Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

AN: Thank you so much for the reviews! I am so glad that more and more are liking this story. I hope this chapter won't disappoint. There is angst in here, but I didn't want to go overboard and make it melodramatic so I hope I succeeded in that.

Tides Change

Chapter 10

Thor rushed into Loki's cell and he held his breath while switching on the light. The little room flooded with a dirty, yellow light and Thor wished he could turn it off again. He didn't like what he saw. More so, he hated it. On a narrow bed, covered with a thick blanket, lay Loki.

His eyes were closed, his ashen skin covered with small drops of sweat. There were no cuts visible on his face, but when Thor gently pushed aside the blanket, he was horrified by Loki's arms. They had turned blue, with marks just like the frost giants. Thor was well aware of Loki's inheritance, but to actually see his brother slowly transform into such a creature startled him. There was only one reason why Loki would turn blue; he had become so weak that Odin's spell no longer had a hold over him.

Hesitating, Thor reached out to touch Loki's skin and found it icily cold.

"Thor, we have to hurry," Steve said softly, keeping a safe distance away from the God of Thunder.

Thor had no idea how he looked. Scared? Angry? Crazy? All that mattered was Loki right now and Thor realized that he had never stopped being his big brother. He was prepared to do anything for him and no one, no one was allowed to harm him. Carefully, he placed a hand on Loki's shoulder and gently shook it.

"Loki, wake up," he said, watching Loki's face contort into a painful expression, "come on, brother, I have to get you out of here."

Loki's eyes suddenly flew open, his green having turned into a dull grey color. Thor was momentarily taken off guard by that look. He didn't even recognize Loki in it, but he made sure his hand remained heavy on his shoulder.

"You're not real," Loki sighed, closing his eyes again. It seemed he thought he was dreaming. "This is another of their experiments."

"No, it's not," Thor assured him, not liking the way Loki's voice sounded so weak, "believe me." Time was indeed of essence here and Thor knew he had no other choice. He pushed an arm underneath Loki's back and carefully lifted him up. It was surprising how light he had become, but he was still an adult man. When Thor threatened to lose his balance, he saw Steve rush to his aid in the corner of his eye.

"No!" Thor growled, quickly adjusting his hold on his brother so that he could hold him properly. "Don't you dare touch him."

Quickly, Steve lifted both his arms in a surrendering kind of way and gently backed out of the cell. "Okay," he said, never looking away from Thor and Loki, "but we have to hurry now."

Thor stepped out of the cell, his brother currently in his arms, and he could feel the heavy gazes of Bruce and Tony on himself. He wondered what they were thinking, but he also didn't want to know. All that mattered was that Loki was safe as long as he was with him. At least, that was what Thor wanted to believe. The idea of leaving Loki behind, frightened him, even the idea of leaving him with Steve or Tony didn't sit well.

"Come on," Tony said, turning around and leading the way out of the facility.

It all went too easy. They encountered a few guards, but quickly fought them off. When they ran into three agents, they were surprised to find Barton and Romanoff distracting them. It seemed the Avengers had come to their senses about torturing Loki, but Thor wasn't prepared to forgive and forget. Too much had happened for that.

As soon as Thor could breathe in the cold night air, he felt almost liberated. He had come this far and all seemed to be working out. He refused to believe that this could still go to hell and in stead, he tightened his grip on Loki. The God of Mischief looked even worse under the pale moonlight. His ashen skin was now a mix of blue and grey and he was shaking. Thor didn't know why; because of the cold or because of his injuries?

Loki had always been able to withstand the cold rather well, it was probably the only advantage of actually being a frost giant. That left option two and Thor knew his brother needed rest.

Tony glanced back to see if anyone was following them. "Let's get to my car."

"All right," Thor replied, "but we have to move quickly. I do not like my brother this silent."

For a moment, Tony looked as if he was about to say something clever and insulting, but Steve quickly pushed him aside to take a better look at the sleeping – unconscious? - Loki. Carefully, as if he waited for Thor's consent, he placed a hand on Loki's sweating forehead. "He needs rest," he said, looking into Thor's eyes, "and his injuries need to be cleaned."

At those words, Thor took a step back. "This is all your fault," he said, directed at both Steve and Tony, "he wouldn't be like this if it wasn't for you." No one replied which made Thor even angrier. "If something happens to him – if Loki doesn't make it, then I'll have both your heads."

"Fair enough," Tony said, for once no humor in his voice, "let's not waste any time then."

oOo

Tony was still replaying the events of the night in his head. It was strange to be back at his mansion. He had thought he would feel completely safe here, but the idea of Loki currently sleeping in one of his guest rooms didn't settle well. At first, he hadn't minded allowing the God of Mischief to stay here, but now he was beginning to doubt whether or not it was such a great idea. The fact that Steve, Bruce and Thor were there as well did sooth him a bit. It was only a matter of time before Clint and Natasha would show up on his front step and perhaps Coulson would come as well.

When Steve walked into the living room, he halted and gazed at Tony who was lying on the sofa.

"What?" Tony asked, not liking the way Steve was staring so strangely at him. "It's been a tiring night, but I'm not comfortable with the idea of sleeping in my bedroom since it's only a few doors down from where Loki is currently staying."

"I don't think you have to worry about him for now," Steve said, sitting down on a one-person's sofa, "he's out cold. Besides, Thor is refusing to leave his side, but I can't blame him. He doesn't trust us anymore, Tony, and I'm not sure he'll ever trust us again."

"He will," Tony sighed, closing his eyes. He didn't want everyone to make such a great deal out of this. Thor was a stubborn man, but Tony believed that he couldn't live without his friends. Thor needed the Avengers as much as they needed him. "Thor might not like it, but he needs us now more than ever. We are the only thing standing between SHIELD and Loki."

"What about Asgard?" Steve asked.

"What about Asgard?"

"Come on, Tony, we all know what happened over there." Steve shifted his weight and Tony couldn't help but stare back at him. When Steve spoke again, he lowered his voice as if he didn't want Thor to hear him. "Fury actually went to Odin who did nothing to stop the torture. Thor knows this, but what will happen when Loki finds out?"

"Loki doesn't need to know," Tony said evenly. Lying to the master of lies wouldn't be easy, but it wasn't an impossible task. "Like you said, there's no telling what Loki will do should he find out the truth. Besides, I don't think Thor is a fan of telling him either."

"Doesn't feel right," Steve breathed out heavily.

"So now your moral compass is working again?" Tony knew there lay too much sarcasm in his voice, and Steve did seem hurt by his comment.

"We're all evenly guilty in this one," he said coldly, "I just believe that telling Loki the truth might be better in the end. If he were to find out we have been lying to him, he'll freak out and go on another rampage."

"You're forgetting one thing here, Steve," Tony said, pushing himself up into a sitting position, "you're talking like Loki is suddenly part of our team, our family. Let me remind you that he isn't. Loki is still our enemy, he's still the villain of this story, but we just disliked the idea of torturing him because - simply put - the concept of torture is wrong."

"You are unbelievable, Stark," Steve said, narrowing his eyes, "you're just trying to take the easy way out, but this is far more complicated than that. There is no easy way in this. Thor is upstairs with his brother and he is furious. Helping Loki might just be the only way to regain his trust."

Tony couldn't help but snort. "Ha! So you admit that this isn't actually about Loki anymore. This is about Thor. Loki is just the means that will lead us to our end. That means that we are using Loki yet again."

Steve merely shook his head. "Why are you always trying to simplify things?"

"Because making things easier usually leads us to the bare truth."

oOo

Thor didn't remove his gaze from his brother. Loki was laying in a comfortable bed, his clothes fresh and his wounds cleaned. Thor had been horrified to find burn marks and cuts all over his brother's body, but he had learned to keep calm when looking at them. He had wanted to punch someone, to throw his hammer and destroy this very house, but he couldn't. For one, this was Stark's house and they were his guest at the moment. Without him, they had no place to go. Thor used to believe that Asgard would always be his safe haven, but even that had been taken away from him. He still couldn't believe his father had agreed to this and he wondered whether his mother was aware.

Inhaling deeply, he watched his brother's chest rise and fall. He didn't know how much time passed, but eventually, Loki's eyes opened and Thor was relieved to find that some of their green color had returned.

"Thor?" Loki said in a rough voice.

"Yes, I am here," Thor replied softly. He didn't move closer since he didn't want to startle him. "How are you feeling?"

"As if you are beating Mjolnir all over my body," Loki sighed, his eyes fluttering shut for a moment. When they opened again, he instantly focused on Thor. "Where am I?"

"You're safe, brother," Thor assured him, leaning his elbows on his knees, "I am not leaving your side again."

A long moment passed and Thor could see a thousand thoughts flicker across his brother's mind. Not many of them were positive, but Thor couldn't blame him.

"Did you know?" Loki asked. "Did you know they were torturing?" Thor didn't know why he didn't respond. There was something in Loki's voice that made him feel entirely guilty. "They never asked me anything," Loki continued, "they just...did all these experiments to see how long I could last, but they never said a word to me."

"I am sorry."

Slowly, as if Loki didn't really have any control over his body, he lifted his left arm and gazed at the bracelet on his wrist. It was still attached to his skin and Loki growled when it didn't move when he touched it.

This was the first time Thor looked at it so thoroughly. He knew the bracelet prevented Loki from using magic, but he hadn't given it much thought. Of course he had tried to remove it, but when it hadn't budged, Thor had told himself that it was a worry for later.

"I can't get it off, no one can, but here is a way," Loki said, still looking at the bracelet, "but you won't like it."

At this point, Thor was willing to do anything for his brother. "Tell me."

Loki let his gaze slide from the bracelet to Thor's face. "Mjolnir," he said carefully.

Again, silence. Thor's mind was racing, trying to understand what Loki was telling him, asking of him, but he somehow couldn't comprehend it. Using Mjolnir to destroy the bracelet could have similar consequences like when Loki had destroyed the original device. Yes, he had been willing to do anything for Loki, but this seemed too much. The last thing he wanted, was to hurt his brother even more.

"Loki, what you are asking of me is-"

"You want to help me," Loki interrupted him, his eyes pinning down Thor's gaze. There lay defiance in his green eyes, as if he was challenging Thor to do this for him. "Get this bracelet off and I'll finally have my magic back. I won't be at anyone's mercy any more."

"Not instantly," Thor corrected him, "remember last time? You only had your magic back a few days after you destroyed that device in the laboratory. It will probably be the same now. We can ask Tony for help since he helped create that thing on your wrist."

"That would require him returning to SHIELD and I doubt they'll let him to this. Besides, I do not want to fall into their hands again," Loki said, "if you truly want to help me, you'll do this."

Thor only looked at Loki. He wasn't sure he should do this, but there was a point to Loki's words. They couldn't go back to SHIELD. Bringing Loki there to get the bracelet off was not an option and Thor doubted Tony could manage it here. Indeed, that only left one option.

Still. "We don't know what will happen."

Loki shifted his gaze to Thor's side where Mjolnir was resting on the floor. He placed his wrist next to his pillow and turned his head away from it. "Just do it."

This was a bad idea, a very bad idea, but Thor reached for his hammer none the less and stepped closer towards Loki's bed. He could see his brother's face from this angle and he could see how Loki was staring into the distance. Refusing was still an option. They could give Tony a chance at getting the bracelet off, but Thor somehow didn't want to say 'no' to Loki.

He raised his hammer and after inhaling deeply, brought it back down. It instantly shattered the bracelet and the force it released was immense. Thor staggered back, feeling a power hit him square in the chest. The windows and glass around him broke into a thousand pieces.

That wasn't what terrified Thor.

Loki screamed, louder than he had ever screamed before.

This had been a very bad idea indeed.