Author's note: I'm entirely not sure how I have two reviews already, since I can't actually find my story published yet. I suspect time travel may be involved. If any of you care to share your secret, please enlighten me; I lost my Time Turner earlier this week and I'm frantic without it.
CHAPTER TWO
"Gawd, is he the coma-deity or something?"
"God of mischief, Darcy. And lies. And, depending on who you talk to, evil. According to myth, he spends the majority of his time thinking up or putting into action schemes that involve the suffering or humiliation of others. Be glad that he's unconscious for the time being."
Darcy flopped over in a chair next to Loki's cot, her legs dangling over the edge of the armrest haphazardly. "Yeah, I'm not seeing any gladness in my future until he wakes up. Jane's going to be homicidal if she can't ask him some questions soon."
"Yes, well," Erik sighed, "I'll try to keep sharp objects away from her at least."
The room fell silent except for the sounds of Loki's slow breathing. Darcy frowned as one of the breaths turned into a shuddering groan.
"Do you think he's in pain?"
"I'd be surprised. When Thor fell he was fine except for not having the hammer. This bloke should've come down the same way, by Bifrost."
Darcy fell silent for a second, studying Loki's face. "He looks like he's in pain."
"Yeah, well, he'll heal. He's a god. Jane on the other hand…she might never get over this."
Loki opened his eyes slowly, trying not to move any of the muscles in his face as he did so. The pain had faded somewhat, but he dared not send anything into spasm again by moving. He permitted himself only to breathe as he looked around the room.
He was in a small, dimly lit space, lying in an uncomfortable cot of some kind. It was unfamiliar to him, but the architecture suggested Midgard. Actually, it bore some similarities to the holding cell where he had visited…
He grimaced as a wave of pain shot through his body. Best not ponder that right now. Agitation will only lead to more pain. It seemed to be centered in his lower back, a long jagged line of pure torment along his right side. He gasped aloud as the fire reached a new clenched his fists in the sheets, gritting his teeth as the pain made its way down his legs and up through his arms and head. This is worse than the snake venom.
He couldn't hold it back any longer. He let out a groaning yell as the line of fire twitched and sent another, stronger wave through his body. He screwed up his eyes, trying to hold back the tears brimming there.
"Jane!" He heard a female voice somewhere across the room. Somehow, the awareness that someone else had seen him dampened the flames slightly. Placebo, he told himself, I'm anticipating relief. He shuddered; the line gave a harsh clench as if it were trying to tear his back apart.
"Jane, I think he's having a seizure!" The female voice again, this time slightly more frantic.
He could hear two pairs of footsteps pounding into the room, one right behind the other.
"Darcy, what happened?" A second female voice, this one stirring a memory somewhere in the back of his mind. "I told you to keep an eye on him!"
"I got up to go refill my coffee. I came back and he was flipping out like this! I didn't do anything, swear to God!"
"Do we have any anesthetics?" A male voice, calmer and steady.
"Booze?"
"SHIELD gave us a med kit. Check in the supply cabinet."
The man's footsteps hurried away. Loki felt a small, warm hand on his forehead, moving back as if to smooth his hair.
"He's not an ice sculpture any more. Should we worry?" The hand pulled away as the sound of the first woman's voice did.
"No. He was probably just in shock when he fell. I don't think even a god of his descent could be naturally as cold as we found him."
A wave of agony drowned out all coherent thought and sound in Loki's head. He had the faraway feeling that he was saying something, babbling, but he couldn't hear anything except the rushing in his ears. Please let it end.
"Don't…Never…See her…With you…Destroy…Father…Thor…"
"Shh," Darcy hissed quietly. "Relax, dude. We're trying to help you." She clasped one of his hands comfortingly—anything to make him hold still. His fingers wound around her small wrist like boa constrictors, clenching her hand in an iron hold.
She winced. "Could you guys hurry up with the drugs? I think he's pulverizing my fingers."
"Why did you do that?" Jane asked, exasperated.
"I don't know! He keeps flailing around, and he was muttering all pathetically, I thought he might chill out if someone held his hand."
Jane let out a loud noise of impatience as she stomped out of the room after Erik. "Any luck?"
"Yeah," he called from the hallway. He began walking towards them with an open box and a small bottle in his hand. "They included some morphine."
Jane seized it from his hands and began fishing in the box. "Great," she said distractedly. "Let's hope we have a god-sized dose in this bottle. Aha!" She grinned with triumph, yanking a syringe from the tangled mess of the med kit.
She strode towards Loki quickly, working the syringe into the opening of the morphine bottle and drawing some of it out.
"Hey, maybe some of this will put the kibosh on his scheming for a while."
"Here's hoping. Grab his arm."
Darcy took her good hand and unbent Loki's arm into a vein-accessible position. She noticed faintly that though he was thinner than his brother, he was muscular enough to offer resistance even in his pained state.
"Here…we…go…"
Jane pressed the needle into one of the larger veins visible at the crook of his elbow and pushed the plunger down as far as it would go.
Loki groaned, tightening his grip on Darcy's hand even further. Her eyes watered reflexively.
"How long," she squeaked, "—how long until it kicks in?"
Jane drew the needle out quickly, handing Darcy a small patch of gauze to press to the puncture. "Don't know. He's not human. I don't even know that it will—"
As quickly as it had started, the pressure on Darcy's hand vanished and Loki went limp on the bed. His face settled, and he shifted slightly into a more comfortable position.
Darcy unwound her fingers from his hand slowly, staring at his face to try and gauge his reaction. It remained smooth and impassive. She smiled and let out a tired laugh. "That was easy."
Loki felt himself slipping away into numbness, the fire in his veins turning cold once again. He was vaguely aware of a small hand brushing his hair back as he faded into blackness. His lips turned up slightly in a smile, his thoughts falling away faster than he could think them. Peace at last.