Loki was curled up in the crook of Thor's arm, staring up at the star covered ceiling unable to sleep. Feverently he would always look at his hands, were they blue again? No, still pale. Loki recounted back to the events of having a wash, he went to grab his shirt where he realized his pale white skin was a sea blue, he looked up at the mirror in shock to find his body completely blue with frightening red eyes- like a monster in the stories his father had told him and Thor.
"What's wrong with me?" Loki whimpered, shutting off the memories
"What is wrong, little brother?" Mummbled Thor, fidgeting around Loki to a more comfortable position
"Nothing" Loki replied feeling ashamed for having such pitiful feelings for the son of a king. Thor did not reply as he gently snored, unable to keep still Loki removed himself from Thor's embrace and sat in the rocking chair his mother sat in to sing them to sleep, he looked out the slither of a gap in the curtains to watch galaxies and stars above him, washing away his worries; until he heard a thump. Curious, Loki climbed down from the rocking chair and opened the door to his shared room, he looked up and down the corridor before tiptoeing downstairs. There in the hallway were a small pair of yellow glowing eyes in the darkness, Loki stumbled to the light to reveal a small, skinny girl frozen in the middle of the corridor
"Who and what are you?" Loki whispered
"I'm a human and my name's Mystique" She trembled
"You're lying" Loki accused
"Ok! My name is Raven and I don't know what I am" She whimpered as her body changed into a blue form with red hair and the glowing yellow eyes he'd seen in the dark
"I'm Loki" Loki walked to her and held out his hand. He felt a sudden fondness for Raven, she was protective of herself like he was, and she was different and didn't know why. Just like he did.
"How did you know my name wasn't Mystique?" Raven asked as she ravenously tore a mouthful of bread into her mouth
"Who would call their daughter Mystique... It's a stupid name" Loki replied
"Hey! I think it's a perfectly good name!" Raven objected. Once she took a gulp of water the questioned dawned on her "why are you helping me?" she asked, suddenly cautious
"Because you're like me"
"How? How could we possibly be the same?" Demanded Raven. Loki felt a shiver run down his spine as he felt his appearance changed
"I'm blue, you're blue. We can both change our looks, we're both unsure on who and what we really are" Loki explained, his legs swinging in the space between the chair and the floor
"Perhaps we're related" Raven replied, mirroring Loki's thoughts
"Of course not" Loki said defensively. Raven twiddled her thumbs and looked around the kitchen, both of the children jumped when they heard a door open
"Aww man the servants!"
"You have servants!?"
"...Do you not know where you are, Raven?" Loki asked
"No...I was being chased by an angry mob so I just ran into a tunnel and ended up underneath this house"
"Raven this isn't a house... It's a palace. My father is King Odin". Raven stared dumbstruck
"How can your father be a the king if you're... you're... well... you" She asked
"I don't know, but we have to go, if the servants find me they'll tell, if they find you they'll raise the intruder alarm"
"But all the questions we have, Loki! Where am I supposed to go?" Raven whimpered
"With me, come" Loki held out his hand and Raven took it, their feet pattering against the marble floor as they ran into the darkness of the palace.
Thor woke up to an empty bed, usually Loki was still asleep, he always seemed tired to Thor which annoyed him as he wanted to race him to breakfast.
"Mummy! Mother where's Loki?" He whined as Frigg walked in
"I don't know, Thor dear" She smiled pulling him out of bed "go down to the dining room he may already be there for breakfast"
"That would be a first" Thor grumbled as he went downstairs. Looking around on his way, Thor couldn't find Loki, he even asked the servants who shook their heads too occupied to give a full answer. The dining room was empty but the food lay waiting
"Loki? Loki are you playing hide and seek again?" Thor dropped to the floor "BOO!" he shouted expecting to find Loki crouched there. Instead it was Loki-less "Loki this isn't funny! This is boooring"
"Thor what are you doing?" Odin asked as he walked in with Frigg holding his hand
"Trying to find Loki" Thor said standing up and climbing onto a seat
"Have you not seen him, dear?" Odin turned to Frigg
"Not since I put the boys to bed" She replied, a look of worry on her face.
"Can I speak to you?" Odin turned to Frigg
"Thor why not go and get changed before breakfast?"
"But-" Frigg gave a fierce stare, Thor pouted before slouching towards the door
"Stand up straight" Odin called as Thor closed the door
"What if it's happened?" Frigg asked "what if he's realised?"
"He can't have, there's nothing that can set off the change"
"How are we supposed to know that, Odin? We've killed these people not studied them!"
"He is not one of them, Frigg, he is our son" Odin shook his head
"We cannot hide the truth!" Frigg banged her fist on the table "if he is our son we cannot keep this from him"
"He is a boy! We agreed when he's old enough to understand-"
"And when will that be? When he's old enough that his sadness and confusion turns to anger and betrayal?" Frigg threw her hands in the air in exasperation before walking out of the dining room. Odin sat in his chair feeling the responsibility weigh upon him.
Meanwhile, hidden in one of Loki's favourite part of the playroom, Mystique and Loki slept. Loki would wake up in agitation, his skin still flickering between shades of blue a ivory
"Mystique are you awake yet?" He asked unable to sleep once more
"No" She moaned. Loki unravelled himself from his cocoon and yawned
"Do you even sleep?" Mystique muttered
"I can't" Loki whimpered "I keep turning blue!"
"But what's wrong with being blue?"
"I'm not supposed to be blue- how can I? My father's enemies are blue!"
"Am I your enemy then?" Mystique whispered
"You're not one of them... You change"
"So do you?" Sensing Loki's distress Mystique hugged him "count sheep and you might be able to sleep"
"Count... sheep?" Loki quizzed
"Yeah- one sheep, two sheep" Mystique frowned as Loki giggled, but to his surprise, it worked and he fell into a fitful slumber.
"Loki? Loki!" Thor called
"Loki dear?" Frigg fretted "Oh if anything's happened to him!"
"Mummy where's Lowy?" Thor cried, referring to Loki by his childish pet name
"We'll find him, dear" She picked Thor up and brushed golden strands away from his face "where does Loki like to go?"
"The playroom cupboard! He likes the glow in the dark stars" Thor smiled
"Well let us have a look" Frigg placed Thor back on the floor and he clasped her dress as they both walked upstairs to the playroom. Frigg looked around the room before heading to the cupboard, she opened it up and paused
"Thor can you go and get your father?" She ordered, her voiced strained
"Mummy?"
"Thor go and get father" She repeated. Thor pattered away while Frigg stared at two slumbering blue infants, curled in protective balls
"Oh my dear son" She murmured brushing a strand of his dark hair, his skin flashing a peachy colour before returning to blue. She held her hand to her mouth, tears in her eyes- how long had Loki known? Her poor son! After collecting her thoughts Frigg looked up to see Mystique's glowing eyes
"Hello" Frigg smiled "who might you be?"
"She's Raven" Loki murmured sitting up
"What are you doing here, Loki?" Frigg asked
"Hiding with Raven because we're blue"
"What do you mean?"
"Daddy's enemies are blue mummy" Frigg choked and wiped her eyes, oh we should have told him she thought
"What are we?" Raven asked
"Well..." But before Frigg could say anything Odin burst through the playroom door
"You've found him?" He asked, Frigg nodded gravely and moved away from the cupboard. Odin stared down at Loki and Raven
"THE FROST GIANTS HAVE TAKEN LOKI! IMPOSTER! IMPOSTER!" Thor wailed suddenly from behind Odin. Loki felt tears well behind his eyes, his mother had a look of dismay, his father seemed giant and formidable and his brother accused him of being the enemy. Raven took his hand
"It's okay" she whispered.
Loki and Raven were sat on one side of the table with Frigg and Odin on the other
"Loki look up" Odin ordered, Loki, his head bowed couldn't meet his father's eye. His skin was a paler blue mirroring his confusion as to where he belonged
"Odin please" Frigg implored
"What am I?" Loki whispered, looking at his mother
"Our son" She trembled
"How can I be?!" Loki yelled "Please! Tell me!" He cried. Raven fidgeted in her spot, feeling uncomfortable in his misery
"You're a frost giant" Odin said "after the last battle I killed many including the ruler, Laufey. You're his son" he explained
"We've loved you like our own- you're an Asgardian Loki!"
"I'm not. I never belonged here did I?"
"You're just a child! This attitude is a silly phase Loki"
"A silly phase? When were you going to tell me I was never part of the family? When?! Did I have to wait for another lost frost giant to tell me?" Loki demanded, anger and sadness consuming his small frame
"Raven is no frost giant" Odin muttered "She is but a mutated being"
"Is that it then, father? Raven is just a mistake and I'm just something you thought you could take?"
"We saved you, Loki, we couldn't leave you abandoned" Frigg cried
"You killed my family!" Loki's voice broke "You made me this way" Loki grabbed Raven's hand and began running
"Where are we going?" Raven sobbed
"Away from here" Loki bawled, ignoring his mother's screams and Odin's demands.
Loki and Raven reverted back to their disguises and walked through the bustling streets away from Odin's palace
"We can go to my friends house... I'm sure we'll be safe there"
"What do you mean?" Loki asked
"Before I snuck in here, I lived with a friend, he's a... mutant too" Raven faltered "if that's what we are"
"Can he turn blue?"
"He has telepathy powers... We can live with him and no one has to know" Raven explained
"Lets go" Loki agreed glancing back once more at the palace catching a glimpse of Thor staring out the window before being hugged by Frigg.
"Raven it's so good to see you" Charles Xavier greeted "hi I'm Charles, and you are?"
"Loki" Loki shook Charles' hand
"Is it okay if he stays with us, Charles?" Raven asked
"Of course" He smiled directing them into the kitchen in which he and first met Raven
"We're mutants" Raven blurted out suddenly
"Mutants?" Charles questioned
"I met Loki in Odin's palace and I thought he was like me. His parents found out and some weird stuff happened and Odin called us mutants" Charles looked at Loki in shock
"You're son of Odin?"
"No" Loki shook his head "I'm a frost giant... the enemy" he turned his skin blue and Charles nodded
"I see. So you're a frost giant and me and Raven here are... mutated humans?"
"I guess so yes" Loki shrugged
"Interesting"
"Charles has always been the smart one" Raven said to Loki affectionately
"Will you return to the frost giants, Loki?" Charles pondered
"No. I'm too small for them- they'll believe I am part of this region still" and with that explanation, Loki felt even more like an outcast, sitting on the lonely border
"I understand, me and Raven have felt isolated for such a long time, there must be more of us and I want to help them when I grow up" Loki stared at Charles, was he looking inside of his mind right now?
"Can you... read thoughts?" He asked
"Well... In some way" The conversation dissolved and the three kids stood around awkwardly
"Would you like anything to eat? We've got a roast dinner tonight" Charles smiled, Raven giggled
"I'm starving" Loki moaned as his stomach grumbled.
Sitting around the dinner table with Charles and his parents, Loki felt odd
"It's okay, they think you and Raven are family members here to stay, anything you do I can add to their memories" Charles comforted Loki
"So, I could turn blue and they wouldn't know?"
"Look at Raven" Charles pointed across the table where Raven shovelled food into her mouth, her skin as blue as ever and her red hair practically glowing. Loki smiled, despite all the trickery, he allowed himself to feel more at home. More than he did at the palace. He missed Thor greatly, but he had a new family who were different just like him, trying to live normally amongst those that shunned them
"Thank you Charles" Loki replied grateful "thank you so much"
"Thank you for looking after Raven, I was scared when she disappeared" Charles replied.
That night Loki had nightmares. Odin was hunting him down, Frigg cried and Thor continuously yelled 'traitor!'. He woke up in a fret but Charles was already by his side
"Calm your mind" He whispered so Raven wouldn't wake
"He's going to try and find me" Loki gasped "I don't want to go back" he shook his head
"I can try and do something with their minds?" Charles suggested "I don't know what I can do but I can try something..."
"I wouldn't exist to them?"
"No... perhaps a memory but they will not remember. You'll be free from them"
"If that means they don't hunt me down and I can keep you and Raven safe from them, lets do it" Loki agreed
"I'll have to be close to them though" Charles replied.
Charles and Loki snuck out of the house and head towards the palace
"I can feel them" Charles notified "just a little closer". Standing by the wall Loki kept guard as Charles used his power. Loki began to like his blue skin, it allowed him to hide more easily
"Is it done?" Loki asked with a small tremble
"I think so" Charles nodded. A wave of relief came over Loki, he felt bad for leaving them and making Charles remove memories from their minds, but he knew it was for the best. He may be young, but he had seen too many people in court imprisoned for going crazy like he would have done. Instead of a clouded future of loss, Loki saw one growing up with Charles and Raven, helping others in need like himself.