Chapter Text
This was just further proof that if Loki wanted something done properly, he would have to do it himself even when giving orders as Odin. Sif left the throne room feeling that she'd done as much as was possible with the usual righteousness that she and the warriors three always held. She was proud even though she had completely failed to achieve any of the main goals and only managed the bare minimum of reconnaissance, but she'd enlightened the poor scared little mortals and been condescending in a way that made her feel strong. "A fragile little scholar pretending at being a warrior, it is little wonder he'd been shattered," she had said. This, when speaking of a man Thor praised highly on many occasions. Well, she had acted much the same to Loki when he was wounded on their quests. At least she kept gender out of it. Volstagg was always quick to mention how womanly Loki's pursuits were and even though Stark was a blacksmith, one of the few acceptable ways a man could create without crossing into feminine professions according to Asgardian culture, the things Thor said about the man's tinkering and love of artifice set his friends against this Midgardian Shield-brother. As usual, Thor's own opinions ended up being swayed by his friends, even when it was about a man they had never met.
Sif observed but did not feel the need to intervene or even dig beyond the first answers she was given. She'd gone to Coulson's people - and Loki would not think about how unfair it was that she easily accepted the spy's duplicity surrounding his supposed return from death when similar stunts Loki had pulled over the centuries were met with anger at best - and done very little actual investigation into the clash of titans that occurred on the young realm. She didn't understand how the Midgardian heroes’ actions could be of any consequence, even after Odin had explained to her that so many objects of power showing up on Midgard was an ill omen that they needed to ready themselves against and that all nine realms were their domain and therefore their responsibility.
At least five millenniums worth of propaganda was working against Loki. If he hadn't seen with his own eyes the threat looming on the horizon and had the knowledge that Asgardian Supremacy was not absolute or inevitable beaten into his body he likely would be just as dismissive, but he'd had Thanos to teach him how arrogant and foolish Asgard's sense of superiority was. They were a big fish in a small pond - the nine realms being quite well contained and isolated for most of their development for several metaphysical and logistical reasons. In another life, he may have given up trying to fix anything after this, sitting idle and indulging all his hedonistic vices until the end came to claim him, but he'd recently had a strange confrontation with... himself.
A harassed looking image of himself had appeared while he was soaking in a bath, vaguely Midgardian clothing filthy and torn with the evidence of hard battles fought. Being soap-slicked and lethargic from spending an evening eating his emotions, he was easily overpowered by the battle-ready version of him wearing sensible rubber-soled shoes. While he was pinned to the floor, they had a brief discussion about the multi-verse and his doppelganger’s intentions. After ascertaining they were indeed the same person in every way that mattered with near-identical timelines up to the mess in New York by making some intensely personal statements that were so private none other could possibly understand them, they negotiated terms. Information in exchange for some hospitality, and after all who can you trust if you can't trust yourself? They shared the bath while they talked and the other finished off Loki's dinner. It certainly said something about his desperate hunger that any version of Loki would consume the leftovers off another's plate. That gave the traveler enough strength to fix up his clothing and tapping into Asgard's ambient energy field recharged the odd device he carried.
Loki was not from what the other called the Sacred Timeline, but he was very close according to this TVA revolutionary. The device the variant used to compare him to the universe he was seeking said that he had shed too much of his internalized racism during what was a harsher than normal experience under Thanos. The actual purpose of his existence according to that grand design was to fail over and again: to cause pain and suffering so that others can achieve the best versions of themselves - something they both found objectionable for various reasons. Loki did not exist for the sake of others; he was himself and would do as he liked.
Then, the variant explained how he'd come to know what he knew and what this TVA was. The variant's story was fascinating, though the ending felt anti-climactic. The version of himself that had traveled beyond time bolted semi-randomly into a portal after realizing he'd been kicked from He Who Remains' palace into the wrong version of the TVA with a Mobius who somehow didn't know him despite previously being his biggest fan. The variant was understandably circumspect about how the device, slightly larger than one of their hands, worked or what sorts of spells were needed to use it to travel dimensions beyond time. He was also eager to be on his way again as quickly as he could manage, giving only a bare-bones outline of future events as payment for the hospitality. In all honesty, Loki wouldn't have trusted the variant if he had been more forthcoming.
After a brief detour into a disagreement about if his counterpart was pursuing his feminine alter-ego or the "fan" of a detective who dropped honest compliments with delicious frequency - and if that pursuit was sexual or not - the Loki of this reality was told that Thanos could and would be killed by the combined efforts of those he threatened and wronged converging on Midgard. The infinity stones were drawn to that realm for some reason, and that was where Thanos met his end in all 'original' variations of his story no matter how many did or did not survive. The temptation to take the device for himself and leave this reality behind was there, perhaps to find his Mother, but there was a chance that Loki might come out of this whole mess alive and well if he could avoid the circumstances of his death. He didn't want to become like his counterpart - lost among infinite possibilities and with no universe that he truly belonged to. His first idea was to openly use the Tesseract to get the ark ship to Midgard in an instant, removing the chance of being caught in transit, and he would keep that idea as a backup plan. All future knowledge held danger as actions taken because of it could change the order of events and negate its value. Surely there must be better ways of dealing with the things he'd been warned of between then and now, and how boring would it be to follow a predictable pre-determined path? The Norns - the Timekeepers or He Who Remained or Sylvie or whatever entity governed this reality - were either dead or allowed free will in this part of the multiverse. At least enough to let this meeting of the minds occur.
The rules were simple, since they hadn't been pruned just for talking this new branch of reality must be acceptable and therefore it was safe to pursue this spark of hope. Although, Loki suspected that the variant of himself may have some leniency in his actions that others would not. The assumption that he hadn't been given any of the power offered to him because Sylvie rejected it seemed strange since the timelines began to diverge well before the final blow was struck. It seemed more likely that some power had been relinquished and once the chaotic mess of a man settled down to think about it some more, he'd realize that he'd created this stable branch timeline without consequence and could likely do the same again. Temporal energy was sticky, and from what he knew of such magics it stood to reason that just having stood in that place would have lingering effects. That line of thought assumed that the other hadn't thought of that already and wasn't deliberately experimenting with his arrival here, not that Loki would risk asking someone who might have that sort of power to confirm or deny any such thing. That was one thing they easily agreed with: to be a Loki was to be a survivor.
Though any Loki worth the name would certainly think about it. They were self-destructive and prone to catastrophizing, after all, and as much as he disliked the characterization the device spit out at him he couldn't deny that the TVA's description of his faults held true. He might have done it, or he could have tried to hold this variant here to take more information from him, or simply left to start anew elsewhere with no intention to return. Any of that would fit with what the TVA expected of him.
He chose to stay and fight. Loki hadn't had hope before. It changed everything.
Hela...was something he would think about later. He had half a mind to smash the ceiling in the throne room himself during some great gathering just to see what everyone's reactions would be to the truth revealed. Odin had a fake right-handed infinity gauntlet in the treasure room and had hidden a frost giant foundling under a false skin. The evidence that he'd once tried to collect the stones was there. That Odin may have wielded the mind stone, had perhaps used it to re-write his own history in the minds of his people, was something Loki needed some time to digest before he started poking at it to see if there was anything useful in that line of speculation. An 'elder sister' old enough to be grown before Thor was old enough to remember her who Loki resembled strongly, and neither Loki nor anyone alive had any idea who his biological mother was as far as he could tell. The timing for the destruction of the Valkyries wasn't quite right, but it was too close for comfort. He had time before Odin's end to figure out what if anything he wanted to do with those possibilities. Beyond setting up a means of executing Hela immediately upon her reentry to this plane from whatever dark hole Odin had dropped her in, of course. As he had told the old king at his own trial: if I am for the axe, then for mercy's sake just swing it. Solitary confinement was considered a form of torture for good reason, there was no chance anyone could come out of such a lengthy sentence with their sanity.
As for more immediate concerns, the welfare of Midgard's heroes was something Loki needed to develop a strong interest in and confirming their battle-readiness was his current priority, though he couldn’t exactly explain that to Sif. Something had clearly gone wrong, but the barebones description of events Sif returned with were simply not enough. Heimdall was reinstated after his "punishment for disloyalty and failure to uphold the requirements of his position" was declared over. The man had still found nothing of consequence when Loki gave him very specific direction on where to look to find Thanos' approaching army. Loki was certain from the phrasing that the man could see Thanos, he was simply unconcerned by what the weird aliens were doing to other lesser beings. It was enough to make Loki want to stab the watchman. Perhaps once the titan obtained the Power Stone, he'd be interesting enough for Heimdall to pay attention to him. He'd all but told the man that these were the people who "gave" Loki the Chitauri army with no discernible reaction from the stoic man who pretended to be a stickler for the crown's decrees but played favorites and disobeyed whatever orders he felt like undermining. Loki had since charged him with keeping a sharp eye on their vassal territories, something he could be confidant the watchman would do properly because it was something the man wanted to do anyway.
If Loki wasn't planning to fight Thanos he'd have left the frustrating asshole to rot in the tiny cave he had been camping in until the Titan's army came to claim half of their lives.
In any case, Sif had reported that Stark was injured in a confrontation with Captain Rogers. Since Stark was the only person to succeed in killing Thanos, at least according to what the variant was privy to, that particular mortal was the most important person on the young realm. The lack of any details whatsoever in her report about his condition was frustrating and unacceptable. As quickly as possible Loki covered for Odin to spend a few hours alone in his private study and then retire for the evening without any disturbances. Clearly, if he wanted anything related to Thanos done properly he would have to do it himself.
Scrying the man's location wasn't too difficult, though lack of any personal connection between them meant Loki had no idea where he was going until he arrived at one of the large buildings that passed as a primitive House of Healing on this realm. The sky was dark, but the vibrant lights washed out the view of the stars until they could hardly be seen. There had been some speculation in the one recently published book he could find about Midgardian anatomy and healing that the barbaric methods they used in these places was due to the low density and fragility of their soft tissues - the slow healing they were forced to endure due to their nature requiring them to be physically cut open or sewn together instead of simply pulling at the threads of their essence to extract disease or inspire healing. Midgardians did not have the energy or durability that was necessary for the means of healing Asgardians used, and the compounds that hardened their flesh in response to physical impact simply didn't exist in the short-lived species. Their flesh was described as like a soft gel barely holding itself together, the lightweight construction ensuring that their weak muscles could move their bodies with nimble swiftness and cunning stealth, and the author marveled that they held together for as long as they did before falling apart. Loki categorized the text as yet more Asgardian arrogance and justification for their supremacy over lesser races since it had no experimental data to back it up whatsoever.
Loki disguised himself as one of the Healing Hall's servants, relieving the older man whose face he borrowed of his cleaning tools and leaving him to have a restful nap. One could get into most places when armed with cleaning supplies and a purposeful gait, and it wasn't long until he entered the area where the Iron Man was laid out for healing. The security at the entrance to this wing of the building practically looked straight through him, seeing only a cleaner wearing Loki’s completely honest expression indicating he had an unpleasant but necessary and urgent job to do. He abandoned the cleaning supplies in an empty room as soon as he was out of sight. Then, Loki went to the desk in the center of the ward. With a spell he'd invented for use in his more clandestine diplomatic missions, some sleight of hand, and a moment's flirtation with the exhausted looking woman on duty, he took the documents related to Stark's care. A change of attire rippled over him as he turned the corner, the crisp utilitarian clothing that the nurses here wore quite a bit more comfortable than he'd expected. He'd seen enough variety among the staff that it was clearly only the cut and not the fabric that was uniform, so he chose to match it to the green and gray linens he left the palace in. After that, it was only a short walk to the room where the man he sought was resting.
The books he'd read and the tales he'd heard did nothing to prepare him for the sight. Tubes twisted around the smaller man. A mask over Stark's face aided his breath in some mechanical fashion. His heartbeat was tracked by the machinery on his left, and other machines performed obscure functions Loki couldn’t guess at. Loki had seen similar things when he glanced into other rooms, but only for the frail elderly in the section of the Healer's Hall he had started at, and he hadn't spared a thought for how invasive it all was. Fluids were drained from some places and injected in others. Wires snaked under clothing and attached with ugly pads. The faint scent of blood and offal lingered despite the sharp antiseptic scent that clung to everything. Bandages covered most of the visible skin, including his hands. It was more brutal and simplistic than even the battlefield first aid Loki had learned as a child. Stark was also immobilized in a way that suggested it prevented him from causing further injury to damaged bones, one of the few things that did translate across the realms, but Loki's eyes kept drifting back to the hands and the discolored bandages on them.
"It is a good thing I brought Idunn's Gift, you are in sore need of healing," he told the unconscious man. "A man of your skills with damaged hands? Intolerable."
Never mind that Stark was rich enough that he did not need to work or that he had many thousands of free men pledged to his service that he could order about, it would still be a devastating blow if any permanent damage was done to a craftsman's hands. The thought put a chill down Loki's own spine. It was a fear he'd never shared with anyone, something the variant was able to use to verify his identity, one even Thanos seemed ignorant of thanks to a bit of misdirection about which of his own body parts he thought were most attractive and valuable. Block his sight, plug his ears, even the muzzle was something he'd gotten past the fear of after many exposures, but binding his hands for an extended time made him intensely uncomfortable.
"Too deeply asleep to talk? Well, I've been told I can talk enough for five people, so you can go on sleeping. You clearly need the rest. Feel free to interrupt at any time with a question if you are able while I see what else is wrong with you and what your healers have done about it so far. There is no sense in spending valuable resources healing you in an instant if this is all superficial and you will be well after a day or two."
Loki sat in the uncomfortable chair at Stark's bedside, a complex web of privacy spells ensuring he wouldn't be noticed if someone entered the room to care for the man while he read through the healer's notes. A fair amount of it he didn't understand. Even one as skilled with language as he was couldn't force the Allspeech to define complex concepts past a certain point, but technicalities aside the descriptions of the damage done to the sleeping man were clear enough. The injuries were serious enough to keep him mildly sedated to spare him the pain of them, but the use of sedation implied a certain amount of confidence in his vitality. There was a note about keeping him stable until a cradle could be delivered. He was certain he wasn't reading that correctly as male Midgardians did not birth children. Then again, personal experience ensured Loki knew better than to take that for granted, though that was a nightmare of a decade he did not have the time or energy to dwell on at the moment.
Loki did not want to jump to action without some deliberation. Death on the battlefield was honorable. Even if one lingered for a time in a healer's care, to die from battlefield injuries was a guaranteed entry into Valhalla. Taking that from someone unwillingly was... Well, it was a serious enough transgression that even though this mortal was the one destined to kill Thanos, Loki hesitated. He came prepared to offer a form of healing known to work across almost any species barrier in the nine realms, but while he'd done many things in his life, he had never crossed this specific line. There was nothing obvious in the paperwork about the man's wishes, or perhaps simply nothing that Loki understood. The healers here had clearly done much to sustain Stark, but Loki didn't know their ways well enough to know if this was just the prevention of pain so that Stark could sleep or a desperate attempt to revive him to full health by any means necessary. The invasiveness implied the latter, but the lack of interruption while Loki sat reading suggested the former.
There had been cases before the court many times throughout his life where men demanded compensation from a healer who brought them back from the brink of death. Cases where the healer claimed they had begged to live and the warrior claimed they were delirious from their injuries and didn't understand the question. Cases where the warriors won despite the healer's sworn statements. Loki himself had never sided with the warriors in those cases, if the warriors didn't want to be seen as cowardly then they shouldn't beg, but the thought of those trials kept his hands still and empty now. For the first time in a long time, he wished he had a better understanding of this realm's culture. Much of his knowledge was more than half a century out of date, which wouldn't be so bad if that didn't translate to multiple generations on this rapidly changing realm, and he had never paid much attention to how they handled mortality. They also had so many different religions and even differing philosophies within those religions - and he hadn't the faintest idea which one Stark subscribed to.
Stark's hands were damaged and that would be a large factor. Loki was sure that if the damage was considered permanent in any way Stark's care would be skewed toward comfort rather than recovery. An offer of true healing for that damage might tip the scales, but consent required understanding. Loki didn't know if the magic he would use to bring Stark to consciousness and ask as he would do to a fallen shield-brother would instantly kill the mortal or not. The paperwork was full of jargon and abbreviations he couldn't understand, so he would need to seek out some sort of reference material, but that would take time. He may not have much time; he just didn’t know.
In any case, it would be best if he returned the original papers sooner rather than later so that the healers were not impeded in their job. With a bit of effort, he conjured a copy and started to annotate and highlight the relevant parts, checking against the original for copy errors as he went. There were libraries and some kind of free information network that Thor mentioned, though he brought it up to mention how silly it was to have a means of research that was full of false or twisted information. Loki was certain that Thor simply didn't use it correctly. Memories of their schooling and how difficult Thor found their own archives to use made Thor's characterization seem like he'd simply found records of outliers and old, discredited theories rather than the proper sources. The tweeting debate platform also sounded like it was simple unmoderated discussion, clearly a place for brainstorming ideas and sharing creative inspiration rather than a source of solid conclusions and hard facts. Loki would keep those mistakes in mind and conduct some proper research, working from generalities to find the proper terminology to dig deeper.
Unfortunately, that would all take time. Loki didn't have weeks to research and analyze as he normally would before a diplomatic mission. Perhaps he could find someone to ask, a librarian who could point him to the specific texts he would need to glean the bare minimum. Stark might even wake - on Asgard sedation to aid rest was lessened during the day so that the injured and sick could have the chance to see daylight and were less likely to wake randomly in the nights. If so, Loki could ask him directly, which was the best option.
"Who are you?" The sudden demand startled Loki out of his work, his pen skittering a series of dots across the section he was annotating. A floating red man was giving him a very intense stare. "You don't belong here."
"I just want to help," Loki answered immediately, the half-truth coming out too shrill with surprise to be convincing.
"I would advise you not to lie to me." Piercing blue eyes glared at him in disapproval.
"I'm not lying." The yellow stone on the man's forehead shone, and Loki felt pure terror strike him at his core as he tried to correct his blunder. This was the Mind Stone's new vessel. "Well, I'm not here only because I'm feeling charitable, so sorry if you thought that's what I meant. I need Anthony Stark to live a long and productive life for several reasons, not all of them selfish, and so I wish to help him to recover from these wounds if it is in my power to do so."
"I understand that you do want to help Mr. Stark, but that does not mean that you have the right to come in here without permission."
"It is a foul thing to administer treatment when it is unwanted. I've not touched Mr. Stark and am only trying to see if my assistance would be useful or desired," Loki explained.
"Hospital records are private information. Please return them, and then I will escort you to the appropriate authorities."
"Please hear me out before you send me away. I can heal him, with this," Loki pulled the healer's kit from his pocket dimension with a flourish. "I haven't because I don't know this language well enough to read these documents quickly without annotations or assistance. I was hoping that Mr. Stark would wake so that I might ask him his wishes directly, though I was prepared to do the research required to understand these papers or to seek the assistance of a local professional as well. I need to know if he wishes to live, or if he is only being kept comfortable for his journey to the next life."
"You would use magic." The man floated closer.
"I'm of Asgard, and it is in the interests of my realm and her king that Stark recovers." Loki kept to simple, clear truths and an earnest expression. If those truths happened to be misunderstood that wasn’t his problem. "I have been certified after extensive training for battlefield aid: sustaining life while in transit to more specialized healers, administering emergency medications, and treating simple traumas and spell-born injuries with a focus on preventing secondary infection. In this case, I am here to offer Idunn's Gift. It is an emergency treatment that, while quite expensive due to a limitation in the supply chain, is easy to administer and capable of completely and rapidly healing any physical trauma. So long as the damage is not caused by an ongoing curse or some internal malfunction where the body is acting against itself, it has a flawless success rate across all indigenous species of the nine realms. I believe your people use the metaphor of an apple for some reason, though it is actually a simple injection in two parts and not something consumed orally."
"Prince Thor gave me the impression that only women were employed as healers on Asgard," the construct replied. Loki bristled at the familiar insult the statement insinuated, then straightened himself to his full (borrowed) height and looked the terrifying creature straight in the eyes. He may not know much about Midgard's healers and how they operate, but the echoes of a thousand insults had him keep an eye on certain subjects throughout the nine. He knew enough about this portion of Midgard’s culture to use this to his advantage.
"I could take the appearance of a woman to please your prejudices, but I made the choice to present myself as a man permanently quite some time ago and so I will not." Loki vanished the medical kit and crossed his arms, displaying every bit of his offended anger - and he had quite a large stockpile after a millennium of being neither feminine nor masculine enough for any part of Asgardian society. "Despite the small-mindedness of some, I have kept up my certifications and remain a skilled and respected practitioner of a number of magical arts. If my gender is your only objection to my offer, then I shall return to Asgard and my King may or may not send another in my place. In the spirit of informed consent, I suppose I should also mention that most Asgardians consider those who live on this planet of less value than livestock, and many skilled healers would be insulted to be asked to treat any Midgardian no matter his station."
"I meant no offense; it simply seemed an inconsistency in your claim. Since you bring it up, why would you want to offer your services to a human?" Loki took a deep breath and focused on his words. They needed to be true, but also not fully transparent. It was a challenge he'd often set himself for his own amusement, but he was out of practice doing it under duress. He hoped the other would think he was simply gathering his thoughts on a complicated and fraught subject.
"There is a threat to the Nine coming. Few think much of it even when they have seen evidence for themselves. Mr. Stark has proven with his actions that he does believe that there is another force coming for his realm. Prince Loki is not considered a trustworthy source, since he was..." Loki didn't think he could maintain objectivity or focus if he continued this line of thought and abruptly changed tactics. "You have the mind stone. Prince Thor describes you as the embodiment of the stone. Do I need to explain it to you, or do you have memory of him as he was when he last visited this realm? He may not be well liked, but he did not act like the villain he presented himself as even ten years ago. Our people are not known for such rapid change."
"Prince Loki claimed another threat would follow him and you believe it," the construct summarized without answering Loki's question. He carefully contained his reactions, bracing for whatever slander of his name the creature would spew, but it was unnecessary. It simply returned to probing his motives. "Asgard's king believes it even as he condemns Loki as a traitor. That doesn't explain why you personally agreed to come or what you gain by offering aid."
"Mr. Stark is one of this realm's best, not only because of his skills as a warrior. In fact, those skills are not at all why I find him interesting. It is his other talents that make him essential for your realm's security and development. This is a young realm, and you have much to learn about the wider universe. Others may push your people forward in the future, but the loss of Mr. Stark would slow down your progress. I do have selfish reasons for doing this. I... Well, I suppose I look at this realm the same way others look at certain series of plays or fiction books. I check in every few decades and am never disappointed by the drama on display or the progression of the storylines your history books contain. The last century has been marked by many great leaps. They have traveled to their moon, and while I am quite behind on the political dramas due to certain responsibilities keeping me away, I am quite eager to catch up."
"You wish to aid Mr. Stark so that our history books will be more entertaining?" the floating creature tilted its head in either curiosity or confusion.
"I prefer biographies, actually, but the result is essentially identical."
"You have not given me your name."
"Names have power. I mean no offense but offering my name or any other part of myself to the Mind Stone seems foolhardy. I have offered you truths, and I mean no harm to anyone,” Loki said with as much conviction as he could muster. “I only wish to know if Mr. Stark would welcome being restored to full health or if his culture and beliefs preclude that sort of medical intervention. If it is not forbidden, I will administer Idunn's gift, monitor him and supply additional seidr in case he doesn't have the strength within his soul to heal on his own, and then be on my way. Is that acceptable or not?" The construct looked at Loki for a long moment, judging him. Loki did his best to keep any tells in check, focusing his mind on his purpose in coming here and not letting them stray to other things on the very real chance that his thoughts were not secure against this creature.
"It is acceptable, and you clearly don't mean any harm." The red-skinned construct seemed to be giving their conversation a lot of thought. It looked around the room, likely verifying that Loki had done nothing other than what he'd admitted to while it came to a decision. When it next spoke, it seemed to be thinking aloud, though the volume was conversational instead of the muttering one would expect of self-directed commentary. "There does seem to be some cultural differences at play and your disregard of Mr. Stark's medical privacy, while unacceptable, is consistent with some of Prince Thor's behavior. I sympathize. I have had some trouble with what is and is not permitted by society as well, and the rules of when it is and is not permissible for a medical professional to act are complex and based highly on cultural values. You say you are awaiting permission to go further than observation. You believed correctly that the medical file would contain any DNR orders and sought them out to honor his wishes but did not realize that such information is considered confidential; you are also unable to translate the document sufficiently and are unwilling to guess without certainty. There is no deception or discrepancy that I can find in your actions.
“Mr. Stark's wishes are to heal and regain his full health utilizing all available medical resources. I will need to inform Miss Potts." Loki stood in silence with his weight on one heel and his arms slack at his sides, giving the outward appearance of impatience consistent with a master of a craft dealing with a difficult client. When the creature seemed satisfied that Loki would not act, he continued speaking. "You may continue your study of Mr. Stark's medical file, but please wait until you are cleared to proceed before doing anything to Mr. Stark. I will be back shortly."
Loki sat to continue his annotations, though he'd gotten the information he needed. He would have to keep his act consistent or risk the Mind Stone’s vessel exposing his true identity.