What is Freedom?

Five Nightmares

I was standing in front of Thanos. He was smirking at me. Then I saw the whip in his hand. I tried to run, but as soon as i would turn and run, there would be Thanos waiting, whip in hand. The next thing I knew, I was chained to the flogging post as I had been many times during the year of pain. I felt a stinging in my back, as if I had already been flogged. Had I? I saw the blood surrounding me through clouded vision. I heard a dark voice from behind. "You have failed your mission, Laufeyson." Then the crack of a whip, and it was blackness.

More darkness. Then I began to see stars. Not in a metaphorical sence, in a literal sence. I was dangling above the abyss again. I felt something around my wrist. A hand. Thor's hand. He was holding me up, keeping me from falling. "Give me your other hand." I looked from Thor, to the abyss, then back to Thor. "Loki, please" i reached up a hand to grab his arm. A look of relief passed over is face before he realized, I was using my hand to pull his hand off of my wrist. As soon as I was free from his grasp, I fell. "LOKI, NO!" was all I heard before blackness swept over me again.

When I opened my eyes I saw ice. Lots of it, everywhere. There was someone in the distance. I couldn't make out a face, so I ventured closer. Eventually, I saw it was Laufey. His red eyes bore into me. It took me a moment to relize that red was staring into red. I was one of them. A frost giant. My skin was blue. My natural form. "My son," Laufey said, his voice deep and cold. "Are you ready to destroy Asgard?" I found myself replying, "Yes, father." I was teleported to Asgard in the instant. The heat hit hard, making me feel as though I were on fire. Aesir surrounded me. In front of me stood a face that seemed familiar. The Prince of Asgard. "Why are you here, Prince Laufeyson of Joutenheim?" Thor asked me coldly. "You surely must know of our truce. Without replying, I found myself thrusting an ice dagger through his heart. A part of me cheered, but a part of me creamed in horror at my actions. He fell to his knees, and the aesir immediately began to attack. A blast of magic surrounded me, and I simply saw light. That was all. A white light.

I was flying in on a hoverboard of Chitauri technology. I only knew this because the light of the explosion had faded. I could see the Avengers in every direction I turned my head, fighting off Chitauri and ordering police around. It was cute how the thought they could defeat me. I would soon conquer New York, as they called it, and then all of Midgard. I would subjugate them all, and Thanos would be off my back. He would have his tesseract, and I would have my crown, and even Thor would kneel to me. How wonderful this would turn out... Then the next thing I knew I was in Stark Tower, standing before the green rage monster himself. He picked me up and slung me about. I was smashed into the pavement multiple times before he left me there. I gasped for air, a wheezing sound coming out instead of air going in. My head ached badly, and so I blacked out.

I awoke to find myself with my hands chained behind my back, a muzzle over my mouth, and I was on my knees before the throne. Before Odin, Frigga, and Thor. "Your birthright was to die as a child, cast out on a frozen rock!" Odin boomed. "Always such a disappointment. I thought you would grow up strong, like Thor. Why can't you be more like him?" chimmed in Frigga. Her words hurt more than Odin's, but I think the one word that came from the mouth of Thor was the one that hurt the most, more than anything anyone had ever said to me. What was it the Golden Son of Asgard had said?

"Laufeyson."