Chapter 34

*The Next Day*

Loki and I walked into the conference room on the Hellicarrier and it was a mess. People were running around everywhere trying to get everything set up for the announcement. Tony was in his suit with his mask off and talking to Fury while the other Avengers sat around the table in support of what was happening.

"Finally!" Agent Hill said when she spotted Loki and I. She handed me a small flashcard with my speech on it and told me to read it before the stream went live. I looked down at it and quickly read over the prewritten words they wanted me to say. I sighed and dropped my hand as I looked up at Loki.

"Daughter, Loki, come here." Tony loudly said as he motioned for us. I rolled my eyes but couldn't help but smile at him as we walked over. 

"All ready?" He asked as he pulled away from the woman doing his hair.

"I guess so." I shrugged. Fury looked down at my hands and then crossed his arms as he raised his brow.

"And your speech? Did you study it?" He asked, knowing damn well I didn't.

"Um, yeah." I nodded.

"How do you feel about the new name?" Tony asked as he waved the hairstylist away from him.

"The what?" I asked as I looked between the two men.

"Elementa. Your new superhero name. Ya know, because you can control elements and whatever." Tony explained as he put his hands on his hips. Loki laughed a little but quickly covered his mouth with his hand as he looked down.

"Um, I don't want a superhero name." I argued. The name Elementa wasn't terrible but I felt like it didn't fit me. I just wanted to go by Alex.

"You need one. We all have one. Iron Man, Spider-Man, Captain America." Tony named off a few of the people in the room as he nodded his head.

"Everyone has one." He added.

"Not Loki and Thor." I argued as I crossed my arms.

"Awe, come on Alex, embrace your new name." Loki said as he dropped his hand and smiled at me. I narrowed my eyes at him and Tony snapped as he pointed to Loki, agreeing with him.

"Why doesn't Loki get a new superhero name?" I asked Tony and Fury as I crossed my arms.

"Alex, please, I am a God, I don't ne-"

"He does." Tony happily replied. Loki's face dropped and he dead panned to Tony.

"What." He asked. I crossed my right arm under my chest and rested my left elbow on my hand as I covered my mouth, hiding my smile.

"We were thinking Magic Man!" Tony excitedly said as he fanned his hands out from him and to the sides, a wide smile on is face.

"No." Loki harshly said. I let out a loud laugh and nodded in agreement as I dropped my hand from my mouth.

"A thousand percent yes." 

"Absolutely not." Loki snapped as he crossed his arms.

"I am a God! I will be respected as such and called my true name, not some gimmick name to amuse you humans." He said as he glared at Tony and Fury, his jaw clenching.

"Alright, fine, you can just go by Loki." Fury said as he rolled his eyes at the God.

"But you're still going by Elementa." He added, pointing to me.

"Unfair." I scoffed.

"Welcome to life." Fury shrugged before walking away from us and over to the camera crew they had by the window.

"Ready?" Tony asked as he shoulder bumped me. I stumbled to the side and into Loki, who steadied me. I shoulder bumped him back but he didn't move due to his suit and it just hurt my shoulder.

"Nope." I replied as I rubbed my shoulder.

"Too bad. We're on." Tony smiled as he patted my back and walked over to the cameras. Steve, Peter, Nat, Clint, Bruce and Thor stood behind Tony as the camera man signaled to them that they were live. Tony flashed his signature, smooth guy smile and I rolled my eyes as I smiled and crossed my arms. Fury grabbed my by the upper arm and pulled me to an X on the floor just off screen. Loki joined me and I inhaled as Tony began talking.

"Hey there North America and Puerto Rico." He nodded.

"We're broadcasting to every device right now because what I have to say is extremely important." He started off. I glanced over to the table and saw the others watching their phones with the sound off, making sure the broadcast was stable across all devices.

"A few months ago the whole universe was under attack. Yes, aliens are real, yes other universes exist. You conspiracy theorists are gonna have a field day with this, huh?" He chuckled as he crossed his arms.

"Tony." Nat whispered, trying to get him back on track.

"Anyway, during the smaller scale tragic attacks we were experiencing leading up to the big one...our Dear Mr. President Brad Hayne was killed. I know, it's a shock to everyone." Tony nodded.

"His death wasn't for nothing, though. Because of it we were able to track the movements of the enemy and beat him at his own game." He nodded.

 "I, no, we just wanted to let you know that the threat is no longer there thanks to two new members of our team. They worked in the shadows for a while now but we feel it's time they get the recognition they deserve." Tony said as he looked over at Loki and I. I felt my heartbeat pick up in pace and my body went tense as the camera man prepared to swerve over and put view on us.

"Now, the identity of one of these people may come to a shock to you all, but please, let us explain." Tony nodded to the camera. The cameraman pulled the camera away from Tony and the others and landed it on Loki and I. I clenched my jaw and Loki cleared his throat as he crossed his arms over his chest. I glanced over at Tony and he motioned for me to say something. I looked back at the camera and inhaled before uncrossing my arms and intertwining my hands behind me.

"Hi. My name is..." I glanced back over at Fury and he mouthed my new name to me. I rolled my eyes a little as I looked back at the camera.

"Elementa. And you all know this Asgardian as Loki." I said, introducing the two of us.

"I'm sure you're all probably freaking out because it's Loki, the being who attacked New York 6 years ago." I nodded as I looked over at Loki. He looked down and licked his lips before clenching his jaw and swallowing hard. It was clear how hard this was for him.

"But that Loki and this Loki are not the same person...." My words trailed off as I tried to remember the speech they wanted me to say. I inhaled and exhaled through my nose as I furrowed my brows and looked down. I looked back at the camera and inhaled then exhaled one more time before nodding.

"Actually. My real name is Alex. I'm 25 years old, I was in an accident that almost killed me but also gave me my abilities and I helped save the universe from a nasty threat." I wasn't going to feed the public words that didn't come from me. They deserved a more personal explanation.

"Goddamnit ." Fury sighed as he crossed his arms.

"I've been working with the Avengers for around 2 years now." I nodded a few times, realizing it really had been that long.

"I know none of you actually care about what I have to say. You're all too focused on the God next to me." I let out a small laugh as I looked over at Loki, who was still looking down at the ground.

"Loki Odinson was once an enemy of Earth, I know. I could try to convince you all that Loki has changed and everyone deserves a second chance, but you wouldn't listen to me or even care. I just want you all to know that Loki has been risking his life to stop threats all over the universe. Risking death so that you all can live. He has given more than enough-" My words were getting harsher and louder because I was getting worked up. I knew the people wouldn't understand and Loki didn't deserve that. Tony appeared behind us and put his hands on each of our shoulders as he pulled us close to him.

"And we, The Avengers, trust and love Loki. I know it may be hard to believe...but things happen being the scenes, things we can't share with you. Just know that Loki is one of the most trusted Avenger here." Tony softly and sweetly said as he squeezed Loki's shoulder. Loki smiled a little but kept his head down.

"Annnnd we'll be taking questions in the form of calls." Tony said as he smiled widely. 

"What?" I asked as I looked back at him. The sound of a phone ringing filled the air and Tony silenced me with a polite shush as one of the sound operators patched the call through.

"Hello?" Tony answered, smiling even more.

"Hi, yeah, why are you dressed like him, Alex? Are you also Asgardian? Why are all of these aliens so eager to protect Earth?" The annoyed woman's voice asked us. I raised a brow and scoffed a little as I crossed my arms and looked at the camera.

"I'm a human, miss. But that shouldn't matter, really." I shrugged, my answer coming off a bit harsh.

"I wear a similar uniform because that's my choice." I added. Thor suddenly walked on screen and pushed Tony towards Loki, taking a spot behind me.

"My brother and I joined the Avengers because we fell in love with you humans!" 

"It took Loki a while longer to see what I saw but when he did, he dedicated his life to protecting you all. Humans worshiped us long ago and we want to return that love to them." Thor smiled as he put both hands on my shoulders. 

"Next caller." Tony said as he motioned to the sound guy.

"Hi, um, my name's Kyle and I have a question for Tony." The man's voice said.

"Go ahead Kyle." Tony nodded.

"Are you brainwashed? I read a forum a few months ago about Loki and it said he could brainwash people. How do we know you aren't brainwashed?" He asked. His question sounded genuine.

"If Loki was brainwashing us, don't you think he'd use us to take over the world for real this time?" Tony laughed.

"Next." He said as he waved.

"Yeah, uh, okay this one is for Alex." A woman said.

"What gives you the right to say that that monster has given more than enough compared to what he did to New York? I lost my brother that day thanks to the animal next to you!" The woman's voice yelled at me.

"Because I've seen the sacrifices he's made for you ungrateful pricks and-" Tony laughed loudly to drown out my words as he pushed me towards Loki and took my spot, causing me to push Loki behind me and next to Thor.

"Lots of people lost someone that day, including our own Spider-Man. But Spider-Man has forgiven Loki and acknowledged that he's trying to make right his wrongs. Spider-Man still feels pain from his loss, but he also understands Loki felt pain too. He knows the real reason Loki did what he did and knows what Loki has done to help us, help humans." Tony's words were a bit more harsh with this answer. I extended my hand behind me and took Loki's hand in mine, gently squeezing it.

"Next." Tony crossed his arms.

"Hey, ya, uh, how can we trust Loki and what you're sayin' if you won't even tell us what he's done!" The man asked, scoffing.

"You're right. It's hard for you to trust us when you're so in the dark. So, let's shed a little light on that." Tony shrugged as he uncrossed his arms.

"Each of us is implanted with a device that records what we see and hear during our missions. My team has picked out the best examples of why they each trust him." Tony explained as he nodded to the operators behind the camera. I had no idea they were doing this and neither did Loki. I looked over to the screens to the left of us, they were broadcasting the feed to the operators.

"First up is Black Widow's clip." Tony announced as he moved from his spot and Nat replaced him. She smiled back at Loki, who was now looking up and at her with curious eyes.

"This clip is from a mission we went on together 2 years ago. We were sent to investigate and take down a platoon of men who had traveled to our universe from another one. They were killing innocent beings on another planet. Alex, Loki, Hawkeye and I were sent there to help." She explained as she looked back at the camera and crossed her arms. Our feed cut and I watched the other screen as a clip from Nat's old feed began to play. 

One of the men in the other Loki's army rushed towards a group of 3 alien children as they cowered against the back of a school building. Nat was running as fast as she could towards them but the man was faster. Nat screamed out as the man raised his gun and shot at the crying children. Loki suddenly appeared in front of the children, taking the bullet in his stomach and shielding them. He threw his arm out towards the man and a dagger flew towards him and hit him in the throat. The man fell to the ground and Loki groaned as he covered his bloody wound and turned to look at the children. Nat slowed down and inhaled hard as she tried to catch her breath.

"Are they okay??" She asked as she examined the kids.

"Perfectly fine." Loki nodded before disappearing again, leaving Nat to her duty of taking them to the safe area. I remember that day. Loki was able to heal himself during the fight and the children drew him a drawing of him saving them. He hung it up on our bedroom door like Thor did with his fan art. 

The feed cut back to us and she proudly smiled as she looked back at Loki for a moment. He gave her a small appreciative smile and she looked back at the camera and nodded.

"He, without a thought, put his life in danger to save them." She said before turning and walking off screen. Steve took her spot and smiled at both Loki and I before looking into the camera. His smile faded and his brow slightly raised, turning his face into his serious one as he nodded.

"My clip of Loki is from a mission we went on 4 years ago. He was helping me investigate some suspicious activity involving a nuclear threat. It was just Loki, an allie called The Winter Soldier and myself." Steve nodded. Our feed stopped and the clip began to play.

Steve threw his shield at a man with a laser gun and I was honestly surprised by this. I've never seen this video before. The gun went off when it hit the ground and the free flying laser bullet hit Bucky in the leg. He fell from the catwalk and down towards the boiling acid below them. Steve threw his arm over the edge to try and catch Bucky but he missed him by a few inches. Steve cursed and jumped to his feet to do something but Loki appeared on view and grabbed Bucky before he hit the acid. They disappeared and reappeared next to Steven and the two humans laughed as they quickly hugged it out. Bucky thanked Loki and Loki nodded as he bent down and put his hands on Bucky's wound. He healed it and the clip cut off.

"Loki saved a team mates life and healed him without being asked. Loki was three rooms away shutting down the reactor to the plant we were in and jumped into action as soon as he heard Bucky's screams." Steve explained before nodding and walking off screen. Tony took his place and smiled as he crossed his arms.

"The last clip I wanna show you is my clip. This was from a mission 3 weeks ago. The mission. The big one that saved our universe." Tony explained as he nodded a little. My memory of what happened on Oskar was a bit fuzzy due to my injuries and being infused with a dead warriors soul, so this was new to me as well. The clip began to play and a familiar pain washed over me as I watched Thor help Loki lay on his back and gently moved Loki's hand from his dagger wound. I remember this too clearly.

I watched myself and Peter asking Thor if Loki would be okay and Thor replying that the dagger was infused with a powerful magic. I felt the gut retching pain, remembering I wasn't sure if Loki would survive of not.

"Okay, we gotta go." Tony said as he motioned for the others to leave and then blasted the entrance clear of debris. I watched as Tony watched everyone quickly help the others leave the cave. His eyes turned back to us and Loki was on his feet now and breathing hard as he furrowed his brows. It was so clear he was dying and in so much pain.

"Brother?" Thor asked as he reached out for Loki again.

"No. Svanhild is free. I promised father he would not escape." His voice was weak and strained. I covered my mouth and fought back the tears as I watched myself put my hand over my side and wince in pain.

"Get her to safety." Loki softly said as he looked away from me and over to his brother. Thor grabbed me and began pulling me backwards but I fought him every second. Loki made his way to the circle of runes and fell to his knees as his blood flooded the area around him. I wiped the tears from my face and inhaled hard as I straightened my back and cleared my throat. The video ended with the runes lighting up and me screaming. The feed cut back to us and Tony nodded as he crossed his arms.

"What you just saw was Loki attempting to sacrifice his life to trap an evil beast back in it's cage. A beast that would have destroyed our world, our universe. Loki, without a thought, willing tried to give his life." Tony explained.

"I hope that-" Thor suddenly cut off Tony and gently pushed the billionaire behind him as he took the spot up front.

"I actually have a clip as well. I asked them to add it." He said as he looked back at Loki. His smile told us it wasn't going to be like the others. He looked back to the camera and began explaining his clip.

"The threat had kidnapped a few allies of the Avengers and Alex and took them to a planet far away, one no one has ever been to before. In this clip, you will see Loki and our father, Odin, talking about going to the planet. Odin was against it, he knew what evil that planet held, but Loki insisted." He nodded. Our feed went off and the short clip began to play.

"If he were to escape, I would do as Aksel did. Trap the beast at the core and offer myself as the sacrifice to the old Gods." Loki firmly nodded at whatever his father had said to him.

"You can't be serious, Loki." Their mother scoffed in disbelief as her eyes went wide. I understand why, she just heard her son say he would sacrifice himself.

"I am, mother. I have never been more serious in my entire 5 thousand years of life. I will gladly give my life for the humans trapped on that planet, for this universe." Loki proudly said as he nodded to his mother. The clip ended and Thor proudly nodded as he stared into the camera.

"He didn't know I was recording that. I just wanted you all to see that." He nodded again and then walked off screen. Tony took his spot again and clapped his hands once as he smiled.

"That's all we can show you, so I hope it's enough. I know it's hard and I know it's scary, but he and..." Tony looked over at me and I raised a curious brow as I crossed my arms.

"And my daughter are Avengers now and nothing will change that." He proudly said as he looked back at the camera. I felt a wide smile cross my face as I looked down. Hearing him call me that in private was one thing but he just told hundreds of millions of people that I was his daughter and blush and butterflies were consuming me.

"Yeah folks, I just said that. Have fun with that one, press." Tony winked at the camera.

"Alright, that's all we have to say." He shrugged. The other main Avengers joined us on screen and smushed us together as they all tried to fit in the shot. Clint put his arm around Loki's shoulder and pulled him close as Tony put his arm around mine and leaned into me. Loki took my hand in his, Peter rested his arm on Tony's other shoulder, Bruce stood behind Peter with Thor pushing him into Nat, who's arms were crossed, and Steve stood behind Loki and I with a proud smile on his face. It was chaotic and I wouldn't have wanted it any other way.

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