Yeah, there really isn't any excuse to why it took me so long to write this. I blamed it on travelling. But really places without internet generally inspires me to write. I also wanted to see Infinity War again before writing this chapter. But then I realized that watching that movie again actually put me off from writing. Now I have like 500 other ideas for how Loki could have survived and I didn't really want to keep writing. Then I did write and I realized I wrote myself into a hole and didn't know how to get out of it...so I had to delete the original chapter 29 and rewrite it. Anywho, I read loads of Loki fanfiction and suddenly I found motivation to write and here we are.

Anyway. I hope you all aren't too upset that it took me so long to update. I hope you've enjoyed the story thus far and will continue to enjoy it. And please review. Your reviews are major motivators for me to write.

Also I feel like I should put another trigger warning here as there are some more graphic descriptions of torture. BUT, I do sort of feel like the ending of this chapter isn't a cliffhangy as I usually love to write. So...maybe that makes things better? Let me know what you think...

ENJOY!


Chapter 29

Loki coughed and choked as he felt liquid drip from his mouth. He quickly sat up and regretted the sudden movement as the world dizzyingly tilted around him. He heard muffled sounds of surprise and concern. When his vision cleared he found himself on the floor of the science laboratory. He looked up and saw Jane, Dr. Simmons and Dr. Fitz. They were still behind the barrier he had created to protect them.

"Loki?" Jane asked. She was dangerously close to the barrier. Loki waved his hand and the barrier dispersed. He heard the humans gasp in surprise. None of them made the expected run-towards-him-in-concern motion.

Loki opened his mouth to speak, but instead of words more liquid poured from his mouth and he coughed as he tried to breathe. The three humans stayed as far back from him as they could.

"Loki? Are you okay?" Jane asked him.

He coughed again and cleared his throat as the last of the black liquid dripped down his chin, defied gravity and formed into a feline creature that perched on his shoulder. Loki slowly pushed himself to his feet. His hand went to his chest, but the cut flesh was only from painful memories and the broken bones there were long ago mended. He could still feel a wisp of Ran's dark shadow in his mind. She must have agreed to his terms. He wobbled slightly as he neared the three humans.

"Loki?" Jane asked again, worry coating her voice as the two humans behind her reached for weapons.

His eyes made contact with her's. He opened his mouth to tell her he was fine, but he suddenly stopped when he noticed the microscope and the container of the larger sample of the liquid shadow. He immediately grabbed the container and opened it. The rest of the liquid climbed up out of the container and up Loki's arm where it merged with the feline shaped liquid shadow.

"I'm fine," Loki told her.

"You don't look fine," Jane told him as he turned away from them and reached to open the air tight sliding door.

"Loki! Stop!" Jane shouted before Loki's fingertips could brush at the code. Her sudden gasp in pain made him spin around. Dr. Fitz and Dr. Simmons had shoved Jane into the wall and were standing in front of her. Loki didn't know where they had gotten the Destroyer inspired guns. However they both held one in their hands and they pointed right at him.

Loki slowly put his hands up, "Sorry, I forgot that that conversation was mostly in my head. We're safe now. She won't hurt us," Loki told them.

"She? She who?" Dr. Simmons asked.

"Ran, she's controlling the liquid shadow, but we've come to an agreement. She's going to leave this craft. I must get word to my brother to cease the attack so that Ran can secure her daughter."

"Ran is another Asgardian?" Jane asked.

"Yes," Loki told her. "She can manipulate water. There's something a bit wrong with her powers. She said she's not been implanted with any explosives. But this isn't how her powers usually manifest." Loki gestured to the feline shaped dark water on his shoulder.

"How do you know she's telling the truth?" Jane asked.

"Because, I'm the god of Lies remember?" Loki reminded her with a roll of his eyes.

"You realize that part of that water thing is in your ear...right?" Jane asked nervously.

Loki turned his head towards the feline shaped liquid shadow. He noticed that the tail part curled up and around the side of his face. He touched it carefully and now he could feel that it was connected to his ear. He dropped his hand and shuttered slightly. Ran had left more than a shadow in his mind.

"It is a promise and a warning," Loki told Jane. "If I fail on my end of the bargain Ran will punish me."

Jane looked back at him in complete horror. But the sudden sound of water hitting the floor had them all turning to look to the corridor beyond the laboratory. The many humanoid shaped liquid shadows had all fallen to the floor. A current formed like that of a wild river and the water raced out of the corridor.

Loki looked back at Jane, "There is no need to follow me. I go to my brother now. Feel free to stay here until we return. Loki turned away from Jane and released the locking mechanism on the door. He closed it behind himself before he ran after the liquid shadow.

He followed it out of the craft. He noticed humans and soldiers left on the ground. He also saw Ran's dark tendrils releasing from their minds. When he reached the solid ground of the outside of the craft he found himself to be on the outskirts of a city, in some forlorn looking parking lot. Loki draped himself in an invisible cloak and hid himself behind a small cluster of trees. He sent his astral form to Thor.

The battle before Loki was a grave one. And Thor had been required to do as little damage as possible. It was incredibly unfair to the King of Asgard who had mastered the art of destruction and easily winning a battle. But dark tendrils dripped out of the ears and mouths of several of Thor's new companions made up of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents. Thor was battling Ran with swords. Loki saw he had discarded his axe. Thor knew he could slaughter them all with a single attack. But Ran was a subject of Asgard. And the Agents in her control were his friends.

Loki's Astral form hid himself behind a pillar and summoned the rest of his body to follow in a rushed and shakily made portal that left him retching onto the ground. He was still invisible, he knew. But he felt the eyes of Ran and her liquid shadows on him. Loki raced to Thor. When Ran struck her sword against his, Loki pulled Thor backwards as if it were a result to Ran's power. Loki cloaked Thor in invisibility and at the same time created an image of Thor being knocked back into a wall that gave away to his build. Loki made the image of a Thor shaped hole in the wall.

"What?!" Thor nearly shouted, but Loki covered his mouth with his hand. With them both cloaked in invisibility, Thor could now see Loki now that they resided underneath the same cloak of magic.

Thor easily pulled Loki's hand off of his mouth, but he wasn't gentle. The jerking motion was enough to send Loki off balance to where he fell to his knees. Loki waved his hand creating another spell around them so that explanations could be made without Ran or Hydra overhearing.

Thor seemed to take notice of this spell and stared at Loki. "What have you done? What...?" Loki winced as Thor abruptly stood and stared at the creature on his shoulder.

"I've struck a deal with Ran…" Loki panted. The toll taken on his body and mind were overwhelming him. Not to mention the amount of magic that he didn't really have the energy for. "Hydra has one of her daughters...If I faked your defeat Ran may be able to be reunited with her. Then she will rejoin our side," Loki told him as he struggled to breathe.

"And that?" Thor asked, pointing to the creature on his shoulder.

"It is how I am communicating with Ran. Look," Loki swayed as he stood back up and pointed. Thor turned and saw Ran walk away to the hallway she was defending. Following her was Daisy, Agent Rodriguez and the other S.H.I.E.L.D. agents that Ran had taken control over.

Loki winced as a pressure built up in his head. It sent him back to his knees. A sudden flash of memory replaced his sight of a worried Thor. Loki opened his eyes. He whined pathetically, but his chest still felt broken. He found himself lying on a dirty floor in a dark room. He shivered as he noticed the great flaps of skin were still peeled back from his chest. They hung loosely off his chest and exposed the bone and muscle underneath. Loki struggled to draw in air. He watched in morbid fascination as the bones in his chest and his ribs moved and shifted as he breathed.

Luckily his hands were not chained behind him. He shakily pushed the flaps of skin back into place. He reached for his magic, though he was tired, sick and in pain, he managed to heal the cut flesh and the bones.

It took longer than it should have. He was starving. He needed to eat to fuel his fake Asgardian energy. He needed to sleep as well, using that energy for healing was exhausting. He could barely lift his head to look around. He couldn't quite remember how he got to this place. Loki was sure he had just told Thanos he agreed to work with him.

"So you want to be a servant for the dark lord?" a foul voice rattled through the air. Loki quickly turned, he winced as he pushed himself up. He couldn't quite make it to his feet, he panted as his newly healed injuries protested the movement.

Out of the shadows appeared a monster. He wore a black hood and had too many fingers. Loki recognized this monster to be the Other. Behind him followed several soldiers. Loki immediately recognized as the Chitauri. His memories were confusing him. When he first encountered the Chitauri and the Other, he didn't know their names. But clearly this was a memory and he knew what they had come to do.

They wasted no time in chaining him up, with his arms stretched above his head and his feet barely touching the floor. Hot pokers were produced and rammed into him as he screamed. Just knowing that it was all a memory was not enough to escape it. Quickly, Loki's voice became hoarse from the screaming.

Suddenly a cold hand touched his cheek and he opened his eyes. It was as if the Chitauri and the Other were frozen in place. They were posed and ready to burn him more. But standing before him was Ran. It seemed her hand on his cheek had the ability to halt the memory.

"Why do they harm you now? After you've sworn to follow Thanos?" Ran asked.

Loki struggled to find the air to answer her, "It isn't enough...to just choose to follow him after...being tortured...But to still be loyal...when tortured," Loki took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down. He dully noted that one of the Chitauri's pokers was digging into his thigh. The burn seemed slow and stretched out. It was a painful ache in slow motion.

"Why am I back in my memories?" Loki asked her, both straining in his chains and leaning into her cold hand that felt so good against his burning skin.

"It is the only way I can communicate without them realizing it. They have given me back my daughter. They want us to board an underground transportation. There are other children here."

"You have your daughter, so attack Hydra!" Loki shouted at her.

"I will ensnare them as I did the soldiers on the craft. But I need time before I can. Await my signal, Prince Loki."

"No, don't!" Loki shouted as her hand pulled away from his face. Loki winced as his memories pushed at him and the poker dug deeper into his side. Ran's hand fell away and the torture resumed fast paced and agonizing. Loki threw his head back and screamed more.

A hand covered his mouth. It was too large and it gripped his face painfully. Loki found his hands free suddenly of the chains that restrained him. He tried to push the hand away from his face.

"Loki!" Someone growled at him. Only then did he realize his eyes were closed. He opened them and found himself lying on a dirty floor behind a pillar with Thor looming over him. Loki half sobbed in relief.

"Loki, your spells have failed, you must be silent or they'll hear you," Thor told him.

Loki nodded and Thor slowly moved his hand away. Loki suddenly turned over and threw up. Ran was pulling up memories better off buried and Loki's body could not bare it.

"Loki, what is happening?" Thor asked him.

Loki coughed and wiped the mess from his mouth. He looked up at Thor. "Ran sent me a message. She has been reunited with her daughter and she is with three Asgardian children. She is awaiting for the opportune moment to attack Hydra."

"Why would sending you a message cause you such pain?"

"The only way to do it without being noticed of her betrayal is to...to interact with me in a memory."

"What memory could cause you to…" Thor stopped short when Loki glared at him.

"There is something wrong with Ran. As far as she is aware everything she told me is true. But when has her powers ever done anything like this before Asgard's fall?"

"I don't know," Thor admitted. She was always a kind woman before. I've never seen her magic so...so dark before."

"Neither have I," Loki told him. He sat back down against the pillar as Thor continued to hover over him.

"So what do we do now…? Just wait for her signal?" Thor asked him.

Loki nodded and gritted his teeth as the world shifted in that one small motion.

"What have you done?" Thor asked Loki as he pressed the heel of his hand against his head.

"I used my astral form to find out what was happening on the craft. I was shot through the shoulder with one of those stupid guns. I used ice magic to fight Ran's liquid shadows. And more barrier magic to protect the humans. Then Ran attempted to control me like the other agents. Then I transported myself here and you've seen the rest."

"That is a lot of magic in a short amount of time."

"I am aware. Not to mention these memories Ran forces me to relive when trying to communicate with me. It is not pleasant at all, brother."

Thor smiled at Loki making Loki glare back at him. "Why are grinning like an idiot? Do my pains really entertain you so?"

"No, of course not, brother," Thor said with another grin. "There is just something magical about hearing you call me 'Brother' that makes it irresistible for myself to smile."

Loki smirked at that.

Thor looked around, anxiously irritated. How much longer will it take for Ran to be ready?"

"I don't know," Loki admitted. He was anxious too, to help stop Hydra. But he was somewhat grateful for the ability to just relax for a moment.

"And your arms, they are healed now?" Thor asked.

"Yes," Loki told him. "My arms are the last thing you should be worrying about." Loki suddenly choked on a scream that built up in his throat. The pain in his head was unbearable.

"Loki? What's happening?" Thor asked.

Loki reached out and grabbed Thor's hand and held on tightly. Loki cried as he felt Thor's hand wrenched out of his. His arms were bound behind him along with his magic. He opened his eyes and wept as he quickly realized he was trapped in another memory. He hung in the air with a series of large needles floating around him. A new creature stood before him. His skin was grey and he had little hair and no nose. He smiled cruelly at Loki and introduced himself as 'Ebony Maw'. Maw waved a finger at towards him and one of the needles pressed into him. He could feel his molecules separating and splitting apart. Not just his own flesh and blood being cut, but a severing of his magic that ripped screams from his body.

"Now!" a woman's voice shouted in his ear. It made him flinch into more needles that was meant for microsurgery.

"Loki?" Thor's voice cut through the memory and through a whirlwind that made him want to be sick again, Loki found himself against the pillar.

"We must go here," Loki told Thor. Telling him coordinates was too slow. Loki threw his hand over Thor's head and showed him directly into his mind where the train would be in just a few minutes. Good fortune allowed it to be outside of the city.

Thor held out his hand and Stormbreaker flung back into his hand. With his other hand he grabbed at Loki. The rainbow light of the Bifrost broke through the ceiling and wrapped around them in light. The dirty ground below him vanished and suddenly the light disappeared and they stood in a field just as a train swept passed.

Thor left Loki on his wobbly legs and flew after the train. Loki stumbled forward. He reached out and created an illusion of an explosion on the tracks about a half mile ahead of the train. The train screeched to a stop a quarter of a mile from the illusioned explosion. Loki fell to his knees. He had expended his magic and his energy. Being forced to relive horrific memories of his crumbling mind had exhausted him. Loki fell to his knees and watched in half humor as the sides of the train broke apart and Hydra agents fell to their death. At one point dark clouds gathered and lightning struck various parts of the train.

Loki whined and whimpered at another pressure in his head. "No more, Ran...please!" he begged as he slumped to the ground. The black feline shaped liquid thing climbed off his shoulder and pulled. His head and his ear were in agony. He could hear water sloshing around inside of his head. It felt like every touch left burns or ragged cuts inside of his brain. Then finally the feline shaped thing pulled it's tail free of Loki's ear and all at once the pain ceased. The relief was so instant that Loki passed out with a sigh.