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Asgard was a place of beauty. That was something that Thor Odinson understood, even back in his far-flung days of childhood. He would always remember how his fellow Avengers reacted when they first stepped foot in the home of the gods. The awe in their voices as they spoke of the golden, glistening surfaces of the hallowed halls of home. The joy in seeing the people thriving and living to the fullest.
But Asgard, like any realm, held darkness beneath its gilded surface. Whether it be the artifacts held beneath his father’s archives, the buried history of conquest led by his mad sister Hela, or even the true heritage of his brother, Asgard was not immune to it.
It was a lesson he had learned the hard way when Loki first turned his back on Asgard. The day that Thor was cast down to Earth, with his father determined to teach him a lesson that, looking back, he had sorely needed. The day that started Loki’s descent to madness, and his own journey to prove himself worthy as the God of Thunder.
Now, Thor stood over the expanse of Yggsgard, the merged world of Asgard and Yggdrasil, with the royal palace far off in the distance. Loki now sat on their father’s throne. His brother had sent a projection out for the sole purpose of taunting him about it. Oh, how Loki loved to gloat, even over the smallest of victories.
The elder Odinson pinched his brow in frustration. He couldn’t help but be frustrated at the situation. Ever the opportunist, Loki had slipped his grasp around the throne during the earliest days of the Timestream Entanglement, sending their father into the All-Sleep early. It was the perfect chance for the trickster to become king, and now, here Thor was, working his way towards building a resistance against his brother.
Easier said than done, admittedly. Thor still had a ways to go to truly be a leader, at least in his own eyes. Sure, his fellow Avengers would dispute that claim readily, but there was a stark difference between leading a team and leading his people. For as much as others would claim Midgard to be below them, the realm of mortals was what Thor needed to learn how to be the leader he was needed to be.
“Lost in thought, your highness?”
Ah, there he was getting lost in his thoughts again. Building the resistance had him doing that more often, being more cautious in his planning and actions. Every move mattered against his brother, and playing it safe was absolutely necessary. He turned to see who had asked him the question, and his eyes found the form of one Kwannon, known among the X-Men as Psylocke. He knew of another Psylocke involved in the Entanglement, a woman known as Sai, but he had yet to speak with her. As such, the woman before him was the one he knew best as Psylocke.
“My apologies, Ms. Kwannon,” the thunder god said, a weary smile on his face, “you know of my habits these days. Thinking has taken up most of my time, after all.”
“It has indeed. I do understand why, though. I’ve seen that same look of contemplation on Cyclops before.”
Ah, the X-Men’s original field leader. Though the two of them didn’t interact much, the God of Thunder held great respect for Mr. Summers regardless. He had effectively seen his own personal Ragnarok time and time again, and yet he refused to break. He was a man destined for Valhalla at the end of his life, and Thor would guarantee it himself if he had to.
“Tell me,” Thor began, shifting his gaze back out to Yggsgard, “what do you think of our forces so far? And you needn’t hold your thoughts back for the sake of niceties. I want you to be honest.”
Kwannon nodded, and her blue eyes drifted over to the first of the team members behind them. “Storm is the person here that I know best, and I can vouch for both her skills and her teamwork. She’s an invaluable ally in our fight against Loki, and likely one of the many reasons why we stand together as united as we are.”
Thor nodded in agreement. “She and I have always been kindred spirits of sorts, even before she first lifted Mjolnir. To have her aid is nothing short of a godsend… er, so to speak.”
Kwannon did her best to stifle her snicker. “I see Stark has been rubbing off on you.”
“He can be abrasive, yes, but he will always be one of my greatest friends on Midgard. I only hope his efforts in New York are bearing fruit.”
He had heard of Eternal Night thanks to the final messages of Ratatoskr before she fell silent. The troubles of Dracula’s curse had befallen his mortal home most viciously, from the fall of Steve Rogers, to the vampirization of King T’Challa. With the World Tree’s messenger missing, that was all he would know for the time being. All he could do now was hope.
“The little bounty hunter with us,” Kwannon continued, shifting her focus to the hat-wearing, gun-toting raccoon, “he is an interesting variant of the one known as Rocket. You said he would work alongside us for the right price, yes?”
“Aye. I will have to pull the gold from Father’s archives, but the rabbit will be paid handsomely. As such, he will remain on our side.”
“So long as we can actually take the archives.”
“Indeed.”
Kwannon’s gaze shifted once again, this time to Rocket’s teammate. “As for his friend, Groot should prove a powerful ally, especially with his loyalty to the raccoon. That would leave one other person… and it is him.”
Ah, Thor knew who she was referring to. As a result of the Entanglement, he had met many different variants of his family, but there was one in particular whom he was not expecting. He sat amongst the others, clad in the simplest of Midgard garbs, but the coloration and markings were what made him stand out. Khaki for the bare colors, but with orange stripes down the sleeves and three bold letters on the back:
TVA.
Apparently, a variant of the TVA had strong-armed his brother into helping them, and his story was one of madness as a result. Loki Laufeyson, surviving variant of a so-called “Sacred Timeline,” one who was technically not even present with them at the moment. The true version of this variant was out there, holding the strands of the timeline together, fulfilling his glorious purpose on a lonely throne. The man before him was an astral clone, but no matter the variants, variables, anything, this was still a version of his brother who was willing to help.
“I do not blame you for being skeptical,” Thor admitted with a huff. He knew his brother far too well, and this wouldn’t be too far-fetched a scheme of his. “But this is not the same man as Yggsgard’s current king.”
“And what makes you so certain?”
“The loneliness in his eyes.”
Kwannon’s gaze turned back to Thor’s, her gray eyes meeting his blue ones. Her silence was taken as his invitation to continue. “When it comes to my brother, he has gotten quite good at hiding his emotions, even in his eyes. This one bothered not to do so. I could see it, Kwannon. I could see the loneliness in them. His stories of sitting on that lonely throne above all are true, I can feel it. Our Entanglement is making his job harder, so it is up to us to ease his burden. I wish the Loki I knew could see the same thing.”
“Give him time.”
Both Thor and Kwannon took a step back, for the Loki variant in question now stood before them, a sad smile on his face. Had they been so engrossed in their conversation that they hadn’t even noticed him approaching? Or had they missed him in an illusion?
“What makes you so certain of that?” Kwannon asked, a disapproving look on her face.
This Loki, however, took no offense to that look. “He hasn’t found his purpose yet. His true purpose, anyway. With where I really am, I can see where his fate will take him. My other self is capable of great things, just like the two of you are.”
“And where, pray tell, will that purpose begin?” Thor couldn’t help but ask.
At that, the other Loki couldn’t help but laugh. “Admittedly, with you knocking some sense into our brother. At this point, he needs it. This Doom fellow isn’t to be trifled with. I can sense another one of him, you know. Making his way to my timeline. I’m trying to prepare as best I can.”
Kwannon couldn’t help but look at him as if he’d grown another head. “To hear you actively speaking about helping others… you are not the Loki we’ve been fighting.”
“I don’t blame you for doubting,” Loki admitted, his sad smile growing oddly wistful, “a long time ago, I was too much like the one on that throne. It took a lot of loss to figure out what I was really meant for. Hopefully, you can prevent that for him.”
Thor couldn’t help but look back at the palace once more. What did this Loki see in store for the brother that he knew?
“Only time will tell, in the end, if we are successful in that front,” the God of Thunder admitted as an equally sad smile graced his face, “but we welcome your help in at least knocking some sense into him. It takes one to know one, I suppose.”
“Right you are, brother. Right you are.”
Thor couldn’t help but laugh. It felt good, knowing that out there, somewhere, was a version of his brother who watched over them, and though it would be a long time before he could meet with him face to face, he could still work with him to make things right. And if you were to ask him, that was a glorious purpose indeed.