I Was Not Afraid Then, I'm Not Afraid Now (For Shea)

There was a rumor on Earth, a rumor that made the blood in Phil Coulson's veins boil. The rumor was that the man who had killed him, Loki, was back on Midgard looking for someone.

The thought of Loki made the scar on his chest tingle with pain. He remembered like it was yesterday: Loki had tricked him into attacking, earning him a stab through the heart. He thought he was going to die, he had promised Rebecca he was going to be home and he thought he was going to die.

When the doctors had saved him, he was ordered to help Fury gather more heroes and keep an eye on the ones that were working with them. That meant going all over the world. Yet no matter how far he went, he always ended up back here in Manhattan.

Sitting at the cafe, he stirred his drink. If Loki was on Earth, he vowed for the man to come find. He wasn't afraid then, he wasn't afraid now.

There were two reasons for Loki returning to Migard, though the main reason would have to wait for a bit. Thanks to his not-so-smart brother Thor, he'd heard that the man he'd killed...agent Coulson, wasn't actually dead. Since Loki's attack, Thor had remained in contact with the Avengers and those they worked with and had occasionally gone to visit, only to go back and speak to people like Odin and Sif about it. Obviously he hadn't stopped and thought about who else might be listening in.

Having overheard the conversation, Loki became curious and decided to go and see for himself. So now he was back on Midgard -known as Earth to the people who lived on it- and was looking around for the man known as Coulson.

After his last trip there though, Loki had decided to keep a low profile in public by wearing common clothes, doubting that anyone besides those he'd faced last time would recognise him without his Asgardian armour.
He walked down a street, keeping an eye out for the man, having had to question an agent he'd never met before about where Coulson would normally go while he wasn't working.

Phil put a hand to his chest, the old wound hurting him. He laughed as he was reminded of that children's book series Rebecca read in her youth: Harry Potter. Anytime the Dark Lord Voldemort would appear, the titular character's scar would burn. He laughed, thinking about how absured it was to think that his scar would hurt because Loki was near.

He remembered that day too well and as he ordered another coffee, his eyes roamed the Manhatten street. It was by his hand, his faking of his death, that the Avengers had won their war and he would not have it any other way.

As Loki walked down the street, one man's movement in particular caught his eye. He paused and stopped to look, raising an eyebrow as the man went from a hand on his chest as if in pain, to laughing.

He could only see the back of the man's head, but he had a feeling that this was agent Coulson. With a smirk, Loki silently came up behind him, standing just out of reach though he leaned forwards to make sure his words were heard only by the man they were intended for.

"You are quite lively for one who was impaled..."

As Phil heard the voice that belonged to the man who had killed him, all time seemed to stop. They had stopped him, they had made sure he was away. He turned, eyes not showing how fearful he actually felt. "Loki...you're supposed to be in prison in Asgard..."

"And you are supposed to be dead, so that fact is quite irrelevant." Loki said with a smirk, crossing his arms as he stood up straight again. "Who did you have to hire to fix you up hmm? Recovering from an injury like that is quite a feat indeed. I'm curious, how did you do that agent Coulson?"

Phil stood, turning to look at the man in all of his glory. While the age lines across his own face had gotten a bit deeper, he was not shocked to see that Loki had not changed a bit. He wondered just how old the god in front of him was. "Supposed to be and are, as you know, are two totally different things. I didn't hire anyone, Fury hired Joshua Foley to make sure I didn't die. I must say, I'm forever greatful that he did."

The scar on his chest burned and he looked over the men, "Now tell me, Loki, how did you manage to escape from Asgard without your brother finding you?"

"Oh yes, they are very different indeed." Loki said with a smirk. "I'm afraid though that I do not know of this 'Foley', but it sounds as if he has quite a gift with healing. I shall have to 'thank' him..."

He crossed his arms as he looked at the man in front of him, laughing in response to Coulson's question about his escape. "How did I escape? Clearly you mortals give Thor more credit than he deserves when it comes to intelligence. It was not that difficult really."

Phil felt his soul darken the more time he spent talking to Loki. This was the man who had almost caused him to break a promise to his seven year old daughter for God's sake! To be standing here, having a conversation with him was insane, it was something that no normal person would do.

But since when had Phil Coulson ever been a normal person and not a super agent?

"Foley will be hard to find since he's no longer on the grid," Phil replied casually, as if talking about why the last piece of pizza was no longer on the table. "You won't be able to thank him because, I'm afraid, you will never find out where he is."

The thought about Thor, though incredibly cruel, was true. Thor hadn't been a bright man. In fact, Coulson often laughed with the god when he didn't understand things. "I give Thor credit because Thor deserves it."

"Ah, well that is a shame indeed. You are lucky then that I have not come here to finish what I started." Loki said to him. "At least...not yet anyway. I admit though, I became curious when I heard the rumour that you still lived and I could not resist coming to see for myself. So, here I am."

With a grin, Loki took a step back and looked up at the sky to make their conversation look more casual to those around them. He didn't want to risk drawing too much attention to himself, deciding to have as few people as possible know he was on Midgard, at least until he was ready to reveal himself properly.

"Thor does not deserve as much credit as he gets, he is but a fool with a hammer. If Mjolnir had chosen someone else, then he would not be as loved as he is."

"You haven't come to end the world, well, that's promising," Phil rolled his eyes. He was kicking himself for not telling any of his agents where he was going. If Loki was going to attack him, no body would be able to rescue him. "Well you've come to see the rumor that I'm alive is true."

Phil turned fully in his chair to look at him, sipping his coffee. How could people not realize who he was? His face had been everywhere after the attack on Manhattan. "No, he's loved because he does things that try to help people."

"I did say not yet, but I suppose you agents care not for such information unless you are given a set date along with it to act upon eh?" Loki smirked, testing to see just how far he could push the man in public before he snapped. "And yes, it does appear that way. Unless of course, you are one of those 'decoys' Fury was once fond of...or perhaps something closer to the Vision?"

He looked around as Phil turned to face him properly, trying not to laugh. "Oh agent Coulson, have you forgotten that your kind forgets faces over time if they are not constantly reminded of them? You seem ...tense, is that why you worry? For all these people care, it could already have been millennia since they last heard of me. Thor is foolish to help such careless creatures."

"We don't need dates to stop the end of the world. We stopped you once without given dates," shrugged Phil as he looked at the god. There was an inate evil to him, as if he was trying to get him to fall to his anger and hatred for the god of mischief. At the mention of a decoy, Phil looked away. For a while they had to consider it. If Phil was going to actually be dead, he would need someone to look after Rebecca. A decoy would have had no problem doing that. "No, I'm not a decoy. How do you know we have those by the way? That's S.H.I.E.L.D private business."

"I don't worry. If I push the second speed dial on my phone, Captain America will be here in no time at all to handle you," Phil replied, glaring at the man, "We care about the people who care about us. Thor cares about us, so we care about him. You're wrong about humanity."

"Mm, that is true but only because of luck." Loki pointed out, a hint of bitterness in his voice. "If your heroes had reunited just a short time later than what they had, I'm sure this city would not look as it does now. As for the decoys, what makes you think I should reveal such a thing simply because you ask?"

After hearing the statement about having Captain America show up, the god made a sound, somewhere between amused and nervous. In an attempt to hide it, he let out a laugh. "How convenient for you. I take it the first is this precious daughter of yours Thor has mentioned you having?" He asked with a smirk. "Am I? Am I really that wrong agent? Tell me, how many of these people would willingly stand up for a stranger in trouble?"

"No, you would have failed. What was it I told you that day? Oh yeah, I remember, you lack conviction. It's a simple fact of life Loki, you don't have the stones to rule the world. You would crumble under the pressure," Phil replied, his voice firm in his belief. "As for how you know, I guess it doesn't matter. Stark was getting ready to reveal them to the world anyways."

Phil took another sip of his coffee, smirking into the mug as Loki made a sound that Phil could only guess was one of nerves. However, with the mention of his daughter he paled. Thor knew, yes. Barton and Stark both knew as well. Though they had the same last name, Phil hardly ever told people that they were actually related. It wasn't that he wasn't proud, on the contrary. He was immensely proud of his daughter. He didn't tell people because he didn't want Rebecca hurt. "Maybe I shouldn't have told Thor that but, yes, she is my daughter."

"You know why you're wrong, Loki? Because deep down while we may not help people who need it, we make choices that in the long run do."

"I would not!" Loki hissed, making sure he didn’t speak loud enough to gain other peoples’ attention. “You all saw how close I was victory. I would not ‘crumble’! I would rule over all of you mortals.”

He watched the man’s reactions carefully, unable to guess what he may be thinking, which bothered the god a bit. He hated not knowing things, which he blamed Odin for. He hid the irritation though, an almost blank look on his face.

“Thor is not someone you should tell things to if you want it kept secret. He has a habit of speaking of such things out loud, especially when he is drunk.” He responded, choosing to ignore Coulson’s last comment.

"Would being the key term here Loki. I may not have seen it with my own eyes but I heard the story about how you were bested by The Hulk, the creature that you wanted so freely to rule over," shrugged Phil. He had been in the hospital at the time, recovering from the near death experience he had from the stab wound in his chest thanks to Loki.

Cool and collected, Phil nodded as he casually sipped his drink, "Yes, I should have figured that. After all, Thor is the typical Norseman. He likes his mead and ale and will get insanely drunk. What I didn't plan on was him being able to talk with how drunk he was getting."

"I had already fought with Thor beforehand, it was hardly a fair fight!" Loki snapped at him, quickly going quiet again when a few people turned to look at them. "And the idea was not for me to rule over him. My plans for the Hulk worked out just fine. He attacked the others and helped break the group apart. ...I may have underestimated his power though. But only a little." He added quietly.

The god crossed his arms, before rolling his eyes as Phil spoke of Thor and his drinking. "You thought that a typical 'Norseman' would keep quiet while drunk?" He laughed and shook his head. "Do you not speak to those you work with? Selvig is quite aware of Thor's loud mouth and immaturity... Well, the kind that comes after drinking at least."

"You would know all about a fight not being fair. Do you remember how you stabbed me from behind? At least both Thor and Hulk fought you one on one, man to man. You were a coward about it," Phil shook his head. He didn't care who stared. He was use to being looked at like an oddity by his own agents, why should he care what strangers thought? "He did attack the others but they found something...someone...to rally behind."

"I don't know much about typical Norsemen, I'll admit that much," Phil shrugged, "Selvig and I talk more about work than we talk about anything else. He's a good man though."

"Oh; Has it been forgotten that I had just also bested Thor before you? Does that count for nothing? You all fail to seem that you rallied behind something no better than what your archer and Selvig did. Lies I believe you call them. That fact that you are here right now shows the 'Avengers' followed their leader on nothing more than a lie, which is what you all accuse me of doing. I showed them something more. I showed them the truth!" Loki hissed at Coulson.

He stood up straight, the illusion of him appearing as a normal human disappearing, the trickster god now standing there in his usual Asgardian outfit. He smirked now as people turned to look, some getting up and backing away when they realised who he was.

"Oh you mortals always amuse me." Loki laughed as he watched them.

"No, I remember that day. No matter how many times I try to get that day out of my head it doesn't happen," Phil started, his voice low and calm. He was very slowly losing his patience with this man. "Yes, they rallied behind a lie but at least we're not the god of lies. You're a coward, a liar, and what's worse, a traitor. Your brother trusted you. He thought that you were a good man. He tried to save your life on that Bifrost and you still came back to betray him."

When the illusion disappeared and the people around him backed up, Phil stood. His chest ached but his hand was on his gun. He pulled it, pointing it at Loki, "Don't do anything stupid, alright?"

"Stupid? Why would I do something like that? You are the fool here Coulson!" Loki hissed, not worried at all by the gun pointed at him. He'd been shot at by agents when he'd first come to Earth and barely gotten a scratch from them. The only gun that had actually managed to slow him down at all was the one Coulson had shot him with after Loki had stabbed him. "You dare try anything against me after our last meeting? A smarter man should know better."

Phil looked strong, not allowing his emotions to get in the way. "I am not a fool Loki. I...I..." but it was no use. The truth of the matter was that he was afraid of the man standing before him. He hadn't been afraid of death at first but the more and more he thought and recovered from it, the more scared he had been of the situation. He hadn't been in control. "Don't do anything Loki. You're in a public place and Cap'n and Tony are only a block away."

Loki tilted his head to one side, curious. "You really think the idea of a public place will deter me? Do you agents not learn from each other's mistakes? The Captain and Stark are the two who know best that being in public bothers me not."

He raised his hands as if surrendering anyway, wanting to see how Coulson would react. Loki had after all, surrendered on purpose once, his arrest leading him to be taken right where he wanted to be.

"Is this considered doing 'anything' agent?" He asked politely despite their history.

Phil shook his head, "No, I know being in a public place won't deter you. I thought being in a public place so close to where Stark was living would deter you. I mean, Bruce Banner is living there as well. You have to remember who Bruce Banner turns into, after the way he humiliated you so bad last time."

While he may not have been around for the battle of New York, Tony and Steve had filled him in on everything that had happened when they found out that he was alive. It was nice to see that, at least outwardly, they didn't resent him for the lie that he had told.

When Loki went to surrender, Phil still didn't trust him. It was odd that he'd do such a thing and, the last time he had surrendered, he had been able to hurt him. "What game are you playing at Loki?"