FOUR
AGENT HOPE KENNER stayed and aided Agent Phil Coulson as they brought Thor up to speed on what happened with Loki before he arrived on earth again. They showed him some footage of Selvig under the control of Loki.
Thor's eyes then moved towards a monitor that had a picture of Jane Foster on it with her location. "As soon as Loki took the doctor, we moved Jane Foster. We've got an excellent observatory in Traunsee. She was asked to consult there very suddenly yesterday. Handsome fee, private plane, very remote. She'll be safe" Phil reassured the blonde haired god of his lover's safety.
"Thank you. It's no accident, Loki taking Erik Selvig. I dread what he plans for him once he's done. Erik is a good man" Thor admitted, capturing everyone's full attention with the strength in his tone.
"He talks about you a lot. You changed his life. You changed everything around here" Hope nodded in agreement with her legal guardian. "He's right. A lot of people never believed that other life existed outside of Earth until you showed up" Hope added, recalling how some of the other agents were freaking out after the whole debacle went down with Thor and Loki in New Mexico.
"They were better as they were. We pretend on Asgard that we're more advanced, but we...we come here battling like Bilge Snipe" The trio started to walk as Thor spoke, confusing the two with his last words. "Like what?" Phil inquired, clearly confused as he and Hope stopped walking.
"Bilge Snipe? You know; huge, scaly, big antlers. You don't have those?" Hope shook her head. "God, I hope not" Thor nodded. "They are repulsive, and they trample everything in their path" Thor moved towards the side of the ship and looked downwards out the window as he continued to speak.
"When I first came to earth, Loki's rage followed me here and your people paid the price. And now again. In my youth I courted war" Thor thought out loud, feeling guilt for what his brother has continued to do to the Midgardians.
"War hasn't started yet" Thor turned his head to the side to see Director Fury on a ledge above him, watching the god with no expression on his face. "You think you can make Loki tell us what the Tesseract is?" Hope stood up straight with an emotionless glint in her eyes.
"I do not know. Loki's mind is far afield, it's not just power he craves, it's vengeance upon me. There's no pain that would prize his need from him" Fury started walking down a set of stairs as Thor spoke with such conviction.
"A lot of guys think that until the pain stops" Thor's gaze traveled to meet Fury's good eye. "What are you asking me to do?" Thor asked suspiciously. "I'm asking, what are you prepared to do?" Fury stressed.
"Loki is a prisoner" Fury gave him a look. "Then why do I feel like he's the only person on this boat that wants to be here?" Thor didn't reply, not knowing his brother's plans either.
"We have one of our best interrogators talk with him" Hope's head lifted up, knowing Fury was obviously speaking about Natasha. "He refused to talk to anyone except for one person" Hope was filled with dread and anxiety when Fury looked over at her.
"Do you know why he would be so interested in Agent Kenner?" Fury and Phil knew the real reason why he was most likely interested in the girl. After all, he recognized her as a Mikaelson the minute he first encountered her. However, they wanted to know if Thor could sense anything off of her.
"He must sense lady Hope's magic. He has a great love for it" Thor remarked. Hope didn't want them to press more information out of Thor in case the word got out that Hope wasn't human. Or worse, was related to the Mikaelson family. Their previous reputation could destroy her and make her a target for everyone.
She wanted to know how Loki knew of her father, as he called her the 'daughter of a true beast' and even used her real last name the first time they met in Germany. She also wanted to know why he was so willing to become captured. The only way she'd find that out is if she went to talk with him like he demanded her to. And so she did.
***
The first thing Hope noticed when she entered the area Loki was being held in was that it was cold both in temperature and in how uninviting the atmosphere was. There were at least five agents scattered across the room while Loki himself was in the same large, glass cell he had been in the entire time on the quinjet.
"I see they passed on my message" Hope ignored Loki's words for a moment, looking at the agents. "You're dismissed" A few agents hesitated, only leaving the room when they received a sharp glare.
"How peculiar. A powerful tribrid, the daughter of Niklaus Mikaelson himself, is a mere agent for the government. What does the original beast have to say about that?" Hope tensed at the mention of her dad, then realized Loki still thought Klaus was alive and evil.
"Niklaus Mikaelson died three years ago alongside his elder brother, Elijah, and my mother" The smirk on Loki's face faltered for a moment before it reappeared.
"I'm not here to talk about my father's actions, I'm here to talk about yours. More specifically, what did you do to agent Barton?" She crossed her arms over her chest, glaring at the god behind glass.
"I'd say I've expanded his mind" Hope scoffed quietly, not afraid to lose eye contact with him. "What happens if you win? What will you do to him?" Loki rose an eyebrow in interest.
"Why are you so interested in a mere mortal?" He inquired, genuinely curious. "He was of the first people to be kind to me and not scared of me" Loki sat down, motioning Hope to pull up a chair and do the same thing.
Hope wasn't going to until she heard Phil tell her through her hidden earpiece(invisible using magic) to comply, to amuse the man enough to try and get something of importance out of him. Hope obeyed his orders, pulling up a chair right in front of him.
"Tell me" Loki smirked. "I joined S.H.I.E.L.D. under a new identity, Hope Kenner, a girl with a genetic mutation that causes her to have these freaky powers. Other agents were scared to even go near me, let alone work with me, until Clint. He took me under his wing, treated me like family" Hope explained truthfully, knowing that Loki would somehow notice that she was lying.
"And what will you do if I vow to spare him? Join by my side as I rule over this planet?" Hope rose an eyebrow this time in amusement, knowing now what Loki wanted with her. He wanted someone powerful by his side to manipulate,
"I'll make your death quick and painless" Loki chuckled. "I like this. The Mikaelson tribrid, the daughter of a thousand year old murdered, bargaining for a human's life while your whole world's mere existence is at stake" Hope simply shrugged.
"I'm a Mikaelson, just like you said. We tend to think about our own selfish interests before the rest of the world" She told him, slouching as of to show that she had not a care in the world. "Barton's family, I protect my family" Loki laughed darkly at this.
"Barton told me why you joined S.H.I.E.L.D., to try and redeem your family's name" There was a look of anger in his eyes, something had triggered the trickster and Hope was starting to wonder what had done so. Hope got the signal in her earpiece to stay put, to keep listening, so she did so.
"The Mikaelson name is gushing red from the millions of people they have killed, and you think saving one man could make up for all of it?" Loki stood up now, not attempting to hide just how frustrated he was.
"This is the basest sentimentality. This is a child at prayer...pathetic!" He screamed, a madness overwhelming him. "You lie and kill in the service of liars and killers, pretending to be human just like them. You pretend to be better than your father, to have a code that justifies your murders. But they are a part of you, and they will never go away!" Hope squeezed her rather long fingernails tightly into the palms of her hands, trying to control her werewolf side that wanted to tear this god's throat open.
"I won't kill your precious Barton, you will! I will control your mind as I did his, forcing you to murder him in every way you know he fears. And when he dies, I will bring to back just for you to watch as his skull splits open before putting you back under my control, using every inch of your power until it destroys you from the inside out. This is my deal, bastard child" Hope, disgusted with the god, turned around and made herself seem like she was shaking with fear.
In truth, Hope was disappointed. With all the mythology she was told about the trickster, specifically from her uncle Kol, she thought he would be a lot different than this.
"Call him a monster, Kenner" Natasha's voice buzzed through the coms. Hope trusted Natasha with a lot of things, especially when it came to manipulating people to get information. So, she continued to look away before speaking up.
"You're a monster" She sniffled, her voice soft yet loud enough for Loki to hear. "No, you brought the monster" Hope then turned around, a smirk on her face. "Banner? That's your plan?" Loki staggered, confused on what just happened.
"What?" Hope ignored Loki, using her magic to make her com visible before talking. "Loki's plan is to unleash the Hulk. Keep Banner in the lab, I'm on my way. Nat, can you get Thor in there too?" She spoke before turning to leave.
Before she left the room, she turned one last time to face the god. "I'm a Mikaelson witch who was trained by the Black Widow herself. You're gonna have to try a lot harder than that to manipulate me" She spat before officially leaving.