We're back! Yay! I am so sorry for the REALLY long wait. Can't believe I haven't been back to this since July last year. I really hope you all enjoy this.

The two brothers ran as far away as they could, pausing only when they were at a safe distance. Loki pulled his brother into an empty room where they would be hidden from sight. There, the two panted heavily and rubbed at their bruises from their fight.

"Did you have to punch so hard?" Loki groaned while nursing his bruised ribs. Thor gave a scoff and adjusted his jaw while muttering back, "You did hit me first. That was a good punch, by the way."

Loki allowed a gentle chuckle. But his back soon grew stiff as a thunder of footfalls passed by their hiding place. Gingerly, the two brothers poked their heads around the doorway and watched as a group of black-cladded guards disappeared around a corner. Each expressing a sigh of relief, the two sat down with their backs pressed against the wall. Thor looked over at his brother and asked him, "What do we do now?"

It was a few moments before Loki answered. He drew in a sharp breath and whispered, "I still think we need to get the Tesseract and mind stone."

"Why do we need them, brother?" Thor spoke with a restrained moan. He then gestured at Loki's hand and told him, "We already have all the stones. Why can't we just return to our time and bring everyone back?"

Giving a frustrated groan, Loki shook his head and explained to his brother, "We can't do that. We have no idea if the stones will work that way. Not to mention how I might be affected from using them. We can't even be certain that they'll work after my attempt at destroying them. I think we should collect all of the stones again… just in case."

Not sure why he was holding he was breath, Loki waited for his brother's reaction. Thor thought over it for a short while before giving a slow nod of understanding. Relieved, Loki inhaled deeply and winced at the slight pain in his ribs. Nursing them once again, he bowed his head and thought over the plan that was slowly forming in his mind. But his thoughts were tinged with his own personal reasons for going after the stones.

He thought about the life that he had built for himself over the past year. About Sonja and the life that was growing inside of her. It was then that Loki realised how much he wanted to be there for his unborn child. How much he didn't want to risk losing his life by trying to bring back those who vanished in the snap. His thoughts were soon interrupted as Thor enquired, "What's your plan, brother? How do we collect all of the stones?"

"While we're in this time, we should try getting as many of the stones as we can. That means at least the mind and space stones." Loki murmured while scratching at his chin thoughtfully. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Thor nodding his agreement. Loki then continued with his plan, "But first we need disguises. Something that'll let us blend in and travel among them."

"As long as you get rid of that beard," Thor spoke while pointing at the black bristles that grew along Loki's chin. Staring at his brother questioningly, he rose a hand to his face while replying, "What's wrong with it?"

Thor raised his eyebrows at his little brother and told him with a simple tone, "It just doesn't look natural on you, brother."

Giving a reluctant nod of agreement, Loki retrieved a dagger from his sleeve while saying, "To be honest… I only grew it because we ran out of shaving cream. And it took me five months to grow it."

The two brothers exchanged quiet laughs and Loki raised the blade to his cheek. But his actions were paused as another set of thundering footsteps travelled past them. Again, they poked their heads out of their hiding place and watched the black-armoured men run past.

"I do believe we've found our disguises," Thor muttered softly while exchanging glances with his brother.

It didn't take long, nor much effort for the two brothers to collect the black armour of the soldiers. The biggest issue was making it fit. After knocking out the biggest pair of soldiers they could find, they stripped the men of their clothes and began to wriggle into them. Plenty of curses sounded from Thor as he struggled to pull on the shirt over his head, accidentally ripping one of the sleeves in the process. Loki had less trouble than his brother, but he couldn't stop himself from complaining that his clothes were too short and that the boots were a bit tight.

Once fully dressed, Loki cast an illusion over his and Thor's face so that they wouldn't be recognised. He also disguised Thor's axe as a large gun. They then pushed aside their complaints and exited the room that they were hiding in. After making sure that the unconscious men were well tied up and gagged, the brothers closed the door to the room and travelled down the hall. Loki fiddled with the large gun that was in his arms while thinking about how primitive the weapon was. Pushing these thoughts aside, he and Thor nodded to the men that passed them by, not stopping to talk as they made their way to the lab where the sceptre was held.

"Why are these pants so tight?!" Thor groaned while pulling at his pants. Stifling a scoff of disgust, Loki rolled his eyes and muttered out of the side of his mouth, "At least your pants stay on. Mine keep slipping down."

As he spoke, he could feel them falling once again and pulled at the belt around his waist. He still struggled to believe that the belt was on the tightest hole possible. They were so loose, even though he was wearing his other pair of pants underneath. Forcing this out of his mind, he and Thor paused at the end of the corridor and glanced at the halls that led down to the right and left.

Taking a deep breath, Loki turned to his brother and asked him, "Which way do we go?"

Thor didn't answer immediately. Underneath his helmet, Loki could see that his brother was uncertainly chewing at his lip. Frowning at him questioningly, Loki hissed to him, "You do know which way to go, right?"

"Give me a break, Loki! It's been six years since I was last here and it was only for a couple of days." Thor hissed back. He thought about it for a moment longer before pointing at the hall to their left and saying, "I think it's this way."

Not arguing with his choice, Loki followed his brother. He had to admit, he couldn't remember much of his time on the helicarrier. But he knew that they needed to hurry. It surely wouldn't be long before his plan of this time began to take place. That is… if their arrival hadn't already interrupted it.

It was soon clear that Thor had chosen the right path as they arrived outside of the glass lab. Loki's heart jumped up into his throat as he saw that a couple of the Avengers were in the room with Fury. Doing a hurried headcount, he saw that past-Thor, Rogers and Romanoff were missing from the group. Exchanging glances with Thor, the two brothers pulled open the lab door and stepped inside.

Loki breathed a sigh of relief as the three men ignored their entrance. Moving off to the side, the two brothers remained silent as Fury continued talking to Banner and Stark, "…do not let that sceptre leave your sight. We can't let it get back into Loki's hands."

"Don't worry, Nick. We won't let ol' rock of ages get it. Will we, Bruce?" Stark clapped Banner on the shoulder. Looking highly uncomfortable, Banner cleared his throat and gave a short nod. Loki felt his throat tighten as the three men turned to him and Thor. He could feel a string of sweat bead his forehead as Fury frowned at them and asked, "What are you two doing here?"

Answering quickly, Loki disguised his voice and responded with, "We've come to offer extra protection for the sceptre, sir. You can never be too safe."

Fury continued to stare at them with that burning, one-eyed gaze. He slowly stepped over to them and asked, "What are your names, soldiers?"

Having not counted on this question, Loki expressed a choked sound while Thor stuttered, "Uh, Hiddlesworth… sir. I'm… Chris… and this is my brother…"

Thor flattered while holding out his hand towards Loki. It was clear that he was struggling to find another name that would not give them away. Recognising his struggle, Loki cleared his throat and added, "Tom."

Hoping it was enough to fool them, Loki held his breath and waited as Fury continued to stare at them. After a few moments, he gave a nod and seemed to accept their story. Both brothers breathed silent sighs of relief and waited as the lab door opened. Past-Thor, Rogers and Romanoff all stepped into the room. Rogers shook his head at Fury and told him, "There's no sign of them."

"We'll find them. They can't have gone far." Romanoff told her boss as she moved to stand beside him. Fury didn't respond as he continued to eye the two brothers. Worried that he wasn't so believing of their story, Loki waited as Rogers and past-Thor passed by them. All attention was soon drawn to Stark as he took a breath and said to past-Thor, "Say, he's your brother, right? You know him better than anyone. Shouldn't you have expected something like this?"

Everyone turned to past-Thor, who shifted uncomfortably and thoughtfully raised a hand to his chin. It was a moment before he replied with, "Loki has always been… crafty. I knew that he would have some kind of plan. I just didn't think he was capable of such illusions."

His voice trailed into nothing as he turned his back to the group and stared down at the metal floor. Loki exchanged glances with his brother, neither one daring to move as they continued to observe the Avengers. Banner gave a quiet cough before posing his questions, "How did he get out of that room? And why didn't he just leave? Why create such a… dramatic scene?"

Loki felt his brows jump into his hair, surprised that any of them had thought to ask such questions. His brows soon furrowed themselves again as Stark made a spluttering scoff and said, "Clearly, he's lost his mind."

"I don't disagree that my brother's mind is warped… but he's not crazy." Past-Thor spoke as he turned back to the group. His face remained thoughtful as he muttered, "But I must admit that I am unable to decipher what his plan is. And I've never seen him create such an illusion of himself."

He rubbed at the beard on his chin and it was clear that he was thinking of the facial hair that Loki had. Resisting the urge to scratch at his now clean-shaven face, Loki waited as Rogers said to the group, "It doesn't matter how he did it. It's clear that he's released a threat onto the ship and that they need to be found. Have you found the Tesseract yet with that thing?"

Gesturing his head towards Stark, they all turned their gaze to the sceptre. Stark inhaled deeply and rubbed the back of his neck while replying, "Well… we might have found something of its location if we weren't so rudely interrupted."

"You shouldn't make up excuses for your failures," Rogers responded with a snappy tone. Loki felt his throat tighten, his eyes flicking over to the sceptre as it gave a gentle flash. His plan was beginning to take shape. Glancing over at his brother, he saw that Thor also recognised what was happening. Slowly, they edged around the room and avoided the others' gazes as they made their way towards the sceptre. Loki knew that they needed to get it before Barton arrived and started with his invasion.

No longer paying attention to the bickering that was growing worse, Loki focused his mind on reaching the sceptre. It was then that he saw that Banner was also edging towards it. He felt a stab of worry, for he was well aware that the Hulk would soon reveal itself. His attention was soon drawn back to the argument as Fury instructed of his agent, "Agent Romanoff, please escort Dr Banner-"

"Where? You rented out my room." Banner interrupted. He was stepping closer and closer to the sceptre. Loki began to move a little faster while Fury tried to pose an excuse for the cell that was his prison. It was clear that Banner was growing more agitated, his hand reaching out for the golden sceptre as he said to Romanoff, "You want to know my secret? How I manage to stay so calm?"

Just as Banner made to pick up the weapon, Loki stepped in front of him. The doctor jumped as his hand bumped into Loki's chest, who murmured to him, "You may want to back away… Dr Banner."

Doing as he was told, Banner stepped back and Loki breathed a sigh of relief. But his relief was short-lived as an explosion sounded and they were all thrown to the floor. Both his and Thor's helmets fell off in the fall and his illusions broke in the process. This meant that all of the Avengers could see their true faces. Without hesitation, Loki jumped to his feet and grabbed the sceptre. He then dragged his brother out of the room with him, seeing in the process that Banner and Romanoff had fallen through the window while the others slowly got to their feet and gave chase.

Running as fast as they could, they didn't dare look back until they had turned a dozen corners. And they didn't stop until they were sure that they had lost the Avengers. The two brothers stopped and doubled over, trying to catch their breath. Thor reached over and patted Loki's shoulder while telling him, "That was quick thinking. Well done, brother."

"We're not out of this yet." Loki murmured back, his spine stiffening as he listened to the echoing roar that sounded through the airship. Thor also glanced around nervously, tightening his grip on his axe, which was no longer disguised. Swallowing the lump in his throat, Loki suggested to his brother, "We should keep moving."

Thor murmured agreement. Slowly, they travelled down the many corridors and checked around the corners. Somehow, they were lucky not to have been spotted by the numerous soldiers that were running around. Most likely because they hide from sight whenever they saw someone. But they were not unaware of the sounds of battle that seemed to grow closer with each step they took. While they tried their best to avoid going in the direction of the fight, it was not always by their choice.

So it was that they find themselves entering the flight hold in the exact second that past-Thor his hammer at the Hulk, who tried to catch it and went flying through the air. Loki glanced down at the sceptre in his hand and in a split second knew that he had to find a way to calm the enraged beast. Tightening his grip on the long weapon, he ignored his brother's calls of protest as he ran towards the green monster.

The Hulk didn't see him coming, for he was too focused on trying to lift Mjolnir. Jumping off the wing of a plane, Loki fell towards the beast and wrapped his arms around his neck. Taken by surprise, the Hulk abandoned his struggle and began to try and force Loki off his back. Though he struggled to hold on, he pressed the sceptre against the monster's neck and hissed into his ear, "Calm yourself, Banner. Calm down."

But his attempts were not enough as a giant green hand grabbed him and threw him onto the floor. Winded, Loki felt the golden sceptre leave his grasp and heard it scrape against the floor. He was unable to chase after it as the Hulk raised his arms and made to smash down on him. Loki raised his hands in defence, casting a shield between him and the beast. He hadn't expected the shield to hold, yet it did and that is why he cried with disbelief. Out of the corner of his eyes, he could see the two Thors running towards them and watched as they both tackled the Hulk to the ground.

"Loki! The sceptre!" Thor shouted out to his brother as he struggled to hold down the beast's arms. Loki jumped to his feet and ran over to the weapon, grabbing hold of it and turning back to the scene. He watched as the Hulk tossed past-Thor into a pile of boxes and then pressed the other Thor into the ground. But before he had the chance to pound the large man, Loki ran over to them and pressed the sharp tip of the sceptre into the monster's green chest. Taken by surprise, the Hulk faltered. This was his mistake as Loki commanded him, "Sleep!"

As if taken by a spell, his eyes grew heavy and closed as he fell onto his back. Loki's legs quivered under his weight and he lay down beside his brother. He didn't take his eyes off the monster until he had shrunk back into Banner's body. Then he breathed a shaky breath of relief and allowed himself to collapse onto the floor.

Thor gave a thundering laugh and patted his brother. Their gaze was soon drawn to the pile of boxes as past-Thor clawed his way back into the open space. His blue eyes stared at Banner in confusion before turning to look at the two Asgardians. Loki and Thor jumped to their feet and slowly backed away. There was no reason for past-Thor to not attack them and let them go.

"We don't wish to fight," Thor called to his past-self while raising a protective arm in front of Loki. The younger Thor didn't attack, his face lined with confusion as he tried to make sense of what was happening. He opened his mouth to speak, but it was never heard by Loki as something tackled him to the ground. A shout of pain broke from his lungs as he was pressed to the ground. He then turned to look into his attacker's face and saw his own younger self.

The two fought over the sceptre, past-Loki trying to twist it out of his hands. Not willing to let it happen, Loki raised his elbow and allowed it to collide into his foe's face. This allowed him to crawl away and climb to his feet. He barely had enough time to prepare himself when he was attacked again. The two Loki's struggled against one another, both equal in their fighting capabilities and thus managing to get in a few punches. But neither one of them were strong enough to wrench the sceptre out of the other's hands.

So vicious was their battle that they caused the weapon to power up and release a force of energy to crash into the wall of the hull. Another set of blasts went off, causing the wall to open up into the sky. Past-Thor was sucked out of the room and only just managed to grab hold of a metal bar to stop himself from flying away. The sceptre flew from the two Lokis hands and landed on the floor. Past-Loki chased after it while Loki was split between the weapon and past-Thor.

Deciding on his choice, Loki raced over to the helpless Asgardian and caught his hand just in time while also holding onto a metal bar. He could feel his muscles stretch painfully as he struggled to stop past-Thor from flying away. Turning his gaze over to where the sceptre was, he saw his past-self locked in combat with his brother. Surprisingly, Thor lost the battle as past-Loki knocked him out with a blast of the sceptre.

Past-Loki then stepped over to the giant hole, a murderous glint in his eyes. Casting another shield between himself and the sharp point of the weapon, Loki watched as his past-self pressed the blade towards his heart. A smile began to stretch across the younger Loki's face as he hissed, "You can't hold out forever. Eventually, you're going to have to make a choice. And if you are who I think you are, you'll make the right choice and join me. We could rule this world."

However much he didn't want to admit, Loki knew that he was right. He could already feel himself tiring and knew that he would most likely not last longer than a minute before he passed out. Hundreds of thousands of thoughts flew through his mind as he tried to decide upon the best course of action. He soon came to his conclusion.

Taking a deep breath, he prepared himself for what was to come. Everything seemed to travel in slow motion as he swung past-Thor back into the room and allowed his shield to fall. A blast of pain exploded in his chest as the sceptre pierced him. He felt the blade leave his chest as past-Thor crashed into past-Loki. Everything that followed was a blur. All he knew was the pain in his chest and the darkness that was slowly clouding over him. He could barely keep his eyes open, blood raising into his mouth as he struggled to breathe.

"Loki! Loki!" He could hear his brother's worried voice and saw the hazed outline of his face before everything went black.