The court had been assembled, over two hundred rich and powerful Asgardians in total, and as Thor predicted, there was much cake to be had. The vivid intensity of the cacophony of color hurt his eyes and so he decided to look away from the court. Today was going to be one of the strangest days of his life, even stranger than his phantom pregnancy over a thousand years previously, and definitely stranger than the day that he found out he had been adopted. Today he was going to be re-adopted, or whatever the technical term for it was. He sighed as he turned away, waiting patiently for the weirdness to begin.

"Nervous?" Thor asked him, keeping his voice even. He knew well that his brother would never reveal if he was feeling nervous, but his expression conveyed the strangeness that was clearly evident in his mind.

"How many slices of cake are you going to get me?" Loki asked him, looking out at the crowd.

Thor shrugged, "as much as you want."

Loki smiled humorlessly, "you're paying for my therapy," he straightened up his armor. It was a new set that had been made for him immediately after he awoke from his long slumber. It was a little tight, and pinched a bit, but otherwise it was nice. The tailor had put a little more black leather into the mix and a little less gold. It was heavier than he remembered and he could only assume that over his brief nap and briefer stay on Earth he had lost weight.

"I just hope that they will accept their payment in cake."

"How do I look?"

Thor didn't think he was qualified to answer, "you look . . . pretty."

Loki raised an eyebrow, "I had no idea you were the type," but then he smiled.

Thor grinned raucously, "Now give us a kiss."

Loki grinned, "You'd have to be a frog."

"Heil princes!" yelled an overly excited voice behind them, and Loki spun on his heel to face the smiling Dark Elf who was dressed simply in black robes. She almost danced up to them.

Thor grabbed his hammer and raised it, about ready to smash it over her head when Loki grabbed his arm and held him fast, "stand down."

"Dark Elf," he hissed.

"I know," Loki rolled his eyes, "are you going to trust me or not?"

"You didn't think you were his only friend did you?" she smiled, looking at Thor and Loki almost as if highly disappointed and bemused at the same time, "I'm Apate, by the way. Thanks for asking."

Thor lowered his hammer and put it on the ground. Loki gave Apate a glare of ice that told her to speak. "You never told me how unbelievably handsome your brother is," she sized him up like a hunk of meat, "and so quick to grab for his weapon," she grinned madly, "I like that in a man."

Loki rolled his eyes, "Apate, please, enough."

"I swear, since your near-death experience, you have had the sense of humor of a Bilgesnipe," Apate shook her head, "swung past your room earlier. I fully expected you to be lying half-naked on your bed, crying your eyes out, thinking about the she-beast listening to moody jazz or perhaps the uplifting melody of the suffering of your own tears, but you're here, you're wearing prince clothes," she grinned, "you've even had a bath, you stink pretty."

Thor glanced between his brother and his friend, "you are friends with this woman?"

"It seems unlikely, doesn't it?" Loki replied sarcastically.

"Your Pa totally freaked out when I got here, had the same reaction as Brains Odinson over here," she jerked a thumb at Thor, "I spoke to Wildfire."

"And?"

"He hates you with the fire of a thousand suns and wishes that he had know Utgarda's plan just so he could watch the bastard punch through you," the brothers looked at her although they were about to kill, "that's a direct quote. Needless to say, he didn't come."

Loki sighed, "Did you tell him?"

"What?" Thor asked.

"He told me that he would never accept an insincere apology on the honor of a defrocked prince and a spoiled brat, no matter how grave a situation that he found himself in," Apate said, "that's another direct quote, by the way."

"Anything else?"

"Oh, and 'die in a hole', but that was the least eloquent one."

Loki sighed, "thank you for trying, Apate."

"You're both my friends," Apate said gently, "I just hope this is the last time I ever have to act as a great, cosmic go-between for you boys. You're big enough and ugly enough to look after yourselves."

"Thank you," he said as his friend walked away.

She spun on her heel, "what? You've never said that for me before," Thor was laughing, "but that could be because I never did anything for you before, either. Later boys."

"You are friends with a Dark Elf?" Thor asked again, "that is so . . . you."

"That's the closest I will ever get to a compliment from you," Loki sighed, "she's different to Maleketh's followers. Her people do not like us much, but they do not actively seek out Asgardians to kill."

"Ah," Thor crossed his arms, "you must tell me of how you met this strange woman, Brother."

"Maybe," Loki smiled mysteriously.

"Your crimes are as follows, high treason, genocide, the attempted subjugation of Earth, treachery of the most severe kind, never before seen in this realm or by the peoples of the nine realms."

Excepting Laufey, of course, who threw his world into a bitter winter after the first Asgard-Jotunheim war was won by his enemy, the man whose people starved because he wanted to have a sulk.

"You have pleaded guilty to these crimes and accept total responsibility for your actions," Odin continued, "and the punishment for such acts is death, the highest penalty."

I should have fought it harder. I was weak. Weakness must be relinquished for strength. There is no excuse.

"But," it came as no shock to him, "you have endeavored to make up for your wrongs, and you fought Utgardaloki for the liberty of all realms."

Liberty? Since your iron-fisted rule, since when did the rest of the universe even have rights? Since when do normal Asgardians have rights? What about other sorcerers?

"By your selfless and honorable sacrifice, closing off the Void forever, you carried out your own execution and survived against all odds, resurrecting all who were murdered in your name."

Too bad the same could not be said for you.

"Your debt has been paid, Loki," Odin said grandly, "all debt has now been repaid. If there is anyone in this court that disagrees with this judgment, may you step forward now and speak."

He looked up at his family, the court at either side of him, even the soldiers glaring at him, waiting for him to make his move. He could see Sif shudder slightly as if she wanted to step forward, but Volstagg had clasped a hand around her shoulder to stop her from moving even if she wanted to. Nobody moved.

"Very well," Odin said simply, "Loki, your sentence is hereby revoked and all your titles restored upon you. Arise Loki Odinson, prince of Asgard."

He stood up with a little difficulty and faced Odin for a moment, his face entirely blank.

"Is there anything you wish to say, my son?"

Loki nodded curtly, "it wasn't for you," he turned and walked away down the red carpet.

Odin glanced at Thor, who shrugged, "I told you to get more cake."