Chapter Twenty-Two: Born Out of Blood
Wakanda was much better off than Titan. The few remaining people had cleaned up and started fixing the damage. The wounded were still being attended to, but overall, everything was looking up.
Thor carried Loki straight over to the medical bay to be attended to. Sigyn made herself at home in the medical bay as she quickly set everything up to take care of Loki.
Shuri jumped into T'Challa's arms once the king stepped off the ship. Shuri squealed in excitement and refused to let go. T'Challa ended up giving Shuri a piggyback ride all the way back to her lab.
The heroes went their separate ways inside the castle. Steve ordered that they should have a meeting, so T'Challa, Tony, Steve, Peter Quill, Gamora, and Bruce met in the throne room. Thor refused to leave his brother's side. Shuri was so excited that her brother was back that she dashed into her lab and immediately set to work at rebuilding Vision. Wanda and Peter Parker watched the girl genius and even added some input.
Doctor Strange gave Hela the Soul Stone. He had placed a spell on it so it wouldn't affect the souls in Valhalla. Hela thanked him before she, her brothers, and Pietro went back to Valhalla to release all the dusted victims back into the Land of the Living.
The medical bay was surprisingly similar to the healer rooms on Asgard. Sigyn had quickly learned the different types of machines and had hooked Loki up to a heart monitor and oxygen tank. She wrapped Loki's broken wrist with bandages and healing oil. She popped Loki's knee back into its place as gently as she could. Loki flinched but did not wake up. Sigyn placed a brace on Loki's leg to hold his knee in place.
With all that done, Sigyn could do nothing but wait. She watched Loki's chest rise and fall with every breath. He looked so peaceful when he was sleeping.
Thor pulled a chair over to Loki's bed. Sigyn looked up from her own chair on the left side of Loki.
"How is he doing?" Thor asked.
"His breathing is a little forced, but otherwise he seems alright. He used a lot of his energy and strength to defeat Thanos. I don't think anyone else could manage a feat of that size and survive," Sigyn replied. She placed a hand over Loki's left and held it gently.
"Will he awaken?"
"Time will tell."
The two sat in silence for nearly an hour before Steve asked to speak with Thor. Thor looked a little upset at leaving his brother, but Sigyn assured him that she would let him know if anything happened.
Thor nodded and followed Steve out into an empty room.
"What is it, Captain?" Thor asked. He shuffled in anticipation to get back near his brother.
"It's nothing really important, but I-we came to an agreement about your brother," Steve replied.
"What about him? Sigyn said that he should wake up, even if it isn't soon," Thor said.
"No, it's not about that. You do realize that Loki has many charges against him on Earth. The government officials want him dead, or at the very least, locked up," Steve explained.
"And what is your verdict on this matter?"
Steve took a deep breath. "I saw what Loki did today. All of us did. What Thanos did to him...it wasn't Loki's fault. I-we, see that Loki's attack on New York wasn't just him. For the most part, Loki is innocent, but the government will not see it the same way as us. They were not there to witness what Loki did."
"Can't you talk to them?"
Steve shook his head. "Technically I'm wanted for breaking the Sokovia Accords. Even if they got past the fact that I'm kind of a wanted criminal, I highly doubt that they would be as kind to Loki. We haven't talked to the council yet, but they are not big on giving people second chances. We decided that the best thing to do is to keep your brother a secret until we think of something else."
Thor looked downcast, so Steve continued.
"The least we can do is give him a fair trial. If the court proves him innocent, then he might be under house arrest or have an Avenger or some other person anointed to watch over him. But if he messes up, even if it is a small issue, they will most likely send him straight to the Raft. Loki will only get one chance. If he ruins that chance, then it's over. I want to give Loki another chance, believe me, but other people won't see him the way that we do."
"I understand. I will talk to Loki if—when he wakes up," Thor said. "Thank you, Captain."
Steve smiled in response. "Tell Loki to get better."
"I will," Thor said over his shoulder as he left the room.
"He's not getting better," a Wakandan nurse stated as she checked Loki's vitals. Sigyn stood next to the woman and looked over her notes.
"I thought I hooked everything up correctly," Sigyn said.
"You did," the woman replied. She was half a foot shorter than Sigyn, so she had to look up to talk to the Asgardian. "I can tell that you know a lot about medicine and health, so you should know that your boyfriend is in a coma due to overusing his magic and energy. The magic part is beyond me, but according to our technology, I'm afraid he may never awaken."
Sigyn stared sadly down at Loki. Loki's short, dark hair framed his face in an adorable fashion. He was handsome, but his face was twisted in a pained expression. Every so often, he would twitch, causing his heart rate to accelerate for a few seconds.
"Can you check again?" Sigyn asked.
"I did. Several times, but they all reach the same conclusion. The best choice is to let him go. I know it's hard, but…"
"No," Sigyn interrupted. "There is no way that I can do that to him."
"Ma'am, coma patients..."
"I know about comas," Sigyn snapped.
"Then you should know that comas can last years."
"I can wait. I live much longer than humans. A few years is nothing."
"Are you sure that you want to make him suffer for a few years? The only thing keeping him alive are these machines; that is no life to live. It would be better for him if you let him pass on. It's a choice between keeping him alive but suffering, or letting him pass on into peace. It's your decision," the woman said gently. She left the room to let Sigyn think.
Sigyn sat down and placed a hand on Loki's cheek. His skin was unnaturally hot. Tears started forming in her violet eyes. She shook her head in disbelief.
"No, I can't do this," Sigyn muttered to herself. She wiped her eyes with her free hand and look sadly at the clock. It was almost noon. Loki had been like this for almost two days. It was hard to tell if someone was stuck in a coma this early on, but the Wakandian woman was right. Sigyn could tell that there was no chance that Loki was ever going to wake up. Her studies in magic and healing taught her that using excess amounts of magic and energy could kill the nerves and burn out the brain. Most people spontaneously combusted on sight; Loki was different. He was probably the most powerful sorcerer in the universe, but even he couldn't use excess amounts of magic without some dangerous consequences.
A jolt shook Sigyn from her thoughts. She tore her eyes away from the clock that she had been staring at for a solid three minutes and looked down at Loki. Something was different about him. The pained expression was gone. Sigyn ran a hand over his forehead. Something was off...
Sigyn stood up so quickly that she knocked over her chair. She sprinted from the room in a desperate search for Thor. She finally found him in Shuri's lab with the others. The Guardians had left earlier that day, so it was just the Avengers.
"Thor!" Sigyn shouted to get Thor's attention.
Thor spun around quickly and caught Sigyn before she ran into him.
"What's wrong? Is it Loki?" Thor questioned, worry written all over his face.
All the Avengers turned to listen in.
"Is he alright?" Steve asked.
Sigyn's face was hard to read. No one could tell whether she was upset, shocked, excited, or worried.
Sigyn switched to Old Norse to speak to Thor. It was hard to tell what the two Asgardians were saying since they spoke in a dying language, but they could make out Loki's name. Their expressions were guarded and difficult to understand. Sigyn grabbed Thor's wrist and pulled him out of the lab, and probably off to the medical bay.
"What was that all about?" Tony asked.
Steve shrugged. "I have no idea. I'm guessing it's about Loki. I hope he's okay."
"Does anyone speak Asgardian?" Tony asked the group.
Everyone shook their heads.
"It's probably nothing," Bruce suggested.
"I highly doubt that," Bucky said ominously. He motioned towards the doors. Thor was back with Sigyn at his side.
Steve stood up straight from the wall and uncrossed his arms.
"What's wrong?" Steve asked the blonde Asgardian.
Thor looked down at his boots. Sigyn sniffed and cover her mouth with her hand. She turned her back to the group and stared out the window.
"There was no way that Loki was going to wake up," Thor explained. "The best thing to do was to let Loki go…"
"So?" Bruce raised an eyebrow.
Thor looked up, his eyes brimming with tears. "Loki is dead."