Tally Marks

Chapter 7 - I Know What I Saw

Steve knew that his ego should have been more bruised than his body, but he was too wired to care.  He had been taken off the field and had thanked Natasha as soon as he could for her quick thinking, but he waited for them to be in their rooms before he broke the news to them.  "Loptr is Loki," he said as Bruce applied an Asgardian healing salve to the worst of his injuries.  The doctor paused and all the other Avengers froze and looked at him.

"Maybe he gave you a hard knock on the head out there.  It's impossible for Loptr to be Loki," Tony said in response.  

"He's dead," Clint cut in and Thor winced.  

"How did he die, Thor?" Steve asked as he allowed Bruce to wrap his chest.

"He died during a battle against the Dark Elves on Svartlfheim.  He saved Jane Foster's life and when I was almost overcome, he stabbed the Kursed creature in the back.  He was then impaled for aiding me.  He died a hero; and then my father suddenly declared that he was no longer an Odinson, and his name was struck from Asgardian record and history.  It was most confusing and heartbreaking," Thor admitted.

"Thor, I saw him today; in the arena.  He was Loptr, fighting for the Grandmaster.  He is the Sakaarian champion!  His eyes are red instead of blue-" Steve started to say before Thor cut him off.

"Green.  My brother's eyes are green like our forests," Thor corrected.

"Then why were his eyes blue when I faced him in Stuttgart?" Steve suggested.  Everyone paused.  

"Wait, are you saying that Loki has naturally green eyes?" Tony queried.  Thor nodded. 

"He was always so proud of his emerald eyes," Thor said and that was when Steve snapped his fingers.  

"His eyes were the same color as Clint's and everyone else's when they were under the control of the Tesseract," Steve pointed out and Clint stood up, getting in his face.

"Don't!  Don't go there!" Clint threatened and Steve rose as well, wincing at the pain he was still in.  

"I am going there because it's really the only thing that makes sense.  Thor talks about a completely different Loki from the one we met.  How can two completely opposing forces be the same person?" Steve queried.  Clint muttered something and walked away.  "Somebody has to believe me!  I know what I saw!  Loptr was Loki!  He just had red eyes, and I saw wisps of white hair."

"I believe you, Steve," Natasha said, making everybody glance at her.  "The Grandmaster was being pretty cagey to your father, Thor, and that in itself is a red flag.  Means he knows what he's doing.  He wants something."

"The only thing he can hope to gain from this, if this Loptr is in fact Loki, is publicly disgracing my father before all of Asgard.  Even though he has erased Loki from the anals of Asgard, the people remember that I said he died with honor, avenging his queen and mother.  If he was revealed to be alive and fighting against us in these games, my father would be denounced as a liar.    Did you challenge Loptr?" Thor posed.

"I did.  I called him by his name but he said he didn't know who Loki was.  He insisted he was Loptr," Steve explained.

"He was probably lying," Clint cut in.  

"Did he suffer a traumatic head injury when he 'died' on Svartlfheim?" Bruce asked.  Thor shook his head.

"Nay, he was impaled through the chest with a spear," Thor answered.  Bruce stroked his chin.

"Do you actually believe all this?" Tony asked and Bruce shrugged.

"We all know amnesia exists and if the damage to the brain is severe enough, the mind will create it's own reality.  Was Loki's body recovered?" Bruce then suggested.  Before Thor could answer, there was a knock on the door and they opened, revealing Sif.