When We Were Gods
His voice was low like a whisper, but smooth like the purr of an oiled machine, perfectly to be heard echoing through the abandoned hallways. “You are not quite like the rest of them, are you?”
There was little to be seen, nothing more than a shadow on the wall, and a flicker in the corner of his eye. Steve could hear him, feel him, the thrill of moving mass settling like a rumble in his chest, and the hum of energy floating through the air to pierce his ears.
“You are not human... not entirely.”
“And you are not Asgardian,” Steve answered, speaking out into the hollow of the void that stretched around him, lights dimming with every passing second, “Not entirely.”
A low chuckle vibrated through the walls, coming from everywhere and nowhere at the same time. Steve gripped his shield a little tighter, keeping it pressed close to his body as a form of protection. He had held his own against Loki before, so now should not be different.
However, there was a hum of magic present that had not been there before.
“Don’t be afraid,” Loki said, sounding as if he stood so close, but there was nothing be seen, “I need your help as much as you need mine.”
Steve jutted his chin into the air, looking ahead stubbornly. “Who says I need your help?”
“Would you be here if not?” A slight breeze crept up through his clothes, slipping between the cracks. “I can feel the storm inside you, like a beacon does it draw me in. As you wander through the hallway to search for a man you lost, you do not realize that I am doing much the same.”
“You’re looking for someone?” Steve turned once more, having circled around in his spot more than once in the last few minutes. “Who?”
“All in due time, Captain,” Loki said, “All in due time.”
|X|
Each having lost someone they care about, they wander the Earth individually to try and find them again. Steve is desperate in his search for Bucky, begrudgingly accepting the help of a demigod who was too unwilling to admit he was at his wits ends as well.
Later, they find out, that the vanishing of Bucky and Thor might have more in common than they thought before, binding the two together in their search more than they would like. It was a forced partnership, they would tell anyone who asked, nothing more than a need to achieve the same goal.
Beneath the surface, however, things were not what they seemed.