Another Chance

Exiled

Somehow the way back home was longer than the one they had taken to Jotunheim, despite following the same route and Odin pressing harder on the accelerator than Thor. Maybe it was the way his father's hands tightened on the wheel. Or the way Loki was squeezed between Sif and the door. On the other side of her was Fandral, his shirt bloodied. Sif was pressing a cloth against Fandral's shoulder to stop the bleeding until they got home. That didn't stop her, however, from throwing a few elbows at Loki, taking advantage of every turn Odin took too fast.

Neither spoke the whole way back to Asgard, save for occasional moans from Fandral. Even Thor seemed to have fallen silent, which must be some kind of miracle bestowed by the Norns.

But the miracle ended as soon as Odin stopped the car in front of the steps leading to the mansion and got out, slamming the door so hard it shook the car. Thor grunted and jumped down. Loki followed and walked around the car quickly, helping Sif get Fandral down from the car. Hogun took Loki's place without waiting for an invitation, holding his friend.

"Why did you go?" Thor asked from the foot of the staircase.

Odin, who had already started to climb, turned furiously.

"Do you know what you've done? What have you started?" he asked.

"I protected my home!"

"You can't protect your friends! How could you protect the mansion, or the company!" Then he turned to Thor's friends, who had frozen there. "Take him to the infirmary!"

"There won't be a mansion left to protect if you don't act!" Thor scolded, ignoring his friends as they walked past him to climb the steps. "The Jotun will learn to fear me as they feared you!"

Loki was unable to move. To think, even. Despite being in an open space, he felt short of breath. How was it possible that they even used the same phrases? How was it possible that he couldn't have done anything to prevent all this?

"Your vanity is speaking, not your leadership. You have forgotten what I have taught you about patience."

"While you are patient, the city laughs at us," Thor assured him. "You are old-fashioned! You're holding press conferences while Asgard stock plummets!"

"You are a vain, greedy and cruel child!" Odin yelled, losing what little temper he had left.

"And you are an old man and a fool!" Thor answered, his voice echoing against the façade.

Even through his panic Loki saw the argument again for what it was: Thor being the immature Loki had always known him to be, and Odin realizing his mistake in thinking he was ready. The one-eyed man didn't say anything for a few seconds. He clasped his hands behind his back and lowered his head.

"Yes... I was a fool... to think you were ready.

Loki had intervened the first time, and all he had gotten was an almost animal growl from Odin. One that would later make him think that perhaps the man did not even see him as a person, but as a monster, a creature that only responds to growls and gestures. So he didn't humiliate himself a second time and stood still, mute witness to the fight between Thor's foolishness and Odin's repentance.

"Thor Odinson," Odin murmured, his voice trembling slightly. "You have disobeyed me, as the father and head of this family. With your arrogance and stupidity you have exposed this house and its innocent arrivals to the horror and desolation of another war with the Jotun!"

Odin went down the stairs, coming face to face with his son.

"You are not worthy of all the privileges you have! You are not worthy of any responsibility in Asgard! And you're not worthy... of all the loved ones... you've risked."

Odin watched his son with disappointment and hurt for a few seconds before turning back, walking away from him up the stairs. Loki waited, halfway between horror and curiosity. There was no Gungnir there, no Bifrost. There was no Mjolnir, no control over storms. So what would Odin take away from Thor? Where would he send him, if they were already in Midgard?

"Your cards are cancelled," Odin said, turning suddenly. "All your accounts in those stores where you buy things with my money are gone. And pack your bags. As soon as Heimdall arrives, he'll take you to boarding school."

Thor gasped, stunned. As if he couldn't believe the outrage, the audacity of his father. Loki, by his side, was about to burst out laughing, more out of nerves than because he was really in the mood. Was that the punishment his brother received in Midgard? Not being able to keep spending daddy's money on nice clothes and expensive watches? If Thor knew his fate (and what he had unleashed) the original version of him would laugh too, instead of making that scolded dog face.

"You can not do this!" he shouted behind Odin's back.

But the man said nothing, entering the house without showing any signs of having even heard him. Then Thor turned around, looking around him, as if he were searching for his friends. Not finding them he turned to Loki (the last option, how strange, he thought with some bitterness).

"Can you believe it?"

"I told you it was a bad idea," he pointed out, his nerves beginning to give way to genuine anger at his brother's stupidity. "And after having fallen for such an absurd provocation, are you surprised that he is angry? They could have killed us. Fandral has been wounded, because of you!"

"They wouldn't have killed us!" Thor protested, throwing his hands up in the air.

"Tell that to Fandral, who was bleeding to death on the way!" Loki exaggerated only a little, pointing towards the house.

Thor opened his mouth and then closed it again, not knowing what to say. He grunted and turned, following in his father's footsteps. When the door closed behind Loki he was unable to take it anymore. He doubled over and vomited. That version of himself must have skipped lunch, because he only had bile in his stomach. He held his hair up with one hand, resting the other hand on his knee. It was something that would never have happened to the original version of him, and he felt ashamed. He just hoped no one would see him in that situation.

He hated the weakness of his human body, the ease with which his nerves took over him. The tremor in his hands as he stopped gagging and wiped the back of his mouth. The way he nearly tripped on the stairs as he started up.

He entered the house, but he stopped in the hall, not knowing what to do. He wanted to go back to his bedroom, crawl into bed and wake up back to his life before the coronation. In the real Asgard, with his aesir body still feeling his own and not loaned to a monster. But he knew he didn't have that option.

Although the situation was far from being as serious as in the original version, the reality is that Odin had just kicked his firstborn out of the house, and that he was adopted. Should he face Odin for it? He laughed to himself. Sure, that had worked out so well before. What would happen to the human Odin? Would he go into a coma? Even with his little knowledge of human health he knew it was unlikely that a human would ever wake up from a coma.

So his next best option was to talk to Frigga. He was just hoping that his mother would be available, and not consoling an offended Thor.

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Note: Probably the next one is the last chapter in "Asgard", and the next one will be already in boarding school, with the first appearances of the "Avengers". What (and who) will Loki find in Midgard?

I'll try to have the next chapter ready for next Friday, although I don't promise anything.