Trigger warning: Torture⚠
Frigga was looking at him with tears streaming down her face, her little precious boy is back, she wanted to hold him and to keep him in her embrace forever. She watched the false smirk that was etched on his face and she wanted to yell and say that there is something wrong with him because she always knows when he is faking something.
"Why did you do this, Loki? why?" She asked, wanting to know what had driven her son to do his crimes.
— What happened to you my sweetheart?
"Did I make you proud, mother? " He looked at her with a small smile.
Oh, how she missed his voice, how she missed him. When she knew that he let himself fall into the darkness of the void, she felt her breathing stopped and her heart torn from its place.
I am sorry, my boy. Sorry for not noticing how you were suffering, sorry for not being on your side.
"Loki—" She said but —
He cut her sentence, and she could see fear lurking under the brave look on his face. "I apologize, mother." He said bitterly. "I apologize for not being like Thor. "
A failure was left unspoken in the air.
"Brother! " Thor's voice boomed in the throne hall, an angry look on his face.
"You're not my brother! " Loki shouted at him. "You never were, I am the monster, Thor. " (— I begged you to come and save me but you never did.) was left unsaid.
"Silence!" Odin demanded, he was looking at Loki with disappointment and anger.
Loki felt the panic that threatened to rise in his chest, everything was getting out of control because he thought that one of them would ask him what happened to him, what had led him to this madness. Loki will gladly spill everything that happened but no one asked, not even his mother (—no, Frigga. She is not his mother, she never was.)
Despite not being his true mother, he wanted to run and hide in her embrace as if it would shield him from the horrors that he witnessed but he couldn’t, couldn’t do anything.
"Oh, Odin, I hope that you are proud of what your son has done. " he falsely smirked at him, his voice dripping with venom. "The stolen relic from Jotunheim. "
"Loki, I shall not hear your words." Odin said harshly, his one eye glaring at him. "I shall punish you, as I am the Allfather, the king of Asgard, for your acts. You tried to destroy Jotunheim and rule Midgard. "
Loki wanted to yell at him — at them, why they are not asking him. Why did nobody notice there was something wrong? Why?
"It was my birthright! " he shouted, instead, at the man he once called father.
"Your birthright was to die! " Odin shouted back at him and Loki tried to hide his flinch.
Left to suffer and die alone.
He vaguely heard the warning tone in his mother when she said Odin's name.
But the king of Asgard continued. "You only cause suffering and destruction, Loki." the disgust was evident when he said his name. "And You will rot in the dungeons for the rest of your life! " Odin said. "Alone, not a single person would dare to visit you."
Loki felt himself being pulled roughly from his chains by the guards.
"Odin, please—" he could hear the sob that came out from his mother as she made her way to him, forgetting how she looked but on guard stood in front of her, preventing her from reaching him to make her way to him.
He could hear Thor and Frigga protests but all the sounds were dulled by the sound of his harsh breathing and the pounding of his heart.
***********
Loki's punishment was not only solitary confinement as Odin had said, he was hardly left alone.
But his only companion was the guards, their harsh treatment and the way they looked at him because finally they could put their hands on him after centuries of mischief and pranking. His mother had come before and she promised that she would get him out of this but she didn't come.
Loki felt like he had been in prison for years but in fact it was only for a week.
How truly pathetic of you. He scolded himself while dragging his broken body to the corner of the cell.
He felt that the days he had spent in the sanctuary's dungeons were repeating itself.
A laugh forced out of his lips, loud and anything but joyous. It turned into a choked cry crashing through his crushed chest.
He wanted to laugh at how they had broken him —Thanos and Odin's guards who completed the task after the Mad Titan.
He was utterly broken.
He felt as though jagged glass had replaced his right shoulder; likely, it was dislocated. Some of his ribs were cracked or broken and he could taste blood in his mouth.
But all he felt now was nothing, no pain or anything. His body was numb as he came out of unconsciousness to hear the heavy footsteps echoing on the hard floor. Perhaps it is his mother again but —
It was Odin alone.
"F-father, " his voice was hoarse from his screaming that echoed through the silence of the dungeons. His mind was in haze but he could feel the hope that rose in his body because maybe —
Maybe his father would take him back, will stop this torture (he doesn't care if he was not his real father, all he wants is to return back to the safety of his chamber.)
But it was a forlorn hope, a false one because Odin would not accept a monster in his house.
He watched as Odin regarded him coldly and then motioned for the guards to start his session today.
"I didn't do anything, I didn't do anything. " Loki mumbled with tears streaming down his face.
"Enough of your lies, Loki! " the king of Asgard glared at him. "Only lies come out of your mouth, my son. " he said the last word with disgust. "What have I done wrong? What have I done to make you like this? "
A mad laugh split out from his mouth. "You should have left me to die on that day, like what my real parents did."
"I saw you as my son, Loki. " Odin said gently. "But I do not know who this person is in front of me. "
And he felt two guards hold him down, preventing him from moving and he could feel his eyes widen with horror as he watched another guard with a needle and a thread in his hand.
What will they do? What will they do?
He tried to get away from their grip but he couldn't.
"Father, please." he yelled, hysterical, panicking, unable to even think. "I am sorry, father. I am sorry."
But he couldn't get any words out of his mouth as they were muffled by thread.
"No more lies, Loki. " Odin said before leaving the dungeons, tears ran down his cheek as he could feel the muffled screams, begging of this person, that was once his son.
***********
"This is madness, he is your son! You cannot keep him alone until Ragnarok" Frigga had yelled at Odin. "I want my son back. I want him back. "
"This person is not our son Loki, Frigga. " her husband said quietly. "I believe we had lost him from the moment he let himself fall into the void."
"I should have told him the truth, it is my fault. I failed him. " A tear came out of her eye, followed by other tears.
"And Odin, " she said, before leaving. "You shall never prevent me from seeing my son. "
The guards stopped her when she reached the dungeons. "Move. " she ordered harshly.
"But my queen. " one of the guards dared to say and she glared at him.
"I said move! "
The guards looked at each other and then bowed to their queen and stepped aside for her to pass.
One of the guards followed her but Frigga glared at him. "Why are you following me? "
"To- to guide you to Loki's cell. " he said nervously, he was young and perhaps it was his first time in the dungeons.
"It is Prince Loki to you. " she said, with a scowl on her beautiful face and then she looked at the other guards. "He is still your prince! " she said in a warning tone, as if daring anyone to defy her.
"Yes, my queen. " she could hear them muttering under their breath but she didn't give them a second thought as she made her way to her son.
Her magic yearned to be reunited with his, and she could feel the excitement as she came closer to her son.
But the sight in front of her made her blood run cold. Her precious boy was hugging his knees to his chest, he was sitting at the corner of the filthy cell, muttering to himself.
"Loki. " his name was uttered from her mouth gently but her eyes were watching him in horror.
He raised his head to look at her with his red-rimmed sunken eyes, and she felt her heart drop. "Oh, my boy. " she couldn't hold back the sob.
"Amma? " he said, confused, as if he thought that he would never see her again. "You are here. " a small smile gracing his bruised lips. "I thought — I thought that you would never come. "
"I am here, my boy. " she said brokenly, looking at her son who moved to reach her but the force field prevented him from reaching out to her.
He looked frustrated as he tried to use his magic to disable it. But Frigga knows that he couldn't go out of it but only she could enter.
And Frigga tried to smile at him before entering the cell but the moment she felt his arms wrapped around her; tightly, as if he was afraid that she would disappear, it was like her world shuttered.
It has been a year but it felt like millions when she hugged him. She could feel his thin body and she tried to hold back the sob.
"You know that I am sorry, Amma? " he said while still hugging her. "I am sorry for being a monster, for not being the son that you wanted. " and she tightened her hold, hugging him closer. "A monster for trying to destroy an entire race but I wanted to gain Odin's approval, I am sorry. "
"You are not a monster, my boy. You are my Loki, my precious Loki." She said, not letting go of him.
"But when I fell into the void, they tried to make this monster bind to their will and they succeed. " he laughed bitterly. "You know it wasn't me, Amma. "
She could feel herself frowning and she pulled from the hug to look at his face. "What do you mean, Loki? "
"It wasn't me. It wasn't me. " he kept repeating as he backed away from her to the corner and when she tried to reach him, he flinched violently.
"Loki. "
"No. " he said, eyes wide as he realized what he had said. "Go away. I don't want you here."
"Sweetheart, what happened to you in the void? " she asked but he shook his head, muttering how stupid he was.
"I don't want anyone here, " he shouted, his voice held so much anguish and pain.
She wanted to reach him but he was flinching, trying to get away further at the corner. She couldn't do anything except —
"I will come back, Loki. " she said but he was not listening to her, it was as if he was lost in another world but there was nothing except telling Odin to get him out of here. "I will bring Odin to let you out, my son. "
She had left the dungeons with a heavy heart but she didn't know that Odin would do such a thing to his son after what she had told him. She saw him leave to the dungeons alone, she yelled to take her with him, but he ordered guards to stop her from leaving the confines of their room. Her handmaiden has told her that she heard whispers of the guards and how they have silenced the second prince.
And she couldn't take it anymore, this madness must be stopped.
"I am sorry for what happened my queen. '' Hemidall held a grave look on his face as Frigga approached him on the repaired Bifrost.
"So you would help me? Betray your king? The one you have sworn to obey? " Frigga asked because she was sure that Hemidall knew what she would ask him.
Heimdall looked at her with his golden eyes. " To stop this, I would.I have heard what Loki has told you. "
And her eyes darkened with fury. "Bring Thor to Asgard immediately. " she demanded
******
Meanwhile on Earth, Steve was trying to convince Thor that there was something wrong with Loki. But Thor's only statement is —
"I am very disappointed in Loki, I've lost my brother. " He would say this and try to hold back his tears.
"I'm telling you, Thor, his eyes had fucking changed from blue to green before he surrendered " And wow Steve doesn't like swearing but he was frustrated because what if Loki was innocent?
"Thor! His eyes were like Clint when he was controlled by him! There was something wrong with him. " Steve argued more and that's what got Thor's attention.
Thor had a hopeful look on his face " You mean that there is a possibility that my brother is innocent? " —well not innocent from nearly destroying Jotunheim but maybe that could be solved later and a horrible idea struck into Thor's mind, giving the Jotuns, the casket of ancient winters as an exchange for not judging Loki because Asgard doesn't have any authority here as Loki's crime was on Jotunheim not like what their father has said.
But that means Midgard is responsible for Loki's judgement? No —No, his brother would be innocent if what Steve was saying is true.
"Yes, so you and I need to go to Asgard to question him. "
"What about the rest of the team? "
"Of course they won't believe, so we won't tell them. Can you let Heimdall bring us to Asgard ? "
"Yes, my friend. I will tell Heimdall today. Thank you Steven for telling me this. '' Thor said with a smile, hope returned to him.
"I don't want him to be punished if he was innocent," Steve said.
And after gathering some of their stuff, They head out from the tower and luckily no one saw them. Thor starts to shout at Heimdall to pull them to Asgard. And Steve could feel a tug pulling him and then colours graced his vision.