Chapter 5: Break My Binds
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After a few hours of careful watch, Loki proved he could breathe on his own without the tube; however, he still heavily relied on the oxygen mask. Before they could ask Loki any questions, he passed out from exhaustion not long after the tube was removed. He's been out ever since. Until then, both Bruce and Thor continued to keep an eye on him in case he wakes up again.
Upon discovery, Bruce realized the chains around Loki's neck were compromising his breathing. Although still reluctant to whether or not his patient was stable enough, he came to the conclusion it must be done. The only thing was that he didn't have any tools strong enough to try to break the chains. The only solution was to ask Tony. Bruce knew this was going to be hard.
Thor volunteered to stay behind with Loki while Bruce went to convince the mechanic to borrow some of his tools. He approached the door to Tony's lab, anxious whether or not this was a good idea. His lab was slowly coming back together after the "Loki incident". Fixing the supporting structures wasn't the problem, it was all of Tony's work that got destroyed in the explosion. Easy to say, Tony was pissed. Thankfully, most of his computer work was saved on a separate server that didn't get broken. All the physical projects, however, were obliterated.
"Hey Tony," Bruce lightly rapped on the doorframe, "um…mind if I come in?"
Tony was sitting at his desk with his back to Bruce. A welder's mask was covering his face as he soldered Dumb-E back together. He stopped and swiveled around to the sound of his friend's timid voice.
"Yo Brucie, what's up?" Tony lifted his mask and smirked, "Here to help me get this hunk-o-junk back in action?"
"Umm no, sorry. I actually…" the doctor scratched the back of his neck nervously, "I actually wanted to ask you a favor… if that's alright?"
"Sure, buddy! Shoot!"
"Well, it's about Loki…"
Tony's expressions changed in an instant. His smirk vanished and was replaced with a scowl. 'Loki' was a strong trigger word for him.
"So… you just came only to ask a favor for your precious patient?"
Bruce couldn't help but wince at that name "precious patient".Clearly, Tony still hasn't forgiven him for saving Loki. He couldn't blame him; the god doesn't exactly have the best reputation around here.
"No, I came to check on you too!" Bruce backpedaled, "I know you've been here a lot and stressed and all so I-"
Tony muttered something under his breath. He was tired of Bruce's devotion to his "little patient". It's been weeks and the guy barely goes a few hours without talking about him. Tony wished he refused to let the god stay here in the first place. Things would have been less tense around here if he wasn't around. Right now, there was an obvious split between opinions. Tony, Clint, and Natasha were all for throwing Loki in an alley to die. Bruce and Thor… clearly weren't. Now Steve was hard to read. He seemed to lean towards Bruce and Thor, but still shows signs of hesitancy.
"Cut the theatrics," Stark groaned. He squeezed the bridge of his nose to ease the growing headache, "Just… what do you want?"
"… sorry," Bruce apologized awkwardly, "So, we were able to get Loki off the ventilator today."
Tony leaned back in his chair and kicked his legs up on the table. He gave off the impression that whatever Bruce says, he doesn't want to hear it.
"And I should care because…?" he cocked his eyebrow.
"Well, now that it's not breathing for him. The chains are kinda… well making it hard for him to breathe independently. So, I thought we could just remove the-"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Let me get this straight," Tony sat up straight and held up his hand to stop Bruce, "You want me to help you free this megalomaniac."
Bruce had no idea how to respond to it. Tony was always so good at being blunt.
God, when he puts it that way…
Tony aggressively swiveled the chair around to go back to his work, "Welp, sorry. No can do!"
"But-but he could suffocate an-"
"When have I ever shown any concern for that asshole's well-being?!"
"He's bed-bound! Loki couldn't hurt a fly!"
Tony swung his seat back to face Bruce. He looked pissed. He was definitely fed up with his friend constantly defending this lunatic. Bed-bound or not, this was Loki we're talking about.
"But what happens when he gets better, huh?!" Tony yelled, "We're just gonna put a leash on him and stick'em out in the yard?"
"No... of course not."
"Well, how are you going to make sure Loki doesn't go on a killing spree once he can walk?!"
Bruce paused, "We'll figure out something…"
Honestly, Bruce never thought that far ahead. The doctor has been so focused on keeping Loki alive. Bruce forgot about the "violent tendencies" he had. But keeping him in chains could very well due him in. It's hard for him to remember Loki's true colors when he's up in the sickbay out cold.
"Well, until you figure it out," Tony said, "the chains are staying put."
"We can't just stop helping him now!" Bruce countered.
"And why not?!"
"How are you going to explain that to Thor!?"
Tony snide expression faded into a fearful one. How could they possibly tell Thor that they don't want to help his brother anymore… you can't. Well, technically you could, but not without getting their heads bludgeoned in by his hammer.
He let out a string of curses and abruptly stood up. Leaving his project behind, Tony walked over to his workbench and started to dig around. He mumbled how much he hated these gods and their endless drama.
"The only reason I'm doing this is so Point Break up there doesn't kill me!"
Bruce didn't say a word while Tony shuffled through the drawers. He wondered if the mechanic even had a tool powerful enough to break the chains. Clearly, if they can keep Loki bound, they must be strong. If they could be broken, Thor would've done it by now.
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Thor stayed at Loki's side while Bruce went to fetch tools. Terrified of the collar crushing his brother's windpipe, he held it up a little so it wasn't pressing against his neck. He wondered how long this has been on Loki; that, and who put it on?
The door to the room opened, alerting Thor of their presence. Both Tony and Bruce came walking in. Tony carried a massive circular blade in his hands.
Knowing Tony wasn't exactly a fan of Loki, -and the giant weapon he was holding- Thor gave an almost feral growl as he stood in between him and his brother. The look itself made Stark freeze in his tracks.
"Whoa, buddy! Calm down!" Tony took a few steps back for good measure.
Bruce quickly read the situation and stood in front of Tony protectively. This could end badly, fast. Thor's face switched to confusion as the doctor protected Tony.
"Thor, Thor, it's ok!" Bruce held up his hands, "Tony brought this to get the chains off of Loki."
Not quite believing it, Thor's stare darted back to Stark. His piercing blue eyes made the hairs on the back of Tony's neck stand up. Thor was trying to read his face. The god didn't dare move from his spot in front of Loki.
"How do I know you will not slay him once I move?" Thor growled.
Tony scoffed- probably not the best move, "I may be an asshole, but I'm no Texas chainsaw murderer."
Unsure of Thor's reaction, Bruce wanted to clarify Tony's words. Sometimes he wonders if Tony really wants to be beaten up, or he's just that stupid.
"He promised he'd help, Thor."
"But on one condition!" Tony interjected.
Thor didn't respond but continued to eye them cautiously. There was a trade-off here. He didn't like the idea of making negotiations with his brother's life.
"The condition," Tony said, "Is that once he wakes up, and shows any sort of hostility, we're tying him back up."
He let Thor stew over the terms before saying anything else. There's no way that Tony would let Loki walk freely around the place, no matter how beat up he is. The guy, like said before, was crazier than a bag of cats.
"Very well," Thor agreed to everyone's surprise, "But only if he proves himself untrustworthy."
Tony nodded pleased, "Deal."
Thor's posture relaxed from its tense position over Loki. Still not leaving his side, the blonde allowed them access. Tony took a second before approaching. He felt the large god watching him like a hawk. Any off movements might send the billionaire crashing into the adjacent wall. Before making it to the bedside, he decided it was best to place his tool down on the floor, signifying that he meant no harm. It's been a long time since Tony's even seen Loki, so he was terrified to be so close. Within arm's length of the sleeping god, he looked down at him.
Wow, he looks worse in person…
Since he never wanted to actually go down into the infirmary, Tony kept tabs on his alien houseguest from security cameras in the room. Even though his video equipment is of the highest quality, it couldn't capture the true horror of Loki's physical state. The god was still wrapped up like a mummy in bandages, and the bruising was still there. The only new thing was the ventilator tube was gone and replaced with an oxygen mask. The painstaking slow rise and fall of Loki's chest made him realize how urgent the situation was.
"Can you remove it, Stark?" Thor asked, concerned that even his genius friend may not know how to free his little brother.
Tony didn't know exactly what he was getting into. He wanted to inspect the chains further, but the very thought of touching Loki scared him. The last time he made contact with the god was when he was being hurled out the window years ago. The recollection almost made him shudder. He was saved from his thoughts by Bruce appearing next to him. The doctor reached out and struggled to pick up a string of chains. From his movements, Tony could tell they were heavy.
"This metal isn't like anything on Earth," Bruce explained, "I've tried to chip off a piece to examine it, but it's solid."
Curious, Tony extended out his hands to hold the chains for himself. Bruce handed them off to Tony. The weight of the binds shifted from the doctor's hands to his. The dense metal was deceivingly heavy; he almost dropped it. Each link of the chain was at least five inches thick; the collar and the binds on his wrists and ankles were even more.
Bruce turned to Thor, "I gave Loki a light sedation to make sure this doesn't stress him out."
"Thank you, Banner," The god gave a very slight, but grateful smile back.
"Yeah," Tony butted in, "It also keeps him still, so I don't accidentally cut his head off.
"Tony!" Bruce scolded immediately. He could see Thor's horrified expression next to him.
"He's joking, Thor…" Bruce assured. The god clearly didn't appreciate the 'joke'.
Tony went back and picked up the saw. This was one of his strongest ones. He used it frequently when cutting other metals. How hard could they be?
"Well," Tony yelled, startling everyone by revving up the machine, "Let's see how tough this stuff really is!"
They pulled up a small side table and laid a string of chains over it. There was no way they could do it on the bed. Luckily, the chains were long enough to drape over the table without pulling Loki off the bed. Bruce and Thor held each side of the chains in place as Tony started to press the blade down. It made an ear-piercing screeching noise as metal ground on metal. Bruce wished he could slap his hands over his ears. He tried to yell something at Tony, but it was lost over the noise. The chain links never yielded to the saw and held strong. This made Tony only push down harder.
Suddenly, the saw blade shattered, sending metal bits shooting across the room. Thankfully, everyone was able to dodge it before anyone got hurt.
Tony held up his broken blade.
"Well, fuck…"
Everyone glanced down at the chains to see what the damage was. To their surprise, the links looked pristine- not a single scratch on them.
"This is going to be harder than I thought…" Bruce sighed.
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"Dammit!"
Another saw blade snapped against the chains. That was the fifth blade he tried. Whether it was a diamond-tipped drill or a cheap wood saw, nothing could touch these chains. Tony went back and forth between different tools and mediums: welders torches, drills, even a jackhammer. He was running out of tools… and patience.
"This shit is strong!" Tony cursed, tossing his destroyed saw into the growing pile of his- now ruined- tools.
He looked over a Thor.
"You sure that magic hammer of yours can't dent this thing?!"
Thor shook his head, "It seems whoever forged these, made them strong against Asgardian metals alone."
Rubbing his temples, Tony was about to give up. When it came to anything mechanical or engineering on Earth, he was the guy to go to. Space metals, on the other hand, weren't exactly Tony's expertise.
"Well, what about Iron Man?" Bruce asked.
"What about Iron Man?!" Tony repeated back, not seeing where this is going.
"Don't tell me you don't have some weapon in your suit that might be able to break through these…"
Tony has to think about it for a minute. Iron Man had so many weapons built into it; the list went on and on. His mind scanned through everyone to try to find a way he could use them to break the chains. Of course, all his latest gadgets were all destroyed- thanks to the God of Mischief himself. His old MARK III version Iron Man would be the only option.
Then, finally, Tony had an idea.
"I think I'm onto something," he turned and headed out the door, "be right back."
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Tony came back after a few minutes with his Iron Man gauntlet. He slid on the glove and had it project a screen for him to type on. Hovering the glove over the chains to scan it, Tony took the reading and started typing. Both Thor and Bruce looked over his shoulders curiously. Neither one understood exactly what was going on in the mechanic's head.
"Are you planning on clueing us in at all?" Bruce asked, a little annoyed. It was his patient after all.
"Okay, fine," Tony rolled his eyes, "it's nothing fancy, but I'm thinking of freezing it. That will make the molecular structure of it to become brittle…"
He then gestured to Thor, "Then Sparky here comes in with 'mew mew', or whatever he calls it…"
"Mjolnir," Thor corrected.
"Yeah sure, whatever. You come in with 'mewl-neer' and give it the old thunder smash and, hopefully, it will break it… in theory."
"Sounds possible," Bruce said rubbing his chin, "but wouldn't the metal conduct the electricity of the hammer?"
Tony rolled his eyes for the millionth time.
"Geeze, Bruce! Yee of little faith! That's what I did when I scanned it. From what I got out of it; this stuff is non-conductive."
Bruce seemed convinced enough. It was an odd way to try it, but they were running out of options. That, and they needed to get this off of Loki fast. Thankfully, he was still sedated.
"Well, Thor," Bruce turned to the Thor, "what do you think?"
Thor didn't look back at Bruce but looked at his brother. Still asleep with the oxygen mask, Loki looked so fragile. The rise and fall of his chest was slow. He obviously didn't like the idea of smashing the chains with Mjolnir. Even still, Thor still didn't fully trust Tony, but what else could he do.
"Very well," Thor gave his consent, "I do not like this at all, but I see no other way."
The blonde, hesitant, reached to unclip the hammer off his belt. He looked to Stark for instructions. Tony was busy typing various functions on the gauntlets screen. The glove started to respond to its commands. Different panels on it started to shift around. On the gloves index finger, the armor pulled back to reveal, what looked like, a small laser pointer. Tony flexed his hand a little inside the glove to make sure it was properly set.
"Alright, Sparky," Tony said, turning back to Thor to make sure he heard him, "on my signal, hit the chain right on the frozen portion I make."
Tony didn't even wait for the god to respond; he turned back around and adjusted the chains. He wanted to make sure it was just right before starting.
"Wait!" Thor interrupted, "I changed my mind."
Tony stopped before the nozzle could spray the freezing agent. He turned to Thor, looking rather annoyed. He already didn't want to be here and, by "didn't want to", he really didn't want to be doing this!
"Jeez, I'll put it on a low setting," he scoffed, "don't get your panties in a twist!"
Turning his attention back to the chain, Tony slowly started to bring the nozzle up again.
"Wait!" Bruce was now the one to halt the process.
"Goddamnit, Bruce!" Tony shouted, pulling his hand away again, "What now?! You want me to do this or not?!"
Bruce shrunk back a little at Tony's volume.
"S-sorry," he apologized, "It's just that if you have Thor slam into those chains, it's going to shatter the table you have it on. That might affect the force of the blow. Here hold on-"
Running out of the infirmary, Bruce disappeared into the halls. This left Tony and Thor waiting awkwardly. After a few minutes, he came back lugging a heavy, metal plate. Bruce put it down on the floor next to their makeshift workstation.
"This will help," Bruce said. He was panting from having to run back carting the dense sheet metal.
The other two agreed and rearranged their set up. Now they had the metal plate laid out on the floor with the string of chains over it. Tony had to admit this was better. The last thing he wants to do is destroy any more of his stuff.
"Ok, does anyone else have anything they need to say before we do this?" Tony looked at the two, annoyed, "because I ain't stopping this time!"
Both shook their heads and allowed him to start. For the third time, Tony put on the Iron Man glove and reset the liquid nitrogen. He brought it very slowly to the chainlink he chose to freeze. Tony wanted to make sure he kept his aim and steady as possible.
Once he touched the glove to the metal, an icy frost scattered across its surface. Tony kept his hand still and allowed it to thoroughly freeze the area. Bruce and Thor were on standby. The thunder god readjusted his grip on his hammer.
Not letting his finger move from the spot, Tony called back to Thor.
"The second I pull this away, you got to hit it. Any hesitation and the metal will start to thaw. Got it?"
"Aye," Thor nodded and raised Mjolnir.
Bruce took a few steps back for good measure. Who knows what kind of elemental reaction might come of doing this. They could very well all be in danger.
"On the count of three," Tony said.
"One…" Not letting go, he repositioned himself so he could jump out of the way after the countdown.
"Two…"
Thor gripped Mjolnir tighter. Sparks were already buzzing around the surface of the hammer.
"Three!"
Tony pulled back the glove and dove out of the way. He escaped just in time to dodge the hammer coming down with full force. Both Tony and Bruce could feel the static in the air from Thor's power. Surprisingly, the impact wasn't as ear-shattering as both expected.
A powder of icy frost filled the room along with a gust of cold air. At first, no one could see if it worked or not. It took a few seconds for all to settle. Thor stood frozen in place. He was worried to pull the hammer away and see that it didn't work. But before he did, Thor- all three of them- looked at Loki. A rush of relief came to see Loki still asleep and in one piece, completely unaffected and unaware of anything going on.
"Did it work?" Bruce finally broke the silence.
Taking a deep breath, Thor slowly pulled away Mjolnir. Beneath it laid the shatter remains of the chains. The metal was ground down into a fine dust.
"It worked!" Thor exclaimed pure joy filled his words.
Tony was still half sprawled on the ground from dodging Thor's swing. His eyes widened at the fact his plan actually worked. The chains were pretty much obliterated on impact.
With that, they proceeded forward with removing the chains. Tony had soon learned that just a good zap from Mjolnir would yield the same result as smashing it. It came in handy on getting the wrist and ankle cuffs. They took their time on those since they were in direct contact with Loki's skin. With each zap of lighting, Bruce constantly monitored Loki's vitals for any changes.
The processed seemed to go very well. All the chains and cuffs were removed effortlessly. The only thing left was the collar. Pausing for a moment, Bruce wanted to quickly clean and treat the wounds on Loki's wrists and ankles. Where the metal contacted his skin was a gruesome black. The flesh was charred for some reason. Whatever these binds were intended for, they were more than just to restrain him. They clearly used to control him.
Once sterilized and securely wrapped, they were able to turn their attention to the last piece. The collar was the thickest out of all the pieces. It engulfed Loki's thin neck. You could still see the same charred skin peeking out where it touched his skin.
"This is going to be harder," Tony muttered as he pulled off the glove to get a better inspection of the collar.
Still asleep, Tony still didn't want to get any closer to Loki. Every second he helped the god, he regretted it. What he was doing was not of his own free will. Stuck between Thor and Bruce, Tony- unfortunately- had to go along with their plans.
Since Tony seemed hesitant to move in to inspect the collar, Bruce decided to do so. He carefully felt along the collars surface, not to accidentally hit Loki's oxygen mask. It was very smooth other than the odd engravings that were etched into its edges.
"These symbols are foreign to me," Thor spoke as he watched Bruce, "I do not know of where they come from."
Bruce knit his brows in thought. Without any idea of what they are or who made them, how were they supposed to get this collar off? It was too risky to try their freezing technique so close to Loki's neck. There must be some other way. Bruce continued to probe around the device. When he got near the back, he carefully brushed Loki's hair out of the way. Not wanting to have to maneuver the god around, Bruce decided to just slip his fingers between the collar and the pillow. He had to use only his sense of touch to feel for any faults in the metal.
"Do you notice anything, Banner?" Thor asked anxiously.
Bruce was about to respond, but his fingers brushed past a divot in the back. It felt different from the ones made by the engravings.
"There's something here," Bruce said, "the only thing is that it's in the back."
"Then just roll him onto his side," Tony pointed out wanting to speed things up.
Of course, the doctor already considered that, but Loki was too critical to move. Anything might compromise his breathing. That, and not wanting to put any more pressure on Loki's ribs.
"We can't," Bruce said, "he's too fragile."
He tried to think of another way to work around it. Testing its mobility, Bruce slightly rotated it around the god's neck.
"I think I can spin it," he said, then turned to Thor, "can you elevate him just enough for me to rotate it better?"
Thor stared nervously at his brother. He was terrified to touch him. So small and fragile, he worried that any movement might hurt him. But… there was no option.
"…okay," Thor replied hesitantly.
The god held his breath while Bruce instructed him where to do it. He carefully pushed his fingers under Loki's shoulders and head. Thor raised his brother up no more than an inch. Bruce swept in and tediously rotated it, so the collar was on backwards. Thor immediately laid Loki back down as soon as possible.
As Bruce predicted, there was a hole in the collar. There was no doubt it was some type of keyhole.
"Well, obviously we don't have the key…" Bruce sighed.
Tony stood there watching the two sulk. His guilty conscious started to weigh on him.
"Ugh, fine!" Tony moaned, "I might as well not stop now."
He mumbled more to himself as he put back on the gloved. Typing in a few more codes, the gauntlet- once again- whirled to life. The liquid nitrogen nozzle on the tip of his finger was replaced with a mini torch. Tony nudged Bruce our of the way to get in closer. Of course, the doctor didn't like that at all.
"Whoa, wait! Hold on! Let's talk about this first!"
"You think I want to kill Rock of Ages here after all I've done to get the chains off?!" Tony griped. When no one answered he scoffed, "Yeah, that's right! I didn't think so."
Thor and Bruce exchanged worried glances as Tony gripped the collar. He just barely inserted the top of the nozzle into the keyhole. The flame ignited and a dull buzzing came from inside the collar. Nothing happened immediately. Tony stuck his tongue out in concentration as he wiggles the tool inside.
"I think I heard something," Tony pulled his face closer to look in, "Yeah, I think I got it."
The others leaned in eagerly in hopes it will unlock. There was a lot of tension in the room. The only noise other than the torch was Loki's medical monitors- thankfully all calm at the moment.
"Are you sure yo-"
Thor started to ask but was cut off by a loud click from inside the collar. Tony pulled his hand back thinking he unlocked it- he was wrong. The engravings on the metal started to glow and a humming noise could be heard. They looked on anxiously as the sound steadily grew louder.
Tony tilted his head, "I thought I did it, but it-"
A massive surge of electricity buzzed in the collar. It was shocking Loki. The god withered in pain, his back arched and mouth open in a silent scream. The monitors started to go haywire. They blared alarms that echoed throughout the room.
Thor bolted forward and pushed Tony out of the way. The force of his gesture sent him flying into the floor. Thor didn't even bother looking. Instead, he reached over and grabbed the collar with both hands. The electricity immediately surged into Thor's body. The pain of it affected him very little, in fact, it fueled his own body of his thunder powers.
The thunder god's eyes started to glow as sparks shot out at its corners. With one strong pull, he cried out in anger and ripped the collar off. It clattered to the ground and the mangled wreck sparked weakly.
"I thought you said it's non-conductive?!" Bruce screamed at Tony, who was laying against the wall dazed.
"Hey! Don't get all pissy at me!" he defended, rubbing the back of his neck, "I don't know shit about alien metals!"
"Loki?! Brother?"
Bruce turned to see Thor cupping his brother's shoulders. Loki was not moving, but his face still unconsciously twisted in pain. The doctor immediately came over and scanned the monitors for any critical changes.
"He doesn't seem too bad. You pulled off the collar before any serious damage could be done," he said as he silenced the alarms, "His vitals are relatively normal… well, Loki normal that is."
Bruce didn't wait and started to clean Loki's neck of the blood and grim. It was definitely the worst of all the chain injuries. The skin was a lot more infected and cut deeper into his neck than the others. He could still see that other scar from his apparent slit throat.
Tony groaned as he finally got up off the floor. He was thankful Thor didn't hit him any harder. It knocked the wind out of him, of course, and he's definitely going to feel it tomorrow.
When Tony went back to stand with Bruce and Thor, he passed by the discarded collar and handcuffs. The curiosity of it hit him. These chains were able to subdue Loki. It obviously was quite a feat to do. Tony knew this would be an asset to control him in the future. It was obvious that the god wasn't going anywhere soon. Loki will heal, and with that, grow stronger. These are the only guaranteed thing to contain him. Tony needed to figure out how to get a hold of these without looking suspicious.
"So," Tony nudged the collar with his foot, "What do you plan on doing with these, doc?"
Bruce turned around to see him playing around with the binds curiously. The thought never occurred to him of what they plan on doing with them afterwards.
"Well, I guess I'd like to study them," Bruce said, "Whatever this alien tech is, it seems almost indestructible. We could really use something like this for defense. There's no telling if the Chitauri will return."
"I'll take them to the lab for ya," Tony offered before hesitantly reaching to pick them up. Not sure if the metal was still holding a charge, he lightly taps it. He didn't die, so Tony concluded they're safe. What he didn't expect was the metal weighed a ton.
Once Tony dragged all the pieces off to the lab, the room was silent. The only noise was Loki's machines. Thor looked down at his brother. He looked more comfortable now that the chains were off. He saw Bruce move to the monitors and check Loki's vitals again. Checking the connection of the cords, he then moved to readjust the oxygen mask on the god's face.
"Is my brother doing better?" Thor asked, breaking the silence.
Chewing on his lip a little, Bruce thought over what to say. Loki still was in bad shape. These new, hidden wounds were infected. The doctor was glad he already had him on heavy antibiotics. To say Loki's getter better wouldn't be quite truthful… but Thor desperately pleaded for some type of hope to grasp onto.
"Well, he is breathing better," Bruce decided that was the best he could say.
Thankfully, Thor seemed pleased with it. The god drew a small smile and held his brother's hand in his own.
"Do not worry, brother," Thor whispered, looking longingly at him, "You will be better soon."
Bruce decided to give Thor some privacy with his sleeping sibling. Loki was stable enough right now that the doctor felt comfortable leaving the room. He bid his goodbyes and assured the thunder god he is on call if need be. But as Bruce left the infirmary, he couldn't help but to think about those gruesome chains. What were they for? And who put them on him?
Maybe when Loki wakes, he'll tell…
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Next Chapter: Coming Up Short
Word Count: 5,402
Written On: 10-15-19
Updated On: xxx
Posted On: 11-14-19
