For the second time since Loki started living in the tower Clint watched as Loki's illusion fell. He watched as Loki went from looking like the perfectly normal yet villainous person which still sometimes haunted his nightmares to some broken thing that must be from someone else's bad dreams. He knew he should say something. He should say that he didn't mean this when he had said no more hocus pocus. He should say that Loki could cover these scars if he wanted. Or he could keep standing there looking like a favorite childhood rag doll. It wasn't as if Clint knew what the guy wanted. Yet Clint didn't say anything right away and the longer he paused the more he felt he couldn't say anything at all. It felt like everyone was looking at him or Loki or more likely both and he just wanted all the stares to stop.
Bruce took in a deep breath. Then he took another. Finally he took one last deep breath, closed his eyes for a moment, and when he opened them he half hoped he had been imagining all those scars. But his eyes blinked open and all the cuts, burns, and scars were still etched onto Loki's body. Of course he hadn't imagined them. "What…" He was going to ask what happened. Or maybe he was going to ask why Loki looked like this now. Bruce didn't though. He just stared and then he kept staring. It wasn't as if he hadn't seen wounds like this before. The problem was the fact they seemed to stretch across Loki's body. Bruce figured the scars wouldn't end abruptly where the clothing began. Scars rarely stopped because something like cloth covered them. The problem was that Bruce had helped people who had these type of wounds but never to this extent. Almost never to this extent. He shuttered at the thought of the last man he had seen who looked like this. In the end no one had been able to help him. Bruce never even had a chance to learn that man's name before he died. But all of those people Bruce had treated were just normal humans with normal human DNA. Loki was a God or at least someone who had once been worshiped as one. If Loki was anything like Thor then it would take quite a bit for scaring of any sort to happen let alone all of this. Bruce took another breath and finally managed to stop looking. He turned his attention to Clint as he tried to keep a handle on himself. He needed to calm down. He needed to be less angry, upset. Instead of asking Loki his questions he looked to Clint for any answers but Clint just stood there which didn't make Bruce angry but it didn't really help either.
Steve was the first to say anything, "What the fuck?"
"Language," Tony said it half halfheartedly knowing that a small inside joke wouldn't really help but he needed to at least try.
Rolling his eyes at Tony, Steve continued, "What...what is all this? I knew you had that deal with Nick and that you didn't want to go back. Is this why? Jesus...you look...I'm sure this isn't at all what Clint meant."
Loki hadn't realized that Rogers and Banner hadn't known of his punishment. He looked down at his hands again, what did he look like to these people? He licked his lips and looked to Rogers, "This is Asgardian justice." He almost smiled when he looked over at Banner and corrected himself, "More accurately it's Asgardian leniency."
Loki took in a steadying breath. He tried to ignore the pounding of his heart. He tried to ignore how his hands started to shake terribly the second he looked down at them. If he closed his eyes Loki could still feel every cut and burn as if it was still taking place. It would be better to get it done and over with, list what and why these markings exist. Looking at no one in particular Loki said, "For helping Frost Giants break into the Weapons Vault I was whipped. Because I was born a Jotun I was burned, scorched, left in a sweltering cell till I was certain I would melt into nothing. For killing King Laufey the marks of my birth were carved permanently into my skin so even in Aesir form I cannot hide from what I truly am, a monster parents tell their children about at night. For breaking the Bifrost each bone in each finger was bent back till it snapped. I was whipped once more for trying to enslave the people of Midgard. They used knives to cut into me for each human I killed or even harmed. For using the Tesseract on mortal minds more bones were broken, snapped, splintered. I was starved, left in the dark till...they came back with the light to beat me. I was nearly blinded I don't know why they stopped. I am not even certain as to what those punishments were meant for. I must have forgotten something else I have done or perhaps they were bored and in need of something to do. I'm sure I deserve everything the guards of Asgard did. I was meant to die...as a babe, a child, teenager, adult. I've always meant…" He stopped talking before he could say something else he could regret later on.
Clint watched as Loki told him for the second time what had been done to him. He didn't feel bad. Loki had said it himself, he deserved what had happened. Yet Clint did feel something as he watched as Loki formed a list of pain that never seemed to end. Clint shook his head slowly and said, "Loki...you...If you want you can use your magic. Those bracelets are supposed to help limit it's use right? I mean if you were going to...I mean…"
With a nod Loki let his illusions fall back into place. "My thanks." He looked down at the bracelets which he would have been able to forget about if it hadn't felt like he was missing parts of himself because of them. They were a necessity to be allowed to stay on this realm but he was pretty sure he would submit to almost any torture if he would have them off for even an hour so he could feel like a full person again. He looked away before he could try and start thinking of ways out of them which would only lead him to more upset and pain. Loki looked around, sipped the last dregs of his tea, and sat down in a chair which was place in the corner of the room.
