"I'm curious, Mr. Odinson, as to why you think SHIELD would welcome you back to earth with open arms." Director Fury asked. Loki gritted his teeth. He had been questioned by two too many men with eye patches today... And he hated both of them.

"Friggason." Loki corrected him quietly.

"Excuse me?"

"If you insist upon not calling me by my name, Friggason will do."

"Well then, Mr. Friggason," Fury said slowly, "Are you ready to answer my question?"

"I am."

"Why should SHIELD help you? You destroyed two US cities and terrorized the planet." Fury glared at Loki. The villain was silent, not knowing what to say.

"My brother has faced his punishment in Asgard. The All-Father made sure of that." Thor interjected.

"And what punishment would that be?" Fury asked. This new bit of information clearly peaked his interest.

"I was beaten within an inch of my life and stripped of my power." Loki said. "I cannot offer you my magic or even the strength that Thor seems so fond of using."

"Well, you seem pretty damn useless to me." Fury told Loki. The director leaned back in his chair and began to flip through his tablet.

"There is no magic involved when it comes to lies." Loki said quietly.

Fury glanced up at him.

"Before I could control magic, I could control those around me with a few words. I can convince even the strongest willed man to do my bidding. I have seen how your organization deals with those who oppose it. While brute strength is a useful quality to possess, it is not always enough. Allow me to speak with those who would challenge you. I will 'talk them down.'"

"It is true." Thor added. "Loki has even swayed our father's mind at times. He is the best wordsmith I have ever met and I will stand behind him completely."

"Are you using your little gift to persuade me to help you?" Fury asked.

"Possibly." Loki smirked.

Thor rubbed his temples roughly, praying that Loki would behave for once. Fury, on the other hand, was enjoying the possibilities playing out in his mind. With a godly liar in his ranks, Fury could see a whole new direction for the Avengers.

"Ok. Here's the deal: when we need you to persuade somebody, you're gunna come out, do as we ask, and then return to the labs at Stark Tower, where you'll assist Dr. Foster in her research."

"I do not think-" Thor started.

"You will be with him in the lab." Fury cut in. "You can monitor his interaction with Dr. Foster and make sure he behaves. Loki'll need a babysitter."

"I am sure Miss Foster and I will get along just as well as the last time we met. She is a fearsome woman, Brother."

48 hours later, Loki was on his way to his first day of consulting with Jane Foster. Jane had been briefed by Fury himself and was promised that she and her staff would be safe. Thor would be in the lab at all times, along with security posted at the door.

If only Loki had been the threat Jane needed to worry about.

"This is our lab," Jane said, pushing open a glass door to let Loki in. "The purpose of our research is to create an Einstein-Rosen Bridge. It's like your Bifrost, but this will give us the ability to travel to other realms without the assistance of Asgard."

Jane pointed to a young man and woman who were working in the corner. One was looking at a computer screen while the other was taking notes.

"The blond man there is Dr. Felix Horton and the dark haired girl is Jamie Ku. Felix is a physicist and Jamie is our mathematician." Jane approached an empty table and waved her hand at it, hoping to appear gracious.

"This is your workspace. I hope to take advantage of your knowledge of the Bifrost. Today, could you write up a basic understand of the Bifrost? Nothing too wordy. I just want to see if we have the same handle on things."

Loki considered this for a moment.

"You would like for me to explain the workings of the Bifrost as if I were explaining it to Thor?"

Jane rolled her eyes but her attention was suddenly on the door. Loki turned to see a dark haired young woman walking in. She was pulling some odd white strings out of her ears with one hand and holding a shiny box in the other. The girl glanced up and her blue eyes immediately set on Loki.

"What the FUCK?" She cried. "Someone call Fury, Black Widow! Jane, Stand back!"

The girl pulled a black box from her pocket and aimed it at Loki. He raised his hands quickly, hoping to show her that he meant no harm. Before he could surrender, Loki was convulsing on the ground, his body in a new kind of pain.

Loki could hear snickering before he opened his eyes. When he did, he was met with a familiar sight: Tony Stark was kneeling next to him. This time, though, he was in a suit and laughing.

"How you feelin', reindeer games?"

"Like your Hulk wrung me out."

"Your gunna cry when you see who took you down." Stark stood and backed away, allowing for the young woman from before to come forward.

"Hey." She said.

"What did you do to me?" Loki groaned.

"I tased you. Essentially, I hit you with a tiny bolt of lightening." The girl had the gall to smirk.

"Fear not for your strength, Brother," Thor began, "She managed to defeat me with her taser."

Loki responded by rolling over on his cot.