Hey all! I have the first chapter up! Hope you enjoy!

After chapter 4, AWNWD

"No, no, no! Come on, you seriously think you can win?"

"Come on Raf! You got this in the bag!" Miko yelled.

"Get your hands off my eyes! This is cheating!"

Jayce laughed and Miko whooped, "Come on, almost there!"

"Raf wins!" Jayce squealed.

Tony pouted, "That was unfair in every sense of the word."

Raf shrugged, "I didn't do any of it."

Miko and Jayce high-fived and Tony grumbled, pointing at Miko, "You are a terrible influence on him."

Miko grinned, "No worse than Jemina."

"Speaking of the resident oddity, has she come back yet? For a visit?"

Jayce looked down and Jack shook his head while hugging Jayce, "Not yet, though I'm sure they'll come back soon, or at least call."

Miko frowned, "Speaking of absences…where's the rest of the Avengers? Has Thor come back yet? It's been really boring with them or the bots."

"Ratchet's been here." Raf said.

Miko pouted, "He doesn't count, he never does anything fun."

"Just because I don't enjoy dune bashing or that shrieking noise you call music doesn't mean I don't have fun." Ratchet said flatly.

Miko huffed, "Let me know when that happens."

Ratchet rolled his optics as Tony answered Miko's previous question, "Well Cap is still catching up on everything he's missed, Thor is still in Asgard and Bruce is back at the tower. Natasha is…back with SHIELD and I have no idea what Clint's up to."

Miko set her head in her hands, making an upside down v on her lap. "Why can't Steve catch up here?"

Tony looked up, "I don't know."

Loki leaned his head against the back of his cell's wall. After Thor had portaled them back to Asgard with the Tesseract, as the humans so fondly called it, they had almost immediately replaced the meager human cuffs with durable Asgardian cuffs that really could block his magic then escorted him down to the prisons. Thor had come down several hours later, no doubt after talking to his father, and started talking, sitting just outside his cell. Which was where he still sat, regaling what had happened on Midgard.

He sat in silence as Thor told him what happened. Every once in a while he'd recall something, like he remembered part of a dream, but it was always fleeting—snatched away a moment later but still playing at the edge of his mind. It was infuriating. And what Thor was telling him didn't make him feel any better. True, he never particularly cared for the mortals but that didn't mean he just wanted to wipe them out though.

Loki looked up once he realized that Thor had stopped talking, his face and voice were blank—guising everything swirling within. "Is that all?"

Thor frowned, "'Is that all?' Honestly brother, do you care that little?"

Loki frowned and looked away, "I'm not your brother, but I don't not care…"

Thor saw Loki's glazed eyes and his look softened, "What happened? Don't you remember anything?"

Loki looked at him hard, half in thought and half at the question, "Why don't you ask your mortal friend, Clint I believe you said his name was. Does he remember anything?"

Thor looked down, sadly, "No."

"There's your answer." Loki said curtly, again looking away.

Thor sighed, "Brother, please, what are you thinking? I want to help, I know you did none of that of your own will."

"How do you know that? How do you know that deep down I didn't want to do it? What if I enjoyed it?"

Thor glared at him, "Because I know you, I grew up with you. Whether you like it or not we are brothers and, because I don't want to believe that you did."

He laughed, "Then you don't know me as well as you thought, I quite enjoyed what I did to Jotunheim."

Thor wanted to glare at him but found himself slightly nodding, he could understand that one…he had tried once for all intents of purpose. Luckily they both failed. A sudden thought came to mind, "What of Jemina? Did you enjoy that?"

Thor smiled slightly when he got a reaction. Loki frowned at the floor, "No, not in the slightest…but I can't help but be grateful. She did, after all, break its control. For that I'll forever be thankful."

Thor frowned again, "Who did it to you? Loki, look at me."

He looked up, face hard, before he sighed heavily. "I don't remember. It was dark after I fell and I blacked out. When I awoke I appeared to be on a ship, someone came in—he was cloaked by shadows—with the scepter and I remember feeling confused before…nothing. Nothing but brief flashes and fading dreams."

Thor ached as he saw Loki's almost broken face.

Loki spoke suddenly, just above a whisper. "Something's strange about her, about her abilities."

Thor laughed, "That is quite obvious."

Loki looked at him, hard, "No Thor, I don't understand it. When we were both under the Stone's control, our minds were partially linked and I could see something inside of her." There was silence between them before he added, "Something that was older than even Asgard and almost rivaled that of the Stones."

Thor turned worriedly, "What do you mean brother?"

He opened his mouth to answer but words failed momentarily before he tried again, "Thor, whatever happens—you must protect her. I do not think that even she knows and now that she's destroyed the Stone forever, I fear the wrath that will fall on her."

Thor was silent, fear permeating his chest, before he nodded, "I will do whatever I can."

Their conversation was brought to an abrupt halt when a guard entered with several others behind him, chains in hand. "The All Father will see you now."

Loki scowled a bit but didn't resist as they led him up to the throne room. The walk was silent, chains and footsteps being the only noise until they were standing in front of Odin. "Loki."

Loki turned and the faintest of smiles played at his lips, "Mother."

She frowned and said softly, "Please, don't make this worse."

He glanced up at Odin before looking back at her, "Define worse."

"Enough!" Odin called firmly, "I will speak to the prisoner alone." Frigga left and Odin looked hard at something behind Loki, "I said, alone."

With a deep sigh, Thor turned and left.

There was a tense silence between the two of them before Odin finally spoke, "Do you recognize your crimes?"

Loki laughed bitterly, "Which ones do you speak of?"

Odin frowned, eye boring into his, "All of them, the attempt to destroy all of Jotunheim, the invasion of Midgard, all of them."

Loki nodded before he smirked and shook his head, "No, I don't. I will fully claim what I did to Jotunheim, they all deserve to die…but I do not claim Midgard."

Odin's look hardened, "And why is that?"

Loki glared at him, hating the game he was playing. And they say I'm the trickster, ha. "Because that wasn't me. Use all the magic you like to look inside my head, it wasn't me. Do I despise most of the mortals, yes, but I would never invade them like that."

"But you wanted to rule them, you have always wanted to rule." It wasn't really a question but a statement of fact.

Loki rolled his eyes, "Of course I do, what prince, what boy, doesn't dream of that? And it hasn't helped that you have pit me against Thor since day one, making me walk in his shadow, never letting me have a turn."

Odin sat back a bit, "So you did find pleasure in it."

"What is our game, old man?" Loki snapped.

"My game, Loki, is that I want to know why."

Loki sighed, exasperated, "Jotunheim, I did because I was furious. How did you expect me to react? You, you yourself, told me storied, stories designed to make me hate them—to make everyone hate them. Then to find out I was one of them? What did you expect me to do? Simply nod and be fine with it!?"

"And Midgard?" Odin asked, voice calm as ever.

Loki looked up, shaking his head slightly, "As I have said a million times to you and Thor, it wasn't me. I don't know who it was but whoever they were, were in possession of the Mind Stone."

Odin's one good eye twitched slightly, mentioning Infinity Stone always seemed to prick a sore spot in him—though Loki didn't know why. "So you claim no hostilities towards the humans?"

"…No." Loki finally answered after some thought. They were inferior in almost every aspect…but that wasn't a reason to hate them, annoyed by them—yes.

There was a beat before Odin finally spoke, "Then for the foreseeable future you are under house arrest. You will not leave the palace without my say so, and if Heimdall for one second loses sight of you, you will be condemned to the prisons."

Loki glared at the floor and asked, "What of Thor? When will he return to Midgard?"

Odin stood, "He will not. His business there, for the moment, is finished."

Loki took an urgent step forward, pulling on the chains, slight fear in his expression. Loki's sudden movements made Odin stopped, he would've thought him at least slightly pleased with that last bit. "Odin, please—you must let him return."

Odin blink, not expecting that at all. "Why, my I ask?"

Loki's eyes bore into his one, almost pleading—almost. "The girl, the one that broke the Stone's control, there's something in her. Something dangerous."

"I have been told of her powers. They are odd, especially for a human, but nothing to be concerned about."

Loki took another step forward, "Then why was I commanded to control her? Her out of everyone on that pitiful planet? Odin, there is something about then, older than Asgard, and if she learns to use them right, about as powerful as an Infinity Stone." Odin looked at him skeptically and Loki finally yelled, "How else could she have completely controlled the Stone's powers and not have died?!"

That made Odin pause, seeing some slight truth in his son's words.

"Odin, let Thor return, to watch her. There is still chaos there from the attack, the mortals could use the help."

Odin looked at the wall in deep thought before he sighed a moment later, "Very well, once the Bifrost has been rebuilt he may return if he so choses." Loki's shoulders sagged in relief, knowing Thor would jump at the chance. "And you will accompany him."

His head jerked up in surprise, mouth agape slightly in disbelief.

Odin continued, "If she is in as much danger as you say, and if she is just as much of a possible threat, then you will guard her. But if you so much as betray them in the slightest or disappear from Heimdall's sight—I will not spare Asgard's armies in dragging you back here. Am I clear?"

Loki nodded in almost mute disbelief, not sure if he should be grateful or rolling his eyes. He chose to simply nod and leave it at that. The guards removed the chains and Loki rubbed his wrists and walked out without another word. Thor stood just outside the doors, eagerly—and slightly dreading—Loki's return. When he saw him walk out of the room on his own Thor immediately grabbed him and held him in a tight hug. "Brother! What happened? What is Father's decision?"

Loki growled quietly in Thor's hold, "For the last time, I'm not your brother and Odin is not my father."

Thor set him down, "Nonsense, I will always be your brother, no matter what you do."

Loki rolled his eyes but continued, "I, will be returning to Midgard to guard the girl."

Thor grinned impossibly wide, "That's fantastic! Now you can properly meet the other Avengers!"

Loki paled slightly, "Yes…let's not jump the gun."

*Snickers* this is going to be fun. So, any thoughts so far? ;)