Chapter 21
~ XX ~
~o~0~o~
Thanos attacked the ship. Thor was thrown away, but before that he saw Thanos hurting Heimdall, and Loki who tried to stop it.
“Loki. I was waiting for you. Come.”
“No, Loki don't listen to hi-“
“Come, Loki. Right here. Now I know you have something for me.“
“Loki”, Thor whispered.
“Give it to me. Give me the Tesseract.”
Loki felt his mind freeze in utter horror when without his consent his hands summoned the relic before the Titan. He was helpless watching himself kneel before Thanos and reaching to give him the cube. Only his eyes showed his terror. But no one could see them.
“Loki no...”
Thor watched his brother giving the enemy an infinity stone, condemning them all. Loki took the Tesseract, right before Asgard was destroyed. Why was he surprised after all - wasn't it in Lokis nature after all?
Heimdall saw how Loki acted against his will, how the strong mage appeared as a puppet in the hands of a Titan. He should have known. He should have known.
“Let go of him, Mad Titan.”
“Little Loki, you have been gone for so long. It is time to be back to your master. We had so much good time together. Wasn't it great, little one?”
“Let go of him!”
Thanos lazily lowered his hand and Loki fell backwards. The god as if awoke and frantically crawled away from everyone, not seeing where, just away. He couldn't breathe, couldn't think - all that he knew is that he was back in Thanos' hold, reliving the agony of his endless tortures, of being alone, so alone in his cold, black prison, where the only sounds were his own screams.
“Heimdall. The Gatekeeper. You praise yourself all-seeing. I think I will take your gift as well.”
~o~0~o~
Earth. Heimdall, blind, and Loki, broken. Loki healed gatekeeper’s eyes to normal before he lost consciousness.
~o~0~o~
SHIELD and Stark arriving. The Gods lying unmoving on the ground. Thor nowhere to be seen.
~o~0~o~
“I'm sorry, Loki. I didn't know. I didn't see. I am sorry.”
“Is Thor… is he..”
Loki couldn't continue as the wish to cry overwhelmed him. He wanted his brother. But he saw what Titan did.
“How long did he have you, Loki?”
The God lifted his eyes, devoid of life. Heimdall exhaled in sorrow, seeing the young Odinson so broken.
“Felt like forever.”
~o~0~o~
“You were their king.”
“So what? Spineless, empty stupid people! Only good for following orders. They went after their king and all died. Maybe I shouldn't have bothered with saving them?!”
“Loki! Stop it. It is the grief talking.”
“Grief? For Asgard? For-“
“Yes. Please, Loki. Don't go in Hela's steps-“
“And why NOT? After all... she did what she was made to do. She was what Odin made her for. A killer. A butcher. Death. Isn't it right? This family... these LIES, always. All of Asgard built on blood, on murders, on destroying and lying. All that gold, those treasures, relics - he did it. And me? I was his spy, was his tool to know the secrets, quietly sneaking to find out anything that could help Odin win. Always to get Odin win. Odin was a merciless tyrant, who build his glory on blood and death. Who lied and deceived, who used others for his purposes, who made his children... suffer for his mistakes. While all I wanted... was to give them freedom to live peacefully. To enjoy themselves.” While they could.
“Loki. Odin is dead. And you ruled wisely. You... you were a good king.”
“What does it matter? They are all dead. Asgard is dead. Thor is...”
“My time is over. I should go, before mortals return.”
“Heimdall.”
The gatekeeper stopped.
“I... I will not... survive another meeting with him. I... I can't. I hoped...” Loki blinked up tears. “I hoped that I will die before it happens again. But... but death avoided my pleas. I was denied to die. So if... if we find ourselves at his mercy... do not hesitate.”
Heimdall closed his eyes. And nodded.
~o~0~o~
A/N: and then… Thor comes back with the bunch of idiots. He believed Loki and Heimdall lost to space or killed, but he was glad to be wrong. Thor thought Heimdall lost his eyes, and Loki – he guiltily believed betrayed everyone – he thought he would never see again to apologize. Thanos comes to Earth and they all meet for the final battle. Humans can do nothing as Heimdall releases his Prince and they both stand against their common enemy. What can you do in the face of these guys, right? Then the battle. Thor catches Loki for a short ‘talk’, before they are swept back into the fight.
Who wants the story to go as canon then, hmmmmmmmm?))) Or should they three survive?
Or should there be that mythology fate of Loki and Heimdall, like, killing each other? Hmmmmm???
Happy to hear from you!