So this chapter is one hundred percent completely dedicated to the user Danzig and Hildanski, for giving me such an awesome review that I was pretty much grinning for the whole day after I read it. Thank you so much for that, especially the positive bit about adding Rasputin, how could I not though? That guy was killed about seven different ways until one of them finally stuck. A world renowned healer, who must have some hidden magical talent. So yes, thank you :)

"What do you want to know?" Loki prompted, a hint of impatience seeping into his tone. Natasha had remained silent after he told her he would answer her questions, doing little else other than stare at him with obvious confusion. Loki understood, if he switched the circumstances, he would not be trusting a word that came out of his captors mouth. He was after all known as the God of Lies, it would be foolish of her to lay any trust on him in the slightest. "Speak, or I will remove your voice again."

This seemed to encourage her to comply, momentarily shoving aside her confusion to focus. As soon as she had an objective, Loki saw the change in her, physically. She sat up straighter, her eyes lacked their tired look and her expression reverted back to its blank default setting. He could still tell she was exhausted, but she seemed to be ignoring that to concentrate on him.

"Why me?" She asked as a starter, which Loki had expected completely. "Why am I the one who gets to be thrown in the middle of this other worldly mess?" She held a hint of indignation that reminded Loki that she truly did come from a royal line. She may not have been raised as royalty, but it seemed to be in her blood and something she could not escape. Truthfully, Loki did not want to have to explain it all to her. Not just because he didn't want her to know anything, but because it would be tiresome and he himself did not fully understand it all.

But as he shifted ever so slightly and felt a wave of pain from across his back, he was reminded of the mercy she had showed him, mercy he did not want and did not deserve, yet had received. It irked him, to think that she may have thought he was in her debt. Killing her was something he would be looking forward to, once he had removed the charm around her of course.

"That question holds complicated answers." He said almost cryptically and was amused by the way her expression became even more hard set, clearly she was not in the mood.

"Try and simplify it." She said, clipping her words to show her frustration. Loki seethed at the commanding like statement, but said nothing to indicate his mood.

"From what I can understand, that stone was given to a member of the royal Russian family a very long time ago." Loki had a natural flair for drama, in the great banquet halls of Asgard, he would often narrate an adventure that he and Thor had been on. Thor would be the star of course, acting out his previous actions to the delight of the feasting spectators, as Loki weaved words and magic to make it a captivating show. Oh how the people had clapped for Thor, the woman fawning, the men showing their pride of the powerful Asgardian Prince. And Loki, at the back, was forgotten. As though he had not been on the adventure, as though he had not fought the beasts with his 'brother'. Thor had always tried to share the credit with Loki, professing how many times the sorcerer had saved him from certain death.

But no one would believe it, Loki was the liar, Thor the golden son. It was always assumed that Thor was trying to be generous toward his younger brother, pretending Loki had been more involved than he was. When Loki lied, people believed him. When he told the truth, they did not.

As he spoke to Natasha, he could feel that natural dramatism peeking through. As if he was telling a grand story. But he reminded himself of the situation and became utterly serious, his eyes locked to hers. He had not been kidding about what the punishment had been for staring at an Aesir, it was strange to have someone so openly stare at him.

"Garnos was an exceptionally powerful sorcerer. Only I was aware of his true skills and even now it seems he tricked me as well." Loki allowed himself a small smile, he was known as the trickster but he had fallen for a ruse as well. "You know him as Rasputin of course. From your reaction when I first mentioned him, he must be rather well known in this world. I am not surprised, he was something of a legend among the sorcerers of Asgard. And beyond our world too."

"He was your friend." Natasha said when he had paused for a moment in his story. He narrowed his eyes, realizing his face has softened as he spoke, revealing more than he intended.

"Yes." He was forced to admit, but he did not elaborate into any details regarding that, deciding to skip forward. "A long time ago, he left Asgard. He-"

"Why?" Natasha interrupted, annoying Loki to no end. How dare this mortal think she could show such insolence to him? It took great restraint to remain calm. One day. One day he would be able to punish her for the way she got under his skin.

"To save it." He said simply and saw a note of surprise cross her face. "The stone around your neck is part of a device that quite literally has the power to wipe out the Universe. The device itself, which needs all the pieces to work, resides in the vaults of Asgard. Impenetrable. To most." He smirked ever so slightly, remembering when he himself had opened the door for a select few Frost Giants. His magic was like Garnos' in the respect that he was underestimated vastly. To the assassin's credit, she remained silent, appearing to be listening intently, while still on edge. Clearly she was trying to be ready in case of an attack.

Loki could feel his back healing, very slowly. After his punishment from Thanos, he knew his magic would have little effect, but his natural healing seemed to be taking over and using only a little magic to complete the job. He recalled what Natasha had said about the temperature changing and the voice that echoed through. It could only be Thanos. This boded ill for the both of them. Thanos had been inside Loki's mind and knew of the connection between them. Loki knew that his tormentor would not hesitate for a moment if he knew he could hurt Loki by hurting Natasha. However, Loki had one slight advantage, Thanos had not been in his mind long enough to discover the agreed deal between Hel and himself. He needed to get to the apple and take it to his daughter, before Thanos found them.

As soon as the bargain could be made and Loki's existence sealed, he could concentrate on removing the enchantment surrounding Natasha. Then her fate was irrelevant, he would get Hel to put Natasha's name back into the book and yes, he would be killing her himself. Slowly and painfully. Until then, no harm could come to the fragile human, or it would correspond to Loki. He realized he was going along his own thought trail as she waited for him to continue, her focused gaze remaining on him.

"I was the one that helped Garnos steal that stone." He said with a lazy flick of his hand. "I assisted him into the vault and I created a forgery that was impossibly convincing." Loki knew that all believed Garnos had gone in alone and created the fake stone himself, which was exactly what Loki needed them to think. The two had tried to destroy the gauntlet together, their magic combining to become immensely powerful. But it had been more complicated than they thought. In the brief window they had allowed themselves, they were not able to complete their task and they were discovered by the guards. Garnos had fought them while Loki shrouded himself and replaced one of the stones with a fake.

He had not purposely meant to take the Midgard one specifically, it had just been the first one he tried to remove. He wondered how different it all would be if he had taken any of the other stones. A extra second to turn the device and opt for another stone, could have ensured he side stepped all this mess completely. His knuckles cracked loud enough to snap him from yet another mystical day dream.

"So, you were helping to save Asgard, clearly your intentions were good." Natasha was trying to figure it all out, using information that she did not have access to, which made it all harder. "So why are you so evil now?" She asked bluntly.

The question caused Loki to stand up, ignoring the searing pain that rippled across his back. "You humans are so stupid it is beyond anything comical." There was a hiss in his tone, he knew that she would be aware she had hit a nerve. He watched her rise as well, her body tensing as though she was anticipating him to attack. "You see and think in black and white. To you pathetic creatures, one must be either good or evil. There can be no in-between, no circumstances that complicate the situation."

She seemed quite surprised how angry he was getting as he spoke, no doubt because he had seemed so calm before. She opened her mouth, confusion rippling across her face, before she seemed to pull back her composure, becoming resolute once again. "You don't think I know you are planning to kill me the moment you can?" She said, fairly. It was true of course. "You are leaving a trail of destruction in your wake. You want this stone, so you can rebuilt this… device that can wipe out the world. I know you are working for someone. Do you seriously think this person will spare you after you help him?"

Loki turned away at that moment, his fists balling. She was breaching subjects that were beyond her understanding. Of course he did not think Thanos would let him live, he was not a fool. But the powerful being had promised something that Loki hoped he would not back out of.

"Loki, look at me." Loki looked up, more out of shock that she continued to make commands, than actually following that command. For a second, just a split second, he saw a wave of emotion in her eyes and knew it was because he was showing emotion in his own eyes. Whatever she was about to say, seemed to die in her throat.

"You know I will not give you the necklace." She hardened her expression, the fleeting emotion disappearing in an instant. "You cannot remove it from me. You cannot hurt me." She was far too sure of herself for Loki's liking and yet it appeared he could not do anything about it. He thought she was making a point, but what she said next stunned him completely. "How is your back?" She asked with less of a stone expression. Loki had to force the surprise from his face, remaining completely calm.

"It is fine." He said, eyeing her warily, searching for the reasoning behind her question as though it was a trap of some kind.

"You are lying." She said with a barren hint of amusement. Instantly Loki remembered when he had first taken her and asked if she was cold. She had lied and he had picked up on it, giving her a blanket. "Turn around." Natasha said, taking a step toward him. Loki almost hissed at her.

"How dare you continue to give me orders!" He shot with pure malice. She appeared to be completely undeterred, moving around behind him to check his wounds. Loki was too shocked at her blatant disregard for his anger to do anything to stop her.

"They are almost healed." She said from behind him, pressing her fingers gently along his skin. Loki closed his eyes, enjoying her cool touch that eased the burning. His eyes opened suddenly when he realized it would only take a flick of her hand to cause him immense pain. But she moved away a moment later, not attempting to injure him any further. Loki turned toward her, seeing her wipe away the blood onto her clothes.

"That attire does not suit you." He said, honesty in his words if there ever would be. She looked up and he could see the exhaustion had returned to her face.

"There wasn't much of a selection in the house I broke into." She said calmly. Loki wasn't sure, but thought that was as close to a joke as he would ever get from her. She seemed too tired to realize she had engaged as something as casual as a joke with him. "Why didn't you just kill the people in this house?" She asked, once again, her question setting him off guard. "You clearly have no problem killing, I don't understand why you spared them."

Loki actually smiled at her, though it wasn't exactly a warm one and there was evident pain in it. "You humans." He said quietly. "Only see in black and white. One must be either good, or evil." He repeated his words from before. He had thought, of anybody, she would be the one to understand the existence of a gray area. An assassin who now fought for good. She had been given a second chance.

He took a moment to enjoy the sheer confusion that returned to her face. No doubt this was a woman who knew exactly what she stood for and her limits. Being presented with contrasting information would throw her off guard. He chose that moment to leave the room, ensuring her state of wild confusion would be prolonged. He needed rest as much as she did, though neither of them would be willing to let their guard down while the other was in the room.