Disclaimer: I don't own Thor or The Avengers.

Summary: Darcy stands, stock-still and stunned, as she watches the events play out on her television screen, and the one that started it all. LokiDarcy, set during The Avengers, oneshot

This is a little something new. I love The Avengers movie, obviously, and this little scene came into my mind while watching it, so I suppose there are spoilers for the movie in here, and it's a bit AU as well concerning the events of the Thor movie and Loki being on Earth and stuff. I just wanted to write this little piece because I thought the concept was interesting and, of course, LokiDarcy is my pairing of choice. Anyway, I hope that y'all enjoy this!

Red Handed

Shit was going down.

The city was getting destroyed, millions of…of…whatever those things were attacking the place. Mauling anything that came into their path. Gigantic monsters were wreaking havoc on the city and Darcy Lewis could do nothing but stand and watch.

She wasn't sure when the broadcast started, wasn't sure when they started airing all of the crap that was going down in the city, but the only thing she knew was that she couldn't turn away from it.

And then she saw him.

If she couldn't turn away before, she sure as hell couldn't turn away now.

That familiar face, grinning as if he were a god of destruction rather than one of mischief, was enough to make her pause.

The name came, unbidden, through her mind.

Loki.

She fisted her hands in the pockets of her hoodie and just watched.

This was…was…

Ridiculous.

Of course he was the head of this. Why wouldn't he be?

She knew it was stupid of her to have such a reaction to this. She was just a girl, one that he had hardly said two words to, and yet her chest felt oddly tight. Darcy wasn't even one of those kinds of girls, the hopeless romantic with the fist held to their chest as their beloved defended their honor. She was the complete opposite of that.

But she didn't feel that way now.

As if everything was diluted as soon as she saw his face on the television, Darcy heard no more. She could hear nothing else from the people around her, from the journalists and news people on the television. She paid them no attention, instead focusing all her brainwaves onto seeing the image of him again.

People were talking about him, but the words didn't penetrate her brain. People were saying awful things about him - which were true at this point in time, but she didn't want to believe it.

But she kept watching.

This felt bad. So, so bad - and wrong. There were so many negative adjectives going through her head that she didn't have time to process them all. They just floated around in her brain, like annoying bees or whatever, and taunted her with her inability to swat them.

More than that, she wondered why.

Why was he doing this? Sure, he had always been a bit troubled - okay, maybe a lot troubled - but he was now going on some kind of spree with all these things…

And then a close up shot of what she was thinking of so desperately.

Standing regal and elegant on top of Stark tower, Loki looked in glorious triumph at the destruction he'd caused.

Darcy felt her heart start hammering away in her chest. It was an odd feeling, of being confronted with something that she deemed long gone from her. It was another thing altogether that she would be confronted with that very something - that very person - trying to destroy everything around him.

He was dressed in what she normally would have considered to be a badass outfit - the golden, horned helmet on his head, the billowing green cape, even a glowing weapon of some kind. She could see, as clearly as if he were standing in front of her, the bright flecks of green that made up his eyes. It all served to further confuse her and her strangely active heart.

His grin was what caught - and held - her attention.

His lips parted, revealing white teeth that were gritted in pure joy, as he watched what could be the end of the city at his hands.

He was an angel of destruction if she ever saw one.

The reporter was talking over the footage of Loki, saying random things about how something like this had happened. Saying that Tony Stark was in the fray, fighting and protecting. There was footage of people that the reporters were calling Captain America and the Hulk and Thor.

Thor. God, Jane would be having a coronary if she saw…

Her thoughts had gone off their original path, but then were wrapped right back up by it when they showed Loki fighting off one of the people that were against him. An irrational, stupid worry for him reared its ugly head.

Then her phone started to ring.

She moved over to her bag and found it without taking her eyes off the television. Darcy answered without even seeing who it was. Jane's voice, frantic and bizarrely hopeful, buzzed in her ear.

"Are you seeing this?"

Darcy wanted to come back with a sarcastic remark, but just couldn't find it in her. Her eyes drifted back to the screen and saw the Trickster's face yet again. In that moment, his eyes locked directly on the camera, so accurately that Darcy felt as if he was staring directly at her. Only at her.

She swallowed, feeling a nervous energy seep into her bones; she closed her eyes and saw green.

"Yeah…yeah, I am."

End.