Unable to elude the massive ship under Thanos' control, unable to escape the dangerous tyrant or his 'children', the Asgardian vessel was quickly overwhelmed and boarded by the demented followers who obeyed Thanos without so much as a single utterance of protest or showing any sign of individual thought. The followers were abundant, strong, fast and most dangerous of all; loyal.

"Thanos." Loki turned to look at Thor with wide fear filled eyes. "He's here and he will kill everyone onboard to get what he wants."

Thor didn't ask Loki to go into any details. The seldom seen fear that had shaken Loki was all the confirmation that Thor needed to know that whomever this Thanos villain was not someone to take lightly.

Loki was terrified nearly to the point of catatonia. He knew better than anyone else on the ship how cruel, cold and calculating Thanos truly was. Killing without hesitation, believing his cause to be as justified as it was infallible. The man could not be reasoned with, only delayed as those who had the misfortune of encountering him attempted to escape his wrath and survive long enough to warn others of his presence.

The entire ship shook violently as the followers of Thanos invaded the peaceful vessel and began tearing it apart bit by bit. The cries of scared, injured and dying Asgardians filled the corridors with a frightening echo of demise.

Charging away from the observation deck with a determined speed Thor returned to the main bridge of the ship only to encounter a squadron of violent followers under Thanos' control. Weapons in hand the followers began executing the Asgardian refugees by the dozens without any hesitation.

"STOP THIS." Thor demanded as he attacked and disarmed the followers with violence equal to their own.

Heimdall, Valkyrie, Korg and the other escapees attempted to aid Thor but the number and overall violence being displayed by the followers was to overwhelming for the small group to handle.

Loki tentatively joined the chaos on the bridge, watching the desperate bid to end the genocide, but somewhere deep down inside he knew that the efforts were in vain.

"Valkyrie!" Loki grabbed the warring woman's shoulders with a firm grip. "We cannot win this! Take as many Asgardians as you can and flee!"

"What? Run away?!" Valkyrie defied with absolute shock at Loki's instructions. "We can stop them! We can-"

"No." Releasing his hand from her shoulder he looked away and stared off into the distance as he anticipated Thanos himself to arrive. "We can't. Please. For the sake of our people, flee."

The tone of Loki's voice and the raw emotion in his eyes was compelling. "Very well." Valkyrie decided to obey Loki's request. "I'll take as many survivors as I can."

"Take Korg with you." Loki informed her. "You'll need as much muscle as possible."

"What about Banner?"

The roar of the Hulk from the depths of the ship sounded with a violent rumble.

"I believe he is preoccupied with matters in engineering."

"Okay." Valkyrie finally agreed. Before Loki passed her by she reached out and grabbed onto his forearm. "Hey, let's meet again. Both of us alive."

"I'll do my best..."

Valkyrie fled from the bridge, calling to Korg as she ran and escorting the nearest Asgardians to accompany her as she raced to the hangar where the gilded ship was waiting unguarded.

During the commotion of the slaughter Heimdall had been injured, laying on the floor bleeding from a damning wound in his abdomen.

"Heimdall." Loki knelt down beside his injured friend.

"Loki. I cannot see beyond this moment." The guardian told him. "But I can offer my strength in time."

"Don't do anything foolish!" Loki urged as he tried to put pressure on the bleeding injury with his hands. "We still need you!"

"My friend," Heimdall reached up and put his hand on Loki's arm. "I have done all that I can, and I only wish I could do more."

The heavy emotion in Heimdall's voice sent a chill up Loki's spine. In all the centuries that he and Thor had known Heimdall they've never once heard him admit defeat, let alone willingly give up.

"Heimdall..."

"Go. Your brother needs you." Heimdall pleaded as he let Loki's arm go. "Your people need you."

The ship became eerily still as the engines failed and the lights lost power. The emergency lights kicked on and bathed the interior of the ship in a macabre dull lighting that only emphasized the carnage being inflicted by Thanos' command.

Reluctantly Loki lifted his hands from Heimdall's injury and rose back to his feet. Looking to the bridge he saw Thor had been physically exhausted and swarmed by the vicious followers of Thanos.

Thinking quickly Loki spotted a male Asgardian attempting to fight back against a follower and failing. Using his dagger Loki attacked the follower and subdued it with a swift blade across the throat he helped the Asgardian up from the floor.

"Go. Send a distress signal." He instructed as he turned his attention back to Thor. "Send it to anyone and everyone who can possibly aid us."

"Right away!" The Asgardian obeyed his prince and rushed away from the massacre with a new mission to help his people.

Quaking footsteps caught Loki's attention as the massive green body of the Hulk began marching toward the bridge from the heavy shadows lining the corridors.

"Ban- Hulk." Loki corrected himself quickly. "Please, I need you to remain concealed for a moment longer."

"BAD PEOPLE!" Hulk refuted as he pointed to the followers attacking the Asgardians.

"Yes. They are. But an even worse person is going to join them." Loki explained calmly and slowly. "And when arrives you need to smash him, you need to make his pay for his crimes!"

Hulk gave Loki a sly smile and nodded as he took a step back and remained in the shadows. "HULK WILL MAKE BAD MAN PAY."

"I'm looking forward to it..." Stepping away from his 'secret weapon' he returned his attention to the assault on the bridge and to his brother who was fighting valiantly for their people. "Thor!" Loki shouted as he joined his brother in battle, using his dagger to cut down any follower who dared to raise a blade or laser of their own.

"Brother!" Thor responded as he and Loki joined forces to try and stop the slaughter of their people side by side.

As the two remaining Asgardian royals fought back against the invading forces in favor of their people, the rogue Asgardian obeyed Loki's instructions and sent out a distress call begging for help. The followers showed no mercy to the Asgardians as they heartlessly murdered the innocent in the name of Thanos.

"This is an Asgardian refugee vessel." The distress signal emanated from the overrun ship. "We are under assault, I repeat: we are under assault! Engines are dead, life support failing... Requesting aid from any vessel within range! Our crew is made up of Asgardian families; we have very few soldiers here. This is not a war craft, I repeat: this is NOT a war craft!"

Overwhelmed and outnumbered the battling Asgardians fell to the floor in exhaustion as the ship was boarded by Thanos himself. Thor all but collapsed to the floor as Thanos walked through the ship, stepping over the dozens of dead bodied without the slightest glimpse of empathy or humanity in the light of his actions.

The golden Infinity Gauntlet held the first of the six Infinity Stones: the Power Stone. The gauntlet itself was resting on Thanos' massive left hand as the cruel, yet charismatic leader bore it with a misguided sense of purpose.

Loki had been kneeling beside his brother when Thanos stood before him. Wisely he rose to his feet and backed away in a submissive manner as to not ire Thanos and risk him attacking those who were still yet alive.

Thor was covered in grime, bruises and blood as he rested on his knees beside Thanos, who towered over the god with a frightening height and broad build. Loki stood tall, proud and fearlessly before the violent being as he waited for Thanos to make his move.

"Hear me and rejoice!" Came a disturbing calm voice from Thanos' most loyal lieutenant, Ebony Maw. "You have had the privilege of being saved by the 'Great Titan'. You may think this is suffering, no, it is salvation." The tall, slender alien with a gray complexion and flat facial features sounded off as he praised his master. "Universal scales tipped toward balance because of your sacrifice. Smile! For even in death, you have become children of Thanos."

Thanos' followers, his 'Black Order', gathered around the center of the bridge to encircle Thanos, Thor and Loki as they closed ranks around the dead or dying Asgardians at their feet.

With an emotionless stare Thanos addressed the ship, his focus primarily on Loki. "I know what it's like to lose. To feel so desperately that you're right, yet to fail nonetheless." Reaching down with his massive hand he grabbed onto the top of Thor's skull and hefted him upward. "It's frightening; turns the legs to jelly. I ask you, to what end?" He wore his Infinity Gauntlet with pride as the purple Power Stone glowed with limitless energy. "Dread it? Run from it?" His hand tightened on Thor's skull. "Destiny arrives all the same. And now it's here, or..." Thanos' massive jaw twisted into a malicious grin. "should I say I am?"

Thor let out grunt of discomfort as he responded to Thanos' long winded speech of self gratification. "You talk too much..."

"The Tesseract," Thanos demanded as he stared at Loki with an embittered glare. "or your brother's head. I assume you have a preference?"

"Oh, I do." Loki replied with a voice he had forced an icy lilt into. Knowing that Thanos could not be beaten down by strength alone his only advantage came from a more cerebral approach. Using his skill for trickery and deception Loki tried to bluff the mad titan in hopes of sparing Thor's life and escaping death all together. "Kill away."

Thanos was too hellbent on his cause to fall for such a ruse. Pressing the Infinity Gauntlet to Thor's skull, right to his temple, Thanos used the incredible strength of the Power Stone to cause nearly unbearable pain to the god. Purple energy flowed from the stone and into Thor's head, causing waves of pain. Thor attempted to hide the pain and endure it but it became too much causing him to cry out in pain.

Loki stared in horror at the sight of his brother's pain. Tears formed in his green eyes and threatened to fall at any moment when he yielded. "All right! STOP."

Thanos retracted the gauntlet from Thor's skull ending the pain. Thor responded through gritted and bloody teeth to Thanos' demand. "We don't have the Tesseract..." Thor struggled to speak loudly as the Power Stone had taken most of his strength. "It was destroyed on Asgard."

Loki closed his eyes briefly as he felt a twinge of guilt for what he had happened to Thor, and for what he was about to do. Lifting his right hand upward Loki released his spell of illusion and revealed the glowing blue cube of the Tesseract in the palm of his hand.

Thor's eye lit up with surprise and disappointment as he felt ashamed of Loki's actions. "You really are the worst brother..."

"I am sorry, Thor." Loki apologized as the invaluable item from his hand and readily offered to Thanos. Looking directly into Thor's eye, into his very soul, he conveyed a glance of hope, reassurance and a hint of mischief. "I assure you, brother, the sun will shine on us again."

Thanos disagreed openly. "Your optimism is misplaced, Asgardian."

"Well, for one thing, I'm not Asgardian." Loki quipped in an unexpected act of defiance as he remained focused on his brother. "And for another, we have a Hulk!"

At those words the Hulk tore through the bridge of the ship and tackled Thanos away and to the far wall. Before the Hulk came charging through Loki dove forward and pushed Thor out of harm's way and to the floor as the two powerhouses of strength prepared to duel face to face.

"I promise we will meet again." Loki put his hand on Thor's chest and allowed an orb of green energy to escape his palm and enter Thor's body. "Forgive me, but for now we must part ways."

Rising up from Thor's side Loki pushed his back up against the far wall of the bridge as he watch Thanos and the Hulk trade blows. Thanos was quicker than the Hulk, and his ability to full concentrate his strength without the dilemma of two distinct personalities fighting for control over one body gave him the edge to overpower the Hulk and knock the green behemoth to the floor with a thunderous punch.

Heimdall, who had been watching from where he lay bleeding on the floor, had witnessed Thor fall in battle, Loki protect his brother and the Hulk be defeated and left a cowering mass on the floor.

"Forefathers..." Heimdall called out with the last of his energy to the gods who had long since passed. Reaching out his hand toward the Hulk he asked for the strength to aid his friends for the final time. "let the dark magic flow through me, one last time..."

The rainbow hued energy of the Bi-Frost erupted from the stars that surrounded the ship and enveloped the Hulk in the multicolored light. In a matter of seconds the enormous green body of the Hulk was transported from the ravaged vessel stranded in the cosmos and sent far away, back to his home, back to Earth.

Thanos did not approve of Heimdall's actions and made it very clear as he took a spear from Black Maw and placed the blade directly over Heimdall's heart. "That was a mistake." With a single forceful thrust the blade sliced through Heimdall's chest and stabbed him directly in the heart, killing him instantly.

Heimdall, the great guardian and Bi-Frost Gate Keeper, was gone.

"NO!" Thor protested as he watched Thanos murder his friend. "You're going to die for that!"

Ebony Maw used his skill of telekinesis to pick up scraps of metal to restrain Thor's body to keep him kneeling on the floor, and used a wrap of metal to cover Thor's mouth as he held a finger to his lips and shushed the protesting god. "Shh..."

Unable to defend himself or go to his brother's side Thor was forced to remain idle and watch as Thanos proceeded to finish his mission and claim the Infinity Stone.

"My humble personage..." Ebony Maw held the Tesseract outward to Thanos with both hands to present his master with the powerful weapon. "bows before your grandeur. No other being has ever had the might, nay the nobility, to wield not one, but two, of the Infinity Stones. The universe lays within your grasp."

Ebony Maw placed the cube into Thanos' awaiting palm. Closing his hand into a tight fist Thanos was able to easily crush the exterior casing of the cube and unveil the blue Space Stone that had been contained within. Brushing aside the remnants of the cube Thanos placed the second stone into the gauntlet beside the first, and a wave of energy flowed through the gauntlet and into Thanos' body.

"There are two more stones on Earth." Thanos announced to his gathered 'Black Order'. "Find them, my children, and bring them to me on Titan."

A woman with blue skin, golden eyes and black horns that protruded from her forehead and wrapped around to the sides of her head; called Proxmia Midnight answered on behalf of the Order. "Father, we will not fail you."

"If I might interject..." Loki, who had been watching the events unfold from the distance, saw an opportunity and attempted to take advantage of it. "if you're going to Earth, you might want a guide. I do have a bit of experience in that arena."

Thanos was unimpressed with Loki's offer. "If you consider failure experience."

"I consider experience experience." Loki retorted sharply. Stepping forward toward the mad titan he gave Thor a mischievous glance. "Almighty Thanos, I Loki," he flashed a subtle reassuring smile to his brother as he spoke; taking the time to emphasize his words to communicate his plan with Thor as he held Thanos' attention. Keeping his left hand behind his back as a dagger appeared in his grip. "Odinson. Prince of Asgard, rightful King of Jotunheim; God of Mischief, do hereby pledge to you my undying allegiance."

Moving swiftly with a strong motion Loki attempted to stab the dagger into Thanos' throat, but the titan was too quick. Using the power of the gauntlet Thanos restrained Loki's hand with inescapable energy and held him back with no effort whatsoever.

"'Undying'." Thanos mocked Loki as he reached out his gauntlet covered hand and wrapped it around Loki's throat. "You should choose your words more carefully."

Loki was lifted up from the ground, the tall slender man was nothing more than a ragdoll as he fought to break free of Thanos' grip. Struggling and failing to break free Loki's face began to turn a pale shade of blue, his eyes reddened as the vessels burst from the pressure around his throat, blood began to drip from his nose and mouth.

"You will... never be... a god!"

Thanos tightened his grip further, the sound of bones breaking and Loki's crushed breath filled the ship as he carried the now dead god in his hand toward Thor before dropping his motionless body on the floor beside him with a sickening 'thud'.

"No resurrections this time." Thanos boldly declared as he used the power of his newly acquired Space Stone to teleport himself and the Black Order from the decimated ship, while using the Power Stone to destroy the helpless ship with a devastating explosion.

With both Thanos and the Black Order gone the metal binds that secured Thor in place fell away from his body. Using his dwindling strength Thor crawled over to Loki's body and began to mourn. "No..." Bowing his head he rested against Loki's still chest and grabbed onto his limp arm with a weak hand. "Loki..."

Nebula piloted her small craft from Thanos and to Earth with a wounded Tony Stark as her only passenger. The two had formed a hasty but necessary alliance as they both fought against and lost to Thanos on the dead world of Titan. The devastation of the battle had taken its toll on the surviving heroes on Titan and Earth in a heavy, heartbreaking manner.

Tony, Dr. Stephen Strange and Peter Parker had all been taken, against their will, to Titan when Ebony Maw attempted to steal the Time Stone from Stephen's sanctum. Unwilling to let the stone go without a fight Stephen was taken captive by Ebony Maw but Tony and Peter went after him with the intent to rescue the sorcerer. During their unwarranted interplanetary travel the trio of heroes managed to kill Ebony Maw, eliminating one of Thanos' most powerful and dangerous lieutenants, but were unable to pilot the alien ship back to Earth.

While on Titan the three encountered other enemies of Thanos and future allies with the Guardians of the Galaxy: Peter 'Starlord' Quill, Drax the Destroyer and Mantis. The two teams of three had forged together into a team of six as the two groups were united through common ground regarding the reign of destruction left in Thanos' wake.

Tony and Stephen had been informed by the Hulk, who had regained himself as Bruce Banner, that Thanos attacked and killed Thor. Bruce had no idea that Thor managed to survive the onslaught and find new allies with the Guardians of the Galaxy. But the camaraderie between the Tony, Stephen and Thor was enough to bring some trust among the six heroes.

Quill had been in search of Gamora after Thanos destroyed Knowhere and claimed the Reality Stone, only to learn that Thanos had sacrificed her life to gain the Soul Stone and was now after Stephen's Time Stone.

Learning that his closest friend had been killed by Thanos had left Quill an utter wreck and made it impossible for him to focus on the mission of taking the gauntlet from Thanos, mistakenly allowing their plan to fail.

During the battle Nebula, Gamora's sister, had arrived with the intent to kill Thanos but she was no match for her father's strength was subdued quickly.

Thanos stabbed Tony in his abdomen and was prepared to finish off the engineer when Stephen offered the Time Stone in exchange for Tony's life. Thanos accepted and spared the engineer and promptly returned to Earth to claim the Mind Stone.

Vision, who held the Mind Stone within his body, knew that if Thanos took the stone all of the universe would suffer. Ready to sacrifice himself for the good of all of the innocent lives that would fall prey to Thanos, Vision found himself outnumbered by his friends who swore they'd find another way to remove the Mind Stone and destroy it without killing him in the process.

Venturing to Wakanda to keep Vision safe and to keep innocent people from being caught in the crossfire when Thanos arrived, Princess Shuri of Wakanda agreed to use her technology to save Vision while the Avengers: Steve 'Captain America' Rogers, Natasha 'Black Widow' Romanoff, Wanda 'Scarlet Witch' Maximoff, Dr. Bruce Banner, the Black Panther - King T'Challa, Bucky 'the Winter Soldier' Barnes, Colonel James 'Rhodey' Rhodes as WarMachine and Sam 'the Falcon' Wilson; providing the first line of defense against Thanos' army. The Wakandan warriors proudly aligned with their King and the Avengers and prepared to lay down their own lives to protect all of the universe as well.

Even when Thor, along with Rocket Raccoon and Groot arrived to aid in the battle it still wasn't enough to even the incredible odds.

Unfortunately Thanos' army was too strong, too numerous. Breaking through the line of defense the heroes were unable to quell the combat, only able to eliminate a handful of enemies in comparison to the rest of the army. Proxima Midnight led the charge but was killed by Wanda when Proxmia attempt to kill Natasha. Wanda then had the horrific responsibility of killing Vision to keep the Mind Stone from Thanos.

Thanos, however, used the Time Stone to undo Wanda's effort and turn back time to the moment just before Vision was killed. Able to pull the Mind Stone from Vision's head Thanos succeeded in collecting the sixth and final stone and killed the unique life form for the second time in the process.

Snapping his fingers Thanos was able to enact his final plan and with that snap half of the entire universe had been eliminated.

On Earth half of the Wakandan warriors turned to ash and faded away, including T'Challa himself. Bucky, Groot, Sam and Wanda all turned to ash and faded away leaving their friends standing in terror and confusion.

Titan saw the same reaction to Thanos' success. Quill, Drax, Mantis, Stephen and Peter all turned to ash in a matter of seconds. As Peter died in Tony's arms the engineer felt a true sense of loss as the frightened kid begged to be spared, but there was nothing that could be done.

Tony and Nebula survived the clash on Titan but knew they needed to regroup with other allies. Earth was their only option.

Tony pressed his hand to his bleeding injury as he mentally calculated how long his artificial binding agent would hold. The stab wound was severe but not necessarily fatal as long as he was given proper medical attention in a timely enough manner. Without any medical kits at his disposal Tony was the mercy of time and chance.

It had taken Nebula almost an hour to coax Tony Stark into getting up and continuing the fight. Most of that hour had been spent aiding the wounded hero in merely walking over to her downed space pod. Bearing a majority of Tony's near deadweight as she wrapped her arm around his waist and helped him walk over to the only flyable craft on the entire vacated planet of Titan, the usually cold Nebula was a surprising comfort in her company alone to the stranded, frightened, injured and exhausted Avenger.

Tony was laying on his back on a long metal table secured to the wall at the rear of the small craft. Weak from blood loss and exhausted from battle Tony was uncharacteristically quiet as Nebula piloted the craft from Titan to Terra; a.k.a. the Earth.

A collision against the hull of the craft made Tony jump, his nerves still exposed after such a gruesome final battle. Sitting upright slowly he looked toward the cockpit and peered through the windshield as Nebula navigated what looked like an asteroid field.

"What's going on?" Tony asked as he slowly rose from the table and hobbled up to the cockpit. "How far from Earth are we?"

"It's a debris field." Nebula's metallic voice replied blankly as she slowed the craft's speed and piloted expertly between the massive pieces of metal. "We're four jumps from Terra. We'll be there in an hour."

"Debris field?" Tony didn't acknowledge the other facts Nebula stated. "What kind of debris field is floating out in the middle of space?"

"The kind of debris field that's left in the wake of combat."

"Combat." Tony's eyes darkened as he looked down at the floor. "This is the remains of destroyed ship, isn't it?"

"Yes." Nebula confirmed. "There was a distress signal coming from these coordinates. One ship arrived, I don't know how many survived."

"Can you check for other survivors?"

Nebula froze and turned her gaze slowly toward Tony. "Yes. But doing so would be a waste of time."

"Please?" Tony asked softly. "I know the odds are astronomically low of actually finding someone alive but after seeing..." He paused as a mournful sob temporarily stole away his voice. Choking back his grief he tried again. "I just need to know. I need to know that life can still go on even after all this death..."

Sensing the dread in Tony's voice and understanding all too well the pain of losing loved ones to Thanos' cruelty, Nebula willing obliged. "Very well. Beginning scan now."

On the control panel of the craft a radar like screen glowed to life with a pale blue light as the system began checking for any nearby signs of living organisms in the vicinity. The display was blank and deafeningly quiet as Tony stared with great intent waiting, hoping, for any sign of life in the otherwise death filled vacuum of the space the surrounded him.

"Damn." Tony grumbled and held his hand against his still bloodied abdomen as a twinge of pain began to gnaw at his side. "We're too late."

"Seems to be a pattern with us." Nebula quietly commented to herself. She noticed Tony wincing in pain and knew he was wounded more severely than he'd ever admit. "You should lay down. If you start bleeding again I won't be able to help you."

Nodding in agreement Tony lifted his eyes away from the radar and out through the windshield to the endless stars that lay beyond the debris. "Guess I shouldn't be shock that-" A 'blip' sound on the radar caught his and Nebula's attention as a small dark blue dot appeared on the display. "What's that?"

"Someone is alive." Nebula stated with disbelief in her tone. "But it's faint."

"Faint because of the distance?"

"Faint because whoever is out there is dying."

"Can you find them?"

"Yes." Nebula confirmed. "Sit down." She motioned with her eyes to the vacant seat beside her. "We need to move quickly."

Unwilling to take a chance Tony sat down in the seat as instructed and watched silently as Nebula honed in on the signal. Maneuvering through the spinning, drifting masses of metal the craft discovered one body that was relatively undamaged compared to the others. Concealed behind a mass of what was once a ship's hull the body had remained completely hidden from anyone who had not turned on a scanner seeking life forms.

"There." Nebula focused on the body in the distance. "One person is still alive."

"How do we bring them onboard?"

"We don't. I do." Was the curt reply from the cynical cybernetic woman as she rose from her seat and walked to the rear of the craft. "Stay here and do not touch anything."

"You do realize when you tell someone to not touch something that only makes that someone want to touch something more than anything else, right?"

"Do. Not. Touch." Nebula threatened as she glared angrily over her shoulder toward Tony. Her hollow black eyes staring deeply into his soul from where she stood.

Tony swallowed nervously. "Yes, ma'am."

Nebula pressed a button on the control panel on the wall and a the door to a small compartment opened. Stepping into the compartment she slipped rebreather over her face and took a second one, clipping it to her belt as she secured a line connecting her to the ship itself to her belt alongside it. Pressing a second button the door on the opposite wall of the compartment opened giving her access to free space.

Tony watched through the windshield as Nebula drifted from the ship and through the debris field. Nebula located the pod and pushed aside the surrounding debris that otherwise obstructed the pod and pulled open the door to the pod with a single pull with her enhanced strength from her artificial arm. Using the line that connected her to her ship Nebula pulled her way back through the debris field and to her ship with the man in tow.

A flowing green cape wrapped around the duo as Nebula made contact with the exterior hull of the ship.

"That's one..." Tony mumbled to himself as he watched Nebula return to the ship with the survivor. Getting back to his feet Tony walked to the rear of the craft ready to aid the wounded man. "One more than I thought we'd find, anyway."

Nebula opened the compartment door and stepped through with the unconscious man at her side. She slipped off her rebreather and did the same for him as Tony stumbled over awkwardly and did his best to support the other man's weight despite his own injury. The green cape hung from the man's shoulder and concealed his bowed head as his unconscious body was carried over to the nearby table. The black armor looked light but was quite heavy, especially when in the hands of a man with waning strength.

"His neck has been damaged. Lay him down." Nebula ordered as she guided the man over to the table where Tony had been laying one a few moments before. "We have to leave the debris field before we get struck by shrapnel, or the Black Order finds us."

After laying the man down as gently as possible Tony looked over the man, curious as to why his skin was so blue; it was as if he had completely suffocated, and yet he was still alive. "Wait a minute..." Brushing aside the green cape and the dark locks of hair Tony stared at the man's face realizing that it was someone he knew. "Loki?!"

Nebula turned to look back at the two men with an angry glare in her deep black eyes. "Loki? He's one of Thanos' goons."

"No," Tony defended as he put his fingers to the side of Loki's neck lightly. He felt a faint pulse and eyed the deep purple and black bruises that lined his entire throat. "he's a victim of Thanos. Just like you and me."

"I'm not a victim." Nebula spat bitterly. "I'm a survivor."

"Yeah, we all are..." Tony commented softly to himself as he looked down at Loki with pity. "What the hell happened to you?"

A weak twitching of his hands signified that Loki had hear Tony and was slowly regaining consciousness. The damage to Loki's neck had caused some degree of paralysis in his limps, his fingers and toes tingling uncomfortable as his body fought to regenerate from the trauma inflicted by Thanos.

"Loki?" Tony called his name as grunted in pain and took a knee beside the table, no longer able to stand because of his injury. "Wake up. We need to talk."

Slowly Loki's eyes opened, his eyes as red as his skin was blue. Small markings marred his skin along his cheeks, his forehead and his chin. Too weak to move and too tired to even make an effort all he could do was look at Tony with glassy eyes as the muffled words of his rescuers steadily became clearer.

"Loki? Are you with us? Come on 'Sleeping Beauty', wake up before one of has to kiss you!"

Reaching out a hand weakly toward Tony to let him know he was in fact awake Loki swallowed once and grimaced visibly at the pain thanks to the injury inflicted by Thanos. "...Stark."

"Yeah, right here. Did... Did Thanos do this?"

Barely able to muster the strength to nod Loki answered in the affirmative. "...Thor?"

"Thor?" Tony paled at the question. Bruce had told him that Thor was gone when they reunited on Earth. The Guardians of the Galaxy had encountered him but lost track, no one being able to confirm one way or the other if Thor had in fact succeeded in his mission or survived the encounter with Thanos, at least as far as Tony knew. "...He. He's not here."

"...Gone?"

"Yeah." Tony nodded very slowly. "Thor's gone."

A breath hitched in Loki's chest as he restrained a deep mournful sob at the very idea of losing his brother had stolen any resolve to fight back that Loki had managed to cling to. A single tear rolled from his red colored eye and ran down his blue cheek.

"Hey, hey, hey..." Tony put his bloodied hand on Loki's arm in a rare act of empathy and support. "don't lose it on me now! We need you! We need all the help we can get!"

Loki turned his head just enough to look at Tony's hand resting on his arm. That's when he noticed the blood stains all over Tony's palm and the blood stains on his gray hoodie.

Taking a deep breath Loki managed to regain his composure. "...Hurt?"

"Yeah." Looked down at his side, watched as a fresh trail of blood began to ooze from the fabric as his horrific wound refused to stay closed. "Thanos got me. He also took away my friends," his own eyes began to well up with tears as he thought back to Peter dying in his arms. "one was just a kid." He turned and nodded toward Nebula. "And one was her sister."

"...G-Gamora." Loki stammered as he fought to clear his voice enough to speak properly. "Thanos... killed his own... daughter."

"And countless other lives. I don't think we can stop him, but maybe we can undo the damage he caused. If we can just..." Tony suddenly trailed off as the wound in his side suddenly began bleeding heavily. He pressed both hands to his injury in a desperate bid to stem the bleeding. His brown eyes went wide with fear just seconds he lost consciousness, his head slumping forward and his body going limp.

"...Stark?!"

Nebula had overheard the conversation and reacted quickly. Hooking her arm under Tony's arm she hefted the bleeding engineer back to his feet and all but dragged him over to a second table to lay him down. Blood saturated the hoodie and threatened to spill over the side of the table and pool onto the floor beneath it.

"We need to move quickly." Nebula glared at Loki as she addressed him after tending to Tony. While she didn't trust Loki, or anyone else for that matter, she knew Tony was right and for the moment they couldn't afford to turn away potential allies. "Terra is only three jumps away now."

"...Won't make it." Loki commented as he look down past his own body to Tony's body now laying unconscious on the table across from his own. Forcing himself to move, forcing himself to overcome the hindering pain and damage to his every nerve, Loki rolled from the table onto the floor and dragged himself pathetically toward Tony.

"What are you doing?!" Nebula asked as she piloted the ship as fast as possible to their destination. "You'll kill yourself!"

"...No one would miss me." Loki commented as he pulled himself up onto his knees and put his hand down onto Tony's bleeding side. Using the one last burst of magic a green wave of energy released from his palm and entered the wound and immediately stopped the bleeding while also regenerating most of the damaged blood vessels before fading away.

Nebula watched as Loki gave the last of his strength to Tony before collapsing backward into an unconscious heap on the floor.

"Idiot." Nebula commented as he returned to the rear of the ship and bent down over Loki. Despite all outward appearances Loki was in fact still alive. "No wonder my Father recruited you."

Tony took in a deep breath but remaining unconscious. The pain had eased but the blood loss had taken its toll.

Sliding one hand carefully under Loki's neck and the other around his chest Nebula was able to lift the wounded god up from the floor just enough to lay him back down on the table from whence he fell.

With two injured allies in tow Nebula piloted the ship as fast as she could to Earth. She didn't know who to trust or where else she could go, but she did know that she needed to stop Thanos and that she couldn't do it alone.

In Wakanda the surviving Avengers all gathered in Shuri's lab trying to figure out their next move. With King T'Challa now gone and presumed dead it was Queen Ramonda who was now leading the kingdom. Shuri refused to take the mantle as ruler as she believed she'd do more good being able to aid their allies and friends with her technology then sitting on a throne and arguing back and forth with council leaders.

Steve was staring out the large window of the lab overlooking the blackened, charred battlefield where they had bravely fought only to fail. Thor and Bruce, wearing the 'Hulk Buster' armor were working with the Wakandans to clean up the mess and ensure that the bodies of the fallen warriors were given proper burial after their heroic sacrifices.

"This is it?" Steve asked as Natasha and Rhodey walked into the lab together. "We're all that's left?"

"Yeah. Looks like it." Natasha crossed her arms over her chest. "I've tried to make contact with both Clint and Scott, but no answer."

"Fury?"

"And Agent Hill. All the same."

Rhodey rubbed his hand over his chin. As a military man himself he knew exactly what was going through Steve's mind. "Give us a minute." He politely asked Natasha.

Understanding what was going to happen she nodded in agreement and turned to leave the lab. "I'm going to check in with General Okoye. Maybe she and Princess Shuri have found something beneficial with the confiscated alien weaponry."

Rhodey joined Steve at the window. Peering out through the glass he too watched the clean up process and tried to not count the bodies being taken off the field. "As a courtesy I won't ask how you're holding up." Rhodey began respectfully. "But I am going to ask what's on your mind. What's on your mind?"

"Everything." Steve answered coldly. "Everything was on the line and we lost it all."

"No, we didn't lose." Rhodey told him firmly. "We merely suffered a set back."

"We lost." Steve argued. "Bucky, Sam, T'Challa, Wanda, Vision, Groot, half of Wakanda... half of the universe! Even if we were to track down Thanos, attack him, disarm him, bring him to justice... It won't be enough. It'll never be enough."

"Life. Death. Is it ever enough under any other circumstances?"

Steve didn't answer the question, he merely turned his gaze from the window and over to Rhodey. Ever since the Avengers squared off with each other in Germany, when Rhodey was shot down from the sky and suffered a horrific spinal injury, Steve couldn't stop thinking about how a single decision had so many consequences. Seeing the braces that Tony had constructed to help Rhodey walk again only made the true weight of the repercussions heavier.

"I've seen so much combat, so much senseless violence and loss of life that I've never been able to look at the world the same way as I did as a child. And I never will. But that's a good thing."

"How's that?"

"Because it means I'm changing just as the world is changing. And we have the power to make those changes either for the better, or for worse. Personally, I choose the former option. Just as Bucky did."

Steve smiled a little. "And Tony."

"Yeah. And Tony."

"Don't forget Loki." Bruce interjected as he walked into the lab with Rocket riding on his shoulder. There was an alien spear gripped tightly in the raccoons paws as he began studying the odd item. "If he can change for the better anyone can."

"Except for Thanos." Rocket quipped as he hopped off of Bruce's shoulder and onto a long workbench that lined the wall of the lab. "A guy like that is truly nuts! And trust me, with all the freaks I've encountered in the the galaxy I'm an expert as nuts!"

"Bruce," Steve looked at the scientist as he sighed a took a seat near the workbench next to Rocket. "did you find anything useful?"

"No, not really." Bruce admitted as he ran his hand over his face. "Rocket thinks he can modify the alien tech into something we can use to our own advantage, but even if it works what're we going to do with it? I mean, where do we go from here?"

"Wish I-"

"Hey!" Natasha rushed back into the lab with a serious stare. "An alien ship just landed outside. She says she's an ally and that she has two wounded men who need our help."

"She?" Rocket dropped the weapon as he turned to look at Natasha. "Is this 'she' a green chick with terrible taste in men?"

"Actually, she's blue." Natasha confirmed. "Said her name is-"

"Nebula."

"So you know her?"

"In a way. In a very violent, tried to kill me and my friends, but in the end turns out pretty useful kind of way. Yeah."

"Good. Come with me, her ship is pretty banged up and we'll need you to repair."

"Hey, as long as you keep supplying me with aliens weapons and some good chow I'll repair anything you want!" Rocket declared as he hopped down from the desk and followed Natasha out of the lab, walking at his side. "Speaking of which, can I see your gun?"

"No."

Nebula stood outside the ship, standing beside the ramp with Okoye eyeing her suspiciously. The end of Okoye's spear was aimed precariously at Nebula's throat but the troubled young woman wasn't intimidated by the gesture. Inside the ship Wakandan doctors were tending to Tony and Loki, loading the men onto hovering gurneys and guiding them down the ramp with the intent of taking them to Shuri's lab.

Natasha and Rocket approached Nebula slowly. Natasha kept her hand hovering over her gun holstered on her hip while Rocket just walked inside the ship without so much as acknowledging her.

"The fox survived?" Nebula remarked as Rocket passed by.

Okoye gave Natasha an odd glance but neither woman said anything.

The medical team exited the ship with the two gurneys in tow. Tony was brought out first. His gray hoodie had been opened and the shirt beneath cut away to expose the wound underneath. A pressure bandage with a glowing sensor had been placed over the wound to protect it while also disinfecting it. An oxygen mask over his face would steadily fog and clear in rhythm with his breaths as fought to pull through his injury.

Natasha was right at his side showing her rarely seen compassion as he put her hand on his shoulder. "Tony?"

Tony's dark eyes opened partially as he tried to give her a cheesy grin. "Agent Romanoff." His voice was muffled slightly by the mask but no one dared to remove it.

"You made it. Welcome back."

"Thanks." He looked around and didn't recognize Wakanda at all. "Where am I?"

"I'll explain later." Natasha promised as she walked beside him. "For now you need to get patched up."

"Looking forward to it." Tony whispered before his eyes shut again and he slipped back into unconsciousness.

The gurney carrying Loki was brought out second. A special neck brace had been secured around his damaged neck, and like Tony, he had an oxygen mask over his nose and mouth to aid his breathing. The Wakanda doctors were discussing Loki's odd pallor with one another while also looking over at Nebula as if speculating whether or not the two were related.

"He is not of my kind." Nebula told Okoye. "Normally he looks very human. I don't know why he's blue."

Nodding Okoye lowered her spear while a second guard raised their own at Nebula. Making contact with the medical team she told them that Loki's appearance was unnatural, having no idea that he was actually the God of Mischief.

Tony was placed on the exam table in Shuri's lab with careful movements. Shuri herself was hovering over Tony, using her skill and knowledge to heal his otherwise lethal injury.

Steve and Rhodey watched from a distance while Bruce stood next to Shuri watching the incredible process of Wakandan medicine healing his wound.

Shortly after the second gurney was brought into the lab with Loki still unconscious as well. Steve and Rhodey exchanged worried glances as they realized that someone needed to tell Thor that Loki was alive.

"I'll go." Steve volunteered so that Rhodey could stay at his best friend's side. "This isn't something you can just say over a radio."

Shuri looked to the medical team accompanying Loki and instructed them to lay him down on the next table. "I'll see to him next."

"Loki..." Bruce smiled a little as he walked over to where Loki had been laid and put his hand on the unconscious god's shoulder. "Never thought I'd say this, but, I'm happy to see you."

The blue that marred Loki's skin was something that Bruce had never seen before, and the neck brace made him feel a little sick. Choosing instead to touch Loki's wrist Bruce found a pulse and sighed with relief to know that the god still lived.

The debilitating stab wound in Tony's abdomen had healed in its entirety. Vessels, muscle and tissue had all regenerated in record time under Shuri's skilled hand leaving only a faint scar on his body as a reminder of his personal encounter with Thanos.

Rhodey walked over to the table where Tony was tended to by Shuri and tentatively asked about his condition. "How is he?"

"He will live." Shuri confirmed as she finished healing his body. "But he will need to rest."

"No permanent damage?"

"None that I can detect."

Rhodey looked down at Tony and let out a small chuckle. "Thank God, I don't think Pepper would ever forgive me if anything bad happened to him." It was then Rhodey realized that he had no idea if Pepper even survived. "Pepper..." He looked up to Bruce who had overheard his conversation. "Should I...?"

"Yeah, I would."

"Right." Rhodey backed out of the room in search of a phone to contact Pepper. "Let me know if Tony wakes up!"

"I will!" Bruce called out as he left the room and Shuri walked over to where Loki was laying.

Shuri ran a scan over Loki's body and detected the breaks in his neck, the sensors flashing red to indicate the broken bones, torn ligaments and severed nerves.

"This is impossible." Shuri commented as she assessed his overall condition. "No man should have been able to survive this! He should be dead!"

"About that..." Bruce nervously began. "Loki is a bit of a unique case. He's, uh,"

"Loki?" Shuri asked with an arched brow and skeptical smile. "Loki the god who invaded New York six years ago?"

"Uh..."

"This is why Wakanda keeps to itself!" She quipped as she continued to tend to Loki's wounds. "Whatever he is, wherever he comes from, he is lucky. If he were any normal man he would have died as soon as his neck was broken."

"Broken?" Bruce looked considerably worried. "Will he..."

"I cannot say. I am too unfamiliar with his physiology to make such a diagnosis."

"Yeah, I can understand that."

"Now..." Shuri set about knitting the bones in Loki's neck, reconnecting severed nerves and mending torn ligaments. "this will not take long."

As Loki's neck began to heal the blue complexion that had taken Loki's skin began to lighten and regain a more Earthly tone of flesh color compared to that of Jotunheim. The small markings on his face began to disappear as he looked more like the Loki the Avengers had come to know over the years.

"This is no longer necessary." Shuri stated as she slipped off the oxygen mask. She finished her scans and carefully unfastened the neck brace and pulled it away from Loki's neck. "They will both need rest." She told Bruce as she nodded back to Tony. "I know you are worried, as am I. But they must rest before they can be of use to you in stopping Thanos and saving everyone."

Bruce reached out and gently held Shuri's hand. "Don't worry. We'll find a way to bring T'Challa back. I promise."

Shuri nodded gratefully, refusing to lose her emotional control as the thought of losing her brother was still too painful to endure. "Good. I will hold you to that."

"Where is he?!" Thor's voice boomed as he marched into the lab with Steve following right behind him. "Where is Loki?"

"Thor." Bruce called out to him as he backed away from the table. "He's alive."

A smile of gratitude crept over Thor's face. Walking over to the table, slowly, he stood beside the bed and looked down at his brother's face. "He lives."

"He's strong." Bruce commented as he discreetly motioned for Steve and Shuri back away a little bit to give the brothers space. "Guess it runs in the family." Nodding toward Tony he tried to coax the somewhat timid soldier to approach the friend he hadn't seen in over two years. "But he's not the only one who's stronger than he looks."

Steve put his hand on Tony's arm. "I'm sorry."

"Loki?" Thor rested his hand on Loki's chest, relieved to feel the strong heart beating away under his palm. "Brother?"

Loki's eyes opened and he peered up into Thor's face. A sly smile appeared as he tried to sit upright. "You have two eyes again. Why don't they match?"

Thor helped him to sit up and ignored the comment. "Is this... Are you really here?"

Loki swung his legs over the edge of the table and stood up carefully. "I'm here."

Before anyone had the chance to say anything else Thor wrapped his arms around Loki and gave him a tight hug of absolute relief. It took Loki only a moment to raise his arms and reciprocate the hug.

...to be continued...

Author's Note: This story will be on a year-long hiatus until the fourth Avenger's movie, which I'm certain will be titled "Avengers Assemble" is released. From there I can continue this story while keeping it as close to the official MCU story as possible.

Thank you for all the support, the positive feedback and intrigue! It's really helped me to inspired and writing, and in time I will continue with at least one addition chapter! But who knows? Maybe I'll keep this as a sort of on-going story just for fun! :)