Ensoulment
by Valerie Vancollie
valeriev84 at hotmail dot com
Notes: So, this chapter has been nothing but a big pain to write from start to finish. Not because I didn't like the situation or anything, but because there are simply far too many characters in it, even before Loki does his thing! This is a problem I've had with all of the Avengers scenes in this fic. Why couldn't Thanos' snap have killed more people?
But, the good news for you is that every time I thought I was finished and went back to edit this chapter, I just kept adding to it instead. This has happened every day for just over a week. So it has ballooned as a result, but I really didn't want to split it into 2 chapters, so here is the longest chapter of the whole fic. I hope you enjoy it.
Rhea, 2018 A.D.
"Uh, Thor?" a voice questioned just as Loki came back fully into himself.
He released his brother and stepped back, finding the man out of time standing near Thor, a hesitant look on his face. Loki gave him a sharp smile simply to see uncertainty and concern cross the captain's face.
"Loki," Thor intoned, drawing his name out almost into two words.
His smile turned amused as he looked at his brother. It had been Thor's old way of saying his name; full of exasperation, resignation and a certain amount of amusement. Gone was all of the anger, pain and frustration. Apparently all he had needed to do to get his brother to forgive him was to truly die.
"So, L'Oréal, feeling better now?" Stark demanded.
The mortal stood far closer to him than Loki would have expected given he had thrown him out of a window, able to call his armor or not. The kenning took but a moment to understand, causing genuine amusement to shoot through him. He paused for a moment before raising a hand and running it through his hair just so. Stark gaped at him for a moment before roaring with laughter.
"Aye," Loki replied. "I do."
"I am missing something," the captain frowned, glancing between him and Stark.
"Aye," Thor agreed.
"Wait, does that mean you got all of my nicknames?" Stark questioned.
"Not then," Loki replied, seeking the information now.
"Ah."
Even as he said it, the mortal was stepping back, no doubt wishing he could do so far more subtly than his armor allowed. Loki was not entirely certain why even as the references behind Reindeer Games came to him.
"They are rather apt," he said, making the Reality Stone flare red for a moment.
"You... you're not offended?" Stark asked, startled.
"Why would I be? Rudolph was not excluded because of anything he did, but rather for what he was."
"How do you even know about our Christmas traditions?" the beast asked.
"I hold all of the Infinity Stones, there is nothing I cannot know or do," Loki replied simply.
"Yes, about that," the captain began, clearly uncomfortable.
Did the man truly think he could have any say in or impact on what Loki did? He gave him his most unimpressed look.
Thor sighed. "Loki."
He ignored his brother and maintained eye contact with the man out of time. Curious to see if the captain could hold it for long. Apparently not.
"Brother," Thor said, reaching out to jostle him.
Loki moved with it but then steeled himself so when his brother tried again, he was immovable. Instead Thor rocked back, shock flashing across his face before realization dawned as Loki laughed, finally looking at him.
"Pest," Thor muttered fondly.
"Oaf," Loki immediately retorted.
"Prince Loki," Princess Shuri said, stepping closer, another woman crowding close. From the look of her outfit, Loki thought her to be a guard or warrior of some kind. "You have successfully managed to carry out your plan."
"Do not worry, I intend to keep my word and undo the damage Thanos wrought with his snap."
"Thank you."
"Do you need anything from us?" Stark asked. "From what I heard, using the Stones like this takes quite a toll and Thanos was using a gauntlet to channel their power."
Loki gave Stark a dark smile. "That is because I was able to use his distraction to turn some of the Soul Stone's power back on him."
"Loki, Brother," Thor was suddenly by his side, voice strangely desperate. "Please say you were lying earlier, to Thanos."
"Lying?"
"When you spoke of being the Soul Stone."
"I was not."
The sound which escaped his brother was not something Loki had ever heard Thor make before and he frowned.
"How can one be an Infinity Stone?" Strange demanded, the Time Stone readily giving Loki information on the human seiðmadr. "They are neither sentient nor alive!"
"Ha! Shows what you know," Stark retorted. "The Mind Stone most definitely is sentient. It was what powered Vision."
"That does not make it alive."
The animosity between the two mortals intrigued Loki and he sensed the potential for great chaos there, but now was not the time. Sadly.
"What was Vision if not alive?" the widow demanded.
"One of Stark's constructs?" Strange threw back.
"The Mind Stone was with sentience, not of it," Loki explained. "But not alive, nay. Only I am."
"What did she do, your birth mother?" Thor demanded darkly, lightning crackling along his fingers. "Thanos spoke of sacrifice earlier."
Loki rolled his eyes. "She did what was necessary and Mother- Frigga- has already had words with her. There is no need for more and I will not thank you for the attempt if you do."
"But Loki-"
"Nay, Thor, she did what was necessary to ensure Thanos' defeat."
From the stubborn set of Thor's jaw, Loki knew his brother would not simply leave this and he knew the first meeting between Thor and Sága would be interesting. Not to mention amusing. In a way he could not wait to see precisely how his mother dealt with an overconfident Thor who reacted before properly assessing the situation. There were so many possibilities after all.
"Where will they go?" Rocket demanded. "Those you resurrect?"
"Most will be returned from whence they came," Loki explained. "But I can bring those who perished on Titan here along with King T'Challa whom has already requested to be brought back to his sister."
"What about Groot? He knows no one on Earth and I don't know how they will react to him."
Loki tilted his head as he considered Rocket. They were quite similar in a way, both unique beings created for purposes other than what most who sought to start a life did so for. They had also both been reviled for what they were and their mere existence. It was a type of kinship he had never quite experienced before and one he was not entirely certain how he felt about. But he could afford to be generous.
"I shall return Groot here," Loki said.
Rocket nodded, ears lowering in relief. "I can see why Thor missed you so."
The words startled Loki and he glanced over at his brother in surprise.
"What?" Thor demanded, reaching out to clasp the side of his neck. "Did you think I would not mourn you?"
Thor was already leaning forwards to press their foreheads together before his brother paused and looked at the three Infinity Stones warily. The hesitance alone proved to Loki how far his brother had come as it was not so long ago Thor would not have given the Stones a second thought, being so certain of his own invulnerability. Instead Thor shifted and pressed the side of their faces together, placing his mouth near Loki's ear.
"Do not ever do that to me again, Loki," Thor stated, voice thick with emotion. "I cannot lose you, not again. You are all I have left now."
Emotions lodged in Loki's own throat and he reached up to clasp his brother's wrist, squeezing it lightly. "I thought I was the worst?" he teased lightly.
A snort. "You simply had to take the Tesseract from the vault. You could not just have left it?"
"It called to me," Loki confessed when his brother pulled back and lifted Loki's left hand to examine the Space Stone embedded in his palm. "I did not yet know why, but ever since I first encountered it on Miðgarðr, it has called out to me. I had to take it."
His brother frowned, but was clearly seeking to understand, glancing from his eyes to the other three Stones in his forehead.
"They are connected, aren't they?" the beast suddenly questioned. "And as... one of them, I suppose, you felt a pull to the others you came across."
Loki glanced over at the unassuming form the beast currently wore and inclined his head.
"Did you know?" Princess Shuri asked. "That you were the Soul Stone even then?"
"No, he didn't."
The voice was a new one and Loki glanced over towards it before his eyes narrowed and he tensed. While he had never encountered her before, Loki had used his time while pretending to be Óðinn to gather as much information and intelligence on Thanos as he could. That included discovering those who were considered to be his children and this one was as distinct as Gamora with her appearance.
"Nebula," Loki said, using the Mind Stone to ascertain her intentions.
What he learned was far too familiar for him to deal with at present and he immediately terminated the connection, but not before he had determined that she was not a threat. Not to him at least.
"How would you know?" the widow demanded.
"Father would not have allowed him out of his sight had he known Loki was the Soul Stone," Nebula stated simply. "And The Other would have learned if Loki knew this of himself."
His free hand curled into a fist and Loki felt Thor tense beside him at both his reaction and the implications behind Nebula's words. He took a moment to think of the fate he had assigned Thanos too before he pushed it all aside.
"I was unaware of what I truly was until my death," Loki said. "It was only then I met my birth mother and she informed me of the truth."
"How could you meet your birth mother after death?" Stark demanded. "Is there really an afterlife of some kind?"
"Of course," Thor replied. "Valhöll, Hel, Fólkvangr, Helgafjell-"
"Okay, okay, point made!"
"What about Heaven?" the captain asked.
"There are many," Loki responded, not wishing to discuss exactly how many, he had already visited most earlier to warn them of his impending actions. "As for my mother, she is celestial and thus far more powerful than any mortal, so it was a small matter for her to come to me after my death to explain everything to me."
"Celestial!" Thor exclaimed and from the reactions of the others, they clearly knew of them as well.
Curious.
"Please tell me she's not a planet too," Stark commented. "Oh God, we're not standing on her, are we?"
For once Loki could commiserate with the mortal as he glanced down warily at the ground beneath his armored feet. The realization he had often walked on his mother was still one he was learning to accept.
"Nay, she is not a planet and you are not standing on her," Loki replied, but he was unable to help himself. Truly he could not, and really, why should he? "Now."
"Oh, goo- wait, what do you mean now?" Stark demanded. "How the hell could I have stood on her if she isn't a planet?"
"Is she like Knowhere?" Rocket questioned. "One of the space walkers?"
"Nay, she is neither a space walker as such, nor so small as a mere planet," Loki said, quite enjoying himself.
"Brother," Thor complained. "How could friend Stark have stood on her if she is not a planet? He has not left Miðgarðr until recently."
"Wait," the widow interjected. "Is she Titan? Is that why she got involved with what Thanos was doing?"
"Nay," Loki retorted, he had already said this. "She is the Yggdrasill."
Thor's mouth dropped open in shock as his brother tried to comprehend that and Loki moved his hand in Thor's grip to grasp his brother's arm, least he lose his footing.
"The Yggdrasill," the beast repeated. "That's this World Tree, right? The one that supposedly connects the Nine Realms?"
Rather than reply, Loki merely nodded, enjoying the sheer chaos his little revelation was creating through the shock and disbelief each of them felt.
"Wait... But... I thought that was some kind of metaphor thing," Stark muttered, shaking his head.
"Nay, it is a very real thing," Thor responded, finally finding his voice. "T'is on her we all live, those of us from the Nine."
"How is that even possible?" a second armored man questioned.
"Think of the Nine Realms as fruits on the tree," Loki explained.
"And this tree is your mother?" Princess Shuri checked.
"Aye."
"How does that even work?" the captain demanded. "You... She..."
"Magic is energy," Strange replied. "It is power and those who wield enough of it can create projections, illusions."
"And?"
"Theoretically, if the user is strong enough, they would be able to create an entirely separate form, solid and... uh, functional."
"Functional?"
"Able to bear children," Loki stated more bluntly, just to see the flush overtake the man's face. "Or sire them if the form they chose was male."
"It's not theory, I've seen it with my own eyes," Rocket informed them. "Quill's father was celestial, remember? Ego had a human form, which is how he created Quill and interacted with us even as we stood on his planet form."
Ah, so that was how they knew about celestials. Loki was rather interested in meeting this Quill now. Mother had mentioned Ego and his son before and he would be the first Loki had met since discovering the truth of his heritage who was even remotely similar to him. They were still vastly different, Quill being half human and he himself nearly half jötunn with the addition of chaos to compliment his celestial half, but as similar as anyone could be to him.
Loki rather enjoyed the fact he was so unique, there was something intrinsically chaotic about it.
The way Thor suddenly clasped his arm desperately made Loki look back at his brother to find an urgent expression on his face.
"Brother, if you are the son of the Yggdrasill, does that mean you are not Laufeyson?" Thor asked.
"Nay, I am still his son, but he never knew of my existence. Mother is the one who left me in the temple as she knew Óðinn would soon find me and take me back to Ásgarðr where she wished for me to be raised."
"Why?"
"For the advantages it would offer me," Loki explained. "To be raised an Óðinnson and with Frigga meant I would be able to travel the Nine and learn all I needed to, of seiðr, warcraft and diplomacy."
"She wished to use us," Thor concluded, face darkening.
"Thor, she is the Yggdrasill. She whom the Norns themselves serve."
His brother paled alarmingly once more and Loki sighed. Thor's desire to stand in his defense was touching after all of the scorn and anger Loki had faced from his brother lately, but Thor was still not thinking things through fully. Though his brother had received a few rather large shocks in a relatively short period of time.
"Now, you may wish to stand back," Loki said. "This is in all probability one of the strongest workings ever and so many affect those too close to me."
"I can handle it," Strange stated.
"I was further away when Thanos did it and it still nearly hurled me off my feet," the captain said. "It packs quite a ripple effect."
"Aye," Thor agreed, stepping back reluctantly. "I felt its effects for hours afterwards and I am used to being on the wrong end of seiðr."
Loki nearly laughed; his brother was not wrong. But he had issued his warning, if Strange wished to remain close to him, it was his choice.
Instead Loki raised his right hand and closed his eyes to center himself, taking a few deep breaths. For the first time since he had fully merged with the Soul Stone he was able to completely focus on it and it was an odd experience. The Soul Stone felt both him and other at the same time in a way he could not describe but which also bled over into his connection with the other Infinity Stones. They in turn felt more like well used talismans than newly acquired objects of great power he had yet to familiarize himself with. It was why he had been able to use them as readily as he had been since his resurrection, but now he was properly focusing on those connections and he could feel how they would soon become quite natural, to the point of being second nature.
Whereas initially he had been wary of being so closely tied to so many objects of such great power for he knew well how often seiðmenn had been consumed by fetishes they had utilized recklessly, now all of those fears were gone. The Infinity Stones wanted to be together after having been apart for so long. Though each represented a particular aspect of the universe, separating them out from each other had taken its own toll and now they were reunited they did not wish to separate. At least in as much as they could wish for anything. To Loki it felt more like some instinctual connection much as a plant directed itself towards the sun rather than anything more intelligent or cognizant.
Still, it meant Loki could feel how their powers worked with his own rather than against or parallel to it. Instead they flowed over each other and into each other, easily coming together and his to command and direct. Now as he began to snap his fingers he braided it all together before reaching out towards the universe at large. As he had told Frigga and Óðinn earlier, what Thanos had done had left behind magical echoes and it was a relatively simple task to reach out and connect with those traces. What became more difficult was allowing all of his power to split out and follow each and every single ripple back to the soul it connected to; his mind and attention split between a myriad of different souls.
Somehow the split of focus did not overwhelm Loki though he did not pause to ponder it. Instead he grasped hold of each soul and pulled it from its afterlife, his power and the Space Stone already returning each one from whence it came even as he began extracting the necessary information to recreate each soul's body or energy patterns in preparation for their resurrection. The ones which had been on Titan he redirected to Rhea along with that of King T'Challa and Groot. There was a flash of power and insight from the Mind Stone as one soul resisted with more power and determination than expected and Loki pulled it towards himself as well, easily accepting the Mind Stone's prompting as he would a nudge from Frigga.
Then he shifted his attention to the Reality and Power Stones along with the Time Stone to the process of actually recreating each individual living entity from the ashes they had become. For those on Rhea that also involved redirecting their matter from Titan and Miðgarðr, though he had already practiced that particular seiðr with his first two resurrections and so it came to him easily now. Then he took over with the Mind Stone, returning each soul to its body and reconnecting the many varied and disparate minds. It should have overwhelmed his own, to know how so many different levels of consciousness and intelligence worked and thought, but instead he was able to handle it all and was able to marvel at the sheer variety of different forms of thought and being there were.
The completion of each resurrection released the individual tendrils of his power and Loki's focus slowly integrated back into itself. His mind and awareness were still stretched far outside his own body, though, and suddenly he knew what Sága had meant when speaking of knowing and seeing all. It was so very far outside of what he had been able to imagine even upon his resurrection when he had first held all of the Infinity Stones as to be nonsensical. It also made him wonder at how a celestial could possibly even connect with a mortal if this was all they had ever known. How limited and fleeting they must seem even to those such as his mother who tried to understand them.
Then the feel of his fingers sliding away from each other and the audible snap they made brought Loki back to his body and his eyes blinked open even as he felt the last burst of pure raw seiðr from his working dissipating.
"Mr. Stark?"
"Kid!"
"Brother!"
"Shuri."
"My king."
"Wanda?"
"Groot!"
There was a rush of sound all around him as the others reacted to the newly resurrected among them and he stumbled as he still felt a slight disconnect with the body which had always been his and yet had not been his until just over a millennia ago.
"Loki, are you alright?" Thor asked worriedly, stepping close once more.
The feel of his brother's hands upon him helped and Loki nodded once, relaxing into the firm hold on his neck and the steadying hand on his opposite shoulder. Clearly Thor did not fully believe him as the next thing he knew, he had been pulled into a strong embrace. Rather than fight, Loki allowed it, closing his eyes once more and focusing instead on ensuring he had fully pulled his awareness back into his body and reconnected with it as he should.
It was odd to have to even think about something he had never even paused to consider before.
"I am here, Brother," Thor murmured. "All is well. You have done what you set out to. I am very proud of you, Loki."
His brother's litany went on and while the words themselves were unfamiliar and new, the body pressed up against him was not and Loki used the familiarity and strength of it to anchor himself. Only it was different in a way he did not think Thor had wished it to be. With a thought Loki corrected the difference, feeling his brother start in his arms as he did so.
"Did you just?" Thor began, one arm releasing him, to check his new hair no doubt. "Thank you, Brother."
Loki smiled before he forced himself to pull back, well aware of the fact they were surrounded by people he hardly knew and could not call friends even if perhaps they were no longer enemies. He glanced at Thor first, to ensure he had replaced his brother's hair to the length it had been before the Grandmaster's men had shorn it. The oaf's beaming smile helped steel him before he turned his attention the newly enlarged group around them.
"Thank you, Mr. Loki!" a boy in a blue and red suit chirped, drawing closer to him though still clearly nervous. "I don't know what happened and how or why you are now with us, but Mr. Stark said you brought me back, so thank you!"
The sheer enthusiasm and innocence of the boy made Loki blink before he inclined his head. "You are welcome."
It seemed the safest option and luckily it was all the boy needed to dart back towards Stark's side and chatter at the Man of Iron.
"I too must thank you for keeping your word," King T'Challa said.
A burst of nearly uncontrolled seiðr drew Loki's attention and he turned to find both the captain and the widow crouched near a woman with bright red hair and seiðr crackling in the air around her.
"Calm down, Wanda," the widow was saying, her posture wary.
"You need to regain control," the captain added.
"Where is it?" Wanda demanded desperately.
"Wanda-"
"Where is Vision?"
"Vision is dead," Widow replied calmly. "You know that."
"You said you got the Stones from Thanos, that they were used to resurrect us!" Wanda all but screamed. "If you have the Mind Stone and Vision's b- body, then we can reconnect them. Or Princess Shuri can and we can resurrect him too!"
Ah, so this was the mortal who had resisted his call to return to Miðgarðr and which the Mind Stone had prompted him to bring here. It now readily gave him the rest of the necessary information and Loki had to reluctantly admit to being impressed. It had been stupid, reckless and so full of potentially catastrophic consequences, yet Stark and the beast had managed to create something quite unique. With a little help from Thor, but then the oaf had never been difficult to persuade to take part in ill thought out or dubious schemes.
Still, the being called Vision was quite dead, the Mind Stone told him. Not only had it been removed, but Thanos had caused catastrophic damage to Vision's entire neural network while doing so. Those pathways were destroyed forevermore and while new ones could be created, they would not comprise Vision as anyone knew him. Not without a soul to anchor it all together.
"It is not that simple," the man out of time stated.
"Why not?" Wanda demanded angrily.
Loki was not certain if the captain glanced his way on purpose or whether the man had no control over the action, but either way Wanda caught it and looked towards him. Her attention zeroed in almost immediately on the Mind Stone and she rose to her feet with an agitated cry only to be caught by the captain and the widow. There was an aborted movement by his side as Thor reacted to the potential threat. It both irritated and touched Loki, as the instinctive nature of it told him far more of how Thor truly felt for him now than any words his brother might utter. Even if he was far better placed to handle a seiðr threat than Thor.
"What have you done?" Wanda demanded. "That is not yours, it belongs to Vision! Give it back!"
The words and attitude were far more juvenile than Loki had expected, but then she had been quite close to this Vision according to the Mind Stone so the trauma of losing him may be combining with that of her death and subsequent resurrection. Still, she would not gain that which she wished to.
"Your lover is gone," Loki informed her gently. "The Mind Stone was but one part of who he was and that can never be recreated."
With a scream of pain, rage and grief red seiðr burst uncontrolled from her, flinging both the man out of time and widow back. Loki threw up a shield all around her to contain the blast but that merely knocked it back on Wanda who sank to her knees.
Both the Mind and Time Stones told him this was not unusual behavior for her and Loki frowned before looking past her physical form and at her magical core which he was shocked to find weak at best. It should not even have been able to manifest any seiðr of its own and likely never would have had she not been experimented on with his old scepter. Anger and disgust rose within him and he was already stepping forward when the captain scrambled back towards Wanda, blocking his path.
"What are you planning to do?" the human demanded.
"Undo the damage done to her with the Mind Stone," Loki explained.
"No!" Wanda exclaimed, crawling backwards. "You would take away my power and make me normal again."
"You were not supposed to have the seiðr that you do."
"I don't care! It's mine now and you have no right to try to take it from me!"
"Who gave you the right to decide that anyway?" the widow demanded, coming to stand beside the captain.
"I was merely trying to help," Loki replied. "She can barely control her power, as she just proved by using it on you."
"It's not the first time she's lost control either," Stark spoke up.
"No one asked you," the widow retorted.
"And if it was only you getting hurt then I wouldn't, but it was her loss of control in Lagos that was largely responsible for the Accords, remember?"
"You have no more say in this than Loki, Tony," the captain declared. "She is learning control."
"She cannot hope to contain the power she now possesses," Loki countered. "She is losing herself to it instead."
"Brother, are you referring to mage madness?" Thor questioned worriedly.
"I am."
"If that is the case, then she must be controlled," Thor intoned gravely, continuing despite their protests. "If a seiðkona or seiðmadr of sufficient power completely loses control the effects can be catastrophic. The most recent on Vanaheimr killed thousands when she imploded."
"Wait, thousands?" the beast repeated in disbelief. "Imploded?"
"It is chaos in its purest form," Loki explained. "Once beyond the wielder's control the seiðr will burst outwards before collapsing back in on itself and then dissipating into the environment, taking everything with it whether it be living, stone, metal or anything else."
"No!" Wanda shrieked, striking out deliberately this time when her defenders exchanged a long and uncertain glance.
Loki allowed it to throw aside the captain and widow before he calmed it, teleporting to her side. Not giving her a chance to react, he pulled her to him, trapping her arms to her side with one of his own and placing his free hand at her temples. He then reached in towards her core, forcing the foreign seiðr from where it had been artificially anchored. It blasted outwards, seeking to do what it would have if Wanda had lost control of it. He tempered its power, but allowed enough of it out to burn the ground around them and cause it to shake noticeably, knocking all of the others off their feet.
"No, no!" Wanda complained, but already the mad edge was starting to fade.
He released his grip on her and immediately one of her hands reached up for the Mind Stone, scrabbling desperately at it. Had Wanda been stronger, she might have left scratches on his skin, but as it was she caused no damage.
"Vision," she moaned.
"He is gone," Loki repeated but more gently. "He fought bravely against Thanos."
"Bring him back! You brought us back."
"Only those killed by the snap."
"He was trying to prevent it."
"But he was not killed by it."
"So? That's a stupid difference!" a new voice declared and Loki looked up to find Peter Quill near him.
He had been expecting this.
"It is an important difference," Loki stated.
"No, it's not. They died at Thanos' hand, just like all of the others."
"So did countless others," Loki pointed out. "How far back would you have me go? A week? A month? All the way back to Titan's demise and every single life he took? Including all of the ones who would long since have died had he not killed them?"
"I-"
"And how would they feel to return to a universe so changed, everyone they knew and loved long dead and gone?"
"Then don't bring them back!" Quill shouted.
"And where do I stop? Who decides? Me? You?"
"You would have him become the decider of fate," Thor spoke up, offering him a hand to rise after Wanda had scrambled away.
"To play god," the beast muttered.
Loki scowled. "I am a god."
"It's an expression, it means to make life and death decisions for others."
"How about just those who fought to keep him from obtaining the Stones?" the captain offered.
"Which quite conveniently is everyone you like," Stark muttered.
"And does not solve the problem," Loki added. "There have been those defying that desire of Thanos' since he first heard of the Infinity Stones thousands of years ago. Nay, there will be no further resurrections. I will not do so and Lady Death will not allow anyone else to."
"Lady Death?" Stark demanded sharply. "Death's actually a being?"
"Cosmic entity," Thor supplied before looking at Loki with no small amount of fear. "Loki-"
"Relax, Brother," Loki reassured. "I have already spoken with Her and convinced Her to agree to this."
Thor stared at him wide eyed for a moment before laughing, though it did not sound quite right. "Only you could talk Lady Death into accepting a reversal of Thanos' gift to Her!"
"No, seriously, the Grim Reaper's real?" Stark demanded.
"When did you speak with her?" Princess Shuri questioned. "When you were dead? I didn't see her."
"Nay, it was just a few minutes ago," Loki replied. "To you I was being embraced by Thor."
"The Space Stone," Strange realized.
"Fine, you want me to say it?" Quill pushed forwards. "I'll say it. Just bring back Gamora and this Vision, no one else and we'll never tell anyone."
"Nay," Loki said firmly, looking him in the eye. "And you ask more than you know."
"The sacrifice," Mantis stated.
"What sacrifice?" Quill demanded.
"To get the Soul Stone a sacrifice was needed," Nebula explained. "Thanos sacrificed Gamora just as Loki's mother sacrificed him."
"So why the hell do you get to live?" Quill questioned.
"Because I was not killed in the process and I brought myself back when I did die," Loki replied.
"What difference does it make that she was sacrificed?" the beast asked.
"It is powerful seiðr," Thor responded.
Powerful and quite unique. It was not something which could be faked or created any other way and Loki was not allowing that to go to waste. Particularly not when he could feel how fragile and wounded Gamora was and how short-lived the happiness would be. Quill despite his father's species, would live a normal human lifespan and Gamora would not. Hers was determined to outpace Quill's by several centuries.
"I don't care!" Quill snapped.
"Magic is dangerous and should not be taken lightly," a being which resembled Thor if his brother were grayish with red markings stated. "I know someone who tried to evade a spell and they were never the same after."
It was not the same, but Loki would not say that.
"I-" Quill began.
"Sleep," Mantis said with a light touch and Quill dropped.
Why had she not done that earlier? It would have saved Loki the trouble of being attacked for a good deed. He was starting to remember why he did not do more of them.
"I am Groot," a deep voice said from behind him and Loki turned to find the flora colossus there.
He was younger than Loki had expected him to be.
"You are welcome," Loki replied, pleased there were at least some who were thankful for what he had done.
"I am Groot."
"Really?"
"Wait, you speak Groot as well?" Rocket demanded, appearing at Groot's side. "Did you take the elective on Ásgarðr too?"
Elective? Loki blinked before looking sideways at his brother, not surprised to find Thor looking ashamed.
"Explaining All-Speak too complex for you, Brother?" Loki teased.
"Shut up, Loki."
"I am Groot."
"Oh, that is not necessary, Loki does not require it," Thor responded.
"I am Groot."
"Speak for yourself, Thor," Loki retorted. "Of course, Groot, if you insist."
"I am Groot."
With that, Groot held out his hand from which a thin sprout appeared. It rapidly grew until there was a flower which then faded, revealing two large elongated pods. Loki could sense the bioluminescent spores contained within and his breath caught. They were exceedingly rare and hard to come by, the flora colossus not able to generate them under duress and generally being unwilling to grow them for anything other than their own use. To have them offered like this was rare and a valuable gift.
"Thank you, Groot," Loki said reverently as he reached out to take the two pods.
They came loose in his hands and he immediately secreted them away into his pocket dimension.
"What were those?" Stark questioned.
"A gift," Thor replied.
"A gift?"
"Groot wanted to thank Loki for doing what he said," Rocket interpreted.
"Yes, yes, he has done what he said," Strange interrupted. "The question now is will he voluntarily return that which he has acquired?"
"Acquired?" Thor questioned even as Stark backed up with an "Oh, boy!"
"Yes," Strange stated. "He may have taken the Stones from Thanos, but that does not make them his."
"You would claim ownership of the Time Stone?" Loki questioned quietly, seeing Thor tense out of the corner of his eye.
"Yes, I am its keeper."
"Are you now?"
"Ask Stark if you don't believe me, he knows I had it before."
"Oh no, I'm staying out of this!" Stark protested.
"I am not disputing your claim of prior possession," Loki said. "Merely your assumption that it grants you any more right over it than any other of its former possessors including Thanos."
"He killed and threatened to gain them!"
"And how did your order come to have it?" Loki asked and the confused look on Strange's face told him the mortal did not know. "They took it from another owner in a fight."
"No doubt they were misusing it," Strange retorted.
"Sounds like what Father used to say when he took an artefact from another species, does it not, Thor?"
A sigh and pained look. "Loki."
"So, what? You think that gives you the right to take them now?" Strange demanded. "We have guarded the Time Stone for centuries."
"I am merely pointing out your claim on it is no greater or more valid than that of anyone else who has ever possessed a Stone," Loki countered. "All of which were based on simple acquisition. The Stones were created by the four cosmic entities and originally belonged to no one. I say it is time for them to belong to themselves now."
"Of course you do," Strange sneered. "How convenient for you given that you've already decided to be one."
"Be careful what you say, seiðmadr," Thor commanded darkly. "That is my brother whose honor you impugn."
Loki's eyebrows shot up as he glanced at his brother in shock. "Now you defend me?"
"Aye."
From the look in Thor's eyes his brother wished to say more but Loki was glad he did not. This was a discussion for another time.
"He does have a point, Thor," the captain stated. "Loki has long been after the Stones and now that Thanos has been defeated it is best to separate them once more. To ensure nothing like this happens ever again."
Oh, that was rather clever of the captain, not quite implying he did not trust Loki, but still presenting a reasonable sounding argument to separate the Infinity Stones. Pity he was up against the silvertongue.
"You wish to reattempt the plan which failed the last time?" Loki asked simply.
"I... But we know about the possibility this time and can take precautions," the captain tried.
"It was known before too but the Stones had become far too dispersed to attempt any kind of coordinated plan," Thor spoke up, surprising Loki. "I know as I tried to find them all."
"So we keep them from becoming that dispersed."
"How?" Loki demanded. "On average a human lives to, what, a century? How will you ensure that level of coordination for even the next millennia?"
The captain flushed and looked at his companions, but none of them could offer a counter argument.
"How long do you guys live anyway?" Stark asked.
"Five thousand years," Thor replied.
"Oh."
"And that was before my melding with the Soul Stone or the activation of my celestial heritage," Loki said. "Now, well..."
He deliberately trailed off, not quite wishing to admit that unless he was killed he would no longer die on his own.
"I still don't like it," the captain stated.
Loki smiled. "It is not for you to like or not, Captain, as I do not obey your orders."
"Thor," the widow tried.
"Nay, I will not interfere here," Thor replied.
"Why not? You are king now and he one of your subjects."
"Loki may still claim Ásgarðrian citizenship if he so wishes and he will always remain a prince, but he is also the son of the Yggdrasill."
"And that makes him special somehow?"
"Aye. She is the reason both of our Realms exist or existed, she is the creator thereof."
"That does not mean she can rule us," the captain protested. "We are a democracy."
"I did not say she did, I merely wanted to inform you of her power and importance. If you were to move against Loki and she interfered, you would not be able to defeat her, nor would you wish to."
"Let me guess," Stark said. "We do and buh-bye Earth?"
"Aye. And the rest of the N- Eight Realms," Thor confirmed.
Loki touched his brother's arm, his own throat closing at the thought of Ásgarðr's demise.
"And that's of course assuming we could somehow overcome Loki to begin with," Stark added, voice strangely devoid of worry. "Which given we'd have neither Point Break's help nor the interference L'Oréal gave earlier with Thanos is pretty much impossible anyway."
"Whose side are you on anyway, Stark?" the widow demanded.
"Earth's, and Loki's already proven he doesn't just want to throw us under a bus by how he sabotaged Thanos' little invasion," Stark retorted, catching Loki completely by surprise.
Clearly the Man of Iron had been far more perceptive than he had given the mortal credit for.
"Not to mention he now knows Earth is somehow part of his mother," Stark continued.
"I will not fail in my duties as keeper of the Time Stone, nor allow one such as him to possess all of the Infinity Stones," Strange declared, stepping forwards.
Loki watched in amusement as the mortal seiðmadr snapped his arms to the side and orange sigils appeared in the air around his hands. The obvious and superfluous use of seiðr allowed him to see what Strange intended and so he was able to counter it before the seiðr had even left Strange's hands, dying in the air. Rather than deter the mortal, it merely angered him and he tried once more. And again.
"You know, Einstein thought that doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results was the very definition of insanity," Stark drawled in amusement.
He was by far the calmest of their audience as the others edged backwards with varying degrees of nervousness or fear on their faces. Well, all except for Thor who remained at his side and for once seemed disinclined to act, instead appearing happy to allow Loki to handle it. So, perhaps the oaf could learn.
With a frustrated sound, Strange changed tactics, stepping back and swirling his hands dramatically. Loki was uncertain if the human needed to do so in order to control his seiðr or whether he was merely being dramatic about it. Then a portal opened in the space between them and he could see what appeared to be a mirror dimension within it. Did Strange truly think to trap him within so simple a construct? He grew up on illusions and deception, this type of seiðr had been the first he had learned as a child.
Then Strange threw the portal at him, clearly believing he would better be able to challenge Loki within a world of his own creation. How quaint. With a thought and snap of seiðr from the Space Stone, Loki took control of the portal, redirected it and sent it flying back at Strange. The human seiðmadr tried to avoid it but failed and disappeared into it, as did the widow, Wanda and the other man who wore armor like Stark's.
"Rhodey!" Stark yelled. "Where the hell did you just send them?"
"Miðgarðr," Loki replied simply.
"Earth?"
"Aye."
"Safely? Not like ten thousand feet up in the air?"
Loki smiled at the rejoinder and the fact Stark was smart enough not to take his words at face value.
"I did not resurrect Strange and Wanda merely to kill them so soon after," Loki said. "They and the others are fine and at your new... headquarters."
It was a new word for him and the rapid evolution of the humans in so many ways intrigued Loki. It was so very different from the Realm Eternal which he had often thought of as the Realm Stagnant. He would have to investigate Miðgarðr more closely and he already had one valid invitation there. It would be most intriguing to see how the humans had changed since he had last been there prior to his fall into the Void. His brief time there during the invasion had been most interesting and he was particularly curious about Wakanda and Stark's inventions.
A familiar roar made Loki whip his head around and he stared up in shock as he saw Níðhöggr flying towards them. There were exclamations of surprise and alarm from the others as the dragon flew closer, accompanied by the raising of various weapons.
"Do not attack!" Loki called out. "He will not harm us."
Luckily the dragon was still in the small form he had taken earlier, so Loki was able to raise his arm for him to land on.
"What are you doing here?" Loki demanded as Níðhöggr came to rest on his right arm before the little dragon scrambled up to his shoulder, tail curling around his bicep for balance. "Nay, let me guess, Mother sent you."
A rumbling purr was his only response as Níðhöggr nuzzled at his hair.
"I swear to the N- I swear I will turn you into a worm if you set my hair on fire!"
"Is that a dragon?" Stark demanded of Thor before turning to Loki. "Do you have a dragon on your shoulder?"
Loki smirked at the mortal. "Nay, Stark, you are imaging things."
"Brother," Thor chided, eyes nonetheless glued to Níðhöggr. "He is beautiful."
Which of course made Níðhöggr preen, sitting up straight and spreading his wings to show them off properly.
"Wait, can he understand us?" the beast demanded, startled.
"Of course," Loki confirmed.
"But he's a dragon."
"And Rocket is a racoon."
"And Groot a tree," Stark muttered, eyeing the group which stood clustered together further away from them. "And Nebula whatever the hell she is."
"You said your mother sent him," Thor began. "Does she have many such creatures?"
"Aye, you have studied them," Loki replied coyly.
"I have?"
"Which dragon is associated with the Yggdrasill?"
His brother's eyes went wide as they darted between Níðhöggr and Loki. "But... Níðhöggr."
"Aye."
"I should cease to be surprised at those you elect to befriend."
"Care to share with the class, Point Break?" Stark questioned.
"Níðhöggr means Malice Striker, he is said to gnaw on the roots of the Yggdrasill," Thor explained, hesitating briefly before continuing. "Níð also stands for the loss of honor, marking one as a villain."
"That's a lot of negativity for a creature," the captain stated after a moment of silence. "Was any of it deserved?"
"Nay," Loki answered. "Níðhöggr has done nothing wrong, the stigma comes from the dragons of Náströnd who are said to feast on the corpses of the condemned dead."
"Jesus, you guys really go all out, don't you?" Stark shuddered. "Great, now I'm not getting that image out of my head anytime soon!"
"Does he truly live on the Yggdrasill?" Thor inquired with a frown. "Did your mother create him?"
"Aye, which I suppose makes him almost a sibling in some ways," Loki mused. "Though he is rather smarter than my other brothers."
"Loki!"
Stark at least appreciated his humor, Loki saw as he waited for Thor to catch up.
"Wait, brothers, as in plural?"
And there it was.
"Aye, Laufey had two other sons, remember?" Loki questioned. "And in addition to Níðhöggr there are the four stags of the Yggdrasill as well as Ratatoskr, Veðrfölnir an-"
With a growl Thor crowded close once more, though Loki noticed his brother was carefully not to jostle Níðhöggr from his perch. A wise move as he had no idea how the little dragon might respond. Until now he had only seen Níðhöggr on the branches of the Yggdrasill itself and he had not even known the dragon could leave his mother's true form.
"They are not your brothers," Thor stated, clasping the free side of his neck. "I am."
Loki's lips twitched despite himself. "Well, I was thinking more along the lines of sibling pets for the Yggdrasilli creatures."
"Oh, I like him!" Stark exclaimed.
"Stark!" the captain protested.
"What? He thinks like me. Isn't he awesome, Brucie?"
"I dread to think what the two of you could get up to," the beast replied.
Oh, now there was an idea.
"Nay, Loki," Thor declared raising his free hand to point a finger at him. "I know that look."
Loki smiled innocently at him. "I was thinking of diplomatic relations."
"Like that time on Álfheimr no doubt."
The reminder made Loki laugh. That had been a particularly good time.
"I like diplomatic relations," Stark rejoined. "They can be very productive and lead to the sharing of all kinds of new ideas."
"As if you need any more ways to create havoc," the man out of time grumbled.
"No one asked you, Rogers."
"Is there anyone you have not irritated?" Loki asked Stark before looking back to Thor. "And I already have an invitation to Wakanda."
"I told him he was free to come visit if he brought back my people," King T'Challa said when everyone turned his way. "A feat he seems to have done."
"We have not yet seen anyone else brought back other than those present here," the warrior woman stated.
"A fact easily discerned when we return home, Okoye," King T'Challa replied.
"Please try to behave yourself, Brother," Thor pleaded, making Loki scowl at him.
"Which one of us has caused fewer diplomatic incidents?" he questioned, cutting his brother off before Thor could reply. "Jötunheimr, Vanaheimr, Harago-"
"Aye, you have made your point."
"So, Loki, buddy," Stark began, sidling up to him. "I don't suppose there's any truth to that myth about Thor, his hammer and the wedding dress?"
Well, I hope you enjoyed the longer than usual chapter. And, yes, I did play with Níðhöggr's info a bit, as you'll see in the definitions below, but so much of what is left of Norse mythology is contradictory anyway. Besides, I like my little Níðhöggr and in this fic I wanted the Yggdrasill to be entirely separate from Earth, as it seems to be in the MCU rather than how it was in mythology.
Anyway, just the epilogue to go.
Old Norse:
seiðmadr - a combination of seiðr ("witchcraft") + maðr ("man") - i.e. wizard/sorcerer/mage
Valhöll - Valhalla, "hall of the slain" - half of those who die in combat travel to Valhalla upon death, selected by Óðinn
Hel - the final destination of those who do not die in battle, but of old age or disease
Fólkvangr - "field of the host" or "people-field" or "army-field" - a meadow/field ruled over by Freyja where half of those that die in combat go upon death
Helgafjell - "holy mountain" - one idea of the afterlife which appears in West Norse sources
seiðr - witchcraft, sorcery / a type of sorcery practiced in Norse society during the Late Scandinavian Iron Age - i.e. magic
seiðmenn - male practitioners of seiðr - i.e. wizards/sorcerers/mages
seiðkona - a combination of seiðr ("witchcraft") + kona ("woman") - i.e. witch/sorceress/mage
Náströnd - "corpse shore" is a place in Hel where Níðhöggr lives and chews on corpses. It is the afterlife for those guilty of murder, adultery, and oath-breaking
Ratatoskr - a squirrel who runs up and down the Yggdrasill, "drill-tooth" or "bore-tooth"
Veðrfölnir - a hawk sitting between the eyes of an unnamed eagle that is perched on top of the Yggdrasill, "storm pale", "wind bleached" or "wind-witherer"