~ Love & Mischief ~ || A Love & Avengers Story

Chapter 4

We all headed back up to the tower, and stood in front of a now conscious again Loki who was slowly sitting up, clearly in some sort of pain or soreness. Not that I regretted that. He deserved it. Thor gripped his hammer, Clint held a readied bow to Loki, and the others seemed ready to fight should Loki do anything. I noticed Loki look around before locking eyes with me, and I narrowed me eyes, almost suspiciously.

"It's over, Loki." I said, and he chuckled as he sat up. I noticed the others notice that we were staring at one another, and it wouldn't surprise me if they suspected something happened between us, not that anything happened. But they didn't know that, and I hadn't had a moment to tell them.

"Oh, believe me. I got the message, love." Loki said, before holding his hands out. Thor stepped forward, and placed a device on his hands causing handcuffs to wrap around his wrists. Thor forced him upright, and we all headed towards the elevator, yelling for Hulk to take the stairs. When we got down, we were met with Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Alexander Pierce who ran the organization. I narrowed my eyes, not sure if I trusted the man. There was something about him that made me not trust him, but I'm not sure why. Thor motioned for me to stand next to Loki, and I nodded understanding why. He didn't trust Pierce either, so he wanted me to grab Loki and run if something happened. I moved over to stand next to Loki, and he went to say something but Thor placed a device on his mouth which made a mouth guard appear, silencing him. Oh thank god. I wasn't sure I would be able to tolerate his babbling that I was sure he would mutter. Pierce demanded Loki and the Tesseract, but I stepped forward, grabbing the Tesseract from Stark. He turned to me, confused, and I just kept my eyes trained on Pierce. His demands for Loki and the Tesseract angered me, and I knew I had to tread carefully.

"The Tesseract does not belong on Earth, and neither does Loki. I'm sure he'll answer for his crimes soon enough. But Earth is not equipped for Loki or the Tesseract." I stated, and everyone was quiet as they turned to look at me. I got this feeling that Thor would want to take Loki and the Tesseract back to where they came from, and it would be safer there than here on Earth. I just didn't trust Pierce to take the Tesseract and use it for his own agenda. Without seeming to think, I made a portal forcing the Avengers, Loki, and the Tesseract through. With a wink at Pierce, I stepped through and got rid of the portal. Nat looked at me, with a raised eyebrow knowing that my read of people was always on point.

"I didn't trust him. So, Thor, what's the plan?" I asked, knowing that he would take Loki and the Tesseract back to Asgard with him.

"So are you taking both Loki and the Tesseract back to Asgard?" Steve asked, to which Thor turned to Steve with a nod. Good. The Tesseract was not worth the chaos that seemed to follow it. Not that I didn't enjoy fighting, but I wasn't sure we would always be ready for whatever enemy the Tesseract brought with it. Thor removed the mouth device from Loki, and tossed it to Steve who easily caught it. Loki's gaze found mine, and I found myself unable to look away.

"Until next time, love." Loki murmured with a smirk, before there was a bright tunnel of light that seemed to suck them up. Once it disappeared, there was a mark on the ground, and I frowned. That seemed familiar. Why did it seem so familiar? When I looked up, everyone was giving me a weary look, seeming to have a lot of questions. I had no doubt they pertained to Loki. Great.

"What did he mean by next time?" Steve asked, and I shrugged, genuinely unsure of what he was talking about. He always seemed to know more than anyone else, which made me think he would be coming back for me, but I wasn't convinced of that either.

"I... I don't know." I said, and Nat narrowed her eyes, studying me. She sensed I was holding something back, and I raised an eyebrow at her, daring her to say something.