.
"Loki captured Steve"
"I will get everyone" Pepper said and walked off to find the rest of the team.
"Are you sure?" Tony asked.
"Yes, I just talk to him. He says he is going to kill Steve" she said, taming the feelings of anguish and fear within her.
Everyone was gathered in their private room, face filled with fear. Steve was the only one in this team who didn't face Loki in the mental battle directly.
Thor was already in his battle armor and had summoned Mjolnir. Bruce tried very hard not to lose his cool. Tony summoned his Ironman suit. Clint had his bow and arrows ready.
"Guys, we need to calm down" Tony reminded "I know everyone wants to help Steve but we need a plan"
Brown eyes looking around the room, Natasha was occupied thinking about Steve.
"We should start with his last location" Bruce suggested.
"Here! Use this phone" Natasha handed Tony her iPhone "Let JARVIS find the location off the last call I made"
Tony narrowed his eyes when he saw the phone was not the one he designed for the team but he kept the question to himself and let JARVIS do what Natasha said.
"Pull up the surveillance feed please"
The feed from CTV displayed Steve chasing a man into an alley.
"That's Loki" Thor growled.
"Stark take me there!" Natasha demanded.
Tony complied and picked Natasha up before he flew away while Thor followed. Clint and Bruce were going to head back to the tower to better analyze everything.
The three of them found the alley but what they saw froze them. Steve's shield and his destroyed cell phone but no sign of the owner.
Steve was abruptly awakened by a splash of cold water to his face. He breath was hard, his lungs felt a sharp pain. In front of him was a mad god from Asgard, looking pleased with himself.
"This once use to be a Midgardian slaughter house" Loki started "They left quite an impressive equipment too"
"If you aim to use pain on me, it's not going to work"
"Oh, that will come after." The god replied "I know that you have a very high pain tolerant, captain. You're the super soldier after all"
Loki dragged a chair with him before sitting in front of the soldier who was tied to a column.
"Tell me about Romanoff"
"Go to hell"
"Then allow me to tell you about her. She is a vile, manipulative, disgusting excuse for a human being"
Steve tried to lunge at him, but Loki pushed him back down.
"You entertain the concept she loves you, yet you and I know fine well that is nothing more than a hollow statement. You lie to yourself, Rogers. You knew that second nature was not easy to change. Humans of today, not of your time, are so conceited. every word that spills from their disgusting lips is lie after lie after lie. theres no way they can change. mot i, not you, not anyone can change the human condition. And Natalia Romanova is definitely someone who can and never will change"
"You cannot trick me with your poisonous lies, Loki. You are wasting your time and mine"
Loki lightly chuckled "Oh soldier, there is much I can do if I just set my mind to it" The god stood up "No one will come for you, soldier. People you claim they are your best friends; they are nothing but a hand full of liars and killers. You are the one who is different from the others. You are noble, honest and chivalrous. You are not belong with them"
"Kill me or spare me the lecture. My friends will be here. You'll see"
Loki's lips twitched up in one twisted smile.
"Get a good sleep, soldier. Tomorrow will be a long day for you"
Tony let JARVIS ran a facial recognition program all night. The billionaire didn't get some sleep at all same as Natasha who waiting with Tony at his lab. Bruce brought them coffee and breakfast when the morning come.
"No luck?" The scientist asked.
The two just shook their head and sipped the coffee. SHIELD had already been alerted and Fury sent every agent he had to find the captain and the god of mischief.
Thor came to the labs with Jane and Darcy.
"Can you find him, Thor?" Natasha asked
"Ney" The god replied "Don't worry, my lady. I will return to Asgard and seek help from Heimdall"
Steve never doubt about anything he believe in. Even when someone whispered something to him, a rumor, a lie, He never wavered.
Loki knew this one was tricky and the soldier's mind was way stronger than any of his friend.
The mad god started to inflict pain onto the Captain. Started by, his bare hands hitting, punching Captain America but he never let out a single cry. The second attempt, Loki broke Steve's rib and forced out the first painful groan. Something inside Steve started to break down and Loki could see it perfectly.
He use his magic to subdue the Captain in his place while he broke his arms, knowing that he could do so much more in the next day. The captain's arm will heal and he could do it all over again.
Then Loki started to use weapons Loki used his favorite dagger to cut a deep wound in the flesh of Steve Roger, drawing blood from the wound and weakening the soldier. Loki enjoyed seeing the pain in Steve's eyes.
On the fifth day of his captive, Steve started to become light-headed when he was abruptly waked up by a dagger that stabbed him into his calf. He lost too much blood, his vision started to blur and his wounds began to heal slower than usual.
"Look soldier! I got a new toy for you" The god said. His green eyes filled with insanity.
Loki showed a hook linked with a rope. Before Steve could do anything, Loki stabbed a metal hook on Steve's left shoulder, earning a loud scream of pain before the god began to pull the soldier up.
"What shall we discuss today?" Loki looked please with his actions.
The captain struggled desperately to get off the hook but he had no strength left in him to do something about it.
"Don't try to fight it, soldier. You only cause yourself more pain"
Deep blue eyes stared back at the god.
"Do you think that your lover will come for you, soldier?"
"She will come and she will rip your heart out"
"Let me tell you about her. The truth that Barton told me ages ago"
"The things you say will not change a thing, Loki." Steve said tiredly "I know her past but you are wrong. She didn't choose the life before she became the Avengers. She was manipulated, mind-controlled, just like what you did to Barton."
"Really? You believed that" The god exclaimed "She killed innocent people; she was working as an angel of death itself, delivering every innocent soul to the gates of hell. You think she didn't choose this life but the truth is she choose it, the path of killing and blood"
"But she turned to the good side before it was too late, Loki. Unlike you who having all the power any man could dream of but you abused it"
"You are so annoyingly naïve, soldier. No wonder why she could have you so far in her web of lies" The god taunted "Love is for children she once told me"
"I might not be smart like you, Loki but I know she loves me and I know the real Natasha better than you"
"Let me enlighten you, soldier. She was everything completely opposite to you. You save lifes, she takes them. You speak the truth while she crafted all the lies. You protect people but she only protects herself. And you think the love you give her was worth for the disgusting creature like her?"
"She is trying to change" Steve replied "And she loves me"
"Are you sure that she really love you. Soldier? I recall she mentioned that love is for children and she was not capable of such feeling"
"People can changed"
"So tell me, Captain. Did she choose you because of her feelings for you or she was afraid of losing you to someone else?"
And Loki saw the wavering in Steve's eyes, he got his answer.
"I guess you have wondered the same thing"
"She loves me"
"Time to stop lying to yourself, Rogers. You mean nothing to her, just another trophy that she could display, just another way of her to redeem herself! She doesn´t love you. She said it to keep you, just to put a shackle on your neck so you won't leave her. Why did she have to wait that long to tell you she loves you? Why did she have someone on a side before she chose you?"
Steve was in silent. This was the first time he doubted Natasha's affection for him. He made a mistake to stop and think about what Loki was tried to tell him. Loki knew his plan was working and he would continue to poison the soldier's mind until Captain America saw the real Natasha Romanoff.
The truth that had been hidden in the shadow, the true that the spy had tried to hide was coming out to the light. But he, the god of mischief, will take the light out of the soldier's eyes so he could see what is in the darkness.
The filthy, disgusting— real Natasha Romanoff.
A/N: Please kindly leave a review :)
- Thank you to my proofreader, CAMILLE JONES and Muldoon22!
- Please check out my new story 'Maybe I Need You to Save Me' and leave some review to let me know how you feel about douche! Steve and university! AU