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Despite everything, "Picking Mother up" is not as simple as it sounds. They don't really have a plan, and it's not like they can just barge into SHIELD and take their most high profile prisoner.
According to Mycroft, their mother was brought to Earth by Thor. Apparently he was thought dead but was impersonating the Allfather when he had been caught. Their uncle decided that considering the events of the New York Invasion, only the Avengers would be able to keep his brother in line. Nobody on Earth except Thor thinks that's a good idea. But since when has the Prince of Asgard listened to others? Now Thor has gone back home to find Odin, leaving behind a magic restricted Loki.
Fury is somewhere across the world in a secret facility developing a stress ulcer.
They have to go in and save their mother. Sam doubts SHIELD and their friends are treating him nicely. He did try to rule the world after all, and had killed a lot of people in the process.
Only the six of them know that Loki had probably been influenced by the scepter as well. Somebody had bound his fury and hatred towards the Allfather to the scepter and had used him as a tool. Nari had realized while watching the news that the scale of the invasion was too unlike Mother, who has never really liked attention. Mycroft almost immediately pulled up SHIELD files using his authority, and Sherlock hacked the rest.
They all worked together to find that their mother's green eyes - the most prominent and common feature in their little family - had been blue during the whole ordeal. And it only turned back green when the Hulk had smashed him to the floor. (Doctor Banner went way down in Nari's good books, as well as the others'.) This also coincides with how the Black Widow had used 'cognitive recalibration' to wake Hawkeye.
Once Mother is with them again, they will ask him of the truth. But now, as master strategists, they have to devise an actual rescue plan.
Fenrir hacks into the SHIELD cameras first to see the layout. He then howls of utmost pain. The 'people' have put a collar on Mother like a common dog. Jor growls as well and Vali rips apart a chair. Nari wants to rip apart the ones who put that vile thing on him, but he can't really do that. He's number one on the FBI's hit list already.
They quickly speed up in the planning. And at the end, what they come up with is simple.
Jormungand and Fenrir will go in to the facility and distract Director Fury. Vali and Nari will act as their bodyguards, just in case anything dangerous happens. All the while Hela will go inside and and take their mother out, both invisible. Sleipnir will be far away waiting for them in his true form, and will whisk Mother away to their secret home in no time.
It sounds easy, but Nari's not sure if they can pull it off.
They have to. It's Mummy.
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"Greetings, Director." Mycroft's always smooth demeanor has never failed him, and it doesn't fail him now.
Fury looks distrustfully at Sherlock, but he impatiently explains why his brother is here. He wonders how Hela is faring. By the looks of it, he's not the only one. He has to stop Fenrir's leg from shaking obnoxiously, and glares at Vali when he tries to loosen his tie. Nari is miraculously quiet, but then again Nari has always been the easiest.
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Although Hela has complete trust in her abilities - she even cast the Disillusionment Charm as backup in case her own powers failed - she still feels uneasy. If Thor finds out it was them..... No. She can't think about that. Focus.
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Sleipnir hopes this all works out. He is hidden deep in the tall grass field around him, ready to take Mother and bolt as soon as he reaches him. He watches through the blades of green, eyes narrowed, seeking every movement.
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Loki's not sure what he's doing here. Thor had put a magical collar on him, stripping away his magic. He doesn't know how it works, doesn't want to know.
All he wants is to get out of here. He's always hated solitude, even if that's what he always got.
That's why he had been so happy when he had children. They were called monsters to the other Asgardians, but to his eyes they were all precious. He loved them. And then they were taken away.
He acts as if Odin has betrayed him by not telling him of his true parentage, hiding the fact that he's a Frost Giant. That's what Thor believes. And the rest of Asgard and most of Midgard.
The truth is, he had stopped thinking of Odin as a father in everything but blood since that fateful day Sleipnir was dragged from his arms. And now that they do not have even blood connection, he just feels empty and free.
(His arms are cold. The warmth he had felt right before falling asleep is gone.
"Sleipnir? Sleipnir! You're not supposed to wander - Father?"
"No! Noooooo! Mummy! Mummy where are you, Mummy what are they doing!"
"Let him go, Father what- why are you doing this?! What has he done, he is a child -"
"There was a prophecy, Loki. I have no choice."
"What do you mean you have no choice? What prophecy? At least let Sleipy go Father, he hasn't done anything! He's only a baby! Father? FATHER! NO LET HIM GO LET HIM GO RIGHT NOW - "
"Loki - "
"SLEIPNIR! NO! THOR LET HIM GO, BALDUR!"
"Loki, please calm - "
"SLEIPNIR!"
"Mummy!"
It was too cold to sleep for a long while after that. So cold and dark, just like his father's eye, it was too strange, too foreign, too afraid, and he was afraid too, he couldn't breathe and he was panicking-)
He had fully intended to fall off the grid, make everyone believe he was dead, and visit his children.
He didn't expect to be intercepted by someone, not much less Thanos of all.
Then darkness had clouded him and he was forced to watch himself kill and control others, until the giant green creature had hit him hard enough to drive the darkness out of his mind.
He then was taken back to Asgard, where he stayed in the cell. He didn't even bother to defend the actions that were not his own. They wouldn't believe him anyway. He doesn't care for Asgard anymore. Hasn't since Jor and Fen and Hel.
("Father please no! I will take care of them I will raise them properly, they will bring no Ragnarok!"
"They will bring an end to us all Loki! They are abominations! Forget them and forget they existed. They are no children of yours now."
"Father how can you say - I cannot believe - They are my children and I have a duty to them please don't take them away!"
"Loki, that's enough."
"Mummy! Uncle? Nononono I don't want to go with you Mummy make him go away, Mummy! Fenrir! Make him go away!"
"Mama, where are they taking us? Are we going somewhere? Aren't you coming, mama? Why are you crying?! Mama!"
After that he promises not to have children again. There's four gaping holes in his heart already, he does not need more. But then he meets Sigyn.)
He drums his fingers against the floor he's sitting on. He has no idea what went on in Thor's head but he's grateful to be here. If only he could get out, he would be able to see his beloved kids.
Kids he has not seen for twenty odd Midgardian years, kids that he had seen when they were tiny and only once again when they were grown. He saddens at the reminder that he wasn't there when they grew up.
(He doesn't even scream when Asgardian warriors tromp into his home. He wordlessly stops them with a wave of his hand, and asks them to have at least a moment with his sons.
Maybe it's the tired deafeatedness in his voice or the tears in his eyes that he refuses to let fall, but they oblige. As soon as they step out of the small house he makes two believable clones with all the power he has, and sends the twins off with a kiss each on their foreheads.
Vali and Nari are old enough to realize danger. They've heard tales of their siblings. They flee.
Loki manages to keep a straight face when he hears what the Aesir had been planning for them. He uses what's left of his magic to trick the Asgardians' eyes to see what they want to see. He hopes Vali and Nari have made it.)
He tries to not let himself drown in his memories. It will bring nothing but trouble. He has learned not to dwell in the past long ago. He just wishes he could see his children, even for one second.
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There is only silence for a long time. He leans against the cold glass walls listening to his heartbeat - the only sound in the room - and reminiscing the happiness he once had.
But then....
As if someone has listened to his not-prayers, he suddenly detects magic. Magic he has not felt in years, magic he has birthed and tamed. Familiar magic that he, and only he, can tell.
'Mother,' a calm voice echoes in his head. 'Stay quiet.' The door slides open and closes just as quickly, as if nothing has happened. He doesn't think the mortal cameras have caught that.
The first thing that happens is his magic collar being ripped away, and he can finally breathe. His magic is a part of him, and to have that locked up... it was eating at his very essence.
He is having trouble keeping up. Hela has come for him. To rescue him, no doubt. If his daughter is here, that means his sons are also here. She wouldn't dare do this alone. She is too clever and cunning, just like him, to throw herself headfirst into enemy territory without help. His children have found each other in Midgard. He has so many questions, but that knowledge gives him the relief he needed.
How did they know he was here though? How did they find him? Do they know SHIELD?
He feels a cold, slender hand slip into his, and he pulls himself out of his thoughts. He lets her lead him out. He feels light, like he's floating on the clouds.
He would deny showing weakness to his dying day, but he holds his daughter's skeletal hand like a lifeline. The one that she always had to hide from others, the part of her that she has hated all her tormented life, and he holds it lovingly and tightly. He holds onto the bony fingers that has held his heart since he saw them for dear life.
She just squeezes back reassuringly, as if she knows how he feels. She's always been the most attentive.
Once he's out of the cage, Hela casts an Invisibility spell on him. Then they both run.
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Sleipnir is standing in all his glory, eight legs ready to jump. Hela pushes Loki onto his back and they take off. Loki does not worry about his daughter being left behind. She can handle more than she seems.
The ride is exhilarating. He has never rode his son - the thought had never even crossed his mind - but it feels magnificent.
They don't have to travel long to reach a forest. There are only trees for as long as he can see. What are they doing here? He voices his question, and Sleipnir just smiles. Or as much as he can smile in horse form. Then he breaks into a gallop. The trees seem to part around them as they pass, becoming one dark green blur until he can see no more.
They have reached a meadow. A very wide patch of bare grassy land in the middle of a thick forest, along with a mansion like house. It's surprising how much his children's magic has come.
Sleipnir transforms into a silver haired, handsome young man and leads him unto the house. "I'll go get your room ready, Mother. Why don't you rest?"
Loki decides that's a very good idea. He sits down in one of the comfortable looking armchairs in a big room. Sleipy comes downstairs not long after.
"The others will be here shortly, Mother."
After that it's just small talk, his son tells him of his life on Midgard and his adventures. Loki finds himself frowning as Sleipy recalls his death, and the young boy just laughs. "Hela brought me back after a quick chat, Mum. I'm fine."
It's heartwarming to hear 'Mum' again.
And then there's a loud noise outside, and Sleipnir runs to it faster than humanly possible, becoming a blue wisp. Loki just slowly stumbles out. And he smiles.
His children are standing in front of him, all six of them in their mortal forms. They smile back, and it's almost blinding. They have all grown so much yet they are only little kids. Hela breaks the moment with a "MUMMY!" and then throws herself into his arms. She sounds childish and young and carefree and so, so happy. He tries to blink away the tears, and fails as he gathers her up.
The boys look to her in envy and soon they are rolling on the grassy meadows in a unorganized dog pile, and nobody cares one bit. Loki cannot keep the smile off his face as his children bicker to get nearer to him. This is home.
After maybe a thousand years of running and fear and hatred and resentment, he has finally found home.
His home. This is where he belongs. Where they belong. And together, nothing can take this away from them.