Tuesday
The call for help awoke everyone in the Nine Realms all at once. No images, no names, no words, just yellow light and sheer, unadulterated terror.
By nightfall, ambassadors from seven worlds had converged on Asgard to address the problem. Quickly enough, they noticed that no one from Midgard had even asked to show up. They were aware of Asgard’s protection; Loki had visited them to establish contact once he’d finally recovered. He even had a few friends there.
Svartalfheim was likewise absent, but that was unsurprising. Some three years previously, the Dark Elves had come across the Aether, made their world habitable, then disappeared just as quickly. It was unlikely they would ask for help even if they did need it dearly. Whatever they were up to, it wasn’t an inarticulate scream for help.
X
“So, Midgard.”
In the years since the incident, Loki had gradually come back out of his shell. Even so, surrounded as they were by beings from every Realm -well, nearly every- it was a bit overwhelming.
Fortunately, those from Jotunheim did not include Laufey -recently dead under “unspecified” circumstances- or the current king, Helbindi. The latter’s younger brother, Byleister, served as ambassador for the Jotun contingent, and Loki had to admit did well. No demands for the Casket, not even a mention, and although he must have known the story of the reject bastard child, he either failed to make the connection to Loki or just ignored it. There were, as they say, bigger fish in the sea. Still, points for diplomacy.
Quickly enough they reached the collective and obvious conclusion that a contingent would be sent to Midgard to assist with... Well, step one would have to be “Figure out what on the Nine was going on.”
Thor appointed himself to remain behind in case it was all just a ploy to draw the fighting forces away from Asgard et al. In a way, Loki was proud of how shrewd his favorite brother had become, yet there was still a twinge of nostalgia for the days of simplicity, of Thor being a witless oaf and needing rescue by someone with intelligence. But the days of childhood innocence, of leaving the problems for the adults to handle, were long gone, for the better. No more waiting around helplessly for someone to save them from terrors that their minds could not understand.
They’d traded a world that made no sense for a world that needed them, badly.
X
The Bifrost deposited the entire army into a field that Heimdall said contained a massive battle, but Loki could find no sign of it. No soldiers running around trying to kill each other, not even a blade of grass stirring in the breeze, not that there was a breeze. No cent of blood, or of freshly-turned dirt, or of fear. No sounds of weapons being drawn or fired or smashed on a foe. No shockwaves of collisions through the air. No alarms from his seidr alerting him to danger, or harm. Just the taste of adrenaline, strengthening every second with nothing to burn it away.
Surrounded by soldiers, with no sign whatsoever of so much as a heated discussion, Loki had never felt in more danger in his entire life. Even lying on a frozen altar at he mercy of his two so-called “fathers” hadn’t been this bad. Only one tiny life had been on the line, instead of the thousands he’d brought. Responsibility begat terror.
Terror that took on a whole new dimension when Loki stepped forward only to be hit in the face by a simple, mundane, green-tinged raindrop. He swiped at it with his hand and flung it away without even knowing why-
As soon as it left his skin, it froze-
No, not froze, not ice, although all things considered that would have made far more sense. It simply ceased to move, or change shape, hanging in midair trailing droplets exactly the way it had left his skin. It was as if-
Loki had given it a distance per second, wind a force per second, gravity an acceleration per second squared. But of course, if there were no seconds, if time had stopped-
The instant Loki reached that conclusion, everything began to move again.
X
“Sire?”
That was Byleistr.
“Just call me Loki.”
He turned to look at his semi-brother, and found himself facing Thor instead. “What? How are you here-”
The ground rippled beneath him, and he somersaulted into it. When he resurfaced, swimming as if the earth that gave Midgard its native name had morphed into the water that covered most of its surface.
Loki wasn’t breathing, didn’t even need to. Had he died that quickly and not even realized?
Then the effect passed, and Loki was left waist-deep in solid dirt. He began trying to dig himself out -but have you ever tried digging with just your hands, because it’s not easy- before the shaking resumed. Loki assumed whatever it was had returned, but no, that shaking was the footfalls of a bilgesnipe heading straight for him.
Not the first time.
Then it rippled, shuffling itself like a deck of cards, and it was the beast that had chased him in his long-forgotten nightmares of the land of the ice and snow.
By now, Loki had nearly managed to un-Midgard himself and tried to check on the soldiers who he could have sworn were standing around here somewhere...
The beast crashed into him with more force than he’d expected, but now it had been shuffled like the powers that decided that sort of thing had plucked a new form out of a hat. Grey armored skin, two horns on its nose. Must be Midgardian.
As the beast blundered off into the distance, Loki started digging again before lashing out with frustrated seidr just let me out and the dirt was water. Blue water, tinged with red he somehow knew wasn’t blood. He willed himself upward to land on a nearby rock. At least that worked. This would probably turn out to be nothing but a terrible dream, forgotten immediately upon awakening.
In reality,
X
Some terrified Vanir shrieked horribly as he flew through the air. The impact with the ground blasted purple across the land.
Obviously, the screaming stopped.
Scattered around the field, a few remaining soldiers shouted to each other, to him, but the words, whatever they were, vanished in the rumble of distant explosions.
Loki turned to look around, and his leather boot brushed against a patch of lichen. Purple shot through him, sending him spinning to the ground. The effect duplicated far more intensely, sending him airborne again.
Beginning to understand what the problem was, Loki caught sight of the water which was, miraculously, still water. One thing on this planet was still as it shouldn’t actually be, but who was he to complain? He made a flying, ungraceful leap back in, and the purple assault ceased. Now with time to breathe, Loki shouted at the others to stay still, but they obviously already knew. That was good, but it still didn’t answer the question of What on the Nine is wrong with Midgard?.
Experimentally, Loki tapped a finger on a green leaf, a long-dead stick, bare dirt, and clean stone. Only the last failed to react.
I want you to think for a moment about life. Biological life, in all its complexity, its many shapes and sizes.
What’s the longest you can go without touching something organic? Your clothing, your family and friends, your pets, the food you eat, the wood or cloth on which you stand, sit, lie, what have you. The bacteria in your gut. A mosquito sucking your blood. Microbes in your water bottle. Look around the room you’re in. How much of the surface area was once alive?
If your life depended on avoiding contact with organic matter, how long would you last?
Whatever force worked its way on this corner of the universe, it certainly needed to be reckoned with.
Shaking off the fear and the water -the only sterile place he’d found- Loki whispered a quick spell and took flight, feathers sprouting in place of clothing as the raven took over. Four soldiers stood absolutely still below, one Einerjar balanced precariously on one leg on a rock, Byleistr safe on a sheet of ice -why didn’t I think of that?- and two Light Elves struggling to stay apart on an old campfire, too scorched to support life.
No one else. That wasn’t a good sign.
Finally achieving some stability, Loki sought the source of all the commotion. It was easy enough to spot; purple shockwaves rippled out from it like waves on a pond. But what was it?
Loki perched on a small rock and surveyed his enemy. A heavyset Aeseroid wearing a gold gauntlet and skin as purple as the power
X
Two left, then. All six of the Infinity Stones shone in the gauntlet. It was obvious, now, that each one had been throwing its weight around in an attempt to...
Less obvious, now.
Which one was next? The blue, or the orange? Every time he figured out which Stone was being wielded, it stopped. So if he knew which one to name, he could shut down whatever nefarious scheme was being enacted. But what if he got it wrong?
Infinity Stones notoriously corrupted any attempt to use them. Akin to the genies in the old tiles: be careful what you wish for, because you just might get it.
Which one, though? Nothing obvious was occurring at the moment. Nothing in the Titan’s -that must be it, even though they were supposed to have gone extinct a Convergence ago- body language even said he was attacking anyone. None of the Stones were glowing or otherwise making their presence known.
What, then? Matter changing location and with it, creating energy rather than consuming it, which broke the laws of physics... Nope. Dead beings re-emerging from their respective afterlives violating the laws of God... ...was there even enough of a difference to know?... No, answer G.
None of the above.
X
“Loki.”
On command, Loki shifted back to his usual form and landed on the ground. Frigga had spoken, obviously.
“Mother. And Other Mother, I assume.”
No prizes for guessing which Stone was active now. He held off on thinking its name, though. He wanted a moment with his mothers before he switched off the Stone and they were gone again. Saving the universe could wait.
Frigga and the other woman -he wished he’d learned her name- hugged him as before, but he didn’t respond likewise.
“How do I know it’s you? Everything has been weird today.”
“When you were just learning how to throw daggers, you smashed one of my vases, stole a spellbook, and fixed it hoping I would never notice. I pretended I didn’t.”
“I know that story. If I dreamed you up, you would still know that.”
“I love you.”
“I know that, too.”
Other-Mother put a hand on his cheek -solid enough, the callused hands of a warrior- and moved her mouth as if to speak. No sound came out, but Loki thought her lips might have said “Are you well?”
“I’m fine, I promise.”
That drew some relief from her, and Loki figured he’d interpreted correctly.
“Are you two... Is it at least peaceful?”
Frigga kissed him on the forehead. “We’re mostly fine. But-”
Other-Mother undid her blouse just enough, and he noticed the edge of a wound. His wound, the one that had killed him. Not bleeding, obviously; she was dead, but it must still hurt. She hadn’t healed the damage, she’d taken it.
“Thank you,” he whispered, and kissed her on the cheek.
“Loki.” Frigga grabbed Loki’s cheeks and turned him to face her. “I know it’s hard, little one, and it’s about to be even worse, but you have to survive. I know there’s still that part of you that wants all the trouble to be over. But you have to hold on. No matter what. Promise me you’ll hold on.”
He gulped hard. Worse to come? What could possibly be worse- but no, don’t ask, or the universe will give you an answer you won’t like. Death might indeed be preferable. But this was his mother. He couldn’t deny her one final request.
“I promise.”
That was it, time to go. He would see them again, eventually. Sometimes he envied the mortals. They could live out their entire natural lifespans without watching whole nations live and die, rise and fall, all while Loki et al were practically frozen in time. Of course such a person could quite easily become weary of living. That weighed on him heavily as he gave his word.
Then it was done, and it was time for two dead souls to return home.
X
One last Stone, and it was obvious this time. So obvious, this and the last one. Had to be some sort of trick. Unless he was meant to think that...
The jungle under the dome had vanished, replaced by barren rock. Stars shone overhead, but none he recognized. No sun, no moon to be seen. Just cold, hard stone that touched some primal fear as if in another timeline he’d been here before, and suffered for it.
Another “memory” surfaced, of finding his way back to Asgard on a mission to kill Odin around a gaping wound in his own chest. That was believable enough.
Portals opened overhead, showing Asgard’s sun, Jotun snowflakes, the twin moons of Vanaheim, one crescent, one gibbous, and a few other he could not name. A quick count yielded nine, most likely one for each Realm.
He let out a few choice curses. How had he missed the Convergence approaching? Something was wrong with- No, not that word, just... the green stuff. All messed up and because it was exactly that one, it reached backwards. Of course this assault on Yggdrasil had gone unnoticed.
Shutting it down couldn’t be this simple, but he didn’t have a choice. All Nine Realms were at risk. Of course, he would probably get stranded on a barren rock, as he had once been meant to die, but that was a small price to pay for protecting everyone and everything he’d ever loved. Even dead, his mothers could be harmed by whatever this was. Thor would just have to deal with it.
Space
X
Snap
Something had gone wrong.
Obviously.
Everything on the Nine felt, tasted, smelled, looked, sounded, seidred so utterly wrong. For one thing, he was back on Midgard, in that same field, with the last Titan in the universe. For another, the gauntlet on his hand looked like it had exploded, the Stones in it glittering oddly.
Oh, that, and the fact that patches of vegetation all around were withering and dying. A Vanir soldier ran towards him, face full of terror and confusion, before falling to the ground in a cloud of dust. Loki grabbed a handful, dust or ash he couldn’t tell. What in the name of all that used to be good and beautiful did-
“Thank you.”
Behind him, the Titan finally spoke, and he turned to look. Disturbingly, he was staring straight at Loki.
“You’re welcome.” Ever the diplomat, Loki gave a polite, sarcastic bow, before continuing. “For what?”
“For all of your help. Your precious Realms would have held my balancing to themselves, but you, child of three of them, you were able to... unlock each Stone in its turn-”
Loki rejected that idea. Tried to, at least, but he’d always been able to tell truth from lie, and he didn’t think that trick had failed him now.
“What... did... you... do...” He could hardly breathe around the rising panic.
The Titan smiled horribly. “I brought balance to an ungrateful universe. No more suffering, no more wars. No more... envy over a throne.”
Loki went cold. Thor-
He conjured a dagger in each hand and lunged at the Titan, slashing at every inch he could reach. That purple face absolutely infuriated him, and he wanted it smashed to bits.
“I have killed for so much less.”
As a matter of fact, nothing came to mind, but it didn’t matter. No one saw through his best lies.
“All the same, thank you. You are always so helpful.”
For a split second, Loki caught an image of himself handing a blue cube to the same Titan. Then it vanished, and his daggers had plunged each into one glittering eye. He knew a burst of grim satisfaction as the body hit the ground with a dull thud.
The gauntlet shuddered and disintegrated, each Stone vanishing in a burst of its respective color. At the last second, Loki’s brain kicked in and he snatched the last one, which was blue for space.
The world around him vanished, or else he did, in a shower of cerulean sparks.
X
Perhaps in another timeline, the Space Stone and Loki had been partners in crime, because when the world began to halfway make sense again, he found himself exactly where he’d wanted to be: Asgard’s throne room. Thor knelt over him, face full of concerned alarm.
Loki tossed the Stone away and pulled his brother into a rough embrace, sobbing hysterically. Thor tried to wipe the tears away, whispering reassurances and confused questions. Loki couldn’t breathe enough to respond, but only tried to remember every sound, every touch, because it couldn’t possibly last. He would have gladly trapped himself in this moment, to be played over and over again for eternity... But he’d grabbed the wrong Stone for that. Shame.
“Thor,” he finally gasped out, “I won’t forget you.”
Thor stared at him in confusion before falling to dust in Loki’s arms.
X
The Infinity Stones were created before all else in the universe, each of them to protect and guide some element of it. They were never meant to be weapons, or even tools. Those who attempted to use them as such were often killed in the attempt. The few who survived, were used as an example of a very simple lesson:
Don’t fancy yourself God when you’re not.
Tuesday is the day of war. War is the tool of those who lack the mental strength to find a more elegant solution. Anyone with enough imagination could change the universe with just one Stone. Lacking imagination and therefore needing to use all six, Thanos stood no chance of fulfilling his plans in a way that would leave him satisfied. Tuesday’s child is full of grace, which is sorely needed in a war.