Hi everyone! So, here it is, the last chapter of a story I very stupidly thought I could wrap it up in 5 chapters max! Special thanks to CurtisMcQueen8 and Nayruh, always pointing out what's good and what could be improved, I feel privileged that you took this time to help me!
See you at the end of the chapter for the final comments!
Loki has barely set foot into the vast dining room of the compound, with Morgan next to him and Valkyrie following on his heels (he may not be on Asgard but he is still the Prince, and any reminder of his status is never a bad idea), that the first voice greeting him belongs, of course, to the inexhaustible racoon.
"I hope you got some rest, 'cause they're a bit on edge." Rocket warns, ostensibly designating the small group of Avengers nearby, which consists of the Widow, the Captain, and this umpteenth metal-armed person (true that there starts to be plenty of them around), Buchanan Barnes.
As well as, a little further away from them, with his back leaned against the wall, Sam Wilson.
Loki flashes his best hypocritical smile at him. The man simply huffs and looks away, his gaze marked by contempt. His right arm is surrounded by a thick bandage, which Loki cannot really say he is sorry for.
"I guess you already know what happened." Mister America starts, addressing both him and Morgan.
Valkyrie, who visibly assumes she has done her fair share of the work, casually walks towards the kitchen counter, around which the Guardians of the Galaxy, except for Nebula, are already gathered, and starts to rummage in one of the numerous paper bags placed there. Once she has found what she was looking for, which turns out to be a more than generously filled sandwich, she goes to sit between Groot and Drax, fairly uninterested by what the Avengers have to say.
"Wanda Maximov cleared off." Morgan sums up, settling on, as usual, the edge of a sofa "But I find it a little hard to see why we would know where she plans to go, since she has tried to kill us both. Twice."
"Yeah, because you totally didn't ask for it." Wilson spits.
"Sam. Please, we talked about this." Rogers tries to temper "You've seen with your own eyes that Wanda is not herself."
The man does not reply, only straightens up against the wall, his face now marked by concern.
At least, he is not stubborn enough to deny what he has witnessed, Loki observes, since he had a ringside seat to contemplate the Witch's explosive, that is a beautiful euphemism, personality disorder. The Avengers may still be reluctant to listen to Morgan and Loki, but they will evidently be much less distrustful when the warning comes from one of their companions.
Also, it seems very unlikely that Stark has kept the entire story to himself. Stark, whom, like Thor, Banner, as well as Barton, is still missing. Not surprising for Thor, he always spends half of his day with the Asgardians still hosted in Wakanda. The question is, will he manage to keep things moving for them... At least, the racoon and his friends are here, which is a decent guarantee that the atmosphere will not get too tensed.
"Wanda is becoming dangerous." Rogers admits "For herself, as much as for other people. We have no idea where she currently is, and we haven't been able to track her down."
"But you can." Romanov continues, turning to Morgan "I'd be lying if I said I understood your powers completely, but there's one thing I'm sure about, you're able to... pay a psychic visit to anyone you've personally encountered."
"That's a nice way to put it." Morgan smiles.
"Can you help us finding her?" The Widow demands "I know that's... ironic, after what she did to you. But we're running out of options here. If Wanda loses control again... well, you're one of the few who are actually able to stop her."
Morgan stares at Romanov with a mix of incredulity and suspicion. She surely did not expect the Widow to so bluntly concede how powerless they all are in this situation.
It is exceptional enough to be noted, given the look on Morgan's face, that she actually seems willing to help the Avengers. Though her answer does not meet their expectations.
"No." She simply says.
"We are not asking you to fight her." Rogers rectifies "We just need..."
"I understood what you need." Morgan tranquilly nods "The problem is, I don't really want to do it."
She immediately raises both her hands in front of her, as both the Captain and the Widow are about to protest.
"Before you point out how ungrateful I am, let me explain: The Scarlet Witch's powers are not the same as mine, but they are not completely different either. Since we already faced each other, she already knows my... signature, if you wish. There is a very high risk that she will notice me looking for her, and that it might only worsen her mental state."
Rogers seems about to add something else, however it is his companion Barnes who speaks first:
"How high is the risk?"
Morgan stays silent for a moment, resting her chin on her right hand.
"I would say, eighty percent." She reveals.
"Are you sure?" Rogers insists, visibly not ready to accept her refusal so easily.
"No, I am not sure." Morgan dryly replies "But I've had some striking occasions to notice how strong Wanda Maximov is, and I do not wish to try my luck so many times that I end up sure, but dead."
A light of resentment briefly shines in the Captain's eyes, but he does not persist any longer. Instead, which is even more astonishing, he turns to him.
"Is there anything you can do?" He inquires.
Funny, Loki thinks, how they were all in agreement to throw him into a cage a handful of hours earlier, and now that one of their friends has decided to take a walk they know not where, they are almost on their knees begging him to help them.
Normally, he would not miss such an occasion to laugh at them. But he has had enough of so many fights, as much as them.
"I am afraid I am not able to bring the Witch to her senses." He calmly declares.
Neither Rogers nor Romanov dares to add anything else. A wave of uncomfortable silence washes over them.
Not that Loki is especially concerned about the Witch. To be honest, he is quite content with this situation. Without actually wishing her harm, he is not exactly eager to see her again.
"Come on, she can't move at supersonic speed, right?" Peter Quill intervenes, in an effort to brighten the mood "So, she can't be that far..."
"Zero sign whatsoever." Stark cuts, probably to make sure that everyone is seeing and hearing him enter the room "We've checked everything that looks like an emergency call describing something as distant as red fireworks."
The man is followed by his friend Banner, as well as his partner Pepper Potts (which made Loki truly wonder how she could not be offended at the mere mention of her seasoning of a name).
"Wherever Wanda is going, she seems determined to remain under the radar." She sums up "The good news is, it doesn't look like she's going to threaten anyone at random. The bad news is..."
"... We don't know how long it will take before she snaps again." Stark finishes.
"Have you been able to..." Banner starts to address Morgan, before his eyes widen with astonishment "Your... Your injury...?"
She points Loki out, a lopsided grin on her face, and he cannot refrain his enjoyment at the sight of both Morgan's proud face and Banner's confused look.
"Of course..." The scientist nervously smiles.
Odd, this contrast between how impressed Banner clearly is every time Loki displays his magic, from his telekinetic abilities to his healing powers, and how reluctant he seems to ask him any question about it. Stark, for that matter, does not have such self-restraint.
"Slept well, Claudius?" The engineer asks, apparently talking to him, which makes Loki briefly consider turning him into a parrot, since he is so found of repeating labyrinthine nicknames "If you haven't had lunch yet, you'd better try the pastrami before your brother comes back."
Since he has explicitly eyed the paper bags on the kitchen counter and, another supporting evidence, Morgan is heading for them as well, Loki can at least conclude that whatever pastrami is, it must be edible.
Also, Stark has a point, it is in the interests of every single person in this room to have some food before the ravenous god of Thunder gets his hands on it. One of the numerous life-saving rules of thumb the god of Mischief had to grow up with.
On that note, both Loki and Morgan join the Guardians around the kitchen counter, while the remaining Avengers lower their voice to continue talking about the Witch and whatnot.
"Basically, this Wanda Maximov, she blew a fuse, tried to kill you two, then took off. Am I right so far?" Rocket interrogates.
"Pretty much." Morgan shrugs, essentially focused on the sandwich she just bit into, filled with what looks like smoked fish.
Loki opts for one containing salted meat, which he does not regret. Only when he starts eating does he realize how hungry he was.
"So, do we kinda need to get ready for an I'm gonna take my revenge on all of you comeback style?" The racoon continues.
Before Morgan can open her mouth to reply, Valkyrie raises her hand in front of her, indicating that she is about to say something which is, in her opinion, much more important. Morgan stares at her with what strongly seems to be an intense urge to laugh, as the Asgardian elite warrior finishes to chew the food she still has in her mouth.
"Little warning for you here." Valkyrie finally speaks, looking daggers at Morgan "If I ever see the slightest change of colour in your eyes, a punch in the face is probably the last thing you're going to remember for a very long time."
The reasons why Loki does not make any comment is that, first, he does not talk with his mouth full, and second, Morgan has just fetched a pair of sunglasses from the interior pocket of her jacket, and put them on.
"Is that better?" She asks Valkyrie, literally exuding sarcasm, as Quill and Rocket have already buried their face in their (respectively) hands and paws, their shoulders shaking with nervous laughter.
"Guess I'll just drink to forget..." The other woman sighs.
"Come on, was it that annoying?" Morgan inquires, raising her sunglasses on top of her head "I mean, seriously, I just made all of you have even more fun than you already had! And you clearly didn't need me for that."
"I am Groot." The young talking tree points out.
"Yeah, but music isn't really the point here..." Rocket corrects.
"Still, would've been nice to just tell us." Quill winces, though he certainly does not appear as upset as Valkyrie is.
"This is fascinating!" Mantis exclaims, her wide eyes sparkling with enthusiasm "Your abilities, they are both so different and so similar to mine!"
"Uh... I suppose..." Morgan evasively smiles.
"But there's one thing I don't get." Valkyrie intervenes once again "You've managed to hit Thanos pretty bad, with your... psychic... stuff... And then, there's this... I mean, I know she's strong and all, but this Scarlet Witch, is she really more powerful than, come on, the Mad Titan?!"
"It is not exactly a matter of physical or intellectual power." Morgan corrects.
"Empaths deal with emotions, not strength." Mantis adds.
"But you said yourself that Thanos was strong, when you tried to immobilize him." Drax reminds her.
"It's a different kind of strength!" The girl protests, visibly not knowing how to exactly describe it.
"So far, two types of people make it more difficult for me to influence them." Morgan reveals, before leaning a little further towards the Guardians and lowering her voice, in order not to be heard by the Avengers discussing a few steps away "Alright, game on: who in this room do you think was the toughest for me to control?"
"Seriously?" Valkyrie huffs, though not hiding her curiosity so well.
"Seriously." Morgan solemnly nods "Place your bets."
"I'd say, obviously, me." Rocket grins.
"Yeah, right." Quill snarls.
"I am Groot."
"He means me." Rocket translates.
"You mean, you?" Morgan questions, confused.
"No, he means him." Loki specifies, only too happy to play along.
"Which one?!" Morgan exclaims, which turns out to be a little louder than intended, because the following silence indicates that the Avengers are all staring at them.
"Don't worry, she's fine." Quill informs them, which leads to a collective sigh from the Earth Mightiest Heroes.
"I bet on Thor." Drax tries, a few seconds later.
"He's not in the room." Quill reminds.
"So, what?"
"Well, she said..."
"Doesn't matter." Morgan laconically accepts.
Both Valkyrie and Quill shrug, indicating both how clueless they are and how eagerly they expect Morgan's answer.
"Anyone in mind?" She then asks Mantis.
"Him!" The latter asserts, pointing him out.
Loki cannot hide a somehow satisfied smile. Then, Morgan turns to him, with an equally mischievous face.
"Well, well..." She smirks "Any guess?"
"Mmh... I would say Banner." He supposes.
"Oh yeah right, because he can turn into this green giant!" Quill remembers "I vote for that one too."
"One day, maybe you'll learn to think for yourself." Rocket mocks.
"So, tell us!" Valkyrie urges "Who here was the most resistant to your powers?"
"And the winner is..." Morgan beams, delighted at her audience's expecting looks "Natasha Romanov!"
"Uh... Say what..." Rocket frowns, having visibly expected everything but this.
Say what, indeed. How can, of all people, the Widow be more...?
"Depends on the timing, of course." Morgan specifies "I take into account the fact that I met each and every one of you not so long ago, which makes it easier to exert some control, because you don't really know me. So, this god next to me, he's disqualified."
Loki rolls his eyes. Reassuring, in a way.
"I don't know if we should feel insulted." Valkyrie thinks out loud.
"Of course not!" Morgan reacts "On the contrary, the more knowledge you gain, the more resistant you become. And that's kind of what's happening with the first type of people who make it hard for me to influence them. Romanov has a more balanced emotional state, if you wish. She does not let herself be submerged by her feelings, or at least, she tries her best not to. Same thing for Thanos, at least until we managed to piss him off well enough."
She ends her sentence with a sidelong glance at Loki.
"What about the second type?" The god of Mischief inquires, though he starts to have a pretty good idea of what the answer will be.
"It's a little harder to explains..." Morgan admits "If some people can manage to detach themselves from their feelings, though still acknowledging how they feel, some others... shut themselves out completely."
"Creepy." Rocket comments.
"Is that possible?" Mantis questions "To detach yourself completely from your emotions? I mean, if you're still you, there's a part of you which you can't really let go, right?"
"Right..." Morgan slowly repeats, which is a sign that she is thinking at full speed "Actually, very right... I may have something to tell Romanov, after all."
"What do you mean?" Loki frowns.
"I mean that they won't go very far to find Maximov if they stay focused on her powers."
Her answer does not help the god of Mischief getting further ahead, however, he has no time to ask more questions. First, because Morgan immediately walks away, second, because Thor makes an entrance as loud as the thunder which, conveniently, he is the god of.
"Brother! My friends!" He shouts, almost taking the door off its hinges when he flings it open "I have great news!"
"Okay, I'm gonna pick up my eardrums now." Rocket sighs.
"Really?" Stark raises his head "That's good, because we're cruelly lacking anything labelled as great here, so maybe that could be of help."
"Asgard is moving to Tonsberg!" Thor proudly announces "It is decided, our people finally have a place to settle in!"
Loki surely is the only one who is not disappointed upon hearing his brother's declaration. Though Banner, Rogers and Barnes seem to do their best to hide their deception, both Wilson, Stark and his partner Potts let out a small sigh of discouragement. As for Romanov, she is gone. Same for Morgan, obviously. Where to, Loki has no idea.
"That's... great, indeed." Banner uneasily smiles.
"You're moving there... permanently?" Rogers queries.
"We'll start the transfer from Wakanda to Norway tomorrow." The god of Thunder confirms, before walking towards Loki "You're coming, right?"
Is it just him, or has the god of Mischief perceived a hint of worry in his brother's voice?
"As I've always said, Asgard will be doomed if I leave you alone as its king." He grins.
Valkyrie snickers but Thor's smile could not be more sincere. He is relieved, Loki understands, he is truly relieved to see that they will not part once again. Maybe this is one thing he can do right, for a change.
He would better not mess it up.
"Well... Congrats, I guess!" Stark compliments, patting Thor's shoulder "It's about to get lonely here... Has Clint left already? He was supposed to get back home today, right?"
"Yeah..." Rogers confirms "Though he still hasn't heard about Wanda..."
"What's the matter with Wanda now?" Thor questions, having evidently noticed how little his companions shared his enjoyment.
"Oh, nothing important, really. She's just gone, and we don't know where." Stark bitterly sneers.
"D'you know when she'll come back?" Thor continues, his mouth already half-full with his second, maybe third, sandwich.
"Nope." Stark sardonically smiles, being visibly done with everything and everyone (especially one specific everyone who also happens to be the current king of Asgard).
"Come on, she isn't gone for ever!" Banner suggests, though his voice lacks conviction "What makes you think she won't come back?"
"What makes you think she will..." Wilson sighs.
"We really don't have any way to track her down?" Pepper Potts insists.
"What are our options?" Stark huffs "Ask Strange, the New Age wizard?"
No.
"I guess at least, it can't get any worse." Banner assumes.
The Norns must be in an especially cynical mood as, two seconds later, not only Morgan but also Romanov and, more surprisingly, Barton, hurriedly enter the room and slam the door behind them.
"How come you completely forgot about them?!" The archer asks Romanov.
"I don't know, I may have had other things to think about." The Widow replies.
"I didn't imagine there would be so many of them." Morgan thinks out loud.
"Hey! What are you talking about?" Stark exclaims.
"The around a hundred of journalists who are getting out of their cars for the upcoming press conference about what happened to the entire world, I guess." Morgan explains.
Loki can almost hear the collective shiver of realization down the back of everyone in the room.
"That's bad news, right?" Drax asks.
"Oh, fuck..." Captain America sighs.
"So, New Asgard?" Morgan asks.
"New Asgard." Loki acquiesces.
"In Norway."
"Apparently."
"And your brother is convinced there will be no problem at all with that?"
"Either he is stupid, either he lives in denial. In my opinion, it's a combination of both." Loki smirks.
The weather is the exact opposite of the day before. Hot, a bright blue sky, with no cloud in the horizon. Loki has to admit, from the roof of the compound, the view is quite pleasant.
The least the god of Mischief can say is that Morgan and him were not encouraged to join the Avengers in front of the cameras. For a fairly obvious reason. Yet, although Loki's presence on Midgard is still kept secret, he cannot say the thought of tranquilly entering the room where all the journalists are gathered and greet them good afternoon has not crossed his mind.
But true, sunbathing on the roof of the compound also has its appeal. Loki is lying on his back, arms crossed behind his head, whereas Morgan is busy breaking something into small pieces next to him.
"Chocolate." She informs, not him, but the person on her left "Want some?"
"I don't know what it is." Nebula warns.
"It's tasty, that's all you have to know." Morgan chuckles.
Then, she hands Loki the bar, already broken into several smaller pieces.
Not as sweet as he would have thought, but good anyway.
"It's... tasty..." Nebula hesitantly approves.
"Eighty percent, my favourite." Morgan grins "If you ever leave the Earth, fill your spaceship with that."
"If I leave?" Nebula raises.
"Well, you could very well stay."
"And what would I even do here?" The cyborg sighs.
"No idea." Morgan laughs "But that's the beauty of living, right? Though just in case we happen not to see each other again for a long time, I think you'll need that more than me."
Loki immediately recognizes the item Morgan is handing Nebula. A small object normally fitting around four phalanxes, but only composed of two rings. The (broken but still effective) Vibranium knuckle-duster Morgan has fought with more than once.
As for Nebula, her face bears a mix of emotions, from surprise to incomprehension. It probably is the first time she ever receives a gift.
"Thank you." She whispers.
"Thank you, most of all." Morgan insists "You saved my life more than I can count, those past few hours."
"I can confirm." Loki smiles.
"So, this Wanda Maximov, she's gone?" Nebula checks, apparently more reassured than bothered.
"I'm afraid so." Morgan winces.
"Do you actually happen to be worried about her?" Loki frowns.
The Witch is gone indeed, and it is for the best. How can Morgan even think about helping her, after what she did to her, no later than the night before?
"I think she is about to do the exact same kind of mistakes I did." Morgan calmly lets out "Loneliness alone does not solve anything. But that can't be learnt by force."
"What did you tell Romanov?" Loki queries.
"I told her that looking for the manifestation of Wanda's powers probably isn't the best strategy. Despite everything she is able to do, she is still human. So, if she left, I guess she is probably going to look for something."
"And what would that be?"
"How would I know?" Morgan laughs.
Loki breathes out. Alright. He cannot say that the Witch is completely different from him either.
"Do you think I'm a monster?"
How difficult it is, he acknowledges, to look at the person beneath these colossal powers.
The sound of footsteps progressively coming towards them make them simultaneously turn their head to the right. The god of Mischief is slightly surprised, but not overly wary. So far, he did not have many occasions to talk to Buchanan (Bucky, apparently?) Barnes, who mostly stayed alongside Rogers and Wilson.
Also, he has noticed the unspoken but very tangible tension between Barnes and Stark, at least during the first days of their stay in the compound. Obviously, the Avengers are far from spared by internal conflicts and rivalries, and that one seems to have much deeper roots.
But that does not mean Loki harbours any antipathy, nor that he is devoid of curiosity towards the man.
"Why the roof?" Barnes questions, to no one in particular.
"Why not?" Morgan retorts "Care to join this group of outcasts? We have chocolate."
Barnes laughs, which is already rare in itself (the man is, most of the time, taciturn at best, a ghost at worst) then, after a few seconds of hesitation, sits down next to Loki.
"So, I presume you are also supposed to remain dead, until further notice." The god of Mischief smirks, eager to learn more about the newcomer.
"I'm used to that already." Barnes admits.
"Dying?" Loki dubiously sneers.
"Believe or not. It's not just gods' prerogative."
Too bad they spoke so late. Barnes definitely is more entertaining that his friend Rogers.
"How long do you think this conference is going to take?" Morgan queries.
"No idea. Hours, probably." Barnes assumes.
"And I guess no one is especially happy with that?"
"What do you have in mind, exactly?" Loki smiles, as Morgan stands up, followed by the curious gazes of Barnes and Nebula.
"Doing a good deed, for once." Morgan beams.
"I have a bad feeling." Barnes concedes.
"I have a good feeling." Loki cannot help acknowledging.
Morgan says nothing and closes her eyes, then rests the tip of her fingers on her temples. And...
Nothing, really, nothing remarkable happens.
"Very anticlimactic." Loki comments, as she sits down again, her legs swaying a little but apart from that, looking as tireless as usual.
"Shush. Listen and enjoy." She smirks.
Loki, alongside Nebula and Barnes, remains completely silent for a handful of seconds, and are these exclamations here and there, not of pain, but of surprise and frustration?
"... Does it work for you?!" An unidentifiable voice resonates.
"No! Phones and cameras are all out!"
"Why a fucking blackout now?!"
Loki turns towards Morgan, who displays nothing else than a wide grin.
"I think now they can call me their saviour." She proclaims.
"If I were you, I would not go down from this roof for a couple of hours." Barnes advises, torn between amazement and amusement.
"I don't think she really cares." Nebula lucidly points out.
Loki can only approve. In any case, they will go somewhere. New Asgard, Norway, leading the way.
Is it going to be easy? Of course not. Is he looking forward to it? Obviously.
A part of him thinks that this seems to be quite an adequate end. Yet, what prevails remains this constant call for movement, chaos and wonder, since this is what mischief is about after all, reminding him that this so-called end comes way too early. There is surely more to come.
Then, let's find out.
The End?
Hey again! I hope you enjoyed this fic, though obviously the plot was not as clear, far from it, as Whatever-its-name. But I hope that at least I've explored the aftermath of such an intense battle, this confusing state of mind everyone is in, where sufferings are supposed to be over and yet are not exactly over.
Some precisions here and there:
When Tony nicknames Loki "Claudius", it is a reference to Shakespeare's famous play Hamlet (Claudius is Hamlet's uncle, and has murdered his brother to usurp the throne of Denmark). I know it's a bit far-fetched but in the first Avengers movie, Tony makes constant references to this specific play (he even quotes it at some point), so why not. When he calls Loki "Hannibal Lecter" in chapter 7, it's a reference to the movie Silence of the Lambs. As for the nickname "the Wicked Morgan of the West", it's an allusion to The Wizard of Oz. In short, looking for nicknames Tony might use is a very tricky job!
Wanda's personality disorder is inspired (very freely though) from the comic books House of M. Read it, it's pretty cool.
I don't specifically advise you to play Panic! At the Disco like Morgan did in the previous chapter, but seriously, if you're ever afraid or ill-at-ease at the doctor/dentist/blood donation place/whatever medical consultation you've got to take, put on your favourite song in the background. Funny, how such a small detail really improves your mood.
To conclude, if you are confined due to the current epidemic, well, maybe you'll have some time to leave me a final review (just trying) and I wish you health, fun, and all the best!
