The aftermath of Thanos’ snap was horrible to witness. While Loki never made friends with any of the Avengers, they were in fact far from it, they were still his brothers’ friends, and they had lost many. Half of the universe was gone, only a handful of heroes remaining. The ground was covered in dust of those who had disintegrated and as he walked, Loki felt almost as if he was defiling peoples graves. A shiver went down his spine from just thinking that one of the unlucky ones could have been him or his brother.
As he walked through the forest close to the Wakandan palace, the trickster spotted a figure walking about. The man seemed untouched from battle and completely out of place. Daggers at the ready, he carefully came closer. “If you are one of Thanos’ men, you have come to the wrong place.”
ky knew he could have been placed in such categories. his own family making deals with the titan to keep themselves safe. not that he could complain – he was only here was he had escaped his own personal confinement to have some fun. well, more so murder, but since the events of the snap had happened? well, it didn’t seem liked he’d be able to do that. not really at any-rate.
“— and what would you do if i was?” a simple question, said as his hands slipped into the back pockets of his pants. “you know, besides the quite obvious.” there had been far too much death lately – even for his own liking. “even so, i just don’t see how my… allegiances truly matter.” at least at he moment.
He focused on Ky’lar knowing if the man came to him, that there was somehting he couldn’t solve on his own. The order kept track of him, the way they did most that might give them issues but he’d been fine, quiet even lately and having him in the Sanctum was highly unexpected.
“So I’m guessing if you’re here and telling me about the demon that you don’t have a way to find or contain them on your own and you’re requesting my help in the matter?”
Reaching up, he tapped his lower lip with the tip of his gloved hand. He should have known that one of this level of demons had escaped but there hadn’t been any notice of a breach. “Let me ask you, do you know how they could have reached this level without some kind of warning? Is he that powerful that even your kind didn’t know that they were coming?”
he was about to elaborate on the situation; on how he could track them down. it wouldn’t be hard – he even had them on speed-dial. still, the idea of ‘kind’ came into play and that was when everything ( in his mind ) went south.
ky may not have came here for a fight, but he knew it couldn’t be avoided. not when the topic of ‘kind’ came into play. maybe it was childish of him to get so angry over a simple word, but then again, he didn’t care. not at the moment.
“my kind?” he asked, avoiding the matter of exactly why he was here entirely. “you might be many things, strange, but if you knew anything about me.” ky then moved to poke strange right in the chest – a bold move, even for him – “you’d know i stand alone on this.”
in truth, he was about to go on about how he didn’t care what strange thought of him, but instead, he stood his ground. no, he was doing this alone, and the only reason he was here was for assistance. though, now he doubted he’d even get an inch of it. “just like i do in everything else. i. have. no. kind.”
there was many things that he’d done in his life time, but this had to have been the worst. this had to have been… the one he’d be known most for. truth be told, maybe ky should have stayed in his fathers realm, but instead? instead, he’d helped make things worse by ultimately staying away.
“i helped… thanos.” it was all he could say – even if he didn’t involve himself? his grandfather did and that made him… guiltily all the same.
“yeah, i’ve been told that before.” several times in-fact, but he doubted that it would truly matter. not these days at least. still, he sucked in a deep breath, and folded his arms across his chest. “it’s nothing new.”
“ and why do i care about the city again?” honestly, ky would have enjoyed watching it burn ( on most days ). hell, he’d have done it himself if he could have gotten away with it, but still… he was trying to be better. even if old habits did die hard. “it’s been through worse an’ i’m quite sure it will still be around… with or with out my help.”
“Not to be too bold – but I’m gonna be…what exactly are you ?”
it was a question he’d asked himself several times over. what exactly was he and while sometimes he could give titles… the truth of the matter was he didn’t know. not really at least other than two words. “a mistake,” he said, arms crossing over his chest. “simply that.”
“No one’s ever accused me of being that, so far as I know,” he replied dryly. Most people ended up screaming at him rather more about him being the opposite. “But while smart I may not be, that doesn’t qualify me as a complete moron, so I’ll keep my chances on this side of the door, thank you.”
He waited, perhaps over long after the other was done speaking, waiting for more information to be provided. When none was forthcoming, he raised a brow at the other man knowing and hating that he was going to have to invest himself by daring to ask the question that was literally being dangled in front of his nose.
“Well, that was blunt alright, but unhelpful.” He knew the name rang a bell, but the other seemed to be wanting to dodge the matter of just who he was even if he wasn’t avoiding what he was. Whether he would figure it out in time… he would just have to find out. “I’ll give you one thing, you’re certainly not Dickensian. But I’m going to need a bit more information than that before I agree to anything. Like just what these problems of yours are, and why you need my help.”
truth be told, there were many reasons as to why ky needed his help, but he couldn’t – no, he wouldn’t voice them. maybe if he trusted strange, he would have, but the problem was he didn’t. nor did he think he would anytime soon.
still, ky knew that this was his best chance. maybe it wasn’t exactly the smartest, but anything would have been better than simply repeating the same cycle several times over. what he truly wanted was control – though, he could do that later. more or less.
as for right now… he needed to get in the door. then he could actually try to explain things. though, there was no doubt in his mind that the other would eventually find out just who he was, and when that happened? well, he hoped the reaction wouldn’t be too… violent.
“since you know what i am… i think you can take a few guesses.” controlling his rage was something he hadn’t mastered, but it wasn’t the only reason he was here. no, the real reasons was that he was running, and the last thing he needed was to be sent back home. especially when he knew he’d face more than just a stern talking to if he ever returned.
a
part of him had always known that this conversation wasn’t going to
end with them returning to the helicarrier for the conversation that
needed to happen. something told him shield knew that and was why
they’d sent him out in the first place; they needed someone stubborn
to get him to come in on his terms and not theirs. except they’d left
out the part that he wasn’t dealing with someone he was used to
dealing with. there had already been too much blood shed given the
body still sitting in the alley and he wasn’t going to let things get
out of hand. unfortunately, steve didn’t think containing this
disaster was in the realm of possibilities.
of
course, there was always dragging him in. it wouldn’t be the first
time that he’d done such a thing. usually their enemies gave up long
before he had to drag them in but this kid refused. he knew; he knew
and it wouldn’t matter how long he ignored the inevitable he knew
that things were only going to get worse. it didn’t matter how long
he tried to avoid it, steve knew that this kid was only going to come
in through violence. and he hated himself for it. this wasn’t how he
wanted things to go and yet the kid was right; things were going to
get ugly.
“they
don’t have to.” in all his years working for shield he knew just
what they would do if they got their hands on this kid. even though
his mission was to bring him in, he couldn’t. not when the world
would only see him turned against their enemies. and it was a life
that no one deserved. steve would pay for this but it was a price he
was willing to pay to make certain that shield couldn’t turn this
into another situation where they had the upper hand in a situation.
but what other choice did he have? what could he do that wouldn’t
make the situation worse?
nothing.
if he dragged the kid in shield would make certain he got lost in the
system. he may not have agreed to his methods but neither could he
agree with the way shield handled things. “of course it’s my
choice,” he muttered, sighing out of frustration. it had always
been his choice. he’d just been avoiding the inevitable. “the
right one? dragging you in would only end in more chaos. helping you
get away leads to questioning my integrity. you tell me what’s the
right one.”
it was always one choice or another. being dragged in would only lead to far more death than necessary. going in willingly would just cause much larger problems. he knew the rumors of what shield did to people like him and that was the prime reason he was going to stay out of their grasp.
“the third option.” true, only two options were given, but there was always another way. at least… when he wanted there to be one. it wouldn’t be easy, nor would be entirely clean, but it wouldn’t just be letting ky go. no, this would be a slightly different outcome – even if it was more than just slightly dangerous. for the both of them.
“we make it look real,” among other things, “and it would look like you were forced to let me go.” it wouldn’t be clean – not by a long shot on either part, but it wouldn’t be letting him go nor would it be causing a massive amount of chaos. in-fact, all ky would do would be put up a decent fight – not the best, but maybe it could work… or not. it wasn’t exactly a well thought out plan -more of something ky thought potentially succeed with minimal effort on both their parts.
“it might not be the right choice,” he said, sliding his hands into his back pockets, “could even be the worst one, but…” just saying it would work would get them no where, but at the same time… what choice did he have? well, besides the obvious ones. “it’s better than simply running or facing shield.”
And what an end it was fated to be, filled with carnage and chaos and wasted life. No amount of nurturing could overwrite primal natures; the male was born savage, and it was a waste to try and think that he could be made tame with work and dedication.
Right arm rising to guard his chest, the blond turned sideways, leaning forward on his right foot, left side less guarded, ready to meet violence with violence. “If you truly believe that to be the case then you have already lost this fight.” He had tried to help and found his attempts unsatisfying. Ky wasn’t going to listen, conquer the doubts that clouded his mind. So he needed to switch up his plans to help him.
“You dread that which thrives within you, yet all that I see standing before me is a child. If you are so consumed with terror for the lack of control that your other form brings, set this beast before me so that I can help you conquer your fears.”
he may have lost the fight – maybe even the war with-in himself, but he wasn’t going to think on that. not when he could already tell that this coming transformation could possibly be his last. not that it mattered in reality, ky could spend most of his time in his grandfather’s realm if needed.
the fact of the matter was that his transformations usually took a toll. not physically of course, but mentally. he was stronger in it, but also weaker. he couldn’t focus… it was just a blind rage. a rage of a child.
thor was right though, ky was a child; he may have been an adult to humans, but to many of the realms he was still a child. one that got what he wanted… when he wanted and damned the consequences of his actions.
still, this was pure dread; he didn’t want to lose himself, not when he wanted to keep whatever was left of him int-act. though, it was getting to the point that it would happen either way.. especially since he never could say no to a fight.
“you really don’t want that,” he said, after some time. “if i set it lose… end it.”
Hellfirebound 