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Do you like Loki's creations, dangerous experiments, and willingness to challenge enemies that appear above his league? Then you will definitely like Thairon, the protagonist of my original story, Arrival : Ruptures. Comments, likes and reviews are appreciated. Here are the links for : AO3, Spacebattles, Royal Road and Webnovel.
—
The Citadel at the End of Time
"Still haven't decided?"
"It's not just revenge, is it?" He Who Remains grinned. It only served to make Sylvie scowl. "You are afraid of losing who you are. If none of this happens, you will become a Loki, and Sylvie will never have existed."
She averted her eyes.
"No worries, I got you two covered," the human said, opening a time door.
Mirror Loki leaped out of his chair, blinking at the person on the other end. "Is that Thor? What happened to him?"
His brother was sitting on a hill, hair unkempt, overweight, and stance sunken. The God of Thunder that stood for peace was gone. What remained was a shadow.
"Depression. He lost his mother first, then his father, then Asgard, then half of the population of Asgard, and finally, his brother. They also lost the war against Thanos, who shattered the stones to subatomic particles."
He blinked. The Titan was going to die, or worse, but he had to resolve the mess here first.
"Thor…" his mirror counterpart whispered, torn between two impossible choices.
"Here is another option, just for you two. Go to that timeline," He Who Remains offered.
Sylvie looked at the Timedoor, watching Thor, whose face she had begun to forget, sit there silently. "Be a sister to a Thor I never knew?"
"You have the rest of your life to know him and the lover boy here."
"Sylvie, I know you want revenge," his mirror counterpart began. She turned sharply to him with a scowl. "But I can't kill him, can I? I literally can't because he'd see it all coming."
"True," He Who Remains said with a chuckle, fanning the flames.
"What about you, oh so superior Loki? Are you just going to ignore the fact that TVA tried to prune your timeline?" she said, trying to convince him to do what she could not.
The human was ready for this apparently, since his answer was immediate. "What better way to take revenge than ensure the TVA never exists in the first place?"
He frowned. "I accept your offer. A pulse specifically targeting your counterparts across the timelines while drawing power from the said timelines should ensure they all die for all of eternity."
"Just what I like to hear."
"And you two? Hurry up now, before the opportunity is gone."
Sylvie scowled and threw a knife at the smug human. He held the device on his wrist out, rewinding the attack back. The conjured knife was gone while she sunk into her chair.
"Fine," she conceded. The idea of trying to kill the human responsible for all that she had gone through for eternity, and failing each time, sounded tiring.
"Really?"
"Yes. The more I stay here, the more I hate myself. Let's just go."
He Who Remains opened the Timedoor again, holding his hand out. Loki got up first, holding his hand out for Sylvie. She took it, still glaring at He Who Remains. She turned around sharply, stepping through the portal with Loki into New Asgard.
"Look at the love birds go," He Who Remains said, shaking his head. "Come on, champ, the Council of Kang's await."
"Kang. Is that your name?"
"Nope."
—
The Council of Kangs
Loki stepped out of the Timedoor into an arena of all places.
One full of variants of He Who Remains. Thousands crowded the seats, with gigantic statues on all sides. The said human was quick to raise his hands, announcing himself to his counterparts. "Hey, hey, hey. Miss me, guys?"
"The Exiled One. You dare return?!" One Kang, with blue skin and ostentatious clothing, rasped out.
"Yeah, Papa Smurf, and look who I brought with me."
"A Loki? You brought a clown to amuse us?" Another Kang, donning high-tech armor, snorted, firing a blue beam out of his hand.
Loki let the shot impact his chest, breaking down and absorbing the energy. The Kangs looked at one another, reconsidering.
"More like your demise," He Who Remains chuckled. Loki disappeared from his spot, appearing behind the Kang who had attacked him. His arm pierced through the arrogant mortal's chest through and through. He held a piece of the spine in his hand.
Kang froze on the spot, the light in his eyes dimming. The remaining counterparts were quick to act, but so was Loki.
"Cease."
That one word was an order of multiversal magnitude. The cheering Kangs on the seats, the ones about to attack him—they all ceased all movement, standing still like statues. Everyone except Loki and He Who Remains had just been covered with a dense layer of seidr, forcibly stopping their movements.
He Who Remains began to cackle, pulling the blue Kang's long mustache. "Ever since I saw what you could do, I dreamt of this moment. It is even better than I could imagine."
Loki ignored the human's ramblings, focusing on his work.
A pulse, one meant to consume to fuel itself and continue its eternal mission, was released, using the Kang he had just killed as the anchor point. All variants of a person shared a quantum wavelength that the kill pulse would track. The pulse was sentient in a manner meant to ascertain whether the Kang was good or a genocidal, multiverse-level threat and kill them.
All in an instant.
Each frozen Kang began to crumble to ashes.
He Who Remains' laughter turned to howling like a beast, dancing through the ash raining on him. Ashes of thousands of Kangs, his counterparts that he had spent so long trying to stop. When only he and Loki were left in a sea of ashes, he stopped, breath ragged from the physical exertion.
Loki shook his hand, clearing the ash.
"I can't believe it's over," he muttered with a distant tone. All those eons, and he was finally free.
The last Kang clapped his hands. "Welp, I'll go deal with the TVA. You won't see it ever again, or me for that matter."
"What will you do now?"
"Find a little resort and retire. Thanks for everything, champ." He Who Remains gave a two-finger salute. He opened a time door and left.
Loki had no reason to stay, but there was still something else to do.
—
The Void
He appeared in the bunker. His child and old alligator counterparts were still in there, lazing around the room.
"You are back," his older-looking counterpart said.
"Yes. The TVA is no more. They will not hunt any variants any more. You three can stay here, or I can send you to the moments you were taken," he offered. He wasn't going to care, but at least these two seemed to regret their actions. They deserved a chance.
Unlike the boastful version.
As for the alligator, he did not care enough to consider the downsides.
"May I ask how you managed it?" the older Loki asked.
"No," he said with half-lidded eyes. The situation with Kang was already a mess. He was not going to waste time explaining it.
"I see."
"Quickly now, I still have much to do."
"I... I killed Thor. I can't go back," the child Loki said, eyes cast down.
"I'll send you to the day before, then."
"Oh."
"I'll accept that most gracious offer."
The alligator growled, low and pleased.
The child Loki hiccuped but nodded.
"Great, off you three go," he muttered, flicking his hand forward, fingers spreading. All three Lokis became transparent, slowly phasing back into the timelines he designated for them. He also made sure to leave a note to the kid.
Now, only one person left.
—
He had felt the variant of Thor, who had been transformed into a frog, left locked in a jar right above the bunker.
Breaking the curse, he flicked him back to the moment he was taken, ignoring the accusations that spilled out of his lips.
As Alioth began to collapse, he left the Void to return home.
—
Asgard
He came into existence in his room, tired. While he could never be physically tired unless his enormous reserves somehow ran out, the ordeal weighed heavily on his mind. He left the room to join the lunch. He had time traveled to three days after he had left just to not have to deal with Laufey.
With the TVA gone, everything should be fine now.
"Loki? You returned?!" Sif exclaimed, stopping her pacing.
"Yes, Sif, I have."
"Quick. You must convince the Allfather to lift Thor's exile."
He blinked, eyebrows rising to his forehead. "I am sorry, what?"
—
He rubbed his temples. The physical action did nothing to soothe his mind in turmoil, but there was nothing to do. His brother had attacked Laufey, breaking the king of Jotunheim's jaw, and was exiled after another heated argument with his father.
"I will go and deal with this mess." First, he had to see his father.
—
"Father," he greeted Odin. The aging king was on his throne, wearing his armor, looking like the glorious warrior king he was. A sight that did not bode well.
He tapped Gungnir on the ground twice, dismissing everyone in the throne room. "My wayward son. Where have you been?"
"Long story."
"Tell me, boy, when did you two learn about Hela?" he asked with a low voice, fingers tightening around the spear.
"A century ago or so. We discovered her prison and spoke to her for a bit. I actually regularly visit her to change her mind, though it has been difficult so far."
"You never thought to mention this? To reveal the truth?" he raised his voice, shaking the throne room. Old or not, he was still mighty.
"Thor did the very first day we met Hela. I convinced him otherwise, as it would put you in a difficult situation."
"How considerate."
"Anyway, I will deal with Laufey first, then visit Thor," he said. He would not allow a war. Not because the Jotnar could hope to win, but because it was a waste of time.
"You will do neither."
"I was not really asking."
"Do not think I won't exile you as well," he said, pointing at him with Gungnir.
"Why are you so bitter? Because we weren't willing to let our home be destroyed? So you could be absolved of everything you did to build Asgard's empire?"
"Enough. You know not what you speak of."
"Odin Allfather. The conqueror who tried to gather the Infinity Stones, only to stop because he could not sacrifice the daughter he locked away for millennia."
His father's hand slackened and he dropped the spear. "How do you?"
He grinned. "I will let you discover that for yourself." With those words, he disappeared.
—
Jotunheim
He had gazed at Jotunheim before, out of curiosity as to what his birth place looked like. Cold and dark with no sunlight, it certainly was a world uninhabitable to anyone else but the Jotnar.
Laufey was at his throne, his jaw healed, planning war with his generals.
He phased into the same wavelength, appearing out of thin air to the Jotnar.
"You!" His birth father screamed. Dozens of Jotnar turned to him, weapons bared. He raised two fingers and flicked them down. All the Jotnar except Laufey slammed to the ground face down, struggling to rise to no avail.
"Yes, me."
"What do you want?" Laufey demanded. He knew the boy's powers outstripped his, and perhaps even the Allfather's. Even the King of Asgard could not stop time so whimsically.
Which is why the threat of war was just that.
"I want you to abdicate," Loki said. Peace between Jotunheim and Asgard was not possible while Laufey was king.
"Your brother started this. Do not think I will be cowed into submission."
Loki huffed. He spread his arms, uttering four words that all in the palace heard.
"Let there be light."
The darkness of the realm of the Frost Giant was abolished. The sun blazed into existence, high above the clouds, yet clearly visible. It was small in comparison to a real star since he did not wish to waste all that power. He had also dimmed the heat to not set the atmosphere on fire.
Still, the football-field-sized burning ball of gas was more than enough.
Laufer screamed.
The infrared and ultraviolet radiations, extremely dangerous to a being of cold who had never been exposed to them in such a raw form, burned him alive. The remaining Jotnar were not spared either, shrieking.
Laufey began to claw at his skin, thrashing on the ground like a worm, having fallen out of his throne. The palace, all constructed out of ice, began to melt.
"Please, stop!" Laufey's ragged cries cracked the melting ice blocks.
He raised a hand to his ear, leaning forward. "I am sorry, I can't hear you over the sound of your arrogance. Can you repeat that?"
"I will abdicate," he declared, rolling on the ground.
"Immediately?"
"Yes!"
He snapped his fingers and the star disappeared, absorbed back. He flicked Laufey back to his throne, all wounds gone. He had even repaired the melting slabs of ice.
"See? That wasn't so hard now, was it?" he asked, healing him and the remaining Jotnar. It wouldn't do if they appeared in the peace talks wounded.
"Helblindi, I believe?" he asked the heir to Jotunheim's throne.
"Yes," his half-brother stuttered, rising to his feet as allowed.
"I am certain you, as the new King of Jotunheim, will pursue peace with Asgard. My father knows my brother is in the wrong, and if you are smart, there can be a beneficial peace between Asgard and Jotunheim," he said. This was the perfect opportunity for both sides to sit down and hammer an agreement.
"Most certainly, Prince Loki."
"Excellent, because next time, Jotunheim will have a permanent, true star," he warned, there one second, gone the next.
—
He Who Remains activated his contingency plan, stopping the TVA from ever coming into existence. All the variants taken to work in the organization, and the ones pruned, never went through any of these ordeals. An infinite amount of timelines burst into existence, sending quakes through the multiverse.
In each timeline, the moment any version of Nathaniel Richards began to plan for domination of the timelines, they crumbled into ashes with their ambitions. The timelines were spared the chaotic war.
In one timeline Loki and Sylvie met a version of Thor. Spared from nonexistence, they explained the situation. Thor, who had lost all hope, had suddenly gained two siblings, relighting a fire that had died in his heart.
The old Loki, who had missed his brother, made his way to New Asgard once more. The child Loki woke up the day before he had murdered his brother during a prank gone wrong. He wondered if it was all a dream, but a sticky, green paper fell to his face, telling him it was not.
He abandoned any idea of the prank, rushing to find his brother.
As for alligator Loki, he swore to be careful with what he ate from now on.
—
In the next chapter:
"You told them everything?" he asked. Not that Thor was too interested in the inner workings of Bifrost; what he told them would be the bare bones.
His brother crossed his arms, a lopsided grin on his face as he looked up. "If Father didn't want me to, he should not have exiled me here."
"Fair," Loki said. A green wave washed over him, transmuting the suit into his green and dark robes.
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