A.N.: I affectionately refer to this as my "let Loki day FUCK" chapter lmao
The events in this chapter are synced with events in the movie Thor: Ragnarok
There are many illnesses throughout the cosmos that, once you've been infected, you're pretty well protected from catching that illness again. Though life itself had evolved into many different forms depending on the conditions of the planet it rooted to, an immune system was an immune system.
Unfortunately for Loki of Asgard, falling from the bifrost did not tend to imprint into the memory of one's immune system. The mind searing pain of being kicked out of the open tunnel of a functioning bifrost was like a mjolnir to the face, and this time, he didn't have the benefit of being mentally and emotionally numb to soften the proverbial blow.
He landed with a hard thud in a gross pile of something foul and peeled himself out of the hole he'd made on impact with a harsh swear and shook the ick from his clothes as best he was able. He looked around at the endless rolling dunes of garbage and the menagerie Of beings crawling all over them and felt a rage he hadn't felt in a long time.
"Fuck!"
Thor. It always came back to his ignorant, bull headed, good for nothing brother. Things had been going so well, he'd been getting leads back from his search parties about infinity stones and his Pro-Loki Propaganda had been working swimmingly. Everything was going exactly according to plan, and then Thor. He'd ruined everything, and though it had been nice to finally be acknowledged by his father before he'd died, there'd been yet another lie uncovered and that very lie was now wreaking all havoc on the peaceful oasis he'd turned Asgard into.
And now he was stuck on some trash heap planet in the middle of nowhere.
He quickly made himself invisible to avoid drawing unwanted attention and then set his sights on a large group of buildings he could see in the distance.
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Sakaar had turned out to be a greater boon than Loki could have hoped. There were people here from every single corner of the universe and beyond, so much information to uncover, so many connections to make, odds were great that someone here might be able to give him something useful to his search if he played his cards right.
He just had to be careful of the The Grandmaster. So far, he'd managed to mostly endear himself to the crazy leader of Sakaar, and he was on his good side, but that could change if he wasn't very, very careful. Eccentric and ostentatious, The Grandmaster delivered gifts and punishments with the same sort of strange giddiness that inspired both trust and revulsion. It could be hard to know where you stood with him, but with his ability to sense a lie or falsehood, Loki could tell The Grandmaster was sincere when he told him he liked him.
Which is how he had to keep it. There were many, many ships in The Grandmaster's fleet, and the minute Loki found a promising lead on Thanos, he was going to take one and be so far gone from this dumpster planet so fast heads would spin.
In the meantime, he had a part to play, and an image to uphold. The group around him currently laughed and ooo-ed and ahh-ed at all the right times as he put on his most charming, disarming grin and made himself out to be a sad, forgotten prince. They ate it up, and now was the time for each to begin sharing their own stories, which was where he'd keep one keen eye out for any bits or bobs that could lead him to believe they may be displaced because of Thanos and his drive for the Infinity Stones. He'd picked up a few leads this way already so he had hoped it wouldn't be too long before he had something substantial.
"Loki... Loki!"
His name in that voice could only mean one terrible thing.
He looked over and saw the one person who could once again ruin everything he'd been building here without even trying. His eyes widened as Thor's face lit up and he could already see his carefully laid plans shattering under his feet.
'...fuck.'
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The holding area for gladiators waiting to be tossed into their life or death battles was disgusting. For the life of him, Loki couldn't imagine the reason the Grandmaster didn't fix this place up. He certainly had more than enough money. He hadn't been able to muster up the courage to come stand in this filth himself, but he had to do something to convince his brother not to act too rash and potentially jeopardize everything again. An illusory double would work well enough.
Thor, of course, was his usual petulant self and Loki was quickly losing patience trying to reason with him. A rock pinged through his illusion and the tenuous grasps on his temper began slipping.
"Did you really think I'd come see you in person? This place is disgusting."
Thor threw another rock, and Loki gave up all pretense of politeness.
"Alright fine, you want to be a stubborn brat, that's your choice, but I won't have you ruining what I've been working towards here like you ruined it on Asgard! The Grandmaster is insane but he is amenable. If you will promise to do exactly as I say I will bring you to his side and take you with me when I leave."
Thor eyed him silently before looking away to inspect his nails with all the grand indifference of someone only acting like they didn't care a whit about what was happening.
"Yes I noticed you seem familiar with this Grandmaster."
"Familiar?"
"Yes. Familiar."
With narrowed eyes and a tick in his brow Loki crossed his arms in a huff and regretted for a moment he wasn't using his corporeal form. He'd never wanted to strangle his brother so badly.
"What exactly are you implying?"
"What does it sound like I'm implying?"
With a measured breath, Loki slipped his unbothered mask back on and stepped back.
"Look, I've placed a large wager against you tomorrow. Don't disappoint me."
He disappeared, phasing back to where he'd split from his physical body, which was spinning all forms of flattery to draw away The Grandmaster's suspicions of him and his relation to his new contender. It was a relief to know it was working, he'd come too far and gotten too close to his goals to let it all fall apart now.
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He wanted to scream. He wanted to stomp around and throw a tantrum like a child even as his entire body seized in fear and remembered pain.
It just wasn't fair!
As the God of Chaos, Loki liked throwing a wrench in other people's plans, mixing up their lives, shaking the foundations of their certainty, but that didn't mean he didn't like a little order in his own life. Every single plan he'd laid had been thoroughly thrashed 'it's just not fair!'
Thor was bad enough at swooping in and toppling his houses of cards but the hulk was a wild card he never had a chance of planning for.
'What the HELL is the Hulk even doing on Sakaar?!'
His brother and that beast had come to a sort of draw, and then of course they'd tried to escape and of course he'd been implicated so now he was forced to help them escape so he could get out of those chains and in a ship of his own.
Another mini betrayal, another disappointment, but he couldn't get wrapped up in whatever his brother was planning, he had plans of his own.
He fought with Thor through the guards to get to the door of the garage elevator and tried not to make his bristling too obvious, content to work in silence until he could split away again, but his brother, as usual, had other plans.
"How did you get close enough to the Grandmaster to get these codes?"
"He is a fool who is easily flattered." Loki answered distractedly, continuing their trek, not wanting to pause and waste any more time.
"Yes he seemed very flattered by you."
The door was just in view, but the accusation in his brother's voice halted him and he turned on him with growing embers of anger in his eyes.
"Thor, what exactly are you suggesting?"
"You've mentioned several times that you've gained The Grandmaster's favor, I can't help but wonder how exactly you managed it. You do all sorts of weaseley little things."
"I suppose you don't believe I talked my way into his good graces?"
"Nope. Even you aren't good enough to out talk that kind of crazy."
"Are you... are you suggesting that I'm fucking the Grandmaster?!"
"Would it be the first time you slept around to get what you want?"
Spine straight under the weight of his rage, Loki took a few seconds to breath and clear his mind.
"Have you forgotten that I've been married for a very long time?"
Thor snorted and crossed his arms, a disapproving frown on his face.
"No, but with as questionable as your loyalties are I wouldn't be surprised if you'd forgotten."
Rearing back as if he'd been slapped, Loki transformed right before his brother's eyes into his feminine form.
"You want to know how I've gained The Grandmaster's favor? This is how I've gained his favor! That lunatic has never touched me but when he wants a pretty face to parade around I let him exploit me without question and would you like to know why I'm so willing to throw my own pride into the trash in order fluff his?!"
Thor shook his head dumbly, eyes wide with shock and curiosity.
"Because every last decision I have made since you left my body to rot on Svartalfheim with the disgusting carcasses of those worthless elves has been to find Kagome and return her to my side. Every last decision. And you've managed to fuck it all up on every front without even trying! My loyalties to you may be questionable brother, but my loyalties to her have always been the truest thing I've ever known."
She turned with a flourish and strode the rest of the way to the door, and Thor followed a mere second behind her.
"Loki I'm... I'm sorry. We... we should talk."
"I disagree. Open communication was never our family's forte."
She punched in the door's lock code and the door slid open and she and Thor stepped inside the elevator.
The silence between them was tense and uncomfortable, and while Loki remained still, Thor shifted and squirmed until he couldn't bite his tongue any longer.
"Loki, I really am sorry. Truly. I shouldn't have assumed-"
"Do you really think so little of me?"
"Loki, I thought the world of you. I thought we were going to fight side by side forever."
Loki glanced down at the metal floor of the elevator, unsure what to say, sad for a moment at how much had been lost between them do to the damaging lies of another.
"Hey, let's do Get Help."
Loki blinked, the abrupt shift of her brother's moods scrambling her thoughts.
"What?"
"Get Help."
"No."
"Come on you love it."
"I hate it."
"Its great! It works every time!"
"It's humiliating!"
"Do you have a better plan?"
"No."
"We're doing it."
"We are not doing Get Help."
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Peeling herself off the floor, Loki quickly split off, leaving behind an illusion and dashing to a nearby alarm system.
"I know I've betrayed you many times before but this time it's truly nothing personal. I just can't have you jeopardizing me any further."
Thor searched her face, a sort of sad resignation settling in around his eyes.
"Never one for sentiment, were you?"
"Easier to let it burn."
"I agree."
The electricity that ignited her body took her straight to the floor, and Loki could barely concentrate as Thor gave what she was sure he thought was a heart rending little speech and left her to the wrath of The Grandmaster after promising to find Kagome on his own.
And then she was alone, left to writhe in agony on a cold floor until a guard or The Grandmaster himself came to take her away.
And then then the pain stopped and breathing and thinking came easy again. She rolled to get up and took note of the hodgepodge of beings standing together and staring at her.
"Thank you."
"Hello ma'am! We're just about to jump on that huge space ship. Wanna come?"
Loki's eyes trailed over the vastly varied forms of her rescuers, specifically the large rock like being holding the remote to the electric node Thor had stuck on her. They didn't look very promising on their own to be sure, but with Thor, Bruce and the Valkyrie long gone, she didn't have many options.
She nodded and straightened her hair and spine.
"Yes, well, you do seem like you're in desperate need of leadership."
"Why thank you."
They boarded the largest ship in the grandmaster's fleet, and Loki had them steered away from the Devil's Anus.