To Be Reborn The Butterfly

Thor looks out to new gatehouse at the end of the Bifrost. The repairs are almost finished. Any day now he will be able to return to Midgard and visit his friends. It has been a month since Loki’s transformation. He will be able to visit their world and see how their repairs are going. He will be able to tell them about Loki. Thor has thought hard about Loki’s future. He is not blind to the whisperings of his people. There are many that hate her simply because she is blue of skin. There are many that still see her as the old Loki. She will never be able to out run her past. They will make her accountable for actions that were not her own. If Loki’s heart should start to sour, as it did before, Thor will take her away from Asgard. He will take her to Midgard where no one, save a handful of people, will know who she really is. Thor has even gone so far as to tell Odin this. Odin agrees it is a good back up plan. What Thor didn’t tell his father, is that he would remain with Loki. He could never abandon her. Not now. Not when she is so vulnerable and he loves her so very much.

Loki is sleeping alone at night now. There had been a bit of a transition period. On more than one occasion Thor had awakened to a frightened crying Loki seeking comfort in his arms. He had to fetch his mother. He did not trust himself to be alone with her when she was wearing so little and he was still flush with blood in his neither region.

Loki’s has been chattering constantly since she woke this morning. She is asking questions about everything. Why?-Seems to be her most favorite question, and How? How does Thor summon the rain? Where does meat come from? How do you make cheese? Why is the sky blue? What happened to the Bifrost? What’s a Bifrost? Do you like horses? I like horses. Where do baby horses come from? Can I have one?

“Hey Loki-look! A butterfly!” Loki gets up and chases it. Thor is relieved. It’s like a light went on inside her brain and now talking is something that comes naturally and easy to her. Hopefully Loki will have forgotten SOME of those questions by the time she loses interest in the little creature. If not, he will simply take her to the practice grounds to watch him spar with his friends. He can’t answer questions if he is busy swinging Mjolnir.

After a few minutes distraction Thor walks Loki down the hall towards breakfast. Her chattering continues, until she spots a painting that grabs her attention.

“Who is that?” Loki stops at points. Thor’s heart stops in his chest. It is a portrait of Loki, his brother. Thor panics and doesn’t know how to answer. He needs to talk to his mother. This is a discussion the whole family needs to have. Thor lies to her.

“A cousin of ours. Come, we must hurry. We will be late.”

“You’re lying.” Loki looks at Thor curiously. She had only just learned that word and what it meant very recently. Loki has noticed that she gets a tingling sensation on her skin when people do it in her presence. She can even sense a lie of omission. It feels different, but when someone is holding back a truth from her, she knows it. Thor laughs nervously. She’s still the god, well goddess, of lies. Of course she’ll know he is lying. Stupid Thor. Stupid!

“Loki, some of the questions you ask me have simple answers. But other questions, like who this man is, are complicated and would take time to explain. I will let Mama and Papa know that you asked that question. There are some things you do not know, that you need to be told. I do not think you are ready yet to hear the answer. The answers will come Loki; you just need to slow down the pace a little, okay?” Thor takes Loki’s hands in his as he looks in her eyes. He needs for Loki to know that he is sincere and trying to protect her. She is not yet ready to know the whole truth about her past and existence.

“There are so many secrets in this place. I can feel it. Can you not feel it Thor? In every corner there are people whose minds fill up with all the things they do not say out loud in my presence. What are they trying to keep from me? She asks. Thor is taken aback by her eloquent words. She is far more aware of her surroundings than her outward demeanor would suggest.

“Pain, my sister. They are trying to keep pain from you. The truth can hurt very deeply.” Thor’s eyes are glazing over with unshed tears and he pulls Loki in for a hug. Loki feels torn and confused. She trusts Thor. What is so terrible that her big strong brother is afraid to tell her?
Who is that man?

“I’m hungry.” She says. She’s not really, not anymore. It’s her first lie. They walk together towards the feasting hall to meet their parents and discuss the day’s planned activities. Odin is going to tutor Loki in Asgard’s history today as well as work on her reading skills. It’ll give Frigga a much needed break. She has been neglecting many of her official duties and must see to them. Thor doesn’t bring up the painting incident at breakfast. He will tell his parents about that later, hopefully while Loki is not within earshot.

The family separates after breakfast to see to their assigned activities. Thor is at the training grounds when he receives word from Heimdall. The Bifrost is repaired. Thor returns to his room to bath and change. He wastes no time and uses Mjolnir to fly to the gatehouse as soon as he is ready.

“Good Morning My Prince. I see you are eager to test the new Bifrost.” Heimdall says.

“In deed I am old friend. Tell me is Anthony Stark at home at this moment?” Thor asks.

“Yes My Prince, and you will be pleased to know that the other mortals are present in his home at the moment as well. It appears to be some sort of special gathering. There is a feast prepared. Some have even commented on your absence from the festivities.”

“Then I shall have to make an appearance.” He says with a broad smile.

XxXxXxXxXx

It is Thanksgiving Day and an early snow has come to New York City. It is a light dusting that covers every surface, making the city look magical, and cleaner than it really is. The city is still in ruins from the attack that happened just over a month ago. There have been many funerals and many charity events for orphaned children and homeless families. Tony looks around the table at his fellow Avengers. They are all orphans too, he realizes. Tony has Pepper, but who does Cap have? Clint and Natasha have each other, but on holidays like today, let’s face it. If Tony had not invited them they would probably be eating T.V. dinners in some crap shack apartment. Same thing with Bruce. So here they all are, gathered around the table eating turkey and stuffing and all the other trimmings. Pepper insisted on cooking herself. Turns out the green bean casserole was invented after Steve went on ice. He likes it. Thanksgiving this year holds special meaning to the team, and to everyone in the city really. Tony isn’t one to be sentimental usually, but this year he wanted something more than some hot bimbo to share a meal with.

Everyone seems to be talking about their childhood today, Steve in particular. This holiday holds special meaning for him. It was no surprise when he volunteered to say grace before the meal. They are about half-way through when a very bright light engulfs the dining room from outside.

“Sir, Prince Thor is on your balcony.” Jarvis chimes in. Everyone rushes outside.

“Holy shit Point Break! It’s good to see you! You have good timing.” Tony gives Thor a bro hug.

“Asgard’s builders have good timing. The Bifrost was finally repaired just this morning.” A round of hugs and handshakes ensue before everyone heads back inside. They make room at the table for Thor and he heaps a plate high will a little of everything. Thor starts off talking about little things and asking questions about this holiday and what the team has been up too.

Inevitably the conversation turns to the destruction of the city, the repairs, and helping people move forward. There is a pregnant pause in the conversation as everyone has the same questions on their lips. What was Loki’s punishment?

“My friends, I must confess there is a reason I came here today, and that reason is Loki. His sentence was carried out.” The mood turns solemn. “Loki was sentenced to death.” A collect breath is let out and a kind of relief flows over the table. Loki is dead, and no longer a threat.

“I’m sorry for your loss Thor; I know you loved your brother very much.” Bruce offers.

“There is more.” Thor says. More? What MORE could there be after death? Everyone is uneasy again as Thor lets the other shoe drop.

“The manner in which Loki’s sentence was carried out, did not go as expected. It was interrupted by an outsider.”

“So is Loki dead or not?” Clint asks.

“It depends on your definition of dead.” Thor says.

“What like he’s a zombie now or something?” Tony asks. This conversation is getting weirder by the second. Thor explains to them the appearance of the Sprite, what a sprite is, and what she did for Loki. He describes the shredded flesh and screams of his brother as he was torn apart within the mist. Then he talks about his sister.

“So wait, Loki is a girl now?” Clint asks.

“Aye.”

“So Loki is still alive?” Natasha asks.

“Loki has been reborn into a new body and with a new mind. She has no memories of her former life. In fact we had to reteach her how to walk, talk, and feed herself. Father is reteaching her how to read as we speak.”

“So she’s like a transgender amnesia patient.” Tony states rather than asks.

“She is not the Loki of old. She is a new person, and an innocence child. I wish for all of you to meet her.”

“Yes of course.” Natasha says right away. Everyone else is remaining quiet out of politeness. They don’t want to make the God of Thunder angry on Thanksgiving. The city has suffered enough. Natasha has her own reasons for agreeing to this. She wants to see if it’s all bullshit, or if Loki may just revert back to her “old self”. Best to size up her enemy now while IT is still vulnerable.

Thor smiles broadly at his friends. “I will return shortly.” He says. He walks back outside and calls out for Heimdall. The moment he is gone pandemonium breaks out. Everyone is asking questions over each other. Steve puts his fingers in his mouth and lets out an ear piercing whistle.

“Look, if what Thor says is true then he is about to bring in his baby sister. I recommend all of you treat her like you would any other child. She is just a girl who also happens to be named Loki.”

“Who tried to take over the world and almost succeeded in leveling the city.” Clint says.

“She has no memory of that. So for the sake of simplicity, no one mention anything about the attack. She is meeting us for the first time, so be nice.” Steve gives Clint a pointed look. Thor is gone all of 15 minutes. The balcony lights up again and the group gazes upon the second figure, which is very blue.

“Is that a smurf?” Tony asks. Thor forgot to mention one little detail about Loki’s appearance. Loki is looking around with wide eyed wonder. So this is what Midgard looks like. The air is very cold. Loki loves it. There is snow here.

“She’s got rosemary’s baby’s eyes.” Clint says. Cap doesn’t know that cultural reference but he is good in assuming it is an insult.

“Clam up all of you.” He orders.

“My friends, this is my sister Loki. Loki these are my mortal friends I was telling you about. Today is a special day of celebration for them, and I wanted to introduce you to them. This is-.”

“Hi my name is Loki! You look just like my brother. He is Aesir. I’m a Frost Giant. Does Midgard have Frost Giants?” Loki says to Steve. Steve stutters for a moment as he tries to find an acceptable response.

“Uh, no, no we don’t have Frost Giants here on Earth.” He says and smiles politely.

“What’s your name?”

“I’m Captain Steve Rogers. This is Tony Stark, Clint Barton, Bruce Banner, Pepper Potts, and Natasha Romanov.” Loki looks at each of them as their names are said.

“Is it true all mortals have diseases? I heard it is why they die so fast.”

“Loki, that was rude. You should not ask such questions, and the answer is no. They don’t all have diseases. That is a myth.” Thor explains.

“I’m sorry Thor.”

“Um, are you hungry Loki? We could make you a plate.” Steve offers.

“Yes please!” She says. They all sit back down at the table. Most everyone has finished dinner and is ready for pie. Only Thor and Loki are still working on dinner. Loki bombards the group with questions about the food. What’s a turkey? What’s it look like? Did you slay the beast yourselves? She goes on like that for an hour, asking questions about everything she has heard about Midgard. The group starts to relax the more she goes on.

Everyone notes the way she is dressed and the way she speaks. There are moments when she has the sound of a child’s voice. Other times she sounds much like the woman she appears to be. Her gown is unflattering and hideous. Tony notes the failed attempt to hide her beautiful curves. The dress and the braids make her look like a toddler, but there is no hiding those lovely hips or large breasts. Loki is breathtaking. Bruce watches her with fascination. Her total loss of memory and blue skin makes him feel empathy for her he did not expect. Natasha doesn’t know what to make of her. Clint is not convinced at all. He sits there seething his rage. This bitch controlled my mind and tried to make me kill Natasha, he thinks. Steve regards Loki as a whole new person, just as Thor said. She really is innocent and unaware of her past misdeeds.

After a while Loki senses the tension in the room. Most prominently, she can feel the wave of intense dislike rolling off Clint towards her. She scoots closer to Thor for protection and suddenly becomes very shy. She can feel the lie around her. These people are keeping something from her. She doesn’t like being lied to. Pepper senses Loki’s unease.

“Why don’t we adjourn to the living room and watch a nice movie. Have you seen television before Loki?”

“No Lady Pepper I haven’t.” Loki beams.

“Well then, this will be an experience for you.” Everyone gathers in and around the couch as A Christmas Story is put on. Everyone laughs and enjoys the movie, though Loki spent the first 15 minutes asking questions about the T.V., the holiday, and what cars are. The movie ends and Tony decides it is time for a little more adult entertainment and breaks out the heavy booze. Clint changes the channel to something with some action and adventure. Loki asks Thor to explain what electricity is. Tony swoops in to save the day.

“You’re a smart kid, tell you what, you can ask Jarvis that question and anything else you want, and he can tell you in a way that will actually make sense.” Tony says. Of course her access to sensitive stuff will be restricted, and any mention of the attack last month will be omitted. Loki gasps at the sound of Jarvis’ disembodied voice. She spends the next hour asking the A.I. everything there is to know about Midgard and the natural world.

“Thank you my friend. I am eternally grateful. Loki has always been the inquisitive one. Her quest for knowledge is acute now. It is like she is trying to cram in 3000 years of knowledge and education back into her brain.”

“Not a problem, Point Break. You look like you could use this.” Tony hands Thor a beer. Thor thanks him again.

Most everyone starts to watch the movie Clint is watching, though Cap has gone into the kitchen with Pepper to help clean up. No one notices when Loki stops asking Jarvis questions and starts paying attention to what is on the T.V. screen.

It is a date scene where the main characters are kissing and touching and slowly removing their clothes. Loki starts to feel a throbbing sensation between her legs. She gets up from where she is sitting and walks behind the couch where the others are. Loki touches her fingers to her lips desiring to reproduce the sensations the actors must be feeling from the kiss they share.

“What are they doing?” Loki says. Everyone quickly whips their head around to look at her and everyone suddenly feels very embarrassed.

“Oh...eh…um…We should be going Loki.”

“I feel funny. Can we do that?” She asks as Thor tugs her towards the balcony. Tony slaps a hand over his mouth in a desperate move to silence his roaring laughter. Thor looks mortified.

“Until next time my friends. I thank you for the lovely meal.

Notes