Chapter 7: Bed
"It's time to wake up, Loki," said the ceiling's voice.
Loki woke up and so did Alex.
"Hey, it's morning."
There was a knock on the door followed by the entrance of Steve to deliver breakfast.
"One bowl each. Try to eat as much as you can. After, meet me in the living room."
Oatmeal and fruits, like yesterday. Though it was strange to have his master delivered his food. It should be the other way around.
oOo
"Ah, Loki is here. Sam, this is Loki, technically slave to all Avengers, and Alex, Loki's son. Loki, Alex, this is Sam Wilson, another Avenger, though newer than the ones you met back in the days," introduced Tony.
"And what does the alien who attack New York is supposed to do around here," asked Sam.
"We give him chores, everything we don't want to do. Loki, Steve wants you to clean the kitchen. So go retrieve your breakfast tray and then clean everything in the kitchen. I think there was something else, but I don't remember," ordered Tony. "Sam, how about we go to the lab to work on your wings?"
The two men left and Loki started to clean. When the kitchen was nearly finished, Steve entered with a few boxes.
"Ah, Loki, when you are done, please meet me in your room."
oOo
A short while later, Thor entered the kitchen.
"Slave, where is your master?"
Loki was surprised by Thor's entrance. He rapidly turned around and kneeled, looking at Alex to do the same.
"My master told me to meet him in my room when I'm done here, your majesty, given that I'm nearly done, he might be there."
"Great, finished at once."
Loki did his best to finish very fast and then followed Thor to his room, where Steve was indeed waiting.
"Captain, I have received news from my Father. I am expected back in Asgard, but I will come back from time to time if you need me. And to make sure you don't have problems with your slave."
"Oh, Thor, you said Alex needs to go complete training when he turns five. Is there a way to train him here?"
Loki went to kneel on the side of the room with Alex.
"The slave's training is specific, but there might be a way. Right now, Alex is your slave because he is your slave's child. They come together until Alex is five. But if Loki were to give you his child, or both of them, then you would have more authority on the youngs. But Asgard's laws said that the children need to be with their mother until they are five."
"It's just that I don't want to separated Loki from his children. Even five is young here. And by Midgardian's laws, they should be together until Alex is eighteen."
"I will talk to my father. Given they are slaves on Midgard, the laws can be different. But Alex is just three years old. There's no problem yet. For now, I must go. Farewell friend Rogers and I hope the slave won't give you too much problem."
Thor then went to the window and opened it. The crow just outside land on his arm and then Thor left the room. Steve then closed the window again. In the middle of the room, there were wooden slates of different sizes.
"Okay Loki, I have a task for you, here, in your room. And Alex will help you," said Steve just when Bruce entered the room.
"Steve, Loki. Did Tony tell you I was waiting for you in the infirmary? I want to see you each morning for your cream," said Bruce.
"Loki, did Tony tell you," asked Steve.
"No, he told me to clean the kitchen and I did. He said he might be forgetting something though," said Loki.
"Yeah, he forgot to tell you I was waiting for you. Okay, each morning after breakfast, no matter the orders you have, you come find me in the infirmary. If I'm not there, you ask Friday. Okay?"
"Yes master Banner."
"Great, Steve, can you give me a moment alone with them? Won't take more than two minutes."
Steve left the room.
"Okay Alex, take off your shirt."
Alex showed his bruise and Bruce applied the cream.
"There you go. Now, can you wait outside with Steve?"
Alex left the room, leaving Loki once again alone with Bruce.
"Loki, we will start with the top, but then, I will ask you to remove your pants, sit on the bed and spread your leg. Just… This is medical, okay. I'm just going to apply some cream between… There… You know what, how about you do it? I don't want you to use too much cream, so I'll supervise, but you can do it yourself."
It didn't take long and then Bruce left so Steve and Alex could reenter.
"Okay, the task I have for you is to make a bed. This is an Ikea bed, for either you or Alex," said Steve while looking at Alex, smiling. "So you won't have to share a bed, you will each have your own. But you need to assemble the bed. You have all the instruction here on how to do it. After, someone should deliver a mattress and some linen soon."
Steve was about to leave when he remembered something.
"Oh, and if you have too much trouble, either you don't understand the instructions or you need tools, ask Friday, she will direct you."
So Loki get to work. The instructions were simple drawings, easy to understand. Alex was good too, he would hand his father the different pieces.
"Daddy, would it be my bed or yours?"
"Do you want it?"
"I don't know. I'm not sure I want to be away from you. Master Steve said he wants me to have my training here, but I'm supposed to go back to Asgard."
"Alex, I would prefer if you could stay here, close to me. If we are both good for the masters, they might want you to do your training here."
"I have tried to be good, daddy. It's different here."
"Alex, just do what they are telling you to do. Now that Thor is gone, our masters will be more at ease."
"Daddy, why do we have to be slaves?"
"I told you, Alex."
"But why does it have to be so? Why do some people serve and others don't? Why is Thor not a slave? You said I would have a brother or a sister and it will be a slave like us. Thor said he was your brother."
"Alex, listen. Thor is not my brother. Never was. The Avengers, our masters, are his friends. Thor is a free man."
"But why are we slaves? Why us?"
"Because we are…"
Loki lower his head. How do you tell all this to a child?
"Alex, you know that sometimes, I get punished because I do something I shouldn't?"
"Yeah."
"Well, I did a bunch of things I shouldn't have. Then, it was decided as punishment, I should be a slave."
"Because you did some bad things?"
"Really bad things, Alex, things I cannot tell you yet."
"So why am I a slave?"
"Because you are my son."
"I don't want to be your son, I want to be free! I don't want to be a slave."
Alex was getting agitated now. He threw away whatever he was holding.
"I don't want to see you be hurt and I don't want to not eat and I don't want to have masters. I want to have fun. I want to be a free person."
Alex ran from the room.
"Alex!"
But he was gone and Loki still have the bed to make. His master didn't say he could leave the room, meaning he couldn't. And what Alex had said had hurt Loki. He said he didn't want Loki as a father. Since Loki found out his was with child, after the whole deny phase, he had been afraid that one day, the child would tell him exactly that.
oOo
In the living room, Clint had just come in and didn't know about the slave situation. The small boy just ran without looking and bumped into Clint.
"Hey," said Clint in a delicate voice. "Hey, why are you crying?"
"I don't want my father. I just want to be free."
"Okay, calm down. Want to sit here?"
"I shouldn't sit on the couch," said Alex.
"Well, you can, okay. Let's sit on the couch."
Clint sat down and took Alex with him.
"So, what's your name?"
"Alex."
"And what are you doing here? You mention your dad, who is he?"
"Loki."
"Loki?"
"Yes, my dad is Loki," said Alex.
"Friday, can you tell Wanda I have arrived? And maybe tell Tony or Cap there is a child here too."
"The child is telling the truth, sir. He is Loki's son."
"Okay, doesn't make sense. Hey, Alex, where are you from?"
"From Asgard."
Save by the bell, Steve just entered the room.
"Clint, good to see you. And I see you have met Alex," said the captain.
"Yeah, about that. He said he's Loki's son. Crazy, I know, since Loki is imprisoned on Asgard for what he did," said Clint.
"Well, about that. Loki was not to be imprisoned, but turned into a slave. And since two days ago, he is my slave, but he serves all the Avengers. And Alex is indeed his son."
"What? Is this a joke?"
Steve took Alex in his arms.
"Clint, please stay calm. It is not a joke."
"Daddy is a slave and so am I. I hate daddy for that. He did a bad thing and I am punished too," said Alex.
"What happen, Alex?"
"Daddy said we were both slaves because he is to be punished. But I don't want to be his son. I want to be allowed to have fun."
"Friday, is Loki still in his room?"
"Yes, Captain. The bed is nearly finished and mister Stark is at the front door with the linen, coming this way," said Friday in the ceiling.
"This is crazy, Cap."
"Clint, both Loki and Alex are slaves here. It is a shock for everyone. Sam arrived this morning and we had time to tell him."
"But Alex is just a kid. Did Loki had him before… Before New York?"
"No, Alex is only three. I'll take him back to his father and then I'll explain, or Tony will."
Tony was getting closer, holding a box of linen and clothes, followed by a robot holding a mattress.
"Cap, we just receive the stuff for Loki's room," said Tony. "Oh, hi Clint! Hey Alex."
"Tony," said Clint.
"Tony, do you prefer to tell Clint about our new addition, or would you prefer to deliver this stuff to Loki," asked Steve.
"Loki is yours."
Steve took the box and left with Alex in one arm and the box in the other. Thanks super serum.
"Okay Alex, let's go see Daddy."
"No! I don't want Daddy!"
"Why is this?"
"Because he's a slave."
"But he's your dad."
"I don't want to."
Tony approached
"Hey Alex. Do you want to stay with me and Clint?"
"Okay."
Clint approached and took Alex in his arms.
"So, you and your father are slaves," asked Clint.
"Yeah, he said he did a really really bad thing and have to be punished," said Alex.
"But you know your daddy loves you very much, don't you Alex," asked Tony.
"Then why am I a slave?"
"Sometimes, dads just don't have choice," said Clint.
"You know, the other night, when he asked for you to be in another room, it was because he wants you to safe," said Tony. "Loki loves you. I don't know your father very much, but I can tell you he loves you."
"Yesterday morning, with the doctor, I gave the wrong answer to master Steve and daddy then spoke and ask to take my punishment. Steve said he would let it pass, but daddy was ready to take the beating for me."
At that moment, Clint had a distinct look of disgust on his face.
"Tony?"
"You see, Alex, your father wants you to be safe because he loves you. And we told you that when daddy is punished, he goes to another room."
"In training, they would sometimes send him into another room and he was bleeding and hurt after."
"Did your father look hurt yesterday when he came back?"
"No. But he's also good at hiding it."
"Friday, can you show us the footage of when Loki was sent into the cage," said Tony.
On the TV screen, footage from yesterday appeared. Steve, Tony, Thor and Loki were at the cell, Loki on his knees. Then, Tony fast forward the video and Loki didn't move the entire time.
"See? Nothing happens to your dad while he was being punished. Here, we won't beat him," said Tony.
"Alex, you should talk to your dad. He surely wants to hug you," said Clint.
Alex then ran to his room.
"This is messed up. Loki as a slave, I get it. He did bad things and I'm not ready to see him, but I won't take my anger out on him. But a kid? He had Alex while in Asgard, right," said Clint.
"Yes. Rape most likely. And you should know Loki is pregnant."
"Wait, he's a guy."
"Well, he's both. So is Alex apparently."
oOo
While Alex was in the living room, Steve entered Loki's room.
"Loki. I see it's going well."
Loki, who was sitting on the ground, turned toward his master and get on his knees.
"Master, may I ask a question?"
"Yes, you can. I told you to ask Friday."
"My question is not about the bed."
"You still can ask. What is it?"
"Have you seen Alex? He ran out during a tantrum and because of the task at hand, I couldn't go after him. Is he okay?"
"Yes, Loki, Alex is okay. He is in the living room with Tony and Clint. Though he was crying when I arrived, but Clint was calming him. What happens?"
"Alex asked why he is a slave. I didn't want to tell him all the things I've done, he wouldn't understand. I think he needs time to adapt to the new place. Wanda made him play games for toddlers, which I wish I could have done on Asgard to educate him, and Alex had fun. But it is not a slave's place to have fun. Alex just needs time to adjust. Please master, don't be too hard on him."
"Loki, rules here are different. I won't beat you, never again. And we will be taking turn educate Alex like any other kids on Earth. Though, if you want him to learn about Asgard and other stuffs Asgardian kids learn at that age, you can, you have my permission if needed. However, Alex will not be a slave, though he can help you with small tasks. And he can have fun. You can have fun too, Loki. Like I told you, I expect you to work between eight and ten hours each day and you will have a list of tasks. But you do those tasks at the time you want. It's just that those tasks should take you between eight and ten hours each day. And you can move around certain areas of the compound between eight in the morning and eight in the evening. So it means you have free time. Do you understand the concept of free time, Loki?"
"Yes, master. I used to have that when I was a prince. But a slave should never be idle. It's just too strange not to have anything to do."
"In your free time, you are free to do as you want. You can have fun, or you can read. Do you like to read?"
"Very much, master."
"I asked Wanda and Vision to work on a reward system. We couldn't tell you as long as Thor was here because of his spy, but, basically, if you behave, you will earn rewards, privileges, gifts, that can be used or enjoy during your free time."
"A slave cannot have that, master."
"Loki, the Avengers and I, we have discussed your situation. We have decided you are not a slave. Someone pointed out you are a prisoner with a job, and without a real salary. The point is, you are a prisoner, kind of under house arrest. You stay here, do what we tell you, but you have a bit of leeway. It's not freedom, but you don't have to be miserable. Your sentence was more like a loss of freedom, to teach you respect. As long as you behave, as a prisoner, not a slave, we will treat you as someone who works here. If you misbehave, you will go to the cage, but that's as bad as it will get."
Loki just nodded.
"Loki, how did you feel when you were in the cell yesterday?"
"It was not too harsh, master."
"But more than that?"
"I missed Alex. I wanted to know what he was doing. I don't like being separated from him."
"Your punishment is just less free time and no contact. You can trust us to take care of Alex, but I am not putting a child into a cell. Loki, when Alex does something bad, do you punish him sometimes?"
"No. I talked to him. I sometime told him to face a corner for some time. Never much, though."
"Yeah, we call that time out. That's the same that will happen to you, in the cell. As for Alex, I won't punish him, he is your child."
"But you are our master. You have all the rights."
"Loki, I am giving you your right on your child and on your body."
"This is unexpected, master, I don't know how to thank you. And I still own you for the room, the two beds and the access to the bathroom."
"Loki, all of those are just bare necessities. You have the right to those. And now that Thor is gone, I want you to call me either Steve, Captain or Rogers. No more master, okay?"
"I... I... I can't do that, master, I have to call you master."
"How about mister?"
"I can try, mister."
"Okay, so what happens with Alex? You told him why he was a slave and he just left?"
"He said he doesn't want to be my son. He is a slave because he is my son. This is why I tried so hard not to have him when I was pregnant, and then the last time I tried to escape, I was planning on giving him to the first person I saw outside."
"You didn't want to get rid of him, just to give him a better life."
"Yes, but I never made it out of the training facilities. Don't get me wrong, I love Alex with all my life. He is my only family now and I would love him to be happy."
"Loki, you are a good father, I can see it. You try to keep him safe, asking to take his punishment."
"No, I am a horrible person, therefore I am a horrible father. And now he is a slave because I tried to conquer your planet. I am so sorry that my attempt at an attack lead my child to be a slave."
"You are not a bad person, you did some bad things, but you can do well. And you are good to Alex."
At that moment, Alex entered the room. At first, he was shy, but he ran straight to his father and snuggled close.
"Daddy, I love you," whispered Alex. "I love you."
Loki hugged Alex back and kiss his head.
"I love you too, Alex."
"I don't want to be a slave, but I want to stay with you," whispered Alex.
Loki looked at Steve to know if this was the proper behaviour for a slave, but Steve was just smiling genuinely at them.
"You are a good father, Loki," whispered Steve. "Friday, can you call Wanda and Vision to the living room, and everyone else who's free," said Steve louder. "Loki, take a few minutes to hug him, and then, you two meet me in the living room."
