Home | Loki [Book Two]

Chapter Fourteen

"I have to get off this planet," Loki said beside me, standing up to leave. 

"No!" I grabbed his sleeve to stop him. "You're staying. I don't care if you have post-traumatic stress disorder or something from the Hulk; the mission depends on you staying."

He swallowed nervously but sat down, consenting to stay. "Can the champions break through the glass?" he asked the Grandmaster.

"No one's ever tried," he laughed. 

"That's comforting," Loki mumbled. 

"We'll be fine," I started, but was interrupted by shouts from below. 

"Loki!" Thor, whose hair had been cropped short, was shouting. He looked oddly cheerful despite the dire situation. "Loki! Look who it is! He's a friend from work!"

"'You okay?" I asked Loki, who had turned an unhealthy shade of pale. 

"Can you end this quickly?"

"I can try." I knew from the legends that Mayhem--me--could make a situation more chaotic. Within my current memory, I'd never tried, but I knew I could. So, I concentrated on heightening the excitement of the battle. 

Thor was still talking cheerfully to the Hulk when said monster attacked him with a rage that challenged that of Natasha Romanoff's. Thor, feeling offended, fought back with a vengeance. 

After a few minutes of fighting, Thor had silenced the crowd's cheers when he flung the Hulk against the wall and sent him sliding halfway across the arena. 

We couldn't hear them, but Thor was talking quietly to the Hulk, doing something I had only heard was possible: a series of triggers that would turn the Hulk back into Bruce Banner. 

At first, it seemed to be working, but Hulk grabbed Thor by the arm and bashed him mercilessly against the ground of the arena. 

"Yes! That's how it feels!" Loki shouted, standing up. realizing his mistake, he said, "I'm just a huge fan of the sport." I looked at him questioningly but knew better than to say anything.

The battle was a constant state of back and forth; one would seem to have the upper hand before the other would shift the odds. 

It looked as if Thor would lose after Hulk began to punch him without stopping when a burst of lightning filled the arena, making the hair on the back of my neck stand up. Hulk was flung back by the energy emanating from his competitor. 

The Grandmaster, coming to the realization that his beloved champion was about to lose to a cocky stranger that looked like a pirate, leaned forward toward the glass. I knew what he was about to do. I didn't stop him, even though I knew the fight wouldn't be fair.

The crowd booed in disappointment when Thor was incapacitated by the device in his neck. I understood why they were angry, but the fight could have gone on for hours. 

"I say this calls for a celebration," the Grandmaster said, obviously drunk. "My champion continues to be undefeated!"

"For better or worse," Loki muttered before plastering a smile on his face and grabbing another drink for each of us. 

"It wasn't all that bad," I said cheerfully as I took another sip of the drink. "You go to see your brother get beat up."

"At least we won't have to deal with any more of those competitions. We'll be long gone before that."

"You don't want to stay?"

"Mayhem, we've been over this. We're leaving as soon as we find Valkyrie."

"We would be perfect here," I said, not noticing my words slurring together. 

"We have to save Asgard, remember?"

"Let Thor take care of that. I'm ready to call this planet home."

"Are you drunk?"

"No," I giggled. "Why would you think that?"

He took the glass from me and sniffed what little was left of the drink. He sighed. "I can't believe you."

"What?"

"This is the most potent alcohol known to the universe. A few sips are enough to make the strongest Asgardian drunk. You've had three glasses." 

"That explains why I feel foggy."

"We need to get you back to the West Tower."

"Why? All the fun stuff is here."

He sighed again. "You'll blow our cover or make a bad decision in your state."

"FIne." When I stood up, the world spun, so Loki ended up having to support me most of the way back. The Grandmaster was too far gone to care that we left early, so we didn't have to come up with another alibi.

"Why aren't you king of Asgard?" I asked. 

"Mayhem, we've been over this." In my drunk state, I hadn't realized that I was talking about a sore subject. "Thor is the firstborn."

"That's stupid," I objected drowsily. "You're smarter. And a better fighter. And more handsome. Handsom-er? How do you say that?"

"Alright, you're done." Loki set me gently on the bed. "Go to sleep."

"I don't sleep."

"Yes, you do. Not as much as you should, but you do."

"If you say so."

The sun very nearly blinded me when I woke up the next morning. 

Along with a rush of memories. 

I rolled out of bed, smoother the wrinkles in my dress, and walked to the main room, holding my head with one hand and the wall with the other. 

"Sleep well?" Loki, who was sitting by the window, said. 

"Did I seriously have an argument with myself about the proper comparative use of the word handsome?"

"I was wondering if you would  remember that."

I groaned and sat next to him, hiding my eyes from the sun in his shoulder. "I hate hanovers. And Hela. And myself. And--"

"You'll be fine." He put his arm around my shoulders and ran his fingers through my hair.

"Doubtful. I'm pretty sure the alcohol only hurt the process of memories returning gradually."

"What do you mean?"

"I just remembered something like a hundred and fifty years, which didn't help my headache. Also, I'm having trouble shapeshifting back into myself. And when I say trouble, I mean I can't."

"That's not good."

"Thanks, Captain Obvious."

Loki was interrupted by an announcement that came over the speakers. 

"Sakaar, hear ye," the Grandmaster said. "Attention, please. I have some bad news. My beloved, exalted champion has turned up missing. It seems that the criminally seductive Lord of Thunder has stolen him away. Take to the streets; celebrate my champion."

"He's an idiot," Loki said. "We had a plan. What happened to sticking to it?"

"He probably thought he found a better way out."

A series of loud knocks came to the door. "The Grandmaster requests your presence."

"Here we go again," I said.