Chapter 18

Thor was anxious as he stepped into the room that caged his brother, unsure of what he would find. All that time, all those months he'd spend grieving for his lost, dead brother - wasted. Loki had been alive and well all the while, plotting his return. Thor's gut twisted; and that plot involved Maria.

His thoughts temporarily soared to the woman on the other side of the Helicarrier. Her face had looked peaceful enough when he'd left her - albeit a little pale - but he had no doubt that behind those closed eyelids, she was panicking. Thor didn't blame her. To find out that someone like his brother was after her... yeah, he could understand her fear. In all honestly, he would have considered her a fool if she wasn't afraid. Her shock must have wracked her deep for her to have been unconscious for so long. Thor had been reluctant to leave her side, but when she showed no sign of waking any time soon in the room S.H.I.E.L.D had allocated to her, he had other matters he needed to attend to.

He'd never anticipated that Maria would pass out like that. It was simply something that had never crossed his mind. He guessed he had just assumed there was no such news that could shock her like that, not while he was there at her side. He'd never anticipated that his brother would be seeking her out on purpose.

He stepped into the open as the door sealed shut behind him, loosely locking him alone with the God of Mischief. He hardly recognised his brother as the man he knew anymore. Sure he looked the same: leaning against the back of the glass cylinder with his arms folded across his chest and a mischievous smirk across his face, dressed in the same black and green clothes, with the same slick black hair and green eyes. But knowing that he wished harm to someone Thor cared about so deeply, the God of Thunder found it hard to see Loki in the same way.

He wasn't his brother anymore. He was a threat.

Loki's lip smirked even deeper as Thor moved closer. "I knew you would come eventually. You before the others."

"Do not mistake the purpose of my visit." Thor warned, glaring at his brother darkly. His hand clenched and unclenched into a fist, devoid of his hammer. He hadn't trusted himself enough to bring it with him, leaving it back in Maria's room as if the weapon could protect her in his absence. "I have not come here lightly." He waited, expecting his brother to shoot back some sort of snide, cruel remark. He was surprised when Loki stayed silent. He wasn't going to let surprise deter him though. "Give up this plan." He implored boldly. "Surrender the Tesseract and return to Asgard."

Loki barked a laugh. "Let me guess." He grinned, tilting his head back against the reinforced glass. "You wish to save this pathetic world and the mortals that inhabit it from the imminent destruction I will bring?"

"No," Truth, Thor decided. He would not sink to his brother level of deception for this, no matter how dangerous honesty might prove to be. "Just one mortal."

That caught Loki's interest: the grin froze on his face as his green eyes locked onto his brothers, as if trying to detect if he was lying or not. Thor's crystal blue gaze stayed hardened with resolve. "You're serious?" His arms dropped to his sides and he stepped smoothly from the wall. "And who is this one treasured mortal, so valued above all the rest?"

"Do not jest with me brother." Thor growled dangerously. "She is the one you hunt to complete your plans."

Loki ceased his advance in the centre of his prison, eyes glinting maliciously. "I believe the humans have brought her to me rather than I seeking her out, have they not? Is she not brought upon this ship? Did father not instruct you to protect her?" His grin darkened. "They are handing her to me on a platter."

Thor's fists clenched. "I am sworn to protect her. I gave her my word I would not let you harm her."

"Then your word will be broken, for I fully intend to take her for myself."

Loki's gaze was calm as he said it. As if he doesn't care, Thor thought. Her life means nothing to him. He could feel the protective urge rising in his chest and fought to contain it; he had to keep his head around his brother. Even now, stood before him, he had no idea how Loki would react. Would he be cold and serious, or mocking? Either way, Thor was cautious. He knew not to trust Loki too much. His brother lied and tricked as often as he breathed. He could not afford to make a mistake with Maria's life hanging in the balance.

"I will give you one chance." Thor went on. "Give up this scheme or I will have no choice but to join the mortals in their fight against you."

To his dismay, Loki's grin stayed put. "You've fallen for her."

Thor's heart clenched.

"Yes, that's it. You've fallen for her." Loki tipped his head back again and laughed. "The great Thor, mighty God of Thunder, has fallen in love with a mortal!" His head levelled and his gaze returned to Thor's. "You do not learn, do you, brother?"

"I am not your brother." Thor half spat, loathing Loki's taunting. "You stopped being my brother the day you declared war on the world and the people that I love."

"You would side with these frail beings?" Loki's eyes gleamed, as if enjoying himself. "I may never have been your brother – no doubt father told you of my true parentage! – but surely you can accept this race is doomed. They would tear themselves apart. In ruling them, I would save them from their own destruction."

Thor's jaw stayed gritted. He didn't trust himself to speak yet. Listening to his brother's logic, he was reminded of the things he used to say, before he came to Earth; he hadn't been all that different to Loki. He'd thought of the mortals as small and weak, while Asgardians were strong, believing it was their natural right to lord over lesser beings who were all too willing to follow them. It chilled him to think that once, he might have joined Loki in this plot.

His dreading realisation must have shown on his face, for Loki's smirk deepened. That's what he wants, Thor suddenly understood, he means to corrupt my mind.

"I've changed." He said more to himself than to Loki. He tried to think of Maria to keep him focussed. "Please Loki," he implored once more, not wishing to stay here long if Loki was already initiating his mind games. "Return to Asgard."

Accept, he willed in his head. Accept, and leave. Thor had no wish to fight his brother, and to avoid any form of battle upon this world would be ideal. But as he watched Loki's lips curve into a snide smirk the hope was quickly fading. So be it, he thought. He would defend Maria whatever the cost.

"Tell me, Thor." Loki advanced a smooth step. Not much distance separated the two gods between the glass now. "Is she worth it? This mortal woman who you would pledge yourself to defend, how far would you go to ensure her safety? How much do you care for her?"

"I love her." Thor blurted without hesitation, instantly cursing himself for betraying such information.

Although behind that, something glimmered inside him. His mind hazed slightly as he ran over what he'd just said. He loved Maria. A smile threatened to bloom on his face – temporarily forgetting where he was. He'd never dared say - or even think! – that before, but moment the words slipped his lips, his chest swelling tightly with pride and something else he'd never quite experienced, he knew it was true: he loved Maria. He loved her.

Loki let out another sharp crack of laughter. "You are truly blinded by these mortals for you to forget who you are. You are a god to them, Thor, yet you would settle for one of their women over an Asgardian-"

"I do not settle for anyone." Thor growled, his temper flaring dangerously.

"You stand here in the hope of defending her, declaring your love when all she will do is grow tired and leave you." Loki mocked, swaggering forward till he was almost nose to nose with the glass.

Thor turned sharply, striding back towards the door, having his answer: Loki wasn't giving up. This was war.

"She will abandon you." The God of Mischief went on, calling after him cruelly. "She will forsake you and move on to another of her kind. Just like they all do. Just like Jane did before her. And you will suffer for it because you were stupid enough to care!"

Thor staggered to a stop.

His fists were clenched so hard it hurt, but worse than that was the pain in his chest. He didn't want to hear Loki's words but his legs refused to carry him forward. He tried to cling futilely at his control as Loki's viscous attacks dug deep.

"Maria is different." He gasped, remembering the pain and hurt when Jane had grew tired of waiting for him, and he'd been forced to endure watching her fall into the arms of another. He'd once thought he'd loved her, but his feelings for Jane had been but a fraction of what he now felt for Maria. It was like Maria was the only thing his heart kept beating for. If Maria did as Jane had, Thor wasn't sure he'd be able to bear it. "She is not like that."

"So her name is Maria. Good. At least now I know the name of the woman I am going to kill."

Something inside Thor snapped and he lurched round with a roar, flying at his brother's cage. His fist smacked into the glass with a wincing thud but didn't draw so much as a crack. Thor didn't pull back though, keeping his bloody knuckles grounding into the glass, his eyes glaring into Loki's, inches away from each other through the space of the glass prison's wall.

"She is mortal. They are all like that." Loki sneered cruelly, hissing so his breath fogged the glass over his mouth. "Surely she is beautiful, yes? You always had a weakness for beautiful women. It is legend here that it is the gods that love and leave when they had their fill but in truth it is the other way around."

"You are wrong." Thor snarled. "She cares for me."

"For now."

Thor don't know how long he stared into his brother's cold green orbs, searching for someone he once recognised as family. Now though, all he saw was the hard eyes of a monster. His brother was lost.

Slowly, he peeled his hand away from the prison and stepped back, feeling numb. Loki was wrong, he told himself. Maria would never do that. She wouldn't. He loved her; he loved her with all his heart. She wouldn't hurt him like that. Although, an unwelcome voice chipped in his head, there was a time you would have said that about Jane.

Thor's steady pace quickened in his haste to get to the door. It wasn't his anger driving him any more, it was his fear, and there was nothing Loki could say that would turn him back now. Thor half ran from the god behind him. He needed to see her, to see she was safe, to hold her hand and kiss her cheek, to tell her the exact nature of his feelings. He'd left her for too long, he decided frantically. His mind was scattered beyond blind panic, desperate to see Maria's calming face. He couldn't bear these suspicious thoughts clotting his head. He needed her presence, he needed her to lean into his hold and reassure him she was his.

"She can never love you Thor!" Loki called, his voice ringing tauntingly in the God of Thunders ear, even as he tore down the corridor. "She will only destroy you."