Chapter 4
Doctor Strange
"This is horrible!" Peter gasped, looking at the disfigured body.
"Is he dead?!" Jenny asked, fighting back her tears.
"No, he's alive, barely." Bruce replied.
"Okay kid," Tony turned to Peter. "Happy's been waiting in the front for the past ten minutes. It's time to get you home- pronto!"
Peter nodded and obeyed Tony.
"We have to help him." Jenny said, ready to join Bruce in helping him escort Loki to the infirmary. Loki didn't seem to recognize anyone. He coward from them, as though they were going to hurt him.
"Miss Robinson, do not go near him!" Doctor Strange ordered.
"Why not?" Jenny asked.
"He's dangerous."
"Maybe, but he's my friend!"
"It's my job to protect earth from mystical threats." Doctor Strange reasoned. "And he is one of those threats."
"You really think he's a threat in his condition?!" Jenny retorted.
"Maybe you should let us take him." Doctor Strange said. "For your own safety."
"No way!" Jenny snapped, surprising both Bruce and Tony. "You're not taking him anywhere! He's going to stay here in the Avengers Tower. I'm…we are going to take care of him until his brother comes."
"Please, don't be stubborn-"
"I will be stubborn! You can't stop me from helping my friend!" Jenny snapped again. "You'll have to fight me!"
This woman was at least a foot smaller than Doctor Strange, and he knew how to use magic. But something told him it would be wise not to set her off…she seemed fragile, yes. But not fragile like a flower…more like a bomb. He could easily win a fight against her, but she would not go down without a fight. He wanted to avoid that at all costs.
"All right. Then I will stay here and assist Doctor Banner in his healing." He agreed.
"Wise choice, friend." Wong stated. "I will go back and guard the sanctuary." He created a portal and returned to what looked like a fancy library. Once the portal had vanished, Doctor Strange turned to Bruce.
"All right, Doctor." He said. "Lead the way."
"All right, let's get him to the infirmary." Bruce said. Tony had brought a wheelchair up to the roof after taking Peter downstairs.
"Okay, Reindeer Games," Tony said, walking up to Loki. "Let's get you inside before it rains."
Loki looked up at Tony, only to back away in fear.
"Hey, I'm not that scary…true, one of my suits hit you in the face, but that's because you threw me out a window."
Loki didn't seem to hear Tony, he only curled up and held his hands up in surrender.
"Loki," Jenny walked up to him slowly. "It's okay, dude, we're here to help."
At her voice, Loki immediately turned to Jenny, wide-eyed. Jenny had to make sure she didn't gasp at him. His face, arms, back, and torso had been covered in bruises, cuts, and burns. What shocked her the most was that his mouth was sewn shut. Jenny swallowed to fight back tears. She wanted to be angry. She wanted to storm out of the tower and find whoever did this to Loki. But his health and safety were more important. She took a deep breath and focused on helping her friend.
"Hey, Loki," Jenny said. "I'm going to help you into this wheelchair, okay?"
Loki nodded.
"And we're all going to help you feel better. You can trust us." Jenny continued. Loki slowly tried to stand. His left leg seemed to be the most injured, along with his right arm. Jenny quickly took his left arm and helped him walk to the wheelchair. Once he was seated, Jenny rolled him inside, with much difficulty, as he was much larger than her.
Once they had gotten to the infirmary, they placed Loki in a hospital bed.
"Tony, what's going on?" Pepper asked when she walked into the room. "I heard all the commotion…Peter was practically running out…" She trailed off and gasped when she saw the crowd, and the patient in the hospital bed.
"Is…that…Loki?" She asked.
"Yeah," Tony replied.
"What's going on here?" She demanded.
"He's dehydrated." Bruce told Doctor Strange.
"We can get him some water." Tony said before turning back to Pepper. "I'll explain everything on the way." He and Pepper left the room, leaving Jenny with the two doctors and Loki.
"Ever treated an Asgardian?" Bruce asked.
"I haven't." Strange admitted.
"They heal fast, Thor's been the easiest patient I've had. I'm sure this won't be any different."
Jenny was reminded of a few months ago, when she had stayed in the hospital with a broken leg and arm. She watched as Bruce and Strange worked, occasionally, a shiver ran down her spine, as she did not like watching needles being injected. They patched up Loki's wounds, put wrappings on his arm, leg, and even across his chest, as he had broken ribs. She was still too stunned by the event to ask questions.
"Okay, now we just need to…undo this mess." Strange said as he reached for Loki's face with a small pair of scissors. The Asgardian flinched and pulled back. "I guess he doesn't trust us enough…come on, that's gotta hurt."
"Let me try." Bruce asked. As he took his turn, Loki still flinched away. "I guess that's fair…" He turned to Jenny.
"Maybe you could try. He seems to trust you the most." He handed her the small scissors. Jenny stepped forward.
"Hey…I'm gonna cut the thread off…is that okay?" She asked. Loki nodded and kept still for her. She had to cut the thread and pull it out of his skin. More shivers went down her spine, but she refused to show her disgust. She could never have the stomach to be a doctor.
Once she had finished, Bruce gave her a disinfectant to rub on the small wounds around his lips.
"Okay, we're back." Tony walked in with Pepper, carrying a glass of water.
"He's probably starving too…" Bruce hesitated. "But that wouldn't make any sense… If he got here only a few hours after me…would he have been in this state?"
"Maybe…" Strange hesitated. "I mean, if you traveled through space…maybe it has something to do with time."
"If the Bifrost transported you…maybe you could ask Thor about it?" Jenny suggested.
Tony set the glass on the side table. "I could contact Erik Selvig and see if he knows of Thor's whereabouts. In the meantime, we should let Reindeer Games rest."
The group started to make their way out of the room, when Jenny felt someone grasp her hand, stopping her in her tracks. She turned to see Loki looking at her with pleading eyes, still not saying anything.
"I guess he doesn't want to be alone." Bruce observed.
"I can stay." Jenny said.
"I'll get a pillow and blanket for you, so you can sleep on the other bed." Pepper said, before leaving the room.
"Make sure he drinks that." Tony said before following Pepper.
"Are you sure about this?" Strange asked.
Jenny rolled her eyes. "Trust me. I can take care of myself- and him."
Jenny turned back to Loki and took a seat near the bed, still holding his hand. Tony and Pepper returned with warm pillows and blankets. Pepper set the spare bed while Tony handed Jenny the other blanket.
"For him." He said. Everyone left the room. Strange was the last to leave, but he hesitated.
Jenny set the blanket across Loki. He seemed to dislike it and tried to throw it off him.
"I know you don't like it too warm, but this will help calm you." Jenny insisted. "And it will cool down soon enough." She laid the blanket back on him. She then reached for the glass and held it out to him. "Here, you need water." Loki reached for the glass then hesitated. A pain shot through Jenny's chest. Did he think she was trying to poison him? Fighting back more tears, she gulped and smiled at him. "Don't worry. It's safe, watch." Jenny took a big gulp from the glass and swallowed.
"Ah, see? It's safe." That was enough to convince Loki. He sat up a little and reached for the glass. He took small sips. The two sat in silence until he finished the glass.
Jenny thought of going to bed but wasn't sure if she wanted to leave Loki's side. Not until he could sleep.
"Hey, are you okay to sleep now? You probably need it." Jenny suggested.
Loki shook his head.
"Okay, you asked for it."
Loki flinched, unsure what to expect, but to his surprise, Jenny started singing.
Jenny watched as Loki's eyes immediately became heavy. He leaned back and quickly fell asleep. Well…that was easy.
Jenny yawned and settled into the spare bed. She fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.