Chapter 5
Nick Fury glared at Phil Coulson as he joined the group of Avengers outside the quinjet. Coulson gazed back as mildly and confidently as he could. He'd changed into a fresh unobtrusive-yet-professional suit. He knew that wasn't what Steve Rogers meant by his order to "suit up", but it fulfilled the letter of the law.
He wasn't sure why he felt if was necessary to insert himself into something which was technically an affair for the Avengers Initiative. Partly he was concerned about the possibility of renewed friction breaking out between Stark and Rogers, though cooperating to fix the helicarrier's rotor seemed to have resolved the tension between them. He also wanted to provide emotional support to Natasha, who he knew was taking what happened to Clint hard.
But beyond all that, he felt a strange compulsion to be there for Loki. If asked, he might have said something flippant about how "attempting to kill each other, then winding up saving each other" had created a bond. And the knowledge that Loki had been under mind control during his attempt to take over the world made a difference, too.
Most of all, however, was that he was beginning to ask himself some hard questions about Thor, and his relationship to Loki. Back in New Mexico, it had seemed so clear: Thor and his friends were the good aliens, and Loki was the bad one. But now that he thought about it, it never actually had been that clear. Thor had attacked his base and beaten up several agents, without even trying the "Do you mind? That's mine" approach to getting his hammer back. The attack on Puente Antiquo was bad... but they only had Thor's side of the story about what led up to it. And it was now clear that Thor left quite a lot of important information out of his accounts.
Then there was Loki's fearful reaction to the sound of thunder, indicating that violence was a regular part of their relationship. The fact that Thor immediately jumped to the conclusion that Loki had mind-controlled Selvig just to spite him, rather than simply taking the lead Tesseract scientist on the scene was another red flag. The "He's adopted" statement was also troubling.
Perhaps Fury shared his qualms, because all he said was "You damn well better be wearing kevlar right now."
Coulson gave a half-smile. "Full tactical grade, with steel inserts. Agent Romanov insisted." Rather touching of her, but he could understand Tasha's unwillingness to risk any more of her "family" under the circumstances.
Nick grunted, but stepped aside so that he could join the others. Rogers looked a bit upset, so Coulson took a place at Romanov's side rather than the Captain's as non-vebal assurance that he wouldn't trouble Rogers with any other gushing or importunities during the mission. Since Rogers' brow remained furrowed, that apparently wasn't what was bothering him. Phil allowed himself some private hope that he'd eventually get his Captain America trading cards signed.
Rogers transferred his frown to Fury and said "Sir..."
"Coulson is a fully accredited field agent who has served on countless operations under combat conditions, Captain. What's more, he's the only person Loki has apologized to over this cock-up, which means he has more rapport with him than anyone else on the team."
Thor pushed forward indignantly. "Loki is my brother! We--"
"Your adopted brother." Fury managed to overtalk a Norse god without even raising his voice, which was rather impressive. "As you were quick to remind us." Thor looked a bit guilty at that. "He apparently has more issues with you than a newstand, and seems more inclined to cooperate with any other member of the team than you. If there's anyone I'm thinking of pulling off this mission, it's you."
Thor looked stunned. He turned his eyes to the other Avengers, as if for support. Apparently, the others were feeling the same ambivalence toward Thor Phil was, because Thor's face crumpled into a hurt expression, similar to one he'd worn after failing to lift Mjolnir in New Mexico. It was hard to remain indifferent to such a kicked-puppy expression. Coulson found himself wondering what it was like growing up beside a brother with Thor's Teflon charisma.
Tony Stark was the one who broke the impasse by touching his ear and exclaiming "Jarvis!" in a tone of intense relief. "Talk to me, buddy; what happened?"
His eyes widened as he listened, then he said. "Okay, we'll be there soon, J, just hold on and keep rebooting yourself from your back-ups. There's nothing you can really do for either one of them; from the sound of it, they both need serious medical help." Stark looked up at Fury appealingly. "We're gonna need an ambulance-- is the MedEvac prototype up and running yet?... Look, don't worry about the suit, Jarvis. Get yourself booted up properly first; I can hitch a ride with the others, and from the sound of things, we're not going to need Iron Man right now anyway. No, Jarvis! Don't send DUM-E out with a blanket; that'll probably scare Selvig out of his wits, and from what you say he's freaking out badly enough already."
Fury half-turned and spoke into his com. "Hill, we need the MEC. Get a crew scrambled and have them meet us there. Destination Stark Tower, two vics; one conscious and disoriented human, one alien... Stark, what's Loki's status?"
Tony winced, and flicked his eyes at Thor. "Um, he's unconscious, and has burn blisters on his hands, and possibly higher up the arm. Jarvis can't tell for sure because of the black leather coat-thing. And um, he's a kid now. Like maybe 13 or 14 years old."
Thor looked horrified. Fury's lips tightened, but he just relayed the information that they had an unconscious child burn victim, then turned off his com. "Follow me," he told the Avengers grimly, and strode off.
As they followed in Fury's wake, Steve looked at Thor and demanded "Your brother is just a kid?" in an outraged tone.
"Nay! He is close to my own age. The weapon Coulson wielded caused this strange effect; I know not why."
They'd reached the MEC by then. The Avengers filed in and found seats out of the way of the bustling EMTs-- barely. There wasn't much space for ride-alongs between the medical/rescue section and the cockpit; Tony had trouble finding a place to stow his suitcase until a bespectacled EMT helped him, then returned to her own work. Counting noses, Coulson was afraid they were taking up some of the crew's usual seats. At least this was going to be a short flight.
Fury spoke briefly with the pilot, a muscular young woman with a long dark braid, then strode back to the entry. Fury turned, slapped the side of the doorway and said "Bring Loki, Selvig, and that damn Tesseract back ASAP. I want some answers." He nodded at them, then pulled the door closed with a thud.
As the MEC taxied out to lift off, Coulson asked Thor, "So just what is your age?"
"I am now 1100 years old. In a few weeks, I will be 1101."
Stark whistled, and drawled "Man, I would have never guessed-- you don't look a day over a thousand."
Surprisingly, Thor bridled at this. "I assure you, Man of Iron, that I have reached my full majority."
In a mollifying tone, Natasha asked "When is your age of majority?"
Ducking his head sheepishly, Thor admitted "1100 years."
"So... um, exactly how long do your people live?" asked Steve.
"Around 5,000 years, usually."
Stark looked thoughtful. "So... 60 Asgardian years equal 1 human year or thereabouts?"
Thor shook his head. "No, my mother told me that the ratio was 1 mortal year to 50 Aesir years." He frowned and looked unhappy; thinking of Dr. Jane Foster and what this fact implied for their relationship, perhaps?
Stark frowned as he re-did the math. "So, you're the human equivalent of 22 years old?"
Thor shrugged. "If you say so, Man of Iron; I do not have great experience with mortal ages."
Coulson leaned forward, "And how old is Loki?"
Thor replied "He is 1046 years old. He is considered an adult for most purposes, but the Council should really not have handed him Gungnir in my absense when father fell into the Odinsleep; he is not of the Age of Inheritance... or so I was told at that age." He sounded irritable, as if this slight still stung.
"So Loki is about 20 years old in our terms." mused Stark.
"Assuming that Jotnar age equivalents are the same as Aesir, that is." pointed out Coulson.
"What's a... Yoat-narr?" asked Steve, his face screwed up in confusion.
"That's the correct term for a Frost Giant, isn't it?" Coulson asked Thor, who nodded with a stunned expression on his face. "That's what Loki is; remember when Thor told us he was adopted?" He coughed slightly. "I did some reading in Norse Mythology after New Mexico, and they describe Loki as a Jotun who is accepted as one of the Aesir. I wasn't sure if that was true, because Loki and Thor aren't described as brothers in legend, either. But when he turned into a blue kid after being struck with the 0-8-4 gun, I rethought that. Thor confirmed it while I was trying to get the Hulk Cage door open." The far more disturbing things he'd read in Norse myth didn't need to be addressed right now.
Natasha raised her eyebrows. "He wasn't blue or a kid when he spoke to me and Clint to call off the invasion plan."
"After healing me, he somehow changed back. First he turned into a human-colored middle-schooler, which didn't seem to cause him any problem. It was when he tried to go from young teen to grown-up demigod that he looked like he was going to pass out. That's what makes me wonder if his, um, 'de-aging' was a revelation of an underlying truth, in the same way his turning blue showed his... ethnicity, as it were. As if in removing the mind control, the 0-8-4 gun removed all other... deceptions as well"
Natasha looked thoughtful. "That... might explain a lot. Thor, what did your mother say about the Jotnar/human age ratio?"
Thor shook his head. "We... we did not speak of it. At the time, we all believed Loki dead, so there was no reason to discuss the matter."
Now that was rather disturbing. Didn't Loki's family wonder why their youngest child suddenly went homicidally insane? Wasn't that reason enough to discuss anything which might have any bearing on the tragedy? Did the entire family simply have a problem with open communication, or were they simply willing to "write off" an unsatisfactory family member with nothing more said?
At that moment, the pilot's voice came over the coms. "We have visual contact with Stark Tower. I see one victim... but there's no room to land. We're going to have do a hover and haul. Gear up!"
Two male EMTs immediately slung first aid backs on, then began stepping into harnesses. Others began attaching cords to the corners of high-tech stretchers. A part of the floor retracted, revealing a rectangular hatch in the modfied quinjet's belly, currently covered by a glass window. Through it, Coulson, could see the roof of the Stark Tower, a strange contraption hooked to a computer terminal, an alarmed-looking Dr. Selvig cowering on the roof, and a small Loki, lying motionless. He was still ivory rather than blue.
The pilot commenced a series of small movements, centering the quinjet more precisely over the tower. "Tell me when you have a clear field." she requested.
One of the EMTs replied, "I thinks that's it! We're ready to deploy."
Now the glass cover retracted as well. One after the other, the harnessed medics stepped off the deck and were winched down to the roof. One went to Loki; the other to Selvig. After a few moments spent assessing their respective patients, the coms crackled to life.
"The kid's critical; his heart rate is rapid and irregular, his color is terrible, and that's about all I can tell you until we get this weird leather crap off of him somehow. Whatever this is, my shears won't make a mark on it." The EMT's voice was full of frustration.
Thor stood up. "Asgardian armor is bespelled to resist most damage. But I can release the spell... if Loki has not changed the key, that is." Thor's words ended on an uncertain note. "We both trusted each other with the keys to our armor... we always trusted each other..." Thor's voice trailed off mournfully.
"Let's get him on board first." The EMT was placing an oxygen mask on Loki. "Send the Stokes basket down."
One of the gurneys was raised by its cords and maneuvered over to the opening, and then lowered through it to the roof below. When it landed, both EMTs worked together to gently lift Loki into it and strap him in, careful of his burned hands. The oxygen canister was attached to a rack on the stretcher. As soon as everything was secure, the EMTs stepped away. "Ready hoist!" called one of them.
The litter began steadily rising. As soon as it cleared the quinjet's deck, the onboard medics sprang into action, guiding it away from the opening and over to a waiting stand. They pushed it down to the stand, and it clicked into place. The cords were then released, and a grim-faced medic looked over to Thor. "You said you can get this... armor off of him?"
Thor quickly strode to Loki's side. He wet his lips nervously, stealing a glance at his brother, then bowing his head. He made a strange gesture with his hand, and mouthed something silently. A greenish-gold glow covered Loki's clothing, then disappeared with a faint rustling. Thor raised his head, and stated "The spell has been released."
In concert, the medics immediately began clipping away Loki's leather garb with shears and pulling off metal pieces which were apparently loose now.
"Crap! What the hell happened to this kid?" exclaimed an EMT. Coulson stood to see what she was talking about... then wished he hadn't. Loki's chest was covered with deep, precisely symmetrical scars, from obviously deliberately inflicted injuries. Sadistically-placed scars, too: The X-marks bisecting the nipples made Coulson's stomach turn. A choking sound from Stark indicated that he wasn't the only one affected.
The lines of scarring ominously continued under the haphazardly-placed sheet which protected his modesty. In addition to the scars, the unconscious boy was emaciated, indicating that more than one type of torture was used on him. The blistered skin running up the kid's arms to halfway up his biceps was presumably recent, but it didn't make Coulson feel any better.
"Do you know anything about this?" the first EMT to treat Loki asked Thor accusingly.
Thor's stunned face was white as paper. "Nay" he said in a thick voice. "Our father was harsh sometimes, but not..."
The female EMT snapped out "Ted! Get your mind back in the game! These burns mean that we're going to have to go into the subclavian to place an IV. Ray, get the kit."
The swarming EMTs then obscured Loki's body from sight far more effectively than the sheet. Looking around, Coulson saw that Selvig was now on board, and the access hatch was completely closed. Tony was sitting down with his head between his knees. Steve was beside him, one hand resting on Tony's back. There was a look of grim reminiscence on his face, making Phil wonder for the first time how much was edited out of his beloved 'Captain America' comic books.
"Thor!" called Selvig weakly. "Thor, I'm so sorry."
As if relieved to be distracted by a less troubling problem than Loki, Thor strode over to Selvig's litter and clasped the human's hand, speaking reassuringly to him.
Recalled to his duties, Coulson looked around, and was relieved to see the silver Tesseract case in Natasha's hands. He met her eyes, and murmured "Thank you, Agent Romanov." He was rewarded with a faint but genuine smile.
The pilot spoke again, "Everyone stable yet, Heather?"
"Just a second, Mary..." the female EMT replied. "Okay, I'm afraid that's as good as we're going to get now. Let's get him into Dr. Noha's hands ASAP. Cleared for flight!"
"Roger that. Peeling out now!" The quinjet rotated, then started forward. "ETA to helicarrier touchdown, 15 minutes."
Coulson took a deep breath, then released it. They finally had the Tesseract back in their custody, the "Glorious Purpose" was cancelled, and they had their "target" in custody. He spared a glance at the pathetic figure on the table, the horrific scarring now concealed completely under the repositioned sheet. Mission accomplished.
Why did he feel that the hard part was just beginning?