Chapter 41: Training!

"I want to propose you the Avengers initiative," said Steve.

And the world stopped!

What?

"You? You would want me? In the Avengers?"

Loki could not believe this. He stood up and got away from the table. He walked a bit around the place, to his right, then back to the left, then the right again.

"You want me in the Avengers? I... No!"

"Why not," asked Tony. "You assembled us, you gave us a reason to be a team. And you need to save a lot of lives, so what better way than to join a superhero band?"

"Tony," reprimanded Steve.

"But I'm not a superhero," said Loki.

"You have powers," said Tony.

"Loki, I am not a superhero either," said Bruce, "nor is Bucky. If we are proposing you to join is because we believe you could do it, you could be a good addition to the team."

"I am a villain," said Loki coming back to the table. "I know what I have done and why I did it. I killed people. I... I cannot join you. What would the world say?"

"We don't care about what they have to say," said Tony throwing his hands in the air.

"Loki, I killed people, I did some very bad things, and I was against Steve, I nearly killed him," said Bucky. "Natasha was an assassin. Clint was up to no good. Scott did some time in prison. The Hulk killed and destroyed. Wanda was set on destroying the Avengers. Vision was created to be a weapon. Thor is a warrior and you know more than us what he did. Tony here is no saint. Sam... Well, I don't know about Sam. But Rhodey was in the army, so was Steve. We all have blood on our hands, or at the very least some amount of guilt. None of us are perfect."

"War is not fought with weapons, but with men and women with beating heart," said Steve. "And the truth is: we need you in the fight against Thanos. We will need everyone who can help."

Loki took his time to think. And then...

"Okay. I'll do it. I'll be Loki, the Avenger."

oOo

On that same day, there was a team training during Storm's afternoon nap. Now, Loki was allowed in the gyms at any time. It was good to be allowed to train and to do magic, so he was excited about his first training with the team.

But, like everything in life, things did not go as planned.

So, in the middle of the gym, a portal of fire opened and Doctor Strange arrived.

"Hi, my name is Doctor Steven Strange and I know you are harbouring a dangerous individual."

"You might have to be more specific," said Bucky in a defying tone.

"Excuse me, I'm Steve Rogers," said the captain going toward the new arrival and extending his arm to shake.

Doctor Strange shook his hand, but kept his eyes on Loki who was staring back at the doctor.

"You mean me," said Loki stoically.

"Yes, exactly," clarified Strange.

"Loki is part of this team, now," said Steve.

"Oh, and you think this is wise," said Strange not laughing.

"I believe we could benefit from listening to this doctor," said Vision. "He might know a thing or two about infinity stones."

"Indeed, I do," replied Strange.

And then, he opened his necklace, the eye of Agamotto containing the time stone. The stone flew in front of the doctor who picked it up.

"This is the time stone," announced Strange to his audience.

Some of them gasped, some of them just looked at the stone. Vision even took a few steps back.

"I'm sorry, it is unwise to keep two infinity stones in such a close proximity," explained Vision.

"Only if you are expecting an attack," said Strange, "and one might come from Loki."

"I won't," said Loki staying in place.

"Why are you coming now? Loki has been with us for a long time, and just now do you show up," said Sam.

"Because Loki did not have full access to his magic. He does now," replied Strange. "I keep a watch list of potential treats to this planet. Loki is definitely back on the list since he has his magic."

"Loki has not hurt a single person since he got here," said Rhodey remembering when Loki hurt him, but preferring to keep it silent.

"Loki has the potential to cause big problems here," said Strange.

"I saw in his mind, he won't," said Wanda.

"Why not ask me? I'm right here and I won't betray my friends nor my family," said Loki.

"Not unless there is a treat upon them," said Strange.

"You could ask the future," proposed Vision. "With your stone, you have the ability to see the possibilities. Why not just do that?"

"You can see the future," asked Scott fascinating. "Wow! I'm just… It's just that I'm impressed."

"While it is true I can see into the future, I only see the possibilities, like your android phrased it. I do not see what will be, only what could be," said Strange.

"Do you know of Thanos," asked Loki. "This is a being that should definitely be on your threat list. Thanos wants all six infinity stones, and so far, we thought there were only two on Earth. But you have a third one."

"Where is the second one," asked Strange.

"Safe in New Asgard," answered Steve.

"Two in the same country would be dangerous if Thanos decided to come," said Loki.

"This new threat changes things," said Strange.

"I am not a menace for Earth, and I joined the Avengers to be ready for when Thanos will arrive," said Loki. "You think me a threat, but Thanos will wipe out half of all life in this galaxy if he gets his hand on all six stones."

"Do you know how many he has so far," asked Strange.

"He had the mind stone, but not anymore. He knew where he could maybe find the power stone — a place called Morag — and last I hear he was about to ask a Kree — Ronan — to get it for him. Thor sent the reality stone to the collector in Knowhere, but I am unaware if Thanos knows about it. He knows the mind stone is here, he might also suspect where the space stone is now."

"What about the soul stone," asked Strange.

"No one knows where it is, but he sent one of his daughters to find a map that may or may not exist. As for the time stone, I am not sure he knows where it is," answered Loki.

"When that guy comes, we will all be at risk," said Steve. "We are training and preparing against him."

Strange took his time to think for a while.

"Sir, if I may," asked Vision, "maybe you should look into Loki's future paths."

Strange stayed silent, but he went into a corner of the room and activated the time stone to see the possibilities. It was a very strange thing to watch and it was not over quickly.

After some time, Strange stood back up and looked directly at Loki.

"I don't like even half of what I just saw," said Stange approaching Loki. "There are not a lot of ways to win against Thanos, and if I tell you what will happen, then it won't happen. So I will leave you to that."

And the magic doctor just opened up his portal and step away.

oOo

Oh, Doctor Strange knew how this story will end, he had seen it all and knew of the possible paths that could work, but it was up to Loki whether or not they would win.

oOo

Loki was working well with the team. It was not his usual area of expertise, but training went well. And the best: the team was welcoming him! Him, Loki. The god who attacked New York. And it was so good to do magic once again.

During his free time, Loki was teaching Alex how to control his magic, and the boy was learning fast. The rule that Alex could only practice magic in the presence of Steve and Loki had been changed to just Loki, since he did not need Steve anymore. Loki was also teaching Storm how to control her magic and she was a bright little girl.

So now, there were three tricksters inside the compound. Loki was once more allowed to use his magic freely, meaning the water did turn into spaghetti a few times, the colours of certain items had also been changed — thought it was cool to see everyone with different hair colours for a day — and there was also that time when objects were moving on their own. Well, that was just from Loki. Adding Alex in the mix and the team got a lot of animated drawing on the walls as well as some new animals inside the compound, but the illusions would always fade once Alex was not thinking about them anymore. And with Storm, the weather was always good over the compound, except for the occasional rain indoor when she was not getting what she wanted. Loki had decided to think ahead and just magically waterproof the furniture and a lot of other objects. He was so glad to have his magic back, and his shape-shifting ability, even though the team had got used to seeing an unknown person in the compound and just say "Hey Loki" so he was fooling no one.

On the scientific side, Bruce and Tony were working on the Hulk, but when Loki was in the lab, they were all working on space portal. That magic doctor Strange had not wanted to help them with their problem, but Loki had enough knowledge of the bifrost and the tesseract to help them achieve a form of teleportation.

In the meantime, once a week, Loki and another Avenger went to do community service while someone else was watching over Storm and Alex was at the daycare. Loki found a certain peace in this forced work. Most people on Earth had never seen his real face during his attack, so in his normal form, he was passing like a normal midgardian just helping people. It was great to be among others and just be able to make a small difference in their day. In Asgard, Thor and Loki had to do some kind of community services, but it was very different. They would sometimes help build something, or repair something, or just pay a nice social visit to the healing rooms after a thought battle, but they were always perceived as the princes. It was a royal duty to help and serve the people — noblesse oblige —, which Loki could understand, and the people were looking at them with respect, not gratitude. Here on Earth, the people Loki was helping do not know who he was and he was earning their respect and gratitude through his current actions, not through his royalty or bloodline. And that's what makes it all the more meaningful. Also, by going with an Avenger, the attention was on his compagnon, not him, so no one had recognised him yet.

Oh, Fury knew all about the changes in the situation. But he also knew he did not have a say in it. More than once, Loki had thought he saw a homeless looking guy bearing a strong resemblance to Fury. But Loki knew he was not in trouble. After all, Loki was in the custody of the Avengers and he was doing his community services, nothing more.

oOo

"Avengers' meeting in half an hour," announced Friday.

"Friday, am I forgetting something," asked Tony.

It was the morning rush, like every other day. But this week, it was a bit different, Storm was starting daycare too. Today was also special because Loki was allowed to go to the daycares to drop his children. So him, the children and Tony were off to Alex's daycare first. It was strange, but also very pleasant for Loki to drop Alex off at the daycare for the first time.

"Have a nice day, Alex," said Loki.

"Bye daddy."

Then, Tony drove them to Storm daycare, a smaller house where a woman alone was taking care of babies above six months old. Steve had made the Avengers swore they would not spy in anyway on this new daycare like they did for Alex's first day, but Steve had also asked Tony to run a deep background check on the lady, and she came out clean.

"Please, don't hesitate to call me if there is any problem," said Loki for what was probably the one hundredth time.

And he kissed Storm one last goodbye.

"Have a nice day, and be nice to Denise, okay Storm," said Loki.

"Yeah, dada," said Storm.

She was now ten months old and could form some small sentences as well as walk. Maybe it was the fact that she was not human, or that she was Loki's daughter, but she was clearly different from the other babies her age.

Then, Loki went back to the car and Tony drove them back to the compound.

"Nervous?"

"Way less than for Alex's first day. And Storm can fed for herself. I just hope she won't make it rain inside the house," answered Loki.

"You know, you should really learn to drive. You are going to be here for a while. And by here, I mean Earth. Even in New Asgard, they will have cars soon enough if not already," said Tony.

"Yes, I should."

"And if you want, I could forge you a driving licence," proposed Tony.

"I should learn how to drive before you forge me a licence."

"Probably. Have you ever drive? In Asgard, I mean."

"We don't drive. We did not have cars. But I do know how to pilot a good variety of flying ships. I am even a better pilot than Thor."

"Well, we should teach you how to drive a car. It's easy, you'll see."

"But what would be the point once we finish our mini-bifrost?"

The experience concerning the worm-hole version of a teleportor was going very well, but there was still a lot to do, as well as some testing with the tesseract.

"Also, I wanted to ask, can Storm and Alex have some kind of task during the wedding? Alex could bring the rings. Or Storm could."

"I am not familiar with your way of officiating a wedding, but I would be honored if they could help," said Loki.

"Yeah, I believe it still has some common points. But I still feel like I'm forgetting something."

oOo

During the meeting, Steve made an announcement.

"As you know, in a couple of weeks, there is a long weekend. Since we are the Avengers, at least one of us should stay at the compound. I want to know who has plans?"

"Weekend with Pepper. I just bought a nice cabin on a lake and we want to have time for ourselves," said Tony.

"Yeah, we know about the cabin," said Sam.

"And we really don't want to know what you'll be doing," said Natasha.

"Where are you two going," replied Tony.

"New Orleans, to see my sister," said Sam. "Like I always do on holiday."

"Clint's farm," simply said Natasha.

"Vision and I can stay," said Wanda. "We will behave."

"I can stay as well. I might not be an Avenger as much as you, but I will stay," said Loki.

"Wait, I thought Thor invited you over," said Bruce. "Tony, did you tell him?"

"Oh, that's what I forget," said Tony with a guilty expression. "Yes, Loki, Thor invited you and the little ones to spend the weekend there. And since we will soon be running tests with the tesseract as a mod of transport, you could go the easy way. Still with jet-lag, but without a seven-hour plane trip."

"And before you ask," said Steve, "of course you can go. You have my permission. You'll be under Thor's supervision for the weekend."

Loki was surprised, but it was a good surprise, so he smiled and nodded.

"Okay, well, Vision and Wanda will stay here in case of emergency," declared Steve.

"Wait, what are you doing," asked Rhodey.

"I have a trip planned with Bucky at Coney Island," said Steve.

"A motorbike trip down memory lane," added Bucky. "It must have changed a lot since then. I remember Howard Stark presenting a flying car. What happens to that idea?"

"Oh, I have a flying car! Just because I never talked about it doesn't mean I don't have one. But there were some legal issues with the flying routes. We still not in Back to the Future."

oOo

Now, Loki had told them everything he knew about Thanos and his plans. "Even his children are not a weakness to him. He would sacrifice them all for his cause," had said Loki who knew he would never be ready to do the same.

"Well, the guy is not called the mad titan for nothing," had commented Rhodey.

During training that day, the Avengers were trying to come up with ideas on how to defeat Thanos.

"Any known weaknesses?"

"None that I know," answered Loki. "He is big and heavy, therefore, I would say go small and fast."

"I can do small," said Scott. "I can also do big, really big. And my girlfriend can also do small. Hope, I mean, Wasp — that's her name, well, code name —, she might say yes if I ask her to join."

"We will need all the help we can get," said Steve.

"Maybe I should reach out to Spider-man, he might reconsider," said Tony.

"What about that magic doctor, would he join," asked Sam.

"I would not count on him," said Tony. "But as long as he can keep his stone safe, we won't have to worry."

"Tony, we know about Wakanda," said Bruce. "They might help."

"With what? They have vibranium, but that's all," said Natasha. "It's a third country."

"Not exactly… They also have one superhero. Goes by the name Black Panther," said Tony.

"Just a big black cat if you want my opinion," said Rhodey and Sam nodded at that comment.

"Reach out to those two," said Steve. "Vision, what about your stone?"

"You should destroy it," said Vision.

"Can we do that? It won't be simple," said Wanda.

"If we can get rid of one stone, we could protect the whole universe," said Vision. "And you have the power to destroy it."

"No! It would kill you," said Wanda worried.

"But it would ensure the safety of the rest of the world," said Vision.

"We will return to that plan only if absolutely needed," said Steve. "But Bruce, do you think you could remove the stone without killing Vision?"

"I... I mean, it won't be easy. I don't know. I can study the possibility," said Bruce.

"Vision, how intimate are you with the stone," asked Loki.

"What do you mean," asked Vision.

"When someone owns an infinity stone, one develops a kind of relation with it, to the point of being able to communicate with said stone," clarified Loki. "Does it talk to you?"

"No, not really. It never happened," said Vision.

"Maybe I can try," proposed Wanda. She used her power on the stone, but nothing happened. "I just feel you."

"Maybe Vision is so fused with the stone that it won't be possible to dissociate the two," said Loki, "since he had been alive for as long as he has the stone."

"But maybe we could remove the connections to the stone and rearrange the internal connections. There might be enough Vision without the stone to keep you alive and removing the stone. However, it might also prevent you for accessing your power," theorised Bruce.

"We should work on that," suggested Tony.