A/N: sorry for the delay on this one. I'm moving, have a research paper to start, a history test to study for... :( life and school suck some times.
000000
Phil was sitting on his bed, swinging his feet back and forth. His nap had been longer than usual, so he wasn't that tired. He had spent the last thirty minutes trying to jump up and touch the ceiling, but that hadn't worked: he was too short. Then, he tried to build a statue with legos and ran out of pieces half-way through his city and gave up on that, taking them all apart and putting them back in the drawer they had been in, color-coding and shape-coding them. By the time that was done, he was bored again and his fingers were a little stiff and his eyes were hurting from counting every single tiny lump on the plastic prisms.
He didn't understand why they wouldn't let him out of his room. And it was bugging him.
He had even gone out one time to ask why he couldn't come out, but Tony stopped him in the hallway and told him it was for his own safety. If Loki was so dangerous, why were they around him? And then Fury had shown up and had seemed very angry. And he wanted to know why. Why, why, why, why, why. It was all that was on his mind and he had nothing to really do! He sighed and looked at the door. And was suddenly filled with a sadness. He was alone, and he didn't like it. He closed his eyes and flopped back on his bed, releasing a heavy breath of annoyance and boredom. He opened one eye and stared at the ceiling again. Patterns. Patterns in the ceiling made faces and shapes. Faces and shapes reminded him of drawing with his mother when his dad wasn't home. And thinking of his mother made him sad: he wanted to go home. But he didn't even know where home was. The world he was in was so strange and different. Voices talked to him out of the walls, he lived with super humans and super heroes...he was surrounded by people who cared about him but no matter what they did, what they said...
He was still alone.
He sat up and pulled paper and pencils over to him and drew a stick figure woman holding hands with a little stick figure boy. Then, with utmost care, he drew in her long, curly brown hair, green eyes, smile, and blue dress she always wore. He stayed a plain stick figure and the tree on his side remained a stick with lines protruding out of it. On her side, the plants were green, the flowers were red, and the trees were colorful and full. He laid down on his bed, holding the picture close to him and closed his eyes, trying to sleep.
But sleep would not come.
He sat back up and looked around the room again to see if he could do anything...adventurous. Definition of that word in his mind? Something that would get him in a load of trouble but would be worth it. And his eyes lighted on the vent.
"I wouldn't recommend that one," came a voice from the door and Phil looked over to see that agent named Hill, standing there smiling. "That's Barton's domain."
"Sorry." Hill laughed.
"Don't be sorry, Phil." She walked over and looked at the bed questioningly. "May i sit down?" He nodded and scooted over to sit against his pillows, looking at her questioningly.
"Why can't i come out?" he asked, looking at her with pleading puppy eyes.
"We have a man who isn't so nice over right now. It might be dangerous for you to be around him," she said softly, putting a hand over his on the bed covers.
"But all of you are around him," he protested.
"That's different, Phil. We're old enough to handle him. You're a kid, he could really hurt you," she explained and he nodded. "We can protect ourselves, and we can protect you. But right now, we need to know more about why he's here before we can let you around him."
"Okay." He sniffed and pulled one of the blankets over himself, snuggling down into the warm fuzz. "Can you read me a story?" Maria looked thoughtful and came to a decision.
"How about I make one up for you?" Phil nodded.
"Sure."
"Okay. So, once upon a time, in a kingdom far away, there was a mighty kingdom. They thought they were the best in the land, with the best knights. Sir Anthony, who could be rather arrogant at times; Sir Green, who was kind, but was invincible in battle; Sir Hawk, the best marksman in the universe; Sir Stephen the man who never tired and always fought on for justice; and Lady Night a skilled assassin and spy." Phil was watching her with attentive eyes. "They all served under a man of extreme power and position. His name was King Nicolas. And he had two advisors named Esquire Marie and Esquire Philips. He trusted all of them, the knights and the squires with the safety of the entire kingdom. Whenever someone bad came along, they took care of it. But then, a very bad man arrived. His name was Lord Lafeyson. And he came with a very dark magic as his weapon: and he wanted to take over the world. But the Knights weren't about to let that happen. But Lord Lafeyson used his magic to destroy the castle and possess Sir Hawk, making him stab King Nicolas. But the King managed to give Esquire Marie an order to go and try and stop Lafeyson, Sir Hawk and the other men he had possessed. But she couldn't stop him and he got away, stealing the all-powerful Infinite Orb which would let him conjure an army. Lots of the king's men died when the castle was destroyed but all of the knights and the esquires got out. Even Philip who was getting the infantry men out."
After an hour, Hill slowly stopped talking as Phil drifted off to sleep.
"But King Nicolas knew that the Knights would return when he needed them. Because it was their duty. The end." Phil yawned and closed his eyes. She smiled and walked to the door, stopping as Phil called her again.
"Agent Hill?" he asked sleepily, looking up from his pillow at her with nearly closed eyes.
"Yes, Phil?" she said softly, flipping the switch and the room was slowly plunged into darkness.
"Esquire Philip...he didn't really die did he? The King just kept him hidden to motivate the knights, right?" Maria Hill stopped and thought about what she was going to say.
"No. He didn't die, Phil. But the knights thought he did and when he returned to them, he was greeted very enthusiastically: they missed him more than he or they themselves knew. Sleep tight," she whispered gently closing the door. She turned around to see everyone looking at her in anticipation. "He's asleep."
"Are you sure?" Steve asked pointedly and she smirked.
"Very. Don't worry, he won't walk in on this conversation like he did with yours. Now, where's Loki?"
"He's with the Hulk in the lab," Tony answered. "Don't worry, Banner's in control," he assured her when he saw her look. "I think we're ready to go hear his story."
In the bedroom, Phil slept on, dreams filled with heroic knights, martyr esquires, and battles of every little boy's dreams. But in this dream, everyone was replaced. The Knights were his friends, and the esquires were Maria Hill and a faceless man he didn't know. Who was the last man?
Suddenly, the dream went dark and a new, much more familiar man came running after him, sending him sprinting through the night.
000000
"I am being honest with you when i say that i am not here to cause trouble, though trouble may follow me," Loki began from the interior of another one of the "steel traps" as Fury called them. "I have undergone my Asgardian punishment which i will not go over in detail. I was to be banished to Jotunheim once everything was done, but others had different ideas. If you are wondering why my brother hasn't come to pull me back to Asgard, it's because he is currently in the healing room with severe injuries. It seems as though the Chitauri were not kidding when they told me that if i failed to get them the earth and from there the universe they would come after me. They attacked Asgard and the All father sent me to the place he thought would be safest."
"He sent you here, hoping they wouldn't find you," Steve answered and Loki scoffed.
"I came here because it would be the last place they would check," he responded as though it were obvious. "How many people expect their quarry to go to ground where they will most likely be killed upon sight?"
"But they obviously found you," Fury said suddenly. "That's why you were branding the Bifrost imprints into the corn. To make it look as though you had other realms with you to protect you and back you up." Loki gave his smile again.
"Well, I'm not the god of mischief for nothing am I?"
"What i don't get is why, if you needed protection you shot me," Tony said, miffed. "I nearly died again!"
"You would have attacked me and i would have retaliated. It is in my nature," Loki added, looking at Barton and Romanoff slyly. "I hear the agent is alive. Seems he had no lack of conviction."
"And where did you hear that?" Maria asked, level-headed. He laughed and turned away from her.
"Not that hard to use my ears, Agent Hill," he answered. "What i can't understand is why i haven't had a reunion with him yet?" He turned around and laughed again. "After all, who wouldn't be glad to see their murderer one more time."
"Plenty of people," Fury responded. "Phil Coulson isn't the immediate concern here, Loki. You said you needed protection. Why?"
"I have reasons to believe the Chitauri will launch an attack to get me back."
"Why don't they just ask? I'm sure we'd all be glad to give you back to them without a war," Barton said to himself, rolling his eyes.
"We're not turning anyone over to the Chitauri as of yet, Agent Barton," Fury responded. "Doctor, is he telling the truth?"
"Well, according to these readings he is, but that isn't saying much since he's the god of mischief," Banner said from his station with the laptop. Loki rolled his eyes and paced again in frustration.
"You humans...never willing to trust people."
"Uh, well, we tend to not want to trust people who tried to blow up Manhattan and take over our planet," Tony said sarcastically. "If you were like Thor or something, maybe we'd think about trusting you. But you got no proof, Reindeer Games."
"PROOF?!" Loki suddenly shouted, slamming a fist against the glass. "If you want proof i can give you all the proof you want! Go out into that field! You'll find Chitauri buried throughout the crop!" They all jumped slightly at his sudden change in demeanor. "I have been trying to get your attention for some time now. I knew you would be keeping an observation on the patterns from the moment they showed up. You're suspicious and curious and i was counting on that. Now i see i should have stayed out in the corn." He turned and forcefully sat against the bench thing they had in there for him. "Go on and kill me then, you'll be doing both of us a favor." Banner sighed and opened the cage door.
"Get out of there."
"Doctor Banner - " Fury said sharply, but the man turned around to face him.
"You want me to get angry?" he asked sharply and the Director shut up and looked at him warily. "Get out of there." Loki walked out, watching him carefully. "I know what it's like to be not trusted, to be shut away for something you did before. I'll admit i think you're crazy. But I'll give you a chance. I took scans of the field: there are Chitauri corpses in the ground," he told Romanoff as she went to go check the scans for herself.
"There they are..." she said softly. "Should i send a team out to clean up?" Fury nodded and she walked out of the room, pulling her phone out to transfer the information to headquarters. Suddenly, a loud scream, followed by several others reverberated throughout the tower and J.A.R.V.I.S's voice came on.
"I believe that there is something wrong with Agent Coulson. A nightmare, I believe." Banner, closely followed by Steve, Natasha, and Barton, ran to the door and practically threw it open, hurrying to the boy's room. Hill and Stark followed and Fury habitually pulled out his gun and prodded Loki along, giving him a single eyed death glare to not do anything that was just as intimidating as one with two.
Their charge was thrashing on the bed, almost as if he was trying to fight off something brutally attacking him, shoving himself against the wall and the bed frame. Banner stepped forward, confused and horrified as he saw the bruises and cuts and gashes all along his arms, shoulders and legs, blood seeping through the fabric.
"Phil," he whispered, sitting on the bed beside him, reaching out and gently placing a hand on the Agent's head, gasping and jerking his hand away as the nightmare seemed to increase.
"NO! NO!" he screamed tearfully, kicking out at Bruce, startling the man as he gaped at his bloody palm.
"Doctor, maybe you should back away," Steve said, carefully leading him back towards the door.
"Phil!" Natasha said loudly, catching the boy's flailing arms and holding them steady. "PHIL!" she shouted again, and the boy's eyes opened, brimful of tears that came pouring out as soon as he registered where he was.
"He's gonna get, don't let him get me again!" he sobbed wildly and Natasha pulled him into a tight hug, resting her chin on his head. "Tasha, don't let him get me, don't let him hurt me! NO!" He screamed again as if another blow hit him and she pulled him into a tighter hug, wavering on the verge of tears herself. Behind them all, Loki tensed a bit, looking on in baffled sympathy.
"No one is going to hurt you, Phil. No one you hear me? No one." He slowly settled to violent shaking. "Clint, Steve...could you get damp towels? Doctor Banner, come check him over." The doctor gave a small nod and cautiously sat back with them.
"Phil," he began. "Can you look at me please?" In slow, jerky movements, the sandy, sloppy haired head turned to reveal a swollen eye, split lip, and bruise rising on his cheek and forehead. "God." Clint returned with Steve and the doctor beckoned them over. "Just carefully clean all of this away. Phil do you hurt anywhere? Your bones?"
"My hand hurts," he mumbled thickly. " 'N so does my head..." Natasha slowly pulled away and settled the boy back on his pillows, trying hard not to look appalled by the sight before her.
Phil's wrist was swelling rapidly, as was his eye, and blood was all over his body, as though he had been beaten. Then, she remembered what they had been talking about with his memories. Apparently, he would experience them as he grew: regardless of him living that childhood or no.
"Your head hurts?" Banner asked kindly. Phil nodded and frowned as he felt a large head ache hit. "Do you feel like throwing up?" The boy nodded again and Banner lifted him gently off the bed and swiftly caught him as he tried to walk forward and did so very unbalanced. "Okay, you have a concussion, Phil. Don't worry."
"Don't feel so good..." he muttered and was just about to throw up all over the carpet when a bucket appeared out of nowhere before him, providing a repository for the contents of the boy's stomach. Banner kneeled by him and slowly rubbed his back.
"Thanks, Loki," Steve said, looking over at the demigod. He shrugged.
"Might as well use my now limited magic for something useful," he answered and Fury placed the gun in his holster again. "Satisfied I'm not here to cause trouble?" The Director wisely chose to ignore that.
"We're just going to get you in bed, okay Phil?" Banner said softly and Barton lifted the boy into his bed and gently settled him back in a comfortable position. "Tony, you got some Acetaminophen?" Tony stared at him.
"Um..."
"Tylenol. It's in the bathroom," Steve answered and immediately went off to go find it, returning quickly with it. "I memorized all of the medication in this house when i got here. Tony's solution to pain is drinking it off, so - " he was interrupted by a fearful whimper and they watched as Phil shrank into his pillows, terror in his eyes. Barton slowly reached back out to wipe away the growing blood on his head and Banner softly whispered something to HIll and she soon returned with a bag of ice.
"Now, keep this on your head where you were hit Phil. It will help, even if it feels too cold at first.
"Steve, could you watch him for a while?" Fury asked, ushering everyone else out. "We need to get Loki here settled."
"Yeah, sure," the soldier immediately responded and soon found himself seated beside Phil again. "How you feeling?" Phil gave him a seriously? look and coughed slightly, wiping his mouth of the blood from his bitten cheek. "What happened?" He shook his head. "Phil, i was bullied all the time when i was little. Even when i was an adult, i was tiny and beat up all the time. And i learned later that the best thing you can do is talk about it." He looked at Steve and the adult held his beaten, yet still defiant gaze.
"It was my dad," Phil whispered, closing his eyes as he tried to not cry again. "Mommy always told me that he loved me. He never did. Never. Always drank, that's all he did. He hit Mommy one time and i yelled at him not to. He locked me in my room and..." he broke off and tears came into his eyes again, threatening to fall over. "I climbed out my window and climbed to mommy's room and came downstairs with their fireplace poker." Steve couldn't help but feel admiration for this five year old: taking on an adult drunk with a fireplace poker as his only weapon. "He had beaten Mommy. I - I hit him. He hit me, and i tried to run. I got out to the backyard..." He stared at something very hard in the corner of the room trying to not lose control. "I knocked over a chair and he tripped. I ran back into the alley and tried to climb over the garbage cans and get into Nick's yard. I'd done it before, but it was too dark and i was...was too scared. I fell off and he...kicked me over and over. i tried to run and hide, but i...i couldn't."
"Sh-h, Phil. Just rest." Phil nodded and Steve reached out to gently keep the ice pack against his head.
"He won't come back for me?" he asked softly. Steve shook his head.
"No. And if he does, i will throw him clean across the world." Phil smiled and slowly fell asleep, this time when his dad came after him, he never got close. Natasha dropped down in front of him and in a bewildering series of fight moves landed him flat on his back, winded. Barton appeared beside him, dressed as a futuristic archer, a man was in a weird metal suit, and Captain America was beside him, shield protecting them both. Then, a strange, giant green monster ran up to stand among them, giving his father the death glare.
Who were these people?
Why did he know them?
He didn't know who they were, or how he knew them: all he knew was that they would protect him.
But in the morning, he didn't remember the dream, or ever having one. All he remembered was his father attacking him again more violently than ever before, and his new family picking him up, and piecing him back together. And that was a family.
