Three months later...

Elena stealthily weaves through the large crowd of Asgardians and finds a seat with a good view in the back of the throne room. She pulls the hood of her blue cloak down further to cover her face completely, while she can still see.

The large room grows silent as the prisioner is led inside, past the large groups watching. Elena notes the royal family gathered at the front of the room. The prisioner comes to a stop in front of the steps leading to the throne.

Elena shoots an unseen glare at a woman in the crowd who makes a crude insult about the prisoner under her breath. At the front of the room, two guards walk over to the prisioner and silently remove his royal attire, piece by piece. Odin speaks up.

"My son, for your crimes of treason, attempted murder of a member of the royal family, and attempting to enslave Midgard, I sentence you to a decade of silence. During which time, you will be stripped of the very tools used to commit your crimes. Your magical abilities."

Loki narrows his eyes but remains silent.

Odin continues. "Once the ceremony is complete, you will be banished from Asgard. You are no longer welcome in this realm. This sentence is eternal"

Elena gulps and hears various crowd members celebrating this sentence. However, the royal family has a very different reaction to the news. Loki has a look of horror on his face. Frigga begins to weep. Thor is furious.

"Father, this punishment is cruel, Midgard detests him, along with the better part of the nine realms. Who will take him?! He is your son!"

Elena purses her lips as Odin stands.

"SILENCE!" The room grows quiet. "Loki, my son, during the duration of your crimes, you claimed you were not of this family. Because I have rasied you as my own, I am granting you a more leanient punishment. Do not force me to grant you much worse. Perhaps you will learn gratitude in your time of silence."

A man brings a bench out into the middle of the room and lays out various tools. He motions for Loki to come over, which he does. Loki kneels in front of the bench as the man readies the needle and thread. Elena, having seen enough, stands.

"STOP."

The room turns to face Elena, including the royal family. She teleports herself to the front of the throne room and calmly walks over to stand before Odin, who is furious.

"What is the meaning of this?!"

Elena pulls back her hood, revealing her face. She looks around the room and tsks.

"For a civilization who believes themselves so civilized, you guys are so primitive in your beliefs. Ever heard of cruel and unusual punishment? Well I have."

Odin narrows his eye at her. "I do not know of you, mortal."

Elena smiles. "Well of corse not! I'm from another dimension."

"Be that as it may, you have no authority here."

Elena holds up her finger. "Actually, I have more than you." She puts her hand back down. "The tree of life controls reality in this dimension, along with others like it. But the thing is, I can manipulate reality from every dimension. I protect it. Good and evil. Right and wrong. Light and dark. I keep things balanced out."

"What has that to do with my son?"

Elena smiles and instantly changes her outfit to a green off shoulder dress. The room gasps. Elena motions towards herself. "I think Loki deserves to win for once. Besides, he's no fun when he can't talk."

"He is being rightfully punished..."

"Yeah yeah yeah. I've heard it all before. Shut up and let me finish." Odin closes his mouth and motions for her to continue. "Thank you. See things from my perspective. Loki may be evil, I'm not denying that, but he is just as valuable to this universe as any of you. If you banish him, you'll set off a chain of seriously F'ed up events. I can't tell too much but just trust me when I say that if this punishment goes through, ninety five percent of the people here will be horribly murdered..." Elena points to a man in the front of the audience. "Except you, you'll stab yourself to death, but thats another story."

Odin stands. "You dress in the colors of the liesmith. I do not believe what you say."

Elena raises an eyebrow. "You doubt me? Well, sucks to be you."

"Why is that?"

"Because this dimension has had way more good than evil. I can't let you banish Loki."

Elena takes a deep breath and concentrates for a moment. Thor drops his hammer, unable to lift it any longer. Around the room, everyone grows drastically weaker and Elena walks over to Loki, who's watching with intrest. He stands and Elena smiles warmly as she puts her hands against his head. She removes them after a moment and Loki raises an eyebrow.

"What have you done?"

"Made every Asgardian as strong and as fast as a human. Then I just restored your powers. Thor's hammer is useless. Asgard is all yours. Do whatever the hell you want, just don't kill any Asgardians. Okay?"

"Very well then."

Elena narrows her eyes. "I mean it. I may have changed how I view things, but I will not be responsible for anyone dying. One death...I'll make sure karma finds you."

"As before, I understand. Be grateful I am in your debt, for I do not tolerate being talked down to."

Elena takes a step back and gives Loki a once over before restoring his armor and cape. The helmet appears in her hands.

"Go, the throne is yours, no catch. This realm is yours until things are balanced again."

Loki turns and ascends up the stairs leading to the throne. He stops at the top and sits down in the throne. Elena notes the various people trying to flee and Loki follows her gaze.

He smiles and meets Elena's eyes. "Allow me."

Elena takes a step out of the way before he seals all the exits with a wave of his hand, trapping everyone inside. Elena makes his septer appear in Loki's hand. He gives a small nod of gratitude before he slams the base against the ground, the sound echoing across the room. The crowd goes silent.

Elena spots Odin trying to sneak away and quickly puts him in the Odin sleep. Frigga runs to his side as he collapses. Thor begins to charge at the throne and Elena increases gravity in his legs, forcing him to fall to his knees. Once satisfied, Elena climbs the stairs to the throne and stops a few feet away from Loki. She holds up his helmet.

"May I?"

"You may."

Elena moves closer and carefully places the helmet on his head. Finished, Elena walks over to stand beside the throne. Loki stands and looks around the room of terrified Asgardians.

Hesitantly, everyone kneels and Loki smiles in excitement.

"This is much better." He turns to face Elena. "Is this what you have learned from your travels? Balance?"

"And so much more." Elena stares off thoughtfully. "I've seen the best and the worst reality has to offer. Plus as you can see, I've learned a few tricks."

"If your desire is balance, why select me?"

Elena shrugs. "Did you know that in every dimension that you exist, you always lose? Every single time. Even when you win you lose. Honestly, you were the most qualified. And today is just the icing on the cake. So, you're getting what you deserve. Sometimes the good guys lose, and therefore, sometimes the bad guys should win."

"What of the other realms?"

"Jotunheim is on my side, both realms of elves are too busy to notice, your daughter doesn't really care, and the same goes with the others. We leave them alone...they leave us alone."

"Midgard?"

"As far as they know, Thor is dealing with family stuff, and any other threats can't travel between realms. I'd explain further but it doesn't matter. The point is, you have the kingdom you've always wanted. I'll be here by your side, watching your dreams unfold before your very eyes. Congratulations, you made friends with the right person for once."

"Is this so? Or do your intentions run deeper within?"

Elena walks to the side of the throne and motions for Loki to sit down. He oblidges after a moment and Elena leans in to whisper in his ear.

"I'd like to consider us allies. I wasn't lying about why I picked you. But I was also thinking that since I'm doing this for you, in the future you'll be on my side if things hit the fan."

"What would I recieve in exchange?"

"If you agree, I'll go to you anytime things get unbalanced like this again. And trust me, I can give you so much more than Asgard, even if its only for a short amount of time...whats the saying? Its better to have loved and lost... What do you say?"

Loki temples his hands. "In your search for purpose, how unbalanced is this dimension?"

"Its on and off. Usually things are pretty good. But all too often, good wins way too many times. Granted, sometimes its the other way around, but not often."

Loki turns to face Elena. "I agree to your terms. All I ask is that if evil weighs more than good, you do not allign yourself with my brother. I care not about others, just do not complicate our agreement by joining with my brother as well."

"Deal. I like you better anyway."

A/N: Let me know what you think. I spent a lot of time on this chapter.

Next time...king Loki...