Lima Syndrome

Author's Note- I do not own anything from Marvel. I can't wait until Thor 2 comes out, so here is a little project I worked on in the meantime. Each chapter is headed by a quote by Tom Hiddleston from an interview about Loki and how much he enjoyed playing the character

Ch. 1

"Loki is the incarnation of the darkest aspects of human nature. He is jealousy. He is pride and ambition."- Tom Hiddleston on Loki

Darcy's feet were killing her. They hurt for a good cause, but they still hurt. She was wearing slinky spike heels that matched her little black dress perfectly. She was on her first date with Clint and she wanted everything to go just right.

It took Darcy months to get this date set up. She had followed Jane to New York when they were both recruited by S.H.I.E.L.D. Tony Stark had ceded several floors of his building over to S.H.I.E.L.D. to create a type of permanent base. His tower even got renamed the "Avengers" Tower, although he began ranting and muttering whenever he heard someone use that phrase. When Darcy had first met Clint at the Tower, she had spent a week and a half shamelessly flirting with him. He was at least a decade older than her, but that didn't really matter to her.

Her campaign to get him to take her out for coffee abruptly ended with him being sent away on a two month mission to Uruguay. Then, he was back for three days before leaving once again, this time to a tiny town in Russia. She despaired of getting any traction with him. She was actually shocked when he came back from his trip with a chintzy Russian nesting doll as a souvenir for her. Wrapped around the innermost doll was a note. "Let me take you out for dinner tonight- 7 o'clock- I'll meet you at your place."

She didn't need to ask how he knew where she lived. He was a master spy after all. She had wanted to live in the Tower like everyone else, but Stark was still converting the conference rooms over to apartments, so, at the moment, S.H.I.E.L.D. was renting a tiny studio a few blocks away for her. She was grateful for it; it sure beat living out of a trailer in New Mexico. Jane was lucky, though. Her work on the creation of a stable Einsten-Rosen Bridge to link Asgard and Earth was considered top priority, so she got one of the first converted apartments in the Tower. Not that she ever used it. She practically lived in her lab.

"Penny for your thoughts," Clint whispered in her ear, bringing her back to the present. They were only a block from her apartment. Clint had insisted on walking her back at the end of the night and Darcy knew that they were at that awkward part of a first date where she would be expected to invite him up for coffee, for drinks, for whatever would happen next. She'd been burned before by moving too fast in relationships, but she felt her breath catch as she looked up at his rugged profile.

"I was just thinking . . . ," she started, when she was cut off by Clint's phone.

"Sorry, I gotta take it; it's S.H.I.E.L.D."

Of course. Once again, S.H.I.E.L.D. was interfering with her love life. They were probably going to send him off to Madagascar or somewhere equally as remote.

Clint swore under his breath. "What is it?" Darcy asked, concerned by his pained expression. "He's escaped," he replied, clenching his fists.

He. No need for a name. The same man who still gave Clint, a trained agent and ruthless assassin, nightmares.

"Can you get back to your apartment alright? I need to get back to the Tower right now."

"Yeah, yeah. Sure; go."

"I'll call you," Clint shouted over his shoulder as he jogged away.

"That's what they all say," Darcy said softly under her breath.

A few seconds later, she felt a hand on her shoulder. She smiled. "I knew you'd be back for a good night kiss," she said as she turned around.

Only it wasn't Clint. Dressed impeccably in an expensive black suit with a long emerald green scarf, was Loki.

"Really? You've got to be kidding me!"

"That was hardly the response I was expecting, Darcy Lewis."

She looked up at him. He was at least a head taller than her even with the heels she was wearing. Her mind was racing. There could be no good reason for him being here.

"I was expecting abject terror. Do you know who I am? Do you have even the faintest inkling of what I could do to you?"

The words came out slowly, in a whisper, almost seductively, but the intention was to terrify and it worked.

Ever since Loki was sent back to Earth by Odin as part of his punishment, Darcy had been worried about running into him. Luckily, he was imprisoned in another part of the Tower and she had never met him face to face. Although his magic had been bound by Odin, everyone knew he was still highly dangerous.

"You are going to be blessed, my dear Darcy. I will use you to fulfill my true purpose of ruling this pathetic planet."

"I don't think taking me as a hostage will be very helpful. Look, you got out of the Tower, what, like ten minutes ago? At this point, everyone is starting to assemble and coordinate to try to find you. If you try to escape now, you're golden. But, if you try to drag my sorry self along, I'll just slow you down and you'll get caught."

Loki paused briefly and contemplated her words. "You may very well have a point there, my dear." With a small nod, he disappeared into the night. Even magically bound, he was very stealthy.

Darcy ran back to her apartment, praying that she would make it without stumbling in her heels. Once she was inside with the door locked, she called Clint and got his voicemail.

"Clint, it's Darcy. Loki nearly kidnapped me on my way back to my apartment. You've got to get over here right now."

Darcy immediately kicked off her heels and shed her dress. In no time, she had changed into jeans, a sweater and tennis shoes. Date clothes were great and all, but they were horrible in emergency situations. Darcy sat down on the couch and shivered, shock finally starting to set in.

A few minutes later, there was a knock on her door. She opened it up and saw Clint, in his full Hawkeye gear. She started to shake and cry. She hugged him with all her might. "He, he was there," she stuttered. He lifted up her chin with one finger. Tears were streaming down her face as he kissed her gently. All of a sudden, the kiss deepened and became punishing and brutal. Darcy let go of him and began to push against his chest to no avail. Clint grabbed the back of her head, twisting and jerking her hair and held her tightly in a vicelike grip.

She looked up and saw blue-grey eyes change to light green and Clint's face shimmer away leaving Loki's in its place. A malevolent grin spread across his face.

"I changed my mind."

That's when everything went black.