*whispers* Hallo... People. Thank ye for all the shiny shiny reviews :3
Thor gazed down at his brother in utter bewilderment for a few moments after Loki turned limp in his arms. Behind him, the other Avengers murmured to one another, but he paid them no heed, laying Loki down on the floor and frowning at the blood trickling from under him. He prodded it and it was real enough. He couldn't sense an illusion – or rather, he could sense a lack of an illusion where previously there had been one. The blood was spreading alarmingly fast. He didn't know what to do. He stood and watched helplessly and Black Widow, shouldering him aside, kneeled down by his brother and cut away his woven top. "My god," whispered Banner, standing to the side with Man of Iron, as Loki's skin was revealed. Not much of it was smooth white skin. He was covered in scars and brutal marks that looked terribly recent. Awful red whip marks, burns, strange scars. His wrists were swollen and cracked, covered in red scabs, as if he had been pulling hard against metal manacles. Thor had to grab the nearby chair and sit down, because a terrible realisation was hitting him. "Thor," asked Black Widow carefully. "What exactly did they do to him in Asgard?" He looked up and five grim faces turned to him. "I do not know," he said helplessly. "I was not aware of any of this," he elaborated, and looked at his brother. Black Widow was looking up to where Fury was hurrying down the stair with a bag in his hands – Thor hoped they contained medical items that might help his brother heal. When Fury arrived, almost running, he didn't wait for explanations before kneeling down next to Black Widow and opening the bag. It did indeed contain bandages and salves and Odin knew what else. He watched anxiously as they set about cleaning the numerous wounds – Banner, recovering from his shock, eventually joining in and helping bandage his torso. When they were done, they lifted him and carried him carefully over to the wall, Man of Iron producing a bedroll for him. When he asked, Black Widow assured him his brother would be fine, he just needed some time.
There was only a day and a half of the contest left before Odin would be expecting them back. Thor didn't think Odin knew of what had happened, or he would not have allowed Loki for this brief visit to earth. But there was nothing he could do, and they did not have time! He paced around his oven, knowing sleep was futile. Eye of Hawk was speaking with Fury, and had been for quite some time. Everyone else seemed to be snatching a few hours sleep – except Black Widow, who was finishing up some batter. Man of Iron, uncharacteristically enough, had volunteered to sleep near Loki should his condition worsen. Thor gladly agreed, feeling like a traitor for not doing it himself, but he couldn't look at the scars or even the bandages without shuddering and wanting to bring down everyone who had had a part in this. The guards, he thought to himself. The guards had turned on the man who had been their prince. Thor fumed silently, but until the contest was ended, he could not go to Asgard. He would appeal to Odin. The guards would be discharged. He would discharge them himself if he had to. But for now, he paced and paced, then mimicked Black Widow and began furiously mixing up more batter – deciding this time to add a little less flour in the vague hope they would burn less easily. He could not cook, he thought angrily to himself. And he was a useless brother. He slammed the bowl of badly mixed batter into the cold part of his cupboard, muttering low curses to himself, before turning around and realising that Fury was watching him. He sniffed quickly and blinked. "Yes?" he asked Fury.
"Loki may have been innocent in the battle of New York," Fury stated bluntly, and Thor grunted a breath and stepped back as if the words had been a physical blow. Unable to muster words, he motioned to Fury to carry on. "Barton says he spoke to him, and Loki told him, in a somewhat roundabout way, that he had been controlled – in much the same way Barton had." Thor frowned and nodded, waiting to see if Fury had more to add on. He did. "If this is true… Will his sentence in Asgard be lifted?" Thor considered it. If they played their cards right… He nodded slowly, but with a frown. Only a small chance. Fury nodded and left quickly, leaving Thor to think. So, his brother had been controlled, most likely. Thinking back… It was entirely plausible. Loki had seemed oddly weak during the attack, and had made strange, badly thought out moves. Not like his diplomatic, mischievous, and clever brother at all. He wondered what had happened to Loki after he had fallen. He hoped to Valhalla that his brother had not been tortured there, too. Tortured. Such a harsh word. But there was truth to it, he thought, as he looked over to where his brother was lying. But how to convince Odin… He doubted Loki would allow their father entry into his mind, if he had waited until the very last minute before revealing the state he was in. Perhaps… He wondered if Heimdall had seen anything. He would return to Asgard alone, he told himself, and ask. Perhaps Odin would consider releasing Loki from his sentence. But then… Thor didn't think his brother would wish to stay on Asgard as a prince, with those who had beaten him so badly. In fact, he had a sneaking suspicion Loki would rather remain in the dungeons. He sighed and rubbed his forehead miserably, before returning the batter to the table and concentrating on eking out every single lump he could find, and then just stirring and stirring until eventually, his arm grew tired and his head grew heavy, and he shoved the batter into the cupboard just for a few minutes while he rested, five minutes perhaps, not more than ten… He was asleep as soon as he sat down and rested his head in his arms, worn out from the constant frustration of pancake making failure, and thoughts of what had happened and what still could happen to Loki.
When he awoke, it was because Man of Iron and Banner seemed to be having an epic fight with Black Widow and Eye of Hawk – the latter two, for once, pairing up. Thor noticed Captain at the far end of the room sneakily borrowing a frying pan from Black Widow's stovetop, which was not yet lit, although the oil was standing ready on the side. He looked to the side, and saw Loki in exactly the same position as they had laid him down in. Thor frowned sadly, but then quietly stood, and surreptitiously began to light his stove and heat some oil. It was unlikely they would even try near his batter, judging by the previous day – but when he took it out, it was completely smooth, and he recalled the furious mixing of the night before. He tried to act as he had before, sniffing over his mixture as if it disgusted him – and neither Black Widow nor Eye of Hawk spared him a second glance – the former choking Man of Iron and the latter wrestling Banner to the floor while reaching for their batter. Both Banner and Man of Iron were taking their evident defeat in remarkably good humour, laughing near uncontrollably. The oil heated quickly and when Thor deemed it just a little too cool – he always misjudged it and let it overheat – he added just one ladle full of mixture. No pouring the batter in straight from the bowl - he had tried that before, too. It gave a satisfying sizzle, and he looked up, immensely pleased with himself. Banner was wandering over in his direction and he narrowed his eyes suspiciously at the doctor – who raised his hands a little as he approached. "I'm just going to check on Loki," he murmured quietly, and Thor nodded his assent before carefully turning the pancake with a spatula – not even trying to replicate Captain America's perfect flips. Thor rolled his eyes. It was quite evident the Captain was most likely to win this contest – but just wait until the food fight! A small pop as an air bubble escaped his pancake and he started, looking it over carefully and deeming it ready. It slipped easily from the pan onto the empty plate, and Thor gaped in astonishment. It wasn't burned. It didn't seem undercooked. He rushed to his cupboard and thought carefully. Fruit. He would add flavour with fruit. He did not want to risk making another pancake, so he set the pan aside for the time being and worked on decorating the one that he did have.
Bruce looked down at the god lying prone in front of him. Just before Fury had gone back up to the agents on the landing, last night, he had traversed around the room and as he had with Thor, had briefly explained to them what Clint had told him. Looking at the guy, Bruce found it easy to believe. "No hard feelings, dude," he whispered to himself, fingers busily checking Loki's pulse – weak, erratic, but there and definitely stronger than yesterday. He nodded to himself and then rolled Loki over gently, checking the bandages. The blood had only just seeped through, in a few places, but the flow seemed to have stopped for now. Bruce grimaced at the thought of removing the bandages later. Tony had reported that Loki's pulse had evened out somewhat as he slept, and was a fraction stronger than it had been, but he was weak and when he awoke, would be likely to be in a bad mood, because of his stupid pride. That he had waited so long to reveal his state… Well. Bruce shook his head. Why would Loki do such a thing? Then he pursed his lips. Of course, he knew the answer to that. Pride again – in the stupid Asgardian dungeons Loki had been stripped of his dignity alongside most of his skin. He must have felt a small scrap of pride was all he had left – and of course, people like that tended to avoid pity at all cost. Even if it wasn't pity but genuine concern he felt for Loki at this moment – especially if it was true that his mind had been controlled. He – they – would have to ask Thor exactly what family drama had been going on for Loki to meet – or be captured by – the person behind everything. He had a feeling that was it. Just a feeling – because of the way Thor called Loki his brother, and Loki constantly rebuked him for it. It was odd, to say the least. And he dimly recalled Thor telling them he was adopted… Perhaps Loki had found out his true parentage and got really, really mad. He'd have to ask, just to make sure. So, he looked over and found Thor not at his oven – where a surprisingly delicious looking and unburnt pancake was ready on a plate – but at Loki's over. He was eating the strange cake things Loki had made, in stormy silence. He walked over to him but he didn't look up until he started to speak. "Thor," he began, somewhat hesitantly. "What exactly happened in you… Family?" Thor raised his eyebrows and Bruce sighed. "How did he meet the person who probably controlled him?" Thor's resolve seemed to break and he pushed the plate away and turned his chair to properly face Bruce.
"I suppose it started when we were children. I was always… The favoured son, though I didn't notice my brother was often left behind when we all went on grand adventure and the like. I didn't think he minded. But he must have felt excluded." Thor sighed and rubbed his face. "On what was to be my coronation, he let into Asgard some frost giants, intending to disrupt the proceedings. It worked. We killed the frost giants but I was filled with rage and with my friends and Loki, set out to Jotunheim." Thor paused succinctly, as if deliberating what to say next. "I suspect that that is where Loki found out his true heritage as a Jotun." Bruce motioned for him to go on. "In our culture… Jotuns are monsters. Things we tell children of to make them behave." Bruce blinked. That must have been unpleasant. He could think of a great deal to say to Thor about it but elected instead to remain silent and let the god continue. "Odin banished me to earth after we nearly incited a war. Or, after I nearly began a war. Then, when he fell into the Odinsleep, Loki took over ruling and sent the destroyer to kill me – coming quite close to succeeding, though at the last moment I persuaded him to leave the rest of Midgard and hurt only me. Upon return to Asgard… Loki let in more frost giants, intending to let them nearly slay Odin, but kill them just before they killed his father – gaining the respect of Odin in the process." Bruce raised his eyebrows at the strange way of thinking. "It turned out to be his father, the king of the frost giants, that he killed – a fact he was aware of and did not much mind. Remember, he too thought of frost giants as monsters." Thor sniffed. "Then, intending to… To destroy Jotunheim, he froze Heimdall and unleashed the power of the Bifrost upon it. We fought, and I destroyed the Bifrost to stop the chaos. As I did so, a massive blast of power was unleased, and we were thrown over the edge of the ruined bridge." Thor licked his dry lips before continuing in a sorrowful tone. "Odin awoke from his sleep and arrived in time to take hold of me. I held onto Odin's staff – which had been in Loki's possession – and Loki was holding onto the end of the staff. He told Odin… That he had tried to destroy Jotunheim for him. For all of us." Bruce leaned forwards slightly, tilting his head in encouragement. "Odin… Simply told him 'No, Loki.' And my brother let go of the staff to fall into the void. That is… That is where he must have been captured."
Bruce drew back. "Loki tried to kill himself?" He asked, horrified. Thor nodded mutely. Bruce thought about it. Loki had been pushed aside as a child, only to discover he was what he and the entirety of Asgard thought of as a monster. He'd lashed out at Thor, then tried twice to prove himself to his father – as anyone rejected as a child might have done. Failing that… He had let go. And then some horrible creature had found him and used his broken mind, twisted it to his own will, until Loki thought he hated Thor, hated Midgard even though he had once before let it live. And then he had been punished for something beyond his control, with… Those scars. And worse still, having to walk amongst Asgardians who now saw him as a monster… "I don't think he should be going back to Asgard," Bruce told him flatly, giving him a look that plainly warned Thor of exactly what would happen if he started arguing. Thor didn't argue, nodding mutely instead.
"I know," he rumbled quietly. "I will go by myself and ask Odin of what we may do instead. I do not believe my father was aware of his… Torture." Bruce nodded.
"Okay," he told Thor, still not entirely convinced, then left the thunder god to brood as he quietly went over to Tony and Cap – currently yelling obscene insults at each other, though much to Bruce's amusement, Cap was hunting furiously for polite metaphors. They paused in their fight as he approached. "I got news," he told them quietly, then began to recap everything Thor had told him.