Chapter Text
Clint wasn't sure, initially, how much use Loki was going to get out of the wheelchair. After all, the injured man seemed entirely content to just stay where he was put and stare at nothing. But, he couldn't deny it was nice to just call the chair, which Tony had named Locke, and the AI would take Loki into the bathroom or follow along behind Clint. Since Sigyn wanted Loki to sit out on the porch for at least an hour each day, the fact that the chair could move Loki for them made that easier.
Sigyn said that the fresh air, sunlight, and light stimulation of being in a new environment would be helpful in Loki's recovery. Clint wasn't entirely comfortable with it, as that opened Loki up to possibly being seen by a sniper or any number of unknowns, but Loki did seem to look around a little more when he was sitting outside. So, it was nearly impossible to argue that it wasn't giving Loki any good stimulation.
Clint was also initially wary because that would allow Loki and the kids to contact each other. There was no doubt in his mind that Loki wasn't a danger, but his protective instincts were rearing up. And not -surprisingly- for only his children. After all, it wasn't like Loki could shield his face from a stray ball flying at it.
The kids, for their part, seemed remarkably unconcerned with Loki's presence. True, Clint hadn't gone into any details about who Loki was or what had happened to him, but they seemed as unconcerned about his presence as they were with the birds sitting on the fence posts. Clint guessed he'd been overly worried about things, but he was still a little concerned despite everything. He supposed he was just one of those overprotective dad types. Laura accused him of it enough, but he'd never really taken her seriously.
Frigga sat outside with Loki most of the time, holding his hand and talking to him. Occasionally Thor would join them, but the God of Thunder was still having a difficult time with Loki as he now was. He would get upset if he sat with an unresponsive Loki for more than about twenty minutes and would have to walk away before he summoned a storm.
It was during one of these times where Loki and Frigga were out on the porch that Bruce approached Sigyn in the living room. Sigyn was still going through the mounds of documents and reports to try and piece together what was done to her patient, how that might affect Loki in the future, and what treatment plan would be most effective.
"Sigyn," Bruce said hesitantly.
The dark-haired elf looked up immediately from where she was writing notes in a leather notebook. "Yes?"
"I know Asgardians are really resilient and everything, but do they have that same sort of resiliency against... radiation?" Bruce asked. Clint definitely didn't like that question. Bruce was looking green and not in a rage-y kind of way. Clint couldn't help but assume this might have something to do with why Bruce had gotten up and just walked out that one time.
"Well, firstly, Prince Loki is not technically Asgardian. And secondly, it would depend on the sort of radiation," Sigyn said. Her brow furrowed slightly. "Might I ask for the reason behind the question?"
Bruce sighed and rifled through the papers on the table for a moment. He handed Sigyn a few to look at. "I had an accident that involved Gamma radiation a while back. I survived where I probably shouldn't, and that's where the Hulk comes from. I don't know why they landed on the idea, but they seemed to want to see if Loki was resistant to Gamma radiation... maybe because we came in close contact during the battle. But they put him in a room and, well, flooded it with Gamma."
Clint almost winced. No wonder Bruce had been so disturbed. Clint thought it was a flimsy reason to irradiate someone. Plenty of people had been around Bruce while he was Hulked out. For longer than Loki had been. More likely, they had just wanted to torment Loki and came up with a BS reason to put on internal paperwork.
Sigyn's eyes scanned the document. "Jotnar, like Prince Loki is, do tend to be fairly resilient to many types of radiation because their atmosphere is of a different composition. However, these levels of this type, I am not sure." She flipped a page and continued reading. "It seems it was enough to burn his skin, at least. I'll have to research to see if there are any cases of Jotnar receiving such high radiation levels that I can use to predict any further complications."
Bruce nodded. "You going to be okay, Bruce?" Clint asked. He still looked like he was sickly from the thought.
"No. Not really," Bruce said. "Being the excuse that they use to hurt someone is..." He shook his head. "I'm going to go ahead to the tower and make sure all the equipment is installed right. I'll be back in a few days."
"Sure thing," Clint agreed.
Bruce excused himself to go pack up his things, and Clint sighed. He was pretty sure that Bruce knew intellectually that what they decided to do to Loki had nothing to do with him. But that was still such a personal thing; it wasn't in the least surprising that Bruce would be badly affected by this sort of news. Hopefully, he wouldn't beat himself up over this, but Clint had a bad feeling that he would.
A few minutes later, Frigga held open the door, and Loki's chair rolled carefully back inside. "Is everything alright?" Laura asked as she shifted one of the dining chairs out of the way. They had told everyone to leave the main paths through the house clear, but the kids especially were still adjusting to that rule.
"Yes, Loki was simply using his seidr, and I thought it best to not do that outside," Frigga said. "Just in case."
Clint nodded and saw the green wisps of energy floating off Loki's fingers. He was glad that Frigga had taken his concerns about snipers and spies seriously. If Shield somehow got wind that Loki had even the barest hint of his magic back, Clint could imagine the fuss they would make. They would definitely want Loki back in custody despite him barely even able to make little holograms.
"Are you hungry, Darling?" Frigga asked Loki. "You didn't finish your breakfast this morning."
Loki's magic curled and twisted but failed to form a shape. Frigga petted his hair back and said she'd bring him something just in case. The Queen was sure that Loki was trying to come up with a way to communicate with the images he could form but hadn't yet managed it, so she made a habit of asking yes or no questions for him to respond to.
Locke took Loki into the bedroom as Frigga stopped by the kitchen to get some food for him. "Do you need any help, Queen Frigga?" Laura asked.
"Oh, no, I'm just fine. Thank you, though," Frigga said. "You were very helpful last time; I'm sure I can remember where everything is."
"Alright, well, call if you do need help," Laura said.
Frigga agreed to do so even as she rummaged around to make something for her injured son. Laura made a point to keep several items that would be easy for Loki to be fed, so it only took Frigga a few moments to get something and go back to Loki's room. Clint shook his head a little bit and turned to the papers in front of him. Loki was making progress, but it was very slow.