Strange was a rather peculiar man who didn't fit in with the vast majority of people in the world and especially couldn't stand a certain few. Thus, whether during his school years or his working life, he mostly kept to himself.
Strange from other cosmos at least had a girlfriend, but ever since Strange from this universe got lured into the unscrupulous business, he found even fewer people to get along with.
Loki was one of the few friends Strange admitted to having. Their personalities surprisingly meshed very well; they could work together for long periods without annoying each other, which was quite rare.
Putting it nicely, Strange's personality was described as focused, but to speak bluntly, he was extreme. Love something and he would want it to thrive, hate something and he would wish for its death. Those he disliked could do no right, and those he favored could do no wrong.
Although Strange knew that this Loki was not the friend he would come to know later, he was still astonishingly angry. Were the Asgardians a bit too disgraceful? This was their prince! Even the powerless, marginalized princes of constitutional monarchies on Earth wouldn't be this destitute, right? What was going on???
Anger surged from Strange's heart to his brain. Seeing that he was upset, a slightly puzzled Loki said, "You really are a strange person. You ambush me and trap me here. What is your purpose?"
"Get it right, you ambushed me," Strange said.
"But this is Asgard's jurisdiction. You lurking here suspiciously prompted me to attack you in defense of the army," Loki said.
"They treat you like this, and you still think of defending them?!" Strange raised his voice.
Loki was taken aback and responded somewhat confusedly, "What do you mean 'treat me like this'? Why can't I defend them?"
"Aren't you a prince of Asgard?"
"Er, yes, I am, but not all princes are treated equally," Loki said, tilting his head. "Clearly, I'm the kind that's not taken seriously."
"But aren't there only two princes in total???"
"Even with two, that's still more than one," Loki said, looking at Strange. "Having one more means there is a comparison. I'm not allowed on the battlefield; obviously, I'm not regarded highly."
Strange opened his mouth and, unable to restrain himself, blurted out, "… Ridiculous!"
Strange blinked rapidly, but his brain simply couldn't understand this logic. Loki waved his hand and said, "I think you are a bit thick, but you're quite powerful. Who are you and what are you doing here? If you confess, I might put in a good word for you when Thor catches you."
Only then did Strange come around, saying, "What about your brother? Doesn't he take care of you?"
Loki appeared somewhat bewildered as he replied, "How does he not take care of me? Didn't he bring me here? His generals all disagreed, but he still brought me along."
Strange was nearly choked with disbelief. If he didn't know Thor lacked the intellect, he would truly believe Thor was gaslighting Loki.
He found himself increasingly unable to understand the curious civilization of Asgard. Didn't they have any etiquette or royal standards to uphold? If those beneath them were disobedient, were Loki and Odin just going to let it slide? Wasn't that slapping the Emperor in the face?
An Emperor with just two sons and his subjects were playing favorites, scheming to edge one out. Setting aside whether Odin would be wary of the one they exalted, weren't their harsh words towards Loki a direct challenge to Odin's authority?
No matter what, in a kingdom where imperial power reigned supreme, one was expected at least to put on a show of silent anger. If they found his actions preposterous, there should be a process of impeachment to follow. What did they mean by these clandestine schemes?
The more Strange thought about it, the more he felt these brutes were beyond help. Odin probably held back for the development of Asgard, but there would surely come a day for a reckoning come autumn.
Recalling earlier events, Strange realized that he didn't recognize several individuals from Thor's squad he had just seen. He guessed those men either retired to their hometowns or died abroad eventually.
"You…" Strange hesitated for a moment before asking, "How did you discover me?"
"The signs you left were more obvious than solar particles," Loki said. "I can detect the slightest magical fluctuations in space. While you did a covert job, it's only good enough to fool Thor and the others."
"But your use of magic is terrible," Strange spoke frankly. "You've completely gone down the wrong path. In pursuit of stealth and flow, you've sacrificed attack power and defensive strength, utterly wasting your magical talent."
"That's none of your business…" Loki suddenly looked up and exclaimed, "Thor?! What are you doing here?!"
Strange turned around to find nothing behind him and realized he had been tricked. When he turned back, Loki had already vanished, leaving behind only a taunt, "Now you see who took the wrong path."
Anger rose in Strange again, causing him to cough violently, but all he could do was grind his teeth at the empty air.
Meanwhile, Hogun, one of the Warriors Three, looked oddly at Loki as he suddenly appeared, sizing him up, "Why are you dressed like that again? There's no need for you to be on the frontline, so why wear such tattered clothes?"
Loki waved his hand dismissively and sat down, turning the meat skewers over the fire, "It's to show solidarity with you in both good times and bad."
"No need," Sif said irritably, "Knowing how weak you are, you still run around everywhere. What if you really encounter some enemies that got away and get injured? How are we supposed to explain that to the Queen of Gods?"
Loki smiled without saying a word. Hogun tugged at Sif's arm, comforting her, "If it weren't for protecting the Second Prince, Thor wouldn't have organized this squad, and we wouldn't have been qualified to go to the frontlines. It's not easy for us to come here, so stop complaining."
Volstagg bit into a large piece of meat and looked at Loki, asking, "You hurried off just now saying you discovered a spy, did you catch them?"
Loki shook his head and said, "I must have been mistaken, it's getting late. Soon Thor will have cleared out those remnants, and we'll need to regroup, so let's get ready."
"Clean up your clothes a bit," Sif said with a hint of disdain, "We all possess Divine Power, even if we fight, we shouldn't get so dirty. You going to meet Thor with that ash-covered face, isn't he going to chop us all down?"
Loki chuckled, used magic to clean up a bit, combed his hair properly, threw away the shabby Magic Wand, and took another one embedded with seventy or eighty gemstones. Together with the squad, he flew toward Thor's direction.
Strange, however, had arrived earlier than them around Thor. He wanted to ask Thor, with only one brother, how could he bear to have him become like that?
With a bolt of Thunder, Thor struck down the last remaining Frost Giant, shook his hammer ready to finish up, only to see a figure landing in front of him, though he could only vaguely see a silhouette.
"Who's playing tricks there? Come out!!" Thor sent a bolt of Thunder in that direction, but the figure remained unmoved.
"Why aren't you looking after your brother?" Strange asked.
"Who are you?" Thor instantly became alert and said, "You're not one of the Star Meteor Spirit Race's leftovers, are you?! Trying to use Loki to threaten me?!"
Then he growled, "What happened to Heimdall? Wasn't it said that not a single one was left after the chase to the depths of the Shattered Stars? Where did this one come from? You damned magic mucus! Get out!!!"
As he lifted his hammer high, more and more Thunder rained down on the planet, Thor's hastily converged squad was startled, and Loki pulled them aside to take cover.
"It's probably an old grudge," Loki explained, "Thor has many enemies; those two are probably dueling. Better not to disturb them."
Sif was skeptical, but she noticed that the mysterious figure opposite Thor did seem quite capable, actually managing to hold their own against Thor, which made her somewhat believe it.
"This isn't another one of your messes, is it?" Sif said, "Did you steal their things again, or did you destroy their house? Every time you do this, you leave a heap of trouble for Thor to clean up. Please, you're not a child anymore!"
Loki picked at his ears and said, "If it was my mess, why wouldn't he come after me? Besides, if I didn't stir up trouble, where would Thor find so many sparring partners? He can thank me for half his strength!"
Sif rolled her eyes dramatically but still focused on the fight before them. It was a riveting exchange between the two combatants, with many of Thor's moves worth noting. They gradually became mesmerized by the spectacle.
While unnoticed, Loki slipped away again, retreating to a secluded area before taking out a strange-looking communication device and pressing it, saying, "It's done, Steven and Thor are fighting... Hm, judging by the current situation, they probably can't best each other. What should we do next?"
"What? Stop them? Me??" Loki's voice rose incredulously, as if the other person had made an absurd joke. He said, "Even if I have traveled back in time, there's no way I can stop those two madmen..."
The person on the other end seemed to chatter on, and Loki's face revealed a look of realization, followed by an evil smile, recalling something that had happened about a day ago.
"...can you believe it? I just suggested a possibility, and he dodged me like the plague. Is there any justice in that?!"
Across from Shiller, Loki was incessantly grumbling. He spread his hands and said, "If crossing the cosmos isn't an option, do I have many choices? Isn't it just about having a child with him through technological means? Was he really that unwilling?"
Shiller felt the immense resentment from Loki, he sighed and said, "It's only Steven. If it were anyone else, and they dared to give you such an attitude, you'd definitely have made them pay."
"Isn't that the truth? That thankless bastard!!" Loki was even more enraged as he clenched his teeth.
Seeing that it was about time, Shiller smiled at Loki and said, "He's not giving you face like that, you should teach him a lesson..."
"You have a way?" Loki raised an eyebrow and asked.
"Of course," Shiller finally revealed a genuine smile and said, "And it's a way that will let you toy with him at your will."
In his mind, he thought, "Even though the targets of my scheming are Arrogance and Superego, you, Strange, are not completely innocent either, having at least taken the Executor's position for yourself. If I don't take revenge, how can I call myself Greed?"
"What's the plan?" Loki inquired.
"Become a hostage, then cultivate a kidnapper."