Chapter 11
Loki wakes up in the Med Bay with a killer headache. Which is odd, since he can feel the soft hum of his seidr. The headache must not be from the cuffs, then?
A searing pain runs up his left side. He remembers the last couple hours and the headache makes a bit more sense. The seidr, not so much.
Loki reaches for his side, hoping to gauge the damage. But he can’t move. Instead of the seidr-suppressant cuffs, they have him bound down to the table by his wrists and ankles. Loki remembers a cave and a snake with dripping venom, gets lost in the terrible memory for longer than he’d like to admit. But he pushes it away. From what he’s gathered, Rogers has some strong opinions on torture, and Rogers seems to be in charge.
Loki wishes he had more seidr than just scraps. He’s grateful for his fast healing, of course, but with more seidr he could walk away from here. He could go to one of the other realms, maybe even travel beyond the Nine. He could even shift into another form, use an alias, and see how London’s doing.
But he doesn’t have enough seidr for that. He doesn’t even have enough seidr to calm his headache.
Loki is good at being alone. He’s good at closing himself off so nobody can hurt him. (Loki wants his mom desperately.)
“Are the meds working properly?” Bruce asks. “I gave you the same stuff I usually give to Thor, just a lower dose.”
Loki, who had barely noticed Banner come into the room, figures that means the medicine is working. He nods weakly.
“I know you,” Bruce says, fiddling with the machines in the room. “Knew, I guess.”
“I’m not really in the mood to be told how horrible of a person I am, thanks,” Loki says with as much snark as he can muster.
“Besides what happened on Earth, you seem like a bit of an asshole.” Bruce shrugs. “But not a bad person.”
“Wow, thanks,” Loki deadpans. “How do you even know me, if the other Avengers don’t?”
“That’s kind of a long story,” Bruce says.
“I’m not going anywhere,” Loki responds.
“Okay,” Bruce takes a deep breath. “A long time ago, I took a serum. And sometimes I turn into a big green monster called the Hulk. I was on Sakaar for a couple years, kind of stuck being the Hulk. You were there before Thor, but I’m not sure how. Long story short, we found a Valkyrie —”
Loki cuts him off, eyes wide. “Like, a real life Valkyrie? They died before Thor and I were born.”
“Yeah, a real Valkyrie. Her name’s Brunnhilde and you kind of hate each other.”
Loki smiles sadly. “Of course.”
“So, long story short, we got off Sakaar and then had to save Asgard from your sister.”
Loki laughs a little. “We don’t have a sister.”
“You did,” Bruce says. “Your father locked her up and pretended she never existed.”
Loki nods pensively. “That sounds about right.”
“She wanted revenge. To stop her, you burned down Asgard.”
Loki’s eyes widen. “I burned down Asgard and I don’t even get to remember it? That’s terribly unfair.”
It’s all Bruce can do to keep from laughing.
“How are you doing, kid?” Tony asks from the doorway. Loki tilts his head towards him and raises an eyebrow. Okay, maybe Tony should have considered that someone chained to a table might not be doing great.
“I’ve been better,” Loki sighs.
“Yeah,” Tony says, because he can’t really argue with that. “Would you appreciate a visitor?”
“If it’s Thor, the answer is no.” Loki smiles grimly. “My head is screaming and he talks too loudly.”
“What if it’s Peter?” Tony asks. “He was excited to see you again. He’s been pouting the entire time we were in the lab.”
A small smile flickers across Loki’s face. “Sure.”
Tony steps aside and Peter walks in.
“Hi!” He whispers to Loki. “Is this quiet enough?”
Loki nods.
“I’ll leave you two alone,” Tony says. “Peter, please remember to get home by ten. Aunt May will actually kill me otherwise.”
Peter rolls his eyes. “Yes, Mr. Stark.”
“How many times do I have to tell you to call me Tony?”
“I don’t know.” Peter shrugs. “Maybe a couple more times?”
Once Tony leaves, Peter turns to Loki. “Are you actually okay? I was really worried when I showed up and you weren’t reading!”
Loki nods. “I’ll survive. Really, ‘tis fine.”
Peter laughs quietly. “I’ve never actually heard someone say ‘‘tis’ in real life.”
Loki shrugs awkwardly on the table. “‘Tis a good word.”
Peter smiles. “Do you want to watch a movie or something?”
Loki stares at Peter. “I’m afraid I don’t know what that is.”
Peter’s face lights up. “Then you have definitely been missing out! FRIDAY, can we watch a movie?”
“Yes, Peter.” The AI answers. “Which would you like?”
“Star Wars!” Peter grins.
“Excuse me,” Loki says softly. “I would prefer a non-war movie, perhaps?”
“Oh.” Peter deflates a little. “That makes sense. We could watch Tangled? It’s a Disney movie.”
“I still don’t know what that is,” Loki shrugs. “But sure.”