Bit of a time jump in this first part guys

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

ACE'S POV

I'd decided to take the entire day off yesterday, making up an excuse about having a migraine, after waking up and finding that I physically couldn't get out of bed.

Everytime I tried to stand from the mattress I would feel my head spin sickeningly, then my vision would fizzle out and I'd fall back onto the sheets feeling infuriated by my weakness.

I figured it had something to do with doing my chemical assessments two consecutive days in a row.

That had been the reason for me passing out the night before whilst trying to leave the cafeteria after speaking to Loki. I'd ended up sat on the chair Loki had set me down on for a little over twenty minutes after he'd left, regaining the strength to be able to teleport all the way back to my room.

When I finally did, I could barely summon the energy to walk to the bed before collapsing into it and immediately succumbing to unconsciousness.

Fury had granted me the day off and allowed me to skip my experiments for the day. probably because he was still wary of what had happened last time when I'd overexerted myself from the experimentation.

Either way I was grateful to be able to sink back into a well needed slumber after declining a visit from Steve to check on me and making sure that Loki would not be able to roam around the helicarrier when I was not there to supervise him.

The last thing I needed was him losing his shit and managing to get Bruce to hulk out or something. Then he'd most definitely be back in his cage and I, would be back to square one with Fury.

The day and night passed by fairly quickly as I drifted in and out of a restless sleep, my dreams plagued with the dreaded images I kept seeing. I would wake up in a cold sweat, my fingers clutching the sheets like a lifeline, only to fall back into another slumber, facing a new and more terrible nightmare each time.

Eventually, around 5am the next day, I woke up for real. I felt like I'd just sweat out a fever and was now more conscious than ever, feeling groggy but more rested than ever before.

After watching Brooklyn 99 for a couple of hours I got up and decided to take a shower.

Then, after a long soak under the hot water, I grudgingly got out and dressed myself. I consulted my phone, seeing a text off Tony and eight missed calls off of Steve. Seriously? eight?! Either he'd got confused trying to work his phone again and accidentally called me eight times or he was desperately trying to get through to me to see how I was.

I decided it would be futile to try and call him back as he still freaked out over the buzz of an incoming call, panicking and forgetting how to accept the call. So, I dropped Tony a text to let him know I was going to have lunch a little later and to ask him to let Steve know I was fine and that he needed to stop being a stresshead.

My thoughts began to wander over to Loki and what he would've been doing all of yesterday. He'd been prohibited from leaving his room due to me not being able to accompany him and I could take a wild guess that would not sit well with him.

I knew I was going to have to visit him and tell him what was going on but I knew I'd recieve an earful from him; that was.. if he'd even speak to me at all.

We hadn't exactly left on best terms last time as I'd repaid his help with re-enabling the chip in his shoulder just when he'd got his powers back.

I recalled the furious look he'd sent me and the flash of betrayal in his eyes as he hissed a sarcastic thanks.

It wasn't exactly fair though. He'd all but forced me to disable the chip to help me up even though I hadn't needed his help. I never told him I wouldn't enable it again afterwords. It wasn't a bargain. He'd just decided to aid me in getting up off of the floor. For whatever reason I did not know.

And now, he'd been cooped up in his room all day and night as a result of me. So, something told me he would not be in exactly great spirits when I spoke to him.

I sucked it up anyway and exited my room, pulling my still wet hair into a loose ponytail and shoving my feet into my converse.

I strolled up to the door adjacent to mine and knocked on it loudly, bracing myself for an onslaught of insults and threats.

I was waiting for some time before the door eventually pulled open and I was met with an agitated looking Loki.

I studied his pale face for a moment, admiring his sharp cheekbones and jawline and his bright piercing eyes as I always did.

"Oh." He greeted me in a quiet velvet voice.

"She lives."

He grinned at me widely, his eyes glinting maddeningly.

"I do." I replied blankly, raising my eyebrow at him. His grin faltered a little and I could see his gaze wander over me.

"I'm sorry you weren't allowed to leave your room at all yesterday, I just couldn't supervise you as I was a little ill." I explained simply, feeling as though he deserved an explanation.

He studied my face and sneered a little. "Clearly." He replied bitingly

"Gee thanks, needed that little ego boost." I muttered dryly, watching a smirk cross his lips. He was pissed off clearly and trying not to let it show.

"Well I'm feeling a little better so if you want to get out, I'll take you to the cafeteria for a bit but you'll have to keep your snide little comments to yourself cause I'm gonna need to do some work." I offered plainly, lazily waving the arm that clutched my laptop.

He thought for a bit, clearly deciding wether or not to rip into me a little more for what I did the other night.

But he just nodded, following me out into the corridor and closing the door behind him.

Hm, no comment. Maybe he'd seen the exhausted look on my face and decided to just leave me be for the time being. Maybe..

~~~~~~~~
LOKI'S POV

We'd been residing in the cafeteria for well over three hours now, sat by two different tables next to the large window.

She was working on her laptop, her fingers lazily tapping against each key rhythmically. The noise was strangely soothing and I let it echo around me as I turned each page of the book I'd summoned to read.

I brought my gaze over to her, studying her carefully.

I expected to see a look of concentration on her face as she stared at the screen in front of her. But in fact, her expression was as blank as when she was wearing her perfect mask and her eyes were glazed and distant

I watched a little more closely, noticing that the dull glow from her screen casting onto her face had disappeared. Now her face was only illuminated by the breathtaking golden glow of the setting sun from the window.

It lit up her eyes, splitting her captivating irises into a multitude of colours that spiralled into the distant black hole of her pupil.

Her tapping had stopped long ago, and I realised that the screen on her laptop had gone blank from inactivity.

She was incredibly distracted by something.

I got up swiftly and quietly, not even shaking her from her daze, and made my way to the kitchenette. I swiftly made myself a coffee, running through the steps in my head as she had taught me to and almost forgetting to add a dash of sugar before taking it and gulping it down.

It had a truly pleasant taste, and I could feel the caffeine spike energy into me as it travelled down me and hit my stomach. Ace had told me it was a kind of drug? One with immense healing properties apparantly.

I silently approached the table she was sat at, getting closer behind her to look over her shoulder. Her laptop screen was still black and I guessed she hadn't moved at all in the time it took me to prepare my coffee.

Gods.. she was so deep in thought she was almost completely unconscious to her surroundings... almost

"Where in the nine realms are you?" I voiced right by her ear, my moderate voice cutting through the silence largely and making it seem as though I'd yelled it.

Her muscles tensed at the sudden realisation of my presence and she leapt to her feet, immediately phasing to the opposite side of the room and taking on a defensive stance.

"Impressive reflexes." I commented, genuinely in awe at her speed in reacting. I would've missed it if I'd blinked the second my words left my lips.

She cocked an eyebrow up at me. "Trained in combat remember?" She replied quietly, still tightly holding up her guard. I sent her a smirk.

"Yes, I do recall." I voiced, almost wincing at the memory of her powerful kick. "Though I must say..." I began. "I'm surprised you allowed me to sneak up on you so closely."

She stared at me blankly before averting her gaze. I could tell by the look in her eyes she was also surprised she'd let her guard down so much she hadn't been aware of my proximity.

She sent me a glare before returning to the table. I scanned her form quickly, noticing again how weary she looked. "Something on your mind?" I asked, grinning as she sat back down and I sat across from her, leaning back in my chair.

She narrowed her eyes at me, cracking her knuckles. "Nothing too pressing." She replied indifferently. I scoffed.

"Ace. You haven't written a single word in thirty minutes and your device has practically shut off." I countered, sending her a devillish grin.

"I mean I knew I was a sight for you mortals but I did not quite realise I was all that...distracting." I teased, knowing full well it had previously been me distracted.

Earlier, while reading, I had realised that for well over 20 minutes I'd been reading the same paragraph over and over again, unable to take in it's text but instead, thinking again about her teasing smirk and glittering fern hues.

She sighed before sending me a wan smirk. "Well... you do breathe ridiculously loudly." She threw back, turning once again to her laptop. I smirked a little, before allowing my gaze to wander around a little bit.

As the sound of the keyboard clicking reemerged, my eyes landed on the bottle of spirit by her laptop. She'd taken it out of one of the cupboards before she'd set to work and had been sipping it whilst typing away.

I raised my eyebrows in disbelief at the sight of the empty decanter, before drifting my gaze back to her.

"Please, do not tell me you have consumed that entire bottle yourself." I voiced out of the blue, sneering. She followed my gaze over to the bottle next to her before letting out a quick laugh.

"No of course not." She assured me, smirking. "I'm not Tony am I? The bottle was nearly empty already."

She lied so easily, and the words slipped through her delicate mouth so fluently that I probably would've believed her if I hadn't seen the bottle originally when she'd brought it out almost full.

This left me frustrated, as I was still finding it irritatingly difficult to tell when she was lying; which could easily become a huge disadvantage to me.

She sighed and got up, bringing the empty bottle with her into the kitchenette. Then she washed her hands and reemerged, moving toward the table. But, instead of seating herself by the computer, she closed it and tucked the chair back into the table.

She glanced over at me as I stared at her, silently demanding an explanation as to where she was going. I noticed the blank mask on her face but as I dropped my gaze lower, I saw her rubbing her thumb in circles around her palm roughly, just as I had seen the other day.

"I need to go to the labs." She voiced, clearing her coffee mug away. "You can just take yourself back to your dorm or stay here a while if you want. But I will warn you, supper is in ten so people are gonna be arriving and they may or may not want to launch pieces of pasta at your stupid face."

I raised my eyebrow at her. "I'll come with you." I stated plainly, rising to my feet.

She frowned and opened her mouth to argue against it but I shook my head before she could decline with a snide comment.

"I do not wish to reside in my chambers again; especially after being forced to stay in them all of yesterday and last night." I explained, the bite in my tone more discernable than I wanted it to be.

"And since that was your fault entirely-" She narrowed her eyes. "I think it should be owed to me to roam about this place a little longer." I finished, eyeing her up and down and awaiting her response.

She regarded me for a little bit, clearly thinking it over. After a few moments I saw a flash of an emotion cross her eyes that I couldn't recognise and she shook her head firmly.

"It's a private matter, man." She replied, giving me a sympathetic look before glancing at the clock on the cafeteria wall, rubbing her palm again.

I sighed exhaustedly, I guess I would have to resort to my other methods of persuasion.

"So you will just leave me on my own...unsupervised?" I asked innocently, smirking slightly. She didn't even bat an eyelid. "Maybe that would be a good idea," I continued, not breaking eye contact.

"Maybe I could pay that Banner a visit? I'm afraid I haven't had the pleasure of meeting the creature who was originally going to be placed within my cell as of yet." I continued, grinning mischieviously.

I knew that was a tender spot for SHIELD. That irritating red haied woman had found out I planned to use the green beast in my escape, due to me getting carried away during my rant.

She still did not move a muscle. Her blank expression remained, as did the unreadable glaze in her eyes. I sighed inwardly, deciding that she was going to be stubborn about this when She spoke up out of the silence.

"Fine." She hissed, throwing me off guard as she scooted to the door quickly. "But if you mess anything up or bother me too much, I will set off your chip."

I winced, not desiring to have to deal with that jolting pain again. However, I was still grinning devillishly; pleasantly surprised she had been so easily swayed.

Maybe her position in SHIELD was more important to her than I thought.

As we were exiting the room, a thought came to me and I scoffed inwardly before letting out a quiet laugh. She glanced up at me with her large shining eyes as we stepped into the corridor.

"Care to share with the class, green sleeves?" She muttered dryly, flinging a set of keys up in the air before catching it swiftly within her hand. I raised an eyebrow at her, then folded my hands behind my back as we walked before replying smugly.

"They would not dare to cast foods at a god."

She stopped in her tracks for a moment, giving me a condescending look. Then, after a few moments, she snorted in laughter before returning to walking down the corridors again.

~~~~~~~~

She reached the door of the lab, her shoulders visibly tensing as she pushed the door open without hesitation.

The lab itself was a moderately sized, pristine white room with hardly any furniture other than two desks on opposite sides of the room, a reclining chair and a strange machine.

A stern looking lab technician was sat at one of the desks, typing away. He barely acknowledged Ace's presence as she entered, lazily gesturing for her to sit down on the reclining chair. He looked almost frustrated at her sudden entry and I quirked my brow at him, wondering why he held such visible resentment to her.

She phased over to the chair and perched on it, giving me a warning look as I entered. "Don't mind him, doctor. He won't bother us." She assured him, sliding further onto the chair and tucking her feet under her as she sat cross legged.

The 'doctor' turned immediately, scanning round the room to see who she was referring to, when his eyes landed on me. He didn't cast me a brief glance as he had done with Ace.

In fact; his eyes nearly bulged out of his head and he opened and closed his mouth like a fish for a bit, unable to speak. He watched me warily, paling a little, before turning to Ace-who was desperately trying to stifle her laughter-and clearing his throat.

"I er.. I...I wouldn't be entirely comfortable performing the experiment with er...h..him here." He stuttered, narrowing his eyes when Ace let out a loud burst of laughter.

She quickly stopped laughing at his comment and turned to him with a patronising smile. "Well, I guess you'll just have to suck it up won't you." She replied coldly.

"After all, It's not you who's being experimented on is it?" Her tone was light and sarcastic but the harsh resentment was evident in her eyes as she regarded him.

My curiosity finally peeked out from behind my awe as I pondered over what she meant. Experiment? They were doing experimemts on her?

I didn't doubt that it had something to do with her mysterious powers. And as I watched her gently place the wired patches into her temples, I couldn't stop the gentle rage that rose up within me.

Of course that was SHIELD's ploy. Find the most desperate and broken creatures and offer them shelter and a job. Then, turn them into something they are not and experiment on them for personal gain.

how...charitable.

"Fury requested I make sure you were in fit enough condition again before continuing the chemical assessments." I heard the spectacled doctor state in a bored tone.

What did he mean by that? again? Was she not in fit condition before? And what was it he was about to do that required her to be in a healthy state?

I watched her nod slightly, still massaging her palm. She eyed me a little before turning back to the doctor. I got the feeling she really didn't want me to be present right now.

"I'm perfectly fine." She answered robotically. "Well rested after yesterday."

She offered him a slight smile to show her conviction and eventually he nodded, turning back to the computer.

I watched her carefully as her eyes darted from the computer to the machine, looking like a frightened animal.

Suddenly I felt anxious for what was about to happen and a reflexive tremor within my mind began nagging at me that it had possibly not been the most intelligent idea to force her to bring me to whatever this was. Something told me I would not enjoy this as much as I thought I would.

And I was right.

The doctor muttered something I could not quite hear. and then, it happened.

Her entire body jolted and her eyes squeezed tightly shut as she groaned softly in discomfort. My frown deepened as I watched, my eyes glued to her withdrawn form.

She clawed roughly at her knees through her jeans as she pulled them up to her chest tightly, shaking violently. Her groan of pain was slightly louder this time and she unclenched her hands from her knees before tunneling them into her hair and clutching her skull forcefully.

She softly uttered a 'no' before groaning through her gnashing teeth.

I grew more and more anxious and uncomfortable whilst watching this unfold. I couldn't watch it. I couldn't see her in such anguish, unable to do anything about it. I couldn't explain why I had such an aversion to it but all I knew was I wanted the torture to end...abruptly.

She let out a whimper between panting breaths and slammed her hands onto the chair, her face twisting in agony, making my heart stop for a moment.

Then, my eyes widened even further in alarm as a scarlet drop of blood eased down from her left nostril and she actually shouted in agony.

"Stop this now." I hissed loudly, surprising not only the doctor but myself also as my order rang out around the room.

He said nothing but stared at me anxiously. My hands curled into fists. "Do you not see the pained torture on her face? cease this now.." I yelled into his face.

He cowered under my threatening gaze, shaking his head slightly. "I-I c..can't." He barely whispered.

I growled loudly, looking back at her.

She was now tightly drawn into herself, gasping and groaning, blood trickling over her lips. Feeling a slight panic rising within me, I looked to the machine she was seemingly hooked up to. If I could just....

I curled my hand up a little, focusing any magic energy I had in me into the machine.

Nothing happened....

That damned chip

I focused even harder, trying desperately to summon whatever was left in me to the surface. I was a god for damned sake! I couldn't let this tiny thing overpower me!

Eventually I felt a slight warmth spread down my right arm. As it flurried into my fingertips I saw a faint whisper of smoke curl up from the machine.

Spurred on by this, I forced the faint trickle of magic even further into the machine, begging for it to be enough, as I tried to ignore the painful groans coming from Ace.

The machine let out a loud hiss and began smoking violently. Then as the rapid whirring ceased, so did Ace's cries and I instantly felt relief wash over me.

It had worked.

I heard the doctor gasp loudly, before scurrying to the machine, shrieking. "no no no nonono." He cried out, running his hands over the machine desperately. I watched his pathetic movements, sneering coldly.

Damned fool. He was more worried about the bloody machine than Ace's wellbeing...Ace

I quickly moved across the room to stand right in front of her, studying her carefully.

She was still curled tightly into herself, her breathing quick and ragged. Her whole body was trembling. I reached out a hand towards her arm before stopping myself, remembering the micro chip.

"Ace...Ace look at me." I ordered, clutching the side of the chair. She didn't move.

"Ace." I said louder this time and she wearily lifted her head to look at me.

Her eyes were barely open and I could tell she was having trouble focusing on my face as the blood still trickled from her nose.

"I need you to disable the chip now." I demanded through gritted teeth, already anticipating her arguing reply even in this state.

"Why would I do that?" She slurred, lifting a trembling hand to wipe the blood from her nose that had finally stopped streaming.

"Because." I hissed. "You are in no state to get back to your room safely on your own and I know you don't want Fury or anyone else to see you in this state."

She and I both knew I was right. I knew it by the way she reacted when the doctor told her of Fury's ensuring of her health.

Resentment. She'd resented any notion that she was unwell. She resented herself for feeling so weakened. She resented Fury for seeing her as nothing more than a weak child.

Something glinted within her hazel orbs as I spoke and she looked away. She tried to sit herself up but buckled and sagged back in her chair, groaning slightly.

Again I had to dig my fingers into the chair to stop myself from helping her before the chip was deactivated and to bite back the frustrated growl that begged to roll up from my throat.

I could recognise the look in her eyes now. Clear as day. She was angry at her weak body. And she wasn't the only one getting angry

"Disable the microchip now." I growled, slamming my hand onto the chair.

She glared at me, her gaze holding more strength than any other part of her feeble body.

She attempted to sit up once again before slumping back again; Truly defeated.

"Disable." She murmured weakly, and this time I could feel my magic rush back into me well before even hearing the beep.

I wasted no time, wrapping my hands around her upper arms and pulling her up into a sitting position. She pushed me away then, attempting to slide off the chair onto the floor.

No sooner had her feet had touched the floor than her eyes rolled back in her head and she sagged against the chair causing me to lunge forward and grab her.

I tutted in aggravation and quickly scooped her unconscious form into my arms easily. Why couldn't she just have let me carry her straight away? Why did she have to be so damned stubborn?

I held her close to my chest, one hand under her knees and the other, around her back. It didn't surprise me how easily I could lift her. Her petite figure weighed barely anything and she fit snugly into my arms almost perfectly.

I looked down at her. Her eyes were shut and she was sighing rythmically, her breaths no longer rapid and gasping. Though, her hands and legs still tremored slightly even in unconsciousness.

That beastly machine had completely drained her. Physically and mentally.

I turned around, seeing the foolish doctor still fretting over his sadistic little toy. I sneered at him, resisting the urge to blow the damned thing up right in his face. But, I had to focus on getting Ace to her room.

"Nothing happened within this room. Do you hear me?" I hissed at the scurrying man.

He whipped around, watching me with wide frightened eyes. That cowardly scum. He nodded quickly and I turned back to exit, Ace within my arms.

I decided I would have to teleport there, as I didn't want to run into anyone on the way back. It wouldn't exactly look great. The high class criminal, roaming the corridors with the agent who is supposed to be watching over him unconscious in his arms. Definitely not. I would instantly get thrown back into my cell and she would get an earful from Fury when she awoke.

I concentrated hard and teleported us to just outside her room in the middle of a thankfully empty corridor. I couldn't teleport directly inside as I didn't know exactly what the interior of it looked like. I mean, I had a pretty good idea it probably looked just like mine but if I pictured that I would just end up in my room. And I knew for a fact she would not take kindly to waking up in my room.

I balanced her on my hip whilst sliding a hand around the door handle and pushing it, praying she hadn't locked it.

Damn...She had.

Of course she had. She was far too wary of people to leave it unlocked all day. She wasn't stupid.

I stood in silence in the corridor for a bit, racking my brains to try and figure out to do. The only sound was her quiet breathing from within my arms as I cast my mind back, desperately trying to find something of use.

That was it! I got it!

I smiled to myself, remembering when we'd left the cafeteria earlier today. She'd made a smug comment to me and tossed her keys into the air before catching them again. Her keys. She was probably still carrying them.

I hurriedly shifted my hand under her, patting around her hips and torso, trying to feel for the keys. Eventually I encountered an oddly shaped solid thing within the back pocket of her jeans.

I slid it out carefully, mentally apologising to her for the placement of my hand, and smirked widely. I'd found them.

I stuck it into the lock quickly and unlocked it before darting inside and sealing it shut behind me.

I strode over to the bed within two steps and carefully laid her down on top of the sheets, studying her soft features as I did so.

Her eyes were gently shut and she looked to be sleeping peacefully. Though the colour was drained from her face slightly and she still had a dried trail of blood in a line down her lips and chin.

Before I could listen to my better judgement, I walked into the en suite bathroom and dampened a face cloth with warm water, revelling in her strong scent that lingered within the room which further led me to believe it was from the shampoo she was using.

I strolled back over to her small form and leant over her to begin wiping gently at the skin under her nose.

Her scent was drifting into my senses, making my heart rate rise a little.

It was the distinct smell of a citrus fruit, maybe lemon? With an underlying aroma of the nutty warm tones of fresh coffee. A compelling odour that made my head spin slightly.

She looked so innocent in slumber, her lips turned up slightly in the most miniscule of smiles that I had never seen on her face before now.

I lost all of my better judgement in a dizzying second as a small drop of water ran through the fingers of my hand that was clutching the cloth and dropped onto her perfect skin, causing her to take a sharp intake of breath, before sighing softly in a truly innocent whisper of breath.

As I softly cleaned the last of the blood from her face I began to ponder over the events that had just occured, under half an hour ago.

What in the nine realms had persuaded her to willingly allow SHIELD to torture her like that? Was she so uncaring about herself that she would give herself to SHEILD for experimentation like a mere rat in a lab?

Part of me knew that she had not been told the whole truth about the purpose of these experiments. Part of me also knew that she was forcing herself to endure these in the hopes that it would make Fury consider her as a more intermerediate agent and trust her with more information and missions.

It was so immoral. I was sincerely glad I'd destroyed the damn machine before it could hurt her anymore.

I froze suddenly, hearing the more logical part of my brain speak up.

Why did I feel so inclined to care about her? This strange and stubborn mortal who's presence and partnership offered me absolutely no personal gain whatsoever.

Why was I here, within her chambers, cleaning the ghastly blood from her delicate lips with a touch as soft as breath? When not even a week before today, I was ruthlessly killing men, woman and children alike, without a single drop of sympathy for their little insignificant lives.

No. I didn't care about her. She was a mortal. Nothing more.

The only reason I destroyed the machine was so that she would not be too damaged by it. Not because I cared for her, but because I knew full well that if she fell ill or was unable to continue her job, I would be thrown back into that horrid cell.

I stood up, refusing to look back at her face and walked into the bathroom, rinsing the blood from the facecloth.

I sneered at the colour of the water that ran tinged orange from the blood diluted in it.

She bled the same colour as me. But she was nothing like me.

I was a powerful god. She was a pathetic, irritating mortal. And she meant naught to me.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

WhAT did y'all think about that little chapter then eh?

We got a little development between Ace and Loki?

Hell mf yeah

also peep loki trying to convince himself he doesn't feel any differently about Ace when bitch just blew up a whole ass machine bc she hurted.

Naw

I was tempted to have Loki call that bitch ass doctor a 'spectacled fool' which basically meant speccy twat in asgardian but I couldn't take it seriously enough to add it in.

end of chapter 5 my guys.