Chapter Text
I do not own The Avengers; I do not own the character of Loki, or any of the other characters I have so much fun writing. This work is purely for my own enjoyment, and not for any pecuniary benefit.
It is pure comedy, is what it is: Those handcuffs that Thor brought out so officiously, were they just for this? The gag, that wonderful gag that was supposed to stop him speaking the Words of Power. Was it really meant to have so short a use? He heard the voices when he returned to Asgard, he'd have had to be deaf not to: “The traitor Loki...” “He's the one...” “He attacked...” “Destroyed the Bifrost... led an army against Midgard... killed Laufey in his father's very presence...” Was there really no one else who expected a punishment worthy of such heinous crimes? By Odin's beard, Thor was stricken of his powers and banished to Midgard for starting one small war, and he, Loki, is to get off so easily?
Loki stands before the All-Father: Odin, thunderous with disapproval; Thor with that look he's always gotten on his face when his brother gets in trouble, the half-protective, half-disapproving one. He of course, stands on the carpet below the throne with his head bowed, bound, gagged, the picture of crime, brought to justice.
“Loki, your crimes are many.” Odin sounds older than he once did. He sounds a little weak, a little... – How would you say it? A little tired maybe? He sounds like his last Odin-sleep, the one when Loki so signally failed to get Thor disinherited, is beginning to wear off. He needs an Odin-nap perhaps. “And yet,” the old man says, “you are my son. I would not cast you off without opportunity for reformation.”
Reformation, blah blah. Odin plays his role as the stern judge, and Loki, what is his role? He flicks a quick, green glance toward the old man. There's rebellion in those green eyes, that's what the onlookers will say. Thor clears his throat, a rough, disapproving sound. He knows his part: One brother must rise, as the other brother goes down. There are murmurs. The audience approves. They crowd around to see the traitor punished, to watch the war-criminal be properly shamed.
And then Odin speaks again. “I sentence you to house arrest. You will be confined to your quarters and a seal set upon them to prevent your escape, until such time as you have shown repentance.”
“Ha! You are not my father. You have no authority over me, old man!” Oh, he has the words of defiance all ready. They're in his mouth. – Curse this misbegotten gag for stopping them... It's only when Odin's words sink in, that Loki realizes the gag just stopped him speaking too soon. What? This is the All-Father's punishment?
He's not the only one surprised. Behind him, Loki hears mumbles. He hears mutters of disappointment, as the crowd realizes there will be no show-execution today. Beside him, he hears Thor's intake of breath. It's anger, isn't it? Resentment? A quick surge of pleasure goes through him, to see the golden boy discomfited for once. But as for the traitor Loki, he remains silent, for what else can he do? He stands, head-bowed, and it is not the handcuffs or the gag that make him so passive. For once, Loki has no idea how to respond.
“The guards will take you to your quarters.” Odin signals, and armed men come, one for his left, one for his right, and two more to watch his front and his back. It's amusing really, how many guards he's thought to need. They usher Loki through the halls, then march him into the anteroom of his chambers. It's a meek little man who unlocks the gag and the handcuffs, and the other three men stand at-ready the whole time, in case the traitor Loki makes a move toward them. He doesn't of course, but he likes them thinking it a possibility.
“Loki Odinson,” begins meek Guard Number One. –
“Laufeyson,” Loki says, because it's expected of him.
– “The All-Father has set a seal on these chambers. You may not leave here, you may not use your powers beyond these walls. Twice a day an enchantment will bring hot food for you, and adjust the lights as needed. Aside from that, you are allowed to use your powers to meet such needs as you have. This sentence,” the meek one says, “will remain in place until such time as the All-Father sees evidence of your reformation.”
“Which will be never.” A man plays the part fate gives him. “I owe no debt to Odin.”
He gets no response from the audience though. They just leave, and lock the doors behind them. Left alone, Loki surveys his new domain: These are his chambers just as he left them the day he Odin rejected him... The day Thor threw him... he fell from the Bifrost. The bed is still unmade, the clothing he discarded so long ago, still scattered untidily. His books are still there, still piled in the same confusion, and his sword, last used on Laufey, still rests in the same corner. He feels like a sea creature, crawling back inside a shell long since outgrown. This is not a King's room, but a child's. It is the room of a naughty little boy, sent to bed by Daddy.
Still, it is quiet, and it is comfortable. His needs have been taken care of, for rest, for food, and, with the books on the table, for entertainment as well. It is truly hilarious that Odin – That anyone! – should ever have thought for a moment that this was the right place to put a traitor and a war-criminal. This is a nest, this is the bosom of the family, and... Can he really be the only one who sees it? Is Thanos really so little known outside his own dimension? Does no one realize that his alliance might also have been a bondage, or that after failing his so-called “ally”, Loki stands to risk heavy penalty if he is caught by him?
Mentally, Loki laughs. He rolls over on the floor, but only in his mind of course (just in case Odin can see in here), because the same seal that keeps him in here, is also the one that keeps Thanos out. Outside, Thanos waits fruitlessly, but he is safe in here. He has all the time in the world now, to plan his next course of action.
...All the time in the world, is actually a lot of time. His chambers are too quiet. A little hustle and bustle in the hallway, a nightingale singing outside the window, the annoying shouts of Thor's stupid friends, back from a drinking bout even, would be a diversion. Also, he finds he has finished all the books he left on the desk. Why did he leave them there, he thinks? Would it have been too much trouble taking them down the hallway to the library and getting new ones? But oh yes, he had been rather busy those last couple days in the palace, hadn't he?
The point is that by the time night falls, even that same day he was sealed in here, Loki is bored. He is very bored. And, with his magic still intact (for the most part), he sets about trying to remedy the situation. He stretches out on his old, comfortable bed. He lets his mind wander. Thoughts bubble into his mind. Incredibly, they are not thoughts about escape or revenge; they are thoughts about sex.
Sex? Oh, how Thanos would laugh. But then he always laughed, whenever anyone else showed anything resembling vulnerability. He did not seek power for what it would bring him, he was not sane enough for that. He sought it so there would be more he could destroy. – Loki takes another moment to enjoy the fact that that doddering fool of an Odin has seen fit to seal him away here where his old ally cannot possibly get at him. He enjoys the fact that he does still have the capacity for pleasure. Perhaps it is this unexpected time of rest that is allowing him to reconnect with it. And slowly his eyes close and an image forms. Loki smiles to himself, and lets it carry him away.