Chapter 9: The Vow

He was rather surprised when he wasn't imprisoned in his infirmary room or any other sort of cell. Instead, he was free to wander around the Helicarrier, provided there was always someone with him. They were fools to think his only weapon was his magic. He still had the strength of a Jotun monster, and he still has his cunning. He could send the aircraft hurtling down to Earth, he could make them turn on Fury completely, he could do anything he wanted, really, except find Harry. That was what was agitating him.

Someone walked up to him on the bridge as he was ruminating on these thoughts. "I don't get it," Agent Barton started. "I...you said that you needed this kid protected so that someone wouldn't destroy the world you were trying to conquer. Why is he the threat now, and why are you helping us?"

Hm. Apparently Barton remembered well his words and remained unsatisfied with his last answer. Well, the archer did sufficiently know him after such a long time in servitude to be suspicious of him. Loki shrugged and searched for the lie and affectation he wanted to use. He settled on blasé. "I wanted Potter ruling at my side. It seems his efforts have been noticed by even non-magical people, so he obviously wasn't as impressive as I thought. Regimes change all the time, just ask your lady-friend."

"You leave Agent Romanoff out of this," Barton growled. Successfully distracted. But now the man was offended and about to leave.

Loki so wanted the Barton he once knew. He remembered pouring out his worries to this man, but though they were both here, not a shred of loyalty for Loki survived within him.

"Agent Romanoff?" Loki asked, feigning confusion. Then, smiling as if he had just lit upon something, he crooned, "Ah, you mean Tasha. Dear, sweet Tasha." Oh, Barton was positively steaming with hatred. It was better than his apathy, better than seeing him leave. "Tell me, Clint, have you started courting her yet?" Fight me!

The blush spreading to the archer's cheeks was a wonderful thing to behold.

"Why are you baiting him?" interrupted the man who could turn into a green ogre.

Loki twisted his attention to the man. Why? Perhaps because he missed Barton's company. Or, he amended, perhaps it was because despite his penchant for lies, Loki himself could not abide those who broke their oaths. Yes, that made more logical sense. Heimdall, the Warriors Three, Sif...even Odin. Loki once considered the man his father, but that was a time long ago, before the Chitauri and before the void. Traitors, all of them.

But before him now was one who never really swore an oath to him, he thought as his shoulders sagged the slightest bit. Yes, Barton had pledged his loyalty often, but it was under the influence of the gem, and Loki knew that nothing was true when under its influence. He should not hold Barton accountable, nor should he imagine that this was the same man who listened to him and told him his life story. Yet, this was the worst because Loki had fallen into the farce and had trusted the man anyway.

It was no one's fault but Loki's.

"No reason, he is just the easiest to bait. I well remember how you responded to my words." In all honesty, he was thankful to Dr. Banner. It was his pounding that apparently restored the entirety of Loki's mind. What a mockery, that a simple thrashing could kill the gem's control. To think, he wasn't even slammed unconscious, and the blue had retreated.

"Yeah...I'm mostly sorry for that."

Loki scoffed. "Mostly? You should not be sorry at all. With an invader in your homeland, you should have done that from the first. Would have saved everyone a grand headache." Loki could only imagine what would have transpired had the Hulk, as they called him, smashed him with such force aboard the helicarrier. The portal likely wouldn't have been opened. Loki could have probably transported himself to UK and stayed there to covertly help Harry, and no destruction would have been wrought that day. The Chitauri would still be after him, but that was no different from now.

The scientist raised an eyebrow. "Really? I'll remember that for next time."

Loki hunched his shoulders, remembering the helpless feeling of being repeatedly slammed into Stark's flooring. Being here was stupid. This was pointless.

He couldn't even project himself to see how Harry was doing, with his magic completely bound again. That was a huge negative aspect to this whole plan, that he could not use his magic. He needed a way around that.

"So did they just lock you up in Asgard all this time?" Barton asked, sounding honestly but begrudgingly curious. It surprised Loki that he hadn't left yet. The man probably just wanted to know that Loki suffered.

Well, no need to make him happy. "Yes, I was locked up," he responded tersely. In the deepest dungeons of Asgard, swept aside and forgotten, written out of everyone's life as if he had never existed.

"With access to your magic?"

Loki suppressed his wince.

"Some," he responded quietly. Not enough.

Yes, he'd had access to his magic, but very little of it. And only enough to keep him alive each day. He had tried a few times to project himself to Midgard and to seek Harry. He had dismantled the tracing spell back when he had healed the boy's snakebite, and now he had no way of finding the boy. There was no tesseract, no luck, nothing. Each trip weakened him and made him more susceptible to...his rehabilitation, he supposed.

He could still feel the effects, and he could still imagine the muzzle and the chains at first, and then the venom on his eyes. When he tried to heal the damage to his eyes back in his cell, nothing came of it. Either he needed stronger magic, or the impairment could not be fixed with his weak magic. Other than his eyes, the punishments left no lasting impression, so that in case Frigga or Odin or Thor visited (Loki laughed to himself, for Thor visited only the once), there would be no questions. Odin had visited not at all, and Loki had no way of knowing if the king were responsible for his suffering, or if he had delegated the specifics to another.

"You okay?" sir?

Loki swallowed. He remembered a time when Clint used to ask that with more concern in his voice. As it was...

"Hey, what's wrong with him?"

There was just this acid in his voice. It seemed Barton's period as Loki's minion was so terrible for him. Loki seethed. "Tell me, do you have nightmares of your time in my service?"

Barton grew taut.

"Hey, there's no need for that kind of talk," said the timid man, Dr. Banner. He was looking apprehensive, and though Loki was grateful to the Hulk for snapping him from the gem's power, he did not wish to see the giant again so soon.

Loki relaxed into the soft leather chair. It was a great improvement to the hard bench in his Asgardian cell. "I was merely curious. I still have nightmares after all," he said flippantly. There was a part of him that wanted them all to realize that he was at the Chitauri's mercy just as much as Barton was at his. And yet, there was a conflicting part of his mind that reminded him that they hadn't been bound in the same way, that Loki had more autonomy and had made all of his decisions consciously.

No, he would not appear weak. However...he glanced at the archer. From what he'd observed, no one considered Barton weak. No one was holding him at arm's length for the things he had done under the gem's control.

Would they accept Loki as well? He had tried to destroy Jotunheim. He had tortured and then killed the magic-man whom he now knew to call Sirius. He had tried to save Midgard by conquering it. All were crimes he had deliberately committed. He had failed, and now He was going to collect his debts. He was a monster and a killer. No one could accept him. No one ever should.

"You have nightmares?" Banner asked Loki. Barton had not answered.

Loki considered the scientist and humored the man's question. "Ah, yes. Nightmares of golden sunsets and mortals living their lives without me as their king. The usual, you see," he lied.

"Hey, you brought this up. Now you have to talk about it."

Loki rolled his eyes. "A world without me as conqueror is a nightmare."

Barton whipped his attention to him. It seemed he was finally incensed enough to lash out at him. "You can quit talking about your stupid daydreams," he hissed. "You don't know what it's like, to be back in those sewers, thinking things one way when you know they're not right. Doing things that you think are good for humanity, when in reality, it's pure evil. Then waking up and not being sure that you control your own mind at all. You can't possibly know what it's like!"

Loki chuckled. "Oh, yes, I can't possibly know. My bad, Agent Barton," he said, using the colloquial term the archer himself had taught him. "Forgive me for being so presumptuous." He stood and laughed himself all the way back to his room.


"Okay, we're getting strange gamma readings from London most of all. Followed by Wiltshire, places up in Scotland, Yorkshire, Ottery St. Catchpole, and Cornwall. Dr. Banner, can you interpret them?"

"Ah, so they have need for you, and not merely for your irate counterpart?" asked Loki, as he followed Bruce around the bridge.

Bruce didn't know why the god was following him for the past few days. It was difficult to be annoyed with him, however, as he looked nothing like the man who tried to take over the world. He still had a smooth, pale complexion and the same arrogant expression, but he just looked...unhealthy.

Guiltily, he was relieved that there were still cuffs on the man's hands, though he couldn't help wishing that they'd kept the muzzle on. "I'm a, uh, pretty sophisticated scientist when it comes to gamma radiation," he said cautiously. How much information was safe to give to the god of mischief?

Loki frowned. "What does that science have to do with magic?"

It was a fair question, and Bruce was usually happy to answer the interesting questions of those inquisitive enough to come up with them. "A lot of times, we see a concentration of gamma radiation wherever we see lots of what others call magic. It's never high enough to be damaging, but high enough to be traced. The relationship is still unclear."

There was a pleased look upon the god's face, and Bruce wasn't wholly comfortable with it. "Uh, could someone remind me why Loki's walking around without a gun trained to his chest?"

The smug look fell, much to Bruce's relief. "I am deemed harmless enough with these binding my magic. However, in case something magical occurs, your Man of Iron requested I be present to translate."

A good explanation, but not one he liked. He decided to ignore the worry-inducing man, instead occupying himself with fiddling with the computers a bit and glancing at the maps a bit more. "Okay, so I've kind of pinpointed the energy. Don't let the cloaking go away since we're low enough that the populace will see us," he instructed those manning the flight computers.

"So quickly?" asked Loki. There really was no ignoring him.

"The Helicarrier can move pretty quickly when it wants to," Agent Maria Hill told him. Bruce didn't know if they had ever met, and he figured it was only polite to introduce them. Also, maybe Loki would find another target for his unnerving presence.

"Loki, this is Agent Maria Hill. Maria, this is Loki Odins-"

"Just Loki," he interrupted. He looked at her entire form and nodded. "I know of this woman. Barton regaled me with stories of all the agents he knew at SHIELD. If I remember correctly, he said you had no extraordinary powers, but would recommend you based on your quick thinking, competence, and organizational skills. However," he paused and smiled, "he never mentioned your beauty."

Agent Hill frowned but nodded. "I guess that's something of a compliment."

Loki's winning smile grew. "Fact, Lady Maria."

Well, the god could be a lady-killer if he ever tried. Even with his dingy clothing and thin face. Hill cleared her throat and went on her way with the lightest of pinks staining her cheeks.

"So um, were you popular with the ladies? You know, in Asgard?" Bruce found himself asking. He supposed he was trying to force himself to be comfortable in the man's presence while he was waiting for the aircraft to approach one of the gamma-heavy areas. Tony was busy tinkering with his suit, Clint wanted nothing to do with Loki, and everyone else had their assignments. He lamented to himself again: why was Loki following him of all people?

"When I lowered myself to that form of entertainment." Loki shrugged, an action that seemed unbecoming of him. "I did not often chase after women or battle. When I did go out, it was to explore the different realms disguised as a peasant. Otherwise, I spent my time researching in the library. Much like you, I imagine."

So...Loki thought they were alike? That was why he was following him? Bruce had to suppress a surprised cough.

"Are you hale, Dr. Banner?"

And now he was looking after his health? Bruce didn't know how much more he could take. The man wasn't being aggressive or irritating; he was just there, and Bruce couldn't relax while he was just there. "Yeah," he lied. He ignored Loki, turning his back to his screens, and interpreted the most intriguing readings he had seen in a while. "The stuff I'm getting from Wiltshire is really fascinating. London might have the most activity, but it's too densely populated and we shouldn't risk being seen. Director, set a course?" The readings were different in nature from the other ones, and he figured it would be the first place to investigate.

"To area 00HY, then. Get to it!" commanded Director Fury.

It was a good feeling, knowing that an entire helicarrier would do as he suggested if he said that gamma readings were doing one thing or another. He imagined that if he wanted, he could direct them all to Paris so he could get a real pain au chocolat. Or to India to pick up the pair of slacks he had forgotten was drying on a laundry line. This power was much better than any power the Hulk held.

"The other mortals respect you for your knowledge," Loki observed aloud.

Bruce wasn't sure what he was going for. "Yeah. And?"

"Nothing. I merely find it interesting." The god was frowning and looking out through the windows of the helicarrier. For the first time, Bruce wondered what Loki thought about in general. Surely, he couldn't always be thinking about ruling the world or subjugating mortals.

It seemed his questions would have to wait.

"You know," said Director Fury contemplatively, "I don't think we want to go to Wiltshire. Direct our course to another of those locations."

Although all evidence was pointing to Wiltshire, and although Bruce had definitely singled that one out, he found himself thinking the same. "You're right, Director. I'm sure one of the other locations would be good."

He looked to Loki, wondering what the god's opinion was. He was looking gravely at the readings, though the god couldn't possibly understand them.

"There is magic here," he said, "and it is deterring you."

"No, we're out to find the magic. Which is why we're gonna go somewhere else." Even to his own mind, it didn't make sense. Except...didn't he leave the stove on back home? He really needed to get back home.

Loki looked frustrated. "I am surrounded by weak-minded cretins! Someone must release me from these shackles!"

That grabbed Director Fury's attention. "No one listen to him!" He turned to the green-clad god and demanded, "Why do you think we'd ever do anything that stupid?"

"Because," Loki hissed, "there is an anti-muggle field here, as there likely is at every other place you will investigate. Think, Director. Would you really be worrying about your kitchen appliances at this time?" Loki shot a glance at Bruce.

That seemed to snap the Director out of his thoughts. How did Loki know what Bruce was thinking? Or was everyone else also worrying about their stoves and ironing boards accidentally being left on?

"Someone get Thor down here," Fury ordered.

The Helicarrier drifted away, as did Bruce's worries about his kitchen being set on fire. It was strange magic; apparently it could affect everyone in the vicinity. It seemed Thor was unaffected, though, as he questioned the Director.

"I know not why you were all affected, or even what this was. You say Loki has a theory?"

Finally, Loki spoke up. "Not a theory. I know. I can sense it. You can't, because you've never bothered to tear yourself away from knocking heads and laying women to study magic."

Bruce stifled his laughter. Loki just couldn't resist a jab at his brother, and it was proving highly amusing.

"Then enlighten us, Brother."

"Uh, not your brother," Bruce apprehensively said from Loki's side, predicting the phrase that almost left Loki's lips. The dark-haired god looked to him with appreciation.

"Finally, a mortal who understands me." Bruce really did not want to be complimented for that.

Turning back to Thor, Loki tried to explain the field. Bruce could imagine how frustrating it must have been, growing up alongside the big blonde man. As simple as the explanations got, Thor would pretend to understand up until Loki would ask, "So does it make sense now?" at which point, Thor would woefully shake his head and ask for a simpler explanation.

Finally, tired of watching Thor fail to understand the concept, Bruce interrupted. "So how do we cancel out the field? Is there anything we can do?"

Loki looked thankful that someone was actually listening to him. Ignoring his brother, he turned to Bruce. "Yes, but it would require me to cast some magic. And hold it in place."

Bruce narrowed his eyes. "Which means you want to be uncuffed and remain uncuffed."

"Absurd!" boomed Thor. "How can we trust that you would not simply vanish as soon as those cuffs are loosened?"

He had a point. Loki looked crestfallen. No doubt, this was part of his plan. "Shall I make a vow? Do you need collateral?" He looked even more disappointed. Everyone there knew Loki had no collateral, nothing at all to his name. More importantly, no one would ever trust his word.

Thor set his face into one of hard calm. "I think, Brother, that an Unbreakable Oath could be taken."

Loki's gaze hardened, as if he had expect this but didn't look forward to it. What was an Unbreakable Oath? And how do you make a promise unbreakable?

"Have care, Thor. Should you word this promise badly, you will not be the one suffering from its effects," Loki said mildly. So it was some Asgardian thing.

"Indeed," Thor said, some amusement lining his words. "So? Would you be prepared to do so?"

Loki appeared calm, but there was a sense of nervousness that only Bruce could smell. "Let it be so. Write out your promises first, so I do not accidentally swear to kill myself."

There was no smile on Thor's face when Loki acquiesced. Whatever this was, it was big. Given a sheet of paper, Thor scribbled out a few things and then handed it to Loki, along with the pen. Bruce watched as the younger god squinted at the terms, crossed some things out, chewed on the end of the pen, and then added some things.

In the meantime, Thor was explaining the nature of this Oath to Director Fury.

"It is called such because one who breaks the oath will die. It is used in cases such as these, when one party cannot be explicitly trusted. I can see no other way to ensure Loki's cooperation and to prevent the effects of this field."

"Cooperation, ha!" Loki said, coming back with the paper. He smacked the front it for emphasis. "Really? You expect me to agree to these terms? 'Will you perform no magic except that expressly requested by SHIELD?' And what happens, Thor, when I try to heal myself? Or if I must act in an emergency? You would have me dead! And you call me your dear brother..."

Bruce looked over the paper at the words that were crossed out and amended. Very little remained of Thor's handwriting. 'Will you swear allegiance to SHIELD and no other' was crossed out and replaced with the spidery but elegant scrawl: 'Will you protect those associated positively with SHIELD to the best of your ability and for the betterment of the world?' It was certainly more specific, and seemed almost too generous. Loki was offering to protect them.

Thor swept the paper away and looked at the conditions. He handed the paper over to Director Fury, who made a few changes and then handed it back to Loki. It changed hands quite a few more times, and after much arguing, grunting and outbursts, it seemed they were all finally in agreement.

Now, the binding. Bruce didn't realize how much he was looking forward to seeing this bit of magic cast. Now that the time was here, he was wondering if they would just sign some papers and go on with their lives.

Instead, they all relocated to Loki's sterile white room—they still hadn't relocated him from the sick-bay—and were joined by the other avengers. All technicians were gone, all other staff. Just them and Loki. Even Director Fury was absent. Was that part of the conditions?

The brothers knelt across from each other, grasping the other by the forearm. Thor looked quite intent on getting this right, and didn't glance at anyone else in the room. "You know the oath."

Loki didn't even nod. Bruce wondered how they would make a magic oath when Loki's magic was bound and Thor hardly knew one spell from another. His questions were answered when Loki began to speak in a mesmerizingly low voice:

"I call witnesses in evidence that I take an Oath upon the Ring." A golden band of light encircled the hands and pulsed as if it had its own heartbeat. "A lawful oath, so help me Frey and Njord and Almighty God, to perform everything as prescribed here until the day I perish."

Thor continued the ritual. "Will you, Loki, use your magic for the betterment of this realm, Midgard, and never for its destruction?

Loki looked him in the eye. "I will." A tendril of red light materialized from nowhere and loosely wrapped around their clasped hands. It seemed like a huge concession. Bruce figured it was like giving up villainy forever.

Thor continued. "And, should anyone in this room ask you to cease your magic for a time, will you do so, as long as either party considers this alliance valid?" Ah, so that was why they were all here. They would have some leverage over him. And that last clause was likely there for Loki's comfort.

The younger god seemed to hesitate, but it didn't last long. "I will." Another thin red light joined the first one.

"And will you assist and protect those in this room to the best of your ability as long as either party considers this alliance valid?"

As Loki uttered, "I will," a third red light twirled around the other lights. The three lights pulsed once within the larger gold one and then dissolved into their skin, leaving a pale discoloration on both their hands. As soon as the lights disappeared, Loki snatched his hand away and held it close to himself. Thor disengaged one of the handcuffs just as Loki waved his fingers to magically unclasp the other.

He flexed his long fingers once, and his threadbare clothing shimmered until he was wearing a version of the leather garb he used to wear. Thankfully, he had foregone the headgear. His hair straightened out, except for the faint curl at the ends, and the grease vanished. A healthier color now tinged his skin, and he seemed to be standing straighter. Now this looked like the Loki they had once fought in New York.

Bruce noticed, however, that Loki's face had filled out as well. Bruce didn't think magic could heal a person to that extent; gaining that much weight would send someone into shock. Either Loki used a lot of magic to fix all of his body's problems, or the picture of health was an illusion.

"Now then," he said with his eyes shining green—so green that Bruce swore it was fake—"it is time to dismantle some wards."


Edited 1/1/2015: I changed 'Vow' to 'Oath' because I remember a reviewer being skeptical about the gods having the same thing in Asgard. And (hey, I love languages) "Vow" is of Latin origin, and "Oath" is Germanic. I figured Norse alien gods' words would be more Germanic than Latinate. I took the first part of the Oath from the Landnámabók.