Choose (LokixReader pt. 10)

“Get down!” Natasha screamed as an explosion on the other side of the ship made the craft lurch sickeningly, throwing you against the wall. She steadied herself, “Thor, you know Loki better than anyone, do you think you could track him? Figure out where he’s going?”

The blond god nodded, his cloak and hammer materialising out of nowhere and he turned and strode down the corridor. Natasha looked over at you. You could see the decision on her eyes and shook your head pleadingly.

“Natasha, please,” you said, “don’t leave me.”

“I have to stop him,” she said, as though that explained everything. She grabbed the arm of an agent running by, a man with cropped brown hair and green eyes, “You. Listen to me very carefully. On the flight deck there is a jet, fuelled and ready for take-off. You are going to take her and get her to that jet, do you understand me? She is of the utmost importance right now. You get her to that jet and you protect her at all costs, with your life if necessary. Do you understand me?”

“Yes, ma’am.” The agent said. Natasha let him go and gave you one last look over her shoulder.

“Tasha, no,” you said, “no!” But she was already running down the hall, toward the direction of the explosion. The agent took your elbow.

“Come with me, miss,” he said, “I’ll keep you safe, I promise.” He pulled you after him and soon the two of you were threading your way through the crowded hallways, climbing stairs and making your way up to the flight deck. The agent threw the hatch open and leaped out, giving you a hand out after him.

“This way!” he shouted over the roar of the engines, pointing toward a jet waiting at the end of the runway. You followed him, keeping close behind as you raced across the deck, in between the other jets. You were barely ten feet away from the open door of the aircraft when a lightning bolt crackled across the clear sky and struck the ground behind you. You stopped and turned back, the wind whipping your hair away from your face and forcing you to narrow your eyes to see anything.

“Thor!” you shouted, “What are you doing? I thought you’re supposed to be finding Loki!”

“I am,” he boomed back, glowering at the agent by your shoulder, “Did you truly think to fool me, brother? These mortals cannot see through your glamours, but I can. I know it’s you, Loki!”

You stared back at Thor, wondering if he’d lost his mind, then you heard an only too familiar chuckle from behind you. You looked back at the agent in time to see the golden light encase him, then drop away, leaving Loki’s grinning face in its place. You recoiled, shocked, but his hand darted out to close on your forearm.

“Well done, Thor. Very clever. I must say you’ve gotten smarter,” he said coldly, “not nearly clever enough to beat me, I’m afraid, but at least not quite the brutish beast you were before.”

“What do you think you’re doing?” Thor asked his younger brother, a shade of sorrow in his blue eyes, “What do you seek to gain from this, brother?”

“You cannot imagine what I have planned,” Loki hissed, “There is so much to be gained. And I will have it all.”

“I will stop you,” Thor rumbled dangerously, gripping the handle of his hammer firmly.

“You can’t!” Loki laughed coldly, “You never could.”

You caught a flash of red out of the corner of your eye and Iron Man appeared, hovering above the flight deck, the blasters in his palms humming with power. “Is anyone else getting a feeling of déjà vu? No? How about now? Make your move, Reindeer Games.”

He pointed the blasters directly at the green-cloaked god. Loki, flashing an amused grin, pulled you in front of him, his strong hands holding your shoulders tightly. You let out a gasp of surprise, stumbling slightly as he pulled you against his armoured chest. Iron Man lowered his blasters, “Oh, so not cool.”

“The way I see it,” Captain America shouted, dropping down from the wing of the jet, brandishing his shield, “only a coward hides behind a defenceless woman.”

Your chest swelled indignantly and you were about to snap at him for assuming you were defenceless when you heard a whistling noise getting louder. Loki’s hand suddenly snapped out in front of you, his fingers right at eye-level. You blinked in surprise, and the head of the arrow clenched in his fist came into focus, barely an inch away from your face. You leaned back, against Loki’s chest, trying to get away from the arrow. He tossed the arrow away and, as the wind carried it away from the Helicarrier, it exploded. You saw Hawkeye, kneeling on the top of one of the other jets on the other side of the flight deck and, just as your eyes fell on Natasha, she shouted your name. Loki tightened his grip on you, warningly, and she slowed to a stop next to Captain America when she saw the pain flash briefly across your face.

“Let her go, Loki,” she said, “if you hurt her you’ll only make it worse for yourself.”

“If she’s the only thing keeping you from attacking me,” he said icily, “I don’t think I want to release her just yet.”

“Well, what do you want?” she asked sharply.

“I want to get into this aircraft,” he said quietly, “and I want you to let me fly away.”

“That’s not going to happen,” Nick Fury said from the doorway to the lower decks, “I don’t care whether or not you do have a hostage.”

“You would let her die?” Loki asked softly, challenging him and his conviction.

“In a heartbeat,” Fury said callously.

“You’re lying,” Loki said after a pause, a smirk spreading across his face, “you won’t let her die. You know who she is. You wouldn’t dare stand by and watch me kill her.”

“Maybe not,” Fury said, “or maybe I would. Is that a risk you’re really willing to take?”

There was a moment of silence, no sound except for the soft roar of the engines on the sides of the Helicarrier. Your eyes flicked around the gathered heroes. Most were focused on Loki, behind you, Hawkeye glanced quickly at Agent Romanoff, but Thor was looking right at you. Maybe it was his gaze that prompted you to speak.

“Don’t I get a say in this?” Everyone stared at you, and you pushed Loki’s hands away from your shoulders, taking a step forward so you were in between the opposing forces. “What if I want to go with him?”

Stark nearly fell out of the air, sputtering, catching himself before he crashed and eased himself to a landing. Captain America just about dropped his shield, Hawkeye, not one to show much emotion, looked surprised, and even Fury blinked.

“What are you saying?” Thor asked carefully, taking half a step forward.

“I’m saying you have no right to choose what I am to do,” you said firmly, glancing between the Avengers and the god of mischief, “None of you do.”

“Why would you go with him?” Natasha asked, sounding confused.

“Because he hasn’t lied to me!” you said sharply, “He’s the only one who has even expressed an interest in giving me the answers I need! Why shouldn’t I go with him? You, all of you, have lied to me, told me only what you wanted me to know, or not answered any of my questions. Why should I stay with you?”

“You know what he’s done,” Captain America said, with an expression which told you he was still trying desperately to understand. “And still you’re thinking about going with him?”

“Yes,” you said stubbornly, “I am.”

“Why?” You looked over to the archer, normally so quiet, surprised to hear his gruff voice.

“He’s the only one who can help me figure out who I am.” You said truthfully. The Avengers exchanged baffled looks, except for Thor, whose eyes had never left you. You saw something shining in their blue depths, something that looked uncomfortably close to understanding.

“You know I can’t let you leave,” Fury said quietly.

“The choice isn’t yours to make,” you said, “it’s mine.”

Loki held out his hand to you and you took it. He pulled you to his chest and you felt a whooshing sensation. Just before the scene around you blurred into nothing but smears of swirling colours, you saw him flash a look of cold triumph to his brother. Then, you vanished.