Just Another Stolen Relic

III

Loki had been in the Avenger's watch for about a week, and he had only gotten worse. Destroying every new camera Tony installed in the cell, Loki had free roam to do what he wanted. Never eating what they gave him, his already pronounced cheekbones jutted out, and his eyes carried dark bags underneath them.
Loki had started stabbing himself when he was in his Jotun form- it reminded him of how much of a monster he truly was. Instead of just his left arm, Loki had expanded his canvas to his entire body. His thin legs had become another target of his trusted knife. His arm had been stained red from the blood, even staying when his turned turned a dark shade of blue.

Tony sighed angrily, watching Loki stab out another camera he had just installed. The prisoner's thin arms shot up to shove the spear into it. He grabbed his phone and rang Bruce.
"Hey, Banner boy. Can you come to the tower? I need to keep watch on a stubborn prisoner. Loki. Yeah, the fucker's been trouble lately. Thanks." Leaving his research out for Bruce to find and build on, Tony headed down for where Loki's cell was.

Loki flinched at the sound of footsteps, immediately casting an illusion to conceal his legs and arm.

"Hey, since SOMEONE can't keep the security cameras up, I'll be here on watch." Tony's smooth voice echoed.

The God of Mischief was utterly displeased with that news. "There's no need for that. Everything is fine, and my wound healed days ago." To prove his point, he presented his seemingly clean arm to the short man.

"Even so, I can't let the villians we've captured have no precautions taken." Tony shrugged nonchalantly.

Loki was able to cast a bigger illusion, which rendered him invisible as a clone stood up from where he sat. The god felt horrible, and the thought of being watched made him feel worse. The real Loki shakily pulled himself to a corner and soundproofed the cell. With that in place, the long black haired man pulled his legs up to his chest and started sobbing. His cries were the loudest noise he had ever made, but nobody heard them. He cried for Frigga, for Thor, for Asgard and he cried for himself. He felt lost on Midgard- he was desperate enough to let himself be locked up like an animal at a stockhouse because he had nowhere else to go. He felt pathetic, and he knew that was right.

He brought his weak arms up to shield his crying face, bones feeling heavy as lead. "Odin was right to exile me." The words said aloud stung him more than the thought. His reddened face felt numb, and he couldn't exactly feel his trembling hands. After a moment, Loki's eyes turned golden.

"What? Where am I?" Loki questioned an empty room. It seemed he was in Asgard's end, where the Bifrost's guardian would escort people to the other eight realms. 

"You should not be doing that." Heimdall's strong voice called out.

Looking towards the all-seeing man, it clicked as to why he was there. "I assume you've seen what I've been doing, then?" He asked stiffly. He already had his answer, and shame tugged at his gut.

"Being self destructive reaped you no benefit. Sooner or later, you'll be off on your own, and you'll wish you had the mortals there to help you clean your wounds, or give you food. Enjoy it while you can, silvertounge."

With that, Loki's snapped back to reality and his eyes turned back into the emerald green it was. He glanced at Tony, who was still interacting with the clone he conjured. Any Asgardian would have been able to tell after closer inspection, but Tony was none the wiser. Stepping into the place of the illusion, Loki willed it away and seamlessly took its place.

"I would estimate SHIELD wanting you for a month or two more, don't worry too much about that. Their tests are pretty shitty though, don't make it more painful on yourself."

Loki said nothing but absorbed the information before slamming his fist against the glass that held him back. "SHIELD is nothing more than a joke, Stark. You too will see that someday. Wouldn't it be so much easier to join me in conquest of Midgard? All you would have to do is have your machine unlock this cage." He summoned a knife and stabbed the glass in the area the lock was, where he wanted Tony to look at.

"Sorry, Reindeer Games. Your mind tricks don't really work. Performance issues, you know the statistic."

The Asgardian sighed in exhaustion, letting hinself slowly fall down. He was tired, but it was mostly due to his stab wounds on his legs that he couldn't stand for any longer.

"Oh, that reminds me. I have to you something to eat. And like, actually eat it this time. You look all weak and tiny." Tony said, walking out of the room.

Is it that noticeable? I doubt I look any formidable when I'm so helpless in a demeaning cage such as this.

Loki felt himself draw his knife thoughtlessly. He started scraping his legs, still spaced out as he watched the cut bleed.

"Loki!" Tony yelled, dropping the food plate on the tiled floor. It was the first time he saw him doing it in person, and it tugged on his heart painfully.

Tony's scream of alarm was enough to send Loki back into consiousness of his actions. He looked down and saw his red legs. His thoughts were cut short by a feeling of warmth, eminating from his side. Sure enough, Loki's green eyes met Tony's hazel ones as the man asked if he was okay. "That's a stupid question. Of course you aren't. Nobody okay does that to themselves." Although the last sentence was a whisper, Loki still caught it with a frown. He was helped up and brought into the medical room, where the rest of Avengers were.

"What is he doing here?"
"Tony, lock him up!"
"Is that blood?"

"He's hurt, pretty badly." Tony grabbed Loki's arm firmly and showed the rest of the team. The man was trying to pull away, but his lack of nutrients and frail state meant he couldn't.

The Avengers looked upon his wounds in a tone of disgust and confusion.
"Did you do that to him, Tony?" Steve asked, confused.

"No, no. This was him." Loki let out a half-hearted growl as Tony told the others.