Chapter One:

"Sir, I've pick up an energy signature you may be interested in."

Tony Stark looked up from his work bench and rubbed his eyes. He grabbed the electronic notepad beside him and started up the data readings, "It better be good. I was in the zone."

The screen ran through a series of readings, numbers and letters scrolling down the screen, followed by a graph readout that pinpointed the reading Jarvis had picked up. Tony tilted his head as he read what was being presented to him, wondering if what he was seeing was correct. Rapidly tapping the screen, he re-ran the readings, wanting to be absolutely sure what he saw was right before he made any calls. He didn't want to raise an alarm if it was a false read.

"The data is correct with only a .005% margin of error," JARVIS said.

"Notify Fury," Tony said as he got up from his desk.

He was going to need to suit up.

…~~~~…~~~~…

The air was unbearably cold. His lungs burned when he breathed. Bloodied fingertips traced over snow as the chains to his shackles clinked against one another. Winter, he thought as he brought a bit of the frost to his mouth. He sighed at the relief the melted snow brought his dry, cracked lips.

He could hear the sounds of the city, just a couple of miles away, yet he couldn't bring himself to move. But he knew, with his arrival, someone would be looking for him. The humans had technology to trace all sorts of "energy" and he was certain his appearance wouldn't have gone unnoticed. He intended to let the right party find him.

In the distance, he heard the sound of an aircraft. Right on time, he thought. He could hear voices and the sounds of footsteps as he let exhaustion and sleep claim him.

…~~~~…~~~~…

Nick Fury stood with his hands behind his back, inside of SHIELD's medical ward. Their patient – Prisoner, the director thought – lay unconscious in an isolated room, guarded and closely monitored. The man on the bed was hooked up to a multitude of machines, all giving off faint sounds.

"What do you make of this?" Agent Maria Hill asked, taking position next to Fury.

"I don't know, but I don't like it," the director responded. More than one possibility had run through his mind since the moment Stark had called in about capturing a familiar energy signature. He had thought the worst, but never expected they would find their enemy wounded, barely breathing.

"What'll we do with him?" Agent Hill inquired. Her tone was uncertain. She was as unprepared for this as Fury.

"We wait until he wakes up. Then we start asking questions."

"And in the meantime?"

"We try to make contact with Thor."

…~~~~…~~~~…

Steve Rogers pulled off his cowl and ran a hand through his hair. He seated himself on one of the benches in the locker room, feeling uncertain. He was having a hard time piecing together what was happening. One moment, he was being called in to help pick up a potential threat. The next, he was helping carry an enemy to the med bay.

He remembered his surprised when he arrived on the scene. The other Avengers were just as stunned, weapons drawn, but not raised. All of them had the same question on their minds: What the hell was going on?

They had been expecting a fight. They had been ready for a fight. Instead, they found Loki, the psychotic god who had tried to kill them all almost a year ago, lying in the snow, shackled, bleeding and unconscious.

It was startling.

"Hey, you okay?"

Steve looked up and gave his teammate Clint Barton a weak smile, "Yeah. Just, still a little…"

"Shocked?"

"Yeah. I don't know what to make of it."

"I don't think anyone does right now."

"How do you feel about this?" the Captain asked, knowing that the agent had been through a lot of psychological trauma while he was under Loki's control.

The archer shrugged, "Not sure, but I don't believe in kicking a man when he's down."

"Neither do I."

"Come on, Fury told me to come get you. He wants to see all of us."

…~~~~…~~~~…

Bruce Banner tapped his pen against the conference room desk, unable to keep his hand still. He hadn't followed the team out, but he had seen the events unfold through a video feed Tony had been sending to him. He thought it was best for him to stay out of the way until he was absolutely needed. No reason to cause more damage than necessary, he thought.

He would have been ready to head out if the occasion had called for it, but the images on the feed told him he wasn't going to be put into action any time soon. He had swallowed hard when he saw the images of Loki, but it wasn't seeing the trickster that made his heart rate climb. It was seeing the damage on the god's face and knowing that beneath the tattered clothing there would be more.

He had been called to the medical ward when they landed. He was placed in charge of assessing their new patient – prisoner. He had been uneasy about doing it, but knew he had to act. They had to cut away Loki's clothes, which were slick with blood and made his stomach turn. They were able to remove the length of chain connected to the slim cuffs on the trickster's wrists, but they couldn't cut away the actual cuffs no matter what they did.

Bruce rubbed his eyes. He would have to reveal his findings to the other soon enough. He knew Nick Fury would want that from him, full disclosure, especially if they were to keep their enemy housed within SHIELD.

He looked up when the conference room door opened. Agent Natasha Romanoff stepped in and gracefully took a seat at the far side of the table, looking indifferent. They acknowledged each other with a nod and fell into silence. Neither had interacted much outside of their missions and occasional meetings inside the halls of headquarters. If the agent was uncomfortable about what was happening, Bruce couldn't sense it.

One by one, the others started joining them. Steve entered with Agent Barton. Director Fury followed soon after. Tony, as always, was fashionably late and seated himself next to Bruce.

"It's obvious why we're all here," Fury started, looking around the room. His voice was steady and calm, but there was a tension in his tone, "Dr. Banner has had a chance to examine our guest and I've asked him to give us more details."

Bruce adjusted his glasses before pulling out his notepad, flipping through the pages of writing before looking up. The director gave him a nod and he proceeded, "Loki is currently in stable condition, but his injuries are extensive. I'm not quite sure where to even start."

"Why don't you start from the top?" Tony said, leaning back in his chair.

Bruce gave the billionaire an annoyed look and kept from rolling his eyes as he continued to speak, "From the top. He's suffered a mild concussion, not sure if this was from before his arrival or after. There are hairline fractures along his skull, a gash along his hairline, which we were able to stich up. His neck was bruised with very distinct hand impressions, someone had obviously tried to strangle him. Multiple contusions and deliberate incisions along his torso and limbs, several cracked and broken ribs, two broken fingers on his left hand. And…"

The doctor had to stop himself from going further. He stared at his notes for a long moment before flipping the page.

"And?" Fury asked.

"And severe dehydration and malnourishment," he concluded, knowing that some things are better left unsaid, "I'm finding that these injuries aren't healing as they should."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Agent Barton asked.

"You saw what the other guy did to him. He was hurt, but he got back up in a relatively quick timeframe. Someone with the tolerance and healing abilities he's got shouldn't be in this state. Something just isn't right about this whole situation."

The director signed, "Well, we're not going to find any answers until-"

The entire complex shook, the roaring sound of thunder caused everyone to flinch. Tony looked ready to duck under the desk.

"Speak of the devil," Fury said before leaving the room to greet their new arrival.

…~~~~…~~~~…

Thor approached the personnel standing guard outside the entrance of SHIELD headquarters. The two soldiers looked him up and down, neither willing to step back as he approached. He fixed his sights on them, glancing from one to the other, knowing neither of them would be able to stop him if he wanted to force his way in.

The door slid open before he was even close. Fury stood, silhouetted against the light streaming out from the opening.

"Stand down, solders," the director said.

Immediately, the guards lowered their weapons and stepped aside, allowing the god to approach.

"I want to see my brother," Thor stated. His tone allowed for no argument, "You will have your answers after you take me to him."

Fury's eye narrowed, but didn't argue as he waved in the god.

…~~~~…~~~~…

"Loki," Thor breathed, grasping his brother's uninjured hand in his.

The older god felt his chest tighten at the sight of the trickster, unable to fathom the injuries. Loki was a god, moreover he was a sorcerer. His abilities to heal would have taken all traces of the wounds from his skin. Yet, they stood out clear as day, brilliant red against pale flesh. Even with Odin's limiting of the younger god's abilities, they should have been further along in the healing process.

"Brother, I know you can hear me," Thor said quietly as he crouched to be level with the still form on the bed, "Please, open your eyes."

He could see Loki's eyes moving behind their lids.

"Please."

Brilliant green eyes slowly opened to meet startling blue. Thor weakly smiled, squeezing Loki's hand gently in his.

"Thor," Loki's voice was barely above a whisper, his hand trembling and twitching in the older god's hold.

"Know that I am here," the older god said, his voice low and soothing as he gingerly brushed a stray lock of hair from Loki's face, "I'll speak with our allies. They will take care of you and grant you your freedom once you are better. I will make sure of it."

The trickster shook his head and opened his mouth to speak. No words came. He drew a sharp intake of breath, his entire body stiffening.

"You mustn't strain yourself in this state, Loki," Thor rose and looked back at the door, where he knew Director Fury would be watching, "I will speak for you so that you may regain your strength." He turned his attention back to the younger god, "I needed you to know I was here, like I promised."

The corner of Loki's lips lifted slightly before he closed his eye, falling back into slumber.

…~~~~…~~~~…

The room was quiet. No one of was sure of what to say. Thor stood at the front of the room, unsure of how to broach the subject as he looked from one teammate to another.

"So, your brother isn't a psycho?" Tony asked.

Thor gave a sigh, "No. I'm not sure of how to explain what has happened to Loki. It is a long and complicated story."

"What's the short version?" Fury asked from his post at the front of the room. Everyone in the room could see that his patience was growing thin. The last time two Norse gods showed up on Earth, there was near catastrophic damage from the fight that ensued.

"He prevented a bloody battle by sacrificing himself," Thor stated. A pained look moved across his features as he continued to speak, "But no one knows of his deeds except for me. The people of Asgard believe Loki a traitor."

No one knew what to say. The Avengers all exchanged looks, unsure if they had heard correctly.

"So, he goes home with you and somehow has a change of heart about who he's supposed to be and now he's a good guy?" Tony asked, leaning forward in his seat, "No jail time or repenting for all the shit he pulled?"

"It is not that simple," Thor said.

"Yeah, I'm having a hard time believing this story," Clint said with a nod towards the billionaire, "People don't just change."

"Loki was punished for his crimes," the god stated, his stance becoming more defensive as he looked around the room, "Though, I could not agree with the methods, I know that it was just and fitting."

"What did they do to him?" Natasha asked, speaking for the first time since they were all gathered.

"You have no need of that information."

"I think we deserve to know. He tried to kill all of us," the female agent insisted, her tone calm and even. She could see that there was at least one other person in the room that would like the full story.

Thor looked around the room briefly before turning his eyes to the Director, "I want protection for my brother. I want your word if you are to have me provide you with this information."

Whispers and several exclamations of outrage washed through the room. Fury put his hand up, silencing everyone there.

"We'll provide protection," another surge of voices resounded through the room. Fury raised his voice, "If, and only if, I see that the terms are agreeable after you give us what we want."

The Thunder God nodded, "Then I suggest we go somewhere more comfortable. As I stated before, it is a long and complicated story."

…~~~~…~~~~…

Note: I decided it might be a good idea to upload the first chapter along with the prologue. Seemed a little stingy as it was so short. Please leave a review if you are enjoying this so far.