In a matter of seconds, the Avengers became a mere shadow amidst the span of lightyears, a last image ripped from their sight before they slammed into the broken Bifrost of Asgard. Loki released the Tesseract with a grunt and tumbled to a halt in a jangle of handcuffs. A few yards away, Thor slowly rose to his feet and with a wearied stride crossed the bridge to where his brother lay motionless in the gloom.

"I want to know why, brother," he growled, lifting Loki by the lapels of his long coat.

There was a wicked glint in Loki's eyes, though it flickered in and out like a sputtering candle.

Thor reached up, released the lock on the metal muzzle and pulled it from his brother's face. "Tell me!"

"Abitus sed non oblitus," Loki murmured with a quirk of his lips. "'Gone but not forgotten.' Do you know what it is to be forgotten, Thor?"

"You were not-"

"Oh, but I was!" Loki snarled suddenly. "I could scream my name from the pinnacle of Valaskjalf and still Father would hear you better."

"You call him 'Father'."

Loki pulled away as if struck across the face, but said nothing.

Thor's jaw clenched. "Why did you try to take Earth, of all the realms?"

"Humans will listen to raw power. They care nothing for pretty speeches in banquet halls or drunken boasting before conquest. They see that they are weak, and become prey to it."

"They became prey to you," Thor muttered. "Father will have you executed for this."

A fleeting pang clouded Loki's brow before his face hardened into a mask of twisted amusement. "Then you must kill me first."

"Do not make jest of it!" His brother cried hoarsely as he tightened his grip on Mjolnir. "You know I will not-"

"I will not be a prisoner in Asgard once more," Loki hissed between clenched teeth. "So kill me and spare Odin the burdensome effort. See how easy it will be, to be the hero that strikes down the luckless villain!"

"You will be silent!" Thor roared back as he held the muzzle just inches from his brother's face.

Loki smiled and cocked his head to the side, looking the contraption up and down. "You truly think a bit of metal can tie my tongue? I allowed you and your friends your little moment of triumph—oh yes, I suffered it! There are wheels in my mind that can still turn while you put me in chains. But I am no longer concerned with Earth at present, so by all means drag me back to the throne that was once mine."

Thor locked the muzzle back onto Loki's jaw with a jerk of his wrist before wrenching his brother to his feet and prodding him down the darkened Bifrost with Mjolnir to his back.

The golden city had fallen into brazen dullness under the cover of night, as even the glow of the swirling galaxies faded upon the sombre walls of Asgard's greatest dwellings. A slight breeze, slowly growing stronger, swept through the deserted streets and byways, bringing with it a chilling air. The torches lit along the expansive corridors were whipped up in gusts of flame, and then died dim as the winds passed on. Passing under the great golden arches of Valaskjalf, Odin's hall, the two travelers encountered the towering figure of Heimdall, removed from his post on the now ruined Bifrost to conduct a closer watch on the city.

Only a nod of acknowledgement came from Heimdall, though Thor caught the malicious look Loki threw at the guardian as they passed. It was well that Loki was muzzled, he thought, should his poisonous words spark a riot of contempt wherever he went. He knew Loki's return to Asgard would unsettle its inhabitants; he was well liked in few circles, and his enemies often far outnumbered his allies.

Odin's ravens, sensing the approach of the two men, wheeled into the throne room in a flurry of black feathers. Espying Thor, each croaked in turn, one alighting to perch solemnly upon his shoulder. The other took back to the air and dove down the corridor toward Odin's chambers, a messenger to their arrival.

Mere moments passed before Odin came striding into the hall, his wife Frigga following swiftly behind him. When her gaze fell upon Loki, she let out a cry and rushed to embrace him. Loki's eyes widened, but as she refused to release him, he allowed himself to lean in for the briefest of moments. He longed to be free of his shackles and return that smallest of affections, to say something to quell her fears. But he was reminded of the reason for his bondage, and as his gaze met the stern stare of Odin, Loki stepped back.

"News has reached me from Midgard," Odin thundered. "What have you done?"

The narrowing of Loki's eyes and the rising of his cheekbones indicated the savage grin beneath his muzzle.

Odin suddenly reached up and tore the mask from his son's face, and Loki screamed in pain as the blood began to flow freely from his lips. Odin crushed the metal in his fist before throwing it to the ground with a clang. Thor and Frigga rushed forward, but Odin swiftly held out a hand and forced them back.

"What have you done?" Odin bellowed again.

Loki had fallen to his knees, trying to ebb the flow of blood with his sleeves. "Exactly what you already have," he sputtered, raising his head and fixing Odin with a venomous glare. "I subjected others to my will."

His bitter meaning did not escape the Allfather's notice, and he nodded, as if deep in thought. "You blame me still."

"Always." Loki's tone was deadly now. "I had wondered what it would be like to conquer and rule over the fates of many, regardless of their own petty desires. To be like you. Do you remember the tales you told me as a child? How I worshipped them and you, and I only ever thought to please you! Never could I have dreamed that I was your biggest lie!"

"You mustn't—" Frigga began tearfully, but was again silenced by Odin.

"How many has he slain?" Odin asked Thor flatly.

"I cannot say. His own count may be few, but his alliance with the Chitauri has caused great destruction in Midgard."

The Allfather turned back to Loki. "You have made war on an innocent people, and have cost the lives of many."

Loki flashed a bloodied grin. "And Asgard has never made wars of its own? Where was your judgment then?"

Odin struck Loki full across the jaw, booming, "You will show respect to the one who may end your trifling existence by his command!"

Loki recovered from the blow with a growl but remained silent, glowering.

"We will hold a council at Gladsheim," Odin declared some moments later, his hard gaze never faltering. "The others will not be as merciful as I."

His ears pricked up at the sound of footsteps as the growing echo dragged him slowly back into a drugged consciousness. He vaguely remembered a burning liquid being forced down his throat, his snarls of protest, the hard collapse into a dreamless sleep. Eyes still closed, he listened to the approaching visitor, marking out the strides in seconds and calculating how long…

The fog rolled over his mind once more, and his attention faded.

"Loki." The strong voice resonated through the small room, commanding but gentle.

Once more Loki struggled for coherent thought, and now opened his eyes wide to take in the dim room about him. A prison cell. He had expected as much. His lips cracked into a smile, but the throbbing pain caused his expression to fall into a grimace as he recalled the violence of earlier. Dazed, he pushed himself up from the ground on which he lay, but fell forward on his knees as dizziness overcame him. Kneeling would have to do, he thought with marked distaste.

"They have decided, Loki," came the voice once more. It was Thor's, of course. Who else would have bothered to trek to the lowest of the holding cells to speak with him?

Loki managed to lift his head. "Decided…what?"

"Your punishment."

"My, how quick they were."

"Two days have passed, and they have taken no rest."

"Freyja, Frey, Tyr, and the rest?"

"Yes. And Father and Mother."

Loki's gaze slid to the floor. "And the sentence?"

Thor's eyes gleamed in the hazed light, and the prisoner wondered that tears should spring to the eyes of that fearless god of thunder, who only allowed his anger to get the better of him.

"You will live."

Loki's smirk faded and his eyes narrowed as he searched his brother's face. "And?"

Thor's voice trembled slightly. "You will die as you live, and your torment will be with no near end."

"I don't understand."

"There is a mountain in Jotunheim, Loki," said Thor, his voice still strained, "Where Father found you, and there you will be bound, looking upon Asgard but never meant to reach its borders again. There are two snakes…" Here Thor paused, and swallowed hard. "They will coil themselves about your neck, and lap into your ears a deadly poison. It will dissolve your mind and burn until nothing remains, and so lay waste that cunning which…which you so misused." He was quoting the council, but the words still choked him.

Loki blinked, stunned. "Then I die and it is over with."

"Your body will heal and the serpents shall return."

He would never admit as much aloud, but Loki's stomach roiled at the thought of such a punishment. To suffer pain was inevitable, he knew this, but to do so without the use of his wits was deeply unsettling. He was accustomed to relying on a quick mind to get him out of various troubles, and to be reduced to a dull and incoherent creature was the fulfillment of his deepest fear.

"You said the torture will be near endless," Loki growled, his gaze boring into Thor. "How long?"

"Until Father may forgive you."

"Ha!" The bark of laughter escaped Loki's lips before he could check it. "And why should Odin not place me in Asgard, where he may gloat over my continued pain?"

"He does not wish to hear your screams."

"I will do my best from Jotunheim," said Loki with a deadly smile, his eyes narrowing.

"You must forgive him."

Again Loki let out a scornful laugh. "Do not presume to tell me that I should, when you know very well that I cannot."

The crash of a hammer against metal bars filled the room with a horrid, echoing clang, and Loki leapt back in surprise.

"Do you think you alone have suffered from Father's plans?" Thor bellowed as he struck the prison bars with his fist. "To have his life used in pursuit of another purpose, a higher purpose, despite how he might wish to live? Do not presume yourself so special, brother, for I have been appointed to worse use than diplomacy!"

For a moment, Loki was taken aback. He opened his mouth to question, and then bit his tongue. He studied the face of the man he had called his brother, whose life he had envied, and whose fate he had thought to be the most untroubled in the realm. Never had he thought such an injured passion could lie dormant within the same man.

Then the dull pang of bitterness returned, and he whirled on Thor.

"What makes me so different?" he snapped.

Thor strode slowly back to the door, then paused upon the threshold. "You do not know how to forgive, brother. You never have."