A/N: Thank you all for reviewing and welcome, new followers! I hope you had a lovely Christmas and still have a great New Year's celebration to come!

Chapter seven) Behind blue eyes.

Thor found it hard to watch Loki bound, captured in SHIELD's prisons without bars. He didn't want to see how the serum had changed him, had made him so powerful, thirsty to kill, thirsty to feed more of the Tesseract. He was going crazy, being consumed, entirely.

He had stayed blindfolded for the longest of times, Thor remaining in the room watching how his body arched, how he groaned, muttering words to himself. He recalled a moment in which Loki's hands and raised up, his fingers racing over his own skin, his body arching. "I can see it... I can see it..." he'd whispered softly. Scientists of SHIELD spoke of the serum working in a way that when Loki had few senses stimulated, his mind connected to the Tesseract, seeing it. Every time they removed the blindfold from Loki's eyes, he became recognisable. The serum was driving Loki to insanity.

In the middle of the night he would wake cackling loudly, madly. Thor did not know how to stop the serum from consuming his every thought, his mind, his body. He didn't know the solution to this problem. Stark was on it, which Thor was incredibly thankful for. It showed that Tony truly cared about his brother and that mattered a lot. Even Bruce Banner had turned up after a little persuasion. The two scientists were working on it, as were many of SHIELD's own.

Thor wondered about what was happening to Jane, but he could not linger on the matter. Loki was his priority, perhaps for the first time in his life.

Almost a week later than Stark's little joke of flying his brother out of the window - which he'd got quite angry about later, as he could imagine him thinking of that days long fall Loki had already experienced - Thor sat on the edge of Loki's bed, softly caressing the God's pale forehead. He would not let Loki fall into this abyss, this power. "Loki," he whispered softly, his other hand gently cupping Loki's face. Loki was still asleep, but stirred slightly, his mouth opening a little to let a soft sigh escape. It was not often that Thor had the honour to see his brother at rest like this, to see him relaxed and open. However, this was no truth, this calm body. This sleep was not induced by Loki's own tiredness and peace, for that was not what Loki was like. Loki would be shouting to be released and would never give into sleep with Thor before him. Loki wouldn't... but the Tesseract, empowering Loki, would...

He brushed his fingers through Loki's hair once again, letting out a sigh. He needed to catch Loki and he needed to talk. He needed to pry Loki back out of this false life he was living, as he was not the Tesseract. However, these complications were great, too great for him, a God, to even figure out.

He didn't know how much of this was the Tesseract's power and how much of this was Loki's irrevocable will to hide... Somehow Thor needed to ensure that Loki's focus was no longer on stealth and lies, but on truth and daring to be who he was. He needed to make Loki feel like he could be himself. That certainly was a challenge he might not ever be able to complete.

"How is he?" Tony asked, standing in the door opening. Loki was bound to the bed, which was chained to the wall. Several mechanisms were in place to ensure the God of Mischief was not to escape. This way they could come near him, without being in too much danger.

"He's restless," Thor replied. Tony stepped closer and looked upon Loki himself.

"I actually thought he was, you know, getting a bit better, ridding himself of some of his... darkness," Tony said, watching Loki.

"He was," Thor replied, thankful that it hadn't gone unnoticed to Tony that his brother could be better. "What he did was not something he wanted to do. It was an act of fear."

"I'm afraid SHIELD will want to do more tests and it's quite possibly it won't help the matter."

"Then they should be stopped," Thor spoke.

"That's the problem... they won't be stopped," Tony replied. "Anything alien, weird or powerful and pretty immediately belongs to SHIELD."

"But if it won't help my brother get back, I will not allow it!"

"All I can say is that you should be glad they haven't tried to perform any tests on you yet, Thor," Tony replied, eyebrows raising. "And, if I were you, I would try not to provoke it too much. So, better stay out of their way. Besides, it's only costing them money to sustain Loki now and we aren't coming up with any decent methods to help him, so we might as well step down for now."

Loki stirred under Thor's touch, as the Thunderer let his fingers run through Loki's black hair, pushing the strands back. "He might be waking," Thor said, although he wished for Loki to rest a bit longer, for he truly needed it. His waking hours weren't pretty and neither of them ever looked forward to them. Especially with the foresight that SHIELD was going to perform some of their disgusting experiments.

"What will they do?" Thor asked, though it wasn't so much directed towards Tony, as it was a question in general. "I cannot bare to see you hurt again, my brother. Please return to me."

Loki's eyes suddenly opened and for a moment they were bright green, looking up at Thor in complete confusion and yet, in trust. His mouth opened and he was about to say something, when suddenly the black of his pupils widened and the colour of his eyes drained to become the same light blue they had been before.

"Loki!" Thor called, moving closer to his brother. Yes, he had been there, for just that one second he'd looked upon Loki, not the Tesseract. But what had he wanted to say? "Talk to me, Loki..." Thor said, trying to get his brother back once more. He wondered what had been the reason for Loki's return in the first place, but knew there might not be much logic too it. He liked to think it was his presence, his voice, but it might not have been. It might have been the Tesseract's momentary lowered guard, for all he knew.

"I wonder what he was going to say," Tony said, clearly also wishing he knew. What if Loki had the answer, but was simply unable to tell them, as he was severely suppressed. The thought pained Thor, but he could not let it get to him, certainly not now they had no solution yet. "Perhaps he just needs a kiss or something?" Tony said, shrugging, before he turned around to step outside again, as it was clear nothing else was going to happen.

Thor frowned at the strange remark, but had heard of stories where princesses were awakened by the kiss of a prince. He didn't quite understand what that had to do with the situation, but figured it was part of that strange humour he didn't quite understand. The strange thing, however, was that not too long after Tony had spoken those words, Loki's eyes flickered strangely, vividly, green and he seemed to be trying to get up and look at Tony. A soft, almost desperate, noise escaped him then and Thor looked up at Tony, who was about to shut the door.

"Tony, I think he doesn't want you to leave," Thor spoke, although he felt strange saying this. But what else could Loki have meant with this reaction. "Perhaps he wishes to make clear how comments such as the one you just made are simply not in order."

Tony had stepped back inside and was positively frowning as he looked at Loki. He supposed that he had become a familiarity to Loki, perhaps something he could anchor to, but for Loki to actually not want him to leave... that was something else entirely.

Loki didn't respond much when Tony sat on the other side of Loki's bed, opposite to Thor, nor did he respond when Thor carried on stroking his hair, though Loki's eyes did every now and then move to the one or the other.

"I wonder what goes through his mind," Tony spoke, by means of breaking the silence, "but I think I don't want to know."

"Hopefully he'll be able to tell us, soon," Thor replied. Tony nodded. He knew better than to believe this was an impossible ask, as they'd fought against stranger odds, but at the moment no solutions were coming up.

"I wonder if he could cure himself," Tony said. "If we were to somehow bring him back, I mean."

"Loki is strong, of course he could cure himself. It is not his power that is lacking, it's his motivation."

"Then we need to give him that motivation," Tony said, although he had no idea how that would work. Thor stayed silent for a moment, clearly thinking about the same. After a moment it became quite clear that no one knew what would make Loki want to come back. They'd all betrayed him and they'd all let him down. Except Thor everyone hated him, which didn't help either.

They let the God of Mischief alone in the room, after a moment.

~

Loki was not in this room when his eyes were blue and not looking at anything. He was with the Tesseract, that had taken on a human form, bonding with him, accepting him and taking him in. He loved her, the smoky Goddess that was the Tesseract, who accepted his every fear, his every mistake, his every doubt. She loved him for what he was and therefore he did not want to leave. The green eyes were scared of her and wished to come above water, but the blue... the blue could not live without her and would he be divided from her, he would do all to get her back.

All his dreams were of her and despite the pain she inflicted on his mind, he felt like he was worth something. He was hers and she was his and together they would make the world theirs. He would be King of all, and she would be his Queen, a blue, smoky, cold Queen. They would live together forever, they would rule and make everything they could find theirs. They would have the ultimate power.

The green struggled, ran from the blue, feared all to do with his Queen, but she would not have him walking away from her and so she took all she could and told him of the love she felt for him. She had never hated him, and would never disregard him, like all else had done in his life. She would never let him fall... Fall...

His nightmares in the green were all memories that hurt him, that terrified him to the brim of screaming and shuddering, walking up in a sweat, only to let the blue come and sooth him, tell him it was alright and then he'd forgotten all his fears and all that made him sad and held him safe in an embrace that became stronger and stronger by the moment.

~

They watched him from outside the room, picking up his brain activity and trying to figure out a logic cycle in the way he was acting. He went from resting to suddenly pulling on his bounds, screaming and wailing, shuddering and gasping, like he was having a nightmare, but it was much more severe than that.

They'd had a scientist in while he slept, checking his eyes during his sleep. When he was resting, quiet and peaceful, his eyes were green, the scientist had observed. Thought when nightmares occurred, which they could see by tracking his brain activity, being able to pick up the panic, they stayed green. Thor spoke about him always having had nightmares and thus that it was nothing strange. But once the screams came, his eyes were glowing blue, so bright that it was almost visible through his eyelids. He always glowed blue and Thor wondered how long Odin's magic would hold and keep him looking like he was now, or if the liquid, empowered by the Tesseract, would counter out the magic and would turn him back into a Jotün. He hoped, for Loki's own sake, that it would not.

"I'm going to check on him," Tony spoke, taking something from the table and putting it into his pocket.

"What did he just grab?" one of the scientists spoke, looking through the glass at Loki who was pulling against the bounds, slashing his body around.

"Stark, he is dangerous," Thor spoke, stepping after the metal man.

"No, he is not. Now just let me do this. I know psychology and a hell of a lot of science. I've studied the human brain, his most likely won't be so different. Now, I'm going in, you can see what I'm going to do," he said, stepping inside, shutting the door behind him. He did not wear his suit, nor any other protection and that worried them all a little, as he was not sure what he was going to do.

Firstly, Stark stepped towards Loki, his hand resting on the panicking God's brow. "Loki," he whispered softly, opening the God's eyes, that raced from side to side as he slept. Loki was in no way present, and thus he slowly started to undo his bounds around his waist, his legs and then, last but not least, his hands.

The God thrashed around more upon his bed. A shout left him and his arms stretched, a groan leaving him. His eyes then suddenly shot open and Tony took a step towards him, his hand moving into his pocket, to be quick enough if he needed to. "Loki," he spoke again, looking down at the man that was slowly pushing himself up. "What do you see, Loki?"

"Your death..." he growled, standing up, stepping forwards towards Tony, though having lain down for so long caused him to stumble a little. The expression on his face changed, though a cackle left him just after, looking back up at Tony with a wide grimace.

"And how are you going to kill me, Loki?" he asked, looking the God over. He just grimaced and raised his hand, letting the energy gather at his palm, the energy the Tesseract gave him.

Tony raised the weapon he had put into his pocket. "Know this one?" he asked, disregarding Loki's raised hand. He stepped forwards. "Think back at Wendy in Starbucks, she had one of these under the counter, this is what it looks like and I will show you what it does if you do not lower your hand right now."

"You don't scare me, Stark," Loki retorted, his eyes narrowed, a wicked grin still in place.

"Don't I, though?" he asked, stepping forwards. "I don't know what this stuff is doing to your body, but whatever it is, it is a lie, not you," Tony spoke, the taser still in his hand.

"I am fearless," Loki spoke, the blue flickering in his eyes. He was so pale, so blue and he looked dangerous, incredibly dangerous, but Tony knew he had an entire crew behind him that would stop him from being hurt.

"But you are not," Tony spoke. "The Tesseract is fearless as it is not a living thing. It is a blue cube that is pure energy, Loki. You cannot turn into that as you posses emotions, fears and things that pain you. Perhaps you cannot reach those things because this blue stuff it overpowering you, but it is there."

"This is my power!" Loki shouted. "Mine, all mine... this is me, Stark, you fool."

"You are missing a point, Loki," Tony spoke, taking another step towards the God, now standing a mere meter or so before him. "I flew you up high in the sky and dropped you, catching you but a second before you hit the ground. You would have died, but that was not you fear. It was your fear of falling, the fear of whatever those people did to you. You are terrified of being reminded of those memories and therefore you choose to let the Tesseract take you over entirely, so you can be in peace, fearless. But the Tesseract is torturing you, Loki, can't you see? You wither in your dreams, you scream, like you are screaming for comfort, for someone to help you," Tony spoke. "You scream like a baby without a mother, like a fallen child."

"You speak nonsense," Loki sneered. It was no lie, as Loki was convinced that he was no fallen child, nor a lost soul like Tony described him. He knew exactly who he was. The Tesseract had helped him find himself in that mess of thoughts, worry, fear and pain.

Tony took another step forwards, his eyes narrowing a little, connecting to Loki's eyes. "Then you say that you did not fear that fall," Tony spoke, his brown orbs gluing to Loki's blue ones. Loki's mouth opened, but for a moment he did not speak. He did not have words he could go by to explain what went through his mind, or he did not dare speak them. "You feared that fall, didn't you?"

Loki stayed silent for another few moments. A grin then formed on his face, his eyes starting to flicker more intensely, faster. A low laugh left his lips. "No."

A soft noise left Loki and his brows changed shape, turning into worry and pain, regret, as his lower lip was punctured, then his top, blue liquid trickling over his chin, green thread filling the holes and closing the gap between his parted lips. His eyes were no longer blue, but their normal green, fear filling them.

"Shh," Tony spoke, his hands taking hold of Loki's shoulders. A hand then moved to the back of his head, keeping him up. Loki need not to fear as this was for his own good. Tony saw how his nose flared, obviously showing how much pain he was feeling. His eyes squeezed shut as he frowned in pain and Tony saw the slight wetness in the inner corners of Loki's eyes. "I am sorry for your pain, Loki," Tony spoke, slowly guiding him back to the bed, sitting him down carefully.

Loki complied, although Tony was unsure why, as he never liked to listen to anyone, except himself. His eyes were moist, but he did not cry, which possibly made it even worse for Tony, who had difficulty enough dealing with emotional people as it was. He never quite knew what to say, especially not with Loki, who seemed a whole lot more complicated still.

Tony tried to think of what would undo the lie, but knew that whatever it was needed to come from Loki.

As Tony was clueless about what was going through Loki's mind, about the Tesseract and Loki himself, he really didn't know how to start helping him. He'd led him into the trap so far, how was he going to get him out? He let out a soft sigh, sitting beside Loki on the bed. "You got yourself out of this mess last time, Loki, you can get yourself out now," he spoke, raising his eyebrows a little in an expecting manner, though Loki didn't have his eyes on Tony.

Loki's frown had turned into an angry one and his fingers, pressing against the threads at his lips, made the light-blue liquid run out of the holes in his lips again. "Loki, look at this," Tony spoke, his hand moving towards Loki's mouth. Loki pulled away instantly. "Don't," Tony spoke firmly, taking hold of Loki's chin, his other hand moving over Loki's lips. The blue liquid shone on Tony's fingers. "This is not blood, Loki... this is a liquid that has consumed your blood and should not be in your body," he said. "I don't believe this is truly what you want. Perhaps the connection you now have with the Tesseract has made you think you want it, but I don't believe you do," he said, wiping his hand on a tissue.

Loki looked away from Tony, his eyes showed emotion that Tony didn't want to know of, but at least it was Loki showing them and not some crazed monster the Tesseract had made him like.

"When you act crazily, Loki, your eyes go blue," he spoke. "They go bluer than I've ever seen them, because I have seen them like this before..." he told Loki. Did the God even know of this? "When you came to Earth to rule it, your eyes were blue... Thor says they were sometimes green, but I don't know that," he said. "When you were here, Loki, you were controlled... I don't know by what, but you were..." Tony said, not liking the way he spoke. He sighed a little, shaking his head a little. He wasn't good in this kind of talk. The scientific, talk was good and the casual conversations were too, when the subjects were right, but psychological stuff was usually not in his list of 'topics for casual conversations'.

At that moment, Thor stepped inside and Loki let out a soft whimper, getting up from the bed, walking away from Thor. "Loki, do not run from me, brother. I will not hurt you," Thor spoke, stepping towards him. He took hold of Loki's shoulders, then turned him around, making Loki face him. He moved Loki to sit back down on the bed and sat beside him. "I will take it over from you, Tony," Thor spoke, nodding towards his fellow Avenger kindly, thankfully. Tony had done a lot for Loki.

Loki again looked up at Tony, as if he didn't want to see him leave.

"Loki, explain to me what happened when you fell, Loki," Thor spoke, holding his brother close, but Loki only tried to get away, to sit a meter or so away from his brother. "Do you want to write it down?"

"I don't think he will," Tony said, standing at the door, not leaving, but waiting there. He leaned back against it, looking Loki over. Strangely enough Loki's eyes said differently and a moment later he was up on his feet, stepping towards Tony. Thor had wanted to reach out, but Tony had given him a look that clearly stated that he should let Loki.

Tony watched Loki step closer, not in the slightest intimidated by the God of Mischief. Yet, he certainly was intrigued. Intrigued to see the slight shifts in the God's green eyes. He was fascinated by the strange blue pulse that was so vaguely present that it hardly was there at all. He saw Loki's entire being response to the pulse and yet, ignore it.

"What is it?" he asked, though trying not to bring the question in a confronting manner. He merely wanted to know, he wished Loki could speak whatever was on his mind now, but he knew that if he could speak, he wouldn't. That was the frustrating thing. Loki wouldn't spill a thing when he could, when he was in control. But when he wasn't in control… this happened; Loki standing before him, helplessly, literally speechless, robbed of his silver tongue.

Loki held up his hands, palms facing the ceiling. He brought them closer, before looking down at them. Like he would do while holding a book… Tony's thoughts suddenly clicked into place and a moment later he stood up straight.

"You want me to get that book?" he asked. Loki didn't nod, but the absence of a 'no' was once again enough to confirm. The next moment Loki held up his right hand, holding his fingers in a way one would hold a pen, elegantly, mind you. "And the pen, got it."

"What book?" Thor asked, though didn't seem as confused as one might have been at Loki's strangely… submissive behaviour.

"There's this book he's been reading," Tony replied, vaguely. "You'll see it soon enough." And Tony was out, leaving Loki to stand in the opened doorway. The God didn't do a thing, but watch as Tony stepped away and went to get the things he'd requested. The next, as Tony had turned the corner, Loki's eyes flickered to icy blue. And thus his tricked had worked once more. He smirked, skin pulling on the green threads and causing the wounds to open again. He didn't need his silver tongue.

He stepped forward, out of the room and didn't look or move to cause the door to close firmly behind him. Locking Thor up in a room that was made to sustain a God willing to destruct. He smirked only more as he heard how Thor shouted from within the room for him to stop.

He turned to the puny mortals that stood before him. With his 'brother' locked away and Tony on his way to the Tower, there was no stopping him.

"Sedate him!" someone shouted, but he shoved aside the man that dared to step towards him. He raised his hands, in a victorious manner, veins glowing the coldest blue. The same blue that was slowly dripping down his chin. Yes, he was a monster, but they would learn to worship him as one. They would learn to obey him!

They were backing away and he revelled in it. They were trained for these sorts of things, but they would fail. They were made to fail against a deity of his grandness, and today he would teach them the lesson.

As always one of them ceased their retreat, a woman pointing her gun, but not using it. The gun would prove useless against him. It couldn't kill him. Like the wounds that had pierced his lips, the wounds would heal quickly. It might slow him, but never stop him. Nothing ever stopped him.

Thor was desperate to get out, but Loki merely sniggered at his attempts, not even turning to look. He did not need to see to know his brother couldn't get to him, he could feel the freedom. Feel the power he held over these people.

"You are outnumbered," the woman said bravely. "It is madness to go against us." He'd heard it all before, but this time being outnumbered wouldn't provide a problem. For no matter the numbers they called upon, he would always be stronger. Yes, it was madness, but madness was who he was. It was the very reason he needed to continue this act. This chaos and destruction.

It had wrecked havoc upon his mind… it was time to do what all great artists did; express themselves.

He stepped forward suddenly and grabbed the woman by her throat, throwing her across the room. Her head hit the wall and she slid down it, unconsciously. Now he couldn't talk he'd need to make sure his actions spoke loudly enough for them to understand not to cross him.

"We can't let him do this," one spoke up and his eyes immediately turned to meet the man's. He was relatively tall, but lean. There was nothing special about him, yet he had the guts to stand up like this? The disloyalty of these people disgusted Loki, but he was sure it had been SHIELD's indoctrination. If he'd conquered this place, the rest of the world would follow with ease. Yes, it was a perfect plan.

"A back up team is coming," a woman spoke up, holding up a device of some sort to prove her point. "They will be here at any moment. You better stand down, sir."

But he wouldn't stand now. Of course he wouldn't. This was the moment he'd been waiting for. The moment he'd prove everyone wrong. He would not make anyone proud, he knew that, but his wish to do that had long since passed. It had become a nightmare, not a dream. The torture he'd been through had safely settled this. Now he wished to do what he'd been tortured for, to complete the circle, so his guilty could fade. He wanted to show that he was capable! That he could do this, all alone. So he could finally say he didn't deserve all that pain.

"Step down!" the woman shouted, but he had already taken hold of her and was yanking her with him. At that objections were thrown, but no actions was undertaken. Perhaps this team of scientists had never learned how to properly fight. It caused him to laugh, although it tore only more on the threads. He didn't feel the pain.

He heard Thor shout his name, but he didn't listen. All he was focused on for the moment was the woman before him and the hand on her throat that stopped her from breathing soon became the connection he needed to make her the minion she was meant to be. No one would oppose him! After a moment he let her go and she fell to the floor, panting. Her brown eyes no longer dark.

"He's doing that thing again! Get her!" one of them yelled and the woman was pulled away from his feet. Someone was ordered to take her away from the scene. Loki wondered what the point of it was, but figured he didn't care. They were all wasting his time!

Suddenly from the other end of the hallway a team came rushing up to them. This team didn't seem half as confused as the people before him… Damn.

Still, no challenge was too great and he was their rightful ruler. They would learn this today and they would regret not following him sooner. He would not refrain from severe punishment, after all. They deserved it!

"Stand down!" one of the men shouted, now the team had come to stop before him. They wore armouring of some sort, but Loki was certain it wouldn't held against his powers. The powers of the Tesseract. Did these mortals not understand he had the power to blow up their entire planet? It was a miracle it didn't bring him right to the brink of madness, but of course… he was always already there and perfectly capable to keep from falling.

He directed the blue energy towards the leading man and soon blast him backwards. He didn't kill, for it was not death he wanted, it was obedience. But surely, the man would be out for a little moment. The team was immediately under control of another, however.

If they liked to play this game, he could play along for their sake, and make it just a little less fun each time. They forgot that he could torture. Immediately he focussed on the man again, that had lost his consciousness and a moment later he was screaming, riling in pain. Loki looked away, immediately forgetting the sight that had played out before him and the screams ceased. Ah, he could see the shock in every one of their eyes, no matter the determination they showed at standing their ground.

They would all fall before him. They would all kneel!

His eyes connected with one of them and he stepped towards her. Despite her effort, he could see her step back. A low chuckle escaped him, though the tugging on the thread caused him slight pain once more. Stupid curse…

"He's only playing with us," one of them said. "He won't kill."

Ah, that was a blunt conclusion to make, Loki decided and he immediately stepped forward. He let the man fall to the ground, by making the same connection he'd made with the man before. This time he didn't look away. He let the man scream and plead. He watched the body twitch and never stopped. They needed to learn this lesson and he would teach them well.

"Stop, stop this!" one of them called, while others were trying to get the man calm. But nothing worked. Yet, there was one vital thing Loki needed to keep in mind… that each time he used this magic he was growing weaker. The Tesseract might be unlimited, but this was not the full magic of the Tesseract, nor was Loki – the Tesseracts connection with this world – inexhaustible.

He would kill this man and it would make others realize not to stand up for themselves. It would make them realize they were stupid to resist and that everyone that dared to stand up and oppose him would die. He would silence their uproar by ending this man's life. It was an offer he gladly made.

The man's terror lasted and although it was a sight Loki did not like, he felt little at this moment. He needed to do this. It needed to be done and he would prove himself capable. He was strong enough and he had the willpower to go on. No more failure.

But he was weakening, as was the man's struggle. It wouldn't take much longer, but he needed to focus, causing it to be continuously more difficult to keep an eye on his surroundings. Certainly no one would dare to harm him, now they knew what he was capable of. So, he did not worry.

Though, at the gasp that went through the room and the sudden upheaval of talk, he needed to strain his focus away. And not a moment later, causing his connection to the man to wither entirely, he was pulled back. For a second he wondered whether Tony had returned faster than he should've, but this wasn't so. It was much worse than that...

He turned around and came eye to eye with the green monster that had so brutally made an end to his schemes last time. He did a hesitant step back, while simultaneously trying to come across like he did not fear at all. Not a combination one easily made to work.

He heard how behind him people were ensuring the tortured man's safety, but he did not let it distract him. These mortals would not dare stand up to him.

Loki struggled to get free from the monster's grasp, but all effort he put into getting away, was for nothing as the monster was much stronger. He turned to face the Hulk and let out a laugh, his lips pulling on the thread. He knew how the guy did not like the fact that he turned into this humongous beast, well who would?, surely he could do something with that information to stop him from being hurt... but how could he without speech? The man he'd lied to was not present, so how could he undo the lie?

He tried to pry himself out of the Hulk's grip, but as the green monster made his way through the building, Loki wanted to spend more of his attention on actually trying to predict what the monster was going to do next, so he could prepare himself for it. He felt how he was being squashed in the monster's grip, having a difficulty breathing, but what came next was worse.

Not only was he falling, but he'd been thrown straight through a thick window, making it shatter, splinters entering his skin. He gasped in pain, his eyes having little time to adjust to the speed he was falling at, seeing the ground come close again, though soon the Hulk jumped too and caught Loki out of the sky. He breathed in in panic, letting out a soft noise, fear entering him as they kept falling. His hands held onto the monster's skin, hating the feeling in his stomach, it making tears fill his eyes, but again, he did not let them fall. He never would. Never again would he show his weakness, for nobody would accept him for what he hurt for. Not Thor, not Odin, not Frigga, not Stark... nobody.

The impact that he and the Hulk hit the ground with was immense and he felt his head snap backwards, a groan leaving him. So, this was the monster's plan to keep him away from the people he'd tried to rule? That must mean he wasn't actually planning to kill him. That was good news, though not necessarily good enough.

Loki was scrambling up from the ground, trembling visibly. Though, the moment he turned to face the Hulk the fear of the fall was quickly replaced by the fear of whatever was to follow. What would follow?

He raised his hands as the Hulk stepped closer and he backed away, trying to make clear that the other had to wait, that he wasn't going to do anything. If only he could talk! If only he could speak of his own monster. If only he could make clear that actually; he understood. And there certainly was a way. He could show it. His eyes shifted to look around, flickering from green to icy blue quite compulsively. The street was small and empty.

The Hulk was still nearing him and was about to reach out to grab hold of him when he did the only thing he could think of. The only thing that might stop the Hulk's harassment. He, for the moment, undid the magic that made him look the way he did. His eyes started flickering red, but never turned to look up at the monster before him. He felt terrified, but rather lived than take the chance that this mortal body couldn't handle whatever the Hulk had in mind for him. He rather humiliated himself further...

It was only after a moment that he dared look up, as he realized the Hulk had stopped the advance and attack. There was a strange look in the Hulk's eyes, that all too sudden Loki returned. It was understanding, certainly, but it was more than that. It was the realization that they weren't so different as one might suspect. That they shared something that they'd never shared with anyone.

The Hulk gave him a slight nod and a moment later the blueness faded back to Loki's mask. He let out a breath, through his nose, of relief. His fear had momentarily dimmed down.

The Hulk took a step closer and scooped Loki up, though his grasp was softer this time. Loki cringed a little as he didn't know what was going to happen next. The monster looked up, then suddenly jumped, causing Loki to fling his arms around the green monster to stop himself from falling. As he looked down, he saw how far up he'd jumped. Why did he have to be tortured by heights constantly? And why did he have to be humiliated by having to hold onto the Hulk like there was no tomorrow? They said that he was bad...

He braced himself as the Hulk threw himself back into the building and was glad that no glass entered him this time. Within moments, an injection was pushed into his skin and it felt like he was burning from inside and he glowed brighter, but nothing happened, he did not pass out. Again, he was injected, but it just got consumed by the blue liquid, making him grin, pulling at his lips. Nobody could stop him...

Not a moment later his eyes connected to Thor's, who stepped towards him. Clearly someone had figured that in Loki's absence it was perfectly okay to release Thor from the makeshift prison. He growled, veins burning as they made sure to rid his body of the toxic that was so brutally forced into him. And every single thing cost him energy, that was the worst of it...

"Brother," Thor spoke, with that pained sentiment in his voice that Loki had come to hate so fiercely. "You must try to see reason." But Loki would not listen to his pathetic rants on reason and righteousness, when Thor's betrayal had hurt above all others. His brother's words were empty and he showed no emotion listening to them.

Loki had so much he wanted to say, so many things he wanted to hurt Thor with, but he couldn't, for the stupid thread was sealing his lips still. How could he break the spell when Tony wasn't even here to be truthful to, even if he had a means to undo the lie.

The true problem, however, was that he now was outnumbered. Thor before him, the Hulk behind him and all the puny SHIELD agents surrounding him. And soon Tony would come back, which would mean he stood no more chance at all.

Loki, feeling maddened with frustration, suddenly directed this towards Thor. He tried to catch his mind like he'd done with the mortals before and sure enough Thor groaned. He did not fall to the floor, nor did it stop Thor from moving forward. Loki tried to induce more pain, more horrible memories... but it did not stop the Thunderer.

And soon Loki found himself moving out of the way as Thor's hammer came straight towards him. His powers were fading and the next connection with Thor he tried to make cost his own concentration and he was slammed into the ground with brute force. He let out a grunt, though immediately got up onto his feet. Thor's hand clasped around his upper arm and he was yanked the other way. Like it had always been, Loki's strength was no match for Thor's... especially not in his mortal form.

He spun around and hit his head against one of the tables. His cheekbone and nose went numb for a good few second, before the pain settled in. His hands moved up to feel the damage, the bruise that reacted awfully to the touch. And worse, his nose was blocked entirely as he was bleeding heavily. It was only when he suddenly felt out of breath that he realized just how big a problem that was. Yet, Thor seemed to have forgotten about the matter, as he was picked up again.

"Listen Loki! You cannot win! Give up this pathetic game!"

Loki's hands moved up and frantically he began to pull the strings, trying to part his lips. Every slight opportunity to breath was something, but it certainly wasn't going to sustain him forever. He tried to wipe the blue blood away, but it kept coming.

Thor pulled his hands away from the thread as he was threatening to pull them through his skin and he almost frantically shook his head, desperate to make clear that he was choking. But he couldn't speak. And surely enough he was forced down onto the ground, restrained with multiple chains. He could feel his lungs burn and he tried to pull his lips apart without the use of his fingers. The pain was excruciating, but the fear of choking held him in its grasp.

He was panicking, trying to clear his nose, but the bone seemed broken, or the blood was clogging enough to allow him no air. He pulled the bounds frantically, his body trembling into that strange unconscious daze as the denial of oxygen was starting to take its toll.

He felt more and more restrained and all the time the panic was racing through him, causing that horrible rush of adrenaline. What was worse was that he tasted the blood in his mouth, and he was starting to choke on it, as it ran down his throat. But hardly any noise escaped him to indicate what was going on. He felt awfully weak and had no idea where Thor was. Thor... the only one he truly wanted at this moment. The only one who would - if he looked into Loki's eyes - know what was going on. And the only one who would truly care... despite how he shouldn't.

Right when he thought everything was over, that he would slip into unconsciousness and not long after that into death... his lips tingled, like the thread was slipping away, fading... He gasped, fiercely. He coughed violently, his body aching and arching. He spit out blood, before breathing in sharply again. His lungs stung in relief and his eyes were tearing.

"Loki, Loki!" Thor was suddenly kneeling beside him, one hand moving Loki's hair out of his face and the other on his shoulder. "What is amiss?"

"Are you fucking stupid?!" Loki shouted, before continuing to cough and breathe unevenly, panting heavily. He was trembling badly, crying out of sheer relief that he was breathing once again. Thor didn't speak for the longest of moments, probably realizing what had happened and hopefully feeling incredibly guilty.

"You're okay, Loki..." he spoke soothingly, his voice awfully silent. Tear streamed green eyes shot up to meet Thor's, distrust shimmering in them clearly. "I wish you weren't so afraid of the truth, my brother."

"Not your brother."

"Loki, you are my brother," Thor spoke. A mad smirk pulled on the corner of Loki's mouth.

"If I were... then why can I still talk, Thor?" he asked.

"Because you believe you speak the truth," Thor replied. "It's only that... your truth. Not mine."

"Feel free to believe in your imaginary brother, Thor, because I haven't seen him in years," he sneered.

"Take him," Thor spoke to the people as he got up and stepped away from Loki, who was soon thereafter pulled up from the ground, to be secured once more in a prison cell, chained even more tightly this time. The collar around his neck was no doubtfully more than just another rope, as he was certain it looked too fancy for merely that. Whatever its further functions were, however, he hoped not to experience.

When they seemed about done securing him, he finally looked up, as the door closed. He was forced onto his knees, arms chained together behind his back, with a chain that was tightly secured to the wall behind him. Both his ankles were fastened to the ground. The chain wasn't so short that he couldn't move anymore, but it was certainly not an easy task. The chain around his neck forced him to stay upright, as leaning forward would cause him to choke. What he soon came to realize too was that that meant he couldn't lower himself to sit on the ground in any other way than this, nor could he stand up as the chain to his hands made sure of it. He was forced to remain on his knees.

And he was the one playing sick games?