It's been a while! I've already seen the Avengers movie, so I had to slightly rethink the plot.

I hope you like this, even if you only know the movies.

Enjoy!


Locked Memories

Asgard

Young Thor ran down the corridors towards the castle's garden. He usually felt lively and filled with energy, like there were thunders inside of him, but today he was gleaming.

It had all started when he sneaked into the Chamber of Banquets where a group of warriors had just started their feast with laughter, songs and stories about their adventures. Normally, children weren't allowed in such festivity, but as soon as the warriors found it was Thor they immediately accepted his presence and included him in their midst.

The blond boy listened with wonder their stories and songs, daydreaming about their fights and wishing that he had been there. He was a warrior; he had known it ever since he could remember. He belonged in the battlefield like those heroic men, like his father.

Someday everyone would be singing about his feats and his adventures would be remembered forever.

Excited, Thor had gone fetch his wooden sword. Unfortunately, none of his friends could train with him at the moment. Even the guards were busy. He didn't have another choice but to ask his brother to spar with him.

Like he expected, Thor found Loki sitting in the castle's library, his green eyes focused on some tiresome old book.

"Brother! I've been looking for you" Thor said.

Loki looked up at his older brother slightly annoyed that he had been interrupted. Seriously! What was so interesting about books anyway?

"What is it?"

"I wish to spar. So I've come to ask you to train with me."

Loki looked at Thor's sword with both exasperation and fear. Not once he had been able to defeat his brother. He wasn't a born swordsman like Thor was. Not that he was a complete failure; he just couldn't fight so straightforwardly like his brother or his friends, or even Odin and the other warriors. No matter how hard he tried, he could never measure up.

"I don't feel like it, Thor" the raven boy answered.

"Oh, come on! Why do you keep reading those old books? You think they'll be useful when a Frost Giant tries to rip your head off?"

Loki trembled at the mentioning of the Frost Giants. Every child in Asgard had heard the horrible stories about those flesh eating monsters. Thor had felt particularly proud when he realized that he wasn't even scared about them, quite the contrary, he wanted to fight them just like his father had once done. Loki, on the other hand, was still terrified by the stories and had timidly asked their father if they still lived.

Honestly! How could Loki be such a coward? He was supposed to be an Odinson, therefore he needed to be fearless. There had been hundreds of times when Thor wished Loki could change and be more like him, his friends and the other Asgardians. Instead, his little brother was small, thin and bookish.

Though Thor had to admit, Loki was smarter than anyone he knew. When they went hunting, Loki had always managed to defend himself using traps or tricking his enemy. Same thing during the spars. Yet, that wasn't a warrior's way of fighting!

"Why don't you ask your friends to spar with you?" Loki asked, his head buried in his book once more.

Thor pouted. "I've asked! They're all busy now, that's why I'm asking you."

Loki's shoulders slumped almost imperceptibly.

"So… I'm your last choice…" the raven said quietly, his mouth muffled by the old book.

"Huh? I didn't hear you. What did you say?" Thor asked.

"I said that if you asked nicely, your friends wouldn't refuse" Loki lied. "They adore you. You don't need me."

"I've told you, they're busy" the older brother said. "Why don't you come with me and ask them? You're very skilled with the words."

"They won't listen to me" Loki replied carefully hiding his face. "They don't like me."

"What are you talking about, brother? Of course they like you. They are our friends!"

"Your friends, Thor" the younger boy said, glaring at his sibling. "They only let me play when you're around. When you're not, they make excuses and don't let me play with them. When they think I can't hear them, they call me the puny prince."

Thor blinked, surprised by his brother's words. He couldn't imagine his friends saying those things to Loki. If Thor had witnessed that, he would punch them for insulting his little brother, but he couldn't believe it. Loki could be very annoying and mischievous when things didn't go his way and it wasn't the first time he lied to get out of a problem. He was probably making this up.

"Don't be ridiculous, Loki! They would never do something like that, so stop lying!" Thor hissed. "Don't insult them! They are good and noble friends and I won't let you offend them, brother!"

Loki's green eyes went from distress to bitter anger. "You're right, I was out of line" the raven boy said coldly. "Forgive my cruel words, brother. It won't happen again."

"Good" Thor replied. He hated when Loki used that fake courtesy, he felt that he wasn't apologizing at all. He didn't want to have to choose between his friends and his brother. "You know… maybe if you trained a little harder, they would like you more."

"Train harder?" Loki asked in disbelief. "I train as much as you!"

"But you hate it, I know! Everybody knows!" Thor said, as his brother's eyes widened. "You don't act like a warrior; you look like a weakly scholar. Why must you be so different? Maybe if you were more like us, they would be fond of you. It's your fault that you don't fit in!"

Thor realized that he had gone too far when it was too late. Loki's green eyes were filled with sadness and he looked down, his hands grasping the book harder.

"Loki… Brother, I'm sorry… I didn't mean…" Thor tried to apologize, but he couldn't find the right words. He had never meant to hurt Loki. No matter how different he was from everybody else, Thor loved him and he couldn't imagine his life without his little brother.

Suddenly, Loki got up from his chair, grabbed his book and left the library. Still troubled, Thor followed him. He didn't want Loki to be mad at him. They were brothers and Thor was the eldest. He shouldn't be the mature one and protect Loki, not upset and insult him.

"Loki, wait!" Thor said, reaching the sullen raven. "I said I was sorry. I really am. I shouldn't have said that."

Still silent, Loki turned and they walked into one of the castle's gardens, where he sat in one of the benches.

"Brother… I am…" Thor said.

"I'm not weak!" Loki cried out.

"Huh?"

The younger boy stared at Thor in the eye. For the first time, he looked fierce and ready for battle.

"I'm not weak, Thor. I'm not a skilled warrior like you, but I'm not weak" Loki said, unwavering. "I'll find strength my own way! I'll prove to you, to father and everyone what I can do! I'm going to become so big and powerful that everyone will be forced to acknowledge me!"

Thor was amazed by his brother's statements but he nodded. "Of course you are, Loki. You're an Odinson. You're going to be very strong, I never thought you wouldn't."

Seeing that his older brother believed in him made Loki smile and he opened the book. "You know, Thor? I think I've found something I'm good at."

"Really? What?" the blond boy asked, now visibly curious.

Loki stretched his right hand and closed his eyes, his lips mumbling some strange words. Before Thor could ask him what he was doing, a ball of fire appeared on his brother's palm.

"Whoa! Is that… magic?" the blond asked, dumbfounded. "How did you do it?"

"I taught myself after reading these books" Loki answered with a smile. "Look! I can make it change color!" the flame became bright blue and then green.

"That's… impressive" Thor admitted, with a bit of jealousy.

"It's very easy and I'm trying to make it bigger" the younger boy went on cheerfully. "I've asked father to teach me more about it. He's busy now with a meeting but he said that he'll come later and help me master it."

"So… you want to be a sorcerer?" Thor asked.

"Yes. I'm good at it and I can be very powerful!"

"Are you mad?" Thor exclaimed, surprising Loki. "A sorcerer? We're sons of Odin, the All-father! We're meant to be warriors like our ancestors before us. An Asgardian warrior fights with his body and sword, not using tricks and magic like some feeble witch."

Loki was surprised but he quickly got over it. "Shut up! You don't know anything! Magic is as good as a sword! Father uses magic too!" he yelled angrily.

"It's different. Father rarely uses his magic, he's a warrior" Thor claimed. "There's no honor using low tricks and sorcery to defeat an opponent."

"You're wrong!" Loki yelled back. "As long as you win, what's the matter if you use magic?"

"It's dishonorable!"

"Take it back!"

"No! It's the truth, Loki!"

"No, it's not! You're just angry because I can do it and you can't, Thor!"

"What? Why would I be angry?"

"Because you're too stupid to learn it" Loki mocked. "You only fight with your hands because you have no brain!"

Without even thinking, the hotheaded blond punched the younger boy in the face. Loki spat blood to the floor and threw himself against Thor, also blinded by his own anger and frustration.

The two boys fought with all they had, punching, kicking and even biting each other. But Thor was obviously in advantage. He was bigger, stronger and more skilled in hand to hand combat. Effortlessly, Odin's firstborn grabbed his younger brother by his arm and threw him to the ground before immobilizing him with his hands behind his back.

"I win, brother" Thor said, with a smirk of triumph. "Now… say I was right!"

Loki remained stubbornly silent.

"Say it, Loki! Say that I was right!" Thor demanded.

"Over my dead body" the raven answered with a glare.

"You little…" Thor yelled.

"What is going on in here?" a deep voice echoed through the garden.

Both boys looked up and Thor let go of Loki, who fell hard into the ground. No other than Odin himself, along with his guests from Vanaheim, approached them with a serious expression.

"Must I ask again why my two sons were fighting against one another?" Odin asked.

Loki got up, his cheeks flushed with shame, and stood beside Thor.

"We were just sparring, father" Thor said.

"I see" the All-Father said, staring at Thor and Loki's bruises and scratches. "Brothers should never fight. You share a unique bond and you should treasure it."

"Yes, father" both boys said in unison.

After staring into his sons' eyes for a while, Odin's expression softened and he smiled. "So… who won this "spar" of yours?"

"I did, father" Thor claimed proudly, while Loki lowered his gaze.

The Vanahein guests approached them in order to take a good look at Odin's firstborn.

"So you are the great Thor" one of them said, smiling at the blond boy. "Your father did not exaggerate when he spoke so highly of you. Your skills are remarkable for someone so young."

"You are too kind, sir" the blond answered with a confident smile.

"We are much honored to meet the young Thor" said a beautiful lady. "You truly are your father's son. I can see he has inherited both your strength and honor, All-Father."

Odin looked at his firstborn with undeniable pride and love. "He is a fine boy, my friends. One who will only grow greater as a great warrior."

Thor seemed to glow with delight at his father's and their guest praise. On the other hand, Loki stood still behind his older brother, overshadowed by his greatness once again.

"Why not show our guests how we truly fight in Asgard, Thor?" Odin said, surprising both boys in very different ways.

"You wish to spar with me, father?" Thor asked.

"Nothing would give me greater pleasure" Odin said. "Come! Let us start."

Thor followed his father and their guests to the middle of the garden. However, only one person didn't seem happy. Loki still remained in the same place, his green eyes still waiting for his father's recognition that he was there as well.

"Father? You said you were going to teach me" the younger boy said timidly. "You promised…"

But Odin was distracted, talking to both his guests and Thor, thus he didn't spare Loki a second glance.

While Thor sparred happily and proudly with his father, hearing the people's cheers and praises, Loki sat in a stone bench, watching his father and brother enjoying themselves without him. Whereas Thor felt great, strong and confident, Loki felt small, insignificant and invisible after being casted aside again.

When the spar ended, Odin went to Thor and placed a warm hand on his shoulder, saying how proud he was of him while the others agreed. Thor was grinning at all of them when he finally saw his little brother picking up his book and walking away towards the castle.

"That's right! Father, Loki wishes to show you something" Thor said, but the All-Father continued to talk to his guests. "Father! Loki wants to talk to you."

Strangely, the All-Father continued talking and laughing, like he didn't hear Thor.

"Father!" Thor cried out, glancing at Loki who continued to walk towards the door.

I remember a shadow

Suddenly, the door to the castle morphed in front of Thor's eyes and it turned in some devilish gate, dark and red lightning coming from it. Yet, Loki still walked towards it.

"Loki!" Thor yelled, pushing the people from Vanaheim away and running towards his brother. "Loki, stop!"

Loki continued walking, not even scared about the dark gate, just resigned. Thor ran with all his might but the ground opened before him, separating him from his little brother.

Living in the shade of your greatness

"Brother, come back!" the blond yelled. "It's not too late!"

Loki turned around and faced Thor, his expression was completely blank. All Thor knew was that he needed to stop him before he went down into that path of self-destruction.

Loki stared back at Thor and then at Odin and the rest of the Asgardians behind him. His haunted eyes gazed on their happiness, on how they seemed to radiate light and energy while he continuously felt tossed aside into the dark. He didn't belong there with them, he never did. He didn't belong anywhere.

"Loki, please… Come back to us" Thor pleaded, his voice cracking. "Come home."

The raven stared at Thor once more. They were both adults now and Thor stretched his hand in the Tricksters direction. However, Loki only gave him a sad laugh.

"I don't have it" he said, turning around and being swallowed by the darkness.


Thor woke up yelling and with Mjolnir already in his hand. He looked around and realized that he was in his chambers. Outside the sun had already risen.

"Another dream" the Thunder God said, cleaning his sweat from his forehead.

After calming himself, Thor got out of the bed, got dressed and left his bedroom. His body already knew where he was heading before his brain did.

The Hall of Trials, where Loki had died.

Nearly four years ago, Thor had brought his deceitful brother to Asgard. With an icy rage like he had never seen it, Odin ordered to imprison Loki until the day of his trial. There, he would have no visitors and would never be allowed to leave his cell.

At the time, Thor had been too angry and disappointed with the God of Mischief. Like Odin had ordered, he didn't try to visit the monster his brother has become. His brother was gone and this murdereous stranger had to pay for his crimes and villainy. Therefore, Loki was locked up in a glass prison, stripped from his powers, disinherited by his adopted family and loathed by the nine realms. The guards reported that he didn't eat, he barely slept and never spoke.

Thor was the one assigned to bring Loki to the trial and, in one last attempt to find his little brother inside this heartless man, he tried to get some answers from him in vain. The Trickster didn't say a word; his eyes looked dull and apathetic, like he had no soul left in his body. Even during the trial, while Odin read his crimes and all of Asgard hooted and insulted him continuously, the God of Mischief remained aloof.

Before Odin could sentence him, Loki's body started to shine. There was a huge amount of energy condensing into a single spot in his body, strong enough to kill a God.

Believing that Loki was about to attack, Odin, the Guards, several warriors and Thor ran to him. Yet, Loki wasn't planning to attack them at all. In dismay, Thor realized that all that energy was focused on his brother's body, which started to disintegrate. Loki was going to kill himself.

Thor tried to stop him, but it was already too late. Only a few meters away from Loki, they both exchanged a final look. A single tear ran down Loki's face, before he burst into a blast of energy and his body was destroyed, leaving only a crater on the floor.

They had thought it was a trick and had tried to find the Lie-smith, but Heimdall and Odin quickly confirmed what Thor had refused to believe.

Loki was dead. His brother was really dead this time. There was no turning back, no way to make things better… Loki was gone forever. Thor would never see him again.

His parents and his friends had tried to make Thor feel better and the Thunder God came to accept his brother's fate. He had gone into adventures with the Warriors of Three many times and he had saved Asgard about five times from some kind of beast or enemy. For a long time, Thor thought he had moved on and got over his brother's death.

However, a month ago, Odin had decided that it was time to remove all that had once belonged to Loki from Asgard, leaving Thor enraged. His brother didn't even have the right to a proper funeral and now his father was just going to erase his existence from their memories like he never existed?

Despite his protests, Thor couldn't do anything and his brother's belongings were destroyed. That had been when his nightmares had started. Seeing no trace of Loki in Asgard, only made Thor think about him even more. Everywhere he went he was reminded of his little brother and their happy memories as children.

Thor missed the child his brother had been. He missed him so much that he expected to find him running around the castle or reading a book in the library, becoming increasingly saddened when he remembered how things had end up.

Now, staring at the exact place where Loki had died, knowing that he was, most likely the only person who mourned him, made the Thunder God's heart ache.

He only wished there was a way to make things right and save his little brother. Nevertheless, not even the Gods could change the past, no matter how much they wanted to.


Paris, France

The young raven boy was fully dressed when the social worker knocked on his door. His clothes had been a gift from the doctors and nurses who had tried to help him over the last month.

"Can I come in?" she asked politely.

"Yes" he said, staring at the young woman in a business suit.

"My name is Marianne" she said, walking towards the small boy sitting on his hospital bed. "Did someone tell you why I'm here?"

The boy nodded. "You came to take to another home, because I can't stay in the hospital anymore."

"That's right," Marianne said with a kind smile. "Don't look so sad. You're going to be with more children who are just like you."

"I know, but… I was already used to here" he said sadly. "Now I have to leave."

"It's not because they want to throw you out, it just that the hospital is a place for sick people and you're not. Besides, you should be tired of being trapped in here. You're going to see new places and meet new people."

He nodded again, though he still didn't believe what Marianne had said. He had believed in the adults once when they told him that his memories would return and that his parents would come for him. Neither of those became true.

He had learned that grownups lied to kids all the time to make them behave or do what they wanted. That was one of the few things he had learned over the last month.

He learned that he was about ten years old (the doctors told him after seeing him naked, which was embarrassing as hell!), he knew how to read and write, he liked candy, he hated vegetables, he liked to watch everything on TV except those boring shows where they talked about girly stuff, he liked to pull of pranks, he loved magic tricks, he wanted to have a phone, a computer and a video game console, he wasn't very fond of thunderstorms and he was really good at lying…

He had dreams. Horrible dreams that made him wake up screaming in terror.

He knew all that about himself, but he still didn't have a name of his own.

"By the way… I still don't know your name?" Marianne said, as they left his hospital bedroom, which had been his only known refuge.

The boy looked at the morning sun and thought on how his memories seemed to be locked in a dark place in his mind.

Lock… that word sounded right.

"Serrure" the boy said, leaving to his foster home. "My name is Serrure."


"Serrure" is the French word for Lock. An amnesiac Loki actually chose this as his name in the comics because "it sounded good".

Things will get more interesting by next chapter.

Feel free to review! it's the only way I know if I did a good job with the story!

See ya!