Siren Song

The Search

Stark checked his non existent watch with obvious annoyance. "Look at that, if this kid doesn't hurry it up in there, we'll be late for sure." He raised his eyebrows with a huff.
"We're gonna have to teach her some time management skills for sure," added Hawkeye. Thor grew worried as it had already been 7 minutes. Maybe this was all too much for you to handle at once and you were simply overwhelmed?
"Romanoff, would you be so kind as to check on her?" His anxiety was obvious as he said this. Natasha rolled her eyes and strolled towards the bathroom door. Loki watched them all, harboring your secret. She must have made her escape by now. Loki was surprised to find he was almost sad to see you leave. Natasha banged on the door lightly.
"Hey, kid. Are you all right in there?" No answer. Natasha quickly grew frustrated. "Hey, kid!" Again, silence. She tried the handle, but it was locked. She looked to Steve for help.
Rogers made his way over and kicked at the handle until it broke off the door. He turned his back as Natasha went in and inspected the empty room.
"She's gone," she stated.
"What?" Steve, Thor, and Stark all said in unison. One by one they went to inspect the bathroom with their own eyes. Loki smiled to himself. For your sake, he hoped you were quick.
     That afternoon, the team gathered in a safe house provided by Fury. Loki was still with them and was being held in a cell in the main room. It seemed that Fury had built this house with every contingency in mind.
     "I just don't understand why he's still here. We're trying to find the kid, we don't need a distraction." Hawkeye had said this to anyone who would listen. He seemed to be taking Loki's continued presence harder than everyone else, which was understandable. Loki chuckled slyly from his cell.
     "Now, now. This is a grand chance for all of us to get to know each other better."
     "Quiet, Loki!" Thor demanded of his brother. Loki seemed rather pleased with all of the unease he was causing. Natasha, Banner, and Stark were all sitting at the same monitor. They were trying to rule out places that they thought Echo wouldn't have run off to, but it was difficult. They didn't know hardly anything about them.
     "Look, Thor. I may not be as vocal about it as Clint, but I don't want Loki here either," stated Natasha.
     "Who would?" Added Stark.
     "I'm keeping him here for good reason." Thor crossed his arms. He didn't liked being questioned. He thought they would just take his word for it. Loki didn't like the direction this conversation was headed. It was getting much too close to the truth.
     "And what is the reason?" Steve asked. Thor turned to Loki.
     "You two were talking. Did she say anything? Anything at all that might help us find her?" Being confronted with such a straight forward question, it was hard to dodge it. But what reason did he have to keep your secret? He wasn't indebted to you.
     "They may have let something slip," he said coolly.
     "Come on, Rudolf. We don't have all night," Stark said sarcastically. Loki smirked.
     "I'm afraid my lips are sealed. I'm honor bound by my word." Thor slammed his fist into the wall next to Loki's cell. Loki raised his eyebrows expectedly. He had a look on his face akin to a disappointed parent.
     "Now, what did that accomplish?"
     "Loki, we don't have time for your games. If Echo is in trouble we can help, but we need to know where she is first." The rest of the team watched their quarrel in silence. They all knew that if anyone could get Loki to talk, it would be Thor. But their confidence began to fade as 4 days passed without a word at all from Loki.
     With no new leads for their investigation, they split from each other and took their time to inspect the house. They all tried to make their temporary home as comfortable as possible, but none of them ever truly relaxed. Even though they didn't know Echo very well, they all still cared for her well being. This rang true especially with Steve and Thor. They were taking it much harder than anyone else in the house. It's seemed that the moment they had met this scrawny child, they both had instantly adopted her.Their protectiveness drove them to work harder than everyone else on the mission.
     "It seems that you are getting closer to finding her everyday," Loki observed from his cell. His sudden urge to break his silence made everyone's head turn except Thor's. He didn't seem at all surprised. He knew Loki would start talking once he was bored enough.
     "No thanks to you, brother." Loki smirked.
"I'm surprised they didn't tell you anything. What with how close you two seemed to be. She was certainly more than willing to spill her innermost thoughts to the enemy." He was deliberately dancing around the answer everyone wanted. And it was really starting to piss Thor off.
"Loki if you're not going to tell us anything I would suggest keeping quiet." Despite the warning, Loki continued.
"I honestly wouldn't be at all surprised if they were dead by now," he said harshly. Before Thor could say anything, Steve stepped in.
"That's enough!" Loki took great pleasure in getting a rise out of people. Steve knew that, but he couldn't stay silent. "You've proven more than enough times that you don't care. Do us all a favor and shut up." Words didn't sting Loki as they did everyone else. Harsh words were not something he was unfamiliar with, but Steve's words did sit with him longer than he was comfortable with. It gnawed his very soul. But why? Empty of any answers, Loki did something against his very nature. He told the truth.
"She is running away from her father."
Again, every head turned to Loki except Thor's. He wasn't quite ready to take Loki's word. Natasha was already probing for more, clearly desperate to grasp at any new information.
"Why?"
"It would seem that her father had tortured her and that she had only recently escaped. I'm guessing seeing her face plastered all over the news scared her off."
"Where did she go?" As Natasha kept a flow of answers, Stark typed them into his computer.
"She didn't tell me anything about where she was going, but I bet you can rule out New York since that's where she was spotted," Loki supplied helpfully. Thor turned to him with a guarded expression.
"Thank you, brother." Loki only nodded once in reply.
"Great, so we know that she's extremely skittish and on edge. Coming from an abusive household means that she'll be as careful as possible. It's information, but not exactly helpful," Stark pointed out.
"Echo doesn't think that way. I'll think she is more worried about putting distance between her and her father," Thor said.
"Would you say that she is more of a straight forward thinker?" Banner asked. Thor nodded, wondering where this was going. Banner took off his glasses before he spoke.
"It's possible that Thor was right on the mark. Echo isn't worried about strategy. It's possible her anxiety is forcing her to come up with more... simple solutions." Loki rolled his eyes. They weren't going to get very far by underestimating you.
"So what's the farthest place away from New York?" Clint asked. Everyone paused.
"It can't be that simple, can it?"
"How far away from New York are the Bahamas?" Thor asked suddenly. No one answered, but Natasha quickly searched through means of travel on the computer.
"About 7 hours by plane. Why?"
Two days later~
"I'm still confused on how you know what the Bahamas are. You had to ask me how to turn on a computer," Stark said.
"I have no idea what they are, and neither does Echo apparently." Thor was just hoping his hunch was correct. If Echo was a 'straight forward thinker' like Banner had said then there was no doubt in Thor's mind that she would've gone to the first place she thought of.
"What is that supposed to mean?" Clint asked.
"I don't know. Echo said that she 'saw it in a movie once'. Whatever that is." Thor was clueless to Echo's intentions, but he would do whatever he could to help. Loki sat motionless watching them work. He had thought on his own actions for days. Why did he help the Avengers? What reason did he even have to keep your secret safe in the first place? Did he care for Echo? That thought stopped him short as he wasn't sure of the answer. It's true that things have gotten painfully boring since you've left. Perhaps he was mistaking his curiosity for concern. Did he really care for your well being, for your safety? For once, he didn't seem to have an answer.
     The avengers worked day and night. They got their hands on flight logs from New York to the Bahamas and looked through every name. No one ever really suspected that she would use the name 'Echo' to catch a flight, but they searched anyway. They didn't find an 'Echo', but they did find an 'Emily Rogers.'
"Could that be her?" Clint asked doubtfully.
"It's definitely a possibility," Natasha answered. "Steve was the first to introduce himself and use his last name. 'Rogers' was probably the first last name that she could think of."
"Anyone else noticing a pattern with her thoughts?" Stark asked.
"It could be a coincidence. I have a very common last name," Steve admitted. He didn't tell anyone this, but the fact that you chose to use his last name flattered him. It's like he had adopted you. He smiled to himself. When their research turned up nothing else, they sat through hours of airport security footage to find her face in the crowd. It went a lot faster when Tony ran J.A.R.V.I.S. through the footage with facial recognition. When there was a confirmed match, Stark eagerly zoomed in.
     "Yep, that's her all right." He declared. Echo had changed her appearance only slightly. She had cut a considerable length of her messy white hair. It now only reached just below her shoulders and she was wearing shoes for once. She proceeded to board the only flight containing the name 'Emily Rogers' as one of its passengers which confirmed the team's suspicions on your alias.
     "Looks like you were right, Thor." Natasha said, eyeing the monitor.
     "So what do we do now?" Thor asked impatiently. He was ready to fly there now if he was given the word.
     "Nothing yet. We have to think this through. We don't even know if she's still there." Steve interjected. He wanted to help Echo as badly as Thor, but he didn't want to jeopardize her safety even further with a risky move. "If we all move in at once we could draw attention to her little hiding spot." They all sat in silence for a few moments, thinking it over.
     "If I may interject-" began Loki. Stark was quick to catch him mid-sentence.
     "I would rather you not" Thor turned and offered his attention.
     "What is it brother?"
     "It may be wise to seek out her father first. Echo was near certain her father would find her. If we can assume that her father will indeed find her then we can catch them both in one go. With her father captured, she'll no longer have a reason to run." Loki's genuine advice had stunned the team into silence. Tony sighed.
     "I hate it when you're right."
The next day~
     "Alright," Stark said as he held up a thin document. "Here's everything S.H.I.E.L.D. Knows about our elusive Echo." He let the booklet fall to the table. It was so thin it couldn't have been more than 3 pages long.
     "You're joking, right?" Natasha said skeptically. Tony shook his head, offended.
     "My jokes are funny."
"That's the most pathetic file I've ever seen," said Banner in a disheartened tone. He flipped through what little information the file contained. "There's not even a record of her birth."
"I'm guessing dear old dad really didn't want people to know about her," Stark stated. The team took their turn looking through the booklet. It didn't take them but 5 minutes for each of them to read everything. Loki sat in silence, trying to push down his curiosity. You were no concern of his. At least that's what he tried to tell himself.
"Do you think she really killed her mother?" Asked Natasha. Taking a life didn't shake her as it would anyone else. It just concerned her that Echo seemed to have taken a life at the age of 7. It could easily lead to deep, psychological problems. That made her dangerous.
"That's what she told Fury, but it could've easily been a joke." At least, Steve hoped it was a joke.
"Jokes are supposed to be funny and I didn't see anyone laughing. Of course, not everyone can be blessed with my superior sense of humor," Stark quipped. Clint shook his head.
"No, she wasn't joking. Her nerves probably got the best of her." Though no one wanted to believe Echo to be a killer, it was highly likely. If she had trouble controlling her abilities now then they could only imagine how difficult it would have been to control them at such a young age.
     Loki idly wondered what that must have been like. Killing your mother and then being tortured at the hands of your father. He smirked. That must have been why you were such a pathetic fighter. He wondered if you even knew how to fight without those incredible abilities of yours. Probably not. What he wouldn't give for a second chance at a one on one fight. It irked him that he had to wait for that victory, but he knew you would come back. Eventually. Just be patient.
     Fury sent the team as much information as he could on Echo's father. It wasn't as much as the team had hoped for. But it was a considerable amount more than what he had on Echo. Until recently, Fury didn't even know that he had a daughter.
     "So he used to work under Fury?" Stark asked. "Weird how shit works out like that."
     "He was let go for misconduct," Natasha read from the file. "And no, not sexual misconduct." She added this just as Stark began to open his mouth. He rolled his eyes.
     "So, what did he do?" Clint asked.
     "Well, it looks like he preformed human experiments without authorization. Sounds like it was really twisted shit too." Thor had a heavy feeling deep in his chest. What has this man done to you?
     "Any information on his whereabouts?" Steve pressed.
     "Well, he used to be under constant surveillance. He's gotten smarter over the last few years. I'm guessing he knew he was being watched."
     "Or he started to get more careful when he finally had something to hide besides himself," Stark suggested.
     "So when did this guy start dipping from view?" Natasha picked up his file again.
     "About 20 years ago." Banner sifted through Echo's thin file again.
     "Yep, it fits. She's exactly 20."
     "I guess he didn't have much time to spare on Fury when he became a family man," Stark joked.
"That's not funny," Steve warned.
"You just don't get my sense of humor."
"I just think you like to hear yourself talk."
"Correct."
"Alright, you two. Give it a rest you're giving me a headache," Natasha groaned. Having had the last word, Stark felt as if he had one the argument and sauntered off into his room. As soon as the door closed, conversation picked up again.
"I'm going crazy in this house. Do you know how on edge I've been since Loki started making sense?" Clint said, tapping his foot. Loki's ears perked up at the sound of his name.
"I understand your concern, but we need Loki here. He's been a great help to us," Thor tried to reason.
"Yeah, he has been. Past tense. He's done his part. Now it's time for him to leave," Clint snapped.
"He is still of great use to-" Thor tried to begin again, but he was quickly cut off.
"To who, Thor? To you? Is that what this is about? You just want your little brother around? Have you already forgotten what he's done to New York? What he's done to me? To Erik Selvig?" Thor stepped forward and towered over Hawkeye.
"You-" Thor was cut off again. Not by Clint this time, but my Natasha. She placed a hand on his arm since she couldn't quite reach his shoulder.
"You both need to calm down. We have a job to do, don't we? Echo is in a lot of trouble and we need to find her." She paused to look at Clint. "No matter who we have to work with." Clint turned his back to the both of them and stormed down the hallway.
"You know, maybe you'd be more willing to take my side if Loki had controlled you like he did me." Thor watched his retreating figure with regretful eyes. He realized he wasn't being a very good friend. Choosing to ignore all the damage Loki had caused was tearing everyone in this house apart.
That night, after everyone else in the house had fallen into a deep sleep, Thor sneaked off to visit Loki's cell. Loki chuckled as he saw his brother's figure emerge from the shadows.
"Do what do I owe the pleasure, dear brother?" Thor's face was full of conflicting emotions.
"Answer me this, Loki. Why are you helping us? What horse could you possibly have in this race?" Loki smiled.
     "Is is so hard to believe that I simply care? I just want to see her safe and sound." Thor didn't believe this for an instant.
     "You care for no one." Loki seemed slightly taken aback. Thor shook his head slightly, as if he had decided upon something. "I see what this is. I'm surprised it took me so long to figure it out."
     "I'm not," jabbed Loki.
     "You want to capture her yourself. You want to make her pay for effectively costing you your war. And once you're finished making her suffer, you're going to manipulate her into using her abilities for your own selfish interests," accused Thor.
     "Sounds like something I would do," Loki agreed. He leaned back, obscuring half his face in shadow. "But how can you be so sure?" Thor wore a sad smile as he spoke.
     "Because I am getting to know this new you better and better each day. Everyday it becomes more obvious that you are not the Loki I once knew. The Loki I knew would never stoop so low." Loki remained silent as Thor's voice was becoming hollow, empty. "You are becoming painfully predictable, Loki." Thor turned and walked away having heard what he needed. The talk didn't make him feel any better about the situation. That should have been the end of it. That should have been it for their relationship, but Thor held onto that shred of hope that his brother was still there.
Two months later~
"There's a notable pattern I can see in her movements," Natasha said, troubled. Echo had left the Bahamas using the same name. She had only stayed there 2 weeks before moving on to Australia, Greece, Iceland, and then to Germany. After leaving the Bahamas, she never stayed in any one place for more than a week. And every time she left, someone who had worked for her father had disappeared.
"Why is she jumping around like this? Is she looking for something?" Steve suggested. Banner shook his head.
"What could she possibly be looking for?"
"Fury said that her fathers right hand men have been disappearing left and right. No one has found their bodies yet. Think it could be her?"
"No!" Thor declared. "She wouldn't kill unless it was for self defense. Those men must have found her. She must not have had a choice." Everyone wanted to believe that Echo was just running for dear life, but the disappearances being connected to the places she was going would've suggested that she was hunting them down.
"I don't think she has the makings of a cold blooded killer. The kid is scared of her own shadow," Banner agreed. Mostly to soothe Thor though. He couldn't completely ignore the reoccurring pattern. Besides, the men who were all killed were all in their 70s and up. They were obviously retired and he doubted that they would shuffle out of their nursing home to chase this girl down.
The ringing of the phone caught everyone's attention as Steve went to answer it. Fury had only ever used this phone to pass on information that he thought was vitally important.
"This is Steve," he said as he listened intently to what Fury had to say. Everyone watched Steve's face turn hard. It was an unreadable expression set in stone.
"Alright, send it over. It's important that we have a look at it." He then hung up the phone and turned back to the team. He walked over to the table and hung his head.
"He wanted me to warn you all that it's pretty graphic," was all Steve had to say for a while. Everyone else gave him room to breathe. No one in the room was a stranger to blood, but none of them liked to see it either. Especially so much of it. Fury had sent over details and pictures to the computer and Stark displayed it on every monitor available. It seemed a warehouse in Ohio had caught S.H.I.E.L.D.'s attention when an anonymous call to local police was filed. The caller claimed that the warehouse was filled to the brim with rotting corpses. When S.H.I.E.L.D. stepped in to investigate, they were overwhelmed with how many bodies they found. A staggering number of over 600 bodies were torn to shreds in a sort of frenzy. Blood was oozing from all of the victims ears and many had been tortured. Teeth were pulled, limbs were torn, and even eyeballs were plucked out of their skulls. And the amount of blood painted on the white walls was enough to almost cover them completely.
All of the Avengers stood shocked at the amount of carnage that was displayed. Not a single survivor. Even Loki found himself impressed at the amount of bloodshed.
"Jesus Christ," Stark exclaimed.
Fury came by the safe house later that evening with even more disturbing information.
"I was able to get a hold of the phone call that was made to the police department. It's disturbing to say the least, but I think it can help us find where she's headed next." Fury clicked his phone and sent the audio to Stark who let it play for everyone. The team looked up at Fury when his own voice started to play.
     "911, what's your emergency?"
     "I'd like to report a murder. Several, in fact," the imposter said in a heavy voice. The operator on the phone seemed taken aback then briskly began questioning the caller.
     "Alright, can I have your location?"
     "No, but I can tell you where the bodies are." Another pause as the operator processed the words. "All the bodies are in a warehouse that sits on Lawrence Acres. Once you get to the barbed wire fence you should be able to find it."
     "And what's your name?"
     "I can't tell you that. But I should warn you I'm not finished."
     "Excuse me?" The woman was obviously horrified as she put two and two together. Steve and Thor shared a concerned look across the table.
     "No need to worry. The man I'm after isn't here anymore."
     "Are you the one who committed these murders?"
     "Yes, but I should be finished soon. Sorry to cause so much distress. Have a nice day." Then the caller using Fury's voice hung up. No one said anything for a moment.
"Okay, stupid question but I feel I need to get it out of the way. That wasn't you, right?" Stark asked Fury.
"No."
"Just needed to make sure."
"So that was Echo?"
"Had to be," Clint answered. "Thor, you said she could manipulate sound?"
"Yes, but I never got close enough to see what else she was capable of. She insisted that I stay as far away as possible."
"Maybe you didn't get up close and personal with her, but I know someone who did," said Stark as he turned to Loki. Director Fury had pretended like he didn't even know he was in the room.
"So, you're still here?" Loki didn't answer him.
"You wanna tell us what you know?" Steve asked, his arms crossed. Loki began immediately.
"First of all, she has an incredible sense of hearing. She was able to distinguish the difference between me and my illusions by listening for my heartbeat. She can push objects and propel herself into the air using the force of her sound, but I didn't know she was capable of something like that." Fury stepped back in disbelief that Loki was cooperating so well. Losing this war must have humbled him.
"I thought you would've been the first one to know," Stark said with a grin. Loki jerked his head up, jutting out his chin.
"I beg your pardon?" Stark's grin grew wider, delighted he would be the first to tell Loki the news.
"Well, Eric Selvig said he was ordered by you yourself to shut down the portal."
"I gave no such command," Loki said, seething. Tony laughed and clapped the back of Bruce's back, making him jump.
"Of course you didn't! You were too busy getting your cheeks clapped by the Hulk!" Banner looked a tad bit uncomfortable as Tony said the other guys name out loud. Realization dawned on Loki. So you had not been partially responsible for his loss after all. He had thought you had lead Banner to him so someone else could shut down the portal, but it had been you. Loki clenched his fists. Damn brat.
"Something to note," Fury began. "Is that we never found the body of her father."
"So that's the only person left that she'll kill?"
"Most likely. Fortunately, we know exactly where he is. His panic has made him sloppy. He's knows she's coming for him. I'm guessing she was saving him for last so he could live out his final days in fear." The Avengers fiddled with mundane tasks as they tried to cope with the fact that the sweet, terrified girl they once knew had turned into a cold-blooded mass murderer. Steve spoke first.
"Great. So we capture him and use him as bait, right?" The Director pressed his lips together in deep thought.
"That's what I was going to do, but I'm afraid none of the men I put out there would live." Thor made a final attempt to stick up for you.
"She won't kill your men. She was only killing those who had wronged her."
"Can you guarantee that? Can you promise me that if I put out my best men on the front line that she wouldn't slaughter them all?" Having been put on the spot, Thor fell silent. "But I'm glad you're so eager to give her a second chance because you're the only Avenger who can help her without getting yourself killed." Thor looked up hopefully.
"Whatever I can do to help, consider it done."
"Wait," interjected Clint. "If you're not willing to sacrifice your strongest then how do you expect us to?"
"Well, I'm glad you asked." Fury took a seat before he began. "When we inspected all the bodies it seemed that she took out their hearing before striking the final blow. And in New York she insisted that everyone stay a good distance away. Now we know for a fact that Romanoff, Barton, and Stark won't be able to endure what she can dish out, but I was wondering if the rest of you might." Thor, Steve, and Banner shared a look.
"Thor, exactly how far away would you say you were when she started fighting?" Sheave asked.
"She was on top of the building across the street that faced the front of Stark Tower."
     "So, about 150 feet. Since the roads are 100 feet wide. Just a rough estimate," Stark supplied.
     "And what was her definition of 'too close'?" Fury continued. Thor shook his head in a defeated sort of way.
     "I couldn't tell you, but I was closer than anyone else." Fury nodded.
     "This is all just a hypothesis, but I'm betting that she won't be able to kill you or blow out your eardrums. I'm not saying it won't hurt like hell, but she won't be able to kill you. That's assuming that she'd be willing to fight Thor in the first place." Thor's mood seemed to instantly brighten. He clapped his hands together with a thunderous boom.
     "Excellent, when shall we get started?" For the first time in a month, Thor felt hopeful.
     "First, we need to catch her dad. We'll let you know once we have him. Who else is in?"
Steve didn't hesitate.
     "I'd appreciate a pair of ear plugs, just in case."
     "Understandable."
     "Doctor Banner?" Steve addressed Bruce, who looked up from the ground for the first time the conversation started. "I would understand completely if you felt more comfortable sitting this one out."
     "Thanks, cap." Banner backed up awkwardly. Having heard their decisions, Fury began to make his way out the door.
     "Oh," he paused right before the door. "I was sincerely hoping that I could have the help of every Asgardian available." Fury walked out the door, leaving the house in stunned silence. Loki looked up with a smile.