A Complicated Web

Chapter Sixty Seven: Oh No

Loki had definitely not intended for the fight to carry out into the hallway, but that was life sometimes. He only hoped he wouldn't be seen by certain people. That would definitely not make things end in the way he hoped they would. Especially not if Thor saw him, or any of the Avengers for that matter. They'd likely tell Thor, and then his oafish brother would know he wasn't really dead and would probably wonder what he was up to, which would ruin everything.

To say the fight was fair would be a lie. Loki did have a bit of an advantage, but, in a way, so did Ms. Kendrick. She seemed the more desperate. Maybe it had something to do with her being somewhat unhinged. Loki did know how to place a well-balanced verbal barb, which had some interesting effects. The latest barb he'd sent out was the understanding that she somehow saw Kally and Hiro as her undeserving offspring, which told him she was decidedly delusional. They'd been going off that point for some time now, to be honest. He still couldn't understand it, nor did he think he ever would.

Loki ducked as the woman threw what was probably once part of one of the office chairs. The implement smashed into the wall and skittered behind him. He couldn't help but look a bit surprised. Her aim was decidedly getting better. Perhaps it was time to end things, before she managed to seriously injure him.

"Were you aware that Kally's mother was an acquaintance of mine?" Loki inquired as he dodged another thrown object by jumping. Maybe her aim wasn't getting better after all. Maybe she'd just had a few lucky shots, he mused.

Ms. Kendrick scowled at that. "It doesn't matter to me what she is." She found something else to throw, trying to keep her opponent off his guard.

Loki tisked, this time catching what she'd thrown and returning it. The item clocked her in the shoulder. "But you should care. You see, her mother was one of the few people I could trust while growing up. She was one of only a handful of people who actually treated me like the son of a king. She understood me and my jokes where others did not. I could relate to her in ways no one else could with me. So when you decided to use her offspring as your scapegoat, you created an enemy. Me."

The woman scoffed. "I don't see you as much of a threat, nor is she. Her DNA is useful to me, it's true, but that's where it ends." She tried charging Loki, grabbing him around the waist but was thrown for her troubles.

The god of mischief straightened up, squaring up his shoulders. Part of him wished he had his blades out once more but chose to leave it be. The close quarters of the corridor made it more risky, especially with all of the broken furniture strewn about courtesy of his target. "I don't think you really understand," he said with a measure of patience. "She was the last of her kind, and, as such, I cannot allow you to desecrate her memory with your barbaric science."

Ms. Kendrick snarled. Her hair had come undone from its tight bun, leaving her with hair in her eyes and cascading down her back. It was almost becoming, except for the wild gleam of hatred in her eyes. "I will do with her as I please," she hissed as she swung at the god of mischief.

Loki tried to dodge but didn't quite get out of the way in time. She managed to hit him in the cheek, making him turn slightly before he came back around with a left hook to the side of her head that she hadn't anticipated. The maneuver gave him more than enough room to start slugging her left and right while she tried to defend herself.

Blood and spit flew as Ms. Kendrick managed to land a blow to Loki's jaw. He reacted to the blow, staggering a bit, which gave her more room to move in with her own barrage of punches and jabs.

Not to be deterred, Loki gritted his teeth and fought back. There was no point on standing on ceremony so he added in some kicks and other shots, going for the more sensitive parts of her body, including the kidneys and knees. He managed to sweep her to the ground with a hook to her left leg, knocking the air out of her lungs. "See? Not as easy to defeat me as you thought." He followed up with a blow to her head, rendering her unconscious.