CHAPTER FIVE
"Is there something that you would like to share with the class?"
"Tony," Steve sounded exacerbated, "now is not the time."
Natasha ignored their bickering and took a few steps forward before crouching to Loki's frail frame which was bundled in a blanket on the floor where Steve had managed to get him sitting up. She had intended to be stern in her questioning but surprised even herself with her soft tone.
"Can you tell us what is going on?"
She didn't expect an answer right away. Loki seemed to still be somewhat in shock from his earlier episode. One of his hands was playing with the frayed edge of the blanket while the other was holding a water bottle that Bruce had gotten him. The rest of the Avengers stood silently behind Natasha watching.
Loki kept his gaze to the floor. "I didn't invade Midgard alone. I was…" He swallowed and tried again. "I was found when I fell from the bifrost and manipulated into doing another's bidding."
Natasha nodded. Most of the team was well aware of how Thor and Loki's last encounter before the invasion had gone down but there was still something he wasn't sharing.
Bruce stepped forward. "And then what happened?"
"I was tortured and mind controlled."
Loki, then, closed his eyes, placing his head into his hands. Natasha looked back at Bruce who gave her the slightest smile. They had been right all along. Thor looked as though he wanted to cry but seemed to be keeping his emotions under control. For the first time that day, Tony had nothing to say as he stood next to Steve who was frowning in silence.
"Look," Loki brought his head up, "I do not lie about these things to spite your team or your pathetic SHIELD organization, although it may be a consolation in all this." The god smirked but the expression was short lived. "No, I did not speak of these things because I did not want to bring his wrath or fury to Midgard. What I experienced in my time under his control is something I would never wish on anyone, including my enemies."
Loki gave an uneasy glance around the room. When no one spoke, he continued. "I hoped that my silence and complacency in my own death would satisfy him and in turn, he would disband his plans to attack." Loki groaned and dug the heels of his hands into his eyes. "But now he knows that you have discovered his true identity, through me, none the less. You now know that the villain of our battle was not myself and it doesn't matter what I say of do now— he's coming."
Tony stepped forward. "Who is coming?"
A voice rang out. "Thanos."
All heads turned towards Clint who had been leaning silently against the far back wall of the room. He hadn't spoken much since the incident earlier but his voice was clear as he walked closer to the group.
He looked Loki in the eye. "That is his name, right?"
"How do you even know of such a name?" Thor asked.
"I heard it," Clint replied, "when whatever happened to us… happened. I saw his face, Thanos' face, right in front of me. It was like a fever dream where I saw millions of Chitauri armies, I heard someone speak his name, and then…" Clint took a deep breath and rushed through the last part. "...and then the voice ordered to kill Loki. When Thanos snapped his fingers, I was woken from the trance and I knew we had to wake Loki up."
Everyone stood in silence. Natasha walked over to Clint, placing a hand on his shoulder. The archer shrugged it off and returned to his spot against the wall. Thor knelt down to Loki, careful to keep some distance between them.
"Thanos, brother?"
Loki's eyes narrowed. "I am in no need of your pity."
Thor ignored the comment and kept his gaze steady. Loki's features softened as he let himself sigh in defeat, "Yes, Thanos."
"What did he do?" Steve's asked, barely above a whisper.
Loki let out a sad laugh. "Many things that would give anyone nightmares."
"So that's why you never slept." Bruce's gaze was locked on Loki. "And the drastic shifts in body temperature were part of this as well?"
The god looked concerned, turning to Thor. "Were you spying on me this whole time?"
Thor shook his head as Bruce explained, "At some point, we realized something was off so I started keeping tabs on you."
Loki looked skeptical for a moment before answering. "The answer to your original question, doctor, is simple. How do you torture a frost giant? You put them under intense heat."
Bruce's eyes grew as he was hit with a realization. The spikes in heat signatures, the profusive sweating were all side affects of his mental torture. He turned to Agent Sitwell who was lingering by the door. "I need ice immediately." As Sitwell went running out of the room, Bruce walked to Loki, reaching for the blanket. "I'm an idiot."
A smirk tugged at the corner of Loki's mouth. "In any other circumstance I would agree. Though, if you don't mind, I would like to keep this." Bruce, ignoring the insult, nodded but was quick to place bags of ice on Loki's arms and legs when Sitwell returned.
"Wait a minute." Tony walked forward, more so addressing Bruce than anyone else. "So, if we're on the same page here, every time his body temperature peaked in this cell he was being—"
"Tortured." Bruce was still looking at Loki. "And he never showed it."
"It was never as excruciating before but…" Loki nodded, "Yes. I was."
In the silence that followed, Tony let out a small "damn," speaking on behalf of all of them. Everyone had joined Bruce in staring at the man they had battled, which felt like so long ago now, as he sat vulnerable on the floor. Loki, visibly put off by the sudden attention, steeled his face and turned to look at the empty wall next to him.
Natasha turned to face the team. "What do we do?"
Steve stepped forward, assuming his role as captain. "First, we clear Loki's name. Then, we figure out the best way to defend the Earth from what is to come."
He turned to the group. "Natasha and Bruce, I need you to get Fury to review all the facts, including the footage from this cell, to get him to agree to Loki's freedom. Clint and I are going to be sending out messages to the members of the jury in the meantime."
Clint looked confused. "How are we going to do that? We don't have access to communicate with the higher officials on a mission above our clearance ."
"Well," Steve smiled, "we will just have to find a way." Which the team knew was code for Steve was planning on doing something reckless.
"That sounds illegal." Clint returned the smile, "I'm in."
"There will be no need for that." Fury was standing in the door frame with Maria Hill all but a step behind him. The whole room seemed to stand up a bit straighter. "I've already alerted the UN and the jury that there will need to be some serious reconsideration over Loki's case." He turned to Clint. "How are you holding up?"
Clint shrugged. "I've been better."
"How did you know about what happened?" Natasha asked.
"Erik Selvig was in his lab when he collapsed to the floor suddenly," Maria answered. "We found three other agents in similar predicaments in this facility, as well."
"The only thing linking them together? The fact that they had all been brain washed by this one." Fury pointed to Loki who seemed to sink deeper into his blanket.
"Is Selvig okay?" Thor asked, clearly worried.
"He's got minor bruises but he will be fine." Fury assured him. "He does keep repeating this word that means nothing to us, though."
"I'm guessing it's 'Thanos,' right?" Clint interrupted.
Fury nodded. "I'm assuming you got the same message, too."
"He's, apparently, a…" The sentence lost its momentum as Tony, in another first for the day, turned to Loki for help. "What exactly is he?"
Loki looked around uneasily as everyone's eyes turned on him. Tony nodded towards him to prompt him. Loki spoke quietly but with confidence. "Thanos is an Eternal born on Saturn's moon, Titan. He has strength that remains unmatched across the galaxy and his pacifist ideals are achieved through what he deems to be necessary genocide."
"I'm starting to miss the ice more and more each day." Steve had said it under his breath but Tony couldn't help but choke down a laugh. Natasha sent them both a terrifying warning glare that shut them both up.
Fury glared at Loki. "And how do you know so much? Maybe you're still being mind controlled—"
Thor stood up, outraged. "He knows of what he speaks! You would do best to listen to him." Loki placed a hand on Thor's arm, taking everyone by surprise. Thor immediately backed down and helped his brother to his feet. Although he continued to grip to Thor's arm for balance, Loki stood his ground as he addressed the room.
"You have no reason to believe me, but believe this. Thanos sent me to Earth to grab what he calls infinity stones. I was only shown two but I believe there to be six and with it, he can destroy any planet he desires in the universe. The staff you posses, I believe, is one as is the tesseract." He turned to Fury, "Do with me as you will but, you cannot let him take over this planet. My suffering is nothing compared to what Thanos is capable of doing."
Fury took in the information. The silence seemed to go on for some time before he turned and faced the Avengers.
"Well, what are you waiting for? You heard the maniac, we have an Earth to defend."
Steve nodded to Fury before resuming his role. "Widow, Tony, and Banner, go with Fury to assist the legal team on Loki's case. I'm sure we're going to need a lot of evidence."
"Ay, yay Captain!" Tony saluted, prompting Steve to roll his eyes. Bruce nodded and the two of them with Fury headed out of the room. Natasha followed suit but not before giving Clint's shoulder a quick squeeze.
"Clint, I need surveillance on the planets atmosphere. We need to know when Thanos is coming before he hits the ground."
The archer nodded. He seemed hesitant to leave as he turned back to look at Loki. When Loki turned to see who was staring at him, Clint sharply turned to leave, tapping both Maria Hill and Sitwell to follow him.
Thor approached Steve. "I will send Heimdall a message warning him of the dangers that may befall the nine realms."
Steve nodded. "Thank you. Meanwhile, you and I are—"
"If it is all right by you," Thor interrupted, "I would like to be here with my brother. I know he is… well, not well liked by our team and so I volunteer to keep watch on him."
"I thought you found him to be a good man." Steve pointed out.
"Good but difficult." Thor clarified.
Steve could see over Thor's shoulder that Loki looked appalled at the idea which prompted him to say, "Yes, of course. We'll keep you updated on everything as we get information."
Thor smiled in appreciation. As Steve was leaving the room, he swore he could hear Loki say, "I hate you," followed by Thor's laughter.
Steve smiled because Tony was right. Loki had tried to kill them before and, yes he was innocent, but something had to be done. However, there was nothing wrong with killing him with a little bit of brotherly kindness.
At least not in Steve's book.
