The sounds of war rained down from all directions. Explosions rang out across the city. Falling chunks of debris, mostly from shattered buildings and windows, became spread out over the streets and cars below. The few people still running around screamed as they were shot at by the creatures that flew up in the sky. They screeched and chittered as they destroyed the city.

And on the balcony of the Stark Tower, a single being stands in complete peace, a grin upon his face. His sleek black hair sticks out from under his golden helmet, the long horns extruding into the air, absolutely gleaming in the sun, along with the matching armor. The long scepter's sharp end glinted with its own malicious intent as the lean hand tightened its grip around it. Blue light swirled around in the center of the blade like a miniature storm.

There was a flash of color and a large man dropped from the skies, hammer tight in his hand. He faced the other man, a complete opposite of him, with his blonde hair and bulk, while the black haired man was thin and wiry.

"Loki!" Thor growled, face twisting in anger, hammer pointed at the top of Stark Tower, "turn off the Tesseract or I'll destroy it."

Loki grinned, the simple action filled with malice. "You can't. There is no stopping it." He aimed his scepter at his rival. "There is only the war!"

"So be it."

The two rushed at each other, weapons ready. Hammer and scepter collide in a clash of metal, the two who used to be so close, now with their faces in the other's. Loki unleashed a strong blast of energy at Thor, who deflected it with Moujnir. The smaller man's rage and suffering of being ignored came in at full force, with the other defending himself against the attacks.

Thor reached in and grabbed hold of Loki, who squirmed and attempted to break free. Thor put his hammer between them, putting a hand up to grab his brother's neck and force him to look around them.

"Look at this! Look around you!" Thor yelled right in his brother's ear. "You think this madness will end with your rule?"

Loki hesitated slightly, mouth open, eyes full of pain. "It's too late. It's too late to stop it." He tried to look away, but the strong hand of the Asgardian was still clamped firmly-yet gently-on the back of his neck.

"No. We can." Thor looked at his brother in desperate terms, hoping that maybe, just maybe, he could get Loki to see the truth. "Together."

Loki locked eyes with Thor. The god of mischief looked with sadness filling his green eyes upon the blonde haired god.

"I-I-"

Loki pushed himself away in a desperate attempt to get back. Thor released him without a sound.

Loki didn't say anything right away. "Why should I?" he whispered quietly. He kept his gaze focused on the floor.

Thor stepped forward slightly. "What?"

"I said why should I?" Loki repeated, somewhat louder this time, meeting Thor's gaze, eyes burning with pain. "Why should I let you help me? You didn't help me before!"

"Brother-"

"Do not call me that!" Loki choked, his grip tightening on his scepter. "If you truly cared, than why weren't you there!?"

"Loki," Thor said sadly, "I'm sorry."

"No, you aren't!" He glared at the Asgardian. "You don't care about me." He let his head drop. "Never about me."

Thor stepped forward and put a large hand on Loki's shoulder. "I've always cared, little brother. And I always will."

Loki once again shoved his brother away, growling softly. "Why should I believe you?"

"When have I ever lied to you?" Thor asked, putting his arms out. "Not once; not ever."

Loki remained silent for a few moments, the only sounds heard being buildings blasted to pieces.

"Then where were you?" came the simple question. He lifted his head up to meet his brother's gaze.

"I was looking for you," Thor said.

"Ha!" Loki gave a short, humorless laugh, somewhere in between a choked sob and a sarcastic retort. "I never saw you." His dry smile faded away and he let his head drop down again.

Thor shook his head. "Brother, what has become of us?"

"You mean of me?"

There was silence after that. The two siblings looked each other in the eyes, dark meeting light.

Thor shifted his hammer in his hand. "Loki, you must end this."

"I can't," Loki murmured.

"Can't or won't?" Thor's expression hardened. "Do you see what you are doing? Do you see how many innocent people have and are dying? End this madness!"

Loki's gaze burned brighter. "I can't! He won't allow me to, don't you see?!" Thor went silent.

The blonde thought of a reply, but his mind blanked. "Loki. . . you were. . . tortured, weren't you?"

The Jotun didn't reply immediately, but instead tilted his head up to the sky. "Do you hear them, Thor?"

"What?"

"The sounds of death. Everywhere. That's all the Chitauri are; the bringers of death. They destroy everything, and I'm in charge of them. It's all I hear, day and night. It's maddening." He brought his head back down, looking at Thor in the eyes, startling the latter. "You'll never understand, what I went through."

"Loki, what happened to you while you were away?" Thor whispered, concerned for his brother.

"Day and night, pain and suffering. . ." Loki muttered, shaking his head. "Never can get a good night's sleep when you're being burned with a red hot piece of metal, can you?"

"Loki. . ."

"And you know what was the worst part?" He continued on. "My own brother didn't even help. I was left in the dark, and the cold, all alone. I was completely, utterly, helpless." He smiled; a weak, fake, uncomfortable smile.

"I can help you, Loki. You're not alone anymore," Thor said, dropping Moujnir with an almighty thud. He put his arms out. "You won't be alone again, brother."

Loki eyed the blonde. He wasn't going to just give in; he still had a job to do. "I. . ." He shook his head. "No."

Thor frowned, his shoulders dropping. "Loki?"

"He. . . he'll kill me, Thor. I have to do it." Loki weakly raised his scepter. Thor's eyes shone with sadness.

"Go ahead. Kill me. If you can." He stood still. The trickster shook slightly, his eyes gleaming.

"I. . . can't." He let the scepter drop down to his side. "I could never. Not even when I dropped you out of the aircraft. I knew you'd survive."

Thor smiled slightly and walked closer to his brother. "We can end this."

"I know."

"How?"

Loki glanced down at the weapon in his hands. "The scepter. It's the only way."

Thor put out a hand. "Then shall we?"

Loki briefly hesitated, before latching onto his brother's hand for the first willing time in ages. It felt nice to be reunited. With a sudden movement, Thor had retrieved his hammer and launched them to the top of Stark Tower.

The two brothers approached the Tesseract, Loki gripping his scepter tightly. He carefully extended it, beginning to breach the outer forces. Suddenly, there was an agonizing pain in his head that traveled down his whole body in a giant wave. Loki let out a cry and fell to the floor.

Thor rushed forward, picking his brother up and cradling his head in his hands. "Loki? Loki!"

"T-Thor," Loki mumbled weakly, pushing the scepter towards the Asgardian. "Take it. You'll need to close the portal. ." His eyelids fluttered close.

"LOKI!" Thor shouted, shaking his brother slightly. He quickly put two fingers on Loki's neck to check for a pulse. He got a steady thump thump and breathed a sigh of relief. He gently set the smaller man on the floor again and stood up.

"I can close the portal," Thor said into his comm as he picked up the scepter.

"Do it!" Captain America yelled in response. Without another thought, the Asgardian leaned forward and tapped the crown. There was a hitch in the energy and the blue light closed in on the portal that showed the outer regions of the universe, sealing it.

Cheers sounded from below, some being heard through the comm as the team cheered. Thor's excitement only lasted a moment, however, as he saw the limp body of his younger brother lying on the floor. He quickly reached down to pick him up. Loki didn't react at all as Thor swept him up in his arms.

"It'll be okay, brother," Thor said softly to his little brother, a small smile on his face. He was about to launch himself off when he realized he was wet. Slowly moving Loki away from his abdomen, Thor looked down and saw his midsection and arms were covered in blood.

"Loki!?" Thor cried, sweeping his brother's armor away from his stomach. There was a large gash in Loki's midsection, which blood was currently running profusely from. Not wasting another moment, Thor sprinted towards the edge of the building and launched himself off, flying off Stark Tower. He braced himself for impact, bending his knees and bringing Loki closer to his chest.

Loki hung limply in Thor's arms; head rolling back and one arm-the one that was not pressed against his brother-hanging at his side, swinging with their motions.

Their impact was hard. Thor thought his legs were going to break from the hit, but he barely even wasted a moment in continuing, though Loki screamed as he was jostled so much, his back arching upon impact. Thor winced at hearing his brother's pain, and ran faster.

"What was that?" Natasha asked as the ground rumbled and a harsh scream echoed through the air.

The Captain shrugged. "I don't know."

"I say we ask Thor, and look, there he is," Tony said, still in his Iron Man suit and hovering above the group of Natasha, Barton, Steve, and Banner, who was conveniently not the Hulk as he had just arrived.

"What is he carrying?" Clint asked, narrowing his eyes at the faraway thunder god.

"Is that. . . Loki?" Bruce exclaimed, eyes widening at the sight.

"Yep," the Captain said, grimacing.

Thor was coming at them full speed, feet nearly a blur as he raced over the debris scattered over the streets. He skidded to a halt in front of them, allowing them all to see the unconscious man he currently held in his arms.

"We must help him," Thor gasped, out of breath. He set Loki on the ground. As soon as he did, the Jotun cried out in pain and twitched, one hand already on his abdomen, trying to stop the flow of blood and the pain.

"What the hell happened to him?" Stark asked, eyeing the blood all over Thor and now the ground.

"I've no idea. Something evil, that's for sure."

"More evil than him?" Natasha scoffed, hands on hips.

"Well, whatever's in him, it's certainly not from here," Banner said, already inspecting the gaping wound in Loki's midsection. He delicately touched a finger to the burning skin around the edge of the wound. Loki screamed again, back arching off the ground to the point where he had to be pressed back down.

"Careful with what you're doing there," Thor growled, seeing the reaction from his brother.

"I barely even touched him," Bruce said in defense.

"Clint, are they on their way to pick us up?" the Captain asked, glancing over at the archer.

"Yep, they should be here in a few minutes," Hawkeye responded.

"We may not have a few minutes," Banner mumbled softly, trying to stop the bleeding with a few scraps of his ripped off shirt; Loki all the while crying out in pain and twitching.

"I'm not going to let my brother die. We shall do whatever necessary to save him," Thor said firmly. He was sitting next to Loki, careful not to cause him any more pain.

Banner suddenly put his fingers to Loki's neck. "Uh oh, we're losing him!"

"Save him!" Thor yelled.

Bruce looked up, agitated, as he began to do CPR. "I'm trying!"

All right, I've had this idea in my head for days now, and I had to get it out. Don't expect this story to be more than a few chapters, but also expect it to, just in case.

Yup, that's right. You'll never know with me. And by the way:

CLIFFHANGER ON THE FIRST CHAPTER

EHHEHEHE