[ also hey @mcu is anyone gonna tell shield about infinity war ]
No, but he certainly made a dent in our organisation and the wider world along the way.
[ A lot of Fitz's colleagues worked on Project PEGASUS, the programme Loki tore his way through to get to the Tesseract. And it was Loki's intervention that prompted the Avengers protocol — that forced SHIELD's hand. Without him, would superheroes have entered the public eye within the decade? ]
We call it the Tesseract, also known as the Cube. We know now that various ancient civilizations passed it around before it came into Asgardian hands and was kept in Odin's vault. At one point, it ended up on Earth and was taken by HYDRA, and then again retrieved by SHIELD in 1945. Stayed in our custody until Loki came for it.
[ context, just in case Loki knows the artifact by another name. ]
From my understanding of the footage of the events following and subsequent Sci-Tech debrief, I'd describe its abilities as being able to alter spacetime, opening wormhole-like portals.
[ not unlike Fitz's present ability, actually. Huh. ]
yw im sure i'll have to look up shit for this so let's go
Loki looks at the text for the barest moment as it appears in his neural implant, because it most certainly feels like Fitz wants to shed a little more light on this (but it seems that's something that Fitz always wants). for someone who likes to stay the same, his curiosity certainly has a tendency to betray him. ]
A square, hm? If I didn't know better, I'd say that it sounds like an Infinity Gem. [ not surprising that Loki had the one-up on the mortal realms, there. ] But if it is, that's only a scratch on the surface of its ability. Actually, a piece of advice? Toss it into space before it catches the attention of something far worse than Loki. That is to say, if it already hasn't.
[ it could also be the Cosmic Cube, but its powerset was a bit less limited. he couldn't say how alike their universes were, and he wouldn't make assumptions. ]
I hope you don't have any more of the like lying around. There are more Infinity Gems than that, and far more people attracted to their promises.
[ Loki hits the nail on the head, with that thought.
The fact that he (of all people) thinks the artifact is better lost in space is certainly, ah, unsettling, though Sif mentioned it remained in Asgardian custody, in her last report to SHIELD. If Fitz ever sees Coulson or Fury again, he'll be sure to suggest they look into it further, though he imagines his clearance level has been decimated in the wake of his own misuse of SHIELD resources. ]
Thanks for the tip. [ sincerity!! ] I'll be sure to mention that next time everyone grabs lunch.
[ Despite the quip, he flips through all the other artifacts in SHIELD custody that come to mind, like viewfinder slides in his head. He doesn't want to derail this conversation too much, despite his curiosity (because Loki made a formal request, and Fitz feels he has a right to the information about his other self, regardless), but the most notable item may, in fact, be relevant to the answers being sought here. ]
Think Loki had the other most likely candidate for trouble at the time, actually: A sceptre possibly containing another "gem" (yellow, with the power to manipulate minds). He used it to control Hawkeye (Barton) and several other operatives.
[ Fitz can get his favor fulfilled while Loki gets his answers, it's preferable to him for the moment. this is more interesting than he knows, besides. if Loki had two Infinity Gems—then Thanos attacked—what exactly did that mean in terms of complications?
then there was Thanos, of course, as Tony and Stephen had mentioned. that didn't bode well. ]
Theories only: If he was wielding one Infinity Gem, it would not be so bold to say that he had another. You have to understand, the limits of these particular stones varies- most likely on those that wield them- their powers extend when they're together. The ultimate "gotta collect 'em all" sort of thing for those of us with competitionist tendencies.
Do you know who the Celestials are, Fitz? Who Thanos is?
[ Strange is precious about the timeline, knowing Fitz is behind him by several months (and untrustworthy, besides) meant he was sparing with his details. Loki fills in the context here where Strange had only offered vague explanations: I was taken hostage by an alien for an item in my possession. Stark didn't want that item falling into alien hands, so he came along for the ride. The ride being that trip into space I mentioned. An alien, singular, Strange had clarified. One being seeking to collect powerful items.
Ah. Thanks, Loki. ]
I like your theories, but I don't know the names. Not yet. Are you going to tell me who they are?
Keep it fresh in your mind that the details between our 2 worlds are still debatable, at best.
[ this also gives him a good idea of the space between Strange and Fitz, and just where they are. ]
Thanos is a big, purple, megalomaniac bent on bringing death where ever he goes. He's known as the Mad Titan, and more than lives up to the title. Everything he does is swift, merciless, and at the bidding of his own violent whims. Where the Infinity Gems are, he's generally not far behind. Strange mentioned him during a chat on our first days. His presence bodes ill, and that the possibility of the Infinity Gems lying close bodes iller, if at all possible.
[ He makes a mental note to debrief Bobbi and Daisy (perhaps even Carter) on this as soon as possible — seeing as however they return themselves to the main timeline, he might be unreachable, floating seventy years in the future and unlikely to be long for this world, regardless.
Fitz feels irritated, then, at the gall of Strange (rightfully spying the suspicious nature of his skillset — ) questioning his character, when he'd been the one withholding vital intel the whole damn time. Wanker. ]
Fantastic. Our world's already in absolute shambles, and now we've got a Mad Titan seeking powerful artifacts to worry about. Oh, and he's deemed an ill omen by Mr Mischief and Chaos himself.
[ Half the Avengers are war criminals and the other half are Stark's band of misfits and reluctant greenhorns. Fury and Hill barely respond to texts when shit isn't hitting the fan. The remainder of SHIELD (that wasn't murdered by Fitz and AIDA's disastrous affair) is trapped in the far-flung future. Overall, Fitz doesn't like their odds.
Fitz will do anything to claw his way back to Jemma, but finding each other doesn't guarantee a happy ending. ]
How do you stop him? History's longest game of keep-away?
[ Loki could follow that up with what Tony had told them: that Thanos not only was seeking the Gems, but genocide as well. ah, well—perhaps something better for Strange to answer, as he's certain that Fitz will follow up. ]
It depends on your resources and your cleverness. I'd not be of any aid there, I'm afraid, not without details. It could be that you find someone else who can wield the Infinity Gems, and hope that their whims don't taint the result. Make a big glove and put them all on it, perhaps?
[ ok, this is only half helping, Loki. ]
Our universes are as different as they are the same.
[ Different yet equally doomed, he thinks but doesn't say. His pessimism isn't as charming over text. ]
Well, I appreciate the forewarning, even if the particulars end up diverging.
[ Though he wonders if Loki counts this as the favour offered at the start of the conversation. Given that Fitz never intended to take him up on this one — because he knows what it's like for your alternate self to wreak havoc on an intimate scale and would want the same information, in Loki's position — if it makes them square, so be it. ]
[ it is the favor, but for Loki as much as it is for Fitz—he doesn't like thinking that he owes people, and holds himself to a particular standard of moral ambiguity. it means that he can wipe his hands of this, even if it's less wipe his hands off and more pass the buck to Strange.
there are still other things hanging: Loki's mention of the Celestials, the conception of the Gems themselves and how Loki knows all of this. well, questions for another time. ]
However poweful you believe these Infinity Gems to be- multiple that 100x. Now, tell me, aside from mind control Clint Barton, what exactly did my other self do with those maybe-very-possibly-could-be Infinity Gems?
[ the other queries are indexed and tabled, likely to be flung in Strange's face during a strop and pursued with Loki at a later time, if the doctor finds himself unable to offer intelligence.
Loki asked first, so Fitz focuses on answering him. ]
He killed my team's leader. A good man. The best, actually.
[ said not to guilt Loki but to forewarn him of how this universe triangulates around the other Loki (not just as a grand danger but as the perpetrator of an intimate tragedy). Even if Stark and Strange gave him a neutral welcome, others would be less inclined to professionalism. Coulson may have been resurrected, but his life is a costly and fragile thing. Damaged. ]
Loki also opened a wormhole to bring a Chitauri army down on New York. The city still hasn't recovered, five years later. Altogether, he forced SHIELD to activate the Avengers Initiative for the first time, and I'm sure you can imagine how it panned out for him from there.
[ killed a SHIELD agent, not surprising. there were many he was certain that Loki would've gone through to see the end of his own ambitions. and the Chitauri is new, nothing that he's outright familiar with, yet the universe is a big place, and there was more than one hungry alien race. ]
He meant to be a catalyst for one thing, and he turned into a catalyst for another.
[ funny the way that those things work. ]
Then he became a supervillain for it. Not so different from my own universe's story, sparing the details, of course.
[ it gives him an idea of what expectations he has to work against, and those perceived by anyone coming from that particular corner of the multiverse. ]
[ the short answer is that yes, it bothers him. it's more personal than Fitz could imagine. Loki had done a lot of things to keep his new reputation, including the erasure of certain crimes that were recorded in Asgard's tomes, loosening those damning bonds of expectation and allow him room to breathe, to change.
that hadn't turned out so well. instead, he had recklessly left gaps where there should have been words, and an old Loki from the future, one already damned, had written other things in their place. ]
It disturbs me. [ but maybe not for the reason that Fitz thinks. ] Yet I guarantee my past-life counterpart has done far worse. But I am who I am- I am Loki. I don't want to and can't be anyone else but Loki. That Loki is Loki as well.
It can't be avoided in this situation, but perhaps things can change.
[ Fitz finds himself glad he kept this as a text exchange, anticipating his biased investment in the topic (well, regarding Coulson; he hadn't thought to worry about projecting on Loki). Wouldn't want his emotions playing across his face or exposed by a brush of skin, in this moment, regardless.
His calm is always edged with control. ]
I hope you're right.
[ If this were five years ago, he'd say they can without hesitation and with all the warmth of someone who refused to believe the HYDRA threat was beside him the whole damn time — or that it might come from inside himself, one day. Now, he thinks some things are inevitable. ]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
i can't believe i had to open the whedon avengers script for this
No, but he certainly made a dent in our organisation and the wider world along the way.
[ A lot of Fitz's colleagues worked on Project PEGASUS, the programme Loki tore his way through to get to the Tesseract. And it was Loki's intervention that prompted the Avengers protocol — that forced SHIELD's hand. Without him, would superheroes have entered the public eye within the decade? ]
We call it the Tesseract, also known as the Cube. We know now that various ancient civilizations passed it around before it came into Asgardian hands and was kept in Odin's vault. At one point, it ended up on Earth and was taken by HYDRA, and then again retrieved by SHIELD in 1945. Stayed in our custody until Loki came for it.
[ context, just in case Loki knows the artifact by another name. ]
From my understanding of the footage of the events following and subsequent Sci-Tech debrief, I'd describe its abilities as being able to alter spacetime, opening wormhole-like portals.
[ not unlike Fitz's present ability, actually. Huh. ]
yw im sure i'll have to look up shit for this so let's go
Loki looks at the text for the barest moment as it appears in his neural implant, because it most certainly feels like Fitz wants to shed a little more light on this (but it seems that's something that Fitz always wants). for someone who likes to stay the same, his curiosity certainly has a tendency to betray him. ]
A square, hm? If I didn't know better, I'd say that it sounds like an Infinity Gem. [ not surprising that Loki had the one-up on the mortal realms, there. ] But if it is, that's only a scratch on the surface of its ability.
Actually, a piece of advice?
Toss it into space before it catches the attention of something far worse than Loki.
That is to say, if it already hasn't.
[ it could also be the Cosmic Cube, but its powerset was a bit less limited. he couldn't say how alike their universes were, and he wouldn't make assumptions. ]
I hope you don't have any more of the like lying around. There are more Infinity Gems than that, and far more people attracted to their promises.
CRACKS KNUCKLES
The fact that he (of all people) thinks the artifact is better lost in space is certainly, ah, unsettling, though Sif mentioned it remained in Asgardian custody, in her last report to SHIELD. If Fitz ever sees Coulson or Fury again, he'll be sure to suggest they look into it further, though he imagines his clearance level has been decimated in the wake of his own misuse of SHIELD resources. ]
Thanks for the tip. [ sincerity!! ]
I'll be sure to mention that next time everyone grabs lunch.
[ Despite the quip, he flips through all the other artifacts in SHIELD custody that come to mind, like viewfinder slides in his head. He doesn't want to derail this conversation too much, despite his curiosity (because Loki made a formal request, and Fitz feels he has a right to the information about his other self, regardless), but the most notable item may, in fact, be relevant to the answers being sought here. ]
Think Loki had the other most likely candidate for trouble at the time, actually: A sceptre possibly containing another "gem" (yellow, with the power to manipulate minds).
He used it to control Hawkeye (Barton) and several other operatives.
no subject
then there was Thanos, of course, as Tony and Stephen had mentioned. that didn't bode well. ]
Theories only:
If he was wielding one Infinity Gem, it would not be so bold to say that he had another. You have to understand, the limits of these particular stones varies- most likely on those that wield them- their powers extend when they're together.
The ultimate "gotta collect 'em all" sort of thing for those of us with competitionist tendencies.
Do you know who the Celestials are, Fitz? Who Thanos is?
[ they're getting serious now. ]
no subject
Ah. Thanks, Loki. ]
I like your theories, but I don't know the names. Not yet.
Are you going to tell me who they are?
no subject
Keep it fresh in your mind that the details between our 2 worlds are still debatable, at best.
[ this also gives him a good idea of the space between Strange and Fitz, and just where they are. ]
Thanos is a big, purple, megalomaniac bent on bringing death where ever he goes. He's known as the Mad Titan, and more than lives up to the title. Everything he does is swift, merciless, and at the bidding of his own violent whims.
Where the Infinity Gems are, he's generally not far behind.
Strange mentioned him during a chat on our first days. His presence bodes ill, and that the possibility of the Infinity Gems lying close bodes iller, if at all possible.
no subject
Fitz feels irritated, then, at the gall of Strange (rightfully spying the suspicious nature of his skillset — ) questioning his character, when he'd been the one withholding vital intel the whole damn time. Wanker. ]
Fantastic. Our world's already in absolute shambles, and now we've got a Mad Titan seeking powerful artifacts to worry about. Oh, and he's deemed an ill omen by Mr Mischief and Chaos himself.
[ Half the Avengers are war criminals and the other half are Stark's band of misfits and reluctant greenhorns. Fury and Hill barely respond to texts when shit isn't hitting the fan. The remainder of SHIELD (that wasn't murdered by Fitz and AIDA's disastrous affair) is trapped in the far-flung future. Overall, Fitz doesn't like their odds.
Fitz will do anything to claw his way back to Jemma, but finding each other doesn't guarantee a happy ending. ]
How do you stop him? History's longest game of keep-away?
no subject
It depends on your resources and your cleverness. I'd not be of any aid there, I'm afraid, not without details.
It could be that you find someone else who can wield the Infinity Gems, and hope that their whims don't taint the result.
Make a big glove and put them all on it, perhaps?
[ ok, this is only half helping, Loki. ]
Our universes are as different as they are the same.
no subject
Well, I appreciate the forewarning, even if the particulars end up diverging.
[ Though he wonders if Loki counts this as the favour offered at the start of the conversation. Given that Fitz never intended to take him up on this one — because he knows what it's like for your alternate self to wreak havoc on an intimate scale and would want the same information, in Loki's position — if it makes them square, so be it. ]
no subject
there are still other things hanging: Loki's mention of the Celestials, the conception of the Gems themselves and how Loki knows all of this. well, questions for another time. ]
However poweful you believe these Infinity Gems to be- multiple that 100x.
Now, tell me, aside from mind control Clint Barton, what exactly did my other self do with those maybe-very-possibly-could-be Infinity Gems?
no subject
Loki asked first, so Fitz focuses on answering him. ]
He killed my team's leader. A good man.
The best, actually.
[ said not to guilt Loki but to forewarn him of how this universe triangulates around the other Loki (not just as a grand danger but as the perpetrator of an intimate tragedy). Even if Stark and Strange gave him a neutral welcome, others would be less inclined to professionalism. Coulson may have been resurrected, but his life is a costly and fragile thing. Damaged. ]
Loki also opened a wormhole to bring a Chitauri army down on New York. The city still hasn't recovered, five years later.
Altogether, he forced SHIELD to activate the Avengers Initiative for the first time, and I'm sure you can imagine how it panned out for him from there.
no subject
He meant to be a catalyst for one thing, and he turned into a catalyst for another.
[ funny the way that those things work. ]
Then he became a supervillain for it.
Not so different from my own universe's story, sparing the details, of course.
[ it gives him an idea of what expectations he has to work against, and those perceived by anyone coming from that particular corner of the multiverse. ]
You have my thanks.
no subject
You had a right to know.
[ a distinct sentiment from you’re welcome. ]
Does it bother you?
[ that there are infinite parallel universes, and Loki’s role often turns villainous in the lot of them. ]
no subject
that hadn't turned out so well. instead, he had recklessly left gaps where there should have been words, and an old Loki from the future, one already damned, had written other things in their place. ]
It disturbs me. [ but maybe not for the reason that Fitz thinks. ] Yet I guarantee my past-life counterpart has done far worse.
But I am who I am- I am Loki. I don't want to and can't be anyone else but Loki.
That Loki is Loki as well.
It can't be avoided in this situation, but perhaps things can change.
no subject
His calm is always edged with control. ]
I hope you're right.
[ If this were five years ago, he'd say they can without hesitation and with all the warmth of someone who refused to believe the HYDRA threat was beside him the whole damn time — or that it might come from inside himself, one day. Now, he thinks some things are inevitable. ]
You know where to find me, Loki.