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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.
—
Mount Justice
"What exactly did you all tell him?" Batman asked, arms crossed, eyes narrowed.
"Nothing." Kid Flash shook his head side to side in a blur. "Just about New Genesis and stuff. He wanted to know what happened to Asgard. We thought they might know."
Batman turned on the young speedster. "He killed Desaad and raided an Intergang depot. Footage shows he took Apokoliptian tech samples and destroyed the rest while making sure to retrieve everything from New Genesis."
Miss Martian gasped as her teammates entered different states of shock. Not out of anger but simply because the idea that someone like DeSaad could be killed at all, and so quickly at that, was not a thought that ever crossed their minds.
Robin smiled, realizing why. "He is bringing gifts."
—
New Genesis
"Are you certain there is no Darkseid in your universe?" The Highfather asked as their cups were refilled. Loki had explained the state of his universe, Asgard, and its place in the cosmos. The Highfather was naturally suspicious but was willing to at least hear him out.
He nodded, glancing around the room. Everyone was still on edge. "Yes. I know all the names worth knowing. Thanos the Mad Titan, the High Evolutionary, the Kangs, and the Kree Empire. I never came across Darkseid, Apokolips, or New Genesis."
The Highfather stroked his beard. "Quite interesting. You wished to know what had happened to your pantheon. It is a tragic tale."
"That seems to be the case most often," he said, though he certainly wasn't expecting the tale to be so wildly different.
GodWorld, where the Old Gods lived, was destroyed in a catastrophe caused by Lokee, God of Discord and Evil, who had triggered Ragnarok. The GodWorld was destroyed, which led to the creation of Apokolips and New Genesis. The details of what exactly had happened were lost to time.
So no Asgard, but his father and Thor existed as Wotan and Thorion. The former was actually a name some of the Germanic tribes in Europe used a thousand years ago. Thorion was self-explanatory enough.
"It appears, no matter the universe and the reason, I always cause Ragnarok," he smirked, leaning back and summoning himself a mug of mead. The New Gods tensed, hands twitching, but ultimately, no one acted.
Only the Highmother seemed to be at ease. Everyone except her was cautious of him. She was either too naive, which did not seem to be the case with the reverence she received, or she saw that he didn't mean any harm.
The Highfather's eyes hardened. "What is your reason for causing it in your universe?"
He conjured an image of Hela. "I have a sister. She is my father's firstborn and the Goddess of Death, Hela. Let's just say my father hasn't always been the kind, benevolent ruler he is now. In his younger days, he was a warlord who conquered countless realms. During the process, he molded Hela into his general executioner."
Iyaza leaned on his right arm, sighing with a forlorn tone. "That could not have ended well."
He huffed. Had his father known he would put his conquering days aside once, he would have seen that as well. "Once Father decided to settle down, she tried to kill him and take Asgard. He banished her to Niflheim. His lifeforce is what keeps her locked up. Once he is dead, however, she will be free."
"Which will lead to Ragnarok," the Highfather finished, easily connecting the dots. Odin's mistake in how he raised his daughter would bring down the empire he had created with her.
Ironic.
"Correct. She draws her power from Asgard, and as long as Asgard exists, she cannot be defeated. My counterparts, all without a change, enact Ragnarok along with Thor to destroy Asgard so she doesn't go on a bloody crusade on the galaxy with her army of the undead." To punctuate his explanation, he conjured the memories he had taken from several of his counterparts, displaying Asgard's destruction at the hands of Surtur.
"A noble reason for destruction. A rare prospect," he said with a somber tone, watching the planetoid detonate into micrometeoroids.
"This has been most educational. A pity I did not have the chance to see them," Loki said. Then again, meeting a truly evil version of himself, rather than the foolish, desperate variants, would probably end in blood.
"What would you have done if you had?" Iyaza asked, his tone lighter, more inquisitive.
He shrugged. At this point, he didn't really know what he would truly do. "Tell my counterpart to stop being a fool. Kill him, otherwise." Either that, or flat out destroy him.
"Just like that?"
"I already killed several, and they looked far more like me."
Iyaza closed his eyes. Perhaps his abrupt mention of how easily he had slain his counterparts was not a good idea. "You said I looked like your father. Can you…"
Loki already conjured an image of his father, cutting the Highfather's sentence. Two weathered faces with cotton-white hair and beards, one holding a spear, the other, a staff, both golden. The Highfather wore a purple cape while the Allfather wore a red one.
The similarities were striking.
"Interesting," Iyaza muttered. Someone who knew neither would easily think both gods were brothers.
"If there is nothing else, I believe it's time for me to leave. Thank you for your hospitality," he said with a flat tone, giving a small bow. He didn't feel the need to stick around any longer. The tea was good, but the reception soured the taste. He didn't blame them, however.
Who could?
Cosmo rose from her place and trotted next to him. The Highfather opened his mouth to speak, but Loki was already back on Earth.
"That could have gone better," his wife said.
Iyaza smiled at her, knowing she was correct.
—
Earth
Bialya
Al-Qawiya
The first thing he noticed upon returning to the oasis was the dark clouds over the country. That alone wouldn't have raised any suspicion. The dark crimson lightning strikes and the chaotic energies involved did, however.
"What is the meaning of this?!" he bellowed, putting a stop to the chaos in the city. With a command that echoed through reality, the army of twisted animals rampaging through the city turned to dust.
A group of children, including one who had visited him before, seemed to be the perpetrators.
"If it isn't the trickster god," the boy, or rather, the entity posing as a boy, snickered.
"What do you worms think you are doing?"
"Once you got rid of that stuffy golden bag of no fun, we had free rein on this planet. This is all thanks to you," the impish boy said, twirling around with his hands spread out.
He must have arrived early because while two blocks were on fire and there were dozens of dead strewn around, the damage wasn't widespread yet.
He closed his eyes, trembling. When his eyes snapped open, the green pupils and white sclera left their place to pure, glowing emeralds. He shed his form in a flash, towering over the city, shining as if he were an emerald star.
The grinning Lords of Chaos were suddenly frozen, their lips curving downwards.
Loki held his right palm out. The fire in the burning buildings went out. The missing parts reversed into existence. The corpses flew back to their feet, the light of life reigniting in their eyes.
All the damage was gone in an instant.
"We might have bitten off more than we can chew," one of the entities, who looked like a blonde child, said, turning around to leave.
"Not so fast," his voice rumbled in their minds, stopping them in their tracks. A glossy force field covered them, and all eight Lords of Chaos found themselves before the green titan.
"What to do with you now?" His voice was once again in their heads. It was loud, suppressing everything else. They could not think, only suffer.
Klarion felt tendrils slither into his mind, twisting into strands, searching. His muscles spasmed, eyes rolling to the back of his head. Loki didn't stop, tearing everything of value from the little imp's head.
He couldn't kill or imprison these little maggots because they were chaos incarnate. They would reform if killed and eventually dissolve from lack of discord if imprisoned.
That is, by the rules of this universe.
He could imprison them in a prison with no virtual exit. Even if they dissolved back into the primordial energies they were created from, it would still be within the container. New Lords of Chaos would take their places, but it would be a long while before that could happen.
A transparent orb shimmered around the parasites, taking the form of children. A glass dome materialized with a metal base. It shrunk along with him slowly until it fit the palm of his hand.
He shook the snow globe, ragdolling the outraged Lords of Chaos around. He smirked and threw it into his pocket dimension. A self-contained miniature universe would hold them forever.
Though, he had greater problems.
The people of the city were kneeling, and he could feel the energy generated by their prayers and words of gratitude. He repelled it, the very thought making him nauseated.
"You want to thank me; a simple 'thank you' will suffice. I detest words of prayer or worship directed at me," he said with a flat, cold tone, just about to return to the oasis.
"Please wait!" a human shouted to the top of his lungs as he doubled down, out of breath.
Seeing the man's state, he decided to at least hear him out.
—
The Watchtower
"Gods, look at him," Wonder Woman said with a breathy voice. Before the League could even act, Loki had imprisoned the Lords of Chaos, reversed the damage done to Al-Qawiya, and most importantly, had resurrected the dead.
While towering over the city like a titan.
Batman turned the video off. "Orion reached out to us. He says Loki returned stolen tech to New Genesis while asking about the fate of the Norse gods in return. Given there wasn't much to learn since it was ancient history even from the perspective of New Genesis, Loki had merely taken a short history lesson.
"As we expected," Manhunter said with a flat tone. Loki made no secret of his aims and desires.
"Comparing what we know and what Orion said, he left New Genesis less than a minute before he arrived back in Al-Qawiya," Batman explained. Either Loki had a Mother Box equivalent or the capabilities to not need one.
He was leaning on the latter.
"What about Klarion and the others? From what Fate said, they can't be imprisoned or killed," Green Lantern said. Zatara had woken up, but he was in no condition to be a part of the meeting, leaving them without an expert in arcane matters.
Wonder Woman restarted the video, bringing it to the moment Loki handled the eight Lords of Chaos as if they were actually children. "Seeing how easily Loki defeated them, I don't think we should be worried about him."
Superman frowned, reading through the inquiries pouring in to the League. "The world's governments are losing their collective minds. What he did scared the politics out of them. They are all wondering if we have any plan should Loki turn hostile."
"Yeah, like not making him an enemy in the first place," Flash muttered, looking out the window. On average, fighting a villain taller than skyscrapers, or one who could control time or matter, was difficult. Fighting a god who could do all three and more would be a nightmare.
"What about DeSaad?" Red Tornado asked. It was actually the matter they were supposed to be debating until Loki reappeared.
Superman sank into his seat. The shoulders that could carry the weight of the world seemed so unsteady now. "He is dead alright, but I couldn't retrieve the body."
—
Apokolips
"Master." Granny Goodness knelt before the throne, her eyes on the dark metal floor.
Darkseid turned to her with a smile that sent chills down her spine. "What is it, my faithful hound?"
She rose with his acknowledgment. "DeSaad has perished," she said, waiting. She knew what was to come. Reporting failure to her dark master was a dangerous prospect. To tell him one of his most valuable servants was dead was terrifying.
Even for one as loyal as her.
"What?" The air trembled before Darkseid's voice. She found it hard to breathe as her lungs refused to obey.
She steeled her nerves, standing straight. "He was on Earth to make the humans aware of how displeased you were. Someone killed him. We barely had time to retrieve his corpse before the Kryptonian arrived."
"Who dares to take what is mine?!" Darkseid's bellow sent a shockwave that caused her hair to flutter.
"We are striving to find out."
"Do more," he ordered. Granny was quick to leave the presence of her master to carry out the task.
With no idea how she was going to do it.
—
Earth
Bialya
Al-Qawiya
"You want me to give a speech? What for?" he asked Zaeed, the leader of Bialya until the elections.
The mayor of the town had almost gone on his knees to coax him into meeting the prime minister. He accepted, if only to see what they wanted.
Zaeed nodded, rubbing his freshly shaven beard. "The people see you as what you are, a true hero. When everyone else was content to ignore us or was under red tape to help us, you came out of nowhere. The gratitude we owe you cannot be conveyed with words," he said, giving a deep bow, his head barely below the desk.
He crossed his arms. If the man weren't so sincere, he would have left already. "That still doesn't explain why I should speak to the masses." He had done what he set out to do. There was no reason to stick around more.
"Would it be correct for me to assume you didn't show yourself because you wanted us to solve our own problem?"
He raised a brow at the sudden question. He understood now why the people had chosen him.
"Correct. I simply evened the playing field."
"Well, the people did it. They brought down the government. Some words of encouragement from you would go a long way in inspiring them that this will work," he explained. The citizens had faith that brighter days awaited them. Just not everyone. There were too many hopeless individuals.
Every single person was vital for Bialya's future.
"You have no reason to do it; I am just…" Loki raised a hand, stopping Zaeed. He didn't tolerate these kinds of emotional moments directed at him from anyone except his family.
"Alright, alright, cease your emotional display," he ordered. Some words to stoke the people's self-confidence wouldn't be difficult to utter.
Zaeed grinned sheepishly. "And perhaps a short interview?"
His face scrunched up. "Don't push it."
—
In the next chapter:
"Yes, first Queen Bee and now Klarion. We have certainly taken devastating blows," Lex said, elbows on the table, fingers interlaced in front of his lips.
"That you have," he said, patting the man on the shoulder.
Lex was startled, almost jumping out of his seat, but Loki's firm grip pushed him down. "What the?!"
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