The Avengers, "The Flip Side" Darcy/Loki || Chapter Eight
Title: The Flip Side
Author: paynesgrey
Artist: zephre
Beta: psyco_chick32
Rating: R/M
Word Count: 23,665
Type: Het(mostly), Romance, Comedy, Adventure
Characters/Pairings: Darcy Lewis, Loki, Thor, Jane Foster, Clint Barton, Odin, ensemble || Darcy/Loki, Darcy/Clint, Clint/Loki, Jane/Thor
Notes/Spoilers: Avengers AU-compliant. There are no spoilers for the Avengers movie. Written for avengers_bang.
Warnings: gore, dubious consent, possession, manipulation, sexual situations
Summary: In punishment for his crimes, Odin destroys Loki's body to imprison his soul. After a narrow escape, Loki comes to Midgard and plans his revenge by taking over the body of Jane's assistant, Darcy Lewis. The girl who loves tasers, however, does not make things easy for him.
Chapter Eight: Body Snatchers
“At last!” he spoke triumphantly as the last of his spell was finalized, and the potion brewing in the cauldron mixed and simmered like a frothy stew. Loki looked into it, happy that he was able to skulk around Asgard and find all the necessary ingredients for his reversal spell and the spell he needed to fight an onslaught of Asgardian sorcerers in this mortal form. The brew in the left cauldron would give Darcy power to withstand the magnitude of his magic and defend herself against the magicians in Odin’s circle. The cauldron on his right, bubbling with a thick green goo, would revive his body and start the quick rejuvenating process as he spoke the reversal spell.
In the back of his mind he could hear Darcy complaining, hoping she didn’t have to drink the green goo.
“No, no, child, we will drink this one,” he said, pointing to the purple liquid on the left. “It will give you the power to knock down all of those enchanters in one fell swoop. We don’t have time for magic battles, my dear. I need to start the healing process and reversal on my body right away, and I’d rather not be held up by those weaklings.”
Quickly, he took a spoonful of the purple liquid and gulped down the bitter taste. He took three more spoonfuls, said a chant, and felt the power already course through her veins.
He scooped up the green goo into a portable vial and wrapped it with a black cord around his neck. With another chant, he was on his way in Darcy’s body and his new Asgardian battle regalia, and knew exactly where to go.
His body would mostly likely be in the same place, encircled by the same pathetic enchanters who kept his body from healing. His poor bones would still be chained to a rock, with hungry snakes slithering around him, sucking and biting any flesh that dared to grow back.
Loki vowed to take care of the enchanters and the snakes, confident his spell to strengthen Darcy’s mortal coil would be successful.
Strolling into the room, he smiled with Darcy’s coy smile as they jumped in attention of him. He held out her hand, and whoosh of energy, purple like miasma, shot through like a swarm of locusts and subdued them all, burning at their skin with a noxious gas that only Darcy and himself would be immune to.
They were dead, and the scepter, imbued with Odin’s power, held within the highest ranking mage’s hand was destroyed; he was certain of that, but it was little more than they deserved. The snakes deteriorated off his skeleton from the magic too, and when the purple smoke faded into the ether, the air cleared and he stood over his body. He was certain guards were on their way now, with Odin behind him.
So he had to be quick.
He poured the green liquid from the vial into the bony jaw of his body, which was already growing back flesh now that the enchanters and snakes were gone, and he began chanting his reversal spell. It was working! Loki felt the urge to jump into jubilation, but he stayed focused, completing his spell. He watched in anticipation as his body formed, muscles and blood wrapping around his bones, organs pumping with life again, skin forming pale blue and then turning to peach, his hair growing, and his face forming.
Loki let out a sigh of relief as his body became whole again, sleeping soundly without a soul to encase.
“Darcy’s it’s now time,” he said, and he leaned over his sleeping face and pressed her lips to his. It was a strange sensation, kissing himself, but finally he felt the transfer, releasing control back to Darcy in her own body as the kiss deepened. He felt her tongue against his lips, and he reached up a hand and pulled her head against him to draw out the sensation.
He had a body again. He could feel! His hands weaved through her hair and he pulled her over him. She squeaked as he assaulted her mouth, wanting to feel more, wanting to celebrate winning and finally getting his body back. And it was all thanks to her.
He wanted to take all of her, knowing that he'd been looking for pleasure of the flesh before this ordeal. And here she was in front of him; sweet, supple Darcy, and there would be no more waiting, but he couldn't take her, not now. A familiar tingle on the back of his neck sent his senses soaring. Outside the door of this prison, the All-Father was seconds from charging through.
Pulling away, Loki held Darcy's stunned, flushed face in his hands and smiled wickedly, but there was sorrow in his eyes. “I apologize, my dear girl, but I must leave you.”
“What, why?” she asked dazedly.
“Thank you,” he whispered, and he pushed her away. Odin caught Darcy as he flung her from him, and he prepared to leave, but his father's thunderous voice stopped him.
“Loki, you cannot leave. You abandon your companion now, when you know I will try her as an accomplice to your crimes,” Odin threatened.
Loki froze. He could leave now if he wanted to. There was no spell holding him back, not like the one that had held him hostage in that Midgard bar.
And he knew what the crimes she'd be an accomplice to. He knew what her punishment would be, and Darcy would never deserve such cruelty.
"You wouldn't dare!" he seethed at him, turning toward him with fury. Odin seemed resilient, his eyes unwavering from his stark decision.
"She has helped you, and in the end, she was willing. She will be punished under Asgardian law, and you know that I will carry out the sentence with any force necessary," Odin said. "Do not deny it, Loki. I know she is your woman."
Loki tensed, not liking his insinuation. Had Darcy become so important to him she'd become his weakness? He couldn't leave her now. She didn't deserve it. He wanted to be selfish. He wanted to leave her, but he couldn't. Darcy looked at him desperately, and she glanced at Odin, feeling the power of his words.
But she surprised him, rattling his senses. "Go, Loki," Darcy said, staring at Odin. He didn't break eye contact with Loki for her, and Loki presumed he considered her little more than a bug. Her sacrifice would mean nothing to him.
"Go! I'll be alright!" she said, and Loki knew she would not. Whatever Odin did to her, whatever punishment the All-Father bestowed upon her, Loki would find a way tor reverse it. Loki would pay her back for all she had done, and then some.
"This isn't over," Loki sneered at Odin, and he shot Darcy one last apologetic look before he teleported out of the room, and possibly out of Asgard.
.xxxxx.
Darcy looked up at Odin, fear brimming in her eyes, but she lifted her chin and knew in her heart she did the right thing. Finally, he looked at her, meeting her gaze with pity and wonder.
"Okay, do your worst! Chained by snakes? Sure, why not? Can I at least have a last meal? You'll have to tell Thor to go to Chicago and get me a stuffed pizza. If I'm going to die by disintegration of snake poison, I want my last meal to be a good one!" she said, putting up her hands to him in surrender.
"Calm down, girl, you will not be sentenced," Odin said with a sigh, and Darcy blinked at him with confusion.
"But..." She watched his expression and gaped. "Ohhh, you were bluffing. You threatened my life and thought Loki would balk. Smart thinking...I guess. You know, I really am tired of being used by everyone. I feel like the proverbial punching bag, and I don't like it. I wish I had my taser," she said, and she saw Odin's curious expression. "Trust me, ask Thor, he knows all about it."
"Father!" Thor's voice rumbled through the halls as he sprinted into the room. He looked ready for a fight, his muscles bulging as he scanned the room. "Where is my brother?"
"Gone," Odin said. "He did not stay for Darcy." Thor looked down at her with pity, but Odin held up a hand. "He wanted to, but the girl didn't let him."
Darcy's face felt on fire she was so embarrassed.
"You...care for my brother, after all he has done?" Thor asked incredulous.
"I never thought Stockholm Syndrome was so sexy..." Darcy lamented, aware that neither of them knew what the hell she was talking about. "Yes, dammit, when you are trapped in someone's mind and experience their memories, they start to grow on you, I guess."
"My son, you must take her back to her world. Her time is done here, and Loki has gotten away again," Odin said.
"Father, you must find a different punishment for my brother. He did not deserve...what you had done to him. He is still our family despite everything he has done. We will find a way to bring him to justice, but it must be fair, and it must be something that we know Loki will not escape," Thor said, and his father nodded, his thoughts already clouding his mind as he began to depart the room.
Darcy felt Thor's strong hand on her shoulder, and she looked up and saw his solemn expression. "Come, Jane waits for you. She has been very worried."
"And Loki? What about him?" Darcy asked, and Thor immediately sighed.
"My brother is my responsibility. I will find him, and I will find a fitting penance for his crimes," Thor said.
"But you agree with me right? No one deserves that...kind of torture," Darcy said with a shudder.
"Aye," Thor said, his gaze looking off into the distance. "I am afraid my brother has a far greater fate in store for him, something none of us on Asgard can escape."
Darcy didn't know what he meant, but Thor wasn't offering many details either. He began walking, motioning for her to follow as they headed to the Bifrost where he explained Heimdall would send them to Midgard through the barely repaired rainbow bridge.
As they were beamed back, Darcy couldn't help but think about Loki. He was a bastard who stole her body and used her for his own selfish plan, but somewhere in there, she got to know more about Loki than he shared with anyone else. She felt his feelings, his anger, his love, and his sorrow.
And after a while, he did not mess her life up too terribly. She'd have to explain things to Clint, and she'd probably forever be monitored at S.H.I.E.L.D, that is if she still had a job with him.
Still, she wanted to see him again. She hoped that Loki was alright. Moreover, she hoped that he was behaving himself, never fulfilling such a dire fate as Thor alluded to. Darcy wondered if that fate was worse than being robbed of his own body, stripped with acid and venom and left to rot for thousands of years.
What could be worse than that?
Chapter Nine
Author: paynesgrey
Artist: zephre
Beta: psyco_chick32
Rating: R/M
Word Count: 23,665
Type: Het(mostly), Romance, Comedy, Adventure
Characters/Pairings: Darcy Lewis, Loki, Thor, Jane Foster, Clint Barton, Odin, ensemble || Darcy/Loki, Darcy/Clint, Clint/Loki, Jane/Thor
Notes/Spoilers: Avengers AU-compliant. There are no spoilers for the Avengers movie. Written for avengers_bang.
Warnings: gore, dubious consent, possession, manipulation, sexual situations
Summary: In punishment for his crimes, Odin destroys Loki's body to imprison his soul. After a narrow escape, Loki comes to Midgard and plans his revenge by taking over the body of Jane's assistant, Darcy Lewis. The girl who loves tasers, however, does not make things easy for him.
Chapter Eight: Body Snatchers
“At last!” he spoke triumphantly as the last of his spell was finalized, and the potion brewing in the cauldron mixed and simmered like a frothy stew. Loki looked into it, happy that he was able to skulk around Asgard and find all the necessary ingredients for his reversal spell and the spell he needed to fight an onslaught of Asgardian sorcerers in this mortal form. The brew in the left cauldron would give Darcy power to withstand the magnitude of his magic and defend herself against the magicians in Odin’s circle. The cauldron on his right, bubbling with a thick green goo, would revive his body and start the quick rejuvenating process as he spoke the reversal spell.
In the back of his mind he could hear Darcy complaining, hoping she didn’t have to drink the green goo.
“No, no, child, we will drink this one,” he said, pointing to the purple liquid on the left. “It will give you the power to knock down all of those enchanters in one fell swoop. We don’t have time for magic battles, my dear. I need to start the healing process and reversal on my body right away, and I’d rather not be held up by those weaklings.”
Quickly, he took a spoonful of the purple liquid and gulped down the bitter taste. He took three more spoonfuls, said a chant, and felt the power already course through her veins.
He scooped up the green goo into a portable vial and wrapped it with a black cord around his neck. With another chant, he was on his way in Darcy’s body and his new Asgardian battle regalia, and knew exactly where to go.
His body would mostly likely be in the same place, encircled by the same pathetic enchanters who kept his body from healing. His poor bones would still be chained to a rock, with hungry snakes slithering around him, sucking and biting any flesh that dared to grow back.
Loki vowed to take care of the enchanters and the snakes, confident his spell to strengthen Darcy’s mortal coil would be successful.
Strolling into the room, he smiled with Darcy’s coy smile as they jumped in attention of him. He held out her hand, and whoosh of energy, purple like miasma, shot through like a swarm of locusts and subdued them all, burning at their skin with a noxious gas that only Darcy and himself would be immune to.
They were dead, and the scepter, imbued with Odin’s power, held within the highest ranking mage’s hand was destroyed; he was certain of that, but it was little more than they deserved. The snakes deteriorated off his skeleton from the magic too, and when the purple smoke faded into the ether, the air cleared and he stood over his body. He was certain guards were on their way now, with Odin behind him.
So he had to be quick.
He poured the green liquid from the vial into the bony jaw of his body, which was already growing back flesh now that the enchanters and snakes were gone, and he began chanting his reversal spell. It was working! Loki felt the urge to jump into jubilation, but he stayed focused, completing his spell. He watched in anticipation as his body formed, muscles and blood wrapping around his bones, organs pumping with life again, skin forming pale blue and then turning to peach, his hair growing, and his face forming.
Loki let out a sigh of relief as his body became whole again, sleeping soundly without a soul to encase.
“Darcy’s it’s now time,” he said, and he leaned over his sleeping face and pressed her lips to his. It was a strange sensation, kissing himself, but finally he felt the transfer, releasing control back to Darcy in her own body as the kiss deepened. He felt her tongue against his lips, and he reached up a hand and pulled her head against him to draw out the sensation.
He had a body again. He could feel! His hands weaved through her hair and he pulled her over him. She squeaked as he assaulted her mouth, wanting to feel more, wanting to celebrate winning and finally getting his body back. And it was all thanks to her.
He wanted to take all of her, knowing that he'd been looking for pleasure of the flesh before this ordeal. And here she was in front of him; sweet, supple Darcy, and there would be no more waiting, but he couldn't take her, not now. A familiar tingle on the back of his neck sent his senses soaring. Outside the door of this prison, the All-Father was seconds from charging through.
Pulling away, Loki held Darcy's stunned, flushed face in his hands and smiled wickedly, but there was sorrow in his eyes. “I apologize, my dear girl, but I must leave you.”
“What, why?” she asked dazedly.
“Thank you,” he whispered, and he pushed her away. Odin caught Darcy as he flung her from him, and he prepared to leave, but his father's thunderous voice stopped him.
“Loki, you cannot leave. You abandon your companion now, when you know I will try her as an accomplice to your crimes,” Odin threatened.
Loki froze. He could leave now if he wanted to. There was no spell holding him back, not like the one that had held him hostage in that Midgard bar.
And he knew what the crimes she'd be an accomplice to. He knew what her punishment would be, and Darcy would never deserve such cruelty.
"You wouldn't dare!" he seethed at him, turning toward him with fury. Odin seemed resilient, his eyes unwavering from his stark decision.
"She has helped you, and in the end, she was willing. She will be punished under Asgardian law, and you know that I will carry out the sentence with any force necessary," Odin said. "Do not deny it, Loki. I know she is your woman."
Loki tensed, not liking his insinuation. Had Darcy become so important to him she'd become his weakness? He couldn't leave her now. She didn't deserve it. He wanted to be selfish. He wanted to leave her, but he couldn't. Darcy looked at him desperately, and she glanced at Odin, feeling the power of his words.
But she surprised him, rattling his senses. "Go, Loki," Darcy said, staring at Odin. He didn't break eye contact with Loki for her, and Loki presumed he considered her little more than a bug. Her sacrifice would mean nothing to him.
"Go! I'll be alright!" she said, and Loki knew she would not. Whatever Odin did to her, whatever punishment the All-Father bestowed upon her, Loki would find a way tor reverse it. Loki would pay her back for all she had done, and then some.
"This isn't over," Loki sneered at Odin, and he shot Darcy one last apologetic look before he teleported out of the room, and possibly out of Asgard.
.xxxxx.
Darcy looked up at Odin, fear brimming in her eyes, but she lifted her chin and knew in her heart she did the right thing. Finally, he looked at her, meeting her gaze with pity and wonder.
"Okay, do your worst! Chained by snakes? Sure, why not? Can I at least have a last meal? You'll have to tell Thor to go to Chicago and get me a stuffed pizza. If I'm going to die by disintegration of snake poison, I want my last meal to be a good one!" she said, putting up her hands to him in surrender.
"Calm down, girl, you will not be sentenced," Odin said with a sigh, and Darcy blinked at him with confusion.
"But..." She watched his expression and gaped. "Ohhh, you were bluffing. You threatened my life and thought Loki would balk. Smart thinking...I guess. You know, I really am tired of being used by everyone. I feel like the proverbial punching bag, and I don't like it. I wish I had my taser," she said, and she saw Odin's curious expression. "Trust me, ask Thor, he knows all about it."
"Father!" Thor's voice rumbled through the halls as he sprinted into the room. He looked ready for a fight, his muscles bulging as he scanned the room. "Where is my brother?"
"Gone," Odin said. "He did not stay for Darcy." Thor looked down at her with pity, but Odin held up a hand. "He wanted to, but the girl didn't let him."
Darcy's face felt on fire she was so embarrassed.
"You...care for my brother, after all he has done?" Thor asked incredulous.
"I never thought Stockholm Syndrome was so sexy..." Darcy lamented, aware that neither of them knew what the hell she was talking about. "Yes, dammit, when you are trapped in someone's mind and experience their memories, they start to grow on you, I guess."
"My son, you must take her back to her world. Her time is done here, and Loki has gotten away again," Odin said.
"Father, you must find a different punishment for my brother. He did not deserve...what you had done to him. He is still our family despite everything he has done. We will find a way to bring him to justice, but it must be fair, and it must be something that we know Loki will not escape," Thor said, and his father nodded, his thoughts already clouding his mind as he began to depart the room.
Darcy felt Thor's strong hand on her shoulder, and she looked up and saw his solemn expression. "Come, Jane waits for you. She has been very worried."
"And Loki? What about him?" Darcy asked, and Thor immediately sighed.
"My brother is my responsibility. I will find him, and I will find a fitting penance for his crimes," Thor said.
"But you agree with me right? No one deserves that...kind of torture," Darcy said with a shudder.
"Aye," Thor said, his gaze looking off into the distance. "I am afraid my brother has a far greater fate in store for him, something none of us on Asgard can escape."
Darcy didn't know what he meant, but Thor wasn't offering many details either. He began walking, motioning for her to follow as they headed to the Bifrost where he explained Heimdall would send them to Midgard through the barely repaired rainbow bridge.
As they were beamed back, Darcy couldn't help but think about Loki. He was a bastard who stole her body and used her for his own selfish plan, but somewhere in there, she got to know more about Loki than he shared with anyone else. She felt his feelings, his anger, his love, and his sorrow.
And after a while, he did not mess her life up too terribly. She'd have to explain things to Clint, and she'd probably forever be monitored at S.H.I.E.L.D, that is if she still had a job with him.
Still, she wanted to see him again. She hoped that Loki was alright. Moreover, she hoped that he was behaving himself, never fulfilling such a dire fate as Thor alluded to. Darcy wondered if that fate was worse than being robbed of his own body, stripped with acid and venom and left to rot for thousands of years.
What could be worse than that?
Chapter Nine