What If... HYDRA Got Hold of Loki?

vows

Loki's been getting better over the last few weeks.

He can stay awake longer. He can follow conversations easier. He can drink a dozen small sips of his chocolate shakes at a time. He really feels like he's making progress. He really feels like he's going to live.

Communication is still difficult. He still has to use the tablet and the Atari controller and it's still much slower than he'd like, but he's getting better at it. It doesn't take quite as long. He can move between letters quicker; he's learned to abbreviate words better. He's making progress in every sense.

He hasn't been moved from the bed since he arrived, so much of his time is spent watching the television in front of him just because it's there. Right now, he's watching a show called Family Feud, which has slowly become one of his favorites, right up there with America's Funniest Home Videos. Neither of them require paying much attention. He can drift in and out as he pleases, and it won't affect his understanding of the shows at all.

He's in the middle of a commercial break when there's a knock on the door, and Loki turns his head to look. It's Tony who enters the room, and he seems... off. There's something off about him; the way he's holding himself. Loki wonders if it has to do with his wife or his daughter. He's heard that they've moved in temporarily. He can see that causing problems – or being absolutely wonderful; it could go either way.

"Hey," Tony says from the doorway. "I just wanted to check in on you; see how you're doing."

Loki gives him a thumbs up. He's kind of thirsty. He could go for another few sips of his drink. And it wouldn't be all that difficult to ask; he knows how to switch the TV from his shows to his letter board. But he still has a hard time asking for things. He takes what he's given. That's how it's been for years. He takes what he's given, and he doesn't ask for anything more.

"Do you think you're gonna be awake in ten minutes?" Tony asks him.

Loki pats the bed once. He should be. He's not very tired. He can probably get another half-episode of his show in before he falls back asleep – a full one, even, if he's feeling ambitious. That would be, what, 45 minutes, probably? Each one is half an hour, and he's about halfway through this one? At the very least, he should stay awake until it ends.

"Great," Tony says. "Then I'll be back in ten minutes."

Loki furrows his brows. Why? What's going to be different in ten minutes? Does his episode end in ten minutes? Is that it? He's timing whatever he wants to do with the end of the episode? That's rather considerate of him, but Loki would hardly say he's invested in this. He wouldn't mind doing whatever he wants to do right now.

But then Tony slips away, and it seems there's nothing left to do but watch television.

It's only a few minutes later when he hears voices down the hall, and he glances toward the door – closed, unfortunately, as it always is, so he can't see who's out there. He can hear them, though, as they get closer. He can make out what they're saying. He is rather fond of conversations, and nobody's ever asked him not to eavesdrop, so...

"You have to be careful," Tony is saying. "He's weak. He's fragile. You could snap him in half without even trying."

"We try not to touch him more than we have to," Steve adds. "He should be sitting up–" He pauses, looking at Tony uncertainly. "Is he sitting up?"

"Yeah, he's up," Tony says. "I checked. He's propped up against the headboard from when Scott fed him this morning."

"Good," Steve says. "So he's already up. You can see him; you can talk to him; you can hold his hand if you want. But you have to be careful."