Memento Mori

Summary: Of the many people capable of carrying the fate of the universe on their shoulders by travelling back in time, Loki would have been the first choice of exactly nobody. With no allies, no plan and nobody on his side, Loki will just have to wing it.

Or: That awkward moment when you've completed your redemption arc, but nobody else got the memo.

Chapter 17

Loki averted his eyes in distaste until he recognized the disgusting squelching sound of Valkyrie pulling Stormbreaker out of Maw's broken body.

"Great," Valkyrie said, slinging Stormbreaker over her shoulder uncaring of the blood that dripped down its blade and onto her clothes. "It's over then?"

"It is far from over." Loki cast a wary glance over the destruction around them. The entire palace must have noticed the fight. "Maw was only the beginning. More will be on their way."

He cast a passing glance at Banner and attempted to quell the pounding in his chest. Loki had not been prepared to deal with one of Thanos' goons. He should have been, but he'd allowed himself to be taken by surprise.

"We need to find my brother and leave. Preferably quickly, before the next of Thanos' subordinates arrives."

"You're joking, right?" Valkyrie poised her head incredulously. "I'm not one of you. It was fighting at your side or dying, and that's all there is to it. You'll be on your way, I'll stay, and hopefully we'll never have to see each other again."

"I would wish you luck," Loki said, his voice dripping with sarcasm, "but considering that you have Maw's blood dripping from your hands, I do not estimate your chances of survival as especially favorable."

Valkyrie's expression darkened. "I was defending myself."

"Do try to explain that to his comrades. They will surely listen to you."

"Um. Guys?" Banner climbed to his feet to join them, leaning slightly on Gungnir. "Do you hear that?"

Loki could feel what Banner meant before he was able to hear it. His eardrums buzzed and his skin tingled with vibrations caused by the arrival of a spacecraft. A huge one.

Valkyrie's eyes widened in alarm. "Is that the backup you mentioned?"

"Most likely."

Valkyrie cursed. She hesitated, biting her lip. "You can always bring me back later," she muttered, evidently not eager to continue to fight for her life. "Fine. Let's get out of here for now."

"We need to find Thor, first."

"Are you serious?!" Valkyrie stared at him. "You just told me how dangerous these people are. Now you're just going to let them catch us?"

Loki grit his teeth. "We're not leaving without Thor."

"Just use that spear of yours! I saw Maw teleport with it. Just do the same!"

"If I knew Thor's whereabouts, I would have done so already."

"If you want to die for your brother, be my guest," Valkyrie snapped. "But leave me out of it."

She made a lunge for Gungnir, and Loki tore it out of Banner's grasp before she could seize it. Banner made a noise of protest, but he couldn't compete against Loki's strength.

He narrowed his eyes in warning. "Do not do that again."

Valkyrie pulled Stormbreaker off of her shoulder. Light shimmered over its blade and caught on the power stone as she took a fighting stance. "Do try to stop me. I dare you."

"Woah! Hold on!" Banner's eyes were wide with alarm. "Aren't we on the same side? Kind of?"

"I'm on nobody's side but my own," Valkyrie said. "And I'm not dying today."

The more time they spent arguing, the closer the spacecraft came to embarking. Loki didn't have the time to convince Valkyrie to help. He didn't even know why he'd been so hung up on the idea in the first place.

"I had not expected you of all people to be this cowardly–"

"It's called self-preservation. You could use some of it."

"– but if you insist," Loki continued through grit teeth, "I will bring you someplace safe."

Valkyrie mustered him out of narrowed, untrusting eyes. "And the catch?"

Loki hesitated. His eyes fell on Banner – weak, human Banner who seemed to have lost the ability to turn into the Hulk on command. (Or perhaps with Maw gone, so was Hulk's reason to stay passive? Loki wondered what he'd do if he came to face Thanos himself.) He would only get in the way on his quest to find Thor.

Loki gave a curt nod towards Banner. "Take him with you. Make certain he doesn't get into trouble."

Thor would kill him if he let anything happen to Banner. This way, he could push the responsibility onto somebody else.

"What?" Banner startled. "But you said– What about Thor?"

"You will only get in the way," Loki told him bluntly.

"Thor's my friend." Banner frowned, fidgeting restlessly with his hands. "If he's in trouble–"

"Then he'll be relieved to know that at the very least, you and Valkyrie have gotten to safety."

Banner clearly wasn't convinced.

"Look, buddy. Banner, was it?" Valkyrie didn't wait for an answer. "I may not know your friend, but from the sound of it, he's a decent person. Do you really think he'd want you to throw yourself into danger for him? Especially while you're," she gave him a pointed once-over, "like this?"

"Hulk would come out if he really needed to," Banner insisted. He paused, and he let his shoulders slump in defeat. "Okay, I'll... Fine."

Valkyrie gave a curt nod and turned to Loki. She nudged Stormbreaker – still thrown over her shoulder casually as though she didn't feel its weight. "I'm taking this, too. Call it insurance that we're actually going to arrive someplace safe."

Loki swallowed down his protest with the thought of what he was planning to do next. He needed to keep the space stone as a quick way to leave the planet. Keeping the power stone as well meant risking to let not only one, but two stones fall into Thanos' hands.

For all he knew, the Titan himself was going to come to Sakaar next.

"I will come back for it," Loki promised, already mentally scanning through the possible destinations he could send the two.

Considering the terms he had left them on, he ruled out both Asgard and Midgard. Banner would likely appreciate being returned to his home, but Loki wasn't quite ready to risk mixing a couple trigger-happy superheroes and a hot-blooded Valkyrie – one armed with an actual infinity stone, to boot.

In terms of allies, there was really only a single other option.

Loki pulled out the communicator he'd been given by Rocket and used it to determine the Guardians' current location.

"You will find yourself aboard a spaceship," Loki explained. "Tell them that Thor has sent you, and they should agree to help you."

"Thor?" Valkyrie raised an eyebrow. "Not you?"

"Thor," Loki said easily. They may have left on surprisingly pleasant terms. Still, it was better to be safe than sorry.

Valkyrie did not protest. She gripped Stormbreaker tightly as though she expected Loki to attempt and tear it from her arms while she was unaware. Banner did not object either, although the frown plastered on his face spoke volumes.

"Do try not to start a fight," were Loki's last words of advice before making the space stone flare up and sending both Valkyrie and Banner straight onto the Milano.

The vibrations of the aircraft had by now dimmed into a low hum, suggesting that the ship had reached its destination. Loki could see it upon exiting the palace, hovering above Sakaar like a storm cloud. He could make out only a thin sliver of sky around its edges.

"Brother," Loki muttered, steering towards the ship. If ever in doubt, it was the easiest to look for Thor straight at the center of conflict. "Do try to let us stage a quick getaway."

He stored Gungnir knowing that it was not a safe place for it to be, but unable to come up with anything better. He'd have to find Thor, bring distance between them and whoever had come to face them and transport off the planet, all the while preventing Gungnir from being taken.

The space stone may have been the most valuable in their quest (Loki did not want to imagine the complications of having to travel the universe with only his interplanetary pathways to rely on), but a valuable tool for them had the potential to be just as valuable for Thanos.

Various alien species clad in gladiator's wear crossed his path on his way to the spacecraft. The arena had been obliterated, its fighters using the opportunity to flee.

Loki caught side of Thor and found him – as expected – in the middle of a fight. His chest swelled with relief at the realization that it was a brawl broken out in the general chaos of the escaped prisoners, and that none of Thanos' followers was (yet) involved.

"Thor," Loki called, summoning knives in preparation of being inevitably swept up in his brother's conflict. "We need to go!"

Lightning crackled through the air as Thor sent the latest of his opponents flying. "What about Banner?" he called, taking a swing at a gladiator trying to sneak up on his back.

"Off planet," Loki answered curtly. "If we intent to follow his lead, we ought to hurry."

Loki hadn't yet finished speaking before it all went downhill rather rapidly.

They could have likely dealt with an opponent teleporting onto the planet to confront them. They could have even dealt with an entire party.

The odds were tilted rather against their favor when the electric glow of a teleport beam engulfed both of their bodies and they were pulled onto the spaceship before they could do more than share a startled glance.

Loki's feet hit the ground of the spacecraft heavily, and he grunted with the effort not to fall to his knees.

Next to him, Thor gripped Mjolnir tightly. "Loki," he murmured, taking the barest step towards Loki and casting cautious glances at their surroundings.

Despite what its size suggested, it wasn't Thanos' mothership. Loki would have recognized it and known that the game had been lost. There may have yet been a chance.

"Where are we?" Thor said under his breath, taking care to speak only for Loki to hear. Whoever had teleported them onto the ship was near.

"Follow my lead," Loki muttered, and fell silent as their captor strode into the room.

If Loki's memory did not fail him, Proxima Midnight was one of the easier goons to manipulate. Like many of Thanos' subordinates, she trusted in her master's word to a laughably oblivious degree.

Loki had fought on Thanos' side before. If he could convince her that he still did, perhaps he could buy himself the time he needed to transport himself and Thor elsewhere.

If they managed to take out another member of Thanos' Black Order before doing so, all the better.

"Proxima," he said, lowering his upper body into a bow. "It has been too long."

"You've failed your assignment." Proxima regarded him out of cold, compassionless eyes. "You've fled, rather than face the consequences of your failure. Lord Thanos is displeased."

"Loki." Thor's voice grew in urgency. "Who is that?"

Loki didn't take his attention off Proxima. "I was unfortunately preoccupied in an Asgardian dungeon."

"And you've lost the stone Lord Thanos has given you." Proxima's lips twisted into a snarl. "As though failing to retrieve the one you've been sent for was not enough of a disgrace."

"Who said that I lost it?" Loki hid his anger underneath an air of smug superiority. "Who says I have spent the time since the invasion fleeing, rather than pursuing Lord Thanos' goals?"

Proxima paused. "Prove to me that I should not slay you where you stand. I will not allow you to waste more of Lord Thanos' time."

"I know I am not exactly in your master's good graces. He is right to be wary." Loki shifted his weight into a confident stance. "What if I told you that I have delivered to him the Prince of Asgard?"

At his side, he saw Thor stiffen.

Proxima mustered the two of them with a calculating gaze. "What use is he?"

"He knows the location of not one, but four of the stones," Loki told her. "More than that, he is familiar with several individuals intending to oppose your lord. Given the right... encouragement, he will be able to point you right at them." He pulled his lips into a grin.

It wasn't the most creative plan of his, but it would work. It was a classic. He'd pretend to flip sides and pretend to betray Thor, only to in turn betray Thanos with Thor. It worked every time.

Any time now, Thor would act outraged and furious and pull Proxima's attention on himself with all the drama of being betrayed by a family member. Hopefully enough to give Loki the opportunity to–

"What are you doing, Loki?" Thor's voice was cautious, but he did not so much as shift his stance. He didn't act concerned about the turn of events, either. "What is your game?"

Proxima's weapon shifted in her hands at the same time as Loki's smile dropped off of his face. Thor'd missed his cue. Why wasn't he playing along?

"He is ever so fond of his games, isn't he?" Proxima bared her teeth and charged at Loki with her weapon drawn.

Loki was forced to duck underneath her blow to avoid being decapitated.

They'd had a single, tiny window to distract Proxima and hold off the inevitable attack until they managed to find the opportunity to use the space stone. It was a plan the two of them had fallen back on many, many times. One that depended on trust and the ability to read and fall back on the other's intention.

When it had counted, Thor had held himself back. He'd doubted Loki.

They were stuck in combat against Proxima, because Thor hadn't trusted him.

"Where's Maw?" Proxima's mouth pulled into a snarl as she forced Loki into a corner with her sword.

Loki supposed that there was no point in keeping up the charade. It had already been thoroughly ruined. "He tried to take away what is mine." Loki's mouth formed a triumphant smirk. "He came to regret it."

Proxima let out a cry of rage. She leaped backwards, forced to retreat in wake of Thor's blow with Mjolnir. She'd always been more prone to let her emotions influence her than Maw.

"We need to get off this ship," Thor called, following up the attack with a contained lightning bolt. He couldn't go all out in such a confined space for fear of bringing down the ship while they were inside.

Then again – there was a thought.

"Thor!" Loki raised his voice over the sound of groaning metal and fried technology. Proxima made use of Thor's restraint and landed a blow on his shoulder. "Stop holding back!"

Thor managed to throw him a frown in between attacks. "The ship–"

"Bring it down! Now!"

Again there was the moment of hesitation – Thor's doubt clouding his eyes and making him second guess Loki's order. During battle, a moment was too long. In combat, a moment could cost them their lives and their victory.

Loki clenched his teeth, white heat pooling into his chest that he didn't care to identify.

"You can question my trustworthiness all you want once we have come out of this alive," he pressed out, frustration and bitterness weighing down his voice. He almost missed his cue to dodge Proxima's next attack. "Hesitate longer, and you might not be given the chance."

Thor's brows dropped into a frown as he forced Proxima away from Loki with a precise bolt of lightning. "That was not what I–"

"Are you deaf as well as moronic?" Loki snapped. "Bring down the ship!"

The air swelled with pressure and the smell of ozone. Electricity crackled, building up around them until it made Loki's eardrums buzz and Proxima shy away in wariness.

She ought not to have bothered. Glass shattered and metal screeched from the force of the lightning bolt that followed, ravaging destruction through the ship and making alarm bells flare up.

Loki felt the pull of air being sucked out of the ship and didn't fight it. He grabbed for Thor and allowed themselves to be pulled out of the ship and away from Proxima out into the vacuum of space.

Loki grabbed for Gungnir and wondered just how many of Thanos' children they would need to kill before he felt it necessary to make an appearance himself.

A/N: Beta'd by the wonderful To Mockingbird, PyrothTenka and Igornerd!

Please take a moment to let me know what you think!

~Gwen