My War Is Over (Original Unfinished Version)

Chapter Seven

Don't you ever leave me alone

My war is over

Be my shelter from the storm

My war is over

I am a sad boy.

For a while, the now-demolished debriefing room is silent save for Thor's soft tears. Fury is the first to break it.

"Are you seriously telling me that if your brother decides he wants this planet or any planet, there is no way to stop him?" he asks slowly. Steve raises his head from its bowed position.

"I guess we need to think of him as we should of Stark," He murmurs, earning a few confused gazes in his direction.

"And what exactly is that supposed to mean?" Fury barks, electing a tired sigh from Steve as he rises from his chair and begins to pace the room as he speaks.

"I mean, I've been down in his lab before once, and although I may not know much about technology Stark once mentioned that he could take over the planet if he wanted to. Said it jokingly, but his eyes were serious. He's got the tech for it and judging by this odd demonstration of care for Loki, he's certainly full of surprises."

"Our people loved Loki," Thor speaks softly, his voice raspy from tears.

"I thought you said they hated him; because he didn't want to be a warrior," Natasha questions, her eyes distant as she stares at the wall.

"The royal court did, as well as all from the palace. My mother did not hate him, nay did the Lady Sigyn. They were the only ones. But our people loved Loki. He would bring them gifts and solve any problems they had. The time he did not spend studying in the library he spent with them. He taught the children to read. He helped around homes, he brought food to families. He was most beloved. It was during my coronation that he started to act of oddity. Loki was always the reasonable one. He always knew the correct solution to any problem that arose and was known for his quick tongue. He did not believe that I was ready to be King. I was a fool and thought badly of him. It was by then many years which I ridiculed him along with others. I did the same when he came to me with this confession and others of course. I did...terrible things to him. But after that day he acted oddly, like a different person. He tried to assassinate the Frost Giants, his newfound race. He then tried to take over Asgard. There was a great war between us, and in the end, we dangled from Gungnir held by my father over space. For a minute, Loki seemed like his old self, then he let go. 'Tis the first time I have seen him since. We thought him dead. Falling from the Bifrost is a forever fall. There is no bottom to space. We pronounced him dead and the court said horrible things about him. I was so angry that I did not defend him from the anger of the court nor the anger of my father. Yet another of my many great mistakes with Loki. I-I did not stop to think of why. I simply acted upon the orders of my father as I always did. He said Loki snapped after the discovery that he was not of Asier blood. I assumed wrongly that his attack on Midgard was simply an extension of that, influenced by his time in the void."

"What sort of horrible things did you do?" Clint asks, his voice much softer now.

"I...I fear if I speak these truths I will lose yet more friends today" Thor's voice is shaking, and he fails to meet the eyes of his teammates.

"He said again. He was convinced Tony would sew his lips shut again. What did he mean?" Natasha's voice is filled with venom, eyes burning and fists clenching. To see Natasha Romanoff visibly affected by something is rare, and Clint keeps a wary eye on her, unsure of what she was thinking.

"I...it was a mistake. I was just following my father's wishes and the wishes of the court. Nay was my intention to bestow harm upon my brother!" Thor insists, as though trying to convince himself of this information as well. Thor's pleas for understanding are met with more silence.

"I-I cannot speak of this at now," Thor whispers backing away from their stony gazes and out of the room. Fury growls, hurling the remote in his hand into the nearby corner. It smashes upon impact, the images on the screen fizzing out along with it.

"So what the hell am I supposed to think? Am I supposed to just let an angry alien god with daddy-issues and the mental health equivalent of a teenage girl who can apparently take over the world in a few seconds whenever-the-fuck he wants lay upstairs in Stark's goddamned tower? What the fuck?" Natasha's gaze snaps to Fury's, her eyes lighting up with fire, striding forward and shrugging off Clint's weary hand on her shoulder. 

"Nat..." Clint warns softly, but he's ignored.

"Director, from someone of your position of authority and power I would have expected better from you." she began, voice dripping with ice. "You saw the look in his eyes just as well as the rest of us. We all, to an extent, know that look. If your petty need to pin blame on something is truly influencing you to such an extent then perhaps you should remember that you, us, and your entire organization failed to recognize the obvious signs of torture and mind control. With all due respect, I highly suggest you amend your words and thinking before you create enemies you can't afford to have." Natasha did not wait for a response, following Thor's departure out the door and in the direction of the elevator, Clint and Steve following quietly behind her.