The Sound of Silence

Chapter 23

 You caught visions of what was going on downstairs while you dozed. Either one of the cuts had reopened, or your mind had just been so blasted open from all of the visions over the last year that they just happened whenever now. It was hard to tell.

"Brother, that was uncalled for," Thor was telling Loki, who looked unphased by his brother's scolding.

Loki shrugged. "They deserved it for what they did. I left one alive for you to question and find out how they did this and why,"

"Did you have to torture them that...gruesomely?" Tony was asking, looking green around the edges.

Loki gave him a malicious grin. "As I explained, I only gave to them the same tender treatment they gave to my beloved. Had they not harmed her..." he shrugged.

"Not everyone in that room was responsible," Cap argued.

"They were all responsible," Loki countered. "They were all part of that organization. They knew what was being done to my darling, they all knew and helped, aided the organization to hide her from us, or worse. I did check before I enacted my punishment on them. I made sure my victims were guilty, first. What? Do you think I am a monster?"

Nat didn't seem to phased by what Loki had done. You hadn't expected her to be. Thor seemed to finally accept it. The others still weren't pleased, and had been horrified by what they had seen, and by the screams of a ballroom full of victims. They had a rekindled respect/fear of Loki's methods, but seemed to finally just accept that the deed was done.

"The Hydra agent is down in a detention cell on the lowest floor. Don't let Y/N find him," Cap ordered.

"How is she doing?" Nat asked, derailing the conversation to something more useful.

Loki sighed heavily and hesitated. "Physically, she will heal. Her mind?" he hesitated again, thinking about it. "It will take time before we know..."

"Why does she keep asking if this is real?" Clint asked, sounding like he didn't really want to hear the answer.

Loki looked so sad and hurt and...helpless. "Because she truly does not know anymore. They used her for visions from what I can gather nearly constantly for a year. She has lived for so long trapped in the visions of the past, present, and future, that right now she can't tell what is real and what is the vision. I just hope that once she no longer has to live in visions all of the time that she can reground herself in reality." He was explaining it slowly and as clearly as he could to those without magic.

The vision faded and left you dozing alone in the bed with Lokibear.

There was a soft knock on your door awhile later. "Darling? Are you still awake?" the door opened before you could answer, but you cracked your eyes open and propped yourself up on an elbow. "It's just me," Loki told you gently. "I didn't mean to wake you, but I didn't want to startle you, either." You nodded and patted the bed beside you in invitation.

[They aren't too angry with what you did? They seemed to accept it]

He gave you a look. "You saw the conversation downstairs?" he asked, obviously not happy about that. You nodded.

[A wound must've reopened or something] you explained. He looked like he didn't want to believe you. He thought that you had made a new cut. [I didn't make a new cut] you told him firmly, reading his expression and guessing what he was worried about.

"They have accepted it, though they are not pleased," Loki finally answered your original question and sat on the bed with you. You wrapped your arms around him and let him hold you as you fell back to sleep.