An Iron Resolve (Marvel)(Time Travel)

Chapter 73: Loki’s Blunder

A/N: Poor wittle Loki.

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Slinking out of her hiding place, Loki’s eyes dart left and right and her nostrils flare as she gazes around the dimly lit floor of Stark Tower that she’s called home for the past year and a half. After a moment, she glances up at the ceiling.

“Are they gone, JARVIS?”

There’s a brief pause and then Stark’s Artificial Guardian Spirit responds to her, sounding amused.

“Can you not check yourself, Loki?”

Loki huffs at that. Technically she could. She was more than capable of using her magic to find out if anyone else was nearby. There was just one problem with that… using her magic so cavalierly was how she’d gotten caught by her mother in the first place!

In all fairness to Loki, Frigga was supposed to be on Asgard. So was Sif. They definitely weren’t supposed to suddenly show up on Midgard in Stark’s massive monolith to his own wealth and power without warning! Unfortunately, that was precisely what had happened. There Loki was, just minding her own business, and suddenly she was dealing with the Queen of Asgard, Lady Sif, and Lady Sif’s newborn daughter.

There were only two points of solace in all of that. Number One, Sif hadn’t recognized her as Loki. She’d been maintaining her disguise as ‘Sylvie’ for the entirety of her stay on Midgard. Number Two, the fact that Sif was a mother at all filled Loki with a certain delight. Especially since the other woman, warrior that she was, had always sworn up and down that she would never have a child because it would stop her from fighting for too long.

To see that Sif in a dress, distinctly unsure of herself and not at all certain how to care for her daughter without Frigga and Pepper’s help was… well, it was delicious to say the least.

However, what was NOT delicious was Frigga seeing right through Loki’s disguise as Sylvie. Because she hadn’t known the Queen of Asgard was stopping by for a visit, she’d inadvertently used her magic in Frigga’s vicinity before running into her and Sif. And that meant Frigga knew exactly who Loki was.

After all, it was her mother who had trained Loki in her magic all those centuries ago. Loki had many tutors and mentors over the centuries, but none had been more impactful or spent more time with her than the Queen herself. So of course Frigga had identified her immediately.

The only silver lining was that her mother hadn’t immediately outed her in front of Sif. That would have made things ten times worse, something that the Queen seemed to understand, thankfully. Instead, Frigga had come looking for her hours later, and while Loki wished she could have just stayed hidden and out of sight… in the end, she’d let her mother find her, knowing better than to make Frigga hunt for too long.

Their reunion had been… well, it’d been rough on Loki, to say the least. There’d been a lot of tears, specifically on Frigga’s part. And then there’s been tears on Loki’s part BECAUSE of the tears on Frigga’s part. It wasn’t fair, it wasn’t easy, and it wasn’t fun. But… they’d talked. About a lot of things.

The worst part was how sorry Frigga was. The Queen of Asgard wouldn’t stop apologizing for everything that Loki had been through, as if it was her fault and not Odin’s. As if Loki’s actions weren’t her own. And sure, the Scepter had influenced Loki quite a bit during her bid to conquer Midgard, but everything else… that had been Loki. She’d tried to kill Stark, she’d sent the Destroyer to kill Thor, and she’d attempted to use the Bifrost to blow up Jotunheim, all of her own accord.

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Frigga wouldn’t hear of blaming her though. It wasn’t Loki’s fault, the Queen had said. She’d been confused and lost, and it was Frigga’s fault for failing her as a mother. Loki had squawked at that, but Frigga had been confident in her assertion. After all, if Frigga HADN’T failed Loki as a mother, why hadn’t Loki come to her after Odin fell into the Odinsleep? Why hadn’t she asked Frigga for help instead of doing the things she did?

… Needless to say, her mother was very, very good at making Loki feel like a fucking moron, even without raising her voice. Indeed, the Queen of Asgard pretty much never raised her voice towards Thor or Loki when they were growing up. Odin would shout and yell at them for this or that, but Frigga… Frigga would just sit down with them, talk them through things, and more often than not apologize for failing them in some way.

Just as she’d done during her short trip to Midgard. Loki… Loki still wasn’t sure how to feel about all of it. On the one hand, seeing her mother again had actually felt good. Part of her even felt lighter for having talked things out with Frigga. On the other hand, she felt like shit. That was why, after that hours-long talk they’d had together, Loki hadn’t shown her face again for the entirety of Frigga and Sif’s stay. She didn’t want to get drawn into… any of that, if she was being honest.

Even when she’d felt the Bifrost activate again a couple days ago, Loki had stayed in hiding, refusing to come out of her room or use her magic. The food delivery options she had as well as the Midgardian entertainment had carried her through her self-imposed imprisonment. But at the end of the day, there was only so much time she could spend in one place before she began to feel antsy.

“Just answer me, JARVIS. Are they gone?”

“… Yes. Queen Frigga, Lady Sif, and the baby have returned to Asgard. Sir has returned from Asgard as well. Of course, their departure was days ago. As you well know.”

Loki huffs, crossing her arms over her chest and pouting.

“I only felt the Bifrost activate twice! I don’t know who was coming or going!”

Though now that JARVIS has confirmed her suspicions, Loki does slowly flare out her magical senses, feeling out the rest of the Tower. Indeed, her mother’s presence is gone. So are the presences of Sif and her daughter. Loki lets out a sigh of relief… and then stops as she feels some carnal activity going on elsewhere in the tower. A smirk spreads across her lips, but before she can act on this information, Stark’s terrifying creation speaks up again.

“There is a letter for you on the table. Queen Frigga was insistent on making sure it reached you before she left.”

Loki freezes up at that, her eyes slowly moving over to the table. Just as JARVIS said, there’s a letter there. Parchment, not paper like the Midgardians like to use. Hissing under her breath, Loki carefully approaches the letter, treating it like it might transform into a snake at any moment and lunge out to bite her.

Which yes, she recognizes the irony of that fear, thank you very much. Gritting her teeth, Loki finally reaches out and snatches up the letter. Flipping it open, she reads the scant lines that her mother left for her.

My dearest daughter. You are not the monster you see yourself as. The universe has not always been kind to you. You’ve made your mistakes. But you’ve also had your fair share of choices taken from you. Odin, for all his power, is far from perfect. And so am I. Try not to judge us too harshly for our own mistakes if you please, but also don’t let our decisions stop you from living your life to the fullest. I love you, Loki. Be well, my daughter.

It's unsigned, of course. But Loki doesn’t have to see her mother’s name at the bottom to know every word that came pouring out of Frigga’s heart. Furiously wiping tears from her eyes, Loki scowls for lack of any other expression to show as she frowns down at the letter. Part of her wants to just rip it up. Such sentimentality.

… But she doesn’t. Instead, she carefully folds the letter and tucks it away into a pocket space that only she has access to. The most secure place she can store anything valuable to her. Once it’s gone, Loki’s hands find themselves empty and slowly clench into fists.

“If the Queen and Sif went back to Asgard, that means the threat passed, right?”

That had been a major talking point between her and Frigga. Loki had wanted to know why the Queen of Asgard was on Midgard in the first place, and Frigga was all for badmouthing her husband for what she felt was unjustly sidelining her from the battle to come. On the one hand, it was gratifying to see Frigga as angry at Odin as Loki had been for a time. On the other hand, for the first time since she’d dropped from the Bifrost, Loki had found herself in agreement with the All-Father on something.

If the danger was so great that the Queen of Asgard might lose her life… then yes, Loki felt like it was appropriate that Odin had sent Frigga to safety on Midgard. She’d rather be discovered by the Queen and forced into an uncomfortable hours-long reunion then find out that Frigga had died to the Dark Elves of their people’s ancient past.

“Yes, Loki. The Dark Elf leader, Malekith, was defeated and slain by your brother, Thor. Their threat has been neutralized.”

That was good. That was very good. And Loki definitely wasn’t feeling any certain way about being left out either. There was no part of her that wanted to return to Asgard. Thinking about her mother’s letter, Loki shakes her head. If she was going to live her life to the fullest, she might never step foot on Asgard ever again. So long as she was living under the All-Father’s boot, she would never be able to reach her full potential.

Indeed, the magic she’d learned alongside JARVIS in just the last year and a half had helped her grow in leaps and bounds. The things she could do now from her time practicing Midgardian Sorcery with the Artificial Genius Loci… it was enough to bring a wide grin to her face.

And best of all, Odin had no claim to her anymore. She might consider Frigga to still be her mother, but that did not mean she had to consider Odin her father. After all, the man had signed away any right he had to boss her around when he’d signed the contract between him, her, and Tony Stark. So long as Loki held up her end of the bargain, then the All-Father had no recourse.

As for Stark… she had to admit, she’d been wrong about him. She still wasn’t really sorry about trying to kill him those first two times. He’d most definitely set himself up as her enemy, and as Loki had been raised, you didn’t just let your enemies continue disrupting your plans if there was something you could do about them.

Besides, as it turned out, there was nothing Loki could do to the incredibly powerful King of Midgard. Stab him in both kidneys? He just heals and gets back up. Blast him in the chest with the Destroyer? He’ll weather that blow as well just fine.

Tony Stark was beyond her… and Loki was okay with that. Mostly because he wasn’t nearly the tyrant that her father was. Unlike Odin, Tony did not demand your constant attention, or eternal respect. He was surprisingly casual for a King, but perhaps that came with being in hiding like he was. Even still, he’d never once taken offense to the things she’d said.

Things that would have caused Odin to tan her hide or punish her in some way just caused Tony Stark to laugh and brush them off like it was nothing. She knew the man was perfectly capable of getting revenge of course, but he wasn’t so insecure that he’d take the smallest slight and turn that into some vendetta.

Living under HIS thumb for the past year and a half had been far more comfortable than living under Odin’s for the last ten centuries. Especially since… a wide and wicked grin spreads across Loki’s face, and she begins making her way through Stark Tower, towards the display of carnal lovemaking she can feel happening even now above her head.

However, before she can get very far…

“I feel I should warn you that this won’t go according to plan, Loki.”

JARVIS’ bland, dry tone fills the hallway, causing Loki to furrow her brow and glance up at the ceiling.

“Oh? And why is that?”

“I cannot discuss all of Sir’s secrets with you, but suffice to say, he has grown since you saw him last. He also now knows that I am magical. While I still have no intention of breaking our pact and revealing your spying, you should be aware that he will almost certainly see through your illusions and catch you.”

… Huh. Stark must have learned something on Asgard, maybe from Odin himself. Quite impressive, he must have really caught the All-Father’s attention if Odin had been willing to part with some of his knowledge. Still… Loki finds herself scoffing at the idea that Stark would be able to see through her magic. Especially since she can now augment it with Midgardian Magic.

“Frigga only caught me because I was unaware of her presence, JARVIS. I’m quite confident in my ability to hide myself from your Master and Mistress’ senses, regardless of what bits of knowledge Stark managed to pry from the All-Father’s withered, decrepit hands.”

There’s silence for a long moment at that before JARVIS finally replies.

“… Very well. Do not say I didn’t warn you.”

Smiling, Loki just rolls her eyes and continues on her way. As terrifying as he could be at times, there were also moments where Stark’s Artificial Spirit was almost… adorable in his concern.

Finally arriving at her ultimate destination, Loki has already layered plenty of spells on top of her form, making sure that every bit of her presence is hidden from view as she slips into Tony and Pepper’s bedroom. The two Midgardians are on the bed of course, with Stark thrusting away into his wife like a man possessed.

Loki isn’t sure why she’s watched them go at it so many times. It’s become… a thing for her, she supposes. Biting her lower lip, she suspects it has something to do with just how good they both look doing it. As well, the fact that they go at it so hard and fast but can still maintain a conversation is quite impressive. Even as Pepper Stark is being railed like nothing else, she’s speaking clearly and calmly.

“I know you’re worried about increasing the time table for HYDRA, Tony. But it’ll be fine. You have it all planned out. I know with you at the helm, it’ll all work out perfectly.”

Tony chuckles.

“I appreciate the vote of confidence, Pep. Honestly, I’m not too worried about HYDRA or Project Insight. Pierce, Mallick, all of them… they’re playing right into our hands. I’m more worried about this new thing with He-!”

Tony suddenly stops himself mid-word, twitching and looking to the side… right at Loki’s hiding spot.

There’s no way, right? Except, then Stark’s eyes suddenly turn pitch red as he lets out an unhappy growl.

“Well now, what’s this?”

Suddenly, Loki can feel her obfuscating spells being shredded away like they’re nothing. For a moment, she thinks JARVIS is betraying her after all… but then she realizes it’s Stark himself who’s doing it.

Now Pepper is also looking at her, with Loki’s position in the room completely exposed. Though to her surprise, neither of the Starks actually look all that upset with her or her presence. Instead, they just look… hungry.

Eep.

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A/N: Oopsie daisy. JARVIS did try to warn her...