An Interrogation with a Snake
By now we had made it back to the Helicarrier. Loki was shackled and forced to walk with a full guard surrounding him. We had officially been introduced to Thor Odinson, the blond man, who was apparently the adopted brother of Loki. I had also healed up minor scrapes and muscle injuries Tony, Steve, and Thor had, and I’ll be the first to admit that seeing Steve’s look of astonishment had warmed my heart.
In a conference room, Steve, Natasha, Bruce, and I watched individual screens as Fury spoke with Loki.
Bruce was the first to speak up after the exchange. “He really grows on you doesn’t he?”
I gave a huff of laughter.
Steve, I was learning, always preferred to stay on task. “Loki’s gonna drag this out. So Thor, what’s his play?”
Thor was staring out off the balcony. “He has an army called the Chitauri. They’re not of Asgard, nor of any known world. He means to lead them against your people. They will win him the Earth, in return, I suspect, for the Tesseract.”
There’s that Asgard thing again. I thought of asking, but everyone around me already seemed to understand, and I didn’t want to seem like the stupid newbie for asking.
“An army from outer space.” Steve looked tired as he said it. A pang of pity shocked through me when I realized it. The poor guy has literally been fighting for years nonstop in his mind. He thought he would get to rest in death, but he didn’t even get that. I made a vow to myself to make sure he gets the time he needs to recoup and adjust to the world. SHIELD orders be damned. Physically, I placed my hand over his on the table. He looked at me gratefully, and rubbed his thumb over the back of my hand.
“So,” Bruce said, “He’s building another portal. That’s what he needs Erik Selvig for.”
“Selvig?” Thor asked.
“He’s an astrophysicist.”
“He’s a friend.”
Huh, I thought. Small world.
“Loki has him under some kind of spell, along with one of ours.” Natasha informed Thor, though her eyes were locked on Steve’s and my hands. The scrutiny almost made me pull away, but I swear I could feel how much Steve needed help to be grounded right now.
“I want to know why Loki let us take him,” Steve thought aloud. “He’s not leading an army from here.”
“I don’t think we should be focusing on Loki,” Bruce interjected. “That guy’s brain is a bag full of cats. You could smell crazy on him.”
Again, I had to hold back a laugh. Bruce’s sense of humor was very similar to mine. I could definitely see us being friends.
“Have care how you speak,” Thor warned. “Loki is beyond reason, but he is of Asgard, and he is my brother.”
Natasha deadpanned. “He killed 80 people in two days.”
“He’s adopted.”
I let out another huff of a laugh.
Yeah, we’ll get along fine.
“I think it’s about mechanics.” Bruce, always with the big brain thinking proclaimed. “Iridium… What do they need the Iridium for?”
“It’s a stabilizing agent.” Tony walked in and mumbled something to Agent Coulson before continuing. “It means the portal won’t collapse on itself like it did at SHIELD.” He walked over to Thor and patted his arm. “No hard feelings, Point Break. You’ve got a mean swing. Also, it means…”
I stopped paying attention. All this science stuff was over my head and no matter how much I wanted to understand it, I knew it was pointless at the moment. Instead, my mind began swirling over the words ‘Thor’, ‘Loki’, and ‘Asgard’.
Why did they sound so familiar?
Mulling over them, practically smelling the fumes from my own wheels turning, a thought began to take shape. Those names… They were all from Norse mythology.
But, I thought I was the only goddess in this universe?
The gods and goddesses that created me were all the gods of the past. Egyptian, Aztec, Celtic, you name it they were all involved in my creation. They wanted to “retire” to their own realm where they could freely exercise their powers without affecting humanity, but had realized they needed someone to help defend Earth, both from its own humans as well as beings from other worlds. So, they combined fire, earth, water, and air to create me. They still speak with me in dreams occasionally, but they had never mentioned any other gods I might come across. I had simply figured the Norse gods didn’t exist since I had never spoken with them. I needed more information, and instead of asking Thor, I wanted to see what Loki had to say. He didn’t really speak much, but he seemed to take an interest in me— maybe he would shed some light on things.
I tuned back to the conversation when I heard Fury speak. “I’d like to know how Loki used it to turn two of the sharpest men I know into his personal flying monkeys.”
I cracked a smile.
“Monkeys?” Thor asked. “I do not understand.”
“I do!” Steve jumped in, happy to understand. “I understood that reference.”
“We need to have a watch of ‘the Wizard of Oz’ when this is all over,” I smiled and gave his hand a squeeze.
“I’ll hold you to that.” Steve managed a smile back even through all the pressure he was under. He was Atlas, and I wondered what would happen when he finally broke. I never wanted him to have to hold everything on his own, and I would show him that when I could.
Tony and Bruce walked to the lab and I walked over to Nat. I asked her where Loki was so I could talk with him.
“Why do you want to talk to him?” She asked suspiciously.
“He stared at me for longer than an acceptable amount on the Quin. He seemed interested in me, and I want to know why. Maybe he will say something to me.” I shrugged.
“Alright. Follow me.”
She led me down a multitude of passages to get to the room where Loki was being held. Before we went in, she stopped me.
“Be careful. He is the type to try and get into your mind. Don’t let him know he rattles you. Don’t give him any power over you.”
“I’ll do my best.” I hesitated before going in. “Hey, do you think it would be okay if I shut off the video feed?” She gave me a horrified look, and I struggled to explain. “I just mean… I can sometimes feel when people are watching. When cameras are watching, I can feel that too. Maybe Loki can as well? I could use this as a way to earn his trust.”
Natasha tapped her lips in a thoughtful gesture. “I can understand that. And you’re right, maybe it would be good to have someone he trusts.” She turned and tapped a few times on the screen by the door. “Done. You have the room for the next 15 minutes. If I don’t hear from you after that, I’m coming in.”
“Thank you, Natasha,” I said before walking in the open door.
~~~~~
Inside, I had to marvel at the sheer size of the cage Loki was in. True, it was meant to house the Hulk, but wow. This was amazing!
I stepped right up to the glass that separated me from the man in green and black who currently had his back to me.
He turned his head slightly. “I was wondering when you would come.”
“I beg your pardon?” He had said one sentence and already thrown me off.
Loki turned to face me completely. He walked forward to stop right in front of the glass with his hands behind his back. “I could see it in your eyes. Your curiosity was apparent.”
I hated that I had to look up to him. “Okay. I was curious. I want to know who you are. I want to know what you are.”
One black eyebrow raised. “Did they not tell you? How interesting. They keep the woman with magic running through her veins in the dark.”
A shock went through me. “How did you know that?”
“Your power practically radiates off of you. I can see how other Midgardians may not sense it, but I am not of Midgard.”
“No, you’re from Asgard.”
“That’s right.”
“So you truly are the Norse god Loki, the God of Mischief?”
He gave an elegant bow. “That would be me.”
My thoughts were moving at a rapid pace. I nibbled on my thumbnail without biting it off; a nervous habit I had.
“My, my. I seem to have stumped you,” Loki interrupted. “What is going on in that magical mind?”
I looked up to see his eyes narrowed. He looked like a snake ready to strike. “Nothing you need to concern yourself with.” I changed the topic. “So, you want to rule the Earth? Why?”
“It is my birthright to rule,” he snarled. His demeanor changed. He became more hostile. “That senile, Odin, would not let me lead. Therefore, I took matters into my own hands. Humans are just puny little creatures. They need to be ruled. Just look around! This planet is in constant chaos thanks to them.” Loki ran a hand through his jet black hair.
“Can you not see beauty in chaos?” I asked, curious as to why the God of Mischief did not seem to appreciate chaos. That didn’t seem to add up at all. “The beauty in free will? Sure, humanity has some terrible people in it, but there are also amazing people. People who do kind things for no other reason than the fact that they can. Humans have an infinite capacity to love and be loved, and I think it’s a wonderful gift.”
He snapped his head to look at me. Blue eyes flashed with what looked like an idea. It was then that I realized my words were going in one ear and out the other. “Midgardians may take a better liking to me as their king if I had a Midgardian queen by my side. Hmm, yes. You seem to have a passion for your people. I will grant them mercy if you will stand by my side and rule them. It would be nice to be able to rule with another being of power, even if not as powerful as myself.”
I nearly rolled my eyes. I couldn’t believe his audacity! “Loki, I thank you for your offer, but I could never betray my own people like that.” It took all my self-control to make that thank you seem genuine. I almost shuddered when the words left my lips.
Again an eyebrow rose. “Suit yourself.”
“How do you even expect to rule from here? It’s not like you’re getting out anytime soon. And what did you do with Agent Barton? He’s innocent!”
A thin smile curled his lips. “Barton? You’ll be seeing him sooner than you think.”
I blinked in confusion. Just then, a chime sounded.
“Sorry, Agent Green. You are needed in the lab.”
“I’m on my way.”
I began to leave the room, and I heard Loki call out, “Goodbye, Agent Green,”He sneered. “We will meet again.”
Cocky son of a…
When I walked out of the room, I saw Natasha there.
“Sorry,” she began. “I didn’t know how else to let you know your time was up.”
“No problem, thank you.”
“Did you get anything?”
“He mentioned that we would be seeing Clint sooner than we think.”
“Interesting. I’m going in. I want to see what I’ll get from him.”
“Be careful, Nat.”
She smiled at me. “Always am.”
~~~~~
As I wandered the ship, I pondered what Loki had said.
Why would he want someone else powerful to rule by him? He seems a bit too conceited to share any form of power. And what about the fact that he’s an actual god? Maybe if he weren’t trying to take over the world I could be friends with him. Oh well. Maybe Thor and I can still be friends when this is all over.
I lost track of time as I walked. But I was startled out of my reverie by another chime.
“There seems to be a problem in the lab,” Agent Maria Hill said through my earpiece as I hurried that direction. “Tensions seem to be rising.”
When we got there, I could see everyone arguing. But what really caught my attention was a bright blue glow that came from Loki’s scepter.
Thor spoke. “You speak of control, yet you court chaos.”
Damn. What a raw line…
“That’s his M.O., isn’t it?” Bruce interjected. “I mean, what are we, a team? No. We’re a chemical mixture that makes chaos. We’re a time bomb.”
Fury slowly walked toward Bruce. “You need to step away.”
“Why shouldn’t the guy let off a little steam?”
I rolled my eyes.
Tony, for once in your life, shut up.
“You know damn well why. Back off!” Steve seemed ready to square up with him.
“I’m starting to want you to make me.”
I took a few steps toward Tony and Steve. Things seemed most volatile between them…
“Yeah. Big man in a suit of armor. Take that off, what are you?” Steve circled Tony.
Tony’s retort: “Genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist.”
“I know guys with none of that worth ten of you. I’ve seen the footage. The only thing you really fight for is yourself. You’re not the guy to make the sacrifice play, to lay down on a wire and let the other guy crawl over you.”
“I think I would just cut the wire.”
Steve gave the rest of us a sardonic grin. “Always a way out. You know, you may not be a threat, but you better stop pretending to be a hero.”
“A hero? Like you? You’re a laboratory experiment, Rogers. Everything special about you came out of a bottle.”
“Put on the suit. Let’s go a few rounds.”
“Okay okay…” I took that as my cue to step up and move the two apart. Only when I did that, and silence surrounded us, did the scepter stop glowing.
Thor laughed. “You people are so petty. And tiny.”
“Don’t you guys get it? Did none of you notice what just happened?” I half shouted.
“What, that Mr. Spangles over here wants to start something?” Tony mocked.
“Stark. Shut up.” I didn’t normally talk that way toward him, and I never called him by his last name, so his shock rewarded me with his silence. “None of this arguing was any of your fault. I think that scepter controlled your emotions.” I pointed at it. “That thing was glowing like crazy when I walked in here. It stopped when you stopped arguing. It’s like you were feeding it with your emotions. It’s taking your tensions and making them rise. This isn’t how any of you would normally act.”
Everyone stared at me for a minute. Fury was the first to speak.
“Agent Romanoff, would you escort Dr. Banner back to his…”
“Where?” Bruce interrupted. “You rented my room.”
Oh, here we go again…
“The cell was just in case…”
“In case you needed to kill me. But you can’t. I know. I tried.”
I looked at Bruce in horror.
“I got low.” He continued, “I didn’t see an end. So, I put a bullet in my mouth, and the other guy spit it out. So I moved on. I focused on helping other people. I was good. Until you dragged me back into this freak show and put everyone here at risk. You wanna know my secret, Agent Romanoff? You wanna know how I stay calm?”
I heard the click of Fury switching off the safety on his gun.
Steve jumped in. “Dr. Banner, put down the scepter.”
“This is what I mean!” I shouted. “It’s creating this mess!”
Bruce put the scepter down, took a breath, then jumped right into work, examining more of the recent data from the scepter with Tony helping. Steve seemed to go off to compose himself, and Natasha and Fury started talking. That blue light from the scepter reminded me of something. An idea was kindled, and I went up to Thor to get some answers.
“Hey, Thor?”
“Yes, my lady?”
“Can I talk to you? Alone?”
He looked at the rest of our group who were deep in their own projects. “Of course.”
We walked out into the hallway. I lowered my voice. “You said Loki is your brother, right?”
“Adopted…” He looked uncomfortable at the question.
“Okay… but you’ve known him for a long time?”
“We grew up together. Why?”
I hesitated. He might not understand my theory. I didn’t quite understand it yet either. I was thinking that Loki might be under some form of mind control from the Tesseract. If it had the ability to affect emotions and put Agent Barton under its power, why would the wielder be immune? Loki’s eyes were blue. When they seemed to flash, they almost glowed in the same shade as the scepter.
“What color are Loki’s eyes?” I finally spit out.
Thor was taken aback. “What?”
“His eyes. What color are his eyes?”
“Uhh, green. That is part of the reason we chose our colors. Mine reflect the blue in my eyes, his reflect the green in his.”
I let myself smile. “I knew it.”
“Knew what…?”
Just then, the ship was rocked with a giant explosion.