"You will be provided with an office, not a cell. I want to keep things strictly professional, and you know how I feel about cutting corners and not doing things exactly as they were meant to be."

Loki kept a poker face as he and Thor were escorted down the halls of Dr. Reese's facility. He stayed silent, letting the woman speak. It wasn't until they had reached the "office" that he spoke.

"What do you want, Reese?"

She smiled calmly.

"For you to fulfill your end of our bargain."

She left him in the office to mull over her words and fill in a very confused Thor.

The two brothers didn't say a word to each other for a long time. It took Thor accidentally knocking a vase off of the table and shattering it for them to start up a conversation.

"What is going on, brother?" Thor questioned.

The younger asgardian sighed.

"The woman who spoke to use is Dr. Pamela Reese. She created this facility, and many more like it scattered across the globe. She runs an organization called H.O.P.E. that 'protects' the people of Midgard from other-worldly threats, much like S.H.I.E.L.D., except for the fact that they are pretty much rival organizations. Before I...fell into the abyss...I had taken several trips to this planet. During one of these trips, I had a near-death experience with a highly intelligent monster called Gallwings that had escaped from Muspelheim. Dr. Pamela sent troops to rescue me and destroy the monster. Supposedly, this was because she saw me as a valuable asset to her organization. I was critically injured, and I was nursed back to health by her specialists. I made the trip back to Asgard shortly after."

Thor sat down in one of the swivel chairs at the table in the small room.

"Well if she was so nice to you, then why did she attack the warehouse?"

Loki sighed.

"When she healed me, she said that it came at a price. That price was becoming an agent of H.O.P.E. since she'd marked me off as a being of extreme power. I denied her offer, because I had discovered that her motives within the organization went deeper than the motto printed on their pamphlet, and that her plans were much more sinister. She was gathering people like me to brainwash and use create her own strike force. With us, she would be unstoppable. When she learned of my decision to leave, the psychopath sent agents to force me to comply. They hunted me down, and I barely escaped. You were on Alfheim at the time with Lady Sif and the Warriors Three."

Loki stared at his black leather boots, not daring to meet Thor's eyes.

"If you were critically injured, then why did you seem normal when you arrived back on Asgard?"

Loki uncomfortably pulled back his armor to reveal three long jagged lines parallel to each other on his shoulder blade. The lines were raised slightly and paler than the rest of his skin, standing out against the other scars he had.

"I didn't go unscathed, brother. Unfortunately, my magic could only heal so much of me when I got to Asgard, so the scar remained."

Thor nodded, unsure of what to say. Luckily, he didn't have to worry for much longer, because the sound of clicking heels announced Dr. Pamela Reese's arrival.

"I trust that the accommodations meet your approval."

Loki gave her the same scowl he'd given her during the infiltration of the warehouse.

"Go to hel, Reese."

She smiled calmly.

"Been there, done that. Oh, and you can call me Pam."

Loki glared daggers at her, irritated by her unwavering mask of calm.

"I'd rather not, Reese."

Her eye twitched for a moment, the only indication that she actually had a reaction to what he said.

Loki gasped as she pulled a long sword from behind her back, it's blade glinting in the harsh unnatural light.

"This is a beautiful sword. The blade of a Valkyrie, yes?"

The trickster lunged forward, prepared to attack the woman, but was immediately pulled away by Thor. The blonde grabbed each of Loki's arms and held them behind his back as he struggled and snarled.

"What have you done to her?! Where is Brunnhilde?! I swear if you so much as lay a finger on her-"

"Relax, Laufeyson. I left her unconscious at the warehouse. I only need the two of you."

Loki shrugged Thor off and crossed his arms over his chest, never taking his eyes off of the sword.

"I'm not going to join your little club, Reese, so let us go, and you can find someone else."

She sighed, tracing the sparkling blade.

"Fine. And here I thought I was being generous. If you're not going to cooperate, then obviously this will take some....persuasion."

She signaled for the guards at the door to come and drag the two Asgardians off. They were dragged down the hallway roughly, struggling as much as the soldiers' iron grip would allow.

This time, they were thrown into an actual cell. It was dark, and the entire room was like a small concrete box with no view of the outside world.

Loki sat down next to Thor on the concrete bench and put his head in his hands.

"Im sorry. This is my fault. I thought I could reason with her, but now we are imprisoned here because of me."

Thor tentatively placed his hand on the small of Loki's back.

"Do not worry, brother. I'm sure that everything will work out eventually. Try and get some rest. You can't think straight when you're deprived of sleep."

The younger brother nodded and laid down on the bench, his raven hair spilled out around him. Thor went and sat on the bench opposite of him, watching him fall asleep. The slow rise and fall of Loki's chest became almost hypnotic, and soon, Thor found himself falling asleep too, unaware of his brother's dream.
***
Loki walked through the green field, recognizing it immediately. On the other side of it was Odin, standing by the sea like he had on the day of his death.

"Loki." Odin acknowledged.

Loki stood next to him, confused.

"Father? Why are we here?"

The Allfather let out a long sigh, turning to face his son.

"I wish to talk one last time with you, my son. I fear that in recent years, I have failed you as a father. I wanted to apologize and give you a chance to speak."

The trickster looked shocked as he heard this.

"I don't know what to say."

Odin smiles softly.

"That's alright, because I have plenty to say. I want to start with apologizing for keeping your true parentage from you. That was wrong of me, and I know that nothing I say now will make up for how I treated you, but I will not be at peace until I make amends."

Loki was silent, waiting for him to continue.

"My behavior during your return to Asgard after you fell was....less than honorable. I did not treat you like my son, and I denied you the chance to see your mother."

A tear rolled down Loki's cheek as he was reminded of Frigga.

"I couldn't even come to the funeral, though that was fault anyway."

Odin shook his head.

"No. That was not your fault. It was the least I could do to allow you to come, but in my grief, I didn't want anything to do with you. You should have had a fair trial, but I was not aware of Thanos' influence over you. Heed my words, Loki. He will not stop until he has his revenge for your failure to bring him the tesseract."

The god of mischief finally met his father's eye.

"Why did you let me rule over Asgard for two full years? You could have come back at any given time and made my life a living hel."

The old man chuckled softly, light returning to his sorrowful expression.

"Well to fully understand that, you must put two and two together."

Loki still didn't understand.

"My son, it was my way of making things right. You spent two years in the dungeons, so I gave you two years to rule over a kingdom that had been promised to you since you were old enough to comprehend the meaning of being a king. Once again, I know that it doesn't make up for the past, but I have tried as best as I can to right my wrongs. I understand if you don't want to accept my apology, but just know that I want both you and Thor to be happy. I love you, Loki. Never forget that. Goodbye."
***
Loki awoke with tears streaming down his face, sitting bolt upright as he tried to remember how to breathe.

"Loki? Are you alright?" Thor questioned.

He nodded, having trouble with giving Thor a response.

A loud clanging suddenly resounded through the hall.

Thor stood up, fear in his eye.

"Someone is here."