-CURRENT-

Loki was sitting on the grass, confused and slightly heartbroken. Why would the Allfather sentence him to death? Why would he sew his mouth shut? Why would they do this to him?

Loki seethed, answering his own thoughts. Everything was a lie. All of them, acting and playing out their pity, while I stand on the side and get laughed at.

The breeze whipped through the barren landscape, the grey sky alternating between light and dark.

"You going to be okay?"

Loki looked up sharply. He had forgotten that Coulson was still there. Pushing his thoughts aside, he tried standing, but his hand rested on his wing. He felt a sharp pain in his back, and fell down heavily. He cursed them.

Coulson watched Loki struggle. "They take a bit of getting used to."

Loki growled at Coulson's amusement.

"Why are you here?" Loki asked. "Come to see the result of your murderer being murdered?"

"No," Coulson replied. "I came to help."


-ASGARD-

"We are sorry to inform you," the sewing Asgardian said, head bowed before the Allfather, "that Loki has not survived his punishment."

"What?" Thor stood from where he was sitting, hand tightening around Mjolnir. "It has only been two days, how can this happen?"

"He bled himself to death," he continued. "There was nothing we could have done." The Asgardian lowered his head more, to show his grievance over the loss.

Frigga was in complete shock, her drink falling from her hand. The Allfather's expression was closed, his eye blackened, his face drooping, making him look older and more weary.

"I have already lost him once, but this time, it is permanent." Odin sighed. "Very well, you have done your requirements. Leave us."

The man bowed and beckoned his assistant to follow. The assistant jumped, and quickly followed his overseer out. There were tears coming from Frigga's eyes, and Odin dropped his gaze.

Thor was outraged. He yelled and slammed his hammer to the floor. It cracked, but there was no reprimanding. It was a suitable expression for this situation.

"Father, he is lying," Thor said furiously when the Asgardian left. "Loki can withstand a hundred fold of what has been laid before him. They are lying!"

Frigga was silent, her mouth pressed into a fine line. Odin reached out and patted her hand. She jumped, but clasped his hand tightly all the same.

"I know this," Odin stated. "Brokk has always cared to bring us gifts from his work. As you might remember, Thor, he is the one who created Mjolnir. But ever since Loki played mischief on him so long ago, he became deceitful. He did not want to even be seen with us because of what Loki did."

"Then why did you put him in charge of punishment for the wrong-doers?" Thor asked.

"I did not trust his gifts that we received from him, nor did I trust his thinking. But his bloodline goes before even my grandfather's time. We have an alliance, and so I assigned him somewhere that I might never have to worry about his plots again, but all the same, stay within our family arrangement…" Odin's voice trailed off.

Thor growled in frustration, then picked up his hammer.

"Where are you going?" The Allfather asked.

"To the dungeons." Thor said as he walked to the doors. "If Loki is really dead, I want to see the results of what happened."


-CURRENT-

Loki gazed at the man he had killed. "You are not serious."

Coulson nodded. "Actually, I am." Coulson sat in the grass in front of Loki. "You have no choice. I can't let you stay here. I have been assigned as a retriever. To meet the newcomers as they, well, come in."

"There are other's dying, why not go to them?" Loki asked, slightly annoyed.

"I am not the only retriever. And besides, I got assigned to you."

"Yes, but why?"

Coulson shrugged. "Don't know. All I know is that you have to do something. You can't stay here forever." He paused for a moment. "By the way, why haven't you tried to kill me yet?"

"Apparently, I already have. Why try to do it again?"

"Most people try to kill their handlers when hearing the truth. Their denial gets a bit violent."

"Handler?"

"Yes. Starting today, or whenever this is, I am your new handler."

"Why?"

"Just to try and steer you in the right direction, help you when you need it. You might even go as far to say that I'm your guardian angel."

Loki almost laughed. "This is not what I expected when my time had come."

Coulson nodded. "Yeah, but then again, not a lot of people do." He sighed, then jumped up. "Alright, let's get started."

Loki raised an eyebrow.

"I said I'm here to steer you in the right direction. We might as well start while we're ahead."

"And how do you suppose we do that?"

Coulson snapped his fingers. "Like this."

The gray sky and field instantly disappeared. Loki raised his eyebrows in amusement, but did nothing more. The area changed, and then they were standing on the roof of a building. There were noises coming from below, and people shouting.

"Do you remember this place?"

Loki looked around, trying to reduce the building to how he remembered it: destroyed. "The man of iron's abode."

"Yes it is." Coulson motioned to Loki as he walked toward the entrance. Uncertain, Loki followed.

They were in a lab, with gadgets and robots alike scattered around the tables and assorted chairs. Loki looked around with disinterest. They stood in a corner, out of the way of anything. Coulson was about to speak when the doors to the lab opened.

"JARVIS, alert me when Pepper calls. I called her earlier, but she's not answering."

"Very well, sir."

Tony Stark entered the lab and immediately everything came to life. The robots moved, the gadgets glowed. Tony tapped a table, and a screen popped up. He twisted it, and everything rearranged itself. He pulled his hands apart, and the image increased. He whipped out his phone and dialed.

"Hey, big guy, get in here, I just found something."

Moments later, Bruce Banner entered the room, and sat down another robot. "What's this?" he asked.

As the two scientists were talking, Coulson spoke to Loki. "As you can see, they can't see us. Or hear us."

Loki hummed. "And how are they relevant?"

"We are resolving your errors so that you can make a better decision as to where you're going."

Loki was silent.

"You don't know what that means, do you?

Loki squinted.

"Whether you stay here and wander about aimlessly, or you get your life back."

"I am dead," Loki scoffed. "There is no 'life' for me."

Coulson turned to face Loki. "In any other case, we would have already sent you to where you deserve it. Really, we would. But in this circumstance, you weren't supposed to die yet. And since you are who you are, it has been decided that you get to be provided with a choice. Which would you rather take? Potential life, or watching people live theirs for eternity?"

"But wouldn't it be better if you had the mercury go through the chamber before it meets the iron and silver?" Brue was saying.

"Well, that's kind of the point, but I'm trying to make it move faster from A to B, if you know what I'm saying."

Loki watched the two men converse. The man of iron and the rage monster.

"How do I resolve my errors?" Loki asked finally.

Coulson's mouth twitched. "It's not going to be easy. Just saying 'I'm sorry' is just not going to cut it."

"Then how-"

"That's what you have to figure out yourself." Coulson smirked. "I can't give you all the answers."

"…You are amused at my situation."

"Yeah, kind of."


-ASGARD-

The room was empty.

Thor scanned the room, looking for any sign of his brother. The walls, the slab of rock, the ceiling; everything was clean. There were no signs of torture, no signs of death.

Brokk had cleaned up quickly.

Thor turned to leave, but not before something caught his eye. He circled the slab of rock, and bent down to pick up the object. It was a needle, a small one, soaked with dried blood.

There was something else underneath it. Thor's heart almost stopped as he picked up the ripped black cloth that was drenched in dried blood. Why rip your clothes before you kill yourself?

He balled it up in his hand and retreated from the room. This was no regular punishment. This was torture.


EDITED: 27 July 2014