AN: I'll try to get a few more chapters in before I leave for summer camp, but no promises.

The Horn of Truth looks like a bluetooth earpiece, just ivory.

On with the tale!

OOOOOOOOOO

Steve Rogers was beyond worried.

Samandriel had shown up in his room, smiling like an idiot, going on and on about how Gabriel had returned. When Steve described Loki, Samandriel confirmed that that was his new vessel.

Which meant that they had an Archangel as their enemy.

But, did they?

Steve asked JARVIS to pull up files from the invasion, the death toll, videos, etc. JARVIS seemed to be waiting for someone to ask, because he had a file full of everything he asked for on standby. And the evidence pointed to one thing.

He was a good guy. The part about the raisins was especially compelling. When Steve asked JARVIS why he didn't say anything, he said that it was to protect Loki. If Tony and Clint knew that someone had been switching it, the question of who was doing it would come up. If Thor was actually about to eat it, then JARVIS would interfere. But until it got to that point, he would protect Loki's identity.

So, their worst enemy was, in all reality, a good guy who had attacked for unknown reasons. Steve would've guessed that he was under the control of the Tesseract, and had intentionally lost because of it. Especially with the fact that his eyes had turned Tesseract blue earlier. There was just one little problem.

Loki was an Archangel. And there is only on being in the universe who ever held any power over the Archangels. God himself. Steve had never met the guy, but he figured that he wouldn't mind control his son into attacking his own prized creation.

But that begged the question of why his eye color had been an exact match to Clint's. Steve confided all of this in Samandriel. He was shocked and confused on why Gabriel would even pretend to be a villain, but he gave Steve his answer.

The Tesseract was the Space Gem. It was one of a set of gems that when put together with a gauntlet called the Infinity Gauntlet, held immense power. They were heavenly weapons that really shouldn't have been even heard of by the rest of the Universe. The Archangels had been entrusted with keeping them separate and safe. Michael had been entrusted with the Power Gem and the Time gem. Lucifer was entrusted with the Space gem and the Soul Gem. Raphael was entrusted with the Reality gem and the Gauntlet itself, and Gabriel was entrusted with the Mind stone. When Lucifer went AWOL, he used the Soul Gem to create the first demons and Knights of Hell. The Space Gem had never been recovered. It was believed the Lucifer had hid it on earth somewhere. After the whole Devil thing, the Gems had been redivided. Michael ended up with the Power and Space Gem (When it was recovered), Raphael ended up with the Time Gem and the Soul Gem, and Gabriel ended up with the Reality Gem and the Mind Gem. The Gauntlet was locked away in Heavens vaults. It disappeared a couple thousand years ago. Somehow the Asgardians had come across it and decided to keep it.

When Gabriel disappeared, he took his Gems with him. He probably used the Reality Gem to help create The Chitauri.

But then, there was the Mind Gem.

The real thing, if used in the way that Loki supposedly used it, the victim's free will and free mind would be destroyed forever. Clint and Selvig were perfectly fine. So, the most likely conclusion is that Loki didn't actually use the Mind Gem. He probably pretended to use it while he semi possessed everyone instead. Most likely, he explained to everyone what was happening, and those who agreed to help and allow him to do so were partially possessed. Those who did not were either killed or knocked out and had their memories of his explanation, depending on how good of a person they were. When someone was released of his possession, their memories were tampered with, making Loki appear to be the villain of the story.

It was a complicated scheme, and it had worked perfectly. Six months later, and Steve and JARVIS were the only ones who seemed aware of Loki's true allegiance, even Thor was fooled. Steve had no doubt that if Loki hadn't been caught on that camera, he would be right there along with them.

But there was a whole other problem. The Apocalypse had begun.

Apparently, after discovering that Gabriel was alive, Samandriel hadn't let go of him, even several hours after Castiel and Balthazar had left. He had talked Gabriel's ear off, catching him up on all that he had missed. When he heard that Steve was under his protection and knew the truth of Heaven and Hell, he asked Samandriel to act as his liaison. As the leader of the Avengers, he was in prime position to help Gabriel stop the Apocalypse. He could lead the team to certain places, help from behind the scenes. He could give Gabriel intel from the inside pertaining to SHIELD, tell him about instances popping up that were possibly supernatural in nature, so Gabriel and his followers could step in. Plus, the Avengers were a force to be reckoned with. They'd be more than useful in a fight.

Steve had heard of the other three Archangels. They seemed like bullies. And bullies were something that Steve couldn't stand. Gabriel, on the other hand, seemed like a pretty decent guy. He may hide his true intentions behind complex schemes, but he helped wherever he went. Heck, the guy even compensated people for the property damage. Even SHIELD didn't do that.

So, Steve agreed. If he was going to die, it was going to be on his own terms, not on the terms of two Archangels throwing a temper tantrum.

Steve prided himself on being a devoted Christian, but it was his life, and he was going to be the one who decides how it ends.

OOOOOOOOOO

"There is no way in hell we're going to help you!"

Gabriel sighed. Negotiations with the Winchesters weren't going well. You stick one guy in a real life groundhog day to try to teach him how to live without his brother because he was trying to prevent this whole thing from happening, and suddenly he's the worst guy in the world. Have they met his older brothers? Probably not in person.

"Look, here's the deal. You dumbasses started the Apocalypse. Congratulations, you have officially put billions of lives in jeopardy. Michael and Lucifer are going to posses you two and have at it, taking either half or all of the earth with them. And, knowing Lucifer, if he wins, he's not gonna stop here. Daddy pissed him off, so now he's gonna break all his toys. Keyword: All. He's gonna go after the whole damn universe. And with Michael out of the way, it would be hunting season. Countless lives. And all of them are hanging in the balance because of you two. All I'm asking you to do is help me get them out peril. Just help me clean up the mess you made. I'm not asking you to help me, I'm asking you to let me help you.

"He's got a point, Dean. We did cause this. And I don't know about you, but I don't want to be the vessel of a pissy Archangel"

Dean sighed.

"Why are you even doing this? You're just a Trickster."

Gabriel smirked.

"That, Dean-o, is where you are very, very wrong. I suggest you sit down, because my story is a long one, and it starts with the beginning of The Universe…"

OOOOOOOOOO

Odin Allfather sighed on his throne, wondering where he had gone wrong.

He had taken a small Frost Giant baby from Jotunheim after the war, abandoned because of his size. He thought that he could use the child to improve diplomatic relations with the Ice Realm, as he was clearly Laufey's son. He would take him in, raise him as his own, allow him to grow up with Thor so when the child grew up and took the throne of Jotunheim, he and Thor's relationship would prevent future wars.

The child looked Aesir and believed himself to be so, but Odin couldn't help but see the savage monster he really was whenever he looked at him. Then, he had become the opposite of a perfect prince. He read instead of fighting. He used knives and staffs instead of swords and shields. He used his mind as his primary weapon instead of strength. And worst of all, he practiced magic, a woman's art. Taking him in had been a mistake. but Odin couldn't very well admit that. The backlash from all parties if the truth came out would be disasterous.

So, Odin treated him with slight disdain, but kept him around for lack of other options. When Loki came to him saying that Thor wasn't ready to be king, Odin had been prepared. He knew the day would come when Loki tried to gain more power. Then again, Loki had looked so unsure and burdened when Odin had been forced to give him Gungnir. It was almost as if he didn't want to power, almost as though he feared it… Loki had always been a good actor. He went mad with the power, trying to kill Thor and destroy Jotunheim. The whole affair ended with Loki committing suicide by letting go of the spear and falling into the void. Or, so they thought.

Loki was back a year later, trying to take over Midgard. Why he wanted it, Odin didn't know. It appeared that his madness had deepened tremendously. His insanity had only gotten worse. After he was defeated, he disappeared. According to Thor, they knew he was alive and walking the earth, as every now and then he'd spontaneously appear in random places. Thor and Frigga found it both comforting and saddening. On one hand, it was confirmation that he was alive and well. On the other hand, it was a reminder of his fate. For Odin, it was infuriating. Heimdall could not find Loki, no matter how hard he tried. The only sign of him was when he appeared on these 'cameras'. He didn't even appear to be doing anything. It was like the only reason he did it was as a reminder that he was still alive and kicking. It was infuriating. What was his goal?!

Unfortunately, it wouldn't be long until he got his answer. Frigga came bursting into the throne room, saying that the Norns had told her that The end of times had begun. Ragnarok. And there was only one being who could begin Ragnarok.

Loki.

So that was his angle. Start the end of all. Frigga also told him that it could be stopped by killing the one causing it. Odin ordered Heimdall to bring him Thor immediately. Playtimes over. Loki could not be allowed to roam free any longer. They had to find him and end Ragnarok by any means necessary.

But the Norns were not speaking of Ragnarok. All they said was 'The end of times has begun'. Frigga quoted them word for word. Odin assumed that it meant Ragnarok, without even looking into whether or not the chains that had to be broken to begin Ragnarok were still intact. They were, by the way.

The Norns had been warning them about the Apocalypse, and in order to stop it they had to kill Lucifer. But Odin misinterpreted it, not even asking if the Norns were allowing the vision to be shared. They were, by the way. But Odin didn't know that. He was going after the other person trying to stop this catastrophe from happening. But he didn't know that. There was another thing that he didn't know, but for different reasons. There was another part of Frigga's vision that she had not shared with him, mostly because it was making her question everything Odin had said about Loki lately.

It was a short part, but it was the most shocking thing about the whole vision. It showed Mjolnir laying on the ground with it's handle in the air. A pair of boots, Loki's boots, walked up to it in slow motion. They stopped right beside the hammer. Then a hand with pale, long fingers that was attached to an arm with a golden armguard on it reached down and grasped the handle. between the boots and the hand, the figure in the vision could be none other than her younger son.

Then, he did something Frigga, and everyone in Asgard, thought there was no way he could do. No tricks, nor silvered words could give him this. He had to do this on his own merit, which could not be faked.

Loki lifted Mjolnir off the ground.

OOOOOOOOOO

AN: So, Steve is officially on Gabriel's side, and knows he's only been pretending to be the bad guy! Gabriel is explaining shit to the Winchesters! And Odin thinks that Ragnarok is happening and the only way to stop it is to kill Loki!

Yes, that is a vision of Loki lifting Mjolnir. That is not faked. That's really going to happen.

Ragnarok is going to be more comics than mythology here. In Mythology, the moment Ragnarok begins, everyone on earth dies and everyone else kills each other shortly afterwards. It's an endgame. There's pretty much no coming back from it. I mean, there's going to be two humans to continue the race and a few other survivors, but that's pretty much it. In the comics, It has happened a total of three times and everyone's fine. The point is, it's not absolute, so there would be a chance to stop it.

Gabriel's gonna have Asgard on his tail now. That's gonna complicate shit.

Also: Odin's a dick. He might be redeemed later. Probably not. He's just gonna continue his assholery.

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