un; thunderer | VIDEO

[worldsaway]

[When Thor switches the camera on, it's momentarily engulfed by his face before he sits himself back. Now that the frame isn't obscured, it's apparent that he's not the only one there. Both Lokis, Angela and Sif sit either side of him, all situated around a booth at some sort of diner.

Thor, naturally, is the first to start talking.]

It has come to light in one way or another that we could be considered Gods. [He's keeping it vague on purpose.] It is true, in a sense, that we are are not unlike higher beings. We are not mortals and we have powers and abilities beyond what many would be considered normal. The myths and the legends, however, are not precisely true.

[He just wanted to clear that up.] As such, we thought it would be prudent to offer our services in times of need. For missions or protections, we can be of use in many situations. You need only ask.

[He says we, but he largely means I.

Angela, for her part, doesn't look as opposed to the idea as she probably could.]

I will add that I will require payment for my services, but that can be negotiated at a later time.

[ She glances around the table at her siblings as if daring them to counter her.

The younger Loki leans into shot, finger raised. ]

Should you require an actual god, we come in that flavour too.

Comments

[dothelokimotion]

[ Loki huffs. He really hates this. ]

Loki.

[ He then points the others out in the rudest way possible. ]

Loki. Sif. Angela.

privateish

[krasnaya_vdova]

Loki. With the Chitauri.

[There's a touch of an edge to it, but it's not entirely accusatory.]

So-- What happened? How do you go from world domination to offering services for the masses?

[It seems like there's something going on here and she's at least interested, if he'll tell it.]

[dothelokimotion]

With a song and a dance in my heart.

[ Loki would point out that he technically hasn't offered anything. Thor's tone of voice makes it clear. ]

[krasnaya_vdova]

Oh, I'm sure.

So how does that work? You start an alien invasion, a lot of people die, and then you decide maybe people aren't so bad after all?

[The larger point is it's quite a different tone from the last things she remembered about him. Or well, the last thing Natasha remembered about him. Details.]

[dothelokimotion]

Oh, no, people are still terrible.

[ He sips his coffee placidly. ]

But thankfully, I am not a generic villain so I am blessed with the ability to work outside the box and even put world domination on hold.

[krasnaya_vdova]

I feel like you're missing the irony in having made a portal with a space relic so an alien army can invade Earth and then claiming to not be a generic villain.

[She's still angry, but unfortunately punching people through a phone line doesn't work.]

So that's still your endgame? Subjugation and ruin?

[dothelokimotion]

[ Well now. No ordinary person should know that. His interest has been piqued. ]

Is it? You seem to be well-informed for a person I have not met before.

[krasnaya_vdova]

[There's a small pause before she answers, because she'd been so agitated she hadn't realized how much she gave away. Shit.]

A couple years later I ended up with SHIELD, and I'm good with computers.

[These things are not in and of themselves lies, they're just not the answer to the question.]

You really think the story of an alien invasion on New York City is hard to put together?

[dothelokimotion]

Even SHIELD would not have mentioned the relic so boldly. And in the singular, no less. You were in their computers. I was in their head.

[ And Clint Barton was in the thick of it. Loki wouldn't have been able to manipulate SHIELD so easily without having a full grasp on how they work. Was there a hint of an accent? It sounds familiar. Loki plays a card to see where it leads. ]

Try another web, little spider.

[krasnaya_vdova]

[He's right, of course. She knew because she'd been in Natasha's head. She's not going to tell him that, but the spider comment hits a nerve. She flips the feed to video with a catch of her breath, too-bright eyes. If they're going to play this game--]

I met some of them, later. The Avengers. Enough to have heard the story, and about the Tesseract.

[Still not really an answer.]

[dothelokimotion]

Hmm. No.

[ Blunt and to the point. Her changing story lacks credibility. Still, he's surprised. Loki didn't expect the Widow to have a protege. Clearly the Avengers were breeding and shrinking the age in their ranks.

Loki wonders if he should keep going. As entertaining as this is, he has no patience for teenagers. Still, he misses the Window in a vague way. Unlike the rest of the Avengers, she was smart. ]

Didn't your predecessor teach you how this works?

[krasnaya_vdova]

If she did, do you really think you'd get an answer for free?

[She doesn't think he has anything worth the particular secrets he's after, however. Which is probably a good thing, at least for her.

She can pull at Natasha's skills and memories, but the social give-and-take is harder for her to mimic because they just see people in such different lights. And, well, Ava hasn't learned to be as patient, either.]

[dothelokimotion]

That's another no, then. Romanoff never stooped to base rhetoric like this.

[ How green. Loki makes a mental note of it. No doubt she's connected in some way, but it's clear even she's not sure of the connection or what to make of it. Perhaps another reality or some other strange case. Either way, he's not going to start any mischief when Thor is right there. ]

It might be best to run along, little spider.

[krasnaya_vdova]

And I'm not Natasha.

[If he's paying close enough attention there's a brief flicker in her eyes, almost a glow, though elsewise Ava pushes it down. Intentionally or not he almost manages to catch at the edge of something.]

Don't call me little spider.

[Though honestly she's not disappointed at the prospect of ending their conversation.]

[dothelokimotion]

No, you're not.

[ With that, he ends it. Disappointing. But teenagers always are. ]