The Battle Begins
"The universe, was never, ever kidding.
It would take whatever it wanted
and it would never... give it back."
"What?! Who's here?" Loki quickly moved past Bruce, running over to the table where his weapons were, he began placing them in their respected sheathes.
He turned to the Avengers, who were all standing up, unholstering their weapons. The table and chairs behind them vanished, most likely Strange's doing.
"The Black Order is Thanos's children. If I guessed correctly, Thanos won't be here. Most likely Ebony Maw and maybe Proxima Midnight or Cull Obsidian. Corvus Glaive wouldn't be here either, Thanos likes to keep that bastard close to him." Loki stopped for one second, realizing he was rambling. The Avengers noticed it too if he were to go by the confused look they were giving him. They had no idea what he was talking about.
Great.
Loki patted himself down to make sure all the weapons were in place. Finally, he grabbed his ax, locking it closed and sheathing it behind his back.
"Do they have any abilities we should be worried about?" Rogers asked, fidgeting with his sleeve. A nervous habit. Loki could tell the man was itching for a weapon, most likely his missing shield.
"Ebony Maw has abilities such as telepathy. In addition to that, he has a way to play with your mind, I would suggest not thinking about anything but the fight itself. If Proxima comes here, she has no abilities I'm aware of but has a brutal three-tipped spear. Cull Obsidian is the huge brute, again no abilities I am aware of." The Captain gave him a nod, turning around to give the team an inspirational monologue, Loki opted to ignore it.
He didn't have his seidr. This was going to be a dreadful fight. Ebony maw was a high skilled magic user, without his seidr, they stood no chance. Or maybe by the luck of the universe, something would come into their lives and completely change their odds. Loki wasn't an optimist though, he had no faith that would happen.
"He has abilities... none like I've seen before..." Ebony Maw grinned down at him, his face full of glee. Thanos stood behind Maw, his face showing himself to be pleased with the assessment. Lifting his bony fingers, Maw placed them on Loki's temples.
"Find out everything about him." Thanos's voice was full of sick amusement as he walked out of the gloomy dark room, closing the thick metal door behind him.
Deserting him alone with Maw.
Maw's grin didn't falter for even a second as he broke down every barrier Loki tried to put up in his mind. Loki gritted his teeth, not daring to let out a scream as Maw ultimately forced his way into his mind, plucking out every detail that would be useful to break him.
Loki snapped back to the present as Bruce sauntered towards him, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder. Loki tensed under the touch and turned to face Banner.
"Stephen gave me this, you should at least let me bandage up your ankle. You're favoring one leg over the other." Bruce waved the small roll of bandage in his hand. Loki grabbed the item with a sigh, knowing if he didn't the man would begin pestering him about it, and walked to one of the benches near the door.
They have roughly a few minutes before the ship will land, might as well take advantage of that.
Loki undid the buckles and straps on his boot and pulled out the two daggers, setting them aside. He pulled his socks down just a little so he could properly bandage his ankle.
The injury looked sickening with a purplish-yellow bruise on the outer side of his ankle. Even from a distance, you could tell that the bone was not set. Bruce, who was standing beside him grimaced at the sight. Loki could feel some of the Avenger's eyes on him, one of them being Clint's.
Loki could tell, without looking up, that his face was most likely contorted into one of sick amusement. Loki didn't mind it, it was well-deserved.
Ignoring them, Loki took the roll of white bandage and began to wrap it around his ankle. He had treated many injuries in the past, his own and others. He was grateful Eir had taught him and his brother how to heal any wound they could get in battle or out on hunts.
His mind began drifting off at the mention of Eir. She could be dead. Much like the Asgardians if they didn't make it out...
No. Not the time.
Loki twisted his ankle a few times to see if it was easy to move in. It wasn't. Loki grabbed the dagger beside him and began cutting small slits around the bandage to give him some more space to move. Once he finished, he put the sock over the bandage, placing his boot back on, clasping it closed. Loki put the daggers back in place, standing up beside Bruce.
"Are we ready?" Stark's voice was strong and held no trace of amusement as it usually did. The Avengers and Loki gave a nod, moving towards the exit.
"You better not fuck things up, or you may have an arrow planted in your eye," Clint warned before he opened the door, being the first to leave. Loki pursed his lips, he had no doubt the archer would. Still, he walked outside after the Avengers, who were following Clint.
Again, he didn't blame Barton at all. He deserved this. The scorn, the hate, if anything Loki wondered why he wasn't getting more of it. He assumed it had to do with the fact that the Avengers probably didn't fight him yet because they needed the information and needed to know about their enemies. Plus, they needed more fire-power, if that meant teaming up with Loki, then so be it.
The ring-shaped ship landed on the ground as a bunch of screams erupted. The Midgardians, who were around the street began running as far away as they could as others pulled out small devices from their pockets. Phones, Loki had learned. These idiots valued getting a good shot than living.
The hatch of the ship opened with a hiss as the smoke cleared out. This was it. After eight years, he was going to see the Black Order twice on the same day. Delightful. The thought of it made him want to keel over.
A thin figure came into view, a few steps behind him a large, bulky figure. Ebony Maw and Cull Obsidian.
The Captain, Stark, and Strange began making their way ahead of the Avengers. The rest of their team readying their weapons, ready to fight. Loki stayed where he was.
"Is Hulk ready to make an appearance, or is he still hiding?" Loki asked quietly to Banner, who gave a small shake of his head. Banner tried again and his skin till the top of his neck turned green before dying down again. No Hulk then. "Get out of the firing range." Bruce didn't even waste a second as moved over to the side, away from the heat of the battle.
Ebony Maw took in the chaos around him and smiled. He hated that smile.
Ebony Maw's voice was both clear and loud, bringing unwanted memories of the Statesmen back. "Hear me, and rejoice...You are about to die at the hands of the Children of Thanos. Be thankful that your meaningless lives are now contributing to the balance of-"
"Earth is closed today! Pack it up and leave, Squidward!" Stark interrupted because, of course, he did. Loki was silently glad the hero did, if Maw had kept going, Loki would have most likely lost his patience.
"Does this chattering animal speak for you, Stone-keeper?" Strange pushed out his arms as two orange-lit mandalas appeared. It reminded him much of the Ancient One. She truly had taught Strange much of what she knew.
"I speak for myself, you are trespassing on this city and planet. This is your only warning. If you do not leave, we will use physical force to discard you." Maw laughed at Strange, shaking his head slightly.
"Oh no, I feel as though you misinterpret this situation. It is not you who will give me the warnings. It is me who will give you your last chance." Ebony Maw's humor faded as his face became blank. "Hand over the stone, and your miserable lives will be spared, even if it is only for a limited time."
Nobody spoke.
Hell, nobody even breathed.
"Well," Ebony Maw's eyes filtered through the group of Avengers before they landed on Loki. A sinister grin blossomed on Maw's face as Loki clenched his fists tightly. "I recall you being on the other side of the battlefield a while ago. Would you like to give it another run? Perhaps in trade for a stone.."
Loki walked ahead, from behind the band of heroes and stepped one step ahead of Stark, who tapped his chest, his armor spreading over his body. If they weren't about to fight, Loki might have even complimented the genius.
The dark-haired god unsheathed his ax, flipping it open as the blades flung out. Loki gave him one of his wicked grins, matching Maw's "Over my dead body."
"Like your brother's? Like how your brother screamed out for help, for you? Nobody saved him, I can tell you that much. Are you truly going to put your life to waste with your recklessness as he did?" It was bait, Loki knew that. Ebony Maw knew how to twist his words, get under Loki's skin. Maw could be lying for all he knew, Thor could still be out there, surviving.
But on the other hand...
"I suppose recklessness runs in the family." Loki snarked back, his grin gone, instead replaced with a scowl.
Without another word, Cull Obsidian charged forward to gather most of the Avenger's attention.
"Rhodey! You're with me! Get in the air!" Stark ordered as he and the man in grey and silver armor, Rhodey he had learned, fired up their repulsors and shot up in the sky, firing from up there.
"Barton, find a good spot for you to shoot! Sam, join Tony! Bucky, Natasha, and I will stay on ground control. Keep an eye out for any people in danger, make it your priority to get them out of the fighting range. " Steve ordered a second after Stark. Loki could feel the tension in the air of the Avengers fighting together again. Whatever happened between them, wasn't anything good. Loki silently noted each name and who it belonged to, better to know his enemies if they were to ever turn on him.
Strange and another man he did not know, were using their magic to distract and strike Cull Obisiden as the Avengers attacked. Cull would be hard to take down, he was the brute of Black Order, not the only brute but defiantly the strongest. He would keep the Avengers occupied.
Loki turned to Maw, his hands firmly holding the ax's handles. He could not match Maw's powers, considering he didn't have his seidr, but he could fight him. Loki had trained with the Black Order and had learned how to beat Maw without his seidr. Then again, that was physically and not including the point the Maw had powers.
Still, Loki planted his feet on the ground before racing towards Maw. Ebony Maw grinned, big pieces of rubble to rise, being directed at him. Loki ducked under the floating debris and jumped on the other piece of rubble. Loki leaped off the platform and raised his ax high, aiming for Maw.
Ebony Maw scrambled out of the way in the last second, letting Loki landed into a crouch, his ax digging into the concrete underneath him. Maw grinned at the failed attempt, Loki swiped his legs underneath him, making the alien land on his back.
Loki reached for his ax, only taking a second to make sure the Avengers were handing Cull.
Rogers and Bucky seemed to be the distractions while the others attacked. Romanoff was using her flexibility and smaller stature to use, twisting away from the blows and using a device from the bracelet she was wearing, that releases some electric shock from its small capsules. It seemed to be slowing down Cull but only for a second each time.
Nonetheless, that second was all the two men in armor needed to deliver blows to the large brute. Sam was flying around the beast, his metal wings allowing him to soar through the air, delivering blows whilst Cull was distracted. Barton was perched somewhere Loki could not see, but he defiantly saw the arrows that were lodging themselves into Obsidian. Strange and the other man, who he did not know, were throwing up their shields to protect them from the rubble Cull was throwing at them and taking a few shots when they could.
Loki didn't want to come off the wrong way, but maybe if someone was helping him, his fight would be a little easier.
Loki's attention came back to Maw, who had jumped back to his feet.
The alien came closer to Loki, who was still on the ground. Loki reached back to pull his ax out of the ground, never taking his eyes off Ebony Maw.
The ax came to strike Maw in the face with surprising speed, bits of the concrete was still lodged around the blade of the ax, as it connected with Maw's face. Ebony Maw staggered back, his hand on the cut running down on his forehead. His eyes flashed in anger as a massive piece of debris came hurling at Loki.
Loki was about to move, but the debris shattered into thousands of pieces. He looked up to Rhoedy and Stark, smoke rising from their repulsors that had shot.
"Your welcome, Merlin!" Loki had no idea what that meant, most likely a reference related to Midguardian culture, Loki was thankful nonetheless. He got up, snapping his ax into one as he ran at Maw, aiming for his stomach.
The ax connected, sending Maw a staggering a few feet away from him. Loki took the chance and pulled out a dagger from his belt, throwing it with precision at the creature.
Ebony maw grit his teeth as the dagger lodged itself in his arm. Raising his good arm, at least a hundred, long and sharp needles materialized out of nowhere. Loki had completely forgotten about Maw's love for using those torturous needles in the haste of battle, but now it brought back unpleasant memories.
Loki readied his ax, once again snapping both sides open, ready to flick the needles away from him.
"Power kick from the right!" A blur of red and blue swung past him, kicking Maw in the side sending him hurtling far away from him. "You really should check your surroundings." Loki heard red and blue hero speak, but was too focused on using his ax with both hands, blocking as many needles as he could that were charging at him. A good few of them pierced through his skin, drawing blood as they dug into his flesh.
"What are you doing here, Kid!?" Stark's voice rang loud as the man- no boy, that tackled Maw, got up.
"I was on a field trip to MoMA-!" The last half of his sentence was cut into a yell as he was flung high in the air. Loki looked back to Ebony Maw, who had one hand raised, his eyes full of rage.
Cull Obsidian was gone, only an arm left on the ground where he was a minute ago. The Avengers were now focused on Ebony Maw. Bruce had made his way beside Loki, catching the last needle that was flying at Loki.
"Are you alright?" Loki gave a nod, his eyes not looking away from Maw for even a second. The needles that were still stuck in his flesh hurt, a lot. Loki pulled one of the needles that remained stuck in his hand, blood pouring out of the punctured flesh. The Avengers came right behind him, each one of them wary of Ebony Maw.
Ebony Maw seemed to take in the sight before him. The group just realized what a sight it must be, with all of them looking ragged and tired, and not one without some sort of damage taken. A mirthless laugh brought their attention back to the alien, making his way towards them.
"This is such a wonderful sight!" Maw's voice was full of humor. "A band of misfits coming together to save their world." Another laugh. "It truly is amusing, how you all think that you are strong enough to challenge our Master! He who can destroy worlds with his bare hands! You will lose, and I will bask in that joy. Celebrate! For this is the only win," Maw looked at each of the Avengers in turn until his eye landed on Loki. "you will ever seek."
With that Maw stalked back into his ship, and took off.
Nobody moved, every single one of them reflecting on what was just said.
Loki was the first to move, closing his ax with a snap. The noise, loud in the eerie silence, as Loki sheathed it. Bruce shook his head lightly, pulling away from his thoughts.
"Now what?" The child asked, coming back towards Loki and the Avengers from the side. Stark's faceplate flew up, revealing how frustrated the man looked.
"Now, nothing. You're going back to your field trip right after we talk." The man grabbed the kid by the arm, practically dragging him back to the Sanctum. Loki ran a tongue over his lips, tasting a mix of dirt and blood, before letting out a small sigh, looking up to the ship which was now out of sight.
The Avengers didn't say a word, everyone heading back to the Sanctum. Strange opened the door for them, holding it open so everyone was inside. Loki tiredly followed, with Bruce who was hovering close to him.
When he reached inside the Sanctum, he moved to the side as the Avengers took a seat, either on the stairs or the empty benches and chairs. Loki moved to stand on the far wall, his eyes passing over each person in the room.
Stark and the child, Peter he overheard, were sitting on the bench near the door. Stark seemed to be scolding the teenager, but Loki could see the concern flashing in his eyes under that frustration. If he did not know the difference in their last name, Loki would have assumed Peter was Stark's son. He certainly acted the part.
Rogers was helping to wrap Romanoff's arm from the Medkits Strange was handing out. Both Bucky and Sam sitting on the stairs beside them, in deep conversation, or argument from the irritated looks on their faces.
Rhody was sitting on a chair to the far right of Loki, tending to his wounds. Barton was sitting on the other side of the entrance, his expression grim, staring at nothing in particular.
As for Bruce, he was sitting in the chair right beside where Loki was standing. Loki could feel the tense atmosphere and how they were all divided up.
"You should sit dow-"Before Bruce could finish voicing his concerns about Loki, Stark interrupted.
"We need to get Vision and Wanda and take them to some safe place. Vision has the Mind Stone and I believe it would be better if we secure that as soon as possible." Romanoff was second to agree with that as she stood shaking off Steve's worries.
"We have a Quinjet. Any safe place anyone knows now would be the time to say it." Rogers hesitated for a second before speaking up.
"Wakanda." Stark seemed to understand what that meant, and Loki remembered that name from somewhere. He couldn't recall where right now. His mind was a mess.
"What's a Wakanda?..." Peter asked looking at Stark then Rogers. Stark sighed and patted the kid on the back.
"Something you don't need to know about, because I'm calling you a taxi to drop you off where the rest of your class is." Peter shook his head furiously, he wasn't going to back down now.
"I can't, Mr. Stark, it's not fair. I fought as well and now I want to help you fix this mess. I'm not backing down from this." Stark and Peter matched each other's stare for who knows how long. Loki was getting sick of it. He understood the child's heroism to help save his planet but that's what he was, a child.
"Tony maybe you should just send the kid along so we can discuss this." And that was the exact time where Stark whirled around on Steve his eye full of fury.
"No, no. I'm sorry, but you're not the one I take orders from. The only one that has that right is the person I'm going to get married to and that sure as hell ain't you, Rogers. Don't tell me what to do." Steve's face tightened at the words and he tilted his head up, ready to defend himself.
"We have to discuss this, we're running low on time. I have things of my own to tend to as well. But, I'm still here taking out my time, so I'd be grateful if you did the same. This is something we have to do." Stark let out a bitter laugh, causing concern to rile up in Peter.
"Just like you had to lodge a shield into my reactor?"
"Tony-"
"No!" Stark interrupted, his index finger pointing at Rogers, halting his words. "No, I don't want to hear it."
"Can you lot, hurry this along?" Loki started, getting all eyes on him. "Thanos's other children are either already getting the Mind Stone, or Ebony Maw is making his way there to get it." Barton snorted, snapping out of his daze as he got up, facing Loki.
"In case you can't read the room, your opinion is invalid here. So shut up, and let the adults discuss it." Loki remained unfazed by the venomous tone and causally tilted his head.
"The same adults who about an hour ago knew nothing of the threat coming their way, and still, presumably don't?" Barton seethed at Loki's words but Loki continued. "You lot have no idea what you're dealing with. Your entire world is in danger, and not only your world, need I remind you, but millions of others stretched across the Universe. This bickering isn't going to help you save this planet, and it would be better if you were to secure the stones." That seemed to get Barton riled up as he laughed.
"Yeah? Well, guess what? You got shit to lose too, so stop acting all high and mighty on our ass, because we have much more important shit going on." Something in Loki snapped.
"I have nothing to lose!" He didn't even realize he was shouting. Barton seemed to take a step back, much like the others in the room who were ready to fire at him. "I have nothing to lose," This time his voice was quiet, calm. "If you have important shit to do, so do I. I have to find a way to at least try and find the last surviving Asgardians along with my brother, I don't even know if they're alive. If I do find them, I need to work out a way of where they're going to stay, how to shelter them, how to heal them, where to get them food and water, and what in the name of Helheim I'm going to do next! Instead, I am here, informing you on how to save the lives of trillions of others, so for the love of the Norns, just get going, because we don't have time!" He raised his voice just a notch at the end to get his point across. Loki took deep, ragged breaths, trying to fill his lungs with air again.
The room had gotten so damn silent.
Damn him for losing control.
Loki licked his bloody lips, before walking out of the Sanctum. Nobody stopped him.
He had always had problems controlling his anger but was usually great at concealing it. After the Void, his hold on his anger seemed to loosen up and after Sakaar, Loki could barely control it. He was a mess, his mind was a mess. Hell, all of him was a mess.
Loki leaned on the outside of the building, closing his eyes, trying to put his thoughts into order.
Asgard, destroyed.
Asgardians, unknown, most likely dead or only a few surviving.
Korg and Miek, unknown, most likely dead.
Brunnhilde, unknown, most likely dead from the Statemen's explosion.
Heimdall, unknown, more than most likely dead from Thanos's hand from calling the Bifrost.
Thor, unknown, almost certainly dead from Thanos himself, because Thanos had a knack for taking everything from Loki. Not to mention Maw said they killed his brother.
Though, Maw could be lying.
His weight felt too much for him again, and Loki had to fight to keep himself upright. How was he going to fight again? He needed to rest as much as he hated it. It didn't mean he would, but the thought of a bed made him almost want to give up right there. Almost.
Loki had a habit of pushing himself too far, he couldn't stop it. He would even be called reckless and self-destructive, but once you have been under Thanos's hand, you learn to push yourself to the end of the line, because giving up and letting your head fall, causes more pain than continuing forward.
He could hear the Avengers lowly speaking, and he wished he couldn't. Having super hearing was both a blessing and a curse. Well, in Loki's case, it was super-super hearing. Being a monster had its benefits, he guessed.
Loki opened his eyes, taking in the sight of where the short battle had taken place. There was metal, rubble, and a large amount of debris scattered everywhere. Along with shattered windows, scorch marks, bullets, broken pieces of concrete, and man-shaped craters on the ground. All in all, it looked like a long and tiring battle had taken place. It had, except it was a short battle, barely an hour at most.
He heard footsteps coming towards the door and already knew Strange was making his way towards him. His speculation was correct as the door opened and Strange peeked his head out.
"They're getting ready to leave, the Quinjet is parked on the roof." Loki wordlessly followed Strange inside the Sanctum, instead of taking the stairs, like any normal person would, his surroundings changed, morphing and spinning until they were standing behind the door to the roof. Show-off.
Loki, who was still standing straight, turned his head towards Strange. "That was not necessary."
Shrugging, Strange responded. "I'm not a fan of stairs." Loki didn't even bother to try and hide the eye roll, reaching to open the door out to the roof before Strange grabbed his shoulder.
Loki tensed, as every instinct in Loki told him to punch the man square in the face, instead, Loki turned slightly towards Strange. His voice was dangerously low as he spoke. "Get your hand off of me, before I make you."
Complying, Strange brought his hand back down. Loki faced him, eyes holding his promise. Stange held up his hand as an apple appeared in it. Loki raised his eyebrow at that, did he expect him to take it?
Clearing his throat, Strange explained. "I noticed you weren't using your magic during the fight, I figured your energy was depleted, it's not going to recover all your magic but, it's better than nothing, here you go." He finished lamely, holding the apple out to him. Loki stared at the hand for a good ten seconds before taking it.
Loki cautiously took a bite, before swallowing it. Not poisoned. Not that Loki expected it to be. He could tell when something was poisoned or not, another factor to being a monster.
"Seidr." Strange furrowed his eyebrows, not catching what Loki was saying. "It's not magic, it's seidr." Strange made an 'oh' face before he gave a nod, storing the information. "Thank you, for the apple." Loki turned to the door, opening it with one hand.
"Oh and don't even think for a second that this makes us even for you pulling that trick on me last time I was here. A warning in advance, I will get you back for that." Loki said, turning his head to the side to stare at Strange, a few feet behind him. Surprisingly, the man had a smirk on his face.
"I expect nothing less." With that, Strange closed the door, Loki took that as his goodbye and headed forward to the Quinjet where the Avengers were loading up inside. Loki quickly finished the apple, flicking his hand as the remnants of the apple's stem vanished. His seidr was restored just a bit. Still, it was better than nothing. Loki felt himself being grateful towards Strange.
He walked towards the hatch of the Quinjet, Rogers was standing there, a few feet behind him, Loki could see Stark who was talking with Rhoedy as they sat in their seats. Roger's eyes were firmly on him though. Loki stalked towards him, standing right beside him, Loki had a few inches of height on him and he was glad for it. He rarely meets people who had the advantage of height over him and it gave Loki an advantage of intimidation. Not that he wasn't intimidating without his height, but he just liked that it gave him the upper hand.
Tall for an Asgardian, small for a Frost Giant.
Lovely .
"You will be under our supervision throughout the mission. Until Thanos is defeated, you will remain with the Avengers. You will also be helping us defeat Thanos, no schemes, no tricks, no nothing. Just work to get the mission completed." The Captain's tone was firm and straight to the point. Loki couldn't help but respect that. The man knew how to stick to the 'Captain' role.
The whole idea of the rules Loki had to follow was ridiculous, he had to hold down the scoff that threatened to escape him. Still, he nodded his head, trying to keep the conversation as short as possible. A thought occurred to him.
"What if one of your teammates tries to pick a fight? I will let you know now, that if they do, it will not end well. For them." Rogers scrunched his eyes a little, clearly showing that the threat had not gone over his head. After a moment he nodded.
"Noted." The Captain let himself loosen up just a little, the tension easing from his shoulders just a tad. "A few of us will be heading to Wanda and Vison, the others will be going straight to Wakanda. " Loki hummed as he followed the Captain inside the Quinet. Everybody was already ready, buckling up as Natasha turned the Quinet on.
Loki sat down in the furthest seat beside the wall, it was a habit by now. "The teams are?" Loki didn't bother with the buckle, he could tell with just a look at it that he would hate it. The thought about a device holding him in one place irked him. The Quinet's hatch closed as Romanoff began to guide it in the air.
The feeling of the Jet raising in the sky, made Rogers fasten his buckle ever faster. Loki wasn't bothered by it, he had driven and rode on plenty of spaceships to know the feeling.
"Clint, Sam, Bucky, and I will be going to make sure Wanda and Vision are alright, and getting them to the spare Quinjet we have located there. Everyone else will be going straight to Wakanda." Loki gave a nod, then proceeded to lean back against the wall of the Quinet. The cold from it soothing the ache in his back, light vibrations from the aircraft running through the walls.
He felt like absolute shit. Pain running like waves through his body. Not to mentions how his thoughts were resurfacing as every second passed by.
No.
No, there was so much at stake, he will not drown in his thoughts again. He can't.
If Thanos won, everything he worked so hard for would go to nothing. The years he spent keeping track of the Infinity Stones, the pain he went through just to keep a small part of himself in the wake during the invasion in New York. Thanos can't win, if he did, trillions of people would die.
A small tap on his shoulders made him turn towards Bruce, who was offering him a kind smile. The man was an enigma. Bruce should be mad at him, he should hate Loki. He tried taking over Midgard, even if it wasn't him, but Bruce doesn't know that. This was just the man's kindness.
"Are you okay?" Loki gave a slight nod in response. It wasn't the answer Bruce wanted but, he let it go, continuing. "Tony said it's a long flight, I'm going to rest a little, you should too." Bruce's tone was careful as if testing the waters. Loki didn't need to be treated like glass.
He wasn't going to break dammit.
He's been through a lot in the past few years, nobody ever treated him like glass. Nobody ever asked if he was okay, or cared for his health. Nobody except his mother. So why was Banner? Loki wasn't anyone to him.
Instead, he took a small breath and shook his head.
"I do not feel tired, you should rest however, a lot has happened in the past few hours." Bruce pursed his lips. After a second, he gave a small smile, leaning back against the wall, pulling his legs up to get comfortable. He didn't close his eyes, so he wasn't planning on sleeping.
It grew quiet after that, the only noise being the noise from the Quinet and Natasha occasionally ordering Clint, who was sitting as co-pilot, to change the route or fix the settings for the Jet.
Loki subtly looked around the Jet, Stark was sitting beside Rhodey and Peter. Rogers with Sam and Bucky, though Loki assumed that was a name that Rogers called his friend, Loki would have to learn his full name somehow.
The line that was drawn in the middle was invisible but at the same time very visible. Both groups were as far away from each other as they could. Loki and Bruce are right in the middle of them, not including Romanoff and Barton.
Loki was curious as to what had happened, he knew the team itself had a lot of issues during the invasion, but he hadn't expected this. Loki wanted to ask what happened, he already knew nobody would tell him. From what he could gather, the issue was between Stark and Rogers. Not a big surprise, but confusing, to say the least.
It was irrelevant however, if it was important, he would find out about it sooner or later.
The Prince focused back on the present, gazing down at the needles still stuck in his skin. Some of them had broken off, only their ends in his skin remaining, others were still sticking a good few inches out of his body.
Loki grabbed onto one of the thick needles stuck in his leg, yanking it out without another thought. The needle was a few inches deep in his skin and the top of the long needle was tainted red from his blood. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Stark grimacing, pulling the child a little closer to him, who had a horrified face on. Some of the others were looking at him, clearly disturbed.
Loki continued to pull out another needle from his arm, ignoring the others on the Jet. Before the silence could continue, minus the sound of the needle extracting from Loki's skin, Stark spoke.
"So, what happened to your hair? Last time we saw you, you had a Christmas tree on display, ready for ornaments to be hung." He understood about half of what the man said, but picked up on the question. To none of his surprise, Bruce seemed interested in the answer too, Banner was stuck in his Hulk form for the last two years so it made sense.
"When I crash-landed on Sakaar, they took me to their leader. Long story short, I became a Gladiator, and a part of having that title was getting your hair cut off by a crazy old man, who finds chopping off people's hair with a multi-bladed device, amusing." The Avengers looked at him as if he had grown a third head.
It wasn't exactly the most normal story to getting a haircut, he couldn't blame them. Most people would say that they went to a stylist and got their hair changed because they wanted to suit them better. Great thing Loki wasn't normal.
Stark didn't ask any other question after that, instead, he let out a breath, moving back to get comfortable in his seat. Rogers, however, had a question.
"What happened to your ship?..." The soldier hesitated before asking the next question. Loki had a feeling he already knew what it was. "Is there any chance Thor will make it here?" Bruce tensed in his seat as the Captain finished. The tension in the Jet was suffocating.
"We were under attack, Captain. If the Asgardians in the escape pods survived, only a few hundred would have made it." Loki's face remained blank, his voice toneless as if he was talking about the weather. "As for Thor, I am unsure of his whereabouts. It's a small chance that Thanos would let him free. Though I have doubted my brother before, there may still be a chance he's alive."
It seemed as if Steve was regretting even asking the question. The Captain nodded, turning his gaze back out to the window at his side. Stark and Peter began a whispered conversation with Rhodey occasionally interrupting.
Bruce dozed off, the exhaustion finally getting to him. Sam and Bucky were lost in their thoughts as Natasha and Clint piloted the Jet. Loki...Well, Loki was trying to get the images of his brother's lifeless body on the burning Statesman or floating dead in space out of his head.
Nobody spoke after that.
The silence felt as if it was everlasting.
Only the hum of the engine remained.