A/N: SURPRISE! I know I said I wasn't going to update until June, but hey,viva la summer and all that.

Loki had been seeing changes in the Master (to whom he calls Saxon)'s behavior. Saxon's plans had rapidly increased in violence. About a Midgardian month before, Loki decided, was when Saxon started behaving differently. Not that he minded.

The plan was simple: they control the Earth, and everything would fall into place. The use of SHIELD agents? Loki's idea. Using the helicarrier as a main beacon, along with the uplink to Stark Industries to broadcast the signal? Saxon's. They planned everything together, and everything was going as planned.

Loki also found this strange.

Weeks before they were to launch the plan, Saxon bounced up to Loki, excited for some unclear reason.

"Guess what I have!" Saxon singed.

Loki rolled his eyes and didn't answer.

"Oh come on, take a guess!"

"Did something falter in the plans?"

"Uh…nope. Guess again!"

Loki said nothing, but stared at Saxon as if he were dirt on his shoe.

"Oh, fine. I'll just show you. Come on!" He waved Loki on as he jumped excitedly away.

Loki sighed and followed. As he did, he observed his ally's inquisitive behavior. Most of the time he had no idea what Saxon was doing; always jumping from one thing to the next. Sometimes it was amusing. Other times, completely irritating. But today was different from the recently listed options. He was acting…

What was the word, Loki thought as he strolled. He's acting...mischievous.

As soon as the word formed in his mind, he knew for certain that something was wrong. He stopped walking, but they were already at their destination. Saxon had stopped in front of a heavy metal door.

Loki raised an eyebrow. Saxon smiled as he rubbed his hands together and pulled the door open.

He looked inside briefly before staring blankly at Saxon. "A mirror?"

Saxon laughed. "What do you see in the mirror?"

"I don't have time-"

"I know! I know, just…tell me what you see."

"If you are amazed at my reflection, Saxon…"

"Ah, but am I just a reflection?"

The last utterance wasn't from Saxon. Loki retreated as his reflection suddenly stepped out of the mirror.

No, Loki corrected himself, a copy stepping out of a frame. There is no mirror.

"A replication of myself," Loki said simply.

Saxon slung an arm around Loki number two.

"What is its purpose?" Loki dared to ask.

"Why, to be you, of course!"

Loki raised an eyebrow.

"Except stronger, faster, and with less…emotion. Which still leaves a considerable amount of emotion, but as they say," Saxon smiled, "Less is more. It's a spectacular copy, if I do say so myself."

Saxon and the copy exchanged knowing glances. The copy then proceeded to raise its fist to punch Loki in the face. Expecting this, Loki caught his fist, but felt a sharp prick in the palm of his hand. He released the copy's hand and looked down.

"Ionia sap, from the Couagen tree on the planet Neutrive. Deadly substance. It takes just one drop to kill a human. For you, you'll just…" Saxon just shrugged. "Oh, and also, since we all know you're restrained from your magic hocus pocus – and here's the fun part – your muscle density will decrease by ninety-nine percent. You'll have the same strength as a human." Saxon threw up his hands. "Surprise!"

Loki didn't answer. He already felt his strength leaving him, and he sank to the floor. His copy flinched.

"Night, night!" Saxon laughed.

The last thing Loki heard before he passed put was:

"Put him with the other one."

Loki slowly opened his eyes, and the pain in doing so made him involuntarily groan. He heard a crackling sound, and then nothing. He tried to move. How could he be so weak? Disgusting.

His hands were chained, as well as his legs. The copy made sure that Loki was secured. For a moment, the copy and Loki held eye contact. Then the copy scowled and turned towards the entrance.

"Wake up!" The copy said. "You have a visitor."

The copy was looking at a dark corner in the cell. He then pressed a button, and the door to the cell closed, crackling slightly. The copy gave Loki one more glace before walking away.

Everything was silent. Loki tried to move his arm, but it felt limp and heavy. He let it drop to the ground and sighed.

"I was wondering when they'd finally catch you," a voice in the dark said.

Loki almost smirked. Of course. This makes sense.

"The one who freed me from prison, being sent to the cell himself," Loki replied. "Interesting."

A small laugh. "You can't really be saying anything. This is your second imprisonment, and the things that caught you were duplicates!"

"So did you," Loki said, "Saxon."

A/N: And that's your update! I have the next two chapters already done, but it's the process of TYPING them that's really time-consuming. HAPPY SUMMER BREAK! And...sorry for the hiatus. Please don't kill me.