Chapter 13, Paperwork.
“There's an alien monster on the loose in London, a university was demolished, the Thames is polluted-”
“That's nothing new..”
“-with alien guts! What in god's name have you been up to? I send you on a recon and you come back with all this?”
“…Sorry?”
Fury huffed, pacing back and forth across the bay of the jet. He had come personally to escort them back to New York, where a newly renovated Stark tower (Now Avengers tower) was waiting for them. Loki was once again in chains, strapped to the side of the jet. His gaze was resolutely on the floor, his posture stiff- uncomfortable or anxious, Lucia didn’t know.
“Do you know how many strings I had to pull to get you out of there without being court martialed?” Fury ranted.
“...yay for friends in British intelligence?”
“And that’s not even starting on the fact that you forged a presidential signature. If I wasn’t around to clean up your messes, you’d be heading straight for jail right now! You’re trouble, Stark.” Fury muttered, ceasing his pacing
Lucia straightened up. “Sir, I’m sorry. I take full responsibility for the damages. I’ll pay them out of pocket.”
He looked at her skeptically. “It's millions worth.”
“Respectfully sir… so am I.”
Fury gave her a once-over, and then nodded. “Alright then. But you’re cleaning up that mess too.” He said, gesturing vaguely to Loki.
“Right.” Lucia grumbled, resigning herself to being stuck with him. Fury turned heel and walked into the cockpit, shutting the door resolutely behind him. Lucia slumped into her seat.
“Stupid aliens.” She muttered under her breath. “Ruining my goddamn day…”
In part, she couldn’t deny she was happy to be back home on planet earth, but when she had imagined her homecoming it was a lot more… diplomatic. Instead, she would be cleaning up this shitshow for weeks, months probably, and that's not even considering what the heck she was supposed to do with Loki. Obviously there was going to be some kind of global meeting: no government of any country would want America to be in charge of such a dangerous -and valuable- prisoner.
Lucia sighed wearily, her shoulders sagging. There would be plenty of time to stress over that later. For now, she just shifted in her seat, getting comfortable, and closed her eyes, drifting off to sleep.
—
Lucia woke, back aching and legs numb, seven hours later as they closed in on New York. She blinked rapidly and stretched, clearing the sleepiness from her limbs. After a moment, she felt eyes on her, and turned to see Loki looking at her with that soul-piercing gaze of his. It looked like he was about to say something, but at that moment Fury poked his head through the door to the cockpit.
“Look alive agent. Landing in 5.”
“Rodger.”
She turned her attention back to Loki, but he was once again staring at the floor with that anxious expression.
The jet landed on a brand-new jet pad, and excitement flooded through Lucia at the thought of being back in her city and seeing her family and friends again. A grin split her face as she got out of her seat, the bay door opening to reveal three figures. As Lucia stepped forward into the brisk early-morning air, the figures became distinct.
“Tony!” Lucia cried joyously as she ran towards her brother, jumping into a tight embrace.
When she let go, he slapped her on the arm. “Where have you been?”
Lucia gave him a confused look, “What do you mean? I told you, I went to Asgard for-”
“For a year?!”
“What?” Lucia whipped her head around, looking accusingly at Fury, who was escorting Loki off the jet. “You didn't think to tell me this in the eight hours we’ve been flying?!”
“Welcome to April 2013, Agent. I expect a full report of your adventures on my desk by tomorrow morning.” With that he strode into the building without another word.
“Wh- it's barely been a month or two for me.” Lucia said helplessly, turning back to Tony.
“Do I get a hug too?” Pepper said, emerging from behind Tony.
“Aw, man, you’re still stuck with this guy?” Lucia joked, obliging her with a hug and a peck on the cheek.
“I’m standing right here!” Tony protested.
“How’ve you been?” Lucia asked, ignoring Tony’s protests.
“Busy. You?”
Lucia chuckled, “Yeah, busy.
“Come on,” Tony urged, “the welcome party’s barely begun, we’ve got a lot to catch you up on.”
“You could say that again.” Pepper assented as they headed into the building. “You have no idea how crazy our Christmas was.”
—
“...and then, I shit you not, Pepper comes in all glowly-like with a metal pole, whacks him upside the head and completely saves my ass.” Tony finished.
“Jesus.”
“It was really violent.” Pepper agreed.
“I mean, cool though. Do you still glow?”
“No, Tony fixed me.”
Lucia looked at Tony disapprovingly. He put his hands up in a ‘don't look at me’ gesture.
“I tried to convince her to keep it! The outfit too; it was nice.”
Pepper elbowed him.
Lucia chuckled, shaking her head at the story. They were sitting in the lounge, nestled into the couch with a long-finished breakfast on the coffee table. Lucia could hardly believe her ears at the tales they were telling her, and her heart ached that she hadn’t been there to make a difference.
“So what happened to.. What was it…”
“Slattery? The Vice President? Both arrested and rotting in prison.” Tony answered.
Lucia whistled appreciatively. “And you’ve done up the whole tower, too.”
“That was mostly Pepper; I just did the wiring.”
“Speaking of which, CEO duty calls.” Pepper said, getting up and clearing her plate.
“So Lu, you still haven’t told me anything about your adventures. How was the mystical, mysterious Asgard?” Tony asked.
“Ugh, I’m sure you’ll hear all about it on the news tonight,” Lucia said, rubbing her temples. “Idiot Agent destroys university with alien ship! What, oh what, will she fuck up next?”
“Well, plenty of options. The UN meeting, your career, your life-”
“Dick.”
“Loser.”
Lucia grinned. “So did my room manage to survive the invasion, or have you renovated that too?”
“I’m unhappy to say that all your disturbing room decor somehow managed to survive.”
“It’s not disturbing, it's art!”
“Whatever kid.” Tony sat up straight suddenly. “Oh! Speaking of renovations tho, the Lowalski guy is opposite you now.”
“What? Loki?”
“Yeah, horns guy. Invaded New York, destroyed a bunch of buildings-”
“Yeah yeah, shut up. Why’s he opposite me? Do you want him to escape and kill me in my sleep?”
Tony shrugged. “Fury told me to put his cell there. It’s very secure.”
“Sure.” Lucia said, distrust laced through her voice.
“What, do you not trust my awesome engineering powers? They’re no angel wings but-”
“It’s not you I don’t trust- it's him. He’s… tricky.” Lucia said. She sighed, rubbing her temples again. She had barely had time to properly treat the blow to her head, and she probably had a concussion. “Anyway, I should probably go get settled, get started on the mission report…” She huffed, “Write a check for the damages.”
“Alright, yell out if you need me, I’ll be down in the lab later.”
“‘Kay.” Lucia nodded, and cleared her plate before taking the elevator down to her old room. She sighed happily as she stepped into it. It was a loft room: Tony had had it specially renovated for her when he originally brought the tower. Two walls were completely glass, giving her a gorgeous view of manhattan. Her bedroom was on the loft, but downstairs was her favorite, a nook of bookshelves stuffed to the brim and comfy couches where she could waste away rainy days.
All she wanted at that moment was to collapse into bed and sleep for a week, since she was both continentally and cosmically jetlagged (Bifrost-lagged? Who knows.) but she knew Fury would be mad if she didn't clean up her mess. She moaned as she flopped into bed, relieved to finally be back home in her own room, although she had to admit it seemed a lot smaller after the grandeur of Asgard. She closed her eyes, only intending to rest for a moment.
Naturally, that didn't happen.
—
The vastness of space. A billion glittering stars.
A dark and terrifying presence.
Lucia floated in front of a rocky platform, hovering in space. A strange creature, its eyes covered by a hood, knelt in front of a throne. A giant with deep purple skin sat there, its face obscured by shadow. Danger seeped from its every pore. Somehow Lucia knew they could not see her.
“My forces grow restless.” The creature hissed, “They are eager for blood. We are eager to collect the tesseract for you.”
“Not yet.” the giant replied, his deep voice echoing throughout the space. “The Asgardian is not ready. His training is not complete.”
“To death with the Asgardian! We want Blood!” The creature raged.
“And you will do as I command, or face the consequences of doubting my will!” The giant fired back. The creature shrunk back, as if stung. It bowed ever lower. “Bring him to me.” The giant ordered.
The dream shifted, and Lucia let out a soft gasp as she saw Loki crumpled in front of the throne. The creature spat at him.
“Please.” He panted, and even within the dreamscape Lucia had to strain to hear it, his voice was so hoarse. “Please, I’m ready. I’m ready.” He was paler than Lucia had ever seen him, and she couldn’t quite tell from this distance, but it looked like he had bruises all over.
“What do you want?” the giant questioned.
“I want Asgard to burn at my feet.” Loki growled. “I want Odin dead.”
“What do you feel?”
“Rage.” The hate on Loki’s face was absolute.
“What will you do?”
“Serve. Bring you the tesseract so I may rule Midgard as the King I was meant to be!”
There was a wicked smile on the giant’s face. “Good.” Lucia shivered as a jolt of fear ran through her.
Suddenly, the giant turned towards Lucia. “There’s something… You.”
Lucia gasped as the giant looked right at her. Somehow, deep in her bones, she knew this wasn’t just a dream. She willed the dream to end, to descend into regular unconsciousness. Instead, she waded through nightmares of pain and darkness, and always a horrible, evil presence chasing, chasing, always gaining…
—
When Lucia woke, the sun was beginning to set.
“Shit!” She exclaimed, leaping out of her sweat-soaked sheets and ignoring her headache as she rushed to the shower to clean the filth of the nightmare off her. She unconsciously thumbed the necklace Frigga had given her, not noticing its faint glow in the bright lights of the bathroom.
When she finally felt clean, she toweled off and sat at her desk, determined to not waste any more time and start on her report. Minutes passed, then hours as the sun set and gradually plunged her into darkness. At some point, Tony brought food up to her, chiding her for missing lunch before leaving her to her work.
Lucia huffed, rubbing her temples as she reviewed her report.
Mission Overview… Events… Intel… Plan of action…
She let out a long exasperated sigh. “C’mon brain.” She muttered to herself, trying to make sense of the many papers. Then a flash of yellow caught her attention. A sticky note that she had scribbled on after the battle of New York.
GAVE IN EASILY, Tesseract. isolation → other worlds?
Inconsistent memories.
Plan? Motive? BLUFFING. LIAR. Expects torture? Punishing himself? → (glass)
intended to get captured? Plan? Wants to piss off avengers? (stupid)
Eye color change? (Blue = control like Clint?) Being controlled? → bigger fish
She stared at it for a minute, then underlined “bigger fish.” As she remembered her earlier dream. She knew she probably shouldn’t base any theories off of a dream, but it had felt eerily real, like she was really there. She stared at the note for a moment, then added “intention?” underneath the rest of the text. Puzzle pieces to arrange later.
She sighed, and restlessly got up to pace her room. Her report was finished, so there was nothing to drive her attention, but she was too active to sleep. She needed to do something. Something, something.
She groaned in frustration, flopping onto her bed. At last, she decided to explore the tower, despite the early morning hours the clock was creeping towards.
She left her room without another thought, and was turning towards the elevator when her eyes hooked on the door opposite hers. A sign hung there:
HIGH DANGER PRISONER, CLEARANCE LEVEL 6 NEEDED FOR ACCESS.
An eerie sense of déjà vu overcame her. She stepped back into her room, grabbed her keycard, and opened the door to Loki’s cell.
—
Loki awoke to something, a faint sound inside his room.
The cell they had furnished him with was quite comfortable as prisons go: it was simply a room, with walls reinforced with earth's strongest metals and a wall of that thick glass that his cell in the heli-carrier had been made of separating his living space from a space for him to be viewed or interrogated from. They had chosen the furniture carefully: nothing sharp, nothing he could easily break, nothing of any interest whatsoever.
It was awfully dull, but he had definitely slept in worse.
He shook off the grogginess of sleep, his senses becoming keenly aware of his surroundings in an instant, as he had trained them to.
What is it now? He questioned, Poison gas? Darts? Assassins in the night? People will do anything to kill you these days. He sat upright in bed, his eyes adjusting to the darkness as he looked about the room. There, by the door, a set of keen eyes watched him. He lay back down, forcing himself to appear comfortable.
“Really, Agent, I believe haunting me in the night is a step too far, don't you think?” Loki murmured. Lucia remained silent. “Nothing to say? I’m not a zoo animal, you can’t come in here just to watch me.”
She remained quiet a beat longer, then spoke up. “You’ve dropped down a few levels of importance. I don’t need Fury’s keycard to get in here anymore.”
“And this information was vital enough for you to disturb my slumber?”
“I had a dream about you.”
“Oh?” Loki purred, sitting up again. Lucia became acutely aware that he was shirtless.
“You were kneeling in front of this, well, purple giant guy. He said something about your training being complete.”
Loki fought to keep his expression neutral. He could almost hear The Other laughing at him.
“How interesting.” He impressed himself with how calm his voice was.
“You said you wanted to watch Asgard burn.”
Loki hummed, “Well, that's true…”
“So it was real then?” Lucia questioned, her voice gaining an air of fervor.
“I do not know of the giant you speak of. “ Loki lied.
Lucia looked disappointed. “It felt real…”
“Did you come across the hall purely to tell me that?” Loki questioned.
Lucia seemed to think for a moment. “No. I’m giving you one last chance to cooperate before your fate is handed over to the United Nations.” She said finally. “If you agree, I’ll fight for you in the meeting. If you don’t, I’ll let some other country take ownership of you, and your safety will not be guaranteed.”
“I quake with fear.” Loki mocked. Lucia remained silent.
He chuckled to himself. She was far too trusting for her own good.
“I suppose I could be convinced to cooperate.” He said at last.
“Good. we have a deal then. I’ll see you tomorrow.” Lucia said, excusing herself from the room. The door closed with a soft thud, and Loki was once again alone.
What an interesting development. He thought to himself, A unique opportunity presents itself. Loki mulled over the Agent’s meeting with him. She still seemed ready to accept any tale he could spin, though he had worn the ice thin through their last few encounters. He would have to play this carefully. If Loki could get her to trust him, he could escape, be rid of this woefully undeveloped planet, and live his life finally free in some forgotten corner of the universe where Thanos would never find him.
It was a solid, if unembellished plan. And it had dropped right into his lap. Loki grinned to himself at his good luck. However, the possibility still remained that this meeting of Midgard’s leaders could go south, particularly if the Agent decided she no longer cared for the information Loki had to offer. What could he tell her? Certainly not the truth. But perhaps information about the tesseract's power, and knowledge of the realms and the evil forces in them.
Perhaps he would even be bold enough to reveal the whereabouts of the Chitauri. Loki didn’t need any incentive to see The Other suffer, though he doubted the Midgardians had any means for interstellar travel. What pathetic, magicless people. No wonder Thor had taken pity on them.
Loki sighed, satisfied with his plan. He lay back down to sleep, and for once did not toss and turn as he anxiously awaited nightmares. For once in his life, things were starting to go right.
Nevertheless, he would not escape the demons of his mind so easily.