Loki woke up to a wrong-colored sky. It was only after a moment that he realized it wasn't so much sky as it was ceiling, and a high one at that (nowhere nearly as high as those on Asgard, but granted much higher than what he'd woken to for the last few years).
Loki pushed himself up, examining his surroundings. The room was relatively devoid of knick-knacks - rug on the floor, cabinet and closet, all imbued with a monochromatic scheme. A video camera hung out from near a corner of the wall, and Loki wasn't sure whether it was meant to be a warning or a ploy. But the door was closed.
Loki found himself relaxing. Stark hadn't kicked him out. Yet.
An android flew out of the wall. Loki's eyes widened as his completely-off reflexes flailed him about the bed. Scrambling, Loki poised himself to a position that would give him more leverage if he needed to bolt. The android offered him a smile.
"I'm glad to see you're awake. How do you feel?"
Still on guard, Loki examined the creature. His expression seemed sincere, although his build suggested he was strong in combat. Perhaps he was similar to Thor. Except, Loki reasoned, smarter.
"Well enough if you don't sneak up on me again." Loki actually did feel surprisingly alright. He had a minor headache, but considering the amount of magic he'd used, he figured he would have been in a much worse position.
"I was tasked by Mr. Stark to watch you throughout your recovery." Following Loki's note of confusion, the android continued. "It has been approximately 32 hours since your interrogation."
"What's occurred between now and then?" Loki didn't take his eyes off of the creature. "And how should I address you?"
"Mr. Stark has spent his time recovering, although he is away from the mansion at the present moment. You have exhibited relatively little activity. My name is Vision." Vision gave off an expression Loki couldn't quite discern. He was still floating, too. "Mr. Stark has placed you under house arrest, but the rules of hospitality still apply. Your data has been incorporated into the system; it will restrict and grant you access to select areas of the mansion."
"I see," said Loki dryly. He had to admit, however, it was a much better turnout than he could have hoped for.
"Mr. Stark also requested that you change into something less conspicuous before exiting the room. He's provided you some options." Vision gestured to the closet with a hint of a smile, and Loki grimaced. Figuring Stark's sense of humor, he'd have difficulty finding anything that adhered to his tastes. "Is there anything I can get for you?"
Loki shook his head slightly, then paused, flustered for asking. "Perhaps some, ah...beverage?"
Vision didn't seem to mind. "Of course." He phased through the wall, and Loki noticed an odd peculiarity. When Vision returned only moments later and it repeated, Loki sat completely upright. Loki could tell Vision noted his change in demeanor, but if his eyes didn't fault him, he had much larger problems. He flinched as Vision floated closer - almost to the floor - and handed him the glass.
Loki glanced down, then warily took it. Again, Vision let off some indiscernible expression. "Is there an issue?"
"What's that in your head?"
Vision hesitated, then slowly touched the yellow gem. It glowed the same as it had when he'd passed through the wall. "This is the source of my power." He hesitated again. "I believe you are familiar with it; you harnessed it through the form of a spear when Avengers and you first met."
Loki's mouth dried. "Yes, I suppose I'm familiar with it."
Vision floated high enough to be out of reach; he suspected that part of it was to deter Loki from studying the gem further. "I'll alert Mr. Stark about your health. I'm sure he'll be wanting to meet with you. Oh, yes, and- please do look through the closet. I assure you not all of the choices are bad." Vision paused, forming some executive decision. "I'll leave you to get changed."
Loki still eyed him, alert. "Thank you."
Vision left the way he came - through the wall - and Loki's stomach plummeted as the familiar sense of dread washed over him.
Vision had the mind stone. More importantly, Loki knew the mind stone's location. His half-formed hopes had crashed with a single recognition.
Loki quickly removed himself from the bed, running over his options. Stark had no idea why he was on Midgard. He was fairly sure that they hadn't made it to that point in their discussion. For all Stark knew, Loki had been flung like Thor.
But Stark was smart and would also know that he was missing information. Loki physically couldn't re-distribute that much magic until he'd fully recovered, meaning Stark would need to get his answers some other way. But Loki also hadn't gone to Stark's with the intent to betray him.
He'd thought that Stark got rid of the infinity stones. He didn't expect-
But it didn't matter what he expected, now. It just mattered that he knew, and one way or another, Thanos would know he knew.
Loki ripped open the closet doors and thumbed through his clothes. Vision was wrong; they were all equally terrible.
Doors opened on both sides.
He had some excuse for being startled by the mind stone, given his past connection, and he was startled to see it. But now he realized that Vision might have scanned him, and if he had used the mind stone to do so...
Loki took a hanger with one of the less-distasteful articles on it, swept a look around the room, and decidedly shaved another percent from his already low reserve of magic to blow the security camera dead.
He held out his hand. Summoned from its hiding spot, the Tesseract shone a decidedly unnatural blue.
Vision had to have known.
And the plot thickens...