Author's Note: Note is at bottom to eliminate spoilers. If you don't care about that then I insist. Go on and read it!
Thor watched his mother, talking to his brother. He had never heard Loki say anything close to What he was saying now in his entire adult life. He was amazed at how much Loki thought he owed Tony. He himself hate wanted his brother to come home.
"How are you? You are not hurt are you?" Frigga asked. The god shook his head slowly. "No. I am...well enough." he replied slowly. She nodded, knowing he wasn't going to say much more about the matter.
As Thor watched the scene, Loki stiffened as someone called his name behind him. All of the color drained from his face.."Loki...What is it?" he asked. Loki shook his head. "I must go." he said quickly. Then the scrying glass went black.
Loki took a deep breath, and stood. It had been Thanos that had called his name and he was thankful for that. He didn't want to know what the Other would do if he found him this far from the castle.
Lítt Bjarn-dýr wriggled in his arms as Loki carried him over to a large mound of snow to hide him. "Lítt Bjǫrn, go. Come back in a few days." he ordered. The frost rabbit sniffed the air for a second then hopped off, seeming to understand Loki's words.
"Loki." Thanos said behind him. The god turned around slowly, looking at the ground. "Why are you out here so far from the castle?" he demanded, nostrils flaring. Loki's breath hitched when he felt something brush against his leg. Lítt Bjarn-dýr stood on his hind legs, leaning against him.
"What is that thing doing?" Thanos demanded. Loki glanced at him before leaning down and picking the frost rabbit up. "His name is Lítt Bjarn-dýr." he said quietly. Thanos stared at him as if he had just grown ten heads. "It means little bear. I named him that because he looks like one."
"He is your...pet?" he said. Loki nodded slowly, holding him tightly to his body. "I-I wanted to keep him." he said. Thanos sighed, frowning. "If you bring him into the castle, he better not shit on anything or I'll give him to the cooks." he said. Loki stared after him, in shock.
Thanos was going to let him keep Lítt Bjarn-dýr. He'd been sure that he was going to kill him the moment he saw him. But he couldn't let the Other know about him. It would give him an advantage over the god that he just didn't want.
"Will you tell him?" Loki said. Thanos turned to look at him. "I don't think heel be interested in your petty pleasures. There are more important things than a tiny frost rabbit." he snarled. "And by the way. The Other wishes to see you."
Loki stared at the Other until he finally spoke. "I have been working on something Loki." he said. Loki waited for him to continue, knowing that not doing result in severe punishment.
"I have created something new. Something that will be so powerful, when combined with the tessaract, it will be the most indestructible weapon in any realm. I just need one thing before I connect it to the tessaract when I get it." he said. Loki took a breath, and spoke.
"What do you need?" he asked. The Other smiled. "I need you. Or more specifically...your magic." he said. Loki nodded. "I can supply that." he said. The Other turned to him, still smiling. "I am afraid you do not understand." Loki nodded. "I don't see what I am not getting." he said quietly.
"I need your magic. Taken directly from your body. It will be a painful process I assure you." he promised. Loki shook his head. "I do not think something like that is possible. To take one's magic directly from the body and expect them to survive is...it is impossible." he said. As he looked into the Other's eyes, he realized what he was saying.
"No..." he said. The Other's eyes narrowed under his hood. "If I remember correctly, it is I who makes the decisions. Not you." he snapped. Loki shut ho's mouth and bit his tongue. "Yes." he said. The Other nodded. "Now, you must do this willingly, or it will not work. Are you willing Trickster?" he asked. The god said nothing, staring at the floor.
"I see. Well, let's see how you feel tomorrow then." he said, walking out of the room.
Thor paced back and forth across the throne room, wondering how important Tony Stark was to Loki for him to risk his life for him. Frigga watched him, worried. Not about his health or state of mind, but about him going off and trying to find Loki on his own as he had been ready to do originally.
He stopped suddenly. "Could you tell anything from his surroundings?" he asked her. She shook her head. "Thor, even if we did know where he was, we should leave him for the moment." she advised. He turned.
"How can you say that?" he demanded. "Did you not hear him? How he begged us not to try to find him and how he dis not tell us his location? What if whoever he is with discovers he is communicating with us and kills him? Or worse?" she asked. He looked down. He hadn't thought of that being a reason.
"And I also that it best if we keep the contact with him using the glass as least as possible." she said. He bit his lip and nodded. "Alright mother. I shall do as you ask. For Loki's sake."
Loki sat on his bed, indian style as he waited for the Other, thinking about his promise. ' "Well, let's see how you feel tomorrow then." ' he had said. The god hadn't slept at all that night, not wanting to be caught by surprise. His head jerked up as the door opened, and the Other stepped into the room, two of Thanos' servants behind him. Loki stared at Islis, who was smiling just as wide as the man leading him.
"Well I was not expecting you to be awake this early." he said. Loki glared at him. "No, I suppose you weren't." he said quietly. The Other frowned. "Tsk tsk tsk. How rude. I assume you remember my plan? Have you changed your mind?" he asked. "I have most certainly not. I like living much more than my...urge to please you." he said. The Other nodded. "I thought you would say that. So, I have decided to create another option." he said.
"And what is this third option?" Loki asked carefully. The Other smiled. "My weapon requires energy. So if you will not give it to me, then I shall take it from somewhere else." he gestured to the servants standing behind him and Islis and the other servant left the room. They returned a minute later, each holding the hand of a child, a boy and a girl. Loki estimated that they couldn't be older than five or six. He looked at the Other curiously.
"Choose." the Other said simply. "Choose what?" the god asked. The Other pointed. "Choose one. The boy or the girl." he said. "Why? hat will happen?" Loki asked. The other smiled. "I told you I need energy to operate my weapon. One of them shall have to take your place." he said. He watched as Loki's eyes widened. "You don't mean to..." "I told you I needed energy. I will get it one way or another. Now choose" he said.
Loki shook his head. "No. I cannot do that. I will not...cannot." he said. The Other sighed. "Fine. Bring them here. I shall decide for you." Loki watched as he drew a long knife from his sleeve. "What are you doing? They are children!" Loki cried. "You have given me no other choice, Trickster." The girl stated to scream when she saw what was happening.
Tears fell from Loki's eyes as The Other drew the blade across the small boy's throat. Blood flowed down his chest, and raspy choking sounds began to come from his open throat. The little girl continued to scream, kicking and biting as The Other came toward her, leaving the boy twitching on the floor.
"Stop! Please!" Loki sobbed, grabbing the Other's sleeve. The man hissed at him, pushing him back. "This was your choice Trickster. Only yours." he said as he slit the girl's throat. Her screaming stopped, replaced with wheezing gasps.
"Tomorrow I will ask you again. If I receive the same answer, you will have the same result." He wiped the blade off on a clean part of the now dead girl's dress. At his nod, the servants dragged the bodies from the room, leaving a long trail of blood.
Loki stared at the blood on the floor for he rest of the night. And then when it got too dark to see, he stared at the area until morning.
Jane leaned over the table, staring intently at the molecules on the microscope. When Darcy came in, she looked on, silently laughing at the state of her hair. It was frizzy and dry, standing all over the scientist's head in odd points and tangles.
"You look terrible." she commented, filling her mouth with another spoon of coco puffs. Jane glared at her. "Well thank you, but I've been working my as off over here while you sit around and eat shit like a fucking elephant." she snapped. Darcy raised an eyebrow at her language. "Well someone's time of the month is here." she said. "And I can eat as much as I want and not gain an ounce. I'm gonna take advantage of that for as long as I can." she said.
"Well at least you can help me a little." Jane growled. Darcy sighed. "Well I mean if you'd let me do something then I'd be helping. But you're just hogging all of the work. At least give me a crack at that scepter Thor brought over two days. It's power has got to be less complicated than the tessaract. I'm sure I can handle that. Please?" she said. Jane shook her head. "We've got to focus on the tessaract right now." she said.
"Come ooonnn! Pleeeeaaaase? It's just sitting there." she urged. Jane sighed. "Fine. Take it. But don't touch it directly." Jane said. Darcy nodded. After she pulled on a pair of gloves she took the staff out of the case.
After a while, Darcy had a thought. "You know, this thing makes me wanna know how big Loki's" "Darcy!" Jane hissed. The woman just shrugged. "Don't tell me you never wonder about Thor. I mean...look at how big he is. And that's his natural size. No steroids or anything!" she exclaimed. Jane turned back to her work, a blush creeping onto her face.
"That is inappropriate." she said. Darcy just smiled. "Oh I know."
Author's Note: READING WHOLE AN CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR FUTURE CHAPS. DO NOT READ IT ALL IF YOU DON'T WANT TO KNOW.
I know, I know. The children killing part was horrible. I didn't really want to write it like that, but I needed something to give Loki a little push and become more...submissive I guess is the right word. BTW Lítt Bjarn-dýr/Lítt Bjǫrn means 'little bear' in Old Norse. That's right. Teaching myself Old Norse now. Whaaaaat!
SPOILERS FOR FUTURE CHAPS START HERE. AGAIN DON'T READ IF YOU ARE THE TYPE THAT HATES SPOILERS!
Anyway, fair warning: this will happen again! Sorry! I don't really think Loki would break that easily after seeing just two children getting killed. And it will probably just get a bit more gruesome. Apologies in advance.