Beneath The Bitter Masks

Chapter 6

Thor looked weary, sad and remorseful, "His mouth was once stitched closed when he was younger. It appears he believed the same was about to be done to him now."

Bruce went before he hulked out. Natasha went out as well and if she looked a little pale nobody said anything. Pepper looked at Thor in shock.

"I'm sorry what? Did you just say that his mouth was sewn shut?" Tony asked clearly pissed. "Was that how he was treated? No wonder he decided to go crazy over here."

"What the hell man? I mean why would you even.......?" Clint couldn't even complete his sentence. He looked like he wanted to shoot someone. Tony didn't blame him.

"It was his punishment. That was what the Allfather had declared."

"What kind of a punishment is that? I used to think my dad was bad but turns out there is a God of Horrible Dads living in Asgard."

"Do not insult him in front of me. He does everything for a purpose." Even though Thor spoke in Odin's defence it looked like his heart wasn't into defending his father either.

Pepper stepped up, "We'll talk about what's right and wrong later. Right now we need to take care of Loki." She ponited at Loki who was looking at them, his eyes still fearful.

Thor let go of his anger only sadness and love for his brother remaining. "Oh Loki... " he took a step forward, Loki pressed himself further into the wall, Thor stopped. A single tear on Thor's face. "Please don't. I-I promise I won't lie, please don't do it."

Pepper started walking up to him, "Uh Pep, what are you doing?" Tony exclaimed worried though he would never say it out loud. Pepper ignored him and walked forward. Loki covered his head with his hands. Should've just kept your mouth shut. Now you've done it. Pepper went over to him.

Loki looked up,"I'm sorry, please I didn't want to do it. I didn't want to attack or hurt people. Please don't hit me."

"Loki, my name is Virginia Potts. You can call me Pepper." No reaction. She put her hand on his head. Loki flinched. She started running her hands through his hair. "It's alright Loki. No one will hurt you. I promise."

He looked at her fear still evident but a small spark of hope now present. The hand in his hair was soothing. It was making him sleepy, reminding him of his mother doing the same. "You-you won't?" disbelief was evident in his voice.

Pepper smiled a little kind smile, "No Loki no one will hurt you. Not Thor, not Tony, not Steve, no one. We all will keep you safe." To Pepper Loki looked like an innocent child who was lost and she felt the need to plactate his worries. To protect him.

Loki's eyes were getting heavy. He was starting to fall asleep but he had heard her words. He didn't want to believe her, to gain hope only to have it taken away again but she sounded so sure that he thought it wouldn't hurt to do so. He gave a small tentative smile and closed his eyes murmuring a small 'thank you'. Pepper continued to stroke his hair until he looked to be in a deep sleep.

Thor sat down on a chair next to his bed and continued the motion of stroking his hair while Pepper got up.

"Jarvis send Bruce down will ya? If he's calm enough." Tony ordered getting up as well. The four left leaving the brothers. Bruce came in and started to look for bandages. He didn't even want to think about stitches.
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Natasha Romanoff codenamed Black Widow was a spy, an assassin so she was accustomed to keeping her feelings in check. But now.... now she didn't know what to think. She was given a second chance in life and considered herself lucky. She was now a part of a team who she was beginning to consider as friends, maybe even a family.

Something she never had and apparently, neither did Loki. She knew one thing and that Loki wasn't threat and would be a great ally. Clint had forgiven the trickster and so would she. She was broken out of her thoughts when she heard footsteps.

"Hey Nat how are you feeling?" It was Steve better known as Captain America. Behind him Clint was standing looking concerned. She saw Tony standing in the bar arguing with Pepper probably about drinking. "I'm fine." she replied curtly.

Clint gave an exasperated sigh, "Your not fine." before she could protest he continued, "And I know this because none of us are. I mean the person we thought was the main villain turned out to be a pawn, a victim, who was unfairly imprisoned with no change in conditions and to top it all off, he had a horrible childhood."

"What I don't understand is how someone could treat their own child like that?" Steve shook his head sadly. Tony sat down on the couch with a huff after loosing the argument.

"That's because he isn't." Natasha spoke up. Tony was using his starkpad and looking something up but she couldn't tell what. He appeared to be sulking.

"Remember Thor said he was adopted."

"How can that excuse torture? Because that wasn't punishment. That was fucking torture." Clint sounded mad. It was strange to see him mad for someone who, four days ago, he would have gladly killed with his own hands. No arrows needed.

"I've got it." Tony suddenly shouted everyone looked towards him. "It's because he's a frost giant." At everyone's confused look he further explain. "If you remember Rudolph there said he was a Jotun. A frost giant. He didn't seem particularly happy about that fact. And now I know why. Jotuns are the natural enemies of Asgard."

"Loki also recently learned he was adopted which caused his little act down in New Mexico." Clint supplied.

"So he was never informed of his heritage?" Steve questioned.

"Apparently not." Tony continued, "Think about it in his place Cap. He is isolated from everything, mocked and made fun of. He's raised up to believe that his race are monsters and always wondered why he was hated."

Natasha continued understanding where the billionaire was going with this, "Then he learns that he is one of them. A monster and he believes it. He thinks this was the reason everyone hated him. Then he tries to destroy the place where he was born, which I believe was to prove to his father that he was as good as Thor." she said recalling what Thor had told them about Loki when they were living in the tower.

"Loki tried to kill himself right? What were his last words 'I could have done it father, for you, for all of us.' to which Odin replied 'No Loki.'" Steve remembered Thor's tale. "But why try to kill himself?"

"Don't you see. That's like literally saying everything he's done is useless and he'll never amount to anything. He saw no point in living and decided to just end it."

"But instead of dying, he landed in the clutches of the Chitauri. They beat him until he complies. He comes here, he looses, is taken to Asgard where he doesn't get fair treatment and is once again placed in a cell. This guys life is just full of shit isn't it?" Tony concluded.

"Not anymore. We won't let this cycle repeat." Steve declared with full conviction. Everyone silently agreed.

With nothing left to say they all decided to get some lunch. All of them thinking about a certain demi-god.
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I don't know why but I've always thought that Pepper was great at calming people down. She always sounds so sure and confident that she makes people believe her.

And yeah they all forgave Loki easy but seeing his state and the fact that he was under mind control really changed their thoughts.

So tell me what you think. Hate it? Love it? Thank you for reading. Sorry for mistakes. I know I'm not that good. I will try.

Your sincerely,
YeranJ.