The Hulk had managed to grab Thor's fists, both of the God's unthrown punches were restrained in the massive grip of the green hero. The duo were locked in a battle of strength as the Hulk tightened his grip and forced Thor to his knees, into the disturbed snow. The revived God snarled and yelled in a barbaric, maddened howl at his foe. The Hulk didn't flinch, instead he returned the angry protests with his own powerful roar that echoed distinctly in the open area.
Tony watched as the two combatants tested ones might against the other from a safe distance.
The ice beneath their feet began to crack and splinter. All the snow had been disturbed and partially melted from the intense brawl, creating eerily beautiful deformations of the terrain. Above the climactic battle the storm had begun to weaken, the clouds dissipating, the thunder quieting and the lightning dulling.
Seeing an opportune moment Tony discreetly marched over to the warring heroes; their battle reaching a stalemate as Thor's berserk nature began to finally subside. Positioning himself at Thor's side, standing close to the Hulk, Tony aimed his makeshift Taser at Thor and offered a half-hearted apology. "Sorry about this, but..." He didn't finish his sentence as he pulled the trigger.
As the modified electrodes imbedded themselves in Thor's bicep and shoulder they unleashed a strong but nonlethal shock that caused his body to suddenly contract with muscle spasms. The Hulk, unaffected by the surge of electricity, kept his grip as the blonde hero collapsed face first into the snow. He fell prey to the sudden shock and his overall physical exhaustion.
Tony turned off the Taser and watched as the downed hero breathing heavily, snow flurries floating up from the ground as his warm breath heated the air.
"Wow. It worked." The battle was over and Thor did not touch Mjolnir. It was now quiet and still in the arctic once more. He looked up at the Hulk and asked the green beast a simple question. "Now what?"
"Loki, what happened? Where have you been?" Jane wanted to know everything about the former God's quest. "What the hell happened to you?"
Loki flinched as she asked the question, but only because she referenced 'Hell'. "I will..." He took a pained breath. "Explain everything in time."
"When?" Jane hated waiting and was feeling especially impatient because of her condition.
"Soon. I promise."
Pepper had taken the liberty of gathering some medical supplies and fresh water to clean Loki's less serious wounds. "It looks like someone threw you around." She observed crassly as she looked at his swollen eye. "Lay down on the table, I'll wash your face."
"I do not need-" Loki tried to protest as he refrained from leaning against the wall but his body suddenly betrayed him and he fell onto the floor in extreme pain.
"Loki!" Jane was startled by his collapse.
"We got this." Maria put her hand on Jane's arm as she kneeled on the floor with Pepper.
Pepper struggled to roll Loki from his side onto his back. "Do you know what happened to him?" She looked to Maria for an answer.
"Yes and no."
Running her fingers through her hair in annoyed fashion, Pepper sighed and stared at her. "Really? You're going to be all cryptic when a man's laying injured at your feet?"
"I'll tell you everything I know, after we take care of him." She motioned with her eyes for Pepper to look at Jane.
Pepper simple mouthed the word 'Oh.' as she understood that Maria was being secretive for a reason. "First of all, let's get this armor off him. It'll be much easier to lift him up."
"Right."
Working together the two women proceeded to carefully remove the tattered, burnt and bloodied armor from Loki's chest and arms. Every movement sent pain wracking through his body causing him to tense and recoil at their touch. It was a struggle but their heavy leather armor was finally removed revealing the electrical burn, the broken ribs, every blossoming bruise and bleeding wound that marred his chest and arms through his destroyed green tunic.
"Damn..." Maria had seen the strength that Thor possessed but she had no idea how gruesome the aftermath would be. "Okay, I'll get his arms-"
Before either of them had time to react Loki suddenly bolted to his feet and ran toward the elevator doors. They remained shut as J.A.R.V.I.S. had been monitoring the situation. Loki pounded his fist in frustration against the steel boundary. His chest still felt as though it was burning with its fresh injury, even with his hand pressed against the bleeding wound that flowed beneath his palm. Blood seeped through his paled shaking fingers and dripped onto the marble floor.
"I must... I must..." He stammered weakly as his legs began to buckle.
Jane walked over to him and gently put her hand on his bruised shoulders. "Loki, let us help you. Please?"
Loki turned his attention to Jane and started into her brown eyes. She smiled at him and pleaded with her eyes for him to trust her. He briefly glanced down at her belly, remembering that she was the only one who truly trusted him and wanted him to be a part of her life. Her life as a mother to the 'beyla'. He nodded weakly tried to turn around but him body was too battered, too tired to continue fighting. He fell against the closed doors and slid down against the smooth surface onto the floor.
Pepper and Maria walked over to him and stood at his sides. Being as careful as possible the two women proceeded to lift Loki back up from the floor and guide him over to the exam table.
As he laid on the table, his breathing irregular and head pounding, he felt Jane pick up his hand and hold it lovingly.
'Miss Potts,' J.A.R.V.I.S. chimed in. 'in the event of a medical emergency Dr. Banner had preprogrammed a list of all medication that is safe to use according to compiled records for each inhabitant and frequent guest at the Tower.'
"Perfect!" Pepper was relieved to know that she wouldn't have to guess the proper way to help Loki. "Put up the list of appropriate pain medications for Loki."
'Right away.' A large display screen mounted on the wall next to the exam table flickered to life with the requested information loaded.
"Okay, I can do this." Pepper said to herself. She looked at Jane and Maria for reassurance. "Right?"
"It's freezing out here. Why can't we take Thor back through the gate yet?" Bruce had returned to his natural state and was unhappy with the cold.
"Because if Thor is still crazy then we'll have to stop him from tearing apart the Tower and the city." Tony rubbed his hands together as he watched Thor lay unconscious in the snow, hesitant to approach the downed man. "Besides, I gave you my jacket stop whining."
Bruce was frantically rubbing his arms together, they were pulled inside the jacket from the sleeves and were wrapped around his chest. "Yeah, and if I knew we were going to be stuck out in the arctic for a few hours I-I would've brought heavier cl-clothes." His shivering disturbed his speech.
"You're lucky your clothes weren't destroyed in the jet. It'd be pretty awkward to be stuck out in the arctic half-naked with a God. It'd be awkward for me, too."
"Yeah, thanks Tony." Bruce wasn't in the mood to kid around.
"You know, that almost sounds the opening to a lame joke."
"What's the punch line?"
"I guess we are." He smiled devilishly at his friend. "At least until something better comes along."
Bruce sighed and watched his breath disappear into the air.
"Bruce, we did good." He glanced around at the carnage that had been unleashed during the battle before focusing on Bruce again. "It doesn't look like it, but we did."
"How's that?"
"Thor never got ahold of his hammer. If he did then this would ALL be alot worse and far more..."
"Far more? What?" Bruce had an idea where Tony was going.
"Smashed."
Thor let out a pained groan and his hands began to twitch. Both Tony and Bruce took a step back just in case he was still mad and was up for round two.
Bruce looked at Tony concerned. "What do we do?"
"Go touch him."
"I'm not going to touch him, you touch him!"
"I'm not touching him." Tony eyed Thor carefully. "I can't pull off 'green' as well as you can."
With J.A.R.V.I.S. as her assistance Pepper was able to give Loki the proper medication to ease his pain without it harming him, or worse, killing him. Maria stood at the foot of the exam table, her arms crossed in a defensive posture. She just watched as Loki laid wounded on the table, his breaths very shallow and fast.
Jane walked over to Loki and placed a cold compress on his forehead. "Try to relax, okay?" She could see the linger pain in Loki's eyes and a small twinge of fear. She kept her hand on the compress and stayed at his side.
Pepper had finished scrubbing her hands in the skin on the far wall and slipped on a pair of sterile gloves. She eyed the bandages and antiseptics on the tray next to Loki's bed. "Maria, could you give me a hand?"
"Sure. What do you need me-"
"Ow..." Jane whimpered pitifully as she pulled her hand from the compress and squeezed Loki's hand tightly.
Pepper and Maria looked at her with concern. Pepper had a sense what was wrong. "Jane? Are you..."
Jane held her hand to her abdomen. "I think..." She winced in pain. "Yeah, it's happening."
...to be continued...