Chapter 1: Arrival
Thunder clashed outside, then, something big landed on the balcony. Tony looked up from his work. "Look like Thor has landed, sir," said Friday.
"Yeah, call the others. Have them meet us in the common room," said Tony. "Good thing most of them are here."
Indeed, some of the veteran Avengers were at the compound today, but not everyone.
Tony opened the door to not only see Thor, but a strange silhouette of a standing corpse, was that right? Well, a slim dark silhouette, with chains...
"Thor, good to see you."
"Good to see you, friend Stark."
Thor pulled the silhouette by the chains and enters, but just then, a raven made its way inside.
"Oh no. Friday, we have a bird inside," said Tony.
"Fret not, this is my father's raven. He will be with us for a while, mostly observing me though," informed Thor.
"Well, come in. The others are in the common room. And what do you have under those drapes?"
"I will discuss that once we are with the others."
oOo
They made their way to the common room where Rhodey, Cap, Bruce, Wanda and Vision were sitting. "Ah! Friends! And I see the Vision still has the stone," said Thor in a tone that is neither good nor bad. Was he happy Vision was here? Then, Thor pulled the chains down and the figure kind of sat on the ground and Thor sat on the couch.
"Thor, how are you," asked Cap.
"No good, but not bad. I come bearing news. You all remember Loki?"
"Of course we do," said Tony. "How can we forget your dear brother?"
"Last time you were here, you refuse to tell us about his punishment," said Cap, "said it was too early."
"It is time now. You see, giving all his crime, Loki was sentenced for life. It is not a death sentence, but a life sentence, so he should be kept alive. Giving that his crimes were against Midgard, Odin decided that the first part of his sentence would be served here. After a time, Loki would be sent to Jotunheim and then Asgard."
"Here? On Earth? Is that wise? I mean, Loki did a lot of damage in New York," said Wanda.
"And if he were to come back here, he would not be received well. People would want his death and government would want him locked up real thighs," said Rhodey.
"Perhaps we should let Thor continue," said Vision.
"Yes, you see, Loki was not sentenced to imprisonment, but to slavery."
A common gasp escaped everyone.
"Thor, please tell me you don't have slavery on Asgard," asked Cap.
"Only the worst of criminals can be sentenced to slavery. They are usually given to those they wrong. It is unexpected and rare, but it is effective and deterrent. We also have a low crime rate."
"So you are going to bring Loki here to be a slave," asked Tony.
Thor lowers his head and instead of answering the question, just lift the drapes on the figure. It revealed Loki, kneeling on the ground, head bowed forward, holding what looked like a child.
Bruce saw Loki and started turning green around his eyes.
"Hey, calm down, the sun is going down. The moon is rising. Keep calm. He is in chains," said Rhodey.
"Yes, I'm calm, don't worry. Just a small panic for a sec. Sorry," said Bruce.
Loki had kept his head down. He was dressed in a simple tunic and even simple pants of a grey colour. His hair was maybe a bit shorter than before and he looked clean, but he also had bruises on his skin. The child he was holding was facing the crowd with big green eyes, sitting on Loki's laps. A mope of dark hair on top of his head made the child Loki's, though the child didn't look neither male nor female.
"Thor, I understand Loki's presence, but a kid?" said Tony.
"Yeah, it is common practice in Asgard to let a slave child stay with his parent until he is ready for training. If you want to keep Loki as your slave, you will also have to keep the child, but only until its fifth birthday when the child would be sent to training. If you don't accept Loki as your slave, I will give him to someone else on Midgard."
"Thor, you will really give your own brother as a slave to someone. And then take his child from him in two or three years?" asked Cap.
"Odin's orders. Loki must serve his sentence. And his sentence is to be a slave on Midgard for the next 1500 years," said Thor.
"You would really do that to your own brother," asked Rhodey.
"He is not my brother. When a criminal becomes a slave, all family relations are forsaken. His only family is now his child. But I should inform you he is pregnant," informed Thor.
"Pregnant? How? He is a man, male, whatever. Does it work differently for you Asir?" asked Tony.
"It is not different for Asir, but Loki is a Jotun. Jutnar are hermaphrodite, they are both. It is not a very known fact. Loki is with child and already has one. I should inform you that this slave child is both male and female and there are chances the next one will be."
During the whole conversation, Loki had stayed still like a statue. His child had blinked, but didn't move.
"So I am here to give you this slave if you accept. Those who defeated him are on top of the list, then the rest of the Avengers, including the new ones, and then Shield. If not them, the rest of the world, starting with New York. On the very top of the list is you, Dr. Banner, because you defeat Loki."
"OK, I think we would like a minute to let that sink in and let Bruce decide if he wants an enslaved god," said Cap.