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—
Contraxia
He quickly came to realize that the planet was visited mostly by Ravagers, an interstellar criminal syndicate dealing in thievery, trafficking, and piracy. From what he gathered, there were nearly a hundred clans, all led by a captain.
The planet itself was full of alcohol, addictive substances, and lovebots. The interaction he had with the owner of a brothel filled with robots was amusing.
"Don't think I ever saw you around before," a female, at least he assumed it was a female, said to him outside the place.
She was bald, pasty-skinned, and ugly and had spikes in lines across her head.
"My first time on this planet," he responded. He wasn't naive and knew what the place was at first sight.
"Why don't you come inside and taste what we have to offer?" she asked.
Loki tried to hold his laughter but failed miserably. "Lovebots? Are you telling me people actually pay to lay with one of these?"
He didn't care; it was just too funny to not laugh at.
"Yes. Why, don't you have houses of pleasure where you are from?" she asked, perturbed by his reaction. Almost everyone that visited Contraxia also visited Iron Lotus. This male looked to be rather well-off, unlike her usual clientele.
"No, everyone from my world is capable of getting a real person to lie with. We have no need for brothels, much less ones with robots," he explained. In Asgard, the private life of an individual was not scrutinized. As long as they were not wed, the people did not care who slept with whom.
However, things did change when adultery was involved.
"What about you?" He was here alone, and young ones always were raring to go.
"Do you have any idea how many females I have to dodge just to be able to work in peace? Let me tell you, it isn't easy," he said. Beyond being a prince, he was the greatest seidr practitioner after his father. Ladies, mostly from Asgard, Vanaheim, and Alfheim, were all too willing to pursue him.
He hadn't found anyone interesting enough yet. A pretty face or a political genius wasn't what he sought, but a practitioner of seidr like himself. Which narrowed the courting pool quite a bit.
"Suit yourself."
The Ravagers were intelligent enough to not cross the person flying without any machine aid. Which, in his opinion, made them a tiny bit better than the Kree when it came to survival instincts.
He entered a bar, inspecting the inside. Besides the flow of drinks, a persistent cloud of smoke hung up in the air. He created a barrier around himself for clean air. A holographic bulletin board hung at the left side of the room. Loki decided to inspect it first.
The language was foreign to him, but there was a way to mend his lack of knowledge. One of the drunk Ravagers stumbled over. He steadied the alien, using the opportunity to read his mind for the language. He was done in seconds.
He gently pushed the alien away, towards who he assumed were his clans. He didn't look at anything other than the language. There was no need to look too deeply inside the mind of a pirate.
Now, the language made sense to him. The board was a place for employers to offer jobs, ranging from protection of an establishment to one that included stealing something called the Anulax Batteries. He didn't know how much one of these units was worth, but the price disparity was too great. These batteries must be worth quite a lot.
There were actually several offers for the batteries, each close in reward range with the option to negotiate.
This required further investigation.
—
Sovereign
Loki whistled.
Sovereign, homeworld to a species that shared the same name, had truly impressive megastructures on either side.
The surface was gold-toned, just like the golden skins of the race itself. They were advanced too, as a patrol craft was quick to land near his position, examining the area. The golden-skinned soldiers just walked by him.
There were two of them, dressed in military uniforms, holding guns, and looking rather artificial. Either this race was naturally blessed with perfect complexion, looks, and health, or there was more to this.
His form of invisibility hid him from more than just sight. He had actually phase-shifted. He could observe his surroundings without worrying over detection.
When the soldiers detected nothing in the area, they returned to the craft, which he snuck inside to take the ride.
The craft was fast thankfully, because the soldiers were silent the entire way. Perhaps they were not born with a sense of humor or the ability for small talk.
He phased through the craft during landing. Flying to the top of the spire, he got a good look at the surroundings. The top of the spire had an entrance and a wide, crescent platform. People came and went, all sharing the characteristics of the soldiers he had seen.
All too perfect.
Even Asgardians had faults when it came to their appearance, though they were rare.
Now, to find one of these batteries. If their value was so great, the Sovereigns must be keeping them under heavy security. Phasing through the floors of the spire, he witnessed many interesting sights, eventually stopping in one.
"Pods?" he thought, approaching one of them.
A tall, roughly cocoon-shaped pod the color of the gold that was all too prevalent on this planet. It was smooth, as if grown rather than assembled.
He took a look inside and backed off quickly. There was a fetus inside it, which explained everything. These Sovereigns weren't born; they were created in these pods. Individuals that were genetically engineered to be perfect.
Loki huffed and left the room.
The spire was not where they kept the batteries, and he was left considering where the Sovereigns would hide these extremely valuable batteries.
The answer was they did not keep it in a vault. Not far from the spire, the Anulax Batteries were stacked in a pyramid, attended by individuals in garish robes with automated defenses around. Yet, they were out in the open.
Either the Sovereigns believed stealing a battery this deep inside their territory was impossible, or they were just arrogant.
He was leaning toward both.
Theft was not something he would lower himself to, and now that he knew where the batteries were, he could just visit whenever he wanted to examine them.
Small, golden cylinders, he wondered how they produced so much energy to be worth tens of millions of units.
The initial scan showed that they had created exotic particles, which meant something he had never encountered before. The particles inside created nanoscopic tears in the reality to a specific, higher dimension and drew the energy.
It explained how they were able to produce such a disproportionate amount of energy for their size.
Replicating the particles was so simple, he wanted to reveal himself and laugh at their faces.
—
Creating an exact replica of the containment unit, he filled the inside with the replicated particles. The energy output was the same, only it was green.
Now, he just had to find a buyer.
The Kree Empire was out, as he found them distasteful. The Nova Corps was a possible entity, but they were too idealistic and might not buy it. The Ravagers were pirates, the last kind of people he would trade with.
One name caught his interest.
The Collector.
The minds he glanced at all said the same thing. This collector wanted rare specimens for his collection and paid well for them.
An entity that wanted the battery for the purpose of displaying it was far safer than the rest.
—
Knowhere
Loki took a deep breath. Traveling three times in quick succession had drained his seidr. Reaching this place was difficult because he had to find someone who had visited. Nowhere, he read through their mind and then detected it with his vision.
Finding the Collector's lair to be the severed head of an enormous creature was quite a shock.
"I don't remember inviting you," a voice muttered right behind him. His portals were getting more precise with each use, and he had landed in front of the Collector.
He was a curious individual. Wild white hair, a bored complexion, dressed in a brown garment with red and white chaotic lines, and the pelt of a creature he did not recognize as a sort of cape. Two golden chains with colored beads completed the look.
But that was just the surface.
This being was ancient. He could not see the start of it but was sure that Asgard's history would be but a blip to the Collector.
"My method of travel makes it hard to let people know. I heard you were seeking Annulax Batteries," he explained, dusting himself.
"I am," the Collector replied. Loki floated the first battery he created to the Collector. The entity took it without the slightest change in his demeanor.
"This is green, not gold," he drawled.
"Yet it will work exactly the same. The difference in color is just cosmetic," Loki assured. He could create as many as necessary, and the Collector was free to test the first one as he wished.
"We shall have to test that," he said. Putting the battery over a scanner, he waited for the results.
"Curious," his eyes slightly widened, almost imperceptibly. "It is indistinguishable from the originals. Where did you acquire this?" he asked with a voice that was firmer than before.
He had the Collector's interest.
"I am here to ask questions, not answer them. I wager someone as knowledgeable as you could offer me what I want to know in return for batteries equivalent in value," he offered, presenting three more batteries.
"We have a deal then…." The Collector waited for a name.
"Loki."
"Loki, ask away."
His first question regarded the Infinity Stones. His father, decades after the mess with the TVA, had explained what the fake gauntlet in the vault was.
He had defeated a being who sought the Infinity Stones, gems that were the most devastating tools alone yet made the user omnipotent together. The name of this entity, nor the true nature of the stones, was not among the questions he had answered.
The Collector was all too delighted to speak, and as he did, Loki became more and more interested.
Six singularities existed before the creation. When the universe came into being, the remnants of the singularities consolidated into gems. Each gem could control one aspect.
Mind, Space, Reality, Power, Soul, and Time stones.
"I have heard of a being that tried to gather the stones but was defeated," he said offhandedly.
"Thanos, the Mad Titan. He believes that wiping out half the life across the universe at random will lead to a better future or something. I don't tend to listen to the ramblings of insane individuals such as him," the Collector answered, waving his hand dismissively.
"And the one who defeated him?"
"Odin Allfather, the King of Asgard. He defeated the Titan, but Thanos managed to scurry away in the battle. Afterwards, Odin hid the Power and Space Stones across the universe. The rest were never found, but I suspect he might know where they are."
It appeared his father was famous beyond the Nine Realms.
"However, a reliable source told me the location of the Mind Stone." The Collector left the sentence unfinished.
Loki handed over another battery.
"Thanos managed to recover the Mind Stone in great secret. It is the only one he possesses currently."
His next question regarded the giant head they were in, which cost him another battery.
Celestials, the oldest race in the universe that even predated the six singularities, were also responsible for the Big Bang and the creation of the universe.
That was terrifying to him.
And exciting.
They created planets, stars, and lifeforms, which explained why most species looked so similar, to birth more Celestials. Each planet was seeded with a nascent Celestial. They required large sapient populations on the planet they were seeded into, feeding on their life force.
When the time came, the planet was destroyed as a consequence of the Emergence.
It could mean that the Nine Realms, except for Asgard and Nidavellir, could have nascent Celestials ready to destroy the planets in the future.
He had to research this.
The head they were in told him that the Celestials could be killed. The nascent ones were basically defenseless. If he could find where exactly they were seeded in the planet, he would have a test subject.
Once he became strong enough, of course.
"Have you ever heard of an organization named the TVA?" he asked, creating illusions of the TVA troopers that he had encountered centuries ago.
"I did not, which is rare, almost impossible in fact," the Collector replied, hesitating.
"What can you tell me about them?" he asked, but Loki shook his head.
"I only encountered them once and could never figure out where they came from."
"Curious. I shall be on the lookout."
"What else can I offer you?"
"The Dark Elves of Svartalfheim. Do you know anything about them?" he asked.
"Odin's father went to war with them, and they were rendered extinct. Beyond that, nothing except the working examples of their technology in my collection."
"Anything about stealth ships?" It was a long shot, he knew, but better to get it out of the way.
"No."
"What about Niflheim and Helheim?" he asked. Traveling to Niflheim was on his to-do list. It would be even better if he possessed knowledge of the world.
His vision could not penetrate the atmosphere, and Asgard's library was empty. On purpose, he wagered.
The Collector tilted his head. "I actually appreciate capable individuals such as you, so let me give you some advice in return. Don't pry too much into that planet. As old as I am, Odin is too terrifying to risk an altercation with."
"Noted," he said.
The Collector could have simply said no, or that they were worlds bereft of life, but he chose to warn Loki instead. It meant his father was definitely hiding something.
A secret that even this entity would not dare reveal.
"This has been very informative. If I have any other questions, I will be sure to return, with ample payment for your knowledge," Loki said. This short excursion was something he would definitely repeat in the future.
"By all means, Loki of Asgard, you are free to visit whenever you want," he replied with glinting eyes.
Loki let out a hearty laugh. "How did you figure it out?"
"I wasn't really paying attention, but your language, the Allspeak, is there if you know how to look. I don't know your place in Asgard, but again, do not dig too deep into Odin's past while he lives. You are too valuable as a customer."
He nodded and left Knowhere, with the intention to return at a later date.
—
In the next chapter:
Which had made him realize he did not have many friends. There was Eitri, but he was more like a colleague that he collaborated with.
Perhaps he could try to be more social. If only there were people who took interest in seidr as much as he had.
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