SHADOW OF DEATH
Chapter 6: Conquest
Loki sat among the rocks of the isolated Newfoundland coast and listened to the cries of the grey and white seabirds above him. He could not tear his eyes from the angry breakers crashing upon the stoic grey rocks around him. They roared and foamed and stormed but the rocks did not move. The moods of the ocean could change in an instant but the rocks shifted so imperceptibly that even a hundred years might leave them unchanged.
He could see the remnants of the rocks he smashed into fragments lying scattered on the beach. Those rocks should still be standing-strong and unmoved. He destroyed them and for what? To provide an outlet for his anger? To fix one bad decision with another?
He felt so aimless now, as if he were an unmoored boat upon the seas being batted to and fro by the tides and the wind. He must plan, he must act, but he felt suddenly sluggish-as if his thoughts were mired in thick honey. He could not think beyond the waves.
The tide came in and returned to the depths. The seabirds cried. The sun and moon changed guards.
Still, Loki sat.
Oooooooooooooo
Another dawn, another day. He could not be bothered to keep track of how many he'd spent on this beach. The peach and gold rays danced off of the engravings around the head of Mjolnir. He watched the shadow of the hammer spread and lengthen away from his feet and towards the surf.
"I can fix this," he whispered, as if Mjolnir could hear him. He'd taken to speaking to the hammer as if it were a sentient being these last few days. Mjolnir proved an attentive listener, even when he swore and raged at it. It seemed to even understand his silence. "I swear to you, I will find a way to fix this."
He stood and brushed the sand off his dark trousers and flicked his hand to return Mjolnir to his store. He took a deep breath of the salted, cold morning air and wrapped his cloak around him more firmly. He felt around the beach for that slight fissure in space he had grown so familiar with. He stepped into it and felt the beach vanish. He pushed his way through the faded darkness and arrived a few miles outside of his intended destination.
He did not rejoice in the overwhelming scent of concrete and car exhaust that hit him as he stepped out of the invisible pathway. The burbling chaos of mortal thoroughfare proved a rude awakening after so many days drenched in solitude and silence. He grimaced and, for a moment, considered procrastinating his hitherto unfruitful search for a few more sunrises.
But he could not let anyone else find it first.
He would find the Tesseract. He would avenge his brother. Then he would destroy Thanos.
He could do this. He had to.
As he neared the barren expanse created by the explosion, he found the temporary dwellings of the healers now missing. Swarms of bustling healers no longer tended to the writhing, miserable masses of victims. Mortal warriors and officials seemed to have long since abandoned their efforts of recovering survivors. Now, they turned to clearing rubble, piling the dead, and determining which buildings were beyond salvaging.
Men in yellow helmets and bright vests meandered throw the broken streets with tools and machines which they used to relocate fallen walls, overturn crushed buildings, and create traversable pathways through the city.
More crews came with gloved hands and white bodysuits. They dotted in and out of the wreckage carrying stretchers. They gathered what human remains they could find into a location for possible identification and proper disposal.
Loki did not envy them their tasks. It fell to the living to sort through what remained of the dead.
Loki came upon the now familiar remnants of Stark Tower. He had spent days upon days sifting through the metal and glass and concrete here and he still had not found what he sought. He sighed and sat upon a crushed and melted object that looked as if it had once been a man-sized letter "A".
He closed his eyes and focused all his mental and magical energies to search around him, seeking out that tendrils of power that belonged only to the Tesseract.
Oooooooooooooooooooooo
A day later, once the road proved passable again, a large vehicle barreled through the deserted streets and stopped a few yards away from where he searched. Half a dozen men and women in black suits, dark sunglasses, and unsmiling faces emerged. He could see the tell-tale signs of hidden weapons upon their persons and he knew they were not rescue-workers or construction cleanup crews.
They spoke to each other through crackling voices on black hand-held devices and split into teams. They carried some crude Midgardian technology in their hands which they used to scan the grounds.
For days, they joined him in his search, though they did not know they searched together. His search continued in silence while theirs was accompanied by the hums and beeps of their machines, the dust of overturning rubble, and the occasional explosion as they forced their way deeper into the remains of the once mighty building.
He could only assume they sought the same prize. He would let them but he would ensure only one would be the final victor.
Oooooooooooooooooooooooooo
"Director Fury," a middle-aged male agent spoke into a cellular device in the privacy of an abandoned alleyway. Loki smiled. He liked being right. The agent scanned the area for any other ears and, feeling secure, continued his report, ignorant of the invisible figure standing beside him. "We have discovered only the tiniest of fragments of the Cube. It appears to have exploded into an unknown number of tiny fragments, each no larger than the head of a pin. The power radiating from the fragments is minimal and it is doubtful we would have even found them if not for the infinitesimal amount of gamma radiation they still emit. We've gathered as many fragments as we've found and will transport them to the Triskelion as soon as we've finished packing them up."
"Very good, Agent Pole. Finish as fast as you can. Something is brewing and we need as many agents on hand as we can get," Fury's gruff voice sounded from the device.
"Sir?"
"Listen to the news on your way. It will be public knowledge within two hours and then all hell will break loose."
"Yes, sir."
The man slipped the silver box back into a pocket in his black suit, now smudged here and there with light dust. He exited the alleyway and rejoined his companions. They spoke in hushed tones and packed a strong, black container with the minuscule fragments they managed to glean from the rubble and extricate with long hours of diligent efforts.
They did all his work for him while he watched in smug satisfaction.
Loki crouched in the large storage facility of the vehicle, still invisible to all. The black box of Tesseract shards sat beside him. The engine of the vehicle hummed to life, reverberating through the walls and floor boards. The entire company of agents filled the black leather seats, the buzz of their conversations filling the confined spaces around them.
They began to drive. Loki silently waved his hand over the box, calling to the powers within. They were so very faint now, hardly even worth his attention, but he needed to know more. At his summons, the hundreds of tiny pieces vanished from the box and filled a jar in his invisible space between spaces. He would need time and space to investigate further-two amenities he found himself sadly lacking at the moment.
He left half of the shards in the SHIELD container. They could, again, save him some effort and uncover their own information to complement his own. He would accompany them to the facility, discover where the shards would be stored, and then search the SHIELD facility for the other information he sought.
He sank onto the hard, rough carpet and leaned his head against the vibrating metal of the vehicle's side and closed his eyes. His sleep of late, marred by unpleasant dreams, proved fleeting and he found himself growing tired.
Hours passed. Slamming doors woke him a few times as the agents stopped to acquire provisions. The strong scent of salted meat and over-preserved foods filled the vehicle and Loki covered himself with a barrier to block out the distasteful smells. He began to slip into a hazy sleep again when a bell sounded from a cellular device in the hands of a woman in front of him.
"Hey, Jim. Turn on the radio. I just got a text from HQ saying we gotta hear this," said the woman.
A transmitted voice grew in volume as an agent in the front of the car fiddled with some nobs.
"Special News Report: While the global economy has fallen into turmoil after the attack on New York, new chaos has broken out as six other countries have reported attacks in the last 24 hours. The sources and motivations of these attacks remain a mystery. They appear to have targeted the United Kingdom, Germany, Japan, Russia, India, and China. Overnight, each of these countries have fallen into unrest as the key civic and business leaders have been assassinated by snipers.
"The U.S. military has made a statement assuring the nation they are doing everything in their power to ensure the protection of the citizens of the United States both at home and abroad. It is recommended that you exercise extreme caution, avoid unnecessary travel at this time, and maintain a stockpile of provisions.
The President will be addressing the nation in an hour's time and encourages the citizens of the United States, and the rest of the world, not to panic."
The entire vehicle fell into rapt silence before the silence was broken by a chorus of curses.
"I guess we'll have to take a rain check on that tennis match," Agent Pole told the woman in front of Loki.
The woman swore at him in response and pulled out her phone. Her frenzied phone conversations filled the remainder of the drive.
Oooooooooooooooooooo
The vehicle's destination proved to be a looming grey fortress of a building stationed in the center of a large river. Loki recognized the urban landmarks-proving this to be the governing center for this particular polity. They parked underground and were met by a few dozen agents, all with grim faces and furrowed brows.
Loki trailed after the black box as it passed from hands to hands. It finally came to rest in a large, gleaming facility full of technological equipment and mortals in white robes, large eye coverings, and gloves. They immediately set to work cataloging the fragments and sending them through a series of machines.
He needed to conduct his own tests. He silently explored corridor after corridor of the heavily guarded fortress until he found what appeared to be barracks for the impressive force housed within. A quick scan of the quarters found one quarantined off from the others, uninhabited and awaiting repairs. He entered and found it a bit dusty, but adequate. A small cot, a washroom, a single chair, and a clothes rack were all the room contained. He lay on the bed, pulled out the Asgardian jar full of lightly glowing blue shards, and called to his magic.
oooooooooooooooooo
"Special News report: Silent killers assassinate the leadership of six more countries. Iran, Brazil, Mexico, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, and Australia have been targeted. Mass fears, protests, looting, and panic spreads as other countries wonder if they will be targeted next. A contingent of world leaders will convene in Geneva tonight to discuss the situation and decide how to return peace and security around the globe.
"Some informants suspect that alien invader, Loki of Asgard, survived the attack on New York and continues his assault on earth. This report has not been confirmed by officials."
Loki sat spellbound as he watched the news playing in the lobby of the SHIELD fortress they called the Triskelion. It was the third day of such news reports and each day filled the SHIELD agents into a greater frenzy of activity. The building, which proved to be more of a small city than a building, now swarmed with mortals. The sources of the mysterious destruction of infrastructure across the realm continued to baffle them, despite their best efforts to uncover its origins.
Loki had to admit, he was impressed with himself. Each morning he became "responsible" for the toppling of yet another series of nations. How he could orchestrate the conquest of every major power in Midgard single-handedly while remaining in a fixed location and oblivious to it all was truly an admirable feat.
He could list at least five covert Midgardian organizations he thought were exploiting the current chaos to their own benefit. Of those, only three he thought likely. Of those, only one he really thought adept enough to orchestrate such a masterful attempt at chaos.
How many more nations would it take before Midgard began to crumble? Their conquerors surely had a puppet master pulling their strings. Someone would step to the forefront with grandiose promises of order and peace and then the entire realm would willingly surrender their freedom in exchange for their security.
Within a week or two, with minimal damage to infrastructure or loss of life, someone was going to succeed in uniting the entire realm under their rule. It was clean, fast, and brilliant. Once again, someone else was doing his work for him.
He grinned to himself. They claimed Loki was conquering Midgard, and so he would allow them. SHIELD believed Loki dead, and so he would allow them. But even if he managed to unearth their puppet master and supplant him (or her) the masses would never allow Loki to rule Midgard. They would fear him, decry him, and reject him. They would never throw open their arms to welcome him as their savior. They would need a king they could trust, a king they would delight to serve. One powerful enough and virtuous enough to defeat the evil sowing chaos into their heretofore peaceful illusions of existence.
They needed Thor.
Lucky for them, Loki could be both.
And either way, Loki would be king.