When Tony and Bruce arrived at the living room, the mighty Thor eyed them anxiously.
"Friend Stark, I thought you were off to interrogate my brother, but you returned so soon... Is something amiss?"
"You ask him." Tony answered, pointing at his friend.
Bruce knew that time was running low and that he would have explain and defend his decision to all his partners, but was not looking forward to it.
"Loki is resting right now and we should let him sleep, at least for a few hours. And that's that."
"We don't have time for this, Bruce." Tony said, pouring himself a glass of scotch. He probably shouldn't be drinking, but every minute he didn't have news of his colleagues was agony. What the hell was going on in Atlanta.
"How is Loki, Dr. Banner?" Thor asked, even if he feared the answer.
"He's not good, Thor. He's in really bad shape. There's damage to his lungs, his bones, his digestive system... which is why it is so important for the man to have a bit of sleep before being interrogated by his enemies."
Thor shook his head lightly, as if trying to scare the words away. How and why did his father tolerate such excessive punishment? Had Loki been right when he said that he had never been part of his family? Maybe he was. His father had thrown him into prison and sickness and he, his so-called brother, had let him rot in it.
Tony, on the other hand, was not impressed by the state of Loki. There were more important things at stake.
"And what if Steve and Natasha are already dead, Bruce? Would that change your good Samaritan point of view? He swore he would kill us if we interfered with his plans again, a guy who apparently has never broken a promise his made. We have no time for this! How can you not see it!"
"Me? How can you not see what's going on here, Tony? It's you who's apparently blind! Don't you remember Afghanistan, Tony? The long nights, the despair, the pain? Well, imagine that but stretched into years, Tony, years and years in that cave. Now, imagine you finally escaped and your rescuers told you that they only meant to use you and then return you to your cave. Don't you think you should have the right to a few hours of sleep?"
"It's different."
"Why? Because he is a convict and you were innocent? You said it yourself, Tony, your guns, your empire, has killed way more people than Loki ever did."
Now that was a sensitive issue. Thor looked at friends surprised, forgetting his brother for a minute. He had never seen them so angry. After a few tense seconds of silence, Banner spoke again regret deep in his voice.
"Damn, sorry , Tony. That was harsh and uncalled for. I don't even know why I'm defending Loki like this. It just... it was wrong, Tony, very wrong."
Tony went back to his glass and finished it with a single sip.
"You know what, Bruce? You're right. I've been trying to act like Loki is not a person, just a means to an end." But it's time you face the truth, Tony he tells himself and continues speaking.
"I didn't want to see. I didn't want to see what they've done to him because I didn't want to remember. But he is a person, and killer or not, this is wrong, like you say. It's beyond imprisonment. I saw all those scars while he walked to the shower and I told myself that this had nothing to do with me, and that he had everything coming at him but... something didn't feel right."
"Eight broken bones, Tony, and many half-healed and old breaks. No prisoner in solitary confinement should be so broken or so sick."
"Ok... but four hours tops. And we don't get info on Steve and others before that... I'm on edge here, you know?"
"Hey, me too."
" If we can't stop this guy he will destroy everything we fought for. And people out there is counting on us, we can't let them down."
"I know. But we're supposed to have standards, aren't we? For everything. We are the good guys."
"Four hours." Said Tony, serious. "I'm gonna go try to get some feed of Atlanta. Tell me if anything changes on the Loki front."
"Of course."
And he left, leaving Bruce alone with Thor. It made him a bit uncomfortable, to tell the truth. While talking to Tony he said some things that reflected poorly on Loki's jailer's and justice system who were led by none other than his ally's father. Oops! But Thor had been remarkably quiet. It could be because he had no time to say a word, because he didn't want get in the middle of an argument or because he really didn't want to defend his father. Whatever the reason, he didn't seem offended and that was the main thing. After what happened with Clint and Bruce's near-fallout with Tony, the time for internal struggle was done.
Thor didn't like Dr. Banner's news. One thing was to let a prisoner get sick in his cell, to teach him a lesson, help to humble him. It could beneficial for everyone. But this seemed like too much humbling. Maybe Loki had exaggerated his ailments? Thor could not, for the life of him think of a reason for which Odin would see his son in such a terrible condition and done nothing. There had to be some other explanation.
"Can I see him?" Thor asked Dr. Banner, not wanting to continue that line of thought.
"Yeah, sure. I'll show you the way."
Thor could see that Banner was even more awkward with him since he had returned from healing Loki. What could have happened to shake him that much? Had Loki poisoned his mind with lies about him? He'd seemed quite weak before... but maybe he was just playing that card on his advantage. Thor had been played more times than he wanted to count. One could never be sure with his brother.
"I am sure there is a explanation for Loki's broken bones and other injuries. The Allfather is a just and apt ruler. He would not condone cruel treatment of a prisoner without a reason." Thor said, because he felt the words needed to be said, even if he was starting to doubt them himself.
Bruce decided not to answer. He was done talking and defending his position. Maybe his visit to the sick bay would change Thor's unwavering faith on his father's fairness.
Loki was just where Bruce had left him, eyes closed, fast asleep. He lay still as death, his laboured breathing making the a rhythmic sound. There was a myriad of machines near him making various noises. One of his arms was plastered, while the fingers of the other were bandaged and put in a splint.
Thor was having a hard time believing this. Was this the man he had hated so fiercely for years? Or was it merely an illusion created by his brother to have the upper hand and continue with his domination plans? But Loki had been stripped of his magic when arrived to Asgard. Maybe there was no hidden agenda. Maybe this was just Loki, sick and broken, sleeping surrounded by a lot of mortal machines. But thought was more scary than any conspiracy plan. It would be so much worse.
"You all right, Thor?" Banner said after a while.
All right he was definitely not.
"Loki... I have never seen him quite so... fragile. It is most unsettling."
Banner went back to check the oxygen saturation levels, the temperature. No change. His top-notch medical care was not having much effect, it would seem.
"What is this contraption under his nose?"
"Is to help him breathe." Banner said, nonchalantly.
Unsettling that, too. The fact that his brother needed Midgardian contraption to breathe.
"Do you I was wrong, ignoring him all this time? Do you think it was careless of me to accept his sentence and sickness without question?"
If Thor was looking for reassurance, he was not going to get it from Bruce. He sure hoped that if he was ever imprisoned his friends would do more than the thunderer had done.
"It's not my place to say."
Thor knew what that meant. If Banner thought he had acted right he would no problem saying so, like Captain Rogers had. But Rogers was a soldier, like him, and Banner was a civilian. Enough with the excuses, Thor told himself. Maybe the time had come for him to accept that hadn't acted as brilliantly as he should have where his brother was concerned.
"I'll leave you two alone."
It was not a pleasant moment. Thor would much prefer being distracted marveling about the technology or thinking about some strategy to bring down the enemy. Staying there with the still and pale as death Loki was really the last thing he wanted to do. But it was probably the right thing, so there he stayed, watching his brother, ignoring the rest of the world.
"I am sorry, Loki. I will find out the reason for this."
But there was no reaction from his brother. His eyes remained closed and the rise and fall of his chest was the only movement he did. Thor looked at the many wounds in his brother's face and arms. His friends were right. This injuries suited someone who had been in a battle, not alone in prison.
The hours passed, slowly, and with no news from his friends he figured he would wake Loki himself when the four hours were finally done. But there was no need for it.
Before the time was up his brother started breathing unevenly and let out a low moan. Thor had seen his brother have nightmares before and knew exactly what to do. He caressed his brother's too-warm cheeks with his knuckles and whispered:
"Stop your troubles, Loki. I am here... with you."
God, it had been so long since the last time he had said that... But some thing you never forget.
With his eyes still closed, Loki calmed down.
"Thor... you came..."
No, brother. I never came.
After some troubling seconds, Loki opened his eyes again, but appeared to have some trouble to focus.
"Loki, do you remember where you are?"
After a while, his brother was awake enough to answer.
"Yes. Midgard."
It was a joy waking up to find oneself free form that cell. In fact, ignoring the bad taste left by his nightmare, he felt remarkably better than before he went to sleep.
"Your Avengers left me sleeping?" It was strange, to say the least. They agreed to relieve his pain, nothing else.
"Yes, Doctor Banner was quite insistent on the matter."
Doctor Banner again. If this kept up, Loki feared he might start liking the man. And one should not like his enemies. Time to think of something else, then. Loki decided to get up, but it was proving to be a very difficult task. Thor offered to help, but Loki refused. He had been by himself all that time he could manage getting up from a bed. When he was finally standing on the floor he gazed at his brother, proud. Thor's eyes seemed. Surely not by...
Boom.
All of Thor's and Loki's thoughts were caught short by the sound of an explosion, in their own building. The structures shook for a bit and all the lights and machinery went off. There were some strange noises coming from upstairs as the dust settled and some of the glass was broken. When the earth stopped shaking the brothers heard a scream. Not much later, they were on their way up, trying to find the origin of the commotion. The elevator was unusable and there was no JARVIS to guide them, but they found the living room quite easily.
And there it was, a huge gaping hole in the glass, surrounded by what looked like gunpowder residue. In front of it were the three missing Avengers (Captain America, Black Widow and Hawkeye) on their knees, tied up and gagged, head bowed. Stark was there, too kneeling over an unconscious Banner, who had probably been knocked out by the blast.
And in the center of the center, shining in his black armour and cape, tall, handsome and uninjured was Prince Belveroth of Besildong, the one and only, the destroyer of worlds. And he was smiling.
"Odinson!" He shouted merrily when he saw Thor on the door "Come, my dear prince to this most joyous day. A day everyone will mark on their calendars, a day to remember, the day of my victory. The day I killed each and everyone of the earth's mightiest heroes. The day I killed all the Avengers! Come and rejoice with me!"
It was in that moment that Loki, who had hid himself behind his brother's large frame, appeared out of the shadows. All happiness disappeared from the villain's face.
"YOU!"
"Why that expression, Bob? Are you not happy to see me?"
The villain expression was now more murderous than ever and he approached the trickster at lightning speed.
"Pray, hear me before you try to kill me, good prince." Loki said, a mischievous smile on his face "We really should talk."
A/N: Finally some plot! Although is probably rubbish. I'm not good at plot and it's super late. Anyways, what will Loki do? Help The Avengers? Help Bob? (Credit for the name goes to Faffrin the great, reviewer from the first chapter, Thanks a bunch!). There will be a confrontation, rest assured. And badass Loki before more whump. Please keep those comments coming!
You know you want to review! ^^