The Asgardian King was silent as the Wakandan King asked him the question, it was then that he noticed his brother's absence beside him, he searched around as fast as he could and sighed in relief as soon as he saw Loki beside Wanda, the young prince gave him a little nod to assure him that he was fine, Thor nodded at this as he thought of what he should say;
"I believe we are to tend to the refugees on that ship." The King finally said before looking at the other King as soon as an idea struck his mind, one that may need pleading "And so I once again ask for your help King T'Challa."
The Wakandan King tipped his head to the side and leaned back on his seat "And what may that be, King Thor?"
The thunder god looked over at his brother, Loki knew what was on his brother's mind the moment he looked, he sighed before nodding, they had no choice as of the moment. They would need to form a real alliance from now on if they want to restore Asgard.
"Food, water, clothes and healers for my people as of the moment." He replied "There are roughly 5,000 Asgardians aboard that ship, children included. We have nothing to provide them now so we seek your help, we would like to make an official alliance between Asgard and Wakanda."
Sif and Brunnhilde shared a look, they never had an alliance with the mortals since before time, it was new yet they both knew it was necessary. Thor is King and they needed to trust him in order for everything to work out. T'Challa raised his eyebrows as soon as he heard the other King finally speaking in his rightful title, addressing each other as Kings and talking as such.
"Since you said that this is to be an official alliance." King T'Challa started "What do we get in return?"
With this question Thor couldn't help but look at his brother, everyone followed the god's gaze and landed on the young prince. He mentally cursed as all the attention was directed at him. How could that oaf offer a proposal without thinking what to give in return? He sighed and let his mind process as quickly as it could. Everyone was waiting and it was pressuring him, offering them the help of Asgard in the future was not enough for what they were willing to give although it would seem like it. Unless it is not only Asgard.
The God of Chaos' eyes shone as soon as an idea hit him, he wasn't sure if it was the right time to reveal his plans but he had no choice, his brother appeared to ruin it once again. He sat regally as he plastered a blank face on, the one he usually uses whenever they were in front of royals and nobles.
"In exchange for your help, my brother the King will offer you the alliance of Asgard itself. The Aesir as your brother-in-arms. We will help you with whatever you need once we restore it to its golden glory, food, shelter, healers, even help in war if it is needed." The prince replied smartly as Thor smiled and seemed to approve of the offer his brother just made
T'Challa leaned on his seat and glanced at his sister who just nodded eagerly, Shuri wanted to help them and she knew they could, they had enough resources for 5,000 people although it was many, it was the least they could do to help, not to mention the advantage they have in the future.
"Your offer is surely tempting." The King replied, "But for the help of Asgard itself, I think the risk of us offering our remaining resources for our own people is quite high."
"Broth-" Before Shuri could interfere she was immediately cut off by the Asgardian prince's quick tongue
"That is why you will also get the help of Jotunheim." Everyone's eyes landed on the prince including his own brother whose smile started to turn upside down the moment he heard those words leave his brother's lips "As the Rightful King of Jotunheim, and the remaining royal, I offer you alliance, in exchange for your help."
Thor stood from his seat as confusion was written all over his face "What do you speak of Loki?"
This was not the right time to explain, Thor used his position to open the discussion formally, explaining his motives to his brother right in front of the others and the bargain that they were currently making seemed quite informal, yet he has no choice, does he?
"Once we finish rebuilding Asgard, I will go back to Jotunheim to do the same." He stated simply as he looked at his brother "At least there is something Father did not lie about. When he told us that we were born to be Kings, this is what he meant. You as King of Asgard and me of Jotunheim."
Before the thunder god could reply King T'challa decided to cut them off in order to not make things worse for the two brothers.
"We accept your offer." The Wakandan King said as he stood up "In exchange for food, water, clothes and healers for 5,000 refugees. We will receive the alliance of King Thor of Asgard and the alliance of his brother."
King T'Challa looked at the prince who was still looking at his brother with a look of apology before sighing;
"The Crown Prince of Jotunheim, Loki Odinson."
━
They decided to send for the official papers for the two gods to sign as soon as Shuri finishes it, everyone in the table scrambled to get up the moment their talk was over just to get away from the tension that was slowly building up between the two brothers. As soon as everyone was gone there were only four of them left. Brunnhilde drowned the newly found alcohol she tasted as Sif sat on the table trying to stay away from the two brother's quarrel, she had enough of it in her lifetime.
"Jotunheim?" Thor questioned as if his heart broke the moment the words left his lips "When were you supposed to tell me of it?"
Loki shook his head and sighed "Definitely not now I assure you."
"Then when!" The thunder god exclaimed as thunder seemed to roar along with him, Brunnhilde and Sif flinched but Loki wasn't rather surprised at his brother's sudden outburst, he knew it was going to happen in the first place "You are to leave me?"
The young prince shook his head as he looked down "No, of course not."
"I can't lose you again." Thor sternly said, "Jotunheim is dangerous, they will kill you, they loathe us remember?"
Loki nodded "That they do. But this is our fate, to be Kings remember?"
"And we can be!" The thunder god retorted "Together! We will rule together, both as kings of Asgard!"
The young prince could only smile and sigh as he decided to hug his brother for the first time, Thor closed his eyes as he squeezed his brother back while deciding to hold his tears, he was not going to lose him again.
"We both know that isn't possible." Loki chuckled "A Queen is the only one you can rule with."
Thor knew that very well, they both pulled back from the hug as the older Odinson succeeded in keeping his tears to himself. This is not what he wanted, he wanted to go back to being a prince again, when they didn't worry about the other one going away because they were always together, he regretted that now, he could have done that way back but he was too full of himself, immature.
"Will you still stay in Asgard then?" Thor asked which caused Loki to chuckle
He shrugged "Is it not peculiar for a King to live in a land that is not his?"
"Not if that King is my brother." The Asgardian King replied with a small smile which Loki smiled back at,
"Clever." The younger Odinson replied, "Now, we should not talk about something that is way far from happening as of the moment."
"I agree with Loki." Sif added, "I suggest we head to the ship, the Wakandan King mentioned to meet us there with the goods am I correct?"
Thor nodded "Indeed you are, Lady Sif."
As soon as they started walking, Loki couldn't help but notice the sorceress training inside one of the training rooms, he watched as she moved gracefully using both her powers and combat skills, he could still see a lot of room for improvement but she was doing fine, he was a thousand years older so it would make sense that he had a lot of experience and he could see himself sharing some of that.
"I believe you should stay here brother." Thor said that immediately caused the younger one to look at him in confusion "Me, Valkyrie and Sif can surely take care of things from here."
The dark prince raised his eyebrows in response "Why?"
"You have done enough for the day," The King shrugged "You can rest or be with your friends, whatever you wish to do, just be careful brother."
The young prince came to a halt as he watched them walk away, his brother gave him a mischievous smile that he usually gives, he sighed as he looked back at the training room. Sometimes he just hated how his brother does things, he obviously caught him staring at the woman from afar and decided that maybe his little brother wanted some time with her, which he absolutely didn't, did he?
He found himself walking towards the training room nevertheless, he made sure to come in slowly as to not scare her, he watched as she took down every opponent around her and saw as it vaporized the moment it met her offense. Wanda was wearing a black sleeveless top and some leggings, her hair was pulled back so it wouldn't distract her with training. He leaned on the door obviously not being noticed by the sorceress, she kept on fighting until he could hear her pant, the moment she stood up from the ground she forgot about one more opponent behind her, she stood in shock as a black sceptre barely scraped her left shoulder and ear then impaled the simulation of what she was fighting behind her, she looked at the sceptre and watched as the simulation vaporized indicating that it was done, the sceptre disappeared and she was met by the emerald green eyes of the prince of Asgard.
"Y-you startled me." She said as she placed her hand on top of her chest
Loki shrugged as he kept his hand behind his back "I did not intend to, but you looked like you needed assistance."
"I had that perfectly in control." She lied as she went to drink water, she sat down on the steel bench and chugged on the bottle of water before exhaling heavily, afterward she met the eyes of the Asgardian.
The young prince scoffed "Maybe that is the reason I still managed to kill one."
"You were just faster." She retorted with a small smile "Why are you here anyway? Shouldn't you be with Thor?"
"He decided to let me rest or do whatever I want as long that I was safe, that oaf really." Loki replied as he paced around the large room
Wanda watched him "How did your talk go?"
"He demanded why and I said that it was simply fate." The prince answered, "It was what we were born to do."
"So you're like a King now too?" Wanda asked that caused Loki to shake his head
"Not yet." Loki responded "I would have to prove myself, go through hardships, I can't have the throne like Thor in an instance. The Jotnar abhor us, me especially. I myself killed their King, my biological father."
The sorceress felt sympathetic but she made sure to keep it to herself, it wasn't a positive response to Loki and she knew it. She could clearly see the gap between the two brothers, not the gap between their relationship but the gap between who they are.
"Is there a possibility that you'll get hurt over there?" She asked
Loki nodded instantly "A huge one. They'll try to take me down but I believe I can handle that once I discover more of my abilities."
"So you're not going there as soon as Asgard is rebuilt then?"
The young prince couldn't help but chuckle as she noticed the number of questions she was asking without even noticing.
"I'm still young as everyone would say." Loki replied, "I could spare some time to discover who I really am, it's one of the things I possess, I can wait as long as it guarantees a sure victory."
Wanda nodded and crossed her arms "One of the few things that are different from your brother."
"Aye, that is."
━
Loki decided to come with Wanda to the kitchen as she wanted to make a cup of coffee for herself, the god watched her as she prepared a mug before she finally decided to spare a glance at the confused Asgardian beside her,
"Would you like a cup of coffee?" She asked the prince,
Loki simply shrugged before sitting at one of the high stools "I see no damage if I try."
Wanda chuckled to herself as she pulled out another mug, as soon as the brewed coffee was ready she decided to add a bit of sugar and milk and hoped that it would suit the god's taste, she didn't know if he was into sweets or not, and she probably won't for the time being.
"It's caffeine." Wanda muttered as she motioned to the cup Loki was holding "It's really good, it mostly keeps us awake, you just have to be careful 'cause it's a bit hot."
The prince nodded and noticed how hard the young woman in front of her was trying, she was blowing on it intently before actually trying to taste it but ended up pulling back since she might've been burnt, he simply sighed before placing his own mug down and holding hers, Wanda's hand froze as Loki held onto her mug, his hand turned blue as her coffee cooled down right to her taste. The young god removed his hand and motioned to the cup as Wanda didn't move an inch.
"You looked like you were having a hard time." Loki shrugged before finally drinking his "I cooled it down enough for you to drink it."
Wanda snapped out of her trance and gave the god a small smile "Thank you."
"This concoction." Loki started as he stared at the mug "I like it."
The young woman couldn't help but chuckle as the man in front of him liked what she made, for a moment it crossed her mind if this was the same person who attacked New York, she saw him far from that now and she didn't know why. For her he seemed like a sweet, cold, intelligent and intimidating prince, not the one she saw at the TV with those large horns and evil smile, she wondered if she met him back then, would they still understand each other's situations?
"It's hard to believe that I'm drinking coffee with the guy who invaded New York." She stated that caught the attention of the god beside her
"Firstly, it was a failed attempt." Loki started as he sipped "And lastly, it was at the wrong time."
Wanda raised her eyebrows "What to do you mean at the wrong time?"
"If I had these abilities before then I would have not failed, and therefore you will not be able to drink coffee with the so-called guy who invaded New York." The god replied with a smirk and hint of arrogance
The sorceress couldn't help but chuckle as she held onto her cup "You're arrogant hm?"
"I like to flaunt." Loki shrugged as they shared a laugh together
In the midst of their laughter another sharp pain took over his mind, he tried his best to fight it but it was no use, he held onto the marble table tightly that it started to crack, he grasped his head as the pain worsened, he felt like his head was about to break.
"Loki?" Wanda called as she stood up and held onto the god who was grasping his head as tightly as he could "What's wrong?! w-what's happening?"
As soon as the prince opened his eyes all she could see was the green glow, she started to panic, was this normal? his eyes were glowing like the time when he fought Thanos, Wanda looked around for help and knew that somehow this should reach Thor, but how is she going to reach Thor with his brother literally leaning on her for support, she needs to ca-
"Not Thor.." Loki said weakly as his hands dropped from his head and beside him "Please.."
She mentally cursed and remembered how he could read minds. Loki then collapsed but she managed to swing his arm around her before the god could fall down. You got this Wanda, he only collapsed right? She told herself as she dragged the god's body towards his room, she grunted as she felt his weight on her.
"Your weight surely makes up for you being a god." She muttered to herself as she used her magic to disrupt the cameras, it's not a good idea for people to see a footage of her dragging an almost lifeless body of the Prince of Asgard, which she was sure the security was going to report to Thor as soon as they could, and that's exactly what Loki told her not to do "This could've been easier if your brother knew."
They hid behind a wall as soon as she heard some Dora Milaje walking, she sighed before pulling him towards somewhere much safer and hidden before checking out what was happening, she peeked through the wall and saw Steve along with Sam walking so she sighed before looking at the god beside her, she noticed that his eyes were still glowing although it was a bit closed, sweat was also starting to build upon his forehead which wasn't good. The sorceress gently touched his head and neck, he was on fire, she grabbed his right hands which also felt the same while the other was freezing cold, this was totally not normal, she groaned before peeking and seeing that the coast was clear.
"Don't panic Wanda." She told herself as she gathered all her strength to lift the young god once again
She dragged him to his room which was just a few hallways away, she disrupted the cameras for a few minutes until they could pass just so they won't get caught, as soon as they reached his room she grabbed his hand and placed it on the scanner, the moment they entered she laid him on the bed and paced around, she used her powers to lock the door before finally sitting beside the god on his bed
"At least tell me what I'm supposed to do." She muttered to the god in his unnatural sleep, there was no response as she was inches away from calling Thor, she didn't know what was happening and what she should do "I don't know what's happening."
―
Loki opened his eyes to nothingness and started to curse, he looked around the white room as he stared down at his hands, this shouldn't be happening again, he was just with Wanda awhile ago was he not?
"This is not happening again!" He shouted as tried to look for an escape
"But it is."
That voice again, he clenched his fists and slowly turned around with pure anger seething in his eyes and body, Thanos gave him a menacing smile as he motioned to the white room that started to turn into a beautiful rice terraces with the sun just setting, no matter the view the god wasn't tearing his anger from the titan before him.
"Let me go." He said in a threatening tone as his right arm started to blaze in fire while his left arm started to get covered in ice "You're dead."
"Yet here I am." Thanos chuckled "Oh little Loki, as I told you, I may be dead but I am very alive in your mind. I will haunt you forever, whenever you are sad, troubled, or even happy. I will never let you live like the way you should, you may be alive but you'll wish that you're better off dead."
With that he swung his right arm at the purple titan throwing him off his feet and into the mountain, his eyes started to turn green as he levitated from the ground, Thanos slowly stood up as he smiled before charging at the god before him. Loki summoned vardaggen and used it to deflect the titan's punches, the towering height of the titan gave him the leverage, once he caught the god's scepter he threw it to the side, with Loki in between his fists he started to punch him causing the ground to break, punch after punch that left the prince unable to think for a next move as he used both his arms as a cover
"You may have gotten stronger and powerful, but soon you won't be able to differentiate reality from not and it will be your enemy. You will kill everyone, but you will still be King, of nothing."
It was enough for the god as his eyes glowed even more and he felt power surging through every part of his body, with a shout he broke free from the titan's punches and released a green surge of energy powerful enough for the titan's armor to break and throw him off, the ground then began to crack because of what happened, the beautiful scenery seemed to become a disaster as the power he released shook the ground and brought the trees down, the mountain started to slide as everything broke, he shook this off and looked at the titan below him who was smiling at the sight.
"You see?" The titan said as he referred to the once beautiful place that was now slowly collapsing "Everything will end because of you."
Loki had enough as his arms blazed, fire and ice mixed as he threw punch after punch at the titan's face, his anger didn't seem to have an end as he felt his eyes blaze even more, he didn't care about everything falling apart, all he wanted to do was break the titan before him.
"YOU DO NOTHING BUT LIE!"
He grabbed the Thanos by the neck and raised him from the ground, frostbite started to form on the titan's neck that was slowly turning his purple skin to blue, Loki held out his right hand as vardaggen came flying to him, he gripped his neck tighter that only made the titan smile as he gasped for air.
"I'm not the god of that."
Thanos flashed a taunting smirk that made the prince angrier, he knew for himself that the titan before him was right, Thanos wasn't the God of Lies, it was him and he knew it, yet why was he angry? Why can't he accept it?
"L-Look around.." Thanos replied, "A-Ask yourself w-who did this.."
Finally looking around he saw everything, the disaster in the place that was once a paradise, he shook his head as he felt the ground cracking beneath them, dust settled in as the mountains were split in two, all the trees fell down and the sunset had gone, it all happened because he lost control.
"J-Just imagine when y-your very own family and f-friends are running for t-their lives if they c-can." Images of Thor, Valkyrie, Sif, the Avengers, the Asgardians, and even Wanda flashed in his mind as they tried to get away from the disaster as fast as they could, images of himself killing them off before they could even walk away flashed and he stopped there.
He closed his eyes but it didn't stop glowing, as his fingers dug deeper into the titan's neck he used his right hand to plunge vardaggen right through him before throwing him on the ground.
"The G-God of Chaos i-indeed."
With his last words he decided to set the titan's body on fire, he stopped as he saw its burnt corpse and then pulled out his scepter, he looked around and he knew it was too late to stop what he did, the ground then split in two and he felt like he was being swallowed as tears tried to escape his eyes: is this my fate?
―
Wanda was officially panicking as soon as the god's body was enveloped in green smoke, his hair was flowing as blood could be seen oozing from his eyes, nose and ears which shouldn't be a good sign. His eyes opened fully but it only glowed stronger.
"Shit!" Wanda couldn't help but shout as she tried to touch Loki but the green veil only burnt her, she didn't know what to do, is this the right time to call Thor? She didn't know anymore
It got worse when the god started coughing and gasping for breath, she knew this wasn't normal and then she ran towards the door but it was jammed, she then saw the ice starting to creep on top of the door and finally she used her powers to open it, she ran as fast as she could and soon she saw some Dora Milaje
"Call Dr. Banner, Tony Stark, The Avengers I don't care!" She shouted, "Something is happening with Loki and he needs help now!"
Hearing this the Dora Milaje ran as fast as they could to get help, Wanda ran outside and saw Thor giving out some goods for the people along with Shuri and King T'Challa, she ran as fast as she could and she was soon panting beside the God of Thunder who was holding her for support
"What's wrong Lady Wanda?" Thor asked with his voice full of concern, she slowly looked up as she tried to catch her breath
"Loki."