Thanos' Revenge

Chapter Four

Bruce's P. o. V:

Loki's screams wake me up. I rush into his room, only to find him thrashing around on the bed. His forehead is covered in a thin sheen of sweat. Gently, I grab his shoulder and shake him. His eyes fly open the look of panic in the alarms me. "Loki! You're okay! It was just a nightmare!" I reassure him.

"No-don't!" Loki whimpers. His eyes roll back and he collapses onto the bed, shaking. His stomach starts to move again.

"Loki, you have to calm down! Emaralyn is upset!" Loki snaps out of whatever was frightening him and starts to breathe deeply. At last, Em settles down. Loki opens his eyes slowly, his pupils dilated. Silent sobs wrack his body. Gently, I sit down on the bed next to him. He clings to me, tears falling down his cheeks in a torrent. I hold him close, allowing him to snuggle into me. At last, he straightens up, hiccuping. "What happened?" I ask him. He shakes his head.

"Nightmares. I don't want to talk about it," he says, avoiding looking into my eyes. I can tell that he's hiding something from me, but I don't press the issue. I glance at the clock. It is only 3:30 in the morning. Loki notices the gesture. "I'm sorry that I woke you up. It won't happen again," Loki promises. I hug him gently.

"I'll always be here for you, no matter what time it is. Just let me know, and I'll be here," I tell him, wiping the remaining tears off of his cheeks. He disentangles his arms from around me and lays back down. I kiss his forehead and leave the room. I fall asleep almost as soon as my head hits the pillow.

Loki's P. o. V:

I don't sleep a wink after Bruce leaves. Nightmares of Thanos and his tortures plague me, keeping me from closing my eyes for more than a second. His voice invades my mind, telling me that he is coming to punish me for failing. At last, at 5:30, I get up and head downstairs. Steve is already up, sitting at the table. He is sipping a cup of a strong smelling liquid. My stomach churns at the scent, and I run for the nearest bathroom. Bile forces it's way up my throat, causing me to gag. My hair falls into my face, and I make a mental note to cut it. I hear someone enter the bathroom, and suddenly, my hair is pulled back. I dry heave a few more times, nothing left in my stomach to come back up. At last, I pull myself up, legs shaking. I use some mouthwash to rinse the taste from my mouth. Steve just watches silently. "Thank you."

"For what?" Steve asks, looking startled.

"For helping me. Besides Bruce, you're the only one that's actually nice to me," I sigh. Steve shakes his head.

"That's not true. Tony and Pepper like you too."

"That's not so. They tolerate me. Everyone is still wary of me, especially Natasha and Clint. Clint hates me," I frown.

"He does not. He just needs time to recover." I nod, my stomach growling loudly. I laugh quietly to myself. Steve helps me into the kitchen, and I sit down at the table. The horrible smell is gone, replaced by a more pleasant scent. My eyes scan the kitchen, trying to find the source. It is coming from the toaster. Steve is making toast. The Captain notices my eyes on him and chuckles. "It's for you, if you want it," Steve informs me.

"Thanks, Cap," I smile. Steve blushes.

"Please, call me Steve. Everyone else does." I nod. The toast pops up, causing us both to jump. I smile.

"Look at us. A God and a super soldier, and we jump at toast. This is pathetic." Bruce laughs in the doorway. I whirl around, having not realized that Bruce was there. He walks over and hugs me.

"No offense, but you look like crap. Did you sleep at all after I left?" I shake my head, suddenly realizing how tired I am. Steve grabs the toast from the toaster and starts to put butter on it. When he is finished, he puts it on a plate and hands it to me. I accept it gratefully, inhaling the warm scent. Bruce watches me with an amused smirk on his face. "Hungry, much?" he teases me. My cheeks color in embarrassment, and tears prick my eyes. I turn and walk over to the table before anyone can see them. Infernal hormones! The morning sickness was bad enough, but now this? I am a God! I do not cry over a bit of playful banter! Bruce comes up behind me and squeezes my shoulders. I look around, but Steve has already left.

"Where did Steve go?"

"He already left. He told me how you got sick this morning. I'm sorry I wasn't there to take care of you," Bruce apologizes.

"Darn. I wanted to thank him for his kindness. Believe me, it fine that you weren't there. I don't want you to see me like that."

"I've seen worse. I am a doctor, and a green rage monster," Bruce chuckles. I look into his eyes, seeing only love shining in them. I snuggle against him, reveling in his warmth. At last, my stomach grumbles. I pick up a slice of toast and take a bite. The bread dissolves in my mouth, leaving behind the delicious buttery flavor.

"Steve definitely knows how to make toast!" I groan in ecstasy. Before I realize it, all of the toast is gone. I look guiltily at Bruce. "I'm sorry, I should have offered you some."

"No, you shouldn't have. You need it more than I do. I didn't empty my stomach a half hour ago. Besides, you're eating for two."

"Technically, so are you," I grin. Bruce rolls his eyes and nudges me.

"It's not the same." Our conversation is interrupted by Thor entering the room.

"Friend Steve told me that you were ill this morning, brother," Thor says, looking worried. "If you may forgive me for saying so, you do not look well."

"So I've been told," I remark drily. Bruce snorts, but turns it into a cough when Thor glares at him.

"How is the baby?" Thor finally asks.

"She is fine. Her name is Emaralyn, but her nickname is Em." Natasha and Clint walk in together, holding hands.

"It's a good name," Natasha smiles. She looks lovingly at Clint. "What should be name our child?" she wonders.

"If it's a girl, I want to name her Tira," Clint laughs, eyes sparkling mischievously.

"You would give her a name that means arrow," I groan. Everyone laughs. Natasha gives Clint one of her famous death stares.

"Please tell me that it doesn't mean arrow," she says, voice deadly. Clint gulps nervously.

"Umm, it does, but that can change. What name do you want for a boy?"

"I haven't really thought about it. Perhaps we could get Bruce to do an ultrasound for us?" Natasha asks, looking towards Bruce. Bruce shrugs.

"Sure, why not?" He leads the way down to his lab, and Natasha climbs up on the table. Bruce gently rubs the cool gel onto her belly. After a few seconds of moving the ultrasound wand around, a picture builds up. We all examine it carefully. At last, Bruce answers our unasked questions. "It's a girl!" he exclaims joyfully. Clint and Natasha cheer happily.

"So, is Tira a go?" Clint asks hopefully. Natasha sighs.

"It's a possibility," she grudgingly admits. Clint's face breaks into a huge smile. We all laugh, then head upstairs. I sit down on the couch, back aching from the baby weight. Before I realize it, I have fallen asleep.

Thanos enters my mind, wrapping his awful, grating voice around my mind. I whimper as the images of destruction and terror that I was forced to cause surface again. I remember all of the tortures I suffered through at Thanos' hands. The scars on my body ache and burn like fire. Thanos laughs while I writhe in agony. "Puny God! I will be coming to your world to punish you for failing!" he growls. I jerk awake to find Steve shaking me. His eyes are wild with panic.

"Loki, you have to calm down. It's Em!" I desperately try to slow my heart rate down. After a few tense minutes, my heart beat drops back into an acceptable rate. Steve breathes a sigh of relief. "Are you okay?" he wonders. I groan, my back burning. Gently, I push myself up into a sitting position. Steve gasps.

"What's wrong?"

"Your back!" Steve gasps, looking at me in horror. I reach my hand around and massage my back, only to have warm blood cover my hands. Bruce walks in and sees the mess.

"Take your shirt off now! I have to see what's causing all of that blood!" Bruce commands. I pull my shirt off and lay down on my side, trying to protect my swollen belly and unborn child. I hear a horrified gasp behind me. "Who did this to you?" Bruce demands. I whimper, finally realizing what happened.

"Thanos is coming! He's going to punish me for failing!" I scream, starting to hyperventilate. Steve massages my shoulders, trying to get me to calm down. I feel Emaralyn growing upset, and I manage to quickly stop the panic. Bruce disappears to his lab. When he reappears a few minutes later, he is carrying medical supplies. I whimper when the alcohol touches my abused back. Bruce squeezes my hand gently. I manage to relax as the pain slowly goes away. At last, my back is finished. Tony and Pepper walk in the room, followed by Clint and Natasha. Thor walks in a few seconds later.

"We heard screaming, and thought we should investigate," Tony informs us. His face pales when he sees the mess of blood on his designer couch. What he does next surprises me. He walks over to me and inspects the bandages. "Are you okay?" he wonders, genuinely concerned. I nod, despite the fact that I am terrified of Thanos coming to punish me. Thor walks over.

"Who did this to you, brother? I will crush them with the mighty Mjolnir!" Thor booms. I roll my eyes.

"Thor, do nothing of the sort. Nobody attacked me. I am fine," I lie cooly. Thor looks confused, not unusual for the blonde God. I wave them away. "I am going to go up into my chambers and rest. Do not disturb me unless it is an a absolute emergency," I command. The Avengers all nod, and I drag my weary, beaten body up the stairs to my room. Once there, I collapse on the bed. I am asleep before I get the chance to get under the covers.

Bruce's P. o. V:

Loki went up to his room about an hour ago. So far, no screaming. I hope he gets a good rest. Lord knows he needs it! I start to head up the stairs to check on him when I hear something. It's soft, like a whisper, but a feeling of dread overcomes me. I look into Loki's room, only to jump back. Inside his room is a horrible creature. It is tall, and it's skin is a rotten gray color. Loki is frozen in place, terrified. The creature speaks again. The voice that emanates from its mouth sounds like nails being scraped over a chalkboard. A shudder runs up my spine at the sound, but I stay silent and listen. "Loki, you have failed me. You were supposed to lead my army to victory, but instead, you were overpowered by a mere mortal! For that, you will pay! Everybody will know that you died at the hand of Thanos!" Thanos roars, summoning a dagger to his hand. I am about to step in when the strangest thing begins to happen. Loki's stomach starts to glow green.