The room seemed vast, yet the black and red colours caused it to give a claustrophobic impression nevertheless. The austerity of the place was symbolised by the complete absence of furniture. The only exception was an extravagant armchair which the local inhabitants called a throne. The throne was situated in the very middle of the space.

Thanos was sitting on the peculiar throne, his left elbow casually leaning against the armrest. His thumb and the index finger on his left hand were carelessly mapping his jawline as if they were combining an invisible beard. The gesture suggested that he was lost deep in thought. Yet the slight smirk revealed the uneven teeth and together with the never-changing, evil look with the additional sadistic pleasure in his eyes suggested that the ideas he was busy contemplating seemed satisfying to him.

If something seemed satisfying to Thanos, the rest of the universe had one more wrinkle on his forehead.

That day, indeed, Thanos had a reason for the ugly smirk. The second prince of Asgard had landed on his planet. Out of blue, the Mad Titan came into possession of such an invaluable, defenceless jewel that he couldn't believe his luck.

Thanos knew the power of having an offspring that could fight one's battles for him. He made sure to teach his own adopted children how to make a stand against his enemies. He also showed them what would happen to them should they disappoint him.

The Mad Titan was cruel, but he wasn't stupid. He was well aware that most parents viewed their children differently than he did. Unquestionably, he considered their treatment and attitude to be the expression of weakness. He didn't, however, underestimate the extent of madness most parents would be willing to go to in order to save their children from abuse.

Thanos knew that most parents would sacrifice anything to protect their children from harm.

His smirk widened. Right now, Thanos was holding the key to manipulate the Protector of the Nine Realms by a simple snap of his fingers. Especially considering that each snap of those fingers could mean breaking a bone of Odin's precious child.

The Mad Titan stood up from his chair.

This should be fun.

…

The first thing that the fallen Asgardian prince noticed upon waking up from his unwilling slumber was the severe pain in his head.

And then all the memories of his fall came back.

Loki opened his eyes.

The shining emerald green irises were easily the brightest, most mesmerising items in the room that the god was occupying.

The God of Mischief was astonished to realise that he was lying in a bed. Almost immediately, he noticed that his aching head was rested onto a light pillow and he was covered by a simple blanket. Trying to ignore the pain in his body, Loki turned over onto his side. He grimaced as he was roughly reminded of the different afflictions of pain. Yet his curiosity won and soon the emerald eyes were searching the room.

The room was relatively small with simple furnishings. Apart from the narrow bed he was lying in, there was nothing but rough, three rock-like walls with no windows. The fourth wall was missing. Instead, Loki found himself staring at an object that constantly made it clear where he had been placed.

The iron bars.

He was in the dungeons.

Loki had no recollection of how he got into the room he could now with certainty call a cell. The last thing he could remember was the Titan's hand touching his forehead. Then, a cloud of pain filled his head and everything went black.

The prince expected his founders to want to hurt him. That's how you usually react when you find a monster in your backyard. Yet he was placed in a bed to have time to heal.

Something was off. Loki couldn't quite put his finger on what was wrong about this situation as the dizziness was quickly overcoming him. Deciding that there was nothing better to do now than trying to regain his strength by giving his magic free hand to repair his body, Loki let himself be drifted back into the land of dreams.

…

Tony observed the scene with relief. It was obvious that Loki was made a prisoner of Thanos, but the conditions of his imprisonment didn't seem to be too harsh. Tony himself had been made a prisoner in far worse conditions and it didn't turn him into a murdering lunatic. Quite the opposite.

…

"Wake up, my prince."

The words that Loki heard were no different than those he used to hear when he was just a child. For a moment, it brought him back to his chambers on Asgard. Upon opening his eyes, the cell came back into view.

This time, he wasn't alone.

The Titan was standing right in front of his modest bed. Immediately, Loki felt inappropriate to be wrapped up in the blanket on the bed in the presence of this unknown entity. With an effort not to let any of his pain show in his expression, Loki sat up. Gladly, he understood that his magic has done wonders on his damaged body and mentally he thanked his mother for sharing this gift with him. He felt sore and in pain, however, he could sit up which was quite a miracle considering that he literally crashed onto this planet.

…

"His magic seemed to have healed him much faster than it has been doing now." Steve mumbled while watching the scene in front of him.

"I was actually beginning to worry about that. This is how Loki's magic is supposed to work. He even managed to heal himself when a sword was run through him. I don't know why it has been taking so long this time. Especially considering that it was only you mortals who hurt him." Thor followed Steve's train of thoughts while watching his brother waking up in the strange cell with a worried frown.

"It's because of the shackles he was wearing. I designed them to prevent him from using magic and even after their removal, the magic is coming back to him slowly and hence it cannot be used to an excessive degree." Steven Strange spoke.

"What are you doing here? How come you're even here? You didn't hold anyone's hand." Tony interrupted annoyed.

"I could tell you, but I suppose your rational mind would be closed to my explanation similarly as mine once was." Steve answered.

Before Tony managed to reply, the scene in front of them unfolded, effectively rendering any chatter impossible.

…

"Do you know who I am?" Thanos asked Loki who was looking at him with an unreadable expression.

"No, I don't." Loki didn't like admitting not knowing.

"My name is Thanos."

Loki's expression didn't change. The name didn't ring a bell.

Thanos smirked.

"I see that Odin has made a great deal of effort to delete my name from the Asgardian memory and libraries."

Loki, as the silver-tongued master of communication, was very well aware that it is better to keep quiet. It usually prompts people to say the things they didn't intend to let on. As he was clearly in the disadvantage in this situation, the God of Mischief was determined to equal the balance by acquiring as much information as possible.

"It should be no surprise. Odin has always been very capable of covering up the things, or people, he didn't want anymore." Thanos carefully searched Loki's face for any sign of realisation what he was talking about. When he didn't find any, Thanos found himself being impressed by the Allfather.

So his sons knew nothing about their sister.

Well, that was interesting.

"Do you know where you are?"

"In the void." Loki kept his answer brief and concise.

"Indeed. Now tell me, Loki, how come that a prince of Asgard finds himself in such a low place as the Void?" Thanos questioned with a pretended curiosity.

"I fell."

"Did you?" Thanos retorted, making no indication whether he believed him or not.

It was a bit frustrating for the Mad Titan. Usually, he could make people dance as he wanted. Yet Loki was very careful not to let out any information.

Frustrating yet entertaining.

Finally, someone who actually used their brain. A welcome change from the likes of the Chitauri or the Other who were only good to follow clear instructions.

Thanos liked a good opponent. It made the game worth playing.

It was also much more fun to break a person who never thought could be broken.

"Well, Loki. The things are like this. As you are well aware, your father is one of the most powerful beings in the universe." Thanos made a small pause. Loki flinched slightly when he said your father. The Titan made a careful note of that but continued as if he noticed nothing. "There is something that the Allfather has in his possession. The thing is, it doesn't belong to him. It belongs to me. And I want it back."

"What is it?" Loki asked.

"It would be more precise to ask who it is. But it doesn't matter know. I have lost contact with Odin around the time your older brother Thor was born. Since then, I was only able to get pieces of information from the realms the Allfather ruled. Such as your birth. It was quite a quiet occasion, I heard. I would expect more of a celebration when a royal child is born. Yet it will prove to be essential now. See the thing is, I heard about your little excursion to Jotunheim. I couldn't believe my ears when I heard that Odin actually went there himself to save the mess your brother Thor created. He must love Thor very much."

Thanos paused and observed Loki who was staring at the blanket on the bed.

"See, Loki, love is weakness. It makes you vulnerable. You would do things for the people you love you never imagined yourself doing. For a long time, I thought that Odin had no weakness. No hole to penetrate. Yet that was until I heard about Thor's fruitful endeavour to Jotunheim. Clearly, Odin would do anything to save his new children from harm. Since that moment, I knew that the way to defeat the Allfather leads through his children. Never would I imagine such an opportunity of having Odin's son in my power. And so soon!" Thanos had to catch his breath before continuing. The excitement was taking hold of him. He said the new children. He shouldn't have said that. But considering that Loki never heard about Hela, he shouldn't find it suspicious.

"It's nothing personal, Loki. You will be back in your shiny palace before you can say the Nine Realms. But see, I want to be sure that the…transaction goes smoothly. And so I decided to give Odin an extra motivation."

Thanos snapped his fingers. Immediately, four Chitauri guards entered Loki's cell.

"I will give you back to your father on one condition. He has someone that I desire very much. It will be head for head. A fair deal." Thanos turned his attention to the Chitauri.

"As I said, I want him to look worse than he actually is. He has already been injured so make sure you don't hurt him too much. Just make sure that Odin sees that it is not healthy for his son to stay here much longer." With those words, Thanos left the cell. His steps were echoing through the dungeons but soon their sound died out.

Loki tried to make sense of what he'd just been told.

Thanos wanted to return him to Asgard in exchange for some valuable prisoner.

He could see his mother again.

No, Loki.

Would Odin take him back? Would he understand that he did those things to please him? Would he understand that he never meant to actually hurt Thor?

That's why he let the fire burn out before the Destroyer hit his brother.

How out of hands did his plans spiralled.

Yet the endless fall showed Loki what it meant to be alone and hopeless. He wanted to make amends with his mother and Thor.

Thanos must never know that he is not actually Odin's child.

If he did, he may not contact Odin for the exchange.

Letting go was the mistake of Loki's life. Letting go of the control over his actions started it and the literal letting go of the Gungnir finished it.

But it couldn't be too late to somehow save the situation now.

When he let go, Loki expected not to suffer anymore.

Instead, he was given something far more rewarding.

A chance for redemption.

He would not be a coward and he will return to Asgard with his head held high, willing to admit his mistakes.

He will show Frigga that she doesn't have to ashamed to call him her son.

He will show them that he is more an Odinson than Laufeyson.

Loki knew what the Chitauri's job was even before they moved to his bed and roughly shoved him on the ground. He would take the beating. Welcome it even. He knew he deserved it for his actions on Asgard. And then, he would go home to make things right.

…

"I don't understand this. Loki wasn't given back to Asgard. He appeared on Midgard out of blue. Literally. This doesn't make any sense." Thor stared at his comrades confused. None of them seemed to have a reply.

A few steps away, hidden by Frigga's magic so that no one could see or hear them, the former Queen of Asgard whispered the words Odin had feared with a shaky voice while she was watching four disgusting creatures beating her son. Loki, her little baby Loki with his beautiful, short hair, was lying on the ground. He wasn't defending himself. Instead, he was taking the blows as If he deserved them.

"Oh, Odin. What did you do?"

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