//------------------------------// // I'm Still So Far From Home // Story: We Remember Everything // by Thunderscourge //------------------------------// A/N: Special thanks to EvoWizard25, D48, Drgnwolf, Ketvirtas, Farista Sairuv, emerald blade, leo0074, PhantomPheonix, Invisible Blade, Mutie Genix, Cadmium, and Sarikano for your more in-depth comments last chapter, but thank you to everyone who let me know what you thought and everyone who has favorited and liked this story! I hope you enjoy and that I can hear from you after about what you think! It was in a scramble that Loki lifted himself off of Luna’s chest, for the noise of the door opening woke the poor Asgardian. Loki was prepared to lash out at whomever entered, physically or verbally depending on the intruder. He had not slept so well in some days, and if this was something trivial he would not be at all pleased. The intruder was none other than the Director of Shield, who had the corner of his mouth curl up in a grin at the sight of Loki getting up from his makeshift bed and pillow. Luna stirred because of Loki’s movement, mumbling out something Fury could only assume was a swear in her own culture. The one eyed man watched amusedly as the two sat up on the bed, having already known because of the room’s built-in camera that he needn’t worry about interrupting anything he didn’t want to, “Hey, sorry to wake you two, but I wanted to let you know that somebody wants to see you at Stark Tower.” The first one up, Loki, massaged his temple as a headache born from waking up at the wrong time came over him, “Who?” Fury snorted, “The egotist himself. Stark has invited the whole misfit group to eat at some kind of food place. Shawarma I believe it is called?” Luna rose from the bed and stretched her arms out, a large yawn making its way past her lips as she stood to her full, tall height, “May Loki come as well?” The director looked to Luna while giving a tilt of the head towards Loki, “Nothing I could do to stop him, especially since Stark added him to the invitation list.” Loki got up completely and stood beside Luna, putting an arm around her gently, “What happened with the Tesseract?” Fury watched with interest the actions of the couple, for Luna returned the gesture with “Your instructions to Stark allowed him to stop it before it ever opened the portal.” Asgard’s dark haired prince turned his gaze over to Fury, keeping his arm around Luna to make sure she did not feel neglected. His spoke slowly, hesitation creeping into him as he thought about where things would go from there, “I am glad to hear that.” Fury could read the feeling apparent on Loki’s face, having seen the fear of the future creep up on many an agent’s face over the years, “Oh cheer up. Those guys don’t seem to hold a grudge long if you try to be on their good side.” Luna tugged on Loki’s sleeve and beamed at him happily, “Let’s go Loki. I’m sure it’ll be fun.” She pulled the reluctant Loki towards the door, but on the way Fury grabbed his other arm to stop them. The one eyed man spoke to Loki, “In case you’re wondering, yes, we have found your brother. He’s fine and is headed to join Stark right now along with Doctor Banner. It’ll be a nice and big ol’ reunion.” Despite himself, Loki smiled. “Thank you Director Fury.” A Hoverjet brought the two to Stark Tower, a large tower in a city Luna could only compare in size to Manehatten. The tower had S.T.A.R.K. in enormously sized letters on one side for all to see the egotism of its creator. The two were let off on a landing pad near the top of the building, the hoverjet pilot taking off instantly thereafter due to some spite they held for Loki. Loki and Luna decided to let themselves in the building when no one came to let them in, the inside revealing a very lavish room with its very own bar set up on one side. As they both inspected the empty room, they were greeted. “Welcome. We have been expecting you, miss Luna, mister Loki.” The voice felt unnatural to Luna, who shifted and began inspecting the room for the voice’s source. There was not another person in the room, but Loki seemed to not be worried in the slightest. That only made her more nervous as she called out, “Who said that? I have had enough with hearing voices.” The voice returned to Loki’s amusement, “My name is Jarvis, miss. I am mister Stark’s personal assistant and computer. Is there anything I may help you with?” So he was a piece of technology Luna only held a very basic grasp for? That made her feel better. Computers had Galaga. Threatening voices did not. “Computer? Can you play games?” Luna asked, going from scared to completely chipper in a heartbeat. The polite voice from nowhere responded, “I have a wide variety-” Not being savvy to Luna’s new interest and wanting to get on with whatever Stark had planned, Loki interrupted Jarvis, “Luna, I do not believe this to be the time.” Luna shoved him playfully and laughed as he stumbled a bit, “Oh you’re no fun,” composing herself, she too decided to move on with things, “Jarvis, where is Stark?” “Mister Stark has left to go attend his get together. I have been instructed to assist you in locating it. The instructions are on the bar.” Luna was liking the whole omniscient butler thing, and the voice even reminded her of that butler who quit working for his terrible mistress the other day, “Thank you Jarvis.” Loki was eyeing the bar as she said this and so he spoke up, “Would it be permissible for me to have a small drink?” Jarvis almost sounded snarky as he spoke, “Mister Stark believed that may be the case. Your drink is next to the instructions.” Stark might just be a genius if he could predict Loki like that, even amusing Luna in the process, “Isn’t that nice of him?” Jarvis piped up while Loki rolled his eyes, “A second glass is for you, miss, should you desire it.” Loki shot Luna a mocking smile, “Isn’t that nice of him?” “Oh shut up and get our drinks, love.” The food place Luna and Loki were directed to was seemed a bit strange from the outside, but not as strange as the looks they got while walking through the city to it. A man in antiquated clothing with odd coloration and a woman with blue hair and a blue dress so dark it was almost black tended to draw the odd glance. Luckily for the duo the city had seen much stranger things and people, so the attention wasn’t too grand as they hurried across the streets. More eyes were turned, however, when Luna walked out into the street at one point with a lack of understanding how car traffic worked. She saw someone in front of her walk across when the signal said for them to, but did not understand the whole signal part. The car that hit her bent around where it struck and only managed to knock her a couple feet since the driver, to their credit, had tried to hit the brakes. Luna frowned at them before continuing across the street, Loki following behind while questioning if he should ask if she or the driver was okay. When the two finally entered the Shawarma place all eyes there turned to them as well, only these ones were familiar. Not only Stark was there, but Captain Rogers “America”, Doctor Bruce Banner, Agents Romanoff and Barton, and finally Thor all were gathered around a couple tables that had been pulled together. Their gazes were a mixture of apprehension and concern except for the host, who was smirking as he tended to do. Stark stood up and held his arms out in a welcoming manner to Loki, “The man of the hour! How’s it hanging Reindeer man?” Loki nodded to Stark, but his opportunity to respond was cut off by Thor standing and approaching his wayward brother. The blonde haired sibling looked to the raven haired one with narrow eyes, “Loki.” Looking first down to Thor’s side where his hammer rested and then around the room, Loki sighed, “Oh dear, you brought your dear Mjolnir. I would rather not break this place with my body-” Thor cut him off with outstretched arms that invited Loki to hug him, “It is good to have you back, brother.” Loki hesitated to do so, glancing to Luna for her support, only for her to say with a laugh, “Go on.” With that, Loki approached his broader sibling and embraced him for the first time in what felt like years. Thor wrapped his own arms around Loki and used a tighter grip than his slim brother could manage, intentionally making him slightly uncomfortable. Thor’s tone was half joking and half threatening as he spoke to Loki, “If you ever drop me out of a vessel mid flight again, I will be giving you a much tighter hug brother.” Things seemingly back to normal between them, Loki returned to the snarky behavior he was expected to exhibit, “I think I still remember when you would hurt poor mother’s back while we were growing up. Too dull to control your own strength.” That caused Thor to chortle and release Loki, “And you too frail to do such a thing even if you tried.” With the two brothers apart, Luna stepped beside Loki and turned him to face her to everyone’s confusion. She only gave an innocent smile as all eyes turned to her. “Well, now that you two are done, I’ve been waiting to do this in front of you all.” Loki had no time to react to her punch that crashed into his gut, doubling him over and making the tall woman chuckle. “Can’t say I did not see that coming,” Loki coughed out, grateful she had not hit him with enough force to actually fly through a wall like he was sure she could. Luna turned her attention from him to the crowd, “Anyone else before we start to dine? This way Loki does not cough up what he inhales.” Agent Barton, whose legs were resting on Romanoff’s lap, rubbed his chin in thought, “I suppose I want to put an arrow between your eyes, but word is you were as much a pawn as me.” Loki rubbed his gut and stood up straight with a frown, “You would be correct.” Barton shrugged, “Then let me be the first to say welcome back to the land of the sane,” he looked between everyone gathered before adding, “Well, maybe minus some of our present company.” Captain America laughed at his ally’s joke, “I am just glad this all didn’t get worse.” The still standing Stark frowned at that, “Things got bad enough I’d say,” he turned and pointed to one of three extra seats. As he spoke a full scowl crept up on his face and his voice became quite serious, “No one sits in that seat.” Realizing the symbolism of the seat, a place set for a departed member of a family, Loki bowed his head, “There is nothing I can do to make up for what I have done, but I will give you all my sincerest apology and my condolences.” Banner let out a large breath from his seat, venting some anxiety he felt over the situation, “You know, I’ve gotta say, I like him better on our team.” Stark approached Loki so that they were only inches apart, billionaire looking up at Loki intensely. “You helped us out. You’ve got my thanks for that, but if you such as sneeze the wrong way I’m taking you down. You may not have been in control, but you killed Phil and I won’t forgive you for that,” he lifted his pointer finger threateningly, “Am I clear?” Loki nodded slowly and spoke even slower, “Crystal.” The tension in the room having reached its climax, Stark went about changing that. He spun around on his heel and faced everyone else while throwing his arms up. “Good! Now how about we have some grub?” he looked over to one of the workers, who was trying to do their best not to stare at the very odd group of customers, “I have no idea what anything on the menu is. May I have whatever’s your best whatever you serve?” Thor laughed as he took his seat again, “Have you never been to this place before?” Stark shrugged as he too sat down, “Nope. While I scanned the area for any more of Loki’s goons I found this place. Thought it’d be interesting.” Luna nudged Loki over to the open seats that were available and gave him a wink. He begrudgingly took one and she sat beside him, quickly mimicking Barton and placing her legs up on Loki’s lap. He rolled his eyes while both Stark and Banner snorted, Romanoff instead blushing because of the attention it drew to her own situation. Meanwhile Thor was missing out on the scene because he and Captain America were both perusing a menu thoughtfully. After a moment he came across an item that sounded acceptable, but finding it brought up an issue in his mind as he spoke to the worker Stark had, “I would like one of this. I am not sure how I can repay you, however.” Stark laughed at the mention of money, “Don’t worry, I’ve got the bill. Billionaire, remember?” “Oh yes. I must repay you with a proper feast in Asgard one of these days,” the thought of a good, old fashioned feast at home made Thor quite cheerful, “Speaking of, I cannot wait for the feast we will have when we return, brother!” Loki was less optimistic, but glad he had his drink earlier. Alcohol to soothe the mind. Noticing that her lover was once again falling into his tendency of thinking the worst and worrying, Luna took his hand and rubbed it under the table, “It’s over, Loki. No need to fret.” He sighed at her ignorance, but let the matter go. Not over. Just a lull passing itself off as a moment of peace. After a meal that Loki did not wish to repeat, the group gathered once again to see Thor and Loki off. Just to be sure everything went well and he no longer would have to deal with Asgardians wrecking Earth, Director Fury had a device hastily constructed under the advice of Thor and Loki that would hold the Tesseract and also use its power to transport them to Asgard. Luna could not help but smile at how smart her lover could be in his knowledge of the arcane. Not that her own knowledge was scarce. She only wished she could share it with more than just him... She was shook from her thoughts when Thor spoke to his younger brother. In Thor’s hand was the device, a cylinder that held the Tesseract in a clear portion in the middle and with two handles on the side. Twisting the handles so that they faced the same way would activate the device and cause the transportation, so Thor obviously did not hand it to Loki just yet, “Are you ready?” Loki drolly responded, “As ready as I ever will be.” Thor turned to the other person who would be coming home with him, “And you, lady Luna?” Luna had her arms wrapped around Loki quite tightly, intending to teleport right alongside him, “I am quite fine. Are you sure it is fine that I am coming?” That made the bruiser laugh, “Sure? Of course you may join us! Mother would scold me if I were not to bring you with us.” Thor held the device out and waited for Loki to take it. As Loki reached his hand over, Luna grabbed his arm, “Thor, before we go, I have something I have to admit. This...isn’t my natural form.” The warrior prince shrugged, not honestly seeing that as an issue with his upbringing, “I have no quarrel with shapeshifters, my own mother and brother both having the power.” His reaction helped calm the nerves that had just spiked in Luna as that idea came to her, “I just wanted to let that be clear before we left. I naturally transformed into this state when we traveled to Earth, so I know not of what form I will have upon entering Asgard.” Not very knowledgeable about magic, Thor questioned this, “If it is one to your disliking, can you not change it?” “Some make the usage of magic easier than others,” Luna muttered, remembering her first time trying magic as an Asgardian. Thor turned to the crowd gathered around them on the area that Shield had appropriated for them to do this, “Well, if that’s all, farewell my friends. I will return one day, after I have taken care of matters back home. If you ever need my assistance, I am sure your Director can find some way to call for my aid.” Everyone waved their farewells, including Luna, who whispered to Loki. “You sure you’re ready Loki?” He grunted, and she kissed him on the cheek. “Don’t worry, I’m here for you.” With that, Loki took the cylinder in hand and twisted it, blue energy surrounding them before the trio disappeared into thin air. The trip ended on top of a bridge that Luna could recognize because of Loki’s tales. The one named Bifrost, like the pony she knew of who was now the grandparent to young Scootaloo. One look at the scenery around her astounded Luna. Asgard was beautiful, with a golden and antique city before her at the end of the bridge and beautiful land and mountains beyond it. She felt kind of guilty as the thought of living there popped in her mind, what with her duties to Equestria being so important, but the sight alone was breathtaking. Her little daydream was interrupted when Loki spoke to a figure they had appeared before, but Luna had not noticed because of her wonder. “Hello Heimdall,” Loki cheekily greeted. The man before them was tall and broad, looking as strong as Thor but older. His skin was dark like Director Fury’s and his eyes were a shocking orange. The man in golden armor did not appear to be very fond of his returning prince, as he spoke curtly, “Loki.” Loki continued his cheeky tone, the dislike appearing mutual, “Did you ever apply for your citizenship after what happened between us?” Heimdall made no movement, standing as if he was a statue on the bridge Luna now realized was broken not too far behind her, “There was no need. Orders spoken by a fake king carry no weight.” The rumbling of hooves was a familiar one to Luna, and her ears picked up on it before the others. In the distance a whole fleet of horses was racing towards the bridge, causing Luna to note from her position behind Loki, “Well here comes the entourage.” The horses reached them quickly, with what appeared to be guards in full ceremonial armor not unlike Canterlot’s dismounting while a man with one eye and even more regal armor got off in front of them. His aged hair and beard made Luna wonder just how old he was, given the length of time his species lived, and soon enough she realized that this was him. Odin. Loki’s father. It was finally time she would meet the parents of her beloved. Before anyone previously present could greet the aged man, he pointed to Loki and ordered his guards behind him, “Seize the prisoner.” Luna felt Loki be torn from her arms despite her strength, being quickly reminded that these people were on about the same level as her own kind and as such she was not a god among mortals anymore. This did not stop her from protesting, “What?” Thor too complained as the Tesseract was taken forcefully from his hands by another guard, “Father, what is the meaning of this?” Odin turned to Thor and narrowed his one eye, a deep scowl on his face and anger in his voice, “This Frost Giant committed genocide against his own race, usurped our throne, tried slaying you thrice, brought conflict to two innocent realms and now returns home. What did you think would happen upon bringing him here?” Thor was not about to back down while Loki was put into chains the guards brought and thrown atop a horse, “I thought the all-seeing Allfather would take into account circumstances-” His father pointed a finger threateningly at his oldest son, “Do not speak back to me, boy,” his attention quickly fell to the woman standing before him and his scowl deepened, “And who is this woman you have brought with you? Another Midgardian you have a fancy for?” “Luna is not of Midgard-” Luna stepped forward out of pride and silenced Thor, “I can speak for myself, thank you,” now closer to Odin, she narrowed her own eyes and scowled at him, “You are making a mistake.” Odin scoffed at her boldness, “Do not presume to know about matters beyond you, child,” he turned to his guards again, “Bring him to his cell. Do not permit Frigga to see him.” The guards all mounted and turned to leave, Odin following suit behind them. Thor tried to grab his father by the shoulder only for Heimdall to put an arm in his way to halt him. “Father!” Thor called as they all left, their horses hooves stomping down the bridge away from them. Luna could only gape as she thought about what just happened. They had returned Loki to his home after his long absence and instead of there being any form of rejoice, he was grabbed and whisked away to a prison. She gripped her hand tightly to the point her nails dug into her skin, but she didn’t care. Who did that surprisingly short old man think he was?