The next couple days they watched Loki closely, but though he was now conscious, he did little but lay in his bed, quiet and still. Thor grew more and more distressed as each day passed and he had yet to get his brother to so much as speak a word. Bruce tried to reassure him that Loki's muteness might be due to the drugs wearing off, but Thor took little hope from that. Loki's magic made no appearance, the progress of his healing burns remained the same.

Loki was laying in the bed when Bruce entered mid-day, and as usual he gave no sign that he even noticed that he was no longer alone. Bruce looked him over without actually touching, as actual physical contact was usually the only way to illicit a response and it was always violent and defensive. The burns that covered his arms, neck and feet were healing but Bruce knew that Loki was still in a lot of pain. It was likely the prime motivator for his stone impression as any sort of movement would be agony.

That was also why Bruce was there armed with a new cocktail of drugs to try out. If Loki could not speed up the healing process with his magic, Bruce could at least do something to help manage the pain until his magic eventually came back. It was a simple matter of adding the dose to Loki's IV drip and hoping for the best.

Bruce checked over the tubing once he was done and took a seat near the bed, pulling out a paperback while he did so. An hour passed like that and there was a significant difference in the strain visible on Loki's body. He seemed to have relaxed some, his shoulders no longer as tense as he held himself still from the pain. There didn't seem to be any other effects, so Bruce picked up his book and things and taking his leave Bruce made for his own workshop, his mind already on another project.

()()()()

An half hour later saw Thor making his way to visit his brother. He'd taken to sparring with Steve before sitting with his brother as well as after to relieve the tension inside of him that was near constant now. He felt powerless whenever he saw Loki in such a state, injured and despondent. It was made worse by the knowledge that the ones responsible still lived and went unpunished. He had of course respected his friends wisdom when they continued to tell him that he could not simply seek out his own justice, but that did not mean that he was happy with it.

He was just turning into the hall which housed his rooms as well as Loki's when the being known as Jarvis' disembodied voice spoke up.

"Sir, it would appear that your brother is in need of assistance."

Thor did not need any other prompting, the remaining distance was taken with thundering steps but when he threw open to door to Loki's room he froze upon entry. It took him several moments to fully comprehend what he was seeing.

When he had left Loki that morning after breakfast, his brother had been laying on his side, his eyes drawn to the window in a blank stare. He didn't move unless touched, did not leave the bed for long except to relieve himself.

Now Loki was out of bed and across the room, pressed into the corner and sitting on the carpet. The bandages that had up to this point been covering the entirety of his arms had been torn off showing the angry red blisters underneath, the white strips of gauze littering the floor between the bed and where Loki currently sat. None of this was as alarming as the fact that Loki was crying.

Thor had seen Loki weep before. It was not often, he could count on one hand the times Loki had done so since they had left the nursery. But in those few instances, it had always been in anger or frustration or pain. Now Loki was crying with the force of someone whom had suffered insurmountable tragedy. The force of his sobs wracked his body where it sat pressed against the wall, his hands clutching at his hair and covering his face as the sounds of anguish poured out.

When Thor's mind finally caught up with what he was seeing, he leapt forward, heedless of the fact that Loki would likely startle at his sudden movements. It would seem though that Loki didn't even seem to notice his presence and continued to sob even as Thor kneeled down in front of him and gently grasped his shoulders.

"Loki," he called, shaking his brother very carefully. "Loki what has happened?"

There was no answer, instead Loki's head fell forward to land on his knees, his fingers lacing through his dark hair as his continued to sob. A quick scan of the room showed nothing that could have caused such a reaction, and there did not seem to be any new injuries.

"Loki please," Thor tried again, "what is the matter?"

"What's going on?" Steve asked as he came into the room followed closely by Bruce. "Jarvis just told us something was wrong with Loki,"

"I found him like this," Thor explained without turning away from the terrible sight of his weeping brother, "He will not speak, and I do not know what has caused this."

"Oh boy, I think I might." Bruce replied.

Thor turned to look at his friend who was twisting his hands together as he normally did when he was particularly worried. "What is it?"

"It might be the drugs I gave him." Was his answer. "The medicine," he added when Thor frowned at the word 'drugs'. "It was supposed to help with the pain, but there are side effects of the drug. I stayed with him for a bit to see if there would be a visible reaction but… obviously there has been."

"What types of side effects should we be looking for with this drug?" Steve asked, all business and looking at Loki with worry clear in his eyes.

"Everyone reacts differently. Hallucinations are a popular one. Usually pretty harmless too. But I think Loki's experiencing some depression or psychosis." Bruce explained as he kneeled down next to Thor to get a better look at Loki. "I'm sorry Thor, I was actually just trying to help."

"Is this permanent?" Thor asked, looking at his shaking sibling with distress.

"No! No not even close. Once the drugs leave his system he'll be fine. And that shouldn't take too long, his body burns through drugs at an accelerated rate. I was actually a little worried that the dose I gave him wouldn't do anything." Bruce leaned in and examined what he could see of Loki's arms. "Thor, do you think you can get him to calm down? We need to re-wrap these. He may not be feeling it now but he will in a bit."

Thor nodded grimly and Bruce stepped back to give them some room. The blonde warrior then awkwardly sat down on the ground next to Loki, and hesitantly put his arm over his shaking shoulders. When Loki did not immediately pull away, Thor moved closer so that their sides were flush and he could feel the tremors that ran throughout Loki's entire body. His sobs had died down but Loki was still curled in on himself and making weak noises into the gap between his chest and legs. Thor frowned deeply and looked up to his friends for assistance but they only watched on helplessly. Then he heard it. Tilting his head closer to his brother, he realized that Loki was not just making noise, he was speaking.

"-s gone, forever… can't fix this if it's gone, they took it-"

"Loki," Thor called gently, "Please brother, it is alright."

There was no verbal response to his words, but Loki's mumblings cut off and after a moment, his smaller body leaned a fraction into Thor. It was more than enough of a sign for the blonde warrior, and Thor took the chance to fully wrap his brother in his arms. Loki's thin frame still shook but after several minutes it seemed to die down some. Eventually Thor managed to get his brother up and sitting on the edge of his bed so that Bruce could come and re-apply the bandages while Loki watched with mournful eyes.

"I'm really very sorry Loki," Bruce apologized as he worked, though Thor was unsure how much his brother understood. Loki's green eyes were glazed looking and kept focusing on empty spaces throughout the room.

"Are you hungry brother?" Thor asked, sitting next to Loki and noting sadly how his brother was already leaning away from him. There was no answer either, but Thor was determined. His brother barely ate more than a bird, and if the mortals medicine made Loki more pliable then Thor was going to make the most of it. Putting a stabling arm around Loki's shoulders, he guided him into a standing position. "Come, let us go find you something to eat."

Loki was stiff in his arms but he did not twist away. If anything he seemed to have accepted that fighting Thor wasn't worth it and walked as directed. He only hesitated when they reached the door and looked back at the room.

"You should open the windows so that they can get out."

It was the first coherent words Thor had heard his brother speak since the battle in the city, and for the life of him, he did not know what they meant.

"So that who can get out Loki?" Bruce asked before Thor could.

Loki glanced at the shorter man and gestured weakly at the bureau. "The starlings. They can not get out if the windows are shut."

This only served to confuse Thor all the more but Bruce just smiled kindly and replied, "Don't worry, they will probably get out the same way they came in. Let go get something to eat, ok?"

This seemed to placate Loki, who nodded and continued to walk down the hall. Thankfully Thor wasn't the only one confused and Steve cleared his throat a moment later. "Um, Bruce?"

"I told you hallucinations are a pretty common side effect." Was the explanation to the question that didn't even need to be asked. "Just go with it, it's easier than trying to explain that what he's seeing isn't real."

The kitchen was empty when they arrived and Thor helped Loki sit in one of the chairs at the table while Steve went to the fridge to see what there was to make. Eventually soup was decided upon and a bowl was placed in front of Loki who looked at it with confused eyes.

"Are you not hungry Loki?" Thor asked when Loki made no move to eat. "Will you not try? You do not eat enough." Out of the corner of his eye he saw his friends quietly leave, but Thor did not turn from his brother. Loki did not move, he only stared at the ceramic bowl of cooling soup with a strange expression on his face. "Please brother, you must eat if you hope to regain your strength."

Finally his words seemed to reach Loki, who turned his head slowly to look at Thor. His eyes were still unfocused but Thor could see his brother was starting to come out of his haze.

"Why are you doing this to me?" Loki asked suddenly, in a voice so quiet that Thor barely heard it even sitting right next to him. "Do you hate me so much that..."

"Loki no," Thor reached out, and felt sick when his brother jerked away from him. "I do not hate you at all, I wish only for you better!"

Unfortunately his words seemed to do nothing to reassure Loki, who resolved himself to staring rigidly at his soup. Eventually Thor sighed and backed away from his tense brother. "Please Loki, please eat something." he asked tiredly.

Loki did not speak again, but after more urging Thor saw to it that the bowl of soup was consumed.


I would like to say here that I do not personally consider this chapter to contain any sort of woobie Loki. I have been asked in many emails to make sure that Loki remain true to character, and not turn into a 'ohmgawd don't hurt me please' victim, and I feel that I am doing my best at keeping Loki in an attitude that is believable for his situation. It just so happens that in this chapter he is a little woobie, but I maintain that this is because he is drugged out of his mind and tripping balls. But seriously, if at any time you feel that Loki is acting out of character, please for the love of god tell me!