Beyla - Loki

Through Glass

Thor leapt into the air, Mjolnir raised high. Captain America crouched, bracing himself with his shield. When hammer met vibranium, a massive implosion of light erupted, the shockwave blasting through the forest and leveling everything within a mile.

Tony Stark slowly got to his feet, surveying the wreckage. Beside him, Captain America lay on the ground, shield still raised, eyes locked firmly on Thor.

From the smoke, Beyla landed lightly on her feet, her voice carrying sharp authority as she looked between them.
"Gentlemen... are we done here?"

⸻

Loki sat imprisoned in the helicarrier, his cuffs gone but body now contained within a vast glass cell suspended by hydraulic rigs. Fury approached the control panel, his voice low and firm.

"In case it's unclear-you try to escape, you so much as scratch that glass..." Fury pressed a button, and a hatch beneath the cell opened. Wind roared up from the dizzying drop below. "Thirty thousand feet, straight down in a steel trap. You get how that works?"

He shut the hatch, his one eye pinning Loki. "Ant." He jabbed a finger toward Loki. "Boot."

Loki smirked, his voice smooth even through the thick glass. "It's an impressive cage. Not built, I think, for me."

"Built for something a lot stronger than you."

"Oh, I've heard," Loki drawled, turning his head toward the security cameras. He knew exactly who was watching. "The mindless beast makes play he's still a man. How desperate are you, that you call upon such lost creatures to defend you?"

"How desperate am I?" Fury shot back. "You threaten my world with war. You steal a force you can't hope to control. You talk about peace, and you kill because it's fun. You have made me very desperate. You might not be glad that you did."

Loki's smile curled sharper. "Ooh. It burns you-to come so close. To have the Tesseract, to have power, unlimited power. And for what? A warm light for all mankind to share... and then to be reminded what real power is."

"Well, you let me know if 'real power' wants a magazine or something." Fury turned on his heel and walked off, leaving Loki smirking at the cameras.

⸻

Beyla sat at the strategy table, head in her hands. "Trouble. So much trouble."

Dr. Banner smirked faintly. "He really grows on you, doesn't he?"

She shot him a tired look. "My problem exactly."

Around the table, the team gathered.

"Loki's gonna drag this out," Steve said. "So Thor, what's his play?"

Thor leaned forward, his tone grim. "He has an army-the Chitauri. They are not of Asgard or any world known. He means to lead them against Beyla's people. They will win him the Earth. And Beyla... shall be his Queen. In return, I suspect, for the Tesseract."

Steve's brow furrowed. "An army? From outer space?"

Beyla snapped her gaze toward him. "I wouldn't get doubtful now, Captain."

"So he's building another portal," Natasha said. "That's what he needs Erik Selvig for."

At the name, Beyla's head turned sharply. Thor's expression confirmed her suspicion.
"Selvig?"

"He's an astrophysicist," Natasha explained.

"Also a friend," Thor added softly.

"And Loki has him under some kind of spell. Along with one of ours," Natasha said, her voice tight.

"I want to know why Loki let us take him," Banner muttered. "He's not leading an army from here."

"I don't think we should be focusing on Loki," Tony cut in. "That guy's brain is a bag full of cats, you can smell crazy on him."

"Have care how you speak," Thor snapped, anger flashing. "Loki is beyond reason, but he is of Asgard-and he is my brother."

Steve's tone was flat. "He killed eighty people in two days."

"He's adopted," Thor added, almost defensively.

The conversation turned toward Iridium, power sources, and Selvig's research. Beyla kept pace, interjecting when asked, though her gaze lingered often on the monitors where Loki's image flickered. When Tony gave her a high five for actually doing the reading, her laugh was short-lived.

⸻

Later, she sat in the observation room, boots propped on the table, eyes fixed on the glass cell where Loki sat. His gaze never left the camera, as though he could see straight through to her.

"I recall a time," his voice echoed over the feed, "when there was nothing that could keep us apart, my love. Have you grown so accustomed to the little ways of living?

Thor spoke softly, "you've removed your ring."

Beyla's chest tightened. She turned to Thor, who sat nearby. "Yes. I have. He is not my husband."

Thor's jaw worked. "Do you think we can sway him?"

She looked back at Loki's blurred figure through the screen, her voice heavy. "Yes. This isn't my Loki. Someone has a hold on him. Someone powerful."

Later, when she passed his cell, their eyes locked through the glass. The weight of his gaze stole her breath, but she forced herself to keep walking, following the sound of Tony and Banner's voices in the lab.

Yet when Loki's voice whispered again-"Beyla, darling, speak with me, please"-she could not resist. Her boots echoed against the grates as she entered.

"You beckoned?"

"I did." He smiled faintly, fingers steepled.

"What do you want?" she asked, arms crossed.

His eyes lifted to hers, fire burning beneath the smugness. "There she is-lecturing me. Beyla, this is for us."

Her heart twisted. "Loki, I don't want any of this! You've killed innocent people-my people. They live freely, and that is how I like them to live."

He scoffed. "Ridiculous. You don't understand. You never will. The darkness I had to crawl through just to get back to you."

Her hand pressed against the glass, desperate. "Who is hurting you, my love?"

But Loki turned away, shoulders stiff. "You can't help me."

Her voice trembled as she whispered through the glass, "I will."