"So you're the monster who tortured my brother and turned him into your scapegoat!" Thor glared at the Titan, his fists crackling with lightning.
Thanos ignored him. "My children have done well to give me enough time to take this. Now it's my turn to repay them." Thanos activated the Time Stone near their bodies, and one by one, the members of the Black Order rose again, as if rewinding the scenes of a video.
"No…" Loki stepped back. Thor charged at Thanos, but the Mad Titan used a fallen sorcerer's sling ring to transport him to the SHIELD STATION, where he wound back time to bring the Mind Stone back and into his possession. He then reappeared and grabbed Loki, who was paralyzed with fear from his past experiences with the Titan and the clip he saw from his future, where Thanos would snap his neck.
Thor flew at Thanos again with his weapons, but he used Loki as a shield, giving Thor a beating with his free fist. Loki attempted to prune Thanos while he was occupied with Thor, but he simply grabbed the baton before the end could touch him. Thanos looked Thor in the eyes.
"You coward!" Thor angrily uttered.
"You wouldn't understand: you grew up in a land of plenty, knowing nothing of the pain that comes from being in need, going without food and other necessary resources. With the combined powers of the Infinity Stones, I could provide those resources and bring true peace to all."
"By slaughtering countless innocents across the universe? You're mad!"
"Mad… yes, that is what many call me: my own people, before hunger brought desolation and extinction to our world. I will not allow that to happen everywhere else. You will lead me to the other disintegrated Infinity Stones."
Thor spat. "I'd rather die."
"You might, after all this is over. Maybe your brother's mind will be more open." Thanos pressed the Mind Stone against Loki's head, and he was forced to relive the tortures that Thanos and his followers put him through, along with his worst nightmares.
"I warned you…" The Other's creepy voice echoed through Loki's head, feeling those scorching fingers around him. "He will make you long for something as sweet as pain!"
The Other's voice then morphed into Thor's, who appeared in his place. "Did you truly think I would accept a Jotun as my brother? And you thought I was a trusting fool?!"
"You're not real!" Loki stated. "You're nothing more than a figment of my darkest fears, an illusion induced by the Mind Stone yet again!"
The false Thor smirked, and he grabbed Loki by the neck, lightning sparking around him. "Does this feel like an illusion, monster?"
"NO! STOP!" The real Thor yelled as Loki screamed at the top of his lungs.
"Either I weaken your brother's mind again to search it for the information I seek, or you tell me to avoid causing him more pain." Thanos bargained. "Either way, my victory is inevitable." Thor looked to his brother, wishing desperately to end his pain.
"This is all in my mind…" Loki told himself. "And my mind is too strong to fall for this madness again!" He groaned in excruciating pain as he felt another burning shock.
"Alright." Thor obeyed. "I'll tell you where to find the stones."
The fake Thor squeezed tighter. "No, you are weak, Loki, worthless, pathetic. I should have made sure you were dead when I threw you into that abyss. You were right before: you are not my brother."
Loki fiercely stared down the impostor in the eyes, and his grip loosened a smidge. "That's right: I've gotten to know my real brother rather well in the past year, and I can say without a doubt, you are not him! I love my brother dearly, and I can say with absolute certainty that he feels the same. Furthermore, the real Thor didn't throw me into the abyss: he tried to save me! You are nothing but my past fears and insecurities!" The false Thor let go of Loki and stepped back in awe. "And you no longer exist to torture me; begone!" At that, the illusion dissipated.
"Speak." Thanos ordered.
"Infinity Stone or not, this fear… this absurdity cannot control me!" Outside of his mind, Loki's hands and eyes glowed a bright green, and he grabbed the Mind Stone, though Thanos's hold on it remained. "I am Loki, the most powerful sorcerer of Asgard, and I am burdened with glorious purpose: to rid the universe of Thanos, once and for all!"
"The Power Stone was o-"
"No, Thor, don't!" Thor stopped abruptly as Loki interrupted him, having canceled out the Mind Stone's abilities with his own. Still unable to overpower the Titan that held him, Loki looked down at his weapon, an idea forming. Loki then turned his Time Stick on himself, and Thor watched in horror as his brother's body disappeared.
"LOKI, NOOOOO-"
Thanos remained unfazed. "Shame, but I can still get my answers, one way or another."
"THANOS! You… I'll kill you!" Thor threw Stormbreaker at Thanos, pushing it with the full fury of his electricity, which sunk deep into the Titan's chest, and Thor immediately pummeled him with Mjolnir while pushing his axe in deeper. The rest of the Avengers fought off the revived Black Order, Hulk matching Obsidian, Widow and Hawkeye fending off Midnight, Captain America and Falcon taking on Glaive, Iron Man and War Machine firing at Maw, and an army of empty Iron Man suits against the rest.
"You… you should have gone for the head." Thanos mocked before he rewound time, healing all his wounds. Thor threw Stormbreaker again, but Thanos anticipated and sidestepped the axe. He took Stormbreaker from Thor, and the two warriors matched their weapons of Uru, but Thanos had the advantage in brute strength, quickly overpowering Thor. As his Asgardian enemy fell wounded, Thanos pressed the Mind Stone against Thor's heart, and he stopped resisting as his eyes clouded black. "Now… you were telling me the locations of the stones…"
"Yes, of course." Thor blankly said, under Thanos's control. "The Power Stone was underwater on Xandar, the Reality Stone in a pocket dimension, accessible from London during the convergence. The Space Stone was in some place outside of time called the 'TVA,' and the Soul Stone-"
"-is right here! Come and get it!" Loki's voice rang from a distance. Thanos looked up, staring in shock upon seeing a humongous cloud monster approaching him from above, with Loki riding the creature, holding up a small rock with a bright yellow glow.
"Impossible."
"Thanos of Titan, we charge you with immeasurable counts of physical, mental, and emotional torture, genocide, abusing his children, brainwashing with an Infinity Stone, and turning me against my brother!" Loki called out. "I sentence you to become Allioth's dinner!"
"Get me that stone!" Thanos commanded, and Thor flew up to his brother, but Loki manipulated his own powers of enchantment to free Thor's mind with one touch to the head.
Thanos then opted to use his Mind Stone to take control of Allioth, but while he was distracted, Thor summoned a lightning bolt down from above while Loki pulled both stones with telekinesis straight into Allioth's mouth. However, the Titan shook off the charge and used his sling ring to open a portal between Thor and Loki. He reached for the Soul Stone, but he was even more shocked to find his hand passed right through it!
"Whoops, did you think that was real? I am a trickster, after all!" Loki taunted. "And it appears that the 'Almighty Thanos' is out of Infinity Stones."
Thanos angrily tried to attack Loki, but Allioth quickly devoured him, his mighty strength helpless to save him, and his children and army were eaten next.
"Are you alright, Brother?" Loki asked Thor as they descended to meet their fellow Avengers.
"Of course I am. Are you?"
"Better, I'm free: free of the Mad Titan forevermore!"
Tony Stark shared his relief. "Great work team, another alien invasion gone up in smoke. That- that is the last of them, right Vegeta?"
"As far as I know, yes." Loki replied, not caring enough to question his strange pop culture references.
"Cool! Hey guys, wanna play it safe and just go out for cheeseburgers this time? Hey Cap, I know of a 50s style diner that serves old fashioned American apple pie."
"I know you're trying to make fun of me, but I could go for some pie right now." Steve Rogers admitted.
"Sounds good to me." Bruce Banner seconded.
"As long as they serve coffee… and beer." Thor added.
"I'd like to try a milkshake myself." Loki chimed in. "As I recall, Stark, you still owe me a drink!"
"Whoa whoa whoa, this is heroes only, buddy, and you're kinda the one who brought Thanos here in the first place!" Rhodey protested.
"No, the Infinity Stones brought Thanos here: if I hadn't been tricked into coming here in 2012, you'd have no way of knowing Thanos was coming, and I brought the creature who defeated him for you. So you're welcome. Of course, if you'd rather not feed us these 'cheeseburgers' anyhow, Allioth could use a bit more… iron in his diet." Loki joked.
Stark and Rhodes exchanged glances. "Like I said, burgers, Tony's treat!"
"Just park your raging demonic flying nimbus in the air: pretty sure the diner is non-smoking!" Stark retorted.
"Thank you." Loki became serious. "I'm sorry about your friend, Phil, by the way. I really am."
"Yeah, we heard you had a case of hyped-up aggression from over-exposure to the scepter of Loki Pokey, so you're forgiven."
Loki nodded. "Agent Barton, I'm sorry you and Selvig got brainwashed by the Mind Stone as well: I hope your mind can be at peace now as well." Hawkeye slowly nodded back, still not fond of Loki.
"And I'm sorry for the horrible things I said to you, Agent Romanoff, for my boorish language and turning your good friend against you. I truly wasn't myself: even in battle I'm not that savage, especially to a maiden!" She nodded too.
"And Bruce, I'm sorry for-"
"I know, I forgive you." Bruce interrupted him. "Now, are we gonna eat or what? I've got a Hulk-sized appetite!"
So the team enjoyed their burgers, where Stark introduced Thor and Loki not only to his favorite food, but the magical meaty topping known simply as bacon, which they both especially enjoyed. Thor still had room for an order of his favorite pancakes for dessert while Loki was treated to a mint chocolate chip shake, satisfying his frosty sweet tooth.
"So, what about the Soul Stone?" Loki wondered. "It's the only Infinity Stone that hasn't been pruned yet. Well, from our timeline, that is."
"Leave it, Brother." Thor proposed. "Thanos is dead, so it's not worth sacrificing a life for."
"Thor's got a point." Mobius concurred. "Besides, no one knows where the Soul Stone is who would go after it."
"Well well well, late to the battle but on time for the brunch!" The dining group turned as two unexpected guests walked up to their table: Hela and Odin!
"Father, you've been released." Thor greeted.
"And this must be Hela?" Loki presumed.
"That's Queen Hela, Goddess of Death. And I take it you're my baby brothers?"
Tony Stark raised an eyebrow at Hela. "Hey Boy Thunder, you sure Loki's the adopted one of you three and not you?"
Loki snickered. "Trust me, if you knew what my natural form looked like, we'd have even less resemblance. So, how did father-daughter bonding go? I mean, as someone with personal experience of being trapped in a time loop with an angry vindictive woman, I'm sure it took quite a toll."
"Well yes, eventually." Hela admitted. "Killing dear old dad was all good and fun the first few thousand times, but it became far too easy, too mundane, executing a weak mortal old man over and over… and then I began to wonder if that drivel he was preaching was true, about peace and love being stronger than ruling with fear and hatred. And then, get this: he finally admitted that he was the one who at fault, instead of blaming me or covering up the truth like he usually does, so… I thought, 'maybe the old man's onto something here!'"
"Would you like a milkshake, hon?" The waitress asked.
Hela took a quick glance at the menu. "I'll have a death by chocolate."
"Coming right up!"
"Thor, Loki, my sons, please forgive me for my cold-hearted behavior towards you." Odin faced Loki. "Especially you, Loki. I… it's true that I don't deserve to call myself your father after kidnapping and mistreating you, but even so… Loki, I… the raging storms within you, you inherited from me, and… I suppose I took out my own anger, shame, and guilt on you. I'm sorry, for all the cruel things I said to you. I'm so sorry for judging you in haste, without listening to your side, for not- not trying to understand." Loki nodded bittersweetly. "Thor, after being mortal for so long myself, I believe I've come to appreciate the humans a bit more, and you are welcome to bring Jane Foster to Asgard, if you wish. And Loki, your friend Mobius is welcome anytime as well. The people of Midgard are wonderful indeed to bring out the best in both of my boys." Both brothers smiled. "And if you'll both give me another chance, I'd like to work on becoming a better man… and a better father to the three of you."
Odin wrapped his arms around Loki and embraced him, and Loki shed a few tears as Odin's eye watered with him. Thor joined them and beckoned their sister to join the group hug. "I am glad you have changed for the better, Father, as we have. You know, I just happen to know a few bonding exercises… Midgardian style!"
Loki winced. "Oh, not again…"
Later, back on Asgard, Odin and his three children tossed a baseball back and forth between them.
"So… this is how mortal fathers bond with their offspring?" Odin inquired.
"This is so dull." Hela complained. "How about I have my dog join us?"
Thor gasped. "You have a dog? Yes, by all means, I'd love to meet your pet!"
"Thor, Hela, no, wait-" Odin warned.
"Oh Fenris~!" A gigantic wolf with striking green eyes came running up to them. She growled at Odin and tossed him away with her mouth. "Are you still mad at Daddy for betraying us, Fenris? Yes you are!" As Hela and her brothers petted Fenris, she licked Loki and rolled over, letting him rub her belly. "Oh, Fenris likes you! How peculiar. By the way, Stepmother showed me a less violent and bloodthirsty way to defeat my opponents: want to see?"
"I would." Thor replied.
"Show us." Loki seconded.
Hela immediately summoned her black swords, pinning them both down by their clothes, and she ferociously tickled Thor's armpits and Loki's bellybutton. "She made the mistake of telling me your most vulnerable spots!" Hela laughed maliciously as she forced her siblings to laugh with her.
"Ehehehehe no-o fai-hi-hair, we-hee-hee-hee don't know your we-heehee-ak sp-ahaha-ots!" Loki giggled.
"Fa-hahahaha-ther, hehehe-help us!" Thor called, but Fenris wouldn't let Odin interfere. Hela tickled her little brothers until she got bored, and they proceeded to do the other bonding activities, some of which Frigga joined in to get better acquainted with her stepdaughter.
After the second bonding experience, Hela took her place as queen of Asgard, protecting the realms and her people. Thor frequented between there and Earth, joining his Avenger friends on missions and dating Jane while Loki mostly stayed on Asgard. Mobius returned to his time, his family, and of course, his jet ski, though he visited Loki every now and then. Sylvie found her way to Loki's timeline from hers too, and after she heard about the trial, she personally promised to sew Odin's mouth shut herself if he ever said such horrible, nasty things to or about Loki again, her fiery spirit gaining Hela's and Thor's approval. And so, the royal family of Asgard was finally at peace.