Be Careful Making Wishes in the Dark- Cycle 8
Title: Be Careful Making Wishes in the Dark
Fandom: Young Avengers, Loki: Agent of Asgard
Rating: T+
Pairing: Billy/Teddy, Loki/Teddy, Billy/Loki
Warnings: suicide, temporary character death
Summary: Billy has lived this morning too many times. At least he's not alone.
cycle 1 and 2 - cycle 3 - cycle 4 - cycle 5- cycle 6- cycle 7 - cycle 8 - cycle 8 (part 2) - cycle 9 - cycle 9 (part 2) - epilogue
All ze knows is that Billy and Teddy snuck out one night a week after the bear incident, and then-
Cycle 8: Day Three
Loki is on fire.
It’s unexpected, because how the hell did Billy manage to die this time, we were fine!
Once the fire fades, Loki immediately summons clothing. While ze usually wouldn’t mind being nude, Billy has been an idiot and gotten himself killed again, so he doesn’t deserve a free show.
“What’s the plan?” ze asks Billy, who is sitting in a circle of candles. They’re inside Noh-Varr spaceship, which gives Loki a clue of where they are in the cycle.
“Mother got Teddy,” Billy says wearily.
Loki curses. Mother is smart enough to use Teddy as bait for the real prize, but not patient enough for that to be comforting. If they go in, maybe Billy could barter his power for Teddy’s life, but Mother doesn’t seem like the type to let them go alive either way.
And anyway, Billy can’t give his power to Mother. Not only would Mother assimilating Billy’s reality-bending powers be terribad, it would not further Loki’s plans at all. Their story will have a happier ending than this.
Loki asked zirself: what do I have?
The Young Avengers, a Kree ship, a baby Demiurge, and zir own moderate magical strength (not counting zir missing power, which had not mysteriously reappeared as Loki had half-heartedly hoped it would). And, of course, a brain and a mouth that never shut up.
Ze asked zirself: what do I want?
MOTHER’S DIMENSION
The Young Avengers (minus Loki) do not react well to the revelation that America can kick holes in reality.
There is all manner of gaping and stunned faces, and it’s Kate who manages to say, “Who are you?”
“Your ticket to the Multiverse, Princess,” America says. She’s giving Kate a particularly flirtatious look, but Loki doesn’t think Kate has yet noticed.
America and Noh-Varr are clearly competing for ‘best use of dramatic one-liner’.
America closes her portal behind her, and not a moment too soon. Mother has noticed their arrival.
Teddy is
Teddy is a chair.
Mother has somehow- she’s a reality warper, that’s how- hijacked Hulkling’s shape-shifting abilities to transform him into a grotesque parody of a throne. There are limbs and tendrils everywhere. Teddy’s head is silently screaming.
Loki thinks ze might be ill.
You murdered a child, and this is what creeps you out? asks Loki’s child-self.
Loki thinks ze will be ill.
“You have something of ours,” Noh-Varr announces.
“Oh, this?” Mother gestures to Teddy, “It’s just something I picked up.”
“Mother!” Loki exclaims, “Wonderful to see you again! I’ve brought you a present.” Ze walks forward and gestures to Billy with a flourish. Billy’s eyes widen. Loki turns back to Mother before the confusion in his eyes turns to horror.
“It’s not a present when it’s rightfully mine,” Mother growls, “you cheated on our deal.”
“That’s a bit unfair. I led him to you fair and square; I even let you dig your magic into him. That’s what we agreed.”
“You interfered!”
“And yet here I am now, delivering Wiccan to you.” Loki makes no move to explain further.
“You’re an opportunistic vulture,” Mother observes, matter-of-fact.
“I aim to please,” Loki replies. With a swoop of zir hand, a green pentagram appears beneath the Young Avengers’ feet. The green magic locks them in place. It’s not terribly strong, and it won’t hold them for long. Loki will have to make this quick.
“Don’t look so surprised,” Loki tells the Young Avengers, “I’m terribly evil. I’m the God of Lies. I probably steal cable, jaywalk, and/or pirate movies illegally on the interwebs. I am Loki. When given the opportunity, I always run.” Ze gives Billy a smile that is more challenge than amusement.
“I expect you want something in return?” Mother asks zir.
Loki’s smile goes razor-sharp. Ze paces toward Mother, circling like a vulture. Or a magpie.
“Bygones. I leave you the Demiurge, you stop warping reality to try to kill me.”
Mother gives Loki a patronizing look. She’s rather good at it. “I haven’t been doing anything of the sort- well, other than my lovely PTA. If you can’t handle life on the run, that’s your own problem.”
Loki’s face remains impassive, but ze is stunned. No! It has to be her! That’s the only way that sense! Monsters that have no business being around, all the bad luck! From Wiccan’s accounts of the other timelines, it’s clear that a reality warper was behind most of his deaths. But then- ?
“Hm, well this is embarrassing,” Loki tells her. Zir pacing has brought zir very close to Mother now, close enough that she could reach out and choke the young god.
Or close enough for Loki to touch Teddy.
Loki lets zir eyes wander to the space behind Mother’s left shoulder. Ze lets a small smile tug at zir lips.
Mother whirls around to block an attack that isn’t there. Sometimes it pays to be expected of backstabbing.
Instead, Loki whispers “Un-chair Teddy!” in Norse, kicks Mother in the shins, and drag’s Teddy’s newly-humanoid form away in the space of several seconds. Ah, the good old look-behind-you routine, Loki thinks, always a classic.
The spell holding the Young Avengers fails.
“Any time!” Loki shouts to America, who stomps the floor to create a star-shaped portal to, oh, anywhere but here.
Six figures drop through the portal. It shines for a moment, a pearly white star suspended twenty feet above the ground, before it closes.
Loki falls onto damp grass, and struggles to stand back up. Miss America immediately pushes zir back down.
“What is your deal!” America demands. “You sold us out to Mother!”
“It was a trick,” Loki defends.
“No! You sold Billy out before. You told her where he was!”
“And then I rescued him,” Loki says with a shrug, “I think that makes us even.”
“Even? You just tried to do it again!” Loki is amazed, because this is the most ze’s ever heard America speak.
“Did you go in planning to save Teddy,” Billy demands, “or was that you covering your ass?”
This is the worst part of a plan. Loki hates explaining it afterward. No one ever believes zir.
Poor baby, child-Loki murmurs, I wonder why no one will trust you?
“You think I’d just hand a reality-warper over to the likes of her? Give me some credit. If all I wanted was to escape her tricks, I’d just leave you here,” The trick, Loki knows, is to not oversell your virtue. No one would believe Loki to be heroic, but selfish and greedy? Absolutely.
“You lied to Mother,” Kate observes. She’s fingering her bow like some students play with pens.
“God of lies. Ze tends to do that,” Billy says in relief.
“I am Loki. I always run.”
“-And you come back,” Billy finishes with a smile.
Teddy hits Loki playfully on the shoulder. “If your lies are always going to be this helpful, you can feel free to keep it up.”
Loki smiles widely.
I AM THE CRIME THAT WILL NOT BE FORGIVEN, screams the voice of the child ze murdered.
LATER:
Billy lets the subject drop for only a few hours before he asks the inevitable question:
“What’s the Demiurge?”
Loki’s eyes lock with America. She frowns and shakes her head slightly.
“Oh, nothing important,” Loki says lightly.
“It’s why Mother wants me. Sounds pretty important,” Billy argues.
“Don’t worry your pretty little head about it,” Loki tries, “You’ll find out later.”
“That’s not very convincing, coming from you.”
“Wait, hold up,” America shakes her head as if clearing out intrusive thoughts, “Is this why you’re still sticking around, Loki? Hoping to tame your own pet Demiurge?” Loki makes a face at her.
“What. Is. A. Demiurge?” Billy demands.
“A god-like magic user that puts my divinity to shame. You’re interdimensional magic Jesus with time at your beck and call. You are a bored teenager and the multiverse is your own personal game of Sims,” Loki admits. “But it’s no big deal.”
“How the hell is that ‘no big deal’?”
“You could be the most important person in reality,” America tells Billy, “But so could lots of people. Don’t read too much into it.”
America refuses to say more, and Loki follows her lead.
Cycle 8: Day Four
Teddy comes to Loki the next morning when the others are still sleeping off the excitement of the past few days.
He stops in his tracks. Loki’s female form isn’t actually all that different from her usual one. Her shoulders are only slightly thinner, her hips slightly wider, her hair hitting her chin instead of her cheekbones. In either form, Loki is sleek and powerful.
“Girl today?” Teddy asks.
“It seemed time for a change,” Loki explains between bites of a Poptart.
“I heard about Lady Loki a few years back, but I didn’t realize it was a regular thing.”
“Oh no, that was different. Old Loki stole Sif’s body, it’s a long story. I don’t think-“ she pauses to chew thoughtfully, “Old Loki sometimes took female form, but I don’t think he was ever really a girl.”
Loki’s not sure that made sense, but Teddy is nodding in understanding.
“Right. I can look like Spiderman or Elphaba all I want, but I’m not them.” Loki smiles. It’s nice to know other shape-shifters.
Loki offers Teddy a Poptart. They eat in silence for a time.
“What did you mean about Mother trying to kill you?” Teddy asks.
Loki had just been digging for information from Mother, really. But how to explain…
“You and Billy have been through a lot as Young Avengers. You’ve survived vivisection, a Skrull invasion, a handful of time paradoxes, and several dozen attacks by super-powered enemies. So why is it so hard for you to survive Mother’s attention?” Loki asks.
Teddy doesn’t answer. He’s looking intently at Loki, either considering what she’s said or trying to determine her motives.
“Billy’s magic is almost certainly the reason that time is looping back,” Loki continues, curving one hand into an arch to demonstrate. “But why does it need to loop? Why does Billy keep dying?” Loki’s other hand joins the first, forming a circle. “There’s another force trying to kill him. Us. Time loops aren’t natural effects of time travel, they aren’t stable and shouldn’t be able to happen. But a reality warper doesn’t need to follow the rules of time travel, does he? Two forces locked in a stalemate of creation and destruction,” Loki collapses the circle in, clasping her hands together. “I assumed the destructive force was Mother, trying to flush us out of hiding. If it’s not her-” Loki trails off deliberately. She locks eyes with Teddy.
“She could’ve been lying.”
“Maybe.” It’s possible, but Loki doubts it.
“Is there a way to tell?”
Loki considers this, wiping crumbs off her face. A way to tell if Mother is controlling the bad luck…
“Well we can always defeat Mother and see if our luck continues.”
“Yeah I’m sure that’d be a great idea if we had any way to actually do that.”
“Alright, alright. If we can get out of Mother’s reach for awhile, we can see if she’s controlling our misfortune. I just need your help with something.” Loki smiles, leaning low on her knees and grinning at Teddy from below arched eyebrows. She looks like trouble. Teddy is interested.
“Why me?”
“If I suggest it, America’s sure to say no.”
And so Teddy is the one to propose the plan to the other Young Avengers: to use America’s portals, rather than Noh-Varr’s ship to find a safe place to regroup. Mother’s reach is dependent on her anchors in their dimension. If they skip to another dimension entirely, she shouldn’t be able to follow.
Fandom: Young Avengers, Loki: Agent of Asgard
Rating: T+
Pairing: Billy/Teddy, Loki/Teddy, Billy/Loki
Warnings: suicide, temporary character death
Summary: Billy has lived this morning too many times. At least he's not alone.
cycle 1 and 2 - cycle 3 - cycle 4 - cycle 5- cycle 6- cycle 7 - cycle 8 - cycle 8 (part 2) - cycle 9 - cycle 9 (part 2) - epilogue
All ze knows is that Billy and Teddy snuck out one night a week after the bear incident, and then-
Cycle 8: Day Three
Loki is on fire.
It’s unexpected, because how the hell did Billy manage to die this time, we were fine!
Once the fire fades, Loki immediately summons clothing. While ze usually wouldn’t mind being nude, Billy has been an idiot and gotten himself killed again, so he doesn’t deserve a free show.
“What’s the plan?” ze asks Billy, who is sitting in a circle of candles. They’re inside Noh-Varr spaceship, which gives Loki a clue of where they are in the cycle.
“Mother got Teddy,” Billy says wearily.
Loki curses. Mother is smart enough to use Teddy as bait for the real prize, but not patient enough for that to be comforting. If they go in, maybe Billy could barter his power for Teddy’s life, but Mother doesn’t seem like the type to let them go alive either way.
And anyway, Billy can’t give his power to Mother. Not only would Mother assimilating Billy’s reality-bending powers be terribad, it would not further Loki’s plans at all. Their story will have a happier ending than this.
Loki asked zirself: what do I have?
The Young Avengers, a Kree ship, a baby Demiurge, and zir own moderate magical strength (not counting zir missing power, which had not mysteriously reappeared as Loki had half-heartedly hoped it would). And, of course, a brain and a mouth that never shut up.
Ze asked zirself: what do I want?
MOTHER’S DIMENSION
The Young Avengers (minus Loki) do not react well to the revelation that America can kick holes in reality.
There is all manner of gaping and stunned faces, and it’s Kate who manages to say, “Who are you?”
“Your ticket to the Multiverse, Princess,” America says. She’s giving Kate a particularly flirtatious look, but Loki doesn’t think Kate has yet noticed.
America and Noh-Varr are clearly competing for ‘best use of dramatic one-liner’.
America closes her portal behind her, and not a moment too soon. Mother has noticed their arrival.
Teddy is
Teddy is a chair.
Mother has somehow- she’s a reality warper, that’s how- hijacked Hulkling’s shape-shifting abilities to transform him into a grotesque parody of a throne. There are limbs and tendrils everywhere. Teddy’s head is silently screaming.
Loki thinks ze might be ill.
You murdered a child, and this is what creeps you out? asks Loki’s child-self.
Loki thinks ze will be ill.
“You have something of ours,” Noh-Varr announces.
“Oh, this?” Mother gestures to Teddy, “It’s just something I picked up.”
“Mother!” Loki exclaims, “Wonderful to see you again! I’ve brought you a present.” Ze walks forward and gestures to Billy with a flourish. Billy’s eyes widen. Loki turns back to Mother before the confusion in his eyes turns to horror.
“It’s not a present when it’s rightfully mine,” Mother growls, “you cheated on our deal.”
“That’s a bit unfair. I led him to you fair and square; I even let you dig your magic into him. That’s what we agreed.”
“You interfered!”
“And yet here I am now, delivering Wiccan to you.” Loki makes no move to explain further.
“You’re an opportunistic vulture,” Mother observes, matter-of-fact.
“I aim to please,” Loki replies. With a swoop of zir hand, a green pentagram appears beneath the Young Avengers’ feet. The green magic locks them in place. It’s not terribly strong, and it won’t hold them for long. Loki will have to make this quick.
“Don’t look so surprised,” Loki tells the Young Avengers, “I’m terribly evil. I’m the God of Lies. I probably steal cable, jaywalk, and/or pirate movies illegally on the interwebs. I am Loki. When given the opportunity, I always run.” Ze gives Billy a smile that is more challenge than amusement.
“I expect you want something in return?” Mother asks zir.
Loki’s smile goes razor-sharp. Ze paces toward Mother, circling like a vulture. Or a magpie.
“Bygones. I leave you the Demiurge, you stop warping reality to try to kill me.”
Mother gives Loki a patronizing look. She’s rather good at it. “I haven’t been doing anything of the sort- well, other than my lovely PTA. If you can’t handle life on the run, that’s your own problem.”
Loki’s face remains impassive, but ze is stunned. No! It has to be her! That’s the only way that sense! Monsters that have no business being around, all the bad luck! From Wiccan’s accounts of the other timelines, it’s clear that a reality warper was behind most of his deaths. But then- ?
“Hm, well this is embarrassing,” Loki tells her. Zir pacing has brought zir very close to Mother now, close enough that she could reach out and choke the young god.
Or close enough for Loki to touch Teddy.
Loki lets zir eyes wander to the space behind Mother’s left shoulder. Ze lets a small smile tug at zir lips.
Mother whirls around to block an attack that isn’t there. Sometimes it pays to be expected of backstabbing.
Instead, Loki whispers “Un-chair Teddy!” in Norse, kicks Mother in the shins, and drag’s Teddy’s newly-humanoid form away in the space of several seconds. Ah, the good old look-behind-you routine, Loki thinks, always a classic.
The spell holding the Young Avengers fails.
“Any time!” Loki shouts to America, who stomps the floor to create a star-shaped portal to, oh, anywhere but here.
Six figures drop through the portal. It shines for a moment, a pearly white star suspended twenty feet above the ground, before it closes.
Loki falls onto damp grass, and struggles to stand back up. Miss America immediately pushes zir back down.
“What is your deal!” America demands. “You sold us out to Mother!”
“It was a trick,” Loki defends.
“No! You sold Billy out before. You told her where he was!”
“And then I rescued him,” Loki says with a shrug, “I think that makes us even.”
“Even? You just tried to do it again!” Loki is amazed, because this is the most ze’s ever heard America speak.
“Did you go in planning to save Teddy,” Billy demands, “or was that you covering your ass?”
This is the worst part of a plan. Loki hates explaining it afterward. No one ever believes zir.
Poor baby, child-Loki murmurs, I wonder why no one will trust you?
“You think I’d just hand a reality-warper over to the likes of her? Give me some credit. If all I wanted was to escape her tricks, I’d just leave you here,” The trick, Loki knows, is to not oversell your virtue. No one would believe Loki to be heroic, but selfish and greedy? Absolutely.
“You lied to Mother,” Kate observes. She’s fingering her bow like some students play with pens.
“God of lies. Ze tends to do that,” Billy says in relief.
“I am Loki. I always run.”
“-And you come back,” Billy finishes with a smile.
Teddy hits Loki playfully on the shoulder. “If your lies are always going to be this helpful, you can feel free to keep it up.”
Loki smiles widely.
I AM THE CRIME THAT WILL NOT BE FORGIVEN, screams the voice of the child ze murdered.
LATER:
Billy lets the subject drop for only a few hours before he asks the inevitable question:
“What’s the Demiurge?”
Loki’s eyes lock with America. She frowns and shakes her head slightly.
“Oh, nothing important,” Loki says lightly.
“It’s why Mother wants me. Sounds pretty important,” Billy argues.
“Don’t worry your pretty little head about it,” Loki tries, “You’ll find out later.”
“That’s not very convincing, coming from you.”
“Wait, hold up,” America shakes her head as if clearing out intrusive thoughts, “Is this why you’re still sticking around, Loki? Hoping to tame your own pet Demiurge?” Loki makes a face at her.
“What. Is. A. Demiurge?” Billy demands.
“A god-like magic user that puts my divinity to shame. You’re interdimensional magic Jesus with time at your beck and call. You are a bored teenager and the multiverse is your own personal game of Sims,” Loki admits. “But it’s no big deal.”
“How the hell is that ‘no big deal’?”
“You could be the most important person in reality,” America tells Billy, “But so could lots of people. Don’t read too much into it.”
America refuses to say more, and Loki follows her lead.
Cycle 8: Day Four
Teddy comes to Loki the next morning when the others are still sleeping off the excitement of the past few days.
He stops in his tracks. Loki’s female form isn’t actually all that different from her usual one. Her shoulders are only slightly thinner, her hips slightly wider, her hair hitting her chin instead of her cheekbones. In either form, Loki is sleek and powerful.
“Girl today?” Teddy asks.
“It seemed time for a change,” Loki explains between bites of a Poptart.
“I heard about Lady Loki a few years back, but I didn’t realize it was a regular thing.”
“Oh no, that was different. Old Loki stole Sif’s body, it’s a long story. I don’t think-“ she pauses to chew thoughtfully, “Old Loki sometimes took female form, but I don’t think he was ever really a girl.”
Loki’s not sure that made sense, but Teddy is nodding in understanding.
“Right. I can look like Spiderman or Elphaba all I want, but I’m not them.” Loki smiles. It’s nice to know other shape-shifters.
Loki offers Teddy a Poptart. They eat in silence for a time.
“What did you mean about Mother trying to kill you?” Teddy asks.
Loki had just been digging for information from Mother, really. But how to explain…
“You and Billy have been through a lot as Young Avengers. You’ve survived vivisection, a Skrull invasion, a handful of time paradoxes, and several dozen attacks by super-powered enemies. So why is it so hard for you to survive Mother’s attention?” Loki asks.
Teddy doesn’t answer. He’s looking intently at Loki, either considering what she’s said or trying to determine her motives.
“Billy’s magic is almost certainly the reason that time is looping back,” Loki continues, curving one hand into an arch to demonstrate. “But why does it need to loop? Why does Billy keep dying?” Loki’s other hand joins the first, forming a circle. “There’s another force trying to kill him. Us. Time loops aren’t natural effects of time travel, they aren’t stable and shouldn’t be able to happen. But a reality warper doesn’t need to follow the rules of time travel, does he? Two forces locked in a stalemate of creation and destruction,” Loki collapses the circle in, clasping her hands together. “I assumed the destructive force was Mother, trying to flush us out of hiding. If it’s not her-” Loki trails off deliberately. She locks eyes with Teddy.
“She could’ve been lying.”
“Maybe.” It’s possible, but Loki doubts it.
“Is there a way to tell?”
Loki considers this, wiping crumbs off her face. A way to tell if Mother is controlling the bad luck…
“Well we can always defeat Mother and see if our luck continues.”
“Yeah I’m sure that’d be a great idea if we had any way to actually do that.”
“Alright, alright. If we can get out of Mother’s reach for awhile, we can see if she’s controlling our misfortune. I just need your help with something.” Loki smiles, leaning low on her knees and grinning at Teddy from below arched eyebrows. She looks like trouble. Teddy is interested.
“Why me?”
“If I suggest it, America’s sure to say no.”
And so Teddy is the one to propose the plan to the other Young Avengers: to use America’s portals, rather than Noh-Varr’s ship to find a safe place to regroup. Mother’s reach is dependent on her anchors in their dimension. If they skip to another dimension entirely, she shouldn’t be able to follow.