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[dontbeathorloser-blog]

alowkeypun:

Loki felt a twinge of anxiety spike at Thor’s words. He didn’t want a repeat of what had happened last time the two of them had been in unknown space together. It probably would have been easier for everyone on board if Loki had been to blame for their marooning. He was at least a familiar enemy; instead the perpetrator and motive were still unknown. 

“Perhaps you’re right,” he said, a rare agreement. “It’s no skin off their backs if something were to happen to me. Sending me keeps their own people out of harm’s way.” He wanted to retaliate against the baby-sitting gibe but now wasn’t the time for an argument. There’d have to be some subtle revenge later, though. “And I am studier than their lot.”

“Of course I’m right,” Thor replied dismissively. He was the oldest of the two of them and therefore the wisest. It meant that he was always right. He didn’t understand why Loki kept trying to act like there was an alternative way of thinking about that. “I’ll endeavour from keeping anything from happening to you, never fear little brother.” 

He paused and laughed. “They’re similar to twigs, yet in the most charming way!” he smirked brightly and ran a hand over his beard as the shuttle touched down on the surface of the planet. “It appears that we’ve arrived.”

[dontbeathorloser-blog]

alowkeypun:

Loki shrugged, unable to keep the little smirk off his face. It never ceased to be fun to toy with his brother, even after all they’d been through. It was a simple matter to extend the reach of his magic so that the cold air embraced Thor as well. The slightest hint of a green shimmer sparkled in the air wherever the cold reached. “I simply prefer to make the best of whatever situation I’m in.”

That was a lie, and they’d both know it. Loki was the first to complain if things weren’t to his liking; he was just very good at surviving. Except for that one black mark against an otherwise perfect score.

“What are they sending us off to do anyhow?” he said, changing the subject to keep his thoughts away from dark places. “And why in Hel’s name would they send me?”

“Call it whatever you like brother,” Thor replied with a shake of his head, “it doesn’t stop this situation from being incredibly unfavourable to us. Who knows how long we could get stuck in the darkest depths of space without anyway home.” He was concerned. He couldn’t think of any real reason for anyone to want to banish them here, not without some sort of purpose. Either for them or for someone else. 

“They probably sent you because they don’t trust you further than they can throw you, and humans aren’t nearly as strong as Asgardians or Ice giants...” he smirked gently and shifted in his seat as the shuttle headed towards the surface of the planet. “It is a simple scouting mission, why the powers that be appointed you I cannot say, but perhaps they sent me to handle you. Babysitting duty is always fun.”

[dontbeathorloser-blog]

itsdrstrange-notmrstrange:

Stephen watched Thor as he spoke, relieved that he wasn’t the only one who was suspicious. The more sets of eyes on the lookout, the more likely they were to find some hint of what was going on. But it didn’t exactly reassure him to hear a god say he was uneasy.

“I’ll have to talk to Director Johnson about double checking the crew’s backgrounds. Hopefully we can shorten the suspect list a little.” Stephen found himself hoping that the answer would be as simple as HYDRA. Squid Nazis were something he could deal with. They were a known. An unknown was the opposite of what they needed right now.

“You or the others have any theories?”

“A fine idea sorceror,” Thor replied with an encouraging smile. It was reassuring to know that there were at least three of them, if not more that thought that there was something fishy about this situation. Of course there wasn’t anything that they could prove right now. That was the part that worried Thor. They may simply never get answers. But right now they had to focus on getting home. 

“None that seem plausible,” he said slowly, “we discovered Loki on the station, however he doesn’t seem to have been anymore responsible than anyone else and though his presence and actual existence is as much a shock as it is suspicious, he has, so far, been relatively helpful.

[dontbeathorloser-blog]

Footloose || Loki, Thor and Wendell

Loki is forced to reveal himself to Loki and Wendell during attempts to repair the assembly line.

Thor was hardly adept with technology. Even on Asgard he had strayed away from it whenever possible and the human technology seemed so much less sturdy then that which he was used to. That was why he’d suggested that Wendell come along, it wasn’t just that he enjoyed Wendell’s presence and that he was slowly coming to trust him after they’d met in a bar. There was also the fact that Wendell would absolutely know how to use the portable drive that they needed to get the stations work force of Starkbots back online. Thor couldn’t promise that he wouldn’t just stamp on it out of frustration. Yet he took a deep breath, and looked at Wendell once more. “So, it carries files on it this portable storage device? And these files are required to what?”

Being briefed on what the goal of the mission was seemed far less exciting than what Wendell was hoping for. Even though it would be astronomically worse, he kind of wished this was some sort of Alien situation. A xenomorph queen was planning on making the people of the ship her own personal incubators or something, not a team heading into an assembly room to plug in a flash drive into a control panel. He wouldn’t complain, though. It was the perfect opportunity to spend alone time with a real hero. Maybe he could pick up a few pointers on what to expect when he was finally promoted out of his simple role of SHIELD agent. “They’re going to reboot the bots that can help speed up the repairs,” he replied as they wandered toward their destination. “But they can also turn on this big assembly line with something on the end that I’m told looks like thousands of rotating titanium shark teeth. It’s supposed to grind down the broken droids, I think? We definitely don’t want that starting up.” He really hoped that was an exaggeration. “Plus that might alarm some other guard droids and if you know Mr. Stark, you can imagine how much of a fight those things will put on.”

The situation he’d got himself into was so far from ideal he hardly knew what to do with himself. As it was, Loki was sneaking around the ship in the most generic-looking SHIELD agent disguise he could think of. He was very much interested in not dying and the ship they were marooned on didn't seem to be in very good shape. Not to mention, the trickster was feeling a little twitchy since the space stone had appeared. He’d caught a glimpse of it from the doorway and now it was AWOL. Again, not precisely ideal. Who the hell had it now? He shouldn't have even been on board and now they were in unknown space on a broken ship. He had to admit he was panicking a little. Thousands of plans and back up plans were formulating in his mind but in the meantime he was busying himself making sure the ship didn't fall apart and life support remained online. Going to various spots on the ship and setting up magical defensive wards and helping the technology do its job with little traces of magic was likely to get him caught but that was preferable to dying in the vacuum of space. He’d already been choked to death once and he’d decided that suffocation just wasn't for him.

Thor and Wendell continued down the corridor and up to an elevator, joining a incredibly forgettable S.H.I.E.L.D. agent in an elevator that took them from deck three to deck twelve. Anything beyond deck twelve was out of bounds but unfortunately that was exactly where they are going. “Why does Stark have to make everything that he makes so damn well?” he asked with a frown that held similarities to thunder, “It would not be such a labour if they didn’t all inevitably turn on us.” Grunting, he tightened his grip on Stormbreaker, undoubtedly they would be forced to use it. “I believe I can handle any assailants that we may have to face, however keep an eye over your shoulder my friend, I’d hate for anything to happen to you because you thought I had your back and I didn’t.”

Very rarely did Wendell come across other agents that he didn’t know. Even those in deep cover who had been doing so since far before the blond had begun were listed somewhere and he had to know their faces in case of run-ins. His clearance wasn’t nearly at the top, but his status as a defacto hero gave him a few perks such as being aware whether or not the supervillain grunt he was facing was, in truth, an agent working for SHIELD. The agent in the elevator was someone he didn’t recognize. Not even from the party, in fact. This made them an irrefutable point of interest that he would engage, but first he’d have to respond to Thor’s ominous, yet helpful words. “Can do. I’m sure it’ll be fine. No Ultron here to worry about, right?” His tone was airy and light, unconvinced but hopeful. He then turned to the other person in the elevator. “Are you heading to the forbidden decks as well, Agent…?” Careful prying.

And of course the situation made itself worse. Loki should have known it would. His luck really wasn't what it used to be. The moment Thor stepped onto the elevator he was on, he turned white as a sheet and swallowed hard. This wasn't exactly how he’d been planning on meeting his brother again. Seeing him at a distance at the party or near the bomb was one thing, being stuck on a tiny elevator was something entirely different. He kept his eyes straight ahead and said nothing. That was, until he was directly addressed. Loki hadn't paid much attention to Thor’s companion but he glanced at him now. Suspicion was clear on the young man’s features. A young man Loki didn't recognize. Damn. “Yes, sir,” he responded easily, his voice deeper than his natural tone but carrying a hint of his accent. “I’m here to assist however I can.”

“We can hope that there is no Ultron, to the best of my knowledge he was dead.” Thor spun Stormbreaker in his hands before turning to face the agent curiously, looking at him carefully, he had to admit that he didn’t quite see anything out of the ordinary. “Well the more the merrier I guess,” Thor replied dismissively. There was very few people in S.H.I.E.L.D. that Thor actually did know. So it wasn’t that strange to him that there was someone he didn’t recognise. However he didn’t miss the suspicious look that Wendell was giving the agent and as the elevator dinged to a stop he stepped out before looking around the currently deserted corridor that they’d arrived on. “Agent Vaughn, after you.”

The fact that the agent didn’t give his name, and the reality that Wendell was not personally cleared on whether or not they’d be shadowed by another agent, meant something was amiss here. “Remind me to ask for your ID later, agent,” he said aloud, using a voice he rarely had to. Wendell was known for his chipper tone. It paired with his youthful face like a good wine paired well with steak. He decided it was best to leave that voice in the elevator. When he stepped out, he donned a more casual expression. His head whipped back and he flashed a slightly mischievous grin at the others. “Do you think we’ll run into the Predator down here?” He looked far too happy at the prospect, but considering he doubted one of them would understand the urgency or terror of something like that, he thought the name alone was ominous for Thor, and perhaps it would help establish something to talk about with the other human.

Loki had to school his expression so he didn’t snarl at Wendell’s tone. Jumped-up little shit, he thought indignantly, not enjoying being spoken to in such a manner by someone so much younger than him. I was alive before even your great, great grandparents were born. Saying nothing, he simply followed after the two of them with as much casual ease as he could muster. He didn’t know what the Predator was but it didn’t sound like anything Thor couldn’t handle. He also made a mental note to look it up once they made it back to Earth; if they made it back to Earth. His intention currently was to slip away unnoticed as quickly as he could, though perhaps he could help in whatever the mission was that these two had been sent on. In their younger years, Loki frequently had to fix Thor’s messes and get him out of terrible situations. Hopefully that wouldn’t be necessary, but it didn’t hurt to be ready.

Pausing at the mention of the predator, Thor raised an eyebrow and shrugged. “Perhaps, though you’ll have to be clearer about which predator you mean. I can’t exactly rule out there being predators on the ship however it seems unlikely that we’ll run into anything that we’ve not been previously briefed on.” Or at least that was his hope. Keeping himself as aware as possible he made his way down the corridor and out into a large room with a dome on top. Looking around, he noticed several robots slumped over with their arms hanging down towards the floor. Raising an eyebrow at these, he looked around. “Locate the terminal and use the portable device,” he said as he spotted the production line that was meant to keep the entire station running.

All things considered, Wendell found the prospect of other types of predators being aboard the ship far worse than the science fiction version. His expression nearly sobered up, but he found himself laughing instead. “It’ll be smooth sailing. No doubt about it,” he said with at least a modicum of confidence. The jokes were simply that. No Alien or Predator, or possibility of Jason Voorhees in space, though he didn’t even bother mentioning that last one out loud. He, instead, focused on finding the room. Once they did, he broke away from the group after giving the others a nod. He took the drives with him and looked for an access point on the control panel. It’s position was odd. It required him to be in a position nearly straddling the assembly line’s mainframe to reach without flying, which he didn’t think was a very good idea given the bands’ reactions lately. He didn’t want to activate them unless absolutely necessary, so doing a bit of scaling up the mainframe was the best solution. “Mr. Stark must really dislike the vertically challenged.” The words were mostly just for him, something to snicker at as he plugged in the device. The moment it was inserted, however, he knew something was wrong. File after file continued to be uploaded and the noise of the machines in the room turning on got a bit louder than “minor commotion”. The lights all turned on and the gears began to move, then the large grinding device began to spin and whirl as well, causing Wendell’s wide eyes to dart over to it. “Uh...guys? I thought they said it wasn’t supposed to turn that on.” He hopped down just as the floor beneath them began to shift. “...and uh...I think we’re standing on the assembly line.”

Loki caught Wendell’s words about Stark and couldn’t help the little smirk that played at his lips. Tony Stark wasn’t particularly tall to begin with; Loki remembered towering over the man in New York. He idly wandered while the young man plugged in the drives, evaluating the odd technology that Midgardians use. It seemed so blocky and primitive, dark metal gears grinding together and making terrible noises. His brow furrowed when Wendell spoke again but didn’t manage to get away before the floor beneath him moved and very suddenly his leg was yanked out from under him and he fell. The yelp he let out was far from dignified. He tried to stand, his pride already wounded, only to discover his foot was very, very stuck in the contraption. What terrible design, he thought, deciding maybe he’d have to have another chat with Stark sometime. It hurt but he’d faced much worse throughout his years. He tried to yank it free with his hands but it only seemed to dig in more and he started to worry it would draw blood. “I hate to impose,” he spoke up, forgetting to hide his accent in the midst of his embarrassment. “But I could use a hand before I lose my foot.”

As Wendell accidentally set of the assembly line, Thor was able to turn just in time to see the agent come crashing to the floor. Turning away, he bit his tongue and covered up his laughter as best he could. It wasn’t funny, and yet it was absolutely hysterical. “Not to worry midgardian,” he said stepping forward as he saw the man’s boot tangled in a number of gears and he gripped the agent’s forearm and tried to forcefully yank him free from the gears, of course that didn’t work, “I am sure that we’ll have you out in no time whatsoever.” Looking at the contraption, he frowned and beckoned Wendell over. “Is there realistically a way to free him without causing harm to himself or the machinery?” He was about to give him another yank when he heard a robotic voice from across the room and noticed a Starkbot flicker to life. Beams of light shot out from their eyes and they addressed the three of them. “Intruders detected,” a metallic voice croaked, “activating counter measures.”

Wendell really had to hand it to himself for his balance when the floor began to move underneath him. He was surprised he hadn’t landed on his ass. The same was not true for the agent. To make matters worse, somehow dizziness made the man...British? That was surprising and definitely something to note. For later, of course. He approached the pair and winced at the look of the man’s foot. Before he could comment, the guard drones were approaching and he yelped ever slightly. “I can try to temporarily absorb the energy in the system so I can grab him.” He shook his forearms and his bands began to glow. “...but you’re going to have to keep them off of us for like...two minutes, Thor. And agent, if you can shoot, you’re going to need to.”

Shit shit shit. Either he would have to shift his form to free his foot or he’d have to attack the drones with his magic. No matter what he did, he’d end up revealing himself. Not to mention he’d already messed up his cover by dropping the American accent. The faster he could get away from these two the better, then he could shift into a different person and lay low again. Loki was quickly digging himself in deeper and deeper into a hole of his own making. He had planned to eventually reveal himself to Thor, show him that he was alive, but he hadn’t planned it to be anything like this. He should have just stayed at the bar. The gears shifted as if they were trying to drag his foot in further and he hissed in pain. “Whatever you do, just hurry up,” he ordered, getting more tense by the minute. Surely Thor could handle the robots on his own, right? Hopefully Stark hadn’t made them resistant to lightning.

“I shall keep them at bay for as long as you need,” Thor replied resolutely, raising Stormbreaker and spinning it in his hand as he approached the Starkbots. Raising his hammer, he aimed it at the lead Starkbot and opened fire. Lightning leaped from the tip of his weapon and arched across the room, small lances of electricity flickering left and right as it struck the center of the Starkbot and leaped to the next and then the next. However to Thor’s displeasure the Starkbot’s didn’t halt and they certainly didn’t blow up like he had been hoping too, if anything they seemed to be more energetic, picking up the pace from what had been a careless lope and starting at a fast jog towards them. “Odin’s beard!” Thor exclaimed before charging away from Wendell, “be quick, it is possible that I may have just made them more dangerous than they previously were.” He didn’t have time to say anymore than that as he slammed into the first of the five Starkbots and brought Stormbreaker crunching into its arm as it raised in defence.

Being told to hurry up certainly wasn’t going to make the process any faster, but Wendell would be damned if he didn’t think the same thing to himself. The bands required a delicate touch, with each small piece of energy being absorbed into them needing to be monitored and secured before another could be drawn in. If he threw caution to the wind, the bands could cause very cataclysmic activity on their little space hub. He’d successfully taken down several of Thanos’ army ships just by drawing in the electricity from their circuits. “Working on it,” he replied carefully. He tried not to flinch when each pulse of electricity being pulled into him caused all sorts of jolts to ripple through his body. There was a pain to it that he couldn’t describe that never dulled. It would’ve been easier to just drain the whole assembly line, but he wasn’t sure if the bands would stop there or try to draw in the energy of everyone in the room as well. “Couldn’t you just, uh, bash them or something? No more lightning.” If the slowing was anything to go by, it wouldn’t be long soon.

Loki was cursing under his breath, yanking at his ankle and feeling something inside it pull in a way that it certainly shouldn’t. The gears had cut through the skin too. As a shapeshifter he could regrow the foot it but it would be a very painful and unpleasant ordeal to lose it in the first place. He doubted he would unless he sawed it off himself but he was being dramatic. Meanwhile whatever the young Midgardian was doing seemed to be dealing with some very unstable energy. With a glance over his shoulder, he could see his brother being swarmed by Starkbots powered up with his own lightning. The damned fool. “Oh to Hel with this,” he growled, shooting a bolt of pure magic energy at one of the bots that was readying to strike Thor’s flank. This might as well happen.

Thor whirled and flurried, Stormbreaker a metallic blur as it struck in a wide arch of destruction. He felt the axe bite through the metal alloy that Stark had designed, the uru of his own weapon chewing through the armour plating without much problem. Yet the sheer number of combatants was problematic and there was also the fact that they were powered up by his own stupidity. Swallowing, he was shocked when he saw a bright lance of pure magical energy slash through the torso of one Starkbots. He’d recognise that magic anywhere. Roaring, he slammed a statically charged hammer through the chest of the third Starkbot to cross his path, before turning and pointing at the agent. Obviously where the magic had come from. “LOKI?!” he bellowed, though it was perhaps more of a statement than a question, his brain was reeling. After all these years his brother was somehow alive. “When I finish off these tin men we shall be having a long conversation brother.”

The steady draining went on as expected, the urgency only beckoning the bands to perform their process with the same amount of precision but with at least double the speed. The gears underneath the assembly line were beginning to slow, having lost most of their power, and Wendell knew that he’d be able to get the agent’s foot free in less than a minute. What he didn’t expect was that the agent would begin flinging bolts of energy at the bots. He was going to question how when Thor called out his brother’s name. Loki. Wendell was in a room filled with killer bots, an assembly line headed for the robot equivalent of a meat grinder, and two beautiful Asgardians? He was going to need to lie down after this. “Whoa…” he whispered. His eyes were wide and the bands were now a bright gold as they confirmed that they’d slowed down the process enough. Wendell made quick work of lifting this and shimmying that until he could successfully get a good grip on the agent’s, now Loki’s, foot. “This might hurt just a little, okay?” His own fingers would feel the scraping as the metal gave way to his force to pull Loki’s foot free, but it was worth it. Three functioning combatants to fight off the bots was better than just the one.

Loki gave a long-suffering sigh at Thor’s reaction. He expected little else but he certainly hoped his brother wouldn't crush every bone in his body, either in anger or in a hug. He finally dropped the fake appearance, revealing his usual face in a shimmer of green-gold light. It seemed almost strange to be himself after so long hiding as various others. A grimace crossed his face as his foot was finally yanked free but he otherwise didn't complain. It was only his pride that was truly wounded. “Thank you,” he told Wendell, his tone earnest but inside he was still irritated with the young man. It would likely pass; Loki could hold a grudge like no one else he knew but it would take more than Wendell’s earlier tone of voice to earn that level of dedication.

Spinning Stormbreaker around and around, Thor brought it crashing down through a Starkbot before kicking a second across the room. It went crunching into the metal wall almost fifty feet away from him and it wasn’t long before he was dispatching and disabling the last of the adversaries. “Quasar,” Thor spat out of fury at Loki, “can you check on the portable drive and make sure that no more of those tin men turn back on. I’d prefer for us to have a chat with Loki in private where no metal machines are going to bother us.” Stooping down, he hauled Loki up into the air by the scruff of his collar and looked him dead in the eyes. Right now he really wished that he had a drink. He had wasted years of his life mourning the loss of his brother, of his best friend. Now he found him alive and well. “Talk.” He barked.

Hell hath no fury like an older brother’s scorn, Wendell supposed. He watched with wonder as Thor slashed, bashed, and crashed through the remainder of Stark’s guard drones without much opposition. He truly was in the presence of a god, wasn’t he? “Y-yes sir!” he called back, then gave a very remorseful look at Loki. He didn’t know what was going to come out of his superior, but the tone of his voice was not exactly promising of sunshine or rainbows. Without another word, he rushed away, used some of the energy stored in his bands to float, and inspected the drive. It had completely emptied its files into the control panel, so he’d have to manually edit the program. He wasn’t fully clear on how to do that, but if it was anything like illegally downloading songs on an iPod, he’d be fine.

Loki had been moving to his feet, lifting his hands in a placating gesture, before Thor grabbed him. The moment his feet left the floor, his eyes flashed with fear. Suddenly all he could think about was Thanos and a large violet hand wrapping around his throat. He could still remember the feeling of his neck snapping like a twig, his lungs screaming for air they would never receive. Not until much later when he awoke, confused, among the other Asgardians. His pupils were frightened pinpricks in wide eyes as he stared down at Thor, breath coming quickly as panic rose. Magic danced at the ends of his fingertips where his hands were wrapped around Thor’s wrist. “Brother, please,” he begged, voice uncharacteristically showing his fear. “Let me down, I’ll talk, just not like this.”

“Wendell, please, don’t call me sir,.” Thor replied to Wendell with a calming look at him and a gentle affectionate smile. Wendell being here made him feel somewhat better. Turning his gaze towards his brother, he looked directly into Loki’s eyes and sighing quietly. Setting him down on the floor, he subdued the thunder that boomed in his chest and took a long soothing breath. Setting his brother down before beginning to walk. Pacing through the wreckage of the Starkbots and glancing between Wendell and Loki. “First of all, how are you here? And don’t give me the smart arse answer about how you snuck unboard under one of your glamours? How are you even alive?” he paused, static trickling out of the corners of his eyes for a moment as he tried his very hardest. “Second, what the hell did you do to the space stone? And before you tell me that it wasn’t you why should I believe a word that comes out of your mouth?” he spat the words with such ferocity and such fury. “Third, if you were alive this entire time then why in the name of Asgard did you not come and find me?”

Files would be easier to navigate through if they were labeled things that ordinary people could understand. Wendell felt like he needed a degree in coding just to find where the files for the assembly line were placed. As he scrolled and clicked, he managed to find something that looked promising. He clicked ‘disable’ and the lights flickered off, which he immediately undid by enabling them again. “Sorry!” he called to the brothers. He shot them a look, but didn’t let his sight linger there for long. He really wanted it to linger, though. Instead, he went back to searching. An ear remained caught on their conversation. He was also curious about how Loki had survived through the Thanos event and also because he would need to know the information to corroborate Thor’s report should he inform the director of Loki’s presence. If he chose not to do so, then it would be necessary for Wendell to be able to fill in that information.

Loki steadied himself once his feet touched the floor, his damaged ankle protesting. It took him a few steadying breaths with his eyes shut tight to calm his rapid heartbeat. When he opened them again, they focused on his pacing brother. He was more worried about defusing this situation than he’d been about the bomb. Thor never was good at asking one question at a time. “I did sneak on board; among the catering staff. You might have noticed a red haired woman? That was me.” He began with. “I didn't have anything to do with the space stone appearing or disappearing. I don't know any more about all this than you do. If I did, I wouldn't still be here.” He doubted Thor would believe him but it was the truth. When the lights flickered out for a moment, he shot an irritated look at Wendell before continuing. “As for being alive: I don't know. The same way the rest of our people came back.” He paused a moment, frowning. “I died, Thor. It wasn't a trick that time, as much as I wish it had been.”

Frowning gently at Loki, Thor simply found it nigh on impossible to accept a single thing that Loki had to say on faith alone. “Forgive me if I don’t accept everything that you have to say to me,” Thor replied with a frown like thunder, “but this is the second, or perhaps even the third time that you have apparently ‘died’ and once more we find out the truth. Which is that you’re of course not dead. You seem impossible to kill Loki.” He paused for breath, his pulse racing, his fury with his brother was all but unbridled and yet he refused to give anyone the satisfaction of fully losing control. Taking a shaky deep breath, he looked him in the eye and paused for a moment more. “For all of this to happen, and then you show up, you’ll forgive me if I don’t believe everything that you’ve got to say.” He paused and looked at Wendell. “What do you think? Should we lock him up?” he frowned once more, “We should certainly inform the others of his presence.”

Two files down and still no stopping of the assembly line. Wendell was beginning to lose hope. Thankfully, he was starting to understand what certain keywords meant. These codes gave a little insight about what would be disabled and he had narrowed down what controlled the lights and what controlled the operating system on the control panel. As he clicked on the next one, he learned that this tag was attached to the bots. Progress. He just needed to find the one that controlled the gears beneath the assembly line that still shifted on the ground. By the time he found it, he realized that he’d not responded to the words directed at him by Thor. How long, he wasn’t sure, but he supposed that silence was awkward. “I don’t think we have a jail in here…” he trailed off, then gave a grimace when he looked over. His eyes shifted back to the control panel once more as he clicked on disable and the assembly line whirred to a stop. The grinding noise no longer serving as background noise was lovely. “I think we should report it, but whatever you plan to do is up to you. For what it’s worth, I’m glad you haven’t permanently lost your brother.” This time, the expression he offered was soft. The smile he held reached up into his eyes.

The expression on Loki's face turned cold and defensive. It hurt to have Thor react in such a manner; understandable, but painful. Before Thanos they had been on good terms, better than they'd been before his brother's botched coronation all those years ago. Now it was back to threats of imprisonment and anger. Loki straightened his posture, shoulders back, and kept his voice even and neutral when he spoke. "Imprison me if you must," he said. "But I would be of more use to you out here. When we crossed paths I was in the process of setting up wards and protective spells to keep the ship safe and in one piece. I would prefer to continue that work."

Frowning, Thor’s reaction finally relented. The thunderous look on his face eventually softening before he sighed. “I will put it to the director or the highest officer of S.H.I.E.L.D. to decide your fate, ultimately this is their vessel and I wish to respect that.” He paused and shrugged, picking Stormbreaker from where he had previously dropped it. “As for imprisoning you, I fear that it would do us little good, you’d undoubtedly find your way out. You always were too resourceful for your own good.” Pausing, he frowned one final time before nodding. “Do what you must, but please, stay out of trouble.” He turned to Wendell and felt a slight relief at the fact that Loki was safe. Better that he was here with him.

Wendell remained slightly elevated, straddling the control panel for the second time in the day. He felt the high ground was perhaps the only place he could avoid the chill of their conversation. However, when it began to feel warmer, he allowed himself to hop down. Feet carried him over to the grinding mechanism at the end of the assembly line and he crossed his arms. If they hadn’t have been careful, Loki could’ve ended up going through that. Any of them could’ve, really, though he imagined if it happened to anyone, the person with the greatest chance of survival was the one who’d gotten his foot caught in the gears. “We should probably head out now. Those guard drones aren’t the only ones in the area and we’ve technically completed the task,” he mentioned. His hand lightly tapped on one of the worker drones they were assigned to wake up.

Loki felt a certain warmth in his chest when Thor finally calmed. It wasn’t exactly the acceptance he wanted but he could work on it. Not getting into trouble wasn’t his specialty but at this point it was in his best interest to behave. Causing trouble could wait until they were safely back on Earth. “I’ll do my best, brother,” he promised. He was nearly done with the wards anyhow, then he could return to help. Hopefully his appearance didn’t cause any panic amongst people who knew him only for his attack on New York. He gave a curt nod to Wendell, not entirely fond of the young man yet, though he did owe him for getting free. “I’ll rejoin you soon, once my own task is complete.”

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itsdrstrange-notmrstrange:

Stephen couldn’t think why whoever was responsible would have waited to steal the station until it was full of Avengers if all they’d wanted was the tower. Which meant that they were either incredibly stupid, or that it was the people and not the tower they wanted. The planning involved was not the sort of thing an idiot would be capable of… So he figured the Avengers were the target. And that was more than a little concerning, given that a lot of scum and villainy of the galaxy should have been deterred, knowing that they were dealing with people who’d taken out Thanos. 

Either that or they’d wanted as many Avengers away from Earth as possible.

“It’s not the first time that SHIELD has had problems like this.” Stephen watched a pair of agents pass the hatchway with tablets projecting holographic electrical maps. “I assume new applicants are vetted better these days, but an agency this big…” He didn’t want to say HYDRA. Most SHIELD agents were still twitchy about mentions of the parasitic organization and he didn’t want to plant the seeds of paranoia in anyone’s head. “I’m assuming you heard about the big blow-up in 2014?”

“I am well aware of S.H.I.E.L.D’s dalliances in the past, not to mention their mistakes with the Space Stone and other powerful objects,” the entire reason for the Avengers formation had sprouted from the Space Stone, formerly known as the Tesseract and S.H.I.E.L.D’s reckless attempt to control its power. He paused as he listened to Strange’s reasoning, nodding gently along with the sorcerer supreme’s unassailable logic. “I’m afraid that I wouldn’t put it past them to make the same mistakes of the past.” 

He paused and looked to Strange. “You’re not alone in your suspicions. There are a number of us,” well two if you counted Peter and he wasn’t sure that Spiderman would necessarily wanted to be counted in this list, “who believe that there is more at work here. I would be far from convinced that this was an entirely coincidental turn of events. Something is obviously taking place behind the scenes. That makes me uneasy.”

[dontbeathorloser-blog]

alowkeypun:

Loki followed after his brother, no longer in any disguise, and sat nearby. He was surprised he’d been allowed to continue on without incarceration and was even being allowed to help. Perhaps Thor had spread word enough of his good deeds, even if one of them had been the destruction of their home planet. Well, Thor’s home planet. He’d already had a go at his own years prior. 

He smiled almost fondly. Thor had never been good at small talk. Not that the Thunderer was wrong; Loki had always been especially sensitive to heat, thanks, no doubt, to his frost giant heritage. Luckily, he was especially good at making himself comfortable. With a little focus, he pulled on his seidr and the air around him began to cool. “It seems perfectly comfortable to me.” 

It wasn’t that he hadn’t considered keeping Loki locked up. He had, but he had quickly realised that Loki would be able to escape any attempts at imprisoning him that they came up with. Rather than alienating his brother further, he would instead have to trust him, or at least allow him to believe that he was trusted. Their somewhat tumultuous relationship revolved around a lack of faith and distrust, this situation was no different.

Raising an eyebrow at Loki, he shook his head. “You don’t have to disagree with everything that I have to say brother, we’re over a thousand years old.” Yet none of them were able to act anything other than childish. Maybe that was how it would always be with the pair of them.

[dontbeathorloser-blog]

Thor stepped into the shuttle that would apparently take them down to the planets surface. Taking his seat he waited for his brother and wondered exactly how he was meant to address their current situation. Loki had faked his death before, but this felt somewhat different to any of the other times. “This ship is always slightly too hot,” he said wiping a bead of sweat from his temple, “don’t they have control over these things?”

@alowkeypun

[dontbeathorloser-blog]

cosmicsvnshine:

「✩ °  •┋Staring was often very socially regressive, yet he found himself discovering things about Thor in their interactions almost exclusively due to his tendency to gawk. For instance, it was impossible to ignore the way the Asgardian’s eyes drew over his form. Wendell felt the heat of a deep flush threatening to bubble up from his chest to his neck. He fantasized about that look in a matter of seconds, hoping and praying that maybe it was just as heated as he wanted it to be. He knew better, though. The speed by which Thor had fled last time Wendell let his careless mind entertain these silly ideas was certainly indicative of how he felt about the human. Right?

     “Oh yeah. I definitely wouldn’t be able to afford this…trip…if I wasn’t working for S.H.I.E.L.D. I’m more of a ‘can barely afford a trip in an uber’ kind of guy.” A small chuckle bubbled out of him and he smoothed his hands over his shirt down to the jean material of his pants. Oh. He still had to change those. He could do that later, though, or maybe he could convince Thor to turn around for a moment. “I’ll do my best not to let you down,” he replied. He wasn’t used to people speaking so highly of him lately. “Do you have a time you’d like to practice? I’d ask you if you’re ready right now but I did just put on a shirt in front of you and I clearly don’t have my suit on.” Cue nervous laughter. “Anytime after now would be ideal for me.”

Thor had never restricted himself to one gender, one person or even one race. He was open to every possibility and every maybe was an intriguing question mark that Thor felt the need to fill with an answer that would at least be somewhat satisfactory. Starring at the foil packets in his hands, he placed them gently in the appropriate piles and forced himself not to look up at Wendell once more. 

“Yes, this ... ‘trip’ is certainly something.” Though it wasn’t the usual way that Thor would choose to get away. Normally he’d fly or use the bifrost, and right now those options didn’t really make much sense. They couldn’t leave until they could return the station and discover the location of the space stone. Not to mention why the hell it was here.” Awkwardly taking Wendell’s queue, he cleared his throat and blushed slightly, standing and turning away so that Wendell could finish dressing. “Practice? I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to get a little of something other than sorting ration packs into my day...”

[dontbeathorloser-blog]

sxpernovaprime:

Richard’s instincts caused him to raise his hands into a defense position, but noticing the S.H.I.E.L.D logo on the agents suits and Worldmind telling him that the dude with a cape was Thor, the Asgardian, he moved his hands up and removed his helmet. “My name is Richard Rider, I’m from Long Island, I love deep dish pizza and blue blazes, you’re Thor and in all my life I never thought that I would meet you.” He said, hoping his words would convince the others. “I’m from the Nova Corps, I’m sure you must have heard of them Thor. I was speaking to Agent Vaughn, and on returning to Earth, I watched as this spaceship was swallowed by a wormhole. I then picked up on some transmissions between the Kree and used the closest stargates to get here. You are all pretty far from home.” 

Raising an eyebrow at the story that this ‘Richard Rider’ told them, Thor wasn’t sure that he completely believed everything that he was hearing. However if this person was from the Nova Corps then there was a very good chance that they would be able to help them. “Well, if you’re something other than you say we will discover it soon enough, you had better come in, I think that we’re going to have a lot to talk with you about.” Lowering Stormbreaker, he turned away from Richard and lead him out of the hangar that he had entered through. “Do you know our exact coordinates?” he asked curiously, wondering just how far they’d travelled.

[dontbeathorloser-blog]

your-not-so-dusty-spiderman:

Peter agreed with Thor. The problem was, they had no idea who it was or why they did it. They also had no idea where the stone was and what they were up against. What was on the planet they were orbiting and why were they put by this planet specifically? “How did someone that wasn’t an agent or a guest get onto Avengers Tower to place this undetected?” SHIELD had so much technology around, yet they couldn’t prevent this. 

Peter sighed and stepped back, hands on his hips. “Now what do we do? What’s the next step?” 

“There are several possibilities. A deep undercover unit, though that seems the most unlikely. Perhaps it was someone using magic or technology to disguise themselves?” He paused and frowned for a moment longer before continuing. “It is also possible that there could any number of forces at play. Perhaps even domestic forces that have interests further flung than our planet. Though why they would select this destination remains beyond me.” He couldn’t think of a single person that could possibly want this to happen to them. 

“For the moment it seems that we have no other option but to get the station as shipshape as possible and then begin to explore the planet below and locate the space stone,” he paused before continuing, considering their situation carefully, “on one hand there is always the possibility that there is something for us on the planet, but what it could possibly be I could not tell you.”

[dontbeathorloser-blog]

Though things hadn’t exactly been brought completely online, such as communications and the defense systems installed on the space station, But they at least had sensors and scanners up and running, so they saw the unidentified object approach and waited at the airlock. Thor and several S.H.I.E.L.D. agents hid behind crates and various other obstructions and burst out as soon as he finished talking, frankly surprised to see a being of some form. “Prove it,” Thor said, his hammer / axe already raised and ready to be hurled. 

Richard wondered if he should ask to board their spacecraft or not. It was the lack of response from their control center that put him on edge. Thus, his unannounced arrival on the tower-like space hub and his slow walk through the halls of said space hub, looking for any signs of life. “This is Nova #11249-4439, I am here on behalf of the Nova Corps.” He called out to anyone that could here him. “I’m a friend, here to help.” He just hoped the signs of life ahead where human and not some kind of alien species, but the worldmind had reassured him that they were indeed, human. 

[dontbeathorloser-blog]

itsdrstrange-notmrstrange:

“You and me both.” Stephen checked his tablet for any further instructions. There weren’t any, and he figured a break to chat wouldn’t hurt. It wasn’t like they were going anywhere. He considered asking about Loki– the trickster seemed like the sort to be the source of the taunting fly-bys of the Sanctum that he’d been looking into before the party invitation had come in– but he’d also heard that Loki had died at Thanos’ hand, and something about Thor’s tone told him that it was probably true. So he didn’t press the subject. 

“I’d be interested to find out who’s responsible for the Space Stone being aboard, though.” The stones were supposed to be separated and hidden, not built into the circuitry of a space station. “The way it was built into that wall didn’t look like oversight or accident to me. It looks like someone knew exactly what they were doing… Makes me wonder if our being stranded isn’t an accident either.”

Raising an eyebrow, Thor looked up at Strange before nodding and returning to his rationing. There were three boxes sorted so far and six more to go in this storage room alone. It wasn’t going to get done on its own. “There is something ominous about the station’s movement,” he admitted, the truth was that he had been plagued by worries that were similar to Strange’s concerns. 

“I agree, the revelation of the Space’s Stones presence is something that is beyond concerning. I thought that the infinity stones were being kept safe, however it is clear to me now that we cannot trust S.H.I.E.L.D. with this power.” Pausing for a second longer he considered his words carefully. “I believe that this was deliberate, but whoever is behind it remains a mystery.”

[dontbeathorloser-blog]

cosmicsvnshine:

「✩ °  •┋What would’ve happened if Wendell had said yes to needing help with his buttons? He doubted Thor would’ve obliged. The request was intimate and he’d already fulfilled one intimate request of the agent’s, only to have the human instinctively move in for who knows what. He had spent days reprimanding himself for letting his body lean forward into his hero’s personal space as if he had any business or right being there. He was already lucky enough for Thor to deem him worthy enough to touch that magnificent beard. Consciously, he was more than content with just that. If only his body had gotten the memo. Talk about a miscommunication in body language.

     The agent continued to button until he finished, eyes kept, unwavering, on Thor rather than the task at hand. It was hard not to stare. How anyone had gotten anything done on Asgard when everyone looked like that was just unimaginably unrealistic. One look at Thor or Valkyrie or even the file of the deceased Loki made him incredibly thirsty. His mouth felt dry now, in fact. He blamed it on the fact that Thor had just invited him to go out of the hub with him. “I would be honored to! I’ve been cleared for exploration detail,” he shared with a bit too much enthusiasm in his voice. It was hardly distinguishable from his usual voice, though, considering his usual peppiness. He’d just been rather ecstatic about getting to do something more suited for a hero title. He also knew he’d only been cleared because the bands had been fluctuating after the bomb was found and they were worried another cataclysmic event was going to occur with them. “I’m getting better at supporting with my powers too. I think I might be able to give your lightning some extra juice if you shoot it into me.” That came out weird. “I-I mean like as a conduit! I’ve been working on magnifying my electrical output.”

For a moment, Thor found himself somewhat enchanted by the look of Wendell. He was pleasing to look at, both aesthetically and in a manner of friendship. Pausing once more, he was about to make some further comment about assisting the S.H.I.E.L.D. agent in dressing, but he decided against it. It was certainly not appropriate and Darryl often reprimanded him for his inappropriate behaviour. 

“The thrill of setting foot on a foreign world for the first time is something that few get to revel in, despite the advances in technology over the years there aren’t many that can necessarily afford it...” he trailed off, doubting that Wendell would want an indepth explanation about the finer points of alien cultures social interaction with space travel. “However I look forward to exploring this new world with such a brave warrior by my side, Thor hadn’t forgetten the ferocity with which Wendell had fought against the Skrull attack. “That is certainly something that we should practice before putting it to use in the field, I’d hate for anyone to get hurt.”

[dontbeathorloser-blog]

your-not-so-dusty-spiderman:

Peter looked up at the Asgardian and then back down at the machine. “Yeah well, I guess Asgardians have been around much longer than we have.” Peter still had to get used to the fact that there was technology out there beyond his comprehension. Especially since he was still studying. “Let’s see if these scientists have found out anything.” He stated before moving over to a computer screen and reading over the schematics of the device. 

“They don’t know much, but they’ve classified it as Skrull technology. Obviously they compared it to a known database.” Peter sighed with frustration. The rest of the information was advanced, and he was sure he could figure it out, but he’d need time. “Why would a Skrull place this on the Tower? Do you think they knew S.H.I.E.L.D had the Space Stone? And if they did, where are we now?” 

“Aye, and we accomplished far less than you midgardians in the time that we’ve had,” he wasn’t necessarily lying. It was more a point on the proportion of life. Humans lived less long and were able to do less, therefore every leap forward made by a human was all that more meaningful and monumental. Following Peter over to the console, he peered down at the computer and had to admit that he would need to get better with technology if he hoped to remain on Midgard permanently. His technological illiteracy was beginning to get out of hand. 

“I am afraid that I have no answers to your question, there is no definitive way to prove anything about this, however I suspect that the subterfuge and deception is a deliberate act...” he paused for a moment more before continuing, “someone has gone to a lot of trouble to move us and the Space Stone here, and now that we are here we cannot leave without taking control of the Space Stone once more.”

[dontbeathorloser-blog]

your-not-so-dusty-spiderman:

Peter was about to pull of the biggest lie of the century but a scientist turned around and yelled at them to move, that the area was about to lose oxygen and gravity. Peter was shocked for a second but then turned around to Thor and shrugged. “I guess the room is all ours.” He walked in and waited for Thor to enter before tasering the control panel with a web. “Now for the real stuff.” He said quietly as he observed the open device. “I’ve never seen anything like it, but I guess they have this on Asgard?” Peter asked without looking at Thor, trying to take a closer look at the devices inside mechanisms. 

The urgency with which the scientists moved was impressive, Thor was almost concerned himself if he hadn’t known that it was his actions which were responsible for their concern. “Lucky us,” he stated as he set Stormbreaker down and turned to face Peter, “we had better get to work if we are going to find out more about what is really going on here.” He shook his head. “This is certainly not Asgardian technology, and you will have to forgive me for stating a simple truth. Asgardian technology has simply progressed at a faster rate than human technology. It is not an insult.” Peter’s indignance was almost amusing. 

[dontbeathorloser-blog]

your-not-so-dusty-spiderman:

Normally Peter would ask Ned for some kind of distraction, but in this case, he’d have to think of something on his own. Peter scanned the corridor for anything use full. “Do you think you can make that alarm go off?” Peter whispered, pointing up to the red light in the corridor? “Then I’ll walk in and be all Avenger-like?” Peter was thinking of the words he’d use as they spoke. “I’ll tell them there’s a breach or something, and once they’re gone, we can close the doors and I’ll web up the control panel with a taser web. We could say that there was an electrical surge whilst we were inside and we were trapped?” 

Without hesitation, Thor lifted Stormbreaker slightly off of the floor, before bringing it tapping down on the metal structure that made up the majority of the space station. A small flash of lightning leaped out from the hammer and sparked into the light, sending it rotating and the alarm whirring. “Will that do?” he asked somewhat smugly as he had honestly been entirely unsure of whether that would work. “It is now your turn to be Avenger like and carry out the rest of this ruse.” He stood back as the scientists came running out, allowing Peter to take the lead.

[dontbeathorloser-blog]

your-not-so-dusty-spiderman:

Was–was Thor suggesting that they do some snooping of their own? Was it against the rules? Probably. Was that going to stop Peter? Nope. “Those are some very good questions.” Peter agreed. “I think – that I know the perfect place to find answers.” With all the chaos going on, Peter figured that most of the ships staff and SHIELD agents would either be in engineering or in the comms room, leaving the Research unoccupied. “Follow me.” Peter began to move down the dark corridor. “Not that I was giving you an order, I wouldn’t do that considering you’re a god and all, but I mean, It’s this way.” 

As they arrived at the research bay, Peter walked straight in before quickly jumping back around the corner and pressing himself up against the wall. “I was wrong, their are about four scientists inside, all inspecting the device that was planted. I guess we weren’t the only one’s with this idea.”

“Finally, someone who wants to get answers,” Thor was glad that Peter was more than willing to take the risk of looking into this on their own. After all he was aware of just how dangerous their potential situation was. “Lead the way puny mortal,” he said with a grandeous smirk that covered his face before he began following after Peter. 

Thor didn’t move nearly as quickly as Spiderman, and as they both stepped out, he wasn’t quick enough to jump back behind the wall. He stood their silently for a minute before stepping behind a wall and blocking the line of sight. “We will have to attempt some form of distraction so that they are unable to prevent us from getting some answers.”