• Published 26th May 2018
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Infinity Era - JDPrime22



Avengers: Infinity War / Avengers: Endgame crossover. The culmination has arrived. The Mad Titan has waited so long for this moment. Long live the Infinity Era.

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Chapter 5 – Space

5

Space

Asgard

The Statesman En Route to Earth

They came without warning. In a shadow, blocking out the rays of a nearby star and covering the entire ship in darkness. Thor Odinson, the King of Asgard, and his brother, Loki Odinson, did their best to maintain control of the ship. And the situation as a whole.

It all fell apart in mere moments.

The two stumbled throughout the many corridors of the Statesman, lights flickering as every explosion and tremor rocked the ship. Droves of Asgardian citizens sped forward and past them, carrying supplies, weapons, and whatever else to the fight. To the fight for their very survival. Many others carried their children opposite to where Thor and Loki went. So many others. So many families.

Another tremor hit the ship, a devastating explosion felt beneath their feet. Everyone fell and screamed, minus Thor who gripped onto the nearest support beam to stabilize himself. Loki shot up his head from where he lay, seeing the blue lights flicker on and off. Barely staying on. The ship barely holding as their enemy relentlessly attacked.

“We need to ready the escape pods!” Loki offered, turning to his brother for support. The tone in his voice, and the look in his eyes told Thor that he wasn’t planning on getting the civilians out first.

Unfortunately, Thor thought otherwise. He shook his head, growling, “No, we stay and fight! These are our people, Loki! We will not leave them to die!”

As Loki got to his feet, he turned to Thor, smiling. Thor always hated that smile. He always hated Loki when he made it. “I meant for the civilians, of course,” Loki said.

Thor snorted. “You’re unbelievable.”

Before he could offer his clever retort, Thor grabbed him by the back of the neck and shoved him along. The two brothers continued to push through the crowds of screaming Asgardians, finally entering the main bridge of the Statesman. Once inside, the two instantly noticed the massive alien warship through the glass window directly ahead. Its ominous presence blocked the stars and cast a pitch-black shadow throughout the entire bridge. They made their way by sight of the flickering lights and following the screams.

“Heimdall!”

The Watcher of Worlds responded by twisting his glowing orange eyes to the approaching Asgardian King. In his hands, he held the sword that once lighted the Bifrost, now used as his last means of defense against the approaching warship and what was soon to follow. He gripped his blade, Hofund, that much lighter, approaching the son of Odin.

“My King!” Heimdall said. “The enemy warship approaches. No doubt they’ll be planning to come aboard. We are willing to defend the bridge… but we’ll need a leader.”

Upon hearing that brave sentiment, Thor looked to what Heimdall referred to as “we”. Asgardian civilians, taking arms alongside Sakaaran gladiators, willing to do whatever it takes to protect the ship, their families, and their own lives. Thor nodded, turning back to Heimdall. “You have two.”

He turned to his left. Loki tried to laugh, his smile being all that remained. He looked down. “Well, I—”

He wasn’t ready for the sword thrust towards him by Heimdall. Barely catching it, Loki turned to the Watcher of Worlds. Heimdall gripped Hofund, swung it around with ease and precision, and said, “We’re running out of time. The remaining civilians cannot stay on this ship by the time our enemies board."

“Ready the escape pods! Women and children first!” Thor ordered to a pair of Asgardians. They nodded, retreating to the corridors. With that settled, Thor and Loki stood close by Heimdall, glaring into the glass window and the alien warship that remained hovering dangerously close. It wouldn’t be long now. The Asgardians and Sakaarans readied themselves, holding their ground alongside their king and each other.

“Could you have ever imagined we would be fighting for our lives after all the hel we’ve been through?” Loki asked. Thor just cracked his neck, his only good eye watching the invading warship approach so very slowly.

“No, the thought never crossed my mind,” Thor answered sarcastically. He tightened his fists, spurts of electricity dancing across his knuckles. “But life keeps finding a way.”

Loki nodded, staring forward. He twirled the sword in front of him, unveiling a dagger in his free hand. “So it does.”

They readied themselves for the impending onslaught. The shadow that the warship cast led up to their feet, blanketing their legs and devouring their entire bodies. The Asgardians crowded closer together, tightening their grips on their weapons. The Sakaaran gladiators twisted their heads to and fro, the growing silence eating away at their nerves. Thor, Loki, and Heimdall stood at the ready. Waiting. But they flinched when the screams came from behind them.

“My King! My King!”

Thor spun around. So did Loki. So did everyone.

The Asgardians Thor had sent off came sprinting back inside the main bridge. One of them screamed, “The escape pods have been destroyed! Enemies have breached the shi—!”

By that time, the bridge exploded, and three massive pods bore themselves within the Statesman. The Asgardians flew back from the explosion, fire and smoke raining on top of them. Thor, Loki, and Heimdall were lost through the smoke, their bodies launched backwards from the force of the eruption within the bridge. Thor quickly rose to his feet, narrowing his single eye through the smoke. Electricity danced across his forearms, ready to strike to the first body that charged him.

Even he wasn’t ready.

All he saw was the golden gauntlet fly through the smoke and strike him across the face. Then came the screams. And no one heard them. Who could?


Korg wasn’t one for life and death situations. He was more of a gentle giant, per se, only fighting when it counted, and that would have been when he warmed up the crowd back on Sakaar for the Grand Master’s gladiatorial arena. Now, with the revolution a full success this time around, and a brand-new life ahead of him with his pal Miek by his side, he could look forward to a nice, long, peaceful life.

None of that counted anymore when the alien spaceship attacked them. Following the destruction of the escape pods—what with two pods breaking inside the ship and two aliens popping out of them—Korg only saw it fit to round up the civilians somewhere safe. He got a little help on the way, too.

Watching as every last Asgardian citizen pushed through the door and entered the massive supply room of the Statesman, Korg closed the door with his free hand. His other was currently occupied holding his friend Miek, the poor Sakaaran still lacking the appropriate limbs to walk on his own.

“Here, can you hold Miek, man?” Korg asked, already plopping Miek into an Asgardian’s unprepared arms. The Asgardian fell backwards, Miek’s form lying on top of him. Korg didn’t see it, because he was too focused on keeping control of the situation that had already gotten out of hand. And had gone south. Very, very south.

Watching as several Asgardians tended to their families, the Sakaaran gladiators that followed Korg since the revolution on Sakaar stood at the ready, turning to Korg for the next plan. He barely had one. Instead, he said, “All right, men! Got bad news and good news! The bad news is that we lost all the escape pods and the only thing keeping our enemies away from us and the hundreds of civilians is that door over there!”

Everyone spun their heads accordingly to the lone set of doors directly behind Korg.

“Well…”

Korg looked at an Asgardian behind the Sakaaran gladiators.

“What’s the good news?!” he asked.

Korg snapped his fingers. “Oh, yeah. The good news is that we have a Hulk.”

The Hulk roared. Everyone flinched and spun around to the massive, green beast stumbling about in the center of the room. He snarled, turning to Korg and clenching his fists. Ready for quite possibly anything that was coming after them. Korg nodded, all heads in the room slowly turning back his way.

“Pretty… pretty good news right there.”

“And you have me,” a voice declared, causing Korg to spin around. She opened the door and let herself in, her stunning blue cape covered in blood and other filth. Her slim, white armor fared no better, covered in cuts and scorch marks. As she locked the door, she turned to Korg and approached him, blade in hand, fury in her eyes. “You didn’t even lock the door.”

Ignoring that statement, Korg pointed to her, saying, “Oh, I didn’t forget about you. I just forgot your name, is all.” She jammed her blade towards him, his stone hands rising up.

“Call me Valkyrie, Rock,” Valkyrie stated, turning her blade away from him and towards the door behind her. “You’re gonna need it when you’re screaming for help.”

“Hey, man, this is a team effort,” Korg said, lowering his hands, then gesturing them to the Asgardians and Sakaarans behind him. “I mean, I know we’re not much to look at, but we’ve got what our enemies do not.”

Valkyrie looked back, raising a brow. “A Hulk?”

From behind, the Hulk snarled, stomping around, turning to every wall and anticipating the next attack. Korg nodded to that.

“Well, yes, that is important. But most importantly, we have the fighting spirit of those who survived countless months on Sakaar, fighting for the pleasure of the Grand Master until their bones would break and their blood would spill! We have the survivors of Asgard itself, facing complete and total annihilation of their home and still having the courage to face another day and protect the ones they love! If that isn’t true strength, if that isn’t something our enemies should fear, then I don’t know what—!”

The door, the walls, and the room practically exploded.

Several screams resounded through the madness, bodies being launched backwards like ragdolls. Korg, Valkyrie, and several others were unfortunate enough to be a part of them. As they hit the ground, as the explosions ceased and smoke filled the room, everyone began to pick themselves up. Valkyrie was the first, unsheathing a second blade and standing low, eyeing the smoke where the doors once stood.

From behind her, she heard Korg cough. “Yeah, probably should have saved the speech for later. Sorry ‘bout that.”

“Get ready!” Valkyrie cried, swords wielded in each hand. “Here they come!”

Korg got back up, cocked his Sakaaran Laser Rifle, and nodded.

The Asgardian civilians picked themselves, scrounged for their weapons that were scattered following the explosion, and stood at the ready. They couldn’t hide the fear in their eyes, or the shake in their step, but they stood. Between what lied in the smoke and their families.

The Hulk stomped forward, roaring loud enough to shake the entire ship.

Through the smoke, the head of a large hammer soared through, a heavy string of solid chain attached to it. The hammer’s head struck the Hulk square in the face, knocking him across the room. The Asgardian civilians barely got out of the way in time, the Hulk crashing into the ground and at the end of the room. The hammer’s head went flying backwards into the smoke.

And next came the owner of said hammer. Cull Obsidian ran through the smoke, bellowing his own roar. And they weren’t even ready.

Valkyrie barely was. She rolled out of the way, allowing Obsidian to stampede into the room and avoid crushing her. Korg fired away from his rifle, the lasers doing nothing against Cull’s armor. He smacked the Kronan with his hammer, Korg losing his rifle and being launched into the opposite wall, where he hit with a solid crack and fell to the floor below. Valkyrie watched as the massive alien went right for the crowds of civilians. She got back up and charged him.

Only to nearly get her head sliced clean off her shoulders when the shimmering blue blade was swung for her neck. Valkyrie slid on her knees, watching the blade skim the skin on her nose, and twisted herself around to face her assailant.

Proxima Midnight brought her spear back, smiling to the Asgardian Valkyrie.

And she said, “I thought Hela killed all you Valkyries.”

Valkyrie cracked her neck, twirling her blades. “Guess she missed one.”

“I won’t.”

Then they charged. The Asgardian’s precision and fluid strikes and swings with her twin blades did little against the member of the Black Order. Proxima Midnight dodged, blocked, and delivered her own devastating swipes, jabs, and swings that Valkyrie only barely managed to dodge. Proxima jammed the three-pointed edge of her spear right for Valkyrie’s head. She dodged just in time, but was still unprepared for Midnight’s leg rising up and striking her abdomen. Valkyrie lost her breath, looking up to see Proxima jam her palm right into her throat and slam her into the ground, causing her to drop her blades.

As if Valkyrie had enough difficulty breathing, Midnight slammed the bottom of her foot into her throat. Valkyrie instantly shot up, gripping Proxima’s foot and proceeding to twist it in order to get her off. She halted her actions when the three tips of the spear were held dangling over her head, two points aimed for the eyes, the other her mouth. Directly above, Valkyrie could see Midnight smirk.

It was one of victory, and Valkyrie knew it.

“Shit…” she whispered, then gagged as Midnight pressed further into her throat.

In the remainder of the madness, Cull Obsidian slaughtered all who stood in his way. From the terrified Asgardians doing everything in their power to keep the behemoth away from the families. From the Sakaaran gladiators who never even stood a chance against the strongest member of the Black Order. None of them succeeded.

None of them were the Hulk.

Just before he could bring his hammer down on a group of unarmed civilians, a green blur tackled him from the side, driving Obsidian to the opposite end of the room and nearly through the wall. Cull grunted in pain, glaring upwards and snarling like a feral beast. The fist to his face silenced that. It was followed up by another, then another, and again and again and again. The Hulk unloaded every ounce of his anger on the alien, roaring louder with each punch, driving Cull Obsidian deeper into the wall.

Then, Hulk backed away. Cull Obsidian remained where he was, unmoving but groaning in pain. He dropped his hammer long ago, the weapon resting on the floor by Hulk’s bare feet and pieces of the wall he was punched into. The Hulk snorted, wiping the green splatter of blood under his nose with his forearm, backing away from the wall and the carnage he left.

Banner, look out!”

Spinning to the voice, the Hulk bellowed to see Valkyrie in trouble, beneath the foot of another alien. He didn’t react in time. He was too focused on her to see the spear sent his way.

He could react to the pain that followed. To the spear tearing through his chest. The Hulk stopped, caught his breath, and stood frozen in time. Slowly, painfully looking down, he could see the spear jutting outwards, the three-pointed edge stuck in his chest and green blood pouring out from the wound. The Hulk coughed, more blood spilling from his mouth, as he slowly reached up and gripped the spear.

He didn’t pull it out. An unknown force ripped the weapon right out of his chest and flew back into the awaiting hands of Proxima Midnight. A splatter of blood trailed between them, colored a sickly, dark green. The Hulk stumbled, fell to his knees, his vision blurring and the image of the smiling alien standing over Valkyrie being the last thing the Hulk saw.

He fell.

He breathed. So very slowly.

The pain in his chest was gone, because he was gone. The Hulk was.

Bruce Banner breathed again, seeing the bodies of dead Asgardians and Sakaaran gladiators strewn throughout the burning room. Then, a large boot came crashing in front of his vision, a heavy palm falling on his back and pulling him off the ground.

Banner lazily looked to his left, eyes widening in horror at the bloody face of the alien he had driven into a wall not too long ago.

Cull Obsidian growled, turning to Midnight. With the Valkyrie beneath her foot, she planted her spear into the ground, smiling and hissing, “Father is waiting.”


“The Great Titan thanks you for your sacrifice!”

Ebony Maw walked over the bodies.

“Do not fear for what is to come, for in this cleansing, you shall be remembered!”

The bodies of the Asgardian warriors, the Sakaaran gladiators…

“In this dark time, the pain will be great…”

The Asgardian civilians…

“… the loss even greater…”

The men, women… and children.

“But know… that now and forever more… you are all a part of the Children of Thanos!”

Pods lined the inside of the bridge in the Statesman. Within that bridge, complete and total carnage remained. Fires covered the debris that filled the bridge. Darkness was all that remained, the only form of light being the fires from the inside of the ship and the fires that burned from the stars in space. The surprise attack was something the occupants could have never expected or fought against. Their bodies filled every inch of the bridge. Every last one of them that fought back.

The ones that survived the initial attack were silenced as Corvus Glaive searched through the slaughter, stabbing his glaive into the bodies that moved and breathed. He was very thorough.

The Ebony Maw stared unto his father, the Mad Titan standing in silence, amongst the devastation and staring out into the vastness of space. Several footsteps appeared behind him, prompting Maw to spin about and face his siblings that approached.

Proxima Midnight led Valkyrie forward, the sharpest end of her spear jabbing her in the back with every limp she took. Cull Obsidian carried the motionless body of Bruce Banner slung over his shoulder, his right hand gripping his bloody hammer, the other wrapped around the back of Korg’s neck. Obsidian grunted towards Ebony Maw, tossing Korg ahead like the pile of rocks weighed nothing.

Korg fell to his face, pressing his palms to the ground and slowly rising. The first thing he saw were the bodies surrounding him, the pools of blood stretching across the floor of the bridge. Korg looked around and saw nothing more than that. Just death. So many lives, so many young ones, just gone. He couldn’t believe it. He tried not to.

He blinked. “Miek? Where’s Miek? What did you do to Miek? Did he wonder off again, or… probably… roll off again. Lack of legs will do that to y—”

Cull Obsidian slammed the butt of his hammer into the back of Korg’s head. “Shut up!” he roared, kicking Korg in the back and pushing the Kronan flat on his rocky chest. Korg tried to get up, groaning as he did so, but Cull’s large boot slammed down on him again, keeping him pinned to the floor of the ship.

Korg barely lifted his head, turning left and seeing Loki hiding in the shadows. The God of Mischief remained hidden behind a pile of the ship’s debris, watching with bated breath, with horror in his eyes, as Cull Obsidian dropped the body directly next to Korg. And Korg saw him.

Saw Doctor Bruce Banner lie on the floor, barely breathing, his naked chest pressed to the bloody floor. Unlike Korg, there wasn’t a boot pressed to his back. His fight was over. Banner had given in. The Hulk was gone. Their only good news… was gone.

A shrill scream followed, Valkyrie forced to her knees by the hands of Proxima Midnight. She snarled, quickly rising back to her feet, only to feel the strength of Midnight’s fist collide with her cheek, forcing her back down on her knees. Valkyrie spat her own blood on the floor, adding to the pools, wiping her mouth and already rising up once again. She was stopped, and didn’t move this time, as the blade on Proxima’s spear was jutted her way, hanging very closely and very dangerously to her neck.

Finally noticing the bodies of her people surrounding her, a single tear fell down her cheek, her red-rimmed eyes centered solely on the woman behind her. “You’ll pay for this,” Valkyrie said, her voice still shaking despite the strength she forced. “You all will.”

Proxima Midnight only smirked.

Lying amongst the bodies of his fallen warriors, Heimdall tried to reach for his blade, only to pause as a glaive was centered directly over his heart. He looked up, his orange irises landing on the growing smirk of Corvus Glaive. He expected to feel the glaive tear through his skin, pierce his heart, and end it all. The evil grin on the alien’s face was certain of that, but he didn’t push down. He waited.

“Thanos… Great Titan… I present to you… Loki Odinson.”

Heimdall turned his bleeding forehead to the left, his eyes widening to see Loki being forced out of the shadows. As for Loki, an unnatural force he couldn’t see nor sense gripped him, practically dragging him away from his cover and out into the open. Directly in the center of the bridge and before the destroyed throne. The light of the stars beyond the glass window cast a shadow before him, a massive being standing where the throne of his brother once did.

And all he could recall… was that name.

Thanos.

Loki gulped and remained frozen where he stood. Ebony Maw held no control over him.

His head flicked upwards, turning to the left. The light from the stars shone on his golden helmet, the Titan slowly spinning around until he faced the God of Mischief in the flesh. Truly, the flesh. No holograms. No tricks. Just him. Surrounded by death, the death of his own people, no less. All because of him. All because of what he had.

Thanos smiled. Reaching down, he grabbed Thor’s motionless form and dragged him forward. “Oh, Loki,” Thanos began, every syllable drawn out and so, so low. “You would go through so much deception, so much betrayal, so much pain and death and still the endgame would be the same: You standing before me… a liar… a thief… a cheat… and a fool.”

He came into full-view, no longer any shadows hiding his face and the horrors that came with it. His eyes held a certain type of chaos that Loki wished he would never have had to look upon again. They held what remained. What remained of the billions of lives that he snuffed out on his quest to rid the universe of its sickness, of its overpopulation. And in that chaos, those swirls of nothingness, Loki just stared. He tightened his jaw and did everything in his power not to shiver. Blood coated his cheek, fresh cuts across his face and suit.

When he offered no clever remark, Thanos stopped. He brought back his right palm, Thor’s broken features brought into view. The God of Thunder gasped for air, blood pouring down his lips and painting the floor beneath him a dark crimson. He was even more torn up than Loki, scratches and bruises across his face and blood coating his armor. He breathed steadily, his one good eye shifting to Loki.

Loki stared back. Not a word. His eyes shifted back up to Thanos as he continued to speak.

“I give you the power of an entire army, the choice to rule an entire planet the way you see fit, and all I ask in return is the scepter I give you… and the Tesseract,” Thanos exclaimed. He narrowed his gaze, his nostrils flaring. “Tell me, Loki… where are either?”

Each of the Black Order turned their eyes away from the warriors they held or the bodies they stared upon to turn Loki’s way. And, once more, he didn’t even move. He hardly even breathed. The fires around him showed the fear on his face, the dread in his eyes. Loki knew it too, and finally found the courage to show some form of strength.

He said, “The scepter is on Earth, and…” pausing, he dropped his gaze, thinking for a moment. There wasn’t much room to act, nor to cast illusions that Thanos wouldn’t pick up on. No matter how much he hated to admit it, Loki had little to nothing left to hide. “I have the Tesseract.”

Thor coughed blood, his eye widening at that revelation.

Shifting his attention quickly to Thor and then back to Thanos, Loki managed to say, “I will give it to you… in exchange for my release.”

“Loki…”

Dropping his eyes to his brother once more, Loki watched as Thor became more distressed, just the thought of Loki abandoning them probably flooding his pain-filled mind at that very moment. Loki turned back to Thanos, his eyes trying to show bravery, but still managing to fail. “… Our release.”

Thanos chuckled. “Still bargaining for his life,” he said, his smile fading as he centered his bemused expression on the adopted son of Odin. “Show it to me.”

Loki’s lips sealed shut, tightened into a thin line. He couldn’t even look at Thanos or Thor for that matter. For a second or two, he stood in silence, his body refusing to move despite what his intellect and instincts were telling him. The growls from Thanos’ children behind him became more unsettling as the seconds ticked away, the remaining eyes of the room burning against him.

So, he did it. Lifting up his palm, and through a flush of golden energy, the Tesseract appeared in his hand. Thor’s eye grew even larger. Thanos only further narrowed his own. Dropping the God of Thunder, Thanos reached upward and pulled off his helmet, dropping it like it meant nothing to him. He took a step forward, and with each step he removed a piece of his golden armor. Plating after plating fell off and rested amongst the bodies, until all that remained was a gold and blue attire beneath, his sword on his back, black pants and boots, and the Infinity Gauntlet upon his left forearm and hand.

He stopped feet in front of Loki and plucked the shimmering, blue cube out of his hand. Staring at the Tesseract for a moment, Thanos proceeded to crush his right fist, cracks appearing over the surface of the cube, further and further until…

A blast of whiteness nearly blinded everyone for a moment, but they quickly settled back into the darkness of the bridge. And in that darkness, Thanos opened his hand. The shards of the Tesseract remained, a shimmer of blue hidden in the crystals. Using his thumb to push the glowing blue light out of the crystals, Thanos gripped the light between his thumb and forefinger. Thor barely looked up, gritting his teeth at the sight of it.

The Space Stone. One of the six Infinity Stones. Within the Tesseract all this time…

To his horror, Thor watched as Thanos brought up his left arm, the golden gauntlet on his arm held outwards. He centered the Stone directly over the glove, a flushing wave of blue energy building between the Stone and the Gauntlet the closer they grew. And then, Thanos let go of the Stone, to the indent directly beneath the Gauntlet’s forefinger.

A wave of energy expelled from the golden plating. Thanos clenched his fist, sighing in content as he gazed at the glowing blue gem. The first of the six… now in his possession.

And he smiled. Thanos smiled.

“Fun really isn’t something one considers when balancing the universe,” he said, observing the Space Stone on his gauntlet. It shimmered its might, glowing with raw intensity. He chuckled. “But this… does put a smile on my face.”

“Yes, I assume it would,” Loki said, causing Thanos’ gaze to shift downwards to him. “Now… about our bargain…”

Thanos furrowed his brow. He grunted, nodding and stepping back. Turning around, Thanos reached down and grabbed Thor by his head this time, Loki’s eyes widening at that. With Thor’s head resting in his right palm, Thanos looked back to Loki, saw the desperation and growing worry in his eyes. He smiled again.

Then he looked back to his Black Order. “Kill them,” he said.

In an instant, Valkyrie’s expression changed from fury to dread. Korg’s eyes widened. Heimdall’s mouth fell, hardly any breaths leaving him. Bruce Banner barely even moved, soft moans escaping his lips. He couldn’t do much, but he did hear Thanos’ order. The Black Order smiled, turning to their captives.

Loki fared no better. “What?” he gasped, feeling his heart beat harder than it ever had before. The concept of death was nothing new to him. But here, with little room to act and with every opportunity practically stripped away, his chances to slither out of his situation were as slim as could be.

He shook his head, yelling and pointing to the Mad Titan, “No, we had a deal!”

“I’m just balancing everything out,” Thanos replied, tightening his fingers around Thor’s head, the God of Thunder cringing at the increasing pressure. He didn’t even look at the first son of Odin. Just at Loki. “You betray my trust, I betray yours. Fitting. You lost the scepter, more importantly, the Mind Stone. Which reminds me…”

He broke his contact from Loki, addressing his Black Order when he said, “We’re heading to Earth. Leave nothing.”

On that order, Thanos pulled Thor’s head upwards, his body following. And in an instant, he began to close his fist, his fingers tightening harder and harder around Thor’s head. He screamed. The God of Thunder screamed in agony, his teeth covered in his own blood. He screamed so loud that Loki, no matter how hard he tried, couldn’t get it out of his head, or out of his heart.

The terror didn’t stop there.

“Wait, no! No—!” Valkyrie cried out, attempting to stand and flee. In just one quick swipe, her neck was gushing red, both hands rising up to cover the blood and stop the pain. Valkyrie coughed out, tried to breathe, but failed at both, clutching onto her life. Proxima Midnight snickered behind her, kicking the last Valkyrie forward where her body joined the rest of her Asgardian brothers and sisters.

“No!” Heimdall bellowed, reaching for his discarded blade once more. He nearly reached it, his fingers on the grip, when he felt the sharpest end of the glaive pierce his heart. Heimdall stopped. Looking up one final time, he stared into the wild, hellish eyes of Corvus Glaive. The orange in his eyes slowly, so very slowly, faded away. The back of his head hit the ground.

“Wait, can’t we talk about—?” Korg tried to say, only to be silenced for good as the head of Cull Obsidian’s hammer came crashing down on his own head. Solid, blue pebbles shot out from the impact, Korg’s hand rising slowly before eventually falling to the floor, never to rise again. Cull Obsidian grunted, lifting up his hammer.

And that left three.

The sons of Odin. The last of Asgard.

Them, and Bruce Banner.

Loki spun around, watching in horror as the Ebony Maw slowly approached him, malice held in his smile, evil glowing in his eyes. As one last ditch effort to resist, Loki unsheathed a blade hidden under his cape, charging Maw and jamming the blade right for his throat. And just before the tip could pierce his esophagus, Loki was frozen. He gasped, looking to his arm, to the blade shaking in his hand, and finally to the Maw.

He smiled, raising a single finger and shushing the God of Mischief.

Loki could only watch as the blade was pulled by an unknown force from his own hand. And he could do nothing. He was forced to face his brother as he experienced his own demise at the hand of Thanos. Loki struggled against the force that held him down, feeling the Maw grow closer, feeling the blade on his throat.

He looked up. Up to Thanos.

“Wait, wait, wait! You don’t want to do this! Maybe we can talk this through! Wait, wait!”

All of his words were nothing to Thanos. He continued to crush his brother’s head, Thor’s screams echoing throughout the ship and punching Loki again and again. The blade on his throat grew closer and closer, the sharpest end tilting perfectly, aligning just right. Time was running out, and Loki desperately needed to think of something, anything to spare his own skin.

Out of all of the tricks he had, there was but one left. One he thought he would never have to use.

You don’t want to go to Earth!”

And just like that, the madness stopped.

Thanos… stopped.

When he did, the Black Order did, staring onto their father with patience, waiting for his command and for what he wished. And what he wished… was to further understand why the son of Odin spoke to him in such a way. He loosened his grip on Thor’s head, but still held the god in place. Thor relaxed, but only so much. Blood dripped from his mouth, his eye barely opening to stare upon his brother.

Not even looking at Loki, Thanos frowned. “And why is that?” he asked.

“Get him off me.”

Thanos looked up. “Maw,” he said. Instantly, the blade fell from Loki’s throat, the force around him vanishing into the air. Loki straightened himself out, breathing steadily and looking up to the Mad Titan. He waited for Loki’s response, his eyes slowly narrowing with each second Loki wasted just standing in shock.

Loki shook away that sensation that plagued him and answered, “I know of another world, a world ripe with magic even greater than Earth, far greater than the Mind Stone.”

At first, Thor couldn’t understand what type of world would have magic greater than an Infinity Stone, or how Loki would have known about it. As moments passed and Thor thought more on it, he thought back to years earlier, where Odin confronted him on the alien world, when the species there had faced their darkest hour and Asgard rained down from the heavens to save them.

When Odin confronted him on the alien world… No…

When Loki confronted him on—

Thor’s eye widened in horror at the realization. He tried to stand up, to fight back, to do anything to stop Loki from dooming an entire planet. “Loki, no!” he screamed. Those screams were silenced once Thanos tightened his fist, Thor falling back to his knees, cringing at the pain that Thanos applied to his head just by flexing his palm.

Thanos frowned at the god whose life he held in his hand. Turning back to Loki, he watched as he gazed at his brother with what appeared to be sorrow, remorse, but strength nonetheless. Then he turned back to Thanos and said, “Let us go… and I will show you.”

The idea of a planet holding greater power than an Infinity Stone was ludicrous. Thanos knew this to be true. He knew he should have crushed Thor’s head and ended Loki for his deceit right then and there. He should have destroyed the ship he stood within and proceeded to Earth, to acquire the next Stone and take the next step closer to his ultimate destiny.

He should have… but he didn’t.

Be it fate, be it destiny itself, but whatever it was that called out to him told him to wait. Listen to the son of Odin, it said. Just one more time, it said. All will follow through. The power of this new world, the magic within it was something he could not simply ignore. For when the time came of the Cleansing, for the balancing of the universe, would this world survive? Would its magic protect it?

Thanos would never know. Unless…

“Fine,” he said at last. Loki expelled a great breath of air, the relief clearly evident in his breathing. That breath was caught when Thanos finished. “But in case this is another trick…”

He nodded to Ebony Maw.

Moving slowly in front of Loki, the Ebony Maw smiled. And when he spoke, his voice was smoother than the softest silk, more horrifying than any final cry Loki had ever heard. And worst of all, Loki felt his mind lose itself, his body fail to his command, and his eyes gaze into the madness that remained within the Maw’s. And he was lost in it.

With his chilling voice, he asked but one question.

Now… where is this world?”

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