Loki
(Don't hate me, I just couldn't write Thor POV)
"Please tell me you're going to appeal to my humanity."
"Uh...actually, I'm planning to threaten you."
I raise an eyebrow at the mortal in front of me. "You should have left your armor on for that."
He just shrugs as he pulls out a bottle from underneath the bar. "Yeah, it's seen a bit of mileage. You've got the blue stick of destiny. Would you like a drink?"
I just stare at him. How idiotic can mortals get? "Stalling me won't change anything."
"No, no, no! Threatening." he assures me. "No drink? You sure? I'm having one."
I just roll my eyes and sigh dryly. "The Chitauri are coming, and nothing will change that. What have I to fear, exactly?"
"The Avengers." he says simply.
What in the nine realms…?
"It's what we call ourselves, sort of like a team." he clarifies. "Earth's Mightiest Heroes type of thing."
"Yes, I've met them." I say exasperatedly. Come on, I have a word to dominate here…
"Yeah, takes us a while to get any traction." he admits. "But, let's do a head count here. Your brother, the demi-God; a super soldier, a living legend who kind of lives up to the legend; a man with breath-taking anger management issues; a couple of master assassins, and…" he trails of, shifting his weight slightly.
"And?" I push on, my interest peaked.
"Not important. The point is-"
"Oh, no, Man of Iron, please go on. Who is the seventh 'Avenger'? It wouldn't be the one you converse with in any spare time?"
"Listen, maniac-"
"Who is this seventh hero? A boy?"
No response.
"Ah, then a girl."
A small spark.
"A wife, perhaps? A girlfriend? No? A child, perhaps?"
Yes, a child. Because at that word, something snaps. The mortal steps forward, all formalities lost. When he speaks, his voice is dark, hard, and cold. "You listen, Laufreyson, and you listen well. You take any action whatsoever against Taylor-"
Ah, a name.
"-even so much as lay a finger on my daughter, there will be no point in you taking over any worlds because there will be no you left. I will gut you like a fish and feed you to sharks, to start. That is only the tip of the iceberg of what I will do to you if you do anything against her. Understand?"
"Ha, you puny mortal-"
He takes a step closer to me and a muscle in his jaw jumps. "Do. You. Understand?"
I blink at him. "Yes, I suppose."
"Good. Now, as I was saying-"
I cut him off by stepping forward and raising my scepter. I think I see a shadow flicker and a glint of purple over his shoulder, but I dismiss it as my excitement getting the best of me.
I turn my attention back to the Man of Iron, shaking my head.
I have better things to do than chase shadows.
Like take over a world.
A~A~A
Thud.
Scrape.
Rattle.
Repeat.
My shackled ankles scuff and drag on the pavement as Thor leads me to the center of the designated area for our trip to Asgard.
And I have a muzzle on, as well as both wrist and ankle shackles. And an audience.
I can see the Man of Iron approaching with the beast, and the spy with the red ledger standing next to my faithful ex-minion.
Shame I lost him.
The man out of time is standing quietly off to the side, watching the Tesseract with copious amounts of detest in his eyes.
Then something – someone – else catches my eye.
There's another person present, and it's not my scientist minion, Selvig was his name?
No, this one is a quiet mortal, dressed in a dark purple long sleeved shirt and black...jeans, yes? The mortal is female, young as well – not even one thousand in Asgardian years. A child even in Midgardian years, so what in the nine realms is she doing here?
The child is casually leaning against the Man of Iron's vehicle, her arms crossed defensively. The light catches her brown hair as she turns her head slightly, and my brain suddenly makes a connection.
I glance over at the Man of Iron. He and this child both have the same hair color, face shape, and build. Her eyes are obscured by dark black sunglasses, but I would say that their eye color is at least similar.
Of course.
This must be Taylor, the Man of Iron's daughter. The one he so heatedly warned me about.
A quick look around shows nobody else seeming to notice the girl, and she must have seen me notice this because she looks directly at me and raises a hand.
The hand flickers.
Ah, a projection. Not a bad idea.
The Man of Iron and the beast turn back to their car as Thor calls my attention and holds up the Tesseract.
I keep my gaze on the girl just long enough for her image to flicker before blinking out completely, and the two men now entering the car are none the wiser.
This child, this girl, seems smart. Quiet, but smarter than a lot of Midgardians I had seen.
I have a feeling I'd like her if I didn't absolutely hate her.