Loki stared at the wall of the small room, listening to the goings-on around him. Small lights dotted the white ceiling, illuminating the table in front of Loki and the bareness of the small space around him. The gleaming of his shackles, the complete lack of magic. The walls were gray, thin by Asgardian standards, and made of flimsy materials that easily transferred sound; the Midgardians had no magic to prevent it. Of course, they did not know he could hear them either.

"I don't care that he came after it," a strident voice belonging to the leader of the clandestine organization SHIELD rang out in a room two doors away. "The Tesseract was on Earth, and it provides us with vital intelligence about unknown energy sources."

"And weaponry as well," this voice from the pale-eyed man out of time. "Hydra used it to make weapons of mass destruction, and SHIELD was doing the same. I say we send it back."

"Aye," this voice grated on Loki's ears and nerves, far too familiar and close. "The Captain is correct. Midgard is not ready for such knowledge as the Tesseract provides. She is a gem of unimaginable power, and—"

"And you just get to keep all the power up in your little slice of Heaven, is that it?" This from Stark, one of the only true mortals among the merry band.

"That is not what I mean to say, Man of Iron. It is simply that mortals are too weak as yet to wield such power unchanged." Loki almost smiled. Thor was still no better at negotiating, no matter how he professed to have learned from the humans.

"I think that's a decision for Earth to make. Not you." The commander was speaking again, with nearly the same authoritative tone as Odin.

Loki sighed imperceptibly, knowing that his every move was recorded by Midgard's primitive magic. He had been bound by Thor, who'd brought out the special gag and manacles that would strip even Loki's power. While this would normally have been no more than an inconvenience, in this case it prevented Loki's magic from healing him quickly, as it was bound even at the most basic levels. Every time Loki breathed, he experienced sharp pain throughout his body, from his head to his toes. The green monster had certainly done a thorough job of smashing him. From one monster to another.

Loki took a moment to assess his injuries once more, grounding his mind in the pain. His collarbone was broken and displaced, which led to grating every time he drew breath. His back was full of needles, and Loki suspected many cracks and fissures ran through the bones there. His hip felt similar. His left leg was the worst, where the Hulk had gripped him, because he'd walked on it all the way to his cell refusing to show any weakness. His head was throbbing and clouded, and Loki fought through the muddle of his thoughts to focus on eavesdropping once again.

"It makes no matter," Thor was saying. "The All-Father cannot bring us back to Asgard the same way he sent me to Earth. We need the Tesseract to take Loki home to face his punishment."

"Why are we only hearing this now?!" The director of SHIELD's voice rose in volume and anger. "So let me get this straight. Your brother just brought an army to New York and busted shit up, killing who-knows-how-many people, and now you want to take that motherf—" he was cut off in his tirade by a knock at the door. "What?!"

Instead of a reply, Loki could barely hear the door opening, and he assumed someone entered. Not everyone walked as loudly as Thor.

"Um, guys," a feminine voice spoke quietly and calmly. It was not the red-haired Widow woman. Loki had never heard this voice, but the brunette woman with the water magic had never spoken during their trip through the tower to hand him over to these pitiful agents. Loki assumed it was her.

"What is it, L?" the Captain of the country spoke in a friendly tone. What kind of a name is that? Loki wondered.

"You know he can hear you, right?" the voice obviously belonged the killer of fun and dreams. "He's listening to every word you're saying."

The room went deathly quiet. Loki imagined them all looking toward the wall, which bordered the room between himself and them.

"That's impossible," Stark began, just as the Captain said, "How do you know?"

"He's… amused. And his emotions are following your conversation pretty well, considering."

"Considering what, Miss Engman?" The director's voice was quieter and more focused.

"Considering he's fighting off the remaining effects of mind control." Loki's breathing hitched, and it had more to do with shock than pain. "He feels worse than Hawkeye did when he woke up after Widow cognitively recalibrated him."

The room was silent again, and this time for a much longer period. Loki realized that this water witch must have the power to read minds as well, and that she'd been processing his thoughts the entire time he'd been in the room, if not longer. He felt violated beyond even when he knew he was watched by Heimdall.

Finally, the director spoke again. "Good intel, Agent. We'll talk about the rest of your statement later. For now, keep it to yourself. Okay people, let's move this conversation to a more private venue." And Loki heard the faint sound of the door reopening and some of their footsteps echoing down the hall.

Loki was left alone with his not-so-private thoughts. Is she still listening? How much can she hear? He tried to keep his mind from reeling back to his anger and pain, but it naturally went to its habitual memory of late, no matter how many times he redirected it.

The space rock was barren, devoid of any type of life. Loki was dragged across its craggy gray surface by two Chitauri guards until he was unceremoniously dumped at the foot of a floating golden throne. He rose to his knees, but could get no further, his body too weak and his magic focused on healing his most intense injuries first.

"So, Son of Odin," the great, deep voice of the Destroyer of Worlds rumbled around him. "Have you finally given proper thought to my generous bargain?"

Loki's throat worked as he attempted to swallow the blood pooling in his mouth. It took some effort and time, but eventually he cleared his throat to speak.

"Great King of Death," he replied, his words coming out coarse and gravelly from screams of pain past. "My wish is but to serve you." He had held out for a very long time, but thousands of treatments with the scepter, even in unskilled hands, had left him weak, and the constant torture had driven him to wish above all to escape the pain. Even in his weakened state, though, his mind was constantly scheming and planning for escape,

"Good," Thanos descended from his throne to stand before Loki's kneeling form. "I have great plans for you, Son of Odin, for you were born to be a king. You will take Midgard for your own use, and you will send the Tesseract back to me. Together we shall reclaim the mighty power of the Space Gem from the mortals who are unworthy to seek its enlightenment. We will reset the universe in its proper order. "

Loki only stared at him as he spoke. You fool, he thought, I will run the moment I am free. You will not get your Space Gem, and you will not find me, not for the rest of my days. You plan is bound to ruin and you are a madman, spurred by your insanity… Loki's thoughts trailed off as the scepter was brought into view and presented to Thanos by an underling.

Thanos spoke dark words of persuasion and power over the scepter that sent shivers along Loki's skin. When he was done, Thanos looked at him and smiled. "Son of Odin, I can see your heart through your defiant eyes. You think yourself above me, and you wish to run away." He turned the scepter to Loki's chest. "I hereby grant you this weapon, that you may be victorious over those pitiful mortals of Midgard. I grant you my Chitauri army, that you may lay waste the that mortal world and rebuild it in your own image. And lastly," the point of the scepter pierced the thin fabric of Loki's torn tunic, directly above his heart, "I grant you my will, that all this may be accomplished according to my wishes. For I am Thanos, Seeker of Death, and I will not be thwarted by the likes of you." The last thing Loki clearly remembered was a blue flash before his world faded to chaos and desire for destruction.

A/N: So there you have it. I've been so excited to get to this point of the story that I had to slow myself down to try and do justice to Steve. Who will still be a crucial part of this story, by the way.

Let me know what you think of this so far by rating and reviewing!

~PettyWhiteRose