Loki Misses the Asgardian Prison System

Chapter 96

Loki takes a very long, very cold shower.

He has never felt better.

When he's done with that, he does exactly what he said he wouldn't.

He goes to spy on the Avengers.

He sits down on his bed, clad in pajama pants and a Taylor Swift T-shirt he got for Christmas, a towel wrapped around his still-damp hair. He could dry it fairly easily if he wanted to. It's simple magic. But he doesn't. It's a waste of magic, and if he has the tower to himself, he sees no reason not to sit around like a hot mess for a while.

He closes his eyes and projects his consciousness to the Avengers. He keeps himself hidden from view. He knows damn well that he wouldn't be welcome here. They made that very clear.

The six of them are all seated on a ship. He has no idea where they're going. He has no idea what they're doing. Nobody's speaking, instead sitting together in solemn silence. Loki can only handle a minute or two of it before he leaves. That's boring.

So he tries something else. He decides to look for Harley instead. They haven't gotten to talk for a month or two. Now could be a nice time to reconnect.

Except that Harley's a child and today is a weekday, so he's in school.

Loki sighs and returns to his room. Great. There go his plans for the day. He can't believe he struck out twice. He hates having the tower to himself. It's so boring.

Although if he can think of any pranks to pull with his limited knowledge of Midgard-centric jokes, now would be the time.

Or...

He closes his eyes again. One more try. One more person to visit. One more attempt at entertainment at the expense of someone else.

It's time to check on Bucky Barnes.

He finds the former assassin in a small, rundown apartment, relaxing on the couch and munching on an apple. He looks... content. Not happy, but content, and that alone is a big step up from the last time Loki saw him.

Loki reveals himself, and any contentment Bucky may have felt disappears in an instant.

Loki gives him a smile. "Hello, James."

Bucky narrows his eyes, sitting up straight and planting his feet on the floor as if he could possibly outrun an illusion.

"You seem to have made yourself at home quite nicely," Loki remarks.

Bucky leans forward, clasping his hands in front of him. "What do you want, Loki?"

"Nothing," Loki says with a shrug. "The Avengers left. I have nobody else to bother, which makes you the unfortunate subject of my boredom."

Bucky raises his brows. "Where did they go?"

"I haven't the slightest idea," Loki admits. "They don't trust me very much. I've done nothing but help them for more than a year, yet that one day I tried to kill them and take over their world holds more significance to them." He rolls his eyes. "Humans are truly ridiculous."

Bucky doesn't seem nearly as disturbed by that as he'd hoped. All he does is ask, "Why did you do that?"

"Much for the reason you did what you've done," Loki replies simply.

Bucky studies him for a few moments. "Somebody was controlling you."

Loki gives him a small smile. We're the same, it says. You're not alone. But all he says aloud is, "You could say that."