Mischief Makers Ch. 04

He also realized shamefully that the other Loki was eying his erection with amusement.

"Can I take that as a yes? You were always quite in love with yourself, weren't you?"

He averted his eyes, wondering how bad this was going to get this time.

"Oh, don't look so downtrodden," the other Loki said, using a simple spell to pull a blood blade from an inter-dimensional space. His expression didn't convey any of the mock sympathy he offered. "Jahla needs a bit more of our blood for my next enhancement. So, of course, I had to stop by. You don't mind, do you?"

You won't goad me into talking this time, Loki thought bitterly. You're too dull to even change your tactics.

He stiffened as the other Loki stepped forward, feeling the undeniable fear that came with the uncertainty of being at the mercy of a madman. Somehow, it wasn't comforting to know that his life would be spared, no matter what atrocities befell him.

The other Loki crouched down in front of him, studying his scarred body with interest. "You've really made a mess of yourself," he said disapprovingly and shook his head. Yet, the hints of a cocky smile still remained on his lips. "Thanks for leaving all that blood behind, by the way. Jahla put every drop to good use."

Well... attempted murder/suicide is messy, he thought coldly. If only Father hadn't stepped in...

"Oh, just say it. I can practically glean the words off your mind. Won't it feel good to get all those pesky feelings off your chest and out in the open?"

Ugh! The talking beforehand is the worst. Shut up and do it already. I'll take that blade to the sound of your voice anytime.

"I can tell you're reluctant. Maybe we should talk about... the girl."

He cringed before he could stop himself, causing the other Loki to grin appreciatively.

"There it is now, the true cause of your excitement this morning. She is a pretty little thing with a few surprises, I'd imagine. She must be such a kind-hearted soul to not be utterly repulsed by these scars."

He shut his eyes and clenched his teeth, his mind full of wishes and his heart with dread.

"Shall I threaten her? Will that loosen your tongue? Or do you really want me to draw the blood myself? I could get a little too enthusiastic."

Thoughts of Cami ever being at this man's mercy made his heart seize and the immediate, burning pain in his chest was excruciating.

He felt the blade's tip touch his forehead.

"Perhaps I'll start on these areas where Jahla's curse won't go. I'm not so vain as you and the loss of an eye would put you in excellent company, wouldn't it?"

"Drop the knife," an authoritative voice said and both Lokis looked to see Clint standing in the doorway of the showers in his sleepwear, yet with his prized Heckler & Koch P30 sidearm aimed and ready to fire.

The other Loki smiled widely. "Agent Barton, what an unexpected pleasure."

"I said drop it." Clint's expression showed the feeling was not mutual.

The other Loki released the blade, which fell a few inches from his hand and into another inter-dimensional space that opened and closed instantly.

"Are you so sure you want to get involved in this?" the other Loki asked, slowly rising to a standing position. "I'm not quite the same as when we parted last. This is an entirely new game with much more powerful tricks."

"Oh, I don't doubt it," Clint said coolly, "but he's my responsibility and I just can't stand by and let you hurt him."

While Loki appreciated the gesture, he could foresee how this was going to end and the devastating impact it would have on S.H.I.E.L.D., the Avengers and his dear Cami.

"Wait! Don't kill him," he begged just as a long tendril whipped out of the other Loki's body, striking Clint in the chest and sending him crashing to the floor.

A stretching sensation struck between Loki's shoulder blades then shot searing pain through him as the flesh tore. He muffled the scream the best he could, not wanting anyone else to come running right into the other Loki's path. Warm blood was oozing down his back as he looked first to Clint's unmoving form then to the other Loki.

"Pity you didn't cooperate sooner," his tormentor said, feigning sadness. "Bet this won't gain you any favors from your sexy sprite."

Loki shuddered and nearly vomited under the physical and emotional pain that overtook him. He futilely pulled at his bindings. His stare returned to Clint, praying there would be time to do something.

Once again drawing his blood blade, the other Loki circled round to press the metal against the wound as he had done many times before. It took only seconds for the blade to collect the blood, but they were torturously long. Then he said amicably, as if they were the best of friends sharing advice, "Do try to stay out of trouble. If you let anything happen to us, Jahla will unleash bloody terror upon your new friends, starting with the girl."

Loki did not look directly at him. He just waited for the sound of his boots to cross the tiled floor and disappear into the shadows beyond his view.

In the next moment the binding tendrils dissolved away and Loki lunged for Clint, putting his ear to his chest, which he discovered did not rise and fall against the side of his face. He also didn't hear a heartbeat.

Loki ran for the hallway, grabbing a towel off the stack in passing to cover up with. Right around the corner he found the fire alarm and pulled it, sending a terrible buzzing ruckus throughout the facility. Then he returned to Clint and started CPR.

He'd taken the time to read up on the crude, Midgardian technique only because there was a directive which mandated that all S.H.I.E.L.D. personnel learn how to administer it.

The whole barracks seemed to converge on him at once, but luckily they were highly trained professionals who jumped into action once they interpreted the real situation.

Natasha dropped to her knees beside him and took over giving Clint breaths of air while Loki continued compressions. Hopper and the other Hellhounds rushed off to retrieve a gurney, med kit with adrenaline and atropine, and the emergency defibrillator.

Stark arrived in his Iron Man suit, demanding to know what had happened. He soon realized that no one had answers for him. So, he pulled the hysterical Cami out of the way of the gurney and opened a channel. "Commander Morris, we have injured men in the barracks area," Tony reported. "Lockdown the facility and start an active search for intruders."

Stark's next orders were to JARVIS about monitoring security cameras, which he issued on his way out to search the grounds.

Loki stopped the chest compressions so they could shift Clint to the gurney. Then Hopper jumped on the gurney too, straddled Clint and started compressions and breathing as Stott and Natasha pushed them down the hall in the direction of the infirmary.

- - - - -

Cami stood with her back in the corner as Tony had left her. She was shaking, yet her hysterics had quieted to more like confused mutterings. Slowly Cami raised her head, gazing past Kotter to see them moving Clint away on the gurney.

Kotter stepped closer and leaned down to capture her attention and study her expression.

"Cami, can you walk?" he asked, having to raise his voice to be heard over the fire alarm.

"Loki...?"

"Loki's pulling on some clothes; then we're going to follow the others to the infirmary. We've got to stick together for safety until we find out what is happening."

Cami glanced around, but didn't see much with Kotter right in front of her.

Kotter checked both hallways before moving to look into the showers and retrieve Clint's gun from where it had dropped on the floor.

"Loki, you're bleeding pretty bad," Kotter said with concern through the doorway. "Are you going to be alright? 'Cause I think Cami might faint on us."

The words 'bleeding' and 'faint' seemed to echo in Cami's mind.

"Is this a dream?" she asked as Loki came around the corner bare-chested, but wearing his sleep-pants. The world around was starting to look fuzzy. There was an ominously hazy outline around both guys that added to her confusion.

"Go ahead and think that if you want," Kotter said gently.

Loki put Cami's arm around his neck and picked her up so they could move more quickly to catch up with the others.

En route, the fire alarm shut off, though the red warning lights remained on.

The doctor was injecting adrenaline into Clint's system when Loki carried Cami into the infirmary. Clint's shirt had been sliced open so they could apply the leads to monitor his heart.

"Come on, Clint," Hopper kept saying as he continued compressions. There was an edge to his voice and anger in his eyes.

Kotter pulled Stott and Rodriguez out into the hall to free up space in the small infirmary. The one wall was mostly windows, so they could still see into the room.

Natasha stood off to the side with her arms crossed in front of her. Her expression was cold and withdrawn, which Cami understood was a defensive response to the situation, but frankly it angered her after all Clint and Natasha had been through together.

As soon as Loki put her down, Cami reached over and grabbed Natasha's arm. "Nat, you have to talk to him! Clint always listens to you."

Nat's attention shifted to Cami. Her cool facade cracked and some color rushed into her pale features as she came to her senses.

Together they stepped up to the gurney, near Clint's head. Natasha took Clint's hand in hers then leaned down, touching her forehead to his temple and started speaking softly to him in private whispers meant for no one else's ears.

There wasn't much room left with all that was going on. Cami moved around Natasha and the nurse, who was giving him air through a mask with an attached bag. Once on the other side, she purposely crowded out the doctor who was only staring gravely at the monitor anyway.

Cami touched Clint's shoulder, giving it a strong squeeze.

There was blood on her hand and arm from coming in contact with Loki's wound when he carried her. The doctor noticed and glanced up long enough to determine that Cami wasn't injured, then moved away to prepare a second shot of adrenaline.

Cami leaned closer to Clint and immediately tears started in her eyes.

"I don't want to be alone," she told him, admitting her biggest fear and not caring who else heard. Her voice was heavy with emotion, almost catching in her tightening throat as she said, "I can't do this without you, Clint. I promise to be so good. Please, just come back to me."

"Jesus!" Hopper yelped, pulling back his hands as a dark, ghostly form like a snake rose up out of Clint's chest and turned toward Cami.

With a startled scream, Cami jumped away, causing the thing to hiss and quickly disappear back into Clint's chest.

Natasha exclaimed, "What the hell was that?!" She'd moved back a step, but still gripped Clint's hand.

Loki was quickly in motion. He nudged the stunned doctor out of his way and stepped up to the gurney with a determined, knowing expression. Loki looked over to Cami and held out his hand beckoning her to move closer.

Now Cami was freaked out on top of all the other volatile emotions churning inside her. She didn't want to move, but Loki's look was urgent. There was something inside her brother's body. If Loki knew what to do about that, how could she not comply? Plus, he was actually asking for her help. That meant something.

Cami stepped into Loki's reach, letting him draw her in front of him, facing the gurney. He wrapped his right arm around her middle then purposely wiped his left hand across his back to collect some of his blood. He smeared the warm blood on Cami's hand, making her cringe a little, then took her wrist in his grasp as he held her hand out over Clint's chest.

Cami was holding her breath and shaking within Loki's grasp while the tension in the room grew. Kotter, Stott and Rodriguez were all watching with wide eyes and bewildered expressions through the windows.

The doctor and the nurse had stepped back as far as they could without leaving the room.

"This doesn't seem safe," Hopper said.

"Clint would not approve of this," Natasha interjected. "You'd better know what you're doing, Loki."

"What do I do?" Cami whispered over her shoulder to Loki just in case they were supposed to be 'sneaking' up on it.

"Say it again," Natasha said to Cami, looking over her head to read Loki's expression.

Say what? Cami puzzled. That Clint is going to die and I'm going to be all alone?

"Call it. Get that thing to come out of him," Natasha said firmly.

Her voice was shaking nearly as much as her body. "Come to me," Cami said, hearing the weakness in the words.

After a long moment, Loki's grip on her wrist tightened just a little bit. She took this to mean that she should keep trying.

Cami tapped into the emotions stirring within her, believing that Clint didn't have a chance with that thing inside him. "Come to me," she demanded. "Do as I say!"

Instantly, the incorporeal snake-thing slithered forth with glowing, silver eyes. It stretched upward toward their hands and when Cami tried to pull away from it again, Loki held her firmly in place.

In the bright lights of the infirmary, the snake-thing looked like a mixture of shadow, smoke and mist. It pushed up, grazing her trembling fingers with the top of its head which made the digits feel like she'd stuck them out the window on a subzero winter's day.

Another squeeze from Loki gave her courage.

"Come on out," Cami said to it. "Leave him."

It continued up the side of her hand, climbing and coiling around both hers and Loki's arms until finally its tail emerged from Clint's chest. By then, Cami's arm felt numb and cold up to her elbow, which is approximately how far up her arm the snake-thing's head had reached. Its body looked to be almost two feet long and was thin like a common garter snake.

Loki slowly backed up, pulling Cami with him as they carried the weightless shadow serpent away from the group and into the far corner of the room. It seemed content, not hissing or making any motion to strike either of them.

"Go, Hopper!" Natasha said urgently before giving Clint some breaths.

Visibly shaken, Hopper started the chest compressions again, but couldn't tear his eyes away from the snake-thing.

It was probably at least a minute later when the monitor beeped, announcing that Clint's heart had started beating. The doctor rushed forward to inject Clint with a drug to bolster his heart rate.

Natasha continued to give him breaths because he wasn't yet drawing in air on his own and the nurse looked unwilling to come any closer to their unusual visitor.

Stark entered the infirmary and took in the scene. "What the hell? Someone quickly catch me up on what I missed," he said.

Stepping down from the gurney, Hopper told Tony, "That thing was inside of Clint's chest. It seems to be drawn to blood, but it is following commands from Cami. They were able to lure it out of Clint so we could get his heart going again."

Tony listened carefully, taking in the heart monitor and Natasha's efforts before nodding. He was contemplating the situation, looking uncertain.

"This thing is really cold," Cami said, shivering in her thin pajamas.

"Is it dangerous?" Tony asked Loki.

With Loki still behind her, Cami had to look up and back to see him nod his head.

Then why did you get me involved in this? Cami thought, wondering if she should be upset that he seemed to disregard her safety or proud that he hadn't let his personal feelings cloud his judgment.

Loki's answer did not please Tony. "It looks magical. Can we kill it?"

This time Loki shook his head.

He released Cami's middle, pulling his right arm behind his back to collect some more of the blood. Then he cautiously reached out for the shadow serpent, which started to hiss softly and draw back from him, showing four small fangs instead of the expected two.

"Careful," Tony said firmly.

"It's OK," Cami cooed at it. The fear was creeping back into her voice. She didn't know what else to do, but try to continue to help Loki, though she was growing more frightened the longer the situation dragged on.

Natasha stopped giving the breaths, placing her cheek near Clint's mouth and nose. After a few seconds, she reported, "Clint's breathing!"

"His heart rate has picked up too," the doctor added, peeking over at the heart monitor.

"Good enough for me. Let's clear the room," Tony said.

The doctor pulled the leads off Clint's chest. Then Natasha and the medical staff pushed the gurney out into the hallway with the waiting Hellhounds.

When Tony didn't budge, Hopper chose to stay too.

"If you've got a plan, Loki," Tony said, "tell us how to help."

"He can't talk without hurting himself more!" Cami snapped at Tony, too tense to take it to heart that he was worried about their well being.

With Cami's show of anger, the serpent turned its head toward Stark and hissed menacingly.

Tony asked, "Why the hell is that thing reacting to her that way?"

"I think it believes she is the person who summoned it from Niflheim," Loki answered softly, catching everyone off guard with his willingness to talk. "She has one of my spellbooks. Her essence has probably been tainted with shadow magic."

"That thing is from the realm of death and mist?" Tony asked. Apparently he'd been doing some research, because he looked horrified and furious.

"Oh no," Cami whispered. The realm of death and mist sounded bad.

Loki bit back a grimace, leaning first into Cami, then against the wall. Cami was keeping an eye on the snake, so she didn't know where his new injury had appeared.

Cami said with some desperation, "Maybe I can tell it to go away."

"It has no natural ability to travel between Midgard and Niflheim," Loki answered with a wince, "and we have no means to send it thus."

This news was further upsetting to her, especially when Loki gave out another cry of pain, but kept himself hidden out of her sight.

Loki tried to touch the serpent again, managing to get much closer to it this time before it drew back, looking more agitated.

Cami looked up at Loki's pain-filled eyes. "Should I order it?" she asked him.

Loki nodded.

Leveling her gaze on the serpent, Cami said firmly, "Go to him."

The creature hesitated, but slowly moved toward the offered hand and started climbing Loki's arm. As soon as Cami was completely free of the serpent's body, Loki slipped his left hand between them and started to gently push her away.

"Cami, slowly make your way over to me," Hopper instructed her.

She did as she was told, turning back to look only as she reached Hopper's side. Thankfully, warmth was already returning to her flesh.

Loki was watching the serpent curl itself around his arm. He did not look as concerned as Cami thought he should.

He had two long, heavily-bleeding tears, one on his stomach and the other along his right collarbone.

Tony asked, "Now what do we do?"

"Nothing," Loki said. "I think I'll have just what I need now."

Another wound opened on Loki's chest in his left pectoral muscle.

He screamed out something that didn't sound like any language Cami had ever heard before; then suddenly everyone was plunged into a cold, unnatural darkness.

All Cami could see was black. She gasped at the instantaneous drop in temperature. The darkness chilled and nipped at her skin. It slipped into her nose and throat when she breathed, sweeping into her lungs and making her chest hurt.

"JARVIS, activate the suit lights," Tony ordered.

"I already did, sir," was the A.I.'s response.

"Shit! I still can't see anything."

"Everyone hold tight," Hopper said with authority. There wasn't much they could do anyway.