Help, I'm steppin' into the Twilight Zone.

[atrickygod]

Who: Dr. Bruce Banner & Loki Laufeyson
Where: Stark Tower
When: A few nights after the meeting....
What: In which Loki gives Freddie Kruger a run for his money....

Comments

[bannerbanter]

For all of the comforts and gadgets that filled Dr. Banner's personal space at the Tower, Tony had apparently neglected to include one essential thing: a coffee maker. Bruce had no idea whether this was intentional or not, and he certainly did not want to seem ungrateful by bringing it up. After all, he knew that without the daily pilgrimage to the kitchen for his morning cup of coffee, he may well be tempted to shut himself up in his personal rooms and lab space all day, which would not be the best way to get to know his new teammates

[atrickygod]

Loki watched Dr. Banner pour himself a cup of coffee. The trembling 'clink' the ceramic mug made against the glass pot filled the silent kitchen. It seemed to take the doctor ages to pour; the mug and pot knocking together in a near constant rhythm. Loki waited for the man to replace the pot in its holder before he addressed him.

"You are up early, Doctor. Or have yet to retire to bed. Tell me, trouble sleeping?" Loki examined the dark circles beneath the Dr. Banner's eyes. The doctor's whole face seemed to have taken on a more ashen quality. One that matched his disheveled hair a little too well.

Loki held out the opened box of Poptarts. "Would you like one? They are grape in flavor."

[bannerbanter]

"So much for playing it cool," Bruce thought. The clinks that came from his shaky hands seemed much, much louder than they should have. His sleepless night was catching up with him already, he could feel that much. Hopefully his coffee would help steady him

[atrickygod]

"Oh, it isn't. Merely an observation, Doctor." Loki smiled. He pulled back the box of Poptarts and picked out one of the silver packages. Opening it he said, "I myself have had a restless night."

Loki paused to remove one of the pastries, he broke it in half and reached down to offer a piece to the cat at his feet. Straightening up, he continued, "My brother has been absent from his chambers for several nights now, and strangely I worry for the oaf. I assume he will return in time, however."

Biting the end of the other half of the Poptart, Loki made a great show of chewing the pastry. "See, Doctor, they are not poisoned. Would you not care to have one?" He offered the box again.

[bannerbanter]

Bruce felt awful. Multiple sleepless nights and the horrible dreams were taking their toll. His hands were unsteady, his balance off, a fact which no amount of coffee could fix. His mind, worse still, was a haze, constantly distracted and forgetting where he was and what he was doing

[bannerbanter]

“Of course Pepper didn’t approve, but when the keg arrived, I’ll tell ya, that board meeting got a lot less boring

[atrickygod]

Loki slept in the closet the entire day. He had ventured out once to retrieve food, but finding the trip to the kitchen more of a chore than he’d figured, Loki returned before he’d gone even ten paces from Thor’s chambers

[bannerbanter]

Dr. Banner couldn’t stand it anymore. As much as he had wanted to deny it, he could no longer hide the fact that something was horribly wrong. His practiced control was shattered, he knew full well

[atrickygod]

Loki awoke to silence. He lay on the ground, listening, waiting to hear the beast. When several minutes had passed and Loki heard not even the sound of heavy breathing from the monster, he pushed himself up and crawled to the closet door. Outside the room had been nearly destroyed. The bed lay in tatters, the table was upturned, a window had been broken, and bits of wall littered the ground. In the middle of it all lay Dr. Banner, normal-sized and unmoving. Next to him was a large hole in the floor right where Loki’s illusion had appeared

[bannerbanter]

Dr. Banner woke on the ground, surrounded by rubble. As the last night came back to him, he gradually remembered what had happened before he...well, before he had gone.

He rubbed his hand on his head and slowly sat up. Dazed and tired, he looked around what was left of the room. Given what he assumed had happened, there were few surprises: broken furniture, cracks in the walls, but a hole in the floor near where he sat, that was different, and he wondered what caused it. A breeze from a broken window made him shiver, and as he pulled a nearby blanket out of the rubble, he heard something.

Someone was whispering and...crying? "Oh no," Bruce thought. "What did I do?"He looked over and saw Loki, bent over and whispering between sobs. What was going on? What had happened to the mighty god of mischief

[atrickygod]

How long has he been like this? How long…?

Loki shook with grief and rage at the statement. He wanted to spit out that it had been the Hulk, the beast, the monster Dr. Banner kept locked inside that had brought his golden cat to this state. The Hulk’s mindless rampage had broken the poor creature beyond recognition. Loki wanted to shout that it was all the doctor’s fault.

But Loki couldn’t bring himself to speak. His biting, poisonous words had run out along with his magic.

One thought crossed his mind: …I am at fault….

He bowed his head.

“I do not know how long…I just awoke…and he -“

[bannerbanter]

Banner noticed Loki's silent anger and emotions. He thought about apologizing or consoling or even yelling at Loki for causing this whole thing, but the patient needed him, and that was the priority now.

"He'll live," Bruce said as he wrapped a scrap of what he assumed had once been his own shirt around the mangled paw to keep it protected and immobile. "But we don't have much time."

He reached for the blanket, folded it over, and laid it on the ground. He put the final touches on the bandage as he hurriedly gave Loki instructions. "Put him on this; I'm sure he'll trust you to do it more than me...What's his name again?"