In which we begin to see what happened

It had been a long few years for the Avengers and S.H.I.E.L.D.

The last year had been longer still for one particular hero.

Thor sat at the bar counter Tony had supplied for each of the Avenger's individual floors. Stark Towers, now known as Avengers Tower, was spacious and filled with every manor of high tech goodies Tony could invent. The brilliant, yet often eccentric, engineer always managed to con one or another of his teammates into testing a new creation. This, of course, after dragging himself out of his personal lab.

Taking a sip from the small, and reinforced, tumbler of Bourbon, Thor sighed. After a year of constantly fighting his brother, the worst had happened. Loki's old "friends" had managed to create a portal into Midgard. This time, however, they were not about to attack. On the contrary, the Chatari managed to grab the fighting trickster and pull him back through the portal.

That had been almost four months previous and there had been no sign of either Loki or Chatari.

Thor knew, in his heart, that something had been wrong with his brother. He had felt that, even the first attack on Midgard, he might be able to reason with the sorcerer—To make the blue-eyed prankster see how loved he truly was.

Odin's punishment, in Thor's mind, sent the younger man further into madness. His father, in his wisdom, would not tell the thunderer where he had banished Loki. The only word he had been given was from his mother, Frigga. The gentle women had confided that time moved differently where Loki was. In the two years that Thor had been forced to agonize over his brothers treatment, Loki would suffer nearly 16.

After his release, Loki had made quick work of escaping Asgard. He had leveled the throne room and, from reports hidden by his father, decimated the prison planet he had been held on. The terror on both Asgard and Midgard had ensued until four months previous when snatched by Chatari.

Thor gulped the last of his drink, wishing once more that the capture would be the end of both of their torments. The reports from S.H.I.E.L.D. he had seen only to add to his sour mood.

Attacks had not been random on either planet. On Midgard: food, clothing and technological gadgets had been stolen amongst the chaos of flaming dragon illusions and near assassinations. Asgard had fared no better with medical and sorcery paraphernalia going missing in between buildings melting.

Grabbing another bottle from the counter, Thor chugged the burning liquid.

The portal had opened, suddenly, over central park a mere 24-hours previous. Loki; weak, bloody, panting Loki, kneeled in the red stained grass. He made no move as the Avengers cautiously ventured forth. He appeared thinner without the leather and armor. He looked Midgardian, the hammer-wielder recalled. His black hair limp, shadowing his face as his head hung low. The once crisp white button down torn open to the last button, cuts welling over with blood. No shoes graced his feet, but ash and dirt covered delicate toes and thin slacks.

Then, to the blonde's horror, the fallen god ventured to glance up.

It was not Loki. The man, no, thought Thor—the child had cheeks too round, eyes too green and far to happy to see the thunderer.

"Uncle," gasped out an accented voice. No more was said as the boy collapsed into the embracing arms of Captain America.

and Thor turned away.