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The Hulk found Thor first. The beast's improved sense of smell tracked the Asgardian quickly. They saw him crumpled on the ground, blow to the head bleeding.
"Thor!" Steve ran to his side. "Talk to me, buddy!"
Did Loki kill him? Steve pressed his fingers against Thor's wrist, where a pulse throbbed.
"He's alive, guys," Steve announced. The tense air thinned, and Bruce even de-Hulked.
"Loki," Thor groaned.
"Wake up, Thor."
His electric blue eyes snapped open. "Loki."
Natasha listened to something on her comm. unit, then cursed loudly.
"He teleported away. We have no way of tracking him."
Thor looked morose. "He probably teleported to Thanos."
"Wait, Thanos was just a theory," Tony said tensely.
"No. Loki specifically said that he was Thanos's ally. I am sorry. I failed to stop him."
Tony's face darkened. "Damn right you failed. You should have told us you could see him! You spoke to him! Why didn't you just put your goddamned hammer on him like you did before?""
"YOU DON"T UNDERSTAND!" Thor roared. "Do you know what it feels like to have someone you have killed tell you that they were in pain as they died? It is any mourner's worst fear."
The Avengers were silent. Every single one of them had blood on their hands. Even Steve, golden Captain America, had killed, and it hurt him that he had to do so to prevent them from killing others.
Having that guilt shoved back in one's face was the worst guilt ever, they realized.
Steve, being the caring leader he was, tried to change the subject.
"Thor, what specifically did Loki say?"
"He said that he desired revenge for what I did, and that he and Thanos would destroy this realm, to inflict the pain that I did him. I have failed this whole realm. Now that Thanos has the Tesseract, he can access all of the other stones. We cannot reach him, nor do we know the location of the other stones, so they are as good as in his possession."
Tony removed his helmet, sat down, and ran his fingers through his hair. "Thor's right. We're dead. Thanos is going to win this. There's no hope."
"There is hope," Steve insisted stubbornly. "There's always hope. We might not be able to reach other realms, but Asgard can. Thor, go contact Heimdall. Tell Odin of what has happened. Tell him about Thanos, about Loki, and about the Gauntlet. But come back soon. We'll need you. Natasha, contact Fury and update him. Get Intelligence on the stones. Have them search every myth book, every crazy conspiracy site for a sign of a Stone here, or for a way to deactivate the Gauntlet. Clint, call Hill. We need Wanda and Pietro Maximoff. Their powers will come in handy."
The three nodded, although Thor looked reluctant.
"What about us three?" Bruce asked.
"If Loki is right, and he and Thanos are coming for Thor on Earth, where's the first place they're going to destroy?"
Tony made a strangled cry. "Stark Tower! But that's my baby!"
"Exactly," Steve said. "Try to fortify it the best you can. Bruce, you can help him." Steve addressed all of them. "We need to prepare for a siege. Thanos is coming, and I'm not gonna lie, he's going to bring a powerful weapon, one that makes atom bombs look like water balloons. But we will not stand by! All of us have debts in our ledgers, but if we do all we can to protect this world, they will be wiped clean. If we die, we die with a clean slate. We might be children, but we are the most powerful team in existence! We are the Avengers!"
The team gave out a cheer so powerful that agents ran over to investigate the noise from two hallways down.
…
Loki stumbled forward from the momentum of the teleportation. It was obviously successful; the kind of darkness in Titan and the void was unique.
"So," Thanos grumbled, "You got the Space Stone."
Loki looked up. The purple being was grinning, a golden implement glowing on his left hand. All of the holes in the gauntlet were filled except for the one on the back of the palm.
"I am very sorry. During my escape, I was separated from the scepter. I was barley able to acquire the Space Stone, let alone the scepter as well."
If it were a normal day, Thanos would have killed Loki for failing to bring him both items, but with all of the Infinity Stones in his possession, Thanos was in a very good mood.
"No matter. The gauntlet will be complete once I get the Space Stone."
Loki made a split second decision and ran toward the edge of the rock they were floating on. He held out the Space Stone over the edge.
"With all that power, you still cannot manipulate space well enough to teleport this to you, or yourself if you tried to dive down and fetch it," Loki snarled. "I know you took my memories. I want them back."
Thanos laughed maliciously. "If I give them back, why would you have any reason to give it to me? I know your mind, trickster." The dark blue stone on Thanos's fifth knuckle glowed.
Loki was filled with a great respect for Thanos. He knew this was magic, that the feelings weren't genuine, but his emotions ruled his body, and he handed the Space Stone to Thanos.
Thanos grabbed it and held it next to the hole on the back of his palm. There was a flash of light blue light. When it faded, Loki could see Thanos standing triumphant, left hand glowing with multiple colors. He smiled at Loki.
"For giving me the Stone, I will grant you what you want." He waved his hand, and all of the effects of the Mind Stone faded from Loki.
Loki gasped and fell to his knees. The burning hatred for Thor faded, as did the irrational respect for Thanos, until they were unrecognizable. But the worst part was…
Thanos laughed and picked up Loki by his neck. "Be careful what you wish for, Jotun runt! And for punishment for trying to betray me, I will put you back on Midgard. You will know what it is like to be killed by ones you love twice!"
Loki was enveloped in another bright blue glow. When it faded, he was kneeling in the middle of the training room where the rest of the Avengers, plus Pietro and Wanda Maximoff, were standing.
Loki noticed none of this.
"What have I done?" he whispered.