Chapter 4: Test Number Two
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*Long authors note but important.
A/N: Finally got this done after all this time. Sorry for the wait guys. It's been one hell of a few months. HUGE things have been happening for me at both work and home (and note this pandemic mess). All these chapters are half-written. It was just getting around to finishing and editing them that took so long.
Anyways, my apologies again. I'll try to not let that happen in the future.
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A/N: Since there were sooo many responses to the last chapter. I thought I'd update this story again before updating another.
So, I got some great feedback for the last chapter. I'm very grateful for that because those are some big plot-holes that are not discussed and/or just skimmed over.
Anyway, I updated some chapters a little with more information, but I'll also just put a little blurb here too in this section to answer some of those questions so you don't have to re-read the story (I mean unless you want to…)
Loki's bands on his wrists and ankles block his magic. They are made with indestructible Uru metal and can set off a small shock for attempting to cast spells. The cuffs do drain his strength and endurance slightly. That being said, his overall Jotunn durability is unaffected. He still can take a punch… he's not great at punching back.
Because of his magic being blocked, he cannot control the Tesseract. Therefore, if he doesn't get the cuffs removed, stealing the cube would be pointless.
In Chapter 2, I fixed a few lines said by Thor and JARVIS. I agreed with the reviews that some of their dialogs were OOC.
Thanks so much for all your feedback guys.
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It was almost 9 am, Loki was awake… but still in bed. Another round of nightmares at 2 am was to blame. Besides, he had no motivation to get up. Loki would just repeat the process he does every day: wake, bathe, eat, read, eat, so on and so on, and repeat. For doing nothing, each day was increasingly tiring. Yesterday didn't help. Loki still felt odd from that test. The feeling it left was like his insides got rearranged. It was a miracle he didn't throw up. Worst of all, Loki knew he was going to have to do it again today— definitely not looking forward to that.
On cue, the rooms metal door unlocks and slides open. Even facing the other wall, Loki immediately recognizes it's Thor. The stomping of his boots was very distinct to him.
"Good morning, brother!" Thor beamed, "I brought you what the humans call 'oatmeal'. It is very similar to the porridge we have at home."
Thor set a tray on the table and started to set up the plates. Thankfully, he didn't have to make the food this time. He's been getting lucky so far that no one has noticed him sneaking his brother better food than those TV dinners. That and JARVIS seemed to just not care as well.
Loki sighed and mumbled something into the pillows but refused to get up. He wasn't up to dealing with Thor's cheery attitude today. In fact, he wasn't up to anything... especially going down to the lab.
"Brother," Thor frowned approaching the bed when he saw Loki not moving, "It's time to rise."
His younger brother muttered something under his breath and pulled the sheets over his head. Not appreciating Loki's grumpy mood, Thor stood at the side of the large bed and gripped the edge of the sheets. With one swift pull, he yanked the covers off the bed. Loki let off a frustrated groan as he was curled tightly in a ball in the middle of the bed. The rush of cold air sent a shiver down his exposed skin. Only in a pair of undergarments, Loki immediately grew too self-conscious to stay there.
Before Loki could move, Thor reached over and grabbed his brother's arm that was tucked in close to his chest. He tugged on it to uncurl Loki from his huddled position.
"I said, 'it's time to get up'," he repeated and dragged Loki to the side of the bed.
Loki finally reacted and rolled over. He pulled back, "Okay, okay! Fine!"
Thor let go of Loki's arm, making his brother end up falling back and sprawl out on the bed. He sat up and composed himself, not appreciating Thor's tactics. Loki let off a huff of frustration and slid off the bed. He made zero eye-contact with Thor as he walked to his dresser. Grabbing a new set of clothes, Loki went to stand at the door to the bathroom. Only then, did Loki glare over at his brother.
Understanding his brother's demands, Thor allowed him to go into the bathroom. He knew Loki would take a while, so he headed back to the table to sit and wait. The blonde busied himself on sipping his coffee and staring at the cover of one of the many books Loki had stacked in his room.
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After a long half an hour, Loki emerged from the bathroom. Thor could tell he had showered by the looks of his brother's dampened hair. He had dressed himself in a long-sleeved, forest green tunic with dark grey leggings. It was very similar to the ones that got destroyed yesterday. His fashion choices were very limited now.
Thor has still yet to know about the events yesterday. Loki knew the questions will pop up soon. So, he didn't say anything as he eyed his brother sitting at the table. Only letting out a sigh, he knew he eventually had to join Thor. Instead of pushing it off, he took the seat across from him.
Thor smiled, "Good morning, again."
His younger brother just responded by putting his elbow on the table and resting his cheek on his open palm.
Rolling his eyes, Thor served him a bowl of the oatmeal. It was piled high with berries and brown sugar. He even added a side of toast and orange juice to the meal in front of him. Clearly, he was sending a message for Loki to eat more.
When both meals were served, there was a silence as Thor started eating. Loki just frowned stared at the dish. He usually would just pick at the food, but he hasn't eaten since breakfast yesterday. Being too hungry, he pushed aside his stubbornness and just ate. It was disgustingly sweet and too lumpy for good liking, but he choked down as much as he could anyway.
They kept to themselves for the longest time before Thor finally spoke up.
"So, you never told me about yesterday. How did it go?"
Loki put down his spoon and mentally sighed. He knew this question was coming sooner or later. He had to make sure he worded his answers correctly.
"Pointless," he stated, "Those mortals barely had me do anything."
"It must have been more than that," Thor said, "When I returned last night, you were already out cold before eight."
Loki, feeling offended, raised a brow, "You came into my chambers?"
"I came to bring you your dinner. I didn't want to wake you since you did not stir to me as I greeted you," he explained.
Loki ignored him and just muttered something under his breath about his lack of privacy. He picked to his utensil again and absentmindedly stirred the oatmeal.
"Well Loki, I'll have you know that Stark said you did help them yesterday," Thor continued, "You may think what you did was nothing, but the others say otherwise."
"You don't say…"
"Indeed! And they would like to see you again today to pick up where you left off."
Loki didn't know how to feel about that. To pick up where they left off? Did they finish their repairs and now hope to test it on him again? What if it went wrong again? His faith in the mortals' intelligence to harness such a powerful weapon was nonexistent at most.
"Anyways, Jane is still in town till the end of the day and asked me to join her before she heads off," Thor looked softly at his brother, "Would it be alright if I went while you work with the others?"
Loki was a little shocked by Thor's question. Why did he feel like he needed all his permission to go out with that woman? Is there something he wasn't telling him?
"Why ask me such a question?" Loki asked skeptically while staring at him under lowered brows.
Thor's eyes started to show more concern. He remembered when his brother asked on the elevator if he was staying or not. It was so out of character of him. Although, ever since the Chitauri incident, Loki did always seem more on edge. But this type of anxiety was still odd. Thought the whole time he was with Jane yesterday. The guilt ate him up. He was distracted by the memory of his brother's face when he left him in the lab. That one expression he made, be it only lasted less than a second- that look of fear.
"Last time I left you with them, you seemed… frightened that I was leaving."
Loki scoffed, "I wasn't frightened! I just didn't want to be stuck there with your mortal friends for the remainder of the day."
Whether it was a half-lie or not, Loki didn't want to share his personal feelings about all of this. He was convinced Thor's priorities weren't about him, but his mortals. Thor was no better than Odin, always choosing favorites.
"I see," Thor looked off in the distance as he processed Loki's response, "I just wanted to make sure…"
Loki rolled his eyes. His brother was as clueless as ever. With knowing his brother's true priorities, Loki knew he was on his own with this. It was inevitable. He was going to have to go down to that lab and be a test subject yet again. There was nothing he could do to stop it. The hope that maybe his half-baked plan would work is the only thing that is keeping his motivation going.
Standing up in his chair, Loki looked down at his brother at the table. He noted Thor's expression. Even though he couldn't exactly tell what the thunder god was thinking, Loki could tell he looked deep in thought.
"You will hurt that thick skull of yours trying to think so hard," Loki frowned and held up his arms to signify Thor to put on the chains, "Let's get this over with."
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It wasn't long before the brothers appeared in the lab entrance. Like before, Loki was in the binds as he stood next to his big brother. Thor's arm was protectively wrapped around his sibling's shoulders. It made Loki look so small, so weak. Loki did not appreciate that at all but didn't want to show any hostility while near the mortals. He didn't want to forfeit his only chance at freedom.
The dragging of his chains alerted the Avengers of their arrival. It was only Tony and Bruce in the lab at the moment. That caused Loki some concern about why their, so-called, "muscle" wasn't with them.
"Welcome back, Rudolph," Tony stopped what he was doing and wiped his greasy hands on a nearby rag, "Shall we dive right into it then?"
Stark actually looked kind of excited. Loki knew he was excited to test the machine and not of his presence. The god was just a tool to him after all.
Loki made no attempts at the response. He turned to glare at Thor to signify him to leave. Thor, still oddly quiet, looked down at his sibling. Loki could see a rather hurt expression on his face. Thor still obliged to Loki's demand and pulled his arm off his shoulders slowly.
"I will see you tonight then, brother," Thor said somberly before turning to face his teammates, "Please contact me if he needs anything."
Loki let out an annoyed huff. Oh, NOW he cares!
Bruce noticed both the brother's odd behaviors. He assumed something happened before they came down here; probably another argument. Sometimes he can hear them screaming at each other from down the halls. How those two haven't killed each other yet was beyond him.
Before Banner could assure Thor of his concerns, Stark jumped in.
"Don't worry, blondie!" Tony smiled confidently and patted Bruce on the back, "We'll watch over your baby brother here while you enjoy your hot date!"
A tinge off pink peeked out from behind Thor's blonde beard. Whether it be from embarrassment or anger, the god nodded and awkwardly bid his brother goodbye. After he left the room now was left in uncomfortable silence.
Tony wasted no time getting started.
"I'll bring you up to date on what Bruce and I have been working on," he said, "So, obviously, last time wasn't so great..."
Loki suppressed the urge to roll his eyes. Oh, yes… 'great".
"But, with a lot of brains… and caffeine, I think we got something!" Tony continued on and walked over to this device on the platform next to the machine.
"First of all, I realized holding the Tesseract in the case made it hard for you to move around and grab stuff… so, we were able to construct this platform instead. It was already planned out with schematics and half-built, but we scrapped it since we thought the sphere-thing idea was better. Whelp, guess not!"
Tony gave a thumbs-up at Bruce by the control panel. With the flip of a few switches, Bruce fired up the machine with the same amount of obnoxious noise. Again, the bright, blue light returned to fill the room. The only difference to it all was the platform— which also had the same blue light.
Loki leaned forward to get a look at the new addition. The edge of the platform was metal, but the center was a glass that had the light escaping out of. Upon further inspection, the center of the blue core was square.
The Tesseract. Loki whispered to himself.
"Now," Tony continued as he leaned casually against the table holding the machine, "Second, we tweaked some of finer details so, hopefully now, Lokes here will pop out in the right time and place."
The god frowned. Hopefully…
Calling over to Bruce, Tony signifies to project out the control panel. The holograms popped up with numbers and blueprints of the device's structure.
"Let's cut to the chase! Shall we!" Stark eagerly motioned Loki to stand on the platform.
Loki was hesitant but moved forward. His leg chains scraped along the floor and onto the staging area. Trying to keep an impassive face the entire time, but Loki's stomach could help but to churn with anxiety.
If I can survive being thrown around space once... I'm sure I can do it again. He reassured himself.
Before they signaled to start, Rogers came running in. He looked like he came from the gym upstairs by the looks of his sweatpants and a sleeveless shirt.
"I heard the machine upstairs," he panted, "You said we weren't starting until noon."
Loki sneered. Guess the Captain was supposed to be here after all.
"Sorry bout that, Cap," Tony rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, "The Mario Brothers came sooner than expected."
Steve sighed. Then, he realized that Loki was here. The god was so quiet that he didn't immediately realize when he ran in. Loki just eyed him back inquisitively. Steve noticed he looked a lot better than he did yesterday. The god had new clothes on that weren't tattered and his hair was in its normal slicked-back look.
The Captain shook his head clear. Why did he care how Loki looked? He's a criminal. Why does he feel guilty about last night? The god seemed fine. Thor never suspected anything about the incident. Then why did in the pit of his stomach feel off-put about doing this? He was pulled from his thoughts by Tony calling out.
"Starting up again!"
The machines gears turned louder as the power was cranked up.
"Now remember, Rudolph," Tony had to yell over the noise, "Just grab the pear and stay put!"
The god didn't say anything, but the deepening scowled let them know he understood his mission.
Then, with a burst of blue light and a loud bang, Loki was gone.
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After a dizzying ride, Loki felt his feet land on the floor. He waited for the nausea to subside before opening his eyes. He was standing in the middle penthouse. In the far corner of the massive room was the kitchen. It all looked normal. The only off-putting thing was the way the edges of the room had an odd white glow. It was almost as if he were to walk out of the room, he would fall into a white void of space. Loki new how voids in space felt… he'd rather avoid it.
A bowl of fruit sat on the kitchen counter. In the bowl, was the pear. But, just then, blue lights started to spark around him. Loki realized that meager seconds he took to recover from being transported ate up his time. He knew he now had only seconds to get over there to grab the pear.
Loki was so focused on making it in time, he started to sprint. It was a bad move as the chains around his feet didn't reach the length of his gait. Loki let out an audible gasp as the chains pulled taught and he fell forward. At that moment, the blue light around him increased. He then felt the familiar feeling of being squeezed through a tight tube.
He was being transported back.
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"He should be returning within the second," Bruce stated, staring at his watch.
On cue, a glowing portal appeared above the platform. A second later, Loki came falling out. He skidded past the platform and landed in a crumpled heap a few feet away. The god only let out a soft moan on the impact, his eyes squeezed shut from the overall pain of the transportation and landing.
Bruce and Steve immediately rushed over to the fallen god. Too afraid to touch him, they just came close and looked him over for any major injuries.
Loki just waited for the worst of the pain to pass before pushing himself to his hands and knees. He blinked his eyes slowly open and looked around, temporarily confused.
Back in the lab?
Gritting his teeth to hide his pain, Loki stood up as gracefully as he could with the chains on. He noticed the mortal's expressions. Banner and Rogers looked just plain shocked to see him appear just like that. Stark, however, showed no hint of concern.
Tony just stared at him with his arms crossed, "Did you grab the pear?"
At that moment, Loki snapped. He's been thrown around twice now trying to help these stupid humans. He was tired of it. Now they have the gall to ask him where their stupid fruit was?
"No, I did not! You overshot the landing! Now you expect me to be able to sprint across the room to the table in a matter of seconds?! All while bound in these ridiculous chains, might I add!"
"Whoa, whoa! Calm down!" Tony put his hands up defensively, "At last, you made it at the intended location this time."
Still flaring his nostrils at the man, Loki took a breath to calm down. He knew getting mad would only make things worse.
"Don't worry," Bruce said. He was relieved to see the god returned relatively unharmed. Not that he cared though. He thinks… "We'll figure out something."
At that second, Loki had an idea.
"If you want to guarantee I can get to it," Loki paused to hold to his wrists, the chains jingled, "You should remove my binds."
"Not going to happen!" Steve jumped in. There was no way he'd allow the god to be unrestrained.
"Then how do you expect me to reach the item without falling again?" Loki countered.
"Gotta admit he has a point."
Steve whipped around to hearing Tony's comment, "Are you seriously considering freeing him?"
"We're technically not going to remove it," Bruce comes in and explained, "We'd just take off the chains. The cuffs will stay attached so he can't use his magic."
What's this? Loki smiled to himself. Am I sensing a little hint of trust?
Rogers pursed his lips and looked at his teammates in concern. Then, turning to the god, he thought through his options. He came to realize he had no other options. Loki could very well attack them upon being unchained. But then he remembered the god was also drained some of his strength by the cuffs. They've had to wrestle with him before on occasion. It wasn't an easy fight, but each time he could still overpower Loki after a while.
"Fine," Steve agreed reluctantly before looking at Loki, "But know you are being watched carefully."
Loki gave a mischievous smile, "So little faith in me, Captain? I am truly hurt."
Rogers grit his teeth and approached the god. Both Bruce and Tony just looked on anxiously. Loki, however, just gave a small smile and held out his arms. Steve hoped his friends were watching Loki carefully as he undid his wrists and bent down to do his ankles.
Loki never made any attempts to escape or attack. He waited patiently for the human to remove the chains and stand up.
Now, with that aside, they could continue.
"Alright," Bruce said, he walked over back to the control panel and typed a few things, "Let's see if changing these numbers will send you closer to the table."
They set things up and Loki stood back on the platform. Even with the semi-freedom off the chains off Loki was still nervous. Each time he transported left him feeling ill. His stomach hasn't even recovered from last time.
Before he knew it, the machine started up again and he was gone within the second.
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Loki appeared again in the room. As soon as his feet landed on the ground, his legs buckled. Landing on his hands and knees, a burst of pain filled his body.
This can't be good. Loki winced.
Trying to ignore the pain for a moment, Loki looked at his surroundings. At least he was sent closer to there location. He landed about ten feet from the table. Everything else looked the same. The edges of the room still had that odd fuzzy, white border and the table still had the bowl of fruit.
Loki wasted no time; he knew he had none. He gripped a countertop right next to him to help hoist himself up. He couldn't tell if he was going to pass out, throw up, or both. The motion to stand up proved too painful. Loki couldn't help but cry out and slump back to the floor. Stretching out his stomach hurt too much. It felt immensely better to stay wrapped in a tight ball.
What did they do to me?
The sparks started up again. He already was running out of time. Loki had to make the decision to either stay still and accept it or push past the pain and run. Not being one to accept defeat, the god chose the latter. Loki didn't have far to go. All he had to do was stand up, walk a few feet, and grab the pear.
Simple. He thought.
He took a deep breath and grabbed the counter again. Bracing himself, Loki hoisted his body up again. As he stood up, it was as though his organs stretched with him. Loki bit back a cry and only allowed a whimper to escape instead. He decided it was less painful to stay hunched over as he walked rather than up straight. His hand slid along the counter, supporting a lot of his weight. As the bile rose in his throat, he had to swallow it back.
I need to get that damn fruit! Without it, they will lose their trust in me. Then I'll never get out of this Hel hole.
Loki's knees shook dangerously, threatening to buckle again. His slow, unsteady gait wasn't fast enough. The portal sparks grew too strong and started to obscure his vision. Slowly, Loki couldn't see the pear anymore. At that point, he knew he wasn't going to make it in time.
The room spun as the portal dragged him back.
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The air where Loki was sparked and swirled blue. The lights vanished revealing Loki exactly where he disappeared. His clothes were still intact and not torn up— that was a good sign. The only thing they noticed was that the god immediately stumbled off the platform and to catch himself on the desk next to him before he fell. None could see Loki's head as bowed down, his hair shrouding his face from their view. He took long, shaky breaths as if he just ran a marathon.
"Did you seriously not get the pear again?!" Tony yelled at him from afar. He could see the god's hands were empty.
Loki barely looked up to acknowledge him. His green eyes flickered over at him through his raven hair. The first thing the mortal asks is about the damn fruit, not the fact he almost just face-planted on the floor.
Suddenly, the god appeared to have a shooting pain go up his body. His hand immediately came up to clutch his stomach. Loki inhaled sharply and let off a small hiss. It was the same pain he had before— only this time it was worse.
Bruce noticed Loki looked a few shades whiter than his usual pale complexion. The more he stood watching, the more he saw Loki squeeze his stomach harder. His other hand seemed to desperately grip the edge of the countertop as if he were to collapse if he were to let go.
Loki's body wracked with another tremor. This time, a more audible groan came from the god. Before Bruce could examine him from afar any further, Loki moved his free hand from his stomach to cover his face. He lurched forward before losing grip of the counter and falling to his knees. The fall caused the Avengers to jump in surprise. Loki threw out his hand and caught himself before hitting his face on the floor. He was now in an awkward seated position, his legs splayed out behind him. Loki screwed his eyes shut and kept his hand plastered over his face as another wave of pain came on.
"Loki… are you okay?" Bruce felt oddly conflicted as he stood there watching his enemy deal with this unknown pain. It was completely out of character for the god. The way Loki's shoulders sagged over and his shaky hand over his face. His Adam's apple bobbed up and down like he kept trying to swallow down something. It wasn't until the doctor noticed how Loki's skin started to match his green eyes when the realization finally washed over him. He knew what was about to happen next, and unless he wanted to be mopping the floor in the next few minutes, he needed to act fast.
"Somebody get a trash can," Bruce yelled as he turned to face the other Avengers. He could already hear Loki start gagging.
Steve was on it quickly and dashed to grab the wastebasket nearby. He skidded back over and slid it under Loki's hunched form. The god grabbed the edge of the container with both hands as support but kept gagging. He tried to hold it back. He didn't want to vomit, especially not in the presence of these humans. The bile shot up his throat faster than he could quell it back down. The pain caused him to heave forward and, unfortunately with that, expel his breakfast loudly into the trash.
Bruce stepped forward a little to check on him. He was still taken back by how he reappeared, still in one piece, only to then become so violently ill.
Loki's vomiting stopped, but he still leaned over the trash, breathing heavily. His long, black hair covered his face, making it hard for Bruce to see if he's alright. He made the decision to continue his approach.
"Loki, are you—"
Bruce was cut off by Loki starting to retch again. He winced and stood back as he threw up yet another time. The god's whole body was shaking uncontrollably with each heave, pained moans escaped in-between ragged breaths.
No one said anything for the longest time. They all had the same shocked expression to see the— usually poised— god draped over the trash puking his guts out.
Once Loki's body expelled everything that it could, it didn't stop; he continued to dry heave, painfully.
Bruce snapped out of his trance. Not saying anything, he quickly dashed over to the medicine cabinet in the far corner. He opened it and grabbed a bottle of Pepto Bismol. He remembered putting it in here when Tony complained of heartburn all the time while working in his lab. Bruce tried to explain to the inventor that a healthy diet of pizza was probably the culprit. Tony, of course, disagreed. So, this was all he could offer.
He poured out some of the pink liquid into the lid cap and walked over to the god, who was trying to suppress any more dry heaves. Loki's arms were resting on the edge of the trash can while his forehead was pressed against one arm. He lazily spat into the trash any residing bile in his mouth.
"Here, drink this," Bruce held out the cap of medicine, "This will help your stomach."
Loki tried to get his breathing under control before responding. He finally picked his head up from his crouched position over the trash can. The god's face was a sweaty mess. His long hair plastered to his pale skin. It was a miracle his hair didn't get any vomit in it.
It took a second for Loki's head to clear enough and register what just happened. It was then Loki shot up quickly to compose himself, but immediately started to stumble. Steve quickly rushed over, not thinking, and grabbed his arm to help stabilize him. The god was too busy to notice as he fought off the vertigo. His one hand was back up covering his face in hopes to stop the world from spinning.
"Hey, why don't you sit down," Steve suggested, trying to pull him into a nearby chair, "I don't want you passing out on us."
Loki pulled his hand away from his face after the nausea had finally passed. His stomach was still queasy, but at least he knew he wasn't going to throw up anymore— not like he had anything left in his stomach. It took him a few seconds before he realized Rogers was touching him.
Appalled, Loki ripped his arm out of his grip.
Steve allowed him his arm back with no resistance. He did, however, watch him carefully to make sure the god didn't topple over upon release.
"Loki," Bruce said as he set down the medicine and hesitantly approached, "What happened?"
Loki was nervous to respond. He failed again. This time, he failed because he was weak. The magic-binding cuffs are assumed to blame for it. Now he has to explain to them what happened without seeming weak. The vomiting, however, didn't help his case.
He smoothed his hair back and fixed his posture. Even though he didn't feel confident, he had to look it. Loki took one last shuttered breath before speaking up.
"Your calculations this time were incorrect. It was not in location but transport. The portal you opened was too small, too stretched. It was at the point of collapse as I reached the destination," Loki lied smoothly. They couldn't know that the transport was fine, and it was all just his pathetic body failing him.
Bruce believed him and nodded understandingly. Both Tony and Bruce were pushing the limits of time and space with this machine. The results back when they did it with the pair were never this drastic. That was with an inanimate object, and not a person, however.
They could hear Tony groan frustratedly. He had pulled back up the projection screens and was dragging the holograms around.
"Give me ten minutes to sort out this mess," he muttered, "Then we'll try again."
Again? Loki swallowed back down a new wave of nausea. He started to wonder if this all was worth it. Maybe it would be best to just rot away in his pathetic excuse for a room. Death by boredom is better than death by being torn apart and scattered across the galaxy.
"Wait…"
The voice pulled Loki from his thoughts. It was Banner. The man was fidgeting with his hands nervously.
"We want to make sure it's right this time. Let's not rush this. Give it a day to plan this next test. I-it will give Loki a chance to recover from today."
Loki's eyebrow twitched. Sentiment?
"But we're so close!" Tony whined loudly.
This project was Tony's world now. His next Iron Man suit was put on the sidelines for this. The creation of time-travel was scientifically impossible. And here, Tony and Bruce have made it possible— to some extent. They can singlehandedly alter catastrophic events from ever happening. Of course, with time-travel, comes with the "Butterfly Effect"; the possibility of changing the past might alter the future negatively. All these were things to consider… once they could get the damn thing operational.
"I'm with Bruce on this," Steve added out of the blue.
This got a reaction out of Loki. His headshot over in Steve's direction.
That was unexpected.
The Captain hasn't shown much compassion for the god. In fact, not many words have even been exchanged between them.
Tony pushed his bottom lip forward to pout. It was another setback. He had to admit though, he was sure Steve was on his side. Tony then thought maybe he went too far. Steve has strong morals. If he were to side with the god, maybe it was overboard.
He couldn't help but glance over at the god. Loki's head was back down with his eyes downcast on the floor awkwardly. Tony could tell he was hating all the attention on him. The god was still paler than usual and covered in a layer of sweat. If he knew any better, Tony would say he even had a slight tremble to him.
Then, Tony felt something. It's an emotion he rarely feels, especially for a raging maniac… guilt. It was just the way the god looked, so pathetic and sickly. He knows he hasn't been easy in the guy— borderline torturous at times. Out of all the times to start feeling guilty… why now? Tony didn't feel this when they force-fed him, or when he made the god piss himself… not even the last few tests of the machine.
"Okay, okay," Tony put his hands up in defeat, "I admit, I went too far."
He looked over at Loki before talking again.
"Take the rest of the day off, Rudolph. You kinda look like shit."
Loki showed no emotion but, on the inside, he let out a big sigh of relief.
"We'll let Thor know you're not feeling well," Bruce said, "I think it's time we brought him into this—"
"Do not speak of this to my brother," Loki said bluntly. The last thing he wants is Thor getting part of this. He already felt like his brother was attached to his hip; he could never shake him off.
"If you don't want us to, we won't," Bruce hesitated before speaking, "Unless this gets out of hand."
Loki rolled his eyes. He felt like he was treated like a child again. It was something he never wanted.
"I wish to be taken back to my chambers," Loki stated.
"Actually, instead of taking you to your room, I want to take you to the infirmary. I'm worried the Tesseract might have something to do with these side-effects."
"I'm fine," Loki frowned, "Do not concern yourself with such trivial things."
"You just puked in the trash can! Pretty violently might I add. I'd hardly consider that fine," Bruce pointed out as if Loki has forgotten the whole incident.
"Aww let him go, Bruce," Tony said. He waved his hand dismissively, "It's probably just the space jump messing with him. We'll work out the kinks for next time."
"But—"
"I hate to say it, but Stark is right," Loki reluctantly admitted. He just wanted to get Banner off his back, "It was just the effects of space travel. It is very similar to the Bifrost in that sense. Sometimes the gravitational pull of it may cause some to be… ill."
"Oh… alright then," Bruce said, not completely convinced.
"Now, if you will escort me back to my chambers, I wish to retire for the day."
Tony stayed behind to continue working on his project while Bruce and Steve escorted Loki back. They both silently agreed that they didn't need to put the chains back on the god during transportation. They were correct. Loki never showed any hostility, in fact, he didn't say a word. Bruce even noticed the god's pace was quite fast as if he was rushing to get out of the lab as fast as possible.
Once arriving at Loki's room, Steve stayed at the doorframe while Bruce walked the god in further. As much as Banner wanted to just dart out after bringing him back, that horrible guilt was there to remind him not to.
"Are you sure you're okay?" Bruce pressed, trying to get Loki's attention, "How about I bring you some of that Pepto Bismol. It will help calm your stomach. After that, I can grab you a bowl of soup. That usually hel—"
"I said I am fine," Loki turned and snapped at the man before he could finish. He quickly collected himself before he spoke again, "Why do you even fret over someone like me? I am not exactly an ally."
"Well, you are helping us… which I appreciate, I guess," Bruce said as he rubbed the back of his neck nervously. He, himself, didn't quite know exactly why he felt for Loki. Might it just be the guilt?
"Then it makes sense now," the god concluded, "I see how it would be an inconvenience to lose me."
Banner flinched. Loki misinterpreted his words in the wrong way.
"N- no! Not like that!"
"Let us be honest, mortal," Loki turned his shoulders to squarely face him. The god looked more intimidating now, "We both are not particularly fond of each other. I am, unfortunately, the Avengers 'pet' and there is nothing I can do, except follow orders."
Bruce didn't have any good response to that.
"Just… just tell JARVIS if you need anything," he sighed and looked up, "JARVIS, if Loki feels sick, allow him access to the bathroom."
—I will make sure to, sir.—
"You know what… just give him full access. He's proven himself," Bruce said. He gave Loki a worried look, "Just… please don't make me regret it."
Loki gave him no indication of a yes or no. He was still sour about the whole situation.
You mortals better give me back access. Especially after what you put me through.
The doctor gave the god one last look, "Are you sure I can't get you anything?"
Loki denied his offerings. Bruce decided that was his signal to leave him alone. But he couldn't help but feel guilty. It drove him mad that he felt that way. He had to keep telling himself to not get any type of emotional attachment to the god— good or bad.
Bruce walked out and Steve closed the door behind him.
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
"I'm back! I've brought your dinner," Thor eagerly called out as he entered the room.
Out of routine, the older god started setting up the table. He could see Loki in the corner of his eye on the couch. Curled up with his knees to his chest, holding a book. His brother wasn't actually reading the book but watching Thor at the table.
"Rogers did not say why, but he offered me to give you some soup he made. 'Twas quite odd actually. He never makes soup," Thor thought for a second, "They must be warming up to you, brother! I only hear good things from them!"
The younger god ignored that last comment.
"The offer is appreciated, but I'm not hungry."
"Loki," Thor warned, "You know our arrangement…"
Loki rolled his eyes for what seemed the hundredth time today.
"This is not resistance to go against that. I am just truly not hungry tonight."
"What is wrong? Are you ill?" Thor's face suddenly filled with worry. Maybe all these days spent with his friends are too much for him? The cuffs do drain his energy with his magic. Maybe that's affecting him too much?
"No," Loki looked down at his book, "I just spent all day with those mortals and wish to retire early tonig—"
Before he could finish, Thor's hand rested against his forehead before he could react.
"Hmm… you do seem a little warm?"
Loki swatted his hand away and stood up.
"I'm not ill, you oaf!"
With the book now tossed aside, Loki made some distance from his brother's reach.
"Then tell me why you are not hungry?!" Thor insisted impatiently.
"I told you! It was a long day. I'm too tired to eat. I just wish to rest. Happy now?!"
Loki's comment made him back down. Thor didn't want to make him angry.
"I see," he paused for a second, "Well, I hope things are going well for you working down there."
Loki scoffed, "It is as good as it will ever be."
Thor dropped the subject and let Loki skip his meal and get ready for bed. Sitting in one of the chairs, he was relieved so far to hear that the Avengers were eager to get his help. Now, they even gave him access back to his bathroom. That meant his brother was getting better.
Loki exited the bathroom without even acknowledging his brother. Already dressed in a loose shirt and sweatpants for nightwear, he climbed straight into bed, facing away from Thor. He pulled the covers up over his shoulders and said nothing.
"Goodnight, brother. I hope you rest well."
Thor left after he got no response from his brother. Then, after hearing the door close, Loki let out his held breath.
Finally, alone.
An ebbing pain flared up in his abdominal again. Loki pulled his knees to his stomach. The pain hasn't stopped since the incident.
Each time I test that horrid device, I come back worse than before.
It took a few hours before Loki could completely relax. Slowly, the pain subsided after he stayed in a fetal position long enough.
It was obvious… they will want him again tomorrow. He wondered how many more times they will have to test it before it will work completely.
It can't get any worse.
The exhaustion was just too much and Loki immediately fell into a deep sleep.
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
Next Chapter: Is There a Doctor in the House?
Word Count: 7,292
Written On: 12-1-19
Updated On: 4-7-20
Posted On: 4-7-20