Justin had never felt so at home as he did now. The Avengers were really the most awesome people ever! Part of him, probably the part that he had inherited of his father, tended to think the worst of people, especially people whom everyone commonly praised. The Avengers, or at least the few he had met, had proven to be great people, although a little strange. He had played several computer games with Peter, Natasha and Clint, but mostly Thor, cheering in the background, and then they had started watching horror movies, which Thor made absolutely hilarious by either commenting on the costumes or whining girlishly.
Justin looked at his friend, who gave him a wide grin. Peter poked him in the side and said.
"Still mad at me?"
Also grinning, Justin nodded.
"We could have been doing this a whole lot earlier!"
That made Peter laugh.
"You know, you and Hela are actually the kids of Tony's arch enemies. How odd that we've become friends, right?"
Natasha heard that and informed Peter.
"I don't think Tony and Loki are archenemies any more…"
She gave him a suggestive wink that also earned her a punch from Clint.
"Yuck Tasha, I had just stopped thinking about that!"
Both Justin and Peter looked inquiring at Clint. Justin finally asked.
"So… Mr Stark and evil-villain-Loki are…"
"Gayer than the rainbow bridge, in case you hadn't noticed."
That made Steve blush and Clint fold his face in disgust.
"Tasha!"
Peter smiled apologizing at his friend and whispered.
"They don't mean it, don't worry. Tony's just… caring for Loki, for some unidentified reason, probably to annoy the hell out of the people from SHIELD. He's dated way too much women to be gay, really."
Tasha grinned. Of course her trained-spy-ears had caught the whisper.
"I wouldn't be so sure of that…"
Justin giggled.
"I just think of something. Just hypothetically speaking, if Mr Stark and Loki are a couple, doesn't that make Hela your stepsister then? That would make dating her really awkward, no?"
Thor laughed loudly.
"Relations among family members are fairly common among the gods, Son of Hammer! Peter needn't fear disapproval!"
Peter grimaced, and Justin bent closer to him, whispering.
"Just imagine what Thor and his 'brother' may have done in the past…"
Peter shuddered, much like Clint had done.
"Justin, one day your perverted fantasies will be the end of you."
"A dirty mind is a joy forever, Mr Holy Virgin…"
Hela entering the room again interrupted their banter. Peter immediately got up, as he saw she was rather unsteady on her feet. The others watched as he led the girl to the kitchen. There he put her on a chair. Hela didn't resist or protest the least, it was as if she had been run dry of all willpower.
Peter sat in front of her and tried to look into her eyes. The discrepancy between her left and right eye was much bigger than usual, meaning she was either too weakened or too shocked to control her magic properly.
"Hela, are you okay?"
She slowly nodded and whispered.
"The man of iron has shielded him from the eyes of Death, so I couldn't find him… It kept him safe… but his mind… I could feel his mind, it… it radiated such pain, Peter… What have they done to him?"
Peter took Hela in his arms and kissed her hair.
"He'll get better. Your dad survived a very thorough Hulk-trashing, I think he'll make it through this as well."
Hela hid her face against Peter's shoulder. Despite her feeble appearance now, her voice was cold and strong when she said.
"I have never had someone to be weak with. Not even my father. When I was younger perhaps, back in Asgard, but not lately. I had to be strong because I could see he held on to me like I had once held on to him. I have never cried in front of him since I left the Realm Eternal, not a single time." Her façade broke when she continued, sobbing now. "Why is it that I get so weak when I'm with you? I don't want to be like this, I'm the Goddess of the Dead for Odin's sake!"
Peter slowly brushed his hand over her head.
"You aren't weak. I once read somewhere that crying doesn't mean that you're weak, but that you've been strong for too long. It is good to cry sometimes, I think."
"True warriors never cry."
Peter whispered in her ear.
"Do you know I have seen Thor cry?"
Hela looked at him incredulously.
"No…"
"Oh yes. It… It was after your father had resurfaced here on earth after having disappeared from Asgard. I don't know why exactly it was, but I saw him crying here in the kitchen. He doesn't know I saw him, and I think he actually didn't want anyone to see it. But he still cried. "
Hela thought that over.
"Perhaps… Perhaps he hid his tears because they are frowned upon in Asgard."
She looked at her feet.
"When I was little I used to cry when they bullied me. My father told me I should take their mean words with the grace of a queen and not allow them to see how they injured me. I think he secretly hoped that if I would no longer be weak, they would lose interest in me. He was wrong. I hoped the same and I was wrong. The less I responded to them and the less I expressed my sadness and anger, the further they went in their insults."
Peter pulled Hela closer and hugged her. He knew what bullying could do to a person, he had seen it with Justin: how in the end he simply accepted his fate as a victim and paid the jocks to leave him alone. Perhaps that was why why Hela had been so merciless to his bullies, because she understood.
"You need to let things out sometimes. Otherwise it starts to rot inside you and eat you up from the inside out."
"Only once my father demanded… demanded that I would show weakness. Once I was… I was bathing in the Well of Ice at the back of the palace, and the other kids closed the hatch of the cavern so I couldn't get out anymore. I was seven and my magic wasn't strong enough for teleportation… so I waited. I had been sitting in the frozen water for three days before my father finally found me. I didn't cry. He took me to the palace and tried to warm me up, but I'm cold, I was always cold. I said the water didn't hurt me, and he said that was true. But despite that, he told me I had to cry, that my heart would freeze if I didn't."
Hela now looked at Peter, her green eyes in deep thought.
"I couldn't. I couldn't cry anymore. It had been so dark, and at first I had been afraid, Peter. I was so afraid the first day. I wanted to call for help, but my voice was stuck in my throat. It was so dark and cold…" Hela pinched her eyes at the memory. "But then it disappeared. It was as if the cold seeped into my bones, into whatever heart I had, and I became one with it. The fear disappeared, and the pain, but… everything else did as well. In the end I simply didn't feel anything anymore. The day my father finally found me I didn't feel anything. No relief, no joy, no anger towards my bullies, nothing. It was all gone."
Peter couldn't imagine what that must have been… All he could do was hold her and listen. Perhaps she had never really told anyone this…
"For days my father tried to unfreeze me, but even after my body was fine again I couldn't cry. I couldn't feel anymore. A few months later I left Asgard to take my place on the throne of Helheim, and for years I didn't feel anything. Years that the cold of the dead didn't faze me the least and that those who came for banter called me heartless. Centuries went by…"
She sighed deeply.
"My father was not allowed to visit me, but he sent me books. Never a note, never a single word of recognition, but always books. Storybooks, magic books, history books, biographies, prophecies and genealogies…. books of every kind you can imagine. And as I read the ice melted, a bit more with every word. By the time the Chitauri leader brought me my father back, I was already half-alive again. I knew that now I could cry again… and yet still I couldn't. My sorrow was so small in comparison to his…"
Peter softly cradled her when she started crying again. In sobs, she continued her story.
"I haven't… h-haven't cried this much since… s-since I was a little girl…"
"Sssh… That's fine really."
Peter just let her cry, until he felt her grip on him abated. She had cried herself to sleep. As careful as he could he carried her back to his room, ignoring the looks he got in the living room. In his room he put her in bed and crawled next to her, holding her cold body close to his. The cold didn't matter to him, because inside he was boiling with anger. How had they been able to do that? She had been seven for fuck's sake! Peter swore to himself that he would find a way to avenge Hela…
(Pagebreak)
When Loki woke up a second time, there was not much improvement notable. He stared with frightened, wide eyes at them and whimpered when Frigga touched him. His state reminded Tony a bit of a very scared animal. It made the goddess deeply sad to see how damaged her son was. She had Seen into Loki's mind the short moment she had touched him, and the sight had shocked her… Tony softly spoke to him, and that seemed to calm him a bit. Frigga watched them; she saw how the blue glow around the bed became stronger as Loki clenched Tony's hand, and how the golden thread lit up as their eyes met… It was hard not to feel desperate after seeing what they were dealing with, but knowing such a strong bond existed between her son and the mortal man of iron somehow gave her new hope. She watched them quietly until Loki had fallen asleep again. Then she spoke softly to Tony.
"Tony… He… He doesn't dream anymore."
Tony looked at the goddess, surprise on his face.
"Huh? I have been in one of his dreams, I'm pretty sure he is still dreaming."
Frigga shook her head.
"No. Those… that is magic, conscious control, in which Loki knows he is dreaming, in which he has power over his surroundings. I mean true dreams, which are born in the deep mind out of the things that have happened to one. Dreams that are like the waves of the ocean, they can be resisted only so long until you succumb and let them drown you."
Tony nodded now.
"The deep mind… Do you mean the subconscious?"
"Perhaps that is how it is called on Midgard."
"So, Loki's subconscious doesn't work anymore?"
"It isn't given the chance to work. As long as he doesn't allow his mind to process his memories he won't get better. Keeping a dam on his dreams asks so much of him that it makes the world incomprehensible. I think he does it because his tormentors used to come to him in his dreams."
Tony stared at Frigga with a mix of awe and suspicion.
"How do you know all that?"
Frigga sighed and said.
"The Sight allows me to see many things that often remain hidden. Many things I have no desire to see or know of as well…"
"You're what… a psychic?"
"You are incredulous."
"Yeah, you know… I'm a man of science and everything… To believe in psychics and mediums and stuff I would really need a couple of drinks first. Preferably ones laced with some hallucinogens."
Frigga chuckled.
"You love a man whose mere being is of magical nature, yet you refuse to believe in something as simple as the Sight…"
"I do not wish to offend you or anything, but it makes me think of the charlatans we used to have back in the days when people weren't educated well. They made people believe they could see into the future and then asked for money to make false prophecies."
"The Sight is nothing like that. All it shows is merely the things that already are there, but not visible for everyone."
"But predicting the future?"
"Isn't it so that the past determines the future to a certain level?"
Tony nodded.
"Yes, but only to a certain level. There is quantummech…"
Frigga interrupted him.
"Then to a certain level, the future already exists. That is all the Sight shows me. So also for the shield you have created around Loki and yourself. It is there, but you can't see it. I can. You could think of it as a different frequency of light."
Tony sighed and nodded.
"Well, I have seen a lot of strange things since Loki decided to attack us… I suppose clairvoyance can be added to the list as well. Apart from that, is there anything you can do for Loki?"
Frigga nodded.
"There is a way to force him to dream, but… it won't be easy, neither on him, nor on you."
"How do you mean?"
"To submerge someone in his deep mind when there is so much unprocessed, traumatizing information left is dangerous and painful. Loki will… The dreams will not fade when he wakes. Until his mind has processed everything he will live in a continuous dream, and it won't be a pleasant one."
"I will care for him. I promise."
Frigga nodded.
"I know you will."
(Pagebreak)
Bruce had finally completed his plan of action. In mind, he called it "Operation Backdoor Trots". In one of the labs he had prepared his very own brand of ultra-strong, tasteless, diarrhoea-inducing laxative, and now he was adding a very generous dose of it to each of Tony's opened scotch bottles. He had figured that since Tony was being guard dog next to Loki's bed he wouldn't use the suit any time soon, which made coating the inside of it with something truly disgusting rather futile. Bruce knew however that no matter what, Tony would rather be caught dead than completely sober…
"Dr Banner, may I ask you what you are doing?"
"Sssh, JARVIS! I am completing a very secret mission to help Tony with his alcohol problem! You can't tell him anything!"
"Well, if it proves to be helpful I will keep my mouth shut."
"Thank you JARVIS, you are great."
"You're welcome, Dr Banner."
Phiew. Almost busted by JARVIS, the All-Seeing AI. When Bruce left, he was out of laxative, and he knew all he had to do now was wait until Tony would get thirsty again. It filled him with unholy glee to know that he had come up with such a clever –childish, but still clever- plan for revenge…
(Pagebreak)
Frigga was preparing for the treatment, and she had advised Tony to go outside for a bit while she did so, because the following two weeks he would be having his two hands full of highly delirious Norse god and thus no time for any act of socializing. Now, Tony wasn't really eager to leave Loki's side, but he could see reason in Frigga's words. And thus, he left the sickbay, heading straight to the bar.
"You know, you really shouldn't drink so much…"
Tony poured himself a scotch and frowned at Dr Banner.
"You still mad?"
"Let's say I have found a way to control my annoyance."
"You're one of a grudge-keeper, you…"
Bruce grinned, and Tony frowned deeper.
"Stop doing that, you're starting to look like Loki. A lot."
He finished his drink and immediately poured himself a second one.
"You're really not drinking anything?"
"Tony, are you seriously suggesting I start loosening my inhibitions while I'm still somewhat mad at you?"
Tony shrugged and threw back the second glass.
"You know me, I've always had a bit of a suicidal streak."
"You're way too self-centred for suicide. You would, however, probably manage to annoy others into killing you."
"Being a psychologist all of a sudden?"
"No, I have been sharing a house with you for almost a year now."
The others started to leak into the room, first Natasha who occupied the sofa with a book, then Steve who was listening to something with headphones and softly bobbed his head to a tune, and at last Thor who was loudly explaining something to… Justin Hammer Junior, who looked elated, like only a fifteen year old in superhero-heaven could look. When Thor noticed Tony and Bruce at the bar however, he excused himself to Justin and made his way to Tony.
"How fares my brother?"
Thor tried to keep things brawly and cheerful, but the worry shimmered through in his words. Tony told him what Frigga had said, and he could see how Thor's façade faltered.
"It is a terrible procedure… To force one into his deep mind is rarely ever done and…"
Thor wanted to continue, but a bizarre, rumbling sound interrupted them. It was unnaturally loud, and everyone turned their heads towards Tony, even Steve who wore headphones. Tony looked at his own stomach with raised eyebrows. He gulped back his third scotch and tried to ignore the unpleasant pushing feeling in his intestines. Natasha asked.
"That wasn't you, was it?"
"Err…"
Before Tony could answer, the rumbling sound resounded again. He felt really, really bad now, as if someone was twisting and churning his entrails to squish out every drop of liquid. When he caught Bruce's look of unhidden malicious delight, he knew something as wrong. Very wrong.
"Did you…?"
He didn't even get the chance to finish his sentence when the pushing sound in his abdomen became so urgent he had to jump up and run to the closest toilet. Everyone could see (and smell) the brown stain on the back of his beige pants growing as he retreated as fast as his legs could carry him… When the door slammed shut, everyone was silent. They looked at each other, then at Bruce. Finally, Natasha let out a chuckle. Almost directly the rest followed, and soon laughter bellowed through the Tower. Even JARVIS gave his best impression of laughing, to everyone's surprise. When they suddenly heard a yell and a dull thud, everyone shut up to though to listen where it came from.
"AAAH! YUCK! WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS STUFF DOING IN THE CORRIDOR?"
The door flew open, showing Clint, with messy hair and several yellowish-brown stains on his clothes. He looked at the company in the living room and said.
"Please tell me this stuff is not what I think it is."
Once again, laughter filled the room, this time when Clint's face turned into a grimace of disgust at the realization he had slipped and fallen face first into Tony Stark's diarrhoea. Thor hit Bruce on the shoulder.
"That, my friend, was a piece of mischief Loki would have been proud of!"
For some reason, Bruce thought so too. In mind, he dedicated his little effort to the currently incapacitated God of Mischief…
(Author's Notes)
First of all, I want to thank my awesome regular reviewer jaquelinelittle for the suggestion of adding laxatives to Tony's scotch. That was one awesome idea and I hope you like my implementation of it. Also, no more baby Avengers for now, as a reward for the epic suggestion.
Then, to answer another review from a Guest (was that you jaquelinelittle? It sounded like you...) Heimdall is unfortunately not on holiday (poor man never had a day of in his life!), it's Tony's arc reactor that blocked him from seeing what was going on with Loki...
To SillyKitten: I may implement your suggestion of ponies in a gift, given the fact I will no longer do baby avengers xD
PLEASE REVIEW! Your reviews are what I live on, the food for my muse! You don't want my muse to starve and die now do you? Please please pretty please with a kitten on top?