Loki's New Endgame

Chapter 9

Loki lies down in his mother's lap for a long time. He can hear the commotion of the world's heroes as they try to sort out what to do next, but he doesn't pay it much mind. He just wants to stay here until he withers away and dies.

"Hey, Lok—" Tony cuts himself off. "Are you okay?"

Loki is very much not okay, but while he's admitted that to some people, he's not overly eager to admit it to Tony Stark, so he avoids the question. "What do you want?"

"Uh..." Tony blinks at that, but he decides not to press. "Where's the Gauntlet? Cap's gonna take the Stones back."

"I don't know," Loki says.

"You don't know," Tony repeats, dumbfounded. "You do not know where the Gauntlet is. You lost the Infinity Stones."

Loki rolls his eyes. "I quite literally have not moved since I destroyed the Chitauri. Whatever happened to the Gauntlet, it is not my problem; it is yours."

Tony groans. "Fine, I'll find it myself."

Loki assumes he walks away after that. He's not entirely sure. He can't really see anything from this position, and he's not eager to move.

When Frigga speaks, she does so without judgement, which is more than Tony could say. "Do you truly not know where the Infinity Stones are?"

"I don't," Loki admits. "Somebody took the Gauntlet from my hand. I haven't seen it since."

"Do you know who had it?" Frigga asks. "I don't believe the Infinity Stones to be something we want to lose, even among allies."

"I haven't the slightest idea," Loki says.

"Then I suppose we should help them find it," Frigga says.

Loki sighs. "I really do not want to move," he says quietly. "Everything hurts. The mere thought of moving pains me more than I can say."

"You'll have to move eventually," Frigga reminds him. "Unless you plan to spend the rest of your life on the ground," she adds teasingly.

Loki looks up at her hopefully. "Could I?"

Frigga laughs softly. "Unfortunately not," she says, "but if you would like to lie here for a while longer, I will gladly stay with you."

Loki gives her a small smile. "Thank you."

Frigga kisses the top of his head, and, content, Loki melts into her arms. He really could stay here forever. It certainly seems more appealing than getting up.

Actually, he might know who has the Gauntlet...

Loki presses his hands against the ground and tries to push himself up. He's hardly left the ground when he feels that excruciating pain in his back, impossibly worse than it had been before, and he has to stop.

"Loki, are you alright?" Frigga asks quickly.

"I may have to spend the rest of my life on the ground," Loki says. "I don't know that I can move."

"Unfortunately, that's not an option," Frigga says sympathetically. "But I imagine we'll have a while to wait until everybody else leaves. We can stay here until then."

Loki sighs. "I think lying here has made it more painful to move," he admits. "I should probably try to stand before I lose the ability to." If he hasn't already.

"Would you like help?" Frigga asks.

"Please?"

Frigga carefully slides her leg out from under his head and stands up in front of him. She holds her hands out and he reaches out to take them. Even just doing that hurts.