Alignment-swapped AU, looking for a home maybe. Possible spoilers anyway.

[anticking]

At least... at least I think Mjolnir will no longer come to his hand. The magnitude of his crimes have lost him that piece of himself, even if he believed he was worthy, as king.

Without Mjolnir, Midgard will be safe.

My brother was never one so kind. Shall I mourn for one who never was? -- No. Odin named me his successor, and it is time I act it, no matter my heart.

Comments

[industrialized]

His crimes? [ Tony's feeling a bit out of the loop. That's usually a bit of an issue, and with Fury's lot would be quickly fixed by a portable system hack. Loki is not so simplistic. ] You're probably going to have to dignify that with an explanation. Last I checked, you were in some deep water yourself. Mourn? Really-- really? [ Wry. ] Grown yourself a conscience overnight. Nice.

[gotohel]

You've thought that before.

[anticking]

I may be cold, Stark, but I have no more need to grow a conscience than you do to build another heart.

[anticking]

Have I? Which part?

[gotohel]

That he would no longer find himself worthy of the Mjolnir. After what he did to you, shouldn't that have deemed him unworthy of it?

[anticking]

He has tried to kill me before. It never broke his bond with the hammer.

[gotohel]

Who will hold it now, Father?

[anticking]

It will find its home in Asgard's depths, to await a warrior true.

Let me see you...

[ He cups her face in his hands, so gentle. ]

It has been some time, and one too many revelations in between. You look well.

[gotohel]

And if one doesn't come?

(she looks away, just for an instant before her gaze is returned to him, a small smile on her face. She wants his approval. Isn't that what all little girls want from their father?)

Any you would like to share? (she reaches up and lightly touches his hand, the small smile reappearing, and staying) As do you, Father. You've found a suitable role.

[anticking]

The revelation of our blood, the foremost. I left Asgard without saying goodbye, and it will be some time, still, before I return and accept the throne from the All-Father. I will make my apologies to you then. That I promise.

[gotohel]

I spend most time in Niflheim. There are many falling to sickness and age, and I must judge and tend them all. (She looks away then, down, and presses her lips together in a thin line. She's used to his absence, after all. It was why the All-Father had scooped her from Jotunheim when she was a child with her siblings, and why she was given rule of the dead) I'm sure you will.

[anticking]

You do well. Perhaps one day we'll rule half the Nine Realms together.

[ It's said in a soft, rueful way. He does not have ambitions to leadership, but he is bound to it, by chains of blood and family. He must. ]

[gotohel]

A crown isn't hard to bare once you're used to it, Father. Mine is death and despair, where if I ever venture to Midgard, I am shunned and warded against. But I have learnt to hold my head high under the weight of it. (She looks up at him again, and then takes his hand, removing it from her face, and squeezing it) You will rule well.

[anticking]

I will rule the best I can.

[ And that is all.

He has confidence in some things: that he can lie, that he can speak, that Asgard will follow where he leads. But on Midgard he had a taste of what it was not to be alone, and he found it intoxicating. He longs for it.

So he will go to Jotunnheim and find what he has missed in his life, and perhaps it will give him the strength to confront Asgard. ]

[gotohel]

Do not doubt your abilities, Father. Doubt is exploited.

[anticking]

I do not doubt my ability.

[ Only his heart. ]

[gotohel]

(She touches his chest with a soft sigh) If you insist.

[ohmythor]

[ Opens mouth. Shuts it. ]

... this doesn't sound like the story I know.

[anticking]

Then tell me yours, Jane.

[ He says her name with soft familiarity. Gentle respect. ]

[ohmythor]

[ ... that's ... that's really startling. She immediately presses a loosely curled fist to her mouth, suspecting something is amiss. Not with Loki, necessarily. Something bigger. He's never been one to act so ... nice. ]

... the Thor I know is ... is good, and noble. He's risked his life to defend Earth more than once. [ ... watching him, curiously, a little ... uncertainly. ] ... what do you remember?

[anticking]

[ A brief flicker of worry, in his eyes. ]

He is rash, impulsive, violent ... he always has been. A warrior, not a leader, ever since we were children. He has his virtues, but nobility, I'm afraid, is not among them.

[ohmythor]

[ ... she isn't sold. Not yet. She did her research on Norse mythology, after Thor left. Loki is the trickster god. Deceptive to the end, sometimes appearing on the side of good, but only for his own gain. How much does she believe of what he's saying? Is it all lies, or is something else happening? ]

... okay. Assuming I buy that. What happened when he was banished to Earth? ... what about the Destroyer?

[anticking]

He was never banished. As for the Destroyer -- I take the blame for that. I fled here, in confusion, in grief, and in doing so I put all of you at risk.

[ A sad, distant smile at her. She isn't the one he knows. He does not expect to convince her. ]

What was Thor to do? In his eyes, a Frost Giant had taken the throne that should have always been his. Nevermind Odin's decision. He needed me dead, and I was none so accommodating.

[ohmythor]

[ Her eyebrows fly up. A deep breath in, a deep breath out, and she paces away. You can practically see the gears in her mind turning. Whirling. ]

... the many worlds interpretation. I never-- it always seemed so ... so easy, like a story or a way out, but... [ A beat. ] An infinite set of realities, denying any wavefunction collapse throughout every choice, every decision, ever made. Despite what we should be observing. Every possible outcome, realized. Throughout everything we've ever known, every conception of history known or thought to exist.

[ She stops, looking at him. ] ... or maybe just a multiverse. Something -- some other place might be like this. What you're saying.

[ ... ] Can you prove you're telling me the truth?

[anticking]

[ Something bright in his eyes, as he watches her. His attention is entirely on her. ]

Must I? When it is so entrancing to watch you prove it to yourself.

I would call it another branch of Yggdrasil, but, then, you may already know that.