The 30 minute drive into the small town was rather pleasant for Loki and Sarah. Her car was more comfortable than the rusty truck he had rode in the night before. Loki didn't speak much but he listened to Sarah's stories. She spoke about her son who had grown up and left the house many years ago. She hadn't seen him in a while and she was worried about him.
"You never mentioned that you had a son before. Why don't you like to talk about him?" Loki was surprised that he felt concerned. He had only met them last night.
"I don't like to be reminded that I haven't seen him in so long. It's his work you see, I'm not really allowed to talk about it, sorry."
"No, don't be sorry. You don't want him to be mad at you. Trust me I've been on the other side of those arguments." Loki turned and stared out of the car window. Other than a road there was nothing around. The whole town could disappear and nobody would notice.
"You've been through quite an ordeal, haven't you?"
"You could say that, yes. Let's just say have family issues. It just makes me so angry thinking about it. All the lies and deceit, I can't call them family anymore."
"I can tell it pains you to talk about it so don't. If you ever want to talk about it though, I'm here. It helps to talk, trust me." She placed her hand on his shoulder to comfort him which Loki didn't see coming. Loki jolted his body at her touch, but then calmed down. It wasn't what he expected but he turned to smile at her, "Thank you." He turned back to stare out of the window. A single tear rolled down his face. The love Loki needed as a child had been given to Thor and yet nobody understood why Loki had become so cold. Only Odin could have saved him from his confusion but his arrogance blinded him. The truth was all that Loki needed to hear.
The car pulled up outside a clothing store which was just up the road from the hospital he had been in the night before. It was a small shop but fitted in perfectly with the small town.
"Here we are. You go on ahead. I'm just going to find Thomas; he doesn't have a cell phone so it might take me a while. Use this money to find something." She smiled at Loki and handed him bits of paper. She waved at him and wandered off down the street. Loki looked down at the money in his hand, "How peculiar, they call this money?" He stepped into the shop which had a couple of people in it and one shop assistant. Loki had never bought his own clothes as they had always been custom-made by the palace tailor. Looking around, Loki realised he had no idea what size he was but he decided to guess. He couldn't find anything he liked in the "t-shirt" section as everything looked so tight and fitted. Loki walked with a limp over to the suits instead. He picked up a raven black suit with a matching black shirt and a pair of shoes. Loki swapped his clothes in the fitting room. The suit fit perfectly on the Asgardian. He opened the curtain to look in the mirror. He liked the way the suit contrasted with his ice skin. The shop assistant crept over to Loki. She was young and had her eye on Loki. She leant in front of him which startled the Asgardian. Couldn't he shop in peace?
"Why don't you try this?" She held out a plain, dark green tie which Loki reached out for but she stopped him, "Oh no, let me. I'm great at tying ties." She winked at Loki who didn't respond to her flirting. She wrapped the tie around his neck and tied the tie. "Perfect."
"Thank you. How much is going to cost?" He showed her money that Sarah gave him.
"There's plenty enough there." She took the money off Loki and gave him the change, "Anything else I can do for you?"
"No, but thank you anyway." Loki stepped out of the store in the new suit. It was nice to wear something other than the palace clothes. "Mortal's clothes aren't that bad actually." Gunfire was heard round the corner of the street where Loki stood. He painfully jogged over to where the sound was coming from whilst others ran away. People were running away from the bank. Loki looked inside to see three masked men holding guns. One gun was pointed at the cashier, another pointed at civilians. One man had their gun pointed at Thomas and Sarah. "Typical," Loki muttered under his breath.
"No, run away before they shoot you!" Sarah screamed at Loki. The masked man turned round and saw Loki peering at him.
"Are you a cop? Answer me! Are you a cop?" The masked man was very fidgety as he shouted at Loki.
"No, they're my friends! Move or I'll stop you."
"You called the cops, didn't you? I'll shoot you know? Don't think I won't."
"I believe you. Please, don't hurt them." A siren was heard in the distance. The masked men started panicking. The man holding the couple hostage looked away from Loki for a few seconds but still had his gun pointed at them. Loki took his chance at the man but the plan backfired on him. Two gunshots were fired as Loki jumped on the man. Blood started to drip from the elderly couple's wounds. Loki ran over to them and held them in his arms. Tears streamed down the Asgardian's face. Nobody could imagine what amount of pain they were in. Thomas was already dead in his arms and Sarah was gasping for air.
"No, no, no. This can't be happening. What can I do? Help me," Loki cried.
"Find my son," Sarah croaked, "Explain what happened yourself. His name is Phil Coulson. Please..." She cried in pain, "It would mean a lot to me."
"It's no problem. I wish I could do more to help."
"Thank you, Loki." As she took her last breaths, Loki's body started shaking. This wasn't right, it wasn't fair. He bowed his head to hide his tears. The masked men started to escape with the money. A green glow surged into Loki's body and exploded out of him which caused his arms to fling wide open. Rage caused his eyes to turn white. He turned to the man who had shot Thomas and Sarah and thrust his hand at the man's throat. He used his other hand to create a circle of green fire around the other two masked men. He watched as the two men slowly burnt to death. Loki had turned ice cold. The good that had grown in his heart had vanished. Revenge was the only thing on his mind. Loki thrust the remaining man in the air with his hand. The green glow surrounded the man who suddenly shattered into a thousand tiny pieces. Loki wasn't thinking straight. He turned to look at Sarah who was still alive. She had seen the whole thing. He suddenly realised what he had done. Loki collapsed to his knees in a mess of tears and blood. Sarah dragged herself over to the sobbing Asgardian. She didn't say anything but instead she placed her arms around him and held him in her arms. Suddenly the dark magic which had occurred started reversing itself. The man who had blown into tiny pieces appeared before them once more. The two other men suddenly had life back in them and their skin was unharmed but Thomas did not wake. "I can't undo something if it wasn't caused by my magic," Loki sobbed.
Sarah looked at Loki, "It will be okay Loki. I'll be with him very soon." She smiled and collapsed in his arms. Her heart stopped beating and Loki kissed her forehead.
"I'm so sorry. I'm so very sorry, it was my fault." The good that had disappeared for a few moments had returned. All he needed was someone to forgive him.
