The Discovery
On day 3, Nat finally got her to give some explanation as to what happened with Dani only citing “he lied to me” which was more than enough for her.
That night, Nat went to get some calming tea for Dani and bumped into Loki. “Please tell me what I did wrong?”
She gave him a nasty look and only murmured “a lying leopard definitely doesn’t change its spots” as she left the kitchen. He had no idea what she meant. Leopards can lie? Change spots? What on midgard was she talking about?
On day 5, Dani returned to work but actively avoided Loki. Tony didn't mind the quiet from her. He was more than used to it by now. Dani would bury herself in her work when she could and then hide in her room. She had squirreled away some food, and Nat continued to bring her goodies.
On day 10, Nat finally got some further explanation. “He doesn’t……he doesn’t care about me.” Because of Dani’s background, Nat was allowing her to explain in her own time but in this case, she simply asked, “What makes you say that?”
“Heard him…..tell Thor……”
That was all she needed. “How about you get some rest? I’ve got an errand I have to go take care of, but I’ll check back on you later?” Dani simply nodded.
Her errand was simple. Smack the ever living life out of Loki. Finding out he was in the training room, she changed into her training clothes.
“Hey leopard, let's spar.” Still unsure why he was being called a leopard, he agreed. Maybe she would relinquish some information during their sparring session, and that she did after she gave him a good ass kicking. He was discovering that in addition to his powers being gone, his strength was also at about half power. Even in this state, he should be able to defeat her, but a pissed off Nat is not one you should cross, full powers or not.
Just as he forfeited the fight, Thor walked in to begin his own training session and was extremely surprised to find him defeated by Black Widow.
"Mr. Laufeyson, Dr. Banner requests your presence in the medical lab." Jarvis to the rescue. Loki departed leaving Thor and Nat to their own devices.
Deciding she had enough for now, she turned to Thor. “You really should teach your brother that it’s not nice to mess with women’s emotions like that.”
“Lady Natasha, I have not known my brother to do so since he joined us at the tower a couple of months ago. He cares for her a great deal. ”
Ignoring his protest that Loki could possibly be innocent, Natasha moved to get her water bottle. “Well, you know something. She overheard Loki tell you that their relationship was a lie.”
He was stumped. “I have no idea what you’re talking about. He has said no such thing.”
“Sure.”
Thor jumped in to defend his brother. “I assure you, Lady Natasha. My brother has said no such thing to me.”
“Then where exactly would she get an idea like that? She’s not exactly known for lying.”
"I do not know, but what I can tell you is this. I returned from Asgard with news of someone there who has been obsessed with Loki for a very long time. He toyed with her at the beginning but found her to be uninteresting. She has followed him ever since. I let him know she was looking for him once again, eager to speak with him, but he made it very clear he had no desire to see nor speak to her but was most insistent to see Lady Daniella."
"Боже мой." She left, unsure of how best to tell Dani.