For we once so loved the world by HowlingDarkness95

Chapter 11

The moment Percy grabbed Loki's hand (and didn't that sound like some romantic comedy movie?), he felt a tug in his navel. Somehow, he had closed his eyes, and he felt as though he was traveling in limbo. He thought he heard the screeches of the chitauri, which sent faint tremors of fear into his heart, but he never let go of the hand.

It was a jolting transition that brought them back to the physical world. Percy's eyes snapped open, and he was rewarded with the sight of white-washed walls and sterile air. He blinked a few times, feeling like a fish out of water, excuse the analogy. He gasped, breathing in deeply, the medicinal smell of hospitals and clinic comforting him for once. He blinked again, noticing that Loki was sitting beside him, coughing up a storm, their hands still connected. He quickly pulled away, shocking the god into awareness.

Loki's eyes widened, "Perseus wait!"

Percy's eyes widened, "Wha-?"

He doubled over, crashing into the trickster god, sending them both to the floor. He gasped, gripping the god tightly as pain radiated throughout his body. He wanted to scream, but the pain paralyzed him. He heard people shouting in the background but he couldn't make his body react. He felt as though he was held underwater, the familiar feeling of drowning coming back to him again-everything was so muted-he couldn't draw breath-what was wrong with him?

When Loki felt Percy draw his hand away from him, he immediately snapped back into awareness, and cursed himself for forgetting to warn him. it was such an amateurish mistake, and he cursed again when he saw Percy's eyes grow vacant, his body slamming into his. Loki had forgotten that he was on the edge of the bed, and the added weight on him brought them both to the floor, Loki twisting his body such that Percy fell on him.

He cursed again, dragging himself into a half-sitting half-kneeling position as he tried to shake Percy out of the pain filled daze. He pulled Percy into his lap, gripping his head tightly, trying to get him to focus on his voice.

The avengers barging in didn't help any, if anything they further aggravated the boy. His body was reacting instinctively to the noise, but what he needed now was silence and focus. The mind was a dangerous thing, and Loki cursed silently for forgetting the boy's condition when he got to the chitauri's home planet. He snarled at the avengers, trying to get them out of the room, but they took it as a sign of provocation. Only when Loki glare at Thor, trying to get him to understand, did his brother finally get the message. The golden prince herded the avengers out of the infirmary, assuring them that his brother knew what he was doing.

Loki waved his hands and the door slammed shut. As a precaution, he reinforced the door with a spell, so none of them would enter unnecessarily and disrupt the process. He gripped Percy's head, mirroring his movement earlier and pushed his thoughts into Percy's mind. He could not communicate with him verbally so he chose the telepathic way instead. Using his magic, Loki used a similar numbing spell as the one he used on Percy in the chitauri's home world. The effect was almost instantaneous.

Percy blinked at the sudden absence of pain. He swallowed, the pain had disappeared so quickly that he was left wondering if t wasn't just his imagination. He looked up at Loki, realizing that he was in the other man's lap, but too drained of energy to care. "What...?" he asked, exhaustion lacing his voice.

Loki looked at him, "I apologize," he said stiffly, "I had forgotten that your injuries would have carried over-"

"Wait, you mean I'm full of holes now?"

"No you foolish Halfling." Loki said, scowling, "Your injuries, which you sustained on the chitauri's home planet were inflicted on your mind. But the pain is nonetheless real, and when I brought your consciousness back to your physical body, your mind was trying to marry the fact that your physical body was unharmed with the knowledge that you had undergone extensive torture."