Everything hurt; everything. He'd assumed death would bring an end to all sensation, especially pain. Perhaps he wasn't yet dead?
His eyelids felt heavy. Before trying to open them he decided to get a sense of where he was and what might be around him. The surface he lay upon was soft and yielding. There was a warm weight resting on his bared chest and warm breaths puffed gently against his skin. Another person was breathing more heavily above him and to his left. Scents of vanilla and lavender drifted to his nostrils. He forced his eyes open; it was a monumental struggle. He was so damned tired.
"Brother?" Thor's voice asked. Loki was too tired to correct him. "Do you wake?"
He tried not to sigh. "Obviously."
"This is glad news…"
"Why do I have a woman lying on my chest?" he interrupted. It was a woman; her face was turned toward him. She had an untidy abundance of fire-hued hair, arched brows and full lips that curved down. "Hmm, if I must have a mortal use me as a pillow, at least she's an attractive one," he mused.
Thor chuckled. "That is Dr. Gunnarssen. She is a great healer and has saved your life. Poor woman was exhausted and passed out while monitoring your condition."
Loki couldn't argue with Thor's assessment of the woman's abilities. He doubted the Asgardian healers could have helped him. The Other had enjoyed piercing his meng mein repeatedly with a thin blade and had twisted it around to destroy the vital organ. With that accursed muzzle, he hadn't been able to convince his enemy that his capture had been part of the plan and that he would have opened a gate for them into Asgard given time. He'd been forced to use all of his remaining power to override the dampening circuitry of the manacles and muzzle and transport himself elsewhere, anywhere he could reach so that he could try to get a final message to Asgard to prepare for an invasion. Message…Stark. "Did Stark tell you," he began.
"Yes. And I have told our father. The scepter has been removed from Asgard and the cube is under heavy guard far from the treasure vault. Father felt the gauntlet was too dangerous to move. Oddly, he would not tell me why."
"Not oddly. It's a temptation…I don't dare touch it and you should not either. It should really be destroyed, though I doubt it would allow such to happen."
"Allow? Is it sentient, then?"
Loki sighed. "Parts of it are. All you need to know is that it must never fall into other hands. Not even mine."
"After your recent behavior, my brother, I would not trust you with any kind of weapon."
"Good. And I am not your brother.
... ...
Steve Rogers twisted to avoid Stark's latest salvo. The unarmed projectiles shattered against the wall of the training area in a subbasement of Stark Tower. "Closer, but…"
"Yeah, I know. Close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades. But if that ammo had been live, you'd have had a concussion wave hit you from behind and I'd have taken another shot at you at much closer range."
"True." Steve looked speculatively at the wall. "Hmm, yeah, you're right. I was close enough that it would have thrown me off balance. We'll have to call that one a tie, since we don't know for sure which way I would have staggered and if you would have hit me."
"A tie it is." Stark fell uncharacteristically silent for several minutes, then his visor flipped up. "Looks like our guest is awake, or was. Jarvis tells me Loki had a brief conversation with Thor but there's been silence since."
"What are we going to do with him?"
"Find out what the hell he knows and then send him back to Asgard and hope they can hold on to him this time, I guess."
"Any word on Dr. G?"
"Jarvis, did Dr. Gunnarssen awaken?"
"No, Sir. She is still unconscious. I have reported that fact to Dr. Banner, he is not yet concerned."
"Ooookay. I guess we let her sleep some more. I wish the jolly green giant would let us move her, though. I can't see her being…oh, crap. Jarvis, what did reindeer…uh, our guest say about her, uh, position."
"He did not protest, Sir."
"Damned well better not after all she went through for him."
... ...
Loki frowned. He'd fallen asleep again. The woman was still nestled on his chest, but her face was turned away. As he tried to break through the lethargy that still claimed him, he amused himself by counting the different shades of red in her hair. There were at least six…very unusual. Perhaps she visited one of the salons that gave mortal women hues that were not found in nature? He'd seen some very strange colored tresses in his most recent visits to Midgard, including shocking pinks, blues and purples. At least all of her individual shades were found in those with natural hair. A rustling sound caught his attention. A glance to his left showed that he was being attended by the two natured human in his calm, weak form. The man was engrossed in a hardbound book. Loki ignored him and took stock of his recuperation. Oddly, despite the amount of time that had to have passed, he didn't feel the need to relieve himself. And something in that area pinched. He lifted the covers to look down and gasped in shock. "What…?"
"It's called a catheter," Dr. Banner told him. "It has two purposes. One, we can examine the amount and type of liquids you eliminate to ensure your kidneys are healing properly; they were badly damaged. Second, it avoids the need to worry about accidents since you weren't capable of using the facilities."
"Remove it, now," he ordered.
"Sorry. Until you're mobile it stays. Yes, I know," the man said as he started to protest. "There isn't a man alive who doesn't hate it, but it's necessary. As soon as you can make it to the bathroom on your own, we'll get it off, meanwhile, relax."
Loki fought to suppress his irritation. He needed these mortals, at least for the time being. And they had managed to save him when he had thought himself done. "Why does the woman still sleep?" he asked.
"She was awake when your brother left. Your healing is progressing nicely, by the way. It's amazing what a little bit of the right kind of energy can do. She checked your progress, transferred some of your energy into the areas that needed it most, and then collapsed again. I can move her if you insist, but she really wanted to stay connected to you in case you had a sudden relapse; she figures if you did and she was touching you, she couldn't possibly miss it no matter how deeply she slept."
He studied the woman for a moment and considered. "No, leave her. Her energy is restful." Loki turned back to the mortal. "And he is NOT my brother."
"Uh huh, just who you are trying to convince?"
... ...
Thor looked over at the bed as his brother stirred. Loki blinked several times and then looked sharply to the right where Kara Gunnarssen lay stretched out on the bed beside him. "Good morrow, brother."
Loki sighed as he turned to look at him. "Why was she moved?" he asked.
"She moved herself after examining you last. She seemed quite satisfied with your progress. You are cleared to rise when you feel up to it." He watched as Loki lifted the sheet, he knew not why.
"Thank the gods. That…yes. I feel up to it." He struggled to sit up and Thor compressed his lips in an effort to refrain from offering unwelcome help. Loki swung his legs over the side of the bed and looked at him with another sigh. "Perhaps I need assistance; where is the commode?"
Thor stood and held out a hand. "We can take it slowly," he said. Loki grimaced and leaned on him to stand. "Ready?"
"Yes," Loki grated as he took a careful step. "Why do I feel so weak?" he muttered.
"You were all but dead three days past; I am surprised you can stand at all."
"Hmm. Your healer's doing?"
"Most likely; I have felt her power, it's impressive." They made their way slowly into the washroom, and he helped Loki with the necessities. "Do you wish to bathe?"
Loki looked at the deep tub that was fitted with a mechanism that pulsed water through it while bathing. "That…sounds wonderful, yes."
... ...
Kara frowned. Her patient's energy was gone. She opened her eyes. The other side of her bed was empty, as was the chair that sat next to it. Voices murmured through the closed door to her bathroom. "Thank God," she muttered. She climbed out of the bed, slid her feet into her favorite moccasins, and headed down the hall to the shared kitchen for this floor.
Pepper looked up from the corner table as she entered. "Good morning, Kara. Everything okay?"
"Yep. Our patient is up and in the bathroom with his brother. I thought I'd grab a decent meal for a change." She pulled open the fridge and pulled out the carton of eggs, a package of bacon, the bread, butter and pomegranate jelly. "Hash browns would be nice, but I don't really feel like grating potatoes," she mumbled to herself.
"There's frozen. Just pop them in the deep fryer for two minutes."
"Oh, cool." Kara stopped to give Pepper in incredulous look. "Tony has frozen hash browns? Seriously? I thought he was 'if you can't have the real thing, forget it' guy."
Pepper chuckled. "He is. I, however, am willing to take shortcuts since I don't have a personal chef."
"Tony really needs to get off the fence and make an honest woman of you. He can't keep letting his loss issues get in the way of his happiness, let alone yours."
"What have I told you about pop psychology, Doc?" Tony snapped as he entered the room.
"It is not pop psychology, and no, I won't get off it until you actually listen. I'm stubborn that way."
"Yes, you are."
"Speaking of your issues, why don't I have a snarky nickname like everyone else does?"
"He came up with a few," Pepper said as she turned on the deep fryer. "He just hasn't had the guts to use them in your hearing."
"Aw, Pepper, you wouldn't," Tony mumbled.
"Wouldn't I?"
Kara smirked. "Oh, this has got to be good."
"Let's see, he started out with 'code red', then he progressed to 'campfire girl', and lately he's been referring to you as 'blaze'," Pepper supplied.
"Hmm. I'm not sure how to take that."
"All complimentary, seriously," Tony assured her, using his sad puppy dog expression.
"Uh huh." She smiled at the slight feeling of unease he emanated. "What did they put on my official record?"
"Uh-hmm; ask Fury," he muttered and dashed out the door.
"That reaction does not bode well," she told Pepper, who shrugged.
... ...
Thor stomped down the hall and pulled up sharply to avoid crashing into Captain Rogers and Stark. The two men stared at his expression. "I am done with him," he told them carefully, trying not to shout. "He may rot; for all that I shall care." He stepped around them and continued toward the balcony.
"Whoa, Thor, what happened?" Rogers asked.
"My brother has decided I am worthy only to be his body servant. I shall not take such disrespect, not even from him." He stopped and clenched his fists, wishing fervently that there was something there he could destroy to relieve his frustration with Loki. "I have left him in the bath. Perhaps he'll do us all a favor and drown."
"You don't mean that," Stark told him.
"Do I not?" He sighed. "Perhaps I don't, but I am heartily sick of his attitude. I will be in Asgard if I am needed." He turned and resumed walking.
"Hold up, point break. How the hell are we supposed to reach you if we do need you? I doubt there's cell service there."
"What?" Thor stared at them a moment, totally confused. Was it possible they did not know? "Call out for Heimdall. He will hear you. Tell him that I am needed and he will summon me."
... ...
Author's notes:
Yes, Loki finally made it into the story. Thanks for your patience! My updates will be slow now as mundane life beckons. I do have the rest of the story in my head, it's a matter of having time to get it typed. Thanks for all of the kind remarks and especially to BlooAngels for reminding me to explain why no one just calls Heimdall when they need to reach someone in Asgard. I've also gone through and corrected the hovercarrier and hoverjet to Helicarrier and Quinjet on all of the chapters.