Chapter Text
Despite their differences, the duo quickly became friends. Together, they practiced their fighting and magic, and expanded their capabilities. But they also helped each other, talking about past friendships and betrayals, the pain of their pasts. And together, they started to recover.
Moving from one safe house to another, the pair battled monsters and humans alike, saving countless people from destruction. They saved demigods, directing them towards the appropriate camps, never revealing who they were. Within the magical community, they were known as the rogue helpers.
But in the superhero community, they were not as well received. Many viewed them as dangerous and uncontrollable. Which, of course, they were. But the pair did not stop, bringing the world back from the brink of collapse, defeating threat after threat after threat.
The media dubbed them “magical”, “amazing” and even “heroes”'. Although there was never much coverage on them, the simple mother thanking her son’s “saviours” or a child, remembering the “mysterious brothers” was enough to make their day.
They never corrected the people, never informed them that they were not in fact blood. Because they had been through so much together, they were closer than friends. Despite not having the same blood in their veins, they were brothers. Always.
Nico trained. He trained harder than he ever had before, pushing himself farther and farther past his limit.
Loki said magic was like a muscle. The more you used it, the stronger it got. But magic was flexible. Powers were limited only by one’s mind. So when Nico tried the impossible, convinced himself the impossible was, in fact, possible, he accomplished amazing things.
The mist was powerful. Nico learned to change memories, to make people forget what they saw. He learnt to unveil the magical world to the mortal eye, and to re-veil it. He learned to change recordings, to modify the internet.
Nico learned how to not only teleport himself, but other things too.
“If you can teleport your clothes, why not other people? And if you can teleport other people, and their clothes, why not their stuff? And if you don’t need to touch their stuff, why not teleport that vase across the room?” explained Loki.
Without contact, Nico could bring an object to him, or send an object he could see somewhere else. And then he didn’t need to see it. He remembered where it was, and brought it somewhere else.
“You know where things are when you teleport them, yes?” inquired Loki. Nico nodded. “Then why not sense things without teleporting them?”
And so Nico could sense his surroundings. If he looked beyond 30ft, his consciousness would move, and he could no longer see his body, but he could be anywhere. Watching, as long as his body was safe.
He could control shadows. So why not create some? Shadow-traveling just got a whole lot easier.
Nico could lower the temperature in a room. So why not raise it? It turns out that he would accidentally summon hell fire. Bad idea.
And throughout his training, Loki learned better control of his powers too. He learned to control people, to some extent. To influence people’s emotions, and to make people relive their worst nightmares.
It turned out all Nico and Loki needed was a push.
They kept training with sword and staff, bows, guns, spears, knives, hand-to-hand combat and so much more. They even learned how to ballroom dance out of boredom.
The pair became a terrifying duo, aware of the others strengths and weaknesses. On the battlefield, they never needed to talk, always knowing the others’ move. And when one tried something new or different, when a mistake was made, the other was always there. Offering their support and protection, silently encouraging the other to try again, to be strong.
Eventually, Nico and Loki started to get closer. They stopped seeing the other as a friend or a fellow soldier. They weren't just partners. They were brothers.