Mischief on Midgard

Banishment

The events following the Chitauri attack on New York were by no means an easy time for Thor to go through despite the pyrrhic victory. And it was such a victory for him if not for the rest of the Avengers.

Loki, his only brother, had done unforgivable things. Loki had lied to him. Had tricked him. Had attacked both himself and his, their, friends; Sif and the Warriors Three. All for his own selfish ends.

And then...

Then he had let go at the Rainbow bridge. Loki. Thor had thought his brother had been lost him. For an entire year that image had been burned into Thor's skull; Loki dangling from his staff, Thor holding said staff and Odin himself holding onto Thor's leg. Thor could to nothing but yell and plead, all else forgotten in that moment. He'd been too scared of the thought of Loki falling. Of his grip slipping from the staff. Of losing his only brother. Thor had seen the darkness flit across his brother's face. Had begged him, 'Loki No!'... but then all of Thor's worst fears had been realized. Loki let go. He let go and vanished down into the nothingness of dark space. Gone. In an instant, gone. And he was helpless in the face of it. Thor had yelled. He had screamed and cried. It had taken several people to finally calm him down, each telling him it wasn't his fault and that there was nothing he could have done. Thor had to accept the fact that he was never going to see his brother again.

Then news had come. Surprising news! Loki was alive. He was, against all odds, alive! Hope had blossomed within Thor's chest. Perhaps it wasn't too late! Perhaps they could still figure things out. As brothers. As a family!

But the Loki which had met him... was not the brother he had known. His eyes had been distant and cold. His words were sinister. Worse yet, he seemed to truly be enjoying himself as he caused havoc on Midgard.

His brother had acted like an animal, a caged beast that had finally been freed from its' leash. A wild animal that was finally allowed to just be. Loki had reveled in showing off his power and abilities. Had adored the fact that there was no one he had to appease, not even the All-father himself. Had so obviously loved it when his words had cut through Thor and hurt him, filling him with despair.

Even now, as Thor dragged Loki back with him to Asgard in chains, Loki didn't seem intent on showing that he'd had a change of heart. No remorse was visible in his eyes. In fact, he looked as if he was amused by the proceedings more than anything else. As if all of this was some sort of game to him.

It's not as if he could talk to his brother just then. Not until he was safely ensconced in his cell. Thor had elected to place a muzzle on his brother to silence his words, given that the dark-haired male simply hadn't stopped trying to cause doubts in the ranks of the Avengers around him. Even with his hands and feet bound, his tongue had still been fast at work. Mocking, taunting, baiting and chuckling as if he knew some dark secret no one else did until Thor finally had enough and just slapped the damned thing over his mouth.

He needed to return Loki to Asgard alive and whole. His brother pissing off the other Avengers wasn't helping him reach that goal.

As they reached the holding cells, Thor could finally remove the muzzle. He had honestly expected Loki to speak at once, something cruel and cold. Instead his younger brother had simply settled on glaring at Thor as he guided his brother into the cell. The silence dragged on, Loki's hands bound in front of him, his eyes burning with anger and yet... he remained silent.

"Brother..." Thor started hesitantly and then shoved said wariness aside to speak the words he needed to say. "Please! I beg of thee! Will you not show any signs of regret? You know as well as I that Odin will be merciful, if you just atone! Search your soul brother, please."