I Need A Hero
Bruce sighed, the blood sample under the microscope causing a constant migraine for the chemist. "Son of a bitch…" He grumbled, sitting back from it and scribbling in the notebook beside it.
"Dr. Banner?" He turned, frowning a little. "Perhaps I could be of some service," Loki continued. "This is, after all, of other-worldly encounter, is it not?"
"It has to be," he blurted, rather desperate for help. "There isn't any kind of human technology that could possibly make this happen to Captain Rogers. There just…there isn't. If there was Tony would have it." He pushed back from the desk, turning to look up at him, taking off his glasses and tossing them onto the paper, exasperated.
"Perhaps some fresh eyes would help?" Loki offered, gesturing to the microscope, hands behind his back, voice quiet. He was still greatly reserved around the lot of them, calling them by their titles unless told otherwise and reverting immediately back to them upon seeing them again. It wasn't necessarily a subservient attitude, the Asgardian's presence alone commanded some attention and respect due. Whether that was because of his regal heritage or his alien persona that had the effect on humans, Bruce wasn't sure. Either way he scooted aside and held his arm out toward the machine, gesturing for Loki to have the go ahead.
The frost giant came over, bending and peering through the device. "You all are still rather primitive, you know," he remarked. Bruce nodded.
"We're workin' on it. That look like anything you've ever seen before?" He asked.
"It's a vaccine," he said, standing upright again. Bruce frowned.
"For what?"
"Anything that wasn't in Captain Rogers' system when he was born. This vaccine was designed not only to suppress any trace of the serum that aided his strengths, but any other vaccine he has been given since then," he explained.
"But it didn't kill the cells, it just latched onto them," Bruce frowned.
"It can't destroy them," Loki assured. "Alien technology or not it still isn't strong enough to completely rid the captain's body of them. They're simply dormant. Sleeping, if you will."
"Do you know where it came from?" Bruce asked, practically hanging on every word Loki said. The prince shook his head.
"No," he sighed. "Unless I get a closer look at the pathogen itself I can't tell where its origin is. At this point it could be anywhere in the nine realms. Other than Earth and Asgard, of course." He took a step back away from it.
"I'll inform my brother and see if he'll have any luck speaking to any planetary leaders that he can," he assured. He's much better with public relations than I am," he chuckled softly. Bruce offered a smile back.
"Hadn't noticed," he teased. Loki smiled back.
"I'll inform you what he finds out," he nodded, turning away from him.
"Thank you, Loki," Bruce said, still smiling.
"My pleasure, Dr. Banner," he said with a small bow. "Do get some rest. You look awful." He turned and left without another word, intent on speaking with Thor immediately, despite the hour. It wasn't as if anyone else arounf here was sleeping either.
00
Tony didn't sleep like Steve had. He couldn't. He had to be there and alert with every nightmare Steve had to soothe him back to a peaceful sleep or wake him completely and ease him back to unconsciousness. Despite which was which, he was always there when Steve opened his eyes, the first thing he saw and felt after whatever horrors he was reliving.
"I'm weak, I'm weak," he'd moaned, whimpering and sobbing against Tony's chest, still too asleep to really realize what he was saying or doing. "I said it, please, let me go Stop, stop, I said it. I did what you asked!"
"Steve, hey, wake up, buddy. Wake up, I'm here. I got you. It's okay," Tony assured, rubbing quick circles into the middle of his back. "I know you're scared, I know how scary it is, it's okay. I'm here. Just wake up, babe, I got you. right here with you, shh…"
Steve finally met his eyes, his own swollen and so terrified. "Tony, Tony, tell them to stop, tell them I said it and they don't have to do that anymore!"
"Shh, shh, Steve, they can't hurt you ever again. They can't touch you, not with me here." He tightened his hold around him, squeezing him as close as he could. His frail little body trembled against him, and Tony couldn't tell if it was because of the nightmare or that he was cold.
The blond blinked a few times, sniffling, Tony's shirt clenched in his fingers.
"I got you, okay?"
"B-but who's got you?" He breathed. Tony swallowed, brow creased.
"Right now that doesn't matter. You're still here with me, you're still keeping me going, you're still keeping me strong, Steve. I'm fine. It's you that I'm worried about," he whispered. "And you need to know right now that you, are, not, weak. You're anything but weak, Steve. You tried to go fight Nazis how many times when you were this size?"
"I needed to help," he gulped.
"You didn't let your size stop you then, and you're not going to let it now," he assured. "You aren't weak, baby."
"I want to be tall again. I want to be able to help right, I want to be able to hold you right and fight like I know I can. I don't want to be like this forever," he nodded, swallowing. Tony kissed his forehead.
"I know. I know. But whatever happens, Steve, no matter what, I will still love you. I don't care how big or little you are," he nodded.
"I love you too," he whimpered. "I don't want you to worry about me anymore. I don't want you to be afraid for me."
"We're gonna figure this out," he assured, smiling gently at him. "We're gonna do this together and you're gonna be okay. I promise."
"Can…can we go home yet?" He whispered. "I'm tired of being in the hospital."
"I'll check with Bruce later. Are you okay? Pain-wise, I mean," he asked, smoothing fingers through Steve's hair.
"I'm okay," he shrugged, tears standing in his eyes. "I just wanna go home. I want to be in our room, with my clothes away from the things that remind me of what happened."
"I'll get you home," Tony nodded. "You gonna talk to more people than just me? Bruce is worried about that. Hell, everyone's worried about you."
He licked his lips. "If…if there's only a couple people at a time. I'll try."
Tony nodded, holding him just a little tighter. God, what must have happened to make him so afraid of crowds, afraid to open his mouth and speak…
"What'd they do to you, babe?" He whispered, not expecting an answer. Steve didn't try to give one. He rested his head against Tony's chest, hand over the slightly warm light of the reactor.
"Lots of things I'm not ready to talk about," he muttered.
"Whenever you're ready, you know where I am," Tony assured. "For better or worse."
"This is definitely my worst," he croaked.
"Well, you've seen me at mine," he reminded. "New Years, two years ago? All that Jaeger I had and that damn hangover? Never thrown up so much in my life." He looked down at him, hoping he was smiling. Steve rolled his eyes.
"How many times did you say you were gonna hack up your reactor?" He smiled. Tony beamed.
"At least a dozen."
"Tony?"
"Yeah, babe?"
"I'm gonna go back to sleep now. The morphine," he mumbled. Tony nodded.
"Right here when you wake up." Steve was asleep again before this sentence was through.
00
"Thor?"
The god turned, facing his brother, the New York skyline behind him, wind whipping his hair around a bit. "Loki. Is there something wrong? Is Captain Rogers alright?"
"He's fine," Loki assured, "but Dr. Banner and I need your help. What's more, so does Rogers."
Thor frowned a little. "What can I do?"
"We need you to speak with the ambassadors to the other planets in the realm. The technology that forced Rogers to be this way is not Asgardian, and it's far too advanced to be of Earth. Dr. Banner says it doesn't match anything of Stark's either, and it's nothing of ours," he explained, handing Steve's blood work to his brother, who looked at it with a crease in his brow.
"Why do you need me to speak to them, exactly?" He wondered.
"To give them a chance to confess to what they've done before Dr. Banner gets a closer look at the pathogen and I can identify it appropriately," he nodded. Thor looked up at him.
"Alright," he agreed, folding his arms, slightly nervous. "I wish you could speak to them. You were always better at intergalactic affairs than I was." Loki chuckled.
"You'll do perfectly, Thor. I can be there to encourage you, if you wish. Just…remember to show some tact. And if they insult you or Asgard for that matter, keep a cool head, be polite and carry on. Fighting won't help Captain Rogers," he advised. Thor nodded again, turning back out to face the horizon again. Loki joined him, leaning against the concrete, glancing at him.
"Brother, I am thankful for your encouragement, and I must ask you to forgive me for what I am about to ask," he looked at him, the look in his brother's eyes telling him he already knew his question. "You have nothing to do with this, right?"
Loki bowed his head, injured but understanding. "No, Thor. I have no wish to harm Rogers or Stark for that matter. I certainly wouldn't have used the tactics used to torture Rogers in the first place." The elder nodded, scratching his chin, guilty. "Don't," Loki assured, facing him head-on. "It's alright, Thor. You have every right to question me. Widow and Barton have had their turns interrogating me already."
Thor put a hand on his brother's shoulder, looking away again. "I only want to be sure, brother. I do not wish to be fooled again. And you are one for mischief."
"Not to this caliber. Particularly when one of your friends has been grievously injured for nothing. All I wish to do is help, Thor."
"I know," he nodded, giving his shoulder a squeeze before dropping his hand. "I hope he's alright. I know Stark will take care of him, but…I wonder how much one can repair someone who's been so damaged."
"If any human could get through this, it's Captain Steven Rogers," Loki assured.
"You think so?"
"Anyone that would marry Tony Stark and still have his sanity has to have strength beyond the Hulk's," he chuckled. Thor smiled back.
"Perhaps you're right." He hoped.