TITLE: I used to be a god, but then I took an arrow to the eye. Chapter 2/3
PAIRINGS: None
WARNINGS:Not exactly gore, but possibly eye related squick in this chapter.

Please see chapter 1 for the summary.

~o~ I used to be a god, but then I took an arrow to the eye ~o~

Chapter 2

"What the hell happened?" Bruce asked as he entered the training room with Natasha, and saw three people laid on the floor.

"It was an accident," Clint replied.

"You killed three people by accident?"

"They aren't dead," Clint said. "Although Loki might be."

Bruce moved over to Loki who had fallen face first onto the floor, knelt down and put his head on his back. "He has a strong heart beat and good breath sounds." He turned him onto his back, and said, "Oh my god, what happened to his eye?"

"That was kinda the accident," Clint said, screwing up his face, and scratching the back of his head. "I think the other two just passed out."

"You know the recovery position, right?"

"Yeah."

"Check their vitals, then move them into it," Bruce said. "I need to get Loki down to the medical lab right away. Natasha can you help me?"

"Sure thing, doc," she replied.

~o~

"How is he?" Clint asked, when Bruce finally emerged from the medical lab some time later.

"He says he's fine," Bruce said. "I tried to persuade him to go to a hospital, but he said he doesn't need any treatment."

"Thor and Tony?"

"Fine too," Bruce replied. "Just about to send them back to their rooms to get them out of my hair, actually."

"Can I see Loki? I really wanna apologise to him."

"Sure," Bruce said, "but you'll have to forgive the state of his bandages. He would just not stop squirming."

~o~

"You look like a pineapple," Clint said, when he walked into the lab, and saw Loki sat on the bed with a ridiculously large bandage wrapped around half his face and head, which caused his hair to stick up madly.

"Thank you," Loki replied. "Am I to assume I have repaid my debt to you, now?"

"Absolutely," Clint said. "Everything, past, history, gone."

"Excellent."

"You aren't angry at me?" Clint asked.

"Why would I be angry at you?" Loki asked. "I volunteered for the procedure."

"I really didn't mean to do it, it was an accident. I just wanted to mess with you."

"Do not worry yourself," Loki said, then he looked over Clint's shoulder and said, "Oh, actually, maybe you should."

"Barton!" Thor shouted, entering the room with long purposeful strides, followed by Tony. "I would have words with you about the injuries you inflicted on my brother."

"Run, Clint! Run!" Tony shouted. "By words, I'm fairly certain he means punches."

"Calm down, Thor, I'm fine," Loki said loudly.

"You are well?"

"I'm perfectly alright, now do leave Agent Barton alone. It wasn't his fault."

"You do not wish me extract wergild from him?"

"No," Loki replied. "We have resolved our differences, and I harbour no ill will towards him."

"Very well, brother," Thor said. "I will not take further action. Clint, I am sorry for shouting at you."

"Thanks," Clint replied, moving forwards from the wall he had been cowering against.

"Top marks on that bandage job, Bruce," Tony said. "You were aiming for Bert from Sesame Street look, right?"

"Some people don't understand the meaning of the phrase 'sit still'" Bruce said, giving Loki a withering stare.

"So I haven't hurt him too badly?" Clint asked.

"According to the MRI scan the arrow went clean through his brain, did significant damage, and yet he seems to be fine," Bruce replied.

"I'm a god. What did you expect?" Loki said. "I've been decapitated before, so this is of no real consequence."

"So you have brain damage?"

"I do," Loki replied.

"What does it feel like?" Tony asked. "Have you left about 50 IQ points of brain matter on the training room floor?"

"Perhaps I did," Loki replied. "Although that would still leave me about 50 IQ points above you."

"I see the 'smart ass' centre of your brain is still intact."

"Of course," Loki replied, a smirk spreading over the uncovered side of his face. "I must say that I am rather surprised at you so called heroes, swooning like maidens at the sight of a little blood."

"You passed out too," Tony said.

"Shall I impale your eyeball on a stick and we shall see how you react?"

"I did not swoon like a maiden," Thor grumbled. "I was merely overcome with emotion at the sight of my beloved brother so injured."

"Yeah, me too," Tony said.

"I am not your brother," Loki said to Tony.

"I meant my beloved... friend."

"I am your friend?" Loki asked, clasping his chest, and Tony nodded hesitantly. "Why, I've never had a friend before. This is absolutely wonderful."

"You've never had a friend?" Tony asked, with a mix of disbelief and sympathy.

Loki chuckled lowly, and said, "Of course I've had friends, you dullard. I'm a prince. Who wouldn't want to be friends with a prince?"

"I do not remember you having any friends, Loki."

"Shut up, Thor!" Loki hissed, glaring at him as much as he could with only one eye. Then he sighed, turned to Bruce, and asked, "I am well enough to go to my room, yes?"

"Sure," Bruce said. "There's no bleeding, and it looks like it's healing already. I'd prefer it if someone stayed with you tonight just in case there's any problems."

"I will stay with him," Thor said.

"There's really no need," Loki replied.

"Nay, brother. I will sleep on the floor."

"I said I'm fine," Loki snapped, as he swung his legs round, hopped off the bed, and then staggered slightly, until Thor caught his elbow. "Actually, perhaps it would be good if you could accompany me back to my room."

"Gladly," Thor said with a smile.

Loki sighed and began walking towards the exit, and then everyone winced as he smashed his left shoulder into the door frame with such force that it span him round and he landed flat on his back in the corridor.

~o~

~o~

Life with only one eye was more difficult than Loki had assumed it would be. Odin made it look easy, as he valiantly rode into battle with his golden eye patch glistening in the sun, while Loki could barely walk through a door without almost breaking his shoulder.

Preparing the simplest of meals proved to be near impossible with absolutely no depth perception, and he had been forced to allow Thor to aid him in most daily tasks, simply because he spent most of his time attempting to get hold of things, and missing.

It also didn't help that Stark had taken advantage of his half blindness, and developed the annoying habit of creeping up on his left side, and shouting "Boo!" loudly in his bandage covered ear, or poking him viciously in the ribs, making him drop whatever he had just spent the last minute trying to pick up.

~o~

He hated the dressing more than anything. It was itchy where it touched his face, and made his hair lay in uncomfortable angles, but after a few days he had been allowed to remove it and take a shower.

He stood in front of the mirror as he unwound the bandage, preparing himself for what would no doubt be a grisly sight, but instead as he peeled off the final layer of wadding, he realised the wound was quite neat. His torn eyelids hung uselessly over the hole in his face, and while the flesh was healing, no longer raw or bleeding, the smashed bone at the back of his eye socket had not rebuilt itself yet, and he was fairly certain that if he prodded inside the wound he would be poking his own brain.

He shed his clothes and stepped into the shower, adjusting the water to his desired temperature, then let the spray ease his sore, bruised shoulder, and run over his lank hair.

Bruce had given him some shampoo to use, but as he flipped open the bottle top the medicated smell made Loki wrinkle his nose in disgust, and he knew he would not be able to stand that stench on his hair, following him around. Instead he picked up his own shampoo, and tipped a generous amount into his hand.

~o~

Bruce was startled when the door of his lab flew open, and Loki burst in clad in only a bath towel, and his hair dripping wet and full of soap bubbles, and asked, "What's wrong?"

"I think I have shampoo in my brain!" Loki shrieked dramatically, as he ran across the lab, and crouched in front of the table, his hands gripping the top. "Get it out! It hurts!"

"Did you use the shampoo I gave you?"

"No, it smelt funny," Loki said. "I used my mint and Tea Tree shampoo. You have to help me, please, it's burninggggg!"

Bruce went to the eye wash station on the wall and picked up the bottle, and said "I'll flush it out."

Loki ran round the table, and crouched at Bruce's feet. "Do it quickly. It feels like acid."

Bruce tipped Loki's head back, then aimed the long tube at the hole where his eye used to be, and filled it with the sterile fluid. "Lean forward, let it drain out, then I'll flush it again."

Loki did as he asked, wincing each time the cavity was washed, and Bruce said, "You know, you're really lucky. I can't believe you're still alive, let alone washing your hair."

"I'm a god, remember? Even you couldn't kill me."

"Lean forward again," Bruce said. "Don't you have some kind of healing spell that could fix this?"

"If I did that, what be the point of allowing Agent Barton to take my eye in the first place?"

"You know Clint doesn't want to see you suffering like this, he didn't mean to shoot you. It was an accident."

"Sometimes while intoxicated people will admit the truth that would not say otherwise," Loki replied. "I believe Agent Barton meant it when he said he wanted to shoot me."

Bruce indicated for Loki to tip his head forward again, and said, "How does that feel?"

"Much better," Loki replied. "Thank you for your assistance."

"Next time use the shampoo I gave you," Bruce said, as he handed Loki some wadding to wipe his face.

"I will."

"You don't really think that, do you?" Bruce asked, as Loki stood and secured his towel once more. "That Clint wanted to shoot you?"

"You really think the greatest marksman in all the realms would shoot someone completely by accident?" Loki asked, and Bruce shrugged. "It may have been a subconscious action, but Agent Barton wanted to shoot me, even if he didn't know it, so I will pay my penance, and I will not use magic to heal myself."

~o~

~o~

Loki wandered from room to room, alone, bored, and feeling slightly abandoned, with no one to entertain him. The Avengers had gone out on a school visit, what Banner had called a community outreach program, designed to teach children to stay away from crime and make their lives better, and it had been decided that the sight of Loki, with his face half bandaged, and his hair stuck up like a pineapple might be a bit too much for the kids.

At first he had tried to occupy himself with one of the games that Clint and Natasha regularly played, but he didn't know how to turn the machine on without help. He decided to watch television, but had flicked to a news channel, saw his brother cheerfully interacting with children in a school yard, and felt a spike of jealously flare up in his chest. He had turned the TV off, and started aimlessly drifting.

Steve's room was boringly plain, containing little in the way of homely touches or personal possessions, but he had his own apartment, and only stayed at the Tower if it was too late to go home. Loki briefly considered rifling through the drawers to check if the Captain really was as perfect as he seemed to be. Perhaps he was harbouring a secret sex toy stash, or had the deeds to a toxic chemical factory under his bed, but in the end he decided against it. It seemed rude to look through someone else's private quarters, and instead he settled on taking some of Natasha's underwear from the laundry room, and hiding it under Clint's pillow.

Thor's room, rather predictably, looked like it was regularly host to a family of wild boar, and was littered with empty plates, mud covered boots, and discarded armour. Without servants to clean up after him Thor had always been content to live in his own filth, knowing that eventually Loki would be driven mad by the disarray, and this time would be no different, as Loki spent 20 minutes picking up the plates, and putting the dirty clothes in the laundry.

As he came back, after dumping the last load of Thor's dirty clothing, he noticed a new pile of well read books had been placed on one of the many useless side tables that seemed to litter Stark Tower. The top book was a cheap paperback of Norse myths, its cover creased, its spine was spindled, and as he flipped through its pages he chuckled at the illustrations.

~o~

Tony was the first to arrive back at the tower, landing on the pad outside, his armour stripped from his body as he walked, and as he entered the room he found Loki sprawled on the brown leather sofa, holding a book up to his good eye.

"What you reading?" Tony asked, as he made his way over to the bar to pour himself a drink, and Loki held the book up so he could read the cover. "Surely the fact that that book is about you is the biggest spoiler in the world?"

"I told you before, not all the myths are true. Besides, the illustrations in this one are very amusing," Loki said, as he held up the book so Tony could see a rather stocky figure wading across a river. "They made Thor look fat."

"That book certainly made for some interesting reading," Tony said, and Loki grinned. "Do you really have a sea serpent for a kid?"

"Jörmungandr? He is very real," Loki replied. "I can take you to meet him when I am better if you like."

"He's really here? On Earth?"

"Yes, he couldn't live on Asgard."

"Odin cast him out, right?"

"Don't be ridiculous, the All Father would never do that," Loki snapped. "The seas on Asgard were completely unsuitable for him, so I placed him in a nice sheltered body of water in a place which I believe is known as Scotland now. He seems quite happy there."

"Scotland? Your sea serpent son lives in Scotland?" Tony asked, and then he thought for a moment. "It wouldn't happen to be in a place called Loch Ness would it?"

"Yes, that's the one, do you know it?" Loki asked, excitedly.

"OK... if I'm gonna have a conversation with the father of the Loch Ness monster I think I need a considerably larger drink," Tony said, as he pulled out the Big Gulp cup that Clint had left under the bar, and started tipping Scotch in it. "So tell me about Ragnarok. Did they really tie you to a rock and let a snake drip venom on you, or hasn't that happened yet?"

"Oh yes, that part is true, but I'd been a very naughty boy," Loki said. "But Ragnarok is one of the biggest lies ever told about me in these books. It's preposterous really."

"So you aren't going to kill the gods?"

As Loki opened his mouth to speak Thor entered the room. "Brother, you are just in time, I was about to tell Stark about when I caused Ragnarok."

Thor laughed, and said, "That was indeed a great day."

"Come join us, you can help me tell the tale," Loki said, patting the sofa, and Thor moved across the room to sit.

"Caused Ragnarok?" Tony asked, as he moved round to the sofa area carrying his unfeasibly large Scotch, and sat down. "I thought you said it wasn't down to you?"

"It was, and it wasn't... You see, everyone in Asgard knows what you would call 'the drill', the signal that Ragnarok has arrived, and when they hear it they are supposed to don their armour and prepare to fight," Loki stated. "When Heimdall blows his horn, we all must respond. Unfortunately he didn't keep that horn as well hidden as he thought, and it was a fairly simple matter to discover that he had buried it beneath Yggdrasil."

"You stole it?" Tony asked.

"Oh, yes," Loki smirked. "I stole the horn, took it to the highest point in Asgard and I blew it."

"What happened?"

"Well, everyone panicked of course. Ragnarok was coming, it was time to fight the army of the dead, and I sat on top of a tower watching the chaos from on high."

"Warriors ran through the streets brandishing their swords," Thor added. "Women and maidens armed themselves, and made their way to the battlefield too."

"The whole of Asgard, stood and waited for Ragnarok to come, which of course, it never did," Loki said.

"Everyone got soaked, there was a huge storm, and many capes were ruined," Thor added.

"And whose fault was that?" Loki asked.

"Mine," Thor mumbled. "I was a little upset."

"I still say it was your fault that everyone discovered it was me," Loki said. "You just couldn't resist telling tales to father, could you?"

"Brother, everyone in Asgard was present on the battlefield, apart from you. Who else could have been blowing the horn?"

"That is completely besides the point!" Loki snapped, and then he continued, "So anyway, you know the rest. I was dragged down from the tower, there was a serpent, a rock, and the dripping venom, as apparently no one on Asgard has a sense of humour."

"I thought it was amusing," Thor said. "Once my armour was dry."

"Thank you, brother," Loki replied.

"So you've never sailed a ship made out of toe nails clippings?" Tony asked.

"Of course not! That is the vilest thing I have ever heard," Loki replied. "I can't imagine it would be very watertight either."

"Good to know," Tony said, draining what was left of his Scotch.

~o~

Tony slept fitfully that night, as the room span around him after his Big Gulp of alcohol, and he threw the covers off himself. The light of the Arc Reactor sent a dim blue glow around the room, and Tony suddenly got the distinct feeling that he wasn't alone.

"Hi," Tony said, when he cracked his eyes open, and saw Loki at the foot of his bed, leaning over him with a pair of a scissors.

"Hello," Loki replied.

"Are you planning to stab me with those?"

"No."

"Are you clipping my toe nails?"

"No," Loki replied, innocently. "I'm not really here. I'm in my room."

"You are?"

"You're dreaming Stark, go back to sleep."

"OK," Tony replied, pulling the covers back over his feet, and turning over, as Loki quietly crept back to his own room, and added Tony's toe nail clippings to his growing collection.

Next chapter should be up by the weekend. Will probably be the last one, but I do plan to write more follow ups, should I find the right prompt :-)