It was late afternoon on Asgard. A radiant, heavenly light illuminated the gleaming metal towers, and the whole city glowed golden. But on the end of a shattered rainbow bridge, a different light shone. It was an icy blue, the color of half-frozen lightning and artic waters. As the light grew, it began to take form. Two shapes made themselves known, both tall and majestic men. Initially, they looked nearly identical, but as the blue light faded, stark differences appeared.
One stood proudly, a hammer of stone clutched in one muscular hand. A red cape, which would have looked ridiculous on anybody else, flowed and eddied in a nonexistent wind. Silver armored clung to a muscular form. A proud, chiseled face was outlined by long blonde hair. This was a warrior, every aspect of his being built for fighting.
If the first man was a warrior, then the second could not have been more different. He stood hunched over, hands together as if praying to some invisible god. Upon closer inspection, his hands were bound by a metal chain. A muzzle of a similar material obscured the lower half of his face, while various cuts decorated the top half. His clothing, once regal and well-kept, was dusty and torn. Every part of him looked, quite simply, broken and defeated. Except for his eyes. The bright green orbs blazed with fury; glowing with a crazy, unearthly light. If eyes are really windows to the soul, then this man's soul was twisted with madness and malice.
Between the two men was a strange device, held on one side by a strong, confident hand, and gripped on the other by a thinner hand with long, fine fingers. Contained within the device was a glowing blue cube, undoubtedly the source of the earlier light. The Tesseract, as it was called, pulsated happily, casting a blue shadow across the face of both men. The second man relinquished his hold on it, closing his eyes. When he opened them, all the hate from before was gone, replaced by a dull acceptance and pain. Without saying a word, the two began to walk towards the gates of Asgard, the Bifrost gleaming with every step. Suddenly, the first man stopped in his tracks. He turned to the other, anguish written on every line of his face.
"Loki...brother…I cannot tell you how wonderful it is to have you back on Asgard, even if you do arrive a prisoner. But hear me now; I will do everything in my power to ensure that you do not remain one." The other man, Loki, nodded, dropping his head and clenching his eyes shut in sudden emotion. A single tear leaked from the corner of a pain-filled green eye, tracing a line down his pale white face. He tried to say something, but the muzzle stopped him. His brother smiled sadly, and very gently reached around Loki's neck. Strong hands unclasped the muzzle, and pulled it free, leaving a series of red lines etched into Loki's face.
"There, brother. Now you can converse freely with me." For a minute or so, Loki didn't say anything. He ran his hands over where the muzzle used to be, pale fingertips coming away red where the muzzle had bit into his lips.
"Thank you, Thor…Brother…" Loki's voice was slightly hoarse from disuse, and he cleared his throat before continuing. "I…I wanted to say that I, well…That I'm sorry. I know what I did was wrong. It was a mistake to try and rule over the Earth. I…I was wrong. Please brother, forgive me." Loki hung his head, a host of emotions playing out over his battered face. Thor just stared at him for a long moment, a grin slowly breaking out over his big face. He reached out and embraced Loki, who made a choked noise as his rib cage was compressed. "Brother…" He choked. "Can't…breathe…" Thor finally withdrew, grinning from ear to ear. Loki smiled reluctantly back, his expression turning serious as a thought entered his mind.
"Thor, I have…a favor to ask of you. You and Odin may know what I have done on Midgard, but the other Asgardians do not. I am…ashamed of that, and of coming here a prisoner of war. I was wondering if perhaps you could remove my handcuffs. Not permanently, of course. Just as we first walk into the city. I would have my fellow Asgardians not see me as a prisoner, but as a prince returning. We could return to the Sky Citadel together, as true brothers, as equals." Loki smiled sheepishly, avoiding meeting Thor's eyes. His brother nodded, understanding how Loki didn't want to hurt his reputation or tarnish his pride. Thor took a small key from his pocket and unlocked the metal cuffs around Loki's wrists, the chain falling to the ground, forgotten.
The Trickster smiled viciously, all the previous malice returning to his eyes in an instant. He stood there for a moment, surprised that his brother would need no further convincing. Then he lunged at Thor, smashing one booted foot into the hand clutching the Tesseract. Thor, taken completely by surprise, staggered backwards and relinquished his hold on the device. In one motion, Loki grabbed the Tesseract and twisted both ends of the device it was in. The same blue light began to glow around his body, and for a second he looked almost inhuman, illuminated by the harsh blue light. His eyes were the last thing to disappear, a chilling combination of green and a bloody red. Thor, still trying to grasp the situation, lunged for his brother, fixing one strong hand around Loki's ankle just as his flesh became insubstantial and both brothers vanished into the blinding blue light.
In a place both nearby and far away, in the land between nowhere and somewhere, a blinding blue light appeared. The light brightened and then blossomed into shape before fading into a cube of the same electric blue. The two brothers were left in its wake, Loki tall and proud, Thor crumpled and disoriented. The instant he solidified into flesh and bone, Loki stepped back from his brother's side, contemptuously jerking his foot from Thor's weakened grip. Thor, confused, gingerly sat up, rubbing his head.
"Loki…" He whispered. "Where are we?" Loki laughed, a mad, inhuman, sound, and spread his arms wide in a welcoming gesture.
"My dear brother, we are in Dream." The landscape around them was so surreal that it almost wasn't even a landscape. They seemed to be standing on a never-ending pool of water, supported as if by nonexistent ice. Storm clouds gathered overhead, but instead of giving darkness they shone with the light of the sun. A large ring of smoky fire seemed to encircle them, or maybe they were standing within the fire itself.
"Dream," Loki went on, "is a place of contradictions. Everything and nothing exists here, in perfect order and utter chaos. It is one of the places my former allies showed me. I have learned much over the years, not least that you, dear brother, are a fool." With that, Loki drove his booted foot into Thor's head, twisted the Tesseract, and disappeared once more. Thor, unprepared, reeled backwards. But instead of striking the hard surface of whatever it was he was sitting on, his head broke the surface of the water, and his entire body sank down into darkness.