Shadow

I slipped around the corner and peeked around the edge. I pulled my head back fast enough, just to get the wind of the arrow flying past me and into the wall a crossed from me. I smirked. "Missed," I chuckled before bolting down the side of the 'building'. Clint, Tasha, and I were in Tony's recently built training room, which was more like a small city. I heard the sound of Tasha's footsteps coming down the alley way was I just about to run past. I kicked my my heels and dove, all her bullets missing me as I tucked myself up and somersaulted onto the ground and continued running. I swung my sniper off my back as I leap up, my right foot pushing me off a stack of garbage cans. I spun and shot twice at Tasha. Both hit her in the chest, leaving orange paint on her black suit. I landed back on the ground and smiled, holding my sniper upwards. She let out a frustrated sigh and walked off. A chuckle came over the intercom.

"And the Black Widow is out!" Tony shouted. "Down to Baby Stark and Legolas. Who will win," he chuckled darkly.

I rolled my eyes, "Way to be an adult about this." I swung my sniper back onto my back and climbed up the ladder of one of the buildings.

"Shut up, Em." Tony grunted.

I couched down, my fingers touching the roof top as I scanned around the buildings. The sunny lights shut off and turned into a night time scene. I rolled my eyes at Tony trying to make it interesting. I blinked a few times, my eyes adjusting well to the new darkness. I spotted movement from a building five stories up and six buildings away. I carefully pulled my bow from my back and notched an arrow. I waited for the movement again and then let go. I followed the arrow as it soared through the air I heard it hit and I waited for Tony's input but it never came. A static came from my ear piece and I pressed it.

"Missed," Clint said over the sound wave.

"Fuck you," I muttered searching for him again. I laid down, pulling my sniper and quiver off my back. I flattened myself down as far as I could against the roof top and just listened. I heard him, running over the roof. The one to my left, I laid still, hidden behind a chimney from where he was coming. He jumped and landed on my roof. He straightened up and notched and arrow as he carefully walked across the roof, careful to make sure he made little noise. I pulled out my knives, their blades had been replaced by wood, so they wouldn't injure Clint. Carefully I pulled my wrist back and flicked it, letting the knife go and hitting Clint square in the chest. He stumbled back, taken by surprise by the sudden impact and I used this time to pull out my pistol and hit him four times in the chest with a green paint. The lights came back on and I stood up, picking up my weapons and smiling at Clint.

"You're sneaky, I'll give you that," he said, a small smirk on his face.

"And Baby Stark is the winner!" Tony cheered over the intercom. "Then again..winning runs through the family."

"Shut up already, Tony," I chuckled following Clint off the roof and out of the room.

"What?" He smiled standing in the doorway. "Good job, Em. You just beat two assassins at their own game." He ruffled my hair.

I rolled my eyes at him as Thor came through the door with his brother behind him. Loki still had his binds on along with his gag. Thor wrapped an arm around Tony's shoulders and proceeded to ask about the remote control that turned on the 'magic pictures'. Loki looked...tired. I frowned as he looked at the floor, almost sad. I saw him twist his hands and saw the metal digging into his wrists. I walked over to him and he straightened up, almost as in saying he was perfectly fine with what was happening to him.

"I see through you're lies," I whispered to him, giving him a knowing look. He glared back at me. I placed my hand on his bonds and he pulled away. I cocked my head, "Don't you want them off?" He raised his eyebrows in surprise but didn't let me touch him. "It's not a test, Loki. All you have to do is promise me you wont try and run." Loki looked down and back at me, he knew he wasn't in any position to run. Or even say he was still a powerful God that he was. He looked over at his brother and Tony. "I'll make you a deal," I said crossing my arms. "I take of your gag and cuffs and you're free to walk and talk around Avengers Tower all you want. Inside, never out unless you're on a balcony. Brake any rules or cause mayhem and they go back on. In return you have to try." His eyebrows pulled together in confusion. "You have to try and see humanity. Become human, feel, Loki. Don't be a stick in the mud, brooding all the time. Have fun. Don't try and take over the world. Make friends, like you're brother," I nodded over to Thor who was laughing with Tony. "And I promise that I'll help you as much as I can." Loki looked down at his cuffed hands. "I see the good in there, Loki. I get it. You're hole trying to take over the world crap. I get it. You were a shadow. Well so was I. And look at me. I didn't try to kill off the human race." I held out my hand, "Showing a little trust is the first step, Loki."

Loki looked at me for a long time before he gave me his bound hands. I placed my hand over the cool metal and closed my eyes. I felt the locks move before the cuffs open. I pulled it away from Loki's wrists and watched him rub his raw wrists. He eyed me as I placed another hand on the gag and again felt the locks move before opening. I set the gag and cuffs on the table. He eyed me carefully and I touched the gun in my holster. Though it wouldn't do much good since it was a practice gun.

"Thank you," he said finally.

"Brother." I heard Thor gasp and Loki's hands flew up in surrender. "How-"

"Emily?" Tony asked.

I looked from Loki to mine brother and his. "We made a deal."

"What sort of deal," Thor hissed, his hammer held up, ready to attack.

I crossed my arms rolling my eyes, "Put the hammer down, Blondie. You obviously weren't paying attention to how much those cuffs were hurting your brother. But I did. So I made a deal with him. The cuffs and gag come off and hes free to roam the inside of the Avengers Tower. Any mishaps or rule braking and the they go back on. And in return he has to try and earn his respect back. He has to feel, become like a human, make friends, blah, blah, blah. Rainbows and ponies." I said setting my training weapons down and grabbing my real gun and knives.

"And you trust him?" Tony asked, clearly angry about my decision but I could see some curiosity behind it.

"Trust is the first step," Loki mumbled sheepishly. Probably not meaning to say it out loud.

"See!" I smiled clapping him on the back, "He's learning already. Come on, I'll show you the library." I said pulling on his arm as I walked by, and letting go as I walked out the door.

"Emily." I stopped and Tony walked up next to me, eyeing Loki before facing me. "Watch yourself."

"Tony, I just took down two trained assassins not twenty minutes ago, I think I can handle a seriously misunderstood God," I smiled ruffling his hair. "Come on," I waved at Loki to fallow, "Library's this way."

******

It has been a few days, and not everyone likes my deal with Loki. In fact, the only one who seemed okay with it was Thor. I knew it hurt Thor to see his brother caged like an animal so having Loki have a little more freedom made him feel better.

Tasha and Clint just about threw me out a window with how loud the shouted at me.

They still aren't talking to me.

Tony was on edge but seemed to get over it. But I always see him with his phone out with the security cameras on Loki. Pepper was frightened by Loki and always walked out of a room he walked in. Which made for awkward dinners.

Bruce is almost always in his lab, so he never really runs into Loki. He was still upset about him walking around freely.

I made Loki swear he wouldn't go on the fifth floor where Bruce's lab was set up.

Steve wasn't at all happy either. He talked loudly at me for about an hour and a half about letting a 'monster' like Loki walk around freely.

I punched him in the face once he said monster and walked out of the room.

Not talking to me either.

Loki seemed to be the only one who willingly talked to me. And even then he said very little. But we had come to an understanding that he didn't need to say a whole lot. A lot of times when I was in my room watching tv or reading he'd come and sit on the couch to read his own book. Sometimes I wondered if he came to my room because he was afraid of everyone else in the tower. He never showed fear though. He never really showed any emotion. Ever.

******

We were sitting in my room. I was flicking through channels, sprawled out on my stomach on the floor as Loki read his book. I stopped on a channel and looked over at Loki. He sat, black faced, just staring at the page. His eyes didn't flick back and forth like he was reading, he was just staring. I watched him. Ten minutes and he hadn't moved.

"Bored?" I asked him. He blinked before looking over at me. "You've been staring at the same page for the past ten minutes, Loki." He looked down at the book before closing it and sighing. I smiled, "Come on." I got up and grabbed my jacket.

"Where are we going?" he asked, not moving from the couch.

"You hungry?" I asked pulling on my shoes.

"A little," he admitted.

"I know a little restaurant down the street that serves good food, let's go," I said hopping up.

"I thought I wasn't allowed out of the tower?" Loki frowned.

I rolled my eyes, grabbing his wrist and pulling him off the couch, "My rules. I say you can go out if I'm there. Now let's go before Tony finds out." I pulled him out the door and into the elevators.

"You're brother is going to murder me," Loki mumbled as I pulled him out the front door of the tower and down the street.

I rolled my eyes, "I bet he doesn't even know we're gone."

"And you're lover?" Loki asked.

"My lover?" I asked raising an eyebrow at him, crossing my arms.

"The one you hit in the face," Loki said raising an eyebrow.

"He's not my lover," I grunted. "I don't have one. Now, lets go before I lose my appetite."

We walked to the restaurant in silence and got a table quickly enough. Loki glanced around, nervously, probably waiting for his brother to burst through the door and smack him with his hammer. I threw a roll at him and his eyes snapped over at me. "What was that for?"

"This is what I mean about being a stick in the mud," I said grabbing another roll and tearing a piece off and putting it in my mouth. "Don't worry about what the others think, Loki. Sure, they wont be happy that we left but they'll get over."

"Before or after the giant green monster smashes me into the floor again?" Loki snapped.

I raised a finger at him, "You want to go home? Do you want your old life back? The one before Thor was sent to Earth? Then act like it! Don't act like a snoot nose brat who wanted a toy in the store because he thought he deserved it. Earn the respect you had, back. You've got to do shit to do that. Sure maybe sneaking out isn't the way to go," he glared, "but it's my fault on that, not yours." I paused. "You wanna know a way to get on the good side of these people? Be helpful. Ask if Tony needs you to do something. Learn how to work the machines. Hell I'll even ask Bruce if you can help him with the serum I need. But you've got to do something that shows you're a good person, Loki." Loki shook his head, sitting back in his seat. "What," I snapped.

"You're too good," he said looking at me. "Don't you see," he hissed leaning over the table at me, "You're trying to fix something that is too far broken. Too far gone. You can't help me, no one can. Not even my brother." He leaned back, a dark look lingering on his face.

I shook my head, "Nothing's too broken, Loki." His eyes trailed up to mine. "It can always be fixed. It may take a while. It may require taring it all apart and starting from the ground up. But it always can be fixed." I sat back as our food arrived. Loki looked at it and poked it with his fork but didn't eat. He still looked unconvinced about being fixed. I reached into my bag, "Here." I held out my closed hand. He placed his open one under it and I let the necklace fall into his hand.

"What is it?" he asked holding the necklace up. It was a locket with a clock in it instead of a picture.

"A promise," I said taking a bite of a fry. "That necklace was my mothers. The one she was wearing in the crash. It was broken. A thousand little pieces. It took me a long time, but I fixed it, with a little help from Tony. But it was fixed. Keep it, until you feel that you've been fixed. And I wont take it until I know you're fixed."

Loki put the locket in his inside jacket pocket, "Thank you."

"So," I said as we began to eat, "What's Asgard like?"

"Pick another subject, please," he said placing a grape in his mouth.

I set down my fork down and pushed my plate away. "No."

"Excuse me?" he asked.

"You need to talk about your past, Loki. Tell me about Asgard." Loki stared down at his plate. "Loki, it was your home-"

"It was never my home," he growled glaring up at me. "It was a prison. I never belonged there."

"You don't mean that," I whisper.

"I do," he said his fist slamming down on the table.

I stood up, "Okay. Fine, let's go." He looked up at me. "We can talk back at the tower where you can slam your fists all you want. It's not proper manors out in public," I snap. "Now, let's go." I put the cash on the table, "Now, Loki." I walked out of the restaurant and waited for Loki to follow me. He came out, his head hung. I had a nervous feeling about Loki as we started to walk. I grabbed his upper arm and held it tight as we walked.

"What? You don't trust me now?" he hissed.

"Not until you calm down," I muttered.

He wiggled out of my grip angrily, "I am perfectly calm, Emily."

"No, you're not," I hiss. "You're acting like a child. Now go, before I do something I regret." I shoved him in front of me and followed behind him as we went back to the Tower. Once we stepped inside we were ambushed by the Avengers, minus Bruce, probably to keep the Hulk out of the equation.

"What the hell were you thinking," Tony shouted grabbing me and shoving me up against the wall.

"I was bored," I snapped shoving him off.

"Oh, so you took your pet God for a walk?!" he shouted.

"You don't know anything about how to help someone, Tony!" I snapped. "Treating someone like they are nothing more that a little bit of shit on the bottom of your boot isn't helpful! In order to receive results, you've got to give a little help," I growled. I shoved him out of my way and over to the elevators. I went up to the third floor and into my room. I sat down on my couch and rubbed my face in my hands, in no way did today go as I had hoped...