InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "I am taking my chance on love."

fulltiltdiva (fulltiltdiva) wrote in colligo_threads,
@ 2012-07-03 01:49:00

Entry tags:

adam young, loki laufeyson

WHO: Loki Laufeyson & Adam Young
WHAT: Adam says that if Loki can best him, he will return his scepter. Loki is blissfully oblivious.
WHEN: July 3rd; afternoon
WHERE: The Desert just outside the city
RATING: PG
STATUS: In Progress

This felt like it was going to be the worst idea that he had ever had, and considering how many horrible ideas that he had both had and participated in in the past, that was certainly saying something. But Loki was a predictable creature in as many ways as he was an unpredictable one, and the fact of the matter of, when presented with an intriguing idea, he was physically incapable of passing it up. A duel with no weapons was an impossible thing to come by on Asgard. A duel with no weapons was pretty much equated to a fist fight among those that he had known most his life, so to realize just what this Adam had meant in his words had sent a spark of interest running through Loki. He wanted a battle of ability, magic against magic, and that, no matter what the result, was something Loki was unwilling to pass up. He was assured in his abilities, his powers, and even if they were weaker here, his conversation with Willow and Tara had allowed him new methods of powering himself, new options that he hadn't had otherwise, and he could only hope that this would be enough to carry him through.

A swirl of green and black smoke wrapped around him as he landed in the familiar desert plain, Loki couldn't help but be quietly thankful that this time, there was no Hulk from which he had to flee the second that they touched down, his gaze lingering about the area to take in the barren landscape. Yes. This would be perfect. Nothing to destroy, nothing to get in their way, and plenty of landscape to take advantage of. Loki could most certainly make this work.

Raising his hands, Loki smirked quietly to himself as he faded his battle armor up into view and turned to wait. He might as well take the chance to make an intimidating impression. Even if, a second later, his mind couldn't help but replay all of the nonintimidating comparisons that Stark and the other Avengers had made as far as his battle armor went. Oh, well. He's made a decision. Might as well commit to it.

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fulltiltdiva
2012-07-03 06:42 am UTC (link)

Loki honestly didn't know how to react to the situation that was placed in front of him. Certainly, he had seen Adam on the network. He had taken a seeming first impression of him, and while he knew that he had probably looked just as impressive at that age, it was really hard to see any potential in the boy that stood in front of him. He looked normal, average, with a dog and a bike, and Loki almost wanted to back out right then and there. Certainly this Adam wouldn't have challenged him without at least some assurances that they would be relatively matched, but there was a part of Loki that honestly thought if he harmed this kid standing in front of him for the sake of scepter, there would be no turning back from this.

"I imagine you would have better luck with a different vehicle," Loki said, glancing back towards the bike, his eyes slipping towards the dog for a moment before they moved back to Adam. "But you are here now, and that it what matters," He said, shifting slightly, a number of wickedly crafted blades flying out of the compartments in his armor and collecting in his hands before he inclined his head towards Adam. "The agreement was no weapons, and while I am certain that you may be willing to trust my promise upon the matter, I would rather visibly disarm myself to make it obvious I have no intention in using them," He said before dropping the blades, a series of sharp daggers embedding themselves in the soft sand next to his feet before his gaze glance back towards the dog.

"I imagine you are unarmed," Loki said before glancing back towards Adam, "and that your companion is well trained enough to keep himself out of harm's way."

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humanincarnate
2012-07-03 06:50 am UTC (link)

Adam watched, at least partially amused, as Loki disarmed himself in front of him. That was the real problem he was facing, really. Loki was fun to have around. Sure, the guy was full of himself and he really needed to learn a couple of lessons, but he wasn't a bad guy. Not compared to a lot of others that Adam had both seen, and heard about. He didn't always mean well, sure, but he wasn't evil either. So it was tricky, figuring out exactly what should be done about him.

Knowing he still had a little more time to figure it out, Adam focused on the here and now. When Loki finally spoke again, the boy smiled in a surprisingly sincere manner. "I don't have anything on me," he assured him, choosing his words carefully. He wasn't unarmed, after all. He just didn't have to carry physical weapons. Knowing the next bit would be said far easier as it was the entire truth, he added, "And Dog'll stay out of the way. Don't you worry about him."

As though on cue, the small mutt that was now sitting beside Adam's bicycle barked in agreement then began attempting to bite his own tail, seemingly oblivious to what was taking place around him. Adam's smile remained as he tacked on cheerily, "So I reckon whenever you're ready, we can start." And, as though assuring that was, in fact, the case, Adam pulled his hands from his back pockets and let his arms fall to his side, looking for all the world like an unarmed, completely helpless, human boy facing off against something he could neither imagine nor comprehend.

A pity that wasn't the case or Loki might have stood a chance.

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fulltiltdiva
2012-07-03 07:05 am UTC (link)

Whenever he was ready? Loki stared across at Adam with a long look, quietly sizing him up, a deep hesitation clear in the tension in his muscles. If he hurt this kid, if he truly hurt him over something as petty as the possession of his scepter, he would be everything that he knew he was but didn't want to become, everything that he wanted to try and abandon but still felt the need to cling onto. Hands slowly raised in front of him, poised in a battle ready stance, Loki took a slow, deep breath as he looked across at Adam and quietly decided upon his first move.

Shifting his arms to the side, a quick fluid moment, he disappeared from view, a cocoon of invisibility wrapping itself around him as he moved from his original position. Normally, on the battle grounds of Asgard or in the streets of Midgard, such a trick would have warranted him the upperhand, but he realized too late, a brief lingering second too late, that it made little difference on this terrain.

His footprints gave him away.

Shifting the second that he realized his gaff, Loki shifted, a second later as a whip of energy shot out of Loki's hand and towards Adam, the drain upon his powers causing the concealment to leech away, leaving Loki in an odd semi-transparent state.

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humanincarnate
2012-07-03 07:15 am UTC (link)

In the few seconds between Loki disappearing and his striking out with magic, Adam realized that he'd made a rather large oversight when agreeing to meet with him. It wasn't that he couldn't take Loki in a fight. He could. Easily, in fact. However, he had yet to decide, clearly and in no uncertain terms, that nothing Loki did would harm him.

Fortunately, there was just enough time - mostly courtesy of the footprints in the sand - for Adam to see where the attack was coming from and therefore he was able to side-step the magical assault... although only by a hair's width, if that.

In the background, Dog growled out his warning but Adam ignored him. Heart thumping rapidly in his chest, the boy had to admit, if only to himself, that it had been a close call. Yet he'd managed to survive it, which was ultimately what mattered. Grinning in a purposefully kind way, he said simply, "Gonna have to try better than that, if you want to beat me."

And then, with a deliberate pause, he added pointedly, "Of course, nothing you do here is going to hurt me. Not even a little."

He wasn't sure if Loki would be able to tell or not, but Adam certainly felt reality around them change as he uttered those words while meaning ever syllable of them. Now assured that he wasn't going to wind up in some sort of trouble that he'd need help getting out of, Adam raised his chin a notch or two and fixed the half-transparent Loki with a purposefully innocent look.

"You're welcome to try again, though," he offered as spread his arms a bit to make himself a slightly bigger target.

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fulltiltdiva
2012-07-03 04:25 pm UTC (link)

Loki wasn't really sure what had happened. The kid was apparently swifter than first glance could show if he was able to merely step out of the way of the assault. Turning the situation over in his mind as Adam seemed to pause and seemingly egged him into attacking, Loki couldn't help but feel that this had to be some sort of trick, a greater one than whatever he'd played by getting him out here into this situation, but in the end, there would be nothing to be gained by standing in inaction. Frowning, Loki moved his hands to point towards the sand, whipping up a severe wind that he directed at the ground near Adam's feet, spinning the sands up into a tornado around him, locking him inside a gritty sandstorm.

Loki wasn't planning on holding it long, just long enough to try and beat some of the arrogance out of the child. The concealment faded entirely as the draw forced him to focus purely upon the task at hand until he felt satisfied that that was more than enough to make his point, his hands pulling apart from each other and breaking the gust blast.

Loki stood, straight backed, and he watched the sand fall, an expectation of seeing Adam at least somewhat downtrodden in his mind, but Loki was quietly stunned by what his eyes were met with instead.

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humanincarnate
2012-07-03 06:11 pm UTC (link)

As the sandstorm surrounded him, Adam rested safe in the knowledge that no harm was going to come to him and, therefore, was able to take a few moments to really appreciate the awesome sight of the sand as it descended around him. Swirling ever close, yet never touching him, it was really quite a wondrous sight to behold and Adam found himself fascinated with how the tiny grains all seemed to come together to form a solid-appearing mass of natural beauty and danger in one.

Of course, then Loki let the sand fall away again and Adam found himself once again facing the Asgardian. Blinking a bit to let his eyes readjust to the sudden brightness where there had been darkness a moment earlier, the boy smiled. "That was pretty cool," he admitted. "I bet if you really tried, you could've even made it take different shapes and stuff. Sort of like clouds, but with sand instead."

Reaching up to absently scratch the tip of his nose, the tiny Anti-Christ tilted his head a bit to the side and studied Loki for a few heartbeats before asking curiously, "Want to try something else?" Straightening his head once more, he gave a shrug of his shoulders. "Way I see it, you get three shots then it's my turn. That's the fairest I can make it."

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fulltiltdiva
2012-07-03 06:25 pm UTC (link)

Loki was extremely familiar with the deep sense of dread that built in his gut whenever he realized that he had gotten himself in over his head. In his youth, it had been provoked often by his attempts to prove himself to the others, to show his abilities to be worthy of respect, only to end up taking on so much more than he could manage by himself. This was a similar situation to those, but the difference was that there was no Thor to barrel in and save him this time, no Sif or Warriors Three to supplement his own strengths to overthrow their opponent. He was here. He was on his own. And he had to figure out some way to do this himself or suffer the consequences. Lashing out with his own power had failed. Using the elements against him had failed. Feeling the tension running through his entire body, Loki decided that if intangible distance attacks weren't going to do it, he was going to have to try something a bit more direct.

Hunching his shoulders, the leather slowly blended with his skin, the black sinking in as his battle garments faded swiftly from view, his entire form twisting and bending until Loki was no longer standing in front of Adam. Or rather, Loki was, but in a much different appearance than any were used to seeing him in. If his powers were going to fail him, what was a better strategy than to use his own body to counterbalance?

The deep black wolf form moved, tensing in front of Adam as Loki bared his new teeth, snapping his jaw before bounding forward to attack. Or at least, make a good attempt to.

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humanincarnate
2012-07-03 06:53 pm UTC (link)

Adam's eyes widened as Loki transformed. It was certainly impressive and, were he anyone else, he likely would be terrified. However, Adam knew that his decision that he wasn't going to get hurt, no matter what, was a firm one and therefore something would happen to keep the approaching wolf from getting too close.

Yet even he wasn't prepared for what that intervention entailed.

A split second after the wolf lurched forward there was a deep, low growl off to Adam's right. The boy didn't even have enough time to turn his head to see what was going on before a flash of fur dove between him and the advancing threat. Eyes wide, Adam watched in stunned silence as Dog tackled the creature and sent them both into a roll in the opposite direction of where Adam was still standing.

It took a few seconds for the boy to realize that the snarling he was hearing was coming from his loyal companion. Never before had he heard the mutt act that way and, although logically he knew that Dog wasn't really a dog anymore than he was really a boy, it was a little bit frightening to see even this small of a glimpse of the creature that still lay beneath the surface.

"Dog!" he called out when the duo stopped rolling and he was able to see that his pet had not only managed to land on top but now had the wolf's throat gripped tightly in his jaws. "That's enough, boy. C'mon, let him go."

For a heartbeat or two, Adam thought Dog wasn't going to listen. However, finally, he did and Loki was released. He didn't move away much, though, and made sure he keep himself between Adam and the beast. Still growling in warning, Dog's eyes flashed red and his teeth, which were razor sharp and did not belong inside the mouth of a normal canine, were bared clear back to his gums. The message was clear and the warning was absolute.

No one was going to harm his Master on his watch.

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fulltiltdiva
2012-07-03 07:06 pm UTC (link)

Jostled, thrown backwards, a tangle of fur and teeth twisting and rolling with him as he snapped viciously to try and grasp the unexpected intervention between him and Adam. He hadn't factored the dog into his attack plans. He had figured that it would be true to Adam's statement and stay in place, but even as it hadn't, such a tiny tuft of fur as had accompanied the boy shouldn't be capable of this. And yet, it was, his lower quarters struggling to try and get the leverage without harming himself with this Dog's teeth latched around the vital areas of his neck.

Adam's call seemed a world away as he heard it, the words getting processed even in his animalistic mind, and his heart tensed in his chest when there was a quiet moment of certainty in him that said that even if the dog did pull away as commanded, he'd be taking his throat with him. But it seemed that this Dog was far more willing to listen to Adam than he was to take out his own desires for vengeance upon him. Laying in the sand where he had be felled, head turning slowly to meet the other muzzle of the dog, Loki's eyes ducked at the flush of red and the otherworldly jaw.

There was so much more to this than he had realized, and as the wolf form shifted away, leaving Loki laying in the sand, raising a hand to his neck to make sure that it was little more than bruised from the assault, he turned to study Adam warily. Three strikes and then he took his turn. And Loki's three strikes were up.

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humanincarnate
2012-07-03 07:25 pm UTC (link)

As soon as Loki shifted back into a human-looking form, Dog immediately stopped growling and turned, padding softly to Adam's side with a low whining sound that made it clear he knew he shouldn't have gotten involved. Adam sighed, absently squatting down to pat the mutt. "You shouldn't have done that, boy," he said, although there was no real anger in his tone. "But thanks." Giving the animal a quick hug, Adam then rose back to his full height and turned to face the fallen Asgardian.

"You know," he began as he slid his hands into his back pockets and rocked back on his heels a bit, "you got lots of potential, Loki. You're smarter than most folks think and you definitely got some power." Going flat-footed once more, he sighed and shook his head almost in dismay. "Only problem is, you think you're so much better than most folks. You think humans are weak and you just figure, if someone looks human and aren't from where you're from, they must be human."

With a soft sigh, he made his way to where Loki lay and peered down at him for a long moment. "I'm not human," he said in a matter-of-fact tone, as though it wasn't already pretty obvious. "I look human, and I act human, and most days I wish I really was human, but when you get right down to it, I'm not. I was made to take over the planet and rule it by shaping it the way I wanted it to be." Squatting down so he was sitting back on his heels, Adam shrugged. "Only thing is, I don't much want to rule folks. Seems like an awful lot of work, to me, and I'm not such a fan of that, neither. So mostly I just make sure nobody else messes humans about too much, and have fun. Cause that's what's real important in life. Having fun and making friends and all kinds of stuff you forgot all about."

Standing up, Adam once more peered down at the fallen warrior. "But I think you can change, if you really try. Way I see it, with the right motivation, you could most likely make up for all the stuff you did and try to do better, this time around. You just gotta be given the chance, is all. And I reckon I can probably do that."

Suddenly, the boy extended his hand to Loki in a silent offer to help him to his feet. After a second or two, he arched an eyebrow and grinned slightly. "Go on," he encouraged. "It's just a hand. It's not gonna bite you or nothing. Promise."

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fulltiltdiva
2012-07-03 07:45 pm UTC (link)

Loki was used to be the one who talked when they should fight, who wove words around his opponent to try to confuse and delay them. He wasn't used to being the one made to listen, placed in such a position that another's words were washing over him as he tried to collect himself. Why wasn't Adam striking out? It was obvious that he was more than capable of ending this, more than capable of negating any threat that Loki might pose to this place ever again, but it seemed as though he wasn't going to. Relief and guilt flooded Loki at the same time, yet another person willing to give him a chance that he didn't deserve, a benefit of the doubt that just reinforced everything that he had ever done wrong. Lowering his eyes to the sand, the gaze of the boy far too intense for him to meet even without the feelings that it provoked, the hand caught him by surprised as it was offered.

Lifting his eyes back to stare at it, suspicion growing in him as he wondered whether this was the strike that he had been waiting for, concealing as a gesture of good faith as everything had been concealed with the boy in front of him so far. It was all too possible that taking that hand would leaving him coming away as something entirely different or not coming away at all, but as he shifted his position, Loki knew that to ignore it would only put himself into a deeper hole than he was. So he extended his hand slowly, silently shielding it as best that he could, before taking Adam's hand and standing.

"You all expect too much," Loki said with a sigh as soon as he was back on his feet. "Far more than I expect from myself."

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humanincarnate
2012-07-03 07:59 pm UTC (link)

Once Loki was on his feet, Adam released his hand. He had no intention of physically harming the guy and certainly wasn't going to trick him, either. He'd had enough of that for the time being. So instead he let his arms fall back to his sides and tilted his head a bit as he peered up at the man. "Oh, I don't know," he drawled, absently toeing at the sand at his feet with one sneaker. "I think you expect plenty from yourself. You've just got so used to not getting there that you've given up."

With a small shrug, he glanced over his shoulder at Dog, who was once again waiting patiently by his discarded bicycle. It gave him a few seconds to think, to really decide the best way to proceed. Finally, he looked back to Loki and made his intentions known.

"I'm not going to kill you," he assured him. "I could, if I wanted. I could make it so you don't exist anymore at all, or that you never existed to start with. But I'm not. Cause that won't solve nothing and you won't ever learn if you were never around at all. And I want you to learn. I want you to see all the good stuff humans have to offer, that they're not all bad or weak or stuff like that. Seems to me, if you could just figure that out, if somebody could show you that, you'd be a whole lot better off than you are right now." Pausing, Adam studied Loki for a long moment before finally nodding.

"Yeah, I think that's what I'll do. It worked pretty good the last time I did it to somebody else here. Way I see it, it'll work for you too." He paused again, this time only for a second or two, before tacking on, "So you're gonna be human for a little while, now. Don't get too upset, though. It most likely won't be forever. Just until you learn your lesson, is all. I think that's fair. I know you probably don't think so too but, well, you got your three shots so now I'm taking mine. And mine is to make you human, which means it's done now. I really hope you make the best of it."

With that being said, Adam calmly turned on his heel and made his way toward his bike and Dog, looking for all the world like an average, slightly scrawny, little boy and not a powerful being who had managed to strip a veritable god of his immortality and the bulk of his powers in one fail swoop. And all without even lifting a finger.

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fulltiltdiva
2012-07-03 08:19 pm UTC (link)

It was unnerving, having someone who seemed capable of parroting his thoughts back to him, to reaffirm the fears that he was having even as he tried to dissuade them, so even as Loki was trying to work his jaw into forming some sort of statement, he knew that this was likely a situation where he needed to keep it shut for once. So he just stood there, listening to what was being presented to him, gaze angled down towards Adam as he fidgeted, adjusting the guards on his armor even if they didn't need to be.

But the second the words 'you're gonna be human for a little while' left Adam's lips, confusion blossomed on Loki's features. He was going to be...what? How was that possible? He wasn't even Asgardian. His appearance to anything similar to humanity was a lie, an illusion fabricated by Odin during his youth, and to have such a change stated so simply, so oddly, it was enough to leave him staring after Adam as he turned on his heel, staring for a very long moment until Loki realized just how tired he was feeling.

The fight must have taken more out of him than he imagined. The adrenaline must have worn off in the time that he was listening to Adam and left him well in need of a rest. Raising a hand to press against his face, Loki sighed before moving his arms to try and teleport himself back to the city... Only to find that he had managed to do little more than flail. "What?" Loki questioned softly before trying again and again. Normally, he wouldn't have worried. There were moments, sometimes, when he needed to recharge his abilities before moving himself from one place to another. But this was more than just a lack of power. Looking up sharply from where he stood at the retreating figure, Loki cursed quietly under his breath.

He was going to be human for a little while, and it looked like that little while was starting now.

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