Thor gasped and wielded Mjolnir threateningly when he saw that Bob had taken his brother by the collar. Loki was in no condition to be thrown around much.
"What is stopping me from killing you here and now?" The man said, holding a dagger on Loki's neck.
"Oh, by all means, do. Free me from this life of prison, from this ungrateful Asgardians who hate me so much, from this broken down body. I fear it is only on the realm of the dead that I will get to see a friendly face, hear a nice word. Come on, Bob... what are you waiting for?"
Bob's dagger lingered for a while on Loki's neck until it disappeared in a blue mist.
"I'm not doing you any favours, trickster. And my name is not Bob."
"And my name is not trickster. Now, let's consider what you're doing here, shall we?" Loki said, smiling.
No one knew exactly what could happen now. It was obvious that the trickster's appearance had unsettled the villain, but Loki could go both ways. And he was playing with it.
"So, I hear you intend to kill the Avengers." He said "It's a pity, your invasion was going quite well."
"I will not listen to you play with my mind. Say whatever you wish, I will not change my intentions. You will live to suffer the few years you have left in agony but the lives of this mortals are sentenced."
"Your decision. But I know war, I know attempted conquest, and this is where your plan goes awry."
The man named Bob approached Steve and the dagger reappeared magically on his hand. He was trying hard to ignore Loki but could not. He had been doubting the latest developments of the mission too. Don't listen to the trickster, to the liar. Ignore him.
"This is Stremldong all over again, Bob. And we both know you won't benefit from another lost battle. Your honour and reputation are quite damaged as it is."
Clint moved, trying to break free from the ropes to protect his friend, but Natasha stopped him with her boot. She had an idea of what Loki was trying to do and wanted to give it a chance. Direct attacks had not worked but maybe Loki's approach could. It was a bit of a risk, but getting in the middle would only lead to more death, more quickly and an angered villain. No, they needed to let Loki's plan play out. Natasha really hoped he was doing what she thought... if he was genuinely helping that man then they would be in a lot of trouble.
Bob's dagger trembled in his grip and then vanished again. He shouldn't be listening. But part of him feared another defeat, because like the trickster had said, it would damage his already questioned reputation. Some people had started questioning his place on the throne stating that a man so disliked, a man with so many failures behind him, couldn't be good for Besildong. He couldn't afford to lose again. The mortals hadn't known about that but now it was out in the open. And even if the trickster had betrayed him last time, things had changed terribly for him... he'd gone from prince to filthy prisoner. Maybe he was willing to help him just get revenge at them and gain some power... Power that Bob, as a prince, had. Maybe he listen to that damned Asgardian. Just in case.
"What do you mean? The people from this planet had hid and cowered, what makes you think they'll turn against me like the people in Stremldong did?"
"Well, the only reason they have not acted yet is the faith they have on their precious Avengers. As long as they live, they'll keep hoping that their skill will save them, free them from your rule. But if you kill them... not only they will turn against you, they will be angry for taking away their hopes and dreams. They will come at you with extreme prejudice."
He was right. Bob didn't really want to listen to him, not after last time... but he was right.
"I should at least kill one to send a message, so they know who's in charge. They commonfolk will maintain their hope, because the rest of them will still live... But my presence will be known."
Loki smiled internally. This man was as easy to control as a puppet. He was weak-minded and he knew it, so he followed the advice of anyone known to be good in battle to compensate for his faults. Following other warriors' strategies had brought him power and many victories but it had also made him predictable. The prince knew Loki was known for his intelligence and if for a sole moment he thought Loki was on his side... he'd obey his every word. Now was the time to choose his words very carefully.
"Be careful with which one you choose... If you choose someone irrelevant the message will seem unimportant and if you choose someone important but have trouble killing them you will seem weak."
Bob considered it. It seemed reasonable... maybe this trickster would prove a better ally than he thought. Maybe his presence wasn't so bad after all.
"Not these two, then. They are all in all excessively irrelevant."
Natasha's and Clint's muzzles and the ropes that had been tying them disappeared. Clint seemed ready to sprung to untie Steve as well, but the Black Widow stopped him. They didn't need to fight. They had to look helpless, easy targets. Natasha could see right through the whole thing. Loki was a good liar, but she was even better. He was playing the man. So far, he had bought them time and spared the lives of the two of them... while it looked like he was just giving some friendly advice. Bravo!
"The Captain of America... he has authority, power and is well known. He will be perfect." Bob said and smiled, dagger ready.
"Honestly, Bob? Out of all of them, you are going to kill the only half decent soldier? A man who could teach you techniques from battles from two different centuries? Do what you wish, but I think you would benefit more from his words than his corpse."
Loki was doing his best to ignore the problems his body was causing. This was no the time to show weakness.
Bob doubted. He should have just made the trickster shut up when he arrived, he was only driving him insane. Up until now he had not questioned his actions and things turned out flawless. But he was quite right, Rogers was the most experienced in war of them all, he could keep him as a prisoner and ask for his advice in the time of a difficult battle. He would need him.
Somewhere across the room, Bruce Banner opened his eyes. Everything was a bit blurry and his head was swimming a bit from the blast, but he could hear voices speaking. Tony only watched the scene, cursing himself. If instead of going against this guy with weapons, funky suits and beams they had realised how easily manipulated he was, they would have finished this much earlier. But there hadn't been much time for chats, among all the gunfire.
"It will be that Hulk person, then. His power is unparalleled and he has beaten many powerful warriors. His death will show this humans the extent of my power."
"Sure..." Loki started. "The problem is, if you attack Banner, the Hulk will come out to defend him. Trust me, it will not be easy. It will probably take hours, maybe even days to kill him. And it is such a waste... Banner has intelligence and strength in equally great levels, a very rare combination. Let me just spell him to do your bidding and his talents will not be wasted. We both know you could use better underlings, Bob, for a royal army, they're quite underwhelming."
They weren't. In fact, Bob's personal army was one of the greatest the earth had seem. But Bob himself had always thought it was too small and hearing it from someone else was very troubling for him. And he would really rather not face the Hulk if he could avoid it. But why was a man who was supposed to be his enemy pointing out all this things for him to see?
"Now, why would help me?" He asked the trickster.
"When you have nothing left to lose, you have everything to win." And he smiled. Bob smiled, too. He would enjoy having a smart ally.
Clint knew Loki would not bring any help. But no one had listened to him, had they? Now, there he was, all cleaned and healed offering support to their enemy.
Next to him, Natasha was now officially sure he was bluffing. If Loki had been able to do magic he would've been long gone, but there here was, promising spells. It was a dangerous game, because if Bob asked him to deliver he'd see Loki was lying and go back to the original plan of killing them all. But as of now, Loki had convinced this man to spare four of the six of them. Just talking.
"And I cannot kill Odinson because I vowed I would not harm any Asgardian..."
"And you would not want to look like a liar, now would you?"
Now five.
"That only leaves... Stark. The man of iron."
"Sounds good. Stark is powerful, well-known, adored by the masses and easy to kill without his suit. You should have no problem to finish him and send the message you wanted."
Bob didn't like this. Even if he said he was offering help, Loki was telling him exactly what to do and not to do. He was leading to an action... something far from what he had planned himself. Using him to do his dirty work, unwillingly. He was playing with his mind. Again.
"Why should I do what you say?"
Loki appeared behind from the shadows, catlike, and whispered. All the hell he would have afterwards would be worth it, just for this minute of pure enjoyment.
"Because I am smarter than you. In fact, I'd say everyone here is smarter than you. And when people start finding out how stupid you are, Bob, then nobody will ever follow your orders again." Loki was whispering on the man's ear now "Nobody respects a witless leader."
With an angry groan, Bob shoved Loki into the other side of the room. He fell with a thud, not far from Natasha and Clint. Good. Through the pain from his fall and while Bob was thrashing the room in anger Loki was able to say a soft word to Romanoff, the one who seemed to see what was happening most clearly.
"Laugh."
She nodded, stern, and started laughing mockingly in the direction of their opponent. When the others started looking strangely at her, she gestured them to follow her lead. Stark did and Thor soon joined them. Banner too, fully conscious and aware now. Then Steve and finally Clint. They were all laughing at the prince now, full mode.
Bob's eyes were wide and desperate.
"The battle is over, Bob. Now that your enemies have grasped your many faults they can exploit them and humiliate you in front of the whole planet. And the smallest, most irrelevant mortals will be laughing at you, like they are. The Stupid prince. You should probably better leave before word of it spreads."
Bob was an oversensitive vain man. He would leave before seeing his reputation or good name threatened. He looked at everyone, sadly.
"You found my weak point, Avengers. I shall leave your earth... rather than face disgrace and mockery. But I have to do something before leaving." With a movement of his hand, Loki was sent the other side of the room and crashed, breaking the furniture.
The pain was back. More strong than ever. And it was almost impossible to breathe now. But Loki would not give up until that stupid man had left. He would prove his worth, once again. He was not so easily broken.
"I... hate you." Bob said, towering over the man who had made him doubt everything.
Loki looked at him, proud. This was it. His final opus.
"Come on, then, kill me. Remove this threat forever. Get me out of your way. Not only you would free me from the sickness and abandonment but you would clear my name. The good Loki, who gave his life to defend Midgard from bad prince Bob. The children will sing songs about the way I sacrificed myself to help getting rid of you. Um... when I had already given up hope on glory on redemption..."
"NEVER!"
There was a flash of blue light. All the remaining glass shattered, the furniture shook.
After a couple of minutes in the darkness and dust, the Avengers saw that Bob was gone, and the power was back on. In the screens, reporters broadcasted the sudden disappearance of the alien army. It was over.
"Everyone ok?" Steve asked, looking for possible casualties.
Little by little, everyone started to get up, get themselves together. It seemed almost like a dream. Tony was helping Bruce get up, a big smile on his face. Natasha and Clint hugged, glad to be alive, and Steve watched the news on the screen attentively. It was really over.
On the other side of the room, Thor kneeled before his fallen brother, cleaning the dust and rubble that had fallen on him. He was not moving and his eyes were closed.
"Loki?"
There was no response. Thor's lamented voice caught Bruce and Tony's attention, who approached slowly.
The god of thunder held his brother on his arms, only to realize that he was no longer breathing.
"Loki!"
A/N: I know, long as hell. But now the angst can resume. Did you like this chapter? No? I love to hear your thoughts! And THANK YOU for the reviews, comments and alerts!
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