Loki awoke with a start, to see a young mortal bending over him, stitching his wound shut. In a panic, his eyes darted around the room. "W-Where…" he began, but the youth sent him a calming smile.

"Hey man, you're fine, just go back to sleep."

Something in this lad's voice, his demeanor, and the way he cared for Loki, made him sure that he meant him no harm. He'd be safe here, at least for a while. There would only be one thing that would worry him. "D-Don't take me to T-Thor, please…" He begged, before slipping under, again.

He didn't know how long he slept, but the next thing he knew, he was lying on the young mortal's bed, as… whoever this was sat at a desk, writing something or other.

His brain was far clearer than it had been the last time he'd awoken, and he was able to take in his surroundings. A simple gray room, with a table, nearby, covered in strange Midgardian technology. A few posters hung on the walls, and a window overlooked the still-sleeping city.

With a grimace, Loki pushed himself up on his elbows, scanning the room for his armor. The child noticed the movement out of the corner of his eye, and immediately rushed over. "Hey, take it easy, man…" He soothed, gently pushing Loki back down into a horizontal position. "You're really banged up."

"I noticed." Loki replied, giving this young, eager mortal with brown hair, and a cheerful smile a quick once-over. "Who are you?"

"My name's Peter." He replied, a nervous look springing into his eyes. "Hey, you're not going to kill me, right?"

Loki blinked sluggishly. Yes, his brain was clearer, but that doesn't mean it was entirely up to his typical standard. "Why in the nine would I kill you?"

"I don't know…" Peter shrugged. "I guess cause… we were fighting you, before. Right?"

"Yes." Loki admitted, passing a hand over his eyes, as Peter pushed a bottle of water into his hands. "But that wasn't my doing."

"What do you mean?"

Loki shook his head. "Not my fault…" He muttered blearily. "I was just trying to help." He looked up at the mortal, fixing his eyes on his face. "The aliens. Those weren't mine. I knew they'd be coming, though, so I went out to stop them. I suppose your Avengers saw me, saw the aliens, and assumed…" Loki took a sip from the bottle, after fumbling with the cap for a few seconds. "'Twasn't me."

"So, we just… fought you while you were trying to help?" Peter gasped, slightly aghast at himself. "Why didn't you tell us?"

"Tried…" Loki wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. Something about the way this lad spoke… His confidence, and how he kept referring to the Avengers as "we" and… That's when it hit him.

How could he have been so stupid?

Looking at this "Peter" child with new, widened eyes, the Trickster's grip tightened around his bottle. "You're an Avenger." He accused. And, yet… he didn't recognize him... "One of the masked ones."

Oh… this was bad. He was going to be killed, or worse, thrown in a Midgardian prison. Thor would find him, and it would be back to that miserable Asgardian cell to rot the rest of his days. Without waiting for a confirmation, Loki leapt up off the bed, and promptly collapsed on the floor.

Well.

That was problematic. It appeared he'd lost more blood than he'd previously thought. Peter gently picked him up, and placed him back on the bed. "Yeah." He admitted when Loki was re-settled, and had stopped gasping in pain. "I'm an Avenger. I'm Spiderman."

Loki bit his lip in terror, shrinking away from this child. He'd picked Loki up, just then, as if he weighed no more than a child. What mad powers did he have? Was he even mortal, after all? How painful was it to die?

"Hey! Hey, man, I'm not gonna hurt you!" Peter soothed, leaning forward, and pried the crushed water bottle from Loki's fingers. "You can stay here, tonight, okay?" He smiled softly. "My aunt's at work, so nobody will know. I won't tell Thor, and you can, like, heal up."

Loki's green eyes darted around the room warily. It wasn't like he had any place better to go, or the strength to get there, if he did. "You won't tell Thor?" Loki echoed warily.

"Course not." Peter assured. "And, uh… thanks for trying to help."

Loki was stunned. The Spider-Child was… thanking him? "You mean it?" He breathed in wonder. He couldn't remember the last time anyone had ever thanked him for anything.

"Sure." Peter nodded, smiling softly.

Loki was suddenly overcome with a wave of exhaustion. No wonder, honestly. What with fighting aliens, Avengers, almost bleeding out, and waking up in a strange mortal child who happened to be the Man of Spiders, he really couldn't keep his eyes open, any longer. Ignoring the small part of his mind that still screamed, IT'S NOT SAFE! PETER IS AN AVENGER! HE WILL KILL YOU!, Loki rolled over, and fell into a fitful slumber.

This chapter brought to you by TheOnlyHuman.