ACT XI, SCENE III
12th June 2023, New York, Midgard, EARTH-838
Loki was not happy.
He was sitting somewhere he did not recognise, far away from his family, and surrounded by a rather confused Vision, a not so clever version of Strange, and a child who was far more powerful than even Loki had first realised.
He did not say he approved, because he was not yet at that point in his madness, but he definitely understood why the Scarlet Witch was after her powers in this manner.
“We have achieved multiversal travel,” marvelled Vision looking around them with some sense of awe. “We are in New York, on Earth, but in a completely different universe. That is-”
Strange chose that moment to turn around towards the nearest bin and throw up everything that he had ever eaten.
America and Loki grimaced, but Vision did not even appear to notice. “Fascinating.”
“Can you not sound so enthused about this?” questioned Loki, shooting the synthezoid a slightly exasperated look.
He smiled sheepishly in the same manner Anthony did when he found himself too taken by some technological wonder. “My apologies. It is simply something that has been theorised about, but that I have never seen proof of until now. I cannot deny that part of me can’t help marvelling about this.”
“Trust me,” said America, sounding a little glum. “After you end up in 70 different universes, you tend to not find it that exciting anymore.”
“70 universes?” asked Strange, finally seeming to find it fit to stop acting like a weakling.
“73 including this,” clarified America, and Loki could not hide a sympathetic wince.
He imagined being transported from universe to universe without choosing to do so, and having no way of returning to the one he had come from.
It did not sound as intriguing as Vision seemed to currently think it was.
“And let me guess,” he said, glancing down at the girl. “You have no way of sending us back to the universe we came from. Correct?”
America looked down at her hands, a frustrated expression on her face. “I’ve tried so many times,” she said, miserably. “But I can’t. My powers work whenever I am scared or afraid, and they just transport me away from the danger. I can’t control them, I can’t even control where I am going. It’s just. It just happens.”
“Magic does not work that way,” said Vision, a slight frown on his face as he finally stopped looking around. “Even when we don’t quite understand it, magic has its own rules. You might not have found the link yet, the trail, but there has to be one.”
Despite how angry and irritated he felt, Loki could not help smiling at Vision. It was good to see that Loki’s teachings had stuck with him. Perhaps Loki would be able to convince him to give up the superhero lifestyle Anthony was corrupting him with so that he could simply focus on being a powerful seidrmadr.
“Vision is correct,” he said, looking at America much more critically than before. “Magic like yours has a mind of its own, but it is still simply an instrument. Think of it as you would of a horse.”
“Magic is a horse,” repeated Strange, sounding like he was judging him.
“Doing things your way has brought me who knows how far from my children and my husband,” snapped Loki, the rage he had been trying to keep a hold on blazing in his eyes. “I will be trying my way, now. If you don’t mind.”
Because yes, Loki was angry. He was not angry at America, not truly. She was but a mere child, and it was not her fault that no one had ever taught her to keep a hold on her powers. She was doing the best she could with what she had.
But Loki still held on to the right to be mad at the situation in general.
Anthony was clearly trying to keep himself in check through their link too, but Loki knew how anxious he must be feeling right now.
Loki had lost years of Amaya’s life because of his own decisions, and those of Odin and Thanos, and because the Norns had decided to play games with his life.
He had done his best to keep himself away from danger so that nothing like that would happen in respect to Adis, and here he was. He had half a mind of asking Anthony that they move to Jotunheim, at this point, so that no one bothered them again, because this was ridiculous.
He was sure that with a heavy enough coat Anthony would be able to survive just fine.
Strange seemed to realise that Loki was not in the mood to be trifled with, because he glanced at him like he had been doing when he had first seen him in the Sanctum, like he was a threat.
Good.
It almost made Loki miss his own version of Stephen Strange, and that only made him more mad. How could he miss that husband stealer?
He glanced back at America, forcing his voice to be calm. “Your magic, your powers, they are your own. It might seem like they control you, like they are out of your control, but that is not the case. You are the one controlling them, even if you are not aware of just how.” He watched her more carefully. “When was the first time you used your powers? How did it happen?”
America seemed to hunch over herself. “Does it matter?”
Loki raised an eyebrow. “If you would prefer to learn to control your power before the Scarlet Witch attempts to murder you and are planning on returning us to our respective families, I’d think so, yes.”
America pursed her lips, and Vision put a hand over her shoulder. He was once more in his human skin, clearly knowing better than to let himself be seen as he was in a universe he did not recognise.
And considering the fact that they were on Midgard...
“Loki is a very good teacher,” promised her Vision, as Loki quickly shapeshifted his appearance. “If anyone can help you, he- she can. She taught me, and we were not even sure of what I was, at the beginning.”
Strange looked at Loki's shapeshifted form in clear confusion, but Loki ignored him, her attention only on America.
She glanced at Vision for a moment, and then nodded, before glancing back at Loki. “The first time I used my power... it was an accident. I was in a garden with my moms. In my universe.” She ran a finger over a small pin on her jacket depicting the Midgardian LGBT flag, looking at the ground instead of in their eyes. “I was showing them some flowers. It was so stupid, they see flowers every day. But they were so pretty, and I wanted them to have them.
“A bee,” she said, and her lips trembled. “I’m not even that scared of bees. They don’t do anything, they don’t kill, they aren’t dangerous. At most, they sting, and even then only if they are provoked.
“But that day, I panicked. A bee was sitting on the flower, and I was giving it to my mom when it just flew directly at me. And I panicked.”
“You opened a portal,” said Strange.
America nodded, eyes appearing wet. “It took them first. And then I fell through. And I have never seen them since.” She looked up at Loki, doing her best to not cry. "I don't even know if they're still alive."
“You lost your parents,” said Loki, chest feeling heavy.
“I didn’t lose them,” denied America. “I killed them.”
“No,” said Strange. “No, you did not. Don’t even think that.”
“Okay,” said America, sardonically, eyes still wet. “I opened a portal with the powers I can't control, and sent them to a random, probably deadly universe with no way to escape.”
Strange shook his head decidedly. “Listen, if your moms are anything like their daughter? They survived. I'm sure you'll meet them again, someday.”
“I am sure they are looking for you as ardently as you are for them,” agreed Loki. “I know that it’s what I would do. I know it’s what my mothers would do.”
It was what Hela had done, after all.
“Your parents,” then said Loki, thinking. “Did they have the powers you have?”
“No,” said America, shaking her head. “Or, if they did, I never knew. Or don’t remember.”
“And-” started Loki, when he felt a sudden change in the magic surrounding them.
The reason Loki had not tried to cast any spell as of yet or move from the roof they had landed on was that she was letting her own seidr grow acclimated with the magic of the universe they had landed on.
She wasn’t acclimated yet, but she could recognise the shift for exactly what it was.
“Never again,” said Loki, using her magic to levitate herself away from the rooftop.
“What-” started Strange, just for an orange portal to form where Loki had been standing a second before. “Oh.”
Loki remained in the air, scowling at the portal. “And this is why every Stephen Strange is annoying as Hel and the other Lokis are all weak,” she said, decidedly. After the embarrassment of being caught unaware by Mordo, Loki was not falling for such silly parlour tricks ever again.
“We are thorough,” pointed out Strange, staring as the portal remained open for a few moments and then finally closed with nothing inside of it.
“Is that why you cause problems everywhere you go?” questioned Loki, one eyebrow raised and full of judgement.
Strange did not answer, instead glancing at a point in front of him. Loki also looked over as the portal slowly opened in front of them.
“Oh no,” muttered Strange, and for once Loki found herself in agreement with the man.
As previously stated, Loki enjoyed holding onto grudges. They made her feel alive and powerful.
And the list of her grudges included one against a man bearing a striking resemblance to the sorcerer who stepped out of the portal, a man who looked like a copy of the sorcerer who had kidnapped her when she had been pregnant with Adis and who would have stolen her magic while she had been in labour.
“I always suspected this day would come,” said Karl Mordo, looking over at Strange instead of at Loki.
She had never gotten the chance to end him with her bare hand, Anthony choosing to take that honour for himself, but Loki was so ready for a rematch.
“You did?” asked Strange, appearing equally as ready to attack. Vision looked tense too.
“Yes,” said Mordo, unaware of the blade that had materialised in Loki's hands. “Because you always suspected this day would come.” He took a step towards Strange, and Loki prepared to move, ready to cut off his head and the ridiculous ponytail it held.
But Mordo did not attack, instead wrapping his arms around Strange in a... hug. “My brother,” he greeted, sounding delighted to have him with him.
Loki was pretty sure her confusion reflected Strange’s own.
“All right,” said the sorcerer, looking at his companions as if to say he did not know what was occurring either.
“Come on,” said Mordo, letting go of him but keeping his hands on his shoulders. “And tell me everything about your universe.”
3rd July 2019, Stark Mansion, New York
“I don’t like this,” decided Tony, standing up from his chair. “I’ve thought about it and I have decided that I don’t like it. Nope, it’s not happening.”
“Anthony-”
“No,” interrupted Tony. “She’s just a kid. She has no business being involved in all of this, she’s supposed to enjoy her childhood and do whatever it is that 9 year old kids do.”
“She’s a mage,” gently said Hela. “Believe me when I say I do not enjoy the thought of involving Amaya any more than you do, but it is necessary. She is the only one who can help us find Loki, right now. Adis is too young, and the chances of there being another child of the Multiverse in this universe are extremely low. Do you wish to waste your time searching for one without any idea of where to start?”
Realistically, Tony knew that Hela was right. His Mother in law was as allergic to superhero related stuff as Loki himself was, and he knew that if she could have done it herself, if she could have scoured the multiverse her own damned self until she found Loki, she would have.
But she was the Goddess of Death, and while the boundaries of the Realms of the Dead were shaky at best, she couldn’t leave the universe, not even for a moment.
She was as much of a staple as the Infinity Stones, and removing her would have equally disastrous consequences for... reasons. Tony had really not been listening to all that, too busy focusing on the fact that they wanted Amaya to do some magic spell thing to possibly find Loki.
“I hate this,” he repeated, running a hand over his forehead. “I really hate this.”
“I know,” said Hela, putting a hand over his shoulder. “Believe me, I know.”
Tony sighed. He really wished he had any other choice, but unfortunately he and Loki had decided that straight up telepathy was not the right fit for either of them, with the way their brains worked.
What do you think, J?
I don’t believe you have any other choice, Sir.
Tony had thought as much.
“Alright,” he said, sighing again. “Send them in, JARVIS.”
The AI did not reply, but moments later the door was opening and Amaya barging in.
“Daddy,” she said, making a beeline straight for him. “Adis stinked up Uncle Happy’s car.”
“It’s my car,” complained Tony, even as he wrapped his arms around the girl.
“I agree,” said Happy, walking in with Adis in his arms and a peg on his nose. “I don’t think I’ll ever get the smell of poop out of the car again.” He glared at Tony, as Adis started squirming in his arms as soon as he saw Tony. “My job role does not include changing the nappies of your spawns.”
“It’s implied,” joked Tony, smiling fondly at Adis. “Hey you, little prince. Did you stink up my car?”
“Da da,” answered Adis, reaching out for him.
“Pearls of wisdom,” agreed Tony, taking the boy in his arms.
Adis started immediately pulling on his goatee, babbling to himself while Amaya threw herself at Hela, proudly showing off her missing tooth while she talked a mile an hour about everything that had happened at the party.
They were his world. The superhero business, that was an unfortunate past-time of his, but his world would always be Adis, Amaya and Loki.
“Where is moddy?” asked Amaya, glancing around the room excitedly after a few moments of explaining things to Hela. “I have to show her the cupcakes Harry’s mom made, they are so awesome and moddy can make them even better.”
He had gotten lucky, those four years Loki had been missing for. He had had the rest of the Iron Fam at his side, and had managed to not mess up while raising Amaya.
But now that he knew what he had missed, now that he had been with Loki, that the four of them (five if you counted Vision) had become a unit? He did not see how he could survive alone.
He couldn’t.
He wouldn’t.
“Daddy?” said Amaya, looking over at him with those far too clever hazel eyes. “Where is moddy?”
Tony sighed.
And then, he explained.
+++
Amaya was quiet as she was told everything from Tony and the sorcerers. They had avoided explaining exactly what Maximoff wanted with America, but for the rest of it they had been very in depth, not bothering to dumb things down for her.
Amaya was her parent’s daughter, after all. She understood just fine.
“So Moddy is in another universe,” she said, expression worried and serious. “Because America did not have someone like moddy to teach her how to control her powers.”
“Yes,” said Tony, sitting down beside her on the couch, Adis seeming content to just rest in Tony’s arms. “And we’re going to get her back. If you don’t want to do this, if you think this is too dangerous, we will find another way to-”
“You think it’s too dangerous,” said Amaya, poking his arm.
Tony smiled a little. “Of course I do. But I’m your dad, it’s my job to be worried.”
“Overprotective,” corrected Amaya. “The Ironkids say it all the time on the groupchat.”
“The Ironkids are menaces,” he grumbled, poking Adis’ cheek. The boy just grumbled back, pushing his hands away and Tony smiled despite himself.
Amaya glanced at her brother for a moment, and then looked over at Hela. “Are you sure I can do it? I can help find my moddy? I never learned about this spell.”
“I know, my sweet,” said Hela, putting a hand on her hair. “And I know that it must feel like a burden me asking you to do something so big and complicated.”
“It’s okay,” reassured Amaya, eyes wide and trusting. “I am not a superhero like daddy, but family is the most important thing in the world. I want to help find moddy.” Her eyes turned a little nervous, and she turned back to Tony. “He’s not hurt, is he?”
“No,” reassured Tony. “Your moddy is too strong for that. He is annoyed, but I think it’s because he’s missing his daily soap.”
Amaya giggled, becoming less tense at that. “JARVIS will record it.”
“Indeed I will,” agreed the AI.
Amaya took a deep breath, and Tony spoke up again. “I mean it, you know? Whatever you want to do. No one is demanding that you do anything and if you don’t, no one will be mad at you. Especially not your moddy.”
Amaya nodded again, and then put her hand in his. Tony held it back, and Adis, noticing the shift, put his own on there, trying to grab at Amaya.
“Such an attention seeker,” sighed Amaya, looking incredibly like Loki. “Can’t you see we are having a moment, Dis?”
“Aya-ya ya,” answered the boy, smiling his usual gummy smile at her.
Just like Tony had predicted when Loki had first worried about the arrival of a sibling in Amaya’s life, she was not particularly jealous of her little brother. Exasperated with him a lot, because “He doesn’t do anything, daddy!” but not jealous of him.
And it looked to Tony as if Adis was obsessed with his older sister, even more so with her than he was with Treasure. And he was very obsessed with their poor cat.
Amaya smiled back at him, and poked his nose gently, smiling when he giggled. “I’m going to do magic so that our moddy comes home,” she told him, seriously. “Don’t distract me now. Go to sleep.”
She flickered her fingers, summoning the boy’s pacifier and then put it in his mouth.
“Aya,” said Tony, a little amused.
“What?” she innocently asked, as her brother’s attention was quickly captured by the object in his mouth. “I’m helping.”
Then she turned to Hela, nodding. “I’m ready.”
“We don’t know the spell necessary to find your moddy, yet,” said Agatha. “But we know how to get it.”
“The Book of the Vishanti,” clarified Stephen, and the witch nodded.
“Exactly. It is said to be hidden in the place between universes, but reaching it? That’s another thing entirely. But I think that Amaya will find out how to reach it. There is a connection, you see, between the Book and the Children of the Multiverse.”
“What type of connection?” asked Tony, a little uneasily. He had hoped that they were simply going to do some magic and Amaya was going to open a portal directly to her moddy.
Clearly, magic enjoyed being more troublesome than it needed to be.
“The Book of the Vishanti?” asked Amaya, looking curious. “Like that big white book that those ladies watch over?”
Everyone turned to look at her, a lot of uncertain looks on their faces.
“What ladies?”
“Like in my dream,” said Amaya, conjuring a mirror in a sparkle of silver.
Wong frowned at her. “I thought you didn't dream.”
“I don’t dream about me,” agreed Amaya, and then paused. “But sometimes when I sleep the ladies call me. It’s by accident, they say. But I am the closest one and they don’t know the right number.”
“I don’t speak kid,” said Stephen, turning to Tony. “What is she talking about?”
“Radio frequencies,” said Tony, watching her carefully. “Mind frequencies? Amaya, who are those ladies? What do they want from you?”
He had never heard anything about this and wasn’t sure of how he felt about this.
“They are not bad ladies, daddy,” reassured Amaya, running her magic through the mirror. “They are stuck in there because they fell accidentally. They are looking for their daughter, because their daughter is special and magic just like me. Here they are.”
She pulled her hand away from the mirror, and instead of her reflection, they saw a strangely fantastical panorama in front of them.
Everything was pink, and blue, and white, looking as if it was a city sitting on clouds. There were some columns in the middle, and a stand between the columns, with a bright book sitting on them.
“The Book of Vishanti,” said Stephen, awed. “Amaya, how did you-”
“I told you,” said Hela, patting the girl’s hair with obvious affection. “She is special.”
Tony glanced around the picture, a little confused. “But where are the ladies you were talking about, Amaya?”
She shrugged, also looking a little put out. “I think that they are not always there, but they always come back. They have to protect the book, because that’s how they’re going to find their daughter.”
“Can you project this?” asked Stephen, looking over at Amaya again. “If I open the mirror dimension, can you open this?”
Amaya looked uncertain. “I don’t know. This is just from my dreams.”
“You can do it,” said Hela, putting a hand on her shoulder. “You are your fathers’ daughter, Amaya Lokadottir. You are far stronger than you believe you are.”
She turned to Tony, looking a little nervous, and Tony smiled too.
“I don’t doubt it,” he said. “You are me and Loki’s daughter. I know you can do it. And if you can’t, or if you don’t want to, I will still be proud of you.”
“For what?”
“For standing up and doing what you believe is right,” said Tony, running his hand over her hair. “For never compromising who you are.”
Amaya looked at him for a second, and then she smiled.
“Okay,” she said, nodding decidedly at Stephen. “I can do it.”
12th June 2023, New York, Midgard, EARTH-838
“A statue,” said Loki, looking outside the window with as much distaste as she could summon. “They built him a statue? How gaudy.”
“You have no right to speak on anything being gaudy,” said Strange, glaring at her. “Our you did the same exact thing on Asgard while pretending to be Odin.”
Loki blinked at him, more than a little confused. “I am going to need to speak to you about your me, because the more you speak of him, the more concerned I become.”
“He is dead.”
“I am not surprised.”
“You are not from the same place?” asked Mordo, looking at the four of them in surprise. “I have brought you some tea.”
“Thank you,” said Strange, grabbing a cup for himself. “And now. L-”
“Me and my son are from the same place,” smoothly cut in Loki, pointing at Vision with a thumb. “Strange accidentally crash landed with her, and then they decided it was appropriate to drag us along in this strange journey of theirs.”
Strange glanced at her, but he did not corrected her.
There was of course the chance that, even in this form, Mordo had recognised her for who she was - and if not, by Strange’s account of Odin and Asgard - but there was no certainty. He most likely had not recognised Vision as of yet, and Loki preferred it when she had the chance of keeping all sorts of important information close to her chest.
She did not trust Mordo.
Most of it had to do with her own interaction with their version of Mordo, that was true.
But there was also the fact that, before setting an eye on them, he had been trying to play that capture trick with the portal. And yet, now he was acting as if they were all friends, and calling Strange his brother.
Perhaps he had simply known Loki and that portal had been a trap portal of sort, focused on his magical signature. Perhaps this was why Strange had not reacted, why Mordo himself had not said anything to her.
But Loki had learnt the hard way that there were very few people in any universe that she was willing to listen to any more than she was willing to listen to herself. She was, at her core, a selfish person, and her instincts were to try and keep her and hers alive.
So she was going to be listening to said instincts, and watch the doppelganger of the man that had once before kidnapped her like a hawk.
“Ah,” said Mordo, looking between Loki and Vision with some curiosity. “So you are trying to find your way back home?”
“Hopefully,” said Strange, as America accepted her cup of tea. “Unfortunately, just because we jumped ship, doesn’t mean we’re safe. Our Wanda has the ability to conjure demons and monsters to attack America in other universes.”
“She has the Darkhold?” asked Mordo, handing cups to Vision and Loki too.
Despite having no need for drink or interest in it, Vision took his cup, which Loki was quietly glad for.
It did not seem as if Mordo had realised that they had not told him their names yet, all of his attention seemingly to be on Strange for now. However, things might have been a little different, had Vision told him that he did not need to drink and/or eat.
Loki was proud to see that while he was still very young and naïve, Vision had been learning the art of subtlety and subterfuge that ran in their family.
“Yes,” said Strange, taking a sip of his tea. “You know of the Darkhold?”
“Oh, yes,” said Mordo, and Loki’s eyes narrowed at the way Mordo’s eyes were fixed on Strange’s face as he took a sip of the drink. “We have a Darkhold in this universe too. I got it here in the Sanctum.”
“Well, she has been able to do much worse than the demons,” said America, a little anxiously.
“She has been dream-walking,” added Loki, lifting the cup to her lips but not quite drinking from it.
Mordo’s eyes fixed on her when she moved the cup, and Loki was waiting for that momentary satisfaction in his eyes when it appeared, from his point of view, that she had drank from the cup.
It was fleeting, barely there, but Loki saw it.
She hadn’t much paid attention to the drinks when they had been distributed, but this close, her superior nose could smell it.
Sands of Nisanti.
“Dream-walking is strictly prohibited-”
“You know,” conversationally said Loki, taking the cup away from her lips. “I did consider the possibility that you would be different, more trustworthy than your other self.”
She flicked her fingers, and all four cups of drinks fell to the ground, Strange and America’s too.
Mordo jumped to his feet, alarmed, and Loki smiled, a dagger appearing in her hands.
“But I am glad to find that you are just as corrupt as your other self. It will be a joy to eliminate you from this mortal Realm.”
“Sands of Nisanti,” said Strange, having the gall to look at Mordo in betrayal while the other sorcerer put both hands in the air, eyes fixed on Loki. “You really are the worst.”
“I only acted as you would,” said Mordo, still tracking Loki’s movements as she advanced towards him. “I am only trying to keep my universe safe.”
“Amusing,” said Loki, avoiding the traps in the Sanctum expertly, and smiling at the surprised look in his eyes. “That is almost the same thing you said in my universe when you tried to rip my magic out of my body, uncaring of the life I was carrying inside of me.”
“Loki,” realised Mordo, and truly, it was pathetic that it had taken him until now to figure out who she was. “You allied yourself with Loki?”
“Of the two of you, who is it that tried to poison me?” asked Strange, making no move of coming in between them though he did not sound very comfortable.
“There is still time for that,” promised Loki, smiling once she had cornered an anxious and caught off guard Mordo. It only took a snap of her fingers to steal his sling ring from him. “Now do tell me, sorcerer: why should I not slay you right here where you stand?”
“So that he has the chance of informing us of why he was about to betray us, instead of helping us against Maximoff?” asked Vision, moving closer to her. He did not appear very sympathetic to Mordo’s plight, but his words were still logical. “He meant to drug us and make us pass out, not to murder us. This means that he has need for us, for whatever reason.”
“Yes,” quickly said Mordo, a little anxiously. “You trespassed into our universe. You could have caused an incursion, and the Illuminati-”
“The illumi-what?”
“The Illuminati wished to hear what your intentions are, to understand what you want and how much of a danger you are,” he said, voice anxious. “That is all.”
Loki frowned. “Does this mean I do not get to murder this man?”
“It appears so,” said Vision, not smiling but sounding amused.
It was always a good day when Loki got the chance to pull him away from his path of moral goodness.
“This is your lucky day, Karl Mordo,” said Loki, pulling her dagger away from him. “See? Wasn’t this much easier? Had you just asked us, we would have come right along.”
She smiled at him.
Mordo did not smile back, but that was quite all right with her.
She was sure he understood her perfectly.