AN: Sorry for the long wait but hope you guys enjoy this new chapter. Next to be updated will be hopefully Egoistic. Anyway, enjoy!!!
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Loki put the finishing touches into the design of a new set of warships that were going to be manufactured in his island home. The ships would be made completely out of Vibranium and he had the drones working on automated soldiers armed with energy weapons. Only 20 were so far finished but soon the numbers would swell to put up a good fight against the armies of Thanos if his initial plan fails. His knowledge of the timeline only extends to the arrival of Hela and that scared him as he was from now on going into uncharted territory. He hoped with his actions alone he should have postponed the arrival of Hela. It was his hope that Odin would not kick the bucket and could be useful in taking care of the Mad Titan. But the fact is that he was not that confident in the powers of Asgard to hold back Thanos and that means he needed another ally.
The reality stone already made him a target of Thanos and he didn't really want to attract the full forces of Thanos to earth as the planet now hosted three infinity stones. It was too dangerous to keep the stones here and he didn't really trust Asgard to put the Mind Stone in a safe place. That was the reason why he didn't part with the Stone and held on to it. But now that the preparations are underway to face what's coming it was time to play it smart and split the attention of Thanos and he knew just who to give the Mind Stone. It was also a gamble on his part as he will be targeted for carrying two infinity stones in space. That was part of his plan but first, he had to take Natasha away from the Avengers HQ.
With that decision made he boarded his personal space ship.
"Kira, activate stealth mode. We are going to the Avengers HQ." Loki ordered as the ship activated its interface
"As you wish Loki." Kira responded in her usual smooth voice
The ship began to take off as its thrusters activated. With a slow hum, the ship began to gain speed and broke the sound barrier.
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Wanda put an energy shield on her front protecting herself from a hail of bullet fire. Her energy shield was strained to its maximum to overcome the force that was put on it. She was lucky the bullets being used were rubber bullets otherwise it would have been another story in the beginning when she started this training. She let out a sigh of relief as the rate of fire began to die down providing her with some breathing space.
"You have improved. You managed to last five more minutes than the last time." Natasha complimented as she stopped the gun from firing any more bullets
"That's good I suppose." Wanda said as she sat down exhausted
"I suppose we can move on to multiple firing points. Your endurance has improved and now you just need to focus on maintaining your shield when attacked from multiple points randomly." Natasha said
"I think that can wait. We have company." Steve said as he and Pietro walked near them pointing at the sky.
Wanda and Natasha looked up to see a space ship slowly lowering itself to the landing zone.
"Looks like Loki is here." Steve said as they began to move near the ship
They watched as a ramp formed over the door of the ship connecting to the ground. Loki walked down the ramp with a smile.
"I have to say you guys take this training very seriously. I mean you could have started after a couple of days." Loki commented
"Didn't want to waste a couple of days besides we are all over the news. It is better to lay low for a while." Steve said with an easy-going smile
"So, why the giant ship? I seem to remember you opening portals left and right in Sokovia." Wanda inquired with an arched eyebrow
"Well, there is something I have to do in space. You guys remember the Infinity stone that we took from the sceptre. With that here, there are three infinity stones on Earth which is a bad thing so I guess I must hand it over to someone that is capable of protecting it from Thanos." Loki said while he was careful to shield his mind from Wanda lest she read it and glean his plan
"You are hoping to split the attention of Thanos and his armies. That's a good plan. So, who is going to be the new holder of Mind Stone?" Steve asked curiously obviously worried about handing over a powerful object like an infinity stone to a completely unknown person
"I was actually hoping the Shi'ar empire might be receptive in keeping the Mind Stone safe. They have the resources to protect it and if the need arises they are capable of smashing the fleets of Thanos." Loki said and he was not even lying as that was his first plan but he had several backup plans
"Well, if you trust them to hold the stone safe then go for it." Steve said eventually after thinking it over as he was sure Loki had more experience about dealing with civilizations in space. Although he was uncomfortable in handing over an infinity stone to an Empire he trusted Loki's judgement in this case.
Loki and Natasha said their goodbyes and boarded the ship and began their journey. This was actually the second time that Natasha was going to travel with Loki to space and she was a little apprehensive of the trip. The last time she was in space did not actually count as she was merely pulled from earth with a portal. This voyage was going to be the real deal and it was going to be a long one.
"Are you ready?" Loki asked his red-headed companion
"It's now or never I guess." Natasha replied squaring her shoulders and nodded
Loki fired up the engine of his ship and it hummed briefly but settled down quickly powering up all the systems of the ship. Loki charged up the thrusters and the ship began to climb the heights steadily. After a while, he engaged full thrusters and the ship blew past the sound barrier working steadily to escape the earth's atmosphere. Soon the ship escaped earth's atmosphere and into space. After leaving Earth's gravitational pull Loki engaged the auto-pilot system which was programmed for this voyage. The ship steadied and it began to move steadily towards the nearest jump point. Loki watched Natasha taking in the sights of the enormity of space in wonder and awe.
"This so incredible. The last time I didn't get much time to enjoy the view properly because of Ultron." Natasha said as she unclipped her safety belt and moved close to the glass panels to get a better view as the ship approached closer to the moon.
Loki also stood up from his seat and stood behind Natasha. He embraced her from behind and together they observed the moon. Other than the moon there was only an inky blackness and even the moon was less majestic now that we were outside of Earth's atmosphere. At least the Earth still looked beautiful as ever with its blue oceans and frost-covered white poles.
As the ship approached the jump point we returned back to our seats and fastened our safety belts. With a lurch, the ship made the jump and disappeared from the Solar System.
Instead of going straight for the Shi'ar empire Loki had actually decided to take the long route. The first stop Loki made was unsurprisingly on Asgard. The only reason they were not greeted with the entire might of an army was thanks to Heimdall as he already knew that it was Loki in the giant ship that was floating down into Asgard. After the Dark Elf invasion, Odin had definitely increased the defences of the city with giant energy cannons as well as increased all AA guns around the royal palace as well as the city. The damages sustained during the invasion were nowhere in sight as Asgard has been fully restored to its former glory.
As the ship approached the golden city Natasha was taking in the sights with wide eyes.
"This is Asgard?" Natasha asked in wonder as she took in the amazing sight of the city down below
"Yep, welcome to Asgard." Loki said in a grandiose manner earning him a punch from Natasha on his shoulder
After making sure the ship has been safely locked on to the locking mechanism on top of a building we disembarked from the ship. We were greeted by some of the guards of the palace who bowed in greeting.
"King Odin has been waiting for your arrival Prince Loki." one of the guards said
"Then let's not keep my father waiting any further." Loki and Natasha followed the guards to the palace
"I don't know why you would abandon all of this to live on earth." Natasha whispered to Loki as her eyes took in the grand city
"There is too much gold here and an abundance for idiots. Speaking of idiots here comes the cavalry..." Loki pointed at a boisterous Thor and his friends who were making a beeline towards them
"Ah, brother!! You came home.." Thor pulled Loki into a crushing hug
"Was that really necessary? You were with me on Midgard not too long ago." Loki pointed out but Thor replied by an easy-going smile and turned his attention to Natasha.
"Natasha, even you are here. Welcome to Asgard." Thor pulled Natasha into a big hug and began to introduce her to his other friends
After a round of introductions, we made our way to the throne room. Thankfully the throne room was not hosting the entire court and it only had a few guards along with Odin and Frigga.
Loki went straight for Frigga and embraced her. Odin was not a hugging person ever in his entire life so Loki gave a respectful nod to the King of Asgard. After a round of pleasantries, Frigga managed to skip away from the throne room with Sif and Natasha.
"Leave us." Odin commanded which made all the guards and the warriors three to leave Thor, Odin and Loki alone in the throne room.
"Word has reached Asgard of your exploits around the Universe, Loki." Odin threw his classic one-eyed stare but softened considerably. "Frigga has been very proud as am I."
"Thank you, father." Loki was a little surprised but took the praise graciously.
"I have been thinking about summoning you back to Asgard for some time now." Odin said
"Is there any problem father?" Loki asked curiously and the only thing he could think of over the top of his head was the arrival of Hela. But then again Odin did not look weak by his standards so it was a safe bet that this was something else
"The attacks by Ice giants and Dark Elves have had a polarizing effect on much of our enemies. The most troubling news is that the fire demons of Muspelheim are gathering in strength around Surtur." Odin informed us and for once Loki saw a pale Odin
"But father I thought you destroyed Surtur." Thor asked confused
"Surtur is a powerful immortal being brother. He can only be sealed away as his life force is tied to destiny." Loki said never mentioning what that destiny was but by the calm expression of Odin, Loki guessed that the King of Asgard was already aware of Ragnarok
"Then we can seal him away again father. Just give me permission to leave and I will destroy Surtur." Thor promised
"No. If it was just Surtur that we had to deal with I would have already ordered the armies of Asgard to march in. No Thor, this time we have more than one enemy and they are all-powerful enough that I fear for Asgard's future." Odin said with a troubled tone
"The Frost giants are also mobilising aren't they?" Loki asked suddenly catching on to the fact that he may have indirectly been responsible for that bit of icy problem. Because of his little plan to knock some sense into Thor, he never had the chance to kill Laufey and that guy must have been craving revenge for all this time. It was a good thing that the casket of eternal winter was still secured in the vault.
"You are right Loki. If we attack the fire demons then we leave Asgard open for an attack from the Frost giants. If we attack Jotunheim then Surtur will be able to retaliate with his army. Asgard's forces are nowhere near enough to sustain a two-front war." Odin frowned as he had only himself to blame for the reduced state of the army
"If we had a proper fleet then this would not have been a problem." Loki murmured dejectedly and in the early days of his life he had always wondered why the Asgardians generally hated maintaining a fleet of ships
"That's why I was hoping to speak with you. I know for a fact that you were an enthusiast to build a fleet of warships and I am told that you had drawn up many plans for such a project. You have even kept many of such plans here in the library and I was hoping that you would be able to build a fleet for Asgard." Odin suggested as he looked expectantly at Loki
The fact that the extremely stubborn Odin was actually agreeing on something with him was actually a surprise for Loki. Whatever that was troubling Odin must have really spooked him to rapidly overhaul millennia-old traditions of Asgardian warfare. That doesn't mean Loki was happy with being saddled with building a fleet.
"Father it takes a lot of time, resources and skilled labour to construct a modest fleet. There is also the fact that Asgardians are not trained for war using a fleet of ships." Loki pointed out
"What are you suggesting Loki?" Odin asked
"What I am saying is that it will take a lot of time for a fleet to be of any use or in operating condition for war unless…." Loki trailed off as a light bulb blinked into existence in his mind
"Eh… Loki.. Are you alright?" Thor shook Loki out of his musings
"I have an idea but I don't know whether it will work out. I will have to talk to some people." Loki mused as he thought over the pros and cons of his idea
"Talk to who?" Thor inquired
"There are some people on earth that possess weapons that are very useful to deal with the enemies we have. I was already in the process of building a modest fleet in Earth because of Thanos but all the weapons were designed for an aerial battle. I guess I will have to find some weapons after this journey that is suited for orbital bombardment." Loki said as he made plans in his mind
"Journey? Where are you going?" Odin asked with a frown
"The Mind Stone has appeared on Midgard after the Chitauri invasion. I was hoping to hand it over to the Shi'ar empire for safekeeping. Failing that I was hoping to draw the attention of Thanos and lure him into a trap." Loki said which had both Thor and Odin interested. After much insistence from the pair, Loki finally divulged his true plan. It took some strong-arming for Loki to convince both Thor and Odin to let him continue the plan. Loki was also a little grateful as Odin promised the aid of Heimdall in case his plan fails.
A great feast was thrown in Loki's honour with the entire royal court as a witness. It was only natural as Loki was by now very much famous as he had managed to kill Malekith. This along with the fact that Loki was now famous in using a melee weapon like Trident was enough for the rough Asgardians to accept him. A little magic done on the side can be now ignored for these 'manly' Asgardians to acknowledge Loki. As the Asgardians drank themselves into the La-La land, Loki was lead to the balcony by Frigga where Odin was waiting for them patiently.
"We had hoped to speak with you privately regarding a matter of great importance." Frigga started the conversation and she threw a look to Odin
"There is no better way to say this, I am dying." Odin's admission threw Loki in for a loop as his previous assessment was thrown out of the window
"What do you mean? You are as healthy as you have always been father." Loki looked at Frigga hoping that she would agree
"Unfortunately your father is not lying. He may look physically well but appearances can be deceiving Loki." Frigga commented and she snapped her fingers shattering the illusion around Odin.
It was then that Loki saw the true state of the King of Asgard. Odin looked like he was going to fall into another one of Odin sleep. Odin's one lone eye had sunken into his skull with dark circles around it. His forehead creases were more pronounced than ever before and his cheeks were swollen making the situation more alarming.
"How did this happen?" Loki asked as he immediately began to scan Odin with his magical senses
"It is his life force Loki. The last few years have been not been kinder to your father and then there is the another thing as well…" Frigga trailed off as she looked pointedly at Odin to continue
"My life force is getting depleted as it is the only thing that holds back a great enemy of Asgard and the Nine Realms in a prison of my design." Odin started looking extremely uncomfortable
"A prison for who?" Loki asked even though he knew who it was to keep up the appearances
"My firstborn daughter and Thor's half-sister, Hela the Goddess of Death." Odin said with a sigh and visibly hanged on to Gungnir. Frigga immediately supported Odin just in case as the Allfather of Asgard revealed his deepest secret that has been so thoroughly covered up from even the minds of a long-living race like Asgardians. Loki patiently waited for Odin to continue and he was not disappointed as Odin started regaling the tale of Hela and his own dark past.
"It was thousands of years ago that I found myself with a crown on my head and shouldered the responsibilities of Asgard. As you know my father led the armies of Asgard against the Dark Elves and claimed victory after a long bloody war. At that time my father never realised the impact that war will cause to the rest of the Nine Realms. The fact that Asgard managed to destroy an ancient race like the Dark Elves fostered fear among the inhabitants of the Nine Realms. But they waited patiently building up their strength meanwhile Asgard slowly began to recover from the war. Soon my father passed away leaving me to pick up the pieces. There were two close allies that Asgard has at the time and that were the people of Vanir and the Dwarfs of Nidavellir. But after my coronation, a civil war broke out in Vanir and Asgard was forced to intervene. To quell the revolt and ensure the alliance stand strong I took a Queen from among the people of Vanir. From that union, Hela was born and that changed me. I had a family that I wanted to protect and for that, I needed to avoid war with other realms. With considerable efforts from my part, I was able to host a peace conference in the neutral ground of the former home of Dark Elves. But it was an elaborate trap that was set for me and my wife died in my stead. From then on I dedicated my life to bring the Nine Realms to heel and forcefully disarm them. I began my conquest and my daughter Hela incensed by the murder of her mother joined me out of revenge. One by one we crushed the might of Nine Realms and brought them under Asgard's heel.
I had now achieved what I set out to achieve. I could now force peace upon the Nine Realms and Asgardians could now prosper in a new era. At least that was my thought but my daughter by that time became consumed by her anger, hatred and love for destruction decided that Asgard alone had the right to rule over the entire cosmos. She wanted to launch the armies of Asgard to conquer distant worlds outside the Nine Realms. I refused such an action and that resulted in Hela's rebellion.
By then she had become a powerful warrior with a great many followers of her own. She along with the Berserkers launched a coup against me to take the throne. Loyal Asgardians rallied behind me and destroyed the Berserkers. I personally faced Hela and banished her to Hel. Even then she managed to break the binding I placed on her and began to escape her prison. With no other choice left I charged the Valkyrie to put an end to her. A long and bloody battle took place and the Valkyrie all died fighting my daughter. But the time that the Valkyrie brought me was enough as by then I devised a new binding that imprisoned Hela in Hel at the expense of my own life energy. It was after all of this that I met Frigga and had Thor then you came along completing our new family." Odin finished his tale and sighed in relief as Frigga's healing magic removed any pain and tiredness he felt. He took a deep breath and continued…
"So long as I live Hela will remain a prisoner in Hel unable to interact with the rest of Cosmos. But now after the convergence, the bindings have become weaker and my own life energy is being spent at an alarming rate to keep the binding. This is why I would like you to remain in Asgard for the foreseeable future. Thor has the natural charisma and the power necessary to become a good King. But as you well know your brother is prone to anger and easily distracted by the things that take his fancy. You are the only one that can check his first impulses and counsel him when he eventually ascends the throne." Odin said as he observed Loki who nodded his consent after thinking it over
"I was of a mind to coronate you as King but Frigga insists that you won't accept the throne. Is this true?" Odin asked
"Yes. I know I am not suited to be a king." Loki confirmed Frigga's opinion
"You did do well during Thor's exile to Midgard." Odin probed lightly
"It was for a very short time father and that time alone made me realise I was not made for the throne besides the fact that I am a legacy of Frost Giant. It doesn't matter whether I am adopted by you two but the throne of Asgard must be held by an Asgardian. Perhaps in the future, a descendant of mine can inherit if he/she proves their worth. In the present scenario, it must be Thor that ascend the throne." Loki said with conviction as he knew otherwise it will only lead to a disaster
"I don't think being a frost giant will ever again hold you back seeing as you are no longer one." Frigga commented with a sharp tone making Loki flinch lightly at the unexpected comment from his mother
"I don't understand mother…" Loki trailed off as he was on the receiving end of Frigga's glare
"Don't lie to me Loki. I see everything with more than just my eyes. I can sense the change in your being. I am proud that you have mastered the reality stone to such extend that you changed your very being. It was a dangerous move but you were always one for taking risks for maximum reward." Frigga lightly pinched Loki on his cheek making him rub the sore spot with a pout
"It was safe. I had taken several safety measures before the procedure." Loki grumbled good-naturedly
"The next time you decide to do some other stunt of this scale you should inform us beforehand. The Infinity Stones are not to be trifled with and must be treated with utmost respect and care." Odin ordered in his kingly voice and Loki immediately nodded even though they both knew that was a false promise but Odin let that be the end of it.
Loki discretely joined the party and he saw a golden armour that was sitting among a row of people. He immediately recognised Heimdall and he moved close towards that table.
"Heimdall, I see you are enjoying the party." Loki said as he wormed his way near the table as he evaded a sea of dancing drunken Asgardians
"We have to enjoy events like this when we can. Otherwise, who knows what the Norns have in store for us." Heimdall shrugged as he took a large swig of ale in one go
"I was hoping to enlist your help to find a friend of mine." Loki said as he poured himself a glass of wine and took a sip savouring the taste of centuries-old Asgardian wine
"Who is this friend you are looking for?" Heimdall asked leaning forward in interest
"His name is Bruce Banner and he is also known as the Hulk. He has been missing for some time after the battle of Sokovia. Can you track him down?" Loki requested as he manipulated his magical energy to show the image of Bruce and Hulk
"I will try my best Loki." Heimdall promised
"That's all I am asking. Enjoy the party." Loki patted Heimdall on his back and began to search for Natasha. He found her engaged in a quiet conversation with Sif. He immediately made his way towards them and Natasha noticed him which halted their conversation.
"What are you ladies talking about?" Loki asked as his eyes raked over the bare shoulders of Natasha quickly. It took a lot of will power for Loki not to run his hand through the smooth skin Natasha was exposing. Not to mention the fact that she looks drop-dead gorgeous a silver-blue gown that was an off-shoulder design with a cloak stitched to it. Sif was also in a similar garb but with a black-gold colour combination.
"We were talking about you and your exploits in Midgard Loki." Sif said with a lopsided grin
"It warms my heart to know that I am the subject of conversation between two beautiful women." Loki said as he greeted them with a smirk
"From my understanding, you seem to enjoy some other things Loki." Sif teased as she exchanged a smile with Natasha
"Have you been spreading false rumours about the noble and gallant Loki, Natasha?" Loki asked in a pompous voice
"It will be very unladylike of me to spread false rumours about my saviour. No, my fearless prince I only spoke of your noble deeds among us poor mortals." Natasha easily imitated the role of a love-struck woman batting her eyelashes and all
"I see Volstagg making a scene excuse me." Sif slipped away from them leaving Loki and Natasha alone
"Have you been enjoying the party?" Loki asked as he moved closer to Natasha. Their attention was quickly turned to the fight going on between Volstagg and some other Asgardians
"This is a bit rowdier than I am used to but I am Russian so I can handle it." Natasha shrugged her shoulders and drank a mouthful of wine
"Careful with that Natasha. This is Asgardian wine and it is more strong than what you are used to." Loki warned
"I can hold my drink." Natasha said but her words were a little slurred
"You are a little tipsy. Come I will escort you to your room." Loki caught her by her waist and led her away from the party.
The crackling torches illuminated the night in a golden glow along their way and Natasha was just oozing lust providing a nice distraction for Loki.
"You look beautiful Natasha." Loki whispered into her ear when they were both alone in a long corridor
"I thought you liked it more when I was in a skin-tight suit." Natasha said as she pushed Loki against a nearby pillar and began to kiss him
"I think…we need to….. take this… somewhere else." Loki managed to say in between the kisses and pulled Natasha along into a hastily created portal directly into his room. For the rest of the night, no one in Asgard would see neither of them.
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Early morning light slowly seeped into the room and Loki slowly woke up from his sleep. His eyes traced the sleeping nude form of Natasha who was sprawled over him. He would have really liked to stay in bed for some more time but there were plans to be done and traps to be laid. So with extreme reluctance, he began to shake Natasha.
"Nat, wake up. It's morning." Loki shook her awake and she groaned and slowly climbed out of bed showing off her nude body and stretched.
"Oh come on. You did that on purpose." Loki complained as he had several interesting reactions with this early show
"Maybe, what are you going to do about it?" Natasha winked and skipped away from his reach as he tried to drag her back into the bed
After cleaning themselves up they began to get ready for their departure. Frigga insisted on filling up the ship with as many supplies as it could carry. Odin, Frigga, Thor and Heimdall gathered before the ship to see them off.
"Where is your next stop?" Frigga asked Loki who was having a quiet conversation with Heimdall and Thor regarding Hulk
"We make for Nidavellir. I need to commission a shield from the Dwarfs and after that we go to Xandar." Loki shared his route with Frigga while Thor and Odin exchanged a look
"Heimdall will keep an eye on you both just in case." Odin promised and Loki nodded in thanks
"There is no point in dallying any longer. Let's go." Loki said to Natasha and they began to climb up the ramp of the ship and waved a final goodbye as the ramp sealed shut. Loki and Natasha secured themselves on their seats and fired up the engine. The ship began to climb up steadily and Loki activated the main thrusters and flew away.
"Kira, how long before we approach the closest jump point to Nidavellir?" Loki asked the AI of his ship
"Two hours and fifteen minutes for the nearest Jump point, Loki." Kira replied and projected the trajectory to follow
"I guess that gives us a lot of time." Loki said as he moved his command chair to the side and unlocked a chamber. With a hiss, the chamber opened up releasing cold air. He took out a small sealed cup and resealed the chamber. As he directed his command chair back into position he handed over the cup to Natasha.
"What is this?" She asked nonetheless she took the cup and broke the seal covering it. She found a glowing blue liquid in it
"Don't tell me this is alien blood." Natasha joked as she sniffed the liquid but found no foul smell
"It is a liquid that is derived from a special herb that is very rare. Those who drink it are granted superhuman strength and senses for their lifetime. From here on out our journey is going to be uncertain and I rather you have every advantage in case everything gets out of control." Loki said as he encouraged Natasha to drink the blend. With some insistence, he finally managed to make her drink the herb.
The effect was instantaneous as the herb seeped into her muscles and her body went into overdrive trying to assimilate the foreign substance. Loki immediately enclosed Natasha in a cocoon of magical energy that let her hibernate for a while as her body adjusted to the new enhancement. After fifteen minutes Loki could feel her vitals were becoming normal so he pulled her out of hibernation.
Natasha woke up with a gasp and took deep breaths to steady herself. She didn't know it at the moment but tears were freely running through her cheeks.
"Natasha are you alright? Do you feel ok?" Loki fussed over her
"I saw my mother" she whispered in disbelief. "I saw my father. I spoke to them both."
"I see." Loki said as this confirmed his doubts that the herb is somewhat connected to the Astral plane of this universe. He himself had taken the herb when he first stole it from Wakanda hundreds of years ago. But after eating the herb his body never went into hibernation not did he have any visions. The only reason that he could think of was because of the nature of his own soul.
"Are you going to be alright Natasha?" Loki took her hand in his own and squeezed comfortingly
"I am fine. I just never thought I would ever meet them again." Natasha murmured as she recovered from the shock
"Do you want to speak about it?" Loki asked
"No, not now. Maybe some other time after I have come to terms with this." Natasha said as she began to distract herself by engaging some scanners around her own body to see the changes that were made
"We are approaching the Jump Point Loki." Kira warned
"Ok. Engage all scanners Kira and decrease the speed of engines once we exit the Jump Point." Loki ordered
"What about shields Loki?" Kira asked as the AI immediately started deep space scanning for any hidden threats
"Put shield projection on standby." Loki ordered
"Are you expecting an attack right away?" Natasha asked
"Oh, I am almost wishing there is someone waiting for us on the other side else this trip will be a waste of time." Loki said and they both braced themselves as the ship entered into the Jump Point.
Owing to the proximity of Asgard and Nidavellir their ship exited the Jump point within twenty minutes. Just as Loki instructed Kira reduced the engine speed and slowly navigated through space.
"Anything on the scanners Kira?" Loki asked as he observed the readings provided by the AI
"Nothing yet Loki." Kira reported
"Stop regional scanning and scan for any hyperspace entry." Loki suggested as he took manual control of the ship for the journey
"Loki, I am detecting a ship in hyperspace. Within fifteen minutes the ship will arrive at the jump point." Kira reported quickly
"Finally…" Loki muttered excitedly as he let out a sigh of relief as his ploy worked
"Natasha take over the primary weapon and standby to engage." Loki said as he directed the ship's power to both shields and boosters. After all the preparations were met they waited facing the jump point
As Kira predicted after fifteen minutes a huge ship that eclipsed the size of Loki's ship exited the jump point right into their line of sight. There was no mistake in Loki's mind as this was Thanos's flagship.
"It's huge." Natasha murmured as her hold on the controls tightened
"Charge the Grand ray cannon and fire when I say." Loki instructed as he began to scan the ship before him for the weakest point
"A communication channel is being opened Loki." Kira reported
"Allow the comms if it is secured from our end. I don't want any nasty surprises in the form of a hack." Loki commanded and Kira began to scan the incoming signal. After the scan was completed the channel became active and holographically projected image of Thanos appeared in their ship
"Greetings Prince of Asgard." The voice of Thanos rumbled in the otherwise silent ship
"Greetings to you as well Titan. Why are you here? This sector is restricted to outsiders and under the protection of Asgard." Loki said as he stared at the grinning form of the Mad Titan
"I will cut straight to the matter Prince Loki. You have something that I desire. Hand it over to me and we can depart on peaceful terms." Thanos said as he lost the smirk and became serious
"If you are suggesting that I hand over the Infinity Stones than I am afraid you will have to suffer disappointment." Loki said casually but his hands were discretely activating the Reality Stone
"Then you leave me with no choice to take it from your corpse." Thanos shut down the comms after saying that
"Here it comes." Loki said as he and Natasha braced themselves as they saw the weapons of the enemy ship being activated and a rain of fire came down upon them
Loki began to weave the ship through a series of manoeuvres evading the worst of incoming attacks. The rest of the energy blasts were absorbed by the shield and steadily Loki moved closer to Thanos's ship.
"Detecting fighter craft deployment." Kira alerted and that made Loki smile as he was waiting for that piece of news. The scanners began to show more than fifty fighter crafts being released from the Chitauri ship. Loki took his hands away from the controls and charted a collision course towards the Chitauri ship.
"Natasha fire the weapon." Loki said and Natasha engaged the weapon.
The Grand ray cannon which was being charged till now released the amassed energy in a straight line piercing the darkness away with its white glow in space. The energy beam suddenly split into a hundred individual long beams and summarily annihilated the fighter crafts. Some of the beams began to bombard the Chitauri ship which had not even projected a shield for some reason. But even then Natasha could see in the scanners that the ship had strong armour protection and the damages were superficial.
While the was all happening Loki had channelled the energy of the Reality Stone into his hands and a small triangle formed out of its red coloured energy on his right palm. With a simple wave, he projected the triangular energy construct into Thanos's ship. The energy struck quickly on the ship's hull and suddenly the ship had a giant triangular hole punched straight through its weakest point.
The next few moments were pure joy for Loki as he eagerly watched all his enemies get blasted off into space. Loki directed his own ship a little away from the Chitauri ship.
"Natasha fire the cannon once more but this time aim for the hole on the ship." Loki said and Natasha set the aim for the hole as she selected the vectors from the projected image and fired. The white beam flew straight through the Chitauri ship's hull and exited from the other side. The large ship was bisected from the middle and huge explosions began to disintegrate the Chitauri warship. Loki didn't want to take any chances as he activated the entire weapon systems and engaged in a full attack mode. For more than fifteen minutes he strategically fired into the remains of the Chitauri ship to ensure no smaller crafts could survive the blast radius.
"Well, that takes care of one crusader moron." Loki said with obvious relief as his scans didn't detect any life signs among the wreckage
"So what now?" Natasha asked with barely disguised relief
"We continue to Nidavellir. I do need a shield and then we search for Bruce. Heimdall will be able to find the guy." Loki said as he dismissed the shield and weapons. He diverted all that power into the thrusters and blasted through space leaving the wreckage to float aimlessly in space. If he had stayed for a bit more time he would have seen a small portal open up and swallow a small section of the wreckage.
