Chapter XVII

"It's a mad, mad world"

Loki tried to not show how afraid he was, the second the power of Thanos's ship was pulling their smaller ship. As soon as the power consumed their ship, Loki felt his seidr trying to fight it off. However, he was still weakened from the fight with Hela and the emotional breakdown he had a few hours ago.

"We have to…" Thor looked hopefully at him.

"I'm not able to walk all of those people through the Yggdrasil, brother," he replied. "I'm not that powerful."

"Maybe we can use the..." Tony leaned closer to him and raised his faceplate to whisper. "Tesseract."

"I still won't be able to save all of them," Loki whispered back with sad eyes. "I am sorry."

Loki wasn't lying, despite the popular belief. The power of Yggdrasil wasn't one to be used without proper schooling. The mage studied it and channeled it from time to time, but only for a small purpose. Never when it came to using it for so many creatures. Loki simply had no idea how to do so and if he could even succeed. No, he couldn't risk it. He couldn't risk the lives of his people. He couldn't risk the lives of his brother and his beloved.

"Then we fight," Heimdall stated firmly.

They braced themselves and prepared to fight their biggest enemy. At first, Loki with Heimdall's help opened a gate, similar to the Bifrost. They sent women and children through it, landing them in Tony's tower since this was one of the places on Midgard Loki was familiar with. Despite the mage's powers and Heimdall's ability to call on the power of the dead Allfathers, they managed to send only about half of women and all children through the gate. Loki dropped to his knees next to Heimdall, heaving hardly. The use of the spell weakened his seidr more. However, there was still one more thing he had to do before everything will go down the road, as Tony loves to say.

His lover was at his side a moment later. He pulled him up with his barely fixed suit. Tony was in no state to fight now. There was so little power in his arc reactor and despite their combined geniuses, both Loki and Tony forget to pack a spare one. None of them expected to face Hela and Thanos so quickly.

Loki looked up through the front window. Thanos's ship was pulling them in. It was mere moments before the titan will come down here and slaughter them.

It was about time to pull one more trick.

The mage turned to face his lover and stroked his cheek softly. Tony was the most beautiful creature he ever met and Loki was the luckiest man alive to gain his affection; thanks to magic or not. Loki was glad that they were bonded. It was the best thing that happened to him.

"I love you, Anthony, more than anything," he said, looking into his gorgeous brown eyes.

"I love you too, Prancer," Tony replied, giving him a confused look. "But why does it sound like a goodbye? Loki, what the hell are you thinking?"

"This was never about me, but you," the mage continued. "You are the key, my love. Only you. Not me. And you will succeed, my sweetheart. You will be the hero."

"Loki…"

"Just remember that I love you truly, Anthony."

Stark opened his mouth to reply, but Loki gave him no chance. He pulled the Tesseract out of his magic pocket and whispered a spell to activate it. It was the right thing to do. Loki pushed the Tesseract to Tony's hands the second it started to glow actively.

"Think about the Stark Tower!" Loki shouted to him.

"Tower?!" this was the last he heard from Tony before the mortal disappeared in a blue glow of the Tesseract's magic.

"I love you, Anthony," the mage whispered to himself, a single tear rolling down his cheek.

"Tin Man gone?" Hulk asked, looking at Loki and Thor, who joined his side.

"Yes, Hulk, Tin Man is back home for now," the mage explained mere moments, before the purple titan and his children entered the ship.

"Hello, slave," he greeted Loki with a sophisticated smile. "Long time no see, Loki."

.

Before Loki could even blink, a true hell erupted in the middle of the ship. Thanos's children started to attack the Aesirs, slaughtering them with no mercy. As much as Thor, Loki, Heimdall, and Hulk tried to protect them, they were overpowered by them. Ebony Maw was the most powerful of Thanos's children. He met him when he was captured by Thanos. The Other and Maw were the ones who tortured him and shaped him into a lunatic who invaded Midgard. They wanted Loki to be a part of the Black Order, however, Loki was granted an easy way out thanks to some mysterious, Midardian soldier.

"Hear me and rejoice," Maw started, as he walked among the dead bodies. "You have had the privilege to be saved by the Mad Titan. You may think this is suffering. No. It is salvation."

"Smile. For even in death, you have become Children of Thanos," Ebony Maw regarded those who were left alive. There weren't many and those who remained were battered. Loki, Thor, Hulk, a few noble Aesirs. Heimdall was wounded too badly but still tried to fight off as many as he could.

"I know what it's like to fail," Thanos turned around and looked at Loki. He grabbed Thor's body from the ground and lifted him up. Loki's brother was battered. The mage wanted to rip the Titan to shreds for this. "It's frightening. But whatever road you take, running or fighting, the result will be the same. Destiny arrives all the same."

The Black Order circled Loki, as Thanos was walking close to him, with Thor in his solid grip.

"And now it's here, or I should say… I am," the Titan raised his left hand with a golden gauntlet that Loki saw once. There was a purple stone in one of the knuckles. The power stone. Loki swallowed hard. But there was no Aether in there. Didn't the Collector give it up as well?

"You talk too much…" Thor raised his head and spat with blood at the ground.

"The Tesseract," Thanos gave him a blank stare. "Or your brother's head. Choose, slave."

Loki spared a quick glance at Thor, trying hard to not reveal his emotions.

"Kill away." The titan compelled to his words. He brought the power stone to Thor's left side of the head. The Thunderer screamed out of pain and it broke Loki's heart. "Alright, stop!"

Loki sighed loudly and pulled the Tesseract out of his magic pocket.

"Loki...no... " Thor pleaded to him, the same moment the mage offered the cube to the Mad Titan.

"The sun will shine on us again, brother. We are sons of Odin. Princes of Asgard. Brothers. I will see you."

Thanos took the Tesseract to his hand and broke the cube with his fingers. He grabbed the small blue gem between his fingers and placed it on the gauntlet. And waited. When the power of the gem didn't activate in the glove, the titan growled loudly.

"What is this trickery?!"

"You forget one thing, Thanos. I am Loki of Asgard, the god of mischief."

Perhaps, in the end, it wasn't the best of Loki's ideas. Thanos was stronger than him and he had the Black Order at his beck and call. But all Loki needed was a moment of distraction. And he knew how to do so.

"Hulk, now!" he shouted to the green beast.

Hulk ran at Thanos, throwing him off Loki immediately. The god ran towards his brother, who was bounded with shackles and a muzzle. He dropped to his knees before Thor and was ready to whisper his plan when he was caught by his throat and lifted up. Loki glanced to the side and spotted a battered Hulk, lying next to Heimdall. The Silvertongue gave a small nod to the dark-skinned gatekeeper and a moment later, Heimdall called on the Allfathers' power for the last time and opened a gate. He pushed Hulk through it with a fearful look. Loki only hoped that Heimdall was conscious enough to open the gate to Midgard, preferably somewhere close to Tony.

"You are nothing but a Trickster, Loki," Thanos leveled him with a stern look. "You can never best me. I will find the Tesseract, with or without your help. I think I already know where it is. I can smell this mortal on you, slave. You sent the stone with him, haven't you? Oh, Loki, Loki. It was a good plan, but as always, you fail. You are a failure."

"But I'm still a god."

"Well," Thanos laughed and squeezed Loki's throat some more until something broke. "Gods can die too."

Thor's muzzled scream filled the ruins of the ship and it was the last thing Loki heard. Then, there was nothing.

…

"Who are you?" a man with a goatee similar to Tony was staring down at him. He raised his hand in the air and discovered he's back in his human self. "Do you understand me?"

"I'm Bruce Banner," he replied. "Where am I?"

"New York," the other replied. "Where do you come from?"

"Thanos is coming. You need to get me to Tony Stark."

A few seconds later, Bruce was wearing some black sweatpants and a Lakers T-shirt. He and Doctor Strange were stepping through an orange portal right in the middle of Tony's penthouse.

Stark was sitting on the couch with starkpads next to him and some thick books scattered around.

"Tony?" the man in question raised his eyes at the two men and jumped off the couch.

"Where is he? Where is Loki?"

"Tony, I'm so sorry," Bruce padded closer to him and placed his arms on his shoulders. "I'm really sorry, Tony, but Loki is dead. Thanos killed him and he's coming to Earth."