A/N: Sorry for the long wait. My mom got really mad at me (over something really trivial) and between living and uploading a new chapter on time, I choose life. But here it is, the questions last chapter's cliffhanger brought have been answered (only to bring more questions. ehehehe).
Enjoy!
"Oh yes. I knew you'd figure it out. Now all I need is to give you an incentive. I'm sure this will influence your decision," Thanos said. Loki bit back a cry of pain as the whip lashed down on his back again. The needles bit into his skin, feeling as if tiny little fires were being ignited in his back.
Loki felt Heimdall's presence vanish suddenly. No one could see the gatekeeper, but Loki sensed that he was watching. Loki had purposely distracted Thanos so he would keep his guard down and so Heimdall would see he was not going to willingly fight for Thanos, whatever the titan made him do or not. And, he admitted part of his sarcastic comments was him being angry at himself for letting himself get caught. And by Thanos, no less!
Loki felt for his magic. It was still there; very subtly, he extracted a small portion of it. He held it inside of him, waiting for the right moment.
Thanos's arm swung back again. It seemed to come towards Loki in slow motion. It hit his back—
Loki pushed the small bit of magic outwards with all his strength. Thanos and the Chitauri holding him down all shot away from him, and Loki, ignoring the immense pain in his back—enchanted pain he couldn't heal—sat up and jumped off the stone table. He watched the four Chitauri coming at him.
They leapt at him—
He was gone. Loki teleported a mile away. The Chitauri looked around in confusion, then went to find Thanos. Their quarry was gone.
Loki knew he was on Midgard—well, sort of. He was on the same physical plane as Earth—very far from it, but he was still on Midgard. He didn't know of any portals besides the one he came through the first time, and he had no desire to jump off the edge of this world and hope he didn't die.
Loki felt his strength wane. Using magic without one's hands was extremely physically taxing—it was only for the most desperate of situations.
Loki considered this desperate.
"Loki, Loki, Loki. You should know that there will be no realm, no barren moon, no crevice where we cannot find you. Don't you know that?" Thanos's voice called mockingly across the planet, and Loki felt his heart skip a beat.
Yep. Definitely desperate.
Loki heard the Chitauri approaching. It was a new group, but they recognized him immediately and moved to capture him.
Loki waited, one dagger drawn and his other hand gathering magic, until they formed a circle around him. He watched each one, his eyes darting from one to the other.
They leaped.
Loki closed his fist with the magic and he felt himself move in space, teleporting another mile away. He ignored the waves of exhaustion still washing over him from his initial escape, and strained his senses. As of now, he had no way out of Midgard. They hadn't succeeded in retrieving the Bifrost sword, so he could only hope that Heimdall told Thor about what he saw and that Thor would send out a rescue team.
Loki felt something jump on his back, and instantly teleported away. He had no plan except to stall, and he knew that wouldn't last forever.
"Loki," Thanos's voice rang out, seemingly everywhere, above the planet. "You can run, but you can't hide. Why make it worse for yourself? You have the intelligence to know that fighting only irritates me."
Oh, he knew. He had the scars, and the memories. He had the nightmares occasionally. Loki would wake up in a cold sweat from the nightmares, his heart pounding from the fear he had felt.
But he'd still fight.
…
"Are we ready?"
Thor stood in front of a portal with the Warriors Three and Sif behind him. He was turned to face them, all fully armored, and he held Mjolnir in one hand. In his anger, the hammer sparked with lightning occasionally, and a light but persistent drizzle had started around then.
He got four nods from the Warriors in front of him, and he turned abruptly and walked into the wall.
Thor came out on Midgard, on a different physical plane, but still in the same realm. Sif and the Warriors Three followed soon after. They looked around. It seemed uninhabited, but all five jumped at the sudden voice that seemed to come from all around them.
"The fallen Prince of Asgard. How you irritate me. You should know that this will only bring you pain. More pain than I had originally planned for you."
They became even more startled as Loki appeared before them. He was turned away, and there was a Chitauri attacking him. He threw the monster off, but it leaped back just as he teleported away, and it went with Loki.
"Well, we know that he's here," Fandral said dryly.
"We must stay together. There are too many of them for us to fight alone," Thor said. He started walking confidently.
Sif and the Warriors Three followed him, weapons drawn, as they navigated the maze of rock formations. They heard yelling in the distance; their senses were all on high alert.
All five jumped suddenly as a portal opened, and six figures came flying out. One came before the rest; it was a flash of black, and it slammed into the nearby rock formation. Five Chitauri came leaping out after, and all five ambushed the figure.
Thor immediately rushed towards the Chitauri and swung his hammer. Two of the monsters went flying; one other fell, dead, in front of Loki, who started on the next one with his daggers.
Sif and the Warriors Three followed soon after. Together, they defeated the five Chitauri within five minutes.
Thor immediately went to see to Loki, who lay slumped against the rock formation, chest bare, blood running down multiple large gashes across his body.
Sif and the Warriors Three guarded against any future attacks, forming a semi-circle around Thor and Loki and watching in all directions, weapons drawn.
"I can heal myself," Loki said to Thor. Thor shook his head adamantly.
"No, you cannot. Bring us back, at the very least," Thor said firmly. "Are you able to?"
Loki sighed and nodded. "Yes. Bring them here."
Thor did as asked and, with Thor, the Warriors Three, and Sif all laying their hands on Loki's arms and shoulders, Loki gathered up his last bit of strength, a good portion of his magic, and attempted to move between realms.
…
"What does Asgard plan to do with our declaration of war?" the Jotun king asked the small, kneeling figure at his feet.
Lya didn't know, but she couldn't say that. She had already been here for fifteen minutes, and the king had asked the same question six times already. She had said she didn't know every time, but he didn't believe her.
"I told you, I don't know," she said. "I—"
"Silence!" he bellowed. The Frost Giant behind Lya growled menacingly, and she cringed. She didn't want another bruise from their abuse, but she honestly didn't know what Thor or Loki planned to do with Jotunheim's declaration of war.
Unless she lied. . .
