Chapter 2
Loki has always had a busy mind. It's been busier than ever, recently- what with the scepter's influence, the Other's reach, her own memory...
Anyways. Busy mind. No matter the level of busy, the fact that it- that she- doesn't shut up is old news. Even with that muzzle Thor just slapped on her, Loki's mind is still racing.
How dare he? How dare they? What is Stark- There's two Starks- Stark is dying? Alright. Why is that moving? Moving's an understatement. Sliding- Oh, there's the beast- Everything hurts. Ragdoll is such a funny word, isn't- Is it coming this-
The uncased Tesseract hits her foot, and for a simple moment, Loki's mind is quiet.
The chains are loose. Thor is distracted. Everyone is distracted. And before Loki can even internally react to what she herself is doing, the Tesseract is in her hands.
She's flying.
It's different than falling into the void, this is. There's a warmth, and the sting of hot, dry air tearing past her and tossing her hair about.
But then it's almost the same. Almost the same, as she can hear Thor's distant voice- almost the same, as there's the pain of impact.
Loki bounces, skids off the hot sand. A part of her, the part unconcerned with the roughness on wounds both fresh and aged, recognizes that this would probably look hilarious to an outside view.
She comes to a stop, eventually. She doesn't have the breath in her to laugh, not right now, but she gets a start as she rips that accursed mask off her face. The cuffs remain, though, their chains hanging broken off her wrists.
Where am I?
That's the most immediate question on Loki's mind- followed closely by Where is the Tesseract? She must have lost her grip on it... But both queries are answered as she sits up.
Still on Midgard, it would seem, and the Tesseract is right within view, right outside of her reach.
Unfortunately, though, it seems there was an outside view to her fall. Five, to be exact, five Midgardians approaching her with what she hopes is caution- for their sakes, of course.
Definitely not her own sake, battered and bruised as she is.
Loki jumps to her feet, ignoring the sharp pain in her knees and hip. Backs away from the small group, up onto a rock- and resembles a threatened bird, in all honesty, puffing itself up as it takes a higher branch.
"I am Loki, of Asgard," she announces, AllSpeak laced in her voice. "And I am burdened with-"
"Who are you?" interrupts the mortal closest to her. "Why have you come to our home?"
Loki blinks. She doesn't bother to hide the scowl pulling at her mouth. "I just sa-"
This time, she cuts herself off. Turns her attention to the Tesseract- and the portal that just formed a meter away. Another group of what look like- of what she can only assume to be- Midgardians steps through. There's three, dressed in armor and helmets, more akin to SHIELD than Asgard. and they quickly surround the Tesseract.
Mind racing, Loki glances between the groups.
"Nevermind!" she throws at the initial five. She has to be quick, has to scare these newcomers, has to grab what is hers and go once more.
She jumps down from the rock and strides towards the armored mortals, a dagger forming in her hand. "Don't touch that," she spits, readies herself as they pull out their own wapons.
And then there's another portal. Great!
Another of the... warriors, guards, whatever they are, steps through. This one has a hand on her hip, the other pulling out a device. And she speaks.
"Appears to be a standard sequence violation." She looks over the deity, then to her device. "Branch is growing at a stable rate and slope. Variant identified."
Loki pauses. She understood none of that... which means she should probably be offended, right?
"I beg your pardon?" she says, tilting her head.
The mortal lowers her device, and the hand on her hip falls to the baton fastened there. "On behalf of the Time Variance Authority," she states coolly, "I hereby arrest you for crimes against the Sacred Timeline. Hands up."
The others' guns, if that's what they are, are now up and pointed at her.
Loki does not raise her hands.
"You'll forgive me for asking, I hope." They don't look like it. "But I've committed crimes against the Sacred what?"
She goes for the Tesseract, before she even finishes her own sentence.
And then everything s l o w s.
There's pain. What else is new? And she can't move- or if she can, it's not quick.
But the mortal can. And said mortal steps up to her with a sigh, fastening a collar around Loki's throat. "You're now moving at one-sixteenth speed," she tells the goddess with a false gentleness, "but feeling all the pain of where I hit you... in real-time."
Loki falls, and time resumes.
"Fuck," she spits- and then literally spits, turning her head and expelling the blood that's gathered in her mouth. At least it's red.
She doesn't get a moment to recover, unfortunately, as two of the other armors haul her to her feet. They drag her away from the Tesseract, from freedom. Past the one who hit her.
"Reset the timeline," that one orders. What? She bends down to pick up the Tesseract, turning it over in her hands-
MINE MINE MINE, screams Loki's brain. THAT SHOULD BE MINE I SHOULD BE FREE I SHOULD-
There's something set down in the stone's place. Something familiar, that she's never seen before. And while she watches, head over her shoulder, they drag her away through yet another portal.
Somehow, she gets the feeling she won't be going back.