Revelations

“Aren’t you supposed to be in the lab?” Of course it had to be Rogers.

Adelina glanced his way with a roll of her eyes, moving away from the wall she had been leaning on while carefully plotting her next steps. He stopped a few feet from her, posture as stiff as a board as he eyed her, curiously.

“Not that it is any of your business, but I have some things to take care of first.” She replied, pursing her lips as he tilted his head, as if considering asking for further clarification. He seemed to realize that doing so would be a waste of his time, though, as he nodded, retreating from the conversation and ambling towards the laboratory. Adelina smiled to herself, grateful that the star-speckled man found her to be just as irksome as he was to her.

As she heard the click of the doors closing behind her, Adelina began her trek to the holding cell, careful to dodge the cameras scattered across the hallways of the carrier, and manipulating the angle with her mind when necessary. She paused outside of the first set of doors that would lead her into a control room directly outside of the containment area, listening to the heavy steps of one of the guards as he paced the corridor. As he slowed to a stop, likely only a foot from her, she rounded the corner. He stepped back in surprise, and Adelina took that brief opportunity to reach for his wrist, sighing as she made contact with the warm flesh above his pulse.

“Agent Tanase, what are you -“ His words faltered as his eyes glazed over.

“I was never here. Resume your patrol,” Adelina commanded, releasing her grip on his wrist and allowing him to move past her, oblivious to her presence. It was a neat trick, but one that she did not take advantage of very often.

Her lips pressed together in a tight smile as she strolled through the doors of a control room where several computers displayed live feed from all angles of the cell. She scanned them briefly, noticing Loki seated on a bench that extended across the small space of the chamber, his back turned to the doors through which she would enter. She quickly hacked into the servers, easily looping the feed so that the image would remain unchanged while she did what she needed to do. Taking a deep breath, she turned towards the doors and quietly entered the room.

Adelina stood a few feet from the glass exterior of the cell, shoulders back as she assessed the body language of the Asgardian. His posture was that of royalty, straight and unyielding; however, there was a slight cave to him, as if exhaustion was slowly but surely consuming him. She couldn’t quite tell if he was yet aware of her presence, but the question was quickly answered as he stood from the bench.

“There’s not many people that can sneak up on me.” Their eyes met as he turned to face her, a splash of violet against the ocean. The hint of a smirk slithered across his face as his gaze bore into her.

“But you knew I’d come,” Adelina replied cooly with a tilt of her head, feigning ignorance to the brief wave of unease that rolled through her. She knew he would not make this easy on her. The man was the embodiment of literal chaos - but in all chaos, she had realized, there was calculation. As long as she played into his games, his manipulation, she stood a chance at coming out on top.

“Are you here on behalf of Fury? Or do you seek better leadership?” Loki mused, sarcasm laced with incredible arrogance despite his burden of captivity. She watched as he stalked closer to the glass barrier between them, his blue eyes glimmering against the light with a sort of amused curiosity.

“Neither. I am simply here to talk,” Adelina replied, mimicking his movements as she walked slowly towards the cell. She kept her own expression blank, void of any emotion, as he continued to look her over in such a way that Adelina knew he would indulge, regardless of the words he spoke next.

“You would be foolish to believe that I would waste my time speaking with you.”

“I’ve been called worse. Besides, it seems to me that you have all the time in the world,” Adelina chided, raising a brow as she gestured towards his position in the cell. “Plenty to waste on me.”

“It must be a miserable existence to live blindly within a world that was not meant for you, to be trapped amongst people who do nothing but lie and deceive you. How desperate you must be to come to me for the truth,” he spat, his nostrils flaring as he looked down at her through the glass. Adelina tensed for half a second, slightly caught off guard by his words and the ease with which he had read her intentions.

“I wouldn’t say desperate. Merely curious.” The sneer on his face told her that he clearly didn’t buy that, but Adelina continued, regardless. “What did you mean - when you said that I should be dead?”

Those words had been eating at her from the moment they had invaded her mind. His tone laced with such perplexity and an expression of bewildered interest to match, Adelina was certain they were not intended as a threat, but a mere glimpse of what had to be recognition. And if it proved to be true, it could piece together a large portion of the puzzle she had been struggling to solve for years, now.

Loki had turned away from her, strolling towards the opposite side of the cell. His head was raised towards the ceiling, as if he was thinking, debating whether he would grant her a response. Her lips tightened as she crossed her arms in front of her chest, waiting for him to make a decision. Time seemed to pass, enough for Adelina to grow impatient, before -

“Your eyes are quite unique,” Loki began, unsettlingly calm as he turned to face her once again. “Initially, I believed it to be a trick of the light, a coincidence that you bare such similar features, but those eyes… her eyes…” He paused, his gaze narrowing in on Adelina’s own as his entire demeanor seemed to reverse. “You desire to know who you once were?” He snarled, stalking towards the glass as he spoke. “You were the daughter of a king, destined to rule the people of your realm… But now,” he laughed, a venomous sound, “you are nothing. No kingdom, no crown to inherit. Burdened with abilities you will never truly understand, and chained to a master who takes great pleasure in your ignorance.”

The taste of iron filled her mouth as Adelina bit her tongue to refrain from lashing out in the way that he was clearly trying to provoke. She exhaled a breath, blinking as she unclenched her fists, and ignoring the sting of broken skin along her palms.

“Maybe this was a waste of my time. It must be a miserable existence, after all, to be trapped in a cage amongst those who wish to see you dead - even your brother... How desperate you must be for acceptance that you resort to telling lies about something you clearly know nothing of.” Adelina returned his words from earlier with a mocking smile, though forced, as she fought to control her heart rate which soared beneath her chest when a tendril of power she had released returned to her with a whisper of dreadful reassurance.

“Am I?” Loki retorted with a tilt of his head.

He wasn’t. Adelina could feel it, even through the barrier. It was a light breeze against her skin, a deplorable cleansing. Pure honesty. A piece of her puzzle that she was now hesitating to finish.

Loki only continued to watch her, that same wicked smile plastered across his face as he removed himself from the glass. All she could do was stare at him, surprisingly unsure of how to proceed as her emotions fought to control her. Adelina didn’t know how much time had passed before the arrogant timbre of his voice once again filled the room.

“The others might not know the truth about you, but I do. Tell me… How does it feel to live as a stranger amongst those who claim to know you? Amongst those who view you only as a means to their end? You are nothing but a weapon in their hands, to be wielded as they see fit.” His words were an echo of her own inner thoughts, stirring something within her.

“I am not a pawn in anyone’s game,” Adelina spat, painfully aware of the defensiveness in her voice, as if she didn’t quite believe the words, herself.

“You mean to tell me that you stand here of your own free will while your realm is in ruins?”

For a second time, Adelina found herself at a loss for words. She couldn’t quite figure out what she meant to tell him as her mind roamed rampantly, searching for memories that would not reveal themselves. All she wanted was to make sense of his words - words that meant everything, yet nothing at the same time. She needed more. More answers, more clarity.

Adelina knew that Loki would provide it, if she only asked the right questions, but in doing so, she would also need to acknowledge the truth of his words . And to admit to such vulnerability, to allow him the satisfaction of knowing his words had proved true…It would defy her instincts entirely, but it was a risk that she would have to take.

“I have spent the past sixteen years wanting nothing more than to find my family, my home. I stand here because my realm remains forsaken, and I will do everything in my power to make things right.”

“Oh, I know all about the deal you wagered with Fury,” Loki interjected, causing Adelina to freeze in surprise. “Such tactics of a child…You say that you will do everything in your power to make things right, yet you give control of that power to a man who spouts nothing but lies. What does that make you if not a pawn?”

“You have no idea what you’re talking about,” Adelina breathed through her teeth, her questions now long forgotten as Loki denounced her claim with the blatant truth of her decisions.

“You were promised answers in return for your loyalty to this world, a world that does not understand you, does not want to… But that promise was never meant to be fulfilled. These people do not wish to help you. They desire to control you, control the threat you present. An object in their hands, truly not so different from the Tesseract.”

Her heart was pounding against her chest, and she didn’t need to glance at her reflection to know that her eyes had clouded over as she could feel the quiver of her power itching beneath her skin, preparing for a fight. But the fight was within as she struggled against the anger, the resentment that burned through her, yearning to be released.

“You speak about your power, but power belongs to those who take it. Who do you belong to?”

The silence was deafening as his words hung in the air, baiting her. Her nails had reopened the freshly healed wounds on her palms, and the pain kept her rooted as she dug them in deeper, drawing blood. She needed to say something - anything - to regain control, to prove to him that his words did not affect her as he intended, but she was, once again, at a loss.

She wanted to scream at him, defend herself and her actions that had led her here, as desperate as he had claimed, for answers promised long ago. Though, it would have been futile to do so as he read her with such terrifying ease, so different from the rest.

Living as a stranger amongst those who claim to know you… His words from earlier drifted through her mind and she couldn’t help but to acknowledge how true they were. It wasn’t as if she sought friendships with those she worked with, but how could she when they were trained to lie and deceive? The Black Widow had demonstrated as much on their last mission together, the one that ultimately caused Adelina’s spiral.

“You would be wise to learn that trust is for children, and dogs,” Loki commented, and Adelina’s head jerked towards him, her eyes narrowing at the sight of his upturned lips and taunting gaze.

She lurched forward, all sense of control lost in the midst of pure rage as she lunged for the barrier that separated her from the god and his foul words. Her hands collided with the glass, and despite its enhanced structure, it rippled against the strength of her power as she impulsively released a wave of energy.

“Get out of my head,” she growled, raking her nails across the glass until they found refuge in the form of fists, tearing into her palms once more. Loki remained unmoving, smiling at her in such a way that it reached his eyes. That was when Adelina realized that he hadn’t invaded her thoughts at all. He had merely been reaching, assessing and making assumptions that would provoke a reaction - one that she had so easily provided.

Adelina’s hands trembled as they dropped to her sides. She stepped back from the cell as Loki moved towards her, too calm for her liking.

“How easy it is to manipulate you… It is no surprise that Fury enjoys doing so.” The wicked smile returned as she stared at him, wishing she could claw it off with her own bare hands.

A bitter retort prepared to slip from her lips before Adelina recognized the voice of Natasha Romanoff from the doors of the control room.

“It seems as if our time has run out,” Loki declared. “I look forward to our next encounter.”

“I look forward to seeing you rot in this cell. Goodbye, Loki.” Adelina didn’t spare him another glance as she slipped through the doors at the opposite end of the room.