Closer to the Edge
The dwarves took the better part of the day to perform the funerary rights. Having no wish to converse with the oaf, Loki did his best to lurk out of Thor's sight. He was afraid of what might slip past his lips if Thor were to try and force him to speak.
Loki sat curled up against the viewing bay window, soaking up the chill of space through the flickering purple shield when an orichalcum sarcophagus floated past. Adorned with sacred carvings and high dwarven script, it moved through space in a decaying spiral around the neutron star. After it had completed one orbit, a second sarcophagus followed in its path. Like the first one, it completed one orbit around the star and the dwarves launched a third one into space. Seven sarcophagi later, the first coffin's orbit had decayed enough to reach the iris of the Dyson Sphere.
Loki sat up straighter, watching as it fell into the neutron star without any fanfare. For a heartbeat, nothing happened but then, a ribbon of gold energy curled outwards from the iris. It spiraled around the star as it rose. Every successive sarcophagus to fall in released a different colored ribbon, each joining the first in a complex helical structure of iridescent energy. In a way, it reminded Loki of the Bifrost's energy when it activated.
Having lost count of the procession somewhere after the fiftieth sarcophagus, Loki rested his head against the window shield and closed his eyes. Unwelcome thoughts spiraled in his mind the way the sarcophagi spiraled around the neutron star. Loki wasn't sure when he fell asleep but he awoke to the sound of loud breathing. Annoyance flared in his chest at the thought that Thor had managed to track him down and Loki whirled around to tell him off. The words died in his throat when he came face to face with Hela instead. She stood in the shadows, watching him with half her body a charred husk. Tiny flames flickered all over her body and curled in her burnt hair.
Hela's lips curled in a chilling smirk, before she shot towards him, claws outstretched to tear into Loki's flesh, who fell off his perch with a strangled yell. His head hit the floor with a dull thunk and when he shook off the dizziness long enough to sit up again, she was gone.
"Oh Loki, my darling boy," Mother sighed behind him and Loki froze. Eyes wide, barely breathing, Loki couldn't bring himself to believe that she was truly there. Her fingers gently carded through his hair, the familiar weight of her palm pressed against his scalp just how it used to. Choking back on a sob, Loki closed his eyes and leaned into her touch, breathing in the familiar scent of her perfume. The one she always had imported from Vanaheim. "You're hurting."
Loki said nothing, not wanting to shatter whatever this was. An apparition? Or perhaps a sign that his mind was finally too broken. Mother sighed and vanished on a breath of air, taking with her the comforting warmth that he only noticed when it was gone. Loki shivered from the cold, his heart aching with regret.
Mother, come back, please. I never told you I'm sorry... I never got to say goodbye.
He had denied her as his mother when she lived and after her death, he never even had a chance to see her off to Valhalla. A heavy lump settled in the back of his throat as the weight of guilt pressed down on his chest.
It's no less than what you deserve, Liesmith, the cold his echoed around him and Loki's eyes snapped open. Searching his surroundings, he spotted the apparition in the same shadows that had held Hela moments ago. Lifeless pupils, focused on something only it could see as the apparition stepped into the light wearing Loki's face. It wore a silver muzzle on its mouth ambling towards him on legs that were shackled to its hands with a short chain. Blood steadily trickled down the side of its face.
"No..." Loki gasped, scrambling back as it drew closer.
You killed her, the apparition hissed despite the muzzle it wore.
"It was an— I-I didn't mean to—"
No one cares whether you meant for it to happen or not. She is still dead! A change overcame the apparition and it stood up straighter. The muzzle and shackles fell away as the blankness in his eyes was replaced with an eerie blue glow. The apparition held out its hand and the accursed scepter materialized between outstretched fingers. "You did this, Laufeyson."
"N-No... I'm not—"
"No, what? Not a Laufeyson?" The other Loki scoffed. "As if Odin's claim that he loved you in his dying moments erased your past? He only loved you like one loves a favorite pet. Never forget who you are, runt." The apparition morphed into Odin, scowling at Loki in disdain, "Your birthright was to die!"
Odin twirled the scepter in his hands as he advanced and when Loki tried to back away, he found himself frozen in place. The apparition shifted once again, its skin bubbling as it first took on Loki's face before settling into a more Jotun-like appearance. The scepter stopped twirling before it was thrust into Loki's chest, right where the Kursed's blade had pierced his flesh, years ago.
The Jotun laughed as a pair of gleaming black horns protruded from its head. Its skin cracked and peeled away glowing with the same otherworldly blue as the staff.
"Face it, Laufeyson," the monster crouched in front of him as Loki struggled to breath past the blood filling up his lungs. The monster grasped Loki's temples and sunk black tipped claws into his flesh. "You bring death and destruction everywhere you go. With everything you do. You are the reason they are all dead. Laufey. Frigga. Odin. Even the Asgardians who died facing Thanos, died only because of your actions..." It smiled a terrible smile, lips cracking and peeling apart to dribble black blood. "I suppose it's only a matter of time before it's Thor's turn."
Loki couldn't voice any protests past the blood dribbling down his... its? theirs?... lips.
"You don't deserve to live.” The creature's eyes glowed so brightly it was almost as if there was a fire lighting them up. "How about I relieve you of this burden, hmm?”
With those words, the monster let go of Loki's head to wrench out the scepter from Loki's chest. And with it, Loki's still beating heart. The monster plucked it off the scepter before holding it out to Loki, who reached for his heart with trembling hands. The creature let out a mad cackle and turn it to ice before Loki could take his heart back, letting the frozen thing shatter at Loki's feet.
"Father should have let you die on that frozen wasteland," the nightmare creature morphed into Thor as he scowled at Loki. There was a gaping hole in Thor's chest and blood dribbling down his chin, the shattered remains of Mjolnir held aloft in his hand and Loki whimpered. "None of this would have happened if you had just died. Mother would still be alive. Father would still be here. Asgard would not just be a handful of refugees, struggling to find shelter."
With a mighty roar, Thor brought down Mjolnir, the shattered hammer splintering Loki's ribs into a million pieces. The scream died in his throat as something heavy landed on his shoulder and wrenched him from the nightmare into wakefulness. Feeling more than seeing the ominous shadow looming above him, Loki tumbled back with a strangled cry. He fell off his perch, teeth knocking together as he scrambled back on his hands and knees.
"Loki, brother, it's only me, Thor." Wha— but hadn't Thor just shattered Loki's— no wait... where was Mjolnir? and that hole... wasn't there a hole in his chest because Loki killed Thor? that wasn't right... where was — Thor?
Loki tried to swallow the laugh that only ended up as a half-strangled sob. Running a hand through his hair, he clutched at the ends as understanding came slowly. I'm losing my mind...
"Loki?"
"What do you want?" Loki snapped but his voice was too hoarse for it to be effective. Thor will be the next to die.
"I heard you screaming and—"
"And you came to gloat at the weakling?"
"What? No! I was just worried about you."
"Worried?" Loki scoffed as he crossed his arms. He pushed away the heavy lump of shame that tried settling in his chest at Thor's kicked puppy look. "Little late for that, isn't it? Where was this worry of yours when you left me on Sakaar? Or when you abandoned me on Asgard?"
Thor looked so shocked, as though he had no idea what Loki meant. His next words erased any doubts Loki might have had. "Loki, what are you talking about?"
"Don't tell me these are more of my perceived slights." Loki spat, throwing back the words Thor had used a long time ago. "You had no regard for my well-being when you left me writhing on the ground, tortured by obedience disk, ripe for the Grandmaster's taking. It was pure chance, Korg found me first. What exactly did you think the Grandmaster would have done to me, had he been the one to find me, hmm?"
Understanding and horror dawned on Thor's face but before the idiot could utter some meaningless apology, Loki cut him off. "The Grandmaster does not take kindly to those who betray his trust. Surely you were there when the Grandmaster used the melting stick on his cousin, were you not?"
"Loki, I didn't think—”
"And that has always been your problem, hasn't it, Thor? You never think! Yet anything that ever goes wrong has to be my fault. You called me the worst for taking the Tesseract from Odin's Vaults, but how, pray tell, did you think I was supposed to leave the Vaults after resurrecting Surtur?"
"You are a skywalker, I thought that would have let you escape to safety."
"As if skywalking was a mere trick," Loki scoffed. "The paths between realms open only in specific places on Asgard, none of which happen to be inside the Vaults and Surtur’s flames would have caught up to me long before I could have left the palace. But you turned the Statesman around without any care of what became of me."
"Because I thought you could have escaped via skywalking!" Thor burst out before seeming to swallow his anger. When he continued, his tone had taken on a cautious edge, the kind that Loki had seen the stable master often take with easily spooked colts. "I did not come here to fight you brother."
Loki bristled. "Of course not. Because that would make you lose the moral high ground."
"Loki, what are you talking about?" The frustration was clear on Thor's face. Loki could see the oaf struggling to keep his tone civil.
That's it, a little nudge is all it will take. Push him over the edge.
"Go ahead and pin the blame on me," Loki all but snarled. "After all, I'm the evil one. The villain to your hero, am I not? Go on, brother, tell me it's all in my head."
"Loki, why would—" Thor sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose before taking a deep breath. He seemed to hold it in for a moment before exhaling loudly. When he looked up at Loki again, his expression was earnest and clear. "I know what you're trying to do here, brother but pushing me away is not going to work. If you're worried about what happened outside the vaults, having a panic attack does not make you weak. I don’t think any less of you now, than I did before."
Loki grit his teeth. "Not everything has to be about you or what you think."
"I not saying it is, Loki." Thor sounded patient, as though he were humoring Loki now.
"Yet, you immediately assumed that the reason for my anger must be my fear of what you think of me? You think—"
Loud footsteps coming down the hall interrupted Loki's rant and he cursed at the timing of whoever it was.
Don't fret, darling. I'll be happy to take the oaf off your hands. Hela murmured in Loki's ear and he barely managed to suppress a flinch. Moments later, Banner, Eitri and a teenaged dwarf appeared from the shadowed hallway. The teen held two wrapped bundles in his arms though Loki's attention was drawn to the dwarf king who now looked more like a king then when Loki had first arrived on Nidavellir. Dressed in clean clothes, Eitri’s beard was neatly trimmed and his hair was properly tied in complex braids befitting his station. In place of the metallic stumps on his arms, Eitri wore uru prosthetics, the dark metal gleaming on his fingers.
"King Thor, Crown Prince Loki, I cannot thank you enough for the aid you have rendered to my people today," Eitri said ceremoniously. "If not for you, the last of my people would have faced a slow, agonizing death, and I would have perished as a failure of a king. Crown Prince Loki, your aid in rescuing our civilians from the Vaults when I could not was invaluable."
It had been so long since Loki had last been on the receiving end of such earnest gratitude. Wrong-footed, Loki struggled to come up with an appropriate response. "I uh... I was only doing my duty as a prince of Asgard."
"Nevertheless, your help is highly appreciated.” Eitri bowed his head to Loki before turning to address Thor. “King Thor, I have discussed your offer with the surviving councilmembers and we have come to an agreement."
Loki wondered if anyone would notice if he slunk off. All his life, he had wanted for nothing more than for his efforts to be acknowledged without being suspected for having ulterior motives. Now, he wasn't quite certain on what to feel. Besides, conjuring a measly portal when he had an infinity stone was nothing. Eitri would soon come to his senses and see the truth for what it was. And then, Loki would be in the same position as always, disappointed.
"—will be happy to help," Thor was saying and Loki forced himself to pay attention. "Once your people have gathered what they need and locked down Nidavellir, we can send you to Midgard. The Asgardians have taken refuge on the planet and I am certain the people will happily welcome you."
Loki bit the inside of his cheek, certain that Thor would not welcome his suggestion that they send the dwarves to Saraab. After all, Thor had no idea of what Loki had witnessed from the Hlidskjalf during his time posing as Odin. Thor didn’t know that his shield brothers had torn themselves apart with petty infighting in their so called 'civil war'. After all, Thor was too busy shirking his duties to the throne and gallivanting across the galaxy. Which meant that Thor also didn’t know about the stricter regulations that the governing bodies of Midgard had wanted to impose on the comings and goings of their heroes. In light of the volatile climate of the planet, Loki doubted the Midgardians would be very happy about a steady influx of refugees. The Asgardians, they would have had to accept because of Thor, but Loki truly believed Saraab would be a better place for the dwarven refugees.
Though if Loki were to voice that advice now, when Thor had already decided on a course of action, would not only serve to undermine Thor's authority as king, but also less likely to be heeded by his brother. Which, come to think of it...
"Thor, perhaps we can send them somewhere else, instead. The humans might not be so happy with us if we keep on sending refugees without notice."
"I am certain our advisors will be able to sort out the matters with the people of earth." Thor shook his head, acting just as Loki had predicted. "They will be safer with the Asgardians to bolster their numbers."
Which was sound reasoning for wanting to keep them all in one place but at the same, Thor didn’t know what Loki did. He had been meaning to catch Thor up to speed on the on goings of his favorite planet before Thanos had derailed that plan. And then, it hadn't seemed all that important for Loki in light of everything else. But now... Loki couldn't argue further without making Thor look incompetent.
"Very well." Loki pursed his lips.
"Now that that is settled," Eitri clapped his hands and his assistant hastily unwrapped the first of the packages. It was a war axe, polished to perfection with a well engraved metallic handle that was, unlike Mjolnir, only partially wrapped in leather. Eitri picked it up and presented the axe to Thor. "King Thor, I present to you, the axe Stormbreaker. It was designed to be one of the greatest weapons of Asgard. Odin had the design commissioned a long time ago however he decided to not have it forged. Stormbreaker is also capable of summoning the energy of the Bifrost."
Loki felt a flush of jealousy in his veins as his oaf of a brother accepted the majestic weapon and shifted it from hand to hand, testing its balance and feel. Thor grinned, openly and honestly as he bowed to the dwarf king. "I thank you for your generosity, King Eitri."
"And now," Eitri said as he retrieved the second bundle and began to unwrap it himself to reveal a spear. It was of a design similar to Gungnir, though unlike orichalcum and uru alloy used in Gungnir, this weapon’s staff was made purely of uru. The spear’s three pronged tip, however, was composed of a shimmering iridescent metal. It took Loki a moment to place it as Niflheim's Bismuthe, a metal that was rare due to how difficult it was to mine from the bottom of the frozen rivers of Elivagar. Unlike its elemental form that existed elsewhere in the cosmos, Niflheim's Bismuthe was highly conductive of seidr, even more so than Uru and thus was highly sought after mages. The only other warrior mage to wield any considerable amount of it was the legendary Mimir. "For your services to the dwarves of Nidavellir, Crown Prince Loki, I present to you, the spear, Chaosmaker."
Grievances forgotten for a while, Loki moved forward as if in a dream, reaching for the spear with shaky hands. The moment it made contact with his skin, a wordless song rang inside his mind uplifting Loki's spirits as his seidr welcomed the weapon and vice versa. He wondered if this was how Thor had felt when he'd first gotten Mjolnir. If so, Loki could certainly understand why the oaf had refused set down the stupid hammer for a week, taking it everywhere with him until in a fit of frustration Loki had glued it to Thor's hands via seidr. Mother had given Loki the token admonishment when Thor had complained but she had left the spell in place till that evening claiming that it to come off on its own even though she could have undone Loki's spell with her eyes closed. Her amused smile had been well worth Odin's frown of disapproval and the subsequent punishment of having to help the stable master take care of the newly acquired eight-legged colt Sleipnir.
"Chaosmaker." Thor laughed as he clapped Loki on the back and grinned. "An apt name for your weapon, Brother."
"I thank you for your generosity, King Eitri," Loki inclined his head with a smile, deciding to store the spear in his pocket dimension as soon as he could without offending anyone. He was not going to make a fool of himself like Thor had with Mjolnir. "This is a truly remarkable weapon."
"Odin was the one who had the design commissioned though it was Queen Frigga who proposed the use of Niflheim Bismuthe for the spear's tip."
If that were the case, why did they never present it to me? Loki bit back the question, refusing to act like a little boy hurt by the fact that he hadn't gotten any presents.
"Mother must have done so because of Bismuthe's ability to conduct seidr, brother." Thor grinned.
"I am aware, Thor." Loki refused to feel guilty when Thor's smile dimmed at his tone. "King Eitri, if your people are ready, perhaps we should move to the workshop and begin the process for your departure?"
"Yes, they ought to be finished sealing the forge by now." Eitri nodded and turned to lead the way, the teen following after his king after offering them a shallow bow. Banner looked between Loki and Thor with a furrowed brow.
“Guys, is everything okay here?”
"Yes, everything is fine, Banner," Loki said curtly and moved past the man before Thor could try and stop Loki to continue their earlier conversation.
I will have to get rid of him quickly one the dwarves are gone... Hela may have Thor over my dead body.
Loki arrived at the workshop to find the soon to be refugees standing in a loosely circular formation with their belongings packed inside wooden or metal trunks and chests laid at their feet. A few stood without any luggage whatsoever though Loki suspected those were the sorcerer's who had their stuff neatly tucked away in their dimensional pockets.
More than a few dwarves gave appreciative glances at the Chaosmaker though none of them broke formation to approach Loki. The nameless teen that had been accompanying Eitri was nowhere to be seen. With a lazy wave of his hand, Loki summoned the Tesseract and channeled seidr through the infinity stone, focusing on the same place where he had sent the Asgardians. Now that he didn’t have to shield upwards of a thousand people from psychic sight, Loki barely felt the strain on his seidr, despite the vast distance involved.
Eitri motioned for his people to move as soon as the portal appeared and the dwarves began to file through in a neat line. Eitri waited until the last of his people had passed before turning to Loki with a solemn nod.
"I know you and your brother plan on gathering the remaining infinity stones before Thanos," Eitri said as he reached into his pocket. "Thanos had the gauntlet forged so that it could channel the power of all six of the stones together. While it does possess the ability to do that, I might have accidentally left in a power feedback loop that would cause irreversible harm to the gauntlet's wielder as soon as it is used to channel all the stones. These however," Eitri held out his hand to display a set of six rings, "have no such compunctions. Whoever wears a ring shall be able to channel an infinity stone without harm so long as they have a strong enough will."
Loki accepted the rings though when he made to withdraw his hand, he found Eitri had clasped it in his prosthetic one.
"I am sorry that for one so young, you have had to endure so much suffering, Prince Loki. And I am sorrier still that you may have yet to see more."
There was an understanding and kindness in the dwarf king's eyes that twisted Loki's insides into painful knots. He did not want nor need that from a virtual stranger. Especially when his own brother had had such difficulty identifying that something was wrong with Loki despite knowing him for over a millennium. Swallowing the painful lump in his throat, Loki inclined his head in a wordless thanks, not wanting to offend the dwarf king.
Eitri's heavy footsteps echoed inside the workshop as the dwarf king turned and followed his people through the portal to Midgard. With a heavy sigh, Loki let the portal collapse.
"Skulking in the shadows doesn't become of you, Thor. And Banner, I had really expected better from you than to eavesdrop," Loki said as he turned around. A moment later, his idiot brother and said idiot brother's friend stepped out from behind a pillar. "I think it will be for the best if we split up. Now that you have the means to traverse the galaxy via Stormbreaker, you don’t require my services anymore."
"Loki, I don't think that's such a good idea," Thor said cautiously, seemingly hesitant to restart an argument.
"Oh? Pray tell why you think this is a bad idea?" Loki demanded coolly. “Is it because I'm the one who suggested it?
"Loki, why must you keep twisting my words and intentions?" Thor sounded so tired. And was that a hint of bitterness in his voice?
"I'm a villain, remember? It's what we're good at," Loki said, wrapping indifference and arrogance around himself like an armor, pretending that it didn’t hurt. "Also, you're deflecting. Tell me, Thor, why is splitting up such a bad idea? Especially when we may be able to cover more ground."
Thor struggled to come up with a response and Loki grinned in triumph. "See? If Banner had been the one to suggest it, you would have ordered me to send you two away in a heartbeat."
"Loki, I value your advice. I really do," Thor said earnestly and Loki jumped on the opportunity the oaf had foolishly provided.
"Like you valued my advice when I suggested we send the dwarves to Sarab? You didn't even bother asking for a reason. Did you think I was trying to undermine your authority? Go against your directive as King?" Anger, centuries in the making, coiled in his gut so viciously, it surprised even Loki himself.
"Because it makes sense to keep all the people under our protection someplace they will have the advantage of numbers on their side!"
"As opposed to the advantage provided by occupying an obscure moon no one really cares about?" Loki hissed, his grip tightening on the Tesseract still clutched in one hand. “I don’t know why I expected things to be different now. You’re still the same as you were before.”
“Loki, brother, I didn’t mean to slight your feelings. I was only—”
“Slight my feelings?” Loki scoffed. “Thor, you claim to have grown wiser, yet you act the same as you did before your coronation. I am only ever useful to you for my tricks but the moment your goal is achieved, you brush me aside. You have never cared to listen to my advice. Back on the Statesman, when I suggested that we should not confront Thanos, you thought me a coward for wanting to run but the moment Valkyrie brought up the idea, you were all for it. I tell you that we need to split up and you do not listen. But the moment Banner brings it up, you will agree!”
“Loki, I haven't—”
“I suggest you stay out of this, Doctor Banner,” Loki hissed, cutting off the man before rounding on his brother. Thor was staring at Loki, wide-eyed as though the moron had never seen him before. Tossing three of the rings at Banner who fumbled to catch them, Loki continued, “I was a fool to have been taken in by your pretty words, Thor when your actions have made it crystal clear just where I stand with you. No matter, Banner had a hand in creating our plan of action, so I trust you won't have an issue doing what needs to be done. You should be able to retrieve the Aether from the Collector without having to rely on any more of tricks. Banner can accompany you. Trade the Hulk with The Collector for the stone if you must."
Ignoring Banner’s look of alarm or Thor’s cry of “Loki, wait!” Loki summoned a portal behind the pair and Loki slid it across the floor. He watched it swallow his brother and Banner, letting the portal collapse before his oaf of a brother could return. For a long time, he stared at the spot that his brother had stood moments before, loathing the near-silent sob that escaped him as Loki crashed to his knees. Breathing hard, he let the Tesseract drop to the floor with a loud clatter.
Do you think pushing away the oaf will let him live longer?
Ignoring the whispering monster, Loki drew in a ragged breath and fought for composure.
The curse of your existence has already taken root in our brother, darling, Hela crooned over his shoulder and Loki squeezed his eyes shut. Sooner or later, he will die and you will have no one to blame but yourself.
“I won’t let you have him,” Loki whispered as an irrational panic beat its wings against his sternum. “Do you hear me, goddess of Death? I won’t let you have him!”
Oh, but I’m not really here, am I? You killed me too, little brother. Hela laughed and laughed until she was cackling. Tears streamed down Loki’s cheeks as he howled, a part of him recognizing the laughter echoing all around him as his own. That’s right. He’d resurrected Surtur to murder Hela. Destroyed Asgard to save Asgard. And now he was talking to voices inside his head.
First sign of madness, Liesmith. Although, aren’t you already mad?
Loki threw his head back and laughed and laughed and laughed until he couldn’t breathe. At some point, he ended up lying on the floor, staring up at the towering ceiling above him, the glowing frescoes depicting a detailed history of the first dynasty of Nidavellir dwarves. Breathless, he continued to chuckle as he absently followed the red-haired dwarf king through a victorious battle against the trolls to claim possession of the neutron star that would spawn the first of the dwarven forges. Loki giggled as the nameless dwarf king signed a treaty with a young King Bor.
Slowly, Loki started pushing everything into a corner of his mind, putting up shields upon shields, cordoning off everything that had led to his breakdown. Swallowing back the nausea, Loki sat up and scrubbed his face, combing his hair with his fingers. Pulling out a mirror from his dimensional pocket, Loki frowned at the wraith-like caricature of his face before conjuring an illusion of the well-put-together trickster god the realms knew of. Looking around, he spotted the remaining rings scattered on the floor next to the Tesseract, Chaosmaker floating upright two feet off the ground. Sending everything except for the Tesseract into his dimensional pocket, Loki stood up. Halfway through summoning a portal to Stephen Strange’s New York Sanctum, Loki froze as he realized his mistake.
Of the three of them, Banner was supposed to have been the one to warn the Midgardians about their oncoming doom and Loki, in his haste to be rid of Thor had forgotten that. As the Midgardians were so fond of saying, “Shit…”
Loki weighed in his options, immediately discarding the idea of going to Nowhere to retrieve Banner. There was no way Loki was going to face Thor just then. Not after all the trouble he had just gone through to push the idiot away in the first place. I won’t let you have him, Hela.
Gritting his teeth, Loki searched his surrounding for a spark of inspiration. Since retrieving Banner and sending him off on his merry way no longer possible, Loki could try going in his stead. Though that ran the risk of Loki not being believed about Thanos. Given how Loki was most assuredly not an avenger. Unless…
Loki smirked at the beginnings. Closing his eyes, Loki shapeshifted into a different appearance, glamoring his clothing to match. He knew he would need to time it perfectly as he summoned the portal to the New York sanctum. He stepped through, dismissing the portal and the Tesseract in a move so fast, no human could have any hope to follow. Gasping for breath, he pretending to stumble and crashed into Strange and his fat manservant, sending the two tumbling to the ground in a tangle of limbs.
Making sure to grind his hands into someplace extra painful for the second-rate sorcerer, Loki struggled to his feet and looked at the two in wide-eyed fear.
“He’s coming!” gasped Doctor Bruce Banner, “Thanos is coming!”