Felicity curled up on the camp stretcher that had become her bed as she listened to the people outside the room still working for Loki, she had gone straight to the room after she returned from the assignment and showered. No matter how much she scrubbed the shame and disgust did not leave her skin, though no blood had been spilt on her skin, she could almost feel the sticky substance all over her from the people she had struck down since joining with Loki.
At first he had just wanted her to prove that she was willing to kill for him in order to get Hella better, without thinking she had notched the arrow and delivered it swiftly in to the guards neck, watching as he crumbled to the floor, the arrow sticking out from his jugular. He had praised her then, a swift kiss on her lips that made her knees feel weak before he had moved over to Hella and gently ran his finger along the scar on her head, making it vanish as if it had never been there.
Each time she had done what he wanted, he moved to Hella and took away another scar, or lessened the pain for the child, but never did he fully heal her. He held her daughters life in his hands, no, not his hands, his magic and she had become his faithful lap dog to ensure that he helped Hella. The only thing she refused to do was crawl in to his bed like some common whore, he had made an offhanded comment about her doing it, but she was sure it was made out of anger and jest, not from him wanting her in his bed.
Shoving her hand against her pillow to fluff it up a few times she placed her hands back on her stomach, remembering her mixed feelings as she found out she was pregnant with Hella. Fear was the main one, but it was mixed with excitement at the prospect of becoming a mother, but only hours after Hella was born she knew that she was not cut out for motherhood. As Callie and her other female friends cooed over the new born baby, she only found herself musing at how helpless the lass was and how much she would have to give up in order to take care of it. As the days turned in to weeks and the weeks in to months she started to resent the child, going hours ignoring her as one of her other friends looked after her.
She was not a good mother and she made no attempt to pretend otherwise, she just hoped that her daughter would forgive her when she was older. Forgive the murderess that her mother had turned in to in a desperate attempt to save her daughters life. She had always thought cancer was a bitch, but as she laid in the empty room, her bow and arrow leaning against the wall, she found herself not resenting cancer, but resenting herself.
If she had of cared more to listen to her friends warnings maybe the doctors would have found the tumour before it had grown, maybe if she had found it earlier the treatments would have worked. Maybe if she was a better mother the tumor wouldn't have even grown in the first place. She let out an angry laugh at the thought of the cards the world had dealt her, a tumor was killing her daughter, and there was nothing she could do about it!
Tony had come home to find a gigantic green rabbit asleep on the couch with a less gigantic Callie, who was also asleep with a book against her chest and an arm around the rabbit. He was about to wake her up to ask how the hell her rabbit had become green when he spotted the small child asleep in a make shift cot that she had made out of an empty box and bedding.
Loki had been there.
He didn't know what made him so upset at that prospect. The idea that the god had deliberately ignored his privacy and managed to get through JARVIS's security settings, or the fact that he had come to see Callie once more, even after they had tried to keep her away from him.
Flicking his phone open as he walked from the room, Tony quickly got one of his friends to grab a baby cot and bring it to his penthouse as fast as they could, groaning as he hung up the phone after a ten minute question session including 'Do I need to get Pepper?'. Walking back out to the main room to get a glass of Scotch, he stopped dead in his tracks as he spotted the god of lies leaning against the glass and watching the harsh city lights.
"I'd offer you a drink but it seems that you have already helped yourself when you first showed up here." Tony said, his moment of shock forgotten as he moved to walk across to the bar. Grabbing the Scotch from the top shelf he rustled around to grab a glass, still waiting for Loki to reply to him.
"The child hasn't been healed." Loki stated, turning from the window and facing Tony, forcing his eyes to stop looking over to Callie to search her for the blasted Sunstone so he could destroy it. "After this is finished, I will find a way to take her to Asgard, Frigga will do anything to save a child, even ignoring my punishment in order to do it..."
"So you are using a child as a scapegoat?" Tony demanded, slightly shocked that the god could make him hate him any more then he already did.
"You think so highly of me, Tony. But no, I have no intentions with the child apart from healing her and returning her to Callie. No doubt we both know her mother will not survive this, I have a feeling she will not survive due to Callie's own hands." Loki moved from the window and walked in to the middle of the room. "Such a name you have built for yourself, Tony. No matter where one looks in this city they see your tower, your name. They hear your tales of heroics that you have done, keeping the Americans safe from harm. And yet harm has still gotten in, there is still crime being committed every day, so I guess you have failed."
"The crime that you speak of is needed in this world." Tony took a sip of the Scotch, half thinking he'd need a new glass before the night was through. "Without it the world would be a ticking time bomb. Humans need to be able to have crime, it's the natural order of the world. There never has been a time period in our history where there was not crime of some sort."
"But what if I could promise that? That there would be no crime under my rule, and anyone who broke it would be dealt with swiftly and severely."
"Then the people would soon rise against you and revolt. You may have an army, Loki, you may be a god. But we are the ones with the power, I am not talking about The Avengers or S.H.I.E.L.D. I'm talking about humans, we've survived so many things, once we have dealt with you, you'll just be another page in a history book."
"I think i'd take up more then one page..." Loki stated, moving towards the makeshift cot and scooping an awake Hella up. Smiling down at her he held her on his hip, making Tony realise he must have done it before, most people who haven't dealt with children were awkward and fearful they would drop the child, but Loki acted as if he was a master of the skill.
"I have had children." Loki stated, as if answering Tony's line of thought, making Tony flinch. "Five, four boys and one beautiful little girl. Only one of my sons survive now, he is a teenager and lives in Asgard, ashamed of what he has done. I can not bare to even look at him, the pain I feel when I know that he killed his brother..." Loki trailed off and ran a finger gently down Hella's cheek, making her smile at him before nestling her face against his neck and letting out a small sigh.
"And what of the women that bore these children?"
"My mistress was killed by the Asgardian's when they stole my children from her court. She tried her hardest to protect them but she was no match. My wife, my beautiful, beautiful wife, she was so caring and trusting, even after everything I did. She hung herself after the death of our son, ashamed that her son could ever become a killer. Ashamed that he had turned out to be just like his father."
Tony watched as the god of lies jiggled Hella up and down to get her back to sleep, seeing him in a different light and a different role, one that he never believed could ever happen. "I never knew you had such a hard life..." Tony said, watching as, with a flick of his wrist, Loki transformed the makeshift cot in to a proper wooden cot, before laying Hella back down in to it.
"Why would you?" Loki asked, standing up and turning to look at Tony. "I don't go around projecting it to the world!" He snapped, moving away from the cot. "Tell your friends to get ready, my plan should be in action in the next few days. That is all the warning you get."
"Wait! Why... Why did you just show me your softer side?" Tony asked, watching as Loki paused on his way out to the balcony and turned to look at him.
"You'll soon see why, Tony Stark." Loki looked over at Callie and the rabbit, and with a flick of his finger turned the rabbit bright, neon pink. With a small nod to Tony he vanished from where he stood, knowing full well that tomorrow when Callie woke up he was going to be screamed at.
He looked forward to feeling her mind in his once more.
Ok guys, here's another update for you all to sink your teeth in to! :D Tomorrow I get to go see the movie again and I am super excited!
Someone did bring up Loki's other child, the eight legged horse, but it's hard enough to live with the comments, mail and such when you include his other five children in stories, if I had of included that one my poor inbox would die lol.
And yes, you will meet his surviving son in my next story for this, which I will be starting in a few days, as well as the prequel and another story for the Thor section.
Thank you all for reading/reviewing/putting it on your favourite list/alerting and sending me awesome messages about it!