You take the breath right out of me
You left a hole where my heart should be
-Breath by Breaking Benjamin
"Loki!" Steve ran through the throngs of people that were all running away. He shoved his way past the screaming people before breaking through to the clearing. His blue eyes stared ahead to where Loki was. Steve followed Loki's gaze to where he saw a hulking mass of brick falling from the sky. He looked back down to Loki to see the man staring up with a forlorn expression and it clicked. Loki wasn't going to move.
"No!" Steve ran towards Loki. Time slowed as he ran towards the Asgardian. Loki's head turned towards Steve, and he gave a sad smile. Steve's eyes widened as he saw the blue that had grown along the side of Loki's face, and then the bricks fell.
Tony skidded to a stop midair, hovering above the rubble. "Oh no..." Tony dropped down to the ground and began shoveling away the bricks. He looked back over his shoulder to Steve and yelled, "Get over here and help!"
Steve started before running over. He grasped a large chunk of rubble in his hands before tossing it back over his shoulder. His heart beat fast. He couldn't get over the look he had seen in Loki's eyes. It was too familiar. It looked too much like the look he had given at the breakfast table all those weeks ago. Loki had given up. His magic restraints had been removed. He could have teleported; Steve knew he could have. He had chosen not to escape.
Steve broke through a cave of stone, and the bricks came tumbling down. He scraped away a few of the clumps and saw a crumpled hand. Steve's heart froze in his throat. "Tony! Help me!" Tony flew over to where Steve ways and helped toss away the brick.
Dust filled the air as they cleared away the rubble. Then a queer sound was heard. It sounded like air escaping out of a balloon. A low wheeze that came out as a weak sort of laugh. They threw away the rocks to see Loki lying on the ground, tears coming from the corners of his eyes. Half of his face was deformed, ripped apart by some brick. Blood trickled down the side of his face, forming a puddle on the ground. A slab of rock still lay over his chest, crushing it into an awkward shape.
Steve pushed the slab off and bent down beside Loki. The black haired man laughed sadly as Steve did so. He looked over to where Tony was and gave a sad smile. With the brick gone from his face and the stone gone from his chest, they watched something strange happen. Muscle crawled over the injuries, securing back into place. Filaments and veins began making their way back into position, glowing an eerie red against his pale flesh. Lastly, his skin crept over the ridges of muscle and blood to tie itself back into place.
Tony grimaced at the strange proceedings. Was Loki regenerating himself? A loud crack was heard as Loki's ribs snapped back into place. Loki coughed as air made its way back into his lungs. "Isn't it funny?" He croaked, "Not even this kind of injury can kill me."
That was Tony remembered what Thor had told him earlier. There were two ways an Asgardian could die. Disintegration or being drained completely of their magical force. That meant that it was almost impossible for Loki to die from a physical injury.
Tony reached out to touch Loki only to have his hand pass through the form. The illusion flickered before disappearing, and Tony looked up to see Loki stepping away from the wreckage. He shook his head from side to side. "Do not touch me!" Loki yelled, holding himself tightly. He clamped his eyes shut and tried to close out all the sounds. He heard all the screams of people weeping for the dead and dying. They were deaths that he had caused, again. It was always his fault.
"Look at everyone! They're right. They're all right! I'm a monster! There's no way I can be anything but a monster!" The woman crying over her now dead child, the man who just lost his legs, Loki had caused all that. Their pained cries were all knives to his heart. He had never wanted to hurt anyone. He had just wanted to be accepted by Odin! He thought that maybe he could prove himself as a military commander, that was all Asgardians wanted, but in the end he was still a monster. Nothing could change the blood that ran through his veins.
"No, Loki! You're not a monster! A monster is a person that enjoys causing death. You aren't that person!" Steve called back, taking another step towards Loki. Loki noticed this and leaped back away from them.
"No, being a monster is something that I inherited!" Loki yelled. A small blue spiral appeared on his left cheek before slowly growing out. It slipped across his face, causing his eyes to turn red. Steve and Tony halted. They had never seen Thor or Loki do anything like this before. "The Jotuns have been doomed from the moment Ymir was slain! It's our fate to wage war and kill! It's impossible to break the cycle!"
Before Tony could protest, Loki held out his hands before him and let out a blast of chilling wind. Steve tumbled back a few feet before rolling out of the way of the block of ice that headed his way. Tony dived at Loki, trying to restrain him, only to have his thrusters frozen. Tony tumbled to the ground, his suit scratching against the concrete. Loki stepped away to be tackled by Steve. Loki grunted before vaporizing his way out of the hold, appearing a few steps away.
He stomped a foot on the ground, causing ice spikes to protrude from the surface, heading towards Steve and Tony. Steve dived out of the way, dearly wishing that he had his shield right now. He didn't even have his suit because he had planned for this just to be a casual day. He didn't want to hurt Loki, but he also didn't want Loki to hurt himself or anyone else. Steve gritted his teeth. He'd have to risk getting up close. "Loki! You don't have to do this!" He pleaded.
Why was Loki doing this? Did he not want to hurt anyone? The gears whirred in Steve's brain before it finally clicked. "Loki, stop!" Loki's gaze met Steve's and for a moment, he gave the saddest smile and shook his head. He put his palms together before pulling them apart, letting a swirl of mystical power explode out. Ice shot out from the ball, growing along the buildings and creeping along the ground.
Tony grabbed Steve under the shoulders and hauled him up from the ground as the ice coursed beneath them. A woman standing too close got wrapped up in the ice, freezing her in place. They watched in horror as the ice expanded along the ground, enveloping all as it went. Soon, the wall of ice halted, and Steve and Tony dropped back to the ground.
Loki stood in place, as if in a haze. He stared at the ground blankly before falling forward, smashing into the ground.
-Words Like Thor's-
Odin looked up at the blue aura glowing in the sky. He strode down the street, ice crunching beneath his heels. His single eye trailed down to where Loki had collapsed on the ground. Loki had started the job, but now... Odin held his hand out to his side, and Gungnir materialized in his fist. Now, Odin would finish the job.
Author's Note: I realized something over the weekend... The Avengers never learned that Loki was a frost giant. He's always introduced as Thor's brother or as an Asgardian. :O They never would have known that he was a Frost Giant considering that Loki never used his frost giant powers in the Avengers.
Well, I hope you enjoyed the chapter! By the way... This story is almost about to pass over 100 reviews! I'm so glad that so many of you have enjoyed this story! ;-; I love you all!