Loki woke and stared around the walls of the prison he knew so well and had never seen before. The glass cage was back.
"Enjoying your stay?" Loki whipped his head around to where Director Fury was standing
"Where's Amethyst?"
"That is none of your concern. You should be much more worried with what's going to happen to you."
"And what is that?"
"That depends"
"On what?"
"On who you are. See, I've been looking through file after file and there's nothing on you. No place of residence, no police records, no school reports nothing. It's like you just sprang out of nowhere."
"I'm homeless so what?"
"But that's not it, homeless people had homes, children always have someone looking for them. More than that, you slipped out of our net. I've been looking for you for years now and it takes a deserter agent to turn you in. Not even a good agent." Loki detected a note of bitterness in his voice which he didn't understand.
"Why were you looking for me years ago?"
"A tip off from an old informant. Here's the deal, I have enough information on you to keep you in prison for the rest of eternity. Any judge would send you down in seconds but my problem is I don't know who you are"
"So, drinks first?"
"No first I talk to my informant unless you'd like to tell me?"
"The only name I have ever had is Loki. I have lived nowhere permanently and I have seen more people on this ship than I have talked to in the last year."
"Okay" Fury turned away but then flipped the switch to open up the floor. Loki jumped and a sheen of frost spread from each hand. Fury nodded and shut the floor.
"You ain't going anywhere son" with that Fury strode from the room and Loki cradled his head in his hands.
Just outside the door the Avengers were waiting for Fury, the moment he stepped through Thor confronted him
"Is that my brother?"
"Yeah I think so."
"How?"
"That I don't know."
"May I see him?"
"You've got ten minutes and then you have to get out of there"
"Thank you Director"
"Sure sure" Fury strode down the corridor to his private meeting room. There he flicked on the lights and took in the figure standing behind the desk. He was in full battle armour as was custom for visiting diplomats. His armour glowed golden in the weak electric lights and in his hand he held a glowing blue star. As Fury entered the figure turned and glared at him with the figures one eye.
"Odin, good to see you again."
"What is so important you had to call me across the cosmos Fury?"
"Come" he beckoned Odin to a small screen which showed Loki in his cage as Thor entered
"You have a boy locked up."
"Look at his face Odin. I wouldn't have called you for something trivial." Odin glared into the screen as Loki turned to the door opening. Odins eye widened and his mouth dropped open.
Loki turned around to the sound of the door opening.
"Loki?" In a moment Loki was on the far corner of the prison cowering
"Please no."
"What is it?" Thor moved closer and Loki pressed himself right up against the glass. He knew this was silly but all he could see was Thor and his own final moments.
"Brother explain please, I mean no harm I wish only to know you"
"Go back to your land of golden wonder and leave me alone. I don't know you." Thor stared at Loki
"Then let me"
"No! I don't want you I want my life back!" the ice which had been steadily creeping along the cage leapt out at this point to a long pointed knife that hovered in the air just in front of Thor. Lokis eyes glowed blue as he pulled it back to attack Thor. In a matter of seconds he was on the floor again, gas spreading around him as Fury hit the emergency button to knock him out. Thor let ou a breath he didn't know he'd been holding as the ice shattered.
Up in their room Fury turned to Odin
"Who is he?"
"A Midgardian enslaved by my surplus Prince. Give him to me and I will train him differently. As soon as the Frost Giant Loki is dead your Luke will retain his soul. I can teach him a better way of life"
"Now hang on, you're telling me this kid is human? Trapped in there somewhere? I can't let you take him Odin. I'll give you the war criminal but this kid is innocent."
"Don't test my patience Fury"
"And don't test mine Odin. You know how difficult it is to kill me and it has only gotten more difficult since then." Odin looked into Fury's face for any sign of yielding, finding none he grunted
"Fine. I'll take my leave of this place. Teach the boy well Fury or he'll ruin the cosmos" Odin stared up and in an instant was gone, enveloped in golden light. The blue star remained on Fury's desk and he picked it up. It was another jewel of Odin's treasure room, a teleporting device which stimulated training. Fury had sent one of his best agents to get it half a year back and now she was lying drugged in a cell. Fury sighed and walked out of the room.
Odin sat concentrating; magic had never been his forte but he had some grasp over it. Slowly his body rippled and solidified into a body which had never been his. His hair lengthened and darkened, he grew taller and the years of ruling fell away. His misted eye grew sharp and glowed red before settling into a light blue. He raised his head, now a perfect imitation of the war criminal Loki Laufeyson. Once again he prepared his body for instantaneous moving to Midgard. At the same time Thor landed on Asgard with the true Loki. Odin opened his eyes to find himself on earth facing the child Loki. He was just coming round from the drug which Fury had released. He looked up at Odin and bowed his head. This was not proving to be a good day.
"What do you want?"
"I want nothing but knowledge, who are you?"
"I am" Loki of Earth paused, who was he? "I am nothing, I am no one."
"Not quite what I was looking for. You are me I am you. So I will do you a favour." Loki of Earth looked up at Odin with hope pouring out of his eyes "I shall release you and in three days' time you shall stand at the centre of a crossroads surrounded by woods. I shall transport you to Asgard and I shall keep you safe."
"Why?"
"Why not? But you have little time" Odin concentrated and saw in his minds eye Fury striding down the corridor well aware of what Odin was doing. He flicked his wrist and the glass shattered "Take my arm" Loki grasped the arm and found himself twisted through space to land on grass far below. Odin was nowhere to be found and Loki of Midgard simply whispered thanks to an empty sky before running off to the city in the distance where smoking bodies of dead aliens could be seen. Odin watched from above and began to order the servants to prepare a room. Training a frost giant would be difficult. They are little more than monsters after all.
