The day was filled with bouts of screaming, sullen silences, and discontented grunts. No matter whether Loki was standing in his walker, sitting in his wheelchair or laying on the floor, he made his displeasure known.
Nothing worked to settle him. DVD cases were pushed away. Holograms were ignored. Jarvis recited Shakespeare, since Loki had shown particular interest in his cultured, British voice. This time, Loki yelled over the AI. He pounded his fist like a hammer, but swung at his brother when Thor approached.
"Maybe he's bored." Clint suggested.
Thor declared that they would journey to the park, making it sound like a valiant voyage rather than a stroll through the city. He settled Loki in his gait trainer, but Loki refused to walk. When Thor turned around again, the gait trainer was gone. Loki sat in his wheelchair, regally, waiting to be pushed.
Thor paid no attention to the reactions they received outside. Some people stopped and stared. Thor and his brother were princes on their realm, and Thor was a hero on this one. Other people glanced away quickly.
"Pay them no mind, brother." Thor said. Despite his status, Loki had been the recipient of more than a few unsavory looks on Asgard.
At the park, Loki settled onto the grass, crawling around and tugging at blades. He ventured toward a woman reading a novel on a blanket and snatched the book from her hands. The woman snatched it right back, to Loki's evident shock. He'd often gotten away with snatching things on Asgard, due to his status. Thor apologized for his brother and helped Loki into his chair, pushing him through the streets until they happened upon a bookshop.
Loki was enthralled with the shelves of leather books. The shopkeeper was less enamored with Loki's presence, wincing as Loki pulled books from the shelves and drooled or spat on their pages.
The shopkeeper was hesitant to tell the mighty Thor to vacate the premises. Perhaps it was because Tony Stark could buy the entire shop without blinking; Thor could as well, if Midgard accepted Asgardian currency.
"Maybe you should try board books," the shopkeeper gestured toward a section full of colorful, sturdy books for children.
Thor pushed Loki's chair toward the section but Loki threw himself into a heap on the floor. He snatched leather tomes, seemed to be searching for a book in particular. None of the ones in the store suited his needs.
Loki began to grunt, tugging his hair. The shelves shook ominously from his magic. Books toppled from the top. Thor tried book after book, without success, though Loki calmed once he found one that resembled one Mother had read to them centuries before.
"You mourn for Mother, as do I, brother." Thor stated. Loki writhed on the sea of fallen books, crushing pages and tearing others. Thor gathered his brother close as Loki sobbed.
Of course, Fury called an Avengers meeting. Tony was all set to skip, even arguing that he'd stay home with Loki, until he realized that meant he'd be in charge of Loki's care.
"I had robot arms remove my Iron Man suit," Tony shrugged, not mentioning it had been somewhat painful.
"I will not allow your clumsy machines to handle Loki," Thor glowered. Storm clouds began to form outside.
Steve insisted that Tony needed to attend, regardless. Thor would not hear of Loki being left alone in the tower, even under the ever-watchful cameras of Jarvis.
All in all, the only solution seemed to be to bring Loki aboard the helicarrier.
Loki was intensely interested in Fury, possibly due be his eyepatch and his dark, leather trench coat. Thor pushed Loki into the conference room without a second thought, but Fury was, well, furious at the idea of having an unclassified member attending the meeting.
Tony snorted. "We're still working on yes or no and I want fruit. He's not going to be spilling any super spy secrets."
As Tony spoke, Loki hauled himself onto the conference table and crawled across the surface to dive at Fury, burying his face into his coat.
Tony laughed so hard he could hardly catch his breath, though Fury's hand twitched near his holster. Thor settled Loki back in his seat, and Steve tried to distract him with some paper and a pen.
Loki threw himself under the table instead, leaving the others to their meeting, but he continued to be the subject of discussion. Judging by the vein throbbing in Fury's forehead, Loki was likely playing with the hem of his coat.
"He's got powers he can't control." Fury glared across the table. "One day, he's knocking some books off the shelves, but you Asgardians are strong. What will it be tomorrow? Leveling a store when he's upset?"
"My brother is not a menace." Thor growled.
"He's about to stab you with a pen, sir." Natasha told Coulson. Loki had seemed to materialize behind Coulson, swinging his pen around, close enough to practically draw on Coulson's suit coat.
"Loki has lived many of your lifetimes," Thor wrapped an arm protectively around Loki's shoulders. "It is true he causes chaos, but he has never once brought serious harm to anyone."
Fury looked skeptical. His eyes bored into Loki, clearly torn between wanting to see the powers for himself and never wanting to see Loki again. "How is it he knows magic, but you don't? He doesn't look like he knows much."
Loki dove toward Fury's coat again, fisting the leather.
Thor bustled Loki back to the tower, adamant that SHIELD would in no way study his brother.
"You are not dangerous." Thor assured Loki, who hadn't appeared to take any offense. Bruce mumbled that if SHIELD trusted him, there was no reason for them to be wary of Loki.
Thor's expression grew grave. "Even many of our people considered him a monster."
Natasha eyed Loki. "Even though he's a prince."
"Aye," Thor remained solemn. "Loki hails from Jotunheim, our enemy realm. They abandoned him for being a runt, and Father brought him home. He disguised Loki as an Asgardian, but some were unable to see past that."
Loki tugged Thor's cape, as he had Fury's coat. Thor smiled despite his tone. "He is my brother, no matter his blood."
Tony glanced between Thor and Loki, comparing their almost equal heights. "Don't tell me you're a runt, too."
"The Jotnar are Frost Giants," Thor explained. "Blue with horns and ice powers. Loki may look like us, but he remains different all the same."
After Bruce once again gave up trying to get Loki to meditate, he simply sat with Loki. It was rather relaxing, at least as long as Loki stayed out of trouble.
"So, you turn colors, too." Bruce murmured, fingering a green book. "What are your thoughts? Do you like it? Hate it? Do you lose control?"
Loki reached out to play with Bruce's blue yoga mat. Bruce was left wondering if that was his way of communicating blue, or if it was a coincidence.
Bruce began telling Loki about the glass cage that had been built for the Hulk, but Loki fell asleep in the middle. That was fair- Bruce had fallen asleep when Tony tried to use him as a therapist, too.
Thor smiled at the sight of his shield-brother bonding with his brother. He'd worried about Loki, worried how he'd be treated on a foreign realm when not even his royal position had ensured everyone held him in as high esteem as Thor himself did.
Midgard had been good for Thor, and he was glad to see it was aiding Loki as well. At dinner, as Clint helped Loki use a fork with his Lo Mein- Loki only waved the chopsticks like swords- Thor voiced his gratitude aloud.
"Well, you brought him to the right place," Clint shrugged, showing Loki how to flick small paper balls made from straw wrappers and stopping Loki from eating one. "We're all misfits, here."