Disclaimer: Photo (c) Universal Studios

Loki shifted position in the plastic chair beside the woman's bed, holding the folder against his thigh while he got more comfortable. Cassandra had been unconscious for three days and hadn't twitched so much as a finger, but she had finally stopped glowing at least.

Fury's dossier on the woman was annoyingly thorough. Loki flipped through the loose sheets of paper to an old newspaper clipping featuring a story about a nurse finding a baby in a dumpster outside the hospital cafeteria on her lunch break.

A dumpster.

Thrown away like trash.

Conflicting emotions trickled through Loki as he gazed down at the clipping and read the beginning of Cassandra's life story. The middle-aged woman beamed proudly in the black and white photograph holding a small bundle in her arms. A tiny fist protruded from the heap of blankets as if waving in defiance of her mistreatment.

He brushed his fingers carefully over the teared and frayed edges of the yellowed paper. Fifty-year-old Madeline Pierce, unable to have children of her own, adopted the pitiful abandoned child.

For many years they lived in a small town in upstate New York. Cassandra attended a private college in the same region before moving to New York City to attend NYU for her graduate degree. Shortly after completing her studies Cassandra was hired at Rosenbaum Auction House as an associate curator.

SHIELD intelligence had even acquired copies of her bank statements and other financial records. Texts and emails. They probed their grubby fingers into every crack and crevice of Cassandra's life, leaving nothing untouched.

Loki's brows rose at a string of particularly heated break up texts exchanged between Cassandra and her former boyfriend Casey of two years ago. Apparently, Casey was a cheating asshole that deserved to be castrated and have his dick crammed down his throat.

He chuckled despite himself. Cassandra had fire in her to threaten a man with eunuch-hood. He flipped back to her financial records.

The auction house paid Cassandra well. One hundred and fifty thousand a year. Loki skimmed the bank statements briefly, pausing on a recurring transaction for Green Meadows Assisted Living Facility in Syracuse. Most of Cassandra's income went to the facility, the rest covered her monthly living expenses. So, the good daughter supported her adopted mother in her dotage.

Loki thought he might vomit from the appalling sweetness of it all.

Unfortunately, the parallels between Cassandra's past and his own were undeniable. It brought up old memories of Frigga, the Asgardian queen who raised him. Loki always regretted the last conversation he had with his mother.

Scrunching his eyes shut, Loki exhaled sharply, mentally locking away the pain in a deep dark pit before he spiraled down into the familiar helpless rage that only ended in disaster for him. It was no use dwelling on Frigga. Her death could not be undone.

Loki had his own problems to contend with. Like deciding whether to accept Fury's bargained. He wanted to refuse on principle. The bitter anger between him and the director was rote by now. To be ordered to care for a mortal was the greatest insult to his dignity.

What value existed in preserving Cassandra's life when she only had decades at best? He shook his head slightly at the ridiculousness of it.

Closing the folder, Loki set it on the bed tray, shifting his gaze toward Cassandra's sleeping form.

He did not anticipate a pair of warm brown eyes staring back at him.

*************************************************************************************

Cassandra drifted slowly awake, the sound of beeping machines muted and far away. Her vision was blurry at first, gradually sharpening along with her awareness. A tall lanky man lounged lazily in a chair beside her bed, long legs stretched out in front of him as he read.

Her lips parted in surprise as she recognized him. Loki!

Cassandra had not lain eyes on Loki since he disappeared in Central Park a year ago. The Asgardian had vanished on her without a trace.

Questions zoomed through her head like a freight train as she grappled with the reality of him sitting beside her bed. Why was he here? Wherever here was. Did he rescue her? Save her from the explosion?

If so, why? Given the havoc he caused during the New York invasion, Cassandra knew he care little for human lives. Why should she be any different?

Cassandra massaged her temples gingerly against the pain pulsing through her head as she tried to make sense of this. The last thing she remembered before passing out was terror and the searing heat scorching her back.

Loki was absorbed in the contents of his folder, unaware Cassandra studied him. Inky black hair swept back from a high forehead, falling to a pair of magnificent broad shoulders. She felt the bizarre urge to run her fingers through Loki's hair to confirm the strands were as soft and silky as they looked.

His long narrow face was not handsome in the traditional sense. His chin was too pointed, and his hollowed cheeks made him look malnourished. Loki was thin for a man of his height, not the least bit imposing. Like a runway model who lived off carrot sticks and water.

It amazed her this was the same person who wreaked such havoc in New York nearly a decade ago. A good stiff wind would blow him over.

Still, there was something about him. A natural charm seemed to ooze from his pores and drew the slightest smile to her lips.

Loki's long graceful fingers turned to another page, his thin lips pursed in thought.

Her heart rate spiked on the monitor, causing her to blush in embarrassment. What on earth was she thinking mooning over a mass murderer, even a good-looking one?

Clearly the explosion knocked a few screws loose in her head.

Cassandra took a moment to absorb her surroundings. She was in a hospital room. There was something odd about the room. No landscape photographs or paintings lined the stark white walls. She saw no sign of a TV mounted anywhere.

Hospitals were getting cheaper every day with their care. The least they could do is give her cable TV. Cassandra mused.

She started to sit up, stopping when something long and hard bumped against her stomach. Cassandra glanced down to see the fingers of her left hand clutching the staff from the warehouse.

They trembled on the ancient wood as she slowly released her grip on the staff. A painful tingling shot through her hand as blood rushed back into her fingers. She flexed them experimentally wincing. How long had she been asleep anyway?

Loki exhaled, his breath soft and gentle. Closing the thick folder, he set it aside, gaze shifting in her direction.

Cassandra froze midmotion unable to look away from the sharp intelligence in his sapphire blue eyes.

They stared at each other for a few seconds.

Cassandra had to admit, when Loki wasn't all torn and bloody, he was awfully sexy in a bad boy sort of way.

Her heart rate kicked up again, the monitor beeping loudly as her pulse soared. Ducking her head, Cassandra focused on the staff instead willing the traitorous medical equipment to shut up. "Where am I?" Her voice was hoarse, throat raw from the smoke she inhaled from the explosion.

She reached for a pitcher of water on the bed stand and gulped down the contents greedily without concern for niceties.

When he didn't answer immediately, Cassandra cautiously lifted her head away from the pitcher, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand.

The god lounged regally in the ugly orange plastic chair like it was a throne. His eyes sparkled with mischief and she knew that he knew her dirty thoughts. Thankfully, he didn't call her on it.

Tilting his head to the side, he considered Cassandra's question. "So, the lady has finally deigned to wake. About time, I was growing bored watching you sleep."

Fighting back impatience, she tried again. "Where are we?"

Loki gazed around the room innocently. "Oh, nowhere special. An underground complex run by a spy organization who likes to lock up beings far superior than themselves in a misguided illusion of control."

Cassandra guessed the superior being he referred to was himself. Talk about a huge case of narcissism. "What does this have to do with me? Did they find out about how we met in the park?"

"I wouldn't know about that since I've never laid eyes on you before." Loki avoided her eyes as he said this.

Why was he lying? Or didn't he remember her? She tensed when something occurred to her. She scanned the walls of the room more closely. Were they being spied on? "I'm not a supernatural being so why am I here instead of a hospital?"

Loki smiled wickedly. "By surviving the explosion you've fallen on SHIELD'S radar, my dear. I must admire your entrance on to this stage of players. Quite spectacular." Then his smile faded away, expression growing cold, blue eyes like ice chips. "But you will find out you're far outclassed by anyone within these walls."

The temperature in the room plummeted several degrees and the hairs rose on the back of Cassandra's neck. Suddenly, she didn't find the god so much charming as dangerous. This was the Loki who invaded the earth and mercilessly cut down anyone who got in his way.

Swallowing hard, Cassandra focused on the first part of his statement. Clearly, something much larger was going on here. Something she didn't entirely understand. "Regardless, I need answers. Namely how I survived." She glanced down at the staff already suspicious.

"I owe you nothing, woman." Loki replied indifferently. "Talk to Fury if you wish to know more."

Cassandra opened her mouth to challenge him further. When the door hissed open admitting a group of people, she clamped her lips shut.

A pair of armed officers marched into the room along with a doctor. The female officer shot Loki a dirty look earning a sly grin in return. Ignoring the god, she turned to Cassandra. "Dr. Pierce, now that you are awake, you're coming with us."

While the doctor detached the wires from Cassandra's body, the second officer produced a pair of handcuffs and snapped them around her wrists.

Cassandra swallowed hard as the cold metal snicked into place. She was in deep shit.

Hauling her out of bed, the officer jerked her to her feet. Cassandra yelped when she put weight on her left foot, a throbbing pain shooting through her ankle. She stumbled into Loki's chair nearly falling into the god's lap.

Loki caught her carefully around the waist, the heat of his hands seeping through the thin material of her hospital gown. "You mortals are so clumsy. It's a wonder you can walk without killing yourselves." He said amusement clear in his tone.

Cassandra didn't have time to wonder the reason behind his sudden solicitousness. The officers broke out into an argument.

"Banks! Not so rough! She's injured remember?" The female officer barked at her comrade.

"Apologies, ma'am. I forgot." The male officer apologized then motioned Cassandra forward. "Move."

The two officers stepped back with the doctor to give Cassandra room to maneuver. They did nothing to help her as she hobbled one small step at a time toward the door.

Five minutes passed before Loki lost patience with her struggle.

"Oh, enough of this foolishness. Its pathetic to watch." Loki shoved past the officers and scooped Cassandra up into his arms, sliding one arm beneath her knees, the other bracing against her back. He smirked down at her startled face. "Don't fall for me now."

Cassandra rolled her eyes at the cheesy line. "I won't fall for you as long as you don't drop me."

Loki chuckled at her snark and stalked off down the corridor. The two officers scrambled to keep up with his long powerful strides.

A/N: Here's another chapter. I hope you liked it! This was fun to write. The Loki-Cassandra official meet. I wanted the two to banter a bit, and really start the dynamic of their relationship. I used Loki to divulge Cassandra's background because I wanted to do it in a different way than in most stories.