The way they looked at each other was enough to give Loki heart palpitations.
And then Thor did the unthinkable: he kissed her hand.
The sentiment of the gesture set in stone the mutual attraction they shared.
"Look how he beams at her!" Loki screeched. "Look how she hides her bashful smile, the roses blooming on her cheeks! They stare at one another like animals in their wretched mating season! He bows to her mortal companions! Look how low you have fallen, Thor! Look what you have done!"
The new King stormed about his chambers, upturning useless furniture and precious books alike.
"Look what you have done! Was my pain not enough for you? Do you think yourself so above me that you can avoid the mortal truth? She will die, Thor! She will die, and this spark of infatuation you feel will eat at your heart until you force yourself to drown her memories! You cannot love her! I forbid you! I forbid you to make my mistake!"
But no matter how many hours Loki screamed and seethed, Thor could not hear the man he still called his brother. As Loki watched the golden haired, the banished prince go to reclaim his weapon, the Aesir King realized something very important.
And as Thor roared to the skies in his failure to lift Mjølnir, Loki took it as a sign of what he must do.
If Thor was stripped of his power, he would live as a mortal. And if Thor never regained that power, he would die as a mortal as well. Thor would have the chance to be with this Midgardian. He would have the chance to watch her bear his sons. He would have the chance to die peacefully of old age. He would have the chance to forget about his detrimental heritage.
'This is for your own good, Thor,' Loki thought. He did a wonderful job of lying to himself.
Loki dressed himself in his coronation armor, sat upon the Asgardian throne in wait. He knew Thor's beloved friends would try to talk their way into letting Thor return home. And try they did. As he sat upon the throne, a doppelgänger joined Frigga at Odin's side. Another walked to Heimdall's observatory. Still another in handsome Midgardian dress sought out the man Loki once called his brother.
A crisp, white room with mirrored walls and a single chair saw Thor mute and mentally defeated. A man ordered Thor to stay where he was. Loki stepped in as the mortal stepped out.
"Loki!" Thor exclaimed, perking up slightly. "What are you doing here?"
"I had to see you," the new King murmured. He lowered his head.
"What's happened?" Thor asked. Dread crept up the walls of his throat. "Tell me, is it Jotunheim? Let me explain to Father."
"Father is dead," Loki spoke.
Thor's shock made Loki wonder briefly if the banished prince understood his words at all. "What?" Thor choked out. The pain on his face made it all the harder for Loki to follow through with his plan. Those sad eyes, the eyes Loki taught him how to create, were genuine. Powerful.
"Your banishment, the threat of a new war, it was too much for him to bear. You mustn't blame yourself. I know that you loved him. I tried to tell him so, but he would not listen."
Thor dropped his head.
Loki saw his chance. "It was so cruel to put the hammer within your reach, knowing that you could never lift it. The burden of the throne has fallen to me, now."
Blue eyes rose with a glimmer of hope. "Can I come home?"
"The truce with Jotunheim is conditional upon your exile."
"Yes, but couldn't we find a way –"
"Mother has forbidden your return."
The words hit Thor harder than Loki had anticipated. 'Good,' he thought. 'Stay here. Do not beg me to come back any more.'
"This is goodbye, Brother," Loki murmured. The word felt strange now on his tongue. He knew the truth. Knew that word was unfit for use. "I'm so sorry."
"No." Thor shook his head. A single tear betrayed the desire to contain his emotions. "I am sorry. Thank you for coming here."
Loki's façade softened for only a moment. "Farewell," he said. He turned slowly, sighed, disappeared.
"Goodbye," Thor whispered.
But Loki was not entirely gone from this realm. As mortals in white suits scuttled around the perimeter, the Aesir King reached out as he walked past, curious to see if the hammer would accept him. He was worthy now, was he not? He saved Thor from four thousand years of pain. But Mjølnir did not think so. Loki pulled a bit harder. Surely his act of heroism measured up to whatever Thor had conjured to be worthy in the first place. But alas, the weapon would have none of him. Loki smirked in annoyance, vanished.
Through the Bifrost came a doppelgänger to Jotunheim. Loki was alone, weaponless, and very much undisguised. He traversed the halls of the fallen fortress. Frost Giants gave him berth, though they stared in amazement at his boldness. This was the weak Aesir prince, was it not? They knew nothing of Odin's collapse.
"Kill him," Laufey said simply.
Loki shook his head in amusement. "After all I've done for you?" he responded. In a flash, he revealed his Jotun guise, the Traitor; it was gone as quickly as it had appeared.
"So you are the one who showed us the way into Asgard," Laufey murmured.
"That was just a bit of fun, really," Loki shrugged. "To ruin my brother's big day." The coldness of his eyes could not be masked by even him. How should he act before his true father, the vilest Frost Giant of them all? And still, still, Loki felt tiny in comparison. "And protect the realm from his idiotic rule for a while longer."
"I will hear you," the Jotun King murmured, leaning forward.
Loki eased toward him slowly. "I will conceal you and a handful of your soldiers, lead you into Odin's chambers, and you can slay him where he lies." Oh, if they only knew their fate.
"Why not kill him yourself?"
Loki smirked. "I suspect that the Asgardians would not take kindly to a king who has murdered his predecessor. Once Odin is dead, I will return the Casket to you –" Laufey stood quickly – "and you can return Jotunheim to all its, ah . . . glory."
"I accept," Laufey hissed.
Loki returned to Asgard through the Bifrost. Heimdall stood at the control panel, steely glare cast in his direction. "What troubles you, gatekeeper?" Loki asked.
"I turned my gaze upon you in Jotunheim, but I could neither see nor hear you. You were shrouded from me, like the Frost Giants that entered this realm."
"Perhaps your senses have weakened after your many years of service," Loki offered.
"Or perhaps someone has found a way to hide that which he does not wish me to see," Heimdall challenged.
The new King smirked inwardly. 'You finally see.' Loki collected himself. "You have great power, Heimdall. Did Odin ever fear you?"
"No."
"And why is that?"
"Because he is my king, and I am sworn to obey him."
"He was your king," Loki corrected, "and you are sworn to obey me now. Yes?"
"Yes," Heimdall answered slowly.
Loki turned to leave. "Then you will open the Bifrost to no one until I have repaired the damage that my brother has done."
But the doppelgänger vanished halfway across the bridge. The true Loki stood at the balcony of the bath hall. It was a regrettably unused feature that offered a beautiful view yet provided no real service when attached to a bathing room. Despite feeling accomplished in saving Thor, he still could not stand the idea that, once again, Thor was the one who received the best. The new King shook his head slowly. He had no time to worry over Thor's heart any longer. As far as Loki was concerned, the banished prince was already dead. He had other things to prepare for. Like the Jotuns, for example. Oh, he had great plans for them. All of them.
In the distance, a jet of light crackled into the sky. Loki's head snapped up. He gripped Gungnir so hard his knuckles crunched in their sockets. Someone, or, many someones dared cross the Bifrost. Loki had a feeling he knew exactly who they were. They were going to tell Thor everything. Loki did not have to spy to know. So the new King, in fervency, awoke the Destroyer and sent it down to Earth. If the Warriors Three and their shield maiden were so keen to commit treason against him he would be as keen to turn them to dust. "Ensure my brother does not return," he ordered it. "Destroy everything."
Again, Loki trekked to the observatory. His anger carried him much faster than his usual foot pace.
Heimdall stood protectively outside the mouth of the golden sphere.
"Tell me, Loki. How did you get the Jotuns into Asgard?"
Loki sneered. "You think the Bifrost is the only way in and out of this realm? There are secret paths between the worlds to which even you, with all your gifts, are blind. But I have need of them no longer, now that I am king. And I say, for your act of treason, you are relived of your duties as Gatekeeper and no longer citizen of Asgard!"
Heimdall might have smiled. "Then I need no longer obey you."
As the exiled overseer drew his sword, Loki pulled the Casket of Ancient Winters out of thin air, blasting Heimdall with a fury so cold it froze the man in mid-swing. And that was the end of the great overseer.
Soon, it would be the end of Thor's ridiculous friends as well.
Having full trust in the Destroyer was not enough. The new King sat upon the throne, watching from the metal beast's would-be eyes. If need be, he would control it. For now, he would watch in wait. A gathering of mortals stood before the Destroyer. One grabbed something similar to an electronically modified horn and offered a wary greeting. Loki recognized it to be the same man that interrogated Thor in the mirrored room. The Destroyer opened the slats of its would-be face and blasted a few of their vehicles. A warning shot. Loki was amused to see them scramble.
The people of the town recognized the danger as the Destroyer approached. Many ran. Buildings were destroyed in great beams of fire, setting ablaze anything in the metal beast's path. From behind the smoke and cinders, an impossible band of Aesir warriors had the nerve to think they could take on the beast. Volstaag came flying at it; the Destroyer swatted it away as if it were little more than an annoying bug. It neared the portly warrior to uphold its namesake. Sif pounced on it from behind, stabbing her sword through the back of its neck.
If it had been a living creature, a stab like that would have severed its spinal cord. Unfortunately for her, it was neither living nor dead. The Destroyer spun on itself, summoning a nice large beam of Hel-fire to spit in her face. "Fall back!" she cried. Now the beast was just angered. It stomped through what was left of the town, burning everything it saw that still stood remotely upright.
As destruction rained down upon his head, Thor felt an odd sadness grip his heart. All of this pain and suffering and ill will Loki laid on the mortals of Midgard were because of Thor himself. Sif struggled to right herself behind a flimsy shield, a motor vehicle. He was a mortal man now. He was going to die incredibly soon. This now miniscule life cost several others. He dodged his way to Sif's side.
"Sif," he said, clapping her shoulder. "Sif, you've done all you can."
"No, I will die a warrior's death," she panted. "Stories will be told of this day."
In that moment, Thor was reminded of how very much he took her bravery for granted. "Live, and tell those stories yourself. Now go!"
Sif ran to safety as Thor was tossed into the air. The Destroyer knew their hiding spot. Thor dragged himself from the concrete, collecting Sif's shield. He neared the Warriors Three. "You must return to Asgard," he ordered. "You have to stop Loki."
"What about you?" Fandral asked, scuffed from battle.
"Do not worry, my friends. I have a plan." The banished prince smiled to reassure them. As soon as they left his sight, his smile faded into a grimace. He tossed down the shield and headed for the Destroyer. They met face to face amidst the wreckage.
"Brother, whatever I have done to wrong you, whatever I have done to lead you to do this, I am truly sorry."
'You can never be sorry enough.'
"But these people are innocent. Taking their lives will gain you nothing."
The Destroyer powered itself for the final blow.
"So take mine, and end this."
Loki rested his palm against the throne. The Destroyer powered down, slumped as it let its king take over. Thor smiled briefly, proud of his brother's decision. The Destroyer turned. Swung its hand. Sent Thor flying.
'Your life is worth nothing.'
Thor's mortal ran to him, screaming, crying into his chest.
'I would have left you alone, I would have let you stay with her for as long as her lifeblood flowed. It is the fault of your so-called friends that you lay dying in her arms now.'
Satisfied that Thor had met his end, the Destroyer turned to leave.
At the corner of Odin's wearily closed eyes, a tear gathered and fell.
A bolt of lightning ruined Loki's decent mood. He turned – the Destroyer turned to see Thor wielding the terrible hammer Mjølnir. His armor, his cape, the realms returned to him along with his Aesir life. Thor was no longer the unworthy mortal. The metal beast tried to shoot a quick beam of fire into the heart of the lightning, but Thor would have none of it. Mjølnir barreled into its jaw at amazing speed.
Thor created a whirlwind above the remnants of the town. The Destroyer, despite all its strength and weight, found itself sucked into the vacuum. Thor smashed away blast after powerful blast of concentrated fire. In a final desperate attempt, the metal beast sent an endless stream cascading into the revived prince. Thor powered through the fire with his mighty hammer, shoved the beam back down into the beast's throat. And that was the end of the Destroyer.
Loki raged with anger. He opened the Bifrost to Laufey and his lackeys. Even if Thor was an Aesir again, he and his soldiers were trapped on Midgard for the rest of their lives. He would never open the Bifrost to them, no matter how sweetly they begged.
"Welcome to Asgard," Loki spoke, looking at them with something that could have been contempt.
Laufey was unconcerned. He followed the new King to the palace in silence. Nervous excitement swelled within him. He could almost take the bitter wind on his lips. Loki led the way past several guards, a handful of servants, and a watchbeast without any of them realizing that Jotuns followed in his footsteps. Laufey had to admit he was impressed by Loki's concealing magic. Even the Jotuns' purposely heavy footsteps were dulled to all ears but their own. The new King left them at the end of the hall, where they prepared to slay Odin. Loki claimed to not want to be seen so close to the room at such a time.
Laufey did not question it. He should have.
But their excitement was too great, the prize to sweet for them to resist. They covered everything in their midst with thick ice from sheer anticipation alone. Frigga drew her sword. They were back, the foul beasts! After all these years, the Jotuns dared to show their face in these halls. She would have many sharp words for them, in the form of fatal wounds. They may have tried to take her son, but they would not take her husband. She sliced down one before Laufey slapped her away. He had no time for meager Aesir women.
Laufey pulled Odin's eyelids open with his massive hand. "It is said you can still hear and see what transpires around you. I hope it's true, so that you may know your death came at the hand of Laufey." The Jotun King drew his ice blade high.
A blast of searing hot magic scarred the Frost Giant's back.
From the doorway, Loki wielded Gungnir defensively. "And your death came by the son of Odin," he hissed.
Laufey picked up his head just long enough to see another bolt of hot magic sear him to ashes.
"Loki," Frigga struggled out as she picked herself from the floor. "You saved him." She wrapped her son up in her arms, so grateful that despite Loki's displeasure in Odin, he still saved him from death.
"I swear to you, Mother, that they will pay for what they have done today."
"Loki," Thor bellowed from the doorway.
The new King looked up with something akin to annoyance.
"Thor!" Frigga exclaimed, running to embrace Thor as well. "I knew you would return to us."
The two men shared a disgusted look for each other.
"Why don't you tell her how you sent the Destroyer to kill our friends, to kill me?" Thor asked, drawing near to the man who stood where Thor should have stood.
"What?" Frigga whispered.
"Why, it must have been enforcing Father's last command," Loki said innocently.
"You are a talented liar, brother, always have been."
They stood now on either side of Odin's bed.
"It's good to have you back," Loki murmured. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have to destroy Jotunheim." And with that, Loki sent Thor through the wall of the room. Thor tumbled down and down the outer edge of the golden bricked palace. Frigga stared in horror after her golden haired son, then back at her raven shadow. But before she could summon any words to soothe her aching heart, Loki was gone.
"Oh, husband," Frigga sobbed into her hands.
Loki rode to the observatory on the back of Asgard's fastest horse, Slepnir. Heimdall's frozen statue of a carcass was nowhere to be seen. At this point, Loki was no longer concerned. He dropped Gungnir into the control panel, left the Bifrost open. He had never actually witnessed the Bifrost destroying a realm, but Heimdall's precautions against it ensured a devastating show. White-blue lightning cackled around the room. He could only imagine what annihilation waged on the realm of the Frost Giants. Loki froze the energy of the Bifrost. The pattern somehow drew the birch prison into Loki's mind. Despite the events, he smiled.
'Soon, they will all be destroyed. No more Frost Giants. No more orphaned runts, no more peace treaties, no more foolish talk of monsters and winters and vile villains. They will be extinguished. And after that, so too shall I. Are you proud, All-Father? You will never have to worry about them again.'
Thor flew to the observatory but it was much too late.
"You can't stop it," Loki hissed proudly. "The Bifrost will build until it rips Jotunheim apart."
Thor aimed to smash away the ice; Loki slammed him back with a beam of concentrated magic.
"Why have you done this?" Thor questioned, bewildered and full of hurt.
"To prove to Father that I am the worthy son. When he wakes, I will have saved his life. I will have destroyed that race of monsters, and I will be true heir to the throne!"
"You can't kill an entire race!" Thor denied.
"Why not?" Loki retorted. He allowed himself the beginnings of a laugh. Thor's expression halted it. "And what is this newfound love for the Frost Giants? You could have killed them all with your bare hands."
"I have changed."
"So have I." Loki cut Thor's cheek, quick as his lighting. "Now fight me."
Thor refused.
Loki knocked him into the ground.
"I never wanted the throne!" he snarled. "I only ever wanted to be your equal!"
"I will not fight you, Brother!" Thor bellowed.
"I'm not your brother. I never was."
"Loki, this is madness!"
Loki shook with anger, bared his teeth. "Is it madness? Is it? Is it?"
Thor looked on remorsefully.
"Come on. What happened to you on Earth that turned you so soft? Don't tell me it was that woman!"
And in those hateful words, in Loki's tearful eyes, Thor finally understood what he had done that tore his brother into this wretched mess.
"Oh," Loki hissed, "It was! Well, maybe, when we're finished here, I'll pay her a visit myself!"
Thor would not let harm come to Jane Foster. If a battle with his clouded brother would save her, then a battle he would give. He roared as he jumped at Loki, a sound so flooded with pain it could have been a cry. They fought before the Bifrost, landing heavy blows against each other. It hurt Thor more to strike Loki than it did to feel Loki strike him back. They burst from the wall of the observatory, landing on the narrow bridge.
"Thor!"
Loki slid off the edge, gripped it tightly. His anger subsided long enough to feel the fear of falling from such a height. Thor drew near. "Brother, please," Loki whispered. Thor sighed and bent to help him up. He should have known it was a trick. Behind him, Loki cackled as he stabbed into Thor's armor with the spear, created a hundred doppelgängers to overwhelm the mighty prince.
"Enough!" Thor shouted, sending them all away with a great explosion of lighting. Only one remained. Thor stood over him. Loki looked up, curious to see if Thor would have the strength to land the finishing blow. Instead, he set the hammer down on that unruly brother's chest and walked away.
As Loki struggled to remove the awful hammer, Thor found himself being dragged toward the Bifrost. The power was uncontrollable.
And yet Loki still had the gall to sneer remarks.
"Look at you, the Mighty Thor, with all your strength. And what good does it do you now, huh?" he shouted. The hammer pressed heavily into his ribs; he struggled to breathe. "Do you hear me, Brother? There's nothing you can do!"
But there was something, and, as much as it pained Thor, he knew he had to do it.
He summoned Mjølnir back into his hand. Took a deep breath. Began to destroy the bridge.
Loki sat up in shock. "What are you doing?"
Thor gave no answer.
"IF YOU DESTROY THE BRIDGE, YOU'LL NEVER SEE HER AGAIN!"
Thor knew all too well. But he also knew that if the Bifrost was not silenced, she would die. It would destroy Jotunheim and move on to other realms.
Loki had to stop him. He could not let Thor do this. How could he abandon his love for the sake of Loki's actions?
'No more.'
Loki stood.
"Forgive me, Jane," Thor begged. He raised Mjølnir for the final blow; Loki was too slow to stop him. The power of the shockwave shattered nearly half the length of the great bridge. The observatory fell into the inky black sea. Thor grabbed his brother, but could not reach the shattered edge of the bridge as he fell past. They were going to die together in this wretched battle over hearts.
Much to Thor's surprise, Odin caught him by the ankle.
"I could have done it, Father!" Loki shouted up to him. "I could have done it! For you!"
'I could have been the worthy son!'
"For all of us!"
But Odin was a wise and tired king. He knew what darkness lied in Loki's heart. He knew war was imminent now, not by Thor's hand, but by Loki's. He would never change. He would never be fit to rule. He was ruined. And Odin knew it was his fault.
"No, Loki," he whispered.
The gleam in Loki's eyes changed. He suddenly seemed so hollow, so lost. Odin narrowed his eye in what could have been worry.
But Thor was much closer to Loki, literally and figuratively. He knew the loss of light was the sign that Loki had given up. He held no respect for himself anymore. He was content to be called unworthy.
"Loki, no!" Thor said, trying to reach for him with his other free hand.
But it was much too late for any of them. Loki let go and fell into the abyss.
"NO!" Thor screamed. His tears trailed after his poor brother into the emptiness of space.
"No," Odin whispered. But even in his sorrow, he could not find it in himself to cry.
The last thing Loki saw as he drifted through the stars was Siv's face. She blinked back her tears and held his face in her hands, as though he only laid his head in her lap. She cradled him in her arms, and with her silent words, Loki died.
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