3. Interchanged Lives

"…We are the Avengers," Tony said.

"Avengers? What kind of code name is that?" William asked, as he got up.

But before Tony could provide an answer, Thor fell on top of William.

"Point Break, you've returned!" Tony exclaimed.

"Thanks for pointing out the obvious, Stark," Thor said. "I brought my brother home."

Thor grinned as he looked for William. But he didn't see him, only his panicked daughter looking down at Thor. When he was about to ask where his brother was, he heard a voice below him.

"Would…you…mind…getting off?" William grunted.

"Ah, sorry, Brother."

Thor got up and William breathed for a moment. Thor was heavier than he thought.

"Daddy, are you okay?" Ava asked, with worry in her eyes.

"I'm alright, sweetheart," William said as he got up for real this time.

The Avengers—Tony, Steve, Natasha, Clint, Bruce—just stared at William and Ava. Did the little girl just call God of Mischief 'Daddy'? Did he just call her 'sweetheart'?

"Are you sure this is your brother, Loki?" Steve asked, with doubt.

He didn't know Loki that well, but given his past encounter with him, this man was very far from Loki Steve remembered. He knew for a fact that Loki wouldn't have a daughter. He was just not that kind of man.

"Yeah, I don't think God of Mischief would have a daughter," Natasha agreed.

"Or, Reindeer Games has finally changed for good," Tony suggested.

"He's my brother. He's Loki," Thor assured them.

William sighed. He was grateful that Thor saved his life and his daughter's in a way—but he was getting tired of how Thor thought he was his brother, Loki. It seemed like even his friends didn't believe him, so why should he?

"I'm telling you, I'm not your brother. Do you ever listen?" William insisted.

"No, that's my problem, Brother," Thor said. "I don't."

William rolled his eyes at Thor. He then turned to the Avengers, who were still looking at him and Ava with disbelief. He wondered what kind of person this Loki was that it was so difficult for them to believe that Loki possibly has a daughter.

"I don't think I introduced myself," William said. "I'm William Nolan. This is my daughter, Ava Nolan."

Ava clung to William, since she had no idea who these guys standing before her were. She never heard of them, and she wasn't so great around strangers. She saw those men in suits trying to attack William a few moments ago. What if these guys try to hurt her dad, too?

Tony raised his eyebrow when William said his name. He sure wasn't Loki. William had a totally different tone compared to Loki's, and his green eyes did not reflect any hurt or pain like Loki's did. But Loki's DNA and his scepter led Tony to William. He also looked exactly like Loki. Tony didn't think it was a coincidence.

"Tony Stark. Also known as Iron Man in this world," Tony said.

"Steve Rogers, or Captain America."

"Natasha Romanoff, Black Widow."

"Bruce Banner, the Hulk."

"Clint Barton, Hawkeye."

William was quite surprised to see that each one of them had a code name. But from the moment he went through that portal with Ava, he knew the people waiting on the other side weren't quite normal. Normal people don't have the ability to travel through portals.

"Where am I, exactly?" William asked, looking around.

He was in a building, but that's all he could figure out. There weren't any windows, so he couldn't tell if he was in a skyscraper or a basement of some kind.

"You are in another universe, apart from yours. This is still New York," Tony explained.

William seemed to be surprised at first, but then he remembered he and Ava just went through a portal. Usually, a portal leads to people to different worlds and universes, so it wasn't quite a surprise.

"What do you mean?" Ava asked.

Ava just witnessed some men trying to kill her father. And she went through some kind of portal, which lead her here, in a room with full of strangers.

"It means you are in a different world, sweetie," Tony said. "For instance, this is New York, but it is totally different than your New York. You don't know who the Avengers are. You know your dad as William Nolan. In our world, he is known as Loki."

Ava was still confused, but she understood that she wasn't in some place she was familiar. Ava turned to William, who was scanning the group of strangers in front of him, trying to figure out who they are.

"Daddy, who were those people? It seemed like you knew them," Ava murmured.

William's face instantly turned dark. He didn't want Ava to know his past—he managed to keep that a secret for last ten years. He thought it was unnecessary for Ava to ever find out. A child like Ava should never know what he had gone through ten years ago. But it was too late, she had already seen those men. William knew this was not the end. They would come after him and her.

"Those people?" Steve questioned.

"There were…some men whom Loki seemed to know from his past," Thor explained. "They were trying to force him to come with them."

Everyone turned to William, hoping for a further explanation. William sighed.

"They are…a part of my painful past," he said. "I worked with them ten years ago."

"What kind of work?" Tony asked.

"Let's just say I was a real-life James Bond," William confessed. He glanced at Ava. "Only much worse."

Natasha understood William right away. He had killed people on command. He probably went through extreme torture, experiments…other things that were far worse than death.

"I'm sorry," she said.

William locked his eyes with hers. He knew she went through similar things as him. He could just feel it.

"I left them ten years ago," William said. "Because I wanted to live a normal life. I wanted to raise Ava myself."

"He has lived a tragic life just as Loki," Bruce said. "Maybe far worse."

"I will not let them hurt my brother," Thor declared with anger.

"Not to ruin the moment here, but can I take him to my lab to do a quick check-up to see if he's our Reindeer Games or not?" Tony barged in.

"Reindeer Games?" William questioned.

"He means Loki," Steve explained. "He likes to give people weird nicknames."

"They are not weird, Capsicle. They are perfect," Tony defended himself.

William agreed for a test, just so Thor would stop calling him Loki. Tony led William down to his lab.

"Where's Daddy going?" Ava asked, a bit worried.

"He's just doing a DNA test," Bruce explained. "To see if he's really Loki or not."

"I can give you a tour of this place if you'd like," Thor suggested with a smile.

He thought this would be a good chance to get to know Ava. He wanted her to like him and treat him like a father if she wanted to. Ava gave him a small nod. Thor held out his hand and Ava grabbed it with a slight smile. When they disappeared from the rest of Avengers' sight, Steve opened his mouth.

"Never thought of Thor as a sweet guy."

"Well, Ava's his niece, supposedly," Natasha pointed it out.

"William might not be Loki," Clint said. "At least he didn't sound like him."

"Let's hope he is," Bruce said. "If not, Thor's going to have a hard time."

.

In the elevator, Tony and William were standing together, enduring the awkward silence. Tony realized Loki was no long Loki—but it was still weird for him to be around him, remembering how last encounter with him went down. But he also hated awkward silences, so he decided to speak first.

"So, Thor appearing in front of your apartment and calling you Loki did nothing good?" Tony asked.

"No, I don't know why he keeps calling me that," William said. "I thought they were both just a part of Norse mythology."

"I don't know about your world, but in this one, they are real," Tony said.

Thankfully, the elevator opened at that moment, so Tony didn't have to continue the conversation.

"This..is your lab?" William asked in surprise.

William couldn't believe his eyes. There were many advanced technologies in the room—metallic suits, 3D screens, and a gigantic machine—that William never seen in his life. Even during his early days, the best technology got was a self-driving car.

"Yeah, started in 2008," Tony said, as he walked over to one of the screens. "Now, I'm gonna need you to stand over here."

William stood where Tony pointed.

"JARVIS is going to simply scan you to see if you match Loki's DNA and his past," Tony explained.

William gave him a small nod.

"JARVIS, begin the scan," Tony commanded.

"Yes, sir. Beginning scanning…" JARVIS said.

William startled, trying to figure out where the voice came from.

"Don't need to worry, that's just my A.I. system," Tony assured William.

"Scanning's done, sir," JARVIS said.

The result appeared on Tony's screen. He looked at it with surprise.

"…Let's go tell the others."

.

"…Here's one of the places where Stark keeps his suits," Thor said as two of them walked in to the weapons lab.

"His suits? Do you mean he wears those robots?" Ava asked.

"Yes, when we fight the bad guys," Thor answered with a smile.

He thought Ava was adorable. She was curious at everything—literally everything—she bumped into. She kept pointing at all the gadgets and facilities Thor showed, and he couldn't help but to smile a bit. What he loved the most about Ava, though, was the fact that she called him 'Uncle Thor.' Even after seeing her dad deny that Thor wasn't his brother, for some reason Ava believed him.

"You said you call yourselves the Avengers, Uncle Thor. What do you guys exactly do?"

"We…take down the bad guys, dear," he answered with pride. "We protect this world."

"So you guys are superheroes?"

"Guess you could say that."

Ava looked at Thor with admiration, because she thought she had the coolest uncle ever. She thought if she ever went back to her world, she was definitely going introduce him to her friends at school.

"You tired, Ava?" Thor asked.

Her pace was slowing down, and Thor could see it. He felt sorry because he knows he's man who's difficult to kept up, especially for a little girl.

"A little bit."

"Ah, I'm sorry, you can climb on my back if you'd like," Thor said with a smile.

"Really? I don't want to bother you, Uncle Thor."

"You won't bother me, and I want you to," Thor said, kneeling down so Ava could climb.

When she did, Ava tightly held on to Thor's neck.

"Hold on tight, princess," Thor said.

He carried her all the way to the room where everyone else was.

.

When Thor and Ava arrived, William and Tony were already there, waiting for them.

"Who knew Point Break had a heart?" Tony teased when he saw Thor was giving Ava a piggyback ride.

"Shut up, Stark," Thor grunted, as he put down Ava.

"Daddy!" Ava ran straight up to William, who hugged her tightly.

"I'm not used to Asgardian gods being this affectionate," Clint said.

Everyone—except Thor and William—seemed to agree with Clint. Even for last past six years, the Avengers were quite busy taking down HYDRA, managing S.H.I.E.L.D. after its fall, and fighting Secretary Ross whom tried to make the Avengers sign the Sovokia Accords.

The person who hated the Accords the most was Tony, because he wasn't about to sign the damn thing so he could be like a slave weapon to the United Nations. When the Avengers were first assembled, their main purpose was to avenge the world—or protect it. They were never meant to be under someone else's control.

So, there wasn't much chance for the other Avengers to see Thor be affectionate, especially since his former girlfriend Jane Foster decided to dump him not long after the New York invasion.

"Speaking of Asgardian gods—" Tony spoke up. "I'm here to deliver the results."

Everyone looked at Tony. Thor was waiting for this moment for such a long time. He knew this was his brother, Loki. He just didn't remember it, that's all. But what Tony said afterwards shocked Thor.

"…He's not Loki."

"What did you say, Stark?" Thor questioned.

He couldn't believe what he heard. He had to be Loki. He had to be!

"I said, he's not your brother, Loki. I ran a test on him, and he didn't match anything to what Loki had. Not his DNA, blood type, or his past," Tony said bitterly.

Thor's face darkened. He looked at William. He had clear green eyes, and same dark raven hair. He looked so much like his brother—but science was telling him otherwise.

"I'm sorry I'm not your brother, Thor—" William started to speak.

"Enough! I can't do this. Not anymore," Thor yelled.

Before someone could stop him, Thor jumped through the opened window, then flew away with his Mjölnir.

Everyone was silent for a moment. They didn't know what to say. William just looked at Ava. She didn't say anything, but she had tears in her eyes.

"…Now what do we do?" Steve asked no one in particular.

"I don't know," Tony sighed.

William looked down. He knew this wasn't his fault—not directly, at least—but he knew he hurt Thor. Although he just met him like an hour ago, the thought that he hurt someone who saved him and Ava from them, bothered him.

"There must be a reason why you thought I was Loki," William spoke. "Why was that?"

"We had Loki's blood sample and his scepter, which is like a weapon he used. I managed to analyze them so when we found Loki, we would able to run a test to see if we had a match," Tony explained.

"But how did you narrow it down to me?"

"When I started my research, you had almost perfect match to his scepter and the blood sample. In other words, I tracked you down."

William thought that couldn't be a coincidence. There were a lot of things in life that could just randomly happen—get into a car accident, bump into someone you know, your phone shatters a month or two before you get a new one—but this was science they were talking about. And after taking a look around the lab, William concluded that Tony was a great scientist. A brilliant one. If he found him as almost perfect match to Loki, there must be a reason.

"But when you did run a test on me, you found that I was completely different from Loki," William pointed it out.

"Yes, now I think of it, that doesn't make sense at all," Tony remarked.

"So if I was a perfect match, then why did I not turn out to be Loki?" William asked.

A person can go through change many times in his life, but DNA isn't something that changes overnight or even throughout his entire lifetime. Also, if Loki's scepter—a weapon once wielded by Loki himself—led to William, there must be a reason why.

Then, a thought occurred to William. A horrifying one—but also a possible one.

"…I have no idea," Tony let out a long sigh.

"There's something the Tony Stark doesn't know? Wow, that's something," Clint said.

"Clint!" Natasha gave him a look.

"Sorry," Clint shrugged.

"I have an idea—" William said. "—about what possibly happened."

Everyone turned to him, waiting for him to explain. When William was about to do so, he realized Ava was still beside him.

"Well?" Tony raised his eyebrow at him.

"Ava, why don't you go to a…guest room," William suggested.

She has already seen too much. He wasn't about to let his daughter hear something horrifying about his past. She was too innocent for that.

"I'll take her," Natasha volunteered, holding her hand out to Ava.

Ava, a bit hesitant at first, grabbed Natasha's hand when William gave her a smile. When both of them disappeared from his sight, William finally reopened his mouth.

"Sorry for the delay, but this is something my daughter can never find about," he said. "It's too horrific."

"Alright, spill it, James Bond," Tony said. He was running out of patience.

"When I was part of the organization, I heard they had an experiment going on—called Code Black. It wasn't confirmed, but everyone knew there was something about it. There were various thoughts what kind of experiment would that be. One of them was about changing people's genes," William recounted.

"..Mutation." Clint stated.

"So are you saying you've been a part of this Code Black experiment?" Steve asked with his arms crossed.

William shook his head. Although being a part of the organization was chaotic, he never remembered being a part of such experiment. If he has, he would remember more about it. All he knew was there might've been a project like that.

"No, I've never been a part of such thing," William said. "But at the same time, the organization was insane. Still is to this day. They would do anything to achieve their goals."

"And what was this organization you speak of?" Bruce asked.

William shook his head once again. They've already known too much.

"Can't answer that. I've already put every one of you in danger for explaining who I was. I'm not about to drag some strangers from another universe to my unspeakable past."

"You are a stubborn fellow, aren't you?" Tony remarked.

"It's for your safety, Mr. Stark," William said. "For all of yours. I've hurt too many people in my life. I'm not about to cause more harm. You don't know them as I do."

"I can see why Thor claims you are Loki," Tony said. "Loki did hurt a lot of people. He killed 80 people in two days."

"Not helping, Tony," Steve sighed.

Although William was indeed annoyed by Tony's constant remarks and jokes between conversations, he would be lying if he didn't enjoy them one bit. He started to like this Tony, no matter how egoistical he seemed to be.

"What are you going to do now?" Bruce asked William.

"I guess I'll go back with Ava. It's proven that I'm not Thor's brother, so there isn't really a reason for me to stay."

"Are you sure, sir? You said people from your past almost kill you. I don't really think going back right away is a good idea." Steve disagreed.

"I agree with Spangles here," Tony tapped Steve on his shoulder. "Why don't you and your little girl stay here for a couple of days? I want to run some more tests on you, if you don't mind. Your Code Black theory is giving me hope."

William was going to decline the offer, but then he remembered Ludwin. James Ludwin—a top-secret agent of the organization just like him—was cold-hearted man when William worked for the organization. He never hesitated to kill, whether an ally or an enemy, if he could accomplish his mission. And, encountering him a few hours, William knew he hasn't changed a bit. Ludwin will come for them again. He will take him by force. William had no idea what the organization wanted from him now that it's been ten years since he left, but he knew it couldn't be good. He swore he wouldn't kill again. On the day Ava was born. And he was going to keep his promise.

"Alright, but just for a few days, Mr. Stark," William nodded.

"Keep calling me that, please," Tony pleaded. "Honestly, no one has much respect for me nowadays."

He glared at his fellow Avengers. They just rolled their eyes and went off to do their own work. Tony led William to his guest room, the same room where Natasha was watching Ava.

"Hey, he's gonna be staying with us for a few days," Tony announced.

"Okay. Ava, I'll see you later," Natasha said with a smile.

Ava smiled back.

"Bye, Aunt Natasha."

Both William and Tony raised their eyebrows at what Ava just called her.

"Did she just say—?" Tony questioned Natasha as they walked out of the guest room.

"Shut it, Stark," Natasha didn't let Tony say those two words. She knew he would make fun of it.

"She's very nice, Daddy," Ava said with a giggle when Tony and Natasha left.

"Really? I'm quite surprised how fast you made friends with her," William said as he picked her up.

"She told me to call her that," Ava said.

William and Ava sat on the edge of the bed, and Ava began to tell what she did with Natasha while William was busy with explaining briefly about the horrors of his past life to the Avengers.

.

Ludwin walked down the hallway, fixing his tie. He almost had him. He almost had William Nolan. Before William decided to leave the organization, Ludwin never had a chance to suppress him. Although he was the better agent—at least in his own mind—Ludwin couldn't beat him. He would only rise to 1st place after William left. Voluntarily.

Ludwin stopped at the double doors. They were guarded by two agents. Ludwin gave them a slight nod and they opened the doors for him.

"…Agent Ludwin," a voice said.

"…Louis," Ludwin said.

"What makes you think that you have the right to call me that?" the voice hissed at Ludwin.

"Agent Nolan got away, sir," Ludwin reported, biting his lip. "Thor—his brother—came and took him, along with Ava Nolan."

The voice, which belonged to a tall, middle-aged man with dark hair and skin, spoke with a cunning smile.

"I know. You told me that on the phone. But everything is going according to our plan, Agent Ludwin, don't you worry. You will get your revenge. They won't find anything on William Nolan. He's not the man they are looking for. Not anymore."

Ludwin looked into his eyes.

"…Are you sure about that?"

The middle-aged man slowly changed his form. His eyes turned from brown to blue, his skin from dark to light, his hair from dark to blonde. Suddenly, he was a totally different man; his appearance exactly resembled Thor's if he had short hair and wore a suit.

"Yes, I am sure, Agent Ludwin. I am."

Ludwin walked out. When the double doors closed in front of the man's eyes, he muttered under his breath.

"You won't remember who you truly are…Brother."

.

May 9, 1999. Earth-16.

"…Did you succeed?" Louis asked.

"Yes sir," men in black suits answered.

They were holding a man—who had dark, long hair and clear green eyes—and Louis couldn't help but to smile when he saw him. He's been waiting for this moment since the day he was born. His father always compared him to William—always. He was the older one and the firstborn, but for some reason his father always seemed to favor William.

At first, Louis ignored it. He just worked harder and harder, believing that one day, his father would look at him different way. But he was wrong. His father gave his company to William, making him his next CEO. That's when Louis realized he was never going to get a chance. Unless…William suffered in a very tragic accident.

Not long after William received his CEO title, he was found dead in a car accident. It wasn't his fault of course; he just lacked defense driving skills. His father mourned for William for days. But at the end, he finally made Louis the CEO of Nolan Industries.

Louis looked down at the man who laid unconscious. He looked exactly like William if you took away the long hair.

"…His name in the other world?" Louis asked.

"…Loki. He has a brother named Thor, who exactly looks like you," one of the men answered.

"I bet," Louis chuckled. "Before he wakes up, replace his memory with some new ones, He's going to have a new life."

The men in black suits nodded.

"His new name, sir?" the same man asked Louis.

"Why, William Nolan, of course," Louis said with a smile.