King Loki

Chapter 32
Cephera wasn't all too pleased with Loki's tone. It made her nervous as to what he was hiding. Clearly he was hiding something and Cephera desperately didn't want Tony to be right about him. Cephera believed Loki had the capacity to be a really good man, despite his past, but at this rate she was concerned for the things he was keeping secret.
She wrapped herself in a blanket, sitting on the edge of his bed while he climbed into a pair of sleeping pants. She waited anxiously for his story. Before he began he poured himself up a rather large goblet of wine and drank a mouthful with less grace than his usual.
"You want to know who I worked for when I first came to Earth. This answer I'll give you, but you're not going to like it." He warned her.
"We'll see," she replied determined to continue on with this.
"I worked for a man named Thanos, they call him the Titan. A powerful determined being. After being cast out of Asgard I wandered the universe alone and without purpose, my mind filled with hateful thoughts and my heart filled with anger. Thanos offered me a chance to gain back my life and maybe even a little revenge, I accepted." Loki took another mouthful of his drink.
"What did he offer you?" Cephera asked not hearing anything upsetting so far and not willing to back down now.
"If I could not have Asgard I would have the next best thing, Midgard. The world my so-called brother held in such high esteem." Cephera felt her heart twitch. Earth was not really the end goal for Loki, it was a revenge taking. Earth was nothing more than a middle man over a brotherly feud. "Still want to hear more?" Loki asked his eyes clearly calculating her thoughts.
"Yes. All of it." She pushed, curiosity surging, not wanting to back out without answers.
"Thanos gave me what I needed to lay siege to Midgard. He provided me with the scepter and of course my Chitauri army. In return for helping conquer Midgard, Thanos wanted me to obtain the Tesseract for him, he didn't say why and I didn't care." Loki's shrugged and drank.
"And so you came to Earth and became its King." Cephera could at least piece that together. Loki nodded. "The Tesseract is here, so Thanos has yet to come collecting."
"That's correct," Loki replied finishing off his wine and pouring himself another full glass - this concerned her.
"What are you not telling me?" She asked standing, clutching the blankets to her body more to stop herself from trembling than fear of them falling.
"During the nuke, the Tesseract received significant damage. I've been using it to fortify my power in this Spire, but the damage may become a big deal for Thanos." He turned the goblet in his hand, not looking at her.
"You can't assume that, you said yourself you didn't ask what he wanted it for." Cephera shook her head.
"It is bad because I know what he wanted it for. I figured it out my first year here when I still had some Chitauri to help me defend what was mine and the Resistance hadn't yet formed completely." Loki's face deepened with worry. "The Tesseract is part of a set of six ancient, and very powerful infinity stones. Separate, they are already impressively powerful, each one holding its own unique power. Together with something called the Infinity Gaunlet they could be wielded to destroy the entire universe, over time of course."
Cephera sat back down, unable to stay on her feet. "Destroy the universe?" She whispered. Loki was helping this mad man obtain that goal?
"I'm unsure how many Thanos has, but I know there are three things he's currently missing. Two stones and the Gaunlet itself. That's locked away in Asgards vault and he'll have a hard time getting it. However, he's a patient man, this I learned quickly."
"What about Earth? What happens when he comes here? You can't let him have the Tesseract." Cephera's mind was roaring with endless horrible outcomes.
"And with what army would I stop him with? Humans?" Loki laughed at her making her face flush in anger.
"Call for help. Tell your mother what's happening. Have her seek the aide of Asgard on your behalf." Cephera could already tell he wouldn't do that and she wasn't sure if it was his pride or something else that stopped him.
"If I tell anyone in Asgard the true mess I've put myself in they'll come alright..., Odin will come and snatch away the Tesseract and the scepter. He'll have me captured and put in some jail cell if not executed or he'll leave me here to play king to a world that won't survive if Thanos shows up in any of those circumstances." Loki growled, his glare pointed in her direction.
"How long have you know that being King of Earth was nothing more than a temporary thing? How long have we been fighting for control for nothing?" Cephera found her feet again, anger bubbling throughout her entire being.
"Ever since I found out about the infinity stones." He admitted, his facial features set like stone, unreadable.
"Then why have we been helping you fight this war when another would soon come? Why play this charade of possible futures when the future is so bleak? I stayed here on Earth because I believed in you. Because you offered me a life I thought I could be happy with. I trusted you." Cephera's voice had risen and he looked to the side, unable to look at her.
"We fight for Earth because it's all we can do. It could be years before Thanos ever comes here. Decades even. He's waited this long to make a move for the stones and he has to figure out how to get the Gaunlet as that's the main piece of this puzzle. That's protected heavily and not so easily obtained. A future is possible." It frightened her that he sounded more like he was trying to convince himself on that than her.
"Then we have to create an army. We need to complete your reign as king and begin training those with power so that they can become the protection we need." Cephera at first had been blinded by her initial anger, but now she was thinking a little more clearly after taking a few deep breaths.
War was a natural state in all worlds. It shouldn't surprise her that Earth would get caught up in intergalactic plots eventually. She was still angry that Loki had been so careless, but what was done was done.
"In time I might be able to convince my adoptive father to aide us, but I can't ask that of him yet. We have to establish your spot here first." She added.
Loki looked stunned. He stared at her his eyes focused as if trying to figure out if he was dreaming. She didn't wait for him to reply, she removed the blanket and tossed it back on the bed. "Come to bed. We need sleep and we need to figure out how we will continue from here. We can discuss it in the morning."
She was still raging in the back of her mind, but what good would fighting do. She knew she wasn't about to leave and so she could only make the best of the situation she was now faced with. If it had been her sister, she probably would have beaten the shit out of Loki for his stupidity, but Cephera was nothing like her sister.
She would try to make this right not just for herself and this new life she'd actually begun to look forward to, but for the people of Earth. In reality Loki was their only chance to survive, not to mention the universe. The longer they could keep the Tesseract from Thanos, the safer the world would be.
Maybe it was better that Loki figured out what Thanos was really up to. If he hadn't they'd all be none the wiser and Thanos would have an easier time getting what he wanted.
The choice was clear. They would need to fight back.

Notes