Loki and the Witchling

Chapter 60

You made your way down to the detention cells with Loki at your side. Cap, Thor, and Tony were waiting outside the winter soldier's cell. You could feel the mystery man's pain and grief and confusion the second you got off of the elevator. Loki stiffened beside you. He could feel it too. It nearly broke your heart, your healer's soul to feel this man so distressed.

You ran for the man's cell, intent on the healing, on helping this poor man. Loki sighed and grabbed you around the waist, hauling you off your feet before you could make it more than a few steps. "Witchling, think, my love," he told you gently as he held you firmly to him. "This isn't a normal healing. This isn't one of the team expecting the healing. This man is dangerous, and not expecting you to be a healer. He'll hurt you if you just go running in there. None of us are going to let you put yourself in that much danger," he reminded you gently. You sighed heavily and nodded. Loki set you gently back on your feet when he was convinced that you were going to be at least relatively reasonable.

You stepped calmly over toward the man's cell. "Stay back, guys. You're going to scare him," you told the guys firmly. They all spluttered a protest. "I know you don't want me alone with him, but we won't make any progress otherwise. I can take care of myself, and Loki can teleport in there in an instant if things go wrong. He won't expect a little healer like me to be a threat,"

It took prodding, but they finally agreed to let you go in to the man's cell alone. So you stepped in with a healer's open friendly expression. The man snarled and glared and rushed you. "I'm not going to hurt you," you told him gently, calmly, throwing out calming waves of magic. He stopped in his tracks and just stared at you. You felt his emotions, felt the turmoil and pain.

Then felt something worse: orders.

He lunged for you again and his metal hand wrapped around your throat, holding you off your feet, pinned against the wall. Your hands wrapped around his wrist, trying to remove his hand from your throat. "You're coming with me," he snarled at you.

Loki was there, ripping the man off of you and threw him into the other wall. You coughed and tried to regain your air. "He's being controlled," you told Loki between coughs.

Loki had him pinned against the wall and snarled. "I'm aware of that. Do something about it or get out of here," he growled at you, struggling to keep the man pinned. You searched for something, anything to help this poor man.

You finally found it. He threw Loki off of him, through the glass of the cell into the main room and stomped over to you, reaching to pick you up by the throat again. "Longing, Rusted, Seventeen, Daybreak, Furnace, Nine, Benign, Homecoming!" you shouted.

He stopped in midstride again. His eyes glazed. "Ready to comply," he told you. You sighed in relief and apologized, promising to never do that to him again.

"Since when does she speak Russian?" Tony asked Nat who had come down at some point to join you.

"It's the power of Allspeak," Thor explained.

Loki was making his way back to his feet, growling about getting thrown through a cell wall. You led the mystery man into the main room and up on the interrogation table. He was calm as a kitten. "Do you have a name?" you asked the man. He didn't answer. This was going to be a long healing if he couldn't even give you a name. "Ok, just take the mask off," he reached up and obeyed automatically. You heard Cap's gasp of horror when the man's face was revealed. "You know him?"

Cap nodded dumbly. "Bucky?! Bucky no, what'd they do to you?" Cap asked, horrified, actual tears in his eyes, while you used your power to gather the extent of the damage.

"Who the hell is Bucky?" the man demanded, glaring at Cap, who was lost to his grief at what they had done to this man.

"Love, I'll need your help," you told Loki. He was at your side in an instant, though still grumpy at being thrown. It only took a little power to heal his physical injuries. "You're a stronger telepath than I am," you told Loki, more for the benefit of the rest of the room. "I can't heal the shit they did to his mind without your help,"

"You can fix this?" Cap asked desperately.

"Cap, from what I've gathered they have experimented on his brain for years. Mind controlled him since they took him. Loki and I will do what we can, but I can't make any promises. Don't interrupt once we get started,"

"Please! He- I can't say what he means to me. He's been my best friend since we were kids. So please," Cap begged. You nodded.

"We'll do what we can," you promised and Loki nodded his agreement.

You took Loki's hand and dived together into the magic and power of healing that poor man's mind. It took hours to make progress. It was slow and power draining, exhausting work, but the man was in such need that you couldn't not do the healing. Loki finally had to physically drag you away from the man. You stumbled and fell backwards into him.

"He needs us," you whimpered at him.

"We did all we could for today, love," Loki told you, holding you on your feet. "You just did a massive extermination and massive healing just the day before yesterday. Just because I supplied most of the power today doesn't mean it wasn't draining for you too," he told you softly while you mewed a protest that the healing wasn't done. He looked up at the others. "We fixed most of the damage. It'll take time for him to heal completely and he needs to rest, but he should be mostly back to normal,"

"Loki~" you whined softly.

"Hush, witchling. I'm quite aware you're an incorrigible healer, but you're dead on your feet," Loki told you gently.

Cap clapped Loki on the shoulder. "I'll take care of him. Thanks for your help. Do you need help with her?" he asked, gesturing to you. The whole team were quite aware how healers got, especially after your display saving Loki.

"I've got her," Loki replied and tossed you over his shoulder. You protested. "Hush," he scolded gently. "He's fine, but you need to rest. Now, come along quietly, or I shall just have to kidnap you again," he teased.

"Either put me down or carry me more comfortably," you grumbled at him.

"As my lady wishes," he replied and shifted his grip to hold you bridal style. "Healers," he sighed exasperated.

"Had to save him. He was so hurt and bruised. Not his fault,"

"I know, darling. I was there. There was a reason I agreed to help you with this healing even though neither of us were in the shape for it. His needs were greater,"

"Brother, you do have a heart," Thor teased.

"Tell anyone and I shall stab you," Loki replied. "Alternatively, of course I have a heart you witless oaf, I'm not a monster. Pick which response you'd like," he grumbled. The team laughed, the air in the room seeming to clear, the lighten. You opened your mouth to protest again that Bucky still needed more healing. Loki's lips were on yours before you could. "Rest, or kidnapping, darling," he reminded you of his threat.

"You wouldn't," you murmured.

"Force you to rest than let you kill yourself? Yes, yes I would. I love you too much, witchling,"

"Why aren't you dead on your feet too?" you grumbled.

"Because I have a thousand years more experience than you do which have grown my powers. Also I did not explode a hundred people, do a massive healing, and then immediately after a brutal magic-hangover, try to heal an injured mind, which is not your specialty in case you forgot," he reminded you. "Now, are you going to rest willingly?"

"Will you read me a story?"

He chuckled and kissed your forehead. "Of course, love,"