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Be ready.

That had been Loki's message to his brother, as Thor whiled away the dark days in Helheim's dungeons. Along with his betrothed, Sif, the two remained as Hela's prisoners. Their imprisonment was unkind, their treatment callous at best. Daily, Hela and her ambitious consort Loki listened to reports of the prisoners and reveled in their degradation.

The note to Thor was a trick, of course. Loki needed to keep his brother compliant for now, and the best way to do that, as Loki had learned so many times in the past, was to simply fan that little flame of hope his brother always kept alight for his own salvation. Loki didn’t want saving. Not by Thor nor by anyone else. He would be the architect of his own destiny. They had set him on this path, now they would reap the full reward of what they had created. Bitter, estranged, rejected, Silvertongue had renounced any allegiance to Asgard the moment the All-father had decided to lock him up for the rest of his long, long life. That Odin had preferred to kill him was a small mercy, though an ironic one.

The old man had gone to such trouble to bring home his little Jotun war prize and raise him in secret, imbuing Loki with all the moral superiority of The Realm Eternal, all its racism, and hyper-masculine tendencies. Loki had become precisely what they’d wanted. He’d been a loyal son, a dutiful Asgardian, and he’d been told it wasn’t good enough simply because of the circumstances of his birth. He had no control over that. It hadn’t even been his choice to go to Asgard. It was crushingly unfair when he’d done everything in his power, which was considerable, to prove his worth and his fealty.

No, it hadn’t been good enough. And eventually Loki realized it would never be good enough. The mold that they wished to stamp him into would never fit. And so he broke it. He had some assistance with that, albeit unexpected and unwilling assistance. After his fall from the Bi-frost, Loki had sought out new allies in the strange, distant realms of space in which he found himself. What he found was Thanos, the mad Titan. Thanos, his henchman The Other, and their Chitauri had seemed such an attractive power. Loki could help them – he had knowledge of some of the items the mad Titan sought. As a show of good faith, Silvertongue had shared a bit of this knowledge.

That had been a mistake. Thanos, unsatisfied with Loki deciding when and how much information he should receive, took the fallen King prisoner. Under the cruel and creative tortures of Thanos and his minions, even Loki eventually broke. They got inside his head, warped and twisted what they found and bent an already vengeful outcast into an enraged weapon of indiscriminate destruction. With Loki’s magic and the power of the Tesseract, an attack on Thor’s beloved Midgard was planned. In exchange, Thanos would get the Tesseract and Loki would rule the planet his brother claimed to protect.

Loki had been the rightful King of Asgard and he would be King again.

That plot had failed, leading to Loki’s capture and imprisonment in Asgard. The younger Prince had more than a year of solitary confinement in which to consider his options, his past, his actions and plans. And in which to slowly go mad. Mind still compromised from Thanos’ intrusion, Loki’s anger had festered, eating into his heart and hollowing out anything soft that had remained.

He was still a master of illusion, however, so when Thor finally did come for him, Loki was ready. Thor. Foolish, steadfast, hopeful Thor. He claimed that his hope of Loki still remaining his brother was gone, but his actions said otherwise. When it came to believing words or actions, Silvertongue knew not to trust words. He was, after all, an accomplished liar himself. Thor was a liar, too. They’d all lied to Loki, every single one of his family. Betrayed by all who had claimed to love him, Loki sought to punish them for the pain they’d inflicted.

Actually getting killed in the process had not been in the plans. Through the interference of the dark elf mage Algrim, Loki had died at Sif’s hands. His presence in Helheim had been purely by chance. Or perhaps it had been foreseen and woven by the Norns themselves. Allying himself with Hela, the Queen of Helheim, had been pure opportunism on Loki’s part. He fancied himself clever and adaptable enough that not even death could come between him and his plans.

Plans which needed just a bit longer to put into motion. Plans with which Loki did not want Thor nor his betrothed Sif to interfere. His anger burned hot when he thought of Sif. Thor had been a fool about her, too. Weak. He’d known that she would fight him, that Loki was defenseless while he worked the blood magic to try to free her from Algrim’s control. Loki should have just let her kill Thor when she’d tried and faced her himself. Thor had failed him once again. They both would pay for what they’d done, or failed to do.

Helheim would march on Asgard, legions of the dead on their side. They would overwhelm the living, burn their fields, topple their fortress walls. Loki would, with Hela, rule both realms, but why stop there? His birthright included Jotunheim as well. And without Thor to protect them, Earth stood no chance against a second attack. This was just the beginning. By the time Thanos arrived, Loki would rule all of the Nine Realms and he would prove, once and for all, that he WAS a worthy heir. Even if Odin did not live to see the day, Loki had found a more powerful father figure to impress.

When the time came, Loki would dispose of both Thor and Sif with great pleasure. He’d make Thor watch as he killed Sif, let him burn in the knowledge that there was nothing he could do to stop it. And then Thor would die also. If Valhalla refused the two Aesir for their dishonorable deeds, as Loki thought it might, then the ultimate revenge would be his because Thor and Sif, dead, would be compelled to fight on the side of Helheim against Asgard. It was beautifully poetic, Loki thought, with a smile.

This is Part 3c in a series with multiple alternate endings:

[Part 1: Time to Travel, Bro - www.roleplaylives.net/blog/187… ]

[Part 2: To Reign in Hel - www.roleplaylives.net/blog/228… ]

[Part 3a: In the Left Hand of Darkness - www.roleplaylives.net/blog/237… ]

[Part 3b: The Choosing of the Slain - www.roleplaylives.net/blog/249… ]

[Part 3c: Hall of Broken Mirrors - www.roleplaylives.net/blog/273… ]

Description

Be ready.

That had been Loki's message to his brother, as Thor whiled away the dark days in Helheim's dungeons. Along with his betrothed, Sif, the two remained as Hela's prisoners. Their imprisonment was unkind, their treatment callous at best. Daily, Hela and her ambitious consort Loki listened to reports of the prisoners and reveled in their degradation.

The note to Thor was a trick, of course. Loki needed to keep his brother compliant for now, and the best way to do that, as Loki had learned so many times in the past, was to simply fan that little flame of hope his brother always kept alight for his own salvation. Loki didn’t want saving. Not by Thor nor by anyone else. He would be the architect of his own destiny. They had set him on this path, now they would reap the full reward of what they had created. Bitter, estranged, rejected, Silvertongue had renounced any allegiance to Asgard the moment the All-father had decided to lock him up for the rest of his long, long life. That Odin had preferred to kill him was a small mercy, though an ironic one.

The old man had gone to such trouble to bring home his little Jotun war prize and raise him in secret, imbuing Loki with all the moral superiority of The Realm Eternal, all its racism, and hyper-masculine tendencies. Loki had become precisely what they’d wanted. He’d been a loyal son, a dutiful Asgardian, and he’d been told it wasn’t good enough simply because of the circumstances of his birth. He had no control over that. It hadn’t even been his choice to go to Asgard. It was crushingly unfair when he’d done everything in his power, which was considerable, to prove his worth and his fealty.

No, it hadn’t been good enough. And eventually Loki realized it would never be good enough. The mold that they wished to stamp him into would never fit. And so he broke it. He had some assistance with that, albeit unexpected and unwilling assistance. After his fall from the Bi-frost, Loki had sought out new allies in the strange, distant realms of space in which he found himself. What he found was Thanos, the mad Titan. Thanos, his henchman The Other, and their Chitauri had seemed such an attractive power. Loki could help them – he had knowledge of some of the items the mad Titan sought. As a show of good faith, Silvertongue had shared a bit of this knowledge.

That had been a mistake. Thanos, unsatisfied with Loki deciding when and how much information he should receive, took the fallen King prisoner. Under the cruel and creative tortures of Thanos and his minions, even Loki eventually broke. They got inside his head, warped and twisted what they found and bent an already vengeful outcast into an enraged weapon of indiscriminate destruction. With Loki’s magic and the power of the Tesseract, an attack on Thor’s beloved Midgard was planned. In exchange, Thanos would get the Tesseract and Loki would rule the planet his brother claimed to protect.

Loki had been the rightful King of Asgard and he would be King again.

That plot had failed, leading to Loki’s capture and imprisonment in Asgard. The younger Prince had more than a year of solitary confinement in which to consider his options, his past, his actions and plans. And in which to slowly go mad. Mind still compromised from Thanos’ intrusion, Loki’s anger had festered, eating into his heart and hollowing out anything soft that had remained.

He was still a master of illusion, however, so when Thor finally did come for him, Loki was ready. Thor. Foolish, steadfast, hopeful Thor. He claimed that his hope of Loki still remaining his brother was gone, but his actions said otherwise. When it came to believing words or actions, Silvertongue knew not to trust words. He was, after all, an accomplished liar himself. Thor was a liar, too. They’d all lied to Loki, every single one of his family. Betrayed by all who had claimed to love him, Loki sought to punish them for the pain they’d inflicted.

Actually getting killed in the process had not been in the plans. Through the interference of the dark elf mage Algrim, Loki had died at Sif’s hands. His presence in Helheim had been purely by chance. Or perhaps it had been foreseen and woven by the Norns themselves. Allying himself with Hela, the Queen of Helheim, had been pure opportunism on Loki’s part. He fancied himself clever and adaptable enough that not even death could come between him and his plans.

Plans which needed just a bit longer to put into motion. Plans with which Loki did not want Thor nor his betrothed Sif to interfere. His anger burned hot when he thought of Sif. Thor had been a fool about her, too. Weak. He’d known that she would fight him, that Loki was defenseless while he worked the blood magic to try to free her from Algrim’s control. Loki should have just let her kill Thor when she’d tried and faced her himself. Thor had failed him once again. They both would pay for what they’d done, or failed to do.

Helheim would march on Asgard, legions of the dead on their side. They would overwhelm the living, burn their fields, topple their fortress walls. Loki would, with Hela, rule both realms, but why stop there? His birthright included Jotunheim as well. And without Thor to protect them, Earth stood no chance against a second attack. This was just the beginning. By the time Thanos arrived, Loki would rule all of the Nine Realms and he would prove, once and for all, that he WAS a worthy heir. Even if Odin did not live to see the day, Loki had found a more powerful father figure to impress.

When the time came, Loki would dispose of both Thor and Sif with great pleasure. He’d make Thor watch as he killed Sif, let him burn in the knowledge that there was nothing he could do to stop it. And then Thor would die also. If Valhalla refused the two Aesir for their dishonorable deeds, as Loki thought it might, then the ultimate revenge would be his because Thor and Sif, dead, would be compelled to fight on the side of Helheim against Asgard. It was beautifully poetic, Loki thought, with a smile.

This is Part 3c in a series with multiple alternate endings:

[Part 1: Time to Travel, Bro - www.roleplaylives.net/blog/187… ]

[Part 2: To Reign in Hel - www.roleplaylives.net/blog/228… ]

[Part 3a: In the Left Hand of Darkness - www.roleplaylives.net/blog/237… ]

[Part 3b: The Choosing of the Slain - www.roleplaylives.net/blog/249… ]

[Part 3c: Hall of Broken Mirrors - www.roleplaylives.net/blog/273… ]