PART SIX
Revive

"Tony, wake up. Can you hear me?"

Iron Man groaned and opened his eyes a sliver, then shut them again as a stabbing pain went through his head at the light. "Agh..what.. the hell…"

"You're alright," the voice said, sounding both relieved and reassuring. It was familiar to Tony, but he couldn't put his finger on the speaker. His head felt like a pillow that had been destroyed in a pillow fight, and all his limbs were heavy, like he was wearing his armor without any juice running through it. And his chest really hurt.

Wait, my chest.. my armor…

"Glowy.. heart..." he mumbled, eyes opening again as a small spark of panic went through him.

I almost ran out of power, then I was attacked or something… and then… Shit, why can't I remember?

"You're fine. It's been two days since you were injured. You're in your bed in Stark Tower, healing up now, thanks to Loki."

"Wh..what? How did you… Loki..?" Tony mustered all his strength and opened his eyes again, lifting his head just slightly to search around him for the source of the friendly and utterly confusing voice. He felt a hand on his shoulder and the person leaned over him, their face coming into view.

"Now, take it easy. You still need to rest," Bruce said, standing at the side of his bed and smiling down at him. Tony blinked and took a second to look the man over. He had on some kind of weird costume. It was like a long toga of dark purple fabric, crossed over his shoulders and hanging down to the floor. It was held together by a wide, dark green belt of braided leather around his waist.

But there was something even stranger about the doctor. His smile looked more sad than usual, and his eyes…

"Doctor … What happened? Did we win?"

Bruce glanced away.

"…Did we lose?"

"Well, it depends what you mean by 'lose'."

The God of Mischief stood on the balcony of Stark Tower, on the exact spot where he had converted his "brother". Mjolnir rested near his feet, unmoved since it had fallen from Thor's hand.

Loki was dressed in a lighter-weight version of his usual Asgardian garb, with no armor, though he held his scepter loosely in one hand as he looked out over the city.

The sun was setting on the second day of the war, casting a fiery light onto the decimated landscape, making it look like a haphazard pile of riches. Every skyscraper in New York City had fallen within just a few hours, their ruins cracked and burning. The bridges around the city had also been swiftly destroyed, their half-submerged skeletons jutting out of the debris-filled water. A few intact windows and shards of steel glittered under billowing clouds of smoke and ash.

The Tesseract portal stayed open. Two Chitauri Leviathans circled Stark Tower continuously, and many more had fanned out from the city to wreak destruction on other urban areas up and down the East Coast. Loki could hear their gurgling metallic cries, accompanied by the occasional wailing of an alarm or the sound of distant gunfire. It was music to his ears.

"Beautiful," Loki breathed. "To think this madness could end with my rule..."

A short while longer, and the entire planet will kneel before me.

The Chitauri would work alongside Loki to build his seat of power on the corpses of Earth's leaders, razing every major city to the ground. In this way, he would rid the Earth of its over-population problem and throw it into a state of anarchy, while still leaving the planet fertile enough to support the remaining masses who would soon look to him as absolute ruler. There would be millions of casualties, but the chaos would be quelled in time.

Thor might have thought Loki too closed-minded to construct a plan of this magnitude. But the God of Mischief was craftier than anyone might have guessed. He'd looked far ahead down this path, and planned his entire campaign in excruciating detail. The Chitauri would help win him the planet, then they would take the Tesseract, and then he cared not what they or their leader did with it.

He had wanted to rule Asgard, but Midgard was certainly a more entertaining prize.

Loki didn't expect the All-Father to intervene. The old god was growing weaker, and Loki suspected that with the Bifrost destroyed, Thor's travel to Earth had taken a toll on Asgard's reserve power. He was confident that he was safe from their meddling for a while.

He would own Earth in a matter of days.

"Thor," he called over his shoulder.

Thor appeared in a moment, standing in the open glass doorway to the balcony.

The God of Thunder's dark eyes shimmered with the same light as Loki's scepter. An Asgardian prisoner's gag was wrapped around his jaw, preventing him from speaking.

Thor was barefoot and dressed in his red cape, the luxurious fabric draped around him toga-fashion, stopping just above his knees. It was held together with a flat silver ring over one of his shoulders. His other shoulder and most of his chest was bare. Thor's blonde locks were pulled back into a loose tail, and tied with a long, shining silver rope.

Loki turned and took in the sight of his brother. He had, of course, been the one to design Thor's new look. He smiled at his self-indulgence and gestured for Thor to come stand beside him.

"I am glad you are with me to see this day."

Thor's dark eyes showed barely a flicker of emotion as he scanned the smoky horizon.

Loki watched the other god. "And I am very pleased to have you on my side. Although… I wish I could extract a stronger response from you."

Thor turned his head and looked into his foster brother's eyes pointedly.

Loki chuckled. "I know. It is my own fault for placing that device on you. Does it discomfort you, being unable to speak and tell me what you are thinking? It seems strange to me. I had become so used to you sharing your… thoughts.. freely, that I find I miss them. But silence has its virtues as well. And you look rather," Loki lifted a hand to Thor's face, and he ran his fingers along the thick edge of the gag, "…handsome, like this."

One of Thor's large hands came up to rest on Loki's shoulder, and Loki looked down at it in surprise, staring for a few seconds before glancing up into the god's eyes for an explanation. They glowed with the scepter's blue energy, and something more. After all, the influence Loki had planted did not erase its host's personality or emotions; it only locked those features away until they were called upon.

"I had wondered, when we were young," Loki began softly, stroking the side of Thor's face, "What the maidens of Asgard saw in you. Or what it was about you that so entranced that mortal woman. Now, I find I am beginning to see it. I never had a chance to observe this closely, before."

On an impulse, Loki grasped Thor's bound chin in his fingers, lifting the blonde head up slightly, and the God of Mischief leaned in slowly to kiss the side of his exposed neck.

Thor gave a small start.

Loki felt a grin tug at the corners of his mouth, though he wasn't quite sure why. Curious at the feeling it sparked, he kissed again, lower on Thor's throat.

Thor's hand tightened on his shoulder, and Loki felt the god's other arm wrap slowly around his back, bringing them closer together.

Thor's large hands warmed Loki's skin, the sensation sending a shiver up his back. He wasn't at all used to being touched, and he felt raw and sensitive under Thor's hands. It felt good.

Encouraged, he placed several light kisses across Thor's collarbone. When he reached the bare shoulder, he let his forehead rest against it and inhaled the familiar smell of the god's clean sweat.

"I still want to call you 'brother'…" Loki sighed sadly, the unfinished sentence hanging between them.

Thor rubbed Loki's back soothingly, as if he understood.

"What're.. you talking about?" Tony asked, squinting up into Bruce's eyes. He didn't remember them being blue.. or veiny. They reminded him of the life-sapping device Obadiah had used on him, and that really creeped him out.

Am I going crazy? …Did I hit my head?

"I'm not going to sugar-coat it, so get ready. I've joined Loki, and he's winning. Or, he's already won," the doctor said, and shrugged.

Tony balked. "Wh..what… Why? How? …What did he do to you? …Where are the Avengers?"

Bruce smiled in his sad way again, and Tony felt his heart seize. He had asked the questions, but suddenly he didn't want to know the answers, because how could they be good?

"They're alright. Hawkeye, the Captain, and myself.. and Thor. We've-"

"Thor? He got to Thor?" Tony shouted, and he let out a snort of disbelief, then grimaced as he felt his wound protest at the motion. "Ah, ffffuu… ow."

"Careful," Bruce warned, and Tony glared up at him.

"He was the first of us to be changed," Bruce continued, ignoring Tony's expression. "That's why he didn't show up to help us out on the rooftop." He patted Tony's bicep gently. "Thank you for that, by the way."

Tony glanced around him nervously. " . Little good it did you, considering where you've ended up," he muttered.

"I'm fine now. But I wouldn't have been."

"What the hell are you saying? You're not fine," Tony heard his own voice getting hysterical. "You're his puppet now! Don't you realize that? Doesn't the other guy get a say in this?"

Bruce went silent for a moment, and Tony watched the man's possessed eyes.

"We both… He's okay with it."

"God damn it," Tony breathed. "Then we've really lost."

Bruce stepped back and took something off of Tony's bedside table. "It'll be okay. If you need anything, use this," he said as he placed a simple plastic device in Tony's hand, similar to a hospital bed call button.

Tony grasped it weakly, trying not to let any feeling of reassurance get to him at Bruce's words. He sounded calm and sincere, but the doctor was no longer himself.

Tony tensed as he felt Bruce fasten his wrists, and then his ankles to the bed with soft velcro bindings. Like an unstable hospital patient.

"Uh, what are you doing, exactly?" Tony's voice was barely controlled, anger and confusion rising as he was bound.

"I know you're in no shape to try anything stupid, but I have to keep you restrained just in case. I'm sorry. I have things to take care of," the doctor said, heading for the door. "Please get some more rest."

"Wait... You're leaving me like this?" Tony let his voice sound as angry as he felt, using it to cover up his sudden despair. Even if Bruce was changed… he didn't want to be left alone, tied to his own bed. He hated being helpless more than anything.

But without another word, Bruce stepped out of the bedroom and closed the door behind him.

"My lord," Bruce said, walking out onto the balcony and bowing.

"Doctor. You bring news of Mr. Stark's condition?"

Loki rested a hand on Thor's chest as their embrace ended, and looked over to Bruce.

"He's awake. He doesn't seem to remember what happened, but it'll probably come back to him soon enough. The Tesseract healed his wound quite a bit, but he's still tired. He should be ready in about a week, though."

"Good," Loki said, smiling. He seemed to think for a moment, looking out across the skyline. "Let Mr. Barton know that I want him to be ready at dawn tomorrow."

"Yes, my lord." Bruce bowed again and turned to leave.

"And Doctor?"

"Yes, my lord?"

"Prepare an outfit for Stark. For after the procedure."