the strongest avenger (2)

ninety seven

Tony's face reminds me of the one he made when Peter snuck onto Maw's ship all those years ago. Very similar. There are actually many faces that resemble this.

"I thought you died." Steve says, brows furrowed in confusion.

"Yes, yes I did. But while you all played with time, it ended up messing up a little." The god says.

"Get to talking before you're arrested." Tony glares at him and his fingers twitch.

I can tell he's struggling to not call a suit to him.

We listen as Loki explains the hole in time, evident by Tony messing up when we were getting the stones back. He explains the TVA, which I actually didn't know about, and how him and Sylvie are 'variants' of the Loki that we know. Apparently, they had fought against the TVA and ended up going to the end of time, meeting He Who Remains. But instead of killing him and screwing up everything, they decided to take the deal at returning to the world, consequence-free.

It's all a little confusing.

When him and Sylvie are done explaining, we're all a little...shocked.

"So..." Natasha breaks through the silence. "you guys are here to...be free?"

Loki considers this, his head tilting to the side. "Yes. But we need to find Thor."

"He's not here right now." I say, leaning onto Bucky's chair a little. "We can call him and tell him to come."

"Where is he?"

"New Asgard." I state.

Loki's brows furrow.

"I can get in touch with Valkyrie." Bruce suggests from the head of the table. "Thor's not good with phones, only his gaming stuff."

"That is true." I mumble.

"When will he get here?" Loki asks.

"Not for a few days at the most." Bruce explains. "We can get you guys set up in the spare bedrooms for now."

I glance at Tony, glimpsing into his mind to see that he is not happy about them staying here...and I can understand that. I wasn't here during the 2012 attack, well sort of. I never really met Loki until him and Thor went to see Doctor Strange. And yeah, he was kinda rude, but he wasn't violent towards me.

But my friends witnessed a man who literally wanted to dominate Earth. So I can understand and respect their concern.

Wanda, being a nice host and the friendliest, takes Loki and Sylvie to the guest rooms while I sit back down in my seat next to James.

"Why, exactly, are we letting them stay here?" Tony asks, his hands pressed firmly on the table.

"They seemed genuine." I say. "And I believe they want to find Thor and be happy or whatever."

"It's only for a few days." Bucky speaks up from next to me. "What's the harm?"

"The harm?" Tony's voice raises a little. "He's a murderer."

"So are we." I state, challenging him.

"It's different."

"Look, while they're here, we can use it to our advantage." I explain, hoping to ease Bruce's wariness and Tony's anger.

"How so?" Natasha asks.

"They're powerful. They can help us end Hydra. You know a final attack is coming up." I send her a pointed glance.

"But that requires them to be here longer..." Tony states.

"Look, we can deal with them for a month while we finish up with the facilities. We've hit our groove, so it's only a matter of time before we start using my friendship as an advantage. Think about it, Thor, Loki, and Sylvie...they would help. A lot."