"Loki..." Odin said, approaching him. Loki noticed- with no small amount of satisfaction- that the king's movements were slow with exhaustion.
"Allfather," Loki said. He really did not want to do this now. Not while he was still trying to stop his guts from spilling all over the floor. He looked at the others in amusement. Oh, he simply loved how green Stark was looking- and how close to green Banner seemed to be. "Is no one going to offer a dead man a chair? It's awfully rude of you."
Sigyn sighed and stood. "You know, when you plan on going to Niflheim, you usually stay there for longer than a few hours."
He winked at her as he sat down, smirking. "What? Aren't you glad to see me?"
"Always, but that's not the point," she said.
"My dear, if my heart were fully intact I think it would have warmed at your kind words."
"Then it's a good thing it's not."
"And they say I'm cruel."
"That's because you are. When you want to be, at least. Now, I assume you have a reason for returning so soon?"
"Of course. I'm assuming that since you are all here together, the Allfather has already informed you about Thanos?" Loki asked the stunned mortals.
"He has," Fury confirmed. "But maybe first you could explain how the hell you're alive, and what you're doing on Earth?"
Loki's eyes flicked to the Dircector's hand, where it rested on his gun. As though it would stop him. "I assure you, I had no intention of even coming to this realm. It was purely accidental."
"And how are you alive?" Stark asked, still looking more than a little sick.
"My daughter just happens to be the Queen of the Dead. She sent me back because I asked her to."
"You killed yourself just so you could come back?" Romanov asked skeptically.
"I didn't particularly want to come back," Loki pointedly looked at Odin. The king remained impassive. "I did so because of Thanos."
"What about him?" Fury asked.
"He's after the Infinity Gems," Loki said. Thor and Sigyn inhaled sharply, and Odin's eye narrowed.
"The what?" Stark asked.
"The Tesseract was one of them-"
"There's more?"
Loki glared irritably at Stark. "Six, actually. Each with a different purpose. The Tesseract was the Space Gem."
"What're the others?" Banner asked, frowning.
"Mind, Time, Soul, Reality and Power. You have encountered both the Mind Gem and the Power Gem on Earth."
"The scepter," Romanov said quietly.
Loki smirked. "Indeed."
"When've we seen the Power Gem?" Rogers asked.
"The Aether," Odin said.
Loki's lips pressed into a firm line. "Yes, the Aether." At the blank looks, he elaborated. "The substance that Thor kindly removed from your planet during the Convergence."
"That was an Infinity Gem?" Thor asked, frowning.
Loki sighed. "That is what I've just said, is it not?"
"Back up a little- you've still not given me any reason not to shoot you right here, right now," Fury said, scowling.
"Well, considering you haven't shot me, I'm guessing that you find my information useful, at the very least," Loki retorted, raising his eyebrows.
"Your dad said that the invasion wasn't your fault. If it wasn't you, and it was this Thanos guy, then how come it was you here?" Stark asked.
"The scepter," Barton said, speaking up for the first time. Loki remained silent. "He used the scepter on you, then sent you here... The Hulk snapped you out of it."
"Not bad, Agent Barton," he praised.
Barton scowled at him.
"How did you get from Asgard to the Chitauri?" Romanov asked.
"How do you know I wasn't on Asgard when I encountered them?" Loki countered. He did not want to go into this story. Not now. They knew too much already.
"Because you needed a portal to get here, rather than using the Bifrost," she replied, raising an eyebrow. She was good, Loki gave her that.
He settled for the usual tale. "I fell through the Void. Thanos picked me out."
"And, what, you just let him take over your mind?" Stark asked.
Loki's fists clenched. His wounds were almost healed now, but there was still blood everywhere. It was a reminder of his time amongst Thanos and the Chitauri. They wanted to know what happened? Very well then, he would tell them.
"Well, Stark, I've heard you've had a rather unfortunate history when it comes to torture, correct? Imagine that, but stretched out for an entire year. You don't get rest, you don't get food or water- it's just constant agony." He gestured to himself. "You think this is bad? Oh, I've had my organs taken out and left to grow back slowly- I've even had them rearranged. I've had my mind ripped open for the knowledge I possess, and I've had to relive the worst moments of my life again and again and again. So tell me, mortal, after that, do you really think I just let him take over my mind? Of course I didn't. I wouldn't give him the satisfaction. No, he forced his way into my head."
Someone placed a hand on his shoulder, and he jerked away, glaring at the owner. Of course it would be Odin. The old man just did not know when to give up.
"Loki, that is enough," he said, firmly, yet with an undercurrent of something that Loki would almost assume was worry.
"Of course, Allfather," he practically spat the words.
The king sighed, turning to the mortals. "Loki is not responsible for his crimes on Earth, and he has been punished more than enough for his crimes on Asgard." Loki was not expecting that. He glanced at Odin suspiciously, not believing for one second that the man did not have an ulterior motive.
Fury considered the king for a while, occasionally looking at Loki. He seemed to be struggling with coming to a decision. Eventually, he said, "Fine. I'll talk it over with the World Council, but I can't make any promises." Odin nodded. To Loki, Fury said, "I believe your account, but I still don't trust you, understand?"
"Of course, Director," Loki drawled, leaning back in the chair.
"So tell us more about Thanos," Romanov said, leaning forward. She crossed her arms and placed them on the table.
"He is obsessed with Death. If he was not an insane psychopath, one might even say that he was in love with Death," Loki said.
"So we're dealing with an insane, psychopathic necrophile," Stark deadpanned.
Loki rolled his eyes. "Hardly. All he wants is for everyone to die. He needs the Infinity Gauntlet and the Gems, as then all he has to do is snap his fingers and over half the population of the Universe will be dead. He believes that until everyone is dead, his Lady Death will not be satisfied."
"Okay then..." Stark trailed off, eyebrows raised. "I've not had enough to drink for this."
Loki smirked slightly.
"So, what can we do to stop him?" Rogers asked.
Loki's smile turned bitter. "That, I'm afraid, is complicated. I know where the Gems and the Gauntlet are, which, of course, means that Thanos knows."
"Shi-"
"So we're basically screwed then," Banner cut through Stark's colourful exclamation.
"No. Not yet, at least. All I have to do is retrieve the Gems before Thanos can get to them."
"Oh, that's all, is it?" Thor asked.
Loki glared halfheartedly at him. A part of him still felt bad about killing himself in front of Thor. Was that blood on Thor's armour? Yes, it was. Thor must have been holding his body. (And doesn't that just make me feel great?)
"Exposure to both the Mind Gem and the Space Gem meant that I absorbed a great deal of their energy. Other than the Allfather, I daresay I'm the only one in the Nine Realms with the strength to go up against Thanos, and- no offense- but the Allfather is old and has only just woken from the Odinsleep." He spread his palms, grinning. "I'm your best shot."
They hardly seemed reassured by that knowledge. Loki tried not to feel insulted. (They don't trust me. Maybe they aren't so stupid after all.)
"Say that we trust you on this," Fury began. "What would we need to do if we went along with this?"
"Well, for starters it would be wise if you prepare your military forces. The Allfather would have to go back to Asgard, but I'm sure the Aesir are more than willing to aid the Nine Realms against Thanos. They are a warrior race, after all. Then I would have to retrieve the Gems. The Gauntlet should be moved, as Thanos knows where it is right now. I'll need the Tesseract and the scepter as well."
As he expected, the mortals did not exactly look pleased with that last one.
"It isn't exactly safe to have the Gems together like this, but I know how to wield them so there shouldn't be any problems. As for the Gauntlet..." Loki looked at Odin, who was silently gazing at him with a strange expression on his face. Loki tried not to think about it.
"The Gauntlet will be moved. The Tesseract will be ready for you when you need it," Odin said.
Loki nodded. "I'll need a secure location to keep the Gems while I search for the others."
"The tower's pretty secure. Bomb proof, state of the art security system..." Stark suggested. There was a gleam in his eyes that told Loki that the only reason he was offering was for research potential. Nevertheless, it was something that he could take advantage of. He was going to need all the help he could get.
"That will suffice, thank you," Loki said, inclining his head. He regarded Stark with amusement when the mortal gave him a thumbs up.
"Just so you know, 'bomb proof' also means 'throwing-through-the-window-proof'," he added.
"Noted. Now, there is also the matter of travel. Does your tower have a large enough landing space for a Bifrost site?"
"Uh... How large is large?"
"About ten feet in diameter."
"Yeah, sure. We've got a helicopter pad that should be big enough."
"Perfect."
"Wait, where exactly are these Gems?" Barton asked.
"I'm uncertain which Gem is in each location, but I know that there is one in Muspelheim, one in Helheim and one in Alfheim. The Aether is with Taneleer Tivan, the Tesseract is in Asgard, and the Mind Gem is wherever you have put the scepter."
"So, what? Two are on completely different planets and one is with some guy we've never heard of?" Romanov asked, raising her eyebrows.
"Loki, why is the Aether with the Collector?" Thor asked him.
"Yes, I'm curious as to why that is too," Odin added, his eye narrowed.
(Oh, how sweet. Don't they look alike? Like father, like son.)
(Shut up; not now.)
Loki merely grinned. "Well, Thor, you were here, and Allfather, you were in the Odinsleep. I didn't think it wise to keep the Tesseract, the Aether and the Gauntlet so close together. So I gave the Aether to Tivan for safe keeping."
"You know he will be reluctant to give it back," Sigyn stated.
"Oh, I'm well aware of that. I'll just ahve to make him an offer he can't refuse."
"I don't like the sound of this," she said, frowning.
"You don't have to like it; you've just got to go along with it."
Sigyn sighed, a sign that Loki had won. Feeling smug, he turned to the others. "Any more questions?"
"Yeah, why should we actually help you?" Romanov asked.
Loki smirked. "Because, unless you want this entire world to be destroyed, you really don't have a choice."