A/N: Yeah, ok, I took some liberties with this. I'm not sure if Thor's powers would increase or not, but what the hell, it's fiction.

Ch. 29

Bruce had cried when he first saw Loki's body. Clint had expected that.

Steve had gotten sick, and had run off to vomit in the corner of the room. Clint wasn't too surprised by that, either.

He was surprised by Thor's reaction, though. The thunder god had taken one look at his brother's body, then had quietly walked outside. He swung Moljnir around, and was gone within seconds.

Clint had figured that Thor would have wanted to beat Tony's unconscious body to death, or to tie Tony up so that he could slowly kill him later. You know, exact some type of revenge for his brother's demise.

"Maybe he needs to be alone," Natasha suggested.

Thor wasn't going to be alone, though. Instead, he was flying through the atmosphere, into space, headed towards Asgard. Normally, Thor wouldn't have had the strength to do this on his own. But that was the thing about certain gods, if their emotions were strong enough, they were able to amplify their powers. At the rate he was going, Thor would be on his home realm within only a few minutes.

00

Thor landed directly outside of his father's castle. Without missing a beat, he walked towards it, shoving the doors open. The guards stared at him, wondering how he had returned to Asgard without any help, but he gave them no time to question him. He was on a mission. If Odin wouldn't help Loki on his own, then Thor would force him to do so.

He found his father and mother sitting in the throne room. Both looked shocked as Thor walked in.

"What are you doing here? How did you get here?" Odin asked, standing up.

Thor said nothing, but continued walking towards him. When he reached his father, his first act was to wrap his hand around Odin's neck. Using his newfound strength, he easily overpowered Odin, shoving him back against a wall.

"What...are...you...doing?" Odin choked out.

Frigga attempted to pull Thor off of him, but Thor easily pushed her away.

"Loki is dead," Thor spat, "I am here to demand that you restore him. Restore his powers, bring him back."

Odin's eyes narrowed into slits. "I...will..not..."

Thor pushed up against Odin's throat even harder, completely cutting off his airway.

"If you do not do it, I will be forced to kill you and restore him myself." With his free hand, he held up Moljnir, in an attempt to prove his point.

Odin did not answer. This angered Thor even more. He began to raise the hammer up, ready to strike Odin. In the background, Frigga begged for her husband's life. Thor tuned most of it out, though. He was just about to bring the hammer down when he saw Odin's lips move. Thor lessened the pressure on Odin's throat ever so slightly, giving him the ability to speak, albiet barely.

"You're going to destroy everything," Odin said, "Loki will destroy everything. But... you've given me no choice."

Odin moved his right hand, which was at his side, and a golden glow surrounded it. He closed his eyes, and the gold specks moved from his hand towards the ceiling, before going through it.

"Is he alive?" Thor asked, not willing to let Odin go unless he was assured of this.

"He will be shortly."

Thor said nothing else. He released Odin, and the older god fell to the floor. Thor turned and began to walk out, intent on going back to Midgard.

00

Back in Tony's shack, a miracle seemed to be happening. Several golden specks had entered the room, and were surrounding Loki's body.

Unsure of what was going on, the Avengers quietly watched.

As the particles touched Loki, the color slowly began to return to his skin. The terrible, deep cut on his throat slowly began to stitch itself closed. The cuts on his back began to heal, and then, Loki's eyes opened.

He coughed a bit at first, then looked around.

"What happened...?" he asked. He could feel his magic returning, his internal wounds healing and his bones mending. "How...?"

"We're just as lost as you are," Steve said, shaking his head.

"Thor must have gone back to Asgard," Bruce stated, "That's the only way."

"He couldn't have gotten there on his own, though," Steve replied.

"If he was upset enough, he could have," Loki whispered. The expression on his face fell as he considered this, and looked around the room. Someone had thrown up in the corner. Bruce looked like he had been crying. Loki had hurt the people who cared about him most. He had been selfish. So terribly selfish.

"I'm so sorry," he mumbled, not daring to look anyone in the eye. "I couldn't take it anymore. I hadn't meant to hurt you..."

"At least you're back," Tasha said, "That is what matters. Now, we just have to figure out what to do with Mr. Stark, here."