Twilight draped the streets of Paris in an orange sunset. The streetlights began to flicker on as the city of lights slowly started to illuminate in the growing darkness. Street performers played their instruments in the hopes of earning some spare change. Cafes and fancy French restaurants opened to feed dinner to the hungry tourists. The sweet scents of baguettes and pastries floated through the air. Thor, god of thunder, ignored all the happenings around him as he determined not to sway from his mission. The mission was not one assigned to him by the Avengers. It was a mission he undertook himself. I will not fail, he pledged to himself, not again.
Thor had put aside his Asgardian armor and instead donned cloths no different from any other street goer. He wore a simple blue t-shirt and some jeans. His mighty hammer, Mjolnir, was tucked inside a satchel that was slung across his back. Thor wondered through the busy streets in search of someone… his brother, Loki.
Thor was not searching for Loki in order to bring him down. In truth, that was already done. Loki was dead. He had died saving Asgard. Though, let it be known that Asgard was only in peril due to the workings of Loki himself. However, that is a different story. It had happened about a year ago. As far as anyone knew, Loki was gone. Nevertheless, one was able to find out the truth. After all, Heimdall sees everything.
A few days ago, Heimdall summoned the still grieving Thor as Oden took his annual Odinsleep. "He has returned," Heimdall stated to Thor. "Loki has returned."
"What? How can this be?" Thor asked confused. A glimmer of hope shot through him much like one of his lightening bolts shoots through the sky.
"Loki was always gifted with tricks," Heimdall said. "Though this may be his greatest one. It is now clear that Loki has made a deal with Hela to have his name stricken from the books of Hel so that his soul would not enter Helheim upon his death. Instead, his soul reincarnated into a new body, that of a young boy's, who has been living on Midgard for nearly a year now."
"A year! Why did you not tell me of this until now?" Thor boomed.
"Loki has always been hard for me to spot, especially when he does not wish to be found. Even before his death there has been a certain fog that he has shrouded himself with that is only now beginning to dissipate. I can see only now that this Midgardian boy is the reincarnation of Loki."
"Then I must go after him." Thor declared as he started to move towards the Bifrost.
"Wait, my prince. There is something you must know." Heimdall cautioned. Thor stopped in his tracks and turned to Heimdall to listen. "This boy is Loki, but his mind is clouded. He does not recall everything his older self has done as clearly as a memory. He is lost in more ways than one. Proceed with caution." Thor nodded, wondering what the cryptic Heimdall could mean by his words.
Now, Thor wondered the streets of Paris, the city Heimdall told him Loki would be in. Just as Thor began to curse the gatekeeper for not being more specific, he heard a clear voice ring over the crowed. "Sharp eyes and sharp minds, ladies." The voice belonged to a child whose words were as smooth as glass. It lead him to a small crowed of women gathered around a boy playing with cards on a small wooden table. The boy was expertly shuffling the cards as well as any card shark or magician. "No sleeves. Hands open. Full heart. There are no tricks here." The boy was wearing green cargo shorts, well-used sneakers, a yellow hoodie and a blue jacket over it. He was skinny and obviously looked like he lived on the streets, but his enticing banter and skillful hands kept the tourists near. "Let's see if Serrure gets lucky tonight." Serrure flashed a smile and Thor could see two mischievous green eyes under the mop of unkempt raven black hair and the hood over his head. This is Loki, Thor thought without a trace of doubt in his mind.
He was so focused on this Serrure kid that he just now realized another boy of similar age trying to pick the contents of his satchel. Thor, angered at how close the boy had come to Mjolnir, whipped around and grabbed the small thief by the scruff of his shirt, lifting him into the air. "Serrure, run!" the pickpocket said to his accomplice.
"You!" Thor tuned his glaze on Serrure.
In an instant, Serrure bounded over his card table, shouting back "Go to hell." Just like that he vanished into the crowd with Thor chasing after him. The kid was fast, and he was agile. He wove his way through the crowed with ease whereas Thor was pushing everyone aside to get to him. Serrure was surprised at the perseverance of his pursuer and, quite frankly, was a bit terrified that this giant muscly blond man who probably wanted to crush him like a bug. "This is bad. This is really bad." Serrure muttered to himself as he decided to step it up a little. He plunged into ongoing traffic, leaping like a gazelle from car top to car top. However, the man was still following him. "Crazy. I'm being chased by a lunatic."
"Stop running. You won't escape." Thor called after him.
Is that a challenge? Serrure thought as he ran. "The hell I won't," he shouted back just before leaping into an entrance to a Paris underground station. Serrure tumbled over the ticket entrance right passed a startled woman who was about to pass through. "Thanks for the fare." Serrure called back.
Enough of this, Thor thought to himself. He slowed to a walk and paid for both the woman's fare and his own. "Always cleaning up your messes." He muttered to himself. Thor decided to follow the boy from a distance.
Serrure, thinking that the crazy lunatic had given up, slowed to a walk as well. Man, was he tiered. He was just about to congratulate himself when a strong hand reached out from the crowed and grabbed his hoodie. The next thing he knew he was face down in the trench where the subway tracks go with the big blond guy standing over him. "You're crazy man." Serrure snapped at him. Serrure knew he would have to fight him now. "Show me what you got," Serrure said with as much false confidence as he could conjure.
Suddenly, the room was filled with light as Thor glowed with electricity. Serrure shielded his eyes from the bright light only to look back and see that the big blond man who had chased him was now holding a large hammer and was clothed with shining silver and dark blue armor with a red cape flowing behind him.
"Whoa!" Serrure exclaims, "Look, I'll give you back your money, all of it. Whatever my partner took I'll match it back. In fact, I'll give you a chance to double it if you just—"
"I do not want money!" Thor boomed.
"You—you're… What language are you speaking? Your not speaking French." Serrure stuttered.
"Neither are you. Are you?" said Thor.
"I don't understand," said a confused Serrure.
"You are Loki, son of Laufey and Farbuti, child of Odin, son of Bor, and brother of mine. And even for all your myriad sins, you are like me, a son of Asgard, a god." Thor stated with finality. "You speak the All-tongue, every man hears it as his native language. For all the wretchedness of your past life… I cannot imagine my life without you."
"You are insane big man. You know that? That's the craziest… oh, God." Serrure really looked distressed now. "I don't remember anything, anything, you know? I just… I've been making suckers chase cards for money my whole life. I don't even remember how long that's been. Even my name is fake. I just thought it sounded good. My memories… I have no memories. I… oh God… I have dreams. I have such hideous dreams. The things I've done in my dreams would convict me to the gallows in any court in the land." Serrure was on the verge of tears. "Why am I plagued by such sights?"
Thor looked at the kid standing in front of him and felt pity. "There are things… things all of us have done in our lives that we wish we could forget. Let us just suppose that you were given a gift, eh?"
Thor lifted Mjolnir in front of him, indicating that he wanted Serrure to take hold of it. Serrure looked at the glowing hammer with hope. "Will this help? Will you help me?" he asked.
"Nothing can erase the past. For you or anyone else." Thor said. "All this will do is bring our paths in tandem. You still have to walk it alone. But at least, you'll have company. Your life, 'Serrure,' is your choice and your choice alone."
Serrure hesitated "I'm afraid. What if my nightmares are my memories trying to return? What if… what if I am everything I fear?"
Thor locked his sky blue eyes to Serrure's bright green ones and said gently "You are my brother 'Lock.' You have nothing to fear."
Serrure looked down at the gravel around the train tracks and then back out to the underground entrance where day had all but faded into night. For a moment, it seemed like he was looking back at the past bleak year of scrounging a living off the streets. Serrure knew deep down that he was meant for more than that life, that struggle for survival. Whether his life was to be of wickedness like that of his nightmares or a complete journey into mystery, he did not know. Finally, he looked back at Thor and Mjolnir and said, "Anything would be better than this…." Then Surrere took hold of Mjolnir.
Then with a burst of light even brighter than the one that had surrounded Thor a moment earlier engulfed the form of Surrere. He took his hand away from the hammer that Thor still held up and was lifted off of the ground. Several onlookers in the subway station stopped and stared at the blinding light that engulfed the tunnel. Once the light began to fade, the boy who had once been Surrere was now wearing a green long-sleeved tunic with gold trimming. He wore black gloves and leggings with green and gold boots. He had a canvas colored hood that fell down to his shoulders revealing a gold Asgardian circlet around his head. Loki looked down at himself and his new clothing and exclaimed "Wow, I forgot what usually happens..."
"That's not what usually happens…" Thor trailed off as he looked upon his brother's new garb.
Loki looked back at Thor and a playful smile spread across his face. "When did you get so old?"
In truth, it was a bit strange for Thor to see his younger bother so young once again and yet he was now a grown adult. They had not been too far apart in age when they were both kids. But now Thor found himself gazing down at his much younger brother who looked exactly as he once had in the days of his childhood. Loki may be a child now but he also had the memories of the things he had done as an adult. Actually, it was much worse than him just having the memories; the crimes Loki had committed had already been carried out along with their consequences. Thor knew there would not be many on Asgard who would forgive Loki for those things. In fact, the only person who would ever forgive him other than Thor would be his mother Frigga and she was now gone. Even with Loki in the current state of a child, to bring him back to Asgard now would be like bringing a rabbit into a den of wolves. They would tear him apart without any hesitation. After careful consideration of his options, Thor knew where they had to go. He just hoped the Avengers would be more forgiving than the Asgardians.
"Take hold of me," Thor ordered, offering an outstretched hand to the young Loki. Loki took Thor's hand and together they both flew out of the tunnel and into the sky.