Loki paced up and down the length of the cramped ship, like a rat trapped in a cage. He was frustrated, which was a feeling he was well used to. But he was also confused, which he didn't like. His encounter with Nebula and the Aakon man bothered him. Something about the entire thing was unsettling, but Loki couldn't quite place his finger on why.

The stone. That shining blue stone on the end of the Aakon man's knife. Loki felt like he should know it, like it was important. Had he seen it somewhere before? Read about it in a book? What was it's power that he had felt so drawn to it, and to Nebula? The two things had to be connected.

He knew where Nebula would go next. It was obvious. He had told Nebula that the kidnapped woman she and her partner sought might be found in the slave markets and so they would go there to search for her. If he were someone else, his former brother for example, he knew he would be so simple-minded as to leave right away and confront them. But Loki hadn't gotten as far as he had by acting without thinking, and he had no intention of allowing a woman to cloud his judgment. He needed more information first. He needed to know what he was getting himself involved in and, more importantly, whether or not it was worth the trouble. Not that he didn't love a little trouble sometimes. He was, after all, the God of Mischief.

Loki needed answers. And on Knowhere, in fact in the entire universe that Loki had seen so far, there was one person who might be able to provide them.

THE COLLECTOR'S EXHIBIT HALL

"I'm always struck by what you've done with the place, Tivan," said Loki as he wandered among the Collector's many artifacts. He lingered a moment observing a glass jar in which an enormous eye was suspended in liquid. He took a step back when the eye blinked at him, suddenly wary of its gaze.

From the collection, Taneleer Tivan stepped forward, his white fur coat dragging behind him. "Does it make you uncomfortable?" he asked, gesturing to the eye. "It should. It has a sight beyond anything you can imagine. I wonder what it sees in you."

"Well," said Loki, "thankfully it has no accompanying mouth to speak for it and so I suppose we'll never know."

"Why are you here, little trickster?" asked the Collector. "Do you have another item to sell me? I so enjoy your Casket. I hope you are not here for it back. I do not offer refunds."

"No," said Loki, "You can keep the Casket. I have no sentiment towards it or what it represents. I am here hoping you can enlighten me about the nature of another item."

"Oh?" asked the Collector. "Perhaps you misunderstood the point of this place, then. I am not some museum curator displaying all this for the knowledge and pleasure of others, Godling. If you would like information, try a library."

"Ah," said Loki, "but I know why you do this, Tivan. You are a Collector. It is an obsession. And I have a feeling that this particular object may prove to be of interest to you, should I be able to retrieve it."

"Is that so?" The eccentric and unreadable man stared at Loki for a moment. Loki found himself overwhelmed by the years he could see in the man's eyes. He was uncertain of this man's origin or power, but from the moment he'd met him it had been clear that he was not someone to mess with. And Loki didn't intend to.

"It is," said Loki. "It's here on Knowhere currently, and powerful. But that is all I know about it at this point. I need more than that if I'm to steal it from its current owner."

"If all you know is that it is here and powerful, that hardly narrows it down for me," said the Collector.

"Right," said Loki, "I can do this though." Loki held out his hands and drew upon his magic, and in front of them appeared a projection from Loki's own memories. The two of them examined the image that the magic produced of the Aakon man's ornate knife. Loki watched as the man in front of him circled the projection, taking it in. His body language changed, and Loki could see that he was growing excited and anxious.

"You think you can retrieve that?" the man asked.

"I believe so," said Loki. "An Aakon man currently has it. He's large, but I'm certainly faster and cleverer. What is it?"

"Oh," said the Collector clutching his chest, an intense look of pleasure coming across his face. "That..." he said, "that is something I am indeed interested in."

Loki scowled. "I knew that already. You're interested in everything. That's sort of the point of your existence, isn't it?" He gestured to the exhibits around him. "I need details, Tivan. I won't risk my life for some trinket without knowing why."

"It is an infinity stone," said the Collector.

"Truly?" asked Loki, surprised. "I thought those were mere legend."

"There is no such thing," said the Collector. "Most objects of legend are based in fact. And the infinity stones are quite real, I can assure you. And to see one... oh what a glorious thought! I cannot bear it. I must have it."

Loki had heard of the infinity stones. They were the subject of stories he had heard as a child that were well-told in Asgard. The story of those who tried to wield the infinity stones and failed was a cautionary tale. It warned against any one person wielding too much power and what happens to those who desire it.

Loki had always hated those stories. He always reasoned that if the stones existed to begin with than someone must have once been powerful enough to wield them properly. He never understood why was that such a bad thing. No, the moral Loki took from those stories was that only select people are worthy enough to wield real power and that those who aren't will burn and deserve it. He always imagined that if the stones were real that he would be able to wield one successfully and that he would use it for the glory of Asgard.

Now, though, the thought made him pause. He had tried to rule Asgard, had tried to wield the power of Odin and it had burned him, in keeping with the moral of the story that he never learned. And the stones were most certainly more powerful than that, as ancient and legendary as they were. If the stones were real, could he wield one? Could anyone?

His self-doubt lasted for only a moment before it passed, and he realized what he could do with that stone. What he could have with that stone. And if the Aakon man was able to wield it, perhaps their risk was overstated.

"If this thing is, as you say, an infinity stone," said Loki, "I am hesitant to risk so much for it, Tivan, or to simply hand it over to you once I have it. There are few men in existence who would willingly give up that much power. You will have to make it worth my while."

"Four billion units," the Collector offered.

Loki's eyebrow raised at the figure. It was enormous. Enough to almost buy a person as much power as the stone would grant, and a greater guarantee of future freedom and happiness. Besides, power for its own sake was something Loki had given up chasing when he let go of everything else.

"That will do it," he said, smiling.

Now, he thought, he had a woman and an infinity stone to steal.