"Loki Laufeyson!"
He clenched his fists. This name. They had chosen this abject name.
Very well, then. Let them hear his name. Let them shout their hate. Let them fear him.
"You stand here guilty of High Treason, Murder and Murder Attempts, on the Realms of Jotunheim, Midgard and Asgard, including against the heir to the throne, Thor Odinson!"
The heir to the throne. Thor the Mighty. Thor the Silent, rather. Usually so talkative, he had not opened his mouth since the beginning of the event. And what was that look on his face? Shame? Oh, but he had no reason to be, the only cause of his shame was going to disappear very quickly.
"For your crimes, I, Odin, King of Asgard, sentence you to death by decapitation!"
Ah, Odin. The Wise. The Benevolent. The Liar.
Lying to his people. Lying to his own family.
But now, everything was getting back into order, wasn't it? Odin was going to remove the stain on his family, and everyone would soon forget about the monster he had brought inside Asgard, the Frost Giant he had dissimulated.
The crowd was huge, he had to acknowledge that. He knew personally a great number of persons gathered today. He could read despise on their face. Hate, for some. Anxiety, for others. Good. At least, his last moments would be in front of the greatest audience he had ever seen.
The scaffold was not really high. It was outside of the palace. The sky was bright blue. He had not felt the warmth of the sun nor the wind against his face for a long time. He had lost track of time since the trial.
The executioner pulled on the chain tied to his neck to command him to step forward. He had gotten used to the shackles around his wrists and ankles, but never to the metal collar. The humiliation to be chained like a beast was as intense as the first day he had felt the contact of iron around his neck.
Anyway, it was going to be over soon.
He was forced to kneel. He could see the giant axe, on his right. From where he was, he could perfectly glare at the man he had once called father, who was looking at him with supreme contempt, as well as the one he had called brother, who could not bring himself to look at all. Coward.
His mother was not here. Well, even her had lied to him. Was she going to miss him? Probably not. Who would miss someone, no, not someone, something like him?
His shackles were tied to the scaffold. He let an ironical laughter slip. Still wary, really? Where would he go, now?
"Does the convicted have any last words?" Odin questioned.
Last words. They could not be taken away from him. They had to mark everyone's mind. They had to...
Mind.
Why was his brain focusing on this word?
Mind.
His breath stopped. This was...
There was something wrong. There was something very, very wrong.
"Has the Silvertongue lost his wits?" A voice in the audience shouted.
Several bursts of laughter followed. He grinned his teeth. They would...
No. They were not important. He should stop listening.
What happened? Why did he suddenly feel that everything around him was horribly... fake?
"So be it!" Odin declared "Proceed with the execution!"
The executioner roughly grabbed his head, to lean it on the chopping block. He seized the axe. The metal shone before his eyes.
It was not real. He did not know why, but he knew that all of this, even the sensation of cuffs around his limbs, was not real.
"Stop." He ordered.
"It is a little late to beg for mercy, traitor." The executioner snickered.
Right. Useless to say "it is not real". He had to play with the rules.
As the executioner was about to swing his weapon, he was suddenly hit by a colossal punch, which propelled him down the scaffold.
He smiled. It had worked. He was Loki. Odinson.
"Also, Taipan." A voice he suddenly remembered to know reminded him.
She was massaging the hand around which was still shining the knuckle-duster. Her name was Morgan. Dumas, like the author of The Count of Monte-Cristo.
"He cannot hear you, right?" She asked, as she was unshackling him "He can create thoughts, but he cannot find your thoughts."
Loki stood up. He dropped his cuffs on the wooden floor. The crowd was petrified.
"I suppose. After all, you are just in my mind."
Illusion-Morgan smiled. She was beautiful. He wanted to kiss her, but thought that waiting for the real Morgan would actually be much better. Therefore, he turned to Odin.
"Remove your mask." Loki smirked.
The illusion shattered.
Coming back was brutal. Extremely brutal. First of all, the pain was back. Loki was still standing up, but at the very moment he realized it, his legs stopped supporting him.
There was no time for this. Nevertheless, the Asgardian had the impression that his body itself was telling him "I can't take it anymore, I need ten seconds, just ten seconds of complete immobility".
Alright, ten seconds, no more.
Likewise, his brain more than welcomed this handful of seconds. The vague images of the illusion created by the Mind Stone were still dancing before his eyes. Loki shook his head to make them go away. None of this -his captivity, followed by his execution- was real at all. What would have happened, if he had not realized it quickly enough? Would he have died? Could a broken mind break a body as well?
Most probably.
Loki could smell fresh earth. He clung to the sensations he knew were not fake, mentally asking Morgan not to be too long. Suddenly, a groan of both pain and fury sent a sharp warning in his mind.
"You..." Thanos articulated with difficulty "Miserable runt!"
Well, you just got your ass kicked by a runt.
Thanos was still on his knees. He had visibly been affected by Loki's counterattacks. The Mad Titan's face was deformed by pure rage, but also by damages made by the Power Stone; blood was trickling down his forehead. He neglectingly spat some on the ground, but took time to stand up. His right hand was holding his head. It seemed that he had used the Mind Stone right after having been punched, meaning that the whole illusion had hardly lasted more than two seconds. Above all, Thanos was stupefied. He would probably never have imagined that Loki could not only resist him, but literally make sure he bit dust, and on top of that, with his own weapons.
Enough, Loki told himself. He had rested enough. He had to get up before Thanos did. But could he get up? Could he?
Come on. If you do not get up, you never will. And neither will Thor.
This time, he was the one protecting Thor. This time, he was the one who was fighting for his brother. He could not give up! He had to get up!
Brother, give me your strength.
A rumble made him startle. Loki shivered. Thanos was standing. Meaning he had to stand. Now.
"I will... bury you... alive!" The Titan shouted.
Loki did not even have the time to process the sentence that he felt a gaping pit under his feet. The terrible sensation of falling took hold of his body and mind, yet he caught a glimpse of the shining Space Stone and realized Thanos' intention.
He was falling in a deep crater, and if the impact did not kill him, the amount of rocks about to crush him would probably give a better result.
What could he do? What would Thor do, if he was in his place?
Easy. Thor would have gotten up. The fact was, Loki was not Thor. Fighting the way his brother did had no chance of success.
And Morgan, what would she do?
Probably say something like "You are the god of Crazy Ideas. Find one." But he was a little short of inspiration.
Morgan, give me an idea.
A few seconds later, the Asgardian found himself surrounded by rocks.
Now, it was dark. Loki had been badly shaken, but he was alive. In his head was still echoing Morgan's inquiry, when they were both in the Outback cabin;
"Have you ever tried to shapeshift into a turtle?"
Yes, he had. Only once. How old was he? Could not remember. He had not attempted it again, considering it useless and ridiculous.
Moron, moron, moron.
Loki took back his Asgardian form, in order to push the boulders above him. Morgan was strong, he acknowledged. Her Midgardian nature had been an obstacle to this realization. She did not look strong, but she was. Stubborn, daring, clever and strong. Just a different kind of strength, that was all.
He emerged from the heap of rocks, bruised, exhausted, but alive. How long would he manage to shapeshift? He could not know precisely. But he had to carry on. Loki raised his head towards the sky. The crater was really deep. No time to lose.
Ravens were very rapid and agile. Contrary to his eagle form, Loki did not need momentum to take off. He flied as fast as he could, then dashed towards Thanos before taking back his Asgardian appearance, to throw a knife right at his head. The incredulous Titan did not have the time to avoid it, and the blade drew a long and deep cut across his face, between his eyes.
"How many times will I have to kill you?!" Thanos vituperated.
"I just can't seem to die." Loki smirked.
Although the girl seemed very at ease with Som, she was at first a little intimidated by Morgan. The latter sat down in front of Gamora, doing her best to hide her urge to ask question after question.
"Are you the friend he always talks about?" The child suddenly inquired, pointing out Som, who could not refrain a smile.
"I'm afraid so. Tell me, what did he say?" Morgan giggled.
"That you catch snakes with your bare hands, that you invented a card game you can only play with him and no one else, and that you are so sensitive to spices, once you ran away just after hearing the name Jalfrezi Curry." Gamora beamed.
"Oh, for so little."
"He also said that you are very strong, and you were going to come and save everyone trapped here, and then break all of Thanos' teeth with your own Gauntlet."
A feeble smile appeared on Morgan's face.
"Without your help, I cannot save anyone." She told Gamora "But I am confused. I thought you were... older."
"You two are in the same situation." Som informed "She is a pure soul."
Gamora slowly nodded. She suddenly seemed on the verge of crying.
"He sacrificed me." She whimpered "He just... He just wanted the part of me he preferred."
"What do you mean? Do you know where your body is?" Morgan asked.
"On a planet called Vormir. In the snow. He dropped me on the stone."
Morgan bit her lips. A sacrifice. Of course.
"He was very sad when he won." Gamora added.
"Who? Thanos?"
"Mmh-hm. I think he misses me."
Morgan recalled the projection of his daughter which Thanos had summoned in his last moments of consciousness, when about to succumb to the poison.
"Do you miss him?" She replied.
"Yes. He is very bad but he is my father. I miss him a lot."
Som discreetly sighed. Revolt and understanding were battling inside Morgan's chest. The child she was facing was not Gamora's soul, but a part of it. There was a time, in the woman's life, where she had indeed been attached to her father. Thanos had only thought about this specific part of her. Strange love. Not of the entire Gamora, but of a piece of Gamora.
"I also miss Peter."
"Peter? Which Peter?" Morgan repeated, remembering Stark evoking a Peter as well.
"Peter Quill. Before arriving here, I was with him." Gamora explained "We were a team. A family"
"Oh! The Guardians of the Galaxy!" Morgan exclaimed "I've met Rocket!"
Gamora seemed even sadder. She hugged her knees against her chest.
"I don't know who is here and who is not here. I can't see anyone." She sobbed.
"Have you... seen the Soul Stone?" Morgan questioned.
"No. But it's looking for you."
"That is good, because so am I. Where can I find it?"
"Over there." Gamora simply answered.
She was now pointing out the porch standing in the middle of the orange void, a few feet away, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. Morgan immediately thought about a sort of Chinese pagoda. There was nothing different to see on the other side, but things were not always what they seemed. Which was especially true in this weird world.
"How do you know what the Soul Stone wants?" Morgan carefully inquired "How come it feels so... familiar to you?"
"It ate me."
It took a few seconds for Morgan to process the information. But after all, the Soul Stone had never hidden it. Survival at its finest. Feeding on souls, instead of meat.
Gamora was fidgeting with a piece of her clothing. She visibly had something to add.
"You are going to talk to the Stone?"
"I am going to give the Stone hell." Morgan smirked.
"Be careful. You are not going to have any protection. It will try to eat you as well. To make you lose yourself."
"I know. The thing is, Whatever-its-name already tried."
Surprise and sympathy were visible in the green-skinned girl's gaze. Morgan stood up.
"Morgan?" Som intervened "Honestly, I am worried sick now... Anyway, I know it's completely useless to say that but... Whatever the Soul Stone is or does... I'm on your side. Always."
Don't cry. Don't cry, don't cry, don't cry. Oh, you know what, fuck it.
"It's not useless, it's definitely not..." She managed to stammer "It's just... I don't know what I would do, or where I would be without you."
"No one to play cards nor sing karaoke with. That sucks."
This guy. What are the chances to meet someone like him again?
"Som." Morgan remembered, as she was about to walk under the pagoda "Also... Loki is out there. He will need your help too."
"You think so? Isn't he a god?"
"Of Crazy Ideas only. You, on the other hand, are quite something." She winked.
More mischief to make. More answers to come.
Okay so, since this chapter was mostly based on mind/soul control, I thought I could give some precisions about the hardest Infinity Stones to manage:
- The Mind Stones enables its owner to expand his mental capabilities, to control and create thoughts. Loki and Morgan are not invulnerable to its powers, but I figured that since thoughts are linked to emotions, as long as their souls are "hidden", so are their thoughts. When Thanos creates the illusion of Loki's execution, he is able to picture Odin, Thor, Asgard and so on, because he knows a lot about him, thanks to mental manipulation. But more precision about that later on.
- In the Soul World, everyone person's thoughts are still his or her own, but the Stone manipulates their feelings. Gamora has all her adulthood memories but she loves Thanos more than hates him.
See you in the next chapter!