AN: Okay, I feel like this one is very short, but I wanted it to happen before the battle in the next chapter, so I cut it off early. Sorry not sorry! Anyways, thank you all for your favourites and kind reviews. It really means a lot to me!

EDIT: I extended the little chat Bucky and Loki had, because it was quite pointless how it was before. They just acknowledged each other. It was cringe worthy and boring. I'm sorry to those poor souls who had to read that. bUT it's better now so we should be all good. ;)

Without further delay, I present to you... CHAPTER 5!

Chapter 5 ~ You're Gonna Go Far, Kid

They moved through Wakanda at a quick pace, which Loki was grateful for. Loki actually found himself curious about the technology around him. It was certainly different from the rest of Midgard. Loki followed at the back of the group, eyeing his surroundings carefully, as they were led to what Loki assumed to be somewhat of a laboratory.

"My sister should be around here somewhere," T'Challa said once they'd entered the empty room. The Wakandan king turned to talk with Rogers, and Loki assumed it was to get an idea of what they were fighting. Wanda bumped past him on her way to the Vision, Bruce was looking at all the tech in awe, Romanoff had taken up conversation with the warrior sticking close to T'Challa's side, and Rhodey and Sam had wandered off somewhere.

Long story short, Loki was left by himself.

Not that it was unusual he was the odd man out; it'd happened on several occasions during his youth. Loki made his way to a nearby window and examined the terrain. No doubt they'd be fighting here, and the trickster liked to be prepared. Plus, he was trying to keep himself busy. If he was busy, he wouldn't have to process the fact that Thor was gone. But the thought popped up anyways, and Loki frowned.

The group stood in the lab for several more minutes until a young girl entered, holding some sort of holographic imagery in her hand. What interested Loki was the source of the hologram; a small, black bead. It was certainly fascinating.

The girl didn't seem to notice anybody else in the lab, who had all gone quiet the moment she entered.

"Shuri," T'Challa said after a moment.

"Not now, brother, I'm working on a new prototype. Whatever it is you need can wait," the girl dismissed absently, waving her hand. Brother. A good piece on information to note on Loki's part.

"But, Shuri—"

"No buts, brother! This is important!" With that final statement, the girl disappeared behind small wall, separate from the rest of the lab.

"Well, I suppose the end of the universe is no longer important," Loki commented drily, earning a sharp glare from Wanda.

"Shuri!" T'Challa called, and the young girl's head poked out again.

"Oh! Our guests are here already?" She asked, hurrying over to them. When she lay eyes on Vision, she smiled. She, Banner and Vision all began talking about something science-related Loki didn't really care about, so he stopped listening. Instead, he slowly approached the window again and stared blankly through the glass. After a few moments, he felt someone standing beside him.

"You seem to be better at lying to yourself than you are to others, which is quite surprising," Wanda murmured. Loki blinked and turned his head to look at her.

"What could you possibly mean by that?"

"You're trying to tell yourself Vision is more important than your grief, which isn't true in the slightest," Wanda informed, never taking her eyes off the sun setting on the horizon.

"Oh, but it is," Loki chuckled. "If Thanos gets his hands on the Mind Stone, it's all over. I can't let myself be distracted."

"Even at the cost of your sanity?"

The question surprised Loki, and he frowned.

"What's that supposed to mean?" He inquired.

"You can't just close yourself off from everything, Loki. You push everyone and everything away until you're alone. Its almost as if you enjoy suffering."

"And that's supposed to make me feel better?" Loki snorted.

"No," Wanda replied slowly, "that's not what I'm here to do. I'm just telling you that you can still grieve—"

"Alrighty, I think that's enough," Loki interrupted sharply and stalked away. He stood next to Banner with his arms crossed. Bruce gave him a small smile, then continued to speak with Shuri. Finally, Shuri raised her voice so everybody could hear.

"I need to run some tests, so we cannot remove to stone just yet."

Loki frowned. "But we don't have much time," he insisted. "Thanos could be at your doorstep any second!"

"That's a risk we'll have to take," Bruce murmured. Rogers glanced from Shuri, to T'Challa, and back again. Then, he sighed.

"Alright. We'll wait."

"Until we are ready to begin the process, you should all rest," T'Challa added. "Okoye, please show them to the prepared guest quarters."

"Yes, my king," Okoye, the warrior that had been sticking close to T'Challa's side, murmured. Everybody except T'Challa, Vision, Shuri and Wanda followed the warrior as she led them from the lab. Loki kept to the rear, walking with his arms crossed. They were showed to three different rooms. Two of the rooms could sleep two, while the last one could sleep three. Loki didn't watch which rooms everybody else went into, he just went to an empty one before anybody else could. He plopped himself on one of the beds and watched Bruce shuffle in after him.

"Uh, all the other rooms were full," he murmured, and Loki shrugged.

"I don't care."

Bruce cautiously lowered himself onto the second bed. Loki stopped paying attention. Instead, he shifted his position, so he was sitting crisscross. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, calling upon the magic resting inside of him. He used to do this all the time when he was younger, with Frigga sitting next to him. She used to say it would replenish magic faster, almost as fast as sleep. And since Loki didn't think he could sleep, this was the best he was going to get.

The moment he called his magic, he felt the sounds around him melt away. All he could hear was the steady sound of his breathing, and the faint whisper of his magic. Images danced before him; the palace on Asgard, Thor's mischievous grin whenever they'd get intro trouble, sitting in the garden outside of the palace with his mother to practice magic. He remained like this for at least un hour, until he could faintly hear someone calling his name.

"Hey, Loki!" That was Bruce. Loki let his magic slip away and he opened his eyes.

"Yes?" He asked, slightly irritated.

"Sorry—I just.. you still have that concussion, and with the stress of learning about Thor.. I wanted to check on you," Bruce mumbled quietly. Loki blinked.

"I assure you, Banner, I am perfectly fine," he snapped.

"I knew you were going to say that," Bruce sighed. He turned away, as if he were about to leave, but he remained where he was. "It's okay to not be fine, you know. Nobody would blame you." Loki would've retorted sharply if Bruce hadn't left the room. Instead, Loki was left alone, staring after the scientist.

This is absurd! Loki scolded mentally. He didn't need everybody pestering him like a flock of angry sparrows. Unlike everybody else he'd met, Loki embraced the pain. It was the only thing he could count on to always be there.

Besides, since when did anybody else care? He'd invaded New York, left Manhattan in ruins, betrayed his brother on several occasions-

Don't think of Thor, for Norns sake.

The pity he was receiving was driving him mad. He would've preferred they beat him until he couldn't remember his name.

With a frustrated growl, Loki marched out of the room. He roamed the building, occasionally peeking into rooms. He came across a small lounge area, a training room, a library, (which he would most definitely return to at a later date,) and a cafeteria. Then, he came across sleek double doors, the glass in a complex pattern. Loki tilted his head curiously before pushing them open.

On the other side of the doors was an open field, the golden-like colour reminding him too much of Asgard. The sun was setting on the horizon, casting shadows across the landscape in the most beautiful way. Loki didn't think it possible to get a view like this on Midgard, with his only experience on the realm being the bustling city of New York. Yes, there was Norway where Odin had died, but the view wasn't quite the same.

Loki stepped out of the doorway and made his way through the field, the doors falling closed in his absence. He lifted his arm slightly, running an open palm across the blades of grass. Eventually, he came to a part of the field where the ground dipped into a valley. Loki sat at the edge, crossing his legs and gazing out at the rolling hills and occasional tree here and there. He let out a slow breath, lowering his gaze to his lap.

He used to sit in a similar place during his childhood on Asgard, his escape from the taunts and jeers of Thor and his friends. Loki could recall practicing spells, reading, or just enjoying the quiet place to sit when things got to be too much.

Loki took a deep breath, straightened his posture and closed his eyes. He once again called upon his seidr, taking up his previous task of meditation. In the midst of the chaos happening, anybody else wouldn't have been able to concentrate enough to meditate. But Loki had lived out his whole live in chaos. They hadn't branded him as the God of Mischief and Chaos for nothing, after all.

It was almost as though Odin had expected him to turn on Asgard in the first place. Yes, Loki had been causing mischief almost a century before he obtained his title, but he didn't start causing chaos until the day he found out his heritage. Odin had expected the worst of his youngest son.

What else is new? Loki thought to himself with a snort.

The world around him seemed peaceful, and Loki could've sworn he'd heard his mother chiding him about his posture, or how his chin was too low. Out of instinct, Loki straightened himself even more and lifted his head up to the sky. The sun's dying light was warm on his face. Loki opened one eye, and then the next.

He couldn't remember the last time he'd been left in peace for this long. Ever since his fall off the Bifrost, Loki had always been on the move. In his cell, he couldn't concentrate over the loud jeers of the other prisoners. When posing as Odin, he was always busy with his king duties. Even on Sakaar, he was too busy getting on the Grand Master's good side.

There was the soft swish of grass behind him, and Loki's shoulder slumped. The solitude was coming to it's end. Loki didn't turn to face whoever had approached. Instead, he kept his eyes trained on the horizon. The sun was just barely visible, casting it's final milky rays across the sky. The grass swished again, and then there was somebody sitting beside him.

"It's a nice view, isn't it?"

Loki didn't recognise the voice right away. It took him a few moments to match the voice to the man Rogers had referred to as 'Bucky.'

"Got me my first time seeing it, too. They definitely don't have anything quite like this in New York," Bucky went on.

Loki kept his mouth closed, watching the sun finally melt away into the grassy fields. He lowered his gaze to his lap with a frown.

"Your name was Loki, right?" Bucky asked, and Loki could feel the eyes on him.

"That is correct, yes," Loki sighed, rolling his head sideways to look at the other man.

"Steve was trying to explain you to me," Bucky sighed. "Something 'bout Gods and evil alien things in New York. I don't know what exactly he was talking about, but with the way everybody was looking at you, I assume they don't like you very much."

Loki smirked. "Obviously."

"He also told me that you know a lot about this Thanos guy," Bucky continued. Loki frowned and returned his gaze to the darkening sky.

"You could say that, I suppose," he murmured. Silence passed between the two for several moments. Loki took the time to watch each star blink into existence.

"You know," Bucky began again, "I was mind controlled by HYDRA for over 60 years. They made me kill people I didn't want to kill. I did some horrible things."

Loki inclined a slender eyebrow. "Where are you going with this?"

"Steve said something about you being under the influence of this.. sceptre. Right?"

"Yes," Loki answered reluctantly. He narrowed his eyes in confusion.

"So we aren't that different," the other man concluded. Loki scoffed.

"We are very different," He huffed. "Tell me, Sargent, have you ever tried to rule an entire planet?" The way he'd said it made Loki sound like he was trying to compete, which he wasn't entirely against. Best to think he was confident about his.. situation.

"That I have not. But I have assassinated over 200 people- some of them innocents. But I'm not like that anymore. And I assume the only reason you're here is because you aren't, either."

Well, the mortal wasn't entirely wrong.

"Yes, well, I've got a brother to avenge," he muttered.

Bucky frowned. "Right. Your brother. Thor, right? I heard about that." There was a pause, and then, "I'm sorry for your loss."

Loki cleared his throat and didn't respond. Instead, he turned his head away and allowed his gaze to wander along the horizon.

"Well, I'm going inside," Bucky sighed, standing. Loki bobbed his head in acknowledgement but didn't stand to follow him. Instead, he remained in the field, examining each star. The constellations would never be the same as Asgard's, but there were a few similarities. Loki could swear he could see Yggdrasil, but couldn't be sure, so didn't think much of it.

Loki remained in this spot until sunrise. He watched the sky lighten, enjoying the solitude. After another hour of sitting there, Loki made his way back inside. He only made it a few steps inside when he saw Bruce appear from a hallway, peer down each corridor until their eyes met, and came rushing towards him.

"Loki! There you are," Bruce breathed. Loki inclined a brow.

"Can I help you?"

"We're going to start taking the stone out of Visions head, and Steve said you should be there since you know most about the stone's properties," Bruce explained quickly.

"Rogers using science terms?" Loki couldn't help but bark a short laugh.

"Well, he didn't say it exactly like that—you know what I mean. Just get your ass down there."

Loki smirked. "Yeah, yeah, on my way."

...

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