To Be Reborn The Butterfly

It has been almost a year since Loki attacked New York City. People are gearing up for the memorial anniversary. The city has only just managed to address the most pressing damage and rubble affecting the city’s infrastructure. They seem to come out of nowhere and with no mission or purpose than to inflict more damage and hurt more people. They are robots, or Doombots, as would later be described by the media because of their creator. But Loki doesn’t give a shit about any of that. How can she, when the standing in front of her is about to kill her.
She’d been instructed to stay behind in the tower where it is safe. Pepper is here too. The others are off fighting the other doombots. Loki is not a seasoned or skilled fighter. Not anymore. At this particular moment Loki is regretting not having practiced more with her throwing daggers.
“Stand down.” An unfamiliar voice commands the machine. Loki looks over to the caped hooded figure standing at the edge of the broken window. What is it about that window? That’s the same one she threw Tony out of, and now another villain has broken that same pane of glass and has entered her home. Tony really should give up on having a view there and just install drywall. The dark metallic looking figure approaches Loki. It is hard to discern an emotion from the metal face, but if Loki had to guess, curiosity would be it.
“What are you?” Victor Von Doom asks Loki.
“A girl.” Loki plays dumb.
“You are much more than that. My sensors are picking up an energy signature from you. Where is the scepter?”
“I don’t know what you are talking about.” Loki says to him. She really doesn’t know what he is talking about; although she’s sure it has something to do with her own invasion of this planet a year ago. Doom grabs Loki’s wrist and Loki notes the sexual tension emanating from the man. He’s attracted to her. She can feel it. Loki is on the verge of being kidnapped when she hears the distinct sounds of the Iron Man suit flying closer to her location. Tony lands elegantly.
“Damn it! I just replaced this window. You’re going to pay for this Tin Man.”
“Now isn’t that the pot calling the kettle black.” Doom and Iron Man go at each other hard. They are tearing the tower apart as more of the team arrives to lend assistance. So do more doombots. Captain America and the Hulk busy themselves by ripping the robots apart. Loki and Pepper huddle together in a corner to stay out of the way. Loki feels paralyzed. She feels like she should be doing something. Think damn it!
The numbers of doombots are whittling down and Tony is on the verge of kicking Von Doom’s ass when piercing cry is ripped from Captain America. One of the doombots has stabbed him in the back and punctured his lung. It is quickly filling up with blood. Doom sees his opportunity to escape and runs away as everyone’s gaze turns to their fallen comrade. Loki finally breaks into action.
She remembers Steve’s story about being trapped and preserved in the ice for 70 years. If it saved him then it can save him now. Loki turns blue and lies atop Steve’s chest as she starts to mutter a healing incantation to reverse the flow of blood and heal the wound. Steve goes into hypothermia and his heart is almost completely stops. Good. Clint and Natasha arrive to the scene looking thoroughly battered and worn. Everyone is watching Loki. She and Steve are enveloped in a green glowing dome of healing energy. But everyone barely notices that. What they are noticing is the way Loki and Steve’s clothes are crumbling and burning away from the intense cold of Loki’s body. Steve's uniform is crackling and crumbling off him like bread crumbs. With the exception of the thin layers of clothing trapped between their torsos, Loki and Steve are now completely naked. Steve is looking incredibly pale as Loki works her magic. The pool of blood around him has reversed flow and is shrinking. It is an intense several minutes.
Finally when Loki feels the wound is healed she shifts back to her warmer Aesir appearance and passes out. Steve’s eyes fly open as he gasps in a deep breath of air. At first he sees the ceiling, then he sees faces of his friends all looking down on him smiling.
“You know buddy, there are other ways of convincing Loki to get on top of you naked.” Tony chimes in. Steve looks down, only now aware of the weight of the person on top of him. Loki’s is in fact naked. She is also snoring like a chainsaw. Steve suddenly realizes that he feels very very cold. He looks at his friends with questioning eyes for an explanation.
“You almost died. One of those things punctured your lung. Loki saved you.” Natasha says. Clint feels a mixture of confused emotions as he looks down on Loki. She saved Steve, the guy who a year ago she had demanded to kneel before her, him. Whatever. Clint presses his lips into a thin line and says nothing.
Pepper appears with a long silk robe to wrap around Loki. She and Natasha lift Loki off of Steve who tries to avert his eyes for the sake of Loki’s modesty. But as her tattered clothes shed off of her like pieces of broken glass, Steve still manages to catch a glimpse of bare breast and rosy inner thighs. Loki is carried back to her bedroom which was thankfully spared of any damage. The living room, kitchen, and other common areas are totaled.
Steve reaches over and grabs his shield to cover his own modesty. Tony smirks at him and wiggles his eyebrows. Steve gives him a look. They hear snoring again and look over to see Bruce who is now also passed out after his own transformation. He’s naked too.
“I got him.” Tony says to everyone. He passes for a moment to think up a witty quip. “Earth’s mightiest heroes, the Naked Sleeping Avengers.” Eh. Not his best, but it’ll do.
The rest of the day is spent on clean up and recovery. Thor arrives late that evening to check on Loki. He’d been in the mountains hunting an ice dragon that has been terrorizing the local people. By the time word had reached him of the incident on Midgard, it was already over. Everyone glosses over the whole naked on top of Steve detail. What older brother wants to know stuff like that about their little sister anyway? (Natasha can think of one.)
“I feel so stupid Thor. Not once during the battle did it occur to me to use my invisibility or my ability to summon fire. There is so much more I could have done but I sat there like a helpless damsel! I’m such a damn fool!” Loki spits out bitterly. Really that was the exact scenario. The Ice Princess trapped in her Ivory Tower awaiting rescue from her bold courageous knight! Pathetic! Next time this ice princess is going to save herself.
“Do not be so hard on yourself! It was your first battle and you have no training or combat experience. Staying out of the way was the most prudent course of action.” Thor says.
“A problem I will rectify. I think I need to spend less time of piano and ballet and more on knife throwing and throat slitting.” Loki says.
“Does this mean you are going to come home?” Thor asks with hope in his eyes.
“What?”
“Asgard is the best place to train and learn these skills. You should come home.” Thor says.
“Thor.” Loki says despairingly. “This is my home. I’m making friends here. I’m learning the culture and how things work here. Humans live incredibly complicated lives. I suspect it is because their life spans are so short. They try to make every minute count.”
“I miss you.” Thor says with terrible longing.
“How are Mama and Papa?”
“They miss you as well. Please come home.”
“And the rest of Asgard? Do the people miss me?” Loki asks knowing the answer. Thor frowns. It’s not like he can lie to the God of Lies. Asgard is content and happy with his absence. Thor feels so alone in this. Aside from his parents, no one has noticed or mourned Loki’s absence. He hates his fellow countrymen for it. Thor looks down and avoids answering Loki’s question.
“I can’t go back Thor. Those people hate me and I don’t want to live like that. The people here, they like me. They don’t judge me and they don’t harbor all those mean and nasty thoughts. Well, except Clint. But better one person than every person I encounter being that way. I’m sorry.” Loki finishes.
Thor cries as the disappointment fills him. He wants to stay but he has duties on Asgard he must see to as the Crowned Prince of the Realm.
“Will you ever come home?” Thor asks. Loki hesitates. She doesn’t want to inflict anymore pain on him today.
“Maybe I’ll come home for a quick visit soon. I know the festival is coming up, and I know mother misses me.” Thor smiles at that. It isn’t what he wanted but he will take what he can get. Thor leaves and Loki cries herself to sleep that night.
The next day the group is debriefed at SHIELD. Even Loki attends. The motives of Von Doom’s attack are unclear and any intelligence anyone might have would be insightful. Fury is also suspicious. Doom had gone after Loki specifically. He wants to know why. Nick has been kept apprised of Loki’s day to day activities by Clint and Natasha during her stay at the Tower. It had made Nick nervous having her there, but really, is he going to argue with a god?
Loki tells everyone about her encounter and about what Von Doom said to her. There is a man sitting across the table from her taking notes with a stoned face expression. Fury had mentioned his name. Phil Coulter? Cooper? She can feel heavy emotions rolling off of him towards her and she doesn’t know why. Oh well, it’s not important now. At the mention of the scepter everyone’s eyes dart to one another and Loki feels the omission of something she is not being told. The feeling is coming from everyone and it becomes clear that she is the only one not aware of the significance of this object.
Loki decides she’s going to call them out on it. “You all know it is impossible to keep secrets from me. I am the God of Lies after all. What are you not telling me? What is this scepter? Is this about the attack last year?”
“How much do you remember?” Fury’s gaze could burn a hole in her.
“Nothing.” She says looking him straight in his one eye. Fury doesn’t buy this whole reincarnation bullshit for a minute. Not remembering her crimes does not absolve her. If it did no one would ever go to jail for killing someone while driving drunk. He decides to show her what she wants to know.
“Screen on. Play back file L-2891.” Fury says. A recording comes on screen of a man very handsome man with a ridiculous helmet with tall horns. He’s holding a scepter. He’s the man from the painting.
“KNEEEEEEEL!” He cries. Loki watches and listens as if she is watching another one of Tony’s movies. It feels surreal because this man, this person, demanding power and servitude is her. She used to be this man, the man fight Steve screen trying to make Captain America kneel. Loki swallows hard. The clip ends and another one comes on. This one is footage from the Tower. She sees herself throwing Tony out of that window, of her stabbing Thor in the ribs with one of her daggers, of the Hulk bashing her into the floor of the living room. She’s noticed the repair work but has never asked why the floor looked that way. Lastly, Fury shows the clip of Loki running the spear through Phil’s back. She looks at the man across from her and tears cannot be held back anymore.
“Enough!” Steve yells. “I’m taking her home. That was uncalled for!” Steve glares at Fury. Fury glares right back. They are not going to agree on this issue. Steve leads her out of the room.
“That was a really fucked up thing to do Nick!” Tony bristles.
“She killed hundreds of people, including Phil here. Or did you forget?”
“Oh no! I didn’t forget. I have not forgotten what HE did! You want to play show and tell? Fine. I can play too!” Tony instructs Jarvis to upload the footage of the battle from the previous day.
“On screen.” Tony commands. Fury and Phil watch the fight unfold as Steve is stabbed in the back and then saved by Loki. Though neither of them would ever admit it, they both feel guilt. Tony doesn’t need them to. He knows they feel guilt.
“Choke on it.”

Notes