Lie to me if you can leave
I'll still be here when you see
You're not alone
You don't have to run again
And leave me in denial
-Lie to Me by RED

Feet clattered down the hallway as the Avengers stormed back into the hospital. The door to Loki's room was thrown open and they all flooded into the room. Thor was sitting by Loki's beside with a contemplative look on his face. His fingers were laced together in front of his mouth as he stared at his brother's sleeping form. At the grand entrance, his eyes flicked over before flicking back to his pale brother.

"We heard that he woke?" Steve asked animatedly as he looked from Loki to Thor. Obviously, the god of mischief was now asleep, but had he been awake previously? If so, it would be a miracle. Loki had made them all worry, no matter that he had previously tried to take over Manhattan. The ebony haired man had shown no signs of waking up for a good long while. When the Avengers returned to hear from a nurse that Loki had awakened, none of them waited a moment before running off to the hospital room.

"That he did," Thor said solemnly. He turned over towards the newcomers and said cryptically, "They had to sedate him.

Tony stilled. Was Loki just coming off coma confusion or was there something else that would have really required him to be knocked out? "Why?" Steve asked the question they were all thinking.

"He was a danger to him, is what they said," answered Thor with a sigh. He still didn't understand why his brother had responded so negatively. Shouldn't he have been happy to be alive? Did he not regret trying to take his own life?

"Oh no..." Bruce said softly. "He was probably just confused. The last thing he remembered was probably when he was knocked out." He tried to comfort the Thunder god, but he wasn't sure what there was to say. He knew the terminology from when he skulked around the hospital. Patients were almost never sedated in times like this because they had to get reacquainted with the world. If Loki was sedated, he was probably trying to self-harm.

"If only that were true." Thor put a hand on Loki's and frowned. He hate the black restraints that were now tied around his brother's wrists and ankles. The doctors said they were necessary to stop him from trying to rip any of the other tubes out. Th tracheal tube had been extracted in favor of nasal prongs. Now that he had awakened, he didn't require forced oxygen, only a supplement. However, he still retained his deathly pallor and had the appearance of death.

Clint couldn't help but feel sorry for the downed man. He remembered thinking similar thoughts of death after returning from Loki. Loki may have been the cause of all his grief, but he would never have wished the same pain to another.

Loki's emerald eyes opened slowly too look at those around him. A look reminiscent to annoyance appeared in his eyes before he shut them again. "Loki! Are you all right?" Steve asked as he walked to the other side of the bed.

Bloody fantastic, the Avengers were here. Had they come to mock him for being so weak? Wouldn't that be lovely after yet another failure on his part? He was pathetic. "You have eyes, do you not see?" He croaked out. His dry throat made it painful for him to speak and his cracked lips hurt when he moved them. His mind was the only thing that seemed to be working properly anymore. He knew well enough where he was, and it was not where he wanted to be. "Why do you keep me here?" He rasped. They had every right to just let him die. It would have been the perfect chance to get rid of him.

"Isn't that obvious?" Natasha said with a quirked brow. "You're obviously not well."

"More than that. Why didn't you let me die?" He replied hoarsely.

Natasha took a step back from the bed in surprise while the rest of the Avengers had frowns cresting their faces. This wasn't exactly how they were expecting Loki to react. "We may have had our disagreements," that was putting it lightly, "but we aren't heartless. We wouldn't arbitrarily let you die," Tony said with a wave of his hand. His face betrayed his words as he looked worried at the Asgardian.

"It would have been more convenient for all present if you let me die," replied Loki shortly.

Steve's eyes bugged out while Clint replicated the look of a fish out of water. Neither of them could believe what they had just heard. "Who the heck said it would be convenient or good for us?" Clint exclaimed incredulously. "I may darn well hate you, but I don't want you dead."

Loki looked over at the archer skeptically, "Don't tell me that was supposed to make me feel better. And logically, it would be easier for you and everyone else." There was no scenario in which it was easier to keep around dead weight. He knew well enough that he was preventing them all from leaving the vicinity because they had to keep watch over him. They had to write reports on his activities, heck, they wrote on what meals he ate every day and did a calorie count. He was a nuisance to keep around.

"What we do isn't dictated by logic, otherwise people wouldn't waste time playing games because it isn't a logical use of time," Clint said awkwardly. He still wasn't particularly comfortable talking to Loki. He felt as if they were walking on thin ice. "Even if you are inconvenient, we wouldn't ever wish you dead."

Loki wanted to laugh at their foolishness. The Asgardians would have rejoiced at his death, he was sure. They'd been watching it like how Midgardians watched television. It was all just a game for them. "Then you are a fool, Barton." Loki laid back into his bed and closed his eyes. There was no way he could short circuit his magical core again while all of them were around. He'd have to delay his death until later.

The Avengers shared mixed glances of worry. They hadn't ever expected in their wildest dreams that Loki would turn out like this. They were used to the man who provoked all of the Avengers on purpose just to get them at their very best. This man was running towards defeat and wanted to embrace death. The two were totally different and yet they were the same.

"I may be a fool, but I'm not a cold-hearted one. We're not going to let you die," said Clint firmly.

"I'll be the judge of that," replied Loki before falling silent.

Author's Note: And so begins the not so good looking path to redemption! Things do look grim, don't they? And it's all right, you guys! XD I might not like Thor as much, but that doesn't mean I'm discontinuing! My muse is floating all over, so I'll be trying to keep my head in the game. All the reviews last chapter made me so happy, and I'm so thankful for all of the support you guys are giving me! I love you all!