Title: Team is a four-letter word chapter 6 of 7
Pairing/Characters: Teamfic. No Pairings. Loki, Tony Stark, Thor, Frigga, Steve Rogers, Avengers.
Full fic word Count: approx 28000 words
Warnings: Suicide attempt. A few swear words, especially in chapters 4 and 6.
Summary: The fourth part of the team work series. Previous fics were "Better Teamwork Through Dragon Hunting", "I used to be a god, but then I took an arrow to the eye", and "Six hugs a day keeps the doctor away" which can all be found on my profile.
"After some serious therapy, Loki has now been a member of the Avengers for 2 years, but when an attack by Doom leaves him gravely ill, his team mates have to fight to save his life."
*~* Team is a four-letter word *~*
Chapter 6 of 7
At first Loki had been too weak to do anything and simply lay curled in his mother's arms, allowing her to spoon soup into his mouth after it became clear that he was shaking too much to feed himself. She would hold his hands when he was in pain, telling him to relax and clear his mind, to breathe through the agony until it passed, and made him laugh by saying it couldn't be any worse than giving birth to an eight legged horse.
Once Loki was strong enough to move Frigga took up residence in the kitchen, cooking his favourite Asgardian meals, and trying out Midgardian recipes that Jarvis printed out for her. She would help Loki to the table, and encourage him to eat, cutting up his food into small pieces for him as if he were a child, smiling gently as he tentatively placed them in his mouth and chewed.
A small sofa was moved into the kitchen where Loki sat between meals, bundled in blankets, watching his mother constantly with wide eyes, as if terrified she might suddenly vanish, that he might be abandoned and left to suffer alone again.
The dining table was always filled with pies, giant roasts of ham, and pots of delicious stew. The smell of freshly baked bread never failed to entice the Avengers into the room with watering mouths, and Frigga was always waiting for them with her latest batch of home made Jam for them to try. The kitchen quickly became the heart of the tower, the one place where everyone was drawn, it was always filled with warmth and laughter, and Frigga was at the centre.
Tony did his best to get every single ingredient that she asked for, no matter how strange. When Frigga asked for a whole shark, he brought her one. When she asked for a large box filled with gravel, he got her one. When she cut the shark into steaks and buried it the gravel then left it outside on the roof Tony thought he might throw up in his mouth a little, but Frigga convinced him that Hákarl, or rotten shark, was a wonderful delicacy, and he decided to try it, when it was rotten enough, in 6 to 8 weeks.
~o~
As Frigga waited for her dough to rise so she could bake fresh honey and oat bread, she sat on the sofa and hummed a sweet tune as she straightened Loki's hair for him with the strange heated device that Tony had given him.
"What is this?" Loki had asked, when Tony had handed him the box.
"It's a present," Tony replied.
"A gift? For me?"
"To myself mostly," Tony said. "I'm sick of seeing you in that ridiculous bobble hat."
Loki pulled the Straighteners out of the box, closing them several times with a loud snap. "How do I use it?"
"There's an instruction manual probably, but I never use those. Practical experience is always the best way to learn," Tony said as he plugged them in at the wall.
Loki got the Straighteners tangled in his hair twice, burnt himself once, and Tony burnt himself three times before they finally gave up and asked Frigga for help, and she after that she decided she would straighten Loki's hair every morning after breakfast.
"There we go," Frigga said, as she straightened the final section of hair at the front. "All finished."
"Thank you, mother," Loki replied with a tired smile, and hugged her tightly.
"Loki is a bit of a momma's boy, huh?" Tony said, as he walked down the corridor, with Bruce at his side, and passed the open door to the kitchen, catching a glimpse of the scene inside. "Who would have thought it? We should keep her. He's defiantly less 'liar, liar, pants on fire' with her around."
"If you were sick as he is, wouldn't you just want a hug from your mother?" Bruce asked, as they continued walking.
"Probably not, she's been dead for years," Tony said. "It'd be a tiny bit creepy, and probably quite uncomfortable, what with the bones and everything."
"You know what I mean."
"Yeah, yeah I do," Tony replied. "What about you? Parents tucked away in some picture perfect cottage with a white picket fence?"
Bruce stopped. "It isn't in my file?"
"What isn't?"
"About my parents. That's not in my file?"
"Obviously not since I literally have no idea what you're talking about."
"I'm shocked. I thought the prying eyes of Shield would love to spread my personal business around," then he sighed and added, "My mother was murdered when I was a kid."
"Oh Bruce, I had no idea, sorry man."
"Oh it's even better than that, it was my father who did it," Bruce said. Tony was speechless, not quite sure what words would possibly offer his friend any kind of comfort, and Bruce continued, "It was a long time ago now, but I'd give anything for one more hug."
~o~
Spirits were high in the kitchen later that day when everyone gathered for lunch to try out the first salmon that Frigga had made in the smoker that Tony had set up for her on the roof of the tower, and everyone agreed it was the best they had ever tasted.
They chatted, as they smothered fresh bread with cream cheese and piled it high with the delicious fish.
"I have never had such amazing salmon, ma'am," Steve said, as he squeezed a wedge of lemon over his open sandwich.
"The secret is all in the wood chips that you use to create the smoke, Steven. Anthony was very kind enough to find me the very best."
Tony smiled, and Natasha let out a small laugh.
"What?" Tony asked.
"Bruce told me earlier that you called Loki a momma's boy," she said quietly. "A bit hypocritical when you are running round after her more than anyone."
"I am not."
"Tony, where did you get the shark that she wanted?"
"Japan."
"Did you import it?"
"Sort of…" Tony replied, non-committally.
Natasha put her elbow on the table, and rested her cheek on her hand. "You went down and caught that shark yourself, didn't you?"
"Maybe," Tony replied. "She's just so…"
"Motherly?"
"I was going to say nice."
"Don't worry about it Tony, we all feel the same way," Natasha replied. "I guess that's natural though. We're all orphans basically, and everyone needs a mother."
"What do you mean?"
"Do you ever actually listen to a word anyone says to you?"
"Sure," Tony replied. "If it's about cool stuff."
"Steve talks about his mother all the time, surely you must know his parents died."
"He was in ice for 70 years so I assum-"
"Both his parents died before he even graduated high school, Tony," Natasha said disapprovingly.
"Oh," Tony replied with a wince. "Maybe he should have been a bit clearer about it?"
"Maybe you should have listened a little better?" Natasha asked. "Did you know my parents died when I was young, and Clint's too?"
"Did you know about Bruce's parents?" Tony asked.
"I did, but only because it's my job to know those things. For everyone else, I knew because it's friend's job to actually listen when they speak."
"I'll try to do better," Tony replied.
"Good, and stop ragging on Loki for behaving exactly the same way you are."
"Maybe I should start letting her do my hair every morning."
"Knock it off, Tony."
~o~
It was Saturday night. Tony had been working on his suit all day, so it was definitely time for some quality relaxation time, kick back with a DVD, and drink himself into a near comatose state.
Tony walked into the living room, and found Frigga gently stroking Loki's hair, as he slept with his head on her knee. "Oh sorry. I didn't realise you'd be in here."
"Nothing to apologise for, Anthony. Loki was showing me something called 'Animals do the funniest things', but fell asleep before the end," she said with a gentle smile. "Come, sit with me for a moment."
"I don't want to wake him up," Tony said, as he began fumbling round in the bar for a bottle of scotch and a glass. "I'll just take this and get out of your way."
"It will be fine, come, sit," she said, as she held her hand out to him.
Tony poured himself a large drink, dropped a few ice cubes into the glass, and then padded quietly over the room to sit next to Frigga on the sofa. He asked, "How do you think he's doing?"
"I believe he is learning to control the pain, but it is a long process. Loki's magical ability is one of the most advanced in all of the realms, and he simply cannot unlearn it."
"He doesn't even have to think to do it."
"No, he doesn't. Tell me Anthony, if someone placed a book in front of you, would you be able to prevent yourself from seeing the letters and reading the words?"
"No, its just second nature. It can't be helped."
"And that is how Loki is with his magic. It is an unconscious action that is part of him now," she said. "Asking him to stop performing it is like asking you to unlearn how to read a book, like asking someone to learn how to stop breathing. It is nigh on impossible, and yet we must ask him to do it."
"Do you think he can? Can he learn how to do that?"
"Loki was always a sensitive boy, always anxious, and frequently ill, but he refused to let it stop him. He was always off with Thor on some grand adventure," Frigga said, smiling gently as she stroked his hair. "He never told us until recently that people mocked him cruelly for using magic, for being weak, for not being like Thor, which he never could be because he isn't like Thor. I deeply regret not telling him about his heritage sooner, and maybe things would have been different if we had, but if he is strong enough to make it through that, I believe he can accomplish anything he sets his mind to."
~o~
Steve was heading to his quarters when he walked past Loki's room, and saw him sat in bed in the dark, illuminated by the light of the TV with a frown on his face, through the open door.
"You're up late," Steve said, stopping in the doorway. "Everything OK?"
"I fell asleep earlier," Loki replied. "I couldn't get back to sleep."
Steve heard the sound of his own voice coming from the television, and came into the room. "What are you watching?"
"It is on the history channel," Loki replied, watching black and white footage of Steve during World War 2, which then flicked back to him sat in a studio, talking about his time in the USO.
"Wow, they're repeating this old thing?" Steve asked as he came in the room. "They filmed the interview sections shortly after you attacked New York."
"It has been most interesting," Loki replied. "I found your comments about the death of your friend very moving."
Steve swallowed, suddenly back in the train, watching Bucky fall. "It was a long time ago."
"I thought the most interesting section was about your early life. How you would stand up to bullies, even when you had no hope of winning," Loki said, and then he turned to Steve. "The serum never really changed you, did it? You remain the same person you were before you took it."
"Erskine told me I was a good man," Steve replied. "I really hope I lived up to that."
"I believe you have. Tell me, if it was all taken away tomorrow, if you suddenly lost all your abilities, would you still be the same person?"
"You're worried about what will you will do, now you can't use your magic?"
"Captain, everything that makes you a hero was a quality you possessed before the serum, it just gave you the physical attributes that you lacked. What will I be without my skills? What use is a powerless sorcerer to anyone?"
"There are tons of things you can do," Steve replied. "You're smart, Tony will want your help."
"Oh joy, condemned to a life of listening to Stark blithering on endlessly," Loki said sarcastically.
"Powers or not, Loki, you can't give up hope."
Loki cast a weary look at Steve, and said, "Hope is a four-letter word, Captain and I've been roundly informed by Thor that I'm not allowed to use them while our mother is here. Apparently it's unbecoming for a prince to use words like fuck, shit, and crap."
Steve flinched at the angry tone of Loki's voice as he enunciated each word carefully, and replied, "There are plenty of good four letter words. Love, is a four letter word and you have plenty of people here who love you."
"What about liar?" Loki asked sourly. "Without my magic that's all that I will be."
"Team, Loki," Steve said. "Team is a four-letter word, and like it or not you are part of this team, even without your magic, there is still a place for you here."
Loki reached for the remote, and switched the TV off. "If you'll excuse me, I think I'll retire for the night."
"OK," Steve said, as he moved towards the doorway. "Don't forget what I said though. Don't give up, because we're not about to give up on you."
~o~
"So what are your plans for today?" Tony asked Loki the next morning when he found him sat in the kitchen pensively twirling his slightly curly hair round his fingertips. "Sit around and let your mother fawn all over you like an injured kitten?"
Loki scoffed and shot Tony an incredulous look, then said, "Yes."
"Don't you think you should take her out somewhere? Maybe see a show?"
"I don't know if it's escaped your attention, Anthony, but I'm still have a great deal of difficulty walking."
"You could use the wheelchair."
Loki's mouth dropped open. "I am never getting in that thing again."
"There's nothing wrong with the chair. Maybe we could customise it," Tony said. "Paint it green, put some gold flames down the side. Maybe add some horns for the handles, a few skulls..."
"Skulls?" Loki asked. "I believe you have mistaken me for a fan of your Midgardian rock music."
"Mistaken? Don't you come over all coy with me," Tony said. "I know you secretly got Jarvis to download the entire My Chemical Romance back catalogue last month."
"That was a mistake," Loki sniffed. "I was looking for details of love potions on the internet and mistook that for one."
"You can't hide it from me," Tony said. "You are a secret Emo kid."
"I am not," Loki protested. "I am nothing like one of these Emo kids."
"Really? You've got the floppy black hair for a start."
"This is my natural hair colour."
"Jarvis, define Emo Kid."
"Although there is no dictionary definition for the phrase 'Emo Kid', Urban dictionary defines it as 'The stereotype for a kid aged 13 to 19 who has a lower tolerance for sad emotions, who feels inadequate of their own personal worth, and who feels like they aren't good enough.'"
"Sad emotions, low self worth, not good enough, can't live up to their fabulous older brother," Tony said with a smirk. "Sound familiar?"
"Don't be ridiculous, Stark. That sounds nothing like me," Loki snapped. "I am not a child for a start."
"Yeah, yeah, emo kid," Tony mocked.
"Good morning!" Frigga announced brightly as she swept into the kitchen, and gently ruffled Loki's hair. "How are you today, my little lamb?"
"I am well, thank you, mother."
"And Anthony? How are you? Keeping my son out of mischief, I do hope."
"As always."
"He was calling me names."
"Anthony, don't be mean," Frigga chided, "and Loki, don't tell tales."
"Yes, mother," Loki grumbled.
"Have you boys had breakfast yet?" Frigga asked, and Tony and Loki shook their heads. "Well, in that case I shall make a feast for us all. Pancakes for everyone!"
There was a dull thud, a popping sound in the distance, echoing from below, and the floor began to shudder.
As they all looked at each other, Tony asked, "What the hell was that?"
"We are under attack, sir," Jarvis replied. "I have alerted the other members of the team and they are assembling now."
"Fire up my suit, and keep me informed," Tony said as he stood.
"I'm afraid it is too late, sir," Jarvis replied. "The intruders have already entered the building."
A flickering hologram of Doombots tearing through Tony's lab appeared in the air. One of them turned, as the others smashed the desk, and destroyed the equipment, and said, "Find the Odinson."
"We need to get you out of here," Tony said.
"What?" Loki asked.
"I get the distinct impression it's not Thor they're after. Come on, you need to run."
"I do not advise leaving this room, sir," Jarvis intoned. "The intruders are scattered throughout the building and one is on this floor."
"Where is everyone, do they know we're trapped up here?"
"I have informed Thor, and he is on his way, but he is encountering resistance in the stairwell. He may not arrive before the intruder."
"Great," Tony replied. He looked round the kitchen, then started opening the cabinets, and doors, desperately searching for somewhere to stash Loki. "Get in the fridge."
"What?" Loki asked, as Tony started dragging out what little food was in it, and throwing it in the bin, then pulled out the shelves and put them in the small gap behind the sofa. "I'm not leaving my mother out here defenceless while I hide like a coward."
"They aren't here for her, but they will kill you if they find you, this is the only place big enough, and if they have heat censors they won't be able to locate you, so get in the god damn fridge now!"
"Please, Loki," Frigga begged. "You must hide. I will be safe."
"I can fight with you."
"No, you can't," Frigga said, placing her hands on his chest. "Do this for me, please?"
Tony stood with the fridge door open. "Get in."
Loki paused for a moment, then put his hands either side of the fridge, and climbed into it.
"Do NOT make a sound," Tony warned.
The light went out as the door closed, and Loki was plunged into darkness. His position was awkward, crouched in the narrow space, and he did his best not to move even though he was shivering already.
He heard a sound. It was muffled, a loud bang as if the door had been kicked open so forcefully it had hit the wall behind it. Voices, he couldn't make out what they were saying, but he was sure he heard his own name. Silence. Nothing but the sound of his own of his own rapid heartbeat hammering in his chest. A muffled thump, and then something hit the fridge, causing it rock gently. Loki held his breath, and then his mother screamed.
"No!" Frigga shouted as Loki slammed open the door of the fridge, and jumped out onto the kitchen floor.
"Odinson," the Doombot said, as it tightened its grip on Frigga's throat. "Cowering in a hiding place while your mother suffers? What a pathetic creature you are."
"Let her to go free, and I will allow you to live," Loki said calmly.
"Loki, don't," Tony said, his nose streaming with blood, half sprawled on the sofa where he had landed after the bot had knocked him into the fridge.
"My master has been looking for you, Odinson," The bot continued. "Your part in his plan has become redundant. We have come to end your life, and the lives of the Avengers in recompense. We never dreamed we would be able to take the life of the Queen of Asgard too."
Loki tensed as the bot stroked its finger against his mother's neck, and then raised his hands.
"Loki, no!" Tony shouted.
A blue bubble formed in front of Loki's hands, which began to shake with the pain of using his magic.
"You are weak, Odinson," The bot laughed. "You cannot possibly hope to-"
The bubble pulsed with light and expanded outwards, slowly at first until it was the size of an orange, then it exploded with a whoosh. The light moved across the room rapidly, passing through Loki's body as it expanded, flashing over Frigga, Tony, and everything in the room, but when it pressed against the Doombot it shrieked like twisted metal, smashing the bot against the kitchen wall with such force that it exploded out through the concrete exterior, where it fell uselessly into the street below.
Loki stood, unmoving, in the centre of the kitchen, his eyes wide, his hand still outstretched. He gasped for air twice as his eyes rolled back, and then collapsed to the floor, his limbs twitching.
"Loki!" Frigga shrieked, as she fell to the floor beside him.
Tony quickly moved across the kitchen, kneeling, and turning Loki onto his side. "Jarvis, get medical up here NOW!"
"I have already alerted them, sir. The building is clear of int-"
"The building is clear?" Tony snapped.
"The energy wave pushed every intruder out of the building, sir," Jarvis intoned. "Mr Rogers and Miss Romanoff are heading to street level deal with the few that were not destroyed by the fall. I have also dispatched a repair crew to fix approximately 16 damaged sections of th-"
"Enough of the janitorial shit," Tony snapped, as he leant over Loki. "How long till that medical team gets here?"
"ETA is approximately 1.1 minutes, sir."
"What is happening to him?" Frigga asked.
"He's having a seizure," Tony replied, but Frigga looked confused. "It means his brain has abnormal electrical activity, probably caused by using his magic. I told him. I told him not to do it. Why didn't you god damn listen to me?"
The door opened, and the medical team entered the room. A doctor in a dirt streaked white coat stepped forward, and said, "Can I ask you to move back, please?"
Tony stood, holding Frigga's shoulders and urging to her allow the Drs access. "They'll help him."
There was the sound of feet pounding along the corridor outside, and Thor entered the kitchen.
"Thor," Frigga gasped, as she ran to him, wrapping her arms tightly around his body.
"What has happened?" he asked, as he held his mother in his arms, and watched the medical staff swarming around his brother.
"Loki pushed the metal men from the building."
"What?" Thor asked. "I thought that was one of Stark's weapons."
"Nothing to do with me," Tony said.
"Thor, I fear he has injured himself. He was trying to save me. It will be my fault if he… if he…"
"The healers here are very skilled, mother," Thor said. "They will help him, and everything will be well."
~o~
Tony nervously prodded at his phone, as he sat outside the medical bay. Thor sat by his mother and held her hands comfortingly in his.
"It is my fault," Frigga said through her tears. "If I had remained calm perhaps Loki would have stayed hidden."
"Noooo," Thor said reassuringly. "You did nothing wrong."
"Perhaps if I had fought back?"
"Loki would not want you to put yourself in harms way, mother," Thor said, and then he jumped at the sound of the door opening.
"Tony, can you come in here?" Bruce asked, as he emerged from the lab. "We need some help with the scans."
"Sure," Tony said as he stood.
"May we see him yet?" Thor asked.
"Not just yet," Bruce said. "Soon, I promise. We need to get him settled first."
Tony followed Bruce into the room that was swarming with staff, and in the centre was a bed where Loki lay, dressed in a white medical gown, his limbs twitching.
"He's still seizing?" Tony asked.
"We've tried absolutely every medication we can think of and none of it has helped," Bruce said. "We've given him alcohol, but his body isn't absorbing it."
"What do you need me to do?"
"You came up with the last stupid idea that worked… we were kinda hoping you might have another."
"No pressure then?"
"Tony," Bruce said quietly. "If we can't end this seizure it's going to kill him."
"Mr Stark," the Dr in the dirt streaked white coat said, as he entered the medical bay carrying a clipboard, and held out his hand. "It's good to meet you again."
"And you are?" Tony asked, as he shook the man's hand.
"Dr Robert Morgan."
"Are you new?"
"I've been working for you for over two years," Morgan replied. "You personally offered me this job."
"Really?"
"Yes, at the Gala dinner where you announced you were going to find a cure for cancer."
"OK, Jarvis?"
"Yes, sir?"
"Remind me to build some kind of miniature recording device to wear to parties so I can review what I've actually said the next day."
"I'll put it on the list, sir."
Tony turned back, and said, "So, where were we?"
"Jarvis, can you bring up the scan of Loki?" Morgan asked. "Calibrate it for full body, and blood flow please?"
"It would be a pleasure," Jarvis said, as a holographic image flickered into life.
"How do you get him to be so polite?" Tony asked.
"I talk to him nicely," Morgan replied.
"Yeah, not trying that one. I'll put up with the sarcasm."
The holographic image was fuzzy at first, but as Jarvis compensated for Loki's constant movements and twitching, it cleared and revealed patches of black, grey, and bright pulsing red.
"Wow," Bruce exclaimed, as he walked around the image. "I guess that's why he didn't absorb the alcohol."
"What do you mean?" Tony asked.
"The red parts show areas of high blood flow," Morgan said, pointing out bright area that surrounded Loki's brain, and duller areas around his lungs and heart. "The grey is areas of lesser blood flow, and the black represents areas of no blood flow, areas that are dead."
"Dead?" Tony asked, as he looked at the hologram, which had had a large area of black in the middle.
"His body is trying to protect his brain function by directing blood flow to that, and away from less important systems," Bruce pointed out. "The black part is his stomach and gastrointestinal tract. It's showing zero blood flow."
"Can you treat it?"
"Beyond surgery to remove it? No," Morgan replied. "Eventually gangrene will set in, and who knows what that will do to him in his present condition."
"The blood flow's decreasing all over his body," Bruce said, looking closely at the hologram. "We're looking at massive organ failure here."
"Looks like his kidneys are in trouble already, his liver too, and the blood flow to his extremities is worryingly low," Morgan said as he moved over the bed, and lifted the sheet to expose Loki's foot. He ran his hand across the skin and said, "He's going to lose his toes."
"The alcohol hasn't worked," Bruce said. "We need something that will stop the brain activity, even if we can lessen it by a small amount it would give him more time."
Tony looked round the room, at the holographic image, and the beeping monitors. "Bruce? Have you ever seen the film Flatliners?"
"Years ago, but I don't know what you're getting at."
"We stop his heart," Tony said.
"What?" Morgan exclaimed. "We're trying to save him, not kill him."
"We stop his heart, wait until his brain activity stops, and then we start his heart again," Tony said. "It'll be like rebooting a computer."
"You can't be serious?" Morgan said.
"Deadly serious, if you pardon the pun."
"We're talking about a living being here, not a computer, or have you spent so much time with robots you've forgotten what a person is?" Morgan snapped.
"Wait," Bruce said, holding his finger up to his lips and thinking. "He might have a point. Using that much magic at once caused him massive amounts of pain, his brain is stuck in a loop trying to fix it again, but this might break the loop."
"You can't be thinking of doing this?" Morgan asked. "It's the most ridiculous idea I've ever heard."
"Isn't that why we invited Tony in here? We need a ridiculous idea, and this might just work."
"It worked in Mission Impossible 3, as well," Tony pointed out.
"It might work, yes," Morgan said. "It might just kill him too since absolutely none of the drugs we usually use to resuscitate people will work on him."
"Can you think of anything else that will work?" Tony asked.
Morgan paused for a moment, and said, "No."
"Are we doing this?" Tony asked.
"I don't think we have a choice," Bruce replied.
~o~
"Are you sure?" Morgan asked, as he stood over the bed with the defibrillator paddles in his hands.
"Do it, Bruce said.
Morgan placed the paddles on Loki's chest. "Clear." He discharged it, causing Loki's body to tense slightly, and slump back on the bed.
They all turned and watched the hologram; the heart monitor at the bottom jumped, stuttered for a moment, and then carried on beating strongly.
"Charging again," Morgan said. "Clear."
The defibrillator discharged again, and this time the heart beat monitor went wild, beating erratically, until it finally stopped.
"How long do we wait?" Tony asked.
"Until the brain activity stops," Bruce replied.
They watched the hologram, as the red began to fade, replaced by greens and deeps blues, and the twitching seizure that had gripped Loki for almost an hour finally ended.
"Bring him back," Tony said.
"Is that enough?" Morgan asked.
"It'll have to be," Bruce replied. "Do it."
"Charging… Clear."
The heart monitor went wild, beating irregularly.
"Turn it up, and hit him again," Bruce said.
"Charging… Clear," Morgan said, as he discharged the device again, but Loki's heart rate remained stubbornly erratic.
"Higher, try a higher setting," Tony snapped.
"It doesn't go any higher," Morgan exclaimed, as he discharged it again.
Tony walked to the door, opened it, and shouted, "Get in here, now!"
"What is it?" Thor asked, as he stood and entered the room, quickly followed by Frigga.
"Do whatever you do, bring the lightning, just electrocute him NOW."
"What?" Thor asked incredulously, as he watched Morgan and Bruce desperately working on his brother.
"I don't have time to explain, just put your hands on his chest and give him an electric shock."
"I must bring down the lightning, and it may cause some damage."
"I don't care if you raze the god damn tower to the ground, just do it."
Thor went to the window, and smashed the glass out of it, and raised Mjolnir to the sky. Dark clouds gathered overhead, rain began to fall, and then a loud crash as a single fork of white light came down, connecting with the hammer, and blew out the windows of the surrounding rooms.
"What do you want me to do?" Thor asked.
"Put your hands here, and here," Bruce said, arranging them on Loki's chest. "Start low, don't fry him."
Loki's body convulsed for a second, as Thor released a bolt of electricity through his chest, his heart beat went wild, then lapsed back into the same abnormal rhythm.
"Again," Bruce said.
Thor unleashed another bolt, and Loki's heart stuttered into life, but quickly faded.
"Again, but higher."
"You're going to kill him!" Morgan exclaimed.
"He's a fucking god," Tony shouted. "He can take it! Do it!"
Thor sent another pulse of electricity through Loki, as Frigga watched, quietly crying behind him, and Loki's heart rate went wild again, but then settled into a gently normal rhythm.
"Did it work?" Thor asked, as Bruce took a step away from the bed, and ran his hands over his face.
"Yes, it worked," Morgan said, as he checked Loki over.
"I've had enough of this," Tony said angrily. "We know Doom can perform magic and he would never create a virus that could infect him without having a cure. I'm going to get it, and I don't give a damn what Fury or anyone else does. I'm not gonna sit on my ass and watch him die while they discuss politics."
"I will accompany you," Thor added. "I would have words with Doom."
"Me too," Bruce said.
"Jarvis, can you patch me through to Clint?"
"Of course sir, Agent Barton is online now."
"Clint?"
"Yeah?"
"Can you head up top and power up the Quinjet?"
"Sure, taking a trip?"
"We're going to Latveria."
"It's about damn time," Clint replied.
~o~
I've probably messed up completely with the medical stuff, but googling will only get you so far, so sorry!
Sorry for lack of new chapter today. Was called in for a job interview at short notice. Will be up as soon as possible.