PART I: DEVASTATION
The vast warship appeared to have conjured from the vestiges of space itself. How did it just appear without any warning? Thor wondered in awe. He looked over at Loki whose face was held by paralyzing dread. His verdant eyes were wide with fear and he was drenched in mounting anxiety. Thor glanced back over the deck's controls and fiddled with the transmission channels in attempt to communicate, but there was only static.
"Loki..." Thor turned to his brother. "Do you know something?"
There was a brief silence before Loki managed to respond. "I do know this vessel." His voice was quaking. "Thor, I cannot explain this all at once, but-"
A crashing ruckus erupted from the far side of the hangar port, stopping Loki in mid-sentence. All eyes were suddenly transfixed upon the sight of alien beings having breached the ship's defenses with ease.
Thor could hear Loki gasp when he saw them and he knew instantly this was something far more serious than he anticipated.
"Who are you?" Thor demanded.
One of the aliens of particular stature stepped forward, his massive height and build was menacing in every aspect. "Find the tesseract, do whatever you must do my children." His voice was deep and foreboding, imposing a commanding presence.
With that order, the other aliens began approaching the frightened passengers, uncertain of what was to come.
—
[In the aftermath of several hours, there was only a slaughter left behind. The future of Asgard had collapsed under Thor's rule and he could no longer suppress the ache of defeat.]
—
It had all been a blur of catastrophic events. The damage was done. Bodies were sprawled across the ship's floor. There were more casualties than Thor cared to know. Not even the Hulk had managed to best Thanos. Thankfully, Heimdall, using his remaining power, transported him off the ship in hopes that he would survive another day to fight. This great deed had cost him his life and it had shattered Thor inside.
It was as if any sliver of hope had simply vanished into thin air. Thor had only overheard tales of the one called 'Thanos', 'Mad Titan'; known for destroying planets for the love of death itself, although any true purpose behind this madness seemed absent to him. Thor braced himself against the colossal hand dragging him by the collar of his chest plate. He hacked weakly causing a spittle of blood to spray over his lip. There was no denying Thanos would take what he wanted from them. He could see that Thanos wielded an infinity stone, one that signified power and nor the strength, nor might bestowed to him as the God of Thunder was enough to end his path of ruin.
"You're only delaying the inevitable." Thanos threatened, maintaining a scrutinizing glare upon Loki, who had for some reason been spared during the initial attack.
Thor grunted in frustration. "And what is that?"
The Titan couldn't help it as a smirk twisted into his chiseled face. "You will soon see."
Thanos pressed the stone on his gauntlet to Thor's temple and a surge of stabbing pain began pulsating through his skull. He howled in agony while Thanos took pleasure watching Loki's flinching reaction upon seeing his brother put through such torture. "The tesseract or your brother's head." The Titan said flatly.
Standing before the Titan hopelessly, Loki felt his guard falling apart. Members of the Black Order, whom Loki was acquainted with, encircled him. The loyal servants of Thanos would make sure he had no escape from this predicament. He could sense them growing with anticipation, in hope of ripping him to shreds before their master.
"Stop!" Loki cried out, unable to withstand his brother's anguished screams.
Thanos pulled the gauntlet away from Thor's temple, letting his head go slack.
With much trepidation, Loki carefully stepped forward and lifted his hand up where a glowing blue cube manifested above his fingers. He lifted it up for Thanos to examine.
"Yes..." The Titan's eyes lit up.
Thanos dropped Thor's body with a thump and reached out to take the tesseract in his right hand. His calloused fingers graced the edges of the glowing cube, the pulsing light entrancing the Titan, that is until he detected a change in its energy. Instantly, the power stone within the gauntlet sizzled with impossible force. Thanos looked down to see a dagger aimed at his neck, shielded by the energy within the gauntlet. Had it not been for the power stone overtaking the momentum of the dagger, it would have connected with his jugular. Loki felt his hand trembling within the force of its power. "I should have expected this." Thanos leered at Loki still frozen in action. One large hand clamped over Loki's arm, and pressed down, crushing hard against bone and muscle until the dagger slipped from his grasp.
"I always knew I couldn't trust you to follow through with anything. It is, however, in your nature to fail at all you do." He smiled broadly.
Loki felt the words stab into him like shards. His mind withdrew into a stupor for he had heard such things spoken of him before and far too often. And now, starring into the eyes of his tormentor, the wretchedness he endured at his hands seemed unfathomable. How is it that even from the mouth of a monster like Thanos, it still devastated him?
With a solid grip on Loki's arm, Thanos raised his free hand brandishing the gauntlet and descended it abruptly at the nook of his captive's neck.
Loki groaned in pain before collapsing unconscious to the floor.
"Pathetic." Thanos remarked and drew his attention back on the tesseract, now in the hands of Ebony Maw.
"Loki..." Thor croaked feebly. "
"Ah, I thought he was dead." Ebony Maw sneered, tilting his head down to look at Thor while he stepped over bodies and rubble. Reaching up with the tesseract in hand, he stopped before Thanos, humbled himself to one knee and delivered the tesseract to his master. "My lord..."
"Finally." Thanos sighed, crushing the tesseract in his palm, revealing the stone within.
"What is it you're after?" Thor sputtered, shifting his knees under his weight. He could feel aching muscles protest with every movement he made and the fresh wounds littered over his body only added to his discomfort. Despite this, he pushed the pain back, he wasn't going to give up just yet. Forcing in a few ragged breaths, Thor looked up at the Titan as he brushed his forearm across his bloodied face, awaiting an answer.
Thanos considered dismissing the Asgardian, but perhaps he could entertain him by revealing the true purpose of his mission.
Keeping this in mind, Thanos carefully aligned the stone over the second joint of the gauntlet where the stone embedded itself. A jolt of energy traversed over his mind and body. He could see dimensions unfolding within his mind as the stone's potential became evident. Thanos radiated with fulfilment. It was all within reach and he wouldn't stop until he had all the stones resting within the infinity gauntlet.
To his dismay, Thor realized that something had changed in Thanos. The atmosphere was reeling with a new energy. It was profound and alarming to say the least. Not regarding his weakened state, Thor pushed himself back to his feet and hobbled hazardously to one side.
Proxima Midnight raised her spear towards the Asgardian in response, but Thanos held his hand up to waive her down. "It's not necessary." He said.
"My ultimate goal is to bring balance to this universe." Thanos revealed, turning to look at him. Thor was staggering back, yet he remained fixated upon Loki who lied quietly on the ground before Thanos.
Thor huffed. "Balance?" He asked incredulously, propping himself up against a sturdy wall.
He knew he had to figure a way to distract the Titan enough that he could get Loki out of harm's way, but this strategy was transparent to his nemesis and with that knowledge Thanos decided that keeping him around could be useful.
"My children, there are still two more stones on Earth. I order that you find them and bring them back to me. I can handle it from here."
The Titan's command was not questioned and each member of the Black Order was transported back to their ship through a portal that appeared and just as quickly closed from sight. Thor grimaced at the prospect that he was now alone with the Mad Titan and Loki, surrounded with the bodies of the fallen. It was more than he could process mentally, but if he could save his brother despite all his failings in this brief time, it would mean everything to him at this point.
"Your...brother-" Thanos looked down towards Loki with feigned concern. "-may not be reliable, but he did lead me to my goal." The Titan's glowing eyes peered back towards Thor as if baiting him to attack.
"He's not yours to worry over." Thor growled at him, despite knowing he stood no chance. He just needed to bide more time and perhaps he could bring Loki to the ship's emergency landing pod.
"No, he's not." Thanos agreed. "But I can tell, he causes much worry for you." His gaze returned to Loki, and a ghastly sneer grew wide on his lips.
Thor noticed a switch in his demeanor, it was subtle, but haunting. The way his eyes scanned the length of his brother's body was vulgar. "Leave him out of it, he isn't even awake!" Thor roared, desperate to bring the Titan's attention back to him.
Thanos ignored him and slowly lowered himself to inspect the unconscious form of the Trickster. Thor felt his heart sink as he helplessly watched the Titan run his fingers through Loki's dark locks.
"I have a secret to tell you, Asgardian." Thanos mused.
A sudden current of electric energy flowed through Thor, unsure of whether it was caused by anger or fear.
"Yes, I have touched this body before." Thanos admitted to the Thunderer.
Thor growled in disbelief. "Tempt me all you want; I won't play along your scheme."
Thanos shifted his gaze away from Loki and locked his manic eyes on Thor, a sinister expression still plastered on his face. "You will realize, that unlike your brother, I never lie."
With the power of the space stone, one motion allowed Thanos to cover the distance between himself and Thor. Knowing well the Asgardian had no opportunity to react, he swiftly placed the gauntlet over Thor's skull and pressed down with his fingers.
The space stone came to life with dancing tendrils of energy embedding into the synapses of the demi-god's brain. Thor's eye went white and rolled back.