Loki knew something was wrong when Nick Fury and several medical personnel arrived at the tower. He knew it was Thor when Nick did speak to him to address the unspoken question of who was injured. He picked up Valeria and held her close was the team came down off the elevator and shoved Clint into the awaiting arms of the medical team. He waited while holding his breath to see Thor's face, but it never appeared. The look in Tony's eyes sent a shiver up Loki's spine.
"Where is Thor?" Loki asks. He doesn't even know how he'd feel if Tony told him that Thor is dead. His darling little girl will be without her golden father, whom she loves dearly. But for Loki himself…would he mourn his rapist? Should he? In the thousands of years they have known each other it was only the last five or so that went horribly wrong.
"Doom got him. Took him alive, but we don't know why. We almost didn't make it out. Clint got shot and the rest of us suffered carbon monoxide poisoning. Steve, Bruce, and Natasha are still recovering. I'm the only one that got away unscathed." Tony says. Loki can tell by his haggard face that the fight had fallen on his shoulders. But Loki doesn't care at this moment.
"Get back out there and find him! He's getting away! He's getting away with the father of my child!"
"Is Dada coming home Mommy?" Her little doe eyes well up with tears. She can tell something is wrong. Loki takes her to their bedroom to sooth and coddle her, to little avail. She is a smart little girl.
"Daddy! Daddy! I want my Daddy!" Her loud sobs carry throughout the floor. Tony marches to the bar and pours himself a scotch, downing it in one big swallow. He goes to the medical bay to find Nick.
"Do we know where they went?" Tony asks Nick.
"We have teams checking out a few locations, but I am not hopeful." Nick says. Steve, Natasha, and Bruce are all on gurneys with oxygen masks on their faces. They all look pissed. They want to go back out and look for Thor, but the medical team will not clear them yet.
"I'm fine now!" Steve protests.
"No you're not. Put your mask back on." The nurse says. She puts her hand over his and shoves the thing back over his mouth and nose. A doctor approaches Tony with a chart.
"Are you sure it was just carbon monoxide? They should have all recovered by now."
"There's no telling with Doom. I'll have Jarvis run an analysis of the data he collected." Tony says. Nick is on and off the phone constantly as intel and data comes in. Tony goes to his lab and has Jarvis run the report.
"Jarvis, besides the carbon monoxide, was there anything else in the air in that cave?"
"Yes sir, small particulates of carbon dioxide, ammonia, and bleach."
"Ammonia AND bleach? Doom has really gone low rent hasn't he?"
"I assume that is a rhetorical question sir." Tony gets on the comm.
"Nick! Hey Nick! Tell the doctors to treat the guys for nerve gas poisoning."
"Nerve gas? What kind?"
"The kind every housewife in the world can make at home. Ammonia mixed with bleach."
"Damn, that's…elegant."
"No it isn't!" Tony rakes his hand through his hair. They need to find Thor. They need to find him now.
XxXxXxXxX
The hours tick by far too quickly and when the night comes no one sleeps. With Valeria down for the night, Loki goes out the living to pace and pour himself a drink. He's not alone. Tony is there. If it weren't for the fact that he might be called upon to go and rescue Thor at any second, he would be blitzed out of his mind.
"Pour me one of those would you?" Loki asks.
"Loki can I ask you something?"
"Sure."
"Your mom and dad, can they help us at all?"
"They can but they won't. We're banished."
"But they sent you all that baby stuff! They'll send down diapers but not help to save Thor? That's stupid!"
"It's the law. Baby items are harmless. It doesn't really interfere with our lives here. Banishments are serious business. Thor and I are on our own here."
"But if Thor dies…I mean that would mean your mom and dad just stood by and let it happen! That is seriously fucked up!" Tony says. Loki smirks at that statement.
"I cannot tell you how refreshing it is to hear an outsider's opinion of our ways." Loki says as he looks up towards the ceiling. He hopes Heimdall and Odin are choking on it right now. Loki sips his drink quietly until he is interrupted by Steve, who comes running into the living room.
"Turn on the television." Steve says.
"What is it?" Loki asks.
"It's a hurricane…on land!"
"That's Thor! He'll be at the center of it." Loki says.
"I'll get Bruce and Natasha. We'll go now." Steve says.
"STOP!" Everyone turns to the unexpected female voice coming from behind them. It came from the fireplace. Loki knows who it is instantly. He'd recognize his mother's voice anywhere. Frigga's projection emerges from the fireplace.
"Mother!" Loki hasn't seen her in so long. Her beautiful face hasn't changed a day and his heart aches to look at her. There are so many things he'd say, so many apologies he needs to make.
"Loki you must go with them."
"But Valeria…"
"Will be fine. Thor needs you. You need to be the one to find him Loki. Your friends can help but you need to save him."
"What has happened?"
"They're hurting him Loki. They're hurting him in an unspeakable way." Frigga says. Loki's stomach drops. He knows of what she speaks. He didn't wish that for Thor. He only wanted Thor to know what it felt like to be humiliated, rejected, and brutalized. Shit. Loki nods as the tears glaze his eyes.
"I'll watch over the child. Go now, before they kill him. They'll see the storm clouds gathering and they won't leave him alive."
"I love you mother. Take good care of her."
"I will." Loki and the others take off. They pull Natasha away from Clint's hospital bed and grab Bruce before heading up to the roof. The jet takes off and Natasha flies towards the great storm gathering in the west.
"Do we know where we are going?" She asks.
"We'll know it when we see it." Loki says. The turbulence of their ride get worse the closer they get to the epicenter. It feels like the plane is about to break apart when suddenly the wind dies down.
"We're in the eye of the storm now." Steve says. They all look out the window to see if there are any structures that might be used as the lair of an evil overlord. One stands out like a stick in the mud.
"Oh look, an old abandoned shoe factory." Tony says. "I mean, is he too cheap to rent a legitimate office space?"
"Running an evil empire is expensive Tony." Steve says. They are already drawing fire and the jet hasn't even touched down yet. Loki knows how he can be of use. Loki's seidr crackles between his fingertips as he chants a powerful spell. An illusion of three other quinjets appear in the air next to their plane, drawing fire away from their vessel.
"I don't recognize those ships!" Natasha yells.
"That's because they are fake. I made them." Loki says. The diversion helps a lot. The anti-aircraft shooters on the ground below now have to divide their ammunition between four targets.
"Open fire on their positions." Steve says. Natasha engages the missiles and locks target on two ground gun positions. She fires.
It is in moments like this that Tony is grateful for his background in weapons making. They hit both their targets and the immediate threat is neutralized. They land next the building and Loki conjures up a team of illusion lookalikes. The decoys draw fire and the real Avengers, plus Loki attack the remaining henchmen. Loki picks one man up by the throat and crushes his trachea. Once in the building the action calms down considerably. The lights are all on but nobody is home. They search room after room, but find them all empty, that is until they find a door leading to a basement area.
Steve heads down the stairs first expecting an attack but instead finds two lab technicians hiding under a metal table. Their expressions white as ghosts. Steve grabs one by the neck.
"Where are Thor and Victor Von Doom?"
"Doom was just hear. You might still catch him. He took that elevator up."
"And Thor?" Steve asks. The man's eyes go wide with terror and they look to the left. Steve looks over and sees a door.
"Bruce, Tony, go after Doom. He went up the elevator." Steve says. Natasha pulls out cuffs to restrain the two lab rats as Steve and Loki walk towards the door. Loki practically rips it off its hinges before entering the room.
Thor is still suspended from the ceiling. He's awake but something is off. There is blood dripping down from one arm and Thor is not looking up. His eyes are dead and distant as he maintains eye contact with the floor. Loki looks over and sees the large glass beaker on the counter filled with a white substance. Any man would recognize it instantly for what it is. Beside it is the volt meter and the steel dildo. Steve turns white and doesn't utter a word. This isn't the first time he's walked in a horror like this. Steve saw a lot of things back during the war, when he rescued POWs.
"Get out." Loki whispers.
"Loki, now might not be a good time…"
"I know exactly what he is going through. Do you?" Loki's eyes bore holes into the back of Steve's skull. Steve shakes his head.
"Leave us." Loki orders. Steve debates for a moment whether or not to follow that order, but takes his leave to wait with Natasha. The door closes and Loki and Thor are alone. Loki approaches Thor slowly, like he is a wounded animal.
"Thor? Can you hear me? It's Loki." Loki takes a few more careful steps. He lowers his head to get into Thor's line of sight, but Thor's eyes dart away.
"Kill me." Thor whispers.
"No. You don't get to do that. You don't get the easy way out."
"I'm sorry."
"I know. You are vulnerable right now. You are humiliated and in pain. You've been violated and unmanned."
"Enjoy your revenge."
"No Thor. Nothing about this is pleasurable for me. Listen to me. I know you think you will never recover from this but that is not true. Unlike me you will have friends and family around you to help you through this. I was alone. I had no one and no reason to keep on living. I didn't even know about Valeria. But I found the will to keep going and you can too. You are the Mighty Thor, and in this you will be strong as well." Loki finds the winch keeping Thor held aloft and pushes the button to release his chains. Thor collapses to the ground in a heap. He curls up into the fetal position and sobs.
Loki doesn't see the key to release the collar around Thor's neck. They'll have to saw it off back at the tower. He reaches for a white sheet instead to cover Thor and give him back some of his dignity. He covers Thor up and reaches his hand out to pet Thor's hair, but thinks better of it.
"May I touch your hair?" Loki asks. Thor nods once. Loki strokes his fingers through Thor's blonde locks, pulling some loose strands away from Thor's face. "It's going to be alright. I know you don't believe that now and that is okay. It is okay to be broken for a while."
"I'm sorry."
"I'm sorry too. Let's go home." Loki helps Thor up into the sitting position but stops when Thor winces and bursts into tears. "I'm going to put my hand under your arm to help lift you alright?" Loki asks. Thor nods. Loki helps him to stand and wraps the white sheet around Thor's waist like a skirt, tying a large knot at the side. Loki knows from experience that Thor is going to be walking funny, which will compound the humiliation.
"Lean on me as you walk. It will make the limp less noticeable and embarrassing." They exit the lab area and enter where Steve, Natasha, and Thor's tormentors are located. Thor's face turns to stone at the sight of them.
"Thor look at me. You are a good man. You were once worthy of Mjolnir and can be again, but you must turn your back on wrath right now. No good will come from you taking vengeance." Loki says. "I speak from experience on this. Please trust me."
"I…I do."
Steve's ear piece crackles with the sound of Tony's voice.
"We got him! We got Doom! Any word on Thor?" Tony asks.
"We found him. He's alive." Steve says.