Loki materialized on the barren surface of the planet Ria, collapsing to his knees, feeling more exhausted than he had ever felt in his long life. His eyes rolled into the back of his head as he collapsed forward, thankful that he had the foresight to transport himself in an uninhabited region of the planet.
It was some hours later when he finally reawakened, staggering to his feet. As he looked around, the first thing he noticed was the stillness around him as he idly remembered that it was morning when he arrived here, but now it was dark. He looked up at the twin moons of Ria hanging low in the sky, casting a soft glow on the desolate landscape. The terrain was harsh and unforgiving, with rocky outcrops and a few sparse, twisted and gnarled vegetation around him.
Loki took out the mind stone, knowing that he would have to use it sparingly. He closed his eyes, focusing on locating Vers, finally finding her some distance away. He couldn't afford to use the space stone to reach her immediately, not while he was still recovering from using the stones on Asgard.
He set off at a sprint, navigated through the rough terrain, his Asgardian physiology allowing him to cover ground at incredible speeds.
Hours passed as the twin moons dipped below the horizon, giving way to the first rays of sunlight as he drew closer and closer to his quarry. He could feel himself slowly recovering from the use of the stones, his strength returning with each step he took.
As he crested a hill, he squinted his eyes, seeing a settlement in the distance, and knew it had to be where Vers was. He slowed down as he got closer, his sprint turning into a jog, then to a walk as he arrived at the outskirts of the Kronan settlement.
Not wanting to draw any attention to himself, he disguised himself. His skin turning to a rough, gray stone, and his features shifting to resemble the natives, blending in seamlessly with the Kronan in the village.
He used the mind stone again, gleaning Vers's surface thoughts from a distance, and realized she wasn't alone. She was part of a military unit, and here with another five soldiers. They were here looking for Skrulls, believing they had disguised themselves and were hiding amongst the locals.
He listened in on their surface thoughts as they discussed their plans, planting a suggestion in their leader, Yon-Rogg's mind to have them split up, and search outside the settlement.
Loki smiled, watching as they followed their commander's orders without question, none the wiser to his manipulations.
His curiosity getting the better of him, Loki used the mind stone one more time, delving deeper into Vers's mind, wondering how she could safely wield the infinity stones while so many others couldn't.
'Exposure to the space stone,' he thought, seeing the event that granted her, her powers, and also the Kree inhibitor implanted in her neck that suppressed most of those abilities.
He frowned as he delved deeper, seeing how fragmented her memories were, with large gaps that concealed much of her past.
As he continued to study her he realized she would have very few side effects from using the stones, and only under the most extreme use would she even feel the smallest amount of strain.
As he continued to observe her, his eyes roamed up and down her form appreciatively. Even wearing her armor, he could see her beauty shining through. 'She would look much better in Asgardian silks,' he thought to himself as his plans adjusted.
Loki watched with satisfaction as the Kree military unit separated, each going off in different directions. He continued to watch them, making sure they were a good distance away before he acted.
He knew he was being overly cautious, a far cry from his old self who would have gone directly for his prize, believing they were no match for his cunning or power, but he knew now that a strategy like that was tactically unsound, and the stakes were too high for him to leave any part of this to chance. He couldn't allow Vers slip through his fingers.
If he failed, the Kree Empire would know about him, and his interest in Vers, and with Thanos soon to be hunting him, he didn't need the extra attention, but despite it all, the challenge excited him, a dark thrill coursing through his veins as he took the first steps to attaining more than Odin even dreamed possible.
Loki set his eyes on the only other female member of the Kree Military unit, recalling her name as Minn-Erva. She had a sniper file, and skilled at taking out her targets from a distance, but with his illusions, he would have a distinct advantage over her.
He moved silently through the rocky terrain, making sure he was just out of the woman's sight. He created an illusion, a rustling noise coming from her side. It was subtle, but just enough to draw her attention.
As soon as she turned, he moved in behind her silently. Before she could react, he clamped his hand over her mouth, cutting off her surprised scream, then landed a blow to the top of her head, sending her to the ground unconscious.
He reached down, reliving her off her sniper rifle, easily snapping it in two, before searching her. He found a blaster, as well as a combat knife, that he also disposed. He briefly considering killing her, but dismissed the idea. She wasn't a threat to him anymore, and he would be long gone before she even woke up. Killing for the sake of killing no longer served his purposes, but living to tell the tale of her defeat may prove useful to him later.
Giving her one last parting glance, he moved off in search of his next target, Bron-Char. He already knew the direction he was traveling in. It didn't take long to find him, as he did nothing to hide his presence from the Skrulls he was hunting.
Loki smirked, knowing exactly what to do. The same trick he used on Thor when they were children. He created an illusion of himself, standing in front of the Kree.
The Kree didn't disappoint as he immediately swung his heavy fist at the illusion, watching in surprise as dissipated, giving Loki the opportunity to attack him from behind, landing a heavy kick to the warrior's back, and sending him crashing into the ground.
Bron-Char quickly scrambled back to his feet, ignoring the sharp pain in his back as turned to face Loki with a fierce growl. "Who are you?" he demanded, realizing that something wasn't right. 'It's not a Kronan,' he thought. 'Definitely not a green either, hits way too hard for one of them.'
Loki said nothing, surrounding the Kree with more illusions of himself as he continued his attack, landing a heavy punch to the warrior's gut before switching places with one of his illusions.
Bron-Char doubled over from the kick, swinging his arm wildly at his attackers illusions, hoping to at least clip him, but hit nothing but air. He tried again, only to receive a kick to the side that sent him staggering into the dirt again.
'He doesn't look like much,' Bron-Char thought, feeling a twinge of worry as he clutched his injures side. 'But he kicks like a Bilgesnipe,' he thought, subtly reaching for his communicator. Whoever this was, they were playing with him, and could take him down whenever he wanted.
Loki tracked the Kree's movements, realizing what he was going to do, and spun around, slamming his heel into Bron-Char's temple, and sending him crashing into a boulder unconscious.
'Stupid,' Loki thought, admonishing himself. He had allowed himself to fall back into bad habits, and nearly missed the Kree reaching for his communicator. "Another one down," he said to himself, going off in search of his next target.
A short time later, Loki found who he was looking for, their tracker, Korath. He watched him with a frown on his face, already on his communicator when he found him.
"I can't reach Minn-Erva or Bron-Char," Korath said with growing concern. "And I don't think it's from planetary interference, either. Something is wrong."
"Regroup at the ship immediately," Yon-Rogg's voice crackled through the comm. "We'll reassess from there."
"Understood, Korath out," he replied.
Loki watched as Korath turned away, heading back to the ship, and knew he had to act. He swiftly moved in front of him, keeping himself hidden with his illusion magic.
Korath stopped abruptly, his cybernetic eye detecting an anomaly, but the warning came a second too late as Loki's fist slammed into his face, sending him tumbling to the ground.
He quickly rolled to his feet, looking around wildly for who or what attacked him, but couldn't see anything. Exhaling sharply, he focusing on his other senses, waiting for the next attack. He spun on his heel, hearing the feint sound of footsteps behind him, as he swung his blade.
Loki saw the attack coming as Korath swung wide, and he easily sidestepped the attack, grabbing the soldiers forearm in a crushing grip as it swung past him. With a sharp twist, he dug his fingers into the cybernetic arm, crushing it and ripping it from his body as sparks flew from the exposed machinery.
Korath bit back a grimace, as he retaliated with a swift punch with his other hand, only for Loki to duck, then rear up, driving a knee into his stomach, knocking the wind out of him and sending him tumbling to the ground again.
Korath coughed, gasping for breath as he went for his communicator, hoping to warn the others, only for Loki to stamp on his wrist as he dropped his illusion.
Korath cradled his now broken wrist, finally able to see his attacker. "Who are you?" he wheezed, clutching his arm in pain.
Loki said nothing as he landed a vicious kick to the warrior's head, knocking him unconscious before looking in the direction of the Kree ship.
He knew he had to get to Vers before she arrived at the ship. No longer concerned with remaining undetected, he took off, using his enhanced speed to close the distance, catching up to her just as they neared their ship.
"You must be the one taking out my team," Yon-Rogg stated, his eyes narrowing as he assessed the threat in front of him.
Loki smirked but said nothing, his eyes locked on his prize, Vers, not caring in the slightest what the man had to say.
Vers met the warrior's eyes, frowning as he focused his attention on her rather than her commander. She could feel the tension rising as Yon-Rogg stared down the warrior.
Yon-Rog stepped forward, not used to being ignored. His expression stern as he regarded the man in front of him. "You have attacked the Kree Military. The Supreme Intelligence does not take such acts lightly."
Loki's smirk widened as he tore his eyes away from Vers, regarding the blow hard in front of him. "You think that intimidates me?" He questioned mockingly. "You think you intimidate me?"
"Yes," Yon-Rogg said, silently signaling his subordinates to attack.
Att-Lass and Vers quickly moved into position on either side of him, their many years of fighting experience together, giving them an instinctual understanding of how their commander wanted to handle the warrior in front of them.
Using his twin pistols, Att-Lass was the first to attack, sending twin energy blasts at Loki, hoping to give his comrades the opening they needed to launch their own attacks.
Loki watched as Att-Lass fired his guns, his enhanced perception making it feel like the soldier was moving in slow motion. He turned to his side, letting the blasts aimed at his chest fly past him.
He lunged forward, ready to take Att-Lass out of the fight, but Yon-Rogg stepped forward. He could see they were no match for Loki's raw speed and knew he had to slow him down. He aimed for his knee with a low, sweeping kick, intent on taking him to the ground, where his speed wouldn't matter.
Loki, already prepared for the attack, leapt into the air, countering with an elbow to Yon-Rogg's shoulder as he landed.
The Kree commander grunted in pain, but quickly recovered, using his momentum to execute a roundhouse kick aimed for Loki's head.
Loki ducked under the kick, retaliating with a front kick to Yon's ribs, sending him staggering back with a few cracked ribs.
Att-Lass used the opening Yon-Rogg gave him to move further back, then fired on Loki with his twin blasters, trying to take him by surprise.
Following Att-Lass's lead, Vers sent a series of powerful energy blasts, hoping their combined attacks would overwhelm him.
Loki eyes widened, seeing the combined attack, and conjured a magical barrier to block them. The impacts sent ripples through the air as they smashed against his barrier, pushing it nearly to its breaking point. He stared at Vers, surprised by the intensity of her attack. If a single one of her blasts hit, it would have taken him out of the fight.
Yon-Rogg took advantage of Loki's brief distraction, and ignoring the pain in his side, lunged forward with a series of rapid punches aimed at Loki's chest and torso, going into a jab-cross combination as he pressed his advantage.
Loki grunted in surprise as the first hit landed, but absorbed the blow, blocking and parrying the rest of his attacks as he moved fluidly around the battlefield, dodging the combined attacks of Att-Lass and Vers as he did.
Vers looked at her commander in worry as the tide quickly turned with Loki landed clubbing blow after clubbing blow on Yon-Rogg's face and chest. She narrowed her eyes, pumping up the intensity of her attack as she targeted the ground around Loki, hoping to trip him up and give Yon-Rogg another opening.
Loki felt a growing sense of frustration as the battle continued. Just when he was about to press his advantage on one of them, the others would step in, forcing him to change targets before he could take them down.
Catching onto their tactics, Loki deflected an energy blast from Vers towards Att-Lass, catching him off guard, and sending him sprawling to the ground. Then spun around, sending a powerful backhand to Yon-Rogg's face that sent him spinning to the ground as well, landing on the ground with a heavy thud.
Vers eyes's widened as her two comrades went down in less than a heartbeat, but continued her attack, her energy flaring around her as she pushed her inhibitor to the limits, but despite the increased power she put behind her attacks Loki was still faster, practically dancing around her attacks now that Yon-Rogg and Att-Lass weren't there to draw his attention.
Yon-Rogg struggled to his feet. His earlier confidence shattered by the combination of his cracked ribs, and how the warrior seemed to anticipate their every move. He glanced at Att-Lass, seeing that he was still down and likely out of the fight.
Sweat poured down his face, not used to being pushed this hard in a sustained fight, but he lunged forward anyway, in a last desperate attack, only to be caught by a knee strike to his temple as Loki jumped into the air, landing the heavy blow, and sending him to the ground unconscious.
Vers watched Loki's attack land, but could do anything to stop it, forced to watch as her commander fell to the ground like a puppet with its strings cut. Her eyes flared with anger as she stared down the man standing casually in front of her, but couldn't completely hide the flicker of fear she felt as she stared him down.
"Who are you? What do you want with us?" Vers demanded, her voice steady despite the undercurrent of fear she felt standing alone against him.
Loki smirked, looking Vers up and down. "My name is Loki, and I'm not here for them," he revealed. "I'm here for you."
Vers's eyes narrowed, energy crackling around her. "What do you want with me?" She demanded.
Loki's smirk widened as he took a step forward, seeing victory within his grasp. "There will be time for that later, but I'm on a tight schedule," he said, knowing that he couldn't linger here for much longer than he already had.
"Stay back!" Vers demanded, charging her fist with energy.
"Those energy blasts of yours are powerful. I'll grant you." Loki said confidently, taking another step forward. "But they're not enough. You're not going to change what happens here today."
"You're not taking me down without a fight," Vers said stubbornly, glaring at Loki as she sent another energy blast at him.
Loki saw the attack coming, and despite the power she managed to put into the attack, it was one he easily dodged.
Vers got more desperate as she sent energy blast after energy blast at Loki. She knew that if she could just land one hit on him, the fight would be over, but he was moving too fast for her.
Her attacks slammed into the ground harmlessly as he fluidly dodged out of the way, not even bothering to go on the offensive.
Her frustration continued to mount, as she increased the intensity of her attacks, realizing too late that she was only tiring herself out, and falling into Loki's trap.
Loki smiled inwardly, noticing the drop in power from Vers's energy blasts. He knew it was only a matter of time before she ran out of energy, and with her inhibitor in place, he knew it would be some time before the energy replenished.
He continued to fight, opting not to use the mind stone to knock her out. If Vers believed he won with a cheap trick, it would make the job of bending her to his will so much more troublesome than it needed to be.
Vers growled in frustration as she felt her energy run out without so much as leaving a mark on Loki. Unwilling to give up, she charged forward, using her advanced Kree military training to fight him hand to hand, sending a series of punches and kicks at him, but Loki seemed to anticipate each one of her attacks, easily dogging or blocking every one of them.
As Loki slapped away Vers's jab she spun around, aiming a high kick at his head, but he grabbed her ankle, and pulled her forward, putting her off balance.
Vers's eyes widened in panic as she realized she over extended, but there was nothing she could do as she crashed into him. She tried to pull her leg free, but she was no match for the Asgardian's strength.
In desperation she sent a jab at his chin, hoping to stun him enough to release her leg, but he caught her fist just as easily, pulling it down as he leaned forward, their lips almost touching before suddenly releasing her, and sending her tumbling into the dirt.
Vers's quickly got back to her feet, taking a few steps back as she reassessed the situation. She glanced down, seeing her teammates were still down, and unlikely to get up anytime soon. He was too fast to hit with her energy blasts and was physically stronger than her as well.
She glanced at the door to the ship, knowing her best chance at defeating him was the ship's on-board weapons, but that meant getting past him first. Her only chance was to go for his weak points. If she took him by surprise, it could buy her the precious seconds she needed to reach the ship.
"You fought well," Loki said, catching Vers's glance towards her ship as he worked out her plan. "But you're not getting past me. It's over."
Vers said nothing, refusing to accept Loki's words as she surged forward, aiming a low kick at Loki's knee, planning to follow up with a punch to his throat.
Loki snapped to the side, easily avoiding Vers's kick, then caught her fist, pulling it down as he spun her around, pressing his chest into her back.
Vers's struggled in Loki's iron grip, feeling his warm breath on the back of her neck. She tried to elbow him in the gut with her free arm, but he caught it effortlessly, pinning it behind her back as well.
Loki switched his grip, holding Vers wrists in one hand, as he wrapped his other arm around her waist, pulling her body tight against his.
"What do you want with me?" Vers demanded, struggling against Loki's iron grip.
"You've lost," Loki said, ignoring her question. "But know that you're very important to my plans, and you will be treated well," he said, using the mind stone to put her to sleep.
As Vers went limp in his arms, Loki lifted her up, carrying her towards her ship.
***
Loki carried Vers through the halls of the ship, impressed by the size and technology of the vessel. It was nowhere near as advanced as Asgardian ships, but certainly powerful enough to give others pause.
He found his way to the medical bay and lay Vers down on the bed, as he got an idea.
Using the pocket dimension was far too draining for him, and constantly using the space stone to travel from place to place also came with its own issues. It left a trail behind. One that others chasing after the infinity stones could follow. But a ship on the other hand, one that no one would ever associate with him, that would let him travel in search of the stones with none of them being the wiser.
He looked at Vers, his mind made up. After he made a few modifications, this ship would be the perfect vessel for his needs, but first things first.
He regarded Vers's uniform carefully, knowing the Kree must have figured out her connection to the infinity stones as well, and reasoned they much have a way of keeping tabs on their investment.
Loki started by removing Vers's gauntlets, unclasping them, and sliding them off her arms. He carefully examined the interior of each one, finding a small tracker embedded in one of them, and set it aside.
Next, he unclasped her chest plate. As he lifted it away, he found another tracker. This one was much better hidden than the one in her gauntlet, and built into the design of the plate itself. He carefully removed it, setting it aside as well.
He moved onto her shoulder guards next, examining them closely as well, but this time, found nothing. Lastly, he checked her boots, sliding them off her feet, as he looked them over carefully, finding a small compartment in the heel of one of her boots that housed another hidden tracker.
He placed all three on the bed beside Vers, examining the black body suit she wore underneath until he found the seam, running along the front of the suit.
Loki smiled as he slowly pulled down the zipper, revealing the smooth expanse of skin beneath her armor, admiring her beauty. Her many years of fighting and training had given her a body that would turn the head of just about any man, and looking closely, he could only find a few small scars that she had collected over the years.
Her breasts were large and firm, the perfect size to fit into the palm of his hand, and her stomach was flat, with just a hint of her abs poking through. She was strong, without looking bulky, her body closer to that of a dancer than a soldier. Between her legs, he could see her blonde curls, cut short, and styled into a v.
Loki's smile grew, finally able to see his prize in all her glory. Reaching out, he trailed his fingers between the valley of her breasts, down her stomach, just touching her soft curls before he stopped himself.
"Soon," Loki promised himself. There would be plenty of time to indulge himself later, but he needed to make sure his new ship was secure, and there weren't any trackers on the ship itself to give away his location before he took off.
He picked up the sleeping form of Vers, carrying her to the stasis pod, and placing her inside.
It was normally used to keep a subject with serious injuries in a state of suspended animation until they received the medical treatment they needed, but it also had the benefit of keeping Vers contained until he searched the ship for any other trackers or defense systems that could cause him problems.
He picked up Vers's uniform and the trackers he found on her, then tossed them out of the ship, beside the downed forms of her former teammates, deciding not to destroy the trackers outright in case that would also alert the Kree.
"Let's see what I have to work with," Loki said to himself as he made his way to the bridge, noting how spartan the design of the ship was. 'This is going to have to change,' he thought, shaking his head, already making plans to modify the interior of the ship to his tastes.
Loki let out a sigh as he took in the state of the bridge. It was rudimentary, far less advanced than what he was used to.
He walked up to the main console, using the access codes he'd taken from Yon-Rogg's mind to search through the command systems. 'Not bad,' he thought, seeing the security measures the Kree had put in to stop someone from doing exactly what he was about to do. 'But not good enough,' he thought, tapping into the mind stone to gain direct access to the operating system.
He skimmed through the various ship's systems, disabling the trackers, and giving himself root access before removing the access codes for anyone else.
Pulling up a star chart he smiled, "Sakaar, that's perfect," he said plotting a course, knowing it was the perfect place to make the modifications he needed for his newly acquired ship.
***
Hi! What do you think of the new chapter? Loki's plans are coming together as he prepares to go for the Infinity Stones. What do you think of the changes to Loki's character and how they came about?
When I was watching the first season of Loki I hated the scene he had with Sif where he basically groveled and felt sorry for himself, which was far removed from how he behaved prior. I wanted to keep his self serving nature intact, but temper it so that he could believably achieve his goals. I hope that came through in how I wrote him.
If you can, please take the time to review, and let me know what you think of the story.
For more info on my writing, character pictures for Loki and Vers(Carol Danvers) and early access to chapters 3-8 please visit: https://taplink.cc/jumpin
A big thank you to all my supporters, I really appreciate it.
Jumpin