Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Marvel-characters!

AN: This turned out to be a long chapter, but I'm not sorry. I just wrote what came to me and this is the result. If you prefer shorter chapters, then let me know. Anyway, I want to thank everyone who reviewed, added this to their alerts and made this a favorite. You guys seemed to really enjoy 'my' Loki, his thought process and character-development. This is the biggest compliment one can get. Writing Loki is not easy, but I'm so glad that I'm doing a good job with it.

Enjoy the chapter!

~ Shadows and Regrets ~

Chapter 11

~ o ~

Present time

~ o ~

As soon as the doors closed behind Loki, he could feel a heavy weight lift from his chest. He felt as if he could breathe properly again. There was no doubt Frigga was looking at him with deep concern in her kind eyes, but Loki ignored that. He had enough concerns to deal with of his own. For example, he had never thought he would actually have such a conversation with Thor again. It had almost been…decent.

But finally the truth was known and Loki was glad for it. Too long Thor had thought his father was almighty and invincible. It had been about time that he learned the truth about who his father truly was: a man with flaws just like every other being in this universe.

With Frigga at his side, having an arm around his arm, Loki walked back towards his cell. There were two guards walking behind them.

"I haven't been completely honest," Loki said softly so that only his mother could hear, "when I said I didn't want to redeem myself in Thor's and Odin's eyes, I was speaking the truth, but I left out an important part."

Frigga frowned.

"I care about what you think of me, mother," he sighed. He knew he was letting down his shield, that he was showing a part of his soul he normally closed off for every living being. But this was Frigga and Loki knew she was the only person in the nine realms that would not use his vulnerability in any way.

They turned left and walked through a sunlit corridor. Loki had forgotten that it was late spring and the warmth of the sun made his skin tingle uncomfortably. He had always felt better during winter.

"You have done some terrible things," Frigga said pensively, "but as your mother I can forgive you. That is if you turn away from your old ways. Forget vengeance and bitterness."

Loki wished he could. "I'm afraid I cannot."

Frigga came to a halt and forced Loki to face her fully. She looked sad. "I would have done so many things differently if I had known this would happen. I would have loved you more. I would have told you the truth from the beginning."

"Don't you dare," Loki whispered harshly. He was faintly aware that the two guards could hear them now. "Don't you dare take the blame. This is not your fault."

"Odin wasn't the only one who raised you, love," Frigga replied emotionally.

"You know me better than anyone," Loki said, placing his bound hands in those of his mother. He squeezed them gently while offering his mother his most sincere smile. "You know I can never be confined to a cell."

"I know," Frigga confirmed, "you're a force of nature, Loki, wild, untamable and unpredictable."

"Then you know I must do this."

"Yes."

Loki let go of his mother, already missing her warm touch. It was funny how he found the warmth of the sun irritable on his skin, but the warmth of his mother pleasant. He pushed that thought away and swiftly turned around to punch the closest guard in the face. The guard stumbled back, covering his already bleeding nose with his hands. Loki seized the opportunity to steal the guard's dagger that was tucked away in his golden belt.

This transpired within two seconds. The second guard did not even have the time to reach for his own dagger or sword. Loki quickly threw the stolen dagger and hit the second guard in the shoulder. Loki felt he should be applauded for avoiding killing the guards this time. His plan was about to fail when the first guard – only having a broken nose – jumped at him from behind, but Loki had always been known throughout the realm for his lightness and swiftness. He darted aside and punched the guard again. Blood spilled over his hand and Loki disliked the warm and wet feeling.

This is why he preferred throwing daggers instead of actually stabbing someone. He watched, slightly out of breath, as the guard fell down.

Loki calmly walked to where the second guard was laying unconsciously. He pulled the dagger from his shoulder and cut the ropes that bound his hands. Any other person would have had trouble doing this, but Loki had always been handy with knives.

He dropped the knife and turned to look at his mother who stood with her back pressed against the wall. She didn't look scarred. She had simply wanted to put herself out of harm's way. When their gazes connected, Loki almost expected his mother to smile. She did not.

"Be careful," she said quietly.

"This isn't goodbye."

"Of course it isn't." Frigga hurried forward and embraced her youngest son tightly. "Stay out of trouble." Her eyes held a twinkle of fondness in them. She placed a quick kiss on Loki's cheek and then let go of him. "Now run before you get caught."

And Loki did just that. He ran.

~ o ~

Thor and Heimdall walked silently through the halls of the palace. Soon, they found themselves outside and walking across the bridge. Not a word was spoken. Heimdall had never been a talkative person and Thor had too many troubles resting uneasily in his head. The vision of Loki turning his back to him and walking away did not leave him.

They reached the Bifrost in a matter of minutes and Thor could not help but be in awe of it. As a child, he had found it ordinary and little admirable. It had simply been their mode of transportation like the train or bus was the Midgardians' mode of transportation. But now, seeing it again after it had been destroyed months ago, he was in awe of it. He knew he had taken it for granted before and he would not make that mistake again.

"Send me to Midgard, Heimdall," Thor said, standing before the center of the device.

Heimdall stepped forward and placed his long sword in the heart of the half magical, half mechanical device. "Be careful of the Chitauri-army, my Prince, they have grown both in strength and in number." He twisted the sword and Thor could feel the familiar pull in his stomach as he found himself transported through space.

The first thing Thor grew aware of was the change of warmth playing on his skin. The Midgardian sun gave less warmth than the Asgardian sun. When he opened his eyes, he knew exactly where he was and Thor was surprised that he was not staring at a dozen guns that the mortals had created as their weapons. The grass underneath him had turned black, having died due to the power of the Bifrost.

Thor could not help but think that the last time he stood here, Loki had been leaning on him while badly injured. He quickly shook that thought away from him. Perhaps it had been for the best that Loki had decided to stay behind. Thor walked across the small patch of green grass and entered SHIELD's headquarters.

At that point, he was met by a dozen of SHIELD's best agents, all dressed in black. They all had a gun pointed at him and Thor raised his arms as if to show that he meant them no harm. Dropping his hammer would add strength to that message, but Thor was not in the right mood. He had little time to loose.

"I come with grave news," he said, not knowing who was in charge of the men before him.

Two of the dozen men lowered their guns and stepped aside. Natasha stepped forward while she put her own gun back in its holster. She raised one eyebrow. "I didn't expect to see you so soon again."

"I am sorry for my sudden departure earlier," Thor apologized, "but I had no other choice."

Natasha only eyed Thor dangerously. He wondered what it would be like if he would fight this mortal woman. Then he thought of Sif. They were much alike: both fierce and loyal. It was no wonder Natasha enforced so much respect with everyone she encountered.

"You left us when Earth's was being threatened," Natasha said with a sharpness to her voice, "and you took away our only leverage we had at point."

"I had to think of Loki's safety first."

"That's something we don't have to deal with," Natasha replied coldly, "Loki's safety is not our concern. Earth's safety is and you jeopardized just that. Luckily, it ended well."

Thor cringed at the words. "I'm afraid I have bed news then," he said, "the Chitauri are planning an attack on this planet." He left out the part of why they wanted to attack Earth. At least he would leave it out for as long as a dozen guns were pointed at him.

Natasha's eyes narrowed. "No," she drew out the word, "they left."

"I am sorry," Thor said, "but it seems the Avengers will have to fight another battle against the Chitauri."

There was a short silence before Natasha nodded curtly. "Follow me."

The two of them walked down a long hallway, made a few turns and ended up standing in the main room. It was filled with SHIELD agents and Tony and Steve were present as well. Computers monitored all activity in orbit of this planet, but nothing seemed suspicious enough to warrant an alarm.

"Look who turned up!" Tony said happily. His smile was a genuine one, but Thor knew that he could not trust Tony completely. Tony and Loki were much alike on certain aspects of their personalities. They were both masters at disguising their true emotions. Tony might be smiling now, but Thor knew he could be boiling with anger on the inside.

"Thor claims the Chitauri are about to attack us," Natasha explained, ignoring Tony's comment.

Fury turned away from his monitors and let his gaze rest heavily on Thor. "I did not think you would return so quickly," he said in his usual authoritative voice. Thor had heard that before. "You say the Chitauri are planning an attack? Why is there nothing on my screens indicating this?"

Thor stepped forward. He knew he had betrayed his friends' trust, but he was headstrong about earning it back. He cared deeply for the Avengers – and for this world – and he was prepared to go far to defend it. He just hadn't been prepared to hand over Loki to achieve that. He was not sorry about it.

"They have learned much about this world since their first attack," he explained, desperately hoping that Loki had not been lying about this, "they know your weaknesses and your best defenses."

"Can't we just tell them we no longer have Loki?" Steve suggested. "It's what they demanded of us. We made it clear we don't have him and they retreated, but if they think-"

"This is no longer about Loki," Thor interjected the Captain. That was a grave lie. This had everything to do with his brother. If his father had decided to hand him over to The Other, then none of this would be happening. Again, this was a minor detail Thor wasn't not obliged to share. Not yet anyway.

"You must trust me, friends," Thor said with a grave and serious voice, "the Chitauri are out there and they are just waiting for the right time. They will attack and they will try to destroy this world. However, this is the city where they lost their first battle. They'll try and demolish this place first as to show that they have grown stronger."

Fury seemed to weigh Thor's words carefully. "I believe you," he said, "let's prepare for battle."

~ o ~

Loki inhaled deeply. He welcomed the fresh air that invaded his lunges. It had been a while since he had felt this strong and he supposed he owed it all to Odin. The King had ordered his best healers to patch him up. Last time Loki had regained his magic, he had needed it to keep himself conscious and to transport himself to Midgard. Now, with the healers having taken care of him, his magic had the chance to regain its full strength.

It was only a matter of time before Loki would be back to his old self. Escaping the palace had not been difficult since Loki had grown up there. He knew its secrets halls and pathways. He knew exactly where to go to avoid getting caught by guards. Moving around outside the palace had proven to be more difficult. He made sure the Æsir paid him little attention and Loki managed to get outside of the city within the hour.

It would have all been so much simpler if he could have transported away from this place, but his magic was not strong enough yet. It would have been foolish to tap into that power when he didn't really need it. After all, this wasn't the first time he'd slipped away from the city without being detected. He had done it a million times already when he'd been a child trying to avoid punishment when one of his elaborate tricks and schemes had gone wrong.

However, Loki felt restless. He should feel pleased that he was free – completely and absolutely free - but there was one thought that kept nagging at him. The Other was still out there, wanting vengeance for a broken promise. Loki had sworn to give The Other a new world to inhabit (alongside the mortals) and now he would not rest before he had Loki's head on a pike.

Loki felt he needed to do something about that. He had many enemies, but for some reason this one unnerved him. The Other was strong and perhaps Loki simply realized that he could actually be in mortal danger if he ever came face to face with him. Was there any way to solve this? Loki thought about it deeply while he distanced himself even further from the city. He didn't know how much times passed, but he found that the sun was beginning to set.

Then it hit him. Loki knew it was the only way. If he was to fight The Other one day, then it should be on his terms. He should be the one pulling the strings, he should be the one deciding when and where.

A strange sensation crept up his spine and flowed across his legs and arms. Loki came to a halt. He raised his hands and stared at them in the dim light. His skin glowed. It lasted all but five seconds before it vanished again, but Loki knew what it meant. His magic was back, completely and at its full power.

Perhaps now was the time to make an end to it. For once and for all.

~ o ~

Thor felt unsettled. It had been hours since he had announced to his friends that the Chitauri were coming, but nothing had happened so far. He was beginning to feel like a complete fool. It seemed Loki had tricked him for the millionth time in his life. Even Heimdall, who had first announced the Chitauri were coming to Earth, had been tricked somehow. It was beyond Thor why he still believed Loki's words. He was tempted to return to Asgard and demand the truth from his brother, but he knew it would be useless. Loki would only laugh in his face, calling him an idiot for falling for his lies.

"Here you are." It was Steve who entered the room. He walked closer to Thor and stared out of the window as well. It gave them a clear view of New York which was slowly preparing for the night. The sun was starting to set over the horizon and the sky had turned darkish blue. "Fury wants to see you."

Thor could already guess what about. "I truly thought they would attack," he sighed.

Steve bit down on his lip before replying, carefully weighing his words, "Loki can never really be trusted, Thor. I know he is your brother, but I think it's time for you to accept that he kinda lives up to his name. He is the God of Lies."

Thor exhaled slowly. "I shall go to Fury, but then I must return to Asgard. Loki lured me here so that my own realm was left defenseless." He knew Asgard would never truly be defenseless as long as Sif and the Warriors Three were there. Even the Asgardian army was impressive. Still, Asgard was without its best warrior. "I can only hope the Chitauri have not attacked my world yet. Heimdall would be fighting and he would be unable to bring me back home."

"I wish I could help," Steve said kindly.

An idea came to Thor then. "You can help." He turned to look at the Captain, his eyes wide with hope. "You and the rest of the Avengers can come with me to Asgard and fight the Chitauri, side by side."

Steve smiled faintly. "I would be honored, but I don't think Fury would let us go. We're Earth's primary defense. We can't risk leaving it undefended."

Thor's mood instantly dropped below freezing point. "You're right," he muttered, "of course you're right."

"Come on," Steve said, "let's just get to Fury."

There were halfway there when the first alarm sounded. Thor and Steve came to a halt and exchanged meaningful glances. They were thinking the same. Another alarm sounded, this time a high pitched ringing that hurt Thor's ears. People started running and shouting, all as quickly as possible trying to reach their battle stations.

Thor and Steve began to run as well and after ten seconds, they reached the main room. Fury stood at his usual place, barking orders and loading a gun at the same time. Maria Hill was typing away on some screen while the rest of the Avengers arrived as well.

"Fury, what's going on?" Tony asked. Bruce Banner entered behind him.

"It's the Chitauri," Fury said angrily, "they're attacking."

Thor knew that now was not the time, but he smiled. He actually smiled because as Loki had not lied after all.