The Avengers: Finding Young Loki

Immergence

Dokkalfar aimed the power of the Mind Gem at Loki, but the Hulk had already ensnared him in his huge, green hand.  He smashed him back and forth into the ground.  Loki just watched with a rather amused expression on his face, recalling when that had beend one to him.  When Hulk looked at him for approval, Loki gave him the thumbs up.  Loki then looked at his helmet.  “Loki!” Steve called up and Loki looked down at him.  “Be careful.  Please?” he asked.  Loki smirked and raised the helmet above his head again.

“I always am,” he said, right before he put it on.  A blinding light flashed and everyone was knocked back.  A green flame in the form of a tornado, tore its way up Loki’s body, and enveloped him completely, shielding him from their sight.  The fire spiraled up into the sky and finally, it exploded.  The Avengers had started to get up, but they were knocked down  again.  The smoke eventually cleared, and they looked up.  He was kneeling down on the roof.  Thor, with support from Natasha, came out of the laboratory and looked up at him.  Loki slowly stood to his feet, now six foot two again.  He raised his head, and his black hair flowed down his back.  His eyes opened, and his green pupils were burning.  “It’s good to be back,” he said, speaking his first words in his adult voice.  The Avengers all stiffened visibly and he looked at them.  “I got you didn’t I?!” he asked them, bursting out laughing as he removed the helmet and dropped it on the roof like it meant nothing to him.  It slid off the roof and hit the ground with a clang.  He skated off of the roof and hit the ground hard, cracking the pavement a little. 

Loki stood up and ran to Thor.  Thor let go of Natasha and stood on his own to face his brother.  When Loki reached him, he stopped running and looked him up and down.  “Is it really you?” Thor asked.

“Of course it’s me!  Who else would it be?!” Loki asked indignantly.  He turned to look at Dokkalfar as he stood up.  “Howdy partner,” Loki said, waving his hand.  Tony snorted from inside his armor, while Steve picked up an unconscious Clint.  “Now, I think Thor is missing something, don’t you agree?” Loki queried and immediately, the Avengers created space between them and the God of Thunder.  Thor raised his eyebrow at Loki while Dokkalfar pointed at him.

“He took an oath!  He cannot pick up the hammer in his defense!” Dokkalfar said angrily.

“Exactly what I was getting to,” Loki said, also walking away from Thor.  “But here is where my genius comes in.  You said he could never use it to defend himself.  But you never said anything about him using it to beat the crap out of you,” Loki pointed out.  Dokkkalfar's eyes widened as he realized what Loki was getting at.  "Defense.  Offense.  Two completely different words.  I found THE loophole!"  Loki hit the ground just as Mjolnir flew into Thor’s hand.  Thor was enveloped in a lightning storm as he raised the hammer over his head.

“Show off!” Hulk said as he nudged Loki’s shoulder.  Loki looked up at Big Green and grinned mischievously.  Suddenly, he was pulled away in a mental grip and Dokkalfar threw him into a wall.  Loki winced and felt a pressure in his head.  Dokkalfar was trying to destroy his mind from the inside.  Loki growled and turned around, a little knife concealed up his sleeve.  Dokkalfar wrapped him in the hold of the Mind Gem and raised him up.

“You think that giving the prince his hammer back, that you have saved this world and others from my revenge?!  You have not!  The power of the Mind Gem is too great!” Dokkalfar said as he slowly started to crush Loki in his grasp.  Loki cried out in pain but that was when an energy blast from Iron Man, Cap’s shield, and Thor’s hammer, all made contact with Dokkalfar and knocked him off balance.  He dropped Loki and the God of Mischief fell to his knees.  Still holding the knife, he leapt to his feet, and weaved his way between the barrage of attacks from his friends.  When Steve threw his shield again, Loki jumped on it and rode it all the way to  Dokkalfar.  The shield hit the Dark Elf in the chest, and Loki jumped up, his knife separating the Mind Gem from its place in Dokkalfar’s circlet.  He took it in his hand and did a flip off the shield.  When he hit the ground, he turned and saw Dokkalfar reeling.  No longer connected to the Mind Gem, he was confused.  Loki stood up and dangled the gem in his hand.  Dokkalfar saw it and stumbled towards him, but he fell to the ground.

“See Dokkalfar?  He who puts all his faith and heart into one of these Infinity Stones, is disappointed.  You’ve become dependent on it like a drug.  Right now, you’re going through major withdrawal.  I, on the other hand, will be going someplace else with this bad boy,” Loki said.  He made a move to vanish, but Thor calling his name, made him look at the Avengers.

“Where are you going?” Natasha asked him, raising her arms like ‘why aren’t we invited’?

“Why do you think it was taking me six years to come back to you?” Loki asked and they all made faces.  He held up the Mind Gem and studied the light flickering inside of it.  “I was removing these from the galaxy and time frame, and sending them into the future,” Loki told them.  Tony choked and Steve made a face. 

“Where are they going?!” Thor asked Loki, uncertain as to what Loki was going to do.

“They are going back to me,” Loki said.

“Come again?!” Tony asked.

“Me in the future.  When I woke up Ikol, I also connected with him.   He gave me my mission.  I’ll be able to explain when I get back,” Loki said.

“Loki wait!” Thor said, but Loki had already disappeared with the Mind Gem.  “Don’t go,” Thor whispered to himself.