Loki After Endgame: Cheating Death

Chap 3: The Good Doctor

A chill goes up my spine, as Loki cringes next to me. I swallow hard, then shake it off as I regain my composure. "So is this supposed to be some kind of spooky metaphor, or..."

"Death does not like to be stolen from. She will come for him." He replies matter-of-factly, crossing his arms over his chest.

"He's the God of mischief. I'm sure he can handle himself." I snap "So stop fucking underestimating us!!"

Us? Did I just say that aloud? I'm not sure why I referred to Loki and I, as an us. I stare at Strange warily, wondering if he noticed the slip.

Dr Strange titles his head, his eyes questioning me. Oh, yeah, he noticed all right. Then he turns towards Loki and sighs, his demeanor suddenly calm.

"You should have left him alone." He adds sadly, seemingly deflated. "He is a murderer after all."

"Aren't we all?" I snap.

Dr. Strange's head swivels back to me and he looks me sternly in the eye. "Give me your ring." He commands extending his hand.

"What?! but, I earned thi-"

"You have proven you can't be trusted with the sling ring." He waves his hand and the ring vanishes from my finger and reappears in his open palm.

"And, both of the suits you stole from Avengers HQ."

I pull both time travel suits out of my backpack and hand them over. I never intended to keep them anyways.

"Master Wong should never have agreed to train you. There will be no more lessons for you, you're under house arrest... Until you earn back my trust."

"And as for you," his voice grows colder as he turns to face Loki. "I will contact Thor and let him know that he needs to return to earth promptly and take you away. Until then," he narrows his eyes, "do not imagine for one moment that you can escape me."

Then he casts a quick spell, and Loki vanishes from sight.

Unnerved, I ask hesitantly, "What did you do with him?"

"He's upstairs, locked in the guest room, with an enchantment he will not be breaking out of anytime soon."

Relief surges through me and my shoulders sag. I hadn't realized I was clenching them so tightly. A large part of my plan hinged on Strange's reaction to my scheming. I hide a small smile and keep my gaze lowered. Upstairs works perfectly.

Then he adds, his tone stern, "You will be in charge of bringing him his meals. I've made it so that only you and Thor can go in and out of his room. Therefore, you will guard him until Thor arrives and retrieves him." His voice softens, "Can I at least trust you with that Kamilla?"

I nod resolutely. "Of course, Dr. I'll make sure he doesn't get out and that he doesn't hurt anyone."

"See that you do. Now, wait here for a moment." He turns quickly and teleports to the library. Then returns a minute later and adds matter-of-factly, "Thor will be here within the week. If Loki gets out during that time and murders anyone. Their innocent blood will forever be on your hands. Understood?"

I nod silently, my eyes still downcast.

He continues glaring at me then sighs, rubbing his eyes tiredly. "Now, I have to go clean up your mess. Your job begins immediately." And with that final command, he summons a portal and steps through it.

I let out a pent up breath as soon as he's gone and stomp into the kitchen. "Well, that could have gone better." I mutter to myself.

I thought he might be mad, but I didn't expect him to take away my ability to teleport. I've been so focused on planning every possible moment, but I didn't expect to lose my ring. I earned that ring! I sigh, my chest burning in indignation. If I don't find a way to get it back, it's going to make things very difficult. My mind roams over everything I just accomplished. "I just brought someone back to life!" I say quietly, marveling with pride.
I proved that I could do exactly what the Avengers did! All on my own, without any mistakes that might fracture our timeline. Even though Strange refuses to acknowledge how impressive it is that I pulled this off with only a week of planning, I'm still immensely proud of myself.