Chapter 114: The Asgard Question Part 1

Alliance Headquarters, Brussels, Belgium, November 17th, 1999

"...and the United Nations Human Rights Task Force has been criticised again for focusing on countries that are not members of the Alliance. James Malone is currently at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, where a protest is being held. James?"

"I hear you, Carol. Yes, we're here in front of the United Nations Headquarters, and behind me, you can see the people protesting what they call favouritism. They demand that the American prison system be abolished as inhumane. But as you can see, they have been joined by various others protesting the Etherian presence on American or Earth soil."

Adora frowned as she watched the TV in the meeting room. There were a lot of people on the screen holding up signs and banners. Well, compared to some of the protests she had seen on Earth, it was relatively tiny, but they were very vocal. But… "What does religion have to do with prisons?" she asked. Many of the signs didn't even say anything about human rights or prisons.

"Nothing. But the nutcases who want us gone because we're abominations in the face of their god or something will jump at every opportunity to recruit more idiots," Catra commented without glancing up from her tablet.

Adora shook her head. She still didn't understand those people. Adora and her friends hadn't done anything to those people. Yet a few lines in some ancient book were enough to cause such hatred?

"We contacted Amnesty International. They stated that they were in contact with the task force and were preparing several lawsuits about the treatment of prisoners in the United States. What do you think about that, James?"

"Well, Carol, that will take a while to reach the Supreme Court, and those people here want action now. Though I don't think they all agree on what kind of action they want - some are chanting 'aliens out', as you can hear, and others demand that the Etherians raid every prison in the USA. But it seems that the NYPD has the situation under control - as you can see, they have enough officers on the scene to intervene should anything happen."

"Thank you, James. Now, back to related news. Speaking of lawsuits, the Etherians have launched a few lawsuits of their own, demanding that 'The Church of She-Ra' be recognised as a religion. We have an expert here in the studio, Dr Kevin Stuart, who covers this matter in his lectures at Yale. Kevin, what do you say about this?"

"Well, Carol, first, I have to correct you or whoever wrote this line. The lawsuits launched do not aim for official recognition; they are aimed at rules and circumstances at various schools that members of the Church of She-Ra claim are discriminatory against their faith."

Adora blinked. "We did what? Who did that?" Oh. "Priest!"

Catra snickered, And Adora glared at her. "It's not funny! It's… I have to tell him that he can't sue someone in my name!"

"Technically, he's not. He's doing it in the name of your church." Catra touched a few keys on her tablet. "Oh, and I don't think you want to stop those lawsuits anyway. Look!" She held her tablet up, and Adora looked at the texts on it.

And blinked again. "What school prohibits public displays of affection? Do they hate love or something?"

Catra shrugged. "Probably; you've heard what their priests consider mortal sins."

Adora had. Far more than she wanted, to be honest. She quickly read on. "What dress code is that? Immodest? Bow is one of the most modest people I know, and he'd violate this dress code!"

"Yeah," Catra agreed. "Apparently, he wouldn't be allowed in most schools in the USA."

Adora clenched her teeth. "Alright. I'll let Priest do this." It was for a good cause - to think people treated their children like this! In school! They were insane!

"It's not as if you could stop him, anyway," Catra said with a grin.

Adora frowned at her lover. "It's not funny. I am no goddess."

"Depends on the definition," Catra retorted. "You'd fit the description of a lot of what the humans considered deities back in the day."

"Back when they worshipped the Goa'uld?" Adora scoffed.

"Well, we don't know if they took over existing pantheons or invented them. Seth and Osiris claim the latter, but…" Catra shrugged.

"Yes." Adora nodded. They couldn't be trusted.

"But I certainly think you deserve to be worshipped," Catra went on, grinning.

Adora blushed against her will. That wasn't the point!

"And I think a little display of affection would be the right kind of worship." Catra slid out of her seat and stepped in front of Adora. "Don't you agree?"

"Ah…" Adora trailed off when her lover slipped onto her lap. And before she could remember what she had been about to say, Catra had started kissing her, and that completely derailed her thoughts.

"Alright, sorry for being late, but… Oh!"

Adora gasped and broke the kiss. Jack was standing in the door, grinning at them.

And Catra, who must have heard him approach, giggled as she stood. "Don't worry. We kept ourselves busy."

"No, we didn't!" Adora protested.

"OK, I'll admit - we didn't do any work and just fooled around."

"Wait, no! That's not what I meant!" Adora glared at her, then at the chuckling Jack.

"OK, enough fooling around," Jack said as he closed the door. "Let's discuss Thor."

"Unofficially," Catra said. "Since officially, this is just a meeting about integrating princesses into your command." She rolled her eyes. "And if anyone on the general staff believes we won't discuss Thor, then they are unfit for their posts."

"It's all about plausible deniability," Jack replied with a grin. "They know we'll be talking about this - well, the ones who have the clearance for it - and they hate it, but as long as I don't flaunt it, they'll ignore it."

Adora frowned. "It's only natural that we're discussing this. All of us know about the matter - we all have met Thor - and we're friends." Which was the most important part. She trusted Jack, Sam, Daniel and Teal'c - and, of course, the princesses in the Alliance - a lot more than she trusted the command council or the Alliance general staff. Not that she distrusted them, of course, but… they weren't her friends.

"Exactly," Jack said.

"Of course," Catra added, "you're also bypassing the chain of command and meddling in politics."

Jack frowned at her, though with a slight pout, so she had a point, Adora knew. "It's not meddling. It's just hashing stuff out. Advising our Supreme Commander," he said. "Who will discuss this with the rest, so everything's alright. Technically."

"It's not as if they could do anything to you, anyway." Catra snorted. "Not officially, at least."

"And if they try screwing with my command to get to me, I'll nail them to the wall," Jack said.

"Sabotage won't be tolerated," Adora said with a nod. Especially over such a petty thing! "But we were going to talk about Thor," she prompted him.

"Right. Thor. Supreme Commander of the Asgard Fleet. Who wants a meeting with you."

"With us," Adora corrected him.

"And it's a meeting that couldn't be done over comms," Catra added. "So, it's probably sensitive, important or both."

"Daniel would say that could just be how the Asgard do things - they might want personal meetings to talk," Jack said.

Loki should have mentioned that, Adora thought. On the other hand, they usually talked in person to him anyway. It was better to talk face to face - more personal. And… "I don't think he'd call for a meeting if it weren't important anyway, not while he's fighting a war."

"Yes, he had that 'very responsible officer' vibe," Jack agreed. "Or what passes for it amongst the Asgard. We've got a lot of them in the Alliance as well."

"Like you. You just try to hide it," Catra told him, flashing her fangs. Jack snorted in return. "Anyway, do you have any idea what he might want?" She cocked her head sideways, and her ears twitched.

"The analysts don't have much to go on with - well, the ones with the clearance to know about this," Jack said. "He might want to tell us that the Asgard won their war and now want to attack the Goa'uld with us. Or he might want to ask for help with their war because it's not going as well as he claimed when we met."

Adora nodded. "Loki probably would have told us about his people losing a war, though he might not know it."

"If he hasn't some way to check on his people, I'll escort Swift Wing on a tour of Earth's elementary schools," Catra commented. "But he might not tell us even if he knows."

Adora hoped Loki would be more open with them, especially if it was so important. On the other hand, revealing such information might be seen as treason by the Asgard. Or he might honestly not know about it because it was a secret kept by the rulers of the Asgard.

"Or this is about Loki," Jack said.

Adora winced. That was the worst case they had come up with as well.

"You mean, Thor found out we're harbouring a wanted criminal and wants us to hand him over," Catra said.

"Which we won't do." Adora shook her head. They had promised to help him save the Asgard, and they would keep that promise.

"We don't exactly know everything that Loki did while trying to find a cure for the Asgard," Jack said, looking at her with a guarded expression.

Adora frowned. "Even if he did bad things, if he wants to change and make up for it, we'll help him." He was trying to save his species.

Catra pressed her lips together and wasn't looking at either Adora or Jack.

Adora suppressed a sigh. She had expected that.

"Well, there are some lines you don't cross," Jack said. His expression hadn't changed. "If he has done stuff that is inexcusable…"

Adora didn't flinch and met his eyes. "If he wants to change and do better, we'll help him." Everyone deserved a second chance.

"Earth isn't as forgiving when it comes to certain crimes," Jack said. "And if we have to fight the Asgard over Loki, the Alliance might not be happy."

"Loki is on Etheria, though," Adora pointed out. "In Bright Moon's domain."

Catra muttered something about 'Paperclip'. Adora didn't know what she meant, but Jack seemed to get it - he grimaced a little. She'd have to ask her lover after this.

"Well, there are precedents," Jack said. "But would you really want to go to war with the Asgard to protect Loki? In the worst case, I mean."

"I don't think they'll fight a war over him," Adora said. "Not when he's working so hard to save them."

At least, she hoped so.

Research Station Alpha, The First Moon of Enchantment, November 17th, 1999 (Earth Time)

"Thor has asked for a meeting with you?"

Loki did sound surprised, Samantha Carter thought. But she didn't know him well enough to be certain - he might be acting. She nodded. "Yes, a meeting with the Alliance," she confirmed. "He didn't say what the meeting would be about."

"Ah. He wouldn't - while we have since improved our communications, early in the war, the Replicators had limited success in defeating our encryption. While unnecessary, the fleet has stuck to strict information security protocols," Loki said. "I've long tried to make people understand that the tiny additional security such procedures provide is not worth the loss of timely sharing of crucial information they cause, which hinders both our military and scientific efforts."

That sounded arrogant to Sam; Information security was crucial to conducting any war with a peer-level opponent. Loose lips sank ships. And while research profited from shared information, so did spying. But this wasn't the time to argue about it. "Do you know what this might be about?"

"Unfortunately, my contact with the rest of my species has been somewhat limited lately," Loki said. "I am, as you would say, 'out of the loop' regarding the concerns of the Asgard High Council."

That implied - either correctly or not - that he once had been privy to that. Sam inclined her head. "But there isn't anything publicly known that might prompt such a meeting?"

"I have not paid attention to what the public believes," Loki replied with a slight hint of disdain. "They do not shape our species's policy."

Now, that was very plausible, in Sam's opinion. Loki wasn't the type to worry about the views of those he deemed his lessers. She doubted he would even pay lip service to caring about the Alliance's opinion If he didn't need their help. Still, it was also clear that he was evading the real question. "Could he have discovered that you're working with us on fixing the Asgard genome?" She watched him; she wasn't a diplomat, or Daniel, but she had been working for most of her career with scientists with a similar attitude to Loki's.

And he twitched a little. "That is very unlikely. I would say impossible, but that wouldn't be scientific. I have left no information about our agreement anywhere Thor could have access to, much less access without me finding out about it."

He did seem sincere there, though Sam couldn't be sure. But she couldn't push him further, or it would feel like a straight interrogation. "I see."

"I assume you won't inform Thor of my current work and location."

Sam shook her head. "Based on our current knowledge, we do not plan to."

"That implies you might do so. That would be a going back on our deal."

Revealing their deal with Loki would go against the spirit, but probably not the letter of their agreement. But that wasn't Sam's decision. "While unlikely, there is the possibility that circumstances would force us to reveal this." Like Adora and her friends deciding that honesty was the best policy.

"What circumstances might necessitate such a course of action?"

Finding out that Loki had done worse in pursuit of his goal than what they already knew and assumed, in Sam's opinion. However, that might not be enough for the Etherians - they already knew that Loki was responsible for the creation of Horde Prime and so, albeit indirectly, for everything that Horde Prime and the Horde had done and still worked with him. "I cannot say," she said, half-lying. "But it's not impossible for new information to cause a policy change. Anything else wouldn't be scientific."

He frowned at that. Or at her using his own words against him. Sam didn't care. Loki was… He made Hordak look like a great friend in comparison. And knowing Hordak and his past, that was quite the feat. "I see," he said. "Where will you meet him?"

"Cimmeria," she said.

"Where you met Thor the first time." He nodded. "An obvious choice."

So obvious he had to ask to confirm it. Sam nodded anyway.

"And when will you meet with him?"

"Tomorrow," she said. If Loki wanted to find out, he could just attempt to contact Entrapta - who should be fit for work again by then - and the other princesses under some pretext. If they were unavailable, odds were the meeting was taking place.

"It's not a real emergency then, or he would have pressed for a quicker meeting," Loki commented.

Sam filed the information away. Daniel would be interested in such comments. "Is there anything we should know before the meeting?" she asked.

Loki tilted his head slightly to the side. "Nothing comes to mind. But please keep me informed."

"Of course." Sam nodded once more.

"Good. When will Entrapta resume her work?"

"Probably tomorrow," Sam said. But why was he asking after Entrapta? She wasn't really that involved with their work here.

"Good. Hordak has been, as you would say, 'off' because of her, and his efficiency has suffered as a result, affecting our research."

Sam withstood the urge to make a comment about not being jealous of Entrapta for being with Hordak. That was more the General's style, not hers. And she also would rather not find out that her joke was actually correct. Not after she had heard Loki's plans for the sexuality and appearance of the future Asgard.

Gate Area, Cimmeria, November 18th, 1999 (Earth Time)

Catra realised Cimmeria's Stargate area had changed since their last visit. It was subtle, but she could tell. However, she couldn't tell if it went beyond repairing or replacing the defence system they had wrecked. But her friends could. She looked at Entrapta, who was jumping down from Emily's dome, her hair taking the brunt of the impact.

Her friend looked around, then at her multitool. "Oh… they added more defences. And more scanners."

That was good to know. If the Asgard had left the planet's security the same, that would have meant that they were either unable or unwilling to spare the resources to improve gate security. Or too arrogant to think they needed to.

"Hidden underground," Sam added. "But they aren't armoured or particularly well hidden."

"Tripwires, then," Jack said. "Could you disable them without noticing?"

"Hm…" Entrapta bit her lower lip. "Probably, I think. If they haven't changed the systems too much compared to last time, it should be easy. Otherwise, it would be a challenge!"

She was perking up, Catra noted. That was a good sign. To see Entrapta restrained and calm was just wrong. A bad sign - if you were superstitious.

"Good to know. But, ah, don't do anything. This was just a hypothetical question," Jack said. "We aren't here to sabotage the Asgard."

"Got it!" Entrapta nodded. "But you want us ready to do it if we need it."

"Well… yes." Jack nodded.

"Thor has acted honourably toward us when we met him," Teal'c said.

"He almost got you killed," Jack retorted.

"He thought I served the False Gods." Teal'c didn't shrug, but he tilted his head slightly as if that explained and excused everything. And, for him, it probably did.

Catra kind of understood the sentiment. If someone had made a trap for Horde members, and she walked into them… Well, she probably deserved it. For what she had done and for not noticing the trap.

"They shouldn't have built a lethal trap in the first place," Adora disagreed. "That's irresponsible. What if they killed a Tok'ra?"

"Yes, their IFF procedure was rather sloppy," Entrapta agreed. "Though that was probably based on bad data. If they had known about the Tok'ra, they wouldn't have done that."

"Or so we hope," Jack voiced Catra's own thoughts. "So… who's going to announce our presence? Anyone seen a doorbell?"

"I don't think we need a bell - the sensors will have registered the gate activation," Entrapta replied. "I think we just have to wait. Though last time, Thor was able to communicate with us through the systems planted at the gate."

"Correct. Greetings, Tau'ri and Etherians," a voice sounded from one of the pillars surrounding the gate.

Catra was sure Thor had waited for this moment to announce his presence. Pretty dramatic - though that was probably better than Loki's sneakiness.

"Ah, hello. Thor, Supreme Commander of the Asgard Fleet, I presume?" Jack asked.

"Correct again. I would invite you to my vessel. Do you accept?"

"Well, it would be pretty impolite to refuse your hospitality," Jack replied.

And it wouldn't actually be safer - Thor would be in his ship in orbit and able to bombard them from there if he meant them harm. Although, unless he had arrived in his ship right now, it meant neither Emily's sensors nor the spy bot they had sent through the Stargate in advance had detected the Asgard ship. Granted, neither bot had the power of a proper ship behind their scanners, but they would have detected a Goa'uld craft in orbit.

"Stand by for transport, then."

Catra clenched her teeth. The Asgard had the same teleporters that Horde Prime had had in his flagship. And the memories she had of the time she had used it…

She heard a humming noise and felt the air vibrate - though that might be her imagination. A moment later, they were inside Thor's ship. Yes, she confirmed their location with a quick glance - it looked the same as it had during their first visit.

And Thor was waiting in the doorway to the next room. "Welcome aboard," he said, bowing his head. "Please have a seat." He gestured to the room, where several chairs were waiting - sized for an average human or Etherian, not an average Asgard, Catra saw. Quite considerate. Was Thor trying to butter them up, or was that standard Asgard procedure? She didn't know. Too bad Daniel wasn't with them. But if Catra had been reunited with Adora after her lover had been kidnapped for several years, well, she wouldn't leave her side either.

"Thank you," Glimmer replied.

"Yeah, thank you. We travelled a long way to Cimmeria," Jack added.

Adora and Bow were the only ones who laughed at the stupid joke as they entered and sat down.

"So, you wanted to meet with us?" Adora said, leaning forward.

"Yes." Thor nodded. "It's a somewhat delicate matter. Embarrassing as well as potentially dangerous."

Catra sat straighter. That sounded bad. Did he know about the deal with Loki?

"As you know, several Asgard were interacting with the humans on your planet in the guise of their gods," Thor started to explain. "Myself and my father amongst them. And another Asgard, Loki. Who developed a colourful but by no means undeserved reputation for trickery and feats of what the humans at the time called magic."

"Ah." Jack nodded.

Catra tensed a little, then forced herself to relax. They had expected this.

"He is an accomplished scientist," Thor went on, "but he doesn't share the same ethics as most Asgard."

"An 'the ends justify the means' type?" Jack acted as if he didn't know it already.

"I think that would be a fitting description, yes." Thor seemed to hesitate.

Catra glanced at Adora. Her lover bit her lower lip. She was probably trying to apologise already.

"And, unfortunately, we lost track of him a while ago. That wouldn't concern you, but recent information we uncovered does." Thor sighed. "Based on the data we recovered - research data from our last visits - it seems his interest in your planet and species was renewed, and he might attempt to acquire genetic samples for experiments."

Catra blinked. Oh.

"Now, it is likely that he would target one of the many planets held in the grip of the Goa'uld Empire, where your species can be found. But he is unpredictable, and, based on some past predicaments with altered samples, he might wish to acquire a sample from your home planet."

Oh. This wasn't about the deal they had with Loki - Thor wanted to warn them of his fellow Asgard.

This was very awkward!

In Orbit above Cimmeria, November 18th, 1999 (Earth Time)

"Ah. And you think Loki might not politely ask for such a sample," Jack O'Neill said, nodding and keeping his features bland. He felt a bit bad about the act - Thor was trying to warn them about Loki, not knowing they had a deal with his brother.

But if Jack felt bad about it inside, Adora wasn't even hiding it - Jack saw her grimacing and glancing at the others, biting her lower lip.

"He is not fond of asking," Thor said. "I think it's because he was so often refused permission by the Asgard High Council for some of his experiments, he assumes no permission will be forthcoming anyway. Although, since you have at least technological parity with us and are an unknown power, he might attempt a more diplomatic approach first. But he also might choose to attempt an underhanded or even dangerous course of action."

Was that a subtle way to ask if they had met Loki? Jack couldn't tell. He hadn't exactly been spending a lot of time with Loki, so he couldn't really read the Asgard that well - he wasn't twitching with surprise, at least. He glanced at Carter, but she was focused on Thor and so was no help either. They really should have brought Daniel for that. Still, if they played this cool, they could probably…

Adora cleared her throat. "We were actually approached by Loki."

…just blurt it out. Jack closed his eyes for a moment. He should have expected this.

"You were?" Thor seemed surprised - he jerked a little.

Entrapta nodded several times. "Oh, yes! He needed help with fixing your genetic degradation. We're working on that with him - well, some of us are."

"He asked for your help?" Thor blinked. Then he frowned - as far as Jack could tell. "And he informed you about the state of the Asgard's genome?"

That was probably a state secret. Loki was in deep trouble now - though, in Jack's opinion, the Asgard mad scientist probably had been in deep trouble already. They had caught him faking a Replicator outbreak, after all.

"Yes." Entrapta nodded with a smile.

"I wouldn't have expected him to be so open about our troubles," Thor said.

"We were very persuasive," Glimmer said with a toothy grin. "One of his past experiments affected us, and we wanted to know why he took such risks."

Thor frowned. "Did you threaten him?"

With you, Jack thought. But mentioning that wouldn't be very helpful.

"We confronted him with the results of his experiments," Glimmer said.

Thor frowned again. "The Clones of Horde Prime?"

And that was why trying to be clever by telling the veiled truth wasn't a good idea when talking to aliens, Jack noted. Thor obviously had looked into the whole Horde Prime thing since their last meeting.

"Yes," Adora said.

"So, they were his creation…" Thor sighed and shook his head in a very human gesture. "Brother, you never change, do you?"

"Anyway," Adora went on, "since we have access to a First Ones - an Ancients - research station specialised in genetic engineering, we offered him our help for saving your species, and he accepted."

"And we're making good progress!" Entrapta added.

Thor turned his head slightly to the side to look at them. "You expect to solve our problem?"

"Yes." Entrapta nodded with a wide smile. "All the research data we have accumulated supports that."

"My brother has been optimistic about his research in the past, but it has never worked out," Thor said.

"Well, the data we have doesn't lie. And we already solved a more urgent problem with another species, so there's no reason why we shouldn't be able to solve this either!" Entrapta beamed at Thor. "We're not giving up; don't worry!"

"I do not worry about Loki giving up," Thor replied, frowning a little. At least that's what it looked like. "I worry about him not stopping even past the point it becomes obvious that his idea will not succeed - or will not be worth the cost."

Yeah, that sounded like a typical problem of Loki to Jack. Next to mission and feature creep.

"The whole research is conducted under supervision," Carter said. "Close supervision."

Thor inclined his head. "Loki has earned his reputation as a trickster."

"We're aware of that. And we know how dangerous he can be," Glimmer told him.

Jack nodded, even though that sounded a bit too confident for someone who had just discovered how untrustworthy the research station's AI was.

"I do not want to question your experiences, but I have known Loki for longer than you have," Thor said. "Far longer than any of you were alive. I know him better than anyone else - and yet, as today's revelations demonstrated, he keeps surprising me. And the High Council."

"Well, you're his brother," Catra said. "You might not be entirely objective."

Thor frowned at her. "And you might be overconfident due to your lack of experience with him."

"Well, we've been working him for a while now," Entrapta said. "And Alpha answers to Adora - and Jack - and she controls the station. So, it should be safe. Reasonably safe. Besides, we're making progress, and Loki wouldn't risk that, would he?"

Thor sighed again. "I am afraid that he would. He is neither the most patient nor the wisest amongst us. Far too often, he proves to be too clever for his own good."

"Yeah, that sounds like the Loki from our myths," Jack said. At least some of the stories.

"They are based on events that took place. At least some of them, I suppose. Even though they were distorted by our, ah, deception," Thor said.

"You mean, by your decision to pose as gods," Teal'c spoke up.

"Yes. In hindsight, it might not have been the best plan to avoid unduly influencing your development." Thor nodded. "However, I would like to see the security measures myself - there is too much at stake to trust your claims blindly."

"And you want to see your brother," Adora said, nodding.

Thor inclined his head again, and Jack sighed. The Alliance brass better not blame him for this.

Research Station Alpha, The First Moon of Enchantment, November 18th, 1999 (Earth Time)

"Brother."

"Brother."

Adora winced at the tone of the Asgard's greetings. Thor and Loki were so tense… The way they were eyeing each other seemed worse than her worst encounters with Catra during the war.

Then Loki turned to glare at Sam. "You said you would not reveal my work or location."

"I said new information might change that," Sam replied. She did flush a little, though.

Adora pressed her lips together but didn't flinch. Telling Thor had been her decision. And it was the right one. Honesty was the best policy. "Thor wanted to warn us that you had taken an interest in Earth."

"And he was quite eloquent about the danger you could present - the lengths you'd go to achieve your goal," Jack cut in.

She frowned at him. This wasn't the time for quips and clever remarks. "It wouldn't have been fair to leave him worrying over your plans. Especially since you don't pose a danger to us." Or so Adora hoped.

"Yes!" Entrapta smiled. "So, we took Thor with us so he can see for himself that everything's fine and that our research is progressing nicely!"

"I would not quite call my brother left free to conduct experiments in a research station of the Gate Builders 'fine'," Thor said.

"That is because you cannot understand my work," Loki retorted. "You never could. And you fear what you cannot understand."

"No, my fears are based on experience with your past deeds." Thor shook his head. "Have you told your 'friends' what you did? The experiments that led to you being known as the sire of monsters in the tales of the Norse?"

"We know he is responsible for the creation of Horde Prime," Glimmer said.

"What?" Thor whirled to stare at her, then back at Loki. "I thought you were working for him, maybe with him, to create his clones and used the opportunity to conduct experiments with Asgard DNA, but you created him?"

Loki rolled his eyes, or tried to. "Did you really think he would have let me introduce my own DNA to his clones? Of course, he was my creation!" Loki sounded almost proud of this. After a moment, he added: "And my worst failure."

He didn't really sound too sad about it, though, at least in Adora's impression.

"And you have not learned anything from it? You are attempting to create another species based on our DNA?" Thor took a step toward his brother.

"No, I am attempting to restore our species to a viable state," Loki spat. "To save us from extinction."

"You think the High Council will accept your 'solution'? You have not learned a thing from your past mistakes, then."

"Uh… But that's not true," Entrapta cut in. "We - and that includes Loki - learned a lot from Horde Prime's creation. And from Alpha's data, of course. Learning from your mistakes is a core part of proper research! It's the base of science!"

Both Asgard seemed confused for a moment.

"I don't think he meant that," Sam said.

"But he said so!"

"I think he was talking about the reasons and goals of experiments, not data," Sam said.

"Oh!" Entrapta nodded. "But our goal is good - we want to save the Asgard! As long as we don't cause any harm, we're doing good, right?"

Adora nodded. Horde Prime had exterminated so many species, she wouldn't let the Asgard vanish if she could help it. And she could. Well, her friends could. And she could help them.

"Just because your goal is good does not mean the means you use to achieve it are justified," Thor said, nodding at Entratpa. "Something you never learned," he added with a glare at Loki.

"But we've been teaching him that!" Entrapta objected. "We learned that ourselves."

Thor shook his head. "You cannot trust him. As soon as he is faced with the choice to abandon his current plan or break whatever rules you set, he will choose the latter. He has proven that time and again."

"Then we will ensure that this choice never happens." Entrapta beamed at them. "Problem solved."

Loki nodded in agreement, but Adora couldn't help feeling that that wasn't very reassuring.

Samantha Carter refused to feel guilty. She had not promised Loki that they would keep his presence in Alpha a secret, nor had she been responsible for the decision to tell Thor the truth. Though she could stand behind that decision - trying to hide their involvement with Loki would only result in more trouble when it came out. Trouble for everyone - the Asgard wouldn't trust them as allies, and they wouldn't trust the cure they were researching either. Not easily, at least. Really, this was for the best. Of course, Loki couldn't see it.

"You can say this now, but that is not something you can promise," Thor said, looking at Entrapta. "If success solely depended on your will to succeed, we would have solved our problem long ago."

Loki snorted at that. "So you say. But you and the rest of the High Council lost your resolve far too easily. Based on past experiences," he added with a sneer.

"There were lines we were not willing to cross, and for a good reason. The risks were far too high - which was proven when you created Horde Prime, a scourge on the sector almost as bad as the Goa'uld," Thor said.

"Worse actually," Catra cut in. "More dangerous, at the very least - he had better tech than the Goa'uld."

Loki nodded. "He was very skilled at acquiring and adapting our own technology."

That's a proud parent speaking, Sam thought. "He also destroyed an unknown number of planets and civilisations," she added.

"Yes, he did. All in pursuit of his goal to rule the Galaxy - regardless of the fact that the sheer size of the galaxy made that goal impossible to achieve by any sane standard." Hordak spoke up. "He never let anything stop him."

"Until he met She-Ra," Catra said, flashing her fangs.

"Yes. Even Horde Prime had to bow to reality, and all the atrocities he committed did not reward him with success in the end," Thor said.

"I consider this comparison insulting," Loki replied. "I never tried to conquer a planet, much less a sector or the galaxy. Nor did I ever render any species extinct." He tilted his head. "Unless I had created it myself as part of my research."

Sam blinked. That sounded…

"You murdered a species you created?" Glimmer blurted out.

"Yes?" Loki looked confused for a moment. "It was not a sapient one," he quickly added. "Nor a very complex organism. It was merely meant as a proof of concept. And it failed."

"Still… creating life only to end it…" Entrapta shook her head. "Unless they were not viable, of course."

"I do not think they were competitive with other species in their ecological niche," Loki said. "But I never attempted it. Inserting them into an existing ecosystem would have been a risk I did not take."

"Ah, right. That's bad, yes." Entrapta nodded several times.

"You mean you did not do it again," Thor said. "You were not quite as cautious and diligent as you claim to be when you were experimenting with animals on Earth."

"All of them were unique specimens and, therefore, unable to procreate," Loki snapped back. "Even back then, I did not take any such risks."

Sam somehow had her doubts.

"You experimented with animals?" Entrapta cocked her head.

"He created a monstrous snake and horse," Thor said. "And a wolf."

A snake, a horse and a wolf? Sam blinked. "Jörmungandr, Sleipnir and Fenrir?" she asked before she could stop herself. Daniel had given a briefing about the Norse myths after their first visit to Cimmeria.

"That is how the Tau'ri called them, yes," Thor said.

"Jörmungandr, Sleipnir and Fenrir?" Entrapta asked.

"The World Serpent, Odin's horse and the wolf that would kill Odin," Sam told her. "In Norse myths."

"Father was not amused about those animals. Or those stories," Thor said.

"I did not make up those stories," Loki said. "If Odin did not like them, he could have told the humans to change them."

"That was not our way. We already meddled too much with the Tau'ri," Thor retorted.

"See? Another pointless rule that only caused problems. Problems I get blamed for!"

"You were the one who created a giant snake, a monstrous wolf and an eight-legged horse that could barely walk, much less gallop!" Thor snapped back. "And then had them escape!"

"Oh! You created a new type of horse? Like Adora! She created a winged unicorn!" Entrapta beamed.

"And we won't ever let her forget it," Catra muttered.

Loki looked puzzled. "I didn't know you were a genetic engineer."

Adora winced. "It was an accident."

"You created a species by accident?" Thor stared at her. "No wonder you were willing to help Loki!"

"It was a magical accident, not an engineering, uh, project - I didn't know what my power could do and hit a horse with magic by mistake." Adora blushed, both from embarrassment and anger, Sam thought. "Anyway, I haven't done that again."

"Which you probably should," Entrapta said. "Unless Swift Wind can procreate with normal horses, he will be the last of his species."

"I don't think we're making the best impression on our visitor here," the General commented in a whisper next to Sam.

She was forced to agree - Thor was staring at everyone as if he was expecting them to reveal abominations of science and magic.

If only Daniel were here.