Of Two Minds

Chapter 6 Part 2: Facing the Giant

TOM'S QUARTERS - After the meeting

Loki stared at the untouched food on his plate. He needed to eat something to keep up their strength, but tonight his appetite refused to cooperate due to the myriad of thoughts ricocheting around in his head.

True to his promise, Tom offered a listening ear. His projection appeared beside Loki on the couch. "The melancholy feels heavy tonight. What's on your mind?"

Looking up sharply, Loki blinked at Tom. "What?"

"Would you like to talk about whatever is bringing you down?"

"That's one way to get in your practice," Loki muttered.

"Yes. This is why we want me to learn how to cast projections." Tom tilted his head to the side thoughtfully. "Do you want to talk about what's on your mind?"

"There's no shortage of things on my mind," Loki admitted with a sigh, continuing to poke at his dinner.

The projection of Tom nodded. "With all that's happened, I don't doubt it. Some of the same things are doubtless on mine. Start wherever you're most comfortable."

"It's a question of practicality, not comfort," Loki suggested honestly. "We need to discuss today's events. The fact Jordan died by a knife blade immediately implicated me."

"I think both of us realized that, along with the rest of the room," Tom winced. "We agreed the other night there would be risks if we investigated what happened."

"Not only would the film and our mission be in danger, but both of us would also be in danger with me as the prime suspect." Loki speared a mushroom on his plate in frustration. "Only that insufferable little nanobot saved us from suspicion. Never thought I would be indebted to Tony Stark for anything."

Tom stifled his amusement knowing it would only annoy Loki more. "And until I have better control over the projection, they're not going to take my opinion seriously."

Loki snorted. "I doubt they will once you do. They probably think that you're somehow under duress."

Heaving a deep sigh, Tom nodded with a scowl. "They're right. Romanoff said as much, only more kindly than Fury and Stark have. Both of us are under the circumstances, but we're not letting it hold us back. While we agree that Stark and the rest of S.H.I.E.L.D. have absolute proof of your innocence, I still want to ask for the sake of argument." He raised an eyebrow. "What would have been your motive to kill Jordan?"

"I don't have one."

"That is something I thought of while the two of you were discussing the particulars of how it happened," Tom acknowledged, recalling as the men reviewed the clues over Jordan. "You weren't brought to Midgard until after the accident. If anything, you had a greater motive to protect Jordan as one of the people who saw what happened that day."

A light smile crossed Loki's face. "I appreciate your faith in me. Stark's word on my behalf is what I find surprising. I'm so used to being treated by Odin as the one to blame for everything that goes wrong that to have people, especially a hostile one like Stark, vouch for me is unsettling."

"Why is it unsettling?" Tom asked. "Go on, tell me more."

"It's an unfamiliar sensation and I'm not used to it," Loki admitted. "I don't trust when people stand up for me, so I look for an ulterior motive when they do. I'm still trying to figure out Stark's motive for speaking on my behalf today."

"He may simply be doing the right thing regardless of his opinion about you," Tom mused. "You're so used to negative attention that positive attention is foreign to you, and you're not sure how to react to receiving it."