Disclaimer: I do not own Thor, nor the Avengers.

Chapter 7 – The Mad Titan

Thor summoned Asgard's army and had them move quickly to evacuate the people. They were housed inside the palace within the protective shield, which had seen some updates. After Malekith's Kursed had easily destroyed the shield at its source, Thor, upon taking the throne, had worked with Heimdall, Jane and Loki to ensure that the shield's generator was protected as well. Once Heimdall activated the shield, a similar, near impenetrable shield would immediately protect the generator as the main shield grew over the palace. A third shield would protect the Bifrost, allowing Heimdall to join the fight, albeit without his usual weapon. It was a protective measure Thor noted his father should have thought of long ago and one Loki noted he had thought of, though as he was disguised as Odin at the time he'd been unable to implement the plan, not possessing Odin's powers and having to stay as far away from Heimdall as possible, lest his cover be blown. The shield would also not destroy anything that touched it now. With Loki's help, Thor had enacted a complex bit of magic that would enable the shield to recognize those of Asgard and would allow them to come and go as needed, giving them a safe retreat inside the palace should things go south. It would also allow Heimdall a safe retreat and to collect his sword or even open the Bifrost if needed, all while battle waged around him.

Having seen the people to safety and the shield activated, Thor ordered the army to gather in the main courtyard in preparation to meet Thanos before he returned to the royal chambers where his family waited.

"Everyone is safe." He assured mainly Jane, though everyone was glad to hear it. "The army is gathering and we shall meet Thanos in battle soon; Heimdall says he is close."

"Be careful." Jane murmured, though she shed no tears having long ago accepted that he would never not go off to war if it was needed. Thor smiled softly and pulled her to him, though did so carefully, completely aware of the infant she held.

"I will do all I can to return to you. And Aerith." He promised. It was the promise he made every time he left her, knowing that he could not promise to return. After a moment, he pulled away and bent to kiss his daughter, gently touching her head with a hand that seemed far too large in comparison to the tiny newborn. He then turned to the others gathered. "You will be safest here, please do not leave." Richard, Erik and Darcy nodded, as did Shuri and her guards, both of whom looked ready for battle. "The war will not be decided here today, there are too many Infinity Stones for him to gather still. Our goal is to drive him back, and as soon as it is safe we shall send you home."

"The King has been informed of the battle taking place here." Said Ayo. "He wants the Princess home with him as soon as possible. Though he does not doubt that she is safe with you." Thor nodded in thanks at the trust he was being shown. "Wakanda's army is on standby. If needed, and if the Bifrost can be opened to them, the Black Panther will lead our warriors and join you here in battle."

"King T'Challa has my thanks for his offer, but it will not be necessary. Though not at full strength as we once were, Asgard's forces will be enough to see the Mad Titan retreat this time. I will see to it." He muttered darkly and Ayo and Teela both nodded, though neither looked happy.

"Ready, brother?" Loki spoke up. He had stood off to the side and not come forward to say goodbye, fully intending to join his brother in battle, as indicated by the full armour that he willed his magic to appear.

"You are going nowhere." Thor said and held up a hand to silence him. "I do not think you weak, brother, even though you are still injured. I need you to protect them." To the two who knew him best, he was begging. His tone had barely changed, but both Jane and Loki heard the slight tremor, the uncertainty and fear, in his voice. Not liking it but wanting his sister and niece to be safe as well – and knowing that one more good hit from Thanos could finish him – Loki agreed. As Thor had said, this would not be the final battle, but was merely a mission to force Thanos to retreat until they could better prepare; he would sit this one out to fight in the final battle to come. Smiling at his brother, Thor clasped his hand in thanks.

"Do not listen too closely when he speaks, his words can be far more than suggestive." Loki warned. "He goes for the easy kill, thinking his power too great to be stopped even if his attack his obvious, but his Children, they will be far more devious." Thor nodded, taking the advice for what it was.

"Thank you, Loki."

"And do try not to get killed. Aerith is far too young to become Queen."

"Then it is a good thing she will have a strong and wise regent to rule for her and guide her as she grows, though I will do all I can to make sure it is unnecessary." Loki looked confused for Thor had continued to look at him as he spoke. "Jane. I meant Jane, not you."

"Ah." He should have known.

"Though I expect her Uncle Loki to be a fixture in her life, whether I am here or not." He said too quietly for others to hear. Loki gave his usual smirk, but the softer tone of his eyes said how much the words meant to him, hearing the acceptance he had longed for, though fought against for so long. Turning from his brother, Thor faced his wife once more just in time to catch her as she jumped into his arms, having handed Aertih to her father. Their lips locked and Thor was only too happy to reciprocate the kiss, though neither allowed it to last for long, knowing what was coming.

"Be careful." She said again. Thor merely nodded and held out his hand, Mjölnir flying into it.

"You as well." He held out his trusty hammer and Jane took it, Mjölnir still being just as light as it had been when she'd held it for the first time. Stepping back, Thor summoned Gungnir, the Allfather's weapon appearing in his hand. Mjölnir had stopped being his primary weapon some time ago, Gungnir being far more powerful when in the hands of Asgard's King, though he often used it still, especially as a tool as they re-built Asgard. Though more powerful, one of the disadvantages of Gungnir was that he couldn't fly with it and so found himself walking down to the courtyard. Still it was worth it to leave it with Jane, who at the very least could hit an opponent with it before simply dropping it on top of them, leaving them unable to get up under Mjölnir's weight until one of them removed it. The army parted for their King as he made his way to the front lines, joining his friends.

"Heimdall has returned to the Bifrost, he says we have only minutes." Volstagg reported. Thor nodded and they waited for barely two minutes before a giant ship was seen heading their way. It neither sped towards them nor attacked, the titan inside clearly not feeling the need for a pre-emptive strike. The ship landed and Thanos himself disembarked, followed by several of his disciples.

"The throne of Asgard sits heavily on your shoulders, little King." He said as he approached.

"A throne that weighs nothing is a hollow one," Thor replied. "And would require no King to sit on it." Thanos laughed.

"Barely two years into your reign and you are already spouting the same rubbish disguised as wisdom that Odin did. But you are no Allfather."

"It is true that I am not my father, and I have much to learn about being King. But I am the Allfather, protector of the Nine Realms. And you will go no further, Titan." He grasped Gungnir more tightly, shifting it in preparation for an attack that didn't come.

"Hm. You are either very brave or very foolish, Asgardian." Thanos was not impressed.

"My Queen would say both." Thanos' lip twitched upwards. "What is it you want, Thanos?" If he wasn't going to immediately flight, Thor might as well try and get him talking.

"You know what I want."

"I will not give you the Infinity Stone you seek." The Tesseract being on Asgard was not exactly a secret, though the Soul Stone would not be mentioned, no matter what trick Thanos tried. The Mad Titan raised an eyebrow now, not looking impressed.

"Stone? You speak of only one. No, little King. It has long been said that Asgard houses the Soul Stone. I will have that one as well."

"You base your actions on mere rumours, now?" Thor asked with his own raised eyebrow. "If we had the Soul Stone do you not think we would have finished you long ago, before you got your hands on my brother?" He let his genuine anger over Thanos' manipulation of Loki show. "The Soul Stone is said to be the most powerful of all. If we had it you would not be here." It was said with such conviction that Thanos had to wonder if he was telling the truth. Usually his magic would be able to tell if someone was trying to trick him – it was one of the reasons he was so angry at Loki for having tricked him – but Asgard itself would protect its King, including from his searching magic.

"The traitor will be dealt with in time." He said, his thoughts having been turned to Loki. "But for now I will have the Tesseract."

"To what purpose?" Thor would keep him talking as long as possible. "You would simply rule the galaxy, as if it is your due?"

"I do not seek to rule anything." He confessed much to everyone's shock. "I simply seek the balance the galaxy needs."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Everything must be in balance, including the galaxy." He said. "It's simple calculus. This universe has finite resources. Finite. If life is left unchecked, life will cease to exist. It needs correcting." That did not sit well with anyone.

"And in this correcting, you would see to the deaths of half the universe." Thor growled.

"It is what is necessary for survival."

"You don't know that!" He was understandably incensed.

"I'm the only one who knows that. At least, I'm the only one with the will to act on it."

"How do you suppose that? How do you know what no one else does?"

"I have seen all I need to in my life to-"

"So has Asgard!" The thought of half the universe being killed was enough to make him angry, but with his child having been born this same day…he did not think he could be angrier if he tried. "You think you have seen more than Asgard? More than my father and the Kings that came before him? You may have lived for almost a millennia, but you cannot claim that is has made you all-knowing when we have been around even longer, and are the protectors of the Nine Realms. If there was such a danger we would have dealt with it. Right now the only danger I see is you!"

"Asgard has been blind. I've given you 'protectors' long enough to act and you haven't. So now I will."

"I will not let you harm anyone." He raised Gungnir threateningly, though Thanos merely smirked.

"So be it, Asgardian." Without even a word from their leader, Thanos' disciples launched on the attack. Thor was ready for them and let loose a powerful blast from Gungnir, destroying those first to attack. The second wave was quickly upon him, and his friends and the rest of Asgard's army joined in. While a powerful weapon, Gungnir was not quite as handy in close combat as Mjölnir had been. But Thor had been training with Gungnir for a time now and knew its tip to be as sharp as a sword, while its height allowed him to use it much like a spear, or a staff, depending how he chose to fight with it. His own lightning was a great addition, and though he no longer had Mjölnir to knock opponents back, he found the lightning much more effective. Finding an opening, Thor jumped into the air and allowed his lightning lose, his eyes glowing with the power flowing through him. When he landed, the lightning dispersed and took out a good chunk of their enemies. He was immediately alert to an oncoming threat in the form of one of Thanos' Children. Sidestepping the initial strike, Thor engaged her in battle, finder her a worthy opponent, though with what was at stake there was only one way a fight with one of the minions was going to end. Using his lightning, Thor sent his opponent flying. Seeing that she was going to collide with the protective shield, the one that would destroy any non-Asgardian, he turned from her to block Thanos' own attack, the Mad Titan having joined the battle properly now. So wrapped up in his new fight, Thor never noticed that the child of Thanos was not destroyed upon hitting the shield, but rather passed right through it, and finding herself inside, she discretely made her way deeper into the palace.

-/-

Loki's head snapped up and he turned away from the battle they'd been watching and towards the door, putting everyone on edge, wondering who was coming, though Loki was quick to assure them that wasn't the case.

"An intruder has entered the palace though." He told Jane.

"How? That shouldn't be possible."

"There is only one way. And I cannot believe I forgot her heritage." He appeared angry with himself, and Jane instantly understood.

"She will go for the Tesseract in the vaults. Will she be able to sense it, being so close?" They dared not speak openly about the Soul Stone, not after hearing Thor so ardently insist they didn't have it.

"I do not believe so. It has been hidden since the dawn of Asgard by powerful magic gifted to us by the One-Above-All himself. Not even Thanos can overcome such magic, let alone one of his Children, regardless of how close in proximity they are." Jane nodded.

"Then let them go." She decided and Loki nodded his acceptance.

"Hold up." Said Darcy. "Are you seriously just letting them get away with the all powerful stone? Are you insane?!"

"This battle will never end unless Thanos gets what he wants or ups his game, which we do not want right now." Jane explained. "Thanos did not bring his full army for this battle and our forces are too strong against what he has brought. Unless he unleashes more of his power this won't end because his pride won't let it. Unless he gets the Space Stone he came for."

"The Queen is right." Said Loki. "Thanos will never end this and we are not prepared for the final battle here and now, which is what will happen if he truly fights back."

"This is him not fighting back?" Richard asked, fear in his voice.

"Thanos is extremely powerful and he has two Infinity Stones already. The Power Stone alone could see to the end of worlds. This is nothing compared to what is to come." Jane's words didn't sit well with any of them.

"So why do we give him more power?" Teela asked. "When we can stop him here if he is not at full strength."

"Because we can't." Said Loki, trying not to sound condescending and for the most part succeeding, surprisingly enough. "The portion of his army that he brought may not be able to defeat ours, and using what little power he currently is, he cannot defeat Thor. But he has a great deal more power at his command and if we push him too far he will use it."

"If he uses the Power Stone many will die." Jane continued. "We have to end this before that." No more was said as they went back to watching the battle unfold. Thor was holding his own against Thanos, though he knew, like Loki and Jane did, that this was only a fraction of Thanos' power. The battle continued and Thor was finally beginning to think of a way to end this – for it seemed that there was no end in sight – when someone else ended it for him.

"No!" He shouted, sending a blast at the child of Thanos whom he'd thought he'd killed, but who now appeared holding the Tesseract. Thanos was quick to protect his underling who promptly handed over the cube. The battle came to a stop as Thanos, smirking, crushed the cube, revealing the Space Stone inside. Feeling rage build up, Thor unleashed a blast of lightning which managed to catch Thanos off guard; the Mad Titan having been too busy placing the stone in his gauntlet. The lightning struck him in his shoulder, leaving behind a charred scar, similar to the one Thor had given Malekith several years ago. When he went to follow up with an attack from Gungnir, Thanos used the power of his newly acquired Space Stone and disappeared, taking his minions, and his ship, with him. Thor stood there for a moment, staring at the spot where their enemy had stood before turning and barking orders.

"Get the injured to the healing chambers, convene the council. And prepare the dead to be sent to Valhalla." He said more quietly as he came upon the first body lying at his feet. "Heimdall, you may lower the shield. The people may return to their homes." He spoke to the all-seeing Gatekeeper, the shield coming down instantly. Taking only a moment to ascertain that his friends were safe – while he would mourn any who died, there was no denying that he worried for his friends most – Thor retreated into the palace and to the royal chambers.

"Thanos has the Space Stone." He reported as he walked in, looking defeated.

"We know." Said Loki and Thor's head shot up.

"You know?" He sounded suspicious.

"Aside from the fact that we just saw it," Jane spoke up, deeming it better that this came from her. "Loki sensed an intruder in the palace. We knew they would be after the stone-"

"And you didn't think to stop them?!" He shouted at Loki accusingly. Aerith, held once more in her mother's arms, began to cry at the noise and Jane shot her husband a withering look.

"I told him not to." She hissed, soothing her daughter. "This battle had to end. And there was only two ways that was going to happen." She didn't need to spell out what those two ways were, even in his anger Thor knew that if Thanos hadn't gotten what he wanted soon, he would have used the Power Stone.

"How did they get inside the palace anyways?" He grumbled his reply, his anger mostly gone.

"One of Thanos' Children was once Asgardian." Loki explained. "They became…warped, a monster, under his control, but the shield still recognizes their origin as one of us." Slumping against the nearby wall, Thor nodded, his anger now fully gone, though defeat was still quite present.

"This isn't the end." Said Jane, recognizing the look in her husband's eyes. "We live to fight another day. And we will take him down." Handing a now calm Aerith to Darcy, Jane walked over to Thor and gave him a quick kiss, though it told him of her relief that he was alright. "Go bathe and rest. Asgard's King has done his part, now its Queen will see to the aftermath." Standing tall, she walked out of the room to go see to her people.

-/-

That evening they all gathered on the balcony overlooking the edge of the world, the same balcony Jane had stood on twice before as those that died were honoured for their sacrifice. The boats carrying the dead floated gently towards the waterfall that literally fell into nothingness, the blackness of space being all there was beneath. Thor and Jane stood in the very centre, Thor holding Gungnir and wearing his ceremonial helmet, while Jane held a sleeping Aerith, who at not even a day old was attending her first funeral. When the boats were far enough away Thor inclined Gungnir as his father once had and the soldiers behind him lit their arrows, firing them at the boats, which begun to burn. They continued towards the edge of Asgard, but right when they would fall off, Thor banged Gungnir on the ground and the boats floated passed the waterfall's edge. The orbs of light that Jane had once been fascinated by were released. They were said to guide the way as the souls of the dead were welcomed into Valhalla, and Jane could see the truth in the tradition, as she watched the bodies disintegrate and follow the orbs up into the heavens.

A/N - Thanos has arrived, and next up we return to Earth!

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