Of Greater Sires

Raeyn locked herself in her painting floor that night, and didn’t emerge for another twenty four hours. In that time, she painted every single canvas with some stencils and only the black paint, she cried a lot, and talked to JARVIS most of the time. If the artificial intelligence disapproved of what Raeyn had done, he didn’t show it. The entire time the elevator was moving up and down constantly probably filled with Chitauri. Over and over again, Raeyn asked JARVIS if the level was still sealed off to Loki and his soldiers, and over and over again JARVIS replied that yes, the lock was permanent and nothing could be done to unlock it. Raeyn never really relaxed, though, because she knew that Loki needed his time away from her to cool down. If he was ever going to forgive her, he was going to need to expel his anger somewhere.

Finally, after the sun had set for the second time Raeyn had been locked on her floor, the elevator stopped. She couldn’t hear a thing in all of Stark Tower.

“Is he gone?” she finally asked, setting her black spray paint can on the work table with a clang.

“If you mean Master Loki, then yes, he is gone, as well as most of his army. Only… fourteen Chitauri remain, on levels seven through twelve and then four more in the lobby.”

“Thank you, JARVIS,” she whispered. With shaking hands, she lifted the paint can once more and began stenciling again. She wished to go up to her quarters and rest, but if she stopped working then her thoughts would wander. Were her friends dying right then? Was Loki preparing to kick her out of his home to fend for herself? No. She mustn’t think of those things.

By the time the elevator began moving again, most of the walls were painted and Raeyn looked like a wreck.

“Who is it, JARVIS?” she asked from where she was sitting on the floor, her dress splayed out around her.

“Master Loki, of course, and one Chitauri with… three humans in the elevator. Eighteen soldiers in the lobby with six more humans. Would you like to know more?”

“No!” Raeyn hissed, forcing herself to stand. Swallowing her tears and braiding her hair, she sent the dirty dress back to her room and donned a sleek, more modernized one — something that could possibly even be worn by mortals to very formal events. And with that, now looking quite cleaned up, Raeyn stepped into the elevator and rose to their floor. Her heels clacking against the polished wood floor, she followed the sound of Loki’s voice to his throne room.

Opening the double doors, Raeyn was greeted with a sight less ugly than she thought she would find. Beside her, guarding the doors, stood a Chitauri giving her a menacing look. She curled her lip at it, baring her teeth and glared back at. Loki stood in front of the three mortals, wearing his helmet and wielding his scepter threateningly. The three mortals looked worn — in their eyes, they had accepted their death. Out of the three, only one was someone Raeyn knew from her time with them — Eyre. She stood defiantly, dirt and blood on her face, and still a bit of flame in her eye. Despite the pain at the pit of her stomach, Raeyn kept her face void of emotion as she stood by and watched on.

Loki stopped in front of the mortal man furthest from Raeyn. “Shepard, formerly known as Josiah Shepard.”

He turned to face the hooded woman in the middle. With a flash, the hood had been ripped from her head, revealing a character that Raeyn knew quite well. Though she tried to hide it, a flash of recognition wiped across her face.

Loki laughed darkly. “Oh, I know you,” he purred, stepping closer to the kneeling woman. “Cayenne, formerly known as the one and only Pepper Potts.”

Raeyn’s brow shot up. Pepper Potts? The woman who’s art room she had just been in? The woman who was practically Iron Man’s side-kick?

Cayenne gave a snarky grin. “The one and only,” she snorted, and then proceeded to spit at Loki’s feet. He only laughed, brushing a lock of her hair away with the tip of his spear.

“You are really asking for death, aren’t you?” he hissed.

“Have I not made myself clear? Silly me, I thought I had when I told you to fuck off.”

Loki peered down at her. “And here I was thinking that all mortals wanted were power and life. Perhaps you are not as petty as they.”

Cayenne — or Pepper’s, really — wall of sarcastic remarks and snarky comments seemed to crumble. “You took everything from me,” she hissed, her lip trembling. “He was the only thing I had. I have nothing now, nothing! Just go ahead and kill me.”

Loki didn’t hesitate. In the moment that Raeyn had delicately turned away and shielded her eyes, Cayenne had been run through with the spear and when she turned back, the woman was sprawled back with a glimmer of a smile on her lips. Raeyn had to force herself not to be sick.

Eyre was next. Raeyn took deep breaths, honestly not ready for what was about to happen, but suddenly the doors banged open once more and just inches from where Raeyn stood, the remaining Chitauri escorted the other four mortals in. Raeyn face paled considerably as she made eye contact with Lew, who was whimpering and struggling madly against her captors. But when she saw Raeyn, her expression changed from panic to confusion, and she almost looked like she were about to say something before she was also forced to her knees next to Eyre, and then saw Cayenne’s body.

Loki gave the four a cold smile. “Welcome,” he said sarcastically, motioning grandly to the great room they were in.

“As I was saying…” he turned to look down at Eyre. “Jane Foster,” he spat, with far more contempt than any other rebel thus far. “I know you as well. You’re that woman who played with my brother’s mind.”

Eyre shrank back fearfully, not saying a word. Loki raised his scepter, as if to strike at her as well, but Raeyn finally leapt forward.

“Wait!” she cried, stopped before she reached the group. Loki turned, the anger on his face fading to a blank expression.

“Please,” Raeyn said softly, well aware that every eye was on her. “She is practically your sister in law. Practically family. Please don’t hurt her.”

Loki turned to face her completely. “Will that be all?” he asked in a clipped tone.

Raeyn swallowed. “Her companion as well,” she said, nodding to Lew.

“Darcy Lewis?” Raeyn turned to look at Lew, and recognition showed on her face.

“Yes.”

“Then what do you propose I do with them?” Loki asked tiredly, pacing away from Raeyn. The goddess looked down at the two girls for a moment, trying to figure out just what Loki meant. “I can’t just let them back out into the streets of New York again!”

“I know that!” Raeyn snapped, turning to glare defiantly at Loki. “But maybe you could modify their memories,” she said finally, falling back on her last choice. “Erase their ill will towards us, their memories of the rebels and with any other… of our kind. Asgardians,” she said finally, looking down at Eyre with pity.

There was a long silence in which Loki paced, obviously trying to think this through. Lew continued to stare up at Raeyn in awe. “’Mona?” she finally mouthed, her expression void of all else but confusion. Raeyn bit her lip a little and gave a small, sad nod.

“I’m sorry,” she mouthed in return before looking away.

“Very well,” Loki said finally, turning to stand next to Raeyn. He started with Eyre, holding his scepter in one hand and extending his palm towards her forehead with the other. Faint blue light began to radiate from his palm, and slowly her expression became blank and dazed as the focus in her eyes slowly began to fade. Once Loki broke the spell, she crumpled, completely unconscious.

“Where will they go?” Raeyn asked, blinking rapidly as she tried to tear her gaze from Eyre’s motionless body. Everything she had ever felt, all the love she had for Thor and Asgard… gone with the blink of an eye.

“Away from here,” Loki said firmly. “Away from anything that could get them in trouble again. I know she studied science, astrology…” Loki motioned to Eyre. “Perhaps Alaska for her. Far away from light pollution.”

All the mortals gawked at Loki. Was he honestly trying to think of what was best for her? The girl who, moments before, he had planned to kill? Simply because this girl, this Asgardian goddess, asked him to? Who was she? What was she to him?

Loki then turned to Lew, and the process began once more. After she was out cold as well, Raeyn asked for two cots for them so that the scientists down stairs could make sure that they woke up fine and then were shipped out peacefully to their new homes. After that, Raeyn left, unable to watch anymore.