Disclaimer: I do not own The Avengers, I am simply borrowing the characters for my own use.

Wow, it has been so long since I've written a story on that I almost feel awkward doing this. I've always been intrigued by the character Loki because of his complexity. Even in the comics he treads a line between being redeemed and lost to the dark side, and I believe that there is good in him, despite all he has done and what he has been through.

From The Ashes

By Anna Morgan

Chapter 1 Back to Asgard

Loki was standing in the first floor lobby of the Avengers tower, facing out into the destroyed streets. From where he was, he could see the rubble of fallen buildings and cars upturned, evidence of the chaos that had ended merely a day ago. Smoking debris littered the ground still smoldering as crews ran about clearing up the mess. Surrounding him were the Avengers, dressed in normal Midgardian attire now and absent of their weapons. Their faces were smug as they watched him being chained up, their first victory as a team fresh in their minds, and having returned from what he had assumed to be their victory celebration.

Loki had never felt so angry and humiliated. He had been on the brink of triumph - Midgard's "mightiest heroes" divided, the formidable Chitauri forces at his command, his plan perfectly executed- and it had been snatched away from him by none other than these creatures that he had deemed as being beneath him, these Avengers. He saw them as nothing more than misguided outcasts among the mortals, creatures whose powers were far inferior to his own, yet they had been able to defeat him with the Chitauri army at his disposal. And worse, Thor had been there to witness and take part in it all. As the man he had formerly called his brother determinedly shackled his limbs and placed the muzzle around his mouth, Loki could not help but feel a fresh wave of jealous distain toward him, toward the entire situation.

Thor stood directly in front of Loki, pointedly avoided looking him in the eye as he checked the shackles and muzzle to ensure that they could not be removed. When he was satisfied that they were secure, he turned to Captain America.

"I would like a word with my brother in private before we depart," Thor said, his voice full of authority. Loki couldn't help but think that he sounded like a king dismissing his guards.

The Captain understood and nodded to the rest of the team to follow him. As the Avengers left the lobby for the streets of downtown Manhattan, Tony could be heard muttering something about "not much of a conversation with one person muzzled." Thor turned to face his brother once again, this time with Loki actively avoiding Thor's gaze.

"Loki," he started with the same authoritative tone he had with the Captain though somewhat softer, "I wish you to know that despite all you have done, to me, to our family, to Midgard, I still regard you as my brother, and I will ensure that you will be treated fairly when you are brought before our father."

Your father Loki thought viciously. He brought his eyes up to look at Thor with distain. He was not looking forward to facing the All-Father.

"I may be able to influence father's decision on your punishment, but I will not be able to change his mind about it, once it has been made up. Do you understand?"

Loki continued to glare at him. Taking his brother's unwavering stance as a "yes," Thor placed a hand on Loki's arm and led him outside.

The others were waiting for them by Tony's car along with Dr. Selvig, who possessed the Tesseract. Thor lightly steered Loki into the back seat of Tony's car while Tony climbed into the front. When they had driven for some distance – Loki did not care to fathom how far – they stopped at what appeared to be a bridge. Their small motorcade parked along the curb and his brother led him across the street to a small dark circle on the ground, just large enough for two people to stand on.

As Bruce lowered to Tesseract into its container, Loki looked up for the first time since they had gotten into the car and observed the two Avengers standing in front of him. Hawkeye had been a good companion and tactician while he had been under his control. He could not deny that the man was cunning and his marksmanship could rival even that of the Warriors Three. Beside Hawkeye stood the Black Widow – Natasha, Hawkeye had called her. He took a moment to marvel at how small and surprisingly powerful this dangerous woman was. He would not have thought any mortal could outwit him, let alone a mortal woman. But she had been able to drag a bit of his plan from him, even if it was only a smaller part, by manipulating him into believing she was weak. As the God of Mischief, Loki may have invented that trick but she had perfected it. And he had fallen into her trap. Amidst his anger and embarrassment Loki could not help feeling a certain level of respect toward her at that moment.

Loki looked up at her, his piercing blue eyes meeting her green ones for just a moment. She is beautiful for a Midgardian.

Almost as if she had read his mind, she broke his eye contact to whisper in Hawkeye's ear. He grinned at Loki with a self-satisfied smirk.

Thor once again placed himself in front of Loki, the Tesseract in hand. Loki reached out to grab the handle as Thor gave one last glance to his fellow Avengers. He turned the handle and the two gods disappeared in a blue haze of light.

When he landed again he was standing on the bifrost, which he could see was currently undergoing repair. He looked to his left to observe the damage. The bright colors of the rainbow bridge still stood illuminated in the black night sky, shattered and jagged-edged along the two sides separated by a gaping hole. A faint shadow of the bright rainbow colors connected the jagged pieces with misty white swirls of light slowly passing between the two edges. He suspected that they were using sorcery combined with Heimdall and Odin's own magic to repair it, a tactic which seemed to be working. He felt a very small but still present pang of guilt.

Thor placed one hand on Loki's shoulder in a soft but affirmative manner. "Come, brother" he said. Loki forgot his feeling of guilt and the dread and anger that had dominated his feelings took over once more. He turned and allowed Thor to steer him toward the palace, his former home, with his hand still placed on his shoulder. There were no guards of any kind waiting to escort them. Loki had figured that Odin would send a detail to make sure that Loki did not slip away. He was mildly surprised but felt indifference, preferring to walk alone with Thor than to be babysat by mediocre soldiers who would not stand a chance against him should he choose to run.

They walked together along the toward the tall golden doors of the palace. Thor gave Loki a concerned glance laced with small amounts of pity every so often. Loki just continued to look forward, his head slightly bowed. He figured that Thor was taking him to the throne room, where he expected to stand in some show-trial before the court and Odin, and receive his punishment from there.

What he didn't expect was for Thor to steer him not toward the main entrance, but along the hedge lined path leading to the right side of the palace, toward a small golden door, just large enough for the two gods to walk through. The door stood out among the white marble of the building even in the cover of darkness. Loki remembered this door as the one that he and Thor used to sneak in and out of the palace as children when they were avoiding their lessons or the angry victims of some trick that Loki had pulled. He gave Thor a questioning look as they made their approach. His eyes asked Why are you taking me here? Please tell me that you're going to appeal to my humanity by bringing me to our old hiding places. You know that will not work, you fool!

Inside the door was a winding marble staircase, going many, many floors up. They climbed the steps for what seemed like an eternity to Loki with his shackles on; lifting his feet to take big enough steps to climb each stair was a chore due to the shortness of the chains. Finally they reached a long hallway along one of the top floors of the palace. Thor led a somewhat panting Loki (it was difficult to breath under that damned muzzle) to a room just beside the staircase.

Loki knew this room. It was his mother's sitting room. The ceiling rose to a vaulted point with gold and white marble walls, a crimson rug with intricate gold and silver designs like the symbol on Mjolnir covered most of the black reflective floor. A tall marble fireplace graced the room with light from the opposite wall, and on either side of the fireplace sat a crimson chaise and sofa. Frigga, with her long beautiful golden hair tied in a long braid, occupied the chaise lounge. Her silver dress sprawled across the crimson created a beautiful sight. She let out a sound like a shriek and a gasp and leaped up when she saw Thor, his brother shackled and muzzled, looking tired and defeated, beside him.

"Thor!" she shrieked. Her face surprised. Then she looked to Loki. "Oh my…Loki…"

"I could not take him to father first, in front of the entire court. I wished to spare him the shame," Thor said slowly.

Her facial expression changed to one of surprise and sadness as she eagerly crossed the room. She did not approach Thor but made a beeline to her youngest son. For a moment it looked as if she would throw her arms around his neck and sob. Loki could see tears starting to form in her eyes even from all the way across the room. But as she grew closer he could see the sadness in her eyes turn to anger and hurt.

Here was his weakness – he had always loved his mother. She had been the only one to treat him with unconditional love and kindness, and had never shown favor toward either one of her children. In his worry over Odin's reaction, Loki had forgotten about how his mother must have felt about all of this. A new emotion reigned over him more powerfully than any other he had felt that day – shame.

She stopped only inches in front of him. She was smaller than he was by a head, but she made him feel as if he were only as tall as a young child again. She stared at him for just a moment, a mix of sorrow and joy and hurt and anger flashing in her eyes. Then suddenly she reached up and slapped him with all her might. The force of her palm against his cheek had turned Loki's head with a surprisingly painful jolt. If he had not had the muzzle he would have gasped from the shock. Then, she placed both hands on either side of his face and turned him so that she was looking into his eyes, peering into his very soul. She held on tight so that he could not turn his head

"I thought you dead! I have mourned for you! Have you any idea of the pain I felt at losing my child? Have you ANY idea the sorrow and emptiness you left in my heart?!" She paused to catch her breath as the tears in her eyes started flowing. She spoke again, but her words did not lose any of their power as her volume rose.

"When I heard you were alive I rejoiced. I hoped that you would come home safe and well. I hardly believed what they told me of what you had done. You have shamed yourself, your family, and you have shamed Asgard! Is this the intelligent, handsome, kind boy that I raised? Where is he?" She asked the last question desperately, quietly, almost a whisper.

Loki couldn't take it. At this, he fell to his knees in front of her. He was still angry, still painfully angry at everything. He was still embarrassed by his defeat. But the shame that Frigga had infused in him added more to the anger and embarrassment than anything else could have. He was completely overwhelmed with every negative emotion in existence. Tears still flowing down her cheeks, Frigga dropped to Loki's level and wrapped her arms around his neck. He closed his eyes as she whispered "My Loki….my son…"

At that precise moment, the door to the room slammed open behind him and both Loki and Frigga's heads snapped up. She scrambled to her feet and Thor turned around quickly to face the man in the doorway. It was Odin.

"Loki Odinson!"

Ah. Here it comes…

"I would not have believed it if I had not seen it myself." He stood gravely, his back strait as to bring him to his full height. He closed the door behind him roughly. Loki stood up again to face him. Odin did not continue speaking right away but just observed Loki for a moment shackled and muzzled before him.

"You are guilty of unspeakable crimes. The near-genocide of an entire race on Jotenheim, the destruction of the bifrost-"

Loki's eyes narrowed at this. Technically that wasn't my doing….

"-the murder of hundreds of innocent mortals…not to mention the damage you have inflicted upon Midgard!" He paused, his eye stern and angry. "And, because of your actions on Jotenheim," his voice more quiet now but not any less angry, "Asgard and Jotenheim are again at war." Loki could see Thor shift uncomfortably to his right. Thor's actions hadn't exactly helped the situation, considering that he had started the conflict by marching into Jotenheim demanding answers as to how two Frost Giants had managed to sneak into the weapons vault.

"Diplomatic negotiations have failed. It seems that war can no longer be avoided. In the present circumstance, a public trial would be unwise. Asgard does not need the turmoil and distraction that such a trial would yield." Odin sounded as if he truly regretted what he was saying. "For the time being, I will not have you locked up in the palace."

That is wise. No dungeon in this palace could keep me for long, Loki thought angrily.

"If it is true that you owe a debt to the Chitauri it would not be safe for you, or our family, to keep you here. They will surely hunt you. So for the time being, I sentence you to be chained to the cliff, furthest to the east, where they cannot find you, and you cannot use your magic to harm anyone. You will remain there until Asgard is once again at peace with Jotenheim. At that time I will determine a more suitable punishment for your crimes." He looked at Loki with determination and sadness. He could hardly believe what had become of his youngest son.

Loki's eyes widened with horror. He was to be chained down like a beast, defenseless, away from everyone, to be used as bait to lure danger away from Asgard? Worse, Odin knew how Loki desperately feared the sea. This wasn't punishment – this was torture.

"Father, we cannot leave him alone there with nothing to protect him or watch over him. What if the Chitauri do come for him? He cannot defend himself! He could die!" Thor vehemently protested. Loki was begrudged but grateful for Thor speaking what he was thinking.

"Enough, Thor!" Odin said. Thor just stared at his father in disbelief.

"I will be in Asgard only for tonight. I must go to the front with the troops. While I am away, Thor, you will be the acting king in my absence. I trust your ability to lead at home." Thor nodded silently.

Odin approached Loki for the first time and placed a hand on his shoulder. He looked like he wanted to say something but did not quite know what. Loki glared at the man menacingly. Odin sighed and turned away from him to face Thor.

"Come, Thor. I want a word."

The two of them left the room and walked to the right, Loki staring after them and Frigga calling for two guards in the hall. She whispered to them for a moment. The guards placed themselves on either side of him and led him from the room, Frigga leading them away to the left, toward the staircase again. She shared a glance with her husband for a second before they each went their separate ways.

They walked just a few feet before they stopped. Odin turned to his son. "Thor, I know that this seems harsh but understand I do not do this to Loki out of spite. I must think about the safety of Asgard and its people first, always. He is my son. I will do what I can to protect him, but I will not have his presence endangering the innocent lives of our people."

"I do understand. Loki has done terrible things, but there is good in him, Father, I have seen it. I fear that this course of action will push him further into the darkness." Thor replied.

"This is a risk that we must take. You will learn that as king, you must ALWAYS place the well-being of your people first. This is not a position which allows for personal feelings to interfere with your decision making. It pains me to do this to him, but what else can I do? I must protect my people," said Odin. Thor could see he was stern in his decision and would not be moved. He lowered his head in silence

"I am sorry, Father, for the trouble that I have caused. For what Loki has caused. We never meant for war. I will not disappoint you in your absence." Thor said guiltily.

"See that you do not." Odin replied simply. He nodded, signaling that the conversation was over. "And Thor – I am proud of your victory on Midgard. You seem to have made powerful allies amongst them."

Thor did not expect praise for his actions in light of the grave news, and was unsure how to respond. "Thank you, Father," He replied halfheartedly.

Odin walked away, leaving Thor alone in the dark hallway with his thoughts. He reflected on his feelings and acknowledged the progress that he had made since his own banishment. Perhaps Odin was right in his judgment, and Loki's punishment would do the same for him, make him see the error of his ways and repent. Then again, Thor had had Jane to help him see the error in his ways and change him; Loki was to be confined to the solidarity of his own angry and misguided thoughts. Thor was not sure that this would help Loki. He hoped, as he made his way down the hallway toward his own room that Loki had it in himself to find his own salvation, for his own sake.

A/N: I always found it interesting what Frigga would have to say about all this.

Please feel free to review. Constructive criticism is welcome. Flames are not.

I want to point out that this is an M rated story for a reason, as you will see soon.