~*~Please play the dramatic music of your choice because here. It. Is! The beginning of Loki's adventures with John and Sherlock, as laid out in my past works Schemes and Scissors, Loki the Innocent Bystander, and The Flying Skull. This piece will collect them all together, connect them with something that looks like a plot, and provide plenty of fun and angst for all. This will be set as chronologically as possible, for the first bunch of chapters at least. If anything appears out of order I'll let you know. Oh, and the chapters will probably end up being individual short stories, but with an overarching plot.
Warnings: Swearing, probably. Eventually.
Musical Muse: My special playlist of Avengers and Sherlock songs.
Disclaimer: I am not the original creators, or anyone else connected to these two fandoms. I just have this little AU playground that I'm very pleased with.
Much thanks and adoration towards my beta, the approver and giver of ideas, Kat.

~*~ Chapter 1: Anger ~*~

There was so much anger.

Anger was festering, flowing through the open air around that strange meeting place, the landmark that Loki's army hadn't managed to destroy. Anger, directed by all present, towards him, chained and still, waiting for the anger to peak and destroy him. He dreaded the anger, and yet accepted their rage, head bowed under the weight of all the wrath and hate.

Fury, naturally, was furious, angry at Thor for desiring to take Loki and the Tesseract from his grasp. The leader-soldier was livid about what happened to his home city, the metal man at the destruction of his home, the angry green one…well, he was always angry. Loki just never appreciated how angry he could be – his back still hurt from that underestimation.

The clever woman and his hawk still held lingering rage towards him for what he had done to the warrior-hawk. Loki knew they were laughing at him and this situation, at how far he had fallen, again. He was almost glad the archer was wearing dark glasses; neither wished to meet the other's eyes.

And Thor. Thor was finally, truly, properly angry at him; anger that Loki had witnessed many times before, but had never been directed at himself, not like this. It was the stifling heat before a violent summer storm, the space of a breath between the blaze of light and slam of thunder. It was held back for the moment, but Loki had his suspicions of what would happen once he was alone with Thor.

He also suspected it would be horribly similar to a punishment he previously experienced at another's hands.

For so long Thor had believed, had held hope that his brother would see the error of his ways, would return and fight at his side. Now, Loki could feel the anger and betrayal that radiated off his false brother, so strong that Loki could not meet his eyes.

But the greatest anger, the anger Loki feared the most…came not from any mortal fighter, nor from his brother. The Cube, the Tesseract – she was beyond angry, beyond furious. She held the unrivaled anger of all the cosmos, and it was directed solely at Loki.

It was too much to assume that she would go quietly. Being returned to captivity after so long a time of freedom and adventure, Loki would have anticipated something, even if he hadn't felt – through the lingering connection of his mind to the Chitauri weapon – her drawing power, focusing and concentrating it, waiting to release it at the best opportunity. She was complacent as she was moved to her new holding cell, the one that, Loki presumed, would attempt to funnel her power into transporting himself and Thor back to Asgard. Loki suspected she would simply settle for killing them both.

Was it too much to hope that he would not survive this time?

Thor was exchanging farewells with his teammates, promising to return as soon as possible. Loki wondered how they would react to the falling of their comrade, at a time when they thought they were safe, triumphant.

Thor approached Loki, and extended the device holding the seething Tesseract with an angry and over-demanding look. Unable to meet his eyes, Loki looked down at the device that would seal his fate. He could feel the throb of energy washing over him, daring him to grab hold and drag him away from here. Drag him to his death, more like, and Thor along with him.

Loki's hands were shaking, and he clenched them into fists. Would dying – really dying this time – be so bad? What had he to fear from death, he who had faced The Void of space and the horrors it hid? He wanted to embrace the nothingness, to find somewhere he could simply rest. Where there were no more power plays, no more monsters, no more heartache. Somewhere he need not face those who hated him.

He reached out his bound hand and grasped the handle. Thor twisted his side, activating the device to incite the Tesseract to take them home. Loki could feel the rush of power cresting, felt it peaking like a wave about to break and drown him. The jab of the Tesseract's mind against his confirmed what he feared: She had no intention of taking them to Asgard. There was only death ahead.

Loki breathed deeply through the muzzle and closed his eyes. He was resigned to whatever death awaited him, had been waiting for it since The Void swallowed him. Only now did he realize how deeply he wanted it all to end. He was ready.

In the half second before the power peaked and burst, Loki opened his eyes and met his false-brother's for the last time.

Thor's bright eyes widened. He realized what Loki intended to do. He opened his mouth to speak-

Loki never found out what Thor meant to say. He yanked the device from Thor as the power-bubble burst, and felt the familiar stretchtwistpullSNAP. It snatched at him, pulling him wildly, excruciatingly, and uncontrollably away from everything he ever known.

The last he saw was Thor's anguished face, before he was dragged away, and welcome oblivion covered his eyes.

The blast that rocked the park reminded Thor – horribly – of the destruction of the Rainbow Bridge. It threw him off his feet, the taste of unleashed magic choking him. He heard cries from his new warrior-companions, but he had no time to fret about them over his worry about his brother. The chaos seemed to last an eternity, until at last it subsided, leaving ruin in its wake. Even as he struggled to sit up, shaking hair from his eyes, he could see that Loki was gone. Again.

But it was not like before, when he saw his brother fall before his eyes, watching as he vanished into The Void. Where his brother once stood, there was now a crater, glazed from heat and magic, disconcertingly lacking his brother's form. His stomach knotted as he jolted to his feet, struggling over to the spot. He ignored the science-mages' cries and warnings as he stood where his brother had vanished.

Loki was gone. Very much gone. Yanked from Thor's grasp yet again, just after they had been reunited for so brief a time. Dust and magic drifted in the air, choking him and tightening his throat. Stinging at his empty eyes.

Thor stormed past his teammates, towards the angry leader. Stark, Banner, and Rogers were helping one another to their feet, Barton and Romanoff still collecting themselves from where they had been thrown. He advanced on Fury and Selvig, who were still struggling to rise. Loki had escaped them, and the sooner they were on their feet again, the sooner they would be able to retrieve him. And the Tesseract.

Loki had taken the Tesseract, or the Tesseract had taken him, but without either, Thor was trapped on Midgard, without his brother and without his way home. He was stranded, but at the moment, that was the furthest worry from his mind.

"What has happened!? Where has he gone?!" Thor barked as he stormed toward Fury. The bright day grew dark as he towered over the pair, watching as Selvig scrambled to retrieve information from one of their flat devices.

Fury rose behind Selvig, his eye fixed on Thor. "What does it look like happened?" he questioned dangerously. "He escaped. I thought I warned you that this would happen if you tried to take him!"

"It was your device he used to escape. Now Where Has He Gone?" Clouds converged overhead as the rest of the team collected themselves and approached behind him. The Captain laid a hand on Thor's shoulder – for support or restraint, he could not tell. Fury leveled one last glare at him before turning to Selvig.

"Well Doc, where's he gone?" Selvig did not answer immediately. He was quiet. Much too quiet.

The minutes stretched long as Selvig stared at his devices, turned to check others, and the tension in the air rose with every second. Thor's new warrior team converged around him, and he could feel their unease radiating off them. The wait stretched until Thor though he would burst. Finally, Selvig looked up. He wouldn't meet Thor's eyes.

"That response…the reading went off the charts. He couldn't…there's no way…" Selvig stopped and swallowed hard, and met Thor's eyes. Thor was shocked to see just how much pain there was looking back at him. "He…he couldn't have survived. No one could."

"What are you saying?!" Thor snapped. He knew what was said, could see it in his eyes and feel it growing in his heart, but he could not accept it. Not again.

"I'm sorry Thor." Selvig whispered gravelly. "Loki's gone."

~*~For anyone wondering, Sherlock and John do show up eventually. In a couple chapters. Call it enticement to keep you guys reading.
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