♤The Conqueror's Dagger♤

~Chapter 12: The Illuminati~

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He was unsure of how long he'd been asleep for. Or what day it was. All he knew was that he felt like shit. His eyes opened slightly, greeted by a bright light. He groaned, putting a hand over them, blocking the light out. He removed his hand then looked to the side of him. Glass. Glass, glass, and more glass. Where was he? He put two hands to his head, trying to put the pieces of the puzzle together. He tried to recall what had occurred that led him to this moment, and was infuriated when he found a blank instead. Once he was able to get a hold of himself and stand on both legs, he was able to get a clearer look at his foreign surroundings. Glass on all sides. The floor seemed to be made from an unfamiliar looking metal. The roof of the space was also glass. He turned behind him. There, from outside the glass were a group of people gathered in clusters, poring over a screen, pointing at whatever was on it, too far for him to hear. Loki looked back up at the glass ceiling, his breath beginning to grow fast and shallow. "Don't bother." Loki looked back down to see the voice. It was a woman dressed in a pale blue outfit. She was wearing pale blue head to toe. Her wine red hair was pulled back from her face and fell past her shoulders. Her eyes were a dark green-blue and slathered with eyeliner. Her nails were polished a pale pink and gleamed under the light. Two diamond studded flowers were in her ears. To complete the ensemble, a coat similar to one you'd see on a scientist rested on her shoulders. "I beg your pardon?" Loki furrowed his brow. "I said, if you're thinking of escaping, don't bother. That glass is 14 inches thick. If you break it, it could potentially maim someone." Loki narrowed his eyes. The face was so familiar... those annoyingly concerned and cool eyes... that voice- "Christine?" The woman's face turned to one of confusion. "How do you know who I am?" "Well..." He struggled to find the right words. "Why am I in this cell?" He asked instead. Christine shook her head. "It's to clear of any possible toxic microbes entering the environment. Radiation from a blast, for example." "I know this won't change anything, but I just came from a place remotely far from civilization." "Not to sound rude or anything, but you just traveled through the multiverse." Oh. So everyone knew. "How do you know?" "Well, we're not fools. We're kept up to date on pretty much everything." "I wish my previous captors were as nice to my daughter and I. Though I must say, they did allow me to keep my shoes and clothes," he spoke, staring down at his bare feet and new clothes. "We removed them to scan them for any microbes that  could potentially be a threat to the general populace." "My, your research is intense, isn't it?" "As is life." "I suppose so," he fiddled with the hem of his tunic. "Wait. You said you had a daughter?" Loki looked back up at her as if only then realizing she was there. "I do." "Wait a minute- Loki?" Loki was saved from answering by the doors to the lab being opened. Christine stepped away and turned her attention to the front of the room. Mordo entered, a group of Ultron soldiers trailing after him. His dark eyes were narrowed at the god. "The Illuminati... will see you now," he finished after a dramatic pause. Loki tilted his head to the side. "Who?"
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The first thing Loki was greeted with when he exited the cell was a pair of handcuffs linking his hands together and steely grips on his biceps. As he was led from the lab, he could feel Christine's eyes on him. But he couldn't turn around. The floors were cool and chilled his feet. He was led through a wide space where an odd statue carved from an unidentifiable metal stood proudly in it's center. He was led up a flight of majestic marble stairs, barely catching a glimpse of the artifacts and objects he was passing as the Ultron guards pulled him along roughly, causing him to slip. They finally reached a pair of double doors. Mordo turned to him, his hands clasped in front of him. "Now. Do not speak unless spoken to. Do not look them in the eyes. And don't interrupt when they speak." "Wait. Who's they?" Mordo didn't answer as he pushed the door open slowly, the Ultron guards pulling him along. When they entered, Loki immediately knew this was to be no ordinary trial. A platform of people rose up above him, the slanted windows shining more light on them. A group of people wandered along the platform, finding their respective seats. Loki didn't have time to drink in what he was seeing before being shoved towards the platform again. Once the beings took their seats, Mordo nodded at the Ultron guards who exited the room, and pulled the doors closed behind them. "Your honors, presenting the prisoner." Loki bit down on his lip and swallowed a snarky remark. "I call this gathering of the Illuminati to order! Present are: Captain Peggy Carter, the defender of the Americas." Loki looked disdainfully to see Peggy clad in patriotic gear, her brown eyes blazing. "Reed Richards of the Fantastic Four, the smartest man in our group," Mordo gestured to a thin wiry man with dark hair salted with white and a soft face. "Captain Marvel, defender of the cosmos," he turned to a woman with cropped hair and a cool and composed figure. "And Black Bolt." Towards the end, a man with a somber face and what looked like a fork attached to his head looked down at the god. Captain Marvel peered at him, her eyes betraying no emotion. "He doesn't look like a Loki," she commented. "Well, that's more likely to make him one," Peggy joined in. "He was in a cell for 2 hours. Let's leave him alone," Reed chimed in. He leaned forward, bracing his elbows on the arms of the chair he was sitting on. "I understand you may be confused and maybe even a bit disoriented, Loki. But we just need a few questions answered." "Am I confused? Yes. Disoriented? No. Confused as to why costumed beings are holding me captive? Yes." Captain Marvel narrowed her eyes at him. "This one's more arrogant than we've been told." Peggy shook her head. "Perhaps so. But we still need him to give us our answers." She turned back to him. "Loki. We've noticed a sudden... change in the multiverse. A disturbance." Loki swallowed past a lump in his throat. "Don't know anything about that- don't see how I can help you," he said, trying to pass off as calm as possible. "Oh, we believe you can," Captain Marvel put in. Reed looked at him with a heartbreakingly sympathetic look. "This is going to be difficult to hear." "But, he needs to hear it nonetheless," another voice joined in. All Loki could see was a blur of yellow flashing by him. "Ah. Here he is. And last but not least, the final member. Charles Xavier." An elderly man presented himself, his eyes kind as was the small smile on his face. "I must apologize for the inconvenience. Mordo is a bit... rusty with his taking in those for questioning." 'Rusty. Sure.' "Now, I'm sure you're wondering why you're here." "Yes, that would be nice to know." Reed cleared his throat, and all the members looked to Charles who spoke with a sudden shift in his tone. "From beyond the cosmos and the universes, and far beyond the stars, we heard a cry. A human cry." "It was a plea for help," Peggy took over. Loki felt an uneasy feeling grow in his gut. "And?" "It was the voice of a girl," Captain Marvel stated. Peggy drew on a breath. "It was your daughter's." Loki felt a wave of dizziness wash over him, and found an Ultron guard gripping his arm and keeping him upright. "Better?" Xavier asked. When Loki nodded, the older man went on. "We have, of course, very little knowledge of the situation. But we have knowledge about you and your family." "How?" Xavier only gave him his small smile again as if he were a precocious child and said nothing. "Do you mind telling us what has occurred?"
Loki took a breath, and dove into the story from the beginning. How they'd gotten to the TVA in the first place. Meeting Sylvie. Finding out the entire illusion. Sprite being sick. And then her escape. When he was finished, his chest rose up and down rapidly, and he couldn't face the members for fear that he may have sounded crazy to them. "I know how it sounds," he said in a shaky voice, "But you have to believe me when I say I need to get to them. My daughter she's- she's the only thing I have left. And Sylvie..." his voice trailed off as a pair of storm-colored eyes filled his vision, causing him to clutch the hem of his tunic tighter. Xavier leaned forward. "May we ask, who this unknown enemy is?" All the member's eyes were spotlighted on him. Loki knew that if he spoke Kang's name aloud, that they would most likely think he truly was insane and would decrease his chanced of ever going. But he knew what he had to do. "He-Who-Remains." Reed Richards paled. "Your daughter went to the lair of He-Who-Remains? On her own?" Peggy and Captain Marvel exchanged wary looks, while Black Bolt directed his gaze to the floor. Mordo looked as if he'd been struck, while Xavier's face remained unchanged. "That is certainly a dangerous thing for such a young child to do." "Then understand why I need to help them both." Xavier clutched the arms of his mechanic wheelchair. "Tell me. What would you do to rescue them both?" "Anything." "Anything?" "Without a moment's hesitation. I would sell my soul to the demons of Hel and receive hate from the gods in Valhalla if I have to. I will throw myself into the Great River of Asgard and drown there. Anything, truly anything to see them." Silence. Now, everyone looked to Xavier, waiting to see how this reaction would get through to him. He leaned back, a smile on his face. "There are not many who face pressing situations like yours that would have such a strong will. But you... you are willing to make that risk, even if it means throwing everything else in life away. Luckily, you will not need to drown or maim yourself. We still have your TemPad and will return it to you." He turned to Mordo. "Release him." Mordo looked at him with a wide eyed look. "But, sir-" "Release him and return his TemPad," he continued as if Mordo hadn't spoke. The sorcerer closed his mouth. "Yes, sir." He produced the machine and the mechanism to remove the handcuffs, and pressed the button on it, releasing him. He handed him the machine begrudgingly. "Thank you. I cannot express this enough," the words came out in a tumble from Loki's mouth. "Go. Find your daughter and Sylvie." "Thank you." "And, Loki?" He waited. "Remember when it's done, you will always have a home here." Loki couldn't help then and there the smile that spread on his face. "Thank you." He typed in the coordinates on the TemPad, and once the portal appeared, he immediately stepped through it, and disappeared. Silence was the only sound in the room as everyone stared at the place he'd been in. "Did he really leave without his shoes?" Reed spoke up.