Godly Detective

A Gods Downfall

To say Thor was shocked would be an understatement. One moment he was on Asgard, watching as his once brother was escorted by the Einhajars to his temporary cell until one could be properly fitted for him in the dungeons; the next, he was in Norns knew where with the mortals who helped battle against Loki.

At first, he thought Loki was behind it. Then he realized that he couldn't have been. Loki was wearing bangles that had spikes on the inside that would make concentrating on performing any type of the spell impossible.

Then he saw them. The Norns themselves. And it seemed like the rest of the Avengers did as well. Some reached for their weapons, not finding them.

They looked at Thor in eerie synchronization. "Thor Odinson, we have brought you here to witness something very important that you see."

That was all they said, pausing to allow him the time to think. "Mother and Loki always said that getting visions from the Norns was both a blessing and a curse; so what would it mean to actually be visited by them?" He didn't realize he had spoken out loud until he got a small laugh from the one in the middle.

"We do not want you to think of this encounter as a curse, as we only want to help you. We wish to help you."

From the corner of his eye he could see many of the Avengers either trying to speak or tensing up into a slight battle stance. Thor can see that the Norns must have done something to stop them from speaking.

"What exactly do you want from us?" He tried to sound strong and unwavering in his question, but knew that the three standing before him would see through such a thing instantly. They were Gods to the Gods.

The one on the right smiles softly, which does not reassure Thor as much as he wished it would. "What we want to do is show you your brother's next life. We know that currently none of you like him," that was said while looking at the fuming Clint Barton, stoic Natasha Romanov, and nervous Bruce Banner. Steve Rogers and Tony Stark didn't look too happy, but it's clear that they are thinking about many things that could happen from this. "However, one thing we must inform you all is that the only way one might gain a new life is to die protecting another, especially if they had done things such as what Loki has done."

Thor was confused. Don't get him wrong, he understood most of what was said, but it wasn't registering with him. His brother was going to die sacrificing his life for someone. What led to such a thing happening? Who did he die for? All of this was confusing him, but he needed to ask. "May you be so kind as to inform me who killed Loki and who he sacrificed himself for?"

Even Clint, who was not calm in his hatred for Loki faltered when he felt the somberness radiating off of the three women in front of them. "The name of the being who kills Loki is Thanos. And to answer your question on who he will die for, the answer is you, Thor."

No one knew how to react to that, but Thor felt something stir deep in his chest. He couldn't tell if it was pride, agony, or a mixture of both. It took a few minutes for him to speak up once again. "Not that I don't appreciate seeing the Avengers again, but is there a specific reason why the rest of them are here?"

"Quite simply, we did not believe that you should watch this without emotional support. His next life is not completely filled with happiness." Thor could appreciate that, and upon looking at the others he sees that even if they aren't too happy to be watching the person who had just attacked New York, they can understand that if it was them in Thor's position they'd want someone here for emotional support as well.

Thor, however, was confused on why it was them in specific.

"You're confused as to why we did not bring your friends from Asgard, are you not?" He wasn't sure which one spoke but his eyes widened at their question. Before he could respond they continued, "It is because Asgard would only mock and ridicule Loki for simple things, whereas this group knows pain and struggles. Therefore, they would be able to sympathize with events that members of Asgard could not hope to do."

Thinking about what they said, Thor could understand what the Norns meant. The only ones who would not criticize everything Loki would do in his next life would be his Mother, Frigga, and Fandral. Thor doesn't know what happened between his brother and friend, but he knows that even if it ended badly, Fandral would take this (somewhat) seriously. Thor could appreciate that from his friend. However, the others... Yes, he is glad that the Avengers would be here with him. They might not like his brother, but they would understand things better than many of Asgard, including himself.

He didn't know how to begin such a thing as this. So he channeled what he assumed his brother would say, "So... When do we start?"

The Norns smile, and that is the last thing any of them see before they are transported to comfortable seats in front of a mass of golden thread. None of them realize that they are staring at the threads of life. All they know is that as they all turn to look at the threads, they weave themselves into a tight rectangular shape and start to change colors.