A/N: I don't own Loki or any of the Avengers, but it's ok because I'm not making money off of this story.


Chapter 2: Unexpected Consequences

The crowd began to file out, and Odin stood, walking to the more private audience chamber to the side of the room. Thor followed, leading Loki. Behind them, Erik instructed the guards to carefully move the machine in as well.

The great doors closed behind them, and Odin sat heavily in a chair, eyeing the machine warily. "If you have never used this machine before, how do you know it will even work?"

Erik shook his head. "We don't. But it was the best idea we had."

"What was your second best idea?" Thor asked, laughing.

"Hmmm... Someone suggested we put him in cryogenic sleep, but considering his... unique abilities, we thought he might be able to break free."

Yes, let's encase the ice giant in ice, thought Loki, that will certainly work. He watched as the machine was set up, connected to huge batteries. He began to regard the chair a bit apprehensively. What, exactly, had he agreed to?

"Well, that should do it," Erik sounded less confident than Loki would like. "It seems to be ready."

Thor turned to Loki, and frowned a little. "You're sure about this?"

Loki laughed behind his mask and shook his head no. He could see the hesitation in his brother's eyes. If he protested now, Thor would not force him into the machine. He frowned. Such weakness. He used the moment to break free from Thor's grasp and take a couple steps away from him. Everyone in the room jolted, Odin rising to his feet and Thor hefting Mjolnir warily.

Instead of running, Loki turned and walked to the machine, giving Selvig a long, piercing look as if to say "So, how does it feel to be on the other side?" From the look of it, he wasn't enjoying it much. Loki sat in the chair, and stared back at his shocked audience. He lifted his palms in a gesture that clearly meant "Well? Get on with it."

Erik jumped, startled back into motion. He began lifting wires and using a sticky, gritty gel to attach them to his head. "I need his hands unshackled. We can secure them to the chair." Two guards, one for each hand came forward to assist. Loki took a moment to be flattered by the need for such security. Once he was hooked up, Erik retreated to a small podium off to one side, adjusting a few dials and levers. He stepped back as a low hum began, rising in pitch and volume until Loki could feel it in his bones.

"It should work now!" Erik shouted over the noise.

At first, there was nothing, but slowly the sound of the machine decreased in volume. Loki wondered if it was powering down, he had felt nothing.

"Hello, Loki." A smooth voice, contra-alto or tenor and neither male nor female, seemed to speak directly into his mind. His surroundings vanished, and he was in a warm void.

Who are you? Loki thought back, wagering that anyone who could speak into his mind would be able to hear back, trying not to allow his panic to seep through.

"I am Morpheus. I am the embodiment of change in the universe. I must say, I am glad to finally meet you. I do not have much business in Asgard, where change comes slowly. When I do, it is almost always to do with you. This machine will allow me to communicate with you, and channel my powers into your form." The voice sounded amused and vaguely affectionate. It was calming.

What is going to happen to me?

"That depends entirely on why you are here. Nothing that you do not wish to happen," the voice reassured him.

I am here to be punished.

"You wish to be punished?" The voice of Morpheus was now certainly amused.

I wish to be through with my punishment. I wish for them to be convinced that I am harmless.

"But you do not want to beharmless." It was not a question.

Loki shrugged.

"So be it. Let's have a look at that clever mind of yours and see what we can do."

Loki watched as random memories flashed before his eyes: his childhood, his crimes, faces of those he had hurt. Some moments were shorter than a heartbeat, others lingered slowly. He relived the entire scene where the Black Widow had managed to trick him into revealing his plans. To be fair, it was a memory he had returned to many times, not only because he felt it was a crucial mistake in his plan but because he was duly impressed with the assassin's performance. Or had it been a performance? He had never really figured that out.

The voice of Morpheus dragged him from his thoughts. "Well, I can see you enjoy the suffering of others. There are few cultures who encourage this, so that will have to be changed."

How? Loki asked.

"I cannot rid you of it completely. I can only change it into something else, something more useful or less threatening. I'm sure I'll think of something." This time, Morpheus's amusement unsettled him a little. "We will also need to do something about your obsession with Odin and Thor."

I am not obsessed with them!Loki thought angrily.

Morpheus chuckled. "Oh, there are few men who are not obsessed with their fathers, biological or not. As for Thor, you are lying to yourself, O god of lies, if you think that your jealousy and need for his attention do not have some hand in your every action. But we will see. I think I know a very simple solution to that problem."

Loki held silent as Morpheus probed in his mind further. His anxiety began to rise, and the hints at what would happen to him were only adding to his unease.

There was a sense of pause from Morpheus. "This will not hurt you, I promise. It may cause you some difficulties, but if you cannot rise above them, then you do not deserve the second chance you so desire."

There was something about the voice that made it clear it was the truth. Loki sighed.

"Will you submit to this?" Morpheus asked, oddly echoing Odin's earlier words.

The Black Widow had said something, that day on the helicarrier. What was it? "I've got red in my ledger. I'd like to wipe it out." He was so very angry at her at the time. How dare she flaunt the fact that she had a way out, that she had found a way to change herself when he was so very, very sure he could not. It was like she stood at the top of the pit he had fallen into and claimed that climbing out was so easy.

Yes. I… I want this, Loki closed his eyes, realizing that he truly did.

"Good. You will remember nothing of this except these two things: If you ever use your powers to intentionally harm anyone for your own pleasure or gain, you will be permanently stripped of them. That is your price for this exchange. Also, if you lie, you will forget everything. Do you understand?" The voice was firm, unyielding.

No lying? That would be excruciatingly difficult. But he would have to try. Yes.

With that thought, the void and the voice disappeared. He could once again see the others in the room, the machine he was strapped to. Selvig appeared to be attempting to check if it was working. The outermost part of the vertical circle split into two rings suddenly, and he jumped back.

"It's working," he said, and gestured for everyone to step back.

The rings began to turn in opposite directions slowly, revolving around the chair. They began to speed up, and the point of rotation of each circle began to shift around the rings, creating a complicated gyroscopic motion. Faster and faster, until they began to blur, and Loki could feel himself begin to spin within them, completely disoriented. Gravity and centrifugal force seemed to pull him in every direction, and even with all his strength he began to feel ill. He began to see spots, and worried that unconsciousness was not far behind.

From outside the machine, the rings moved so fast as to obscure their view of Loki. It became a ball of violet light, a strong wind pushing at them and scattering debris around the room. There was a sound so low and loud that it almost wasn't a sound at all, and then the wind began to die down and the light from the machine dimmed. The rings became visible, and Loki slumped within them. There was something… off about the figure. The hair seemed to have grown much longer, so that it obscured the face from view. The limbs were thin, lost in the overlarge armor. As the machine finally stopped, the wires fell away and the wrists were released. The muzzle clanked open and fell away.

Slowly, as if pulled like a marionette, Loki rose, and the head lifted slowly to reveal the sharp-cut features of a beautiful young woman. She looked around at the shocked faces of the guards and Erik, the alarmed face of Odin, in a battle-ready position.

"Loki…" Thor's voice was shaky. "What has happened to you?"

Loki took a few unsteady steps toward him, and smiled wearily. "Thor…" and then she collapsed. He darted forward and caught her before she hit the floor. She reached a trembling hand to his face. "It's so good to see you…" she whispered, and then passed out.

Thor looked up at Erik, a thousand questions on his face.

"Well… I think it's safe to say the machine worked…" he muttered bemusedly.