The chains rubbed against Loki's neck, wrists, hips, and ankles hard and clanged loudly. Their noises echoed throughout Asgard's throne room. The more than a dozen guards surrounding him held his chains tight, careful to make sure he walked in a straight line directly to Odin sitting on his throne, and Frigga standing at the bottom of the golden steps.
"Loki," Odin's voice bellowed, "you stand before me in chains for committing crimes against the Midgardians. What have you to say for yourself?"
"That it is true," he replied, "that I, Loki of Asgard, went down to Midgard, killed less than a hundred mortals with my own powers, and then attempted to unite them under my rule with the help of the Chititari army. You claim to protect that realm, yet they slaughter and enslave each other, and have been for centuries under your watch. I was merely going to do them the favor of ending such horror."
He said, "End it? Or invoke more? It matters not now. Loki, as a prince, and a subject of Asgard, and as my son-"
Loki spat, "I am not Asgardian, and I am most certainly not your son!"
Upset to hear such a thing, Frigga stepped forward and asked, "And am I not your mother?"
He hesitated, seeing her eyes water hurt his soul, but in his mind, he knew they both knew the truth. "You are not," he said painfully.
She shook her head ever so slightly, as if it were too painful for her to move after hearing such harsh words. "Loki," she said sadly, "all I ask is of you is to please learn from this experience."
"What experience?" he scoffed.
Odin stood up from his throne and explained, "Loki, I am disheartened to see you have become a spoiled prince under my peaceful rule of the nine realms. As such, you know not the horror and the constant fear you placed in the people of Midgard's hearts and minds on this day. You know not the pain of losing family before your eyes to forces beyond your control. You know not the devastation of rebuilding a home on soil soaked in blood." He made it to the bottom of the steps gracefully.
Loki instinctively attempted to step backwards away from him, but the chains stopped him short. "What do you prattle on about?" he demanded.
"Kneel," his father commanded. As he refused, he watched his mother look away, hiding her face.
The guards pulled on Loki's chains hard, forcing him to step forward. As Loki attempted to pull away, another guard rammed a spear into the back of his knee, forcing him to kneel. "What are you doing!?" Loki demanded.
"I, King Odin Borson, the Allfather," he explained, pulling Loki up by his hair, "strip you of your power and take your true memories!"
A bright light washed over Loki as he felt all his strength disolve. Everything turned fuzzy, then black as his eyes rolled back in his head. He fell off to his left side, hitting the ground hand. The chains finally went loose.
Frigga walked up to her son and kneeled beside his unconsious body. "Oh Loki, my son," she whispered, petting his hair.
"I bestow him a new identity," Odin explained, "and sentence him to 10 years as life as a mortal man on Midgard. Any longer than that and the mortals would become suspicious. He is now Leon Olsen and will be given the memories of a man born in London, living in New York City, who witnessed the Chititari incinerate his entire family before his eyes. No one throughout the nine realms will speak the name 'Loki Odinson' in this time."
"Please may he learn from this," Frigga said painfully, then rose to her feet.
Odin used an illusion to change Loki's clothes into a modern white button down and black slacks, and black shoes. A guard walked up with the tesseract in his hands and gave it to him. "I shall place him at the bottom of a collapsed building," he said.
Frigga asked, "Must you be so cruel?"
"I hope it is enough to teach him a lesson in humility," he answered sadly. He used the tesseract to teleport Loki away.
Meanwhile, Frigga quickly dried her eyes. Odin added, "I shall rid us all of his memory-"
"No!" she commanded, "I refuse to forget him! Despite his poor choices, he is still our son, and he is still the second prince of Asgard. I shall keep these memories and bare this pain as his mother. And I expect you, Odin, to do the same as his father."
He looked at her and saw she was serious. "Very well, my queen," he said, "he shall be remembered by all."
One Year Later
Frigga sent her illusion, a copy of herself that could interact with her environment, to New York City, in regular modern American clothes. She stepped inside the local coffee shop on the corner, and couldn't help but smile when she saw Loki working behind the counter. Her smile went away as she overheard the conversation between him and an irate customer.
"I told you when I ordered that I wanted unsweetened iced tea, and this has sugar in it!" A woman shouted at him, "This could kill me!"
"I do apologize, madam," Loki said, looking her over nervously, "would you like a new one?"
She asked, "Can't you strain the sugar out of this one?"
Loki stared at her blank faced and answered, "No, it's simple chemistry. The only thing I can do is have them make a new one." He gestured to the people working behind the counter beside him.
"I don't want a new one," she said, obstanent, "you messed this one up, so I want you to fix it!" She shook it in his face.
Loki replied as calmly as he could muster, "I don't make the drinks, I only put the order in the computer, therefore I can only put in a new order for you. For this mistake there is no extra cost. Would you like that or not?"
"Well since you refuse to fix it!" She threw the iced tea at him and added, "Lazy piece of shit!"
Frigga gasped at the sight as she watched this woman drenge her son in the drink from his face down his shirt and apron. As the woman stormed out, Frigga tripped her and watched her fall on her face and smack against the door. Everyone who had their phones out laughed at her.
Meanwhile, Loki brought a towel to his face and attempted to dry himself off. "Oh you poor dear," Frigga said as she walked up to the counter, "you should take a few minutes to collect yourself."
"I'm fine," he said, patting his shirt dry. He looked up at her. "Oh, it's you again. Hi, Frigga. What can I get you this time?"
"It's okay, Leon," she said gently, "go change your shirt and clean yourself up."
"I'll be alright," he insisted, "you needn't worry so much about me. I know you're partial to strawberries, so would you like the strawberry smoothie this time, or the parfeit?"
She replied, "I'll take the strawberry parfeit." She conjured several twenty dollar bills together and attempted to slip them into the tip jar on the counter.
Loki quickly placed his hand over the opening. "If you enjoy spending your money so much," he said, "you should really go to the Starbucks down the street instead of wasting it here with me."
"I'd rather spend it on you," Frigga insisted, "where I know it's going to a good place." She pried his fingers away and put a hundred and forty dollars into the tip jar. She knew everyone who worked there shared the money, so he wouldn't get everything, but she couldn't resist helping him. "Besides, this is for your new shirt."
"A new shirt doesn't cost so much," he replied, "your total is $6.18."
Frigga handed over the money and said, "The anniversery of the attack on the city is coming up soon. How are you holding up?"
Loki gave her the coins she needed in change and said unconvincingly, "I'm alright, I promise." Frigga watched as tears formed in his eyes. "I still miss everyone I lost, of course, but I'll be fine. You needn't spend so much time worrying over me. If your truly wish to pay it forward for the sake of your son, you should reach out to him instead of wasting your time in here with me."
"I'm afraid he's still lost in this world," she said, "but I refuse to give up on him. It's all a mother can do."
"Frigga!" The barista shouted from the otherside of the counter, "Strawberry parfeit!" She set it on the counter for her.
She replied, "Thank you." As she grabbed it for herself, she watched as her son moved on to the next customer with ease. She sensed his sadness, but she knew as a strange older woman who stopped into the shop every once in a while, she was never going to get closer to him.
Days Later
With the tesseract in his hands, Thor teleported to a New York City alleyway. With the business card off of his mother's wardobe containing the address he needed, he searched for the street numbers on the tall buildings now surrounding him. He checked for the one Loki was supposed to work in. He stopped at a corner, and found the coffee shop name.
Through the window he watched Loki stand behind the counter inside, cleaning up and carrying on working as if he were an ordinary mortal man. When Thor stepped inside, the bell rang and Loki looked up. "We're two minutes from closing-" he froze in place and stared in horror.
"Hi," Thor said gently, "do you recognize me?"
Loki nodded, "You're Thor, the avenger from space! Does this mean we're under attack again? Are aliens invading!?" He backed away against the wall sheer in terror.
"No!" he answered, attempting to calm him down, "It's okay! There's no invasion! You're safe, I promise. Come here." He motioned for him to come closer to the counter. "Earth isn't under attack. You're alright. What's your name?"
"Leon," he answered, stepping to the counter anxiously and motioning to his nametag.
Thor replied, "Hello there, Leon. It's nice to meet you. I'm merely here because I need your help."
Loki gave him a confused look. "What do you want to order?" He gestured awkwardly to the menu overhead and stood next to the register nervously.
"Not that kind of help," he said, "this is going to be difficult to explain. Here, come closer. It's okay. I'm not going to hurt you." He reached out and grabbed Loki's arm as he tried to pull away. "Memories return!"
Loki fell backwards, just narrowly missing the wall behind him, and hit the ground hard as every memory he ever had quickly flooded his brain. He caught his breath and curled up on the floor for a moment. Thor ran around the counter and leaned over him.
"Are you-" Thor started.
Loki hastily interupted, "I remember you!" Thor extended his hand but Loki refused it. Instead he grabbed the counter and struggled to his feet by himself. "I remember everything." He regained his balance and turned to face his brother. "How long have I been trapped here?"
"A year."
"That's all?!" Loki said in disbelief, "It feels like I've been stuck here for at least 30, if not longer." He put his head in his hands and staggered over to the door, locking it up now that the coffee shop was officially closed. "Well, Thor, I know you're not here to pay your brother a visit, so you must have some other purpose for being here."
Thor said bluntly, "Mother is dying."
Loki choked. Was he lying? No, he wouldn't come all this way and return his memories just to lie to him. It must be the truth. "What happened?" he demanded, "Tell me everything! Start from the beginning!"
"Jane Foster was researching the staff you brought to Midgard last year," he explained, "and it somehow created a portal leading her directly to the aether. It possessed her, took over her body, and she began warping reality around herself uncontrollably ever since. Heimdall lost sight of her. I found her and brought her back to Asgard for her own safety, but the dark elves of Svartalheim attacked not long after."
Loki shook his head. "How did they know where to find it?"
"Apparently Malekith, their leader, has been waiting for the aether to reveal itself for ages," Thor answered.
"What does he want with it?" he asked.
"He hasn't said," he replied, "fortunately he didn't get Jane, nor the aether, but Mother fought Makelith herself. He sliced into thigh with a poisoned blade and...and...it appears she's dying." His voice cracked. "She's asked to see you one last time. Father doesn't know I've come to collect you."
Loki could hardly believe everything he had just heard. He took a deep breath before he said, "I can't help her without my magic."
He said, "I don't have your magic. You'll have to take that up with Father, I'm only here on Mother's word." He took the tesseract out from under his cape. "Let's go."