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Chapter Text

Seeing himself lose again was one thing. Seeing the Avengers towering over him was something. It was like rubbing salt in an open wound, but he assumed that that was what Mobius was going for. Show him his losses to break him. But he'd survived Thanos. The TVA wasn't going to break him. No. He could survive their worst.

But then he saw Frigga die.

His last words to her were saying that she wasn't his mother. Maybe that was true. Maybe, just maybe, he wasn't wrong. But as far as he cared, she was his mother. She'd raised him, basically on her own, and cared for him even when no one else did. And he hurt her, right before she died. He was the reason for her death. He killed the one person who had ever loved him.

He needed to stop himself, but he couldn't. He couldn't leave the TVA. He was trapped with nowhere to run. He was stuck with no way of saving the one person that had saved him. He was exhausted. Beyond exhausted. He was so tired of hurting people. He didn't want to run. If he ran, he'd be running from both the TVA and Thanos, and he couldn't do that. He didn't want to spend the rest of his life running. Constantly looking over his shoulder. He was so, so tired, and he couldn't run. He couldn't risk going back to Thanos, and he didn't want to be killed by him either. Even though death was a mercy, especially for what he did to Thanos, he didn't want to die at his hands. He couldn't do it.

He couldn't stop his hands from shaking. He was sat on the steps in front of the door of whatever room he was in, and part of him didn't care. He didn't care that he had his back to the door. That he didn't have his magic. All he had was a dud tesseract that wouldn't even work. It was just a fancy lamp. He was harmless. He just had his finest weapon, and he was planning on making full use of it.

So when he heard the door open, and that it was Mobius who had found him, he knew he had his work cut out for him.

"There's nowhere left to run, Loki."

He chuckled bitterly. "Does it look like I'm running?"

"No, it doesn't," Mobius replied. "So you're giving up?"

"You claim to know everything about me, yet you're asking me if I'm giving up?" He raised a brow. "I thought you would've known what I was doing before you walked into the room."

Mobius took a step closer to him. "I don't think a Loki would give up. Which bares the question - what's your plan?"

"How many others of me have you met?" He asked.

"Quite a few," he replied.

"And what have they been like?"

Mobius seemed perplexed at that. "Well... they've been mischievous. Mildly intimidating. There was one who just commanded power, even without his magic- it was kind of terrifying."

"And what of me?"

"You're... lost, I guess. You don't seem to know yourself. It's like you don't know how to be a Loki," he replied. "I've seen more intimidating cats."

Maybe Mobius was right. He was lost. He didn't know who he was anymore. He used to. He was Loki Odinson. He would spend most of his free time in the palace library, and the rest of his time in meetings with the Council. He spent some time in the towns, making sure that everything was okay, and if he really, really had to, he'd be at royal events. He hated them with a burning passion, but he never had a choice. It was mainly because Odin would spend the entire thing comparing him to Thor. But he wasn't Thor, and the was his advantage.

Then he found out that he was a Jotun. A frost giant. It made sense. He was the disgrace of the family. He never fit in. It did make him wonder, though, why Odin would let him get so involved in Asgardian politics, but he figured that it was because he had a natural talent for it and Thor didn't. One of them had to do it, he guessed. It made sense as to why he was so different to the Aesir. Why he had to hide so much of himself just to survive.

He didn't know who Loki Laufeyson was, and he didn't know if he wanted to.

He just wanted to be Loki, whoever that was.

"And what exactly is your plan?" He asked. "You saved me for a reason. What is it?"

He'd been saved once before without asking to be saved, and it hadn't ended well.

"I have a variant to catch, and I think you would be good help," he replied.

Loki raised a brow. "You want my help?"

"Better than dying, isn't it?"

He stood up, his gaze never leaving Mobius. "You think that you know me. That you know what I've done, and who I am, and who I'll be. Though I think that you're wrong. You know versions of me. You know people who may share the same name as me, or are a version of me in another branch of the multiverse, but you don't know me. You don't know who I am."

Mobius raised a brow as he took a step towards Loki. "I think that you're hurt, that you're unsure of what to do considering your allegiance to Thanos didn't work out- I think that you're scared. You're completely and utterly powerless here, and you're scared."

He chuckled bitterly. "If you know of my time with Thanos then you should know that nothing truly scares me. Not anymore," he replied. "No. I think you're so used to being powerful here that you underestimate anyone who isn't immediately threatening. And just because I don't look like Thor, that I don't have my seidr- I was raised a warrior and I taught myself how to survive."

"What? Am I meant to be scared because you're a 'warrior'?" He asked.

"No. Because you have your ways too," he replied. "No. What you should be scared of- is that I've survived for centuries around people who underestimated me. Who didn't see me as a threat, even without my seidr. And that's how I survived. Being underestimated. So, my dear Mobius, I will enjoy it very much when I rip you apart from limb to limb, starting with the least fatal, making you watch as your blood soaks the floor and paints the walls red. You will watch as I kill everyone here, slowly, painfully, until death finally takes mercy on you. I will burn this place to the ground, without my seidr, and I will rule the TVA."

Mobius just stared at him. "Do you really think that?"

Loki grinned. "I know it."

He knocked the time stick out of Mobius's hand before he threw a punch to his face. His knuckles burnt a bit when they made contact with Mobius's nose, but he didn't care. He gave the man a chance to recoup before he went for another blow, but was blocked. Mobius grabbed his fist and pushed him back, making him stagger. He kicked his stomach, sending Loki back to the floor, and when he went to get up, the time stick was pointed at him, stopping him from getting up any further.

He had to stop himself from smiling.

"So that's your plan," Mobius said.

"What?"

"Try to distract me so you could do that, and end up in this exact position," he replied. "You gave me an opening."

"I had to give you a fair chance," he said.

"No. You let me win." He raised a brow. "You want me to kill you."

He chuckled tiredly. "I suppose you do really know me."

"Why?"

"I will not spend my life here, serving you, and waiting for the day where I'm no longer useful. Waiting for the day where you dispose of me. And I will not wait for Thanos to catch up to me." He finally met Mobius's eye. "I'm not your toy, and I'm not something for you to play with. I will not trade the prison of my past life with this. I refuse to trade one prison for another, and I refuse to keep running."

Mobius faltered at that. "I'm not going to kill you, Loki."

"Then you're far weaker than I expected," he replied. "Would you hesitate if I got your dear, lovely Ravonna? What would you do if I pierced her heart with her own gavel? Would you hesitate then? Or perhaps if I pruned Hunter B-15? She doesn't even have a name. Why would you care about her?"

"You're not going to kill anyone here."

"Oh, am I not?" He grinned. "You care for Ravonna. I could see that the moment you stood up to her. And she cares for you too. Can you imagine her face when I impale her with her gavel, knowing that you're the reason I wasn't killed at my trial? To see the betrayal, that you let me kill her."

There was a moment where Loki thought that he'd done it. That Mobius really was going to kill him. But then he saw the realisation set in his features and his plan went up in flames. Mobius wasn't going to kill him. Not when he knew that that was his plan. B-15 would. Without hesitation. He sort of wished that she was the one that found him instead. He would've been dead the moment she walked through the door.

"I guess you don't need a weapon to be dangerous."

"Why do you think I'm often gagged?" He asked with a tired smile. "My words are my best weapon."

"I see that now," he replied. "I can't let you go, Loki."

"I don't expect you to," he said. "And as you said, I've nowhere to go."

He raised a brow. "So that really is your plan? Dying?"

"To die will be an awfully big adventure."

"Are you seriously quoting Peter Pan right now?"

"Apparently," he replied. "I've threatened your friends. What can you really do now?"

"I'm not going to kill you, Loki."

"Then I suppose I should pay Ravonna a visit." He grinned. "Is she your only friend here? That's rather unfortunate. This place is rather isolating, isn't it? Perhaps the Time-Keepers like you all that way. Lonely and easy to manipulate."

"Loki, I swear to god- you're a little shit, you know that?"

"I've been told," he replied.

Mobius just stared at him. He was trying to figure out what to do, he realised. He didn't think that he'd left Mobius with any other options. He was dangerous. An active threat. Considering he'd threatened many, many people, he wasn't someone they could keep around. Maybe he should kill Mobius just to prove that he had to be killed. Not that anyone else needed convincing. Mobius was the only one that wanted him alive, he just didn't know why.

"You know, Loki- I think you were right before," he said. "I didn't know you. But I think I do now."

"You do?"

He threw the time stick to the side. "I know that you're scared of being out of control. And that's why you lash out. Why you've threatened the people closest to me. You use your words to hurt people, either to get your own way, to stay in control of a situation, or- or to keep people away. You hurt people because they hurt you, and it's easier to hurt them first than to let them hurt you. You're- you're scared. You're always scared. But that's what makes you dangerous."

He raised a brow. "You're not underestimating me now?"

"No. Because I don't know what you're capable of," he replied. "So you've lost the upper hand."

"Hm," he hummed. "I suppose I have."

"I feel like there's a 'but' there."

"But-" he grinned as he got up and grabbed the time stick. "You let your guard down."

"Loki, no-"

"Goodbye, Mobius."

Chapter Text

Loki wasn't exactly sure that he knew what had happened. The last thing he remembered was pruning himself. And now? He was somewhere light. Very bright. Silver - no, grey. Silver? He wasn't sure, but it was his idea of modern. A modern interior. A familiar modern interior. Not Asgard. Definitely not Asgard. Asgard was gold. Not Vanaheim. Vanaheim was silver, but there was a stronger sense of magic. A stronger connection to Yggdrasil. That connection was weaker wherever he was. A glass shattering made him realise that he wasn't alone. That there was someone else in the room with him.

And that person was none other than Tony Stark.

Maybe he should have taken his chances with the TVA.

He held his hands up when Tony summoned a gauntlet. He wasn't completely sure how to get out of the situation. He wasn't completely sure he could. He could feel his seidr coming back to him, but it was still weak after being at the TVA. He could teleport, but he didn't think he'd get very far. Tony could definitely catch up with him, and he wouldn't be able to escape the Avengers. Or Thor. He'd forgotten about Thor.

Shit.

"Would you believe me if I said that I've just come from the place that controls timelines and where the tesseract is completely powerless and that I may be a huge problem for them?"

"The latter part, sure," Tony replied. "You're a huge problem for everyone. Especially me right now. How did you get here?"

How did he get there? "I'm not sure. I- I got hit with one of their weapons- it completely disintegrated someone but I'm here? Believe me, Stark, this is the last place I want to be."

He probably should've just toughed it out with Mobius. Was Mobius really that bad? The place was, but was Mobius? Then again, he was a part of the place and that was the problem. He couldn't trust Mobius while he was still working with the TVA. Besides, could they find him? He couldn't go back. He didn't know what he could do. What could he do? He couldn't risk going to Asgard. He couldn't risk Frigga dying. But he was risking being found by Thanos- who was going to be a massive problem in the future. He didn't like knowing his future.

"I'm going to call Thor," Tony said. "I owe you a drink though. What do gods drink?"

"Please, don't call Thor," he replied. "I can't risk going to Asgard. I will leave the moment I'm able to, but please, don't tell Thor that I'm here."

"You can't stay here, Loki. You killed a bunch of people. And you threw me out the window." Tony put a glass down on the counter and gestured to it. "Drink. You look like you need it. Nice onesie, by the way."

Loki looked down, seeing that he was still in the overalls they gave him at the TVA. He didn't know how he forgot about that. He didn't even think about what he was wearing. He used what magic he'd managed to get back to change into a black suit, ignoring how Tony looked uneasy at the spell. He would've apologised, but he couldn't stay in that overall. He didn't know how long he was there for, but it felt like forever. He took the glass Tony had left for him with a quiet thanks. He didn't know what was in it, but Tony was right - he did need something. He drank it in one before he set the empty glass on the counter.

"If I go to Asgard, Frigga may die, and I can't let that happen," he said after a moment's silence. "Stark, I understand your disdain for me, and believe me, after what I did I share it, however- I can't let Frigga die."

Tony raised a brow. "What makes you think that that's going to happen?"

"Because I saw it," he replied. "They showed me my future- what would've been my future if you hadn't have dropped the tesseract. Frigga dies because of me, and Thanos kills me. Amongst other things. But I saw it. I saw what should happen to me."

"And you want to change it," Tony finished for him. "Wait- you're seriously not blaming me for having my arc reactor failing? Which really fucking hurt, by the way- I feel like it's a very valid reason for dropping the tesseract-"

"You did that to yourself- there were two of you there- I'm assuming you- future you- was trying to steal the tesseract." He sighed. "I don't quite know what happened- but are you okay?"

Tony seemed a little taken aback by that. "Yeah? I mean- a cable came loose. Which- shouldn't just happen. Do you think future me tried to kill me?"

"You are quite annoying."

"Fine. I'm calling Thor."

"Don't-" he replied quickly. "Stark- I don't care if I have to go back to Asgard. I don't care for my sentencing. But I can't let Frigga die. Send me back after the Dark Elves have been to Asgard- but until then- I need to keep her safe."

"Loki- what the fuck am I meant to do with you until then?" He asked, raising a brow.

"I could give you information?" He replied. "About what happened. What's coming. Because- he's coming. I don't know when- but he's coming."

"Who's coming?"

He raised a brow. "Help me avoid Thor and I'll tell you everything."

"You could be lying."

"I could," he replied. "But do you want to risk it?"

"How bad could he possibly be?" He asked.

"He's killed half of the population on countless planets, had the Chitauri at his disposal and has powerful people working for him that could destroy planets just by thinking about it."

"I'm sure we can figure out some sort of deal." That was easier than he'd planned. "You help me prepare for this, and I'll let you stay here."

Maybe that wouldn't be awful. He could help prepare the Avengers for Thanos, and he could stay somewhat safe for the time being. Would Thanos look for him on Midgard? No. But what about the TVA? Did they know that he'd survived? They seemed quite firm on the sticks being able to kill people, so why wasn't he dead? He turned back to Tony, prepared to give an answer, when the familiar golden rectangle appeared in the room.

Shit.

He turned himself invisible, extending the spell to Tony but he made sure to keep themselves visible to each other. He went over to Tony's side, gesturing for him to be quiet, but he was prepared to make him be quiet if he had to. He wasn't going to go back to the TVA. He couldn't. He'd only just gotten away from Thanos. He wasn't going to risk anything that would cost him his freedom.

"Mobius, we can't keep looking into branches," B15 said as she walked through the door. "There's too many of them."

Then Mobius stepped through the door, and he felt his heart stop. "But the readings from this one- it's unlike anything we've seen before. Maybe this will help us find what's wrong."

"Sylvie probably did something," she replied. "Maybe this is where she's hiding."

"She could be dead."

B15 raised a brow. "She could be, but considering she got pruned then the timeline branches like nothing we've ever seen before? She's got something to do with it."

"You know what this energy matches?" Mobius asked.

"What?"

"You know when that Loki went off of the sacred timeline?"

B15 didn't look impressed, Loki thought. "The one who pruned himself under your watch?"

Was that him? "Yeah. Exact same energy surge."

"So you're saying that that Loki variant didn't kill himself, he just somehow used his magic to get here?"

Not intentionally, he thought.

"When you put it like that I sound mad," Mobius replied. "I just- I know that all the variants are different, but- I've never seen a Loki like him. They're normally- vicious. Physically vicious. But this one? He didn't use violence. He used his words- he tried to get me to kill him, until he got his hands on the time stick- and I guess- what if it was my fault?"

"Mobius, you've read his file. You watched his life. You saw what he just came from," she said. "In the sacred timeline, he gets killed by Thanos after he tries to stab him. Are we really surprised that he'd do this?"

Mobius shook his head. "I guess not." He looked around, and for a second, his gaze settled in his direction. It almost felt like he could see him, but he couldn't. Loki knew that his seidr wasn't at its strongest, but the spell was still good. But then he looked away. "He deserved a chance. And if all this is a lie- he died for nothing. We took him from his timeline for nothing."

"We didn't know," she replied softly. "Mobius, you can't beat yourself up about this. Why don't we go back and get some coffee? We'll figure out what the energy surge was, but no one's here. We won't get any answers right now."

Mobius seemed to hesitate, but he eventually nodded. "Sure. Okay."

They both headed back through the door, so Loki dropped the invisibility spell. He watched as the door disappeared, but he avoided Tony's gaze. He walked back around the bar, putting a distance between them. Neither of them said a word. Did Mobius really feel bad for what he did? What did they mean by something being a lie? That he died for nothing and that he was taken from his timeline for nothing? Was that why he was back?

He wanted to ask. He wanted to do something to get them back, to cause an energy surge to draw their attention, but he couldn't. He couldn't risk it, in case it was all a lie. He couldn't risk his freedom. He finally looked at Tony, who was just staring at him with wide eyes, and a look he'd seen so many times before.

Pity.

It was the look he got the day Frigga found out that he was being teased for using magic. The time he went home with a broken arm because someone jumped him on the way back from the town. The first time someone accused him of being argr, and every single time after that. The time he found out he was Jotun. He was always looked at with pity. He didn't want to be pitied.

"They're the people you're running from?" Tony asked.

Loki nodded. "I suppose I leave a mark."

"You- yeah. Okay." Tony poured another drink into the two glasses. "So... You try to kill Thanos by stabbing him? She seemed a little judgemental about that."

He smiled bitterly. "I don't blame her. I don't understand why I'd do that."

"He's the guy you were talking about?"

"The Titan. He's the last of his kind. He typically takes others who are believed to be the last of their kind, who he saves from their planets before he destroys them." He took a big sip of his drink. "If they weren't powerful before they met him, they were made to be."

"And which were you?" He asked.

"Both." He finished his drink. "The Titan himself- he's manipulative. Resilient. Smart. He's not powerful himself, but his cunningness and his willingness to do anything to get what he wants- they make him dangerous."

"How did you meet him?"

"He brought me back to life," he replied.

Tony nodded, as if he was deep in thought. "Do you want to order food and watch a movie?" He asked.

So maybe that wasn't what he was expecting.

But who was he to say no?

Chapter Text

Was Tony making a mistake? Probably.

He was going to call Thor the moment he had the chance. The moment Loki got off his back. But hearing what those random people had to say? That Loki tried to kill himself? With how he was begging him to not call Thor, so he could save Frigga, not himself, he wasn't surprised. He was completely hiding from his family - and they didn't even know. At least when Tony started to withdraw when he was being poisoned by the very thing that was keeping him alive, he had Pepper and Rhodey. They noticed and they cared. When he tried to kill himself after his parents died, he had Rhodey and Jarvis. He had people. Loki didn't. Despite what Loki had done, he wasn't going to turn his back on him. He couldn't.

So once he'd gotten Loki settled into a room after their food and movie - where Tony learned that Loki had never had pizza before - he looked back at the footage of what happened all those months ago. When Loki came through the tesseract. How hurt he seemed. How blue his eyes were. How there were moments where he'd seem a little less like a bag full of crazy cats, and how his eyes were green after he ran into the Hulk. So there was someone behind what happened.

He put all of the clips into a file before he sent it to Shield and the rest of the Avengers. Would they care? Probably not, but it would be good to get them a little more warmed up to Loki before he admitted that he was keeping him in the tower, where they also lived. On different floors, luckily, so he could hide Loki for a while. He just wasn't sure for how long. He could make Jarvis hide his magic signature from Shield for a while, but they'd find out soon, and when they did, he was going to be a dead man. More dead than he was when he went through the portal into space.

"Jarvis," he said, trying to take deep breaths, "what's our guest doing?"

"He's currently in the shower."

Okay. Nothing villainous about that. Showering was normal. What trouble could he possibly get up to in there? Apart from the obvious, but he'd asked Jarvis to alert him the moment he tried anything. He wasn't going to be like that other guy who was there when Loki tried to kill himself and didn't do anything. No, he was going to make sure he didn't die on his watch.

He’d gotten himself into a situation. He knew that. Not a great situation. One that Pepper would leave him for, probably. The nightmares were one thing, but hiding the guy who caused them in the tower? Yeah. He wouldn’t blame her for leaving him. He just needed someone to tell him if he was being an idiot.

Wait.

“Jarvis, could you ask Bruce to come up please?” He asked.

“Right away, sir.”

If there was anyone he could trust, it was Bruce. Would the other guy make an appearance? Potentially. But hopefully if he kept Bruce and Loki apart then everything would be fine. No injuries or murder. That was always a good thing.

He didn’t know what else to do. He could be being played. It could all be a trick. But no one could take the fear that Loki had on his face. He didn’t even think that he’d noticed his own expression, and as much as Tony hated pitying someone- he pitied Loki. Just for what he’d gone through in the last however long it had been since New York. Maybe even before then, too.

“Tones?”

He turned to the door to the lab, smiling when he saw Bruce. “Brucie Bear!”

“Is this about the file you sent?” He asked. “What made you look at that, anyway?”

“Look, it’s a long story- do you want some coffee?” He asked. “I think- I think I need some coffee.”

Bruce raised a brow but headed to the kitchen anyway. Tony followed, and the moment he was close enough, he put the coffee machine on. He knew he needed to tell Bruce, but he knew that there was every possibility that he’d fucked up. That he was making a mistake. He didn’t want to hear that.

“You know how I was saying that it was weird that a cable in the arc reactor came undone?” He said, mainly focusing on the coffee machine.

“Yeah,” Bruce replied, and he could hear the confusion in his tone. “Did you figure out how it happened?”

“Sort of?” He wasn’t quite sure. “So- apparently we can time travel in the future and I did that to myself? So when I dropped the tesseract and Loki took it- it wasn’t meant to happen.”

There was a moment of silence. “Okay. How did you figure this out?”

“Well you- you know how Loki disappeared?”

“Yeah?”

“He’s here.”

Silence.

He should’ve expected that. He’d definitely done something stupid. He couldn’t bring himself to do anything about it, though. He handed Bruce a cup of coffee, who was just watching him carefully. Tony couldn’t bring himself to meet his gaze.

“It might be a mistake. I don’t know. But- he got here dressed in something so fucking stupid- and he- he looked scared for a second when he saw me. And- he begged me to not call Thor. Begged. He said if I don’t call Thor then he’ll give me information about what actually happened. Apparently there was someone behind what he did. So that’s why I went looking at the footage, and- I believe him? You can’t fake that kind of fear. I mean- he heard his name and- I’ve never seen fear like that. And he’s being chased by these people because apparently he shouldn’t have grabbed the tesseract but apparently he killed himself wherever he was- or at least tried- and I just- I might be making a mistake. I probably am. But- he doesn’t have anyone. If he goes back to Asgard apparently his mother will die- he didn’t even care about himself and what’ll happen to him if he goes back. Just his mother. And yeah- maybe he’s playing me, but- I don’t know what to do, Bruce.”

More silence.

He should’ve expected it. He really should have. He was being so, so stupid. Why would he let Loki stay? Was he that desperate for company? He took a deep breath as he gripped his cup of coffee, trying to calm down a little. Bruce was about to tell him off. He could feel it.

“If he’s telling the truth, I think you’re doing the right thing.”

He looked at Bruce, seeing that he was smiling a little at him. Was he really doing the right thing? Was he doing a good thing? He couldn’t believe it. Tony Stark was doing a good thing.

“Really?”

“Yeah. I mean- we’re trusting him on this, which might not be a brilliant idea,” he said, “but if he’s telling the truth- he’s got information that’ll help us, and at least he won’t be alone after what happened. Who were these people looking for him?”

Tony pulled up a hologram of the recording, where the two people came through the gold door-looking-thing. He realised that the guy was called Mobius, or at least that was what the other one called him. He was the one Loki was focused on, and he wasn’t even sure that the god noticed at the time.

“Magic?” Bruce asked.

“I don’t know. From what Loki said, magic doesn’t work and the tesseract is basically just a cube there,” he replied.

“Fucking hell.” He heard Bruce mutter. “Okay. Okay. This is fine. So they don’t know that he’s alive?”

He shook his head. “That’s what it sounds like.”

“Okay. And- how is he?” He asked.

“Freaked. Exhausted. Jumpy. He almost stabbed me when I got up too fast earlier,” he replied.

“And how are you?”

That caught him off guard. “Not great, considering he’s here, but- I don’t think he’d do something to hurt anyone. I just-”

“If he doesn’t have anyone then he might hurt himself. I get it,” he replied. “Tony- you’re doing a good thing. I wish I had someone after I- tried. But you need to look after yourself too.”

“Yeah. I’m fine. But- I just couldn’t stop thinking about- I had Pep and Rhodey, y’know? And I wouldn’t be here without them,” he said. “I guess- even after what he did- no one deserves that.”

“I think- if this is the case, we’re completely wrong about Loki.” Bruce set the empty cup down. “Your theory would make even more sense. Has Clint said anything?”

He shook his head. “I’m half expecting him to kill me for even suggesting it.”

“What’s Loki said about it?” He asked.

“We haven’t talked about it yet,” he replied. “I don’t think I want to, but- I can’t- if this guy is coming then- I want to be prepared.”

“Have you told Pepper?” Tony shook his head. “When’s she back?”

“Next week.”

“Then you have time,” he replied. “Want to watch Star Wars?”

————————————————

It was a long night. Loki didn't get any sleep, but he rested, at least. He shouldn't have felt safe with Tony, sure, and he didn't. Not completely. He trusted him enough to be able to sit and recoup. He kept waiting for Thor to arrive, but he never did. So Tony was true to his word. For the time being, at least. Maybe it was a safe situation. Tony had made him try some pizza, which was definitely an interesting experience. Not that he hated it. It was just different. Then they watched Tangled, which was an interesting movie, but he didn't hate it. It was just interesting.

He made sure to meditate. He could feel his seidr strengthening, regaining its connection to Yggdrasil, which was a relief. He wouldn't have to spend long on Midgard. He could be off travelling by the end of the week. He wasn't sure where he'd go. Maybe he'd walk the branches of Yggdrasil and see where he'd end up. He had to run from Thanos and the TVA - neither of which were ideal - but he'd be okay. He would survive. He just wasn't sure he wanted to spend the rest of his life running.

Mobius seemed to think - or at least hope - that he was alive. That he'd managed to escape. He left a distinct energy signature apparently, so he would have to use his magic sparingly. Assuming it was his seidr that caused the energy shift. He wasn't completely sure if it was - considering he hadn't used magic either time that they came to find him. He wasn't completely sure what caused it, or if it was just him.

He didn't miss how worried Mobius seemed, though. Or maybe guilty would be the best word for it. He didn't exactly seem thrilled by the situation he was in, and he seemed desperate to find him. He seemed guilt ridden and worried. He couldn't reach out to let him know that he was alive, though. What if it was all a ploy to lure Loki out? No. He couldn't risk it.

He took a deep breath as he got up, taking his time to stretch out his bones. He was cramping from being hunched over for so long, but he couldn't bring himself to move until then. Being in the corner of the room felt safer. Less exposed. He made his way out of the room Tony had given him for his stay - which wasn't bad. It wasn't his room on Asgard, but it wasn't the cell in the Void either. It had a bed - which was far too soft for comfort - and a window, even a desk and a bookshelf. Tony had even gotten him 'human clothes' for his stay. He was going above and beyond, and Loki wasn't sure how to repay him.

Loki started to head towards the kitchen to get some tea - he'd seen some chamomile tea in the cupboards when Tony was getting more coffee. He paused when he passed through the living room, finding Bruce sat on the sofa with Tony. That wasn't good. He thought he could deal with seeing any of the Avengers, apart from Thor, of course, but Bruce? Sure, what the Hulk did was ultimately a good thing, however that didn't make it any easier.

"Lokes!" Tony sat up, beaming like a small child at Christmas. "Hi! Bruce came over and we're watching Star Wars- you want to join? Wait- do you know what Star Wars is?"

Loki raised a brow. "I visited in the eighties. I went to see- I think it was the third one? With someone... Harrison? I can't remember, but he insisted that I go with him to see the movie."

"Harrison Ford?" Tony asked, his jaw almost on the floor.

"I think so- he had brown hair- I think he said he was in Indiana Jones? I'm unsure- it was a blurry week."

He didn't quite understand why Tony and Bruce were looking at him as if he'd done the most unthinkable thing ever. He had already done that, to be fair, so maybe it was the fact that he'd done something vaguely normal. When he knew that man, Star Wars was believed to be a passing trend and he thought that the guy would disappear like most stars did back then. Maybe he was wrong.

"You went to see Star Wars with Harrison Ford?" Bruce asked.

"How did you meet him?" Tony questioned.

He shrugged. "We met at a bar. I spent a week in New York with him."

"I didn't know he was gay," Tony said.

"I don't know- I was in my female form, so that could've been why," he replied. "It was a good week."

Tony was quiet for a moment. "I can't believe you fucked Harrison Ford."

"On that note, I'm going to make a coffee."

Bruce headed straight to the kitchen, not even looking back. Tony was still looking at him with wide eyes. All hostility and skepticism from the previous night was gone, and pure confusion remained. At least things were getting better. Marginally, but still.

"So... Do you want to watch Star Wars?" Tony asked.

He thought for a moment before he shrugged.

"Sure."

Chapter Text

Loki wasn't exactly sure what was going on. Was the situation hostile? No. Not really. Bruce and Tony just took to interrogating him on what he'd done in his life, apart from fuck Harrison Ford. They definitely seemed surprised that he was around quite a lot in the eighties, mainly clubbing. Tony wanted to go out clubbing with him, but Bruce said that it was probably a bad idea and he wasn't wrong.

That didn't stop them.

Of course, Loki couldn't risk getting recognised, so she'd switched into her female form. She hadn't been in it in over a year, and it felt like a weight had been lifted off her shoulders. To finally feel like herself again, for the first time in over a year. To be free to be whoever she wanted to be again, and not have to hide - it was fantastic. To be able to switch forms as and how she wanted was one of the most freeing feelings she'd felt in a long time.

She got into a black skater dress with black knee high boots and a black leather jacket. Maybe a bit more modern than she was used to, but she didn't feel uncomfortable in it. Quite the opposite, actually. She did her makeup in a more toned down way than she did in the eighties, opting for a green smokey eye and a red lip. She left her hair as is - it looked passable for a night out. At least it was a more modern version of what she used to wear.

She walked out to the living room, finding Tony and Bruce waiting. Tony had gone all out - going with black form fitting trousers and a black button up, whereas Bruce had gone a little more low-key with some jeans and a t-shirt. It was clear that he wasn't keen on going, but was mainly going to babysit. Loki wasn't entirely sure why she was going, either. Tony just suggested it and she - for some reason - went with it. However, seeing Tony's jaw drop when she walked into the room definitely made it worth it.

"I sort of get the Harrison Ford thing now," Tony said, his eyes still as wide as saucers.

"Is it shapeshifting or an illusion?" Bruce asked, seeming more interested in the mechanics of the form change rather than what Tony was seemingly interested in.

"I suppose it's closer to shapeshifting," she replied, "although I don't use my seidr for it. It simply- happens when I want it to."

Bruce raised a brow. "How does that work?"

"I simply change form based on how I'm feeling. I don't need magic to change into myself." She shrugged. "I've always seen my gender as rather... fluid, and I can change my form to match how I feel."

"Pronoun check?" Tony asked.

She'd never been asked that before. "She/her in this form, he/him in my male form, they/them whenever," she replied. "Thank you."

"I didn't think Asgard would be so open about these things," Tony said.

"It's not." She frowned. "Asgard is very big on gender roles and traditions. It's why I came here so often. It wasn't perfect- not in the slightest- especially not in the eighties, but it was better than Asgard."

Tony raised a brow. "Does Thor know about this? Or should we keep this a secret?"

"He knows," she replied. "As do Odin and Frigga."

"And they're okay with it?"

"Frigga is."

Tony seemed to get the message to not push any further on that topic. "Okay. Let's go out to the club."

Somehow they ended up at quite a small club, that seemed quite hard to get into. With Tony leading, however, they got let in ahead of the queue that looped around the building. Loki headed straight to the bar, ordering a rum and coke before the other two could even reach the bar. She just needed to get her mind off of everything going on. She enchanted the drink, making it as strong as Asgardian alcohol. She needed a night to just have fun, to let go - she hadn’t had one in about a year, so she was going to make the most of it. She was going to have fun, anything else be damned.

She sipped her drink as she scanned the crowd, finding nothing that drew her attention just yet. Something - or someone - would eventually, she thought. She finished her drink before ordering another one, enchanting it the same as the first once she got it. She made her way to the dance floor, looking for anyone worth her time.

“Hey, Snow White.”

She turned around, seeing a man following behind her. She smiled as she took a small step towards him, closing the space between them.

“I would offer you a drink, but I see you already have one,” he said.

She raised a brow at her drink, before she finished the almost full glass in one go. “Don’t let that stop you.”

The guy grinned as he wrapped an arm around her waist. “Do you have a name?”

“I was quite enjoying Snow White,” she replied with a teasing grin.

The man led her to the bar, getting a round of shots and a round of drinks. The shot was awful, she found out the hard way. She didn’t know what it was, but not even the enchantment on it could save it from the sheer bitterness. The drink wasn’t bad, though. It was floral, but still strong enough to be worth drinking.

She danced with the guy for a bit, not saying no to any more drinks, and eventually the room started to spin in the best way possible. Once the guy’s friends came and started to get just a little weird, she left them and went to find someone else.

She could see Tony chatting to a girl not too far away, and Bruce was still sat at the bar, regretting everything. She went to head to the back of the club, where it seemed a little quieter, but with people dancing and fighting to get through the crowd, she somehow managed to get shoved into a blonde, shorter than her, but she somehow carried an aura that made her feel powerful, even if she didn’t look it.

“For some reason I don’t hate how much taller than me you are,” the blonde said, her Russian accent thick compared to the American ones she’d gotten used to hearing.

“I get the feeling your height doesn’t stop you from much,” she replied with a grin.

“I have ways.” She grinned up at Loki. “You’re not from around here?”

“Neither are you,” she replied. “Русский?” (Russian?)

“Вы говорите на этом языке?” She seemed to perk up. “Ты удивляешь.” (You speak the language? You’re surprising.)

She chuckled. "Surprising? That's one word," she replied. "How long have you been here?"

"Only a couple of weeks," she said. "What about you?"

"Only a couple of weeks," she replied. "Are you staying here?"

She nodded as she took a sip of her drink. "With my sister- she needs help with her work so I've come to help, but I might stay a little longer. New York is so cool! I mean- clubs? We don't have those back home- I tried to convince my sister to come but she wouldn't so my friend came instead- but like- even the food? So much nicer. And coffee? Starbucks? Amazing-"

"It's a wonderful city," she said. "Have you been to the Met?"

She gasped so dramatically that Loki thought that she'd choked. "No? What's that? Is it good?"

"It's a museum. It's art based, it's fantastic. They have brilliant works there," she replied. "Perhaps we should go. I go there every time I come to New York."

"I'd love to go!" She grinned. "What's your number?"

Loki conjured a phone for the girl to put her number into. She wasn't sure what the number for it would be - she wasn't even sure where it came from, but she handed it over to the woman anyway. The girl put her number in before handing it back to her. She looked at the name on the contact and grinned as she looked back at her.

"Yelena?" She said the name aloud. "That's a beautiful name."

"Do I get to learn yours?" She asked as she stepped closer to her.

"Loki," she replied.

Yelena raised a brow. "If you're anything as chaotic as the god then I know I'm in for a good time."

"I've been known to be rather chaotic."

Loki wasn't completely sure how it happened. One moment, her and Yelena were talking. Next thing she knew, she was pushed up against a wall by the blonde - she wasn't completely sure how or when that happened - with Yelena's legs around her waist and her hands in her hair. She wasn't even completely sure where in the club they were. She could hear the music as loud as she could before, so they were definitely still in there. She didn't even know where Tony or Bruce were - if they were even still there.

She held Yelena even closer, barely even thinking about needing to breathe. Was it a good idea? Probably not. Yelena was fun, interesting, and someone who definitely caught her eye. Was it responsible to sleep with her? Probably not. Did she care? Not really. She'd done worse.

"Yelena- what the fuck-"

"Loki, I swear to fucking god-"

They both pulled away when they heard their names being called. Loki could see a brunette, a little taller than Yelena, heading over to them, seeming quite irked, and then Tony and Bruce following close behind. She almost groaned out of sheer frustration, which Yelena actually did. She hopped down, landing gracefully on her feet - much more graceful than Loki was expecting considering how strong she could taste vodka after their little makeup session. It was almost enough to get her drunk again.

"Kate- I thought the purpose of coming here was to have fun! And let loose!" Yelena said with a pout.

Kate, Loki assumed, was just glaring at her. Not Yelena. Her. As if she was to blame for the entire thing. But then it clicked. Jealousy. That was fine. She could deal with someone being jealous. She turned to Tony and Bruce, who both seemed to have switched attitudes. Bruce seemed to be trying not to laugh, whereas Tony looked like he wanted the ground to swallow him whole.

"Loki- I get being the god- goddess of mischief or whatever the fuck- but making out with Natasha's sister?" Tony sighed. "She's going to kill you."

It was Loki's turn to gape.

"What?" She asked.

Yelena turned to her. "You know Natasha?"

"Natasha Romanoff? Black Widow? That Natasha?" She asked, and everyone nodded. "I'm dead."

Bruce cackled. He actually cackled. "I'm sure we can keep this a secret."

"Wait- You're Loki? Loki Loki?" Yelena asked. "Oh my god. She's going to kill me as well."

"I think Bruce is onto something- let's all keep this a secret- no one needs to be killed from this," Tony said. "Fucking hell. Loki, I'm never taking you out clubbing again. Fuck- oh my god."

She raised a brow. "At least she doesn't know I'm here so it's not as if we even have to address this?"

"Yelena, how easy is it to keep a secret from Natasha?" Tony asked the Russian spy.

"Quite hard," she replied. "She's going to kill me. She's never going to let me out of her sight again. I mean- it was worth it- but she's going to kill me."

"It was definitely worth it," she said, and earned a glare from Kate in response.

'Yelena, your'e drunk. We can talk about this in the morning." Kate stepped forwards. "I think you need bed."

Yelena pouted and said that she definitely didn't need to go to bed, but Kate managed to convince her. Loki got the feeling that convincing Yelena to do anything was impossible, but she relented quite fast when Kate spoke. She leant into her side, letting the brunette guide her. Just before they left, Loki gently grabbed Kate's shoulder - the one Yelena wasn't clutching.

"Tell her you like her. She's completely oblivious, but there's something there," she whispered into her ear before she turned back to Tony and Bruce.

Tony was definitely like the father who'd found their kid doing something awful. He muttered something about Natasha's wrath, whereas Bruce was still chuckling, barely keeping it together. How was she to know that Yelena was Natasha's sister? Clint didn't tell her that part. There was no way for her to know, and she really didn't fancy getting on Natasha's bad side. Well, even more on there than she already was.

"Loki, I swear to fucking god, if you even think about seeing Yelena in anything but a friendly manner I will personally tell Natasha so that she can kill you," Tony said.

She chuckled quietly. "Noted, however I think there's someone else better for Yelena, and hopefully they both see it soon."

"Kate?" Tony guessed before his eyes widened. "We're going to have Clint arrive quite soon."

Bruce seemed confused for a moment before he turned to Tony. "Shit."

"Okay. Let's get back to the tower and we can plan from there."

------------------------------------------------

Loki still didn't regret it. Sure, Kate hated her with a burning passion - which was justified, she realised after learning that her dad had died in the invasion - and had almost definitely told Clint that she was on Midgard and almost definitely at the tower with Tony and Bruce - but she had a good night. She hadn't had fun in such a long time, she really didn't care that Barton was going to hunt her down and kill her. She had fun and her and Yelena had been texting a bit. It was nice. She felt content for the first time in years.

She hadn't gotten changed yet. She was still in her clubbing gear as she made a coffee before bed. She kept listening for footsteps or anything that could indicate that Clint was around, but she couldn't hear anything. Nothing that would resemble Clint, anyway. When she finally heard footsteps, they were so obvious that she assumed that it was Tony or Bruce. Until she felt the energy.

She kept her head down as she stirred the sugar into her coffee, trying to seem completely unfazed. As if her heart wasn't beating so fast that she thought she was going to pass out. As if her hands didn't start shaking the moment she felt the energy shift. As if everything was completely and utterly fine.

"I guess I was right."

She chuckled tiredly as she looked up, seeing Mobius stood in front of her.

"I suppose you were."

Chapter Text

Considering Loki was preparing to see Clint, Mobius was still the worst person she could've seen in that moment. She would rather see Clint. She would rather face his wrath. She would rather face Natasha's wrath for making out with her sister. Part of her thought she'd rather see Odin or even The Other. Anyone but Mobius.

She looked at the exits to the room, seeing that they were completely unblocked. She could still get out if she needed to. She could teleport anyway, but just in case. She looked at Mobius, seeing that he was just looking at her with a small smile. Almost like a nervous smile. As if he was scared. Then again, Loki had her magic and knew what to expect from Mobius. He should be scared, she thought.

"I'm sorry about what happened," Mobius said, and she almost scoffed the moment the word were out of his mouth.

"You're sorry?" She repeated as she looked at him. "Your people take people and imprison them, or kill them- and you're sorry?"

Mobius was quiet for a moment. "I get it. What we did wasn't okay, and- we should never have done that. It turns out- the TVA is a lie. All a lie. And I was just- I got scared that- you 'died' for nothing, I guess-"

"Why? Why worry?" She asked. "Because I wouldn't be able to help you catch whoever it was that you were chasing?"

"No- I just- I've never seen anything like that before," he replied. "Loki, I'm sorry. I fucked up, and- I'm sorry that I didn't try to help you- that I just- acted without thinking. I shouldn't have showed you your future and- I shouldn't have. And I shouldn't have treated you like a prisoner. It wasn't fair, and I'm sorry."

She looked at Mobius, who didn't falter under her gaze, but he was toying with his hands as if he was nervous. A small tell, sure, but a tell nonetheless. She didn't believe him. It was complete and utter bullshit, she thought. Considering he still did it - he allegedly knew everything from her past, everything from Thanos, yet he still decided to lock her up like she was a prisoner? No.

"What's happened with the TVA?" She asked.

"The Timekeepers are robots, and apparently there's just a guy at the end of time. He writes the sacred timeline. We're all variants," he replied, and before he could carry on, she laughed.

"You're all variants? Yet you capture others and torment them when you're the exact same as them?" She snarled. "You're all hypocrites."

Mobius furrowed his brows. "None of us can remember our lives- that's not our fault, Loki- we were doing what we were told."

"And I was doing what I was told when I attacked New York. Does that make it okay?" She asked. "Does that make all the lives I took okay? When you said that I enjoyed it, though you saw exactly what had led up to that moment? You said that I was born to cause pain and suffering and death just so that others can be better- and perhaps that's the case- but you- your people killed far more than I could ever dare to attempt- you cannot paint me to be a villain, a monster, when you've done worse than me."

"Loki- this is ridiculous." He chuckled breathlessly. "I've seen it now- you use your words as a weapon- and that's not why I'm here."

She raised a brow. "I have my daggers and my magic. If I wanted to do more lethal harm, which I would like to do right now, I would use them. Rest assured, my words are not weapons, simply the truth that I don't think you want to hear," she snarled. "Why did you come?"

"A few reasons- but- where were you?" He asked.

"Here?"

"Before that," he replied. "You got here yesterday, right?" She nodded. "Loki, it's been months since we last saw each other. Where were you?"

She furrowed her brows. "I came straight here."

"No. It had only been days here when- that happened- and months have gone by. Where were you?" He asked.

She tried to think, but she only remembered darkness. Not like the darkness in the Void, but more like she was sleeping. It felt like she was sleeping for an hour at most, not months. It couldn't have just been months, but Mobius didn't look like he was joking. He looked deadly serious, and she didn't quite know what to say.

"Here," she finally replied. "What was the other reason that you came?"

"The TVA is in danger," he said.

"Good. Let it burn."

"People could die," he replied. "If the TVA doesn't exist, then neither do timelines. None of them."

She raised a brow. "Am I supposed to care?"

"Loki- everything could end."

"And what am I meant to do?" She asked. "You all made it very clear that you thought that I was weak. Nothing. Powerless. What was it that you called me? A 'scared little boy'? What would you want me to do? Quiver in fear until the TVA gods take pity on me and decide not to erupt?"

"Was I wrong?" He questioned.

"You come to me, for my help, yet you choose to insult me." She chuckled tiredly. "No. I will never go back there, and I will never work with the likes of you."

Mobius took a step towards her, but she held her ground. "If you come back, you won't be treated like a variant. You'd be an equal."

"Freedom is the cruelest weapon of all," she said. "And your attempts of manipulation is rather cute. It's so pathetic."

"Loki- I need your help." He took another step towards her. "Please."

She could see the desperation in his eyes, and the way he was practically holding himself back from going any closer to her. She would've pitied him if she wasn't shaking out of sheer rage. She couldn't think. All she wanted to do was drive a dagger into his heart and watch his life slowly slip from his being. After what he did, after what the TVA did, she wanted to make them pay.

"No," she said. "And I give you thirty seconds to leave before I kill you."

Mobius opened his mouth as if he was going to answer back, but shook his head. He pulled out his tempad and opened a door that appeared behind him. Part of her longed for him to stay. To explain more. To help, even. But she wasn't going to do that for the TVA. She would never do anything to help them. Mobius went to leave, and she almost went to call him back, but she stopped herself. Then he turned around. He pulled something out of his pocket before he held it out to her.

"It's a tempad. My old one. It's disconnected from everything, but you'll be able to message or call me," he said. "Just- if you ever need anything."

He stepped through the door before she could reply, and it closed behind him. She looked down at the tempad in her hands, seeing it was slightly different from the one Mobius had. Mainly the shape - it was a little bigger and bulkier. It had a weight to it that would be impractical in the battle field. She twisted it in her hands, and watched as the screen came to life. Mobius was right. Everything was disabled, but it had a 'message new console' button. That was how she was supposed to message Mobius, she thought.

She looked around, seeing that there was no sign of life anywhere. She didn't think that Mobius would've done anything to Tony or Bruce, but she would've thought that they would've come in if they knew that there was an intruder in the tower.

"Jarvis? Are Stark and Banner okay?" She asked.

"They're both asleep, Miss Loki," he replied. "My apologies. My power went down temporarily."

How could Mobius take Jarvis offline? Especially without Tony knowing? She took a deep breath as she picked up the now-lukewarm cup of tea from the counter. She headed to her room, where she dumped the tempad in the first drawer she could. She wasn't going to reach out to Mobius. She would never do that. Not even if she was completely and utterly desperate. Not even if he was the only person left in the galaxy. She couldn't. He couldn't be trusted.

She sat down in the corner of the room, clutching the mug tight in her hands. She kept the light on, despite it being in the early hours of the morning. She knew that she should sleep, but she couldn't bring herself to. Not after Mobius turned up with no warning. After he managed to disable Jarvis. No. She wasn't safe, and she couldn't risk letting her guard down. Not yet.

---------------------------------

Loki sat on top of a table in the workshop, clutching a mug of lavender tea in her hands. She looked around the room, seeing that it was a complete and utter mess. Not that she expected anything different from Tony. Not in the slightest.

She stifled a yawn as she turned her attention back to Tony, who was fiddling with a machine. She hadn’t slept since she arrived, and even though it had only been three days, she hadn’t really slept before then either. Unless her supposed death counted. Both times. She hadn’t even slept during everything that happened with Thor’s coronation. No wonder her seidr was grumpy.

“Okay- so- no one can come in here without permission, so we won’t get walked in on, and no one can access the cameras or mics in here,” Tony said. “It’s completely private.”

She did appreciate the work that went into that. She didn’t want to talk about it anyway, but if anyone else stumbled upon the information that she hadn’t wanted to? It could cost her her integrity. Her life on Asgard, if she even had one to go back to. She would be cast out and Odin would disown her. No, it was easier to pretend as if it was her own plan and face the consequences.

“What do you want to start with?” She asked, trying to keep her voice calm.

Tony seemed to think for a second. “Basics about this person. Strengths, weaknesses, all that jazz.”

“His strength and durability outweigh the Hulk’s,” she replied, focusing on a random crack in the floor as she spoke. “He’s fast, and agile. His regenerative abilities are impressive. He’s smart, he’s tactical, and he’s determined. He won’t let anyone stop him. He doesn’t care for anyone. Not even his ‘children’. He’s a ruthless murderer, and he won’t stop until he gets what he wants.”

Tony didn’t reply for a while, but she didn’t look up. “Okay. Weaknesses?”

She chuckled humourlessly. “He doesn’t have any. He doesn’t allow himself to get close to anyone, not even his children. There’s one, though he’d kill her if it meant getting what he wanted. He’s the last of his kind, so knowledge on them is limited. He wouldn’t let any weakness stop him, however.”

“What about his children?”

“They’re people from planets he slaughtered. He finds powerful people and adopts them. Grooms them to be loyal to him. To believe his ideology,” she replied. “Some are fighters. Strong fighters. Cull Obsidian, Proxima Midnight, Corvus Glaive- and there’s a magic user, Ebony Maw. They’re the Black Order. They do his bidding if he deems the task unworthy of his time. And then his daughters, Gamora and Nebula. They’re both loyal to him, though he only truly cares for Gamora.”

“And how dangerous would you say they are?” Tony asked.

She raised a brow. “He wouldn’t show interest in anyone who wasn’t dangerous and powerful in their own right.”

“And he’s trying to find the infinity stones?” He questioned. She nodded. “Where are they? And does he know?”

“The mind stone is here?” He nodded in confirmation. “As is the time stone. The reality stone is on Asgard. The power stone is with the Nova Corps. No one knows where the soul stone is, and the tesseract is on the TVA, though I'm unsure if he knows about that. He knows where the test are, though.”

He nodded in thought. “Okay. So- why bring you into it? And New York?”

"He needed the tesseract, and I knew quite a lot about it after studying the stones," she replied.

"Thor said you died?"

"I had, though he has very powerful allies. Or he was owed a debt by someone rather powerful." She thought for a moment. "He found me in the Void. Floating through nothing. He took me in, brought me back to life."

"And then?"

"After- I think it was a year, from what Thor said- he thought that I would be loyal to him. That I was loyal to him." She looked at Tony with a tired smile. "Clearly he was wrong."

Tony seemed to think for a moment. "Okay- but in the footage from when you just arrived- you looked like you were in pain."

"I was," she replied. "I healed."

"And your eyes were blue," he said.

"No," she replied. "I don't appreciate that accusation, either. At the time, I felt I owed Thanos a debt, hence why I did it."

He didn't seem convinced. "It's okay if that isn't the whole story."

"It is. I owed him a debt and I was angry at Thor and Odin," she replied. "He's going to come here to get the stones, and he will slaughter anyone who stands in his way. Perhaps tomorrow I can go over his weapons? And more about the stones?"

He nodded slowly. "Yeah- yeah, thank you." He looked up from the hologram he was working on to look at her. "But- yeah. Maybe information on the people he works with would be quite good too- like- everything they can do and which we need to worry about most."

"Of course, Stark. I'll see you in the morning," she sighed in reply before she walked out of the room.

Once Loki was back in her room, she truly felt the weight of everything they talked about. She was a monster. How could she attack Midgard and still think that she could stay there until she knew that Frigga was safe? How could she assume that anyone would be willing to help her? She was a monster. She killed hundreds of people, and why? Because she was angry? How many times did she berate Odin for starting wars because he was angry, yet she did the exact same? She was a hypocrite and she didn't deserve any of the kindness that Tony and Bruce were showing her.

Her hands shook even more around the cup she was desperately trying to keep ahold of, until she gave up and set it down on the desk, and her knees almost buckled. Breathing was almost impossible as her vision swam. Her seidr was becoming restless, until finally it came out in a force, pushing everything back against the walls and even shaking the building as it rippled against the confines of the room, plunging it into darkness.

She sank down to her knees as she did her best to breathe, but the walls were closing in and it was just like she was back there. On Sanctuary. It was cold, dark, damp, and quiet. Completely silent until they finally came back. She tried to be quiet, to make herself as small as possible in a desperate attempt to hide. Not that she could. They always knew where she was. The one time they left her unchained, they simply enjoyed the hunt of chasing her.

Then footsteps. They were coming. And only one pair so it was going to be the Other, and he was worse than the Leviathans. He was ruthless, and he had something he needed. Something she swore she would never give him.

“Hey, hey- it’s okay. You’re safe. Just breathe.”

Chapter Text

“Hey, hey- it’s okay. You’re safe. Just breathe.”

Loki tried taking a deep breath, to calm down enough to figure out where that voice came from. She recognised it, but it wasn’t the Other. Definitely not the Other. Too kind. Too human.

“Focus on things you can hear,” the voice said. “What’re you hearing?”

She tried listening, and she could make out a few sounds. “Cars. Breathing.”

“Yeah, it’s really quiet in here.” Mobius. Shit. “How about we-”

She used her magic to throw him against the wall, keeping him pinned against it so he wouldn’t get any closer. She got up, her eyes adjusting to the dark room. Mobius was there. He’d somehow gotten in again, and at the worst possible time.

“Why are you here?”

“The tempad picked up a dangerous energy blast, so I came to check on you,” he replied. “I was worried that you’d been hurt.”

“I’m fine,” she snarled. “Will you stop acting like my knight in shining armour? I don’t need you to protect me. I don’t need your worry. I need you to leave me alone. I need the TVA to leave me alone! Let me live my fucking life!”

She found it very doubtful that Mobius was there to help. He wanted something. Whether it was to bask in her weakness or take advantage of it, he was there for a reason. She should’ve thrown the tempad. Gotten rid of it. Yet she kept ahold of it, and for what? Sentiment? To cling onto the hope that maybe, just maybe, someone cared? No. She was stupid.

“Loki, let me down,” Mobius said, his tone stern yet soft. “I don’t think you need protecting, but I do think you need someone. You shouldn’t be alone.”

She chuckled bitterly. “Why do you think you know what’s best for me? Because you’ve seen it? No. No! You are not to decide what’s best for me under the guise of ‘guilt’. Of pity. You're just like everyone else and I refuse to fall for it again."

Loki had fallen for the whole 'caring' ruse too many times. She thought that people cared, that they liked her, and they'd either be using her for power, or they thought that she was 'easy'. She wasn't doing it again. Especially not with Mobius. He just wanted to get her back at the TVA to keep her imprisoned. She wasn't going to fall for it.

"Not everyone in this universe is working against you," he said. "You don't have to go through this alone."

"If I was going to find someone, believe me Mobius, after everything, it wouldn't be you," she replied. "Nor anyone who's a part of the TVA. I want no part of that place."

"Okay. I'll only come if you actually ever call me." He raised a brow. "Now will you let me down?"

She looked at him one last time before she released the magic that was pinning him to the wall. She turned away, just getting him out of her sight. Would someone really care? No. The last person she thought cared was just using her as a pawn to get what he wanted. The person before that just used her to gain a sense of power and importance. The person before that used her to get to Thor. But what would Mobius want from her? He had power. He was important. But he wanted her help, and she wouldn't give him that. Never.

"You know, Loki," she heard Mobius say from behind her. "You're scared of letting people in, to get close to you, but I feel like there's nothing you want more than a genuine friend. You just won't let yourself have that. And when you do finally let yourself open up to someone, I'm here. Even if it takes centuries. I'll wait, no matter how long it takes. Not because I want anything from you, or because I pity you or because I feel guilty about what happened - which I do, but that's not why I'm doing this - but because I want to get to know you. Because you're worth something, even if you don't think you are."

Loki almost turned back, to look at him, to give a snarky reply - anything - but she didn't. She was barely able to stop the tears from stinging her eyes anyway, and if she turned to look at him then she knew that they'd just fall. So she kept her back to him as she heard a time door activate, and then she felt the energy dissipate. He was gone, and she was alone again. The lights began to flicker on again, revealing an empty room.

It felt even emptier without Mobius in it.

She sat down on the chair at the table, gripping onto the arms to stop herself from falling. She couldn't stop her entire body from shaking, and with every passing second the nausea got worse. All she wanted was to go home, but she didn't have one anymore. She didn't want to be alone anymore, but she couldn't bring herself to reach out to Mobius. She would never do that. No matter how low she got, that would be the last thing that she would do.

---------------------------

Loki didn’t know how she ended up at the bar, but she did. Sipping glass after glass of whiskey, she had to commend Tony for his good taste in drinks. She could still see Mobius pinned against the wall, but with no fear in his eyes. He seemed more exhausted by it than anything.

She didn’t understand why he’d keep visiting her. Why he would worry about her so much. Allegedly worry, anyway. He wanted her to help save the TVA, but she wouldn’t. She would never. All she needed was for Mobius to leave her alone and she could move on with her life.

Did that make her a coward? Probably. Almost definitely. But she was already a coward. She gave into Thanos. She gave into the torture and the manipulation. It was easier to let people think that she did it of her own free will than to admit the truth. It would cause less embarrassment for both her and the House of Odin. She wasn’t strong enough, but everyone knew that already.

She couldn’t help but wonder how everyone was getting on without her. Thor was probably annoyed that she managed to get away. That she managed to beat him in her own twisted little way. Odin was probably both relieved that he didn’t have to deal with her anymore but irked that he couldn’t finally prove everyone right. That she truly was a monster that deserved to be caged. Then there was Frigga. She always saw the best in her. Would she be disappointed? Would she finally want to disown her like Odin had wanted since he realised that she was useless? That she would more than likely never take Jotunheim’s throne, less so than to ally it with Asgard? Did she finally see the mistake that Odin made all those centuries ago when he came back from war with a runt?

She had nowhere to go. She couldn’t go back to Asgard. She couldn’t go to any of the realms without being turned over to Asgard. Apart from Jotunheim, who would likely tear her apart. At least they would get justice. The planets of the galaxy knew that she ‘allied’ herself with Thanos, so none of them would welcome her. So Jotunheim it was. She told Tony that she’d go to Asgard, and sure, she wanted to in the moment. She wanted to see her ‘family’ again before she died, but she couldn’t sit in a cell for the rest of her life. She couldn’t do that again. So once she got confirmation that Frigga survived the Dark Elves’ attack on Asgard, she would turn herself over to Jotunheim. It was only fair.

Then there was Tony, who was letting her stay in the tower. He knew the truth. He didn’t seem to judge her for it. The moment he insinuated that he thought she was under the scepter’s influence as well - it almost hurt. He didn’t know her. Her attack on New York was the only introduction he had to her, yet he still thought that there was a chance she wasn’t in control. Her brother didn’t even consider it a possibility. He thought that she was completely capable of genocide just to rule a realm. As if their talk on the Bifrost never happened.

Mobius knew the truth. He’d seen it. He didn’t judge her for it, though. He didn’t really seem to care. He didn’t even use it against her. He didn’t even seem to judge her when she felt as if she was back at Sanctuary again. He helped her without any hesitation, and she attacked him in return. She really was a monster, wasn’t she?

“You look awfully comfortable for someone who just tried to take over the world.”

Shit.

There was no mistaking Clint’s voice.

“You sound awfully comfortable being around the person who controlled you and killed hundreds of your kind,” she replied casually before she finished her glass.

She turned around, seeing Clint and Natasha standing by the door. Clint seemed calm, almost as if he wasn’t in the same room as Loki. She couldn’t quite figure out Natasha, her facade was quite good, but she assumed that that only meant bad things.

“Have you been hiding here the entire time?” He asked.

She shook her head. “Only got here a couple days ago. I’ll be leaving soon enough.”

“And did you really try to sleep with my sister?” Natasha asked.

“In my defence, I didn’t know that she was your sister,” she replied. “I do apologise.”

“Why the fuck do you two think it’s okay to turn up unannounced?” Tony asked as he walked into the room. Loki sighed a breath of relief knowing that he was there.

Clint raised a brow. “After the file you sent, I think that’s enough of a reason. But hearing you’re keeping Loki here?” He shook his head. “Shield don’t know.”

“Why haven’t you told them?” Tony questioned.

“If you’re keeping Loki here, then there’s a good reason for it, and I don’t think you’re wrong.”

Loki looked between the three Avengers, not missing how surprised Tony seemed, how calm Clint was and how reserved Natasha tried to be. She had a feeling that if Clint wasn’t there then the widow would’ve killed her.

“You don’t want to kill me for even suggesting the possibility of it?” Tony seemed a little thrown off by that.

“I thought I was going mad. Having you see it as well- it’s good to know I’m not,” he replied.

“Would anyone care to explain why you’re both being vague about something that seems to involve me?” She asked, raising a brow.

Silence. Great. That was really reassuring. Both Natasha and Clint looked at Tony, who didn’t seem best pleased about it.

“I shared my theory on maybe- what we talked about earlier- you not being in complete control of what happened,” Tony replied. “And I know you said you were- but it’s just a theory.”

She didn’t understand why Tony would bring it up again. Or the fact he’d seemingly shared it with everyone on the team, and who knows who else. It explained why Bruce was being nice to her, but Clint? Why would he? After what she did to him, he should’ve killed her by now. Instead, he seemed to agree with Tony.

“If you were, then I’m happy to put an arrow in you right now, but whoever it was that you talked to- I don’t exactly get good vibes from them,” Clint said. “And if they scared you, I don’t want to ever meet them.”

Tony took a step further into the room. “You were talking to Thanos while you were here?”

“No. I spoke to his servant. The Other.” She stood up from her seat with the intent to leave. “He oversaw the entire thing. Now if you excuse me, I have to go.”

Before she could leave, Natasha pulled a gun and aimed it straight at her. She took the safety off without even blinking. Loki couldn’t help but grin at the move, but before anything could happen, Tony moved between them.

“Natasha, guns won’t do shit,” Tony said. “Loki, if you want to go then go, but no one’s going to judge you because you were controlled, and no one else has to know if you don’t want them to. We just need to find out what we’re up against. Natasha, put the fucking gun down.”

Natasha didn’t seem like she was going to listen, but one look from Clint made her put the gun away. Loki could admire how protective she was over him. She turned to look at Tony, who was looking at her with such understanding. There was no judgement in his eyes. Just care.

It was sickening.

“Without the scepter they’re unable to influence people’s minds,” she said. “If they get the mind stone again, there’s no saying what they’ll do with it.”

"So we hide the stones, or keep them for as long as we can." Tony raised a brow. "Bruce is already here, I'll call Steve, let's have an off-the-record action plan. But we keep Thor out of it."

Loki couldn't help but smile a little. Maybe she was finally somewhere where people had her back. Where she could be safe, even if it was just for a short time, but that was enough. It was more than enough.

Chapter Text

Loki wasn’t going to lie and say that she still felt safe in the tower. She didn’t. Not in the slightest. Not with the way Natasha and Steve kept staring at her. How Natasha’s hand was dangerously close to her gun, and how Steve looked ready to pounce at any moment. It had been good while it lasted, but she needed to leave. Sure, Clint, Bruce and Tony were good. They believed her. They didn’t automatically think the worst of her because of her titles - they actually looked into the truth. Sure, it wasn’t because they cared about her, they just wanted to protect their realm, but it was something. It was nice. No one had ever really believed her before, even if she didn’t explicitly say what had happened. They didn’t think that it was all an elaborate lie.

Part of her was tempted to do something. Anything that would get Natasha to shoot her, but she got the feeling that Tony knew that. He was quick to get between them when Natasha pulled the gun out, and she got the feeling that it was to stop her from antagonising the Avenger. Not to stop her from shooting her.

“Okay. So a bunch of powerful people protecting him, two rogue daughters and Thanos,” Steve said. “And do we have proof that they exist?”

“Come on- even you have to admit what happened just doesn’t make sense,” Tony replied. “If there was someone else behind it, we need to look at the possibility of another attack.”

“And if it’s all made up for sympathy? To gain your trust and then kill you?” Steve raised a brow. “No. I’m not falling for it. I’m calling Thor, then he can take him back to Asgard.”

Tony stood up before Loki could even react. “Okay- I know you’re from the forties but misgendering people isn’t fucking cool- and you’re not calling Thor. Loki’s agreed that we can call Thor once the Dark Elves have been to Asgard, which is a whole other problem that I don’t even want to think about at the moment- so let’s just get all the information we can out of her and then she can go back to Asgard, okay?”

Oh.

Loki knew that they were just using her for information, but hearing it just confirmed it. That the only reason she mattered there was because she had useful information. Even if Tony defending her a little was nice, he didn’t care. He was probably just doing it because he wanted to stay on her good side.

“He won’t attack any time soon,” she said, and all the focus went on her. She had to stop herself from squirming under it. “The Chitauri were disposable, but the fact that so many of them were killed- especially with the nuclear bomb- he’s not going to risk coming here until he has more stones. He will be unstoppable if he gets them.”

“Why do you think that?” Natasha asked.

“Because I couldn’t stop him when he only had one,” she replied. “To kill a Titan- the easiest way is to decapitate them. They’re resilient, and though there are other ways, that’s the best way to do it. The Black Order- they’re fantastic fighters. They show no mercy. It may be best to take them from afar. Though Maw is a magic user- he’s powerful. He’s so very powerful. And the Other- he’s fast. He shouldn’t be approached.”

Steve raised a brow. “And the daughters?”

“They’re fantastic fighters. Ruthless. Though Gamora was trying to find an escape when I was there. Nebula is loyal to her father, but he doesn’t care about her.” She got up. “That’s all the information I have. Now if you’ll excuse me-”

Steve got up, as if he was going to stop her if she tried to leave. “And where do you fit into that?”

“I’m sorry, does putting my entire existence and sanity on the line for you all by failing Thanos not spell it out for you?” She asked. “I want nothing to do with them. If I could go back and stop the events leading up to meeting them, then Captain, I would. But I can’t. I want nothing to do with them and believe me, I will do anything to make sure that I never see them again. If they find me, they won’t turn me into a threat. You wouldn’t have to worry about me in the slightest. Worry about them, because I’ve only seen a fraction of their power, and I fear them more than I fear anything else.”

“That’s still not an answer,” Steve replied.

Tony gawked at that. “No- I think it is. Equally- what the fuck do you mean you wouldn’t be a threat?” He turned his attention to Loki, who wished he’d done anything else but that.

“I failed them. I went out of my way to fail them. What do you think they’ll do when they find me?” She asked, a tired smile on her face. “When those people from the TVA came- and they said I tried stabbing him and he killed me- that’s mercy. That would be the best outcome I could think of. Though now I’ve lost the tesseract- I’ve foiled his plans completely. He wouldn’t grant me such a mercy.”

“What do you mean you’ve lost the tesseract?” Clint asked. “And TVA?”

“It doesn’t matter,” she replied.

“The TVA are people who control time or some shit- it’s where Loki was until she got here and they came looking for her but they think she’s dead,” Tony explained. “Apparently they have the tesseract.”

Steve raised a brow. “And what happens if he gets it from there?”

“There’s no way to get to the TVA unless you have one of their devices.” Which she did, but she didn’t say that. Not that it mattered. It didn’t work anyway. “The tesseract is gone. Unless he finds a way to move through timelines, it’s gone. He won’t be able to complete his plan.”

“So why are we worrying about him?” Clint asked.

“Because he doesn’t know that I’ve lost the tesseract,” she replied. “And when he finds out, he’s just going to slaughter half of the realm without the stones. He’s inevitable, even without the tesseract.”

“Okay, I think that’s enough for today,” Tony said. “We’ll look into this more later- but I really can’t be fucked for an existential crisis right now. I’ll order food later and we can watch a movie or some shit- pretend like there’s not a Titan fucker that wants to kill us all.”

Steve grumbled but walked out, glaring at Loki on the way. She didn’t care, though. She just clutched her hands behind her back as she tried to hide just how much she was shaking after that conversation. She tried to take deep breaths as she kept up the passive facade she’d mastered over the years. It was almost as if the room was spinning yet she was looking at it from afar. Like she wasn’t really there.

There wasn’t anywhere she could hide. Thanos was going to find her and she was going to pay the price of failing him so spectacularly. She was going to go back to Sanctuary and she was never going to leave. Was it really worth it? Did she make the right decision?

“Hey, Loki, why don’t you sit down?” She heard a voice ask. She looked away from the door she’d been looking at, almost expecting to see Mobius, but Bruce and Tony were in front of her instead. “Tony, go get some water,” Bruce said after a moment.

She slowly sat down on the sofa, trying to take deep breaths. She was an idiot. She was going to suffer for all eternity, and for what? To delay Thanos getting the stones? Was it even worth it?

“Drink some of this,” she heard Bruce say, but it was as if he was miles away.

Loki felt something being passed to her, and when she looked down it was a cup of water. She took it, finding comfort in how icy it was. She slowly sipped at it, finding comfort in the mindless task. She knew that Bruce and Tony were still there, but thankfully the other three had gone.

“How’re you feeling?” Tony asked, his tone soft.

“Better. Thank you,” she replied.

Bruce took the empty cup and set it to the side. “Does this happen a lot?”

“It’s nothing I can’t deal with,” she answered. “I’m fine. Truly.”

There was a moment of silence. “You know- I was kidnapped once,” Tony said. “I- it’s sort of how I became Iron Man. How I got the arc reactor. This was years ago, and I still- I still struggle with water, especially when it goes near my head. Or when I’m alone, or if it’s too quiet. Even loud noises, sometimes. But I had people when I got back- I had friends who helped me. And now I have Brucie-Bear too. I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t have them. So- it doesn’t have to be something you can deal with. Especially since you have us now.”

Loki looked up, seeing that there was no deception on Tony’s face. Not even Bruce’s. They both seemed to genuinely care. And if Tony understood, even a little- she wasn’t alone. Not completely. And maybe he could be trusted. Maybe there was someone she could actually trust.

“He brought me back to life, after- after he found me. He knew I’d studied the stones. He asked me to get the tesseract for him, and I said no,” she said quietly. “And he made me change my mind. He used the mind stone, just a little. Just enough to ensure my compliance.”

“But not enough,” Bruce said.

She shook her head. “He underestimated me.”

“Thor said that you’d been dead a year,” Tony mentioned.

“I don’t know,” she replied. “I don’t know how long I was dead for. I don’t know how long I was with him either.”

Tony thought for a moment. “You never said he could bring people back to life.”

“He can’t. I don’t know how he did it. I’m assuming he went somewhere- I’d heard rumours that an Elder held the mind stone. They can control life and death, though- he wasn’t allied with one when I was with him.” She shook her head. “I don’t know. And I don’t really want to know.”

“Okay. So if he’s allied himself with an Elder?” Tony asked.

“Then there’s nothing we can do to stop him,” she replied.

Neither of them seemed pleased with that. “Do you know any Elders?” Bruce questioned.

“One, but he’s hardly pleasant company,” she answered. “And he’s very- he wouldn’t help anyone. The Elders typically keep to themselves. I’ve only gone to the Collector to get information on artifacts. He’s… unlike anyone I’ve ever met before. And not in a good way.”

“The Collector?” Tony scoffed. “Shit name.”

“The Elders go by their muses. It’s seen as disrespectful to refer to them by name,” she replied. “And considering the Collector wants to add me to his collection, I’d rather not do anything to push that.”

Tony raised a brow. “Why would he want you?”

“I’m a Jotun. He doesn’t have one of them. A royal Jotun at that,” she replied. “And a Jotun mage. There haven’t been any of them in the royal lineage in… Centuries.”

“Oh. So you really are one of a kind,” Tony hummed. “Right. Okay. So… Later, we’re going to kick Thanos’s ass. But right now, let’s order food and watch a movie. I think that’s what we all need for tonight.”

Maybe worrying about everything could wait, because Tony was right. All that she needed was food and a movie, and a night with people she could maybe, eventually, one day call friends.

Chapter Text

Loki wasn’t completely sure what he was doing. Quite frankly, he didn’t exactly enjoy spending time with some of the Avengers. Namely Steve and Natasha. Natasha still wanted to kill him - which was completely understandable - but Steve outright hated him. Despised him. Tony had been keeping a distance from Steve too, and kept glaring at him when he wasn’t looking. He even muttered something about him being a ‘prejudiced asshole.’ Loki definitely didn’t laugh at that. Absolutely not.

He’d survived much worse than being misgendered. Norns, he couldn’t count how many times he’d gotten into a fight after being called an argr. Or how many times Odin had sent him to the dungeons because he’d found out he’d been with a man. Or how many times men had used him just to humiliate him at the end. Or how many times people called him ‘princess’ maliciously. Or how many times Odin and Thor berated him for who he was. Which was a little priceless coming from Odin, considering he knew of his heritage the entire time, and how Jotuns presented. He appreciated Tony’s efforts, though. No one had ever really stood up for him before. Not because of that.

Tony, going one step further, decided to put Red, White and Royal Blue on to mess with Steve. Loki almost laughed when he realised what the movie was about. Steve didn’t visibly react, though. He just socialised exactly how he had before the movie started. Loki just sat with Tony, enjoying the food. He’d never had Chinese food before, but he wasn’t complaining. The noodles and tofu were some of the best things he’d eaten.

“I think it’s twisted how Henry can’t come out because of his family,” Clint said. “And being a prince. How fucked is that? Fucking homophobia.”

“We all saw what happened when a Prince dared to marry a black woman,” Tony replied. “Imagine one marrying the same sex?”

Clint turned to Loki, and he knew exactly what the conversation would be. “Is it like that on Asgard?”

“To an extent,” he replied. “Though I’ve never hidden who I am.”

“And how’s that worked out for you?” He asked.

He hesitated. “Odin’s managed to contain it to being rumours, and only rumours. Though quite often people take rumours as gospel.”

"Is it a no-no to be queer on Asgard or is it reserved for royalty?" Tony asked.

"It's not largely accepted. There's a law that makes it legal for people to kill a man if they're acting 'womanly', which includes laying with another man," he replied with a shrug. "It's not safe for queer people."

Clint gawked at that. "What the fuck- for acting 'womanly'? The fuck-"

"I've had it for using magic, painting my nails, not enjoying war, for being in my female form, for sleeping with men- for sleeping with women, weirdly- for helping at the library- there's no basis for it." He sighed. "I've tried appealing the law- I'm lucky. I've survived every time, but I know others haven't been as lucky. Even if I convince the council, Odin stops it. He won't get rid of it."

"His own kid has been affected by this law and he won't do anything about it-" Clint seemed to be in complete and utter disbelief.

Tony snorted. "God- Odin and Howard would've had a great time comparing fatherly notes."

"Why did you come out to him if you knew he wouldn't accept you?" Steve asked.

Loki chuckled. "Believe me, I didn't want to," he replied. "I wanted Odin's approval, so I wasn't going to come out to him. I limited how many men I slept with, and I never changed into my female form outside of my room. Though one night- I was drunk and I went to another man's house. The guards found out and told Odin, and he confronted me. My gender was an accident on my part- we were arguing about me pursuing magic and he said that I wasn't being very manly and I replied that it was a good thing I wasn't a man."

Clint laughed at that. "Fair enough- that's not a bad way to come out. So you've never been an 'introduce your partner to your parents' kind of person?"

"Frigga's met all of my partners," he replied. "She doesn't care. Odin's met the women, and if he's met the men then he hasn't known."

"Howard paid a guy to break up with me once," Tony said. "Really didn't want me to be into men- which I guess I've sort of kept hidden compared to the rest of my life."

"The only reason I've kept the men I've been with a secret is for their safety," Loki replied. "Otherwise I wouldn't care. I don't largely care about my gender. I'm the only one he can hurt for that so I haven't hidden it."

"How did you know you're not a man then?" Steve asked.

He shrugged. "I just don't really- I feel like I've had to ask myself what being a man feels like too much for me to wholeheartedly believe that I am one. Or that I am one all the time," he explained. "Sometimes I hate the way I look. Like I look in a mirror and I'm not me, and that I'm trapped and I would do anything to look different. To look like how I feel, and how I feel fluctuates. Same with pronouns. Sometimes some pronouns feel wrong, and other times they fit. It's fluid. Though the Jotnar- quite often they're not a specific sex, so I don't know why Odin was surprised when my gender started to reflect that."

"A lot's changed since the forties, Stevie," Tony said. "Sexuality and gender are fluid. Hell, I've slept with men. I'm bi, and that's okay. Pepper knows and she doesn't care. This building is a place of love and acceptance and if I hear about anyone being prejudiced then we're going to have a problem."

Clint raised a brow. "I didn't know you're bi."

"Howard didn't think it looked good for the brand, so I kept it more on the down-low, but never particularly hidden it." He shrugged. "Pepper didn't even bat an eye when she started kicking men out of my room instead of women. She's great."

"Huh." Clint took a sip of his drink. "I slept with Coulson."

That got everyone's attention.

"Come again?" Tony managed to choke out.

Even Natasha looked surprised, which was the part that interested Loki the most.

"Yeah. We've been sleeping together on and off for years," he said. "Fucking asshole's on bedrest for a bit though, so that's put a dent in my plans."

"I thought you had a wife?" Steve asked.

"Open relationship," he replied. "I sleep with Coulson, she sleeps with the receptionist at her work. We keep it completely open and honest."

Tony blinked. "You know, Clint, you've actually managed to surprise me."

"You surprised me with Pepper." Clint raised a brow. "I wasn't expecting you two to get together."

"Stay together, you mean," Tony replied. "Yeah. She's great. She's just- amazing. Anyone else got a second half?"

Everyone else shook their head, which didn't hugely surprise Loki. Bruce was too scared to let anyone get close to him - Loki recognised the signs well. Natasha tried to prove to herself that she worked better alone, despite that not being the case at all. Steve was new to the time, of course finding someone would be the last thing on his mind. So no, Loki wasn't surprised that Tony and Clint were the only ones with partners. He was impressed that Tony had found someone to put up with him, though.

"Loki, I thought you were seeing Yelena?" Clint asked with a teasing smirk.

Loki rolled his eyes. "Ha-ha, very funny."

Steve raised a brow. "What happened with Yelena?"

"Loki got drunk, met Yelena who was also drunk, they made out," Tony replied. "Then they both found out who they were and it was stupidly funny-"

"It was a drunken mistake," Loki said. "Besides, her and Kate clearly have feelings for each other."

Tony chuckled. "I can't believe Natasha hasn't killed you."

"Still considering it," she replied.

"Please- if you were going to do it then you would've the moment you found out here was here." Tony scoffed. "Let's face it- you're all proud of me for making a good decision."

Clint almost choked on his drink. "How the fuck does this come back to you?"

"I'm the one that made the call to let Loki stay!"

"Loki was the one that chose to come here!" Clint rebuked.

Loki raised a brow. "Not really. However it did work out much better than I anticipated."

Steve turned to Loki. "So why come here?"

"I simply appeared. I had no control over it," he replied. "Out of everywhere I could've turned up, this was one of the better places."

"How in the fuck do you 'simply appear'?" Clint asked.

"Very unclear. Still trying to figure that one out." He shrugged. "I was outside of space and time. Then I was here."

Clint blinked. "You know- sometimes I think I understand this shit, and then something like that throws me completely."

"There's a multiverse out there. Like- not even theoretical at this point," Tony said, "a whole fucking multiverse."

"There are going to be people who try to jump through the multiverse if they find out. It's not safe for anyone to know about it," Bruce replied. "We need to be careful with this information."

Tony huffed. "But think of the possibilities! I mean- imagine if we could see what happens in the other timelines to better our own?"

"Doesn't it creep you out that there's people always watching us?" Clint asked.

"Eh. Been like that my whole life." Tony shrugged.

"On Asgard, there's a guardsman that watches everything," Loki said. "He sees everything."

"That's fucking creepy." Clint grimaced.

Tony raised a brow. "Then how doesn't he know you're here?"

"I can hide myself from him," he replied. "It was one of the first spells I learned."

"I don't blame you," Clint said. "That's fucking creepy. Can you hide yourself from the time people?"

Loki shook his head. "I haven't tried, but I have the masking spell up. It covers me from all magical eyes."

"Can gods see us?" Clint asked.

Loki wasn't completely sure what Clint's thought process was. "No. Though we can find people if we're summoned."

"Are there other gods?"

He nodded. "Any deity you've got records of more than likely exists. There's a city where all of the gods can meet and some live there. It's rather... Chaotic."

"Does Jesus exist?"

"Clint, how drunk are you?" Tony asked.

Clint seemed to think. "I think it's bedtime."

"Yeah, that sounds like a good plan, buddy," Tony said. "Want me to make sure you get there?"

Natasha shook her head. "I'll take care of him, it's okay. He's going to be a problem child tonight."

Clint grinned. "Mhm. But I'm your favourite problem child."

Even though Loki was used to chaos, and seeing friends interact - it was different there. Even though there was a thin veil of hostility, they all seemed to care for each other. Somehow, in some weird, twisted way, Loki felt cared about too. Not by everyone, but some of them. He was accepted, and he was a part of the circle. Even after everything, he was a part of it. He had friends. He finally had people of his own, and for once in his life, he wondered if he truly belonged. So when everyone finally called it a night, not too long after Clint and Natasha had, he went to his room with a smile on his face. With a lightness in his heart that he hadn't felt in years. He belonged, and he would never, ever take that for granted.

Chapter Text

He could barely walk. The Chitauri guards were dragging him somewhere, but they never took the same route. It was never one he could memorise, even without sight. The turns were always different, coming at different times. They’d underestimated him once by taking the same route time and time again. They weren’t going to risk it again, it seemed. Even if it worked out better for them than it had him. 

The hot air was the first thing he felt once they stopped. The moment they found out he was Jotun, they’d made sure to keep him near some form of fire. Even if they didn’t use it, just being near it weakened him. He could hear the thumps of some more guards walking. It was one of the few senses they’d left him with. He’d heal. He knew that. His eyes would heal from the burns and his tongue would grow back, as would the skin on his arms, but he could still hear. For the time being, at least. 

He almost cried out when something blunt got shoved through his wrists, pinning them together. He wouldn’t cry out, though. Not just yet. He wasn’t going to give into them. He wouldn’t give them the satisfaction of hearing him scream. He was shoved against a wall, and he almost fell from the impact. The only thing that stopped him was something against the pole through his wrists. He couldn’t put his arms down from where they were held above his head, unless he wanted to rip through his hands. Probably not the best idea. 

Then something was pushed through his left side. They missed any important organs and arteries, he knew from his time as a healer. Then they did the same with his right side. They were being methodical. There was someone else there, telling them where to put the blunt sticks. The Chitauri weren’t smart enough to do it without guidance. Two more were shoved through his thighs, into the wall behind. There was truly no escape. He was stuck. He didn’t even know who with. 

“You’re so stubborn, little runt. And for what?” He heard a voice ask from in front of him. The Other. “You’ve nothing. Your ‘family’ are celebrating your supposed death. Asgard is thriving without you. Your extended family haven’t batted an eye at your disappearance. You’ve nothing to go back to. Yet Thanos offers you a new family, more power- and you resist? Because you have hope?”

He couldn’t reply, but the Other knew that. He kept taking deep breaths, even if each one felt like a branding iron in his lungs. He didn’t even want to think about the damage done to them. He didn’t know what he’d breathed in, let alone the beatings and the fire. 

“Born of Jotunheim, yet prisoner of Asgard. You slaughtered your blood to gain approval from your captors, and when that didn’t work, you opted to die? How weak. I don’t understand what Thanos sees in you,” he sneered. “Though this- this is the most fun I’ve had in years. I like the challenge to make you scream. You’re stubborn, and I can’t wait to see you break.”

Everything was fine. He would be able to survive anything the Other did. He’d been tortured before. Sure, the torture Odin had inflicted on him was nowhere near as bad as what the Other did, but he survived. He never broke for Odin, and he wouldn’t break for the Other. 

But then there was pain. As if an axe was repeatedly being slammed into the right side of his head, with no stopping it. It went down the side of his face into his body, and he couldn’t move away from it. It was like burning that seeped into his brain. It was unlike anything he’d felt before. 

He screamed. 

He heard the Other laugh, but he didn’t pay attention to that. He heard something drop to the ground, but it sounded far, far away. The pain didn’t relent, even though it felt as though it had been going on for hours. 

That was when he felt something on the horn on his left side, the most gentle touch he’d felt in so, so long. 

“I guess we’ll have to be careful with this one, then. Unless you decide to act better than this, Hm?”

——————————————————————

“Loki- Loki, wake up-”

He shot up, fighting to breathe despite whatever was stopping him from doing so. He looked around, seeing that he could actually see. He was in his Aesir form. He was in his room in the Avengers Tower. He wasn’t there. He was safe. He was okay. 

Until he saw Mobius, who put his hands up the moment he realised he’d been seen. 

“Look- I know you said you don’t want me here, and I was going to respect that, but I had a dream and- I just had to make sure that you’re okay,” he said. “But I’ll go- if you need space, I’ll go. But at least get someone else.”

Loki furrowed his brows. “What did you dream?”

“I don’t know- I guess I’ve read your file too much and had a stress dream.” He shrugged. “It was actually quite dark- I mean- I never read what happened to you on Sanctuary, apart from the basics, so I guess my imagination went wild.”

That didn’t sound good. “Was the Other there?” He got a nod in response. “What did he say?”

“I couldn’t see him. But he said you were stubborn. That your family were celebrating your death. That you wouldn’t break because you had hope.” Shit. “That was what you dreamt, wasn’t it?”

Loki got up, starting to pace the room. “Can you dream walk?”

“What’s dream walk?” He asked. 

“Okay. That answers that.” He furrowed his brows as he paced faster. “So why would my seidr pull you into my dream?”

“Is that a rhetorical, or?”

“I’ve done it before, but I’ve been in full control of it. But to do it to you, without wanting to? And- were you in the TVA?” He got a nod in reply. “How did my seidr get to you there?”

“Past the magic barriers?” Mobius raised a brow. 

“I couldn’t use my seidr there. I couldn’t even feel it. How could it get to you?” He stopped. “And you’ve never had magic?”

He shook his head. “I was as human as anything before the TVA.”

“This is impossible. This shouldn’t have happened.”

“You’re impossible, if that helps,” Mobius said. “You shouldn’t exist.”

“That’s reassuring.”

“You’re not a variant anymore. The timelines are branching, but there are still variants. You’re not one. But you don’t belong to a timeline either. That’s never happened before,” he explained. “That initial energy wave we got when you arrived here- that’s the only thing to show you exist. Otherwise- we can’t find you.”

“You found me,” he replied. 

“Because you never moved after you got here- which I’m not complaining about, by the way- you don’t come up on any scans. You just- exist. Somehow.”

“Well that fills me with hope.” He huffed. “Maybe that’s it. If I don’t exist to the TVA, then my seidr might be able to work there. And that’s how this happened.” 

“Do you want to test it?” He asked. 

“I’m not going back.”

He nodded. “It was worth a try, I guess.”

“How’s the TVA? Still broken?” He questioned. 

“Yep. Might not exist soon. The Loom’s overloaded and if it explodes it’s going to kill everyone at the TVA and destroy it. Then nothing will exist,” he replied. “We need someone to fix the branches, but no one can get close to it. The radiation’s too strong.”

He sighed. “I’m going to get dragged into this, aren’t I?”

“I’ve tried. You’re stubborn.” He chuckled a little. “You’re definitely the most stubborn Loki I’ve ever met.”

“How did this even happen?” He asked. 

“One of your variants.”

“I feel like I don’t need to know more than that.” He sighed. “What could I do? Realistically?”

“You’re happy to help?” Mobius asked, a small smile forming on his face. 

“I never said that. I just asked why you need my help,” he replied. 

He sighed. “I don’t know. I really don’t. We’ve just found a variant of the guy in charge, and we’re hoping he’ll help.”

He didn’t have a choice, did he?

“If- and it’s a big if- there’s no other way, I’ll come see if I can do anything. But I want to be an absolute last resort,” he said. 

Mobius looked at him. “You’re being serious?”

“I owe you. It’s only fair.”

And he did. He owed Mobius, and he wasn’t happy about it. Mobius checked up on him whenever he had the vague feeling that something was wrong. He apologised for what happened, and it didn’t seem fake. Besides, that wasn’t the best dream to have drawn Mobius into, and he owed him for that alone. 

“Okay. I’ll talk to this variant and see what happens- and I’ll let you know,” he replied. “No one else knows you’re alive either, so- there won’t be any pressure. But thank you, Loki. I know it’s not an easy call for you- but thank you.”

He shook his head. “Just- last resort. And after that, I’ll never go back there again.”

He contemplated saying that he never wanted to see Mobius again either, but he couldn’t bring himself to. He didn’t want to say that. For once in his life, he didn’t want to lie. He wanted to see Mobius more, and he hated the fact that he did. For some stupid, pathetic reason, he actually enjoyed being around Mobius. He felt safe with him. How foolish was that?

“Got it. No more TVA visits,” Mobius said with a small smile. “Are you sure you’re okay? That- that was a hell of a dream.”

He shrugged. “I’ve had worse. Now go figure out the loom thing.”

“If I wasn’t in a rush I’d push more about this,” he replied. “If this happens again then I’m sitting you down with some hot cocoa and we’re talking about it.”

“Then it’s a good thing you’re in a rush,” he hummed. “Goodbye, Mobius.”

“Bye, Lokes.”

And with that, Mobius went through a timedoor. 

Loki ran his hand through his hair, trying to take a deep breath. He couldn’t believe it. Why would his seidr reach out to Mobius? Especially with that dream? And the fact he didn’t technically exist? He didn’t belong anywhere?

He wasn’t sober enough for that. 

He headed out of his room, heading straight for the bar. If he didn’t do anything but think then he would go mad. He’d go mad all over again. He staggered a little when he saw Tony already sat at the bar with a half empty bottle of whisky in front of him. 

At least he wasn’t the only one. 

He sat down next to Tony, conjuring a bottle of rum and a glass. Neither spoke. They just sat in silence as they drank. Loki found it comforting to drink with someone in solace. Not at a bar. Not alone in his room. Just in the tower with Tony. It was comforting in an odd way. To not be alone. 

The last thing he was expecting after getting to the tower was to have people who understood. Who cared. Who tried to help. He hadn’t had that in so long. Norns, the last time he had that they were killed. But they were safe. Hopefully. Tony, Bruce, Clint and Mobius. They all cared. He could trust them. 

“Nightmare?” Tony asked after they’d finished a couple of glasses in silence. 

“Mhm,” Loki hummed. “You?”

“Mhm,” he hummed in reply. “What a pair we are.”

He took a sip of his drink. “Do you ever wonder how we end up in these situations?”

“How I became someone people call a hero in a tin can?” He asked. “All the time. And how I’m in a group with spies, a huge green Jekyll and Hyde, a super-soldier and a god? I question it all the time.”

He sighed as he topped up his drink. “How do you know what the right thing to do is?”

“I don’t,” he replied. “I just do what I think is right and hope it works out. Sometimes it does, sometimes it doesn’t.”

So that answered it. 

In his heart, he knew that helping Mobius was the right thing to do. There wasn’t anything else to it, though. If the TVA got destroyed, nothing would exist. He couldn’t just let Mobius fight it on his own. He couldn’t do that to him. Not after everything he’d done. 

“I fucking hate you.”

“No, you hate the fact that what I just said made sense to whatever part of you made you ask that,” he replied with a shit-eating grin. “So what’re you going to do?”

He sighed as he set his glass down. “Do you remember the people from the TVA that came when I arrived?”

“Mhm. The lost puppy and the sensible one.”

That was oddly accurate. “Yes. Well, the lost puppy- Mobius- turned up not long after that when I was making some tea. We talked, and it turns out the TVA is- something’s destroying it. I’m not sure what. But I didn’t care. I told him that it could burn for all I cared. I just didn’t want anything to do with them.”

“So what changed?” He asked. 

“He came again after that- and we talked. Well- I threatened him and I think he got the message,” he replied. “But he arrived again today. I projected my nightmare onto him, and he came to check on me. And we talked. And I told him that if there’s no other way, I’ll go and see if there’s something I can do to help.”

Tony took a long sip of his drink. “I think- even though you hate the place- people will die if that place gets destroyed. The people there. Even if you don’t like them, I don’t think you like the thought of people dying. Because as much as you try to act passive, you care. You give just as much of a shit as the rest of us do.”

Loki chuckled quietly. “You got all that from me being here for a few days?”

“You’re not as mysterious as you think you are,” he replied with a smile. “You’re coming back though, right?”

“I wouldn’t stay there, even if I had to go to Asgard to escape,” he said. “I’ll come back as soon as I can. If you need me, there’s a device in my room. It’s in the desk- it’s bulky and looks weird. You’ll be able to reach Mobius through it, and I’ll be with him.”

“I’ll keep you updated on anything that happens this end as well,” he replied. “I’ll make sure there’s plenty of wine and pizza when you get back.”

He chuckled softly. “If that isn’t incentive to come back then I don’t know what is.” He smiled at Tony. “Thank you, Stark.”

“Well- I guess I’ll see you later, Reindeer Games.”

Chapter Text

“You know- I wasn’t expecting you to ever use that.”

Loki sighed as he set the tempad down on the desk, in case Tony ever needed to get ahold of him. He needed to make sure that it was easy to find. After all, Thanos was more of a priority. He looked up at Mobius, seeing the man standing in front of the time door, a tired smile on his face.

“I wasn’t expecting to, either,” he replied.

“What changed?” Mobius asked.

He shrugged. “I suppose we’ll never know. Now should we go?”

“To the TVA?”

“Yes," he replied, "however- I’m going to leave the moment I’m done there, and if there’s any information that could be useful to stopping Thanos on this timeline, then I want it."

Mobius blinked, as if he wasn’t expecting Loki to call him and help, which made sense. Loki wasn’t expecting that either. He wasn’t particularly happy about it, but Tony had a point. It was the right thing to do, and he had a reason to do the right thing. It was self-serving more than anything else.

“Okay. That sounds good.” He nodded. “Should we go?”

Loki stepped through the timedoor without hesitation. If he let himself think about it then he wouldn’t do it. He looked around, seeing a room he’d never been in before. It was bigger than he’d expected, considering the rooms he’d seen there were basically office blocks. But it was the usual beige-yellow-monstrosity he’d seen in the other rooms. There was someone running between computers, frantically typing on keyboards before he ran off to another one again. He recognised B-15 standing off to the side, her gaze fixed on him.

A burst of light came through from the other end of the room. He looked towards it, seeing something akin to a golden glow of seidr growing, emitting more light than he’d ever seen. It was almost like the branches of Yggdrasil.

“We need to fix the branches to stop them from overloading the loom,” Mobius explained.

“And how do we do that?” Loki asked. “How can I be of help in this situation?”

B-15 stepped forwards, and Loki saw her hand hover over her time stick. “Mobius, you didn’t really bring him back here, did you?”

“Hey- I’ve got a theory that I want to test out,” Mobius said.

Loki inwardly groaned at that. Of course he was clinging onto that theory. He held his hand out, casting a conjuring spell to get B-15’s timestick. He wasn’t expecting it to work. Not after last time. But then he felt a timestick in his hand. He looked at B-15, seeing that her timestick wasn’t in its holster.

It was in his hand.

“Oh shit,” Mobius said quietly when he noticed the same thing.

Loki threw it towards B-15, who caught it effortlessly. “Okay. Maybe you were right.”

“That’s- OB, do you think this could help?” Mobius asked the guy who was running around, who finally looked up from his computer.

“Magic?” He asked. “Well- if the magic is powerful enough to contain the branches, then it could work. Temporarily, at least. And it would give me time to work on a more permanent solution.”

Okay. That didn’t sound awful. He stepped towards the window, trying to see through the glow. He needed to see what he was working with. The light was almost blinding, and it pulsed. It pulsed like the strongest magic, feeding itself from the energy around it. Growing stronger. Then the branches poked through. Hundreds of branches, all going in different ways. All broken. All trying to get through.

Chaos.

“This- this is chaos,” Loki gaped.

“Perfect for you, then,” Mobius replied.

He shook his head. “These are timelines, aren’t they?”

“All the timelines that have branched since the destruction of He Who Remains. We had your variant look at it but she didn’t care,” he said.

“Mobius- these are timelines. What you’re effectively asking me to do is fix the broken ones, contain the ones that are branching out and contain the power of them.” He shook his head. “I can’t do that.”

“Can’t or won’t?” B-15 asked.

He turned to look at them. “I know my power. I know its limits. This isn’t something I can do. I can feel its power from here and I can’t match that.”

“Great. So you brought this guy here and he can’t do anything,” B-15 huffed as she turned to Mobius.

“I can maybe buy you some more time, but that’s all I can do,” he said. “I’m sorry. I’ll try finding some books, see if there’s any time magic that would help- but that’s not my strong point.”

“We’re fucked, aren’t we?”

Loki didn't know what to say in reply to B-15. He couldn't do anything that would fix it. Not properly. Not completely. He could maybe, just maybe contain it for a bit, but nothing permanent. He couldn't control time. He couldn't fix time, but maybe he could put a magical elastic band around it to slow the destruction down. He didn't want to let Mobius down, though. He couldn't let him down. He could see the hope leaving the time agent as OB explained how much damage the loom had taken - Loki didn't listen enough to understand what the loom was - and he could feel his heart get heavier by the second. He had to find a permanent solution. For Mobius.

“I’ll need to go out there so that there’s as little resistance from my surroundings as possible-”

“Loki, you can’t go out there," Mobius said, cutting him off. "The radiation’s too high."

As if that would stop him. “Okay. I can do it from here, but it might not be as strong because I can’t get a direct link to it.”

“So we’re wasting time doing something that’ll buy us- what- ten minutes?” B-15 asked. “Mobius, we have to find another way.”

“I know you don’t trust him but this is our last chance,” Mobius replied.

He was their last chance, and he couldn’t do it. Not from there. If he could get closer then he could see what he was dealing with, he would be able to feel the energy and see what was going on. But he couldn’t do that standing behind a window. He could try to fix it, but he’d be going in blind. He understood why B-15 wasn’t thrilled that he was there. He wasn’t trustworthy. He was a Loki, after all. And a Loki who shouldn’t exist and could use his magic in the TVA at that.. He wasn’t trustworthy in the slightest, but Mobius seemed to trust him. For some weird, unknown reason, Mobius trusted him. And he was letting him down. He’d brought him here to fix the branches, and he couldn’t do it. Mobius, who genuinely seemed to care, who was there for him even though he didn’t want him to be, was counting on him. And he couldn’t let him down. He wouldn’t be able to live with himself if he did.

What was the worst that could happen? He’d die? Wouldn’t be the first time. He took a deep breath before he slowly made his way to the door, not wanting to draw any attention to himself. OB was still running between computers, whereas Mobius and B-15 were still talking. Arguing. Same thing.

“Loki,” Mobius said just as he’d reached the door. “What are you doing?”

He turned around to look at Mobius, seeing that he was heading his way. “If I’m going to help, I need to go out there. I need to be there- I can’t help from in here.”

“You’ll die.”

“And it’ll be- what- my third time in a year? I think that’ll be a record,” he replied with a teasing smirk. “Besides, to die will be an awfully big adventure. Perhaps an even bigger one than going up to the branches of the multiverse.”

Mobius stared at him, but Loki couldn’t place the emotion in his eyes. “Loki- we can figure out a different way.”

“There’s no time, Mobius,” he replied softly. “I might not die. Have you ever had a god go out there?”

“Gods can still die.”

“It’s nice to see you have such faith in me,” he chuckled. “I want to do this. What was it you told me back on Midgard? I’m the most stubborn Loki you’ve ever met?”

“You are, and this is just proving it,” he replied. “You’re the most stubborn, idiotic, irrational, stupid, selfless, impulsive Loki I’ve ever met.”

He couldn’t help but laugh. “I’m flattered.”

“I think that this is an awful idea.”

“I know,” he replied. “But what other way is there?” He looked at Mobius, finally seeing what that emotion was. The one he couldn’t place. Fear. “I’ll be back. I can never stay dead for too long.”

Before Mobius could reply, he opened the door. The radiation prickled at his skin unlike anything he’d ever experienced. He closed the door, casting a spell on it so that he’d be the only one who could open it for the time being. He didn’t completely trust Mobius to not chase after him. It was a very stupid idea, after all.

He started walking towards the branches, ignoring how the prickles of the radiation turned into something akin to stabbing. He had something to go back to on Midgard. He promised Tony that he’d go back. He was breaking that promise. He had Mobius, who was scared. Scared of what, he wasn’t quite sure, but he had to help him. Even if he finally had something to live for, he had to help. He had to try.

Getting to the branches took longer than he thought. He could see how many of them had snapped. How many seemed to be dying. How many had already died. How the golden energy around them had dissipated and the only thing that was left were the brown lifeless threads.

He reached out to a few of them, letting his magic flow through them. Around them. He reached for some more on the other side, and started pulling them together. Where he expected resistance, he didn’t find any. They flowed together, embraced by his magic that seemed to fuel them. A green glow met the golden one, and they flowed in harmony to guide the branches back. To put life back into the dead ones.

It was one of the easiest things he’d done.

The golden energy started making its way down the green glow of his seidr, closer to him. Considering how it worked well with his magic, he didn’t think much of it. Until it started to encase him. The radiation took its toll on him just getting to the branches, but it was a walk in the park compared to the searing pain that the golden energy brought. He stopped his spell, but that didn’t shift it. It was consuming him, and there was nothing he could do.

Despite the burning from the raw power consuming him, he’d never felt more alive. It was stronger than the power he felt from the tesseract, or even the mind stone. He’d never felt anything like it. It was the power of the multiverse, so much life- and it was incredible. He couldn’t help but laugh as he sank further into the pain, that was becoming more prominent than the euphoria from the power around him.

But as he looked up, seeing the branches together, aligned, a green and gold glow through them, around them, powering them , he couldn’t find himself to care about the pain. He’d done exactly what he needed to do. He’d saved the TVA. He’d saved Mobius.

And that was all that mattered.

—————————————

“Loki- Loki, it’s time to wake up-”

Why was he warm? Why wasn’t he in pain? And why could he hear Mobius? He sat up as he opened his eyes, summoning a dagger just in case he needed it. The yellow walls and glow from the obnoxiously big window gave away where he was. He was back in the TVA.

Mobius was sat by his side, in an obnoxiously big and dull space suit. Why would he be in a space suit? Had he really missed so much? Unless he was on a different timeline?

“You passed out out there, and whatever you did to the door stopped once you went down,” Mobius said. “I had to get you.”

Mobius went to get him? “Yet you called me idiotic and selfless,” he replied with a teasing smile.

“Well- you did just fix the branches. I owe you.” He huffed. “But maybe make it a little easier next time.”

“How inconvenient of me to lose consciousness out there. I’ll plan better next time,” he said with a grin.

He couldn’t help but laugh at the way Mobius rolled his eyes. “Please- do anything like that again and I’ll kill you myself.”

“Did it work?” He asked. “Because I really don’t think I have it in me to do that again.”

The more he thought about it, the more the pounding in his head became obvious. Even his bones protested at any sort of movement, almost overpowering the screaming from his muscles. Maybe fixing the multiverse was quite taxing. Who’d have thought.

“It worked,” Mobius replied. “OB- how’s it looking?”

“Everything’s great- it’s fixed and the loom can contain the energy. It isn’t overwhelming anymore,” OB said. “But there isn’t- the energy is diminishing. We need to find something to power the branches.”

“How long do you think we have?” B-15 asked from her corner of the room.

“It’s deteriorating slowly,” he replied. “I’d say… a few Earth weeks at least? We’ve got time to find something.”

He could find something. It couldn’t be that hard. Besides, he’d felt the energy surrounding the branches. He could find something to replicate that, considering he knew the feeling. Maybe he could find a spell that was powered from its own energy, so it would never run out. That would mean an Asgard trip, though, and that wasn’t a good idea. Not yet.

“I can look through the realms. See if anyone knows of anything that could help,” Loki said. “Though in the meantime- I have a team to help.”

Mobius nodded. “Yeah, absolutely- I’ll take you back there now. I’ll figure out what the situation is with the timeline as well, see where they stand with Thanos.”

“Thank you,” he replied as he got up. He brushed himself off before he turned to Mobius. “If there’s any problems with the branches, let me know.”

“You’re not going out there again. Not for as long as you just did, anyway,” he said. “I’m not getting into one of those stupid suits again to save you.”

He chuckled softly. “My knight in shining armour.”

“More like your astronaut in a broken suit.” He raised a brow. “Do you even feel any different?”

He shook his head. “I think I strained my seidr reserves. I’m fine.”

“Okay.” He shrugged what was left of the oversized astronaut suit off. “Are you ready?”

He nodded before Mobius headed towards him. He couldn’t believe it. Mobius had run into pure radiation to save him. To help him. To rescue him. Did he need rescuing? Absolutely not. Not that he’d admit, anyway. But Mobius did it. He actually saved his life. He would forever be in his debt, even if the agent didn’t realise it. Even if he’d only saved him because he’d fixed the branches, it still mattered. It still meant the world to him.

Mobius opened a timedoor back to the tower, but something inside of him prickled at the energy of it. It was as if his seidr took notice of it and wanted to get to it. That was new. He followed Mobius through the timedoor, not wanting to think about the change in his seidr just yet. That was a problem for another day.

The timedoor had taken them to the communal living space. It was dark, with only the TV screen lighting the room. He didn’t recognise the movie, but no doubt it was another Star Wars movie. Tony only deviated from them when he had another motive in mind. Namely to aggravate the Captain. He heard a conversation come to a halt, and when he looked for the source of it, he almost froze.

Of course Thor was there. Of course they were interrupting a movie night and Thor was there. They both stared at each other for what seemed like eternity, more than likely as Thor decided whether or not to kill him, and he just waited to find out.

But then Thor summoned Mjolnir and jumped over the sofa to get to him.

Shit.

Chapter Text

Loki didn’t have much time to prepare. Thor pounced towards him with Mjolnir ready to strike. He used his magic to push Thor away, sending him falling to the floor. He really, really didn’t want to fight Thor. It was the last thing he wanted to do. He managed to get the rest of the Avengers to believe him, but Thor wouldn’t. He knew that. 

“Thor, please, I can explain,” he said as Thor was getting back up. 

“You will not hurt my friends again!” Was the reply he got before Mjolnir was thrown in his direction. 

He ducked out of the way, but he saw Mobius behind him who wasn’t as fast. In a panic, he tried to stop it with his magic, to put a barrier in front of it so it wouldn’t hit Mobius, and to his complete and utter surprise, it worked. It stopped Mjolnir in its tracks and sent it falling to the floor. He looked at Thor, who was staring back at him with wide eyes. That had never happened before. Mjolnir should’ve broken through his magic and continued on its path. He could see the avengers trying to talk Thor down, telling him that everything was okay, but there was no getting through to him. Loki had just stopped Mjolnir, and Thor wasn’t going to let that go. 

“You ruin my coronation, you kill your father, you almost kill me and my friends, then you fake your death-” Thor started walking towards him. “Then you come back and slaughter hundreds because you desire a throne, and when that fails you run away like the coward you are- and now I find you’ve manipulated my friends into thinking you were innocent in all this?”

Everything inside him was screaming at him to step back, to back away from Thor, but he couldn’t. He had to stand his ground. Even when Thor summoned Mjolnir again. “I understand I’ve done some awful things, though right now we have a common enemy and we need to work together to defeat him. Has Stark shown you the files?”

“If you had a hand in creating those files, then I can’t believe any of it, liesmith ,” he snarled. “You’re coming back to Asgard.”

“And the Dark Elves?”

That stopped Thor in his tracks. “How do you know about them?”

“I was told,” he replied. “What happened?”

“Jane Foster found the Aether. The Dark Elves came to steal it, though we stopped them.” He raised a brow. “Who told you?”

“And mother? Is she safe?”

“She’s well- who told you about them?”

“I did.” Mobius stepped forward. “Look, I get you two have had your history, but this is something you need to work together on.” He went over to Loki’s side and handed him his tempad. “This is what’s going to happen.”

Loki flicked through the details, feeling almost sick to his stomach. The Avengers had no chance. Thanos had all the stones, barre the tesseract. He found out that it was gone, and he slaughtered half the population without the stones. He made the Avengers suffer. He killed everyone they cared about. Then he went to other planets to carry on. 

“If we change it, how badly is it going to affect the timeline?” He asked. 

“I’m not sure. There’s no telling until it happens. But on the sacred timeline Thanos gets defeated.” He shrugged. “There’s no telling what’ll happen here. But this might not be right- what’s missing from that?”

He flicked through the information again before he finally noticed it. “I’m not there.”

“You don’t exist. This might not be how it happens, because we can’t factor your influence into it,” he said. 

“Don’t I die on the statesman?” He asked. 

“You’re not on Asgard. Frigga hasn’t died. You haven’t taken the throne of Asgard, so Odin’s still there. If Hela comes, she’ll arrive on Asgard, so you won’t end up on Sakaar.” Mobius talked about it as if it was normal, but it was enough to give him a headache. “He won’t find you in space.”

“And in English for the non-time-travelers?” Tony asked. 

Mobius raised a brow. “I’m not a time traveler. I just know these things.” He took the tempad back from Loki. “Loki doesn’t exist to the TVA. We can’t track him. So what information I have on Thanos on this timeline isn’t necessarily accurate because according to this none of you knew about Thanos before he arrived because Loki died in the TVA.”

Loki sighed. “At least we know what to expect when he realises that the tesseract’s gone.”

“And what’re we expecting?” Tony asked. 

“He’s going to slaughter half of the population, then continue onto other realms and planets,” he replied. “But we’ll be prepared for him. This says he doesn’t come here for another couple of years.”

“How do you know all of this?” Steve questioned as he stood up. “This could all be a joke. There’s no way you know the future.”

Mobius raised a brow. “Yeah, he shouldn’t. He knows more than he should. But I do. I work for the people that keep track of time and protect the multiverse, it’s my job to know what happens on the timeline I’m on. This is Earth-688, and I guess the only person that knows the plan for this timeline is the one running it.”

“And who runs it?” It was Clint who asked that time. 

“Used to be some guy, apparently. Now it’s someone called Sylvie until she finds someone to take over,” he replied. “It’s complicated at the moment.” He turned to Loki. “But maybe it’s a job for the person who saved the multiverse?”

“That sounds dramatic. I didn’t do that.” He raised a brow. “And as much as I enjoy your company, I couldn’t think of anything worse than running the TVA. Absolutely not.”

Mobius gasped in the most dramatic way he could. “You just admitted that you enjoy my company.”

“Don’t let it get to your ego.” He rolled his eyes, but he couldn’t hide his smile. 

“Oh, it’s absolutely going straight to my ego. I’m not letting you forget that,” he replied with a teasing grin. “OB’s calling me back to look at the branches, apparently they’ve moved but they’re stable. I’ll see you soon.”

“I’ll let you know if I find anything to sustain the energy.”

“I’ll let you know if we find something too,” he replied. “And don’t die again. Or almost die.” He raised a brow. “Honestly, Lokes- I wasn’t this grey until I met you.”

“Then it’s a good thing you met me, because grey suits you.” He grinned. 

He rolled his eyes, but his smile never faltered. “Flattery will get you absolutely everywhere.”

And with that, Mobius was gone. He looked back at the Avengers, seeing Steve, Natasha and Thor staring at him wearily, but Clint, Bruce and Tony were smiling. That didn’t seem good. He looked between all of them for a second before headed to the bar to get a drink. 

But of course Tony followed him. “Y’know- when I called him a lost puppy- I think I meant a lovesick puppy.”

“I don’t know what you mean, Stark.”

“Oh come on- didn’t you see the way he looked at you as if you’re his literal world?” Apparently it was Clint’s turn to chime in. “C’mon, Loki, you can’t be that blind.”

He couldn’t help but snort at that. He really was. Not in the sense that Clint was talking, but between Odin and Thanos, his eyesight wasn’t exactly brilliant. Better than it used to be, but it was still a little blurry. 

“Mobius is simply a friend, and I’ve just done him a favour so that’s probably why he’s happy,” he replied. 

“Loki- when we talked last night- yeah, you wanted to do the right thing, but you were more concerned about him.” Tony grinned. “You like him too.”

“I swear to the Norns I’ll put hair dye in your shampoo.”

Natasha stepped forwards. “What did that guy mean by ‘save the multiverse’?”

He shrugged. “The timeline branches had broken and split and it was overloading their loom- whatever that is. So I put them back together.”

“And you died doing it?” She asked. 

He took a moment to figure out what she meant. “Oh! No, I died a while ago- that’s when I arrived here.”

“How are you so casual about dying?” Clint gaped. 

“It’s my second time dying in a year. Saw another two of my deaths that were going to happen if I didn’t take the tesseract. At this point I’m not putting much thought into it.” He really didn’t have the energy to dwell on it. 

“And how many of those deaths do you play?” Thor asked. “How many of those did you fake, just to get a reaction? Just so that you could plan a war to hurt us?”

Loki raised a brow, taken aback by Thor’s outburst. He wasn’t surprised. Of course he wasn’t. He wasn’t expecting the reunion to be pleasant. Not in the slightest, but he had hoped that it would be different. That Thor wouldn’t actively be hostile. That they could talk. 

“Thor, I died when I fell from the Bifrost. It was slow, but I died,” he said, his voice calm. “I died again when I first arrived at the TVA, after they showed me how I died at the hands of Kursed. How I died again at the hands of Thanos. Though you speak of mourning, I saw none of it. I saw the parties you held after I fell from the Bifrost. I saw the joy from everyone else. So please, do lecture me for dying repeatedly. It’s something I definitely have complete control over.”

Thor opened his mouth and shut it repeatedly as if he was trying to find the words to say. “I mourned, Loki- we all did. How did Kursed kill you? You weren’t there-”

“I was meant to be,” he replied. “I was meant to go back to Asgard with the tesseract. Sentenced to the dungeons. Kursed escaped, and I told him where to find Odin. He wasn’t there. Frigga was. And she died protecting your mortal. Then you’d come to me for help, and I died on Svartalfheim protecting her as well. For you. And you didn’t care.” He chuckled bitterly. “The only time you cared was after Ragnarok, after Thanos wiped out half of the universe. Because you had nothing left. You only care about me when it’s convenient or when it makes you look good.”

“Ragnarok?” Thor repeated. 

Of course that was all he cared about. “Turns out we have a secret older sister locked in a magical purgatory. I weirdly look a lot like her considering I’m the adopted one. Odin died and set her free. She gets her power from Asgard, so the only option was Ragnarok. You sent me to throw Surtur’s Crown into the Eternal Flame. You didn’t even care if I made it out. You sent me into a fire and you didn’t care. You didn’t even think twice.”

“Are you really going to be upset with me over something I haven’t done?” He asked. 

“Considering I know you’d do it once Hela comes, yes. Or the fact that if I had returned to Asgard, I’d have been dragged into your plan to save Jane. I’d have died, and I would’ve been left on Svartalfheim,” he replied. “Because I mean so little to you. Especially now that you know what I am. Odin did tell you, didn’t he? Or is he still such a coward?”

He didn’t even have time to move before he was pinned against a wall by Thor. “He isn’t a coward- don’t talk of our father that way-”

“Your father,” he corrected. “He’s a coward. He locked up our sister because he couldn’t control her, and he’s going to do the same to me. He’s a coward who can’t face the consequences of his own actions.”

“He’s going to lock you up because of your actions. You tried to take over a realm because you want a throne,” he snarled. 

Loki scowled as he looked at Thor. So he didn’t even remember the fact that Loki never wanted the throne. He didn’t remember the fact that he told him that. Of course he wouldn’t. He didn’t care. He never had. 

“Yeah, buddy, that’s not the case,” Tony said as he stepped towards the two of them. “There’s a lot of proof to say that Loki was under the influence of the sceptre for the whole thing and it only broke when he got taken out by the Hulk, and you have to admit he looked like death.”

“He’s a trickster,” Thor replied. “You’d be unwise to fall for anything he says.”

“Maybe. But he’s got our support, so either read up on the Thanos file or leave, because we’re preparing for this guy and Loki’s helping, whether you like it or not.”

Loki teleported away from the wall, just a couple feet away from Thor, who staggered against the wall at the loss of a body to pin against it. Loki turned to Tony, who looked at him with a small smile. He couldn’t help but smile back. He had someone who stood up for him. Stood up for him against Thor, even. He actually had a friend. Friends. They cared, and he would do anything to protect them. 

Chapter Text

Loki wasn’t completely sure where he was being dragged to. He couldn’t quite remember the usual paths they alternated between after losing his eyesight for what felt like forever. Being able to see again was almost overwhelming, but he was glad that his eyes had healed. He thought he was, anyway. Hell, even the feeling of having a tongue in his mouth again was almost overwhelming. It was like he’d forgotten how it sat in his mouth when he wasn’t talking. Even talking took ages to get used to again. When he was alone in his cell, he’d mumble to himself just to be able to learn how to talk again. It was almost embarrassing, but he had to do it. He couldn’t let them win. 

He was shoved to his knees suddenly, which took him by surprise. He looked up, seeing a spaceship out in the distance, but even closer was a chair with someone in it. He assumed that it was the person the Other worked for. The man was purple, and at least ten feet tall from what he could tell. A Titan. He thought that they’d gone extinct centuries ago, but there was one sitting right in front of him. 

“I’m sorry about the precautions and all,” the Titan said, his deep voice echoing through the emptiness of the planet. “I’m sure you understand.”

He stayed quiet as he watched the Titan stand up. He gestured to the Chitauri who were stood either side of Loki, four on each side - they’d learned that they needed a few of them in case he decided to cause a little trouble. He’d killed his fair share of Chitauri in his stay. The two closest to him undid the chains on his wrists before they left. He didn’t take his eyes off of the Titan, in case it was a trap. Something about the situation felt wrong. He just didn’t know what. 

“Prince of Asgard. Said to be one of the most powerful mages alive,” the Titan said as he crouched down in front of him. “So how did you end up in the Void?”

He chuckled bitterly. “I don’t suppose you’re asking because you’re interested in the truth.”

“I am,” he replied. “I’m sorry about the Other. He has a plan, and when he gets something in his head, unless I’m here I can’t stop him. I hope you’re not too hurt?”

He raised a brow. “You’re lying to a liesmith. It’s rather pointless.”

“Then trust when I say I want to make it stop.” He stood up, opting to look out at the stars surrounding them. “All you have to do is get us the tesseract, and you can have Earth. You want to be a King, right?”

He laughed, which seemed to take the Titan by surprise. “A puppet king ruling under you. No, thank you.”

“Don’t you want to prove to your family that you’re capable of being king? They clearly don’t believe you have what it takes,” he taunted. 

“No. I’ve no interest in working with you,” he replied. “Besides, I don’t even know your name.”

“Thanos,” he said. “I think you’d be happier working with me. We’re like a family.”

He chuckled. “I’m done with families.”

“Loki, I’m trying to help you. The Other, he won’t stop until he gets what he wants,” he replied. 

“Thanos, I’ve been manipulated my entire life. I know what you’re trying to do.” He raised a brow. He didn’t even try to get up. “I’ll never give in. I’ll die before I ever give in to you.”

Thanos grinned, and it sent a chill down Loki’s spine. “I suppose I’ll have to take that as a challenge then, Jotun.”

—————————————————————

He sat up with a fright, alone. Mobius wasn’t there, so he didn’t project the dream onto him. That was good, but he still found himself missing the human. It was almost enough to make him reach for the tempad, but a green glow in the corner of the room stopped him in his tracks. 

It was his seidr, there was no mistaking that, but it was in the shape of a door, with just stars between the edges. It was in the shape of a time door, but his magic and there wasn’t anything obstructing the view through it. 

He got up, and despite the fact that he had a feeling it was an awful idea, he walked through the magical door. It closed behind him, which proved that it was potentially the worst idea he’d ever had. He looked around, seeing nothing but the stars surrounding him and the barren rock he stood on. 

Shit. 

He tried to form a door, but he didn’t know how. He wasn’t completely sure how the first one even appeared. He didn’t give up, though. He tried treating it like any other spell, just to picture what he wanted and hope that it manifested into a spell. 

“Godling,” a voice rasped from behind him. 

Fuck. 

——————————————————————

“Tony, I think that this is one of the worst ideas you’ve ever had.”

Tony raised a brow as he looked at Bruce. He held the tempad from Loki’s room in one hand, and a coffee in the other. He couldn’t exactly work on a weird piece of technology without coffee, but Tony thought that Bruce meant working on the weird piece of technology in general. 

“Look- if there’s time people watching over us then I want to know what their deal is,” he replied. 

Bruce just looked at him blankly. “You want to talk to Mobius about Loki.”

“That too- but you saw the way they looked at each other. It was fucking adorable,” he said as he pressed whatever buttons he could find on the device. “I just don’t know how this works.”

“Did Loki tell you how to use it?” He asked. 

He shook his head. “Just said it could reach Mobius.”

A golden door opened in the side of the room, just like the one Loki and Mobius came through earlier in the day. He grinned when he saw the man he wanted walk through, and the door closed behind him. 

“Ah. It’s you two,” Mobius said. “How’d you get the tempad?”

“Loki told me where to find it,” Tony replied. “How does it work?”

Mobius raised a brow. “I don’t know. We’re not really told how they make them- we just get given them.”

“By who?” He questioned. 

“The tech guy. His name’s OB, he’s great,” Mobius replied. “That’s why you called me here? To talk about tempads?”

“Can I talk to OB? I mean- this tech is insane. I can’t even break into this thing- I can’t upload Jarvis into it either.” He set the device down. “It’s insane. It’s fantastic.”

“Tony, I love the enthusiasm, but no.” He crossed his arms. “No one from outside the TVA can go into the TVA unless they’re a variant.”

Tony pouted. “So how come Loki can?”

“He was a variant, but now he's helped fix the multiverse so he’s welcome to come and go as he pleases,” he replied. 

“And not because you just really want to see him?” He asked, a mischievous grin replacing his pout. 

Mobius raised a brow. “No. I’m married to my job, Tony. I don’t like what you’re implying.”

“See, Tony?” Bruce sighed. “Stop trying to play matchmaker.”

“I’m not buying it,” Tony hummed. 

Mobius went to reply, but something stopped him. Tony just couldn’t figure out what. “I hate the fact I’m asking you this, but where’s Loki?”

Tony grinned. “I guess you should probably know your way around the tower if you’re going to be coming by,” he said. “I can give you a tour. Jarvis, where’s Loki?”

“Mister Laufeyson’s not here, sir.”

Tony had to take a moment to process that. “What do you mean, Jarv?”

“He left a couple minutes ago,” Jarvis replied. 

“Where’d he go?” He asked. 

“I don’t know, sir.”

How could Jarvis not know? “Could you play any footage you have of him leaving, please?”

A hologram appeared just above the workbench in the lab, showing Loki in bed sleeping. A bit creepy to watch, but he was sure Mobius liked it at least. A green glow then grew from the corner of the room, stopping in the shape of a door with stars on the other end. And of course when Loki woke up he went through it. The idiot. Tony silently cursed the god when he saw that. Then the footage cut out. 

“Okay. So he could be anywhere,” Bruce said. “And we have no way of getting to him.”

Mobius shook his head. “The TVA technology can’t find him.”

“Remind me to put trackers on everyone that works in space,” Tony huffed. “Where did that portal even come from?”

“It looks like it was his magic, which isn’t poss- oh shit.” Mobius pulled a tempad out from his coat, and Tony almost drooled at the sight of it. It was thinner than the one on the workbench, more sleek, and with more controls. Tony needed to meet OB. “When Loki fixed the timeline branches, the energy from that seemed to affect him, so maybe he’s connected to that in some way. He can travel the branches at will.”

“Except he was asleep when that portal opened and what’re the odds he knows how to come back?” Tony groaned. “I fucking hate magic.”

“But that can help us- if he was asleep then we can guess that he was dreaming when he opened it,” Mobius said. “So we’re looking at Asgard or Sanctuary as the best bets, or maybe even the Void,”

Bruce raised a brow. “Please tell me it looked like Asgard.”

“It looked nothing like Asgard,” Mobius replied. “And considering Loki didn’t seem to fall once he stepped through it, I’m guessing it’s Sanctuary.”

“I’m guessing it’s not as nice as it sounds,” Tony said. 

“It’s where the Other lives, and where he kept the Chitauri.” Mobius pressed a few buttons on his tempad, as if he was trying to find something. “Let’s hope he can’t cross timelines.”

“Sir, Mister Odinson has returned,” Jarvis said. “He may need medical attention.”

“I swear to fucking god, I take a stray god in and they cause fucking chaos-” Tony grumbled. “In their room?” He asked Jarvis. 

When he got the confirmation, he headed down to Loki’s room with Mobius and Bruce, all rushing more than they’d care to admit. He did keep an eye on Mobius, though. He could see the worry in his features and how he was the first to dash out of the lab despite not knowing where he was going - it was almost cute. 

As Jarvis said, Loki was in his room. He was leaning against the wall with his head down, and clutching his side. The hand on his side was dripping with blood, which almost definitely didn’t seem to be a good thing. Loki looked up at them, and Tony could feel his heart break at the sight. He was beyond pale and his hair covered most of his face, but he could still see the fear in his eyes. How he was taking shaky breaths. How he was shaking. 

Bruce was the first one to move. He headed over to Loki’s side, moving his hand to see the damage. He could see the doctor pale at the sight of the damage, and Tony didn’t even want to know. He didn’t want to know just how bad it was to make Bruce react. 

“Okay- can you heal this on your own or do you think you’ll need stitches?” Bruce asked. 

Loki shook his head. “I just need a minute, then I can heal it fully. Thank you.”

The moment Bruce moved away, Mobius practically pounced on Loki to pull him into a hug. Tony couldn’t help but smile when Loki didn’t even hesitate to hold Mobius close and bury his head into his neck. It was a heartwarming sight. Considering how scared Loki looked when Mobius came looking for him the first time, he couldn’t help but feel happy for him. The fact that he found someone who brought him so much comfort. Who seemed to make him feel safe. Just like Pepper did with him. How even when the world seemed to be crumbling beneath his feet, Pepper was always there whenever he needed her. She would always be there to hold him and help him through the dark. Everyone deserved a Pepper. 

He could see that Bruce was still on edge, ready to go to Loki should he need it, and it was enough to nag at Tony’s nerves. He didn’t know how bad the damage was, but he could see quite a lot of blood and it was more than he wanted to know. 

In the end, Loki pulled away before Bruce made him heal himself. He was clutching his side, but when he pulled his hand away Tony could see through the ripped shirt that whatever it was had healed. He heard Bruce sigh in relief, but Mobius was just watching Loki, and Tony had to ignore the amount of blood on his clothes from whatever wound Loki had just healed. 

“What happened?” Tony eventually asked. 

Loki shook his head. “I don’t know. I just- there was a portal and I stepped through- and he was there.”

Bruce’s eyes widened. “Thanos?”

“The Other,” Loki replied. “I don’t know how I opened those portals- I’ve never done that before.”

“The branches.” Mobius turned to Loki. “When the energy from the branches latched onto you, you should’ve died but you survived.”

“Because of you,” Loki said. “You got me out of there.”

Mobius shook his head. “I shouldn’t have had a chance to pull you out. Has something changed?”

Loki seemed to hesitate. “Something feels different.” He looked between Mobius, Bruce and Tony, and Tony could see the hesitation that didn’t seem to ease. “I saw myself.”

“What?” Mobius asked. 

“I saw myself- I was there- I- other me was being taken back to my cell, and the Other saw me.” Loki shook his head. “I need a drink.”

Tony had never heard anything more relatable in his life. “I’ll get the drinks ready. And some food. I need some pizza.”

He walked out of the room, and he couldn’t get out of there fast enough. Between the blood and the sheer confusion over what had just happened, his priorities were drinks and pizza. He heard someone following him - probably Bruce - and that was confirmed once they got to the kitchen and he turned around to see the scientist standing in the doorway. He took a deep breath as he leant against the table, trying to find the words to say. 

“Do you ever regret getting into this business?” He found himself asking. 

Bruce chuckled. “Oh, all the time.”

Chapter Text

Once Loki had finally convinced Mobius to head out with Tony and Bruce, that he’d change then meet them in the kitchen, he sat down on the floor. He didn’t know what to do. He’d just gone back in time to Sanctuary, and he didn’t even want to know how. He didn’t want to do it again. 

He was just so tired of things going wrong. He was tired of constantly fighting. He just wanted to stop. He didn’t want to be scared anymore. He finally had people he could call friends, he’d done something good for the TVA, and he had Mobius. Someone he genuinely, genuinely cared for. But what could he do? He would always be running. If not from Thanos, then Odin. Then the rest of the galaxy, because people knew that he worked with Thanos, and if they didn’t they knew that he tried to destroy Jotunheim. There was nowhere he could go. Loki, of nowhere and nothing. 

Part of him hoped that if Thanos found him that he’d snap his neck exactly like he would on the Statesman. God, that was the dream. He didn’t get the feeling that he’d be that lucky this time around, but he could be delusional. He could be ridiculously delusional when he wanted to, like the time he convinced himself that he was still ‘family’ after learning about his heritage. How stupid had he been? He would never belong there. He would never belong in that family again, if he even belonged in the first place. He had to let go of all of them. Odin was easy. After everything, he was at peace with never seeing Odin again. Thor was harder, but he could see the rage and hatred in Thor’s eyes every time he looked at him, so clearly his ‘brother’ had already let go. Then Frigga. His mother. The one person who ever cared about him. 

Loki knew what he had to do. He had to protect his friends from Thanos, and he would do anything to make sure that he did. He wasn’t going to let anything happen to them. 

He took a deep breath as he pulled himself up from the floor. He took a quick shower to get rid of the blood. He was almost surprised by the amount of blood, but considering he was almost split in half it made sense. Once dried off, he pulled his damp hair into a bun before he got changed into some trousers and a hoodie. 

Tony, Bruce and Mobius were in the kitchen, all with drinks. There were pizza boxes on the table, which was almost impressive considering Tony had found somewhere that delivered pizza at five in the morning. Then again, anyone would deliver pizza to Tony Stark at five in the morning. 

He took the unclaimed glass of whiskey, starting to sip at it slowly. Tony opened one of the pizza boxes once Loki was close enough to the table, a look of disgust on his face. 

“There’s your fucking vegan shit.”

Loki chuckled softly. “You’re taking it too seriously.”

Bruce raised a brow. “You’re vegan?”

“Odin once lectured me on what it meant to ‘be a man’, and that included eating the ‘best meats’,” Loki said. “So I stopped eating meat, then I stopped eating any animal products.”

Tony almost choked on his drink. “I didn’t realise that that was the reason. How’d he react?”

“He was seething, but it was worth it.” He shrugged. “Besides, I’d gone hunting a lot and I never really enjoyed seeing animals get hurt. They simply exist, and we wouldn’t like being hunted for sport or for food.”

Mobius raised a brow. “I hadn’t thought of it like that.” 

“Angered Odin more when I stopped going hunting with everyone. Not that Thor and his friends minded- they preferred it without me, but it made me seem all the more argr to the rest of the realm.” He shook his head. “Of course, he got his own back, but it’s the small victories.”

Tony took a moment. “Sometimes I think you’re a normal amount of petty but then you say something and I just never want to cross you.” 

“I’m only petty to the people who deserve it,” he replied. “Odin, mainly. And Thor. Once he told me that daggers were ergi , so any time he picked up a sword it shrunk in his hands. If I know someone doesn’t want me to do something, I’ll do it, or vice versa.”

“What’s the worst example of that?” He asked. “Well- not worst, but you get what I mean.”

Loki hesitated for a moment. Clearly, the best answer would be when the Other just wanted him to scream, and he wouldn’t. Sure, that resulted in his horn being ripped off, but it took a while for him to scream. Even then, he barely did it. That didn’t seem like dinner time talk though. 

“I was told to not sleep with any of Thor’s friends.”

Bruce almost spat out his drink. “You slept with Thor’s friends?”

“Only one,” he replied. “And only for a century or so. Thor doesn’t know and I’d appreciate it if it stayed that way.”

“Why doesn’t Thor know?” Tony asked. 

“Because he’s a man, and people would stop respecting him.” He shrugged. 

Mobius rolled his eyes. “It’s not like he doesn’t deserve it.”

Loki looked at Mobius for a second before he remembered that Mobius knew everything. That wasn’t unnerving in the slightest. “He’s a fantastic warrior and overall an enjoyable presence. I don’t want to be responsible for the realm turning on him.”

Tony raised a brow. “You two have had this conversation before?” 

Mobius shook his head. “There was a Loki variant that was being problematic, so I had to look into every Loki variant I could to see if there was one who could help us. Looked into this one when he was taken to the TVA.”

Which meant that Mobius knew every single thing about him. He’d seen everything. He’d looked into every single thing he could about him. He knew his past and what was meant to be his future. How could someone know everything he’d done and still come to him? Talk to him? Be a friend ?

You were born to cause pain and suffering and death. That’s how it is, that’s how it was, that’s how it will be. 

But he fixed the multiverse. That wasn’t pain, suffering or death for anyone else. That was a good thing to do. He’d done good with that, right? He saved a bunch of people? Sure, he mainly did it because Mobius asked him to, but he still did it. 

Do you enjoy hurting people? Making them feel small? Making them feel afraid?

Did Mobius think that he did? At the time he asked that, it felt like it. It was as if he knew every answer to every question on paper, but to put it into practice? He’d seen so much of Loki’s life, but he didn’t know who he was. He just saw what he’d done. So maybe he came across as a sadist, but was he truly? He liked to think not, but when the person who arguably knew him best thought so, what could he say?

I’ll kill you. 

Like you killed your mother?

Loki flinched a little as he stepped back from the counter. He could feel eyes on him, but all he wanted to do was shrink under them. He didn’t want to be seen. He didn’t want anyone to see him. He teleported to his room without thinking much about what anyone would think. He couldn’t get any words out even if he tried. It was as if he was underwater with no breath in his lungs. 

The person who’d seen his life, who arguably knew him better than anyone thought that he was a monster. That he only lived to cause pain and suffering. That he would only ever lose. Perhaps he was right. He’d tried to destroy Jotunheim. He didn’t even want to think about the damage he’d caused there. He played into Thanos’s hand. Did his bidding. How many had he killed on Midgard? One thousand, one hundred and eight. All humans with families and lives to be lived. He’d cut them short. 

He would’ve killed Frigga if he’d gone back to Asgard. He had the audacity to be angry with Thor for something he hadn’t done, but he didn’t look at himself? He would’ve killed Frigga. Perhaps not intentionally, but what did that matter? He still would’ve killed the one person who’d ever cared for him. 

And he’d never see her again. 

Before he could really process what he was doing, he casted an illusion of himself and teleported it to Asgard. He watched through its gaze, but made sure to cloak it with a shielding spell. He couldn’t risk being caught, even as an illusion. He didn’t want to know what Odin would do if he found out he was still alive and around. 

The palace was quiet. Quieter than usual, but then Thor wasn’t there. He walked down the impossibly long golden hallway, towards the room that sparked such terror. Such horror. The throne room. Where Odin had sentenced him to many punishment, or simply yelled at him because he could. He walked through the door, seeing Odin sitting on his throne, but Frigga was talking to him from the ground, putting miles between them. 

Odin looked exactly the same. Still as cold as ice, even when looking at his wife. Then there was Frigga, and whereas she looked the same, there was a sadness to her. Her eyes didn’t shine like they used to. No, she was tired and it showed. 

“The Dark Elves have unleashed a power that none of us can control,” she said, her tone sharp as if it wasn’t the first time she’d said those words. “Send the Aether away.”

“It’s been on Asgard for centuries, I see no point in moving it now,” he replied, his tone entirely dismissive. 

“If there’s someone looking for these artefacts then having one on Asgard isn’t going to be a good thing.” She raised a brow. “You’d be saving the realm from a war.”

“Am I not already doing that with Jotunheim?” He asked, and Loki couldn’t help but flinch at that comment. “They want his head.”

“And the only reason you haven’t given them it is because you can’t find him.” She scowled. “Don’t pretend you’re doing it because you care for our child, you simply don’t want to admit defeat.”

“He’s not my child , Frigga. Never has been.” He shook his head. “They want repayment and it doesn’t cast us in a good light that we can’t offer them anything of use. Not even Thor can find him.”

She raised a brow. “Did you truly think that Thor would find him on Midgard?”

Loki stared at Frigga with wide eyes, even if she couldn’t see him. Thor had been sent to find him? That was why he’d arrived on Midgard? Yet he hadn’t told them that he was there? Living amongst the Avengers of all people? 

“Loki’s smart. He’ll hide in the one place that we’d think idiotic,” Odin said. Loki couldn’t disagree. “He’s attempted to destroy two realms. You can’t keep defending him.”

Frigga straightened up. “I admit that Loki has done some wrongdoings, though I’m able to see that I’m to blame just as much as he is, as are you. We failed as parents, and that’s why he tried to destroy Jotunheim. And we both know that there was another influence on what happened on Midgard, but you’d rather save your face as much as you can, correct? No. Loki may not be your child, and thank the Norns that he’s finally been saved from that, but he will forever be my child.”

“If you know where he is, then it’s treason to stay silent,” Odin said after a moments silence. 

She smiled. “I suppose is.”

And with that, she walked out. 

Loki looked back at Odin, one last time, before he walked out of the throne room. He took the familiar hallway to his room. He wanted to see it one last time. He wanted to know if they’d emptied it out, or if they’d kept it the exact same. If his plants were still alive. 

Much to his surprise, nothing had changed. Well, the plants were still alive, which was impressive. Some of his books were misplaced, but other than that, it was exactly how he’d left it. The green walls and the sleek black decor hadn’t been touched. It was still his room. Even after what had happened. He took a deep breath as he headed to one of the many bookcases, trying to find any books that would be of use. He ignored his shaking hand as he traced the books he’d read a thousand times over. 

When the door opened he had to remind himself that he was shielded. That no one would see him. That all threatened to drop when Frigga walked into the room with a watering pot. She closed the door behind her and wordlessly headed to the plants on his windowsill, giving them a generous amount of water each. Loki held his breath, as if she’d be able to hear him if he even twitched. 

“When they told me you let go,” she said, her voice calm, “I’d never felt pain like it. It was as if my entire world had been torn down. But I could still feel your magic. All the spells you’ve got going in here- they were alive.

“Then they stopped. It must’ve been about a week or so after you fell. My world ended again. The one comfort I had- the hope that you were still alive. Gone. But then the spells renewed. Still your magic. I didn’t know what to think. I didn’t know what it meant. But my hope- the thought that you were still alive- everyone thought I was mad. But I knew. 

“I don’t want to imagine what happened, though I’m glad that you made a spectacle of your return. I’d never been more relieved, even if you were trying to take over a realm. You were alive, and that was all that mattered. Though I knew that I would probably never see you again. Either Odin would execute you, which I fought against from the moment he suggested it- or you’d run. And you ran. It’s bittersweet, really. The hope that you’ll survive, but that I may never see you again. 

“Then your magic stopped again. I didn’t want to believe it. But as the months passed, I knew. It was exactly like the first time. Only longer. But then it came back. I’ve never known anyone to cheat death as much as you do. I’d appreciate you stop now, because I don’t know how much more my heart can take. 

“But when I felt your magic in there- and now in here- you’re here, aren’t you? An illusion, no doubt, but you’re here. And I hope one day you can be here in person, and you can come home once more. I will be able to see you. But as Odin said, it’s treason. 

“I hope wherever you are, my child, that you’re safe. That you’re happy. And I hope to see you again soon. I love you, my child, and I do hope that you never doubt that.”

And she walked out of the room. 

The illusion broke almost instantly. Instead of his room in Asgard, he was in his room at the tower. The dull, grey walls did nothing to ease the illusion of them creeping in closer and closer, as if they were closing in. If his magic burst out and shook the tower and area surrounding it, he barely noticed. He didn’t pay it much mind. And if the sobs wracked through his body as he sunk back against the wall? He wouldn’t admit to it. Not at all. No, the one thing he would do was obvious. 

He had to find Thor. 

Chapter Text

Once Loki had regained his composure - not that he ever lost it, of course - he summoned his daggers and went to find Thor. Was it a good idea? Definitely not. Was he going to do it anyway? Of course. If Thor was going to drag him back to Asgard, then he was going to suffer beforehand. 

He found Thor in the communal space. He didn’t pay mind to anyone else in the room. He used his magic to pin Thor against the wall before he held a dagger to his neck, digging in enough to draw the smallest amount of blood. 

“Why didn’t you tell me that you were sent by the AllFather to find me?” He asked, his voice almost a snarl. 

Thor raised a brow, but otherwise seemed unamused by the ambush. “Because you’d have reacted like this.”

“You know of Odin’s plan to send Jotunheim my head yet you say nothing ?” He hissed. “What? Did you want to make the waiting all the more painful?”

“Okay, time to seperate,” Tony said as he walked over to them, but Loki used his magic to put a wall between them. “Loki, come on-”

Thor glared at Loki, but he didn’t falter. “Do you think I would do that? Don’t you think if I was going to march you back to Asgard that I would’ve done it by now?”

“So why won’t you?” He asked, but Thor remained tight lipped. “Tell me.”

“Mother.” 

Loki looked at Thor, and even through all of the anger and frustration, he saw no deception. He pulled the dagger back a little so it wasn’t drawing any blood, but it was still there as a warning. Thor tried to push against Loki, but the magic slammed him back against the wall. 

“You’re finally listening to her?” He asked. 

Thor huffed. “She said that you have something to do before you can even think about going back to Asgard. You know how she is with her witch things.”

Loki stepped back at that, releasing Thor. Frigga knew something? Of course she did. She always did. She’d been raised by a coven of witches. She didn’t say anything like that, though. Not to him. She didn’t even hint at anything. Unless he just couldn’t know?

“And what of Odin?” He finally asked. 

“Odin wishes you dead,” he replied without hesitation. “But you’re family, and I don’t think mother has it in her to mourn you again. She knows you’re here.”

He raised a brow. “She does?”

“I told her the moment I found you.” He shrugged. 

Loki frowned as he twisted the dagger in his hand. Frigga knew where he was, and that was treason. The very thing Odin had warned her about. Both Thor and Frigga were hiding his location from Odin, and that put them in danger. Odin would be well within his right to kill them for it. 

“Thank you,” he said after an uncomfortable silence. 

“Not everyone is working against you, Loki,” was all Thor replied with before he stormed off. 

Loki kept his gaze down to the floor as he twisted the dagger in his hands. He hadn’t expected Thor to be working against Odin. He’d never done that before, but the first time he did it was to protect him? Norns, he couldn’t believe it. He couldn’t remember the last time Thor disobeyed Odin to do something for him. Most of the time Thor openly agreed with everything Odin did. 

Loki flinched in surprise when a hand came to rest on his shoulder. He looked over to see Mobius, his gaze intense. He sighed as he put the dagger back in his pocket dimension, even though there was nothing he wanted more than to stab someone. 

“Hey, it’s okay,” he said, his tone soft. “You’re safe.”

He shook his head. “I fucked up.”

“How did you find all of that out?” Clint asked. “Because he didn’t say any of that to any of us.”

“I went to Asgard,” he replied, ignoring the looks in return from the Avengers and Mobius. “I sent an illusion there and I overheard Odin and Frigga talking.”

Steve raised a brow. “Your father wants you dead? Your own father?”

Tony chuckled sadly. “Steve, out of all of us in the room right now- excluding Mobius, I don’t know you well enough- I think you’re the only one with a completely positive parental history.”

“I mean- that’s not true, right?” Steve frowned. 

“Mine took me from the Red Room, took Yelena, forced us to play happy family, then took us to the Red Room when he had to run,” Natasha said. “Even said we should be grateful for it.”

“Mine beat me and my mother whenever he got drunk,” Bruce hummed. 

Clint sighed. “Same.”

“Howard changed after the war,” Tony said. “Don’t know when. But he did.”

Steve blinked. “I feel like you should all be in therapy.”

Natasha shrugged. “Shield mandates it, you know that.”

“Once Hulk calmed down enough to not smash everything the moment I got emotional, I started going,” Bruce replied. 

“Pep gave me the number for one. Been going since New York,” Tony said. Even Loki looked at him in shock. He couldn’t imagine Tony willingly going to see a therapist. “It was that or I’d have to sleep on the couch and potentially end my relationship. I’m going out of my own free will now though.”

Bruce smiled a little. “I’m glad. Therapy’s great.”

“It’s an excuse to hide from work for a couple hours every week,” he replied. “You should try it, Bambi.”

Not much point if he was going to die soon. 

“It isn’t a thing on Asgard,” Loki said. 

“That explains so much,” Clint muttered. “Especially about Mister Toxic Masculinity.”

“Odin’s crafted him to be what he thinks is the perfect king. A lot of his shortcomings are to be blamed on Odin.” Loki frowned. “He’s been manipulated all his life. He doesn’t know any better.”

“Then how come you do?” Clint asked. 

He thought for a moment. “I learned at a young age that nothing I would do would be good enough, whereas Thor had a constant pressure on him. He had to excel at everything, and though I had the same pressure, I would never meet the standard. So I stopped caring, and there came the breakdown between Odin and myself. Thor never had that. He saw my relationship with his father and it scared him. He didn’t want that, so he would continue to try. It just meant that when he fell, it would feel greater than when I did. Because I couldn’t fall far when I was already at the bottom, but he felt as if he could lose everything if he even stumbled. Thor may be reckless and callous, but it’s because of Odin. Not because he chooses to be, but because he doesn’t know any different.”

He looked away when he was met with silent stares. He wasn’t going to defend Thor completely. No. Did he deserve it? Absolutely not. He knew the effects of Odin’s parenting though, and even though Thor didn’t receive any physical punishments, he knew just as well that the emotional ones would scar just as heavily. He couldn’t imagine being put under the pressure Odin put on Thor daily, nor did he want to. 

“Considering you both looked ready to kill each other just then, I didn’t think you’d understand each other,” Steve said. 

He shook his head. “We don’t. I don’t understand Thor, though I know of his situation. He doesn’t completely know of mine, so he can’t understand me. Odin is a brilliant king, though it’s hard to be a good king and a good person at the same time.”

Tony snorted. “That’s a polite way of saying you think Odin’s a dickhead.”

“I’ve called him a dickhead to his face many a time, I don’t care for politeness anymore.” He shrugged. “He’s called me worse.”

Steve blinked. “I know my father left but- maybe I’m glad that he left.”’

“Mothers can be bad too,” Bruce said. 

“My mother was great. She just- she was a single mother and I was always so ill- she did her best.” Steve frowned. “She was great.”

“Maria tried her best.” Tony set his empty glass down on the table. “She couldn’t do much with Howard around, but she taught me Italian. Promised to take me to Italy one day, but she died before we ever went.”

“Frigga raised me,” Loki said. “She made me feel like I was a part of that family, even though I was just a war prize for Odin.”

“My parents were fine,” Mobius said. “My ex-wife- she was horrible to our kids. I left her when I noticed she wouldn’t change, and I feel awful for putting the kids through that.”

Loki turned to look at Mobius. “You have children?” And an ex-wife he wanted to add, but he thought that that would be weird. 

“Used to,” he replied. “On my timeline. Not my life anymore, though. Kids are happy with my parents, and I don’t think I could go back to that kind of life.”

Loki didn’t quite know what to say to that. He didn’t like thinking about Mobius having an ex-wife, but he couldn’t articulate that. How could he? He’d sound weird. Besides, he had his own children so he couldn’t say much about that either. He was a hypocrite. What if Mobius ever decided to go back to that life? What if he left? He toyed with the ring on his finger as he thought, his gaze unfocused. 

Mobius had a life. He had a life on his own timeline, and who could blame him if he wanted to go back? Hell, Loki would do anything to be able to see his children again. Maybe he could if he could travel through the timelines, but he wasn’t sure how well that would work. He looked up when he heard Tony calling his name, trying to focus on reality again. 

“Lokes? I was thinking we could look into your magic a bit- see if the new timey-wimey doors have a similar energy to the tesseract.”

Loki nodded, even though Tony didn’t seem too convincing about the idea. “Okay. Sounds good.”

“Yeah, I need to head back to the TVA, but let me know if anything weird happens with the magic thing. If it’s linked to the loom then maybe OB might know something,” Mobius said. “Don’t go through any more portals without thinking about it first.”

“Now that sounds like the rational thing to do,” he replied with a small smile. 

“I mean it, Lokes- I’m going to have white hair by the time we’re done.”

He knew that he was meant to play back. That he was meant to tease and have fun. “I’ll be careful.” He just couldn’t. 

Loki didn’t miss the way Mobius hesitated before he went through the time door. He didn’t say anything about it. He didn’t even let himself think about it. He just headed over to Tony, who got the message. Tony led him to the lab without a word, but Loki could see the tension build in the human’s shoulders. Something was wrong. Maybe he was regretting having to follow through on his attempt at getting Loki out of the room. 

“We don’t have to do anything if you don’t want to,” Tony said once they were in the lab. “I just know that look and I thought it would be good to get you out for a bit.”

He raised a brow as he leant against a workbench. “That look?”

“Yep. The one where you’re spiralling, because I see that in the mirror almost every day,” he replied. “Want to talk about it?”

“I thought you wanted to look at magic.”

He nodded. “Sure. I mean- I’d love to look at all your magic. Jarvis took some readings when we thought there was an earthquake earlier but it was just your magic- and I’m curious.”

“What do you want to start with?” He asked. 

“What’s something simple?”

He thought for a moment before he held his hand out, where one of the battered wrenches from across the room appeared. Tony raised a brow and prodded some holographic screen, his brows furrowed. 

“It’s energy,” he said. “That’s all it’s picking it up as.”

He sent the wrench back. “That’s what it is.”

“Energy?”

He nodded. “It’s energy working in a specific way. Perhaps a way you’re not used to seeing.”

“Can you shapeshift?” He asked. 

He changed into Steve, in the full Captain America get up. Tony chuckled but otherwise didn’t say anything. He kept his focus on the screen in front of him. 

“Okay. It’s still you. All the scans are saying it’s you, but facial recognition is saying Steve,” Tony said, mainly to himself. “That’s interesting. Okay. And if you go back?” He did just that. “Huh. So there’s energy all around you, but it’s really focused on your chest and your face.”

“Chest would make sense, considering that’s where a life source would be,” he hummed in reply. 

“And face?”

He turned back into himself and took the time to think of an answer that wouldn’t be too telling. “In another fuck you to Aesir culture, I choose to hide my scars.”

“I haven’t seen Thor with any scars,” he said. 

“They’re mainly on his body.” He shrugged. “He doesn’t hide them, but they’re not easily seen either. Most of them are from him being stabbed or bitten or shot while he was being reckless. Most battles I spent tending to him so that he didn’t die.”

Tony raised a brow. “Is it tiring always having illusions up?”

“It depends on the situation,” he replied. “If I’m fine, then no. If I need to focus my seidr on something else or my reserves are depleted, then the illusions will be the first to fall.”

“Y’know, people have plenty of scars,” he said. “Especially us.”

He smiled bitterly. “I don’t doubt it, but I’d rather not look like a monster in both my forms.”

“Has Mobius seen?”

He hesitated. “I haven’t shown him. Why?”

“You two seem close, is all.” He shrugged. “He likes you.”

“Is there anything else you need?” He asked. 

He sighed. “You can’t run from this forever. Like- I get it. I was the same when I realised I liked Pepper. I was shit scared, but now she’s my best friend and my fiancé and I love her so, so much. I wouldn’t be who I am without her.”

He raised a brow. “I’m glad that that was your experience, but I doubt that it would be mine. Are we done?”

“Fine. No talking about you and Mobius obviously needing to fuck it out,” he grumbled. “Time door?”

“I don’t know how to do them on command yet,” he replied. 

He thought for a moment. “What about something else that you think would read differently?”

Loki raised a brow before she switched forms, her features softening and her curves extenuating. Sure, her male form was quite feminine in itself at times, but it was still a noticeable difference when she switched. 

Tony gaped. “Nothing happened.”

“It’s not magic.”

He looked at her. “What do you mean?”

“I don’t need magic to change into myself,” she replied. “I simply can.”

“How? That’s- what the fuck-”

“Some species are naturally shapeshifters,” she said. “Neither Aesir or Jotnar are, though the Jotnar don’t have the differences that most other species do when it comes to sex. So perhaps it’s linked to that, as I’ve been confined to an Aesir form which does have those differences.”

She could see Tony following along and connecting the dots. “Huh. So- that explains your gender?”

She shook her head. “Not really. I haven’t done much research on Jotnar, but they still have the concept of gender, though it’s not as strict as everywhere else. They simply exist and present how they want to. Some male, some female, some both, some neither. So I’m genderfluid simply because that’s who I am. Perhaps there’s something in the chaos of it.”

“It’s nice the fact that you’re so open about it. Like- being from Asgard and all,” he said. “I mean- I’m not out publicly. Only to friends. Howard would’ve hated it if he found out I was bi, and I guess I’m scared to let him down. Even if he’s dead.”

“I’m just me. And I’ve been apologetic about that for too long. My queerness doesn’t hurt anyone, so why should I hide it?” She shrugged. “I suppose Odin hated it more because it happened to be something that could be linked back to my heritage.”

“But how much does it hurt you to not hide it?” He asked. She didn’t quite have an answer for that. “What scares you so much about liking Mobius and him liking you back?”

She raised a brow. “I thought we agreed to not talk about it.”

“Humour me,” he replied. “What changed today? The whole ex-wife and kids thing? Because in mythology you have those too.”

She furrowed her brows. “Ex-wife? No. Almost got married but got out of it,” she replied. “No- partially. It’s just- he has a life. He could go back to that, and what’s to stop him? Besides- I can’t give him a good, normal life. If Odin or the Titan find out about him then he could get hurt and I don’t want to put him in danger. So no, it doesn’t matter if I like him or if he likes me. I will not put him in danger.”

He raised a brow. “Why would Odin hurt him?”

She looked down at a patch of oil that stained the off-white floor. “Once I was seeing someone. A beautiful, fantastic person. An earth giant. They were fantastic. I was engaged at the time to a wonderful woman, though it was a political marriage and we both agreed that we would see other people outside of it, though it had to be a secret.  Their name was Angrboda. I loved them so, so much. I’d never felt as happy as I did with them, and living came easily around them. They made everything brighter. They made me feel like I had a purpose, and I- it was wonderful. I’d never believed in love before that, but they changed everything.  We had a life together away from Asgard. Hidden. We kept it a secret from everyone, though Sigyn knew because we were honest with each other about our lives. She was the only person I could trust, other than Boda. We had a home, and children, and we were happy.  I don’t know how Odin found out. He never told me. Sigyn didn’t know either. But he killed Boda. He killed our children. He took them all away from me, because I wasn’t allowed that life. It meant that the engagement was called off and it was announced publicly that it was because of my ‘unfaithfulness’, but it allowed Sigyn her freedom.  Ever since then, I’ve kept every relationship I’ve had a secret, but there haven’t been many. Just in case.”

Tony was silent for a moment. “Fucking hell, Lokes,” he said, his voice quiet. “What the fuck- why- oh my god, I hate Odin. Does Thor know?”

She shook her head. “No one knows but Odin and a few of his personal guards. Everyone was told that I was away to ‘get my priorities in order’ after ruining the engagement. That’s what Thor believes.” She chuckled despite her tears. “He yelled at me. Told me that I’d fucked it all up. That I could’ve been happy being married to Sigyn. And out of all of the political marriages I could’ve been forced into? He wasn’t wrong. She’s fantastic. She’s truly incredible. But he told me that I was selfish and hedonistic. That I ruined the one good thing in my life. He wouldn’t talk to me for years after that. Frigga didn’t know what was going on. I never told her. She knew enough from what both Odin and Sigyn told her. The only person who knew and wasn’t blindly following Odin was Sigyn. And she got sent back to Alfheim.”

There was an even longer silence. “Loki- you never deserved that. Oh my god. That’s- that’s awful. But- I know nothing will change what’s happened, but you’ve got us in your corner now, okay? Me, the Avengers, even Mobius. We’re all here for you, okay?”

She nodded as she wiped her tears away. She wasn’t alone. For the first time in centuries, she really wasn’t alone, and for once, she felt alive. 

Chapter Text

Tony didn’t know what to do. The right thing to do was probably not meddle, but he was Tony Stark. Of course he was going to meddle. Hence how he had the tempad that he still hadn’t given back to Loki under ‘scientific’ reasons, and why he was calling Mobius. 

Mobius didn’t seem too impressed when he arrived to find Tony, not Loki. Could he blame him? Absolutely not. He was just calling the guy from wherever the TVA was just to come talk to him. All because he wanted to meddle. To be fair, after what Loki had told him earlier, how could he not? Pepper had also said it was a bad idea, and Pepper was very rarely wrong, but she hadn’t been there. She didn’t know what had happened. She didn’t know what he knew. 

He’d had his fair share of heartbreaks. Of people only getting close to him for his money or his name. The complete and utter betrayal that never seemed to end. No one had killed his lovers though. Tried. Failed. He’d isolated himself, but that only hurt more. So when Loki finally opened up about why she wasn’t letting Mobius get any closer, he saw himself in her. Sure, she was protecting him, but she was protecting herself from going through that heartbreak again. So he had to step in. 

“Tony,” Mobius said, a brow raised, “I will confiscate that tempad.”

“Look, I just want to talk,” he replied. “I physically cannot be fucked to have you and Loki flirt here but then jump around the whole feelings aspect because it’s fucking painful to watch. And don’t tell me you don’t like her because it’s fucking obvious to everyone.”

Tony just watched as Mobius desperately tried to find the words to say. “I mean- it’s just- it’s not like anything will happen.”

“Nothing will happen if you’re both idiots who don’t talk about it,” he replied. “She likes you, but do you know about Angrboda?”

He nodded. “I read a bit about the situation. Odin killed them?”

“Yep. She doesn’t want to risk that happening again.” He frowned. “She likes you though. She really likes you. She’s just scared.”

“Oh.” He was quiet for a moment. “She likes me?”

He chuckled softly. “Yeah. She does. She’s fucking heads over heels for you, but she’s scared. I don’t know how to help, but can Odin get to the TVA?”

He shook his head. “No one can without a tempad.” He looked at the tempad in Tony’s hand. “Not that one.”

Tony groaned. “Fucks sake. There goes my infiltration plan.” He joked. “Okay. So- what if you just do romantic shit there and limit what you do around this place? That way Odin won’t be able to find out.”

He seemed to think over it for a moment. “That’s not a bad plan.”

“They don’t call me a genius for nothing,” he replied with a grin. “So maybe if you can take her there, get her to stop brooding over her unrequited love for you, and then bring her back in time to stop Thanos, that would be great.”

Mobius was quiet for a moment. “I’ve met a lot of Tony Stark’s over the years, but you’re a good one.”

“I think that’s a compliment?” He chuckled. “Yeah. I guess you both just deserve to be happy.”

Before Mobius could reply, Loki walked into the room. Tony even stopped toying with the tempad to look at her. She was in a dark green velvet t-shirt dress with black fishnets, chunky black boots and a black choker around her neck. If Tony was single and didn't respect Mobius, he absolutely would’ve made a move. 

“Going anywhere nice?” Tony asked with a raised brow. 

She shook her head. “Going out with Yelena and Kate.”

He almost choked on air when she said that. “Please don’t try to sleep with Yelena again.”

She snorted. “That was an accident.” She turned to Mobius. “Hi.”

“Hi,” Mobius replied, his eyes wide. Tony almost wanted to scream. “You- you look nice.”

She smiled a little. “Thank you. Midgardian fashion is interesting.”

“It suits you,” he said. 

They were idiots. 

There was a moments silence. “I need to go.” 

And with that she teleported away. Tony couldn’t help but laugh, even though Mobius looked like a lost puppy now that Loki was gone. He set the tempad down on the table as he got up and headed straight for the bar. 

“People are complicated. Especially gods, it seems,” Tony said. “It’s humbling to know that they’re just as fucked up as the rest of us.”

“I should probably go.”

He raised a brow as he held a freshly poured glass of whiskey towards Mobius. “You sure?”

He could see the cogs turning. “I guess one won’t hurt.”

——————————————————————

Kate wasn’t too happy to see her. That was clear. Considering the fact that Kate and Yelena went on a date the day after Loki spoke to Kate, she did think it was a tiny bit irrational. She’d intervened in a positive way, so what did Kate have against her?

They drank for a couple hours before they went out. Loki had never done anything like it before. She’d never gone for ‘pre-drinks’ before, but it was filled with drinks and laughter- and cocktails. She’d never had cocktails before, but she found herself reaching for a strawberry daiquiri more and more as the time passed. Were they meant to be that good? Fruit had never been so enjoyable. 

The club was exactly how she remembered it, but Kate never took her arm away from Yelena’s waist. It was amusing to watch. Yelena seemed completely oblivious to the touch, if anything she melted into it. It was heartwarming to watch, even if Kate only did it to remind Loki to keep her distance. 

“You know, Loki, you need to have fun,” Yelena said as she shoved another drink into her hands. “You need drink.”

She chuckled. “I’ve had enough drinks, Lena.”

Yelena raised a brow. “I don’t think. Kate, do you think?”

She could see that Kate was doing her best not to laugh. “I think what Lena means is that you need to let loose.”

“Yes! Let loose!” Yelena nodded. “Go dance!”

Loki raised a brow. “I don’t think I should dance.”

“Loki, you are all stiff- like a wall. Is that the saying?” Yelena turned to Kate for confirmation, who just nodded with a small smile. “Go have fun! Come on, drink!” 

Yelena pushed the drink to her mouth, and she had to drink it without laughing. When she got invited to the night out, she thought nothing of it. Just that Kate and Yelena were bored. Clearly there was something else going on. She didn’t want to think about what. 

“Good! Ah- go dance!” 

She stumbled a little when Yelena pushed her back, noticing Kate mouth an apology after it happened. Just as she was about to catch herself, she felt a pair of hands gently grip her shoulder, steadying her. 

She turned around to apologise - although she had a feeling that Yelena had timed that so that she would fall into the arms of a stranger - only for her eyes to widen. Yelena had surprisingly good taste. A woman, not too much shorter than her, with wavy blonde hair and the brightest blue eyes she’d seen on Midgard - they didn’t compete with Mobius’s. She was wearing a black cropped vest and blue jeans, but Loki could see her abs between the clothes. 

Yelena had good taste. 

“Not every day a pretty girl lands in my arms,” the woman said. 

Loki grinned. “Not every day I get caught by someone of such beauty.”

The woman grinned as she let go of her, and offered her hand. “I’m Carol. Want a drink?”

“I’ll never say no to a drink,” she replied. “I’m Loki.”

Carol raised a brow. “I’ve heard a lot about you.”

She felt her heart stop. “Please don’t tell me you’re a sibling of one of the avengers.”

She relaxed when Carol laughed. “No- has that happened?”

She nodded. “Romanoff almost killed me.”

“Oh my god- you slept with Yelena?” Carol asked, still laughing at the thought. 

“Almost,” she replied. “She dragged me here tonight.”

“I thought I saw her and Kate,” she hummed. “How long have you been on earth for?”

“Only a few weeks.” She shrugged. “Are you from here?”

She nodded. “Originally, but I lived on Hala for a bit.”

She raised a brow. “Kree?”

“You know about them?” She asked as she handed Loki another drink. How many more drinks could she possibly have?

“I worked with the council of the realms to create a peace treaty with them,” she replied. “I don’t know much, admittedly, but I know the basics.”

“I’ve been to Asgard,” Carol said. “Not that long ago. Helped with the Dark Elves.”

She raised a brow. “How’d it go?”

“Fine. Easy.” She shrugged. “Boring.”

She chuckled. “Asgardian battles are rather boring.”

“They’re so dramatic, and that’s coming from me.” She chuckled as she shook her head. “They didn’t take me seriously until I used my powers.”

She raised a brow. “Powers?”

“I can manipulate light energy,” she replied. “Tesseract got all funky and hit me, and I got some funky powers out of it.”

“The tesseract?” She thought for a moment. “That’s quite impressive.”

“Yeah. Hurt.” She chuckled. “Magic, though? That sounds cool.”

“It’s fun,” she replied. “Maybe I can show you some time.”

She raised a brow. “Maybe we can go back to mine and you can show me there?”

She smiled as she tilted her head. “I like that plan.”

“Have you ever flown?” She asked. 

“Not in a while.” 

The last thing she was expecting was to be flown to a woman’s house by said woman who could fly. She would have to thank Yelena. The moment they got in through the door, Loki was pushed against the wall and within a second she had the blonde superhero against her. Norns, she’s forgotten how it felt to have strong arms against her and how it was to not hold back. Carol was as strong as her, and she wasn’t holding back. Not at all. 

Loki couldn’t remember getting to the bedroom. She didn’t remember getting into bed. She absolutely didn’t remember how many times they said ‘one more time’, only to say it again only moments later. She didn’t remember what time they finally went to sleep, but she fell asleep with a smile on her face. 

When she woke up, she was surprised to find that she wasn’t hungover. A slight headache, sure, but nothing she couldn’t deal with. She opened her eyes to find Carol asleep next to her. She’d really have to thank Yelena for her meddling. She didn’t think of Mobius once. She refused to think of Mobius any more, and feel guilty that she’d spent the night in someone else’s bed. No, she couldn’t have Mobius, even if he somehow liked her back. It could never happen. 

With a sigh, she got up and started to search for her clothes. They were all over the house, which didn’t surprise her. The night was rather chaotic. She saw the bruises down her arms, on her legs and numerous around her neck when she looked in the mirror, but she’d seen the same marks on Carol too. 

“Coffee?” 

She looked towards the door, seeing Carol leaning against it in just an oversized t-shirt. The words one more time rang in her head, but she knew that she’d have to face reality at some point. She had to figure out how to avoid feelings until she had the time to think about them. 

“Sure,” she replied with a small smile. 

She followed Carol out to the kitchen, where she had the coffee machine ready. She sat down on one of the bar stools against the island, opposite Carol who was leaning against the kitchen counter. She took the coffee when it was offered to her and took a small sip, smiling at the taste. 

“Your brother told me that you’d run off somewhere with the tesseract,” Carol said. 

She raised a brow. “You get me into your bed and then talk about the tesseract?”

“I know a lot of people who’re looking for it.” She shrugged. “I’m just curious.”

“It won’t be found,” she replied. “It’s safe. And I don’t have it.”

She nodded. “Okay. Fury wants your head.”

“He isn’t the only one.”

She chuckled. “I can see why.”

She snorted. “Smooth.”

“I try.” She shrugged. “How’re you avoiding the Avengers?”

“I’m giving them information,” she replied. “How much do you know about Thanos?”

There was a moments silence. “I’ve seen what he’s done.”

“He’s going to do the same here. He’s collecting infinity stones, hence why the tesseract is hidden.” She raised a brow. “Can you help?”

She nodded. “Yeah, absolutely.” She was quiet for a moment before she chuckled. “This is the weirdest recruitment I’ve ever had.”

“You asked about the tesseract,” she replied. 

“That’s true. To be fair, last time I slept with an Asgardian she ran away to work with some weird Elder.” She smiled a little. “So definitely not the weirdest thing to happen.”

“Collector?” She asked. 

“Grandmaster,” she replied. “He runs Sakaar.”

“Huh.” She didn’t know that one. “Her loss.”

She chuckled. “Yeah, I guess.” 

There was a row of beeps which seemed to picque Carol’s interest. She watched as she pulled up some holograms, similar to Tony’s, and it showed a ship that had just entered the atmosphere. One that looked too familiar. She looked at Carol, who looked at her.

“You know that ship?” She asked. “It’s just entered Earth’s atmosphere.”

“Yeah.” She nodded. “It’s Thanos.”

Chapter Text

Loki teleported herself and Carol to the Avengers Tower. They’d had the notification about the ship as well, but no one had any guesses as to what it was. They were all in the common room, including Mobius - why was Mobius there? She didn’t dwell on it. She walked towards the hologram Tony was staring at to get a better look at the ship. 

“Hey, where the fuck have you- oh my god, you slept with Captain Marvel.”

“Tony, we have bigger things to worry about right now,” she said. “That’s one of Thanos’s ships.”

“One of?” Steve asked. 

“He has a few, but that’s quite a small one,” she replied. “Thanos wouldn’t be on that.”

Tony raised a brow. “Do you know who would?”

“Any of his minions. My best guess… Maw? Potentially The Other, but I’m not sure if he’d come. Proxima? Nebula?” She shook her head. “I don’t know. Almost definitely Maw.”

“Which one’s Maw?” Clint asked. “And which ones would we prefer?”

“Nebula would be great. We could work with Nebula,” she replied. “Maw’s the magic user. He’s powerful.”

Mobius stepped forwards. “They’re years early.”

They were. “I saw the Other. He must’ve remembered the new memory and- they knew enough about me to know that I shouldn’t be able to do that.”

“What did you do?” Thor asked. 

Shit. “Long story, I may have time travelled, let’s not dwell on it.”

“Not dwell on it?” Thor repeated. 

“Guys, it’s nice to finally meet you all, but we need a plan,” Carol said. Loki looked at her, and she was ever so slightly envious that she hadn’t thought to change like Carol had. Her suit was quite nice to look at and helped her to avoid looking at Mobius. “Are we going peaceful approach or should I get them out of the sky?”

All eyes were on her. “If they don’t land, Thanos will come.”

“And if Thanos comes?” Steve asked. 

“He’ll find out that the tesseract is lost.” She thought for a moment. “Let them land. They’ll return without the tesseract and it’ll cause a rift. They’ll continue to look for the tesseract.”

“What about you?” Mobius asked. 

She thought for a moment. “I’ll stay back and watch, and I’ll try to help as much as I can from afar. If they find me then they have the means to find out what happened to the tesseract.”

Carol nodded. “Okay. Everyone suit up, I’ll go let Fury know what’s going on.”

Everyone left barre Loki and Mobius, and Loki was more than tempted to go anyway. She could feel his gaze on her, and she knew she looked a state. Her hair was a mess, like she’d just gotten out of bed, her makeup was smudged and her eyes looked more smokey than intended, and the bruises around her wrists had turned a dark purple. Not to mention the hickeys on her neck. As fun as Carol was, she wished that Mobius had done them. That it was him she’d spent the night with. 

She used her magic to change into a dark green jumper and black leggings. At least they hid almost everything. She walked over to the window to see the ship in the distance, slowly getting closer. Everything was going to be okay, she told herself. She couldn’t think anything different. 

“Good night?” Mobius asked, a hint of bitterness in his tone. 

She shrugged. “Had worse.”

“You know, I actually believed Tony. When he said that you- that we felt the same, I believed him.” What? “How stupid was I?”

“That’s why you’re here?” She asked as she turned to look at him. 

“Tony called me,” he replied. “Said that you’re scared. And actually- he made a fucking good plan and I let myself believe that maybe it could work and that I wasn’t being stupid, but clearly I was.”

She raised a brow. “Mobius, I don’t want anything to be awkward between us.”

“Really?” He frowned. “Yesterday, you couldn’t get rid of me quick enough, and last night you wouldn’t even look at me. It’s fucking awkward.”

“It’s complicated-”

“Really?” He asked. “Because I don’t think it is.”

“Can we not do this now?” She ran her hand through her hair. “I need to focus on this and I just- we can talk about this later.”

He shook his head. “No, because we both know how this could go, and if it does go south then I at least want us to have had this conversation.”

She looked at him, and she knew that he wouldn’t back down. All she wanted to do was run to him. Hide in his arms. Pretend that everything was okay. But she couldn’t. She had to be realistic. Nothing was okay and everything was too much. It was all so overwhelming and she couldn’t stop it. 

“Fine.” She took a deep breath. “What do you want to talk about?”

He rolled his eyes. “I know you push people away when you get scared, but I told you I’m not going anywhere.”

“I push people away all the time, actually. Not just when I’m scared,” she replied. As if that helped her case in the slightest. 

“I’m still not going anywhere ,” he said. “I like you, Loki. I like you. And I really care about you, and I’m really pissed off that you slept with someone else last night even though it’s irrational, but I really like you and it hurts that you’d turn to someone else. I get it, though, if you don’t feel the same and I’ll give you space if you want it, but I’m- I’m still here for you.”

Mobius liked her. Mobius liked her. Her . Of all people. He liked the mess that she was. The person who probably knew her better than everyone. Liked her. Cared about her. But she couldn’t have it. She couldn’t accept it. She wasn’t going to let Mobius get hurt because of her. So she took a deep breath as she pushed all of the glee away, all of the butterflies and the joy away. She toyed with the ring on her finger, a nervous tick she’d picked up from her mother. No, as selfish as she wanted to be, she had to think about Mobius. She had to do the right thing. 

Loki’s always lose, after all. 

So she smirked. “You’re jealous.”

Mobius raised a brow. “That’s what you take from that?”

She was expecting to wind him up a little, but the hurt in his eyes was like a dagger to her heart. She shook her head as she stepped back. “Mobius, you know that I can’t do this.”

“That’s something Tony said last night- no one can see into the TVA. We can have our own life there, where no one can get to us,” he said. His voice was so full of hope. “We can do this, Loki.”

That wasn’t a bad plan. “Look, at the moment- I can’t make you happy. Not right now.” She took a deep breath to steady herself. “I need to focus on Thanos. I need to be here. I can’t give you what you need right now.”

Or ever. Especially not if she was dead. 

“I don’t care about that,” he replied as he stepped towards her. “I can stay here for a bit. I just want you to be okay, and I know that you’re not.”

“I’m not, no, but I feel like it’s justified right now.” She chuckled bleakly. “I like you, and I care about you, and because of that I don’t want to hurt you. Even unintentionally. I want you in my life, Mobius, but right now- I want to- it’s just- I can’t. I can’t risk you getting hurt and I can’t afford to worry about that right now, and I’m sorry.”

There was the hurt again. He nodded. “I get it, Loki. I do.”

She raised a brow. “You do?”

“We’ll take this at your pace. Whatever this is,” he replied. “You set the pace, and I’ll let you know if something isn’t working for me, okay?”

That wasn’t what she was expecting. She searched Mobius’s eyes for any signs of deceit, but found none. He was being truthful. He wasn’t trying to trick her. He cared. How weird was that? She thought that that would push him away. That he wouldn’t want to wait. But he did. He was willing to wait. She almost felt bad. 

“Okay.” She nodded. “Thank you.”

He smiled softly. “I care about you, Loki. I mean that.”

“Can I kiss you?” She asked before her mind caught up with her mouth. Why would she ask that? Why did she think that that was okay? Why would she-

“Yeah.”

Oh. 

Loki looked at Mobius as she stepped forwards, closing the awkward space between them. She brought her hand up to cup his cheek before she closed the distance between them. Norns, he tasted like cinnamon. How was that possible? She melted into his touch when she felt his hands rest on her waist. His touch was so warm, so gentle. Home. She didn’t want to pull away, but she knew she had to. She held him close, and her heart warmed when he didn’t let go either. When she opened her eyes, Mobius was looking at her with a dopey grin. She couldn’t help but smile back. 

“Don’t do anything stupid, okay?” He said, and Loki couldn’t help but snort. 

“Please, when do I ever do anything stupid?”

He just looked at her. He had a point. She looked up when she heard footsteps get closer and let go of Mobius, who followed suit. She watched as the Avengers walked in, Carol following. Tony pulled the hologram up again, showing that the ship had landed. 

“There’s two heat signatures I’m picking up,” Tony said. 

Loki went to look. “The one on the left is Maw, the one on the right- perhaps Proxima? He’s got telekinesis and shouldn’t be underestimated, and she’s a fantastic warrior.”

“She can’t be better than the warriors of Asgard,” Thor replied. 

She shook her head. “She’s ruthless. One of the best warriors I’ve fought.”

“You fought them?” Steve asked. 

“I trained with them, though they didn’t hold back,” she replied. “I had to win against every single one of them.”

Tony raised a brow. “How long did that take?”

“The one advantage is that they all fight the same. Apart from Maw- he relies on his magic and it’s impossible to get close to him.” She thought for a moment. “Do you have any stones?”

“The mind stone,” Steve replied. 

Shit. “Give it to them and don’t put up a fight. Make it as peaceful as possible.”

“And if they attack first?” Clint asked. 

She thought for a moment. “Don’t die.”

Chapter Text

“Loki, will you stop pacing? You’re making me dizzy.”

Loki didn’t listen. She kept pacing in front of the feed Jarvis had pulled up. All she could do was wait. The Avengers were making their way to where the ship had landed, but it was taking too long. With every passing moment it got more dangerous. 

Did Thanos know what happened after the battle? Her connection to the Other severed the moment she hit her head during the whole Hulk incident, so the Other couldn’t have seen it. Would they know that she took the tesseract? Or did they think that it was still on Midgard? 

Everything stopped when she saw Maw and Proxima step off the ship. They hadn’t changed. She could still feel the grips of Maw’s magic suffocating her, unrelenting until Thanos finally had enough. Or Proxima’s sword, sharper than anything she’d found on Asgard, pressed against her throat. 

She flinched when she felt a hand rest on her shoulder. “You’re safe here. They won’t hurt you.”

They would. If they found out then they’d take her back. She couldn’t go through that again. No, she’d die before she’d let that happen. She stepped away from the screen and headed towards the bar counter. She pulled a book from her pocket dimension, one that was quite battered compared to the rest of them from where she’d picked at the edges and thrown it across the room. 

If anything happened, they’d have all her notes on Thanos and the Black Order. At least they’d have that. 

When Loki turned back to the feed, she saw the Avengers approach the two aliens. Norns, she couldn’t believe that it was happening. She took a deep breath before she stepped forwards. She felt Mobius’s gaze on her, but she didn’t look at him. She couldn’t. She couldn’t risk breaking. 

“Do you come in peace?” Tony asked. Of course he’d ask that. 

She frowned when Maw tilted his head. “We come in search of the infinity stones.”

“And why would we give them to you?” Steve asked. 

“You will be granted mercy,” Maw replied. 

Steve raised a brow. “We only have one.”

Proxima frowned. “Our intel said you’d have three.”

“Three?” Tony almost laughed. “Yeah, that’s the dream. We have the one from Loki’s sceptre, that’s it.”

She flinched when Maw scowled. “We sent the traitor with two.”

“What can I say? He ran off with the tesseract,” Tony replied. “We only have that one.”

Loki frowned when she saw an orange glow from inside the ship. The thermal reader, Tony called it. A form appeared, as if it had been uncloaked. There was someone else on the ship. 

She pressed the button to talk to the Avengers. “There’s someone else on that ship, it seems like a trap and you need to get out of there.”

She saw Clint and Natasha look at each other, but Steve and Tony didn’t stop talking to the two Black Order members. They weren’t stopping. Why weren’t they stopping? She went to talk again, only to stop when she felt something piercing through her brain. She gasped as she fell to her knees, gripping her head tightly as if that would relieve any of the pressure. She could hear Mobius talking, but he sounded miles away. As if he was underwater and only getting further and further away. 

The Other was there. 

“Get- get them out of there-” she told Mobius in the moments of clarity between the bursts of pain. 

He was trying to get back into her head. He was trying to find her. He was close. She kept fighting against his powers, and considering he didn’t have the mind stone she was at a considerable advantage. That didn’t matter though. He was close enough to not need the mind stone to get to her, so he knew. 

It was too late. 

With a burst of magic that shook the tower, she pushed the Other out of her head. She flinched when arms wrapped around her, but they were warm. Like home. She sunk into the embrace as she took deep breaths, willing herself to calm down. She couldn’t break just yet. She had to make sure everyone was safe. 

She looked up at the screen, frowning when they were still there. “Why haven’t they left?”

“I don’t know. It might be unsafe,” Mobius replied as he pulled away to look at her. “Are you okay?”

She nodded. “I’ll be fine. But they know that I’m here.”

“Then let’s go to the TVA,” he replied. “Just until this passes.”

She shook her head. “They’re not safe there, and if the Black Order find out that I’ve run? They’ll kill them. I can’t- I can’t- they can’t get hurt because of me, Mobius. I can’t let that happen.”

“Okay. New game plan. What is it?” He asked. “You can’t go out there without a plan.”

She could stab herself and send Thanos her body, but she didn’t think Mobius would react particularly well to that. “I can buy them some time.”

“How?” He raised a brow. “How much danger will you be putting yourself in?”

“If I go with them then they’ll leave,” she replied. 

He shook his head. “That’s an awful idea. But even if we don’t think about your well-being in that situation- you know where the tesseract is, and if we’re right on your new power situation, you have the means to get another one. Hell, there’s the possibility you could go straight to the TVA and get all of the stones in one go.”

Fuck. If she went then she’d put everything in danger, but if she didn’t then the Avengers - her friends would die. There wasn’t a right answer. There wasn’t a good outcome. If she hadn’t have come back from the dead for what felt like the billionth time, they wouldn’t be in that situation. They would’ve had years before Thanos made any move on Midgard. It was all her fault. 

Loki took a deep breath before she looked at Mobius. “Despite how we met- I’m glad that we did. And I’m grateful to have had you in my life, even if it was only for a short period.”

“Loki- no, that’s not a plan- that’s not an option-” of course he’d catch onto what she was going to do. 

She used her magic to change into her armour, feeling some comfort from being wrapped up and hidden so much. She was going to put on a show, one last time. And maybe, just maybe she could finally be good enough. 

“It’s the only way,” she replied with a tired smile. Before he could reply, she grabbed him by the collar and pulled him into a kiss. She didn’t care about the stray tear that ran down her cheek. No, all she cared about was him. The fact that in her final moments, she was with the one person who made her feel whole. Like a person. She pulled away with a smile. “Takk for at du viste meg at jeg fortsatt kan være lykkelig. Jeg elsker deg.”

Loki let go of Mobius before she teleported to the field the Avengers were still at, because Norns forbid that they actually listen to her - but before the spell took hold, she felt a hand grab her wrist. 

Fuck. 

When she landed on the field, so did Mobius. She was going to haunt him for the rest of his life and he was going to have to do an exorcism to get rid of her. 

“Traitor,” Maw said with a vicious grin. She saw movement from inside the ship, recognising it as the Other. “How nice of you to show up.”

She raised a brow. “I gave you a chance to settle this peacefully.”

“You gave us nothing ,” he hissed. “Father will be pleased to see you.”

“My failure says a lot more about you than it does about me,” she replied. “Is the Other going to come out, or is he still as much of a coward as I remember?”

That seemed to hit a nerve. Before she knew it, she saw a figure in black come towards her, moving faster than what was human. She held her hand out, and the figure froze just inches away from her. Norns, it felt good to best them. 

“You always were so easy to aggravate,” she said. “It’s a shame you felt like you had to hide from me.”

“I wasn’t hiding,” the Other replied with a twisted grin. “You were always so easy to deceive.”

She saw movement from Proxima, and she had to inwardly thank the Other for his warning. She held her hand up and the weapon froze mid air. That would’ve been quite the fatal shot. She just had to find a way to take the three of them down with her. 

Then again, that was too easy. Before she knew it, she was being pushed out of the way. She turned to her side to see Mobius, and before she could stop it, a spear went through his chest. She felt everything stop. It couldn’t be real. No. But the blood soaked his white shirt and he had the audacity to smile at her. He didn’t say anything, but blood dripped from his mouth and she couldn’t look away. 

Mobius saved her. 

He was always doing that though, wasn’t he?

Loki turned to the three in front of her, and their smiles only fueled her anger. They could hurt her. She didn’t care. She would sit through their torture again and again if it meant keeping everyone safe. But to take the person she loved away from her? No. She wouldn’t stand for that. 

She picked Proxima’s sword up with her magic and within a second it was in Maw’s neck. The Other ran towards her, but she hit him with a magic blast strong enough to send the strongest building crumbling down. Then she felt something press against her neck. 

She looked forwards, seeing Proxima standing in front of her with a spear to her neck. It was dripping with Mobius’s blood. She summoned a dagger into her hand where Proxima wouldn’t see, but before she could strike, a pain ripped through her like she’d never felt before. It was as if every part of her was being pulled in a different direction and her magic was working against her. 

It was over within seconds, and it left her wondering if it had ever even happened. But then her surroundings got darker, and instead of being in a Midgardian field, she was in a dark, dark cage with only green strings surrounding her. It didn’t look like anything she’d seen from Thanos, but it felt warm. It was radiating energy that she was familiar with. 

It was her seidr. 

She went to teleport away, but one of the branches wrapped around her wrist. The moment it connected with her, it flowed a green and it flourished all the way up - she couldn’t see where it ended. She pulled against the branch, but another one grabbed her. And another. And another. 

She was pulled up against the wall of the circular place, each and every branch was glowing the green of her seidr. She was stuck, and whatever it was was feeding off of her magic. No, it was thriving off of it. She pulled against it and screamed for anyone, just in case someone could hear her. No one came. 

The Avengers were still in the field. Mobius- she could’ve healed him. She could’ve tried. She’d healed many wounds like that, so she had to try. But she couldn’t get out. Her seidr wasn’t working. She kept pulling and tugging, desperate to get out, but she couldn’t move. She was stuck, her friends were in danger and the person she loved was more than likely dead. 

If her screams turned to sobs, she wouldn’t admit it, even though she was completely and utterly alone. 

Chapter Text

Even in his however many years of life, Mobius still despised the sound of his alarm clock. The constant beep was enough to drive anyone mad. Whoever created it was a sadist, he decided. Who would want to wake up to a repetitive, irritating sound?

The bright light blinded him once he finally opened his eyes. He went to sit up, but gasped at the pain that shot through his chest. He blinked a few times to get used to the light above him, only to find grey walls surrounding him. 

He wasn’t at the TVA. 

No, he was on Earth. With Loki. Some of the Black Order were there and they were going to kill her. No, she’d survived a lot worse than a stabbing, they weren’t going to kill her. They were going to subdue her. Still, he couldn’t let that happen. Admittedly, considering he got stabbed in the chest he was impressed that he was still alive. He wasn’t expecting that. Then again, life was always full of surprises. 

“Mobius,” someone said from his side. Bruce? Sounded like Bruce. “How’re you feeling?”

He sat up, taking it slow to ease the pain that shot through his body every time he moved. “Not as bad as I’d expect,” he replied with a teasing smile. Bruce was standing next to a screen, dotting some things down on a clipboard. “What happened?”

“We have some equipment that regenerates tissue, and we managed to get you there just in time. Happened to have a really good doctor on hand as well, but she had to leave yesterday,” he said. “You’ll probably be achy for a while, but you’ve taken to the procedure quite well.”

That wasn’t what he meant and he knew that Bruce knew that. “Where is everyone?”

“The rest of the Avengers are in a meeting with Fury to figure out what to do next,” he replied. “I wanted to stay back here. Clint woke up within a day after he went through this, but it was just some tissue in his arm. Yours was a lot bigger than that- frankly, it’s a miracle that you’re alive, but- yeah. It’s been about a week, so shorter than I’d have thought.”

He raised a brow. “Where’s Loki?”

He didn’t like the hesitation. “I don’t know.”

“What do you mean you don’t know?” He asked. 

Again with the hesitation. “Look, you need to rest and-” Bruce stopped the moment he saw Mobius’s stare. “She disappeared. We’re exploring the theory that it had something to do with Thanos, but- she killed Maw and the Other, Proxima was seconds away from killing her but she disappeared. But not in a normal way? We’re trying to figure out what happened but Thor doesn’t even know what it is.”

He thought for a moment. “Can you show me?”

Bruce didn’t seem to like the idea, but Mobius had a feeling that the doctor knew that he wouldn’t stop pushing until he saw it. Bruce asked Jarvis to play the video, and Mobius almost looked away when he saw his own body on the floor. God, that was terrifying. 

He watched the video, seeing how Loki took Ebony Maw and the Other out without breaking a sweat. He couldn’t help but feel proud about that, even if he knew that Thanos wouldn’t be too happy about it. That was a worry for another day. His heart stopped when he saw how Loki disappeared. He’d only seen it once before, and it wasn’t exactly a pleasant experience. Hell, it looked like she was dying and being born at the same time. 

“She timeslipped,” he said. 

Bruce raised a brow as he swiped the video away. “What’s that?”

“It’s where you slip through time. It’s really rare, and normally it’s only done when someone’s outside of their point in time,” he replied. “That shouldn’t have happened.”

“So she could be anywhere in time?” He asked. 

He nodded. “I can look for her.”

“Nope. You need to rest first, then you can,” he replied. “Tony’s got your tempad for safekeeping and if you even try to sneak out before you’re physically ready I'll give him permission to tinker with it.”

He looked at Bruce. “She could be anywhere- Bruce, I need to go find her.”

“I get it, Mobius. I really do,” he replied. “But you almost died. Right now you should be recovering from major surgery, and even though you’re technically not, your body thinks it is. So you need to take it easy, okay? You can’t go looking for Loki if your body rejects the new tissue.”

Bruce had a point. He didn’t like that he had a point, but he couldn’t really argue. So he stayed. He waited. And waited. And waited. Bruce checked on him regularly, as did Tony. Tony was the most insistent. He kept asking him about the multiverse and how the timelines worked, and in hindsight he should’ve expected that. Every time they had to apprehend a Tony Stark, the variants were more curious about the multiverse than worried about being pruned. 

Another week passed before he was allowed to move around. He felt as good as new. Almost. If he moved too much then his chest would feel tight and he’d have a coughing fit, but hey, he was alive. He ended up sitting with Tony as the inventor tried to find traces of Loki’s magic. He even went back in time to find similar traces, but even though they found traces that were definitely Loki’s magic scattered through the past, they didn’t match the new energy pattern. Ever since Loki fixed the branches, their magic had changed. Sure, he’d thought that, but seeing the energy readings Tony had just confirmed it. 

Once they gave up on that route, they came to the conclusion that Loki must’ve slipped to the future. They wouldn’t be able to find them without looking. So when the Avengers had no choice but to just focus on Thanos and push their search for Loki to the side, Mobius picked it up. He couldn’t help with Thanos, so he’d do the one thing that was useful to him. 

Once he got his tempad back, he went to the future. He skipped a year at a time, and even though he’d programmed Loki’s magic signature into the tempad, he couldn’t find anything. Whether it was a case of Loki not existing to the TVA and its technology or Loki not being there, he couldn’t find them. Hell, he’d travelled a couple hundred years and nothing. 

Loki wasn’t there. He couldn’t find them. It was like they were gone. 

He eventually found his way back to the TVA. He couldn’t keep looking. Not for a while. Maybe they just hadn’t arrived where they were meant to yet, or maybe they’d wandered. Of course they’d wander. For someone who was incredibly talented at planning, they were quite impulsive, reckless and an idiot, but that was why Mobius loved them. 

“Hey,” Ravonna said as he walked into her office. “You look like shit.”

He sat down on the sofa, his gaze fixed to the floor. “You know Loki?”

“The one you’ve been hopelessly chasing like a lost puppy?” She asked as she reached for the bottle of whiskey he’d gotten her from 1600s Italy. “Yeah. You’ve told me about them.”

“They timeslipped and I can’t find them,” he said. “They’re gone.”

She set a glass of whiskey on the coaster in front of him. “They can’t go far, right?”

He hesitated. “Did I tell you they can travel through space and time?”

He could feel her glare at him from where she’d perched opposite him. “No.”

“Well- when they fixed the branches they must’ve absorbed some of the energy and they can travel through space and time,” he said. “Don’t know if they can cross the branches yet.”

“So they could’ve slipped onto another branch.” She was quiet for a moment. “Why the fuck wouldn’t you tell me that?”

“It was a theory,” he replied. “I don’t- look, it’s been a stressful- however long it’s been. Between trying to power the branches, coming to terms with the fact that everything we knew was a lie and figuring out what’s going on with Loki- it’s a lot.”

She nodded. “It is. But- to take one thing off that list, the branches are fine. Somethings powering them and it’s sustaining. The energy hasn’t dipped and it’s as steady as anything.”

He raised a brow. “What happened?”

“I don’t know. OB must’ve pushed the right buttons,” she replied. “Loki will turn up somewhere. I know it’s not the answer you want, but I think you’re just going to have to wait and see where they turn up. They know how to hide.”

He nodded. “I know. I know.” He thought for a moment. “I just thought that maybe we’d have figured things out. They- they were open to trying a relationship after they’d sorted Thanos out, and- we kissed. Twice. It felt like something that could happen.”

“Do they make you happy?” She asked. 

“Happier than I’ve ever been,” he replied without a moments hesitation. 

“Then things’ll work out. You’ll find your way back to each other, no matter how long it’ll take.” She thought for a moment. “Take however long you need, okay? Maybe you should take a little break or something.”

He shook his head. “I’m happy enough here, Ravonna. You’re not getting rid of me that easily.”

She chuckled as she sat back. “As if I’d ever want to get rid of you, Mobius. Even if you’re a complete pain in the arse.”

He grinned. “That’s exactly why you keep me around.”

Chapter Text

There wasn’t a day or a night. Everything was glowing green all the time and despite green being their colour, they’d grown to despise it. It was all they saw all the time, unless they slept. Then it was Thanos. Mobius’s body. The Bifrost. Everything they’d lost. Everything they didn’t think they’d ever get back to. 

Sometimes a branch would flow particularly bright and they’d see into it. Sometimes it was nice. A good break from the branches around them. Other times it was full of horror and Loki just wanted to get back to being alone in their prison. They didn’t know how long it took before they realised that they were stuck in the branches of the multiverse, but they figured it out eventually after seeing into a few branches. 

They couldn’t get to the one they wanted to see. The one where they came from. They couldn’t see the TVA. They saw Mobius’s old life. He looked happy. He had a house and kids, and they were a family. He’d never have that again. 

They tried to cling onto the hope that Mobius was alive. They tried so, so hard. It just wasn’t realistic. They saw the injury. Maybe Asgardian healers could’ve helped, but with what they had on Midgard? There was no chance. Mobius was dead. All because of them. 

Out of all the timelines, they’d only found themself in a few. Mainly out of curiosity. Most of them were sad. That really didn’t surprise them. But the one where Odin didn’t take them as a child, they were happy. They had a good family and they were happy on Jotunheim, and they were weirdly good friends with Thor. That broke them out of it. That was a little too weird. 

They didn’t know how long it had been. Long enough for the madness to creep in, they knew. With the amount of times they thought they saw someone or heard someone call their name or even just speak - they’d gone through it before. Being alone was a brilliant torture method. One that Odin utilised brilliantly. 

They reached for their seidr, even though they knew that it was a hopeless attempt. They could never quite grasp it. The branches dampened it beyond anything they could get past. They had complete and utter control over Loki, and they didn’t quite understand how. Maybe it was a desperate attempt for survival, and the branches already had a bit of their seidr in them. Whatever it was, they stabilised the branches. At least something good was coming from their suffering. 

To their surprise, a green glow encompassed their hand. They looked around as if to check if anyone saw, even though it was just them. They kept reaching for it, and the glow became bigger. It was different. Not bad. Just different. More alive. Vibrant. It had more energy. 

Maybe it was a bad idea, but they channelled the seidr into the branches. They glowed even brighter, and they hummed. As if they were alive. The branches were surviving off of their seidr, but they needed a life of their own. Whatever the branches were waiting for, whatever needed to happen to their seidr, it had happened and it had worked. 

They kept channelling their magic into the branches, but it didn’t drain them. Not like a big spell usually would. No, if anything, they felt more alive. The lethargy that plagued their bones disappeared, and they were left with energy that screamed of life. 

Then the branches let them go. 

The green glow that hummed and flowed carried on, even without a direct source to their seidr. The branches were alive. They weren’t just surviving, but they were thriving. They couldn’t believe it. They’d saved the multiverse again - albeit inadvertently and against their will - but they did it. 

They just had to get home. 

They held their hand out and pictured Midgard. Not home, but their home was potentially six foot under. Midgard would do. They had to check on their friends. With a little focus, a portal opened. The green glow that matched the branches encompassed a dark atmosphere, but they’d been to worse places. Even if it wasn’t Midgard, they could just leave. Hopefully. 

They stepped through the portal and closed it behind them. Wherever they were, buildings were collapsed. Rubble covered the floor and the sky was a dark grey. Trees - or what Loki assumed were trees were grey and withered, and patches of grass were brown and crisp. 

Something was wrong. 

They followed the path they’d joined, only to find an oversized A on the floor, covered in dust and stones. They looked up to find a tall building that had been fractured. It must’ve been much taller than what it stood then. But then it clicked. That was the Avengers tower. Between the excessive use of glass and the blue A that was bigger than Loki, it was obvious. They’d been gone a while. 

They looked through the rubble for anything that could be useful. Anything that would tell them when they were, rather than where. Or even if they were on the right branch. They hoped that they were. They weren’t completely confident in how to travel through the branches, but they’d try it if they had to. 

After finding stones, more stones, a few bones and more stones, they eventually found a piece of paper. Newspaper. They pulled it out as gently as they could to preserve it, to find a date or anything that would help them figure out the situation. 

The last tree dies in New York after brutal alien attack - March 2104

They’d been gone for ninety two years. They could only guess that Thanos won, and the realm was suffering because of it. They’d lost. Fuck. They took a deep breath as they sat on one particularly big rock, they didn’t want to think what it really was. They didn’t know what to do. What happened? What happened after they got dragged into the branches? 

What could they do? They could go back in time, but what could they do to help? What could they do differently? If Thanos came back, he’d probably come with an army. Carol could probably take care of those ships, but it wouldn’t kill Thanos. It would get rid of the army, though. 

Thanos. They could distract him for long enough for someone to kill him. Or they could take matters into their own hands. Mobius was dead because of Thanos. Because they couldn’t protect him enough. But they’d get their revenge. Thanos had taken everything from them, and he was going to pay. 

If they were going to defeat Thanos, they needed a weapon. A good one. They’d need materials, it was just a question of where to get them. If they went to Alfheim then they could get iron that was more susceptible to enchantment. They would just have to get to Alfheim. 

They tried to focus on Alfheim. How they knew it. How they remembered it from their fondest memories. From when Frigga would take them there when they were younger and they would stay in the library for hours to study their lore. 

A portal opened in front of them, and the warm glow from the sun contrasted the grey on Midgard. They stepped through and the portal closed behind them. They changed into more discreet clothing, opting for a black shirt and some black trousers. It was easier to blend in if they weren’t in their armour. They summoned a cloak and wrapped it around themself, keeping the hood over their head just in case they were recognised. 

They walked to the market, only a short walk from where they’d arrived. It was thriving. Exactly how they remembered it. They couldn’t help but smile as they remembered the times they’d drag Frigga through the market, full of curiosity for the trinkets being sold. They headed to the material stall, and was surprised to find that it was exactly where they remembered it and how they remembered it. 

“Good afternoon,” the stall holder said. “Is there anything I can help you with?”

They remembered that woman. Her white hair fell so perfectly down their shoulders, and their white eyes felt like they pierced through their soul. She helped teach them how to make weapons. Many an hour they sat in her workshop, perfecting the process of making bows, arrows, swords and daggers. Arwen. 

“I’m looking for a metal that can be crafted into a sword and is easily enchanted,” they said. “Something that can be quite sharp.”

Arwen looked through her stock before she pulled out some form of iron. “This is perfect for what you’re after.”

They handed over a bag of gold, and she handed them the iron. “Thank you.” A flock of people rushed off to the palace, which was only around the corner. They raised a brow. “Is there something big going on?”

She raised a brow. “I thought everyone had heard. The Queen of Asgard is here with her youngest son.”

Shit. 

“Oh.” They feigned surprise. “I thought that was next week. Clearly I wasn’t listening.”

She nodded. “They do often come with little to no notice, but it’s nice that they come so often.”

“I suppose it is,” they replied. “Thank you for your help.”

They headed off in the opposite direction to the palace. They didn’t want to stay in the same place as their past self - because of course they’d travel to the past. As much as they wanted to see Frigga, they couldn’t. They knew that. They took a deep breath before they opened another portal back to Midgard. 

Loki found somewhere clear-ish, with a rock they could sit on but enough space to cast some enchantments and draw some runes. They set some stones in a sword-like shape - they could shape it once it was set - and used their magic to tie it all together so the iron wouldn’t leak. They summoned a bowl before they started a fire. 

It was a process they’d done thousands of times. There was something enjoyable in forging weapons. The Elves and Dwarves respected them more for being able to do it, rather than simply relying on them for whatever they needed. Besides, it meant that they could create a weapon to suit them. It worked well. They grabbed a stick they’d found, albeit dead, they used their new magic to take it back in time in its deterioration, to be a strong stick fresh from a tree. It would do. They put it at the bottom of the mould and hoped that it would work. 

Once the iron was melted, they poured it into the makeshift mould and waited. And waited. And waited. It got darker, but not as noticeable as it used to. It was as if the sun and moon had lost their light. They probably had. 

Carving the sword took patience. To carve it and sharpen it took hours, but it was patience they had and time they had. They had more than enough time considering nothing was alive. No birds chirped. No planes. No grasshoppers. Everything was dead. They were the only living thing on the realm, and there wasn’t anything comforting about that. 

The enchantments proved tricky with no lifesource to channel from. Their seidr, although powered by Yggdrasil and the multiversal branches, worked better when they were surrounded by life. There was no life to bounce off of. They were alone. 

Though tricky, it wasn’t impossible. They carved runes into the blade with a stone, and though it took a while, it was easy enough. Once all of the practicalities were finished, they wrapped the blade in some spare leather they kept in their pocket dimension, wrapping the strip tight around the stick. They swung it as a test, and it was perfectly balanced. The enchantments were supposedly to help it slice through anything and keep the blade sharp, but they’d only find out once they used it. 

With one last look around, they opened a portal to Sanctuary. They stepped through it and their skin prickled at the familiar atmosphere. They took a deep breath as they changed back into their armour, the magic providing some sort of comfort. 

It hadn’t changed. Not much. They couldn’t hear the Chitauri ships circling, which was about the only comfort they could get from being there. But they had to do it. Thanos had taken everything from them, and they were going to make him pay. 

“I was wondering when you’d show up,” they heard Thanos say. 

They just hoped that they weren’t too late. 

Chapter Text

“I didn’t think you had it in you to kill Maw and the Other.” Thanos stepped towards him. “I heard you weren’t the one to kill Proxima.”

They shook their head. “I can’t take credit for her, but it would’ve been nice.”

“So now you’re here?” He asked. “You couldn’t do the portal thing when we met last.”

They grinned. “I’ve grown. You were right. I had a lot of potential, I just had to learn how to tap into it.”

“The God of Stories,” he said. “How poetic.”

They liked the sound of that. “How many stones do you need?”

Thanos held the gauntlet up, which held the power stone. “I subdued you with just one before.”

They chuckled. “Not enough. Besides, the tesseract doesn’t exist. Not anymore. You’re never going to win.”

That seemed to spark a fire in him. “Where’s the tesseract?”

“Not here,” they replied. “You’ll never get it. How does it feel to lose so early?”

“How does it feel to have lost your friend?” He asked. “I heard he sacrificed himself to save you. How pitiful.”

They’d wasted enough time. They used their magic to keep Thanos still, but he used the power stone to get out of it. They swung the sword towards him, hoping to catch him, but Thanos moved out of the way fast enough that it just grazed his side. Even though it was a small graze, it drew a lot of blood. 

Good to know that the sword worked. 

They threw a magic blast at him, which he blocked effortlessly. Why did he have to have a stone? How dare he make killing him harder than it already was? They threw another one so that Thanos would block it, leaving an opening at his side. They managed to pierce his skin with it, but Thanos batted them away when he realised they were close. 

They summoned the sword before Thanos could grab it, tightening their grip around the handle. It would be fine. They could absolutely take on Thanos on their own. Why wouldn’t they? It wasn’t a stupid idea at all. Absolutely not. Maybe they should’ve gone to the Avengers for backup, but they didn’t want to endanger them. No, they had to do it on their own. 

They got back up, ignoring the strain in their leg. They’d be fine. It was fine. They could deal with injuries later. They just needed to get the stone away from Thanos. They casted two illusions of themself and went to attack Thanos from the front and sides, with them being on the side of the gauntlet. With that being enough to confuse Thanos - considering he claimed to be ‘burdened with knowledge’, he was easy to trick - they raised the sword and almost got it down in time. Almost. But then a surge of power from the stone sent them tumbling back and the illusions broke. 

They groaned as they pushed themself back up. They’d gotten one good hit on Thanos, but they couldn't get close enough for another. Maybe they should’ve gotten back up. Just maybe. 

“I expected more from you,” Thanos said as he stepped towards Loki. “You’re nothing but a weak, pathetic runt.”

They raised a brow. “Nothing I haven’t heard before. Truly, you’re incredibly unoriginal.”

Loki opened a portal - they didn’t know where to and quite frankly they didn’t care - and sent it towards Thanos. They didn’t know if it would work, but it was worth a try, right? Once it had consumed his arm they closed it. 

It worked. 

Thanos let out a yell of pain as blood spurted from their arm, which ended above their elbow. They didn’t quite expect that to work, but at least it did. They pounced forwards with the sword and went to drive it through his head, but was pushed back at the last minute. The sword clattered away from them as their head hit a rock, stopping them from going any further. 

A high pitched ringing filled their ears as they slowly pushed themself up. They could taste blood but they didn’t care. They weren’t going to stop until Thanos was dead. They looked up, seeing Thanos walk towards them, but they couldn’t move away fast enough. 

A pressure in their stomach caught them off guard. They looked down, seeing their sword jammed into their abdomen, blood gushing out from around it. Fuck. They looked at Thanos as their vision came into focus, and the Titan was grinning down at them. 

“Did you really think you could kill me?” He asked. “You’re weak. You should’ve listened to me. You had potential, and even with this new power of yours, you’re still weak. You’re going to die out here with nothing. A nobody. God of Nothing.”

Loki grinned and they could feel the blood trickle down their chin. “You called me the God of Stories earlier,” they said as they felt their seidr surge. As if it was bouncing, trying to get out. “I have a story for you.”

Thanos chuckled. “Go on then. One last tale from the silvertongue themself.”

“There once was a Titan named Thanos, and he sat on Sanctuary. All alone because I killed most of his minions,” they said, but it was their magic conjuring the words. It was like they were just a vessel. “And the God of Stories turned up to kill him. It was a fair fight, and just as it turned in the Titans favour, the God of Stories opened a portal and severed his arm. And in that moment of weakness, they aimed for the head. And guess what?” They grinned as their eyes glowed green. “They didn’t miss.”

A green whirlwind encapsulated them, and for the first time, Loki saw fear in Thanos’s eyes. Thanos staggered back to where he’d lost his arm, and Loki felt themself being hoisted up. The sword appeared in their hand and their wound closed up, as if it had never been there. And when they went to plunge the sword into Thanos’s head. 

They didn’t miss. 

The magic around them disappeared. Thanos slumped to the floor, lifeless. They’d never felt power like that before. They rewrote the past. They changed what had happened by simply speaking. The spell came naturally, as if they were born to do it. 

They were the God of Stories. 

They laughed as they staggered back, looking at Thanos’s lifeless body. They did it. They won. Well, not really. They’d lost the one person they loved. But they’d defeated Thanos. They swung the sword down onto his neck, just to make sure. They had to be sure. They kicked the head as hard as they could and watched it tumble across the barren rocks, further and further away from its body. Thanos was definitely dead. 

They looked around, finding no one else there. Conjuring the spell they’d only just learned, they let the power flow through the branch as they rewrote the past once more. 

“The rest of the Black Order died with the Chitauri.”

The moment they stopped speaking, the spell stopped. It was like a burst of energy, like their seidr couldn’t wait to do it. Like it had been waiting for them to realise that spell was there within them. It was freeing. 

They put the sword through the sheath on their hip before they opened up a portal. They had one last thing to do before they could rest. A quick stop, and then they were done. They were finally finished. With the multiverse fixed and Thanos dead, they had nothing left to do. 

They stepped through the portal, only to be met with Thanos’s severed arm and a very concerned looking Avengers team. That probably needed some explaining. 

But at least they were alive, and the realm was too.