These books were incredible but they were also extremely challenging. Jane leaned forward on her elbows and pressed her hands against her temples in frustration. It had been a few years since she'd truly been in the position of ignorant student, and if she was being honest even then she'd already had years of autodidactic training so it hadn't been as bad as this. She was a complete novice, not only ignorant of the content but even the terms, it was like learning a whole other language. True there were crossovers and parallels with the science she'd always known and loved, but it wasn't enough to make it easy. There was just so much to know, and once she got past the knowledge there was the application to face.

For that reason she was more than a little relieved when the door opened to reveal Thor's immaculate and unreadable genius brother. She looked up like a starving woman who'd spotted a chef. "I still don't understand it all," Jane said by way of greeting.

Loki didn't try to look surprised. "Of course you don't," he said, staring down his nose at her before pulling a chair up beside her.

She sat up and stretched, using the distraction to give herself time to think about what to say next. It was hazy but Jane remembered the aether acting up, and a steel-eyed Loki there with his hands resting on her like some sort of dark angelic healer. Thor had mentioned it, which confirmed that she hadn't been imagining the pain that night or the unlikely source of her relief. It would be natural to express gratitude, except for one inconvenient matter. She really didn't want to dwell on the fact that she'd been alone in bed in the middle of the night when she'd needed him. Granted, she knew that was ridiculous, the only terms of his parole were that he help her in every way so if that's what it took then that was fine. It just seemed strange to her. He might be the God of Mischief, but he was still a man.

"Sorry about the other night," she said quickly. And that was as much as she was going to say. "Now, as far as I can tell, the most important thing I need to know right now is how to create a connection between my consciousness and-"

"The other night?" Loki asked.

She ignored him. "As far as I can tell, the most important thing I need to know is-"

"It was nothing," he said . "You are quite beautiful when you sleep."

Jane looked up at him. "Don't even start."

He merely looked at her, amusement dancing in his eyes, before gesturing to the books in front of her. "We will get to your consciousness. The first thing you will need to understand is that those who are born with magic don't experience resistance, because there is no surplus energy. Their matter, their mass, the magic will make up a certain percentage of it. But with you, the power is foreign, your body ill-equipped, and bit by bit parts of what used to make up Jane Foster are being displaced."

"Excuse me?"

"Surely they told you. It is unlikely you will die before any of us, now."

They hadn't told her. Jane's thoughts raced within her. She was being turned into an Aesir. She could stay in Asgard forever. Darcy wasn't going to believe this.

"Of course you still aren't Aesir," Loki drawled, as though sensing her thoughts, and her cheeks burned, "but you will live and you will have a certain measure of power."

"How much?" she asked. "As much as you?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because I am your superior."

Jane shot him a look. He didn't look like he was teasing her. "They have to keep me locked up in Asgard. SHIELD basically kicked me off the planet. C'mon. I've got to be a little powerful."

"You have far more magic than Thor," Loki said blandly. Jane wasn't sure if that was a compliment or an insult, so she let it slide.

As the day wore on, Jane was surprised to realize that Loki was; aside from being an apparent mass-murdering sociopath; genuinely and completely brilliant. He met her every question with answers that were detailed and succinct all at once, and seemed to have every single book in that room memorized. He understood the ins and outs of magic as though he had created it.

She studied his face, remembering when she'd seen it on TV. Even with the calamity he wrought upon New York, that wasn't the whole story. He had saved she and Thor. His mother had died because of her, and he was helping her anyway. A bit of human decency arose within her and she decided to give in to it. "Loki," she said. He looked up, his blue-grey eyes open and quizzical, completely caught up in the flow of their work. "I want to thank you, sincerely," she said. His expression changed but she pressed on. "For being there when we needed you. For helping me now. I'm grateful, I just wanted to say thankyou for all that."

His face was that of a man thoroughly enraged and misunderstood. Oops. Jane instantly regretted bringing up the past. He stood up to tower over her, and while he was of a scholarly nature she realized he was still a trained warrior. She had seen him in action, had seen him in chains, and knew those chains had been for good reason. Jane stayed still, not wanting to do anything more to set him off. She'd been warned that he was somewhat unpredictable. She would be okay though, if she didn't push it. She didn't see what he could possibly do to her with the terms of their agreement being what they were. She swallowed nervously.

"Do not mistake me for a hero, Miss Foster," he said. "We reserve that title for golden idols like your musclebound ill-considered Thor. I have no interest in your worthless gratitude. Everything I have done, everything I do now, everything I will ever do I will do on my own behalf. Your compassion is as offensive as it is misdirected."

"You're much more insightful than Thor," she said idly, finding herself strangely amused. Aside from the scary factor there was something endearing about his little rants. He was like one of those cartoon supervillains.

His expression faltered. "Thankyou?"

She decided to throw him a bone. "I know that you are selfish. I understand your motives are not what mine would be, or what Thor's are. However, I have my own set of standards that I live by. I believe in gratitude." Loki scoffed. Jane ignored him. "It's not right for your actions to go unacknowledged. I wouldn't like it if you didn't know I was appreciative. This is about me, not you. There, see? I can be selfish too."

"But can appreciation change the past, Miss Foster?" Loki leaned over her. Jane tried not to move, knowing that if she backed down now it would set a precedent for all their future meetings, but was forced to look up. Her heat pounded nervously and she hoped she was right that he wouldn't hurt her. "Can appreciation change that I killed so many of your people, that I unmade your dear friend Dr. Selvig?"

Jane took in a sharp breath, knowing she shouldn't be shocked at his low blow but unable to help it. She hadn't forgotten what he'd done. She hadn't forgotten the state Eric was in afterwards, how the man was left scrambling for sanity, no longer there for her as the stand-in father she so badly needed, no longer there as a scientist, forced to rely on drugs for a decent night's sleep. And for a moment she was furious. For a moment she wanted to slap his face and make him suffer for the pain he had caused. Judging by the speculative look on his face he saw her struggle before she could hide it. That made her want to hate him even more, but she pushed the desire aside, took a deep breath. Reminded herself how things had turned out, reminded herself that she didn't understand what had made Loki into what he was.

"You didn't unmake him," she said quietly, "and no, it can't." She met his eyes. "But forgiveness can. Eric got over it, and domination is what you guys do, right? I've read the stories."

"The stories." His expression was unreadable. His tone was patronizing.

"And aside from that fact," she said, again pushing back that desire to lash out, "there's the fact that I don't negotiate with bitterness." It sounded lame and trite to her own ears but she was too stubborn to take it back. She meant what she said. That kind of darkness brought nothing but terror, as any psych major could tell you. She wouldn't give it a foothold.

Loki peered down at her while she returned his look without a trace of fear or guile. For all her idealistic quackery, he recognized that there was iron in her. He had a feeling if he allowed her to bring him down this path of conversation it would somehow leave him looking foolish and exposed. This was not the time or place to show her the error of her ways. Something inside of him retreated. He took a step away from her. "We were bound to have our differences of opinion," he said shortly. "I tire of this. If the same idiotic part of you that makes you love my bloodthirsty brother compels you to forgive me, that is hardly relevant to our working relationship. I would advise you not to confuse trust with forgiveness."

Jane thought that was excellent advice. There was an atmosphere around Loki, a sort of dark thrum she didn't understand. A scientist knew to respect what they did not understand.

"Now, let us move on to some practical lessons. The sooner you can control the power you carry, the sooner both of us can leave." He looked upwards. "Thank the Fates there's an end in sight."

She released the breath she'd been holding and nodded her agreement. Yes, the sooner she got this down and got back to living life, the better. He took his place beside her and Jane once again studied his expression. He took her hand. Jane jerked back, but Loki made a tutting noise and held on gently. That's when she felt the coolness of the magic she'd already grown used to and begun to take for granted slowly recede from her body. Frightened, she looked up at him. He met her gaze.

"You can't rely on my power to save you forever. It could have...repercussions. I was under the impression that the goal was for you to have the ability to control yourself, to live life safe and happy and in love with Thor the Great forever." His sarcasm did not go unnoticed by Jane, but she didn't pull away. "As it stands, you couldn't even sit down for tea with my thick-headed brother without hurting him."

Jane nodded, then mostly out of loyalty she said, "He's not thick-headed."

"I believe in honesty," he mocked, holding a hand over his heart. "I don't negotiate with falsehood."

"Not what I heard," she muttered. He laughed a little. Jane looked around inside herself and found the aether. It burned, but it was steady. She looked at Loki. "Are you going to let go of my hand?"

Without breaking eye contact he let go, leaned back in his chair and folded his arms over his head. She barely had time to know what happened. Power surged up inside her, pushed itself against her veins so that it felt like she would burst, and then fire shot out from her. Jane cried out and sunk back in her seat, shaking. Loki now had his eyes closed as though he were asleep. She could just barely see the ripples of the barrier he'd put around himself. Infuriated, she opened her mouth to ask for help, when another surge overtook her.

This time, it didn't just go outwards, but inwards. Searing pain in her bones, in her stomach, in her head, pounding and burning like a migraine all over. She felt cold hands on her shoulders, and everything subsided. Jane sank in relief. Her whole body shook.

Loki looked around at the damage to the room and shifted his gaze to her, taking in the tears in her eyes and the sweat dotting her brow. He nodded slowly. "It would seem the wisest course of action is that I assist you until you can control it on your own, wouldn't you say?"

That was perfectly fine with her. Jane nodded. "Right."

Loki examined the room again and shook his head. "Good grief woman."

For some reason, even though it hurt, she couldn't help but laugh.

Loki felt highly ambivalent to his present circumstance. The pillars of the throne room cast cool shadows across the ground, creating line after line leading to the seat that held the All-Father, who observed them coldly with his one eye. At his right hand sat Thor. Conspicuously absent was the Queen. Loki stood before them in a line of warriors, including Fandral, Volstagg, and the Lady Sif. He put his hands behind his back, remembering a time he'd stood here in chains. "Excellent idea, including me. Really, I'm proud of you all for making such a wise decision."

"Still that lying tongue or I will still it for you," Sif said, holding a sword out at him.

Loki smiled. "Try."

Sif made a move but it was too slow, Loki had materialized behind her, wrested the sword from her grasp, and reappeared leaning casually against a pillar, examining its blade. He tutted. "Have you been cleaning this properly?"

"Coward," she spat. "One day your magic will fail and I will run my sword through your flesh."

"Enough, both of you. Loki, give the sword back," Thor said tiredly. Loki did a little bow and tossed the sword to Sif, who caught it deftly, still glaring at him. Loki moved back to his place before the throne and Thor continued. "I asked that you be included because I know your gift for counsel and strategy."

Sif looked like she was going to burst a blood vessel. "Thor I must ask you to send him away, surely you realize he will use this position to bring ruin to us all! Will you never learn? Who knows what creature he may be conspiring with at this very moment?"

"Jane Foster, perhaps?" Loki asked drily.

"He has a point, Lady Sif," Volstagg said apologetically. "There's no creature for him to talk to, not while he's got those things on." He gestured to the individually cuffed wrists at Loki's back. Loki's was careful not to react, though he did not relish the reminder.

"I would not put it past him to find a way," she hissed, sheathing her sword with more force than necessary. The ring of its blade echoed against the walls.

Loki looked up at the throne. Odin had stood to his feet. "While Loki's actions have been deceptive, he did not betray Asgard in the battle against the Dark Elves, nor has he harmed the mortal of Midgard. At the end of his current arrangement he will be free. For the moment it serves my purpose to have him here."

His word was law. This was a strange turn of events. Loki eyed the All-Father with a mix of longing and disdain, grateful to be standing in this room again and yet hating him for the invitation, knowing that the son at his right hand was the only son, and Loki the stray from a cursed race. He had no legitimate claim to be here, less claim than the thick-skulled warriors at his right and left. The strain of keeping a carefree mask on his face made his stomach sick with hate. Or was that sorrow?

"Exactly what purpose does it serve?" Loki asked carefully. He and Odin locked eyes.

"Loki," Thor said despairingly, "please. Please, brother."

"I am no brother of yours," he said quietly, sending him a look that was almost apologetic. "What matter requires my input?"

"The events leading up to and during the Convergence have left many in the realms wondering whether greater measures than the might of Asgard and its warriors must be taken to ensure their safety."

"Define safety," Loki said quickly.

"They are afraid of what they do not know. Skirmishes have broken out because the beings and inhabitants of each realm are no longer certain that the sky will not simply open and bring their destruction." Odin sat back in his chair. "What assurance can a king offer for such a fear? They have taken to chaos, living each for the moment he is in."

"We will go to them individually and tell them that our sword is a greater threat than anything in the sky above them," Sif said confidently. "We will give them a sense of unity, restore their trust."

"I do not think -" Loki was cut off.

"There are also rumours," Thor said, "that the Chitauri have regrouped and are forming new plans to attain power, something that will make them all greater and more fierce."

"That's hardly anything new and they hardly have a good track record," Fandral said glibly, shooting Loki a glance.

Loki pretended not to feel a chill go through him, remembering the mistakes he'd made when the grief of his true parentage had been fresh.

"Are these skirmishes connected to the Chitauri?" Volstagg asked.

"These are two separate issues," Sif insisted. She appealed to the All-Father. "Let us go and calm the people. We will send word to the eyes and ears of Asgard and they will tell us if there is anything more to this other threat."

While the conversation continued, Loki remained silent, thinking. Something inside of him stirred to life, the part of him that grew up in Asgard, learning the ways of the realms, seeking after the greatest plan for the greatest good. It had always been fun for him, out-thinking the warriors, finding the path that was neither A nor B. After a few minutes he shook his head to clear it. Looked up.

"Your priorities are reversed," he said, and immediately the simple authority in his voice silenced the room. The All-Father raised his chin, appraising him quietly. Loki continued, "Any unrest in the realms is ideal to cover the trail of a greater threat seeking opportunity. If your information is accurate and it is power they seek, which I humbly assert is most likely," he said with a touch of embarrassment he couldn't quite conceal, "then your plan is to take the soldiers you can spare and give them watch over the most likely sources of power. Cover your resources. The unrest in the realms has naught to do with a questioning of Asgard, it is a matter of rattled nerves, nothing more. They do not need our warriors."

"And what exactly does the traitor of Asgard suggest they do need, since he is so expert on feelings?" Sif asked with false sweetness.

Loki raised a brow at her and spread his hands expressively. "A banquet."

Fandral laughed. Thor looked confused.

"A banquet." Lady Sif was clearly offended.

"Many banquets," Loki clarified. He glanced up at Thor, knowing his brother would see the point of this faster than his companions. "They're just a little shaken, brother. Send food and resources for the people to enjoy themselves and they'll recover. They have seen enough of swords."

"Damn it to Hel, I think the Silvertongue may be right," Fandral said.

"May be so," Volstagg agreed. He turned to Sif. "We will rend Chitauri flesh when we find what they are doing, show our swords to them."

Lady Sif stared calmly at the All-Father, awaiting his instructions.

"We will do as Loki says," he commanded. "Put someone in charge of the spread of celebration through the realms, and offer any other relief they may require. Thor, take your warriors and learn what you can of any potential threat. Attain a list of resources most likely to benefit the Chitauri in all the realms and have them secured."

Agreement came from all around, and the gathering was adjourned.

Loki left the room before anyone, feeling the weight of Odin's gaze on his back.