Life in a Gilded Cage
Chapter 10
Loki was locked in a huge metal and glass cage with nothing but a bed, a toilet and a handful of magazines. His soul cried out in pain as the door was locked from the outside. He sat on the bed, and tried to find an inner calm to centre himself so that he could survive this torment.
"Keep strong, only one day. I promise you, one way or another it will only be one day!" Steve Rogers had said as he left Loki alone there.
Loki sighed, a single day. It seemed such a short time, but he knew it would feel like forever. It always did, he wondered how hard it would be to locate what he needed for that poison here on Midgard, just in case he didn't manage to escape.
Exhausted after a few hours of pacing the small cell, he lay on the bed and tried to will himself asleep. In the end even the horrors of his situation, and the fear in his heart couldn't stop his eyes from fluttering shut. For a while the inky blackness took him, and he was at peace.
It didn't last, a handful of hours later the nightmares started and he was mentally back in that cage in Asgard. Loki shot upright with a scream dying on his lips, he sat there drowning in sweat shaking, terrified as he tried to remember where he was. As his vision cleared, and he saw the cage around him, Loki sobbed quietly to himself. This body wracked with the misery he was feeling in his heart.
Stark had come to watch him, unable to trust Loki from finding a way to escape the cell. Steve had clearly been taken in by his lies, there was no way in hell that Loki could be sorry for what he had done. However what he ahd found in the cell was not what he had expected. Watching the God thrash around lost in nightmares, screaming and sobbing like a child. If this was a show, then it was an excellent one.
He wondered if Loki really had the skill to fake this much real, hard emotion. And if he really did, then why had he not tried this card last time? It would have worked far better then the faked capture had. Despite himself, Tony had to consider the fact that this was on the level. In his ear piece he could still hear Steven and Fury arguing over Loki's fate, they have been at it for hours now. He'd tuned out most of the chatter, but still now and then he picked out the odd word like post traumatic stress state, charity and offering a fresh start. Steven had even at once point threatened to hand in his suit and walk away. Tony respected the Cap a great deal, but he hadn't wanted to believe his all so easy good natured forgiveness of their enemy.
Stark stepped closer to the cage, to take it all in. Loki's face turned towards him, a flood of falling tears and pain expressed in his eyes. It chilled him tot he bone to see the sight. To realise that Steve wasn't lying nor fooled. "I can't believe it," he muttered, taking a seat in front of the cell. "What could make you of all people feel remorse for what you did?"
Loki turned away to wipe his eyes and regain a little of his composure. When he turned back to face the human, he tried to put on some of his usual bluster. "Nothing of your pitiful world!"
"Cut the crap, if you want a hope in hell of getting out of that cage! Its time to break the habit of a lifetime and tell the truth." Stark snapped.
Loki's eyes cast down to the floor, not being able to meet the glaze of the stranger while he said what he had to say. "A cage, not like this one, but then again completely the same. The All father banished me to spend eternity in a cell, completely alone. It was a Gilded Cage, don't get me wrong, worthy of a Prince of Asgard. Full of comfortable furnishings and books, but a cage still none the less. It had no windows, I couldn't see any daylight. I was allowed to speak to no one, see no one. Alone with nothing but the thoughts of what I had done."
Yes, it was a harsh punishment, but really locking Loki in a room and leaving him was what had worked? Tony knew a little about being captured, and caged so there was just one question he needed to ask. "How long?"
Loki shook his head, "I do not know, I lost count after the first 300 hundred."
"A year, you were there only a year?" Stark asked.
Loki's eyes flashed green, "You foolish mortal, do you think that we would count such pitifully short measures of time as days? My race lives for millennia! I meant 300 years you dull creature!" The anger on the God was clear as he squared up to the other side of the cage, "Can you even imagine going without seeing the outside world or just one of your Midgardian days? Without speaking to a living soul? I doubt it! You are too vain, too pretty, people constantly flock around you clambering for attention!"
Starks face went ashen as he realised some of what the God must have been through. "Actually, a few years ago I was captured, locked away in a cave and forced to try and make weapons for someone. I ended up making the suit to survive, and I escaped just. Something like that changes the way you look at things forever."
"Yes it does, all that time trying to find a way out and eventually realising that this is only one escape for you. An eternal escape." Loki muttered.
Stark didn't miss the hint dropped that the man had been ready to die, "Not even Thor?" he asked.
"No, not even my brother was allowed to see me, I was branded too unstable for any contact. I was told I had to 'level out' from the continued contact of the staff."
Tony had seen what it had done to Barton, Banner and even himself. It was a totally evil device, it messed with your head. "After a while you can't see wrong from right, it makes you aggressive." He murmured.
"You just had the short version, a few hours near it. I had far longer, too long. Every time I used its power, it wormed a little further into my mind," Loki said, "I was foolish, I expected my higher intelligence to protect me. If anything it helped it to work faster against me."
He paced the cell from side to side as he spoke, too restless to keep still. "Where I went when I fell through the realms was a dark and evil place. I'd have agreed to anything to escape from it. When he came to me, and whispered words of war and vengeance, it was so sweet to my ears. I knew the All father would find me if I made an impression on one of his lesser words. That Thor wouldn't stand by and let his Earth and his woman be harmed. So it seemed a simple bargain, to take the staff and agree to start a war. Then you Avengers would stop it, and you would defeat their army. And I would be free to so home by supper, simple, well thought out. I never expected to keep the bargain that I made, I just wanted to go home.
Thor was right, I lost my mind that day I found out my true parentage, and I just wanted to make everyone else feel how they had hurt me. SO they could see what it was like. That thing got inside of me and found every dark thought, every jealous moment, every time that my Father had chosen Thor over me and played with it until I could see nothing but hatred and vengeance. I couldn't lose the Earth now, I had to WIN IT, RULE IT, and HAVE IT for my own." Loki stopped in front of Stark and looked him honestly in the eyes, "If it means anything at all man of iron, then I am sorry for all of my actions. And I am sorry for what I did to all of you."
"I don't know what to say to that," Tony admitted, "I'm sorry for your pain."
Loki smiled, "You know I think that's the most honest I have ever been in my whole life to anyone."
"Perhaps it's something you should keep up with." Stark joked.
Loki face changed, it looked a lot like relief and then his eyes glanced away." Something has happened, something bad."
"How do you know?" Stark demanded, "What have you done?"
Loki rolled his eyes, "Lord of Chaos, you think I can't feel dark chaos energy around me!" He closed his eyes in enjoyment, "It gives me strength, I can't help it. It's in my nature."
Around them alarms went off going crazy. Tony touched his ear piece as Fury relied what had happened. He turned to Loki, "That ice bitch, she just frosted 9 of our own, including Widow. If you are serious about helping us, and I'm not totally convinced that you are, what do we do?"
Loki's eyes never opened, the chaos energy bringing him too much pleasure. "Defrost them of course, and you better do it fast before the body goes into shock and withers away." He said dreamily.
"Can you focus for a minute here?" Tony demanded, wanting to open the door and slap him.
With a great effort Loki pulled himself back and opened his eyes. They were sparkling like emeralds, with a deep inner fire. The last time Tony had seen him like this was on the top of Stark Tower. The God blinked a few times, and the man came back into focus. "I am sorry, it's my nature, I can't ignore it and it has been so long since I experienced a chaos event."
"I'm not interested in your sordid sex life! Can you help them or not?" Stark demanded.
"Let me out of here, and I will use my magic to save them. I will trot back into my little cell afterwards, my word, for as much as it means." He offered.
Tony didn't like it, but what choice did he have. He unlocked the cage and watched as Loki stepped out. "Don't try anything, or I swear!"
"I know, I know, you have a Hulk, been there done that!" Loki muttered.
Stark lead him to the medical bay, where nine people stood entombed in ice. Fury turned as they enter, "What is he doing here?"
Hawkeye strung an arrow, and got ready.
"Relax birdman, I'm here to save your mewling girlfriend!" Loki snapped pushing past them to get to the frozen woman. He run his hands over the block of ice. "Funny I could quite learn to enjoy this one being so silent."
"Loki!" Stark warned.
"I'm getting to it!" Loki snapped, his hand glowed with that blue energy and the ice started to melt slowly. The effort was clear on his face as the sweat poured off of him. He stopped to catch his breath, "May I have my staff please."
"NO!" Hawkeye snapped, keeping the arrow trained directly at the nape of the God's neck.
Tony rolled his eyes, strode out of the door to the armoury, punched in the code, withdrew the staff and brought it to Loki. Want something done right, do it yourself!
"Oh your head be it, you and Steve!" Fury snapped.
"Yeah I got that, you want her saved or not?" Stark asked holding the weapon out to the God. "Don't make me look stupid!"
"Why would I need to do that, when you do it so beautifully yourself." Loki asked, taking the weapon. It felt so good to hold it again, it was part of him like Thor's hammer was part of Thor. Something he'd been forced to leave behind when he had fallen through time. Perhaps with his full powers and his own staff he'd never have been forced to make the foolhardy deal with the devil. "Step back!" he warned.
The all obeyed, as Loki strode into the middle of the group of ice pops, and slammed his staff into the ground. He glowed with power as they working in tandem drawing power, and directing it towards those who needed to live. The ice turned into a flood of water, flowing from their entombed bodies. Loki's spare hand on Natasha's arm, his gaze peering into her very soul, calling her back to him. Moments later nine people were moving around, coughing and splutter, and Tasha looked right into the eyes of who had saved her. She pulled away in disgust, "Don't touch me you vile creature!"
"I saved your life, I could just as easily return you to ice!" Loki warned, leaning on his staff for support, exhausted form the effort.
She looked him up and down, taking in the sweating God, the grey tinge to his skin, and the fact he looked like he was about to keel over. "Really looks like you could take me! Let's go a few rounds!" she baited.
Hawkeye pulled her back, his bow having been returned to his case. "Tash enough, he saved your life."
Fury and Tony looked on in amazement as they realised what he'd done. Steven with a big beaming smile on his face clapped Loki on the shoulder. "Well done, I knew you had it in you!"
"Indeed," Loki sighed, 2I'd like to return to my cell now." He looked grey and ill, if someone took his staff away he wouldn't be standing any longer.
"Are you okay?" Steve asked.
"I need to rest!" Loki said, trying to keep himself together in front of his frienemies, but despite himself his legs buckled under him.
Steve locked his arms around the taller man's waist before he suffered any embarrassment or fell. Taking the staff off of him and giving it to the Hawk to deal with. Tony came over and took the God's other side, "Come on big guy, let's put you to bed."
"I am a God, I need no help from you lesser beings!" Loki snapped.
"Yeah, I'm sure hot stuff." Tony remarked as they walked him back down towards the cell. Loki's head lolling on his shoulder almost sleep already. They set him on the bed carefully, "Is there anything we can do?" he asked.
"Your mortal medicines will do me no good, do not interrupt the magical sleep." Loki whispered as his eyes closed, "It might kill you."
Tony and Steve looked at each other, "So believe me now?" he asked.
"We need to get him out of here." Tony remarked.
"I agree, but Fury doesn't!" Steve said.
Hawkeye was a step behind them watching the scene play out. "Perhaps we can change that."
You?" Steve asked in surprise, "I thought you would never see the good in him."
"I don't, but he saved Tasha, I owe him a debt." Hawk answered.