Chapter 1: Infinity Stones
Plot: With Thor's powers still gone, Loki's beginning to fear how much longer he'll live if something doesn't change. He thinks he can break the spell Odin cast but it could put him at odds with Odin yet again... but there may be no choice with the threat of Thanos drawing closer.
"Whoa, Reindeer games, why are you sleeping in the library? You have a bedroom only one floor up from here."
Tony's voice filters in from far away and Loki shakes himself awake, slowly lifting his head. He's still holding the book he was in the middle of reading.
"I was... occupied," Loki supplies, eyeing Tony as it sinks in that he's wearing his suit. That instantly sets off alarm bells. He wouldn't be wearing his suit for no reason, unless he was testing out more modifications – something Loki's seen him doing in his work area before but then why would he be out here?
And something feels off.
Loki can't say what it is, but now that he's awake, his magic is picking up on something. A disturbance elsewhere.
And Tony looks worried.
"Since when did you awaken at this hour?" Loki asks.
"We've got a situation a little ways from here," Tony replies.
"What situation?" Loki asks, instantly wary, standing.
Nothing to do with Hydra and Bucky, is it? They cannot let Hydra get to him again. Loki promised he'd keep him safe and he has every intention of doing so.
"Some kind of spaceship beamed down some aliens and they're attracting some kind of sanctum or something. Didn't hear what it was, but I got a call from Fury. We gotta go."
Loki summons his armor in a flicker of magic as he follows Tony out the door. "Did you call Steve?" He's the only other one would be able to aid them. Natahsa, Clint, and Yelena are still gone to an unknown location and no one's heard when they're planning to come back, and there's no need to unleash the Hulk unless this gets serious. Bucky obviously has to stay inside the tower at all times and out of anyone's sight.
"I asked Jarvis to tell him but we'll have to fly in. We don't have time to wait. And I doubt an old man could walk that far."
Loki laughs, despite the circumstances. "I am far older than he is."
"You're not walking. You're flying,"
"Are you insinuating I'd be too old to walk that far?"
Tony's retort is lost over the wind as he steps onto the nearest balcony and takes off up into the sky. Loki summons his magic, following.
He doesn't need directions to track down the source of the disturbance. The spaceship is visible against the night sky and it's far away, but it doesn't take them long to fly the rest of the way there. One thing Loki has to say about flying is that it's the fastest route anywhere, and he's glad he learned how.
Something's burning by the time they get to the building in question, a column of smoke rising into the sky.
Two people are running out the door when they fly up – neither of them are human. A humanoid woman with black hair and another much larger humanoid male, a species he doesn't recognize.
They're undoubtedly the attackers, considering how little Midgard has interacted with the outside world.
Tony blasts the man to the ground as he lands.
The woman whips around, drawing a spear and throwing it at them. Loki catches it easily out of the air. flinging it aside and blasting her back with his magic.
She's holding something.
His magic has been picking up on a powerful energy source since coming here and that's – what it is.
He hasn't felt something that strong since –
The Mind Stone and the Tesseract.
And that means this must be another Infinity Stone.
That is not good.
The woman's already picking herself back up when Loki tackles her, going for the object. He knocks it from her hands and whatever it's encased in opens long enough for him to see a flash of green before she shoves him off, rolling away. He tosses a dagger at her and she ducks it, barely in time.
Tony and the man are mid-beating each other up when a beam shines down from the spaceship above, pulling the two and the stone upward along with it.
It happens so fast, too fast for Loki to try ripping the Infinity Stone out of the beam of energy before it's gone and the ship is whizzing away, disappearing into the dark sky.
"What kinda ship was that?" Tony demands incredulously, looking up at the sky, "Don't tell me we have more aliens after another glowy rock."
"It appears we do," Loki confirms, unease churning inside of him. Something isn't right. First there was whoever Thor was working for who was after Stones, and now these people – assuming they aren't the same. Something is happening and he doesn't like it.
He doesn't know what it is but he needs to talk to Thor.
About a lot of things.
He's been putting off the other conversation long enough. He's not ready for it but he's never going to be. He can't keep putting it off – every minute he does, he's losing more of his life because of Loki. He doesn't know if he can do this, but he can't do nothing. He can't stand by as his brother dies, and...
If there's something going on with these Stones, he needs to ask about that too. There's no better time than now.
Steve and Bucky are both waiting when they get back to the tower.
"What happened?" Steve asks.
Bucky is standing silently next to him but his hand twitches closer to where Loki knows he has knives concealed on him. He's scared – unsurprisingly. They have no way to know what Hydra's planning to get him back, after all, because Loki doesn't doubt that it's something.
"Some aliens took off in a flying saucer after stealing a glowy ball. They left before we even had time to get introduced," Tony replies.
"I believe it may have been another Infinity Stone, like the Tesseract," Loki adds.
"There's more of those on Earth?" Steve asks, taken aback.
"Yes," Loki confirms.
"At least Hydra can't be getting to it anymore," Tony offers.
"I cannot say that it is any safer in the hands of whoever has claimed it than where it was before," Loki points out grimly, "But this incident had nothing to do with Hydra." That must, he's certain of.
He doesn't miss the way Bucky relaxes. "What are these stones?" Bucky asks.
"I learned a little of them on Asgard. There are six of them, each of which control a different aspect of the universe's existence. They say the stones existed long before and millennia ago, they were often used to cause great destruction until they were scattered far beyond even the Nine Realms so no one could find them... until recently." And that's what has him so worried. That these Stones keep showing up isn't a coincidence.
"Wow," Tony supplies, after a heart beat of silence, "Let's hope the other stones aren't on Earth too or whoever hid them was doing a marvelous job at playing hide and seek."
"Odin concealed some of them. I know not where." But he does have to agree with Tony.
"Do you think the aliens who attacked now are allied with the Chutauri?" Steve asks.
"My brother may know," Loki replies quietly, "I will see what I can find out." He has to ask, even if he doubts Thor will be cooperative. He certainly wouldn't be willing to tell anyone else. "But there is nothing else we can do tonight."
"So, time for a second bedtime," Tony says, back to cheerfulness even if Loki can tell he's more worried about what he heard than he's showing, "And maybe actually go to bed this time, Reindeer Games."
"I will," Loki waves him off but the fact that these mortals pay attention to him enough to even notice where he sleeps is something that never happened on Asgard.
"Cuz the library isn't a bed."
"Doing that again?" Steve asks, with a touch of amusement.
Loki shrugs a shoulder. "I have slept in worse places."
"I don't think that's anyone's point," Tony interjects, "But anyway, I'll be off and hopefully there'll be no more alien invasions tonight."
Bucky's gaze follows Loki as they disperse but he doesn't say anything. He's getting better but he's still far from recovered, if what he went through is really something that can be recovered from. It's going to be a long time before there's much more visible improvement, Loki knows, even if he... wishes there was more he could do to help him.
He does go back to the room Tony gave him – he gave all the other Avengers a small area in this part of the tower, though Loki hasn't spent much time in his own – but he doesn't go to sleep. Can't when all he can think about is the upcoming conversation with Thor.
He's scared, and he hates that he is, but he can't chase it away. He doesn't know if this will work or what Odin will do to him even if it does, or especially if it doesn't, and most of all he has no idea what Thor is going to do if it does work.
Thor could – probably will – hurt him again as soon as he can.
Maybe.
He could hurt everyone else at the tower even if Loki doesn't think he would simply because he'd gain little from killing them.
But this could go wrong in so many ways and yet it's not something he can just not do.
"You killed Thor!"
Sif's words the morning after Thor had fallen into space still haunt him and – He's not going to be responsible for actually doing what she accused him of.
Doesn't mean he's not feeling sick to his stomach by the time morning comes and opts out of eating entirely. One of the others will probably ask him about it later, considering that he's been at a group meal with them nearly every day since coming here, but he doesn't want to think about food right now.
And he doesn't want to risk anyone changing his mind or... talking himself out of this.
His brother is in the well-secured single room he was given when Loki goes to look for find him. He is technically free to move around on this floor, with the bewitched ceiling having been given orders to keep a constant eye on him and warn them if he does anything... suspicious. So far he has not, not there's anything he could do without his powers.
"Thor?" Loki asks, shifting in the doorway.
Thor looks up sharply. It's strange to see him dressed in Midgardian clothing the way he is now and looking so human. "Why are you here?" Thor asks.
He's brooding.
Depressed.
Something Loki knows all too well. It's strange to see Thor that way.
They've hardly talked since Thor came here. He doesn't think Thor wants to speak to him and Loki hardly feels like he knows how to anymore. And it's never something he wants to initiate considering how it inevitably ends with his brother yelling at him.
"There was an attack nearby last night. Someone took another Infinity Stone," Loki starts.
Thor stiffens. "Did you see whom they were?"
That is... not the reaction Loki was expecting. "From somewhere beyond the Nine Realms, from their species. I know not who they are. But were whomever you allied with also after the Stones?"
"They are," Thor replies curtly. He looks... on edge.
"What do they want with them? This is a power too strong for anyone to attempt wielding." If there's a threat this important, it sounds like something Asgard should be warned of – except who would do that other than Loki? And he does not want to go back there.
"They are led by a man named Thanos," Thor says, sliding off the edge of his bed, standing. Loki's never seen him this tense before. "He seeks the Stones to wipe out half of all life in the cosmos."
Loki's blood runs cold. "For what reason?" There are many things he can imagine someone would want with the Infinity Stones, but never something like that. What could the purpose even be?
"He believes resources are too limited to sustain life. We did not speak of it at length."
Loki's mind is whirling, connecting the dots between this and how tense Thor seemed and how he's been acting this whole time. "He used the Mind Stone on you, did he not?" Someone must have. Thor wasn't himself, even if he still seems to believe in what he did.
Thor's growing tenser. "When I learned of his plans, I sought to slay him, but I failed. I was... unprepared for it at the time. My alliance with him would have given me the chance to destroy him and rule the Realms."
So, there was more to this agreement than Loki realized. He should have guessed. He just never imagined there was a threat this serious. "We must find a way to stop him."
"Without my powers, there is little I can do," Thor replies shortly.
That's –
Well, it's definitely the truth.
Trying to explain this to Odin and ask him to give Thor's powers back wouldn't help. And it's not something Loki could ever imagine even trying to do. This is something he'll have to do alone.
He takes a deep breath, bracing himself for what he has to say. "There may be something I can do about that."
Final Notes: Reviews are always appreciated! ^-^
Come hang out on Discord (delete spaces), discord . gg / nqSxuz2 or find us on tumblr at fanfictasia (our more serious blog which does have controversial posts on it; I won't be offended if you choose to block it, promise), and disastertriowriting (which is our fun blog with crack posts or incorrect SW quotes)
We've got a YT channel for tributes! (delete the spaces) youtube channel / UC_g1M5rSCxJUzQCRS29B6pA