Sacrifice | Loki

Damage of Deception

"Loki, no!"

The words erupted from my lips in a near roar as the body of Phil Coulson hit the cold hard floor of the helicarrier. Only a day after our previous conversation, the trickster had escaped his cage and now hovered his hand over the button that would send his previous cell down to crash into the earth, with Thor inside.

"Sorry darling," Loki grinned maliciously before slamming the button as I raced towards him, both of my hands equipped with daggers.

"Phil," I choked, stopping right before the god and his threatening scepter to glance down at the man who's blood was rapidly repainting the floor.

I looked hopelessly at the God of Mischief and the scepter which glared tauntingly in the low lights of the room.

"Monster," I spat in rage, glancing back at my dying comrade.

The god's gaze darkened at the word, but a maniacal gin quickly spread across his pale face and his eyes darkened. The change made my heart sink further as I stood beneath the analytical gaze of the god before me. After taking a deep breath, I dropped my hands to my side and stalked up to Loki until the end of the weapon barely pierced my skin. A drop of blood trickled down my chest and Loki tilted his head curiously before leaping back only for me to grab the scepter, holding him in place. For a moment, I reached out to his mind with my own, however; I was greeted only with the presence of Thanos and an overwhelming feeling of toxic power.

"It's obvious neither of us are leaving until one of our breathing comes to a permanent end," I explained, backing away with a shrug.

I searched Loki's blue eyes for any signs of remorse or understanding, but found nothing other than malevolence. With a groan, I readied myself as the god looked on observantly.

"I did always beat you during training," I joked halfheartedly, wishing I had armed myself with my scimitars rather than the small daggers that were currently in my grasp.

"You rivaled even Thor," he mused with a smirk.

"Back when he was more of an oaf, he's grown smarter. Unfortunately you haven't," I said tiredly, stepping sideways as Phil raised his weapon weakly towards us and fired it.

I watched wistfully as Loki flew backwards into a wall, crashing through it. After giving a sympathetic wince in the god's direction, I knelt beside Phil.

"I'm so sorry. I should have come sooner," I said quietly, taking his bloody hand in my own.

"Don't be. That boyfriend of yours sure has some bite," he groaned, his eyelids drooping.

I shook my head at his joke and attempted to inspect the wound but the blood made it impossible. I called for immediate medical attention but people were preoccupied with the Hulk who was now loose and angry on board.

"Give him a slap for me when this all blows over and you two are up in Asgard somewhere," he laughed, a sharp intake of breath making me groan hopelessly.

"Coulson," the voice of Nick Fury called out as the man himself approached us to kneel beside the fallen agent.

I watched in quiet agony as Phil took his final breath with the director kneeling beside him. With a shaky breath, I spoke into my radio.

"Agent Coulson is down," I choked, quickly turning it off when the message was complete.

As Fury continued to kneel beside the fallen body, I glanced in the direction of the hole Loki had so graciously made in the wall. To my dismay, he was gone. As I stood beside Nick Fury, I took in the damage my former friend had wrought upon the people of Earth. He had killed a political leader for his eye, terrified crowds of people, unleashed the Hulk on some of the SHIELD agents, sent Thor crashing who knows where, and killed one of my closest friends who was one of the most loyal agents SHIELD was capable of having.

Yet despite all of this, I could not hate him. The memories of his smile that had appeared frequently back on Asgard when we spent time in the library or pranked the guards together rolled through my mind like a bad after credits scene, or a eulogy. More so a eulogy of the man that he was. Unfortunately, I began to doubt the idea that the old Loki would ever return fully. Even if Thanos' presence was eradicated from his mind, Loki would have to live with the consequences his actions and those of the purple alien.

A hand on my shoulder brought me back to reality, making me snap my gaze from the hole to the owner of the appendage: Nick Fury. We gave each other a slow nod and his eye seemed to hold a kind of understanding as the gunshots finally came to an stop. When the ship finally stabilized, I strolled to the conference room with a facade of optimism knowing that the Avengers would be disheartened by the recent events as much as I had been. As Loki crossed my mind, my most prominent frustration was my inability to track down Gamora or Nebula: Thanos' daughters.