Chapter 22: Loki
For the second time that day, Loki was headed for the Observatory. Thor had the Tesseract and was on his way to the palace to get the Bifrost powered up once more.
Loki lagged behind as the Avengers entered the golden building, feeling the crunch of ice beneath his boots. He looked out across the water and watched as the remains of his ice bridge broke up and were swept over the edge of Asgard. He'd never used the powers he'd been born to before. It had been strange to finally drop the one illusion he hadn't known was there and take his true form – if only for a while.
There was no denying his true parentage now.
"Loki?"
He turned at the sound of the Captain's voice, facing his one-time enemy. "I'm sorry about Stark," he said, and to some extent that was the truth. He'd never liked the man, but they had shared a common enemy.
"It wasn't your fault," Rogers said.
Loki smiled grimly. "Makes a change." There was an awkward silence before Loki added, "I know about Barnes' time with HYDRA, before the Triskelion incident. You should know, they had his mind – wiped it, then filled it with lies. He believed he was doing the right thing."
"But he's back now," Rogers added.
"Yes."
Rogers held his gaze. "And you helped."
Loki shrugged. "I played a part."
"Thank you," Rogers said simply. "What will you do when this is all over?"
"If we stop Thanos?" Loki thought about the question, then answered honestly. "I don't know." He'd spent so long trying to escape Thanos and protect Asgard that he'd barely thought about what might come next for him if he ever succeeded.
Rogers nodded understanding and Loki turned to go. "Where are you going?" Rogers asked.
"I have some business to attend to," Loki replied as he headed towards the palace.
"Like what?"
Loki turned back. "Do you trust me?"
Rogers hesitated, then nodded. "Okay."
Loki smiled as he continued on his way. He might not know where he was headed long-term but he knew what needed to be done next.