Thank you to everyone who reviewed last time and let me know they still support this story despite my epic failure to update! You guys are awesome! Also, thanks to new folks who are popping in and letting me know they enjoy this. This story has taken a lot of my time and energy, so it's great to know you new people are enjoying it!

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Onward to the chapter~

Distortions In Time
Chapter 86
Turning the Tide II

[...the Cosmos is a game of catch...]
[...between Life and Death...]
[…in the end, they say…]
[…despite all odds, the balance between light and dark is maintained…]
[…and the cycles continue…]

Instinctively his fingers reached out, but the one who had been at his side so long did not come readily to his hand.

Mjolnir, my other soul, he cried out as the wave of light washed over him. Come.

[…despite all odds, the balance between light and dark is maintained…]
[…and the cycles continue…]

A slight man, who had been bent over an awkwardly twisted piece of metal sheeting, sighed loudly, straightened up and looked around the broad vista of devastation as he wiped his damp tanned brow. Somehow the heat of the unrelenting sun did not cool or dry the trickles of sweat which ran down his face and off his scruffy chin. It's that kind of day, he sighed. I must be going out of my mind because I just... Did I just hear an explosion or crash of some kind? He thought. Or have I reached the hallucination stage of fatigue...?

"Did you hear that, Pete?" he turned to his partner who was standing and staring up at the sky, eyes wide. "Pete?"

Pete turned and pointed at a black speck in the sky.

"It flew!"
"What flew?" groused the first man. "We're running behind schedule. The boss wants this base up and running as soon as possible and the last thing we need is some leaked information or lost-"
"It flew!" Pete repeated. "The hammer thing flew!"
"What?"
"I saw it. We need to call it in state," Pete's fingers fumbled at his belt as he withdrew the walkie-talkie.

Pete had been a janitor at the base, pre-explosion, and, as a very responsible, down-to-earth man, wasn't given to making up stories just for the hell of it. Did Thor's hammer just fly out of here? Jim wondered. As Pete reported in, Jim began to make his way over to the center area of the cave in, carefully finding his footing to the nearest metal walkway which the reconstruction team had set up for easy traversing of the site. Others seemed to have seen something – for already a band of ten or so workers, grimy and sweaty men and women were rushing down various walkways to the where Mjolnir had last been seen in the facility pre-collapse.

"It just flew outta there!"
"Did you see-"
"So fast!"
"Why did it-"
"Does that mean-"
"Did someone radio this in?"
"Pete's on the radio."

Jim looking down at the newest hole in the old ceiling of the base glanced upward. What does this mean?

But the empty blue sky held no answers.

[...and Life and Death continue on...]
[...unhindered...]

Thor's blue eyes focused vaguely on the pale face above him and then blonde-haired man, noticing Loki's worried and scared and angry expression, grinned. He is going to be beside himself – but I really do feel fine. More than fine... Which is - oh!

"Thor?" Loki asked, his green eyes widening as Thor sat up. The dark-haired prince stared at his older brother, stunned. "You-"
"I feel great," Thor rose to his feet – and as he did so, light gathered around about him, swirling round about as his abilities returned in one overriding wave, reconstituting the armor which had been gifted to him at his Koma a Aldur upon drinking from the Velspara-Speki.

The old speech, the All-Speech, returned in its fullness, bringing back memories which had begun to dull and fade with time. Memories of ancient celebrations and deep knowledge and the visions which he had faced at the Well. As the chain mail encased his arms and as his favored breast plate and leathers settled around him with a familiar weight, Thor clenched his left hand in amazement. Far away, he could feel her.

She is coming. Mjolnir. Thor's smile grew and the young man glanced over at the pale face of Loki whose thin hands were sparking green fire. Did the idiot try to heal me? I told him not to push himself!

"Loki-" He said, voice lowering.
"I am fine," Loki insisted. "Don't let down your guard. He remained, expecting to gloat, no doubt - but this has been a surprise make no mistake."

The now reinstated Asgardian prince turned to face the enemy who looked on, half intrigued and half shocked. Flarathir's dark eyes glittered as he glanced between the two Princes who now stared him down with renewed determination. However, Thor's hammer had as yet to present itself and Loki looked even whiter than usual. Flarathir, contemplating the younger prince, smiled.

"So Thor returns," Flarathir laughed, "and the world will right itself once more." He laughed again. "Or perhaps not."
"Let this madness go," Thor said softly, stepping forward, eyes on the Staff in Flarathir's hands. "It is an illusion of despair that grips you – and hope is there for the taking."
"Hope?" Flarathir sneered and gestured with his staff at Loki who gazed back unmoving. "Hope is the illusion. Your whole life is a lie, Odinsson, and you are surrounded with lies whispered by liars. Did not Laufey-King of Jotunheim say that Odin's house is full of traitors?"
"If you think to bait me with such words," Thor smiled, "you are too late."
"You do not wish to know the truth?" asked Flarathir.
"The truth?" mused Thor. "What is truth to one blinded by despair?"
"Despair has turned me to other sights, other visions," Flarathir smiled then. "Such truths that no one desires to face. Such truths... Take your brother for example."
"My brother? Loki?" Thor asked, blue eyes glinting. "What slander do you wish to spread now?"
"Nothing but truth, my prince," Flarathir returned and his eyes seemed distant as he focused on the faint glow of the gem within the Staff.

It whispered – and Loki could hear the faint call echoes of madness, of an eternally corrupt Titan entwined with the taunting of the Gem.

...HERE...
...THE DARKNESS AND THE LIGHT...
...AND THE FIRE AND THE ICE...
...DESTROY IT ALL...

"I can hear it. It has shown me the truth," Flarathir continued on, his voice dropping to a harsh whisper. "The one who is your brother is also your greatest enemy. One of the beasts you swore to slay on many occasions in Odin's feast hall."
"Ah," Thor said quietly. "I was young then."
"He is Jotunn!" hissed Flarathir and he whipped round to Loki and his right fingers twisted in a sigil, forming a small ball of light. "You cannot deny your heritage, creature of ice!"

With that, the light sparked forward, hitting Loki hard enough to fall back a few steps and then collapse forward to his knees, coughing as the working coursed through his body and broke through his weak attempt at shape-shifting. Thor with a sharp cry, bound forward.

"Loki!" His great warm hand rested momentarily on Loki's bonier shoulder. "Are you-"
"I am fine," whispered Loki, unwillingly allowing his red eyes to meet Thor's blue. "It is only a working for disspellment."
"You turned again," Thor smiled and then his face hardened and his eyes glinted like sharp jewels. "What did was the man thinking?"
"He hopes to turn you against me... turn us against each other," Loki said softly. "As our ancestors did in times of old."
"We know differently," Thor turned and gazed at Flarathir with an unimpressed look. "I knew he was Jotunn-"
"You could not – how could-" spluttered Flarathir. "It was a secret only known to a few!"
"Families don't keep secrets," Thor said. "Sometimes they do, but the intentions are for protection and in the end, the truth will out. Loki may be Jotunn-"
"He is the son of Laufey-King!" Flarathir voice cracked as mad fury wracked the aged Asgardian. "He is the very image of what you hated-"
"He is Loki," Thor replied calmly. "He is my brother – and together, we will bring you to Asgard for reckoning whether you will it or no."
"Such confidence," snarled Flarathir, all calm now stripped away. "When we next meet, the tables of Fate will have turned and I will bring sanity to this mad world."

With that, the mage spun and disappeared with the wave of his hand and a wash of blue fire.

"It is you who is mad," Thor told the air.
"Thor," Loki said, his dark lips curving up in a small smile. "You-"
"Why are you so surprised?" Thor rolled his eyes. "We talked about this already. You may be Jotunn, but you are also my friend. Even more important, you are my brother, you are family. Loki, you had a choice, didn't you?"
"A choice?"
"In that ship you rode, the, uh..."
"The Sarcofagi?" Loki asked. "I had a choice, I suppose."
"You could have chosen Asgard and mother. In the end, you thought of Earth."
"I thought of you," corrected Loki and then froze and a dark purple flush rose in his cheeks. "I see your point. However, we have much to do. Getting the medics in here to look at your friend is the first step."
"Oh, by the Norns," breathed Thor and he darted to the door, let the medical unit in, and only after Coulson was strapped to a wheeled stretcher, would he allow Loki to draw him away.

[...there are no turning tides...]
[...only the illusion of change...]
[...and yet...]
[...yet...]

When Thor strode into the main conference room by Director Fury's now damaged control room, everyone fell silent. As the tall blonde handed the tablet he retrieved over to a suddenly quiet Stark, Thor looked around, obviously unaware of the confusion (and slight awe) which had fallen over the room upon his entrance. Loki, leaning back against a nearby railing, folded his arms and sighed.

As usual, Thor impresses wherever he goes, Loki thought with mild disgust and a slight tinge of envy. Yet, underneath his frown, the exiled prince felt a bit of relief and happiness. Thor deserved it, he had to admit. Thor has grown in ways I never expected. I suppose in the end it was a lesson he had to learn on his own and he needed to be away from everyone in Asgard to truly understand what it means to mature, to be a man, to be a king...

"Uh, does Thor look different to anyone else?" Stark finally had to speak up. "I mean – did he stop by and get suited up or something?"
"The armor is new to me," Steve glanced evaluatingly at his friend. "What happened, Thor?"
"My abilities returned!" Thor smiled. "It is truly a day for rejoicing! If we were in Asgard and in more peaceful times, I would have us all go to a mead house and celebrate all night."
"He's even talking differently," Stark said. "I suppose it goes with the drapes."
"Drapes?" asked Hill with a snort.
"Yeah, totally Shakespeare in the park," Stark shook his head, flicking his tablet on and starting it up.
"Mjolnir has not yet returned, but she will be here soon," Thor smiled.
"We heard about that," Fury said briefly. "Congratulations."
"Mjolnir?" asked Steve. "Like... the hammer in mythology? It really exists?"
"Top secret," Fury said briefly.
"Yes," Loki said. "It is a weapon that was forged in the heart of a star with uru, a powerful metal. Mjolnir has a long history and was handed down from father to son in Asgard – and it only answers to the righteous of heart."
"Namely Thor," Steve said.
"I suppose," Loki frowned. "Righteous might be too strong a word."
"I am righteous!" Thor protested with a wide grin. "I am filled with righteous fervor!"
"Fervor, yes." Loki deadpanned.
"Where is Natasha?" asked Steve, swiveling around. "She'd love to see this."
"She's with Barton," Fury said. "Thanks to Thor and Loki, we were able to save Coulson from near death – and the ship is saved thanks to our combined efforts. More good news on Barton as well. He has been returned to, well, sanity thanks to Natasha managing to see him and rescue him in time."
"I heard she hit him on the head and dragged him back to her cave," Stark smirked.
"Well, we get things done," Hill said and added with an unimpressed stare, "unlike others."
"I got the ship fixed!" protested Stark. "Sort of. And I've pinpointed the location of the Tesseract."
"It is on a tall building in a large city by the sea," Loki said. "The building has a name like y-"
"Holy shit! It's Stark Tower! The bastard hooked the Tesseract up to Stark Tower!" Stark glared at everyone (but Loki thought he also looked a little pleased). "I take offense at that."
"We should go and shut it down," Steve rose to his feet. "I'm sure Natasha will want to know-"
"I know," Nastasha's voice cut through the sudden rising chatter at Stark's announcement. "Clint is going to go with us."
"Should he-" Hill hesitated and glanced at Fury.
"He will be going," Natasha shook her head. "He needs to go."
"Well, this is that day," Fury looked around the table. "We had had a dream – an idea, an initiative-"
"Here he goes," muttered Stark.
"The Avengers," Steve said. "Is that what this is?"
"A bunch of messed up people trying to save the world?" Natasha asked skeptically. "We can barely stand each other. And Banner's missing."
"He'll turn up," Fury said with a sigh. "I have a feeling. The Other Guy is indestructible."
"Where did he go?" asked Stark.
"Jumped off the Helicarrier after we baited him with a quinjet," Hill said. "Pilot had to evacuate and the quinjet is totaled."
"Not the Hulk," Stark laughed. "I bet he'll be waiting for us in New York."
"So the Avengers will form?" Fury caught each of their gazes. "Captain America, Iron Man, Black Widow, Hawkeye and Thor."
"And Loki," Thor said firmly. "Loki goes wherever I go."

Loki rolled his eyes but deep down he felt relieved. Moving closer to the table, Loki glanced at the red-haired woman and gave her a nod of acknowledgment which Natasha returned with a small smile of thanks.

"I have only worked with a few of you," Loki said quietly, "and for only a short time, but I believe much may happen if we are not afraid to grab hold of our collective destiny."
"That will only happen if we can agree to work together," Thor nodded. "Working together may be difficult, but I agree with the Director. As a team, as the Avengers, we can make a difference – we can save this world!"
"If you all rise to what you can be," Loki added soberly, "you will save more than this world."
"What does that mean?" asked Stark.

Fury said nothing but his dark brown eyes rested on Loki thoughtfully for a few seconds before moving onward. Setting aside his own tablet, the dark-skinned man smiled grimly.

"So the Avengers have been formed – perhaps not the original Avengers I had envisioned, but this is even better than I had hoped." He paused before continuing. "I will gather as much intel as I can for you guys in an hour. Hopefully, we'll have a general idea of what is going on before we send you down. Within an hour, you will be on a quinjet and heading down. The helicarrier will catch up half an hour later and provide ground and air support if needed – but from a distance since we are still under prepares and cannot hope to hold our own in actual battle."
"Sounds like a plan," Steve nodded. "We'll go in, stop the Tesseract, shut down the wormhole if it opens before we get there."
"Save the day, no biggie." Stark shrugged. "What you say to getting it done before dinner?"
"I think a celebratory dinner afterwards should happen," Thor agreed. "With much mead!"
"Let's first get the Tesseract back, get the staff back, and get on our way home," Loki muttered.
"Agreed," Natasha sighed and rolled her eyes. "Boys."

[...so unlikely heroes bond...]
[...the battle begins...]
[...the great city of steel and glass...]
[...glitters brightly beneath the sun...]
[...and above...]
[...above...]

When the quinjet zoomed down through the white clouds above New York, the newly-formed Avengers' fell into grim silence at the sight which lay before them. As Stark and Loki had predicted, a glint of metal atop the Stark Tower clearly declared where the Tesseract had been placed. As the ship swooped closer, a giant beam shot upward into the sky and the clouds began to swirl wider and wider as a giant black eye formed in the sky.

"The door has opened," Clint said, his fists clenching. "We couldn't stop it after all."
"Perhaps we never could," Loki's voice sounded a little faint.
"Loki-"
"I am fine, Thor," Loki reassured his older brother. "The Voices..." Thor watched his brother with concern as Loki finally admitted: "They are overwhelming at times. It is easy to get lost-"
"You won't get lost with me here," Thor said firmly. "Not if I have any say about it."
"If it happened, you wouldn't be able to stop it-"
"You aren't going to go anywhere I can't find you," Thor repeated. "Not this time."

Loki's quirk of a smile was brief but it relieved Thor a little. Too easily he falls into despair, he thought, but this Loki is learning a little. He has found some kind of hope within him – it is still small, but it is there...

"I will hold you to that promise," Loki finally said.

As the plane jostled against the buffeting winds which swept around the proud buildings and finally came to land in a nearby park which was now emptying of fleeing, panicking, screaming Midgardians, Loki stood a little closer to his older brother. As the ramp lowered to green grass and the sure promise of an oncoming army, Thor smiled.

You said it, brother – we are taking hold of our destinies. They may not have been the Fates we expected, he mused, but they are gifts nevertheless. These little things, these unlooked for experiences will teach us of a brighter path than we had envisioned. As the Midgardians say, let's take what we can get.

Blue eyes rose and glinted at the familiar whirring sound and a familiar weight met his hand and the soft leathers of Mjolnir filled his palm as his fist closed around his other soul.

We are not passive nor immutable, Thor's grin widened as he raised his hammer and summoned lightning. While there is life, while there is change, there is hope.

[...yes...]
[...change comes...]

ALMOST DONE THE EARTH PORTION OF THIS STORY AND THEN BACK TO ASGARD AND CLIMAX OMG SO EXCITED. SIGH.

Ok~! Let me know what you think and if you love this story, be sure to let the folks at Inkitt know~ Thanks~!

Koma a Aldur – Coming of Age
Velspara-Speki – the Well (of Deep Knowledge, Wisdom)