The silence that fell onto the room seemed to suck out all the air.

He was standing in the middle. He, who was the worst nightmare of all the unfortunate souls who were unlucky enough to have met him already.

He rejoiced in violence and another people's suffering as well as he enjoyed everyone subserviently begging at his feet for mercy.

Right now, the God of Mischief was doing just that.

Thanos smirked.

Thanos was here and Loki's heart was beating unbelievably…regularly?

It was astonishing to Loki himself that in the face of his tormentor, of someone he has feared for so long, he has managed to keep his rational mind. Even breaths were coming out of Loki's mouth as his chest was rising periodically. He kept his brilliant eyes cast onto the floor in a seeming position of servitude.

Now that Thanos was here, Loki felt as if his mind imagined him even worse than he truly was. Yes, he was probably the most dangerous creature in the entire universe but still; he was only a being. And any being can be destroyed.

Loki was scared, of course he was. He knew better than any of those superheroes in the room what Thanos was capable of. He was well aware that if he decided to pick a fight now, they would all probably end up dead rather sooner than later and the Earth would be his in the blink of an eye.

Yet the Titan had his weaknesses too.

And Loki wasn't stupid. He knew that Thanos' physical power is unparalleled, he knew his cunning and sly nature and he knew that he enjoyed watching them scream.

Thanos has, obviously, known all Loki's weaknesses. And Loki didn't doubt that the Titan has kept a track on him since the last time he saw him. In the end, he was promised an eternity of misery should the Tesseract be kept from them.

The Tesseract was kept from them.

Loki had it.

Loki, however, also has had loads of painful memories since he last saw the Mad Titan. His humiliating defeat. His condemnation. The dungeons. Sakaar. The arrival on Earth. The time in SHIELD's custody with the torture.

Loki didn't doubt that Thanos would try to use those against him. But what he didn't know was that he also managed to find little bits of light amongst all the darkness. Yes, the darkness prevailed, but there was also Heimdall's acknowledgement of his rule on Asgard, his reconciliation with Thor, his conversation with his mother.

Loki knew that Thanos wouldn't have even noticed these. They were just flickers, but those flickers made all the difference. They made him stronger.

Loki kept his most precious gifts from before Thor's failed coronation; his silver tongue, his cunning nature, his manipulative skills, his intelligence, his magic. But during his recent years of hardship he became much more powerful. He was gradually beginning to trust himself and see himself as he truly was. He was of Jotunheim and of Asgard. That didn't make him a monster. It gave him an advantage. He was Thor's brother which didn't put him into a shadow but gave him a friend with whom he could shine together.

Loki had his reasons for coming to save the Asgardians. He didn't see himself as one of those heroes who gave their lives for the greater good without anyone knowing their name. He came to Asgard while making sure they knew it was him to bring in the last-minute help. Mainly, he came to aid Thor.

When they arrived on Earth, it seemed to Loki that all was lost. His brother gave him up as a dog he no longer needed into the hands of SHIELD too willing to torture the truth out of him. Yet Thor did come for him. Heimdall came for him. Even Bruce came for him. They all thought that he was worth saving.

And Loki was beginning to believe it too.

And so Loki could employ his brilliant mind and come up with a plan.

"Well, well, well. Look at this. One room filled with the Earth's mightiest heroes and I could all have you killed in the blink of an eye." Thanos eyed each Avenger separately.

"Take an example from our common frenemy here," Thanos glimpsed Loki who was still kneeling on the ground, "and kneel."

"I don't think so." Tony seemed to snap out of the shock as the first.

"Hm. Bravery. Such a waste." Thanos walked over to Loki and placed a hand on his shoulder. Loki tensed. "Haven't you all seen what happens to godlings who refuse to obey their master?"

"You." Thor was out of breath. "You…my brother…" Thor seemed unable to find the right words.

The oaf will say something wrong.

Loki turned his head as much as he could with Thanos' hand still on his shoulder and locked his gaze with Thor's.

"Brother. Don't."

"You should probably listen to your little brother, Odinson. Unless you want to be eliminated."

"Thor. Please. Do as he says." Loki could hear in his own voice that he was begging now. To his immense relief, Thor listened. At least for the moment.

"Hello, Loki. It's been quite a while since we saw each other." Thanos began and Loki lifted his eyes from the ground. "How have things been going on for you since you failed me? Not so well I imagine."

"To be fair, they weren't going that great even before we met." Loki answered.

"Still the charmer." Thanos smirked. "Tell me, Loki, did you imagine how I am going to welcome you after you failed me? Did it haunt your sleep?"

Loki kept his mouth closed.

Thanos increased the pressure on his shoulder.

"Did it?" The Titan repeated his question and Loki tried to sneak away from the touch. Thanos was stronger. Thor ran to help his little brother, but one simple flick of Thanos' hand sent him flying towards a wall.

"It is disappointing, really. Shouldn't the Odinson be, well, the strongest of you Avengers?" He mocked them while Thor tried to put himself together.

Meanwhile Loki felt that within seconds his collar bone will break.

"Yes. Yes, it did." Loki got out through his clenched teeth. Immediately, the pressure was removed from his shoulder.

"I don't enjoy hurting you, you know? You have the potential to be great. I wonder why you always turn out to be such a disappointment. For me, for your father, for you adopted father…in the end, you always fail." Thanos was speaking to Loki whose eye contact didn't falter. "You know who enjoys hurting you? They do. You saw it himself; do you remember his face," and Thanos pointed at Fury, "when he was beating you? Do you remember the pleasure that was radiating from him upon seeing you so broken?"

"Yes." This time, Loki was quick to answer.

"I am not merciful, Loki. I pride myself on not being merciful. But I have seen something in you and if only to spite the Allfather, I offer you a second chance. Give me the Tesseract and prove your loyalty to me and I will spare you."

"Prove my loyalty?" Loki repeated, making his voice slightly curious. He needed more time.

"Yes. But it won't be too difficult for you. In fact, it should be quite enjoyable."

A confusion sparkled through Loki's eyes.

"Rise."

Loki got to his feet. At that moment before anyone realised what was happening, Thanos snatched Fury and as a rag doll brought him closer. They created a strange triangle now; Thanos, Loki and Fury in the middle of the room with the rest of the Avengers standing around not quite knowing what to do. They knew that Thanos was right. Thor was the strongest amongst them and his attack was countered as nothing.

"Kill him." Thanos instructed simply.

Loki understood.

The God of Mischief's emerald eyes set on the man who unnecessarily tormented him in the SHIELD's headquarters. Fury wasn't showing too many emotions; Loki was aware that he was trained not to. He has probably managed to somehow call for reinforcements but both he and Loki knew that they would arrive too late. Fully mindful that Thanos was watching his every move, Loki let a dagger materialise in his hand.

"Loki." Thor said only. His brother didn't pay any attention to him.

He was fully focused on the two men in his immediate proximity. The two men who both hurt him so much, the two men he hated from the bottom of his heart. Now he had the chance to end one of them and get himself off the list of the other one.

It could seem tempting, but not to Loki. He was done running but he also wasn't stupid.

"Strange." Loki said whilst pretending to be examining Fury's facial expression. And then he felt the presence of the other sorcerer.

Get us to Norway.

And then they were all falling. But Loki already knew what it felt like and so he was able to send an illusion of himself to Thor.

"Thor. Brother." Loki said to get the Thunderer's attention. "You must hold him off."

Suddenly, they were all lying in the grass in the middle of the Asgardian settlement.

Loki allowed himself for a moment to be amused by the idea of Thanos trying to pick himself off the grass with dignity. He himself stood up with his usual grace and with relief noticed that they were all there. Heimdall, Valkyrie and all of the Asgard's mightiest warriors. Loki knew that the puny mortals do not stand a chance of fighting Thanos for even a minute, but the Asgardians might. At least he hoped so.

"You!" Thanos boomed. "What have you done? You think this can save you?" And Loki noticed that the Titan's army was beginning to come in through holes in the air. He expected nothing else.

"What did you think I would do?" Loki said in the most self-confident tone he could master and began pacing around the edge of the cliff. He quickly glanced at Thor. He hoped that Thor would listen to what he told him during their quick transportation here. In the end, Thor didn't have much reason to believe him. Loki only hoped that he would.

"Did you think I would crawl back to you and beg for mercy?" Loki continued and to his relief noticed that Thanos seemed to be enjoying this little show of defiance. He was certainly imagining his punishment for it. "Or did you expect me to turn around and try to stab you instead of Fury?" Loki questioned and the little ugly smile on Thanos' lips revealed to him that it was indeed one of the things that the Titan had anticipated. "I thought you knew me better than that. I am Loki. The God of Mischief. Do you really think that I would go against you with a knife?" Loki's tone was visibly mocking now and he could see that Thanos was running out of patience.

"You have no idea what I am capable of." Loki said and with that he made a step away from the cliff into open air.

But he didn't fall. Instead, a narrow passage appeared and within a moment, he was gone.

"What?" Thanos was confused. There was nothing in the air.

"Strange?" Stark questioned the doctor standing nearby.

"It wasn't me." Steven answered.

"A passage. There must be a passage." Thor mumbled to himself.

"Passage to another realm?" Thanos hissed.

"Yes. Loki is the only one who knows them, even Heimdall cannot see them." Thor said, more to himself than anyone else.

He was safe. Loki was safe. He got out of here. But he left him.

"Hm. It seems that I won't be getting my revenge on the little god today. It doesn't matter. He won't run far away. But when I find him, none of you will be alive anymore." He eyed the now ready forces of Asgard. "Do you really want to face me and my army?" Thanos smirked. "But I suppose you do. Odin has trained you well when it comes to blind obedience, hasn't he?"

"If you don't surrender, you will die." Thor addressed the Mad Titan for the first time. His eyes and his fingers were full of lighting by now. There was no going back.

"No, Odinson. You will die. And with you everyone you have ever loved. Your precious Avengers will all die, the rest of the Asgardian scum will die. And then, when I hunt down that coward your brother who has just run away from a battle, I will kill him too. But before I kill him, I will give him your head on a plate. Who knows if it will make any difference to him though. He has just abandoned you, hasn't he?"

And Thor charged forward.

Loki walked through the passage and immediately he could feel the cold breeze upon his cheeks. His steps were soon accompanied by crunch of his feet in the snow.

He was unusually calm considering that he has just encountered his biggest nightmare. He tried to leave all the images of the battle that was now raging on Midgard behind. It would do him no good to think about that now.

Even more, he tried not to imagine the face of Thor thinking that Loki has once again betrayed him. All the rest of Asgard saw that Loki has run away.

But he hasn't.

Yet as it always seemed to be the case for the God of Mischief, he had to work alone, and the work had to be done out of the eyes of his kinsmen.

Loki tried to warm himself in the cold climate with a little hope that Thor might not think that he has betrayed him again. That once, the Thunderer's brain will actually listen to what he told him.

Loki eased his pace. He has arrived at the place. He knew that because he could sense that they were all watching him. They knew he was here. They were just hiding in the ice. They, the powerful army that could stand a chance against Thanos' one. If they don't kill him first.

….

"Thor. Brother. You must hold him off." Thor had Loki's voice inside his head whilst he was smashing his enemies one by one. He was roughly aware that his fellow Avengers were all fighting valiantly next to him as were the Asgardians. The God of Thunder was secretly glad that Thanos seemed to be only watching the battle, not actively taking part in it. Thor could see many of his subjects falling and he could see that ultimately, the Titan's army was stronger.

However, today they didn't need to win.

"You must hold him off." That's what Loki has told him. His brother has a plan. They just need to slow the Titan down.


Thank you so much for keeping reviewing this story. There were a lot of guest reviews lately and I am sorry that I cannot personally answer to them but anyway, thank you for your kind words! I am sorry the updating is a 'bit' slow lately, hopefully, it will change for the better.