Disclaimer: I don't own. But have fun! I'm not super comfortable posting this story because I haven't been a fan of this universe for very long, so if you have any criticism or appreciation, I'd be happy to hear it. Story does not include or follow T:TDW or IM3. References to one Norse myth.

Warnings: There is some description of gore and blood. Also cursing. If this does not appeal to you, be wary of what you read. This is sort of a dark story, mainly because of barbarism.

"Whoever battles with monsters had better see that it does not turn him into a monster. And if you gaze long into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you."

~Friedrich Nietzsche

There was something about the way the slim demi-god held himself that put Tony on edge. Looking at him through the corner of his eye, Loki was stiff and straight, his head held high and eyebrows arched condescendingly to match his confident gait. Yet it was deceptive; there was a shakiness that hadn't been there before, not even when the so-called God of Mischief had surrendered. Every now and then, the billionaire would notice a slight, less-than-a-second tremble run through the taller man. It didn't help that the muzzle Tony had helped SHIELD construct made the psycho seem more pallid and waxy. If Tony didn't know any better, he might say there was something wrong with this scene. Thor pulled Loki's chains harshly and Loki jerked away from where Tony had been observing him, almost tripping over his feet.

The SHIELD agents surrounding Central Park were distanced and unnoticeable to the untrained eye, but Tony could pick up the faint radio waves they emanated as they communicated with each other. JARVIS already had the perimeter on a watch and Tony was ready to call his suit at any time. The area set up for departure was clear and monitored. They were prepared.

It was a silent affair. Thor was frowning, eyeing his younger brother stoically while Bag-Of-Cats just flatly stared back, the nervous ticks from before now invisible under the Asgardian's glare. Tony shoved away any misgivings, crossing his arms and standing beside Bruce. The proceedings were going smoothly.

As the gods disappeared in a blue beam, Tony watched Loki's eyes widen and the color leave his face. The image stuck in his mind. Then there was nothing before them. It was over. Tony breathed out slowly.

When Tony arrived at the damaged Tower, construction already underway, and finished showing Bruce which floors he was welcome to have (I just want a room, Tony, a room) it finally struck him. Loki hadn't been afraid of leaving, he had been terrified. There was no way a god-with-way-too-many-layers-to-count would let his emotions show like that, and with Thor there nonetheless.

Tony pursed his lips and let it go. Not his issue anymore. He made his way to the bar, poured himself a drink, and went to talk science with Bruce.

He thought that was the end of Loki.

…o0o…

It was a few months later when Thor crashed down on top of the newly named Avengers Tower. The sun had been out and shining before clouds sheeted over it like a silver curtain. Rain pelted the ground mercilessly and lighting hissed.

The two scientists had eyed each other before hurriedly stumbling out of the lab, coming to the same conclusion. The god seemed angry and they could only guess what about.

They were right. Thor was angry. His mouth was dipped in a sharp scowl that made Tony uncomfortable, used to the big guy's large grin. Blonde hair was matted to his face, rain splattering off him without a care. His red cape was billowing in the strong winds, but the God of Thunder only seemed to give notice to the two of them.

Bruce frowned and exchanged a worried glance with the inventor. Tony attempted a smile.

"Hey, Point Break! You having girl troubles?" It was as half-hearted as ever.

Thor sighed and seemed to unwind. The lines on his face did not disappear. "Nay, Man of Iron. I have grave news."

He looked like he was going to say more but Tony interrupted, shielding his eyes from the rain, "Let's talk inside."

Once the trio was inside, Tony marched himself to the bar and shuffled around for something stronger than beer. Bruce sent him an unhappy look that almost made the billionaire put the whiskey back. Almost. Thor's bad news had to be bad-bad if the Avenger was still looking like someone killed his favorite puppy.

Tony surveyed the man from across the counter. Water was dripping onto his floor, creating a small puddle where Thor was standing, unmoving. The end of his cape was being soaked.

Tony sipped at his scotch. Bruce shifted his feet, his eyes concerned and anxious. Neither wanted to broach the subject but it had to be done.

Bruce asked, twisting his hands, "Thor, what happened? Is everything okay with Jane and Asgard?"

Tony swallowed loudly. He leaned forward, holding his drink tightly. "Should I call Capsicle and the others?"

Thor shook his head before he stopped and looked away. "I know not, friends. But I do know this, Loki has escaped punishment. Heimdall cannot see him, but there may be reason to think he has fled to Midgard."

Bruce nodded and made his way to the bar. His face had a green hue. Tony wordlessly poured him a generous amount and slid the glass over.

"Why Earth?" Tony wondered. "He didn't exactly leave on friendly terms the last time he was here."

Thor smiled tightly. He finally moved toward the coach, his cape brushing against the ground. "Loki must have had to use a lot of magic to combat the Allfather's own magical curse. When Loki and I returned to Asgard, the braces that he had been given here were magically enhanced to cancel Loki's own magical energy. My father himself performed the ritual."

There was something in Thor's voice that made Tony and Bruce toss each other frowns from behind Thor's back.

The blonde continued, "Whilst Loki is still drained from using so much effort to be reunited with his magic, he normally will appear in the realms which he most recently visited, as it requires less energy. If he is here, he will be wary and it will be difficult to find him."

"But not impossible," Tony reasoned, pointing a finger at Thor with the hand holding his glass. "You did say he was weakened."

"Ay, Man of Iron, I did." Thor unhooked his cape before he sat himself down on the coach and nodded at Tony's request to call him by his first name. Tony and Bruce joined him, bringing their drinks. The two watched as Thor wrung the fabric, the water splashing on the ground, and calmly folded it in thirds.

"Jane is well though," the God of Thunder interjected, trying a smile. "And Asgard faces no immediate threat."

Bruce smiled warmly at Thor over his drink. The man's face had lost any hint of green.

Tony looked away, Loki's skeleton-esque face from Central Park appearing in his mind. The thought wouldn't disappear. "Thor, do you know what Loki's punishment was?"

Thor blinked and tilted his head. Some color had returned to his cheeks, softening the dark smudges under his eyes. "Why do you ask, friend?"

Bruce looked over curiously. Tony shifted. "Reindeer Games didn't look too happy to be goin' back home. He looked terrible."

Bruce raised an eyebrow. "He was just defeated, Tony."

Tony opened his mouth to offer a snarky reply but Thor answered instead. "Tony is correct."

"That's a first," Bruce mumbled under his breath.

Tony scowled and smacked the back of the doctor's head. "Be nice. Inside this tower, you're my housemaid."

Thor interrupted before it could turn into an all-out battle. "I do know what Loki's punishment was, and Loki must have known too while we were still on Midgard."

"Well?"

Thor looked increasingly uncomfortable and his eyes were downturned. It took Tony five seconds longer than Bruce to recognize it as guilt. "There are two stages of his punishment. Because he was never tried for his crimes on Asgard, the Allfather ruled that a similar consequence from the past must be repeated because Loki didn't learn his lesson."

The blonde made to continue but Bruce narrowed his eyes. He questioned slowly, "What did you do?"

Thor's eyes adopted a glossy sheen. Bruce almost felt bad for asking until the thunder god said, "His lips were sewn shut."

Tony choked on air, making a gurgling mewl sound. Bruce's eyes widened in horror, his hands flying to his mouth. The green was more than pronounced. It took the two a shared look and a deep breath before they could respond.

"What was the second part, Thor?" Bruce asked seriously, his hands clenching and unclenching. Tony silently got up to retrieve the bottle.

Thor watched the shorter man go before looking back to Bruce. "Son of Banner, it is Asgardian custom to treat criminals in such a way. It is our way."

"That's torture, Thor."

"Not okay," Tony pitched in from behind the counter, waving a hand at him. Bruce worriedly glanced over but Tony ignored him. "Not okay."

Thor bit his lip. It almost seemed like he wanted to agree, but there was something, some really big thing, holding him back from defending Loki. Didn't he say something about the Allfather ordering this?

"What was the second part?" the scientist pushed again. His voice was monotone.

Thor sniffed and his eyes seemed to grow in size. The two Avengers unwound, releasing a deep breath at the same time. Tony's face softened and Bruce offered Thor a small smile. "We don't blame you, Thor. But we also don't condone torture, no matter who the recipient is. What was the second phase?"

"To be locked away with no personal contact. Mother was forbidden to see him, as was I. He would have been with the other common criminals."

"No princely treatment?"

Though the question was supposed to loosen Thor's tense shoulders, it only made it worse. Thor revealed quietly, "My father renounced his lineage."

Tony understood what he meant the same time Bruce buried his head in his hands and groaned. "He was disowned."

"Fuck."

Thor nodded. He blinked, except after a few tense seconds didn't reopen his eyes. Tony walked over to Bruce, holding the whiskey bottle. "Thor, feel free to take a floor. You're an Avenger. This is your home too. Tomorrow we'll help you find Loki. But after that, I make no promises."

Thor's grin was broken right through the middle. "Thank you, Tony. And you, Bruce. Your kindness is most generous."

Tony waved him off, saying something along the lines of where he was going, and disappeared from view within seconds. Bruce nodded to Thor and offered to help him get settled in. The god kindly refused and the doctor left to get some sleep. Thor was left staring out the window, deep in thought.

"Oi, Loki. Of all the magic you retain, it is your cloaking one." Thor rubbed his face, tears welling up. "I did not wish to harm you, but father knows what is best. It will help you in the long run. You must return hom—to Asgard."

He wished he could actually believe that; Loki's too pale face always in his mind. The green eyes imploring Thor to help and to stop advancing towards him with a gleaming needle. The cries echoed in his mind, blood that dripped on the tile floor in a rhythmic song. Oh love, Thor felt like he was going to throw up.

Rain pelted the windows and lighting continued to flash outside.

…o0o…

The next morning, Bruce found Tony sitting by his computer and typing away as fast as humanly possible. As this was a common occurrence in the tower, the doctor simply made a beeline to the waffle iron and turned it on. Might as well add some pop-tarts in the toaster for Thor too.

"I have JARVIS running facial recognition scans with the cameras in all of New York and there have been a few matches. I think we should check out those first."

Bruce hummed in agreement, pulling batter out from the fridge and sheeting it over the iron. When the timer was set, he turned to look at Tony. The billionaire had grease smears over his cheeks, most likely from a night in the lab, and red eyes. Sleep deprived and stressed out, Bruce reasoned, and also crying.

"Have you seen Pepper since last week?"

Tony shook his head. "She has a meeting in D.C. that concludes at the end of this month."

"Hmm."

"Why?"

"I was just wondering. Oh! Good morning, Thor. Would you like some waffles or pop-tarts?"

Thor didn't look like he was fairing any better than Tony. His cheeks were blotchy and eyes unable to stay on one thing for very long. He had changed out of his armor and was in a tight-fitting ACDC shirt and jeans. The man shook his head, his mouth in a flat line. He dropped into the chair silently.

Tony looked over at him with a ghost-smile. "I like your socks, Hammer Time."

Bruce straightened his back and arched his neck. He understood why Tony liked them. Thor wiggled his toes and the Iron Man faces seemed to wink back at them.

"You are the most narcissistic man I've ever met."

"Thank you, Brucey!"

Bruce turned around to pull the waffle out, hiding his large smile. His smile slowly fell and he said, "I was thinking about Loki last night and the battle of New York."

Tony froze and Thor blinked tiredly at him. Taking that as support, Bruce continued. "What color were his eyes?"

Thor slanted his head. "Were they not green? For that is my brother's color." Tony noted that that was the first time since he had been back that he had referred to Loki as his brother.

Bruce shook his head, starting to look surer of himself. "No, they were blue. I remember watching the footage of Loki in the other guy's cage. They were blue."

Thor simply looked confused. "Nay, my brother's eyes are green. I had always thought it unusual when I was child, because my mother and father, as do I, have blue eyes. I know now why, but Loki has never had blue eyes."

Right. Adopted. There was more to that story, but neither was going to pursue it at the moment.

Tony spun on his chair. "JARVIS, pull up all footage of Loki available, even SHIELD files, and zoom in on his eyes."

JARVIS answered, his British accent soothing, "Of course, sir."

Screens pulled up at Tony's gesture and images flew through them as the trio stared. Loki at the SHEILD base. Loki in Stuttgart. Loki in the helicarrier. Loki in Avengers Tower.

"Pause," Tony ordered.

The image flickered to a stand. It had been after Loki was being smashed into the ground by the Hulk. His eyes were an unusual mix of blue and green.

"Didn't Natasha say something about cognitive recalibration?"

"Shit."

"I do not understand what this is implying. Are you saying my brother was mind controlled during the invasion?"

"No," Bruce answered calmly, "we are saying that he wasn't in complete control. He was in and out of it, but I think he always had more control than a simple puppet, unlike with Clint."

"I'm not even sure about that," Tony interrupted. Life had returned to his face. He lived for this kind of theorizing. "At the base, Clint shot Fury. Probably on Loki's orders, right?"

"Yes."

"It would appear so."

Tony smiled, and it was sharp and powerful. "Then why did he shoot the chest? Clint is a good aim. He would have known, and been able to, shoot to kill. He could have hit Fury in the head, but he didn't. He shot him where a bulletproof vest cushioned the impact."

Thor was slowly brightening. "So Loki had some control, but not enough to fight the Chitauri's wishes?"

Bruce shook his head. "I don't think it was the Chitauri."

Tony clapped. His face was like that of an excited kid. "Exactly! There needs to be someone higher on this scale. Someone controlling Loki, who would then in turn direct the Chitauri."

"Do you truly believe this, friends? Or is this trickery to make me feel better?" Thor was desperate. His eyes were taking over his face in vulnerable hope.

"We're not lying, buddy."

"Then you are far too kind."

Bruce piled up a large plate of the done waffles and set it in front of the two men. "Tony was telling me about some of the matches he got of possible hits."

Thor stabbed a few waffles over to his plate and took the offered pop-tarts with a sheepish chuckle. "Then today we will begin our search?"

Tony was pouring syrup in floods over his breakfast as Bruce nodded.

"Would you like some waffles with that syrup," he snarked. Tony sent him an unappreciative look over his food. Bruce smiled brightly.

When the three finally finished their breakfast, they pushed off from the table and set out. Tony was now Iron Man. Thor was taking to the sky, changing back into his armor. And Bruce, he found his motorcycle, aiming to take the more subtle approach. They had a loose demi-god to catch.

…o0o…

Iron Man decided half-way to his location, the three of them splitting up to check possible targets, that he should do this a different way. Landing in an alleyway, Tony touched down and disassembled his suit. He sent it back to the tower with a snap of his wrist. Donning sunglasses in the cool air, the smell of rain still lingering, Tony sauntered into the busy streets of New York.

As he walked at a leisurely pace, JARVIS was busy scanning the faces of the crowd. There were some people in passing that made Tony jerk before he remembered Loki's height or his hair color or his size. After a few more blocks of this, Tony ducked into a café. He called Thor and Bruce.

Bruce answered and informed him that there was no progress on his end. Thor replied in as much of a booming voice as ever that no wild Loki had been spotted (Tony's words). Tony wished them good luck and was prepared to head back out. His phone ringing stopped him.

Capsicle?

Tony told JARVIS to send it through after a couple of patient rings and waited.

"Stark! Pick up the damn phone!"

Tony clucked into the speaker. "Language, Cap! What about those little kiddies that might hear you! You don't want to dishonor their innocence."

"That didn't make any sense. And I don't have time for this." He was right, the captain's voice sounded rushed and anxious over the phone. Tony bit his lip and listened further. "There is an emergency. I need you and Banner to stop by my apartment. NOW."

Tony finally said, "Yeah, sure, Cap. Thor's here too. You need him?"

"Fuck, fuck, fuck. Thor's here?"

Sometimes, Tony forgets that Steve was in the army. "Yeah."

"NO, don't bring Thor. And I need to know that Banner won't Hulk. Make sure you both are calm when you come in, okay? I need to go; I'll explain more in person. Bye."

Tony listened to the dead beeping for a few blank seconds before he shook himself awake. Whatever was making Steve upset sounded serious. He did what he was asked, calling Bruce and making sure to leave Thor where he was. Neither scientist knew what to expect.

…o0o…

When Tony pushed the open door, the squeaking of the hinges made his spine tingle. Even though the sun was shining on his back and the good captain's lights were on, the apartment had a cold feeling of something ominous. Bruce shivered next to him.

"Why is it so cold in here?" Bruce wondered, brushing past Tony and taking the lead. Oh. It was actually cold.

Bruce walked into Steve's room, calling his name, and Tony followed his steps. So when Banner stopped suddenly, stumbling back with a large gasp, Tony almost tripped over him.

"What? What's wrong?"

Bruce rushed out of the room, holding his hands to his mouth. Tony watched him go with a wide-eyed expression before looking into the room. His friend's reaction should have prepared him for the sight but it didn't. He could almost feel the vomit rise in his throat.

Steve glared at him and mouthed something that Tony would have understood if his vision didn't decide to go shaky.

There was so much blood. So much blood. It was on Steve's hand. It was on the floor. It was on the bed. Fuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuck. Tony felt his chest constrict, he couldn't breathe.

Warm arms engulfed him and Tony remembered how to breathe. He looked up and stared into Steve's blue eyes. The soldier breathed a sigh of relief when Tony blinked and his shoulder's relaxed.

"Are you okay? Where is Banner?"

"I'm... I'm… Banner ran to the bathroom, I think."

Steve scratched his eyes. When he opened them they were clear but glassy and pink. He was no better off than them. "I'm sorry I called you, but I didn't know what to do. I remembered that Banner had been acting as a doctor before he came to New York so I thought he might be able to help him."

Tony nodded. He knew that the hospital and SHIELD were out of the question. Steve had done well, actually. "The blood," he managed to ask, swallowing. "It's all his?"

Steve nodded. "Yeah, I… I'll tell you when Banner feels better. I'm going to go check on him. Can you please make sure Loki doesn't wake up? If he does, there are some shots on the table that you need to give him. I think he is in more pain than we can imagine. I gave him some earlier but I don't know how much will be the right amount to keep him under."

Tony nodded, his breathing still erratic. He avoided looking at the slim figure on the bed, limbs twisted at odd angles and blood smeared over the cushions.

Steve pat Tony's shoulder, a gesture that shouldn't have comforted the inventor as much as it did, and disappeared to find Bruce and hopefully not the Hulk.

After controlling his breathing and pinching himself a couple of times, Tony gathered up the courage to move. When Loki made a pitiful groan from the bed, Tony froze in terror. Images from his past, the torture, the betrayal, flashed through his mind, running along with the feeling of being thrown out a window and gravity being the only important enemy.

Loki then started to cough. Except his lips were still sewn shut.

Oh, god. Thor never said they didn't take it off. That's disgusting.

"Loki, Loki, I need you to listen to me," Tony said, slowly walking to the base of the bed. Loki shot up and tried to move around, his face as startled as a baby deer. Tony wasn't sure Loki could even hear him. He got tangled in the sheets, kicking and clawing, before his whole body ceased thrashing. Like he was accepting defeat.

Tony raised his hands in surrender. "Loki, we're not going to harm you."

Loki didn't move. His eyes, his green eyes, stared straight at the ceiling of Steve's room. He was so white, which made the blue bruising around his lips and over his wrist stark in contrast.

Tony swallowed and twisted his hands, a habit he picked up from Bruce. "I owe you that drink. You better not get a heart attack before I can pour you some."

Loki's eyelids fluttered and Tony moved a little closer. Wrong move. Loki jerked, moving so he was sitting up, his limbs trembling as he held them out in front of him like a shield. Then, to Tony's confusion, the demi-god closed his eyes and his hand, shaking uncontrollably, fell back into his lap. There was that acceptance again. But acceptance of defeat or punishment?

Tony sucked in a deep breath of air and held onto it. With gentle movements, he crawled onto the bed beside Loki, careful not to touch or agitate him. The medicine the billionaire had grabbed was hidden in his pocket. Loki didn't seem to care about the shift in weight. Or so it seemed. The closer Tony moved the sharper his breathing became. Tony waited there for a little more than a minute, hoping the raven-haired man had fallen back asleep. After deeming it safe, he pulled the syringe out from his pocket and watched Loki's face. Just as he was about to administer the dose, Loki opened his eyes and saw the needle.

Tony knew what his reaction was going to be before Loki could even lunge away. In a slanting motion, the needle pressed against his arm and ejected the medicine into his body. His body went limp and Loki's eyes finally closed. Tony didn't know why he should feel so guilty at the betrayed look.

Not being able to stay in the room very much longer, he scrambled off the bed to find the other two. As luck would have it, Steve and a very human Bruce were already making their way into the room. Tony met up with them and they decided on talking in the kitchen so Loki wouldn't be disturbed. Bruce offered to sit closest to the door so he could be the one to react when Loki awoke.

"Explain," Tony ordered when everyone was sitting around the table with muffins in front of them. Of course Steve would still be a good host.

"I was running this morning after the rain started to let up. Something about the weather made me uncomfortable yesterday; I guess that was because of Thor, but today I just had this need to go outside. So I was running through Central Park and I had this wish to stand where we had all stood as we sent off Thor and Loki."

Tony looked skeptical at all the feelings Steve was having but Bruce was nodding in support.

Steve swallowed and looked away. This was the hard part. "So I walked over there and nothing unusual happened. Satisfied, I continued jogging. But by the time that I had made a full circle and was back at the park, there was this slumped figure behind a tree. You could only see it if you were standing where we had been. I think I was more curious than worried, but I walked over to him. And when I asked if he was okay, and he didn't respond, I leaned down so I could see his face."

Steve sighed tiredly. Bruce ran a hand over his back in comfort.

Tony looked out the window and rubbed his arms in an effort to warm himself. "Then what?"

"Then… I tried to wake him up. He didn't. So I picked him up, took a more obscure route home, and set him on my bed. He was still unconscious until about ten minutes before I called you. When he woke up I tried to calm him but he was too spooked, like an animal, so I drugged him. I don't know enough about those kinds of wounds to help. So I called you two for help."

Bruce nodded. "Thank you. I'm sorry, Captain, but I don't think we will be able to move him as I work on the stitches. He's too weak for that. Do you have another bed you can sleep in?"

Steve smiled in relief at the acceptance of help. "I can sleep on the couch. There are two guest beds that you two are welcome to take." Then his smile fell. "What happened?"

The scientists glanced at each other. "Long story short, his lips getting sewn shut was punishment number one, and punishment number two, being put in jail with no godly contact, was avoided by his escape to Earth. Thor is here to collect skinny in there to take back to Asgard."

"No!" Steve pushed back his chair and crossed his arms. He looked ready to fight but with a sort of pleading expression that he wouldn't need to. "I will not let either of you return Loki to Asgard if that is what happened. This is torture."

"We're with you, Capsicle, don't worry."

Steve assessed the two of them before he nodded once and sat back down. "Did they also beat him to a bloody pulp in Asgard?"

"What?"

"Come with me."

Steve led the two of them to his bedroom. Loki was sleeping peacefully, his face smooth and chest rising and falling in comfortable waves. Steve made a waving motion and Bruce took to Loki's side, running his fingers over the papery skin and listening for a pulse. While Bruce was running the tests that he could without agitating his patient, Steve and Tony watched him in silent companionship. When he finished, he motioned the two of them out of the room.

"What's the diagnosis, doc?"

"I'd like to do some scans and more tests to be sure, but I think he has a few broken ribs and some of his bones feel out of place, like they were dislocated and then reattached but in the wrong way. It almost seems on purpose, just how messed up his body is. Thor did not say that he was tortured like this yesterday. I think it even goes much deeper than just those."

"This is so messed up."

"You said it."

"Do you think that was on Asgard?"

Tony jerked forward, his mind connected silver thoughts and rearranging them in different orders. "No."

"What do you mean, no?"

Tony suddenly looked excited. "Rogers, Loki wasn't in control of the invasion on New York. He was mind controlled kinda like Clint was but with more or less control if you want to include the Tesseract's own power over him. He had blue eyes when he normally has green. But that doesn't matter right now."

"Doesn't matter right—?"

"Yeah, not now. These beating that Bruce found that Thor never mentioned? That's unusual. But there is something about them that implies more than punishment. Like revenge. Like torture for fun. The guy above Loki must not be very happy about his army's defeat, leaving Loki to take the fallout for the failure."

"But he was in Asgard. How did they get him?"

"He 'escaped' didn't he?" Tony used air quotes, his smile growing wider as the puzzle unraveled piece by piece. "They must have captured him and staged it like an escape. Except Loki actually did end up escaping for real this time, against the people, or aliens, whatever, who are really to blame. It makes so much sense."

"That does make sense, Stark, but how did you come to those conclusions?"

Tony shook his head, the realization making him giddy. "That's just how my mind works."

Bruce waited until the inventor sobered up before he said, "We should tell Thor."

Steve looked uncomfortable but he was still nodding. "I agree. He should know. I doubt after we tell him this, he'll still want to bring him back to Asgard."

…o0o…

"He must return to Asgard immediately."

"Think about this, buddy. You're making the wrong decision." Tony ducked in front of the god and held up his hands to wait. "Loki looks like shit."

"That was his punishment, Man of Iron."

"I'm not just talking about the sewing thing, which we will talk about later. I'm talking about every-fucking-thing."

Thor pushed passed Tony and ignored the heavy groan from behind him. Steve curved around the billion and walked quickly to Thor's side. The god looked at him sideways but continued his heavy walk through the apartment.

"Thor, please think about what you are doing," the soldier begged. Thor paused and the two blue-eyed men stared at each other. "Loki is sick. Goddamnit, he was tortured. And that is not okay, no matter where you are from."

Thor shifted but he didn't let go of Mjölnir. If anything, his grip on the hammer tightened. "The Allfather has decreed Loki's just punishment and he is to return home." Thor glared at Steve. "Do not attempt to stop me, soldier."

"You father can be wrong," Bruce chimed in. He was leaning against the bathroom door and looking at the two blondes through half-narrowed eyes.

Thor's expression turned stormy. His mouth pursed and eyes glowed menacingly. "I do not wish harm upon my brother, friends. But my father is a wise and just king. He would not make such a dire mistake. Loki is not your issue."

Thor stomped passed Bruce. He had finally found the right door. Before the other three Avengers could stop him, the god kicked the bedroom door open. The wood swung on its hinges in displeasure, squeaking. Thor looked inside with a heavy heart.

"Brother, I am sorry."

Tony stumbled around the god and threw up his hands. "No!"

"Though you are a strong warrior, Man of Iron, you are just a mortal. You will not be able to win against me, especially unarmed." Thor flexed his fingers and his stance widened in preparation.

"Listen to me, Thor. Your brother is hurt. And he didn't even do the crimes you are going to punish him for," Tony gave a dry chuckle. "If anything, he was punished enough already. You need to let Reindeer Games give his side of the story."

Steve walked beside the billionaire and crossed his arms. He looked more intimidating than ever before. "Loki isn't going back to Asgard."

Thor looked to Bruce, who shrugged and made his way over to the other two. "I'm with them. I can show you the diagnoses if you'd like. He's in zero shape to travel."

The doctor's clinical response seemed to calm the thunder god, but he still looked unsure. "I… will see if my brother is fit to be taken back."

Without waiting for their permission, Thor was by Loki's bedside. To his surprise, the raven-haired god was awake. His eyes were taking over his face as the irises flicked anxiously between the four men. The stitches over his lips were gone and there was a thin gauze over his lips, which Bruce must have just recently dressed. The sheets were crumpled up in his brother's hands, slim fingers shaking, and the demi-god's breathing was erratic.

He was also blue.

Seeing the Jötun side of Loki made something break inside Thor. He stopped advancing and just stared at his brother. He missed him so much. He didn't want to hurt him anymore.

Tony took the hesitation as progress. "You're not taking him. I don't care what color he is. He's still hurt and your system of justice sucks as hell."

Loki looked over to him. And then he glanced between Bruce and Steve. And lastly, his red eyes settled on his half-brother. He wondered why he was not being immediately apprehended. Especially in this monstrous state. Why were they giving him a chance?

"You are all fools," he stuttered out, his voice rough and scratchy and breathy. He hoped he didn't agitate the gauze. He winced when he heard himself, both at the awful sound and the sudden fear of punishment.

Tony snorted. Bruce smiled. Steve patted the covers gently. Thor… nodded.

"What about the spider and hawk?" he asked. "They surely will not appreciate their fellow Avengers hosting my brother."

"We'll get there when we get there."

And then the Avengers proceeded to argue and joke and let off the stress of the past few days. Loki watched them, sighing through his nose. He knew he should be feeling tense and jumpy, but ever since Stark had thrown himself in front of Thor, the demi-god felt calmer. The Avengers were taking his side against his brother, against the Allfather, and they didn't even bat an eye at his monstrous discoloration. The acceptance made Loki's eyes droop and his shoulders relax. For the first time in so long, he fell asleep on his own, peaceful thoughts keeping his mind focused on just the moment.

Unusually, he fell asleep in the company of the Avengers, feeling secure and, dare he think it, happy. There was no longer the muzzle, there was no longer bloody threads, there was no longer mistrust and suspicious looks for anything he would say. The mortal Avengers had actually defended him. His voice could finally be heard. The God of Mischief and Lies could use his silver tongue, could finally tell his own story. He could defend himself.

~fin~

A/N: Sorry for how rushed this seems. Thanks for reading! Feel free to drop by and offer criticism or just comment. :)