A/N: Yay! New chapter! And not posted at two in the morning. It is a bit longer than usual and I think the story should be picking up speed in the next chapter or so. Thank you all so much for reviews, favs and follows!!
Disclaimer: No, I do not own it.
Oh, you tell me to hold on
Oh, you tell me to hold on
But innocence is gone
And what was right is wrong
'Cause I'm bleeding out
So if the last thing that I do
Is bring you down
I'll bleed out for you
-Imagine Dragons
-Bleeding Out
Loki resisted the urge to pick at his palm. With the skin as raw as it was, it would only cause it to bleed and the last thing he needed was Thor's concern. Yet he needed to do something. The silence was letting his thoughts wander into dangerous waters. He was fine. Physically. Mentally was another story. "You must be strong." Then am I not your mother? You're not.
"I'm sorry. I'm sorry. It was a lie! I didn't-"
"Shh. It's alright my boy. I know. I am sorry I didn't see it sooner. You have to be strong, Loki. Your brother needs you."
Magic had a better memory than the mind or body. That was why even though the pain had been moderate, his magic had retreated. Ebony knew this, Thanos knew this. we know his own mind is his worst enemy. They knew all they had to do was reignite the fear and his magic would release the Tesseract.
"Why do you keep running?"
"I beg your pardon?" Deflect. Deflect!
"Why did you leave the Statesmen? Do you know how worried I've-"
"Worried? You didn't seem worried the first time. You didn't seem worried when I attacked Earth for absolutely no reason. You didn't question it. You didn't question why I used an army when you know that I could easily take over using my magic. You didn't seem worried when you left me to rot in the dungeons. You didn't seem worried when you threatened to kill me. Twice in less than 10 minutes. You didn't seem worried when you left me on Svartalfheim. You didn't seem worried when I fell through nothingness for 30 minutes. You didn't seem worried when you left me writhing on Sakaar." Loki was standing, ranting while Thor looked as if he had been struck. Frigga is the only reason you are alive. Had Thor wanted him dead as well?
"I thought you were dead! I questioned your actions, my actions for years. Ever since you let go of the Bifrost, I questioned where I had gone wrong. I questioned what could possibly drive you to attack Earth the way you did! Even if I were allowed to the dungeons, would you have told me?"
"Because treason is something you have never committed."
"Stop avoiding the question."
"I don't know."
"I'm sorry, brother. I am. But you have to meet me halfway." The walls are too high, too solid to break down.
"Sometimes, you have to admit defeat."
"Surrender is not my nature."
"I know. It's why you get hurt." And a person can only take so much hurt. you cannot break someone who is already shattered. Sentiment only brings more pain.
"Out of the two of us, who seems to be in more pain?"
"As touching as this is, you should buckle up. We're entering the atmosphere." Loki sat in the copilot's seat next to Nebula with his back to Thor. He couldn't deal with this right now. Why do you keep running? Because I'm what Asgard always called me; a coward.
The trip to Earth's surface was bumpy. Though Loki suspected it was only going to get worse. The Avengers would not welcome him and he didn't want to share the truth. Yet he could think of no way to avoid it.
"When we arrive, let me do the talking. Do not defend me. Your friends have every right to be cross with me."
"But it wasn't your choice!"
"You are in good terms with Earth. Do not compromise that for me. Besides, I was always the better negotiator."
"And if they try to fight you? Loki, you are hardly battle ready at the moment."
"You will let them take me prisoner. Give them a sense of security that they can control me." It was at that moment that a red and gold suit flew up next to them. Tony Stark. Had Thor left Bruce in space?
"Is Bruce still with the Asgardians?" His brother hesitated.
"Yes. I left him in charge."
"Why him?"
"He was the only one I could trust." Dozens of questions sprang into his head at the remark. Had Heimdall done something to warrant Thor's distrust? Loki had never particularly liked the gatekeeper, but Heimdall had always been willing to help Thor. What was he missing?
"Thor, what is he doing here?" He had been wondering how long it would take Tony to hack into the pods communication systems.
"I am here to help."
"Uh huh. Right. Let me guess, you want to take over the planet and free us from freedom?"
"Oh no. I've had five years to do that. You see, I have been ruling you for the past half decade."
"Thor, Reindeer Games is joking, right?"
"I'm afraid my brother speaks truth."
"Okay. Just land the ship and have Loki come out unarmed."
"I don't exactly pose a threat at the moment."
"Yeah. We fell for that once. Just keep in mind that we beat you once, we can beat you again." I let you defeat me. Ironman fell away, Nebula maneuvering the pod to a field.
The trio walked out of the pod, Loki with his hands where they were seen. Ironman had his suit fired up and aimed at Loki, another man in a similar suit was next to him.
"Where are the other Avengers?"
"They didn't feel you were enough a threat to come to the party."
"Lying to the god of lies is not wise, but I'll go along with your little game. I assume SHIELD will be here soon?"
"Thor, what happened to our deal? I believe it was along the lines of Reindeer Games never returning. Also, didn't he die?" Loki was honestly surprised it took so long for Tony to ask.
"My brother sacrificed himself and may or may not have faked his death. It's still a little unclear."
"I did not fake my death."
"Look, as much as I'd love to hear all about it, SHIELD is gonna want to talk to you, so let's go."
"Natasha Romanoff will conduct the interrogation?"
"She's not SHIELD anymore."
"I beg your pardon?" After Thor had left for Earth, he had trusted the Avengers not to do anything rash. Besides, he had been a bit busy tracking the other Infinity stones. He really should have stayed current with the doings of his Midgardian team of heroes.
"Who's the Smurf? Both brothers and Nebula stared at Tony, silently asking him to elaborate.
"Smurfs. The little blue- You know what, never mind. Who is she?"
"A friend of my brother's."
"How about in terms of us. Is she going to try to take over the planet?"
"Uh. I'm not so sure."
"Why would I take over something as small and pathetic as Terra?"
"Hey! I'll have you know that we beat Charred Steak over here."
"Congratulations, you beat someone who was-"
"-Who was weakened from the Tesseract." Loki finished before Nebula could say anymore, sending a quick glare her way.
"We'll get the truth soon enough. It'll be just like old times. Except without Thor abducting you." It was then that Loki noticed the Quinjet a ways to the North.
It would be so much easier to lie. To let them believe he was the villain. The monster. To manipulate them into defeating Thanos. Yet he couldn't keep running. He was in a cage similar to that in which he had first met the Black Widow. Only smaller. She had dyed her hair blonde. Blonder than Thor's. It was not a good look. She's not SHIELD anymore. What could have possibly taken place over the course of six years?
The door slid open with a hiss, allowing her to enter his cage. She was nearly emotionless, her features schooled so that it was impassive. Except for her eyes. All of the Avengers had that unmistakable pain and loss hidden beneath the surface of their gaze. Perhaps if his magic hadn't retreated, Loki would've seen it coming. Without it,- her speed was impeccable. She grabbed his arm, turning it upsidedown so that the vein was exposed and plunged the needle of the syringe into it.
Just give it a second to start working. Pure ethanol. Truth serum." His tongue felt heavy and the blinding lights were blurring and doubling.
"What is your name?"
"Loki Friggason."
"Do you have any children?"
"No."
"When was the last time you were on Earth?"
"A few months or a few days. It really depends on how you look at it."
"Why were you here?"
"We were searching for Odin." I love you my sons. Why couldn't he just forgive the old fool?
"Why did you attack Earth?" A bit of hesitation.
"Withholding information or attempting to lie will only serve as a catalyst. Why did you attack Earth?"
"It was the best option."
"And what were your other options?"
"Having the Mind stone in complete control. Being tortured longer. Staying with him."
"Who is him?" He shook his head, yet the truth forced it's way out all the same.
"Thanos. The mad titan. Destroyer of worlds."
"Where is Thanos?"
"He's coming. He's coming for the Mind and Time stone."
"When will he be here?"
"It could be hours, or days. It doesn't matter, you won't beat him."
"Where did you get your current injuries?"
"He found me. I refused to give him the Tesseract. He broke me. Again."
"How did he do that?"
"He used the electric daggers first, stabbing one through my gut, both my legs and arms, connecting them to the electricity. When that didn't work, he sent me to the boiler, the heat alone made my magic retreat."
"Why are you here?"
"I am here because you will not believe me unless you interrogate me with your little truth serum."
"Why are you on Earth right now."
"To warn you about Thanos and prepare you for war. If he gets all six Infinity stones, then half of all life will disappear."
"You said we'd lose."
"With the Avengers gone, you will."
"What makes you believe the Avengers are gone."
"Tony Stark was the only one to apprehend me, you are not a part of SHIELD and you dyed your hair. Given that the color looks awful on you, it must have been out of desperation, meaning you are most likely in hiding. Before I brought you together, you nearly lost when I let you win. You will not beat Thanos if the Avengers are gone."
"Then why prepare us for a war that we will lose?"
"Because if you can't defend Earth, you will avenge it."
"Very well. Thank you for your cooperation. Given your anatomy, we are not sure if you have simply been faking the effects of ethanol, so Wanda will be here soon. The Black Widow turned, leaving him alone. Who was this Wanda? A woman walked through the door, ginger hair and clothes. Even without his magic, Loki could detect the powerful magic within her. Without warning, she was in his head. Loki was vaguely aware of collapsing to his knees as the memories took hold.
"I could have done it father! I could have done it! For you! For all of us!"
"No Loki." The words cut through his heart like a knife. He let go. He let go of the spear. He let go of trying to make Odin proud, let go of any ties to Asgard. He let go of the will to live. Who knew he'd want to take it all back?
There was pain day and night. All he knew was blinding pain. Yet he didn't react. He was a monster, he deserved it. The pain dulled every now and then as he approached death, yet he was always pulled back to the land of the living. If you could call the constant torture living. He wasn't sure how long it was, it could have been weeks or months or years, he didn't know, nor did he care. Thanos used the Mind stone on him. Or he tried to. His magic reacted, reaching out for the Mind stone and blocking it's power. It was as if he had come up for air after a long swim, everything came into focus. The pain increased tenfold, the screams, his screams were louder. The Mind stone overpowered his magic, nearly killing it. His magic retreated deep inside of him for protection. Thanos and his 'children' smiled gleefully in victory.
If he stayed any longer, the Mind stone would take complete control. The best thing to do was to attack Midgard, lose the Mind stone, bring the Space stone to Asgard and lose on purpose, bringing together a group of defenders for the planet.
Loki had done his research, there were six people he would bring together as a team. Everything would have to be executed perfectly for the plan to work. He would arrive, take the Tesseract, Selvig and Barton. Selvig would bring Thor and taking Barton would bring Romanoff. It would also slightly blind her so that she would not see the obvious signs of torture.Banner would come into the game since Infinity stones give off gamma radiation and Stark would come because Fury would be desperate and the Captain would come when Loki attacked Germany. Romanoff would interrogate him and he would tell her part of the plan. Barton would attack the ship, releasing the beast from Banner. Romanoff would release Barton from the Mind stones influence and Loki would proceed to open the portal from the Stark tower, angering Stark. Thor, the Captain and Stark would fight for supremacy, but in the end they would unite in the midst of crisis. He would be taken back to Asgard where Odin would execute him. All he had to do was make it personal.
"Your birthright was to die! Cast out onto a frozen rock. Had I not taken you in, you would now be here, now, to hate me."
"Frigga is the only reason you are alive and you will never see her again."
"Then am I not your mother?" He hesitated, forcing the lie out."You're not."
"I love you my sons."
"It hurts doesn't it. Being lied to. Being told you're one thing and learning it's all a fiction."
"I don't know, maybe there's still good in you, but let's be honest, our paths diverged a long time ago."She left his head, Loki was trembling, drawing in one shaky breath at a time. He swallowed, staring at the floor, trying to compose himself. Thor and Nebula were on either side of him, lightning flickering around Thor's fingers. Thor was angry. Self-consciously, Loki backed away.
The woman who had been in his head copied the action.
"Thor-"
"I told you to stay out of my brother's head." Thor's voice was low and menacing.
"We had to know if we could trust him." The Black Widow had snuck in and was next to the witch.
"Is my word not enough?"
"Thor, you've always had a soft spot for him and honestly you are gullible. How did we know that he wasn't lying to you?"
"So you interrogated him for no reason?"
"One can never be too careful." The lights were flickering.
"Thor. Brother, I'm fine. Just let it go."
"No."
"We can discuss this later. We need to prepare for Thanos."
"I'm going to shred the monster to pieces." When I grow up, I'll hunt the monsters down and slay them all! It was at that moment that the second-rate sorcerer decided to show up, worry and stress clear in his features.
"Where's Stark? We need to go to Wakanda. He's on his way."
A/N: Okay, so the ethanol being a truth serum, I got that from NCIS season seven episode one Truth or Consequences. I have no idea if it's accurate, I don't take credit for the idea. Also, the interrogation with Nat and Loki was interesting to write because in Avengers they were sort of playing a game with the double meanings. However, with the truth serum, I figure you have to be specific so that the other person answers the correct question. After I wrote that scene, I realized that without his magic Loki can't really resist Wanda breaking into his mind. I'm hoping for Loki to learn to love himself and not think himself a monster. Hopefully he'll learn his magic isn't all he is. Anyway, let me know what you think!