Prologue
“I am… inevitable.”
Thanos snapped his fingers.
Nothing happened.
He glanced down in obvious confusion.
In Tony’s mind, he was laughing.
Gotcha.
Tony activated the gauntlet in his armour. Thanos’ head snapped up and he stared at Tony is unmasked disbelief.
“And I… am… Iron Man.”
Tony snapped his fingers and the world went white.
“Damn you!” Clint’s voice echoed off the stone wall of the cliff. Natasha took a slow breath in through her nose.
“Let me go.” she told him.
“No. Please don’t.”
She hated how broken her friend sounded at that moment.
“It’s okay.” she told him gently, meeting his eyes for the last time, before kicking off the cliff, breaking his hold on her hand and falling.
“NAT!” she heard Clint scream and she closed her eyes.
“I’m sorry.” she whispered, before she felt her body hit the ground and her vision went white.
“The Tesseract or your brother’s head. I assume you have a preference.”
Loki stared at the Titan balefully, planning his next move. He needed more time.
Sorry Thor.
“Oh I do. Kill away!”
Thanos lifted the gauntlet to Thor’s head and activated the Power Stone. Loki’s brother cried out in agony and the skin on his face was slowly burned away, layer by layer.
Loki’s breathing grew ragged. He needed more time to think. There is no time! His mind screamed at him. If he didn’t do something now, Thor would die.
“ALRIGHT, STOP!” he yelled. Thanos moved the stone away from Thor’s head. Loki exhaled in relief.
“We don’t have the Tesseract.” Thor rasped from behind him, “It was destroyed on Asgard.”
Oh Thor. Loki thought sadly. You always were the slower of the two of us.
He lifted his hand, palm up, and summoned the Tesseract from his pocket dimension.
“You really are the worst, brother.” Thor groaned. Loki grimaced and turned to look at him.
“I assure you brother, the sun will shine on us again.”
“Your optimism is misplaced, Asgardian.” Thanos declared.
Loki returned his gaze to the Titan.
“Well, for one thing: I’m not Asgardian. And for another… We have a Hulk.”
The chaos that ensued was beautiful.
The Hulk lunged at Thanos, pure rage displayed across his features, and Loki lauched himself at his brother, causing them both to crash to the floor painfully.
Loki watched the scramble for the Tesseract with his eyebrows raised. He watched as Heimdall opened the Bifrost, sending The Hulk away, and then as Thanos impaled the gatekeeper with his own sword.
“NO!” Thor cried out. Rage coloured his expression. “You are going to die for that.”
Ebony Maw waved a hand and Thor’s mouth clicked shut. “Shh.” He dropped to one knee. “My humble personage… bows before your grandeur. No other being has ever had the might, nay the nobility, to wield not one, but two Infinity Stones. The universe lies within your grasp.”
Loki eyed Thanos as he crushed the Tesseract in his fist, and pressed the Space Stone into the gauntlet. His eyes slid closed as he absorbed the newfound power he now possessed.
After a moment, he opened his eyes. “There are two more Stones on Earth. Find them, my children, and bring them to me on Titan.”
Loki had watched long enough. He emerged from the shadows where he had hidden away from the fighting.
“If I might, interject… If you’re going to Earth, you might want a guide. I do have a bit of experience in that arena.”
“If you consider failiure experience…” Thanos murmured.
“I consider experience, experience. “Almighty Thanos. I, Loki, Prince of Asgard… Odinson… The rightful King of Jotunheim, God of Mischief, do hereby pledge to you, my undying fidelity.” He summoned a hidden dagger. His eyes flicked towards Thor, who was watching him, pupils blown wide as he realised what Loki was about to do.
I’m sorry, brother. Loki thought, before flinging the dagger at Thanos’ throat. The Power Stone created a force field around the Titan, and the dagger stopped halfway to its target.
“‘Undying.’ You should choose your words more carefully.” Thanos reached out, and his hand closed around Loki’s throat.
Loki let out a pained noise. The Titan lifts him off the ground. Loki struggled violently in his grasp, choking as he tried to pull air through his lungs. “You… will never be… a god.” he rasped before his neck snapped and white stole his vision.