Thor: The King of Nothing.
Summary: "(An AU with Loki "surviving" Thor 2, and other major/minor changes) After saving his brother's life, Loki is unexpectedly granted a second chance- but with a catch: he will never be allowed to leave Asgard again. Now, trying to regain the trust of his father, brother, and former friends, while at the same time trying to keep his crumbling sanity and soul intact, his life has never been more difficult. But when he's forced to decide whose side he's really on when "home" is attacked by an enemy only he can stop, Loki may find that dying may have been the best thing that could have ever happened to him."
Warning: "This will be a relatively tame fanfic, with the exception of some blood, violence, angst, some language, a character death or two, and other adult situations. So, to be on the safe side, we'll be going with Rated T. I have watched both Thor movies and the Avenger's movie, but this does not mean that I am perfect and/or know absolutely everything there is to know about, and I'm bound to forget or misuse something. So, with that, please forgive me if I screw up, and just enjoy the story."
Disclaimer: "I do not own Thor. Please don't ruin my day by thinking I do."
N._.s._.S
Chapter Four: Punishment.
"Justice that love gives is a surrender; justice that law gives is a punishment."
- Mahatma Gandhi.
The irony of this was sickening.
During the last bit of his conversation with Thor and Jane, the couple had brought him up to speed on what he'd missed since his "death" and resurrection at the hands of Odin, the first and most important of which being the matter of the charges of treason for his various crimes, which included those of his attempted takeovers of Asgard and Earth, as well as the "lesser charge" of helping Thor and Jane into the Dark World.
The way his brother had described it, all of the charges against him had been voided, but he wasn't in the clear yet. While Odin had allowed his slate cleared, there were a few last punishments that the All-Father wanted to level on Loki, mostly to ensure he wouldn't do any more damage than he'd already done, which would be announced when he met with his father in a trial-like meeting that very evening.
"Any idea what they may be?" Loki dared ask, just before Thor and Jane left, "Did he say?"
"Father would not tell me, brother," his brother had answered, quite kindly, "I shall find out when you do."
The second thing they had told him was about the wound he'd been dealt by Algrim on the Dark World. Apparently, even now it had not yet closed, despite all the efforts of Asgard's best healers and Odin's own personal efforts, and so, combined with the supposed "trauma" of returning from the dead, Loki's physical and mental condition, in the healer's own words, had both been declared "unstable."
Unstable.
If I am unstable now, I can only imagine what I was before, Loki thought, darkly, shifting uncomfortably as he leaned against one of the marble pillars out on the balcony, folding his tense arms and looked up at the slowly darkening sky, Just insane, perhaps?
Loki wasn't about to blame his actions against his father, brother, the Odenheim, and Earth on insanity, and wasn't even going to let that subject come up for his defense. Loki knew he was responsible for all his actions and, whether he was actually insane or not was irrelevant, as he'd never planned on using it as an excuse in the first place.
His actions were premeditated to the best ability and influenced by no one except his own hatred and lust for vengeance against his father and Thor, and to hell with the people who would begrudge him for this small honesty, or the consequences of admitting this without hesitation.
The God of Mischief may have been conniving, but at least he would be honest about it.
… If that made sense.
N._.s._.S
Even though he'd been told he'd been cleared of all charges, and this was only a meeting to assure he would stay in line from now on, Loki still felt like he was heading for his own execution as he, accompanied by two guards, entered the throne-room where the All-Father was waiting for him.
What he was not expecting to find however, was Odin flanked by Thor, Jane, Heimdall the gatekeeper, Sif, and the Warriors Three (Hogan, Volstagg and Fandral), and about a hundred more armed guards lined against the wall surrounding the place, weapons drawn and tense, clearly expecting trouble.
If not for the situation, Loki would have laughed at them.
As Loki approached Odin and the others, he was suddenly reminded of the last time he'd stood in this room, just before his imprisonment. He also remembered that it was Frigga who saved him from an even worse punishment, and that here was the last place he'd seen her alive.
He mentally noted to keep his temper this time.
He surely owed Odin that much, whatever the outcome of this meeting.
Odin waved his hand, and the two soldiers at Loki's side backed off and retreated from the room, closing the gargantuan doors that lead into the throne-room.
The silence that went on after the doors had been closed was maddening in and of itself. Loki could practically feel all of the eyes in the room boring into him alone, and most of them- especially in the case of Sif, the Warriors Three, and the soldiers around them- were glaring daggers at him. Thor's, on the other hand, were kind, and Jane's were curious and quite calm.
Odin's alone were undecipherable- they showed no one emotion Loki could identify.
Loki prided himself on being able to sense and even manipulate the emotions of those around him- that was how he'd used the Tesseract to control Hawkeye, Eric Selvig, and many others in the first place- but it kind of hurt a bit to think that while he could control pretty much anyone he wanted, he was unable to even comprehend the emotions behind his own father's eyes.
As the silence bore on, Odin's eyes never wavered from Loki's for a single instant- there was no flicker of nervousness, no flash of disgust or anger, there was only contemplation, as if the ancient All-Father planned on handing down his sentence from his body language alone.
Then, finally, Odin blinked.
"Loki," he began, his voice instantly echoing around the stone-silent marble room, "Your crimes against Asgard are among the highest degrees of treason that have ever been seen. Added onto that are your actions against Earth. As you know well, these counts warrant nothing less than death."
It was as if all the air in the room evaporated at once, and Loki thought he saw Thor's bright azure eyes flicker between the two of them, suddenly narrowing in concern.
However, they relaxed again and the air returned as Odin continued.
"Thankfully, as you are undoubtedly aware, your actions recently in dealing with Malekith and saving your brother's life have granted you a second chance," Odin said, his voice growing gentle again, instead of thundering and resonating, "And I have also decided to free you from imprisonment as well, on the grounds that several conditions are leveled to prevent you from committing these crimes again."
Hearing it from Odin was totally different than hearing it from Thor- it had a different effect, a different, and indescribable feeling that sent shivers down Loki's spine.
"The first punishment that shall be leveled against you is that you will never be allowed to leave Asgard again, and you may not leave the castle grounds without being supervised," Odin said, "You are free to go as far as the Bifrost, but if you step upon it, Heimdall-" –Odin gestured at the gatekeeper, who gave a short nod- "has explicit orders to stop you at once."
Loki nodded his understanding, but didn't speak.
"The second is that you are never to use a weapon again, and this includes your magic. Using either unless granted explicit permission from me will null your reprieve and you will be executed for your crimes as though your actions on the Dark World never occurred."
This time, there was an outbreak of murmuring from not only the Warriors Three, but the soldiers lining the walls, and even from Thor, who leaned back and murmured something to Sif, who's pale lips twitched into a barely noticeable, derisive smirk as Odin continued with his final decree.
"And, lastly, you shall be accompanied day and night by guards, who will be allowed to use force against you at any time if you so far as threaten to break the conditions you have been given."
Loki had expected these punishments- he'd considered them all, and so he just allowed his head to bow slightly, despite the small, strange smile that he couldn't stop.
"Father," this time Thor stepped in, and Odin looked over at him, a single brow raised, "You promised that my brother could speak in defense of himself before these punishments are leveled."
"If Loki wishes to speak, he is allowed to do so now," Odin answered, turning back to his younger son, azure eyes bright again, "But the conditions against him will remain, nonetheless."
Loki could feel all eyes shift back to him, expecting him to say something.
"My actions were my own, influenced by nothing but rage and hatred," Loki finally spoke up, after a few minutes of quiet deliberation, weighing the possibilities, looking at no one but his father, his voice surprisingly stronger than he'd expected it to be, "And as such, I will not defend them."
At the time he committed the crimes he had, Loki knew that he'd been all but blinded by not only hatred, but by a madness that had always been present in the back of his mind until now. The first time, it demanded that he surpass Thor, and the second time it demanded that he take revenge on him when he failed, and to become the ruler of Earth in the process. While heinous and conniving, Loki did know, however, that he wouldn't have considered doing these things if it weren't for finding out his true heritage.
But he wasn't about to admit that to anyone, let alone Odin.
There was another, fiercer outbreak of muttering when he said this, and Odin's gaze actually hardened for a split second while Thor once again leaned back and said something, this time to Jane, whose dark brows furrowed as Thor said something else, quicker and more urgently before straightening again and stepping forward, only to be stopped by Odin with a raise of his hand and a warning look.
The All-Father leaned closer to Loki as he studied him with unwavering, bright azure eyes, as if searching for something in his younger son's very soul. Loki could feel the powerful gaze and stood before it calmly, folding his arms behind his back and squaring his shoulders.
Odin leaned back, and his gaze softened.
"You have no objections to the conditions I have leveled against you?"
His voice was as calm as Loki felt, echoing across the suddenly tomb-silent room, and the God of Mischief could feel all eyes in the room as they awaited his answer.
"None," he said, his voice echoing just as Odin's had, "I will abide by them."
"So be it."
N._.s._.S
Sorry for the lateness of this one!
A whole bunch of personal stuff just popped up.
Hope you liked it, though! XD