The guard who came to observe the damage done was easy enough to overpower, the man having presumed Loki to be dead and never guessing the trickster could've jumped up and dragged his dagger from his side to plunge it into the man's gut. As the lights dimmed from the man's eyes Loki absorbed his knowledge of the past few days, gasping to find that Frigga lay, still fighting for her life in the healing rooms, that her condition had not improved but still she clung to life. Thor had lied to him, and while Loki might've been impressed any other time, it only stiffened his resolve for what he must do. Donning the man's disguise as his own, he transformed the dead guard's into that of his own, an inhuman chill creeping up Loki's spine at the sight of his own, prone body, the red blood a strange contrast to the same blue that had covered his own skin, though the fake-Loki's skin was still that off-blue tint. Thor would never know for certain, he supposed. Hoped. And should Thanos or the Other find his supposed dead body, as they were likely to do he knew, then he would be freed from their attentions as well, left well enough alone.
Odin would be an entirely different story.
With ease he made his way back into Asgard, the shifting between the realms made all the easier due to the nearing convergence. All he could hope for now was that Heimdall was far too busy watching over Thor rather than focusing on the supposedly dead Loki. Odin remained in the throne room when Loki stepped inside, pressing his fist to the opposite shoulder and moving to kneel in front of the man who had once been his father, face tipped downwards so Odin could not see the hint of a scowl that played on Loki's lips at the subservient position.
"My king," he said quickly. "There was no sign of Thor, the mortal, nor Malekith or Kurse," he said, sounding regretful. "But we did find a body."
There was a slight pause and suddenly the air shifted, growing thicker, charged. Loki tried not to smirk, certain in the hesitation in Odin's voice, and though Loki left his head bowed his body went rigid with anticipation. A minute, two minutes.
'Say it, fool! Say my name!'
"Loki." There was no question within Odin's voice, and Loki tipped his head up, eyes glinting and lips twisting with a knowing smirk. The doors slammed shut to every entrance in the throne room, held tight by what Aether power he had left as Odin stood, Gungnir in hand and pointed at Loki. The blast that ought to have shot Loki through the chest went through the illusion he cast, blasting through one of the pillars as Loki reappeared just behind his surrogate father.
"Hello father," he smirked, dipping into a deep, over exaggerated bow that allowed him to miss a blow Odin aimed towards his head, a magician who'd pulled off his greatest magic trick. The second blast that should've leveled him went through the projection once more, Loki having been made much faster through the Aether's strength and power, which still thrummed in his veins. Odin could hardly keep up.
"Coward," he shouted, wheeling about in an attempt to find Loki's true form. He collided with Loki's head when the tip of the spear whirled around.
Loki laughed and grabbed the tip of it, dancing to the side so the next attack glanced off another pillar. "You're getting slow old man," he snarled, driving his fit into Odin's gut when he could reach it, pulling the elderly man closer with Gungnir, and then grabbing him hard by the arm and twisting it around so he shouted with pain, Loki feeling the bone break beneath his grip. The spear fell to the floor, and Loki drove the dagger still wet with the guard's blood into his father's ribs, slicing through the armor as though it was made of paper and driving through the bones until it found his heart.
"Now sleep, father," he grimaced, pressing harder as Odin choked on blood, clawing at Loki's face with his one good arm. Loki simply pushed it out of the way. "Sleep and be done with it," he growled, covering Odin's mouth with his other free hand, beard scratching and familiar and from his mouth Loki drew something else. The man's body injured, his soul and life force sought to escape it as well, prepared to fly to Hela if Loki had not caught it. Once in his palm he released the dagger and sheathed it once more at his side, watching as Odin's lax body fell to the floor and swiftly shimmered into that of the other guard. The memories of the Allfather flew into Loki, centuries upon centuries of information and past events flooding his mind until he could hardly breathe, forcing himself to take on the appearnce of the man he'd once hated so much. Now? Now he couldn't say how he felt, the magic keeping the doors barred disappearing so that far more guards could flood the hall, shouting to ensure their king was safe and his attacker dead. As they dragged the body of the true Allfather out to be burned, Loki summoned Gungnir to him and clutched the remaining energy from Odin's body tight in his other hand. He would peruse the memories of Odin at a later date, feet already taking him down towards the healing rooms where he could only assume Frigga was still trying to heal. He had a debt to repay.
'Red in the ledger,' he couldn't help but think. 'I need to wipe it out, and Odin still has one last gift to give.'
A/N: Thanks so much for reading, and as ever thank you all so much for the reviews! They mean a lot :D Hope you enjoyed!