I didn't want to die this time. I felt the spark inside of me, it was like a streak of light that called out to me. Stay alive.

So, I held on.

I really couldn't feel my body, I couldn't move a muscle as I started sensing around myself. I knew that the most important thing in situations, moments like these was focus.

It was the smell that reached me first. I could smell smoke, burning flesh, sweat and earth. How I loved earth. I could almost imagine myself purring of delight if it wasn't the head spinning, strong scent of irony blood that was almost suffocating everything else.

Slowly, as if I was underwater, I started hearing. I could hear rapidly approaching footsteps, coughing people and pain. People were in pain and I could hear them, hear them groaning and whimpering as they gritted their teeth.

"wake up, Atlas, wake up." Someone was next to me, it was familiar voice. Very soothing and sad. Why are you sad?

"Step aside! You don't know what you're doing! Foolish, reckless Scum!" I heard someone hiss as the person who had been whispering in my ear was pulled off.

What was going on? I could hear shuffling of feet, angry words being exchanged but I couldn't move myself. Stop fighting, you won.

"Who allowed you here!" The sad man growled. "I do not need anyone to tell me what I can or can not do! I am not one of you, mindless soldiers! Now if you do not step aside Oaf, I will remove you from that spot!"

"Brother, ease yourself, Buchanan was--" "Shut up Thor!"

Next moment I could feel the man's nimble, cold hands gently touch my forehead. I could sense him holding his breath, he was also angry, furious even. He traced his shaky finger down the side of my face, scraping the scales just lightly while getting the dried blood under his clean nails.

"You are the most selfless, foolish, idiotic creature who Midgard has ever seen." The man whispered to me. "So, Doctor Loki, how are the vitals?"

"He can hear you, Stark." Immediately I felt someone kneel beside me, their metal hand resting on my leg. "Why doesn't he open his eyes then?"

"He is exhausted." "I mean, we are all but I don't see us making a scene."

"he was hit with a bomb. Give him a break Stark."

"Pietro? Can you... You know the words. Change him back, we need to get him checked up immediately. I will take Wanda and Nat and go raid the base, see what's left of it. Tony, go and find Clint, you both need medical attention. Vision will come with us, Thor... Just, make sure they listen."

I zoned out, starting to feel my body again. And boy, I was a wreck.

The cold hand that rested on my shoulder was a relief, it was as if it didn't hurt as much from the lace the cold hand touched.

After hearing the familiar words, my body started morphing itself back into the human one. The process was a lot uglier, louder and slower then it has ever been. I let out a horrendous low, growling noise from the  back of my throat, it made the others  shy away. 

But the pain never left, every cell in my body did their best to morph back into healed bones. But it was nearly impossible, so the pain kept flowing in waves, keeping me awake, conscious. The hissing sound that I couldn't seem to stop making, started slowly sounding like a screaming of a dying man. 

And suddenly the worst of it stopped. I took an uneven breath, feeling the cold breeze hit my sweaty, blood caked and bare body. Someone covered my shaking body with something and I could feel the familiar presence in the back of my mind, easily pulling the painful thorns from my body, gently sweeping the agony away with even, calm waves. I was washed over with calmness.

Breathe draki.  

The hands that pulled my body off from the ground were firm and nearly unmoving, yet I knew we were heading somewhere. 

The world became a blur, I could feel people talking, murmuring near me and then so far way. "Hail Hydra? more like Bye Hydra." Someone told Tony to shut up, it sounded awfully lot like Doctor Banner. 

I sighed as the distance between me and the voices became longer

I suddenly stood in the middle of a familiar room, it was as if I was standing in the corner, watching a scene play out before me.

The small boy looked up, the chairs and the mahogany desk looking awfully large for someone like him. "Daddy? Daddy, i'm hungry." the dark haired boy said quietly, tugging at the sleeping mans grey cardigan. The man stirred, opening his sleepy eyes as he slowly fixed his glasses, blinking his grey eyes down at the little boy. "Oh Atlas, what are you doing up so early?" The tall man said groggily, smiling down at Atlas as he pulled the boy onto his lap. "Couldn't sleep." The boy said, playing with the button that was loose on his father cardigan. 

"I should have some coca-cola in the kitchen, let's share a bottle what do you say? But you have to promise to not tell mommy, yeah?" the man said brightly, laughing at the boys furious nodding. "I don't think she really appreciates our coca-cola addiction. Also, sugar is not good for morning, but what mommy doesn't know won't hurt her" he muttered, standing up from his office chair as he started strolling towards the kitchen, holding Atlas up and making the sound of a motor as the boy kept his hands on the sides and giggled, imagining that he was a plane as his fathers strong hands held him up. 

The scene started fading, no matter what, I was unable to hold onto it, no matter how strongly I screamed, the still left me in the darkness. "Morning Atlas, It's uh, Bucky. Steve said that you should be able to hear me. I feel stupid just... talking here. But i'm alone, so no one can really judge, can they?" the familiar, sad laughter ringed in my ears. "Tony found your files, all of them. He refuses to share them with us unless you're present thought, I know you're curious about them. " the voice started getting further and further away again.

I'm sure that I saw another scene, something that made me feel warm inside. 

And voices, they visited a lot. Sometimes they were angry at me, telling me what a mindless creature I had been. But I knew that the man who that voice belonged to was just afraid, I could smell it. Other times it was accented, just babbling on. Gentle and soothing. 

One of those days, as the door behind one of the visitors closed with a quiet click, I started feeling for my eyelids. I was used to finding my way through the dark, that's how I knew to turn towards every flash of light.  I slowly blinked my eyes open, trying to move my head away from the burning lights the Doctor was showing in my orbs. "FRI, dim the lights to 40%." The man said quietly, turning the small flashlight off immediately. He took a slow step away from my bed, making adjusting to my surroundings easier.

"If you can hear a word I'm saying, simply nod, no overly hard movements, Atlas." I gave the Doc a gentle nod, looking at him lazily, everything was still a bit hazy. "Do not make sudden movements, you have quite a few bones that need to heal. You have a minor head injury that is healing surprisingly fast. I do not recommend any visitors at the moment, you can not be stressed by anything currently. I'm not going to overload you with information right now, so you just rest. If you need anything, there is a pen right next to you along with piece of paper. Your vocal chords need a rest." Banners every word was quiet and comfortably gentle, no Doctor has ever spoke to me with such warmth. How nice is that. 

I dragged my half closed eyes over the pen and papers, remembering that I had no clue how to write. Noticing my sleepy state, Banner nodded and told the ceiling to dim the lights more. "Get some more rest, you have a lot of sleep to catch up on." Before he could end his sentence, I had already dozed off again, feeling more safe then I ever had.

A/N

Uh, I feel like this chapter could have been better by a long shot. But hey, that's what I'm like with every chapter. I wrote it in the middle of the night so I could you know, get my mind off of reality.

Your feedback would be great :)

Also guys, Atlas is getting better! :D 

Which, my grades are not. 

Anyways, I hope it was a nice change in your cozy evening guys, lots of love from this cold place. 

Sincerely, 

Someone