(Because this story idea wouldn't leave me, I at least chose to make a start on it to give me something to work on when Snow gets bogged down and I can't think of what to write.)

-0-

The noise outside his prison cell was what woke Loki. He slept fitfully after the torture at the hands of the Chitauri and his wounds from his time a month ago fighting on Midgard still stung here and there. Even one such as an Asgardian needed time to recover. Slowly he sat up, listening. Booted feet and they were getting closer, but it was not a gait that he recognized. There was the distinctive sound of metal against metal that he knew there was fighting going on somewhere.

Three armored men came into view and they wasted no time in dissolving one of the force fields that held him in. He stood up quickly when they didn't pause and instead grabbed him. A strange set of manacles were locked around his wrists, but there was no chain between them. What caught his eye was a deep ruby set on each band of metal.

"What—"

Before he could finish his question, a matching circle of metal was produced and it was locked around his throat like a choker, cutting off his voice. He tried repeatedly to speak, only for no sound to appear. This was not Odin's doing. Despite what he had done, the man had declared he still viewed Loki as his son and this manhandling was not his style.

Someone else entered then, a man in black and golden robes. His eyes were dark and cold, his blonde hair so light it was almost white. He didn't recognize him and that sent an uncomfortable feeling through him because he had thought he had known everyone in court, up to a point.

"I shall assume you have questions. I will answer none of them," the man said without preamble. "Know that Odin Borson has been dealt with and so has Queen Frigga. They can no longer protect you, or anyone else." His eyes widened in shock at the very idea that this man, no matter how good, could have overcome the Allfather. "No one will come to rescue you, if they'd ever cared that is."

When he made a move to lunge forward, shocks were sent his way through the restraints, a frightening tightening around his neck that threatened to cut off his breathing before settling. "Now, you have a task that you will complete. Only Thor Odinson remains and he is in Midgard. You will retrieve him. After all, you have no choice."

Loki almost laughed at the idea that they could somehow contain Thor. If they were truly as good as they claimed, why didn't they go to get him themselves? They would meet the back of Mjolnir as he roundly defeated them. He smirked, but it faded when another armored man appeared and handed Gungnir to the man that had spoken. Odin would never relinquish it if he had a choice. Did that mean…

He felt as if his stomach had been shredded at the very idea that Odin Borson, the Allfather, could be dead. He thought he had heard on the air that he was weak and could fall back to the Odinsleep after he'd been prematurely woken two years ago by his sons' fighting, but weak enough to kill? That couldn't be! If they had Gungnir, it was entirely possible that they could contain Thor. That didn't explain, however, why they required him to do it.

As he had stated, that question remain unanswered. Instead, he was escorted from the palace. No matter how he stretched and strained, his magic remained as bound as his voice. He could not teleport or attack. He felt weak and helpless without access to that, but at the very least he had free physical mobility.

"There is just one thing," the man said as they stood at the edge of the Bifrost, Heimdall nowhere to be seen. "Queen Frigga is still alive. Should you even attempt to side with Thor instead of sending him back by way of the magic in the manacles, her life is forfeit."

A fresh surge of rage went through him, that they'd dare threaten his mother's life. That left him no choice but to do as they ordered. He could not, just could not, risk that they were bluffing. The Bifrost whirled to life and even as he was thrown to Midgard, Loki already knew what he had to do. He had no choice but to send Thor back if he was going to save his mother. A part of him was entirely unsettled at the thought, but he knew at least that his brother could handle whatever they might do, at least for awhile. Enough time that Loki, if he was good enough, could get back and handle the people that endangered his family.

He landed on a crowded street and the red jewel on his left wrist began to glow. Ignoring the mortals that yelled in panic, he headed east and noted that it dimmed. When he turned west, it grew stronger. That was their tracking, was it? Pathetic. He knew where Thor was and he didn't need this to tell him. It would have taken little to teleport there, but with his magic sealed, he began to run instead. They would want him as soon as possible, so Loki had faith at least that they had put him in a radius of Thor.

He supposed that it was inevitable and he sighed as he heard the sounds above him. Loki glanced up and frowned at seeing Iron Man flying above him and heading right toward him. That was a very fast response time… He ducked into an alleyway and continued to run as a screeching almost came up beside him. He grabbed the fence that blocked his way and pulled himself over it as slamming car doors was heard behind him.

"Loki, stop!"

The god looked over his shoulder and frowned at Captain America that was easily gaining on him. Damn him, not another that was as physically fit as his brother. He wasn't entirely sure how, but Loki managed to at least stay out of grabbing range as he reached the end of the alley and ran into the street, causing cars of all manners to start screeching and stopping. There was the sound of crashing behind him and the ground shook. He cursed aloud then as the green monster began to join the chase and didn't care what was in his way.

That left…

Both SHIELD agents were trying to block the street ahead of him to cut him off. The glow on his wrist was getting far stronger and he was going in the right direction. In the back of his mind he was trying to ignore the thought that they might just kill Thor the moment they had him and all he could do was hope that one of the Warriors Three or Sif was still free to stop that if Thor couldn't save himself.

He felt a wisp at his back and knew that Captain America had come within a hairsbreadth from grabbing him and he put on a burst of speed, agilely managing to dodge the two agents…barely. He had to duck the missiles that were sent his way from Iron Man and at that point, his side was really starting to complain and he was growing winded. If he didn't reach Thor soon…

Loki grinned a little in triumph at spotting his brother and he rushed forward with the last burst of speed that he had. His abrupt appearance disrupted the man's courting of Jane Foster. He showed little care as he shoved her out of the way and reached out with his right hand to grab onto the shirt Thor wore.

"Loki! What have you—"

No matter how much he tried, no words escaped him and instead, he said as best he could his apology in his eyes as the magic wrapped around Thor with golden chains. Even with his deadened magical senses, he could tell that it was paining his brother by the grunt he gave as he disappeared, thankfully Mjolnir with him.

He paused, heaving in for breath as the Avengers caught up only seconds later. He didn't have the strength to fight them because he had to conserve what he had when they came to get him. If they wanted the house of Odin dead, they'd have to have him too. He couldn't fight them with the bindings and as the Avengers surrounded him, he searched for anything that would be quick and fierce enough to at least loosen them. His eyes alighted on Barton's quiver. One of those heads could pack enough force to detonate against them. It would hurt…but he would be free.

He surprised them by rushing forward and engaging the man in hand to hand combat. It enabled him to use a dagger he had secretly purloined from one of the guards that had dragged him from the cell, cutting the strap and taking the quiver. He danced out of the way and guessed, yanking the heads out. The first one wasn't the type he wanted, but the second was, and he violently stabbed the head between his right wrist and the metal.

Loki gritted his teeth as the motion caused it to explode. Even as the blood began to flow, he spun just in time to freeze a man that had appeared behind him. Four others were with him and he grunted as one of them managed to get in a good hit and knock him down. Shocks were bursting all over his nerves and the one around his neck had clamped so tightly around his neck that it took all he had to breathe. The second arrowhead was shoved between his neck and metal just in time for it to explode and he was thrown to the side.

There was a pause, both the Avengers and the Asgardians watched to see if he was unconscious. The final, third explosion signaled no. Loki stood up slowly even as his hands were now covered in blood from his wounds and the sticky liquid was seeping under the collar of his shirt. He glared and suddenly multiple copies of himself were all over the street. Most of the mortals that had had any sense had run inside as soon as the fighting had started, but a few were still out there, including Jane Foster.

Now that he was free, he felt anger surge through him. Threatening Frigga, the possible death of Odin, and worse somehow beyond all the capture of Thor that they'd forced him to do. "Enough of the chase," he and his clones whispered and they moved at once. He himself and run up behind one of them and slit his throat before he'd been aware he was even there. Ice froze a second man and threw his dagger into the eye of a third. Within seconds he had dispatched all but one and he slammed his booted foot into the neck of the one moaning on the ground as he writhed when Loki began to slowly freeze him.

"I have a message for you to deliver," he whispered, his rage quiet rather than loud like his brother's. "You tell that man that if he thinks he can destroy the house of Odin, he is very mistaken." Loki leaned down, almost on one knee, and bracing his weight on that throat that struggled to work. "Tell him I will return and release my family. If so much as one hair on my brother's head is out of place, I shall find ways to make him suffer that he isn't even aware exists and that I have very intimate knowledge of and so help him if either he or my mother is dead. May the Norns take pity on the lot of you with death if my family ceases to draw breath. This is the message you'll deliver…supposing you survive your journey. So says Loki Odinson!"

With his magic freed, he wrapped the almost entirely frozen man in his teleportation. He listened with something almost close to satisfaction as Asgardian began to scream in pain before he was gone. In truth, with his mind so clouded by his emotions of anger and fear, he didn't realize that it had been instinctive to say Loki Odinson instead of Laufeyson.

"What the hell is going on?!"

He looked at the Avengers that had surrounded him, watching him or glancing at the bodies on the ground. "I have no patience for you unless you were also part of the plot. How convenient that you were not there with him…"

Before they could respond, Jane had wormed her way through the circle and glared at him. "What have you done to Thor?! If you've hurt him—"

Already wrestling with the thought that he could have sent Thor to his death, Loki couldn't bear the accusation right then that he had done it willingly. Not when Frigga's very life had depended on his actions. He slapped her fiercely, sending her reeling against the female SHIELD agent. "Pathetic woman, you know nothing! You are nothing, nothing but a distraction! Who do you think you are, to threaten me?! To believe you have the right to somehow know everything about Thor?!"

"Son of a bitch," Tony spat and his hand glowed, but it was the gloved hand of Captain America that stopped the bolt from firing.

"What do you mean, part of the plot? What plot? What happened to Thor? Why did you send him back only to threaten those men that you would return and free him? Why send him in the first place then?"

"I have no time for you!" he spat, wrapping his magic around him as he prepared to teleport. The words 'You can't do it alone' following after him like a curse.

Just as he was about to warp through the weak world walls and return to Asgard through a passage he had discovered years ago, his emotions calmed enough to realize the wisdom of that statement. As good as he was, he couldn't do it alone. There was no way he could rescue Thor and his family alone, if he assumed that there was more than a handful of guards, particularly if they were strong enough to take down the rest of his family. Then there was Gungnir…

"Damn," he hissed under his breath and changed his plan, landing instead in the middle of the room that he had been in a month ago. It brought up all manner of unpleasant memories that he tried to shrug off.

He grunted as a blast landed at his back, sending him flying forward into the sofa. Iron Man landed heavily and leveled his weapons right at his face. Loki made no attempt to stand or show a threatening position as, within moments, the rest of the Avengers rushed into the room. There was no green monster, instead the mild-mannered scientist that he'd manipulated earlier.

"Why are you here?"

He looked at the super soldier and sighed, standing despite their reaction. "In that, you were right. I cannot do it alone. My magic is not…designed for that."

"What's going on?" Natasha demanded, her gun cocked and aimed at him.

"I'm afraid I have no answers for you," he snarled, his lack of knowledge irritating him. "All I know is that I was in my cell and heard combat. Within a moment, I was bound by restraints that blocked my magic and my voice. I was told by a man that I did not know that I would go to Midgard and bring Thor back and if I did not do it, they would kill my mother. Faced with the possibility that they had truly killed the Allfather, as he wielded Gungnir, and also suffocating because of the bindings, I had no choice. Your appearance turned out to be of benefit to me, enabling me to remove the restraints."

"Speaking of that, you should really get that looked at," Banner said after a minute, gesturing to his neck and wrists.

"It is of little consequence. I will heal. Right now there are greater concerns."

"So you're planning on bringing Thor back?!"

Oh that voice… Loki's eye twitched viciously at seeing Jane Foster in the back. The left side of her face looked like it would bruise a bit with how hard he had hit her. What right did she think she had to be here? Or did they bring her there just to assure themselves that she was fine? Her voice was in working order and he found himself wishing he had kept that collar to shove it on her. He had never really given her much thought before, but the worse Thor's infatuation with her became, the more he disliked her.

"I believe I explained that it is of no concern of yours."

"Look, you—"

"On topic people!" Steve demanded. "So do you have a plan?"

"I plan to return and find my family. Of paramount is to find out whether or not Thor and the Allfather are still alive, and rescue my mother."

"So you don't think of them as coldly as you say."

"What?" he said, blinking at scientist that wore just a pair of pants he had purloined from somewhere.

There was a pause and the man shook his head. "Never mind. Something for later. When are you planning on going?"

"As soon as you are ready." This time it was their time for a collective 'what'. Loki smirked. "You were the ones that said that I could not do it alone. I assumed that that meant you would be volunteering. Or would you leave Thor to his fate?"

"We're going," the super soldier said staunchly.

"Good," he said and wrapped his magic around everyone but Jane before they could change their mind. He would make those men regret their decision intimately.