Chapter 2
When Thor stirred the next time, Tony was lost in thoughts. He knew he couldn’t simply let them lie on the floor till Bruce arrived but earlier, Thor had been clearly too strained to go anywhere - even with support. He actually hoped he could manage it now, after a bit of regeneration, the only problem about it was - as always - Loki. Pointbreak obviously had a problem leaving Loki out of sight. But there was no way he could transport them both at the same time - Loki hadn’t awoken yet and even if, he would in no case be able to walk. Thor's hands started moving somewhen, apparently searching for something - or someone. As his eyes fell onto the man sitting next to him and he found it wasn’t Loki but someone else, he panicked, sitting up much too fast and trying to get to his feet. Tony could see he wasn’t actually recognizing his surroundings, not knowing where he was and what was going on with Loki. The scientist leaned forward, gently holding his friend in a sitting position while speaking softly.
“Hey Thor, it’s me. Tony. Everything’s ok, you’re in Stark tower. You came here some time ago, remember? With Loki. He’s lying just over there.”
He pointed into the meant direction. The blonde slowly followed his gaze, finally finding Loki, stretched out a few feet away. Terrified by all the blood surrounding the still form, Thor’s panic didn’t break as he tried to reach his brother in attempts that failed in their roots.
“He’s alive, buddy. You both will be taken care of shortly. - Try to calm down, yeah? Eyes on me.”
The other slowly obeyed, lifting his gaze to look into Tony’s cinnamon eyes.
“Very well. Now - focus on breathing slowly, ok. Just do it like me. In - and out, in - and out ...”
This didn’t work as fast. Thor understood what he was saying - at least Tony hoped so - but his breaths still came in rasps, irregular and insufficient. Tony knew he had to make this work now. He had self-experienced how bad panic attacks could be - especially if you had no one to help you properly. He firmly gripped both of Thor’s hands, leading them towards his chest and gently pressing them above his heart so the Asgardian could feel his even heartbeat and steady breaths.
This method succeeded after a while. When the panic and adrenaline had left, Thor fell back exhaustedly, both hands pressed to his head. Tony luckily caught him in time, cautiously lowering him onto his lap.
“I know, I know. - Too much at once, right? - Listen, sunshine. - I know you’re all tired right now and don’t wanna move anywhere - believe me, I know what it feels like. But, I got a bad feeling letting you rest right here on the floor. We should take you to a bed, huh?”
Thor only shrugged his shoulders, his eyes barely holding focus.
“- I’ll need your help for this, ok? - You don’t wanna leave Loki, am I right?”
At his brother’s name, Thor’s eyes darted towards him immediately as he shook his head.
“Good. - Then we'll take you up together.”
Tony’s plan was as simple as efficient (hopefully). He couldn’t carry Loki while keeping Thor on his feet, so - logically - someone else had to do it. Thor had managed to bring Loki here earlier, so he pondered it might as well work another time. Loki’s weight might be barely manageable for him, but according to Thor, Loki wasn't weighing a lot for asgardian culture. Which meant Thor wouldn’t have to master immense strength to carry him for one or two minutes. At first, he made Thor stand, getting up first before taking both of his hands and helping him up as well. Then he leaned him against a wall so he wouldn’t fall again, before moving over to Loki, using the less injured areas for picking him up. When he returned, Thor luckily still stood, his eyes fixed on his brother.
“Stretch out your arms, ok? I’ll give him over to you.”
Thor did as ordered and Tony slowly let go of the bloody bundle, letting Thor adjust to the weight before stepping next to him. The elevator was maybe 50 feet away, which wasn’t a lot but given the circumstances it could get critical. The inventor took one of Thor’s arms, carefully placing it around his shoulders. Then he put his right around Thor’s waist, balancing him out as well as he could. They walked slowly, as Thor could barely hold Loki from falling and basically every movements caused him pain. At the time they’d reached the elevator, Tony gratefully pressed the button for the top floor - Thor’s personal floor. The rest was a matter of mere minutes. Once they were up, there was only little distance left until they’d reached the Asgardian’s bedroom. Tony put Loki down on the comfortable sofa, making sure the distance between the sofa and the bed was still slim enough for Thor to be able to see him. Then he helped Thor stretch out atop of his sheets, which immediately turned crimson with blood. Tony knew he’d have to get them washed later on but right now, all that counted was that they’re finally somewhere they could lie down properly. The brunette sat down beside the bed, watching as Thor’s gaze wandered across the room, remaining on Loki from time to time.
“Well done, goldilocks! Very well done. Try to stay awake now, ok? Listen to what I’m saying or at least keep your eyes open until Bruce is here. - I know you wanna rest but - I’m feeling safer when knowing that you can’t die in your sleep because of blood loss and other ugly things.”
The blonde didn’t really seem to understand everything, but at least he didn’t fall into unconsciousness which Tony guessed was a good sign.
" - You wanna drink something, Thor? - Maybe you should drink some water, hm?"
The scientist had noticed the blonde's dry and cracked lips, and the way his voice was hoarse and raspy made him guess it had ben a while since the asgardian had drunken something for the last time. Thor didn't respond at first, so Tony asked again.
" - Are you thirsty, Thor?"
A weak nod was all Tony needed to get active.
He got up from his position. He also knew it would take a while until the doc would arrive but, as it seemed, he couldn’t keep Thor awake for that long and he was competent enough (at least he hoped so) to keep his friend from dying due to loss of blood.
" - No worries, Thor, I'll be right back. - Just getting you some water."
So he left, only for a second, fetching a glass of water and a first aid kit before returning to the duo. He put the kit down next to the bed, still holding the glass. Then he sat down next to Thor, gently lifting his head up a bit with one hand, bringing the water to his lips with the other. Nothing happened.
" - Just sip, buddy. I'm holding it for you."
For a moment, the god glanced at him in utter confusion before realizing what he had said and slowly sipping the liquid. Tony stayed patient, waiting until the blonde weakly shoved his hand away. He put the glass to the side, returning to the first aid kit. He considered starting with Loki as his risk of dying was probably higher, but as soon as he made sign to touch him, Thor started yelling at him desperately, jumping out of bed and trying to attack him.
“Woah woah woah, slowly sunshine! I’m not trying to h-”
“DON’T TOUCH HIM! DON’T EVER TOUCH HIM AGAIN!”
The brunette was taken aback by the sudden outburst of emotions, raising both arms in defence. He’d only wanted to help but judging by the blood in his hair and his hazy, blue eyes, Tony guessed Thor had a concussion and couldn’t get that fact at the moment.
“Ok, Thor, - it’s ok. I won’t touch him, yeah? Just maybe - you mind going back to b-”
Tony again couldn’t finish his sentence, this time because Thor was basically collapsing, and Tony needed all his strength to catch him before he’d hit the floor.
“Ok ok right, let’s - get you back to bed then.”
He maneuvered the blonde towards the bed, finally letting him sink back into the cushions. Then he sat down on the edge, taking a closer look at the medical stuff.
“Thor? Look at me for a sec, yeah? C’mon.”
The god’s eyes shifted slowly, finding his own. Where exhaustion had been earlier, there now was only pain and devastation.
“I know - right now you want nothing more than to sleep and have some painkillers but I’ma help you now. - You’ll let me do that?”
There was no specific reaction, so Tony considered that a yes.
“- We just need to get your clothes off. I know that’ll be exhausting now but - I think most trouble’s lying underneath them. - You ready for that? - I'll help.”
Tony skidded a little closer, realizing Thor wasn’t wearing his usual armour but only a tunic, stained and partly ripped apart. He carefully took hold of the cloth, lifting it up bit by bit. When the time came where Thor had to lift his arms, he helped him into the necessary position, careful not to cause him more pain. Once the clothes were off, Tony took a closer look at the body in front of him. Thor was malnourished, his muscles clearly visible beneath the skin. The many, defined bruises in his stomach area, raw and untreated, spoke of violence. Tony had spotted before that his wrists were bleeding, but now that he lay stretched out and unclothed in front of him, he saw that his ankles had the same marks, as if chains had dug into his skin. The scientist made his best to cover his shock and concern, bandaging the minor cuts and bleeding wounds. He wasn’t so certain about the bruising. He knew it could hint broken ribs and Tony didn’t want to make anything worse by adding additional pressure. He also wasn’t sure about his head, through the blood-matted hair, he couldn’t see if there was an actual wound still spilling blood and he knew Thor was in pain so pulling his hair apart was out of discussion right now. And against a concussion - well, there wasn’t much he could be doing anyways. He also refrained from using pain killers. Firstly, he didn’t know how gods reacted to things like that and secondly, he didn’t know if Bruce would have allowed him to take some yet. So after finishing, he put the medical case aside, covering Thor’s body with the soft blanket once more. (he really didn’t feel like forcing that man back into his clothes) At least now, he was a bit calmer - although more concerned than before, knowing his friend at least wouldn’t bleed to death right away.
“We’re done, buddy. - You can sleep now. You’re in Stark tower, ok? - Home. Nothing’s gonna happen to either you or Loki. Just try to relax for now. We can talk later, huh?”
Thor somehow nodded, although Tony guessed he hadn’t even understood him properly. In nothing but seconds, the Asgardian had closed his eyes, falling into a tight slumber. Tony remained next to him all the time, except for when taking another look at Loki and treating all things he was sure about what to do. When Thor started moving in his sleep, flailing and screaming, Tony at first put one hand onto his shoulder, as an attempt to keep him in place. Thor was, although hurt and stripped off energy, still stronger, simply shoving his hand aside. Tony knew he had to stop him. Otherwise the guy might either fall out of bed or hurt himself by moving too much in his already weakened state. So he moved a little closer, firmly gripping both of his shoulders with his hands so he was now leaning above him, holding him down. This was efficient but quite draining as time passed. Finally, Tony pulled him into a sort of hug, letting him lie in his lap and firmly holding his body in place. Thor grew calmer then, somewhen giving up his resistance and sleeping peacefully again. Tony however didn't change position, looking over to Loki from time to time. The man was still curled up on the sofa, as unconscious as ever, his blood colouring the fabric in a dark shade of red. “What a tough day,” Tony thought to himself as he watched the two hurt Asgardians, lying in his room. Whatever had happened to them, Tony knew they’d find out. And then the asshole would pay for it. No one was hurting a member of the team, especially not Thor, who normally was the one to assure that everyone was fine, and nobody was in danger. The always smiling, always motivated thunderer with his dashing appearance, humour and optimism. No one was hurting Sunshine without paying for it.
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Thor and Loki were still sleeping when Bruce arrived around 6 hours later. When Jarvis informed him that the scientist was about to come, Tony quickly went down to let him in.
"They're upstairs. - You better have your stuff ready, doc."
"Already have. - In Thor's room?"
The inventor nodded, following him into the elevator.
" - How was India?"
Bruce shrugged the attempt of Smalltalk off.
"So - what was actually going on here?"
"To be honest - I dunno. Jarvis told me Thor was comin' and well … when I opened the door I found him half unconscious - with Loki. I tell you, the guy's screaming whenever awake."
"Did Thor tell you anything?"
"Nothing that actually makes sense. He said I should help Loki - quite often to be exact - but when I wanted to give him first-aid, he nearly attacked me. - Think he's having quite a concussion or something. He couldn't even look at me for longer than a minute."
The elevator stopped then and they stepped out, heading over to Thor's room. The two gods were still lying like they'd been when Tony had left. Bruce scanned them both for a moment, his eyes unreadable.
"I'll have a look at both before doing anything."
" - If I were you, I'd start with Loki. Better if Thor's still asleep."
Bruce did as suggested, kneeling down next to the sofa Loki was lying on. After a few minutes - luckily none of them had awoken - he looked up again.
"Doesn't look good if you ask me. He has multiple broken bones, internal bleedings, cuts, burns and other pretty ugly things. We can be glad he's still breathing."
Then he walked over, briefly examining the other Asgardian.
"You say he's got a concussion?"
"Yeah, at least it looks like."
"Ok, then I'll wake him up to check that as well."
"No good idea, Bruce. Treat him first - or Loki. But don't wake him before taking Loki away, that ain't ending good."
"Tony, I need to know the exact condition they're in before deciding whom to treat first. There's no avoiding this."
For a moment, it looked as if Tony would protest, but he kept his mouth shut, watching as Bruce proceeded. He gently shook Thor's shoulder, talking in a soft voice.
"Thor? - Thor, can you hear me? It's Bruce. - Bruce Banner."
Thor's eyes slowly blinked open, struggling to focus. As his gaze accidentally met Loki, he started attempts to get up, his hands shaking and breaths fastening. Tony stepped next to Bruce, gently putting a hand on Thor's shoulder to hold him down.
"Hey buddy, you're in Stark tower. Loki's fine. Bruce just wants to take care of you, okay?"
"I'm going to have a look at your injuries, Thor. Please lie back down."
The man obeyed - although it wasn't quite obvious whether voluntarily or not, as the possibility he had run out of energy was quite plausible. Bruce settled on the edge of the bed, carefully pulling the sheets back. At first, he scanned all the bruises and wounds, before straightening up and looking at Thor, whose eyes were nearly shut.
"Thor? Can you listen to me?"
The god reopened his eyes, desperately trying to keep them from closing once more.
"Yes, you're doing very well. try to speak to me, yeah?"
At first, his mouth simply opened and shut again, without any sound escaping.
"Yeah, that's ok. - Just try again. No stressing."
It lasted some time until it finally worked.
"L-l-Loki, you - help - hurts-"
"Could you try it in a full sentence, Thor?"
Tony seemed angry, glaring at Bruce.
"Bruce, what's that about? I think you're getting what he wants."
"Sure I am. I'm just checking if he's still able to communicate properly. Signs of a severe concussion can be that people can't bring words into the correct order."
"You - Loki - help - Stark-?"
Tony stepped forward a little, stroking his arm soothingly.
"Yeah, right here. And help's about to come as well. Don't worry, sunshine."
"Ok Thor, you can fall back asleep in a minute. Just one last question, ok?"
He held four fingers in front of the blonde's eyes.
"How many fingers can you see, Thor?"
The thunderer seemed completely confused, looking from one man to the other.
"I-I - I don't - what …"
Bruce tried again, speaking very slowly and precisely.
"How many fingers can you see, Thor?"
There was a long silence, Thor's eyes losing and regaining focus a few times.
" - Two?"
The two scientists exchanged a worried glance. Then Bruce added another finger, now showing him all five.
"And now?"
They could see how Thor was struggling, trying to give an answer but obviously not able to. The blonde stared a few inches past Bruce's hand for a while, then lowering his gaze, tears visible in his eyes.
"I-I-I don't know. P-please d-don't h-hurt him - please don't hurt me!"
He hid his face beneath the covers then, only suppressed sobs audible.
"Hey Goldilocks, no reason for crying."
The brunette stepped closer so Thor could maybe hear him better.
"We would never - never hurt you. You know that. it's okay. - Enough questions for now, huh?"
Bruce stood up, stepping back a little to talk to Tony.
"So, you were right about the concussion - a pretty bad one apparently. Additionally, there are also broken bones, cuts and-"
"You saw the bruising?"
" - Yeah, sure. Broken ribs as well - could be dangerous eventually. - Actually, I'm starting to believe in your beating-up-theory. Looks as if someone was searching for a punching bag."
"You have any idea what could have happened to them?"
Bruce considered for a moment.
"I'm not sure. In Loki's case it looks like strategized torture. They never hurt him too bad for him to be in severe danger and healed his injuries to a certain extent - not that that helps a lot right now. And Thor? - I see no purpose or goal behind that. To me it looks like pure violence. But the injuries didn't all come at the same time, so - either our big guy made someone seriously angry at him, like long-time-angry, or - someone found it funny watching him go through this over and over again."
" - Since when do you think have they been-?"
"Probably since Thor left us. - At least it would match the injuries. And - they're completely dehydrated. If you ask me, - someone imprisoned them."
"But I mean, seriously - Thor has a family. He has friends in Asgard. Why wouldn't Odin send his all-mighty army to punch him out if someone really did that? That - doesn't make sense."
" - Thor has us as well. - And we didn't come for him either."