A/N: Taking forever with updates seems to be turning into a habit. Lol. Sorry about that but there were a few things in this chapter that I just couldn't get passed. I still don't quite like it but I was taking too long so here it is.

A general trigger warning for the latter part of this chapter. "General" because of spoilers and there's more than one thing.

The Unopened Door - Chapter 10

It had been all-too easy. Tony had been expecting her to know, somehow, that he could see her, that she would look at the hidden camera and wink or something. But when she heard Barton groan, her apparent first instinct was to go to him, to enter possibly hostile territory to get to her partner. It might have been sweet if it weren't so obvious what she really wanted - Tony knew why she was here, why they were all here. But hadn't she been captured by Rogers and the others? Well, she wasn't one of SHIELD's top agents for nothing.

The trap was set and she had fallen for it. Not her fault, really, it was easy to assume this area would be devoid of any security, what with JARVIS being offline here and all.

Tony smirked when he watched her through the security feed, watched Romanoff fall for almost the same ruse he had used for Barton. The archer, like they all were, had been looking for Loki and Tony subdued him in the simplest way: by trapping him in a room. He then used a small electrical shock to render the agent unconscious when he messed with the panel on the wall, as Tony knew he would. He avoided telling himself it was easy to have the upper hand when they were all on his territory - he had outsmarted not one, but two SHIELD agents and he wanted to gloat.

But damn if he didn't have time for that.

The cameras on this level worked, but most of them had either not been installed or weren't yet functional on other levels. Still, he had seen Loki in the stairwell and he knew exactly where the trickster would be. Time to get going.

He took one last look at the two agents stuck in a room together, winked at their loud bickering, then set off to find what he was really here for. No one would stop him now.

"Get the hell out of here, Stark," hissed Agent Hill before something was thrown at her head that she easily ducked. She stood up just as the billionaire walked up, stance casual but for his hands clenched into fists.

"You get the hell away from him." He paused. "I really don't want to hit a woman," he said flippantly, "but I will."

Hill laughed. "This really isn't the time for jokes, Stark-"

"I beg to differ, it's never a bad time for jokes. And really," he came closer, pointing, "were you really going to do that here, with us walking around? Because: bad plan."

"Fuck you."

"Nice invite but I'm really not interested in you right now, sweetheart," countered Stark.

Loki sat up slowly and pushed his back against the wall. The room had too much clutter - boxes and crates and other assorted items - for him to simply run away, he would surely knock something over, so what should he do?

"Actually," said Stark as he rested a hand on his chin, as if thinking, "maybe that's not such a bad idea."

The woman's stance shifted, less on edge. Considering and listening. "What?"

"Yeah," said Stark, snapping a finger. "I can't believe I'm saying this but maybe we don't have to take turns."

"What?" hissed Hill, although she still waited.

What is he saying? wondered Loki.

"Just hear me out," said the mortal man. He waved his arms about as he spoke. "Look. We obviously can't get around this without fighting, so..."

"So?"

"So we just do it at the same time. You, me, little bunny here; we can have fun together without Barton, right?"

Now Loki spoke, understanding dawning on him. Was he truly suggesting..? "Hill," he said in nearly a whisper, "please, I- I chose you. We can still get out. He's no match for you. I said I would go with you, please..."

Stark laughed as Hill looked to Loki. "Seriously?" scoffed Stark, amused. "You think you can trust him?" He pointed to her. "Hey, weren't you the paranoid one? 'Don't trust him, don't listen' bla bla, whatever you were saying, and now this? Fuck that, you know he'll fuck you over the second you leave here - and not in the good way," he added, smirking.

And suddenly, when Hill's eyes moved slowly to Loki's, he knew, he knew what she was thinking, that she was considering Stark's offer.

Loki shook his head desperately. "I won't betray you," he said, trying to sound convincing. "I swore it to you. I wouldn't-"

"Shut up!" she shouted suddenly, making Loki flinch back. Her half-smile turned to Stark. "What did you have in mind?"

The trickster god blanched.

"Wait, wait, wait," Rogers waved a hand about. "Why would Stark do that to his own, uh, machine if he and the others left? I mean, if they left, what's the use of sabotaging his own creation?"

Banner nodded, thinking. "You're right, it doesn't make sense. JARVIS can only function on Stark's property and if they were gone there's really no point to adding protocols that stop JARVIS from functioning inside his own tower." Then, as if something had just hit him, his eyes went wide. "Oh my God," he mumbled. "I know where they are."

Before the two could walk back to Loki, Hill asked, "Where the hell is Barton, anyway?"

"Hm?" Stark looked behind him, then back at her. "I may have managed to lock him in a room two levels down." He shrugged when she smiled, clearly impressed.

"I take it you'd have done the same to me-?"

"Yep, course I would - but that's not gonna happen so we make the best of it...right?" he eyed her suspiciously, waiting.

She waited a moment, then nodded. "Right."

Stark didn't look entirely convinced. "Right... Well, if for some reason you get any ideas, I just locked down this whole level. No one's getting out without my permission." He smiled.

Hill didn't seem to find it amusing. "You what?"

"Let's face it, I'm no match for you two super agents without my suit; I needed insurance. You can have your way with Mister Trickster here until your eyeballs bleed but you'd never escape after. And," he shrugged, clearly winning whatever was happening, "if I remember, you're the only one no one knows is here. Isn't that right, Agent Hill?"

She bristled at his tone but said nothing.

"Right," continued Stark. "So, you can beat me up, take him, but you can't get out without me." He put his arms out in an apparent attempt at placating the woman. "Nothing personal, Hill."

Loki watched her settle, her demeanor suddenly accepting as she looked to him. "Fine," she stated. "As long as he's a part of the deal, I don't give a damn if you're here."

Stark's loud clap made Loki jump. "Great!" the mortal smiled. "So what'd you want, top or bottom?"

"Shut up."

Thor couldn't believe it, the entire time, here, in this building! Could it be true? Banner had apparently looked at the building's schematics, briefly, when he was searching for Romanoff. Stark had been expanding the lower levels and converting them into an underground SHIELD complex - no doubt at Fury's request, or so Rogers had said.

It was Thor's first instinct, to simply fly to the lowest level from outside the building, but he knew that kind of rash behavior wouldn't help in the long run. He had no idea where to look or what to expect so he went down with the others instead, even with his impatience biting at his heels.

The level below the first floor apparently couldn't be reached by the elevator, thus they took the stairs, with Thor bounding down with one leap and skipping the steps altogether. Rogers followed suit, although Banner was more cautious. Huffing, he joined the other two at a large metal door blocking their path.

"Damn," said Banner. "I was afraid of this."

"Can you open this door?" asked Thor. It looked like a...very heavy door.

"I don't know... without JARVIS..." he shook his head, eyeing the door. "It's a blast door, a Stark made one. Won't be easy to break through."

Impatience catching up to him, and frustrated at being so close, Thor immediately stepped forward and hit the surface with Mjolnir.

"Woah!" Banner exclaimed, although he barely flinched, his manner still so calm. Rogers stepped back a little, eyebrows raised.

The door, however, was barely dented. Damn this! Thor struck it again, then again. And again, the door dented, but very little. "How is this possible?!" he raged. He knew it wasn't the time for his anger, but this was ridiculous! How could a mere mortal door stand up to the might of his hammer?

"I don't mean to...uh," began Banner. "I mean, Stark's pretty inventive. And..." he walked up to the door as Thor tried to control his breathing. "I think this door might be made out of some kind of adamantium alloy...maybe?"

"What about vibranium?" asked the captain.

Banner nodded, fingers tracing the metal. "Maybe. I really can't tell. I don't know that much about metallurgy - that's more Stark's field," he shrugged sheepishly.

"Then what are we to do?" asked Thor, desperately hoping there was some way around. Because what if Loki was right behind this door? What if the others were hurting him now, with Thor just outside, uselessly doing nothing to help?

The scientist stepped away, a hand over his mouth as he thought. He turned his back to them. "I...I'm not sure. Just let me think for a second."

When Loki was deposited on a table nearby, he felt numb. His back hit the hard surface, jarring his frayed nerves. He fought back, albeit weakly, knowing it was pointless.

Stark caught his wrists as he dragged Loki a little toward him, his legs all but dangling off the edge. "Now, come on. Behave," said the inventor, smirking.

"God, you're not going to talk while this is going on, are you?" asked Hill as she removed her trousers.

Stark smiled at her. "Nice panties."

She rolled her eyes as she looked him over. "Nice ass, Stark," she said with heavy sarcasm. "And, really, did you want to fuck him, or me? Cut the chit-chat."

"Whatever you say," he shrugged. "Haven't had a threesome in ages. Seriously, like a whole week."

"Shut up, everyone knows Pepper Potts would skin you alive if you tried anything-"

"Hey, hey. Who said Pepper wasn't there?" he smiled again.

What are they talking about? Loki didn't care. Why should he. Still, if they kept going, all the better to delay the inevitable. Thor is looking for me. He had to be. Wouldn't he? Or would he even care - Of course he cares. He knew Thor; even after all Loki had done, he would still forgive him. That was just...Thor.

...Or so he hoped.

"Who is Pepper Potts?" asked Loki. He couldn't stop his voice from shaking.

Stark looked at him, surprised, still holding Loki's wrists. "Huh? Oh...uh, my girlfriend. Sorta." Hill gave him a look. "Well, I mean - what the hell, Hill? Since when is my love life any of SHIELD's business?"

"What do you mean?" tried Loki. Just keep him talking. He's a talker. "Is she your lover...or-or not?"

"Now I know it's none of your damn business, Prancer."

"Where is she now?"

The mortal paused. "Uh...I- I guess she was on a flight out..."

"Ignore him, Stark," hissed Hill.

But Stark seemed lost in his thoughts, suddenly, eyes on the far wall. "I mean...I tried calling her when... And...and I got ahold of her after- after it happened, when it was over. I didn't, uh... She was...crying..."

Suddenly, Hill slapped Loki across the face. Both he and Stark jumped. "What the fuck?!" Stark yelled as he stepped back.

"He's distracting you," said Hill as she moved closer.

The hit hadn't hurt very much, but Loki was caught off-guard, his plans falling through his fingers like sand through a shattered hourglass. And when Hill jumped onto the table, then onto him, his suddenly rising panic kept his scheming thoughts at bay. No... He needed them right now, but he couldn't think, knowing what was coming.

"Uh, right," stated Stark, stepping toward the two. "W-where was I?"

"Shutting up, I think," said Hill, looking back at him.

But it seemed Stark couldn't stop, even now. "You know the mechanics of this are a bit tricky..."

"I know what I'm doing, just stop talking and get in here before I change my mind and knock the fuck out of you and have him all to myself." She smirked, looking back at him.

Stark squinted at her. "Fine, whatever." Yet, he hesitated, if but for a moment. "Right...right."

Loki didn't know what to think, but his chance was gone, lost and swept away, along with his hope of ever escaping this thrice-cursed planet.

Thor will never find me in time. He knew that now, and now he had to accept it.

X - X

There was a time when Loki had been attracted to people. He found them fascinating, beautiful, lively, warm, sometimes humorous, sometimes not, smiling at the edge of his sight, bright in Asgard's sun and wonderfully willing, if he but sought them out. But reality soon set in. Women found him too weak and feminine - not what they wanted; men only thought of him as something to be used, the pretty second prince meant for little else other than to be looked at and mocked - argr.

Loki no longer felt attraction toward people. Was there any wonder why? When they took what he wasn't willing to give? He should blame his body, he knew that, it wasn't their fault, just his treacherous Jotun biology that changed him in ways he couldn't control - changed others. But did they regret afterward? No. They would have forced him anyway, wouldn't they?

Inevitability. It always found him. Just as he would always have found out what he truly was; not a son of Odin, not Asgardian, son of the enemy, unwanted, good for nothing except to be used, and this proved it more than anything. He could never escape his fate. A pawn for Odin or a pawn for mortals, what was the difference? Everyone would use him, that hadn't changed even after...he fell...

But...

But...what was he to Thor?

The mortals surrounding him snapped him back. He ground his teeth when the man entered him. He felt the tears falling down his face and refused to look, turning his face. He already hurt from the earlier abuse but it hardly mattered now. He was tired. Tired of fighting the mortals, tired of avoiding what always happened, tired of...himself.

I can't...

The woman was above him but he didn't feel her, his mind refusing to acknowledge his body. She moved, a silhouette through his tears.

The man was somewhere out of sight, but he too Loki didn't feel. Not anymore.

The god cried, but it wasn't because of them. He felt his own thoughts, growing in the dark, but didn't want them.

I can't...I shouldn't.

He shook his head. So afraid, suddenly.

Don't.

He felt around above him, he somehow knew it would be there.

What would Thor say? What would he do?

He had no family, no friends. Everyone used him, just something to be discarded, like he was nothing. There was no love. No family.

Thor. He is.

No one wanted him, not him, not truly, just something to take advantage of-

The shard of metal felt heavy in his hands. He gripped it tightly, enough that the metal edges cut into his fingers.

Enough...

No more.

Thor, please...

Enough.

I can't take this anymore.

Brother, please forgive me..

Enough!

He plunged it into his neck.

A/N: The story was so not going in this direction when I first started writing it, but... that's how it is, sometimes; they just write themselves. But don't worry, this isn't the end! There's at least one more chapter after this, maybe two.

Also, I hope you guys can tell what's going on at the end. I was intentionally vague about the rape because it seemed...irreverent? to go into too much detail given what happens next. Hope it's not confusing.