Loki's Daughter, Mortem and Mischief

Chapter Twenty Six

LOKI'S POINT OF VIEW
I hate space. I hate time. And I was truly beginning to hate the magic that brought all of that together. All that it seemed to get me was in trouble, stranded who knows where and who knows when. Most regrettably of all, that same magic was now affecting my daughter.

The last three days were spent wandering Asgard. I had been miraculously dumped into the depths of the woods. I had to find my way to any sort of civilization which unfortunately, took far longer than I cared to admit. And of course, with my luck, the first person I had run into was Hertha.

As much as I truly loathe my sister in law, I can't deny that she was particularly helpful in piecing this whole puzzle together. She was happy to talk and talk and talk. I learned all that I could about this timeline simply by letting her blab on and on.

However, there were times I truly wished that she would just stop. The more I learned, the more horrified I felt. Hertha made sure to let me know I was a good for nothing cheater and that I was of course an awful father. But what unsettled me most of all was the story of how I had traded Hela off to Thanos.

Hertha recounted that Sigyn had been pregnant at the time of Thanos' attack on Asgard. My wife was carrying twins and still managing to take care of our daughter whilst I did no more than panic. According to Hertha, I was useless in the endeavor, trying to launch a counter attack as Sigyn worked dutifully within the infirmary and as a mother. I could recall the way my heart broke when Hertha informed me that Sigyn had miscarried as a result of all the stress I had put her under. And as Hertha stood dutifully nursing my wife to health, I betrayed her. I sold our duaghter, our only child, away to Thanos like some common weapon. Although the man that had committed these crimes wasn't me, I couldn't help but feel entirely disgusted with myself. The worse thing about it was that I was capable of even being so atrocious.

Furthermore, Hertha informed me that Hela had gone on to slaughter millions at the ripe of age of six. She explained that her niece had never come back the same, plagued with nightmares and the souls of those she had killed. All as a little girl, my daughter had been forced to face these atrocities. It made my skin crawl to know my bunny could be as evil as I was. I couldn't fail her the same way the variant of myself in this timeline did. I had to show her that we had capacity for good. Things didn't have to be bloody.

I should've known better in the first place before we got into this mess. When Hela first found that TemPad and understood it's capabilities, I should have known that she would stop at nothing to use it. Afterall, Hela was my daughter. Even with the influence of her mother, Hela had all my good qualities as well as all the parts I hated about myself. This meant, of course, that Hela was passionate, burdened with glorious purpose, and overall quite quick witted. But, my daughter was blinded by power and opportunity, just as I had been. My daughter, the one who had stolen the TemPad, was motivated purely by greed and selfishness. She wanted my favor, the things that I had promised her, she wanted it all. Even in this reality, she had the capacity to harm so many. Just as I once had.

My Hela had lost so much in her short seventeen years of life. All that she had known and all that was promised to her had been ripped away. When she found out that there was even a possibility to bring back what she deserved, Hela undoubtedly set her plan into motion to steal the TemPad and make this reality. And how could I possibly blame her?

Daddy dearest had done the same exact thing. I had betrayed the only person I knew at a chance of a better life. I had into the unknown just as Hela did. Just as I did so many years ago, I manipulated time in my favor. Hela merely followed in my footsteps. However, by the looks of this new reality, my daughter hadn't been as lucky as I was in rewriting history.

This was made very clear as soon as my own daughter pulled a knife on me. This world seemed as though it was a white washed wall. It seemed gilded and glittering form the outside, but the closer you got to its core, the more dismal it became. Hela had obviously realized this as well.

As I looked into my daughters eyes, trying desperately to hint at my true identity, Hela looked terrified. As soon as I walked into the room, her body tensed up. With every word, her voice shook and it seemed as though she was ready to argue. Her eyes were dark as ever, looking at me with a weary gaze.

As I looked over my sweet daughter, her fear more than apparent, I couldn't help but wonder if all of this had ended up as she planned.

Was this new reality worth her fear?

HELA'S POINT OF VIEW
I dropped my knife to the floor and could do hardly anymore that hug my father as tight as I possibly could. As he wrapped his around me, gently rubbing my back, I couldn't help but to begin to cry again.

A wave of relief washed over me as I knew that was truly my father. This was the man I had known in New Asgard. This variant of my father had learned from his mistakes and was better off because of it. And most importantly, he loved my mother and I as much as any man could.

"It's alright, bunny," he whispered, holding me tightly in his warm embrace, "I'm here now, nothing is going to hurt you. You know that."

I nodded, sniffling as I wiped my eyes. Looking up at my father, I couldn't help but smile.

Finally, I was home.