Chapter 1 - Thor and Loki
Chapter 1
//THOR//
Entering Earth’s Orbit for Landing
“Thor, are you listening?” Brunnhilde’s questioning snaps Thor back to the conversation at hand. He wasn’t, but he nods and hums anyways not wanting to anger Brunnhilde even more. Her brows are already twisted into a knot and that signature scowl is planted firmly on her face that Thor fears if he were to be honest her face might be stuck that way forever.
Through the small little screen in the corner of the ships winshield he can see her palms going to her sides, but he’s focused on landing this ship first. Her concerns can come later when they are face to face.
The ship jults and rumbles when it meets Earth’s gravity, shaking as it tries to resist the pull of it. That change in pressure locks Thor back against his seat for a moment before he switches the ship to accommodate it.
Thor figures flying alone would be much easier, but he had borrowed this little carrier from the Guardians and made a promise to return it back in good condition and that's what he was going to do. Besides he quite enjoys having a little bed to lay on when he's not actively flying. It's a strange comfort he didn’t think he’d enjoy as much as he does.
The lights flicker and the ship begins shaking harder than before as he’s starting to enter Earth. It begins shaking so much Thor is concerned it's going to break apart. A concern Brunnhilde mocks, “Havin’ fun there champ?”
“Of course.” She scoffs, but Thor grins. The green grass of Norway clashing with the blue frozen waters comes into view as the clouds part ways just for Thor. In the corner, Brunnhilde gazes upward, the sounds of Thor’s ship play back to him through her end and she is quick to end the call.
The ship settles down underneath Thor’s touch as he brings up the tip to land. One press of a button and the ship is descending onto its legs in the middle of the green field. He flips some more buttons to turn the ship off, before heading to the door to step foot onto Earth’s soil once again.
It's been three months since he was last here. Three months since Stark’s passing and the war against Thanos for the last time. In those three months he sees Brunnhilde has adopted a new hairstyle, one with a large braid and smaller braids that connect into it. It also seems she's adopted a new style of attire as well. One similar to a full piece suit and…heels?
Her hands are still gripping her sides, “I know you weren’t listening. You're worse than me.”
Thor chuckles, “How is royalty treating you old friend?” He opens his arms and catches her in one big swoop. She groans, but otherwise pats him on the back in return.
“Like Hel. If you had told me it be endless meetings and endless talking I would have stuck your offer back up your ass.” He smiles. He misses that fury and wit. Thor is sure that she would fare well with the Guardians. They are all short tempered and full of snark. He doesn’t think she had much interaction with them besides little Rabbit and Kali, maybe perhaps Nebula as well.
“I’m sure you are doing better than you believe.” He pats her shoulder and glances past her to the beginnings of New Asgard. Dark clouds loom beyond its ports far into the distance. It’ll rain tonight, he thinks to himself. The smell is already filling the air.
“Let’s go, I’ll jog your memory on the way there.” She turns and hops into a vehicle with the word Jeep on the back end. He glances once more at the city ahead contemplating whether or not he would rather fly, but the sound of her pressing the horn decides for him.
He wiggles into the small seat, finding no leg room for him as his knees touch the front panels. Val, another name she insisted upon calling her, snorts to herself at the sight of him bunched up together quite uncomfortably.
His hand flies to the top bar as she slams her foot on the gas pedal in reverse, spinning the thing before launching forward. Thor chuckles to himself and tucks his hand back to his side, hoping she didn’t catch him, but the small smirk on her lips tells him otherwise.
After a minute or two she says, “I was trying to tell you why I requested you here, you know, back when you were ‘landing’.”
“You don’t need a grand purpose for me to return here. We are friends after all.”
She rolls her eyes, “But there is a grand purpose as to why I called you here. I figured it’d be best to speak face to face.”
The concern that flashes across her face isn’t lost on Thor. The tension in the air thickens despite his best efforts so Thor drops the pretenses. “If the matter is urgent then it is best to summon me here instead of telling me on video call. Is everything alright?”
She doesn’t answer. Her eyes are glued onto the road ahead, her knuckles turning white the longer she stares. She scoffs, breaking the silence and touches the top her head. “Truly? I don’t know.”
“What do you mean?” He tries his best to twist his body towards her, but the lack of space doesn’t allow it.
“A week ago, during one of my boring meetings, there was an outsider, someone from someplace in space who joined that day. I never saw him before, but he only wanted to speak to me. At first I thought maybe he was a threat or a mad man, but what he told me..” She turns into New Asgard, slowing the pace as she passes through the main road.
All the wood in the whole block looks as if it were replaced with a newer stock. The paint on most of the buildings were fresh and the roads that were once forgotten are now fully paved and painted. As they drive uphill Thor can see workers constructing a new building close to the dock and a few more unbuilt ones scattered down the way.
It seems Val has been busy.
She pulls up to a home on the outside of the city, one close by to where Thor once lived with Korg. It's bigger than his was, but nothing like a castle fit for a queen. Especially the one on Asgard. He figures nothing could compare to that.
She unbuckles, “I’ll tell you more inside, come on.” Her home is more kept up than his was as well. No trash to kick away when you open the front door. In fact you could walk barefoot and not feel a single crumb lingering on the bottoms of your feet. It's not what Midguardians considered modern in any way, but it's furnished and clean. More than he could say about his own.
That familiar pull in his stomach tugs at him. A feeling so unaccintented with it still catches him off guard. He doesn't know what word to assign it other than Vile. He loathes that feeling more than all the rest. Mostly it's because it's the one that is harder to fight, harder to resist no matter how much he tries. It makes him feel.
Weak.
"What did he speak of?" Thor picks up a golden apple and chuckles to himself, that feeling in his stomach slowly fading again.
"Did Odin or Frigga ever tell you the story about the Norn stones?" She leads him to her couch and sits at one corner, patting the couch as an invitation.
Despite Thor's best efforts he still drops down with zero grace. He tries his best to smile it off but Val smirks either way. He didn't account for the cushions to be so low. Shifting his butt, it's comfortable, but it's as if he's sitting in a children's chair.
"So?" Val slaps the couch.
"The Norn Stones? Yes, Mother would recite stories about them as children. Why do you ask?"
She leans forward, "I think-I think they might have resurfaced."
Thor twists his body towards her with disbelief. "What? This 'space man' told you this?"
"Well sort of. He asked me if I had heard of them and that he was looking for them. Apparently his bright idea was that since I'm Asgardian that I should know, but I have no clue where those bastards are."
Thor remembers that in the stories the stones were taken away before either Loki or him were born, but that Odin made it a great quest to retrieve them. Promising the highest honors and much more if someone could find them.
Mother made it clear they were gone forever, to never be found, and after a short while they were also forgotten.
"Then that man is on a fool's quest. They have been missing for thousands of years."
She nods, but there's something else Thor can tell. Something she's holding out on. It's the way she looks away in thought, a bit like Loki.
"Is that all he said?" Her eyes dart back to him and she bites her lip with a hesitant nod.
"Oh you know something along the lines of 'Karnilla is dead'."
"Karnilla? Who is this Karnilla?"
She scrunches her brows and rolls her eyes, "Did they not tell you everything? Very typical." She lets out a heavy sigh before continuing, "Karnilla is the creator of them, the Queen of Norns of old Nornheim. Legend is she's the one that took them from Odin after giving them to him as a gift. I guess she went absolutely nutter and couldn't part with them. Betrayed Odin and fled. I remember the day they made peace with each other, I think it was the first time I ever saw that happening and she turned her back on it all."
Why would she turn her back on a peace offering unless to start war, but she didn't or at least Thor never heard about it. Then again he learned that Odin kept a lot of secrets, more than he cares to admit. So many lies that hurt so many and he thought that it never affected him, but oh how a fool he was. So foolish.
"Is this why you called me here? To tell me about the stones?"
"Well yeah. If they are popping up again, they are Asgardian and extremely powerful. We can't let those fall into the wrong hands Thor. Remember what happened last time when the wrong person got ahold of a bunch of dusty old stones?" The mention makes him cringe. How could he ever forget? He can't. He tries.
"Are they as powerful as the infinity stones?"
She shrugs and leans back with her arm wrapped on the back rest. "I never saw what they were capable of, but they are made from pure Aesir and Karnilla was the most feared sorcerer there was centuries building up to and centuries after in all nine realms. If some random man from who knows where knows about them, then who knows who else does. And that much power in the hands of a nobody is a very bad idea. At least if they were here, we could protect them. Perhaps even use them."
"Use them?"
"We don't know what they can do remember. Maybe they are powerful enough to help us out here." Magic. Sorcery. Things Thor never really paid attention to unless they benefited him. These are the kind of stories he'd ignore unless it had something to do with a glorious battle or mission, everything else bored him. He wasn't like Loki. Didn't pay attention to everything, soaking up every piece of information that he could get his hands on.
Even the slight mention of his name in his thoughts made his nails press crescent moon's into his palms. Damn him. Damn the power he had over him.
"Thor?" Her face was placid, but great sadness glimmered in her eyes. "Everything alright?"
He swallows a forming lump in his throat and nods. "The Guardians, despite how they may seem, have a wide knowledge of space. I'll see if they know anything."
It's the least he could do. He had already failed Asgard so many times, if there was a chance even the slightest that he could somehow make it up to them then he'd do it. He had failed at being their king. It hurt at times remembering he left them, how it felt like betrayal, but it was the only way for him to move forward. He couldn't save them in the end and that crushing guilt felt as heavy as a planet for many years, leaving him to waste away, drowning in his own filth and misery. The idea that he could restore something instead of being the Destroyer he was destined to be is like the sun his brother had promised him all those years ago. The sun he'd been waiting for.
Val pats his leg with a soft smile, "Thank you Thor. I'd help, but right now we are making a lot of changes so I need to be here for them. Can you imagine Korg being in charge, pft." She chuckles to herself and despite the thoughts running through Thor's head he joins in.
"I like the changes you're making. From what I've seen of course."
Val gets up suddenly and offers her hand, "Come I'll show you around and my plans for the next two months. I want to get a lot done before the festival." Thor smiles and allows her to drag him outside.
"The people look like they are doing well." This was true. Despite everything they went through, the town was looking better than ever. The people had smiles on their faces and the children ran around filling the streets with laughter. Even the ports were wild and busy past the construction. Ships coming in and out and in the distance Thor can even see a tour guide with their party of Midguardians following behind. Traffic filled the streets and the road out unlike a few minutes before. It's as if the morning fog had lifted, bringing new life.
“We miss you here, you know," she says, softer than usual."Say you’ll come to the festival in a few months, then you can see all my wonderful good work here." Her smile teases, but Thor knows she is doing a lot of good work.
"Of course."
"You could even bring the Guardians. They seem…cheery." Thor's chuckle rumbles in his chest.
"They are indeed. They might be a bit uncontrollable though."
"Perfect," Val skips, "bring some life to the party and keep Korg from going onto one of his spills."
"Have you asked him about his game?" Thor grins.
Val rolls her eyes and a half-hearted glare, "Trust me. I don't have to." Thor pats her hand with a head shake then bumps her arm. Her laughter is a nice change. He's missed her. Korg and her are the only ones left; he has any kind of history with, except for the remaining Avengers, but from what he's heard they have all retired or gone to do their own things. Good for them though. He's happy they found peace. Thors not sure if he's found that yet, he thought going with the Guardians he might, but spending time with a friend and hearing them laugh brings him a certain type of peace that's good enough for him.
----
Val showed him all around the town, even bringing him to the town hall where he met up with Axel, Heimdal's son and even Korg who greeted him with a new handshake he found online. Whenever someone recognized him they'd wave or stare at him with big eyes full of devotion that would only make him squirm. How they could still look at him like that he'd never know. He remembers how he'd beam with pride and show off for all of them the second he could, but now their praise leaves him feeling even more….unworthy.
"Hey Thor, " Val snaps her fingers. Once she's got his attention she scoffs a laugh, "Been telling you for the past two minutes you should head down to the cliffs. We built something you might." She spoke quickly then turned to attend to a woman's inquiries
Thor shrugs and heads off towards that direction. He doesn't want to disrupt her work and standing there like a big loaf isn't pleasing either, so he might as well check out this new site. Check out the place where Odin died and Hela destroyed his hammer. Who wouldn't want to do that?
From the town hall it's just up the road on the opposite of the ports, probably a good twenty minute walk or so. A good walk for his improving physique, but why walk when you can fly?
Thor smirks and reaches out his hand, summoning Stormbreaker in his mind. It only takes a moment of that familiar pull before the satisfying smack of the wood against his calloused palm.
The ground falls away from him as he swings his hammer up. Just like the single moment between his initial summoning and the grasp of his weapon, it's only a moment of wind blowing back his half braided hair before he lands firmly a few paces ahead of a display.
The crashing of the waves past the rock where he last spoke to his father put a tremble in his step. He remembers the misplaced anger he felt that day towards his brother. Truthfully he's still angry, but he's no longer a fool to believe Odin's death was Lokis doing.
The display is a raised dome of Mjölnirs scattered pieces still left on the earth of where those pieces fell with a small plaque that has a small description of the hammer itself. The kind of display you'd see in a museum or Odin's vault perhaps. The feeling of seeing it like that isn't unpleasant, but it's strange. It's almost humorous.
The building Val spoke of is a theater stage dressed in curtains of differentiating colors. It looks close to the one Loki had created during his time as Odin. The same one he walked in on and saw a mockery of Loki's story. Why did he even put that damned thing on? He never even had the time to ask either. He's not even sure he would have. There seemed to be so much else going on that seemed of greater importance that he had forgotten it altogether.
In honor of Loki and Thor. The royal family.
His fingers shake as they caress the sign. He rather presses his palms against his eyes to stop the burning. It makes sense now why the curtains are gold and green and the rugs and skirts are red. He didn't realize something so small would send a resurgence of grief so powerful, but the wave of emotions is too powerful to stop.
"Beautiful stage." A rugged older woman's voice startles him. He didn't hear anything but the ocean and the wind, how did she sneak up so quickly?
She's a short, bulky old lady. A wrinkled smile sewing her eyes shut as she stands behind him. Thor takes a deep breath to calm the currents in his mind and wipes away whatever may have fallen on his cheeks before facing her.
He gives her a gentle smile, "It is."
The older lady cups her hands together inside her sleeves of her green blazer. "I wonder what they will act on first. Do you know?"
Thor shakes his head, "I'm not sure. I'm sure the King will do something grand."
"You are Thor Odinson are you not? Are you not King?" The older lady sighs as she struggles onto a bench.
Thor also shakes his head and holds in his own sigh, "I am Thor, but I am no longer king."
The older lady hums in response, before offering her side to him. Having nothing else to do, Thor takes her up on her offer.
"What are you now then?" A question Thor has been asking himself for months. A good man? A Avenger? A Guardian? All of those things and none of those things at once probably. Truthfully he thinks he's just Thor. Not a king or a prince, but a friend and hero. Or he could be delusional and he really is the Destroyer.
"You don't know, do you?" It's as if the old lady read his mind. He does know, but he doesn't have a grand title other than the God of Thunder. He's not sure if she'd be satisfied with less.
"I am still the Mighty Thor, God of Thunder and hero of men." This is true, but it doesn't roll off the tongue with as much ease as before. He forgot who he was for years, but he still knows. His encounter with his mother helped remind him.
The older lady chuckles, "What a title."
"And who are you?" His words twist with accusation as the air shifts between the two. A creeping feeling of unease crawls up his throat. It's a familiar feeling, but one pushed so far down he had forgotten it and it's as if his body is trying to reject it. It takes all of him to keep himself from acting on the rising anger.
The older lady's eyes widen at him as if in a state of disbelief, but it doesn't last long. She quickly changes and chuckles to herself, "You're quicker than I thought you'd be." A blur of shimmering gold surrounds her before Loki emerges forth from his disguise.
The swelling of too many emotions causes him to dart to his feet and trip away from him. Is this a hallucination? A ghost from Valhalla? Is Loki's spirit here to give him guidance or perhaps console him?
"You look as if you've seen a ghost dear brother." That voice. That hair, those eyes full of nothing and everything all at once, and that perfect shield of a face that protects his heart.
“Oh, the Gods,” Thor says, hardly believing his eyes. “Loki?”
He stands now, matching Thor in height. He's wearing a similar gown he was wearing when he last saw him on Asgard, but something a little less informal. He looks alive. He looks real. But how can that be? He's mourned him before, and every time he did, Loki always came back. How was he ever supposed to stop expecting him to do it again, but actually seeing him here now still leaves him standing there in shock.
"It is me, Thor." He gets a glimpse of all-too-familiar blue eyes, flashing an emotion too quick to catch before it's gone. But Thor had learned. He knew what emotions he had seen. Sadness, fear and many more.
“Loki?” Thor says again.
Slowly, Loki lifts his head back up to greet his eyes once more.
Loki tilts his head, a smile gracing his lips. “Hello brother. Did you miss me?”
A sound that’s somewhere between a chuckle and a sob erupts from Thor. “More than you could ever know,” he croaks.
Then he stumbles forward, squeezing Loki into a vipers hug and when Thor’s body collides with his, he does not fade away like all the phantoms that had teased him in the darkness of his old home. He doesn't care about how stiff Loki becomes in his grip or how he's there. He only cares that he is. For now, after everything, that's all that matters to him.
Loki's arms wrap around his shoulders, perhaps a tad reluctant, but he pats Thor's back either way. "This is not the reaction I had expected, brother. It seems you still have the ability to surprise me." The sting of tears bite at his eyes and he just lets them flow past. He'd let go, but he's so damn afraid if he does Loki will slip away. That Thor will be brought back to reality. If this is an illusion then he'd let himself be damned if it means he could see his brother.
“I’m sorry,” he sobs harder than expected, the words are barely able to make it past his trembling lips, yet he's desperate to speak them all the same. “I failed you, brother. I’m so, s-so sorry.” There's a weakness in his knees but he locks them into place, unwilling to allow himself to fall apart.
Loki becomes as rigid as stone. He neither moves or breaths for a few whole seconds before he holds Thor closer, a comfort Thor doesn't deserve. "That's enough of that." His voice is soft, defeated even. Thor thinks it might be because he can not see his face, but he feels Loki's body ease into him and it seems as if Loki's relieved.
A beat passes, and he decides to say what was missing. “I thought you were dead. Again. But this time, I was certain it was so." Thor pulls himself away and scans Loki's body for any hint of what happened but his body is as it was before.
"Ah, yes, that." Loki glances away for only a moment.
"Yes, that ," he says, and frowns. "Are you dead or are you not?"
Loki smirks and gestures to his body with his eyes, "It would seem I am not."
The rising anger returns, "I thought you dead. For years, Loki." He pushes his brother back hard enough to make him stumble. Thor wipes the hot tears from his cheeks and rubs at his blurry eyes.
"I promise that this time was unlike the rest. You are not the only one who believed me dead." Loki wipes the dust off his shoulders, but there's a tightness in his voice that makes Thor question.
"What do you mean?"
Loki takes a deep inhale quietly, "I will explain in full brother, but you must promise to trust me this once."
Despite the hurricane of emotions inside him Thor bites back whatever he wanted to say and says instead, "Alright."
Loki crosses his legs on the bench and folds his hands with a sense of carefree that would have made Thor ball his fist with impatience, but there is conflict not quite hidden in Loki’s eyes that reminds him that his brother's porcelain mask of calm isn't always true.
"Where would you like me to begin?"
"How about starting with how you're alive?"
Loki hums to himself and clicks his fingers on his knuckles, "To be honest. I am not entirely sure. I remember being in a state of awake and not, feeling my body heal itself, but unable to open my eyes or hear my surroundings. After that I woke up somewhere in a place called Stonehenge and it's been five and a half years past." How Thor has missed his voice. Loki’s voice - much more aristocratically accented and deep and elegant than his own. He also doesn't seem as if he's pulled off a grand scheme, but more so genuine. He once thought Loki wasn't capable of being sincere, again he was a fool.
"How is that possible? You remember nothing else? You must have been saved by someone." And if he had known. Gods if he had known, then he would have come for him. He had failed him once more. He had foolishly believed him dead, when it seems he was only wounded. How long did Loki lay there between death and the living, floating there in space?
"I remember nothing more. Truly, brother, I am as perplexed as you on the matter, but it is the truth. As to who saved me, I am not sure. I met no one until London."
"When was this?"
"Only a week ago. I came here right after. It was no shock you'd choose this place as Asgards new home. Humorous even. Imagine my shock when I discovered the Valkyrie was King in your place."
Thor slumps down onto the bench behind him, "Well a lot has happened in your absence brother."
Loki's eyes dart around, "It appears so.
After a minute of silence Thor clears his throat. "I'm heading back to space for a mission. Come with me brother. We can catch up more along the way and I can introduce you to the Guardians."
Loki's brow raises, "Guardians?"
The thought of having Loki with him now instead of being alone turns the empty feeling inside him into a pit of anticipation. So much he wants to say but doesn't, yet. They could pick up where they left off, at each other's sides. Loki's knowledge would come in handy and Thor can make sure nothing happens to him ever again. He won't. He can't. He's not sure he could bear it again.
Thor springs forth, "You have no idea how much I've missed you Loki. Let us try again, will you allow me that?"
Loki's eyelids flutter, but his face works to keep his sense of calm. "Traveling through space?" He doesn't sound amused, but he doesn't look displeased either.
Thor grins, "What do you say?"
Loki's lips thin out in thought, but after a moment he sighs and gracefully stands.
"Unfortunately, I can not find a reason not to."