Thor walked into the middle of the field, hammer hanging from his hand. His steps indicated that he rather anxious at the moment. Loki was right behind him, eyes narrowed as he took light steps after his brother. They had returned to the house to get Hawkeye and found it all quiet, as if Red Skull had never appeared.

Thor looked at the others, who were all standing around him "The Bifrost will carry us straight there. Do not move or there is a chance you will fall out into the Void."

Loki looked at Thor questioningly as he spoke to the rest of the Avengers.

"You're going to take them to Asgard?" Volstagg asked incredulously.

"You will stay here with Hogun." Thor replied, without answering his question "Since this appears to be the place they attack."

"I think I'll stay too." Tony said, pointing at the ground "I've had enough experience flying out of this world for a lifetime."

"I never thought you'd be the one to turn this down." Hawkeye said, glancing at him. Then he looked at Thor "Why are we going to Asgard?"

"So we can find out the truth." Thor growled. He looked at Loki with clear disdain and his younger brother returned it, his face bitter and satisfied.

"Heimdall. Open the Bifrost." Thor ordered.

"Wait a second." Captain America said, but the light was already surrounding them.

Suddenly, they were flying through the air. Loki and Thor were right next to each other, gazing up as if expecting to see Asgard at the top. The rainbow light whooshing past them was beautiful, but having been given the orders from the God of Thunder not to move, they were all completely still, eyes wide.

Heimdall stood on the pedestal, face stoic as he watched the spinning vortex in front of him. One by one, the travelers appeared. First Thor, and then Loki. The rest came in quick succession before Heimdall pulled the sword out with a clang.

Captain America was looking around, rather stunned.

"You return." Heimdall said, looking at all of the others with serious eyes "The Allfather will not be pleased. Mortals were not meant to trespass on other realms."

"They are here on my authority. Odin will listen." Thor replied.

"That was close to the weirdest thing I've ever experienced." Tony said offhandedly.

Heimdall was looking Loki, yellow eyes neutral as two guards approached from the entrance of the Bifrost, apparently already aware that they would have guests. They walked immediately over to Loki, manacles in their grasp. After a heartbeat of a pause, the God of Mischief held out his wrists and allowed the guards to place the shackles around them. He said nothing to them, even though he knew that everyone else was watching.

"Let's go." Thor said lowly, taking his eyes off his brother and heading out of the dome. Loki followed suit, hands shackled so they remained in front of him rather than at his sides.

As they started walking, Banner leaned over to Hawkeye.

"They cuff him here, but not on Earth?" he asked quietly.

The Avengers walked into the massive room filled with columns and lined with guards. Thor strode into the palace with ease. Loki's expression was hard and slightly bitter. although he appeared just as confident walking down the hall.

One of the guards stood by the throne, a small staff in his hand. He inclined his head.

"My prince. You seek the Allfather?"

"Yes." Thor replied "We need to speak with him. Where is he?"

"He dwells in his chambers." the guard replied. His eyes scanned the mortals with concern "I will summon him for you."

"Thank you." Thor said and the guard bowed his head again before leaving.

Everyone looked around the spacious room and the vaulted ceiling. Except Loki, whose eyes remained on the floor in front of him.

It didn't take long for the king of Asgard to appear. Gungnir was in his hand as he stood at the seat of the throne, head erect. The warriors lowered their heads respectfully.

"Thor." Odin said, his voice echoing off the walls. He didn't sound happy in the slightest "Why have you brought them here? Asgard is not a place for mortal beings."

"I am aware." Thor responded "But we need to speak with you."

"I think we have a bigger problem then where we belong or not." Hawkeye muttered quietly enough so that no one could hear him. Even so, Odin looked at him.

"What have you found out?" he asked. Obviously, Heimdall had said something to him. He looked at Loki, who stared back with a calm challenge in his eyes.

Thor glanced at his brother as well, unwilling to speak for him this time.

"Loki." Odin said "You have something to say."

Loki leaned forward, eyebrows up "Do I? There is a bargain to be made first, I believe."

"There will be no bargain." Odin responded.

"Then there will be no exchange of information." Loki replied sharply, eyes narrowed. The air had quickly grown cold.

"You are forgetting your place." Odin said, taking a few steps down from the throne "You are not immune to the punishments of treachery, Loki, and certainly not the means of getting information. I will return you to that cell and leave you there for the rest of your life. Thor granted you relief from your solitude. I can reverse that. Prisoners have no rights."

"Oh I'm well aware." Loki responded quietly. He turned his head slightly "Unfortunately Odin, you raised me to think for myself. Even if you return me to my cell, sooner or later you'll need my knowledge and you'll return to the dungeon."

"You value what you know too highly." Odin said.

Loki held back a smile "As far as you know."

"Enough. Hush your wit." Odin said, with a hint of warning.

"I have nothing more to say. Return me to the dungeons. Or better yet, kill me. Quite honestly, that might be more merciful at this point." Loki said, walking forward slowly, eyes intense "But if you choose to do so, Odin, that would be a very poor example of the love for the nine realms you claim to care about."

Thor took a few steps after his brother, eyes anxious "Loki, stop."

"I would heed his words." Odin said, peering at his son with narrowed eyes "We will discuss this elsewhere. Loki, follow me to my chambers."

"You would rather trade insults in private?" Loki asked scathingly.

"Loki, please." Thor muttered warningly.

"You have your terms and I have mine. No one else needs to be present." Odin responded, eyes still on Loki.

"It'll be a short debate." Loki said bitterly, staring at him, but he walked forward. Two Asgardian soldiers followed him as Thor watched with solemn eyes.

"Father..." he said.

"You remain here." Odin said, glancing at him. He picked up his staff and went after his adopted son.

Captain America looked over at Thor once he was gone.

"He can't let Loki out." he said, his voice incredulous.

"He won't." Thor replied.

"He'll come up with some sort of ruse, a ploy, you know that." Sif said.

"And you don't think Odin can see through them?" Thor asked angrily, glancing at her. He didn't seem the least bit worried about what Loki was going to demand.
Sif blinked, seeming a bit put off by his harsh response.

"We need what he knows." Thor said a bit quieter "Odin understands that."

"What if it turns out to be something worthless and he's just fooling us into giving him something?" Banner asked, waving his glasses "It could be something we already know."

"He knew...Red Skull." Captain America said, clearly in deep thought as he stared at the ground "And Red Skull knew him. That alone is a big problem."

Thor looked after where the two of them had disappeared grimly.

"Thor. I know he's your younger brother, but you can't protect him anymore. Loki's fate is in his own hands. He'll make his own decisions." Fandral said without looking at the God of Thunder.

"He's too stubborn to let it go." Thor replied. He pointed a finger at the floor "Loki will push Odin until he's completely unreasonable and he'll put Loki back in prison. Then we'll lose his help and we still won't have what we need."

Captain America let out a deep breath, glancing over at Tony and Hawkeye. Tony waited a moment before speaking.

"Well, at least while we wait, you could give us the grand tour." he said.

"Do you ever think before you speak?" Hawkeye asked dryly, glancing at him.

"Yes." Tony responded, face intentionally serious "Really, if I didn't hang around with this group, you'd all be on anti-depressant meds by now."

"Hang around? You're the one who called us all in." Hawkeye replied.

"Right, so I was choosing to be around you." Tony said, waving his hand to stress the words.

"We're all so happy you're here." Black Widow said with a faint smile. It immediately left her face though.

"Alright, I'm going to eliminate the sarcasm from that sentence and just take it as a compliment." Tony replied "I trust the old king, he will deal with Loki."

Thor and Captain America didn't join in the lighthearted argument with them. They were both waiting impatiently for Odin and Loki to reappear.

"So, who's Red Skull?" Fandral asked. Captain America glanced at him, arms folded.

"He was the head of HYDRA." he responded "It was a terrorist organization on Earth. They used the tesseract to create weapons and tried to use those weapons to force humans to comply. It started in Germany and just got worse from there. I thought the tesseract killed Red Skull a long time ago, but it looks like I was wrong. It must have...teleported him or something." Captain America looked at Thor "Loki and him spoke as if neither of them were in charge. As if Red Skull answered to someone else."

Thor let out a deep breath, but he didn't have any words to respond so he just nodded.

"You realize time isn't on our side, right?" Captain America asked "That man could still be on Earth. And if he is, he'll make it known."

"I know." Thor responded with a slightly anxious scowl.

Captain America didn't say anything else after that and the group descended into silence. When ten more minutes passed, Tony started pacing back back and forth. He didn't speak up, but it was obvious everyone else was thinking the same thing. If all else failed, they would have to let Loki free. And yet, that wasn't an option.
Although Thor had learned to be more patient after his banishment, he definitely still needed some practice. He wanted to know what was happening in there. What Odin was saying. What they could possibly be debating.

Another fifteen minutes passed without a word from any of the guards. Thor's arms were folded and he stared at the ground blankly. He wished Odin would have allowed him in there. He was good at being the mediator between the two of them.

Ten more minutes lapsed by and most of them were on the verge of speaking. But they stayed quiet, as if a few more minutes would solve the problem.

"At least we'll know right away if Earth is no longer there when we try to return." Tony said.

"That's not funny." Captain America replied in irritation.

"I know. I wasn't being funny." Tony said.

"Heimdall is keeping watch. He will know if there is an attack on Earth." Thor said, one hand extended with the palm down in an irritated gesture.

Footsteps from in front of him made the God of Thunder turn his head. Two guards walked down the hall and Odin appeared after. Loki was not with them.
Thor walked over quickly, the question rising to his lips.

"Loki will tell us what he knows." Odin announced before he could say anything.

Thor blinked in shock, stopping dead.

"What happened?" he asked in disbelief.

"We reached an agreement." Odin responded. The others shared a glance, eyes flicking back and forth.

"How?" Thor asked in shock.

"Loki has no desire to return to the dungeons, that much is obvious. In the end, he did seek his freedom." Odin said "He thought that was the only thing he wanted. I showed him that it was not."

"What did you give him?" Thor asked.

"That does not matter." the king said "Follow me. It would be best if all of you are present to hear what he has to say."

If Thor wasn't surprised enough, Odin inviting mortals into his personal chambers was sure to tie the knot. The God of Thunder hesitated a moment before following his father.

When they entered the room, Loki was facing the balcony away from them. When he glanced back, his hands were still chained and his eyes were narrowed. Thor stared at him, trying to see if he could read what was in those eyes. Unfortunately, there was no obvious emotion in them.

"In the bounds of our covenant, Loki, you will tell us what you know." Odin admonished.

Loki tilted his head, squinting at him. Obviously him and Odin hadn't improved their relationship one bit.

"It might be best if we begin with a question." Loki responded coldly.

Odin looked over at Thor and the God of Thunder was all too happy to oblige.

"What do you know about the man who came to Earth?" he asked, staring at his brother intently while pushing away his curiosity.

"They call him Red Skull." Loki replied. He spoke shortly, as if he wished this was over "I don't know the details of his time on Earth before this other than he used the tesseract to create weapons."

"When did you meet him?" Captain America asked. He had been waiting for this.

Even though Loki's demeanor didn't change dramatically, it was obvious it would be better if Thor asked the questions.

"I met him after my swift departure from Asgard." the God of Mischief replied, his voice laced with a bit of sarcasm. Odin's head turned to the side ever so slightly as if wary of deception.

"He was in a foreign realm." Loki continued "One that none of you would have heard of."

"Why did he come to Earth?" Thor asked. He took a step forward "Loki, I know there is a much bigger picture here. We're wasting time."

"He most likely came to Earth because the scepter is hidden there, if I haven't already made that clear." Loki responded.

"But you've never told us why." Captain America replied.

"They gave it to me." Loki said with quiet anger as he looked at the soldier for several seconds "It's a powerful weapon, not unlike the ones you've seen before."

"They? Who is they?" Captain America asked.

Loki paused for a moment, clearly rethinking all that he wanted to tell them.

"Red Skull serves someone called Thanos." he said finally.

Odin's eyebrows furrowed for a second and Thor glanced over at him. The others shared looks amongst themselves, wondering if anyone was familiar with the name.

"His title is the God of Death." Loki continued grimly "He sent Red Skull to Earth to scout out potential problems. They want the scepter."

"And you knew they were doing this before?" Captain America asked, face much more sober now. He had no idea that the red-faced mutant was the least of his worries now.

"I didn't. Not until Red Skull showed up." Loki responded coldly. Of course, that was partly a lie.

"Is the scepter all they want?" Thor asked, his voice full of disbelief "A being that has achieved the status God of Death has certainly done something to earn it."

Loki stopped once again. Odin was staring at him, his mind clearly going a million directions at once.

"Loki." Thor said.

The God of Mischief's eyes moved to him, the emotion still slightly contemptful.

"No. If I were to speculate, he has a much bigger plan in place. But it begins with the scepter. That is among the more powerful objects he once possessed."

"And what does he plan to do once he gets it back?" Thor asked, still rather patiently, despite the fact that getting these answers was like dragging a cat out of a bag. Slow, frustrating, and worst of all, seemingly painful for the cat. Loki in this case.

"Can you think of nothing?" his younger brother asked.

"I can think of plenty." Tony replied with a few nods.

"He didn't start with Earth and he won't end with Earth." Loki said.

"So, what? Universal domination?" Tony asked "Because I can sure as hell guarantee that there are plenty of other people willing to fight just like us."

"And you'll find double the amount willing to fight with him." Loki responded sharply, suddenly sounding angry "You think the Chitari were an army? You should imagine millions of others much more brilliant than them attacking any of the realms they please. Beings like Red Skull. Smart. Cunning. They won't show mercy, they won't leave survivors and all your precious protections would quail before them. Before you underestimate him, you should imagine billions upon billions of your people dead."

Tony stared back at him, quieted.

"You don't know who you're up against. You have no idea." Loki added darkly "I take it you were surprised by the random appearance of that man today? You'll never see the rest of them coming."

"What kind of beings fight by his side?" Thor asked.

"Ones like Red Skull." Loki repeated "And entire races you have never heard of. Ones that truly are only bloodthirsty monsters that enjoy killing. Frost giants are nothing compared to them." he looked at Odin "Asgard might find a new hatred besides Jotunheim."

Odin was staring at him gravely.

"And he is taking matters into his own hands now, why? Why didn't he come before?" Sif asked pointedly.

"You think he hasn't been planning this? I'll ask you a return question. Why didn't the frost giants come and slaughter everyone on Asgard a thousand years ago?" Loki countered "Because they couldn't. They had no way to get here. Not everyone has the blessing of choosing where they want to go at any given moment."

"But they're learning how to open the portals now." Banner said, waving a hand as the dots connected. His voice was calming compared to the rest of them.

"They've finally become powerful enough." Loki said.

"Do you think the frost giants are involved in this?" Odin asked, speaking for the first time.

"Why? You actually wish they were all dead now?" Loki asked sarcastically.

"Loki." Odin said warningly.

"Odin." The God of Mischief replied with equal contempt.

"Is Thanos employing their help or not?" Odin asked again.

"You expect me to know that?" Loki asked.

"I'm asking what you think." Odin responded.

"No. If they were, they would not be attacking randomly." Loki said. He seemed reluctant to give his thoughts directly to Odin "Obviously they don't know how to control the portals well. They have only weakened them."

"That much I can sense." Odin responded. He looked at the ground, jaw twisting slightly as he thought.

"Do they all follow his command?" Thor asked quietly.

"To their dying breath." Loki replied.

"So, what do we do?" Captain America asked, looking around in exasperation "There's got to be something we can do to prevent this. This isn't just the end of the universe as we know it." he looked at the God of Mischief "Loki?"

"I've spoken my piece." Loki replied and Captain America half glared at him.

"There is no immediate threat." Odin responded, his commanding voice silencing the rest of the mutterings as Gungnir banged on the ground.

"With all due respect, my king." Fandral said, arm hovering in the respectful motion across his chest "The Frost Giants came to Earth with intentions to kill. Mortals stand no chance against them."

"That is why you are there." Odin responded. He looked at the others "We can deal with the Jotuns. Until the bigger threat arises, they are to be your main concern."
"We have a bigger threat." Captain America said "He came to Earth less than an hour ago."

"Do you have any evidence that this man remains on Earth?" Odin asked, his voice calm. The silence answered him, although Captain America was well prepared for a debate.

"Heimdall will keep a watchful eye on Earth." Odin went on before any arguing could commence "If that man is there, or he returns, we will send word. Let this be Asgard's concern. You are the protectors of Midgard, not the protectors of the realms. That burden does not fall to you. If and when the frost giants return, we will find a way to close these portals ourselves. It is the only way we will be able to stop more undesirable beings from entering."

"We can't spend the eternities blocking them from coming." Tony pointed out "They'll find a way eventually."

"We will do what we must until we can do more." Odin responded "Loki." He looked at the hidden frost giant "You will remain on Earth to warn them of oncoming threats. I admonish you to be honest if something should be revealed that you find useful."

Loki returned his gaze, his face full of amused contempt. He leaned forward.

"It'll be an honor to carry out your orders." he said with cold sarcasm "I advise you to hold up your end of the bargain. Or you may find yourself with a lack of warning."

He inclined his head with mock respect before turning away from them. The two Asgardian soldiers followed him as he left the room. Odin did not stop him, but his eyes followed him all the way out.

"Father." Thor ventured.

Odin looked at the ground, leaning heavily on his staff.

"This is worse than I feared." he said quietly "Much worse. I thank Valhalla Loki came to a compromise."

"Do you know of this being named Thanos?" Thor asked immediately.

"I had always hoped it was not true. I am familiar with the name. And the title. The fact that Loki mingled among them is deeply unsettling. I always suspected that he had been..." Odin shook his head slightly as he faded off. He turned his eyes to his eldest son "Thanos is a dark being. He will not be satisfied with one realm; he wants them all."

"Do you believe all that he told you?" Thor asked cautiously.

"It is reasonable to assume that Thanos would have followers, but if Loki is not lying then that means he has an army. A battalion."

"What do you want us to do?" Thor asked.

"Just as I said. Return to Earth. Protect it. Let me deal with the rest. I will call you when you are needed here." Odin responded. Captain America blinked, as if he wanted to object.

"What did you give him that made him willing to speak so freely?" Thor asked.

"A number of things." Odin replied "I too am astounded by the amount he revealed. He is no fool. Loki is fully aware that by telling us even a portion of those things, he has signed his death sentence."

Thor blinked, eyes shocked "What do you mean?" he looked after where Loki has disappeared "Then you would send him back to Earth? Where he will be exposed?"

"This coming from the man who claimed he had no brother left to love." Odin countered, although his voice was gentler "There is no danger at this moment. Either way, I suspect Loki would rather die out there, than within the confines of his cell."

"I have no intentions of letting him be killed." Thor responded with a hint of anger. His fist tightened on the handle of Mjolnir.

"Peace, my son." Odin said "Loki is fully capable of defending himself, he would not take kindly to you trying to do it for him. He will be safe. However." Odin's voice became more stern "You are still not to place trust in him. In all honesty, I don't know why he did not ask for something when you originally came to him, nor why he continues to offer his assistance cooperatively. I do know that he is more cornered than ever and that is when he is most unpredictable. Now." he looked at the others for a moment before back at Thor.

"We must call the rest of the warriors. It's time you were sent off properly."