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It was going to happen. He was going to win. That idiot Coulson was wrong; he wasn’t going to lose.
He felt the arrow whiz toward him and catching it one-handed felt like second nature. He laughed out loud, just as his hovercraft caught fire. Shit. He yelped in surprise, falling from the Chitari hovercraft, tumbling through the air and watching helplessly as the building windows whizzed by. He conjured up enough of his seidr to break his fall, but even with that, he landed hard on his right side, feeling the crack of his ribs. He skidded across the debris-filled street on his right side, scrambling against the ground to slow himself to a stop. The air felt thick with the pollution and debris as he grasped for breath, the sudden fall jarring him. Around him were broken buildings and fallen balconies, and crumbling concrete. He pushed himself to sit up and assess the damage, and found he barely was able to sit upright, and his body trembled as he tried to stand. The dust had settled somewhat, and he used a piece of broken concrete as support to stand. The effort alone left him breathless. He coughed out a mouthful of blood and a second later, he was surrounded.
“Loki,” Tony spat. “ I knew it was you. You’re coming with us.”
Loki stared unhappily in the faces of Ironman and Captain America. Refusing Captain America’s arm for support, he gritted his teeth and forced himself to walk, tensing against the onslaught of pain that prickled around his side and lower back. He struggled to conjure anything as a last escape, and found himself failing. Ignoring the way his vision swam before him, he reluctantly let them slap him in handcuffs and lead him to their car.
Minutes later, Loki was sitting awkwardly in the backseat as Captain America drove. Where were they taking him? Suddenly, Captain America swerved to the side, pulling over. He gasped in surprise, earning a sudden burst of searing pain from his side. It took a minute to get it under control, and he easily brushed it off, his face remaining as stoic as possible. He hardly noticed his brother climbing into the car.
“Ah, we did capture him after all,” Thor grunted. “Good to see you again, brother.” Thor turned around to take in his adopted brother’s frame and his hard stare met his eyes with apparent coldness against his pale skin. Thor sighed, and turned to face forward. Was Loki always that pale? Thor glanced in the rearview mirror briefly and saw that Loki was staring at him.
Loki met his brother’s eyes briefly before pulling them away to watch the city pass by. He wasn’t sure what to say to his brother or even how to begin to explain his plan. Besides, his side was throbbing and he breathed shorter, quicker breaths to avoid putting unnecessary pressure on it. With that and keeping himself from concentrating too much on the motion of the car, he didn’t have enough energy to spare.
He had expected to be thrown into something like a padded cell but instead, the small space felt more like an abandoned room. He noticed that there was a camera in one corner, and there was a small horizontally cut slit for a window at the top of one of the walls. He studied it for a second to quickly access it (too small to slip out of and too small to do much of anything with…), but he felt a small part of his chest loosen knowing that he could at least see the sky outside. A shiver worked its way through his frame and he suddenly felt too hot in his clothes. Small beads of sweat gathered at the nape of his neck and he could feel how his chest and back were now in pain, but he kept his face stonily straight. No reason to alarm anyone. It wasn’t like they’d rush to help or save him, especially after the last time he was in Stark Tower. He remembered it all too well, the way he tricked Thor and the way he had stabbed the scepter through Coulson’s body.
Apart from the window, the room was empty except for an old bed with a thin and slightly ratty mattress, a sink, and a bucket in the corner. He eyed the bucket annoyingly; clearly they knew nothing about gods.
Tony led Loki inside. “No space or people for you to gather for your schemes in here,” he chuckled ruefully, before walking out and shutting the door.
As the door hissed shut and locked, the cuffs automatically unlocked and fell to the floor. Rubbing his wrists, Loki breathed deeper in relief, earning a flash of pain from his side. He bit back a groan. The trip over had done nothing to improve his state, and he could feel a pressure starting to build behind his eyes. His stomach wasn’t feeling great, either. Loki eyed the camera for a quick second, watching the camera’s red light blinking at him. He grunted softly as he sat on the bed. He really wanted to lay down and curl up, but there was no room for weakness now. There was no one who would come to help anyway. Besides, he was fine. His side was just a bit bruised, nothing to worry about.
But…
He glanced at the camera again and moved closer to the end of the bed. Here, found that he was a bit more out of the way of the camera and took advantage. He listened for any noise in the hallway and once he was sure it was clear, took a breath and pressed a hand against his right side, hiding the motion with his cape. His light touch made his whole side erupt in a wave of heated pain, feeling it radiate thru his chest and lower back. He prodded gently against his broken ribs, doing his best to stay upright, and suddenly his hand was wet with blood. His blood. He must have landed on something sharp as he skidded across the ground. Loki bit his lip against the pain as he turned his body to get a better view of his injury. This earned another spread of pain through his body, but the gash looked furirously red against his torso and felt deep and dirty with debris.
Usually, he would simply heal without a worry, but this gash was refusing to heal on its own. He closed his eyes and dragged a hand over it, gathering his power. The effort alone left him nearly faint and dizzy, and with his remaining energy, he did his best to stitch it closed in his weakened state. His head pounded with the effort and the use of his power made the room spin sickly, but he could feel the burning in his side lessen slightly. He groaned quietly and gritted his teeth to force more of his power to finish closing the wound. He worked without thinking as the pain clouded his mind and with gritting his teeth and closing his eyes, he forced the wound to heal. He shook with effort and could feel the sweat trickling down his neck and back. But it was healing, and a few minutes later, the burning had lessened. He still felt too warm and too dizzy, and couldn’t fight the sudden urge to rest as he curled onto the bed, laying on his uninjured side, and felt his eyes slip closed against his will. With a small sigh, he fell into a restless sleep.
He awoke later, unsure if it had been minutes or hours he had been asleep. He felt as if he was on fire and when he opened his eyes, the room spun and he could feel his mouth fill with saliva. He swallowed it down, curling tighter on the bed, willing the world to stop spinning. He reached for his power, but it felt far away, and just reaching for it left him feeling sicker and worse, and he bit back a groan. His head still throbbed rhythmically.
Footsteps came and Loki, with gritted teeth and hands clenching at his side, pulled himself upright. He focused hard on appearing fine, pulling his face into a semi-scowl just as Banner came into view.
“I’m here…” the man started, taking in the cell. He could see that the god had shed his helmet, but kept on his cape and sat on the bed, scowling at him with dark, stormy eyes. For once, Banner was glad that looks couldn’t kill, especially from a god.
“Just here to bring you breakfast,” he tried again, doing his best to sound slightly more cheerful. He glanced around the room, searching for a place to set the tray, and in the end, placed it carefully on the floor. Tony had prepared it, putting a meager portion of runny oatmeal with a glass of water. When he told Banner to bring it to Loki, Banner had dumped the contents after Tony left and replaced it with toast, fruit, and scrambled eggs. He might not be a fan of the god, but he could tell by Loki’s thinner frame that it had been awhile since he last had a filling meal.
“And once you’re finished, we have a job for you.”
“A job,” Loki replied dryly.
Banner nodded. “We need some extra hands helping to clear the city from the Chitari attack…” he trailed off for a second. “Just some collection. We’ll keep a close eye on you, but it’ll be a nice break from this cell.”
Loki nodded slowly. “Yes, from one jail and into another.”
Banner, unsure of what else to add, nodded back. “I’ll come to collect you in an hour.”
As soon Banner was gone for a few minutes, Loki allowed himself to groan and his breath gasped in his throat as his side throbbed, but he could smell the food from across the room. It had been days since his last meal, and even through his weakened state, he could tell that part of it was due to lack of nutrition. Food would help, and if anything, at least a few sips of water couldn’t hurt. He’d need as much strength as possible. Gathering as much of his power that his feeble state allowed, and forced his seidr to heal his broken ribs. He grunted at the pain and again, he shook terribly with the effort, and felt sweat dripping down the sides of his face from the exertion. He whimpered as his vision swam from the effort, but he was rewarded when he felt his ribs reset and could breathe deeper. When he glanced carefully at the wound, he found it less red and more bruised. That was all he needed. Thank the Norns.
He caught his breath and allowed himself a small respite before figuring out breakfast. He made his way to the tray and took a sip of water and waited. When the feeling of relief outweighed any potential sickness, Loki let out a breath and took another sip.
In the end, he picked at most of the food, pushing the eggs around the plate. What were they going to do with him? What sort of job would he be forced to do? He was pulled from his thoughts as the door hissed open. He quickly made his way to his feet as Tony Stark came into view.
“Good morning, Reindeer Games,” Tony started with a smirk. He took in the uneaten breakfast. “Hm, not a fan of breakfast food?”
“Not particularly,” Loki responded easily. “I take it you’re here to escort me to my new job?”
“Yes, and it’ll be easy work for a god,” he chuckled. “And you’ll get a nice suntan, too.”
Loki inwardly groaned, not just at the prospect of the assignment but of being outdoors in the summer sun. “Excellent,” he sighed.
From his belt, Tony pulled out a pair of handcuffs. “Let’s get started,” he stated.
The sun blared down on Loki as he collected the city debris and marked the items that needed to be hauled away. Large tractors and dump trucks roared as they organized the larger debris. Their horns blared and Loki winced as his headache returned. Luckily, the job was simple, but the heat was making him feel like he was moving through molasses. His head pounded in his ears and he could feel his body tremble with the effort to keep moving. He was glad he healed himself that morning, but he could tell that the heat was making his whole body weaker. Loki wanted to spit at the thought of his heritage; he was never meant to sit out in the sun. If he had truly been Loki Odinson, this job would have been tiring, but not difficult. And here he was, using a broken balcony to keep himself upright. Pathetic. He was so weak and pathetic.
When a break was issued, Loki stepped in the shade and let himself droop with relief. His head felt stuffed with cotton and sweat stuck to his hair, shirt, and skin. The dusty air made him feel grimy and wasn’t helping his dizziness as he leaned against the building heavily.
“Holding up okay?” Banner asked, handing Loki a bottle of water.
Loki nodded silently and sipped at the water gratefully. “I don’t particularly get along with heat.” The world tilted and Loki stumbled before catching himself shakily. A slight pain was starting in his side again. What was with his healing?
“Are you sure you’re okay?” Banner asked again, reaching out to steady the god. Even in the heat, he could see the god trembling and sweating profusely. Did gods sweat like that?
“I’m fine,” Loki grunted, his voice coming out harder than he meant to. “I’m fine,” he tried again, doing his best to sound confident. With no other choice, he stepped back into the hot summer sun.
The end of the day came slowly and when he was deposited back in his cell, he was tempted to collapse against the cool floor. As the door hissed shut, Loki gasped out in pain, finally allowing himself to succumb to the tremors that he had bitten away. His body was on fire and the flames threatened to overtake him as he whimpered quietly, feeling the pain radiate up and down his body. Something was wrong. Loki shook as he struggled to heal himself, his side, something, even just to reach his power but everything felt so far away…
Loki was on fire. He was the fire and his body was the tinder, burning, burning, burning. He could feel his control of his seidr slipping and that made him feel more exposed, knowing that there was no more hiding, no more pretending he was fine, that he was at the mercy of the very people that wanted him dead. For the first time in a long time, he wished for his brother. He gritted his teeth against the pain and fever, searching for his power or any remaining seidr, and found nothing. His body felt numb in the flames and he could feel his mouth filling with saliva as he swallowed against the rising nausea. He coughed once, struggling to turn on his side, choking over bile since he had eaten nothing in days. He was hot, too hot, too dizzy and the pulling blackness that started in the corners of his vision felt like sweet relief.
“Loki!” Hands gripped him and shook him and he moaned against the wave of pain that it brought. He coughed again, more bile dribbling down his chin and his stomach fought to expel whatever was in him that was causing him pain.
“Do you see any injuries?”
More voices and more hands on him. He pushed back against the touches, moaning and coughing as he did his best to pull away. He was too weak, and it was too much, it was all too much.
Then, his cape was removed and he was exposed.
“Get Thor.” Banner urged. “I haven’t seen anything like this before.”
Loki could do nothing but shudder and shake under steady hands, coughing again and fighting the urge to retch again. His stomach cramped, aggravating the pain in his side and chest, and he gasped against the pain and anguish, struggling to pull his cloak around him again. They can’t know. They can’t know. He struggled, the effort making him more lightheaded, and as he failed, he felt the familiar voice in his head. Weak. Weak and needy.
“Nn-no,” he moaned, losing strength and energy to stay conscious.
“No, no, no sleeping Loki, stay with me,” Banner urged, pulling the god into a sitting position. Loki’s body radiated heat and his face was paler than normal, his features looking waxy in the fluorescent lights. Banner tapped Loki’s cheek, breathing in slight relief as he saw the god’s stark green eyes meet his.
“Thank God,” he sighed and turned, looking for Thor.
Loki went stiff in his arms and shuddered at the sight of his brother in the doorway. “Nn–”
“I’m here, Loki. I’m right here,” Thor began, and in two strides, took Banner’s place at Loki’s side. “It’s okay.”
Loki pushed against Thor, willing him to leave, but Thor’s strong arms were steady as he held his sick brother. Loki tensed again, pulling away, but Thor’s voice softened and he shushed him quietly in his ear.
“It’s okay, Loki. Don’t fight. It’s okay.”
Loki shuddered weakly, feeling the strength drain from him. Unable to fight any longer, he gave into the oncoming darkness.
The first thing Loki felt was something cool being pressed to his forehead. His eyes fluttered and squeezed shut against the brightness.
“It’s okay,” Thor’s voice came.
Behind his eyelids, he could tell the lights dimmed. He let them flutter open, and his brother’s face was in his in seconds.
“Loki, thank the Norns,” Thor sighed. He met his brother’s confused look with a look of relief. “You’re okay.”
Loki tensed, peering around wildly at the tubes and machines around him and struggled to undo them and leave. He had to get out. He needed to leave. They wanted him dead...he had killed so many of them…
“Loki, it’s okay. You’re safe. I’m here.” Thor pressed Loki back into the bed meeting his brother’s exhausted green eyes. “You’re safe, brother.”
He was safe. He was safe. Even in the worst times, he knew that his brother would never lie to him about that. Sinking deeper into the bed, he visibly relaxed, his eyes softening slightly. “W-Where?”
“You’re in the infirmary at Stark Tower,” Thor explained. “You injured your side; do you remember that?”
Loki nodded. “Healed it,” he managed.
“Barely. Your ribs healed unevenly and were nearly puncturing your lungs,” Thor started and then sighed. “And you had a bad gash on your side that healed but you had healed the fabric and debris into it.” He moved his hand to his brother’s shoulder and squeezed it gently. “To achieve that sort of healing for a wound of that size, the f-force alone...”
Loki remembered how he struggled to heal himself. The force he had used to heal. To not let anyone know. To not let anyone in. And in the end, he had made everything worse. Typical.
“This isn’t your fault,” Thor continued gently. He knew his brother too well for this to be a surprise; this wasn’t the first time Loki had hidden an injury, forcing it to heal beyond what his body could manage. “Just…why?”
Loki looked away, unable to find the words to reply. He couldn’t find the right adjectives to describe what it felt like to grow up second-best, second-rate, and second in line to a throne that was his birthright. Even when he put his all into a mission or project, it was always Thor that ended up in the light. He couldn’t explain that the only way Thor and the world would know of his capabilities to rule was to show him, show them all…all he wanted to do was show him he could manage it all. “They want me dead,” Loki replied softly and after a beat, went on in a softer voice. “You want me dead.”
Thor squeezed Loki’s shoulder gently. “I’m disappointed, brother. But I don’t want you dead or hurt.” He met his brother’s eyes. “You could have told me.”
Loki shook his head. “I should be strong enough on my own,” he chided.
Thor regarded Loki curiously. “You are strong,” he replied. “But even the strongest need aid sometimes.”
Loki huffed a breath, and suddenly he felt unmeasurably exhausted. Tired from hiding, and exhausted from his injuries.
“Rest now, brother. You’re safe here.”
And Loki did, knowing his brother was keeping watch over him.