The weapons room was stocked from top to bottom. Stephen had uneasy feeling as he stepped into the room right behind Loki, who looked around with a pleased smirk. Even if he had to work with the wizard, he could be surrounded with the type of weapons he could use in battle. The trickster grabbed a simple laser and pointed it at a bare wall. Before Stephen could stop him, Loki had put a small hole in the wall, showing the room next door. He looked down at the piece of weaponry and tossed it in an unimpressed matter. The wizard caught it and glared at the god.
"Can you be more careful?" he asked.
"This weaponry is nothing like the kind we had on Asgard," Loki sighed as he brushed his hand against a cannon that was built by Stark. To touch the man's initials felt painful, oddly enough," When I was the ruler, we built new inventions to protect our realm. They were more advanced and widely used in aiding our military. Asgardians were the best soldiers of any realm."
"You were ruler of Asgard?"
"Only for a little while. It was after Thor went off to find those Infinity Stones or whatever...but I miss ruling Asgard."
"And I'm sure they miss you too," though Stephen didn't mean for his words to sound sarcastic, they came out as such.
"You just don't know when to keep your mouth shut. You just make everyone feel like they're-just forget it."
Stephen simply walked up to another Stark invention. He felt utter guilt just staring at the weapon. So, when he picked it up, the wizard was in his deepest feelings. He wished he could've saved Tony. His sacrifice would never be forgotten by the man. Stephen aimed the weapon to no particular spot, but he just so happened to have his eyes on a distracted Loki. The blast of lightning shot at Loki, who dodged it in a matter of seconds. The trickster was angry, until he saw the playful smirk on Stephen's face.
"Huh, it still works."
"Ah, so that's how we're playing it," Loki said as he picked up a weapon and aimed it at the wizard," so be it."
Stephen froze the trickster, who tried to break free from the spell. Stephen simply stepped out of the way. Loki shot the weapon at an empty space. The wizard smirked and high fived his cloak. Loki brushed the hair out of his face and picked up another gun.
"Just as insane as the day we met," he said, which, honestly, confused Stephen.
"You mean when you came to Earth looking for your father?"
Somehow, that angered Loki even more. He threw the gun at Stephen, who simply disappeared and reappeared. Stephen stuck his tongue out at the god.
"Really?" he asked," How childish are you?"
"Says the one who started the fight," Stephen sighed.
"You started it!"
After what seemed like endless fighting, Stephen shot at the god and got him in the arm. Loki fell to the ground and, though he was worried, the wizard walked over slowly. He knew how much the trickster liked to play...tricks.
"I think we've done our tasks here. Come on, Loki," the god didn't stir and Dr. Strange felt his heart race," Loki? Thor told me to watch out for your tricks and I'm sticking to that. Loki. Loki, please...Oh God-"
"HA!"
Loki stabbed Stephen in the foot. The wizard grabbed his foot and stumbled into a wall of ray guns. The trickster gave a wild smile as Stephen cursed and tried to stand up right.
"I can't believe you thought I was dead," Loki laughed.
"What the hell was that all about?" Stephen was obviously furious.
"Think of it as a little act of revenge. That's only for the time you trapped me in a portal for half an hour. There'll be a lot worse when it comes to everything else you did."
Stephen couldn't take this anymore.
"What else did I do to you? What do you have against me?"
Loki didn't want to cry, but he could feel hot tears welling up in his eyes. Loki wanted Stephen to break out of the spell. It was just a simple memory block and it should've been broken the minute the two met the first time. Maybe Stephen really was changing...Rhodey, Ned and Peter ran in. The two teens were amazed by all of the chaos that was happening, but the older of the two was furious.
"What happened in here?" he asked with frustration.
"Ask the wizard," Loki said before promptly leaving.
Peter and Ned looked to each other. They wanted to comfort the scary god, wondering if anyone else would. They went looking for him until, around dawn, Ned found him leaning against a balcony. Loki was watching the stars with the same tears in his eyes. As he looked over the fields, he could only recall walking up to that apartment door. 331 C was so clear in his mind...he was in his earthly disguise (Lydia) with Saga close to his side. She was only a year old and he felt so much guilt as he let go of her.
He couldn't blame Thor when the God of Thunder found his brother's secret and had to bring him back to Asgard. Loki was in fear that Odin may hurt his daughter...or worse. He had nowhere else to turn to and that home was perfect. Poli took the little girl with open arms and open wings and Saga kept crying out "Mama!". It hurt for Loki to walk away, sobbing his heart out and, even where he stood now, it burned in his soul.
"I'm sorry," he choked out rather loudly, realizing someone was by his side.
"Why?" Peter asked.
"I...it's nothing."
Peter tried to think of something to say. He knew the god was dealing with inner struggles that could not be contained. Finally, the kid put a hand on the man's shoulder. He looked down at Peter, who gave a sympathetic smile.
"Are you missing someone?"
"How…"
"Spider senses. Do you feel guilty about something you did?"
"It wasn't just me. But I feel like it's all my fault. I just wish I could have this person come back and tell them how much they mean to me."
Peter bit his lip. He wasn't very good at comforting others, but he was going to do his best. He took a deep breath as he formulated a idea of what to say.
"You can't blame yourself," he started," because I know what it feels like to feel guilty about something you probably had no control over. I spent nights and days crying because I thought I was the one responsible for Tony's death-"
Loki looked to Parker, who felt a lump in his throat. He didn't mean to say that, but it just happened. Loki slowly placed a hand on the boy's shoulder, making him scared, but when he realized that it was only to be a sense of support, Peter relaxed.
"What I mean is," he went on," you don't need to feel guilty anymore. You did nothing wrong. And, no matter what anyone says, you're improving yourself. That's all anyone could ask for."
"Thank you, Peter," Loki went to walk away, but the boy had more to say.
"Mr. Loki," he asked," Do you hate Dr. Strange?"
Ned, who was watching the entire time, became nervous. The god was silent for a little while, unsure how he should tell the boy how he felt. Peter was filled with regret. But after a while, it seemed like Loki did not get angry.
"I do. And until he's truly changed-if he ever changes-I'll consider having a different view."
Loki walked off and past Ned. Ned quickly ran over to his best friend. Peter stared at the god until he was out of the picture. The boy and his best friend were full of questions, but there was a burden in the hero's heart.
"He's really missing his brother," Ned mentioned.
"It's not Thor," Peter said," I..I don't know who it is but it's really eating him up. I don't know how I know that it's not Thor but it's someone else. And, if I'm right, Dr. Strange has something to do with it all."
Ned and Peter silently agreed, but they made a promise not to tell anyone else. The god needed his time alone.
In the near morning, Rhodey insisted that a group go up to Central Park and meet Happy, who returned from his trip. Sam and Bucky were going, but Stephen, Loki, and Peter came along, in their best disguises, the others staying behind to keep an eye on things. Loki felt tension as he entered the city again. He had so much history here and just setting foot on the grounds was enough to make his stomach turn. Stephen noticed but he didn't say anything until Loki, who was staring at a certain spot in the park. The wizard placed a hand on his arm, to which the trickster pulled back.
"Are you...okay?"
"This is just a symbolic place for me," he said as he looked around the trees," they're beautiful, aren't they? In some cultures, if not all, the tree symbolises strength and protection. There are times where I feel weak and that I feel like I failed to protect. I have this recurring nightmare about these trees. This place. And Thanos is always there. He mocks me for making things all wrong. By taking the only thing I...why am I telling you this?"
In disgust, Loki kept walking. Stephen looked to the god with sympathetic feelings. Whatever mental battle he was going through, he was having a hard time keeping it in. The group approached the three. Happy was holding a silver briefcase, and Pepper was holding Morgan's hand. She whispered something to her daughter, who lit up when she saw Peter. He smiled and knelt down with open arms.
"Peter!" she squealed, hugging the boy she saw as an older brother.
"Hey Morgan!" he said as he stood up, still holding onto her," How's my peanut?"
"I started doing karate," she proudly said as the group approached.
"That's great," he said," You might be stronger than me one day. Hello, Mrs Stark! Hi Happy! My aunt says she's looking forward to Friday."
While Bucky, Sam and Peter were talking to Morgan, who looked up to her father's friends, Stephen thanked Happy for bringing down the case. The older man shrugged and said that it was no big deal. As they talked, Loki watched the nearby group and the interaction with Morgan. He felt as though he was too scary to approach her, so he kept quiet. Instead, he walked up to Pepper, who was surprised that he came up to her.
"I'm sorry for the loss of Tony," he said," though he was somewhat of a jackass, he saved a lot...especially for me."
"Thank you, Loki," Pepper expressed," We miss him but he was selfless and I am thankful that I got to love someone like him."
"I see you have a daughter. She's beautiful-I know how hard it is to raise daughters so I wish you luck. But, I suppose watching your children grow up is a blessing. Children are wonderful."
"We should get going back," Bucky mentioned as he gave a last hug to Morgan," Stay safe, Little Stark."
Morgan giggled and waved to the men, who were happy to spend time with their 'niece'. Stephen handed the briefcase to Sam, who thanked him as they walked back to their car. The wizard caught up to Loki. After he heard what the trickster said, he only had one question to ask.
"Do you have kids?"
"What does it matter? Are you a parent?"
"No, I'm not," Stephen raised an eyebrow.
Loki bit his lip as he walked away. He wanted so badly to say something but he still had hope that the spell would break on his own. Before he could get into the car, Stephen spoke up.
"I don't know. There's just something about you that screams 'parent'. You'd be a good parent."
Loki stopped in his tracks, his mind racing. Stephen felt as though he said something wrong, until the trickster turned back to him.
"You do?"
"Sure. You seem like a strict and scary parent, but when you have kids, you would be the type of parent your kids could come up to and just talk. You'd probably make sure that your kids were safe and you'd just be motherly...or fatherly."
"Motherly sounds about right," Loki said with a smile," Thank you, Stephen."
The wizard smiled back as they got into the car. Loki thought about the man's words on the way back to the headquarters. He was wondering if the magic was finally wearing off and Stephen could remember everything. For now, it was progress and he was so thankful for it.