Chapter 2
As Loki started to drift back into consciousness, his first thought was It snowed in the night.
It never snowed in Asgard, of course: It was always summer in the Realm Eternal. But Frigga had an estate in the boreal zone of northern Vanir, and had many times brought them along when she needed to tend to its affairs. Sometimes, if they were lucky, it would snow during the visit.
Loki loved the snow. He loved the crisp, enlivening tingle of the air. He loved the way the white mantle of fresh snow transformed the the everyday world into a new and exciting place. He even loved the smell of snow, something Thor flatly denied existed.
And he especially loved the deliciousness of awakening to the hushed quiet and soft brightness that signified new-fallen snow, and anticipating the enjoyment to follow. That was the feeling which suffused him right now. His mind and body felt new and clean, and his spirit felt completely at peace, for the first time since... he couldn't remember when.
It was a horrifying jolt to open his eyes to the ugly colors of the Midgardian helicarrier rather than his cozy bedroom on Vanir. For a few seconds, he couldn't make sense of what he was seeing. Then, like tumblers falling into place, his memories began thudding back. Thor's exile... the confrontation in the Vault... the battle on the Bifrost... falling into the Void... Thanos...
THANOS
Loki gasped and jerked upright, staring around himself wildly. The first thing his eyes focused on was the scepter, the metal now twisted and blackened, but the blue gem still intact, and mesmerizing. He could feel it reaching out to him, trying to reclaim its hold...
With a cry of repulsion, he scrambled away from it. In order to stay free, I must stay far away from this... thing!
And I must stop what I've begun.
To that end, he frantically looked around till he spotted the wounded Midgardian lying slumped against a wall, gazing at him in amazement. Loki rushed to human's side, stretching one hand over the wound. "I am sorry" he gasped in an oddly thin voice. Then he closed his eyes and concentrated on wielding the appropriate healing magic.
Perhaps this was a foolish expenditure of time as thousands of souls plunged toward the ground in the Midgardian's "helicarrier". However, as a purely practical matter, Thor was less likely to impede Loki's efforts to stop the invasion if his friend was healed. And really, this was the only person, Midgardian or Aesir, who'd recognized that Loki wasn't acting of his own volition; for that reason alone, Loki wished to keep him alive.
When that task was safely completed, he heaved a sigh of relief, and opened his eyes. Now that his mind was fully clear, he recognized the other from Clint's briefings... and from Thor's previous misadventure. It was Agent Coulson, Clint's "handler", as well as his personal friend.
The man was still staring at him, as if his own recent peril was of no consequence to him. One corner of his mouth turned up, and he quipped mildly "I must say, I didn't expect the Little Boy Blue effect."
Startled, Loki jerked back, starring at his Jotun-blue hands. Once the sight would have appalled him; since then, he'd learned what a true monster was. The weapon must have stripped away his Aesir seeming along with Thanos's controls, but why did the mortal say "little boy"? Loki stood to examine his reflection in the window of the facing wall.
For a moment, he reeled in shock. His face was reflected far lower than it should have been... about 8 inches lower. His features were also shorter and more rounded, as they'd been in his early adolescence. His hair had escaped into its natural dark curls. Numbly, he realized that it was a good thing that the spell which automatically fitted his clothing and armor to his body was still working.
No... No... I must look like myself, to persuade Clint and the others to stop the attack! He shifted to his Aesir form without conscious effort, but when Loki tried to restore his adult mass and appearance, he experienced severe pain in every bone and muscle of his body. Somehow, he managed to complete the transformation, but he found himself staggering forward and bracing himself against the wall to remain upright as his head swam.
When his senses returned, he could hear Thor bellowing demands that Coulson or Loki let him out of his cell. Lifting his head, he saw the human standing beside him, one hand extended toward Loki as if to steady him, his expression a mixture of concern and wariness. When he saw Loki's eyes open, he asked, "Are you okay?"
Loki painfully pulled himself upright, and replied "I must be; there is much I must put right, before it is too late."
Then he teleported away.
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When Loki found Clint Barton, he was battling Natasha Romanoff on a narrow bridge. Loki threw a telekinetic force field between them and called out "Agent Barton! Stand down! We have an alliance with Shield now!"
Both combatants spun to look at him, Hawkeye with surprise and hope, the Black Widow with shock, then an expression of bitter realization, apparently thinking that Loki meant that he had enthralled her commanders.
But she was not Loki's immediate concern. Fixing his eyes on Clint's, he told the archer, "Please stop the attack on the helicarrier at once, and order all our warriors to aid in repair efforts. Tell them that accomplishing the glorious purpose is being delayed." At the sight of Barton's distress, Loki raised his hands and qualified, "Temporarily delayed!" He poured all his persuasive ability into countering the pull of the geas Thanos had programmed into the Mind Gem. "With our new allies' greater strength and resources, we can better plan how to deliver the Earth into its bright new age in the most efficient way, with the least civil disruption and the fewest casualties."
As Loki had hoped, this argument sold the archer. "Sure, boss!" he said happily. He turned to the Widow, and told her earnestly "This is a good thing, Tasha-- you'll see!" Then he turned and trotted off, uttering arcane codes into his communicator.
As soon as Clint was out of earshot, Loki turned his attention to the other warrior, releasing the barrier constraining her. "Agent Romanoff," he said soberly. "The control over Agent Barton will fade over the next few days... perhaps sooner, since the scepter no longer has me in thrall; I do not know. It would be best to "play along" with his fixations until that happens. Should his or one of the others' compulsions prove unmanageable, your Agent Coulson has a device which will free them. However, the side effects are such that it would be well to avoid this course if possible."
The red-haired woman looked at him appraisingly, obviously skeptical, but not completely disregarding what he said. "You're saying that you were under control, also?"
Loki closed his eyes and threw his hands out. "Finally!" he exclaimed in a mixture of relief and exasperation. "Really, I was wondering if any of your species would pick up on that! Surely, one would think at least the possibility would cross your minds." That Thor also had suspected nothing... it was not the time to think about that now.
A darkness crossed her face momentarily, then she shrugged and said lightly "We've been distracted lately. So, who was pulling your chain?"
Loki shuddered, and licked his lips. Well, I have to test the extent of my new freedom some time. Closing his eyes and steeling himself for the expected agony, he whispered "Thanos."
To his relief... nothing happened. He sagged with relief, opened his eyes, and repeated in a louder voice. "Thanos! Well, in an immediate sense, the Other, but ultimately Thanos." Tensing with remembered frustration, he added tartly "And for your enlightenment, he is the monster I spoke of, not the unfortunate Dr. Banner. He is also the "real power" I attempted to warn your Colonel Fury of." Shaking his head wearily, Loki opined, "Truly, you are a difficult species to help."
The Widow absorbed that, eyeing him thoughtfully. Then she touched a finger to her ear and turned away slightly, obviously listening to something over their "coms". The lines of her stance eased noticeably, so Loki deduced that Clint had been successful, as usual.
"Well, why don't you come with me and you can tell us all about this Thanos, and your Chitauri allies?" There was still some suspicion in her stance and expression. "And while you're at it, you can explain why you can't use your fancy bayonet to simply remove your mind control right now."
"For one thing, I fear that any attempt to wield the scepter will bring me back under its influence. It is a powerful and subtle artifact, and the Other..." Loki tried to repress his shudder, but failed "is very skilled in the use of its persuasions. Your people should quarantine it as best you may.
"As for more detailed explanations..." he met Agent Romanoff's eyes gravely "I am afraid there is no time for that. Now that I have stopped the feint, I must go to thwart the true attack."
And with that, Loki teleported to his next task.