Once Stark explained what had happened, Loki shot him an arched eyebrow and a dry look. Without a word, Tony dialed the only number in the phone and contacted the Captain.
"They're heading to the compound. We should go," Stark said.
Doctor Strange quickly opened a portal and the group stepped through, except for Wong and Strange. Loki nodded at them as the portal closed. This will make for an interesting story. Loki began to venture through the rooms, once he found an empty bedroom with a wide window he closed the door.
"Hey, what are you-" Stark started.
"A moment, if you'd please. I just...Thor and Heimdall were not given proper remembrance...and…" Loki trailed.
"...yeah, of course," He conceded and walked away.
Loki sat down, facing the setting sun, palms facing up. A small purifying fire nestled in them
"Brother Thor, Guardian Heimdall, may you be welcomed into the grand Halls of Valhalla to join your fellow warriors and family where you will live forever. We...I will not mourn but rejoice…" Loki trailed, tears fell slowly down his face.
Loki stopped, unsure how to proceed and trying to get Maw's monologue out of his head. He doesn't know how long he sat there crying silently, staring into nothing, feeling nothing, hearing nothing. It's all gone, they're all gone. It's all my fault. Heimdall, Mother, Odin, Tho-
"Loki? The others...Are you alright?" Bruce asked.
So concerned, why? Loki kept the question to himself as he straightened. He shoved his sadness away, wrapping it in anger and rage. He rubbed his face before standing proudly, turning to face Banner.
"I'm fine. Let's go, shall we?" Loki replied, too softly for his liking.
Bruce looked him up and down, seeing something Loki didn't want him to see. Say nothing say nothing say nothing-
"Okay, well they just arrived, so I haven't told them about...you," Banner moved on.
"Ah, this will make for an interesting conversation."
When Loki came into the room, the Captain and the Widow were the only familiar faces. The Widow froze where she stood and the Captain seemed to do a double take.
"What the hell Tony?!" Captain America exclaimed.
Weapons were primed and ready in an instant, all aimed at Loki. Loki pondered for the second time whether or not to let them kill him, and for a second time, Thor's face flashed. Loki closed his eyes in uncertainty and opened them in determination. It went unnoticed by many as Bruce placed himself between Loki and the hostile portion of the group.
"Bruce-" The Widow started.
"No, Loki's with me. If you turn on him, you turn on me. I will not let you-" Bruce began.
Loki placed a calm hand on his shoulder.
"Bruce, if they-"
Bruce didn't give him the chance. He turned on him quickly, pointing a finger in his face. It was then Loki noticed that something was nagging at the edge of Loki's mind.
"No, no self-deprecating, self-sacrificing, or whatever other bullshit, Loki. I will not let you let them push you away, not right now. You're my friend and you're...Thor's gone. I don't think you've processed that yet. Sure, you have the engraving on your armor, and the hair, but you're not stable yet. I can see it, don't deny it. So don't patronize them and don't condemn yourself because you think you deserve it. Understand?" Bruce asked fiercely.
Loki looked at Bruce, slightly shocked. The nagging was becoming irritating, but Loki ignored it.
"You would defend me, side with me, over your longer known friends?" Loki examined.
"The length of a friendship does not equate the strength of one," Banner replied.
To everyone's surprise, including Loki, Loki found himself saying, "...I...understand."
"Well, there's an answer to the Loki situation," Stark humored.
Loki was finally able to take in the new group. He quickly recognized the Mind Stone and gave a questioning looking to the injured man. The nagging stopped, replaced with a voice. See me? See me? See me? Loki did and he hated it, hated the stone for calling to him. He also felt the singing of his own energy, entwined in another. His curse was embedded in the red woman, along with the Mind Stone's faint energy.
"Oh dear child, I am so sorry," Loki murmured.
Loki hadn't been aware of the conversation around him, unintentionally interrupting. The red woman looked caught off guard.
"What?" She asked.
"I was not aware the curse I placed on the Mind Stone would spread to others. I had placed it in a rush. For that, I apologize," Loki gave a slight nod.
"What do you mean curse?" She asked,
"What is he talking about Wanda?" Natasha asked.
"You don't know?" Loki asked.
Oh shit. The woman, Wanda, shook her head.
"When Thanos was...I had...When I first started to use the Mind Stone, I placed a curse on it so that it would return to me whenever called and turn on those using it. Those who were not me or did not possess any of my energy. I suppose I didn't quite clarify what it should have done, I admit I was under quite some stress when I placed the curse. I had limited time and lucency," Loki explained.
"So what did it do?" Wanda asked.
"In retaliation, it poisoned you with its own energy. Instead of it killing you, the energy melded with yours, kick-started by the curse. I don't know why it would do that, but the Stones are semi-sentient, as you probably know," Loki expanded.
See me? See me? See me?
"Sentient?" Stark asked.
Loki gave them all an unimpressed look before bringing his hand to pinch the bridge of his nose.
"Honestly, Midgardians," He muttered to himself, "Yes, semi-sentient. They have wants of their own. The reason two stones have...bonded with me is that I gave them something in return for their power. If one only takes from them, they will quickly overtake their holder, reducing them to puppets."
"Didn't the Mind Stone do that? To you?" Bruce interjected quietly.
Loki's shoulders tensed, his expression hardening into detached numbness. He pushed his raging emotional hurricane down with the other as he remembered what Thanos did to him. The torture, the humiliation of being at his mercy, Maw invading his mind, Thanos tearing him apart piece by piece, stop resisting he said, blood pooling- Stop, don't think about it. That road leads to places you don't want to revisit. Don't think about it. Don't think about it. Don't think about him.
"Mr. Loki?" Spiderling brought Loki out of his daze.
"That was different. I wasn't the one using it then. I was weak and pathetic and at their mercy," Loki replied to Banner.
"Wait a second, are you saying Thanos was controlling you? That Thanos tortured you-" The Captain began.
"What does it matter now?" Loki harshly cut him off.
"What does it matter now?" Captain America repeated.
"Yes, it happened. I have many new scars, I will never be the same, but there is nothing anyone can do about it. So, what does it matter now?" Loki replied bitingly.
"Did Thor know?" Black Widow asked softly.
"Not until recently," Loki answered.
"Where is Thor?" The metal-armed man had been silent up until now.
Loki went silent, looking down and away. Weak, showing such weakness to mortals. Loki felt his features untwist from their saddened furrow. Feel nothing, feel nothing. Only numbness and comprehension. Emotions do not belong here.
"Dead."
The heroes took a moment to process the information before bowing their heads in respect. Did they really know him?
"I am so-" The one they called Sam started.
"No, do not apologize. Say nothing about it. My brother and the rest of Asgard are in Valhalla where they will live forever. End of discussion." Loki growled.
Another silence fell over the group. Loki seemed good at creating tense silences.
"Thanos will be here soon enough. You have two stones here on Midgard," Loki slipped into strategizing.
"Two?" The metal-armed man, Bucky?, asked.
"Yes, Time and Mind. Time is with Strange, Mind with Vision, I believe is your name," Loki clarified.
"Wait, before we do all this, we have to heal Vision. He can't do it by himself-" Wanda began.
Loki walked forwards, hovered his hand over the flickering wound and looked to Vision. Vision gave a slight nod and Loki reached out with his Seidr. He mended the fibers back together, melding it together with his own energy before releasing his hold. The area looked completely healed, a slight green shimmer the only evidence, but even that was slowly dissipating.
"Thank you," Vision said.
"Woah! How did you do that?" Spiderling questioned.
"It is...Seidr," Loki supplied.
"Is that magic?" Spiderling asked.
"I suppose, Spiderling," Loki answered.
"That is so awesome!" Spiderling complimented. "By the way, I really liked how you turned blue and all icy! You really are an alien!"
Loki took the boy in. So young. Stark stiffened out of the corner of his eye, making the rest follow.
"And I am fond of your webs," Loki said with a slight, amused smile.
Stark relaxed, as did the rest of them. Spiderling went about excitedly.
"Anyway, there are three stones still not accounted for: Soul, Reality, and Power. Thanos already had Space. Reality is on Knowhere, Power is with the Nova Corp, and the Soul Gem has been lost for millennia," Loki returned to the topic at hand. Perhaps she would know where the Soul Gem is.
"Okay, so Thanos will come here first. But there's not really a place to hold that big of a firefight. And we can't meet Thanos on his turf, so what are we going to do?" Stark added.
"Wakanda," Bucky answered.
Loki sat back and listened. He wasn't intimately familiar with Midgard. He did not know of Wakanda. He listened as Rogers described the country and its terrain, people, and weapons and defense systems. It sounded like a perfect place to make the last stand, but there was one thing missing. I must convince the sorcerer to accompany us. Loki turned to walk onto Yggdrasil, to the sorcerer.
"Hey, where are you going?" Bruce asked, calling all attention to them.
Loki looked over his shoulder at Bruce. Why do you concern yourself with me so much?
"Strange," Loki said as an explanation.
"Oh, well don't just run off without telling me, okay?" Banner pushed.
Loki stared a moment before nodding, he turned to create a nook to step into. The space cracked like glass, too much power aimed at the fabric of reality, fueled by his suppressed emotions. Bruce looked at Loki with concern while the rest looked alarmed. Loki quickly fixed the crack.
"I'm fine," Loki growled at Bruce.
With that, he disappeared onto the branches of Yggdrasil and quickly departed the space to appear next to Strange. The sorcerer jumped slightly at his sudden appearance.
"Come," Loki ordered.
"No."
"What?" Loki asked.
"I'm staying here, where the Time Stone is safe," Strange responded.
Loki looked at him dryly.
"I'm in no mood for games," Loki replied.
"And I am not playing games," Strange shot back.
I gave him a chance, so now I make him. Loki shoved Strange onto the branches of Yggdrasil, then once again to where the group was. The group jumped at their sudden appearance, but Strange quickly got his bearings. He brought his hand to the air, orange sparks lighting the room a bit. Loki staunched the attempt without a movement and redirected the energy away from Strange. The sorcerer stared at Loki.
"Try it again, Doctor, and I will not be so nice as to just take the energy away," Loki threatened.
"How did you…" Strange started.
"Please, staunching another's cast is child's play. I've been a Master Seidr User for most of my life. You have not seen what I am capable of," Loki bragged. "Now, we go to Wakanda."