A Cosmic Rendition: Chapter 11 (Patreon)

Dozens of SHIELD agents flanked the captive Asgardian as he was escorted out of the Quinjet and into the Helicarrier. From his vantage point inside the cockpit, Nick Fury stared at them impassively. He did not fail to notice the smile on the face of a handcuffed Loki, who seemed to be acting as if he was at home and not a prisoner.

“This doesn’t feel normal,” he muttered to himself.

The door to the cockpit opened behind him and he turned around.

“Your Graces,” he greeted respectfully.

Clark nodded while Diana kept her eyes on Thor, Peggy, and Steve. She was there to ensure that they did not come to blows again.

“Nick,” Clark greeted back with a nod. “You can get on with it.”

Fury looked back at the screen that showed Loki now confined inside the maximum-security prison SHIELD had developed for captives such as him. With a parting glance, he walked out.

The people gathered inside the cockpit watched as Nick Fury walked over to the glass cell held by hydraulic rigs.

“Just so you know,” Fury began as he neared the control panel. “You so much as try to escape, or even scratch that glass…”

He pressed the button, and the hatch opened underneath the cell. Loki peered over the edge into the dark abyss below. He could not feel it entirely, but his senses were sharp enough to alert him to the gushing wind that pushed through the hole under the Helicarrier. It was powerful enough to make even seasoned mountaineers shudder for a moment.

“Thirty thousand feet straight into a steel trap. Not even your trickery will save you when you’re in a freefall. You get it?”

Loki smirked.

“Impressive, for mere mortals such as you, to build a cage like this. Truly a shame it’s built not, I believe, for me.”

“Built for something much stronger than you,” Fury replied calmly.

“I can hazard a guess,” Loki gave a toothless smile as he stared into the camera that was relaying the live feed in the cockpit.

Everyone was watching the interplay intently, none more so than Clark and Thor. The latter for obvious reasons, while the former had a vested interest.

For years he and Loki had been at odds. The Asgardian considered him an inferior being, and truth be told, he had been. He could count on one hand how many times he had gotten the upper hand on Loki, who never shied away from rubbing it in his face. The mystic arts were highly effective against him. Not any longer though. He was much more capable of withstanding those attacks now that he’d been reborn.

A part of him could not help but be excited at the prospect of facing Loki once again and rubbing his face in. Bested by an inferior being – that should teach him some much-needed humility.

“The mindless beast who you call an ally,” Loki sneered at Fury. “How desperate have you become, to call upon such inferior creatures to defend you?”

“Desperate times call for desperate measures,” Fury replied calmly. “You come to our home, threaten us with war, and steal a force you have no hope to control. Seems to me you are somewhat desperate too.”

Loki did not bother to reply. He simply turned around as Fury pressed the button once again. The hatch closed, cutting off the inrushing current of wind.

“You’ve known their graces for a long time. You know Earth is under his protection. Your older brother claims Earth is dear to his heart. And yet you decided to stage this attack. Terror and murder, just because you felt like it. I hope you’re second guessing your choices,” Fury continued.

Loki ignored the mentions of Diana and the Kryptonian, and he forced himself not to react when Fury mentioned Thor as his brother. He chose to smirk instead.

“You won’t find me regretting anything, mortal. It must hurt you all so much… being so close to such power, and for what? Using it for such a pitiful endeavor! A beacon of warm light for all of mankind? It’s an insult to the wisdom of the true power!”

“Well,” Fury eyed Loki as he turned around. “you better tell me when this true power arrives, ‘cause all I see right now is a petulant child in the body of a millennia-old man.”

He ignored Loki’s glower and walked away.

Over in the cockpit, Steve sighed.

“He’s something, isn’t he?”

Thor glanced at the man out of the corner of his eye and looked away.

“He’s going to drag this on. That man has always been a stubborn one,” Diana sighed. Turning toward Thor, she asked, “Thor, do you have any idea what is going on with him?”

Thor sighed.

“Loki has somehow acquired an army. They call themselves the Chitauri. They are not of Asgard or any world known to me. He will lead them in battle against the forces of Earth. I believe Loki has shaken hands with the devil. The Earth for the Tesseract.”

“An army from outer space…” Clark mused. “He’ll need another portal to lead them here.”

“And that’s what he must need Doctor Erik Selvig for. He’s an astrophysicist, and a very accomplished one.”

“Selvig?” Thor asked, surprised. Banner, who had been the one to reply, nodded.

“You know him?” Steve asked curiously.

“He is a friend,” Thor nodded.

“Loki has him under his spell, as well as one of our agents,” Clark muttered. “What confuses me is why he let himself be captured. He had ample opportunities to flee, but he remained a captive. He is up to something. I can feel it.”

“You really think we should be focusing on Loki right now?” Banner asked with a chuckle. “That guy’s crazy. I’m telling you, and I have lots of experience with crazy.”

“Have care how you speak,” Thor said sternly. “Loki may be far gone but he is still of Asgard, and he’s my brother.”

“He killed over a hundred people in two days,” Clark replied with a barely hidden snarl. Thor grimaced.

“You know he’s adopted.”

Sighing, Diana stepped forward and leaned against the railing.

“There are reports that Agent Barton stole Iridium. What could they need it for?”

“It’s a stabilizing agent.”

Everyone turned to look at Tony Stark who entered with Bruce Wayne. Two women – a redhead and a brunette in matching skintight suits – walked behind them.

“I’ll make sure the proposal is sent forward. You can keep on the lookout,” Tony continued, looking at the man walking beside him.

“I’m sure Alfred will take care of it,” Bruce Wayne replied with a nod before he turned around. “And Iridium is, as the man said, a stabilizing agent. It —”

“Let me explain,” Tony cut in. “It means they can keep the portal open – as big as they want, and as long as they want… or as Loki wants.”

Wayne sighed, smiling slightly when Natasha rolled her eyes at Tony’s antics and stepped beside him. Selina stood on his other side.

“He doesn’t want a repeat of Mojave,” Diana mused, prompting Tony to click his fingers and point his finger at her.

“What the lady said.”

Turning toward Wayne, Tony continued, “We could use a few of your… tools.”

“I’ve already told Alfred to go ahead with it,” Wayne replied. Tony clapped him on the back with an approving nod.

“Good man.”

“What else do they need?” Peggy asked, speaking for the first time. She knew she was out of her depth when it came to all the scientific jargon. She could only hope they somehow stopped Loki and this army he had at his disposal before anything catastrophic could happen.

“A few items that your agent can easily gather, if he’s not done it already,” Banner replied in place of Tony.

“Now, the only thing they need is a power source. Something strong, with high density to, you know, give that cube a little punch,” Tony continued.

“You seem to know an awful lot about all of this,” Thor commented, staring at Tony who looked at him and scoffed.

“Reading helps. I got the materials, you know? Selvig’s notes, the Extraction Theory papers, that little packet. Also, no hard feelings, Point Break. You do pack a mean punch, and that’s some fine ass hammer you got there.”

Thor looked over at Mjolnir and lifted it before lowering it again. Tony smirked.

“Loki needs to heat that cube beyond a hundred and twenty million Kelvin just to break through the Coulomb barrier. That is unless he’s managed to figure out a way to stabilize the Quantum tunneling effect. And if it’s happened, then we’re honestly fucked. He could carry this out at any reactor on the planet,” Banner mused.

“You, my man, are special,” Tony complimented, shaking hands with Banner who looked slightly surprised as he did so. Meanwhile, everyone stared at them.

“What just happened?” Steve asked Peggy who shrugged.

Tony and Banner were talking about something in hushed tones when Fury walked in.

“Anything you got from that interaction?” Clark asked.

“Nothing but confirmation that the pansy is cooking something,” Fury replied, prompting Clark to sigh.

“What about his scepter?”

Steve turned around at the mention of the scepter before he exchanged a look with Peggy.

“That stick is not normal,” he said, frowning. “It felt a lot like a HYDRA weapon.”

“As of now, I have nothing to give you.”

Diana looked around at the crowd gathered in the cockpit and sighed.

“You all have been briefed about this already, so I shall make it quick. As you all know, the Tesseract is also known as the Space stone. I have a feeling that the scepter also houses one of the Infinity stones.”

There was a sharp intake of breath at that. Diana shared a look with Clark who nodded for her to continue.

“Given how Loki used the scepter to bend Doctor Selvig and Agent Barton to his will, I feel it’s the mind stone.”

“If can affect the mind then?” Wayne asked with a frown. He had had experiences with a certain mind-influencing asshole in the past, and it filled him with slight unease.

“That is my theory right now,” Diana nodded. “Infinity stones are crystals of unimaginable power. Any wrong step in their handling and the consequences could be catastrophic. Doctor Banner, because of your… affliction and what has already happened once, I’d prefer it if you kept your distance from the scepter.”

Banner frowned but nodded in understanding.

“Mr. Stark, you are free to join our scientists if you’d like to study that scepter and somehow come up with a plan to either reverse its effects or shield us from them. You could also run a few tests on it and compare it with Doctor Selvig’s notes to see if there is some correlation. That should give us the confirmation we need.”

Tony shrugged. It was an interesting endeavor, that was for sure.

“Meanwhile, Doctor Banner, please join Doctor Ross and the rest of the team in your lab. I’ve arranged for it to be far away from the one we’re housing that scepter in. Mr. Stark, you’ll find Doctor Selvig’s work and any improvements thereupon with Doctor Banner.”

Banner nodded, and Tony clapped the man on the shoulder, asking him to walk with him. Sighing, Banner walked out.

Everyone dispersed shortly after the two geniuses walked out.

XXXXX

It was nighttime where they currently were. Tony Stark walked along the passageway toward the other end of the Helicarrier looking for the only man with a modicum of scientific brainpower to keep up with him.

He reached the laboratory in no time and saw the object of his interest twirling a pen between his fingers. A beautiful brunette woman was sitting on the chair right beside him, hard at work.

Banner looked up and immediately spotted him. Tony walked in with a smirk.

“Doctor Banner.”

Banner nodded and Tony saw the brunette sitting beside him stand up.

“Mr. Stark, it’s good to see you again.”

“And you too, Doctor Ross. They told me you’d be here, although I didn’t fully believe them until I just saw you.”

“I’ve been with Bruce for a while now. Where else would I be?”

“Fairs,” Tony chuckled. “Had to hear your father moan a lot about how you must be suffering on the run and whatnot. Always thought that one had a few screws loose.”

“It’s the ones with a few screws loose who are the most dangerous.”

“How can I help you, Mr. Stark?” Banner interjected before the mood could plummet.

“Call me Tony. I hope I can call you Bruce in return?”

Banner shrugged. Tony looked at Betty who quickly replied, “I’d prefer if you keep calling me Doctor Ross, Mr. Stark.”

Tony chuckled.

“Your wish,” he said. Turning toward Banner, he continued, “That scepter is truly something. I’ve never solved so many algorithms and equations over something in such short time.”

Banner took the tablet Tony was carrying and looked it over. Beside him, Betty compared it with the readings Selvig had obtained from the Tesseract.

“The gamma readings are very consistent with Doctor Selvig’s findings on the Tesseract. I’m not sure how long it would take to process it all though,” she remarked.

“Not too long if we go for some… unconventional tactics. You know, bypassing the mainframe and rerouting it. Or maybe just bust through the clusters in one go. I bet you can do it and no one would even know,” Tony whispered conspiratorially.

Betty frowned while Banner chuckled.

“I’m afraid I don’t have much in our room here right now.”

“Our?” Tony asked before he looked at them and smirked. “I see. Lucky you, able to keep at it even during these outings. No idea when I’ll be back in the arms of the lovely Miss Potts.”

Banner chuckled again at Tony’s sigh while Betty blushed slightly and busied herself once again with her work.

“You know,” Tony began suddenly, garnering Banner’s attention. “You should come over to the Stark Tower sometime. Top ten floors, all R&D. It’s candyland. You’ll love it.”

Banner grimaced slightly.

“The last time I was in New York, I kind of… broke Harlem.”

“We’ll make sure to keep it all stress free, and you can bring your missus too. Pretty sure she’s used to keeping up with the big guy,” Tony said. The innuendo was not lost on anyone and they both blushed slightly.

“Y-yeah well… I’ll see about that.”

“Pretty sure you’re not so volatile though,” Tony mused, poking Bruce in his side. The man stepped back and chuckled.

“Hey, are you insane!?”

They all turned around to see Steve walk in, looking mighty pissed.

Tony ignored him and kept looking at Banner.

“Well, you’ve got it right under control. What’s your secret pact? A truck full of cheeseburgers? Or you got a hidden stash of weed for the big guy?”

“Everything’s a joke to you, hmm?”

“Only funny things,” Tony replied, turning toward a frowning Steve who had been the one to speak.

“Threatening the lives of everyone on this ship is not a funny thing, by any standards. No offense, Doctor Banner.”

“It’s fine, Captain. And you don’t need to worry. It’s not as if a little poke would trigger anything. I wouldn’t be here if it did,” Banner replied with a smile.

“Why so jittery, big man?” Tony asked with a chuckle. “You’re frozen no more. Pack some heat into those old limbs and strut around.”

“You need to focus on the task at hand, Mr. Stark.”

“Who are you? School principal? And you think I’m not focusing? Man, I’ve been with SHIELD since they started this clean energy project, and yet they haven’t answered a single question I’ve had about it. Only now I learn they have their hands on this Tesseract thingy. Why hide it from someone who’s been working with them?”

“You think Diana and Clark are hiding something?” Steve asked with a frown.

“No one gets where they are without a few skeletons in their closet, Captain. And don’t get me started on Fury. Just ask Wayne if you want to know about the resident eyepatch. Full of secrets, that one,” Tony replied before he pointed his finger at Banner before he dragged it toward Betty. “I bet’s it’s been bugging them too.”

Steve looked at the frowning pair of Banner and Betty. The former looked slightly uneasy while the latter was keeping her eyes glued to her screen.

“Doctor Banner? Doctor Ross?”

The two turned to look at a curious Steve Rogers when Banner sighed, “Stark Industries is the only name in clean energy right now. Made sense for SHIELD to collaborate with Tony here. But why? SHIELD doesn’t need to be involved in energy. That’s the role of corporations. And not bringing him in the Tesseract project? Until now, they were happy to work on the arc reactor only, and suddenly they approach me and Doctor Selvig…”

“The reactor is a self-sustaining energy source,” Betty took over. “It can make the entire Stark Tower run without any external input for over a year.”

“It’s a prototype right now,” Tony supplied. “SHIELD agreed to work together on the project, even though I didn’t want to. Have been suspicious of it all since the beginning. It’s one thing I blame Miss Potts for. But what can I say?”

“I don’t believe either Diana or Clark would do anything nefarious,” Steve said firmly.

“They might not,” Tony replied. “But they are not the entirety of SHIELD.”

“Nothing escapes their attention either,” Steve retorted.

“Neither are they omniscient,” Tony was quick to counter. Before Steve could reply, there was a beep and Tony quickly pulled out a small device from his pocket. “Would you look at that? It’s begun transferring.”

“What are you doing?” Steve asked curiously.

“Hacking into SHIELD’s deepest lair, especially the parts the royal couple might’ve overlooked. Soon, we’ll have all the answers. Have to thank everyone involved for bringing me here,” Tony chuckled, earning a disbelieving look from Steve in particular.

“You did what?!”

“Jarvis’ been at it since I planted it when I hit the bridge. Only a few hours to go and then… boom! Every secret – nothing but dear Sticky Vicky from Beni.”

“Who?” Banner asked curiously, earning a swat on the head from Betty.

“Ow!”

“Behave,” Betty muttered before she resumed her work.

“I’ll explain in detail after we’re done here,” Tony replied. “If you can’t wait for that long, look it up. I’m sure you’ll find it… educational.”

Betty gave Tony a stink eye, who noticed and smirked.

“Although I didn’t expect you to know about her, Doctor Ross,” he remarked casually. Betty quickly turned away, glaring at her screen instead and pointedly ignoring them.

“Behave,” Steve said strictly. “You pull this stunt and you’re confused why they didn’t involve you with the Tesseract?”

“More brains, more solutions, Captain. An intelligence organizations skeptical of more intelligence? Not very trustworthy.”

There was a long moment of silence as everyone digested the fact that Tony Stark had so conveniently bypassed SHIELD’s security protocols and was only a little ways away from uncovering anything they might be hiding.

Finally, Steve broke the silence and took a deep breath.

“Look,” he sighed. “I think Loki’s trying to wind us up here. We need to stay focused on what matters right now, not play detective. There’s a lot of time for that once we’re done with him. Our priority is him right now. We have our orders, and it would be best if we follow them.”

“Following orders is not exactly my style. I prefer a small percentage of independence, usually a hundred.”

Steve looked at Tony and smiled mirthlessly.

“It’s all about style to you, isn’t it?”

Tony didn’t bother to reply. He simply ran his eyes up and down Steve’s body. He still had his suit on.

“Need I elaborate, Mr. Pot?”

“Captain,” Betty sighed, earning the veteran’s attention. “Tell me you’re not the least bit suspicious after everything you’ve been told here.”

Steve did not reply. He simply pursed his lips and walked away.

“That man seriously needs to get his panties untwisted,” Tony muttered, earning a disapproving look from Betty who turned around and went back to her work.

XXXXX

Peggy was sitting on a chair in their room on the Helicarrier, reading a book when the door slid open and shut behind her husband. She looked up and frowned when she saw how agitated he was.

Sighing, she put the bookmark and closed the book. She put the book on the table in front of her and stood up, walking over to her husband who was taking his suit off.

She paused to stare at the perfection that his body was, licked her lips, and walked over, helping him out of it.

“And what’s got you so agitated?” She asked, putting the helmet away.

“Stark,” Steve muttered. “Howard’s son is a piece of work.”

“Tell me about it,” Peggy chuckled. “I can’t believe Howard created such a narcissist.”

“There’s barely anything of that man in him,” Steve replied. Peggy chuckled.

“Now, dear, that’s taking it too far. Why, I can easily recall Howard being a prideful man. His son is just an upgraded version of him. If what we’ve been told is right, then it applies to every aspect of his personality and even his intellect.

Steve did not reply. He simply turned around and let his wife take his suit off entirely. She had already changed into casual wear, although he spotted her suit hanging against the wall, ready to be donned at a moment’s notice.

“I didn’t find Howard so grating on my nerves though…” he muttered. “It’s almost as if I can’t stand his son’s personality.”

“We’ve been away for decades, love,” Peggy said gently. “It will take us time to get used to all the changes, and that includes the way people behave nowadays. Don’t forget that Stark seems to be an extreme case as well.”

Steve did not reply. He simply stood in the middle of the room.

“Enough about Stark,” Peggy whispered seductively as she pressed herself against her husband’s front. “Your wife needs you right now.”

Try as he might, Steve could not hold back a reaction at the sight of her. Her large breasts were pressed up against his chest and formed a delectable cleavage under that thin shirt she was wearing… one that clued him into the fact that she had no bra on.

“The door’s locked, and don’t worry. There are no surveillance cameras or microphones inside the room. Diana assured me of it.”

“She did, huh?” Steve replied with a gravelly tone to his voice, and Peggy looked up to see him staring at her with eyes full of lust and desire. Her own arousal went up a notch and she smirked.

Steve reacted by grabbing her ass when she wrapped her dainty hand around his erection – slowly hardening – and started stroking it.

“Once an ass man, always an ass man,” she teased.

Steve’s response was to grab the hem of her shirt and pull it over her head, throwing it away and freeing up her tits to his hungry gaze. Peggy moaned in approval when he bent down and took one of her nipples in his mouth, sucking greedily.

“I might be an ass man, but that doesn’t mean I don’t love your fantastic breasts,” he replied as he pulled back for a moment before he resumed his sucking, this time taking the other nipple in his mouth. Peggy groaned.

Her fist around his girth tightened and she increased the pace of her stroking, bringing him to full mast in no time. His mouth felt so good on her breasts and his hands had resumed their hold on her ass, squeezing and pulling the cheeks every so often.

He truly was an ass man.

Peggy tapped him on the arm twice and Steve pulled back, looking at her questioningly. She smirked and walked over to their bed, climbed on top of it, and bent over. Ass thrust high in the air, and face buried in the pillow, Peggy reached behind her and parted her folds for his hungry eyes.

Steve stared at the little pink slit of his wife’s vagina before she pulled her lips apart and gave him a view of her beautiful folds. Her soft, pink skin was glistening wet with arousal and Steve needed no prompting on anyone’s part to walk forward and assume his place behind her.

He grabbed his cock with his right hand and stroked it twice before he reached forward and rubbed the head over her entrance. The bulbous tip was coated with her wetness and he stopped before he pushed inside her. Instead, he slid the underside of his length against her folds, coating the entirety of his prick with her juices until it was all slick and wet, ready for her.

Meanwhile, Peggy could do nothing but moan in a mix of pleasure and disappointment as Steve kept teasing her. She had half a mind to shout at him to just get on with it, while the other half kept urging her to just shove it all to hell and push him on his back. She was slowly leaning toward the second option – the one that seemed more enticing. It would be brilliant to just push him on his back and impale herself raw on his length. However, before she could say or do anything, he lined himself up against her entrance and pushed his entire length inside her in one powerful thrust.

“Aaaahhh yesss! Fuck me!”

Peggy cried out in pleasure as he slammed inside her. Her hands fisted the bedsheet firmly and she bit down on the pillow to muffle her cries as Steve started to furiously pound her from behind.

Steve obliged obediently as he began to pound into her hard. The sound of Peggy’s tight ass slapping hard against him every time he drove his impressive cock into her pussy only added to the lustful mewls that she let out despite having her mouth clamped down on the fluffy pillow.

He wanted to hear her moans and cries too, and without any hesitation whatsoever, he grabbed her hair and pulled her back. Peggy cried out as he pulled her hair and her back arched. She rested her upper body on her arms against the bed as Steve plundered her depths.

In no time, she was impaling herself on his cock, thrusting back in time with his slams inside her hot, needy quim. She had observed this ever since they were rescued. Their sex drive had shot through the roof, and there had never been a day ever since during which they didn’t have sex at least twice.

She kept moaning loudly, uncaring of whether someone could hear them or not, as she kept pushing herself back onto his thrusting dick in time with his hard thrusts. Her breasts swung wildly under her, dangling from her chest and repeatedly hitting her belly and her chin as her body rocked back and forth.

She’d always had large breasts and a round, firm ass, but the super-soldier serum had enhanced those features even more. She could feel the hard grip he had on her ass-cheeks, and she knew his fingers must have sunk into the pillowy flesh of her rear.

Her fingers clawed at the bedsheet, seizing it in her fists as she gripped it harshly. Her orgasm was mounting, and all she could do was groan pitifully.

Steve was not that far from his climax, and the familiar tingle in his balls clued him in. He intensified the ferocity of his thrusts inside her and pulled her hair harshly once again, roughly manhandling her. Her back hit his front and his hands quickly gripped her large tits, mauling the orbs. All the while, Peggy moaned in elation.

“Here it comes,” Steve grunted and slammed his dick balls deep inside Peggy’s hot quim. The head of his prick expanded and load after load of his thick, potent cum blasted deep inside her depths. Barely a second later, her moans transformed into a wordless scream of abject ecstasy as waves upon waves of her intense orgasm washed over her. Her body shook violently but Steve kept a tight grip on her, grunting as her walls clamped hard around his ejaculating prick.

He kept shooting thick shots of his seed inside her while Peggy shuddered, and finally, with one last slam inside her, he collapsed on her body, taking her down with him.

Peggy and Steve could do nothing but pant harshly as they lay together, with her back pressed against his front and her body half-buried under his. Their breathing was uneven, coming out in gasps, and Steve buried his face in her sweaty hair.

“I needed that,” he panted, rolling off her. Peggy simply nodded with an impish grin.

XXXXX

“What are you thinking?”

Thor turned around and saw the concerned face of his friend.

“Just wondering how things went so wrong… where we failed…”

He felt someone clasp his shoulder in silent support and saw it was Clark.

“I never liked Loki,” the man began, staring at the monitor that showed Loki inside the cell. The God of Mischief lay on the floor, drumming his fingers on the surface with his eyes closed and his usual smirk plastered on his face. Clark had a sudden urge to smack that smirk right off his jolly visage.

Diana gave her husband a look. Clark stared at her for a few seconds and sighed.

“Listen… it’s true that I never liked him, but none of us ever imagined he would wage war on any planet, let alone Earth.”

“Not even after what he tried to do to Asgard?” Thor chuckled mirthlessly. “The Allfather wants to banish him from Asgard for good. Mother and I have kept that decision on hold. I wanted to bring him back home, a place where he belongs… where he’s always belonged… but… but it seems with every step I take toward him, he takes two steps away from me.”

Diana and Clark stared sadly at their friend. This was the first time they were seeing Thor like this. The God of Thunder was a boisterous man who never shied away from making merry or indulging in fights and challenges. His drinking competitions with their other friends were the stuff of legends among the Asgardians. Seeing him filled with such hopelessness was disheartening.

“We will try our best, Thor,” Diana said softly, squeezing his shoulder in support. “Loki has gotten misguided. He is hurting. He feels Odin, your mother, you, and the entire Asgard by extension, have betrayed him by hiding his true parentage from him.”

“I never knew about his true parentage,” Thor sighed.

“I don’t think it matters to him,” Diana replied with a frown as she stared at the screen which showed Loki who had not budged from his position in the slightest. Shaking her head, she continued, “He believes his life to be a lie. I don’t know how, and I don’t know when, but I promise we will be there with you and we will give it our all to help you reconcile with him, right Clark?”

Clark saw the pointed look his wife gave him and even though his first instinct was to say that Loki deserved to be punished severely for what he had done, he bit back his words and gave a stiff nod.

“You don’t need to say this just for the sake of it,” Thor replied, turning toward Clark. “Your eyes are screaming how much you want to pummel Loki right now.”

Clark did not bother to either refute the statement or add anything else to it. He knew Thor was spot on. There was nothing he wanted more right now than to string Loki by his ankles along the Helicarrier’s outer edge and make him levitate over the Atlantic so that he was assaulted by the freezing air. However, that would probably not even faze his Jotun ass.

“I’ve already said I don’t like him, and yes, he will answer for his crimes,” Clark said sternly before his eyes softened marginally. “But I also know he is your family. I will of course aid him in his rehabilitation so that he comes out of it a changed man. That is the least I can do.”

“I appreciate it,” Thor replied, nodding before his eyes hardened. “He will still face justice though. And to be honest, I don’t think the Allfather will listen to me or Mother this time.”

“Something tells me even you won’t be so firmly in his support this time,” Clark replied.

Thor said nothing.

“How did Loki come across everything though?” Diana mused after a moment of silence, gaining the attention of the two men. “You said he has this army that is not from any known world. Just how did he manage to get in touch with these people?”

“There are rumors,” Thor began gravely. “Dark rumors… about an invader whose sole purpose in life is to attack different worlds.”

“Just like Loki is doing,” Clark interjected. Thor settled on a small nod.

“But these invasions that this being carries out are different…”

“What do you mean?” Diana asked skeptically. She and Clark listened to Thor attentively, both feeling it was something very serious.

Thor sighed.

“If you believe these rumors, this invader conquers different worlds and kills half of the living beings who call it their home. Indiscriminately. The madman has no interest in ruling over those he has conquered. He is only interested in halving the living population on a planet.”

Clark and Diana stared at Thor with grave expressions on their faces.

“Any idea who this madman is?” Clark asked firmly. Thor shook his head.

“No one takes his name, and even less people believe in these sordid tales. After all, I have come across no world which has faced such wrath. Who knows whether there is even any modicum of truth to it…”

“Every rumor has an inkling of truth to it. No better way to make a lie more believable than to splash a drop of truth to it,” Diana replied calmly.

“You think this invader exists?” Thor asked.

“I believe there are more chances that he exists than he doesn’t,” Diana said. “Also, the fact that you brought this being up when talking about how Loki gained this army tells me even you believe this to be true.”

“You always were the sharp one,” Thor replied with a sad smile. “And you are right. I do believe there is some truth to these rumors. And that is why I believe Loki is so far down in his quest for misplaced revenge that he does not see what is glaring me in the eye.”

“Loki has been fooled by this madman,” Clark surmised. “He believes this madman will let Loki keep Earth as his domain to rule over… a madman who has been halving the population of every planet he comes to.”

“Or perhaps Loki knows that it will happen, and has already agreed to wipe out half of the life from Earth to rule over,” Diana whispered with a chill down her spine.

Clark’s eyes hardened.

“If that’s true, then I apologize, Thor. There will be no rehabilitation for Loki. No second chance. No redemption. He will die for even contemplating the genocide of innocents,” he hissed.

“You won’t find me standing in your way if that is true,” Thor said in a dangerous whisper, earning himself a curt nod from the Kryptonian.

There was another moment of long, uncomfortable silence as they stared at the metallic floor of the office.

“That scepter…” Clark began after a few moments of terse silence, earning their attention. “I’ve never seen him with it before. Where did he get that from?”

“If I had to hazard a guess, from the same benefactor who bestowed upon him this army,” Thor replied curtly.

They could tell the man was hurting, both over Loki’s betrayal and how far he seemed to have gone. Yet, they could not afford to give him any more words of comfort.

All they could do was stare at the man in silence, hoping that Loki was not thinking of doing what they feared. They hoped he would see reason, and soon.

Meanwhile, Loki had not been idle. He had his eyes closed, and he kept the mental link up all the time.

“How goes the preparations?” Loki asked, his arms crossed in front of him.

Clint Barton, with his eyes black and pupilless, gave a smile.

“All the items are here, as asked for. Selvig’s at work already. And as far as the upcoming mission goes, we’re ready to head out at a moment’s notice,” he replied.

Loki nodded before suddenly his features morphed. Where stood a tall dark-haired man in green robes with gold trims stood a young woman with shoulder-length blonde hair clad in a green, skintight bodysuit with gold decorations and a wicked smirk on her lips.

“You better go ahead quickly and get me my lover back,” the woman instructed.

Barton nodded and put his arrows inside the quiver. He slung it over his shoulder and marched forward, leaving the woman staring at him with the same smirk.

“Soon you’ll be back here, love,” she whispered.

Back in the Helicarrier, Loki opened his eyes and smirked.

“Very soon, my dear Sylvie.”

XXXXX

To be continued…