Mind Control
Peter knew all about Thor. He knew that the man was from another planet called Asgard. He knew that his favorite dessert was pop tarts, and that he was always willing to share, even if Peter wasn’t supposed to have dessert because he hadn’t eaten all of his vegetables, or because it was before dinner, and Pepper didn’t like it when he ate sweets before dinner. He knew that Thor used to have a really smart girlfriend, but now they were just good friends. He knew that his dad’s name was Odin, and that he sometimes went back to his home planet, but not all that often, and that he sometimes missed home. And he knew that Thor was really, really old, but because he wasn’t a human, that he didn’t grow up like humans, and that he lived longer, so he wasn’t really all that old.
“LIke a sea turtle?” Peter had asked when Thor had explained, and his father had choked on his drink, laughing into his napkin.
“A...a sea turtle?” Thor had asked.
“Yeah, my teacher said they live a really long time and so do you!”
Thor had chuckled then, ruffling his hair. “Then yes. I am like a sea turtle.”
He also knew that Thor had a really special hammer, one that only he could hold, because in order to hold it, you had to be ‘worthy to rule Asgard.’ The way his father had described it, you had to be a really good person who was good enough to rule his whole planet. Peter had tried to hold it a couple of times, but it was always too heavy. But sometimes, Thor would let him pretend to hold it, announcing to the room that Peter was worthy to rule Asgard. His dad would always laugh, swinging him into his arms.
“You can’t rule Asgard! You’re going to take over Stark Industries one day, aren’t you?”
"I'll do both!" he would answer, and his dad would kiss his hair and he and Thor would laugh.
And finally, Peter knew that Thor had a brother. He hadn’t met Loki before, but he knew that the man was adopted, and that he had been the one to lead the big attack on New York on the day that Peter had broken his arm trying to get away from the monsters. There had been a magic scepter that Loki had been using to hurt people, and when Peter had asked Thor why Loki had wanted to hurt all of them, the man had given him a sad smile.
“I’m not sure, Peter. I hope that one day, I’ll be able to speak to my brother and find out why.”
Peter had been in therapy with Sam for nearly two months, his eleventh birthday coming and going, when Loki returned to Earth. Well...his dad called it therapy. Sam never did. Once a week on Fridays after school, the two of them would do something together. Sometimes it was baking cookies or brownies for the team. Other times they’d go to the gym and Sam would show him how to punch a punching bag (while keeping a careful reign on his strength) or do things like yoga on mats that they rolled out and placed in the middle of the floor. And all the while, they would talk. He would ask Peter if he was having nightmares, or he would ask how school was going. And Peter would tell him. And some days, he felt better.
Other days, he still had nightmares, or didn’t want to leave the tower, or even get out of bed.
The day that Loki entered the tower, accompanied by Thor, was one of those days. Peter had woken from nightmares of being taken and had curled up under the covers, knees to his chest, face hidden in his pillow, ignoring Jarvis’s attempts to wake him for school. Finally, his dad had come into the room, sitting on the bed beside him and pulling the blankets back to his shoulders before stroking his hair.
“Hey buddy. It’s time for school.”
Peter had shaken his head, lips trembling as he’d recessed his nose into the pillow.
“Come on, Pete. You love school. You said that you and Ned were going to work on your homework together after school.”
He’d shaken his head again, tears soaking his pillow.
His dad had sighed then, making his heart clench. He knew that he was causing his dad trouble...that if he missed too much school his dad would have to talk to the principal. And he was making his dad worry about him. But he couldn’t do it. He couldn’t get out of bed. So he’d just stayed where he was until his dad had sat back against his headboard, legs stretched out in front of him. Pulling him gently, he’d eased Peter into his lap, a strong hand stroking his back. “Okay, buddy. You can stay home today. You want to come down to the lab?”
Peter had shaken his head again, not wanting to bother his dad and not wanting to get out of bed, but his fingers had tightened in his dad’s shirt, hands sticking fast. He hadn’t wanted to be alone...but he also hadn’t wanted to leave the safety of his bedroom.
His dad had held him for a long time, pressing gentle kisses into his hair, then had finally carried him into the kitchen, even though he was too big to be carried now. Still, he’d stuck his hands to his dad’s shirt, hanging on as his father had poured them both bowls of cereal for breakfast. Peter had eaten the food mechanically, one hand still clutched in his dad’s shirt, but when he’d finished, he’d forced himself to let go. He was eleven now, he’d told himself fiercely. Old enough to spend the day alone...old enough to let his dad work, even if he did feel like any moment he was going to fall apart.
Peter had gone back to his room after breakfast, promising his dad that he was okay, and that he would work on his school work, which his father had gotten his teachers to email him. He and Ned had just started middle school, and were in a lot of the same classes. His teachers had all been talked to by his dad, and this was the second time he’d had to do school from home. But his dad had assured him that it was okay...that he could miss school and work from home if he needed to. So Peter had spent most of his dad at his desk in his room, reading his textbooks and doing the worksheets that his dad had printed out for him, then reading when he was done.
And then he was bored.
When his dad had joined him for lunch, making him mac and cheese and sitting down to eat with him, he’d seemed...strange.
“Dad?” Peter had asked, voice soft and hesitant. “Are you mad at me?”
His dad had seemed to jump, wide eyes meeting Peter’s. “What? No, I’m not mad buddy.” He’d ruffled Peter’s hair, cupping his cheek for a moment just like he was a little kid again. “Sorry...there’s been, uh…” He’d hesitated for a long moment, seeming to think about how best to phrase something. His dad did that a lot, always to protect Peter, he was sure. And more and more, it got on Peter’s nerves. He was almost a teenager. He could handle knowing things. Now, though, with the nightmares from the night before fresh in his mind, he didn’t know if he did want to know. “We have a visitor at the tower,” his father had finally told him, dropping his hand to Peter’s shoulder.
“Who? Is Thor back?”
“Yeah...actually he is.”
“Thor’s not a visitor,” Peter had scolded, shaking his head, and his dad had laughed.
“No...he’s not. But, uh...his brother is here too.”
It had taken a moment for him to understand, and when he had, Peter had stiffened. “What? But...but his brother is Loki and Loki is…” A bad guy is what he’d been planning to say, but that sounded too silly...too childish. So he’d bitten his lip, then tried again. “Loki tried to hurt us.”
“Yeah…” his dad had trailed off, shaking his head a little. “Just...stay on our floor, okay? We’re trying to work out some details...apparently he was...well, there was someone else making him do bad things. At least, that’s what Thor said.”
Now, after all of Peter’s homework was done and he’d grown tired of reading, he found himself sitting in the living room, the TV playing one of the Star Wars prequels as he stared at the elevator doors. His dad had told him to stay on their floor. And Loki was a bad guy...only...if Thor said he wasn’t...then...then who had made Loki try to hurt them? And...and what if they came back?
“Jarvis?”
“Yes, Peter?”
“Where’s my dad?”
“Your father is currently in the conference room with the other Avengers.”
“Is...is Thor in there too?”
“Yes, he is.”
Peter hesitated, staring at the TV without really seeing it. “And...is Loki in there too?”
“No. Loki is currently in a holding cell.”
A holding cell. Peter knew that the tower had lots of rooms he’d never been in, and even floors he’d never been on. He’d been living here for a couple of years now, and he and his dad had done lots of exploring, but he’d never heard of a holding cell.
“Jarvis?”
“Yes Peter?”
“Can you tell me where the cell is?”
Apparently his father hadn’t forbidden Jarvis from letting Peter leave the floor, so, following the instructions given to him by the AI, Peter rode the elevator down a few floors, then followed the maze of hallways to a room that looked kind of like his dad’s lab. It was huge, with bright lights and tables covered in tools. And along the back wall were three rooms, all sections off with glass walls. And behind one of those glass walls was a man.
The man wore all black, his dark hair pulled back and tucked behind his ears, the back of his head resting on the wall behind him. He was sitting on a low bed, heels resting on the floor, but as Peter stepped into the lab, the man stiffened, head tilting before he opened his eyes and turned to regard Peter. Peter felt his whole body go still, his breath catching as he fought the urge to climb the wall...or run. He’d only peeked his head into the room, and as his eyes met Loki’s, his hand tightened on the doorknob, leaving little dents.
Loki narrowed his eyes, tilted his head, then crossed his arms. “Hello.”
Peter swallowed hard. “Hi,” he whispered.
“And who exactly are you?” Not sure he should share his name, Peter hesitated, but then Loki went on. “Ah...you’re Stark’s son.”
Peter’s eyes widened, jaw dropping. “How did you know?”
“You look just like him. Besides, my brother told me all about you.”
Not daring to ask what exactly Thor had told him lest he accidentally give something away about himself, Peter stepped further into the room. “Thor told you about me?” he asked insead.
“He did.” The man tilted his head and lifted an eyebrow. “How old are you?”
Peter pressed his lips together, not sure what he should say. He wasn’t even supposed to be here...he was supposed to be in his room. And if his dad caught him, he was sure to be in trouble. So instead of answering, he shut the door behind him and leaned against it. “Are you a bad guy?”
Loki narrowed his eyes a little, leaning forward and regarding Peter more closely, and something in his face softened. “What do you think?”
“My dad...he said that...that Thor told him that you didn’t attack New York because you wanted to. He said a bad guy made you do it. Is...is that true?”
“It is,” Loki agreed with a nod.
“And...that bad guy. Where is he?”
“You don’t have to worry about him. My brother and the Avengers will stop him from coming here.” Peter wasn’t sure if he could believe him. Wasn’t sure if he was telling the truth. But the alternative was almost too much to think about. So he nodded, resolving to ask his dad more about it...or maybe he’d ask Thor. His dad didn’t need to know that he’d disobeyed him.
“Are you going to live here now?”
“I’m not sure. It depends on what the Avengers decide. Do you live here?” Loki spoke to him kind of like Sam did...like he was another grown up, and Peter found himself inching forward a little.
“Yeah.” Peter nodded. “With my dad and mom.” He wanted to clarify that he meant Pepper mom and not his real mom but Loki wouldn’t know what he was talking about and then he’d have to explain everything about his real mom and he didn’t know if he was supposed to talk to Loki about that. Actually, he thought, he probably wasn’t supposed to talk to Loki about anything. “I should go.”
“Does your father know that you’re in here?”
Peter shook his head. “No...I was supposed to stay upstairs. But I asked Jarvis where you were and he told me how to find you.” He hesitated before turning back to the door. “Mr. Loki? If you’re not a bad guy...does that mean you aren’t going to hurt us?”
The man gave a half smile. “No, child. I’m not going to hurt you.”
Just then, Peter heard the elevator ding and froze when footsteps approached. Turning to Loki, eyes wide, he started to back away from the door, then darted over to a table where he ducked down out of sight. As soon as he was hidden, the door opened, and the Avengers, led by his father, stepped inside. Peering out from beside the table, he watched as Loki got to his feet, arms still crossed. “So, you finally decided to let me out of this ridiculous cell?” He spoke a little more loudly than he needed to, moving right up against the glass wall. “I thought that you said we would be welcome here, brother.” As he spoke, Peter slipped behind the Avengers and his father and out the door, glancing back just before he left the room.
Loki met his eyes for just a second and smiled, but by the time the others turned around, Peter was gone, headed back to his room.