Loki: The Burden of the Throne

Chapter 26

"Mr. Secretary..." Fury acknowledged the graying blond older man in the suit standing behind a desk as he entered the wood panelled office along with Hank Pym.

"We need to have a talk." Alexander Pierce, Secretary of the World Security Council said to Fury, sounding more than a bit tense and displeased with S.H.I.E.L.D.'s director.

"Funny, I was about to say the same thing." Fury replied, he and Pym sitting in the two chairs in front of Pierce's desk.

"This was supposed to be a private meeting." Pierce eyed Pym.

"The prodigal son has returned home. Mr. Pym's been consulting with us on a project, one that's paramount for the future of S.H.I.E.L.D. He also assisted us in the search for the Tesseract."

"Which is precisely the reason I called you here. What the hell were you thinking? You just handed it over to him?"

"I didn't hand over shit. It was Rogers' call. I just didn't argue with him. He's seen the other side of the coin firsthand. We didn't walk away empty handed. The information Asgard's shared with us is going to keep us busy for a long time and solve some of the same problems. In fact I already have a team working through it, headed by one of the top physicists in the world who believes in what we're doing so much that he agreed to come on board even after we threw his ass in a cell." Fury paused for a moment, "It's time to move on to other things. Which is where Mr. Pym comes in..." Fury pulled the tablet from the inside pocket of his black leather coat, calling something up on its screen before setting it on Pierce's desk, pushing it towards him.

"What's this?" Pierce asked.

"Names...of Hydra agents that have infiltrated S.H.I.E.L.D." Fury said as Pym stood "Guess who's name is at the top of the list."

Pym reached out, grabbing Pierce by the hair and slamming his face into the desktop. Stunned and dazed, Pierce began to raise his head, blood running from both nostrils of his nose as Fury made his way around the desk, taking hold of the back of Pierce's suit jacket and hauling him up out of his chair to his feet, kicking the chair aside as he moved Pierce's hands behind his back and cuffed him.

"How was that?" Pym asked.

"I'm gonna pull the cam footage...think I'm gonna kick back tonight, have a few drinks and watch it on a loop. You're welcome to join me." Fury replied to Pym.

"I might just take you up on that." Pym said as Fury pushed the still woozy Pierce forward towards the door.

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"Mother..." Loki said, rising from the chair within the cell in which he sat, setting the book he had been reading aside on the small round table nearby as he saw Frigga approach the containment field of his cell. "I didn't know if you would come."

"I'm your mother, am I not?" Frigga replied as Loki approached the forcefield.

"No...you're not." Loki said, "I know nothing of my true mother. Do you?"

"No, I do not. Nor does your father."

"Knowing Laufey and Jotuns in general, it's doubtful she was allowed to live long after my birth. It seems from the moment I came into the universe I have heralded death." Loki paused for a moment before continuing, looking into Frigga's eyes. "It was I that murdered Thor." Frigga stood silent and stoic before finally responding to Loki's confession.

"Your will was not your own."

"It was not the first time I had tried, only the first time I was successful. I committed other crimes in my own time before she came for me."