" Age appears to be best in four things; old wood best to burn, old wine to drink, old friends to trust, and old authors to read. "

- Francis Bacon

(FIFTY YEARS AGO: BAKER BEACH, SAN FRANCISCO, CA: 6:45 AM)

As the sun rose from the city's eastern side, Amnon-Selah finished burying the deceased Kree man into the seashore and placed some sedimentary rocks on the burial ground. The Kree-Lizard hybrid was heavily panting and instantly sat down on the sandy ground. He sadly looked at the late Captain Mar-Vell's serene resting place and silently mourned.

Just behind him, there was an armed MTF trooper who peacefully stood and stared at the hybrid kneeling and weeping for the deceased loved one. The man felt sorry and sadly bowed when he sighed.

" My sincerest condolences there, friend, " a calm and deep male voice with a smooth English accent echoed.

Amnon-Selah rubbed his eyes and slowly moved his head to his left. He widened his eyes in fear, instantly stood up, and slowly stepped back, thinking someone from the Foundation was after him.

" For Asgard and Jotunheim's sakes?! Do you even think I am one of them for crying out loud?! " the MTF trooper defiantly raised his voice. " Do you even think I would bring you back to that cursed Foundation facility and watch you suffer horribly from those damned beings?! Oh, come on! I'm an undercover bounty hunter in Midgard! "

" Bounty Hunter? Midgard? Jotunheim? Asgard? " Amnon-Selah curiously repeated the words from the MTF Trooper, scratched, and tilted his head. " I don't understand what you're talking about?! "

" Oh my, you don't have a clue, do you? "

" No..."

" Right, " the man heavily sighed and carefully removed his helmet, revealing his long dark wavy locks. He had dark emerald irises in his eyes fitting to his pale porcelain-like skin.

The Kree-Lizard hybrid was astonished to see him and pointing at him. He remained speechless when he couldn't believe the man could summon a spell forming a long golden scepter. Suddenly, a flashback occured into Amnon's mind when he met the same man viewing him on the containment window.

" You're not one of those MTF Troopers! What are you?! "

" I am the god of mischief in Asgard or should I say a frost giant, " he answered. " My name's Loki Laufeyson. Have you ever heard of me from those Foundation goons in that wretched facility? "

" No, but I think I can remember talking to you before, " Amnon answered and slowly turned his frown into a smile. " You were watching me before. "

" Finally, a Kree-SCP 682 boy remembers me! Great! " Loki joyfully thought and sighed in relief. Then, he replied, " Look, I'm sorry if we haven't talked that much. 682 broke his containment when I hurried away. "

" It's okay. I guess it's the perfect time to know more about you, then? "

" Right, right. I owe you that one too, " he replied. " You're too innocent to experience Midgard. I will spend more time explaining things to you then. "

" What's Midgard? "

" Earth. The planet you are standing on right now. For Odin's sakes, why do those damned Midgardians in the Foundation facility make you so stupid and naive?! "

" I'm sorry. I am just..."

" All right, " Loki nodded and understood. " I know. They think of you as the horrible lizard who terribly traumatized you! Definitely, you are part of him and the other is something else! Do they even tell you everything?! "

" No..." Amnon sadly sighed and bowed his head. " Skouro and I just had a little talk. "

" Ah, yes. That gentle-hearted one helped you escape. You know you should be grateful to her that you had ultimately left that wretched place. Speaking of that incident, I am the one who's responsible for that earthquake! " Loki confidently grinned.

" Wait, what?! How? "

" I can summon spells as I am well-versed in magic! You saw this rifle turned into a scepter. "

" So, how did you get into that place? "

" I used a different identity and controlled my magic, disguising myself as an MTF Trooper. I had a friend who used to work there. "

" Really? "

" Absolutely, " he shrugged. " Apparently, I have heard your wailing inside the containment cell. My friend asked me to check on you, because he couldn't come near you. "

Amnon-Selah tilted his head more curiously than ever and asked, " Who is your friend? "

" Ah, that man. Apparently, he prefers not to disclose it. I'm sorry. "

The Kree-Lizard hybrid sighed heavily and couldn't get an answer from the god of mischief. He sat down on the rock and placed his right hand on his chin, seeming to be dissatisfied. Loki became conscientious and shrugged while he was composing his thoughts for response.

" Look, my friend is protecting himself from anyone who hunts him, " he reasoned. " You know the Kree, Skrulls, and such. You may find him very soon, but all I know is that he's related to the late Captain Mar-Vell. "

" Mar-Vell? "

" Bingo! You're spot on! " Loki snapped his right fingers, looked at the burial ground, and then sighed. " I know he's fated to meet you. He was so good to you, I take it? "

" Yes, " Amnon nodded. " How did you know? "

" I secretly followed you from the Foundation facility upto here. He had been like a best friend or family to you, but his terminal illness had prevented him from continuing the journey with you. This time, I saw you were burying your beloved Kree companion. I'm sorry for your loss, " Loki calmly spoke and sat on the sand beside the hybrid. " I knew how it felt to lose someone who truly loves you. "

" Who? "

" My late adoptive mother, Frigga. All of my friends in Asgard who died in the war. I missed my brother Thor. "

" Did your brother Thor die? "

" No. I got banished from living in Asgard, because I have deceived my adoptive father and brother in winning the war against the Lizards by magic. When they found out the truth of my army getting killed, they despised me and summoned me a curse not to return home forever. "

" I'm sorry to hear that. "

" It's not your fault, boy, " Loki slightly smiled and shrugged. " I deserved that punishment and ended up here in Midgard for good. I became a bounty hunter, earning money by hunting the most wanted people. This is what I have been doing for centuries. "

" Am I wanted by the Foundation? "

" For them, yes. For my volition, absolutely not. "

" What do you mean? What can you gain in joining me? " Amnon asked.

" Look, I didn't mean to harm and bring you to those foolish Midgardians from that vile Foundation facility. I'm helping you to flee away from them, just like the late Captain Mar-Vell did to you. I promised my friend to keep an eye on you. "

" Oh, okay, " the Kree Lizard hybrid nodded and queried. " So, are you joining me? "

" Yes, " Loki nodded back and replied. " I can only bring you to Washington state, but you have to set your feet to Canada and Alaska. "

" Why is that? "

" Look, I'm a bounty hunter and a master of disguise. This gig of helping you get freed of that vile place is for free which a friend of mine asked me for. I seek some Midgardian scums on my own for money. I hope you can understand why. "

" Right. "

" I know you have a moment with that late Kree man. If I were you, I should let myself out of this place before the MTF Troopers would hunt us. Mar-Vell could have told you if he were still living. "

Amnon looked at his created burial place for his late relative and turned to the Asgardian god of mischief turned bounty hunter. Loki crossed his arms and waited for the hybrid to make up his mind, giving him a suggestive look.

" I guess I should let him go in peace, " the Kree-Lizard hybrid sighed and stood up.

" Good idea. His memories with you will remain in your heart. For now, your survival is important. "

" So, what should I do? "

Loki moved his head sideways and deeply thought of what direction and destination they would go. He scratched his chin using his right and pointed in the direction towards the San Francisco Bridge, using his golden scepter. Amnon curiously tilted his head and stared at the Asgardian bounty hunter, becoming clueless of what he would do.

" We'll just walk all the way from here, " Loki explained. " Going beyond California to Oregon and travelling interstate via the Pacific Highway, we can get through Seattle, Washington and then to Vancouver, BC, Canada. Going North and living there is the safest place in this realm. "

" How did you know all the places? " the Kree-Lizard asked.

" Midgard has been my second home until now. I am used to traveling across the globe using magic, but I'm afraid the MTF troopers might find us along the way. "

" What do you mean? "

" You have been a subject for search and destroy, " Loki seriously answered. " The 05 Council thinks you can harm anybody. That angel helped you escape and I made that earthquake to divert their attention for you to have a chance to flee. Remember, my friend asked me to spare you from those imbeciles. So, you should stick with me from now on. Don't do anything stupid for Odin's sakes in this journey! "

" Uh...okay..." Amnon nodded no furiously.

" Now, we have to leave before they find us. "

(THIRTEEN DAYS LATER AFTER MAR-VELL'S DEATH, DES MOINES, WASHINGTON, 5:15 PM)

Travelling with the Asgardian god of mischief and bounty hunter, Amnon-Selah enjoyed his company and realized that Loki was never a boring and serious person after all. Loki spent telling stories of Asgard and the nine realms which he had been and met a lot of people along with his brother Thor and his friends. Amnon kept asking questions to him, dying to know about the Asgardian royalty and other races. Of course, Loki had definitely answered those and also mentioned of his bounty hunter life on Earth, which he had found of taking down criminals and unwanted beings using sorcery and Asgardian combat. He mentioned he was being paid from doing that and spied around the Foundation facility where he met his friend the Kree Eternal Methu-Selah for the second time.

Amnon was supposed to tell his story to his new friend and travelling companion about his nightmares and memories of SCP-682, however, Loki understood and refused to hear those. He felt downtrodden and decided to divert the Kree-Lizard hybrid's mind to focus on the journey as he kept telling stories to him.

In this journey, they spent walking on foot, hitch-hiking for any incoming vehicles, and in hiding from the MTF. Loki kept mentioning those places to the hybrid boy and taught him how to spot a direction from the point where they were at and how to track their next destination. He also taught him how to count their footsteps and use the stars on the evening skies for navigation. Loki reminded him to look and follow the Big and Little Dipper for tracking his steps.

Finally, they ended up in a seaside city of Des Moines where it was around 23 to 24 minutes away from Seattle. Loki and Amnon had found an abandoned house near the yacht harbor where they could remain overnight before reaching the busiest city in the state. It was approaching sundown when the Kree-Lizard hybrid began to search for food from the garbage. Loki stepped out of the house and looked at his friend when he sighed and felt pity at him.

" Look, boy. I have already helped you nourish during the trip using my trickery, " the raven haired Asgardian broke his silence and watched Amnon doing his scavenger hunt. " Why did you have to find food in the waste? "

" Mar-Vell once told me,' Beggars don't choose in order for us to survive. ' I have been doing this for a long time, Loki. I really enjoyed this, finding valuable treasures from the dump and some left-over food. "

" Then, what else did you learn from him? "

" Oh, yeah. I can count money and other things aside from begging for food and money. I liked pretending to be a sick and dying old man on the streets and waiting for anyone to drop coins and money into my can. "

" Without suspecting you as a SCP-682 clone? "

" Yeah! " Amnon laughed and recalled. " Mar-Vell and I waited until sundown, then we started to count money and buy food elsewhere. "

Loki falsely smiled and chuckled at the hybrid, hiding an expression of pity and sadness to him. He understood that Amnon had been running away from the MTF troopers and experiencing his life as a homeless scavenger and street beggar. The Kree-Lizard hybrid found his freedom, but it was a dismal and impoverished beginning.

Loki intently looked at him, heavily sighed, and sadly thought, " You don't deserve this life, my friend. Your father wants to meet you, but those damned Midgardians from the Foundation robbed and deprived you of the truth. They keep telling you that you're a shadow of that horrible demonic beast, still you are far different from him. You may be part-682, but still your human-like face reminded me of Methu-Selah. You are still the Kree Eternal's son in some ways. All you have to do is to search who you really are. You deserve better than that. "

Amnon found a basket of semi-rotten fruits and vegetables from the dump and happily jumped for joy. Loki crossed his arms and sadly stared at him. For the first time, the Asgardian god of mischief felt mercy on the Kree Eternal hybrid's son. Amnon's mind was mainly preoccupied with his daily survival and his onsets of nightmares from 682 and the Foundation.

" Loki, what's wrong? Why are you staring at me like that? Is there something wrong in what I am doing or have said? " he asked.

" No, no, no. I'm just thinking if I can help you make the food fresher than what you have found, " he chuckled and summoned a spell to revert them into their most edible state.

Amnon noticed the sudden transformation using magic and widened his eyes in shock, " Wow! It's just instant! "

" How are we going to enjoy our salad if it's rotten? We don't deserve to eat it, you know? " Loki shrugged and grinned. " It's supposed to be the freshest and finest fruits and vegetables that we have. "

" Right. "

" Let's eat, shall we? "

Entering the abandoned house, Amnon and Loki had enjoyed ingesting their fruits and vegetables and spent time talking in the dining area. Just outside the abandoned house, there was a commotion in which there were male voices and a sound of clicking their weapons. Loki sensed them coming and knew who they were. Amnon looked at his friend with concern, paused chewing his lettuce and apples, and then drank his orange juice.

" It's them! " Loki anxiously muttered.

" Who? " Amnon asked.

" Our chasers! "

" I thought we had run away..."

" They are still after us! " he exclaimed and angrily gritted his teeth.

Suddenly, there was a barrage of loud bullets striking the glass windows and instantly causing them to shatter and scatter around the old wooden floor. Loki and Amnon brought their heads down to the ground and dodged themselves from being caught and shot. The chaotic scene had alarmed them when they decided to escape from the ruthless and armed MTF Troopers. Closing his eyes and sweating, the Kree-Lizard hybrid was too afraid of confronting them once again. He felt his loud and racing heart beating. Amnon's Kree adrenaline was tremendously rushing in him through his blue blood like a fast flowing and gushing river. He didn't have any idea of what to do since he heard more gunshots and voices from the outside.

" We have found you, 682! " a gruff male voice loudly echoed and made his first ceasefire. " Why don't you show up and face your execution? We knew you were damn hiding along with that rogue MTF Trooper! "

Amnon remained close-mouthed as he was too afraid to deal with the MTF troopers. He never wanted to return to the Foundation facility and die. Loki deeply thought of a diversion to spare the Kree Eternal's son from them. Suddenly, he quickly snapped his fingers and summoned a vanishing spell in a blink of an eye. The MTF troopers entered the house without hesitation and held their weapons. The other held a Keter crystal in order to weaken the hybrid. Suddenly, they were dumbfounded that the two escapees had gone instantly. They began searching around the house throughout the night.

Just then, Loki and Amnon ended up on the streets of Seattle as the Kree-Lizard hybrid was clueless and dazed of what was going on. He looked at the Asgardian bounty hunter in shock.

" You just used magic?! " Amnon muttered.

" Isn't it that obvious, Boy? " Loki grinned and shrugged. " I am still the god of mischief despite having a noble Midgardian job. I can make a trick and save you from them. "

" Oh... right... "

" You know what? I have decided to let you go for now. "

Amnon couldn't believe what he had heard from what Loki had said and became disappointed, " I don't understand. I thought you're gonna help me on this trip. Why? "

" The more we remain together, there are possibilities that the Foundation fools may chase us all over again. I'd just want you to look out on your own and find another friend who will accompany you. "

" But how about you? "

" I can still travel alone and find another client for my own hunting job. My friend will understand why, but he's madly looking and searching for you. I know you will find and meet him along the way soon enough. "

" What do you mean? "

" Just go and search for him, alright? I might deal with those goons if they try to hurt and hunt me. Goodluck, Scavenger Boy! "

" Same to you. Thank you, Prince Loki, " Amnon sincerely smiled and respectfully bowed at the Asgardian.

" You reminded me of Methu-Selah for that polite gesture, Boy, " he thought, chuckled and gave him a salute. " Take care of yourself, Farewell! "

" I will! Bye! "

Amnon waived his right arm as Loki smiled back at him and then walked away. The Kree-Lizard hybrid watched him leaving and scurried away onto the alley where he could peacefully spend the night in Seattle.

( Fifty Years Later: Paris, France: 12:30 PM)

" So, I have never heard of you spending time with you from San Francisco to Seattle, " Carol said to her son and finished eating her meal. " Why didn't you tell me that before? "

The blonde pink Kree man nervously chuckled after chewing his steak and drinking his non-alcoholic red wine. Then, he turned to Loki and his father. They were implying to him to respond to his mother's question. Amnon heavily sighed and composed his thoughts as Carol waited for her son to speak up.

" Mom, I'm so sorry if I didn't tell you. I have forgotten that, " he humbly replied.

" So, this was before you met Nancy? "

" Yes, mom. "

" Look, Kid. It's okay, " she smiled. " I understood that your journey was unending. There were times that you have forgotten it. "

" I didn't know this boy had a significant other?! Why didn't you tell me?! " Loki raised his voice to his astonishment.

" Yes, he had, " Methu-Selah smirked to his son and gently slapped his back.

" Master, that was a long time ago! " Amnon exclaimed his voice and blushed harder. " Nancy's gone after I left Canada. Then, Shadra and I got separated after I left Russia. " Then, he turned to Loki and said, " See, a lot of things had happened after we had parted our ways then? "

" How ironic that the Foundation brought you here in Paris?! " the Asgardian laughed and shrugged. " Well, nevermind! I am glad that you have reunited with my old friend, Scavenger Boy! "

" You still call me that, huh? " Amnon thought and dryly chuckled.

" So, speaking of your visit, Loki, did you have any news of your exploits? " the Kree Eternal curiously asked.

Loki ceased his laughter and heard his friend's question. When his face grew serious, the Asgardian began to formulate and compose his thoughts before answering. For him, he didn't want Methu-Selah to be alarmed. Methu-Selah and Carol exchanged glances and waited for him to disclose. Loki had put a last bite of steak from the fork to his mouth and chewed it. Then, he drank his wine and swallowed it. Amnon grew concerned at his friend's silence.

" Methu, your sister, Mira. She's still alive, " he seriously broke his silence. " She's no longer the one whom you had been with before. "