"Oh hell no."

Thor shifted uncomfortably, "My friend, please-"

"No! This, this is over the line, it is way over the fucking line." Clint snarled, his hands clenching into fists. He shrugged off Natasha's hand on his shoulder and stalked up to the thunder god. Despite the archer being at least half a head shorter than him, Thor still took a step back, being able to feel the murderous aura around his friend.

Clint snarled, jabbing a finger at Loki, "He is not supposed to be here! You fucking promised us that you'll take him back to Asgard. He's supposed to be in a fucking cell rotting away!"

Clint panted, the anger rushing through him indescribable. The other avengers stood around him, Steve was with Natasha, directly behind Clint, while Bruce was near the window, facing the New York skyline. He took deep calming breaths, trying to get his anger under control. the Hulk didn't need to make an appearance now.

Tony however, was more vocal about his, "Oh hell yes, I completely agree with Legolas here Point Break, I mean what the fuck? You told us that day that Assgard would handle it, now you say you're bringing him here? For what? Daddy couldn't stand his ugly little face anymore?" he sneered.

On the couch, Loki stiffened slightly, eyes flashing in anger. He pressed his lips together, and forced himself to relax. He spread his arms out on the back of the sofa, languidly crossing his legs as he observed the entire room. He supposed that it was what the mortals called their common room, much like a common dining area that Asgard had. It was sparsely furnished, with only a single couch and the bar. He narrowed his eyes, ignoring the little spat the avengers were all having behind him. The mortals were so petty, accepting the fact that he was already here would have been much more convenient and less energy would have been wasted.

He looked around the room, noting the fully stocked bar where Stark had stood several Midgardian years ago trying to threaten him. He noticed the slight burn marks on the floor and on the far left wall. The screen in front of him remained untouched but new, as was the couch beneath him. Loki narrowed his eyes, Stark seemed more like a person who flaunted his wealth, to use his own words against him, "a full tilt-diva", whatever that meant, Loki thought. He glanced back at the six heroes, who were still locked in verbal combat, and rolled his eyes. Honestly, he grumbled to himself, their city could be burning and they would not even notice. He sighed exasperatedly; the mortals were using the same argument over and over again and he was more than tired of hearing it. Even if it did amuse him.

Loki leaned on his hand, closing his eyes, portraying an image of resignation and boredom while he took the chance to examine his restraints. He was in the midst of finding weaknesses within the bond restraining his magic when he felt it. A strange tremor that ran through the tower. He frowned, his eyes still shut, even as he blocked out all other sounds. The squabble occurring behind him faded into the background, and Loki was left with a myriad of energy trails. His own seidrmay have been blocked, but he was a seidr- master, he could sense when magic was used, or when a magical artifact was present, even though it felt muted now, as if he was underwater and in a glass tank. He concentrated on the weakly pulsating energy, trying to follow the trail even though he could barely sense it. He frowned, he knew he had felt that power before... His eyes snapped open in shock.

For once, Loki was glad that the mortal contraption he sat upon was faced away from his brother and his band of mortal pets, he sat in shock, holding his breath. There was just no way that another stone could be on Midgard. Let alone in Stark's tower. He narrowed his eyes, it was clear that the mortals weren't aware of it, otherwise they'd have informed Thor already. No. Maybe not, the fool is ignorant of their existence as well. Perhaps it was someone else who brought it in- Oh. Loki blinked, I see. He flexed his hand absentmindedly, trying to relieve the growing numbness, mind racing ahead in search for an answer to the mystery surrounding the tower. He sneaked a glance at the still quarreling avengers, and shifted so that he sat forward, no longer stretched out on the couch.

Loki closed his eyes again, tracing the thread of power down several floors. He took in the hum of power, twirling the thread around his hand. Griping the thread of power, lLoki concentrated, feeling the texture and the flow of the power emanating from the stone. He started as he realized that it was the same power he felt in his cell. He opened his eyes, his lips curling into a smirk, he now knew where that power had come from.

He leaned back into the couch, its soft material folding around his body. He turned his head to the side, watching his little archer stand up to his brother. He laughed, cutting through their arguments instantly. Six heads swiveled to look at him, Hawkeye being the first to snap out of his stupor. "What the hell are you laughing at asshole?" he snarled, taking a step forward. Loki just smirked even wider, completely undaunted by the archer's supposedly menacing form. He turned back to face the blank screen in front of him. "You mortals are so petty." He said, bringing a hand up to examine his fingernails, "Squabbling over trivial issues, taking such a long time to reach a decision..." he smiled when he felt the cold barrel of the gun press against the back of his head. "How...inefficient."

Natasha moved to place a hand on Clint's arm, silently warning him, "Loki. We have a right to question Asgard's decision, we were promised that you would have been dealt with. Yet, here you are."

"Please," Loki drawled, "Asgard has never been good at keeping prisoners. Least of all me."

He stood up and faced them in a fluid movement, causing both assassins to aim their weapons at him. The rest of the team were no better, all of them tense, even his own brother. He grinned, "Look at you all, so afraid of me." He walked around the couch, hands placed behind his back. "Yet you put up a facade of bravery. How...touching. Heroes," Loki smirked, coming to a stop in front of Tony Stark, "there are no such things."

"Brother." Thor warned, "Enough of your games, the Allfather has ordered us to-"

"Ah ah ah." Loki said, pointing a finger at Thor, "Your king ordered me to remain on Midgard, he never decreed that could I not speak in my own fashion."

Thor gritted his teeth, "Brother-" he tried again, but Loki ignored him, "If he wanted to keep me silent, he should have sewed my mouth shut. More efficient is it not?" He sneered, turning to face the Man of Iron, green eyes boring into almond ones, "Now, where is Perseus Jackson?"

Tony grabbed Thor's arm and yanked him backwards, "You told him about the kid?" he hissed, aware that he wasn't really able to stop the muscular Norse god from doing whatever he wanted. Thor however, just looked back at him sadly, guilt still gnawing at him at having his words thrown back at him, "I had no choice friend Stark, my brother was the only one who could help him."

Tony stared, incredulous, "No. Don't give me that shit, you said that there were magic users up there, you said so yourself! How the fuck did that translate into only Mr. I-love-myself-so-much over there?"

Thor sighed, "Asgard needs its mages, and I negotiated with my father to let Loki come to Midgard instead."

They both turned to see Bruce leading Loki down to the infirmary where Percy was in. "If Loki does anything to the kid, I won't hesitate to blast him into pieces." Tony said, glaring up at Thor. The avengers all followed him silently.

"Well, there would be a line in place." Loki said, coming to stand before the avengers, with Bruce behind him. He held out his wrists to Thor silently. The avengers watched in slight confusion as Thor and Loki stared at each other for a moment, before Thor shifted to place his hands on his brother's wrist, muttering, "lausanfráskuldabréfumsínum*."

Loki rubbed his wrists, relishing in the feel of his power being unlocked. He was aware that the majority of his powers were still locked away, but let it be said that the Trickster could appreciate what he had.

Loki smirked, walking back to the infirmary, "Explain to your precious mortals the terms and conditions of my release from Asgard brother mine, and do not under any circumstance, disturb me. Am I clear?" he asked, pinning Thor with a strict look. His brother nodded.

"That goes for you mortals too. If you disrupt the process, I cannot guarantee what will become of Perseus' mind."

"And what exactly the hell are you going to do?" Clint asked, his voice tight with anger.

Loki paused at the doorway of the infirmary, "I am going to extract his mind from wherever it was sent. If your tiny little brain can comprehend that." He said, stepping into the room and shutting the door.

The avengers all stood around uncomfortably, not willing to let their enemy stay with their friend, but not willing to risk his mind either. Thor broke the silence, "Come," he said, voice subdued, "I will inform you of the Allfather's orders."

One by one, the avengers all left the trickster god in the infirmary and went back up to the living room.

Infirmary

Loki shut the door behind him, not caring about the avengers who were most likely debating on whether or not to leave him in the room alone. His gaze fell on the boy on the bed. Despite his earlier skepticism about heroes, he knew that there was only one exception in all the Nine Realms, and that was Percy Jackson, who looked more fragile than Loki had ever seen him, lying in a bed with various machinery hooked up to different parts of his body. He, like practically everyone on Asgard, knew about this boy, and the things he did for this realm. it had come as a shock to the majority of Asgard, including the Allfather, to learn that the Grecian gods were still alive and very much active in Midgard. Loki, being as curious as he was, had explored the realms secretly when he was younger and had enough power to maintain a double that was stationed in Asgard. He had stumbled across the gods as he explored Midgard several Midgardian centuries ago, hence he was the only one who was not shocked at their appearance.

Where Midgard was considered beneath Asgardian notice before, and wasn't that ironic, Loki thought, that the mortals think the entire population of Asgard shares in Thor's love for mortals, the realization that the Greeks were still around had Asgard change its outlook on them, though their main dismissal of the mortals remained unchanged. It was news of the great battle against the Titans that brought the gods to Asgard's attention, and while the rest of the realm gaped and stuttered their surprise, Loki just smirked and preserved their gobsmacked faces in his mind, laughing along with Hermes and Apollo when he conjured up their image for them. Of course, the trickster thought, that was all before it went to Hel.

Loki moved to stand by the bed, mindful of the various contraptions connected to the boy. He knew not what those were, but he was smart enough to realize that they helped keep his body alive while his mind was stranded elsewhere. He waved a hand over the boy's body, noting that while slightly emancipated, he was mostly healthy. He placed a cold hand on Percy's forehed, sending a tendril of his power within. As I thought, his mind was held captive somewhere else.

Loki withdrew his hand, from what Thor had described to him of the attack, he could practically guess where Percy was being held. Loki swallowed, he did not want to go back to that place, not now, not ever. And he could back out now, he did not have any obligation to Perseus Jackson, he only needed to help the Avengers.

But, a voice whispered at the back of his mind, you are already hailed as the Liesmith, the Trickster, Silvertongue, do you wish for Oath-breaker to be in the list?

Loki gritted his teeth, a debt was highly regarded in all the Nine Realms, to not repay one... You would lose any and all scraps of credibility and honor you had, even though he was already despised and shunned by the vast majority.

Loki gingerly sat on the bed. He stared at the child-turned-man before him, contemplating his options. He spared a passing glance at the boy's wrist before leaning forward and placing both hands on either side of Percy's head, his thumbs resting slightly beneath his eyes. Loki took a deep breath and closed his eyes, tendrils of green energy emerging from his hands, coiling around his and Percy's head as he tracked Percy's location.

Living room

The avengers were back in the room where it all started. They were scattered around the place, Bruce and Steve on the couch, Natasha with Clint against the wall, Tony at the bar pouring drinks for everyone and Thor in the middle of the room. Despite the seemingly randomness of their positions, it didn't escape Thor's notice that he was surrounded by them. By his friends. He sighed inwardly, knowing that the source of their tension was his own brother. It was a rift between him and his team mates. As heroes, they couldn't and didn't want to consider Loki as anything other than an enemy. But for Thor, his brother was his soft spot, and however he claimed that Loki was beyond hope, their was a part of him that blanched every time he thought about his brother, dead and broken on the ground.

"So," Steve began, "What's the deal with Loki coming back?"

Thor hummed in response, trying to think of a way to break the news to them, "I tried asking my father for help, but," he paused, looking uncertainly at them, "he told me that he could not spare any Asgardian mage to come to Midgard."

"You mean he didn't want to bother with us mortals." Clint said flatly, crossing his arms and glaring at the floor..

Thor winced at his friend's bluntness, but did not comment on it because he knew that it was true. It was only his naive way of thinking that assumed that Asgard regarded mortals as anything other than creatures beneath their notice. "I apologize, I truly tried, but my father ignored my requests." Thor said, "I had visited my brother before consulting my father, and a thought came to me."

"Thor," Natasha interrupted, "What, exactly are the terms of Loki's stay here on Earth?"

Thor breathed in deeply, "He has been ordered by Asgard's council to aid you in your battles."

"Whoa whoa whoa! Hold up, what the hell?" Tony shouted, "Aid us? We don't need his help. Okay?"

Steve sighed tiredly, "Tony, we need help, no, don't give me that look," he said, cutting off whatever protests he had, "We need help, it's why we asked Thor to go back to Asgard in the first place. We have it now, but it's just not in the form we wanted."

Steve turned to the avengers, "None of you interrupt him anymore, let Thor finish speaking, and then we'll decide what to do next." He made sure that the rest of the avengers agreed before nodding for Thor to continue.

Thor smiled, grateful for the Captain's intervention, "Loki has had his magic bound and sealed by the Allfather, who is a powerful sorcerer himself. It is nigh impossible to get out of the bonds that my father has placed on Loki. He is bound in a way which prevents him from using his magic except in certain situations. If you are in need of magical help, my brother is to use his magic to aid you. Outside of such conditions, his magic will remain bound. The only other exception is self defense. If any of you attack him outright, he is given the right to defend himself. However, he will only have limited magic, which will be enough to incapacitate, not kill."

Thor finished his speech, slightly out of breath.

Bruce took off his glasses, absentmindedly cleaning the lenses with his shirt. He peered up at Thor, "You said that it was 'nigh impossible'. It implies that there is a tiny chance that he would be able to break out of those bonds. And what's to say he won't escape when he is unbound? I mean, it seems like a big loophole there, his magic being unbound when we need magical aid, but it isn't a guarantee that he'll help us. What's stopping him from waiting until his bonds dissolve then using his magic to, I don't know, run away?"

Thor looked almost triumphant, as if he was waiting for someone to point out that fact, "My brother cannot do that, he has sworn an oath on the Norns to help you in your battles should you require his help."

The five avengers all gave him blank stares. "What...?" Tony asked, voicing their questions.

Thor blinked at them, "You do not have the Norns? People who," he made a vague gesture here, "control certain things?"

Tony raised an eyebrow, turning to face the other avengers, "Uh, guys? Do we have anything like that? Because I'm pretty sure we don't. Right?"

Thor shook his head, "The Norns come in the form of three women, they stand at the roots of Yggdrasill and pour water from the Well of Urðr** over it so that the tree would not rot. They control Fate itself.

"And how does that help us exactly?"

"To swear an oath on the Norns is the highest form of an oath one can make. If he or she breaks it..."

"What, they die?" Clint sneered.

Thor shook his head, "No, they will be granted a fate worse than death."

The avengers were all silent at this revelation. After a moment, Steve spoke up, "So Loki has to help us, or something bad will happen to him? There isn't anything he can exploit or something?" he studiously ignored Clint's muttered, "Why should we care about what happens to him?"

Thor thought for a moment, while he had no doubt that Loki would be searching for a loophole, he also knew that Odin was well aware of his son's slippery tendencies and would have taken precautions against it. "No," he finally said, "I do not believe that my brother can get out of this without anything less than severe harm falling upon him."

Steve nodded, apparently satisfied. The avengers, having nothing more to discuss, all retreated back to their rooms, after Tony instructed JARVIS to inform all of them if Percy woke up.

Infirmary

Loki concentrated, pulling his magic around him, focusing on his consciousness and diving after Perseus' consciousness. He followed the trail left behind, gasping slightly when he felt cold air hit his face. His eyes snapped open-torturepainagonyhurtpaindarknesshelpmecutspaingetawayfromme- NO! He snarled to himself, wrenching himself out of his own memories, absently wondering how he could have flashbacks when his mind was not in his body.

He gasped for air, the bleak landscape forming in front of his eyes. He gripped the wall harder, using it as a crutch to steady himself. He looked at the wall and flinched away, realizing that he had been gripping the remains of some creature. He gulped for air, wrapping his magic around him like a cloak. The feeling of his power thrumming around him comforted him and calmed him down as he slowly breathed in and out.

Loki cursed inwardly, what was he thinking? Coming back to this place? He shook his head, no, concentrate. You have a job to do. He steeled himself, then peered over the wall he had somehow managed to hide behind in his earlier panic attack. He scowled, the God of Mischief does not get panic attacks. He surveyed the entire planet, hiding behind his rock instinctively when a Chitauri patrol flew past, there was no harm in being discreet, even though he was, for all intents and purposes, invisible.

He caught glimpses of the space whales he had led during his invasion, not batting an eyelid as he watched them crunch on the several unlucky chitauri who had the misfortune of riding too close to the monsters.

He glanced back and forth, trying to determine where he was, before he caught sight of an elevated section of the planet. From his own memories, he remembered that the Mad Titan ruled over the broken planet from there. Loki swallowed, silently making his way to the grotesque mockery of a throne. As he neared it, sounds of agonized and muffled yells reached his ears. He closed his eyes, cursing under his breath. He crept closer to the origin of the sounds, and grimaced when he saw the hero strung up like cattle, the chitauri jeering and laughing around him. Loki bared his teeth in a silent snarl, there was no way he could get to Perseus if he was surrounded by the chitauri. Loki risked one more glance, and flinched back violently, his breath caught in his throat as he saw the Other. He breathed heavily, wrapping his magic around him even tighter, unwilling to take any chances. He did not want that particular chitauri to get even the slightest hint that there was someone there.

Loki sat down where he was hidden behind yet another rock, closing his eyes against the screams and against his own memories, his magic a comforting cloak around him that grounded him through the tortures he knew was going on and the ones that sent phantom pains through his body.

It wasn't until what felt like several hours later that the screams ceased and several days later that the chitauri moved away. Loki let out a breath, he had ceased his invisibility spell after the first few hours, it was too tiring and impractical to hold up the spell for an indefinite amount of time. He was powerful, but it was still a waste of energy that might be needed sometime later and it took effort to maintain a spell for an extended period of time. Instead, he had cast a spell that would make anyone who saw him remember that they had to do something else, practically forgetting almost immediately that they saw him. Not the most ideal spell to use on a bunch of brainless chitauri, but he would make do with it. Besides, it wasn't like he was in top form.

Loki shifted silently, looking around the clearing for any sign of the chitauri before he crept towards where Percy was held. He stood before the boy, who was unconscious from the treatment he received. Loki ran a critical eye over him, they hadn't done anything to his legs, so that might be a good thing. On the other hand, it meant that most of the damage was concentrated on his upper torso. If Loki was a lesser man, he would have winced, alas, he had seen such injuries before. Loki made sure that there were no aliens around before he grabbed the chains holding Percy, eyes flashing in a silent spell. The chains melted, and Loki caught Percy before he could hit the ground, immediately wrapping his magic around the both of them. The Trickster glanced distastefully at the chains, then weaved an illusion of the boy in his arms being chained up.

He carried Percy in his arms carefully, mindful of his injuries, and walked silently across the desolate landscape trying to search for a place to hide. He found a crevice a distance away from where Percy had been chained up, and quickly set the boy down. He crouched over him, hesitantly shaking him. when Percy did not wake after his incessant shaking, Loki frowned. Contrary to popular belief, he was not actually a sadist, and he did not really want to do this but he needed Perseus awake in order for him to be able to bring both their minds back. He placed a hand over Percy's chest and pressed down-

-a hand covering Percy's mouth immediately as muffled screams escaped. Percy felt like he was on fire, arching his back as pain ripped through him. he tried to escape, but he was pinned down and he couldn't get out and he needed out damnit he needed air cantbreathetoomuchnononostop- "Perseus! Breathe!"

Was someone shouting in his ear? Because he couldn't hear anything, blood rushing through his head, oh the agony, the pain. He hadn't felt like this since Tartarus- "Perseus!"

This was horrible, he couldn't see anything, couldn't hear anything, couldn't fucking breathe, wherethehellwashe? Notonearthnosomewhereelse-

He surfaced with a gasp, his vision clearing. He felt a cool hand on his forehead, and his eyes focused, seeing a pair of viridian eyes staring straight into his. He stared back for a moment, then the rest of the man's face (because it was most definitely a male) came into view and he bolted upright, or would have, if said man didn't hold him down. "Careful," the man said, "You were injured badly."

Percy glared back at him, pushing away the remnants of pain that was coursing through his body, "No shit Sherlock."

The man frowned, "That is not my name." he muttered.

Percy rolled his eyes, "I know that damnit, who the hell-" He blinked, eyes growing wide in shock as the face registered in his mind. "Shit, what the Hades?" he cursed, trying to squirm away from the man holding him down, "Damn it, what the heck? Loki? What in Hades' name are you doing here and how the-mmmf!"

Loki covered Percy's mouth, leaning over him protectively. Percy's eyes widened further, this was so not what I was expecting to wake up to, he thought, acutely aware of the well-toned body pressed against him. He watched as the man-no, Loki- cocked his head to one side and listened for something that escaped Percy's ears. Loki looked back down at him after a moment, face unbearably close to his, "You should not move too much, your wounds are not healed, I have merely numbed the pain. That, and be silent." Loki whispered, his breath ghosting over Percy's face.

Loki leaned back slightly, allowing Percy to shift such that he wasn't lying down completely. He stared at the god sitting before him, so unlike the other gods he had met throughout his life. "So..." he began, "What are you here for?" he said in an undertone, now aware of the fact that he was in hostile territory.

Loki smirked, "I am here, excuse me for sounding cliche, to remove your presence from this horrid place."

Percy frowned, the words turning in his mind, "Where am I? I mean, I know I'm on the Chitauri's homeland but other than that... I have no idea how I got here." He looked at the god weirdly, "How do you even know words like 'cliche'?"

Loki looked at him, "First of all, your physical body isn't actually here, this is your mind. Second, I will not deign such a question with a response."

"Wait," Percy said, his brows furrowing in confusion, "So this is all in my mind?"

Loki rolled his eyes, "No, this is an actual place, but the chitauri dragged your mind out of your body and transported you here."

Percy blinked owlishly, "Huh?"

"Oh for goodness' sake!" Loki huffed exasperatedly, "That is not the point now, I can give you a detailed explanation once we get out of here-"

"Yeah well," Percy cut in, "You said that before, how are we going to get out of here?"

Loki leveled him with a look that said do-not-interrupt-me-again before continuing, Percy rolled his eyes, apparently, there were some things that all gods shared, "Obviously, since I have the magic necessary, I will be getting both of us out of here. It is quite simple really; I drag your consciousness out the way I came in. And-"

"And why should I trust you?" Percy cut in again.

Loki glared at him, but Percy glared right back, undaunted, he had been on the receiving end of worse glares than that anyway. "Well," Loki drawled, "You can stay here if you want. I will just inform the avengers that you did not wish to come back. There is only one way out for you Perseus."

"Stop, don't call me that."

The trickster god raised an eyebrow, "Perseus?"

Percy scowled, "Percy, just, Percy. I hate it when people use my full name."

Loki grinned, leaning closer into Percy's personal space. The sounds of chitauri chattering filled the hollow cavern and Percy glanced worriedly at the entrance. He turned back to find green eyes boring into his, "The chitauri are coming." Loki said, glancing nonchalantly at the entrance, "They will find this place, it is but a matter of time." He looked back at Percy, his palm turned upwards between them.

"What will you choose Perseus Jackson?" He smirked, "Will you trust me?"

Percy stared into those vivid green eyes, feeling lost in them. He scowled once, thinking, how do I always get into these situations? then placed his hand in Loki's palm, those green eyes and the sound of angry screeching the last things he remembered before he fell back into darkness.