Salvation (My MCU #2)

Chapter Five

"You can't just go pick people up and bring them to my ship," the man with one eye yelled at Thor. "We have protocols for these kinds of things."

"Isolde is not just anyone. She is of Asgard and she is Loki's love. If he is going to listen to anyone it will be her," Thor yelled back. The others in the room were busy shifting their gazes between the arguing men and her. 

"Perhaps I might say something," Isolde said and everyone turned to her. "Like Loki, I have some talents of my own. I am a healer of the mind. I will talk to him and figure out his motivation at the very least. I have not seen Loki in many years, but this is not the man I know."

"I'm not going to give some random person permission to talk to my prisoner," the man called Fury bit out. His name suited him. 

"I wasn't asking for your permission," she said. The others started to protest and she spoke over them. "Do you want to know why he does this or not? Do you want to know what else is planned or not? Let me in the damned room." She was sure her eyes flashed with power by the end. It was harder for her to keep control when her emotions were heightened. 

"I say we let her talk to him," a red-headed woman said. "It's not like we can't watch the whole thing."

"Fine. Fine," Fury said. "It's not like I actually control what you all do around here anyway."

***

Loki stood with his back to the door of the room. He was bored and tired of waiting but he would see his task through. He heard someone walk into the room and frowned when he realized he couldn't see into their thoughts at all. "Loki," a voice said to him. A feminine voice that sounded familiar but he shrugged it off, refusing to give them what they wanted. He would not give them even the small victory of him turning.

"Loki, my dark prince, what are you doing?" the voice asked and he sucked in a breath. Tears came unbidden to his eyes. It wasn't possible. It just wasn't. It couldn't be her. They'd used this trick before. Used her to torture him, break him. But Thanos wasn't here. Everything in him shouted at him to turn but he refused. The only thing worse than turning and finding it a trick would be turning and seeing nothing. At least when they tricked him, he'd gotten to see her face again.

"Why won't you turn, Loki?"

"Be gone, phantom," he said, ignoring the hot tears that escaped his eyes to run down his cheeks. "I have been tormented by you enough."

He heard a sigh. Great, now even his hallucinations were impatient. "Fine. Stay there and I will talk. Jana is a stupid, petty bitch whom I intend to kill at the first possible moment. I am not dead. I would never kill myself. I was hurt and angry when I saw those women in your room. I didn't suddenly turn stupid. I wrote you a letter you never received. I came to Midgard because I could not stand to watch you with someone else when I loved you so. All father, help me, that only took me a few decades to admit," she said.

He spun then, turned to face her. His eyes ran over her. His Isolde. He'd give anything to hold her one more time, but you couldn't hold illusions. He dropped his head and clenched his teeth together. 

"Look at me, Loki," she said, softly. "Really look at me."

He swiped the tears away and glared at the spirit before him. But then he realized her hair was shorter than he'd ever seen it. And she wore Midgardian clothing beneath her armor. He tilted his head in confusion. This could not have been plucked from his head as he'd never seen her thus. 

"I have always been and will forever be your friend, Loki," she said and placed a hand against the glass. "I told you that the night of the banquet. And I meant it, but I was going to tell you that night that I wanted to be so much more."

He stepped away from the glass and turned his back on her. Isolde was dead. Every time they played this trick, he eventually fell for it. Only then would she remind him of how he failed her, of how it was his fault she was dead. 

"It wasn't your mother that brought you those spell books. It was me."

That got his attention. His mother was constantly giving him spell books from all the different worlds when he was learning how to harness and use his magic. She said they were from her private library. He had no reason to doubt her. He turned his head so he could see her from one eye. 

"Every realm I went to, I searched for them for you. I'd give them to Frigga to review. She didn't want you having anything too above your current ability as she feared you'd get frustrated and give up. I begged her not to tell you they were from me."

He turned his head back so he could no longer see her. "Why?"

"Because you'd see right through me, my prince. Just like always." He said nothing. His chest ached as he struggled to breathe. It wasn't Isolde. It couldn't be. It was too much to hope for and he'd done too much to ever be forgiven. "Turn around, Loki," she said, sounding so close. 

He turned slowly but kept his head down. A hand cradled the side of his face and he leaned into it. Realizing he could feel the touch his head jerked up. Isolde stood in front of him, inside the glass and she smiled at him. He let out a cry of relief and anguish and dropped to his knees before her. She was real and she was alive. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her against him.

He pressed his face into her stomach. "Isolde. My Isolde," he repeated as she ran her fingers through his hair. 

***

Isolde let Loki hold her for a long time. Finally, she placed a finger under his chin and tilted his head back so she could get a good look at him. He looked horrible, haggard and worn. "What happened to you, Loki?" she asked in a soft voice. But it was his eyes that really bothered her. No longer their vibrant green, they glowed an eerie, sickly blue. "What have they done to you?"

"Save me," he begged as he clutched at her. His needy tone hurt her heart. She wasn't sure she'd ever heard him sound so desperate. 

Sliding her hands into his hair on either side of his head, she closed her eyes and eased her way into his mind. So much pain. So much torment. Her dark prince had broken and fallen victim to the lure of the tesseract. Thor was correct when he said his brother hadn't been the same since her 'death'. Slowly and carefully she used her magic to weave the broken pieces back together. She smoothed the scars. Fatigue swamped her as she removed his pain. Her poor prince.

He looked up at her with his own beautiful green eyes. She smiled. "There you are."

Loki stood and wrapped his arms around her. "You're alive." He moved back to look at her face and grasped her upper arms. "I love you, Isolde. I think I have since we used to chase each other through the halls of the palace. I nearly ceased to exist when I thought you dead.  Never do that again."

He loved her. She grinned at him. "As my prince commands." He returned her grin and captured her lips with his. 

"That's enough of that," a voice interrupted and they turned to be greeted by Thor and Fury. Thor looked much happier than his companion. Fatigue flooded Isolde again. No, not now, she thought just before everything went dark.