Chapter 2: Not Quite There
Steve snaps out of his trance when Loki elbows him in the face. The god attempts to scramble away, but Steve instinctively wrestles him back onto the bed. Loki punches him, scratches at his arms, nearly knees him in the groin, but to no avail. And Steve realizes that something is off because overpowering the god shouldn't be this easy. Loki's assaults are half-hearted at best, barely leaving a scratch on the super soldier, and he is getting more cut up from the glass than anything Loki manages. Against the backdrop of thunder and rain, Steve hears the eerie rattle of chains and feels metal as his fingers close around Loki's wrists. The god continues to struggle even as Steve pins his hands above his head. Lighting crackles above them to allow Steve to catch a glimpse of Loki in the light—eyes wild, breath ragged, and features contorted in pain. Loki goes limp beneath him as the sky darkens again.
"Are we done here?" Steve says sternly as a drop of water rolls down the bridge of his nose, landing on Loki's cheek.
The Asgardian responds with a slight nod, before giving up his last modicum of resistance.
Steve turns on the lights before pulling Loki up by his elbow. He drags him downstairs to his living room and pushes him unto the couch so that he is sitting.
Loki doesn't have his armor on, dressed only in a black tunic and matching pants. The material is thin and clings to him from the rain. He isn't wearing any shoes, but silver shackles around his ankles instead, connected by a long chain. Similar shackles are around his wrists, although the chain is shorter, limiting his movement. Loki has cuts all over him from the glass, blooming red as blood mixes with the water on his skin. There are a few bruises on his face, and Steve isn't sure if he's responsible for them.
"What are you doing back?" He towers over the god, arms crossed. Loki stares back challengingly, lip pressed into a thin line.
"How did you get here?"
Still nothing.
Steve furrows his brows. "Did you escape?"
Loki had the audacity to scoff.
This is not happening, Steve groans as he pinches the bridge of his nose. Dozens of questions are flashing through his mind right now, too quick for him to even ask in logical order—What is Loki up to? Why the hell isn't he in Asgard? Why Earth? Why now? Why Steve's apartment? The soldier is too tired and unprepared to deal with the trickster god. It's probably best to call S.H.I.E.L.D as soon as possible.
Steve sighs before stepping away from the couch, wary eyes never leaving his unwelcomed guest. "Okay, stay there and don't…try anything."
Loki looks at him as if he were inane.
Steve picks up his phone and dials Coulson's number, counting the rings before the agent finally picks up.
"Captain, is something the matter?" He hears the agent's groggy voice on the other line.
"Hey, Phil. Sorry to wake you up at this hour but—" Steve winces as he brushes away glass from his hair "—you're not going to believe this."
"Is everything okay?" Coulson sounds more alert now.
"No, not really. It's Loki." Steve turns around to see the god on his couch, muscles taut and not paying Steve any attention at all. "He's back on Earth. He fell through my ceiling, and now he's here. In my apartment."
There is a long pause, and Steve prays that the agent believes him.
"Is he dangerous?" Coulson finally asks.
"No, he's…restrained. Can you—or someone from S.H.I.E.L.D—just come and get him?"
"Yes, I will arrange for it right away."
"Thank you." Steve sighs before hanging up.
He walks back to the couch, rubbing absent-mindedly at a scratch on his cheek. He cuts are almost healed now thanks to the serum, and Loki's injuries must be too with his Asgardian regenerative abilities or magic or whatever.
"Loki?" Steve says upon realizing that the god has his eyes closed, which is strange because Loki would never let his guard down in enemy territory unless—
Steve trails his gaze down the slender form until he sees red sinking into the light fabric of his couch. He immediately redials Coulson's number.
"Phil! We're going to need the paramedics!"
"Why are you hurt?"
"No, but I think he is."
Steve lays Loki down on his couch before lifting up the hem of his shirt. There is a long gash along Loki's ribs, so deep that Steve could see bone. Loki will need to get stitched up as soon as possible.
Steve presses a towel to the wound to slow the bleeding while the god remains thankfully unconscious. Loki seems honestly hurt, which hopefully narrows down the possibility of him deliberately infiltrating S.H.I.E.L.D. to wreck havoc. Of course, knowing the god, this could very well be a needlessly extravagant trap. But it doesn't really matter, Steve decides, because he would have done the same trap or not. He wants Loki out of his apartment, especially with families and children live on the floors below.
S.H.I.E.L.D arrives within the next hour, impressive considering the intensity of the storm. Men dressed in all black soon rush into the room, strapping Loki onto a stretcher and carrying him out. Steve leaves with them, sighing as he takes a last look at his broken skylight, as rain continues to flood his apartment. He'll just have to deal with this another day.
Steve sits with Coulson while Loki is being treated so that the agent can give a formal report of the incident.
"He fell through my skylight and landed on me," Steve recalls over a cup of coffee. "Naturally, I woke up."
"Did he attack you?" Coulson asks as he jots down every word.
"Well, yeah, but not right away. He was screaming for someone to 'take him back.' He didn't even realize I was there until I said his name."
"And then he attacked you?"
"Then he attacked me." Steve winces as he remembers their frantic scramble in his bed full of glass. "But despite the chains and the injuries, he wasn't all that strong. At least, compared to last time."
"Did anything happen after?"
"Not much. He stopped fighting me when I pinned him down. I asked him a few questions, and he didn't answer any of them. He passed out from his injury when I was calling you. And now we're here."
Coulson hums in acknowledgement as he records the last sentence.
"You think he's up to something?" Steve pinches his eyes closed and tries to will away his exhaustion.
"With Loki, you never know."
The former soldier rubs tiredly against his forehead as he thinks of the way Loki had struggled fruitlessly, how his chains had rattled and how he had bled. "I thought he was trying to escape. He looked like a prisoner on the run."
"That does seem likely." Coulson says as he gathers his papers. "We'll get more answers once he is awake. Natasha and Clint will be returning shortly. Agent Romanoff would fancy this interrogation."
"I'm sure she would." Steve couldn't hold back a yawn at the end of the sentence, and politely excuses himself.
"Do you have anywhere you can stay?" The agent offers a sympathetic smile. "You're welcome to rest at the base until you figure out your living situation."
"No need!" Tony Stark promptly barges into the conference room, body trembling with caffeine overdose. Steve winces at the sight. It's 4 in the morning. Why is he even awake? "There's a floor in Star—er—Avengers tower with his name written all over it. Cap's coming with me."
The soldier stares exhaustingly at Tony's maniacal grin and tries to weigh his options before realizing he has none.
He reluctantly does not say no.
Tony and Phil were kind enough to accompany Steve back to his apartment to help him move some of his necessities into the tower. The storm had passed by dawn, and there is not a single cloud in the sky, except for an angry swirl of black, purple, and green directly above the broken skylight.
"I think we have another problem," Tony sucks in a breath as Phil dials for backup.
S.H.I.E.L.D soon constructs a lab around the building and evacuates half of lower Manhattan. Coulson spends the rest of the morning arranging places for the displaced families to stay. Steve shyly mentions to him of the neighbor's cat, to which the agent merely smiles and assures that he will find it a safe place until the owner returns.
Steve doesn't plan to bring too much with him—just some clothes, sketchbooks, and mementos of his past life. Everything else, Tony has in the tower so there really is no point. Besides, when everything blows over and the world is safe again, he plans to move back. He tells Tony just that (all the while thanking him for his hospitality) but the scientist appears unfazed, convinced that Steve will change his mind soon enough.
Once settled in the rooms of the tower designed for him since the beginning, Steve decides to take a quick nap and wakes up around noon, more out of hunger than satisfied rest. Only Bruce is in the common area when he enters.
"Sorry about the apartment," the doctor offers a sympathetic nod, tilting his coffee mug slightly in the soldier's direction. Bruce understands Steve—at least better than Tony—when it comes to his preference for solitude. The doctor knows that there's a reason for why Steve chooses not to live in the tower (and it's not just to piss Tony off). He respects Steve's decision and never joins the poking and the prodding whenever Tony is in a coercing mood. Steve is infinitely grateful for that.
"It'll get fixed eventually," Steve sighs as he prepares a sandwich. "But it's good—in a way—that it was my apartment, and we were able to catch Loki right away. Who knows what could've happened? What if he landed on a family. He could've killed them."
Bruce chuckles into his coffee mug. "You're so optimistic. It's unbelievable."
Steve grins. "I suppose. But a little optimism never hurts."
"Dr. Banner. Captain Rogers." Jarvis's all-too-human voice resonates in the otherwise silent room. "S.H.I.E.L.D. has requested your presence."
"I guess this means Loki's awake." Bruce says as he downs the last bit of his coffee.
###
"Sleeping beauty!" Tony extends his arms in mock welcome as Steve steps into the conference room at the base. "Glad you finally made it."
"What did I miss?" Steve ignores him, hoping to bring some gravity to the meeting. They are on duty now, after all.
"Well, the other sleeping beauty woke up not long ago, which is why we called," Tony continues, "But then, he went completely psycho, flipped over the cot, tore open his stitches, and passed out again—although to be fair, Fury was the first thing he saw. Honestly, I would've done the same."
"Pathetic, really." Clint grins as he polishes an arrow, leaning against his chair with his feet on the table. As much as Clint had tried to downplay his trauma since Loki had taken over his mind, no one is really fooled. And eventually, the team reached a silent agreement to just never mention Loki when the archer is around. Most of them were good at it (except for Thor, during the brief times he was here).
Steve grabs a chair next to Tony while Bruce sits across from them with Clint.
"So we are just waiting then?" The doctor says, folding his hands on the table.
"Natasha's down there right now. She's going to handle Loki when he wakes up." Clint answers almost proudly.
Tony laughs before wiggling his brows suggestively. "I'm sure he wouldn't mind waking up to Tasha."
"Don't call her that." Clint glares daggers.
"Now, now children," Bruce attempts to placate the other two, "Tony, play nice."
"I think he's waking up." Steve seems to be the only one playing attention the screen showing Loki's cell. The god has calmly opened his eyes—dazzling and green and reflecting all sorts of colors from the fluorescent lights. His expression is schooled as he slowly turns his head to face his interrogator. There are bandages on his face and hands, covering the cuts from the glass, but a ring of fresh bruises have appeared around his neck, which Steve doesn't remember seeing the night before. He wonders if Asgardian punishment is as medieval as everyone is made to believe.
"Loki." Natasha says curtly, standing cross-armed before the transparent cell. Fury and Coulson lurks a few yards behind her.
"Agent Romanoff." Loki responds in acknowledgement, steady and deliberate as though, during his brief sleep, he has calculated every situation he might face and prepared a counter for each.
They watch the interrogation on the screen. It doesn't go anywhere because Loki seems completely disinterested in anything the Black Widow has to say. When the god had purposefully allowed himself to be captured months before, he poised himself with pride, he did not hesitate to use his quick tongue or masterful wit, and he always had to have the last word. And perhaps, that was why Natasha was able to best him, because he had been trying to best her. Now however, the conversation seems awfully one-sided, as if Loki's mind isn't completely there.
"What brings you to Earth this time?"
"None of your concern."
"I don't suppose you're here bent on destruction, seeing the state you're in."
"I'm glad you have eyes."
"Are you trying to escape justice?"
"This would be a poor place of choice, if that were true."
"Or perhaps you didn't have a choice."
"Then this would be an ill-fitting punishment."
"Maybe you're sent here to reconcile."
"Please, don't make me laugh."
"It should be in your best interest to cooperate, considering you're captured and helpless."
"Are you so sure that I am helpless?"
"We defeated you once."
"Then this is a request for a rematch."
"Sure, you and what army?"
Loki scowls at this. "Of all my enemies, you are the least. Do your worst, Midgardian. It would be nothing more than a slap on the wrist."
Natasha eventually leaves, face blank although a small wrinkle between her brows suggests her frustration. Tony lets out a long whistle as everyone turns away from the screen.
"Anyone else thinks reindeer games is on his mensies?"
"He does seem…moody." Bruce furrows his brows.
"Natasha did touch on all the bases that would annoy him," Clint frowns, "Although he's not taking the bait."
"Maybe she should have mentioned Thor," the doctor muses.
"Yeah, speaking of Thor…Where is he?" Tony cuts in.
"I was about to ask the same thing," Clint stares back at the scientist, "You and Bruce are the ones working on some way to contact Asgard."
"Yeah," Bruce scratches the back of his head, "That's still in beta."
Steve returns his attention to the screen where Loki is lying on his cot, unmoving like he had been throughout the interrogation. His hands are resting below his chest, and his eyes are closed. Steve notices the furrow of his eyebrows and a slight frown at his lips. His hands twitch from time to time as nails bite into the skin of his palms. Strangely enough, Loki seems more ill at ease when he's alone.
Hope everyone enjoyed it. Til next time :)