Loki Misses the Asgardian Prison System

Chapter 19

The Avengers all stare at the doorway long after Loki leaves. That was... weird. Even beyond just seeing Thor and Loki act like normal siblings (except slightly more murderous), the way Loki freaked out over nothing was weird. He didn't look too bothered by the way they were making fun of him. No more bothered than usual, at least.

Tony leans back in his chair and covers his forehead with his hand. Oh, this is just great. Now Loki's pissed and he has his magic back, at least to some extent. This isn't going to end well, is it?

Thor clenches his jaw and walks out, too, and that's when Tony really has to step in.

"Woah, okay, where are you going?" Tony asks quickly, standing up as if he could possibly stop a god.

"Home," Thor says through clenched teeth.

Steve scoffs. "Thor, you can't —"

Thor whips around to face them. "Loki has made it very clear that he does not want my help. I was here as a courtesy to the man I once considered a brother. I realize now that it was not worth the effort."

Tony glares at him. "So, what, you just came down here to piss off your little brother and then dump him on us again?"

"Loki finds living here with you humiliating," Thor tells him. "He will gladly stay away from you, whether he's upset with you or not."

"So we're going back to letting him starve," Natasha says skeptically.

"If he wants to starve, let him starve," Thor says. "I could not care less. I suspect you don't, either."

"I do," Steve says.

"You shouldn't," Thor says. "I assure you, he will never return the sentiment."

Steve gives a small shrug. "We're supposed to be heroes. As far as I'm concerned, if you're only helping people because you want their respect in return, you're not much of a hero to begin with."

Thor just walks away.

Tony throws his head back with a groan. "Oh, this is just great!"

"Look, you heard him," Clint says. "Loki's still going to ignore us. We still get to ignore him. It's like nothing's changed."

"No, it has changed," Tony says. "I have no problem letting him sit around and mope for the rest of his life, but I can't just let him starve."

That gets a small smile out of Steve, which is almost enough to change Tony's mind. Smarmy little bastard.

Clint and Natasha both reluctantly agree. If the U. S. prison systems won't let their prisoners starve, neither should they. It's a low bar, but Loki doesn't deserve much better.

"Look," Clint says, "we don't want to see him and he doesn't want to see us. Why don't we just leave him something to eat a few times a day and leave it at that?"

"Hmm," Tony hums. That's actually not a bad idea. Wow, he was really about to overcomplicate this for no reason.

"Not yet," Steve says.

Tony scoffs. "I'm sorry, now you want him to starve?"

"Of course not," Steve says. "But I also don't want him to lie in bed all day. That's a horrible way to live."

"Good," Clint says. "I want him to suffer."

"Barton —"

"Do you even remember why he's here?" Clint demands. "He destroyed half of New York. He killed well over a hundred people. And, oh yeah, he squeezed his way into my brain and made me help him!"