Chapter Text
The brightness of the prison cell dazzled Thor's eyes after the dimness of the corridors leading down into the cellar. Although he agreed that Loki should not be left unobserved to work tricks in the shadows, he was not comfortable with the design of the cell or the unrelenting light that poured into it. Cold and diffuse, it cast no shadows and it felt like madness simply to look in on its featureless white walls.
Thor could not imagine living in it.
Loki paced the chamber as he had done on every occasion Thor chanced to see him, examining every detail of the cell as though he hoped he could find some way out if it. He might, Thor had to admit. Loki was very clever. Even so, Thor thought it impossible. The windowed walls, bright light, and sparse furnishings made it impossible to hide. The wards on the prison made magic useless and prevented any that did not wear a mark of permission from passing.
The torch Thor carried to find his way through the corridors flickered, disturbing the darkness outside of the cell, and drew Loki's attention. He did not immediately come over to the partition, but glanced in its direction and then returned to his pondering until Thor chanced to speak.
"Brother," Thor said. He knew the cell was permeable to air and to sound although he was not certain how it functioned. He was not among those who built it.
Loki ignored him a few moments more before coming to stand before the window.
"Hello, Thor," he said simply with no inflection, no suggestion of either love or hate. "Come to feed the animals?"
"Do not say such things, brother," Thor said. "I do not think of you so."
He was sincere although it was difficult to keep the edge of anger from his voice. When he had come to New York to retrieve Loki, who had let himself fall from the Bifrost and into the void, he was prepared to forgive his brother anything. But after seeing the terrible and vicious devastation of which Loki was capable, Thor no longer knew what to think. Certainly the brother he once knew – capricious, but ultimately good -– seemed to have burned away, replaced by something cold and alien. He tried to convince himself that the Tesseract had won influence over Loki, but, even if this proved to be true, Thor knew that the artifact could do naught but amplify what already festered in one's heart.
The dilemma tore Thor to pieces, but now was not the time for sentiment and wishful thinking. Now there was a threat that needed to be neutralized.
"Oh?" Loki said, watching him with the same cold intensity he might give an unusual insect. "I don't imagine you've come to let me out then?"
"Of course not," Thor replied although he was forced to look away – however briefly – from that gaze. "Your punishment is of your own making, Loki. I may not countermand it. I am here to clean up the last of your foolish attack on Midgard. There is an infection in the city, one both magical and technological. It feeds as a parasite on the…the networks of Midgard…"
Thor tried valiantly to remember the details of Iron Man's, rather Tony Stark's, description, but he lacked the understanding necessary to truly describe the situation. Fortunately for his narrative abilities, Loki did not seem to care.
"And what makes you think I will help you with this?" Loki said. "As far as I'm concerned, Midgard can drown in parasites."
"Do not misunderstand me, brother," Thor said. "I am not asking your assistance. I am accusing you of being responsible and telling you to reveal how it was done and how the damage may be repaired."
"You're wasting your time. I don't know anything about it."
"It is you or the Chitauri, brother," Thor insisted, "and you are the only one I know of skilled in magic and observant enough to learn of these Midgardian networks."
"Or it is something that is neither I nor the Chitauri," Loki said, "and it simply took its chance and infected Migard when the portal was open. Or perhaps it is a residue from the Tesseract itself. Perhaps it is something entirely unrelated. Have you considered that?"
Thor placed his hand on Mjölnir's handle and tightened his grip. "So help me, brother, if you do not tell me what this plague is, I will…"
"You will what?" Loki challenged. "Beat me until I do? Then come along and bring a casket. Although I rejoice in it, I do not know what plagues your precious Midgard and will be dead long before your methods of 'persuasion' rouse my memory!"
At this, Thor relaxed a little. Although Loki's word was not to be trusted, an edge of fear had crept into his voice. He knew Thor's power well and the sort of devastation it could wreak. He would have at least admitted to the crime if he felt it would save him pain; to be resigned and anxious was a sign that, as far as his ignorance was concerned, Loki was telling the truth.
"How, then, to be rid of such a vile thing?" Thor mused aloud.
He had not intended to put the question to his brother, but relief at the thought of escaping violence seemed to have loosened Loki's tongue where direct threats could not.
"I know not what it is, but if it exists in many forms or feeds on many types of energy, it is perhaps something beyond the understanding of the Nine Realms. It might need to be expelled or unmade."
"Unmade?"
"Yes, unmade," Loki said irritably. "Torn from existence by… Oh, forget it, Thor. Unmaking is dangerous and the providence of certain gods and events. There is no such being in the Nine Realms. Tell that thrice-damned Stark to find a way to expel it and leave me be."
Thor silently paced the outside of the cell. Something about unmaking nagged at his memory. Loki had mentioned it once before when…
"But there is an unmaker outside of the Nine Realms," Thor said slowly as the memories filtered back in through the years. "You mentioned… Your lady in red!"
Loki's expression went blank and then transformed slowly into a look of horror. His eyes widened. His nostrils flared. He slammed his fists against the partition.
"No, Thor!" he snapped, as much a plea as a command.
"Yes, I recall. You dallied once with a goddess who traveled north to the Middling Sea even as we had traveled south. I remember her well. She had dusky skin and a quick mind; you thought her novel. She dwelt in the spaces alongside the Nine Realms. She, too, had a brother and you joked…"
"Thor…"
"You joked that you were of a kind for your brothers 'thundered in the sky'. You used those words exactly."
"Thor, no."
"She did not think it funny," Thor recalled. "You stopped your jokes and wooed her with gifts and kindness. She was much older than you, brother. The warriors were all very impressed…"
"Indeed. My sexual exploits are legendary," Loki said, his words dripping milk and honey. "We should speak of those instead. Good times and the stuff good dreams are made of…"
"Her brother was an unmaker."
"Damn it, Thor!" Loki snapped. "What do I have to say to draw you from this line of thought?"
"I only wished to confirm that it was so. I believe your reaction speaks for you."
"It does. It says you are a lack-wit cow," Loki said. "There are gods you do not wish to deal with."
"The River People are quite practical," Thor said. "They will do favours for payment if all formalities are correctly met."
Loki scowled. "If you believe that, Thor, you will soon discover that there are creatures more dangerous and treacherous than I. Would you see the Nine Realms turned to dust for the sake of your little Midgardian parasite?"
"I love you, brother, but you are a liar and a cheat and you protest too much."
"Is that all it takes?" Loki said. He sounded desperate now. "Very well. Thor, I think the idea is brilliant. I think you should march into the in-between spaces, confront the unmaker, and bring him into Midgard to delouse its networks. It is a fine plan without any possibility of his double-crossing you and disintegrating the universe."
"Now you simply sound foolish," Thor said. "In any event, it is not my place to decide. It is merely one suggestion among many that I will put forth to Stark and Banner, who are looking into the matter. I will be sure to stress the dangers. It is not a course of action I wish to encourage, but all angles must be considered. I thank you, brother."
"Thor!" Loki shouted as Thor turned back the way he had come. "Don't come back here when it all falls apart! Don't say I didn't warn you! Thor!"
But Thor did not look back as he made his way through the corridors and left the cell behind him.