A/N: I know, I know, I'm late. Sorry. This was… ugh. Life is hectic right now, doesn't look like it'll get any less hectic. Next week will probably be late, too.

Ok! As of Iron Man 3 (which I saw the day it came out, [and two times after that] thank you very much), this is officially, entirely AU. Whatever happens in any of the movies after the Avengers… didn't happen here (or in/before the first book). Though I may-or may not- reference the occasional thing here and there. (SPOILERS. For example, Tony's anxiety attacks, the Wing Chun dummy he practiced with [for like three seconds ha but I was very happy to see it. :P] Bruce's 'therapy session', etc, etc. END SPOILERS.)

Also, a few warnings: first, there will be a few ships from now on (Pepperony, Thorane, Clintasha), but that will mostly be minor, background stuff. (Except Clintasha. There will probably be quite a bit of Clintasha. Because… well, do I really need a reason? :P)

Second: Clint is going to be a bit out of character for a while. However! There is a valid reason for that, so don't freak out on me. :)

"Just give me a few minutes alone with him," I said, trying to sound reassuring. It wasn't working. The Avengers- even the bandaged Banner- were pissed.

"No way, no how, Pizza Girl." That was Tony; fire sparked in his eyes. "If he knows something about Fraye, then he's going to tell us. One way or another."

I scowled as I pushed him back a touch. "He's not going to listen to you. And he's not going to tell us anything that he doesn't want to. He has information about Fraye that we don't; he's got extreme leverage and he knows it. He's not going to give that up lightly."

"I don't plan on doing anything lightly," Clint growled, tightening the head of one of his arrows. I stood in front of Loki's prison door, arms folded, brooking no debate. I was sure that I looked pretty weak and pathetic, the college student standing in front of all of those superheroes, blocking their way… but I stood my ground nonetheless.

"You're not going to beat it out of him. Hell, I couldn't beat it out of him." I rapped my knuckles on my forehead. "He's keeping this close to him, keeping it secret; I don't know how, and I don't know why, but I know that he is. And if he's pushed too far, we're gonna lose him completely."

"Fine by me," Clint answered without pause, without hesitation. My eyes narrowed.

"Yeah? Well, what happens when he goes insane, huh? What happens when Loki loses his mind, while still in mine? What then?"

He glared in the opposite direction. I kept my hands up peaceably, trying to keep this whole situation under control. "Look. Fraye just made the Hulk bleed. The Hulk. Bleed. Actual blood." I gestured to the door behind me. "Loki's kinda the lesser of two evils, here."

"But still evil," Tony cut in.

"Maybe," I answered with a shrug. "But do you have a better idea?"

"If we can't push him mentally," Clint tried, "Then what about physically?"

Loki flinched. My teeth clenched. He'd been tortured enough for one lifetime, thank you very much. I saw now why he'd never been afraid of being captured by Fury, back in the old days, back when I hadn't even been around; because what could Fury do to him, that Fraye had not already done a thousand times over?

I shifted my weight, planting myself firmly before the door. "Oh, yeah, Clint," I said, biting out the sarcasm-coated words. "That's a real great plan. You got a knife? Ok, cool, I'll just stab myself in the arm a few times, we'll have exactly the same result. Loki won't talk, and we'll both be in excruciating agony. You're a real freaking genius."

"You know that he'll ask to be freed." Clint ignored my sardonic tone. "And that is something that we absolutely can not do. No matter what."

I shrugged. "People in prisons cut deals all the time; get a lesser sentence, better living conditions, whatever. What makes this any different?"

The others grumbled, clearly unhappy. Thor was watching events unfold in silence, seeming carefully neutral towards the whole thing. I tried again. "Look. I can do this. We can figure something out that works for everyone, ok, I'm sure of it."

"You'd better be right, Frost," Clint said dangerously, but he stepped back.

"I am right, Barton," I shot back. "Trust me for once, will you?"

The others muttered and glared, but I turned my back on them. I paused before the door.

Ready?

But of course, came the lofty reply.

I wrestled with a smile; I could show no signs of happiness about this. But it was still good to have him back to his usual, irritating, arrogant self. I pushed the doors open, walking into the darkness… I kept walking, over to where I knew the grey light was. I took a deep breath just before I stepped into visibility. Show time.

Loki was sitting on the floor, as usual, his legs crossed and his eyes closed, an expression of cold detachment on his face. The instant I stepped into the light, however, a small, careful smirk began to play across his features. He looked unbearably smug about the whole thing; he certainly played his part well.

"Greetings, Miss Frost," he said airily. It wasn't hard for him to pretend to be a condescending a-hole.

"Cut the crap, Loki," I growled. It wasn't hard for me to pretend to be angry. I was already angry, even if I was directing it at the wrong person; or pretending to. I folded my arms over my chest. "You know why I'm here. What's it going to take to get you to cooperate?"

His eyes opened. As usual, I was astounded by how freaking green those suckers were. I buried that, however, keeping my eyes sharp and fierce. We were playing a game, acting out our seperate parts to perfection. We could not slip, could not fail. If Heimdal was watching this, or the Avengers were listening in…

Loki sat back a little, looking up to me. "A subject should never stand above her king," he whispered softly, gesturing for me to sit.

"Tough cookies." Ok, that was even easier to react to.

He gave a soft little laugh, closing his eyes again. He did absolutely nothing, sat perfectly still; he did this for so long that finally, cursing quietly, I sat down across from him. "You know, when you think you have an advantage over someone, your dirtbag-o-meter just goes off the scale."

His eyes opened again, and he smiled dangerously. Good, he approved silently in my head. You sound like yourself.

Oh, yes, I'm really going to botch up acting like myself. I'm just that bad of an actress.

I had wondered.

These thoughts passed through our minds in a matter of seconds; there was no noticeable pause in our vocalized conversation as Loki folded his hands together, his long, thin fingers interlacing.

"So the monster bleeds," he said, very, very softly. His eyes were distant, recalling the sight that had so unnerved the both myself and the Avengers; the sight of dark green drizzling from a wound on the Hulk's chest. "Interesting."

I ground my teeth together. "Just tell me what you want." As his eyes twinkled mischievously, I growled, "And yes. Your freedom is out of the question."

He sat back, spreading his palms out in front of him, placating. "Just a thought," he said, oh-so-innocently. "But my freedom matters little, and my life even less, should Fraye choose to stand against me."

Yikes, man. You're giving away a lot, here. I tried not to bite my lip, tried to show no sign of my inward conversation as I kept track of the one outside my head. Instead, I lifted my eyebrows in surprise. How are we explaining away the fact that you know Fraye, anyway?

If we must, we shall tell the Avengers that I encountered her in my exile; a truth within a lie. We shall mention nothing of the months in which she held me prisoner.

Agreed. My eyes narrowed. "So we have a common enemy, here."

"It would seem so," he agreed, contemplative.

"So why won't you help us?" I demanded. "If she's a threat to you, it would be in your best interests to give us whatever we needed."

"Perhaps," he pretended to admit. "However, I now have very little left to lose, Miss Frost. And everything to gain."

"So what are you thinking?" I asked, cutting to the heart of the matter, pulling no punches. This was typical of me; I didn't like to arrive at conclusions in roundabout ways. I wanted a person to say things straight; something that was difficult, when the person in question was the Norse god of Mischief.

He smiled again. "As you pointed out, we have a common enemy in Fraye. She is far more dangerous than your dull, mortal mind could even begin to comprehend; and I will not wait idly by while she destroys first the Avengers, then Midgard, and then Asgard and myself." A spark of something like fury flashed in his eyes. "So my bargain is this: I will give you the information you seek…" His head tilted down, his eyes becoming more intense. "If you release me-" As I looked ready to protest, he held up a hand, quickly, shutting me up. "Just long enough to fight Fraye beside you."

My mouth clamped shut. I forced a puzzled look onto my face. "You… You want to… fight with us?"

When he did not respond, my eyes narrowed in suspicion. "Why? Why us?"

He held out his palms again, half-shrugging. "The enemy of my enemy, Miss Frost. I am not going to die caged in this cell like an animal."

I considered that for a long moment, gnawing on the inside of my lip, pretending to digest this new offer. After a very long time, I sighed heavily. "You're not going to give up on this, are you?"

He half-smirked. "It is unlikely."

"Fine. Just… Fine. I'll talk to the Avengers about it." I glared at him. "But I'm making no promises, got it?"

The small smirk now grew. "It is not merely my life on the line, Lady Frost." He said in a chilling, nigh prophetic whisper. "Do as you wish."

I gave him a scowl and stood, brushing myself off. I saw, from his eyes, how I looked; and it was actually a lot worse than I'd thought. My already light-ish brown hair was made even lighter with a coating of dust, dirt and grimed smeared everywhere across my skin, with a few would-be bruises were scattered about as well. The battle with Fraye had taken its toll; I looked like I'd been in a battlefield, despite the lack of blood. I tried to brush off as much as I could of the dust, but it proved impossible, and I gave up eventually. I turned away from him, perfectly intent on giving him a bit of the silent treatment, when his ever-gentle voice stopped me.

"Oh, and Frost?"

I turned, looking back to him, my outward face hostilely curious. Inwardly, I frowned; we'd taken care of everything, hadn't we? There was nothing else to discuss, really, especially as this was all an act, with no real purpose other than a failsafe…

I did not like the glint in his eye as he said, "If you wish for me to help you, then I would ask one more thing." Again, he sat back, his spine rigid… but after a moment, he unfolded his legs and stood, his every movement graceful and swift. My frown finally made it to my face; what else would he want? We'd already covered everything, hadn't we?

The twinkle in his eye actually seemed to dance as he stood a little taller. "I want you to kneel."

Son of a bitch.

My hands clenched in fists. My teeth ground together. This was just playing dirty. This went way past mischief and trickery and went straight for playing dirty. I cussed him out in my head for a long time, throwing out every foul word I knew, in every language possible. English, Spanish, Danish, Asgardian, a little bit of French and some German… everything I'd ever learned in my entire life, I listed them off in a rant before finally saying in a tone that would not be debated, No.

He just continued to smile blissfully… because of course I couldn't refuse. Heimdal, after all, could be watching. If I didn't do this, then the Avengers could have an excuse to not allow Loki out, to leave him inside his cell… and, as tempting as that was right now, I knew that we needed him. I knew that, if we wanted to stand against Fraye, we would need everything and everyone we could get.

I hate your Asgardian guts.

"I'm waiting, Frost." He looked way too smug. Waaayyyy too smug. I wanted to wipe that stupid little grin off of his stupid little face, then beat the living crap outta him just for the hell of it. "I will not wait forever."

"It's not happening. No. N-O spells no. No way. Never. Never ever ever." The words streamed out of me in an angry torrent. Louder, fiercer ones raged off in my head.

"Really?" That twinkle kept dancing. My teeth kept grinding together; so fiercely that I thought I heard something crack. "Such a shame. Midgard could be beautiful from time to time." He shook his head back and forth, clicking his tongue in disappointment. "What a pity it will be, to see Fraye lay waste to such a lovely world."

She can have it. She can have the whole damn planet. I don't care. I'm not kneeling to you. Not now. Not ever.

Aren't you?

I folded my arms over my chest and turned away from him, stubborn as always. No. I'm not.

He chuckled quietly and stood back, waiting me out. Well, he could wait forever. I wasn't going to do it. I jutted out my chin in defiance. It wasn't happening.

After a very, very long moment, Loki seemed to recognize that; but he did not say anything. You need me as much as I need you, I growled at him. You're not going to make me do this.

Oh, but I am.

Oh, but you're not.

Kneel.

Never.

Kneel.

Nope!

You know you must. The Avengers will not consent to such a blow against their pride if you do not do the same.

They might.

And I will not fight beside you if you do not.

Still not happening.

He chuckled softly. "So you would sentence your entire world to die, simply for the sake of your own pride? How very arrogant of you. How very…" he lingered over the word, smiling as he said it. "Monstrous."

The word stung, as it always stung. But I ignored the pinch of pain behind my ribs and snorted. "It's not my arrogance and pride that needs to be taken down a notch, pal."

"I merely wish to see you put in your rightful place, Miss Frost," he said coolly. "I am not the arrogant one, the mortal thinking that I stand on equal footing with the King."

"I would actually, truthfully, literally rather die then reinforce that notion of yours." I glowered at him, folding my arms over my chest, my hands still in tight fists.

"But would you sentence your entire planet to that same fate?"

"Probably."

He shrugged. It was the most mild, uncaring of gestures. "Very well. Keep that in mind when the shadows cut the Earth in two."

I fumed, stamping out into the darkness, and throwing a little hissy fit in the dark, not quite leaving the cell, not yet. I couldn't go out there without a deal. No kneeling, no deal. But Loki saw how determined I was not to let that happen… and he still desperately wanted to get out of this prison, still did not wish to die in there, in the dark and the cold…

I took a long moment and a lot of deep breaths before I returned to the light; Loki was waiting for me, a smirk still on his face. That little gesture almost made me turn around right then and there, but I managed to keep my feet rooted to the spot. It took me a long time before I could move, before the fury that burned me up inside would relinquish me enough to do what I had to.

Finally, carefully, and completely stiff, I half-bowed. "Your freaking majesty," I snarled the words out, each one black and bitter.

Loki's lip twitched upwards, but instead of allowing the smile to come to fruition, he sighed theatrically. "I suppose that will suffice…" A haughty sniff punctuated his sentence before he added, "For now."

My eyes narrowed dangerously, and he waved me off with an indifferent hand. "You are dismissed."

I am going to kill you. Slowly. Brutally. There will be fire ants involved.

He just looked away, with the air of a King, as I whirled around and stalked towards the doors.

"As usual, our answer is unequivocally, irrevocably no." Tony leaned back in his chair- a very strange sight, considering the ornate nature of the table and the furniture around it- and looked around. "So. Any other ideas?"

I gave him a glare. "Look, pal, I freaking bowed to get this deal. The least you could do is consider it."

"Why does he believe Fraye to be such a threat?" Thor asked quietly, thoughtfully. "It is… unlike my brother, to worry over a threat to his foes."

"But it's not unlike him to want to fight," I cut in. "And it's not just us." The others looked at me, curiously, and I realized I'd left out a very important detail. I leaned forwards on my arm. "From the little that I've managed to get from Loki's thoughts- and that's not much, let me tell you- Fraye is more than just another enemy. She threatens not only the Avengers, but the Earth itself. And once she's finished with Earth, she's moving on to Asgard, then Jotunheim… she'll probably wipe out all of the nine realms before she's finished." The others looked at me, surprised. "She's a Planet-Killer. A destroyer of worlds. She's definitely a force to be reckoned with, and right now, we could use all the help we can get."

"The armies of Asgard are willing to face any potential threat," Thor started, but I cut him off again.

"The armies of Asgard? Hello?" I gestured to Banner. "Am I the only one who remembers that we have our own personal army right here at this table? The only one who remembers that she made him bleed?"

The others frowned. After a moment, Clint spoke up.

"We can't trust him, Natalie. If we let him out for even a second… and if Fraye is as dangerous as he thinks she is… Then he's not going to stay and fight. He's going to run."

"Run where? How?" I snorted. "The Tesseract? We can keep that out of his reach. I'd know the instant he decided to snatch it, and we could stop him. He's not leaving the planet any other way; and that's exactly what he'd need to do. Leave the planet. Beyond that, it's not like he could." I gestured to myself with one hand. "You know me. There's no way that I'm running from this. He'd have to drag me off-planet, kicking and screaming. And he couldn't stand to do even that; it would hurt me too much, knowing that I wasn't fighting for my world, knowing that it could be destroyed without me there. Anything that hurts me, hurts him."

I gave them all a dark, even look, meeting everyone's eyes. "You know this."

Everyone was silent for a moment. Then, Thor spoke up, "She speaks truly. My brother is many things, but he is not a coward. If he says he will fight beside us, then he will fight beside us."

"Yeah, then stab us in the back once we look away," Clint retorted, shaking his head. "We can't risk it."

"Why not? We're all dead, anyway." That was me again.

Tony glanced to Steve, who had been strangely quiet the whole time. "Cap? What do you think?"

Rogers hesitated. Then, very slowly, "If Fraye is so powerful, then she would have made a dent in other worlds, wouldn't she? Wouldn't there be other people on other planets who might be willing to cooperate? People from the other nine realms who might know more than we do?"

I pretended to phase out for a second, as though discussing things with and/or interrogating the Trickster for any information that might answer the Captain's question. Not that I didn't know already.

Loki saw the necessity in what I wanted to say and did not question it, but he did not speak to me, either. That was ok. I was too mad to speak to him, anyway. "Jotunheim," I answered Steve after a moment. "Fraye is a Jotun legend." I shook my head out. "But they wouldn't help us, not really. They might have limited information, but they would not be willing to speak of it. On Jotunheim, she is so feared that they will not even say her name out loud. Even if we could talk to them face to face- and, given the current state of their politics with Asgard, that's doubtful- they wouldn't give us much. And they certainly wouldn't fight with us."

There was silence for a beat. Then, Thor spoke up again. "It pains me to admit that I do not trust my brother." He swallowed, and I winced. Yeah, it pained Loki, too. Not that he'd ever admit it. "But I do trust Natalie. And if she says that he will not betray us, then he will not betray us."

My face went all hot. At first, pride swelled in my chest, but that was soon beaten down by bitter, ugly shame. Thor was vouching for my honor, here, and I was lying through my teeth. I'd been lying since the beginning. Oh, I trusted that Loki would not do anything stupid once he got out of prison; he knew better than that by now. But still. I had known about Fraye almost since the beginning. I'd been working towards this outcome for a very long time now. I was still just a liar.

"Thank you, Thor," I said, and despite my inner shame, I tried to sound vindicated and a little bit smug. I think I succeeded.

Tony shook his head back and forth. "There has to be a better way."

"There isn't. Believe me." I tried to look exhausted, exasperated. Not hard to do.

"Even if we agreed, there's no guarantee that Odin will," Natasha pointed out; she'd been fairly quiet throughout the meeting, taking everything in, calculatingly silent.

It was true, though. Odin was another major hurdle. "Let us handle that," I said, gesturing with my thumb to me and Thor. He nodded in agreement.

"No. No, this is insane." Tony placed his hands on the table. "We are not letting that maniac run loose."

"Loose?" I asked, incredulous. "Face it, Stark, he'd probably be more of a prisoner around us than he is in there. Not only does he have me in his head, keeping him from doing anything dumb, but he's also got a nice big, green, leash that'll toss him about a few times if he gets out of line." I glanced to Banner. "No offense, doc."

"None taken." He, too, had been bizarrely quiet this whole time.

"Not to mention all of you," I added, gesturing to the entire table. "There isn't a person here who hasn't smacked him in the face once or twice, who hasn't beaten him in one way or another." I had to add that 'one way or another' part; Natasha never really 'beat' him, not physically, but she'd definitely outwitted him. And that was hard to do.

"What's he going to do?" I concluded. "Irritate us to death? He's been trying to do that to me for the past year, and I'm still standing."

More frowns. More discontented muttering. "How does he even know about her, anyway?" Clint cut in, changing the subject. "How does he know so much about her?"

I saw what he was really asking: Why does he want to fight her so badly? What happened in their last encounter that made him so desperate to meet her face-to-face?

I went with our cover story, knowing that it was weak, but Loki went ahead with his own -suddenly separate-plans, anyway, hijacking my voice again. "When he was in exile. After his fall from the Bifrost. He went out scouting different worlds; found the Tesseract, but needed an army. He found Fraye instead." My eyes turned dark as the words kept coming. "She beat him once before. As you can imagine, he does not take defeat well."

"So why didn't he tell us about Fraye before?" Natasha asked, frowning. "He knew she was here. He could have warned us. We could have stopped her."

"And how would he have recognized her?" My hands were clenched in fists under the table. My words were now my own, but I still resented Loki making me say what he wanted me to. "She was a child, remember? The way she presented herself to us is not the way she really is."

The others exchanged looks. I waited in silence for a moment before I asked, "Bruce? What do you think?"

The Hulk-Man hadn't really spoken since we'd arrived, and now he folded his hands in front of him, clearly unwilling to voice an opinion. But slowly, carefully, after a quiet sigh, he answered, "I think you're right. This is currently our best option."

"What?" Tony went nuts. "Bruce, you can not be serious!"

Banner shrugged mildly. "Why not? Loki wants the Earth for himself, doesn't he? Wants Asgard for himself? Why wouldn't he fight to keep it from being destroyed?"

That was something that I hadn't even considered. Mostly because Loki couldn't take over Earth anymore; that was the whole point in me keeping our link intact. But the Avengers would always think that he was plotting, planning, trying to take over again. Of course they would. Why hadn't I thought of that before?

"And if we defeat Fraye? What then? You think he's just going to go back into prison?" Clint demanded.

"He'll have to," Banner said, gesturing to me. "She won't let him do anything else."

"Exactly." I said with a nod.

"No. No, this is crazy," Clint shook his head back and forth fiercely… Natasha placed a careful hand on his arm, and he looked to her; the two shared a long, weighted glance. I was surprised by how much seemed to pass between the two in that one look, how the two seemed to recognize exactly what the other was thinking without ever having to speak aloud. A different form of telepathy, almost.

The bond forged by battle, Loki noted. I ignored this; I was still mad at him. Pompous, arrogant little dirt bag.

Steve sighed heavily. "All right. If Odin agrees, then so will I."

"Agreed," Natasha said, looking away from Clint at last, to Steve instead. "We have no other choice."

Tony groaned, burying his face in his hands before slamming them onto the table. "Fine! But I reserve the right to say 'I told you so' when this all goes horribly wrong!"

Clint looked absolutely furious, but he nodded once, curtly. I tried not to put all of my relief into one sigh, but it was nigh impossible. It was happening. I was going to get Loki out of that cage. It had taken so many lies, so many deceptions… but now it was finally happening…

"So we're agreed," I said with a nod. Everyone else nodded back, most very reluctantly. Thor stood and gestured for me to do the same; I obeyed. "Where are you going?" Banner asked.

"To see Odin," I answered quickly.

"What, now?" Tony asked, eyebrows shooting up.

"You really think we should wait?" I asked. "The longer we wait, the longer Fraye will have to prepare another strike against us." I looked around at them all. "You saw the look on her face. She wasn't retreating, wasn't running. She wasn't scared in the slightest. She got what she wanted for now, but she's going to come back. And we need to be ready for her when she does."

The others didn't protest. I started towards the door. "Come on, Thunder-Boy. Let's do this thing."

As usual, Thor saw Odin before I did and explained the situation beforehand, so that, by the time I got inside, he knew everything. And I do mean everything.

As Thor came back to retrieve me from where I waited outside the door, he gestured for me to go inside. I did so, but stopped when I realized that Thor was closing the door behind me without following. I placed my hand on the door, stopping it from shutting. "What gives?"

"He wishes to speak with you alone," Thor answered. I lifted my eyebrows, but allowed him to close the door behind him. I walked down the short hallway to the even more massive, ornate doors and pushed my way inside.

Odin's good eye zeroed in on me the instant I entered the room, but there was someone else in there that I did not expect; his wife, Frigga. Thor's and Loki's mother. I recognized the kind face and fancy-pants hair from both Loki's memories and the few times that I had seen her. She sat by Odin's side, as tall and proud as any other royal I'd met, a calm serene power in the air about her.

I clasped my hands behind my back to hide the shaking. I was a little more used to talking to the big boss man by now, but not entirely. Not yet. All of these crazy Asgardians just seemed to ooze power, to radiate strength and authority. And then there was me, with nothing but an indestructible bubble to put me on par with these guys… take that away, and I was less than nothing.

I cleared my throat, swallowing. "You wanted to see me?" I asked, trying not to mince words. I wanted to get this over with quickly. Loki was getting antsy; now that there was a light at the end of the tunnel, he wanted to get to that light as soon as possible, to run from the prison, the darkness that bound him. Personally, I was thinking about letting him squirm for a while, the little troll. But I couldn't afford to think like that right now.

Odin studied me for a long time, and I did everything in my power not to shift under his gaze. I'd been known to keep perfectly still and stare right into the eyes of anyone who looked at me that suspiciously; particularly when I had nothing to hide. Well, now I did have something to hide, but I could absolutely not let anyone know that.

He did not mince words, either. His tone loud, full of command, he asked, "There is a threat against Midgard. You believe this threat is great enough to risk releasing my son?"

I stood ever taller, looking him dead in the eye. "It is not just a threat to my world; it is a threat to yours. Fraye is within reach of Asgard; particularly seeing as Thor is on Earth. Seeing him may just bring her to attack here as well." I threw the whole 'Thor' thing in there just in case, trying to keep him off the scent. No one could know that Loki's thoughts had lead Fraye here. No one.

"You did not answer the question," he noted.

I blinked. "Yes. The threat is more than great enough to justify any risk."

"And you believe that you could stop Loki, keep him under control?"

I snorted. "With respect, sir, the instant I think that Loki is 'under control' is the instant that everything goes south. He does what he wants, when he wants, because he wants. No other reason." I crossed my arms, tapping my fingers carefully. "But I am perfectly capable of stopping him, should he do anything outrageously stupid, like try to escape or take over the world or something."

Odin did not react to my views on the situation, nor to the way I voiced them. He rarely did. He was pretty used to me and my weird mortal speech by now.

"How long has he been planning this?"

I felt ice run through my veins, terror making my heart skip a beat, despite how I kept my face perfectly composed. I felt like a deer caught in the headlights. Loki was quick to step in.

He knows nothing of you. He reassured me. He simply suspects me.

In case you've forgotten: I am you!

And that is precisely why he is directing the question to you, and not my brother.

I swallowed and feigned ignorance to buy myself time. "I'm sorry?"

"How long has Loki been planning this?"

I lifted both eyebrows in false surprise. "He hasn't. He didn't even know that Fraye was a threat until we did."

Odin gave me a look. It was very clear that he did not believe me; that much was obvious just from one glance. But I stood my ground anyway; it was my story, and I was sticking to it. His eyes darkened. For a long time, neither of us said a word, each waiting the other out.

Finally, I sighed. "Look. You've known me for…what? More than a year now?" I dropped my arms to my sides, holding my hands out to him, keeping them low. "In all that time, have I ever given you reason to distrust me?"

He said nothing for a long moment. But I felt something stinging at my eyes, and suddenly, the words were out before I could stop them. "I mean… I've given up everything. Every chance of a normal life. I gave up my home, my life, and my family, for you and yours. I come here every week just to talk it out with a man who would otherwise spend his days in darkness." I shook my head slowly. "Don't you understand? I didn't do that just for Loki. I did that for Earth. For you and Thor and Asgard." I looked up to him, eyes flashing. I couldn't help it. I was finally right about something; and this… this wasn't even a lie. I knew that I was doing the right thing; I just knew that no one else would understand that. And if I had to lie to do the right thing, then lie I would. And I wouldn't care. My eyes locked on Odin's one, and I said, firmly, clearly, "I don't think it's too much to ask for you to trust me."

There was a long, ringing silence following my words. Even Loki was mildly surprised; he watched Odin's reactions carefully in my head, documenting them, remembering them for later use. I stood as tall as was humanly possible, knowing that I was still so small and diminished against these Asgardians, these powerful creatures… I didn't care, though. I stood beside power every day; it no longer impressed me as much as it probably should.

Finally, Odin ordered one of the guards to his side; he gave a few quiet commands; I saw Frigga smile very, very slightly beside him as I stood tall. When Odin turned back to me, his gaze was very serious. He started walking towards me; I struggled to remain still, to not start fidgeting, to keep my eyes on him as opposed to my feet.

"I am ordering the release of my son, provided he return to his cell immediately following the elimination of this current threat," he said, very clearly; then stopped a few feet away from me. The long, golden staff thingy that signified his leadership clanged against the ground. "And provided that you shall take sole responsibility over him."

My eyebrows shot up. Ok. I hadn't seen that coming. Neither had Loki.

He held out a hand; reflexively, I held out my own in response. "Should you accept this role, then you will be appointed as his Keeper." His every word echoed with strong authority. "And you must swear to act solely in the interests of the nine realms; and not yourself, or your charge."

I cleared my throat as I kept my hand out; his hand hovered above the inside of my wrist, but I didn't move my own hand, didn't feel as though I was supposed to. I blinked a few times, taking that in, then, a little too quickly, I breathed, "I swear."

Odin's eye met mine for a long moment… then his fingers landed on my wrist lightly; for a second that felt like an eternity, nothing happened. But then, a burning, searing pain lashed across my wrist, and I cried out in pain, pulling my hand back reflexively, hugging it close to my body. Far away in his cell, the exact same thing was happening to Loki; he sucked in a breath through his teeth, holding his scalding wrist in his ice-cold hand, his freezing fingers doing absolutely nothing to diminish the pain… After a moment, however, the pain died down, and I held my hand tentatively away from my body, looking at it. Loki did the same; and horror filled his thoughts.

I stared at the marking that had appeared on my wrist; a singular band that circled its entirety, comprised of interlocking knots and patterns very much like the ones that decorated the sides of Thor's hammer, that decorated this entire place. I studied it carefully; it had that vaguely Celtic look that everything in Asgard seemed to, and was, in all honesty, intensely beautiful. It appeared on my skin as mark, a blemish, a few shades darker than my actual skin… but as I ran my fingers over it, a very faint yellow-gold glow glittered across it, following the path of my fingertips. My heartbeat sped up, my chest tightening, making it harder to breathe…

"Is this… Is this what I think it is?" I asked, torn between awe and horror. Awe that he'd created something that I knew to be this powerful, that he trusted me, of all people, to wield it… and horror at the power I now held in my hand. In all honesty, I was a little… disgusted by it.

"It is," Odin confirmed in a solemn tone. I managed to tear my eyes away from the band long enough to look at him.

"Oh, no." I started shaking my head back and forth fiercely. "No way. Nuh-uh. Take it off. Take it off right now, I can't do this, I won't do this."

"You swore to act in the interests of the nine realms," he reminded me. "Even above the interests of yourself or the prisoner in your care."

"But this!" I exclaimed, horror-struck. "It's… no. No, no, no, no."

"You asked for my trust."

"Yeah, trust me to act in everyone's best interests, to kick Loki's butt if he got out of line… but don't trust me as his master, don't make him a slave."

"The enchantment will not enslave him. Merely…"

"Render him immobile," I cut him off. "Completely and utterly inert, whenever I should chose to make him so. Basically, a walking prison; you're putting him completely at my mercy." I shook my head again. "I don't even trust myself with that kind of power. I barely trust myself with the bubble! And I can't even control that half of the time! What do you think I'm going to do with this?" I held up my arm, gesturing to the band on my wrist. Loki had not said a word since his had appeared alongside mine. He was as horrified as I was, knew exactly why I was reacting in the way I was, even if Odin did not recognize it. I try to be a good person, I really do, I make promises to not cross lines, to not do certain things… but then something inside me will snap, and I'll lose control; I'll get too angry, too furious, and then those lines will be obliterated, all sense of a moral code vanishing… That is the monster within me, and right now I could feel it testing out this new weapon, coiling around it and purring contentedly.

I shook my head a few more times. "At least in our minds, he can fight," I said in a whisper. "We stand on equal ground; that was the whole point. We were supposed to stand as equals. Neither of us stands above the other, kneels before the other. He can fight back. This… This takes his will entirely. He would stand no chance against me."

Odin's gaze had softened very slightly. "If this threat is as formidable as you both claim, then we can afford to take no chances. You are his Keeper. That is your Key." He turned away from me. "I trust that you will use it wisely."

I looked down to the band on my arm. I had very clearly been dismissed. Carefully, I ran my fingertips along the pattern, my throat feeling thick… but I kept my protests silent. They would do me no more good. Feeling something black and gooey inside my hollow chest, I turned away, walking to the door. My footsteps felt leaden, and my eyes kept flicking back to the marking on my wrist… I wished I'd thought to wear long sleeves, so that I could cover it up… and my jacket was back in the Tower, back on Earth…

I made it into the hallway, wishing that Thor was not standing outside there, thinking on how I could keep him from seeing it long enough to get back to Earth and cover it with something or other… Loki was still reeling in my head. Either that or he was pouting; I wasn't exactly sure which.

"Thank you."

I froze, then turned around. Frigga was standing there, in the doorway, the only other person in this empty hall. I frowned as I turned to her, not bothering to cover the markings, as she had already seen… everything.

"For what?" I asked, trying not to sound hostile. Loki had never really had a problem with his mother, despite the fact that she had gone along with his father's lies… An irrational thing, but in the end, that is all love is; irrational.

She held herself with this strange, unnatural grace; so calm and collected… She was no warrior, but she was certainly no weakling, either. Her strength came from the innate power she seemed to carry with her, the power behind her gaze… I swallowed as she answered in a simple, cool voice, "Everything."

She took a few steps towards me. "Thank you, for protecting my son." Loki looked to the ground. "For everything that you have done for him."

I looked down to my wrist, studying the patterns there. She gently wrapped her fingers around my wrist, lifting it up so that she, too, could look at it. Could look at the shackle that bound me and her son together; the first physical evidence that we shared any kind of connection. I let my hand fall limp so that she could do so; her fingers, like Odin's and completely unlike Loki's, were warm.

"You do not trust yourself with such power," She said, and it was not a question. "And yet… I remember a time, when you held the power of life and death in your hands… when you could have killed Loki." I found that I could not meet her gaze as she stared at me, so scrutinizing, so focused… "I almost lost my son; that is not something that I will forget quickly."

I could imagine. Still, I did not look up to her, did not face her. She went on, "But, when you held this power… you chose instead to help him. To save him. After he had taken everything from you."

"I didn't do it for-" I started with the age-old mantra, the same excuse I gave everyone… but as I did so, my gaze went up and met hers, and I found the words dying in my throat. She kept talking as though I hadn't spoken.

"You may not trust yourself with this power, Natalie Frost," She said, her voice very clear as she clasped my hand in both of hers. "But I more than trust you; I know that you will not use this power against him, not unless he truly forces your hand." Her eyes stayed on mine. "And for that as well… thank you."

Thanking me for something I hadn't even done yet. I felt my cheeks burn. My eyes flickered down to my shoes, which kicked absently at the floor. "You're… uh… you're welcome… I guess." My voice got steadily quieter and quieter, until I was all but mumbling. She smiled- I could feel the gesture, rather than see it- and squeezed my hand a little tighter before releasing it and turning away; she walked out of the room, leaving me alone again.

Well… I was never 'alone'.

I swallowed carefully as I encircled my wrist with one hand, trying to cover the Key. Loki…

Not a word, mortal.

Yeah. He was definitely threatened. Loki, I'm not going to use it. You know I won't, you know this is a line I won't cross, not unless…

Unless what? He asked dryly, a smile suddenly appearing on his face… but there was a strange, twisting pain in his heart. Unless I try to escape? We both know this is futile. But what if I try to kill you? Also futile. But what if I mention April? What if I say something that you do not like? What then? Will you simply let that pass, when you have so much power in your hands?

I've done it before, I protested weakly.

Forgive me if I can not rely on your sporadic moral victories.

I winced. Look, you're not exactly Mr. Goody-Two-Shoes, either. I've dealt with you for more than a year now: without this power. I think I can handle not using it against you now.

Liar.

I sighed heavily. I glanced to the door at the end of the hall; where I knew Thor waited for me. I didn't want to move. I didn't want to go out there, didn't want to see him, didn't want to see the Avengers… But I knew that I must.

Look. I can't promise anything; I'm only human, after all.

He snorted. I went on, But as far as I'm concerned, this is only to be used in the unlikely-if not impossible- event that you decide to run, or to go against the interests of the nine realms. I did swear, after all.

No response. I continued, This is a good thing, Loki. We got your father to agree; which I'm pretty surprised happened at all. And really, who would you rather have in control of this thing? The Avengers? Thor?He glared at the ground at the mention of his brother, a soft, disgusted half-sigh slipping out from him. Exactly. Face it, Trickster; I might just be a mortal, but at least I'm working in your interests. That has to count for something.

He closed his eyes for a long moment, thinking, concentrating. This was very much a matter of pride for him; the fact that a mortal wielded enough power to control him, to perhaps make him kneel… it was utterly petrifying. But he knew that it was necessary; beyond that, he knew that it was me. It was unlikely that I would do something that would hurt him so badly, even if I did have a bit of a problem crossing lines before.

I let him think it out, let him calm down without saying a word. Finally, he nodded slowly. It seems we have no other choice.

I nodded back, and we let the subject drop. What else could we do, what else could we say?

I walked from the room, out to where Thor was standing beside the guard the Odin had addressed earlier; obviously the one who was going to see Loki released. Thor gave me a small smile.

"He agreed," he said; not telling me something I didn't know, not asking a question, but just running the fact by me, just in case. I nodded.

"Yup," I said softly, half-shrugging, tucking my hand halfway behind my body. I started walking forwards, trying to get away, trying to keep moving before he caught sight of the Key…

It didn't work.

I suddenly felt Thor's hand on mine, stopping me gently; but I flinched nonetheless. Slowly, guiltily, I turned back to him as he lifted my hand up, examining my wrist. The look on his face as he studied the band was… unfathomable. There was a darkness in his eyes, a deep sadness on his features that Loki refused to see.

Thor looked it over for a very long time, then his eyes flicked upwards and locked on mine. I felt my heart speed up again as he held my wrist up to our eye level, so that we could both see the band that encircled it. He didn't say anything, but his face spoke volumes, questioning the markings, the Key. My throat clogging, I looked at him imploringly.

"Don't tell the Avengers," I pleaded in a small, tinny voice. I didn't take my hand from his. I could see the muscles in his jaw clenching. He did not give me a response; but he let my hand drop, back to my side… I quickly wrapped it in my other one, trying to keep it covered, looking down, almost… ashamed.

After a moment, however, he nodded slowly, then started forwards. I followed him silently, unquestioningly; even as he led us down a path away from the Avengers, away from Loki's prison, I kept my mouth shut.

He lead me towards a separate area of the palace, then vanished into one of the rooms for a moment; I waited outside for just a heartbeat, and then he returned, holding something in his hand.

"It is rare that a Keeper's identity will be made secret," Thor said slowly, taking my hand. "But it is not unheard of."

I lifted a single eyebrow, confused- How often did things like this happen?- but again, I didn't question it. He slid something around my wrist; a silver-blue piece of cloth that clung tightly to my skin. The instant Thor lifted his hand off of it, it dissolved into nothingness, while at the same time dissolving into the mark, transforming into the same shade as my skin, making it look smooth and unblemished, hiding the Key completely. Loki's still remained on his wrist, but as his sleeves tended to be fairly long, I did not see this as a problem.

"It will not last forever," Thor warned me. "I would suggest you cover it the moment we arrive back on Earth."

I let out a sigh of relief. "Thank you, Thor." I fought the urge to hug him, thinking that Loki's pride had been damaged enough for one day. Especially seeing as the day wasn't even over yet.

"Of course," He answered, turning away. We started walking again. "I trust you to make the right decision, Natalie."

And again with the trust. I stifled a sigh as we headed back towards the Avengers. "Well, first thing's first. Before we get Loki out of there…" Thor looked to me, questioning. I ran my hand over my face. "What do we tell Fury?"

As it turned out, Fury was not the person that I needed to worry about. The Council, on the other hand, was an entirely different matter.

I stood in the darkest, most dauntingly large room of the Helicarrier, glass screens circling the wall before me, faceless figures peering at me, watching me with empty eyes and hollow features. They all seemed to be wearing suits; not that I could really know that for sure, given the way the screens were shadowed, making them into inhuman, impersonal talking heads. I tugged my jacket sleeve downwards nervously, despite how it was currently covering nothing; the Key was still hidden beneath the sleeve that Thor had given me.

Fury stood in the back of the room, wearing his usual black clothes and heavy trench coat that either screamed 'extreme Goth' or 'extreme badass'. The eye patch helped it lean towards the second one.

And then there was me. Jeans, black Pink Floyd T-shirt, ratty sneakers, and dark green jacket. Oh, yes, I looked very professional. In my defense, it was the only outfit I had at the Tower; the only one that was clean and not PJs, that is. And, even more in my defense, I had just gone to Asgard in these clothes, minus the jacket of course. I hadn't really had time to get something better after Fraye had attacked us; and I'd been wearing my pajamas when she'd done that, too. My life sucked like that some times.

But the Asgardians were used to me and my weird mortal clothes by this point; and they expected as much from all humans. They might not entirely understand the difference between our formal wear and our normal clothes, between suits and jeans. Just like I used to have a hard time getting the hang of their battle armor and their usual, every-day armored clothing. On Loki, it was pretty freaking obvious; especially with the helmet. But on others, it was a little more subtle.

But here… here they understood that I looked like a rag-tag mess of a college student; and not like the powerful warrior with the telepathic connection to the banished prince that the Asgardians occasionally saw me as. I tried to keep standing tall, but after all of the doubt and suspicion that had been thrown my way today, I was starting to get tired. I couldn't face down many more people.

"So what you're saying is, you wish to bring a war criminal back to this world, under the care of a group of vigilantes, in the hope that he might help you stop the criminal acts of a young child." One of them said at last. "Am I correct?"

I scowled deeply. Some people just get a kick out of making everything difficult. "First, they're not all vigilantes. Three of them-Clint, Natasha, and myself- are all under S.H.I.E.L.D.'s payroll; and thus working for you. Second, Fraye is not a child. And she's dangerous. You've seen pictures, the damage she caused outside of Stark Tower."

"Yes, after she supposedly transformed into a homicidal maniac, capable of destroying all life on this planet." Another one spoke up. "Forgive me, but it all sounds rather far-fetched."

I snorted. "Oh, yes, like our lives are all so normal."

"And even if this was the case, then why did you not prevent it?" The first speaker questioned me again. "Is that not why you were appointed? To monitor all potential threats among the Avengers?"

Ooh. He got me there. That was, after all, my 'official' duty; keep an eye on the Avengers, write psych profiles, all that crap. But I had a comeback in seconds. "Yes. I'm supposed to keep an eye on the Avengers. Not on some random, helpless little girl who comes looking for our help." I shook my head. "And even if I did keep an eye on her, Fraye played her part well. She fooled better minds than mine; she fooled everyone. Even all of your operatives. Barton, Romanov; she had all of us wrapped around her tiny little finger."

Now, I was lying. But they didn't seem to notice; I was still a good liar. At least, I was when I was talking to humans.

"And you went to the Asgardians and asked them to release Loki into the Avengers' custody," one of them said, sounding condescendingly disappointed; in that way that made you feel like they were really saying 'how could you do such a terrible, vile thing, you foul, loathsome little insect?' I blew this off and shrugged. He went on, "Under whose authority?"

"The Avengers'. My own. Whatever authority my link with Loki gives me." I tried to look him in the eye; a really difficult thing to do, when there was no face to give me reference. "Take your pick."

"You were not authorized to make this kind of negotiation." This was the second speaker, the woman. "You are not a representative of this world, and not qualified to speak on our behalf."

"I wasn't speaking on your behalf." I gave her a look. "And I'm sorry, I'm sorry, hold up. Not qualified? You really wanna go there?" Behind me, Fury cleared his throat; I looked to him, and he shot me his patented, you-would-do-well-to-shut-up-right-now glare. I turned back to the Council and took a moment to pull myself together again. Finally, in a voice that was hopefully a bit calmer, I continued, "I think, given the unusual circumstances of the situation, you could say that I was qualified enough to discuss the problems with Odin. And he agreed with me; that Loki's release is currently our best option."

"But we do not," the first speaker said, his voice very cold. His faceless figure towered above me, making me feel very small and helpless… I pushed it aside. I was Natalie Frost, dammit. I had an indestructible bubble. Not to mention a loco Jotun in my brain. I could handle whatever they threw at me. "We will not allow Loki back onto our planet without answering for his crimes." He concluded.

I looked at him for a long time; the room rang with the finality of his words. Then slowly, carefully, I gave a little smirk that would have made the Norse god of Mischief proud.

"I see," I answered slowly, adjusting my sweater sleeve again, but this time with more purpose. More intent. "Well, it seems we have a problem, here."

Loki saw where this was going. He bit his lip thoughtfully, then decided to allow it. He liked the idea of me taking these fools down a few pegs; and that more than justified the risk of what I was planning to do.

"Because, you see," I cleared my throat, looking up innocently at them all, smiling a bit blissfully. "Like I've mentioned before; Odin agrees with me. And he has already released Loki Laufeyson into my custody. Not the Avengers'; mine." I took my sleeve in my fingers and rolled it down with great care, flipping it downwards in much the same fashion that Loki had done, when he first revealed the scars on his arms to me. I ran my fingers along the skin of my arm until I felt the sleeve that Thor had given me, clinging to it tightly… I gripped it and pulled, tearing it off; it tore in half, falling loosely off of my wrist, crumbling into silver-blue dust in my hands. Underneath, the marking showed, plain as day; I ran my fingers along it, and it glowed softly.

"I am Loki's Keeper," I said in a soft voice, but my words were perfectly clear, filled with a quiet authority all my own. I found myself smiling still, a little half-smile that I had always seen on the Trickster's face. "And, well, you see… Odin has already agreed to this, has already placed Loki in my care. That's what this is," I held up my wrist, "The Key. A symbol of my role." I didn't mention its true power; they didn't need to hear about that. This would be enough. This was perfect. "To deny this, to deny Loki entry to this world… well, I'm afraid that would mean that you do not trust Odin's judgment; and, by extension, that you do not trust him." I lifted both eyebrows. Ok, I could see why Loki did this all the time; spoke with that silver tongue, twisted all logic and reason to his view… it was way too much fun, having an argument that no one could refute.

"Something like that… well, it borders on risking an Interplanetary Incident." I tilted my head to the side. "We went to war simply because of one Asgardian; I don't think it would be such a brilliant idea to upset an entire world."

There was a dark silence following my words. I could feel their furious, disgusted looks, and was suddenly grateful that I couldn't see them… but I stayed exactly the way I was nonetheless, tilting my head to one side.

"But, if this is your final decision… I guess I'll just go tell him that we don't want this, then," I said, pulling my sleeve back down over the band. I gave them each a nod in turn and said, "Thank you. For your time."

I started towards the exit; but one of their voices stopped me.

"You are not dismissed, Miss Frost."

A smile stretched across my lips; but I managed to battle it back and plaster a look of complete innocence on my face before I turned to the Council once more. "I'm not?" I asked, fake-surprised. "It seemed to me that your opinions on the matter were fairly clear."

One of them sighed; the woman. "If you have already discussed the matter with Odin, then there is nothing that we can do to stop you." There was a bleakness in her tone that would've worried me a year or so ago. Now it just ticked me off. "But this is not over, Natalie."

"With respect, ma'am, it never is."

That got me even more looks. At least, I assumed it did. "We shall discuss this later," Another confirmed, then leaned back and got ready to cut the video feed. "Let's hope you know what you're doing."

I couldn't stop the smirk. "Always," I answered as I left the room; I heard Fury's footsteps behind me as the screens went black.

"They aren't going to let you forget that," he said as he walked up next to me; neither of us stopped walking.

"Good. Something to look forward to."

"You think this is the best way to stop Fraye?"

"I do."

"Then make sure it's done quickly." He turned away and walked in the other direction; I smiled to myself.

No lines crossed? I double-checked with Loki. He frowned and did not respond. They don't know what it is. That's the only reason I showed it to them.

I am well aware of your reasoning, Frost.

Are you mad?

No.

Good. Cause I still am. I got to the stairs and headed for the docking bay. I'm not going to let you forget that whole 'kneeling' thing.

Something to look forward to, then.

I grinned.