Red Room

RR11 Humanity

 Ch 11

The light shot from the man's hands in a flash of green light and knocked Natalia to the ground. She braced herself for another attack but none came. Instead, the man leaned over her with his hand out to help her up and said,

"My name is Loki, let's have a talk."

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Bruce and Clint were glad that Steve wasn't in the room when Natalia met the man with Ivan. They were sure it was Bucky and there was no telling how Steve would react. They were going to tell him when he got back but they were interrupted by their fellow team members arriving. Steve was walking into the room just as Natalia snuck out of the compound.

"Tony, what are you wearing?" Clint asked in regards to his outfit to blend in to Asgard.

Tony wasn't listening. He stripped off his suit and made his way over to Natasha to see how she was doing. He saw bandages and cuts littering her body. He then saw in the corner the bloody rags from previous injuries and surgeries. He had missed a lot, but he was determined to watch the footage to get up to date. He touched his hand to a cut on her cheek and then noticed a presence beside him. Loki.

As soon as the trio entered the room, Loki's eyes found Natasha. He was pissed that she was reliving all of this but he was also sad. He watched as Thor went over to Clint, Bruce, and Steve, to catch up on the recent events. He saw the glares coming his way. They still did not trust him. So Loki joined Natasha and Tony. He joined them just as Tony was touching a cut on her cheek. She looked bad. He then surveyed all of the machines and bloodied rags. They were trying to save her, but they were way over their heads. He was pulled from his trance by the archer.

"Hey, Loki, what's the plan?"

In truth, he didn't have one. At least not yet. He didn't have all of the information.

"I need to know what exactly is going on before I dare touch anything. What is this screen?"

Tony spoke up this time. "We see what she sees, thanks to that damned crystal. It also allows us to see her through reflections off of the surrounding surfaces, kind of like an awesome projector. We don't just see through her eyes. We see her just as we see you. See, now she's in the woods."

The color drained from Loki's face when he realized where she was going. He could just see the remnant trace of the portal he used to reach earth that night. She was about to meet him.

"What's with the frown green man?" Clint was really getting on his nerves.

"This is the night we first met." All eyes turned to him in bewilderment, except for Thor and Tony of course who obliviously heard him talk about them in the past when they were breaking him out of Asgard.

"Yeah," Tony said. "He kept mumbling something like I have to help her, and, she made me promise. Care to elaborate some more?"

"No, I'm sure you will see it eventually through this damned machine. She will have to relive the worst parts of her life, and it's all your fault."

Oww, that hurt. Tony wasn't prepared for that remark.

They all stood back to watch what would happen next on the screen. Tony noticed how grown up she looked, she had lost her baby face and now looked like a grown woman, just like the one that laid on the table in front of them. They watched how Natalia found her cave and Loki following behind a few minutes later. They watched as she picked up the rock and threw it into Loki, causing him to be thrown across the room. Clint and Thor got a laugh out of that one, but then scowled when Loki threw her off of him and across the cavern, making her forehead smash against the stone. They were still not used to watching how quick she healed but enjoyed the astonished look on Loki's face when he witnessed it. When she told him her name, the boys were still not used to it. When Loki introduced himself to her and helped her up, the Avengers realized that he used to have a softer side.