Blind Date

Chapter One

Loki was bored, and a bored Loki is never a good thing.

Usually confined to the 35th floor, Loki had discovered a way out a week ago and now that the Avengers, his keepers, were gone, some sort of mission on the other side of this rock, Loki was able to come and go as he pleased.

As he went floor to floor, examining the building, he was surprised to find someone left behind, working in a glass fronted laboratory-cum-office. She didn't notice him and having been mostly alone for the four weeks he'd been here, Loki felt the need to be interact with someone; even if they just ended up trading insults, it was better than nothing.

The doors whooshed open almost silently and the woman looked up.

"Who's there?" she asked.

Loki froze in place, wondering why her eyes focused near him rather than on him.

"Tony, if this is your idea of a joke, I'm not above hiding prawns in your Iron Man suit again."

Loki kept perfectly still and after a few moments of listening intently, she evidently decided nothing was there and turned away.

"Jeeves, where are we on the simulation?"

'The computer model has finished running, Dr Lang. The addition of vibranium decreased the efficiency by nine percent.'

"Okay," she thought for a moment then began speaking softly to herself. "We need to find a way to stabilise the alloy and absorb the vibrations without losing its structural integrity. Maybe I'm going about this the wrong way. Jeeves," she spoke up. "I want you to run the model again, this time with five, ten and fifteen percent lead alloys. It's a soft metal, it should absorb some of the momentum."

"Yes, Doctor."

Loki watched, fascinated as she reached for a cardigan, her hand feeling around for it, rather than just grabbing it.

His luck here hadn't been wonderful so far but things might just be changing. Not only did he have a way out of his prison, he evidently had discovered a blind inhabitant of the tower. This was perfect as it allowed him to be with someone else, without the tedious business of actually having to interact with them. Even better still was the fact she needed to talk to her computer rather than typing, it meant she spoke her thoughts aloud and that provided a nice background chatter for Loki.

He silently moved deeper into the room and found a chair, watching as his new pet, Dr Lang the computer had called her, crossed the lab to a kitchen area. She didn't even have to feel her way, so clearly she was used to moving around in here.

He watched as she filled an electric kettle with one cup of water from the tap, then she reached for one of three canisters, tracing her fingers over something on the lid before she opened one and added a teabag to a slightly larger cup than the first one, then she made her way to the fridge and retrieved a carton of milk, sniffing it. The kettle boiled and she added the water, just the right amount to leave room for a dollop of milk still not risk spilling any.

Loki was impressed with her ingenuity, expecting the use of boiling water to be too difficult for someone without sight.

She went back to work and Loki listened intently, eventually learning that she was working on new form of metallic armour that would absorb shocks without transferring the energy to the person inside the armour. It was primarily for Tony Stark's suits but could easily be used for an armoured vehicle.

"Okay, Jeeves," the doctor stretched. "I want you to order a seven and nine percent aluminium alloy and the eleven percent lead and have them shipped to the testing lab. I want the progress reports and comparisons to pure vibranium, and alert me as soon as they're typed up, don't wait for them to be submitted."