Chapter 38: Appeal

Of course, the simple, normal routine did not last. Why would it? Thor had sent one of his ravens — they belong to him now and he was not totally at ease yet with those electronic mail — to inform him about the reform concerning slavery. As per order of the king of New Asgard, the presence of slaves Loki, Alex and Storm were required with their master and any supporters they might need in the royal hall as soon as possible.

So Tony prepared a private jet and all flew to New Asgard.

"Wait a second," said Bruce. "Are you going there as a slave? Like, do you need to be in chains?"

"I don't think so," said Loki.

"Thor said he wants to do things the midgardian way," said Tony.

"And our presence is required," said Loki.

"Daddy, we are going to see uncle Thor?"

"Yes," said Loki.

"Thor," said Storm.

"Are we slaves again," asked Alex worried.

"Well, not really. You and Storm are not slaves," said Loki.

"But you are," asked Alex disappointed.

"Maybe not for long."

oOo

Once they landed, they were greeted by King Thor himself.

"Greeting, my friends! Welcome to New Asgard. Now, I know you all been here before, but it was a while ago. I need to show you around. Ah, brother, there you are. And Storm had grown up! Alex, how are you, buddy?"

"Uncle Thor! I missed you," said Alex hugging his uncle.

Thor went on with small talks for a while and told them about what had changed around since their last time, how everyone had settled nicely and how Valkyrie had helped a lot.

"Thor, while all that is really interesting, why are we here," asked Steve.

"I have passed a lot of laws around here. Asgard, while a great kingdom, needs some upgrades and to learn from midgardian culture. I had taken care of the slavery problem, mostly, and now, there are only three slaves that have not been taken care of," said Thor referring to Loki and his family. "Every slave has an audience in the court, in front of the king, to determine if their fate should be changed. It is the same procedure for both those born in slavery than those sentenced to it, but so far, all those born into it had been freed. And there was a pregnant woman; I am happy to inform you her twins were born completely free. The two boys are also the first two asgardians born in New Asgard."

"That's great news," said Wanda smiling.

"Tonight, I invite you all at my place for supper and to sleep. Tomorrow, it will be the audience and everyone who wants to speak for or against the slaves will have their time."

Thor led them all to his house. It was a simple estate, two stories high with a view on the sea. Well, all houses had a view on the sea, so it was a house like the others around, just higher on the cliff.

Thor had also prepared a traditional asgardian feast for his guests and it reminded Loki of feasts in Asgard. Oh, so many memories. So many grandiose feasts had been given in Asgard in honor of a battle, or some important guests, or an anniversary.

"Daddy, the food is good," said Alex.

"You like it," said Thor.

"This is definitely something else," said Tony.

"But delicious," said Clint who had come as well. Him too had received an invitation. "You could open a restaurant."

"Or just open for tourists," suggested Vision. "I am sure you would have a lot of visitors and you could get income from tourists."

"New-Asgard could become a great tourist attraction," said Loki. "With all the history and uniqueness of our culture, midgardians would be very interested. As much as we can learn from them, they can learn from us."

"I have considered it, actually. But for now, New-Asgard is not ready yet. We barely have a restaurant and no hotel yet, but it would come. It's in the plans," confirmed Thor.

"Uncle Thor, will we be coming to visit you more often," asked Alex.

"Yes, probably. The distance between us is smaller now. But you should know I have responsibilities here and I need to guide my people. I might not be able to visit too often."

"But we could all move here. Families live together. I live with my sister. And daddy is your brother, he should live with you, no?"

"Alex," said Loki. "When people get to be adults, they usually move out and go live somewhere else. They started their own family."

"I have a sister," said Sam, "but she lives in another state. And she has a family of her own. We don't live together because we each have our own life."

"I would never leave Storm and Daddy," affirmed strongly Alex. "I will always be there for them."

Loki smiled. He knew Alex would change his mind with time, but he hoped it would not be too fast.

oOo

Loki put Storm and Alex to bed and joined the others around the campfire. It was New-Asgard and Thor had always loved campfires, so he had made a special place outside.

"What should we expect for tomorrow," asked Steve.

"It is a hearing to determinate if Loki, Alex and Storm should be free of slavery," said Thor. "It will be one at the time, case by case. Alex first, then Storm, and finally Loki."

"And why am I last?"

"I had to prioritise the cases like you suggest, and not put my family first. So I went with those born in slavery first, then those who were sentenced to slavery. I started by those who had spent the most time into slavery. Not an easy process, but out of the 100 slaves we had after Ragnarok, there is only 15 left. So you, plus 12 others."

"What happens to those who are free," asked Wanda even though everyone wanted to know.

"All those born into slavery were freed," said Thor. "As for the others, some got their freedom. There are a few crimes that are now lawful, so those few slaves were freed as well. For some, it was estimated they had done their time as slaves. One of them got his freedom and started the restaurant. He was used to cooking for his master so here, he became a chief and opened the first restaurant of New Asgard. And since his former master don't even know how to cook, he has a very loyal customer. Some former slaves choose to remain with their former masters, but they are paid now. Some others had chosen to live on their own. They all are doing well and they are happy."

"And what of those who are still slaves," asked Loki, "the 12 other slaves. Why are they still in bondage?"

"Those were the ones with the gravest crimes," said Thor with more gravity. "Some murderers, some rapists, a pedophile and a traitor. They had all learn their lessons and are mostly reformed now. The sexual offenders have been taken care of, or punished, in another way as well so they won't do it again. Those 12 will be watched closely, but they could earn their freedom, they will just have to pass a few evaluations to decide if they could be free in society and then, they could buy their own freedom. And I change the law so slaves have to receive a salary."

"I bet none of those murderers have as many victims as I have. And that the traitor had not betrayed all of Asgard," said Loki.

"You would be right," said Thor. "Of all the sentenced slaves, your crimes are the worst."

And Loki knew he would not get his freedom. He did not deserve it anyway. Loki pondered those questions in his head and did not realise the conversation had moved on to another subject. Thor had put mjolnir on the ground and the Avengers were now taking turn trying to lift the mighty hammer. It was an amusing show since none of them could even nudge it.

Oh, the Avengers had done this already, but since there were now new additions to the team, they were the one trying to lift mjolnir. Wanda tried to use her magic and got yelled at that it was cheating, but she could not manage to lift it, magic or not. Sam tried, but said he was probably too tired. Scott tried once as a normal size guy, and then again with his suit in ant size, because ants can lift up to 20 times their weight, but apparently that was not enough. Bucky, who was also there, tried with his regular arm and with his metal one, but no such luck. And it soon turned out that most of the Avengers were trying. Thor had said it could change with time that a person could become worthy of mjolnir over time. At the end of the night, only Steve, Natasha and Loki had decided to stay out of the competition. Steve because he said he did not think the answer would have changed since last time and he had not been able to lift it back before Ultron crashed that party. Natasha still said it was not a question to which she needed to know the answer. And Loki, well, he might have changed, but not that much, and he knew mjolnir had never found him worthy, even when he was young. Maybe a frost giant was just not meant to be worthy.

Then, Loki announced he would go to bed.

"Good night everyone," said Loki. "Good night Thor."

"Night Loki," said the Avengers.

Loki walked inside the house and, just as he was about to climb the stairs, Thor caught up with him.

"Brother, do you have a moment," asked Thor.

"For you, always."

"There are things I want to tell you, things that are best said in private."

Loki waited for a bit, but Thor was not going on.

"Go on, Thor."

"Well, I looked into your file, your slave file."

"As king and one of my owners, you are in your right to do so," said Loki.

"Yes, but I found some concerning information."

"About me being a slave?"

"About your training. We all know slaves can be used as bed slaves," said Thor hesitating.

"Dear brother, I think you are intelligent enough to figure out I was raped giving that I have two children sleeping upstairs."

"It's not just about that," said Thor uncomfortable. "I never… Before being king, I never pay attention to the extent of how slaves were treated. I know you have been raped and so were all slaves who went into training. But I found out more disturbing…"

"Thor, please just say it. I'm tired and tomorrow is also going to be a long day."

"The bed training should only be at the very end of a slave training, once the trainers know the slave is nearly ready for its owner… for his owner. But in your care, Alex was conceived toward the beginning of your training. If a slave is pregnant when she is given to her new master, said master either cast the abortion spell or calls a healer to perform it. What I am trying to say is that, among all the slaves born in captivity, not of them were ever conceived during training."

Thor stayed silent while Loki was taking it in. Alex should not have been conceived at all and Storm, if Loki had stayed on Asgard, would have been aborted by his master. They should not even exist.

Thor and Loki stayed silent for a moment, just thinking about what Thor had said.

"I asked for an abortion during training. Multiple times. But only for Alex."

"And it should have been granted to you," said Thor. "I don't know why it happened to you, or why they refused your abortion."

"Did father know?"

"No. I was there when we receive news that you had complete your training. Father was surprised to learn you already had a child. I think he trusted you would get an abortion once on Midgard. Can midgardians do that?"

"Yes, Thor, midgardians can perform abortions. Not with magic, but they have their ways."

"So why did they force you to have Storm? Don't get me wrong, I love both your children, it's just…"

"Thor," interrupted Loki. "Bruce and Steve gave me the option of an abortion. It was my decision to have Storm. Of course, it was too late for Alex, but I decided to keep Storm."

"Why? It's usually not the decisions of a slave whether or not to keep a child. So why? Knowing she was from a rape, why?"

"Because of you," answered Loki.

"Me?"

"We grow up as brothers. You are… You are the closest friends I ever had, the person I loved more than anything else in the world. We grew up together. I wanted Alex to have the same experience. I wanted him to have a sibling. And he is happy to have Storm in his life. As for Storm, I named her after you. I would have chosen a more feminine name, like Frigga, if she had been a girl, but she is both. I wanted something that reminded me of you. And she has more potential than you, brother, because she can control all types of weather, not only rain and thunder and lightning."

"Well, she is going to go far," said Thor.

Loki sat down in the stairs, just thinking.

"Life could have been different," said Loki.

"Ragnarok would still have come," said Thor.

"Yeah, but differently. What happened to those… To the trainers? Will they be there tomorrow for my audience?"

"No. I thought you knew, but they died."

"Died? Did you kill them," asked Loki surprised.

"No. Even if I would have liked to do something, I did not. They were warriors and died in battle during Ragnarok."

Loki kept on thinking about the whole revelation.

"There are many slaves born as such. And yet, you are telling me the masters got them abortion after training," said Loki leaving the question hanging.

"Love. And others. But mostly love. It's weird," said Thor. "Some slaves, like that woman who got the twins, fell in love with other slaves, usually from the same master. And they conceived babies, they got their own children."

"Why? I would not have consented to have a child knowing said child would live as a slave like me," said Loki.

"Some slaves just want a kind of normal life, a family. And if they love each other, they might also think raising a slave child is the best they can do," said Thor. "Don't worry, all those children are free now. Except yours, but they will be."

"And the others? You said some slaves, but not all."

"Well, there have been rapes."

"It's not rape," said Loki. "A slave is a property, it cannot give consent. Therefore, it's not rape."

"It is," said Thor firmly. "Some masters raped their slaves. Some others fell in love with their slaves. It's twisted, brother. I wish we did not have slavery."

"Well, at least we now have a king who's doing something about it," said Loki.

"Do you know how it all started? Slavery, I mean," asked Thor.

"I read a tale, a long time ago, in the library," said Loki. "Basically, the first slaves in Asgard were gifts from another realm. And there were some prisoners of war that got turned into slaves. A king, Buri maybe, then started to sentence some criminals into slavery when a crime was too great. Back when there were a lot of wars and destruction, the cities needed to impose forced labor to rebuild. Prisoners of war were used. And then, it became a tradition to give a slave to the person who had been wrong. In a way, it's not a bad idea. But masters got to abuse their power over their slaves. Midgardians evolved and got rid of it. It's a good thing we are now doing the same."

"They had slavery too, on Midgard," said Thor.

"Yes. But not anymore. And not for a century or so."

"I am anxious about tomorrow," admitted Thor.

"Why? Because it's me?"

"Exactly. I have no doubt Alex and Storm would be freed, but you, I really don't know. I want my brother to be free. I want to see you be free. But, you are my brother, you are family."

"Thor, you need to be impartial. Do as you did for the other slaves before me and be fair. You read their sentence and saw their crimes, right?"

"Yes, I read their crimes, talked to the slave, to the master. I got inform about how the slave had changed. I talked to the former family of said slaves."

"And what did you give them? What was your verdicts?"

"Mostly community work. We need to rebuild. Most of them were pardoned too. I followed what you call parole. We now have our own parole officers who are in charge of watching over all the former slaves and make sure they are up to no bad. They are great."

"Do I know them?"

"The Valkyrie and Heimdall. She is not just a parole officer, but also our police chief. Most of our Einharjars died during Ragnarok, so we are forming new ones. As for Heimdall, well, he sees all. Nearly all."

"And you said I was the slave with the worst crimes."

"Yes. You were the last one sentenced to slavery and the one with the most kills. You should have got the death penalty."

"I deserved it," said Loki.

Thor went to sit beside Loki in the stairs.

"Alex is the last slave born on Asgard. And Storm is the last one of all. They would never be another criminal sentenced to slavery, I will make sure of that. But I have to judge my own brother now. I don't know how to be impartial."

"Just listen to what the others have to say. This is more like an appeal. Take into account what has changed and how I have changed."

"But how will I be able to look you in the eyes if I sentence you to slavery," asked Thor.

Loki looked at him to make sure there was a direct eye contact.

"Thor, you are not sentencing me to slavery. Odin did it. And I will always be able to look at you because you would have freed my children. New Asgard is a place of opportunities, of second chances. We have formed an alliance with Midgard and now, our kingdoms are united through you and me. I talked with Odin about reviewing my sentence, and we both agreed I was not there yet. He thought you would be the one to do it. I still need to repair what I have broken."

"You help Asgard, you were there during the fight," said Thor. "And we are brothers again. I changed the law, every slave now have their family back. So I can call you brother. It's only fair for everyone, a crime doesn't break a relationship in a family."

"We never ceased to consider each other brothers," said Loki.

They stayed silence again, just holding hands at the bottom of the stairs in the dark.

"You will take the right decision concerning me tomorrow," said Loki. "I know you can be a great king."

"I just wish you were here with me. I always thought that… The day I was supposed to be crowned, I had a surprise for you. I wanted to ask you to be my royal advisor," revealed Thor.

Loki was shocked. Advisor of the king was a great honor.

"I thought you were always better than me in what matter to be a good ruler. You are a diplomate and you understand politic more than I do. I believed I could be a good king only with you by my side, that I could be the face of Asgard while you would have been the one making the right decisions. I thought I could only be king with you by my side, because I was too young and cocky to be a wise king yet."

Loki did not know what to say. He had thrown away his chance at becoming royal advisor, the right hand of the king, just because he knew Thor was not ready to be king and because he, Loki, wanted attention.

"I'm sorry, brother. I should have told you I thought you were not ready," said Loki.

"I would not have listened," said Thor. "I'm sorry it drove us apart, but it was my fault as much as it was yours."

"Did you choose an advisor yet?"

"No, not yet. I took the one who was a bit further from the king, but still aware of everything, but he's an old man and won't last for long. I would really need someone good, someone that knows Midgard and Asgard. Right now, I email the Avengers whenever I have a question, but that's not the way to go."

"What about Valkyrie?"

"She is great, truly, but she is not you. She is a great fighter, but I need someone to complete my flaws, someone with strength where I have lack of experience."

"You will find that person."

"I would have wanted you," said Thor.

oOo

In his bed, Loki was thinking back about the fact that Thor had wanted him as his royal advisor. He did not doubt for one second that he would have been a great advisor and complement every weakness Thor could have. Oh, they would have made a great leading duo, together. But Loki had been too blinded by the promise to be king himself that he had not seen he could have rule, only from the shadows. Asgard needed a great face as an official ruler, but Loki would have been the best advisor there was. And he threw it away.

There was a saying in Asgard that the AllFather could see the future, or at least the possibilities, so did Odin wanted certain things to happen in a certain way? Did Odin plan it all? Did he know Asgard would move to Earth after Ragnarok? So many questions…

But did Odin not want Loki to be royal advisor? Surely Odin must have known Thor would make Loki his advisor once king. And now, he would never be, because a slave would never directly serve a king, and a criminal neither.

oOo

The next morning, Tony, Steve and Thor were the first one to wake up and they were outside of the house, eating in the sun.

"I believe you have a hope for the outcome," said Tony.

"Well, I need to be impartial, that's why Heimdall and Valkyrie are going to be there and everyone who wants to speak their mind concerning the matter is allowed to come," said Thor.

"Are you saying the place is going to be packed," asked Steve.

"Yes, probably. All asgardians know Loki and his story. With his betrayal, he hurt all Asgard. Some might still think he should be killed."

"But you are not going to kill him, right," asked Tony.

"Fear not, Loki will stay alive," said Thor. "Like he said himself, it's a life sentence, not a death one. A slave can only be executed if another grave crime is committed during the servitude. And it should be a grave crime, not escape, but either hurting one's master in a permanent way, or kill someone. It does happen, but it had not in a few centuries."

Well, at least Loki would stay alive, not that it was surprising.

"I know Loki had struggled a lot," said Thor. "And as I am not allowed to help him, I would still like to."

"He had lost a lot," said Steve.

"But he would probably love to have his magic," said Tony. "I mean, magic would be fun, just imagine what he could do!"

"Remember the butterfly incident," asked Steve seriously, then he smiled.

"Yeah, I do. But it might be fun to learn more about asgardian magic since New Asgard is here. Think of it as a contribution to science," said Tony, excited.

"Loki used his magic for evil before," said Thor. "However, in his official sentence, there is nothing pertaining to this in particular. Slaves usually have their magic bond so it belongs to his master like his whole life. The master commands his slave as well as his slave's magic. Also, the bond goes on every slave, no matter their crimes. It would go if Loki is no more a slave."

"But Alex and Storm have magic, they can perform spell. Well, they are novices, but they can," said Steve.

"The slave bond suppressing doesn't work on them because the link between master and slave had been severed," said Thor. "By you, friend Steve. You never considered Alex your slave and you claimed Storm to be born free. In all except official business, they are not slaves. And I plan to make it official today that they are not slaves anymore."

"But I don't consider Loki my slave. So he doesn't have his magic only because he still considers me his master," asked Steve.

"Loki, despite his many flaws, is loyal to the truth. He had been told he is a slave, therefore he believes it. As long as he thinks of himself as a slave, he will need permission to use his magic."

"So it's only in his mind," asked Tony.

"It's about the importance a slave gives to his own station," said Thor. "But not only the slave, but the master as well. Once Alex was comfortable enough to not think of himself as a slave, he got his magic back. Storm never got that problem. For Loki, it is more ingrained in him."

"So as long as he is a slave, even officially, he won't have his magic," concluded Steve.

"But you could free him," said Tony.

"If I do, he would have free reign over his powers," said Thor.

"Thor, we all know that, because of Loki, Thanos is coming. Slowly, but still coming," said Steve. "He will come to Earth if he wants the infinity stones. And we know the location of two of them."

"Three actually," said Thor. "I send the Aether on Knowhere. It's the reality stone. As for the tesseract, the space stone, I intend to keep it secure here. And Vision guards the mind stone. There is still the time stone, the soul stone and the power stone."

"So three are accounted for, and two are on Earth. We will need all the protectors we can get to prevent Thanos for getting to them. Having Loki's magic on our side will definitely help," said Steve.

"It would," said Thor.

"If Thanos is coming, we should be prepared," said Steve.

"Yes, New Asgard will guard the space stone, and you guard the mind stone," said Thor. "In the meantime, we should all prepare an army."

"What do you know of Thanos," asked Tony.

"Not much, unfortunately. He used to be in league with the Chitauries. He has children who are very loyal to him. And he wants to extinguish 50% of all life in the galaxy."

"50%," said Steve surprised. "Why?"

"He wants to balance things, make it equal so everyone can eat," said Thor.

"He could just double the resources," said Tony.

"Still, we should be prepared," said Thor.

oOo

Around 9 that morning, the Avengers and company were in the royal hall of New Asgard with a lot of asgardians. The three slaves they had with them were the last to have an appeal concerning their status. Thor had told them it would be Alex first, then Storm, and finally Loki.

Said slave was actually calm. He knew he would get want he wants, meaning the freedom of his children. He had accepted he would not get his own freedom, and to live with the Avengers was something he was used to by now, so he did not really care about his case.

Thor was sitting on his throne with Heimdall on one side and Valkyrie on the other. Since Thor had loosened the rules for slaves in public, there were no rules saying a slave who was not working should be bound in any way. To further push the point that Loki and his family belong on Midgard, Loki had dressed his whole family in normal midgardian clothes that had been provided by Tony or Steve long time ago. They were not royalty, not slaves, just normal people living on Earth. Loki could have dressed his children with some images of the Avengers, but he opted for neutral clothes instead.

"I declare open the appeal of slave Alex of the Avengers. Slave Alex, please step forward," said Thor with his official voice.

Alex was a bit intimidated, but he went with Steve in front of the whole room, holding his hand.

"Master Steven Rogers, are you the owner of said slave," asked Thor.

"I am," declared Steve.

"And that slave was giving to you as a child, right," said Thor.

"Yes, that's right."

"Said child slave is also the child of another slave in your possession, correct?"

"Yes, your majesty."

"And are you willing to part with the slave since said slave was born as such and his innocent of any crime?"

"Yes, I am," affirmed Steve.

"Any objection in the room?"

But only silent.

"I officially declared Alex of the Avengers free of his slavery," said Thor.

Thor signed a paper stipulating that Alex was no longer a slave and a copy was given to Alex, one copy to Steve and another stayed with Thor.

"Daddy, daddy, I am no longer a slave," said Alex running to hug his father.

Loki hugged his son and smiled. Oh, it was such a good feeling. Loki took the paper stating his son was free and put it in a safe place — well, as safe as it was in a material place, Loki still long for his magic to hide things.

"Next case, slave Storm of the Avengers. Please step forward."

Loki took Storm from the stroller and gave her to Steve who went back in front of the whole room.

"Master Steven Rogers, are you the owner of said slave," repeated Thor.

"I am," declared Steve.

"And you have been in possession of the slave since her birth on Midgard, right," said Thor.

"Yes, that's right."

"Said child slave is also the child of another slave in your possession, and sibling of a now free child, correct?"

"Correct."

"And are you willing to part with the slave since said slave was born as such and is innocent of any crime?"

"Yes, I am," said Steve again.

"Any objection in the room?"

But again only silent.

"I officially declared Storm of the Avengers free of her slavery," said Thor.

He again signed the documents, and copies were given to Steve.

Loki hugged his daughter and son. Oh, this surely must be the happiest day of his life.

"Slave Loki of the Avengers, please step forward," said Thor and then, there was only silent in the room. Dead silent. Loki bowed to his children as he was settling Storm back in her stroller.

"You stay here with Miss Pepper, okay," said Loki to his children.

"Okay, daddy," said Alex.

Then, Loki went in front of the room. He was trying to convince himself he was not nervous, and he knew he was used to being in front of a crowd as a former prince. So why was he a bit worried? Steve followed right behind and there they were, in front of King Thor. As a slave, Loki kneeled on both knees. Thor was not that formal with the decorum and he had forbidden the children and the Avengers to kneel in his presence, but he never made it clear if Loki should kneel, so the slave did not take any chances. After all, he was a slave.

In the distance, Loki could hear the front door open and closing and he knew Pepper had taken his children away. It had been the plan, to get the children out of the room during the hearing. First because it would only be boring for them and second because Loki did not want his children to see this, to see him being a slave and kneel.

"I declared open the appeal of slave Loki of the Avengers, propriety of Steven Rogers, of Midgard," said Thor even more officially. "Slave Loki, please rise."

So Loki stood up next to his master, but he kept his head bowed.

"Slave Loki, you have been sentenced to slavery by my predecessor, King Odin who stripped you of your family ties, rank and name. Your name was given back to you by your current master Steven Rogers of Midgard, is this correct?"

"Yes, your majesty," said Loki.

"You have been sentenced for crimes against Asgard, against her former king, against her present king, crimes against Jotunheim, regicide, crimes against Midgard, attempt invasion of the realm, leading a war as well as over 2000 counts of direct or indirect murders," read Thor.

It was strange to be reminded of those crimes, but it was also good to know Alex was not in the room to hear.

"You were supposed to serve first on Midgard, then on Jotunheim, and finally on Asgard. But since Jotunheim refuses to have you as a slave, you have been exiled from Jotunheim. As for Asgard, it had been destroyed. So your current sentence is to always serve on Midgard, may it be for the Avengers or in New Asgard. The AllFather had a lot of hopes for you, he wished for you to be redeemed and to learn your lesson. Do you think you have redeemed yourself?"

"Yes, your majesty, I have. I have seen the errors of my way and I have changed a lot these past years," said Loki.

"You have been given as a slave a bit over one year ago to Master Steven Rogers, is this correct, mister Rogers?"

"Yes, it is."

Wow, already more than one full year! Well, things sure changed a lot. And Loki had not realised it had been a year already. Well, it's a good day for his children to be free.

"How would you describe Loki's behavior during that time?"

"Loki had been respectful to everyone. He has behaved and obey. Overall, I would say he has been good. It is clear to me Loki has changed since he tried to invade Earth more than six years ago now. He is doing his job and I have nothing bad to say about him," stated Steve.

"During his training, slave Loki had tried to escape multiple times," said Thor. "You decided to remove the chains he wore and replace them with a simple bracelet. Did the slave ever tried to escape since in your care?"

"No, he had not."

"And did he try to hurt people?"

"One time, yes. He was having a crisis and it is the only time he got punished for an offense."

"Would you say you know Loki better than the other Avengers?"

"No, I would not. You are an Avenger and you have lived with Loki for longer than all of us put together, giving your life expectancy."

"Would you say that Loki would try to take over Earth or cause any uprising in the future were his sentence to be changed?"

"I trust Loki. He has always behaved and I know that if he were to be set free, he would behave. You see, slavery has been abolished on Earth some time ago now. But I believe in an equal chance for everyone. If you treat someone as a monster, you will have a monster. But when you show people compassion, you tend to get that as well. As of now, Loki knows more about Midgard and midgardians than the rest of Asgard. On Earth, we use prisons to keep the criminals away from civilisation, to exclude them in order to protect the innocents. That's one of the functions of prisons. The second function is to punish the criminals. And the third is to reform them. To make it so that, at the end of their sentence, those people will not commit the same crimes again and will be able to contribute to the society as a responsible citizen. While there is no doubt in my mind that Loki has committed grave crimes, he is also responsible now. He had been raised with good manners and he could reintegrate society and contribute to its well-being. I trust that he won't commit other crimes. He had killed and started a war, but he had shown regrets, sincere regrets, and he had apologised for his crimes. As for the slave's training, he had been punished for his past behavior.

"I am not saying he should get off easily, but he should get a second chance. Being a slave for the Avengers won't repair what he had done. He should also give back to the community," said Steve.

The whole room was silent as a result of Captain America's speech. Until, finally, Thor broke that silent.

"Loki, of all the things that have been taken from you with your sentence, what do you miss the most?"

"My family, your majesty. My mother. I know now that she died and I won't get her back. I mourned her and I have a family of my own. I also missed my brother. But, at this moment, it is my magic that I miss the most. I don't care about my rank, I got used to not have my freedom, I still have dignity. And to know my children are free is such a relief. I miss my magic, but I would also want to be able to partake the normal life with normal people. I know those things are kept away from me as punishment and I understand. I still miss it, though," said Loki.

"Loki, do you think your sentence should be changed and why," asked Thor.

"Yes. Giving the recent events, I won't be able to serve on Asgard nor on Jotunheim. Therefore it should be adjusted to fit that. I would serve on New Asgard with no complaint. Things on Midgard, or Earth, are different and I have learned a lot so far. I regret killing some of them. I also think my sentence should be changed because I have learned and satisfied most of the AllFather's hopes for me, but not all of them. I should repair what I have broken and I would love to be given a chance to help more directly those I offended. I would love to repair the damages I caused in New York and maybe even to formally apologise to the population of Earth. I am not asking for my sentence to end, because my crimes are far greater, just for it to better suit this realm."

"Mister Rogers, do you think Loki's sentence should be changed and why," asked Thor.

"Yes. Loki had learned, but he is stuck at the compound. I know he could do more and help in other ways. I agree he has not finished his sentence, but a time limit or a way to earn freedom should be added," answered Steve. "Also, considering this is Earth, slavery is banned, therefore, his sentence should be adjusted."

"Noted. Does anyone else have anything to say either for or against slave Loki of the Avengers," asked Thor to the assembly.

Tony was the first to raise his hand, but not the last. Rhodey, Wanda, Vision, Sam, Bucky, Scott, Clint, Natasha, Bruce soon followed. And then, they understood why there were so many people in the royal hall, because they all raised their hand.

Loki was surprised. The Avenger's reaction was not surprising, just heartwarming because he knew they were on his side. As for the asgardians, he did not know if they were on his side or not.

Thor was not as surprised. Those appealed were public and anyone could come to listen. That morning when he saw so many people unrelated to the case, he knew it would be a long day.

"Least hear the Avengers first, and then the population of New Asgard," said Thor.

So, one by one, they all said their piece.

"Please state your name for the record and speak freely," said Thor to each one of them. "I should remind you that anyone can ask questions to both the slave and his master."

"Hi, I'm Bruce... Bruce Banner. Some might also know me as the Hulk. You see, I was Loki's doctor, still am, but he is healthier now. I saw him coming at the compound and he was underweight. I nursed him back to health and I know he struggled a lot with this new world and new life. One day, I had an accident, a green accident. I turned into the Hulk and ended up in his room. But the Hulk was not going after Loki. Since Loki came, I fear that if I turned into the other guy, I would beat up Loki and probably kill him giving his fragile health. But the other guy did not attack him. You need to understand the other guy has a specific sensor for bad and evil, and only attack those who deserved. It is my understanding that Loki has changed. He deserved a second chance because of that. He had suffered a lot and he was tortured for five years. Not trained as a slave, but tortured. I think he could do more good as something more than a slave."

"You know who I am, or, for those who don't, I am Iron Man. But just call me Tony. Tony Stark. At the moment, Loki is one of my employees and the industry. His work is remarkable, but he could do more if he only had his magic. If I have met him in other circumstances, I'm pretty sure I would have been friends with a guy as intelligent as him. Maybe slavery is not the best sentence for him. Something along community services or a time limit on the slavery would be better. He deserves a second chance, and his children deserve a father who can go to the zoo with them. What I am suggesting is parole."

"I'm Natasha Romanoff, member of the Avengers. I have lived with Loki at the compound since he got here and I am giving monthly reports about his behavior to Shield director Fury. He has agreed that as long as Loki behave, Shield won't take him into custody. So far, I must say Loki surprised me. He had behaved far beyond my expectations. King Thor, you might not know all about my past, but I was a Russian assassin and Shield sent Clint Barton after me. He saw something in me and gave me a second chance. I killed, probably more than Loki did in his attempt invasion. I did not care who I was killing and I did not have as good a reason as him, even if there is no good reason for killing. I was giving a second chance and I had a lot of restrictions to follow, but now I am free. I am part of the Avengers and I want to think I am a better person because of them. The Avengers can do the same for Loki. In time of war, it is usually the best course of action to align with people that have abilities useful against your enemy. Loki knows Thanos and I bet Loki can be an asset, but we will need him at full capacity. His actions will be forever and nothing can change the past. However, I say let's forgive, not forget. I know I would gladly fight beside him if confront to a common enemy."

"Hi. Clint Barton. I'm the guy she just talks about, who recruit her. I too was messed up in life at one point. But someone help me. And that guy supported me when I helped others. Loki killed that guy back in 2012. And Loki put me under his control. I should be the one that have the most reasons to want Loki dead. And I did, for a long time. But when he came back, I did not want to kill him anymore, because what would I have gained? I saw a father who was trying his best. I saw myself in him. Loki struggled, but managed to be a good father for his children. In the past, I knew being a father was not in the card for me, but my first born changed me forever, and so did my second one, and my third. I changed because of my kids, and I know Loki changed a lot because of the same reason. So, yeah, he deserved a second chance."

"Hi! I'm Scott. Scott Lang. Ant-Man. Okay, everyone forgets I'm Ant-Man, no one care about those details. Anyway, I met Loki later than the other Avengers. I'm a bit new. Anyway. I was in prison — for money theft — and I might have a similar experience to Loki. On Earth, we got a prison system very different than Asgard's. And prisoners can get parole, they got out of prison earlier for good behavior. But then, they have a parole officer that they have to see regularly until the true end of the sentence. Loki is behaving, he should get early release and maybe get a part of his sentence commuted to — I don't know — community services."

"I am Sargent James 'Bucky' Barnes. Friend of Steve, and even a bit older than him. During a few decades, I was brainwashed and mind control. It was not fun. Wanda put a spell on me and got me out. I relate to Loki because we were both controlled by more powerful than us. I have a set of rules that I have to respect if I want to stay free. While I know Loki has done other crimes before being controlled, his invasion is the worst in midgardian's eyes. I know our situations are not the same, but similar. Slavery, for his life, is just cruel, in my opinion."

"Sam Wilson. I just want to say that Loki had come a long way. He is still a trickster, but I feel like I don't know the real version of him. What I have heard about his invasion and what I saw at the compound are different from what I've heard from his brother. But if he had his magic, I think he would be more like himself."

"James Rhodes. People call me Rhodey. I was in the army, and I am the relation agent between the army and the Avengers. So I'm the one in charge. I saw prisoners of war. I saw people being tortured. Loki is like them. I can say he had been through a lot. I did not like Loki when he arrived, but that doesn't matter. What matter is that, on Earth, it is illegal to torture someone, even if that person had done terrible things. Loki might not be human, but still, that's not how we do things here. Humanity is about trying to be better than who we were in the past. We also realised slavery was wrong, we abolished it and we are trying to do better. Loki has not been treated like a slave, so basically, not changing his status won't make sense."

"I go by Vision. I am an android. I see the world in a different light because of my programming. I don't exactly have emotions. Loki brought the specter who gave me this stone, and it's part of me, of whom I am. There are many paths in life, some would call it a multiverse, an infinite number of different ways things could have gone. Therefore, with that theory, in all the universe Loki had not tried to invade Earth, I would probably not exist. What if Loki had not come to Earth? What if he had and had actually succeeded? What if Odin had given him another sentence? What if Asgard did not have slavery? There is a lot of different ways things could have gone in this vast multiverse, but here we are. And from here, there are many paths to take. We don't know what will happen next. In some universes, Loki's sentence won't be changed and he will remain a slave for his whole life. In some others, his sentence would be changed and he won't be a slave. Basically, the decision is yours. I think Loki has earned a relief. You see, I'm not human, I only observe them. Loki is not human, but he is closer than I would ever be. And human life is about change. Change and evolution. I won't talk about the theory of evolution except to say that it is not just a theory if it is proven. But humans change and they change their perception. Loki had changed. I have not met him back during his invasion — I wasn't born yet —, but I have access to the data of Jarvis, from which I inherited the intelligence and charming voice, so I can compare Loki across time. He has changed and evolved. I believe Odin's goal in sentencing Loki was to teach him a lesson, and I also believe Loki had learned it."

"Wanda Maximoff, from Sokovia. Now an Avenger. I remember the first few days after Loki's arrival. I spend some time with Alex and I was heartbroken. I survived a war in my country and it changed my brother and I. Alex made me think of Pietro, but worse. During the war and then at the orphanage, we had to be quiet and survived. Alex survived way worse than us. And I saw the same signs in Loki. He had been through a traumatic experience, but because of his age, he has adapted differently. When the Avengers created Ultron and during that whole fiasco, at first, Pietro and I were with Hydra — a terrorist organisation — and we joined Ultron — the bad guy —, once I realised we were in the wrong by siding with Ultron, we changed our ways and the Avengers welcome us — well, you know that Thor, you were there. After my brother's death and the destruction of my city, the Avengers invited me to join in. They accepted me even though I had been a villain. I'm not saying to give Loki a second chance because I got one, I am saying that he has been through something terrible, and he has changed."

"Wanda," said Thor. "You see in people's head. I remember you giving me a nightmarish vision. Have you used your power on Loki?"

"No, I have not. I know it's wrong to do it."

"But you can also see in people's head, right?"

"Yes, I can see what they think and manipulate their ideas. I don't do it anymore though."

"But you can. So can I ask you if it's a good idea to be plugged into his head and tell us what he thinks?"