Chapter 96: The Scientist Part 2

PZ-825, January 30th, 1999 (Earth Time)

"Why?" Catra watched as Loki repeated Hordak's question, tilting his head at him.

"Why did you create Horde Prime?" Hordak explained.

"As I already explained, and as you were undoubtedly told, I wanted to save my species and create a variant that was not suffering from genome degradation, yet close enough to be an Asgard." Loki stood a bit straighter.

"I know your goals," Hordak told him in a tight tone. Catra was reminded of a few rather tense meetings with him. "I want to know why it went wrong and you created that monster."

"That's a question I've been asking myself."

Loki was deflecting again. Catra hated it.

"And what answer did you find?" WrongHordak asked. He looked tense as well, which was a new look for him.

"My research remained inconclusive," Loki replied. "I was denied the means to test if it was a question of nature over nurture."

Catra blinked. Nature over nurture? She had heard about that question, but what…?

"You were planning to repeat your… 'experiment'?" Daniel blurted out.

"That is how a scientist researches," Loki told him, sounding puzzled. "You experiment and vary the parameters to find out which ones caused a given result."

"You wanted to create more children as an experiment?" Bow asked. He sounded shocked.

Catra glanced at Entrapta. Her friend was blinking, looking puzzled. But before Catra could get worried, Entrapta shook her head. "You don't experiment with people! Not like that, at least. You can experiment with them if they volunteer to be your test subjects and your experiment doesn't hurt them. Or not much - the material I read about that was a little inconclusive in that regard." She pouted for a moment, then nodded. "But everyone agreed that creating children for experiments is wrong."

Hordak, too, was looking at her. Momentarily distracted, it seemed.

Not so WrongHordak. "You wanted to create more Horde Primes? To see where you went wrong?"

"Yes, exactly," Loki replied. "I needed to know how to prevent another result like the first. If I had erred in raising the subject, then that should have been easily fixable. But if the problem was the genes themselves, then that would have been more complicated because the Asgard's genome needs more variation to become and stay viable, so I would have to find a way to avoid unwanted results."

"I can see where you don't want more genocidal tyrants trying to conquer the galaxy with their horde of mind-controlled clones," O'Neill drawled.

"Yes, exactly." Loki beamed at him.

Catra wondered if he was faking it or honestly didn't get the sarcasm.

"You would have risked unleashing more such evil on the galaxy?" Priest sounded aghast.

"Of course not!" Loki shook his head. "I would have limited their lifespans so this would not have been an issue."

Catra blinked. He couldn't mean… that was…

"You would have engineered your children to die before they could grow up?" Bow gasped.

Catra noticed she had unsheathed her claws without realising it. This was… monstrous.

"Not before they were grown up, of course - it would defeat the experiment's goals if they died while still in the cloning tubes," Loki retorted. "But they wouldn't need to live longer than necessary to determine their mental characteristics."

"That's horrible!" Glimmer spat.

"You can't do that!" Adora had drawn her sword, Catra saw, and was gripping it tightly.

And Hordak, WrongHordak and Priest were quickly following her example. "I think it's very clear which factor was responsible for Horde Prime's evil," Hordak said.

"Oh?" Loki actually sounded pleased. "You have found an answer?"

"It's you," Hordak spat. "I am very grateful that Horde Prime didn't pass your heritage on to us when he created us as his obedient servants."

Loki glanced at everyone. He seemed taken aback by all the hostility. Catra couldn't help wondering if he was like Entrapta, genuinely not understanding their reaction because he didn't know better, or if he was like Horde Prime, not caring about the reactions of anyone else until he was forced to. "That was a thousand years ago," Loki said after a moment. "Since then, I have changed my plans."

"Your goals remain the same, though," Catra said.

"Of course. I have to save my species."

He didn't have to add 'no matter the price' - Catra could hear it clearly anyway.

And so could everyone else. Even Entrapta.

Jack O'Neill could respect a man's - alien's - dedication to save their species from extinction. But there were a few lines you didn't cross. Not even with your species's survival on the line. Jack had done quite a few unsavoury things himself in his career, on orders, but making kids and raising them just to see what went wrong with the first one? And ensuring they wouldn't live longer than necessary for the experiment? Jack had thought creating clones - kids - just to send them into war was horrible, but this was beyond the pale.

And Jack didn't think the alien had actually changed. He wasn't an expert on the Asgard. He wasn't Daniel, either. But after more than twenty years in the Air Force, he could spot bullshit excuses, and Loki's claim hit all the triggers.

"Uh," Daniel spoke up. "Do the, ah, Horde clones suffer from the same genome degradation as the Asgard?"

"Horde Prime would have never accepted a vessel for his consciousness that was anything but perfect," Hordak replied. "Any supposed flaws, especially fundamental ones, would have been eliminated."

With extreme prejudice, as far as Jack understood.

"He never understood that imperfection is beautiful," Entrapta said, nodding - and beaming at Hordak.

Jack suppressed a wince. That relationship still felt creepy to him, and it wasn't because Hordak was an alien clone. But, ultimately, it was none of his business.

"And he had a problem with independent thought," Catra added. Adora wrapped an arm around her waist in response.

"And he was punished for his evil!" Priest spoke up. "As he spread pain and misery in his greed for power, even daring to try and turn Her chosen consort against her, Her Divine Highness smote him down and saved us all!"

Adora opened her mouth, probably to refute that, but Catra whispered something to her, and she relented.

Daniel looked a little uncomfortable but then pushed his glasses up and turned to look at Loki. "You mentioned that you wanted to create, ah, clones that were 'close enough to the Asgard'. Do you think Horde Prime and his clones do not qualify?"

Jack frowned - they looked completely different. The Asgard were small little grey aliens. Hordak and the other clones were tall, almost buff guys. And their heads and faces were different as well.

"It's obvious that they aren't Asgard," Loki replied with a frown.

"But their DNA is close - so close, even your own scanners think they're Asgard," Entrapta pointed out.

"That was the result of the scanners not being calibrated properly since their operators were not aware of the clones' existence," Loki retorted. "It has since then been fixed to eliminate such mistakes."

Now, that sounded familiar. "Can't have just anyone be Asgard, huh?" Jack said.

"Yes." Loki nodded. "Shared ancestry does not make us the same species."

"But they're your grandchildren! You created Horde Prime from your own DNA!" Entrapta protested.

"I don't want to be related to either of them," Hordak spat.

"But we are," WrongHordak disagreed.

"And we should not attempt to disavow our origin!" Priest nodded emphatically. "For good and ill, the Great Deceiver shaped our history - as he was shaped before by the Reckless Scientist."

Entrapta blinked, then perked up and nodded.

"Those who forget their past are doomed to repeat their mistakes," Priest went on. "Only by remembering and acknowledging our origin can we move on, can we become better and make the universe better."

Loki was still frowning. "You claim to be Asgard?"

"No!" Priest shook his head. "But we are your descendants. Yours specifically. Just as we are Horde Prime's descendants."

"Well, he called us his brothers, but we were his creation," WrongHordak added. "So, it would be more correct to call us his children."

Hordak muttered something that Jack didn't quite catch. It didn't sound complimentary, though.

"Children who have rejected their evil past and strive to make amends," Priest said, folding his hands in a serene gesture. Some had been studying preachers on Earth. "As Her Divine Highness taught and showed us, it is never too late to abandon your path and redeem yourself." He turned to look at his fellow clones. "We are living proof of that."

Hordak grumbled in return, but WrongHordak nodded - and smiled at Loki. "Indeed."

Jack grinned at the obvious message.

Loki frowned again. "If you are insinuating that I should abandon my plans to save my species, then I will tell you that I won't. I will not see my species going extinct."

"They aren't disagreeing with your goals, merely with your methods," Daniel said.

"Yes," Glimmer agreed. "Priest is right - you are reckless. And the end doesn't justify the means. Not your means."

"That's illogical. The survival of the species outweighs the survival of the individual," Loki told her.

"You can justify everything with that!" Adora blurted out.

"Yes, exactly." Loki nodded.

Adora blinked. "That's not what I meant!"

Jack snorted, though it wasn't funny. He was familiar with those types as well. Too familiar. Loki would have fit in perfectly with the NID. And with other, even worse, organisations.

Adora shook her head. "You can't justify everything with that!" Had Loki misunderstood her, or was he mocking her?

"The survival of my species is at stake," he objected. "Would you sacrifice yours for the sake of a few individuals?"

Adora tensed. Did he know that she was a First One? "My species is extinct," she told him with a glare. "They were fighting Horde Prime, and he killed them."

Loki looked taken aback but quickly recovered. "Then you should understand my stance. You fought a war against Horde Prime, didn't you? In a war, sometimes, you have to send soldiers to their deaths to win a battle."

So, he knew about her history - Thor knew she was a First One, she remembered - but he didn't understand. Adora clenched her teeth. "My ancestors planned to sacrifice Etheria to win the war. They planned to destroy an entire world, with all the innocent people on it, to save themselves. My predecessor, Mara, prevented that - and she was a First One herself.."

Loki frowned. "So, she sacrificed her own species to save another? And you think that's acceptable, but sacrificing a few individuals isn't?"

He really didn't understand! "She sacrificed herself!" Adora spat. "And she didn't sacrifice her species - Horde Prime destroyed them. She didn't choose them to be destroyed. She saved Etheria from destruction at the hands of the First Ones, who were willing to kill everyone to save themselves. And that wasn't right. And isn't right."

"Indeed!" Priest nodded eagerly. "As Your Divine Highness's deeds have taught us, it is the duty of the strong to protect the weak and the innocent. Those who would sacrifice innocents to save themselves do not deserve to be saved in the first place."

That was… well, not wrong, but the way Priest said it sounded was a bit off.

"But what if they would have died anyway?" Loki obviously still didn't get it. "If you can save your species by sacrificing a few of them, then why would that be worse than letting everyone die? Isn't it better to save some rather than none? Wouldn't you sacrifice yourself to save others?"

"Yes, it is better to save some rather than none," Adora admitted. "But to harm innocents is wrong. Sacrificing yourself doesn't mean you're allowed to sacrifice others."

"Especially not children," Glimmer added. "Soldiers choose to fight, knowing that they might die. Children don't."

Jack coughed, but when Adora looked at him, he shook his head. "Nothing."

"He still thinks we were kids when we entered the war," Catra whispered next to her.

Oh. That was wrong. But they couldn't talk about that right now.

"In a war, the leaders sometimes have to make hard decisions. They have to decide whom to save and whom to let die," Loki said.

Catra scoffed. "Sending soldiers out to fight and die, picking a rearguard to stay and delay the enemy to save the rest, is not the same as creating children who will die soon after birth so you can experiment on them."

"I am not planning to do this any more," Loki replied.

Then why was he arguing?

"But is that because you realised that it was wrong or because you have discovered alternatives to your experiment?" Daniel asked. "And would you still pursue your original plan of action if the alternatives turned out to be nonviable?"

Loki tilted his head. "Even if that were the case, I wouldn't have to limit a clone's lifespan. Since you have managed to destroy Horde Prime, you could deal with any other clone that escaped and became a danger to the galaxy."

"What?"

"You want us to kill your clones?" Glimmer spat. "If they escape your control?"

Loki once again seemed confused. "If they become a danger to everyone else, yes. You stated that you would defend the innocent. If another clone decided to follow Horde Prime's example, they would be a threat to many innocents, as Horde Prime has proven."

"That… that's not the point!" Adora clenched her teeth again.

"You can't just create clones and expect us to kill them if they go bad!" Bow blurted out.

"Why not? I do not understand why you would find it objectable that I would expect you to take the necessary steps to save the innocents when you have repeatedly stated that you would do that."

"If you're endangering everyone else by creating more genocidal space dictators, then the 'necessary steps' to save everyone would be to stop you before you create more clones," Jack commented. He looked very angry - well, he looked as if he was very angry but controlling himself.

"Like the High Council of the Asgard has done," Daniel added. "As you told us."

Loki seemed to pout.

"Besides, you don't need that anyway!" Entrpata said. "The Clones already prove that it's not the genes that make them evil."

"That has not been confirmed," Loki objected. "Horde Prime might have altered their genetic makeup."

Well, he had looked slightly different, with his four eyes and the tentacles, Adora had to admit. But that didn't matter! This wasn't about Horde Prime's actions but about Loki's!

"Well, that doesn't matter," Entrapta echoed her thoughts. "With all the data we have, it should be possible to do it right. I am sure Alpha will love to work on a challenging project again!"

Oh. Adora wasn't sure if that was a good idea.

"Alpha?" Loki asked.

"Alpha is the bot running Research Station Alpha," Entrapta answered. "The main research station for the First Ones experiments with genetic engineering."

Samantha Carter took a step forward. She wasn't an expert on alien biology and customs, but the way Loki's eyes widened, she felt the need to be ready to block him from jumping Entrapta. Maybe literally.

Then she realised that Hordak had done the same on the other side.

"The First Ones? Do you mean the Ancients? You have access to one of their research stations for genetic engineering?" Loki asked, almost breathlessly.

"And one of their bots," Entrapta confirmed before Sam thought of intervening. Her friend slipped between her and Hordak and beamed at Loki. "So, we should be able to solve your genetic problem! Although it might take a while - we have so many other projects to research in so many fields!"

"This takes priority!" Loki retorted, sounding agitated. "Nothing else is more important!"

"Unless you're about to die out tomorrow, I would think the war against those robots is a bit more important," the Colonel commented.

Loki shook his head. "The Replicators are contained and will be dealt with in the foreseeable future. Besides, my brother and his troops have the situation in hand."

"Your brother? Thor, like in the myths, Supreme Commander of the Asgard?" Daniel asked.

"Yes, Thor. You've met him, haven't you?" Loki tilted his head at Daniel. "While he is waging war, I am free to focus on saving our species."

He sounds as fanatical as Priest, Sam thought. It was understandable, to a degree, if what he had told them about the Asgard's problems with genome degradation was true, but it still made her wary.

"Research Station Alpha is of great importance to our people," Glimmer said. "For several reasons. Allowing you access to it, much less to conduct genetic experiments there, is a delicate topic."

"What?" Loki tensed again, staring at her. "Are you using it to research new weapons for your war against the Goa'uld? Maybe a virus that specifically targets Goa'uld?"

Sam clenched her teeth and took a slow breath. That this was his first guess said a lot about Loki.

"That would kill our friends as well," Entrapta said with a frown.

"We're not going to create, much less use, biological weapons," Adora stated.

"Her Divine Highness has spoken about this before," Priest added. "Such weapons kill indiscriminately, making no distinction between combatants and civilians. To use them goes against everything the Holy She-ra stands for."

"It's also a war crime," the Colonel added. "In case you aren't religious, you know."

"If you're not using it for weapon research, what are you using it for that would be more important than saving my entire species from extinction?" Loki ignored the Colonel and focused on Entrapta.

"Well… we're planning to use it to solve the Jaffa's problem with their immune system," she replied.

"You are planning to use it?"

"We didn't get around to start research yet." Entrapta smiled apologetically, Sam saw. "We've got so much to do, and it's apparently hard finding scientists who can do that kind of research."

"I am a qualified geneticist," Loki said at once. "In exchange for the opportunity to save my species, I would offer you my help in solving your problem."

"Yeah… I don't think we want to turn the Jaffa into genocidal conquerors. We already have the Goa'uld for that," the Colonel said.

"Indeed."

Glimmer stepped forward. "As I said, granting access to Research Station Alpha is a very delicate topic. There are important questions about security as well as politics to settle first."

Such as the question of who actually had a claim to it, as Sam understood the matter. Alpha answered to Adora and the Colonel, as it considered them Ancients, but as Queen of Bright Moon, Glimmer laid claim to the First Moon of Enchantment, on which the base was located. But one could also - and more than a few did - argue that as the literal birthplace of Etheria's population, the base belonged to the entire planet.

Whatever the answer, Sam was quite sure that letting Loki run wild in the base would be a terrible decision.

"What do you want? What is your desire?" Loki asked, fixating on Glimmer now. "I'll do anything to save my species! Name your price!" He sounded almost desperate.

The Etherians looked taken aback. Adora bit her lower lip. "It's not about… we don't expect payment," she said. "And we will help you. We will save your species." She nodded. "But we can't just let you into the base. Not without, ah, organising things beforehand. And we have to talk to Alpha first. And the others who are involved." She glanced at the Colonel, Sam noted.

"Yeah. We haven't gotten around to straighten things out there yet," the Colonel said.

"But that shouldn't take long - we already need the base to save the Jaffa," Entrapta said, smiling widely. "And that's a priority since we can't let our prisoners die if they lose their larvae."

"I see." Loki slowly nodded, his eyes looking at her, then at the others in the room. "How long will that take?"

"We'll contact you in… a week," Glimmer said. "We should know more by then."

A stalling tactic. Sam was familiar with it. But what else could they say now?

Loki opened his mouth, then closed it again before nodding. "This is acceptable. I will be at the Stargate I use today in a week, then, to continue our discussion." He started to turn away.

"Not so fast!"

Catra shook her head as Loki turned around. "We're not finished." She almost rolled her eyes at the surprised expression on some of her friends' faces. "We still need to talk about Horde Prime."

"He has been dealt with. By you," Loki replied. "What else is there left to discuss?"

This time, she rolled her eyes. "Apart from your relationship with the Horde?" She cocked her head and ignored the stare from Glimmer; she might not have the family issues of others, but she could understand wanting to know about your origin. But that wasn't really her business. "We need to know how exactly an experimental clone of yours managed to run away and build an Empire that destroyed the First Ones and conquered a big chunk of the sector. Especially if you expect us to grant you access to First Ones technology."

She saw the others nod in agreement. "Yes," Entrapta said. "We need to know what happened so we can avoid a similar outcome."

And it would shed more light on how the Horde came to be. Though how the Clones would react to that… Hordak, at least, was scowling openly at Loki, while WrongHordak looked tense, and Priest was, as usual, trying to appear serene and not quite pulling it off.

Loki looked at her, then at Catra and the others. He didn't look at the Clones, she noticed. Then he seemed to sigh. "I thought I had succeeded when Horde Prime turned out to be viable. It hadn't been a perfect result, of course. The differences between his appearance and the Asgard's, even that of our far-distant ancestors before we started cloning, were quite striking, but the genetic makeup was close to what I envisioned back then. But appearance and genome were merely a part of the solution. Without advanced intelligence, the experiment would have been a failure. So, I taught and tested him."

That was… well, Loki still didn't seem to realise how he talked about his offspring. Like an experiment. Like a project.

Like Shadow Weaver had talked about her.

Catra had a feeling she could understand why Horde Prime had become what he had become. Understand but not excuse, of course.

"His metal facilities were superb," Loki went on. "He quickly mastered whatever I taught him, exceeding my expectations. And he showed initiative, volunteering to assist me with my experiments. I thought it was an honest offer and foolishly accepted it."

"So, you taught him enough about your technology to allow him to study more by himself, then showed him how you created him?" Glimmer asked.

"Effectively, yes." Loki nodded. "And then he betrayed my trust, tried to kill me and ran away with my research ship," he added with a deep scowl.

"And he had everything he needed to start the Horde," Adora said.

"Let me guess: He had access to your notes." Catra shook her head.

"He would have hardly been able to assist me without access to those," Loki replied, "I trusted him with my research, and in return, he betrayed me!"

Me, me, me. Yeah, like Shadow Weaver. Catra clenched her teeth. Loki was all about himself. "And did those notes include your plans for failed experiments?" she asked.

She heard Adora draw a sharp breath, not quite a gasp - her lover understood what she was suspecting.

As did Loki. He scowled. "Of course. But why would that matter? Horde Prime showed no concern when we terminated other failed experiments while he assisted me. I had no reason to suspect he would betray me."

Catra gasped - and she wasn't the only one.

"You've actually killed your children?" Adora sounded shocked.

"I terminated experiments. Nonviable ones," Loki said.

"Define 'nonviable'." Hordak sounded utterly frigid. Back when she had been serving him in the Horde, Catra would have started to look for cover. And a scapegoat.

"Experiments that didn't match the minimum parameters to be viable."

Another evasive answer.

"Viable or valuable?" Hordak pressed on.

"Viable." Loki tilted his head. "I would not waste resources raising clones to maturity that would not exceed my earlier results."

So, no murder. That wasn't as bad as Catra had feared - if Loki was telling the truth, of course.

Hordak inclined his head. "I see." He was still scowling.

"So, you made it clear that you were working on creating clones that would surpass Horde Prime?" WrongHordak said. "With Horde Prime?"

Oh. Catra winced. How had she missed that? That alone would have been enough for Horde Prime's ego to murder Loki since he had seen himself as the perfect being. At least the Horde Prime she had known. But they still didn't know if he had been born that way or if being raised by Loki had formed him. Or a combination of both.

But they knew that Loki couldn't be trusted with children. Or anyone else, actually.

"Yes?" Loki replied, tilting his head again. "I already said that."

"You never raised a child before, did you?" Bow cut in.

"Asgard society is not focused on raising children."

"That's a yes," O'Neill said.

"Well, it makes sense. If a species is using cloned bodies to extend their lives - infinitely, it seems - and not raising many children any more, then the experience necessary to raise children would become a specialised skill not available to the average member of the species. Perhaps there were specialists who would raise children, or anyone who wished to raise a child would have to earn special qualifications, which, of course, would cut down on the number of people having children," Daniel said. "It's quite a fascinating society." He glanced at the others and winced. "Sorry."

"So, your ignorance and arrogance planted the seed of your own failure," Priest said, nodding. "You assumed you knew everything and did not need any help and treated your children as resources. The Great Deceiver truly was your son."

Catra flashed her teeth at Loki's expression.

Yeah, Priest might be a dangerous fanatic, but he hit the nail on the head with that comment, in Jack O'Neil's opinion.

"I think we know enough," the third of the Clones, WrongHordak - and was a weird name, no matter what Daniel said about cultural differences and naming traditions - said. "Both about Horde Prime's origin and our ancestor."

Jack agreed. More than enough. The more Loki talked, the more Jack wanted to shoot him. And that would be undiplomatic and threaten or ruin their relations with the Asgard, such as there were. And probably murder, but Jack could live with the last. The way Loki spoke about his kids…

"Yes." Hordak nodded sharply, still glaring at Loki.

"You do?" Entrapta sounded confused.

The former warlord's expression softened when he turned his head to address her. It was still creepy. "We know enough to reject him as we rejected Horde Prime."

"Oh." Entrapta nodded slowly.

Jack wasn't quite sure that she understood it. Well, Carter could explain it. Or Daniel, but Carter knew Entrapta better.

Loki himself cocked his head to the side again. "I am not like Horde Prime at all!" he said, sounding indignant. "Unlike him, I have never attempted to conquer the galaxy!"

"It's not about politics," Jack told him, baring his teeth. "It's about your parenting."

Loki blinked. "As far as I am aware, Horde Prime's clones did not disobey him until he was defeated by She-Ra. Unlike Horde Prime."

"I defied him before his defeat!" Hordak spat.

"And I fought to defend Etheria," WrongHordak added. "Although, to be honest, these were special circumstances since my indoctrination was interrupted before it could take hold."

"Yes!" Entrapta nodded. "That was us. We didn't plan to, though - I thought you were Hordak at first, which is why I named you WrongHordak."

"A name I've worn since then with pride and gratitude."

Hordak, unsurprisingly, scoffed at that.

But that reminded Jack of something. "Speaking of names… I don't think you named your son Horde Prime. Did you?"

"Of course not! That was a name he gave himself after he fled to build his Empire." Loki sneered. "Why would I call him that?"

"It's just…" Jack did his best Columbo impression. "You always called him 'Horde Prime' when you talked about him right now."

Loki nodded. "That was what everyone else knew him as, and, therefore, the most logical designation to avoid confusion."

And that was bullshit. Jack was sure of it.

"What did you name him?" Daniel asked. He adjusted his glasses as he leaned forward a little.

All of the Etherians seemed interested as well, Jack noticed. Well, given their weird naming traditions - Glimmer, Bow, Catra, Scorpia, Entrapta… - they probably thought this was crucial information.

"Prime. I named him Prime."

OK, that was interesting. "Like a First Prime?" Jack asked as innocently as he could.

Teal'c, who was doing his stoic silence shtick, raised his eyebrow at that, he noticed

"No. I named him Prime since he was to be the start of the saving of the Asgard," Loki explained.

"Of course you would." Jack shook his head.

"And did you explain the meaning to him?" Daniel asked.

"Yes."

"Ah." Daniel nodded.

"It was a logical and fitting choice," Loki retorted.

"He won't have taken this well," Hordak said. "Especially if he knew about the Goa'uld customs from your teachings or files."

Loki stared at him for a moment. "I saw no need to restrict his access to public data. He decided to repay such generosity with a betrayal and attempted murder."

"Oh, no one's saying Horde Prime was a good guy," Jack told him. "We're just saying that you were dumb as a post about the whole thing."

Oh, Jack must have hit a nerve - that was a great glare. For a half-pint alien midget.

"Jack!" Daniel hissed.

"What? It's true!" Jack defended himself.

"Well… it's still impolite to say it." Daniel pouted.

"Yes. I am, objectively, amongst the smartest members of my species," Loki said. "Anyone in my place would have been fooled by Horde Prime."

For the Asgard's sake, Jack hoped that Loki was lying about that.

Adora frowned. Deeply. Hearing Loki tell them about Horde Prime's childhood…

"He's worse at this than Shadow Weaver ever was," Catra muttered.

Adora nodded. Shadow Weaver had been able to manipulate them. Easily. Loki had been manipulated by Horde Prime. Of course, Loki might be lying to make himself look, well, not good, but not guilty. But he wasn't doing a good job about that, either. On the other hand, if the Asgard hadn't had children for thousands of years, he wouldn't have had any clue about raising one. Then again, if that was the case, he shouldn't have created Horde Prime without first learning how to raise a child.

And he wouldn't get to raise any new Asgard, either. Adora wouldn't let him. That would be another disaster. Whether he thought they were Asgard enough or not, he would harm them just by being himself.

Loki looked at her and Glimmer, then at Catra with a hint of a scowl. "I believe that the subject of my relationship with Horde Prime's clones has been covered sufficiently now."

"We just said that," Hordak grumbled.

"Well, there are still several questions…" Daniel trailed off and blushed a little at the glares he received. "But I am sure there will be an opportunity to examine particular topics at a later date," he added with a weak smile.

"Like in a hundred years or so," Jack commented.

"Jack!"

"Then I will take my leave and await your call in a week's time, as we've agreed."

"Yes," Adora told him with a nod. Loki might be an example of the worst parenting Adora had ever met - and the competition was fierce there, what with Shadow Weaver and Horde Prime in the running - but they wouldn't let the Asgard die.

Loki nodded at her and Glimmer, then turned and walked towards the Stargate. Adora watched him use the D.H.D. to dial another Stargate, then step through after his drone had passed through.

"So…" she started to say.

But Catra held her hand up, cutting her off. "Did Loki leave any listening devices?"

"Uh…" Entrapta took her tool out and started using it. "Lemme do a quick scan…"

"The scanner hasn't detected any unknown devices in the vicinity," Sam reported a minute later.

"Good." Jack shook his head and sighed. "And I thought the snakes were bad."

"Jack! I don't think you can compare Loki to the Goa'uld," Daniel told him with a frown. "The Goa'uld - well, many of them - delight in cruelty and deliberately hurt others. Loki seems more as if he acted out of ignorance and negligence. Which would partially be understandable because of his species' history. Provided he told us the truth about that."

"Loki the Trickster telling us the truth?" Jack raised his eyebrows at him. "You sure?"

Daniel blushed a little. "Well, like scripture, the myths of the Norse can't be taken as the literal truth."

"But if he were lying, then why would he want to look as bad as he did?" Glimmer asked.

"He might not have realised that we have different values," Daniel suggested. "Although the fact that the Asgard oppose the Goa'uld and the way they treat their protected planets would contradict a completely different morality."

"He's hiding from his own people," Jack pointed out. "You don't do that unless you are doing something against their laws. Which he admitted."

"Yes. But without checking with other Asgard, we can't be sure where the differences are. And even then, we can't assume an entire species has the same values - Earth is proof of that," Daniel retorted. "And Etheria as well."

Adora knew that. Earth had a list of universal human rights, but they weren't really universal - a lot of the countries on Earth disagreed with them. They had seen that in the United Nations. And Etheria… well, different kingdoms had different traditions. And princesses.

Daniel looked around. "Speaking of checking… do we inform Thor of this? We didn't promise not to, but Loki seems to assume that we won't. At least, that was my impression."

"Sucks to be him, then," Jack said.

"If we inform Thor, Loki will assume we betrayed him. He'll probably go into hiding and work on his own plans again," Glimmer pointed out. "And his plans so far included setting up some dangerous bots to fool his own people or create Horde Prime."

"And he knows about Alpha now," Catra added. "He'll try to find it."

"Uh… sorry?" Entrapta winced. "I shouldn't have told him about her, right?"

"What's done is done. Lying to people isn't a good idea, either, if you want to earn their trust," Adora told her.

"But do we? Want to earn his trust, I mean," Bow asked. "Loki seems like, well, a disaster waiting to happen."

"Another disaster waiting to happen," Jack corrected him. "He already caused Horde Prime."

Adora frowned. Loki was responsible for Horde Prime, but that meant he was indirectly also responsible for creating the Clones. Could she condemn him for that even though many clones were now their friends? If Horde Prime had never existed, would she have ever met Catra?

She pushed that thought away. The past was the past. You couldn't change it. Not without risking to unravel the very fabric of the universe. Adora shuddered at the memories of that terrible day when Angella had sacrificed herself to save them all.

"We could call Thor and have him arrest Loki," Daniel suggested.

"That only works if Thor believes us and can arrest him," Jack said. "He might not have the power to arrest him - or he might not know where Loki is. And he hasn't warned us about those genocidal robots they are fighting, either. Which would have been nice amongst neighbours, you know?"

That made sense. But not telling Thor also felt wrong.

"The Tau'ri have a saying: Keep your friends close and your enemies closer," Teal'c said.

"You mean work with Loki so we know what he is doing?" Catra frowned. "That's dangerous as well."

"He does seem fixated on his goal of saving his species," Daniel said. "To the exclusion of any other concerns. If he sees a path to a solution, I don't think he would risk that. Of course, I am not an expert on Asgard."

Adora agreed with him. She looked at the others.

Catra shrugged. "I don't think we want him running around without anyone to keep an eye on him."

"I am not sure we want him near Etheria, either," Glimmer said.

"I don't want to see him again," Hordak said. "But he shouldn't be allowed to continue his 'experiments'."

"Everyone can change for the better. For all that he has done, Loki still deserves a chance at redemption. And who better to show him the way than Your Divine Highness and Your chosen friends and companions?" Priest beamed at her.

"And if we want to save the Asgard from extinction, we kinda need the Asgard," Entrapta said. "At least one of them. Plus! With his data, we can avoid making the same mistakes!"

And they couldn't let the Asgard die out. Adora slowly nodded.

Even though she still had a bad feeling about this.