(Story Disclaimer: I have never read any of the comics associated with the avengers. I'm going entirely on the marvel movies canon. This takes place after The Avengers, but before Thor: The Dark World and will greatly diverge from there. Also, not entirely sure where I'm going with this story, I don't have a plan in mind, I just had an idea of something that I wanted to write. Since I don't know what I'm doing with the story right yet, new chapters will be slow. Also, I'm taking a different route with Odin. I figure Odin would still love Loki very much as a father and would not want to lose him again. Call it artistic liberties.)

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The day was almost unbearably warm and by rights, he should have found a shady spot to allow himself to cool, but Thor was a man possessed. He spared no heed to whatever was in his path and moved as fast as he could through the halls without actually running. His father's words were still ringing in his ears like the pounding of a drum, urging him to move faster while they still had the element of surprise.

Odin's eye was bright, almost as if it held unshed tears. Thor knew his own must mirror it. Loki's punishment had been decided: death. While most of Asgard did not care too much for Midgard nor what Loki had done there, his actions there were taken into account when they debated his fate over his punishment for attempting to usurp Odin. Thor had always considered that he was alone in his belief that Loki had not intended for him to be banished, that he was as shocked as the rest of them, and that events spiraled out of control from there. Everything Loki had done, and all that had gone wrong, he had done to prove himself to Odin, but the more his brother had tried to hold onto control, the more it had slipped through his fingers. Loki's scheme had flung wildly out of his control, causing more harm that he'd ever intended, and that was Thor's firm belief, because he just could not stomach the idea that the little brother he'd grown up with could be that malicious.

But death! Thor's voice could not be heard over the cacophony of voices calling for execution and he wondered in part if that was also being fueled by the fact that Loki was indeed not Asgardian, but Jotun. Odin had tried to reason, but they claimed his love for his son clouded his judgment and with such majority against him, even the Alfather could not go against them, not in such a short amount of time.

Thor, enraged, had stalked from the grand hall then and to the training area. Even the Warriors Three and Sif had left him be, left him to take out his grief and anger on the training dummies and the ground. He had gotten his brother back only to lose him again…

Odin's abrupt presence was startling. Thunder clapping in the distance, a reaction to Thor's own turbulent emotions, did not slow his father's steps. "Thor, I cannot stop these proceedings. The outcry is too great for Loki's blood to his misdeeds."

"He does not deserve it!" Thor argued passionately, even though he knew it would make no difference. "Punishment, yes, but not death!"

There was a long pause before Odin responded. "Then will you humor an old man and brokenhearted father?"

He blinked. "What is it?"

"Take Loki and run. Give me time. I need time to find a punishment that they will accept and that would mean I would not have to lose my youngest son twice." A rueful smile touched his lips. "If you could get Loki to agree to perform some acts that are considered heroic, to redeem himself at all where you choose to go, that would be helpful as well."

How could this be? How could the Alfather himself be telling Thor to break the law? The one who had upheld it for so long, that it meant so much to? The man looking back at him was not the Alfather, but Odin Boreson, father of two sons and one he was about to lose again. It didn't take much for Thor to agree and he was at least grateful that he would not have to be the one to wrestle with Odin's internal guilt for breaking what he had upheld for so long.

"Where should I go? How do I leave without using the Bifrost or the tesseract? "

"The Bifrost has some functionality returned. Not much, but Heimdall should be able to send you somewhere. It will be a one-way journey, so if you wish to leave for another world after, that will be up to you to find a way." Odin held up a pair of manacles that seemed so thin and insubstantial, not at all like the ones that had held him before. "This is keyed to Loki. It will suppress his magic, designed for him alone. Now go."

If Heimdall was willing to heed his king, then Thor was not going to waste time letting the man reconsider which he was more loyal to, Asgard or Odin. No guards stopped him as he hurried down the prison steps. Loki's cell had been furnished to some degree. A cot to sleep on, a small table and chair to keep him comfortable, given only to him due to his status and familial ties. Loki's green eyes looked up from a book, reclined as he was on the cot, and he rolled his eyes at Thor's determined approach. "Did you hear, brother dear? I have heard whispers in the air that I'm to be executed. Are you relieved?" Thor ignored him and out of the corner of his eye, he noted a brief flash of confusion on his beautiful face. Instead, he focused on the golden forcefield that lined two of the four walls of his brother's prison. They were strong…but Mjolnir was stronger if he could find any weak spot.

"Did you come to gloat?" Loki asked, closing his book and standing. "I did not think you a gloating type."

Thor hauled back his hammer, listening vaguely as whatever Loki was saying faded into a confused 'What are you doing' and he threw it as hard as he physically could. It shattered one of the forcefields and Loki ducked just in time for the hammer to slam viciously into one of the walls behind him, leaving a massive crack that almost looked like a small crater.

He rushed in and grabbed Loki by the lapels of his green and grey shirt. "Thor! What—"

He ignored any questions and manhandled his brother out of the cell. It was not that he wouldn't explain, but that he didn't really know of what Odin actually planned to do and part of him was still enraged at what Loki had done. How could he not be? Yet if nothing else, Thor loved him too much to ever want to hurt him. It was a weakness and one he knew well. Whenever Loki would look at him with those eyes when he was younger, any anger would flee.

Guards rushed toward him and he called Mjolnir to him. The hammer slammed into one man, knocking him down to the floor and he kicked at another. He was really trying not to hurt them, as they were merely doing their duty, but they were also standing in the way.

"While this is fascinating, watching you commit treason, perhaps you could let me in on why you're doing this," Loki muttered as he was dragged from one corridor to the next until they found a balcony.

Thor wrapped his arm around his brother's waist and swung Mjolnir in circles, bringing him aloft and heading right for the Bifrost and Heimdall. "To stop your execution. Father needs more time to find another punishment that will placate the rest that call for your death."

Loki's green eyes went wide as saucers in absolute disbelief. "You're mad, Thor! The Alfather ordered you to rescue the known war criminal Loki?! A mere Jotun?!"

"You are not a Jotun, you are Loki and you are his son!" he spat, almost roaring as they landed. Loki stumbled and landed on his knees at the abrupt contact with the ground and he moved quickly to Heimdall.

"Where do you desire to go?"

Thor said the first thing that came to his mouth: "Midgard. Find a man called Bruce Banner."

Loki stood up like lightning, wrestling with his bonds. "Even if what you're saying is true, you think the best place to spare me death is to bring me to one the place they want to kill me most?! You've taken leave of your senses!"

Heimdall ignored Loki as if he wasn't even there. "Very well."

To be honest…he was beginning to think that Loki might be right. What possessed him to take him to Earth where he was highly recognizable after what he had done and where everyone still held a grudge worse than those in Asgard? To even ask to go straight to one of the Avengers was even more foolish. However, Thor knew that he could not hide Loki alone on a world that he was still mostly unfamiliar with and if there was anyone that he knew there that could hide, it was his comrade Bruce Banner. He was also the one most likely to at least listen.

"On top of that, you are taking me to the giant green monster that attempted to kill me?!"

Thor grabbed Loki's neck and chin and dragged him toward the edge of the Bifrost as it began to spin, focused on a singular point. "Do you have anyone else you think is a better idea?" he pointed out fiercely as they began to be surrounded by colors. It was always quick and a bit rough, and the travel never left room for conversation. They landed in a forest, knocking some old trees down and it was muggy, and wet. It made him regret his armor, almost, as drips seemed to get in every chink of the chainmail.

"Marvelous plan," Loki muttered, the disdain as clear as day. "You claim your father wanted you to rescue me from certain death and take me from Asgard, yet you bring me to the place that despises me most. Well, what can I expect? You never were one for thoughts in general—"

The harsh grip on the front of his neck and chin shifted to hold him tightly by the back of his neck and Thor hissed desperately, "Pray be silent, brother! Let me think, let me breathe! My mind has been a whirlwind since the declaration and father's orders!"

"His orders," Loki sneered.

"Whether you believe it or not, he loves you dearly! He broke our laws for you! He could not bear, as I could not, to lose you to death a second time! Is it so hard to believe that our father—"

"Your father!" Loki almost roared at him. "I'm Jotun! Not of Asgard!"

"You are Loki!" he thundered back, almost nose to nose with the man now. "You are my brother, regardless of what you say!"

"You are a fool!" Loki spat and Thor roughly let him go. He yanked Mjolnir from his belt and dropped it on his brother's chest. "What are you doing now?!"

Considering for a minute, Thor grabbed the edge of his cape and tore it before stuffing it lightly in Loki's mouth and wrapping a piece of string to hold it there. "Stay here, do not speak and do not move. I will return quickly with Banner and then we can find a suitable place to…" To hide. The words galled him. He hated hiding and waiting, and it was entirely against his nature, but for Loki's sake, that was what they needed. Ignoring the fierce glare following him, he left. He knew that his brother would remain.

He dared not call on Heimdall's name to give him directions, so the god of thunder was left hunting for a way out of the forest. It must have just rained for the heavy canopy above dropped plenty of water over him. He was merely guessing at the exit of this vast place, but Heimdall would have set him as close as he could near the Avenger.

He came out of the forest near the edge on a hill overlooking a city that seemed awfully small and cobbled together. This…was going to be difficult. Banner was the best that he knew of hiding himself and Thor was well aware that he was recognizable in this world. Neither he, nor Loki, could enter without making it obvious who they were.

Still, he had a bit of a plan anyway. Loki claimed he didn't think, but while he was not nearly as smart as his brother, he did have his moments. It only left one problem: the very instrument of his plan was the only thing that was keeping Loki still. Pursing his lips, he returned to where he had left his brother and yanked him up, dragging him with him. After a minute of thought, he threw Mjolnir near the edge of a road out of the city, almost but not quite masked by some nearby bushes, and sat them both just inside the trees. If Banner was there and attempted to leave, surely he would notice the hammer.

It was a quiet time with Loki as night began to fall, the hours trickling by, as his brother could not talk and every time he lifted his hands to remove the gag that Thor had placed on him, Thor stopped him. He knew right then that he dared not let his brother speak because it would end up in an argument. Should things grow heated enough, Thor might lose what grip he had on his temper and it would devolve into violence.

The next day passed much the same and Thor kept glancing at the road. His patience wore thin and he was sorely tempted to stalk into the city, his appearance be damned, but that would only be counterproductive. Should SHIELD find out…

A truck was headed out of town and paused near the hammer, and Thor straightened in interest. Loki noticed and narrowed his eyes from his sulk, looking over too. After a minute, the vehicle pulled off the side of the road. The man that got out had a cap on that obscured his face, making it impossible to see as he stared down at the hammer. Curiously, hoping beyond hope it was the one that he sought, Thor stood up and pulled them further back into the tree line. He called Mjolnir to him…only to have it drop several feet away at the edge of the forest.

As he had hoped, the man followed. This time he didn't pause at the hammer's new position, but walked fearlessly among the trees. "Thor?"

That was Banner's voice!

Mjolnir flew past the man with such force the wind ruffled his nondescript clothes. Thor forced Loki back down to the ground and dropped the hammer on his chest before hurrying to the man. Best not to let him see just yet, to at least verbally prepare him…

"Banner!"

"Thor? What are you doing here?" His friend was calm, just curious as to what he was doing there and not assuming anything was wrong. That was good, at least he wouldn't have to calm him down before he became upset.

"Heimdall said you were here."

"Heimdall?"

He waved his hand, having no time to explain Heimdall's role. Now, for the first time, Thor regretted that there had been no time six months ago when he'd been on Midgard to explain to his new friends the structure of his world before he'd had to leave again. That would have made this so much easier.

"Banner, I must ask you for calm and an open mind. I need your help."

There was a long pause, Thor's behavior tipping off the smart man that something was wrong and he possibly wouldn't like what he was about to hear. "With what?" the man asked a tad cautiously.

"You must promise me, under no uncertain terms, that you will remain calm. That you will not…react."

He could see that his caution was alarming his friend and he cursed in his own language that he was making a muddle of it. "Thor… You know that my nature is uncontrollable. I'm never calm."

He winced, but said, "It is because of your nature, your 'other' that I've come to you. You will at least attempt to remain calm and possibly listen to me."

"Just what exactly is going on here?"

"…It is about Loki."

The alarm in Banner's eyes escalated and he gripped the man's arms to hold him there in case he decided to inform someone else. "Did he escape Asgard?!"

"In a manner of speaking."

Loki's voice lanced across the silence and he cursed that of course Loki had managed to get the gag off without Thor around to supervise. Banner couldn't see him yet, but he would soon enough. He just didn't need his brother, who had a talent for alienating people within a few seconds. It was near miraculous.

"Not now, Loki!" Thor ordered, but it sounded much more pleading than he would have liked. Before there was any further response from the prone man, he turned back to Banner. "You must understand, they were to execute him. I couldn't let that happen! He is my brother! Father bid me save him, to give him time to find another punishment that did not involve death. Even thousands of years imprisonment, but not death. We need a place to hide."

"He's a criminal—"

"I know more than anyone what he is and what he did, Banner, but he is my brother. What he did before when I was briefly exiled…that was things spinning out of his control. I do not believe he wanted any of that to happen…and in your Manhattan, what color were his eyes?"

"Blue."

"Just like Eric Selvig's!"

"Are you suggesting that Loki was being manipulated too?" Bruce's voice was almost too calm, as if he were hunting for the right words so as to not set off Thor's volatile temper.

"Banner, Loki's eyes are green. They were never blue!" Chewing just a little on the inside of his cheek, Thor plunged on with his explanation. "Loki is my brother, Banner, but we are not…related by blood. Loki was born a Jotun."

"A what?"

"They are monsters—"

"No they are not!" he cut Loki off. "They are beings from another world near to Asgard. We have often been in conflict with them, but not now. During the last war with the Jotun, father found Loki there. He was small for a Jotun, they are like giants to most, and he was to be abandoned. Jotuns are a deep blue with markings, and red eyes, Banner. Never once in his life, neither in his Asgard form nor as a Jotun, have his eyes been blue!"

Banner finally worked his arms free from Thor's grip and eyed him nervously. Thor could only wonder if he looked as wild as he felt, attempting to convince at least one person that Loki was not meant for death. "So you're saying that Loki was being controlled by the tesseract the way that Eric Selvig was. That he's not responsible for his actions. Is that what you're trying to tell me?"

"I do not argue that he deserves punishment for what he has done, but he does not deserve death! His actions against me before, when he fell to the abyss, I truly believe were not what he intended and then after, he was being influenced—"

Mocking laughter from behind him grated on his nerves. "Oh, you are such a fool, brother. Always willing to see the best in everyone, even a monster like me."

"I will never give up on you Loki!" he growled and yanked Mjolnir to him. He could hear the rustling of the grass and bushes as Loki stood up. He was still dusting off his simple shirt and leggings as he walked closer.

Banner seemed to relax a little at seeing the chains. "Why come to me?"

"Because you were the most likely to listen and there is no better that I know that can find a place for us to hide. No one can know he's here. We just need time, please. Give us that. Surely you know a place somewhere on Midgard that can house us until then."

For what felt like an eternity, there was no response. He didn't know what was going on behind that gentle yet stoic face. His gaze flickered between the two siblings before he sighed heavily. "I can show you to a place that you'll be alone, but that's as much as I can do. Mind you, I don't trust him as far as I can throw him and I think I can throw him pretty far." There was the faintest of wry smiles on his lips at that.

"Thank you, Banner. Thank you." There were no words that Thor had that could properly express his gratitude. If, perhaps the stars aligned properly and he were lucky, he might have a chance to resurrect the man he'd played and grown up with that he would never believe ceased to exist.

"I wouldn't thank me," Bruce warned him. "If you lose control of him and he does anything bad like in New York, you'll be an enemy of the Avengers, forever."

Loki's eyes were considering on the shorter man. "So would you. Why would you risk it?"

"Because I know a little something about wanting to believe in redemption." Loki glared at Banner and soft smile, as if he resented the very idea that someone would assume he wanted redemption. "First we have to get out of Peru. I've got one home that might work, it's up near the Cascade Range in Oregon. I bought it right before…the other guy showed up but never used it. It was supposed to be just a cabin in the woods to get away from it all. The only problem is we can't exactly buy plane tickets after New York and remain inconspicuous."

Thor shifted. "I will take us there, but I have never tried flying with two." He eyed his brother and Banner. He had only one arm to hold someone and he dared not leave one of them behind. Without Banner, he wouldn't know where to go, but he couldn't leave Loki behind to scheme either. As he glanced at his brother and his chains, it was as if Loki figured out what he was going to do before he did, which was likely true.

"Don't even think about it, Thor."

"It's the only way, brother." He walked closer and grabbed his bound hands, forcing them over his head, so that Loki had no choice but to have his arms around Thor's neck. The outraged look on his brother's face made this clear this was not going to be a good, or silent flight, but he had no choice. His left arm wrapped around Banner's back and he began to swing Mjolnir in circles, but just as his feet left the ground, he stumbled back down. This was not as simple or as easy as he thought it might be. "It would help," he grunted, "if you actually held me, rather than fell limp like a dead fish." The short chain between the manacles had cut almost painfully in his neck when Loki had refused to do anything but let gravity pull his body back down.

"If you don't hold him, the cuffs will cut into your skin," Banner added in concern, watching the way Loki's wrists had briefly reddened from the position.

Loki seemed determined to ignore them and just sneered. Thor growled back in frustration. "Banner, hold onto my back."

"What are you thinking now?" Loki asked in suspicion, but Thor shifted and slid his left arm underneath his brother's rear, lifting him up and holding him against his side like a mother with their child. The rage in those green eyes was palpable and he thought he spotted a bit of embarrassment, but it wouldn't be necessary if Loki would just, for once, not argue with him. "I would welcome execution rather than this humiliation!"

"It is not my intent to humiliate you brother," he muttered, their faces forced to be close. It had been a long time that he'd been this close to Loki. Even before things had gone so terribly wrong, Thor couldn't remember when he had stopped hugging Loki. It must have been so long ago because all he remembered before the terrible incidents that had tore his family apart was his arrogance and inattention, his focus on merely war and fighting. If he had been more perceptive to Loki's feelings, could he have stopped this?

He swung Mjolnir again after he felt Banner shift into position and this time his attempt at flying was more successful. There was no ignoring the seething that Loki felt and he did his best to ignore the whispered vitriol in his ear, but it saddened his heart like nothing else. He had saved his brother from the executioner, but he had yet to save him from himself.