This is a prequel to 'A Good Man,' explaining why Thor brought Loki back to earth, the story behind Loki's electric shock bracelets, why he's so desperate to get out of Avengers Tower, and why he goes so nuts when he gets some fresh air. This chapter's a bit more angsty than the others, since I needed Loki's story to start off slightly darker in order to begin brightening it up a bit in 'A Good Man'. Again, I tried to get the Americanisms correct, but I suspect a few trousers may have crept in when there should have been pants, etc. Hope you like it.

(I don't know much about the physiology of Asgardians, or Frost Giant hybrids for that matter, so I wrote it so that they're essentially the same as humans. Their cardiovascular systems work in basically the same way, but are just substantially more robust.)

Arrival Of The Asgardians

"Useless," Tony Stark muttered under his breath, glaring at the robot in his tool shop that he referred to as "Dummy." Dummy had been a prototype, designed for precision work in assisting with Tony's designs. But the robot had always been clumsy and terrible at following orders. However, Tony could never quite bring himself to dispose of it, despite his frequent threats about donating the robot to a school or selling it to a scrap dealer. It was oddly cute, had once saved his life, and he rather viewed it as a pet. Like an awkward, long-limbed puppy that got under your feet and tripped you up. However, this mechanical puppy had just knocked everything off the workbench while attempting to pass Tony a spanner.

"I don't know why I keep you around sometimes," he grumbled at the robot. "It's embarrassing knowing that I actually built you. God forbid the media ever find out, no one would ever trust anything I made ever again…"
"God forbid the media never find out what?" came a voice from the doorway. Tony turned to see Hawkeye wandering into the tool shop, bow and quiver slung over his shoulders as always.

"That I built something as ridiculous as this damn robot." Tony gestured at Dummy with the oil-stained rag he was using to wipe his hands. "And you know, you probably don't need to carry your toy bow and arrows around inside Avengers Tower, Legolas. I doubt any evil supervillains are going to pop up in here anytime soon."

Hawkeye raised an eyebrow. "You know what, I doubt many people expected an evil supervillain, a bunch of flying giant armoured manatee-things and an army of aliens to attack New York, but that still happened, didn't it?"

"Point," Tony admitted. "What you doing down here anyway?"

"We need you to make up the teams." Hawkeye replied as they entered the lift. "We're playing two-a side ping-pong up there, me and 'Tasha versus the Science bros."

"'Science bros'?"

"You and Banner."

"Seriously? You call us the science brothers?"

"It's that or the science boyfriends, man."

"Don't be jealous of the genius partnership, robin hood."

"Yeah. Your boyfriend turns into a giant green ball of rage when he gets irritated, and you're one of the most irritating people on the planet. That's not a healthy relationship."

"You can't stop our love!"

Hawkeye chuckled. "How do you think Banner would react if he heard this conversation?"

"Let's not find out, huh?"

They stepped out of the lift onto the top floor of what was previously Stark Towers. Now renamed "Avengers tower," it was the base of operations for the team. Fury had wanted the base to be at SHIELD headquarters, but due to the fact that Stark's tower had a bar, ping-pong table, swimming pool, gym, every gadget ever invented and an infinite supply of junk food and alcohol, The Avengers had unanimously voted in favour of staying there instead. Thor (who was currently spending the majority of his time in Asgard dealing with his insane younger brother and the fallout from his actions) had found a box of poptarts in the cupboard before he left and informed Fury that he would not stay anywhere without a steady supply of them. Banner had also been given a lab in the tower, which he claimed was a more calming environment than the lab at SHIELD. Apart from the time Tony hijacked his soundsystem and blasted "I'm a mean, green mother from outer space" from the 'Little Shop Of Horrors' soundtrack through it. Tony had only turned it off after Bruce threatened to Hulk out and sit on all of his cars. Only to start playing "Don't Worry, Be Happy" instead.

Tony and Hawkeye walked down the stairs from the elevator to the ping-pong table where Black Widow and Banner were waiting. Tony shot a fond glance at the recently repaired 10-foot square patch of floor in front of the steps, where a bronze plaque was now embedded. It read:

"Here is the location of one of the greatest events in living history.

Loki got Hulk-smashed.

Good times.

(Puny God.)"

None of the Avengers could resist a grin whenever they looked at it. The memory of the God lying on the floor, with the dazed, utterly shocked expression on his face, was enough to make even Natasha crack a smile. Tony walked over to the ping-pong table beside Banner, picked up a paddle and was about to serve when one of the screens behind him flickered into life, showing Director Fury's face.

"Good morning, team."

Tony rolled his eyes, dropping the paddle on the table and turning to face the screen. "Hi, mom."

"Stop calling me 'mom', Stark. And I'm calling to inform you that Dr. Jane Foster has been in contact with us. Apparently, the weather conditions and freak electrical storms that signal the opening of the Bifrost are being seen again. Chances are that Thor's coming back to see you all. At least, we hope it's Thor."

"Yeah, just as long as he's left his Hannibal Lecter tribute act of a little brother at home," interrupted Hawkeye. Out of all of the team, he disliked Loki the most, due to the way the God had mind-controlled him and used him as a puppet to kill people. Natasha still maintained that in fact, being called ' a mewling quim' was worse than being mind-controlled.

"Thor knows better than to bring Loki back here." Fury replied. Just thought you'd wanna know." The screen flickered and Fury vanished, replaced with a blank screen.

"So, the L'oreal Viking is returning to our realm," announced Tony grandly, adopting a pronounced, dramatic English accent. "Who wants to make a poptart run?"

An hour later, Tony, Banner and Natasha were sitting on one of the sofas playing Mario Kart on the Wii. Having drawn the short straw and returned from the poptart run, but having pickpocketed Tony's wallet to pay for them, Hawkeye was sitting beside Natasha, one eye on the screen, the other focused on the bowstring he was oiling. Steve was sitting on the floor, also staring at the screen. Most technology still baffled him. Much to the scientists' annoyance, the red-haired assassin was winning easily.

"How are you so good at this?" yelped Tony, as he got blown up for what had to be the tenth time.

"Evasive driving training came with the job, Tony," she replied smugly.

"Yeah, but when do you find time to practice?"

"Stakeouts, mainly. Don't tell Fury." She crossed the finish line in first place, dropped the controller and leaned back on the sofa, a self-satisfied smile on her face. A vein began pulsing in Banner's forehead as he fell off the road into the sea for the fifth time. Tony finished the race in fourth place, then noticed the scientist going red in the face. "Easy, big guy! Calm thoughts. Dolphins. Kittens. Cookies. Marijuana. Bob Marley. Schwarma. Deep breaths. Let's not lose control here, we only just repaired the floor."

"When is this obsession with Schwarma gonna end, Tony?" Banner asked, his voice strained, as he finally crossed the finish line and dropped the controller like it was red-hot.

"When it stops being awesome."

JARVIS interrupted their discussion. "Sir, Mr Odinson has arrived. And…"

Tony cut the AI off. "Great, send him up. Tell him we have poptarts."

"Certainly, sir."

Tony turned to the others, grinning and rubbing his hands together. "Haven't seen the ol' Viking in months. Ready to be eaten out of house and home again?"

The elevator dinged and the Avengers turned to see the familiar figure step into the room, grinning widely. They rushed forwards to greet him, Steve holding out his hand for Thor to shake, but before they could reach him, Thor stepped to one side to reveal the slightly smaller figure behind him. A manacled, gagged, 6-foot tall, dark-haired figure with a half- angry, half-bored expression that they knew only too well.

Tony stopped dead in his tracks, and pointed in Loki's face. "What THE HELL is THAT doing here?"

"Loki kept escaping from the cells in Asgard," Thor replied calmly. "I am the only one who seems to be able to stop him from doing so. And as I have declared myself the sworn protector of Midgard, I need to be here."

"Did it not occur to you that maybe bringing that megalomaniac back to Earth might not be the best way to protect the planet? Last time he nearly destroyed the city and he tried to enslave the human race," Steve pointed out.

"Tried and failed," Hawkeye added, a slight smile on his face as he looked at the god's gag and handcuffs. Loki, who had previously been staring at the floor, narrowed his eyes at the archer. Hawkeye's grin just widened.

"I need to be here," Thor continued. "Loki needs to stay near me. So Loki must be here as well. He has been informed that any more attempts at world domination will be punished more harshly than before. I prevented him from being executed or tortured last time, the next time I will not be able to. So he will behave."

The Avengers looked incredulously from Thor's earnest, open face to his brother, who was still not making eye contact. His scowl, though partially obscured by the gag, was still thunderous.

None of them believed that Loki would behave. Not for a second.

"Okay, Rock of Ages, this will be your bedroom," said Tony calmly, as he shoved Loki into a pleasantly furnished room with a small window and a metal door that looked like it had been stolen from a bank vault. "The door will be electrified at night, as will the handles on the window. So no escape attempts unless you want to be deep-fried, capeesh?"

Loki glared.

"UNDERSTAND?"

A reluctant, jerky nod of acquiescence answered him.

"Good. I should also mention that Hawkeye is itching for an excuse to shoot you, Banner will go 'giant green rage machine' on your ass if he sees you doing anything suspicious-looking, and Natasha still hasn't forgiven you for calling her…what was it? A mewling quim."

The corners of Loki's eyes crinkled in a slight smile at that.

"Yeah, yeah, very funny. Come on, let's go rejoin the gang."

They began to walk out of the room, Tony pushing the silent God in front of him.

"Not wearing the funny gold cow hat this time? Shame."

Loki snarled behind the gag.

Back in the main room, Thor heard them enter and turned round excitedly from where he was sitting on the floor, hugging his knees next to Steve, watching Hawkeye and Natasha, who were still playing Mario Kart. "Brother, look! They say this level is called 'rainbow road,' but it looks like the Bifrost! And they are throwing explosive turtle shells at each other!" He turned to Steve. "I did not know that there were explosive turtles in your realm."

Steve spluttered. "I didn't know either, actually. You'll probably want to ask Stark about explosive turtles, they're more his area."

Tony held his hand up to stop the flood of combustible-reptile based questions that he knew was imminent, and was about to take a deep breath to tell Thor that explosive turtles did not occur naturally in the wild, and making a turtle explosive was probably illegal, when he realised that Loki had sidled noiselessly over to the bar and was inspecting its contents. "Hey!" He cried, jogging over. "What are you doing?"

Hawkeye and Natasha paused the game and reached for their weapons, sensing an opportunity for a bit of Godly ass – whupping. Thor got up from his seat on the floor and strode over to stand beside Tony, staring sternly at his brother. Loki calmly stared back, and holding up his manacled hands, pointed at the fridge and then at the gag over his mouth.

"You are hungry?"

Loki shook his head.

"Thirsty?"

A nod. Another gesture at the gag.

Thor stepped forwards warily. I will remove the gag, but you must promise to play no tricks, brother."

Loki glanced over Thor's shoulder at where Steve, Natasha and Hawkeye were standing. Steve was just looking suspicious. The two assassins, on the other hand, were looking suspicious and between them, also had two guns and an arrow trained on his head. Loki looked back at Thor and nodded, and the blond God reached both hands behind Loki's head, unfastening the gag and pulling it off.

"I'm not your brother," Loki managed to spit out, before he pulled in a breath and promptly started coughing. Tony handed the spluttering god of mischief a tiny glass of lukewarm tap water, grinning. Loki shot him a furious look and, grimacing, drained it in one go.

"I don't suppose you would consider removing the manacles as well, Thor?" he asked flippantly, tossing the now- empty glass back at Tony, who caught it with a scowl.

"No, brother, I would not consider it. I will also be replacing the mask soon."

Loki groaned. "And for what purpose, exactly? It was put on to prevent me from lying or tricking anyone in Asgard. My powers are all but completely bound by the manacles. Everyone here expects me to lie, but it doesn't matter because no one listens to what I'm saying anyway. So why not leave the gag off?"

Thor looked skeptical, but Loki gave him the puppy-eyes and he nodded slowly. "I will not replace the gag for now, but any hint of you attempting to play any tricks and it will be replaced immediately, brother."

"I'm not your brother. And fine."

The rest of the Avengers didn't look particularly pleased with this decision, but since Loki was Thor's responsibility, being the only other Asgardian in the room, there wasn't much they could do about it.

There was an awkward pause, in which the Avengers glared at Loki, Loki looked smug, and Thor looked oblivious to all of the hostility being openly displayed by his teammates. Suddenly, Banner blinked. "Guys…" he asked, quietly. "What are we going to tell Fury? He'll go nuts when he finds out the bag of cats is back on Earth."

Loki shot him a glare at the phrase "bag of cats."

Tony turned to face the other half of the science squad. "You mean, 'if' he finds out the bag of cats is back on Earth."

Bruce paused. "If. 'If' is good."

Hawkeye's mouth had fallen open. "Guys, he's a 6-foot 2 pillar of pure, undiluted crazy. How are we going to keep him secret?"

"We hide him!" Tony cried cheerfully. "Disguise him. Bob and weave. Fury only has the one eye, that'll make it twice as hard for him to spot Professor Snape here."

Natasha pinched the bridge of her nose, closing her eyes in exasperation. "It amazes me sometimes that you're classed as a genius."

Loki was leaning on the bar, looking bemused and amused as everyone else except Tony looked more and more worried.

Hawkeye fixed Tony with a questioning stare. "And where exactly do we 'hide him'?"

"We shove him in cupboards and stuff. He's tall, but he's skinny. He'll fold up small enough. Like a Godly ironing board."

Loki's grin dropped.

Hawkeye's grin returned.

After a few hours, The Avengers had slowly started to relax. They were still keeping their weapons close, but so far, Loki hadn't done anything dangerous or mischievous, as far as they could tell. He was currently lounging on the sofa, hands still shackled. He had worked out how to use the remote control much faster that Steve or Thor had, and was channel surfing like a pro. He stopped suddenly on "The Lion King", and stared at the screen, seemingly bewildered as to why the animals looked so unrealistic and why they were speaking with human voices. When they started singing, his eyebrows practically disappeared into his hairline. After he'd sat and watched quietly for about five minutes, the Avengers breathed a sigh of relief.

"He's being a lot better behaved that I thought he would be," Steve muttered to Thor under his breath.

"Same here. It's actually a bit creepy the way he's just sitting there," Tony added.

"He does not want to be executed," Thor replied simply. "Punishment here is much more lenient than it would be on Asgard. Our father is furious with him for attempting to start two wars with two different races within the space of a year."

"YOUR father," Loki called from the sofa without turning round, making them all jump. They hadn't thought he could hear them. The group shuffled backwards, further out of earshot. Thor continued. "Loki is probably desperate to escape and misbehave, but he knows that that would result in him being brought back to Asgard, and the punishment there would be far worse. He is not stupid."

"I don't like it," Natasha murmured. "He's probably plotting something right now."

"Oh come on," Tony answered, grinning. "He's watching Disney! That's hardly a soundtrack for plotting to." Then certain phrases of the song playing at that moment began to reach their ears.

"Prepare for the coup of the century,

Be prepared for the murkiest scam!

Meticulous planning, tenacity spanning

Decades of denial, Is simply why I'll

Be king undisputed, respected, saluted,

And seen for the wonder I am!

Yes, my teeth and ambitions are bared,

Be Prepared!"

They all looked over at Loki, who was tapping his foot to the beat of the music and looking thoughtfully at the screen.

"Then again…" Tony muttered.

Fury called later that evening.

Loki was curiously watching Hawkeye play Steve at ping-pong, his eyes following the progress of the ball like an oversized cat.

"Hey there, princess," Tony called as he crossed the room. "How'd you enjoy 'The Lion King'?"

"I liked Scar," Loki replied, not taking his eyes off the ball.

"What a surprise," Tony muttered. 'After all, apart from the whole quadruped thing, you are him, basically. Accent, check. Hair colour, check. Outlook on life, check. Insanity, check. Scrawny little evil brother, check. Jealous of older brother, check."

"Scar killed his older brother, remember?" Loki asked, slowly swiveling his head towards Tony, a sinister grin splitting his face.

Tony shuddered as a cold sensation trickled down his spine at the expression on Loki's face. He continued walking towards his workshop, passing Thor on the way. He reached up and tapped the God on the shoulder.

"Hey, Point Break, bit of advice. Stay away from wildebeest stampedes." he called as he trotted down the steps into his workshop.

"What? What is a willder - beast?" Thor called after him, but the doors had slid shut behind the eccentric billionaire. Thor furrowed his brow in confusion and kept walking. Loki turned his head as Thor entered the room, grinned at some private joke and resumed watching the game. Thor wandered over to the kitchen, rooted around until he found a box of poptarts, opened it and began shoveling them down his throat. Bruce looked up from the scientific journal he was reading, watched the poptarts vanishing down Thor's gullet with a sort of horrified fascination, then carried on reading. Behind him, one of the screens flickered into life. JARVIS's voice rang out, causing everyone in the room to freeze. "Director Fury calling."

Fury's face appeared on the screen. Bruce immediately swiveled on his chair, moving as close as he could to the camera so as to block as much of the room behind him as he could. "Hey, director! Is that a new eyepatch?" he asked, what he hoped was a winning smile on his face, making frantic "GO!" gestures behind his back at Steve, Natasha, Hawkeye, Thor and Loki.

"No, Doctor, it is not new. It is the same one I always wear. Would you mind moving back so I can see something other than your eyeball?" Came the reply from the screen. "You're several thousand miles away and I still feel like my personal space is being invaded. Back up."

Bruce moved backwards as slowly as possible, as Thor and Steve scooped Loki out of his chair, Thor holding him by the armpits and Steve by the knees. Hawkeye stood alongside them and kept his hand over Loki's mouth, as the God was struggling, trying to bite Thor on the arm at being picked up in such an undignified manner. Natasha dived toward Bruce, blocking the other side of the screen. "Director Fury, sir. Anything to report? A mission? Anyone that needs killing? Alien threat? Any gossip we should know?"

Fury stared unblinkingly at the assassin, brow furrowed. "You're more talkative than usual, Agent Romanoff."

'….I'm in a good mood, sir. I just beat Agent Barton at Mario Kart."

Fury continued staring, then his brow relaxed. "Which racetrack?"

"….Uh…Cheep Cheep Beach."

"Then congratulations. Did Thor arrive?"

"Yes, sir."

"Where is he?"

Thor and Steve were attempting to shove Loki into the cupboard in the wall where the coats were kept. At the sound of his name, Thor released his grip on his little brother's shoulders, dropping Loki and causing his head to bounce off the floor with a noise that was somewhere between a snarl and a pained yelp. As Thor sprinted towards the camera to talk to Fury, Steve, who was still holding Loki's ankles, shoved the God unceremoniously into the cupboard, head first, pushing him along the floor like he was a vacuum cleaner. Hawkeye slammed the door and then collapsed against it in silent hysterics.

Thor shuffled in front of the camera. "Director Fury."

"Hello, Mr Odinson. Are you well?"

"Very well, thank you. The Man of Iron and Hawkeye went and bought me some poptarts."

"How nice of them. How are things in Asgard?"

Thor shifted from foot to foot. "Very well, thank you."

"I trust Loki is safe in some sort of Asgardian prison?"

"…Of course. Very safe. He is not getting out. No. The safety of Midgard is my first priority, I would never jeopardize that safety by allowing Loki to roam around. Prison. Yes. "

Natasha kicked him to shut him up.

"I'm glad to hear it." replied Fury. "Just called to make sure you'd arrived. Talk to you soon." The screen went blank and Banner let out a nervous, high-pitched giggle, dropped his head onto the desk and began counting to ten under his breath, taking deep breaths. Thor turned around to see several things. One was Steve letting go of the door from where he had been holding it shut. Another was Loki toppling out of the tiny cupboard face first, like a felled tree. He had clearly been leaning against the door from the inside in an effort to force it open. With his hands still shackled, he couldn't break his fall, so he just hit the ground and rolled, in an attempt to stop his nose from being broken. The third thing was Hawkeye doing absolutely nothing to help, but standing back and filming all of it on an iPhone with a massive grin on his face. Loki stopped rolling, ironically, right on top of the bronze "Loki got Hulk-smashed" plaque in the floor. He sat up slightly, staring at the inscription on the plaque, then scowled and sat on it like a petulant child, as if trying to stop anyone else seeing it. Tony walked back in, t-shirt, arms and face thoroughly coated in black engine grease, heading to the bar for a drink. He stopped dead in his tracks when he saw Loki sitting on the plaque with a face like thunder, two master assassins giggling like schoolchildren, and Thor, Steve and Bruce trying not to smile.

"What happened here?" he asked.

"Fury called," Hawkeye answered, still grinning. So we had to shove the God of Mischief there into a cupboard, head-first. Which he just fell out of again, face-first."

"Aw, crap! I missed it?"

"Yeah, but I filmed most of it." The archer passed Tony his iPhone so he could see the footage.

Tony's grin grew wider and wider. When he saw Loki fall face-first out of the cupboard, he howled with laughter.

Loki scowled. "I need a drink."

Tony was in such a good mood after seeing the video that he got Loki his drink, (which the God insisted was two months overdue,) and then showed him what he had been making in the workshop. It was a gold-coloured necklace and two metal wristbands, matching the clothes and armour Loki normally wore. The god eyed them suspiciously.

"They're for you," Tony said, kindly.

"Why?" Loki asked, running his fingers over the intricate etched designs on the metal.

"As a kind of 'hey, no hard feelings, the past is in the past, let's move on and all be friends' kind of thing." Tony said cheerfully.

Loki looked at him, his eyebrows raised. He didn't believe that for a second.

"Fine. You wear them both, and we take the handcuffs off."

"And why am I wearing them, may I ask?"

"Because I've put tracking chips inside them both and they both contain small but powerful remotely-activated battery packs. Try and leave the building without supervision, go anywhere near the doors or windows, do magic, or do anything vaguely suspicious-looking, and JARVIS will fry you. It'll be like Thor's struck you with lightning, but with less effort required on his part. Behave, and you get to wander around this floor of the tower reasonably freely. With JARVIS keeping tabs on you at all times. Sounds fair, right?"

Loki scowled. "Fine."

The following evening, Thor and Steve were sitting on the sofa watching "How It's Made" on TV. Or at least, Steve was sitting, watching intently and taking notes. Thor was lying on the sofa instead, listening to the voiceover, but most of his attention was devoted to the pieces of popcorn that he was tossing into the air and trying to catch in his mouth. He'd missed most of them and there was popcorn all over the floor.

Bruce and Tony were sitting by the bar, eating their way through a bowl of peanuts as they theorized about various aspects of space travel.

Hawkeye and Black Widow had left earlier that morning for Russia. Fury had sent them to spy on, and if necessary, assassinate an illegal arms dealer. Said arms dealer and his henchmen had already murdered the three SHIELD agents sent to watch them, so two assassins were itching to take the smuggling ring down as violently as possible.

The final figure in the room was sitting by the fireplace, staring into the flames intently. Loki was silhouetted against the bright light and was hunched over, cutting a much less imposing shape than he usually did. He didn't look like a god at the moment, didn't look as proud and regal as usual. He looked broken. The firelight cast the planes of his face into sharp relief, highlighting the narrow cheekbones and throwing the hollows of his eye sockets and cheeks into shadow. The result was eerily starved and skeletal. None of the Avengers noticed this, though, since all four of the other people in the room was ignoring him completely. Loki suddenly sighed deeply, getting up from the sofa and walking slowly over to the window in the hope of getting some fresh air. The combination of his leather and metal armour and the flames was causing him to overheat. He had always preferred the cold. I have my Jotunn heritage to thank for that, he thought bitterly as he walked.

He approached the doors to the balcony, looking out at the thousands of twinkling lights that made up the New York skyline. It was pretty at night, certainly, but paled in comparison to Asgard. He swallowed. Stop thinking about Asgard.

He reached for the door, but as soon as he put one hand on the door handle, the bracelets and necklace Tony had made for him emitted a high-pitched hum. Loki froze, looking at them warily, but it was too late – the bracelets beeped loudly and Loki suddenly collapsed to the floor like a ragdoll, his hands locked in clawlike positions, his head tipped backwards and his teeth gritted in a grin of agony. His normally slicked-back, neat hair spread out all over the floor in a messy black mane, as he writhed on the floor, his eyes squeezed shut in pain, and his whole body shook with convulsions as the current raced through his body. It wasn't as strong a shock as the lightning that he had been struck by while fighting Thor all those years ago on the Bifrost, but the prolonged nature made it infinitely more painful. At least when Thor had fought him, he had made the shock as quick as possible. Although all of his muscles were locked in place, Loki, groaning through his locked teeth, managed to roll sideways away from the door, just far enough that the shocks would stop. After what seemed an age, the bracelets beeped again, and Loki collapsed back against the floor, his breath coming in shaky rasping gasps. Thor leapt up and sprinted to his brother, putting one hand on his metal shoulderplate, and a faint crackle was emitted as the residual static electricity discharged into the God's hand. Thor didn't flinch. He was used to lightning.

"Brother! Are you all right?" Thor asked urgently, the other Avengers coming to stand behind him warily. Shock was etched into all of their features at the severity of Loki's electrocution, apart from Tony, who just looked grim and ever so slightly guilty.

Loki didn't answer Thor. He wrenched his eyes open, tears of pain rolling down his cheeks as he did so. He raised a hand to brush them away angrily, wincing as he moved, and roughly batted Thor's hand away. "I. Am. Not. Your. Brother," he hissed, teeth still clenched. Thor's face froze into a pained mask, but he nodded slightly.

"Are you all right, Loki?" He asked quietly, still refusing to move away.

"Oh, I'm wonderful," Loki snarled, heaving himself up off the floor onto all fours, breathing heavily and his hands still clawed. The resultant image was remarkably animalistic. "It's been a while since I was last electrocuted, I'd rather missed it." He pointedly ignored Thor's outstretched hand and shakily got to his feet without assistance, planting his feet apart so that he wouldn't fall over.

Tony walked over to the bar, still looking rather guilty, and poured the God a glass of water. A cold one, this time. He walked back, holding it out to Loki. When Loki pulled his hand away, Tony sighed, gripped the God's wrist and pressed the glass into his hand, deliberately closing the fingers around it.

Loki looked at him coldly. "So you electrocute me, and then offer me a drink that is not even alcoholic as an apology?"

"Oh, it's not an apology. I warned you not to go near the doors or windows or do magic, or JARVIS would fry you. It's not my fault you disregarded my instructions, now, is it?"

Loki bared his teeth.

"But I'm not a sadist." Tony continued. "Being fried tends to make you thirsty. The water's actually cold this time, as well. And it'll rehydrate you better than alcohol would. Don't say I never do anything for you."

Loki stared at him darkly, then drained the glass.

"So no magic, no windows or doors, and you're fine," Tony said calmly. "By the way, if you use magic, the voltage will be even higher, and the shock will probably last even longer. We're taking no chances. So it's basically up to you whether you get fried or not."

The tension in the air was palpable. It was clear from Loki's expression that he would have dearly loved to strangle everyone in the room. Steve started to drift away, feeling uncomfortable and sensing that the danger had passed. Bruce followed. He didn't like stressful atmospheres.

Tony turned away from the angry God. "Come on, man. Let's find a healthy outlet for that pent-up aggression. Why don't you play the Haircare Viking at Mario Kart?"

Loki growled quietly again. Thor stayed close to his little brother's shoulder, reluctant to leave him after what had happened. He desperately wanted to comfort Loki, despite all that Loki had done, but knew that his brother would only snarl at him and walk away. Thor lingered, unsure of what to do.

"Alternatively, I challenge you to a Wii Rock Band duel," Tony called, holding up two miniature plastic guitars and grinning at the Gods.

Loki closed his eyes in exasperation.

"It's the only kind of battle you're gonna get, man. And it requires great skill, dexterity, fast thinking and strategy. You might be good at it. Better than Thor, anyway. Whaddaya think, Rock of Ages?" Tony added, holding the neck of one of the guitars out to Loki.

The God, despite himself, cocked his head on one side in curiosity, flexing his still-stiff left hand. Although he was reluctant to agree to anything Stark said, he really was bored. Unbelievably bored…

He held his hand out for the guitar, sighing. "Fine. What do I do?"

The next morning, Hawkeye and Black Widow returned to the tower, silently stepping out of the elevator to be greeted by a very strange sight. Thor was sprawled on the floor, wrapped in his scarlet cape, hugging Mjolnir and snoring loud enough to wake the dead. Steve and Bruce were sitting at the table, both eating their way through bowls of cereal with grins on their faces. Both looked up and waved as the assassins entered, then carried on watching Tony and Loki, who were still in front of the television.

Neither had slept, the competitive streaks in both of them preventing them from ending their competition. They were still playing Rock Band. Tony's hair was sticking up in messy, fluffy spikes around his head; Loki's was in even wilder ebony spikes than usual after his electrocution and his sleepless night. Both had dark rings under their eyes, giving the impression that both were wearing smudged eyeliner. Tony was in a faded green Ramones t-shirt, black jeans and bare feet, and looked slightly deranged, while Loki, uncharacteristically, had removed his leather coat, metal breastplate and shoulderguards to reveal the dark-green and black long-sleeved tunic beneath. The combination of the knee-high leather boots, close-fitting leather trousers, dark green tunic with the leather straps, the metal collar and bracelets, dark eye sockets and the wild hair made him look like he was in a glam rock band. Tony, oddly, due to the colour of his jeans and t-shirt, even matched the God. Both were staring intently at the TV screen, playing the guitar solo from Metallica's Master of Puppets. Neither was missing a single note. Natasha and Clint, amazed, sidled over to Bruce and Steve.

"We leave for one day," Clint muttered, "and Stark and the maniac who wants to kill us start a band together while we're gone?"

"Oh, Loki doesn't really want to play," Bruce answered. "He's just bored and desperately wants to win something, I think. Given the choice, I'm pretty sure he'd still rather kill someone."

"Well, that's reassuring," Natasha said, perching beside Steve. "Who's winning?"

"Neither, their scores are always both perfect," Steve replied. "So I'm pretty sure it's just turned into a test of endurance. They're been playing for hours now."

The song blaring from the TV finally ended and Tony fell over backwards, landing on the sofa and cradling his aching left hand, which had seized up. One side of Loki's mouth twitched in a triumphant smile at being the last one standing.

"Stark. To think for a moment, I thought you were a worthy opponent. What was it you shouted? 'You may be the God of Mischief and unresolved daddy issues, but I am the God of Rock?' Dear me."

Tony let out a moan. "Unfair contest. You're an alien-superbeing- slash- deity from another world. I'm just a regular, rich, incredibly handsome, charming and intelligent fella."

"I'm an alien superbeing-slash-deity who was electrocuted before the competition began, and I still won."

On the other side of the room, Hawkeye's eyes widened. "Electrocuted? What? Did he get in a fight with Thor?"

Bruce shook his head. "Loki got too close to the balcony doors. JARVIS electrocuted him through the bracelets and collar that Tony made, " he replied thickly through a mouthful of cereal.

"You're kidding! I missed it?"

Bruce nodded.

"Please tell me you filmed it."

Steve shot him a glare. "No we didn't film it. He was in agony."

"You seriously telling me he didn't deserve it?" Hawkeye said incredulously.

"He's done some terrible stuff, sure. Doesn't mean we should laugh at him being in pain. Pain's not funny, I don't care who it's inflicted on." Steve replied tersely.

Hawkeye opened his mouth to reply, but Bruce cut him off. "Guys, please. It's too early in the morning for this."

Suddenly, JARVIS's loud English accent echoed around the room. "Sir, you have a visitor. Director Fury is currently in the elevator to debrief Agents Romanoff and Barton."

Tony leapt off the sofa like a scalded cat, hurling the plastic guitar away.

"Get in your cupboard!" He barked at Loki, ripping the guitar from around the God's neck. Loki raised one eyebrow, face stubborn. Tony growled, kicking Thor in the backside to wake him up. "Dude, pick up your brother and hide him. Fury's coming. If he sees the walking Bag Of Crazy here on Earth, our collective ass is grass. Move!"

Steve, Hawkeye and Natasha got up hastily from behind he bar, striding towards Loki. Bruce stayed where he was, lowering his forehead onto the top of the bar and taking deep breaths. He'd be of no use unless he hulked out, and he really didn't want to do that. These were his favourite pants.

Thor grabbed Loki's arm, but the younger God squirmed and shook him off, ducking out of reach of the two assassins and the supersoldier who were fast advancing on him.

"I am a God," he hissed. "I will not hide in a cupboard."

"Either you hide," Natasha replied dryly, "or Fury sees you here, running around uncontained. And if that happens, you will be packed right back off to Asgard."

Loki froze.

"But hey, it's your call," she said, stepping backwards and taking a seat on the sofa. "Don't say we didn't try to help."

"Come on, man!" Tony cried. "'Hell hath no Fury like a pissed Nick Fury."

Loki glanced up at the numbers over the elevator doors. He's nearly here. I will not go back to Asgard. I cannot. Cupboard? No. No time. Not enough time…

Taking a deep breath, he moved over to a clear patch of floor by the wall, raising his hands, and braced himself. He began to paint a mental image into the air, sunlight bending and solidifying around him into a cylindrical, thick-walled, clear cell reminiscent of the one on the Helicarrier, in the centre of the floor. The bracelets and collar beeped as they detected the flow of magical energy through his hands, and Loki worked faster as the beeping grew louder and faster. The Avengers stood around, staring in shock as the God finished the magical cage. Loki's face glowed with golden light as he conjured an exact copy of the gag to fit around his jaw, and he quickly moved his hands behind his back, manacles fading into existence to fit tightly around his wrists. The doors of the elevator slid open and Fury stepped out, just as the bracelets crackled and Loki collapsed again with a moan that was muffled by the gag. Thor's face crumpled in distress as his little brother writhed on the floor again, his back arching upwards on itself, the tendons in his neck standing out and straining as the electricity flowed from the collar caused his head to snap backwards. Loki rolled over onto his front to stop his clawed hands from being crushed beneath him, convulsions shaking throughout his entire body. Without his thick leather coat and armour, it was apparent just how contorted his body really was. He ground his forehead into the floor, his eyes clamped shut, a low, consistent groan of agony issuing from behind the gag. Everyone, even Hawkeye, had an identical look of horror and absolute shock on their faces at the pain of the man before them. Fury strode forwards, his one eye blazing. His voice was quiet and dangerous.

"What the hell," he asked slowly through gritted teeth, "is that war criminal doing back on Earth?" This was directed mainly at Thor.

Thor didn't even acknowledge Fury. He was still staring at his baby brother, his face the epitome of anguish. Loki was still shuddering in excruciation on the floor of the cage he'd built for himself, his back to the Avengers.

Tony hesitantly walked toward Fury. "Yeah, Director, he's here."

Fury's head snapped round to face the eccentric billionaire, surprised at being called 'Director' for once. Normally it was 'Mom' or 'Angry Pirate.'

Tony continued. "Thor had to be here, because he promised you that he'd help protect the earth, right? Well, he's pretty much the only one who can keep Loki in check. So Loki's here too. But he's safe."

"Safe?!" Fury snapped. "Stark, you know how much damage and misery that God can cause. I got good agents down 'cause of him. Innocent people died. Lives were destroyed. He kills for fun, manipulates people for his own amusement, and you're telling me he's safe?"

Steve joined Tony. "He's been in the cage since he arrived, Director. He can't get out. And the gag and cuffs have been on since he got here as well."

Fury paused. "Why's he wriggling around on the floor? Is he being electrocuted?"

"Tony and I built the cage," Bruce added, walking over hurriedly from the bar. "He touches the glass or does anything suspicious, he gets zapped. Like Tony said, he can't escape."

Fury looked to the two assassins, who were still staring at the agonized God. "You two. Do you believe that it is safe for Loki to stay here? You know what he is capable of. Would you feel safe with this man in the building?"

The best friends looked at each other, then back at Fury.

"I would. Given the evidence, I believe that he is safely contained, sir," Natasha said calmly, as if delivering a standard mission report. Fury looked to Hawkeye.

"And you, Agent Barton?"

Hawkeye looked at Loki, his expression unreadable, then back at Fury.

"I'm no fan of the guy, Director, but in my professional opinion, he poses no threat. He's contained, we're all keeping an eye on him and he's in the cage the whole time, so…"

Fury paused, looking at them all, then sighed. He looked around Tony's shoulder, calling to Thor. "And you, Mr Odinson? Can we count on you to…

He tailed off as he saw Thor, who had circled the cage to face his brother. The blond- haired God was kneeling on the floor, with one palm pressed to the glass, his forehead leaning against it. He was staring right at his little brother, his cobalt eyes filled with almost as much agony as Loki's emerald ones. As the Director watched, a single tear spilled out of Thor's right eye, slipping down his cheek and into his beard.

Fury paused, and slowly looked back to the rest of the team. "Fine. But you keep his whereabouts a secret. We don't want anyone finding out his location and making a revenge attempt. He stays in the cage at all times. He's always supervised. The gag stays on. So do the cuffs. And you send SHIELD frequent updates about both his behavior and condition."

"Agreed." Said Tony hurriedly. "No problem."

Fury fixed them all with blood-curdling stares. "Fine. Agents Romanoff, Barton, with me. I need to talk to you about the events in Russia."

He strode off back to the elevator. With two backwards glances at Loki, the assassins followed. As soon as the elevator doors closed, Tony sprinted to a wall panel. "JARVIS, cut the power to the collar and bracelets. Now."

"But sir, they were designed to maintain the electric shock until Mr. Laufeyson stops using magic. A flow of magic is still detected in his body."

"Yes, because he's using that magic to sustain his own damn prison! Cut the power!"

"Of course, sir."

Loki's collar and bracelets stopped crackling, and the God collapsed back onto the floor, shuddering. The cage vanished in a burst of golden light, and Thor, who had been leaning against it, toppled forwards, scrambling forwards on his hands and knees to check on Loki. The dark-haired God's eyes were closed, his body finally still and limp. The manacles and gag still hadn't faded. Thor gripped his little brother's shoulders, pulling him into a sitting position and holding him close. He looked up at the others, his face pained, his eyes wet. "He is not waking up, Stark, He is not breathing. Is it because of the electricity? What do I do?"

Tony knelt next to the two gods. "The shock was never designed to last that long, it would have gone off sooner if Loki had stopped using magic sooner. Why did he keep using magic? I warned him the goddamn shock would be worse!"

Thor cradled Loki's head. "He was terrified of what would happen if he was sent back to Asgard. The tortures there would most likely be far worse than they ever could be here." He leant his head down into Loki's shoulder, holding his brother tightly as another tear escaped from his eye. Steve moved closer to his friend, placing one hand on Thor's shoulder in comfort, his face solemn.

Bruce ignored the huddle on the ground. He was staring at Mjolnir, still abandoned on the ground by the fireplace. His head suddenly snapped up.

"Thor. His heart's not beating, is it?"

The God shook his head tearfully, still holding Loki's body close.

"So the prolonged electric current from the bracelets and collar probably acted as a defibrillator, stopping his heartbeat…"

Tony sat bolt upright as he realized what Bruce was suggesting. "Thor, pick up the God of Crazy and carry him over to the window."

Thor looked up at Tony. "But why?"

"Come on. Science Brothers, right? I'm a genius. He's a genius. Don't argue. Just do."

Thor, blinking in confusion, got to his knees, scooped up his brother in his arms, and, struggling to his feet, raced over to the balcony doors that Loki had tried to open the previous day. As he reached them, Loki's bracelets and collar whined, a high-pitched beeping getting louder and louder. Suddenly, they crackled, and Loki's body jerked violently as, yet again, a bolt of electricity coursed through his slender frame. The manacles and gag melted away, his eyes shot open and he gasped in pain.

"Now get away from the window!" Tony hollered.

Thor staggered away, the beeping and crackling from the bracelets stopping as soon as he did so. Loki, whose heart had been shocked back into activity by the second, smaller current, was now wriggling in Thor's arms at the indignity of being picked up. Thor overbalanced and the two Gods toppled to the floor in a tangled heap. Loki groaned loudly as Thor's enormous bulk landed on top of him. Tony, with all his characteristic helpfulness and tact, cracked up laughing at the sight, as Steve and Bruce ran over to help.

Steve, with a grunt, rolled Thor off Loki, who wheezed as air flooded his lungs again. Thor scrambled up, staring into Loki's face, beaming. "Brother! Are you all right?"

"I would say 'I'm not your brother,' but that doesn't ever seem to penetrate your thick skull, does it, Thor?" Loki replied sardonically, his eyes closed, but for once, there was no real hint of malice or bitterness in his tone. He was too tired.

"And yes, I'm all right. Apart from the fact that I've been electrocuted a ridiculous number of times in the last 24 hours and I feel rather like I've been sat on by a Bilgesnipe. I beg of you, Thor, lose some weight."

Thor chuckled, sitting back on his haunches beside his brother in relief. "I still cannot believe that you voluntarily used magic, even though you knew what would happen if you did, Loki. I've never known you to do anything that would hurt yourself before. Self-preservation is usually your priority."

"It still is." Loki said wearily. "I can't go back to Asgard. The tortures of Midgard are nothing in comparison to the punishments that lie in wait back there. Asgard is no longer my home. It never was."

Thor blinked sadly, pity for his brother flooding his heart.

"What did Fury say?" Loki continued, his eyes still closed in exhaustion.

"You can stay," Steve replied. "Although you're meant to stay in your cage and remain cuffed and gagged at all times."

Loki grinned weakly, then winced in pain at the movement. Thor reached out to help him into a sitting position, and though Loki flinched at the contact, he didn't brush his brother away as he normally did. Tony climbed to his feet and walked back over to the wall panel, making small adjustments and giving instructions to JARVIS. Loki stumbled back over to the sofa and collapsed on it, Thor sitting beside him. Tony wandered back over. "So, Sparky…."

Loki glared at him.

"I changed the settings on the bracelets. They will now only fry you if you open a window, or actually go outside a door, ok? Otherwise you're safe. You may also use magic, since I know that's how you heal yourself, but do anything that we consider malicious or suspicious, and JARVIS will still light you up. We clear?"

Loki sighed and nodded, raising his hands gingerly. Blue sparks danced around his fingers and then scuttled up towards his chest, sinking into the skin as they went. As the others watched, the light travelled up though his arms, the skin glowing translucent blue as it did so. When the light reached his chest, Loki sighed and slumped back on the cushions as the sparks finally began to repair the damage to his heart. His magic was a part of him. Not being able to use had felt like losing a limb. It was so good to have it back.

When Natasha and Clint walked back into the tower that afternoon, the atmosphere was much more calm than t had been when they had left. Once again, Tony and Bruce were sitting over by the bar, designing both a fake cage for Loki and a Nick Fury-detector with a two-mile radius, sharing a bowl of blueberries as they worked. Loki was sitting on the sofa reading the Encyclopedia Britannica, occasionally glancing up as Thor and Steve played Mario Kart again. Thor had become rather fond of the Rainbow Road level, or as he referred to it, the Bifrost.

"Oh, come on!" Steve exclaimed exasperatedly, as Thor bumped into the side of his Kart, pushing him off the side of the rainbow road. The God hooted with triumphant laughter as Steve's character tipped over the edge, being swallowed up by the abyss of space.

Neither Thor nor Steve noticed Loki wince, swallow hard and quickly look away from the screen, as certain memories resurfaced. He concentrated on studying the book, trying to ignore the game, which suddenly seemed rather personal.

The two assassins wandered over to the balcony, chatting, nodding to Bruce and Tony as they went. Loki glanced over enviously as they disappeared outside. Tony looked around the room carefully at the members of the team that he was slowly beginning to think of as friends.

Clint and Natasha hadn't killed anyone and, as far as he could tell, weren't spying on anyone else in the team.

Thor and Steve were getting to grips with modern day technology, or at least, they'd worked out the television and the Wii. It was a start.

Bruce had started to relax a little around the rest of them, and it had been months since his last 'little incident,' as Tony called it. (Bruce frequently told him not to call the Hulk-outs that, claiming that it made it sound as if he wet the bed.)

And for now, at least, Loki was behaving.

Things were good.