Loki Misses the Asgardian Prison System

Chapter 85

"Okay, seriously, Loki, what do you think you're doing?"

"I don't know!" Loki says defensively. "I don't know what I'm supposed to be doing!"

"You know what you're supposed to be doing?" Tony asks. "Anything but this!"

Bruce sighs and pauses their game. "Okay, Loki, what do you not understand?"

"The controls," Loki says. "I know how they work, but only if I take the time to think about it, and there is not enough time to think about it." He doesn't understand how everyone has every single button memorized, like it's just instinct to hit them when they need them. They made this look so easy.

"Loki, these are the most basic controls the video game world has ever known," Tony tells him.

"Well, to be fair," Bruce says, "I don't think he's ever played a video game before."

"Thank you," Loki says indignantly. At least somebody understands.

"Do we want to go back to the first level again?" Bruce asks.

"We just did the first level," Tony whines.

"Yes, and then we skipped a few dozen more," Loki reminds him. "I would very much like to return to the first level, preferably before I lose all of Romanoff's lives."

Tony snorts. "Yeah, she's gonna be pissed when she gets back."

Bruce sighs. He slips the Wii remote strap off of his wrist and holds it out to him. "Would you like to play mine instead? I have more than enough lives for the both of us."

"Oh, don't do that," Tony says. "I want to see her reaction when she gets back and realizes she's almost out of lives."

"Yeah, I don't want to see that," Bruce says. "Loki, take my remote. You can be Toad now."

They trade remotes, and it's uncomfortably warm in his hand. He does his best to ignore that. Tony returns to level one so they can start fresh, but before they do, JARVIS cuts in.

"Sir, you have a text message from Agent Romanoff."

"Aw, how cute," Tony coos. "She's thinking of me while she's on her mission."

Loki rolls his eyes.

"What'd she say?" Tony asks.

"She said, 'Nick Fury is dead.'"

There's a sharp shift in the atmosphere while the three of them process that.

He's... dead?

Nicholas Fury is dead?

He's almost inclined not to believe it. Nick Fury doesn't die. He can't die. Hell, Loki had been convinced he would outlive all of the Avengers, Thor excluded for obvious reasons. He's too smart; too resourceful. To go out so suddenly like that? He almost doesn't buy it.

Tony seems to be having the same thought. "Is this a joke? Or a dare of something?"

"I have no reason to believe it is anything but truthful," JARVIS says.

Tony lets out a long breath. "Wow." He puts his remote down on his lap and clasps his hands together. "That's..."

"Unreal," Bruce finishes for him.

"Do you think it was work-related?" Tony asks. "I mean, I know SHIELD has no shortage of enemies, but..."

"I don't know," Bruce admits. "I mean, if Nat told us, maybe her mission, you know..."