It has been a month since the fight with Ultron and a lot has changed in that month alone, for starter Loki and Darcy are now living in New York and Loki got his own room in this new apartment. So that is one of the nice things about the upgrade and he always tries to be careful whenever he's out in the city and makes sure that no one recognize him in any way through illusions or just using the Mysto costume during an occasional lead to the next Infinity stone. On the topic of it, they still haven't found the next stone and are trying to look at any lead to whatever supernatural or magical activity that they may be occurring in any way. But every single time it is either a false alarm or some advance technology incident that created the same effect as any Asgardian activity, Loki is getting more frustreted with these false alarms and really wishes that he can find the exact location of the stone. At the rate they are going then they are going, Thanos will be able to find the last Infinity stone faster than any of them can try to obtain it.
Other than the troubling development of the Infinity stone chase, there is also the fact that Loki and Darcy have gotten closer during their time together and no matter what they might be doing. They are now enjoying each other's company more and keep trying to find some time to spend together, they don't know why they are trying to make more of an effort to spending time together. But they always managed to make it work and every time they managed to find time whether it's just a conversation or through another wrong lead for the Infinity stone, they always manage to enjoy whatever time they have together and it always turns out to better than expected.
Though it is getting harder for them to find more time to spend together and if it's not for anything Infinity stone related then it has something to do with Loki needing to run off to be Mysto for any possible leads to Thanos or any villain that might be a threat/should be put on the right direction. If he's going to continue being Mysto then he's going to at least try to reason with whomever he's up against and try to talk them out of whatever they are trying to do. Unfortunately it at times does not always work, resulting in Loki having to fight them and win them, at least he often get a better understanding of why they are even doing it in the first place. As for Darcy, if she's not working then she's trying to help find any possible leads to the final Infinity stone and trying to maintain her relationship with Ian. She is starting to feel like that it is not going well and that whatever love that Ian must feel towards her is nothing but a puppy dog crush. She does not know how to tell Ian that maybe they should take a break for a little while.
Darcy knows that she can't ask Jane for advice on these sort of things because of the fact that she now misses Thor who had to go back to Asgard for a possible threat that made a two weeks ago. Then things might get too sentimental, she can't believe that she is now even starting to sound like Loki when she say that. Maybe his attitude is starting to rub on to her and whether or not it's problematic is the least of her concerns, Jane would never understand what she is going through and would suggest to give Ian more time. She knows that it is extreme if she enjoys spending more time with her own roommate than her own boyfriend. The difference between Loki and Ian is that Loki is always full of surprises and knows what to say and when to say it. Loki can also be fun whenever he feels like it and that alone makes things exciting, plus stone or no stone, spending time with Loki practically always offer her an advennture no matter what they might be doing.
The only time they can spend together if they weren't chasing after the last Infinity stone is during breakfast and the afternoon where she comes home from work. Depending if Loki isn't out there being Mysto and if Darcy doesn't have a date with Ian, when that happens then they spend ever moment together and ever since the conversation they had back in Avengers tower. Both Loki and Darcy have gotten closer that even they were surprised at how closed they have managed to become over the past two months ever since they first met. Right now the two of them are just spending one of the few rare early evenings together and enjoying the time they have together before Darcy have to leave before her date with Ian.
"Ok can I just say that I am getting tired of this relationship and it's not like I don't like Ian anymore. But I just don't think that I feel the same way towards him and I don't know exactly how to tell someone that I want to take a break in our relationship." said Darcy. "Do you have any ideas on how I can do this?"
"I am not the best person to ask for relationship advice, the last person I had feelings for... She got banished and I still have no idea on where to look for." said Loki.
That alone caught Darcy's attention and she is imiediatly curious on a possible Loki romance, she wants to know all of the juicy details and to hear the whole story. But she can't help but wonder if Loki still have feelings for her, not that she cares about Loki's love life or who he might have a crush on. She just wants to hear the whole story and if this girl did something to hurt him then she deserves whatever punishment she got. No one should have the right to hurt Loki or let alone break his heart, though she wouldn't be surprised if this girl has something to do with Loki's turn. Odin constantly choosing Thor, his own brother overshadowing, a possible heartbreak and whatever Thanos did to him prior to his attempts to take over the planet. She doesn't blame Loki for feeling completely alone and if not helpless, she can't imagine what it must be like to go through all of that and stay sane.
"Wait you had a relationship with someone?" said Darcy. "Can you tell me more about her? How did you break up with her? What did she do that's so bad that she got banished for it? Did she nearly cause the end of the world and it took all of Asgard including you and Thor in order to defeat her?"
"It wasn't a glorious battle that you would have seen during my first visit to this planet, fighting the Chitari or whatever Ultron could throw at us." said Loki. "All she did was to try to do this dangerous spell that could potentially have destroyed all of Asgard."
"What happened? Did she try to do a mind control spell?" asked Darcy.
"Uh no, apparently she was showing me off some spells and one of them happens to be a troll calling spell and one thing led to another and the next thing we all knew is that Asgard is being invaded and smashed around by trolls. At least it wasn't me that time, but she was one of the only few who understand the wonders of magic." said Loki. "When we all eventually defeated all of the trolls, fa- Odin was furious at both of us and I was let off with a warning from him. Due to the fact I wasn't the one that cast the spell and I was Odin's son, but what happened next felt more of a punishment. Odin thought that she is a bad influence to me and a danger to the future to Asgard and he decided to banish her. I still don't know where he banished her or have seen her again since."
"Wow that's a lot tougher than simply trying to break up with someone, I thought I had it rough with trying to break up with Ian. Though here's one lesson I just learned, don't lead a troll army into Asgard unless you want to have a crazy long vacation in another dimension." said Darcy. "So what's her name? Do you still have any feelings towards her? Not that I care but I just want to... know what happens next and it's getting to the good part."
"Her name was Amora and she was the only one that spoke to me when we were children, well other than Thor. I may have had some feelings for her, but it was nothing more than a school boy crush as you humans would call it." said Loki. "Let's be honest I don't think a relationship between the two of us would have worked out anyway, she would have applauded me for my past actions and I would have eventually think of her as a sister. Besides Thor always did say that she is a terrible influence and did not like her at all, it would cause a war between us."
"I think I can see why, well at least you don't have to worry about dealing with Amora anymore." said Darcy feeling happy and relief. "I guess she's why you said before that these things are a waste of time?"
"Of course, though I do not believe that we would have lasted long as a couple because we would have been too similar or now be arguing all of the time." pointed out Loki. "I do not think that I would ever be happy to live a life where I would have to make a life time commitment like that. It would have been so stressful and my best advice would be to try to be honest with Ian and hope that he understands why you are unhappy with the relationship."
"Wow that is surprisingly good advice and that is saying something because it is coming from you of all people." said Darcy. "I'm not saying that it's a bad thing, but I might as well try to be honest with him and hope that I can let him down gently."
"I believe I can safely assume that you do not have feelings for this Ian character anymore?" said Loki. "You do seem to be trying harder to not spend any time with him."
"I like Ian but I don't think I like him in that way, maybe as a brother but nothing more than that." said Darcy. "But let's just stop talking about these things and try to have some fun before I have to go out. Why don't we watch a movie? I don't think we ever spend anytime together doing something fun other than going to some mall and even then we haven't done that in a while."
"I do not believe that it would be a good use of our time to leisurely stare at a screen and watch fiction." said Loki who didn't became a big fan of movies after he discovered that some of them are not as truthful and he still feels humiliated from the whole conversation about how Cinderella is a fairy tale and that he resulted in Loki feeling like a fool and stayed clear from the tv except to watch the news. "I am not in the mood to have more lies out in my head and I would have to rely on on you to tell me the facts later.
"You do realize that people watch movies for fun right?" points out Darcy. "Besides they are like theater plays, but you get to watch it at home anytime you want and it's more fun. Not too mention, a lot cheaper and at times have better stories than the actual theather shows, though Wicked, Newsies or just anything Disney might be the exception."
"I see your point, but that does not mean I will enjoy it." said Loki. "But at least it is better than sitting down and talking about romance and about our current relationships. We are friends and I do not know how appropriate it would be if we talk about these matters..."
"Yeah, I only decided to talk to you because with Thor gone and Jane possibly not being able to understand what I am going through." said Darcy. "She is literally having the fairy tale romance with Thor and she probably wouldn't understand where I'm coming from. So you're the only one that I could think of that might be able to understand. I am going to go pick one and I think I know which one that might be perfect and I have been wanting to rewatch it for a while now."
With that Darcy leaves the room to go and try to find the particular movie that she wants to see, Loki is trying to do everything he can to figure this out. It has been more than a month and these strange feelings are not going away. If anything it has gotten stronger than he would have liked it, ever since Loki discovered the wonders of public libraries and the internet. He has been researching on what might be these emotions and every time he manages to find an answer, he always gets the same dreaded result.
There is no way he is ever going to feel that way towards anyone or let it happen, he's Loki someone who is on the run and trying to make things right by playing superhero and getting all of the Infinity stones before Thanos. He can't afford to feel any form of sentiment towards anyone because it's not in his nature and besides there is no way Darcy would ever feel that way towards him and she deserves better than whatever he can give her. Maybe the humans are just too naive and believe that romance is the best form of eintertainment on this planet, but there is no way he is going to give in and let these feelings continue to dominate him.
It probabley just a phase and the last thing he needs is for something like this to ruin their friendship and hopes that it was the same situation as it was with Amora minus the trolls. It is probabley a small crush that he will get over in a couple of weeks, but at the rate they are going it is going to take him a couple of months and the feelings that he have towards Darcy is just growing stronger and stronger every time he just sits down to think about her. He can not wait to figure out how to avoid these feelings out of whatever may be going on. Before Loki can continue to think about what might be going on between them and how to stop that potential catastrophe of emotions from happening. The phone rings...
Loki just rolled his eyes at the sound of the phone and had have half the mind to smash it in half, he still have no idea why in the whole universe humans created those things. If he did managed to win from the previous time he was on Earth and if he knew about the horrors of phones then he would have made it his own personal mission to destroy all of the phones on the planet. Loki just try his best to ignore it, one of the main house rules the two of them agreed on when they moved and Darcy getting a new cell phone thanks to some persuasion that he managed to pull off as Mysto to Tony Stark when he's about to unvail his new phone line. He successfully managed to convince him into giving Darcy a free sample in order to help spread the word. It managed to work a little too well that Stark even insisted that he gets a free sample too and Loki gave his to Darcy in case he ever breaks hers again.
Let's just say that Darcy was more than happy to get a souvenir from the Ultron incident and two free phones that she even made one ground rule, that he is not to touch the phones unless it was an extreme emergency. He wouldn't even touch one of those annoying things if she asked him to, the phone continues to ring and once it eventually stops ringing after it went straight to voice mail. Loki immiediatly give a sigh of relief and is happy to not hear the phone ringing. But before he can even have a moment's peace, the phone starts to ring again and every ring feels like if it was trying to drill into his brain and he does not know how he is going to handle this any longer. Why doesn't Darcy hurry up and pick up the phone before he throws it out the window?
The next thing that Loki knew is that he can no longer take it anymore and this should definitly count as emergency and he got up from the couch. He heads over to the kitchen table and grab a hold of the phone. Loki quickly uses his magic to transform his voice to make it sound more like Darcy's, open the phone and is ready to give whoever that may be calling him a piece of his mind and part of him hopes that it's not Jane. Then it would have been really humiliating and he does not know what he would say if he had to deal with Jane on the phone. Though that is the option Loki would have picked that option because what is about to happen is one of the last things that he would have wanted and knows that Darcy is not going to be happy at what is about to happen...
"What do you want that you have to bother decent people trying to live their lives?!" said Loki annoyed and angrilly in Darcy's voice and in a tone not to alert the real Darcy of the current conversation. "Do you have any idea how much I don't want to talk to you?"
"Uh Darcy... Are you alright?" asked a male voice from the other end of the voice. "I did not know that you were that tired of me, why didn't you say anything?"
Loki paused at the moment and he can clearly tell that it was not Jane and he would know better than anyone his own brother's voice. Loki knows that this is bad and realize that he might have accidentally ruined whatever relationship that Darcy might have with whomever may be on the side. He can't help but feel the humiliation and nervousness that is dominanting his mind and does not know how to explain to Darcy about this. What if the other person on the phone is Ian? No that's impossible, there is no way that he is Ian, but the chances are likely and he does not want to ruin their potential friendship.
Not too mention, he would have unintentionally have taken away the freedom of Darcy being the one that chooses to end the relationship and now he might have ruined their own friendship by doing that. Plus Ian or no Ian, Loki also just broke one of the most important rules that they agreed on and might have broken Darcy's trust forever and that it might be the ultimate downfall of their own friendship. He just better hope that it's not Ian...
"May I ask who is on the phone?" asked Loki nervously. He is starting to feel like if time is stopping and at any moment he is about to crush the phone and this time by accident. The one thought that is going through Loki's mind receptively as he wait for an answer is "Please do not let it be Ian."
"Darcy, it's me Ian. How can you not recognize your own boyfriend's voice?" demanded Ian. "What's going on? Are you alright? You have seen really off during our past and most recent dates, is there something bothering you that I should know about?"
At this moment, Loki is now starting to feel like he's about to drop the phone, he can not believe his luck and that he is talking to Ian with the risk of potentially ruining Darcy's own relationship. He is now asking if he should just hang up the phone and end the conversation, but then Ian would be asking Darcy why she answered like that and hung up on him. That might allow Darcy in figuring out what happened and then he will be discussing this once Darcy gets home. But what if he tries to fix their relationship on his own and that way it would turn into a situation where they would agree never to speak of again.
That way Darcy would never have to know or find out what happened and maybe hopefully they decide to break off the relationship so that way neither of them are to ever talk about what has happened and Darcy will never have to find out. Though he never tried to save a relationship before, but he knows that he can always manipulate Ian in never mentioning it and keep the relationship. It looks like he's going to go for it and Loki just hopes that Darcy is having trouble deciding what movie would be wonderful for the two of them to watch together.
"There's nothing wrong Ian, I... just had a tiring day and was not in the mood to pick up the phone." said Loki. "My apologies for taking it out on you, I have been going through a lot lately."
"Did you just say "My apologies"? That sounds so unlike you..." pointed out Ian, with Loki feeling more nervous at the moment. "You know we can just cancel and reschedule and-"
"No!" said Loki almost immediately panicking. "I do not want to cancel, can we just forget about this and continue with our lives as much as we can possibly can?"
"Yeah sure Darcy..." said Ian. "I guess I will see you tonight..."
Before Loki can even say anything to try to convince Ian otherwise, he hung up on him and it looks like trying to manipulate people to do his bidding on his phone is not one of his strong suits. Loki quickly transform his voice back to how it would normally sound, he just hopes that he didn't just ruin the date for both of them, maybe he can head over there as Darcy and try to explain everything to Ian. Then he can just sneak away to a restroom and leave where the date may be, along with waiting for the real Darcy to come in and everything will be alright. Why did he even say "My apologies"? What Midgaurdian would say something like that? Before Loki can continue to think of a plan on how to fix this problem, Darcy came in with a dvd and seems to be happy with her choice.
"I have chose an awesome movie that I think that you might like and it's-" begins Darcy happily before she notice that there is something off with her roommate. "Hey are you ok?"
"Uhh yes... I was just thinking about... Thanos and what to do if he comes to us." lied Loki. Though the last part is true and they need to come up with a plan in case that happens. "We need to come up with a plan if he decides to come to Midgaurd to get the stones and make me fail for my last failure."
"Well I guess we will worry about that as we go along, I mean this Thanos doesn't have a weakness right?" asked Darcy. "Like with Superman and Supergirl with kryptonite or Raven with her emotions or the Ninja turtles with retro mutagen. Maybe Thanos has one of those and we can possibly defeat him easily."
"If he did then I would be the last person that he would ever tell about any potential weakness." said Loki. "To be honest, I have never thought about how to defeat Thanos or what to do if we ever have to unfortunately fight him.
"Well let's think of a plan later and when it's time, I know that we will be ready by the time that we faced Thanos and he is not going to win easily with the two of us fighting and we have one advantage, we have most of the stones and Thanos can't get them without getting through to us." said Darcy. "But enough about Thanos, let's just enjoy and watch the movie, I am going to make some popcorn and you can start watching it ahead of me if you want."
Darcy went over to the dvd player and put the dvd on, then left to make the popcorn and Loki who still not happy about his first and now last phone call is now wondering what is he going to do with this possible development and how is he going to deal with the current problem at hand. Why didn't he just let Ian cancel the date and ask if he could send one of intertechnoligical telegrams that one receives on these phones? So that way Darcy would be able to just shrug it off, but it's too late now and he just hopes that this is a really long film.
Loki just sat there and stares at the tv screen watching the previews of the upcoming Disney movies that are set to come out on dvd or release in theaters. He does not know why humans put commercials on their own films and why they must believe that the best way to communicate to one another is by phones. But he does not know what might be the best solution out of these problems and if there is even is a way out of this. He continues to watch preview after preview until it finally reaches to the main menu and on the screen stood an animated tower. Loki unsure of what is going on just stared at the screen and waiting to see what happens for a good five minutes until Darcy came with a big bowl of popcorn for the two of them to share. She realized what is going on and Loki's technical difficulties as she picks up the remote and pressed play.
The movie started and apperently it is called Tangled, Loki is feeling an never ending wave of emotions as he continues to start watching the film and really like the protagonists of the movie Rapunzel and Flynn Rider, he thought that the Chameleon is clever and adorable. But the main problem is that the villain of the film, Mother Gothel is one of the worst fictional character that he has ever encountered in any form of media. The way how she took Rapunzel as a baby and abused and manipulated her to stay in the tower for using the magic from her hair to make sure that she stays young forever. It starts to bring back bad memories when he found out that he adopted and his biological father is Laufey. But even then Odin had better reasons than to use his magic for the benefit of Asgard and to make him younger, this Gothel woman only cares about herself and Loki does not know if he can stand another minute of her.
On the other hand the movie is enjoyable and he really likes the dynamic between Flynn and Rapunzel, he really was hoping that Flynn helps Rapunzel see that she needs to be free from the environment that Gothel created for her and that she can find the strength inside to fight. Though he's surprise at how relatable the movie is to his own experiences and the journey that he's has gone through in the past two months. One of the moments that even he found beautiful for a Midgaurdian story is the scene where they were on the boat singing that song and realizing their feelings for one another. It was poetic and magical in a way, he especially like the part where Flynn made the realization.
Though the next part where Gothel is about to make her next move is really getinng under Loki's skin, the part after Rapunzel made the discovery of her true parentage and Gothel for unknown explanation chained her up got him ready to throw the tv out of the window. Fortunatly, Darcy stopped him and just explained that this is not the end of the movie, that Gothel will get what she deserves in the end and that Rapunzel, Flynn, Pascal and Maximus will get their happy ending. As the movie continues on, Gothel continued to hurt Rapunzel by trying to take away the person that she has fallen in love with to the point that Rapunzel is more than willing to throw her own life away to make sure that she heels Flynn. He is more than ready to hit Gothel with a frying pan but the last thing that both of them would have wanted is to be in the need for a new tv. Darcy is probably not going to be happy if Loki tries to break the tv or throw it out the window and Loki knows that after what can possibly happen in the upcoming date with Ian. He knows that he is not going to be Darcy's favorite person on the planet if that occurs.
When the movie is over, Loki is pleasantly surprise at the film and thought that it was enjoyable and rather cute story. He was happy that Gothel manages to pay the price in the end and the only thing that he did not like how Rapunzel lost her hair. Loki still have so many questions about it and he can't believe he's saying that for a story. At least he had a moment to relax and enjoy every moment that he has with Darcy, though part of him is wishing that she does not have to leave for the date and they don't have to make this moment disappear. But that doesn't mean he shouldn't try to stall Darcy and try to have a conversation that ultimately make her miss her own date, he knows that she might receive an angry phone call from Ian.
He is willing to deal with that later if it means that Darcy is not going to get hurt by his mistake and this is one secret that is impossible to cover up. Part of him wishes that he still has the mind stone and the scepter, so that way he can use it to mind control Ian into forgetting that phone call. Could he do that with the scepter? Thanos just showed him how to use it to mind control others to do his bidding, he never taught him of any way how to erase memories from his targets. He just hopes that stalling Darcy might be able to work...
"I believe the movie is really enjoyable to say the least and does tell a compelling story that has relatable protagonists." said Loki. "But my main complaints are that witch of woman mother Gothel and Rapunzel loosing her hair, that wasn't her choice to make and she should have hit her 'mother' with that pan of hers. If I was there and if this story really happened, I would have done it for them and then the problem will be solved instantaneously."
"I think you are missing the point of that because Flynn cut her off to save her from Gothel and he is willing to sacrifice everything to save Rapunzel. Yeah, I was really disapointed about it too and then the series came out and, the hair's back and it totally expanded the story. It also gave some much needed closure to the main overall story and that scene alone. Maybe we can watch that together one of these days, it's really an awesome show." said Darcy. "I know right? Gothel is the worst and I can't stand her, you think she is bad in the movie wait until you see the series and she gets worse. Especially with one of the newer characters call Cassandra, she definitely suffered the most from Gothel and you really need to watch the series to know what I'm talking about. I don't want to spoil it for you."
"But still it would give me the answers that are now going through my head and why don't you tell me more about this series? I would like to see more of these characters and to hear what happens after Rapunzel reunites with her parents." said Loki. "It would be a good story to see unfold and though the humor shouldn't be the main focus, but I did enjoy the part where they sung with the pub thugs and Flynn initially refused to sing and he eventually does it anyway. I did find that scene a little hilarious."
"Yeah that part was really funny and you don't have to worry about the comedy taking over the overall tone of the series, it gets more tougher and darker as the episodes goes by. You might like it, judging from how you are reacting to the first movie I think you might like the follow up movie and the series." said Darcy. "I mean I enjoyed the series and it already ended, so at least you don't have to wait forever for the next episode. At least we had some fun together and now I have to get going or I'm going to be late for my date."
"Wait, why do you think the writers of the film chose to give Rapunzel and Flynn a romance?" asked Loki stalling for time. "They barely knew each other and yet they were ready to give everything up for one another. Why do you think that the film made a faster pace on that? I was wondering in order to help you over come any anxiety that you may be feeling towards Ian and the possible ending of your relationship."
"Well it may be a Disney movie, but it has a realistic romance thanks to the series. I think they probably fell in love that quickly is because of the adventure they went on and the overall experience of getting to know each other is what might be causing the spark of romance." said Darcy. "I guess that is what it takes for both of them to develop feelings for one another."
"They did get to know each other throughout the film, I am assuming that the part where they were talking in front of the campfire must have been their first real conversation outside from singing and being chased around by an army and their angry horse." said Loki. "I believe that makes a little more sense, but it's still feels a little rush to be consider realistic and if there is a follow up to the story then at least we will see them grow. Now tell me, how did Gothel managed to chain Rapunzel up like that? Rapunzel proves that she's more than capable of taking care of herself, I refuse to believe that she would let someone chain her up that easily."
"I don't know, that's one thing I always wondered when I watch the movie and I guess part of me don't even want to know how all of that could have happened. But you're right, it does seem out of nowhere that Rapunzel is chained up and we know how capable she can be when it comes to defending herself. How did all of that happened before Flynn and Maximus came back to the tower?" said Darcy. She is about to continue talking about the movie, before she took a look at the clock and realize the time and she has to go now. "Look I would like to talk more about the movie and plan a Tangled marathon, but it will have to wait because right now I have a date to get to."
"You an always try to cancel it, I'm sure Ian would understand if you could no longer make it." suggested Loki.
He knows that he is loosing the stalling battle and that Darcy is about to go on the date that is definitely not going end well. If he can just convince Darcy that it might be best to postpone the date or just not show up then maybe...
What's the point? That what he has been trying to do and so far it's not working and even then Darcy is going to be asking questions about why he is acting so strange. Maybe there is no way out of this and that it is meant to be an inevitiable situation unless he tells Darcy the truth and explain to her what happened. Then maybe it will at least make things easier for Darcy and it's not like he's going to freeze her like he did to Heimdall. There is no way that is ever going to happen and if he tells her the truth then maybe she will be able to do some damage control. Loki better start talking or else, Darcy is going to leave the room and find out what happend the hard way and that's the last thing he personally wants to happen.
"Darcy, there is something I need to tell you and-" begins Loki already feeling nervous and the regret that is going through his mind. But before Loki can even have a chance to continue.
"Loki, what ever you have to tell me can wait until I come back and I'm sure tomorrow we can go out to try to find any leads for the next Infinity stone." interjected Darcy. "Right now I'm running late and the sooner I get there, the sooner the date will be over and we can figure out how to deal with finding the last stone and when we eventually have to face Thanos. So see ya soon."
With that Darcy just grabbed her jacket and raced out of the door before Loki can even say another word. Loki now just got up and grabbed Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows and heads towards the couch, already waiting for the date to be over and to face the music. But who knows maybe things will be better than he is expecting things will go, maybe both Darcy and Ian will be able to sort things out on their own without his help. They seem to be good friends at least and maybe they will talk it out and forget that it has ever happened. Maybe Ian won't even mention it and will just try to enjoy Darcy's company as much as he can and forget that the whole call even happened. He might be the type of person who is too enamored of another to even care about it. If that was the case then Loki would be worrying too much over nothing and everything might be alright. All Loki can do now is hope for the best and wish that things work out for the better.
Meanwhile during the date
When Darcy arrived and the date started in the all you can eat buffet, it was strangely silent between the two of them and neither of them are daring to speak or say anything to one another. That surprises Darcy, she knows that these dates are getting awkward but she didn't think that they were getting this awkward, it has been a good thirty minutes since she got there and grabbed her food. The only words that she and Ian exchanged are just their greetings to one another, other than that there is nothing going on when it comes to conversation wise. The silence is getting more and more unbearable by the minute and Darcy does not know how she is going to handle this any longer. Darcy decides it might be best to try to break whatever silence that is now between them, if she doesn't then it's going to be a really long date and one that she might end early if this continues on.
"So Ian... how's the food?" asked Darcy. "It's prety good and I bet the deserts are as great as the food don't you think?"
"I guess so..." said Ian feeling a little nervous and unsure of their relationship after their last phone call. "There is something that I have been wanting to talk to you for after we last spoke."
"Yeah sure... What's up?" said Darcy.
She's unsure of what could have happened the last time that they spoke to make Ian feel that way, was she in a bad mood or something? Could Ian now possibly see that their relationship is not working out or is he asking her to move forward in their relationship that would be the last thing that she is ready for? Well either way, she's going to find out her answer soon and she has the feeling that she's not going to like whatever she's going to hear.
"Darcy... Over the phone, you sounded really angry and tired that it helped me realize something. I am just going to ask one question and whatever it is I will accept whatever answer you give me." said Ian. "Are you unhappy with us? I mean you always seem to be tired of the dates and you sometimes find excuses to end them early and never seem to be around anymore. If you are not too busy with work then your doing something else, it almost like you are in a different world every time we try to get together."
"Wait what phone call? When was it the last time we spoke on the phone?" asked Darcy super confused at the scene that is going on. "What makes you think that I am unhappy or anything? I never said or hinted that I might have been unhappy, I know that I have been busy lately, but that does not mean I am not happy in anyway."
"You yelled at me on the phone earlier and it's clear that you just had about enough about of our relationship." pointed out Ian. "Why didn't you tell me that you thought that things are not going as well as I thought that it was? We could have work something out, but if you're really this unhappy then I don't see any other way but-"
"I never yelled at you on the phone, what are you talking about? What phone call?" asked Darcy getting even more and more confused by the minute. "Ian it's not like I am not happy to at least be friends or anything but-"
"It's ok, you don't have to be embarrassed about all of that, I understand and I just wish we didn't have to end things like this." said Ian. "I hope that we can still be friends, I have to get going... I have to go do something... Good bye Darcy."
With that he got up from the table and went to cashier to pay for the meals, he even told her whatever else that Darcy may grab or want to take home will be on him. Ian took one last look at Darcy before leaving the restaurant. Darcy can't help but stare into space and she just can't believe what just happened or even want to believe it, sure she wanted to end her relationship with Ian but never like this. What phone call was Ian talking about? She doesn't remember even making or receiving any phone calls from Ian before the date. Sure she heard some ringing from her phone until it abruptly... stopped out of nowhere.
The phone couldn't have stopped unless it either runs out of battery or someone picks up the phone, there is only one other person that could have picked up the phone. It makes perfectly sense now, Loki must have answer the phone call and used his magic to make it sound like if she is the one on the receiving end and according to Ian, the response was anything but pleasant. Could Loki have been the one that gave Ian the idea that she might be possibly unhappy with their relationship? No Loki would never try to break them up or do something that extreme, could he? But then again this is Loki, if he is ready to take over worlds just because he is angry at the universe then he would be more than happy to help break a couple up right?
That would be the old Loki because the new Loki knows how important it is to her to do it herself, but there is no question that Loki is the only one who knows about her troubles with her relationship and how she is having trouble breaking things off with Ian. He is the only one in the room when her phone is ringing, that leads to one conclusion that Loki has something to do with the break up or at least picking up the phone and saying who knows what to Ian. She does not know why Loki picked up the phone or if he even wanted to break them up. But she is going to find out and in almost an instant, Darcy left the restaurant with the main goal in her mind is to get some answers from Loki.
Back in the Apartment
Loki is staring his book, he feels like if he's frozen in time and that there is no escape from whatever spell that is now put upon on him. He is waiting anxiously to hear whatever outcome from Darcy, he just hopes that the date went well enough that his anger didn't ruin their relationship. Not too mention their frienndship is also on the line because Darcy is going to be anything but happy when and if she found out what happened. The stress have been bothering Loki so much that he can't even concentrate on reading his book, Loki is now even wishing that the date is going so smoothly that Darcy will be coming around midnight and he would be hearing all about it in the morning. Every second feels like hours and Loki hopes that the dreaded moment will never come...
Once the door opens, Loki stayed in his place and pretended to read his book and tries to act like if he was just sitting there reading his book. Though Loki is surprised that Darcy is back this soon, he thought that she would have come back a little later and would have kept him up for most of the night talking about. He can immediately tell that things are not looking good and he does not know if he's imaging it but he is starting to feel some kind of angry tension in the room that he wish that he can just use his illusions to make Darcy talk to an illusion. But he created this mess and he might as well see what happened and if there's anyway he can fix it.
"So how did it go?" asked Loki as he continues to await his answer and nervous about the answer he is going to get.
"It went horribly, Ian broke up with me because he claims that I gave him an angry phone call." said Darcy angrily. "Do you know anything about that?"
"Maybe... Look Darcy, I wanted to tell you but you left so quickly that I-" begins Loki.
"What you think that I couldn't handle a break up on my own that you have to go out of your way to try to break our relationship up for me." said Darcy angrily. "Look I don't know why you went to all of that trouble, but I would appreciate it more if you just don't try to make these kind of decisions for me or try to make things harder than I would my life to be at the moment."
"I did not create an elaborate scheme to try to tear your relationship apart, it was a mistake that I immediately regretted." said Loki. "I know that I shouldn't have touched or used your phone without your permission, but I was so annoyed by that piece of Midguardian technology that I picked it up and yelled at him. I had no idea that it was Ian and if I did I would have never have reacted that way."
"You do realize that's what they all say..." mumbled Darcy annoyed at her roommate. Loki managed to hear what Darcy mumbled and he's not happy with what he just heard that it's now making him feel a mixture of frustration and anger.
"What do you mean by that?" demanded Loki. "Are you doubting my side of the story?"
"I'm just saying due to how you are master of tricks, lies and disguises, it's easy for anyone to find that story a little farfetched." said Darcy angrily. "I mean wouldn't you have found it odd that the one thing that you want to happened happens right after you told the person about it? I mean you even answered my phone and that is not helping you prove your own innocence in this case."
"This is all just a mistake and you are making accusations of me purposely creating the entire miscommunication?" said Loki who is getting more and more frustrated by the minute. "I honestly don't see why you are upset about this entire outcome, an hour ago you were telling me how happy you would be if you broke up with Ian and that is exactly what ocured and now you are ready to give me an argument for my mistake that happens to have given you exactly what you wanted."
"You didn't let me have a chance to do it myself and it's not that you also used my phone without my permission." said Darcy angrily. "One of the rules that we agreed with and just when I started to trust you."
"In case you have forgotten, with my reputation I am one of the last person from any dimension to trust." said Loki really annoyed at how they are even having this conversation. "The only thing you can trust of me is... my rage..."
"Well it wouldn't have to be that way if you didn't make the mistakes that you did in the past." said Darcy. "With your so called reputation, it's a miracle that anyone would give you a chance for a new start of life. Especially with your history with Thanos and how he's practically is your former boss that wants to do more than just fire you."
"I may not know what you may mean by "fire me" because I'm sure Thanos would love nothing more to set me on fire." said Loki. "It's not like I called and ask Ian to break up with you or ask Thanos to save me from falling to my death in the fabric of space and time after I let go. The only way he convinced me to help him is by fueling my anger and hurt, a friend of mine well the closest thing I had to a friend at the time convinced him to spare me and then... My point being that Thanos was ready to kill me the moment I even landed on his asteroid badly injured."
"It wouldn't have happened if you didn't try to blow up an entire planet in the first place!" said Darcy still feeling her anger grow. "Thanos or no Thanos, you are still responsible for your actions and we're still no where closer to the next Infinity Stone. Now aside from stone tracking, I have to find a way to explain to Ian and make up some crazy story that he might possibly believe that doesn't involve you. If all else fails, then I might even have to apologies for you because I was supposedly the one who was being a grouch."
"Oh blaming me for a relationship that was eventually going to fall apart with or without my help, how perfectly reasonable and wise." said Loki annoyed. "May I remind you that Thanos would have killed me if I refused to do whatever he told me to. I did not have a choice and there were only two people that were kind to me, one of them even happens to be Thanos's favorite and even she did not dare try to escape from him. Did I not tell you that a mission like this is not going to be easy? When it comes to these stones, it's really rare to even know where one of them might be, let alone find all of them. Do not get me started on the dangers because of whomever may be standing in our way and whatever we may have to face to get them. We are lucky to even just have four of the stones so far!"
"Yeah but that doesn't mean we shouldn't try harder." said Darcy angry and frustrated with Loki.
"What do you expect me to do? Grab a hold of every material item in the universe and hope that it somehow does something magical and dangerous that might possibly be the next Infinity stone?" said Loki. "Like that is going to help anyone, can you not see that I am doing everything that is possible to find the stone and to stop Thanos?"
"All I'm seeing is someone who is not trying hard enough or doesn't even care whether we win or loose, when we first started this I always had to make you go out to do hero work." said Darcy angry and annoyed. "It wasn't until Ultron that you decide to be a hero just because you are the one that is doing damage control for a change, that must have made you see that you had to change your attitude."
"I am trying everything I can possibly can to find the stone and to make things right, but none of this is going to happen over night." said Loki. "You are acting like a spoiled child who overreacts about everything."
"Well I would rather act like a spoiled brat than behave like a monster like you." said Darcy angrily. "Look if-"
Darcy is ready to say more, before stopping herself and realizing that she might have gone a little too far, from one look at Loki's face she knows that she crossed a line. Remembering the conversation that they had before they left Avengers tower, how she tried to get Loki to see that he's nothing like Ultron or Thanos. But the entire point of the conversation and the progress that Loki has made ever since the entire conversation and how close they are getting or rather were getting. All of this is from not being happy that Loki accidentally going behind her back and indirectly leading to Ian breaking up with her, now she is feeling a sense of relief and grateful that all of it led to it.
Now she is feeling a sense of guilt that she is letting her frustration, doubts and her need to know how all of that happened turned to anger and she has been taking it all out on Loki. She needs to say something, say something now or else she might loose Loki as a friend or something worse, judging from how things turned out with Thor. Darcy does not want things to go that route with their friendship, she just hopes that things are not too late to fix things between them before she looses his friendship. That will upset her more than any break up or whatever Thanos is planning to do to him and the world once he tries to come after them for the stones and she has to fix this right now.
"Hey Loki, that part is meant as a joke. I don't think of you as a monster or anything like that." said Darcy trying to soften the blow. "Why don't we just forget about this and pretend that-"
"I believe that I am going to go out for a walk." said Loki. "It is really clear that we both need time away from each other and time for you to calm down. So I will see you later..."
"Uh ok... but maybe after you come back we can talk..." said Darcy nervously. "That is if you are up to talk or..."
Loki is not even listening and starts to make his way out, he transform his Asgardian armor to his Mysto costume and start to go towards the window and go down the fire escape, Darcy wants to stop him and try to work things out between them. But she stops herself because one thing that she learned from being Loki's roommate is that whenever he's upset about anything, it is better to give him some space to deal with whatever feelings that he may be feeling. Then maybe he comes back and hopefully then they can both just talk about it like if they didn't have the worst arguement in the history of their friendship. She just wish that he doesn't have to go or just figure out why she is more bothered than that Loki is upset more than she ever would as a friend. Maybe it's guilt playing up or something else... Like Rapunzel and Flynn Rider in the movie, there's no way that could happen right?
Before Darcy can continue to think about why she is feeling differently about Loki or try to say something that can lighten the mood, Loki got back on the ground and begins to walk away from the apartment. She wants to say something and she needs to say it, but she doesn't know what to say or how to say it. Darcy just hopes that Loki is in a better mood when he comes back home, that is if does come back or doesn't think of going to another planet or something. She needs some advice and to talk to someone that might understand what's she's going through, without telling them anything about Loki and plus she's sure something like this happened before minus everything that is out of the ordinary or Loki related. Darcy grabs her phone and finds the number that she is looking for and press on it, she waits as she hears the phone stops ringing and the person on the other hand answers.
"Hey Jane, it's Darcy I was wondering if you can give me some life advice?" said Darcy. "What you don't have to come over because... things have become a mess recently... But I can really use some advice or at least have someone to talk to that's all."
Meanwhile an Hour Later in the streets of New York
Loki starts to feel like if every minute feels like hours and ever step harder than the last one before, he just can't help but think about how he managed to hurt Darcy and how he might have ruined their friendship forever. This is bothering him more than he thought that it would and it all has to do with these conflicting feeling towards Darcy. This is one of the few moments that he wishes that he still has his brother or mother by his side, so they can give him the best advice that they could give him. Even though Mysto is technically "friends" with Thor, it would be hard to explain if Mysto appears on Asgard out of nowhere without a proper explanation. Loki just wishes that he can turn back time and stop himself from answering the phone. Now Darcy sees him as a monster and that bothers him more than whatever Thanos is planing to do to him.
Was Darcy really right? Was he really this monster? Is he really trying hard enough to stop Thanos or was he doing the mad titans a favor and not doing as much as he can? But then again, they are looking for an stone that they don't even know where the first place to look, it took decades for Thanos to know the whereabouts for just two of them. Who knows how long it will take them to even find a reliable lead and even then there has always been a false alarm waiting for them. It's hard trying to find the stone with the lack of information and he has even start to help the Avengers training the new recruits and on any mission that could use Thor's help.
The team discovered that Loki is strong and harder to beat up (because of his Asgardian and Frost Giant physiology) and Loki had to pretend that he didn't even know that he was capable or that strong. After some persuasion or more like begging from Thor, he agreed with filling in for Thor only until he returns from Asgard for a month or so, the Avengers turn out to be less intolerable than he thought they were. But that did take him away from giving his undivided attention on trying to find the next Infinity stone, at least he is able to gain their trust and toughen them up for the upcoming battle with Thanos if they ever get involved in anyway.
Other than that he has been trying to find any leads that can be a connection of where the stone might possibly be located. Loki continues to head his way through the city to see if he can just clear his head, no matter where he goes he can't help but feel like if he's a failure. The only times that Loki stopped is whenever he sees a car passing by or if any Avengers fans wanting his autograph or a picture. As he continues walking, he is now reflecting the journey he has been ever since he agreed to help Thor defeat Malekith and the Dark Elves. Loki is doing things that he never thought that he would be doing and that he even starting to feel like he has changed. That is probably for the best and at least he can be someone that is living his life anew and has still have to do more to finally make up for his past deeds. The only good thing that he may ever have a talent that he has is the ability to make others miserable and cause problems.
If it weren't for him, Ian wouldn't have broken up with Darcy and he might still have a friend by his side who is one of the most confusing and admirable humans that Loki has ever met. Every time when he's in the same room with Loki, he just feels more like how he used to be before he learned the truth, before Thanos and before New York. It felt like if at last he can truly be himself without worrying about any thing in the world, Loki is really nervous about what this might be and hope what he found if wrong. If the results that he manage to find online and Midguardian help books are true, then he needs to figure out how to remove these extreme fondness that he is feeling before it makes him loose his mind.
Not only he's not ready to go down that route, but he is absolutely refusing to say the "L" word because this is just a temporally thing that he will get over by the end of all of this and judging from this argument and Darcy's true feelings towards him. Loki does not need any more confirmation that they would be horrible together and just because this worked in stories like Tangled that does not mean he will give in or it will work in the real world. No matter how much part of him is disappointed with them possibly never getting together, it is for the best not only things wouldn't end well for both of them but there is the fact that now he's planning to leave Earth once all of this is over. It would be easier if he can leave without being able to pine someone who doesn't love him the same way and move on from this experience...
Before Loki can continue to think about Darcy or his walk around the city, suddenly he can't move another step and once he looks down then Loki realize that there is suddenly a golden circle that is surrounding him. It didn't have anything to do with his magic, Loki tries his best to use it to get himself out of the circle and so far nothing is working. It can't be Thanos because the last time he checked they have the Teaseract and even then it wouldn't be surrounding him in a circle before it makes him go to their golden circle is growing bigger and bigger, the swirl is making Loki even more confused by the minute.
He does not remember trying to teach or showing that spell to Wanda while trying to help her control her powers and even then they both discovered that she can't do spells. It can't be Amora,her magical aura is a lighter green and this aura is gold and even then he has never read a spell that might trap someone in one place with magic circles. There is only one conclusion that Loki can come up with, there has to be someone on Earth that can do magic and the question is who and what do they want with him?
Loki is going to find out soon because the golden circle made the ground go back and sucked him into a strange unknown dimension. Loki is continues to fall in the dark void and it looks like it's never going to end. Until he sees himself heading into a bright light and that must be where his destination must be heading, Loki can't wait to see what kind of sorcerer thinks that they are going to be able to do this and whatever else they are planning to do to him and truly believes they can get away with it.
Wow talk about how things have turned on Loki and now the drama that he has to deal with, especially with how the argument with Darcy is one of the worst that they ever had since they first met. Now that Loki has to deal with whoever created that portal, it's a strange surprise that is suddenly appearing out of nowhere. But either way, at least the two now is having a break from Thanos and let's just say that he's really busy at the moment...
I decided to do a time skip because it would give Loki a chance to build up his reputation as Mysto and to fully earn the trust of the Avengers and build up his connections with them as Mysto, aside from Thor who seems to be getting fond of Mysto because Loki is going to be facing a challenge that will catch everyone by surprise. Thanos is going to make him face this challenge that will try to hurt him more than anything that Thanos threw at him the first time around. But right now he has bigger fish to fry and have to deal with whatever is sending him that portal, let's just say that this has definitly been a long evening for Loki and it's just going to get longer.
The update has come out a lot earlier than I anticipated, but just because that there is an early release for a chapter that does not mean we are always going to get this lucky. I think it will take me a week or two for the next chapter and it is going to be wild, I know that this chapter feels like if it's filler and to expand the Loki and Darcy relationship. But the events of this chapter will play an important role for the next chapter and it is now planting the seeds for the final battle. That the next chapter will be full of wild surprises...
You all may be wondering where is Nebula in all of this? She will be making another appearance soon because she still has to carry out Thanos's orders, but let's just say that she is doing it but in a smarter fashion than Thanos thought that she would. I can't really say more about Nebula, then otherwise I would spoil a major plot point of the story.
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 :)
So where is Loki going to end up once he reaches the end of this wired portal? Will both Loki and Darcy make things up soon? What is Thanos planning to do in Asgard? Whatever it is, it is going to be big if Thor had to go back to Asgard to help solve the problem and just because he's now Asgard that doesn't mean he's out of the story yet. He will be returning back to Earth soon... But I can't exactly say when now can I? Where is Nebula in all of this? Tune in next time for the next exciting chapter of Redemption, see you in the next update. :)