Your Favourite Boy

Sleeping on the couch was comfier than sleeping on most beds you’d encountered during your life. It helped that dinner and walking around Paris with Loki had been a dream in itself, and you woke well rested, stretching on the sectional sofa, sneaking a peak at Loki, who was asleep on the other part of the couch that connected with yours. His head was right by yours, his feet stretching out closer to the massive television. Cap had been right when he’d said the den was comfy.

Thor was asleep on the other sofa in the den, and he’d already been snoring loudly when you’d returned with Loki in the late hours of the night. The two brothers were still fast asleep, so you quietly slipped away off into the kitchen in search of a cup of water.

You leaned against one of the kitchen counters, sipping at your water delicately as your eyes focused on the clock. It was a little after five, and yet you were wide awake, your senses keyed up inexplicably. Something was drawing you away from this world, and you decided to listen to your instincts.

Finishing the water, you took a deep breath, closing your eyes and feeling the world around you shift as you moved into the soul world. It was as it usually was; a calm and flat plane that stretched as far as the eye could see. Ever so carefully, you stepped out and into the water, feeling it flow straight into you, rejuvenating you and washing away any exhaustion from the night before.

“What have you to show me?” You asked, swimming back to the crumbling steps of the pantheon and lounging on them, the water left clinging to you drying instantly.

The water rippled in front of you, rising up and turning into three-dimensional forms. You leaned forwards to see better, your heart dropping as you recognized the man it was attempting to show you. It was the man from Vormir, sitting at the helm of a spaceship, a purple alien you didn’t recognize steering.

“How long until we reach Earth?” The man asked, looking out at the cosmos you couldn’t see.

“Four hours, my lord. We have figured that she is residing in a place called New York, at least that’s where the energy readings from the Bifrost ended.”

“Very good.” The man leaned back, lacing those horrid fingers together. “She will be forced to concede that my army is impossible to defeat, and she will have to restore me to my past potential.”

“Have you considered what you are to do if she cannot?”

“She must be able to do it. It was the stone that did this damage; she will be able to undo it. Chances are she doesn’t realize how strong she is, but we will force her to come face-to-face with her power once and for all, and then I will kill her.”

“Enough!” Your sword came flying from the pantheon ruins and you slashed it through the water, sending the droplets flying back down, disrupting the picture and it vanished. You’d leapt to your feet in your fright, and you regretted it as your legs shook, sending you back down to the steps once more. Throwing your sword aside, you buried your head in your hands, digging your hands into your hair.

The man knew where you were. He was coming for you, with an army. You’d have to tell the others everything, so much more than you’d ever cared for them to know, and you didn’t even have a suit to fight in anymore.

Managing to stand, you stumbled through the pantheon’s ruins, bypassing everything you’d stored there throughout the years, heading straight through the darkened front of the building and into the circular chamber. You’d never been sure of why the pantheon was the only structure in the soul world you could see, but one thing was for sure; it had never been a place of worship for humans. Its size promised the devote had far exceeded the height of giants.

The rotunda was massive in diameter, the room lit by the small hole at the top of the dome that stretched over your head. Runes of a language long since passed, yet still comprehensive to you, decorated the walls and were etched into the floor. Massive murals were carved on a ledge that wrapped around the edge of the room, separating the straight walls from the curvature of the dome, detailing the beginning of the universe and the creation of the soul stone. Once upon a time, you’d read all the inscriptions, but now you had interest in only one.

Right at your feet lay an inscription and you read it out, watching as the pantheon disappeared beneath your feet, showing you the bridge.

You referred to it as a bridge in a weak sense. There was no physical structure, and you hovered in midair, watching as millions of souls passed from their various places within the universe to whatever lay beyond. For a moment, you watched a particularly large rift open, propelling a mass of souls through, and you knew you could drop through, start a new life wherever that was. The man who was coming to find you would probably eradicate life on Earth, but if you left now, you would never know that for certain. You could pretend to be free.

Even so, you whispered something under your breath and the pantheon faded back into view, setting you down on the stone floor. Turning away, you walked back out to the water and thrust your arms out, picturing what you needed. A suit.

Creation was tiring and difficult, and the last time you’d attempted it had been when you’d made your swords, but today was going to be a day of magic, and you needed the little extra boost your swords always brought you. Making something from the soul world meant that it retained a bit of that reinvigorating power for you. The swords were usually enough to get your head back in the game, and you were certain a full suit would be even better.

The breastplate you fashioned this time was unlike one you’d ever seen before. The metal it was composed of was woven together, making sure there were no weak points, ensuring it was strong and flexible. Your classic mask was made of metals not of any land you’d ever seen, and they felt almost liquid beneath your touch. Within no time, you were completely decked out in a new suit, no loose robes this time, designed entirely for practicality and agility. A leather strap that buckled over your chest held the saya for your katanas behind you, and you summoned them to you, crossing them over your back.

You caught a glimpse of yourself in the water as you pulled your black hood up. If there was any hesitation in your heart, it was invisible in your face. Flexing your leather gloves, you let yourself return to the Avengers’ compound.

Loki was in the kitchen when you reappeared, starting slightly at the unexpected company. He took in your appearance, then seemed to look deeper than that.

“How long do we have?” He asked, his pyjamas changing before your eyes into his regular garb.

“A little under four hours,” you replied, swallowing hard.

“You came back,” he stated simply, causing you pause.

“I wasn’t sure I was going to,” you confessed, tilting your chin up slightly.

“I know.” Loki didn’t move to comfort you, but somehow his company was more than enough. “We must gather the others, as I’m sure you know.”

“And prepare them to meet my maker?” You let Loki see how frightened you were, let him look into your eyes – the only part of you he could see – and see the fear brewing there. You needed someone to know just how terrified you were before you had to let the mask go deeper than just the snout over your face. He saw it, nodded once, and then you let your expression harden into determination, despite whatever else you felt inside.

“Are you prepared to tell them the truth?”

“No,” you said honestly. “But I will, nonetheless.”

You kept the explanation short, sweet, and to the point, daring the others to challenge you on what you were saying, but they didn’t. You saw the same resolve in all their eyes as you described the man you were up against, with Loki standing by your side.

“He claims he is a god, and I am of the belief that he still has significant power, even in his weakened state.” You glanced at Thor and Loki. “I would not underestimate him in that regard.”

“And he has nothing left to lose,” Bruce pointed out. “You said the guy killed his wife to create you? That’s some heavy hitting stuff.”

“And he has an army,” Tony said. “I think we ought to focus on that too.”

“He intends to use me for my power and then kill me. When I can’t preform the task which he believes I can, surely he will strike me down where I stand.”

“Can’t you just…” he mimed pushing his hand out in your trademark move. “Kill him like that?”

“The soul stone has marred his soul, changed the way it interacts with his body. I’m not even sure I could release it from the physical form anymore.”

The room fell into thoughtful silence. Loki’s mind, however, didn’t seem to need to catch up to speed like the rest of the Avengers, turning to Thor with a confident expression.

“Go get her the Tesseract.”

Steve gave him a reproachful look. “We cannot have you and the Tesseract near each other. You’ve proven you can’t control yourself where it is concerned.”

“It’s not for me,” Loki snapped. “Y/n is going to need that unlimited power. We don’t know what kind of army is coming, but she can summon an army of her own to counteract that.”

“But it won’t be easy,” you agreed. “Generally speaking, I can only summons a few spirits at any given time. I’m going to need all the help I can get. Magic is not as easy as it looks.”

Cap took a deep breath and then finally, after an excruciating moment, nodded at Thor. “Go get it.”

Thor headed outside and after a few seconds, the Bifrost came and swept him away. The rest of the Avengers took the opportunity to suit up, leaving you to stare anxiously out the massive picture windows.

“Will they come directly here?” Loki asked you, his velvet voice jerking you out of your thoughts.

“I think so. They are not looking for a war with Earth, only with me if I so choose it.”

“Have you considered giving yourself up?” He quickly added onto his statement when you gave him an offended look. “I mean, turning yourself over to him killing him at the soonest convenience?”

“I don’t think that would work very well. Most of the time, I can get out of any situation via my various forms of travel, but I’m not sure what he’s got up his sleeve. Don’t want to risk it.”

“Do you still have the books from Asgard?” Loki asked suddenly, glancing down at you.

“Yeah?” You lifted your hand, prepared to pull them from thin air, but he stopped you.

“Just remember that they’re there,” he said cryptically as rainbow beam of the Bifrost landed right outside the window.

You felt the Tesseract’s proximity before you saw Thor. Your whole body hummed as he re-entered the compound, clutching a glass tube which housed a blue cube, pure energy swirling inside it. Like a moth to flame, you stepped forwards, extending your hand towards it.

The rest of the Avengers had returned, and in your peripheral vision, you saw Bruce shift uncomfortably, exchanging a glance with. Tony. Ignoring them, your fingers curled and the tube slide open, the cube floating towards you.

“The space stone,” you whispered, watching it hover in midair, hesitating to touch it.

Tony cleared his throat from somewhere near you. “The what?” But you were too far gone to properly explain. It felt like your soul was reaching for the Tesseract, enveloping it, ready to harness its power. And it was for that reason that you forcibly yanked your arms back to your sides.

“You can feel the lure, can’t you?” Loki asked softly, moving to stand slightly behind you. “You know it will show you power like you could never imagine.”

The hunger in his voice did not go unnoticed by you, or Thor, apparently.

“Control yourself, Loki,” you heard the older brother say, and then you were reaching for the Tesseract.

The second your fingertips made contact, it was like the world warped inwards, sucking you straight into the cube and right back out in a fraction of a second, blue light arcing up your arms and crawling into your mouth, and then your vision went white. You could feel the power coursing through your veins, and your brain seemed to restart as finally—finally—the world was set out in front of you, plain as day. Suddenly, you understood your abilities, all those little things that had been a part of you and yet you’d never realized.

“The power of two infinity stones,” you heard yourself say as you quickly made the Tesseract disappear, flexing your fingers midair.

“That’s the Tesseract, though, not the space stone or whatever you called it.” Natasha didn’t look as uneasy as the other Avengers, leaning against the counter as she ate a sandwich.

“The space stone is stored within the Tesseract,” you explained. “It’s a storage container of sorts. If I needed to, I could break open the cube and there would be a stone inside it. Just like the stone that created me.”

“Sir.” Jarvis’s smooth voice interrupted your thoughts before you could explain the story of the infinity stones which you’d learned from the walls of the pantheon. “Something has just entered the upper atmosphere.”  

“I guess prep time is over,” Cap quipped, hefting his shield.

“What’s our plan for attack?” Tony flipped his mask shut, his suit letting out a whine as it started up.

“I thought you didn’t do plans,” Bruce commented, removing his shirt. It was a nice shirt, you could see why he might want to take it off before he turned into the Hulk.

“I’m making an exception. Last time we faced a god and his army, we did almost lose.”

“Sorry.” Loki didn’t sound at all apologetic.

“We need to protect y/n, but also give her the opportunity to get to the main guy and try and kill him. Y/n, what do you need us to do?” Cap, ever the leader, stepped towards the door.

“I’ll summon an army of my own,” you assured him. “The Tesseract will ensure I don’t tire out easily. Once things are under control, I’ll go for him. Thor, if you want to keep him occupied until then?”

“Of course.” Thor held out his hand and Mjolnir shot into it, narrowly avoiding Loki, who didn’t flinch.

Together, the seven of you headed out to the massive field the compound was built upon, turning your heads to the sky. A spaceship that looked like a long needle, that had no wings or anything, was rocketing straight for the ground. For a second you froze, your mouth suddenly dry, your heart rate speeding up. You weren’t sure what you were getting yourself or your team into, to be entirely honest. There were way too many ways it could go wrong.

“Anubis? Want to get that army going?” Nat asked you, loading her guns.

“Yeah,” you said, shaking your head to snap out of it. Internally, you felt a tug somewhere in your gut and you fought against it, pulling as hard as you mentally could. The temperature pitched downwards, fog curling out in massive waves from you, forms of the dead rising from it. You didn’t stop at a battalion’s worth, rather you continued to summon them, until the field was full of the dead standing at attention.

The others looked around at the ghostly figures, and you noticed Cap shudder slightly when a ghost without any eyes turned towards him.

“Y/n?” He called. “Just how much control do you have over these?”

You gritted your teeth, your open hands glowing blue, your eyes glowing ochre. “In terms of specific control? Not much. Don’t get in their way.”

The giant space needle, made of a black obsidian-like material, barrelled towards the Earth, headed straight for your field. They seemed prepared to crash right into your group, but with a simple push of your hands in midair, the craft was seized by a blue light, impaling it in the ground where it could do no harm to you, save make the ground shake unpleasantly.

It was bigger in person. The massive thing could host thousands of beings, ones you were in no haste to meet.

“Gird yourselves,” Loki helpfully suggested, doing his best to break the tension of the situation.

A section of the ship slid upwards, letting out the welcoming party. The man you’d seen before headed the group, the purple-skinned aliens he brought with him falling into place behind him. There was only five of them in total, but the door did not close.

“Where is she?” The man called out, showing no hesitation at the ghostly army.

“Who are you?” Cap called back.

“Jahamxuil,” the man said, pushing back his hood to reveal the rest of his horrible head. “But you may call me the Magus.”

“Okay, Jahamxuil,” Iron Man raised his hand, pointing his blasters at the man. “How about you and your giant sewing needle ship continue on your merry way, because you won’t be abusing anyone’s power today.”

“But she is here,” Jahamxuil said, continuing on his path towards you. “This army could not be summoned by any other.”

You bared your teeth, feeling your mask mirror your movements, bending at the knees slightly, as though prepared to pounce.

“Ah!” He held out those withered hands, as though to hug you. A simple thought on your part stopped him in his tracks, blue tendrils of energy wrapping around his feet. “You look different, pet.”

“I am not your pet,” you snarled, reaching for your swords and drawing them, despite the many feet that lay between you and your adversary. “And I cannot fix you, so I’m afraid your journey has been entirely in vain.”

“You can’t, or you won’t?” He bared a cruel smile, one that displayed all his pointed teeth. “It can be done, yet the damage it would do to you and your soul would be irreparable. So you won’t. Which is why I brought some persuasion.”

He brayed a horrible noise, and the bough broke. A whole swarm of the hulking, purple species climbed out of the ship. They were tall with broad shoulders, all around the height of Thor and Loki, only far more buff and all armed with giant guns and swords.

“Great. I love aliens,” Tony sighed. “Present company excluded from my disdain, by the way.”

“Thanks.” You worked your jaw as the army ran towards you, and then you mentally gave the command. Your ghostly army stirred, hefting their multitude of weapons and heading into battle, silent as ever.

Beside you, Bruce Banner grew into the Hulk, letting out a massive roar and charging into the sea of creatures. The sky clouded over as Thor called upon as much lightning he could muster, and Tony blasted off the ground. Nat released the safety on her guns and took aim, while Cap threw his shield. Absolute mayhem ensued.

Loki stood back-to-back with you as you split your focus; one part of you remained locked on moving your army forwards and bringing more in their place, while the rest of you used the Tesseract to send approaching enemies to the other end of space.

“Where do you have the Tesseract?” Loki asked as he yanked his knives out of one alien, impaling the next with his horned helmet. “I know you wouldn’t be able to use it if you had it in the soul world.”

“Ah, right. I forgot you were so well acquainted with it.” You swept your katana in a circle around your head before bringing it down on a throng of aliens that had beelined straight for you. “It’s right here.” You tapped the blue gem on your mask that sat between your eyebrows.

“How?”

“Manipulated the space it takes up. I’ll explain later.” You spun in front of Loki, lashing out a hand and grabbing onto an alien that had been sneaking up on him in his distraction. Grabbing onto its soul, you made it turn and open fire on its companions.

“What in Odin’s name was that?” Loki glanced at you with wide eyes.

“Soul possession. The Tesseract showed me the baseline for my powers, I’m just testing them out.”

Loki looked at you weirdly, but his gaze was ripped away as a roar came from the ship, and not a Hulk roar either.

Massive lion-like creatures were bounding off, the bullets your ghosts fired pinging right off of them. Your jaw dropped as you realized what they were.

“Nemean lions,” you whispered, watching as one closed its massive teeth around one of the ghost’s head, ripping it clean off.

“The ones from Greek mythology?” Loki asked, flipping one of his daggers.

“The ones that cannot be scratched by any weapon? Yeah. Only their own claws can break open their hides.”

“Could you kill one if you came in contact with it?”

“I could try.” You looked around the field, only to realize with a start that most of your ghosts had been completely vanquished, purple blood from the aliens coating the grass. The Avengers were fairing okay, but you could see signs of fatigue.

The Magus was floating in midair in front of his ship, fingers laced together, watching you with interest. Thor had been distracted by the lions, doing his best to fry them, although it didn’t appear to be working.

One broke away from the pride, bounding towards you and Loki, and your hand shot out, coming in contact with its fur as it leapt through the air. Instantly, it collapsed beside you, and you stepped away from it.

“Well, that answers that,” Loki commented. “Too bad our whole team isn’t made up of you’s.”

You took in a shuddering breath, looking out at the wreckage of the land. “Let’s try and put a stop to this.” Stepping forwards, mustering all the bravery you could, you headed in the direction of the Magus.

“Y/n, wait.” Loki caught your wrist, pulling you back. “He’s going to kill you if you cannot preform the task he wants.”

“He may do his best.” You turned away from him, attempting to move towards your enemy, but Loki spun you right back around.

“He’s a god. Who knows what he’s capable of?”

“He’s only a god.” You looked Loki in the eye, imploring him to realize that you had to do this. You had to kill Jahamxuil or die trying. “I’m capable of so much more. I can see his soul.”

“Just like you saw mine?” Loki grabbed your other wrist, pulling them both to his chest, forcing you to look him in the eyes. For the first time, you saw that he was scared. Scared of losing you.

“Loki,” you soothed, your expression softening. “Who would I be if I do not do this?”

“I can’t let you,” he decided, bobbing his head. “I can’t lose you.”

“O ye of little faith.” Your wrists turned to smoke and his hands closed in on themselves as you floated backwards before taking off at a run across the field. It was a dirty move, you knew, but you did it all the same. You had to.

You reached Jahamxuil unharmed. It seemed as though he commanded his army to let you approach, and you turned solid as you stood in front of him, gripping both your swords in your hands and raising them to point directly at him.

“At last, you come to me, child.” He set himself down to your level. “At last you will free me from this imprisoning form.”

“I cannot do that.” You levelled your katana at his throat, prepared to swing.

“You and I both know that will not work.” Those dark eyes seemed to stare directly into your soul. “Like it or not, the two of us are bonded. I created you from my soul, and surely now that we are face to face, you feel it?”

“I feel nothing,” you declared. “Nothing but contempt.”

He flicked a hand and you doubled over, a harsh pain blooming in your gut and spreading throughout your body. Instinctively, you turned into a ghost, but the agony persisted, following you back into your solid form.

“See, my child, this is what happens when you defy me. You are not the only one with magic here. You stand in front of me and you hold yourself back, you keep the true crux of your powers buried deep within. Don’t worry, I’ll coax them out of you.”

A scream ripped its way out of your mouth and you lashed out with your powers, grappling onto anything with your mind that did not feel familiar. Harsh pain exploded in your brain and you rolled over, away from the Magus, only to watch all of his army drop dead, the Avengers looking around as their opponents suddenly ceased to live. Somehow, you’d killed them all without so much as physical contact. Jahamxuil, however, seemed to still be alive.

“That was only a fraction of my army,” he croaked, and another wave of pain wracked your body, drawing tears out your eyes. Your gaze connected with Loki, and suddenly he was marching towards you. You tried to hold him back with the Tesseract’s power, but it only seemed to surround the other Avengers, gluing them to the ground.

“Ah,” the Magus said as Loki approached, lifting you to your feet. Mercifully, the pain stopped. “The Odinson.”

“Y/n,” Loki said, and although your ears were buzzing, you managed to hear him. “Y/n, look at me.”

He pushed your hood back, ever so gentle, staring deep into your eyes, as though a labyrinth lay within them, one he’d been lost in. You didn’t blame him. You felt the same way.

“Aha! You’ve fallen in love!” Jahamxuil crowed from his spot. “I created something beyond a god, and she falls in love with the God of Mischief. You were meant to be smarter than this! You were meant to bring love to the masses, not feel it yourself! You’re broken. Weak!”

The pain started again, in your chest this time, like your heart was going to break. “Loki,” you gasped, collapsing against him as your knees could no longer support you.

“He cannot love you in return! He is incapable of it! You’ve seen his soul, you must know this to be true, you foolish girl.”

“Y/n.” Loki’s breath was haggard as he pulled you up again so that you were level with his face. His hand slid up to grip the back of your mask and he tugged, freeing your face from it. “You know what Medea says to Jason before speaking of Pelias’s murder?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” you managed, swallowing hard, as though it might somehow ease the pain despite your constricting throat.

“That’s what I say to you now.” Loki grabbed your face and kissed you hard, one hand fisting your hair to hold you to him, the other hand moving in between your bodies. You felt his hand at the bottom of your breastplate and you opened your mouth in attempt to end the kiss, but he only kissed you deeper, as though he were a dying man in desperate search for one more violent delight.

Something was wrong. Something materialized in his hand, and that something drove itself into your rib cage. Hard. It was his knife.

He shoved you backwards and you hit the ground, blood dripping out from the bottom of your breastplate. Loki’s knife was in his shaking hand, the blade red with your blood, and you heard one of the Avengers scream, still held in place with the Tesseract’s power and incapable of moving.

Lifting your mask, Loki used the knife to dig the gemstone in the forehead out, the Tesseract popping back to its cubic shape as the spacial magic released.

Loki turned to the Magus, kneeling in front of him, holding up the Tesseract. “You do not need the girl. This alone, this infinity stone, will heal you. I, Loki Laufeyson, swear it.”

“Loki!” You cried from the ground, writhing in pain, both physical and emotional. Loki cast you one last look, his eyes swimming with an emotion you couldn’t pinpoint.

“Very good,” Jahamxuil crooned, reaching out for Loki. The second his hand connected with Loki’s arm, the two of them, along with the spaceship, disappeared in a cloud.

“Y/n!” Nat was by your side in an instant, pulling your breastplate off of you, swearing when she saw the wound Loki had left.

Hissing, you pressed your hand to the wound, feeling your magic swirl through your tired body, healing the gash.

“That fucking greasy-ass weasel!” Tony swore loudly, slamming an alien weapon into the ground. “I can’t believe he betrayed us again! I really thought he’d changed!”

“Don’t blame yourself,” Cap said. “He fooled all of us. I just never thought he’d stoop that low.”

“Please,” you croaked as you sat up. “Don’t. I think…I think he was trying to save me.”

“Funny way of showing it,” Tony growled. “How do you work that one?”

Using your last bit of energy, you reached up into the air, pulling a book out of it. One of the ones Loki had selected to bring back from Asgard; a collected work of Euripides’s plays. Flipping through the pages, you reached the section devoted to ‘Medea’.

On the seventh page of Loki’s copy lay what you were looking for. Those little lines Loki had wanted you to read. What he’d wanted to say to you.

“For you I raised the light which rescued you from death. I left my father and my home, on my own, and came with you to Iolcus, beneath Mount Pelion. My love for you was greater than my wisdom.”

It reminded you of a conversation the two of you had had, what seemed like a lifetime ago. You’d asked him if he would ever betray you. His answer had stuck with you, and even now it was clear as day.

“If I were ever to not betray someone, my love for them would have to overpower my wisdom.”

My love for you was greater than my wisdom.

He hadn’t betrayed you. He’d done his best to save you, in the only way he knew. The Tesseract wouldn’t be enough to restore the Magus, you knew that. Loki knew that. And when the Magus found out that Loki had lied, Loki would die, you were sure of it.

Loki had acted out of love, not any selfishness of the past, nor out of an effort to run from love. Rather, he’d embraced it, embraced it to the point where he was prepared to die so that you could live. The universe in the balance, and Loki bargained for one girl.

These violent delights had such violent ends, indeed.