Chapter 7

Rebecca's eyes fluttered slowly open as she awoke, straight into the eyes of Loki. He was looking down at her, still cradling her in his arms on his lap. His face was even paler than before, his green eyes like deep pools gazing down at her, a small tear running down his cheek. "I'm sorry for what I have done to you", he said quietly to her. "No, I'm the one who is sorry", she said sympathetically, shaking her head. "You were only doing what you had been told to. It's my fault for getting involved in the first place. I should never have taken your ring." She looked away from him, biting her lip, thinking to herself. She wanted to tell him how much she cared about him, to get it off her chest. Every time she looked at him, it felt like there was a demon inside of her, clawing at her insides, making her heart race, her palms sweat, her breathing quicken, her mind go wild. She shook her head, snapping herself out of it. "Well, you're safe with me", Loki said softly to her, gently easing her down onto the floor before standing up. "Can I ask you something?", Rebecca asked, looking up at him, raising herself up to sitting. "Of course. What is it?". She thought for a bit, thinking back, before continuing. "Back in Stuttgart, in the van, you changed your clothes. How? Because that was ... that wasn't normal. How did you do it?" He smiled at her. "It was magic". "Magic? Like real magic?". "Yes, magic". She looked puzzled back at him; he has got to be joking she thought. "But how? That's impossible", she said to him. Loki sighed, rolling his eyes. "No it's not. It's such a mortal thing to say. I show you something incredible, and yet you question it still." He folded his arms, raising an eyebrow, looking down at her. "Yes because that wasn't real", Rebecca said defensively. "You had those other clothes on underneath yours, and the light was dark ...".

Sighing aloud and rolling his eyes again, Loki raised his hand out in front of him, emitting a green glow from his fingertips. Rebecca's hands immediately flew out in front of her from behind, somehow managing to untie themselves in the process. Her mouth dropped opened in shock, her eyes flicking from Loki to her wrists. She looked closer at the golden material he'd used to bind them, as now it was a pair of metallic golden cuffs with strange symbols around her wrists, glowing in the same golden/green light. She tried to put them down, but they stayed fixed in the air, which caused Loki to chuckle in amusement at her effort. Loki then flicked his hand, and Rebecca's wrists immediately slammed together, the metal fusing to each other right in front of her eyes. Rebecca sat there, speechless in shock. She looked back up at Loki, who stood there smiling smugly. She tried moving her wrists, fighting her new bonds, but they held firm; it was the same softness as the material and didn't hurt her like metal would of if she fought it. Loki bent down to her, placing his hand under her chin, and gently closed her mouth "See, magic". He smiled at her, and she smiled back. "So what does that make you then, a magician?", she asked giggling, still slightly in shock. "What is that?", he asked puzzled, causing Rebecca to giggle again. "No I'm a God". "Then if you have all this power, why are you using it for evil? Surely you're strong enough with your magic to fight against whatever it is that's controlling you?", she asked concerned, searching his face for some answer. "I can't", he whispered, turning away. "Yes, yes you can!", she said reassuringly, touching his chin and slowly turning his face back to her, looking him deep in the eyes. "You can fight it. I believe you." He looked at her, and gently kissed her on her forehead. "Thank you", he whispered softly.

The jet started to make its descent, causing Loki to suddenly look slightly worried. "You still trust me?", he asked, quickly standing up and glancing in the direction of the cargo doors. "Yes, completely", Rebecca said, looking at him equally concerned. He nodded, looking back at her. "Good. Then I'm sorry about this". He swiftly put his hand onto her head, and she felt an instant coldness fill her entire body. She tried to control herself, to stand up, to speak, but she collapsed over onto the floor. She tried to ask him what was happening, but she couldn't make a sound, nor move a muscle; he'd frozen her. The jet landed and the cargo doors opened, the bright sunlight spilling into the dim room. Loki bent down and carefully scooped up Rebecca into his arms, her lifeless body hanging limp, her breathing shallow, her eyes frozen and still. He swiftly descended down the ramp, before immediately climbing into the back of a nearby jeep, taking extra care of Rebecca, holding her closer to his chest as he sat down, the door closing behind him. "Try to control your breathing. It will be over soon", he whispered into her ear, placing his hand over her eyes, gently closing them.

Relying purely on her senses, Rebecca tried to control her breathing, panicking as she still tried to fight whatever spell Loki had put her under. His words had helped calm her slightly, but now she was even more nervous, as now she couldn't see what was going on. She could sense Loki was nervous too, as the vehicle they'd just gotten into set off, his heart rate increased, pounding faster in his chest. She didn't know how long they had been driving for, but they came to a sudden stop, and the door was opened. She could hear the noise of the city, the loud commotion of traffic, car horns blaring, sirens echoing in the distance, as Loki cradled her closer to him as he climbed out. She could feel the warmth of the sun on her, which was soon replaced by the coolness of a buildings interior. The distinct noise of an elevator ping came close to her ear, and she heard the doors shut behind them, before feeling it ascend upwards. She could feel Loki's heartbeat skyrocketing as he held her closer, hearing his breathing quicken. The elevator pinged and the doors opened. She felt Loki carry her forwards, hearing him order someone to head up to the roof. She felt him lay her down onto something soft, his cold hand gently touching her forehead, before her body exploded in fire.

Rebecca screamed as the heat coursed through her veins, jolting herself upright, her eyes flying open. Loki immediately grabbed hold of her, his arms on her shoulders, looking her straight in the eyes. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean for that to hurt", he said, his velvety voice cracked and scared, his green eyes filled with concern. "Are you alright now?", he asked, gently stroking her hair out of her eyes. She blinked, taking a couple of deep breaths, feeling herself cool inside. "Yeah, I'm fine now", she said weakly, shaking her head to wake herself up. She glanced around, noticing she was lying on top of a sofa in the middle of a very large, luscious apartment, with massive windows looking out over the whole of New York. "Where are we?", she asked Loki, looking around. "We are in Stark Tower". She looked back at him, her jaw dropping again in shock. Loki chuckled, and gently closed her mouth again. "Yes, the real thing that you have probably heard about on the news. I'm borrowing his reactor for a while. Now, stay here and don't wander off", he said softly, looking sternly at her. She nodded, looking back at Loki. She noticed that he was looking rather pale, and a thin bead of sweat was trickling down his head; he must be very nervous, she thought. He stood up and headed over towards the elevator doors over in the corner, before proceeding to open a smaller service door next to it. He glanced back at her, probably to check she wasn't following him, before heading up the small staircase behind it, closing the door behind him.

She couldn't believe it. She was in Stark Tower, in Tony Stark's actually room! She got up and looked around, taking it all in. It was massive, with decorated concrete walls, the massive overlooking floor length windows, a large mini bar and an outside terrace. Seeing a door leading outside, she headed towards it. She pushed the door open with her hand, noticing that the metal bracelets had un-fused themselves at some point. Loki must have done it when she had been frozen. She was grateful, as the second she stepped outside, the wind threatened to blow her dress up. Holding it down, she walked out along the balcony, looking out over New York. She reached the end, and turned around to look back up towards the roof. She could see the scientists on the top of the building, fixing the glowing blue Tesseract into some kind of machine. She knew Loki would be up there with them, so turned back to look out across the city. It was such a beautiful view, the skyline filled with the towers and office blocks; a city of glass and metal. She glanced over the edge, pushing her billowing hair out of her eyes. The sea of cars and yellow taxi cabs was endless, occasionally moving a few feet in the traffic. People moved about, carrying on with their everyday lives, completely oblivious to the world around them, and what was happening hundreds of feet above them. She couldn't help but say wow to herself; she'd always wanted to visit the big city, and here she was.

"I thought you would be out here". She jumped, startled by the sudden voice snapping her out of her thoughts. There was Loki, leaning against the glass doorway, watching her, his golden sceptre glowing in his hand, looking smug. "Yes, I was just taking in the view", she said to him, turning back around to look at the landscape. He walked over to her, placing his hand on her shoulder. "I didn't mean to startle you. I'm sorry", he said softly to her. "It's ok", she said, smiling at him reassuringly. She sighed, looking back out across the city. "It's beautiful, isn't it?". "If you would call it that. I see no beauty there. It is nothing compared to the views back in Asgard ...". He tailed off, his voice dying into silence, staring out into the distance. Rebecca looked up at him, seeing his face tinted with sadness and pain. "Asgard? That's where your from right? Not from Earth?". Loki remained silent, still staring off into the distance, lost. "Loki, let me help you. Whatever is happening, whatever you have to do, you don't have to suffer and do it alone. Please let me help you". "No, you can't", his voice barely a whisper. "I don't want to see you or anyone else getting hurt", she pleaded with him, putting her hand on his cheek. He turned to look at her, both fear and sadness in his eyes. "I have no choice. If I don't let them take this planet, then they will come for me, and I will have to pay the price. They'll come for me". She shook her head, putting her hands onto his shoulders, pulling herself closer to him. "No, there must be another way".

Loki opened his mouth as if to reply, but froze, his eyes fixed on the horizon, looking back out in the distance of the city. Rebecca turned too, looking out over the skyline, following his gaze. A tiny speck of metal like a small aircraft was flying low, heading straight for them. "Wait, is that-", she started to say; Loki quickly grabbed Rebecca's hand and ran, pulling her back inside the apartment. "Loki, wait. They can help", she tried to plead to him as he pulled her along, frantically looking around the apartment, tossing his sceptre aside. He spotted a concealed door in the concrete wall, hidden next to what looked like a long mirror, and rushed to it, Rebecca following behind. He opened it, to reveal an office, with the mirror acting as a tinted secret window on the other side. He rushed inside and closed the door behind them, before turning back to look at Rebecca, looking her in the face, his eyes wild. "No. They will kill you if they get the chance. I don't want that to happen. I don't want to loose you", he whispered to her, running his fingers through her hair.

"I killed one of them. Its revenge they want now. There is no reasoning with them. It's too late to turn back now. But whatever happens, I will return for you". "Loki", was all she could manage to say, her fingers brushing against his, before intertwining, staring deep into his eyes. He leaned in closer to her, their noses almost touching. "I'm sorry", he whispered gently, his velvety voice sending her heart racing. Before she could even blink, his hand was on her cheek, his cold lips against hers, in a gentle kiss. She didn't flinch under his cold touch, her lips kissing his parted cold ones; she found herself drifting off into an ecstasy. Without even realising it herself, she had placed her hands behind his head, her fingers gripping onto him. She pulled him closer, their bodies touching; their kiss growing into a fire. She didn't resist, letting his hands slip down lower, his long fingers following the contours of her spine. After what seemed like an eternity of sharing each others touch, Loki pulled away from her, their eyes locked onto each other, his hand coming up and gently stroked along her bottom lip. "Thank you", he whispered softly, his green eyes looking more alive than ever. "For what?", she asked, her eyes staring dreamily into his. "For giving me your courage". And with that, he slowly let go of her, Rebecca untangled her arms from around him. He turned and walked back towards the door, and stopped, glancing back, seeing Rebecca attempting to follow him, and reach out to him. He snapped his fingers, and her wrists immediately snapped together in front of her; a golden chain shooting out from them, connecting to the wall behind her. She looked down at the chains, and back to him. He smiled smugly, before turning, closing the door behind him, as Rebecca screamed his name.

Rebecca screamed after Loki, trying to get him to come back. She watched him lock the door before walking back over to the sofa, picking up his sceptre that he'd left lying there, and then crossed the apartment and headed outside onto the balcony. She desperately tried to pull against the chains, hoping they would break free of the wall and let her reach the door. They held firm, so she tried hitting against the glass window, but that didn't do anything; it was too strong to break. There wasn't anything in the small office room that she could use either; everything was either bolted down to the floor to stop her moving it, or it was out of her reach. All she could do was watch, trapped behind the window. She watched as Loki re-emerged back into the apartment, with another gentlemen entering in from the other side. They seemed to be having some kind of argument; Rebecca couldn't tell as the room was soundproofed. She looked closer at the other man challenging Loki, helping himself to a drink from the mini bar. She gasped aloud; it was Tony Stark, the real Iron Man. Again she tried banging on the window and shouting to them, but they didn't notice her. She could only watch in horror as Loki grabbed him, throwing him across the room and out of the window. She shook her head, not wanting to believe what she was seeing. She was watching a monster. Not the god who had just kissed her, but a savage monster. Somehow Iron Man had gotten his suit on, and fired a blast at Loki, knocking him clean off his feet, sending him flying across the room, closer to where she was hidden. She tried banging on the window again to get his attention, but he simply got up, clenched his jaw and stormed off back outside onto the balcony, and out of view.

She collapsed down onto the floor, tired and exhausted, overwhelmed in emotion. She didn't know what to think; all the different emotions inside of her made her feel sick. She didn't know what to believe, whether what he'd said had been true, or whether he had lied to her. She didn't want to believe he was a monster. Her brain was pounding with the effort of thinking in the silence of the room; with only the soundtrack of her breathing and the chains rattling keeping her company. It therefore took her by complete surprise when a massive crack suddenly appeared in the wall next to the window; causing her to scream aloud in surprise. She quickly stood back up and looked out, and gasped at the sight in front of her. Loki was picking himself up off the floor, right in front of where she was hidden, in the presence of a massive green monster. She stood frozen in shock; it was the Hulk. She didn't even have time to blink before the Hulk had grabbed Loki by the foot, and was slamming him into the ground, tossing him like a rag doll. Watching in horror, the Hulk threw him down onto the ground one final time, leaving him in a mini crater hole before stomping off, back towards the smashed window he'd jumped through. "Puny God", she heard him crack as he stormed off, and out of sight. She gasped, as she noticed the window was slightly cracked too, as well as the wall, meaning she could be heard. "Loki!", she screamed, banging on the glass. He didn't move. Her heart racing, she screamed even louder, pounding on the glass with all of her strength. "Loki! Loki!". Then she heard it; a little groan. She let out a huge sigh of relief, thankful that he wasn't dead.

A red haired woman, dressed in black and armed with a gun, quickly running through the apartment caught Rebecca's attention, stopping her from shouting out to Loki again. She watched her leave out through the glass doors outside onto the balcony, only to run back through seconds later carrying Loki's sceptre in her hand, its blue tip glowing violently. She watched her run back the way she came, up the staircase next to the lift. She didn't know who the woman was, but she knew that they hadn't spotted Loki out cold on the floor; otherwise they probably would have shot him. She waiting until she knew the woman had gone before trying to call out to him again. "Loki!", she shouted at him again, but he didn't respond. She closed her eyes, pressing her forehead against the cool glass, feeling her eyes brim with tears. She wanted to touch Loki again, to hear his voice, to stare into his beautiful green eyes one more time. She didn't want to have to sit here helpless and watch him get killed.

"Rebecca". She froze, catching her breath in her throat. It was Loki's voice. She quickly glanced up, looking over to where he lay. He was still lying there, not moving, his eyes closed. She shook her head, trying to make sense. She didn't just imagine his voice inside her head, did she? She couldn't have done, it felt too real. "Rebecca", his soft voice whispered into her ear, his breath blowing down her neck, causing her hair to stand on end. She quickly spun around to face him, completely surprised at how he could be in two placed at once. His finger rested on her lips, hushing her. "Please don't speak too loudly. They can hear you". She nodded, looking up at him, his face cut and bruised and his clothes dirty and ripped, the metal of his armour scratched. "I've failed. I'm sorry but I can't save you from them", he whispered weakly, his green eyes looking into hers. "From the Avengers?", she asked quietly. Loki nodded, indicating back out towards the window. Rebecca turned to look, to see Loki still lying on the floor, out cold. Then, one by one, the team of Avengers assembled around him, all pointing their weapons down at him. She quickly spun back around to face him, her eyes filled with tears. "They're going to kill you!", she exclaimed in alarm. Loki smiled, a weak smile, gently stroking the falling tears off her face. "No they won't. My brother won't allow that to happen. He will insist that I am sent back home to face the wrath of Odin and Asgardian justice", he said quietly to her. Rebecca looked down at the floor, not wanting Loki to see how much the news was upsetting her. And then she saw it. Just poking out of the lip of her shoe, was his ring. She quickly bent down, pulling it out, holding it in the palm of her hand. "Your ring", she said stunned. "I... I completely forgot that I'd put it in there. Here", she said quickly, offering it to Loki. He looked down at his ring, and then shook his head, looking back at her. "No. Keep it safe", he whispered to her, closing his hands around hers. "Keep it to remember me". She looked up into his eyes, his hurt eyes, and slowly nodded. "Thank you", she whispered weakly to him, a fresh tear running down her cheek. Loki reached out his cold hand, placing in onto her cheek, comforting her, before his body's outline glowed in a magical green light, and he vanished.

Turning around, she watched him regain consciousness on the other side of the window, awakening surrounded by the team of the Avengers. Glaring at them all, she watched him surrender, holding his hands up in defeat. Two of them, Thor and the Hulk, grabbed hold of him roughly by the arms and pulled him away. As he passed by the window where Rebecca stood watching, he winked at her cheekily, flashing his trademark grin. She couldn't help but smile, and feel comforted by it, given the predicament he was in. She watched him disappear into the lift with Thor, tightening his grip on him; the Hulk opting to take the stairs instead. As the lift doors slid closed, the chains holding her prisoner glowed golden, before disappearing before her very eyes. She blinked, pulling her arms apart looking down at her wrists. The golden bracelets still stayed on her wrists, their markings continuing to glow, making her realise she was still holding the ring in her hand. She quickly bent down and shoved it back insider her trainer, which cued the glowing to stop. She breathed a brief sigh of relief, glad that she was free and that the ring was still safe with her.

"Just look at this place! Remind me never to let Banner anywhere near my private suite again". She froze. That was Tony Stark's voice. Rebecca quickly span back around, glancing out of the window in the direction of the voice. Tony Stark was busy walking around his apartment, inspecting all of the damage, whilst the woman with red hair stood there, rolling her eyes at him. "Well, what did you expect Tony, he obviously didn't like the design", she said smugly. "Natasha", another voice said, stepping into view. Rebecca's mouth dropped in shock; it was Barton. "Well, it looks like your going to have a lot of work to do Stark", another voice said, quite close by. Rebecca strained to try and see who it was, but they were hidden just out of her view. "You think? And I only just had it redecorated as well. Unbelievable", Stark moaned, walking around in his suit. "Well, at least you office looks pretty intact", the other guys voice said, suddenly quite close by. Without warning, the door to the office where Rebecca was hid opened, revealing a well build, strong looking man with beautiful blue eyes in a brightly coloured tight fitting uniform. Their eyes locked, both as shocked as the other. She opened her mouth to say something, but nothing came out. He took a step further into the room, and she panicked, forgetting how to breath, her brain struggling to comprehend everything that was happening. Her vision started to fade as she became lightheaded, unable to keep her balance, she became to sway. The man lunged forward and caught her as she fell, before shouting for help. The last thing she remembered was looking into this man's blue eyes as many more faces swarmed in around her, before she passed out.

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