As the Odinson brothers hugged each other more tightly, the others gathered around them. Loki suddenly opened his eyes, noticing something was missing.

"Oh, hold on. Where are my manners? Thor, where's your right arm?"

"Loki-" Thor warned.

"Ah, there it is!" Loki held out his hand, bringing the severed limb into it with his telekinesis. "Hold still, Brother." Thor gave a confused look as Loki carefully pressed the arm where it belonged on Thor's body, and his other hand glowed green around the joint. Thor's eyes widened as he felt his tendons reconnecting, and he attempted to move his arm. "No no, don't move it yet!" Loki warned as he continued his spell, and after the inside was healed, the skin around it followed suit until it was fully healed. "There, good as new!"

"I didn't know you could heal that well!" Thor said as he stretched his reattached arm, testing his grip with Stormbreaker. "Is this power how you keep coming back from the dead?"

"Ehehehe, not quite. It's a relatively new ability."

Thor beamed. "The sun is indeed shining on us again, Brother!"

"So, your dead brother's alive again?" Rocket asked. "Pretty freaky day."

Loki blinked. "Did that rabbit just talk?"

"Yes. These are my new friends, The Galaxy Guardians." Thor introduced.

"It's 'Guardians of the Galaxy,' man! Get our name right!" Starlord insisted.

"This is Peter Quill, the captain. I'm sure you remember Jane."

"Ah yes, your woman from Earth." Loki recalled.

"Actually, we broke up." Jane told him.

Loki peered down at the cracked Mjolnir. "Well, I can't say I blame him. If I were Thor and you did that to my favorite weapon, I'd likely want to break up as well!"

"I didn't break his hammer!" Jane protested.

"He's making a silly joke, Jane: he knows full well it was our sister who broke Mjolnir. He was there with me when it happened!"

"Wha- what!?" Loki stared at Thor incredulously as he heard this. "WE HAVE A SISTER!?" He turned to Mobius, who nodded, having come out from underground with Jörmungandr.

Thor crinkled his eyebrows. "How could you not remember her!? She tried to kill us both, stranded us on Sakaar, took the throne and almost killed everyone… it took the destruction of our entire realm to kill her!"

"Well, if she was Odin's daughter, I'm sure she was no angel…"

"Loki, I don't know what kind of game you're playing-"

"He's not playing any game: he hasn't met her yet." Mobius interjected. "This Loki isn't from your time; none of us are, actually."

"What?"

"He's right. You might want to sit down, it's a bit of a story." And so Loki recapped his tale, from the failed time heist to his meeting Mobius and Sylvie, to their taking down the Time Variance Authority, up to their forming The Time Detectives. "And so after we defeated the Kangs, with some assistance from the other Lokis, the sorcerers of Bleecker Street, and the insect people, the three of us have been working as detectives, solving crimes and mysteries across the multiple universes, or multiverse, throughout history, and our criminal of the day is Gorr the God Butcher!"

"Gorr the God Butcher." Thor repeated. "So, my Loki really is dead?"

"I… I couldn't say for certain. I met a Loki who fooled Thanos into thinking he was dead with a very convincing illusion, disguised himself as debris from the ship, and exiled himself to a deserted planet. He may very well be out there somewhere. Speaking of alternate me's, I've like to introduce you to my new friends! This is Sylvie the Enchantress, formerly known as the rare female Loki, and currently known as my fiancée."

"That's me. Nice to meet you, Thor." Sylvie greeted.

"Fiancée? Oh my goodness, congratulations, Loki!" Thor heartily shook her hand. "Uh, Lokis! So that makes… at least 3 Lokis here now?"

"At least!" The couple replied in unison.

"I'm Mobius M. Mobius, his detective partner, close friend, and personal therapist. I've met a lot of Lokis in my past work, but you're the first Thor I've ever talked to, to be honest!"

Thor's attention was drawn next to the Korbinite in armor that resembled his past attire. "And… is this another version of me, as a horse? With another version of Stormbreaker?"

"Nay, I am Beta Ray Bill. Your father forged me thi-"

"He is a horse! I heard him just say 'neigh!'" Drax interrupted.

"Nay, that is not-"

"Neigh~! There, he said it again!" Mantis said excitedly. "Neighhh~"

"Ignore them." Thor advised, and Bill told him his story while Thor's literal-minded friends continued to blissfully neigh at each other. Fandral caught up with his good friend Sif, and Loki told Thor how he met Gorr and what took place in New Asgard.

"So, should we track down where our god butcher ran off to?" Mobius suggested.

"I think we should return to New Asgard first." Sif said. "They'll need to see you're alive and well, Thor, especially after they just lost their king."

Thor nodded. "Then let's ride!" They all followed him to his goat-drawn chariot, and before long, they flew them over New Asgard. Below they saw Korg and Miek, who looked up and waved as they were working with a few others to repair damages to their home from the fight.

"Hey, Thor's returned!" The Kronan excitedly announced. "Excuse me guys, I've gotta go tell the new king!"

Thor looked confused as Korg ran off. "Where's Korg going?"

"The new king wanted him to let him know where you were, as soon as you returned!" An Asgardian explained. "We weren't really sure if you would this time."

"New king!? What new king?"

"Him!" He pointed to a nearby rooftop, where out of a green portal emerged the present day Loki in his regal ensemble.

"Is that…" 2012 Loki wondered.

"The Loki we dreamed about, yes!" Grievance finished.

"Brother, you've come home at last!" King Loki smirked as he addressed Thor. He removed his helmet, revealing a mane of long, flowing, curly black hair that reached down past his thighs.

"He is alive!" Thor gasped. He turned to Detective Loki, and when King Loki noticed this, he stared in bewilderment at his other self. Detective Loki gazed back, not in confusion, but ensorcelled at the sight of himself with such long, luscious locks!

"What is this!?" The new king inquired. "You think you can just replace me with another shapeshifter!?"

"Loki, he's you, from the past. Tell him, Loki." Thor nudged the other Loki as he continued to stare longingly at his future self, at a loss for words. "Loki!" Thor tossed a small rock at his head, but he didn't even flinch as it hit his helmet.

"LOKI!" Sylvie yelled, finally getting his attention.

"Yes?" Both Lokis asked together.

Mobius raised an eyebrow and whispered. "Loki, you're not mentally cheating on yourself with your other self, are you?"

"No, don't be absurd!"

"I saw a fantasy in your mind of him riding horseback into the sunset that says otherwise!"

"Don't you dare tell Sylvie about that, Grievance! I'm still entitled to my private thoughts, yet imagining him riding on my back is still extremely tame for me!"

"Brother, where have you been all these years?" Thor interrogated.

"Where have I been!? I have been keeping you safe! Where have you been when your people needed you!?"

"Where have you been when I needed you!?"

King Loki scoffed. "You didn't need me, Thor. You needed someone to bully and coerce and blame for your problems until you feel better about yourself, like you always do when you find me!"

"Can you really blame me, when you keep faking your death and hiding from me!?"

"You abandoned your people to drink your life away and go on adventures. I left so I wouldn't put them in any more danger, but I came back when I heard there was a monster in the vicinity slaying gods! I returned to Midgard, in spite of myself, to be sure you didn't get yourself killed!"

"Then why did you remain here instead of fighting by my side? You could have asked the wizard where I was!"

"Because the king you appointed was gone, and our people needed someone to protect them! They begged me to take the throne! They need a king, and if you won't take responsibility, I will!"

Thor slowly nodded at the two Lokis. "Ah. So this is what your game is."

"I beg your pardon?"

"Come on, Loki, I know you! This whole thing, this whole time you've been waiting for your golden opportunity to seize the throne of Asgard, like you've always wanted! Gorr was just a means to an end for you, a fortunate turn of events, a trick so you could win everyone's admiration while this other you had me fooled. I'll admit, this is your most elaborate scheme yet, Brother, but I told you, you're just too predictable!"

King Loki shook his head. "No, this is no trick, Brother, this is real." He smirked. "You just can't admit that I'm a better king than you."

"No Loki, you're the one who's obsessed with being better than me. Always have been, always will be." Thor finished as his present brother glared at him. The glare was interrupted as Detective Loki chucked Thor's rock back at him, coated in a layer of snow, hitting Thor square in the back of the head.

"Would you two put an end to this petty bickering and hug already?!"

Present Day Loki glared at his variant. "And would you kindly stay out of this? This is my brother, not yours! Go back to your own time, thank you!"

"Regardless of when he's from, he's still been a better brother to me than you have!" Thor angrily replied. "Even if he's merely been a pawn in your master plan, as I have been!"

"That's enough!" Detective Loki shouted. He sighed. "The throne of New Asgard is not of importance right now. There's a god butcher still out there plotting our demise, Thor, you do realize that? We haven't the time to waste on your imagined slights!"

That line was enough to finally elicit a smile out of King Loki as Detective Loki reciprocated the expression. Thor gave the duo a half guilty, half irritated look, and the former Loki's smile quickly faded.

"You're right, this is a waste of our time. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a kingdom to run." King Loki teleported away from them. Detective Loki turned away as a single tear fell from his eye.

"You alright?" Mobius asked.

"I am, he isn't." His partner responded. "He needs a friend to talk to, though unfortunately, his brother's too stubborn for a heart-to-heart at the moment."

"Well, if you ask me, I'd say the stubbornness was two-sided, but I agree: he does seem pretty lonely! Maybe I should talk to him: I've been told I'm pretty good at getting through to Lokis!"

"Be that as it may, when we had our first sessions, I was under restraints, unable to readily harm you. You don't have that luxury here, and he certainly doesn't need to be threatened any further! What he really needs is a hug, a kind word, something from his brother to let him know he's loved." Loki beckoned his friends to follow him as he approached Thor. "Thor, wait!"

"What now, other Loki? What trick do you have up your sleeve for me?"

"Something you're in desperate need of today, namely common sense. It's good that you're no longer the gullible fool I grew up with, but your brother needs you, whether he'll admit it or not."

"Does he? He has the throne: that's what he wants!"

"No, he only wanted the throne to make Odin proud of him, to feel needed in some degree. What he wants is to be reassured that his family loves him, and I know you do! Tell him."

Thor paused. "How do I know I can trust you?"

Before Loki could answer, Mobius spoke. "For eons, my job was to hunt down time criminals, mostly Lokis. As an analyst, I studied Loki's life, learned everything I could about him to better understand him, and when I partnered with this Loki, I was wary of trusting him too. Heck, he tried to trick me on our very first assignment! But I also believed in him, believed he had the potential to do a lot of good, and we became friends, his first real friend. After that, he risked everything to free me from the Kangs, and he hasn't turned from my side since. Now, I trust him with my life." Loki beamed at his friend's speech, and Thor grinned, surprised yet delighted to hear this.

"I didn't trust him either." Sylvie stated. "I've been hunted since I was a child, and I despised every label the TVA gave me, being born a Loki, even my old name. I wanted nothing to do with anything Loki-like, especially him, and even after we became intimate, and he risked his life to help me find the man in charge, I still didn't trust him. He tried to warn me to think things through, but I wanted revenge, and I believed Loki was using me the whole time to take Kang's throne." She shook her head. "But I was wrong, and even after I betrayed him, he stopped at nothing to find me, just because he wanted to make sure I was okay." Sylvie began to tear up. "He's taught me to love being a Loki, and I wouldn't doubt that he loves you more than a throne either."

As Loki started tearing up with her, Thor's smile grew wider, and he turned to Beta Ray Bill as the Korbinite added his testimony. "I was held prisoner on Sakaar for years, forced to fight as the Grandmaster's champion in my time. When I faced your brother, he fought only to distract my captor while he freed the other slaves and me. He even proved himself worthy to take my Stormbreaker, and Odin enchanted it so only the noblest of souls could lift it." Thor's eyes widened in disbelief. "Yet he gave up my weapon without hesitation to save his friend. I trust him with my life as well."

"As do I!" Fandral joined in. "As someone familiar with Loki and his schemes, I had my doubts as well. But when the girl I was seeing turned out to be a murderess and villainized me, I was taken aback when Loki, of all people, defended me, despite allowing himself to be villainized in the process and giving up his reward. He's somehow changed from a liar to a seeker of the truth, and to be honest, I feel closer to him now that I have in over a thousand years!"

"Yeah, he's not like the stories described him at all!" Fiamma added. "He turned down my offer of power and ruling the galaxy in favor of helping and protecting the weak from my fiery reign. Speaking of Loki…" She left the group in search of King Loki.

Thor nodded and looked to Maui. "Oh, hey, Maui, hero of the oceans. I just met him: I don't have any heartwarming stories yet." He spoke through the translator Mobius gave him. "He did promise me a jet ski when we're done, though, and I'm holding him to it."

Thor beamed, feeling proud and happy for his little brother, having so many loyal friends. He looked around at them. "Thank you all for sharing. Honestly, you had me convinced after the first one, I just wanted to hear all the wonderful things you had to say about my little brother."

Suddenly, Grievance popped out of Loki's chest. "I trust him too, but I live in his body, so I kind of have to!"

"AAAAGH!" Thor screamed in fright. He readied Stormbreaker, but Loki protected his Symbiote.

"No, don't Thor, this is Grievance, he's on my side! He's my friend as well."

"I…I am?"

"You certainly are!"

"Awww." A tear dripped from Grievance's eye.

"So, Brother, will you please give your Loki another chance?"

Thor patted him on the shoulders. "I will."

Elsewhere on Earth, in the deep, dark depths of a frigid underground cave, Gorr had nearly recovered from his fight. He raised All-Black, which had healed before he did. "These gods of Asgard must be dealt with before I can snuff out the rest. Come forth, creatures of darkness!" A horde of black, spiky, Symbiote-like monsters with razor-sharp teeth and spider-like appendages on their backs emerged from the Necrosword and filled the cave. Gorr grinned maliciously as he beheld his army. "Go now, to New Asgard! Kill every god in sight!"