The Villain

powers II

Loki's connection to Tess faded by the hour.

He had watched her, walking up her stairs, almost able to reach out and speak to her. When she healed herself, he had been there.
A shadow, not more than that, but better than nothing.

Loki swore Tess had seen him then, and yesterday too, but maybe hope was betraying his judgement. Maybe he had tricked himself into believing she had stared directly at him, because he wanted it to be the truth.

Talking about truth, yesterday had proved quite the learning experience in Loki's eyes.

He never believed Midgardians so capable of seidr.
During his schooling he had been taught only very few Midgardians inherited seidr, back in the days when gods and mortals had much more...active relationships than nowadays. 

Of course, Loki had heard of exceptions - chaos was fond of exceptions, and so was he.
The fact that Tess was one of them only seemed suspiciously convenient. 

He should have known when Tess told him about a strange tingle in her fingertips and dreams she didn't understand - but Loki had underestimated that, believing it to be an echo of his seidr inside her mind. 

Surprise. Turns out, the mortal is a witch. Or... well, she could have been, if someone had bothered to teach her properly as a child - the little glimpse of her seidr too weak now to have any power of its own.

Maybe that was why she seemed so familiar back when he had first met her?

Loki hadn't worried much, when she accidentally healed herself. After all he had given the seidr he left with her a clear purpose. Protect her.

What he had back then believed to be a good idea to ensure her safety turned into a big problem yesterday when she had managed to bend his seidr to her own will. 

Someone must have guided her, someone who had a connection to the little seidr Tess seemingly had inhabitated; with enough power to talk to beings in other realms without being actively invited. 

It must have been someone so powerful his seidr gave in to Tess' wishes and healed that other Midgardian she was so fond of - Daniel or however his name was. 

The problem was, Loki knew only of one being able to undermine his seidr, subjugating it to melt away until it disappeared - leaving the carrier bare and defenseless with no place to flee to.
Loki knew how that felt.

He remembered it, how he couldn't breathe, how empty and worthless he had felt, like a part of his soul was just... gone. 

It had been a demonstration, or a warning, or a lesson, or however Thanos had called it. 

'You will not fail me, Asgardian. This is the price you will pay for failure.'

He would prefer death over ever feeling this empty again.

Loki had never planned to fail at his mission - Midgard was in desperate need of leadership and he was in desperate need of a realm to lead, so win-win for all. Except Thanos...

Served Thanos right - Loki wasn't especially fond of serving, especially not the way Thanos had intended. Also, torturing subjects always led to disloyalty - the Titan should have seen it coming.

Loki wasn't the first - and he wouldn't be the last to turn his back on him. Thanos had underestimated Loki's ambitions - and his seidr.

There was an immense power in being underestimated, if one knew how to take advantage of that, and Loki had learned to harvest that power from a very early age on.