A/N: The plot thickens!
The Avengers, Loki, Iron Man, or anything of the like. Just the thoughts inside my head. And taking some personal freedoms with mythology and lore.
Steve gently rubbed his thumb over the few strands of dark hair on Anders head as he shuffled in his arms. The boys eyes were closing, he wanted to sleep, but they had noticed that it was hard for the boy to sleep when Loki wasn't around. An unfortunate side affect from being separated on Jotunheim.
Steve turned to look when he heard someone at the door. He saw Gabby stretching her arms, leaning against the door. "Super hero hearing?" She smiled sleepily over at him. "Or have you not been to sleep yet?" It was pitch black outside and Steve was standing out int he hall outside their room. When they heard that Tony had been found Steve offered to watch Eindride for him. Gabby had them move the crib right into their room so they'd hear whenever he woke up.
"I think I slept for a couple minutes, but I heard him starting to toss," Steve admitted. Gabby walked over and leaned against the back of his shoulder, smiling at the sleepy baby, running her fingers through the shorts of Steve's hair at his neck.
"Steven Rogers, you look positively amazing with a child in your arms," Gabby mumbled into his shoulder, smiling. "Has anyone ever told you that?"
"I think you might have alluded to it when Emma was born." Steve smirked at her. "Scarily enough, I think Tony might have said something too."
"Hmm, yeah, that sounds like him." Gabby nodded agreeing. "Sadly, I don't think little Anders is going to get many peaceful nights until he's with both Tony and Loki." Steve hummed, nodding. Gabby started to return many favors and ran her hands along his shoulders before starting to rub his back. "You've been very tight and tense since I got here."
"I think we all have been. It'll get better soon though, I'm sure of it." Gabby nodded and kissed his shoulder.
"Come on back to the room, at least sit in a comfortable chair while you try to lull him to sleep." She put her hand on one of his arms, leading him back to the bedroom. They both missed the shadow darting along the hallway.
Loki sat on his knees in front of Tony, eyes closed, chest rising and falling slowly, his hands outstretched and facing the floor in front of him. he'd been like that for three hours. Balder was sitting outside in the hall, watching him through the open door. Tony was still on the floor, trying to roll into the tightest ball he could, still shaking with pain and not responding to any outside interaction. Loki was going to try and find the Fae that had done this to his fiance, and pull Tony back to the conscious world.
Balder didn't move as he heard the heavy footsteps of his brother. Thor sat down next to Balder and looked over at Loki. "I can't hep but feel that you left out some parts of your story, brother."
"I recounted every detail needed to help uncover a conspiracy," Balder responded easily.
"I sense a hostility in Loki that I have not seen for over two decades." Thor looked at Balder. "What happened in Jotunheim?" Balder rolled his jaw a couple of times. he didn't feel that they needed to know about Loki's son being taken from him, no that was something he felt that Loki should tell them, should he choose too. But he didn't think that Thor would give him a choice in the matter right now.
"They separated Loki and I about two weeks after they caught us," Balder said quietly. "I know he was trying to hide it, but I could see that something was happening with him and the child. When I was looking for him I found the babe first, alone, and away from Loki." He took a breath, watching his youngest brother's back. "They kept them just far enough apart that Loki could still hear him when he cried."
He thought he heard Thor crack his knuckles. "He hasn't said it, but I could tell that they were doing something to keep him from using his powers, otherwise he would have killed them and escaped sooner. The Healers confirmed it but wouldn't tell me exactly how they did it. That's besides the point," Balder shook his head a little. "When he was sure that his son was safe,... We were the only ones to walk out of that prison, Thor."
"Is that the reason why you stay so close to our little brother?" Thor looked at him and Balder glanced over. "To keep the peace?"
"To make sure he doesn't go on a blood rage for what has been happening to his family," Balder corrected. "When we find the Fae that did this Tony, and the person plotting all of this, make note that I will not stop Loki from killing them." He looked back at Loki. "I've watched him work to piece himself back together, and he's had Tony there, and now his kids. As far as I'm concerned, anyone who tried to break him back down deserves what they get."
Thor put a hand on Balder's shoulder. "Thor, don't ever give the throne of Asgard to me. I will deny it. I am not meant to be a ruler, I am barely meant to be a father." Thor frowned but Balder continued before he could say anything. "Leslee was amazing with the kids while I worked, I mean, I never could have done it. I couldn't, not after she died. I don't know how I managed to ingrain myself with the Potts family, but if it wasn't for Pepper, and even Tony and Loki, those kids wouldn't have turned as well as they did. I'm just trying to be a brother and that's hard as shit."
Balder sighed and deflated against the wall a little. "How do people do this?"
"Not easily," Thor assured him. The two sat in silence, being a support for each other and their youngest brother. Being a family.
Loki suddenly started to move his arms, slowly, but Balder leaned forward to watch. He reached his arms out gently placing his hands at Tony's temples, fingers sliding against his hair. Tony's face scrunched up and he started to shake his head. Loki leaned forward further, hands keeping a grip on his head.
The air started to get tense and Thor and Balder stood up. There was a suddenly flash of light, a loud bang, and something slamming into Thor. Loki suddenly screamed in pain and Balder opened his eyes from the light. Loki was in the golden shackles and Tony was rolling up from the ground. Balder frowned and saw magenta eyes instead of brown and ducked when Tony suddenly swung at him.
Thor reached out to catch Tony's arm but he ducked down and threw himself into Thor's chest, knocking him against the wall. balder managed to jump over a well placed kick to the knee, but missed the other foot coming up and catching him in the stomach. Tony took off running down the hall and Balder was close on his heels. He jumped, tackling Tony to the ground, flipping him onto his back and putting an arm across his shoulders to keep him down, sitting on his legs.
"Who are you?" He growled. "Who controls Tony Stark?" Balder could see power start to dance across Tony's fingers but didn't move off of him. He pushed down with his arm, getting a grunt from the man pinned beneath him. "You won't get him, not completely. You're plans are failing, and I Will find you. You had better hope that I find you before Loki does."
"That piece of filth wouldn't be able to touch me." It was Tony's voice, but it sounded wrong. The words hissed out of his mouth with venom. "None of you would, and I would see you all bleeding on the floor in front of me. You can be sure that I'll have my pet do it, And I'll save that Jotun bastard for last, making him watch as my pet rips his precious family apart! There's too much of me inside of Stark, it's already seeping into his very being, you'll never be rid of me!"
Tony's eyes suddenly widened and the magenta drained from his pupils as he let out a shout. He tried to arch his back but couldn't with balder on top of him. "Get this bastard out!" Tony shouted, the real Tony. "I don't care how, just Do it!" He grunted and tried to move his shoulders but Balder kept him down. There were footsteps behind him and Tony gasped before closing his eyes and trying to roll up again. The guards had come, slipping the gold shackles on his wrist again.
Balder sighed and rolled off of him as the guards picked him up to take him back to his cell. He got up and followed them and saw Loki standing next to Thor, rubbing one of his wrists. "You okay?" Loki just grunted. "Did you find anything out?"
"I have an idea, but I can't be sure." His eyes followed Tony as he was taken back inside the cell. "I didn't get enough time to analyze the magic around him."
"I don't know if it will help, but I saw the color of the magic." Loki's head shot over to look at him. Loki knew the most about magic on Asgard, he should have known that it could be important to the sorcerer. "It was in his eyes, but I think Tony's learning how to fight it." Balder shook his hand out to let Loki see the magenta sparks. "I collected a little of it."
Loki quickly grasped Balder's hand, using his fingers to pull the power from his brothers and smirked. "Lanhr," he hissed out. Loki closed his hand tightly and the power puffed out in a magenta cloud before disappearing. Loki hissed out something in another the language and one of the guards stopped to look at Loki, face paling a little.
"I'm suddenly glad that I never took the time to learn the language of the elves," Balder murmured.
"It was very graphic," Thor agreed. "Come, we must tell Uncle Frey who it is. It should help uncover the rest of this plot against the Nine Realms." Balder glanced at Loki who was watching Tony again. After what he heard what the fae had said through Tony, he hoped that Loki did find him first. The bastard deserved every bit of pain he would get.
