Maelstrom
Chapter 20: Maelstrom
As expected, Stella woke up with a raging headache. She stirred in her bed, her surroundings spinning. She took her time before wiggling her arm.
Then she felt a warm body next to her.
With all her might, she moved her head to check. First, she saw a pale, muscular arm wrapped across her stomach. She slowly turned, shutting her eyes tight to lessen the nausea, and just managed to lie flat on her back before the vomiting sensation resurfaced. She let the hangover settle before opening her eyes. To her surprise, it was Loki, sleeping peacefully beside her.
How in the hell…
All she could remember was bits and pieces of the last minutes of her drinking spree with Natasha last night. She remembered Natasha tipping the second bottle of red wine. She remembered the card games. She remembered the two of them sitting on the floor, laughing and trying to rap.
She groaned as a wave of headache hit her. Loki stirred beside her and woke up. He checked on Stella, who was covering her eyes with the heels of her palm.
"Stell, how are you feeling?"
She groaned a reply.
"Are you saying you 'feel like shit'?" He chuckled when he used her usual words.
"Damn, right. JARVIS, please draw the thin curtains." The room went dim. She took a deep breath. "How did you end up here?"
Loki frowned. "You don't remember?" She mumbled inaudibly, still not removing her hands. "You asked me to stay." He pulled back strands of her hair from her face.
"I did?" He then brushed his thumb on her face. She dropped her hands and stared at the ceiling. "I'm sorry. I was too drunk."
"It doesn't matter. At least you got drunk inside the tower, not anywhere else because I'm not saving you."
Stella shot him a look. "Heyyyy, I didn't ask to be saved. Who even told you to save me?"
The question was asked lightly but it landed with a thud inside him. No one commanded Loki to save her. It was out of his volition that he would go and defend Stella from any harm. He knew it was unusual; he stopped caring for anyone after he found out the secrets his family kept from him. Now he cares for one, a half-Midgardian, half-Greek goddess.
"I just don't want any harm to come your way, that's all," he said as he stared at the ceiling while absent-mindedly playing with her hair. "But how can a guardian of the realms manage to get herself drunk? I always wondered."
"I bet you guys get drunk too."
"That's a thing for Thor. As for me, I don't give into intoxication that much."
"You don't like getting drunk?"
"Yes, I don't. Do you?"
"I don't know. Maybe? A moment's bliss when you forget everything."
"What do you want to forget?" He glanced at her.
She continued staring at the ceiling. She doesn't even know what to forget. What can she forget if she can only remember bits and pieces of her childhood? How can she forget about memories that she even wasn't sure if it happened or it was a fabricated lie she was conditioned to believe?
She sighed. “You’re giving me an existential crisis right now. I just want to deal with this hangover.”
Loki moved his arm that’s tucked under Stella’s head and raked his glowing fingers through her hair. “I can fix that so you can concentrate on your existential crisis.”
Stella held his hand and lifted it off her. “No, no. I want to feel the pain as a reminder not to drink too much next time.”
“Aren’t you a sadist…”
Their fingers interlocked with each other. Stella closed her eyes, listening to Loki breathing beside her. "I don't even know if I have something to forget,” she answered his question.
Maybe she drinks to remember. But then again, like last night, being intoxicated can mask a few minutes, even hours, of an event.
Then she remembered the reason why she’s having a hangover. She was talking to Natasha about her feelings for Loki. She wanted to sort out her feelings for him, see if they’re real. She blinked through the pain in her head. But it’s too late, she has asked him to stay in her bed over the night. Now he’s here, his arms around her, he’s playing with her hair, he’s holding her hand.
Maybe Natasha’s right. Maybe Loki feels the same way as I do.
"What are you thinking?" He asked.
"Nothing." Everything. Especially this. Us. She turned to nuzzle on his side again. “How was your sleep? Was I moving around too much? I tend to do that.”
“It was peaceful.” It was the first time Loki had a full night’s rest. A night without nightmares nor thoughts and voices disturbing his peace. He never knew peace until last night. He thought it was because he’s comfortable being around Stella. His fingers hovered lazily on her back. “You weren’t moving much the whole night. How about you?”
“I have no idea.” She giggled. “I passed out and then I woke up. It doesn’t even feel like I was sleeping.” Loki laughed lightly with her. “This feels nice.”
“You’re starting to like this too much, I’ve noticed.”
“It’s not my fault you give good cuddles. Bet you gave cuddles to a lot of people back in the days. Maybe a hundred of them.”
“They don’t,” he said quietly.
“What do you mean?”
“They don’t stay.”
Their eyes met. “I’m right here.” He smiled softly, knowing what she meant, and his hand traversed down to her back. “Mmhmm. It’s like I don’t want to leave.”
“Then don’t,” he whispered.
She buried her face on his left pectoral. “5 more minutes,” she pleaded.
“I can let you stay like this for more than 5 minutes.”
“But other tasks are screaming for me to work on them.” Came her muffled reply.
“Then do them later?” He suggested. Stella lifted her hand to dance on his torso. He held her hand with his right and interlaced his fingers into hers. He realized he could do this forever with her: holding her hand, waking up next to her, seeing her face first thing in the morning. He sighed before continuing. “I wanna tell you something.”
Stella’s eyes opened wide. Is this it? She looked up to him.
Loki swallowed before speaking. “I…I actually like staying like this with you.”
Stella stared at him, trying to decipher what he meant. That doesn’t mean he likes me, right? It could be, he likes being like this platonically, right?
She smirked. “Is it comfortable?”
That wasn’t what Loki meant, but he said yes. He was not even sure if Stella felt the same way as he did. He wanted to tell her everything.
Stella’s phone beeped. "We should get going." She pushed herself off him but she collapsed. "Fuck!" The world spins around her. He helped her stand. "I'm never gonna drink again."
"Oh, really?" He playfully hissed.
She looked up at him. "For real." He gave her an unimpressed look and she laughed. "Fine, there's no winning around you." She picked up her phone. Loki walked to the window.
From: Bruce Banner
Message:
We found a tracker embedded on Jericho’s wrist. We believe it is still transmitting. Send me a message if you’re free to check on it.
Stella frowned. “What is it?” He asked.
Stella placed her phone back on the bedside table and stood up to stretch. “They found an active tracker on Jericho’s wrist. It could be our key to our next move.” She tried to stabilize herself. Loki approached her and held her by the waist. “I’m good, I’m good,” she assured him, stroking his arm.
He studied her. She looked disheveled and her skin was kinda dry. “Are you sure you can meet Banner today? You look dehydrated.”
“I am parched.” She moved to walk to her mini-fridge.
“Let me get you some.” Loki let go of her to get her a glass of water. Stella followed him to the mini pantry. “What are you planning to do today? Aside from meeting Banner?”
Stella downed the water before answering. “Take a bath, get some breakfast, meet Banner, check on Jericho to see if we can extract more information from him, and -” she pointed a finger at him - “we still have to update.”
Loki was impressed Stella could switch on her Detective Lords mode anytime she wants. Despite spending the night curled up, helpless and drunk, next to him.
“Okay, I’ll prepare for the day as well. Would you want us to go get breakfast together?”
Stella smiled. “Sure.” Loki ambled closer to her, placing a hand at the small of her back and kissing the top of her head before he left her room. When Stella heard the click of her door, telling her that the door has been closed, she let out a giddy shriek and started hopping in place like a kid who won a huge stuffed toy in the fair.
Her hangover subsided after taking a bath, thanks to her demigod-level healing capacity. Stella grabbed the first thing she could get her hands on: a white, short-sleeved, buttoned shirt with black lines crossing on each other. Another plunge and she grabbed a black, lace bralette she bought as a set while she was wandering around Manhattan one afternoon. Of course, she’s going to wear the set today since she was feeling good about herself. She then pulled a pair of light denim straight cut jeans that are until her ankles, then slipped on her black loafers. Put on some makeup, grabbed her phone, watch, and necklace, then she’s out of her room.
Before she went to Loki’s door, she stopped by Natasha’s and knocked. There was no reply. “JARVIS, where’s Nat?”
“Agent Romanoff is on the 73rd floor.”
“Thanks!” Stella moved to Loki’s door. The door opened before she could knock, revealing Loki wearing a black, buttoned shirt, sleeves folded up to his elbows, tucked in a pair of dark blue slacks, black leather belt, and a pair of dark brown monk shoes. “Wow.” She exhaled through her gaping mouth.
Loki tapped her chin with a finger. “Close that or else it’ll fall.”
She giggled. “I missed that when you were gone. Let’s go?”
He nodded and let her lead the way. He noticed that there was a change of energy in the way she walks. “How are you feeling?”
“The hangover has eased a little, though I still feel dehydrated and light-headed.”
The elevator doors closed. “You need to eat.” He slithered his hand on her back and she leaned on him.
“Yeah. I hope there’s soup. It feels like the first time I woke up after that night, except there’s alcohol in my body.”
“You were not blessed by Dionysus, then?” He joked.
Stella looked up at him. “You know Dionysus?”
Loki smiled fondly. “Not really. But I helped Hermes extract the alcohol from his wine one time.”
Stella laughed. “You and Hermes were the first ones who made alcohol-free wine?”
“I think so. It was all Hermes’ idea.” Stella felt Loki relax beside her. “I never became friends with Dionysus. He would always go into this frenzied sermon about anything he could think of.”
“He’s the god of winemaking, what else can you expect?” Loki laughed. The LED panel showed them their floor destination and he let go of Stella, a silent agreement that whatever they have right now, they can’t let the others know.
Natasha was slouching on the dining table, a pair of sunglasses on, and slowly sipping her tomato juice. “Good morning, Nat,” Stella said as she approached the table. Loki went to the coffee machine.
Natasha tilted her head and as much as she wanted to smile because Stella arrived with Loki and they looked happy with each other’s company, she just managed a groan and a small jerk of her head, sending another wave of nausea.
“How could you look less beaten up than me? Is it because you’re a demigod?” Natasha grumbled.
“I think so.” Stella settled in front of her, taking a sip of the tomato juice she grabbed from the fridge.
“They’re making chicken noodle soup. I asked for it when I woke up feeling like shit,” she informed Stella.
“Great, I wanted some soup.”
Natasha lowered her glasses. “So, what’s up?” She jerked her head to the side, to the direction where Loki was.
Stella smiled and bit her lower lip. “We’ll talk later.”
“Is it good or bad? Did you say anything?” Stella’s face crunched and she waved her hand. Natasha let go of her glasses, making it drop on her nose. “Don’t let this wait for too long, Lords.”
Stella sighed and drummed her fingers on the table. “I’ll try.”
Natasha moved to grab something from the seat next to her. She placed a small paper bag in front of Stella. “Since you were worried about...y’know.” Stella opened the bag and saw a pad of Plan B pills. “Though I suggest seeing a doctor. You can ask Pepper for the best doctors in town.”
“Thanks. Let’s hope this works on demigods and Asgardians.” Stella folded the mouth of the bag and it disappeared into her subspace. “How about your doctor?”
The other woman smirked. “I don’t need one.”
“You need to have yourself checked once in a while, Nat,” Stella said in concern, although she wasn’t even having herself checked even before. She thought of doing it now, especially that she wanted to be in a relationship.
“Yeah, you’re right.” Natasha supported her heavy head with her arm perched on the table. “My head hurts so bad I want someone to cut it off.”
“I can do that.”
Natasha pulled her sunglasses down to throw a menacing look at Loki. Stella looked at him like he was serious. “I don’t want you to do it. Call Clint and ask him to do it.”
“What is happening?” Stella was unsure.
“No, I’m just kidding. I’m not cutting off Agent Romanoff’s head unless she begs. May I?” Loki asked Natasha.
Natasha looked up to him then to Stella, fighting the urge to smirk. “Sure. Though I’m still not going to beg for you to cut my head.”
Loki snickered then sat beside Stella. “I was going to ask you if you wanted coffee, but I was thinking caffeine will make your hangover worse,” he told her.
“I’m good with my tomato juice, thanks.”
One of the staff excused himself and brought them their breakfast: chicken noodle soup for the hungover women, and pancakes with fruits and a few strips of bacon for Loki.
Most of their time at the dining table was spent in silence, with Natasha pausing, having a moment to stabilize herself. “I have a feeling I might do the same thing you did later if I don’t get the answers that I wanted.” Natasha murmured after a little while.
Loki raised an eyebrow. “What does she mean?” He asked Stella.
“Stella had a fistfight with Jericho during the first time she tried to interrogate him. Maybe today I will be one who might cut someone’s head off.” Natasha answered him. “Was it the first or the second?” She then asked Stella.
“First.” Stella then remembered what she had to tell the rest of them. “Are you ready to talk about something serious?” She asked them.
“Go. Hit it. I’m all ears.” Natasha mumbled.
“So, I found out the reasons why Jericho was sent here. First, and the obvious one, is to steal the scepter. The second one is to use the scepter on me so I can work with them. Third, Jericho has an active tracker embedded on his wrist.”
Natasha dropped her spoon, clanging into her bowl, and took off her sunglasses, her eyes already sending daggers. Loki froze beside her, clenching his jaw. Fear crept through Stella’s veins when she was on the receiving end of Natasha’s glares but she did not let it show.
“They know.” Loki finally talked.
Natasha looked at him. “They know what?”
“They know how to use it,” he continued.
Stella nodded. “Tony thinks someone from the people who worked for you back in 2012 is also working for Ares. I say it could be a demigod. But the thing is, I am not sure if Ares employed mortals.”
“Mortals can be used if they’re gullible enough,” Loki added.
“Is it Selvig? It can’t be Clint.” Natasha inserted.
“Agent Barton has cleared Dr. Selvig in this case,” Stella replied. “I’ll send a request for the list of the people who worked for Loki back in 2012.”
“What about the tracker?” Natasha folded her arms on the table.
“Doc Banner texted me about it this morning. We still have to meet to talk about it.”
Natasha nodded. “Where’s the scepter?” Loki asked, almost a growl. Stella looked down on her bowl as she felt a cold sensation wash over her when she heard his voice.
“It’s locked up.” Natasha scanned behind Stella and Loki to check if the strangers that were with them on the floor were trying to eavesdrop on their conversation. “Somewhere downstairs.”
“It should be locked for good. I don’t want anyone, not even me, to be near it,” he commanded.
“It’s done,” Stella told him. “Tony did that right after the attack.”
Natasha started to stand. “We have to interrogate Castle today. I need you two to be there.”
“Before heading down there, can we meet up with Bruce first?”
Natasha nodded. “I’ll use the truth serum if he still refuses to speak.” She left them in a hurry.
Stella realized Loki was already gripping on his utensils so hard that the skin on his knuckles became paler than usual. She placed a hand on his thigh and gently stroked it. She looked behind them only to find out that they were the only ones on the floor. “Calm down now, we got this under control,” she soothingly murmured. As if there was a switch, Loki’s eyes softened and he loosened his grip on the utensils. He let them go and they were deformed. “Yeah, you owe Stark a fork and a knife,” she joked.
“I don’t want us to be near it anymore.” There was a hint of fear in his voice. “I don’t want you to get hurt, too.”
“We’re not,” she reassured him. “And they won’t keep us apart anymore.”
“Bold of you to assume that.”
“I’m not afraid of them.”
He held her hand that was stroking his thigh. “May I know why?”
Her lips curved upwards as he glanced at her. “I have my energy back. And we have each other.”
After breakfast, Stella, Loki, and Natasha were waiting at the couches outside Bruce’s lab. 5 minutes passed by and the elevator doors opened to reveal Bruce. He stopped in his tracks when he noticed Loki. “Wow, you’re back from the dead.”
Loki slightly raised his head. “Banner.” His lip twitched upward.
“Okay.” He shook his hands, relieving himself of the stress, and walked to the door of the lab, scanning his ID card on the door panel. “Shall we?” Everyone entered the lab. “So, you told them?” He asked Stella.
“Yeah. It might be better to find out where it’s tracking before Natasha goes in for another round of interrogation.” Stella sat down on a metal stool.
Bruce nodded and stopped by a desk with a 13”x13”x13” glass box that housed a small chip attached to a 4”x4” glass slide. He typed something on the keyboard and windows appeared on the glass screen in front of him.
“How did you extract the tracker?” Natasha asked while studying it behind the glass.
“I thought of running scans for foreign elements on Castle, and that showed up.” Loki and Stella moved to sit right in front of Bruce. “We sedated him and extracted that.” He pressed a button and a map showed up on the screen.
“Do you have any other information on what else that chip can collect?” Loki asked.
“And what is this glass made of? Is this sound-proof?” Stella tapped the glass.
Bruce scrunched his nose. “Why would you ask if it’s sound-proof?”
“Wild thought, but it might be listening to us?” She asked quietly.
“I don’t think that’s possible.” Bruce adjusted his glasses and continued typing. “So far, this one works as a tracker and nothing else.” The map zoomed in to North America, then it moved to the west side until a red dot appeared in the middle of… “The Mojave desert?” The red dot glowed steadily on the barren map. He pressed another button, nothing happened. He pressed the same button again, nothing happened. He started typing some commands but nothing happened. “This should show us a composite image now.”
“Does that mean they have shielded themselves from the satellites?” Loki asked.
Bruce nodded. “That’s the most probable reason we have. But the fact that this -” he pointed at the chip - “is transmitting something and it led us to this means that it’s a possible location.”
“What if it’s the same facility we checked in Nevada?” Natasha wondered.
“There are no other ways but to check in person,” Loki answered.
“We don’t have a hiding ground in the Mojave. You can see everything. They can see you,” she said.
“We can do that. We can hide.” Stella said.
Natasha shifted on her feet, considering the possibility. “Though it can be a trap.”
“Since the satellites can’t give us a live image, that’s the only option we have,” Bruce confirmed. “What do we want to do here?”
“See if it has the tesseract, or Ares, or both. How’s the global scan?” Stella said.
“Tony’s still amplifying the tower’s energy and adding more satellites. He needs another 50% to power up the arc reactor. Might take a little more time for that. Rhodes is also on it.”
Natasha sat on the stool. “This can be an information extraction mission. But what if Ares is here?”
“That’s why the best option is for the two of us -” Stella gestured to herself and Loki - “to be there. We can go zero.”
Loki crossed his arms on his chest and stroked his lip with a finger. “This is very tricky.”
Stella smirked, amused. “Coming from you?”
“I agree with Agent Romanoff, we can be walking in on a trap. No doubt we can get ourselves out of it in no time but what if there’s something that they have to use against our energies? We can’t afford to be powerless when we have to face someone who’s dealing with dark magic.” Loki told them.
“How about Thor?” Natasha suggested.
“That big oaf does not know what stealth means.” Loki chided.
“How about you?” Stella gestured to Natasha. “You and Sam?”
“I can do it.” Natasha shrugged. “And, yeah, we’ll probably need Sam.”
Bruce scratched his chin. “I believe it’s best to talk to everyone about this.”
Natasha nodded. “Okay, so we’ll head to Jericho’s floor, get the information needed, then we can convene within 12 hours.”
Natasha, Stella, and Loki showed up on the 41st floor and they were surprised to see Steve waiting for them there.
“Tony called Sam to check on the drone he’s working on for the EXO-7 Falcon,” he reported to Natasha. “And someone told me Loki is back.” He glanced at the god, who smirked mischievously.
“For better and for worse, he’s back.” Natasha quipped. “But we have someone badder than Loki to handle right now.” She gestured at the monitor showing Jericho lying down on the cot in the holding room.
“Why are you talking about me like I’m not standing here with you in this room?” Loki sighed. Stella stifled a giggle. “And why are you laughing? I thought we’re in this together?”
Stella crossed an arm on her stomach and propped an elbow to cover her mouth with her hand. “Yeah, you’re right. We are.” She bit her lip. Loki folded his arms on his chest, frowning at Stella, who was giving him a naughty glance then composed herself in a second.
“Does Steve know?” Natasha asked Stella.
Steve brought his hands to his waist. “Know what?” His gaze veered from Natasha to Stella.
“Not yet. This is the first time I saw him since I realized that.” Stella looked at Steve. “Jericho’s here to use the scepter on me. They want me to work for them.”
“Oh, word.” He sighed in worry. Beside Stella, Loki’s lips were shut in a tight line. “But it’s locked up now, right?” The three of them nodded in unison.
“We really need to sit down and talk about this. We have been discovering a lot of things.” Natasha prepared herself for her interrogation with Jericho, inserting an earbud. She nodded to Stella, who typed something on the laptop. She gave her a thumbs up. “Ladies and gents, sit back, and relax.” She winked at them before entering the room.
Jericho’s head rose when he heard the door on the other side of the tinted glass open and closed. He smirked as he stood up and walked to the glass. The tint disappeared. “Of course.” He grinned. “She would let you do it.”
“I believe you already know me. This is the second time we have met.” Natasha clasped her hands behind her.
“Yeah, yeah.” He waved his hand. “Whatever. So, what do you want? The same things she wants?” He jutted his thumb to the side.
“And more.” Natasha was sending him daggers with her eyes but Jericho was unaffected. “We found an active tracker in you.” She released her hands.
Jericho pulled up the sleeve of his black sweater and showed her his wrist. “This? Yeah, I knew you guys extracted it from me.” His voice dropped, so did his shoulders. In the other room, Stella pulled up a chair and sat. She zoomed in on Jericho’s demeanor for a second there. Her forehead scrunched as she watched. “Thanks, though.” Jericho made a small jerk with his head.
Loki and Stella looked at each other. This was Steve’s first time to observe and he didn’t know what was happening.
“Is playing the victim one of his tactics?” Loki asked Stella.
“It depends on the situation.”
Natasha also noticed the small shift in his attitude. She waited for him to release the sleeve of his sweater before continuing. “Do you know where the tracker transmits?”
Jericho broadened his shoulders. “I thought you already found that out by now? Or you just want to confirm it to me?” He waited for Natasha to speak. “Oh, it’s that.”
Natasha mentally rolled her eyes. “What is in the Mojave desert? Have you been there?”
Jericho closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “I know she’s out there.”
“Who’s out where?” Steve muttered. There were a lot of questions running through Steve’s mind while the interrogation was going on. He waited for Stella or Loki to say something.
Loki, on the other hand, has his full attention on the screen when he hears Jericho say that line.
Stella already knew what Jericho was talking about.
“Who is out there?” Natasha asked.
Jericho opened his eyes. “Stella Lords. The guardian. She’s in the other room.”
Loki placed a hand on Stella’s back, earning an eyebrow raise from Steve.
“How can you tell?” Natasha continued.
“You know -” he started pacing the glass as he explained - “we were trained by Athena since we were children. We grew up together. Thus, we were trained to feel each other’s energies, to be familiar with each other’s existence, so we wouldn’t get lost on the battlefield. Though it was a disadvantage when we played hide-and-seek.” A fond smile grew on Stella’s face as she remembered. “We can detect each other and we would know if the other is hurt because we’ll feel the same pain each was feeling. So, yes, you could say I felt her period pains as well.” He chuckled, then it disappeared. “I don’t know if she felt the same way.”
Loki removed his hand from Stella. She looked down from the screen when she felt Loki’s absence from her back.
“I don’t. I never did.” Stella muttered gravely.
“She was supposed to detect me. She can do that. But I don’t know if she can still do that after she left to become a guardian.” Jericho suddenly stopped pacing. His eyes widened and his mouth made an o shape. “I can feel another energy. Don’t you know that I can also detect other supernatural energies?” He said, excited. “Is that… Is Loki back?” He didn’t wait for Natasha to reply. “You know, the funny thing is, I knew Loki was my father’s friend. It would be an honor to meet him one day.”
Loki crossed his arms on his chest.
“But, what’s so messed up is why Athena chose him to work with the guardian? I don’t get it. Athena could’ve chosen me, I didn’t try to blow up a country.”
Loki clenched his jaws.
“And here comes Lords telling me that it wasn’t him who attacked New York. Tsk.” Jericho chuckled.
Loki turned away from the screen and closed his eyes. The battle was a distant memory for him now, some of the events during that day are even hazy. But the things he had endured with the Chitauri were crystal clear. That year and everything that happened to him was the main act of his nightmares. And listening to Jericho brought back everything.
“What happened in Kalambaka? There are still no remains that have been retrieved.” Natasha continued.
“Oh, you too? Damn.” He snickered.
Stella couldn’t take it anymore. She pushed herself from the table and transformed into her armor, sans her swords. The Aresian dagger attached to her right thigh.
Loki turned to her. “Stella, what are you doing?”
“I’m going in.”
Loki grabbed her hand. “No. Stay here,” he snarled.
Stella looked at him, then pressed a button on the panel. She bent to the microphone. “Are we going to use the truth serum?” Natasha slowly brought down two fingers - signifying no. Stella shook her head. “We aren’t going anywhere with this.”
“Are you hiding something?” Loki suddenly asked her.
Stella gasped. “No!” She looked at Loki when he tightened his grip on her. Loki took a moment to look at her before releasing her. Stella turned to Steve, who was quietly observing everything. “Look, I am not working for Ares. I’ll never will,” she said, throwing a glance at Loki.
“We should get Nat back in here,” Steve suggested.
Stella pressed a button on the panel. “Nat, mind if you come back here?”
Natasha pressed a button on the panel that darkened the glass separating her and Jericho and left the room. “What’s up?” She asked when she closed the door behind her.
“How many truth serums do we have?” Stella immediately inquired.
“A substantial amount. Are we...are you…?”
Stella nodded. “We won’t go anywhere if we continue like this. How does the serum work?”
“It will be diffused through the ventilation system. It will take 3 minutes to take effect. Lasts 2 hours.” Natasha’s finger was hovering on a button. “Who’s going in?”
“I will,” Stella replied as she placed an earbud.
“Are you sure?” Loki asked her, to which she glanced at him. “I can go in there.”
“No. I’ll do this.” Stella motioned to Natasha to press the button. The latter did and a loading bar appeared on screen, telling them the percent of truth serum that was added to the atmosphere of Jericho’s cell. They waited for the 3rd-minute mark. 30 seconds left in the timer and Stella entered the holding room. Steve excused himself and left the floor.
“And you finally decided to show up, huh.” They heard Jericho say. Stella pressed the button for the tint to disappear. “Hello, sister.”
Stella’s jaws clenched. She lifted her chin. “Why did Ares steal the tesseract?” There was no time for formalities and the likes.
“Oh, you know his fascination with weapons.”
“Of course. Where is it now?”
Jericho pouted. “That, I don’t know.” It came out easily from him.
Stella’s brows furrowed. “How come you don’t know? You’re supposed to become a commander, right?”
Jericho’s posture stiffened. He placed his hands behind him. “No, no, no. I know...I…” He struggled to spurt out the words. “I know...nothing...I know…!” He raised a finger as he continued babbling incoherently. “What have you done, Lords?!” He hissed, wide-eyed.
Natasha chewed her inner cheek, thinking what Jericho was trying to say. “Is he trying to say he doesn’t know anything?” She asked Loki.
“Possibly. The truth serum is already working, yes?”
“It should be.”
Stella slightly shrugged. “Nothing. But, do you know any plans he made?”
“No, I don’t,” Jericho replied without any difficulty.
Stella raised an eyebrow. “Ares did not brief you with any plan?”
“Look, the only plan I know is to infiltrate this tower, get the scepter, and use it to control you. That’s it.” Jericho brought his hands to cover his gaping mouth as he looked at Stella with wide eyes. “Lords, what is happening?” He asked in a grave voice.
In the other room, Loki closed his eyes, controlling himself from hissing a curse.
“What’s in the Mojave desert? Your tracker transmits to a particular location there.”
Jericho’s eyes were going dark, and Stella knew that he was working against the truth serum. This was a huge test for him. He took a deep breath. “Ares is not an enemy, Stella.”
“You’re not answering my question, Castle.”
“He’s an ally. He’s even your brother, for crying out loud. You’re gonna do that to your brother?” He paced his room.
“He’s trying to bypass the serum,” Natasha said. Stella heard it through her earbud.
“Jericho, I want my questions answered.”
“And I want mine answered as well. Are you going to help your brother?” Jericho’s voice went down a note lower.
“He commanded his demigod son to attack Kalambaka. And I told you I wouldn’t associate myself to someone who murders the innocent.”
“Is that so?” He walked to the glass separating them, his eyes looking down at her, dark and menacing. “You might want to check yourself then, Lords. Sounds like you broke a rule yourself.” He winked.
Stella kept her breathing steady. In the other room, Loki’s eyes were intensely fixed on Jericho. His hands firmly curled and his jaw set. He knew Jericho was talking about him.
Stella’s heartbeat raced. She knew Jericho was talking about Loki and she wanted to protect him from whatever their prisoner says.
“Your father will be so disappointed in you.”
“Already disappointed.” He replied nonchalantly. “Yours, on the other hand, would be so disappointed his daughter made friends with a monster.”
Natasha noticed the room they were in started to glow green. She looked at Loki, whose hands were already glowing. “Loki, don’t.”
“Zeus doesn’t even care. And you don’t know what you’re talking about, Castle.”
“Oh really? I don’t? He shouldn’t be even walking around after he blew up New York.”
“I administered another dose of truth serum.”
“And a little birdie told me that you even defended him against his father.” Jericho clapped his hands. “How brave of you. Calling Odin out.”
Loki gulped when he heard that. So it was true. That happened. He thought Stella was making it up. But the fact that Jericho knew about it, it means it could be real.
“A word of advice, Lords.” He tapped the glass. “He’s doing this for his own good, Stell. He’s just using you.”
“What good are you doing, then?” Stella sneered.
“Did you really administer the truth serum?” Loki asked Natasha.
Natasha was getting frustrated. “I did! He’s bypassing the serum!”
“This is not about me. This is about you and him.” Jericho pointed at her and to the direction where Loki is. “Be careful with him, sister. He might be using you for more than what he intended to,” he insinuated.
“You know nothing about him.” Stella countered. “I’ve seen him and I know he will not do that.”
The warm sensation filled Loki’s chest once again. He sighed and closed his eyes.
“Oh, have you? Why are you so protective of him, huh?” Jericho barked.
“Because I trust him! I trust him more than you know."
“Stella, snap out of it!” Jericho rebuked. “He is his own weapon, a killer! Do not forget it. You can use a spear as a walking stick, but that will not change its nature. He’s a monster!”
“Then what makes you the better person, huh?!” She exclaimed. “What makes Ares better? He’s evil by a hundredfold!” She ran a hand through her hair and raised a finger in front of Jericho. “You don’t tell me what to do! If you’re here trying to get me to work with Ares, it’s never happening.”
“Not so fast, Lords.” Jericho wiggled a finger at her. “We’ll make a criminal out of you yet.”
Stella could feel her cheeks and neck heat up. She badly wanted to beat up Jericho but everyone told her not to.
Loki, in the other room, was confused about why Stella was defending him. Everything that had happened for the past years started to bombard him, to the point that he could feel the claws of The Other piercing his bare skin. Jericho was right - he was a monster. I am a monster and I was meant to. I am no different than Ares. He left the room, banging the door as he passed.
“Loki!” Natasha ran after him but he was nowhere to be found. “Shit!” She went back and pressed the button. “Stella, Loki disappeared.”
Stella tried not to react. “We’re far from done, Castle.” She pressed the button and the glass darkened. She got out of the room. “Where’s he?” She urgently asked Natasha.
“I have no idea. Jarvis?”
“Mr. Loki Odinson is in his room.”
“Thanks!” Stella entered the corridor and translocated to their floor. She stopped outside Loki’s door and knocked. “Loki, it’s Stella.”
“What do you want?” He snarled from the other side.
She held onto the door frame, her forehead leaning on the door. “Uh, I know you heard what Jericho said. I just want to talk it out.”
The door opened. She looked up, a fuming Loki met her gaze. “Why? What he said was true, Lords.” He said darkly. “I told you, you shouldn’t have trusted me.”
“There’s no other reason not to trust you.”
“Stella, he’s right. I am a monster.”
“I don’t believe in that.” She pushed the door open.
Loki stopped it with his foot. “You don’t know who or what I am capable of.”
“Didn’t I tell you that I trusted you? You’re not a monster people perceive you as such?” She looked at him with concern in her eyes. He looked down at her, trying not to feel the sympathy she’s giving him.
“I am more than what you think I am.”
“Then tell me.” She reached out her hand to touch his arm but he pushed her away. She closed her eyes, trying to hide the hurt. “Loki, whatever that is, you can tell me anything.” He entered the room and a green mist enveloped him, changing his Midgardian clothes to his Asgardian robe. Stella followed suit.
When he turned around, Stella took a sharp breath and nodded. “So that’s what you are…”