Tony didn't waste time once Vision finished his confession. His voice cut like steel as he barked orders."Okay, Vis — you said Loki's coming, and I'm assuming he's injured. Fri, baby girl, patch through to Dr. Helen Cho, get her here yesterday. Page Hanamura stat. And send word to Wakanda: Bruce needs to haul ass back to the tower. Loki's gonna need a familiar face to ground him."
Friday's voice hummed from the ceiling. "Sir, respectfully… it may be safer to receive Loki at the compound. More doctors, more"
"No." Tony's reply came sharp and immediate, enough to make Vision blink.He didn't let Friday finish. "The compound's crawling with people who don't trust me, don't trust him. Last thing Loki needs is waking up surrounded by half the team that wants him in chains. He stays here. Understood?"
"Understood, Boss," Friday said softly.
Tony turned to Vision, jaw tight. "Tell me what I'm walking into."
Vision's eyes dimmed. "Multiple fractures. Oxygen deprivation. Internal bleeding. He has not regained consciousness since…" He faltered. "…since Thanos's hand closed around his throat."
Tony clenched his teeth. "Jesus." For a heartbeat, he saw a younger face there, too Peter, broken in some impossible fight, limp in his arms. His stomach twisted. He pushed it down.
"Fine. Then we prep."
Together, they readied the med bay. Sterile lights warmed to amber. Monitors flickered awake. Sterilizers hissed. Friday rerouted power to the heating coils, the air thickening with rising warmth.
The calm shattered in an instant.
"Portal breach detected," Friday announced. "Brace for impact."
The air rippled, folding inward with a low, resonant hum. Blue light tore across the center of the room, spilling frost and shadow as reality bent. The temperature plummeted; glass fogged, steel frosted white underfoot.
Tony muttered under his breath, "Please don't let him come out in pieces."
Then something drifted through.
Loki.
He didn't walk. He didn't stumble. His body floated, weightless, limp — suspended by the last flickering grace of the Time Stone's hibernation. The stasis shattered as he crossed the portal, and gravity claimed him.
Tony lunged, catching him before he could strike the ground.
The figure in his arms was barely recognizable. Skin Jotunn-blue, veins glowing faintly like cracks in ice. Bruises ringed his throat — hand-shaped, unmistakable. His armor hung in bloody tatters. Cuts scored across chest and arms, cruel reminders of a thousand unanswered blows.
Unmoving. Unconscious. Barely breathing.
Tony's breath caught. He'd seen Loki as a tyrant, a would-be conqueror, a smug bastard with antlers too big for his head. He'd never seen this. Not a god, not a trickster — just a broken man who looked like he might shatter if Tony dared let go.
"Jesus Christ…" His voice cracked. Fury curled in his chest, sharp and hot. "What the hell did they do to you, Reindeer Games…"
He carried him swiftly to the med table, forcing his voice steady."Vis, table now! Friday, crank the heat I want Tahiti in here! Get Cho on final approach, page Hanamura again. Move!"
"Already on it, Boss," Friday confirmed.
As they laid him down, Loki's form flickered blue Jotunn to pale Aesir, back and forth, like his body couldn't decide what it wanted to be. His breath rattled, then thinned to shallow gasps.
Tony gripped his wrist, refusing to let go.
"You're safe now," Tony whispered, voice rough but steady. "You hear me? Safe. Nobody's ever laying a hand on you again."
The med bay hummed alive around them, but Tony didn't move. His hand stayed locked around Loki's cold wrist, grounding him.
Vision watched silently, studying Tony's face. And in that moment, he understood this was why the Stones had chosen him. Not because he was the strongest, or the smartest, but because he refused to turn away.
Because even Loki, broken and blue in his arms, deserved saving.