Loki's Last Chance: The Chosing of a King

First Impressions

Mari POV

I twisted the handle and opened the door.

"Hello, gentlemen. What do I owe the pleasure?" I greeted the three men in black suits and the handful of armed men behind them, effectively blocking their view of Loki.

"Good morning, ma'am. Agent Ronan, Martin, and MacDonald of SHIELD." The one with the sandy blonde hair started as they all pulled out their badges. "We are looking for this man," he pulled a picture of Loki out of his jacket pocket for me to see. "have you seen him?"

I must have looked a bit confused or guilty, though I tried to look quite indifferent, because they looked to each other.

"May we come in, ma'am?" Agent Ronan asked, stepping closer to the door.

I flicked my right wrist that was hidden behind the door to signal that Loki should move back to the TV room. I had planned for this eventuality and didn't care that they would find him. Opening it wide, I stepped aside to let the men in.

With them inside, I closed the door and quickly grabbed a plastic card from my coat pocket. They found him, with me close behind, in the TV room staring at the screen. It was depicting the ferocious face of the Beast as he fought Gaston. There was something in his eyes that I couldn't decipher and his gaze was back to the cold.

"We were told you would be here, sir. Would you care to come with us?" The bigger of the three men asked, I believe he was agent Martin.

I stepped between them, mustered all my courage, and held the card up for them to see.

"Mari of Asgard, SHIELD agent level 15." I could feel Loki's confusion at my back and see the shock on the men's faces.

"You are lying! The levels only go to ten." MacDonald protested.

"Then you must be a level 8 or less." I retorted. "If you are taking him in, I am coming with. He is under my supervision."

They grudgingly agreed and Loki was escorted out of the house by the three men with me following behind. From there the group of armed men surrounded him and led Loki to an armoured vehicle where I joined him.

We sat side by side with six of the soldiers in the back of the van as it drove onward. We would be taken to the airport were a jet was waiting to take us to the Hellicarier. Loki had been handcuffed and was emotionless as he avoided looking at me.

I grabbed his hand and tried opening the mind link we used to have.

What are you doing? He asked mentally.

Opening the mind link. We're going to need it to communicate in the presence of the 'Avengers' and SHIELD agents. I thought back.

The mind link is a mental connection that can run between powerful Asgardians that allows them to communicate over far distances without making a sound. Loki, Thor, and I used to use the connection constantly when we were young, but when Loki stopped talking to me he also broke the link.

He allowed the link to open and I felt the little barrier disappear.

So you have been an agent of SHIELD this whole time? Was it your plan to hand me over to them? I could feel the hurt in his thoughts so strongly that I physically flinched a bit.

Never! They wouldn't have known you were here if we hadn't been so out in the open yesterday. Yes, I have been an agent since SHIELD started, but all I do for them is guide them along. I would never sell you out to them, and I will keep you safe if not get us out of this. I gave his hand a little squeeze to assure him of my sincerity. Anyway, I'm less an agent and more a person of high interest. They can't risk me working against them.