oOo

Chapter 7

They gave Thor four hours before he could go into Loki's cell. They were still in the main room; and on that round table was the footage of Loki's cell. He was curled up on the bed with his knees held close to his chest.

He had woken up two hours ago and now that they stared at him, he looked young and tired.

Thor was outside his cell, waiting for the signal.

They gave him a speech on what to tell Loki, or what to ask him, but Thor was having difficulty paying attention to them. He was too focused on Loki, that he had little time to think of anything else.

Why couldn't Thor just wing it, you say?

Well, it wouldn't be that easy.

If Thor would have gone in there without much thought of what he had to say, then surely there would be no progress. They needed progress and it was only a matter of time before they settled their differences they had.

And if this universe was telling the truth, then that means that Loki might be on their side.

With a little convincing of course.

"He's playing us." Natasha stated. "Just like I played him. He's good at hiding or masking what he doesn't want us to find out."

"We've noticed." Clint agreed. "But we already know everything."

"His demeanor changed completely." Tony nodded. "We get it."

"If torture is worse on earth, I can't begin to imagine what the Chitauri are capable of." Steve mumbled.

"Don't mention that to Thor." Tony closed his eyes, waiting. "It's bad."

"Tony, about yesterday—"

"Forget it." Tony sighed. "I don't want to talk about it."

Steve watched as Tony continued to keep his eyes closed, his head fell to his arms on the table as he pretended to get some sleep. Steve frowned, unable to even apologize. Bruce smiled at him, trying to assure him that it was okay. Natasha and Clint didn't bother to say anything, knowing full well that it would be a horrible decision to even try and interrupt them. Fury and Hill, well, it's not their business either.

"My problem is, that there's no evidence of his torture." Fury scowled, scratching at his eye patch. "We haven't even looked at his physical wounds."

"They were implied by a lot of people." Clint leaned back on his chair.

"I checked." Tony raised his head from his arms, making look like a kid. "Jarvis scanned him, I'm sure the Hulk did a number on him. Should we tell Thor?"

"I think he already knows." Natasha whistled.

"When did you scan him?" Clint tilted his head.

"When I handed him my phone, which is also Jarvis, mind you." Tony smiled. "He has a few cracked ribs, lots of bruises and scars. I think even his insides are messed up. I don't know, it was too quick, there may even be some abuse in there… I don't know."

They were impressed.

They knew Tony was smart, but judging from the way Tony worked, he was smarter.

"How did you manage to scan him from a phone?" Hill looked up from the papers she was holding.

"Jarvis sent a really low electric energy from the phone that passed through his body and bounced back to Jarvis." Tony yawned. "And you're welcome."

"Having a cracked rib is serious, having more is bad." Bruce said.

"And abuse?" Steve frowned. "Thor might want to hear that."

"It will only rile the guy up." Tony protested. "Leave him to figure it out. Loki will eventually snap and tell his big brother everything. And I already have a feeling that Thor knows what he's up against. I'm pretty sure that they encounter these problems in Asgard."

"I feel sorry for him." Bruce sighed loudly.

"I think he's healing." Natasha piped. "It must be the reason why he isn't moving so much."

"Still," Fury breathed. "He looked hellish when he got here. Like a damn corpse."

"Seconded, Sir." Clint sighed, putting his legs on the table.

If it was true, that Loki was tortured, then it means that he wasn't truly on the kill the whole human race and subjugate them kind of thing. It would be, Loki doing it because he was forced to and he had no other choice. Not to mention that Loki may have had it in his head that he had to do those things to prove himself worthy so yeah…

It's pretty messed up.

If he accepted the blame on his own, the Avengers were prepared for it.

They knew they could always check on his physical behavior as well as other emotional behavior, like his body movements or how his posture will change or how he talks. Now was going to be the only time they get to fully focus on Loki.

Before, they only had brief encounters with the guy, now they had the time in the world.

And the tesseract, the cube?

Shield Scientists weren't prepared for tackling an unknown object, and they needed more information before they could take a jab at it. And Loki was the one person who was for the job to know what the cube wanted.

It's only a matter of an agreement on both parts.

They agreed to let Thor handle everything for now. They just had to wait for Thor to get ready and for all of them to settle down.

"So this is our plan?" Tony snorted. "We're just going to let big brother talk to little brother. Haven't we learned anything from our mistakes?"

"Says the man who went to talk to Loki on his own." Fury scoffed at him with a smirk. "Don't think I've forgotten your stupid selfless act of heroism."

"It's more of a fulfillment on my part." Tony retorted.

"Loki's restrained." Bruce added to their conversation. "And if he's really injured, he won't try to attack Thor."

"Is that the reason why I'm still alive?" The billionaire sniped. "I thought I was just lucky."

"Or incredibly rare that he didn't want to extinct your kind of species." Clint joked.

"Very funny, Barton." Tony rolled his eyes.

"Um… Tony." Bruce shifted uncomfortably. "I might need you later on. After everything, you know— "

"I thought you'd never ask." Tony smirked, hoping to make a joke. "How do you want me? Or do you want me to have you? We can share, do it either way… We can always do it in front of everyone…"

Steve blushed.

Clint almost gagged and toppled off his seat.

Natasha snickered in the background.

Hill and Fury rolled their eyes.

How immature.

The Other Agents almost choked on their laughter, or was that disgust?

"Oh shit, that's priceless." Tony laughed at Steve, but still felt a bit of anger towards him. "Sorry, I was just joking. But it was fun to see you turn all strawberry on me."

"I was talking about the tesseract." Bruce muttered awkwardly.

"Oh... later." Tony nodded, and then suddenly thought of something. "Hey guys, what if there's a Fanfiction of us coming into this world, learning about our lives and watching our stories or movies?"

"Don't break the fourth wall, Tony." Bruce smiled.

"I think we already have." Clint reeled back, adjusting his legs on the table.

"Alright, Shut up!" Fury said, popping the screen for all to see. "It's show time."

oOo

Loki was doing his best to stay awake, completely forgetting about the camera and his overall posture of looking threatening. He really hated the Avengers right now and he had a handful of list that would supply it.

"Annoying mortal." Loki bit his lips, enough to draw blood. "He could not stay away."

First, he hated Tony for being a curious bastard.

Second, he hated Agent Romanov and Barton for electrocuting him.

There goes his chance of recovering.

If his healing process was slow before, it was even slower now that they decided to mess with him last night.

And third, he hated himself for being so weak.

Loki desperately did his best to refrain from sleeping, in fear that the Avengers will see him weak, not that he really cared about what they think, but also because the Other may get to him still. After all, the void seemed stronger in this world somehow, and the faint spell hovering over him was horrible and was not good for his health.

Loki was still somewhat influenced and yet it didn't matter to him. He wanted to get away from them, and all he could do was to accept all the blame.

And be done with it.

"He was never supposed to know." He thought about Tony. "How could he possibly know?"

Will he tell Thor?

That was Loki's main question, because Loki really didn't want Thor to know. He was never supposed to know, and he desperately wished that Tony will not tell him.

That was only the beginning of Loki's nightmare.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

Loki tiredly turned his head and looked up from where he curled himself on the bed. He tensed when the door began to creak open. Loki's magic was faint, preventing him from sensing who it was, but the knock was a dead giveaway.

It was loud and obnoxious, just as it was demanding.

"Thor." Loki guessed.

The door opened and in came his so called brother. Loki eyed him with pain, misery and anger, hoping that Thor would immediately see what he had created and unleashed upon the world.

Thor strode forward, and Loki couldn't help but prop himself up and lean back on the wall, his body shaking slightly from the pain. He was healing slowly, and it was painful. He winced, trying to get away from Thor as much as possible.

He didn't want Thor to touch him.

"I only wish to speak to you." Thor sighed, voice low and menacing. "You must be confused as to what happened to this flying fortress."

"Curiosity is an understatement." Loki's voice cracked.

Thor glanced at the camera, knowing the Avengers were monitoring their every move and conversation but Loki wasn't even fazed by it. It wasn't as if he didn't know, it was just that he didn't care.

The bed dipped when Thor sat in front of Loki.

Loki just wanted to get away.

Thor turned back to Loki, who was rubbing his jaw and giving out a soft whine when he adjusted himself on the bed to get away from Thor. Thor saw the unconscious behavior.

Like a child, Loki was.

He sat there on the bed with pain hiding behind his green eyes while his body trembled from fatigue.

Thor felt his heart drop, disheartened, but he pushed it aside trying to act like his father would in a situation. It was a terrible mistake to do, but he wanted to make sure all of this was real and not just a trick Loki used to fool him.

Loki did not want pity and Thor will not give him any.

"Why?" Loki wondered. "Why are you here?"

Loki's voice was very hoarse, less threatening than before and it caused Thor's stomach to churn. Loki was still healing from the Hulk's sudden use of him to decorate the floor.

Now, he felt sorry for his brother.

If Loki just confessed, it would make Thor's life easier.

"Why?" Thor asked sternly. "Do you wish for me to leave? Because if so, I will not."

"Idiot. Foolish oaf." Loki whispered as lowly as he could. "Why is it so important that it must be you who speaks to me?"

"I volunteered myself." He gritted out. "I would not have you persuade or trick them into anything, Loki. Enough games, I want the truth."

"What truth? You're the one hiding something from me."

"Stark already told you what happened."

"And he was bold enough to tell me when all of your backs were turned." Loki argued. "Why are you here exactly? It's not pity. I can see it in your eyes. You're determined to know something."

"What happened with Stark, Loki?" Thor growled.

"He told you." Loki paused, staring at him.

"Answer me."

Since when was Thor so feral?

"You believe in Stark's information?" Loki licked his lips and laughed bitterly. "I believed him to be smart enough to keep it to himself, but apparently I was wrong. And here you are. I suppose Shield needed bigger resources to keep me entertained."

"You tried to kill him."

"Forgive me if I was mad at him." Loki glared.

"What are you trying to hide from us?"

Loki scooted farther away from him to the corner of the bed next to the metal headboard. He leaned his head on the headboard and stared at Thor, and the only thing keeping them apart was the disregarded pillow.

"We are not in our world anymore, Loki." Thor immediately went into topic.

"I know." Loki whispered tiredly.

"Then you know that some secrets are no longer known as a secret."

Loki stared at his brother, sitting there pretending to be harsh. Loki could see Thor's hands shaking visibly in the light, telling him that Thor was just as nervous as he was. Loki's dim green eyes stared into the hardened blue ones that his brother now possessed.

What changed?

Loki wanted no more than to disappear from those blue eyes piercing right through him.

"What is your point?" Loki asked.

"I know, Loki." Thor lowered his voice. "And I want you to be honest with me."

"Don't be naïve Thor, you're better than that."

Loki had scoffed at him, and Thor could swear he saw tears form briefly in Loki's eyes, only to be blinked away in a matter of seconds.

"I thought Odin would have taught you by now." Loki crudely spoke.

"It's been a year Loki, no one changes this fast." Thor scowled. "Could it be that the scepter has influenced you too, or are you a mere pawn to someone else's games? Or both?"

Loki, whose head was rested still on the headboard, stayed unpredictably silent.

He bit his own tongue to prevent him from blabbing out what he shouldn't. He wanted Thor to realize that his brother was dead and what was left of him is nothing more than a cold hard empty shell.

"Be specific, Thor." He looked away.

"Need I be more specific?"

Thor eyed Loki, who began to trace patterns on the metal headboard.

"You are being confusing." Loki whispered.

"And you aren't?"

"Diminish your fears, Odinson. Whatever my predicaments are, they are not yours to burden yourself with. It does not suit you. For you to be worried for a frost giant such as myself is uncanny. We hold no relations, so hold none for me, as I do to you."

Thor noticed the forced smirk on Loki's lips.

Lies.

"That is not what you said in the footage." Thor straightened up, lifting one leg on the bed. "You openly claimed I was your brother to Stark, despite it being of anger."

"Fool."

"You are the only one fooling yourself."

Loki only gaped at him.

"Who am I to not be swayed with your condition?" Thor stared at him, causing Loki to stop tracing patters. "Despite not being of blood, you are still considered family, Loki."

'Don't flatter yourself." Loki laughed forcefully. "I can see it in your eyes, Thor. You hate me."

"Only because you give me reason to."

"And do you not wonder if I think the same way?" His rage boiled in his stomach. "You're more foolish than I thought you to be. You think yourself too heavenly, so bright and it sickens me to see you so confident. Do you really know me, I wonder."

Thor clenched his fists as Loki went on.

"Remember brother." He whispered venomously. "You thought me dead, when you found me alive, what was the first thing you told me?"

Loki was lying to himself.

No.

Thor was also lying.

Both of them were.

"You asked me where the tesseract was." Loki smiled sweetly. "What happened to, you're alive, Loki? I had been searching for you in all the nine realms. It had been a year since I last saw you! And now what? You are here telling me you KNOW what happened to me. I dare you to say it, Thor! I DARE YOU!"

Thor stayed silent.

"Where was that desperate hope I clung onto to be found, by you out of all people?"

"Loki—"

"Tell me you hate me, brother." Loki dared. "Tell me, so that I know all of this is still real and not just my imagination."

"I'm sorry." He blurted out, tears almost forming in his eyes.

Thor knew when Loki wasn't faking.

This wasn't fake.

"What happened to being worried?" Loki chuckled, forcing himself to keep talking "You did not care when you grabbed me by the neck and hauled me to that rock a few feet from the air. You cared even less when you charged at me with your hammer and spat words about saving this retched world."

Loki closed his eyes.

"You know nothing." He sighed. "You don't even know half of the truth."

It was time to stop pretending.

Loki was never fast to give up, but he was tired and it was fruitless to continue any further.

It was time to end it.

Tired of it.

No more.

Stop.

"I wanted to be found." He admitted.

Thor inched further to Loki, and Loki flinched away from him. Thor had to stop his advances as he stared into those exhausted green eyes. The pillow was a strong barrier for them, and it pained Thor to see Loki inch away.

A simple touch was enough to horrify, Loki.

"Tell me, Loki." Thor huffed. "Was there someone ordering you to attack Midgard?"

"Why continue to ask me when you already know?" Loki uncaringly dismissed him.

Thor stared.

"Go back to the mortals, Thor. I'm sure they'd love to hear the story of how you confirmed the truth from your prisoner."

"If you do not wish to talk about it then at least give me an answer about the tesseract." Thor insisted. "She reacted when we fell into this world. Why?"

"Perhaps it was fate." Loki shrugged indifferently. "Why should I care? This only prolongs my punishment, I should be grateful for it."

"Loki." Thor pulled Loki's arm harshly.

"W-what do you think you are doing—?" Loki spluttered.

"Talk, Loki!" Thor hissed. "I need to know."

"The tesseract has a mind of its own." Loki said unwillingly. "Hasn't Selvig already told you and the others that it obeys none? The tesseract is real and it caters to no one. You can harness its strength but it will always be unstable."

"Then why did it react."

"Why do you think?" Loki hissed back. "It reacted to a strange source, it is natural. Something that equals the power of the tesseract could have caused its sudden awareness, and warned you. Yet you ignored its warnings."

"Who is the Other, Loki?"

Just when Loki had looked away moments ago, he immediately snapped back at Thor.

His eyes blown wide as Thor's grip got tighter.

"What?" Loki blinked, as he trembled from Thor's grip.

oOo

"Oh Shit!" Tony almost jumped from his seat. "That's the reaction we were looking for, right?"

"Hill! Romanov! Barton!" Fury shouted. "I want close attention to his features. The rest of you, I want a report of anything suspicious and as precise as possible! Rogers, Stark, I want you to get ready if this goes to hell. Dr. Banner, I hope you're ready. We might need you if necessary."

"Okay." Bruce muttered, watching the screen intently.

oOo

TBC.

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