Chapter 5
Steve had alerted Fury of their location, passing on the information that they would be staying in the London Sanctum for a day or two while Peter healed.
Loki had made it clear that, although Peter was breathing, he wasn't in the clear.
Not yet.
So they set up a makeshift infirmary in what looked to be a drawing room with a giant fireplace. Just as well because it was freezing in the mostly abandoned mansion.
Not that it seemed to bother the tricker turned healer.
Bruce was positive he saw Loki’s neck go blue for a few seconds out of the corner of his eye. Something that Thor had happened to see as well, eyes furrowing in worry.
But Banner knew well enough that the situation was probably not the best one to let it out that he had seen what he had seen. So he kept quiet, occupying one of the many cushioned surfaces to try and catch some shut eye, something Nat had advised everyone to do.
Better to conserve their energy for what was to come. Especially when they had no idea when the next curve ball would hit. Steve had taken it upon himself to secure the premises, doing a walkthrough just to make sure everything was secure.
Bucky and Nat were having a whispered conversation at the far end of the room, trying to figure out how the mission ended up failing so hard. Clint sat and listened, putting out observations every few moments. But Tony, Tony sat glued to the armchair next to the ornate wooden table Loki had Peter hovering over, almost cocooned inside a very intricate web of gold shimmering energy. Loki in turn sat in another arm chair scooted up as close as he could get it to the table, one hand still wrapped around the teen’s wrist.
And while Peter did look better than he had when they had first arrived, he still wasn't waking up.
Loki on the other hand looked tired. Far more tired than he had when he first arrived with Peter in tow.
Pale skin turned paler as it took on an almost blue color, glossed over with layers of what looked to be cold sweat.
He kept his eyes closed and his face blank, but Tony could still tell. It was in the little movements. The slowly slumping form and the small winces that came every couple of minutes.
But for whatever reason, the Asgardian never let go.
It had been nearing seven hours since they settled Peter on the table. Tony knew better than to kid himself.
Holding that posture for seven hours would have to be more than a little tiring.
“You've been sitting like that for seven hours. Aren't you sore or Something? Do gods not get muscle cramps?”
Loki didn't respond for a moment prompting Tony to believe he just wasn't gonna answer.
Which was fair.
“i cannot let go. His injury and wounds should have been mortal. It was just happenstance that Heimdall saw him in time” Loki answered, sounding surprisingly neutral.
“Even gods have limits. Death is one of them. Time is another. It doesn't make much sense in the mortal world, but gods have certain powers. Especially the ones who can perform magic.”
Tony sat quietly, for the first time in a long time, completely sucked in.
“One will die of course. Everyone does. But in certain cases, if the line has not been completely crossed, one can be chased away from death. And with the right timing and magic, one can avoid the fate of certain death in that moment.”
Bruce took the gap in conversation to move to the seat next to Tony, genuinely interested in what the ex murderer had to say.
“He was one moment away from death when he landed on the ground. But I pulled him through, away from the veil.”
“Where did you take him?” Bruce asked.
“In the midst of the Andromeda Galaxy. Time works differently in space and in other galaxies. It gets distorted. It wasn't much, but it was long enough to pull him away before I could pull him through a black hole. Time stops inside a black hole. So I started the healing process in there, where he was suspended between life and death.”
“It was like four hours before you brought us to here. You were in there for four hours?”
“As I said, time works differently in space. The same principle applies to creations within that infinite space. It may have been four hours for you, but it was not even the span of a heart beat in there. No time and infinite time all at the same moment.”
“So why take Tony and Bucky? Why not just take everyone at once?”
Loki hesitated before answering.
“I didn't have enough energy to spare. This sort of healing processes is a transference. My magic, my energy is being channeling into mending the injured areas. But humans are especially intricate which means there is more energy used.”
“So you're telling me that you are taking from your life energy to get Peter fixed up?” Tony stared seriously at the man in front of him.
Loki nodded.
“So how did you get everyone else here?” Bruce asked.
“While he isn't as well trained in the dark arts as I, even Thor knows how to open certain portals.”
There was a beat of silence before Loki seized, muscles tightening as he shut his eyes against the wave of sudden pain. “Hey! What's happening?” Tony s eyes widened in surprise.
“Thor!” Banner turned to yet out of the room.
It was seconds before they heard him racing in.
“What is It? Has something gone wrong?” he glanced between the three men in worry.
“He just seized up out of nowhere!” Bruce answered worriedly.
Thor came closer to the table, checking once over before letting out a small sigh of relief.
“This is good news, my friends!”
“He doesn't look too happy about it” Tony gestured to the still wincing Loki who surprisingly still kept his grip on Peter’s wrist.
“This means that your youth, the spiderling is waking.”
Tony quirked a brow.
“right now within the head of that boy, there are millions of connections reforming themselves. This sometimes causes the body to begin to reject the healing magic. It attacks the nerves of the healer.”
Bruce took a second glance at Loki who was visibly sweating cold sweat, hand still tightened around Peter’s costumed wrist.
“But alas, the healer cannot let go until consciousness is revived else the lingering damage be too much. All the progress made can collapse within itself.”
“So what do we do now?!” Bruce couldn't look away from the disturbing sight.
“The best we can do is to trust Loki and allow him to continue his work. He knows his own limits. We must hope to the Valkyrie that the Spiderling wakes up before then.”
And now all they could do was to wait….