Thor looked at the carnage around him, a melancholic feeling in his chest as a bittersweet smile spread on his face. So many things have happened to him recently that he wondered how humans could manage seeing how much shorter their lives are. In just the last few years he had lost his mother, his father, his friends, his world and his brother. And now, most recently, Thor lost his girlfriend and the love of his life Jane Foster. He had only recently found out that she had been battling with a rather horrible disease which had been stealing her vitality as it ate away at her until Mjolnir responded to her call, not only seemingly restoring her to full health but also granting her the strength and powers that once only belonged to him alone. However, that vitality only was hers while she was transformed using Mjolnir, and being human that transformation was preventing her body from battling the disease, reducing the likelihood of her survival.
As they discovered that while they were trying to rescue the Asguardian children kidnapped by Gorr the God Killer and stop him from usiing Eternity to exact his vengeance against the gods, Thor asked Jane to remain on Earth and heal while he went and dealt with Gorr alone. However when she sensed that Thor was about to be killed Jane transformed one last time to join him in battle, destroying the Necrosword and freeing Gorr from its influence. As Jane was dying in his arms, Thor implored Gorr to remember what his wish originally was before his god's callous and selfish attitude had twisted it into a desire to take vengeance against all gods. Thus, through her loving sacrifice, Jane saved not only Thor but the entire universe.
As his reminiscences ended and he saw the sun starting to set Thor's heart felt heavy, yet he couldn't bring himself to feel sad. This was in part because of how Jane's body vanished when she died, which he was sure meant that she was accepted into Valhalla despite having been born human. That meant that his father and mother along with Heimdall were welcoming her like t the valiant, kind and beautiful warrior that she was, and as Jane and his mother were of one mind when it came to him Thor knew they wouldn't want his grief to bring his life to a standstill and equally wished him happiness. The other reason why he would not allow himself to dwell on such thoughts was...
"Uncle Thor, Uncle Thor! Did you see!?" young Love, Gorr's daughter who was resurrected by his wish to Eternity, exclaimed happily as she bounded up to him while tightly gripping Stormbreaker, "I sent those bad aliens flying and saved the village."
"You sure did, little one," Thor said proudly as he ruffled her hair, earning a giggle from her, "But it's getting dark now, so why don't we get back to the ship so I can fix us some dinner before we head back to Earth to introduce you to my friends back there."
"Yay!" Love squealed as she jumped for joy, "I want Hamburg steaks!"
"I'll see what I can do," Thor replied with a chuckle, and with a huge grin Love turned and and skipped towards their ship. Pride and joy caused his chest to swell up and feel warm. Beack then he wasn't sure why he had accepted Gorr's request to look after her, nor why he hadn't asked Valkyrie or someone else back home take care of her instead. Now, however, Thor couldn't imagine anyone else raising her.
Love argued with him sometimes, like whether it was appropriate or not to wear bunny slippers into battle, and sometimes an outburst of hers would cause her power to inadvertently break or ruin something like his favorite skillet, but Thor was sure that when she learned control to use it effectively that she could be an even greater hero than he was. As Love turned around and hollered with a smile for him to hurry up Thor wondered if Jane would have taken her in had she lived. He didn't consider it for long before he concluded that she would have been a wonderful mother. Not only was she smart and kind, but she also had enough steel in her soul to take a spoiled, narcissistic musclehead like him and whip him into a hero and a man worthy of wielding Mjolnir and of being loved, so he was sure that Love would blossom under her care. Still he hoped that he was doing a good enough job that Jane would be proud of them both when she greeted him in Valhalla.
Thor shook himself out of his reverie he started to follow Love when he felt something behind him that made the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. It was somewhat similar to when a Rainbow Bridge was about to form in his area, but it was also less forceful than that: more like a doorway or a cave opening than a river current. Love must have felt something too as she turned back towards him with a worried look on her face, her grip tightening on Stormbreaker. Turning around Thor saw a ripple in the air that widened into a tear, giving him a glimpse into the area beyond where he saw a staircase and some woven tendrils slowly undulating in a manner that reminded him of seaweed floating on the surface of the ocean.
The overall green shade of the area surrounding the stairs ascending beyond what he could see through the portal gave him a feeling that was oddly both nostalgic and made him feel uneasy. As if confirming the impossible thought that crossed his mind, a familiar voice that he absolutely should not be hearing right now called, "Come Thor, son of Odin. We must discuss a matter of grave importance."
"Uncle Thor?" Love called out to him, a note of fear he'd never heard from her in her voice.
"It's alright, Love," Thor assured her while keeping a wary eye on the portal, "Just head on back to the ship and be there in a minute to start supper."
"No, bring the child," the impossibly familiar voice told him, "this concerns her too."
For a moment Thor stood rooted in indecision. The fact that he was hearing a voice that he shouldn't be made him disinclined to trust it, and even if it truly was who it sounded like that made Thor trust it less. However, as if sensing his apprehension, Love came up up beside him and grabbed the middle three fingers of his left hand. When she looked up at him Thor saw that she still looked a bit scared, but her voice was even as she said, "It's okay, Uncle Thor, I'll protect you." Seeing how brave she was trying to be helped Thor come to a decision. Even though part of him still wanted to send her to the ship he realized that it would probably be safer for her to stay with him. After all the portal could end up closing behind him, and though he was sure that he could force whoever is beyond to let him out there was no guarantee he would emerge back here again nor how long it would take to get back to her. Even though she was powerful Love was still rather inexperienced, and Thor was reluctant to leave her alone to face whomever had enough of a grudge against him to track him down. So he gripped her hand back and, with Mjolnir in his hand by his side, Thor led her through the portal.
On the other side Thor saw that the woven strands around them were spiraling upward in a somewhat cylindrical manner, making it appear to him that he was seeing the inner surface of a hollow tree. Thankfully the portal didn't close behind them like he feared, but that was the last thought on his mind at the moment. At the top of the stairs, seated upon a gilded chair, was a figure who was as familiar to Thor as the curved horns rising from the crown on his head, and Thor felt a thrill go up his spine as the man looked down on them and said, "Welcome, brother. It's good to see you again."
"Good to see you too," Thor replied guardedly, though he added with a half-smile, "I see you have wasted no time in obtaining a throne."
"This?" the figure responded as he glanced at said throne without rising from it, though from how some of the tendrils seemed to emerge from behind him Thor was wondering if he was unable to, "I prefer to think of it as a lifeguard's perch."
"I see. And what, may I ask, are you watching over?" Thor asked the seated figure, who simply replied, "The multiverse."
Love tugged on Thor's hand to get his attention before softly asking, "Who is that, Uncle Thor?"
"That would be your Uncle Loki, Love," Thor answered her before retraining his focus and saying, "except I saw you killed by Thanos before me, unless you managed to fake me out with your illusions again, which I doubt."
"Afraid not, brother. The Loki you knew is truly dead," Loki confirmed, "I'm here due to Stark and the one that he referred to as 'Piss-Ant' fumbling their part of the time-heist, which enabled me to escape before the you from back then could bring me back home."
Based on what he remembered of that plan and Stark's penchant for nicknames Thor guessed his brother was talking about Scott Lang. "Then what? I doubt that you were just lying low in a cabin somewhere."
"Hardly," Loki confirmed, "Shortly after my escape I was apprehended by the Time Variance Authority for my 'crimes against the Sacred Timeline'." I'll spare you the sordid details, but after this and that happened I ended up here, watching over the many timelines and making sure that they don't go and choke each other out."
Thor was curious about what happened to this Loki, who was even calmer than his brother had been in the end, but Loki held up his hand and said, "I'm afraid that we have no time to catch up. Between cleaning up the mess caused by Strange and that spider kid, and keeping the different Kangs from destroying your Midgard after Piss-Ant..."
"Ant-Man," Thor corrected him.
"Yeah, him," Loki confirmed, "Anyway he encountered one of them which the others had left stranded in the Quantum Realm and beat him, but that lead the other Kangs to conclude that your Midgard is a threat they need to eliminate. I've been doing what I can from here, keeping them from organizing by manipulating them into remaining at each other's throats like they usually are, but while I had my hands full with that a different threat slipped through and will soon be threatening your friends."
"Someone like Thanos?" Thor asked.
"Likely worse from what I've seen," Loki responds, "His name is Victor Von Doom, and he is as ruthless as he is powerful. As brilliant as Stark without any of his compassion, he won't hesitate to use his mastery of science and magic to bring down anyone who stands in his way of bringing order to humanity through world domination. Thanos' strength made him a dangerous foe, but it's Doom's mind that makes him a much more serious threat."
Thor wanted to deny what Loki was telling him, but considering the trouble that Stark gave him the first time they met (when he was trying to drag Loki back home no less) he wasn't sure he wanted to face someone like that when they were a genuine enemy. Continuing where he left off Loki said, "Now I have manipulated things in a way that I believe would cause those who opposed Doom in their universe to follow him here. However, it's quite likely that their unfamiliarity with your universe, as well as your universe's unfamiliarity with them, would prove too great a handicap for those four to stop Doom before he causes Midgard serious harm. That's why I called you here, brother."
"What do you mean?" Thor asked. He thought he knew where Loki was going with this, but he felt the need to make sure.
"The Falcon who had took on Rogers' role is currently trying to put a new team together with the heroes who are still around, but with Stark and the Widow gone, and the archer having retired with his family, the new Captain needs as many original members to bring that team together," Loki explained, "He needs you to return to Midgard, and Midgard... no, the multiverse needs the Avengers now more than ever."
It sounded to Thor like he had no choice but to go back, but as he looked down at Love he wondered if he really should drag her into the middle of this. As if reading his mind Loki said, "I wouldn't worry about the girl. I'm sure that Valkyrie and the others in New Asgard will be happy to look after her while you take care of things, and she'll have others her own age to hang out with. She'll be fine."
As Thor saw Love's eyes light up at the possibility of making new friends he realized that was probably the best choice. "Will you come with me, brother?" Thor asked, though he figured he pretty much knew the answer.
"I would love to," Loki admitted, "But even if they would welcome me back there after what I've done I'm afraid the multiverse needs constant care to keep from collapsing and dying, plus I have to ensure the Kang council doesn't mobilize against your universe, so I'm afraid I have to stay."
Though he'd kinda expected this answer, Thor'sheard felt heavier with the words. He'd just learned his brother was alive and he was already having to leave with no guarantee they would ever see each other again. However, Thor kept a smile on his face as he said, "Then I suppose that this is goodbye."
"Yes,' Loki said with a smile that looked just as strained, "When you see him please tell Korg I said hi."
"Of course," Thor answered. As Thor started to lead Love back to the portal Loki called out of them, "Oh! Do you think you could fix one of those hamburg steaks for me too? I promise to return the plate when I'm done."
Thor's smile felt more natural when he said, "I will."
"Thank you" Loki responded. Not trusting himself to say anything more, Thor just smiled and waved as he walked back to the portal. As they proceeded through Love looked over her shoulder and waved as she cheerily called out, "Bye Uncle Loki!"
"Fair travels, brother," Loki softly called after, though he wasn't sure if his words reached them as the portal closed behind them, once more returning Loki to his solitude.