Notes: See Author's Note at the end.

Chapter Sixty-Seven

By the time the group had gathered together once again, both Lokis were more or less recovered from their recent expenditure of magic- not only that used in battling Doom, but also in healing the bumps and bruises Tony had accumulated during his own share of the adventure.

Possibly owing to the infusion of magic, or possibly simply because he was himself, Tony's mood was best described as "cock-a-hoop."

"You guys missed out on all the fun," he crowed to the Othervengers as that group disembarked from their Quinjet onto the flight deck of the helicarrier.

"Yeah, well, we got in a little action ourselves," Stark replied grumpily. "You should probably make a gesture toward cleaning up the Potomac. You'll probably need a tea strainer to get all the Doombot shrapnel out of there."

Tony rolled his eyes. "Great. I bet Doom did that on purpose, the asshole."

Coulson did not roll his eyes, nor did he overtly alter his expression, but he did remark,

"Speaking of assholes, did you say Strange came and collected Doom?"

The younger Loki nodded, while Annie gave a guilty start and said quickly,

"He also told me to tell you to check your mobile." Coulson's eyes narrowed, but he said nothing as he reached into an inside pocket of his jacket and retrieved the device. He activated the screen and glared at it.

Thor, the proper Thor, spoke. "I assume the means of returning these Avengers to their own dimension has reappeared?"

"Yes," Coulson replied dryly. He might have said more, but at that moment there was a brilliant light and a general sensation of weightlessness.

A moment later, the entire party found themselves in Heimdall's observatory in Asgard.

"The hell-?" Stark spoke for his largely green-faced and disoriented team. Meanwhile, Falcon turned to Heimdall with a cheeky smile.

"Hey, man," he said. "Good to see you again. Although I understand you've been keeping an eye on us the whole time, is that right?"

Heimdall's expression did not change, although Loki thought he saw a momentary flicker of what might have been amusement before he turned to the appropriate Thor and intoned,

"The Allfather wishes to see you. All of you."

Loki- the Loki who, to his own surprise as much as anyone's, still belonged to this Asgard- still felt a lurch of phantom panic at Heimdall's words. He vividly remembered his own terror on his return here all those months ago, still banished and certain the Allfather would punish him for his involuntary appearance back in the realm. His firmly held fears had not, in fact, materialized, but it had taken more than one subsequent visit, with attendant welcoming gestures, before he really believed nothing terrible would happen.

At this point he did, in fact, believe this, so his jolt of fear was not for himself. But, given what he knew and surmised about the other Loki's experiences here- to say nothing of his own foggy memories of the other side of the looking glass- it was to be expected the other Loki would not exactly be happy to find himself in any Asgard whatsoever.

His fear was confirmed with a glance at the elder Loki, whose white, set face made his feelings more than evident. Annie, standing beside him, took his arm in a comforting gesture, and to the relief of the younger Loki, the elder managed to smile as he looked down at her. Annie smiled back, squeezed his arm, and murmured something reassuring.

Meanwhile, Thor- the proper Thor- was inclining his head toward Heimdall in acknowledgement. He then turned to the rest of the group, but before he could speak, Stark piped up again:

"I take it that's not the kind of invitation a person can refuse."

"No," Thor agreed. "Although there is no particular reason for you to wish to do so. The Allfather has some purpose in mind, one which will probably be helpful to us."

"Yeah," Stark muttered. "Because he's been so damn helpful all along."

Rather unexpectedly, Thor smiled. "Well, he is reluctant to interfere in strictly local matters. Invasion of one realm by another is one thing, and certainly Asgard stands against that sort of thing, but when the matter involves a single realm- and really, would Midgard care to have Aesir troops garrisoned all over your planet? Because, given your history- " Stark made a thoughtful face as Thor trailed off.

"Yeah, good point I guess. Especially if we couldn't guarantee they'd be on our side."

"Which, depending on the situation, they might not be," Thor said amiably. "Despite our own history of what I believe you would call colonialism, there is no guarantee the Allfather would sympathize with the ambitions of anyone else."

Loki, who could read and who knew where the History section was located in the public library, waited with sudden sharp attention for Stark to make a sarcastic remark about the British. The extra Iron Man looked like he was considering something of the sort, but at Thor's faintly amused expression he apparently decided against it.

"Very well- follow me," Thor invited, then smiled directly at the older Loki. "You may be assured of your welcome here." His glance took in his brother and his brother's housemates, and Annie smiled back and took the elder Loki's arm. Loki found himself unable to really begrudge the comforting gesture.

Thor led the way out of the observatory onto the bridge that led toward Asgard, and Loki quietly herded his friends and the other Loki into his brother's wake. The Avengers- the proper Avengers- followed, keeping themselves between the Lokis and the Othervengers, who trailed along behind. Loki felt as though he should feel some sympathy for their obvious confusion and dislocation, but his lessons from his housemates and the schoolteachers of Bristol had apparently not yet wrought enough improvement to his nature for him to do so.

The elder Loki suddenly drew in a sharp breath and held it. Loki looked past him to see Sif and the Warriors Three walking across the bridge toward them. He had rather an uneasy moment of his own, although he did not know why- he certainly had no reason for such feelings, not anymore.

Partly to dispel the unpleasant emotion and partly to reassure the other Loki, he called a greeting even before his brother could speak. Sif raised a hand and smiled.

"The Allfather has asked us to host your friends after he has a word with them." Without more than an oblique look at the second Thor and Loki, she added, "He naturally wishes to speak more extensively with… the four of you."

"I just bet he does," Mitchell snickered, and then utter a quick oof as either Annie, who was more than normally corporeal in Asgard, or George dealt him a swift blow in the ribs. Fandral had looked inclined to make a remark, but Sif cast a glance at him that promised similar treatment and he held his peace. Out of the corner of his eye, Loki also observed Tony, Steve, and Rogers independently casting similar looks at Stark. Probably this was the reason the walk into Asgard was accomplished in uncomfortable silence.

The silence endured until they entered the palace, when it turned into the more usual silence of humans astonished at the scale and splendour of the place. Loki was quite aware there were many palaces, or rather castles, in Europe, but the Othervengers were mostly Americans and unused to palaces. And even by comparison to the great European castles and cathedrals, that of Asgard was impressive in its size.

The elder Loki, naturally, was neither surprised nor impressed by grandeur, but he kept silent as well, pale and tense. Annie continued to hold his arm, but the gesture seemed to help only a very little. The younger Loki was quite sure the elder would have greatly preferred to step into the shadows and take his chances in the unfamiliar Yggdrasil, but pride forbade him. Pride, at least consideration for the other Loki's pride, also ruled out any gestures or words of reassurance apart from Annie's. Loki felt rather badly about not at least making the effort, but was aware they would make little difference to the other's state of mind anyway.

Odin was in the throne room, waiting for them. This was hardly a surprise: apart from a certain natural flair for the dramatic- inherited, apparently, by both blood and adopted son- on the part of the Allfather, it was a practical fact the throne room was the most obvious chamber in which to meet with such a large group. No, Loki was not at all surprised to meet with his father here.

He was, however, at least a little startled to find his mother also present. Judging by the way the other Loki stiffened, he had not anticipated her presence either. Frigga met their eyes, and those of Thor and Othor, in turn, smiling warmly. Loki glanced around to see Othor incline his head with all due courtesy. The elder Loki, for his part, glanced down, but Loki continued to covertly watch him, and so caught a glance of longing the elder Loki cast Frigga's way when he thought himself unobserved.

Odin, on the other hand, the elder Loki steadfastly ignored, and that included the moment when both Thors and the younger Loki, along with the four Aesir warriors, made their courtesy to the Allfather, sitting above them on the throne, Hlidskialf, on its dais. Mouth set in a hard line, the elder Loki looked pointedly away, shoulders tense and posture stiff, as though he had to physically prevent himself offering some gesture of fealty. It was, Loki thought, a petty and potentially self-destructive act, but fortunately Odin was unlikely to react to the insult.

The two sets of Avengers also made their various salutes to the Allfather- both versions of Captain America stood to attention, while Tony and Stark simply nodded- and the Allfather came down the dais toward them.

"Welcome," he said. Addressing the Othervengers, he added, "Not only to Asgard, but to this dimension. I congratulate you all on your success against the recent threat, especially since this is not your home."

"Yeah, some of us don't need to be persuaded to do the right thing," Stark replied, but in an undertone Odin was fortunately able to ignore.

"We understand you will shortly be returning to your home dimension," Frigga spoke up, "and we did not wish to lose the opportunity to thank you for your assistance to our sons." Not even Stark had any acerbic responses to make, and both Rogers and Barton could be heard to mutter variations on, "Pleased to, ma'am."

After a further few awkward moments of talk between the rulers of Asgard and their guests, Sif and the Warriors escorted both sets of Avengers and the housemates away- probably to drink, if Mitchell and Fandral had anything to say about it- leaving the Thors and the Lokis with Odin and Frigga.

"Come," said Odin, his tone far less peremptory than his utterance, and turned toward the door to an inner chamber. The elder Loki bristled a little but it seemed to be mostly through force of habit rather than actual offence taken. Othor actually looked warier than his brother- indeed, the proper Thor briefly looked as though he might be calculating his own ability to, in effect, knock himself senseless and drag himself after the Allfather.

To Loki's great relief, before it came down to any sort of test their mother stepped forward, wearing the serene smile with which she was accustomed to gently impose order and good manners on the least diplomatic of their diplomatic visitors. Frigga had gone through a lengthy period of having little confidence in herself as a mother, but no one could argue with her skills as queen. Loki found himself hoping the other Loki and Thor would not notice that they were being, as human politicians might put it, "handled."

And then he looked again at his mother and realized he was probably at least partly wrong about his mother's motivations: her expression was one of worried tenderness as she glanced between the troubled brothers. Loki clamped down ruthlessly on his emotions in case one of them was jealousy- he did not entirely trust himself to accept without resentment the idea of both Annie and his mother making such a fuss of this other Loki, let alone this other alarming Thor- and followed the others. His mother cast him a swift searching glance and then a warm smile that certainly helped.

Odin led the way to the small inner chamber where, once, Loki had told him of a plot against Jotunheim and the rest of the Nine. He gestured them to sit at the small council table, taking his own seat at its head while Frigga took her accustomed place on his left. Othor started forward, then abruptly stopped, hesitated fractionally, and chose a seat halfway down the table on the Allfather's right. Loki was quite sure that Othor had intended to sit at the Allfather's right hand, then rather awkwardly remembered that here, he was only an extra.

Thor, the proper Thor, glanced at him and then quite deliberately sat at the foot of the table. Ever in tune with the Allfather's thoughts, he obviously realized this point of this meeting was for Odin and Frigga to speak with the second set of brothers. Accordingly, he had chosen a seat different from his accustomed one, and one that ensured he was not between Odin and Othor.

The elder Loki still held back, so Loki made a choice of his own and took the chair immediately to his brother's left, which put him two chairs to Othor's right and left the other side of the table, the side by his mother, unoccupied. The elder Loki finally sat down as well, across the table from Othor with one chair between himself and Frigga.

With everyone except the King and Queen in an unaccustomed and rather uncomfortable position, Odin looked down the table at the two who were not his sons and said quietly,

"Now. What are we to do with you?"

Without moving his head, so as to attract no attention to himself, Loki cut his eyes from one to the other of the second set of brothers. Othor simply looked rather puzzled, and a little as though he needed more fibre in his diet. The elder Loki, however, stared at the table with a frozen look. Odin had not spoken with any plan to intimidate, but apparently specific intent was not necessary. Loki began to wish he had asked Annie, and possibly also George and Mitchell, to stay with them.

Frigga had not missed the expression, either. She leaned forward, speaking earnestly.

"Our sons may have told you that we have… their father and I were not always aware of their needs, and we missed the chance to help them, especially when they… when their brotherhood became troubled. We… we think you, too, might have some need of… guidance. You are brothers- "

The elder Loki raised his head, and whatever Frigga had intended to say next died at his expression.

"Are we indeed?" He looked at the other Thor. "Is that how you see me, prince of Asgard?"

It occurred to the younger Loki that the elder, as well as Othor and possibly also the king and queen, had focused on the wrong question. It was understandable, given the trouble and grief attendant on Loki's (Lokis'?) discovery of his, or their, status as an adopted son: in the immediate aftermath it had seemed vital to reassure him that he was a real son, a real brother.

And so he was indeed, and would continue to be so if he never saw his brother or his parents again. "Brothers," or even "family," if one meant the unit in which someone was raised from childhood, was an immutable fact of one's life in one sense, but not necessarily part of it for all time. Indeed, it occurred to Loki he had at some point heard of Clint Barton having a brother, yet so far as he knew there was no contact at all between the two. Upon his arrival in Bristol, Loki himself had assumed he would never see Thor again. They were indeed brothers, and they were also friends now- but they had not been so for a considerable chunk of their lives, and becoming so had been a purposeful course of action. Princes William and Harry notwithstanding- and Loki had experienced a great deal of envy toward those royal brothers and their apparently close, warm relationship- there was really no guarantee that brothers would end up being anything more than people who had once known each other as children.

A far more pertinent question, therefore, was, Could the brothers become friends? And also, Did they even wish to?

And, of course, If they did, what sort of help would they need in order to be able to become so? Without their father's assistance, though of course Loki had not known about it at the time, there would have been no possibility of a relationship between himself and his brother. So far as he could tell, Othor and the elder Loki were on their own. On the other hand, of course, the elder Loki was no longer in the grasp of mania and rage, and was therefore at least capable of making a sane decision about his own wishes. Potentially a spiteful, angry decision, but a sane one at least.

As was Othor, and now he came to think of it, the spare Thor had been ominously silent for what really had been rather a long time. Which might well provide the answer to their question.

However, when Loki looked more closely at Othor, he realized there was another explanation for his silence, which was that he was distracted by the fixed attention of the proper Thor. Which was, of course, understandable: Loki himself had spent considerable time and energy wondering and worrying about the intentions and potential of the other Loki, and it followed that his brother would have a similar interest in the second Thor.

Understandable, but still rather unfortunate, since the effect was to demonstrate, in essence, that Othor found himself far more worthy of interest than his brother. Or at least that was how his brother would probably see the situation. It was certainly how Loki himself would have done.

Loki was about to address the problem by kicking his brother under the table, but before he could move the moment passed. Thor turned his head slightly, breaking eye contact to smile at the second Loki and at his mother, and Othor finally turned his entire attention toward the elder Loki.

"Of course we are brothers," he said, his tone reflecting impatience and frustration. Loki found himself wondering how many times, and with how many people, Othor had already had this conversation. Certainly at least once with Thor, judging by the charged glance that passed between the two before Othor looked toward the head of the council table, where Odin sat.

It felt familiar. Unsettlingly familiar. It was impossible not to think of Thor's ill-fated coronation, when he had seemingly paid attention to everyone in the throne room apart from his brother. Considering the apparent goal of this meeting was to attempt to repair the relationship between the brothers, Othor's lack of attention was even more worrisome.

Odin spoke now. From his throne Odin could survey all the Nine nearly as well as Heimdall, and he had probably been watching both sets of brothers throughout this entire adventure- true, he could not intervene against Doom, but that did not mean he did not take an interest.

"He is your brother," Odin repeated, "but he no longer has a place in your life. Is that not so?" Frigga flinched and cast him a look of distress, but Odin's expression was calm. He was merely stating a fact, one known to all but so far unspoken. Frigga's discomfort, Loki thought, had held no surprise, only her old discomfort at speaking bluntly of such uncomfortable personal subjects.

Thor- the proper Thor, the real Thor- made one completely predictable effort to fix things:

"A place can always be made- " He broke off in some confusion, looking grieved. Loki knew why: Thor wanted to argue that he and his own brother had made space for each other in their lives, even after so many troubled years. The difficulty, of course, was that the places had not really been made: there had been empty places in both brothers' lives all that time, even though one would have thought (well, Loki had) that Thor had friends enough to fill any gaps.

Odin continued to look at the second set of brothers as he replied to Thor. "A place cannot be made where there is not room for it." He addressed Othor: "Your friends, your comrades in arms- they have taken the place of your brother, have they not?" Without waiting for a response, he turned to the elder Loki. "And you, perhaps, would not choose to have further contact with your brother." It was a statement. No question was required. The elder Loki, his face pale and set, leaned back slightly in his chair. It was as clear a gesture of repudiation as could be imagined.

Thor was not stupid, nor was he a slow learner, but in this matter he gave a good performance as both:

"Surely something can be done to… to… They cannot be- "

The Allfather was not normally tolerant of interruption or contradiction, but to Loki's relief this time he responded to the distress that motivated the outburst.

"In this reality, Thor and Loki cannot be separated. Indeed, they might be said to complete one another. That is not true in every reality."

Loki suddenly remembered the myths, the different versions and interpretations. In some of them, Thor and Loki were friends. In others, well…

Stories travel. All stories are true somewhere. Loki knew this to be true, which meant, despite his jokes about the Sleipnir stories, he tried not to think very hard about the realities in which some of those myths would have occurred. In light of that, there was nothing very terrible about the idea of a reality in which Thor and Loki were peacefully estranged, had little or nothing to do with one another.

Odin now also sat back, and there was finality in his expression. "All that now remains is to determine what is to be done with you both."

Othor spoke up, his voice hard. "He will be returned to our reality, and our Allfather will decide what is to be done with him." Thor shifted in his chair and favoured his opposite with a long, cool stare. Othor flushed. "I will ensure he is able to explain himself. I… regret not having done so before."

Odin smiled slightly, and both sets of brothers knew that smile well enough to mentally brace themselves.

"It is good to hear that. The Allfather will indeed decide what is to be done with him." And here comes the hammer, Loki thought, in language which better suited his Midgardian friends, but which turned out to be perfectly accurate. Odin went on, "There is, however, but one Allfather in this reality, and he is the one who will make that decision." Across the table the elder Loki suddenly seemed, fractionally, to relax. There was a sense of…

Hope.

Loki found himself also hoping, very hard indeed, that the Allfather would not let the elder Loki down.

Othor showed distinct signs of wishing to protest, but the habit of deference to the Allfather was a hard one to break and he held his peace. Odin gave no sign of noticing: he was entirely focused on the Loki who was not his son, but so easily could have been.

"It is possible that, should you return with your brother, that you will be able to forge a new life for yourself. The choice, however, will be yours."

"You are welcome to stay here," Loki blurted out, before he thought through what he was trying to offer. And then of course he winced, because what he was offering was-

The elder Loki smiled slightly. It was a smile, and not a sneer, but when he spoke it was to say firmly,

"I hardly think this reality requires two Lokis. And the shadow cast by its rightful Loki is hardly smaller than that cast by Thor. No. I thank you, but no." He studied the expression of the younger Loki and added, quite gently, "I really do thank you. It was a kind offer."

"What will you do?" Loki asked meekly. Do not go back, do not go back- Loki was nearly as sentimental the Thor about relationships between brothers, but he had, perhaps, a better sense of when something might turn into a trap. His memories of the other reality were foggy, but nothing in them could be described as a recommendation for it. The other Loki could not go back there. The result would be disastrous.

The elder Loki hesitated, and Odin spoke again.

"You may already be aware that my son- " here he tilted his head toward the younger Loki- "had protection when he fell into the void." He hesitated, then went on, with unaccustomed diffidence, "I may perhaps have overstepped, in my efforts to help him."

Loki realized his father must have watched them from his throne, or asked Heimdall to do so. Not all the time, just often enough to have caught wind of the conversations between the two Lokis, regarding what happened to him after his fall. It crossed Loki's mind that by now he should have realized that, so far as his parents' attitude toward him was concerned, out of sight was not out of mind. It was silly for him to still be surprised by evidence to the contrary.

Less silly, perhaps, to be so surprised at Odin's apparent questioning of his own infallibility. Thor was not the only member of Loki's family to show a reduction of confidence since the events on the Bifrost.

Odin went on, "It was not my intent to interfere quite so much. But his mind is his own. His choices are his own. What he has done since his fall has been under his control, which I believe has not been the case for you until very recently." The elder Loki's expression went stiff and cold, but his eyes were now fixed on Odin, and there was something else behind the expression.

Odin's one eye focused on the other Loki, and something passed between them. "You do not need, nor I think would want, the sort of assistance I gave my son. Your circumstances now are very different from his then. But… if something in particular would be helpful to you, if you know what you would want… "

Odin's voice trailed off. The elder Loki made a gesture of squaring his shoulders, as though gathering his courage to ask. It was so easy to tell someone they had only to ask, or that they should talk to the ones they loved and feared… The advice was so easy to give, and oftentimes felt impossible to follow. And Loki knew full well the terror of asking, of being vulnerable to rejection or ridicule.

So he heard his father's offer with trepidation, and then with near-disbelief, and enormous relief, listened as the elder Loki replied,

"There is something I would wish for."

~oOo~

Thor's friends did their best to be good hosts, at least Sif, Fandral, and Volstagg did. Hogun, in Annie's opinion, did about as well as Hogun could do, which wasn't very good but they had other things to worry about at the moment.

Still, it was a relief when a guard appeared to tell Sif that the Allfather was ready to meet with them again. And it wasn't entirely a surprise when they learned this meeting was going to take place on the Bifrost itself. Heimdall's observatory would have made more sense, in Annie's opinion, since she assumed the outcome was going to be to send the group back to Midgard. She burned to know what had happened to the other Loki, but her Loki would certainly give them the news. Whatever happened she was quite confident Odin would be helpful. Certainly moreso than the other Thor.

It was, therefore, a bit of a surprise to arrive at the meeting place and find both sets of brothers there, along with the Allfather and his queen. Their Loki was looking a little anxious as he watched the second Loki, but the second Loki looked…

Weirdly calm. Almost serene.

As they walked up, the second Loki glanced at the Allfather, as if for permission, and then came over to Annie and the boys, their own Loki and Thor trailing after.

"I have not thanked you for your kindness. I wish to do so now. There was no reason for you to take me in or to care for me, except compassion." He looked at their Loki and their Thor, including them in his thanks. "I was greatly in need of kindness."

Her Loki had said something similar, once upon a time. Annie felt her eyes fill. Her voice shaky, she asked,

"What are you going to do?"

Loki smiled, his worn-looking face peaceful. "I am going to try to begin again. To also have a second chance. The Allfather has agreed to help me." Turning to George, he added, "I am sorry not to have returned your book to you. Men At Arms. I left it in the quarters I occupied on the helicarrier. Perhaps Jane Foster will look after it and return it to you."

George, his eyes red, said in a strangled voice, "Don't worry about it. It's not important. Will you be all right?"

"I hope so," Loki replied. Mitchell reached out to touch him on the shoulder, and they exchanged rather awkward smiles. Lastly, he turned to their Loki. "You wrote yourself a better story. Perhaps I can, too."

"You can," Loki said, his tone positive. "I know you can."

Thor stepped forward and embraced the older Loki, who froze, awkward but not unwilling. And then he turned back to his own brother.

"You will be better now. You and your, your comrades. But please tell your… please tell Mother that I will miss her." Without waiting to see his brother's reaction- which was more confused than anything else but at least wasn't hostile- he faced the Allfather. "I believe… I am ready."

"You are certain?" said Odin.

"I am," Loki replied.

"Very well. Come and stand here." He gestured toward the edge of the Bifrost. Behind Annie, someone sucked in a breath. She thought it was probably Tony. Their Loki was looking at his brother in concern, and Annie remembered how, all that time ago, they had talked about Thor's reaction to the idea of Loki falling. Thor didn't look happy, of course, but if he was afraid of what was about to happen he didn't show it.

Which might have been simply because the other Loki was so obviously determined to do this. He looked a little scared as he moved to stand at the edge of the Bifrost, but after a moment his breathing evened out. Odin stood facing him, hands on his shoulders.

"There is no need to return you to your right mind, so the wards upon you will merely be of protection, to ensure that you are safe and, wherever you arrive, it will be where you need to be." Loki closed his eyes and Odin reached up to place his hands on Loki's head, cradling it, as he murmured something. A golden glow suffused his hands, illuminating Loki's calm face.

As the glow began to fade, Odin released his hold and in a smooth movement placed his hands on Loki's chest.

And pushed.

It was obvious Loki had been expecting this, welcomed it: instead of resisting, he allowed himself to fall backward, arms reaching outward, arcing back like a diver. Thor inhaled sharply but caught himself. Odin stood quietly at the edge of the Bifrost, watching until as the figure disappeared into the starry darkness of the void.

And then he stood watching a little longer, before looking up and facing the second group of Avengers.

"You will be wishing to return home. Heimdall will see you safely back to Midgard. Once again, the thanks and congratulations of Asgard go with you."

At which he and Frigga turned and began their walk back across the bridge toward the palace.

~oOo~

"Okay," said Stark, when they had retrieved Dunlap from the helicarrier's sickbay, "this was a ton of fun but let's not do it again in a hurry."

"Agreed," Coulson replied coolly.

"But if you ever find yourself in trouble with the Dr. Doom from your dimension-" Tony called cheerfully.

Stark stared. "There is no Dr. Doom in our dimension."

"Oh," Tony replied cheekily, "well, that gives you something to look forward to, doesn't it?"

"Thanks, Tony," Coulson sighed. "And thanks to you, too," he added to the Othervengers. "You're a good team. Just try to make sure you have the whole story next time something really big happens."

"Noted," murmured Rogers.

Coulson activated the portal.

~oOo~

"Good to be home, Loki?" George asked as they emerged from Yggdrasil into the small, cluttered lounge of the pink house in Totterdown.

Loki sighed. "You have no idea." He considered. "Or, well, perhaps you do." He set the kittens on the sofa and watched indulgently as they rocketed off toward the entry hall and then up the stairs with the sound of tiny cavalry. Then he looked concerned. "I should perhaps go and see about the rhinoceros charm. And we should tell the witches how the adventure came out. And you, Mitchell, must speak to Ivan about the vampires- Ouch!" he exclaimed, as Annie pinched him. "What was that for?"

"Calm down," Mitchell said kindly. "Time enough to do all that tomorrow. Some of us need some rest."

"Yes," Nina agreed, and gave George a firm look. "And some of us need to talk."

George nodded. "Yes. I'll see you home, shall I? And we can talk."

Annie took Loki's hand. "As for the rest of us, let's just call it a night, all right? Even though I think it's probably closer to morning."

Loki sighed, his shoulders relaxing. "You are, of course, correct. You generally are."

When they were upstairs saying goodnight on the landing, though, he said quietly to Annie,

"I wish I knew how the other Loki is faring."

"I'm sure he'll be all right," Annie replied gently.

~oOo~

Across the dimensions, in the palace of Asgard, the queen embraced her son, then went in silence to her own private quarters, where she sat at her loom.

Folded across the back of her chair was a light, flowered quilt.

~oOo~

Stories travel.

They are probably true somewhere else.

All stories are true, for a given value of "true."

Loki fell and fell, wrapped in magic and cloaked in darkness. This time the void was peaceful, and he felt no fear.

He had a most peculiar feeling that he knew where he would emerge.

And then the darkness ended. The blackness around him suddenly gave way to a soft gray light and he was aware of a sensation of speed that had been absent during most of his fall through the void. Loki had enough sense left to realize that meant he was now somewhere, rather than nowhere, and also that he was about to definitively arrive.

He reached out with magic to break his own fall, and found himself landing with… not so much a splash as a rather soggy thump. He did not so much sink as settle into a thick, foul-smelling… well, it seemed inaccurate to call it a liquid, but no other term fit, either.

Loki sighed. He would have preferred a slightly more dignified arrival, but if he was where he thought he was, clinging to false pride would benefit him little. His heavy clothing should be dragging him down, but the thickness of the… water… buoyed him up as he half-swam, half-crawled toward shore.

"You there! Hello!" a voice called behind him. Turning, he saw a small boat approaching him, propelled by a man in the stern with a pole. "Are you all right?"

"If he is, he won't be if he stays in the river much longer," said a female voice. The owner of the voice knelt in the bow of the little boat and extended a hand to Loki. "I don't know if you were trying to kill yourself, but the only way to commit suicide in the River Ankh is to drink any of it." Taking his forearm in a firm clasp, she added, "Or maybe battering yourself to death against the surface, but trust me, nothing is bad enough for that." As she pulled him aboard, wincing at the filth that came with him, she asked, "Were you trying to kill yourself?"

"Angua," the man in the stern said, in a tone of quiet reproof. Loki looked up at him, and laughed a little.

"You really do resemble Steve Rogers," he said. The man and the woman, Angua- who reminded him a little of Natasha Romanov, but also, strangely, of George- exchanged a look.

"Hit his head on the surface, maybe," Angua murmured. The man in the stern knelt. In a slow, clear voice he said,

"I am Captain Carrot Ironfoundersson. This is Sergeant Angua von Uberwald. We are officers of the City Watch, and we're here to help you." Angua made a small noise that might have been a snort. Ignoring it, Carrot went on, "Can you tell us who you are?"

I am the rightful king of Asgard.

I am a monster.

I am…

"I am Loki," said Loki. "And… I am becoming."

Carrot frowned slightly, still concerned, but Angua nodded.

"Well, you've come to the right place," she said. "Now, let's get you ashore."

END

…

Final Author's Note:

And here we are, at the end. Really, the thanks-you note to everyone who's read this thing should be longer than the chapter itself. You deserved a better ending (you deserve a better story!) but after all this time it seemed more important to finish the darned thing. Any ending was going to seem abrupt!

Looking back at the dates on this story, I am amazed and a little horrified. The first chapter was published just after Remembrance Day, 2013. The Dark World had just been released. I lived in an apartment with two cats, and I owned a horse. In the time I have been writing this thing I've bought a house, lost the horse, lost a cat, and acquired a puppy who has grown into a dog in the time since the last chapter was published.

I can't say how grateful I am to everyone who's read any part of this story, let alone the ones who've stuck with it, who've read my other Housemates stories, and who have left comments on any of my stories. I can't say whether this is the last of the Housemates stories- I have some other ideas, but not a lot of time. And I don't think I will be publishing any more WIPs for a while!

For now I plan to enjoy the feeling of not having an unfinished project weighing on my mind. And reply to the many, many comments I haven't had the wherewithal to respond to while I was wrestling with the Story That Has-FINALLY!- Ended.

Thank you all.