Pic comments and stuff (I know it's not Loki, but I out it anyways XD)

I present to you;       - .'' ~ Suffocation Angst ~ ''. -

The mind stone floated menacingly in the air, it cast an eerie blue glow over everything. It reminded Loki of the scene from WandaVision when Wanda got her powers, well it would remind him, he thought logically since he was doing the same thing. He stepped forward, entering the range that the stone would project its abilities. He heard its voice in his head, faint and tinny, but perceptible. It's nice to see you again. The voice sounded feminine and oddly like . . . Wanda. Do you know me? He thought back. 

I do. The voice responded. Since my intended beneficiary will not come, it appears you are the next plausible candidate. The voice said. Are you sure I'm the best contender? Some of the things I've done aren't . . . presentable. Loki replied. Yes, well none of us are perfect. Plus, you and I already have a pre-existing link, you regret your actions, correct? Loki paused, then replied; Yes, I do regret doing everything. The voice hummed, then responded. You know it's not your fault, that it's the fault of another. But you still take the blame. Wouldn't you consider that heroic? 

Loki scoffed. Him? Heroic? The two would never match together. Him, the lie-smith, the God of Mischief, Chaos, Darkness, everything that was the opposite of heroism? Him a hero? Now that was laughable. I would consider the action heroic, me? Not so much. He replied bitterly, the voice hummed again, then countered; Then who would you consider a hero?  A few people were the first names to come to mind, Thor being one the most obvious. Cassidy and Samantha, not so much Reggie, and The Avengers as a whole. With him being the villain, that automatically made them the heroes. He settled on the first and second.

The Avengers and my bro- Thor. He responded curtly. Let's take your brother as an example, then. He was about to retort that the oaf was not his brother when the voice continued. What would you consider that him, compared to you, makes him a hero? A list of retorts came to mind at that query. Well, for one thing, he's stronger than me physically, and would probably kill a thousand more enemies while I would still be executing my first. The voice interrupted him once more. And what do you do to compensate for your brother's physical strength? 

He felt as though the answer was obvious, seeing as the stone could and was currently most likely reading his mind, but he responded anyway. Well, I use my experience in Seidr to approximate to my brother's . . . potential. And do you think you've reached your brother's aptness? The voice catechized. I don't know.  He replied unresolvedly. Would you like to be? The voice questioned. That question left him dumbfounded. As much as he hated to admit it, he would love to be as strong as Thor, as capable as Thor, even to be Thor, if he got the chance. He recalled when he was younger, he used to follow Thor around perpetually. Like a shadow, he realized now as he reflected upon it. 

The voice spoke up again; What if I told you that you could be as powerful, and as capable as your brother? That you could fight side by side together, and both of you as accomplished as the other? He faltered slightly before replying. I would be . . . interested in that option. Well, then. Are you ready to achieve your full potential? The voice catechized. Yes. He retaliated. He sighed, then reminded himself of who he was doing this for. He was doing it for Cassidy because she deserved it. She was his only friend besides his mother and Thor for as long as he could remember. Plus saving a few decillion lives on the side did make her a bit more admirable. 

And also to become as powerful as Thor, as a side bonus. But primarily for Cassidy. He felt the stone's connection leave his mind, and he let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. He took a deep breath and stared at the blue gloom in front of him as it dissipated. It vanished through the center until an arch-like door appeared, slightly taller than him. He took a shaky step forward, he felt as though his knees were going to lock at any moment, but he braced himself and stepped into the smoky room. 

The walls, unsurprisingly, were misty and blue, all around him was blue. He felt himself sway slightly as he stared at the wall, that same feeling of utter despair and helplessness he had when he was under the control of the Chitauri was back. But this is different, you're not under the control of the sceptre. Not anymore. He reminded himself. He took a shaky step forward, then another, and another. In a matter of seconds, he was standing in front of the stone, with it being slightly above eye level. 

The pulsing of the stone was rhythmic, even hypnotic as he stared at it. He swallowed and raised his hand to the stone, he felt its energy hum in approval as if it was encouraging him to proceed.  He lifted his hand until it was directly in front of the stone. His finger sparked slightly, which still had to take some getting used to since he was part-machine now, but he reassured himself it was just fretfulness at attempting to touch an infinity stone. He gradually shifted his hand closer to the stone, until his index finger was just a few centimetres away from the rock.

He closed his eyes, swallowed again, then jerkily shoved his finger at the stone. Oddly, nothing happened for a moment, the stone remained there, cool and solid beneath his finger. Until it wasn't. An explosion of yellow gushed from the stone, blinding him. If this was what Cassidy felt when she got her powers, he'd cordially never get a power upgrade again. An overflow of vigour routed his senses. He felt like he was going to throw up, pass out and simply die all at once, most likely from the abundance of raw energy he was absorbing from an infinity stone. The thought still felt hypnagogic to him. (Haha! Big Words for the win!)

He saw a flash of yellow, and a small shard of the stone float towards him. He stared at it, as it slowly hovered closer, now it was directly in front of his face. If he wasn't already lightheaded because of the previous outburst, he was sure he'd be at least extremely dazed by this point. The stone poised in front of him, then it swiftly flew directly at him, well more at his sternum then at him directly, also where his magical core was. How delightful. It zoomed into his chest, then disappeared as soon as it had come. He gaped at the spot where the fragment of the stone had just darted into his peritoneum. (Fancy Shmancy words)

All of a sudden, something in his ribcage gave away, he wheezed for air, which he knew was there, (Hehe, me pointing out rhymes will y'all are dying of angst.) but for some reason, his lungs wouldn't work properly. He felt his breaths come shorter and shorter as if all the air in his little spot in existence had disappeared. He wobbled, all feeling in his artificial limbs had gone numb and stiff. He may be partly an android, but the living part of him still needed oxygen, and his ersatz extremities worked conjointly with the living, biological parts of his body, so as you can probably tell, it's not a great time to be suffocating to death. Thoughts of annihilating that anathematizing infinity stone swarmed his head. 

He then remembered that you can't kill a rock, much less an infinity stone. Probably hypoxia, he reasoned. He felt his shoulder fall to the floor with a harsh bang, pain erupted in his shoulder, or it would have hurt if the burning in his lungs wasn't present and accounted for. He tried to talk, but he felt like a rock was logged in his trachea. So, this is how I die. Wonderful. He reminisced to himself, his thoughts lackadaisically started getting bleak and befuddling. His head thumped against the floor, the metal ground cool against the back of his head. His vision tunnelled as he stared at . . . whatever he was staring at. The ceiling? The floor? A wall? He didn't know, but he couldn't bring himself to feel concerned. 

If he was going to die, well die because of trusting an infinity stone that's a new one, he added to himself, he might as well go tranquilly. Isn't that what they always said? It was better to die with a happy memory in mind? Or that your life flashes before your eyes? Well, none of that was happening, no happy memory, no life-flashing-before-anyone's-eyes, no nothing. Just him suffocating on the floor. Simple at that. His vision tunnelled, black inching into his vision. How long has it been? A few seconds? An hour? The world churned into a mix of colours, grey, black and a hint of red before he fainted. (Well that was slightly anti-climactic XD) 

Cassidy 3Rd PeRSoN P.o.V

Cassidy stared at Loki as he stepped towards the stone, she swallowed as she stared at him, her throat suddenly parched. He took a step forward, into the small haze around the infinity stone, and blessedly, nothing happened. Thank the Norns. She felt a telepathic link between Loki and the mind stone open up, it's relatively easy opening up and noticing a telepathic link, sorta like opening up a new chat in a game, but with your brain. She sent a small probe with her magic to see, well hear really, what they were talking about. There was a voice talking, well the stone's voice technically, but the most eccentric thing was that it was Wanda's voice. Well, that was new.

Since my intended beneficiary will not come, it appears you are the next plausible candidate. Who knew an infinity stone could be so posh. Cassidy thought to herself. Are you sure I'm the best contender? Some of the things I've done aren't . . . presentable. Cassidy smiled dolefully at her friend's answer. Little did he know that he would have been her best candidate for taking care of her powers if she ever did need to transfer them to someone. The stone spoke up again. Yes, well none of us are perfect. Plus, you and I already have a pre-existing link, you regret your actions, correct? Cassidy, if she could, would have probably killed the stone right then and there.

How could that stupid rock tell her friend that it was his actions! When it knew it wasn't! After this, she was going to have a few . . . words with the stone. Yes, I do regret doing everything, Loki replied. Cassidy took another deep breath to keep her anger to a minimum. Now he was accepting he did it?! That shuck of a manipulative bastard of a rock! (Maze runner reference!) She was about to step up to the blue haze when the psychic conversation continued. You know it's not your fault, that it's the fault of another. But you still take the blame. Wouldn't you consider that heroic? Cassidy stopped dead in her tracks. Now the stone was praising him for saying that he did something that he knew he didn't do? 

Is the stone bipolar? Can infinity stones even get diseases? Well, she could always ask about the collection she had back in her apartment/pocket dimension. That reminded her, maybe they could go to Asgard, she needed a new eternal flame, she'd accidentally spilled a glass of water on the other one. Or she could just steal the one already here, or perhaps she could go to a dying universe and snatch the one there. She sighed then returned her attention to the conversation; 

 I would consider the action heroic, me? Not so much. Loki replied, his voice laced with wistfulness. Cassidy nearly laughed at his answer but was unable to suppress a snort. Him? Doubting he was heroic? She had to take him reality-hopping then, or make him read her favourite; *Loki becomes a hero and saves everyone and gets happy ever after he so clearly fricking deserves.* Fanfictions she had saved on her phone. Well, she didn't read them anymore all that much since she'd much rather go to the universe and experience it herself than read it. She still enjoyed living through the story while reading, so she could save her favourite character from overly sadistic authors. (Such as myself)

Then who would you consider a hero? The voice asked. Cassidy already knew who would probably be number one in Loki's head as a hero. Thor. God, sometimes she did feel like the TVA, poking around in people's lives, knowing most likely more about someone than they knew about themselves. Is this how being the Watcher and part of the TV feels like? Knowing the outcome of everything, and most likely doing nothing about it? Cassidy swore to herself, on the day when she realized that she had powers and could do something about it. She could save so many people from horrible, causeless fates.

The scene from the season 1 finale of What-If popped into her head, Natasha's voice clear in her mind; "You stood by and made popcorn while Ultron murdered my friends?!" She used to do that, figuratively and literary. But she doesn't and won't stand by while people suffer. As the memo goes; With great power comes great responsibility. Loki's snapped her out of her thoughts; The Avengers and my bro- Thor. Cassidy smiled lightly at Loki's reply. All hope wasn't lost in the brother's reunion. While yes, she did meet quite a few Loki variants who had made up and reconciled with their brothers, she wanted this Loki variant, who was her friend, and not a random Loki variant she saved, to have a content life, and not a tragic death or a bleak life like some of the other Loki variants she'd met.

Let's take your brother as an example, then. Cassidy could practically hear Loki's retort. What would you consider that him, compared to you, makes him a hero? Loki paused for a moment, then replied;  Well, for one thing, he's stronger than me physically, and would probably kill a thousand more enemies while I would still be executing my first. Cassidy frowned, did Loki consider himself that ineffectual? If that ludicrous stone didn't say something positive about her friend, she would most likely explode that rock to bits, preferably in the next 5 seconds. 

And what do you do to compensate for your brother's physical strength? Cassidy was about to reply to that question, when she realized that she would probably say it out loud, seeing as she was just spectating their conversation.  Well, I use my experience in Seidr to approximate to my brother's . . . potential. Duh. Cassidy thought. And do you think you've reached your brother's aptness? The stone asked. That is a very simple question, and the answer is yes. Cassidy wanted to say, it was a pretty simple explanation too. Why on earth would Odin go out of his way to raise the kid of his enemy? Well, first of all, yes a political maneuver, that one was obvious, but one reason that the old bastard left out, was that he had extreme magical potential. 

Loki being a Jotun, and Odin already having another son caused some slightly obvious favouritism. Also that fact that while he was only a few months old and he was able to perform a prodigious illusion of an Æsir was remarkable in itself, another reason that the cretin was interested in stealing the young Jotun prince. Unlike Asgardians, Jotuns' favoured 3 elements in their society. Physical strength, speed and agility, and magic. So him being born as a runt (according to Odin), the son of their king, and also being exceptionally gifted in Seidr at a young age, it was no wonder the egotistical and barbarous imbecile stole him. It was another reason why Odin tried to prohibit Loki from using magic, coming up with rumours that it was a womanly art, even though most, if not all of the Asgardian population agreed that magic was helpful, no matter the wielder. The idea that it had been a womanly art had been lost and forgotten and only decrepit buffoons still thought so. So, what a surprise it was for the king of Asgard to realize that his political pawn had become a magical prodigy and by default a powerful sorcerer right under his nose. (I enjoyed writing this paragraph BTW) 

According to most sources, said sources are a few scenes from Thor; The Dark World, and a handful of fanfictions, Loki loved reading. So it only made sense if he read about magic as well, including the astonishing fireworks trick from the Loki show. Adding to that, it was confirmed in the Loki show that he was way more powerful than most of the fandom thought, except Cassidy, who personally appreciated a magically overpowered Loki, and hoped it happened in fic. So why in the 9 realms was the infinity stone downgrading his powers? I don't know. Loki replied. Cassidy scowled at the haze of blue. Would you like to be? The stone questioned. Cassidy was about to yell at the fog of cerulean when she simply decided to leave the discussion instead of probably yelling at vapour. 

She left the telepathic chat, and sighed, she glanced at Happy and Pepper, who were staring at the obscurity with wide eyes, Happy turned to Cassidy; "You said this was safe!" Cassidy frowned, then replied; "It is, slightly." Pepper sulked, then asked; "What do you mean, slightly?" Cassidy shrugged, then answered nonchalantly; "Either Loki and I get new powers from the stone, or he dies, and I'll get slightly hurt, and then I'll have to resurrect him again." Pepper swallowed. "And you're sure he'll be fine," Cassidy responded; "Yes, it's fifty-fifty. Either he and I will get new powers, or he dies and I resurrect him. Simple." 

Pepper raised an eyebrow, then asked after a moment; "What do you mean resurrect him again, did something happen to him when he was a kid?" Cassidy straightened, then retorted, her tone cold; "Something like that. Also please don't tell him. Or else really really bad stuff might happen if you do." Happy stared at her for a moment, before questioning; "Fine, we won't tell him. But why can't we tell him?" Cassidy sighed; "Because I have to. And soon." Cassidy countered despairingly, she then turned her attention back to the brume in front of her. 

Cliffhanger? Yessir!

Hope you creatures, living or dead, liked the chapter! Have a great day/night/afternoon/midday

- Just-a-random-tissue

(3212 words)