Merciful [A Loki Fanfiction]

In the Beginning

Merciful

Chapter Eleven: In the Beginning

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Last Chapter:

The final battle begins soon, Laufeyson. Remember whose side you are on.

Jaida

When I had expelled the dark mood from myself, I felt a familiar presence in my mind, something I had felt before, in the spar with Thor.

"Get out of my head, Loki," I said calmly, causing Nat and Clint to do a double take, and Loki to recoil. I saw slight surprise and confusion on his face, and I wondered what he had seen. Instead of dwelling on it, however, I straightened up and acted as if nothing had happened.

"I suppose we should call Fury back," I said. "He can have someone question Tri."

"Sounds good," Clint said, voice slightly shaky. That scared me slightly. Nat and Clint had never seen me at my worst, and I think they sometimes forgot who I had been, and who I had grown up as for thirty years. It wasn't something I was proud of, but it wasn't something I could forget or misplace. It was a part of me.

The first thing Fury did when he returned was ask why there was blood on his carpet - and my hands.

"We had a small… vermin issue," Loki said silkily.

"Do we need containment?" Fury looked around the room, as if Tri would be tied up in the corner.

"Natasha has him." Natasha tossed Fury the case, and he caught it, turning it curiously. "I… convinced him to remain in his mouse form."

Loki snorted. Fury looked at him questioningly, but he just shook his head.

"Sir," I said. "You should probably have him questioned immediately. If I know the Red Room, they'll be acting soon."

Fury nodded. "Sounds good. I've already alerted everyone to your current state of living and non-compromised, so you're free to wander. Keep an eye out for anything suspicious. Got it?"

I nodded, accepting the dismissal, and Loki and I left. With nothing planned, we simply wandered around, ending up near the training area. I felt a strong sense of déjà vu, especially when I saw Coulson's team there; which meant Ward.

"Oh, joy," I muttered. Loki gave me a questioning look. "Ward. Want to go-"

"Liao!" I swear, that man was begging for a fight. "Finally come crawling back? How was the enemy? Did you bring them flowers?"

"Ward," said a girl warningly. "What are you doing?"

He muttered something to her, and then turned to me. "Liao, a few years back, you promised me a, what was it, a killer fight. What better time than now?"

"There are a whole lot of better times," I said stiffly. "If you hadn't heard, we are at war. Agents are falling like flies; I would hate to make you fall sooner."

"Sooner. Alright, that-"

"Ward, I don't think that's a good idea." I nodded gratefully at Melinda May, but she only narrowed her eyes.

Loki whispered in my ear. "Jay. Walk. Away." I jumped slightly when I heard him call me by my nickname.

Ward snorted when I turned away. "Now what? You'll just take commands from a freaking serial killer?"

In ten seconds flat, Ward was on the ground, my foot resting lightly on his throat.

"You're getting on my nerves, Ward," I hissed. "For ten years now, you've been pushing my buttons. I can't decide if you're the annoying ex, or the creepy boyfriend-wannabe. You know what? I'm sick. I am sick of no one trusting me, just because of a tiny detail of my past. Why me? Natasha was in the exact same position, and yet, here she is today, one of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s most trusted agents. Why am I so different?"