SHADOW OF DEATH
Chapter 33: Accomplices
Dr. Okapi flashed a light into the eyes of his patient as Loki watched the progress from the shadows. The myriad of tubes and machines were noticeably absent, though that was of little consequence in comparison with the most obvious change. The Winter Soldier sat upright on the bed of his own accord, as quietly as if hewn of granite. The rise and fall of his chest beneath his hospital gown and the occasional blinking of his eyelids were the only evidence that revealed him to be flesh and blood-and very much alive.
"How do you feel?" Dr. Okapi asked.
The man, at first, didn't appear to understand. He opened and closed his mouth and stared at the doctor. Then he shrugged his good shoulder.
"Ok," he answered.
"Do you know your name?"
At first the man shook his head but changed his mind and nodded. "Bucky," he whispered.
"Do you know where you are?"
"No."
The doctor nodded and wrote notes in his digital chart. "You are in the nation of Wakanda. You have been here for nearly ten months."
"Why am I here?" he asked. He used his one hand to brush the long, tangled hair out of his now normal human eyes.
"To make your mind your own again," Dr. Okapi said. "You wish to be free of your Hydra programming?"
Bucky nodded slowly and placed his hand against his head as if he could feel through his fingertips whether his cure was successful or not. "Why? Do you know what I have done?"
"Enough," the doctor said.
"Then why?" Bucky asked, his gaze turning intense until he dropped his eyes from the face of the doctor to stare at his palm.
Loki emerged from the shadows, as if materializing from another realm, and he gave the soldier an imperious, haughty stare before turning away from him and pacing the space in front of the bed with his hands clasped behind his back.
"You have potential to be useful, but only if you so choose to be," Loki said. "You did not choose your fate of your own free will, but have been an unwilling tool in the hands of others."
Bucky's sharp intake of breath and heated glare at the prince's appearance was a marked contrast to his previously nearly unnatural stillness.
"You!" he said in a tone that showed both recognition and irritation. "I know you!"
Loki stopped pacing to give a menacing grin. "Indeed?" he asked.
"You…you…you…," Bucky said in accusation before he visibly deflated. "You stole my mind in a different way than the others."
"Yes. You proved quite a useful ally," Loki answered. "I would thank you for your services, but I dare not for services rendered unwillingly."
"You…made me dance a jig in front of thousands of people on the lawn of the National Mall in D.C.!" he accused.
"Would it appease you to know you made a splendid dancer?" Loki replied with a smug, non-repentant grin.
"It would not…ok, it might help a little….and as far as things I've been forced to do over my long life, it probably isn't the worst….but why?"
Loki gave a lazy flick of his hands. "I was bored. The little Midgardians needed something to gossip over that was not so full of gloom. It amused me."
Bucky grimaced for a moment before his face broke into quiet, rusty laughter.
"You brought me here?" he asked as he returned to his more stoic expression.
"Yes."
"Where are the others?"
"Unlike you, they chose their fates. Without their enthrallment, they ceased to be useful," Loki replied.
"What happens now?" Bucky asked after he considered Loki's words.
"You may choose what happens to you next," Loki answered. "I assume you remember the tumultuous state of your realm?"
Bucky slowly nodded.
"Good. The king and prince of Wakanda will inquire with you further on how you wish to live out your days. It is of little consequence to me, so long as you are not impeding my aims."
Dr. Okapi stepped in again and interjected. "I need to run more tests and you still have a ways to go before we know if you are fully healed. However, we will want to relocate you to a different environment so you are not trapped in a medical facility day and night."
As Dr. Okapi began to outline the continuing treatment and various options for his recuperation, Loki bid them both farewell and left to attend his next tasks.
In the lab, Jane and Shuri were both huddled over the Ice Casket with long goggles on their faces and shared whispers between them. Jane's increasing mastery of Mjolnir and her own new gifts were evidenced by both the harmless destruction of the Time Stone, and her recent discoveries on the capabilities of the Jotun treasure.
They sat upright and removed their goggles when they saw Loki enter the lab.
"How is he?" Shuri asked.
"Awake," Loki responded.
Shuri bubbled over with her predictable curiosity. "I will visit him soon," she said with a dimpled grin. "I wish to speak with him."
"Of course you do," Loki said with a half-smile and a slight roll of his eyes. "Now, tell me, is it ready?"
Jane shook her head. "Almost. A few more days at most. It really is amazing," she answered. "I wish we could make it work on us."
"It would appear my natal physiology has at least one benefit," Loki answered in slightly caustic tone. "I will be away for the better part of the week. When I return, we will try it again."
"Tell Mrs. Johnson 'hi' for us," Jane answered.
"I do. Every time."
Ooooooo
The flurries of the first autumn snow settled on the ruined remains of the skyscraper Loki sat upon. While the outskirts of New York were encroaching ever further into the scarred city with life and newness, the heart of the city remained an echo of the battle, even fifteen months later. It would take generations and not years for this land to truly heal. Loki could still feel the dark magic festering in the land and waters, poisoning the organic creatures within and causing invisible sicknesses which would only be recognized years later. This repercussions of the Battle of New York would be felt in the blood and genes of all who dwelt here for generations, long after the cityscape was rebuilt and the rubble removed.
Loki paced on his perch with the Kree transponder in hand and the Flerkin trailing him in the snow. His last three conversations had born little fruit other than initial communications. This one he hoped to be more promising. He was disappointed.
"What do you mean you don't have it?" Loki shouted at the transmission. The Collector's grainy and translucent image flickered from the device. Taneleer Tivan's slightly off kilter manner and compulsion to surround himself with his ever-growing collection had always unsettled Loki. In all the times he had been forced to attend dealings in Knowhere, he couldn't dispel the feeling that he needed to change his clothes or wipe his mind after stepping foot in the cluttered space filled with relics both living and dead.
As much as he disliked the man, Loki reluctantly sought him out again and again for his usefulness. None knew the Collector's age, though whispers circulated it was because he was without a beginning. His knowledge of the universe was unparalleled. Now in the projected image, the Collector moved as if automated by robotic parts instead of flesh. He smacked his lips together and twiddled his fingers in mock patience as he took in the Asgardian prince's ire.
"You are not the only one in pursuit of this relic, your majesty. Thanos also seeks it."
"This I know. What of it?" Loki hissed.
"Thanos has no shortage of servants, oh prince. Ronan the Accuser and his army of Sakaaran soldiers attacked Knowhere even as I sought to acquire the object for you. My broker contacted me from Xandar to inform me that not one but two Ravager clans had been in pursuit of the Orb and only one proved successful. The broker informed me that after a great battle on Xandar, the Orb is now in the custody of Nova Corps and hidden in their vault."
"I thought you said Yondu Odonta was reliable," Loki hissed.
"Yondo's protégée has proved less easily bought and persuaded, my liege."
Loki grumbled under his breath before reminding himself to maintain his mask. "I am grateful for the information, Collector. You will receive your compensation from the next emissary of Asgard who visits Knowhere."
He switched off the transponder even as the Collector gave another profuse bow and a grin that did not dispel Loki's suspicions. While knowledgeable and well-connected, he did not put it past the Collector to double or triple cross him in his search for the Infinity Stones. Still, he had proved useful.
"Fine. I will fetch it myself," he said to himself as he put the transponder away.
At least Loki had a starting point for the next Stone…and with Jane and Shuri's work, he had the means to reach Xandar, hopefully before Thanos. The thought that he could possibly cross paths with the Mad Titan in his search left him ill-at-ease, especially with the knowledge that Thanos' feelings towards Loki would not have improved with the destruction of three Infinity Stones. Without a more tolerable plan, this one must do.
Ooooooooo
Loki sought an audience with the Wakandan royals three days later upon his return to Wakanda. T'Chaka sat behind his massive ebony desk with his wrinkled brow pursed in thought as Loki entered the king's private office adjoining the council chamber. T'Challa stood beside a tall window, his gaze transfixed on the minarets towering over a distant edge of Birnin Zana. Shuri sat in a chair across from her father and she watched Loki with an unreadable expression on her face.
"How long will you be away?" T'Chaka asked after Loki shared his intended journey to Xandar.
"I know not," Loki said. He sat tall in a carved acacia chair and met the king's gaze with his own. "I am unsure of what conditions I will find there. The planet is far outside the jurisdiction of Asgard and the Nine. Attempting to pilfer an Infinity Stone guarded in one of the most formidable fortresses on this side of the Milky Way is not a task to be overconfident in."
"You do not wish for companionship or assistance?" T'Chaka asked.
"Indeed, I have come to ask for assistance, though not in my journey," he said.
"Then in what?"
"In the affairs on Midgard. It has not escaped my attention that Wakandan emissaries are well-positioned in each of the polities that were thrust into instability following the Fall. It is a strange coincidence how they so fortuitously appeared in each and every location within a few weeks of my arrival in Wakanda. However, they have proven their usefulness in the potential for disorder that follow the destruction of the Mind Stone's spell, so I will not pry into their origins. Their concerted efforts have maintained the rebuilding efforts admirably."
T'Chaka did not answer directly. He clasped his hands together on his desk and nodded in silence.
"My request," Loki continued, "is for their continuance in their leadership roles in each of the locations they oversee. In my absence, the rebuilding of Midgard must continue. While I am loathe to abandon my duties, if Thanos retrieves the Stone first, he will have no qualms to use the Stone to the detriment of many."
T'Chaka nodded.
"My final request," Loki continued and he turned to face the princess instead of the king. "Is to ensure Goose does not follow me."
Shuri raised both eyebrows in reply. Loki knew she could manage the Flerkin and keep the beast from shadowing his steps across the universe. While the Flerkin had proved its worth as an admirable battle companion, he could not be sure the effects of Ice Casket travel on any not of Jotunheim. In addition, he wished for none to face the Mad Titan if it could at all be helped. While it left him vulnerable as a solitary warrior was not as well protected, he felt it to be for the best.
"Has my soldier requested asylum within your borders?" he asked.
"He has. He is learning to farm down by the lake," T'Chaka said.
"To farm?" Loki replied with a slight scoff. "He is an admirable fighter. In addition to training with the Dora Milaje, the Lady Jane should also seek him out for his assistance in her training as a shield maiden."
"You believe a fight is coming," T'Challa observed. He turned from the window and paced the room to stand beside where his sister sat.
"Three Infinity Stones remain. I know the location of one. No realm will be safe until all three have been vanquished. Even then, as long as Thanos remains, he will not rest until he has accomplished his purpose."
"Our forces will also double their training and drills in preparation," T'Chaka answered solemnly. "Will you seek the assistance of Asgard?"
Loki fell pensive as he considered the question. He could not avoid how the thought of facing his people and his parents sent a lightning bolt of dread through his gut, but in his quest for the Infinity Stones, Asgard could be of much use. He sighed and rubbed his temples with his long fingers.
"Perhaps," he said. He did not add his condition. If I survive Xandar.
Ooooooooooooo
Nick Fury was in a terrible mood. It was bad enough that his toast was burnt in the morning and that his favorite socks had a hole in the left big toe. It went downhill from there. One of his agents misplaced a rather vital (and incriminating) document in a public coffee shop and another forgot to check in for a rendezvous and nearly caused an international incident in Italy.
Now, Nick flipped through the series of statements gathered during the strange investigation into Alexander Pierce and many other former agents and government officials. For months, there had been reports of slightly strange behavior until one day, a few months back, some kind of light switch turned on and the whole lot of them were blathering about mind control and Asgardian gods and being forced to be useful and helpful against their wills.
Overall, it pointed to a conclusion that Nick didn't like. He thought he'd seen Thor fairly regularly, but none of the reports mentioned the fair-haired Thunderer. No, more ominously, nearly all mentioned the slippery younger brother, the mysterious would-be conqueror of Earth who Fury thought was dead.
Even worse, a few statements mentioned this so-called God of Mischief shifted forms in front of them and wore a face not his own during some of their dealings. While he grumbled to himself as he admitted the fruit of the Asgardian's work was doubtlessly beneficial to the planet, and the blathering confessions of the minions of Pierce hardly painted their own motives in a positive light, he still didn't like it.
In the middle of a debrief with Maria Hill, Fury ground his teeth in frustration as he was interrupted by the arrival of an unknown visitor.
"You might want to talk to this one," Agent Jones said over the intercom. When the door to Fury's office opened, a tall, muscular man with braided hair falling across his forehead entered with a confident stride. The man wore jeans and a long-sleeved shirt studded with glinting metal decorations. He gave Fury and Hill a self-assured once-over before seating himself in one of the office chairs across from Fury.
"Who the hell are you and why are you in my face?" Fury said as he narrowed his one eye at the visitor in obvious irritation. The man took long to answer, but out of an obvious desire to sow tension and not out of nervousness.
"I know who was behind the Fall and who is trying to conquer the planet," the man finally said with a cocky half-smile.
"And who might that be?" Fury asked. He leaned forward on his desk to glare at the young man. The man remained nonplussed and instead took a paperweight off of Fury's desk to toss into the air. He gave a wide grin that lit up his dark eyes as he saw Fury's expression darken.
"Each and every single conquered country received a mysterious ambassador from a single country…a country that refuses even your intelligence operatives intel into their operations or their technology. I have it on good authority that they have confirmed connections with hostile alien forces who have also sought to rule Earth. They are harboring the would-be ruler of earth as we speak. They wish to use the events of this year to conquer the rest of the world and bring it under their leadership," the man said. He pulled out a series of documents in a folder that he plopped on the desk in front of Fury.
Fury opened the folder and gave each document a cursory glance before staring at the man again.
"Who are you?"
"Eric Stevens, former Navy Seal and CIA Joint Special Operations Command ghost unit, sir. Sometimes I am referred to as 'Killmonger,'" he answered.
Author's note: The Collector, the Orb, and the Ravagers all refer to the events of Guardians of the Galaxy 1. Yeah, I don't own that one either. ;)