Chapter 45
Chapter 45
They were all together in a meeting room when Thor woke again. None of them was in talking mood. The events their friend had told them about wore heavily on all of them. Someone had broken into Thor's and Loki's home, made them helpless, tortured Thor and kidnapped Loki in front of his eyes.
Tony: "Okay, so we're all on the same page, these folks - whoever they are - seem to be total superheroes, huh? I mean, Thor's saying they jacked his strength and powers, one of 'em's got some magic mojo, they're bending time somehow, AND they're bombarding his brain with pics of Loki getting messed up! That's, like, seriously mind-blowing, right?"
No one answered immediately, all of them staring at something in particular.
Bruce: " - The real question we should think about is: How can we figure out who and where they are?"
Tony nodded approvingly.
Tony: "We could give it another shot, chat with Thor again. Maybe he's relaxed a bit since last night, although it didn't seem like it. But, I mean, you never know with that guy, he keeps surprising all of us at times, and his recovering time is..."
Steve: "Tony, for god's sake, shut up! Aren't you slowly getting that you only annoy everyone with your trash-talking? We finally have to get active somehow!"
Tony, infected by the tense atmosphere, immediately snapped back.
Tony: "Just in case it went over your head 'cause you've been brushing off everything I say as 'trash,' let me tell you again: We're discussing Thor, got it? And if you're labeling one of our team members as 'trash,' then we seriously need to rethink our-"
Bruce: "Tony, stop-!"
Steve: "What new sounds from you - Tony Stark, who normally never fails at pretending his heart is made of stone and nothing and no one bothers him! Why would you even want to help Loki? I clearly remember how you celebrated after Thor took him back to Asgard!"
Tony: "Listen, I get that's how you see me, and yeah, I won't deny it, but compared to you, I actually care about the folks I call friends! And yeah, I'm still not Loki's biggest fan, if that's what you're hinting at, but this tower is just as much Thor's home as it is mine and yours! If I turn my back on a bleeding friend, who's begging for help, and his love ends up biting it because of that, I'd rather kill myself than look at Thor once more! If you don't wanna lend a hand and prefer to argue with me, fine, but I won't loose a friend just 'cause I denied him help. Feel free to go Steve, but-"
Clint: "Could you guys now finally shut up!? 'Cause that's not helping at all!"
Steve had gone pale after Tony's sudden statement, staring at him with mouth hanging open. He cursed himself for flaring up like this. He hadn't meant it seriously. The only reason why he'd started the whole thing was because he'd finally wanted to get active instead of rambling about things that didn't matter right now. No one said a word, tension still lingering in the room. A minute passed in silence. That was, until the door was opened hesitantly and Thor's face appeared inside the room. Everyone jumped up at once, Bruce and Tony approaching him. The god looked paler than usually and his movements still were insecure. But when Tony looked at his eyes, he knew the night of sleep hadn't been for nothing. They didn't look that blurry anymore and rather reflected the raging storm outside. But at least he seemed to focus again - whatever that meant.
Tony: "Hey there, sunshine! Good to see you're up! You slept well?"
Thor: "We have to find Loki! Now!"
Bruce: "We'll try anything we can to do exactly that. Thor, - are you able to tell us everything that happened again? As precisely as you can remember."
The blonde hesitated for a moment, before he nodded. And then he repeated the story, the terrible events that were still flashing through his mind whenever he closed his eyes. The helplessness. The blood. The pain and the panic. He told everything he remembered - which was a lot. He described every detail of the people and the scenario. When he'd finished, he nearly collapsed into a chair, burying his face in his hands. Which was good as he couldn't see the glances the rest of the team exchanged, all showing they were at a loss. Tony came over and sat down beside him, soothingly stroking his arm.
Tony: "Hey, don't worry, sunshine! We'll track him down, just like we've handled everything together, yeah?"
The god only nodded slightly and when he looked up, there were tears in his starry blue, innocent eyes, which had seen so much terror in only a few months. The inventor gently took his arm, helping him to his feet and guiding him towards the door.
Clint: "Hey, where're you going?"
Tony: "Out. - Looks like goldilocks needs some fresh air."
Steve: "But - we have to do something to find Loki!"
Tony turned around once more, a small grin on his face.
Tony: "Then do something and "get active". - Your words if I remember correctly."
Then he left, leading their blonde companion along. Steve shrugged his shoulders, pulling out his phone.
Natasha: "What are you doing?"
Steve: "Calling SHIELD. I guess we could need their help in this."
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Tony took him up to Thor's own floor's balcony, from where they could look out at the city from above. The thunderer seemed somewhere else again, his gaze slowly drifting off into the distance as they stood at the rooftop. The scientist waited a while before daring to talk.
Tony: "You're still seeing them, huh? - The images, I mean."
After a moment of no reaction, Thor slowly turned his head into his friend's direction, nodding hesitantly.
Tony: "Are there certain time intervals in between or-?"
A quick shaking of his head was enough of an answer.
Thor: " - All the time. - There's no stopping. Never. - Even in my sleep … All I ever see is him - being cut like me, burned, - ripped apart and screaming. - Screaming for me to help him, begging, crying … and - there's nothing I can do."
His voice broke then and he finally let the tears fall he'd been holding back all the time. The brunette gently guided him into a sitting position as he began to sway on his feet, allowing him to lean against his chest andsob his soul out. He carefully stroke back his golden curls, soothingly combing them through with his fingers and simply letting him cry in his embrace, without saying anything. When there were no tears left, the man looked up at him, no spark of hope in his eyes.
Thor: "I - I want him back! What if the baby changes while he's imprisoned? What if - what if he doesn't survive it and-"
Tony: "Shhh, shh, hey - that ain't gonna happen. We'll bring him back into your arms safely. - I promise."
Thor: " - Why are you all doing this?"
Tony: "Because we love you. We won't let any asshole hurt you without making him pay for it. Though we sometimes don't behave like one but - we're still a family somehow. And you're a part of it - a quite "big" part actually."
An exhausted smile was the only response to the little joke.
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Thor had fallen asleep a few minutes later, still cudled into his friend's arms. Tony knew he wouldn't be able to carry him back in (sometimes he cursed the fact that Asgardians had to be that heavy), so he got blankets and furs from inside, wrapping the blonde in so he'd be comfortable and not get cold outside. Then he went back in, straight down into his lab and started any programme he could find that could eventually locate where Loki was. He was more than determined to make this work. For Thor. And for the satisfaction to beat everyone involved in this massacre bloody and broken.
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