'How could you even contemplate such a thing? To take advantage of our mourning? You selfish swine, a right -'

'Thor! Listen for a moment more, please.'

'No,' Thor said through gritted teeth. Before Loki could utter another word, Thor stormed out, his shoulders shaking with fury.

Loki had anticipated the conversation would go poorly, and it had. He hadn't even finished recounting how he had ambushed their father, assumed his identity and stranded him on Midgard. Nevertheless, Thor's abrupt departure stung as vividly as a physical blow would have.

'What a wonderful night this turned out to be,' Loki muttered under his breath.

There was no sense in following Thor while he was in a mood this foul, it would only bait his anger. Nor was Loki certain he dared to.

Really, he had no idea what he was supposed to do with himself now. It was still the middle of the night and he could trudge back to their cabin - it was unlikely Thor would have returned there. Yet there seemed no point to moving so much as an inch. He wasn't foolish enough to think that he would be able to fall asleep.

On the other hand, there was something pathetic about sitting here, in a dusty room no more than six paces across, and peering at the slate-grey walls. He was even still slumped in the same chair Thor had shoved him into earlier. Loki supposed one answer was to head over to the laboratory and make use of what equipment had survived his tantrum the other day. He could tinker about with a mock-up of a detection system intended to alert SHIELD to Ebony Maw's return, but realistically, Loki doubted he would be of any use on that front at this moment. His brain felt like it was stuffed with wool.

Loki rubbed his eyes and turned his wheeled chair in a slow semi-circle. There was one place he would have liked to be. His mother's gardens would be lovely at this hour, their paths devoid of all distraction and the air heady with the scent of flowering jasmine. Perhaps his mother would be there too and they would talk. Not of Loki's many misdeeds or even what the future might hold, but of ordinary things. Of the spells Loki might explore, of the tulips Frigga thought to plant next spring and of a dozen trivial things that became the subject of involved conversations within a family.

Of course, such an occasion might be an empty dream now. Thor wouldn't keep what Loki had told him to himself and their mother could well react to the revelations as positively as Thor had. Or Thor could banish Loki from the Nine Realms altogether; it was perfectly within his power to do so.

'Mr Odinson?' Loki turned his chair around until he was face to face with the speaker - the same guard who had demanded Loki's name on the way to Gamora's cell. Rather more bleary-eyed now, he had half his body-weight resting on the handle of the surveillance room door. 'The prisoner wants to speak to you.'

Really? Perhaps this night isn't a total loss just yet.

Thor had turned off the monitors earlier and neither brother had bothered to touch them since. Loki turned the nearest one back on. He found Gamora pacing the width of her cell, occasionally muttering something too softly for the microphones to pick up.

'Did she say what she wants me for?' Upon receiving a despairing shake of a head from the guard, he went on. 'I'll best get back in there then.'

'Your authorisation was for one-time access only. Agent Coulson would have to re-approve you,' the guard replied.

'Surely Coulson would be asleep at this hour.'

The guard's expression was unsympathetic. 'What would you like to do then, sir?'

'Oh, for...' Loki tugged at the cuffs of his coat; right now he was long past caring about tiptoeing around SHIELD. 'Just call him up and tell him what you told me. Whatever happens after that, happens.'

The guard slunk away and either Coulson hadn't been asleep or he was quick on his feet when woken, because he charged into the surveillance room minutes later. He had changed his standard business suit for a white, short-sleeved shirt and a pair of navy track pants, but his hair was as neat as Loki had ever seen it.

'What are you up to now?' Coulson asked. By the speed with which he had burst into the room and the hint of a flush across his cheekbones, Loki guessed the guard's call had left him irate, but Coulson hadn't raised his voice. After dealing with Thor, it was a welcome change. 'The security team are asking me to re-authorise you to speak with the prisoner. Odd, considering I never gave such an authorisation in the first place, let alone for you to speak with her alone.'

Loki raised an eyebrow. 'Must've been a miscommunication somewhere. Does it matter now? I'm rather more interested in what she has to say to me. I'm sure you feel the same.'

Judging by Coulson's expression that wasn't what the man had wanted to hear. Fortunately for Loki, it was also the undeniable truth. Coulson sighed and motioned to Loki to follow him.

Gamora's eyes flickered to Coulson as he and Loki walked in. 'I've don't want him here.'

'You're a prisoner and I'm a guest here. We both need to humour our hosts,' Loki replied as Coulson stopped on the edge of the gangway to the cell and crossed his arms. 'Well, what did you want with me?'

'Where did Thanos and I go before he killed me? Do you know the name of the place?' she asked.

Coulson offered up an uncertain grumble; Loki ignored him. This was a decisive point and he couldn't focus on explaining the basics to the Midgardians right now. Loki tapped his fingers across the cell's curved wall. 'Vormir. That's what your sister told those who survived, once she and Stark found their way off Titan.'

Gamora swore under the breath, then repeated the profanity more loudly.

'Does that name already mean something to you?' Loki asked.

She furrowed her brows and her jaw quivered for a moment before she forced out a response. 'You shouldn't know that. I never told anyone and made sure no one else could follow the trail.'

'You believe me then?'

'Yes.'

Loki was careful not to look pleased. This was a difficult moment for Gamora, he didn't want to put her off by looking like he enjoyed getting what he wanted from her, although he was quite satisfied with the development. 'And you'll help us?'

'I...' Gamora clenched her eyes shut and when she opened them again her eyes were watering. 'I think I must.'

'Thank you,' Loki replied. He was about to go on, but Coulson coughed. Loki pulled himself back against the guardrail of the gangway so he had some chance of looking both at Gamora and at Coulson at once. 'Don't look so forlorn, Agent Coulson, we've just found ourselves an ally.'

Coulson smiled, that same vapid smile Loki had come to detest in the man. 'Oh, I rejoice at these news, but I'd like to know the reason for this abrupt change of heart.'

'He doesn't know?' Gamora asked.

'This planet is still coming to terms with the knowledge that there is intelligent life elsewhere in the universe. I didn't want to overwhelm them,' Loki smoothly lied through his teeth. It wasn't a necessary lie, but he liked how this explanation sounded. He tried to focus on his next step, at least until Thor stormed back in and demanded to know the rest of the story. 'Gamora, start thinking of ways we can deal with Thanos. I'll brief Agent Coulson on where we're at.'

Or rather, make him watch the surveillance tapes. I've explained myself twice tonight, I'm not doing it the third time.

----------------------------------------

Loki did end up explaining himself again, and not just to Coulson, but to Stark, Rogers and Romanoff as well. In their typical pedantic Midgardian fashion, they wanted to know every detail, no matter how irrelevant. The meeting room Coulson had corralled them into had no windows, but Loki was sure that he if were to step outside, he would find the helicarrier bathed in bright sunlight.

'You're taking this well,' Loki remarked when silence finally fell in the room and everyone eyed off the plate of pastries positioned in the centre of the conference table. 'Better than I thought you would.'

Between the four Midgardians, who were spread along the sides of the broad table, it was difficult to decide which of them looked the most incredulous at that comment. But it was of course Stark, who was the first to form a reply.

'The man beside me was in deep freeze for half a century. You're a space wizard, last week we had a delightful time meeting a local wizard. Time travel, sure, why the hell not?' he said, playing with the edge of the bandage that kept two of his broken fingers in place while the bones healed. He cocked his head. 'Don't suppose you remember who wins the next World Series? Or the Kentucky Derby?'

'Is Stark Industries in financial trouble? Should I sell off my stock?' Romanoff asked. There were stitches in her cheek, which restricted the movement in her facial muscles and left her words slightly mumbled. This was actually the first time Loki had seen her since Switzerland and in his opinion, she belonged back in the medbay.

Stark flashed her a grin. 'I just want to know who's going to host the best party.'

'I should've guessed,' Romanoff replied. 'Two somewhat more pertinent questions, Loki. Why tell us this now? I gather this is the information you didn't want to share with us lest it get back to Thanos. And where's your brother?'

'He didn't take the news as lightly as you did.'

Keen to avoid their sympathetic looks, Loki glanced down and pulled his coat forward until the garment covered more of his torso. Between Gamora, Thor, Coulson, and Coulson calling in every Avenger that could be found, Loki hadn't had the chance to return to his cabin and dress himself properly. Missing half the layers he usually wore left him feeling uncomfortably exposed.

'Loki?' Coulson pressed.

'Right.' Loki cleared his throat. 'I didn't answer the other question. Ebony Maw would've returned to Thanos by now, which means Thanos has been informed that I know more than I told him. He's coming for me already, the particulars of why are less relevant. On the other hand, Gamora is the way to even our odds. But I could hardly talk to her without having to provide an explanation to you all as well - how else would she or I explain her change of allegiances?'

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Rogers reached across the table and grabbed a tart off the plate. Loki wasn't sure if it had been Coulson's demand or some junior agent eager to earn a pat on the back, but the pastries and a large thermos with freshly brewed coffee had been delivered to the room. For a good quarter of an hour, no one had touched either the plate of pastries or the coffee thermos, but Rogers had broken some unspoken agreement between the Midgardians. Seconds later, Romanoff and Coulson had poured out cups of coffee for everyone, while Stark pulled the plate closer to himself and was examining his options.

Midgardians have got to be the most confounding species in the universe.

'Can we persuade Tyr to help us too?' Rogers asked between small bites; he was careful not to spill crumbs on the table.

'Not a chance. If he hears what I did the first time around, he will consider it a confirmation of every vile thought he ever had about me.'

Coulson stirred sugar into his cup. 'Thanos' atrocities do rather drown out yours.'

'Tyr seems like a pro-genocide kind of guy,' Stark jumped in before Loki could respond. He finally settled on a cinnamon doughnut and pushed the plate away from him. 'And how much use is he really? From an intel perspective, the man can't know half as much as Gamora; he wasn't around our Big Bad as long. Physically? He's kind of old. Plus Loki and the Cap did a solid job on him.'

'With regards to Tyr, it is more or less as Stark outlined,' Loki admitted.

'Phil, bring her in,' Romanoff said. 'At the least, we should hear out what she has to say. This time travel business is very dramatic, but it's less pressing right now than the chance Earth might be the subject of another alien incursion.'

'Quite true. Hang around here for a while, ok?' Coulson grabbed his coffee and headed out, leaving Loki and the rest of the Midgardians with nothing to do except to pick at their breakfast.

Loki was on his second almond croissant when he heard the familiar thunder of heavy footsteps, but the sound cut off abruptly a few moments later. He set down his food and waited for the door to swing open. It didn't. Frowning, Loki excused himself and slipped out of the room.

Thor stood three paces from the doorway, a small branch tangled in his hair and Mjolnir's strap clenched so tight the leather was digging into the back of Thor's hand.

'Been flying?' Loki said, motioning towards the mess in Thor's hair. He didn't want to reopen the conversation between them with banalities, but his mind refused to offer him any more graceful openings.

Thor made a non-committal grunt, then went on. 'I just saw Coulson, he said you were all in there.'

'So why are you out here?'

Not that I can't guess.

'Didn't want to be around you,' Thor replied. 'I tried to see it from your perspective and perhaps you were hard done by, but so are other people. You nearly killed me. You helped Asgard's enemies bring down our defences. You made use of my grief and our father's to your advantage. Are you now asking me to put that aside?'

Loki felt all warmth drain from his face. He had the beginnings of twenty responses on his tongue and the endings to none of them. Back then, the other Thor - his Thor, he had forgiven Loki. But that Thor wasn't this Thor. This Thor hadn't witnessed those events firsthand. His brush with captivity and his kingly responsibility had forced him to mature over the past year, but he remained younger and less experienced. And less forgiving of Loki's trespasses.

This is the price that must be paid for meddling with time.

'I told you what you demanded I tell you,' Loki replied, and hated himself for how stiff and unnatural his words sounded. 'What you do with this information is up to you. Yet it doesn't change our current circumstances, does it? Thanos is still out there and still a threat. We need to find a way to be rid of him; I don't think that requires you to -'

'Do you ever stop talking?' Thor pushed past, ramming hard into Loki's shoulder and strode into the conference room.

----------------------------------------

A lone custard tart sat in the middle of the plate and the thermos stood empty. Loki waited for Thor or Stark to make a grab for the remaining tart, but both men were preoccupied. Thor had made sure to position himself as far away from his brother as possible and now glared at Loki from across the room. Stark's attention, on the other hand, was narrowed on SHIELD's prized captive.

Coulson nudged Gamora into a chair at the head of the table. With an irritated sigh, she brought up her shackled hands to rest on the smooth tabletop. These were restraints Thor had brought over from Asgard - the lock was impossible to pick and they were enchanted to leave vicious burns should the wearer move too quickly. In Loki's opinion, they were more than adequate to contain Gamora, but SHIELD had their own thoughts on the subject. Before the door swung shut behind Coulson, Loki spotted a dozen men on alert out in the corridor.

'You say you're willing to talk to us now,' Coulson began testily.

Gamora turned her head sharply to look at him; he hadn't taken a seat and instead hovered at her shoulder. 'I am.'

'Do you know where Thanos is?' Loki asked, speaking quickly so that he could get his question in before anyone else in the room.

'Not precisely now, I haven't been in touch with him for...' Gamora's eyebrows drew together. 'For however many days it has been since you took me. He was approaching Outer Tanaj Territory at the time and I expect he will have reached the Tanaj Sector proper by now.'

The name Tanaj meant very little to Loki. He had heard it mentioned in passing a couple of times while in the Sanctuary, but never learned any detail about the planets that sector contained nor met anyone from there. There was no chance the Midgardians knew any more than he did, although they made their best effort to look like they were following Gamora's words.

Loki pressed on with the questioning. 'Is he in the middle of another invasion?'

'He's bringing reinforcements to Proxima Midnight's forces. I haven't followed the situation reports coming back closely, but from what I've heard, I think our... Thanos' troops are over-stretched in that campaign. They met more formidable resistance than anticipated in Tanaj and Corvus Glaive's two armies are still entrenched in Anelaxu. He had some setbacks recently as well.'

Is that Brunnhilde's doing? The operational plans for the subjugation of the Anelaxi were definitely among the documents she stole from the Palisade.

'It does sound like Thanos' forces are over-stretched,' Rogers said. 'Is there a chance he's likely to hold off on an assault on Earth?'

Gamora shook her head. 'Ebony Maw and I already committed to taking this planet; contingents were held in reserve for us. And when you consider what the Maw learned from Loki's mind, I don't believe there's any chance they'd be reassigned. In fact, it's more likely Thanos will call back forces he has out in the field elsewhere and recommit them to this planet.'

'And then there's the problem of the space stone,' Loki added.

'Exactly. This is an advantage Thanos didn't possess 'til now. It won't take them long to set up the stone so they can open a stable wormhole and that will make Thanos' armed contingents the most mobile in the universe. You might've bought this planet a few days or a couple of weeks, nothing more.'

Colour faded from the faces of the Midgardians and even Loki found himself taken aback by Gamora's words. He had known as much, certainly, but she phrased the capabilities the infinity stone offered the Titan and Midgard's resulting vulnerability in blunter terms than Loki himself liked to characterise it.

'We closed Loki's wormhole back in his original time-line,' Stark said.

'This won't be the same,' Loki responded. 'I opened that wormhole in New York, with the device powering it set up atop your own skyscraper. It's easy to shut down a device when it's accessible. Thanos will open the wormhole from his side - that is from whichever obscure galaxy he happens to be in. That means every soldier, every cannon and every ship he is going to send towards this planet will be between you and the space stone.'

Stark huffed. 'We're fucked then. That's what you and Gamora are saying, right?'

Yes. Definitely, yes.

'Not if Thanos' troops never reach Midgard,' Loki said.

'Can we ally with any of these places he's invading, form a coalition?' Coulson asked. 'How far away is Tanaj territory?'

Gamora offered him a condescending look, then her eyes flickered to Romanoff and Stark, whose injuries from the battle in Switzerland remained impossible to miss. 'Tanaj is many more light years away than your little ships will travel over the entire lifespan of your species. Nor am I clear on what your planet might have to offer as a coalition partner.'

'Forget the distance for now,' Thor replied. It was the first thing he had uttered since he'd stepped into the room. Loki was in fact surprised he was following the conversation at all. While everyone else focused on Gamora, he seemed unable to shift his gaze away from Loki for more than a few seconds at a time. 'The distance is unimportant. You know Thanos well, how would you kill him?'

The natural green of Gamora's skin turned dusky and Loki threw his brother a reproachful look. The fool clearly didn't understand that there was a big difference between deciding to co-operate with your former enemies and deciding to murder the man who had raised you. The move from acceptance of the former to the latter wasn't a process of an idle hour. Yet, Loki too was curious to hear Gamora's answer. He had spent some time contemplating the very same act. Maybe there was something obvious he had missed, like Thanos being deathly allergic to cashews.

Gamora replied after a long pause and reluctantly. 'Planting explosives in his bedroom would've worked, but he's become more careful, verging on paranoid, after the Palisade was destroyed. Everything is searched now, I don't think the same idea has a chance of working anymore.'

'All right, to sum up,' Romanoff said. 'A battle on Earth is a losing proposition, we must come out and make our strike, not play defence. We know also that Thanos isn't an easy target - powerful physically and aware that he could be targeted. Think, Gamora, how do you get the man to drop his guard?'

'Does he trust you?' Coulson asked. He must have tired of being up on his feet, because he reached for the closer of the two remaining chairs in the room and sank into it.

'I won't be able to get you aboard his ship without being noticed, if that's what you're asking.' Gamora lifted up her shackled hands and used the handcuffs to rub her forehead. 'You know, Loki, I thought you had some plan when I agreed to help you. This is just a discussion about how we're all going to get ourselves killed.'

'More exciting than sitting in that cell though, isn't it?' Loki replied dryly.

'Not really.'

Stark and Romanoff chuckled at Gamora's reply, but Thor just jerked his chair back. 'You'll all get yourself killed, I won't,' he proclaimed. 'Gamora and I will go to meet Thanos. It'll be like what we discussed earlier, after San Francisco. I'll pretend I am eager to hear what he has to offer me and as tribute, I will offer him Gamora - a prisoner of the Midgardians whom I rescued. We'll talk terms and when he's not expecting it, I will kill him.'

'And the two of you will go alone?' Rogers said. 'No, too risky.'

'Don't underestimate my strength,' Thor grumbled.

It was a risky plan, outright reckless in fact, but even if Thor's plan was driven by his present foul mood, Loki had an inkling that there was a grain of a workable strategy in there. As much as it was uncouth denigrate to one's allies, the bulk of the Midgardians would be a hindrance and not a help.

Both Romanoff and Stark were walking invalids after a skirmish on Midgard. Banner? He'd gone head to head with Thanos back on the Statesman and lost without Thanos having to resort to using the infinity stones in his possession. There were the weapons SHIELD had developed by harnessing the Tesseract's power and Coulson was no doubt contemplating using right about now. But they weren't superior to weaponry that could be found elsewhere in the universe and easily accessible to Thanos' troops.

Out of everyone and everything Midgard could offer, only Rogers and the Ancient One might be a help. Except, Loki had no idea how their intrusion could be hidden if Thanos' security was as solid as Gamora claimed it was. Besides, Ebony Maw had noticed when Loki made use of his magic. He was certain to feel and immediately recognise the magic the Sorcerer Supreme relied on.

'I'll go with you,' Loki said. 'You can't take Thanos on alone.'

Thor's jaw clenched momentarily and as he spoke he seemed to be on the verge of launching over the table to tackle Loki. 'Why would we want you there? You've said it yourself, more than once, the knowledge you possess is the only thing Thanos needs to make himself master of all. So come out with it, what game are you playing now?'

'I too have an infinity stone. Have you forgotten that?'

'And what if he takes it back? You'll be right there!'

Coulson started to say something, but Loki cut him off. 'Then kill me! We've had this conversation before, Thor!'

Loki's raised tone left the walls reverberating and when the vibrations faded, the silence in the room left most of the occupants physically squirming. Only Loki and Gamora seemed immune to the tension. She cocked her head, looking at him appraisingly.

'How do you plan to justify your presence to Thanos?' she asked. 'He might welcome me back, in his own way, and Thor, but you'll be delivered to the interrogators right away. What use would that be?'

'You're staying here. I'm going to pretend to be you,' Loki replied. He clicked his fingers together and turned into a mirror image of Gamora, sans the shackles of course. Ignoring the mixed reactions from his audience, he went on. 'Pardon, my frankness here, Gamora. It's not that I suspect you might have second-thoughts and sell-out my dear brother. It's more that you're not reputed to be a great liar. Nebula reported that Thanos knew all along you'd lied to him about the soul stone; he merely waited until he needed to extract the information out of you. I'm a little more practised when it comes to lying about anything and everything in existence.'