Like all dreams Loki has had, they are composed of memories. The memories are hazy, as if seen through the eyes of someone else. But Loki always knows that it is himself in his dreams. Tonight's dream, however, was different in a new way. It was a memory, but unlike the others, this dream was not a nightmare. It could only be described as happy. There was light in all directions of his vision, as though the happy memory were illuminated by its own bliss.

There were fields of tall grass all around the two boys and the outline of a magnificent palace could be seen in the distance. One boy looked about six years of age. He had blond hair that blew in the gentle breeze and blue eyes to match the sky. He wore a red tunic with trousers and boots. The other boy was younger, about three years old. He had raven black hair and bright green eyes. He wore a green tunic that was a tad to big for him. The younger tailed behind the older in a game of chase.

"Come along, brother!" called the eldest boy, "Try to keep up!"

The younger boy with the dark hair was almost panting with the strain of keeping up with his older brother. "You walk much too fast, Thor!" he complained.

"Speed is key in battle, as is strength. That is why I shall be the greatest of them all," declared Thor, thrusting a fist in to the air.

"There is more to battle than the physical, Thor," stated the green-eyed child, possibly too smart for his age.

"Than we shall see, Loki." At these words, Thor jumped strait at his younger brother. Loki cried out and tried to move away, but the much bigger Thor was already on top of him. The fight was by no means violent. It was a tame tussle between two brothers. Thor knew he could beat his brother easily. That is why he was not hitting him at all that hard and let Loki get some of his tiny hits to him while Thor pretended that it hurt for the ego of the younger one. But Thor was not willing to let his brother win this fight. Soon enough, Thor had Loki pinned down.

"Ha, you must surrender now, brother," said Thor, drunk with victory.

Loki had a pout on his face. Then he seemed to look past Thor at something else. "Mother," he cried, "make Thor get off of me."

Thor immediately sprang upright, releasing his brother. He feared his mother's wrath if she found out that he had hurt Loki at all. Thor glanced behind him to see nothing but the empty field in which they were. Once Thor had turned his head in search of their mother, Loki pounced like a cat upon Thor's back and they both tumbled to the ground. Thor realized he had been tricked. He was not mad though. Instead he laughed along with is brother as they both lay sprawled upon the ground.

The dream faded into darkness. Loki was sad to see it go. Yet he was not waking up. Instead he stood amidst the darkness in his current form. Thor stood several feet in front of him as an adult. Thor stared at a bright light that was forming in front of him, not seeming to realize that Loki was right behind him.

"Thor," boomed the voice of Oden from the floating white light, "You are needed in Asgard. The Migard Serpent has awoken."

The light and Thor faded from Loki's view. He now lay awake in his bed. It was strange how the voice of Oden had addressed Thor and neither had taken any notice of Loki watching. Oden had summoned with Thor the same way Hela had summoned Loki. Then it hit Loki. The dream was not his, not even the first part. He had somehow shared a dream with Thor's memories of them as children. That is why it had been a happy dream. But the thing that troubled Loki the most is what Oden had said to Thor. The Midgard Serpent has awoken. Loki was sure Oden had not meant for Loki to hear this summons and Thor had not realized Loki had shared his dream. But news of the Midgard Serpent was an ill omen indeed. For it was said in a prophecy that only Thor could defeat the Midgard Serpent… at the cost of his own life.

Loki came down to breakfast that morning with a tight feeling in his chest. When he came upon Thor, he felt even worse. The sad, thoughtful look resting upon Thor's face was all the confirmation Loki needed to know that his dream had been for real. The rest of the Avengers at the table simply ate their breakfast without realizing the troubled thoughts of both Thor and Loki sitting next to them.

When breakfast was over, Thor, who had been silent all morning stood up. "My friends," he addressed the Avengers, "I must go to Asgard on an urgent matter."

"But you just got back from you're last trip," complained Natasha.

"I'm sure it must be important," said Bruce, "I hope you are able to come back soon."

"I'll go with you," Loki stated, now on his feet.

Thor hesitated. "I'm afraid it will just be a council gathering. It will be very boring. I would not wish to subject you to that." Thor put on a fake half smile.

Loki did not buy it for one second. "You're a horrible liar, Thor." At this, the Avengers glanced back and forth from Loki to Thor, wondering what was going on.

"Loki, I…" Thor stammered for a few seconds. "I will not allow you to come," he stated with finality.

At these words, Loki was furious. "And I won't let you die, Thor!" Loki shouted.

"Wait, who said anything about Thor dying?" asked Tony, just as perplexed as the other Avengers.

Loki decided to tell the rest so that they might not let Thor go either. "Thor is going to Asgard so that Odin can order him to fight the Migard Serpent," said Loki.

"Loki, Thor has fought a lot of stuff with us and he's walked away without a scratch," said Steve. "That's more than I can say for most of us."

Loki was now frustrated beyond belief. "You haven't heard of the prophecy?" he asked exasperated. "Have any of you even read Norse Mythology? It may not all be the same as actual Asgardian history, but most of it would really help you guys if you even bothered with it." Loki took a deep breath and said, "Only Thor can defeat the Migard Serpent. However, in doing so, he will die."

"Is that true Thor?" asked Steve, arching an eyebrow.

Thor looked down in defeat. "Aye, it is," he said.

"Oh please," cried Tony. "Prophecies aren't real," he said, rolling his eyes.

"Just like Norse Gods aren't real?" argued Loki.

Tony looked about to argue back when Thor shouted, "Enough! This is something I must do. I have vowed to protect Earth with my life and that is what I must do."

"Thor, there has to be another way," Steve said.

"There is not," said Thor. "I am going and I will not be stopped."

Loki was enraged. He stormed out and headed back for his room. They could all hear how loudly the door slammed. Thor turned his back on the Avengers and headed out on to the balcony. "Heimdall, open the Bifrost," he shouted. Just like that, Thor was gone.

The Avengers were stunned with silence. "I'd better go check on the kid," said Bruce. If Thor had really just gone to his death, then that meant that, in his anger, Loki had not even said goodbye.

"If this Midgard Serpent is that bad, then we have to help," said Captain America. "If it attacks Earth, then we all fight it right along side Thor."

"What should we do about Loki?" asked Natasha. "Maybe Agent Hill could look after—"

Bruce came running around the corner of the hallway. "Loki is gone!" he shouted, his eyes looking a bit green.

"Jarvis pull up security feed," ordered Tony.

"There is none sir," Jarvis said in his automated voice.

"Well, shit" was all Tony had to say.

Loki was clever. He had always been clever. If there was anybody who could bend fate to his will it was Loki. Loki was not only powerful with his magic; he was also clever with it. He had a few tricks that were uniquely his own. Amongst them was the ability to hide himself from the eyes of Heimdall. If the all seeing, Heimdall could not find him, then it was near impossible for anyone else to. In his hiding from Heimdall, Loki had long ago discovered tricks that eluded the gatekeeper. The most useful was his ability to travel through realms without need of the Bifrost. He had used this trick in the past for his devious schemes. Now, he was using his ability to save Thor. Loki did not often open portals to other realms if he could find a way around it. It required a great amount of magic. There was also the fact that Loki had never attempted this trick in his current, reincarnated form. Luckily, he had both a teacher and a powerful source of magic at his disposal. Ikol had not been very keen on the idea of wasting magic to help Thor, but he had no say in the matter. Ikol would do as he was told (of course, not without a fair amount of complaining and snarky arguments). This is how Loki ended up in Dark Asgurd.

The origins of Dark Asguard are unclear. Some say that it is a shadow cast by the true Asguard. Others say it was once the original Asgard that had somehow fallen from grace. Whatever the case may be, Loki was standing in the library of the castle, darkened by the eternal night that fell over the land. He held a torch for light and Ikol rested upon his shoulder. He searched for a book. The book was long forgotten, but many words within it remained the source of legends and myth. At last, he found the book. Though all the books in the library of Dark Asguard were ancient and practically falling to pieces, this one was by far the oldest. Some spell uttered long ago kept it from turning to dust over the ages. Loki pulled out a long shard that seemed to emit its own darkness. The shard was a piece of the shadow cast by the sward of Surtur; an artifact recovered by Loki on one of his journeys. He opened the book with care. He turned through the vast collection of prophecies, some had already happened long ago, some yet to come. He found the one he was looking for: the one where Thor would loose his life in the final battle of the Midgard Serpent. Only then would the beast that had been a nemesis to Thor throughout many millennia, be defeated. This version of the story would not do for Loki.

Loki wrote in amongst the prose of myth, his own story. It would be a lie, but it would have to be convincing if it were to seem true. Writers lie. Even the original creator of the book, whose name was lost to the ages, was a liar. Lies had to be just good enough to prove true to their reader. The stories that the Norse told were retellings of the lies in this book. The writer was so good at lies that the stories were true. After all, everyone knows that the Asgardians are real and a great hero, Thor, is among them. Loki would simply have to lie better than this author. Loki made it so that Thor could defeat the Midgard Serpent while keeping his life only if Loki helped him.

When his task was done, Loki took a moment to admire his work. He had now cheated fate. The story, the world in which he lived, was now open to another way of events. Now, Loki had to work in order for these events to unfold properly. It would have been easier if he had just written that the serpent would suddenly drop dead of its own accord. But who would believe that lie. It would not make a good story. Loki must now venture to the true Asgard. Like always, he had a plan.

Asgard is a realm whose splendor shines above the other eight realms as a beacon of glory. It was not what one would call a planet. It was a realm that sailed upon the cosmos as a disk-shaped continent. At its center stood a shinning palace of gold. But for all its grandeur, the land was by no means a paradise. The atmosphere was thick with muttering and rumors of what would soon unfold. Thor, their mighty prince and hero, was about to meet his doom. With the clouds of misfortune hanging over the heads of the Asgardians, who hurried from one place to another with hast given to them by anxiety, nobody noticed when Loki showed up in a sparkling clean alleyway of the golden city. Loki had no intention of going to the council meeting that had probably reached an end by now. They would send Thor to battle the serpent. Only he could succeed, despite the cost. But Loki knew of a new way to succeed. He casually walked to the stables, which were completely empty save for the animals in their stalls. Loki strode past the great steads of legend and the beasts from other realms. He was not here for a mount. What he sought hung from a hook in the stall of two monstrously large goats. The goats paid him no interest, but Loki was still cautious not to anger them, for they were known to breath fire. He retrieved from the hook a magic bridal forged by the dwarves. In his and Thor's youth, he had convinced Thor to tame the most untamable creatures: goats. These goats were the most stubborn there ever were. They were the size of elephants and breathed bursts of flames when they were particularly peeved. The bridal was said to be capable of taming any beast because it had already tamed the most untamable. Loki hoped this were true, for he would need it if his plan were to succeed.

Once Loki was in position of the magical bridal, he heard the horn of war being blown. He crept out of the stables and climbed a rooftop to get a good view. Usually when the horn was blown, the armies of Asgard would ride out on the Rainbow Bridge, off to wherever the battle was about to take place. This time, however, there was only one rider. Thor galloped across the bridge towards the Bifrost and his doom. People all across Asgard watched him leave as saying farewell to a man who was already dead. It amazed Loki at how, even though they knew Thor would defeat the Midgard Serpent, nobody would go along to help him fight. However, Loki was sure the Avengers would be at his side, no matter Thor's protests.

Rather than use his and Ikol's magic, whose was sourly depleted after venturing to two different realms, Loki used one of the hidden portals that only he knew about in order to return to Midgard. The Avengers would fight alongside Thor, and so would he.

The ground quaked once again in New York. The avengers had assembled and were now in uniform and fully equipped to take on what fate had in store for them.

"It seems that the epicenter of that last quake was closer to the shore of New York than the last few that were further out in the Atlantic," observed Iron Man.

"Of course the giant monster is headed to New York," Hawkeye commented sarcastically. "Where else would it go? Florida?"

"Stay focused Barton," scolded Black Widow.

A portal appeared right in front of them. Thor was deposited on the docks next to where the Avengers stood. Thor saw them waiting there. "I am sorry, Avengers, I must do this myself," he said with a heavy heart.

"We're a team, Thor," said Captain America, putting a hand on Thor's shoulder. "We're in this together."

Steve looked into Thor's eyes with complete honesty. The rest of the team gave Thor their consent to not let him face this threat alone. Thor, looking rather touched, was about to say something when the ground shook more violently than the other earthquakes. It lasted for much longer until the waves of the New York Harbor parted and an enormous figure rose out of the water. The Midgard Serpent was the size of a skyscraper. It looked like the drawings of mythical sea serpents on old maps. It was a scaly green and had fins that rose out of its head and back. Horns protruded from its head and its forked tong stuck out between colossal fangs. It hissed so loudly that it sounded like a roar.

"Avengers, Assemble," shouted Captain America. Earth's mightiest heroes were hitting it with everything they had. Hawkeye shot arrows at the beast, aiming for it's great big yellow eyes. Iron Man fired repulse blasts at it. The Hulk jumped on to the serpent's head and started smashing it in the face. Thor gathered a storm of lightening and shot it at the serpent's belly. They were weakening the monster, but not without angering it. The serpent flung the Hulk off of its head with a jerk of its neck. He snapped at Iron man with his fanged mouth, like a garden snake trying to catch a fly. The serpent's tail came crashing down on Captain America, Black Widow, and Hawkeye. It let out another hissing roar. Thor took a mighty swing at the beast with his hammer. The serpent let out a roar of pain and snapped at Thor who, by avoiding its fangs, was smashed to the ground by the serpent's tale. If only he could hit it hard enough at the proper angle, he might be able kill the beast. But the serpent was agile. The blows the Avenges dealt were only glancing off its shinning scales.

A portal above the Midgard Serpent opened up. Out of the hole in space, Loki fell on top of the monster's head. The serpent took no notice of the child who sat between its two horns. The Avengers were shocked and tried to save Loki from the serpent only to be struck down again by the monster. However, Loki did not need saving. He had come to save them. He quickly rapped the bridle around the two horns of the beast. Feeling the magic that the bridle possessed, Loki pulled hard on the reins. The serpent hissed in frustration and tried to knock the kid off. Loki fueled the bridle with his own magic and pulled even harder on the reins. The serpent continued to hiss, but its protests grew less forceful. Finally, Loki had the serpent kneeling its head down like a horse whose reins have urged it to come to a stop.

The Avengers stood shocked, Thor most of all. "Thor!" Loki shouted while restraining the serpent with all his might, "Hit it, now!" Thor took the cue and brought his hammer down upon the Midgard serpent right between the eyes. There was a crunch as the great skull of the beat gave way to Mjolnir. The serpent's body crashed back into the ocean. Thor was quick to scoop his brother from atop the serpent's crown before the beast fell.

He landed with Loki next to the harbor where the Avengers were gathered. Thor set his brother down next to him. Loki stumbled and would have fallen if Thor had not caught hem. Loki had used up a lot of energy and magic while restraining the serpent. He had exhausted all of his strength.

"Loki," said Thor at a loss for words, "How did you do that? Why am I still alive?" Thor looked puzzled. "You saved me," he stated rather than asked.

"I rewrote the prophecy," said Loki, who was practically out of breath. "And I used a bridle with the magic to tame any beast. Though I had to use a great deal of my own as well."

"Loki," said the Captain, "You saved us."

Indeed, Loki had risked his life to save his brother, the Avengers, New York, and the world. What Loki had said was true; he had changed. He was a good kid. He was different from the old Loki. This was a fact that the old Loki did not take well to from beyond the grave.