Loki's Pain

Chapter Twenty-Four- Strange Arrives

Ash sat in the glass-fronted cell, watching as the Avengers tried to help, while locked inside his own mind. Two months had gone by, and Loki had grown weaker by the day. Ash was almost frantic with worry, and felt entirely helpless. But the worse Loki became, the harder Ash fought back, until one day his pinky twitched. It felt different than when Thanos was controlling him, so Ash tried again.

It wiggled. Ash's mind practically screamed in utter glee at this success, and that led to a second realization....Thanos couldn't hear his thoughts. When Ash looked back, despite frequently hearing his voice in his mind, everything that the voice had commented on was about things he could see and hear, or infer from a visual or auditory clue. So Thanos had been able to see thru his eyes, and hear thru his ears, but he couldn't read his thoughts. So he thought about what had allowed him control, and realized it was only his emotional disturbance that had allowed him access.

Ash realized then that he might be able to do the same. If he could torment Thanos, he might create a crack in his control, if he did that he might be able to get back into the drivers seat. So he tried it. 'Hey Thanos? You hear me big boy?' He taunted, and he felt Thanos's consciousness shift with intrigued interest. 'So, you figured out how to chat...interesting...' Thanos stated, his tone like that of a father noticing his child's accomplishment.

'Yeah, I did. And you? What have you accomplished beyond petty torment? Do you really think you'll keep control of me for much longer?'.... Right then he noticed another discrepancy, and decided to comment further, and...'you have no control at all of my higher powers, do you? If you did you'd have used them by now... Even what you did manage was what? A single teleport that covered about five feet....pitiful!'

Ash made sure his laughter could be heard by Thanos, and he could feel Thanos's rage growing. He also noted how Thanos's control weakened along with it, and he started pushing back at it. Still, Ash wasn't ready to tip his hand just yet, and made sure not to push too hard. He wanted Thanos to underestimate him.

'You are pathetic. Do you think I can't feel you in there, struggling against me. You are far too weak. If that was your best effort you will be sadly disappointed.' Thanos chided confidently, and after Ash faked an enraged scream in response, Ash smiled inside his head, knowing his ploy was working.

Still, there was something else about that voice and this situation that seemed odd to him, something not quite right. So Ash became determined to figure it out.

Right about then he saw Bruce and Natasha rushing thru the detention block, grabbing various items, and then heading out of sight. A few moments later they had returned with a tall, lanky man wearing a cape. His short brown hair had white streaks at the temples, and Ash wondered why he looked a tad familiar. When the man stepped up close to the glass, and Ash got a better look, he finally remembered him from when Loki had rescued him from Thanos.

"Oh, something pique your interest?" Thanos's voice asked, but Ash ignored it. He knew that Thanos couldn't feel much at all, a slight shift when he felt strong emotions, nothing more. The best Thanos could do is attempt to infer why. Unless he could get Ash to tip his hand by responding, and Ash wasn't about to do that.

"Thanos?" Dr. Strange asked, standing in front of the cell, "That's what they call you, anyway. Why have you possessed this boy?"

Thanos laughed, and Ash felt a surge of anger at being called a boy. He was an adult, after all. "Yes, Thanos works just fine. As for the boy, he's mine. He was stolen from me. So I took him back. It is only fair, right?" Ash felt his mouth stretch into a sly grin even as he forced his anger aside. Instead, he focused on what 'Thanos' had said. 'Thanos works'? Why would he say that if it really was his name? Is he called by a different name somewhere else? Or is this really Thanos at all? So he began to question everything.