Prologue.
Nightwing stood in front of the table, in the space station. The Watchtower of the Justice League was the center of their operations around the world. It was built by Batman, and funded by a department of Wayne Enterprises.
Basically they sold toys, clothes, snacks, games, and of course Comic books of their 'adventures' to the public. A large portion went into funding the League, and paying relief funds, but a good chunk was also donated to various charities.
Wayne Enterprises actually saw very little profit from their superhero merchandise, but seeing as Batman owned the company that hardly mattered to him. That was just a small portion of their multi billion dollar company anyway.
Taking a breath, Nightwing began the meeting he requested. He didn't usually have much too do with the founding 7 members of the League... but he needed their resources, to find and recruit the kids.
"In recent years," Nightwing began. "The number of superheroes has greatly increased. That includes teenagers. I think we need to start expanding the Titans. You guys already put a lot of resources, into helping your own sidekicks. I just think we need to put more effort, into protecting the others."
"What brought this on," asked one of the Green Lanterns, Hal Jordan.
Nightwing gave a shrug. "This has actually been building for me, and the older Titans. We wanna help the kid heroes, like you guys helped us. But we wanna help all of them. Leaving none to fend for themselves. There are a lot more teenage heroes running around, then when I dawned my kevlar tights."
"Take Static for instance. He's only 15, but we don't do a damn thing to help him. He actually ended up saving OUR asses when Brainiac tried to destroy the world again. The kid might be powerful but he's still a kid. He shouldn't be out there on his own.
"The reason many of you, took in sidekicks, is because you realized, we were going to do this no matter what any older heroes told us. That we have the same drive as yourselves, and all trying to stop us would have done, is encourage us not to go to you, when we were in over our heads.
"So you gave us the tools we needed, to survive this life."
"I realize we can't personally train each kid, one on one. However, The Titans have our own base, which I've been funding with the trust fund Batman gave me... if the League would be willing to help me with funding, and locating the kids.
"We could set up class room like teaching sessions. To help with everything from homework to super villain fights. Teach these kids how to balance their desires for hero work, while not neglecting their personal lives, or academic responsibilities.
"We could use existing resources, to help all teen heroes."
2 Years Later.
Thor growled, "What do you mean he's dead!?"
Hawkeye shrugged as he bent over the body, finding no pulse. "Hulk must have killed him."
"No skin off my teeth," Iron Man shrugged "Anyone want a little celebratory martini." He asked going to the bar.
"This is not the time to celebrate Stark," Thor glared. "This is the worst thing that could have happened!"
Tony sighed, "Look I know he was your brother but he did just kill a few thousand people."
"You misunderstand Stark," Thor shook his head. "I do not speak from grief. Death does not mean the same thing for my people as it does for yours. We are creatures of energy, with our bodies merely a solid shell."
"Whatever comforts you," Tony brushed off.
"Where do you think your superstitions come from?" Thor glared. "When Demigods die, if properly trained, we can build ourselves a new body. Loki might not have been of Odin, but his birth father was still a god, in his own right. So the skill had been taught to Loki.
"As long as he was alive, Loki was trapped in a physical form, but once the body died he was freed and no doubt escaped far away from here. There is no telling what form he will take now or what face he will choose... Loki is still out there, no doubt planning his next move."
He was SCREWED. Loki was panicking as he traveled as formless light, as far away as possible. He was not able to keep his promise to Thanos. He was in debt to THANOS. If he did not think of something of equal value, to an infinity stone, Thanos would utterly destroy him. Unlike humans Thanos actually did have ways to permanently kill a god. Oh hell he lost the staff to. That meant Loki owed the psychopath TWO infinity stones!
Loki shuddered finding a small remote area to hide in, far far away from New York City, but not too far away. Somewhere near enough so no one would think to look for him.
Besides he could go no further, he needed to rest. That Hulk creature had somehow not only killed his body but his fist damaged his very soul. It must be all that gamma radiation.
Under normal circumstances Loki would wait until his spirit had recovered, before attempting to build himself a body, but the risk were too high. In this state he was not only defenseless, but Thor could easily see him for who he is. He needed a shell to hide behind, something unthreatening, something... innocent. Oh that was perfect.
The light became solid, taking on the small form of a child with long black hair and blue eyes. He gave himself the most innocent looking face he could, adding freckles on his cheeks and nose for added effect. Something shamefully adorable to the extreme. His body was skinny and frail, looking as a strong wind could end him. His skin was pale and flawless, looking much the scholar who hid away from the sun.
He was now dressed in baggy Midgardian clothes, appropriate for a child in his early teens, with big round glasses. He could blend in easily like this and Thor would never suspect him. If he did find him Thor would even go easy on him, not being able to harm a child. If only such a trick could work on Thanos.
Loki sighed and started his journey. This would have to be exile for a time. He had to stay hidden. He had to figure out what he was going to do... oh he was so screwed.
Above the Planet. 3 months later.
A glowing blue creature, in the shape of a man, floated over Midgard, over the planets moons. The entity, with a muscular form depicting the idealized man straight out of greek mythology... was just as naked as those statues. He long since abandoned the concept of 'Shame'. He simply floated in the void, watching the worlds he created from a distance.
His shining eyes staring at Midgard... his favorite of his creations. Don't get him wrong. He loved his moons to, and he knew he shouldn't play favorites... but he couldn't help loving Midgardians the most... his real children, ones he crafted himself. It was terrible that he loved them more then the life he adopted... but he did.
"When I was young." He spoke to another entity, which approached him. "I died. Looking back on it, I imagine you would call it a painful death. My atoms were torn apart. Even my subatomic particles lost their bonds... I should have died then... it seemed like the thing to do... but I refused.
"I often wonder, if it was so easy for me, why don't others do it? Even had a friend of mine, attempt to recreate the results... yet no other like me appeared.
"I understood nothing of what I am. At first believing myself to be some type of Celestial... but I'm so far beyond creatures like you..." The blue man finally turned, to face Thor. "And you're legitimately half angel / and half something more... forgive me. That's my Christian upbringing coming up.
"It took some time for me to accept, to acknowledge... I'm a god. Not with a capital G, mind you. That's an entirely different entity, and I doubt she'd take kindly to me not making the distinction."
He looked away again, seeing something on the planet below. "It's strange. I remember my old life so perfectly. Despite it never actually happening.
"Soon after my Ascension, a few decades... or was it millenniums, either way, nothing major. Regardless, there was a war. Not a war mortals could comprehend. A war across every moment of time. Before the universe, as we know it, was even born."
"The Time War..." Thor acknowledged as he floated behind The true god. The being might be a lower god, not near Odin's Level, but he was a living entity of conciousness alone. He percieved the universe in ways Thor never could understand... Thor was only a half god, though he had a greater kick then most, thanks to his Asgardian mother... but compared to an entity like Doctor Manhattan...
'Angels' as the deity appeared to prefer, were beings like the Asgardians. Entities of energy and consciousness... but this creature, went so far beyond even that... he didn't need even energy to sustain himself. He was conciousness alone, given form by his own will.
Where Celestial beings held the potential to become like Thor, with the power to defeat armies with a single strike... that was fairly rare. Most Celestials, were more on the level of an Amazon or an Atlantean.
Turning his head back towards Thor. His face blank, void of all emotion, as he spoke of such horrific things. As if they didn't effect him one way or another.
"It made me miss the days, when I feared nukes would wipe out my home planet. This was a war between gods and god killers. I was drafted, by your father no less. He all but demanded my help, in fighting off the Daleks... and I did... to my eternal regret." He didn't look like he regretted it. He still looked indifferent, despite the occasional pause. "Without me there to protect it, my Homeworld was destroyed.
"It wasn't the only planet to be wiped out of existence... but their were survivors. Mortals that were lost in Space, abnormalities in time... billions of them. The Doctor, a mortal Time Lord that had helped end the war, collected these races and deposited them on what he called 'Refugee Worlds'. Choosing mega star clusters, like this one, to give them all a place to live...
"I volunteered the use of my moons. Even altered reality to give each race an Origin story I was comfortable with... Planet DC52 (don't think it ever had a real name) was a bitch to integrate. So many humanoid races... so much potential for violence that could have destroyed my precious Midgard... but I gave them a chance... and look what they've accomplished."
The god gestured at the worlds, "They live in peace, prosperity, coming together to protect each other... but it won't last... So many possible futures, most of them ending in disaster... all because of random individuals that seek to destroy it. Not armies or governments... just the occasional power mad entity, with already too much power..."
"That is why I have come," Thor informed. "I was hoping you could-"
"I know why you're here." Manhattan interrupted, "But I refuse to give you what you want. I won't tell you where he is."
Thor groaned, "I realize true gods are forbidden from interfering in mortal affairs, but surely this falls within your jurisdiction. Loki is not even of this dimension! By Odin, The very reason gods even have demigod children is because we are not bound by the same rules."
"Exactly," Doctor Manhattan said, impassively. "Your very nature allows you to change fate... and I like what Loki intends to do once he's in power. He will save my children from the nightmares that await them. So much pain awaits them. Nightmares that have already happened, and will always happen... he can change the destiny of my world."
"By enslaving it!" Thor glared.
Manhattan finally got an expression on his face... one of... disappointment. "You really don't understand your brother, do you?"
Thor flinched.
Doctor Manhattan looked back at his world, down at Loki struggling to adjust with a child's body. "Loki opens up new possibilities for Midgard. If he succeeds in conquering my world. He will rule it fairly and justly, he will create a golden age which last for 10s of thousands of years."
Thor paused, "Is that why you have never interfered, when he has tried to conquer your world before?"
"I see paradise, instead of horror. It's not without flaw, no government is, but it will be a beacon of civilization... an empire that will eventually span the whole of the galaxy. Bringing with it peace and prosperity for all... isn't the loss of Asgard worth that?"
Thor froze, "To what do you speak?"
Doctor Manhattan sighed. He had difficulty talking with Demigods and Hanyou. They clouded his vision of the future. There were just so many possibilities, it was easier to see what they might do from a distance, then when beside them.
"After all of the crimes committed against Loki's children... do you think they would allow Asgard to stand?" Manhattan's social skills had become severely lacking, so far from his mortal life. "Isn't the loss of one Realm worth the utopia Loki would build?" it was a real question.
"NO!" Thor raged, "The loss of a single life would not be worth it! Let alone an entire Realm. My Realm! My Father's dimension! My family and friends! You speak of a utopia but what would the cost be to build it. How many would die in the war machine Loki would produce!"
Manhattan looked down at the boy, Loki, again. Though Thor could not see him from so great a distance. "I have watched over this planet since the beginning of time. I still take pride in the day when I first crafted my Midgardians as single celled organisms. In that time, there have been plenty of wars. Some as small as tribes fighting other tribes. Others being between all the moons and the planet itself. Loki's war will be long. It will be bloody... but in the end, it will truly end all wars... The entire Galaxy will know nothing but peace, for hundreds of thousands of years. However, if you don't allow this... then Midgard will fall."
Thor tensed even more.
So Doctor Manhattan continued, "That is your choice, self proclaimed 'god of thunder'... allow Loki to save Midgard, or stop him and save Asgard. Either way... billions will die. You have to choose which."
Thor shook his head, then gritted his teeth, "You aren't the first Oracle to give me such an ultimatum! I have defied destiny before, and saved EVERYONE. I will do it again."
Manhattan looked away from Loki, and back at Thor... then back at Loki, hidden on the planet. "Perhaps... But I prefer the version where Loki wins."
The Distant Future: 42 years, after Loki De-aged himself.
Thor couldn't take it anymore. He had to see what Doctor Manhattan was talking about... So he went to the moment his father had forbidden him from entering... the present day of Midgard. The land where choices were made and destinies decided... and he knew why Odin had forbidden him from coming here.
The sky was red and burning, the skeletons of his mortal friends lay about the ruins of the planet. The very trees were dead, not even the grass survived... everything... was dead... the oceans themselves had boiled over, and the moons were blasted into asteroids, raining like fire balls across the sky.
Then Thor saw the truest nightmare... his own corpse... hugging a small child... dressed in green...
"You shouldn't have come here." Thor looked to the side to spot Doctor Manhattan. "Not even a god can change their own Destiny, once they are aware of it."
"I will not allow this to come to pass." Thor crouched down, to examine the child.
"It's inevitable now." Doctor Manhattan sighed, "You have seen your own future... There is no stopping this now."
"I have changed Destiny before..." Thor insisted.
"You think you're special in that?" Manhattan visibly scoffed. "Any interdimensional being can change the present of another reality. You don't need to be some great Demigod Warrior. But there are laws of physics, even you are bound by... and no being, be they mortal or god or a combination of the two, can alter their own future. Not if it's read, and certainly not if it is seen... you have doomed my world by coming here..."
Thor gently touched the boy's cheek, as he realized, "Loki..."
Doctor Manhattan sighed, "My world is doomed. Perhaps it is time I claimed a dimension of my own. I could start again in a more self contained environment... goodbye Thor, bane of my world."
"Will you not tell me what happened here?" Thor looked over at the lower god.
Doctor Manhattan looked at him a moment. Then shrugged. There was no harm in telling him anything anymore... the world was already doomed... "Thanos is coming, as is Apocalypse, as is Darkseid, as are the Sentinels, but it starts with a war between the heroes, themselves.
"You will do all in your power to stop these events, but they will happen one after another. Slowly breaking down Midgard's defenses... until it is helpless to defend itself from Galactus... all will die... and it is entirely your fault." With nothing more to say, at the loss of his beloved world... Doctor Manhattan left Midgard in a flash of blue light.
Thor stood back up, but continued to look down at his own corpse, attempting to protect his foolish little brother... it was almost uplifting to know they would be united again... in death... but Thor refused to allow this horrific world to stand. He would change the course of destiny. He had done it before... he could do it again... he would save... everyone... he had to... and Loki was the key...