He tightened his grip on the scepter, ready to erase this variable beyond his understanding by more direct means.
"Don't get so worked up." Lynn seemed to have seen through his thoughts.
He stepped forward twice, placing himself between Thor's hospital bed and Loki.
"I told you, I'm just a doctor. I treat illnesses and collect payment. As for you two brothers beating each other bloody over that shiny golden throne, that's your family business. I'm not interested in the slightest."
He paused, staring straight into Loki's eyes as his tone turned cold and practical.
"But if my patient dies in my ward, no matter who kills him, that means someone is wrecking my reputation. And my reputation is expensive."
"So, let's make a deal." Lynn held up one finger. "Leave now, and I can pretend none of this ever happened. I'll keep silent before those iron cans outside—S.H.I.E.L.D. In exchange, you guarantee that you won't come bother my patient again before he's discharged."
Loki froze.
He had imagined countless possibilities: threats, pleas, resistance...
But he had never imagined that a mortal, when facing a god, would remain so calm and openly negotiate terms with him.
There was not the slightest trace of reverence or fear in this man.
There was only absolute reason in his eyes, as though the birth and death of the universe, the succession of god-kings...
Were all merely transactions whose gains and losses could be calculated.
That pure rationality, untouched by any emotion, made Loki feel genuine... wariness for the first time.
He felt as though he was not facing a person, but the cold laws of the universe itself, clad in human skin.
"What... are you?" Loki's voice was somewhat hoarse.
"A doctor," Lynn answered.
The two stared at each other for a full