Chapter Text
‘Who are you?’
Mobius’ words are seared into Loki's thoughts.
It’s all too much.
Between Syvlies betrayal and this new timeline, Loki can’t think straight.
The alternate Mobius is talking to him, but Loki doesn’t hear a single word. His ears ring, his vision blurs and all he can think about is how he needs to escape.
He swipes the tempad from Hunter B-15’s belt and pulls himself away when she tries to grab at him. Loki doesn’t think, he just stabs in his location, not caring for the year.
He just needs to get back to Asgard.
The orange portal opens and Loki sprints through it. Closing it the second he’s through so he can’t be followed.
Loki squints as the sun blinds him, he frowns as he’s faced with a sparkling blue ocean.
‘Oh…’ Loki turns to face the coastal city. ‘New Asgard…’ He whispers to himself as he watches a flying ship slowly land on the waters. Frowning to himself, Loki reads ‘ Asgard Tours ’ emblazoned on the side of the ship.
Curious about Asgards fate, Loki brushes himself down and heads into the town. As he steps onto the main street, he’s swept up in a tour group. Shrugging to himself, Loki follows the group of Midgardians as they’re led through the town.
The tour guide dramatically recounts a recent attack on the city, where shadow monsters stole the Asgardian children. The children were naturally rescued by Thor and, confusingly, another called the Mighty Thor.
The tour concludes with a stage show. Loki smiles to himself when he spots some actors he recognises from the shows he would watch with his mother. He folds his arms across his chest as the show unfolds. After a while he realises that one of the actors is supposed to be portraying him. He watches a cheesy, overacted version of what seems to be the death of Odin. Loki scowls as the actor playing Odin talks grandly of a secret sister. ‘Hela…’ He mutters under his breath, remembering reading the name of the report on Asgards destruction.
The audience erupts into applause and Loki gets up, slipping away from the stage area. As he exits the arena, a woman's voice calls; ‘Odinson!’
Loki flinches but turns to find a woman with long braids watching him. She looks a strange mix of furious and amused.
‘I should have known that you weren’t actually gone.’ She smirks as she storms over to him. ‘You’re like a cockroach.’
‘Do I know you?’ He raises an eyebrow.
‘Is that a joke?’ She scoffs.
Loki shakes his head. ‘If I met you after 2012 I won’t know you.’
‘Did you hit your head or something Odinson?’
‘Pulled out of time.’ He tells her simply, too tired to elaborate.
‘...So you don’t remember Sakaar? Or Ragnarok?’
‘I know the broad strokes of the apocalypse. But I wasn’t there personally.’
The woman squints, weighing up whether she believes him. ‘I’ll summon your brother.’
‘He isn’t here?’
‘Of course not, he’s on one of his classic Thor adventures.’
‘Then who is ruling Asgard?’
The woman smirks, holding out her hand. ‘King Valkyrie, at your service.’
Loki blinks, taking in the information, before shaking her hand. His eyes linger on the tattoo on her wrist. ‘A pleasure to meet you, your highness.’
She laughs. ‘Yeah, you definitely don’t remember me. Come on, you can stay at my place while we wait for Thor.’ She nods her head, leading him through the town.
Loki wrinkles his nose when he spots a sign with a replication of the Infinity Gauntlet. ‘Infinity….cones…’ He reads the name of the ice cream shop aloud, voice dripping with disdain.
Valkyrie gives him an apologetic expression. ‘Asgard relies on Midgardian tourism. It’s the only thing keeping us afloat.’
Loki sighs. ‘At least Asgard still exists.’
‘Asgard is not a place, it’s a people.’ Valkyrie recites knowingly, just like the actor playing Odin had.
‘I suppose.’
Valkyrie leads him into a small cottage, grabbing a communication device from the counter of the kitchenette. ‘Bathroom is down the hall, guest room is on the right. Knock yourself out.’ She says as she types.
Loki nods and makes his way to the guest room, collapsing on the bed as soon as the door is closed. Exhaustion takes over. He can’t think of the last time he actually rested. Between jumping through apocalypses, working with Mobius, taking over New York and his time spent with Thanos. It’s been too long since he had a moment to breathe.
Lying on his back, Loki stares up at the ceiling. He lets the exhaustion wash over him and quickly slips into a deep sleep.
Hours must pass because when Loki is jolted awake, everything is bathed in darkness. It takes a moment for his eyes to adjust and to remember where exactly he is.
New Asgard.
The home of its new King.
He shakes himself awake, brushing down his crumpled outfit with a flash of green magic. Changing into a tailored black suit and smoothing down his hair.
Loki yanks back the curtains to look out of the windows, he was awoken by a loud noise which sounded suspiciously like the bifrost. Confirming his suspicion, a large ship has appeared on the field behind the Valkyries home, it sits on a circle of familiar rainbow light.
Collecting himself, Loki quickly exits the cottage to greet the ship.
The door lowers painfully slowly, but as Loki approaches it hits the ground with an echoing thud and he finally sees his brother walking down the steps.
Despite his bone-deep exhaustion, Loki runs to greet him.
Before he closes the distance, Thor catches him. Both hands land firmly on Loki's shoulders, keeping him an arms length away.
‘...What trick is this?’ Thor's eyes narrow as he looks his brother up and down.
‘This is no trick.’ Loki gently places his hands on top of Thors, which reflexively squeeze on his shoulders. ‘Just a long tale to tell.’
‘I saw you die.’ Thor says, talking slow and firm.
‘It’s… difficult to explain. You saw a version of me die, yes. But thanks to your Avengers meddling with time, I did not get that far. After the battle of New York, I made my escape with the tessaract and was apprehended by an agency that polices space and time.’
Thor blinks. ‘You did not escape.’
‘Not in your time, no I did not. I suppose technically, I am not your brother. Nor you mine. My timeline was destroyed for deviating from the grand plan of the universe. And your timelines version of me was killed by the titan.’
‘So you are… Loki, but not of this universe?’
‘Something like that.’ Loki gives him a weak smile. ‘Like I said, it is a long story.’ Loki's eyes catch movement at the mouth of the ship and he tilts his head as a small girl catches his eye. ‘I suppose you have stories of your own.’
‘Bring him inside so I can say hi!’ The girl yells at Thor. ‘I don’t have shoes on so I can’t come outside.’
Thor looks back at Loki, nodding his head towards the ship in a silent question. Loki nods and follows him up the ramp.
‘Are you Uncle Loki?’ She asks, bouncing on her heels with excitement.
‘I…’ Loki's glances at Thor, who gives him a subtle nod. ‘I suppose I am.’
Loki follows his brother through the ship, glancing down at the watchful eyes of the little girl who follows at his side.
‘Why do you dress like a witch?’ She asks bluntly.
Loki chuckles under his breath. ‘I am not a witch. My mother is though.’ Loki stiffens as he remembers what Mobius showed him. ‘At least, she was.’
The girl looks over at Thor who gives her a sad smile. Her eyes fall back on Loki. ‘I thought you were supposed to be dead.’
He takes a moment, wondering how to explain it to a child. ‘I got better.’
It must have been the right answer, she gives him a bright grin. ‘So did I.’ She tells him as Thor leads them to a seating area.
The inside of the ship looks like a modern midgardian home. Loki idly wonders if any of the decor was inspired by the home of Dr Foster.
‘So.’ Thor clears his throat. ‘Explain.’
Loki glances over at the child. ‘You first. My tale is long and depressing. I think I would rather hear yours first.’
‘It's not all that interesting.’
‘Of course it is, she's made of magic.’ Loki looks at the girl who grins, her eyes sparkling purple.
Loki twists his hand to summon himself a cup of tea as he sits.
‘You know, I would have offered you one as your host.’ Thor tells him, looking like he’s trying not to be amused.
‘You wouldn't have made it right.’
‘I know how you have your tea brother.’ Thor rolls his eyes. ‘Black with far too much sugar.’
Loki tilts his head slightly, acknowledging that Thor is correct.
Thor pats the girl on the shoulder. ‘You should go back to bed, Love.’
‘But I want to stay with my Uncle!’ She pouts.
‘If he’s still here you can see him in the morning.’ He tells her, ushering her out of the room despite her protests.
‘Come on then, tell me about her.’ Loki says once they’re alone.
Thor sighs, settling into the chair opposite Loki. ‘It started with a distress call.’ He says, telling Loki a long story about the God Butcher, the rescue of Asgards children and the resurrection of Love, daughter of Gorr.
Loki listens quietly and does his best not to criticise the choices Thor made while fighting Gorr. It was unnecessarily reckless, but it would be too hypocritical of Loki to point that out.
Using magic to refill his tea and make an ale appear in Thors hands, Loki settles back, digesting the information.
‘And what of you?’ Thor asks, sipping from the bottle.
‘Your Midgaridan friends…. When they went back in time they caused a divergence from the correct timeline.’ His hand tenses and he places the tea cup to one side. ‘What happened to me? After the battle in New York?’
Thor blinks in confusion but humours him regardless. ‘We returned to Asgard for you to face trial.’
‘I see… In my timeline I used the tessaract to escape. The second I did, I was apprehended by the TVA. They're an agency that monitors timelines, they make sure the universe stays on its set path. The battle was only… it's hard to say, I haven’t slept properly… maybe a week ago for me. Give or take a few days.’
‘What…? Loki that was almost fifteen years ago.’
‘I know. It’s … complicated.’ Loki looks away, struggling to keep his thoughts together. He doesn’t know how to begin explaining what happened to him.
As if sensing Loki's distress, Thor’s voice turns gentle. ‘...Are you staying?’ Thor asks as he stands, pacing a little.
‘What?’
‘In this… timeline? Are you staying?’
‘I have… things I need to fix. But… yes. I think I need to stay.’
Thor hums and he falls into the seat next to Loki. ‘That’s good.’ He looks at Loki with a sly smile. ‘Love needs someone to teach her to control her magic. It was never something I excelled in.’
Loki laughs. ‘I’m sure I can teach her a few tricks.’
Thor grins, wrapping an arm around Loki and pulling him into a crushing hug. ‘It’s good to have you back, Brother.’