Loki's Pain

Chapter One- Unexpected Hero

Loki was sitting out of the way in a small park in Midgard, trying to rest for a moment as he evaded the Avengers pursuit, when he suddenly heard the raised voices of two men. He sighed in annoyance, having hoped he would not be bothered due to the late hour. Still, he had resolved to ignore it until he heard the harsh words they had spoken.

"You are pathetic, Ash! You will never amount to anything!" An older man shouted harshly, disgust clear in his voice, "Why the hell can't you be more like your brother!?"

"He's not my brother! Just like you are not my father, as you keep reminding me whenever it suits you!" A young man responded, anger and pain lacing his tone, "You adopted me, remember!? I can't be him! I don't want to be him!! I want to be me! Why can't you just be proud of me!?"

Soon after Loki heard a thud, followed by the sound of fists striking flesh, and the younger man moaned in pain. Loki hesitated for only a moment before rushing towards the sounds, stepping out of the trees along the parks edge within seconds. He saw an older man who looked to be around 50, his face gnarled like an old oak tree and sprinkled with grey stubble, this almost inhuman face was scrunched up in a rage. His eyes looked deranged as he continued to punch the young man who was curled up on the ground before him. His fists were already bruised and bloody from the abuse he was dishing out, but he didn't seem to notice. He didn't acknowledge Loki's appearance in the slightest, so focused on the object of his anger that he dismissed all else.

As Loki approached, he caught the scent of cheap beer and even cheaper cigars wafting off the man as if they had become a permanent part of him. His dirty white tank top and torn jeans over worn out work boots barely registered in Loki's mind as he wondered how best to kill him. Without even thinking it thru completely he grabbed the man by his shoulder and tossed him into the front wall of his house, causing the porch itself to vibrate from the impact. He, himself, had become so focused that the house had only then registered in Loki's mind, his only intent right then on quickly removing him from on top of the young man he was beating.

So he paused for a moment, looking down at the man still on the ground, and asked him, "Are you all right?" The young man seemed to be in his twenties, with a long and lanky build, but muscular. His silvery hair was long, past his shoulders, and he was forced to push it back out of his bruised and bloody face to look up at Loki towering above him. His pale violet eyes widened in shock when they saw who had just saved him, his wide lipped mouth falling open in surprise as he failed to form a coherent reply. The Asgardian looked like a hero to him in his green and gold armored outfit, his horned helm gleaming even in the darkened night.

Loki took that as answer enough and nodded before stalking forward once more, his own rage and anger growing now that the man was safe. "So...you like to belittle people for not being good enough, do you?" Loki commented to the older man now trying to stand back up, his stumbling attempts aided poorly by a wobbly railing, "For not being the same as your perfect son? You like to beat him for being different? For not living up to your expectations!?" Loki walked up those front steps slowly, his booted feet punctuating his words and giving them an eerie menace. Even as dazed as the older man was, he sensed the danger he was in, and tried to flee, tossing himself over the railing and scrambling to his feet only for Loki to follow and land on his own feet right behind him. He was almost instantly grabbed and thrown once more by Loki's bruising grip around the base of his neck.

The man's body thumped dully against the outer wall of the house before sliding down to the ground. His head "thunked" into the nearby porch railing and he groaned as he fought against unconsciousness. Loki picked him up by his threadbare shirt, his lip curled into a sneer of disgust at the man's weakness even as he shook off the image of Odin's face superimposed over the stranger's, his own anger and pain was feeding into the situation, making him even more chaotic than before.