Of Cunning and Kinship || Loki x reader

Chapter one

"Are you an agent of SHIELD?"

"Yes."

"Professor of Linguistics and Ancient History and faculty member of the SHIELD Academy of Science and Technology?"

"Yes."

"Are you now or have ever been a member of Hydra?"

"No"

"Are you involved with any enemy of SHIELD?"

"No."

"Very well.

Tell us, professor, how does a history teacher disappear out of thin air in the middle of a high-security base and comes back, months later, wearing some Medieval Times Couture?"

"I guess I should start from the beginning."

-

You felt like you were boiling.

When Agent Sitwell said you were going to New Mexico this was not what you had in mind. Okay, maybe you had fantasised way too much about your first time in the field, but your dreams certainly never included facing a bunch of cowboys trying to lift a hammer.

Or at least what looked like a hammer. The 0-8-4, an object of unknown origin, stood in the centre of a crater, emanating strange levels of radiation that the mission engineer carefully registered on his tablet.

From your place, at the top of the depression, you tapped your foot in expectancy. There was little you and the other researchers could do from afar, but you were able to see there once was a perfect circle surrounding the artefact, which now was ruined by footsteps and tyre marks.

What the hell is wrong with people? They see a weird object in the middle of nowhere with weird carvings surrounding it and their first instinct is to throw a party to see who can lift it? What if it was dangerous?! You muttered the nastiest curses in all the languages you could think of, grieving the loss of data and evidence.

By the time you were all cleared to approach the artefact the sun was already setting, and you practically jumped into one of the hazmat suits that an agent was distributing to the research team.

"Matt, I want this whole thing scanned and please don't step on the marks." You were already running to the sight, yelling at your nervous assistant who wobbly followed you in excitement.

"Hello there," you grinned at the discovery. Some remnants of the carvings had survived the locals' party, and you could make sense of some intertwined patterns that resembled the roots of a tree.

By your side a panting Matt started scanning the location with his tiny drone, casting a blue light on the small group. You could barely make sense of your poor intern's face, clouded by the fog of his heavy breathing. Other astronaut-looking researchers were collecting samples for study or recording radiation levels, while the rest of the crew put together a whole camp and research lab surrounding the artefact.

It was exciting to be on such an important mission; whatever the "hammer" was, it had clearly sparked SHIELD's attention. Rumour was it that Director Fury had personally reinforced the importance of the operation.

The object was from outer space, of that everyone was sure, for the satellites had seen it reach Earth's orbit; along with another 0-8-4 that wasn't found where it landed. And if an alien being was walking around New Mexico, it was imperative that the team figured out what it was, and where it was from.