The Man Behind The Lies - Loki x Reader

Chapter 3: A Man Out Of Time

You were sitting inside of the Quinjet, being taken to S.H.I.E.L.D.'s helicarrier. Steve Rogers was sitting near to you, watching footage of the Hulk attacking the university on a tablet.

"We're about forty minutes out from base, ma'am," said the pilot. You muttered a quick 'thank you' before standing up and getting closer to Steve.

"So," he started. "This Doctor Banner was trying to replicate the serum that was used on me?" You nodded with a sigh. Personally, you couldn't understand why someone would put in so much effort to be someone -- or in Banner's case, something -- else.

"A lot of people were," you replied. "You were the world's first superhero. Doctor Banner thought gamma radiation might hold the key to unlocking Doctor Erskine's original formula." You watched as the Hulk roared with fury on the screen, tearing a Jeep apart.

"Didn't really go his way, did it?"

You chuckled, appreciating Steve's humour.

"Not so much," you answered. "When he's not that thing though, he's like Stephen Hawking."

I looked over, smiling, only to see the super-soldier's confused face.

"He's a, uh, he's like a... he's a smart person," you tried to explain. You awkwardly scratched the back of your neck. That could've gone better.

"I've gotta say, though, it's an honor to meet you," you continue. "Phil's gonna lose his shit when he meets you." Steve smiled. "He sort of met you already, though. I mean, he watched you when you were sleeping."

Steve seemed startled. Your eyes widened when you realised what you said. He looked down, then stood up, discarding the laptop.

"I meant, he was there when you were unconscious from the ice," you said, not believing your awkwardness. "Anyway, it's just an honor to have you on board."

"Well, I hope I'm the man for the job."

You furrowed your eyebrows slightly. "You are, don't worry. By the way, we've made a few modifications to your uniform. Coulson had a little design input."

"The uniform?" Steve frowned. "Aren't the stars and stripes a little... old fashioned?"

"With everything that's happening, the things that are about to come to light, Coulson thought that people might just need a little old fashioned," you replied.

A short while later, we landed on the massive battleship that we called the helicarrier. It had two runways, one of which had direct access to the hangar. Both were swarming with officers.

You and Steve walked down the ramp, bumping into Natasha Romanoff.

"Agent Romanoff, Captain Rogers. Captain Rogers, Agent Romanoff," you introduced them. As she was quite close to Clint, you had been friends with Natasha for quite some time.

"Ma'am," Steve said in acknowledgement. 

"Hi," Nathasha replied, before turning to you. "How are you holding up?" 

"About the same as you, I would assume," you answered, knowing that she was referring to Barton. She gave you a sad smile. 

The three of you walked together, towards the railing of the ship.

"There was quite the buzz around here, finding you in the ice," Natasha said to Steve. "I thought Coulson was gonna swoon. Just wait till he asks you to sign his Captain America trading cards."

"Trading cards?" he replied, confused. You laughed lightly.

"They're vintage, he's very proud," you added.

Looking around, you see Bruce Banner stumbling around, extremely nervous. He kept walking into other people, before spotting your group. 

"Doctor Banner," Steve said, shaking his hand.

"Oh, yeah," he mumbled. "Hi. They told me you'd be coming."

"Word is you can find the cube," the blonde continued.

"Is that the only word on me?" asked Bruce, slightly uncomfortable.

"Only word I care about," he answered. You smiled at the two men getting along.

"Must be strange for you, all of this," Bruce said, gesturing around your group. 

" Well, this is actually kind of familiar."

"Gentlemen, I hate to interrupt," you smiled, not wanting to make them panic. "But you may want to step inside in a minute. It's gonna get a little hard to breathe."

As if on cue, the helicarrier started shaking beneath you. 

"Is this a submarine?" asked Steve.

"Really? They wanted me in a submerged pressurized metal container?" Bruce panicked. Exactly what you wanted to avoid. 

Four huge fans mounted on the sides of the helicarrier came out of the water and began spinning, lifting it into the air. Steve watched in awe and Bruce smiled. You were also quite excited; you always enjoyed the view from up there, since it was always peaceful. It was especially great when you were trying to read, as there was no background noise or distractions.

"Oh, no," said Banner with a tight smile. "This is much worse."

You suppressed a laugh at his misery, deciding instead to lead your group inside to avoid more panic.

A/N

I hope you've been enjoying the story so far. I know that Loki hasn't really been in the book yet, but that'll change soon. Don't worry, I have plans for a lot of time being spent between the two of you. In the meantime, it's important for me to set up the backstory between you and the others, since you'll also be an Avenger (spoilers (jk)). Anyway, thanks for reading the story so far.