Welcome!

Thank you again so much, Marsha O'Connor and CurtisMcQueen8, your comments are absolutely amazing to read and it makes me want to write more! So, let's see how everyone deals with such a mess...

Morning. I'd offer you coffee, but we're in Hell... (Chloe, Life is Strange)


"It seems like the Norns are growing increasingly sarcastic, these days." Loki weakly snickers, right after having opened his eyes.

Thor does not even answer. The god of Mischief is glad. He should not even have talked in the first place: His own voice is resonating at an unbearably loud volume in his own head.

He does not recognize the room in which he has just woken up. Elegant yet scarce furniture, including the bed on which he is currently lying, and a couch, from which his brother is uncomfortably staring at him.

Good news: he is not in a cell. Not yet. Not-so-good news: he can see Storm-breaker within easy reach of his brother.

When he straightens up a little, Loki barely represses a wince. Not only does the slightest move increases his headache tenfold, he also feels a painful twinge in the middle of his back, right where Stark has aimed a taser or the Norns know what.

But all of that -Thor, the Avengers, and his far from excellent physical state- are ridiculously futile. There is just one single thing that matters at the present moment.

"Where is she?" He asks Thor, on a tone he tries to make as firm as possible.

"Brother, we have to talk." The god of Thunder replies.

This sentence sends a surge of blinding fear which paralyses all of Loki's thoughts.

If Morgan is... If she is...

The next second, with no memory at all of how he has ended up here, Loki is standing right in front of the door, with his brother's hand holding his shoulder, to prevent him from stepping outside.

"Whether you like it or not, Thor, I will get out of this room." Loki warns, on a very calm and very furious tone.

"Your Lady, Morgan." Thor immediately replies "She has been taken care of. Bruce assured she is not in danger."

The wave of relief is almost as powerful, and for the split of a second, Loki feels like he is going to collapse, under so many contradictory sensations. His brother must have guessed it, somehow. Probably because it is not so hard to guess.

"I am sorry." Thor apologizes "I should have told you right from the start. I know you are going to see her and that there is nothing I can do to prevent you from doing so."

"Sometimes, you can be quite perceptive."

"Please." His brother insists, intensifying his grip on his shoulder when Loki tries to let go of it "We have to talk. Give just me five minutes."

"Two." Loki corrects.

"Three." Thor concedes.

"Fine." The god of Mischief huffs.

Thor immediately releases him and Loki reluctantly steps away from the door. His next move, however, is to conjure a finely crafted hourglass on the bedside table, which the king of Asgard looks at with bewilderment;

"Seriously?"

"Two minutes and fifty-five seconds." Loki shrugs.

"Then, by the Nine Realms, tell me what happened!" The god of Thunder angrily shouts "How could you?!"

"How could I?!" Loki replies, even louder "Do you really think that I attacked the Witch?! She is the one you should ask such question!"

"She cannot talk now." His brother reminds "Because you almost suffocated her, remember?"

Oh, if Thor thinks he is going to apologize for that, he will wait for a long, long time. Loki would gladly do it again if this can ensure Morgan's safety.

"Steve and the others wanted to lock you up immediately." Thor informs "I convinced them to wait for explanations."

Ah yes. The Avengers, user instructions: Punch first, talk second.

"Brother..." Thor asks again, on a softer tone "Did Wanda... Do anything to you and Morgan?"

Red light.

Red light and pain. Red light and fear. Red light and absolute terror.

Loki painstakingly releases the breath he has been holding. A part of him wants nothing else than begging his brother for comfort, to make these unspeakable nightmares fade away. And yet, he knows that he will never speak of this. He cannot be... He just has been offered a chance to be seen as Thor's equal. He cannot be afraid. He cannot be weak.

"Loki..." Thor starts, making him realize that he must have been lost in his thoughts for a moment "Years ago, I... Well, Wanda was not on the same side than us, and... Let's say I know what her powers can provoke."

Do you, Loki wants to insist, do you really know that?

But he simply cannot say anything.

"I just have to know." Thor demands "Swear to me neither you nor Morgan attacked her on purpose."

"I swear it." Loki whispers.

Does Thor trust him? Does Thor really trust him?

"Last room on the right." The god of Thunder feebly smiles, opening the door "Banner told me she will not stay unconscious for long."

Loki immediately steps in the corridor, barely noticing someone (Rogers or Romanov, he really does not care) coming towards him.

"I would advise you do not talk to him now." Thor warns.

Oh, how right you are, brother.


When Loki sees her, he feels ashamed.

No, not even ashamed.

By the Norns, he feels downright pathetic.

The right side of her face is almost unrecognizable; purple bruises on her swollen cheek and chin, a black eye, and a large bandage on her skull. Her hair has been hastily cut all around the wound, which makes it even more visible.

He allowed this to happen.

Morgan is soundly asleep; she cannot feel his hand holding hers, she cannot see the tears in his eyes, she cannot hear him saying how sorry he is.

The dim sound of a footstep that is not intended to be heard makes him briskly raise his head. Loki swears, if anyone dares to intrude and speak just a single word about her, he is going to...

"She will be fine, right? She is solid."

Alright, maybe with one exception.

Loki has never been really close to Nebula. He appreciates her when she decides to speak, but her taciturn nature does not make communication easy. However, it appears that Morgan has clearly found an opening in that barrier, and it is indeed genuine concern that the robotic voice expresses.

"She is much more than that." He whispers, only realizing a few seconds later that he has spoken these words aloud, and that he means every single one of them.

The cyborg slowly walks towards Morgan, carefully staring at him, and seems to be quite relieved not to see him object.

"Do you know for how long she will stay unconscious?" Nebula inquires.

"Not long, whatever that means." Loki angrily groans.

He frowns as he hears several voices becoming louder and louder.

"... No matter what he told you, we can't risk everyone's safety!"

Ah, the Holy Captain. Been a while.

Loki suddenly feels such a brutal wave of apprehension that it stops his breath for a moment. If they ever think about laying a finger on Morgan, yes, he will definitely annihilate them, without any second thought.

"I guess you have some scores to settle." Nebula asserts.

"You might want to watch as they even try to step into that room." He grins.

From where he stands, he can hear the voices of Thor, Rogers, Stark and Romanov. So, what will it be? A real, authentic trial? Or a direct sentence? Will they chain and gag him again, like the good old days?

He can easily deal with the Widow and the Hawk. Stark and Rogers too. But Banner... And Thor? Would Thor stand against him without any second thought? He might, after all...

"Thor is Thor. He moves on. But Loki... stays Loki."

He clenches his fist, trying to repress the nasty voice from his nightmare. Nothing about that was real. And yet...

Another thought strikes him like lightning.

If the Scarlet Witch wakes up?

Loki sighs bitterly, also remembering that he does not have one single blade to fight with, all his weapons having been destroyed when facing Thanos.

He does not stand a chance. He is alone.

"I will watch over her." Nebula suddenly offers.

He turns towards her, in a mix of incredulity and, actually not anything else, just pure incredulity.

"You two, you're good at talking." She says, eyeing both him and Morgan "I'm not. But I'm excellent at getting rid of those who attack me... and the few that are dear to me."

He takes a long look at her. At least, Morgan is not alone, and presently, it is the only thing that matters.


Four of the six Avengers are gathered in the common room of the compound. From where he is, Loki can see the Captain and the Widow staring accusingly at him, as well as Stark, leaning against the wall. The man is visibly tired. Good. If he needs to fight him, the recent loss of his left arm will make him a much weaker opponent.

As soon as Loki steps into the room, Thor walks towards him to stand by his side.

"So, tell me brother, have they heard the truth?" He sarcastically asks, perfectly aware that whatever truth that comes from Loki will never be considered one.

"For now, the truth looks very much like you were choking Wanda to death." Rogers spits.

"She is much more dangerous than you think." Loki coldly retorts.

The door opens again, letting both Banner and Barton in. The latter takes a long, stern look at Loki. Well, it seems that it is back to square one with every single person in this room.

"How's Wanda?" Romanov inquires.

"She's okay." The doctor assures "Resting."

"Sam is staying with her." Barton adds "So, just to be clear: what the hell happened?"

"The Scarlet Witch's mind is unstable." Loki affirms.

"Yeah, so you downright strangled her?!" Stark shouts.

"Do not play dumb with me, Stark." The god threatens "You know very well that I was not the only one she attacked."

"No, you, do not play dumb with me! You didn't just defend yourself; you wanted to kill her! You're..."

The man does not finish his sentence, apparently too agitated to formulate coherent sentences. Stark is jittery, and his eyes are not focusing on anything, as if constantly checking for any additional way out of the room.

Loki clenches his fist, as he recalls something. Stark has seen him attempting to stifle Maximov. The same way he attacked him, years ago, in his own tower, right before throwing him out of a window.

That makes things even more complicated.

"We thought you weren't a threat to us anymore." Rogers declares "But you are proving us wrong."

"Loki fought alongside us." Thor immediately reminds "You have my word that he is not ill-intentioned towards anyone. And even if he was... I'm sure his strategy would have been much smarter than that."

Well, that is something to hear. Not only is Thor defending him, but also praising his cleverness? Loki has to write this down.

"If that's the case..." Romanov supposes "Why would Wanda suddenly attack you?"

Loki feels like his head is burning. Of course, this question was going to come up. But there is simply no way he can answer it. Certainly, the Avengers would relish to know how powerless he was in front of just one of them.

He can still feel the claws of the red light in the back of his skull.

"Johannesburg." Banner suddenly mentions.

Loki is apparently the only person who does not get the reference. That word, whatever it means, although it strongly suggests a specific event or location, maybe both, seems to have the intended effect on the rest of the people around. Stark, the Widow, the Hawk, the Captain, and even Thor, all share uneasy glances.

"I don't need to remind you what happened, do I?" The doctor carries on, on a surprisingly fierce tone, which the god did not expect from him "Or do I need to tell you who caused this?"

"Bruce..." Rogers hesitantly starts "You know it is not the..."

"Not the same thing, I know!" Banner stops him "Of course it's not the same thing for Loki to attack one person than for the Hulk to rampage an entire city!"

Oh. That was unexpected.

"I know Wanda is not our enemy anymore. And she will never be. But you can't deny that her powers can still affect us." He insists.

Loki looks at him with bewilderment. He would not have imagined the usually so reserved scientist to firmly take his side.

"I get your point, buddy." Stark replies "But here's the thing: You're saying Wanda would have influenced him to attack her?! That doesn't make any sense!"

Loki clenches his fist. They will visibly not listen to him. His defence has to come from the other Avengers, and since none of them saw what happened, needless to say, he is, what is the expression already, oh right, toast.

Of course. The Scarlet Witch is their ally. Deep down, the God of Mischief still is their enemy.

It does not matter what Maximov or Loki did. In the end, it comes back to who they are.

"All I'm saying..." Banner continues "Is that accidents can always happen."

"Neither Wanda nor Loki is to blame." Thor asserts, clearly comforted by his friend's argument.

"Thor..." The Widow begins "You may have faith in your brother, but just look at what happened."

"Please do enlighten us, agent Romanov." Loki snarls, on an utterly sickened voice "Evidently, you have been there the whole time! How absent-minded I was not to have noticed your presence earlier!"

"In case you didn't realize, it's not the time to be a smartass." Stark dryly cuts.

It takes Loki an incredible amount of self-control not to smash the man's head against the coffee table. And to say that he might have appreciated him at some point! Stark is nothing more than a condescending hypocrite, and Loki is certain that he enjoys proving how evil he is and has always been.

"What I saw..." Romanov elaborates, turning to him "Is that your brother was gone. Wanda was alone. You and Morgan were there. I can't deny the occasion was perfect."

"The occasion to... what, exactly?" Loki reacts "Oh right, what was I thinking? To kill the most dangerous person around! Then, to exterminate the Avengers and, finally, to dominate the Earth! Well, it went exactly according to plan, didn't it?!"

Thor discreetly sighs. Of course. Thor is ashamed, Thor is embarrassed, Thor apologizes for his brother's behaviour.

"It is not hard to see you have already made up your mind, whatever else I might say." Loki concludes, crossing his arms in a defiant attitude.

"Well, you don't make your defence easy." Rogers contends.

"I already told you what happened. Contrary to your friend the Witch, I cannot twist your brain to make you believe me."

"Don't you dare..." Rogers menacingly threatens.

"Wait!" Thor intervenes, stepping between him and Loki "Let's at least wait for Wanda to talk to us."

A disturbing silence follows. Loki knows what they will decide even before they reply.

"I'm sorry, pal." Stark declares "But it's just too much risk. I can't... Not after everything that happened. We're in a clear majority here, so..."

"Don't think we are, Tony."

If Loki was incredulous to see Banner show support for him, now, he is perfectly speechless to hear Barton's objection.

"What?!" Stark can only speak, as shocked as everyone else.

"You heard that right. I'm a hundred percent certain that Loki didn't mean to harm Wanda in the first place." The Hawk calmly explains.

"Clint, what exactly makes you think that?" Rogers queries.

The archer does not answer immediately, perhaps thinking about how to order his speech. Then, he stares at Loki, who does not flinch by any mean.

"That's obvious to me." Barton maintains "For what I know, maybe you would attack Wanda, for whatever reason, but..."

"Okay, better be a valuable reason after this but." Stark angrily warns.

Barton gives him a somehow exasperated glance and Loki feels his admiration for him increase tenfold. Then, the archer's gaze comes back towards him.

"But... You would never risk Morgan's life."

That sentence literally crushes his chest. Loki would never have imagined the Hawk to be so perceptive.

And that seems to have some impact on the other Avengers as well. Both Stark and Rogers suddenly appear much more uncertain, whereas Banner looks even more convinced.

"Never." Loki manages to speak.

And whoever dares to pretend otherwise will beg for mercy.


"Do you truly think that this will make any difference?" Loki bitterly asks.

He is once again alone with Thor, as the Avengers have just left the common room. It appears that some sort of status quo has been preserved, which Loki is not too unhappy about. He has had enough of ending up behind bars.

"I do, brother." The god of Thunder affirms, as optimist as usual "Despite what you may think, none of them wants you imprisoned."

"I surprisingly beg to differ."

"And I can't really reproach you that." Thor acknowledges "But time has passed, since New-York. They saw you fight by their side and save their lives. They understood that you are not the person you were six years ago. Still, they cannot forget that person either."

Loki sighs. Evidently. On Midgard, on Asgard, on Jotunheim, let's face it, all across the Nine Realms, he is branded. And a reputation such as his will not fade easily.

He wonders what it would be like, to start anew, with a clean slate, writing an entirely different story behind his name. Can there be other people than Morgan who would look at who he is now, instead of focusing on who he was?

Such a thing is not possible with the Avengers. Loki's eyes might have been clouded by the Mind Stone's influence; he still has gazed at every single one of them with a rage that cannot be fully omitted.

"Though they might be even more doubtful towards your Lady than towards you." Thor adds, not hiding his amusement when he notices the small flinch on Loki's face, indicating what the god of Mischief refuses to call a slight blow to his ego.

Thor is not wrong though. Loki is quite famous among the Avengers and, well, among most Midgardians. Morgan was, and still remains, a mystery. She has not disclosed much about herself, and intends to keep it that way.

"Then, tell them that their wariness is irrelevant." He advises "Morgan is no more interested in asserting whatsoever form of domination on Earth than by..."

"... Oyster-farming." She admits.

What exactly does he feel, at this precise moment? Loki does not know for sure what prevails between relief, guilt, euphoria and why does her first word have to be THAT?

Still, when he turns around, he feels like he has been physically hit in the face. Because hers is a mess.

It was one thing to see her unconscious. It is another to look at her walking towards him (swaying is much more adequate, with Nebula regularly taking careful looks at her, just in case she might stumble with no prior warning, and Loki will have to think about how he can express his gratitude to the cyborg), and smiling, at least attempting what can be understood as a smile. Hard to be sure, with so many red and black marks on her face, and her difficulty to keep her right eye open.

Evidently, she got up the second she woke up. It was that, or tying her to the bed.

Go ahead, try to find someone else like her, in all the Nine Realms and beyond. Good luck.

And, by Hell, she does not stop:

"You can say it, you know. I took it right in the face, didn't I?" She laughs at both him and Thor, the two of them being too astonished to say anything intelligible "At least, I can take the opportunity to experiment a new hairstyle. Mohican-Morgan, how does that sound?"

Let's admit it, her hairstyle is not really one anymore. On the left side of her face, her dark curls still stop right above the neck, but on the opposite side, they have been, if not shaved, clumsily cut, in order to better position the voluminous compress which hides her wound.

Funny, how Loki feels both so reassured and yet so frightened. Because it is Morgan who is standing in front of him, always bursting with energy, even when half-massacred, and because that, all of that, should never have happened.

He has to say something.

But first things first.

Though Nebula has quickly understood and is already leaving the room, dragging Thor along despite the latter's protests.

"They are too polite to tell us to get out." She tranquilly explains, and it is becoming increasingly arduous for the god of Mischief to refrain from applauding her.

The door shuts and they are alone. Approximatively one quarter of a second later, they are in each other's arms.

Loki does not even know how to enlace her. He does not want to hurt her further, and yet he desperately wants her warmth against him.

"Say something." Morgan mutters "Please."

Alright.

"I love you."

He says it again, and again, and again. Just in case.