Aftermath (a BH6 crossover)

Chapter Sixty Two: About Time

When Loki pulled out of the memory Hiro had just showed him he couldn't help but feel drained, even though he knew he was still technically in the teen's mind. He'd never encountered anything like the Makt before and wasn't at all sure what to make of them. Since he'd been reliving the whole incident through Hiro's eyes, he only had that to go on. But even with that, he could tell the Makt were in a league all their own. At the very least, they put Odin to shame, which was saying something.

"Maybe you should take a moment after that," Hiro commented, looking no worse for wear, even though the Asgardian knew he'd relived the entire moment with him. That alone made him question just how much the teen had been through to treat this so casually.

Loki put out a hand and steadied himself on one of the metaphorical tables in Hiro's mental lab. "Perhaps you're right," he agreed. He didn't feel quite as weak as when he'd tried this before, though it was pretty close. But if such a memory could reduce him to such a state, had Hiro really used all of his energy to fling him out of his mind earlier? If so, that didn't bode well at all. To say he'd been shocked would be an understatement. Perhaps that was the real reason behind his weakness. Yes, that had to be it.

Hiro pulled out a rolling stool and sent it Loki's way. "I wasn't kidding when I said maybe you should take a moment. I know we're technically inside my head, but you look as pale as I did back then."

The continued pressing threw out the idea that it had merely taken the god of mischief by surprise, though he'd really liked the idea. Unfortunately, that didn't seem to be the case, though it was no less disconcerting to, once again, note that Hiro didn't seem fazed by it at all. He accepted the stool and sat heavily upon it.

"I can only imagine you weren't this calm when events took place," Loki stated, ignoring the potential need to put his head between his knees. He hadn't gotten to see the aftermath of the memory, just to the point where he'd returned to the Doctor's TARDIS, and therefore only had everyone else's story to go off of. But, if he recalled correctly, Hiro had been quite weak after the fact, though part of that might have been from the injuries he'd sustained prior to the event.

The teen shrugged. "I've learned to take most things in stride," he stated as he leaned against the same table Loki had only moments before, though he didn't look like he needed the support. "The memories that still get me every time are the repeated timelines and putting the Universe back together. They're more recent and I don't think I've finished processing them. Honestly, I'm not sure how long that will take either, because there are a lot more than most people realize."

An almost wry smile that wasn't really a smile but more a grimace crossed Loki's face. "I wouldn't be surprised," he said, trying to wrap his head around the idea. From everything he knew, it was only because of the Makt that Hiro had been able to keep going back in time, over and over again, to try and "fix", or at least change, the moment of his brother's death. Part of him couldn't help but wonder if he'd do the same for Thor, then decided that, even though his adoptive brother was a pain, he'd probably give it a go if he'd been as naïve as Hiro'd been at the time.

"I think that might be more than enough for one excursion," Loki decided. Normally, the memories of others didn't take him so strongly, not when he was the observer of them. He usually just got a good look into their minds. But this was something different. He generally didn't delve so completely into any memory that wasn't his own. The fact that Hiro had that ability certainly made things more interesting, though he supposed he should have realized that from their initial attempt. Why it had taken so long was a mystery, but he supposed it was merely a matter of the shock of the encounter.

Hiro nodded in a vague way, looking off to one side like I heard something from outside of the room. "I think you're right. I hear someone coming."