Imitations Carved Deep: Chapter 7
Nothing. But. Tests! I'm officially brain-dead. But I took my frustrations out by writing. :) Good for you, not necessarily fun circumstances for me. :/
Not a Tony/Loki story. Just friendship.
Be forewarned, I have named female Loki, 'Kira', and that is what she will be referred to for a good chunk of the story.
Disclaimer: I don't own them...so sad.
Warnings: Severe angst. Stupid/Bad Thor (temporarily). Torture (in the past). Implied rape (in past). Don't read if any of these trigger.
Well, Isn't That Convenient?
Surprisingly, Tony was the first one to eventually stumble into the kitchen. However, he just got himself a cup of coffee, mumbled something about more upgrades and disappeared down to his lab. Natasha, Pepper and Bruce came in about half an hour later looking considerably more put together than Tony had.
Bruce's eyebrows went up seeing Kira with a mostly empty bowl of fruit and Steve smiling sincerely rather than just politely. He shrugged it off though and went over to the fridge.
"Kira, are you feeling up for some scrambled eggs? I would like to get some easy protein into you if I can." Kira pursed her lips at the fruit still in the bowl. "I'm making them for myself too, so they wouldn't be going to waste." After that reassurance, Kira nodded. She and Steve continued their conversation on the study of arts versus science, much to the amusement of the others.
Halfway through Bruce making breakfast, Clint came in, still in his pajamas and wrapped around Bruce's back like an octopus. The archer mumbled something into the scientist's back that somewhat resembled 'Food?'. Though he couldn't see it, Dr. Banner rolled his eyes at Barton.
"Yes, Clint I am making food. Do you want some eggs as well? Cheese and peppers?" Kira could definitely hear the hum of happiness that Clint made, and bit her lip to keep from laughing. Clint eventually disentangled himself from Bruce and got himself a cup of coffee. He blearily walked over to the breakfast bar and placed himself in the seat next to Kira. Clint didn't start up a conversation with her, but it made Kira feel better, knowing the others were comfortable around her.
A minute later, Bruce set a small plate of scrambled eggs down in front of her. Clint pouted at her eggs, until a couple minutes later he had his own large plate of cheesy scrambled eggs. The archer seemed to come alive at that point and dug in with gusto. Kira slowly made her way through the all of the eggs, even though by the end she was convinced she would never eat again.
Eventually, all plates and food stuffs were cleared away and people went their separate ways. Clint and Natasha went to the gym to spar. Pepper had a meeting a Stark Industries that she couldn't miss, and Bruce went down to his own lab on the floor above Tony's (where he kept the experiments that could absolutely not be poked). This left Steve and Kira on their own. Steve looked around and pursed his lips.
"Well, we could go downstairs and bother Tony." Kira was a bit surprised by the suggestion.
"But, wouldn't he not like that?" Steve laughed and shook his head.
"Oh no. I do it all the time. He acts like it bugs him, but really he likes having someone down there asking him questions so he can feel extra smart. I also just hang out down there to make sure he eats regularly. Tony will go days without food or sleep if you let him." Kira's brows rose, but she found herself nodding and grabbing her crutches. "I'll just grab my sketchpad and meet you by the elevator." Steve indicated the direction to her then turned down the other hallway, back to his room.
Kira grabbed her crutches and made her way towards the elevator. By the time she limped her way over, Steve was back at her side. Kira maneuvered herself inside the elevator, and Steve hit the button for the bottom floor. The first thing Kira heard when the door opened once more was a loud, wall-shaking rhythm. She could feel it in her chest inside the elevator. Steve sighed in what sounded like fond exasperation and walked by her side to some glass doors.
The Captain waved to a camera in the corner, and automatically, the doors opened and the sound (apparently it was music) lowered in volume significantly. Tony who had been welding something on one of his suits, whipped his head up.
"Jarvis! Why- Oh." The inventor spotted his visitors and flipped his mask up.
"Should have known it was you, Cap. But you brought the guest. Fun. Couch is where it always is. Make sure to get my better side this time, Rogers." Steve gestured for Kira to take the lead towards the couch and sat next to her once she was settled.
"May I ask what it is you are working on, Tony?" Stark gave Kira a bright smile.
"Why I am so glad you asked, Kira. I am working on developing-" Tony rambled for the next twenty or so minutes as he worked. The monologue soon dissolved into a discussion with Kira over different techniques and formulas. Steve simply sat back and observed, his pencil moving feverishly. He could see the fire in Tony's eyes and the growing spark in Kira's. The woman was smart and could easily hold up her end of the conversation with the genius. Maybe an hour later, Tony had completely turned his back on his work, his attention solely on Kira as they debated.
At one point, Tony motioned for Kira to follow him around the lab, but when she reached for her crutches, he changed his mind. Instead, he brought the inventions to her or had Jarvis bring up interactive holograms for him to show her. Steve was surprised. Tony was ever this considerate with Pepper and Bruce. Sure he cared about the rest of them, but he truly connected with those specific two. It was fascinating watching him transform for someone he had only just met about twenty-four hours ago.
None of them had been watching the time, and none of them noticed when the doors of the lab opened again. Bruce was able to walk up on all of them without any of them hearing him. He finally had to clear his throat to get their attention. Tony and Steve simply looked up and over at him, Kira however, nearly jumped out of her skin. She put a hand to her heart.
"Dr. Banner, you are a very quiet man. I might need to put a bell on you if you keep doing that." Tony and Bruce barked out a laugh, while Steve just smirked at Kira's sudden confidence around them.
"I'm not sure how much the Other Guy would appreciate that. Well, come on. It's lunch time. Kira needs to eat." Tony backed up to return to his work bench, but as Bruce turned he continued. "You too, Tony. You need to eat like a normal human being, regular meals." The inventor rolled his eyes, but easily conceded. He walked to the elevators with everyone else, all of them slowing down enough so Kira didn't exhaust herself.
Tony skipped up to be at Bruce's side.
"So, Brucie, it appears we have another Science Bro in our midst…or sister, I should say." Bruce looked over at Kira and raised his brows.
"Really? Is there a particular field you are interested in, Kira?" Kira smiled vaguely and shrugged as best she could walking with crutches.
"I find I like to study all aspects of the universe. There is not one I favor over the other." That raised many questions in the minds of Bruce, Tony and Steve, but they stayed quiet. Kira would tell them more when she was ready. They rode up to the common room floor in comfortable silence.
Clint and Natasha were already in the kitchen snacking on some fruit. Kira took a seat at the kitchen table this time, when directed by Dr. Banner. She had given up trying to get her own food and drink, for now.
Eventually everyone was seated at the table, even Tony, with food in front of them. Bruce had Kira eating some leftover soup and bread from the night before. She was able to get most of it down, which felt like a wonderful accomplishment. Everyone chatted comfortably around her, occasionally roping her into a discussion. It felt nice, nostalgic…and it made Kira burn for things she knew she would never have again.
And then the Tower exploded in noise.
Some sort of alarm rang throughout the Tower, loud enough to make Kira grit her teeth. The Avengers weren't startled however. They all dropped what they were doing and ran off, leaving Kira sitting at the table, confused and worried. She knocked herself out of her frozen state and grabbed her crutches. By the time she was standing and heading around the corner, the alarm had stopped and the others were rushing back.
Clint and Natasha rushed past her, but Steve stopped in all of his Star-Spangled glory.
"Kira, we need you to stay here. Someone's attacking Brooklyn and we're going to go stop them. Jarvis can keep you updated." Steve didn't wait for a reply; he took off after the others, and soon Kira was the only one left in the Tower. Anxiety and concern weighed down her chest, and Kira wished she had the ability to pace comfortably.
"Miss Kira, if you make your way down to Mr. Stark's lab, I will be able to show you everything as it happens." Kira was grateful for the AI's instruction and did as Jarvis suggested. Once there, Jarvis directed her to a wheeled chair in the far corner, with a wall of high tech monitors in front of it. Kira managed to get into the chair without rolling away and the screens came to life.
Jarvis also allowed her to listen in on the comms.
"Iron Man, do you have a visual?" Kira scanned the monitors until she found what she supposed to be 'Iron Man's' field of vision.
"That would be a negative, Cap. Whatever it is has smoked the area. I can't see a thing. Jarivs, heat sensors?" Kira's fingers itched. She would have done what this villain had done to confuse her enemies, but she could have easily taken it away if it was used against her.
"Two large heat signatures will impact your left in ten seconds, Sir."
"Whoa!" Tony couldn't get out of the way fast enough, and Iron Man's camera showed the aforementioned impact. Kira winced at the loud crunch that resulted.
"Iron Man, do you copy!" Between flashing pulses and firing weapons, Kira caught glimpses of what looked like man-sized wasps. After a few grunts, Tony finally replied.
"Yeah, I copy, Cap. Hawkeye, what are you doing? Sleeping on the job?" The only reply Tony got was two arrows embedding themselves in a giant insect that had been sneaking up on Tony in the fog. "Damn. Anybody got Raid?" A loud roar vibrated over the speakers. "There he is! Wait, Hulk's not allergic to stinging things, is he? I know Bruce is but-"
"Iron Man, focus." There wasn't much time for conversation after that, as they were all, for lack of a better word, swarmed by the oversized wasps.
Kira's eyes bounced back and forth between screens, trying to keep watch on all of them. She finally saw the Hulk and found herself impressed more than anything. Dr. Banner's other half was more in control than he made it seem. When she was admiring Natasha's fighting style, something in one of the far screens caught her attention. It was video from the plane the Avengers used to get to the battle. Someone, Kira could only assume it was the creator of the wasps, was stealing into the craft and-
"Jarvis, tell them to get down!" Jarvis relayed her warning just in time, because the intruder get his hands on the weapons of the jet and started firing on the Avengers from behind. Kira watched helplessly as the Avengers were forced to seek shelter from their own jet and the wasp hordes were closing in. Her hands gripped the counter so hard, the edge dug into her palms. Kira glanced down for a moment and saw the keyboard in front of her and a barebones headset to her right.
She couldn't do magic, but she could do something else. The headset fit her like a glove and her fingers flew over the keys.
"Stay where you are. I'm going to try something." With the headset on, she was now speaking directly to the Avengers.
"Kira, what-" Kira didn't bother answering. She was focusing on the idiot in the jet who thought he could shoot the Avengers while their backs were turned. The man started to growl when the jet stopped cooperating. All of Kira's muscles were tense as she willed herself to gain control, and finally she succeeded. The villain tried to pull the trigger on the Captain and Black Widow, but nothing happened. Kira smirked.
"Let's go for a ride, shall we?" A few more keystrokes and the jet was in the air. The man inside the plane was yelling in confusion and frustration. Her brow went up at some of the creative curses coming out of his mouth. She directed the jet to fly towards the wasps, and then she opened fire.
"Alright," she heard Tony yell, and then the Avengers were back in business. Together they killed or drove off all of the monsters. Hulk seemed to take particular pleasure in throwing the wasps as far as he could. When the insects were officially neutralized, Kira set the jet down, the villain still trapped inside.
She waited for the Avengers to surround the door, weapons drawn, before she opened it to them. The man was easy to subdue, and continued his colorful cursing all the way into SHEILD's hands. Then, and only then, did Kira remove the headset and sit back. She stared at the screens in front of her, and though her hands were shaking, she smiled.
Yay! Kira/Loki being helpful! :) How do you think the Avengers are going to react? Let me know! :)
Please review:)