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( kirk dragged him out of the cage, had his collar removed, but among all the power suppressants billy's own magic could only take him so far. he--tried to get to as many people as he could, whispering soft spells to clear up wounds despite the fact he's covered in them himself: blood caked to his lower lip, the left side of his face absolutely covered in bruises, the beginning of a black eye--

but even if he's shaking and falling apart, there are others out here who had it so much worse. broken bones and torn skin, there's so much fighting and he--billy can pull himself together enough to help, at least.

with his forehead pressed to a young girl's, fingers cupped around her face, he murmurs under his breath, a soft iwanttohealher as her wounds stitch back together and presses hands to his own knees once he's done, to stand himself back up. )

[ The remaining power-suppressors are the business of one of the Starks to take down, while Loki forges ahead with the wave of regular fighters with only his daggers, Asgardian strength and icy touch to call to arm himself with. He doesn't waste time hacking his way through the kidnappers that pour out of the temple to meet them, spending what feels like an hour scouring the place to make sure he isn't missing anywhere, fury keeping him going whenever he fears Billy may be injured or worse. Thor tells him he saw Billy much earlier, Jim says he got him out of the cells, but the temple with all its traps has a wearying effect the deeper Loki gets, tricking his way past this fatal tripwire and that, only for whoever is behind him to shortly set it off. Then the crowd overtakes his progress altogether in a brawl and it looks like all the world is made up of an underground battle no matter which way he looks.

It's only by pushing on, following the thin thread of their damaged bond, that his attention zones sideways to a trio moving slower than any other, creeping up on the distracted figure of a healer with new collars in their hands; Loki recognises Billy and it's as if his mind blanks, white-hot with rage; all the hours of fear and desperation, the guilt of losing him ...

The first kidnapper becomes the new owner of a dagger sprouting from his throat, dropping like a wet sack as he chokes on his own blood. The second is wrenched aside by his head as he turns to look over a shoulder and the crack of it twisting too far echoes as he too falls. The third, Loki picks up by the throat and holds overhead, slowly turning the struggling cultist to ice from the feet and hands up so his heart and head are the last areas to turn translucent, staring down into the green pools that become the furious god's eyes in the dark, the shadows of horns lengthening against the rocky walls. ]

Get away from my boyfriend.

( the ringing in his ears distracts him from the sound of loki behind, up until bodies start collapsing and the girl in front of him stares wide-eyed at the violence, turns around on her heels and runs in the opposite direction. billy's a little slower to turn his attention, angling his body to the side for a moment so e can see what he's missing, what's going on, except--

that's definitely loki committing murders. exhausted and tired as he is, billy still doesn't hesitate to open his mouth, starts screaming at loki: ) Stop! Put him down, stop freezing him! We're not murderers!

( he isn't. the avengers aren't. taming loki down to. not ending lives is another step entirely and billy's pissed at these guys, too. pissed at the damage they did, pissed they--hurt people, people who never did anything to deserve it, but he wouldn't kill them for it. and he's scrambling over on unsteady legs, eyes a brightbright blue as he rushes over to the body of the man loki had left a dagger inside of, lips moving quickly as he whispers more spells, pulls the dagger out of the man's neck and wills him back into one piece. )

[ "Put him down" results in Loki dropping the man in his clutches and a body shattering into a million icy fragments, so. That guy is definitely 300% dead. When the persuasive impulse of Billy's words can be shrugged off a moment later, the anger seeps from his face and Loki stumbles forward in less than perfect shape himself, banged up by the battle. ]

Billy.

[ Never mind these cowards, they deserve worse than death. He reaches out for Billy, relief weakening his limbs. ]

( no amount of magic is putting that guy back together, oops. he'll be more worried about that later, when he isn't busy trying to piece this cultist back together yet. the guy hadn't--died yet, still choking on his own blood and trying to breathe through the blade and with billy's aid, the wound dissipates as if it had never been there to begin with.

with the man who stabbed him approaching and billy himself clearly vying for the other side, even an insane cultist knows better than to stick around. which leaves the two of them, the victim of a broken neck, and a shattered man spread across the ground. loki reaches for him, but billy veers to the side, scrambles across the ground to the bent and twisted neck. )

Not now, I have to--

[ Is this happening? Is Billy saving the men who hurt him, men who would have him collared and chained in this pit of a temple all over again? Of course he is, there goes one of his revived assaulters now. Luckily, he's dating someone able to be awful when the moment calls for it, and Loki directs his fallen dagger, free from a throat of the now escaped cultist, to zip sideways in between the eyes of the other with a broken neck. Thunk!

Fuck that guy. ]

To Hel with them! Come away, Billy, now! There's no time!

( he's already shaking. body a mess of scratches and bruises, billy hasn't slept since they nabbed him, hasn't eaten much at all and he doesn't have the energy to deal with this. with loki throwing a fit, with him shoving daggers into them and shattering them to bits and pieces. )

You can't--( god, fuck. choking back a sob because he definitely can't fix someone who's already gone. he's not wanda. the lack of bodies to try and mend has his attention turning fully onto loki, dirt covered hand pressing to the side of his face that isn't gross shades of green and purple. )

I said stop! We're not supposed to--kill people, fuck, Loki! You never listen to me!!

We have to go.

[ They're both a shambles for their own reasons, Loki justifying being cruel to the cultists to ultimately be kinder by getting Billy out. He steps closer to take his hands, utilising his Silvertongue to try and soothe him, all the bite gone as he levels his tone. The sight of Billy's bloodied and bruised face has his expression softening. ]

Come away now, love, there are others you can heal away from this place. Good people. They came to save everyone who was taken and need your help.

Please, come with me.

Don't call me that. ( not after all this, all the bullshit and now loki's going around murdering people who--sure, weren't innocents, but they didn't deserve to die like that. no one truly deserves to die to a dagger in their face. he's tired, exhausted, his limbs hurt and it's taking an effort to stay on his feet like this, but--this corner wasn't getting hit with suppression fields, it was safe, for him. he could help people running through, help piece them back together.

and now he's trying to pull his hands out of loki's own, despite how little strength there is behind it. his arms are still shaking, eyes bloodshot but billy doesn't give up easy and he certainly isn't giving up now. )

There were four people here and now two of them are dead! ( inclining his head towards mr. corpsy mc daggerforehead. ) These people didn't deserve to die, either! I'm--I'm fine here.

[ ... Fine. Fine, he thinks, I'll be the bad guy. His jaw clenches. ]

If any more of these lunatics find their way into this atrium they will not be leaving it. Not if you force me to stay with you like this. I came here to free you and I intend to see you out of their clutches! You're a mess, you need medical assistance!

( a few days without sleep is plenty to throw billy off. his eyes narrow as his head tilts up, really looks to loki. eyes unsteady, but he does his best to keep them trained up onto loki's own. )

Do you really want to do this here, Loki? I'm already pissed. If you want a fight I'll give you one.

[ Incredulous, he snaps, ]

I came here to save you! First you were terrified, then you weren't anywhere! Please, come home ...

[ Angry with himself for his temper, his pleading comes out through a strained sob. ]

Just come home with me.

I thought that wasn't my home anymore.

( he's bitter, yes. pissed. at loki, at the cultists. at himself, mostly. but billy lowers his voice a little, tries to pull back from loki once more. )

You wanted to shut down that bond, remember? Close it off. Why are you listening to it if you don't want it?

[ Why? Billy asks why and Loki shakes his head, dazed. Isn't it obvious? Is he missing something? ]

Because ... Because I love you.

[ He digs a heel into the dirt, straightening. ]

And I'm not leaving here without you, no matter how many times you tell me to. I won't.

[ He learned from past mistakes, there. ]

They hurt Teddy.

( he was scared. absolutely terrified. he broke down and cried more times than he can count when they were all locked up in cages. couldn't sleep, and every time he almost fell under something happened. they'd make a loud noise, throw them over to keep them awake. it was awful, it's--still awful. )

I--I don't know where Tommy went, he was freaking out, he really doesn't do well in small spaces especially like that and they depowered him but I can't--all the suppressors are messing with my head, you killed those guys, Loki, I can't--

[ I'll get rid of everyone who ever hurt you. It never passes his lips but the sentiment is as gentle as the way he runs his hands up Billy's arms. ]

We'll find Teddy and Tommy. Come away with me, stay close. I'll keep the monsters at bay, Billy.

[ By being a bigger one. ]

We don't kill.

( he'll remind loki again, just in case. the bodies around them definitely show loki's intentions to be. something else entirely. later, he'll get more mad about it. later he'll scream at loki for the corpses left behind. billy's too tired right now. )

Promise me.

We don't kill. [ But Loki can alone; it's never a group effort. Not that he specifies that loophole, Billy is too tired to deal with the number of slain who lie in the temple because they blocked Loki's path to his lover. ] I hear you.

[ Stepping closer, he raises a hand to the largely unbruised side of Billy's face. ]

We'll be home within the day, asleep in our bed. I'll keep watch. [ Far more sincere promises. ] You'll be safe with me.

( loki's bullshitting, but billy is too tired to deal with it right now. too exhausted to bitch at him much further. he wants to argue that he shouldn't be leaving here at all, that here, he can help. he can do something. make a difference. but that requires a shitton more energy than he has and if loki's going to be insistent, acting like nothing's wrong at all despite how their last conversation went--

billy won't push it. )

Are you done throwing a fit, then?

I'm not —

[ Jaw clenching again, he drops his head for a moment. After the frustration passes, looks up at Billy again. ]

We need to move, let's get out of here. You want to find Teddy, yes? That's first on our agenda.

( that's--a lot of self control displayed, right there. it catches him off guard a little, to see how well loki caught himself. arguing and causing trouble now would be absolutely stupid. so billy nods his head instead, moves a hand to grab onto loki's own tight. )

Thank you.

[ It's very little self-control to Loki, the grander kind is in not knocking Billy out and teleporting him to the nearest hospital, everyone else be damned. He squeezes his hand and takes the lead through the temple, daggers shimmering back onto the belt at his waist; he plays vaguely nice for Billy's sake, although any cultists who acquaint their face with his fist will have dental issues later on. ]

Have you seen Teddy since they brought you here? You mentioned Tommy was in a small space.

( as long as they're not dead it's fine. it's--a weird rule to live by, honestly, but--it's an acceptable level of violence that fits the situation and billy is not going to blame loki for taking part in it. his steps are more than a little unsteady, running into the godling's side every few paces and leaning the unbruised side of his face up against him. )

There're cages, Teddy and I were in a bigger one, I think. ( the brainfog after having his head rammed into shit really isn't helping. ) I think I saw Tommy rushing around in the battlefield.

I can find the cages, [ he really is going to return here under cover of darkness and destroy everyone who participated in putting Billy in a cage, but for now he sounds driven with a better purpose, ] you don't have to come back down there.

[ Traumatising an exhausted Billy even further is the last thing he wants. ]

( billy trusts loki, to an extent. he trusts loki not to fuck him over, not to be an asshole to him. he doesn't trust loki alone in a dark tunnel full of cultists not to go on a murder spree as soon as billy can't see what he's up to. )

It's okay, I'm fine. ( no, he's far from fine. talking hurts the bits of cheek that have been bitten into, the bloodied split lip, walking hurts aching feet, his face has taken damage billy's not sure will ever mend quite right, but he's fine enough to keep going down here. there's no damage that has not already been done that can happen with loki by his side.

but he does stop in place for a moment, twists to the side and shakes his hand loose from loki's so he can wrap both arms around the other's neck from behind, hitching a leg over a hip to try and climb his way up. no godlings are going to commit a murder with billy on their back, and it gets him off of his feet. )

@LOKI

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