Chapter 4
Later that day, Tony had informed everyone of the team available about the current situation. Nat was on another mission, so she had no time for Smalltalk. He'd reached Clint and Steve though, who'd promised to come over and check in on their injured teammate as soon as they could. Thor hadn't awoken again. Bruce said it was probably best for him to just stay asleep for a while so his body could regain some strength.
Clint arrived in the early morning. After being informed by Jarvis, Tony went down to let him in. The archer looked as tough and ready for a fight as ever, body tense and eyes glazed over with concern.
"Welcome to the party, Legolas!"
Clint stepped in without further greetings, quickly putting off his jacket before heading over to the elevator.
"The Medbay?"
Tony nodded, following him in.
" - How's he doin'?"
" - Could be worse, could be better ... He'll survive but - that's all I can tell you regarding the positives."
" - You know what happened?"
The brunette shook his head.
"He's got hell of a concussion and can't tell us anything that makes sense right now. - We guess he got imprisoned or somethin'. As it looks, they tortured Loki to drive him mad. At least Thor's freakin' out whenever someone's about to touch him or when he can't see him ..."
" - Fuck! And - what about his father? Asgard?"
"No sign. Clint, I've got no clue what's goin' on here. The only thing I know's that right now, Thor needs our help. Everything else can wait 'til later."
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Thor was still sleeping when the men entered the room. Clint was quick to make out the blonde, lying beneath the sheets. The archer looked him up and down, walking up to the bed and then stopping in his tracks.
" - Oh my god shit ... - Bunch of cuts and stuff, huh?"
"Oh you've only seen his face ..."
"Hey Clint. - How's Laura and the kids?"
" - Hi Bruce. - Doesn't look too good, huh?"
The blonde sank into a chair next to the bed, unable to look away from his hurt teammate.
" - How long he's been like that?"
Tony sat down next to him, sipping his coffee.
"Good question, Legolas. - We guess since he left a while ago. - He just came here and nearly collapsed right on my doorstep. since we allowed him to sleep, he's been sleepin' a lot. Last time he's awake was yesterday."
As if on command, Thor started moving his fingers a little, moaning quietly.
" - Looks like you're lucky though."
Bruce approached the bed, coming to stand in front of the man.
"Thor? - Thor, can you hear me?"
The blonde moaned in response, opening his eyes a little.
" - You wanna try to say something?"
"Mmm, n-no d-don't, - don't take - take him no - g-get away-"
Thor's words were quiet and hard to decipher, his hands shaking visibly. Tony stepped next to him, rubbing his arm soothingly.
"Thor, it's ok. No one's about to hurt you, ok? It's me, Tony. Stark tower, remember? - Loki is with you, he's ok. Try to relax, yeah?"
It lasted one minute or so but eventually, Thor's eyes found the figure lying in the bed next to his, which helped calm him down.
"There, that's better. Easy, Sunshine."
"You're confused, right? - That's not surprising. You and Loki are hurt, I treated your injuries."
"And we even brought a visitor along! - Look who's come to see you!"
Clint got closer, leaning forward so Thor could see his attempt of a smile.
"Hey man! Gooda see you."
Thor's eyes started darting around the room, searching for the one the voice belonged to. When they met Clint, still sitting beside the bed, he apparently didn't recognize him at once. The archer looked him directly in the eyes.
"Hey, Thor? It's me, Clint Barton. Your fellow Avenger. - The archer, remember?"
It lasted a few more eternal seconds while everyone waited in tension. Then, something in Thor's head seemed to click into place as his eyes lit up with recognition. He tried to say something but managed nothing more than a quiet moan.
"Can you tell me how you're feeling, Thor?"
Given the blonde's irritated look, the doc repeated his question two more times. It lasted a minute until Thor could gather the strength to speak.
"I-I'm - still dizzy and - - I - thirsty-"
Clint and Tony jumped up at the same time, chuckling at one another before Tony walked off to fetch some water.
When he came back, Clint got up to help him make Thor drink. He carefully touched his shoulders, lifting him into a half-upright position and readjusting the pillows so Thor didn't have to sit straight. Then Tony stepped forward, gently pushing the glass towards the Asgardian's lips. It took a moment until Thor responded, cautiously sipping the liquid.
"Yeah, very good. Take your time."
Bruce watched from a few meters away, making sure Thor wasn't drinking too fast. After emptying half of the glass, Thor weakly pushed it away. Tony got the hint and placed it on the bedside table.
"So enough for now, huh? - You did well."
A few minutes of silence appeared. Tony and Clint sat back down, again close to Thor's bed. Bruce checked the most recent medical scans, nodding contently. After some time, he approached Thor's bed, trying to get the blonde's attention, whose eyes had drifted half-closed once again.
" - Thor?"
He looked up slowly, trying to focus on the man standing before him.
" - Can you try to tell me what you remember? Of yesterday maybe?"
For a second, it seemed as if Thor was trying to think of the past events. Then, all of a sudden, his eyes lost focus, staring off into the distance as his body started shivering violently.
" - N-no d-don't - don't - no more blood! L-let - let me go I- - I'm sorry - I'm - sorry I'm - sorry!"
The situation had gotten out of hand in high-speed. Before anyone could react, Thor was crying, hugging himself and hiding beneath the covers. For a brief moment, Bruce, Clint and Tony stared at each other in shock, then everyone got up, collecting around the bed. Tony was the first to jump into action, pulling the blanket back only a little to peek through. Thor had buried his face in his arms and lay unmoving, except for the constant tremors wrecking his body. His breaths came in short gasps, barely sufficient to inhale enough air. Bruce got moving, walking over towards the door.
"I'm getting him more tranquilizers. try to keep him as calm as you can."
The scientist left and Tony and Clint were left standing in front of the hospital bed on their own. Tony carefully bent closer, pushing one strand of hair out of Thor's face.
" - Sunshine, try to listen to me, yeah?"
He received no reaction, except for Thor's panic increasing. Clint sighed heavily, walking over and sitting down at the edge of the bed, gesturing Tony to do the same on the other side. Without a word said, they pulled their friend into their arms, leaving with wrapped in the blanket. Clint somewhen started gently stroking a hand through the dirty locks, while Tony kept holding his hands in place to suppress the shivers, massaging them soothingly. The comforting contact helped Thor calm down somewhat. at some point, he was just sobbing in his teammates' arms.
"'s ok, 's ok. - You're outa that. You don't have to remember anything. Just try to relax and it'll hurt less, yeah?"
" - Doin' very well, Sunshine. We've got you. - We're here with you."
When Bruce came back with the tranquilizers a few minutes later, he spotted Tony and Clint sitting on either side of his patient's bed. Both were looking at Thor non-stop, who was soundly asleep in their embrace, closely snuggled up to Tony's chest.