-.-.-.-
CHAPTER 3/7
-.-.-.-
-.-.-.-
"JARVIS, call Bruce now!" Tony barked as he rushed across the living room to where Loki was, dripping blood across the carpet as he staggered forward a few steps.
Loki reached out, his hand latching onto Tony's shoulder, and he said, "I believe I may be injured."
"No shit," Tony snapped, looking round the room trying to find a place where Loki would be able to lay on his side or even sit without the spear knocking any furniture.
"Sir, Doctor Banner has been apprised of the situation and is on his way," JARVIS replied.
"That's good," Tony said as he tried to lead Loki gently forward, one small shuffling step at a time, to a clearer area of the room. "Come on now. Watch the wall."
Loki hissed in pain as he turned to move around the furniture and the end of the spear brushed the wall behind him. "I cannot," he gasped, his knees starting to wobble as he placed a shaky hand on the back of the sofa.
"Yes, you can. You're a god, remember? You can do anything," Tony said as he took hold of Loki's elbow. "Just a few more steps and then you'll be clear."
Loki shuffled around the sofa and then stumbled, his body tipping forward as his knees went from under him, and he let out a sharp cry of pain as the tip of the spear touched the floor.
"Shit, shit, shit!" Tony exclaimed as Loki went down, his legs crumpling under him as he slumped awkwardly against the side of the sofa, wincing in pain as the spear brushed the floor with every heave of his chest.
"No more," Loki gasped, his head dropping. "I cannot."
"Dammit," Tony shouted as he looked around, desperately searching for a place he could get Loki on his side, but found every space blocked by a table or bookshelves. "Why didn't I go for a more minimalist look?"
"Because I hate it," Loki ground out, panting through the pain. "And you know better than to anger me."
Tony knelt by Loki's side, taking in the sight of the spear. It was thick, at least two or three inches wide, and he cringed at the damage it must have done inside the god's body.
"We need to get this thing out of you," Tony said.
"Pull it," Loki gasped.
"No, that'll do more damage. We need something to cut it down to size so you can at least get in a more comfortable position," Tony said, and then he heard a robotic whir next to his head and turned to find Dum-E stood next to him, with a laser cutter held in its metal claws.
"I took the liberty of asking for it to be brought up, sir," JARVIS said.
"JARVIS, you genius," Tony said as he took the cutter and held it to the spear about 12 inches from Loki's chest wall. "This might hurt."
"I care not," Loki replied. "Just cut the blasted thing."
The laser cutter whined into life and an acrid smell filled the room as it burnt through the blood-slicked wood.
"Just a little more," Tony said, as he grasped the end of the spear to stop it falling, but as it came free Loki let out a loud wail of pain, as the weight of the spear shifted it, the long end section pulling to down like a lever inside his chest.
Bruce burst through the door, his arms filled with gauze, bandages and other medical equipment he had hastily grabbed, and stopped in his tracks. "What the hell happened?"
"What the fuck does it look like?" Tony snapped, trying to steady the end of the spear in one hand and Loki in the other. "Get over here and help me."
Bruce dumped the bandages on the sofa and moved over to Loki, bending on one knee and supporting the weight of the spear at the back.
Loki suddenly looked up, his eyes wide and his cheeks wet. He looked disorientated for a moment, but when he finally focused on Tony's face, he asked, "Where is Thor?"
"Sir," JARVIS answered, "Mister Odinson is visiting Miss Foster. He has been informed that you are injured and he is on his way back to the tower."
"You hear that?" Tony asked. "Big brother is all worried about you and he's probably breaking the sound barrier just to get back here to see you."
Loki let out a small sob and wailed, "I want him now!"
"Hey, hey, listen to me," Tony said as he placed his hands on Loki's cheeks, wiping away a stray tear with his thumb. "Thor is coming. He's going to be here before you know it. Now I know you're scared and this has to hurt like a son of a bitch, but Bruce is going to fix it and you'll be fine. OK?"
Loki nodded hesitantly.
"I'm gonna cut this back section off," Bruce said as he picked up the laser cutter from where Tony had dropped it. "Once it's free we'll get you laid down and I'll have a gurney brought down from medical."
"You ready?" Tony asked, still cupping one hand to Loki's cheek.
Loki nodded, gritting his teeth in pain.
There was the smell of acrid burning as the laser easily cut through the thick wood, and finally the long end of the spear pulled away.
Loki gasped as the weight was freed from his chest, and then snaked a shaking hand backwards, grasping Bruce's wrist.
There was a swirl of air, something akin to a warm tornado, and the room began to melt and change in front of their eyes.
"I could not wait," Loki said quietly, as they found themselves sat on the medical room floor.
"We're gonna get you up onto the bed now, OK?" Bruce said, and Loki nodded, sagging to the side. "Can you give me a hand here, Tony?"
"Sure," Tony said, as he moved down Loki's body, wrapping his hands behind his knees, as Bruce put his hands under Loki's arms.
"On three," Bruce said. "One, two, three."
They lifted, struggling against Loki's weight through ground teeth and when they finally had him on the bed, Bruce said, "Jeeze, how the hell do you weight so much?"
They held Loki upright on the bed, and Bruce asked, "Can you do that magic thing where all your armour vanishes?"
"Is it a good idea for him to be doing magic while he's in this state?" Tony asked.
"Do you have a better way of getting forty pounds of leather and metal off him, 'cause I don't."
Loki closed his eyes, concentrating hard, and the air around him started to shift, and his armour melted away.
"Err… I didn't actually mean you should be naked," Bruce said, as he pulled a cotton sheet up. "But this is much better. Tony, can you hand me the laser cutter? I need to shorten the back section so we can get him laid down."
Tony handed Bruce the cutter and then took hold of one of Loki's hands, and placed his other on his shoulder. "Everything is going to be all right."
Except Tony didn't know how everything could be all right. Now that Loki's armour was off he could see the mess of his chest and he prayed that Frost Giants had their heart in a different place, because he was pretty sure Loki's must have been skewered on the way through.
"Bruce," Tony asked. "How the hell are we going to get this thing out if anaesthetics and painkillers don't work on him?"
Bruce's eyes flicked to Tony and then back to laser cutter in his hand. "We're going to have to operate."
"With him conscious?"
"We don't have a choice," Bruce replied, and as he finished the final cut there was a sudden flash of light and the sound of thunder rolled across the sky.
"Thor!" Loki cried, gripping Tony's hand painfully hard.
It was a matter of minutes before they heard the sound of boots clumping down the hallway and the door burst open.
Thor stood for a second, his eyes scanning Loki on the bed before stepping forward.
"Thor," Loki said quietly. "Hit me."
"What?" Tony asked.
Thor raised his hand and punched Loki in the jaw with a sickening crunch, knocking him unconscious.
Thor took hold of the short spear and ripped it from Loki's chest.
"No! No, no!" Bruce shouted, pressing gauze over the wound in Loki's chest and applying pressure. "Why the hell did you do that? You could kill him!"
"Why did you not remove it when it was causing him pain?" Thor barked back.
"Because that was probably the only thing stopping him from bleeding to death," Bruce shouted, still holding pressure to the wound.
"Sir, if I may," JARVIS interrupted, "I have scanned Mister Odinson and discovered that all his internal organs are undamaged."
"That's impossible," Bruce said.
"JARVIS, are you sure?" Tony asked.
"I am 100% positive, sir. Apart from some internal bruising and the wounds to his chest wall, Mister Odinson has no injuries at all."
Bruce hesitantly lifted the gauze he was holding to the hole in Loki's chest and was surprised when only a small amount of blood trickled from the torn skin edges.
Tony edged closer to the bed, feeling slightly queasy as he observed the wound. Through the ragged edges of the skin he could see the shattered bones of Loki's sternum, and beyond that his undamaged heart beating strongly.
Tony looked to Thor, and asked, "Magic?"
"I do not know," Thor replied honestly.
Bruce returned to the bedside, snapping on surgical gloves, and began prodding at the wound, then inserted his fingers into Loki's chest cavity.
"What are you doing?" Thor asked.
"Checking for injuries," Bruce replied, as twisted his hand, pushing his fingers down behind Loki's heart. "Rips or tears that we can't see. That kind a thing."
"And?" Tony asked.
"Everything is completely normal," Bruce replied. "But I have no idea how."
"May I venture an opinion?" JARVIS asked.
"You know how he survived this?" Bruce asked.
"My scans indicate that while Mister Odinson has skin only slightly stronger than that of a human, his internal organs and bones are incredibly dense," JARVIS said.
"So his organs are super strong… What and the spear just… moved them out of the way?" Bruce asked.
"It would explain the lack of injury, sir."
"So what do we do?" Tony asked. "Is he going to be OK?"
"I guess I just rebuild as much of his rib cage as I can and dress the wounds," Bruce replied with a shrug of the shoulders. "We let nature run its course."
-.-.-.-
For three days Tony stayed in the medical bay as Loki slept, his body crackling with energy as it healed. He spent his days slumped in the chair by Loki's bed, hunched over his laptop, and his nights asleep on the sofa at the foot of the bed.
He knew Loki would be fine, his injuries always healed without incident in a matter of a few days, but he just couldn't drag himself away from that room.
Bruce would drop by and keep Tony supplied with coffee and sandwiches, and Thor would stop in for a few hours every afternoon to keep Tony company, and to check on Loki's recovery.
Mostly Tony was alone though, left with his own thoughts, as he watched Loki sleep soundlessly, only the movement of his chest as breathed indicating that he still lived.
Loki could have died.
He could have died out on some godforsaken alien planet and Tony would never have known what had happened to him.
"Are you well, Stark?" Thor asked, his voice interrupting Tony's thoughts.
Tony looked up, the frown disappearing from his face as he said, "Sorry, Thor. I didn't hear you come in."
"You seem distressed," Thor said, as he pulled a chair close to Loki's bed and sat down.
Tony scrubbed his hand over his forehead and grimaced. "You could say that. It's just… It's just… How the hell have you coped with him for like a thousand years?"
Thor's brows knitted together in confusion. "I know not what you ask."
"You've been alive for a thousand years now, right?" Tony asked, and Thor nodded. "Then how the hell have you managed to put up with his behaviour for that long without going nuts?"
Thor nodded, finally understanding Tony's question. "Ah, you must remember, Stark, that Loki has not always been like this. Yes, we have lived for over a thousand of your years, and it is only in the last two that Loki has been... this..."
"Insane?"
"Well, I was going to say beyond reason," Thor said with a smirk. "He was not always like this, and I have hope that one day that he will return to himself."
"So he didn't always run round the realms, getting himself beat up and stabbed and god knows what else?" Tony asked.
"My brother always had a reputation for tricks and pranks and he was famed for his quick wit and biting tongue. That is nothing new," Thor said as he leant forward and looked at his brother's still face, "But Loki and I fought side by side for years, and I know that he was fiercely loyal; to his family, his friends, and to Asgard above all else. He would have done anything to protect us."
"So much so that he let the Frost Giants in?" Tony asked.
"He has told you about that?" Thor asked, raising an eyebrow. "Has he shown any remorse?"
"Loki doesn't do remorse," Tony snapped. "And I can pretty much guarantee when he wakes up he won't say sorry for putting me through this hell."
"I understand your anger, Anthony," Thor sighed. "Regardless of everything that has happened between us, I love him still. To see him act this way distresses me immensely, but we must allow him the time to get well. He has suffered enough already."
"Maybe you have too much hope," Tony replied bitterly. "Maybe he actually doesn't give a damn about any of us at all."
"I know how it feels to be loved by Loki. I felt it every single day as we were growing up. I know he is capable of great emotion, but I fear finding out he was the son of Laufey damaged his mind and I was not there to help him through it."
"Not exactly your fault, since it was Loki who got you banished," Tony sighed.
"That is true," Thor said, with a sad smile.
Loki's fingers twitched against the cotton bed sheet and he let out a low murmur.
"He awakes," Thor said. He stood up, sliding the chair back against the wall. "I shall leave you talk. I am sure you have much to discus."
"Thanks, Thor," Tony replied.
As the door clicked shut against the frame Loki's eyelids fluttered open, and he turned to face Tony.
"How you feeling?" Tony asked.
"I am well… but you look strange. Has something happened?" Loki asked.
"Nah, nothing much," Tony replied. "Oh wait, yeah, there was that thing where my husband almost got himself killed. Yeah, that was pretty bad, not that you'd care."
Loki propped himself up against the pillows, and started absent-mindedly picking at the surgical tape that covered the now healed wound on his chest. "Of course I cared. It hurt a great deal, but all is well now."
"So you don't care how I feel about it?"
Loki raised an eyebrow at Tony and then continued picking at the tape. "You should know better than to worry about me."
"I want you to stop pulling your disappearing acts," Tony suddenly snapped.
Loki let out a snorting laugh and continued peeling up the edge of the surgical tape without even glancing in Tony's direction.
"I'm serious. This wandering off to god knows where and coming back all beaten up and half dead, it stops now."
Loki paused and looked at Tony. "You would prefer to me to scheme on Midgard?"
"Of course not, b-"
"Then my answer is no," Loki interrupted.
Tony pursed his lips together, fighting the urge to grab Loki by the shoulders and shake some god damn sense into him. He let his breath out slowly and asked, "Do you even care about my feelings? I was terrified when you came back with that spear stuck in you."
An unreadable look crossed Loki's face, somewhere between guilt and confusion, and then it vanished as he resumed peeling the surgical tape from his skin, a tiny piece at a time. After some time he quietly said, "Perhaps you care too much."
Tony stood up, the chair screeching against the tiled floor as it was knocked backwards. He reached over and grabbed the edge of the surgical tape and ripped the dressing from Loki's chest in one quick motion.
Loki let out a yelp of pain. "Stark! You pulled out four of my chest hairs!"
"Well that's fine, you still have eight left," Tony said, as he tossed the dressing onto the bed.
"Am I interrupting?" Bruce asked, as he stood at the bottom of the bed, looking from Loki to Tony. "I can leave if you need to talk."
"It's fine," Tony said, as he dragged his chair back to the bedside and sat back down.
"How are you feeling, Loki?" Bruce asked.
"I believe I am well enough to leave," Loki said, then he looked at Tony nervously, and hesitantly added, "I shall return to my quarters?"
Tony sighed and nodded. "Lets get you back home."
-.-.-.-
The tension in the air was palpable for the few days after Loki returned to their suite.
Tony was still angry as hell, but Loki seemed to respond to it strangely. He would quietly sit by Tony, his expression almost remorseful, but he had offered no words of apology.
If Tony walked across the suite, Loki moved out of his way swiftly, as if expecting to be told off. Tony hated the feeling of Loki walking on eggshells around him, and he was almost glad when the call came down that the Avengers were needed in the city.
-.-.-.-
Bruce, Steve, Thor and Hulk answered the call, and as they stood in the street looking at the floating cars that were hovering in the air, a foot from the tarmac road, Tony pushed one of them with his finger and watched it sway gently.
"Magic?" Tony asked.
"I honestly cannot say for certain," Thor said, "But it seems likely."
"Loki?" Steve asked.
"I doubt it," Tony replied. "He's at home, laughing his ass off at Titanic. Film's about to end, so once Jack dies I'm pretty sure he'll turn up."
There was a flash of light up to the left, and Loki appeared, sat on the soft canopy of a restaurant, his legs dangling in the air.
"Right on cue," Tony said. "Were your ears burning?"
"The film ended," Loki said, and then in a high-pitched voice he said, "Come back. Come back!" and let out a loud cackle.
"You enjoyed it, huh?"
"It was most amusing," Loki replied as he dipped his hand into his popcorn bag.
"So…. You wanna tell us what's going on here?" Tony asked, as he put his hand to a floating car and pushed it through the air gently.
Loki held his finger up to his mouth he quietly chewed, once he swallowed he said, "Magic."
"We can guess that much. Any idea who's doing it?" Steve asked.
"Not a clue," Loki replied. "But you are about to find out."
The cars that had been floating and swaying in the breeze now began to drift higher, and the Avengers took a step back from them as they began to tilt.
A tin can that had been laying in a gutter began to float upwards, followed by pieces of paper that lay abandoned in trash cans.
"Guys, what the hell is going on?" Steve asked.
Sparks began to appear in the centre of the wide street, purple and pink and white. They pulsed with white bright colours, casting strange, warm shadows on the tarmac.
"Did someone order a mobile disco?" Tony asked.
"Loki, what is this," Thor asked, as he gripped Mjolnir tightly and twisted the shaft in his hand.
"Oh, really, Thor. It should be obvious what it is," Loki said, rolling his eyes. "It's a portal."
The sparks coalesced, forming a tight ball that pulsed like a heartbeat, that then burst outwards, forming a shimmering pink pool of light.
A man stepped through it, he was short, no more than four foot tall, with a long red beard, and red hair flowing from beneath his silver burnished helmet.
Out of the corner of his eye Tony noticed something fall to the floor, and then a gust of wind blew popcorn kernels towards his feet. He looked up to the soft canopy and found it empty.
Loki had dropped his popcorn and vanished.
-.-.-.-
It didn't take Tony long to get back to the tower, and the second his armour was stripped he sprinted through the tower searching for Loki, and eventually found him skulking around the kitchen of their suite.
"Do you want to explain to me what happened today?" Tony asked. "Judging by the way you vanished out there, I'm going to say you have something to do with this."
"Nothing," Loki replied quickly, barely looking up from the dishes he had placed on the table before him. "I merely remembered that I had not emptied the dishwasher and I hate things lying around, causing a mess."
Tony took a step closer and grabbed Loki by the wrist. "You've never emptied the dishwasher in your life, so tell me why that guy is here."
Loki's eyes went slightly wide, and then his face went blank again. "I honestly have no idea."
"I swear to god, Loki if you are lying to me, this will not end well," Tony said sharply, "He's coming back tomorrow, and he's bringing his army with him."