There was a swarm of SHIELD agents in the hallway even before the cage door slid open. Then Director Fury showed up, glowering at her menacingly, and instructed the agents to lead Loki to the interrogation room.

A wince crossed his features like a shadow at the notion, but he didn't resist, neither when they dragged him up to his feet nor when they placed handcuffs on his wrists.

Fury insisted that Loki needed to be handcuffed for the following conversation too. It was one of those weird powerplays Fury was famous for and she didn't argue.

It didn't seem like Loki minded that much, either way, lounging on the metal chair, tapping his fingers on the metal table where they were kept in place by the chain. It looked flimsy and Natasha suspected someone who went blow for blow with Captain America could snap it in a blink of an eye.

He didn't. He also dropped whatever charm was hiding his injuries. The agents made him strip out of the rest of his armor, and that included the breastplate and vambraces, revealing a bit more of the sad state of his body. There were more marks on his hands – something that looked like rope burns on his wrists and long, half-healed gashes running up his forearms.

"We should have the doctors examine him. It doesn't look good," she said, looking up from the screen. "Who knows what else the magic was hiding?"

"He looks fine enough to talk," Fury said. "He can have all the medical attention he needs once he tells us where the Tesseract is."

And Barton, she thought, but didn't say it out loud. It wouldn't change a thing with Fury.

"Are you sure we shouldn't wait for Thor and Stark to come back?" The duo was assigned to transferring the scepter to more secure SHIELD facilities on the ground, mostly because neither of them needed a discrete mode of transportation. Loki might have been full of shit when he suggested it, but even Fury recognized it was unwise to risk it on the offshoot chance he was telling the truth. And, well, Natasha was rather certain he was. It made no strategic sense to remove it from his vicinity if he was still planning on using it as a part of his plan.

Fury shook his head. "I have Rogers on standby if something happens. Shall we?"

She nodded. They already agreed Fury should try to talk to Loki alone first, to not strain the hairline thread of rapport she managed to create with the god. If that didn't work out, she could go in and play the good cop again.

Fury left the control room, then showed up on the camera feed from the hallway and then the one from the interrogation room.

"Director Fury," Loki acknowledged him with a small nod and a sly smile. "I'm getting the royal treatment indeed."

"Loki of Asgard," Fury returned the favor and sat down on the opposite side of the table from the god, leaning forward and folding his hands in front of him. "Talk."

"Aren't you supposed to start this with a question?"

"You know damn well what I want to know. So, talk, pretty please. Let's not make it longer than it has to be."

"I will. Under one condition."

"And what would that be?"

"You won't send me back to Asgard after you're done with me."

Fury crooked his head to the side. "Why?"

"And why not? I'm not asking for immunity, am I? I'm not asking for a full acquittal for the crimes I've committed against your realm. I'm just asking to be kept on Midgard after I tell you what I know. Is this that much to ask for in return for my cooperation?"

"Thor is an ally and he requested you should be handed over to him once we find the cube, to be dealt with according to your people's laws."

"And you, in your infinite wisdom, agreed, I presume?"

"We have no qualm with Asgard and I intend to keep it that way."

Loki shrugged. "Your choice then. Good luck finding the Space Stone on your own."

"Is there any particular reason you don't want to go back to Asgard?"

"Well, let's say I'm not a huge proponent of the Aesir flavor of justice," Loki said with a slight smile, running his fingers along the chain holding him in place.

Fury studied their prisoner for a while. "It can be arranged, if your intel is truly worth anything."

He already made his decision and he would agree to Loki's terms, Natasha was sure. Holding on to Loki was one of his priorities and the deal he made with Thor was a begrudging one, meant to ensure the god's compliance. And now he got a perfect opportunity to drop out of it with all the plausible deniability he needed provided by the "Loki asked for it himself" argument.

Fury wouldn't be himself if he weren't pushing to see how much he could get without revealing his cards though.

"You'll have to make your decision based only on conjecture then, Director. Until then, my lips are sealed."

"I wish," Fury muttered and shook his head. "Okay, we won't hand you over to Thor."

Loki inclined his head courteously. She raised an eyebrow. Fury's words were worth absolutely nothing on their own, but Loki did not ask for any warranties, any official confirmation, not even a promise or a set of witnesses. Was it because of the cultural differences between Earth and Space-Viking-Ville that made him believe Fury's flimsy assurances? Was he aware that that was what Fury wanted all along?

It might be a reverse psychology tactic, too, but if it was, it was a serious miscalculation of Loki's part.

"Now talk," Fury prompted.

"I know not where the Tesseract is right now. Barton and Selvig were to move it the moment I was captured, in case you decided to use more irresistible ways to make me talk."

"That's very helpful," Fury said darkly.

"I know where it will be though."

"Do share."

"Stark's Tower. Somewhere on the upper floors, presumably. Selvig needed a power source for his machine."

There was a commotion behind her, as the agents scrambled to action, calling in the air support. The floor underneath her feet shook as the carrier changed the course. There were bringing the big guns closer to the city.

There was a small smirk on Loki's face.

"What machine?" Fury insisted, completely disregarding the chaotic shouting that must be sounding in his earpiece.

"A portal generator," Loki said and his smile widened at Fury's gritted teeth. He was enjoying this and he was going to squeeze every last bit of frustration out of Fury he could. "That generates portals. To space, in case you were wondering."

"Any specific point in space?"

"A very specific point indeed."

Fury sat back on his chair. "I've done this more times than I care to count and if I have to go through the hoops with you, do not think I won't. But if you keep on insisting on wasting my time instead of following up on out agreement, the deal is off. Is this really how you want this to go?"

Loki threw out his hands as far as the chain allowed. "I thought you're enjoying yourself, Director. You have me where you wanted me."

Fury glowered at him. "What happened to the 'I'm tired' part?"

"Oh, it's very much there, Director. I'm just a dead man trying to get some entertainment before the axe falls."

"Care to elaborate?"

"You asked where the portal leads, but that's not the important part of the problem. The question should be 'to whom', not 'where'. And the answer is Death."

"Mhm," Fury hummed. "That's very reassuring. Does that Death have any other, preferably less poetic name?"

"Thanos, the Mad Titan."

Fury pursed his lips, probably because the name meant as much to him as it did to Natasha, which was to say – not a lot.

"Is this who is holding your leash?"

Loki nodded, looking away. "That's one way to call it."

"How did your little cooperation come about?"

"He was the one to pull me out of the Void. That's where…"

"You ended when you fought with Thor, back home. We know that part already."

Loki raised an eyebrow but didn't comment.

"How did he find you?"

"I don't know," Loki sighed.

"Any guesses?"

"My magic. It kept me alive but also worked as a homing beacon for whoever was able to sense it. Whether the Titan was looking for it or just stumbled upon me on accident – I cannot say."

"How did he convince you to work for him?"

"Oh, he can be very persuasive," Loki said, twisting the cuff on his wrist idly. "And I didn't have many arguments after he saw what he was looking for in my mind."

"And that would be?"

Loki bestowed Fury with one of the best renditions of "are you fucking kidding me" glares she had ever seen. "The Tesseract, of course. From me, at least. There's another Stone on Midgard, too."

"We have quite a few different stones," Fury deadpanned.

"Not like those, I assure you, Director. The Infinity Gems are rather special. Unique, one could say. You should know that by now. You had the Tesseract of years."

"So, you're saying there's one more object like that on Earth?"

"Two, as of this moment. The scepter holds one as well."

"Where's the other one?"

"I don't have the faintest idea, I'm afraid. I presume I was going to be told once I needed that information and no sooner than that."

Fury gestured him to go on.

"There's six of them in total, each tied to a different aspect of the universe. Once combined, they can grant their owner a limitless power to shape the reality the way they want, disregarding the limitations of power, time or space."

"What does that Thanos guy want with them?"

"I can only wager a guess."

"And that would be?"

Loki took a deep breath then blew a stray strand of hair away from his eyes. "Thanos' moniker did not come from nowhere. He comes from a long-dead civilization of warriors and conquerors, but even his own people considered his convictions too fringe, banishing him from their dying world. Since then, he has been wandering the universe, waging wars and laying ruin to world after world."

"You seem to know a lot about that."

"He attacked Asgard, a long time ago."

"You were there?"

Loki shook his head with a huff. "It was before my and Thor's time, at the very beginning of Odin's rule. Asgard fought him back and drove him out of our galaxy, at a great cost, but it seems like he managed to recoup his losses and build an army for himself."

"Is that what's waiting on the other end of the portal you were plotting to open?"

Loki nodded curtly.

Fury tapped his fingers on the table. "What happens if you don't open it?"

Loki bared his teeth in a smile that didn't reach his eyes. "We will have to find out."

Fury sighed. "Can he come through some other way?"

"Not immediately. He resides galaxies away and it will take time before he reaches Midgard. But he will come. He will want the scepter back and the two others as well. And I'm rather sure that the deal I made with him will stand no longer when he does."

"Deal?"

"Midgard for the Stones. I deliver the gems to him and he leaves the planet alone."

Natasha blinked at the screen.

"Are you trying to say you made a deal with a space madman to protect our world? Why?"

Loki laced his fingers and leaned in to look Fury in the eye. "Thor seems to enjoy your provincial realm tremendously. It would be a shame if he found it in flames the next time he came here."

It sounded like bullshit, or at least not the full truth, but Fury decided to bite, nonetheless. "I thought you had a beef with your brother."

Loki laughed and it sounded a lot more believable this time. "It's not the first time we fought. We've been fighting when you mortals were still figuring which end of the pointy stick should go into the beast you're hunting and how exactly written language should work."

Fury sighed and rubbed his nose. "Is there anything else I should know?"

"A lot, I'd say," Loki jeered and Fury's jaw twitched. Loki had perfected the art of appearing completely unforthcoming and obstinate while giving his opponent exactly what they wanted, it seemed.

"Anything about this situation?"

"There's an attack incoming."

"What kind of attack?"

"Barton is leading a group of mercenaries to mount a rescue for me, Director."

"Call it back."

"I can't."

"Can't or won't?"

"Did I stutter?" Loki said with a roll of his eyes.

"How come? Aren't you mind-controlling him?"

"Yes, but I don't think it works the way you think it works."

"Which is?"

"The scepter's spell conditions the victim to follow the wielder's command with unwavering loyalty. And the last command I've given to the Hawk was to gather men and rescue me from your clutches when the machine was ready."

"Can't you remove the control?"

"Not without the scepter or Barton physically present."

"And why can't you call it off?"

"How am I supposed to contact him?"

Only years of methodically controlling his emotions stopped Fury from facepalming and he only ran his hand across his forehead. "Will you call it off if I get Barton on the line?"

Loki made a show of consideration. He would probably tap his fingers on his chin if he could, but he couldn't, so his arm had to do. "I could be persuaded to do that, yes."

"Well, I suggest you consider yourself persuaded. And in the meantime…" Fury stood up and retrieved a key from his pocket, then unlocked the cuffs and took them off, one after the other. "Agent Romanoff will take you to the infirmary for a check-up. You look like shit."

With that, Fury turned on his heel and headed for the exit. He stopped by the door. "I'll be watching you," he said and left, leaving the door open and Loki gaping at the empty air, absolutely flabbergasted.