A Fault among Us
Disclaimer: I do not own Marvel's The Avengers; this is just a play of my imagination.
Forgiveness is the answer to the child's dream of a miracle by which what is broken is made whole again, what is soiled is made clean again. – Dag Hammarskjold
Part I
He gradually pulled himself up, his back popping sickeningly causing him to groan in pain. Blood swished in his mouth, he spat out a phlegm and brought his hand to his face, feeling the wetness of his blood waltzing down his forehead into his eyes. The liquid crimson stung like bitter tears, he grimaced and stood shakily; his knees wobbled but he stiffly approached the large window of the tower.
Loki gazed out at the destruction that he himself brought onto these innocent bystanders, shame pounded through his veins as he clenched his jaw, he brought his palm to the window wishing that he could erase the pointless bloodshed that he brought to Earth.
He allowed himself to be blinded by his surge of white rage and envy, Loki was only acting on his anger instead of his cunning logic, he wanted revenge and it cost him. He didn't play his cards right, he laid them on the table to early, allowing his foes to see his plan. Now he would have to pay the consequences for his stupidity, unless...there was a chance to turn the tables, to be on the winning side and perhaps lessen the punishment.
Loki's enhanced godly vision allowed him to see past the flames that the Chitauri caused, he saw the man who was dressed in red and gold iron, struggling to hold up a Midgardian weapon of destruction. Loki could have laughed, the human's worst enemy was themselves, but he pressed his lips together as he watched a Chitauri warrior fire his weapon at the machine of a man, the blast struck him.
The man fell and the missile was released, the bomb continued its destination to destroy Manhattan, Loki rolled his shoulders and willed his last bit of energy to teleport to the missile.
An Opportunity.
Natasha watched in horror as Stark fell, the missile still headed to destroy the city; her mouth fell agape as she held the villain's spear in her hands. The ex soviet wasn't religious, her years of countless bloodshed made sure of it, but that didn't stop her from closing her eyes and praying quietly under her breath. There was nothing that anyone could do now, they had failed, all of them. Even Loki failed, he would be killed as well, there was no way they could escape death once it set its sight.
She peeled her eyes open once more, but to her utter disbelief; she saw Loki, clad in his black and green armor float in the air, among the pillars of smoke, right in the way of the bomb. He held out his hands, bracing himself to catch the missile, Natasha watched incredulously as he caught the head of the bomb in his hands. The force of the impact caused him to backpedal a bit, she saw his jaw clench tightly and his eyelids drop.
"Close it"
His velvety voice sounded as if he was right next to her when he was at least a mile away, she furrowed her brows in determination and plunged the spear into the bubble that protected the Tesseract, the tip of the spear contact the glowing blue cube. There was a shot of light before the portal closed; she turned to look at Loki, who was frozen at the moment.
The missile would explode soon; he had to act fast if he wanted to save them; acting fast was an understatement because he winked out of sight, taking the explosive weapon with him.
She breathed in relief; a slice of her still could not believe that it was over, that Manhattan was left standing. She glanced to the ground, the Chitauri warriors fell to the ground like they'd been shut down, their plug had been pulled by the one who stared them in the first place, and it was ironic and somewhat unreal. It was all too good to be true, they had won, it was all over now. Natasha gazed at the pillars of smoke, now it was the time to rebuild.
Loki gathered his strength and hurled the missile at the Chitauri mother ship, he watched it as the bomb made impact, an array of blues and oranges blinded him momentarily, the explosion was powerful, it knocked the god backwards. Flames licked at his skin, Loki gasped and tried to teleport but it was fruitless, he was too exhausted to conjure any magic.
This was the second time he almost succeeded in killing an entire race. The thought caused Loki to smirk.
He propelled himself through the debris of the exploding ship, his skin bruising further as he tried to avoid the wave of the explosion. Suddenly gravity took its toll, and Loki was dragged into a nearby moon, one of the moons of Saturn, Titian.
Titian, where Thanos and The Other resides, his eyes widened as he came to the realization of what was to come, The Other would be unforgiving, he would surly keep to his promise and most likely to worst due to Loki's last minute change in sides. He plunged into the stony ground, his head cracking against the ground. His back arched in pain and his eyes screwed up in agony, his injuries were deepened drastically. The corner of his vision faded to black as he tried to blink back the tears of affliction, he felt pressure on his chest, Loki rose his head and looked at the boot that was placed squarely on his chest, he's eyes flickered upwards to meet the beady eyes of The Other.
"You have come to die boy" He hissed out in his gravelly voice, The Other grabbed Loki by the neck and lifted him off the ground. Loki kicked wildly against him, gasping for air, his fingernails digging into the waxy hand of his once ally turned enemy.
"At least I've spared you the trouble of trying to find me" Loki bit out between breaths, his snarky words angered The Other further, he slammed Loki against a rock, busting open his skull. Loki felt blood gush from the wound down his neck and forehead, if he didn't treat the wounds soon, he would perish.
"Stop!"
The Other halted his actions due to the sound of his master's sturdy voice, Thanos stood from his throne, and his purplish skin looked hauntingly in the light. He approached them slowly, like he was testing every step. Loki studied him, he had heard a great many tales of the warlock who was dubbed The Mad Titian, and the alien creature was devoted to Lady Death. She had him like clay in her palm, shaping him however she pleased. Loki told himself silently that his love for the mistress could be used against him; Loki shot a pointed glare at Thanos as he stepped towards him.
The Mad Titan pushed The Other aside, and pulled Loki up from the ground, "Go to your precious Asgard and Earth to warn them that the warlock Thanos is approaching, and plans to wage ultimate destruction."
Loki's eyes rolled around before he could focus on Thanos, he rasped, "You're a fool to think you're petty forces can take out both Asgard and Earth"
Thanos clenched his jaw and shook Loki angrily, "You will do this or I will kill you!"
Loki spat out blood in the Mad Titan's face, he smiled; the blood that coated his teeth made him look feral, "I refuse"
"Foolish boy!" Thanos raged he raised his hand to kill him
Loki mustered the tiniest lick of strength he had left and teleported to the outskirts of Earth, he floated for a few moments before he let gravity to its job. Loki was pulled through Earth's atmospheres, flames danced around his body as he shot through the sky; he felt his conscious slipping away as he shut his eyes, welcoming death.
He impacted the snow smothered grounds of Alaska.
Thanos growled he turned to The Other, "I won't allow him to breathe much longer!"
"I know master" The Other bowed respectfully
Thanos took deep calming breaths before his blue eyes flashed, "Mistress Death will never accept my hand if I do not destroy Earth, I have to have the Infinity Gauntlet in my possession if I wish to kill the team of measly humans."
"Then go to Asgard to retrieve it, I will stay I gather what's left of the Chitauri, they will have plenty of motivation to destroy Earth" The Other said
"Earth will be mine" Thanos declared, turning his eyes boring holes into the blackness of space.
Loki's eyelids peeled open weakly, he heard the crackling of a fire, and he rose slightly; adjusting to his surroundings. He was in what appeared to be a small home, he was layered under blankets, and his wounds were dressed. He was confused, he should have been dead. He saw an elderly woman stir something in the kitchen; she looked over at him, her eyes kind.
"You are far from home aren't you" She spoke softly, bringing a steaming bowl of soup to his bedside.
"Yes" Loki sighed, a bit shocked at this human's generosity.
"You fell to my backyard a month ago, I was afraid you weren't going to live. I took you in and dressed your wounds; it seemed that you succumbed into coma." She took him as Loki sat upright, she placed the bowl in his lap and he ate in hungrily.
"Why did you save me?" Loki questioned after wolfing down his soup, he glanced up at the woman.
"You remind me of my boy; he died in the war a year ago. I wasn't there to save him so I wanted to be here to save you. There is something about you, son, you have a good heart" She smiled
Loki scoffed, "I've done unspeakable things"
"Doesn't mean that there isn't good in you, you just have to find it" She said gently
"What's your name?" Loki was feeling comfortable around the elderly woman, she reminded him of his own mother, 'You're adoptive mother.' His mind supplied him bitterly; Loki wisely pushed those thoughts into the back of his mind.
"Susan, I used to be a nurse but I retired, that's why I was able to help you" She replied
"Where are we?" Loki asked
"Alaska, far from civilization I might add, if you need a phone I could drive you to the nearest gas station" Susan said grabbing his empty bowl and taking it into the kitchen
"That would be most convenient" Loki nodded
"Here let me get you some clothes" Susan smiled again, she disappeared before walking into the bedroom with folded clothes in her hands.
"You are about the same size that Bill was, it might be a little loose" She handed him the clothes before leaving the room and shutting the door behind her.
Loki pulled on gray sweatpants, a long sleeved shirt, and a black hoodie. He put on his sock and stepped into tennis shoes, he left the bedroom and Susan was waiting for him was a coat and a parka with gloves. She helped him put the coat on, and Loki pulled on the gloves and put the black parka on his head over his ears.
"You have a full head of hair don't you" Susan grinned leading him outside to a rusted old truck
"I suppose" Loki reached back and tangled his fingers through his raven black hair.
They slid into the truck and Susan started it, the vehicle gave a groan and lurched before moving. They were an odd pair that was for certain, they sat in comfortable silence. Loki gazed at the window and sighed, causing Susan to glance at him.
"You are sad" She commented
"A lot of things that I'm not particularly proud occurred in the last few months" Loki replied, his eyes distant
"Learn from your mistakes and start anew" Susan said simply
"I wish it was that easy"
"It is"
"To earn forgiveness?"
"Forgiveness is a characteristic of the strong, whoever you have wronged, and if you are truly hoping to set it right, and they don't forgive you than they are weak" Susan said as she pulled into the gas station, she handed Loki 50 cents.
"Thank you Susan" Loki nodded taking the change in his palm
She smiled as Loki left the car and went to the payphone, he inserted the two quarters into the slots in the machine, and he dialed the number that he memorized when he first arrived at Earth.
"Hello" Nick Fury's voice said through the phone
"Director Fury, this is Loki of Asgard, I have a matter of urgency to report to you concerning the safety of your planet" Loki said pressing the phone to his ear, he looked around the gas station wearily as he spoke.
"Loki? I thought you died" Fury questioned
"Funny thing, I'm not dead, I need you to send some form of transportation to come retrieve me" Loki rolled his emerald eyes
"Agent Romanoff should be there in fifteen, don't go anywhere and don't kill anybody" Fury said strictly
"Tsk, tsk, how assuming of you" Loki scolded
"I'm hanging up, don't move" Fury ended the call and turned to Natasha Romanoff who was sorting through stacks of paper
"Agent Romanoff, I need you to go to transportation and head over to Alaska" Fury said
"May I ask why sir?" Natasha asked, tucking a lock of her fiery red hair behind her ear.
"Because, there is a not so dead Loki of Asgard waiting there to report urgent information" Fury said
"He's dead" Natasha whispered in confusion
"Apparently not" Fury sighed
"Bozhe Moi" Natasha sighed.
Loki watched as the S.H.I.E.L.D jet touched down in the snow, earning the attention of some curious bystanders; Natasha Romanoff appeared from the jet, her flame like hair whipping wildly due to the wind of an upcoming blizzard. She walked to Loki; her hands set on her rounded him.
"You're looking mighty alive" Natasha eyed him, pressing her lips together so that she wouldn't chuckle at his current attire; he looked like an Alaskan thug.
Loki sensed her amusement and glared daggers, "So are you"
Natasha nodded, she wanted to thank him for saving them all, but now wasn't the time; whatever Loki needed to inform Fury on was important.
She expected Loki to follow her but instead he walked to a beat up Ford with an older woman inside, the woman got out of the car. Natasha watched the exchange mutely; Loki said a few words and the woman surprised him with a motherly hug. He smiled and bid her goodbye, Loki approached Natasha with his hands jammed into the pockets of his coat.
"Who is she?" Natasha asked as she led him to the jet
"Susan, she nursed me back to health when I made impact with the surface of the Earth" Loki replied and he got into the jet, he sat in front of Natasha and buckled himself in.
"What happened after you teleported with the missile?" Natasha questioned, crossing her legs.
"I hurled it at the Chitauri mother ship; I killed a good portion of them but not all of them. Then I simply teleported back into Earth's atmosphere where Susan found me" Loki said as the jet took off, choosing to leave out the minor details of his exchange with Thanos and his puppet, she would learn soon enough.
"Loki why did you decide to save us?" Natasha asked the question that pondered her brain for months, sometimes she found herself thinking of possible answers instead of sleeping.
"I do what I want" He winked, clicking his tongue.
Natasha rolled her eyes as Loki shimmered gold and was suddenly in his armor, he looked better that way instead of dressing like a gang member.
"You have the traits of a psycho, has anyone ever told you that?" Natasha asked
"Plenty of times my dear, I just learn to embrace it."
Wrote this after I saw the Avengers for like the zillionth time, best thing about seeing it in the middle of the week is the fact that is no one else it there in the theater except you. And you can fangirl aloud when Loki comes up on screen without being judged.
So Review and tell me if you love it, hate it, want to burn it in the pits of Hell, or think that is alright. I'm open to any suggestions.