nexus_crossings | Loki: Worst Matchmaker Ever?

Loki: Worst Matchmaker Ever?

Loki has a peculiar way of preparing to speak: he does not clear his throat or straighten his clothes or loosen his collar, but merely takes long, slow strides into an open spot. There are no stages in the area of the Nexus in which he finds himself, but the way he stands and opens his arms--all grace and hubris--seems to make the flat plain ground around him into his personal catwalk, the diffuse light around him his own personal spotlight.

You may not take him seriously, but you'd be hard-pressed not to notice his presence.

"Nexus, if I may bend your collective ears for a moment? I have a simple, if heartfelt, request."

~~I would like to see if my big brother is capable of feeling embarrassment.~~

"I am the younger sibling of Thor Odinson, a man--nay, a god--of great power, courage, and nobility. There are few who equal him in battle, and until now I would say few who equal him in the realm of the heart. Alas, it seems that at this time in his life, events in our world have wounded his confidence greatly. I wish to build him back up, so to speak, but my best efforts thus far have fallen flat."

"Frankly, I feel that his alteration in hairstyle, clumsy and poorly-planned though it may be, suits the peculiar shape of his head far better than his previous, doll-like golden tresses. There is a certain simplicity to his change of outfit that matches with the simplicity characteristic of his thought patterns. A change for the better, certainly, and moreover it shows his true mettle, the way he has no fear of appearing as the leader and representative of our people with his cape tattered at the hem and unmended, as if he has of late escaped from the engine of our borrowed space vessel."

"Nexus, friends, what more can I tell him to restore his pride? You will find him nearby, I think, if you wish to get a look at him, or if he finds himself too shy to observe this conversation I am certainly capable of producing images to show what he looks like. All compliments directed at him will be accepted with gratitude, and perhaps one of you will even find it in your heart to court him, however temporarily. I cannot guarantee he will be amenable, as he is so very timid of late, but I think it would do his heart well to experience a flirtation once more."

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Only a decade or two ago, practically the blink of an eye, Thor would have demanded Loki share his secrets, too arrogant to consider that he might not be able to bear the consequences, if he even thought about them at all. Not anymore.

He has more than just himself to think about now, and no Allfather to fall back on for guidance. What's left of Asgard will live or die by his word and by his hand, whether he intends it or not. He can no longer afford to rush ahead blindly, to see every problem as a nail that needs a hammer, without considering any alternative.

A wise king never seeks out war... but he must always be ready for it.

Loki's question is not a simple one with an easy answer, but then, they never are, are they? Unconsciously, he mirrors the gesture, fingertips seeking out the patch on his eye as if to ground himself. He's not the first king of Asgard to sacrifice an eye for hard-earned wisdom, and it's a lot more difficult than Odin ever made it look.

"If it's a choice between myself and our people, you know what I'll choose."

Adia's movement draws his eye, and he considers what she's said, and what be learned from it. After a moment's thought, he turns his head to her. "This other enemy who broke the antiviolence magics... where can I learn more of what he did?"

Adia has assessed Loki well; he does not want sympathy. If he did, he could confess much more now, tell them about the torture the Black Order put him through to secure his cooperation, about Thanos' taunts, about his last moments. But Loki's need for power is such, he would rather be seen as a villain than a victim. Some truths will emerge, sooner or later, perhaps, but for now he sees her look at him, and his glance in return is cool and opaque. He does not want compassion, would sooner burn himself to the ground than accept pity, but he needs his story told, his word spread. If there is inherent strength to be gained from human belief, it may as well start here.

So, he says no harsh words to her, merely gives a faint jerky nod and turns his attention back to Thor. "I know," he agrees. "What you will choose."

"Brother. You have heard my counsel. I encourage you to heed it." Arms folding across his chest in a gesture of insecurity, he swallows hard, uncomfortably, and adds: "This you must know. Thanos and his followers, the Black Order, travel from world to world and slaughter half of the population, without mercy, indiscriminately. They believe the universe lacks the resources to support the immense burden of life that has sprung from it, and they take it upon themselves to cull the herd."

"They care not for the fall of a civilization, the shattering of a planet. They...care not. For nothing." As cold and implacable and soulless as a force of nature. He tried so hard to get there, himself, and it seems he must have fallen somewhere halfway in between that and the child Frigga raised.

Thor is the antithesis of that, though. Whether he can stand against Thanos, Loki doubts, but he will surely try.

He looks at Adia again, gaze more cordial once more. Yeah, okay, he's a little miffed that Thor is taking over his conversation and that the levity is very much at an end.
Yeah, he's disappointed to lose this woman's attention, half wants to take her by the arm, as he would have grabbed a prized toy as a boy, to drag it away from Thor's grasp. But this is serious, and he will hold his silver tongue for now.

"Yes. If you are able to aid him in this request, do so. I would speak with you again..." And that's not a request, it's more or less a command. "...but it can wait. Time is more precious to Thor, for now."

Trying her best to listen unobtrusively, she can't hold back a gasp of alarm at the news of what Thanos and the Black Order are doing. She has lived through a genocide -- just because it is only "half" a genocide does not make it any better. A loss of that many lives is staggering.

She's still reeling from the news when Thor speaks to her directly. She looks up at him, wide-eyed, then stares at Loki when he speaks to her, too. No, they hadn't forgotten that you are standing right there, Adia, That electric current of fear that had rattled her nerves when she first started speaking to Loki is back again. Gods competing for her attention -- that never ends well. That gets mortals turned into a calf, or a tree, or --

Taking a quick breath, she forces her thoughts away from such things. Thor has shown her nothing but kindness and camaraderie. And Loki...? Well, for a god of mischief he's more or less behaving himself. They're okay. She's okay.

"I was there," she says finally, when she trusts herself to speak. "When he attacked. He was a criminal from Jim Kirk's world; he had used genetic manipulation to create a small group of super-strong, super-intelligent soldiers. He came here seeking revenge on Jim... he had a magical artifact. A ring, I think? I don't know where he got it, but it was able to disable the anti-violence field. The ring also gave him the ability to cause a huge amount of destruction, mostly in the Industrial District..."

She glances in that direction briefly. The skyline of warehouses and construction sites doesn't look damaged, but a closer examination reveals gaps in the architecture, where buildings once stood but were cleared away.

"A-anyway. I was in the Plaza, treating the injured. People with the ability to fight held off Khan and his soldiers for a little while until they came up with a plan. Steve --"

She stops herself short. The whole reason Steve is who he is now is because of what happened that day. Is she allowed to share that? Does Thor know of Steve's former life? Does it matter if it's not the same Steve from his world?

"...Steve was there, he tricked Khan with a hologram of Jim into coming out into the open. The artifact stopped working, briefly, so people were able to take him out... I, um, I wasn't there for that... you should probably talk to Jim -- the one without the beard, about that. I know he's working on a way to prevent the AV field from failing again, along with a mage named Naugus."

If nothing else, the seriousness of this conversation has made Thor almost forget that the whole point of Loki's theatrical call for attention was meant to embarrass him in the first place. There'll be plenty of opportunities to remind him later, probably.

They've only just narrowly escaped one homicidal warmonger; to know that another is on his way is dire news indeed. Thor's jaw tightens, holding back the questions he wants to ask, aware enough of theories of Time to know that they're on uncertain footing here. Combined with his own dreams of warning, of the six fragments of existence scattered throughout the cosmos, the picture they form is foreboding even beyond the fires of Ragnarok.

No matter what Loki's intentions are in offering this knowledge, Thor will not reject the gift, even if it does prove to be poisoned. Again. "Thank you, brother. Your warnings are heard." Though much more thought will be needed before he comes to any conclusions on what can be done. If anything.

The potential threat of Thanos unleashed on infinite worlds, especially after hearing that, is enough for him to give Adia his nearly undivided attention as she recounts what she knows of the tale. That someone is already looking into defense against a similar kind of invasion is good news, and of immediate interest. "Then I will need to speak to them while I'm here. Thank you also, Lady Adia."

Had they left the first homicidal warmonger in place, Loki dares to believe, she would have provided a significant buffer against the other. He was ready to choose the devil he did not know over the one he did, which says a lot about said devil. But, no, after all that's happened, he is now forced to concede that Thor was right in his determination to end Hela's reign. The rest of the universe can be damned, as far as Loki is concerned, but she was a cruel queen to the Asgardian people, and that is unforgivable.

He did a number of morally grey things while he was on Odin's throne, after all, but he certainly never attempted to have anyone executed in the middle of town.

He nods at Thor's thanks, finding his brother's sincerity deeply satisfying. Thor is so utterly noble of heart; it is why Loki will always be able to deceive him when he wants to--because of his unbending integrity, coupled with his desire to believe the best of the people around him. In a way, though, that makes gratitude he's legitimately earned even sweeter.

Adia's information is interesting, if somewhat difficult for him to sort out. "Was this ring destroyed?" is the first thing he asks, and then: "By Steve, do you mean Rogers?"

She could have meant any Steve, when it comes down to it. Steve Harvey. Steve Jobs. The way she pauses, though, would seem to suggest she expects Thor to know who she means. And isn't this a delightful turn of events, for there to be a dear old friend of his brother's already in place in the Nexus? Loki will have to consider carefully how to approach--or dodge--the good Captain.

"You're welcome," Adia replies to Thor quietly, barely meeting his eye. Where is the woman who chatted so easily over a mug of hot chocolate? Perhaps it is the subject matter, or Loki's presence, but she seems distinctly nervous around Thor this time. How does one address a god of thunder, anyway?

When Loki asks about the ring, the corner of her mouth pulls down just a fraction of a notch. Come on, Loki, she may be a human, but she wasn't born yesterday. "It was," she confirms. It's the truth, too. She wouldn't lie to a god, and even if she tried, she certainly wouldn't get away with it. More demurely, she adds, "I did mean Steve Rogers, yes. There are two of them in the Nexus, but only one of them was here when Khan attacked."

She's briefly overwhelmed by the impulse to text Steve -- the one she's friends with -- and give him a heads up about Loki. Heck, she'd tell the other Steve, too, if she had his contact information. She makes a mental note to do it as soon as she's out of this conversation, Maybe out of the Nexus, too.

Thor is absolutely assuming Loki is responsible for her shift in attitude. He has that effect on people, after all, and the news he's brought isn't exactly cheerful. Nervousness is probably the most appropriate reaction she could have, honestly. If even Asgardians have reason to fear Thanos, humans won't stand a chance.

No matter the motives for Loki's question about the ring, Thor's glad it's destroyed. There are already enough powerful magical artifacts running wild out there without some complete unknown that might fall into the Mad Titan's lap. (Or Loki's.) Just the Infinity Stones alone are bad enough.

"Two of him," Thor repeats, and gives Loki a speculative look. It wouldn't be the first time his brother's chosen to wear that particular face, and here especially, it might go unnoticed. But... no, for all that Loki is an excellent liesmith, Thor can't detect any sign that he's to blame for this particular sighting. Still, it might be worth working out some kind of passcode system, like Stark has pushed for in the past. Just in case.

Honestly, Loki's trying to help, in his own unsettling, roundabout way. This is the problem with walking a crooked path; you simply can't go straight again, because no one will believe you if you make the attempt.

...although, having people think you're being awful when you're trying to save them is its own kind of trick, he supposes. Just less fun than his usual.

His motive for asking about the ring was mostly just to get the information. He hadn't decided what answer he'd have rather heard, so he merely nods when given the data, and continues to wear the thoughtful half-smirk that's become his default expression. The superiority gets disrupted when Thor gives him that look, though, and he sputters and laughs.

"Thor, if you are going to be suspicious of every familiar face that's doubled here, you will have a difficult time, indeed. The multiverse is infinite. There are infinite Lokis in it. Everyone here may be only a fractal of some Trickster's twisted imagination. Look in the mirror, my brother; you, too, are Loki, the god of mischief!"

He thumps him on the back. "Remember that, before you pick up any snakes here."

Well, at least it's put him in a better humor. He needed that, after that depressing confession. He turns bright eyes on Adia, as if he's guessed at something she was thinking about. "But please, do tell the Captain of my presence in the Nexus. I'm sure he would want to know, having fought the good fight against me once before."

"They're from different universes," she says to Thor, backing up Loki's reply. She picks up easily on the implication that Loki can shape shift, an unnerving thought in and of itself. It's the way that he teases Thor as only a brother can that has her boggling a little.

Gods are weird.

She startles when Loki's attention is upon her once more, speaking as if reading her mind. "You fought with Steve?" she says, her voice filled with dismay. Why does everything have to be so complicated around here? Well, if he's telling her to go ahead and text Steve, then... then fine! She will! She pulls out her PINpoint and furtively texts a message to Steve before Loki can say anything about it.

And then, with that message sent, she contemplates pushing the button that will teleport her home. "I, um... I should get going..." She nods once to Thor, managing a small but sincere smile for him, then turning her gaze to Loki. "It was nice meeting you." Nice in the sense that he wasn't cruel to her, and they were having an interesting conversation, despite how scared she was.

Infinite Lokis? Norns forbid. Just one of him is trouble enough. Thor pulls a somewhat undignified face at the thought, as nice as it is to hear his brother laugh without malice in it for once.

"You're already getting ideas from this place, aren't you." Of course he is. If nothing else, maybe it will give Loki some fresh material instead of using the same tried-and-true tactics again. Hey, it's looking on the bright side, Thor'll take what he can get.

As it happens, he highly approves of Adia's decision to send Rogers a warning, even if it is technically at Loki's request. The more people get the heads up about a trickster god on the loose, the more prepared they'll be, not that it'll necessarily help. Her smile and nod are returned, a little less subdued on his end.

"Brother, the day I stop getting ideas is the day I am truly dead. Then, and only then, you may mourn." He's smiling, but there's something serious in his eyes. He pats Thor on the bicep (risking injuring his own hand, to be honest), and then gives a farewell bow to Adia.

She's done exactly what he needed her to, and as such has earned a measure of warmth from him. And probably also his unhealthy interest for a longer period of time than she wants. "Likewise, Adia. I hope to see you again soon."

She takes the second bow better this time, returning it with a hesitant nod instead of dithering over how to respond. Another look to her PINpoint, her home coordinates on the screen --

Wait. No. She doesn't need to return home just yet, which means she has time to learn a little more about this pantheon that she has stumbled into. To the library!

Switching her coordinates, she teleports there instead. When in doubt, read a book about it.

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Loki: Worst Matchmaker Ever?

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