SUNDAY: 19:33
Loki's hands are almost never still. At this moment, they're resting motionless on the table in front of him, thin wrists encircled with handcuffs. For want of anything better, they've put the Hydra ones back on him and he's already showing the strain. Still, his posture is proud and upright, and he stares straight ahead of him without blinking, simply thinking and waiting. He barely seems to notice the fact that all four walls of the interrogation room are lined with guards, and that each guard has a weapon trained on him. In fact, he only reacts when the door opens and Nick Fury enters, his expression more than living up to his name. Loki meets his gaze and lifts his chin, pale and defiant. Fury takes one look at him and then at the guards and barks out 'Lower your damn weapons!' There's a moment of hesitation, and then one by one, the guns are lowered, and Fury seats himself across the table from Loki, fixing him with his good eye. 'You alright, son?'
The look of surprise on Loki's face turns instantly to suspicion, and he replies warily, 'Lying does not come as easily to me as it used to, so no, not really. Have you confirmed the reports of the murders?'
'Yeah, it's just like they said, both Councillors were killed in plain sight, stabbed to death, and everyone there swears you're the murderer. So what happened?'
'What I said would happen,' Loki says flatly. 'Hydra used me, and people died.'
'People do have a habit of doing that around you, don't they?'
The god pales slightly, but he doesn't drop his gaze. The Director continues, 'Put yourself in my position for a moment. What do you think I should do with you?'
There's silence for a while and Loki slumps forward slightly, his strength visibly failing under the restraints. His hair falls across his face and his voice is exhausted as he murmurs, 'Whatever you have to. And yet...'
Fury leans in closer. 'And yet?'
Loki's voice is barely a whisper now. 'I did not do it.'
Fury leans back with a grimly satisfied look. 'Never said you did. We've been keeping a pretty close eye on you lately, plus Banner makes for a very credible witness. You were nowhere near that goddamn mess.'
Loki stares at him, speechless for once.
'Still, it's good to know you've got some sense of self-preservation. If we're going to go to the trouble of defending you, I need to know you're going to put up a fight.'
Finding his voice again, Loki laughs weakly. 'If you tire of your work here, you might consider a new job as the God of Lies. You are better at this than I ever was.'
'Yeah, I think we both know that's not true. Anyway, cards on the table, we messed up here, not you. We thought we'd tested for everything and we missed something.But we're working to sort it out. So,' Fury folds his arms in front of him, 'Bruce thinks Hydra have control of your clones and they're using them to frame you? That sound about right?'
Loki blinks in surprise but recovers quickly. 'That was my conclusion also, but I did not...'
'You didn't think we'd believe you. Have a little faith in us; we're not entirely clueless.'
A ghost of a smile drifts across Loki's face. 'Oh, I am well aware of your talents. But in this case I am as 'clueless' as you. I cannot understand how they were able to do this. I have never heard of it happening before so I have to assume that Hydra now possess technology far more advanced than our own.'
Fury's face is grim. 'Yeah, we've been here before. Science without ethics is a nasty thing but it does give them a serious advantage.' He pauses. 'And don't think I didn't notice that you said "ours". Time was when the only word you seemed to understand was "mine".'
A glitter of something which could be mistaken for humor lights up Loki's eyes. ‘Nor has it escaped my notice that you weren't the ones to tear me apart and find out how I worked. You could have, and there would have been few of a mind to stop you.'
'Are you seriously thanking me for not torturing you to death?' Loki makes a non-committal expression and Fury sighs. 'Ever wish we lived the kind of life where that wasn't even an option?' Seconds later, his voice is all business once again, and he asks, 'So, what exactly do you think happened?'
'While I slept, my mind was unguarded and Hydra used that time to draw on my power. Of course, the clones are merely projections and non-corporeal. Someone else carried out the actual murder.'
'Yeah, we figured. And how can we stop it from happening again? You not falling asleep isn't going to work as a longterm strategy.'
'The problem is mine and I will find a way to solve it.' Loki's eyes are hooded, distant, but they spring open in surprise as Fury smacks the table loudly with the flat of his hand.
'Enough with the loner crap, ok? You're on a team now, learn to deal with it. But if you're working through some ongoing guilt trip, do it on your own time - we're on the clock here and things are going to get ugly.'
Loki raises his eyebrows questioningly and Fury tells him, 'You're not on everyone's Christmas card list, as I'm sure you're aware. There are people who have been waiting for something like this to happen, and they'll want to make an example of you. We need to...'
He stops dead at the look on Loki's face. The god's mouth has dropped open and he is staring at Fury as if hypnotised. 'I know what's happening,' he breathes. And as the Director leans in closer, he whispers urgently, 'I know what they want.'
'Care to share with the class?'
Loki’s eyes dart toward the agents still surrounding them and Fury nods in agreement. It's too public, and this is too sensitive to be discussed out loud.
Loki lowers his voice and intense green eyes bore into Fury's as he says, 'I need to ask two favors of you. The first is a personal matter. Whatever happens to me, look after Stark. Please. Do not let him do anything foolish.'
Fury lets out a snort. 'I'm not sure my talents extend that far.' He and Loki share a brief knowing smirk. 'But... I'll do what I can. What else?'
'Secondly, are these restraints really necessary? They are bringing back some extremely unpleasant memories.'
'Right.' Understanding sparks in Fury's eye. 'These things block your use of magic entirely? Including, say, telepathy?'
'Correct.' Loki raises his cuffed hands. 'If you could remove them just for a moment...'
Fury turns to the nearest agent. 'Will someone take these damn things off? This man isn't a danger to us. Hasn't anyone here ever heard of an alibi?'
A few shifty glances and some muttering later, the man steps forward. He is about to unfasten the cuffs when the door is thrown open and a strident voice commands, 'Stop what you're doing and step away from the prisoner. I'm in charge here now.'
The guard complies instantly, but Nick Fury raises himself to his full height to face the speaker. Councillor Hawley is not a tall woman, but her presence more than makes up for it, and she squares up to him fearlessly.
'You too, Director Fury. Move aside, this creature is under our jurisdiction now.'
Fury speaks through gritted teeth. 'With all due respect, Councillor, this man is in SHIELD's custody until we find out what is going on here. He's been cooperating fully, and..'
The Councillor cuts him off with an imperious wave of her hand. 'He's a wanted criminal. Did you think you could just keep him here forever, running your dirty little errands for you? It's time he answered for his war crimes as well as for the murders of my colleagues.'
She raises her hand again, and a team of soldiers enter the room. Swiftly, the Director positions himself between them and Loki, and gestures to the god to stay back. 'You don't understand what's happening here. This man is innocent of the recent murders, and he’s working to atone for his former crimes. At SHIELD we prefer rehabilitation to revenge, and I personally promised him sanctuary.'
'That wasn't your call to make, Director Fury. You don't speak for the entire planet.'
'Then who else is going to?!'
'Director...' Loki's quiet voice cuts through the raised voices like a blade. 'This is futile.'
Fury doesn't even turn round as he snaps, 'Shut up, damn you, I'm trying to save your life!'
Loki laughs at that, a low sardonic sound. 'Oh, I think it is a little late for that now. But I am sorry for this.'
And with that, he darts forward and slips his cuffed hands over Fury's head, effectively turning him into a human shield. The Director freezes as Loki leans in and whispers urgently into his ear, but they don't have long before every weapon in the room is locked onto them and every voice is yelling a command. In a matter of seconds things are going to get bloody and Fury's voice is lost amid the clamor as he orders everyone to 'Stand the fuck down!' But Loki is right, it's too late for that now. Breathing a final few words into the Director's ear, the god releases him and steps back, raising his manacled hands above his head.
'I am all yours.'
Seconds later, the butt of an assault rifle smashes into the side of his head and he drops silently to the floor. It's like a signal, and before Fury can intervene, the soldiers pile in, kicking and punching, the tension of the last few minutes giving way to unrestrained violence. It doesn't last long, but when Fury and Hawley are at last able to restore order, Loki is left bloodied and coughing on the ground.
'Goddamn you all!' Fury growls, as the soldiers haul Loki to his feet and half-carry him toward the door. At the last moment Loki raises his battered head and locks eyes with Fury, and if anyone had been watching the Director, they would have seen him lower his head in the barest of nods. And with that Loki is dragged, limp and unresisting, from the room.
*
MONDAY: 00:48
When Bruce and Tony get back to Stark Tower, they find Steve already waiting for them. He's clearly been there for a while, pacing up and down in front of the window, and he turns to them with a hopeful expression which swiftly falls away. Bruce's face is drawn and anxious, and as for Tony, well... Steve remembers that awful night after Bucky's death when Peggy found him trying to drown his grief at the bar, and he imagines his face looked something like Tony's does now. The guy looks like he's running on fumes.
'They wouldn't let me see him, Steve. Even Fury doesn't know where they've taken him now.' Moving out of habit, Tony crosses the room to the bar and Steve rushes to pour his friend a stiff drink, but Tony just waves it away. Steve's eyes meet Bruce's briefly - things are even worse than they thought.
'I can't take any more of this.' Tony groans, his head dropping into his hands. 'I thought I'd gotten him back, and now I've lost him again, on some bullshit charge. This is not fucking happening!!'
There's a crash as Tony puts his fist straight through a glass cabinet and Steve leaps to grab him, folding him in strong arms. Tony struggles to fight him off but he's no match for the soldier, and Steve just holds him till he goes limp and leans his forehead against the broad comforting chest. 'Come on, focus,' Steve says gently. 'That's not going to help Loki. What we need is a plan.'
Tony extricates himself wearily, his voice bitter. 'What we need is an army. Or maybe a new Council. Or a miracle, or... actually yeah, that might help. Don't bother to knock, will you?'
Thor's arrival via the Bifröst no longer arouses quite the same degree of awe as it used to, and besides, everyone's too preoccupied with the situation at hand to really appreciate the show. But it definitely can't hurt to have a fraternally outraged deity on their side, and Tony's spirits rise just a little bit. 'Just in the nick of time, big fella!'
Then again it's possible that Thor has a different agenda as he rounds on Stark with a face like a storm cloud and rumbles, 'WHERE IN THE NINE REALMS IS MY WRETCH OF A BROTHER??'
Tony stands his ground, his posture taut with annoyance. 'I'd forgotten about your freakish ability to talk in capitals. We don't know, and I was kind of hoping you and the omniscient Oscar trophy you told us about might be able to help. Otherwise, why the fuck are you here?'
'Woah, woah, woah...' Bruce steps between them and turns apologetically to Thor. 'Hey, sorry about that, Tony's having a really bad day and...'
'...and if you talk about Loki like that again, I won't be the only one,' mutters Tony darkly. Thor gives him a surprised look, but to his credit, he relaxes his stance and adopts a more reasonable tone.
'If you are speaking of Heimdall, he has been unable to see Loki's whereabouts for some months now. My brother is able to cast a glamour which cloaks him from the gaze of others. But today it seems, Heimdall saw him commit a foul crime, and I have come in haste to prevent further bloodshed.' Thor's shoulders slump suddenly, and he looks so helpless and miserable that even Tony feels the sad weight of responsibility that burdens the god. 'Surely you must already know what he has done?'
Tony shakes his head in exasperation, but Steve calmly steps forward. 'Actually, I think I do.' The others look at him in surprise as he continues, 'I don't know everything, a lot of it's classified, but I'll tell you what I do know. Loki has worked with SHIELD to neutralise several major threats, he's saved hundreds of lives, including Natasha's, he's put the safety of others before his own, and he's proved that he can be trusted beyond a doubt. That's what he's done. And now he's being framed for murder and we don't know where he's being held. We appreciate your coming to help us, Thor, but the truth is, we don't need your help. Loki does.'
Speechless, Thor looks from one to another, and seeing nothing but agreement on all their faces, he drops weakly onto the couch. 'My friends, I am stunned. If this is true, you have all achieved what I could not. I thank you for saving my brother.'
Tony shrugs it off. 'Oh, it's Nat and Fury you should thank, we all just turned up for the afterparty. Oh, and speak of the devil...'
Clint and Natasha appear in the doorway in that unnervingly stealthy way they both have, and it's clear from their dark looks that this isn't a social call.
'We've questioned Nat's sources,' Clint says grimly, 'and we have intel on Loki's position. It's worse than we thought.'
He falls silent and everyone turns to Natasha.
'He's being held at an old army base upstate,’ she tells them. ‘I've got the coordinates. It's high security, on total lockdown - they're not letting anyone in or out until...' She takes a deep breath and looks directly at Tony. '...until after the execution.'
The growl that emanates from Thor echoes around the room like thunder. Bruce curses under his breath, and Steve moves subtly closer to Tony, in case he should need to restrain him once again. But Tony just stands there motionless, his face blank, his eyes empty. It's beyond shock, it's as though his mind has simply shut down and is refusing to accept any more. Steve is the one to ask, in a voice low with outrage, 'Just like that, without even a trial? How can the Council allow this?'
'They feel they have no choice.' Natasha replies bluntly. 'This has been Hydra's plan from the start - Loki guessed at it just before they took him. They've manipulated the Council into overstepping their authority, and the result will be chaos. If they execute Loki, Asgard will take retaliatory action and SHIELD will have to get involved. The best case scenario is a complete diplomatic breakdown, the worst is all out interplanetary war.'
'My god,' Steve breathes, 'and either way Hydra comes out on top.'
Natasha nods her head. 'They'd be unchecked, unchallenged. We'd be too busy dealing with each other to have any time for them.'
'No.'
It takes a moment for them to realise that the speaker is Tony. There's something different about his voice, a quiet resolve in place of his usual brashness. As they all turn to face him, he steps out from behind the bar, every trace of his former stupor now gone and his eyes bright.
'This is not how it ends. We came together to protect this planet. What's the point in us if we can't even look after our own?'
Clint nods slowly. 'So I guess we're all thinking the same thing here.' He looks around at the faces of his friends. 'Rescue mission, right? Everyone in?'
Nobody even needs to say it, it's so obvious that they're all on board, and Tony shakes his head in wonder.
'Do you know how much I fucking love you guys? Bruce can vouch for the fact that I'm completely sober when I say that. You are... incredible.'
Bruce smiles at him, 'You're not so credible yourself.' He turns to Clint and Natasha. 'So do we have any kind of a plan, or are we just winging it? Either way is good, just asking...'
The two of them cast a swift glance at each other, but not so swift that Tony doesn't notice it. 'OK, what? There's something I don't know about here, and you know how much I hate not knowing things.'
An entire conversation appears to pass between the two agents without them exchanging a single word, and after a few moments, Natasha shrugs and turns to Tony. 'We don't have time now, but we'll talk on the way, ok? The thing is...Fury has a plan, he's just pretty sure you're not going to like it.'
.