Shadowfax (An Avengers fanfic)

Patrol

Jade's fingers scrabbled against the cold spear of metal embedded in her side, fingers slick with scarlet blood. Thinking better of it, her hand fell away as she realized she had nothing to staunch the bleeding once it was out. "Trouble?"

Jade spun on her heels, her eyes narrowing at the snide form of Loki slumped against the wall on the far side of the room. Her eyes blazed a warning, then the fire died again just as quickly when the room began to spin. She groaned, sinking down onto the floor. As she sat there, lying in wait for the Avengers to save her again (something that appeared to be becoming a habit, she realized) her thoughts drifted back to the events of the morning, and how it had come to this.

...

Earlier that day, Sphinx had managed to convince Jade that she needed to join Tony and Steve when they decided to check up on how things were doing at their training facility. Her argument, it seemed, was that it might have been a good idea to meet the infamous Scarlet Witch, the similarities between she and Sphinx's powers being what they were.

Reluctantly, Sphinx had agreed. Of course, she had never expected JARVIS to start wigging out because a Norse demigod had crashed into a local accounting firm- and it wasn't the good demigod either. Needless to say, she wasn't exactly thrilled to be turning deep into the heart of New York City. Every second meant HYDRA was more likely to find her, and the target sign on her back continued to get bigger and bigger.

To make matters worse, the force of Loki's crash had weakened the infrastructure of the entire firm, bringing the skyscraper down on top of her. Stark and Steve, to busy with evacuating the building, had been powerless to help. On the bright side, everyone else had gotten safely out of the building. On the not-so-bright side, Jade had been left trapped under a giant mound of unstable rubble with a demonic son of Odin. Whoop-dee-do.

...

Jade's eyes were slowly getting heavier and heavier, her limbs feeling as if they were made of lead. Loki, looking only a bit better than herself, watched her with a gaze reflective of that of a hungry cat's. She glared back at him avidly, a bit of her fire returning as she grew defensive. "Don't come one bloody inch closer."

Loki rolled his eyes, wincing as he straightened up against the wall. "I wouldn't dream of it. Not that I'm in any sort of condition to do anything to you," he added. He flinched as the metal above them shifted, making a sound strongly akin to thunder. Jade's eyebrow flitted up. "Skittish, are we? You and 'brother dearest' not the best of mates?" Her smug expression lasted only a few minutes, the metal in her side demanding her attention once more.

"We're not overly fond of each other, no," Loki responded. Jade scoffed, picking at he ground to distract herself from the pain. "Aye, I know what that's like. My own blood family ain't terribly fond of one another either," she admitted.

Loki laughed at her, the sound strangely intriguing to the young teleporter. "So that's it then? You're another ridiculous outcast the Avengers took in like a stray dog?" He sneered at her.

Jade snorted. "Oh, come down off that pedestal of yours, mate. I don't think it'll support the weight of that enormous ego much longer." She shifted, grunting as the metal twisted around inside her. 'Brilliant, I'll likely receive tetanus after this.'

"The truth is, I won't be staying after this bloody mess. After this lovely seen you've caused, HYDRA's going to be all over New York. I think I'll likely brush up on my french and drag my team off to France. Sphinx's been dying to see the Eiffel Tower again. Lord, I loathe HYDRA." Her head fell back against the wall with a 'thunk' as another wave of dizziness hit her.

Loki looked at her curiously. "May I ask why?" He tilted his head slightly to the side. Jade shot him a wary look, then, shrugging, straightened a bit. "Well, when I was a young lass of about thirteen, I got into a bit of a car accident. Both my parents were killed instantly, and my brother was passed out beside me. Before the police arrived, two of HYDRA's goons showed up and yanked me out of the car. One knocked me on the head." Jade swallowed hard, the memory hitting home.

"When I came to, I was strapped down to a gurney, and there were doctors in white lab coats surrounding me." The muscles of her jaw worked angrily. "The white lab coats are the thing I remember the most. They were covered in blood, my blood, when I woke up again." Jade had to pause again, and she wondered suddenly why she was telling Loki this. She continued, albeit a little guarded this time.

"I was in that hole for two years before I got out. I was their perfect little monster; their killing machine. When they told me to bring Sphinx and Nutsy- my teammates -in though, something was different. It felt like something had woken up inside me, and I was myself again. So I grabbed them, and I took off. We've been looking over our shoulders for the last six years because of it." She cleared her throat. "Well, that surmises virtually my entire life. What brings you to Midgard, oh mighty 'Son of Odin?'"

Loki raised an eyebrow. "And why, little mortal, would I ever feel inclined to explain my divine intentions to the likes of you?" His lips curled into a smug smile, and Jade suddenly found enough strength to send a pebble-sized chunk of cement flying at his head, her eyes flashing a dull red. She sent him an equally smug grin.

Loki sighed, narrowing his eyes. "It doesn't matter anyway, I suppose. Truthfully, I have no idea. I was passing through the worlds when the portal closed in front of me. In fact, the impact was rather unpleasant."

"You hurt? Try have'in a hunk of bloody metal in your bleed'in side. It's not exactly ideal, mate," Jade hissed, indicating her bloody side. Loki rolled his eyes at her. "You mortals are so...delicate."

"Says the Norse demigod who got his arse handed to him by the big and green boy," Jade slammed back. "Not to mention you failed- more than once -to take over an Earth protected by five angsty 'heroes' with serious teamwork issues. Shall I continue, my dear lad?"

Loki, giving her a distasteful glare, opened his mouth to reply; but he was forestalled by the shifting of rubble above them. A tentative "Jade?" filled the cavern. Jade sighed in relief as the familiar voice of Peter Parker made its way towards her; Loki pressing closer to the wall. "I'm here," the Scottish lass yelled back.

As Spidey's foot snaked into view, Jade put up her hand without a second thought, using the last of her energy to send Loki outside. She faded from consciousness almost immediately, Peter's arms lifting her from the ground.

                                                                                                ...

Outside the building, Loki sat, confused as to why the young Scottish teen had concealed him. He ran his fingers furiously through his hair. This was no time for frivolous curiosity.