Disarm • Stark

Sitting in the lab and doing nothing while Tony and Bruce did a million things at once was incredibly boring, so Mazzy was now trying to find something better to do. So far, she had played about three billion games of tic-tac-toe with herself, and that wasn't cutting it anymore. 

"Daddy," Mazzy huffed, spinning around in her chair. Tony let out a huff, briefly ceasing his work to turn his head and look at her. "I'm bored," Mazzy whined, tossing her head back.

"Find something to do, then," Tony said, turning back to the computer he was working on. 

Mazzy let out a dramatic groan. "But there's nothing to do," she complained. 

"You're in a giant hovercraft in the sky, Maz. There's plenty to do," Tony told her. 

"No, there's not," Mazzy argued. 

"I'm working, Mazzy. Just-" Tony paused, letting out a sigh. He wished he would have sent Mazzy with Pepper, but that wouldn't have really worked out, either, since Pepper was also working. Maybe he should have called Happy and demoted him to the babysitter. He just needed her off of his back. "How 'bout you go and find Natasha, huh? She'll give you something to do," he suggested, knowing how fond of Natasha Mazzy was. 

"Okay!" Mazzy chirped happily, sliding off of her chair and skipping her way to the doorway. Honestly, she was just waiting for him to tell her to go away. She just didn't ask because she wasn't sure if she was allowed to be walking around the place by herself, but since her dad said it was fine, she figured she was allowed to explore. 

The hallways were lit by lights that reminded Mazzy of a hospital, which she didn't like, but she tried to ignore that as she dragged her finger along the walls and made her way down the halls. The place was practically a maze to her. She had no idea where Natasha was or where she would find her, but at least looking for her was something to do. 

Originally, Mazzy would have thought that being on this ship so high in the sky would scare her, but it didn't. She didn't see any windows where she was, so she couldn't even really tell she was in the sky. She just felt like she was in any other building. She also thought there would be plenty to do in a structure so huge, but there was really nothing unless you had a job to do, which Mazzy did not. 

One entertaining thing, though, was figuring out which things were in which doors. Off of hallways, there were some doors and some other hallways, leading to more hallways, more hallways, and more hallways. As she passed them, Mazzy made sure to peek down each hallway and room, just to check if Natasha was in any of them. So far, there was no sign of her. 

However, something other than Natasha piqued Mazzy's interest. And that was the large room to her left. She stopped in her tracks, her shoes squeezing on the shiny, metal floor. She could hear the sound of footsteps on the ground. They were steady and sort of rhythmic. Mazzy could tell it wasn't Natasha, but she wanted to see who it was, anyway. So, she turned and entered the room. 

As soon as she entered the room, the footsteps stopped completely. Stepping further into the room, Mazzy could see the back of a man in a cell. And she knew the clothes he was wearing and the long, black hair on his head. This was Loki. The space magician. 

Her suspicions were indeed confirmed when the man spun on his heel, turning to face whoever he had just heard walk into the room. Upon seeing that it was the little girl from the jet, he furrowed his eyebrows. He wouldn't have guessed they would let her near him. He supposed she was doing it without any of them knowing, which sort of made him like her a little bit more. Curiously, he stepped closer to the glass that separated the two of them, and Mazzy did the opposite, taking a single step backward. 

"Well, hello," Loki said to her. He didn't sound harsh or snarky like he might have with any other person on that ship. He sounded like any other person Mazzy spoke to, except with a British- or Asgardian, rather- accent. 

"Hello," Mazzy responded, her voice quiet and soft. It almost sounded fragile, like if Loki spoke too loudly in return, she'd shatter right in front of him. 

"Who are you?" Loki asked her. Of course, he knew plenty about her already. He knew a bit more about everyone than he truly wanted to, if he were to be honest. He just asked the question to fool the girl into thinking this was a normal exchange. He hoped that it would bother the Avengers to know that Mazzy was talking to him. 

"I'm Mazzy." She still sounded careful, but not as afraid as before. 

"Do you know who I am?" Loki asked next. 

"Yes. You're Loki," Mazzy answered. She held her hands together behind her back, pushing and pulling on her fingers in an anxious sort of manner. "You're Thor's brother. Adopted. And you killed 80 people in two days for fun, apparently. And you have magic powers and you want to take over the world," Mazzy said, reciting all of the things she had picked up throughout her time there. 

Loki frowned slightly, but not the genuine kind of frown. It was a fake frown to express disapproval. The kind that made Mazzy take another step away from the glass. "Don't believe everything you hear, Mazzy," Loki told her, shaking his head. 

Mazzy didn't like him saying her name. It felt wrong. He wasn't supposed to know her name. She wasn't supposed to tell him her name. She wasn't supposed to be talking to him at all. She knew that. But, at the same time, she wanted to know more about him. So she let her curiosity get the best of her. 

"Why not? I can believe them. These people are the good guys. You're the bad guy," Mazzy said. She tugged on the hem of her shirt, hoping her fidgeting would make her less afraid. It didn't do much, though.

"What makes you think that?" 

Boy. That was a question Mazzy hadn't taken into consideration. Why were they the good guys? Why should she trust Shield, Nick Fury, and the other Avengers? Or, even further, why should she trust anyone at all?

For all she knew, they could all be lying to her face.

They wouldn't do that.

Mazzy was sure of it. She was pretty sure of it. 

"I just know." Mazzy crossed her arms and straightened her posture. If anyone would lie to her, it would be Loki. She had only just met him, but she knew that much. 

"You don't just know things, sweetheart," Loki said. His voice was reaching that same tone again. The one he was using with Fury. The one that sounded a bit more like a hissing snake than a speaking person. 

"I'm not your sweetheart," Mazzy spat. She might have been afraid, but she would stand up for herself relentlessly either way. Natasha Romanoff would, so Mazzy would, too. "You think you're the good guy, maybe, but you aren't," she told him. 

"Oh, really?" Loki asked, a small smirk growing on his face. 

"Yeah. Really," Mazzy said. 

Putting her fears to the side, she stepped closer to the glass. So close that if the glass weren't there, Loki could kill her without moving his feet. But the glass was there. Glass strong enough to hold back the green monster Mazzy had seen on the screens- the monster that was apparently inside Dr. Bruce Banner. So she was safe, she was pretty sure. 

"You do bad things just because you want to. And I think, maybe, it's because you're hurt inside and you don't know what else to do, like Megamind or like Anakin Skywalker. But just because you're hurt doesn't mean you get to hurt other people because it's fun. You're angry. But it's not our fault."

"People aren't born angry. People make them that way," Loki said. He was still calm. Even after Mazzy tried arguing with him and firing up, he was still just so calm. She didn't understand it. How could he be so calm and so angry at the same time? Loki crouched down on the other side of the glass to meet her height. His eyes narrowed. "Are you deaf, Mazzy?" he asked. Another question he already knew the answer to. 

Mazzy furrowed her eyebrows. "Mostly, but that's why I got these," she said, tucking her hair behind her ears to show him her hearing aids. She didn't really understand why he was asking. 

"Were you born deaf or did the world make you that way?" Loki asked her. 

"I was born deaf," Mazzy said, a bit unsure of herself. "Or maybe it was when I was sick. I can't- I can't really remember."

She needed to ask about that. That and whatever Hydra was. 

"But you didn't choose to be that way. Did you?" Loki asked her. Hesitantly, Mazzy shook her head. Of course, she didn't choose to be that way. But what was he getting at? "But are you ok with it?" This time, Mazzy nodded. She was fine the way she was. "I didn't choose to be this way either, Mazzy. But I'm ok with it."

"But I've never hurt anyone. You have," Mazzy insisted. 

"Everyone's hurt someone," Loki told her. 

"Not me."

"Is that what you think?" he asked, raising his eyebrows at the girl. 

"It's what I know," Mazzy said firmly. 

"Well, that's not what I've heard," Loki murmured, meeting her eyes. 

What?

"Mazzy!" 

Natasha rushed into the room, grabbing Mazzy by the shoulder, and pulling her back, away from the glass. Mazzy stumbled back, grasping onto Natasha's arm, but keeping her gaze on Loki. What did he mean? What could he possibly know? Nothing. He didn't know anything. Right?

"What are you doing in here?" Natasha asked, pulling Mazzy's attention away from Loki. But Mazzy didn't really have anything to say. "Go. Go find your dad," Natasha said. She lightly pushed Mazzy in the direction of the door.

"But he-" Mazzy tried to argue, her eyes darting back and forth between Natasha and Loki, who was smiling on the other side of the glass. 

"Go now," Natasha said once again. 

Mazzy let out a huff, stepping out into the hall alone while Natasha stayed to talk with Loki. Mazzy began walking down the hall, back to find her dad, but she couldn't stop thinking about what Loki said. She tried forgetting- to not believe him. But she couldn't stop wondering. She always felt like there was something different about her. Like there were things she didn't know about herself. But everyone else told her there was nothing wrong; that she was just the same as any other kid. Were they telling the truth?

She needed to know. 

Luckily- or maybe unluckily- before Mazzy got back to the lab, she ran into none other than Loki's very own brother. Thor. Mazzy wasn't feeling very patient right now, so she figured maybe Thor had an answer. 

"Thor, can Loki read your mind?" she asked, very quickly and panicked. Thor stopped when he heard her voice, raising his eyebrows. Before he could answer, though, Mazzy went on, listing off more questions. "Or, maybe, he could see things that happened to you that you don't remember? 'Cause he- well, I don't remember a lot of things, but he said he knows things that I don't know. Like, bad things. Maybe he read my mind. Or maybe he hasn't but he could and he should. Can he?"

"I'm sorry; what are you asking me?" Thor asked, confused. He honestly hadn't processed any of the things she said. 

"Can he read my mind? Or make me remember things I can't remember?" Mazzy asked, her eyes wide and glassy. 

"Loki?"

"Yes! Loki!" Mazzy shouted impatiently. 

She didn't understand. Did he read her mind? Or could he read her mind? If he could, maybe she could ask him to help her remember the things she couldn't ever remember. Maybe he could answer her questions about Hydra and about her hearing. 

"Ah, Loki. He certainly can," Thor said with a nod. He talked and explained painfully slow and Mazzy thought about leaving that very second. "He used to play mind games on me all the time when we were young. More than just mind games, actually. He was always up to no good. He once shapeshifted into a snake to fool me, because I love snakes so I, of course, went to pick up the snake. He then transformed back into himself and stabbed me," Thor reminisced. 

Well, stabbing was no good, but that wasn't important at that moment. 

"He could read my mind?" Mazzy asked just one more time for confirmation. 

"Yes. Did you not listen to my story?"

Mazzy didn't bother to answer him, turning on her heel and running back down the hall from where she came. She passed by the room where Loki was being kept, and she could hear the sound of Natasha's voice. So, she tucked herself into a separate hallway and watched around the corner for Natasha to leave. 

It took a minute, but eventually, Mazzy heard Natasha say, "Thank you for your cooperation." Mazzy then peeked around the corner and watched Natasha make her way back to the lab. 

As soon as Mazzy was sure she could move without being caught, she ran back into the room where Loki was being kept. Surely enough, Loki was standing there inside the cell. 

"What are you still doing here?" Loki asked the girl. 

Mazzy ran straight up to the glass fearlessly and pressed her hands against it. "You can read my mind," she said, bouncing on her toes.

"Yes?" Loki said. What was she getting at? What did she want? And, more importantly, why wasn't she with her father? She would die any minute now if she wasn't with him. Loki wasn't quite sure if he wanted that. 

"You need to read my mind," Mazzy told him. 

"Why is that?" 

"Because I asked you to! Please! Please, Loki," Mazzy begged, her voice more whiny than she intended. 

She didn't want to sound like a desperate, pleading little girl, but it was what she was. She needed him to listen to her. She needed to know. Because the more she thought about everything that she could ever remember happening to her, the more it didn't make sense. She bought the explanation from her dad all those months ago, but Loki's comments about hurting people had sent her spiraling. 

Was her dad lying to her again and again and again? Loki told her not to believe everything she heard, and if he was already in her head, then did he say that because he knew something she didn't? She couldn't properly trust anyone anymore. She couldn't fully believe her father, and she also couldn't fully believe Loki. 

But she wanted to know. 

"Please. I can't remember," Mazzy pleaded, her eyes wide and her eyebrows pinched together. 

"What do you want to remember?" Loki asked her. That was the problem, though. Mazzy couldn't remember what she wanted to remember. She didn't even know what she was asking him to tell her. "What you did?"

"Just tell me what you were talking about," Mazzy huffed, slamming her hand against the glass. 

"I'm afraid that now isn't the time, sweetheart," Loki said, shaking his head. 

"I told you, you can't call me that," Mazzy reminded him. She kicked the toe of her shoe against the glass, but he didn't startle. He wasn't easy to scare, unfortunately. He wasn't easy to convince, either, which might have sucked even more. "I have magic powers, too, kind of. And my dad says it was medicine because I was sick, but if I can't believe everything anyone tells me, then how do I even know he's telling the truth? I can't remember it. You need to make me remember it."

"I told you, Mazzy. Now is not the time. Go back to your father," Loki said, growing impatient with the girl. He knew that any minute, Barton would show up and send things to shit. Mazzy needed to be with her dad so she would have a chance at surviving this. 

"Why not?!" Mazzy shouted. She had just gone out of her way to do this and he wasn't even going to help her? He was the one to make her question these things. He needed to help her!

"Go back to your father! Now!" Loki yelled at the girl, hitting the side of his fist against the glass. 

Mazzy jumped backward, her heart racing in her chest as she suddenly remembered just why Loki was locked up in there in the first place. She never should have believed a word out of his mouth. He was mean and he was cruel and he yelled at her. He had no right to yell at her!

Frustrated and furious, Mazzy stormed out of the room. She wasn't supposed to be in there, anyway. 

Her dad was who she was supposed to trust. He would tell her the truth about everything. She was sure of it. Pretty sure of it, at least. 

Gosh, she needed to forget what Loki had told her! If only she could forget him and remember what happened to her. She just couldn't understand why she was somehow unable to remember any of it. She was sick. People don't just forget things because they're sick!

Then, Mazzy felt it. The ship began to rumble and the next thing Mazzy knew, she was falling flat back onto the ground with minor burns on her skin and a new supply of adrenaline coursing through her veins. 

Now is not the time. 

Loki. 

Mazzy pushed herself off of the ground, pressing her fingers against her skull and waiting for the pain to fade away. She began rushing through the halls. She never should have left her dad's side. Or maybe she should have just listened to him in the first place. She felt incredibly irresponsible and stupid. 

"Daddy!" Mazzy called out, her voice echoing through the halls. The burns on her skin began to fade away into nothingness and the pounding in her head was slowing to a stop. The adrenaline, though, just kept coming. "Dad!" Mazzy screamed. 

That's when she heard the roar. 

The green monster.