Redemption

Pairings: Tony&Bruce, Natasha&Clint, Loki&Thor, Steve&OC
Summary: Loki has endured Asgardian punishment for the past four years. Meanwhile, the Chitauri race has revived and is searching for Loki. They inform the Avengers that if Loki is not presented to them, they will return to destroy the Earth.

Author's Note: This is not a deathfic.

TW: Suicidal thoughts.


Chapter Four

Thor's hand rested on one of the shackles on Loki's ankles. The lighting in the small room was dim, but Thor could recognize the unmistakable scent of infection – he was an experienced warrior, and had suffered through many wound infections in the past. Loki shifted his legs slightly, trying to block his wounds from Thor's sight. The last thing he wanted was pity, and he knew that Thor's kind heart would feel nothing but sympathy.

"We must get these wounds treated," Thor said. "We cannot keep him like this. It would be torture."

Even though Thor agreed with Odin and the leaders of Earth that Loki deserved punishment, Thor highly disapproved of torture as a means of justice. He believed that torture, as a tool for reform, was ineffective and unnecessary. He knew that Odin occasionally ordered torture for the worst criminals, but Thor had decided long ago that he would immediately end all torture sentences once he wore the crown.

"Tell me, brother, what do you know of torture?" Loki hissed, his voice dripping with resentment. Although he previously had no intention of revealing the conditions he'd been kept in, he couldn't help but snap at Thor. If Thor had visited him, even once, he'd know the true consequences of Loki's forced return to Asgard.

Thor remained silent – an unusual occurrence. In truth, he did not know anything of torture, as he had neither dealt nor received such treatment. But he could not bring himself to keep Loki in this condition. Perhaps Bruce would be able to treat the wounds. Even though the gods generally healed faster than humans, levels of pain were similar between the two types of beings.

"We'll have Dr. Banner take a look at him," Natasha said, seemingly reading Thor's mind. She did not particularly like Loki, but she was worried that his physical weakness would end up being a liability.

Natasha stepped out of the holding cell.

"Dr. Banner, your presence is requested inside," she announced in her naturally sultry voice. She held the door open for the doctor.

"And how exactly can I be helpful in this situation? I'm not sure if trapping me in this large metal box is a wise decision," Bruce replied as he stepped inside. Thor motioned for Bruce to look down at Loki's ankles.

"We'll need to move him to a different location if I am to treat these," Bruce said as he adjusted his glasses. His face showed no reaction to the smell and sight of the infection. As a doctor, he had seen wounds like these before – although Loki's untreated ankle wounds were among the most difficult cases Bruce had seen during his career.


Fury was not pleased when the team moved Loki into a nearby bathroom, but with the entire team agreeing with Natasha, he had no choice but to allow it. Most of the team did not agree with Natasha out of pure compassion, although small parts of Steve and Tony felt a little bit of sympathy toward Loki. Instead, the team agreed that Loki's present condition could turn out to be a liability if the Chitauri returned earlier than expected.

The only person who did agree with Fury's discontent with the situation was Loki. A steely frown was etched on his face as Bruce asked Loki to remove his pants. Even though only Bruce and Thor remained with him in the bathroom, he was hesitant to allow them to view not only his heavily marred skin, but also his thin body frame from years of poor nutrition.

"That was not part of this agreement," Loki argued. He did not even attempt to hide the anger in his voice – but the fear he felt was heavily masked. The wounds on his ankles did hurt him – but they had been infected for quite a long time, so he had adjusted to the pain. The pain in his back, however, still stung greatly.

Bruce walked closer to Loki. In turn, Loki took a few steps back. He felt cornered and defensive, although he was sure that his face only reflected malice. After a few steps, Loki's back was pressed to the wall, his chained hands uncomfortably pressed against the base of his back.

"Look, I'm only going to help you, even though I really, really don't want to," Bruce told him, raising his hands up slowly to grab Loki's arm and pull him toward the center of the bathroom, where the lighting was best. Loki had no choice but to allow it. He fixed his face to an emotionless expression.

"Then don't help me," Loki replied to Bruce. Loki's eyes were narrowed.

Thor looked at the spot where Loki had backed up against the wall, and noticed a light shade of red. A sudden realization hit him, and he turned quickly to look at Loki's back. He noticed that the cloth hanging on Loki's frame was damp.

"Doctor, I must speak to my brother alone. I will talk some sense into him," Thor requested. Bruce nodded, more than happy to take a break from dealing with Loki.

"Remove my shackles," Loki demanded once Bruce left the bathroom. "I will help you and your beloved, disgusting, weak planet. I want no sympathy from you."

"Loki, I have seen your bare skin many times in the past. I do not understand why you will not allow it once more," Thor said, carefully and slowly getting closer to Loki.

Loki took a step back and squared his shoulders. As he did so, an excruciating jolt of pain coursed through his body. His face involuntarily contorted into a pained grimace. Loki realized that when he backed up against the wall, he had accidentally pressed the Bilgesnipe shard deeper into his flesh. Concentrating on the sensation on his back, he realized that the blood flow coming from the wound had become heavier.

Loki looked at Thor, and immediately felt anger boiling in his chest. Thor was giving him a look of genuine concern – a look that made Loki sick. He could not stand Thor's kind nature. Before Loki's imprisonment, he had not minded that characteristic in people. But now, after experiencing years of cruelty, he felt that kindness was synonymous with condescension.

Thor had moved closer to Loki, and was surprised that Loki had stopped backing away. Upon looking at Loki's expression, he realized that it was pain that had stopped Loki from moving. He did not feel pity toward Loki, but he was very concerned. Even though Loki had taken a darker path, Thor had never stopped caring about Loki – he simply couldn't, no matter how hard he tried.

Loki knew that he could not get away from Thor, so he had no choice but to let Thor undress him. He hated the way he felt as his clothes were taken from him until he was standing in front of Thor – naked, except for his undergarments, with his hands chained tightly behind him. He felt vulnerable, weak, and undignified.

Thor's expression was solemn as he took in Loki's current state. Loki's body was covered in scars as well as wounds that had not yet healed. Loki's skin clung tightly to his ribs, and Thor knew that Loki had been deprived of adequate nutrition – possibly even starved for weeks on end. The thinness of Loki's body frame suggested that the guards had intentionally starved him on many occasions. Thor walked around to view Loki's back. His eyes widened when he saw the large Bilgesnipe scale embedded snugly and deeply in Loki's skin.

"Loki, I realize that this will hurt your pride, but it is necessary for you to receive medical treatment for these wounds," Thor said. His voice was quieter than usual.

Loki's face was expressionless. He nodded tersely in response. He'd only had his pride left, and Thor stripped that from him and tossed it in with the pile of clothes on the floor. Loki lowered his shoulders in defeat. Loki's only comfort was that he expected this whole situation to be irrelevant in a few days, after his side of the bargain was fulfilled.

Thor opened the door to the bathroom to get Bruce. He didn't expect the team to have moved near the bathroom. The whole team looked up as Thor opened the door. It was unavoidable that each of the Avengers saw the wounds on Loki's back, even though it was only for a brief moment.

Thor shut the door behind him, leaving Loki in the bathroom alone. Loki closed his eyes. Even though his back was turned to the door, he could hear the quiet, surprised gasps and feel the shocked stares. He wished that he could move to sit on the edge of the bathtub, but he feared accidentally making the wound on his back even worse.

After a couple minutes, Thor still hadn't returned. Loki decided to move to the edge of the tub to wait – he wasn't sure how long he would be left standing. Loki took slow steps, leaving a trail of blood from the center of the large bathroom to the tub. As Loki lowered himself to sit, his vision became blurred and his ears began to ring.


"What happened to Loki?" Steve asked Thor. He didn't particularly like Loki, but he couldn't help but feel a twinge of discomfort at the sight of Loki's scars and fresh wounds.

"My father decided on a harsher punishment than I previously believed," Thor replied. He walked over to Tony's bar and grabbed a glass. Tony normally would have said something about Thor taking his things without asking, but he too was still shocked at the gruesome sight. Tony briefly remembered the days he spent in captivity in Afghanistan, feeling a moment of empathy toward Loki.

Loki's wounds disturbed even Clint, although Clint refused to say anything about it out loud. Clint had experienced torture before as well. The wounds were not as bad as the ones marring Loki's skin, but he could remember the terror he felt. Now he understood why Loki requested death in exchange for helping them. There were times during his imprisonment on a spy mission that he also wished for death.

Bruce grabbed a briefcase full of medical supplies. Fury was always sure to stock first aid equipment in his helicopter in case of emergencies. He motioned for Thor to go with him – he really did not want to face Loki alone, especially if Loki tried to resist treatment.

They entered the bathroom and found Loki sitting at the edge of the bathtub, his head leaning forward as his hands trembled slightly.

"First, I'll remove the object that is in his back," Bruce told them. He wasn't sure what it was – he had never seen anything like it before.

Thor helped Loki turn around so that Loki's feet were in the tub. He was surprised that Loki was not resisting his touch – in fact, Loki was not responding much at all. Thor looked into Loki's glassy eyes and saw that Loki was overwhelmed by pain.

Bruce put on some gloves and carefully grabbed the shard. He had a needle ready to apply stitches after the shard was removed. As Bruce could feel the shard snagging on Loki's flesh as he slowly removed it.

Loki's breathing hitched. It felt like Bruce was ripping flecks of skin off. Loki clenched his fist, trying to distract himself from the pain.

Finally, Bruce finished. Bruce inspected the wound and applied disinfectant. Loki's back felt like it was burning, and he felt nauseous and dizzy. He looked up at Thor and saw Thor's concerned – yet strangely comforting – face before his vision went black.