Loki Imagines

Proving It (Part Two)

Thus one of the best or worst decisions of Loki's life is set into motion. Sometimes, he can't decide whether or not falling in love with Y/N L/N was good or bad- it makes him feel more alive than he ever has, certainly, but it makes him want to take such risks that he might as well be dead. He's never felt anything quite like this, but he's fairly certain that it would be impossible to feel this sort of rush with anyone else.

The other Avengers come to accept it over time. Technically, team members aren't supposed to date each other, but Nat and Bruce broke that rule a while back, and it's been ignored ever since. Besides, Loki is pretty sure that the others are fine with them dating as long as it means Y/N doesn't use her godly powers to attack them again. That first fight still sticks in their mind as an example of who not to anger.

Loki finds that he's doing well, anyway. Falling in love with Y/N is like swimming out in the deepest, wildest stretches of the ocean. The water is cold enough to shock him, but he keeps diving in. Sure, he might sink beneath the surface and get dragged down to his death, but she's there swimming with him too. Whether they make it to safety or drown together, Loki will never know until it happens. Some fates are worth exploring.

He doesn't have much time to ruminate on the finer points of romance, though. A few weeks after Y/N reveals her true fighting ability as the Goddess of Bloodlust for the first time, Fury calls in the Avengers for an emergency meeting. Loki has only been to a few of these before, and every time, it isn't good. He finds Y/N beforehand, just in case, and they walk together to the briefing room. She doesn't know what it's about either, but she can sense that something is wrong, just as he can. The other higher-level S.H.I.E.L.D. officials fake their smiles a little too well for everything to be alright.

One long wooden table waits for them in the briefing room. Steve and Natasha are trading theories closer to the front, while Clint watches them. Tony is trying to convince Thor that sending ravens is not an acceptable form of communication when it comes to life-or-death scenarios, although Loki can tell that the billionaire's heart isn't in it. Stark is just looking for a distraction from the glower on Director Fury's face, same as everyone else.

Loki and Y/N take a seat near the back of the table, side by side. Director Fury begins the meeting by putting up an image on a screen near the front of the room. It's a security still from outside a building Loki recognizes as being a suspected HYDRA facility. What gets Loki's attention most of all is the fact that the people entering the building are the same inhumans Y/N just killed a few weeks ago, and that the photo is dated as having been taken yesterday. That, however, doesn't make sense, because-

"That can't be true. Those guys should be dead." Tony is the first one to speak, and the other Avengers nod in agreement. Fury just shakes his head. "That's what we all want to say, but it's real. We have multiple photos and videos, and they all show the same guys. Somehow, they survived." All eyes slowly turn from the security still to Y/N, the one who should have killed them.

However, she looks just as confused as everyone else. "That's impossible. I know they were dead. I sent their souls to my father. HYDRA can't bring them back, no matter how advanced their technology. I mean, I ripped out the heart of the guy in the front of that photo. How do you patch up a gaping hole in his chest?" Fury's glare deepens. "I was hoping you would have an answer for that. We've received intel that HYDRA is using superhuman methods to bring back their soldiers. Energy signatures from their facilities were similar to your powers."

Y/N's face hardens in an instant. "If you are suggesting that I had anything to do with this, Director Fury, I would reconsider your angle. I killed those men, as you well know. I am not responsible for bringing them back." Fury holds up his hands. "I know. The signature isn't yours, it's slightly different, and in between yours and those of Thor and Loki. I have a theory that it's something to do with the gods, I just don't know which ones."