"Aah! What the hell?"

Steve gaped at Tony, a moment later there was a bright light and Loki appeared, grasping a tablet. Tony grinned at Steve before looking back to Loki and seeing what was in his hands. He looked confused, immediately frowning.

"Loki, why do you have that?"

The god ignored Tony's question. Instead, turning towards Steve and inclining his head.

"It seems that we are in the correct time. Hello Steve, hopefully we have not caused undue worry."

Steve continued to stare at them in disbelief. Loki flipped the tablet over in his hands absentmindedly. Finally Steve regained the ability to speak.

"You're…how did you get back?"

"It's a long st-"

Loki stopped as Tony pulled the tablet from his hands, turning to glare indignantly at him. Tony stood firm, matching his glare.

"Why do you have this?"

The air was tense, Steve glanced between the two, bracing uncertainly.

"Everything is fine, Tony. I could not just leave it, that would change the past."

Tony stared at Loki for a few seconds more, then relaxed with a sigh.

"Fine, but I'm holding onto it."

Loki shrugged nonchalantly before turning back to Steve.

"Alright, well, we should probably alert S.H.I.E.L.D. of our return, so they can stop tampering with the other tablet. I assume that's what they are doing, yes?"

Steve nodded.

"Yeah, but Fury will want to talk with you both."

00000

They stood in an elevator, descending to where Fury had summoned them. Loki stood, scowling, with Thor's arm wrapped around his shoulder, he had been talking with him sense Loki had returned.

"Your enthusiasm is appreciated brother, but I'm fine, really."

"I knew you would return, I am just glad that you did not return half-dead, like last time."

Thor grinned good-naturedly at Loki's grumbling. The rest of the team listened to Tony explain what had occurred.

"So you where right, Nat. That's really interesting, think about what we could do with that."

Loki glanced over to the other conversation, ignoring Thor's chattering again. Tony caught his eye, smirking at his uncomfortable expression before turning back to the others. Soon the elevator stopped and they were met with Fury. He scanned the team, eye fixating on the tablet in Tony's hands.

"Finally, come with me."

They followed him, past where the other tablet was being kept, Loki slipped out from Thor's arm. The tablet in Tony's hand began to hum, everyone glanced down at it. Fury came to a halt, turning back to the team.

"Okay Stark, tell me the story."

Everyone listened as Tony recounted the events. Loki arched an eyebrow as Tony skipped over the personal details. Tony finished and silence hung in the air for a few moments.

"So if we combine these tablets, we gain the ability to-"

"No, I forbid that."

The team jumped as Loki cut Fury off. Loki stared unwavering at Fury's scowl.

"What do you mean, no?"

Fury's voice was dangerously testy.

"You should not wield this power. The tablets should be returned to Asgard, where they belong. No operation like yours should have them."

Tony and the others listened tensely. Loki's calm demeanor contrasted with his hard eyes.

"You don't get to make that call."

"I wish to do what is safe for this world. I would take away something that could overwhelm you, are you really going to stop me?"

Without turning away from Fury, Loki held his hand out to Tony. When Tony hesitated, Loki glanced at him expectantly.

"Tony, don't stand me up. I know you agree with me."

Everyone's eyes were on Tony now. Tony glanced between Fury, who glared at him, before turning back to Loki and giving a short nod. He held the tablet out and Loki took it.

"Give me the other one, this will be finished without a fuss."

Loki held the tablet gingerly, but he still appeared completely calm.

"I'm not an idiot."

Fury glared at him distrustfully. Loki let out a loud sigh before replying.

"I know you are not an idiot. In fact, you're quite clever, but that power can be manipulative. I cannot allow that"

"And you expect me to let you have it, of all people."

Loki smirked and let out a low chuckle.

"Not really, but that makes no difference to me."

"Brother, is that really-"

Thor moved to put a hand on Loki's shoulder, but when he did, it passed through and Loki wavered before disappearing. They all stared at the spot for a moment. Then there was a noise from behind and they whipped around.

Loki stood by the machine which held the tablet. He quickly broke the glass surrounding the tablet and removed it. Fury swiftly pulled a pistol from his side and aimed it at Loki.

"Drop them!"

Fury commanded harshly. Loki merely shook his head, then spoke, his voice magically amplified for them to easily hear.

"Please don't do that. I will be back within the day, we can chat once your mind is unclouded."

With a tablet in either hand, Loki gave a nod to the team, then he disappeared. Fury stared at where Loki had stood for a few moments, he scowled, placing his gun back within its holster.

"Dammit Stark, why did you give it to him?"

Fury whipped around towards Tony, who continued to stare at the empty machine.

"Because he's right. There's a lot of things that don't belong on Earth, those were two of them. I think he'll do what he said."

"And if he doesn't?"

Tony turned back to Fury and looked him in the eye.

"Then I messed up, we'll see by the end of the day."

00000

The team sat around one of the large conference room within S.H.I.E.L.D.'s complex. Fury had detained them until Loki's return.

"How long has it been?"

Clint groaned, leaning back precariously on his chair. Bruce sighed, checking his watch.

"Ten thirty, we've been here for, what, five hours now?"

Clint grimaced with impatience. Tony slumped over with his head in his arms, half-asleep, listening groggily to the others. Suddenly there was a popping sound, followed by a loud crash. Tony looked up, Loki had appeared next to Clint, apparently startling him and sending him falling backwards.

"Oh! I'm sorry Clint. That was accidental."

Loki gave him a hand, apologizing profusely, although his apologetic frown twitched upwards with amusement. Everyone else had gotten over their surprise and were grinning openly. Clint was pulled to his feet, grumbling sourly.

"Really, that was accidental, I promise!"

Loki flicked his wrist towards the chair, righting it. Clint rubbed the back of his head gingerly.

"Okay, fine I forgive you, you're back and that's what matters."

Loki was about to reply as Fury, followed by two agents, entered the room. Everyone turned towards him, Loki sighed. Fury came to a halt and pointed at the conference table.

"Sit."

Loki sat without protest, after a moment the others took seats as well.

"What did you do with it?"

"Exactly what I promised, it is safe within Asgard's vault. Oh Thor, I said hello to mother and the All-Father for you, they are well."

Thor smiled slightly, dipping his head in appreciation.

"That is good, thank you."

Fury continued to stare at Loki.

"We can't know that you're telling the truth, we shouldn't trust you."

"I doubt that, if I stole the tablet for myself, I would be here now. There would be no point in returning."

Loki stated simply, not taking his eyes off Fury.

"I told Tony a year ago that if you betrayed us, there would be no second chances."

This caused a stir among the team, many of them mumbling under their breath, Tony spoke up for all to hear.

"Betrayed us? He hasn't. He realized how likely it was that the tablets would affect someone and took measures to protect Earth from that possibility. You're really going to punish him for that?"

Tony's question hung in the air, everyone watched Fury expectantly. After a long few moments his scowl lessened.

"You still only have one chance, this doesn't change anything. Now all of you, go."

Back in the elevator everyone chatted among each other. Tony elbowed Loki to get his attention.

"I'm surprised Fury let you off the hook."

Loki smirked at him.

"I'm definitely not 'off the hook', he certainly will be watching me even closer for the next few months."

Tony chuckled, nodding in agreement.

"Well yeah, I wasn't saying there was going to be a miracle or something."

They both laughed, then Loki grew serious.

"I wasn't sure you were going to give it to me."

"Before, when the tablets were joined, you had this look in your eye. I didn't see it then, so I trusted you to do the right thing."

Loki dipped his head with a smile.

"Trust... thank you."

AN: This is the final chapter. I hope you all liked it and would love to hear reviews. I am continuing this, in fact I got an idea for the next story while writing the 6th chapter for this one and have been planning it ever sense. I've started writing it, am halfway through the first chapter, and I actually have a title( which is honestly a huge hurdle for me). Is there some way, other than just checking back with me, to let you all know when that will be up? I'm not sure so if you want to know, just check back with me in a few days. Thank you all so much for reading and thanks for all the positive reviews, they help more than you know.