Chapter Text
Epilogue
It was a beautiful day outside, almost picture-perfect. Not a cloud was in the sky, and though the sun shone brightly, there was a light breeze whispering through the leaves of trees that washed away the worst of the heat. The hustle and bustle of the city was a distant hum, and in the secluded shade, the tall buildings were invisible.
And Robert was happy. With the whole Loki-ordeal sorted out, and Tom back in the world he belonged in, he’d finally convinced his friends to relax with an outdoor picnic. So here they were, sitting around a blanket with plates of food and lemonade, talking and laughing and reliving the past few hours, bombarding Tom with questions about Asgard and their characters, which he did his best to answer.
It seemed talking to each other was the only way to confirm that what had happened had actually been real.
“You didn’t take pictures?” Jeremy gasped in mock horror.
“Well, I was rather preoccupied,” the Brit replied with a grin on his face.
“That’s like a crime, dude,” Evans joked. “You had the chance of a lifetime and you didn’t even think to take a few pictures.”
Tom shrugged good-naturedly. “Maybe there’ll be another chance some time.”
This earned several eye rolls from the other actors, but they couldn’t deny the excitement they felt at the prospect of meeting their actual characters in the near future.
They fell to chatter, finally turning away from Asgard and Loki and the Avengers. The excitement began to fade away as they settled back into reality and the mundaneness of their normal lives, sans mysterious interdimensional portals.
Well, they did for about five minutes, before the previously mentioned mysterious interdimensional portal suddenly opened up in Robert’s backyard. The seven actors stared at it for a solid few moments, unable to comprehend what they were seeing.
Finally, Hemsworth swallowed a bite of food and spoke, “Didn’t we just sort this all out?”
Tom shrugged, a grin lighting his face. “Yeah, but Tony and Bruce were talking about exploring the idea of interdimensional travel. Maybe they figured out a safer way to voyage between worlds.”
“It’s been,” Jeremy looked down at his watch, “literally five hours since you came back.”
“I don’t know, this is Tony Stark we’re talking about,” Robert said with a smug grin on his face.
“Put the phone down, Mark,” Scarlett ordered her co-star, who was about to livestream the whole thing. He put his phone away with a pout.
Evans practically choked on his food when two figures emerged from the portal. It was none other than Iron Man and Captain America.
“Well?” asked Stark, raising his eyebrows in question at the actors. Despite his seemingly unaffected expression, he was internally a little bit freaked out, seeing a man who literally looked like his spitting image. Unlike Tom and Loki, who had enough differences between them, Tony and this other dude did not. It was creepy. They could actually be twins.
“I still think this is a bad idea,” Steve said, shaking his head while he too eyed his counterpart and tried not to be disturbed by the likeness.
“Holy shit,” said Evans, and Steve scowled. Was this beard-toting dude really the guy who played him in the movies? He needed to have a talk with whoever was in charge of casting.
“Language,” Tony snarked, before gesturing at the portal behind him. “Are you guys coming? Everyone’s waiting to see you.”
The actors exchanged looks. Robert, while the idea of meeting the actual characters seemed appealing, was extremely annoyed that his planned lunch date with his friends had been once again interrupted with dimension traveling sorcery – or, perhaps, science. The others seemed completely down with the prospect of meeting the real Avengers.
“Let’s go,” Hemsworth said, a grin lighting his face.
And they stepped through the portal.
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“Whoa,” was the first thing Mark could say when he finally blinked away the brightness from the portal. They were standing in the throne room, on freaking Asgard. Needless to say, Mark had not expected his day to go this way.
He was even more blown away by his literal twin appearing in front of him.
Bruce eyed the man who had just stepped through the portal with obvious disbelief. Seeing Loki and Tom was one thing, but encountering an identical version of himself was completely unnerving.
He swallowed. The Other Guy’s interest had peaked, but now was not the time to Hulk out.
“Esteemed guests,” Frigga said, beaming towards the actors. Only those who knew her well could sense her slight discomfort as her eyes flickered over Hemsworth. “Welcome to Asgard. We are honored at your presence. To commemorate this moment, we will be holding a feast in your honor.”
“Uh, thanks, Your Majesty?” Robert said, finding himself speechless for once at the sheer bizarreness of the whole situation. Tony gave him a weird look that, despite the fact it was technically on his face, Robert couldn’t quite decipher.
The other actors added a hasty thank you as well, and then looked at one another in uncertainty.
“Well, why don’t we introduce ourselves?” Scarlett suggested after a silence that lasted a little bit too long to be comfortable. “I’m Scarlett Johansson, and I play Natasha Rominoff in the movies.” She smiled in what she hoped was a friendly manner and waved towards the Black Widow, who remained expressionless.
Internally, Natasha was rather unnerved that her counterpart a) did not appear to be a trained assassin, b) was apparently not red-haired, and c) rather friendly.
“I feel like I’m back in grade school or something,” Robert commented before proceeding with his own introduction. “I’m Robert Downey Junior, and I play Tony Stark, the coolest and smartest Avenger.”
This earned some scowls from the other characters, but the Man of Iron simply smirked in agreement.
“Hey everyone, I’m Mark Ruffalo, and I play Hulk, the strongest Avenger,” Mark said with a smile, laughing at Thor’s words of protest. “Hey, it’s canon.”
“There is no cannon, Friend Mark,” Thor said in confusion. Behind him Jane face palmed, well aware of what the actor meant. “And I beg to differ, for I am the strongest of the Avengers.”
Mark opened his mouth in protest, ready to defend his character, but Evans cut him off.
“What’s up? I’m Chris Evans, and I play Captain America!”
“Ever considered growing a beard, Cap?” asked Tony. A look of confusion crossed his face when several of the actors covered there mouths to hide their laughter. Then, remembering the events of Infinity War, and also realizing that, if this movie verse was real, these events would actually come to pass, a somber mood seemed to fall. Jeremy stepped forward with a smile on his face, because the silence was getting awkward.
“I’m Jeremy Renner, and I play Hawkeye.”
Said character eyed the casual way in which Jeremy spoke with Tom as he stepped back and decided he hated everything.
“And last, but not least, I’m Chris Hemsworth, and I play the almighty Thor!” Chris said with an unusually large grin on his face. This announcement got several reactions from the characters.
“Whoa, you’re Australian,” was the general shock among most of them, except for Tony who chose to focus on the fact that there were two Chris’s in the actor ensemble.
“Two Chris’s? That must be confusing.”
Evans laughed. “You don’t know half of it. There’s a third one who plays Star Lord – ”
“ – Who they don’t know about,” Scarlett interrupted. “I don’t think we can tell them all that much about the future. It might, I don’t know, destroy the timeline. That sounds like something people say during time travel movies.”
“Okay, fair, but I was just making a point that there are three Chris’s and two, well, technically three, Tom H’s,” Evans argued back.
The female actor didn’t bother to continue arguing, instead breaking away from the group of actors to talk to Natasha, who maintained her stoic expression but couldn’t deny the fact that she was curious to know more about her actress and the world she came from. Scarlett’s leaving caused the rest of the ensemble to break up, characters finding their respective actors and beginning somewhat awkward conversations, most still not used to seeing their faces reflected on another. Thor and Chris were joined by a curious Frigga, Jane, and Sif and the Warriors Three.
Odin, who had sat on his throne since the trial’s commencement nearly five hours before, remained where he was, single eye flashing coldly in the light of the fading Aesir sun (subconsciously, Tony couldn’t help but wonder if the guy ever had to use the bathroom). While he disapproved of the whole situation in general, he was determined to figure out a way to use this to his advantage
Then one of the Aesir servants appeared at the room of the throne room. “My Queen,” she said, speaking to Frigga. “The feast has been prepared. Shall I call in guests, or will it be a private matter?”
“I think it’s best that this meal is kept between those in the throne room, dear,” Frigga smiled, and then beckoned with a grand gesture at those around her. “Come, it is time to eat.”
Everyone followed behind her in a line that was suddenly bursting with noise as everyone seemed to suddenly find something to talk about at once. Neither actor nor character, who had just arrived this morning and thus hadn’t seen all of the splendor of the Aesir palace, could contain their awe and excitement as they walked through halls filled with golden light.
Finally they arrived in a room that was almost of equal majesty to the throne room. Odin, despite not having uttered a single word of welcome to his guests, assumed his seat at the head of the table and began eating at once, earning a frown from his wife, who felt that he should have made a speech. She assumed this role instead.
“Esteemed guests,” she began. “As I have said earlier, it our honor to have you here. This has certainly been an exciting day for all of us, and I feel that a feast in your honor is the only proper way to end it. Please, join me in a toast; for my sons, Thor and Loki, for Thomas, Son of Hiddles, for the Avengers, and for all of their counterparts from another world.”
With clinking glasses they commemorated the moment, and fell to small talk.
“So, let’s settle this, shall we?” Robert began. “Whose the strongest Avenger?”
The team looked around at each other, seeming to size each other up.
“Well, I might not be the strongest, but I certainly am the smartest,” Tony said with a smirk on his face.
“And the most modest,” Natasha threw in with a fond roll of her eyes.
“I do not think there is any debate, Son of Downey,” Thor said. “I am the strongest Avenger.”
“Uh, hold up,” Mark raised his hand, “It's canon, so I have good reason to believe that I – I mean, Bruce is the strongest Avenger.”
Said science-bro simply shook his head in disbelief. “No way. That’s the Other Guy.”
“What a ridiculous concept,” Thor said with a laugh. “I wield Mjolnir.”
“I mean, Reindeer games here picked it up today and uh, no offense, but he’s not the strongest dude ever,” Tony put in. Loki rolled his eyes, unable to find the energy to come up with some sarcastic, witty remark.
“Why does it matter, anyway?” Scarlett asked. “Everyone’s strong in their own way.”
“Way to be cheesy, Scar,” Jeremy teased, and conversation turned away from the debate, although Thor kept insisting that he was clearly stronger, and ultimately Mark, speaking on Bruce’s behalf, challenged the god of lightening to a wrestling competition. Frigga shot this idea down.
Even after dinner finished and the dishes were cleared away, nobody seemed to show any sign of leaving. Having gotten over the bizarreness of the whole situation, the night was proving to be entertaining, and with the exception of Robert and Tony, there was enough difference between the personalities of the character and respective actor that, while undoubtedly still slightly unnerving, made it not as strange as it might have been.
“Where’s the bathroom?” Hemsworth asked later into the evening. Night had fallen rapidly outside, but the golden lights of Asgard pierced the darkness brighter than the stars studding the sky.
“Down this nearest hallway, to the left,” Thor offered.
“Thor can show you the way,” Frigga offered from her seat a little further away, where she was talking with Tony and Robert. “The palace can be very overwhelming to those who do not know it well.”
“That’s alright, Your Highness,” the actor replied with a smile, and he disappeared from the feast hall. Thor and Frigga watched him leave, before turning back to their discussions.
In fact, everybody was so engaged in their own conversations that nobody, not even Frigga herself, saw Odin rise from his position at the head of the table and slip silently out of the room after Chris. It was only after about fifteen minutes when Thor looked around in worry.
“Has he not been gone for a while, my friends?” he asked those around him, and there was a general murmur of agreement that it did seem odd that Hemsworth was taking so long in his return. “Perhaps he has gotten lost on his way. The halls of Asgard can be very confusing. I shall go look for him.”
“I’ll go with you,” Sif offered. There was a feeling pooling in the pit of her stomach, but she couldn’t quite put a finger on what it was. Either way, she didn’t like the situation.
“If you insist,” Thor said with a smile and shrug of his shoulders. “Come, let us find the Son of Hemsworth.”
The two exited the hall, not noticing Odin’s vacated seat. With this exit, an uneasy silence had fallen on the hall. For the most part, everyone had seen Hemsworth leave, and they knew where Thor and Sif were going.
In all her years as an assassin, Natasha had learned many things. The one thing that had always been true through the ups and downs of her life had always served her well throughout her career. And that was relying on her gut. And right now, just like Sif had felt something, she suddenly felt dread. No, she didn’t think Chris had gotten lost on the way to the bathroom, or distracted, or anything that might have been an innocent mistake. She scanned the room now and cursed herself for only seeing it – or not seeing it, in this case – now.
“Odin’s gone,” she said in a voice that carried around the hushed room, and suddenly everyone was turning to each other with worried looks on their faces.
Frigga pursed her lips. “My husband has done many things, but he would never harm your friend.” But despite the certainty in her words, her face betrayed her fear. Ever since Loki had fallen from the bridge on that terrible day, her husband had never been the same. And the Midgardian episode had certainly done nothing to soothe his ire. He was a great warrior and negotiator, a firm and strict ruler. But he listened to her. And though his anger ran deep and cold, he wasn’t ruthless. Surely he would not hurt an innocent mortal, especially one who not only wasn’t of this world, but also who resembled his beloved son. She thanked whatever power was higher than that of Odin that it had been Chris, not Tom, who had left the room. But she mentally berated herself. She should’ve been wary. She should’ve insisted that Thor accompany the guest to the restroom.
There was a sudden shout from the hallway, causing everyone to jump in alarm. Then the door banged open and Thor stormed in. Literally. His skin was crawling with electricity. Behind him was Sif, supporting Hemsworth who didn’t seem fully conscious.
“Son of a bitch,” Evans swore. “What the hell happened?”
Scarlett and Mark pulled a few chairs together to form a makeshift bed. Frigga offered to call a medic, but Loki, much to many people’s surprise, offered to perform a few diagnostic spells to see what had happened. It was then that Odin appeared at the threshold of the door with a grim smile on his face. Behind him stood a hoard of golden-armored guards.
He was given looks ranging from perplexed to downright furious.
Nobody moved for split second, and then Hemsworth gasped and bolted upright in the chair, spluttering.
“Are you alright, man?” Tom asked, voice thick with worry. The Australian actor nodded. “What happened?”
Chris shook his head, genuinely unable to recall how he’d wound up where he was. This must’ve been how Tom felt when he appeared in Asgard. It was not a good feeling.
“I know what happened,” Thor said gravely. With everyone’s attention on him, he continued, “Father was looking into his memories.”
Frigga gasped. “That is dangerous. Darling, why would you do that to one of our guests?”
“I do not need to explain anything,” Odin said coldly, striding into the room, guards filling in behind him. He seated himself once more at the head of the table, and when nobody moved or spoke, he gestured stiffly for them to join him. Uncertain and on edge, surrounded by hostile faces, there was a scuffle as Avengers and actors did as they were told.
“All you need to know that all of this is complete and utter nonsense,” Odin said calmly. He flicked his index finger, and two guards came forward and roughly grabbed Loki by his shoulders, pulling him from his seat between Thor and Frigga. Both mother and brother made protest at this action as the trickster was forced from the table and made to stand at the foot of the table.
“What is this?” Thor demanded. “Father, we have proven that Loki is innocent!”
“Have we?” Odin sneered. “After all of the horrible crimes your brother has committed on Midgard, after his evident mental instability and his questionable actions, we are willing to forgive him on the account of a simple mortal who shares his face.”
“Loki lifted Mjolnir, surely that proves him worthy!” Sif protested, and then covered her mouth in horror. Thor could speak out against the All-Father, but as a warrior, she was in no position to question his authority.
Loki had a sour expression on his face. He should’ve known all of this was too good to be true. But he held his silver tongue until he could find a way to take advantage of the situation.
Clint looked between the King and the man he hated. He would never forgive Loki for what he had done to him, but he saw what Loki had gone and was still going through on a daily basis and felt a strange pang of sympathy for the god. He dismissed it as a result of the exhaustion he was beginning to feel from this long and interesting day.
“Husband, please have reason,” Frigga pleaded.
“I have the final word, and I never said that this Jotun was innocent,” Odin spat, and despite the fact the barb was aimed at Loki, actor and character alike found themselves wincing at the pure hatred and venom in Odin’s voice. Loki remained stoic.
“That’s not fair!” Jeremy protested.
But the other actors held their tongues. They were starting to realize that, while they desperately wished the could intervene and jump to Loki’s defense, knowing the whole story, they couldn’t. It would be interfering. In fact, Tom and Scarlett realized almost simultaneously, it was like the timeline was trying to correct itself. In the Marvel universe, this whole interaction between the character and their actors never happened. It couldn’t happen. So therefore, Loki’s trial would have proceeded regardless. Perhaps he would’ve lifted Mjolnir, but the portal wouldn’t have existed. Somehow, in between the first Avengers and The Dark World, Odin convicted Loki and condemned him to prison. It had to be that way for everything to go as it should.
The others seemed to reach this same conclusion.
With a few more protestations from Thor and Frigga, Loki was led out. Tom watched morosely, his gaze fixed on Loki as he was led out. He wished the god had said something, anything, to defend himself. Loki didn’t deserve his punishment, not after everything else he’d gone through. He wanted to say something, some final words with his counterpart, but he did not chase after the god.
Odin was monologuing once more.
“I have looked into this – ” here he gestured to Hemsworth – “mortal’s mind, and I have seen the truth. The words these actors as you call them speak are nothing but lies. They have ulterior motives. They work for Loki. They came here in hopes of freeing him so that he can resume his evil work."
The characters were silent, processing the Allfather’s words. Meanwhile, the actors exchanged completely outraged looks, ready to give the man a piece of their mind. But it was Tony who spoke next.
“Excuse you, but I’ll have you know that I am actually the smartest man on earth, and I’m the one that engineered that portal that brought our actors here, and I can tell you with 98.99% certainty that that portal was interdimensional. And additionally, what you’re saying just doesn’t make any sense.”
“Your words mean nothing, foolish mortal,” Odin sneered. “I want you out of my palace, this minute, along with all of your other silly friends.”
“Oh, absolutely, Your Royal Highness,” Tony retorted. “Lemme just say, I am extremely disappointed. You did not live up to my expectations. Norse mythology got you all wrong.”
“You dare – ”
“Tony, sit down, you’re going to get yourself killed,” Bruce hissed, tugging on the billionaire’s sleeve.
“I am not sitting down, I am leaving. We are all leaving. Come on. Let’s go.”
With the exception of Frigga, Odin, and Sif and the Warriors Three, they rose.
“Thor, where are you going?” Odin demanded, still seething from Iron Man’s remarks.
“I am leaving, Father,” Thor said. “But I will return soon.”
He led his friends away from the room before Odin could reply, and shortly Frigga, Sif, Fandral, Volstagg, and Hogun hurried after the group, leaving Odin alone and looking extremely furious.
“My friends,” Thor said once they were back in the throne room, “I apologize that our first meeting had to end in such a way. Please know that we are very happy to have made your acquaintances.”
“Aw, Thor, don’t worry about it,” Jeremy said with a huge grin on his face. “We enjoyed ourselves immensely. Can I have your autograph?”
There was a clamor as other actors also began asking for autographs and swarming the characters, who were probably beginning to feel like Loki had, surrounded by a mob of screaming fans on the Walk of Fame, but laughing they agreed to sign.
The goodbye was sad but not long. Hugs were exchanged, and Tony and Robert exchanged phone numbers in the hopes that, when Robert was returned to his world, they might somehow be able to contact each other. As Tony said, it had worked between Tom and Chris, so why wouldn’t it work between them?
But now the portal was fired up and it really was time to go.
“You guys’ll be alright, right?” asked Mark. “No existential crises?”
The characters looked at each other and shrugged.
“We’ve seen a lot of weirder things,” Steve summed up for everyone.
“You’ll see a lot more,” Scarlett laughed.
“Will we ever see you again?” Evans asked.
Another exchange of looks.
“I really can’t say,” Tony said finally. He hated to hear those words. He really liked talking with Robert, and he was rather curious about the world where the actors came from. Maybe he could find the movies that they starred in. And what kind of technology did they have?
“It could be dangerous,” Bruce added. “Which in hindsight it probably a mistake on our part as we’ve already used the portal on multiple occasions.”
“That’s alright,” Hemsworth said. “It was a pleasure meeting you all. Thank you so much.”
“Yeah, but if you ever need us, feel free to open a portal in my backyard any day,” Robert joked.
“Love the banter, but you guys should really go. Control pad’s getting pretty hot,” Tony said. A last, quick round of hugs was exchanged. Certainly, nobody would ever forget this day and the people they had met.
But it was time to go. One by one, the actors filed through the portal and back to their reality. And a few minutes later, with the interdimensional portal tech in hand, the Avengers returned to earth via the Bifrost.
The end