Loki stepped out of the Bifrost to see Heimdall glaring at him from the controls. General Tyr did not look nearly so displeased, more relieved than anything. "What troubles you, Gatekeeper?" Loki asked.

"I turned my gaze upon you in Jotunheim, but could neither see nor hear you when I attempted it. You were shrouded from me, like the Frost Giants who entered this Realm."

Loki nodded. "Laufey's entire palace is contained in that shroud." He did not mention the illusions on the other buildings. "I have never seen a working like it. It seems the ability to hide from your sight is neither uncommon nor secret on Jotunheim, unfortunately. We will have to take that into account when revising the vault security measures."

Heimdall frowned. "Or perhaps someone else has found a way to hide that which he does not wish me to see." Loki sighed inwardly. Trust an Asgardian to deny a perfectly reasonable and even mostly true explanation because he had not thought of it first. It was bad news for Loki if the Watcher had decided to be suspicious of him.

"You have great power, Heimdall," Loki said in a tone of utter confidence. Heimdall perked up. "Tell me, did Odin ever fear you?" he then asked idly.

Heimdall looked confused at the non-sequitur. "No."

"And why is that?"

"Because he is my King, and I am sworn to obey him."

"Exactly. Just as you're sworn to obey me now. Yes?"

"Yes," Heimdall said after a pause, during which General Tyr glowered at the Watcher for the temerity of questioning the king.

"Good. Then you will continue your watch upon Jotunheim, the vault, and Thor as I had previously directed. You open the Bifrost to no one until I have undone what my brother has started, not without my express permission. Our borders are now closed."

"Is Jotunheim attacking?" Tyr asked.

Loki shook his head. "On the contrary, King Laufey is willing to negotiate. I just want to keep it that way. Let's go. We must meet with the council and discuss what of Laufey's demands would or would not be reasonable before I return tomorrow. Unfortunately, he will deal with no one but me so long as the Allfather is indisposed." Loki brushed past Heimdall, hoping his unconcerned and purposeful posture would be sufficient to allay the Watcher's suspicion.

At least he knew Jotunheim would not be breaking the peace anytime soon. If Heimdall betrayed him, the risk was once again from Thor.

"General Tyr, what is your security assessment?" Loki asked suddenly as the two of them mounted waiting sleipna and Tyr's squad fell in behind them.

"Of what? Jotunheim?"

Loki shook his head. "I have viewed the Jotun myself, remember. Even if they plan to betray us, they will not be ready to move against us for several days yet. Several of their days, no less, which you recall are longer than ours. No, I am more concerned about unrest from our side." General Tyr frowned at him, clearly unused to such concepts. Loki would have to explain himself. "I left Laufey with a very shaky ceasefire agreement. One more provocation from either side, and the peace the Allfather has worked so hard for may be lost to us for good. I refuse to fail my father in that way. So I ask you, is there risk of an Asgardian breaking ranks and moving against Jotunheim without my permission?" Tyr might not know, but it was his job to keep an eye on all the young hotheads in the land, all of whom inevitably joined the army for want of fame and glory.

General Tyr cleared his throat and almost growled, "if there is, we left him back there." He jerked his head back towards the Observatory.

Loki slowly nodded. Even if Heimdall would not leave his post, no one else could do anything untowards without Heimdall's cooperation. Tyr may or may not have thought that far, but it mattered not. "Who watches the Watcher, General?"

"What?"

Already Loki missed having someone to talk to who understood nuanced conversation. "Put a guard on the causeway." Honestly, there should already exist a guard on the causeway, not just the messenger houses. The Bifrost was so strategically important, pivotal to Asgard's very existence, it was patently ridiculous to leave Heimdall to his own devices and own defense, no matter how capable he might seem. "As I said back there, our border is closed. We need to know if any try to pass it, before they trouble Heimdall."

Tyr appeared to understand that much. "Yessir."

After an unsatisfactory meeting with Odin's council, Loki went to bed rather discouraged. The council was suspicious, of Laufey not of Loki, but the distinction mattered not. Loki would try to reason with them again in the morning before returning to Laufey, but he doubted they would be able to achieve a true and lasting peace anytime soon unless something fairly dramatic happened.

He had barely drifted to sleep when a messenger awoke him. The man was from General Tyr. Heimdall had sent for the Warriors Three, for unknown purpose. Loki could guess well enough, though. Heimdall wanted to bring Thor back. "Tell General Tyr he is ordered to intercept them before they reach the Observatory. And if he cannot and Heimdall allows them to pass, he is to take Heimdall into custody but remain with him there in the Observatory until I come to him," Loki said. He wrote as he spoke, infusing the inks with magic that would speak to Tyr with Loki's voice, so there could be no doubt the order was genuine. The messenger looked rather alarmed but took his note and saluted.

Loki did not follow immediately. Instead, he sat on the floor of his apartment and reached for Hogun's mind. The quiet one. The serious one. The somewhat more intelligent and reasonable one. The one with whom he practiced knife fighting. The one with whom he went on silent walks in the garden; Hogun secretly liked the flowers as much as Loki did.

Unfortunately, he found Hogun's mind already on Midgard, accompanied by Fandral, Volstagg, and Sif. Assuming General Tyr had followed his orders, it was already too late. Loki did not bother trying to talk to Hogun. If the Warriors Three and Sif had decided to disobey his orders and go get Thor, then trying to talk them out of it now would more than likely merely cause them to dig in their heels and waste valuable time.

He let go of Hogun, chewed his lip for a few seconds, then reached for Laufey instead. His biological mother, whose face resembled his own, whose thoughts were as fast as his, whose sense of humor was just as wry, and who Loki very much hoped would love him.

Laufey was still awake. She was both startled and afraid when Loki appeared suddenly before her. "Loki! When did you return? How did you return?"

Loki shook his head and passed his hand through the nearby wall. "I have not. This is a sending."

Laufey's eyes widened. "I have heard of that technique. I did not know it could be used to communicate between worlds."

"With skill, it can."

"What has happened?" Laufey asked.

"There is a mutiny against me."

"Do you need us to extract you? It would take some time..."

Loki shook his head. "I am in no immediate danger. But the Watcher of the Bifrost, Heimdall, suspects all is not as it seems, and he has sent warriors to Midgard to retrieve Thor, against my express orders. The commander of the Einherjar remains loyal to me, for now..."

"Will they succeed in bringing Thor back?"

"That depends on whether General Tyr and I are able to reign Heimdall in in time." He sighed. "Personally, I can deal with Thor, if it comes to that, but the odds of our successfully convincing the council to agree to any kind of peace deal are exponentially lower if the Watcher is opposed to me. He is widely respected. As I feared, no one on the council was willing to believe what you told me about the casket. Even my suggestion of offering to have Asgard maintain custody of it but allow your people its use under supervision was shut down immediately. I may have made a mistake in saying you would treat only with me as well, for some are concerned it means you intend to take me hostage."

"You know," Laufey mused, "If you are not determined to keep your place on Asgard, it might be easier if we don't go through all the posturing of peace negotiations."

"Oh? What are you thinking?"

"I'm thinking that other than Odin, Asgard has little respect for peace deals that do not gain it other advantage and preeminence. You do not want to be Asgard's king, so if Odin dies, we will have to deal with Thor. Other than your own efforts to manipulate Thor, we have very little guarantee he would abide by any peace agreement. The traditional strategy for Asgardian diplomacy might be more effective with him."

"Which means?"

"Drama and deception. Our conflict continues to escalate, and Asgard thinks it wins..."

"Then Jotunheim is safe, perhaps forever, but at least until the next random provocation," Loki finished. It was funny to hear theater described as diplomacy. It was a sharp insight into what other realms actually thought of Asgardian ways. On the other hand, "That sounds risky though."

"Remember we are all gifted with illusions here," Laufey said.

"What of it?" Loki asked. Even Asgardians would notice if an entire war was an illusion, if such a thing could even be accomplished. For an overwhelming Asgardian victory to be believed, something would have to be real, which meant there would be casualties.

Laufey grinned. "If you can use the same trick as last time to afford passage between the worlds, I can send a second master illusionist to you."

"Who? And why?"

"Your namesake, Loki of Utgard." Laufey laughed at Loki's startled expression. "I don't know if that was Odin's intent with the name, but it suits you, knowing the other Loki, who is older by far than this war is. Loki of Utgard is the best illusionist of his generation. He would no doubt be happy to share techniques with you once this crisis is past us. But I digress. I am sure between the two of you, you could contrive a dramatic conclusion to the Aes-Jotun conflict. You know, have some of us show up mysteriously out of nowhere to murder Odin, and then you take us on and win but disappear in the attempt, preferably in some kind of self-immolation that conveniently destroys all the evidence of our arrival. That kind of thing."

Loki raised an eyebrow. Laufey's suggestion was somehow both more and less muted than he had expected. It may be that real subtlety was something he could still learn from his biological mother. Loki did not think Asgard would appreciate the subtlety, unfortunately. "That sounds like further escalation, not a final end to the war, from where I'm sitting." He had an idea, though. "If we decide to end the war by stealth, we can, but for Asgardians to accept it without question, it must be total annihilation, of you, me and probably my reputation, and possibly Jotunheim."

"Excuse me?"

"Not literally. But don't you see, if I'm dead, then Odin can lay no claim to me, obviously. If you're dead, then Asgard will not seek further personal vengeance for my demise. And, if you and I both die then I can use that dreadful conclusion to actually teach Thor the lesson both Odin and I have been trying to ram through his thick skull, that actions have consequences. I am a prince here, you remember; if I'm going to abandon Asgard for good, I at least want my faux-death to accomplish something useful for Asgard's side as well. If we can find a way to make the conflict appear to ruin all of Jotunheim... so much the better, because Asgard will see there is no enemy left to conquer."

Laufey studied him. "You are raised by wolves, my son. It has made you daring."

Loki looked down. "You can be honest and say it has made me reckless and potentially dangerous. I know it has. Thor would be crowned by now if it had not."

"It has certainly made you pragmatic. We will see if the recklessness and other less desirable traits persist when you are in a more supportive environment. Very well, I will send Loki of Utgard to you, on the off chance a negotiated peace is truly out of our reach. But any illusory final confrontation must be planned and executed absolutely perfectly, and if I decide the risk is too great once you and Utgard-Loki have solidified the details, we are coming up with something less incredible. So I suggest you also stall Thor's return as long as possible until our plans are finalized."

Loki slapped his hands to his cheeks and beamed at Laufey.

"What?" Laufey asked, nonplussed.

"No one has ever asked me to stop, think, and actually plan something before. This may be the worst day, but it is also the best day..."

Laufey laughed again. "Off with you, boy!"

Loki vanished from Laufey's sight, but he did not release the sending. Instead, he reached for Thor's mind again, taxing as the continued telepathy may be. When he found his brother, Thor was sleeping in a mortal's house. Loki stepped into his dream. Although Loki could not actually see the dream content, it was immediately apparent from Thor's reaction that Loki did not belong in it. Loki did not have time to either listen or explain, unfortunately. "Thor," he said urgently. "The Warriors Three are on their way, hoping to retrieve you. You must not go with them. You cannot come home."

"Why can I not?" Thor whispered. "Oh, why oh why..."

"You are mortal, Brother."

"Father, why did you do this to me?" Thor moaned, looking at some aspect of his dream, presumably Odin. Loki winced at the pleading tone. Thor would never have used it in life. He felt bad for intruding on Thor's private misery like this.

If Thor was dreaming, then Loki should just be part of the dream. It was kinder. "Brother, you may not return to the world of the gods until your immortality is restored," he said portentously.

"That will never be. I will die here," Thor said.

"You will not," Loki said. "'Whoever proves himself worthy shall wield the power of Thor.' That is the curse Odin has laid upon you. You must prove yourself to be worthy of your power, and then it will be yours again." Presumably. "But you must do so here. Return to Asgard, and Mjolnir is lost to you forever. Return to Asgard without Mjolnir, and you will die."

"How can I be worthy?" Thor asked wonderingly. At least he was paying attention.

"I know not. You must seek the answers yourself," Loki told him, perfectly honestly. He had no idea what constituted "worthiness" in Odin's book besides not doing what Thor had done to land himself in this predicament. "Farewell."

He let go of Thor's dream. Then he got up, quickly dressed, took a coin out of his desk, grabbed Odin's spear Gungnir from where he had leaned it against the wall, and headed for the vault. As he walked, he even came up with an excuse for why he was going there.

Loki arrived at the Observatory sometime later with the Destroyer in tow. General Tyr had followed Loki's orders to the letter. He had a whole phalanx with him, and Heimdall was surrounded on all sides by Einherjar. General Tyr held Heimdall's long sword.

"We were too late," General Tyr said. "Sif and the Warriors Three have already gone to Midgard. Loki nodded acknowledgment.

"Tell me, Loki, how did you get the Jotunar into Asgard?" Heimdall called boldly.

Loki raised his eyebrows. "I did not. Do you think the Bifrost is the only way in and out of the Realm and that I somehow sneaked them through under your nose? Clearly, there are secret paths between worlds to which even you with all your gifts are blind. That is none of my doing, so I do not know why you suspect me of this villainy." He was definitely enjoying lying to the pompous Watcher about that much. "And I say, for your act of treason, you are relieved of your duties as Gatekeeper."

"Then I need no longer obey you," Heimdall said stubbornly. General Tyr was already glaring at Heimdall, and now his face turned red with fury.

Loki rolled his eyes. "You already no longer obey me. That's why it's called 'treason.' I told you not to open the Bifrost."

"In order to keep your brother from his rightful place."

"No, in order to protect our realm from invasion for which we are not yet prepared. And to protect my brother."

"You? Protect the God of Thunder?"

"As you well know, the God of Thunder is currently deprived of his powers," Loki said impatiently. "What do you think would happen if he came back now, as he is? We could set him on the throne, certainly. And then King Laufey would be livid, retaliate all the sooner, and Thor, a helpless mortal, would die. He would die. I will not let that happen." So saying, he stepped over to the Bifrost controls and inserted Gungnir, just as he had seen Heimdall and Odin do before. The mechanisms whirred to life. He did not even have to adjust the settings, already laid in for Midgard. Loki turned to the Destroyer.

"You don't want to kill your brother, so you will send the Destroyer after him?" Heimdall called derisively. "Do you think us so dense?"

Yes. "Might I remind you that you are the one who sent four of our best warriors to retrieve him? What else should I send that can stand against Lady Sif and the Warriors Three? Unless you prefer I ask General Tyr to fight with his own should they choose rebellion. You forget how popular those captains down there are. Would you like a civil war as well as war with Jotunheim?" Without waiting for more argument, he spoke to the Destroyer. "Ensure my brother does not return," he said clearly. "But inflict no mortal injury on any, if it can be avoided." The Destroyer bowed to its king and stomped towards the Bifrost.

Loki turned to General Tyr. "What do you suggest for our next step?" Publicly asking Tyr would help keep more people on his side.

"Er, well, we should still be able to negotiate with Jotunheim if the Destroyer does its job, I suppose."

"Yes, that must remain our goal," Loki agreed.

"Shall I throw Heimdall in prison?" Tyr asked.

Loki pretended to consider it, then sighed. "Unfortunately, we still need his sight. It will take hours or days or more to find and prepare someone else to take the post of Watcher." Loki did not know off hand how it was done, and he had no intention of wasting his own time finding out when it was not actually relevant to his purposes. The only thing he actually needed Heimdall to do was keep on Thor in case he and/or the Warriors Three and/or Sif ran afoul of the Midgardian military again, or if they for some reason actually decided to fight with the Destroyer. "We will keep him here, but it must be under heavy guard. You yourself will retain the Watcher's sword and thus control of the Bifrost." He rounded on Heimdall again. "Your orders are unchanged, should you deign follow them. You may have no loyalty to me, but you can still prove some degree of loyalty to Asgard herself. Watch Jotunheim. Watch the vault. And watch Thor. Check in on each of these five times per hour now, and report all you see to General Tyr or his officer on duty. General Tyr, you may only open the Bifrost to Midgard if Sif and the Warriors Three seek to return without Thor, if Thor is in genuine danger, or if the activities of your officers risk substantial harm to the Midgardians. We do not need a second inter-realm incident right now, even if it is with Midgard. All other entry or egress remains banned except by my command."

"Your will be done," Tyr said formally.

Loki nodded, turned on his heel, and stormed out of the Observatory.

Author's note: You get an early posting because I'm on vacation this weekend :)

I really, really like the idea of Loki enjoying being told, "hold up, let's think about this a bit first..." lol

Loki of Utgard is a giant from Norse mythology, who uses illusions to trick Thor, Loki, and a random very fast human companion into astonishing feats in exchange for staying at his castle. In the story, the human agrees to race whoever Loki of Utgard proposes. The human loses the race, but not by much. Loki offers to compete in an eating contest. He eats just as much actual food as his opponent and just as quickly, but his opponent also eats all the bones and the platter. Thor initially offers a wrestling contest. Loki of Utgard pits him against a little old lady, who trounces him thoroughly. Furious at being beaten, Thor then suggests a drinking contest, so Loki of Utgard asks him to drink as much as he can from his own drinking horn. Thor drinks and drinks, but the level barely changes in the horn. Finally, Thor offers to lift heavy weight. Loki of Utgard tells him to go pick up his cat, and Thor barely manages to get the kitten's paw off the floor. All three are ashamed, however they get to spend the night anyways. In the morning before kicking them out, Loki of Utgard reveals the illusions: the race was against time itself, Loki's eating contest was against a wildfire, Thor was wrestling anthropomorphized Death, drinking from the ocean (he measurably lowered sea levels!), and lifting up the world snake Jormungandr rather than a kitten (successfully!). Loki of Utgard and all of his court were actually gobsmacked and frankly terrified at how well the three travelers did in these deliberately impossible tasks.