Chapter 4
When Loki emerged on the roof of Stark Tower, he immediately lost his balance and fell to his hands and knees. His head was swimming, he felt hot, and was so intensely nauseous he felt on the verge of vomiting. He closed his mouth tightly and lay down on the pebbled roof of the tower, swallowing hard until the sickness receded.
He wondered what was wrong with him; it had been ages since he'd had such difficulty with a teleport. Not since he'd mastered the skill, in fact. Perhaps the long block on his teleportation ability while under captivity... no, he'd teleported without difficulty earlier. It seemed that the revival of health and spirits he'd felt after Coulson's gun had freed him from mind control was wearing off.
When the nausea abated, he opened his eyes, and cautiously raised himself up to look around. There was no sign of Selvig yet. This was a mixed blessing. He felt so sick and exhausted, that he just wanted to get this over with, so he could collapse, secure in the knowledge that the invasion was thwarted. Yet he wasn't looking forward to the confrontation with Selvig, who was sure to be harder to convince to postpone the Glorious Purpose than Clint.
Loki sighed, and sat up, rubbing his face. He could do this, he lectured himself. For the first time since he fell into Thanos's hands, he could see a way to ending this. All he needed to do was to hold on a little longer, and he would be finished. If the Midgardians wanted to execute him afterwards, so be it. He was just so tired.
The heat of the sun was unpleasant, so Loki scooted back a few feet to a low wall which provided a small area of shade. This left a visible track in the gravel. He had no idea why Stark wanted pebbles on his roof, or why there should be a wall around one part of the roof but not others. In fact, the design of the entire building begged a "Why?" Barton had said something about it being "a giant phallic symbol", and Loki had retorted reflexively "In that case, I never wish to see to see the man naked." Despite the deadening effect of the scepter's control, Clint snorted in amusement at the comment, a gleam of humor in his eye.
Loki found himself smiling at one of the few pleasant memories of the past few days before sobering. He wondered if Clint would hate him after the mind control faded. He wondered if he and Thor would ever have a close relationship again; he wondered if he wanted such a relationship with Thor again, if the love and warmth was worth the soul-withering contempt and hurt that came along with it.
He wondered how Odin intended to punish him. Even if he was excused for his acts under Thanos's controls, there was the assasination of Laufey, turning the Bifrost on Jotunheim... and the truly unforgivable crime, accidentally "killing" Thor using the Destroyer. Would anyone believe him if he protested that in the heat of the moment he'd forgotten Thor's temporary mortality, or that if he truly wanted to kill Thor, he would have had the Destroyer blast him, not backhand him?
Of course, Loki already knew the answer was "no". Let him protest his innocence a thousand times, marshaling reason and evidence in his cause, and all anyone would do is fling the epithet of "liesmith" at him. Let him even once claim credit for some misdeed, no matter how sarcastic his tone or whether it was in service of some greater ploy, and he would be believed immediately.
He really hoped Odin contented himself with simply killing Loki. After Thanos and the Other's attentions, to say nothing of Thanos's guards, he had no desire to endure any further punishments "for his own good". He'd never noticed that pain and humiliation did him any good. If they had, would he not be a very saint by now?
Perhaps if Odin were to punish him by banishing him to a place where he might make loyal and intelligent friends on his own merits, unburdened by his own dark reputation... But no; such "punishments" were only for his true son, not the fake one.
Loki found himself closing his mouth tightly again as tears swam in his eyes. Norns, but he was a pathetic child, still praying for the regard of his not-father, despite the fact that he'd never been able to win it even before all the horrors he'd committed in a desperate bid for a word of praise, or even an approving glance...
Enough! Loki slammed both hands against Stark's ridiculous roof. I must stop bemoaning my lot, and occupy myself planning how I will persuade Selvig to delay the Glorious Purpose for a few days. In retrospect, it might have been wise to procure Coulson's gun before embarking on his quest to stop the portal from being opened. But had he done so, he might have gotten caught up in tedious explanations and arguments, which might have taken so long that Selvig would have had the portal opened before he'd gained permission to take the... what had Coulson called it again? The 8-0-4 gun? Or was it 0-8-4?
What a foolish name for a weapon. The mortals should give it a more evocative name, like Spellbreaker or Liberator or something of that nature. But then, they hadn't known its function before Coulson fired it at him, so how could they bestow a fitting name on it? And how would they have tested it to discover its function, had Loki not been sent to lead the invasion when he had?
Loki yawned. His fatigue was making itself felt again. Surely it could do no harm to lay down in the shade and rest a bit while awaiting Selvig's arrival. The man was so... vociferous that Loki would hear his entrance easily. And the gravel was surprisingly comfortable to stretch out on...
"Wake up!"
Loki nearly jumped out of his skin. His eyes flew open to the unlovely sight of Selvig's stubbled face, which wasn't improved by the manaical grin on it.
"Hurry! Come on! Look at her-- she's so beautiful! And she's got a surprise for us! She's getting it ready right now!"
Horrified, Loki turned his eyes to see that the Tesseract, encased in the containment system Selvig had created, was already attached to the building's arc reactor.
Pulling himself up, Loki gasped "No! Erik, you were supposed to wait for my word before starting." He stumbled a few steps forward, but he hadn't been mistaken-- the Tesseract was beginning to construct the portal.
Selvig shrugged as he went to his terminal. "I know, but you were sleeping so peacefully I didn't want to disturb you. And she was ready to begin-- she told me there was no need to wait any longer!" He beamed, having no clue what he'd just unleashed.
Loki wet his lips, struggling to marshal his sleep-scattered wits. What argument would sway Selvig? The man was a friend of Thor... perhaps that would work.
"But there is cause to wait, friend Erik; Thor has joined us in the Glorious Purpose, and wishes to take part." That was very true to Thor's character; standing aside while others did the exciting tasks had never appealed to Thor. With a sudden flash of inspiration, Loki added "And Odin must be informed, since he is the protector of Midgard. Therefore the Bifrost must be restored ere the portal is opened, so that Odin may ride Sleipnir in the victory celebration." Selvig had stated more than once about how exciting it had been to learn that the stories he'd grown up with were true. Surely, this would persuade him to stop the process before the Chitauri could come through.
There was a puzzled frown on Selvig's face as he considered Loki's words. Then his gaze swung sharply to the Tesseract, head tilting as if listening to something only he could hear.
"She... she says you are no longer supporting the Glorious Purpose!" His face was full of shock and dismay. "She says you are now an enemy and a traitor to the Cause!" Without further warning, Selvig lunged at Loki.
Under ordinary circumstances, Erik Selvig had no more chance of defeating Loki than a moth had of overpowering an eagle. He was not only mortal, but a man of middle years who'd never studied the arts of war, even in his youth.
But these were not ordinary circumstances. Loki was weak from decades of misuse and privation, and dazed with fatigue... and Selvig's slavery to the scepter and the Tesseract had unleashed unexpected reserves of strength and speed as he tried to grab Loki by the throat.
Loki managed to duck out of Selvig's attempted chokehold at the cost of collecting some scratches. Even in his current state, he could have killed Selvig in a second; it was defending himself without slaying the other which was the problem. Given how much using his magic was depleting him, Loki would prefer to husband his shrinking reserves for closing the Tesseract. That left hand-to-hand combat... but he wasn't sure how much battery a mortal of Selvig's age could endure without expiring. He would never forget the shock of the mighty Thor dying from a slap.
So he struggled to immobilze the other without harming him-- but since Selvig was in something close to a berserker state, this was easier said than done. The man was raving about how he'd "protect her", and ignoring all of Loki's pleas for him to think!. And all the while, the Tesseract was proceding toward opening the portal...
When Selvig changed tactics to trying to push Loki off the Tower, apparently without regard to whether he went over the edge himself or not, Loki decided reluctantly that the peaceful approach had to be abandoned. There were far more lives than Selvig's at stake: If Thor decided to hate him forever, so be it.
With a sudden change in momentum, Loki spun rapidly, surprising the unprepared Selvig into releasing his hold and staggering drunkenly. Loki took advantage of his moment of disorientation to slam his elbow into the back of Selvig's head. With a groan, the human collapsed to the ground like a felled tree, and went still.
Grimly, Loki turned his attention to the Tesseract. Thanos had chosen him for the "Glorious Purpose" because of his supposed "understanding" of it. It was true that teleportation and transfer from Realm to Realm were specialties of his, but how much that helped in comprehending an artifact... a being... a force like the Tesseract, let alone controlling it was another question.
And now Loki had to stop it.
Closing his eyes, he reached out with his mage senses, and "felt" the Tesseract. It was encased in a powerful energy field-- one that was smooth and tight, with no obvious loose ends that Loki could unravel it by, or gaps that he could pry it off by. Loki set his mouth, and sternly reminded himself that there was always a way. Always. He'd never failed to wiggle into any magic he'd set his mind to before. He tried not to let himself think that he'd never had such a time limit before.
Loki disengaged with a huff of frustration, taking a step back from the Tesseract. He needed to find a new approach to the problem... what Selvig had called "thinking outside the box". Reminded of the man, he turned to check on him. The mortal was still unconscious, but also still breathing. Good.
As he started to turn back to the Tesseract, he thought of the terminal Selvig had been using. Perhaps Selvig had constructed a way of turning of the Tesseract-- or at least the energy barrier protecting it-- from there? It was certainly worth a look.
Loki went to the terminal. Fortunately, he'd had ample time to familiarize himself with Midgard's quaint computer technology over the past few days. It was equally fortunate that Selvig was naturally driven to document everything he learned, theorized, or did regarding the Tesseract. It was an unexpected blessing that his writings were concise and objective.
They were also very useful. Selvig's technical drawings of the Tesseract's containment unit included a clearly-labeled "safety cutoff". Unfortunately, this cutoff was inside the energy field... why had Selvig designed it so?
Ah, here it was-- Selvig recorded in his last notes that the Tesseract had spontaneously generated the protective field, presumably as a defense against outside threats. He also noted that this field was identical to the energy of the scepter, and theorized that the scepter was the only thing capable of penetrating it.
Loki frowned. Using the scepter was not an option, since it wasn't here, wasn't whole, and couldn't be wielded if it were due to the threat of renewed mind control. But Selvig's notes suggested a possible way to get through the force field, and thus activate the safety cut off. Assuming Loki could do it... he was familiar with the principle, but he'd never attempted it against such a powerful energy source. But what option did he have? He'd created this mess; he'd fix it, or die trying.
Loki closed his eyes, and felt for the Tesseract's energies again. This time, instead of searching for a way to break through it, he strove to match his own seidr to it, to become like the "self" that the Tesseract couldn't defend against... and indeed, would see no reason to try. I am part of you. Nothing to fear, nothing to block or reject... nothing to even notice...
It was hard, at first. Every time he seemed to have it, he'd lose the rhythm with a jolt that he wasn't sure came from him or the Tesseract. There was nothing for it but to try again. Loki refused to think of passing time, or the consequences of failure. There was only the task of synchronizing with the Tesseract's energy.
Then something deep within him seemed to awaken... and he had it! The pattern was within him, a part of him. All he had to do was let his seidr dance to this inner music... and his hands slipped into the force shield as if it were swift flowing water. He let his hands continue to sink through the energy, moving slowly, smoothly, in tune with the internal logic of the force itself... until he felt the "cut off" Selvig had constructed.
Opening his sensitivity to the maximum, Loki examined the cut off, learning its nature. He could tell how much mage energy would be needed to activate it, shutting off the formation of the portal. Unfortunately, he couldn't check his own seidr to see if he had that much power left. To do so would mean losing his synchronization with the Tesseract's own energy signature.
The only solution, Loki realized, was to hold nothing back, committing all his reserves into the task of closing off the Tesseract. And he must do so with complete conviction. His melding his energies with the Tesseract was essentially passive; once he moved into active mode, the Tesseract would be able to see him, and would throw him out... unless he was able to complete the task of turning it off before that happened, all his efforts would be for naught. The Tesseract would never fall for the same ruse twice: It would open the portal, letting the Chitauri in on this defenseless world, and it would all be Loki's fault.
For a second, General Tyr's face appeared in Loki's mind, and he remembered the man telling him and the other trainees In battle conditions, strike each blow with the full intent to kill your enemy. Don't hesitate and don't hold back: Your opponent won't be doing either, and will kill you if you falter. Tyr had been stern, but always meticulously fair with Loki, unlike some of his other military instructors. His advice had always proved true under battle conditions, also.
Taking a deep breath, Loki struck swift and true, with all the seidr at his command.