Special Agent Loki Laufeyson

Chapter 64

The Phenomenon whirred to life as Sharpe stepped back, his smile widening. "Finally," he breathed, his eyes pinned on the machine. "At long last."

Sniper's and Leopard's eyes were both pinned to the machine, Sniper's expressionless while Leopard's held that same breathless anticipation that was mirrored in Sharpe's eyes. Loki, too, was watching the Phenomenon, feeling horror flood through him.

So this was how the Avengers must have felt when he attacked New York.

The monitor beside the Phenomenon lit up, showing an image of light condensing outside the Space Station. Down below them, the blue glow of Midgard seemed to beckon for the light to strike it, to wreak havoc upon its delicate surface.

"What are you doing?" Loki asked, unable to stop the words from tumbling off of his tongue.

Sharpe flicked his gaze over to his prisoner for only a second before returning it to his masterpiece. "I am showing the world the power of Thanos."

The light formed into a beam and hurtled away down towards the small planet. As he watched the light spiral away from them, Loki felt something tearing at his heart. His team was down there...his family. He couldn't let this happen.

Lunging forward, Loki brought his bound hands up and twin daggers materialized in them. As Sniper jumped after him, he made his form flicker, enough to cause her sweeping rifle to go right through him.

His daggers struck at the machine, managing to cut through some of the metal. The light outside wavered and Loki struck again as Sharpe, howling in rage, thrust out his hands. Gravity began to drag Loki down but the god of mischief couldn't give up. Reaching out with his mind, he focused on the machine's core, thought about it splintering. The rage that was running through his veins, the fear he felt for Bishop and his team, flooded the Phenomenon as Loki hit the ground. He could feel the device giving way beneath his mental attack.

Just a little bit more. Just a little bit more....

The Phenomenon exploded.

Sharpe, Leopard, Sniper, and Loki were all blown backwards by the blast, the shock waves and debris hammering into their bodies in the confined passageway. Loki felt pain blossom all over him as he slammed into the opposite wall. Then the shower of projectiles stopped as Sharpe deflected the shrapnel away from their general vicinity.

The wall where the Phenomenon had been attached was badly damaged, although not completely destroyed, from the explosion. Sniper grabbed Loki and forced him up onto his feet, making him walk at a fast pace down the corridor. Sharpe and Leopard were on their heels and when they had entered a separate compartment, a door sliding down to seal the corridor behind them off from the rest of the Space Station, Sharpe rounded on Loki as Sniper stepped back.

"You lunatic!" he shouted. "How could you ruin everything! My beloved Phenomenon – shattered because of you! You imbecile!"

Despite the pain that flowed through him, Loki couldn't help his feeling of satisfaction. NCIS was safe – for now, anyway.

Fury was imprinted on Sharpe's face and was echoed on Leopard's. Sniper didn't seem to care; her eyes were expressionless.

"You will die," Sharpe promised. "Painfully, slowly. But first – your beloved Eleanor Bishop will die, and you...will...watch." He put emphasis on each word, pausing in between for dramatic effect. His eyes were livid. "And then, tomorrow, my army will annihilateyour Avengers and NCIS. Father willbe obeyed."

Not if I have anything to do about it, Loki thought in response.

****

Leopard, glaring daggers at Loki, unlocked the opaque door to a cell and shoved Loki inside. His hands had been unchained on the march to the prison, so he was able to catch himself when he stumbled forward and prevent himself from hitting the floor. When he glanced up, there she was.

Bishop.

Loki forgot about the pain, forgot about the threats, even forgot about his plan, and just moved forward. She rushed to meet him, her eyes wide and frightened, but relief was there, as well.

"Ellie," Loki gasped, catching her in his arms. She pressed her face against his chest as he held her close. Neither of them said anything for several long moments, each just holding on to the other for dear life. Then Loki pulled back, cupping his hands around Bishop's face so he could examine her, his eyes searching her face for any sign of pain or injury.

"Are you all right? Did they hurt you?"

Bishop just looked up at him, her hands braced against his biceps. "Why are you here?"

Loki smoothed Bishop's hair back from her forehead, almost without thinking, as he stared down at her. "I came for you."

"They'll kill you," Bishop said, fear edging her tone. "You betrayed someone...."

"I know," Loki said softly. "I know, darling. But I'm not here to die. I'm here to free you."

"How?" Bishop asked, her fingers reaching up tentatively to touch the bleeding wound on his forehead. He hadn't even noticed it until he felt the gentle smear of blood across his skin as her fingers passed over it, barely grazing the cut.

"The same way I came to Midgard a year ago."

Loki looked at the wall opposite the door and then turned back to her. "Bishop, we need to leave now, before Sharpe decides it's time to kill you."

"How?" she asked again, looking bewildered as she drew back from him. "We're locked in a cell, Loki. In space."

"That doesn't matter. I'm going to open a portal."

Bishop still looked confused.

Loki took a deep breath. "You remember the Tesseract?"

Bishop nodded. "That's what you came to steal last year."

"Exactly. I came to Midgard by using the Tesseract to open a portal that I could journey through. I don't need to have the Tesseract in hand for me to open a portal. Yes, it will be difficult, especially when the Tesseract isn't primed for harnessing, but I've done it before. I can do it again."

"Are you sure?" Bishop asked.

Loki nodded. "But you're going to have to hold on to me, darling."

Without a word, Bishop stepped up to him and wrapped her arms around his abdomen, pressing her head against him.

"No cameras this time," Loki told her, feeling a slight smile slip onto his lips.

Bishop looked up at him. "I wouldn't care, even if there were."

Loki placed one arm protectively around her, reaching his other hand out into the air. Closing his eyes, he searched for the presence of the Tesseract, the glowing blue cube locked in the weapons vault of Asgard, and strove to access its power.

He poured all of his energy into establishing a connection with the Infinity Stone. And as he felt the ancient power awakening under his mental touch and the portal forming, he tightened his grip on Bishop. "Whatever you do, don't let go!"

"Never," Bishop promised, pressing herself closer to him.

The portal opened, the blue tendrils reaching out for them. They wrapped themselves around the god and the mortal, encasing them within their magic. And then they were drawn forward, shooting through the portal for an infinitesimal second before they were thrown onto the tiled floors of the weapons vault.

The Tesseract loomed on a pedestal before Loki, seeming to regard him neutrally. But the Asgardian was too drained of energy to even move from his position on the floor, resting on his chest. Bishop pulled away from him and rolled him gently onto his back.

"Loki? Loki! Answer me, please!"

All Loki could do was stare up at her and think, You're safe now.

You're safe now.

/**/

So what did you think of Loki's plan? What do you think will happen next?

Thanks for reading; please, comment and vote! Let me know what you think!

Skylar Wittenborn