In The Shadows | Loki

DO I WANNA KNOW?

 I walk around the park, looking at the scenery. I hadn't actually been to central park before today, which was a strange thought. The Helicarrier stopped above New York more times than I could count, and I had been on several missions here. This was the first time I was actually seeing New York.
        It kind of  sucked that it had just been destroyed.
        "Hey Ophelia." I turn towards the voice. I smile when I see Tony and Bruce waiting in a small paved area. I smile ad wave, walking over.
        "Is the park always this empty?" I ask when I reach them, glancing around.
        "No." Tony says, shaking his head. "It's either an aftereffect of the battle, or SHIELD is keeping everyone out while we get this done."
        "Or both." I hear Bruce murmur. I nod in agreement.
        "We the first ones here?" I ask, and they both nod. "Huh. It's not like Nat to be late."
        "And Barton?"
        "I didn't expect him to be here until an hour after we sent Loki away." I pause before adding, "That, or he's going to show up five minutes late with starbucks. I would personally bet on the starbucks." Bruce sends me an amused look.
        "I'll bet on the hour late." I glance towards Tony, narrowing my eyes.
        "Fifty?"
        "Hundred."
        "You're on." I say, reaching out and shaking his hand. Bruce just shakes his head, muttering something I can't hear under his breath. I  grin at him, and a small smile forms on his lips. "Hey Bruce?" He meets my eyes. "You know we had skin on skin contact right? And I haven't turned into a female hulk yet." He shuts his eyes, running a hand through his hair.
        "On the drive to New York." He says, and I nod.
        "Maybe my blood just became super toxic or something. I don't know. I'll figure it out at some point." I say with a shrug.
        "You don't care?" He asks.
        "No, I care. But sometimes it takes time to figure out what I got. I didn't find out I could light my fist on fire until six months after I met the mutant." I watch as another car rolls up, this one a large hummer. "I probably have some energies that I don't even know about. Think about how many people you meet. How many people you shake hands with." Bruce nods after a few seconds, and I see Thor climb out of the large vehicle.
        Dr Selvig clambers out of the drivers seat and moves to open the trunk as Thor opens the door  to the backseat and pulls Loki out. I hear an engine behind us, and I turn just as Steve stops, cutting the ignition on his bike. When he walks over, he glances at me. "You doing okay?" He asks.
        "I'd say I'm doing pretty well for someone who was bleeding out after getting speared through her abdomen a week ago." I reply, crossing my arms over my chest. I didn't miss the fact that Loki was wearing some sort of muzzle thing.  Steve chuckles a little at my response, turning his attention to Loki and Thor.
        "Where  are-"
        "The super spies?" I finish. "Hopefully they're here in the next five minutes." I say before moving, walking over to Selvig. He was pulling a gold and glass contraption out of the back of the car, the tesseract resting inside. I frown down at it.
        "That doesn't look as dangerous now." I murmur.
        "Infinity stones never do look dangerous at first." Thor sighs. "That's part of what makes them so lethal." I look at him, confused, but he ignores it.
        "That's going to take you back to Asgard." I say after a second. He nods. "And SHIELD is just letting you take Loki back."
        ""Letting me" is not the way I would put it." Thor says.  "I'm taking him back to face Asgardian justice. That is what should, and will, happen." I nod, understanding.
        "And the muzzle?" Selvig glances towards Loki before looking at the tesseract as if it was the most interesting thing in the world. For all I knew, it was.
        "It was a precaution ordered by SHIELD." Thor says after a moment. "It got us here faster." I let out a long breath, running a hand through my hair.
        "I understand why you did it," I say, "but this may be why he isn't a fan of yours." I finish before walking back towards Steve and the rest of them. I pass by Loki, barely giving him a glance. I knew he had heard what I had said to Thor.
        "Do I wanna know?" Steve asks, and I shake my head. Another car pulls up, and Natasha slides out of the passenger seat.
        "Wait for it...." I say, a smile growing on my face. Clint steps out of the car, starbucks in hand. "Ha! Hand it over Stark." I say, holding out my hand. Nat raises an eyebrow, and I shrug. Tony grumbles, pulling out his wallet, as well as a crisp hundred dollar bill. I smile at him when he hands it to me, and he glowers.
        "We miss anything?" Nat asks, and I shake my head, shoving the bill into my own wallet.
        "Tony lost a bet. Thor is just about ready to leave with Loki. Steve is still an old man. You didn't miss much." Steve rolls his eyes at my statement, but Natasha just nods. Clint comes up next to me, and I snatch the drink out of his hand, taking a sip before giving it back. He huffs before taking another long gulp, not really caring. Nat gives me a look, and I shrug.
        Thor pulls Loki to the center of the pavement, and the rest of us spread out a little, surrounding them. It was a strange sight. Thor goes around, saying goodbye to everyone. When he reaches me, I stop him, quickly pulling him into a hug.
        "Make sure they don't just kill him up there. He doesn't deserve it." I murmur, so quietly only he could hear.
        "I will." He replies. I can feel the rumble of his deep voice in his chest when he speaks.  I let out a long breath, pulling away. His hand brushes my elbow, and I wince, immediately pushing his energy out. He frowns at the light gray mist pouring from my hands.
        "Sorry. Don't really want lightning powers yet." I say with a small smile. He nods in understanding, moving onto Clint. I glance around the group. Tony was typing on his phone, while Bruce was talking to Selvig. Steve and Nat were both keeping an eye on Loki.
        I let out a long breath before walking into the middle of the circle, gaining everyone's attention.  Loki narrows his eyes as I approach, staring me down when I stop in front of him. I can feel everyone's heavy gazes on me.  "Well, I hope you had fun on your little genocide trip honey, cause you're going home." He rolls his eyes at that. "Hey." I say in a quieter voice. "Don't go dying on me.  I have a feeling there's a lot more to you than you let on." He studies me. "Besides, someone has to teach me about this green mist stuff, right?" I ask. He scowls, and I laugh.
        "Bye Honey. I hope I see you again." I say without thinking, patting him once on the shoulder. I turn, moving back to where I was standing next to Clint. Everyone was watching me.
        "We going to do this or what?" I ask loudly, making them all break their stares. Except for Nat. She just narrows her eyes. I make a dismissive motion so she knows I'll talk to her later. Thor moves towards Selvig, taking the device from him. He walks towards Loki, making him take the other end. The tesseract glows a little ominously between them. Thor casts his gaze around us once more, and I look up to see Loki staring at me.
        My eyes lock with his.
        And then both Thor and Loki have disappeared in a whirlwind of color and light.
        Everyone just stands there for a few moments, waiting to see if anything else would happen. When nothing does, we all move. Selvig moves towards the car, climbing inside and starting it. I send Nat and Clint a smile before they head towards their car. I would call them later.
        "Hey Shakespeare." I turn to Tony, raising an eyebrow. "Do you want to come live at Stark Tower?" I blink in surprise, glancing towards Nat and Clint, though they don't hesitate. "I already extended the offer to them, though they haven't really given me an answer."
        "It's a really random offer." I allow. "Why?" Tony shrugs.
        "It's gotta be better than staying on a ship all the time." He says, and I nod in agreement. I think it over, trying to figure out why he was really offering. One look towards Bruce tells me that he'll be staying with Tony. I wasn't sure on the Steve front.
        "I mean, we've got to stop by SHIELD so I can get my stuff, but.... sure?" Tony looks at me in surprise.
        "Really?"
        "Yeah." I say with a shrug. "I've got to take a break from SHIELD sometimes, and if Fury needs me, he has my number."
        "Cool."