"This isn't funny!" Lizzie finally snapped and she stood up, her hands balling into fists as she advanced towards Thanos, her eyes burning with rage and hatred as he watched her intently, wondering what power a simple human possessed. Did she honestly believe that she could tell him what to do?
"What have you done to him? What is happening?"
Stark remained behind her as Loki stayed on the ground, sitting up by pushing himself onto his elbows, his eyes watching Lizzie with intent as she screamed loudly in Thanos's face. The man of red did not look impressed with her but he said nothing as Stark stayed close by her side, making sure she did nothing stupid or rash.
"Just stop whatever you have planned! Stop it now!"
"And what shall you do if I do not stop?" Thanos wondered, taking a step closer to her, the heat from her body radiating against his skin. Lizzie remained stubborn, her hands clenched by her sides as her heart thumped against his chest. She was acting braver than she felt. "What do you think you can do to me? The mighty Thanos?"
"She may not be able to stop you," Stark interrupted, his hand resting on Lizzie's shoulder, his fingers curling around her skin as he dragged her back slightly, stepping in front of her and protecting her from Thanos and his deadly glare. "But we will. I can assure you that we will stop whatever you have planned. We managed the first time and we can manage for a second time."
"Your optimism is misplaced," Thanos chuckled, shaking his head as Loki stood up, cautiously moving through the room, his eyes still on Lizzie as her cheeks turned red with anger. His dark eyes continued to roam her face as he walked to stand by Thanos. His gaze quickly diverted to Steve who was still on the floor, his body limp and his chest moving up and down lightly. He knew there was not much longer for the super soldier.
"No," Stark responded. "You are the one who is misplaced. You do not belong on Earth and we will not host you if you threaten us. You'll be defeated. Now, what have you done to the Cap?"
"The Cap," Thanos chuckled. "The tesseract has taken his life. It has drained him and I have control of the tesseract. I have his life in my hands."
"Then stop this," Lizzie growled, pushing past Stark once again who reluctantly allowed her to move him to the side. She looked to Loki with pleading, knowing that he was the one who she had more chance of cracking. Thanos was unreasonable and she knew Loki was to a certain extent. But she had seen the way he had looked at her earlier. He had spoken to her in a softer tone with a certain amount of pity.
All of his threats before had seemed to evaporate. Her eyes moved back to Thanos and her jaw set in a stubborn manner.
"You need to stop this," she snapped at him. "What do I have to do to get him back?"
"You beg for his life whilst I stand here planning to take over New York?" Thanos checked with her and Loki shook his head, rolling his eyes. He had seen this before. Romanoff had tried to bargain with him. She had stood before him with her pleas and her fake sobs before she got the better of him. She had played him. But, Lizzie was no Black Widow. She sincerely wanted him back. It was love once again.
"Yes," Lizzie said; no shame in her voice.
"And what are you willing to do for him?" Thanos asked of her and she looked to the ground as Stark moved closer to her, his mouth right next to her ear.
"Don't say anything," he urged her and she shook her head, brushing him off.
"For Steve?" Lizzie checked and Thanos nodded. She turned back to look at Steve, her eyes wide and tears once again pooling as she saw him. "I would do anything for him."
"I see," Thanos spoke before hissing; "Pathetic."
Before anyone had any chance to speak there was a rumble of thunder from the sky and everyone turned to look out the broken window as Thanos allowed his grin to widen and Loki remained silent, his lips flat in a tight line as Lizzie took the opportunity to move to him. Stark rushed to the window, watching as the sky parted and dark clouds moved over New York.
"You need to stop this," Lizzie whispered, her hand wrapping around Loki's arm as he drew his gaze onto her, recoiling slightly as he saw her touch him, the feeling of her sweaty palm causing his stomach to lurch. "Loki...you don't want this...everything which you said earlier...I don't believe you want this."
"Do not think you know me," Loki spat at her, snatching his arm from her hold as she shook her head. "Do you honestly think that this is not what I want? Your pleas fall on deaf ears. I assure you of that."
Lizzie stepped back from him as he grinned at seeing the loss of hope in her face. Stark shook his head as the creatures they had previously faced moved down through the sky and Thanos laughed loudly, the glee in his voice uncontrollable.
"And so it begins," Thanos declared and Stark nodded in agreement, his helmet moving back down his head as his suit powered up and he took hold of Thanos suddenly, the red man not expecting the movement as he flew from the room, intent on stopping what was about to happen.
Lizzie rushed to the window, leaning out of it and looking up as the blue light continued to shine wildly into the sky and Lizzie contemplated moving from the statue and climbing upwards. Loki stood at the window, looking down at the island as Thanos stood before Stark, the pair of them engaging in combat as the Hulk stood by the dock, waiting for the Chitauri along with Hawkeye and Romanoff. Taking a moment, he wondered where his brother was but he did not dwell on the thought.
"What is the plan?" Lizzie asked, her voice softer than normal as she looked onto the torch and the stairs which led up to the tesseract which rested on top of it. She gulped loudly as Loki laughed at hearing her.
"And what makes you think I would tell you?" he wondered and she nodded, looking back at Steve.
"How do I bring him back?" she asked quickly and Loki arched a brow in her direction.
"You need the tesseract to touch him once again," Loki decided to tell her, knowing that she would not gain the power which the tesseract possessed.
"Got it," Lizzie said and she quickly moved through the Statue. Loki stood and watched her for a moment, wondering where she was running off to. The urge to follow her possessed him as he moved to the staircase and looked down but she was already out of sight. Loki shook his head, moving back into the room, his cape billowing behind him as he moved back to look down onto the wreckage.
She had ran. They all did in the end. The fear would get to them.
But, Loki had to admit that he was wrong. He looked to the torch, the arm of the Statue extending upwards as a figure gripped onto the ladders which climbed up towards the torch. A snarl left his throat as he projected quickly, moving to stand on the bottom of the ladder.
Lizzie felt the movement of the metal and looked down as Loki glared up at her. She continued to move upwards with haste, her eyes looking to the top and widening as she saw another Loki already stood there, the grin fixed on his face.
"You honestly believe that you can outwit me?" Loki checked and Lizzie pulled herself together as the wind whipped across her body and she froze, fear of the height taking hold of her. Loki's laugh echoed through the wind as Lizzie neared the top, scrambling at Loki's feet to push herself upwards. Her attempt to push past Loki failed as his arm moved around her waist, stopping her from walking to the tesseract. Lizzie struggled in his grasp as he continued to push her back.
"You fool," Loki snapped, his hand wrapping around her wrist as he pushed her to the side of the torch, her upper body hanging over the edge as she screamed loudly, aimlessly fighting against him.
"You have no strength to fight me," Loki assured her. "Believe me when I say that dropping you from this height will do nothing to dampen my spirits."
"Get off of me!" Lizzie snapped quickly. "I need to help him...I need to save him..."
"It is too late," Loki simply told her. "Now stop this. It would be a shame to kill you, Elizabeth. You are obviously strong willed and making you bow down to me will be a joy."
"You think I will bow down to you?" Lizzie checked; hauling her body upright as Loki pressed her back against his chest, keeping her tight to the edge. Lizzie ground her teeth together as Loki chuckled in her ear.
"Obviously," Loki spoke in a drawl.
"I'd rather die," she simply told him. He didn't gain the chance to speak as she quickly moved her foot upwards and it made contact with his groin. Loki groaned out loud, his grip on her loosening as Lizzie turned in his hold, quickly punching him in the face as Loki yelled out loud, throwing curses at her.
He moved to his feet with haste, the pain not bothering him too much as Lizzie reached the tesseract and looked up to see the Chitauri still moving from the sky. The machine which held it was small and forcing the light from the cube. Lizzie shook her head, looking at the levers and wondering which one to use as she gulped.
"Good try," Loki hissed, moving to startle her and Lizzie pushed on the levers, none of them seeming to do anything and she panicked as Loki grabbed her wrist. "You cannot stop this now!"
"No." A new voice boomed all of a sudden. Both sets of eyes turned to look up to the top of the torch, the new God stood there in a balancing act as his hammer was held in his hand. "Enough, brother."
"Ah, here he is," Loki said, his attention moving to Thor as he released Lizzie. "The mighty Thor has arrived to save his favourite planet."
"You are too late," Loki said, his arms outstretched and Lizzie went back to looking at the levers of the machine holding the tesseract, panic filling her body as Thor jumped down to stand beside her and Loki looked at him for a moment.
"I am not," Thor snapped back at Loki as his brother attempted to throw a punch in his direction. He missed as Thor ducked down, instantly pushing his brother to the floor and resting his hammer on top of his body. Loki groaned at the feeling and Thor turned to the machine as Lizzie continued to panic.
"How do we turn this off?" Thor wondered and Lizzie shook her head.
"I don't know...I just need the tesseract...I need it to save Steve..."
"Does no one listen to me?" Loki snapped, trying to move from the force of the hammer. "It is too late."
"No, it is not," Thor said and summoned his hammer, holding it tightly in his hand and slamming it against the machine, the mechanics breaking within a moment as the light vanished and the Chitauri disappeared.
Loki shook his head as Lizzie wasted no time in grabbing the handle of the tesseract and Thor moved back to his brother, glaring at him and shaking his head.
"Evil will never prevail over goodness, brother," Thor spoke. "You should know that by now."
"No," Loki said. "I know subjugation when I see it. The human race-"
"-Be silent, Loki!" Thor's voice boomed as he grabbed his brother by the cuff of his outfit and shook him. "It is over. You will come home."
Forcing her way down the steps, Lizzie jumped down the arm of the Statue and rushed back inside, running up the steps and lugging the tesseract behind her. Her body ached with tiredness as her limbs remained heavy and tight. Steve was still laid on the ground, still breathing lightly as Lizzie dropped to her knees by his side, the tesseract next to her as she took hold of his hand, her fingers shaking as she entwined their fingers and pressed his knuckle against her lips.
"Please wake up," she begged him before resting his hand onto the cube of blue light. She waited for a moment, nothing seeming to happen to him as hope drained from her body. The tears began to fall once again as a noise came from her body which was barely audible and she shook her head.
"Lizzie."
She looked at him as he snatched his hand instantly from the tesseract as if it was burning him and Lizzie watched him with concern in her eyes. She moved closer to him, bending over his face as her hand ran along his cheek and his blue eyes slowly opened, his mouth parted and his breaths coming out in short pants as Lizzie smiled in joy, helping him to sit up.
"Steve...oh God...you're alive...I thought...I thought that...never do that to me again..." she spoke to him as Steve remained bewildered and confused, his body weak and tired. He didn't complain as she flung her arms around him, holding her body tightly to his as her lips moved tenderly across his face. He managed to rise on one arm, resting his hand on the small of her back as her lips finally met his.
"I love you, Steve," Lizzie blubbered and he rested his forehead against hers. "It's over...it's all over."
"Really?" he checked and she nodded against him.
"Really."
...
A/N: So, one more chapter left! Not even joking! I would like to thank shadow-dog18, Theonlyredhead, miller330, CuteSango07 and stinkysox for reviewing the previous chapter!