Stark's tower- (Avengers' Tower. How pathetically sweet.)- was well enough equipped for holding the Gems. Fury had agreed to have the scepter sent over when Loki was ready, as the god had warned them that it would be dangerous for them to tamper with the Gem- even more so to try and extract it.
Stark was less than happy about the arrangements; Loki, Thor and Sigyn would be staying with him and the Avengers at the tower, if only to make everything that much easier. The best thing that had happened so far was that Odin had returned to Asgard to warn the realm about Thanos and the impending war.
And so it was with exasperation that Loki found himself standing by the large window of his room, overlooking the city that he had very nearly destroyed, as Stark, who leant casually against the doorframe, started laying down the rules.
"Okay, Rule One: No killing people. Rule Two: No causing harm to people. Rule Three: You don't come into my lab uninvited. Rule Four: No scheming that could lead to our demise. Rule Five: If you're in a bad mood and feel like throwing a tantrum, go to the gym. It's Hulk-proof. We clear, Reindeer Games?"
Loki's lip curled at the nickname. "Crystal, Stark."
"Right-o. Have fun!" He called, shutting the door behind him as he left.
Loki sighed heavily and sat on the large bed, rubbing his hands over his face.
(What a strange alliance this is. I am a guest in the home of someone I tried to kill, welcome- albeit reluctantly- in the realm I tried to subjugate. Humans are curious creatures, aren't they?)
There was a knock on his door. Thor would not knock. It was either Sigyn or one of the mortals.
"Enter."
The door opened, but the person hovered in the doorway. Not Sigyn then.
"We're, uh, ordering some food. You're welcome to join us... if you want." Banner.
He was being nice to him. Why? Loki tried to use him.
"Thank you for the offer, but I'm not hungry," Loki replied, still not turning to look at him.
"Right... Well, we'll be in the lounge is you change your mind." The door closed.
Loki sighed and lay back on the bed.
Now that he was here, well and alive again, he honestly had no idea where to start.
(Time to start scheming, then.)
Bruce walked into to lounge where everyone else was. He didn't doubt that Jarvis could keep an eye on Loki, so he wasn't particularly worried about the god doing anything he shouldn't be. In fact, he was more worried about Loki's actual mental health condition. After seeing him earlier- blood everywhere, holding his organs in with his hands- Bruce could only wonder how he was able to stand while in such a bad way. Discounting the fact that he should have been dead, Bruce was fairly certain that, magic or not, Loki would have been in agony while like that. But he'd barely batted an eye. Hell, he'd even gone into an in-depth discussion about war and torture and aliens while his chest was still cut open.
He'd seen the scars all over Loki's body when he'd been brought to the Quinjet to be brought back to the Helicarrier. He'd seen each and every one of them. They each most likely had a gruesome story behind them, but Bruce was sure he didn't want to know. Especially now that he knew the truth about Loki's... time with the Chitauri. There were some that were clearly older than others, from well before when Bruce knew he had been with the Chitauri, and so the scientist was certain that Loki hadn't had the most cheerful of pasts. He needed to brush up on his mythology... Maybe that would give him some clues.
Bruce had spent the majority of the conversation in the conference room pointedly not looking at Loki's chest as the flesh fixed itself, but the scientist in him forced him to steal a glance or two. It was gruesome, but fascinating.
But the other thing that concerned Bruce was the look in Loki's eyes as he described his own torture. Not quite insane, but not far off. Almost as though he was breaking, slowly but surely. After experiencing the effects of Loki's power, Bruce was sure that he didn't want to be around when Loki snapped. It wouldn't be pretty.
"Hey, Brucey, is Rock of Ages gracing us with his presence?" Tony called.
Bruce snapped out of his daze. "Hm? Oh, no. He's not hungry."
Bruce didn't miss the look that Thor and Sigyn shared. It was one that told Bruce that it wasn't the first time Loki had isolated himself. One of worry.
Clint wasn't sure about the whole situation. He didn't like Loki. Not in the slightest. He didn't like him and he didn't trust him. But he knew how it felt to be brainwashed. To be trapped in your own mind while someone else directs your body and actions. He knew, damn it. And that's what made it difficult for Clint to hate Loki.
For now, he was just happy to keep out of the god's way. As long as they didn't end up alone in a room together, Clint could manage. He wasn't going to be immature about it; he knew the effects of the Mind Gem, and he didn't want to hang around to find out what the others could do in the hands of a raving, psychopathic alien who was obsessed with death. He'd take the lesser of two evils.
Even if the lesser evil was going along with the guy who stabbed Phil.
Loki did not sleep that night. He had spent the entire time making plans; his plans had back-up plans, in case something went wrong, and his back-up plans had back-up plans. This would work. He would not let Thanos win.
In the morning, just as the sky was beginning to lighten, Loki left his room. He strolled through the corridors, memorising every little detail of the tower. He ended up in the lounge, stopping before he entered. Stark was sat on one of the long, white sofas, a cup in his hand and staring at a large sheet of paper on the table in front of him.
Loki silently entered, sitting on the sofa opposite. Stark had yet to notice him.
The human was frowning, examining each detail of the paper. Loki looked at the paper and raised his eyebrows when he saw that it was a plan of his old scepter. Stark picked up a pen and scribbled something out, rewriting something underneath. The frown smoothed out, and he sighed, leaning back. And he jumped when he saw Loki sat there.
Loki smirked.
"Rule Two! Rule Two! I don't exactly have a good heart, you know?" Stark gasped, clutching his chest.
"I see the interesting contraption that was there when I was here last has been removed," Loki stated, nodding towards his chest.
"Yep. I'm retired."
"How dull."
"Hey, we can't all die and come back to life."
"God," Loki said, pointing at himself. He then pointed at Stark. "Mortal."
Stark rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah- you made that pretty clear the last time you were on Earth."
"What have you been doing?" Loki asked, gesturing to the diagram.
"Oh, I've been trying to figure out its energy source. It's like the Tesseract; it just exerts power. But that's stupid, so I'm trying to get to the bottom of it."
"And I suppose you wouldn't be satisfied if I merely told you it was magic?"
"Nope."
Loki rolled his eyes.
"Well, you'll be searching for answers for a very long time then," he said.
"This isn't fair. You've got years worth of knowledge on me about this stuff!" Stark protested.
"And don't you forget it," Loki said.
"Whatever. You got any ideas about getting these Gems then?" He asked. Finally, a sensible question.
"Yes. Though I doubt any of you will like my plans."
"Oh God. You're gonna blow stuff up, aren't you?"
"I assure you, there will be minimal 'blowing stuff up'. I am on good terms with the King of Alfheim, and my daughter can guide us through Helheim safely enough, so the Gems there should be relatively easy to acquire. However, the Gem in Muspelheim is another matter."
"Um... Mind telling me a bit about these places before I say my piece?"
"Alfheim is the home of the Light Elves. Sigyn is from there. They are a generally peaceful race, but all are trained to fight from a young age. King Frey is their ruler, Sigyn's cousin and my friend. So, as I said, retrieving the Gem from there shouldn't be an issue.
"Helheim is the Realm of the Dishonoured Dead. That is, beings who have committed atrocious acts in their life are sent there for an eternity of torture. My daughter, Hela, is Queen of Niflheim and Helheim, and so finding the Gem in Helheim should be easy enough.
"Muspelheim... That is the home of Fire Giants. They are brutal creatures that despise nearly every other race. They have a strong love of war and violence. Their king, Surtr, is among the most cruel of beasts you will ever have the misfortune of encountering. He has a strong love of torture, let's just say that much," he said. (Much like the king of their icy counterparts, come to think about it. It didn't do him much good in the end, did it?)
"Okay then... Elves, ghosts and Giants... Hey, ever seen 'Lord of the Rings'?"
"No. And I can't see how that is relevant to the Infinity Gems."
"It isn't."
"Then perhaps you could save it for another time and focus?"
"Alright, alright. You really need to relax. I mean, how long have we got before Thanos gets here? If he's on the other side of the Universe, I doubt he's getting here any time soon."
Loki's eyes widened. "Oh..." He breathed.
How had he not considered that?
"Uh... Reindeer Games? You're kind blanking out on me, and I'm not exactly comfortable with being in a room alone with you if you're gonna go all psychotic-"
"Oh, how could I have missed this out?" Loki exclaimed, rising from the sofa. He paced in front of it.
"I don't know. Maybe if you tell me what it is you're missing we can discuss it over breakfast."
Loki spun back to face Stark. "No, the Time Gem. If Thanos gets hold of that, then he can twist time so that he can spend hundreds of thousands of years looking for the others, and yet mere seconds would pass for us. Oh, Norns... We have to start straight away. We can't risk Thanos getting any of the Gems- especially the Time Gem."
Stark swallowed, standing. "Yeah, that's as good an incentive as any to start. You do have a plan though, right?"
Loki nodded, feeling sick. He was an idiot. How in the Nine had he not considered that? "Just pray to whatever God you worship that the Time Gem is not in Muspelheim, Stark."
A/N: Now, I realise that it probably seems as though the Avengers have gotten over New York pretty quickly- I've noticed the same thing while rereading my work- but I'm just gonna say that it's because they've seen Loki's scars, and they also have Odin, Thor and Sigyn vouching for Loki on this one. Also, Loki was pretty dead, and they'd seen how Loki had reacted to being cornered by them. That, and the fact that they really really need Loki and Asgard's help with everything kind of means that they're putting the past in the past. They don't like Loki. Not in the slightest. They just need him.
On another note: You're all amazing. I love you all. Thank you, thank you, thank you! Each follow, favourite and review makes me smile- especially as I've got some of my favourite fanficiton writers following me, too!