Still not sure where this is going but there are so many possibilities! In this chapter I'll make Loki more grown-up than you'd expect for a twelve (or eight-hundred)-year-old. He's based on the Loki of Journey Into Mystery (since I'm currently reading those comics)

It had been two days since the library incident and Tony Stark would be lying if he denied he started to like the kid. By now all of them had established that even if this was all a trick they would be able to handle Loki in the body of a twelve-year-old in Stark Tower. Loki had been given some books the day after the little misunderstanding and Loki hadn't done anything suspicious except thanking them, which had been rather awkward because no one really expected a sign of gratitude from their enemy because they brought him some books. Since Loki hadn't mentioned anything specific they had settled upon 'Shakespeare's Sonnets' and 'Great Expectations". That very same day while Tony had been working Jarvis had interrupted him.

'Sir, Loki requests if you could come to his room since he is not allowed to leave it himself." Tony really hadn't liked that.

"Why can't Steve go? Or Natasha?" (the other two had been left out of that question for very obvious reasons)

"Mr. Rogers is jogging and miss Romanoff is with Mr. Barton." okay so the AI did have a good reason for not calling someone else but still, Tony didn't like it.

"What does he want?" Tony had asked. Turns out Loki is a big fan of Shakespeare and the only thing he had wanted was more books. Tony being a fan of Shakespeare himself (although he would never admit it to anyone) hadn't been able to stop himself from talking with Loki about it. Before he knew it they had a full on sonnet battle and were quite enjoying themselves. Only when he had left Loki's room he had realized he had been talking to his enemy for hours and nothing bad had happened at all! And he had to admit it to himself. Young Loki was not as bad as he thought he'd be. After setting some of his prejudices aside (not all of them he still was cautious) he found out he actually starts to like the kid. Of course he wouldn't say that out loud to anyone. Barton still refuses to let go of his bow (or at least his knives).

XxXxXxXxXx

Bruce Banner doesn't know what to do. He wants to find out about Loki but to do that he has to be in his close proximity. Now last time that happened the Other Guy had pounded Loki into Stark's floor (something he was certain of Tony still hadn't forgiven him for) so he was having an internal debate. Maybe he should take someone with him but then if the Other Guy came out that someone might get hurt. Like all of the Avengers he really wanted to know whether Loki was lying or not. Now Bruce Banner is a man of science and Steve and Natasha can say they think Loki's telling the truth, there only one way Bruce will actually believe it, when he asks Loki himself. But like previously stated, it was easier said than done.

It takes Bruce the whole morning before he finally decides to go to Loki's room. He ends up in front of Loki's door way too fast for his liking. Not sure what to do next he hesitantly knocks. The door opens rather slowly and Loki's head pops up from behind it. When he sees the scientist his eyes widen before he narrows them.

"Can I help you with something, Healer Banner?" He asks, with eyebrows raised skeptically.

"No… I mean yes, I mean you can't really help me but-" Bruce really isn't good at this. Loki has opened the door more know and Bruce can't help but notice the book lying on the table.

Hamlet

"-You read Shakespeare?"

Loki doesn't seem surprised.

"Yes, as a matter of fact I do. However I am quite certain you are not here to talk about Hamlet or am I mistaken?" Loki takes a step back and opens the door fully, beckoning the doctor to come in.

"No, you're right that's not the reason why I came here." Bruce says stepping into the room and wringing his hands together.

"I assume you are here for a reason. One that has something to do with the missing millennia from my memory. If you are then I am afraid I must disappoint you, for I do not remember anything." He says it so lightly, like it doesn't really bother him. Bruce is no expert when it comes to social skills, or when people are lying, spotting tells but he can see Loki does care. That he's wrestling with it, it's obvious that he really wants to know what has happened (that is if you assume he's not manipulating everyone into thinking he doesn't remember, why does everything has to be so complicated?)

"So you really don't remember anything?" Bruce asks, because he has no idea what to say otherwise.

"As I have told Thor, the Captain of America and the Man made of Iron several times: I do not." Is it Bruce or does he sound bitter?

"I do not know what you want me to do? Do you want me to lie and tell you that I do remember because I don't!" Yep definitely bitter.

"No, it's not that, it's just, difficult to believe all of this, with everything that has happened-"

"WHAT happened?" No not bitter, full-out angry. "You, friends of Thor keep referring to whatever happened in the few millennia I don't remember! I don't KNOW what happened, but if you Midgardians just told me I-" He suddenly cuts himself, turning around, with his back to Bruce.

"I don't remember so you might as well leave." He says before he grabs Hamlet again, plops on the bed and starts reading like nothing's happened. Bruce might not be best in getting hints but he gets this one he stands up and leaves the room, closing the door behind him, deep in thought. Even if Loki's lying, telling him what happened wouldn't do any harm. Maybe he'd talk to Tony when they're working together.

XxXxXxXxXx

"I don't agree to this!" Of course it's Clint, who else would it be?

"Look, it won't do any harm, if he's lying and tricking us then what harm would it do, just telling him what he already knows?" It's Steve, naturally for some reason Steve seems to be the one who has developed some kind of fondness for Loki. Of course so has Tony but he doesn't want anyone to know that while Steve doesn't seem to have a problem with just that.

"With all due respect, agent Barton but your vision is clouded by the thought of revenge." Steve says calmly. Tony can see it frustrates Barton to no end that what Steve is saying is true and before anyone can stop him he's already stalked out of the room with angry long strides.

"I'm with Captain Spandex on this one, telling Loki isn't going to cause any harm." Steve is just rolling his eyes at the nickname and Natasha nods.

"Fine but who's going to tell him? Obviously not Hawkeye." She sighs glancing in the direction her colleague has disappeared.

Both Tony and Bruce are looking at the obvious choice and after a while so is Natasha. Steve just nods. "Fine I'll tell him." He says before standing up and walking towards Loki's room that leaves the other three standing there, in the kitchen in an awkward silence.

"Who wants to watch a movie?" Tony exclaims.

"I better check on Clint," Natasha says and then she stalks away. That only leaves on victim and Bruce isn't fast enough to run nor can he make up some acceptable excuse so he ends up watching something called "The Matrix" with Tony.

XxXxXxXxXx

Steve ignores the sudden very loud shooting noises coming from Stark's living room and focuses on Loki who's sitting on the bed before him. He's swinging his legs impatiently waiting for Steve to start talking.

"Look I'm going to start at the beginning and the only things I know, Thor told me so I'm sorry if it isn't very clear." Steve really doesn't know how to start but when he does he realizes this is going to be much easier than he expected, at first. He starts with the crowning ceremony and the little trip to Jotunheim Loki and Thor had taken. When he gets to the banishment he can see Loki flinch. But then comes the really difficult part, the part where Odin tells Loki he's a Frost Giant. He has stopped his story just before it happens and hesitates, unsure of how to continue.

"I assume this is the part where my true heritage is revealed?" Loki says to his surprise.

"Wait, you know about that?" Is the only things Steve can say.

"Thor told me." Loki shrugs casting his eyes downward. "It's not important, finish the story." Steve really doesn't know how to react to that. Loki knew because Thor told him and here he was saying that it wasn't important. Steve wants to know more, what else has Thor told him but he cut off before he can ask anything.

"It is not relevant right now," Loki's looking at Steve again, in the eye. "Continue." So Steve does. He talks about the Destroyer and eventually he comes to the part where Loki falls from the Bifrost, that does provoke a reaction.

"Wait, I fell from the Bifrost?" Loki asks, he looks deep in thought. "Yes." Steve says and before he can continue because he finds this rather awkward Loki speaks again.

"But if I have fallen from the Bifrost I fell into the rift?"

"A what now?" Steve can't follow this anymore, he can barely remember the names of the nine world (okay he can't he only know Asgard, Midgard and the tree Ygdrassil).

"A rift, the destruction of Jotunheim and me falling from the Bifrost must have opened the Void." He explains waving with his left hand like it's nothing, he's deep in thought again before he realizes that Steve has absolutely no clue of what he's talking about.

"The void," he repeats. "You could say it's the Space-In-Between."

Yeah sure, now I get it Steve thinks sarcastically and his look apparently says so too because Loki continues.

"You have the Nine Worlds, connected to Ygdrassil but there is… space, there are places that are not part of this universe, it's the unknown space between the roots and branches of Ygdrassil." He tries. Well now Steve can follow, sort off. Deciding to pretend he understands Steve nods. That seems to satisfy Loki it doesn't make him stop talking though.

"But if I fell into the Void I must have died, no one survives there…"

"Well you did, congratulations because this story isn't finished yet." Steve says. Loki falls silent and listens to Steve again but it seems like his mind is somewhere else until he mentions the Chitauri and the Other.

"Wait, what?" Loki has been jostled awake by the word Chitauri it would seem.

"The Chitauri, as in the warrior race?" he asks. Steve doesn't know what other Chitauri there are so he just decides to shrug and nod. "They looked like warriors to me."

"And you said they were led by whom?"

"Well, you I guess."

This is turning awkward

"No you said they were under the command of someone called 'The Other'?" Loki asks jumping from the bed like he's excited about something or at least has found something that has interested him?

"Yeah but-"

"You must be mistaking," Loki says tilting his head, making him look like a dog who doesn't understand something. It only makes Steve want to believe him more because he really does look cute doing that.

"The Chitauri are led by Thanos, their Lord, he who held the Infinity Gauntlet and sought once to destroy everything." It sounds like Loki is reciting some kind of ancient text. "But the Gauntlet is in Asgard and he should not possess any of the Infinity Gems, all of them were shattered across the universe. Some of them destroyed permanently." Loki pauses and looks up to the Captain once again.

"Tell me the name of the item he sought."

"You mean the Tesseract? I-" Loki doesn't even listen anymore he cuts Steve's sentence short.

"Skip the rest of the story Captain, did the Chitauri get a hold on the Tesseract?"

"No they didn't we managed to avoid that it's in Asgard right now." At that Loki looks relieved.

"I'm sorry for interrupting," he says.

"I don't understand," Steve says (the same thing he has thought about a hundred times already in the past hour) "If Thanos is the real leader, why didn't Thor tell us?"

Loki's head is now if possible, very red.

"I might or might not have created an illusion to cover for Thor the day we were given that lesson. He was out hunting and had asked me to do so." He's looking down again and shuffling his feet. Steve has to suppress a smile at that. It showed that once Loki and Thor had been brothers and that there had been a time they cared for each other. He clears his throat before continuing.

By the time he's finished Loki is pale and his lip is trembling.

"How many… How many people did I kill?" He asks. Steve should be shocked that he hasn't even asked about the Frost Giants, that he hasn't even batted an eyelash when he had told him about destroying their world and killing them all. But he remembers Thor telling them about how they were raised. What they had been told about the Frost Giants so he decides to just ignore it for now.

"Hundreds? More? I don't know, you hurt a lot of people, Loki" Steve says. And only now he realizes that he has forgotten that he should mistrust Loki and that this all might have been a trick because it hasn't even crossed his mind once when he had been talking and also not when Loki had been talking.

Loki looks up but when he does, his lip isn't trembling anymore. He looks confused but that's it. There's no guilt and for that for one moment Steve is angry. Doesn't he feel anything? No regret? No guilt for all the people he has hurt and it must have showed in his face because Loki scrambles back. Steve can't help himself, he has to ask:

"Don't you feel any guilt? Or regret?"

Loki looks away again fidgeting with the sheets between his fingers.

"I told you Captain, I don't remember anything. I know I should feel guilty but I don't remember. I don't know what you want me to say Captain, I don't know how I feel it's all just so confusing I'm three-hundred Captain and you are talking about deed I have done but only more than two-thousand years in the future! I don't know how I feel Captain, I don't-" he tries to hide the tears shimmering in his eyes but he fails and then he starts to sob. Quietly, like he's ashamed and Steve understands. Because Steve knows what it feels like to be out of time. He knows that it's confusing and disorienting and people keep telling you what has happened but you don't know how to feel because whatever has happened you weren't there, or in Loki's case, he doesn't remember. And the Captain immediately regrets his actions his outburst because it's not fair to be angry right now. Because he can't expect Loki to feel guilt for something he doesn't remember doing, not immediately. Maybe later, when Loki actually is able to sort things out, maybe then it would be fair to Loki to expect regret and guilt but not now. At that moment Captain America doesn't care that it may all be a grand scheme to kill them all because at that moment Loki looks like a scared twelve-year-old who's confused as hell and has no idea what to do next. It make Steve want to hug him but he doesn't because it's still Loki and also because Steve has no idea how Loki would react to it so Steve does the next best thing: he leaves the room to let Loki think and sort things out because Steve knows that's what Loki need right now. It's what he had needed back when he had woken up only to find out he'd been asleep for years…

XxXxXxXxXx

Loki lets out a sigh of relief when the Captain finally leaves. He needs some time to think, alone. Everything the Captain's told him has horrified him. He'd never try to kill Thor, yes sometimes he was an idiotic oaf and he could be so very irritating but he was still his friend. Not brother he thinks. But then he hates himself for even thinking such a thing. But it's true, Loki's a Frost Giant, a monster…No don't think about that, anything but that

The Captain had said that Loki had tried to kill Thor with the destroyer and after that (and after falling in the Void) had tried to take over Midgard, claiming that the Midgardians were made to be ruled but Loki had never given the Midgardians much thought. They were there, just like all the other living beings were in the Nine Worlds and he doesn't even want to rule them. Just like the Jotuns do,

No! Focus, Loki, focus!

If he's honest with himself he doesn't even want the throne of Asgard because no one really likes him or wants him to be. What good is a throne when everyone you rule hates you? Thor could have the throne for all Loki cares, Thor was much more popular anyway. Thor, how could he still claim to love him? How could he even stand the sight of Loki? If what the captain had said was true (and he knows it is) than Thor should have killed Loki when given the chance for he had betrayed him and tried to murder him. For he had killed hundreds of innocent people just for some stupid throne he didn't really want.

But something didn't seem right, the way Captain Rogers had said it had ended. From the stories and lessons Loki had had he had learned quite a few things about the Chitauri. First of there were billions of them. Now he didn't know much about these radio-active rackets but he did know that if Thanos was behind it the Chitauri never could have lost like that. Midgard was a weak force, there was no reason for Thanos to station all his troops in one place just for Midgard. It didn't add up. The Tesseract is a very powerful item but it is not part of the Infinity Gems so why would Thanos want it? He doesn't have time to ponder about it though (because everything's better than to think about the lives he's destroyed or how he has betrayed Thor) because his door literally flies open, he doesn't know what's happening but then he sees an arrow, (again) pointed at his head (again) and the Eye of Hawk with a murderous look on his face (again).

Yes, again with the cliffhanger but I must warn you, the next chapter's cliffhanger will be much worse! Please review/comment I literally check my mail every two minutes to see if I have any reviews/comments at all!