Green Tinted Glass

“Thor.” Lucia said softly, laying her hand on his shoulder. “He’s gone. There's a storm coming, you guys need to get moving” 

He looked up, face going stoic now that his tears had run out. 

“You?” 

“I’ll only slow you down. You need to go, now.”

Thor looked up, noticing for the first time the massive dust storm on the horizon. 

“But you-” 

“I’ll be fine, I’ll find some shelter. Go. Now.” 

Jane took Thor by the arm and they headed towards a nearby cliff face, where Lucia could see the dark opening of a cave. They would be safe there. 

As soon as they were out of sight, she turned to Loki and slapped him.

“You sadistic asshole. Do you have no empathy whatsoever? You just broke his heart into pieces!”

She waited a second, and then Loki wheezed a breath that turned into something between a cough and a laugh. 

“Fuck you.” Lucia said, rolling her eyes. She took out the handcuffs and slapped one side of them on his wrist and the other on her own. “I should leave you here to be shredded into little bits by that storm.” 

Loki coughed, a little blood oozing out his wound. “But you won't.” 

Lucia sighed theatrically, as if she was burdened by some horrible weight. And really, she was. 

“Nope.” 

She dragged him (very slowly while limping, and with a great deal of effort) by the handcuffs into a clearing between a group of boulders sprouting out from the ground. One of them, the largest, had a small alcove that Lucia thought would do nicely to protect them from the storm. Loki grunted as she shoved him against the boulder, and then retreated as far away from him as she could. Not very far, considering they were handcuffed together. Loki panted heavily, pressing a hand to his wound. Lucia slumped to the ground, laying her leg out flat in front of her with a hiss of pain. 

“Asshole.” Lucia muttered, though she could appreciate the genius of Loki’s plan. If he had faked his death, he could have taken the ship and gone anywhere in the universe. Foolproof.

Apart from her. 

“How did you know?” Loki panted, a green glow spreading from his hand to cover his wound. Lucia resisted the urge to study it; the idea of healing magic was so tempting, especially with her leg. The wind whistled around them as the barrage of sand picked up, encasing them in a small circle of sand and rock. Lucia could barely see ten feet either side of her. They would be trapped here until the storm passed. 

“I have my secrets, you have yours.” She replied. 

“Perhaps we could exchange some then?” 

Lucia scoffed, raising an eyebrow. “Really? Now you want to spill?”

Loki shrugged, and then winced, instantly regretting the motion when it put pressure on his wound. “I have my reasons.”

“You mean you ran out of options.” 

He grinned. “Perhaps.” 

Lucia eyed his wound, which was starting to knit itself back together as they talked. She made up her mind. 

“Allright, fine. If you fix my leg and tell me what your plan was, I’ll tell you how I knew you weren’t dead.” 

Loki smiled. “We have a deal. Though, forgive me if I tend to my own wounds first.” 

“Then tell me your plan.” Lucia ordered. 

“Well,” Loki began, “I was going to fake my death, return to Asgard disguised as a guard, place Odin under a memory spell, cart him off to some backwater planet -perhaps yours- and take my rightful place as King of Asgard.” 

Lucia rolled her eyes. “You know that's not what I meant-”

“Yes, well… How do your people put it? No take backs?” 

Lucia groaned in frustration. Her head throbbed. She should really spare herself the trouble and let this guy die. 

“You know what else we say? Eye for an eye. I should kill you for murdering Phil.” 

“But you haven't.”

“No.”

“Why?” 

Lucia kept her mouth resolutely shut. To be honest, she didn’t quite know herself. She thought for a moment, closing her eyes and leaning her head back onto the cold rock, grounding herself. She would not let him manipulate her emotions. Finally she spoke. “I know everything about everyone. Behaviors, habits, why they do what they do, you know, what makes them tick. I’m good at figuring people out. Hell, I didn't spend four years getting a masters in psychology for nothing. But you..” She paused, gritting her teeth. “I have to admit, you’ve got me stumped.” 

“Perhaps you should kill me then.” 

“No.” Lucia said, a little too forcefully.

“Oooh.” Loki breathed, “Is your curiosity insatiable? So much so that it would stop you from Avenging your friend? A bit selfish, don’t you think?”

Lucia whipped out one of her daggers and held it to his throat, his reflexes too slow with his injury to stop her. 

“Don't you dare talk to me about selfishness, you monster.” She spat, anger heating her face. The audacity for him to be calling her selfish after what he just did to Thor… Lucia couldn’t stop herself from seeing red. A dribble of Loki’s blood ran down the dagger and onto her hand. Loki said nothing, a ghost of a smile on his face. 

“Do it.” He said softly. 

Lucia raised the dagger, and brought it down with uncanny force…

Into the rock beside his face. 

She breathed heavily, trying to calm herself, but when his blood had touched her, she couldn’t help remembering how it felt to hold her friend while he died. Blood on her hands. 

Always blood on her hands. 

She wiped them in the dirt.

“Why?” Loki questioned, a confused and somewhat annoyed expression on his face. 

“Because I’m not selfish. Because I have a duty to the people of Earth, and to the people of my country, my city. People who you have hurt, and who deserve to have a say in your punishment.” She shuffled away from him again, until the handcuffs went taut. 

“You know, Americans aren’t very forgiving. You’ll probably be put to death anyway, but whatever we decide, your sentence will be satisfaction enough for me.” 

Loki was silent for a long time. Finally he spoke up. 

“Do you want me to heal your leg or not?” 

Lucia said nothing, biting the inside of her cheek to keep herself from snapping an insult. 

“Yes.” She gritted out. 

Loki removed his hand from his now mostly healed wound. For some reason, he didn’t bother healing the scratch at his throat, and immediately placed his hand on her leg. It was warm, and a strange prickling sensation ran up her leg. It wasn’t painful, just… strange. Alien. 

“I believe you were about to tell me how you knew I was alive?” Loki prodded. “I don't suppose it has something to do with the way you… controlled me, on the flying fortress?”

Lucia sighed wearily. No point keeping it a secret, she supposed. “Flight isn’t my only power. I also have the ability to- to control, and sense other people’s blood. I can knock people unconscious without ever touching them. I can kill them without ever touching them. I could tell you weren’t dead, because your blood was still… live. I don’t know how else to explain it.” a beat passed, and she added: “Stopping your own pulse was a nice touch, though. Very theatrical.” 

“I’m afraid the theatrics were all Thor’s part.” Loki said, a disdainful expression on his face. Then his eyebrows knit together in confusion. “If you had this power all along, how come you haven't used it on the elves or guards?” 

The wind from the storm started to die down. Lucia looked away. “I don’t like to.” 

“Why?” Loki asked softly. 

“That wasn’t part of the deal. Now hurry up, we need to get back to the ship and find the others, and then find a way to get off this god-forsaken planet and stop Malekith.” 

Loki raised an eyebrow, but said nothing. Within a few minutes, Lucia’s leg was healed enough for her to walk on it. Barely. “You couldn’t do any better than that?” She said, rubbing the sore appendage. 

“Well, it was a bit of a rush job.” Loki said indignantly.

“Come on.” Lucia said, and they headed towards the cave that Lucia had seen Thor and Jane walking towards earlier. When they finally reached it, there was no sign of Thor and Jane. Lucia searched the cave, calling out their names, her voice echoing through the damp cave, but to no avail. Then her eye caught on something shiny, and she leaned down to see a set of very human car keys. 

“The convergence.” Lucia deducted. “It’s the only option. They must have gone through a portal. Let's go back to the ship, we’ll see if we can find one ourselves.” 

Loki nodded, letting her lead the way. 

—

A quarter of an hour later, and they were back at the ship, which thankfully hadn’t sustained too much damage from the storm. 

Just as they were climbing onto the ship, there was a strange sound, and they turned to see Thor (And Malekith) hurtling through the air.

“Wha-” 

Thor gave a roar, and quick as they came, they disappeared again into seemingly nothingness.

“Well, he looks to be having fun.” Loki quipped. 

“Come on, we have to go help.” Lucia said, tugging on the handcuffs. She pushed Loki towards the controls. 

“Where to, Angel?”

Lucia rolled her eyes at the nickname, but carried on. “Aim for that spot Thor disappeared into. If we’re lucky, the portal will still be open.”

Loki did as she said, the ship beneath them humming with technology as they lifted into the air and shot towards where Thor and Malekith disappeared. And…

No luck. 

“Maybe you missed it. Turn around.” 

Loki scoffed. “I did not.” 

A yell sounded from above them, and Lucia looked up to see Thor and Malekith falling right towards them. Lucia gave a yell, stumbling backwards to avoid them crashing into her, but they never did, disappearing a few feet above her. 

“Pull up!” 

Loki did, and with a nauseating twist they found themselves zooming through a world of ice. 

“Augh, not here!” Loki exclaimed, but before Lucia had a chance to question him they smashed through another portal, this time coming out the other side right in front of the College of Greenwich in London. 

The main building of which they were about to smash into. 

“Shit!” 

Lucia grabbed Loki by the arm, unfurled her wings, and they both went sailing backward as the ship smashed into the building. They landed roughly in a pile of rubble, Lucia hitting her temple against a block of shattered concrete. She groaned, rubbing her head and cursing as her hand came away with blood on it. Her vision swam and she fought the need to pass out as she surveyed the damage to the building, sucking in a hiss as she saw the destruction. 

“That's gonna be a lot of paperwork.” Lucia quipped, hoping to god that the area had already been evacuated. Lucky for her, it looked mostly abandoned. 

Unlucky for her, they were surrounded by dark elves. 

“I think now would be a good time to uncuff me.” Loki said, reaching for his dagger. 

“I can’t trust you.” Lucia said, doing the same. Loki gestured to the demolished building. 

“I have no means of escape. Clock’s ticking.” He held out his wrist. Lucia sighed. 

“If you-”

“-Betray you, you'll kill me, I know. Odin’s beard, you’re all so predictable!” Loki finished. 

Lucia uncuffed him, and his dagger went sailing into the skull of the nearest elf. Lucia lept into action, swiping at the face of an elf as it tried to stab her with its gauntlet. She sidestepped, shoving the elf by the shoulder so it fell right onto another elf. Lucia and Loki stood back to back, ready for the onslaught, when suddenly she blinked and stood in a completely different area, right in front of-

“Jane!” 

“Lucia!” Jane exclaimed in surprise. She was holding an odd-looking device in her hand. Right behind her stood Dr Selvig. 

“Dr Slevig! I haven't seen you since…”

Selvig turned round at the sound of his name, and yelped at the sight of Loki, jumping back. 

“Good god, you’re- you’re supposed to be dead!” 

Loki gave an apologetic smile. 

“Afraid not.” 

Jane stepped forward and slapped him across the face. 

Loki coughed. “I suppose I deserve that.” 

“Yes! Yes you do!” Jane shouted at him. “Do you have any idea how devastated-”

“Uh, Jane, not that I don’t wholly approve this message but I think we have a bigger problem.” Lucia interrupted, pointing at the growing tornado of ghostly red tendrils around Malekith's ship, which was wedged into the ground in front of the Thames.  

“We’re out of time.” Jane breathed, running down the steps of the building. 

“Jane, wait!” Lucia and Selvig said in unison. 

They ran after her, and Lucia gasped as she looked into the sky and saw massive circular portals leading to other realms. Through one she could see the twinkling golden city of Asgard, through others the icy dark wasteland she had briefly entered with Loki and the deserted black wasteland of the elves' realm. The others she didn’t recognise. 

Malekith was standing at the center of the Aether tornado, arms outstretched as the tendrils of the Aether reached into the other realms. 

“We’re too late.” Jane stated. 

‘The convergence is at its peak.” Selvig confirmed. 

“There’s got to be some way to stop him.” Lucia insisted. 

“We could with these probes, but we’d be shredded to bits in there. Only a God could withstand that.” Selvig said. 

Lucia was about to volunteer Loki for the job, but when she looked around, he was nowhere to be seen.

“Asshole! He’s gone!” She yelled. 

“Who’s gone?” replied a familiar voice. 

“Thor!” Jane exclaimed, running to him. “We’re too late.”

“Never.” Thor replied. “Lady Stark, you made it! I’m glad.” He gave her an amicable pat on the shoulder, then turned to Selvig. “Can those things stop him?” He asked, gesturing to the probes Selvig was carrying. 

“Not from here.”

“We can’t get close enough.” Jane explained. 

“I can.” 

Without another word, Thor took the probes from Selvig and charged into the Aether tornado. 

“I have to find Loki.” Lucia said, and leaving Jane and Selvig behind, she skirted her way around the tornado, searching for any signs of him. The tendrils of blood-red aether curled around her ankles, trying to tug her into the fray. Something deep in her bones told her that if she stepped into the smoke, she would never return. 

“Loki!” She shouted, continuing to work her way around the tornado, stumbling over piles of rubble in the process. No reply. Her head was throbbing from the injury she sustained earlier, and she was starting to get a bit dizzy.

Suddenly she spotted him, a flash of black and green leather between two columns of the university building. Lucia sprinted towards a pillar a few down, and came out just in front of him. 

“Going somewhere?”

Loki jumped, momentarily surprised before he caught himself and straightened up. 

“And if I was?”

“I’d have to stop you, which would be pretty annoying.” 

He sighed and stepped forward with his arms outstretched for handcuffs. She obliged, cuffing herself to him once again. 

“No mischief, Mischief.” She mumbled, knowing Loki couldn’t hear.

“Hmm?” 

“Nothing. Let’s go help your brother.” 

Just then, the Aether tornado disappeared, and Lucia could see Malekith (Minus a few limbs) pinned to his ship with one of Selvig’s probes. A moment later, the probe went off, and Malekith was portaled to who-knows-where. 

“There!” Lucia said, spotting an unconscious Thor amongst the Rubble. She tugged Loki over there, to be met with a frantic Jane. 

“I can’t move him!” She shouted. Such a thing was problematic, because Malekith’s ship was beginning to tip, ready to crush them under a hundred tons of alien metal. 

“Shit, come on, grab an arm.” Lucia said, and with the combined efforts of the three of them, they managed to move Thor out of the crush-zone just as Malekith’s ship fell over for good. They needn’t have worried though, because it disappeared into a portal before it hit the ground. 

“Everybody OK?” Dr. Selvig asked, running over with his strange device. Lucia guessed from the smile on his face that their plan had worked, and Malekith had been destroyed by the probes. (or, as it turned out, his own ship.)

Thor groaned, his eyes opening by a sliver. 

“Loki?” Thor asked, confused. “Am I in Valhalla?” 

“More likely Hel, Brother.” Loki chuckled. 

Jane hugged Thor, and Lucia sighed in relief. He was OK. 

—

Lucia walked back over to where Thor, Loki and Jane were standing, finally finished with briefing the local police. She would have one hell of a mess to clean up when she got back home. 

Home. 

It had been nearly two months since she had been home in New York. nearly two months since she had seen Tony, Nat, Clint, Steve, Pepper… 

Fury. Who would undoubtedly chew her out for the mess surrounding her.

You’re trouble, Stark. She could already hear him saying. 

“That's why you like me, old man.” She muttered to herself. “So,” She started, reaching the others. “Apparently no public was hurt, which is stupidly lucky. There's going to be a lot of legal paperwork for me, but I guess you’re not sticking around for that?” She asked Thor. 

“Afraid not. I must face my father after my treasonous actions.” He stepped forward, grasping Lucia by the arm and patting her roughly on the shoulder. 

“It was my honor to fight alongside you once again.” Thor said. “Now I must take my brother and return to Asgard.”

Thor made towards Loki, but Lucia stepped forward. “No.” Lucia said, crossing her arms. “He’s staying here.” 

“But Odin-” 

“Odin completely disrespected the authority of my entire planet. I don't care if he's a king, we've got plenty of those here and I sure as hell don't defer to any of them. What makes him any different?”

Thor was silent.

“Besides… as far as Odin knows, Loki died in Svartalfheim.”

Thor nodded, though his expression was unsure. “I suppose that could work.” 

“The UN will decide what to do with him.” Lucia continued. “Until then we’ll keep him at the tower in New York, where the Avengers can guard him. Make sure he doesn't get into any mischief.”

Thor smiled. “Good luck with that.” 

Lucia eyed Loki, who was politely pretending he wasn’t eavesdropping. 

“I have a feeling we’ll need it.” She turned back to Thor. “You know… assuming Odin doesn’t cosmically ground you or anything, there are always empty rooms at Stark tower. You could visit  -or stay- for however long you wanted.”

Thor nodded once again. “Mayhaps I shall.” He looked at the sky. “Heimdall.” He called, and Lucia stepped back. A moment later the bifrost came down, and Thor was gone.