Salem approached the hangar carefully. She was still reeling slightly from Fury's request that she torture Loki. She couldn't help but wonder if he really was hiding something from them, hiding something from her. As she reached the door to the cell block, she tried to shake these doubts from her head. Now was not the time to begin questioning SHIELD, she thought. She took a deep breath and opened the door.
A long walkway stood between her and the holding cell she had seen earlier. Made sense, she figured. Keep the deranged murderer in the big metal box meant for a monster. She approached the cell confidently, her footsteps not making a sound on the metal floor beneath her. Loki, who had been pacing back and forth in the cell, stopped when he noticed her come to a halt before the glass.
He turned to face her with a devilish grin already plastered on his face. "There aren't many who can sneak up on me," he says.
Salem smirked, crossing her arms. Her green eyes took in the sight before her. "Careful, Loki, that sounded almost like a compliment."
"You know," he continued, "I was expecting they'd send my brother to interrogate me. But it seems I was wrong."
"Sorry to disappoint," Salem replied, her voice cold.
"Oh," said Loki, as he took a step closer to the glass. "I am far from disappointed." His eyes ran up and down her form before he began to pace again. "So, what sort of torture should I be expecting? What kind of pain does Nick Fury intend to have his little weapon inflict upon me, hmm?"
Salem could tell he was trying to get under her skin. She was determined to keep him from succeeding.
"I'm not here to hurt you, Loki," she said with resolve. "I'm here to talk."
Loki stopped his pacing, and grimaced. "Oh, now I am disappointed."
Salem rolled her eyes. "Cut the crap Loki. You've got no leverage here. We have you locked in a box, and we threw away the key. You're going to tell us where the tesseract is."
"Am I?" Loki asked, raising an eyebrow. He stopped in front of her again, and leaned in slightly, his bright eyes narrowing. "Are you going to make me, Agent Ridge?"
Salem was taken aback slightly at the mention of her name, but remained composed. She didn't think he would remember her. They had fought over a year ago, and even then she wasn't sure they had actually spoken much, let alone introduced themselves.
Seeming to have read her mind, Loki responded. "Oh yes, I know who you are," he pauses, a small smile growing on his face. "Agent Barton has quite a fondness for you. At least he did, before I showed him the truth."
Salem shakes her head, her patience wearing thin. The mention of Clint had made her blood run cold. "Enough, Loki. I'm tired of your games."
Salem took a step toward the cell, placing a hand on the glass which separated them. It was cold to the touch. She figured Fury wouldn't want her doing this, but she didn't really care about his opinion anymore. He wanted her to use her powers after all, so she was going to use her powers.
Loki took a step back and watched her, a curious look on his face. Salem blinked, and with one step, walked through the glass which separated her from Loki. She stood face to face with him now inside the cell, close enough that she could smell his scent, like fresh mint and cedar.
Loki took another step back, obviously surprised at Salem's trick. "I'm impressed," he said, raising his hands. He smiled slightly. "What are you, a witch?"
Salem glared at him. She ignored his question, instead asking several of her own. "What are you doing, Loki? What could you possibly hope to accomplish by this? You would have been smart to have stayed away, continuing to let Asgard think you dead. Why come back now?"
Loki leaned against the cell wall casually, as though this were a conversation between two friends. "I met someone," he replied as he examined his nails, his expression light. "And he showed me the truth."
"What is this truth?"
"That I am a king," Loki said quickly, his voice growing in volume. "And that I have every right to rule as my brother does. So why not start with his beloved Earth?" Loki raised an eyebrow at Salem.
Salem shook her head, unconvinced. "Who is this mystery person? The same person who allowed you to be captured? Who let the Avengers beat the shit out of you?" she scoffed. "Some friend."
From Loki's expression it was clear that she had hit a nerve. His jaw clenched, and she saw his fists tighten at his sides. She was suddenly very aware of how close he had gotten to her, and in a moment of weakness Salem glanced up at the camera in the corner of the cell. Loki followed her gaze.
"Ah," he chuckled slightly, backing away. "So my brother is still watching." Loki looked back at Salem, his gaze lingering. "They must not trust a girl to interrogate a god."
Salem had really had enough now. Loki was right, Thor and Fury were surely watching their every move through the camera, and as long as Loki knew that he wasn't going to give away anything. She made a quick decision. Salem shifted her weight, and decided to try a new tactic. She lowered her open hands to her sides, her palms facing the floor. She kept her eyes on Loki, who was standing before her with a puzzled expression. A dark mist began to emerge from her outstretched palms, covering the floor of the cell. Salem twisted her hands slightly, and the mist spread to the walls, climbing up to the ceiling. The camera in the corner of the cell was now covered in a dark fog, as was the rest of the cell. Salem smiled at Loki's shocked expression. Now no one could see them.
"How about some privacy?" she asked, cocking her head to one side. "We have five minutes before they can get that door open," she said, gesturing to the locked cell door. "It's just me and you."
Loki looked around anxiously, his calm composure momentarily disrupted. He looked to one side, and Salem saw a flash of something on his face. She squinted, trying to get a closer look. At first glance she thought he seemed to be wincing, as though he was in pain. She noticed something on the side of his cheek, the one facing her.
Were those - burns?
It looked like the left side of Loki's face was covered in burn marks, his flesh peeled back exposing pink tissue underneath. Salem remembered the screams she heard when she had tried to reach him earlier.
What was going on?
Before she could fully process what she was seeing, Loki turned to face her again, and whatever she saw was gone.
Salem slowly took a step closer to Loki, her movements cautious. When she spoke her voice was softer. "What happened to the scared boy I saw on Asgard, who begged for his father's forgiveness? Where is he now?"
Loki's expression twisted, his eyes glowing blue. "He died when he fell off the bifrost," Loki hissed through his teeth.
Salem felt raw emotion radiating off of him, and all her senses told her to run, to leave this cell right now and to never look back. She was here, prey for the predator, and even with all her strength she was still finding herself terrified of Loki. Terrified of his inability to regulate his emotions, terrified of what he might do to her given the opportunity. Maybe covering the camera was a bad idea. She swallowed deeply and fought down the urge to escape. Salem leaned in toward Loki, fighting to keep her voice level.
"I don't think he did," she says quietly. "I think he's in there somewhere, lost."
Loki was growing pale and shaky right before Salem's eyes. Like a man overcome with illness, a leper. Loki stabilized himself against the cell wall. He looked at Salem with a pained expression.
"It's too late," he whispered, shaking his head.
Salem looked at Loki, her eyes widening. She couldn't understand what she was seeing. What was going on with him? His confidence from moments ago was replaced with fragility, a look which seemed out of place for the god of mischief.
Salem felt a moment of genuine concern for Loki. Reaching out with her powers, she tried to connect with him like she had several days ago. If she could just understand what he was experiencing, Salem thought she could reel him back in. But she's met with resistance, as though a wall had been constructed around Loki's inner thoughts.
Concentrating, Salem pressed on, urging herself to dig deeper into Loki's consciousness. But she found that the resistance grew stronger, like something was actively fighting against her and keeping her out. She felt a familiar burning sensation creep up through her body, as though her veins were suddenly on fire.
Salem gasped, retreating in defeat. She shook her head slightly, looking up at Loki. "It's never too late."
With a shiver, Loki's demeanor changed once more. He cracked his neck to the side, his eyes closing for a moment. When he opened them again, he stood upright, his back straight and firm. He towered over Salem, a menacing look in his eyes. The dark mist which had been obscuring the camera's view was beginning to fade. "Time's up," Loki snarled.
Salem turned away from Loki and stepped through the glass cell wall, unable to look at him any longer. "You must truly be a monster," she said softly.
Loki chuckled. "No Agent Ridge," he said, his voice lowering. "You brought the monster."
Salem stopped in her tracks, her ears perking up. She turned her head slightly back toward Loki.
Gotcha.
"So," she said calmly, turning to face him again. "That's your play. Banner."
Loki blinked, seemingly dumbfounded by what she had just said. "What?"
Salem began walking toward the door to the hangar . She reached up to her ear, pressing on a hidden earpiece tucked behind her hair. "Loki means to unleash the Hulk," she said. "Keep Banner in the lab, I'm on my way."
Loki watches her walk away, a stunned expression still on his face. Salem stopped at the door, turning to look back at him in his cell. She had successfully outtricked the trickster, and she couldn't help but to gloat just a little bit.
"Thank you," she said with a small bow, the corners of her mouth turning up slightly as she spoke. "For your cooperation."
With nothing more, Salem left the hangar , leaving Loki alone in his cell once again. She shuddered. Salem had gotten the information she needed, but she was also leaving with more questions than she had started with.
Questions, to which she was determined to find answers to.
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Loki watched as Salem Ridge walked through the door, leaving him alone once again. He gasped, his chest tight with the pain of maintaining his image for so long. He shook off the illusion he'd cast, revealing burns across his face. With a wave of his hand, he cast a charm on the camera in the corner of the cell, ensuring any onlookers would be unable to tell the difference from his appearance moments ago.
He had come so close to giving himself away, and he knew he would be punished for it. He could already feel the Other's dark magic flowing through his veins, a hot sensation sweeping across his body. He grimaced, clutching the wall for support as the sensation intensified.
Loki had been shocked by the kindness of Salem Ridge. He had truly expected to be tortured by her hand, or at the very least berated by her for his actions. But she seemed almost... concerned with the god's wellbeing. He thought of the way her eyes looked when he came close to confessing the truth. When he had almost told her that he was not entirely in control. She had looked up at him with eyes that were green and unwavering, like two pools of emerald gazing up at him. Even his aggressive behavior was not enough to bring her to tears.
He was only mostly disappointed by that.
Even still, her show of prowess was impressive, even he had to admit that. The god couldn't help but find himself mildly intrigued by the little witch, her mysterious presence still lingering with him even now that he was alone. He could see why his brother had kept her around, she had likely proved useful to the stupid oaf.
Yet with all her clever banter, with her mystical skill, the woman had still fallen for Loki's final trick. While it was true he had been antagonizing the Avengers in hopes of releasing the Hulk, she had gotten it all wrong.
Bruce Banner was never the play, as it were.
She was.
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Author's note: oooOOOooooo