Chapter 1
Loki hated uncertainty. He hated not knowing what was coming, but mostly he hated things he could not control. He could do this. Thor deserved to be the King of Asgard, and Loki would stand by his side, no tricks, not anymore. For all he’s done to Thor, he owed him this. But going back to Midgard was not something Loki was looking forward to doing. The Asgardians had nowhere to go after they had started Ragnarök. Thor needed to stay on the ship with his people, so it was decided that Loki and Valkyrie would go to Midgard first, and find somewhere for their people to get settled in. Thor suggested they go to the Avengers compound and talk with them, ask for help. Thankfully Valkyrie was coming with him, or else Stark might kill Loki on sight.
They landed the grandmasters ship on the grass in front of the Avengers compound, and the familiar face of Tony Stark exited the building, along with someone Loki did not recognize. Tony held up his hand, an Iron Man glove now closed over it, repulsor lighting up. “Stop right there Reindeer Games.” He said, ready to shoot Loki.
Loki put his hands up in surrender, and Valkyrie walked out behind him. “Don't shoot!” She said to him. “Thor sent us. We need help.” She told Stark.
“If Thor sent you, then why is he with you?” Stark asked, referring to Loki. “Because he's changed.” She replied. Stark scoffed. “I highly doubt that.”
Loki took a small step forward slowly, hands still up in the air. “Its true Man of Iron, I've changed. I swear it. Please give me a chance.” Loki pleaded. This wasn't like him. He was begging, for what? Stark's forgiveness? His trust? The old Loki would have not cared either way.
“I’ll take it under advisement for now. Why did Thor send you, and not come himself?” He asked. “Asgard is gone. We saved as many as we could.” Valkyrie told him. Loki looked down; he really hadn't taken a second to fully comprehend what they had lost.
“What the hell happened? Who could do that?” Stark asked, eyes wide. “Well we destroyed Asgard. To kill our sister, Hela.” Loki responded.
“Wait, there's another one of you?” The man next to Stark asked. Loki nodded. “Our father’s firstborn. Her power became too much so he imprisoned her in Hel, but when he died, she came back. She gathered her power from Asgard, and the longer she remained on it, the stronger she got. She wouldn't stop, so we enacted Ragnarök, which destroyed Asgard, and Hela along with it.” He continued.
“So now what’s left of Asgard is on a ship, floating in space until we can find a place to call home. Thor sent us here to ask you for your help.” She said. Stark thought for a second. “Holy shit.” He said. “Well I know that we don't have enough room here for everyone. Maybe we can find somewhere where you can build a village, start over. New Asgard.” He said. Valkyrie smiled. “Thank you so much. Thor said you were kind.” She told him. Loki rolled his eyes and held back a laugh, getting a stern glance from Stark.
“Come on in, let’s get you guys settled, were kind of short on people anyway.” Stark said, leading them toward the compound. “No man out of time out here to greet us? What happened Stark, you have a falling out?” Loki asked, curious why Stark and the other man, Rhodes, were the only Avengers here.
“You could say that.” Stark said plainly. Loki could tell he didn't want to continue the conversation further. They gave Loki and Valkyrie each a room, and Loki had to admit, it was nice. Huge bed, an attached bathroom. He sat down on the bed and closed his eyes. Could he do this? Be a good guy? Be an Avenger. He scoffed. It sounded so strange. A voice coming out of nowhere made him jump up off the bed and look around.
“Mr. Loki sir? Boss wanted me to let you know that there are fresh clothes in the drawers if you needed them, and that dinner should be ready soon.” The female voice said to him.
“Um..thank you? Who are you?” He asked.
“I'm F.R.I.D.A.Y. Sir. I'm Mr. Stark's personal Artificial Intelligence.” She said. “Hmm.” Was all Loki said. He ventured over to the dresser and found some black pants and a black t-shirt. This would have to do. He ventured into the bathroom and stepped in the shower, letting the hot water run over him.
**
Dinner was coming to an end, and Stark threw up some images and videos on the screen. “You guys are actually just in time, we were planning on tracking down some new blood, and could use your help.” He said. Loki looked up at the screens. They were pictures of a young girl, long black hair, petite frame. There was footage of the Chitauri attack he brought to New York. Loki looked away in shame. That wasn't him. Thanos had gotten into his head and made him think taking over the world was what he wanted. He never meant for people to get hurt, for the city to get destroyed.
The girl was fighting off the Chitauri with some form of magic. Black waves of energy came out from her hands, and she could move things out of her way with it. She could also blow things up, as he watched her do to a Chitauri ship. She looked terrified, like she had no idea what was happening to her. He watched as she became unstable, her magic growing all around her, she screamed and the magic burst out of her, blowing a nearby building. He watched, horrified at what she’d done, as she fled.
“We don't know much about her, other than her name. Katherine Jordan. F.R.I.D.A.Y, bring up her files please?” Stark asked the AI. “All we could find on her was files through high school. She was in several different foster homes, the last one when she was 17, she disappeared after that. After the mysterious death of her foster brother. The funeral was the last time anyone ever saw her.” F.R.I.D.A.Y said over the intercoms.
“Until 2 days ago.” Stark said, throwing up another image. It showed her walking into a drugstore, she had a hood over her head, and Loki was surprised the camera even picked it up. “We didn't think it was her, but F.R.I.D.A.Y ran a heat scan on her body, and because of her powers, we were able to match it.” Tony said.
“What is she?” Valkyrie asked.
“An enhanced?” Rhodes asked. “Not that I can tell. Her body hasn't 'been altered in any way, unlike Ms. Maximoff.” F.R.I.D.A.Y told them.
“So, she was born this way?” Stark asked. “It would appear so, sir.” F.R.I.D.A.Y told him.
Stark looked to Loki. “Have you seen anything like this?” He asked Loki. He shook his head.
“This kind of magic is unpredictable.” He told Stark. “It’s much like your Miss Maximoff’s, from what Thor has told me about her, but this seems more erratic. Unstable. It almost seems like she doesn't understand what’s happening to her, and that can be dangerous. As you probably have seen, if magic cannot be controlled, it can end up bad for everyone involved.” Loki told him. Stark nodded and watched Loki as he studied the video of Katherine. “F.R.I.D.A.Y., where is she now?” He asked.
“In a small town just outside Birmingham, Alabama sir.” She responded. Tony nodded and stood up. “Suit up. Wheels up in 10.”