You failed. The thought was as comfortable to him as hot iron being pressed to his head, a failure, always a failure. Anger lay close beneath the surface, white, raw and fighting to be seen. Anger was good, manageable, it was better than the crushing sadness he could feel seeping in from somewhere deep and unknown. No idea where it stemmed from, just its odd familiar presence, making itself felt at a constant low thrum through his mind.
Loki had collected himself enough to crawl from his pitiful hole in the floor, broken and bloody, a humiliating realisation that he had lost. The avengers were waiting for him, battle worn and smug. They had bound him, muzzled him and led him away. Thors eyes cast permanently to the floor, not daring to look at the person he once called brother, not noticing his paled skin or the way his lips pinched tightly together. Down they went, to a glass cell much like the last prison he had been held in. Was this one for him he wondered. No, most likely another precaution these people had taken against one of there own, claiming him a hero whilst building cages and weapons, waiting for the day when he would become their problem, their enemy. It did not matter Loki thought, a small space with no furniture and no privacy, a cage is a cage.
Loki stood tall, his posture foreboding and his face a carful mask of indifference. Pride was a sorry thing to claim but it was his, and he had precious little right now. He watched them flutter a few feet away, all but forgetting him in favour of the prize they had claimed. It glowed faintly, blue curling from the edges of their faces, eyes hungry for the secrets that lay before them. Only Thor remained guarded, knowing better than to greedily snatch at answers to questions he didnt need to ask. Relics were tricky things, he didnt know what this particular one was, but there was no denying the strength that radiated from it.
'So...we're all good with finders keepers right?' Said Tony, his voice thick with audacious confidence.
'Will you ever learn not to go poking your nose around where it doesn't belong?' Asked Natasha with a rueful smile just touching her lips. Tony loved to poke, prod, and generally pull apart anything he didn't understand, a thirst for knowledge that had yet to be quenched.
'You wound me, I am but a humble man seeking answers' mock hurt plastered onto his face, 'I can't be the only one who wants to know how this thing ticks?'
They had stood around staring at the staff for the better part of 10 minutes now. Tony as always was in favour of a hands on approach, Steve of course opted for patience, letting S.H.I.E.L.D take it far away from the city lest they somehow manage to blow up what was left of New York. He had given up arguing after a small debate, and too many opinions for it to matter, Tony had won.
Within a matter of minutes he stoop before the sceptre, eyes alight with excitement and a childish smile dancing on his lips. Having decided less was more when it came to glowing alien artefacts, Tony was now holding a pen up to the strange blue gem with every intention of poking.
Though his gaze never left them, they had all but ignored their impromptu prisoner. Even Thor had become distracted by Tony and his strange Midguardian quill, no room for any inconvenient leather clad thoughts to get in his head. So fixated were they that no body noticed the slight sway in his stance, the small sheen of sweat gathering on his brow, the worn expression working its way out from under the mask.
A subtle sense of wrong had been creeping up his spine for a while now. The kind that stands your hairs on end leaving you convinced your being watched from eyes that are not there. Loki had felt his palms start to sweat and subtly wiped them on his trousers. A slow and concise movement, no weakness shown, pride intact. If only. The heat had started after he pulled himself from the floor. It rolled out across his body slowly, leaving his limbs to fall like lead at his sides. His mind was no longer clear (was it even clear before?) he couldn't tell, thoughts some how conflicted. Were they even his thoughts? They seemed tainted, his but not his. There was a part of him leaving, it slipped away like fog reseeding in the sun. He did not know why but he was relieved to see it go. He was unattached, disassociated, and yet more like himself than he had known in over a year.
Bruce had his usual careful gaze fixed on Tony. Though silent, his presence was a comfort as the pen inched forward to make contact with the strange blue gem.
'ARGGGGHHHH' came a sound from the other side of the room and with one synchronised movement all heads turned. Locating the source of the noise, there eyes fell quickly on the defeated god in his small glass cage. Once full of pride and gusto, Loki had fallen to his knees, his hands pressed firmly to his head and the awful bellow of pain still being torn from his mouth.
'BROTHER!' Thors voice boomed out being met with nothing but continued screaming. 'DO NOT TRY AND FOOL US WITH YOUR TRICKS BROTHER!' He said striding over to the nearest wall of the glass cage. He was forced to should to be herd over Lokis' awful screaming, concern written all over his face. Sceptical faces could be seen across the room but no one was able to deny the pain in the mans echoing wails. Running to wards the cage in Thors wake only one remained. Tony had stayed put, when Loki revealed his charade, someone had to protect the only weapon that might pacify the God.
The wailing had slowly begun to subside, small mewling noises were now coming from the cage, small gestures of pain emanating as he pressed his hands so tightly to his head his fingers had turned white. As Thor arrived to press his hands against the nearest glass panel he could see red trailing from Lokis ears. Thick oozing blood sliding down his neck and dripping to the floor. 'Brother, what is happening? Is this is a trick?...Brother?...TALK TO ME!' The desperation clear in his voice he laid his hand forcefully against the glass.
'Get...out...of my...HEAD!' Loki shouted though he seemed to be talking to no body in particular, his eyes were still squeezed tightly shut. Confusion briefly crossed Thors face before his gaze flicked back to his brother. Adopting a more gentle tone he asked/p
p style="margin: 0in; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt;"'Who? Brother who is in your head?' if this was a trick, Thor had been thoroughly taken by it. He held nothing but worry and concern as Lokis eyes swivelled round to meet his, full of pain and fear, the small noises of distress still rumbling in his throat.
'Thor?...Bro..ther?...please' The last word becoming more of a growl as he was overcome by blinding pain, forcing his lips tightly shut in a vague attempt to not cry out with the ever increasing agony. His body listed to the side, falling against the glass heavily. Thor knelt down as Lokis head dropped against the wall mere inches from him. 'He's...in...my head!' it was barely a whisper, grinding the words out through clenched teeth.
His eyes pleading, begging for help from the one person who always promised to give it. Was this truly happening, thought Thor, why did his brother have to be such a damned good liar? Locking his eyes to the glassy green irises he could see a glimpse of the Loki he used to know. One that recognised him a source of comfort and protection, who didnt despise him or blame him for things out of his control. That was it, he got up from his crouched position running to the front of the cage, intentions clear, mind made up, for better or for worse he could not deny his brother help, he never could.
'Thor STOP!' Came a familiar voice of authority, the captain always could capture a room with ease. 'We have to think about this, it could be a ploy, he's done it before.' His voice level, a welcome semblance of calm.
'I cannot leave him like that' Thor spoke softly gesturing towards the figure slumped on the floor 'something is wrong and it is our fault. We should never have touched the sceptre! It did something to him, has been doing something to him' Thor replied looking at them pleadingly 'he is bound, he cannot hurt me. Let me go to him and I will soon find out the truth of the situation...He is my brother' Steves morality spiked at the words but this was not the time for empathy, he needed to think, to be the voice of reason.
'One way we can find out' came a voice from behind them all. Tony stood in the exact same spot they had left him, pen still in hand but the smile had left his face. Without waiting for anyone to catch up with his train of thought, he prodded the gem with the pen once again.
A second scream was ripped from Lokis' throat, his back had arched up away from the wall and blood had started to leak out of his nose. A small slither of blue light seeped through the lashes of his closed eyes before abruptly opening with a flash of bright blue light. A watery mist pulsated from Lokis chest, settling in the air around him turning it a murky turquoise. The mist started to swarm and take shape, images appearing before them hovering in the air.
First was Loki, falling, screaming, freezing. Surround by an empty nothing, fear in his eyes.
Second was a room, dark and dank. There were chains on the wall and a familiar figure occupying them. His face was bruised, his lips were cut and his body was littered with deep oozing gashes. The face of torture is difficult to look at.
Third was the same room but its occupant missing. They watched as Loki was roughly thrown to the floor, his back a mosaic of angry welts, the whip had done its work expertly. As the figure lay on the floor, unable to lift his head, a second moved beside him. Using his foot he turned the gods head on its side forcing the glazed eyes up to look at it as it stated in a voice devoid of emotion 'You will break. You will shatter, and from the pieces we will mould you into his vision.' A blue glow appeared as the end of the staff was lightly tapped against Lokis head 'You could have chosen to follow us, such a pity! Why do you make us do this, we do not want to force, obedience should be voluntary...but it is not essential.' The voice faded as if walking away from the scene calling back in its wake 'First little runt, we must break you.'
As quickly as it had started, the fog receded. Thick tendrils ripped through the air being dragged by some hidden force back into Lokis chest. The blood had continued to fall throughout and now dripped from the corners of his mouth, a small choking sound escaping his crimson stained lips. As the last of it slipped into his body he fell with a thump to the floor.
The room was silent for less than a second but it felt like an eternity. A sudden rush of movement from inside the cage brought everyone back to themselves as Lokis back violently arched off the floor, his body thrown into some kind of fit, the blood kept coming.
'LOKI!' Thors voice was brimmed with despair, not a soul in the nine realms could have stopped him opening the doors to his brothers cell. He was by his side in seconds, kneeling in the alarmingly expanding pool of blood, cradling his face in a vain attempt to stop his head bashing the ground with each jerk of his body. Just a few minutes later Loki finally stilled, eyes closed, breathing harsh and erratic. Hands came up beside him to rest on his neck, fingers touching with such gentleness.
'Loki Can you hear me?' Came Bruces voice, his tone professional. When had he come into the cage? Thought Thor, silently thanking the man for his unprompted kindness. His question however went unanswered 'We need to get him to the medical bay, I cant do anything for him here, Thor?'
'I shall carry him' came the gruff reply, his voice tight, reigning in the emotion running wild beneath the surface. Bruce turned to look pointedly at his fellow avengers, still stunned by the events of the last few minutes, unable to decide what it is they should be doing. A flurry of movement confirmed that Bruces subtle glare had been received. Steve turned and headed to the medical bay, he could do nothing here, but he could have Jarvis instruct him on what Bruce might need when he and Thor arrived. Nat followed close behind, clearly having thought the same, and Clint left in search of a mop, someone had to clean up the blood. One thing went unsaid but absolutely undoubted, Loki needed help, and he would get it.
Bruce knelt down and removed the cuffs that still strangled Lokis wrists, clearly the decision had been made and nobody was going to argue. Thor slid his hands under Lokis limp form, lifting him with a gentleness that seemed so unsuited to his usual character. He held him close to his chest, carefully tilting back just a touch to allow Lokis head to fall heavily into his shoulder. Blood began to stain his armour, it dripped from his hands to land on his boots. His brothers blood. Turning as quickly as he dared he strode from the glass cage following Bruce,, Loki clutched tightly in his arms.
With everyone gone Tony stood alone. He was quite aware that in the commotion they had almost forgotten he existed. He didn't care, couldn't bring himself to tear his eyes away from the empty cage wondering if he'll ever learn. Why did he push? Why didn't he wait to discuss his intentions with his team? And more pressingly, what the hell happened to Thors little brother?