Loki would later admit to a bit of confusion at the concept Lex Luthor developed to counter the Justice League with his "Injustice Gang" after reports of the collaboration of notable villains made the news. Mostly because every one of Luthor's recruits proved to be inferior to his or her heroic arch rival on numerous occasions and Luthor did not seem to see fit to recruit a comparable number of ne'er do wells to compensate for their own innate inability to win an actual fight. What good are even teams when you are starting off with an inferior talent pool? It would be like Loki trying to recruit someone like Amora the Enchantress to do battle with Sif. Oh, Amora could be a threat both with her sorcery and her ability to seduce men, to be certain, but she was hardly what you would call a front line fighter like the Lady Sif. Truly, it was not the best plan ever devised by Superman's supposedly most intelligent foe.
To be perfectly honest, the only two among the group that Loki even considered to be real threats were Star Sapphire and the Joker. Star Sapphire because her powers were as potentially limitless as those of the Green Lantern and the Joker because well... he was too insane to NOT be considered a threat. The fact he was one of the only ones in the group known for routinely killing people without a shred of remorse didn't hurt either. Luthor might fund weapons research to that supported dangerous regime that killed by the thousands, but the Joker liked to get his hands dirty. It was a stark contrast between the two madmen.
But, in the end, it was neither here nor there as he sat back and enjoyed the recliner in the penthouse apartment that the Batman had recently helped Loki to acquire. While Los Angeles was certainly no Asdgard, there was a feeling of home when the younger Odinson looked out from his balcony as the rising sun lit the tall towers of the city in golden light. Of course that anticipated dawn was still several hours away as Loki settled in with a book and prepared to read more about the local Asgard. He was thoroughly intrigued at the moment by the lack of mention of Amora and her manservant Skurge the Executioner.
His reverie at the apparent exclusion of a rather infamous pair of Asgardians was cut short as his "cell phone" began to ring from where it sat charging on his end table.
"Yes?" Loki asked, knowing that the only people that even had his number were the various members of the JLA, the Mayor, and the local Chief of Police.
"Hey Loki, how ya doin', buddy?" the exuberant voice of the Flash asked on the other end of the connection.
"I am well, Flash. Is something the matter? It would be well into the night in Central City, if I am not mistaken about the time difference," Loki asked as he glanced at a clock and saw that it was well past 1:00 in the morning in LA.
"Sort of. Diana has kind of a situation involving some kind of evil sorcerer dude that was trying to blackmail her into stealing some kind of magical do-hickeys for him. He's attacked her home island or something and turned everyone into stone. Anyway, Bats tracked the down the guy's place from before he went ten different kinds of crazy evil and we could use an expert in the magic end of things in you're interested," Flash explained in a somewhat worried tone.
Loki's green eyes flashed in annoyance as he listened to the Flash's account of what was happening. How dare some mortal upstart blackmail Diana into acting as a common thief to further his own schemes? Who was this commoner to order around a woman with the power of a goddess? And to use Loki's preferred arts to do it, no less? No, this would not stand. "Of course I would be willing to help. If you could send me the location where you have assembled I will teleport myself there in a moment," Loki assured him as he rose from his seat and his clothing morphed into his battle armor, helmet and all, with Gungnir clasped in his left hand as he held his phone with his right.
"Cool. I'll text you the location ASAP," Flash responded before the connection went silent. It was only a matter of seconds later that the address of Felix Faust's office from his time as an archaeologist was displayed, as well as a picture of the area to make it easier for Loki to find the location with his mind's eye and teleport there.
The first sight to greet the God of Mischief as he arrived on the scene was Batman snatching a small scepter or large wand with a large crystal from Flash's hands and admonishing the younger hero about the dangers of touching unknown magical artifacts. It was all Loki could do to hold in his chuckle as Diana and Kal-El quickly replaced the various knickknacks they had picked up in their own curiosity.
"Our resident Dark Knight is quite correct my friends. For example, the focusing crystal atop that scepter discharged as a result of a combination of Flash's own natural empowerment by an elemental force, couple with his lack of training in how to control the flow of energy. Consider yourselves fortunate that Batman snatched it away and not Superman. The result could have been quite explosive," Loki informed them with a smirk.
"So the thing is like a version of a Power Ring?" John asked.
"I don't know enough about your own weapon to compare, Lantern. Although you would be the second best choice other than Batman to handle it. You are an experienced energy manipulator and could use it to direct whatever inherent powers you may possess. Batman uses no internal powers beyond his own will and has not studied sorcery, so there is nothing focused enough within him for the crystal to draw upon," Loki elaborated. "Now I am to understand that some upstart sorcerer has seen fit to try to blackmail a member of the Justice League?"
It took a couple of minutes to bring Loki up to speed on the history of Felix Faust and how he went from respected archaeologist to international crackpot with his discussion of occult topics, as well as the description of the artifacts Diana stole for him in order to save her mother. It was a sentiment Loki could understand quite well. Had Frigga been threatened, Loki was certain there was nothing he would not do to save her.
"And what have we discovered about the relics in question?" he asked once he was up to speed.
"They appear to be three parts of a key from what we've found. A key to the gates of Tartarus," Diana grimly confided.
"Well then, we will just have to track down this brigand and stop him from using that key, won't we?" Loki asked with a mischievous twinkle in his eye.
"But Faust is on Themyscira. Only Hawkgirl and I can journey there. No man may step foot on the soil of Amazon nation," Diana fretted.
"Really? Well that's hardly an issue for anyone but Batman and Flash, I would say. After all, Superman and J'onn are not human and are therefore not technically "men." Likewise I was raised a god and am of Jotun blood, neither of which are human men, although I suppose I could take a female form if you prefer. The Green Lantern is covered in an energy shroud and would technically never touch Amazon soil even if thrown to the ground. As for the others, well if they are amenable I could easily cast a spell to provide a barrier around them to keep them elevated a fraction of a millimeter off the ground, or I could transform them into women for you," Loki offered with a mirthful grin.
Flash was about to chime in on his thoughts when Batman curtly interjected, "The barrier."
"Aw. But Bats, think of the-" Flash tried to whine.
"No," Batman stubbornly hissed.
"Is there something wrong with being a woman?" Diana asked archly as she folded her arms to glare at Batman.
"We don't have time to adjust to a new center of balance and Flash would spend the whole time staring at his own breasts," Batman explained.
"No I wouldn't," Flash protested, which prompted the whole team to stare at him. After a rather pregnant pause, he amended, "Well not the whole time. Just the Javelin ride over. Come on, how trippy would the whole League as hot girls be?"
"I fear Batman has a point from a tactical point of view, Flash. If you like, I can transform you another time so you can stare at your own breasts. To be honest it gets somewhat old rather quickly," Loki said.
"Indeed," J'onn agreed. As the only other resident shape-shifter in the room, J'onn knew all too well what kind of experimentation could take place in adolescence when you could assume any form.
Shayera looked like she was trying to decide whether to bash Loki or Flash over the head with her mace first when she stopped short and let out a strangled, "What" at J'onn's revelation.
Both Loki and J'onn looked at each other before they shrugged in unison as they replied, "Shape-shifters" in sync with one another as if that explained everything.
"There are days I really wonder about this team," John grumbled as he looked back and forth among the assembled heroes.
"You and me both," Shayera agreed.
To be perfectly honest, the only two among the group that Loki even considered to be real threats were Star Sapphire and the Joker. Star Sapphire because her powers were as potentially limitless as those of the Green Lantern and the Joker because well... he was too insane to NOT be considered a threat. The fact he was one of the only ones in the group known for routinely killing people without a shred of remorse didn't hurt either. Luthor might fund weapons research to that supported dangerous regime that killed by the thousands, but the Joker liked to get his hands dirty. It was a stark contrast between the two madmen.
But, in the end, it was neither here nor there as he sat back and enjoyed the recliner in the penthouse apartment that the Batman had recently helped Loki to acquire. While Los Angeles was certainly no Asdgard, there was a feeling of home when the younger Odinson looked out from his balcony as the rising sun lit the tall towers of the city in golden light. Of course that anticipated dawn was still several hours away as Loki settled in with a book and prepared to read more about the local Asgard. He was thoroughly intrigued at the moment by the lack of mention of Amora and her manservant Skurge the Executioner.
His reverie at the apparent exclusion of a rather infamous pair of Asgardians was cut short as his "cell phone" began to ring from where it sat charging on his end table.
"Yes?" Loki asked, knowing that the only people that even had his number were the various members of the JLA, the Mayor, and the local Chief of Police.
"Hey Loki, how ya doin', buddy?" the exuberant voice of the Flash asked on the other end of the connection.
"I am well, Flash. Is something the matter? It would be well into the night in Central City, if I am not mistaken about the time difference," Loki asked as he glanced at a clock and saw that it was well past 1:00 in the morning in LA.
"Sort of. Diana has kind of a situation involving some kind of evil sorcerer dude that was trying to blackmail her into stealing some kind of magical do-hickeys for him. He's attacked her home island or something and turned everyone into stone. Anyway, Bats tracked the down the guy's place from before he went ten different kinds of crazy evil and we could use an expert in the magic end of things in you're interested," Flash explained in a somewhat worried tone.
Loki's green eyes flashed in annoyance as he listened to the Flash's account of what was happening. How dare some mortal upstart blackmail Diana into acting as a common thief to further his own schemes? Who was this commoner to order around a woman with the power of a goddess? And to use Loki's preferred arts to do it, no less? No, this would not stand. "Of course I would be willing to help. If you could send me the location where you have assembled I will teleport myself there in a moment," Loki assured him as he rose from his seat and his clothing morphed into his battle armor, helmet and all, with Gungnir clasped in his left hand as he held his phone with his right.
"Cool. I'll text you the location ASAP," Flash responded before the connection went silent. It was only a matter of seconds later that the address of Felix Faust's office from his time as an archaeologist was displayed, as well as a picture of the area to make it easier for Loki to find the location with his mind's eye and teleport there.
The first sight to greet the God of Mischief as he arrived on the scene was Batman snatching a small scepter or large wand with a large crystal from Flash's hands and admonishing the younger hero about the dangers of touching unknown magical artifacts. It was all Loki could do to hold in his chuckle as Diana and Kal-El quickly replaced the various knickknacks they had picked up in their own curiosity.
"Our resident Dark Knight is quite correct my friends. For example, the focusing crystal atop that scepter discharged as a result of a combination of Flash's own natural empowerment by an elemental force, couple with his lack of training in how to control the flow of energy. Consider yourselves fortunate that Batman snatched it away and not Superman. The result could have been quite explosive," Loki informed them with a smirk.
"So the thing is like a version of a Power Ring?" John asked.
"I don't know enough about your own weapon to compare, Lantern. Although you would be the second best choice other than Batman to handle it. You are an experienced energy manipulator and could use it to direct whatever inherent powers you may possess. Batman uses no internal powers beyond his own will and has not studied sorcery, so there is nothing focused enough within him for the crystal to draw upon," Loki elaborated. "Now I am to understand that some upstart sorcerer has seen fit to try to blackmail a member of the Justice League?"
It took a couple of minutes to bring Loki up to speed on the history of Felix Faust and how he went from respected archaeologist to international crackpot with his discussion of occult topics, as well as the description of the artifacts Diana stole for him in order to save her mother. It was a sentiment Loki could understand quite well. Had Frigga been threatened, Loki was certain there was nothing he would not do to save her.
"And what have we discovered about the relics in question?" he asked once he was up to speed.
"They appear to be three parts of a key from what we've found. A key to the gates of Tartarus," Diana grimly confided.
"Well then, we will just have to track down this brigand and stop him from using that key, won't we?" Loki asked with a mischievous twinkle in his eye.
"But Faust is on Themyscira. Only Hawkgirl and I can journey there. No man may step foot on the soil of Amazon nation," Diana fretted.
"Really? Well that's hardly an issue for anyone but Batman and Flash, I would say. After all, Superman and J'onn are not human and are therefore not technically "men." Likewise I was raised a god and am of Jotun blood, neither of which are human men, although I suppose I could take a female form if you prefer. The Green Lantern is covered in an energy shroud and would technically never touch Amazon soil even if thrown to the ground. As for the others, well if they are amenable I could easily cast a spell to provide a barrier around them to keep them elevated a fraction of a millimeter off the ground, or I could transform them into women for you," Loki offered with a mirthful grin.
Flash was about to chime in on his thoughts when Batman curtly interjected, "The barrier."
"Aw. But Bats, think of the-" Flash tried to whine.
"No," Batman stubbornly hissed.
"Is there something wrong with being a woman?" Diana asked archly as she folded her arms to glare at Batman.
"We don't have time to adjust to a new center of balance and Flash would spend the whole time staring at his own breasts," Batman explained.
"No I wouldn't," Flash protested, which prompted the whole team to stare at him. After a rather pregnant pause, he amended, "Well not the whole time. Just the Javelin ride over. Come on, how trippy would the whole League as hot girls be?"
"I fear Batman has a point from a tactical point of view, Flash. If you like, I can transform you another time so you can stare at your own breasts. To be honest it gets somewhat old rather quickly," Loki said.
"Indeed," J'onn agreed. As the only other resident shape-shifter in the room, J'onn knew all too well what kind of experimentation could take place in adolescence when you could assume any form.
Shayera looked like she was trying to decide whether to bash Loki or Flash over the head with her mace first when she stopped short and let out a strangled, "What" at J'onn's revelation.
Both Loki and J'onn looked at each other before they shrugged in unison as they replied, "Shape-shifters" in sync with one another as if that explained everything.
"There are days I really wonder about this team," John grumbled as he looked back and forth among the assembled heroes.
"You and me both," Shayera agreed.
