Chapter 37

~o~0~o~

The beam of light blinded the surroundings, the sound deafening. In the first moments the whole area was cleaned up from every droid, destroyed by the lightning struck at them continuously. The rain that steadily fell all this time became stronger. The thunder rolled for miles. It could only mean one thing.

"Oh. Hey, Thor."

The king of Asgard, the guy the humans in varying degrees were glad to see gone, was back in all his godly glory. Meaning that only by arriving, the place was all but washed from the annoying metalheads all around. The Avengers that were nearby had to close their eyes in the blinding light of both Bifrost and Thor's lightning.

It was awe inspiring and beautiful and awesome, this power, this might. No wonder the humans of old put the Norse gods as the entities worthy of worship and adoration and fear.

Tony kicked the debris and run, caring shit for that particular show. They were in the process of something more important than feeling delight for Thor (yeah, no), and sitting still as the blondie showed off. Jarvis was almost done with synchronization and soon will be working on a base level, seeing as not much was left of the Iron Man suit, the right repulsor and the helmet basically the only gadgets working properly.

"Shit!" Stark barked as he almost got a jolt of electricity. Fucking Thor.

Tony hissed in frustration as his strength was not enough to move the ruins of once building his friends and teammates were buried under. That was when he felt a hand on his shoulder, that cautiously but firmly moved him away, so that he wouldn't hurt himself. Steve took Tony's place and dug in himself. Fucking Rogers.

The Captain invested himself fully in getting to Nat and Loki as soon as possible. It was nice and good to have faith in Loki to keep Natasha safe, but what if Loki was hurt too? Were they both even alive? The communication with them was dead.

Both men didn't even notice as the only sound heard was their own grunts. That, until…

"Guys! MOVE!"

Barton's warning came just in time, as Steve looked back and immediately pushed Tony and himself aside. Thor was approaching with a confident step, raising his hammer at the same time.

And okay, that was kinda impressive. The humans were not sure how exactly Thor was doing it, but the combination of raw force, electricity and the power of weather were more helpful in clearing the tons of debris than Stark and Rogers' bare hands. The men just hoped Thor knew what he was doing, that he knew where exactly Nat and Loki were positioned under all those ruins, because if the big brother was wrong in his 'calculations', he could hurt the poor things.

And then it was done.

Not wishing to think that if Thor didn't arrive when he did, they could possibly be burying one of their teammates, Tony and Steve rushed to the cleared space. Thor didn't wait on them and was already going down (the shit fell almost two stories in height, geez).

The first thing they recognized from above was Loki's armored back, the deep colors hidden under all the dust. A moment of panic as they didn't see Natasha, but then a relief. Loki's tall physique was all but covering Nat's short stature, vembraced elbows fully protecting her redhead.

Loki finally moved, gingerly lifting his head and looking around. Once groomed raven locks were now disheveled and messy, the pale face dirty with dust and blood. Loki sighed quietly, after what he finally released his tenacious grip on the woman beneath him and slowly rolled away on his back, closing his eyes. The green light that surrounded Nat's head evaporated and then she was coughing hard.

Steve exhaled. They seemed all right. Thank God. Almost there, Steve saw what was the original problem that resulted in the life/death situation. It took some effort but the Captain broke the beam that bounded around Romanoff's ankle and tenderly released the long-suffering limb. Clint jumped from wherever and was lifting Natasha on her feet, with the Widow not rejecting the help. Rogers then looked to where Loki was yet to move. The god just continued to lay on the ground with his eyes closed, the rubble undoubtedly uncomfortable under his spine and head. Steve lowered himself on his knees and put a hand on the man's chest plate carefully, making Loki sigh and open his eyes.

The two looked at each other and Steve smiled a little smile, lowering his head. Loki though, seemed to get more comfortable instead of standing up, judging by his hips flattening the ground beneath him and one ankle casually thrown over the other.

"Ah. What a day. A drink would be just nice after such exercises. Don't you think?" The idiot went as far as to create an illusion of a long glass with green liquid, with a little umbrella. Steve only laughed, waving a hand through it, making it disappear. With an illusion, so was gone his worry and scare. The idiot was fine.

As the shadow fell on him, the Avenger turned around and watched how Thor crouched above Loki and took in every bruise, every cut and scrape on Loki and on Loki's armor. Without words Thor stood and offered his hand. Loki's bright eyes lingered on it, thoughtful, and after a beat Loki clasped Thor's hand back. With more care that anyone's seen before, Thor set Loki back on his feet, careful hand on the younger's back. Who looked right back at him with two bright eyes.

"My hero." Loki beamed. Thor huffed and shook his head, letting go of Loki's hand. But still couldn't resist a tiny smile, walking to where Tony was speaking with Jarvis. They needed to talk, to discuss what happened, it was inevitable. What happened wasn't anything close to a joking matter, it was horrible. But already Loki acted with humor. Also he didn't stab him at first sight, so perhaps everything would turn out well.

Steve and Loki soon joined two spies. Natasha seemed to be on the verge of smacking Clint over the head and then limping away, the worry for her was unnecessary, hear that Clint? To Steve she only nodded, her eyes lingering on the smirking god.

"Should repeat sometime, hmm?"

Steve thought he heard how Barton's jaw clicked with a force of nature and also who would need lasers to kill you when the archer's eyes were giving out his most withering glare? But as well as he tried to hide it, he looked at Nat and Loki warily. Loki snorted and hummed some song, walking away.

"Just 'cause you feel it, doesn't mean it's there…"

Tony was glad Jarvis was online and in a couple of minutes his new suit would arrive to envelop him in its gold-titanium alloy embrace so that he would stop feeling so fucking vulnerable.

When he felt a heavy hand landing on his shoulder, he couldn't help but flinch and jump back. And nobody heard his squeal. Nobody! (Ok, only Jarvis perhaps). When Tony turned to see who it was, it was even worse.

"Shit, Thor! A little warning next time!"

It was easy to let his mouth keep talking (he did it all the time, no matter was he nervous or calm or terrified) but in truth Tony was starting to feel lightheaded. Shit, Thor was standing over him, 6'2 ft of muscles ready to… Stop! Thor was back to help, he was not here to kill them, right? It was just nightmares of a tired mind, right? He almost killed Loki – that was a reality, stupid!

He would work himself into a frenzy, Tony thought anxiously, trying to steady his ragged breathing. He saw how Thor arrived, he saw him, heard him, smelt his freaking lightning, goddamnit! What did his mind think it was doing, forgetting this valuable information and just outright freaking out, because wow, Thor stands over ME! Every time Thor lifted his massive hand near his face (oh, he was talking), Stark imagined it closing around his neck, squeezing-

Why, what was wrong with him, why did it keep happening to him, why him, he was fine, he was fucking fine!-

A sharp sound tore through the air like a string. Both men turned to where it came from, Thor in confusion and wariness, Tony in sheer relief (it could have been anything short of bomb timer going off, but all better than drowning more and more in a panic that came with Thor's close presence). A whistle (oh, ok, that was what it was) came from Loki, who stood ten feet from them. Bless you, Blueberry, Tony thought, feeling his fear abating and panic retreating. The god looked like death warmed over, battered and tired, a pale sunken face frowning. Loki was looking at Tony and pointing to his own ear. Tony blinked.

"Oh, right. Shit, wait a sec." His suit was all kinds of awesome, but sometimes a simple trouser pocket was better. Tony reached out and procured an emergency comm and threw it in Loki's waiting hand. The little devil even bowed in thanks and pranced away.

Did Loki know? Nobody knew that Tony Stark was not so strong under all that super armor, no matter how he looked out in the public. Tony knew he had panic attacks, his nightmares were becoming more and more scary every night and anxiety was a bitch. Nobody knew, except only Bruce, but he was only a willing – unwilling mostly – ear and only listened because Tony made him listen, he didn't help...

He had to keep himself together. But boy, he still shook after almost dying, for god's sake. And they still needed to fight – who knew where that, that Godzilla (shit, he so takes his words back, Loki, darling, no more Hulk jokes, because it was terrifying and painful) was. But mostly, Tony just wanted for this fight to be over.

"Thor, just..." Tony scrunched his face. He didn't hear a word Thor said to him before Loki interrupted them, nor was he interested in what Point Break wanted from him. Uncomfortable was not a right word to describe how he felt standing near Thor. Besides, there were three other 'mortals' he could ask about… whatever.
"Friend Tony?"
"For fucks sake." Tony cursed. He was SO not over all that shit in his tower. And… friend? Nope. Friends don't strangle each other in their free time. "Sometimes I wish someone would punch you in your perfect teeth." He didn't care for Thor's reaction and just walked away, no matter where, just away from Odinson. Tony would think about all this later, when his head would clear from all today's events and fuck ups.

~o~0~o~

No one was eager to continue a fight, especially in the bad weather, which Thor didn't mind at all. Only after Nat hissed something meant for Thor's ears only, did he concentrate and stop the rain. Thor was pouting but the others were grateful.

Because no matter how bizarre it seemed, the moment Thor had cleaned the dark clouds away, meant as if the part of their experience, associated with misery, pain and near death – disappeared alongside with rain, bringing up the bright blue cloudless sky. That after such dark and grim circumstances, finally it was fine. They were all alive and mostly unharmed. Which was great.

Only one thing left to finish.

The team wasted no time in rushing to where the crucial part of the battle was taking place. The SHIELD agents that met them on their way briefed everyone on the current situation.

That is to say that everything wasn't going as smoothly as they've hoped for.

Namely the Hulk was getting his green ass handled.

Steve's "Language!" helped little, when the Avengers shared their feelings on the matter.

And now the six people who spent hours clearing the streets from the enemy's little battalion, the deed which was tough but successful, stood in one row, shoulder to shoulder, presenting an image of nervous energy there, determination here, tired acceptance over there, but mostly they wondered about what they were supposed to do now.

"I can't believe this." Stark, already in his new suit, stood and shook his head in what looked like repetitive mode.

"In what exactly?" The God of Mischief who stood on his right, visibly was the only one, who seemed to not be affected by the flaring catastrophe. Perhaps having survived today's events put him in the somewhat good mood, judging by Starbucks in his hand, signed 'His Majesty Loki the Greatest".

(And that was considering that he did find the time to teleport to the coffee shop, looking like he has been run over by a bus – and what must have experienced the poor barista…).

"Our Big Mean? He is evenly matched with Attack of the Clones. And Hulk is- he is…Tired?! God dammit!"

"Just no way! Am I seeing it right, guys? Hulk is backing away. No!" Clint moaned and kicked the innocent asphalt under his feet. Romanoff, who stood near him, kicked Clint.

"I believe it will not be much longer until the Hulk is Banner again." Thor mused. For once – which everyone noticed – he was the one looking out for the solution, deep in thought.

"What? No! It cannot happen!"

"I believe it true." Thor clasped Barton's back. The archer flinched and scowled back at the Thunderer, who noticed but only looked down in apology.

"What should we do? What should we do? What-"

"Easy, Tons. Take it easy." Steve Rogers was worried about many things at the moment, but he worried about Tony the most. It was just… Tony was really lucky today.

"Fight him in another way apparently."

"How, Thor?" Natasha asked, her eyes on two creatures, fighting in the distance.

"Why, using our brains."

If anyone heard Loki choke on his drink, it was largely drowned out by the helicopters that flew right over the team of heroes. As Captain America was informed earlier, SHIELD has joined in the search mission – they believed the people under the alien influence were also present here. Anyone found would be contained in a special facility until the time the solution would be found as for their cure. Or if it failed, about their further fate.

"Say what?" Tony droned. Tony imagined he was acting like a jerk in regards of Thor, but couldn't find himself to care. Stark believed all of them would have to say some things to each other, once they were back in the tower. He definitely would. And 'using our brain'? Hypocritical asshole.

"I had time to speak with Asgard's gatekeeper about the situation. Heimdall, if you remember him. He shared the knowledge of the important part on the creature's neck that holds it whole. Heimdall told me that meddling in that construct, we will be able to alter it. Bring it down."

"Nice. And where was your guy when- I don't know – we needed to find the main culprit? Or how to help with Loki's magic when he was down? Or does that guy play favorites?"

Thor raised his chin. Tony's grating words resembled Loki's so much sometimes. Since he was back to assist his friends, he received nothing but strained acceptance, bordering on anger. He might be deserving of it. From Loki. After all, it was his and his brother's business alone.

Which mattered not to his friends, as they continued to give him the cold shoulder. What made it funny, Loki, who he wronged the most, was more friendly than any of the humans.

But still, should Stark antagonize him further, his temper could snap. And Thor might be oblivious sometimes, but it didn't escape his attention, how Tony Stark reacted to him.

He never meant to hurt his friends.

"I know it because I asked Heimdall for help. His main job, as you would say, is to protect Asgard and her citizens."

"Oh, well. Then thank you so very much, Thor-"

"Easy, fellas-"

"No, but you heard? Personal watcher, but his eyes are too pretty to help out the others!"

"What nonsense! Heimdall is a worthy-"

"And naturally Asgard stands above all, spying on everyone's steps. Wait, do other realms have Heimdalls?"

"It is of no import right now. We should-"

"It IS of import!"

"Tony's kinda right, Thor." Clink said, scratching his head.

Throughout all of this mayhem of raised voices and pointed fingers, Loki stood aside and barely restrained himself to not outright burst out laughing. So petty. Even Romanoff turned on her calculating mode to find out more about such huge source of information as the gatekeeper's vision. As if they couldn't spare a thought about it when they were on Asgard. Tony and Clint hissed and shouted like small children, Thor – a rare look on him – had to defend himself, Natasha subtly read Thor like a book and Steve tried to calm everyone down, but it was obvious he also had an opinion.

Such wonderful chaos.

But he was tired and wanted to go home. He needed to do something extremely important after all of this. And this bunch should not stall his mission.

"Shhhhh! Hush! Everyone – shut it! Thor. What do you think to do?"

Thor almost melt when Loki intervened and indeed shut everyone up.

"I will apprehend the creature and try to stop it-

"You think it's so easy-!" Steve simply grabbed Tony's armored arm and lightly – in Captain America's case - yanked. The shock was too strong, that it actually made Tony stop talking.

"- with Mjolnir. Stall it, so we could reach to that device. But we would need Banner for this."

"Em, but he is the Hulk right now-"

"Not for much longer."

And Thor was right. After the Hulk was smashed another time, he was thrown two blocks, levelling everything in its path.

Now they could take a clear sight of the creature, that stood before them in all its artificial glory. It was a perfect duplicate, the features like Bruce's with some modifications, but where Hulk was unrestrained angry berserk, this Hulk 2.0 was its complete opposite in terms of displaying emotions and, well, character. The skin was dark orange, that was obvious if it was a product of Astart's energy gear he had on him all the time. Using it must have affected the creature and made it how it was now.

It was as much horrifying as fascinating. They wouldn't be surprised, that having crossed half the Universe, the aliens would easily create Bruce's clone as a human, not only the Hulk…

What a horrifying thought.

As soon as the Hulk smashed into the wall, the Avengers heard the weak and exhausted growl, turned into a moan. A human moan. Thor immediately jumped into action, following their adversary, while the other Avengers rushed to Banner, who cautiously picked himself up on his unsteady feet.

~o~0~o~

It was totally not happening. Bruce was silently reeling inside his head, going with the crowd of his teammates to the nearest tent SHIELD provided, where he was given pants, blanket and water. Still bewildered, Bruce put on his new pants (to hell with modesty, after so many times), then took a sip of water from a bottle Natasha's handled him. Vaguely he noticed her leg, that seemed broken, but she smiled at him and the doctor in him let it go. There will be time later. Because if he would start to think about why Tony's face was smeared in rivulets of blood with no visible cuts on it (who knew what was under the armor and why), or why Loki, who was standing slightly aside from everyone and watched closely Thor fighting (Thor was back! When? Why?), looked as if the building fell on his head and he barely pulled himself from under it, and surely both of them broke something… he would snap.

Which would be wonderful actually, because he wanted to find out exactly how the Hulk's voice inside his head suddenly left him. Hulk seemed not angry but disappointed (why why why). Bruce swore he heard Hulk tell him to make it right. Pitifully, defeated.

And another thought he was afraid to think about.

Hulk talked to him.

Inside his head.

Theoretically Bruce knew he was not the Hulk. The big guy was actually another being, separate. He knew that. But he couldn't even imagine that over the years it would acquire an intellect. Not much of it, of course, but it was an intellect. Hulk was even talking! To him! How was it possible?

But it was time to bring his head back into the field, he couldn't let himself be distracted, when they were still in the middle of the mission. When the Hulk was the best shot at stopping the Wrong Guy (it was the name Hulk has given the creature).

Looking around, Banner noticed that the robots were down, the agents of SHIELD were cleaning the area, gathering samples, away from them, not risking it.

Embarrassed at himself, Bruce asked Rogers to repeat what he was talking about. Steve huffed, but before he could answer, the God of Thunder appeared before him as if from the air. Which… was that exactly. Loki let go of Thor's shoulder and took a couple of steps to the overthrown car and sat on it. Ouch, he looked spent. More that than normal. No, more than not normal for him.

Just what did I miss?

"You have my gratitude, Loki. If not for you, I am sure my fall would have been quite painful. And I need to speak with Banner. Thank you again."

Loki only waved his hand a little, as if saying 'no big deal' or 'shut up'. Could be both, Bruce thought. But judging from the way his hand trembled, it was obvious how stressful it must have been for the god, to be near that beast, even for a moment it took to snatch his brother from it.

"Banner!"

"Ah, what? Oh. Hi, Thor. How are you-"

"No time. Come with me."

"Errr… oh…. kay? But what is going on-"

"It will be glorious, friend Banner! We will defeat the monster."

"Sure!"

Because what else he could have said.

~o~0~o~

Clint Barton had seen many things on his missions. Mostly from above, as was his preferable place. He had always had the perfect position to oversee everything that was going on in the world around him. Sometimes he thought that he would be not bad at the career of a writer, that would spread a tale of people, going here and there, doing stuff, meeting the other people, doing heroic things – like the Avengers for example. As a true narrator he will tell everyone how everything looked from the outside, capturing the whole picture of the battles and victories, describe all the steps, all events. Because he was the Allseeing Hawkeye!

He would suck, Clint mused begrudgingly. He tried once to write something. He wouldn't try ever again, not after seeing how Natasha cringed while reading his reports. So he was not best at reports, so what?

Hoping that at least his story could be bearable hearing by others, he followed the ongoing that took place after Thor dragged Bruce back to the Clone Hulk, having some secret super plan.

~o~0~o~

"That is what we have to do."

"W-we?"

"Yes! I might not be much knowledgeable in Midgard's technologies, but, Man of Iron, could you surrender your head gear?"

Tony reluctantly looked around, as if doubting a thing Thor said was coming from him, not some impostor.

Loki looked down. He always knew Thor was not a simpleton the others often mistaken him for. And why not? There was always someone with him to suggest their opinions on the matters, and Thor just went with them. For good or bad, in the end – it was not his decision, right? Thor went ahead of all, often not minding the subtleties, the customs, the consequences. It was the others (Loki mostly) to take care of them. The prince's sycophants must have also realized early on that they needn't care for details. With Loki there to do so.

The bitter part of Loki viciously screamed about how convenient it must have been. Thor was too preoccupied to get fun.

But now, without Loki by his side to always come up with a list of ready solutions, the Thunderer had to use his own brains to get on. Things ought to have changed, inevitably. And so Thor Odinson has changed. Loki knew himself how the myriad of responsibilities could crush you, humble you.

Thor knew that now too.

And grudgingly Loki could agree - compared to his younger years, Thor wasn't doing half bad.

~o~0~o~

They agreed to circle the creature and when the time comes, Thor would strike it across the head, Barton would set the heavy-duty net over its limbs to temporarily immobilize it, Iron Man would fly to the head and tear away the head-construct. If it becomes impossible, Loki would teleport Bruce the closest to the mechanism that keeps the Hulk copy functioning. Steve would insure the net will keep and Natasha would try to inject the creature with heavy sedative the SHIELD agents provided when the Avengers were fighting the robots. There was no guarantee that it would work, but they did not have much choice.
The preparations were finished, they were ready to bring their quickly-formed plan into action. Stark was hovering all over the place, his wish to be plummeted by the Hulk 2.0. non-existent. The Avengers were worried but there was simply no choice but to have the job done. Rogers was the only one to give a voice to what they were thinking about.
"Tony? Be careful."
"Must you, Capsicle?"
"Yes! You almost died. So you will be careful."
And so they moved as planned. Clint's net worked brilliantly, when Thor – after he hit the beast really hard – embed his unmovable hammer into the perfectly measured place in it, thus leaving the alien creature spread-eagle across the asphalt. Tony flew right at it and pushed his gloves into its neck. When it became apparent that the wires and joints were firmly inserted under the creature's skin, it was Loki's turn.
Grabbing slightly bewildered Banner, they instantly reappeared on the monster's chest. The Not-Hulk roared and tried to overthrow them, and only Loki's quick reaction saved them the ungraceful fall. Not wasting time Bruce took the Iron Man's mask, put it on his head and quickly started to scan the mechanism, trying to find how it worked. Natasha was firing the tranquilizers. Loki meanwhile was pointing to Steve to watch the right massive hand of the creature that would soon get free and then, possibly, smash them like ants.
"Hey Loks. You okay?"
"Fantastic."
"I can see your hands shake."
"Well, thank you and fuck you, Stark. Better watch yourself."
"Rude!"
"Don't care."
No one really understood the science behind Hulk-related stuff except for Bruce, so they had to patiently wait when the doctor finished his quick, mad, absolutely insane study of his replica in such impossible environment. It was not a quiet lab, he hasn't had computers. He had only Jarvis and his own brain to understand how all of it worked.
"Banner?"
"Jesus. It is so…"
"Are you done?"
"What? No! I have only just grasped… Huh."
"Please be so kind as to hurry up. Do you need help?"
"Don't rush me, Loki! I am almost… But how did they…"
"Banner!"
"Almost done!"
As it often happens in the movies, the most epic stuff happens at the same time. So Clint would be lying if his heart didn't skip a beat as he watched mesmerized when the alien Hulk dug under Mjolnir, breaking the ground and getting his hand free. Simultaneously, Banner took off the helmet and quickly switched something in the mechanism, making it beep. Loki jumped on the Banner's back just as the meaty hand flew to hit Bruce full force, the god and the doctor vanishing in the air before it could happen, before abruptly reappearing back a dozen meters further, trundled on the ground, both rolling a couple of times before stopping. And just as Thor, having summoned his hammer back, was ready to strike, the creature stood on its feet, stumbled and... dropped, moving no longer. It was still conscious, alert, but it wasn't attacking, wasn't doing anything, just was.

"Bruce, buddy. What did you do?"

Banner cautiously stood up on his feet - it was quite a tumble Loki pulled. Righting himself he cringed feeling sharp debris scratching his bare skin. Speaking of Loki, the god was still laying on the ground on his side, back to Bruce. For a moment the doctor wanted to go to him and make sure he was ok, but Tony's question distracted him. And he rushed headlong to the fallen alien. He had no time to waste.

"Doctor Banner?"

Getting close to the monster's head, Bruce looked around but the helmet he studied the data with was lost somewhere, when Loki pushed him and then teleported to a safe distance. No matter. He remembered all that was needed, he wasn't a doctor for nothing. And yes, not that kind of doctor.

"Thor! Come here!"

The God of Thunder slowly approached the beast, at the head of which stood Banner and with bare hands rummaged with the alien device. Strange, that Iron Man couldn't tear off the appliance, but after some weird machinations with the coding, Banner made it that it detached from the skin of the creature by itself. As Banner struggled to hold it, Thor took it from him and pulled all the way out.

"Destroy it, Thor. Make sure nothing is left." Bruce said calmly, but his eyes held a tint of green.

Thor nodded. Taking a couple of steps aside and raising Mjolnir high the lightning struck the alien system and kept striking until all that remained was ashes.

"Uh, thanks."

Bruce watched uneasily at the Wrong Guy. It was sitting silently, not even seeming to breathe. But why would it? If he thought correct, Bruce was sure that all that was left without the device, was a doll. A big, super strong alien doll. And it was… useless. He wasn't even sure it was alive, probably not. All that made it act was in that device and Thor destroyed it.

It was over.

"Can we go home now?"

"Meeting in the quinjet in ten."

~o~0~o~

Tony was standing still, the first ready to leave. The battle was over, they were victorious. No one was really hurt. They were lucky.

He personally could call himself the luckiest bastard from all. Okay, maybe Natashalie took the honorable second place. But the experience still left him reeling inside. Loki healed him but he still ached. He was feeling really good (maybe Loki healed his liver as well, who knew). But the scars were psychological. That was what made it unbearable.

The knowledge that it was remembered pain, not real, not anymore, was wearisome. The way he felt his life leaving him, along with the blood seeping into the ground, was awful, numbingly scary.

Just another thing to fear when going to sleep, huh?

Tony Stark was a hero. He was an Avenger. He helped save people. Strong, smart, resilient.

But in truth he was just a broken man, tired of carrying so much on his shoulders, being afraid of so many ghosts haunting him in the dark, trying to live another day without fear.

But it didn't matter, did it? Someone had it much much worse. It was selfish of him to whine over some useless things. He was Tony Stark. And he always had things to invent.

~o~0~o~

Loki slowly walked by the ruins, with the desire to find his staff that got lost somewhere in the rubble. He vaguely remembered that he dropped it the moment before the building dropped on him and Romanoff. The woman should appreciate it, for that staff was priceless. And he hoped for the humans' sakes that nobody but him would find it. Oh, the blood bath he would wreck should SHIELD got their filthy hands on his beauty. No mercy.

There it was. His precio- Khem. It was better to wait until he would say it in front of Stark. The cries he would bestow on Loki for missing out yet another movie Stark desperately wanted to ask Loki's opinion about. Shame. Loki has already seen them all, without Stark. So let the mortal stew in his ignorance.

When he was ready to go to the quinjet to fly him at the tower (he was too damn exhausted to teleport himself, not having even anything to spare on the search spell for his weapon), something has caught his eye. Slowly turning, Loki squinted in twilight to better see what it was.

It was Stark's helmet, the one survived after the suit was destroyed, the one Banner used to kill the beast. The one that was now flickering with blue light, still working.

Crouching down to pick it up, Loki hesitated a moment before pressing the mask to his eyes.

… Oh.
He had no idea how long he stood there. But after a while his mind registered the sound. Barton was asking where he was and demanded he hurry up. Loki swallowed.

"Jarvis. This helmet is not yet connected to the tower's Jarvis?"

"No, Mr Loki."

"Please make sure that only my eyes see these files and no one else's. After I am done, destroy all data."

"Yes, Mr Loki."

With one elaborate move of Loki's hand, the helmet disappeared into thin air. Seizing his staff more comfortably, Loki stepped to the Avengers, waiting for him.

~o~0~o~

Whom they precisely did not expect to see when they returned to the tower, was Fury who came in person. They didn't even have time to take off their gear or go in another room and not the kitchen before Director addressed them about the problem they all faced. As if what happened today was unimportant bullshit. Typical.

In short, SHIELD operatives picked up the people that fell under the alien influence. Possessed people, that after having been used now were left to their own means. Their minds were altered and messed up with. That considering that these people were the smartest of their kind, was a great loss not only for their respective institutions, but for the humanity in general.

Fury had a meeting with all of them but talked mostly to Bruce who researched the issue and possible solutions of bringing the victims to their own mind functionality, without alien influence for some time now. There were 294 persons in total that SHIELD knew about in the USA, the value still unknown as for the rest of the world. When Bruce suggested that Loki could try to heal them (it was mean of him to point at Loki when the god asked to not spread about his ability), when asked if the god would help them, Loki scoffed and said no. He said his power was not endless and he wouldn't spare it on almost 300 mortals, when it would take an effort to heal just one.

The Avengers quietly stood and listened to the unfolding conflict.

"Then ask your buddies, your people. They can come, can't they?" This proposal was unexpected, seeing as the first time SHIELD was in a riot over meeting only one alien (yeah, Thor, we are talking about you here).

"And you of course would gladly accept more foreign species on your world. Especially your superiors." Loki scoffed, but it was evident he was angry. Who at - Bruce, Fury, the aliens - was hard to say.

"Now listen here-"

"And why should my people come? They have things to do back home, important things. Not getting in danger on Midgard." Ok, it was not the time to poke an irate god, Tony mused, seeing how Loki put his staff on the table a little too hard. The dent would stay, c'mon...

"You have my word no Jotun will be harmed if they come."

"Your word means nothing to me, Director."

"I think it will be better to talk about it when we all calm down-" Steve truly tried to be a good mediator, but unsuccessfully.

"We are talking about hundreds of lives here, Loki!"

"So? Does it mean that you value mortal lives more than Jotuns'? We both have priorities, Fury. You care for your people, I care for mine."

"Nothing will happen to your people! I will do my damndest to ensure their safety!"

Loki didn't answer for some time. The team watched as the god didn't take his eyes from the furious Director. They saw the issue from both sides, but didn't quite understand Loki's concern. SHIELD was too smart to pull something if the Jotuns came. Not if it would result in one angry God of Chaos.

"I will think about it." Fury snorted and shook his head. His smile held zero warmth.

"Right. And your 'think-about-it' in no way means 'no', isn't it?" Loki slowly inhaled. Did the temperature drop?

"I said. I will think about it. Don't press your luck, Director. Not with me." Fury apparently has had enough of this meeting.

"Yeah. Because you are oh so special, the king. But you know what? We won't bow at your feet, Loki. You say no? Then no. But then shut your trap that you have changed, turned over the new leaf or whatever. It means shit, when in the end you are too full of yourself to save innocent lives. Who cares - mortals, elves, pokemons, doesn't matter who. But if you refuse, then tell me now, so I won't waste my time. I have just about a little more than enough things to do." Nick straightened, ready to go. "Well?"

"I will think about it."

Long years of dealing with all kinds of arrogant bastards kept Fury's temper in check. So he just raised his brow and hummed in answer. After what turned around and left, the elevator doors opening right in time by Jarvis.

"Nice guy. Would be even nicer, if he had some sense by not barging in others dwellings while the residents are out. Real nice. Ok, guys, who wants some smoothies?"

The lame cheerfulness didn't fool anyone, when the humans went on their way to lay their weary butts on nearest cushions. That, since nothing could really change the strong feeling that fell on everyone in the spacious fashionable kitchen. The feeling of awkwardness.

Because?

Because Thor.

Sooner or later they would have to address the elephant in the room. And it seemed to come sooner rather than later. Because Thor, who looked all kinds of wrong and strange being uncertain and unsure facing his friends, came forth and-

"My friends-"

- and Bruce interrupted rather unconscionably.

"Ok, now that we are all here, I need you to go and do checkups. I saw many injuries on you, guys, that need to be fixed, so yeah. Let's all go to the infirmary."

"Brucie, while we at it, I gotta say we have something we should discuss, right? Who agrees?" Tony said, as he stepped out of his suit and stood near Loki, his eyes not leaving the Thunderer.

"No. We don't. We are fine for the time being by not being irresponsible and forgetting about our health. So first thing first I make sure you are fine and tomorrow, after a good sleep, we will be back at this exact place to discuss whatever needs to be discussed."

"Great. Sounds like a plan." Steve agreed easily, nodding to Natasha.

"Brucie! No! Hey Loki, support me on this. Loki? Okay, he's gone. But still!"

"Enough, Tony. It is not the time." Bruce said exasperated. "Thor's arm is bleeding, Natasha's leg is bad, even I can see it. I don't like the gash on Loki's head and you. You I don't like at all."

"Bruce…" The hurt that crossed Tony's confused face was so clear that Banner rewinded what he said to make his best friend look at him like the worst kind of traitor. Shit shit.

"No, Tony, I didn't mean it like that. I like you. Even better, I love you, man. You are like my best friend in the world." Stark sighed in relief. But the doubt still lingering in his eyes hurt Bruce now. "I meant I didn't like the rumors I heard that you what? Died? Christ, Tony."

"I am alive and kicking, relax. Loki, he… he saved me. Um, yeah."

Tony didn't want to bring it up now. He needed to talk to Loki alone, just the two of them. It was unbearable to speak in front of everyone. He wasn't ready and didn't know what to say yet, how to describe, how to even begin to thank…

"You are going to the examination table. Period. Everything else can wait. Got it?"

He got it.

~o~0~o~

Loki crawled into his bed like a cat, full of many pillows and blankets and furs, so soft and warm. So inviting. A tea set was already waiting on a small table on his left (spelled so the water would never cool down) and if the mood struck him - a book sitting on a nightstand.
"Perfect. " He sighed as he closed his eyes for a second. This, only this prevailed in his mind the moment he was free from the grave he had to endure being in. Since then, Loki has taken on a mission for himself to care for nothing but his warm bed. Anything else mattered not. And it has finally come.

Feeling nice, finally clean from the dust and grime, his muscles relaxed, his mind content - what more can one dream about? This day was at its end, thank the Norns. It was one hell of an eventful day, that seemed to go on forever. The battle itself, the trouble of rescuing a mortal life, or two, or three, the emotional part (that was Thor for you), then that Fury bug. By the way, Thor. The oaf would have to wait till tomorrow if he wanted to talk. Today Loki was spent. He needed his rest and quiet.
Just as Loki buried himself under a pile of blankets, there was a knocking on his door. Nooooo, Loki whined softly in his mind. Go awaaaay.
Not making a sound, Loki listened. Jarvis was a wonder, since Loki made some adjustments to his system first day he was in this tower. Sometimes the god was not very keen of being watched as anyone else here, so Jarvis had to make himself blind and deaf.
Like this time. Loki pleasantly asked to not tell anyone where he was (far far away and not in his room) and what he was doing (scheming and terrorizing helpless humans, not watching Netflix, nope).
So maybe anyone (he was too lazy to check) who bothered him would just... go away after not receiving an answer? Right? Right?
"Loki?" It was Steve. "It's Steve." He sighed.
He didn't lock the door. Damn. If he clicked the door shut, then Steve would hear and he would be busted. Go away, Steve.
"I'm coming in."
Oh, shit. Just as the door opened to reveal no other than Captain America, fresh and clean in a white top tank and soft trousers, Loki has already jumped under the covers so not a piece of him was visible. "The furs are beautiful. And you could have fooled me if not for the steam over your tea cup. And your books are not lying around when you are not in the room, for anyone else to see. Maybe it is so back at home, but with us you keep your things close to the heart. So c'mon. Be a man and get out from these blankets. It is hard but I trust in you."
"You are hilarious." Loki grunted, peeping out from under his pillow. His honest frustration knew no bounds.
"I am not the one hiding like a kid."
"Blasphemy! I am strong and independent grown man and I have a RIGHT to hide under my own blankets when I please. Turn the TV on, there is this guy in this ridiculous mask with a shield, he'll tell you all about American rights. I always fear I might die from laughing every time I see his ridiculous face. Imagine what would people say: Loki God of Tricks, died, laughing himself to death." Loki snorted in amusement.
Murder in Steve's eyes made Loki laugh even more.
The long suffering sigh was a clear win.

After a minute of eying the god's room, Steve walked in and sat at the edge of the bed, looking serious. It meant they would have to talk. Not acceptable.
"No, just no. Don't put all your mushy feelings on me, I am tired, I don't want to listen to this."
"You will."
"How dare you?!"
"I am sorry."
"No, you are not! You will open your mouth and then start talking with your righteous voice... some cliché words of, Norns help me, thanks... Not allowable. Shoo. Out."
"You poor thing. But you have to. Otherwise I won't go away. Your choice." It was hopeless.
"Ugh. Where are the times when all my deeds have been ignored? Thor is back. Shouldn't you go bother him instead? He saved you too."
"Well, he didn't save me. But there will be time later."
What Loki never imagined Steve would do was standing up, gather Loki around the waist, blankets and all, and rise him over a shoulder, a moment later throwing his burden on a chair, sitting in another himself. Loki couldn't stifle a cry of surprise at being manhandled in such a manner. What a boorish man!
"You cur, you low wretch, a stinking piece of Nidavellir-"

"Loki, please. I need to talk to you."

"What can we possibly have to talk about?"

"We need to talk about Tony."

Loki blinked. Oh, right. Okay then...

"What about him?"

"Tony is not… he is not the easiest person to be around. He talks a lot and some things he says are out of turn. But we still like him, huh? We are a team, we are supposed to protect each other. You are though… It is true, you didn't have to... He laughed at you, but you still helped, you saved his life. That… that counts in my book."

"Norns, how sentimental you all are." Loki laughed, albeit sardonically. "If I got such thanks every time I saved Thor and his bunch of friends…" He closed his eyes. If only.

"I don't care how sentimental it is. Maybe if Thor and his friends acknowledged your help, everything could have turned out completely different, and you know it. It is truth. So… Thank you."

Loki squirmed under Steve's gaze. What in hell did Rogers want from him? Why all this? One 'thanks' would have been enough.

"All right. Yes. Um. Now can I-" Oh, gods, he was not done.

"What you do, regardless of how easy you make it look, what you show through your actions - all of it show that you care and care deeply. Maybe not for us all, maybe not the same, but you do. The thing I feared after we first met you in Jotunheim was that you will be… completely indifferent to us. And it would have been fine too. We could have worked together, could have finished the job. But then you wouldn't have cared if Tony died, you wouldn't have rushed to Natasha and saved her life. You would ignore Thor when he was hurt, let Bruce be hit. It wouldn't have changed anything, your position technically still secure. But you… You are not that person. And I think, you never were like that. Otherwise you wouldn't carry so many mental scars."

Ok, it had to stop. What a load of nonsense. "Enough of it, Rogers. I don't know what are you trying to-"

"You were afraid of Hulk, I know he terrifies you. But you run to Tony regardless. You must be pissed off at Thor big time, but you worried for him, you looked after him. You were hurt and bleeding and must have felt awful after the incident with Nat, but not once you complained. I was so worried, Loki. For you, for Tony, for all of us." Steve swallowed. Yes, enough was enough, judging by Loki's state. "You can pretend that all is fine and you don't need help, and I can't say about the rest, but know that I will always have your back."

Smiling at Loki's stunned face Steve patted the god's knee and stood up. He waved his hand once before disappearing in the dark corridor, back to his own bedroom.

"Good night, Loki. Sweet dreams."

It was some time before Loki gathered his wits and slowly wandered back to his bed. He thought that he would be angry and disappointed that Steve robbed him of an extra hour of sleep when he needed a rest so much. But instead he was… was…

What a strange feeling. Every time these mortals showed that they cared what happened to him, cracked some piece inside his chest. The sensation was unpleasant and even made him upset. Sad. But it also brought a sense of cleansing.

They looked after him. Every time Loki remembered Asgard, the times after battles, his presence was of no concern to anyone. And what was worse Loki got used to it. Even if you sit beside your so called friends, even if you bleed before their eyes, they would not acknowledge it, because why would they. At first it hurt and Loki didn't dare ask why nobody cared when they cared so much for Thor. Later it was predictable but a pang felt the same, though the pain dulled and came as an afterthought.
It had been so many, many years since anyone had been afraid for Loki.
He thought that his evening was ruined. But instead he fell asleep feeling content. And dare he say it?

Happy.

"Good night, Steve."

~o~0~o~

A/N: The song Loki hummed was "There There" by Radiohead. Love them.

Wanted to thank again everyone who is still reading King and who leaves comments. You are the best What do you think will happen next? They are gonna talk, me thinks. And I just love when they talk instead of fight (because I suck at writing fighting scenes - and if you can't write them - then don't! Easy.) Anyway, I would love to hear from you!

And just wanted to say, that if they kill Loki (and after all teasers and photos I regretfully have no more doubt that this is what will happen), I will not accept it. Nope. Loki is so much more and he deserves to be happy, deserves to live. So if not in canon, then here in the stories Loki WILL be happy and he WILL live. Period.

Who needs canon anyway, right? *runs away crying because Loki*

Thank you for reading!