Author Note: In the Thor: The Dark World prelude comics, the Tesseract was given into Heimdall's care following the events of The Avengers, in order to power the Bifrost. References are made to that in this chapter.

I wondered at how to portray Jane in this first meeting alone with Loki. For all that she's brave and headstrong, as some of her scenes in the first Thor film showed us, she is at times a little speechless, flustered and unsure of how to handle situations on a personal/emotional level yet despite this, she pushes through and goes on to do what needs to be done (or said.) I admire that in her and wanted to play upon/extend that a little in this chapter. After all, I don't doubt that the trickster Loki would be 'unsettling' to deal with, to say the least.


Chapter Two

Jane Foster was never comfortable with seminars and workshops. If she could attend them via conference call, she would. She would do the same with social functions too if such a thing were possible. Social events… They had a tendency to make her nervous. And it wasn't just a case of clammy hands that would wear off after a wine or two. No, every so often, she'd find herself experiencing a full-scale panic attack that would send the walls closing in. She'd feel every eye in the room turn their attention to her distress, even if no-one was actually looking.

Over the years, she'd learnt to manage the social anxiety. She was a strong-willed woman who took to a challenge like it was a personal vendetta, and she devised methods to deal with the pressing feeling of being smothered beneath the weight of strangers stares until it really was nothing more than clammy hands and a rosy blush.

That was until she found herself alone in an Asgardian prison cell with Earth's mightiest war criminal.

Having returned to Loki's cell in the afternoon as agreed, Jane didn't believe Thor would really leave her alone with his brother. She thought he'd demand - in that last instant - to be present while she and Loki discussed an alternative power source for the Bifrost.

But it seemed Thor's faith in his brother was incurable. He didn't touch Loki when he issued him a warning to keep his distance from Jane, but his stance and tone were threat enough - not that Loki's smirk faltered for a moment. No doubt knowing the ever-optimistic Thor would never touch a hair on his head, whatever his words might imply.

Then the Thunderer was wrapping his warm arms around her in a hug that was chaste and yet disconcertingly intimate in a cell with his creepy brother for an audience. But the trickster rolled his eyes and turned away as they said their goodbyes, allowing Jane a moment to lean into the comfort of Thor's embrace before he was spinning on his heel and stepping to the door. Leaving her alone in this dungeon with a lunatic.

Determined to keep her chin up and hide her apprehension, Jane watched Thor pass the energy shield before settling her gaze upon his dark brother with all the forced bravery she could muster. He sat at his ornately carved writing desk, mannerism casual with long legs stretched out before him, one ankle crossed over the other, arms loosely folded and customary smirk fixed firmly in place.

Her mind blank, Jane stood frozen in the middle of the cell as she racked her brain for something to say; something to fill the awkward silence that was growing like a chasm between them. But words had fled her, and the smirking bastard sprawled lazily upon his high-and-mighty chair knew it.

As if reading her mind, Loki unfurled himself from his seat and rose fluidly to his feet. Eyes glinting, he stalked towards her; smile enigmatic as his tongue flicked out to moisten his lips. Casting her head down, Jane's discomfort grew. A thread of sweat slipped down her back, to pool at the base of her spine.

"Jane." Loki sniffed with disdain as he stopped before her. "You fascinate me. I'm yet to understand what it is about you that has my poor brother so enthralled?"

Swallowing nervously, Jane fought for calm against a tide of anxiety she could feel rising within her. Animals can smell fear, she thought to herself, feeling not at all guilty for likening Loki to a beast when he clearly intended to act as one.

"You'll never understand, Loki." The words felt thick upon her tongue, but she forced them out anyway. "Sociopaths never do."

"Oh?" His eyes alighted in mock surprise. "A clinical assessment from an astrophysicist. Wrong profession, don't you think?

"Look," Jane started brusquely as she stepped away, gaining strength now that she had forced those first words through. 'Let's get on with this, huh? What can you tell me about the Tesseract?"

"So eager to uncover the secrets of the universe Jane, you can't even take a moment to grant me a polite hello?" Loki purred. "No 'how do you do' or 'care for a honeyed wine before I pick your brains?' "

"Polite hello? Honeyed wine?" Jane frowned. "Why would I want to..."

"No, of course, you wouldn't, would you?" Loki cast his eyes down with an exaggerated sigh. "No one ever thinks of these things. They just leave me here, forgotten until they have use of me, but never thinking to ask if there's anything I might want."

Jane gaped; astonishment and anger warring for center stage. "Why the hell should you have the right to ask for anything? You of all people! If I had my way, you'd be back on Earth facing our retribution for what you did to New York - and to my friend Erik Selvig! And I can tell you now, you wouldn't be sitting in a nice cell with the comfort of books and beautiful furniture!"

"No, I suppose not." Loki murmured, his voice low and flat. "If you had your way, I'd be dead, wouldn't I?"

As Jane opened her mouth to exclaim her affirmation, he took a half step closer. "No no, don't just react - think about where you're going with this."

Step by step he drew closer, while she backed away. "Would you, Jane Foster? Would you have me dead?"

And then the flash of metal caught her eye and she saw he held a silver dagger in his hand. How had she not noticed it before?

"Here, take it. Slip it between my ribs and drive it up into my heart." Loki stretched his pale hand out towards her, his fingers lightly holding the blade as he offered her the hilt. "Do it for your precious humanity. No one will blame you for it - you'll be hailed a hero."

He said the words so easily as he presented the slender weapon. As if shooting the breeze rather than offering her the opportunity to end his life; to seek retribution for his crimes against her world.

And that was when Jane Foster was hit the first full-scale panic attack she'd experienced in several years. It struck with the ferocity of the hundred others she'd managed to suppress.

Back pressed against the smooth white wall she had come up against, Jane fought to keep those walls from closing in on her as the room swam. Her vision blurred and she blinked hard, squinting against the hot rush of blood that felt as if it were pushing the inside of her head outwards.

Just breathe, she told herself as she fought the blackness and stomach-churning nausea. Breathe. The crushing pressure behind her eyes intensified and she brought her hands up to her face as if by doing so she could hold herself together. All previous technique fled her mind, leaving her with no weapon but the desire to hold the world in place. And with that, she fought.

Slowly, slowly, she pushed it back. The dizzying darkness. The blood thumping in her ears. Come on Jane, fight it. The voice of conscience continued to urge; until bit by bit the tension receded. And as her vision cleared, she was aware that Loki still stood before her with hand outstretched. The silver still glinting in his hand.

But now in place of a dagger, he seemed to be holding a cup, and his dark smile had softened into one of concern; although it failed to reach his eyes - their bright gleam suggesting he was enjoying her discomfort far more than he should.

'What.." Jane started through clenched teeth. "...the hell game are you playing?"

"I don't know what you're talking about?" Loki replied innocently, beckoning the cup towards her. "Water? I'm sorry I can't offer you anything more satisfyi-"

"The dagger! " The tightness in her head began to return. This time out of frustration. "Where's the dagger you had before!"

"Come now Jane," Loki's tone took on that of an adult trying to reason with a young child. "Do you really think they'd allow me anything sharper than a spoon?" Then with a nonplussed shrug, he added, "Mere illusion."

"Illusion?" Jane repeated, disbelieving. "Thor said your magic was blocked in here."

"Ah, of course. Well, I suppose I must have stolen it from a guard." He frowned thoughtfully as he stared into the middle distance. "But... They never come into the cell. Which could either mean I've found a way around the wards to practice magic, or I've found a way to escape. And steal daggers. And bring them back in again."

He met Jane's eyes then and the challenge was unmistakable. "Which theory do you think would sound most plausible to Thor?"

His question brought to Jane's mind a third option and she smiled, knowing the correct answer was her own. "Or, you stole it from Thor while he was standing in the cell."

"Do you really think I could be that deft?" Loki quirked an eyebrow as his lip curled into a slow grin.

"Are you kidding?" Jane folded her hands across her chest and faced him with a glare. "Try sly, underhanded, devious, and I'm pretty sure we could throw scheming traitorous scum bag in there too."

"Jane, you compliment me!"

Much to her chagrin, Loki's delight appeared genuine.

"Uh, no I don't." Sidling away, Jane invited herself to his chair, expression triumphant at her small theft even as she perched uneasily at the edge of the seat. "Can we talk about the Bifrost now, please? You said yourself Odin isn't happy to accommodate any who can't pay their due, and -"

"Mind what you say now." Loki interrupted. "The Allfather's probably listening."

Jane's mouth dropped, aghast. "What?"

"Well, in the sense that he can hear whatever Heimdall chooses to relay to him. The Gatekeeper is all-seeing. But only if he casts his eyes in our direction."

The trickster's semi-comforting tone was quickly quashed when he added after a moment's carefully-timed thought, "I bet he's watched you quite a bit. On Thor's behalf, of course."

Loki's grin widened as Jane paled. "But don't worry. I'm sure your private moments are as safe as your words are from the Allfather's tender ears. Whatever oath of fealty Heimdall has made to his King, his loyalty will always be first and foremost to my brother. Of that, you can be certain."

Jane watched silently as Loki's expression tightened. There was a story behind Loki's dark jest, but she wasn't willing to press for further detail.

Snapping out of his reverie, Loki stepped towards the desk. Reaching over Jane, he opened the huge leather bound book that lay before her and gently thumbed through it until he reached a full page illustration. Jane leant forward to see an image of a woman suspended in the air; red smoke billowing from her mouth.

She frowned, her eyes skimming the runic text on the opposite page - not that she stood a chance of understanding it. "Loki, what does any of this have to do with the Bifrost?"

"Oh this has nothing to do with the Bifrost," he snorted, stepping around her to lean against the desk. "I want to know what's happening to my mother. Thor said a dark blight is affixed to her. Did it look, perchance, like this?"

Jane turned in her seat then, mouth opening in protest.

"If you're going to ask again about the Bifrost, I'll not hear another word." Loki frowned. "There are more pressing issues at hand than whether the Tesseract's energy will turn Heimdall mad with power-lust."

"Are you kidding?" Jane gaped, ignoring Loki's impatient hiss. "This is the reason Odin sent me to you! With the Bifrost's energy being so unstable - "

"The energy is stable." Loki corrected, his voice tense and controlled, "it's the wielding of such energy that is in need of refinement."

Jane watched a small vein appear at Loki's forehead; as if even speaking of the Tesseract was an effort. "You miss it, don't you?" She mused aloud. "All that power at your hands? You're like an addict in need of a fix."

"You take a risk," Loki snarled, "speaking to me thus."

"Just callin' it how I see it." Beneath the nonchalance of her words, Jane's voice shook and she cursed herself inwardly. Loki was a creature who could so easily snap her neck without a care for remorse - what the hell was she thinking?

The look he shot her in that instant suggested he shared the same thought, and she fidgeted uncomfortably beneath his cool glare.

"The Tesseract is an object of unrivalled power and infinite uses." He continued, his words measured as if speaking to an imbecile. "It is a key to the universe; the knowledge of which is limited only by the minds of those who wield it."

"And your great mind would have been the perfect conduit, huh?" The words came out despite herself.

"For someone who all but collapsed in a fit of sheer panic a short while ago, you seem determined to bait me, don't you?" Loki admonished. "Why?"

"I like to walk on the wild side?" She offered feebly, resigned to whatever fate her flapping mouth had led her to. 'Live fast, die young?"

"My, you are a brave soul, aren't you? I expected you to be a cowering idiot, and yet you continue to boldly test the boundaries of my patience with little care for consequence." Loki's tone lifted in wry amusement. "I'm impressed."

Unsure of how to answer, Jane frowned and rubbed a hand across her head. The short time she'd spent in Loki's company suddenly felt like it was stretching into forever - one minute it seemed her words would earn her a scathing rebuke, and then next he was all but laughing at her. The effort to keep up with the bipolar workings of his mind was exhausting.

Abandoning her perch on the edge of the chair, Jane crossed to the stack of hardcover books in the corner of the cell. With her back to Loki, she breathed a quick quiet sigh of relief to be away from his disconcertingly close proximity. Not that a few feet made much difference, but at least with his books as a diversion she could take a moment to gather her thoughts and try again to make him co-operate with the Bifrost issue.

"Do you expect to find anything you can read?" He sniggered, reclaiming his seat.

Throwing a withering look over her shoulder, Jane picked up the first book from the stack. An ancient looking treasure with a hard weathered cover and brittle pages that crackled as she gently pried them open.

Jane rocked back on her heels in surprise to find carefully drawn star charts mapping out galaxies so far removed from her own, she couldn't begin to grasp their location. Forgetting Loki completely, Jane settled herself on the floor and feasted her eyes upon the maps, eager to unravel the secrets the book held. After several pages, she came to a page of text, and groaned inwardly to see the words were not in English - nor were they of any alphabet she could recognise.

"Not of your world." Having observed her interest in his books in silence, Loki answered her unspoken question. "There is no Midgardian literature worthy of our great libraries."

Annoyed both by his slight and the fact that there were marvels of the universe right at her fingertips and yet she couldn't read them, Jane carefully laid the book aside. Then after a thought, she glanced over the rest before giving a triumphant grunt and reaching for one near-hidden beneath the pile.

"Okay then, explain Self Help For A Sociopath?"

"What?" Loki leant forward, a frown creasing his forehead as his mouth tightened. Then his eyes swept over the well-worn book on Aesir magic she waved before him.

"You're a poor liar, Jane Foster." He sniffed as he sank haughtily back into his seat. "And you wouldn't know a sociopath if one sat opposite you."

Jane pursed her lips and gave him a pointed look.

Then as he opened his mouth to respond, she waved him away. "Oh no no, there's no need to explain yourself. I get it. You're not a sociopath, because you feel. Right? I bet you had a load of feelings when you killed all of those people in New York, huh?"

Loki cast his eyes downwards, saying nothing. But he bit his lip against a smile.

"I bet all those feelings have been a real burden for you as you sit here in your cell." Jane continued, rising back to her feet. "Do they keep you awake at night? Do they haunt you?"

"Not particularly, no," Loki replied crisply, raising smouldering eyes to meet her own. "The attack on Midgard was but a small part of a greater plan. The fate of its inhabitants was merely collateral damage in the scheme of things."

"Well, I stand corrected then. You're not a sociopath." Jane hissed, ignoring the inner voice that threatened panic and cautioned her to hold her tongue. "You're a fucking psychopath after all, and I should've driven that god-damned dagger through your heart when I had the chance!"

The fiery anger that had given Jane strength to tear those words from her throat quickly dissipated in the chill wake of silence that followed. Heart fluttering in chest like a frantic bird caught within a fist, she watched Loki in frozen horror, certain his retaliation would be swift and full of pain.

And it was. Though the pain was not hers to bear.

For an instant, she saw Loki's supercilious facade falter. The illusion of a gloating, remorseless Prince dropped away; revealing a lonely young man with shadow-dark eyes in a face drained ashen pale. Stricken and tormented by his own misdeeds.

Jane opened and closed her mouth wordlessly, stunned by his sudden change in demeanour and unable to grasp what she was seeing. Not knowing which illusion to believe.

But then Loki's contemptuous countenance shifted smoothly back into place as he turned a lazy smile upon her. No sad suffering in his eyes. Nothing but impenetrable coldness and cruel calculation.

"Well, thank you for the psychotherapy session, Jane Foster." He said flatly. "But I think I've had quite enough for one day."

"Wh-what?" Jane stuttered. "But we haven't had time -"

"Your beloved comes to check that I haven't eaten you yet. Tell him you're ready to leave." Loki turned his attention to the book at his desk, eyes scanning the text as if she no longer stood before him.

"But.." Jane cast her eyes about the cell, searching for words that couldn't be found written on the walls. "But we haven't even discussed the Bifrost! And your mother -"

"I have a suspicion regarding the Queen's illness which I can investigate by my own means," Loki replied coolly, eyes still on the page before him. "And only the Tesseract can power the Bifrost now. There is no assistance I can offer you there."

"Bullshit!" She snapped. "What is this? A little truth suddenly too much for you to bear?"

"Have you not yet realised that your words mean nothing to me?" Loki hissed, turning to look at her at last. "Your judgement holds less weight than a mote of dust! Your very existence is so fleeting and pointless -"

"Loki!"

The booming voice from beyond the energy shield forced the dark Prince into reluctant silence, although he continued to hold Jane's gaze as he called, "why hello brother. I was just telling Jane how much I've enjoyed her company."

"Save your fool talk, liesmith."

Activating the door set in the stone wall, Thor's mighty presence soon filled the cell and Jane couldn't help but cross quickly to his side, glad for his warmth and reassurance as she realised just how hard her heart was hammering in her chest. And if a part of her saw Loki roll his eyes at her display of weakness, she pretended not to care for his judgement.

Taking in Jane's pale demeanour, Thor shot Loki a thunderous look. "Why did you speak to Jane thus?"

"Oh, we were just exchanging pleasantries." Loki shrugged. "She called me an evil tyrant, I called her a pathetic mortal... You must have expected as much?"

"Jane, are you alright? Has Loki upset you?" Thor's gaze rested heavy on her and she looked from one brother to the other, realising in that moment how definitively her answer could widen the rift between the two. And prevent her ever being allowed access back to those star charts.

"I'm quite fine, thank you. Our opinions have simply conflicted on certain matters - namely in regards to genocide" She answered tightly, flicking her gaze back to Loki. "But I'd like to come back tomorrow so we can continue our discussion on the Bifrost."

She smiled at the trickster then, and as he raised an eyebrow and opened his mouth to deliver a rebuttal, she smoothly cut off his reply. "And then if we have time, I thought we could tackle regicide, patricide and attempted fratricide."

"Well, that's a stimulating conversation I look forward to having." Loki offered dryly. "Though I think I recall telling you -"

"That your afternoon is free and you look forward to instructing me on how to stabilise the Tesseract." Jane pressed, determined not to be the one to back down.

"Iridium. A fact you should already know." Loki replied curtly.

"Oddly enough, it's not working so well anymore."

"Well, you've lost me then." He waved his hand in dismissal. "Go bug Selvig for answers."

"Wh… How dare you!" Jane spluttered; anger and frustration colliding into a blank wall of despair at Loki's mention of her friend's name. "How dare you speak of Eric? You ruined him!"

Loki looked up at her then, eyes wide with curiosity. "Oh? How so?"

Jane opened her mouth and snapped it shut again. Unable to formulate a reply that wouldn't involve screaming.

"Enough of this Loki!" Thor thundered. "I will not permit this foolery to go any further!"

Turning to Jane, he added, "If this is what you've had to endure from my brother, I am truly sorry. Loki has ever used taunts to amuse himself, I should never have agreed to this."

Loki bit his lip against a smug smile and stared down at his hands as he tried to look contrite. "I too, am sorry Jane."

He looked up as Thor and Jane stared in frank disbelief, then spread his arms out before him, allowing his Cheshire grin to spread. "Well, I tried."

"Your unrepentant idiocy deserves no answer." Thor murmured, placing an arm around Jane's shoulders and tugging her gently towards the door.

"Well… That in itself was an answer, you twit." Loki muttered contritely as they exited the cell.

Leaving the captive Prince once again alone with his books, and no one to exchange banter with but the mirror on his prison wall.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

Later that night, as Thor walked Jane to her guest chamber, it occurred to her to ask, "Do you have your dagger on you?"

"Dagger?" Thor looked at her in puzzlement. "Why would I have need of one?"

"You mean..." Jane felt a chill begin to creep along her spine. "You don't have a dagger at all? A silver dagger?"

Thor laughed, though not unkindly. "Jane I fear my hands are too clumsy for so delicate a weapon. And knife throwing is my brother's area of expertise. Never mine. Why do you ask?"

Jane hesitated. If she revealed that Loki had either acquired a weapon or used magic to conjure one, her contact with him would be swiftly cut. Here lay a perfect opportunity to forfeit Odin's challenge without losing.

Or was it a part of the test?

"Jane?" Thor broke softly into her thoughts, concern beginning to crease his brow as he watched her gape into thin air.

"Oh it's nothing." She replied in a rush. Then upon seeing his hesitancy, "I just thought it might be cool to learn how to use one myself."

Thor raised an eyebrow in surprise before grinning. "Well, perhaps that could be arranged."

Jane forced a quick laugh and an awkward murmur of appreciation before kissing him goodbye at her door. And later, when she was lying restless in her bed, a thousand miles from sleep, she worried if Heimdall could sense what was inside her heart as easily as he could see her in his mind's eye.

Because, truth be told, it wasn't Odin's impossible task that had been first on her mind when she lied about the dagger. It was Loki's knowledge, and the realisation that he was the only person who could give her any kind of insight into the nine realms, and the worlds that existed beyond them.

Odin had promised immortality and a place in Asgard as Thor's wife and future Queen. But for all that she'd spent two years hoping for Thor's return, the reality was that they hardly knew each other - and certainly not well enough to exchange vows. Not yet.

It was too much, too soon, and she couldn't help but bury her head into her pillow and hope that Heimdall the Gatekeeper couldn't see into her very heart. Perhaps, she wondered, this was the truth of Odin's test? Perhaps this was what 'testing her mettle' was all about. And if that was the case, had she already failed?