DISCLAIMER: I do not own the movie Thor or any of its characters, nor any of the characters or events from Marvel's The Avengers – I am just borrowing them for play.
Inspired by Oceanbreeze7's fantastic story 'Understanding', where the Avengers (minus Tony) watch Iron Man. Go read it.
Inverted Perceptions
-~S~-
Chapter Two: Coronation
Many bustled about within the halls of the palace, servants hurrying from room to room as the Æsir wore their most luxurious clothing, preparing for some great event.
"What's happening?" Steve asked.
"It is the day of my coronation," Thor explained.
There was a thickset man with auburn hair preening his beard by use of his reflection in the polished walls.
"That is my friend Volstagg!" Thor exclaimed.
He turned to reach out for a passing platter of food only for the servant not to pause and bypass him, another moving in the opposite direction repeating the action. He huffed as he continued combing his fingers through his beard, exclaiming in delight when he happened upon a morsel of food that was entangled.
Thor laughed while his teammates grimaced at the unhygienic action.
He kissed his fingers in appreciation before stepping away from the wall and immersing himself in the crowds.
A raven haired man slipped through the tall, decorative, golden doors of the palace so to join the assembly, only pausing briefly so to fit a small dagger into one of the sheaths on his forearm.
"And that is my friend Hogan."
A goateed blond stood in the corner of a hallway surrounded by several giggling women who fawned over him.
"And that is Fandral!"
One female preened his hair as he praised another, "Darling girl," who held up a mirror that he admired his face in. "Now," he began, drawing his sabre with a smirk, "who wants to polish my sword?" The girls laughed uproariously and followed him as he strode off.
Natasha raised an eyebrow, and asked, "I hope all the women on Asgard aren't so superficial?"
"They are not all so – my friend, Lady Sif, is a great warrior," Thor replied.
A brunette disarmed, lying her shield, sword, and knives carefully atop a long table before moving around it and handing a curved, ornamental, metal weapon to a guard before walking further out into those gathered.
"And there she is."
The people mingled amicably in small groups in the clear streams of sunlight, the Warriors Three filing in to line up in front of the golden steps that led to the Allfather's throne.
"I hope this goes quickly; I'm famished," the auburn-haired male, Volstagg, stated.
"No," the blond, Fandral, drawled in sarcastic disbelief.
"Are you attached to that pretty face of yours, because one more word and you won't be," he threatened lightly.
"My, we are hungry, aren't we?" Fandral chuckled, before beseeching the raven-haired warrior on his right, "Oh, go on, Hogan, smile." He received an unimpressed stare. "You can do it – even you, Hogan the Grim. Just one smile," he urged, before surrendering with a sigh, "Alright, half a smile. Look – forget the smile, just show some teeth; remember, we are the Warriors Three."
"Fandral, he's not going to do it," the brunette asserted, before leading, "But if you'd like a challenge I know of an even greater one for you."
"Name it, Lady Sif," he said.
"Keeping your mouth shut," she finished.
Thor laughed thunderously, the others smiling in admiration of her wit.
Within the quiet of the palace, the heavy double doors at the far end of a shadowed hallway were thrown open, a figure striding forward with his cape whipping behind him. He carried a goblet and drained the wine in it before coming to a fire in the midst of the hall and throwing the cup down, calling, "Another!"
The pieces shattered and flew in all directions, the flames flaring in response to the added fuel and illuminating the blond, broad shouldered, armoured warrior standing with a great hammer in one hand.
"Nice entrance," Tony said, and Thor blushed in embarrassment at his spoiled-self making demands.
He continued down the hallway towards a curtained juncture that separated him from the raucous masses outside. Another armoured man stepped out from behind a pillar draped in curtain with a smirk to meet him. The dark haired one wore a horned helmet and was caped in green, a contrast to the other's scarlet as they stood beside each other in the hall.
Loki turned to teasingly ask, "Nervous, brother?"
Thor laughed, "Have you ever known me to be nervous?"
"Hm, well there was the time in Nornheim-" Loki commented.
"That was not nerves, brother, that was the rage of battle," Thor argued.
"Ah, I see."
"How else could I have fought my way through a hundred warriors and pulled us out alive?" Thor questioned rhetorically, turning to face Loki.
He furrowed his brow in mystification as he turned to mention, "Uh, as I recall I was the one who veiled us in smoke for our escape-" Thor guffawed at that, a servant approaching with a platter that held the requested drink.
"Yes, some do battle others just do tricks," Thor viewed with a mocking smile.
Thor winced, Steve casting him a disappointed look.
"I'd fly off the handle at condescension like that, just saying," Tony pointed out. "And what's that mean, that he veiled you in smoke?"
"My brother altered the air in the area around us so to thicken it and hide us," Thor tried to explain. "Our enemies could not swarm us effectively due to the fog, and so we were fighting reduced numbers as we made our escape."
"So he's able to cool and exert pressure on an expanse of gas molecules in the air on a whim?" Bruce translated incredulously.
Thor gave a shrug. "I do not understand the workings of my brother's magic, nor how it relates to your 'science'."
The servant chuckled at the remark, Loki's gaze swiftly turning incensed as he gazed at him.
"Yeah, he's not going to stand for that," Tony said.
Loki minutely raised a hand and splayed his fingers, twisting it so his palm was directed towards the servant. He quieted in disbelief, horror taking over his expression as his eyes darted between Loki and the goblet not a foot from his face where three small snakes coiled up over the rim.
He yelped and dropped the tray for it to clatter upon the floor along with the cup, the three diminutive, ultramarine and ebony striped snakes slithering across the floor. The servant watched Loki in fear, frozen as he smiled and laughed at his terror.
"We need to understand this," Bruce sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "He just transformed a drink into three independently functioning animals."
"That shouldn't be possible," Tony said, eyes alight as he smiled.
"Loki," Thor whined, "Now that was just a waste of good wine."
Loki's expression straightened as he defended, "That was just a bit of fun, right my friend?" waving his hand to vanish the serpents. Both he and Thor chuckled lightly as the servant forced himself to flash a scared smile before he bent to pick up the dropped wares, hastily retreating.
A guard approached to bow and offer a winged helmet to Thor, stepping back once he gingerly took it. Loki threw his eyes from it to Thor, who looked down at it before away, and then back again.
"Ooh, nice feathers," Loki teased lightly.
Thor smiled and chortled, turning to face him as he speculated, "You don't really want to start this again, do you, cow?" as he glanced up at Loki's horned helmet.
"I was being sincere."
"You are incapable of sincerity."
"Am I?"
"Yes."
"I've looked forward to this day as long as you have," Loki softly declared. "You're my brother, and my friend. Sometimes I'm envious, but never doubt that I love you."
They all stared in amazement at the declaration.
They shared soft smiles as Thor clasped the back of his brother's neck, giving a pat as he earnestly thanked him.
"Now give us a kiss," Loki joked.
"Stop it," Thor laughed with a warning point, shoving him lightly as they both turned back to stand abreast in the hall. They quieted and Thor looked down at his helmet again before raising his chin slightly and asking softly, "Really, how do I look?"
Loki looked at him, considering, before surmising, "Like a king."
"Okay, how long ago was this?" Steve asked, stupefied. "Watching this you two seem like every other pair of siblings I've run into – ribbing and supporting each other equally. What happened?"
Thor hesitated before admitting, "Before my exile I was arrogant and took advantage of, or ignored altogether, my brother's talents. Strength was what my friends and I valued; they tolerated him, but were not his. Our father advised me for the throne more so than he, and when he found out that he was adopted...
"Only our mother was there for him, and her reassurances could not outweigh the realization that he drew: that no matter his actions, he wouldn't be allowed to take the throne – which was not true, but..." he trailed off in dismay. "In addition, it seemed as though he concluded that there was something inherent in his heritage that had caused his separation from all of the persons that he had grown close to. He had never been looked at as more than a trickster, his studies in magic deemed frivolous. He had no confidence in his belonging to our family – and further, our culture."
"Do you guys not study psychology up there?" Tony asked. "All this could've been avoided if you hadn't neglected the crap out of him." Thor looked away from his accusing stare.
Thor gave a slight nod in thanks to the opinion, Loki turning back to face forward as he heaved a sigh and said, "It's time."
"You go ahead." Loki looked at him, contemplating the request. "I'll be along, go on," Thor urged again. Loki sent him an encouraging smile before striding off.
Thor paused for several moments before marching through the hallway lined with silk curtains the colour of dawn. There was a woman standing shaded behind one, wearing a long golden dress and cloak about her form and with her blonde hair elaborately curled and piled atop her head. He had almost completely passed her by until she spoke, "It's alright to be nervous."
Thor scoffed and turned to walk back to her, wondering, "Why does everyone keep saying that? I am not nervous." He passed her by again and then spun, pacing before her.
"Two people are pointing it out – you're nervous," Clint commented.
"You may be able to fool the rest of Asgard-" she began, stepping into the light of the hall and allowing it to glimmer off of the jewels decorating the front of her gown and about her neck.
"-yes, but never you – I know," Thor cut off to her smile.
"So, who is that?" Tony asked with a smirk, raising an eyebrow.
Thor chuckled. "That is my mother, son of Stark."
"No way," Tony said, his head whipping back to face the screen. The others adopted similar expressions of disbelief as Thor smiled.
"Thor," she started softly, laying a hand on his chest, "just remember that you have something even the great Allfather never had."
"And what's that?"
"Me for a mother," Frigga finished with a smile to Thor's light laugh.
"I don't care if you say it, or if she says it – I don't believe it," Tony insisted, crossing his arms over his chest.
"We shouldn't be that surprised," Bruce commented. "I haven't seen anyone on Asgard who isn't attractive. Even the older people hold themselves a certain way that seems to wipe out the fact of their age and display dignity."
Tony sunk down in his seat, mumbling, "I wanna be a god..."
"Now don't keep your father waiting," she ordered, stepping back from him and turning to stroll away.
He looked down at the helmet he still held in his hand, collecting himself for the performance.
Out in the open air, an enormous crowd had gathered in a sprawling courtyard, warriors donning their extravagant armour and civilians their finest ensembles. Their shouts sounded off the mighty stone pillars as they cheered, flags held aloft that matched the scarlet banners of the royal family hung from the ceiling. It was open in the center of the round of pillars, allowing rays of sun to stream down and to glint off the golden statues that flanked a grand platform at the end of the paved court where the people had gathered. Golden stairs led up to a sprawling throne were the Allfather sat, Thor's four friends arranging themselves along the steps in addition to his familial support.
The applause of the Æsir rumbled, directed towards Thor as he strode down several steps at the far end of a long aisle that led to the raised golden platform. Armoured and caped in red, having donned his silver, winged helmet, he struck an impressive figure as he held his hammer high above his head. He sauntered down the aisle lined with elite guards, standing with spears at attention. He approached the Allfather, his family, and his friends haughtily, tossing his hammer into the air to the entertainment of the people, grin cocky and laughter loud at being exhibited in such a manner.
"Oh please," Sif muttered from her stance on the steps, fondly rolling her eyes in annoyance. Frigga stood several rows above, on Odin's right, and smiled slightly in amusement at Thor's antics, but looked away so to display her belief in the inappropriateness of the action. Odin sat in full armour, winged, horned helmet on his head and ruling spear, Gungnir, in hand, looking on.
Thor shouted in triumph, turning as he walked to fully soak in the support of his people. He yelled and raised his arms, egging their praise on, Odin beginning to exhibit disproval at the display. Thor reached the bottom of the steps leading up to the Allfather's throne and sunk to one knee, resting his hammer on the floor alongside him and taking off his helmet. His blond hair fell to his shoulders and a beard outlined his jaw, his bright blue eyes rising to send a wink to his mother. Her eyes widened and, though a brief smile alit on her mouth, she shook her head in reproach.
Odin stood, the noise of the people lessening as he did so. Thor looked to his right where the Warriors Three were lined, Volstagg closest to him, then Fandral, and then Hogan, each a few steps separate from each other. Thor smiled as the Allfather rapped Gungnir on the floor, silence descending swiftly.
"Thor Odinson," he began, "my heir-" Loki, who stood on Thor's left in between Lady Sif and the Queen, glanced down and pursed his lips at the title.
"Didn't he say before that he loved you and had been looking forward to this?" Steve questioned.
"Yes, and he doesn't wish to rule and so approved of my imminent kingship, but I was not yet ready. You will see that I was reckless and impulsive, never considering the consequences of my actions. My brother was right to think me unsuited for the throne at that time," Thor clarified, "and to delay it."
"What? What does he do?" Clint asked.
"You will see."
"-my first born," Odin continued, words wavering in pride as his wife looked upon Thor softly also, "so long entrusted with the mighty hammer Mjolnir, forged in the heart of a dying star."
"That's why it's so damn heavy," Tony uttered.
"Its power has no equal; as a weapon to destroy, or as a tool to build – it is a fit companion for a king."
His two sons watched him intently as he persisted, "I have defended Asgard, and the lives of the innocent across the Nine Realms, from the time of the Great Beginning..." His voice faded as the ceremony distanced, a dark, fortified, isolated enclosure underneath the palace growing larger as it drew nearer.
Two guards descended into the Weapons' Vault, checking each sector for the powerful item kept there. A ringed blue orb held by a cloudy blue arm on either side; a waist-high stone fragment with a couple lines of chiselled runes. They strode to the end of the vault, the hazy blue Casket showcased in the center of the aisle. A bright green and yellow eye framed in obsidian followed the guards' progression as they passed its section; a figure hidden behind the pillars touched a blue hand to the stone, ice cracking through the mineral.
"Frost Giants?" Clint asked. "How did he manage to get Frost Giants in?"
Thor shrugged, and answered, "I do not know."
Above, Odin asked the knelt Thor, "Do you swear to guard the Nine Realms?"
"I swear," Thor answered.
"And do you swear to preserve the peace?"
"I swear," he repeated.
"Do you swear to cast aside all selfish ambition-" Loki looked away from Odin, evidently disbelieving of Thor's ability to do such, "-and to pledge yourself only to the good of the realm?"
"I swear!" Thor shouted, thrusting Mjolnir upward at the vow.
"Then on this day, I, Odin Allfather, will proclaim you..." he trailed off, gaze drifting. Thor's smile fell in worry.
In the Weapons' Vault, the floor crackled as it iced over, a guard kneeling to inspect its progression in fear and confusion. Crimson eyes reflected, a Jötunn growling from behind him as one of its clawed hands seized his throat. Another giant transformed an arm into a spiked icicle and speared the remaining guard's throat.
"Frost Giants," Odin announced on the surface.
The Jötunns marched to the far end of the vault, ice concentrating along the floor and base of the walls as they approached the Casket. The power of the artifact seemed to swirl in anticipation, the prism glowing a bit brighter as cobalt hands grasped its sides and took it from its base. They turned to exit.
"Oh shit," Tony cursed. "Isn't it a bit of an overkill – to give back to your enemies the powerful magic that you took from them, just to crash your brother's party?"
Thor chuckled.
"What do you find funny about this?" Agent Hill asked.
"Let us continue watching," he merely said.
From his stand in front of the Æsir the Allfather struck Gungnir against the gilded floors, and below the wall, that once terminated the vault's center aisle, disintegrated to reveal a monolithic machine of smooth, interconnected metal. It stepped forward to look down upon the intruding 'giants'; the lead Jötunn twisted to face it and raised the Casket as if in offence, but was instantly incinerated by an intense beam of power. The metal that had once resembled a face on the colossal machine had streamed to the sides of its head, a gaping hole left to issue forth a ray of cremation.
The remaining two Jötunn were reduced to infinitesimal ashes in a flash of white.
"We should get one of those to guard the tower," Tony put forward.
"No," Fury refused immediately.
The Allfather and the two princes entered the Weapons' Vault as the Destroyer retreated into the space from which it came, the stone decoration of the wall rematerializing in front of it. The three stepped up to examine the bodies: the guards prone and frozen, the barest of pieces remaining of the giants.
"The Jötunns must pay for what they've done," Thor declared, Loki gazing on in silence.
"They have paid, with their lives," Odin replied. "The Destroyer did its work, the Casket is safe, and all is well."
Thor looked to his brother for commiseration as he queried in irritation, "All is well? They broke into the Weapons' Vault. If the Frost Giants had stolen even one of these relics-"
"But they didn't."
"Well I want to know why," Thor insisted. Loki raised an eyebrow from the sidelines at the exchange.
"He knew that machine was down there, so he let the Frost Giants in just as a distraction," Natasha recapped. "But it wouldn't be for very long – your coronation would resume almost immediately – so what was the point of it?"
"My brother predicted my reaction to the intrusion," Thor said. "It was arranged so to show our father how irrational I could be."
"I have a truce with Laufey, King of the Jötunns-" Odin protested.
"He just broke your truce! They know you are vulnerable."
Odin turned to face him directly and asked, "What action would you take?"
"March into Jötunheim as you once did. Teach them a lesson; break their spirits so they'll never dare to cross our borders again-"
Fury furrowed his brow and shook his head, the rest casting disappointed glances towards Thor at the proposed course of action.
"My friends, I asked at the beginning for you not to judge me too harshly for my actions before my exile. Midgard taught me much."
"You're thinking only as a warrior," Odin noted.
"This was an act of war!" Thor persisted.
"It was the act of but a few, doomed to fail," Odin corrected.
"Look how far they got!"
"We will find the breach in our defenses and it will be sealed."
"As King of Asgard-"
"But you're not king!" Odin cut off. "Not yet." Thor's expression was stony as Odin walked past.
"Oh damn," Tony inserted.
In a large golden banquet hall there were servants removing the flatware from a long table laden with food, the pillars supporting the ceiling allowing the clear day to shine into the area. Thor stormed into the room and reached forward to fling the servants away, roaring as he overturned the table with a heave to relieve some of his desperation and fury at the situation. The table was flipped over top the multitude of food and remaining precious tableware, Thor standing with an enraged expression, teeth bared.
Steve recoiled at the waste of food. Tony rolled his eyes and mumbled, "Nice anger management." Thor blushed in embarrassment.
His four friends entered the hall, Lady Sif lifting her palms and asking derisively, "Redecorating, are we?"
"What's this?" Volstagg queried, aghast at the site.
Thor breathed heavily as he tensely circled the area that was now in shambles to sit on the steps lining the room.
"I told you they'd cancel it," Hogan stated, referring to the coronation.
"We thought you were just being your normal, cheery self," Fandral commented.
"All this food," Volstagg murmured, "it's just cast to the ground, it's-" He breathed heavily through his emotional response and finished, "It breaks the heart."
A man clad in tall, dark leather boots stepped around from behind a pillar, revealing himself to be Loki as he crouched to sit beside Thor on the low rows of stairs. "It's unwise to be in my company right now, brother," Thor warned.
Loki nodded his head in agreement and remarked, "Who said I was wise?" as he settled beside him.
"This was to be my day of triumph," he said in discontent.
"It'll come, in time," Loki reassured. Sif watched their conversation curiously as Volstagg gathered an assortment of food on a tray from a service that had escaped Thor's wrath.
Loki looked back at the other warriors and shifted closer to Thor, leaning in to speak quietly into his ear, "If it's any consolation, I think you're right – about the Frost Giants, about Laufey, about everything. If they found a way to penetrate Asgard's defenses once, who's to say they won't try again? Next time, with an army."
"Exactly," Thor responded.
"There's nothing you can do without defying Father," Loki pointed out.
Thor turned to look at him suddenly, gasping, "Yes, there is," as he got to his feet.
Loki searched his expression frantically before his eyes widened and he started to protest, "No, no no nononono, stop; I know that look, stop right there-"
"It's the only way to ensure the safety of our borders," he countered.
"Thor, it's madness," Loki tried again.
"Madness?" Volstagg interrupted. "What sort of madness?"
"I-It's nothing, Thor was just, merely making a jest," Loki diverted.
"The safety of our realm is no jest," Thor stated, "We're going to Jötunheim."
"Now there's a well-thought-out decision," Clint snarked.
"He was manipulated into it," Natasha defended.
"I may have been influenced, but at that time I would have taken any excuse to target the Jötunns," Thor sighed.
"This isn't going to end well," Steve predicted.
Loki sighed and raised a hand to cover his eyes in resignation, Fandral scoffing out an incredulous, "What?" at the proclamation.
"Thor," Sif began with a shake of her head, "of all the laws of Asgard, this is the one you must. Not. Break."
Fandral explained, "This isn't like a journey to Earth where you summon a little lightning and thunder and the mortals worship you as a god. This is Jötunheim-"
"If the Frost Giants don't kill you, your father will," Volstagg supplied.
"My father fought his way into Jötunheim," Thor supported, Loki swallowing in anxiety, "defeated their armies and took their Casket. We will just be looking for answers-"
"It is forbidden," Sif argued again.
Thor smiled with a chuckle, opening his arms and approaching the four as he said, "My friends, have you forgotten all that we have done together? Who brought you into the sweet embrace of the most exotic maidens in all of Yggdrasil?" he asked Fandral, coming to stand before him.
"Well, you helped a little," he responded with a smirk.
Thor laughed and addressed Hogan, "And who led you into the most glorious of battles?"
"You did," he answered.
"And to delicacies so succulent you thought you'd died and gone to Valhalla?" he asked Volstagg, who had been in the middle of assembling a tower out of bread, meat, and cheese.
He chortled and answered, "You did."
Thor laughed with him and approved, "Yes," as he clapped him on the shoulder. Then he turned and started towards the brunette, asking, "And who proved wrong all who scoffed at the idea that a young maiden could be one of the fiercest warriors this realm has ever known?"
"I did," she cheerfully answered.
Thor paused for a moment before admitting, "True, but I supported you, Sif." He spun and levelled them all with an unyielding gaze.
"My friends, trust me now – we must do this," he asserted, returning to stand by his brother and gesturing down at him as he questioned, "You're not going to let my brother and me take all the glory are you?"
Loki's eyes flashed up and widened as he breathed out, "What?" his gaze shifting from side to side in unease.
"Didn't expect that," Tony sung.
"What," Thor wondered, his smile falling as he asked, "You are coming with me, aren't you?"
He turned with a smile and answered, "Yes, of course." His composure recollected, he stood and confirmed, "I won't let my brother march into Jötunheim alone." Their stares fell to each of the others expectantly.
"And I," Volstagg said.
"And I," Fandral repeated with a sigh.
"And I," Hogan affirmed. "The Warriors Three fight together."
"I fear we'll live to regret this," Sif finished, closing her right fist and holding it over her heart as she bowed in acquiesce to Thor's leadership.
They made their way out of the hall to prepare, Volstagg attaching, "-if we're lucky," to her statement. Thor laughed and clapped Loki on the shoulder, hopping over the few rows of steps below and striding out of the room, Loki following.
AUTHOR'S NOTES: I'm trying to include all of the deleted/extended scenes that were available on the BlueRay edition (I don't have them, unfortunately, but OceanBreeze7 helped me out with hunting them down on YouTube).
Drop me a review and let me know how I'm doing!
