Summary: Thor has returned to earth, Malekith is defeated, and unbeknownst to anyone, Loki sits upon the throne of Asgard. But is it everything that he wanted? The Tesseract is held in the vault of Asgard, and the Ether safely stashed away. Meanwhile, Jane Foster and Erik Selvig have been brought in to work with SHIELD, and Darcy Lewis is regretting terribly her choice of relationships. Where has Odin gone? What is Loki planning? Why am I asking you all of this?

Pairings: Tasertricks, Thane, Pepperony, Blackeye, mostly Tasertricks

Warning: Definite Spoilers for Thor 2 AND now Captain America: The Winter Soldier

Note: I get the "Otherworldly Aliens" thing that they are trying to do with the Asgardians, but I'm totally ignoring Odin's little discussion with Loki in the beginning of Thor 2, where Odin says they are not gods and Loki states that they live for a few thousand years. As far as I'm concerned, they ARE gods, and their lives are eternal, so long as they are not slain in battle.

Disclaimer: Nay mortals. I do not posses ownership of Loki, Thor, Odin, or any of the other Marvel characters that appear in this story. Regardless, I hope that it pleases you.

Chapter 1: A New God-King

"The Hammer is yours, so long as you are worthy of it." The words came from his mouth as easily as if they were actually Odin's own, and not those of a trickster in disguise.

Loki scanned Thor's face, as a look of gratitude and perhaps even a bit of pride washed over Thor's face. He was happy to hear his father acknowledge his stature, not only as a great warrior, but as a good and wise man. Loki felt no guilt over letting Thor believe that these were Odin's words. He was sure that, were the All-father here, he would have said much the same. Not that the God of Mischief had ever been one for guilt regardless. In truth, he would have been quite tempted to take Mjolnir, if not for the simple fact that his inability to lift the weapon would have instantly revealed his disguise.

"Thank you, Father." Thor replied, before turning and leaving the damaged throne room, no doubt to return to earth ans his beloved Jane Foster. Loki had to admit, he had been impressed with her spark and fearlessness. Few mortals, even with Thor for protection, would have dared strike him. Still, why Thor took to a mortal so much, he would never know. Surely his brother had to know that in a few short decades it would have to end in pain.

Loki knew the pain of lost love. It had driven him to madness once. A second time it had driven him to side with his most hated enemy against that which had dared take his mother from him.

When Thor had left, Loki smirked, allowing his facade to fade away. No one was watching now, he could sit upon the throne as himself and relish the moment. Soon the disguise would have to go on again.

"No brother. Thank you." he whispered.

'Thank you for this opportunity, for your gullible nature and inability to see what was right in front of your eyes. Thank you for getting me out of that prison cell and allowing me this chance to seize the throne. Never before have I been so grateful for your utter buffoonery.'

Not for the first time, Loki's mind went back to the moment that had started this chain of events which had lead him to be sitting upon the throne.

"DAMN!" Loki screamed as he let loose another wave of magic which shattered his chair into splinters, "DAMN IT ALL!"

Frigga...Loki's mother...he couldn't believe it. He didn't want to believe it. Damnnit all, it just couldn't be true! Why? Why had he given that monstrosity directions? Would it have mattered?

Was he to blame for his mother's death?

Loki let out a primal scream and every object in his cell, from the books to what was left of the furniture, began to swirl around him as though caught in a vortex. The cell suppressed his magic, other than the simplest of illusions, and the fact that he could overpower the seals was a testament to his rage.

And then suddenly, everything dropped. Loki fell to his knees and reached up to yank at his hair. Tears fell, unrestrained from his eyes and he sobbed. Why had the last thing he ever told her been to tell her that she was not his mother? He had been so angry. So furious, that he had lashed out at the only person who still loved him, unconditionally, even for all his failings.

Never before had he loathed himself so much.

"Come boy. Time to stand. Weeping will not bring her back."

Loki's eyes opened wide in shock and he whipped around as he stood up.

A figure stood before his cell, cloaked in grey. The being was small in stature and his face was indistinguishable beneath a tattered, grey hood. A crooked, wooden staff was held in one hand, as tall as the figure himself.

Loki slammed a hand against his cell window and snarled, "I do not know who you are, but you should know it is unwise to mock me." his words were quiet, but laced with enough murderous venom to slaughter a dozen bilgesnipe.

The figure reached up and removed his hood, and suddenly his figure changed. His staff became a golden spear. His shoulders grew broad and his arms strong, and his face was unmistakable, but held a look of broken and desolate sadness that Loki had never seen before.

Loki recoiled from the window of his cell and his eyes opened wide in shock, "All-father." After a moment, Loki regained his composure, "To what do I owe this visit?"

Odin glanced over Loki's cell, at the broken furniture and tattered books, "I see that your mother had been to see you. Always defiant that woman. Perhaps that is why I loved her."

Loki sneered at his adopted father, "If you have no other purpose here than to talk to me about that woman, you may go. I'm in no mood."

Odin moved with surprising speed, slipping through the barrier between them as though it weren't even there and slapping Loki across the face. The God of Lies fell to the ground and Odin snarled at him, "You seek to wound me by disrespecting the only one of your family who never gave up on you, ceased to love you, and came to you even in your darkest of times. Such is beneath you, Loki."

Loki's body shook, stunned by Odin's blow. Sometimes he forgot the All-father's strength, greater even than Thor's. He looked up at Odin, "Why are you here?"

Odin began to pace across Loki's cell. He picked up what remained of one of Loki's books and flipped through it. He looked as though he were searching for the right words, "Rather basic, isn't it?" Odin asked finally, "This is the Grimoire of the Sorcerer, Galjorn. A perfectly adequate spell caster, but I'd have thought rather beneath your own skills, Loki."

Loki shakily stood to his feet, "Why are you here?" he repeated, his eyes following Odin's path around his cell.

Odin tossed the book aside, "Events are transpiring." he spoke slowly, knowing that he had to chose them carefully in the presence of one so crafty, "Which few understand. The arrival of Malekith and the Dark Elves...I believe to be naught but a herald of much worse things to come. You know of the Aether, of course?"

Loki slowly nodded, "One of the oldest and most powerful weapons in all the realms. I have heard whispers, even here in my prison. Is it true that it has chosen to house itself within the body of my dearest brother's mortal pet?"

Odin nodded, "Yes. A shocking turn of events, even for me. The fact that this weapon has resurfaced after so long is astonishing enough. But so soon after the reappearance of the Tesseract, another Infinity Stone? No, other things are at work here Loki. Things which I do not believe even we understand. Malekith is a threat, but he is merely the beginning of something much larger."

Loki's eyes narrowed, "And why are you sharing this with me?"

Odin let out a bark of laughter, "In truth? I am here to make a deal with you. Thor wishes to go after Malekith, draw him out, using the Aether as bait and then when the Elf king draws the element out of the mortal Jane Foster, he hopes to destroy it. I have forbidden such a course of action, and of course, Thor will seek to disobey me and go through with his foolhardy plan regardless. I know him better than he thinks."

Loki still wasn't sure what this had to do with him, "And where does this deal you spoke of come in?"

"Simple. Thor cannot leave Asgard alone. I made sure of it. He will seek the aid of the only one who might be able to show him a secret way out. Only one person knows all the pathways between the realms Loki."

The trickster god scoffed, "And you want me to prevent Thor's leaving, is that it?"

Odin smirked in a way that was much much like one of Loki's own, "On the contrary. I want you to help him."

Loki raised an eyebrow, "I'm afraid I don't understand."

Odin smiled, "Thor will not be able to destroy the Aether. It's power is far beyond what either he or Malekith is capable of understanding. But he will defeat Malekith, of that much I am certain. He is a warrior, while Malekith has grown fragile with his obsession over the millennia. However, while Thor is doing battle with Malekith, I must be elsewhere. Something is at at the root of these events, and I fear that a much worse danger is on the horizon. I must leave Asgard to seek answers."

Now it was Loki's turn to smirk, "So you want me to help Thor to go and disobey you, create a giant mess and cause a huge scene as is the norm with my dear brother, and in the meanwhile you will use the commotion to sneak out and go hunting down monsters in the shadows? And what exactly do I get out of all this?"

Odin smirked again, "You get to be King."

Loki's smirk immediately disappeared, "King? I? How so?"

"Asgard needs a ruler. Thor is not ready even to rule in my absence, and besides which I do not wish any knowledge of my departure to reach the ears of those who might also be noticing the signs. I'd prefer to search the nine realms and beyond in secrecy. I want you to use your magic to disguise yourself and take my place. You will rule in my stead until I return."

Loki couldn't believe what he was hearing. He turned from the All-father and looked down at his feet as he attempted to make sense of all this, "Not a few days ago, you were willing to denounce me utterly and locked me up like the basest of criminals. Now you would offer me your throne? How do you know I would not betray you and take the throne permanently for myself?"

"Because" Odin replied, "Your mother believed in you. To the last day she told me that she thought you could be redeemed. She loved you. And I did not listen to her. I thought them the words of a desperate mother who is blinded from the truth by her own love for her child. And now, she is gone, and even I cannot change that. But I can honor her deepest last wish, that I give her son a second chance."

Loki didn't turn around, or answer the All-father. He simply stared at the ground. Odin continued, "You will go with Thor, and you will use your illusionary magic to fake your own death and then return to me, at which point I will leave and you will take my place. Thor must not know any of this. If he knew of my quest, he would wish to follow me, but he cannot. Midgard needs him, and I cannot be distracted from this journey. I am placing my faith in you one more time Loki. Here is your chance to make Frigga proud. I hope that you make the right choice."

Odin slipped back out of the cell, again treating the barrier as though it didn't even exist, "And of course you should know that if you do betray me once more, I will kill you."

He slipped his hood over his head, and again he shrunk down and his presence became weak, "One last chance Loki. I know you hold no more love for me, but I hope that you know how much your mother loved you and honor that." He stated, and disappeared up the stone steps that lead out of the prison cells.

Loki watched the man he had once called father until he was out of sight, thinking on the offer made to him. He had to admit, he had not expected such deviousness from Odin. He supposed that so many millenia did must breed a certain amount of cunning. And if it meant getting his revenge on the swine that had killed his dearest mother, the only being in all the realms that he still held some degree of affection for, he would be willing to ally himself even with Thor and Odin.

He would put on a show for Thor. It was what he was best at, being a liesmith that he was. For now though, he would have to let some of his rage out on more of the upholstery.

In the time since then, Loki had followed the plan perfectly. Thor had indeed defeated Malekith, as Odin and Loki both knew he would. The Aether was back in the hands of the Asgardians. Not a single being in Asgard knew who really sat upon the throne. He didn't know where Odin had gone to, but he suspected that the All-father would be in touch. Everything was going perfectly.

He sensed another presence approaching and quickly returned to his disguise. A pair of royal guards entered and feel to their knees before Loki, "My King. The reconstruction of Asgard is underway. The people await your command."

Loki smiled. Oh, this was going to be so much fun.

Soooooo...I've been away from FF for a while. Writing a bit of my own potential novel. Doing college. Falling head over heels in love. Decided to come back and try my hand at something new. Hope you all enjoy. If I feel as though it would be worth it, I may go back to a couple of my older, unfinished stories as well.