Chapter 4: New Mexico v.2
The desert stretched endlessly beneath a bruised twilight sky as a convoy of black SUVs and SHIELD quads barreled toward the outpost in New Mexico. I sat in the backseat, cigarette dangling from my lips, smoke curling lazily toward the tinted glass. Keller was beside me, silently checking and rechecking his gun like repetition could somehow keep the apocalypse at bay.
Tony Stark was in the front seat, tinkering with his helmet's HUD for the sixth time this hour, while Fury brooded behind the wheel like a storm in a suit. Red Wolf wasn't with us — apparently, Minnesota had a "skin-walker problem." Which was all the context I needed to know not to ask any follow-ups.
When we reached the perimeter, Phil Coulson greeted us at the gate. Even in this barren stretch of desert, the man had that trademark calm — the kind of calm that made you think he'd file paperwork during a gunfight.
"Agent Coulson," I said, extending a hand. "Nice to meet you."
"Likewise," he replied firmly, shaking it.
My eyes flicked past him. "So… where's Thor's favorite toy?"
He raised an eyebrow. "The hammer?
Before Coulson could answer, alarms blared across the outpost. Red lights bathed the desert in pulses of warning. Things were pretty much the same as the movie just with the exception of me.
"Wait," Coulson muttered, turning to the monitors. "You're not going to believe this."
Outside, a man — tall, broad, and built like a Viking lumberjack — was tearing through the perimeter fencing. He moved like a force of nature: punching, kicking, throwing guards as if they were made of tissue.
Natasha and Barton shared a look sharp enough to cut steel.
"I'm here for magical threats," I said, exhaling smoke through my teeth. "Call me when he starts breathing fire or vomiting lightning."
Tony smirked. "Yeah, we'll leave the freaky stuff to you and your band of exorcists."
He gestured to Hawkeye and Widow, who rolled their eyes and moved into position.
Through the monitors, I watched the chaos unfold. Natasha struck first — clean, fast — only for the blonde brute to catch her mid-kick like it weighed nothing. Barton swept his leg out, briefly tripping him, but Thor recovered with terrifying ease and tossed him over a barricade. Widow tried again, only to be sent flying several meters.
Then the man turned — and ran straight toward the hammer.
⸻
I'd barely taken another drag of my Silk Cut when I felt it: that familiar tug in the back of my mind. The air shimmered. And there — amidst the wreckage and broken SHIELD tech — stood a very familiar silhouette only visible to me.
"Eli," a silky, dangerous voice purred behind me.
I turned slowly. "Loki."
Same smug grin, same sharp green cloak, same aura of "I just ruined your life and look fabulous doing it."
He looked completely unbothered by the fact that he was standing in the middle of a classified SHIELD site.
"Don't," Loki hissed quietly, eyes narrowing. "Do not interfere with my plans. Not here. Not now."
"Ignore me?" I interrupted before he could finish.
"Don't interrupt me!" Loki snapped.
I tilted my head. "Funny, that's usually my line."
Green sparks flickered at his fingertips. "Eli—"
"Don't you like chaos, Loki?"
My fingers itched with black magic. "Because I know what you're not telling me."
Loki's smirk faltered. "The man is unworthy, no matter your schemes. You cannot—"
"I can," I cut him off flatly.
"And I know exactly why you're here. Trying to make your older brother look bad so you can snatch the throne. Classic sibling rivalry. Shakespeare would've loved you."
"I know of you and Laufey's plan, Loki." I said flatly
His voice broke into a snarl. "You know nothing!"
I smiled thinly. "Sure, sure. And I suppose you're not planning to stab your dear frost giant daddy while Odin naps through his beauty sleep?"
Loki's face darkened, his expression slipping from irritation mimicking fury.
"Relax," I said, flicking ash into the sand. "Your secret's safe with me. But it does make me wonder — what should I dowith that information?"
"What do you want, Constantine?" Loki hissed.
I grinned. "Doesn't this make it, what, twice you owe me now?"
"The second what?" he barked.
"Remember the Black Room's monthly poker game?" I asked. "You lost there too. You owe me two favors, magic boy."
Loki's laughter came sharp and bitter. "You are insufferable."
"Yeah, but useful," I said. "And I've got a way for you to pay off that debt — one that helps you too."
He folded his arms. "I'm listening."
"We're going to kill Laufey," I said, "and make you a hero while we do it."
"...how?"
"Think about this first," I said, cigarette bobbing between my teeth. "Loki, God of Mischief, Hero of Midgard. Has a nice ring, yeah?"
He actually paused, stroking his chin. "...I do like the sound of that."
"Good. So here's the plan — you and I reroute your little invasion. Laufey doesn't go to Asgard with the bifrost; he lands on Earth. New York, to be exact. He gets pissed, smashes a few buildings, scares the locals—then Thor, me, Stark, Natasha, Clint, Keller, and Red Wolf, with you at the charge as Asgard's current king with odin a sleep not only showing people in Asgard that you are a strong king and a protector of all the 9 realms not just Asgard. Then as you imagine we save the day."
"Thor is unworthy," Loki scoffed. "You can't undo Odin's enchantments."
"Don't need to," I said, nodding toward the monitors.
Thor was still out there, drenched in sweat, trying to lift Mjolnir from the crater. Each attempt failed. Each swing hit nothing but dirt.
"You think you can help him?" Loki sneered.
"Not help," I said softly, smoke curling from my lips. "Remind him."
⸻
Fury's voice crackled over the comms. "Contain him! I don't care what it takes, that hammer stays put!"
Keller muttered something about bullets not working on gods. Tony leaned against the hood of a car, tapping his fingers, clearly enjoying the show.
"Hey," I said, stepping toward the chaos, "mind if I take a crack at it?"
"Eli, wait—" Keller started.
"Relax," I said. "This is a magical problem, not a tactical one. Watch and learn."
⸻
Thor's frustration radiated like heat. His breath came in heavy gusts, his eyes burning with desperation. Each failed lift made him smaller, more human. I reached out, tapping into the faint leyline running beneath New Mexico — not strong, but humming with centuries of belief I used it to analyze the enchantment. Faith energy. Perfect fuel and perfect to crack not break why break trough when I can just bypassing it and making the spell think you're worthy.
I stepped forward, eyes glowing faint gold. "Thor," I called out, "you're trying too hard. Faith isn't about force. It's about intent — worth — and understanding what you're fighting for."
He froze, chest heaving. "Who dare's name yourself sorcerer."
"Save the theatrics, blondie," I said, walking closer. "You're not proving strength. You're proving heart. Try humility for once."
Mjolnir shivered.
Loki's voice drifted from the shadows. "Can you really—"
"Quiet, Loki," I murmured. "This isn't your domain."
Faith magic wasn't about gods; it was about conviction. And I could feel his faith — fractured, buried under his doubt and failure— but it was beginning to stir.
⸻
Tony leaned toward Fury. "Director, I think our consultant just Jedi-mind-tricked your thunder god."
"Relax," I said without looking back, tracing a sigil in the air with cigarette smoke. The desert wind caught it, spinning the pattern into glowing gold.
Keller blinked. "You're actually doing it…"
Red Wolf appeared beside him, silent as death. "He is influencing the god. I can see it."
Coulson pointed his gun in shock. "What the hell—"
"Stand down, Agent," Fury barked. "He's one of ours!"
Coulson lowered his weapon. "My apologies, sir."
"Don't worry," red wolf said, flicking ash. "Mistakes are life's teachers."
Mjolnir pulsed with light. The hammer quivered again — and then shot forward into my hand.
I smirked. "See? Not about strength, big guy. It's about belief."
Thor's eyes widened as I slowly extended the hammer toward him. "Worthiness," I said, "isn't a gift. It's a choice."
Mjolnir floated from my grasp into his palm, glowing brighter than before.
Loki scowled from above. "I agree to your plan," he hissed. "But I don't have to like it. What did you just do?"
"Reminded him," I said. "Didn't save him. Didn't fix him. Just gave him a nudge. Faith's a two-way street: god to man, and man to god."
Thor nodded once, humbled.
Tony clapped mockingly. "Congrats, Constantine. You just gave a Norse god a therapy session."
I flicked ash toward his feet. "You're welcome."
⸻
The wind shifted as Loki and I stood in the sand later that night, carving a glowing circle into the earth — the spell that would hijack the Bifrost and reroute Laufey's invasion.
"Hey! That sigil doesn't go there, dumbass!" I snapped.
"Oh really?" Loki said, sneering. "And the ash goes on the pentagram because…?"
"It's ceremonial ash replacement," I said. "Focus."
"Such boorish mortal techniques," Loki muttered.
"Better than turning into a horse because you were lonely."
"It happened once!" he roared.
Before I could laugh, a portal opened beside us.
And out stepped the Ancient One.
She was flanked by none other than Doctor Stephen Strange.
"Mr. Constantine," she said with that infuriating calm. "The most cunning among us. An honor."
"'Us'?" Loki asked. "Hello, witch."
"Sorcerer," she corrected. she looked to me and spoke. Since you insist on changing the timeline I chose I decided to make my own.
Ohh its not like you weren't doing that already I replied
"Are you this much of a nuisance in every time line." Said the anchient one.
Well what can I say my I do try I replied
Her gaze slid to Strange. "This is my student. He has completed his training. He needs experience in the field."
Strange blinked. "Wait, what?"
She ignored him entirely. "He's your problem now." And with that, she vanished through her portal.
I sighed, lighting another cigarette. "Wonderful. I collect strays now."
"This is degrading," Strange muttered.
"You'll get used to it," Loki said. "Eventually."
"Who are you supposed to be?" Strange asked, frowning at Loki's fur collar.
"I am Loki, God of Mischief!"
"Great," Strange muttered. "Two egomaniacs for the price of one."
We explained the plan — rerouting Laufey's invasion to kill Odin to earth.
Strange's face darkened. "You're evil."
Before I could protest, he hit me with a blast of eldritch energy that sent me flying.
"The hell was that for?" I groaned. "Save it for the frost giant, you muppet!"
"You have to go!" he snapped, forming another spell.
I sighed. "You really want to do this?"
He attacked again — blasts, shields, whips. It was like fighting an overachieving glow stick.
Then, finally, my body glowed faint gold, and his pain echoed mine. He hit the ground hard, gasping.
"Oldest trick in the book," I said. "Linking damage transfer."
Loki cackled. "Oh my, I almost feel sorry for the boy."
"and you let him beat you up?" "you who sealed hell"
"He sealed hell?" strange wheezed
"Hey," I said, lighting another smoke. "I like to give people hope before I crush it."
Strange glared. I smiled.
By the time we finished the sigil, I'd slipped a secondary seal on Strange — one that drained his luck whenever he tried to attack me. After a few more failed spells and one bruised ego, he finally gave up. I dusted off my coat and turned toward the base.
"Time to tell Fury that an army of frost giants is on its way to New York," I said. "With Loki — acting King of Asgard — leading the 'defense.'"
Loki smirked. "You are chaos made flesh."
"Yeah," I said, grinning around my cigarette. "And I love it."