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[It is somehow infinitely more relieving to hear that in person than over a communicator. Thor grins quickly, without the knife's edge of stress pressing against him for once.]

What's the point if you announce it first?

[In a few quick strides he's there, and hauls Loki into a hug without delay.]

[ Loki lets out an oof, underestimating the strength behind Thor's hold before he slowly relaxes inch by inch. Things can't be that bad, despite Loki's . . . strange, forgotten impromptu departure. His hands rest against Thor's shoulders lightly, giving them a faint squeeze. ]

So you don't complain when I knock your eye-patch off.

Don't you dare.

[It settles some of Thor's lingering doubts, the spectres of the past that flung themselves up when he had found Loki missing. Logic had told him it couldn't be Loki's fault, not this time. Yet it had still stung deep down, because all those years of hurt aren't erased or forgotten.

Thor releases Loki after a few moments, thumping him on the shoulder.]

Well, you are in the true Fleet now.

[ Dryly. ]

I shall contain my excitement.

[ With that, he gestures to the door. ]

Shall we? I'm sure this . . . ship has the necessary amenities. Like decent food. And tea.

Oh, uh. Sure.

[Thor moves to follow.]

But about the 'decent food' part...

[ Loki sighs. This is his life now. ]

Wonderful. Any other things I should know?

Most of what the ships give you as food is really paste or gels. It's a good idea to stock up on real food whenever we're visiting a planet.

[It occurs to Thor that he hasn't checked one important point with Loki, so he glances at him sidelong.]

Do you know about the augments yet?

[ Ugh. Loki taps the side of his neck with a hum. ]

I assume you mean the device implanted that is feeding me information and most likely, a direct connection to our kidnappers, much like an obedience disc?

That's the one. [At least that's one thing Thor doesn't have to spring on Loki. It wasn't fun last time.] You should know from that what your role on the ship is meant to be.

Anyone you ask will tell you not to try removing it, or tampering with it.

And since has that stopped anyone?

[ To be honest, Loki was ready to take a knife to it. But he wasn't stupid, even if the device itself made him feel reckless and paranoid. There's a limit to how much he's willing to let people see. ]

[They really are more similar than they would care to admit, sometimes. Thor did take a knife to it. He snorts.]

No, it hasn't. I asked around recently to find out what had been tried. Most didn't want to tell me over the network, though I don't see how it makes any difference.

[He also assumes the augments can keep track of what they're doing.]

Most of the serious attempts ended in injury, and at least once in death.

Hardly surprising. But mortals are fragile.

[ He glances at Thor. ]

What are you planning to do about it? Aren't you the God of Thunder?

Maybe so, but at least one of the attempts was made by someone who I'm told should have been able to heal from anything. I know a woman here who can phase through any object - she says she couldn't do so for the augment.

[As they walk into the kitchen, Thor gives it a cursory look. Similar enough to his own ship. He leans against the counter, happy to be straightforward on this point.]

I'm going to do exactly that. No one's tried to burn it out with lightning. I am likely the only one who can try it, and it seems more possible than trying to remove the thing.

If you die, I'm taking over Asgard.

[ There's a note of you better not or else in there, which adequately disguises any feelings Loki has on the matter. Thor will do it, regardless of his input and it's a sound plan. They're stronger than most, with better powers. They can shoulder that risk in order to leave. ]

I'm not going to.

[He doesn't say that if he does, he'll likely be revived if the other residents are to be believed. That is not the way to have this conversation, and Thor doesn't particularly want to think about failure on that level either.]

[ Loki makes a noncommittal sound at the back of his throat. ]

What else? I doubt those were your only plans.

For the augment it is. Unless we find an external control somewhere, all other methods I can think of seem to have been tried at some point.

[ Loki rubs his temples. ]

All right. And your plans for the town?

I want to figure out what's happened. I said there were no people, but there are other strange things about it. There's some sort of ... reset that happens, every night. If you damage things or remove them from the town, it all reverts to how it was, without fail.

It sounds like a trap. And the further away from the trap we are, the better off we will all be.

[ Loki stresses the we, keeping his gaze fixed on Thor. ]

You're King now. You can't afford to be heroic and run into every problem.

[Thor's eye narrows a bit, not taking the comment in particularly good grace.]

I haven't forgotten, Loki. Not for a second.

[Nothing grates at him more than having to wile away time in this place instead of doing his duty at home. It's driven him to distraction more times than he can count, and worse, there's little he can do about it.]

[ Loki lets that settle before he responds. ]

I believe you.

But you're frustrated.

[ He can tell. He's too familiar with Thor's moods, able to pick it up on video. The thing Thor hates the most is being ineffective. And this is too close to Sakaar for Thor's mood to improve. And, he sourly admits, leaves very little for Loki to alleviate it. ]

Of course I am. Being here is a waste of time, and no way of escape has been found. Some of these people have been in the Fleet for years.

[It doesn't matter that time isn't passing at home. It passes for them, here, and Thor can already tell that's enough to grind people down after long enough.]

So I've heard.

[ Loki makes a quiet sound. ]

But if time is not passing, it leaves us room to maneuver. We don't have to rush back.

[Thor sighs, because that's what people tell him. It's still hard to go along with the concept.]

Yeah, I know. And I've seen how the difference in time works myself.

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