Loki and the Witchling

Chapter 12

"There is a way," Loki finally told the room, having made some difficult decision. You could see it in his eyes. He shoved up his sleeves. The movement seemed leftover from preparations to do complex magic on Asgard where the clothing styles were different. He seemed to want his hands free. "but there is a cost, and it is not a small one,"

"Loki," Thor's voice was a warning.

"This is not a trick, Brother. There is a cost to all magic," Loki explained quickly. There wasn't a lot of time. "Healing is not one of my gifts. Yes, I can manage a scrape, a bruise, a small cut, but nothing like this, and nothing like what Lady Y/N can accomplish. However, since my magic is also Asgardian, I can supply the power for the spells." He stepped over to Tony and held his wrist out. "For this to work, I will need every drop of my magic."

Stark started to protest, but Cap stopped him. "Do it. We all owe this kid. He's running out of time and if there's a way to save him..."

"We can't trust him!" Tony yelled in reply.

"Then trust me," you said softly. All the eyes in the room turned to you. "Trust me to hold the leash, trust me to be his control if you won't trust him." You spoke firmly, but calmly. You would and did trust Loki with every fiber of your being. He would never do anything that would hurt you and you knew he would do exactly what he was offering and save this kid.

Fetterer. The word came unbidden to your mind. It didn't have any place here, so you shoved it away, intending to analyze why it was bothering you when you had time.

"Lady Y/N is right. She has been a good influence on my brother. You can trust her, if you refuse to trust him," Thor jumped to your aid. Tony finally relented and removed his tech from Loki's wrist.

Loki rushed back over to you. "This is going to hurt both of us. Are you sure- of course you're sure," he sighed when he saw your expression. "I will feed you the magic, just heal him like usual," he explained as he took your hand. The green glow of his magic flared around your joined hands. You took a breath, steadying yourself before you reached for you power to heal the spider-kid. You placed a hand on his too-thin chest, focusing on the power you needed. Your magic was gone, but Loki's was there. It was uncomfortable and so very draining to convert his raw power into healing magic you could use. You somehow both managed and the magic around your hand glowed the typical blue of your power.

You tried to use Loki's magic sparingly, not wanting to drain him any more than necessary. "Stop trying to be polite," Loki told you. "Now is not the time false restraint," he hesitated a single moment, then added: "Take what you need." The words were ritual, sacrifice, surrender. You felt him throw open his barriers, throw open all of his shielding, giving you every ounce of power, every fiber of his being without restraint. It was the ultimate act of trust.

How you knew all of this you didn't know, but you knew it was true.

You also didn't have time to worry about it. You tapped Loki's power, though it was draining at an alarming rate as you slammed healing power into the kid in front of you. He had been fading fast and it took a lot to bring him back from the brink of death. It took way too much power to do the healing this way. No wonder Loki had been hesitant to suggest this. At least the pain he had mentioned was missing.

It seemed to take forever to heal the teen, but finally, finally the wounds closed. The blood he had lost was replenished. His mind tied back to his body, strengthened so he wouldn't fade away. He had been too close to the land of the dead. When you were sure he would be ok, you lifted your hand from his chest. An instant later you dropped Loki's hand, breaking the link between your magics.