Chapter 41: Loki... of Asgard

A/N: Loki arrives on Earth. Things go mostly the same until they don't.

-x-X-x-

Pain. Such exquisite agony. But nothing that she couldn't handle. By this point, pain was an old friend for Loki, Goddess of Mischief.

And besides, it only hurt so much because the Midgardians were incompetent. They were new to toying with the fabric of space, new to portal travel. And their inexperience was ultimately what made this possible in the first place. Hijacking the Bifrost, by comparison, would have been all but impossible. But hijacking the Midgardian's experiment was all too easy.

It still hurt though. Hurt so much that when she finally landed, it was not with her back straight, chest puffed out, and arms spread wide as she'd hoped. It was not the grand display of power she'd been aiming for. Instead, everything hurts and she finds herself on one knee, her arms curled inwards as pain radiates through every fiber of her being and the blue energy of the portal wafts off of her body and up into the air above her.

Breathing in and out slowly, Loki takes in her surroundings without actually looking up. There are many Midgardians in the large room with her, she can hear the sounds of their pathetic, weak hearts pitter-pattering away oh so rapidly. Likewise, there's quite a lot of their vaunted technology, the pathetic attempts at mimicking true power beeping and squealing in alarm.

Loki tilts her head to the side, hissing as she raises it to take them all in with her eyes. Slowly, parts of her body screaming at her for every move she makes, the Goddess rises to her feet, beads of sweat trickling down her face. Her, a Frost Giant, sweating. Ridiculous.

"Ma'am. Please put down the spear."

One of the Midgardians, a dark-skinned man wearing an eye patch of all things, presumes to order her. But… what spear? It takes her a moment to remember. Takes her a moment to even realize the damn thing is still in her hand. Looking down, Loki pauses, staring at the glowing gem of the bladed scepter she's holding.

Where had it come from? Ah yes, that's right. It was a gift. But like many gifts, it came with strings attached. She was here… for a reason. Staring at the glowing gem she smiles slightly. It's all coming back to her now. Her reason for being here on Midgard. Her mission. Her rewards if she succeeds… and her punishment if she fails.

While the one-eyed Midgardian dared to command her, others were trying to flank her. Aiming their pathetic Midgardian weapons at her as if they had any hope of doing damage to her. Though she must admit, the way those weapons glow with energy is strange. Weren't the Midgardians using ballistic ammunition last she checked?

No matter. Nothing on this planet could harm her. Nothing on Midgard could cause her the same amount of pain as she had already experienced.

With a vicious snarl, Loki thrusts out the scepter and a concentrated blast of energy lances from it towards the one-eyed Midgardian. He's pushed out of the way at the last second by a familiar face, while the other Midgardians bring their strange rifles to bear on her. She's already moving though, flinging herself through the air at great speed.

And good that she did too. The Midgardians fire their rifles and the air where she was just stood is suddenly filled with energy blasts. Loki's eyes widen and she has to use the scepter to deflect one that would have taken her right in the chest. These were not the 'bullets' that she had expected to face. Perhaps the Midgardians were further along into their research with the Tesseract than she'd initially anticipated.

No matter. In the end, Loki is still faster than even the fastest Midgardian's reflexes. Knowing better than to test what damage those white energy blasts are capable of, she dodges each one and through a combination of the scepter and her knives, takes down the four Midgardians armed with rifles quite easily.

The others have smaller weapons, and these have the normal bullets she's expecting. She easily tanks those, feeling them plink off of her chest without penetrating through her robes. One of them catches her eye and she can't help move towards him, grabbing him by the wrist as he tries to bring his weapon to bear on her face.

Except it's not HIS weapon, she belatedly realizes. No… right now the Midgardian is not armed properly. He's missing his bow and his strangely powerful arrows. A shame that, maybe he would have had a chance to escape if he was properly equipped. As it is…

"You. I remember you from the desert. You fought alongside my brother. You will serve."

With a wide grin, Loki presses the scepter against the Midgardian's chest. But not through. Rather than impale him, she simply takes him. The already glowing gem in the scepter's head glows even brighter as the eyes of the Midgardian cloud over before becoming a bright, vibrant blue. In that moment, she knows she has him. He belongs to her now and his loyalty is without question… she can see it in his eyes.

Loki quickly moves onto the next Midgardian, not stopping in her sudden recruitment drive. Now that the only threats have been dealt with, she can turn every single person in this room to her side, make them her thralls.

Ah, if only she had this scepter when she sat Asgard's throne. She could have used it on everyone. On Heimdall. On Sif. On the Warriors Three. On her mo- no. She would not do such a thing. She would not… ah, but there was no point in worrying about what ifs, was there? Especially when the one-eyed Midgardian was trying to make off with her objective.

"Please don't."

The man stops in his tracks at her quiet, whispered words. He doesn't turn to face her completely, but his hand hovers near the small weapon holstered at his side… as thought that's going to help him.

"I still need that."

"… This doesn't have to get any messier."

Loki giggles somewhat madly at that, running her free hand through her black locks, her fingers scratching along her scalp as they go. Odin's beard, when was the last time she'd had a bath? She felt like filth caked upon filth. But… priorities.

"It does if you force my hand, Midgardian. I've come too far to stop now."

He turns to face her then, properly. And Loki… introduces herself.

"I am Loki… of Asgard. And I am burdened with glorious purpose."

She's not sure why she says that. She's not of Asgard. She never was. Perhaps just because it's funny? Perhaps because lying is all she's ever known? Perhaps because if by some strange chance she fails, it might cause trouble for the people she despises down the road. The Midgardians might even take their grievances to the All-Father himself and wouldn't that be hilarious?

Of course, she's not expecting one of the older Midgardians to suddenly speak up.

"Loki. Sister of Thor!"

Looking over at the man, Loki's eyes narrow. He was in the desert as well. Not that he did any fighting like the archer, but for him to be in both places… a scholar? Useful, she realizes. Just not in the same way.

"We have no quarrel with your people."

The one-eyed Midgardian has a hand raised up in surrender when she looks back at him at those words. Loki giggles again, sounding unhinged even to her own ears as she shakes her head.

"An ant has no quarrel with a heel either. And yet…"

The man's one eye narrows and his jaw clenches in anger.

"Are you planning to step on us?"

Oh, she does so love an audience. Running her hand through her hair again, Loki laughs once more. The pain no longer pervades through quite so much of her body. Moving without her muscles screaming at her gets easier by the second. Casually stepping closer to the Midgardian Scholar, Loki keeps her eyes on the one who has the Tesseract.

"My plan is quite simple, actually. I am here to free you. All of you."

As expected, the one-eyed Midgardian takes the bait. She finds herself liking him truth be told. If she gets the chance, she might just take him as well.

"Free from what?"

"Freedom, of course."

His nostrils flare and his jaw sets even harder… but Loki is already moving.

"Freedom is the greatest lie of the universe. Accept that in your heart and you will know peace."

She spins as she talks, and the blade of the scepter presses into the scholar's chest. She takes him just as she took the others, smiling wickedly as she sees understanding, faith, and adoration fill his gaze. He smiles with her, filled with purpose now.

"Yeah… you say peace and yet I hear the other thing."

Loki giggles, preparing to continue the inconsequential dialogue with the powerless mortal. Only, before she can the archer suddenly walks up.

"Ma'am, Director Fury is stalling. This place is about to blow and when it does, it'll drop a hundred feet of rock on our heads. He means to bury us."

Blinking, Loki looks past the dark-skinned Midgardian's bald head, up to the ceiling above where she first appeared. Her new pet archer is right. The power used to summon her did not properly dissipate. The Midgardians really were utterly incompetent, weren't they?

"Like the Pharaohs of old."

The scholar speaks up from one of his screens, proving his usefulness already.

"He's right, the portal is collapsing in on itself. We've got two minutes at most, Mistress."

"Well then."

BLAM!

Her archer doesn't need anything more than that. Good, loyal killer that he is, he immediately draws his weapon and shoots his former superior in the chest. A shame. Loki would have liked to have taken the one-eyed Midgardian for herself, to help in her plans, but it sounded like they didn't have time. Trust the Midgardians to build their barnyard version of the Bifrost underground. The fools really didn't know what they were doing.

But that was alright, because the Goddess of Mischief was here to show them all how it was done. Scooping up the case carrying the Tesseract, Loki feels a broad smile spread across her face. Already here and she was well on her way to completing her goals. Everything was going according to plan.

Together, her and her people leave the large room, traveling down a corridor of pure stone. Well aware of the time, Loki allows her archer to do the talking to get them into a Midgardian Vehicle that will take them away from the facility before it fully collapses in on itself.

Only, much to her surprise she finds that the one-eyed Midgardian survived being shot in the chest, because she hears his voice coming over the radio of the one that her archer tricks into letting them past. A small firefight ensues between the two former allies, but Loki remains where she is in the back of the truck, unafraid of the bullets whizzing past. She's already confirmed that they cannot injure her either way.

The escape from the facility goes just as planned, with the destruction of the Midgardian Base serving as more than enough of a deterrent towards continued pursuit. Distracted by their casualties and the recovery of their buried people, the Midgardians can't must up much of a proper chase, and what they do muster, Loki is quick to end with a well-placed blast from the Scepter.

Just like that, they're in the wind. Of course, eventually they have to slow down. Apparently, the Midgardian Vehicle cannot run indefinitely.

When they finally stop, Loki goes to her archer, placing a hand on his shoulder as she smiles at him.

"We will need more men, my wonderful archer. And supplies. Tell me, can you procure both?"

"Yes ma'am. We'll have a short window to operate in before the Director tells the others that I'm compromised, but I know where we can pick up some additional soldiers, as well as the supplies we'll need for whatever you're planning."

Loki's smile widens.

"So helpful. So… strong and diligent. My brave, brave soldier."

For a moment, she's tempted to take liberties. But she's still so filthy. She needs a fucking bath so bad it hurts. Maybe even several. And besides, he's… Midgardian. It would be like sleeping with a horse. Nose wrinkling at the thought, Loki instead pulls her hand back from her archer and lets out a soft sigh.

"Tell me, archer. What will your Director Fury do next? What sort of defense will your world mount against us?"

"The Iron Legion, ma'am. He'll get them whipped up as soon as possible. Unless we have a way to go to ground, they'll be hunting us shortly."

Loki's eyes narrow at that, but if there's one thing she's good at, it's subterfuge.

"Do not fret. This Iron Legion will not locate us. Now that we've made it away, I can cloak us in my magic. Nobody will be able to track us down."

Her archer takes that into consideration with a tilt of his head for a moment before nodding sharply.

"Then they'll call in Tony Stark, ma'am. If anyone could hunt us even through your magic, it would be him."

The name means nothing to Loki for a long second. And then… her eyes widen in memory. A hiss leaves her lips and she surges forward, grabbing her archer by his front and lifting him up into the air.

"Tony Stark. Have you misspoken, archer? Have you told me a lie? You said they will call in… Tony Stark?"

He doesn't look bothered or worried, but of course he wouldn't. If she decided he was to die, he wouldn't fight her in any way. That is the level of loyalty that the Scepter imparts.

"Yes ma'am. He's the smartest man they have on call. They hid their research into the Cube from him, but now that they've lost it, they'll have to call him in."

There's not an ounce of deceit in the Midgardian's voice. He truly believes what he's saying. But then, Loki knew he couldn't lie to her. She knew it with a soul-deep certainty. The power of the Scepter was absolute, after all.

And yet… and yet, it wasn't possible. Letting her archer down, Loki turns away from him as she considers the situation with a growing scowl on her drawn, exhausted features. Tony Stark. The fool who had chosen to support her brother. Obviously she'd been upset when he survived her daggers. Seeing him through the eyes of the Destroyer as she'd commanded the automaton via Gungnir had been quite the shock.

Even still, she'd made sure to rectify her error by striking the Midgardian with the full force of the Vault Guardian's beam. Or so she'd thought. There was no way that Tony Stark should have been able to survive the blow that the Destroyer had dealt him.

And yet, it seemed he had. It seemed a mere mortal had survived not one, but two of her attempts on his life. That was… more than vexing. That was infuriating.

Loki growls as she promises herself then and there that the death of this Tony Stark would be her first act once she was the undisputed Queen of Midgard. If she didn't get the chance to finally kill him in the coming days as she ensured her rule over this pathetic mudball, that is.

Oh yes… one way or another, Tony Stark's days were numbered.

-x-X-x-

A/N: Well now, Loki is ready to play. And she even knows her opponent, that's better than some of Tony's enemies could say! But does she know what game she's playing?

Fufufu~

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