"Well, that could have gone better," Loki thought to himself as he re-entered his base camp, "but it could have gone worse as well."
He had hoped for a simple exercise of power, but of course the humans had decided to ruin that. First the old man, then the government's tools, and, of course, his brother. They had caught him, and nearly got all the answers as well. Even taken away his mind slave, the one they called Hawkeye. Very frustrating.
But he smiled and chuckled to himself all the same. In the end, it wouldn't matter. They hadn't been able to hold him, as he knew they wouldn't. Plans, plans, and contingency plans were the way to be sure, along with a little magic. It didn't hurt to be able to shuffle the cards of their minds, like a magician performing a slight of hand trick. And the humans were so easy to manipulate. So many foibles and agendas. None of them really trusted each other anyway. And Thor was just as bad. A peasant in a prince's body. The thought of him becoming king of Asgard was laughable. His ambitions would end here, on this ball of mud he seemed to love so much.
"And for now," he said aloud cheerfully, "I have a new toy to play with."
He looked back at the winged girl he dragged behind him, trapped in a clear sphere of force projecting from his staff. "Aren't we fortunate to have run into each other today?"
He had hoped for a simple exercise of power, but of course the humans had decided to ruin that. First the old man, then the government's tools, and, of course, his brother. They had caught him, and nearly got all the answers as well. Even taken away his mind slave, the one they called Hawkeye. Very frustrating.
But he smiled and chuckled to himself all the same. In the end, it wouldn't matter. They hadn't been able to hold him, as he knew they wouldn't. Plans, plans, and contingency plans were the way to be sure, along with a little magic. It didn't hurt to be able to shuffle the cards of their minds, like a magician performing a slight of hand trick. And the humans were so easy to manipulate. So many foibles and agendas. None of them really trusted each other anyway. And Thor was just as bad. A peasant in a prince's body. The thought of him becoming king of Asgard was laughable. His ambitions would end here, on this ball of mud he seemed to love so much.
"And for now," he said aloud cheerfully, "I have a new toy to play with."
He looked back at the winged girl he dragged behind him, trapped in a clear sphere of force projecting from his staff. "Aren't we fortunate to have run into each other today?"