DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of the characters from Guardians of the Galaxy, either in its movie or comic incarnation. I own any OC I can invent, though. I am not making a £ out of this. It is just for shits and giggles.

Hi folks, orry for the delay in posting: I have moved house, then gone on a conference abroad, then on holiday, all in succession, so I didn't have the time or the internet connection required to post anything.

Unfortunately, this is the last chapter I've written so far and I don't think it's likely I will have a new one ready for next month. I have a promotion interview sometime in the summer and I'm quite busy on different projects.
I have not abandoned this, though. I have plans and I want to finish this, maybe weaving some strands of canon from civil War into it too, if possible.

In this chapter, which sets the scene for the next arc, I am playing it fast and lose with Agents of SHIELD canon, I hope you don't mind.

Thanks a lot for you patience and reviews,

Enjoy!

"Here is your clearance, folks." the guard announces, handing two lanyards over to Ronan and Loki across the counter.
The two nod in acknowledgement and examine them for a second before placing the bright orange cord around their necks.

"That should be it. - Coulson announces - We are good to go, right, officer?" he asks to the guard.
The man grunts. "Knock yourself out. - he says - What is it, a family reunion?" he adds, guffawing to himself.
The three men ignore him and his crass humour and tap their passes onto the lock. The door slides open with a pneumatic sound, finally letting them into SHIELD's highest security detention facility.

A youngish, ebony-skinned, tall and graceful Terran woman is waiting for them in the small hall at the end of the corridor. She is dressed in a severe but well-tailored black suit, like the rest of the SHIELD operatives and a lanyard dangles from her neck. Her name-tag identifies her as Agent Stella Obayako.
"Welcome to the New Fridge, Agent Coulson, Ronan of the Guardians and Lopt of Jothunnheim..." she greets, quickly checking her information on the clipboard in her hands.
She holds out her hand, shaking Coulson's and then Ronan's without the least hesitation. She hesitates a bit before grasping Loki's but eventually does it, shaking it vigorously, much to the Jothunn's amusement.

"Mr Vithek is being brought into the interrogation suite as we speak. - she announces - If you would be so kind to follow me..." she adds, gesturing towards a side corridor and starting to walk in front of them.
"Nice facility you have here... - Loki comments airily - It seems more secure than the others I saw..."
Coulson shoots him a dirty look, which Loki promptly ignores, but agent Obayako seems totally oblivious of the subtext. It seems that by using his Jothunnar birth-name, showing his blue aspect and wearing less conspicuous Terran clothes, Loki has become totally unrecognisable. He is surely enjoying himself.

"The old Fridge was a very secure facility, sir, but this is the new state-of-the-art. - she argues - There is even warp-mesh in the walls, to prevent people from teleporting within the facility or out of it." she adds, giving him a sharp look. The smile fades immediately from Loki's face.
"Ah, not so oblivious, then." Ronan thinks, mentally giving the agent points for catching Loki at his own game.

"How many people do you hold here?" Ronan asks.
"About sixty, for now, but we have a theoretical capacity of about three hundred." Obayako replies.
"Are they all in solitary confinement?" he continues.
"Some of them. - she admits - A few of our inmates are dangerous, deranged psychopaths that would sooner kill you than talk to you. Those we keep locked up at all times." she explains as she leads them down another corridor.
"Others are just small-time criminals who happen to have superpowers, and for another group of them the problem is more uncontrollable powers, or psychological reactions to abuse and ostracism. - she continues - These two groups are housed in single cells, but we allow them occupational therapy and socialisation. The lower-safety ward must feel more like a safe house than like a prison to some of them." she concludes with a warm smile that lights up her handsome face. She is proud of it, it is plain to see.

"And what about our prisoner? - Coulson asks - How has he been behaving?"
"Mr Vithek is a model inmate. He has never given us a single problem since he arrived here. - the agent replies with evident pleasure - Maybe he is not the most extroverted person in the low-risk group, but he surely is a composed, kind person, and has formed genuine bonds with some of his fellow inmates." she explains.
Coulson gives her an amused look. He has told Ronan and Loki about Vithek's capture and he can imagine why it would be difficult for him to imagine the man as kind and composed.

"Have you tried to probe him for information?" Coulson asks.
Agent Obayako nods curtly. "I have engaged with him myself, trying to win his trust."
"And what about the results?" Loki asks, casting a piercing glance towards the agent.
"Quite positive I would say. - she replies without hesitation - He was happy to discuss his ideas and feelings with me. He was more reticent about his past, though. I could hardly get more than snippets." she adds.
The three men nod to themselves. They could hardly have expected that he would reveal everything to his jailers.

"Here we are. - Agent Obayako announces at the end, stopping in front of a non-descript door - You just need to go through this door and then the next. An agent will guide you to the interrogation room." she explains.
The three men assent and give her their thanks.
Coulson is opening the door, when agent Obayako starts speaking again.
"He doesn't know how he ended up here, and the memories of his past are patchy. I don't know what he has done, and he doesn't either, but I know he has been through a lot already. - she says - Go easy on him, if you can, agents." she pleads.
"We will do our best, Agent." Coulson replies.

The interrogation room is not very different from any other interrogation room Ronan has seen in his career in law enforcement.
There are a table and four chairs, bolted to the floor, security cameras bolted high on the walls and angled to cover the whole of the room between them, and a fake mirror. The walls are painted a pale grey-green colour, like toothpaste gone bad, and the floor is grey and slightly plasticky.
Coulson is sitting in one of the chairs, he and Loki wait behind the mirror for Coulson's signal.

Two agents escort Vithek into the room.
He is wearing a bright orange-yellow jumpsuit and soft slippers, an attire as far removed as possible from the uniform of an officer of the Kree Empire, but he doesn't seem to mind. His attitude is still collected and dignified, and from what he can see, he seems healthy and uninjured.

The two men shackle Vithek to a metal bar riveted into the surface of the table and leave. The Kree salutes them with a nod, which they return. They must have a serene rapport, in keeping with the Agents's assessment.
Vithek waits until the door closes shut behind them, then turns towards Coulson.
A surprised expression comes upon his face.
"I remember you... - he says - But you were... different the last time I saw you." he adds softly.
"You are not the only one who can change the colour of his skin, Vithek son of Vryok." Coulson comments calmly.

Upon hearing his correct full name, Vithek looks at him with wide, surprised eyes and instinctively backs off, leaning his back against the backrest of the chair in a much more tense posture.
"Are you an Accuser?" he asks, speaking to him in Kree.
Coulson shakes his head, a hint of laughter in his eyes.
"I am a Shield." he replies in the same language. His accent is worse than Peter's, but he has made fast progress and after little more than a week of instruction is already able to hold basic conversations in the language. Ronan can't help but be proud of his achievement.

"It is the Terran equivalent to the position you held in your system, my friend." he adds, switching back to English.
Vithek opens his mouth to protest, but Coulson doesn't leave him the chance to do it.
"I know that you declared to be a risk assessment expert, I read your file. - he declares - I also know that it is not strictly true. You were in the secret services, you were a Watcher. Supreme Accuser Shanleigh let us have a peek at your file in the database up there as well." he reveals.
Vithek tries to act indifferent, but his complexion has paled to a light blue, only a few shades darker than Coulson's. Extradition must seem a concrete possibility from where he is sitting, and, considering that he is wantes for desertion and possibly treason, it can hardly be a pleasant one.

"I have to adimt that saying that you were a risk assessment expert was a stroke of genius. - Coulson continues in a conversational tone, a small smile playing on his lips - What is our job if not assessing the risk that sonething bad will happen to our countries and acting in consequence?" he comments.
"What do you want from me?" Vithek asks minutely tensing on the chair, already unnerved by the conversation.
"We want information." Coulson replies without hesitation.
"I have already told your colleagues, I don't remember anything about how I ended up a prisoner here. - Vithek explains calmly - I remember you, I remember a fight, but that's about it." he adds, shaking his head.

"We know that, but what you did here on Earth doesn't interest us as much as why you decided to come here. We want to ask you some questions about your work and your contacts in the Kree Empire. You should not have any problems with that, should you?." Coulson replies, still calm as a pond, still smiling.
He is good at this.

"That is a big assumption. What if my memory was generally damaged by the Inhibitor? - the Kree insists - And at any rate, I am not authorised to tell you a word. What I did for my country is mostly classified information. It would be treason to disclose it." he declares haugtily.
"It was. - Coulson retorts - We spoke with Lady Shanleigh and Lady Derdriyu and they agreed that due to the gravity of the situation, the information would be declassified. Do you want me to call one of them to hear it from their voice?" he asks, pulling Ronan's comm out of his pocket.
Vithek shakes his head. His eyes have grown wide and his mask of calm and indifference is slipping away more and more.

"The Accusers are questioning your family and colleagues as we speak. - Coulson reveals - We will get the information we need, one way or the other, but it would be better for you if you volunteered it yourself, if you know what I mean..." he adds, directing a meaningful glance towards the worried Kree.
"What are you accusing me of?" Vithek asks, looking like he knows that the situation is getting out of hand.

Ronan cannot blame him for that insecurity. Having been held prisoner without knowing what he had done to deserve it, and on a foreign planet to boot must have been hard for him to accept, and now he must be feeling really, really confused and worried about how the Terrans will treat him if he doesn't give them the informations they want.

"Nothing, for now, but the information you have might be crucial to defusing a situation that both my government and yours have deemed high-risk and potentially catastrophic. - Coulson explains - I believe that you had the best interest of your people in mind when you came here, Vithek, and I also believe that you are not a bad person. Help us solve this problem. We are not doing this to screw you over, I promise." he adds gently.

"Your word doesn't mean anything to me." Vithek retorts. Ronan shakes his head and groans inwardly. Why did he have to play the pig-headed-speciesist card just now, after behaving himself with the personnel from the prison?

"No? The word of House Danu doesn't mean anything to you?" Coulson asks, leaning forward on the chair.
Vithek looks at him in surprise again.
"On Terra I am known as Phil Coulson, but my second father was Meriadek son of Coehl, from House Danu of Kree-Lar, and, as such, I am the House's last scion." he reveals, proud as any trueborn son of House Danu would have been.

Ronan was as surprised as anyone else to know that the brother of his great-grandfather, who had gone MIA at the beginning of the war with the Nova Empire, had ended up on Terra, but the results of the DNA test were extremely clear. Coulson seems to have accepted them and is slowly coming to terms with the idea of being part Kree now. Clearly he is not above the idea of exploiting the strategic advantages of his position.

Vithek looks at him with a mixture of awe and horror.
"How?! How is it possible." he rasps.
"He was a Watcher, like you, and one of the best diplomats of the Kree Empire, I have been told. - Coulson replies - He was sent here by the Council, about seventy years ago, to accelerate the Return and enlist the help of the Lost Ones against the Nova, only there was a war on Terra, and his mission ended before it could start." he narrates, skillfully avoiding the part where he was reborn from deranged science, chimerism and imponderable factors, instead of normal reproduction.

His chimeric organism is literally held together by spit and prayers, but he is fine, better than fine actually, and there is evidence that the two parts of him are gradually adapting to each other, and melding into each other, making him a transitional being that is neither Kree nor Terran, but an almost perfect blend of the two.

Coulson has told them that there are two, maybe three more people on Terra who carry a smaller share of his family's DNA, one of them being a psychopath serving time for several counts of murder, another being an ex SHIELD agent turned family man and all-around good person, and the last being Skye.
All things considered, Meriadek could have done worse with his descendance. Ronan can almost imagine him smiling proudly from the Field of Reeds.

"It's OK if you don't believe me. I am still struggling to adapt to this knowledge myself. - Coulson continues when Vithek keeps on staring at him in silence - I am sure you will find at least one of my partners more trustworthy." he adds, leaning back to tap gently against the two-way mirror.
"This is our cue, finally." Loki comments, rolling his shoulders to loosen them.
Ronan nods and opens the door to the corridor.

The two of them enter the interrogation room like they own the place.
"What is wrong, cousin?" Ronan asks, crossing his arms and giving Vithek a hard stare.
Coulson is more like his great-uncle or something like that, but the though makes them both very uncomfortable, so they decided to ignore it. Cousin sounds suitably close and more informal.

"Nothing, so far." Coulson replies. They agreed that Coulson would be the good cop, if only because his short stature, compared to the average Kree, would make him less physically threatening.
"I believe you already know my cousin, Ronan of the Guardians..." he continues, turning towards Vithek.
The prisoner blanches really hard.
His reputation is still intact, it seems, Ronan muses. He has dressed for the part, in leather and black, and his scars make it seem as if he has permanently etched the Blood Tears onto his own flesh. Vithek would have every reason to be afraid of the person he used to be.

"And this is prince Lopt of Jothunnheim. - Coulson continues, nodding his head towards Loki - They have kindly agreed to help us." he adds.
Loki smiles to the prisoner, and it's not an entirely friendly or sane smile. Vithek recoils a bit more, but being a Watcher, albeit one that deserted his post, he must know how these things work. He is not going to cave in just because of a frown or a creepy smile. They will need to push harder to get something out of him.

"What are these men doing here?" Vithek asks, hanging on to calm for dear life.
"We are specialists in problem solving, Watcher. - Loki explains, leaning over the table just enough to get in his space - Now that peace has broken out between Nova and Kree and between Spartax and Shi'ar, everybody has agreed that the current one is the biggest problem of all. The question now is: how big a problem are you, my friend? Are you just a dupe or are you his man?" he adds with another of his trademark smiles. When planning the interrogation, they all agreed he was going to be the deranged cop without any argument. Loki is too good at this, though how much of it is an act and how much is the consequence of what he has been through is debatable.

Predictably Vithek turns towards Coulson, who at least seems like a sane, friendly person.
"Whose man?! - he asks - What are you talking about?!"
The Agent gives him a long, neutral look.
"Thanos, my friend. They are talking about Thanos." he explains.
"Thanos is a legend, something that mothers use to scare their children." Vithek protests.
"Thanos is real. - Loki retorts in a hiss - And I bet he's been in your head, whispering in your ear and sowing pesky little ideas of genocide and destruction. Maybe not personally, no, you're not enough of a big fish for him to make the effort. He must have sent one of his agents to take care of you, but whom?" he continues, looking at Vithek with glowing red eyes and a considering expression, while he drags a fingertip along the surface of the table, drawing lines of frost that melt almost immediately in the warm air.

"Just by looking at you, I would have bet Everyman... - Loki continues - A tall warrior, and your skin is such a nice shade of blue..." he adds, holding out a hand to try and touch him. Predictably, Vithek recoils, and Loki backs off with a soft little laugh.
"He would fit the profile." Ronan agrees with a curt nod.
"But I cannot see any scar and there is nothing of the sort on his file. I am sure my agents would have noticed if it was the case." Coulson argues, looking pensievely at the prisoner.

"What scars? What case? What are you talking about?" Vithek protests.
The three interrogators exchange a look, then Loki and Ronan pull up their sleeves.
"These scars." Ronan points out.
"He liked to use a blowtorch. - Loki continues - I am sure you would remember... Such an exquisite pain..."
Vithek looks slightly ill at the sight, and raises a confused gaze towards Coulson.

"They were his men too, Vithek. Like you they were deceived into doing horrible things, but they have redeemed themselves by their deeds." Coulson explains calmly.
"I didn't..." the prisoner protests, but Ronan doesn't let him finish.
"You did, Vithek son of Vryok. - he declares with his sternest tone, the one that used to make criminals quiver and cringe in fear - You were trying to destroy the Lost Ones. You called them monsters and abominations, like the most deranged cultists lurking in the Empire. You abandoned the path of Ma'at and flew through the Gate to enact your malevolent intentions." he lists, and whether he genuinely doesn't remember or doesn't like to think about it, Vithek seems totally horrified by his crimes.

"I didn't... I can't have... I..." he mutters, shaking his head, but deep down he must remember something, even just a fragment, but enough to give an edge of hopelessness and desperation to his protests. Deep down he knows he has done something terrible, and the knowledge is tearing down his carefully built self-control.

"Listen, Vithek, I know that you would not have done any of this. - Coulson says soothingly - I know you used to be a good man and a good agent, one of the best. I know you were not one of those wacko cultists that hate the Lost Ones. I also know that you suddenly withdrew from your wife and friends, even from your mother, and I know you wouldn't ever leave without telling her." he adds.

At these words, Vithek seems to snap partially out of his funk and looks at Coulson with wide, tear-filled eyes and an expectant expression.
"Yes, Vithek, your mother Lagertha. - Coulson continues - She is quite an extraordinary woman, and how could she be anything different? It is hard for a woman to raise a son on her own. Your father died when she was expecting you, right?"
Vithek nods weakly.
"Is she...? Does she...?" he manages to rasp in a tearful voice.
"Yes, she is alright, and no, she doesn't know exactly why you have been made a haaq. - Coulson replies, gleaning the meaning of his words - We don't want to ruin your life any more than Thanos has already done, my friend. We are on your side. Help us and we will help you." he proposes.

Vithek shakes his head again, making a keening noise under his breath.
"This is not up to discussion, son of Vryok! - Ronan thunders, hitting his fist on the table and making the Watcher flinch - Phil son of Meriadek captured you in lawful battle. He has been lenient with you so far, but you are his haaq, and as such you are duty-bound to obey!" he shouts.
"And I would! - Vithek shouts back among tears - I would, but I can't! My mind is damaged! I didn't even remember my mother's name before he said it! I don't... What good am I like this?!" he adds, lowering his head towards the table and covering it with his hands.

"His mind has been tampered with." Loki comments.
"We already knew that. - Coulson retorts - I wish Sif had not hit him so hard with that stick..."
"I mean beyond that. - Loki clarifies, slightly piqued - Why would the forgetting stick make him forget something unrelated to the mission like his mother's name? It wouldn't make any sense, but an agent of Thanos would do that, if, say, his mother was a staunch believer in the Return, like she is..." he adds with a knowing smile.
"Right. - Coulson concedes - Can you fix him?" he asks the Jothunn.
"Are you asking me to manipulate his mind?!" Loki retorts, pretending to be horrified.
"Don't tell Clint." Coulson replies.
"My lips are sealed." Loki confirms.

"Do you think it will work?" Ronan asks.
Coulson pauses for a moment, then nods.
"As Fitz is fond of saying, the brain doesn't lose information, just connections. - he says - There is always a backup. All Loki needs to do is to find it and bring it to the surface." he explains.
Loki snorts rather inelegantly. "Easier said than done, but I will try." he says, then rises from his chair and goes around the table, stopping behind Vithek's chair.
"Cheer up, warrior of the Empire! - he calls out, patting his hand on the Watcher's shoulder - There might still be hope for you!"
Vithek immediately raises his head and twists on the chair to look at him.
"What hope?" he asks.
"I can try to restore your mind so that you can regain your honour, - Loki proposes - but I doubt it will be pleasant."
Vithek hesitates barely a moment.
"I am not afraid of pain or discomfort. My honour is paramount." he replies, like most Kree warriors would.
"I hoped you would say something like that!" Loki comments cheerfully.
"Someone please jam that camera. - he instructs, placing his hands on Vithek's temples - We don't really want anyone else to see this." he adds.

Loki is right: it is not pleasant.
There is quite a bit of shrieking, a lot of whimpering and shaking, some begging and finally a big bout of puking as the Jothunn guides Vithek through the deepest, darkest corners of his mind, coaxing his memories into realigning and reconnecting themselves in the right places.

At the end of it, Loki looks ruffled and dishevelled by the effort of keeping the connection in spite of the Kree's physical thrashing and mental shields, but Vithek looks much, much worse, pale, feeble and wrung out, not very far from being down for the count.

"I remember now." he whispers, flopping bonelessly against the backrest of the chair.
"Take your time." Coulson says, looking vaguely nauseous himself. It wasn't a nice show.
"No. There is no time. - Vithek protests - Some water, and I'll tell you everything. It needs out." he rasps.
Coulson nods and gets some water from the dispenser, pushing the paper cup as close as possible to Vithek's hand, but the Watcher is too weak, his hands are shaking and even lifting the cup to his lips seems too great an effort.
Coulson sighs and rolls his eyes, but lifts the cup for him and Vithek drinks deeply and gratefully.

Ronan averts his eyes. There is something that hits too close to home in that image of a haaq being tended to by his master, something too similar to what he shares with Peter and Gamora, and it is not the right moment to think that he wants to be bound and aching before them once more...

"Thanks, my Lord." Vithek says, pulling him out of his inappropriate daydream.
If Coulson feels weird about the Watcher's deference he is very good to hide it, because to Ronan's eyes he looks as comfortable in the role of a haaq-master as any Kree nobleman he's ever met, even though the fine points of haaq-taking policies have only been explained to him en route to the New Fridge.
"It is my duty to you to ensure your well-being. - Coulson retorts - Now talk to us, Vithek. Tell us what we need to know to twarth Thanos' plans for the Lost Ones." he exhorts.
Vithek nods gravely.
"Yes, my Lord." he acquiesces, and starts.