TITLE: Ruiner

AUTHOR: RedMetalWitch(AO3) aka: Kichi ( )

SUBJECT: Loki is attacked by a horrible creature of legend and finds himself changed for the worse

FANDOM: Thor (movies), Avengers (movies), Avengers (comics- just threw in a few characters for support or back story)

WARNINGS: lots of blood and death (not major character death- just random innocent civilian death)

NOTES: I refuse to believe that Loki is dead and I am ignoring Infinity War. Actually, I really don't know where this would fit in, so it will just have to be an AU.


You believed in all your lies

Didn't you?

Didn't you?


New York

Bruce reached for Loki's arm.

"Don't worry ok? Just come back with us and sit down. Whatever's happened, we'll do whatever we can to help." The sadness that suddenly overwhelmed Loki was unlike anything he'd ever felt. He winced, clutching his chest as his heart ached. Thor and Bruce immediately grabbed his shoulders.

"Brother are you in pain?"

"Are you alright?" Bruce said at the same time.

"I- it's nothing." he said, his face going carefully blank. Clint and Natasha exchanged a glance and took a step back when Loki's eyes rose to glare at them. "I'm not lying!" he snapped.

"We didn't say anything!" Clint said, his eyes wide. Loki scoffed, incredulous.

"I heard you both!" he demanded.

"Loki, they said nothing that I could hear..." Thor began, trailing off in confusion. Bruce and Tony drew closer. He felt Steve and Thor behind him. They were surrounding him. He began to pluck nervously at his left palm.

"Loki, you need to rest-" Steve said.

"I'm fine!" Tony and Bruce exchanged glances next. From Tony he heard: 'He looks like he's going to wig out.' From Bruce: 'He's having a reaction from the transfusion of some kind.'

He heard them as if they'd spoken, but their lips hadn't moved. He was not telepathic. He'd never had that skill. And the terrifying sense of wrongness slammed him in the gut again. He felt the blood drain from his face.

"Ok, ok, grab him!" Bruce cried as his knees buckled.


He awoke and saw the sun. It was brilliant. The colors and textures of the room were positively alive. He stared, enraptured for a long time. He finally pulled his gaze away from the sunlight and noticed he was alone. Even Thor was gone. But he knew they were near. He could hear them.

He had to get out of the tower. He couldn't trust his magic until he knew what had truly happened to him. But something was different. Very different from anything he knew. He felt light and strong. His hearing and sense of smell had never been so attuned. He needed to get to his room and grab clothes. He couldn't wander about in underwear and he knew with grim certainty that he had to get as far away from Stark tower as he could. Everyone would insist that he remain trapped behind the flimsy plastic barrier, and he knew he couldn't tolerate another moment.

He was in his room in seconds, running through the hall to his room with a speed and stealth he'd never possessed before. He wasn't short of breath in the slightest and no one had heard him, he was certain. He was as delighted as he was horrified. He dressed quickly and paused to think. He had to get out but how? No one used the stairs, did they? Would the humans in their huge, protective suits try to stop him? He couldn't risk it. He needed to get out without being seen. Perhaps if he moved fast enough, and quietly enough he could.

There were four stairwells total. If one was occupied at a certain floor he could bypass them by going to another. He heard no one in the hall and peered out. No one was around. He quickly ran to the elevators and listened hard. None were in use. If he used one someone would notice. He ran to the southern stairwell and heard nothing. He opened the door and listened. He heard nothing. He hurried down the stairs and was shocked at how quickly he was able to travel. He traveled faster and faster, listening hard for anyone approaching the stairs, but heard nothing until he reached the fourth floor. There were humans at the bottom level. He opened the door quietly and peeked into the fourth floor. He heard nothing and smelled nothing but stale air, office supplies, coffee, and lingering perfumes and colognes. He ran to the west stairwell door and listened carefully before opening the door. No one was within and he nearly flew down the stairs in his haste.

The door leading outside was locked, but he simply twisted the knob harder and it came off in his hand. He stuck his index finger in the hole and pushed the other doorknob out, then when that did nothing he began to grow worried. He didn't want to make noise. He pulled a knife from his pocket and jammed it into the lock with ease. He wrenched it down and the knife and lock both broke. He opened the door with a sigh and took all the broken pieces with him. The sky was darker than when he'd woken up and he was shocked when he realized he'd slept an entire day. He thought of his brother's worry when he discovered Loki gone.

"Should have left a note." he mumbled. He didn't want anyone to worry, but he had to go. The wild fluttering in his chest had ceased the moment the door opened and he stepped into the alley. He wasn't about to go back until he discovered a few things.


The hazmat team was leaving and Stark employees were returning. They had run samples of Loki's blood through every test they could think of and nothing suggested that he had anything capable of being transmitted to other's in anyway. They had taken blood samples from everyone else on the team and they all were cleared. Some of the doctors Fury had sent over were still babbling excitedly about what little they had so far gleaned from Loki and Thor's blood, but the Avenger's were assured that Loki could come out of isolation. Especially considering he'd already left it, but they failed to mention that. They had gone down a floor to keep from waking Loki who was still unconscious when they'd left. And as soon as Thor had been assured that his younger brother was not contagious he'd refused to listen to anything more Fury had to say on the subject, electing to be the first to give Loki the good news.

When the rest of the team reached their floor they could hear Thor calling Loki's name quite loudly.

They saw the bed was empty and heard Thor running through the penthouse.

"Thor!" Steve called. "Loki isn't here?" Thor ran into the living area where everyone stood, looking dumbfounded.

"He's gone!" Thor cried, his expression aggrieved. "He changed clothes and that's all I can tell! I can find him nowhere." Natasha and Clint exchanged a glance and Thor saw it, and he scowled. "I tire of the surreptitious glances between you two!" he snapped, advancing on the pair. "If you have something to say, do so!"

"Thor," Natasha sighed, "We are worried, that is all." Clint nodded, his expression unreadable.

"Calm down, buddy." Steve said, "Maybe he just went to get some fresh air." Tony's head cocked to the side in that peculiar way that said he'd just had an idea.

"Excuse me for a second."

He returned several minutes later with a triumphant grin.

"Now, don't get angry." He began looking pointedly at Thor. "But your brother is wearing a tracking device." Thor scowled, but said nothing when Bruce gave his arm a squeeze. Tony held his hands up in surrender. "In my defense, he did ask for it. He just doesn't know it."

"What are you talking about?" Steve said, hoping that Tony would get to the point sooner than later. He wasn't sure why, but Loki's disappearance left him feeling extremely uneasy. It wasn't that he didn't trust him, he did quite a bit. Loki had been their team mate for over half a year, and he'd been nothing but unfailingly polite to Steve. And he'd saved his ass a few times as well. For the first month the only person he'd tease would be Thor. Then he began to tease Tony, which began a back and forth of trading barbs and trying not to laugh that had amused everyone. Not only that- it had put the more reluctant Avenger's at ease in a way that his perfect manners hadn't.

"Well, I had a lovely emerald ring that caught your brother's eye. I had installed a tracking device in it awhile ago. I told him he could have the ring, and I know he's been wearing it ever since. And in my further defense, I totally forgot the tracking device was in there when I gave it to him. Nevertheless," He held up his cell phone and they saw a map with a green dot. "You can see here, that the tracking device is working, he is wearing it, he's in Central Park, and you can all thank me for being a genius later." Thor leapt to his feet and dragged Tony into a bone-crushing hug. "Later I said!" Tony squeaked.


It was a short walk that led him into Central Park. He didn't acknowledge what he was looking for, to do so would be unbearable. So he lied to himself. He told himself he wanting nothing more than to see how his magic was affected. He told himself he could do nothing at Stark tower. What if he shattered every inch of glass on accident? What if he hurt one of the Avenger's? He was loathe to admit that he was growing fond of them. It was just one more lie he told himself.

He caught himself sniffing at the air, and tried to stop, but he'd already caught a whiff of something that was making his throat burn and his mouth water. The sky was growing dark, but he didn't allow himself to think about how easy it could be, was going to be. He wandered through the forest surrounded on all sides by massive towers of concrete, steel, and glass and refused to think about what was going to happen.

Until it happened.

A young couple was being held up at gun point. He didn't plan or even think. One moment he stumbled upon the scene, the next he had the robber in his arms. He caught the gun as the would-be thief tried to pistol-whip him and squeezed his hand gently. The man shrieked as every bone in his hand shattered. He heard the couple running away as he leaned closer, sniffing the man's throat.

"Let me go!" The man hissed. "I'll fucking kill you." Loki smiled, his heart hammering. A part of him was begging for him to stop, but he could not. He bit down on the man's throat- too hard. Blood sprayed all over his face and shirt, but he didn't notice. The only thing he could feel was the hot blood pouring down his throat. It was blessed relief, he moaned as he crushed the man in his arms sending another hot spurt down his throat. But it was over too quickly. The man's last breath rattled out of his throat as Loki dropped him. He looked down at himself and saw he was covered with the man's blood, except for his hands. They were spotless. He blinked in shock and stared down at the corpse crumpled at his feet, backing away hastily. He had to get the hell away from it. A strange revulsion he'd never felt before upon seeing a corpse swept through him and he hurried away.

He wanted more. He knew people were near, he could hear them, and smell them. He smelled pet dogs and other forest creatures, but these did not entice him in the slightest. He hurried down a path and saw a woman jogging alone. He almost felt sorry for her until his throat began to burn again, and her scent filled his nostrils. He waited until she jogged past to grab her. She screamed behind the hand he clapped over her mouth and whimpered when he bit down. He was careful this time. No more arterial blood spray, it went all down his parched throat, but again he squeezed her too hard in his excitement. Her bones cracked and another hot gush came into his mouth so forcefully it almost shot out his nose. A few more swallows that sent shivers up his spine and he let her drop. He left her on the path without a backward glance and sniffed the air until he smelled water. It was a few miles so he decided to run to see just how fast he could go.

The world flew past and he laughed with delight. He found 'The Lake' (as the sign beside it proclaimed) and rolled his eyes. "Clever name." he sighed and waded in until the water was up to his armpits, then sank under the water and began to scrub himself furiously.


"Look at him, Jeremiah!"

"Indeed Lord."

"He is unlike any we have tried to use before."

"He still has a mind to manipulate."

"Yes. The other's were all walking corpses by now."

"Shall we collect him?"

"We must. Tony Stark draws near."


Something blue caught Loki's attention. And once it did he could not look away. He climbed out of the water and drew closer until he could see the very same blue bauble they had found in Yangshuo. His memory was hazy on this point but he had been sure he'd seen it in Tony Stark's hands. The moment he touched it his entire body seized and he collapsed. He felt hands grabbing him and dragging him through the dirt, but he couldn't move to stop them.

Tony Stark landed in Central Park. The tracer led him there, but then suddenly headed east, and as he saw a sleek jet suddenly fly past the signal told him Loki was inside. He went after them, but the jet was fast and armed. Not that he wasn't, but whoever was within did not want him joining their party. Missiles shot out and flew after him and it took all his concentration to evade and destroy them without allowing any to hit any buildings.

"Cap, I'm under fire, and someone's taken Loki unless he stole a Lockheed SR 71 Blackbird and learned how to fly it."

"I am calling Nick Fury. I think we'll need some backup. Unless you can-"

"What? Shoot them down and possibly kill Loki? I'm sure Thor would love that."

"Is he still wearing the tracking device?"

"Yes, and it's working."

"Alright then come back. We'll get some support and figure out a plan."

Tony returned to the tower and Natasha immediately grabbed him and pulled him to the side.

"There were several murders in Central Park. All of the victims were bitten. Their blood was drained." Tony knew the feeling and it was obvious to Natasha and she gripped his arms, shaking him lightly. "Tony! Now is not the time to faint!" she admonished, slapping his cheek.

"Does Thor know?" Natasha scowled.

"He saw the news report first. He said he had to return to Asgard. He seemed convinced that there was something he could get to help Loki."

"Did you call Fury?"

"How the hell can we do that now?" Clint snapped. "If Loki killed those people-"

"And we're sure we want to try and get him back?" Tony asked, staring around the room. It was Bruce who replied.

"Thor is convinced that his father has some type of magical artifact that will help."

"So, what? We just sit on our asses waiting for Thor to return and hope the body count doesn't go too high this time?"

"What else are you suggesting?" Steve said, standing from his place in front of the television and coming closer.

"I'm suggesting that Jimmy was right!" Tony cried. "You saw those things that attacked him! Do you really think that he wants to end up that way?"

"Of course not! Tony, that will be our last option-" Steve began,

"And what if the longer we wait the harder it will be to stop him?"

"We've promised Thor that we will do everything we can to help him first." Steve said in a voice that Tony knew all too well. He looked around the room and saw that everyone had made up their minds and he was the odd man out.

"Fine." he snapped, throwing his hands up in disgust. "If anyone needs me- doesn't matter no one's listening anyway." he stalked away muttering furiously.


Loki awoke in what appeared to be an ancient human dungeon. The walls were carved into the rock and seeped with moisture. The bars were old, but thick, and he grabbed them, rattling them. They held firm.

"Shit."

TBC

{edited 9/7/2018}