Of Two Minds

Chapter 4 Part 1: Loki's First Day

TOM'S QUARTERS / AVENGERS: PRINCIPAL PHOTOGRAPHY - The next day

Loki ate a quick breakfast of fruit, eggs, and green tea before altering his appearance to match Tom's. He made certain that his eye color reflected Tom's precisely after it came up in yesterday's discussion. He remained grateful for how little he had to change, but there was still no sense in giving people any reasons to ask questions he didn't want to answer.

LOKI: I have a plausible story to tell anyone who wasn't on the set yesterday if they ask what happened to you.

TOM: That's probably a good idea since we need to keep it quiet. Whether it succeeds or not will depend on how much gossip was spread by the people who were there. Of course Jeremy, Samuel, and Jordan saw what happened up close and won't be fooled.

LOKI: Maybe with them, we should acknowledge it knocked us out, left us with a nasty headache, and say nothing more. Jeremy certainly accepted it.

TOM: I doubt we'll be able to improve that story.

The makeup artist who applied the Loki makeup and hair pieces looked up as Loki entered the room as Tom. Instantly her eyes widened to see him. "Tom! We heard you had a scare yesterday. Is everything okay?"

"Yes, thank you," Loki answered as he sat in her open makeup chair. "I overheated in the costume and blacked out. There were a lot of people worried for a while."

"Well, you be careful from now on, okay?"

Too easy, Loki thought to himself.

Loki and Tom conversed as the woman applied his film makeup and hairpieces. It began as casual conversation until Loki caught a glance at his reflection in the nearby mirror.

LOKI: Are you sure they know what they're doing?

TOM: Yes, why?

LOKI: At first I thought your waxy, dark-eyed look yesterday was an effect of the Tesseract. What I'm seeing in the mirror now tells me otherwise.

TOM: The character is being influenced by the scepter he wields, though he believes he is the one controlling it. He was tortured and partly brainwashed by Thanos for roughly a year, but that information is between us. That look is a clue to the viewer that he's been through horrific experiences.

LOKI: Are you serious?

TOM: It happened at a very vulnerable period in his life.

LOKI: Tell me more. We have time on our hands while she's working.

Loki expected Tom to launch into the full story of the character that he didn't get from Mobius, but instead Tom paused briefly before responding.

TOM: Not the time we need to do our conversation justice. Will you trust me?

LOKI: I have the sense from you I'm not going to like what I hear.

TOM: I'm sure you won't, if you come from the point on your timeline I suspect you do. I promise I'll tell you everything you need to know, but I want to wait until this evening when you have time to process it all properly.

Suspicious after both men dodged his questions, Loki attempted to find the information in Tom's memories. To his surprise, Tom blocked his entry.

LOKI: How did you do that?

TOM: You're not the only one who can access memories in your mind. I have access to yours as well, and I thought that trick would come in handy.