Untitled Part Nine (Avengers; Loki/Darcy; Jane/Thor; PG-13)
Title: Part Nine
Fandom: The Avengers (2012)
Genre: Crack, crack, crack
Summary: Post-movie in an alternate universe where Loki's punishment is being stripped of his magic and literally grounded on Earth. The Avengers' punishment is having to keep an eye on him. And Darcy cannot believe her luck.
Rating: PG-13 for mention of torture
While it would have been an ego-boost to discover Loki's whereabouts through tracking skills alone, Natasha had to admit that knowing Stark came in useful sometimes, for example when he hacked into the New York CCTV system and found their target in Central Park playing chess. There was a crowd around the table as she approached and scenarios scrolled through her mind, most of them involving blood and injured civilians. She was relieved to see that the crowd were murmuring in awe and not fright. She glimpsed a man in a suit, paused because he looked familiar, then put that away to be examined later. Loki was putting the pieces back in their rightful places. She sat down opposite him, ignoring the whispers and the advice; he did not seem surprised to see her when he looked up but she noted that he was paler than usual and blinking rapidly. Something had upset him.
"Agent Romanoff," he said, giving her a charming smile that was all the more impressive for the effort it took. "I was wondering when you'd catch up with me. I must admit you took longer than I expected."
"The tower's a large building, it takes a while for the crew to do a thorough sweep. As you must have guessed."
The corners of his lips curled upwards, making the smile more genuine; he looked pleased with himself, but said nothing.
Natasha looked around. The wonderful thing about the park was that it completely cut out the sound of the city. She could understand why Loki had chosen to come here. "Interesting hiding place."
"You mean a terrible hiding place. Do you think I'm stupid?"
"No, I don't doubt your intelligence, just your sanity."
“Then we have something in common,” Loki muttered.
“Next time you need a breath of fresh air, you should just tell us.”
His eyes actually danced. “What would be the fun in that?”
“About the same amount of fun as there would be in getting captured by an organisation that isn’t SHIELD and being put on trial for war crimes. That is, if they didn’t just kill you first.”
Loki laughed, but it wasn’t happy or even amused. “I’m not that easy to kill.”
“Even better, they’d abuse you and experiment on you.” She held his gaze, noticing the shiver that ran down his neck at the mention of abuse. “Is that what you want?”
“What if it is?” His voice had dropped to a whisper.
“Then I’d point out that being tortured certainly isn’t going improve your sanity.”
“I doubt you humans could invent anything worse than what I’ve already been through!”
Natasha paused and nodded. “So they did torture you. I thought so.”
Loki stiffened. He’d forgotten how good she was at extracting information and he cursed himself for that slip. “If you thought so, why this game?”
“Because I had to be sure. And because you’re not the only one who likes to play games.”
He raised his eyebrows. “Really?”
“It keeps the mind occupied, right? And as long as the mind’s occupied, you aren’t left alone... with yourself. And your thoughts. And that voice in your head which tells you that you can never make up for all the things you’ve done wrong.”
“So you have one, too.”
“Every spy does.”
“I’m not a spy.”
You should be. With all those abilities, you could have been the ultimate spy, the God of Spies. So why not? Why didn’t anybody see your talent and train you? “So what are you?”
Loki broke the gaze for the first time, looking away into the trees. “Barton’s here?”
“Of course.”
“I’m surprised I’m still alive.”
Natasha smiled. “He isn’t going to kill you without a reason.”
“I would have thought he had plenty of reason.” Loki still didn’t look at her.
“Everybody deserves a second chance.”
“Even monsters?”
“Is that what you think you are?”
“That’s all I’ve ever been.” His words oozed bitterness.
“We’ve all got monsters inside us, Loki,” Natasha said, holding back the urge to touch his hand, to show any kind of sympathy, because she knew that he would see that as weakness. “The more you run away, the stronger they grow. Until they consume you. So you don’t run. You face them and you fight back.”
“How?” he whispered.
“Well, that’s up to you, isn’t it?”
He looked at her. Her green eyes were as steady as the captain’s, but much colder. If Rogers saw who he could be, Romanoff saw him for who he was. He glanced at her hands and then down at his. “Does it ever wash off?”
Natasha allowed the sadness to show in her eyes now that he wasn’t looking at her. “Mine hasn’t. Not yet.”
He nodded. She watched his shoulders rise and fall with a deep breath. She knew the feeling of that weight, she knew how it felt to have your hands stained with blood, and she knew that she couldn’t help him until he did something for himself. He stood up and she copied him.
“I’ve made my decision.”
She waited.
“I’ll come back with you.”
She nodded and then Clint’s voice sounded in her ear.
“We’ve got company.”
Fandom: The Avengers (2012)
Genre: Crack, crack, crack
Summary: Post-movie in an alternate universe where Loki's punishment is being stripped of his magic and literally grounded on Earth. The Avengers' punishment is having to keep an eye on him. And Darcy cannot believe her luck.
Rating: PG-13 for mention of torture
While it would have been an ego-boost to discover Loki's whereabouts through tracking skills alone, Natasha had to admit that knowing Stark came in useful sometimes, for example when he hacked into the New York CCTV system and found their target in Central Park playing chess. There was a crowd around the table as she approached and scenarios scrolled through her mind, most of them involving blood and injured civilians. She was relieved to see that the crowd were murmuring in awe and not fright. She glimpsed a man in a suit, paused because he looked familiar, then put that away to be examined later. Loki was putting the pieces back in their rightful places. She sat down opposite him, ignoring the whispers and the advice; he did not seem surprised to see her when he looked up but she noted that he was paler than usual and blinking rapidly. Something had upset him.
"Agent Romanoff," he said, giving her a charming smile that was all the more impressive for the effort it took. "I was wondering when you'd catch up with me. I must admit you took longer than I expected."
"The tower's a large building, it takes a while for the crew to do a thorough sweep. As you must have guessed."
The corners of his lips curled upwards, making the smile more genuine; he looked pleased with himself, but said nothing.
Natasha looked around. The wonderful thing about the park was that it completely cut out the sound of the city. She could understand why Loki had chosen to come here. "Interesting hiding place."
"You mean a terrible hiding place. Do you think I'm stupid?"
"No, I don't doubt your intelligence, just your sanity."
“Then we have something in common,” Loki muttered.
“Next time you need a breath of fresh air, you should just tell us.”
His eyes actually danced. “What would be the fun in that?”
“About the same amount of fun as there would be in getting captured by an organisation that isn’t SHIELD and being put on trial for war crimes. That is, if they didn’t just kill you first.”
Loki laughed, but it wasn’t happy or even amused. “I’m not that easy to kill.”
“Even better, they’d abuse you and experiment on you.” She held his gaze, noticing the shiver that ran down his neck at the mention of abuse. “Is that what you want?”
“What if it is?” His voice had dropped to a whisper.
“Then I’d point out that being tortured certainly isn’t going improve your sanity.”
“I doubt you humans could invent anything worse than what I’ve already been through!”
Natasha paused and nodded. “So they did torture you. I thought so.”
Loki stiffened. He’d forgotten how good she was at extracting information and he cursed himself for that slip. “If you thought so, why this game?”
“Because I had to be sure. And because you’re not the only one who likes to play games.”
He raised his eyebrows. “Really?”
“It keeps the mind occupied, right? And as long as the mind’s occupied, you aren’t left alone... with yourself. And your thoughts. And that voice in your head which tells you that you can never make up for all the things you’ve done wrong.”
“So you have one, too.”
“Every spy does.”
“I’m not a spy.”
You should be. With all those abilities, you could have been the ultimate spy, the God of Spies. So why not? Why didn’t anybody see your talent and train you? “So what are you?”
Loki broke the gaze for the first time, looking away into the trees. “Barton’s here?”
“Of course.”
“I’m surprised I’m still alive.”
Natasha smiled. “He isn’t going to kill you without a reason.”
“I would have thought he had plenty of reason.” Loki still didn’t look at her.
“Everybody deserves a second chance.”
“Even monsters?”
“Is that what you think you are?”
“That’s all I’ve ever been.” His words oozed bitterness.
“We’ve all got monsters inside us, Loki,” Natasha said, holding back the urge to touch his hand, to show any kind of sympathy, because she knew that he would see that as weakness. “The more you run away, the stronger they grow. Until they consume you. So you don’t run. You face them and you fight back.”
“How?” he whispered.
“Well, that’s up to you, isn’t it?”
He looked at her. Her green eyes were as steady as the captain’s, but much colder. If Rogers saw who he could be, Romanoff saw him for who he was. He glanced at her hands and then down at his. “Does it ever wash off?”
Natasha allowed the sadness to show in her eyes now that he wasn’t looking at her. “Mine hasn’t. Not yet.”
He nodded. She watched his shoulders rise and fall with a deep breath. She knew the feeling of that weight, she knew how it felt to have your hands stained with blood, and she knew that she couldn’t help him until he did something for himself. He stood up and she copied him.
“I’ve made my decision.”
She waited.
“I’ll come back with you.”
She nodded and then Clint’s voice sounded in her ear.
“We’ve got company.”