Never Alone Again

Part One - A New Face

"Tony, breakfast is ready!" You called out down the hallway.

"'Mm'kay, be there in a minute!" He shouted back.

You smiled to yourself and sat down at the table. The team would be arriving later today to start work on a new mission, so you were enjoying the peace and quiet of the early morning. You sipped on your coffee and watched the birds flying off in the distance.

You switched your gaze to the doorway as Tony entered the room. "Hey, kiddo."

You sighed. "I'm not a kid anymore."

Tony stopped and looked at you. "Okay, kiddo."

You couldn't help but let out a slight laugh. Tony sat across from you and the two of you dug into the food.

"So, can I please know what today's mission is about?" You asked.

"Absolutely not," Tony replied. "I can't have you put in any more danger than you're already in just by living here."

You pouted. "Sometimes I wish I had powers like you guys so I could help."

"I know, kid. I know." He said. "But today's mission involves someone rather dangerous and I don't want you getting anywhere near him."

You perked up. "Who?"

"No."

"Come on, please?" You begged, giving your best attempt at puppy dog eyes.

Tony sighed, unable to resist. "I'm sure you've heard about him at this point. He's... well... he's supposed to be dead."

You were confused. "Then why do we need the entire team here today to talk about this guy?"

"Because the asshole has a history of dying but not actually dying." Tony stated.

Suddenly the pieces clicked into place. "Loki."

Tony nodded. "Which is exactly why I cannot have you being a part of this mission."

You tossed yourself back in your chair, frustrated. "Can't I at least see him? The dude's basically a legend around here!"

Tony simply pulled up a picture of him on one of his screens. "There. You've seen him. Now finish up and go back to your room so I can get started on business, please."

"Ugh, fine." You stated.

Once you were back up to your room, you tossed yourself onto your bed and stared at the ceiling. You could hear the others starting to arrive and moving into the meeting room.

Quickly, a plan began to formulate in your mind. You snuck out of your room and found a hidden little spot where you could just barely hear what they were talking about.

"...and you brought him here? Are you crazy?"

You recognized the voice. It was Sam.

Thor's voice was louder than the rest. "They were going to kill him back on Asgard, I couldn't just let that happen, he's my brother!"

Wait. You froze. He's... here? Loki's here? Holy shit!

You wanted to peek around to see, but you knew you'd get caught. You'd heard enough, so you turned around to go back to your room, and immediately ran into someone.

You fell backwards, looking up to see who you'd hit. Shit.

It was Natasha. She looked down at you quizzically. "And just what are you doing down here?"

"I... uh..." In your panic, you couldn't think of an excuse. You sighed. "I got curious. Tony doesn't tell me anything."

She just stared at you, and then looked to the side. You followed her gaze and immediately realized you had fallen back in front of the glass doors, and everyone could see you.

"Shit!" You exclaimed, scrambling to get up and move.

Natasha stopped you from running away. "They've already seen you. Listen to me, okay? You don't say a word. You're just going to sit quietly in the back and listen."

You nodded slowly, and Natasha lead you into the room, sitting you down in a chair in the back.

Tony looked at her, exasperated.

"I caught a straggler." She simply said. "Carry on."

This clearly caught Tony off guard and he just shook his head, probably making a mental note to have a stern talk with us later.

God, she's so cool.

As the meeting started back up, you looked around the room. You felt your blood run cold as you stared down a pair of striking emerald green eyes. You studied the figure at the front of the room. It was clearly Loki, just like the picture Tony had showed you earlier. He had some kind of gadget covering his mouth, like a muzzle. He was handcuffed, and had a set of cuffs around his ankles as well.

Loki was staring at you, confused. Of course, there was no way he had any idea who you were. You decided to simply stare back at him, so he wouldn't be able to sense your fear. This didn't last long, as your head started to feel fuzzy so you broke eye contact and shook your head. Loki tilted his head curiously in response.

The team was deliberating over what to do with him, while you sat in the back quietly, making sure not to interfere with anything. Suddenly, you felt that same fuzzy feeling in your head.

Ugh, being in this room is really messing with me. You thought, shaking the feeling away again.

Eventually, discussions had quieted down. The Avengers made their way back over to the side of the room you were on.

"Okay," Tony started. "So we're going to keep him here."

What? You thought.

Loki seemed equally as shocked.

Tony must have noticed your facial expression, because he followed up with an explanation as to how it would be safe.

"I have designed a cuff that will prevent him from using his powers, so he can't get away or cause any harm. I'll have Jarvis set up some security procedures and everything will be fine. He'll be kept far away from you, kid."

At the mention of you, Loki immediately looked in your direction. You stared back at him, still not saying anything, before you turned to Tony and nodded. The Avengers went back to discussing things, leaving you alone with your thoughts.

Suddenly you heard an unfamiliar voice. That fuzzy feeling was back.

What a curious individual you are.

Your eyes widened and you snapped your eyes back to Loki. He looked taken aback, like you had done something unexpected.

Like you have room to talk. You thought, not breaking eye contact. He had to be the strangest person in this room.

Loki looked even more surprised after that.

Shit, did he hear that? You wondered.