Hi readers! Sorry this chapter took a bit long, but there was a lot of different emotions to write, and it's been a busy weekend preparing my Loki cosplay for Love and Thunder's release this past weekend! Still, I won't spoil the movie in my story!

One note to help with all the confusion of this case: the Loki from this Thor's present-day/2025 timeline who was temporarily given the throne will be referred to here as King Loki.

Detective Loki is naturally the Loki from his Disney Plus series, snatched from 2012, whose adventure we've been following in this fanfiction!

"So, any idea where he went?" Korg asked.

"Let's see… if I were angry with Thor, where would I teleport off to?" Detective Loki pondered. "He couldn't have gotten far by teleporting via magic, but he could easily shapeshift and blend in with a crowd, a small group, or even a flock of pigeons!"

"But I doubt he's hiding." Mobius figured. "He said he's got a kingdom to run, a responsibility, so he's most likely somewhere with his people."

"So, he's probably showing off somewhere, making a spectacle of himself to prove himself king. Perhaps he's-"

"He's somewhere with the biggest audience to win over." Thor deduced. "The New Asgard stage is where we'll find him."

"Hey, do you mind!?" Loki snipped. "Leave the deductions to the detectives, please!"

Thor gave an amused smile. "Of course: go ahead, detective."

Mobius put a hand to his chin. "I think Thor's onto something here. He is your brother: he doesn't need to be a detective to know you, king or not."

"Speaking of kings… you were there when Valkyrie died?"

"I was." Loki's expression turned somber. "She fought valiantly, gave her life for her people. But there was nothing I could do to save her, nor to stop her. I'm sorry. Were you and Brunhilde close?"

"Brunhilde?" Thor repeated, puzzled.

"Yes, the Valkyrie, who y-" Loki raised his eyebrows scoldingly. "You didn't even know her name, yet you appointed her king of Asgard!?"

"I thought for sure her name was Valkyrie!"

"No! Valkyrie isn't a name, it's a profession! That's- that's like assuming our father's first name was Allfather. Does anyone call you Thor Allfatherson? For Odin's sake, you're just as thickheaded as you were in my timeline!"

"I… I knew all I needed to know about her: she had leadership qualities and, like you said, loyalty to her people!"

"Did you know about her history of trafficking people into fighting to the death for others' amusement?"

"Yes, I did know that!" Thor proudly admitted, but his expression quickly sombered as well as he saw his brother's disapproving look. "I mean, yes, unfortunately I did experience that firsthand, but she's changed, just like you, so… she's good!" He emphasized with a thumbs up.

"Hey, are you gonna go talk to the other Loki before he leaves the realm?" Mobius asked.

Thor nodded and left for where the Loki from his timeline went, while Korg showed Fandral and Sif around New Asgard, filling them in on what happened to their old home on the way. The New Asgardians had been shocked enough to see two Lokis, but when they saw his terrifying Symbiote appear from the time-traveling Loki, they began to talk among themselves until the aforementioned Loki noticed.

"Oh, don't worry about Grievance: like I told Thor, he's on our side, so the next brain he'll be eating is the god butcher's! And he wouldn't dare harm anyone here, would you, Grievance?"

"I wouldn't dare."

An Asgardian stepped forward. "Hey, that thing was with you when you fought that god butcher, when it brought you back to life, right?"

"That's correct."

"Then that means… you're the one who risked your life for us! So you're our savior, not that other Loki!"

"Well, yes, but I'm-"

"Yes, you're the one who deserves the throne." Another citizen agreed. "We should have guessed our trickster would try to deceive us again!"

"Now hold on!" Loki interjected. "He can have the throne: I don't need it! I'm a detective from another universe: it's been lovely seeing all of you again, but I don't even belong here. I'm merely here to stop a dangerous criminal, after which my partners and I shall return to our headquarters until the next mystery calls."

"Then who will lead us after you leave?"

"Well… that's not really for me to say, but… well, the other Loki may not have fought off Gorr yet, but he did risk his life saving Thor from Thanos. We're basically the same person, capable of the same things, and I'm certain that when the time comes, he'll prove himself as worthy to lead you as me or any Loki!"

"What about Thor?" Another Asgardian asked him.

"He's going to have a nice, reconciling chat with the other me, so I'm sure the two of them will work something out."

"Get away from me! Please, I want nothing to do with you!" King Loki shouted.

"Are you certain?" Fiamma asked seductively as the common-folk kept their distance, remembering all too well their last experience with a Fire Giant. She leaned in closer to their current leader. "A fine king like you and a powerful giantess like me, we'd be a literal power couple. You seem like the kind of Loki who'd appreciate the kind of power a union of fire and ice can create!"

"I seldom use my Frost Giant powers, but to get rid of you, I'd gladly make an exception."

"Why? Do you have a fiancée too?"

Loki scrunched his eyebrows. "No. The other Loki is engaged?"

"Yeah, to the female Loki. You, on the other hand, you're all alone… aren't you?"

Loki narrowed his eyes at her. "You have no idea." He pretended not to hear his people muttering to each other, as the news spread fast in their small village, yet their words still wounded him. "So, their making me king was a mistake after all: 'tis another Loki they desire." He slowly nodded as he silently brooded. "I might have known it was all too wonderful to be true. It's a sad… strange day, when I'm overshadowed by another version of myself."

"Thor, wait." Jane stopped her ex-boyfriend as he made his way to his brother.

"Jane, hey! You were really amazing back there, in the battle! First time?"

"Yeah. Listen, there's something I have to tell you. When we broke up, I… I didn't want to worry you, or to hurt you, but, I can't hide it from you any longer… I was diagnosed with cancer. I found Mjolnir about a year ago, after I came back from the blip. When I picked it up, it began to form itself back together somehow, and it gives me your powers and costume when I'm holding it, but…" Jane looked down at herself. "…I thought the healing factors in your hammer might help cure me, but it's actually been doing the opposite: every time I become 'The Mighty Thor,' as I like to call it, it eradicates my chemotherapy instead of my cancer, so whenever I lose Mjolnir…"

"You take one step closer to death." Thor realized. "And still you fight on. Oh, Jane…" He embraced her close and kissed her. "Noble Jane, I can think of none more worthy to wield Mjolnir than you!" Jane passionately kissed him in return, wanting to make the most of the time they had together.

Wiping a tear from his eye, Jane looked Thor in the eyes. "I never thought in a million years I'd be joining you in the superhero business, but we make a great team, don't we?"

"We really do, and we did, long before you had Mjolnir! But please… you have to hold onto Mjolnir as tightly as you can, because if you ever lose it again…" More tears dripped from Thor's eyes. "You can't ever let go, Jane!"

"Never." She smiled and clasped his hands in her. "I'll never let go again."

"I can't lose you again."

She nodded. "Surrender was never in your nature, I remember. Don't worry: you know it's not in mine either." Thor managed a smile, proud of her bravery, in spite of her mortality. After they had a quiet moment to themselves, Jane reminded him. "So, I guess you've gotta make up with your brother then?"

"Hm? Oh, yes! I've got to… yes."

"Good luck with that."

"Thank you." Thor turned around and noticed the Guardians of the Galaxy watching. "Were you spying on us?"

"Yes!" Drax answered honestly.

"No, not a bit! That would be rude!" Rocket said loudly, with blatant sarcasm, and winked.

"Would you quit with the winking? We didn't actually hear anything." Quill admitted. "We're looking out for you, and I happen to know a lot more about the ladies than you do, not bragging though."

"And your point is?" Thor wondered.

"If you really want to impress her, you'll need a crash course from the lord of the dance, which happens to be me, since Kevin Bacon isn't around. Now that kiss was good, but this…" Quill did some energetic shuffles and arm movements, and he spun around into an 80's style pose. "…and you're irresistible!"

"Riiight. Anyways, I've got a brotherly talk to get to, so… I'll just be doing that."

As he speed-walked away, Drax told Quill, "I told you he is the kind that doesn't dance."

"Pfft. His loss."

"Loki!" Thor called as he caught up to his present-day brother, sitting next to him. "Brother listen, I, uh, I'm sorry for what I said back there." Loki looked him in the eyes as he continued. "I really am happy to see you alive and well, it's just… I was just angry because you tricked me again, tricked me into thinking you were dead!" Thor sighed. "But I suppose if I were a Loki coming back from the dead, and my hothead of a brother greeted me with a hammer to the face after I'd saved his life, I'd want to hide from him too."

King Loki grinned. "Thank you. I'll admit, I'm overjoyed to see you too, Brother. I apologize for deceiving you, but…" He sighed as well.

"I want to trust you, I really do, it's just… you've fooled me so many times, I admit, you make it very difficult for me to tell how much of what you say and do is real and how much of it is an illusion."

King Loki gave his Thor a serious look. "Thor, I may lie, to others and myself, with words on occasion, but every time I've stood by you, every emotion I've felt has been one hundred percent real. That is what you can trust."

Thor took his words to heart and decided he'd heard enough. "You grew out your hair, I see."

"Yes, I've spent my years of isolation furthering my sorcery, and as my powers grew, my follicles followed suit. Of course, I didn't have anyone in the vicinity to impress."

"Well, judging from his reaction, I'd say you impressed your other self."

"He's engaged, though: it hardly counts. Your hair grew back rather quickly, I'm sure, but… I'm sorry for the close shave you got stuck with on Sakaar."

"Well, it turns out I'm just as handsome in any cut, so you needn't worry about that."

"Ehehehe. Now who's the one that's overly impressed with yourself? So, Thanos is dead, I take it?"

"Yes, I beheaded him with my new axe!"

"Oh, excellent! And I take it this 'Gorr' is even stronger?"

Thor nodded. "I might have perished if the you from the past hadn't come to my aid. Well, maybe."

King Loki turned to his variant as he joined them, snacking on some grapes. "And how did you, er, I fare so well against him?"

"I know his weakness. He wields a sword of living darkness called All-Black, and All-Black also happens to be the same kind of symbiotic alien being that I befriended on my last case, in my detective work. He feeds off of intense negative emotions, which Gorr has in excess: that's how their bond formed, and he's weak to fire and extreme heat! Unfortunately, Gorr's hatred of gods is too great for me to reason with him, and my firepower alone couldn't harm him, so I gathered some allies, and with our combined abilities, we sent him fleeing for his life! Will you join us? We could certainly use another Loki on our team!"

"Hmmm…" King Loki considered him, eying Lævateinn. "Where did you acquire that sword?"

"From us as a child. He's a king too, as a matter of fact!" Detective Loki paused as he glanced at his doppleganger's fingers. "Did you paint your fingernails black!?"

"Actually, I colored them with magic, so they won't fade."

"Ooh, they are splendid!"

"Thank you. Now, even if I were tempted to join you in your mission, I told you, I have a responsibility to my people!"

"Our people are safe, Your Majesty. I convinced Gorr that they're not gods."

"You'd do well not to mock me, especially when asking for a favor!"

"Oh, no, that wasn't sarcasm that time! I love being called 'Your Majesty,' so naturally, I assume you do as well!" Detective Loki clarified. "If I can't say anything nice to myself, after all, where does that leave me?"

"Okay, this is getting weird." Thor remarked. "Join us, Brother, and I promise the throne will be here for you when we return!"

"…that's not- you don't understand-"

"Then help me understand, Brother. If I can trust you, you can trust me." Thor held his arms out for a hug. His Loki hesitated, but as he slowly approached his older sibling, he heard a shout.

"Thor!" Sif ran between them and pushed Thor away as a sharp black appendage pierced the ground on where he just stood. The gang looked around them as All-Black's creations began to surround them.

"No one told me he had an army! Asgardians, to the sanctuary!" King Loki yelled as the monsters went after the civilians. "Alright, Brother, let's fight side-by-side once more!"

As the Asgardians and other refugees fled to safety, Thor tossed Stormbreaker, slicing through a row of the dark creatures, while the Lokis blasted them with fire! Jane mowed down another group with Mjolnir, while Sif, Fandral, and Hercules stabbed them with their blades. While Stormbreaker spun from one monster to another, Thor punched and kicked more creatures of darkness away from the innocent people, his fists and feet crackling with electricity.

"Let your fire burn, Brother!" Thor shouted, and both Lokis ignited the flames from both Stormbreaker's and Thor's lightning. However, hordes more came and surrounded the heroes before long.

"I've got this!" Jane Foster threw Mjolnir, striking one of the dark beasts through the head, and then the cracked pieces of the hammer separated and hit the surrounding monsters, lightning surging through them all!

"I didn't know Mjolnir could do that!" Thor said, astonished.

"It's a Mighty Thor thing." His sweetheart replied.

As the forces of good gathered together, Thor, Jane, and Beta Ray Bill shot lightning bolts down from the sky, while the Lokis, Sylvie, Frelsir, Fiamma, and Maui ignited the electricity, and the explosions blew their enemies back a great distance. Jörmungandr tore the creatures apart with his fangs. Even Korg and Miek fought back to back while the last of the citizens got to safety, but they were suddenly surrounded too!

"Uh guys, there's too many of them, and these black spiky puddle monsters are really creeping me out!" Korg yelled.

"Don't be frightened, Korg!" Detective Loki called. "Pretend they're your mum's boyfriend!" Korg gasped, and he charged at them with the fury of an avalanche!

"YOU WILL NEVER BE MY DADDDDD! YAAAAAAA-" He body slammed the monsters away from him and his friend and sent the rest flying with large rocky projectiles! The Guardians of the Galaxy joined in, shooting blasters and deadly vines through the enemy forces.

"Do not let them kill any gods!" Grievance warned his Loki. "The more gods All-Black and his spawn butchers, the more powerful he and his host become!"

"As if we were going to let them otherwise?" Detective Loki turned to his variant. "We need to find where Gorr and All-Black are now, or these monsters will just keep coming until we're all dead!"

King Loki had just set another group of monsters on fire as they shrieked. "Well, it seems they can feel pain, at the very least. Let's find out just how sentient these beings are!" He teleported behind one and grabbed it by the back of the head, and his hand glowed green as he looked into its mind. He then let go and stabbed it between the eyes with a dagger. "It seems they do possess a mind, albeit a simple, hive mind. Gorr is deep under the Earth's crust, hiding in the darkness while his body heals. Let's put a halt to that."