selfimage | Futurology. We could be heroes.

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Entry tags:

!ic,
(futurology)

Futurology. We could be heroes.

Who: Loki & Thor
Where: —
When: —
What: A not quite reunion, but a reunion.
Warnings: —

I know you hear me now, we're a different kind. We can do anything. We could be heroes.

[ Loki had never appreciated what Odin had to teach him. Thor had taken better to it, but Thor had been a favorite; Loki, while beneath All-father's wing of guilt and obligation, could be further from the golden image of his brother. he could count the siblings that Odin took favor in more than he took favor in him, but he had realized that it didn't mean that Odin didn't love him. in those instances, Thor was like Odin more than he'd like to admit: noble, righteous, independent and fiercely mercurial, his temperament changing the storm. it was those more violent swings that Loki was able to appreciate the chaos in it. all too often were Loki and Thor thought of as two sides of a coin, their differences used in contrast when Loki was disciplined, forcing him only to see a narrow part of their unshared traits. in reality, there were parts of them that were more the same than they were different. Thor was passionate, capricious and electric. Loki was much of the same, only shrouded in his own wants and needs. he began to see it more and more in the dire times as much as the laughter.

and he was beginning to feel like he liked it.

when he arrived he came with the clothing (very, very useful clothing) on his back and his penchant for new starts. while there was a pang that echoed inside of him with the thought of Angela, Thor and their newly-found re-found father, Odin (with words of love, perhaps), he also craved what he always craved: change. that is exactly what he got.

another trait of Odin's children was that none of them took too well to authority (even when it was their own father's), Loki among them. he though it was ironic that he had "conveniently" tripped through an inter-dimensional tear and into the lap of the fates, and he thought to use it as both a means of flipping destiny the bird as well as outsourcing for new opportunities. there was something that he needed to do, and there was no other perfect situation to do it.

only instead of a perfect situation, he got dragons. a mission full of dragons. no sneakiness, no deceit, no tricks, just dragons. of course they'd find something ill-suited to him on his first mission. it would be generous to say that he makes the best of it. instead, he spends his time roaming and mingling, learning of other travelers and their own unfortunate "accidents" that have brought them here. he sees him once, and that turns a head; twice, and he begins to think that somethings off; three times is a charm, and Loki begins to follow him.

not unsurprising, really. from his perceptions he can tell a few things: this isn't the brother that he knows, this isn't the same concept of god that he's accustomed, and his brother has a far sense of youngness about him that he didn't expect. regardless, he keeps his eyes and ears open, eavesdropping on conversations and gaining all the information he can. when he finally is ready to reveal himself it's leaning up against a tree casually, ankles crossed while he fiddles with his new technologically contraption.

he just has one thing to say: ]

Hello, Thor.

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I tend to save my award winning tosses for championships. [ as in, be glad that he's being obvious, Thor. ] But if you'd like, I can offer some subtly.

[ there's a little snort and a satisfied smirk before he moves on. ]

Oh yes, I know of her. Everyone in Asgard knows about her.

[ but they should probably keep it parked there. ]

She's not exactly part of the tales. Unless ... she's part of yours? Written in myth?

I would rather you not.

[ He wrinkles his nose hearing everyone in Asgard, because excuse you, he's much more subtle than that. Isn't he? He is. Damn. ]

No, she wasn't. She was busy with her labours of science, last we spoke. A Nobel Prize, something of that nature. [ MOVING ON, this isn't about how Thor is the worst boyfriend ever: ] It is somewhat safe to say that, despite their differences, our homes have more in common than perhaps we know.

[ not his other self, apparently. Odin launched quite a crusade to break up Thor and what his father had deemed "his mortal lover." he had even gone as far as to plot with Amora, but Odin was never really one to care about the means as long as the ends were met.

something that Loki might've inherited. ]

Oh, yes. You read my mind. Actually, if you've a Ragnarok coming, you could see this as an opportunity.

Those old stories tell of both of us being there. I fail to see how any Ragnarok could befall Asgard as I know it without my brother.

[ In a nutshell. ]

[ if Loki died, Loki wanted to die, he had to die, and it was to lead into another wicked scheme of his own vile making. how many plots of this scale as this Thor seen of his own Loki, and how much did he suspect?

for the first time, he hesitates.

should he? should he tell him? ]

As you will.

[ and that's all he says of it, like he knows something that he may not be saying. ]

How did it happen? If you'd share, of course. The fate of one Loki to another.

He died well, that is all you need know.

[ Not a subject he wishes to linger on in detail or recount to a younger version of his brother, certainly. He keeps pace, not hurrying or dallying, simply walking as his point is made without ceremony. ]

[ you died well. you lived poorly. you will be missed, but your mischief will not. I pray that this is the end of it.

at one time, the words rang clear as a bell, tucked away beneath the folds of the universe. now, he remembers them like sounds coming through a faraway tunnel. he remembers his death, or rather, that death. he remembers being the cause of it: playing Norman against Asgard, Doom against Norman, and then ripping the Cabal to pieces from the inside like tearing up an unwanted letter, the pieces fluttering the floor.

it was a dark time, and it was that Loki's last and greatest scheme. the beginning of the end of it, anyway. it ended even more poorly after that.

for Thor, the wound is still fresh, and he doubts that he would listen, even if he meant to warn him. ]

A noble end to villain is always poetic. [ but it's not said without sympathy. ] What did you do, afterward?

Loki was was misguided and knew it. He was in pain and could not mend the wound, so like a child with a scab he worsened it until his hatred became an infection — but my brother was no mere villain. I believe he understood what he was about ere he tore through his own heart, seeking to blacken it.

[ A little heat simmers in the words born of his last true fight with Loki atop what would later become the Avengers Tower. The alarm in his brother's eyes when asked to stop and how he had balked with fear, flooding that with rage — Loki was never good at casting illusions over his heart. Everything and anyone else, never that.

A red cape lifts in a shrug as Thor drives the conversation on, unwilling to linger over old bruises. ]

He had always wanted to be a hero and so he was when I delivered news of his passing to the All-Father ... after setting right a handful of other grievous wrongs dealt out by Malekith.

[ villains were never just villains. they were always something before or after that, as much as Loki occasionally reduced the role to remove himself from it. sometimes it was awkward hearing of the expectancy bred in other universes. ]

Thor ...

[ his voice is both knowing of question that wasn't answered, but still moderately concerned. it most likely wasn't deliberate, the Thor he knew was a sentimental creature, a trait that this Thor seemed to share. unlike many in Asgard, Loki didn't really care to avoid Thor's buttons. he knew were they were, simple ones to make him happy and others that would bring a storm of rage. ]

What about after that? What were you doing before you came here?

[ that would give him a good clue. ]

[ He's glad of the prompting, taking to it like a man staring across a river suddenly granted stepping-stones, eager to cross to greener pastures (and that isn't really saying much, considering his recent history). ]

Ultron attempted to destroy Midgard and another Infinity Stone was uncovered in the doing, a pattern clarified in the very visions that drove me back to Asgard. I was homeward-bound with news of a great battle won, yet a war of unseen strings still at play. [ Blue eyes veer to Loki, taking in the sight of him. ] Father needed to know what I suspected.

[ that was a lot in a few sentences. Infinity stones? (Soul gems, he'd wager.) visions. Ultron (ugh). his expression waxes and wanes as Thor continues with his explanation. ]

Visions?

[ his dark brows pinch and he worries at his lower lip needlessly. ]

What sort of visions? Not the good kind, I'm envisioning. [ and more to himself, as he fluffs up one of the furry lapels of his jacket. ] The sort that would send you tossing your hammer and sending you onward and back to dear old Dad.

The Maximoff girl toyed with our minds, gave us insight into the past and future to weaken our ranks. I was ... mildly less susceptible to her power, being no Midgardian. I saw Hel, all of Asgard dead because of me, and something else that led me to seek clarity from the Norns. I caught a glimpse of a stone.

[ A small smile plays on his lips, glancing over at Loki slyly. ]

Are you worried my mind is addled?

[ the Maximoff girl.

Wanda. Billy's mother. the Scarlet Witch. before she was an Avenger she was ... well—he shouldn't be surprised that Magneto's children are running about. his mind lingers there only briefly before thinking of Billy again, ignoring the pang of guilt that comes with the memory. he waves his hand as if he needs to physically dismiss it. ]

Your mind is always a tad addled, but you should be thankful, it's what makes you interesting.

[ sorry Thor. ]

Let's just say if there are visions, they have to come from somewhere, and usually it's none too pleasant.

[ like the future, like fate, and like all the other sort of things that he dislikes. ]

No revels were had when discovering their meaning, believe me. The thing I feared, the Norns, they were ... [ And here he twists his hammer, downplaying the intense scrape of their hold on his soul, trying to drag it from his body. ] Scary.

[ SHRUGGING. It took a stiff drink to face those creatures. ]

Scary.

[ he repeats, testing the word's weight on his tongue. there's not much that he knows to jar his brother, and while he's not familiar with this one, he can make the assumption that there's not much out there that scares him. ]

The multiverse is a wide place filled with all manner of things. [ occasionally terrifying. ] You may find more of what you seek, here, despite the will of our employers.

I need nothing but to unravel the mystery of you, now that I've found you.

[ Frankness falls from his lips as easily as the hesitant smile that surrounds it. He can shoot Loki a narrow look, peering and sizing him up, and yet nothing screams at Thor's instincts to beware. ]

If they wished to distract me then they are doing a sublime job of it.

Clearing I'm a mystery in the making—[ a pause. ]—even to myself. Trust me, It's not a rabbit hole that you're meant to topple down.

[ truthful, but omissive. there are gears in the greater machine that Thor doesn't have, at which Loki is stricken with a pang of guilt that fades to numbness, and then quiet gratitude.

if you knew me, he wants to say. if you really knew me, you would cast me aside. you should cast me aside. everything that I do ends in your suffering, somehow. that's how they worked, even when unintentional, he still managed to bring grief to his brother.

he thinks about sabotaging this.

there were things he could do to hurt him before the onslaught came on, the truth of the entire manner of his whole, copy-filled existence. but he found that he took no steps to, not yet, he wanted this in more ways than his guilt could divert. ]

But I can be an adequate distraction. [ he adds smugly. ]

I do trust you, and I think myself a fool for it but cannot resist. [ All blithe honesty soaked in the dregs of a tired, weatherworn affection for another. Here, the keenness of that trust is open and raw, easily blighted in the future. Thankfully, he has some experience navigating Loki's Eternal Bullshit and can think himself mostly prepared this time around. ] I think I will continue to trust you until you give me a real reason not to, of which I will be the judge.

[ Tilting his head away, he sighs to refresh himself and his tread, a promise hinging in a smile. ]

If you fall down any rabbit holes of your own making here, you will either call to bring me down them in your wake or I will uproot the earth to seek you out.

[ Loki's brows draw together, and when he speaks he sounds exasperated. ]

You really are the biggest, sweetest idiot in the Nine Realms.

[ it's all affection mixed with relief. no matter where he went, or how much he tried, he supposed that Thor would always be on his heels in some way, no matter which Thor.

this one is okay. ]

I'm not going to hold back.

[ a warning, maybe. ]

[ Here is where a softened smile turns into the severe smirk of a sibling. ]

Loki, if I wished for you to hold back, the fastest way to end your mischiefs would be to stuff your mouth with a pair of socks. [ ESSENTIALLY. One of the reasons his own brother wore a muzzle upon capture. ] I expect you will lie and cheat and steal, and you will be the upset of countless arrangements, yet I hope you will do little to truly cause harm. That is all I ask.

[ Thor receives a mock pout at the socks. ]

Make sure they're clean, at least. [ there's some resignation in his voice, because he knows the time will come. maybe later, maybe soon. while the Thor in his own world had learned to scheme and trust him in his scheming, he was unsure of this younger counterpart.

there's a moment where he's quiet, and then he licks his lips. ]

Lying, cheating and stealing are just tools. Tools like your hammer. Since I don't have one of those, I make do with what I have. [ his expression softens somewhat. ] I've hurt people before—not just with schemes and lies—and I don't want to do it again. If anything, I ... [ a sigh. ] I want to be better.

Do you not see that in wanting to be better, you already are?

[ His arm slings lightly (in Thor's estimation, at least) around the younger Loki's shoulders, bringing him in for a half-hug as they walk. Momentary, brief, but the casual embrace lingers afterwards in a way he hasn't touched his own brother in years. It makes him reluctant to let go. ]

Although a few gestures would not go amiss, if only to allow you to show off as you make amends with your past.

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Futurology. We could be heroes.

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