Formerly Unanswered Questions
He'd not been sure, what to expect, that first night on the ship as it left the ruins of Asgard behind them. Everything had happened so fast, he hadn't thought much beyond getting his people to safety, let alone what was going to happen once they were out of harm's (Hela's) way.
So it was nothing feigned on Thor's face once he sat down in the cargo bay that had been converted to a mess hall and been served up a meal if not fit for a king, at least ample fare for his people.
"Where did this all come from?" Thor asked with some incredulity.
His brother shot Thor a sharp look and rolled his eyes.
"You think I would allow my- Our people to starve? To leave the realm with naught but the clothes on their back? To have them beg for sustenance from strangers?" Loki all but demanded.
"I know you think I did so many things wrong when I play-acted as the All-father." Loki said quietly. "Probably coddled them too much. But they have lost enough, pride is about all they have left to them and I will not see them lose that as well."
Thor felt a lump settle in his throat as he looked about him, all his people, for once quiet and subdued, gazing in their direction.
"Their saviour." Thor muttered quietly.
"Ass." Loki murmured back and elbowed him none too gently in the ribs.
The first time he stepped in bird shit, it should have tipped him off.
Actually, the first time he walked the lower deck of the space vessel and smelt something decidedly farm-like should have been the first clue.
It shouldn't have been that much of a surprise, but it was. Thor blinked his one good eye at the sight in front of him, his eyebrow raising a little higher as he looked over to where his brother was, sat down, as if it were a common thing to do, on a milking stool of all things, with Volstagg's youngest perched on his knee, showing the girl how to correctly milk a goat.
"Loki?" Thor queried, his brow furrowed.
"Hmm? Oh, it's you." Loki said matter-of-factly. "Took you long enough to find your way down here."
"Goats? How? Are those chickens?" Thor asked, his jaw gaping a little. "Wait.. Are those father's ravens?" He felt himself choke a little on the emotion of seeing them still alive.
"I told you, brother. I would not have our people lose everything." Loki said, his face looking pinched and closed off, even as he held his hands about Hilde's to show her what to do with the Goat's udders.
"But when?" Thor asked, still puzzled by his surroundings.
"Why did you think I was delayed in arriving at the Bifrost? Someone had to think of what would happen after we evacuated everyone." Loki said a little sharply.
The rebuke of 'Because you surely hadn't' rang out clearly, even if the words weren't spoken aloud.
"But the ravens?" Thor asked, even as one flew over and landed on his shoulder, before proceeding to shit down his back.
Loki chuckled. "I must admit I had grown fond of them." He stated and waved his hand in Thor's direction.
A quick glance was all it took to see the mess had gone and Huginn or perhaps Muninn flew off with an offended 'kraa'.
"Little bastard seems to have grown fond of you as well." Thor stated with an answering chuckle.
"Good breeding, I'm sure." Loki said with an offended sniff and turned back to his instruction of Hilde.
"What do you think you are doing?" Thor heard Loki screech as he entered the makeshift Throne-room-cum-training area of their vessel.
He didn't even bother to look away from the young girl training in from of him to his brother's direction, as the man was swiftly at the side of Hilde, yanking the short sword out of her hands and throwing it with little care in Thor's direction.
"Teaching her to fight. Obviously." The former Valkyrie snarked back at Loki.
"We are going to Midgard. She'll not need to fight." Loki said plainly. "I will not have you turning her into another Sif." Loki ended with a hiss.
Thor felt a pang of guilt, at not knowing what had happened to one of his oldest friends. It was bad enough the others had died so swiftly, so senselessly, but to not know of her fate..
"Better that, than you trying to teach her your.. tricks." The woman stated a little mulishly and went to pick up the sword. Only for it to turn into what looked to be an adder.
"Loki!" Thor growled out from his makeshift throne.
"What?" His brother asked, eyes widened and looking for all intents and purposes innocent of any wrongdoing. "There is nothing wrong with my.. as you say.. tricks!" Loki snapped out.
"Enough." Thor stated, his fist thumping down hard onto the armrest, with small crackles of lightning sparking from the contact.
"Careful brother, the last time you lost your temper, we had to sit in the dark for three hours until I repaired the blown conduit." Loki snarked.
For all their antagonism a moment ago, the former Valkyrie snorted at his brother's comment, before picking up the now perfectly normal sword up off of the ground.
"You will teach her to defend herself." Loki said imperiously. "That is all."
The woman gave Loki a dark look and turned to Thor.
"When she is older, then she can decide if she wants to learn more." Thor decreed, with Loki giving a wide smirk at his judgement. "Until then, I expect you to make sure she is on her best behaviour, Brother."
With a sign of his current level of maturity, Loki gave Thor the finger.
"They what?" Thor shouted.
"Mhmm." Loki muttered. "From what I have managed to discover from my.. enquiries.. Apparently your friends decided to declare war upon each other whilst you and the good Doctor were otherwise disposed."
"No. This is madness surely?" Thor said with some uncertainty. "And these Sokovia Accords?"
"Well, from what I can tell.. It would seem Asgard will not be as welcome here on Midgard as you thought, Brother." Loki said flatly. "What now?"
"I know not. We need answers. Until then our people must not set foot down there." Thor commanded.
"Then we shall need to find the Captain." Loki stated with conviction. "He will help us resolve this."
"And why him over the Man of Iron?" Thor asked, his interest piqued.
"The Captain is more likely to tell us the truth." Loki said plainly. "And he's less likely to be an ass about it."
Thor caught himself nodding and quickly schooled his expression into a frown.
"Besides, brother. It's clear which side of the battle you would have fought on if you had had the chance." Loki stated with a smirk and Thor chose not to refute his claims. "Any idea where we need to start looking?"
"Nay. He appears to have gone to ground. How is Heimdall?" Thor asked in a quieter tone.
"Still yet to awake. The destruction of Asgard may have impaired his gift for good." Loki replied. "I shall have to try my hand at a little scrying."
"Or we try and contact Doctor Strange." Thor said with some trepidation.
"NO!" Loki shouted back, his face contorted in rage. "We will have no further dealings with that.. that charlatan."
"Loki.." Thor said with a huff. "I know what he did was wrong."
"He had me fall into nothingness." Loki said a little brokenly. "Never again. Do you hear me Odinson? Never again. We shall find the Captain on our own."
"As you will it, Brother." Thor said, sighing deeply.
"I'll leave you to annoy your subjects." Loki ground out. "It seems I still have much work to do." He finished, Loki's cape swirled a little as stormed from the room with renewed purpose.
"It's the only way." Loki stated plainly.
"Brother, no. See reason." Thor all but begged.
"The only way to make sure our people survive is for me to provide the diversion and keep the Titan distracted." Loki replied, his hand catching his brother about the back of the neck and pulling him forwards so their foreheads could rest upon each other. "Don't make this more difficult than it has to be."
Thor scowled and held his brother for as long as he was able, before the man squirmed in his arms.
Thor watched as his brother placed his hands together, one atop the other, before slowly pulling them apart and watched it somewhat awed silence as the Tessaract appeared in the space between.
"Yes." He looked at Thor and quirked a brow. "What? You thought I would leave it behind?"
Loki tossed it in Thor's direction, before making the same motions with his hands, this time the Casket of Ancient Winters appeared.
"Dear Gods, Loki. What didn't you steal from father's vault?" Thor said with a small bark of a laugh.
"Hmm? I took anything of value for our people. This though, this I need." Loki stated with finality, his hands turning blue with the prolonged contact.
"Wish me luck, for I fear I shall need it." Loki said with a small smile, before opening a portal in front of him and stepping through.
"And then what? You just let him run off?" Tony snarked, his tone making Thor want to cheerfully backhand the man through the wall.
"Thor, he could still be out there, somewhere." Steve commented as he laid a comforting hand upon Thor's shoulder.
"Unlikely, but thank you my friend." Thor said in a sombre tone.
"Good riddance if you ask me." Tony quipped and Thor rose from his makeshift seat, intent on crushing the annoying man's head with his bare hands.
"Don't." Steve said as he rose as well. "He's not worth it."
Thor noted Steve had said the last part loud enough for all to hear.
"Keep out of this, Rogers." Tony said. "That bastard brought Thanos to our door. Again. Anything that happens to him is richly deserved."
"He saved our people. He bought us time. At least give him that." Thor said in a somewhat defeated tone.
"Whatever. We have bigger issues." Tony said with finality as flipped open what looked to be a small electronic device that activated to bring up a 3-D schematic of the area underground they were holed up in. "We are going to need a miracle if we are going to get out of this one in one piece."
They only had a moment, before the building shook again, pieces of masonry rained down around them.
"He's got them all, bar that, right?" Steve asked, gesturing to the Tessaract that Thor still had about him.
"Yes my friend, and without it, he cannot harness the full power of the Gauntlet and the Stones." Thor replied, his hand tightening around the cube.
"If we super-charged the Tessaract, it might be possible to disrupt the other Stones." Tony mused aloud. "We'd just need to find a way to fry that sucker."
Thor looked to the cube, then to his friends.
"You think it could work?" Thor asked, seeking some confirmation.
"It's a slim chance, but we don't have many options, big guy." Tony replied.
"So be it." Thor stated and began to walk towards the bunker doors, small sparks coming off of his armour as he did so.
"What the hell?" Steve asked. "Thor?"
"For the good of my people and.. my friends. If I do not make it back, may we meet in Valhalla." Thor said and gave a small bow to his friends.
He didn't stop walking, or look back, ignoring their calls and not wanting to see their faces. Looking up, he saw the Titan, the creature's feet caused the ground the tremble as he lashed out at something, taking a step back.
Intrigued, Thor followed the movement and once he realised what it was a small smile broke out upon his lips. His power crackled about him as he concentrated and it caused the Tessaract to pulse and flare erratically, drawing the attention of the Mad Titan.
"Me." Thor replied with utmost conviction as he forced more and more of his power into the cube.
"Foolish Asgardian, you will fail." Thanos stated and stretched out a hand towards him.
"Possibly." Thor said plainly as the Titan again swiped at the annoyance buzzing around him, taking cheap shots where it was able.
"Nice to see I'm not the only one he takes great pains to annoy." Thor stated loudly with a smirk as the Tessaract now pulsed with a faster and faster tempo.
"Thor Odinson, is that any way to speak of your saviour?" He heard Loki carp, as the cube flared one last time, batheing them all in brilliant light.
