#just my fun little theory on what would happen if you gave scientists an undying medical specimen who could still feel pain

[vullcanica]

If you actually put together a comprehensive compendium of Nikodemus' medical history, all manner of death, illness, decay, etc, you would have a goldmine of data on forensic anthropology, virusology, traumatology, genetics, cytology, psychiatry and ancient curses. Walking body farm of a man. Survivor of the silliest deaths imaginable. Medical abomination. Doctors hate him for this one trick he used to avoid mortality. Doctors are hunting him as we speak. The subject has breached security. Code Red.

[rhysie-cakes314]

Day 5- Amulet

Amora eyed the matching medallions dubiously, each dangling from a thin chain necklace.. “You’re certain these are the real deal?”

The old woman’s smile was missing several teeth, and Amora wasn’t certain how the woman seemed to stare right at her when her eyes were the milky white of the Midgardian blind, but she was confident in her response. “Not many mortals are left who would recognize the Amulets of Damballah. You needn’t worry about knock-off replicas. These are suitable for your needs.”

Amora searched the priestess’ body language for signs of deception, but found none. She would know, being a master of deceit herself. “I met Damballah myself, once. I thought his specialty was death, that he only worked with necromancers. How will a tool meant for the undead help me when the man is alive?” Madame whatever-her-name-was (Amora didn’t care) may be the expert in human Voodoo here, but Amora knew her gods.

The priestess threw her head back, cackling. “I have my own abilities, Enchantress. Those amulets will work on the dead and living all the same, now.”

Amora allowed herself to grin. It was time she finally got what she wanted.

…  

Natasha was perched on the edge of the kitchen counter beside the coffee machine. “I like your new necklace,” she commented as Thor entered the room. Natasha always took a keen interest in Thor’s fashion, so she noticed any tiny changes in his everyday appearance. One of her favourite pastimes was playing dress up and makeover with Thor, partially because he was the only one who let her, and partially because it was just so entertaining. His massive demigod body managed to look good in everything from speedo to ballgown. It was also no secret that his hair was the most luscious of the group, which allowed for a myriad of experimentation for style.

Steve was off on his morning run, Phil was out of town for a mission, and Clint and Bruce were still in bed, so Tony was the only one else in the room. He lifted his head off his arms to see who she was talking to and quirked an eyebrow. “I didn’t know you liked jewelry. This opens a whole new world of possibilities for Christmas gifts.”

Thor grinned proudly. He headed for the poptart cupboard. “My beautiful lady, Jane Foster gave it to me. She said it was a symbol of our undying love, and she has a matching one. I will cherish it with all of my being.”

Now that he was closer, Natasha could see the details. The medallion matched the shade of gold that draped around Thor’s neck, and a snake was the only decoration. “Is Dr. Foster into snakes?”

Thor looked thoughtful for a moment. “She has never mentioned them, but I suppose she must! I thought maybe the snake was a Midgardian symbol of companionship I was unaware of.”

Tony’s head had dropped back down to his arms already, but he shook with laughter. Natasha threw a butter knife at his head. “Ow! No throwing my own silverware at me. I will terminate your lease. Don’t you test me.”

She didn’t look worried. “You never gave us leases. Don’t make fun of Thor if you don’t want punished.”

Tony rubbed at his head. Thor laughed his booming laugh. The sound always felt too loud in the enclosed kitchen, or indoors in general, really. Tony tried to hide the fact that it startled him by jumping up for more coffee. “I believe he was laughing with me.”

Natasha shrugged. “I think that was very sweet of Jane. How is she lately?” The astrophysicist sometimes came to live with them for months at a time, but it had been awhile. It was as sporadic a living arrangement as Thor, who whisked off to Asgard or landed in the roof without warning.

“She fairs well. She is giving a speech at an important conference next month.” Natasha sometimes tried to imagine what the relationship was like between a scientist and a god. The idea just seemed so alien. The two seemed to both be obsessed with other worlds or realms, so she supposed that could be what they shared most. But can a human really understand a centuries old warrior-king?

“I’ll have to see if I’m going to that, I’m sure Pepper will know. Maybe I can get you an invitation, buddy,” Tony pat Thor’s bicep. “I’m off to the lab now, seeya later, probably,” he shouted over his shoulder. It was that time of year again. The Avengers all knew by now that seeing Tony at all was a rare occurrence in October. The man practically worked non-stop for a month straight.

Steve returned with a light sheen of sweat. Natasha noticed he always seemed to run harder October mornings. He also exercised more in general. Her theory was that Steve needed to let off extra steam and distract himself more constantly to ward off feeling lonely while Tony was squirreled away in his lab. The supersoldier usually had unfettered access to Tony’s domain and spent hours just watching the genius work or sketching him, but not in October. Tony had forbid him because his ‘ass was too distracting.’

“Captain!” Thor welcomed. “We should spar today, it has been too long.”

Steve chuckled. “We just sparred last week! But sure, lord knows I’ve got time. Meet down there in an hour? I need some calories.” He was already raiding the refrigerator, pulling out an egg carton, bacon, and orange juice.

“A week can be an eternity when excitement is missing from your life,” Thor said mysteriously. He passed Bruce on the way out.

Bruce waved his greetings, heading straight for the tea. The group sat in companionable silence while Steve made his feast. Bruce liked to read the newspaper in the mornings. Tony kept trying to explain that a physical paper was a waste and called printing presses obsolete, but Bruce liked the feel of it. He could control the pace with which he absorbed the news instead of feel overwhelmed by the fast talking reporters on TV. Plus he liked the crosswords.

When Steve went down to the gym, Thor was already there. Steve looked at him from the doorway, curious. He looked like he was meditating. His body was still, his eyes closed. It was odd; Steve didn’t think Thor could be still. He was always so energetic. His eyes snapped open, and Steve felt the blush at being caught staring. Thor didn’t mention it though, just hopped to his feet excitedly. “Come, let us battle!”

Steve shook his head fondly. Thor brought enthusiasm to everything he did. “Only if you think you can take me,” he joked.

“I’ll go easy,” Thor boasted. “We wouldn’t want anyone to get injured.”

Thor was decidedly not going easy. The serum meant that Steve could hold up against Thor better than the others, minus Hulk, but Thor was fighting with more ferocity than usual. Steve narrowly dodged another blow, thankful they were fighting bare-handed. Even with the shield, Steve was sure Thor could hurt him with Mjolnir if he wasn’t careful. He managed a kick to Thor’s side before rolling away again. His best strategy with the god was always to stay out of reach.

“I thought,” pant, “we were just,” pant, parry, “sparring.”

Thor backed off a little, slowing his movements while they spoke. “We are.”

Steve danced around him, trying to find an opening. “You seem like you’re going harder than usual,” he was concocting a strategy. Thor always turned right to spin if you got behind him. If Steve could get him to go for the turn and manage to roll and pop up in front of his left, Thor would be wide open. He’d have to be very fast. Speed was his friend against a bigger opponent.

It had to be Steve’s imagination, but Thor seemed to sneer at him. Thor didn’t sneer. “I play to win.”

Suddenly wary that something was wrong with his teammate, Steve decided it was time to be done with this. He had a feeling Thor wouldn’t just let him bow out either. He leapt behind the god, and took action when Thor started to turn. He popped up to see Thor face to face with him. He had seen through the ploy.

Thor took advantage of Steve’s surprise and landed a solid gut punch. Steve actually left the ground momentarily before slamming into the mirror behind him. Some of the glass trickled away around him as he tried to regain the breath knocked out of him. Thor drew closer, but instead of kneeling to apologize or ask if he was okay, Thor smacked his head back against the wall. The world went dark.

…

The silence was deafening and sudden after the blasting metal from a moment ago. Tony looked around in confusion. “Sir, Steve has been injured in the gym while sparring with Thor,” JARVIS informed him.

Tony didn’t ask questions. If JARVIS felt the need to alert him, it wasn’t just a minor injury. The elevator was fast enough to throw him off balance but he remained upright. When he arrived, Natasha and Clint weren’t far behind. The scene in front of him didn’t make sense. Steve was sitting against the mirror, chin against his chest, clearly unconscious. Behind him, Tony could make out the blood smeared on the wall from his head.

Tony didn’t even notice Thor, too busy sprinting to his boyfriend’s side. Thor waited patiently off to the side, until Tony was on his knees trying to wake Steve. Natasha and Clint were too far away to stop the god.

“Tony, watch out!” Clint cried.

Tony whipped around just in time to get suckerpunched. He felt his nose break and was lying on the ground. The room spun. What was happening? He tried to lift his head, but something was in the way. He was choking. Tony blinked hard and Thor came into focus above him. But it couldn’t be Thor. His supposed friend was expressionless as he waited for Tony to stop fighting.

“It has to be an imposter, JARVIS! Scan him, who is it!?” Natasha shouted as she managed to tackle Thor away from Tony’s prone form. Tony coughed and sputtered, thankfully not dead.

“According to my scans, it is Thor. I have no explanation,” JARVIS sounded as afraid as a program could.

Clint cursed, “Shit.” He had Thor/not-Thor in a full nelson, but he was too strong to be immobilized. Natasha hit him in the head with a weight to no effect. “Where the fuck is the Hulk!? He can actually do something against this guy!”

“Dr. Banner is not waking at my prompts, and is in his bed. His vitals indicate he may have been drugged.” JARVIS explained.

Thor threw the humans off with little effort with a shout of triumph. “You will all die! Then I can return to my beloved Amora!” he thundered.

It hit Natasha like a ton of bricks. The Enchantress. The necklace had to be controlling their friend somehow. Thor had told her about the Asgardian woman who was obsessed with Thor. She had tried many times to make him fall in love with her. They had to get the damn thing off!

A gun shot rang out, and everyone spun to see the new arrival. Phil was standing in the doorway to the gym, eyes wide and gun pointing at Thor. His bags were beside him on the floor, indicating he had just arrived. The bullet bounced uselessly off of Thor’s skin, leaving only a shallow mark. “Hit the chain around his neck!” Natasha shouted, praying he’d hit it. Phil was a good shot, but he was no Clint and it was a small target.Thor screamed in rage but the next shot hit the chain and the medallion hit the floor with a loud clang.

The effect was immediate. Thor went still, looked around like he had just woken up. They watched him slowly take in his surroundings, the horrified look solidifying on his face. “What-” he choked off. “What have I done?” His voice was quiet but echoed through the silent gym. He dropped to his knees, a sob ripping through him.

Natasha wished there was time to comfort her traumatized friend, “Coulson, Bruce’s room! Clint, Tony! I’ve got Steve. JARVIS, can SHIELD pick them up at the landing pad?” No one argued, just snapped to.

JARVIS, bless him, was ahead of her. “Med evac team will land in approximately 3 minutes and are aware of the number of patients.”

Natasha allowed herself to look back at Thor as she threw Steve over her shoulder. His face was wet with tears, but he was glaring right through the medallion he now held in his hand. Everyone was going to be okay, medical was already almost there. Mjolnir landed in his hand, hard from somewhere else in the tower. Thor met her eyes for a moment before he was crashing through the window. She couldn’t blame him, but she desperately hoped he’d return after taking care of the Enchantress. He needed to know that none of them blamed him. He needed to know not to blame himself.