Loki managed to find his way in the woods and was ready to fight whatever may be standing in his way. Ultron can be anywhere in the forrest and he might be planning his next attack on anyone that is close by and later on the world. But knowing that is not going to stop Loki in finding Ultron and putting an end to his evil plans, he may not have officially met the robot and that fact alone doesn't stop him from despising him. He can hardly wait to find Ultron and destroy him before he can destroy anything else. Loki can't help but wonder how Vision is doing and if he was able to fight off all of the other Ultrons or if he is still fighting them off right now. Part of him hopes that he knows the answer, but at the same time leaving Vision was what needed to be done and if he stayed then he would have still been there fighting off an never ending amount of Ultrons. The worst thing that would have happened is that Ultron would have had more than enough time to escape from the land and continue on his rampage to destroy all of humanity.
Loki is more than determined to make sure that Ultron is defeated with no chance of ever coming back, then he can try to solve whatever identity crisis that may be going through his head about whether or not he's as bad as Ultron if not worse. The woods seem to be getting more and more deeper as Loki continues to go through the woods, there is no telling what would be lurking about and that is ready to make an attack. That can happen at any moment, Loki is ready for whatever Ultron is ready to throw at him. But what he is about to see is anything but ready to see what is up ahead...
As Loki continues to walk through the forrest and to see if there was any sign of Ultron, Loki notices on the ground that there seem to be a few metal unknown pieces. He may not know much about human mechanics but he does know that there can only be one source that these pieces may be from Ultron an that is a good enough lead. He starts to follow the trail of metal pieces and as he continues on the trail of now robotic debris, when the trail finally stops. Loki can not believe his eyes...
"Well one of the heroes that came to finish me off, I was hoping that I would be strong enough to fight back in whatever battle I would have to fight for my survival." said Ultron in a defeated tone.
Ultron is moving slowly towards Loki and his new outlook is anything but impressive, the robot looks completely destroyed and is pathetic compared to the other robots that he has been fighting. He was expecting something more extragelvant, a robot that would be towering over him and would put up an even more of a fight than any of the Ultrons that he fought in the past and would have an outstanding power beyond any of the Midgaurdian technology that he has seen before. But an almost destroyed Ultron that any child would be able to defeat with little to no practice after someone tells them how to of course. Loki can not help but feel really disapointed at the sight right in front of him, anyone would think that this is a bad joke. One that no one would have a horrible sense of humor to even consider it funny. Loki stared at Ultron with annoyance and really wants to give him a piece of his mind and make sure that he would not tolerate with wasting any more time with the poor excuse of a machine.
"You are more disapointing and weaker than I imagined." said Loki. Not even bothering to hide his disdain towards Ultron because he can't believe some one as pathetic as Ultron would nearly destroy all of humanity and gave both him and Darcy a headache on trying to figure out how to reobtain the Infinity stone.
"I used to be stronger than what you are now seeing." said Ultron. "If it wasn't for Wanda then I might be able to put up more of a fight and believe me it would have been a loosing battle for you."
"I doubt that." said Loki. "If you were any good in combat, you wouldn't be hiding in a forrest after someone who is inexperienced with her powers destroyed you with a flick of her hand."
"So are you here to destroy me?" demanded Ultron. "If I wanted to hear a lecture coming from someone who has the same level of inteligence as Stark."
"Well you would be happy to know that I am nothing compared to him." said Loki trying hard to remain civil towards Ultron, but in all honesty, he can hardly wait for this conversation to be over. "You have done more than enough trouble for everyone on Earth and you are going to pay for what you have done. But first there is one question that I need to ask and you need to give an honest answer because everyone has a right to know."
"What is this question?" sneered Ultron.
"Why did you decide to do all of this? What purpose did you have for causing this chaos?" demanded Loki. "Were you trying to be a monster?"
These questions were going around Loki's head as he was going through this final fight against Ultron and he thought that he would never be able to ask anyone these questions out loud to anyone. Now that Ultron is here and he has the opportunity to ask these questions, he is not going to miss the opportunity to get the answers to these questions. But instead of getting these answers, Ultron just started to laugh and it was a laugh that only annoyed Loki even more. Here he had Ultron at his mercy and he's laughing at him. If Ultron met Loki before all of this started then the joke would have definitely be on him because he would have personally made sure that Ultron would pay for his disrespect. Now that he's a different outlook and view of life, he is willing to be more open to listening to what he has to say no matter how irritating Ultron may seem to be.
"You humans are so predictable, I am still surprised that you all managed to get this far without any insistence." sneered Ultron. "Humans are the real evil and the only way to defeat them is by destroying all of them. I was programed to protect the planet and the only way to do so is to destroy all of humanity and let it start anew. Then I will be a hero to the world and beyond because I would free them from all of these puppets."
Loki just stared at the robot as if he just heard the most ridiculous thing in his life, in all honesty he just did. If Darcy told him that one of her comic book villains would have that mindset and he would have a chance encounter with some one or rather something like that then he would have believed she lost her mind. He can not believe how delusional Ultron is and the insanity of his logic, even Thanos can come up with a better excuse to go on a rampage than this. Loki may now have an idea on how much damage he must have done during his attack, but he mostly wanted to rule the humans and to prove to his father that he could be a worthy son as good as Thor if not better. He never wanted to whip out Midgaurd-
Loki then realized that he almost did the same thing to his home world, Jontunnhiem and nearly did the same thing to all of the Frost giants. Just to prove the same point and being upset for being lied to for all of these years. The Frost giants and Laufey may have done a lot of horrible things, but so did the Asgardians and he doesn't see them trying to come up with a plan on destroying all of Asgard and everything with it.
Maybe he was no different then Ultron and that his plans would have hurt others more than he thought. If he was really a monster than why is he starting to feel really guilty about the past beyond Thor? He can hardley wait until Ultron is destroyed and he can just return to being just Loki, only trying to save the world to stay in Darcy's apartment until he figures out his next move and to see where he can go next after he's done being Mysto. Ultron is going to regret what he has done even if it means that he has to tear him apart slowly piece by piece, he doesn't know why Ultron just rub him off the wrong way.
"You do realize that not everyone in this planet is completely human right?" said Loki. "That is one of the most rediculous things that I have ever heard in my entire life and I can't believe that- What were you planning to do with the robot that you were creating?"
"I was planning to create a better version of myself and give that former masterpiece a chance to get the job done and be the 'hero' that will bring Earth to everlasting peace." said Ultron with disapointment.
"You were never going to let Vision have a choice? You decided his future before he even had a chance to make his own choices?" said Loki with a mix of disbelief and disgust in his voice. "He would have been a prisoner in your plans before the Avengers came along and Stark and Banner did their own programming on him. You wanted to give him a life that he never wanted or ask for?"
"I was offering a life of unlimited power where only a fool would reject an offer like that." said Ultron. "One would think that someone who has power would understand how challenging it is to maintain it under control and how hard it is to make the right choice."
Loki can't help but grow even more annoyed at Ultron, he really wishes that he wasn't alone at the moment because right now he needs really good advise on how to deal with Ultron. He can't believe that he managed to remain civil towards Ultron and didn't even try anything, he is even starting to think that Darcy's influence is starting to take over his overall mindset. But there is one thing that Loki knows that he can't destroy Ultron not yet, until Vision comes by and deal with Ultron himself.
Ultron is determined a future for Vision and was about to make choices for Vision that garuntees that he wouldn't have the freedom to choose. He knows how much it hurts to not have the freedom to make ones' own choices to live whatever life they want or to have someone make their choices for them. He is not going to rob Vision of a confrontation with Ultron and would wait as long as he needs to for Vision to have the honor of deciding what to do with the monster that created him. He just hopes that the decision would be destroying Ultron before he somehow repairs himself and find other clever ways to continue his idiotic and insane plans for Midguard or worse later on the Universe.
Fortunately, it is not that much of wait and Vision soon appears, Loki figured that it might be best if he looks like if he has been fighting Ultron this entire time and that he's exhausted. That way no would question him why he was spending valuable time chatting with an out of control and evil manic machine. In fact if anyone ever finds out that happened he would be ready to die of embarrassment. Since trying to figure out how the Avengers manage to put up with him and let alone let Tony Stark/Ironman believe that creating Ultron would be a wonderful idea.
If he thinks that is bad then he does not want to know what it was like for the twins, they actually worked for Ultron before they came to him and Darcy for help. It must have been a nightmare and Loki is now even already starting feel sympathy for them, he should know better than anyone what it is like to work for someone that does not care about anything but completing their evil plans and they are willing to take extreme mesures to complete their goals. Vision went over to the both of them, Loki knew that he has to say something now before he will owe an explanation to everyone involved in stopping Ultron.
"I found him right here and let say he put up a fight, I think it safe to say that I won the battle." said Loki. "I feel like that it might be best if you decide what should be the best course of action and you didn't have a chance to speak with this machinery. You should have a chance to have a word to speak with him if you chooses to."
"You honestly going to give him a chance to speak to me?" said Ultron laughing viscously. "He is already a disappointment, the moment I saw him fight with that team. I made him to be the last and later on a potentially powerful body for my programming to transfer into. You were made for me to carry on and later make me the most invincible being on Earth."
"While you were made to help protect the humans, I guess we were both disappointments." said Vision. Loki really want to tell Vision that he's not a disappointment for everyone else because he actually made his own choices that helped the world stop Ultron, but he feels like he can't say that. Vision should be the one that should have the honor of dealing with Ultron and he should be the one that ends this once and for all.
"You're afraid aren't you?" said Vision. "Of dying aren't you?"
"You are undeniably unbearably naive." said Ultron trying to maintain a firm appearance as it becomes evidentally clear to both Loki and Vision that he is denying the truth.
"Well I was born yesterday and it's too bad that you don't see humans as complex individuals that has every right to live." said Vision. "Since Mysto was the one who took you down and he should have the honor to at least hold you in place. So you won't try to escape."
Loki at first looked surprised and then realize that Ultron was backing away from both Vision and himself. So he grabbed his daggers and threw them at the robot and it caught him on a tree. As Ultron is so focused on trying to get the daggers out so that way he can make his escape, Vision used the mind stone to destroy Ultron once and for all. Once Vision is done the only thing that was left of Ultron was burnt metal, Loki slowly went up to the tree and begins to pull out his daggers of the tree and what was left of Ultron's arms. After a quick pull of both of them, Loki turns to Vision and does not know what to say to him. There is now one question that is going on his mind and it is one that he believes that he will never have an answer; will he always be surprise at whatever Vision says or does?
"Well that was definitely fast and unexpected, are you always going to be civil towards the ones that try to do you harm before you use the powers of the stone to defeat who ever you may be up against?" said Loki. "I have to say that I am astonished on your methods of action and I can see why you are worthy of lifting the hammer."
"Is that a bad thing that only I and the one with the long blond hair are the only ones that can lift the magic hammer?" asked Vision. Loki realize that he should clarify what that means before he accidentally ruins the droid's self esteem.
"It is a good thing because it is really rare for anyone to have the power to lift that hammer, it means that you have a good heart or rather mind." explained Loki. "If one have the ability to lift that hammer than they should consider themselves privilliged because the ability to hold that hammer is rare."
"If you say so, we should return to the others and inform them of this new development." said Vision and with that he begins to fly over with Loki slowly following him.
Loki can say one thing that will one of the most honest things in his life, that this is one of the most confusing and surprising missions that he ever had to do in his life. At least he now knows that the Infinity stone is in good hands and he won't have to worry about another robot rampage any time soon. He can't wait to get back to the tower and tell Darcy of all of these developmennts but then again it might attract Darcy's attention in the wrong way. It might later find him talking about all of the glories of being a superhero and the battles. But that is not one of his top priorities and he really wants to know if he might possibly be worse than Ultron. Why is he worrying so much about what Darcy thought and may think of him after the whole 'Loki trying to take over the planet' incident. He needs to know if he's just as bad as Ultron and to see if he is really the monster that everyone fears him to be. This is definitly going to be a long trip back and he just hopes that Darcy would not care about the battle that just occurred.
Two Hours Later
"Tell me everything!" said Darcy excitedly to Loki.
Loki is surprised to see how much interest someone would be so excited to hear about a current event as Darcy is right now. He just came back after a tiring battle against Ultron and the first thing Darcy did was got him to follow her to the room that they were in to ask him to tell her everything that happened on the battle field. That is the last thing he wants to do because he is exhausted, after a long flight back where the Avengers were too busy happy and celebrating their win that he had no choice but to join in was exhausting.
So that way he can avoid any questions and play along with them, he does not know if he genially enjoyed himself or is annoyed by the Avengers. He's really surprise that Odin didn't declare Midgaurd as a bad influence and tried to figure out ways to stop Thor from coming back, but that would be too extreme. Loki stares at Darcy as he gives a sigh and knew that he might as well get this over with. The last thing he wants is for Darcy to keep asking him for details every five minutes, he might as well start telling her or else it is going to be a long trip back.
"You do realize that they probably filmed some of the fight against Ultron and put it on the television sets that always reports the current events and news correct?" said Loki. "Besides you can safely assume that we won if all of the others are too busy celebrating that only a fool wouldn't figure it out."
"Well that fool would need to be living under a rock for the past couple of years and would need to get their everything especially brains check." said Darcy. "Now come on tell me more about the battle and what you did to help defeat Ultron."
"All I did was fight off hundreds of robots and help Vision take Ultron down by helping locate Ultron. Though to be honest Vision located all on his own, I was sent as reinforcements." said Loki. "After Vision decides to focus on taking down the robots that were trying to surround us, we reunited again to confront Ultron and destroyed him.
"Ok, where were you while Vision is busy trying to take down an army?" asked Darcy.
"I was talking to Ultron, trying to gain a better understanding on why he was doing all of this." explained Loki. "I am not sure if I am a fan of the responnse that I have gotten."
"Well why did Ultron want to take over the world with his army of evil robots, aside from trying to eliminate all of the humans?" asked Darcy. "I mean if there was anyone who might be able to understand, it's you right? I mean you tried to take over the world and practically cause about the same if not more damage than Ultron did, you probabley could fully understannd what Ultron must be thinking and feeling. Do you think robots can feel the same way as we do?"
Loki didn't answer because those words alone are not helping his thoughts about how he must have acted back when he was evil and if he really was as bad as Ultron. If that was the case then he does not know what to think and how to feel about his actions and now realizing that he also played a huge role in his downfall. Odin may have kept his adoption and true heritage a secret and may have treated Thor better than Odin ever treated him. But he didn't make Loki do all of his actions, he still chose to do it and for what?
To prove that he's a worthy son and if he caused this much trouble for everyone then he just proved all of the stories about how Frost giants are monsters. He had better reasons then those fictional characters in those stories right? Loki now is doing some good in trying to obtain the Infinity stones before Thanos does right? If anything he's proving that he's nothing like Ultron or Thanos, they would never take the time to have second thoughts and then later do something that anyone would consider madness in order to make things right. But then again, he was initially doing this to try to remain on Darcy's good side and not be at risk on sleeping on a park bench for the rest of his life or time on Midguard depending if he is ever discovered by anyone else on this planet. Who is he now anyway? Has he really changed or is he just an errand boy that is trying to make sure that he doesn't end up on the streets of Midguard?
"It was nothing but nonsense, you probably would grow tired of me trying to explain it to you." said Loki trying his best to end the conversation before it can even continue. "But enough about Ultron and the battle, tell me about your time waiting for us to return, did you do something exciting during that time aside from checking for any updates?"
"Uh... no..." said Darcy. "Is everything alright Loki? You seem to be disturbed about something, well a lot more than usual. Is there something bothering you?"
"There is nothing wrong, I am just tired from fighting an Ultron army that's all." snapped Loki. "Is there something wrong about being tired from fighting off that many robots?"
"Well no, but you seem to be really upset about something and that's bothering you." said Darcy. "I mean it might help if you talk about it and-"
"I do not as you humans would say 'open up my heart and share my feelings.' I honestly do not know how you and everyone else can share sentiment to one another this much and stay sane." said Loki annoyed. "I probabley would loose my mind if I went around talking about them."
"Wouldn't you also loose your mind if you keep them all in? It sometimes helps to talk about them to others, here's an idea why not we try to start small and make this fun?" said Darcy. "How about we make it a game, I share how I am feeling first and then you and we respond to each other by giving both of us emotional support? I'll start things off, ok I'm happy that you and the others defeated Ultron and now I really want to help you out on what ever is troubling your mind. Now it's your turn, try to tell me how your feeling and give me some emotional support as honest as possible."
"Here's how I am feeling right now... I am now annoyed of this conversation and now leaving the room to make sure that it ends sooner rather than later." said Loki annoyed and irritated.
With that he begins to leave the room to join the others and avoid this conversation any further, there is no way he is ever going to talk to Darcy about his thoughts about his actions. It would be too sentimental and undignifying, if that were too happen then he is going to need the mind stone to figure out a way to erase Darcy's memories somehow. He can't just sit down and tell her, then he might as well go back to the Dark World and live there. The thought of talking his feelings to anyone is making him feel a mixture of perturbed, irritation and annoyance. He might as well go on ahead and see what is new with the Avengers, Wanda, Pietro and Vision because if there is any development of any kind then they will need to know. Loki just hopes that it will be good news.
In the Living room of Avengers Tower
Loki is sitting on the couch right next to Thor just because he feels more comfortable sitting next to the person that he would never want to find out his secret than sitting next to someone who can turn into a giant green monster or an spy that can manipulate anyone to reveal their biggest secrets to everyone in the room. Most of them are wearing more casual human clothes with the exception of Thor, Natasha, Clint and Steve who are still wearing their superhero outfits and Loki obviously kept his on. Vision is getting comfortable trying to figure out how to sit with a cape and both the Maxioff twins are still wearing the outfits that they wore from battle. Tony and Bruce are wearing their normal everyday cloathes when they are not their respective superheroes. It seems to be a tense moment, any moment something to go wrong and a major event that can happen where it can change the course of their overall mission.
But what is about to happen is something that no one is going to expect and one that Loki wishes that would never happen. When it seems to be an completely normal evening that he does not have to worry about Thanos or any other superhero related ideas or situations that would result in him running out of the room to stop a bank robbery or something. Loki just gives a huge sigh of relief that so far it is not the case and he has to focus on trying to maintain the illusion. Darcy soon joined them and once she sits next to Loki, she can't help but give him a really excited smile that causes Loki to roll his eyes. Only Darcy would be excited about the little things in life such as spending time with the Avengers and that alone is impossibly irritating but at the same time admirable for some reason. A reason that Loki can't explain and does not know how...
"Ok let's just say, that was not one of the best pieces of technology that I have ever created." said Tony. "But don't get me wrong if we put the idea down on paper, it would sound like it was an awesome idea."
"But it wasn't." said Natasha. "You do realize things could have ended a lot worser than it did right?"
"Let's not turn this into an arguement and focus on why we are all here now ok?" said Steve. "To all of you that decided to help us in the fight against Ultron, I would like to personally thank you and would like to offer you all a place on the Avengers."
That caught Loki, Darcy, Wanda, Pietro and Vision by surprise, they were all clearly not expecting something like this to happen. Loki now starting to feel like if someone grabbed a hold of the planet and flipped it upside down, now he's getting an invitation to join the Avengers? If Darcy told him that she's planning to drop her entire life in Midgard and move to where Surther lives and stay there. Then he would believe it more than the idea of him being an Avenger, but then again they are asking Mysto to be an Avenger if they knew the truth then they would arrest him right on the spot. Loki can already imagine the disapointment Thor would be feeling if that ever happens.
It won't happen, he is going to make sure of it and maybe someday... no Thor can never know that he's Mysto and it will only bring more trouble to him and everyone else. Now the question remains is what is going to happen when he eventually defeat Thanos and find the remaining stones, what is he going to do after that? Would he leave Darcy and Midgaurd to start a new life somewhere else? To another realm where he can be free from the life that he is now living and to be free from being Mysto, then that would be paradise.
But at the same time, deep down he doesn't want to leave Midgaurd and he can't believe that he is now considering staying on this planet. The reason why he is even considering in staying in the first place because for some reason he doesn't want to leave Darcy, he'll worry about all of this confusion later. Right now he knows exactly what to say when it comes to the offer of him becoming an Avenger and it's an answer that he will have to put his foot down before Darcy gives him any unnessicary arguments to accept the offer.
"I would be happy to continue to help out this team in anyway I can." said Vision. "I would like to help in anyway I can and try to make up for Ultron's actions."
"I guess we will also stay because we would like to make things right to all of you." said Wanda with Pietro nodding in the back and she turns to Vision. "Whatever things Ultron did, it was never your fault."
"He made it clear that I was meant to be his new body and if it weren't for all of you, I would have been destroyed as a different version of Ultron." said Vision. "I would try my best to-"
"Look none of that matters now because you are an Avenger now." said Steve. "How about you Mysto? Would you like to become an Avenger?"
Loki took a quick glance at Darcy and he knows from one look at her face that she would be ok with whatever decision that he makes right now. That is a good thing because he knows that aside from whatever reason that would be holding Loki back that has to do with secret identities and his previous visit to Earth. Doing this hero occupation as a full time job is not really his thing and he knows that deep down, he would never be happy going around and making Mysto his full time job. Especially after what he saw while he was helping to stop Ultron.
"I appreciate the offer but I can't join the Avengers." said Loki. "I don't feel ready for a larger commitment as joining the team just yet, I am more of a solo hero and my friend and I will be leaving soon."
"But you would be a good Avenger, are you sure this is what you want?" asked Thor. For some reason he doesn't want Mysto to leave and he doesn't know why, this feeling towards Mysto feels strangely familiar and he hasn't felt this way ever since Loki. There is no way that Loki and Mysto would ever share any similarites to one another, he needs to stop comparing the two or else he's going to go mad by comparing the two constantly.
"I know that it's an amazing opportunity to help save others, but right now I really want to explore my options when it comes to hero work." said Loki. "I can't do that if I am part of a team and I need to go on this journey on my own."
"Ok, but if you ever need anything, just ask us and we'll be ready to help." said Steve and he reach out his hand to try to give Loki a hand shake.
Loki just reach out his hand to do it, remembering some of the important social interactions etiquette that Darcy taught him during their spare time. He manages to succeed the first time that he tried it on someone else's hand. He can't believe that he manages to succeed in that because during the last practice, he almost broke Darcy's hand to the point that he had to pull out the heeling potion and give her a couple of drops for the pain that she is experiencing after that failed attempt as a precaution.
The best excuse they could have come up with during the heeling process on how Darcy could have broken her hand, if Thor or Jane ask is that she was arm wrestling with someone who is too strong that they took it too far and broke it during a bet or some accident when she was trying to assemble a piece of furniture or a bookshelf and some strange accident occurred. At least the potion worked and all of those practices paid off, then otherwise it would be a long night and they still disagree with how Mysto's origin story should go.
Once Loki let go of his hand, he decides that would be the moment to leave and did a quick gesture to Darcy for them to leave. But all Darcy did is roll her eyes and make it clear that they are staying here for a moment longer. Loki is more than ready to give an annoyed sigh, but he can't because right now he's suppose to be one of those overly benelovent heroes that only focuses on doing good all the time and doesn't have any other goal in life except to try to save the world. Looks like he is going to be hanging out with the Avengers a little longer than he expected and he might as well try to get to know them beyond the heroes that the media will portray the heroes standing right in front of them and he might as well try to get to know them as they are now beyond whatever cameras that may be following them in the future. He just hopes that Darcy doesn't make him regret this...
"So this is what you all do after you save the world from what ever villain that you may ever have to face?" asked Loki. "Just sitting around and talking like if you are the best of friends for centuries am I correct?"
"Well maybe it's because we are friends and plus if you just fought an army of robots than you would need a chance to relax a little bit before the world is in trouble and it's needs saving again." said Tony. "Though you have to wonder how long the world is going to be saved until the next big threat comes to Earth and try to destroy the whole universe?"
"Well let's hope that it doesn't happen anytime soon because we just saved it from my mistake and I do not want to become the other guy sooner than any of us expected." said Bruce. "I have done more than enough damage in the past couple of days."
'Well that's a relief,' thought Loki. 'The last thing I want is to be any where near him when he's big, green and wild.'
"You weren't that bad, at least you didn't cause any more damage than you did back at the battle of New York." said Natasha. "Have you forgotten what this tower looked like after we defeated Loki?"
"It was a mess, it took me forever for me to have the damages repaired and not too mention the huge bill I had to pay afterwards for the damages." said Tony with a groan. "I was not happy when the bill came in the mail and I saw that I have to pay at least one hundred thousands of dollars of property damage after the entire incident."
Loki just stared at Tony, not even bothering to hide his shock at how much damage he must have done during the mayhem. He may not know as much about humans and Midgard as everyone else in this room, a little more than Vision that's for sure. But even Loki knew that currency is important and having that amount when it comes to paying for damages or anything in general is anything but good.
Darcy did not know if she should be more angry or shock because from living with Loki for a while, it is sometimes hard what to say or think when it comes to whatever situation may come their way. But she also doesn't know if she should be happy that they didn't have to pay that kind of money or guilty that they didn't pay for it and try to make things right with Tony Stark and everyone in the city. Thor on the other hand, just put a hand on his face not even knowing how to react on how much his friend had to pay for damages because of Loki. He is even starting to feel embarassed for his brother and even if Loki would never feel ashamed towards his actions, well the person that Loki became after he is banished of course. He would have offered to help pay if he could but the only thing he can offer him is Asgardian money.
"Aren't you a billionaire?" pointed out Wanda. "You probabley had more than enough money to buy at least ten new skyscrapers and sell this one without worrying about paying that bill."
"I know that, but I just bought the tower back then and from that battle, it felt like I just paid for the tower and then all of the sudden I have to pay for it again." said Tony still annoyed remembering how he felt when he saw the large bill for repairs.
"I would like to apologies for my brother's actions." said Thor. "I wish you said something before we left, I would have thought of something that could have help you with the damages."
"It's fine, at least I could have used the time to try to remodel and to try to make the most of it." said Tony. "Though I wish it wasn't that soon or expensive."
"At least you managed to pay it off and kept most of the artitechure, it could have been worse." said Loki. "He could have destroyed more of the tower than he already did and I am sure he was angry at everyone at the time... that if he somehow ever finds out what you had to go through because of his little rampage on the planet."
"'little' is putting things off mildly, I was mind controlled by the guy." pointed out Clint. "It is a good thing I am retiring after this mission, not only to spend more time with my family but to also try to live a normal life and to keep them safe."
"We are definitely going to miss you on the team." said Steve. "If you ever need any of us for anything, don't hesitate in contacting the five of us." That resulted in the five remaining of the original Avengers nodding their heads in agreement.
"Thanks, I guess I should get going before my flight leaves." said Clint. He is about to leave the tower, before Tony stops him for a moment and it got him to stay for a moment longer.
"Before you go, you should see this clip that I managed to find through the cameras during that little incident and it might make you laugh." said Tony. "You all might like this and it is a little funny."
That caught all of their attention and they watched, Tony grab his phone and went through a quick search and adjusted the settings for the interconenctive settings between the phone and tv. Everyone can't help but watch Tony as the mystery of what would be in this video that Tony is about to show them. Loki is curious, he's surprise that there might be something that would be considered humorous? He is failing to see what could possibly be funny in the whole situation, maybe there was something funny that happened that he was not aware of or was even there. Soon he's going to regret finding out the answers to his question.
The next thing that Loki knew is that when the tv screen turned on and he is seeing himself yell at Hulk in a destroyed tower. Soon he is watching one of the most shameful moments of his entire life, before he could even finish his own monologue. Hulk was hitting on the ground so hard as if Loki is a doll of a character that everyone hates.
Loki can not believe that the cameras in tower caught the entire scene, if he knew then he would have destroyed all of the cameras before he started to try to take over the planet. Never before he has felt so humiliated until now and almost have half the mind to sneak back in here, when everyone is asleep and destroy every single version of that video. But he can't without fully exposing himself to the team because if he is caught trying to destroy it, then they would have some questions why he is that determined to destroy the video and would have to ask Wanda to do a mind trick on everyone else who doesn't know his secret and go through who knows many complications.
Almost everyone else in the room, is laughing at the video and it is obvious that they found it funny and agreed with Tony on it being the funniest thing that happened in the battle that brought the Avengers together for the first time. The Maxioff twins were about to start laughing before they saw Loki and stopped themselves from laughing at the video, one look at Loki and they knew that it might be best not laugh at him and still remembering him for his lecture about their motives. Bruce looks at the video not knowing how to feel about the whole situation.
As for Thor, a part of him is happy to see Loki again even if it is a video and it is one of the lowest moments of his life. He can already imagine what Loki would say if he had to revisit this moment and knew that many people from Earth is laughing at him. He'd probabley would be so humiliated that he would come up with a clever trick and he would also probably try to find a way to defend himself and whatever is left of his reputation. Maybe he should ask Tony if he can have a copy of the video and not to show it to anyone else. That way he can have some form of memory of Loki and to try to protect whatever thing he has left of Loki and the only thing he can now think of whatever is left of Loki's reputation.
The next thing that everyone knew is that the electricity is starting to flicker on and off until all of the lights went off, everyone minus Darcy had no idea on what happened and they all turned to Wanda who is shaking her head quietly telling them that she had no part in the unexpected blackout. She is able to use her powers to create a little bit of light for all of them to see and Tony began to try to see what could have caused the surprise power outage. Loki can't help but feel proud of himself for that spell, at least he had the last laugh when it comes to these circumstances.
Part of him wishes that the cameras were rolling for this moment because this is one video he wouldn't mind watching it over and over again until his heart's content. It took only a couple of minutes and it is starting to feel an endless moment of time that feels like it never seems to pass. But eventually Tony is able to get the backup generator on and most of the lights were able to come back on and it is going to take most of the night if not weeks for the repairs to be made. Darcy is even starting to think that it might be best to keep Loki away from Avengers tower as much as possible because if he's not trashing the place, then he's creating problems that would possibly increase Tony Stark's electricity bill and make him pay for Loki's damages, again.
"Well I don't know what could have happened, but it looks like that there has been a short circuit or something." said Tony. "I honestly don't know what happened, it looks repairable but unfortunately it looks like something that it will take me all night to repair."
"I guess I can stay up and help you if you want." offered Bruce. "That way it will go faster then it would have if you do it on your own."
"Why can't you ask the guy with the magic hammer with lightning powers to try to fix it?" asked Pietro. "That way you can have the electricity that you may need to operate and maybe even have more than you may need."
"I wish that would work that way, but I can't use it without accidentally unleashing some kind of consequences that can increase the problem rather than decrease it." pointed out Thor. "If I use my hammer to try to bring electricity, I could accidentally set the building on fire and that would make the problem even worse."
"But it would have made my life easier." said Tony with a groan. Not even knowing where to start when it comes to starting to figure out how to start the repairs and what really happened that caused the power to go out.
Soon the next thing all of them knew is that everyone is so focused on the current situation, they didn't notice that Loki sneak out to the hall way. He is happy that he managed to get the last laugh for the entire incident, at least he will be able to leave the room with a smile on his face. But still he had to admit that at least the Avengers are less intolarable than he remembered. No longer Thor likes to spend time with them and he wouldn't mind teaming up with them again, he wouldn't mind an excuse to come over and make some more trouble again. He can't even make it past the hall way without Darcy following right behind him without sharing some comments of her own.
"Let me guess, you are the one that caused the power to go out right?" asked Darcy.
"I might have something to do with it." said Loki obviously having a proud smile on his face underneath his mask.
"Does it have something to do with the video?" asked Darcy."The one that Iron man showed about you and hulk?"
"Well it was not one of my proudest moments and he had no right to-" began Loki. Before he stopped himself after he noticed something about Darcy that got him annoyed and got him asking. "You honestly did not find that entire situation humorous do you?"
"What? There's no way I would ever find it funny." said Darcy. "I mean have you seen the way Hulk was grabbing you and later slamming you on the floor? I would never approve of someone being such a bully to someone even if that someone is trying to take over the planet. Hulk is such an angry jerk and bully right?"
"Then good, it was already humiliating enough that the whole team had to see one of the most embarrassing moments of my life." said Loki. "But seeing that you have a decent sense of humor and you see that it was anything but 'funny' to be tossed around by a giant green monstrosity. Believe me when I say that it was also painful and I am glad that I at least gave Stark a few technical difficulties to attend to."
"I thought that you are over the whole revenge thing and while we are on the topic of pain." said Darcy. "Do you think you want to talk now about what is bothering you, I mean you are in a better mood compared to how you were earlier."
"Nice try, but it's going to take more than me being happy to talk to you about any emotional sentimental feelings that I may have going on in my mind." said Loki. "But still I am happy that at least one person does not approve of that monstrosity form of human entertainment, I am always going to be grateful that as my housemate you at least did not succumb to the foolishness of any of the other humans may display such as the scene you just witness."
"Uh... thanks I think..." said Darcy. She's not sure if she should tell Loki that she does find it a little funny or should she continue to try to be there for him. Along with hoping that maybe he will tell her what's going on.
"With that being settled, now if you will excuse me I will make it an early night and go to bed early." said Loki. "Not only because we'll be heading back to your home in the morning earliest but I don't think I can stand around and watch the show without looking suspicious or being asked to help out. I will see you in the morning and then we'll figure out how to solve our current problems."
With that Loki begins to head towards the guest room that he has been staying at in the tower and can hardly wait for the night to be over. Darcy just watched her roommate walk away and can't help but giggle a little bit of the video that she just watched. The entire video of Loki being smashed by the Hulk and the moment that Hulk started to walk away and that little whimper is really funny if one thinks about it. Especially if someone is currently sharing an apartment with Loki and never saw him in this new light before, though Darcy is also hoping that for the sake of the world, Tony Stark better not post that video online. It's either that or everyone will be complaining to their electrician about an unexplained blackouts or some other problem that will cause people in finding someone to complain to and make angry phone calls about getting the problems fixed.
But other than that, she is now even more determined to try to figure out what is wrong with Loki and to get him to talk to her. There is something that is troubling on his mind and she is going to try to be there fore her roommate. Even if it means that she finds a way to trap him somewhere that he won't be able to escape from and won't let him out until he tells her everything that is going on. What kind of friend would she be if she lets Loki go through whatever is bothering him alone?
Fortunatly after being Loki's roommate showed her his usual habits and Darcy already made a decision for at least for tonight. She is going to stay up all night and going to make sure that Loki is alright, she knows that it may a crazy idea and Loki might lecture her on the importance of sleep. But she doesn't care as long as she makes sure that Loki is ok and he's at least happy to know that someone is on his side and he's not alone this time. She's going to be the one of the best friends that Loki has and going to make sure that he talks about whatever feelings that he may trying to hold in. Plus for some reason, she is now being a little more bothered that Loki is upset about whatever is bothering him and really wants to cheer him up somehow...
A Couple of Hours Later
Darcy continues to try to figure out how to keep herself awake and trying to figure out how to confront Loki about whatever is bothering him. She came up with the excuses of grabbing a drink of water and bathroom breaks so many times that the only excuse she came up with if anyone ask is drinking so much water that she needs to go to the bathroom a lot. But there is only two good things that it brought, one at least she now knows that Loki is still in his room and two she now knows whatever damage that Loki did to the electricity in the tower...
It must have been a lot if Tony, Bruce, Natasha and now Thor are still trying to figure out how to fix it, the surprising thing is that now Thor and Black Widow is helping out. They are the last superheroes that Darcy would have thought that would be helping to fix the electricity especailly after all of the explanations Thor gave why it's not a good idea to use his hammer to magically bring the electricity back and Black Widow doesn't seem the type who would dream of being an electrician. Loki definitely outdid himself on that trick...
On the topic of Loki, Darcy does not know how to even to get him to start talking and the only way she can think of is to get Loki angry enough to blurt out how he is feeling. But that is not going to help anyone and the last thing she needs is an angry Loki roaming around the apartment and she's worried that he might do something to whatever may come to his mind and she is going to be paying the price and that would be extremely expensive. That is the last thing she wants to deal with and having to pay for whatever damages that Loki manages to create. Judging from Tony's experience, she knows that she is going to go broke if Loki does something this extreme and it's one payment that she knows that she can be happy to live without.
Darcy decides to go and check on Loki again, but she is going to make sure that he is alright before they leave the tower. It's not like she's that worried about her roommate right? They are friends and that alone should be the reason why they would be concern over eachothers' well being and fight to be there for each other. She just needs to make sure that Loki is alright and talks to someone about whatever is bothering him. She knows that she is keep telling herself the same goal over and over again, but there is something about it that got her more intrigued of the idea of trying to cheer up and be there for Loki. It's even stronger than any desire she would have for anything else or surprisingly anything Ian related.
Maybe she can catch him in the act and just go into his room to see if he is depressed or something. That is the perfect plan, if Loki is really that upset then he would try to keep it a secret and would use all of his magic to make sure that no one sees him for both identity and vulnerability wise. Though Loki might not like the idea of her sneaking around his room and invading his privacy, she can already imagine an angry Loki ready to give her an arguement and they would probably attract unwanted attention. When she reaches Loki's room, she knew that this is the moment where she has to figure out how to approach Loki if she does this. Judging from how he reacted towards the video, she does not want to know what he would do in that situation.
Darcy opened the door slowly and carefully, she is not sure what is going to be hiding behind the door. So far it looks like a normal guest room without some magical security spell that is ready to catch anyone in the room without Loki's permission. But then again there could be an illusion in the room with Loki watching her in the shadows ready to make an attack, should she do something in case of anything. Maybe she can go back outside and find a park with a ton of pebbles and throw it around the room to try to find Loki? But that's probabley not going to work because not only she would have to pay the consequences of doing all of this things that is obviously going to upset Loki, wouldn't she also have to pay for whatever damages that she would make for throwing rocks at random things and potentially breaking something important.
Though there has to be another way of figuring if this is an illusion or not, the only other way Darcy can think of is move her hands around and see if she can touch something and see if she can feel something solid through the illusion. So far she haven't been having any luck if she is touching the furniture and whatever else that might be Loki related or an illusion that is ready to be exposed by a simple touch. So far she hasn't found anything or felt anything that would have to do with Loki or his magic. Maybe there wasn't an illusion or a security spell or something that would let Loki know her presence. Maybe Loki is just asleep and he doesn't want anyone to go through his room making sure that he's alright.
Why can't she have asked Thor for how he dealt with an upset Loki before everything happened, then maybe it will help her deal with something like this? But then again, she probably would have been asked why is she so interested in Loki and their past history of growing up. After all of this, she and Loki should just sit down and write a book on giving people tips if they ever have to live with something that is out of this world and keep it a secret from everyone. She doubts people would ever experience something like this, but no one can truly ever know. But back to trying to find Loki in this dark room, maybe he's in bed and part of her wonders what would happen if she tries to wake Loki up. Maybe he'll just be annoyed and ask for her to leave him alone and let him go back to sleep, though she wouldn't blame him.
When she touches what looked like Loki in the bed, she quickly touches it and realize that it's an illusion and knew that this is not a good sign. Darcy turns to look around her to try to see what might be a sign of Loki and if he might be angry for her even going into his room. This would definitly require Thor in trying to calm him down or give her tips on how to do so. She nervously try to see if Loki is somewhere in the shadows and about to make his move when it comes to their possible next argument.
Before she knew it, Loki is standing right behind her without his Mysto mask on with his arms crossed on his chest. If she wasn't Loki's friend then this would be the time to panic and run, but since she is, facing any form of disapointment and possibly any trust she may have broken while snooping around. She is definitely not looking forward to whatever conversation that is going to be following right about now.
"I never thought that you would be the type who would go into a random person's room and be that determined to learn about their secrets." said Loki. "Now if you don't mind, I would like to hear the explanation why you are snooping around because it is really clear that you have a lot of explaining to do..."
"I don't think I'm the one who should be doing the explaining." said Darcy annoyed. "I'm not the one who is trying to keep my feelings so deep in that it results in your roommate going through their room in the middle of the night. Now tell me what's going on or else... I am going to stay here all night and refuse to let any of us leave this room until you tell me."
Loki can't help but stare in shock to Darcy before realizing that he might have to think of something before they are like this for the rest of the night. There is no way he is going to tell Darcy about anything that is going on in his mind, he will not give in that easily. Loki is going to do everything in his power to make sure that Darcy never finds out about his current conflict. He is not going to open up to anyone and he is not going to let Darcy come up with a plan or let her in even if it means that he uses magic or lies to find a way out of it.
Meanwhile in the other side of Space
Nebula is on her way and about to meet Thanos, she can hardly wait until this meeting is over and she can figure out how to escape from this asteroid and plan her revenge. Ever since her defeat on Xandar and her eventual capture of Thanos, things have been more difficult then it was previously and rather than being tortured everyday. She has become the new favorite daughter or at least Thanos is trying to make her feel that she is a valuable member of his team. Deep down she knows that this is never going to last because of the fact that once Thanos finds Loki and obtain the rest of the Infinity stones, Thanos is going to betray her and try to find Gamora and somehow get her back. She has to put up her guard in case anything happens and it results in that, though she is curious what does Thanos want and why he wants to see her alone.
Could this be a trap or could it be that she finally live up to his expectations?
When Nebula finally arrives to Thanos's throne, she can not believe what she is seeing. Thanos is smiling at her and now this is something she should be concerned about and anyone would have the mindset to run from the mad titan. But this time, she is more intrigued and curious of what Thanos has to say to her and she does not know if this is going to be one of the rare conversations that Thanos will be happy to see her. Nebula knew that she is not going to find out if she just stands around and just stare at his smile. She needs answers and she needs them right now, in order to plan her revenge against Thanos, Nebula is going to need to know everything that is going on in order to win.
"You wanted to see me?" said Nebula. She immediately earn a proud smile from Thanos and Nebula does not remember the last time she saw him this happy.
"I have a mission for you, I will need you to go to Terra one of these days to warn the trickster." said Thanos. "When you arrive, I predict he will have all of the remaining stones. I forbid you to fight him or anyone else that may be helping him obtain stones, I want to hurt him in every possible way myself. You are there to make sure that he will get the message that I am coming and our inevitable fight is coming."
"Yes father." said Nebula with a grunt. She can't believe that she is being reduced to being a messenger girl for Thanos, at least it's better than being tortured for an unknown period of time.
"Before you go on this mission, I have something of the utmost importance to show you that will change everything." said Thanos as he pull up his hand that held the gauntlet right up for Nebula to see and after one look she immiediatly gasped.
"You got another stone..." said Nebula. "But how?"
"I actually had it all along and now we still have one more stone left and it's on Terra." said Thanos. "We'll be lucky if Loki will be able to find it before we can, I believe he will with the time that we are going to give him. I will explain everything to you..."
Now that's a shocker... Thanos had another one of the Infinity stones this entire time. In the next chapter, there will be answers. But still Loki has his own problems to deal with at the moment and something tells me that this is definitly going to be a long night for all of them. It will be an interesting chapter when it comes to Loki and Darcy's strange feelings for one another and the mystery Infinity stone.
Before anyone ask, the moment where Loki left the room leaving the Avengers in the dark both figuratively and literally is the end of the Age of Ultron arc. I know I still haven't resolved Loki's current feelings about how his past actions compared to Ultron and possibly Thanos. But that is already the start of a newer arc where Loki is now facing a new kind of challenge and that will be playing a role during the rest of the story and eventually the fight against Thanos. It's a challenge that will have him decide whether or not he's a villain or a hero, along with give Loki the charecter growth that he may need to finally stand up to Thanos. This will ultimately lead to Loki in making the decisions that he will be making during the final battle and it will ultimately change everything.
How will I be handling updates from now on? I am going to try to update every two weeks when it comes to the earliest on how a Redemption update will take. Since I am doing everything I can to make sure a delay won't happen again and with the rate I am doing, I really think that it is possible that I could make the goal happen because each chapter is arriving earlier than schedule and I really am going to try to make sure that there is no delay. That practically my goal for the whole summer and who knows what the fall will look like or if Redemption will still be going on if I finish the story. But right now I am aiming for a every two weeks schedule. That way there won't be too many delays and we'll be able to see what happens next in the Redemption storyline and how the final battle will play out.
But the last thing that I want to say is that I am dedicating the Redemption fanfic to a good friend that has been there for me for the last couple of years. I am dedicating this story to Brigitta Pekelharing, a friend that helped me out of the darkness that I often take for granted. But I want to thank her for everything and helping me during the darkest time of my life, her friendship has made me grow into a better person and writer. I am always going to be grateful for the friendship that we shared and the impact that it made on me. In a way if it weren't for our friendship then there might not even be a Redemption because she got me into Marvel movies and helped me at the beginning of writting the fanfic. Thanks Brigitta for everything :)
Will Loki finally give in and tell Darcy what is bothering him? What is Thanos going to reveal to Nebula? How will this all going to end? What is going to happen to all of the Infinity stones? How will that ultimately affect Vision? Will they win the upcoming battle in the end? I guess we will all have to wait and find out in the next chapter won't we? See you all in the next update. :)