AN: This story... Is giving me. Headache. STUPID, AMAZING, EMOTIONAL, INSECURE LOKI UGH! *sigh*
Disclaimer: Don't own it.
Loki blinks sleepily as his eyes readjust to the bright light. He sits up slowly, looking around the room. His gaze halts at Clint's empty bed, and his heart stops out of fear. What if he's planning something...? Suddenly, he hears a loud "thump" and a muffled yell. Terrified, Loki jumps up from the bed and creeps out of the room. His black haired head pokes around the corner of the whitewashed wall, and he nearly yells in fright right at the sight before him in the kitchen. Clint is tied down to the island, and a group of men are beating him.
Loki silently creeps into the kitchen, putting the shadows and his slight build to good use. A glint of silver catches his eye, and Loki reaches up and grabs the three kitchen knives, testing their balance. A maniacal grin forms in his lips as he steps out of the shadows to confront the group. Three knives. Three men. The grin grows even wider. "What should we do with him?" asks the shortest in the group.
"How about you let him go?" asks Loki slyly, and the men turn to face him, too busy to notice the glint of metal behind the young boy's back.
"Hmmm... how about, no? Instead, we'll kill him, and then do with you as we please. How about that?" sneers the biggest man, obviously the leader. Clint struggles against the bonds, only to slump back against the counter, no fight left. Loki's eyes widen at the sight of the defeated Avenger, and a growl forms in the back of his throat. Blue races up his arms and his eyes burn crimson red, the color of flame and blood.
"Hmmm... how about, no?" asks Loki nonchalantly, his anger only shown by the knife sticking out of each man's heart. The intruders slump to the ground, and Loki pulls out one of the knives and cleans it before turning to Clint. Hawkeye trembles in fear as Loki steps over to him, the knife raised. He struggles against the gag and bonds, but it's no use. His body goes limp as he accepts his fate, and he wonders what Loki will do to him for revenge.
Instead of the harsh blow he was expecting, he feels his bonds begin to loosen as Loki cuts into them with a fury. "Hold on, Barton. I'll get you out and then retrieve the others," murmurs Loki as Clint sits up, the blood rushing to his head. Clint nods, shocked, as Loki races out of the room and brings back the Avengers and Fury. They stop at the sight of the three bodies, and Loki nervously inches away.
"Loki, did you do this?" questions Fury, turning on the quaking four year old. Terrified, Loki nods, his shoulder length black hair bobbing up and down and his emerald eyes sparkling with unshed tears. "Look, I get why you had to kill them, and I'm not angry with you about it. Just... You're FOUR YEARS OLD! How the heck did you beat these guys?" asks Fury incredulously, shaking his head. "Even as a kid, you're a force to be reckoned with!" At that, Loki beams, and it saddens everyone in the room as they realize that's probably the most praise he has ever received for his fighting prowess.
"Thanks," speaks up Clint, his voice scratchy from screaming against the gag. "Thought you were going to kill me for a minute there." Loki frowns as if offended and shakes his head violently. "But... I don't get it. I beat you up last night, it's only fair that you let them beat me up. So why didn't you?"
Loki hangs his head in shame and wraps his arms around himself as the blue slowly fades away. "I'm a monster, I deserve it. You're a hero, you don't deserve it," whispers Loki, and Clint nearly falls off the table in shock.
"That's a load of bull," growls Clint, running a hand through his hair as Loki looks up at him in shock. "Yeah, you did a whole heck of a lot of bad things, but saving my life is pretty heroic, definitely not the actions of a monster. So, we cool?" asks the five year old, holding his hand out to the younger boy. Loki hesitantly nods and shakes Clint's hand, a small smile on his face.
"You're my second true friend, ever," whispers Loki shyly, and Clint tries hard not to choke at the idea of spending THOUSANDS of years in solitude. "Steve was my first," says Loki, and Steve wraps an arm around the younger boy's shoulders companionably. "Most people said that I would die alone. I agreed with them. I'm glad we were wrong," mutters Loki before sagging and clutching his side. Bruce is beside them in seconds, staring in horror at the gash in Loki's side oozing a black, sickly venom.
Thor stares at the wound in shock as Fury begins calling in nurses and Tony lets loose a string of expletives that would have any veteran sailor wincing. "Hold on, Loki," whispers Steve,stroking the pale boy's raven hair. "Please don't die on us." Loki's breath hitched in his throat, and he squeezed Steve's hand, though more for the soldier's sake than his own. Taking a deep breath, he focused what little magic he could summon into his side and set it to work, forcing out the dark poison spreading through his veins. Tears pricked his emerald eyes but he continued with his magic. Once, he wouldn't have even tried to save himself, he'd feel relief, actually. But now... He had friends. People who cared about him. And they had no idea of the danger they were in. Only he had a clue.
Darkness clouds Loki's vision as the last of the venom trickles from the wound.