Golden Eyes

“Just let me at him! I already feel better! Please! I’ve been laying in bed for a day already and I’m going insane. Let me do something!” I was basically begging Fury to let me do something useful. Banner had given me something he came up with to slow down the reaction in my body and I was already feeling better. Now I just needed something to do before I fought the nurses just to give me something to do. Steve was somewhere around here avoiding me. When I had woken up a few hours ago he was gone and nowhere to be found, but whatever. Who needed a hot muscled guy around anyways?

Fury sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. I batted my eyelashes knowing it did absolutely nothing for him but I did it anyways. I smiled wider and just made myself ooze with hopefulness. He couldn’t say no to that…right? I heard light footsteps approaching from behind me and I smiled even more. Natasha would help me!

“Agent Romanov, do you have any objections to Agent Carson interrogating our lovely guest down below?”

“Not at all Director.” She smiled at me. I knew she would be on my side. I looked back at Fury and waited for my official orders.

“Very well, Agent Carson please go debrief the prisoner and figure out all you can by using any needs necessary.”

I jumped up for join and did a slightly too loud yell of a ‘Yes’ before I stopped and cleared my throat. I needed to be professional and someone they could count on-. Ah who am I kidding I was finally just DOING something!

“Yes sir, Director. Right on it.” I spun around and with a quick little bounce in my stepped hurried down below. I had barely made it 2 floors below when I stopped with a sigh. “He told you to follow me did he?”

There was a soft very feminine chuckle and Natasha stepped forward out from the shadows of the last doorway I passed. “You know him. He likes how we work so well together.”

“The scary Russian and half Tiger woman working together to make the world a safer place. Sounds like a bad children’s cartoon.” I laughed as she got into step with me.

“Ugh it actually does. We have to work on this then.” She put her arm around my shoulder for a short hug before we set off discussing strategies on what we could do to make Loki open up about what he was doing.

We stopped talking and quietly approached to try and catch him off guard. He was just walking back and forth in his glass cell really just staring at nothing. I realized Loki was actually a good looking guy if he wasn’t a sadistic serial killer with a Godlike complex. He suddenly stopped and a weird little sick smile crossed his face.

“There's not many people that can sneak up on me but yet you two always surprise me.” He turned towards us to see us just quietly standing there facing him. Natasha scowled but I merely stared at him blankly. This monster had been in my head trying to get me to hurt my friends. I hated him with every fiber of my being but I refused to let that show. I was sure he knew it already though however.
“But you figured we'd come.” Natasha said stepping forward.

“After. After whatever tortures Fury can concoct, you would appear as a friend, as a balm. And I would cooperate.” He turned towards me and his sick grin widened. “And you. I thought they would set you on me like some wild ferial feline. I have to be honest, I was wondering how far you would go. You do seem so, oh what’s the word, conflicted about everything.”

“I wanna know what you've done to Agent Barton.” Natasha said changing the subject. She was friends with me but she was beyond close to Barton. Not romantically like everyone thought but they were more alike in more ways than one. They were the closest friends I had ever seen.

“I'd say I've expanded his mind.”

“And once you've won. Once you're king of the mountain. What happens to his mind?” I could see she was getting a bit emotional. I looked at her oddly as Loki glanced at me.

“Is this love, Agent Romanoff?” Loki asked in wonder. He laughed and it held a bit of a manic tone to it. He was off his rocker that was for sure.

“Love is for children. I owe him a debt.”

Loki sat down like he was getting ready for story time. “Tell me.”

Natasha pulled up a chair as well. I stood against the wall with my arms folded glaring at Loki. He winked at me which only deepened my scowl. “Before I worked for SHIELD, I uh...well, I made a name for myself. I have a very specific skillset. I didn't care who I used it for, or on. I got on SHIELD's radar in a bad way. Agent Barton was sent to kill me, he made a different call.”

“And what will you do if I vow to spare him?” Loki asked hoping to play on her emotions. The man was a fool.

“Not let you out. That’s for sure.” I said finally speaking up. This was supposed to be my interrogation anyways.

Loki burst out laughing at me and I raised my eyebrow at him in mock surprise. “Ah, no. But I like this. Your world in the balance, and you bargain for one man?”

“Regimes fall every day. I tend not to weep over that, I'm Italian... or was.” My mother had remarried the man was Irish. Because I had been so little she changed my last name from Marino to Carson. And I just never felt the need to change it back. Why bother? I outlived everyone anyways.

“What is it you want?” Loki asked finally taking this seriously.

“It's really not that complicated. I've got red in my ledger, I'd like to wipe it out.” Natasha explained.

“Can you? Can you wipe out that much red? Drakov's daughter? SÃO PAULO?! The hospital fire? Barton told me everything. Your ledger is dripping, it's gushing red, and you think saving a man no more virtuous than yourself will change anything?” He stood up angrily now. “This is the basest sentimentality. This is a child at prayer... PATHETIC! You lie and kill in the service of liars and killers. You pretend to be separate, to have your own code, something that makes up for the horrors. But they are a part of you, and they will never go away!”

Loki slams his fists against his cell, making Natasha flinch. “I won't touch Barton. Not until I make him kill you! Slowly. Intimately. In every way he knows you fear! And when he'll wake just long enough to see his good work, and when he screams, I'll split his skull! This is my bargain, you mewling quim! And YOU!” He turns towards me and I could see the true evil madness behind his deranged eyes. “I will make you suffer in more ways than you could possible dreams. I saw inside your mind you pathetic excuse for a woman. I will rip ever possible thing you love from your life and force you watch it and listen to you scream for me to stop. Yes, your screams will be like music to my ears. I might even be nice enough and have the man you truly care do all the dirty work for me!”

I felt my eyes widen in shock but my jaw locked up in a firm grip to keep from dropping. I saw Natasha turn around and walk away from Loki, disgusted.

“You're a monster.” I whispered distraughtly. How could anyone truly be this evil?

“No, you brought the monster.” Loki chuckled humorlessly.

My ears perked up at that and Natasha spun around to look at me and then Loki, very poised and unaffected. “So, Banner... that's your play.”

Loki staggered in shock and confusion. “What?”

I tapped my ear piece as I smiled. “Loki means to unleash the Hulk. Keep Banner in the lab, I'm on my way. Send Thor as well.” I turned towards Loki with a sweet smile. “Thank you for your cooperation.”

Natasha and I quickly high-fived and walked out, leaving Loki frozen. I started laughing at how well this all turned out.

“Did you see his face? It looked like someone punched him in the gut!” Natasha said wiping a tear from her eye. The sound of an angry yell reached our ears causing us to laugh some more.

“Well someone sounds pissed off! Job well done my friend. I really liked how you played the scared distraught woman trying to redeem herself. Classic helpless damsel move.”

“Thank you thank you! I wasn’t sure I could pull it off. Playing the good cop is hard stuff! I do have to admit you look amazing playing the bad cop!” She winked at me and I chuckled.

“All in a days work.” I smiled as we sped up a bit to try and stop Loki’s plan.