"I can't even tell if you are ever joking," Banner told Loki. "Book of Laws on Xander, their political structures. Laws of the nine realms. And some place called Knowhere. Intergalactic laws."
Loki shrugged. "It's all true, and some of these Aliens have visited Earth in the past."
"But the Nova Corps. Run by an artificial intelligence. Used to police the galaxy." Mike was going through one of the books. "This seems more like fantasy."
Loki smiled. "And you believe in Superman. Please. Besides, you would need to pull every trick in the book and outside to win. You would be facing some hyper-intelligent beings." Loki straightened out his Tie. "But fortunately, you have me. Someone with a few centuries of experience."
"I find that a little unlikely, Mr. Loki." Jessica interrupted.
Loki smiled. "Give me a book, any book from here."
Jessica got up and took out a huge book on the evolution of law and justice through the ages. She placed it in front of Loki.
Loki smiled and picked up the book. Discreetly, he turned the book down and opened up his Sharingan. He flipped through all the pages in front of them.
Loki smiled and gave the book back.
"Ask me anything, any passage from anywhere."
Louis looked up at him. "Bullshit, no one can memorize the entire content of that book that fast. You just flipped through it."
"Enough Louis, page 350, paragraph 20."
Loki smiled and began to recite the entire paragraph.
"Aztec's practice of law...."
Jessica repeated this process repeatedly, and her eyes got wider and wider each time. Finally, she stopped.
"Hiring Mike was right, but even he will not be enough." Loki had a serious expression on his face. "I can hear your heartbeat. I can tell when you are not being truthful. A few opponents you face could even read your surface thoughts. So, are you ready to face the music?"
Jessica closed her eyes. "Our firm would be the first entity to go into the intergalactic stage from Earth. We will put this up for a vote. Who is in?"
"I am in. I want to see how far I can take this." Harvey raised his hand.
"Fuck everyone. If we are going to sink, we might as well take this to the next level. Go big or go home." Louis answered.
"If Harvey's in, I am in as well," Mike said.
"Good." Loki waved his hand, and four books came into being.
Jessica looked at the title. "Loki's guide to lawyering."
Loki smiled. "Well, study well. I hope you can pass the Bar exam."
Jessica nodded, and then she pointed. "And what about Mr. Banner's case."
"Start the proceedings from next month," Banner said. "I intend to get married soon. I would prefer to do it while I am not a fugitive."
After a few moments, Loki and a now-human Banner were walking outside. He has a hoodie on his head. Loki was back in his beach bum clothes.
"So, are you ready to be whipped." Loki made a whipping motion with his hand.
Besides, I need to get to work. Someone needs to pay the bills around here.
Loki opened up the Tsukuyomi dimension as both of them were sucked in.
----------------------------------------------------
A portal opened up, and both of them found themselves back at home.
Banner sighed. "Time to face the music."
They both looked around for any sign of Betty. "Maybe the happy news will be enough of a surprise that she will ignore us," Loki said unsurely.
Banner sighed. "You know that's not true." There was a slight pause. "I am going to take you down with me. You know that right. It may not be today. It may not be tomorrow. But it will come someday."
Loki patted Banner on his shoulder. "Whatever you say, Buddy."
Both of them entered the living room.
"It took you both long enough." A regal voice had called out.
Loki entered and saw the ancient one calmly sipping some tea.
"I believe some congratulations are in order, Mr. Banner. I have already informed your fiancée."
Banner was hugged from the side. "I am so happy. I already have so many things planned. We can make Garfield the ringbearer. Ace can be the flower girl. Loki can be your best man. I am so excited. I have it all planned out." She began to lead Banner out of the room.
Banner turned around and mouthed the word help to Loki, and Loki, like a good friend, ignored him.
"It has been a long time, Miss Ancient one," Loki said.
"Time is a relative thing, Loki, God of Mischief. You, of all people, should know that." The ancient one took another sip. "You should be happy to know that you just broke time."
"Pardon me." Loki looked around to make sure that the world was not fracturing. He was sure that time still flowed like it should.
"Mr Loki. I meant that there is no fixed future anymore. I can barely see a few weeks in the future, and soon, it may only be a few days." The ancient one explained. "You set the universe free. Truly the God of Chaos."
"Please, call me Loki." Loki smiled and sat in front of The ancient one. "Besides, I am not a God anymore."
"Then call me Yao." The ancient one took a deep breath and began to explain. "Loki, your action of throwing away your Godhood changed everything. In a way, you changed your set path. No, you derailed it, and now the universe is in chaos. You have truly set the universe free."
"I am happy to hear that," Loki said.
"You managed to prevent Victor's fall into darkness. He follows his own path now." She explained. "It is time that I fulfill my deal, Loki."
The ancient one stood up. "It is time to begin your training. You may not have access to Mystical powers. Your friend will be informed as well." A portal opened up in front of them. "Wong will teach you everything about enchanting." She explained.
"I believe there is one particular thing you want to learn from me."
"I wish to attempt to use one particular type of energy." Loki smiled at her. "And I need your help to prevent it from killing me. By turning me into stone."
The ancient one smiled. "You still managed to surprise me. I will be honest: I always start by opening my students' minds to the wider world. But you don't require anything like that."
Loki smiled. "And I hope you will let me see your successor's face when you do that. I will record it for posterity reasons."
"I just may take you up on that offer." She laughed. "Doctor Strange is a prideful individual. " She paused. Her eyes widened. She did not mean to reveal that just now.
Loki smiled. Good old Ninshu at work.
"So, your successor's name is Doctor Strange." Without giving The ancient one any chance to interject, Loki continued. "Anyway, I need your help to disperse any excess energy that may accumulate within my body." Loki paused.
Soon, they reached their destination, the inner sanctum.
"Well then, Loki, can you demonstrate."
"Give me a moment." Loki sat down cross-legged and closed his eyes. He began to concentrate. He settled down and began to draw the natural energies around him. Grasping hold of them, he began to suck them in. He attempted to isolate it, but at that point, he lost control. The natural energies started to rampage. He felt his body being converted into stone. At this point, he felt a sudden strike that knocked the wind out of him. His concentration was lost, and he opened his eyes.
"Impossible." He heard.
He looked up and saw that the ancient one had a horrified expression on her face.
The ancient one felt very afraid right now. This was not something she could have ever imagined possible. She imagined the possibilities. Most higher entities had a purpose, a purpose that cannot be easily understood by them. Even the order realm that the majority of her disciples used had its own risks associated with it.
This was the purpose of rituals and incantation. It was to lessen the effect of different energies on their bodies. Yet, she saw Loki absorbing the natural energy around him. His innate ability to manipulate these energies can prevent his own mental corruption. But one wrong misstep can lead to his own end. It was a high-risk method, as far as she could understand.
"You can understand what I want, right," Loki asked.
"Provided that this method can be recorded." The ancient one asked.
Loki nodded. "Very well then."
"I will summon Wong. He will help record this. Mr Banner will join us soon."
Loki nodded. "Very well then."
And so began Loki's and Banner's training.
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(Ace POV)
Meanwhile, Ace had been successful in her mission.
"So, I would appreciate it if you had a meeting with Loki. Raising a child is a little hard for him. I am happy that you would help him out. Ace needs a few good female influences in her life." Betty was on the phone with her teacher. "Alright, Loki will meet you tomorrow. I hope you got his books."
Betty put down the phone and gave Ace a thumbs up.
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And so time passed.
Loki and Banner continued their training.
Banner was more interested in the how than if he could use mystical energy. He intended to understand these energies' fundamentals as if it were just another field of science.
"I can understand your frustrations, Mr Banner. But others have tried to quantify and understand the mystic arts. They have wasted their entire lifetimes in such a pursuit."
Banner smiled. "Science is built on the foundation of countless lifetimes of research."
"A previous disciple answered in the same way. " Wong sighed. "He left because he did not agree with us."
"I may meet him someday."
"I would not recommend it."
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(Meanwhile)
Both of Loki's books were slowly starting to reach acclaim.
Bruce Wayne had a copy in his hand. "Create a file on Loki. He is more than what he seems."
A line had caught his eyes. "Those who abandon their mission are trash, but those who abandon their comrades are worse than trash."
Ra's Al Ghul was also reading the book. "A ninja must purge all emotion. He is but a tool to be wielded by his village to serve a greater purpose."
Black Widow had just returned from a mission. She used to train in her spare time, but her psychologist had recommended that she have some off time. So, here she was, reading a book. "My name is Naruto Uzumaki. And someday, I will become the Hokage."
This book had surprised her; she thought it would be light-hearted. That was until she got to Haku and his death.
"What is my purpose? Am I always going to be a broken tool someday as well?" Natasha looked down at the tale of Haku.