Chapter 13

"Fine! How about I cut you open, and then leave your wounds to get infected, and then laugh as I watch you slowly and painfully develop Gangrene and have your flesh eaten away? All the while you are locked in a cell, alone and dying, while people stare at you over a camera!" I screamed at no one in particular, and the whole group was standing around me, staring wide-eyed while I tried to steady my breathing. I could not afford to turn blue again.

I had been trying for an hour and a half to get them to let me go to Loki, and I was getting desperate.

"That was... descriptive," Natasha said, taking a step towards me. She reached out to put her hand on my shoulder, but I pulled back.

"Please," I pleaded with her, "Please let me help him. I know you guys hate him, but don't make me watch him die," I begged, and she sighed and put her hands on her hips.

"Fine! Fine! Just go!" She shouted, and I ran to the elevator before anyone could say any different.

Tony followed me, and I punched 76 into the wall. We sped down, and I ran down the hall to Loki's cell. Tony keyed in the numbers in the wall, but he didn't know I was watching him. 5-6-3-2-4, I thought, saying it repeatedly in my head as the door slid open and I walked in to Loki.

I took his hand, and we walked back down the hall to the elevator, and rode down to the 60th floor. I had him take off his coat- I forgot to find him a shirt, lay on the table again, and I gingerly took off the gauze I had put on the gashes. They were still red around the edges, but the stitches were still intact and they weren't bleeding anymore. I put Neosporin and more gauze on all of them, and then looked at the burn and sighed. I wet down a washcloth, but before I could try and touch his face, he sat up quickly- too quickly, because he grabbed the edges of the table for support. I held his arm, and he looked scared again.

"W-why must you do that?" He asked just quietly enough that I could hear him, but Tony couldn't.

"You have to keep the burn wet," I said, running my fingers through his hair.

"Why?"

"I- I actually don't know. That's just what my mom told me. It probably keeps it from blistering. I know, it hurts, but I have to do it, Loki. It'll be quick."

I quickly patted the burn, and grabbed the burn cream and put it on again. I pulled him off the table, and turned to Tony while Loki was putting on his coat.

"What actually happened to him? I never asked, did I?"

"Well... Uh..." Tony looked very uncomfortable and nervous. I felt a swelling of pride in my chest that I could scare the Avengers.

"Miss Romanoff had quite a bit of fun with a stick," Loki said, wrapping one arm around my shoulder.

"A stick."

"Yes, she had a stick."

"Natasha Romanoff... attacked a God... with a stick."

"It would appear so," Loki said, and I just shook my head.

"Just because you people are superheroes, it doesn't mean you can just attack everyone you meet with a damn stick!" I screamed at the camera, and there was a click from the ceiling, and then Natasha's voice filled the room.

"Actually," she said, "Yes, I can."

"Not if I've got something to say about it," I snapped.

"Okay, that's enough," Tony said, and I shot him a dirty look. "He," Tony pointed at Loki, "Needs to go back to his cell."

My look must have worsened, because Tony actually took a step away from me. I shook my head again and walked Loki back down the hall to the elevator. Tony caught up, and we went back up to the 76th floor. I told Loki I'd get him a shirt, and he just laughed.

Walking back out of the cell, as Tony shut the door, I looked at him and said, "Take me to a mall."

"You're in Manhattan. Any mall in particular?" He asked as we walked back down the hallway.

"I don't know, I've never been here before!" I exclaimed, and he nodded.

"Alright. You got money?"

"Stop at a Chase."

"How do you plan to withdraw money without an ID?"

I pursed my lips and looked at him as the elevator went down. Slowly, I opened my hand and created a replica of my school ID card. I raised one eyebrow and he shook his head.

"That's illegal."

"It's mine!"

"You don't even look like that."

"I got highlights. It's not that bad."

"Whatever," He said, walking off the elevator. I followed him out the front door, and he hailed a taxi.

I got my money out of the Chase just fine, much to Tony's dismay, and then we went to a gigantic mall. I mean, this mall was bigger than the arena on Asgard. I found my way to a Sears and went into the men's department. I found a really nice green polyester shirt in the clearance section, and as I was walking around, I noticed a pair of running shoes on sale that were actually in my size. Natasha had given me a pair to wear, but they were too small and my feet were starting to blister. I grabbed the shoes, paid, and we left. We got into another taxi and I slipped into the new shoes, relived that I could move my toes.

Tony had the cab stop at a McDonald's, and I bought Loki and I McDoubles, two medium fries, and two large Cokes.

We got back to the Tower at about five o'clock, and I got off the elevator on the 76th floor. To my surprise, Tony didn't follow me. I walked down the hall, punched the numbers into the wall, and walked in. I knew very well they were watching, but I wasn't prepared for what happened next: the damn door closed.

"You son of a bitch!" I screamed at the camera, and Loki stared at me like I was speaking a different language. "I got you a new shirt," I threw the bag to Loki, and then collapsed on the bench next to him.

He slipped the shirt on, putting his coat on the floor next to him, and then noticed the McDonalds bag that I threw on the bench next to me. He eyed it curiously, and I laughed a little. "Sorry honey, I didn't have enough money to get us good food, and I guess I'm going to kill you with grease. I just know they haven't fed you!" I screamed the last part at the camera again, and he smirked.

"They do not care, Ashley," he said as I opened the carry-out bag and pulled out the burgers. "I am amazed they let you come back down and see me at all."

"And now they've locked me in with you," I said, and shook my head. "They don't know how stupid they can be, do they?"

"I suppose not," he muttered as he stared at the burger suspiciously.

"You eat it, Loki."

"Yes, I know, but what is it?" He asked, and I laughed.

"First rule of Midgard, Loki: never ask about what comes out of a McDonalds," I laughed as I took a bite out of my burger.

He copied me and made a bit of a face, which made me laugh harder. Soon, however, his hunger won over and the whole burger was gone. I gave him both of the fries, not even sure why I bought myself one, and sipped my Coke. I hadn't realized how much smaller Loki's cell was than mine, and it was making me feel sick. I had only ever felt claustrophobic when I was in really crowded places before, but at that moment, I was pretty sure that was about to change.

"Ashley, what is it?" Loki asked, and I stared at him. He was staring at my hands, which were gripping the cup so hard it was bending and about to break. My fingertips were starting to turn blue again.

"Tight spaces and I don't seem to be very good friends," I said, and then I laughed nervously before biting my lip.

He took my hand from the cup before it burst, and squeezed it. I closed my eyes and rested my head against the glass behind me. I took deep breaths, and managed to calm myself down before I turned totally blue. It worked for about two minutes, which was when the glass behind us shattered, and I found myself hanging on for dear life from a window ledge 75 stories above the street.