Chapter Nine
SHIELD Headquarters
Loki began to shake. He was starting to sweat and his lungs felt as if they were burning. He grasped around, trying to find something, anything to hold onto. He screamed out and then he felt something, or someone rather, take his hand in theirs. It was a soft hand, it belonged to a woman.
"Loki. Loki, it's going to be all right." Her voice was soft and soothing, like Frigga's had been when he had had nightmares as a child. He felt his body start to cease shaking and his breathing became normal, his lungs no long feeling like they were in a horrible fire. He opened his eyes and saw that his hand was being held by none other than Natasha.
"W-what has happened?" he asked as he sat up.
"That's what I was here to ask you. Who did this to your face?" she released his hand and ran her index finger over the all ready healing cut.
"I do not know…I just remember taking the…scepter and that was it. I believe that someone was trying to steal it from you. I sensed it." he said.
"You're lying, now, I'll ask again, who did this to you?" she repeated.
He sighed; he knew he wasn't going to win. "I had taken the scepter myself, I was not planning on using it for my own gain, but I was going to simply find a way to destroy it. It would have been hard, but doable. When I had taken it in my hands, it came alive and all I can remember is falling to the floor and then, this woman appeared in my head. My knowledge of her is lax, but there was one thing I will not forget about her."
"And that would be?" she asked.
"It was as if she were…were a spider. She could hold onto the wall and was inhumanly fast. She was also very strong, as you can all ready tell with my face." he said.
"A spider? Like, a woman with spider like abilities? Heh, I guess anything is possible in this weird world we live in." she said. "What else can you remember about her? Any features, what?"
"I couldn't see her face, the upper half of her face was covered by a mask that was red and black, her mouth and nose were visible, and she had on this skin tight outfit that was also red and black, how she moved in such a garment, I will never understand, but she did this to me. Have I been in a sleeping state for long?"
"Four days." she replied. His eyes grew wide.
"Surely you jest." he said. She shook her head.
"Not in the least." she replied.
"And have you been here the entire time?" he asked.
"She has. It's a little creepy." Both of them looked up and saw Tony standing there with a bouquet of flowers in his hand.
"What is that?" Loki asked, pointing at the flowers.
"Flowers, they're from Pepper. I feel like an ass carrying them in here." he examined them and rolled his eyes. He threw them and they landed on Loki's lap.
"How is it creepy, Stark? He's been my responsibility for quite some time now." Natasha stated, rising to her feet.
"Well, the fact you've refused to leave his side is a little odd, but that's just my observation." he said.
"Look, Stark, I hate repeating myself, but I will, he is my responsibility and no one else's, do you understand me?" she asked, folding her arms over her chest and growing impatient.
"Excuse me, but he is our responsibility, we all have a part in watching out for him, not just you, though I think that you might take your job a little more seriously than us." he shot back.
"You both realize I am still in your presence?" Loki asked. "I'm not too fond of you both arguing over me."
"We're not fond of it either, sorry about that." Natasha said.
"Sorry 'bout that, when you think you're gonna be ready to learn some more combat skills?" Tony asked as he came into the room and moved Natasha out of his way so that he could sit in her chair.
She threw her hands in the air and shook her head. "Is that all you care about? Him fighting?"
"Hey, when someone tries to rip most of your face off, you kinda hope that the person can defend themselves better next go around." Tony said.
"I agree with Mr. Stark on that one, if ever she appears again, I want to make her feel the same pain that she's made me feel. That bitch." both Tony and Natasha looked at Loki as if he was a creature from another planet, though technically he was, it was different in this case.
"THAT'S MY BOY!" Tony yelled as he hugged Loki.
"OW!" Loki shouted and Tony quickly released him.
"My bad." Tony said. Loki held up his shaky left hand.
"No true harm done, but may I make two small requests?" he asked.
"Sure, what?"
"One, will you please take these back to Miss Pepper? Tell her to put them in my room for me, I plan on returning today if at all possible, and two, will you vacate the room for a few moments? I'd like to speak with Natasha alone." he said.
Tony looked offended but just let out an exasperated sigh. "All right, I will leave you two alone, and are you sure you just don't want me to you, y'know, chunk these in the trash?" he asked as he picked up the flowers.
"Yes, I am sure. Miss Potts paid for those herself, so please respect the fact she thought about me." Loki replied.
"Wow. I'm getting taught a lesson on morals from a once bat shit crazy demigod. Go figure." he exited the room and Natasha took her seat back.
"What is it that you want to talk to me about?" she asked.
"You wish to know why my left shoulder hurts whenever it is touched. I can see it on your face." he said. She shrugged.
"I admit it, I'm curious. Tell me what's up with it? Is it pulled out of joint and you don't know how to put it back in place?" she asked.
"No, I'll show you." With a moment of hesitation, he took in a deep breath and pulled the shirt that SHIELD had placed on him over his head and Natasha felt her stomach drop and she got sick. She hadn't noticed it before, but on Loki's left shoulder, a large handprint was there.
"What the hell? How did I miss that?" she asked.
"That I don't know, but, this is how I was saved." he said.
"What is that?" she asked.
"Thanos. He did it."
"Who is that and how?"
"It's kind of a long story, so I will sum up most of it. Thor told you of how I "committed suicide", did he not?" she nodded. "I did indeed die, and I went to what you people call "Hell", the seventh circle if I remember correctly. I was tortured; forever going to burn for my heinous crimes, but Thanos had another idea. Somehow, I never asked because I didn't care, he grabbed me by my shoulder and pulled me out, leaving his imprint as he did so. All these scars that you see are from torture, but Thanos made this one the worst of all, to make sure that I would never forget what he did for me. Thanos is the root of all evil, and I couldn't help but be drawn to him. He had "saved" me and all he asked in return was for the universe to be his, but I, being cunning, asked him for something as well, your world. All that I cared about was being king, but now I realize that being a king is not my top priority anymore. It never really was I think." he said. "Why are you crying?"
Natasha had never realized it, but as she had listened to his story, she had begun to cry. She wiped her eyes quickly and cast her eyes to the floor.
"That's awful." she whispered.
"It really is, but trust me, I don't think you'll be going there." her head snapped up and he was smiling.
"Oh please, Clint told you all the things I've done, there's no saving someone like me." she said.
"Everyone can be saved. It's up to them though if they want it or not." he leaned over and wiped a tear away from her cheek and she laughed a little.
"That tickled." she said.
"Sorry, Asgardian hands are known to be quite soft." he said. "Well, the human form anyway."
"There are two forms?" she asked.
"To them, no, me, yes. I'm actually something different than them. Have you ever heard of the realm of Jotunheim?"
"Yes, let me tell you, I sat at home and read all I could about Norse mythology." she said with sarcasm dripping from her lips.
"Leave the sarcasm to Stark, the Jotuns are not human in appearance. They are called Frost Giants. They are large blue creatures with horrifying red eyes and are extraordinarily tall."
"Taller than you and Thor?"
"Much. If I could say their height in human terms, they are probably over ten feet. And trust me, the last thing that you want is a Frost Giant coming right at you." he explained. "I guess that the Allfather took everything away from me when he stripped me of my magic. I can thank him for that."
"I'll say. That'd be one weird ass thing to see walking around here." she added.
"I'm sure it would." he said. "How much would you like to wager that Stark has been standing outside the door with his ear pressed to it this entire time?"
"Hold on and I'll check. Shh." she put her finger to her lips and crept over to the door. She put her hand on the doorknob and then yanked it open. Not only did Tony fall at her feet, but so did Clint, who had landed on top of him.
"The both of you're so damn nosy." she said.
"I was just making sure you were fine." Clint said.
Tony started muttering something that none of them could make out.
"What, Stark?" Natasha asked.
"Get. off. ME!" he shouted.
"Oh! Sorry!" Clint jumped up and helped Tony to his feet.
"Good God, that looks awful." Tony said as he walked toward Loki and held his finger an inch from touching it.
"Try to imagine what it feels like." Loki said.
"I'd rather not. That makes me nauseated just looking at it. Barton, come look at this!" Tony said, motioning for him to come closer.
Clint looked at Natasha, as if asking if he had permission. She nodded and he hastened over to see.
"Why do I suddenly feel as if I am the world's largest freak show attraction?" Loki asked as he looked at Tony and Clint, who were too close for his liking.
"Don't worry about it, no wonder it hurts when I touch your shoulder. Sorry about that." Tony said.
"You didn't know, it's not your fault." he replied.
Tony sniffled. "I'm so proud of you, you're learning how to say more contractions! I'm so proud of him, Barton!" Tony's voice had escalated an octave with the last sentence.
"Ok you two, Stark, I'm sure you don't have a valid reason to be here, so why not go back to being your billionaire, narcissistic self and let Clint tell me what he needs to tell me." she said, grabbing hold of both of their collars and tugging them backwards away from Loki who was trying not to grin at how ridiculous both of them had looked. They were looking at his imprint as if had been a marvel, wide eyes and all.
Tony scoffed. "And how do you know that I don't have some important information for you as well?"
"If you had had something important to tell me, you'd have all ready said it and not been looking at Loki's shoulder as if it were a spectacle on display." she replied.
"But look at it! It's awesome! And apparently, Hell is real. What's it like?" Tony asked.
"Oh my God, please go away, questions later." she shoved Tony out the door and slammed it close, placing her back to it and putting all her weight against it so that he couldn't reenter. "What is it, Clint?" she asked.
"I actually wanted to tell you that agent Renner needs to see you. It's urgent and I need to talk to him myself." he nodded his head at Loki.
"Oh great. Just the person I wanted to see." she said with great dislike.
"Why are you so hostile against her?" he asked.
She opened her mouth to say something, but she saw Loki shaking his head violently.
"I just don't care for her, she gets on my nerves and is a major ass kisser. She won't last long, I can feel it." she said, half lying, half telling the truth.
"Learn to get along with her, if we fight against ourselves, we'll get nowhere. I'd hurry up and see what she wants, don't worry, I'll keep an eye on him." Clint said. There was something not right about his voice, but Natasha had no other choice than to trust him.
"I'll be back in just a few minutes." she said.
As soon as Natasha was gone, Clint turned on Loki, his face angry.
"Did you do this to yourself? Are you provoking us to believe that someone else did this to you?" he asked harshly. Loki just stared at him, his face void of all expressions.
"Are you truly so thick as to believe that I would really do this to myself? Does my hand look large enough to do this? I wouldn't even know how to do such a thing."
"Oh yeah, right, I know about you, you loved trouble and mischief." he shot back.
"Yes, yes I do. I will never not love it, but I'm not causing it now, my main focus is to find this woman who did this to my face and to stop Thanos from coming after all of you."
"Who in the hell is that?"
"I don't have that much time to explain who he is. He's evil and every synonym in between and he will come after all of you. All he cares about is power and taking what he thinks is his. He is what I once was. You have to believe my words. I would not lie about something as important as this." Loki pleaded. He couldn't believe that he had had to do such a thing, but it was the only way.
Clint just stared at him, glaring at him, to see if he were lying. This man had possessed him and caused him to kill agents and make an attempt at his best friend. He clutched his fist and then took in a deep breath and let it out slowly.
"I believe you. But let me tell you something right now, if you're lying, I will personally put an arrow through your eye socket and then blow it up. Do you understand?" Loki nodded.
"I do. I don't want anyone to be harmed. The only person that I wish to be harmed is myself if it should be so." he stated.
"Hm. Spoken like a true SHIELD agent. I'm surprised." Clint said. "Well, I still haven't had my chance to spend a definite amount of time with you, I was truly only supposed to get Nat, but when I saw what was on you, I had to ask. First, I'll see if you are cleared and if you are, be ready for some serious training. Trust me, this type of training is going to be one of the hardest, if not the hardest you've ever had." With that, he left Loki alone, wondering what he was going to be taught. What could be harder than what Natasha was training him to do? Then he remembered and groaned. Shooting. Oh what fun that was going to be.
There. I added in a little Natasha/Loki moment for ya, next chapter though, ya gonna get a lot, so whoo! Uh, not much to really say about this chapter other than the fact that this was my take on what Tom Hiddleston had said about Loki being in Hell, the seventh circle and no, before any of you say anything, I did not take the idea of Thanos' hand print being on Loki from Supernatural. It was sheer coincidence. So! Y'all know the drill about reviews and such, and I want to thank you all SO much for the 104 alerts and 57 favorites! (:
-Chivalrous Gypsy