A Mother's Love

Chapter 2

When we reach a landing, Natasha turns to Banner "Stay put. Keep it in autopilot. Watch Tony's video feed."

Stark looks to me and insists "Go ahead. Make sure it's Loki. Don't engage until we get there."

I wipe Mjönir around, before lifting up to get to the cave. Inside, I find something I've never seen before.

Loki kneels with his back to me, facing the wall of the cavern. As he rocks himself, he whispers an incantation.

He sits in the middle of an enormous norse compass. Surrounding the compass, is a thousand symbols. Some, I recognize as Jotunheimen. Others, I've never even come across in alien civilization. The carvings, I know, must have taken hours.

On the tavern wall, is what appears to a snake eating it's own tail. The circle has to be ten meters wide. And by the crimson color, I know it's painted on with blood.

Silently, I wave down to Stark and he gives a thumbs up, before an arrow flies up.

As it anchors into ice, I step towards Loki to try and understand what he's saying.

With each line, I know it's foriegn, even to me. He speaks to fast for me to catch anything.

"Loki?" I ask, sternly. He doesn't skip a bat in his incantation. As he continues, I furrow my brow in confusion and repeat "Loki?"

Silently, I step forward. I catch something in his words.

"Heill."

In the carvings, I find two recognizable characters. To a moral, one looks like a 'J' with a line through it. The other looks like three sweet in a box.

When the others finally climb into the cave, I furrow my brow and look back to them "I can't make out much, but that box symbol means to break free of one's bindings. The other is for camouflage and deception."

I motion towards Loki "I made out 'safe'."

"He's trying to escape?" The Captain asks, before Loki arches his back.

I hear a blade come out, and I get a flash of silver, before I back the fuck up.

I hear an alarming thud, before I see a blue hand stretch out for support. I concern, I round the compass, slowly.

As I do, crimson seeps through the deep carvings and I ask "Loki?"

When I see the ridges on his sapphire skin, I squat down and ask "Are you- are you alright, brother?"

He shutters out a moan, before holding his head to Valhalla and chanting in a seamless "Mumcorro nos tunka nuroo ostmen kvomosta. Minuva jormungandr losanome heill hath venom nos corsineo vu Loki ocaenos bleadinea."

The snake on the wall begins to glow and Loki looks to it with a massive smile on his face.

His eyes beam red.

All the sudden, the snake's glow dies, and Loki's face riddles with confusion.

After a long moment, he looks up at the ceiling and freezes for a moment, before jumping to his feet.

His daggers are out in an instant. Before I can process it, he jumps onto the side of the mountain and begins to climb up the side.

When I register what's happening, I follow him up the side, only to find another cave.

By the time I pull myself over the edge, Loki kneels where the middle of the compass would be, and begins to chant.

"Mumcorro nos tunka nuroo ostmen kvomosta. Minuva jormungandr losanome heill hath venom nos corsineo vu Loki ocaenos bleadinea."

When nothing happens, he just slumps there, defeated.

When the Avengers reach us, he stands and turns towards us, his regular skin showing lily white.

His green eyes look dull, as he steps up to me. As he overs me his wrists, I ask "What are you doing?"

He doesn't say a word. And after a moment, he takes out his daggers, and starts towards the edge.

As I follow him, he climbs down to the cave below. With one last glance inside, he glances over the ledge, before dropping down the face of the mountain.

Instantly, I drop next to him.

As I follow him onto the ship, Banner looks to me and asks "Why didn't you take his weapons."

Loki doesn't even look to him. Emotionlessly, he secures his daggers in a case, before moving to the opposite side of the ship, and taking a seat.

I lean against the case and ask "What happened to you when you left Asgard, brother?"

He stares at me, blankly. Banner looks to me and asks "He just gave up?"

I nod, before asking Banner "Is there any soup left at the commander center?"

Banner furrows his brow, before asking "Are you asking for him or you?"

I motion towards Loki "He's been up there for hours. He's lost quite a bit of blood. He needs to-"

"I don't deserve it." Loki says, somberly.

I look to him in shock, before he continues to stare off, blankly. Then, I realize something.

That blank stare reads of loathing.

Banner looks to me and states "Fury isn't going to give him anything."

I furrow my brow and remind "Fury isn't a God! I can do whatever the fuck I want, and I want to insure my little brother doesn't drop dead!"

"Adopted." Loki speaks, softly.

I furrow my brow at him and remark "Tough shit!"

He looks down and I move to sit next to him. As I do, he tenses up. With a weak smile, I lay my arm over his shoulder and he tilts his head my way, ever so slightly.

With a soft voice, I speak to him, kindly "I am royally angry with you, don't get me wrong... but we'll figure this out, okay?"

He looks down and, in that moment, I understand why he surrendered.

He was hoping he'd die.

And by me taking his side, he realized I'd never let anyone hurt him. Not again.

By the disappointed action, I understand.

He wants to die.

More accurately-

He wishes he'd never existed.