A/N: I have a lot of Papa Loki feels. The main crux of this story had been really needling at me until I wrote it. I'm thinking of maybe turning this into a series of similar sized stories. This is also going to be cross posted on Ao3.
For this story, the setting is about 6 months post Avengers. Disregards IM3, TDW and CATWS. Avengers live together in Stark Tower as alluded to at some point in the story.
Clint blinked his eyes open and realized he was in a hospital bed. Probably in SHEILD medical, he reasoned. The skirmish with the latest big bad went south and he was cornered by a group of the latest thugs while perched high above the city on a building top. He didn't remember much after that but then all reasoning was gone the next second as a surge of pain shot through his body. He cried out not realizing that someone was in the room with him.
"Easy now" Fury rose and sat on the side of Barton's bed.
"Sir." Clint said as he panted through the pain. "I take it things didn't go to well once they had me surrounded."
"No they didn't, Agent" Fury replied. "Do you remember anything of what happened?"
"No. All I know it that whatever happened…it fucking hurts." Clint strained to say.
"They're going to increase your pain meds after we talk, but I needed you lucid enough to understand what is going on and make some decisions." Fury responded.
"Sir?" Clint started to steel himself.
"The bones in both your hands are shattered and they tossed you off the side of the building, you landed on a balcony four stories below. Your pelvis is broken is three places."
Clint eyes were wide and full of fear.
"The doctors are talking of surgically repair your pelvis using pins. It would take a hell of a lot of rehab but you'll probably walk again. There are some different options for trying to repair your hands."
"..trying?…" Clint's voice broke as a traitorous tear he couldn't control slip from his eye.
"Barton, no matter what happens, you will always have a place here. If field work isn't an option for you anymore, we will find you something else. We wouldn't just discard you."
"Field work is my life, my livelihood, Sir. Without it I'm nothing. Definitely not still able to be an Avenger." Barton broke off before his voice broke anymore.
"The doctors will be in soon to talk about different procedures available for your hands. Then we can proceed from there." Fury got up and exited the room.
Once Fury left the room, Clint let out a shaky breath he didn't realize he was holding and his eyes filled with tears. Next to his eyes, his hands were his most important asset. His marksmanship required steady, strong hands.
Movement caught his eye and he turned to see a woman in the doorway. She was moving her hands in front of the open door, she shut it and waved her hands again. He thought he saw the air around the door glow gold but he wasn't sure. She approached and studied the medical machinery he was hooked up to that was monitoring his vitals and feeding his IV. She looked like she was in her early twenties, was wearing black jeans and black boots similar to the ones he wore, green, soft cotton t-shirt….tall, pale skin, shoulder length inky black hair with soft curl to it, bright green eyes.
"Hela?" Clint said with a tremor.
Those bright green eyes turned towards his face and a soft smile graced her lips. She took her thumbs and wiped the tears that were pooling and falling from Clint's eyes. She carded her fingers through his hair and leaned down to kiss him on the forehead.
Fury turned down the hallway after he left Barton's room and proceeded back to his office. On his way there, Stark interrupted on the comm. "Fury get over to the lab, there is something strange going on in Barton's room."
Fury picked up the pace and walked in to the lab as the others watched the surveillance footage on one of the big screens. "Report."
Banner spoke first. "We were just going over some data before we head back to the tower and all of the sudden we got some strange energy spikes. They were localized outside of Barton's door. After you left his room, this figure appeared." On a separate screen the pulled up the video footage of the woman suddenly appearing in the hallway. The footage rolled through her going into the room and her hand waving. "We have another surge of energy here again." Fury looks on as he sees the air glow gold around the room.
Fury speaks through the comm, "Hill send a team down and detain whoever is in Barton's room." Fury continues watching the recorded feed and seeing recognition in Barton's eyes as he says "Hela" questioningly. He watches the woman swipe Barton's eyes, card through his hair and kiss his forehead. The recorded feed speeds up to show the woman still carding her fingers through his hair once it catches up to the live footage.
Hill comes through on the comm. "Sir, we aren't able to get into Barton's room. There's some kind of barrier up that we can't seem to get through. It seems to be some kind of energy that's preventing us from entering."
"Stay on the scene and stand by." Fury said.
On the screen they continued watching as the woman that Barton called Hela said "We aren't going to be interrupted for a while."
"What are you doing here?" Barton asked her.
"You don't think we would leave to suffer this alone, do you?" She brushed the back of her fingers down the side of his forehead and down his check. "You belong to us, now; just as we belong to you.
Clint breathed in with a hitching breath.
Romanoff looked on stoically as Banner and Stark continued to analyze data that was being taken of the barrier blocking entry. Rogers had also joined the group and was watching the screen showing what was going on in Barton's room.
"You know this girl looks a lot like a certain would-be world conqueror that we are acquainted with, don't you think?" Rogers said as he continued studying the feed. Banner and Stark looked up at the same time Fury turned to the screen.
"Find Thor and get him in here now!" Fury yelled through the comm.
About 2 minutes later Thor has made his way to the lab where now all of the Avengers minus Barton are plus Director Fury.
"Thor I want you to watch this video from the beginning and tell me if you recognize anything in it." Fury told Thor.
Thor looked kind of perplexed. "Of course, I will assist you if I can."
The video feed started over on a smaller screen beginning with Fury exiting the room. Thor squinted his as the woman appeared in the hallway. He watched the whole video through as it speed up through the parts where there was minimal movement and no words. When the feed had caught up, Thor let out a sigh.
"This is Hela, my niece, Loki's daughter." Thor said as he scrubbed his hand over his face.
Stark sputtered. "Loki has a kid?" He said eyes wide with shock.
"My brother has 6 children, Man of Iron. Hela is the second oldest and his only daughter. She rules over the dead who reside in Helheim."
"Well Barton's far from dead. What is she doing here?" Fury demanded.
"I know not, Director." Thor replied.
"Do you know what she did over the doorway?" Banner asked.
"Aye, I recognized the runes she drew into the air. She used a spell to seal the doorway and room as a whole from those she would deem as intruders." Thor answered.
"You're telling me she waved her hands through the air and created an energy barrier from nothing?" Thor nodded. "I hate magic." Tony exclaimed as he tossed his stylus on the table.
"Can't you go use your hammer and smash through the barrier?" Rogers asked.
"No, Captain. Loki creates such a spell that not only resists the blow from Mjolnir, but absorbs her force and strengthens the hold the spell has. I have no doubt Loki's children would cast the spell the same way, especially if they thought I would be nearby."
There was sound on the live feed and everyone turned to see what was going on.
Barton was panting. "Hela….hurts…bad."
Hela's hand left Barton's face as she turned to look at the machinery next to the bed. Her hands passed from over the items until she came to the morphine pump that was hooked into Clint's IV. She pushed the button a couple of times and a moment later Clint exhaled a breath he had been holding. "Thank you" he sighed.
"The others will be here soon, brother." Hela said as she went back to carding her fingers through his hair and caressing his face.
Silence swept through the lab after the sentence Hela just said.
"Thor?" Rogers spoke up. "What's going on?"
Thor stared at the screen. "What was Barton's life like when he was younger?"
"What does that have to do with anything?" Romanoff snapped, anger creeping into her features.
Thor paused and then looked around the room, lingering on Romanoff before turning back to the screen watching the two figures. "When Loki had Barton's mind he was able to have Barton tell him all about each of you. I would know what Loki would have learned about Barton." Thor turned and bored his eyes into Fury's.
Fury stared back at Thor and then sighed. "Barton's parents were killed when he was 6. It's accepted that they were neglectful and probably abusive, but Barton has never actually confirmed this. His brother Barney and he were sent to an orphanage. They lived there for a few years and then they ran away and joined the circus. This is where he was trained as an archer for an act in the show. Abuse probably occurred here as well and may have been severe. He found out his mentor was embezzling money from the circus. Before he had a chance to turn his mentor in, the guy beat him and left him for dead. His relationship with his brother soon fell apart and Barton left. He started in on the wrong side of things but SHIELD eventually was able to recruit him."
Before Thor could respond, there was a flicker of light on the screen in Barton's room.
A young man materialized in Barton's room. He looked younger than Hela but was about an inch taller and was wearing dark blue jeans and a Metallica concert tee. He had brown hair that was shoulder length as well. His eyes were so light brown they were almost golden colored and his skin was a lighter shade of bronze. The bone structure of his face made it clear that this was another child of Loki.
Hela looked over at the young man and smiled then she looked down at Clint. "Fenrir is here."
"How is he?" Fenrir said as he walked over to the bed and looked down at Clint.
"The Midgardian pain medication is helping to keep him comfortable." Hela responded.
"Yeah, thanks for dosing me up." Clint said and his eyes tried to focus through the morphine haze on Fenrir who was peering down on him. "I'm still confused about what's going on, but I don't really care right now." Clint lazily moved his head to the side and back.
Another flicker of light and another young man appear in Clint room. He was taller than the other two and had a muscular body that was similar to Thor's physique. He had shorter black hair with wavy curls in it. He had the same green eyes as Hela and was wearing a smirk that screamed Loki. He had black jeans on and a form fitting black tee shirt.
"So our new little brother picks a hell of way to see us again. You know you could just call, we all live in New York, you know that. Well Hela sometimes lives in New York. I have a phone."
"Jormungandr?" Clint asked as he looked toward the newcomer. Hela moved to the side as he moved towards Clint's bed.
"Yeah, It's Jor. How ya holding up? You know Chinese food is a better hangout than this. Maybe next time we do that instead." Jormungandr smirked as he squeezed Clint's shoulder."
"Thor, what the hell is going on?" Fury demanded.
Thor sighed. "I am not certain."
"How 'bout you give me your best guess then." Fury snarked.
"I part of me wants to think that Loki may have assumed Barton as his own." Thor responded.
"No shit, we all have seen the footage of Barton being brainwashed and turned into Loki's own personal minion." Stark jumped in.
"No, Man of Iron. I mean to say that I believe that Loki has assumed Barton as his own…child."
Stunned silence settled into the group. Then Rogers spoke. "You think Loki has adopted Agent Barton?"
"Aye, Captain. I think that upon Loki learning of Barton's childhood decided to take responsibility for him." Thor answered.
"Clint's an adult, Thor." Banner chimed in.
"I recognize this Banner. Loki however, must have felt a need existed and thought that he would be the one to fulfill it." Thor responded.
"What kind of need?" Romanoff scoffed.
"Love, perhaps?" Thor answered. "The love of a parent. One who is responsible and cares for the child. No matter how much we age, we are still someone's child. Loki has always taken pride in being a parent and caring for his children."
"You're calling Loki responsible?" Rogers questioned.
"Aye, Captain. Even with everything that has happened, Loki is a good father to his children. He is fiercely protective of them and in turn they are extremely protective of their father. It's possible that whatever Loki saw in Barton, he thought he could remedy." Thor explained.
"So how does Barton know them?" Rogers asked.
"I know not. It was rumored that some of Loki's children lived on Midgard and have for a great deal of their lives. I have not seem them in many years. Hela travels freely between realms. Perhaps they met when Loki was last here? Loki's children seem to be aware of something transpiring between Loki and Agent Barton and seem to have accepted him as their sibling." Thor suggested.
"There is nothing about that in Barton's report from his time with Loki." Romanoff threw in.
"Where is Loki now?" Banner asked.
"Loki sits in a prison cell in Asgard's dungeon. His magic that was deemed harmful has been bound." Thor answered.
The door to Clint's room swung open and a figure clad in a red and black bodysuit swaggers in. He's got two swords strapped to his back. He's wearing a black zorro- like mask across his eyes which are so dark they almost look black. He's got short messy black hair all over his head.
"Vali, what are you wearing?" Hela asks.
"What? Pops is doing time for being a super-villain. We're here for our new baby brother who is a part of a team of superheroes. I'm trying to be a part of the moment. Maybe I can get a tryout and join the team. I saw this guy they called Deadpool and his get-up looked kind of cool…but I didn't want to cover my whole face so I modified what he had." Vali rattles off in a manic manner.
The other just stare at him.
"Fine." He huffs. A glow encompasses Vali and now he is wearing black pants, boots and Deadpool t-shirt, he still has the swords strapped to his back.
"Why are you calling me your baby brother. I'm 36 years old." Clint sighs from the bed.
"I'm 324 years old and until you came along I was the youngest." Vali replied. "But I will happily refer to you as big brother if you get me an audition for the Avengers."
"Vali, they aren't a theater group, you don't audition for them." Hela rolled her eyes.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah." Vali strutted around the room. "Well I'm here, the party can start now."
The others looked around and nodded. Jormungandr and Fenrir backed up from the bed and positioned themselves around the room. Hela leaned over and looked down at Clint. "I'll be right back. I'm going to go get Papa. He's going to take care of you. Okay?"
Clint froze, he didn't say anything, he just nodded his head.
Hela stood and disappeared. About 30 second she reappeared in the middle of the room with her arms wrapped around Loki. He stepped away from Hela and looked around the room at his three boys standing there. Loki was wearing black linen pants and a long sleeve green tunic. He was paler than he usually was and his hair fell past his shoulders with the tips ending in tangled curls. Each of the boys walked over and embraced their father. Then Loki turned towards the hospital bed and walked towards it. He looked down at Clint with a kind smile, eyes searching his face.
Clint's eyes filled with tears. He never cried, but these traitorous tears were running rampant today. "I always thought it was a dream. It was a dream, but I remembered it so clearly. It had to be a dream, why else would you talk to your kids about fighting off the Chitauri if the Avengers failed. Why would you discuss how to close the portal if Selvig's failsafe didn't work." Clint started to struggle in the bed. "Why would you say those things about me if it wasn't a dream. You told them that you wanted me to be their brother. I'm a grown ass man. I don't need to be adopted. They just accepted what you said and smiled and hugged and today they joke and act like they care and are concerned." Clint struggling became more panicked.
"Hela." Loki called.
She came up on the opposite side of the bed and hovered her head over Clint's head. "Relax, brother. Calm." Tendrils of soft purple radiated from Hela's hand over Clint and his body visible relaxed as the tension left his form. He let out a sigh as he looked back up at Loki.
Loki sat on the bedside. "I wanted to offer you something that you deserved to have had. It was something that I could offer you freely and willingly and I do it to correct an unthinkable wrong I committed against you. I understand how painful and cruel it was because it was happening to me at the same time."
"I think I always knew it was happening to you too." Clint said softly.
"I've made you mine and I'm here to take care of you. Give me your hand."
Clint breath hitched desperately as he raised his hand from off of the bed. "They're ruined" he pleaded.
"Not for very much longer, my hawk." Loki flattened Clint's hand out into his and placed his other hand on top of it. Green tendrils flowed from Loki's hands into Clint's. Clint cried out as the bones in his hand knitted back together.
"I thought you said his magic was bound! Let alone the fact that it appears that his daughter just broke him out of prison." Fury yelled.
"Loki is possibly the most powerful sorcerer in all the Nine Realms. He has taught his children to practice this magic as well. I am not surprised by Hela's ability to teleport in and out of a prison cell. I told you Loki's magic that was deemed harmful was bound. Loki possesses a powerful repertoire of healing magic which he would not hesitate to use on his children if he could." Thor responded never taking his eyes off the screen as he watched Loki move to the other side of the bed and begin to heal Clint's other hand. "I suspect my nephews are present as protection should it be needed while Loki works."
Hela sent another spell through Clint to ease the pain that was caused by the healing and keep him relaxed and calm.
Loki stood and folded the blanket down so that Clin't pelvis could be seen beneath the hospital gown he was wearing. "My hawkling, this will be more painful. Hela will try to dull the pain as much as possible."
Hela hovered her hands all along Clint's body while large tendrils of purple and green light snaked their way from her hands and into Clint.
Loki placed his hands on either side of Clint's broken pelvis. They started glowing gold. The glow increased and Clint screamed loudly. The seconds that ticked by seemed never ending but the glow slowly faded and Clint's screams eased and until it was replaced with steady panting. Clint took a deep breath as Loki pulled the blanket back up to cover Clint's body. Loki leaned forward and kissed Clint's forehead and brushed the sweaty hair from his brow. "A couple more things and we will be finished."
Clint nodded his head and relaxed into the pillow. Hela moved to the center of the room and after a couple of quick hand movements and small portal-like structure appeared in the room. A figure stepped out of the portal and it closed. He looked about 15 years old and looked very similar to Vali except his skin had an blue tinge to it almost as if his body was frozen but it wasn't. The body was dead.
The boy looked at Loki and smiled. "Papa"
"Hello Nari." Loki said as he walked towards the boy and then held him in an embrace. When Loki let the boy go, Nari turned and looked toward Vali who stalked towards him. They held onto each other's arms and their foreheads touched. After a few moments, Nari looked towards his other brothers as he moved towards Clint's bed.
"We are going to sit you up now and take the gown off to expose your chest." Hela explained to Clint. Hela pulled Clint forward as he struggled to sit up. His head rested on Loki's shoulder as Loki helped Hela maneuver the gown off Clint's arms. They laid him back down and turned toward Nari who had produced a wooden bowl. Nari handed Loki a dagger. Loki rolled up his sleeve and then sliced the dagger down the inside of his forearm while holding his arm over the bowl to catch the blood as it dripped down. He handed the dagger back to Nari. It disappeared and then Nari pulled another dagger from the air which he handed to Hela. She followed the same slicing procedure as Loki and held her arm above the same bowl as her blood dripped into it as well. She handed the dagger back to Nari and it disappeared.
"Do I even want to know?" Stark asked as the group watched the events unfolding in the medical ward.
"Its blood magic. It's very powerful and only successfully wielded by few sorcerers."
"Let me guess, some of them are in that room?" Stark responded. Thor nodded. "So what, are they going to make him drink that blood?"
Thor was taken aback. "No Man of Iron, the blood is used to paint runes onto the object to be casted upon."
They continued to watch the screen.
Once Loki and Hela deemed enough blood had been gathered they healed the dagger wounds. Nari produced what looked like a thicker paint brush and handed it to Hela. She took the bowl of blood and dipped the brush into the blood and began to paint runic symbols onto Clint's chest.
As Hela finished the third symbol a tear leaked out of the corner Thor's eye.
"Do you know what they mean, Thor" Banner asked softly.
Thor gave a nod. "They are powerful runes of protection. Using both Loki and Hela's blood will increase the power and longevity of the spell."
Hela painted three rows of three runes across Clint chest and stomach. When she was finished she gave the bowl back to Nari and it disappeared shortly after. Nari squeezed Clint shoulder and bid the rest of his family goodbye. Hela created another portal and Nari passed through, returning to the realm of the dead.
Loki placed his hands above the runes drawn on Clint and began chanting in a low voice. Clint couldn't make out the words and was sure they were from a language he had never heard before.
The runes began to glow red and slowly dissolved until they were no longer seen.
"The spell should help you avoid similar events from occurring in the future." Loki said as he carded his fingers through Clint's hair.
Hela handed Loki a bracelet with a green stone in the center. Loki whispered words over the stone and then placed the bracelet on Clint wrist. It glowed green and then disappeared, almost as if it dissolved into his skin like the runes did.
"If you touch where the stone was and call for one of us, we will hear and come to you. It is meant for emergencies." Loki told Clint.
Hela handed him a small bottle of what looked like apple juice. "Drink this."
"What is it?" Clint asked and he began to drink the juice.
"It's an elixir that will repair damage down to your body over time. You'll probably feel and look younger but it does not extend lifespan. You will need one of Idunn's apples for that." Hela answered as Clint finished the juice.
"I think it's time that we go, my hawk." Loki said softly. Clint sat up, he hesitated at first but then he put his arms around Loki. "Thank you" he said into Loki's shoulder.
"You are most welcome, my son." Loki said as he embraced Clint.
"Do I call you Papa too?" Clint asked
"Only if you want to." Loki replied.
Clint nodded his head
"I do hope this is not the last time I see you. I also would hope that future meetings are not under such circumstances. However, I will not hesitate to come if it is such." Loki said as he eased Clint back down into the pillow.
"Next time call if you want to hang out." Jormungandr said. "I'll make sure you have my number. I've got yours" he said as he shook his Stark phone for emphasis. Hela, Fenris and Vali all made a similar motion with their Stark phones to emphasize the point.
"Mine only works if I'm on Midgard, but the boys always know how to contact me." Hela said as she bent down to hug Clint and kiss his check. "I'll see you around Clint."
"See ya baby bro….let me know if an opening comes up on the Avengers. I've got more ideas for a costume." Vali spun around in a circle and then gave a fist bump to the air in Clin't direction.
"Later," Fenrir replied as he squeezed Clint's shoulder.
"You'll probably have lots of questions to answer from your friends, who I have no doubt have been watching the whole proceeding." Loki said and he moved towards the center of the room and standing near Hela.
"Yeah, I guess I will." Clint said with a slight smile.
"Goodbye my hawk." Loki said with a kind smile
"Goodbye, Papa." Clint said.