"Hey! Hey, stop! Stop, there's a guy in the road!"

"Oh my god!"

"What's wrong with him?"

These were the frantic shouts Loki heard all around him as he prepared for death at the hands of a speeding New York driver. There were people all around him, humans running into the middle of the road, flagging down cars and gathering around where Loki sat.

"Dude, are you OK?" one man asked, he couldn't have been over twenty-five and he looked as though he was still wearing his pyjamas.

"Somebody call an ambulance," someone else said, a woman dressed in impeccably chic clothes.

There were all kinds of humans encircling Loki and he felt a pang of regret that he had once tried to enslave them all and a surge of gratitude that they were now helping him.

"Jesus, look at his chest!" one man cried, gesturing at Loki's bleeding torso.

Another man actually removed his jacket and bent down to dab at Loki's fresh wounds with it.

"You're going to be alright, son," the man said tenderly as he wiped away the blood.

"Excuse me, I'm a doctor!" someone called, pushing his way through the crowd, "An ambulance is on its way."

The doctor knelt down and spoke softly to Loki, telling him to relax, everything would be fine. When he caught sight of the stitches in Loki's lips, which were partially covered by all the blood, he actually got up and moved away to vomit on the sidewalk.

"Holy shit, look at his mouth!" someone cried and everyone in earshot gasped.

The concern was visible on everyone's faces as they silently thought to themselves, someone has done something abhorrent to this man, the poor guy…

That was until the man who had been staunching the flow of blood from Loki's chest managed to make out the words that were carved there. He suddenly recoiled.

"Son of a bitch," he muttered before loudly exclaiming, "Look! Look at the words!"

The people within earshot fought to look. Expressions of worry turned dark within moments.

I am the traitor Loki

"This…this is the bastard who destroyed most of New York!" the elegantly dressed woman cried, distancing herself from Loki as if his immorality might be catching.

As more people in the crowd realised who this battered man was, their mutinous muttering began to drown out the sounds of the city, the cars honking, the faint music coming from some bar; all Loki heard was hatred. He would have given anything to be able to apologise and tell them that he didn't expect them to forgive him, but if they would just have mercy at this moment and help him… But his sewn up lips prevented him from reasoning with him and his bound limbs made it impossible to attempt any kind of escape. Not that escape would have been so easy anyway for Loki suddenly realised how very, very tired he was.

The crowd around him started to seem more like a mob keen for a lynching and Loki heard disturbing snippets of conversation.

"…just kill him now, no one would blame us…"

"…doesn't deserve medical attention…"

"…he destroyed everything…"

"…my son almost died in that attack…"

"…an eye for an eye…"

They were baying for the blood of the God who had wronged them. They wanted revenge; who was Loki to judge them for such a thing?


Thor soared above the streets of New York, Mjölnir clutched in his fist, desperately scanning the streets below.

Unless he was going insane - a concept that Thor highly doubted – Loki was here, in the city, somehow.

Thor had felt the familiar sensation that Loki was suffering and then, all very suddenly, he seemed to sense that his brother was unbelievably close, he could even have sworn he heard him scream somewhere.

Refusing to even entertain the idea that he could be wrong, Thor continued to fly, seeking his brother out. He didn't know what exactly would lead him to Loki, but when he was above 34th street and he saw an ever-increasing crowd in the middle of the road, his gut immediately told him this was the place.

He dropped to the ground with an almighty crash, startling many of the people there. In his fine Asgardian armour and with his imposing hammer in his hand, Thor made for an impressive sight and many people backed away, hands held slightly aloft as if surrendering.

"Loki!" he yelled powerfully, and he could tell from the way that everyone in the crowd looked up with slightly accusing eyes, that he had found his brother.

The humans parted before him in a rather biblical fashion and he finally caught sight of Loki; he was sitting awkwardly on the ground, his body drooping in a way that suggested he was immeasurably weak, chest bare apart from streaks of blood, bound and shying away from the malicious glances of the people who surrounded him. Thor could never have imagined his brother in such a state and he barely believed his eyes. He strode through the crowd and as he got closer, Loki looked up and noticed him approaching.

There was a blood-curdling muffled scream. Everyone looked down in shock to see if it really had come from the bloody heap on the ground. Their thoughts were confirmed when Loki continued to scream, eyes brimming with tears, trying to push himself away from the oncoming Thor.

"Brother, stop – what are you doing?" Thor exclaimed, beyond puzzled, "Loki, calm down, there is no need for this!"

Thor grew impatient and more-than-a-little irked; he had come to rescue Loki, the one person he had been fretting about for months, and now the ungrateful little runt was retreating as if Thor had some terrible contagious disease?

Thor's anger quickly abated as he looked closely as Loki, at how incredibly traumatised he seemed to be. Thor made his mind up quickly. He bent down and scooped Loki up in his arms. Loki struggled something fierce, but Thor's strength was unmatched.

The humans made several protests, something about 'justice' and 'jail', but Thor ignored them. He swung Mjölnir above his head and launched into the air, his resistant brother tightly cradled in his free arm.


Loki felt repulsed and ashamed and terrified to be so close to Thor as they flew, but knowing there was no way for him to escape, he resigned himself to the situation, as horrific as it was.

When the godly duo finally landed Loki looked around him and experienced a strange feeling of homecoming and familiarity. The last time he had been in this place, he had thrown the owner from the window and been smashed into the ground by a huge, green rage-monster…

Thor laid Loki down on an elegant leather couch and began muttering soothing words whilst stroking his hair. Loki felt nothing but abject terror.

Before his nightmares could begin again, however, several members on the Avengers came striding in, demanding to know where Thor had flown off to. Loki felt temporary relief at their presence; surely Thor would attempt nothing with them in the room…

When they registered Loki lying on the couch, each one fell immediately silent. Loki remembered them all, though they seemed like different people all together. There was Captain America, the Ironman and – Loki shifted nervously – Bruce Banner, thankfully not in his Hulk guise. Hawkeye and the Black Widow were missing; the man whom Loki had enslaved with his mind and the woman who outsmarted Loki with hers.

"I – I can't believe it," Tony broke the brief, stunned silence, "How is he here?"

"I found him," Thor replied simply, a large hand laid protectively on Loki's shoulder. Although maybe it wasn't protective, maybe it was something different altogether, a promise, a threat… A low groan escaped Loki's throat, causing everyone in the room to stare at him as if he were a wounded animal. I practically am, Loki thought wryly to himself.

"He looks terrible," Bruce said softly and everyone merely nodded, too shocked to offer real responses.

Everyone except for Thor who was staring at Loki with a real urgency. Loki deliberately avoided his gaze.

"I need someone to fetch me medical supplies, right now," Thor said in a low and even voice, though no one moved right away, "NOW!"

His thunderous shout spurred Steve into action, who immediately left the room. Within moments he had returned with a small but heavy-looking medical kit. He walked over and knelt by the sofa, near Loki's head.

"I was trained in basic first aid when I fought," Steve announced militantly. Loki looked at him with wide eyes, silently begging for him to be gentle and to keep him from harm. The Captain always seemed like a man of high moral value and Loki felt the urge to stay close in order to evade further harm.

Steve unzipped the Medikit and pulled out an antiseptic wash. He started to lightly apply it to Loki's chest, being as gentle as possible. Loki squirmed a little on the sofa, trying to communicate that he needed his bonds cut; his arms were seizing up and cramping painfully from the strenuous position they were forced into.

Steve looked into his eyes for a moment and seemed to understand.

"Someone grab some scissors, he's tied up," Steven commanded, "and make sure they're sharp, sharp enough to cut through leather."

"On it," Tony said and left the room briefly. He returned with a large sharp pair of scissors for Steve and a neat scotch for himself.

Steve began trying to cut Loki's bonds, but it was to no avail; the blades hardly even dented the tough material. They don't know it's cursed, Loki thought to himself, and I can't tell them because the same bloody stuff is keeping my mouth shut!

"It must be cursed," Thor muttered, hardly a beat after Loki had had the same thought, "Hold on, I might be able to…"

Thor reached for Loki's ankles and examined the leather closely. He seemed to make his mind up.

"Hold still, brother," Thor commanded, before suddenly tearing at the bindings. He used both hands to try and rip the leather in twain, straining against it. The muscles in his arms bulged and his face contorted with the effort, veins rising in his temple. Suddenly and miraculously, the leather snapped and he threw it to the floor. It seemed to shrink down in size when it was removed and it suddenly seemed harmless.

Thor apologised before he manoeuvred Loki gently so he could reach his wrists and elbows. It was far more painful having these restraints removed, as each of Thor's strong tugs jarred Loki's sore and stiff joints. However after much pulling and grunting and swearing on Thor's part, the bindings were off!

Loki immediately began rubbing his wrists tenderly, before his hands automatically drifted up to his mouth. He felt the wetness of the blood and began whimpering as he felt the tough and throbbing cursed stitches. As long as those were in he would neither be able to talk or perform the simplest magic.

"Feel better, brother?" Thor asked with a slight smile.

Loki looked in his eyes and immediately remembered the crushing weight of Thor on top of him, the excruciating pain of being violated so forcefully…

He jumped to his feet and tried to run. He didn't know where he was going, this place, Stark Tower, seemed so unfamiliar and confusing. Maybe he had been in his dark cell for so long, but Loki was astounded by the intensity of the natural daylight and he felt sick and disorientated. He dropped to his knees, dry heaving.

"No, no, no, Loki! You can't be sick, you will choke if you do," Bruce said calmly, approaching Loki to lay a hand on his back, "Just calm down, alright?"

Everyone else looked thoroughly confused, apart from Thor who could not conceal the hurt in his eyes.

"He is terrified of me," he said sadly.

"What did you guys do to him, when he was imprisoned on Mordor, or whatever it's called," Tony said, sipping his third scotch.

"Asgard. And nothing, we hadn't even put him to trial yet," Thor sighed, his brows knitted together in puzzlement, "I do not understand."

"Uhh, guys, we have a situation over here," Bruce called from where he was sitting on the floor with Loki.

Thor rushed over before Steve and Tony and immediately knelt down by his brother.

Loki's chest was constricting painfully. He felt overwhelming panic and his breathing was shallow and laboured. He was drawing in air through his nose as best he could, but it was not enough. He felt light-headed. Black spots danced before his eyes and he felt close to the heavenly release of unconsciousness.

"I have to take him back to Asgard, the healers there will be able to do more than any human doctor can," Thor declared, already scooping an unconscious Loki up in his arms.

"Thor, I hate to tell you this, but S.H.I.E.L.D. really should know about this," Steve said as diplomatically as he could.

"We can call up Clint or Natasha right now, rather than talk to Fury?" Tony offered.

"Word will spread that Loki was in New York again, people will talk, and to be honest, the most logical place for Loki to be is – "

"ENOUGH!" Thor bellowed, interrupting Steve dramatically, "He is my brother and I shall do with him as I see fit!"

Tony, Steve and Bruce remained silent, their silence confirming their resignation. Fury would be pissed as hell when he found out Loki had been in their custody once more, but none of them were willing to disagree with Thor when he was so riled.

"Heimdall! I know you hear me, I need to return to Asgard immediately!" Thor shouted, his face turned to the ceiling.

There was a tense pause when all that could be heard was Loki's harsh inhales and exhales of breath.

Then there was an almighty, deafening bang and a stream of white light tore through the ceiling. Thor, along with Loki in his arms, was spirited away back to Asgard.

When they had gone and the otherworldly display had ceased, Tony went to inspect the damage in the roof. There was a large and neat hole directly above where Thor had been standing.

Tony sighed, "Yeah, that's cool. I never liked that bit of roof anyway, so…They did me a favor really. Yeah."

Author's note: TO BE CONTINUED… (obviously). Just wanted to say thanks again for reviews and comments, it all helps, and from here on out, the story will be pretty hurt/comforty. So no more terrorising of Loki…well not much more, anyway.