Revengers
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Any thought of falling to his death disappeared in a moment and Loki was running, tears and Argr and embarrassment forgotten. Left to swirl with the smoke and he skidded to a halt before Brunnhilde and Banner, leaning into each other and speaking softly.
They stared up at him, concern and confusion evident.
“Thanos!” Loki blurted out. Nothing else needed to be said, and Brunnhilde stood, pulling her mortal with her.
“We need to get Th-” She started.
“Thor, I know,” Loki interrupted. Then shot off for the library exit, not waiting for them to follow, Banner’s confused protests fading behind him.
This time, the hallways were completely clear. A huge flagship appearing above the Realm did that.
They didn’t have the power to repel Thanos. Not now. Maybe if the entire Realm had been assembled and ready, but in the aftermath of Hela’s assault?! No.
As he sprinted through the hallways, feet thumping and heart pounding, it seemed like too much of a coincidence, this attack coinciding with Hela's. But there was no time to think about it - he had arrived outside Odin’s chamber, only for Thor to barrel out.
“Loki!” He said, reached out and grabbed him, “Have you seen-”
“Yes,” Loki clasped Thor’s arm, nodded, “I came straight from the library.”
“Is it Thanos?”
“Can’t be anyone else,” He offered a grim smile, then glanced up at Heimdall, who was striding from the chamber at a more sedate pace, “Do you see anything?”
“Nothing, my Prince.”
Great.
So, Thanos could shield himself from Heimdall… He hadn’t known that was something he could do.
Perhaps it wasn’t?
Thanos had been searching for the Infinity Stones. It was why he was here, to take the Gauntlet and therefore wield nigh infinite power. Without it, he would still be able to use one for periods of time without being ripped to shreds by the sheer force of whichever Stone he had. But with the Gauntlet…
From the ghost of Frigga which had taken up residence in his head, Loki knew that the Gems could do unexpected things.
The Titan hadn’t been able to wield seiðr before; this sudden ability to block Heimdall’s all-seeing gaze didn’t make sense. Unless one of the Stones could do it for him.
Which one, though? And why attack now? He’d been floating above Asgard for at least half an hour, probably longer.
Thor leaned in closer, scouring Loki’s face and he frowned, “What is it?”
“He’s been searching for the Gems for so long, why strike now?” He huffed, ran a hand through his too-short hair, “He didn’t have a grasp of even basic seiðr when I… Came across him. How come he can cast a spell powerful enough to block Heimdall?”
“You’ve done it, can’t be that hard,” Thor teased, but it fell flat.
Loki snorted, “I only managed it through years of practice and having a naturally strong connection to Yggdrasil. Thanos doesn’t have either of those.”
“Then what’s changed-?” He lapsed into silence, eyes going glassy as his mind worked, “An Infinity Stone?”
“Probably,” Loki shrugged away Thor’s hand and bit on his knuckle. Down the corridor, he heard a pair of running feet - Brunnhilde and Banner. Finally, “The Stones can do unintended things. Side-effects.”
“And how do you know that?” Thor’s worry appeared to only be mounting.
Oh. He hadn’t told him about Frigga, had he? Well, better late than never, right? Not that Thor could complain; he hadn’t divulged anything about Argr.
“Thanos used the Mind Stone on me and the residual energy had a side effect,” Loki scanned Thor for a moment, took a breath then continued, “When Frigga died, she latched onto it. Her mind is… Buried somewhere in mine.”
“What.”
“So we know the Gems definitely have unexpected side effects,” Loki explained flippantly.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” Thor didn’t seem angry, thankfully. More desperate, “He influenced your mind?”
“I thought I was crazy and then it turned out I'm not… All he did was give me an obsession with the Tesseract,” Loki shrugged, “There wasn’t much time. If I told you about mother, it’d distract you from the matter at hand. And anyway, I forgot. Hela destroying Asgard is a bit more important.”
“Can I see her?”
“No. She drains my energy by simply existing, but when she manifests, it is exhausting,” Loki sighed, “Plus, only I can see her.”
Thor looked crushed.
“But after this, I’ll see if I can be an in-between for you.”
And he immediately looked less like a pathetic cat who’d been trodden on, “I’ll hold you to it.”
Of them, why did people say Loki was the manipulative one? Thor had clearly spent hours perfecting such an impeccably distraught expression.
Brunnhilde and Banner chose that moment to finally catch up, coming to a stop slowly, the Valkyrie with a firm grip on Banner’s wrist, dragging him along. His chest heaved and sweat coated his brow - great, he was unfit. If he died in battle because of it, Loki was going to laugh. Somewhere far away from Brunnhilde, though. She’d probably gut him.
“I guess we’re doing something about the big, ugly ship outside?” Brunnhilde said, astute as ever.
Thor glanced at her and he nodded brusquely, the reminder of Thanos turning his mind back to the matter at hand, “That’s the plan.”
Heimdall decided to stop being a motionless statue and stepped up next to Thor, “I shall remain here and protect the Allfather. I suspect that his fall into the Odinsleep is why Thanos has chosen to attack now.”
“Makes sense,” Thor nodded, “It was father who defeated him last time.”
Loki hummed. Yet more ancient history coming back to haunt them. Hela had worn the old bastard down, he'd fallen into the Odinsleep and now Asgard was weakened, giving the perfect opportunity to strike. More reasons to hate his little shit of a sister.
But there was no time to mull on Odin’s past grudges making a resurgence, as the unmistakable rumble of hundreds upon hundreds of tramping feet echoed throughout the palace, marching to a gong that shuddered through the palace. Not Thanos - it came up from the ground, rumbling through the soles of Loki’s boots. Hela was making her move.
They all froze for a moment, shared a look and were running before a second had passed. Heimdall stayed behind, stoically stood, drew Hofund and set the point down, jabbing into the floor, hands resting atop it. And then they turned a corner and he was gone from sight.
Loki led the way, sprinting down the twists and turns without a second thought, as if a map of the palace was baked into his mind. In what felt like moments, they reached a staircase, winding in on itself, tiny and not made for someone of Thor’s bulk. Without hesitation, Loki ran in, vaulted over the banister and fell, who knew how many stories, hit the floor with a roll and bounced back up. From above a shocked gasp - you'd think Banner was used to Æsir (Jötnar, in his case) physical superiority by now. It would have been fatal, had he fallen head first. It should have at least broken a bone without his seiðr, but didn’t. Perhaps another thing to attribute his heritage with. It had become worryingly useful recently. Was this the acceptance his mother had insisted would be useful?
Moments later and a heavy thump - Thor. No roll for him, soaking up the impact without a hint of pain. And then a shocked yelp, followed by screaming and Loki smirked, glanced back. Only to see Banner clinging to Brunnhilde, who had landed similarly to Thor. His eyes were squeezed shut and his carrier had a gentle smirk on her face. Loki sneered at the display.
Thor noticed his look and laughed, “Think of it this way, brother. They’ll fight even harder against Thanos.”
Loki snorted, “I hope so.”
At which point all joking came to a halt, as the frantic run through halls and corners and rooms and panicked crowds continued, Thor barking orders to every lost-looking guard, Einherjar or warrior he came across, creating a line of Æsir behind them. All clunking footfalls and clanging armour, their heavy breathing audible and like some huge beast at their backs.
It didn’t take long, making use of the shortcuts and servants' corridors, to reach the exit. Back in the hallway built with ancient bricks, they strode through, speed dropping off.
Before them, one of the huge golden doors of the palace’s main entrance hung off its hinges, the wood buckling. Through a gap between them, the courtyard was visible.
In it were Einherjar, amidst the bodies of their comrades, already piling up. When Loki had seen the undead of Hela’s army before, they had seemed drowsy, clumsy. That was no longer the case.
They fought almost as one, without a care for any injuries they suffered, ripping weapons from their bodies and turning them on the Æsir without hesitation. Cut down by their ancestors, the Einherjar were backed into the center, being steadily torn apart.
Thor didn’t wait. He barreled forwards, barged the broken door out of his way and stepped into the fray. Without hesitation, he scooped up a warhammer, discarded on the ground and set to work, slamming the undead away with sickening crunches. Loki was on his heels before he could consider the idiocy of running into a battle against truly immortal soldiers. A knife wouldn’t work in this situation, from the numerous blades sticking from the skeletons. Lodged in ribs and spinal columns and trapped in exposed joints. However, Thor’s powerful, bone-shattering blows seemed to be more effective. Instead of his usual dagger, Loki reached out and ripped a mace from where it had been lodged in a chest cavity, the rib cage gave way with a series of meaty crunches.
“Let’s get started, then,” Thor said on his right, having just flung a skeleton away with the force of his blow.
Loki smirked, “After you.”
At which point Brunnhilde decided to take no notice of their posturing and barged between them with a bloodthirsty yell, Tyrfing brandished above her head, then cleaving down into a skull. She glanced back with a shit-eating grin, “Get a move on!”
Somewhere behind them, Banner was undoubtedly cowering.
Not his concern. Loki smirked, readjusted his grip on the mace. Æsir streamed out from the broken doors at their back.
The fight began in earnest.
Without hesitation, Loki found his first target - the closest undead. Stepped in, brought his blunt instrument up, to shoulder height and struck, straight into the skeleton's temple. Skull shattering with a wet crunch, he dropped down at the feeling of air puffing against his neck, only for a blade to ruffle his hair as it sliced harmlessly above him. Given how short said hair was, it was still far too close for comfort and Loki twisted away as the sword began to redirect down to swing at him again.
A quick roll and he was up again, turned and caught his attacker on the wrist, smashing it beyond recognition. Unnervingly, it didn't react except to transfer the sword to its remaining hand.
They didn't feel pain, then. Not good.
It didn't get the opportunity to do much more than that, though, as Loki took its head with another swipe of his mace, then was twisting away from another skeleton. A swift elbow backwards to gain space and he jabbed his weapon into the underside of its jaw, crushing the spine and, evidently, whatever connected it to the skull as it popped off, rolled away.
And a hammer was swinging at him, bones and blades were all around - Loki had moved from the outskirts to the centre of the courtyard without realising, pulled by the fight. He was surrounded by bones and weapons, except for the golden armour of Einherjar.
Blocked the hammer, lashed out with a high kick which sent the attacker tumbling back, onto the blade of a charging Æsir. Another blade aimed for his head, he glanced it off his greaves and stepped in, snapped the wrist with a jerked wrench and another swing of his mace. It fell. At least they weren't getting up after decapitation.
First thing learnt when fighting magical or summoned creatures; aim for the head.
Suddenly, bones poking into his side and he whirled, grabbed it and flung, the skeleton bounced on the cobbles and there was an Einherjar, crushing its skull beneath their boot without hesitation. Loki turned, another undead was charging, it dodged Thor's hammer - when had Thor dove into the thick of it? Stupid question.
It continued barreling towards Loki, at which point yet another was stabbing at his back, the creaking of rotting ligaments gave it away and he flung up a back guard, mace held over his shoulder, pointed down. Exactly the right place. A small clink and Loki spun, guard into a swing which buried in its skull. Behind him, the skeleton that evaded Thor and he spun again, already in another guard, blocked the downward slash. Stepped back and flung his arm out in a jab, pushing the skeleton away and throwing off its hasty block. Then he stepped back in and swung for the head.
Surprisingly, it was blocked. No matter, Loki spun away from the counter, and didn't allow his mace to be pulled away by the clever swordwork. Before he could kick his opponent, another jab at his side from somewhere else and he had to change stance to avoid it. Twisted and re-aimed the kick, slamming his knee into the skeleton, then stepping in as it stumbled back, a jab of his mace and it fell, a neat hole smashed in the front of its rotting face.
Not that he'd forgotten the other undead which was slightly better than the rest of the cannon fodder. Spun back to face it, only for a sword to appear practically an inch from his eyes.
Loki sucked in a gasp and made to dive aside, but then the attack abruptly stopped. The skeleton collapsed with a huge chunk taken out of the top of it's skull. Brunnhilde stood above it, smirked at him.
"Now you owe me. You're gonna have to be my tag-along sometime, Loki," She was doing her best to be irritating, wasn't she? At least it wasn't pity.
"It'll be a pleasure, I'm sure," He retorted without a thought.
"Certain, Lackey?" She shot him a positively evil expression, but there was no more time to chat, as the battle was spinning them apart in a whirl of blades and bones and flailing limbs.
Loki rolled his eyes, took a moment to grab an incapacitated skeleton - no arms would do that - and threw it bodily against an oncoming wave of enemies, sending them tottering back. Finally, he had some breathing room to assess the courtyard.
From the ground, he couldn't see much, but it would have to be enough. Thor was hollering somewhere nearby, along with the countless Æsir who had rallied to his side. Their group had already reached the Einherjar that had been trapped in the centre of the courtyard, and the veritable sea of writhing corpses had now become far less animate, with many lolling lifeless on the flagstones, skulls caved in. It was nowhere near enough to be the main force - just a forward team to weaken their defences before the main body hit. Hela could probably find a way into the palace from her tunnels, as she had with the vault, but seemed quite happy to play with her food instead. It didn't give them an advantage, but it didn't give Hela one, either. Loki would take it; his enemy being insane enough not to exploit the shit out of an advantage was always a good sign. At least he wasn't the utterly bonkers one on this battlefield. It was a nice feeling, to be out-crazed. Hadn’t happened in far too long.
It looked like they would retake the courtyard, if Hela or more troops didn't appear. Perhaps she hadn't expected them to predict the time she would strike. Perhaps she was overconfident. Perhaps she was allowing them this, an easy win, only to strike when their egos had grown far too much and what little light remained had dwindled.
Night on Asgard was a dark affair, despite the royal purple and red nebula which hung above their heads. And Æsir had ever been creatures of the day. Loki would be able to see just fine, and probably the undead would too, but Thor? No. The idiot would keep going despite being practically blind and eventually get skewered.
But that true, inky blackness was a few hours off, if he judged the sunset right, flowing like molten metal on the horizon.
As Loki watched it, something partially blocked the sun from view.
He froze for a moment, which was exceedingly stupid, but it didn’t matter.
Around Loki, throughout the entire courtyard in fact, the skeletons dropped. Purple lines spiked along them, fizzled out, struck again and the dead cried out in agony.
Stock still, it was only the animalistic gratings of the dead and heaving breaths of the living as something descended from the sunset towards them.
Who was he kidding, it had to be Thanos.
Evidently, Thor had come to the same realisation, for the Æsir cleared away to the edges of the courtyard on his command, leaving him, Loki, Brunnhilde and Banner standing near the centre.
Wordlessly, they congregated in a loose semi-circle, the two brothers on one side, the Valkyrie and her mortal on the other, said mortal looked ashen.
Thor stared up at the floating speck, growing steadily closer, “It’s him.”
Not a question, but Loki answered anyway, “Yes.”
“That purple lightning wasn’t you, then,” Brunnhilde grumbled, one hand on her hip and the other held Tyrfing nonchalantly.
“He must have the Power Stone,” Loki said, “Even without it, this fight would be nearly impossible but withit...”
A hand settled on his shoulder, “We’ll manage. Together.”
No matter how little ‘together’ would help them against an Infinity Stone, Loki nodded and, after a moment’s hesitation, returned the gesture, “Together.”
If Brunnhilde said a word, she would be spending three hours a week in kidney dialysis, Thor’s hand to stop him or not.
Thankfully, she refrained, though the expression on her face indicated it was tough.
Perhaps she wasn’t too bad after all.
Above them, the transport had grown ever closer, now hanging not far away. Close enough it was over the palace wall. Small, it didn’t show any weapons and from his minimal knowledge of such ships, there didn’t look to be hidden turrets. Purely for ferrying people and goods, then. Not that the being on board needed protecting.
Loki ripped a few knives from the bodies laying about, but didn’t discard his mace. Whilst it was a clunky and unrefined weapon, he was proficient with it and he doubted the scavenged knives would be able to repeatedly pierce skulls without either bending or shattering. No, he would keep the mace.
They lapsed into silence, simply looking up and waiting.
If only Odin would wake and return his seiðr, he wouldn’t be in this position…
Above, the ship was now close enough that its thrusters blew blisteringly hot air down on them and Loki’s eyes began to water. It wasn’t quite as bad as the burning from his time in Asgard’s dungeon, but it was worryingly close. It hurt.
And then the ship dropped down, landed on the flagstones, crushing the bodies of long-dead and recently passed alike.
But it did not open.
Loki sighed. Intimidation tactics.
Not that they were ineffective.
It reminded him of first returning to Asgard… What had to only be hours ago, for a full day had not passed. The Einherjar, lined up with swords and spears and shields, had seemed like a beast crouched beneath the boughs of ancient trees. This appeared similar, somehow. A beast, huge and menacing, entirely black and with a closed maw, but capable of opening at any moment and unleashing something terrible. Yet it was lazy in this power, crouching there and not springing. Intimidation through inaction was not something Loki had thought possible by anything except a sleeping dragon, but apparently not.
When the ramp began to swing down, the occupant was revealed slowly.
Thanos stood inside, tall enough to dwarf Thor and certainly rival the Hulk, bare head nearly scraping the ceiling. A purple and lined face, with deep set eyes a little too close together, a squashed nose and long, flat mouth. Unlike when Loki had last seen him, the ceremonial gold armour he usually wore was absent, a deep purple and red tunic, with beaten bronze accents had replaced it. Far more practical; scored, dented and tailored to his huge frame, it meant Thanos was here to fight, not intimidate or impress. The weaponless ship and his seemingly peaceful approach indicated otherwise, but even if they submitted, surrendered and flung themselves prostrate on the floor, there would still be a battle. Perhaps a war, if there was anything left of them after the first bout. Because even in the face of this, Loki knew Asgard would not give up. Not surrender.
Being a warrior race sometimes came in handy.
Thanos walked down the ramp, slow and confident and so sure of himself that Loki wanted to vomit. It was familiar from his time in the Void and immediately after, when he had been taken by the bastard.
Far too quickly, Thanos was right in front of them, the defenders of Asgard stood in a semi-circle, with him on the other side, close enough they had to crane their necks to look him in the face.
"So this is Asgard," Thanos smiled, didn't look around, his beady eyes scanning the group until they landed on Loki, at which point his brows quirked, "I expected these," He gestured with a sweeping hand, "To be set against me, but you? The rest, I excuse as inexperience. You, I accuse of suicide."
Loki shrugged, "I'd prefer to die fighting."
Thanos shook his head, as if saddened, "I did enjoy your company, Princeling. It will be a shame for such intellect to die needlessly," He grew quiet, face morphing into a mockery of grief, "What a pity."
"Is that a threat?" Thor stepped forward, as if going between them would help.
Thanos' attention switched and he stared down Thor, "I am mourning his lack of care for his own life. He threatens it himself."
"What do you want?" Brunnhilde butted in, Banner somewhat hidden behind her, "Or are you here for riveting conversation."
A sigh and Thanos moved away again, stood in the centre of their semi-circle, "I am here to regain what your King stole from me, millennia ago."
The Gauntlet, obviously. Perhaps even the Tesseract, if he knew it was also here.
"And with it, I shall restore balance to the universe," As he spoke, his face turned upwards, a beatific smile pulled at his lips and it looked wildly out of place on such brutish features.
Brunnhilde cocked her head, "Balance? What, so you're putting stabilisers on the universe?"
"No matter, for I need Asgard to continue with my purpose," That smile faded and again, he looked sad. What a sociopath, "I regret this, but I must take your world."
Thor snorted, "Take Asgard? You'll have to go through-"
"This is my Realm, Thanos!" A familiar voice bellowed, followed by the panicked stomping of boots as Einherjar made way, opening a path to the confrontation.
Hela strode through without a second thought, barely taking a moment to assess the damage her first assault had dealt and taken, now spilt over the flagstones. She came to a stop, decidedly not with them, but certainly away from Thanos, her own side.
"Asgard is mine."
Thor looked about to interrupt, but Loki put a hand on his elbow, a silent order to shut up, which, surprisingly, was obeyed.
If they could drag this out, learn Thanos' plan, learn Hela's, learn why they had launched their attacks almost in sync… Perhaps they had a chance. Knowledge is power, even against an Infinity Stone.
Hela causing Odin to fall into the Odinsleep which just happened to be what Thanos was waiting for? Loki didn't buy it.
"'Asgard is yours'?" Thanos paused, staring down at Hela as if she had gone mad, "It does not look so."
"We agreed-"
"The Gauntlet, and I would have let you rule the ashes," Thanos interrupted and again looked sorrowful, "You have not delivered."
Hela didn't scowl, but it was a close thing. Instead, she grinned, a vicious smile, "There hasn't been opportunity-"
"You lie," One hand held up and a pulse of power. It rattled through Loki's body and he bit back a hiss. Like standing too close to a roaring dragon and the sound vibrated down in your bones, "I released you from imprisonment, yet all you deliver is falsehoods?"
Hela snarled, "Asgard is mine."
"Yet more lies-"
Thanos was interrupted by a spike of black metal, flung with dizzying speed. It collided with his chin, would have pierced but… Upon impact it crumpled.
His fist glowed purple, held up and crackling with energy.
Then he stepped forward with blinding speed, hand lashing out and even Hela couldn't react in time, as she was backhanded across the face. The force of it sent her flying, body a blur until a distant thump.
Silence.
Even Odin had been incapable of thwarting Hela so soundly.
Thanos turned back to them, the vicious grimace returned to a civil calm, "Do you surrender?"
Thor stared back, then glanced at the others.
Brunnhilde was the first to quietly shake her head, grip tightening on Tyrfing.
Banner studied Thanos for a moment, then followed her lead.
And Thor was staring at Loki.
Loki smirked, "Apparently I'm suicidal, then," He said, shaking his head.
"That's a unanimous 'no'," Thor declared, stepping up to Thanos, "We do not surrender. Asgard may fall and we may die, but we will do so opposing you, Mad Titan," Thor glared up at the huge creature, his eyes seemed to crackle and he paused, as if to let the whole Nine Realms hear that they would fight, and do so till the last breath, "We are the Revengers. You may take my Realm, but we'll sure as Hel revenge it."
Next time they spontaneously formed a team, Loki was the one deciding names.
"If that is your decision," Thanos raised a brow, "I must admit, I have wanted to test my strength against Asgard for some time."
At which point, things got worrying.
In a smooth gesture, Thanos tapped the surface of his left gauntlet. A moment later and the sky grew even darker.
Eclipsing the sun, his army.
It was not just the Sanctuary II above Asgard.
Thanos smiled at them, "I shall bring balance to your world, the Void shall spread and those that remain shall live without fear."
The ravings of a madman.
A powerful, fucking terrifying madman.
Brunnhilde snorted, "Go take your meds, angry grape-man."
Loki grabbed Thor and fled.
Behind them, an explosion, but they weren't far enough away and it caught them.
In a blast of purple, crackling lightning, the brothers were flung up, high, then fell. The palace wall passed beneath them and they crashed down in the city, roaring and fighting and utter chaos all around.
A moment later, accompanied by Banner's screaming, he and Brunnhilde landed a few metres away.
Loki groaned and attempted to stand, stumbling. Looked around upon the wanton destruction and felt the blood drain from his face.
Ragnarök was undoubtedly upon them.
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