He awoke often through the night after once again being placed in the dark stone cell, the glowing cube had seized his mind and entered his dreams.
He could now feel the presence of the man he had taken control of, his name was Erik Selvig, and the taller man was named Fury. He had watched Selvig in his mind as he pored over notes on the cube and run tests on it, they had called it the Tesseract. It had been used by the humans before in one of their many wars; a mere mortal had attempted to harness its power and had driven himself to insanity. The Tesseract was then recovered from the ocean and tested on in secret by a man named Stark, until he was unexpectedly killed and it became the property of the organization he helped create, SHIELD, which Fury was in command of.

Selvig was dedicated and tireless in his efforts, but easily moulded, he would obey his new King without question. But as yet he knew not what design these creatures that imprisoned him had, for him or the cube.
Inside his own mind Loki watched on fearfully, watching to as Selvig worked; all that he saw became what Loki saw. This was a strong enchantment; he could not imagine how he butcher had achieved it.
He continued to watch and listen and think on all he perceived nonetheless, perhaps he could uncover a way to become free of their hold.

His treatment had improved somewhat since his braking, food and water was scarce but it did come, they had re-bandaged his wounds and given him strong sedatives, no doubt to keep him in a state of confusion and control. He had gained a small amount of strength that allowed him to bind his ribs with a spell once again, and to clothe himself simply so as to gain a small amount of comfort and dignity from his predicament.
They had said nothing more, save that he must wait until needed and had led him back to the cell and left him. He awaited now further orders.

Time passed slowly. His pain had lessened and his wounds had finally healed, but he was still weak and in pain from his many days and nights of torment.
Another week slipped by and he watched Selvig go about his business. He had returned home, to the desert town that Thor had found himself in, undoubtedly Selvig had been one of the mortals he had allied himself to during his time on Midgard.
Selvig met with two women who seemed to be his companions, he named one of them Jane, yes that was Thor's woman. She was fair to look on, her eyes sparkled in amber settings, her mahogany hair framed her delicate face, he could see why Thor had become enamoured.
Loki recalled the words he had spat at this brother in his anger, it seemed so long ago now; 'I'll pay her a visit myself!' He shuddered, those words had been harsh, spoken in the heat of anger and desperation to provoke Thor, to stir him to rage, his cause was a hopeless one at that point and he had become fey and desperate. But in these fraught and oppressive days he did wonder what would have happened if he had gone to her; if he had fallen into her desert rather than this cell, it would have been a better fate than the one in which he had found himself that was certain.

For a short time Loki had gained control of his mind once again, but the reality of his predicament, the pain of his body and the distress of his confused mind caused him to stumble, and fall into the corner of his cell. His head reeled and vision blurred and he vomited; the food they had provided disagreeing and adding to his discomfort, he felt like death and he wished for it to take him. Sinking to his hands and knees and trembling through lack of strength and energy, the turmoil of his mind and the pain of his body.
With an effort he drew up his knees, holding them tightly with his arms and slumped into the corner, eyes closed and head bowed. His mother's melody rose to ease him, allowing him to fall into an uneasy slumber.

His dreams where harrowing, he dreamt he was cast into a fire which burned him for eternity but that never died or allowed him to do so. He dreamt of a hideous face with eyes of sapphire in a leathery hide, leering and taunting him from the edge of the fire, feeding it with lies and false promises to make it burn fiercer. The fire took him and deposited him on Midgard where it raged and destroyed an entire city of man, the people screamed in terror, pleading for the fire to quench itself, but it did not. It consumed all of humanity and then itself, and he screamed at its heart unable to quell or control it, as in the end it consumed even he. Sapphire eyes pierced the ashen skies and mockingly laughed him into his grave.

Loki awoke with a start, the laugh had not ceased but continued to echo round his mind and it seemed also around the cell itself, he held his hands to his ears, the heat had also increased and he had woken in a sweat.
The gauntleted hand of a guard appeared out of the shadows and took a fistful of his lank hair, pulling his head backwards; he felt hot odious breath on his face but kept his eyes closed fearfully. Another hand attached a device to his arm which administered his sedative; his limbs relaxed, hands fell down from his face and his head rolled backwards, mouth hanging open and eyes staring dull and blankly into the dark as Loki lost hold of himself and returned to his shackles.
'Arise King!' Came a voice from the shadows, a voice he did not know, save that he knew it owned the laugh he had heard. He got to his feet unquestioningly and was seized again and moved towards the door. He was led in the opposite direction to the lab, and did not resist the beast that guided his steps. Once out of the corridor he was turned down to the left hand passage and into a control room containing glowing alcoves set into the walls and a large panel set on a pedestal. He was placed in an alcove and the creature turned to the control panel and typed in commands, he felt his body tingle and was surrounded by light. A moment later he found himself on a plateau over looking a vast starfield, as busy as Asgard's skies but with no familiar point of light or planetoid for him to make a bearing on. The sky glimmered as though strewn with jewels in a dusky haze.
He turned his back on the stars and toward a rock face, volcanic in formation and as black as the night surrounding it. Out of the shadow of the rock stepped a figure, akin to the butcher in form, his eyes where covered by a low cowl and his face was contained in a metal framework. His chest bear, but for a partial armoured plate which stretched down his torso.
'Welcome King!' He spoke in a raspy voice. 'He awaits you on the stair.' The creature gestured to his right where was seen a broad stair well that hung in space, curving away into the black. He started towards the stair and the creature followed behind tentatively. The steps where spaced for someone with a much larger gait than his own so that it was an effort to reach each one. There was no parapet either side, and the edge and the space between each step fell away into the black nothingness.

He reached the top and found himself on another rock hanging in the void, a wide, flat area in the bowl of a crater it seemed, the boundaries where jagged black rock surrounded him on all sides but the one from which he came. In the centre stood a plinth and upon it the back of a large chair; a throne of stone and polished metal that gleamed dully, it looked out into the darkness without.

'Master,' Spoke the creature that followed behind, 'the King, he is here.' A shape rose from the throne, a vast and intimidating form, it wore armour under heavy robes and a helm in the form of a crown. The shape turned, the large, strangely hued face, it was the same as he had seen in the dream, leered down at him. Its huge mouth in an unpleasant smile, its wrinkled countenance contorted unpleasantly, its eyes shone, sapphire eyes as bright as flame, and flame burned in their depths.
'Good!' It spoke, the deep voice shaking him to his core like rumbling thunder. The figure approached; 'I am Thanos,' he addressed him. 'But you will soon come to call me lord and father. Won't you approach, King? I have much to share with you!'
He took a few hesitant steps toward the vast form, very aware of his relative size, as well as his dishevelled and worn appearance.
'Our King is weak, frail, are you not little lord?' He nodded, his head bowed. 'No matter, we shall reform you, none shall stand against your might and all will kneel! Come forward!' The creature stood before him now, menacing, overshadowing him.
'Look at me, King!' he commanded, his head raised slowly, fixing his eyes on those sapphire ones, and the creature roared the same terrible laugh as before.
'Oh yes, you will lead them, you will have victory, I have no doubt.' His large hand raised and set against the King's chest. 'But first you must relinquish yourself, now! Your heart, your freedom, all that you are, give it up, give it to me; your new father, your new god that I might rule you!'
He felt the life rush from him suddenly, his heart surrendered his spirit and the cold of the void and its blackness arose in its place.
Empty and still.
Then sapphire filled the void; a blue flame burning bright and strong drew him back from the brink, and he gasped as one coming to the surface of a deep lake, he dropped to his knees before the creature as the flames filled and consumed him.
Loki felt himself burn, the flames rose up and surrounded him, licking at his bars and shackles, but he was unable to cry out or escape, he was trapped, mute and immobile.
'Your little voice has been contained; you are now mine, King!' He spoke mockingly, looking down at his small bowed form. 'I didn't even need to ask you to kneel!'
He turned and passed away from him, toward the far edge of the crater, then turned back, fixing him with a hard and ruthless gaze that penetrated and froze. 'We may now speak of greater matters, and the glorious purpose for which we have called you! Sit! I will show you your kingdom.' He gestured to the chair and the King rose from his knees and took his place unquestioningly. Its size dwarfed him, he felt like a child that had climbed into the throne of a great king.
'Now, what is it you see?' The vision of a sphere, shinning and beautiful like a delicate blue and green opal rushed into his perception.
'My kingdom!' He answered. 'It stands on a small distant world, a world I know.'
'What world, King? Where is it you will rule?'
'Midgard.' Came the firm and certain reply.
'Then I shall show you how to claim it. Turn your mind, seek the cube, it is your key and your royal sceptre, do you see it?'
'Yes, I cannot unsee it!'
'Good, you must possess this wondrous thing; only with it will you throw them down and cause them to fall before you! I will show you what you must do; teach you what you must know, and prepare you for the battles to come. I will give you an army and the power to lead them.'
'I will do what you ask of me.' He replied; the hunger and desire of the flame that consumed and held his will burned strongly.
'I know you shall, King!' He came close and whispered; 'I would not like to see anything untoward befall the dear mother of the once Loki of Asgard if you did not!'
His hands gripped the arms of the thrown, the taunt had cut deeply, his dying heart beat strong and clear. Loki tried to cry out, to struggle and break free but the more he resisted the tighter his bonds became.
A vision appeared before the King's eyes of a woman in chains, starved, broken, her virtue and her crown dashed to pieces. A tear escaped his eyes; he bore his teeth and yelled in anguish.
'No! Don't hurt her, please! I will obey you unquestioningly. I will give you all that I am, my undying loyalty and devotion. You have my heart, my soul; you do not need her also!' The creature laughed manically.
'I will not need her as long as I have you, King. But if you fail me it will not be my hand that slays her, but yours!'
Loki panted in his frustration, sorrow and rage, he could not break free and it exhausted him to try, so he was forced to watch and listen as the words fed the fire, just as it had in his dream. He did not know if this vision was a lie, some enchantment to trick him, or if it was truth, he only knew for certain that the last of him had been stolen away. He had no more secrets to keep from them, and if their minds now turned to Asgard it would surly fall, if their might was as great as they claimed. And even if not, this terrible creature, this Thanos would have little trouble bending others to his will and using his secrets against him and all he loved.
'I won't let them harm you!' He swore, pleading for his mother's safety. 'If they do, they shall pay dearly!'
He set his will and might on that promise, even if it cost his own life, he would not let their cruel desires come to fruition, and he would never allow them to win.