Epilogue: A New Beginning
Two men stood side by side in the driveway of a newly built home in a small residential part of Seattle, Washington. A few trees decorated the front lawn. A cement driveway led up to the two-story, Villa-style home. The basketball hoop hung from a pole near the garage. The house had a decent-sized pool in the large backyard. There was a dining room, two master bedrooms, and bathrooms, two bedrooms upstairs with two more on the main level. Two more bathrooms were located with one on each level. The living room was connected to the kitchen. Overall, it was a fairly expensive house, but it fit for a prince.
"Are you sure you want to do this?" the tall, muscular blonde asked the dark-haired man. "I mean, Steve said that you might get a second chance if you got a fair trial."
"Thor, I talked with Sigyn. We decided on this together. A lot of people on Earth want me dead. Even with the Avengers backing me up, I can't risk putting my family in danger because of my actions. It's better this way. I can't use my magic, because it will attract attention, but I can handle that. Seattle is a perfect place for the kids; its winters are perfect and it's not too hot in the summer. Seattle is a big enough city that we can easily blend into. It's safe for us," the dark-haired man replied. He leaned heavily on his crutches; a black knee brace was placed on his right knee.
"I don't know how you managed to talk me into this," Thor said. He was wearing a gray hoodie and blue jeans. A red baseball cap was pulled low over his eyes. Loki was wearing a dark leather jacket over his green T-shirt, a dark pair of jeans, and a green baseball cap worn backward on top of his mass of black curls.
"They don't call me 'silver-tongue' for nothing, Thor," Loki replied.
Thor shook his head. "I guess you truly are a trickster. I don't understand how you made your death believable."
"Well, I couldn't exactly use my magic. I was dying, Thor. Sigyn healed me enough to survive without the machines and whatnot. Sigyn stopped my heart long enough for your friends to believe that I died."
"We put you in that ship. How did you get out of it before it was set on fire?"
"Sleipnir opened a portal underneath me before the fire started. Sigyn started my heart back up again when I landed. I landed somewhere in Antarctica," Loki explained. "It was nice there. The snow and the ice. Fenris was rolling around in the snow. I think it was fifty below zero, but it was perfect weather. I wish I could have stayed a little longer, but Sigyn was getting cold."
"Of course, Sigyn was getting cold; it was negative fifty! How did you not freeze?"
"I'm a Frost Giant, remember? Fenris is part bilgesnipe and, well, part Frost Giant. We both like the cold."
"Oh, yeah," Thor muttered.
It was silent for a while until Loki spoke up.
"You're staring," Loki said. Thor noticed that he was in fact staring intently at his brother, and looked away.
"Admit it, I look terrible," Loki joked.
"No, not at all. I like your haircut; it makes you look younger and more adorable," Thor replied. Loki absentmindedly removed his baseball cap and ran a hand through his thick curls.
"I'm not cute, Thor," Loki complained and put his cap back on, this time facing forward.
"You are cute to me."
Loki rolled his eyes and scoffed. "You are ridiculous, you know that?"
"Hmm, sure."
Loki turned his attention back to the house. Thor placed a hand on Loki's shoulder and squeezed gently, causing Loki to turn back.
"Are you sure you are alright? You went through some really tough situations and everything, but faking your death, again? Isn't that getting a little old?" Thor pressed.
"I admit that dying because of a coma isn't the best way to go, but it's easier this way. If the Avengers believe that I'm dead, then will..his followers. The less people who know that I'm alive, the better. I cannot risk Sigyn and the kids' lives because of me. No, it's better to go into hiding," Loki explained.
"You went through a lot. I mean with Thanos…" Loki flinched at the name, but Thor continued. "Hardly anyone can come back from what happened to you without some sort of lasting effects on their mind, and quite possibly, their body."
"Sigyn said that my leg should heal back to normal in a few months. I'm fine."
"I'm not talking about your knee or your wrist." Thor dropped down to a whisper. "Thanos hurt you really bad."
Loki shook Thor's hand off his shoulder. "I said I'm fine."
"I know that you are not, and you know that too. Thanos…"
"Did...that before. It's nothing new, and nothing I can't handle," Loki interrupted. His facial expression said that he wanted the conversation to be over, but Thor pressed on.
"He tortured you! For three hours straight! That has to take a toll on not only your body but your mind! That isn't something that you can just shake off!"
"I went whole days like that, sometimes longer! What...he did on Titan, it was nothing compared to what he did to me when I was in the Void!"
Thor's mouth dropped open. "Why didn't you tell me?"
"Like Helheim, I was going to tell you! You wouldn't believe me…"
"Of course, I would believe you! No one goes around telling lies about being tortured for days on end! I could have helped!"
"There was no way for you to help me. I was the only one who could kill...him. There was a prophecy about it written a long time ago. I was just too terrified to stop him!"
"But—"
"No! I don't want to talk about this any longer. This conversation is done," Loki snapped.
Thor looked sadly at his little brother, but Loki was looking away.
"I'm sorry," Thor apologized.
"You don't need to apologize to me; you did nothing wrong," Loki muttered. "I was the one who messed up. You were just trying to get me back on the right path. I should have listened to you, but my fear left me blind. I-I'm sorry, Thor. I'm sorry for everything. If it wasn't for me, thousands of innocent people would be alive today. All of this...all of this is my fault."
"It's your fault, it's...his fault, who cares?" Thor placed both hands on Loki's shoulders and looked him straight in the eyes. "All that matters is that you are back, and there is a chance for you to live a long, happy life."
"His followers will come for me. I killed their master; they will want revenge," Loki stated.
"Then we'll burn that bridge when we get to it."
"It's 'cross that bridge,' you oaf." Loki corrected, but he smiled a bit.
"It doesn't matter. If anything happens, we will deal with it together, as it should be. We are a team, little brother, it's time that we prove the universe that. Nobody messes with my family and gets away with it. Right, brother?"
"By the Norns, yes!" A grin etched itself across Loki's face. Thor smiled too.
"Good, because I'd hate to be the person to do so."
Thor pulled Loki into a hug. Loki hugged back the best he could without dropping his crutches.
The sun was setting, turning the sky orange and pink and casting a warm light onto the driveway. There was a lot of change going on. The dusted victims were being returned to the Land of the Living. The Avengers were back together again. Thanos was dead, but he still had plenty of followers who wouldn't hesitate to seek revenge for their fallen master.
Whatever the reason, Thor wouldn't let anyone hurt his brother. He may have screwed up in the past, but this time he wouldn't let his little brother down.
Loki swore never to hurt anyone else again. He was done with killing others and causing pain. He had changed for the better, and he was ready for his past life filled with pain and regret to end. Loki was tired of being treated like a villain; so he vowed not to mess up his second chance.
Because, for something to begin, one thing had to end. This was only a chapter in Loki's book. It was about time that he started a new one.
The End!
(Or is it?)
Loki has short, curly hair now. I imagined what Loki would Loki like with short, curly hair, so it's stuck in my mind now. Loki is Sleipnir's (eight-legged horse), Jormungandr's (giant serpent), Fenris' (giant wolf who can lift Thor's axe), and Hela's father. I wrote a story about Sleipnir's origin story (An Eight-Legged What?) and I plan to do Loki's three other kids sometime in the future.
Also, sorry about the other chapter. I got a review asking about the fix-it story. This is a fix-it story, but I couldn't help myself with the cliffhanger. This really isn't a chapter, just the ending. I hope it explains everything and finishes the story on a somewhat happy note. Please review. I would to hear from you!
Yeah, that's it for now. I have a somewhat sequel called Lost and Found. Thanks to everyone who left a review. I truly love hearing feedback! Toodles for now! :)