Into the Unknown

Why Don't You Do Right

Kari and Finn quickly got used to life on Earth. Finn even got a job working with Happy since he was a guard and he was happy for the work. And Kari had gotten a job working in the little coffee shop on the first floor. Loki and Finn ate dinner with me and Kari pretty much every night except for when the two lovebirds went out on their "date nights." They were really cute together. I was showing Kari the Disney movies.

She was a hopeless romantic so she adored them. On the nights when they went on dates, it was just me and Loki. I secretly called it our "date nights" even though we were not together. And I had introduced him to all kinds of different candy. Even played a prank on him by giving him a warhead. I laughed till I had tears streaming down my face and I couldn't breathe.

Loki in turn, pranked me by making my food taste like pickles for a week straight. I hate the taste and smell of pickles.

The next couple of months proved to be stressful. Loki, of course, got bored with being stuck in the tower and so he resorted to playing pranks on everyone.

"Miss, Gryffindor, you are needed in the lab. And I'm afraid it's rather urgent." JARVIS says one day.

I stand up and make my way to the elevator and the AI sends me to Tony's lab. When the doors open I am greeted by the sight of Tony breathing heavily. I think he is having another panic attack.

"Tony! Are you ok? What's wrong?" I run over to him.

He gestures to the lab. "It's all gone!" He gasps.

I look around and indeed, the lab is completely empty. All of his suits, tools, everything is gone.

"What the...?" I stop as I look up. "JARVIS can you see if everything is still here?" There is no way someone would be able to just steal everything from the lab.

"Gryffin...what do you mean?" Tony pants.

"My scans still show that everything's in its place, Ma'am." JARVIS confirms.

I look at Tony and give him an uneasy smile. He stares at me in confusion before he realizes what has happened and his face turns into a furious one.

"LOKI! I KNOW YOU CAN HEAR ME! GET DOWN HERE!" He yells.

Loki appears with a bored look on his face.

"You rang?" His voice is one of nonchalance and boredom.

Tony scrambles off the floor and marches up to Loki.

"BRING THEM BACK NOW!" He roars.

Loki shrugs. "I have no idea what you mean."

Tony's look turns even more deadlier, so I step up to Loki and lay a hand on his arm.

"Loki, please?" I say gently.

He looks at me then sighs. With a flick of his wrist the lab is covered in a green sheen and everything reappears. Tony lets out a sigh of relief before rounding on Loki again.

"You're on thin ice, Reindeer Games!" He glares at Loki.

I run a hand down my face.

"It's just a bit of fun." Loki says before disappearing.

Tony lets out a grunt of frustration and walks into his lab.

"He's just bored, you know?" I follow after him.

Tony glares at me and I sigh again.

"Look, how would you feel if you were trapped in a building and not allowed outside? He's just trying to keep himself entertained."

"And what do you suggest I do? Let him out?" Tony snaps.

I shrug. "Couldn't hurt." At his shocked face I continue. "Why not make him an Avenger? Send him on supervised missions with SHIELD or the other Avengers. It would get him out..."

"And what if he runs? Or worse?" Tony asks.

"He won't. And if he does, then you can put me in the cage you built for him." I state.

Tony is quiet for a long while. "I'll think about it." He mutters quietly.

I give him a relieved smile and start to leave the lab.

"Does he become one in the movies?" Tony calls after me.

I stop and look down thinking of the beginning of Infinity War. "For a brief moment, he does." I say softly, then leave.

"JARVIS, send me to where Loki is, please." I say once I'm back in the elevator. The AI responds and drops me off at the floor that is nothing but an entire library. I find Loki sitting on one of the chairs reading. I sit next to him and he closes the book.

"I was just having a bit of fun." He says defensively.

"It was pretty funny, but try not to give the poor man a heart attack. You're going to make him have to put another arc reactor in his chest." I giggle.

Loki lets out a bored sigh and I frown. "So, I talked to him about letting you out some."

He looks at me with surprise and hope in his eyes.

"On the condition that you become an Avenger." I say.

Honestly I am expecting him to get mad, sad, or even disgusted at the idea of becoming one, but instead he just looks surprised.

"I mean, Tony didn't immediately agree, he just said that he would think about it, and you would be going with other Avengers or SHIELD agents so you wouldn't be doing anything solo yet, but it would at least let you go outside." I ramble.

He shifts in his seat, a mask of indifference coming over his face. "If that is what it takes, I guess I can suffer working with them."

I smile at him. Whether the idea has made him happy or disgusted I don't know, but at least I knew that he was happy about being let outside.

Later that week, I wake up with a start, my heart pounding and drenched in sweat. I check my arms and sides, seeing the faint scars I let out a sigh. I had dreamed that I was back in that chair. Strapped while Rumlow and that Doctor stood over me, laughing while they repeatedly shocked me with those batons.

I wipe the tears away and walk into the bathroom. I splash some cold water on my face and take some deep breaths. My heart is still pounding when I re-enter the bedroom. I look at my bed and frown. I can't go back to sleep right now. I grab a robe and leave. On shaky legs I wander through the apartment not really knowing where I'm going. I wrap my arms around myself and find myself in the elevator. I hit a random button and step out when the doors open again.

I realize that I'm in the library and I look around.

"Little One? What's wrong?" I hear Loki say next to me.

I turn to look at him. "Oh Loki, I didn't know you were here. I'll...I'll leave so I won't disturb you."

I turn back to enter the elevator when Loki stops me by gently grabbing my arm. He turns me to face him and he raises his hand and wipes away some more tears.

"You're not disturbing me, Little One." He says softly.

"Are you sure?" I ask him.

"I'm sure." He gently leads me over to the couch. "Come here. Want me to read to you?"

I just nod as I lay my head on his shoulder and tuck my legs underneath me on the couch.

"What are you doing here in the library?" I ask him as he puts his arm around me.

"Finn and Kari were becoming a little too loud." He smirks at me.

"Oh." I say. Well, at least they're having some fun.

Loki opens his book and begins to read from the book he was reading. I stay awake for another hour mostly fighting sleep as I listen to him reading but I finally give in. A sense of calm and peace comes over me as I drift off to sleep.