It had been four days since Loki had sent the Warriors Three and Lady Sif to Jotunheim, they should have been back already. Loki wanted them to return, every day they spent on that blasted rock Laufey used to call his kingdom brought them closer to discovering he was the one who orchestrated the Jotun attacks. Not that he expected the Jotuns to talk to the Asgardian warriors, but who knows what the Frost Giants were talking about amongst themselves. It was a good thing the four warriors weren't that fluid in the Jotun language and most Frost Giants only spoke a crude version of the common language that was used to communicate between the nine realms. Still, communication problems aside, the longer the Asgardians stayed on Jotunheim, the bigger the chance they uncovered something they shouldn't. It had been risky to send them there, but also necessary. The Jotun were bound to spiral into chaos now their king was dead, and keeping an eye on that was imperative.

Loki teleported to the round, golden sphere where Heimdall kept watch of the universe.

"The Warriors Three and Lady Sif are safe, my King," the gatekeeper said as soon as Loki materialized behind him.

Loki suppressed an annoyed sigh at Heimdall's gift of foresight. Nevertheless, the safety of the warriors had not really been his concern. "You're avoiding my real question," Loki observed.

The big, dark man in his golden armour kept silent, his gaze at a point far, far away. Loki went to stand next to him and looked at the vast, star spangled canvas of the universe. "Now, tell me, where are they?"

A few heartbeats went by before Heimdall answered. "Midgard, my King."

"Visiting Thor, are they?" Loki tutted. "That was not their mission."

Again, the watchkeeper kept silent. Loki wondered if he had to seriously doubt Heimdall's loyalty to him. He decided to keep a close eye on him.

"Show me," he ordered.

The view of the stars was replaced by that of a settlement in the middle of a desert. There were some figures sitting on top of the roof of a low building. Heimdall zoomed in. Seeing Thor stirred up some feelings that Loki pushed down quickly. His brother was dressed in Midgardian attire, looking like a bum. There was nothing regal to him. Yet, he seemed to be enjoying himself, talking and laughing with his Asgardian friends. There was a woman there too, two in fact. One was sitting close to Thor: the female scientist called Jane. The other Loki didn't recognise, didn't need to either, he couldn't care less about some mere mortal that was hanging around with his brother.

Judging by the way the group acted around each other, Loki suspected with great certainty this wasn't the first time the Asgardian warriors visited their friend on Midgard. The two female Midgardians were too much at ease and Fandrall wasn't even trying to chat one up, which he certainly would have if it was the first time he met them.

Loki thought about ordering Heimdall to pick up the four warriors immediately, but opening up the Bifrost right now would also mean Thor's return. And he did not want that, the God of Thunder should stay were he was. Loki knew his brother well, he was pretty sure the mortal already held a big place in his heart. Prolonging his stay would only deepen the feelings between Thor and that Midgardian, increasing the chance that his brother might not want to return to Asgard at all. Why else would he stay there? Loki was sure the warriors had told Thor about Odin, by now he surely knew Loki had lied to him. But Thor had not returned to confront him with the lie.

"Send me to Midgard," Loki said suddenly. Heimdall obeyed without question and moments later the Bifrost burned an intricate pattern in the desert ground. Travelling like this was fast and foolproof, but you sure drew attention to yourself, coming in like this. Not that it mattered this time, he wasn't planning on going unnoticed. Loki was wearing his armour, helmet and all, determination written all over his face.

It didn't take long for the Asgardians to come to him, Thor walking in front. The four warriors fanned out behind him, it was as if they walked in battle formation. At the back, the two mortals trailed behind. The one called Jane wanted to come closer, babbling on about the scientific aspects of the Bifrost, but she was held back by her friend.

"Loki," said Thor scornfully, when he halted a few feet from his brother.

"Thor," Loki answered in the same fashion, a small smirk forming on his face.

They stared at each other for a few moments, Loki was pleased when he recognised the hurt in his brother's eyes. Good. Thor's emotions would get the best of him, as always.

"Why did you lie to me?"

There it was, the start of the confrontation. Loki waited a little before answering, reading the emotions that ran across Thor's face. Anger, hurt.

"Answer me, brother!" Thor said, raising his voice. "Why did you make me believe father was dead?"

"He might as well be dead, I don't think he will wake up again. He certainly didn't wake up when Laufey was standing over him, ready to kill him."

Loki used his commanding voice, the voice of a king.

"That would have been convenient, right? If Laufey killed father, you would have been sure of the throne! It was you who led the Jotuns to Asgard!"

Loki smirked and conjured up Gungnir in his hand. "Now, brother, why would I do that? The throne is already mine, I don't need to kill Odin."

Thor glared at him. "I should kick that throne out from under you!" he threatened.

"By all means, do try," Loki challenged. "By the way… picked up your hammer yet? No? Didn't think so."

Again, hurt and anger flashed across Thor's face. Lady Sif had a more straight forward reaction: she drew her sword and pointed it at Loki. She had not come closer to him, but her meaning was clear. "Lift up Thor's banishment and we will see who is the rightful king to Asgard!"

Loki planted Gungnir firmly on the ground. "Do I need to remind you who you are speaking to? Better do something about that sharp tongue of yours, Sif, before I will."

Sif gripped her sword firmly and wanted to charge, but she was held back by Thor, who put his arm in front of her. "No, my friend, Loki is right. My father banished me because I was unworthy, and he was right, I was not worthy to be king. Until I am, I should not return to Asgard."

"But," Sif protested, yet Thor only shook his head.

"Wise decision, my brother," Loki said. "And from what I see, your time here on Midgard isn't exactly disagreeable. You've got yourself some nice company." He looked pointedly at the mortal, who huffed and did her best impression of an angry glare. "Does she take good care of you?"

"Leave Jane out of this!" His moment of self reflection was gone, Thor got angry again.

His brother was so predictable, pushing his buttons was too easy. "It is you who should have thought about leaving her out of this from the start. But I can see why you did not, how she appeals to you," Loki smirked.

If Thor had his powers, he would have probably smoked Loki with lightning by now, but now all he did was ball his fists to his side. "What do you want, Loki? If you just came here to gloat, you can forego of these visits from now on."

"Don't worry, I did not came here for you," Loki said curtly and shifted his gaze to the warriors behind Thor. "I came to see if certain warriors had not forgotten their vows to Asgard."

Loki knew perfectly well Sif's loyalty was with Thor, but the Warriors Three used to hold their pledge to the throne of Asgard in high esteem. As of right now, he could see them glance at each other and he knew they would come with him.

Fandral was the first to speak up. "Come, my lady, let us return to Asgard." Sif angrily whipped her head around to glare at him, but Fandral stayed calm and spoke softly to her. "We can't help Thor from here. Might as well go back to Asgard and keep an eye on things there."

Although Loki perfectly understood the implications of what Fandral said, he chose to let it go for now. He would gladly leave them all on Midgard, but the Warriors Three and Lady Sif did have their use for Asgard. Keep your friends close and your enemies closer. And keep your brother in another realm.

"Seal off the Bifrost," Loki ordered as soon he set foot on Asgard again, followed by the four sulky warriors. "Nobody gets in or out."