Two Blades, One Dagger

The Real Loki

Thor dragged Loki by the arm all the way up to through the palace gates.

Loki hurled questions at him the whole way, but Thor refused to answer them, just as he also refused to loosen his grip on Loki's arm. He pulled the unwilling Loki up the stairs. Loki recognized his surroundings- it was the Asgardian palace he had grown up in. Thor manhandled him all the way down the hall until they arrived at the doors to Loki's chambers. Then, he kicked open the doors and thrust Loki forward onto the floor. "LOKI!" he roared.

Loki looked up at Thor with an exasperated sigh. "Gods, Thor, I'm right here. You don't have to shout!"

Thor didn't respond, but he pointed Mjolnir at him threateningly. Loki realized that Thor was not looking at him. Instead, he was intently staring forward. Loki turned to see what he was looking at. There were four people crowded onto his bed- two maids, a palace guard, and a Frost Giant. They were all covered in paint, but Loki had a feeling they had been doing a little more than painting. The maids and the guard looked at Thor in horror, while the Frost Giant just lazily laid back on the bed, staring back at him with a haughty expression plastered all over his blue face. "You," Thor boomed, gesturing to the maids and guard, "be gone from this place. I wish to speak to my brother alone."

The guard and the maids hurried out of the room, not even bothering to clothe themselves before they left. Loki looked at the Jotun sitting on his bed, who he assumed was another variant of himself. The Variant didn't bother to look back at him. Instead, he just lazily watched Thor, who continued to give him a death glare. Finally, the Variant sighed. "Brother, I sure hope this matter is important. If you couldn't already tell, I was in the middle of an art lesson."

Thor growled. "It looked to me like you were doing a lot more than art."

The Variant Loki smiled wryly. "As a Midgardian once said, life is full of 'happy accidents.'"

Thor didn't seem to appreciate the Bob Ross reference. He grabbed Loki by the back of the collar and lifted him up into the air. The front of Loki's armor pressed against his throat, and he gagged. Thor didn't notice and continued speaking. "Explain to me how I found you on Midgard- a region called Sweden, specially."

The Variant rolled his eyes, seemingly unbothered. "You're mistaken brother. I'm banned from Midgard, in case you've forgotten. Perhaps this is just one of the Midgardians." He finally made eye contact with Loki, and he smiled down at him condescendingly. It made Loki burn with anger. Clearly, he was the superior Loki! How dare this Variant disrespect him. "Tell me," the Variant continued, "do the people still worship me on Midgard?"

"They worship me," Loki spat. He knew it wasn't true, but it would get a rise out of his Variant. 

As predicted, the Variant Loki scoffed. "And who exactly are you?" he replied, his voice dripping with venom. 

"I'm Loki, God of Mischief, prince of Asgard," Loki boasted. "And I'm afraid you are on my bed."

The Variant scowled. "So he's crazy," he said, looking back to Thor. "How is that my problem?" 

"You're my problem, brother," Thor grumbled, "and I know that if Odin had found you on Midgard, you would've been locked away for it. I know my brother when I see him, and this is you." He dropped Loki rather harshly onto the ground. 

The Variant Loki got up and strode over towards him. Loki watched him. While Loki had never bothered to watch himself in third person, he felt a strong similarity between himself and the Variant. They did walk the same- head held high, shoulders back, looking down upon the world around them. The Variant stood over Loki, looking down at him. Then, he seized him by the arm. Instantly, Loki felt the harsh cold radiating from his hand. Loki, Thor, and the Variant Loki watched as the skin surrounding where the Variant grabbed Loki turned blue. The Variant furrowed his eyebrows, leg go of his arm, snarled, and stalked back to the bed in frustration. Loki's skin returned to its normal color.