When he woke Thor was the first thing he saw beside him, his head having fallen on his chest, rising and falling with his deep breaths. There was a slight ache in his gut where Clint's arrow had pierced him, tearing some of the muscle and internal organs, but he healed quick enough for it not to have been a concern. Not that the archer had known, of course. He couldn't tell how much time had passed, only that there were handcuffs around his wrist, ones that he could break out of if he so desired. Interesting that Thor had not told them so, that they were strong enough not to be held by such paltry bindings.

"Thor," Loki hissed, keeping just quiet enough to keep from alerting the others. He hoped. He didn't want to think about what Natalia had done to turn them against him, and if Clint had done his best to kill him when he'd thought her in danger before, then it was nothing short of a miracle he was still alive and not subjected to the archer's obsessive need to keep her safe. The man he'd once called brother slept on, shifting slightly, which only made Loki's scowl deepen. Dammit all.

"Brother, wake up, I need you," he demanded through clenched teeth.

That certainly did the bloody trick. Thor's eyes snapped open, as though Loki's call to him was all that could've woken him up, and it didn't surprise him entirely. He'd clung to the idea that he and Loki could find a way to put everything that had happened in the past, would keep to it no matter what. Doubtless in Loki's mind, it was likely the reason he was even still alive. Had Barton not had Thor as a threat in the back of his mind the arrow might've lodged itself a little further, hitting his heart. He'd seen what trick arrows the archer employed. Aesir or not, one of those in the right place, with the right additive? Could be fatal. And it had been so long since he'd last had an apple from the gardens.

"You're awake," Thor said with a concerned smile etched into his features, caught in the middle and unsure whether to be thrilled or worried. "They said you planned it all from the start, that you were the one who attacked Natasha and implanted those false memories. She's been telling them that."

"You know as well as I do that that is impossible. I have been here the whole while,' Loki snarled, feeling his anger surge in his belly. How could Thor have let them believe that?

"Aye, I do know this. I also know that the sooner whatever is within the Lady Natasha believes you are defeated, the sooner she will make her next move. Planning ahead, Loki. It's what you would've done."

Well, color him impressed.

It took them little more than a moment to break Loki of his manacles, the dark haired man rubbing his wrists as he stared at his brother, still so surprised that the man had been able to think ahead while Loki? Well, he felt bloody blind sided, having underestimated Natalia's motives and abilities.

"So, what are we doing?" Thor asked, eyes eager and hands growing tight on the rails that had once kept his brother captive. Loki, as fate would have it, was drawing a blank.

"What happened when I was asleep?" Loki asked to draw the attention away from his lack of a plan.

"Natasha-or Natalia as she prefers to be called now-is being held in a cell beneath the nearest SHIELD base, watched by their agents. Despite everything she's said they still don't entirely trust her. I was hoping you might go to speak with her. Discover her endgame." Thor said with an affectionate smile. "If anyone can figure it out it would be you."

Loki, for once, wasn't so sure of that. Having been privy to much of Natasha's past, he'd watched her defeat foe after foe with nothing more than her words and the notions her opponents held of her to work against them. He didn't doubt she'd be able to read him like a damn child's book, especially now. She'd certainly figured out how he'd react to her and anticipated his actions at the airport. With that second spirit inside of her he wasn't so certain if it'd be more helpful for him to speak with her, or for him to stay far away.

His gut clenched. He doubted very much that he'd be able to keep away for long. "Very well. What else do we know for certain, Thor?" He would need more than just her location. "What do the others think, and what are they going to do to try and rectify the situation?"

"Clint Barton is keeping an eye on her."

"Well that don't do much if he thinks I've possessed her and made her this way. He certainly is protective." And he had a right to be, Loki supposed. There was much that Natasha had been through before Barton had met her, and since then the archer had taken her under his wing, so to speak, had done everything he could to keep her safe. That she'd been possessed and lost her memories under his watch? Loki didn't blame him for taking everything so poorly. It was a blow not only to his ego, but to his sense of friendship with Natasha, to his ideals of him as protector, her as his ward, more or less, despite the evidence that supported she was more than able to take care of herself. Thor gave an acknowledging nod at that.

"Anything else? What about the Captain and Stark?"

"Both are rather suspicious of Natalia, which is a good thing for us. teven, I believe, will be an asset. I can never say such things about Stark with certainty."

"Awe, just when I thought you were beginning to warm up to me." Tony's voice came from the doorway, neither Loki, nor Thor, having been paying attention to it. Tony smirked as Thor immediately went on the defensive, the inventor winking at Loki. "Your brother's always had a soft spot for me ever since I tried absorbing his power into the suit."

Loki rested a hand on Thor's shoulder before the blond could retaliate. "How can we help you, Stark?"

"Well, it's still us that needs your help, isn't it? Nat's not exactly back to normal." He sighed. "Don't suppose you did do anything to her?"

"Outside of helping her regain her memories?" Loki's voice hardened. "No. Not a damn thing. But do you believe that?"

Thor stiffened beside Loki, fists clenching, wishing for Mjolnir's familiar weight as he was cont to do when the hammer was out of his reach. Loki, too, stood stock still as he surveyed the inventor before him, his mind a whirl of ideas and countermeasures. Just in case. This was a foe he could outdo, out perform, if it came to it. He hoped it didn't. It would be nice to finally have another ally.

"I was hoping you'd say yes, because it'd mean you'd have an idea how to get whatever is inside of her out. I'm a man of logic and reason, Loki. Of action and reaction." Tony started, his own eyes locking with Loki's. ""I take comfort in knowing that if I do one thing, add enough power to a weapon, alter the design of a turbine, there will be a specific reaction. It's nature, it's science, it's the laws of the universe that as much as I love breaking the rules, are outside my control." He sighed, running a hand through his already messed up hair, as if he'd done it half a dozen times before. "I pride myself as reading a scientific solution and guessing the outcome given whatever the input that is provided. This?" He motioned at nothing with one of his hands. "I've got nothing. So, I guess I don't really have a choice. If Nat's gonna get better, it's gonna be you that helps her. Right?" His gaze grew stony, lips pressed hard together. Not for the first time was Loki getting a sense of what Nat meant to the other members of her team, and it made his mouth run dry. Fragmented though they might be, this was a team and Nat? She pieced them together, latching onto them in turn and keeping them in place.

Amazing how their dynamics continued to unfold. Had he more time he'd have loved to study them. "Right." Loki agreed, his nerves hardening as he pushed up from his place on the bed and cracking his neck as he turned it side to side. "I suppose we should go see what there is to do, then."

"They aren't exactly going to let you just walk in," Stark said, snapping into action as soon as Loki had begun to edge around the room, picking up what effects had been on him when he'd been taken before transforming his outfit to a far more suitable, sleek Shield issued suit he'd seen the others wear. His grin turned near devilish. Now he had a plan.

"Trickery, Mr. Stark," he murmured as he turned back. "And illusions are something of a specialty of mine." Before the inventor his face changed, though the green eyes remained. Thor's lips split into a wide grin, while Tony went stiff at the change.

"God, I'm glad you're on our side," he muttered. Something in the tone of his voice told Loki he was desperate to believe it was true.

A/N: Wow, do I take long enough to update? Sorry about that, and thank you all for sticking around. Hope you enjoyed it!