He was a major criminal with super powers, technically, and so SHEILD had officially taken over the custody of the war criminal. Part of that was due to Asgard's dialogue and peace treaty with Earth was that Loki, who had destroyed a good quarter of New York, was processed and punished by SHIELD authorities.

And so they waited in New Mexico, a place known all too well by the humans as a landing ground for aliens and Asgardians alike. And he waited with his so-called family, entirely powerless, waiting for the SHEILD agents that were to collect him. And another thing, he was gagged. No one wanted to hear his opinion about this, which was basically that this whole thing was a massive crock and he wished that they would just punish him already.

"It is rude to keep us waiting," Odin crossed his arms across his chest, dressed regally in dark robes. Loki sighed and shook his head; it was all that he could do muzzled like some damn dog. He rolled his eyes.

"This desert is large," Thor said calmly, "and this land is wide."

There was a muffled whine from behind the muzzle.

"Thank you very much," Thor understood what he was trying to say, either that or he was just pretending.

He spied the cars on the horizon, black and completely different from the orange sands and the blaring white sun. powder and dirt were sprayed into the air as the armored SUV's approached the crater site. It was like and approaching black tide, dark and ominous.

"This is for your own good, Loki." Odin finally addressed him, for the first time in years, and his ears perked up slightly.

"Mph," came the muffled reply. It was meant to be 'how'. How was this meant to be for his own good? First he was locked up in a cell that smelled of armpits, and now he was being fobbed off to the stupid Midgardians that may or may not chose to execute him. This was about as far from doing him any good as it could get.

The lead SUV pulled up in front of them, and a tall, dark agent stepped out, one eyed and dressed in leathers.

"Odin," He greeted, "Thor," he admonished, "real power."

"Am u," came the muffled reply. It was pretty obvious what he meant.

As other cars pulled up, more armored agents got out, three in total, and they all aimed pistols squarely at Loki, but he didn't shiver at all. He was still working on the assumption that he was a bargaining chip between the two worlds, so they would not dare kill him.

"Loki, Agent Rodriguez will be your custody officer," Fury began, "I thought it was only fitting to partner the Lord of Lies with the Human Lie-Detector," he mentioned to Thor, "we can lose the ball-gag."

The muzzle was removed and for a second his face was although he had been sucking on a lemon or something, but in fact he was chewing on the idea of this Human Lie-Detector. Charming.

"That would be Belial," he answered back bluntly, correcting Fury, "Human Lie-Detector, huh? I can't wait to meet him."

"Her," Fury corrected him again, and before you even think of charming under her radar, know that she was in New York two years ago, and wants to rip your lungs out about as much as anyone else under my command and your faux charm will do nothing to temper her."

"Sounds like great fun" he muttered. I'm going to die.

After a while, the roar of a finely tuned engine and the throb of a radio slightly too loud rung through the air. The engine cut out and the driver's side door opened. A tall, dark skinned woman stepped from the car, dressed in jeans and calf-high boots with Cuban heels. She shrugged further into her brown leather jacket and readjusted her sunglasses. She looked different, even her car was different. She drove a boxy sedan, black and shiny. She grinned at him and approached her boss.

"Hi guys," she addressed them informally.

"Rodriguez, welcome to the party."

She took off her sunglasses and sized Loki up like a steak, "so, this is the spoiled brat that tried to take out the Big Apple?" she crossed her arms and cocked her head, "he looks more like the poster-boy for a BDSM sex shop than a mass murderer." Some of the other armed agents grinned and a few of them began to snicker, but Fury held up a forearm to quiet them.

"Looks can be deceiving," Loki sized her up too, looking almost like at the right time, he would turn around and eat her.

"That's true," she shrugged, "for one, you look nothing like Hannibal Lecher or the BFG," she said it so flatly and honestly, he had to force himself not to smile at her, "for one, you're way too short to be a giant, and according to your file, you aren't very friendly," she checked a manila folder in her hand and flipped it over, "but you've been hearing that all your life I bet, so let's get back to business, shall we?"

"I have authorized your house arrest until processing," Fury said to Loki. Legally he was supposed to inform the prisoner of all things regarding his detention.

"Great, let's go home."

"No, Frostbite," Rodriguez flicked through her folder and pulled out a file. She showed it to him. "this is the document we have that authorizes your detention, a SHIELD protective detail stationed both inside and outside a safe house," she flipped the paper back down, "my house."

Loki sighed again.

"Look, Princess, I don't like it either," she crossed her arms, "but let me lay down the ground rules," he arched an eyebrow at her, "rule one, no drinking my bourbon."

The corner of his mouth twitched into a thin smirk, "I prefer whiskey."

"Rule two; you pull your weight, which means you do your share of the washing, washing up, chores and such. I know you're used to princely behavior and summoning guards with a tin cup and shit, but you're doing your bit," she blinked a couple of times, "and if you make demands and break my glasses, I will break that pretty nose of yours, Boy."

"Understood," he said flatly, but he didn't really mean it.

"Rule three, under no condition or circumstance are you to talk to my eight year old daughter in the event that she does show up. You are not to be within ten feet of her, you are not to touch her, you are not to say one damn word to her."

"What if I break one or more of these rules?"

"If he gives you any trouble, you may kill him," Odin informed her.

"Thanks," Loki bit at his fake father.

Her bright green eyes suddenly became narrow and darkened, "oh, I will," she said darkly, facing Loki again, "slowly, intimately, in every way I know you fear," her lips quirked into a sinister scowl, "I will cause you so much pain, you would wish I had just held my Glock to the back of your head and pulled the trigger, but I will not kill you. No, not until you have suffered enough to satisfy every civilian, service-member and Marine that died in New York," she said it so icily.

Loki was stunned into silence. No one had ever spoken to him in such a way. He had definitely met his match.

She clapped his shoulder, "relax, Smurfington, I will give you four warnings before it comes to that," she said with a grin, " I don't really want to have to torture you, it's not my style."

"Why four?"

She drew her pistol from her hip, "that's how many ball-and-socket joints you have," she said with a grin.