ignore this

by kitiycat2266

wanted to used text to speech. ignore this

Main Content

Archive of Our Own betaArchive of Our OwnUser NavigationHi, DemonOfADiamond!PostLog Out

Site NavigationFandomsBrowseSearchAboutSearch Works

Work Search:

tip: austen words:10000-50000 sort:title

Skip header

Actions

Chapter by Chapter Bookmark Mark for Later Comments Share Download

Work Header

Rating:

General Audiences

Archive Warning:

Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings

Category:

Gen

Fandoms:

Marvel Cinematic UniverseThe Avengers (Marvel Movies)Thor (Movies)

Relationships:

Loki Thor (Marvel)Avengers Team LokiLoki Tony StarkLoki Steve RogersFrigga Freyja Loki (Marvel)Frigga Freyja Loki Odin Thor (Marvel)Loki Peter ParkerLoki Wanda Maximoff

Characters:

Loki (Marvel)Thor (Marvel)Tony StarkSteve RogersRocket RaccoonNebula (Marvel)Thanos (Marvel)Wanda MaximoffFrigga Freyja (Marvel)Scott LangPeter Parker

Additional Tags:

Canon Divergence - Avengers: Endgame (Movie)Canon Divergence - Avengers (2012)Canon Divergence - Post-Avengers (2012)Loki in endgamebecause it's what we deserved2012 LokiAvengers Loki

Language:

English

Stats:

Published:2021-11-29Completed:2022-09-28Words:23087Chapters:10/10Comments:146Kudos:647Bookmarks:118Hits:10194

Loki's New Endgame

kittyhazelnut

Summary:

When the Tesseract lands at Loki's feet, he knows he should take it and run, but curiosity gets the better of him. He just has to know why there are two Tony Starks walking around Stark Tower.

Chapter 1

Chapter Text

Everything was going well…

Until it wasn't.

Before Tony knows what's happening, he finds himself lying on the floor, the Tesseract far out of his reach. He groans, gently lowering his head to the ground. God, that hurt. The Hulk really packs a wallop, doesn't he?

For a few moments, he just lies there, staring up at the ceiling. He's too old to be doing this shit. He'll be bruised for weeks from this — if he lives that long. With this Hail Mary of an adventure, he can't say that for certain.

There's a light tap on his shin, and he lifts his head to look…

And Loki is staring down at him, Tesseract in hand, with a shit-eating grin on his face that even his muzzle can't hide.

Tony groans. Oh, great. That complicates things. He pushes himself to his feet, and even standing up, he feels like he has to crane his neck to meet Loki's gaze. Why do gods have to be so goddamn tall? As if the guy isn't intimidating enough with the magic glowy cube and the complete disregard for the sanctity of life.

"What?" Tony asks irritably.

Loki just keeps standing there, silent, smirking.

"You wanna give me the cube?" Tony asks.

Loki doesn't react. Tony lunges for the Tesseract, but the god swiftly moves it out of his reach, his chains clinking as they hit against each other.

"Loki, I need that cube," Tony says. "You want it back? I will give it back. But I need the goddamn cube."

Loki just raises an eyebrow.

"So are you gonna give me the Tesseract or do I have to take it?" Tony asks. "'Cause if I have to take it, I'm not giving it back." But if he doesn't have to take it… Well, hey, this isn't his timeline. If promising to give it back to the genocidal maniac here is what it takes to save half of his universe from a different genocidal maniac's bullshit, he'll do what he has to do.

Loki bounces his eyebrows.

Tony reaches over and pulls the muzzle off of Loki's mouth. Let's try this again. "Are you gonna give me the Tesseract or not, Loki?"

"The Tesseract is not leaving my possession," Loki says.

Tony lolls his head back, exasperated. Then what the fuck is he doing here?

"So if you would like the Tesseract, you will have to make room in your party for another member."

Tony guffaws at that. "You're joking."

"No, I am not," Loki says. "I was willing to go along with this pitiful attempt at an arrest because I saw no better option. Now I see two."

Tony crosses his arms. "And those are?"

"The smart choice would be to take my leave now," Loki says. "I have the Tesseract. I could go anywhere, do anything. But I find myself too curious to leave now, so if you would like the Tesseract as badly as it seems you do, I think we would both benefit from this temporary alliance in our own ways."

"Okay, hold on," Tony says. "There is no alliance. You are the last person I would ever ally with."

"Uh, Tony?" Scott's voice rings through his earpiece. "What's going on? Why are we talking to Loki?"

"So be it," Loki says. "I hope the Tesseract was not an integral part of whatever plan you've concocted."

Tony reaches out to grab it, and again, Loki pulls it out of reach.

"I suspect we only have a short while until my brother notices us," Loki says. "You have until then to change your mind, but once I've been spotted, I am leaving, with or without you."

Tony narrows his eyes. He does not want to take Loki with him. They have enough problems as it is without adding the interplanetary terrorist to the list. But they only have the one chance to collect all the Infinity Stones, and he doesn't want to be the one person who couldn't do it. They've come too far to fail now.

Loki's hands swing forward, Tesseract still gripped tightly, and a little speck of something flies past it, landing so hard against the floor by Tony's feet that it leaves a small dent. The small speck begins to grow, and suddenly Scott is standing in its place, back to his ordinary size and staring at Loki incredulously.

"How did you not drop that?" Scott asks.

Loki raises an eyebrow. "Well, this is interesting."

"What's going on?" Scott asks his partner.

Tony taps his earpiece, making sure both Steve and Bruce can hear his answer. "Loki's got the Tesseract. He won't give it up unless he gets to come back with us."

"What?" Scott scoffs. "That's not happening."

Tony just frowns.

Scott hesitates. "That's not happening, is it?"

Tony shakes his head helplessly. He doesn't want it to, but…

"Just take it from him," Steve says. "We don't have time for this."

"Oh, that easy, is it?" Tony says sarcastically.

"We need that Tesseract, Tony," Steve says firmly.

"No shit, Sherlock," Tony says, "but what are we willing to do to get it?"

Loki just smiles.

Thor's voice grabs their attention immediately. "Where's the Tesseract?"

"Last chance," Loki says.

Tony hesitates. They really can't…

"Loki!" Thor yells, and then he catches sight of his brother, and it's now or never.

Tony grimaces. As much as he hates Loki, he hates Thanos more. If they can get all six Infinity Stones, there's no damage Loki could wreck that would be worse than what Thanos has already brought.

"Fine," Tony hisses. "Just get us the hell out of here."

Scott scoffs. "Tony —"

A wave of blue smoke overtakes them, and suddenly, they're gone. They reappear outside of Stark Tower, a surprisingly calm spot in the midst of the chaos throughout the city. Loki stands before them, his smirk never wavering, and Tony has to fight the urge to smack him for it.

"So," Loki says, "where are we going?"

Tony hesitates. "It's… hard to explain," he says. "Tell you what." He holds out a hand. "You give me the Tesseract, I'll take you to where we're supposed to meet up."

"Stark…" Scott says quietly, a warning of sorts.

Loki chuckles dryly. "Do you think me an idiot?"

"Yeah, kinda," Tony says. "Why do you ask?"

"I am not giving you the Tesseract," Loki says. "Not here." He holds it up, then closes his palm, and the Tesseract disappears into nothingness. "Now. Where are we going?"

Tony's eyes go wide. "Loki!"

"Where'd it go?" Scott asks quickly.

"It's safe," Loki says. "The only one who can take it now is myself. Just in case I had not yet made my rules clear."

Tony groans. Great. So this is it, then. There's no other way to go about this. Loki and the Tesseract are a package deal. And, as much as he hates to admit it, the potential benefits outweigh the potential risks.

"Look," Tony says finally, "we can't take you with us without a special suit, and we don't have a spare." He activates his time suit to show the god what he means. "But we really need that Tesseract."

Loki seems unphased by that. "I think we can make that work."

Before Tony can ask what he means, Loki vanishes in a flash of green light, and in his place, a fly appears. The chains that had been holding his wrists fall to the ground with a clammer. The fly flutters in front of his face, hovering at eye level.

"Is that…" Scott cocks his head to the side, squinting.

"Loki?" Tony says cautiously.

"There should be more than enough room for the both of us," Loki's voice says.

Tony flinches, startled, but Scott literally jumps, stumbling backward and nearly falling on his ass until Tony grabs his arm, anchoring him here.

"Holy shit," Scott whispers. "The fly can talk."

Tony just rolls his eyes. His helmet disappears, and the fly lands on his head. He does his best to ignore how wildly uncomfortable that is, and he presses a finger against the earpiece. "Alright, I'm about to do something very stupid. You think you can handle getting the scepter, or should I send the munchkin to help?"

"I can get the scepter," Steve says. "But what are you doing?"

"You'll find out as soon as you get the scepter," Tony tells him. As an afterthought, he adds, "And please don't kill me. There was no way out of it."

"What?" Steve sounds much more worried now. "Tony, what are you doing?"

Tony's helmet envelopes his head, taking Loki along with it. "You ready?"

Scott gives a single nod, and his helmet comes up, too.

"Then we should go," Loki says. "My brother will find us soon enough, and he will not take kindly to my leaving again."

"Yeah, yeah." Tony rolls his eyes. "Hold on tight. We're going quantum."

He hits the button on his wrist, and then they're gone.

Chapter 2

Chapter Text

As soon as Tony's back in the Compound, he deactivates his helmet, letting Loki free. He's not keeping that fly in his hair any longer than he has to. A flash of green glows beside him, and Loki shifts back to his normal form.

Tony looks around as all the other Avengers readjust to the normal world. The quantum realm can really do a number on someone, that's for sure. He scans the circle for the faint glow of Infinity Stones, and he feels a wave of relief wash over himself when he sees so many in their hands. They may have done it. This may actually have worked.

The silence seems to stretch on for an eternity, though he's sure it only lasts a few seconds until Thor breaks it.

"Loki," he whispers. In an instant, he's crossed the landing pad, pulling his brother into a tearful hug.

"Mm," Loki hums uncomfortably, tensing under his touch.

"I'm so sorry," Thor murmurs. "I'm so, so sorry. You're not the worst brother. You were never the worst brother."

"No, that title would belong to you," Loki deadpans. "Now let me go, you big oaf." He shoves Thor away, and the god stumbles backward, taken aback. Loki furrows his brows, eyeing him up and down, and Thor cocks his head to the side. "You very big oaf." He looks back at Tony, confused. "Where am I?"

"New York," he says. "In 2023."

Loki's eyebrows shoot up. "I beg your pardon?"

"So when you said you were gonna do something stupid," Steve says, "I take it you meant Loki stupid."

"Mm." Tony nods. "You know, my usual level of stupid."

Loki looks around the room. "What is happening right now?"

"You're gonna have to be a little more specific," Tony tells him. "There's a lot happening right now."

"How do you propose I form a more specific question when I haven't the slightest idea what is happening?" Loki asks irritably.

"Tell you what." Tony holds out a hand. "Give me the Tesseract and I'll explain everything."

"Counterargument," Loki says. "Tell me everything and I might lend you the Tesseract."

Tony crosses his arms, an eyebrow raised, and Loki just smiles, his arrogance shining through in his eyes.

Finally, Steve steps in. "Your old buddy went on a genocidal rampage a few years back," he says. "We're trying to fix it, but we can't do that without all six Infinity Stones." He opens his hand to reveal the Mind Stone, illustrating his point.

Loki chuckles dryly. "My old buddy?"

"Yeah," Steve says. "Thanos."

Loki's cocky smile disappears in an instant. He pushes Thor out of his way and stalks up to the Captain, and though their heights nearly match, Loki's energy seems to tower over him. He peers down at the man, eyes narrowed. "What do you know of Thanos?" he demands.

Steve raises his chin, radiating confidence even in that small movement. "I know he sent you to Earth," he says. "I know he was collecting Infinity Stones. And I know he used those Stones five years ago to wipe out half of all life in the universe." He crosses his arms. "You want me to keep going, or is that enough?"

Loki grits his teeth. "Where is he now?"

"What," Tony says, "so you can go reunite with your old master?" He shakes his head. "Not happening, buddy."

Loki turns to face him, his hands balled into fists by his side. "Thanos was not my master," he snaps. "He was my captor; my tormentor for months. If I am to 'reunite' with him, it will be to put a knife in his skull."

Tony recoils at the venom in his voice. He glances at Steve uncertainly. What does he say to that? What should they do? He hadn't really planned how to proceed with this after he got Loki and the Tesseract to 2023, but if he had, this would have trashed all those plans. It's the last thing he would have expected.

"Thanos is already dead," Steve says slowly.

Loki looks at him. "What?"

"Thor killed him," Steve says. "Five years ago."

Loki looks to his brother. "You killed Thanos?"

"I did," Thor says.

"How?"

"Grief is a powerful motivator," he says darkly.

Loki nods slowly, processing that. "I am in the future, correct?" he says. "So where is my future self?"

Thor drops his gaze to the ground.

Loki just nods. "When did he kill me?"

Thor shakes his head.

"When I failed to procure the Tesseract, I presume?" Loki prompts.

Thor doesn't respond, so Loki walks up to him, stopping just inches away. Thor hesitantly raises his gaze to meet his brother's, but still, he doesn't speak.

"If you won't tell me," Loki says quietly, "I will see for myself. You know that."

Thor just shakes his head once more.

Loki reaches forward, grabbing Thor's head between his hands. Thor gasps, his eyes squeezing closed. Loki just tightens his grip, pulling Thor's head towards his until their foreheads touch.

"What's he doing?" Tony asks cautiously.

"I don't know," Steve says, eyeing the gods warily.

"Should we stop him?" Tony asks.

Steve hesitates. "I mean… probably?"

The two men walk up to the gods, and they each grab one of Loki's arms. They silently count off, a head nod for each number. One… two… three! They pull back, and Tony throws his entire body with his movement.

Loki doesn't budge.

"Oh, come on," Tony mutters.

"I got it," Bruce says. He walks over and grabs Loki's waist, and Tony and Steve step out of his way so the Hulk can pull him back. This time it does work, though Loki immediately responds by throwing his foot back and kicking him where the sun doesn't shine so Bruce has to drop him.

Thor lets out another gasp, his eyes flying open. Loki steps back up to him, but now, the only emotion on his face is sorrow.

"They're all gone," Loki says quietly. "Mother, Father. Heimdall. The Warriors Three." He shakes his head, his gaze never leaving his brother's face. "We lost everyone."

Thor just nods, tears welling up in his eyes. He pulls his brother into a tight hug, and this time, Loki hugs him back without hesitation. Thor buries himself in the crook of his brother's neck, his face pressed against his leather collar. Loki squeezes his eyes shut, a single tear slipping down his face.

Tony looks up at Steve and whispers, "What do we do now?"

"I don't know," Steve says, though he doesn't whisper it back. "I guess we work on the gauntlet."

"We don't have the Space Stone yet," Tony reminds him.

Steve glances at Loki, clinging to his brother like it's his only lifeline. "Something tells me Loki's gonna help us out."

Tony can't argue with that. He looks around. "We got the rest of them, right? Bruce, you got…?"

Bruce holds up the Time Stone. "We have to bring it back when we're done, though. I promised."

"If we live that long," Tony says. "Steve?"

Steve holds up his Stone. "Mind Stone's secured."

Tony looks at Rocket. "Stuffy, you got the Aether?"

Rocket holds up a tube of redness. "Reality Stone, check."

Rhodey shows his next. "And I got the Power Stone."

Tony nods once. "Barton, you got — wait." He pauses when his gaze lands on the archer, his head ducked and staring down at the floor. Tony glances around the circle.

It's Steve who finally asks. "Where's Natasha?"

Clint lifts his gaze to meet the Captain's, and all he does is shake his head.

The shift in mood hits them like a bag of bricks. It's no longer a celebration; there's no more relief to finally have what they've been searching for. They can finally bring everybody back — hopefully — but it almost feels counterproductive after losing another friend in the process.

It's silent for a long while, everyone frozen in their grief. Finally, Clint goes up to Tony and puts the Soul Stone in his hand. Without a word, he walks out of the room. No one tries to stop him.

Eventually, Thor and Loki pull apart, and the latter looks to the doorway just as Clint is leaving. When he's out of sight, Loki holds up a hand, and the Tesseract fades into existence once more.

Loki walks up to Tony, still gripping the Tesseract tight in his hand. "With the power of the six Infinity Stones, you can do nearly anything."

"Good," Tony says simply. That's the plan.

"If I give you the Tesseract," Loki says, "what guarantee do I have that you will not use it against me?"

"You have my word," Tony says. "That's all I have to offer. You don't give us a reason to kill you, and we'll leave you alone. I swear."

Loki hesitates, eyeing him for a few moments. Finally, he holds out the Tesseract, and Tony takes it cautiously. There's got to be a catch. There's no way that was enough to convince him to give it up.

"I expect that back once you've finished," Loki tells him.

"And you'll get it back," Tony says, a complete lie. When they're done with the Stones, they're going back where they came from. Unless Loki wants to go back, too, he's not getting the Tesseract — and even then, Tony would rather give it to his past self instead.

"I will hold you to that," Loki says.

Tony forces a smile. He'll cross that bridge when he gets to it. Right now, he has bigger fish to fry.

Chapter 3

Chapter Text

While Tony gets to work on the Infinity Gauntlet 2.0, Bruce and Rocket both looking over his shoulder the whole time, the rest of the unbidding team just sits around, impatiently waiting for him to finish it. For the most part, it's quiet, save Tony's exasperated mumbling and the occasion question from Bruce. That just makes it more stressful for everyone involved.

Loki leans against the wall, keeping his distance from the Avengers no matter how many times Thor asks him to sit with him. Eventually, the elder god had to give up, but he still spares the occasional glance. He still can't believe he finally has his brother back… and he just happens to be from the time they were least like brothers.

Eventually, Loki speaks, looking at Nebula when he says, "With how you let your father treat you, I'm surprised anything could finally show you that he's a monster."

Nebula raises her gaze to look at him, but she doesn't respond.

Rocket looks at Loki in surprise. "You know her?"

"I spent months in the Sanctuary," Loki says. "Our paths crossed a few times."

"My father would always remind me it could be worse," she says. "He could do to me what he did to you."

Thor grimaces at that remark. What did Thanos do to him? And how did he never know? Six years passed after they had arrested Loki for his crimes before he was killed. He never once said he had been hurt. He never mentioned Thanos or his coercion. How different would it have been if he had?

"Funny," Loki says, though he clearly means the opposite, "he would say the same to me about you."

Nebula lowers her gaze to the floor, where it's been firmly planted since the work on the Infinity Gauntlet 2.0 began.

"You know," Tony says, his attention still on his work, "you could have saved us a hell of a headache if you'd told us about Thanos eleven years ago."

"He made sure I would not do that," Loki says darkly.

Steve glances over at him. "So you never wanted to take over the world, then."

"I had no issue with that," Loki says. "I was born to be king. It is my birthright. I am the rightful king of Asgard and the rightful king of Jotunheim, but I would settle for Midgard if those two realms' thrones were unavailable to me.

"But I did not want to give him the Infinity Stones when I was finished. He never told me what he wanted of them, but he did say his newfound power would span the universe. I had never imagined he would destroy half of all life, but I knew his plans were dark and I wanted no part in them."

"So he tortured you," Thor says quietly.

"You've seen his mild-mannered bloodlust," Loki says. "It should come as no surprise to you the lengths he was willing to go to."

"You should have told us," Steve says. "We could have stopped him back then. Together."

"If it was that easy, we would not be in this situation," Loki says. "He was always going to win. That was never a question. With or without my help, he was going to win."

Scott raises his hand. "Wait, I'm confused. Is Loki still a bad guy?"

There's an unsettling hesitation among them while they try to find an answer.

Finally, Steve says, "He's an ally. Right now, we need as many of those as we can get."

Loki gives a solemn nod.

"Alright, everybody shut up," Tony says. "I need to focus. This is it."

The room goes silent, all eyes on Tony as he slowly moves the Infinity Stones into the gauntlet. Thor clasps his hands in his lap, his heart pounding in his chest. This is it. This is all they have left to do. Then they can bring everybody back. They can have some semblance of normalcy again.

Tony turns around to look at everyone, a small smile on his face. "It's done."

~~~

The glove has been wheeled out into the open, but no one yet dares to use it. Tony fiddles with the open side; Rocket gently bends the fingers. Everyone else just stands back and watches, awed. They really have all six Infinity Stones. They have just about all of Thanos's power right here in front of them.

"Alright, the glove's done," Rocket says. He looks up. "The question is, who's gonna snap their freaking fingers?"

Thor raises a hand. "I'll do it." He's the obvious choice. He's the strongest Avenger. He's a god. If anyone here can wield the power of the Infinity Stones, it will be him.

Tony's brows shoot up. "Excuse me?"

"It's okay," Thor insists, already sauntering towards the glove.

Immediately, Steve and Tony reach out to stop him, both stammering unintelligible interruptions that Thor pays no mind to.

"Thor, just wait," Steve says firmly. "We haven't decided who's gonna put that on yet."

"What does it matter?" Loki asks, eyeing them from across the room. Once again, he's keeping his distance, but he's fully present in the moment, carefully watching every move they make.

"Wielding multiple Infinity Stones is practically a death wish," Steve tells him.

Loki furrows his brows. "No, it's not."

"It is," Tony says. "Even Thanos could barely do it."

"Then he was manipulating you," Loki says. "He wanted you to think you could not wield them; that you couldn't undo the damage he did. But I've held multiple Infinity Stones with ease."

Tony stares at him. "What?"

"You know that," Loki says. "You just took two from me. Perhaps it would be too much power for a human, but as a god, it was easy."

Tony and Steve share a look, and Thor looks between them warily. What are they thinking? Does he even want to know?

"We could try it," Tony says cautiously. "I mean, worst that happens is he dies."

Steve shakes his head. "That's not the worst that could happen."

"I understand the power of the Infinity Stones just as well as you do, I assure you," Loki says. "They are not something to be taken lightly, and I will not take them lightly. But I helped bring this about. I want to help fix it."

"Loki, you didn't even get the Tesseract to him," Tony says. "And we kept the Mind Stone on Earth, so you pretty much took the Mind Stone from him."

"You're no more at fault than the rest of us are," Steve assures him. "Not for this."

"Well, I feel like I am," Loki snaps. "You don't trust me. I know that. But I want to help. I have to help." His tone grows more desperate with each sentence, until finally, his voice is nothing more than a broken whisper. "Please."

Steve and Tony share a look, and, much to Thor's surprise, they actually seem to be considering it. He's not letting that happen.

"Loki, it could kill you," Thor says.

"Then you would be no worse off than you were an hour ago," Loki says. "What do you have to lose? Truly?"

Thor scoffs. "Do you truly have such little regard for your life?"

"I was begging for death just days ago," Loki says. "My own actions have cost me nearly everything I have ever cared about. So if someone is going to risk their life for this, I want it to be me. Either I will finally do something good, or I will die and your friends will all live to continue their fight."

Thor shakes his head. "You are not touching that gauntlet. I will not let you."

Loki looks between Tony and Steve. "I assume this decision falls to you, as most decisions tend to."

They both hesitate, and when Steve finally speaks, he does so to Thor. "He wants to do this. I think we should let him. Give him his shot at redemption."

"No," Thor says firmly. "I am not losing my brother. Not again."

"I am a better loss than your teammates," Loki says. "I suspect I'll live regardless, but should someone have to die, I assume everyone else would agree that it should be me."

Thor shakes his head emphatically. He looks around the room, desperately hoping someone will argue, but he can see it in their faces that everyone agrees. He can't believe that. He just got his brother back, and they're willing to risk losing him again already?

"You're just going to bring everybody back," Tony says firmly. "That's it. Then you give me the glove back, I give you the Space Stone back, and we're done."

"Okay," Rhodey says, "but you're not actually gonna give him the Space Stone, right?"

Loki just rolls his eyes at that.

"Yeah, I am," Tony says. "A deal's a deal."

Bruce frowns. "Tony…"

"A deal's a deal," Tony repeats firmly.

"Good," Loki says. "Then give me the gauntlet. Let us finish this."

Tony steps out of the way and gestures for Loki to have at it. Loki gives a single nod and crosses the room, gazing down at the gauntlet with confidence that Thor can tell is fake. Everyone gets in position, arming themselves with whatever helmets they have on them.

"You don't have to do this," Thor says quietly.

Loki lifts his gaze to meet his brother's. "I do."

Thor bites his lip. He's not ready to watch this. He's just not sure he has a choice.

"Remember," Tony says, his voice almost robotic through the Iron Man mask, "you're just bringing everybody back. Everyone snapped away, back to today. Do not change anything that's happened in the last eleven years. That is not your job."

"I know," Loki says. "You've already said that."

He reaches his hand forward, and the gauntlet begins to expand. He takes a deep breath, then shoves his hand inside in one swift movement. The gauntlet collapses in on itself, tightening around him.

Loki cries out in pain, collapsing to the floor almost immediately. He grabs at the gauntlet with his free hand, and the surging colors of the Infinity Stones flicker around him.

"Loki!" Thor yells, rushing to his side. "Loki, take it off!"

"Mm," Loki groans, shaking his head emphatically.

"Loki?" Tony says cautiously. "You good?"

Loki grits his teeth and nods.

"Loki, you're not good!" Thor yells. Anyone can see that! He's dying! This is going to kill him! "Take off the gauntlet!"

Loki shakes his head again. He lets go with his unsheathed hand and pushes himself to a sitting position. He lifts the gauntlet, only an inch or two before he groans, immediately pulling it back in on himself.

"Loki, take it off!" Thor yells. He grabs hold of the gauntlet…

And the power begins to surge through him, too. He drops the gauntlet instinctively, but then he reaches over again, grabbing Loki's forearm just about the cuff of the glove. He's taking this thing off if it kills them both.

The moment he makes contact — this time only with his brother; he doesn't even touch the gauntlet — the power begins to flow through him again. He squeezes his eyes shut, every muscle in his body tensing. He thought he knew pain. He's beginning to realize he was wrong.

Off in the distance, he hears someone call his name. He's not sure who it is. He doesn't really care. He doesn't care about anything but the power pulsating through his veins, pounding against every nerve in his body and begging for a release.

There's a jolt against his hand — one he realizes perhaps belatedly is the snap of Loki's gloved fingers. So he did it. That doesn't mean he'll survive it.

The next thing he knows, Thor is lying on his back a few feet away. He's not sure how he got here, but it's far from his first priority. He sits up, and his gaze immediately lands on his brother, kneeling on the floor with the gauntlet clinging to his hand. Tony, Steve, and Clint are all trying to pull it off, but the gauntlet's power sparks through them. They seem to be handling it remarkably well.

Bruce kneels behind them, grabs Tony and Steve each in a hand, and pulls back. They go flying backwards, Infinity Gauntlet still in their hands, and Clint comes along for the ride.

Loki's eyes snap open, and he immediately grabs at the arm that had been wearing the gauntlet. He looks around frantically until he finds the Infinity Gauntlet, and he holds a hand out towards it. The gauntlet lurches, and Bruce tightens his grip on Steve and Tony, and together, the three of them manage to hold it.

"Give it back!" Loki yells.

"Hey!" Tony yells back. "Calm down!"

"Give it back!" Loki repeats, impossibly louder than before. "I wasn't finished!"

"Yes, you are!" Steve says firmly. "Calm down, Loki. You're done."

"No, I am not!" Loki pushes himself to his feet, and he has to slam his hands against the table to steady himself before he falls back down. "I will not be done until I've rebuilt the home I've had stolen from me!"

Tony pulls the Infinity Gauntlet out of his friends' hands and gives it to Bruce. "Get it out of here," he hisses. "Now."

Bruce immediately takes off down the hall, gauntlet clutched close to his chest.

"Loki, what did you do?" Thor asks cautiously. This doesn't sound like their deal at all. He's almost scared to hear the answer. Maybe his brother's not so reformed. He did come from 2012, after all.

"What I had to," Loki snaps. "You'll thank me when I'm done."

"We had a deal, bozo!" Tony yells. "Bring back the people Thanos snapped away, and don't touch anything else!"

"I don't care!" Loki yells back.

"What happened to doing the right thing?" Tony demands.

"I am not a martyr, Stark," Loki snaps. "I am not responsible for your misplaced trust or the ease with which you and your friends can be manipulated. I have my own priorities, and though they narrowly align with yours, they are not the same."

"So you played us," Tony says.

"You do know who you're speaking to," Loki says, his voice dripping in sarcasm.

Bruce clears his throat from the doorway, getting everyone's attention with far too much ease. "Uh, guys?"

"What?" Tony says irritably.

Clint jerks his head towards the Infinity Gauntlet in his hands. "I thought you were taking that away."

"I got a little distracted," Bruce says.

"You're holding the most powerful things in existence," Steve reminds him. "Probably not the best time to get distracted."

Bruce steps out of the doorway to reveal a very familiar woman standing behind him. She looks around, taking in the sight before her, but she stops when her gaze lands on Loki.

Any anger that had been in Loki's expression disappears immediately when he sees her. The corners of his lips twitch upwards in a small smile.

"Mother."

Chapter 4

Chapter Text

Loki runs up to his mother, pulling her into such an enthusiastic hug that her feet leave the ground. He can't believe this worked. For the briefest moment, he held all the power in the universe. He had to use it to bring back his mother. Everything else came after. Whether he succeeded in anything else he tried, he doesn't know, but he has his mother back. That's the important part.

Thor wraps his arms around the both of them, hugging them tight. Loki almost can't believe it. An hour ago, he would have said he had no family left. Now, he has his mother and his brother back, and they love him. It's not the same as it once was, but it's something. He'll cling to whatever he can get.

"Now, boys," Frigga says, sounding amused but almost cautiously so, "you know I love you both, but I have a feeling something has happened that I ought to know about."

"No," Loki says. "There is nothing you need to know." It doesn't matter. Not right now. All that matters is that they're here, together, for the first time in ages. Everything else comes later.

Tony scoffs, ruining the moment. "You're kidding," he says. "All that power, and you used it to see your mommy?"

Finally, Loki and Thor let their mother go, but even as Loki turns to look at him, he keeps his mother in his sights. He's not losing her again.

"I told you," Loki says. "I have my own priorities."

Frigga looks around the room, taking in the sight. "And you must be…?"

"They're the Avengers!" Thor says eagerly. "The humans I used to tell you about."

"Ah." Frigga smiles. "The ones who helped you bring Loki back to us."

Tony stares at her in disbelief. "So you just don't care that Loki tried to take over the world."

"I do care," Frigga says. "And I am sorry for all the harm he brought to your world. I truly am. But I also care that my son was lost and he was hurt, and I care that he found his way home. As a mother, that is what is most important to me."

Tony shakes his head to himself. "No wonder he turned out the way he did," he says. "Asgard's just never heard of 'accountability,' huh?"

Loki narrows his eyes. He's sure he was held accountable for his crimes. He only caught brief flashes of the last eleven years in Thor's mind, but he would be surprised if he wasn't sentenced to the dungeon at the very least, even if he did somehow find his way out eventually.

"Do not speak of my family like that," Thor snaps. "You heard him. He was tortured. He was forced into it."

"What?" Frigga looks to her youngest son, who has to look away.

"No, he wasn't!" Tony says irritably. "He lied! He's a liar! He just wanted the Stones!"

"I have lied about many things," Loki says. "That was not one of them."

"Well, sorry if I'm having a hard time trusting you," Tony says sarcastically. "You did just lie about, you know, everything else."

Steve puts a hand on his shoulder. "Tony…"

Loki crosses his arms. "How would I know Nebula if not because we both shared the same fate under Thanos's control?"

"I don't know and I don't care," Tony says. "She —" He cuts himself off, looking around the room. "Where is Nebula?"

Loki furrows his brows and looks around, too. Where did she…?

He's not sure what comes first, the noise or the shaking of the floor. It hardly matters; a second later, the floor is nowhere to be seen.

And then he's falling.

Or maybe he's flying.

He's not sure which way is up and which way is down.

He's just spinning and falling and flying and—

Crack.

He's back on the floor.

Is it a floor? He's not entirely sure.

But he's lying on something, and he only knows that because the impact sends waves of pain through his body, vibrating with such ferocity that he almost feels he's going to bounce away. He squeezes his eyes shut, but he still feels as though the world is spinning. How much blunt force trauma to the head can a god take before it results in permanent brain damage? Because he's fairly certain he's nearing that point.

Loki presses his hands into the floor and tries to shift his weight. Instantly, pain shoots down his back. He throws his head back, hissing at the feeling. He lets his hands fall back down to his sides, staring at the ceiling helplessly. This is not fun.

But he can't lie here forever, so he grits his teeth, and, in one swift movement, pushes himself to a sitting position. He cries out in pain. God, he really should've stayed in 2012. The pain was so much more manageable back then.

The pain starts to subside the longer he sits, though any movement sends a twinge of pain through his spine that he does his best to ignore. He looks around, though it's so dark, he can hardly make out his surroundings. He holds his hands out in front of him, a green ball of light glowing between them. It helps a bit. He can see now the extent of the damage; the rubble surrounding him. He was fortunate enough to land in a small open area, not necessarily tall enough to stand in, but not small enough that he feels claustrophobic, either.

He looks for a familiar face, some glimmer of hope among the darkness, but there's nobody in sight. His mother's not here; Thor's not here. He's just…

Alone.

He swallows hard. This is fine. He's been alone before and it's gone just fine. He was alone more often than not in Asgard, and the worst that would happen was that someone would stumble upon him and throw a half-thought-out taunt in his direction. That's nothing to worry about at all. Because being alone is fine. It doesn't have to end poorly. It doesn't have to end with him fighting for his life. In space. Alone. Against beings he'd never known to fear. For months. And months. And months.

Nope.

Nothing to be scared of at all.

"Hello?"

Loki's eyebrows shoot up. Did he really hear that? Or is he just losing his mind? Maybe he's already reached the point of irreversible brain damage. After the day he's had, he wouldn't be surprised.

"Hello?" the voice yells again. "Can anybody hear me?"

Well, if he's hearing it twice, he's fairly certain it's real.

"Stark?" Loki calls out, somewhat cautious about it.

There's a pause, then, "Anybody else hear me?"

Loki's eyes scan the remains of the room. He has a general idea of where that voice is coming from – and it doesn't sound too far away, either. He's just not quite sure…

And then there's another voice; one that Loki can't quite place. "Loki, hey! Over here!"

Oh, lovely. Now he has to get up.

Loki carefully shifts his weight to his hands, swinging his legs underneath him until he's on all fours. He grimaces and bites his collar, teeth sinking into the leather to keep him from crying out again. His head ducked, he does his best to follow that voice. He squeezes through the rubble, carefully testing the ground before transferring his weight. It hurts like hell, but the constant movement seems to be helping a bit; the pain in his back is slowly diminishing, though the pain in his head just gets worse.

But finally, finally, he finds Tony. He's lying under a pile of rubble, a fallen metal beam resting atop his chest. Another man is there – one Loki's not entirely sure he knows – who's busied himself trying to lift the beam up, but to no avail. Loki's instinct tells him that he should help (no, he's not sure why, either), but the path is blocked by yet another few beams, criss-crossed on top of each other and covered in debris.

"Loki," Tony says cautiously, "if you're a good guy right now, I could really use the help."

"If you're a bad guy, though," the other man says, "then pretend we're not here."

Loki shakes his head to himself. He puts one knee up, planting his foot firmly on the ground. He grits his teeth, doing his best to ignore the pain shooting through his back. Alright, here goes nothing. He grabs hold of the beam that separates them, and, on one, two, three–

The rubble begins to shift, and Loki puts it back down immediately. He doesn't want the building to collapse down on him. He's not taking a risk that severe for an Avenger – especially for Tony Stark, of all people. He looks around in dismay. Okay, now what?

Maybe…

Loki changes his form into that of a cat. His back paw lands in a hole in the floor, and he quickly pulls it up before he loses his balance. He presses his front paws on the support beam, and it seems to support his weight. He takes a deep breath, then climbs on top of it. He scans the floor below him, then hops down on a mostly-intact space so he can shift back into himself.

"That is so weird," the other man in the room – using the word loosely – says.

Loki cocks his head to the side. "I'm sorry, who are you?"

He scoffs. "I'm Ant-Man!"

Loki stares at him blankly. "Scott Lang?" he tries again. "Ant-Man? The shrinking guy? I was there when we picked you up in 2012?"

Loki's mouth forms a silent "oh." Okay, he remembers that guy. He had no idea his name was Scott, though – and what kind of alias is Ant-Man? That's ridiculous.

With that settled, Loki crawls over to Tony, then sets himself up the same way he did before. He plants one foot in the ground, allowing himself to leverage himself up when the time is right. He grips the beam in his hands, and, after a silent countdown that gives him the chance to gather himself, he lifts it up.

"Oh, thank god," Tony mutters. He slides out from under it, and Loki gently lowers it back to the floor. Tony runs a hand down his face. "Oh, god, I thought I was done for."

"Stark, what is happening?" Loki demands.

Tony shakes his head helplessly. "I don't know. I guess time travel has its downsides."

"So, what do we do?" Scott asks.

"We get out," Tony says. "Keep an eye out for any survivors."

"How do you propose we do that?" Loki asks, a hint of sarcasm in his tone. "We haven't the slightest idea which way leads out, and the building is balanced so delicately on pins and needles that one wrong move may send it toppling down around us."

"Easy," Tony says. "We wing it and try not to die."

Loki fights the urge to sigh very dramatically just to make sure Tony knows how incredibly stupid that supposed plan is. He doesn't really have a better one, though, so, rather reluctantly, he gestures for Tony to go ahead. "Lead the way."

Tony looks around, scanning the area for what may be the easiest way to escape. He settles on a direction, then begins to crawl towards it. Scott looks over at Loki, but Loki gestures for him to go first. Scott shakes his head and gestures for Loki to go first instead. Loki narrows his eyes and repeats his gesture.

"Look, no offense," Scott says, "but I really don't trust you behind me."

Loki rolls his eyes. Fine, whatever. He'd prefer to be in the back of the line where any small disruption of the building's remaining framework is less likely to hurt him, but as long as he's not in the front, he's somewhat okay with this. He crawls after Tony, keeping a careful eye on every movement the man makes. If something's going to fall, he wants to see it.

It's all going fairly well until Tony hits a roadblock. There's a slab of cement in their way, and, no matter how hard he pushes, it won't budge. He looks over his shoulder. "Loki? Could really use some of your god strength."

Loki crawls up next to him and gently pushes the concrete, but it doesn't move. He tries it again, a bit harder, and it rocks ever so slightly. One more push, and the whole tangled mess of a ceiling creaks. He immediately lets the cement go. "This is holding the building up."

"Then we'll move fast," Tony says.

Loki raises an eyebrow. "I am not an expert on architecture, but I am fairly certain that is not how this works."

Tony shrugs. "Yeah, well, you're a god. Do some god shit and keep us alive, will ya?"

"I'm the god of mischief, not the god of buildings," Loki deadpans.

Tony rolls his eyes. "Look, we've made it all this way. The building's only so big; we gotta be getting close to the end. We can't just turn around now."

Loki narrows his eyes. God, he hates that Tony has a point.

Loki puts his hands flat against the concrete. "If this all falls apart, I can only help you for so long. Make the most of it."

Tony eyes him warily. "I'm glad you're on our side, but I'm not sure I like the sound of that."

"Neither do I," Loki says. "But your unrelenting perseverance cost me my victory the last time we fought. I would prefer not to make the same mistake twice in one day. If you truly think this is the best course of action, I will play along."

Tony cracks a smile at that. "Never took you for a team player."

"I'm not," Loki says. "But your team's goals happen to align very strongly with my own."

"That's what you said last time," Tony reminds him. "Didn't work out very well."

"Well, our interests are more aligned this time," Loki says. "So? If I trust that you know the way, will you trust me to get us there?"

Tony hesitates, then, rather reluctantly, he nods. "I will."

"Then prepare yourself," Loki says. He glances back at Scott. "Both of you."

Scott gives an affirmative nod, as Tony settles into a charging stance.

Loki gently takes his hands away from the wall. He takes a deep breath. This is it. Here goes nothing.

Loki slams his hands forward, unlodging the slab of concrete and throwing it across the remains of the next room – a room that finally connects with the outside world. He hardly has a chance to observe the gloomy gray skies overhead before the ceiling begins to collapse, and he throws his arms up, holding up what little he can. His magic takes control of the rest, but so much has crumbled that holding it up takes all his energy.

"Holy shit," Tony breathes.

"Go!" Loki yells. God, what part of "prepare yourselves" did these two idiots not understand?

Tony and Scott crawl past him, the latter glancing warily at the crumbling ceiling as he does. Fortunately, the adjoining room is better supported; any debris that fell did so within seconds, so Tony and Scott have no issue standing up once they're out of the way. Tony's gaze is caught by whatever's happening outside, but Scott looks back to Loki as soon as he's free.

"Hey!" Scott says. "You coming or what?"

Loki grimaces and nods. He knew this could be exceedingly difficult, holding up a whole section of the building with only his magic, but he'd assumed he'd at least have it in him to function at the same time. But he can't tear his attention away from his work long enough to crawl out of here, and he's having an incredibly difficult time multitasking.

But he'd rather not die right now, so he'll have to manage.

Loki lowers his hands from the ceiling, immediately slamming them against the floor. A small rock digs into his palm, and he grits his teeth. That slip in concentration causes a few pebbles to fall from the ceiling. He does his best to ignore that. He slowly crawls forward, but with every step, he has to pause, making sure the building is no closer to falling apart before he takes another. It's more draining than he can say, and with every second, he grows more and more exhausted.

He's not sure how much longer he can keep this up, and, at this point, he's not sure he wants to. He takes a deep breath and props himself up on his toes, ready to run. He drops his hold on the ceiling, then pushes off his back foot, leaping through the hole in the remains of the wall. The ceiling crumbles behind him, but only one leg is stuck under it, and he has no problem pulling it out.

"You okay?" Scott asks.

Loki nods. He plants his hands and one foot firmly against the ground, digging his other toe in behind him. He pushes himself to his feet, and the movement sends shockwaves down his spine. He groans, squeezing his eyes shut and gritting his teeth. God, that hurts.

Scott raises his eyebrows. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"If anybody is truly 'okay' after this," Loki says, "I have a tremendous amount of jealousy for them."

Scott nods slowly. "Okay, fair enough."

Loki glances at Tony, who's still gazing out the gaping hole in the wall. He opts to join him, if only for a better look at the sky. He's no expert on this planet, but he's fairly certain it's not usually this dark and gloomy. Whatever tore this building apart did a number on the air; as far as the eye can see, there's nothing but dust and debris. He stands by Tony's side, and his breath hitches.

Down below, there are some very familiar faces.

Steve.

Thor.

Frigga.

Thanos.

Tony sucks in a shaky breath. "What did we do?"

Chapter 5

Notes:

I finished chapter six last night and I was getting ready to post it and I opened up AO3 and apparently I never even posted chapter five soooo oops here's the chapter I finished a month and a half ago that you never got 3 (fr tho sorry I disappeared for a month and a half I've decided to work on finally finishing this fic, so that shouldn't happen again, but thank you to anyone who' still sticking around!)

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

"You said he was dead," Loki says, his voice barely a whisper.

"He was," Tony says. "Thor killed him. I saw Thor kill him."

"He looks very much alive to me," Loki hisses.

They both look over the landing at the fight playing out before then. Steve jumps up, his shield held out in front of him. Thanos holds the Infinity Blade, ready to pierce through his chest, but as soon as it makes contact, Steve vanishes into a flash of light. From behind him, the real Steve appears, jabbing his shield into Thanos's back. As the Titan turns around, Thor shoots a blast of lightning at him, which Thanos deflects with his blade.

"Look, I don't know what's going on," Tony says, "but if we didn't get him last time, we're gonna make damn sure we do this time."

"No."

Tony scoffs. "'No?'"

"I wish you the best of luck," Loki says, "but this is not my fight anymore, and I am not joining it."

Tony gapes at him. "Not your fight?" he says incredulously. "Loki, he killed you!"

"He did much worse than that," Loki says. "You cannot begin to fathom what he put me through, the constant pain I've endured for so long that I've nearly forgotten what peace feels like. I cannot do this again. So I wish you the best of luck, but I am staying out of it."

Tony scowls. "Fine. Then any blood spilled is on your hands."

"My hands are dripping in blood," Loki says. "What's another few lives added on?"

Tony shakes his head to himself. He draws his mask over his face, and then he's off, not another glance spared in Loki's direction. He shoots off a blast of energy, and Thanos blocks it with his Infinity Blade. Steve glances up at him flying overhead and gives him a brief wave, to which Tony nods in response.

"You're really not going to help them?" Scott asks.

"I do not see you helping them," Loki remarks.

"I can't; my suit's broken," Scott tells him. "I'd just get in the way. But you – you've got superpowers. You could stand a chance–"

"If Thanos is here, none of us stand a chance," Loki says darkly.

"Well, worst-case scenario, he's gonna kill you," Scott says. "Guess what? He's probably gonna do that anyway. Might as well die a hero, right?"

"There are worse things than death, Ant."

"Like watching some genocidal maniac murder your family?" Scott asks.

Loki hesitates, looking out at the fight below. Thor jumps up, Stormbreaker at the ready, preparing to swing it down upon the Titan. Thanos jabs the Infinity Blade towards him, and he vanishes, a product of Frigga's illusions. The real Thor takes that distraction in stride, and he shoots a blast of lightning at Tony. His suit channels the energy, directing it at Thanos. Thanos deflects it with the Infinity Blade, shooting it towards Frigga. Steve jumps in front of her, shield held in front of them to block the blast, but if he hadn't been there…

"You gotta help them," Scott says.

Loki shakes his head. "I told you. I am not a martyr."

"Well, something tells me you're gonna be pretty damn miserable if you live and they don't," Scott says.

"None of us will live," Loki says. "What is it to me how they die?"

Scott stares at him incredulously. "You're serious."

"I am."

Scott runs a hand down his face. "Oh my god," he mutters.

Thor throws Mjolnir in the air, then swings Stormbreaker at it like a baseball bat. The hammer flies directly at Thanos, but the Titan grabs Tony and holds him out in front of him. Mjolnir hits him instead, sending both Tony and the hammer flying.

"Get up, Tony," Scott mutters, wringing his hands nervously.

Tony doesn't move.

Thor takes that opportunity to charge, Stormbreaker at the ready. When he swings it, it clashes against the Infinity Blade, the collision sending sparks through the air. They both push back against the other, but neither is willing to give.

Steve takes off, shield gripped tightly as he runs right past Thanos. After sparing one last glance at Thor, Frigga does the same.

"What is she doing?" Loki whispers. Thor needs help! All of her tricks, and she's going to run?

Steve kneels down by Tony's side, roughly shaking his shoulders. Frigga runs past them. She just keeps going and going, and Loki can't figure out for the life of him what she's trying to do.

Thanos shoves his blade forward, flinging Thor aside like a ragdoll. The god lands on the ground, limp, and Loki sucks in a breath through his teeth. Thanos turns his attention to the other two Avengers, and Steve slowly stands up, shield at the ready. He holds it up, trying to shield them both, but to little avail. It's not going to save them.

But then Frigga catches his eyes. Off in the distance, she slows to a stop. She reaches down and… she hoists Mjolnir off the ground, both hands carefully gripping the handle. She lets go with one hand, and then the other, and then Mjolnir is flying through the air. It hits Thanos square in the face, and he stumbles backward. Frigga changes course then, making her way back to Tony on the ground, Steve still crouched next to him.

Thor climbs to his feet, and, making the most of the Titan's discombobulation, swings Stormbreaker at him. Thanos grabs the head of the axe and pulls, and Thor pulls it back just as hard. Thanos gives it another tug, throwing his whole body into it, and it falls from Thor's hand. Thanos wastes no time; he immediately throws the weapon directly toward an unsuspecting Frigga, her attention entirely focused on Tony.

Loki doesn't even think about it.

He teleports onto the battlefield, not far from the other Avengers. Before he's even had the chance to orient himself, he throws a blast of energy at the axe soaring through the sky, knocking it off course. It lands on the ground, its blade digging into the dirt.

Frigga looks back, eyes widen, but she almost seems to soften at the sight of her son. She gives him a small nod, a token of appreciation, of acknowledgment, of everything he felt he never got on Asgard. But he gets it from her. And he's not losing it again.

"Brother!" Thor yells, a cocky grin on his face. "We'll finish him together!"

"We absolutely will not," Loki yells back, "but I admire your optimism!"

Thanos chuckles dryly. "Loki," he drawls. "After all this time, you're still fighting your brother's battles."

"It was my battle long before it was theirs," Loki says simply.

"And we saw how that turned out."

Loki swallows hard. Oh, he definitely remembers. Every moment he spent in the Titan's clutches, he remembers. And that glimpse he caught of Thor's memories, watching Thanos snap his neck, tossing his lifeless body aside? He couldn't forget it if he tried. But he puts on his most confident facade. "That was then. This is now."

Thanos smiles, a chillingly empty smirk. "I'll take pleasure in watching you fail again."

Tony stirs from his spot on the ground. His mask uncovers his face, and he raises his head weakly. "Oh. Good. Loki's here now."

Loki gives a single nod. He sure is.

"For now," Thanos says.

Loki narrows his eyes. He holds his hands out in front of himself, a ball of green energy forming between them. Thanos raises his chin, and his blade follows. Out of the corner of his eye, he catches his mother doing the same, though the color differs. Thor holds his hands up, and both Mjolnir and Stormbreaker fly into them. Steve readies his shield, and Tony hops to his feet, blasters on standby.

"You put on a convincing show," Thanos remarks. "If I didn't know any better, I'd almost say you stood a chance." He smiles. "But I do know better."

They appear out of nowhere.

Aliens.

Hundreds of them.

Thousands, even.

The Chituari, laid out as far as the eye can see. Their ships litter the field, marching towards the Avengers side-by-side with their armies. Leading the force stands the Black Order; the other so-called "children" Thanos broke down and rebuilt as his own.

Loki clenches his jaw and glances back at Thor. He seems captivated by the show in front of him, his eyes never straying from the approaching forces. The energy between Loki's hands slowly begins to fade, and he teleports to his mother's side. He conjures a dagger and holds it out to her. "You may need this."

Frigga's magic dissipates, and she takes the dagger with an appreciative smile. "I don't suppose you have anything bigger."

Loki shakes his head. "Unfortunately not."

"I thought so," Frigga says, but she doesn't seem too upset. The blade disappears, returning someplace safe to hold onto until she needs it. It's the same strategy Loki is using with his own remaining knife.

"You do know that we're not going to win," Loki says. They can fight all they want, but they don't stand a chance.

"Maybe not," Frigga says. "But if we lose, we'll do so together."

Loki gives her a small smile. "I wouldn't have it any other way."

Tony pushes himself up until he's sitting, giving himself a better look at the army marching towards them. "Awesome."

Steve holds a hand down to him. "One last fight?"

"One last fight." Tony grabs his hand, and Steve pulls him to his feet.

Thor makes his way to them, and he puts one hand on Loki's shoulder, the other on his mother's. "Should we not all survive this, I hope you know that it has been an honor to fight by your sides."

Frigga smiles up at him. "I love you, my son." She looks over at Loki. "I love you both."

Thor pulls them close in a half-hug, and Loki wraps an around his waist, returning the sentiment. If he was destined to die fighting Thanos, at least he can now do it side by side with the ones he loves.

But then Thor pauses. He takes his arms away and begins looking around. Steve and Tony do the same. Loki looks back at his mother, confused. What is he missing? What did they notice that he didn't? But she seems just as unsure as he is.

"Thor?" Frigga says uncertainly. "What's wrong?"

"I don't…?" Thor puts a finger to his ear, then looks to the other Avengers as though hoping they'll have an answer.

"Nothing," Steve says. The corners of his mouth twitch upwards. "Nothing's wrong. For once, something might actually be working out in our favor."

It starts small; just one little orange circle. It fizzles and it sparks, and slowly, it begins to grow. It gets bigger and bigger, until finally, three people step through it and onto the battlefield.

As far as Loki knows, these aren't any of the Avengers — though the one in the middle does wear some type of ridiculous costume that would fit in well with them. The catlike mask retracts, revealing the man's stoic face. He and the two women on his side look to Steve and Tony, and the two Avengers stare at them

"You're back," Steve says quietly.

The man in the middle responds with only a smile.

Tony looks over at Loki in disbelief. "You did it," he breathes. "You brought them back."

Loki scoffs, staring at him in disbelief. "It worked?"

"It sure as hell looks like it," Steve says.

"I thought you didn't want to," Tony says. "I thought you 'had your own priorities.'"

"I did," Loki says. "My mother was my first priority, the universe was my second, and Asgard was my third. That was the order I'd planned to save them in until you interrupted me."

Thor's eyes go wide. "So Asgard may be saved."

Loki shakes his head. "Perhaps if they hadn't taken the Gauntlet, there would be a chance, but as it stands now, I have very little hope that Asgard has returned – though I suppose I would have said that about the half of the universe that had disappeared, but…" He gestures to the three newcomers. That proves his point well enough.

The smaller, seemingly younger woman eyes him with disdain. "You're Loki."

"I am."

She just looks at him for a few moments, then shrugs. "Hmm."

Another man flies out of the portal, mechanical wings outstretched as he soars overhead. Steve chuckles, disbelief written across his face. The man circles back around towards them, but Loki's attention is drawn to the tens – hundreds, even – of orange portals opening up around them.

They just keep coming.

Hundreds of people flood onto the field, weapons at the ready. Behind the cat-like man, an army prepares itself, and he leads them in a unified chant. And these people, these armies, they don't stop. Loki can't even begin to count how many there are. It's not even worth an estimation. All he can do is stare.

Thor pats him on the back, and Loki hisses in pain, swatting his hand away. The elder god ignores that. "Well, brother. It seems we may have a chance after all."

Notes:

ngl this chapter kinda sucked idk how to write everyone teaming up against Thanos but I think the next chapters' fight scenes are much better so please don't write it off after this lmao

Chapter 6

Chapter Text

"Avengers!" Steve yells.

As everybody prepares themselves, making the most of these few seconds of semi-peace they have until their demise, Loki just stares at the Captain incredulously. They're still calling themselves that? God, he killed Phil Coulson, like, a decade ago. Get over it.

Loki takes a few steps backward, shifting away from Thanos as subtly as he can. He's already done his part. He's done more than his part, especially for a fight they stand no chance of winning. Their army is no match for Thanos's power, even if nobody else sees it.

So when Steve says, "Assemble" with far more drama than necessary and everyone around him charges forward, Loki teleports out of the way. He returns to the landing he'd left not long before, and he finds himself standing next to Scott Lang once more. The man is fiddling with some control panel on his suit, though Loki's sudden reappearance draws his attention.

"I thought you were helping them!" Scott hisses.

"I am," Loki says. He slowly lowers himself to the ground, groaning with each small movement his body wishes he'd never made. He peers out over the field, watching the chaos unfold below. "Where is the Gauntlet?"

"I don't know," Scott says. He puts a finger to his ear. "Guys? Where's the Gauntlet?"

Loki looks at him expectantly. He wishes he had an earpiece. How he'd love to be a fly on the wall in their conversations.

"Bruce has it," Scott says. He pauses, listening to whatever sounds are coming from his com. "Guys, that wasn't our only time machine." He pulls out some sort of… weird… mechanical… stick thing… God, Midgardian technology is weird. But when he presses the button on the top, a musical horn sounds, its ridiculous song ringing through the field.

"What is that?" Loki asks.

"A time machine," Scott says. "We're bringing the Stones back where they came from."

"Ah." Loki nods. "I assume I don't get to keep the Space Stone, then?"

"Doesn't look like it," Scott says. He shrugs awkwardly. "Sorry."

"It's fair enough," Loki says. He doesn't have a whole lot of use for it, anyway. "Where is this time machine?"

"Uh…" Scott looks around, then puts a finger to his ear, listening to what they're saying. To Loki, he says, "Far away and dead," then tells whoever's on the comm, "Maybe ten minutes?"

A fly had been buzzing around, but Loki hadn't paid much attention to it. There are more important things going on than insect life. But then the fly grows, and a human woman is standing in its place. She puts a hand on Scott's back, and they share a small smile.

There's a brief pause, then the woman says, "We're on it, Cap."

"Wait, real quick," Scott says, "can you fix my suit? I can't…"

It takes Hope approximately 15 seconds to do what Scott had been struggling with since the building collapsed. Then they both shrink to the size of bugs, because that's apparently something that happens frequently these days. She grabs him mid-air, and they fly off. Loki watches them for as long as he can, but soon they're out of sight, too small to be seen.

Loki shakes his head to himself. God, he's so confused. Who was that? And how does everyone else have an earpiece? He's feeling a bit left out. He may be able to see everything that's happening on the field from this vantage point, but he'd like to hear what the plans are, too.

He's trying to look for the Infinity Gauntlet. As far as he can tell, there is no possible way they are going to survive this, but as long as Thanos doesn't get the Stones, the world may keep on spinning. So he tells himself that as soon as he catches sight of that hulking green man carrying the most powerful thing in the universe, his eyes aren't leaving him until he knows he's safe.

His gaze does stray to Frigga and Thor, even as he's looking for Bruce. They seem to be holding their own alright, though he's willing to jump in with some tricks of his own if it seems they need it. Someone else catches his attention, though, as his power surges through the field. From this distance, Loki can't make out much, but he does see the red cloak floating behind him as he hovers in the sky. A wide-ranging blast of power incapacitates five or six aliens all at once, then throws them to the ground. Loki nods approvingly. Impressive. He'd like to meet this guy one day. It's unfortunate that neither of them will live that long.

And finally, Bruce emerges from the Compound, and Loki has to do a double-take. The fact that Nebula is by his side doesn't surprise him. He'd known Nebula was in there somewhere. But Gamora? Gamora's still alive? Gamora's on their side, fighting against Thanos? She was Thanos's favorite while Loki was in the Sanctuary, only days earlier in his mind. Now she's fighting against him?

Loki pushes himself to his feet with a groan. Alright, that's enough sitting around. He teleports to Bruce's side, scaring the shit out of him in the process, though Nebula and Gamora are both unphased. It only stops him for a moment, and then he's back to running. Loki takes off after him, ignoring the pain shooting through his body with every step, every pump of his arms, every forceful exhale.

"Where is the Gauntlet going?" Loki asks.

"The van," Bruce says. "Scott and Hope are working on the time machine."

"Where?" Loki asks again.

"Over there." Nebula points further down the field, but with so many Chitauri soldiers in the way, he can't see what they're talking about. He can wing it, though. He's always been good at that.

Loki holds out his hand. "Give it to me."

Bruce scoffs. "No way."

"Banner!" Loki hisses. "You are eight feet tall. You tower over everybody. You draw more attention to the Gauntlet with every moment it remains in your hands. Give it to me; I can have it by the time machine in seconds."

"I'm not giving you the Gauntlet!" Bruce insists. "I wouldn't trust you with one Infinity Stone right now, never mind all six!"

Gamora shakes her head. "Give it to him."

Bruce gapes at her. "What?"

"I don't trust many people," Gamora says, "but I trust him. He'll keep it safe."

Loki raises his eyebrows. He hardly knows her. That's a big leap of faith for someone he'd barely consider an acquaintance. But she gives him a single nod, a sign of acknowledgment, reaffirming her choice, and Loki finds himself giving her a smile in return.

"That's great," Bruce says, "but I don't know you and I do know him, so—"

"And I know him better," Gamora says.

"That means nothing to me!" Bruce tells her. "Your word means literally nothing!"

"This is ridiculous," Loki mutters.

He grabs the Gauntlet out of Bruce's hands, and it disappears into his pocket dimension for safekeeping. Before Bruce can protest, Loki teleports away, off to find Scott and his little winged friend.

Scott and Hope are sitting in their van, fighting with something or other to get it to work. Loki doesn't even try to understand it. What part of this is the car, what part is the time machine, and what parts are both? He'll never know.

Scott jumps when he appears, but Hope is more incredulous than surprised. She stares at him in disbelief. "You came straight from the 2012 Battle of New York to a second battle in New York?"

"Is that really what's important right now?" Loki asks, exasperated.

"I know it sounds like he'd be evil," Scott says, "but I'm telling you, he's not actually evil."

"Scott, you're insane," Hope tells him.

"You can debate my morality later," Loki says. He conjures the Infinity Gauntlet and holds it out to them. "Can you bring the Stones back or not?"

"Not yet," Scott says. "We have to fix the time machine first."

Loki hides the Gauntlet back in his pocket dimension. "I will keep it for now; draw the attention away from you. When should I bring it back?"

The two share a look. After a pause, Scott pulls the comm out of his ear and hands it over. "Put this in. When we're ready, Hope will tell you. Until then…"

"I'll stay out of the way," Loki finishes. He gives a single affirmative nod, and then he's off.

He teleports back to the fallen building, returning to where he had been waiting before, but this time, he doesn't stay there. He casts an illusion of himself sitting down, but in reality, he teleports to his mother's side. She's in the midst of fighting the Chitauri, but with so many others around, Loki is fairly confident he can grab her without drawing any attention.

"Mother," Loki says quietly.

Frigga glances around, but when she doesn't see him within the first few seconds, she stops looking for him and returns to her battle. "I was wondering where you'd disappeared to."

"I have the Infinity Stones," Loki whispers. "But I think that's fairly well known — well-known enough that Thanos may find out at any moment. I would like to think I'll never break, but I know Thanos and I know that he can and he will force my hand. I do not want to put you in harm's way, but I can think of no one else to give this to; to add a second layer of security until the time machine is repaired."

"Of course I'll take it," Frigga says without a moment of hesitation. "To keep you safe? Of course I'll take it."

"I won't be much safer," Loki admits. "Nobody is to know that you have it. To get to you, they must go through me first. Hopefully, the machine will be fixed before such a time comes."

But Frigga shakes her head. "You've been through too much," she says. "I cannot ask you to put yourself in harm's way again. Not more than you already have."

"Mother…"

"Pretend to give me the Gauntlet," Frigga says. "I'll pretend to store it away. You can protect the Infinity Stones, and I'll protect our secret."

"Mother, you can't—"

"Trust me, darling," Frigga insists. "As I trust you."

Loki hesitates, but she seems so sure of herself, so adamant that she take his place. And, as much as he doesn't want to watch her get hurt, he doesn't want Thanos to hurt him, either. He's been through this. Time and time again, he's been through it. He can't do it again.

So Loki's illusion disappears, and he himself reappears next to her. He shoots off a blast of energy, knocking a Chitauri soldier back. He glances around. Will anybody see this? Will this do any good? He has to think it will. He's not sure what he'll do if it doesn't. He pretends to hand her the illusion of the Infinity Gauntlet, and Frigga takes it from him quickly. It disappears in an instant, supposedly into her own pocket dimension, though they both know better.

And then he takes off – running this time; he feels that if he were to teleport in and out, it would be less believable, as though the whole thing had been an illusion – and every step sends waves of pain through his body. He'd like to think he'll become numb to it soon enough, but he knows better than to expect it. The pain will just continue to grow and grow until he can't stand it any longer. That's how it's always been. That's how Thanos wanted it to be. He just has to hope he can withstand it long enough to do what he must.

With all the chaos surrounding him, he's not at all aware of what's going on outside of his immediate vicinity. It's a bit of a shock to be approached by someone he's never met; someone he hadn't even noticed mere moments earlier. Although he looks familiar… He was the powerful one; the one Loki had wanted to meet one day. Apparently that day has already come.

"Loki," he says, his voice loud enough to be heard amidst the chaos and yet shockingly calm given the situation. "You're not supposed to be here."

Loki raises a brow, eyeing him with distaste. "Says who?"

"Says time itself," he says. "I saw every possible outcome, every possible reality before I gave Thanos the Time Stone. You were in none of them."

Loki furrows his brows slightly, his head cocked to the side. "You're a sorcerer."

The man rolls his eyes. "I'm Doctor Stephen Strange, Sorcerer Supreme."

"Okay."

"You are not supposed to be here," Doctor Strange repeats. "There is no feasible way for you to exist right here, right now."

Loki smiles with mocking sweetness. "Well, I've never been one to follow the rules."

Doctor Strange shakes his head, annoyed. "I don't think you understand the severity of this situation. Your mere existence threatens the order of the universe as we know it."

Loki raises his chin, looking down at the sorcerer with narrowed eyes. "Good," he says. "It seems to me the universe as we know it is a bit of a mess. I am more than happy to be the one to fix it."

"You are not fixing anything," Doctor Strange says. "You may be making it much, much worse."

Loki folds his arms across his chest. "And what do you propose I do about that now?"

Doctor Strange narrows his eyes. There's a pause, until finally, he says, "I don't know. Just prepare yourself for the worst, because I promise, it's coming."

"Doctor, if you haven't noticed…" Loki glances around at the chaos and the bloodshed surrounding them, until finally, off in the distance, his gaze lands on Thanos. "The worst is already here."

Chapter 7

Chapter Text

Block.

Punch.

Block.

Grab wrist.

Pull.

Duck.

Stab.

There's no time to think. He just has to do it. Because if he doesn't, if he hesitates for even a moment, he's dead. It's strange, fighting the Chitauri he'd been leading only hours earlier, but it's fitting, in a way. When Thanos brought them together the first time, it was against all of their wishes. It stands to reason that this time, he brings them together as enemies, not as allies.

He's not sure what's happening around him. He's not sure if they're winning. He's not sure how many of the Avengers are still alive. He's not even sure his own family is, and to check would be a death sentence. As much as it pains him not to know, he can't tear his gaze away from the Chitauri soldiers in front of him.

"Hey, Scott, how's the van coming?" Steve's voice asks in his ear. At least that means Steve's alive. At least he knows he's not completely alone.

"We're almost there," Scott assures him. "Give us a few more minutes."

"I'm not sure we have a few more minutes," Steve says.

Loki only listens intently enough to know whether or not this time machine is complete or not. When it becomes apparent that it's not, he stops caring so much. If Steve is going to give one of his unnecessary motivational speeches that always seem targeted at already-motivated groups of people, he would rather have already tuned it out before it's begun.

"Holy shit, is that Loki?"

Against his better judgment, that voice gets his attention, if only because it sounds so young. Loki looks around, and, after a few moments of deliberation, decides it must be the little red and blue-suited person – whose suit is actually doing all the work, and very efficiently, with its quick and repeated stabbing of all the surrounding Chitauri as its wearer does nothing but stare at Loki.

Loki puts a finger to his ear, though he's not entirely sure how this communication device works and if anyone is going to hear him. "Why is there a child on the battlefield?"

"I'm not a child! I'm 16!" he says defensively.

"He's an Avenger," Tony says, making no secret of his annoyance.

Loki grabs an oncoming Chitauri's arm and stabs his blade into its shoulder, severing the limb with ease. He throws it aside, then presses his finger to his ear again. "Why are you using child soldiers?"

"You know, now really isn't the time–"

A blow from behind knocks Loki off his feet, and he falls face-first into the ground with a groan. For the briefest moment, his back goes numb, and the tingling sensation left behind is a feeling of pure bliss.

And then it's gone, replaced by the familiarly excruciating pain he'd expected all along. He cries out in pain, his face pressed against the dirt. Okay, he's done. He's out. He's not coming back from this.

Some sort of string shoots out in front of him, and when it pulls back, his earpiece is attached to the end. The kid crouches down in front of him and holds it out to him.

"So you're on our team now?" he asks.

Loki props himself up on his elbow, eliciting a pained groan, and grabs the earpiece with his other hand. "Unfortunately." He does his best to clean the dirt off the earpiece with his thumb before shoving it back in his ear.

"I thought you were dead," the kid tells him.

"We all will be soon enough," Loki replies with a glance toward Thanos…

And then he pauses.

Somebody over there has the audacity to not only face him alone, but to do so without even a single weapon. Her confidence is going to be the death of her. Although, with the power radiating from her, the red glow surrounding her, he finds himself rooting for her, though all logic tells him she'll lose.

"Who is that?" Loki asks.

The kid follows his gaze. "Wanda Maximoff?"

Loki furrows his brows. He's never heard that name before. She must be new to this game, because he can't imagine Clint Barton not mentioning her if she'd been around in 2012. She looks too powerful to have been living in the background all this time.

With a rough shove, Loki manages to roll himself over to his back, and he grits his teeth to keep from crying out again. He props himself up on his elbows behind himself, his head raised just enough that he can watch her.

Wanda Maximoff begins to levitate, and as she does, the debris around her does, too. She shoots the debris at him once, twice, and Thanos stumbles backward. And, as if that's not impressive enough, she follows it with a blast of pure energy, and knocks him back even further.

"She's incredible," Loki breathes. Nobody can hold their own against Thanos like this. Nobody. And yet here she is, shooting blast after blast after blast of her power at him, and though she's yet to knock him down, he's been almost incapacitated as he struggles to stay upright.

"I think she's kind of… evil…" the kid says awkwardly.

That only makes her more interesting, and a small smile finds its way to his lips as he watches her fight back. "You so-called heroes would say the same about me," he remarks. He pauses, then asks, "Who are you?" He's an Avenger? One of the so-called heroes? Is he one of the so-called heroes' kids? Although he said he's 16, so he would've been alive in 2012, and Barton would have mentioned if someone else had children at the time.

"Oh, I, uh–" There's a brief pause, and though Loki doesn't look, he has to assume by the quiet grunting that it's due to a sudden Chitauri soldier's appearance, "I'm Spider-Man."

"Spider-Man," Loki repeats. "That is…" The most ridiculous name he's ever heard of. "Good to know. Nice to meet you, Spider-Man."

"Uh, you too!" Spider-Man says. "I think."

Loki huffs a laugh, his gaze still on Wanda and her surprisingly efficient fight against Thanos.

Spider-Man offers him a hand. "Need some help?"

"No, actually, I am going to stay down here," Loki says, "but thank you."

Spider-Man scoffs. "Are you serious?"

"Yes."

Spider-Man stares at him. "That is so weird."

Loki watches Wanda carefully, taking note of how every blow knocks Thanos further and further off his guard. It's incredible, truly. He almost can't believe it. Had it happened mere days ago, he wouldn't have believed it. He would have chalked it up to some illusion, the Mind Stone messing with his perceptions of the world around him.

Thanos picks up the Infinity Blade, using it to block a blast of energy, and then another, and then another. He holds it up and swings it down at her, and Loki grimaces, preparing for the worst. But the worst doesn't come. Her magic engulfs it, and even as he pushes it down further, harder, she holds it away from her, and, as her strength and her determination grow, she begins to push it away, little by little and barely making a dent.

And then her other hand sends a blast of energy straight at him, knocking the blade from his hand and throwing him backward.

Loki gasps, his eyes going wide. Holy shit, did she just…?

And then…

Then she grabs him.

Thanos groans, yells, struggles to break free, but there's nothing he can do as Wanda lifts him from the ground, her scarlet magic coursing through his body. His face contorts in pain, an expression Loki had nearly thought him incapable of. And Wanda shows no sign of letting up, even as she begins to tear him apart. Loki laughs, almost manic in his glee, as he watches Thanos finally, finally get what's coming to him.

The pain that shoots through him from that makes him stop, but it doesn't make him regret it even for a moment. He lies flat on his back, his smile unwavering. Oh, this is great. Finally, Thanos gets a taste of his own medicine. It's been a long time coming.

"Rain fire!" Thanos yells.

Loki furrows his brows. That doesn't sound good. He tries to raise his head off the ground again to look, but the pain isn't worth it.

"But sire," Corvus Glaive – that's a voice he hasn't heard in a long time – says, "our troops!"

"Just do it!" Thanos yells.

Lying flat on the ground in excruciating pain is rarely a good thing.

This is one of the few times it is.

He sees it before anyone else, those ships in the sky. Through the dust in the air, it takes him a moment to make out the missiles they arm themselves with, and it doesn't take a genius to figure out where this is going next.

Loki puts a finger to his earpiece. "Somebody tell Frigga to look up!" It feels weird to call her by her first name, but he doesn't expect them to have time to figure out who's speaking and who he wants to communicate with. He just needs her to see. He needs to know that she's got her side of the battlefield under control while Loki has his.

It's mere seconds later when the missiles begin raining down upon them. Loki narrows his eyes, biting his lip as he focuses all his energy on the sky above. He shoots missile after missile back up toward the sky, and each one collides with the ship above. He tries to aim for the cannons they shoot out of, but they're coming down so quickly, he doesn't have the time.

He lifts his head off the ground, taking a quick scan of the battlefield, and without a moment to spare. He hardly has time to shoot that missile away before it hits Wanda straight-on.

Wanda doesn't lose focus on Thanos for a second, still holding him high above her head as she strips his armor from him piece by piece. Loki makes a point of shielding her from the missiles, ignoring every other part of the battlefield in favor of protecting both himself and the best weapon his team has.

And then the missiles disappear. Loki looks around, puzzled, squinting his eyes to get a better look. The ship isn't shooting at them anymore, but it's still shooting. He can't for the life of him make out what it's taken aim at now, but it doesn't matter. Right now, all that matters is that Wanda Maximoff has Thanos in the palm of her metaphorical hand.

And she has set up his shot perfectly.

Loki forces himself to sit up, propping himself up with his hand behind him. He raises his right hand, his gaze glued to Thanos as he judges the distance between them, the angle. In spite of his struggling, Wanda's holding him still, which makes Loki's job much, much easier. He pulls his hand back, takes a deep breath, and then it's time.

He's barely finished conjuring this blade by the time it leaves his hand.

It goes right through Thanos's skull; in one side and out the other.

He stops struggling after that.

Wanda's face falls, and, soon after, Thanos's body hits the ground. She grits her teeth and looks around, her hands balled into fists by her side.

"Holy shit!" Spider-Man yelps. "You just killed Thanos!"

Loki scoffs, his eyes wide. "I just killed Thanos."

"I can't believe you just killed Thanos!" Spider-Man practically yells.

"I can't believe I just killed Thanos!"

Wanda finally meets his gaze, and when she does, it's not with the joy or the relief he'd expected. No, she is pissed, and she makes that incredibly clear as she marches toward him. Loki glances up at Spider-Man uncertainly, but the kid just backs away.

Wanda grabs Loki's arm and pulls him to his feet – with far more strength than he would have expected from a woman of her size and species. Fire shoots through his body, and he immediately tries to pull his arm free, his face twisted in pain. God, that hurts. That really, really hurts.

"He was mine," she growls.

"Let go of me!" One last tug finally frees his arm, and he takes a step back, putting some space between them but doing his best not to look wary as he does. He's frustrated, not afraid, and he doesn't want that to get misconstrued. "If you wanted to kill him yourself, you shouldn't have taken so long." Murder happens on a first-come, first-serve basis, after all.

Wanda doesn't seem to care about personal space, because she wastes no time in closing that gap between them again, and despite her small stature, he can't deny that she's intimidating.

"He took everything from me," she says, like that means something, like that's not the role he prided himself on taking in everyone's life.

"Oh, isn't that special," Loki says sarcastically. "He killed me."

Wanda scoffs. "Excuse me?"

"He killed me," Loki repeats, enunciating every syllable. "He choked the life from me, snapped my neck, and threw my lifeless body aside like it was nothing." He shudders at the memory. A part of him wishes he'd never looked through Thor's mind, but, as much as it pains him to think about, he needed to know what happened. Turning his thoughts back to the matter at hand, he says, "This is not a matter of who deserved to kill him more. I would have been more than happy to watch you kill him, but you didn't, so I stepped in to finish the job."

Though his words do nothing to quell her rage, she doesn't try to argue. He must have done something right if she's not preparing his murder.

"Uh, Loki?" Spider-Man says, very warily approaching both him and Wanda – and, to Loki's surprise, he seems far more wary of Wanda than he is of the time-traveling space terrorist. "The alien guys aren't stopping."

Loki looks around.

Huh.

He's right.

Well, shit.

"Do we have to kill every single one of them?" Spider-Man asks. "'Cause that's gonna take a really long time."

Loki sucks in a breath through his teeth. Yeah, this isn't going to be fun.

But then he hears Hope's voice in his ear.

"We fixed the time machine. We can get the Stones back where they belong."

Loki's about to teleport over to them – this was the deal, after all – but then he pauses. He has the Infinity Stones. He has all the power in the universe right now. He can't just get rid of it. Not while it could still be of some use.

The Infinity Gauntlet appears in his hands, and though it's Spider-Man who has the most audible reaction, Loki's gaze falls to Wanda and Wanda alone.

"Thanos is dead, but his army still lives," he says. "If you want to feel as though you've done your part…" He looks to the Infinity Gauntlet warily, then looks back to her. "This is a lot of power for one person to wield. Care to share the agony?"

Wanda looks at the Gauntlet for a few moments. "You've had this the entire time."

"I have," he says.

She scoffs. "Why haven't you used it?"

"Use it with me and you'll answer your own question," he says. Nobody would subject themselves to that strong a power surge if they thought there was another way. Unfortunately, he's starting to realize that there's not, so he'll bear the pain again. It would likely be a death sentence not to – though it may also be a death sentence to take this same risk twice in the span of no more than an hour.

Wanda hesitates, then nods once. "How does it work?"

"All you have to do is hold on," Loki says. "No matter how much it hurts."

Wanda eyes him warily.

Loki looks down at the Gauntlet. Okay, here goes nothing.

He slowly sticks his hand inside, and the power surges through him once more. He cries out, his legs giving out and nearly falling to the ground, but Wanda grabs his arm, helping to keep him on his feet. He can feel the power spreading, loosening its hold on him as it moves between them, but it does nothing to stop the excruciating pain.

Loki falls to his knees, taking Wanda down with him. He clutches his arm to his chest, holding the Gauntlet close. He scrunches his face, squeezing his eyes shut as every muscle in his body tenses.

He forces himself to open his hand. He puts his fingers together and takes a deep breath, but the movement sends a stinging pain through his chest. He doubles over, holding the Gauntlet tightly, and Wanda's hand moves to his arm, never losing contact.

Loki grits his teeth and, with all the energy and all the determination he can muster, he snaps his fingers.

Chapter 8

Notes:

apparently people are still reading this so uhhhhhh hi! :D

Chapter Text

The pain doesn't stop.

That's the worst part.

He's already snapped his fingers and the pain doesn't stop.

Loki frantically claws at his arm, desperate to get this cursed Gauntlet off, to be free of the Stones' power, but he can't. It hurts too much to focus. He doesn't know what he's doing. He just wants it to stop.

Wanda lets go, and for the briefest moment, the Stones' power grows, impossibly more painful than it was before. But then it dies down again, though Loki can't feel her touch. He can't feel anything but the power surging through his veins. He doesn't know where she's holding on. He doesn't even know that it's her. He just knows that somebody is sharing the burden, and he would appreciate it if he could just think.

And then the pain stops.

Loki falls backward, lying on his back and staring at the dust-filled sky. He grabs at his arm, but the Infinity Gauntlet is gone, only his charred skin where it once was. He lets out a long breath and lets his hands fall to the ground.

He's done.

He's not doing anything else today.

Spider-Man's masked face appears over his own. "That was so cool!"

In spite of everything, Loki smiles at that. "It's finally over," he says quietly.

Spider-Man pulls off his mask, and though Loki had already known he was only a child, seeing his face really nails the point home. He's a baby. Seriously, why did the Avengers let a baby fight with them?

Wanda crouches down by his side. "Are you okay?"

"No," Loki says, possibly the first time he's answered that question this way since he was a child, but he doesn't have it in him to lie. He doesn't have it in him to complain, either. He just says it as a fact. No, he's not okay. Moving on. "Are you?"

She brushes her hair out of her face, and it falls perfectly into place in a way Loki's never could if it wasn't so neatly slicked down. "I think so," she says. "That was… a lot."

"Mm," Loki hums in agreement. "But you handled it well — for a human."

The corners of Wanda's mouth twitch upwards at that. "Thanks."

Loki looks over at Spider-Man. "I don't suppose you know who my brother and my mother are."

"You mean Thor?" he asks. "Yeah, I know Thor! Or, I mean, I know of him. I've never actually met him, but I've seen him on the news and things."

"Good," Loki says. "Will you go find him and bring him and my mother here?"

Spider-Man furrows his brows. "Is your mom here?"

"She should be," Loki says. Noting his confused look, he adds, "It's fairly complicated. I suggest you not ask."

"Duly noted," Spider-Man says. "I'll be right back."

He swings away, though Loki has no idea where he's finding things to grab onto and he doesn't have the energy to lift his head to look.

Wanda looks down at him with a frown. It looks like she wants to say something, but she doesn't. He's not sure if it's because she doesn't know what to say or she doesn't know how to say it, but he decides to break the silence himself so she doesn't have to worry about it.

"Are you human?" he asks. "Fully human? A trained sorcerer, perhaps?"

"Uh, no, I've never been… trained, or anything," she says. "It was a HYDRA experiment. They used this on us." She holds the Gauntlet up and taps the Mind Stone. A part of Loki thinks that should be the part that catches his attention, but it's not.

"Us?" he repeats.

"Yeah, um…" She lowers her gaze to her lap, hugging the Gauntlet absentmindedly. "My brother was there, but he's not…" She trails off, but he knows where that was going.

"I'm sorry," he says, and he means it. He can't imagine losing his brother. Even after everything they've been through and everything they've done to each other, Thor is his best friend. He wouldn't know what to do without him.

She gives a small shrug. "It's been a few years."

"I imagine it takes longer than a few years to heal from something like that," Loki says.

Wanda nods. She squeezes her eyes shut and swallows hard, and when she opens them again, they're filled with tears. She hastily wipes them away as though he wouldn't see them.

Loki reaches his hand out and feels around until he can find hers. He gives it a gentle squeeze. "Are your parents alive?"

She shakes her head.

"I don't suppose you have any other siblings."

She shakes her head again. "It's just me," she says. "It used to be me and Vision, but Thanos…" She sniffles and wipes her face with her hand.

"I'm sorry," he says again, because what other response is there? He looks at her thoughtfully. "This Vision, that was the 'everything' that you said Thanos took from you."

She nods. "He was… well, he was my everything. I loved him." She laughs, and a tear slips down her cheek. "God, I loved him. I loved him so, so much."

"Loki?" Thor says off in the distance.

Loki turns his head to look just in time to see his brother take off running, sliding on his knees down to his side. Loki gives him a small smile.

"Loki, are you okay?" Thor asks quickly. He puts his hand on his brother's arm. "What happened?"

"I don't know," Loki says. A lot. A lot happened. "Thanos is dead. That's all that matters."

"Yeah, he is," Thor agrees. He looks at Wanda, his gaze flickering between her face and the Gauntlet in her hands. "Was it you? You killed him?"

She shakes her head and gestures to Loki. "He did."

Thor's eyes widen. "You did it?" he asks in disbelief. "You killed Thanos."

"Mm-hmm," Loki hums. He smiles weakly. "One thing we have in common now."

Thor smiles back. "Yes, it is."

Frigga comes into view now, and she kneels down next to Thor, looking down at her youngest son, her eyes full of concern. "Loki, darling, are you alright?"

Loki just shakes his head, only a small movement before he rests it against the ground again. He reaches out for her and Frigga takes his hand, pressing a kiss to his fingers.

"Do you need a hand?" Thor asks, already propping his foot on the ground to stand up.

"No," Loki says. "I am staying here. I don't think I can get up."

"I'll help you," Thor insists.

"No," Loki repeats, more firmly this time. "I do not want to move."

"But—"

"Okay," Frigga says, shooting Thor a look. "What do you want to do?"

"I want…" What does he want? He doesn't really want anything. But he does. He wants everything. He wants… "I want to go home," he whispers.

"Oh, darling," Frigga murmurs. She gently cups his face in her hand. "We can go home."

"No," Loki says softly, "we can't." His eyes begin to sting at the thought, and it only takes seconds for the first tear to fall. They can't go home. They can never go home.

"Of course we can," Frigga says, and she believes it, too. That may be the worst part. She truly believes they can go home.

Thor puts a hand on her shoulders, a reluctance in his eyes. "Mother…"

Frigga furrows her brows. "What is it?"

"Asgard…" Thor shakes his head helplessly. "Asgard is gone."

Frigga freezes.

She's silent for a few seconds — maybe more than a few — as the blood drains from her face.

Thor watcher her warily. "Mother?"

"It was Hela," she says quietly, "wasn't it?"

Thor looks at her inquisitively. "How did you…?"

"I knew he shouldn't have locked her away," she says. She shakes that thought from her head. "Did anybody survive?"

"Some did," Thor says. "But between Ragnarok and Thanos…"

"Not many," she finishes with a solemn nod. "Where are they now?"

"Norway," Thor says.

Frigga furrows her brows. "And that…?"

"Is on Earth," Thor says, and he seems slightly amused by that. "Midgard. They'll be glad to have their queen back — and their prince."

They both look down at Loki, soft smiles on their faces, but he doesn't have it in him to smile back. He squeezes his eyes shut, and another tear slips down his face.

Frigga brushes his tear away with her thumb. "Darling, what's wrong?" she coos.

"We could have gone home," he whispers.

"We will go home," Frigga assures him. "Thor says Asgard still lives. We can go home."

"I could've saved it," he whispers. "I could've brought it back." He pulls his arms into his chest, hugging his charred limb close. "I should've brought it back."

Frigga sighs and gently runs her hand through his hair. "That's not your responsibility, darling."

"Yes, it is," Loki insists. "After everything I've done, all the pain and the destruction I've wrought…" He chokes out a sob. "I should've brought it back."

"Oh, Loki…" She sits down on the ground, covered in dirt and dust and debris, and gently lifts Loki's head to rest it on her lap. She cups his face in her hand, gently rubbing her thumb against his cheek. "That's in the past now. This wasn't your fault, but you put it right regardless, and I am so proud of you."

Loki sniffles and squeezes his eyes shut, letting another tear fall. "I'm so sorry," he whispers. "I am so, so sorry."

Frigga leans down and kisses his forehead. "You have nothing to be sorry for," she says quietly. "You've saved so many lives today. You saved the universe."

"But I couldn't save Asgard," Loki sobs. "I just want to go home, and there's no home to return to."

"Oh, darling…" Frigga gently brushes his tears away. "Asgard itself was never a home," she says quietly. "Our home is our family." She looks between her two boys with a small smile. "And that means we're already home."

Chapter 9

Chapter Text

Loki lies down in his mother's lap for a long time. He can hear the commotion of the world's heroes as they try to sort out what to do next, but he doesn't pay it much mind. He just wants to stay here until he withers away and dies.

"Hey, Lok—" Tony cuts himself off. "Are you okay?"

Loki is very much not okay, but while he's admitted that to some people, he's not overly eager to admit it to Tony Stark, so he avoids the question. "What do you want?"

"Uh…" Tony blinks at that, but he decides not to press. "Where's the Gauntlet? Cap's gonna take the Stones back."

"I don't know," Loki says.

"You don't know," Tony repeats, dumbfounded. "You do not know where the Gauntlet is. You lost the Infinity Stones."

Loki rolls his eyes. "I quite literally have not moved since I destroyed the Chitauri. Whatever happened to the Gauntlet, it is not my problem; it is yours."

Tony groans. "Fine, I'll find it myself."

Loki assumes he walks away after that. He's not entirely sure. He can't really see anything from this position, and he's not eager to move.

When Frigga speaks, she does so without judgement, which is more than Tony could say. "Do you truly not know where the Infinity Stones are?"

"I don't," Loki admits. "Somebody took the Gauntlet from my hand. I haven't seen it since."

"Do you know who had it?" Frigga asks. "I don't believe the Infinity Stones to be something we want to lose, even among allies."

"I haven't the slightest idea," Loki says.

"Then I suppose we should help them find it," Frigga says.

Loki sighs. "I really do not want to move," he says quietly. "Everything hurts. The mere thought of moving pains me more than I can say."

"You'll have to move eventually," Frigga reminds him. "Unless you plan to spend the rest of your life on the ground," she adds teasingly.

Loki looks up at her hopefully. "Could I?"

Frigga laughs softly. "Unfortunately not," she says, "but if you would like to lie here for a while longer, I will gladly stay with you."

Loki gives her a small smile. "Thank you."

Frigga kisses the top of his head, and, content, Loki melts into her arms. He really could stay here forever. It certainly seems more appealing than getting up.

Actually, he might know who has the Gauntlet…

Loki presses his hands against the ground and tries to push himself up. He's hardly left the ground when he feels that excruciating pain in his back, impossibly worse than it had been before, and he has to stop.

"Loki, are you alright?" Frigga asks quickly.

"I may have to spend the rest of my life on the ground," Loki says. "I don't know that I can move."

"Unfortunately, that's not an option," Frigga says sympathetically. "But I imagine we'll have a while to wait until everybody else leaves. We can stay here until then."

Loki sighs. "I think lying here has made it more painful to move," he admits. "I should probably try to stand before I lose the ability to." If he hasn't already.

"Would you like help?" Frigga asks.

"Please?"

Frigga carefully slides her leg out from under his head and stands up in front of him. She holds her hands out and he reaches out to take them. Even just doing that hurts.

"This is going to be miserable," Loki mutters to himself.

On her count of three, Frigga pulls him to his feet.

And he screams.

Fire rips through his veins, coursing through every inch of his body. His vision goes dark, and all he can feel, all he can think about, is this excruciating pain.

"Loki!" Frigga quickly grabs him, one hand on his back and the other on his chest. "Loki, are you alright?"

"It's worse," he says breathlessly, panting through the pain. "It is so much worse."

"Maybe you should lie back down," Frigga says warily.

"No," Loki says. "No, I've already done the hard part. I just need—" He grimaces, groaning loudly as the pain shoots through his body. "I need help," he says. It's not where he'd meant for that sentence to go, but it's true nonetheless. He needs help. He really needs help.

Frigga puts an arm around his back, supporting as much of his weight as she can. The pressure hurts, but the relief of not having to stand entirely on his own is worth it. His other arm, the one that had worn the Gauntlet, is held close to his chest, the constant burning pain unchanged.

Steve and Bruce had been walking by when Loki stood up, and, because they apparently don't know how to mind their own business, they both stopped when he screamed and haven't moved since.

Steve eyes him warily. "Loki? Are you okay?"

Loki lets his head fall back in exasperation. "Will you people please stop asking me that? I've been imprisoned by Thanos for months, Hulk-smashed into the ground repeatedly, and used that wretched Gauntlet twice. Would you be okay after that?"

"Um…" Steve furrows his brows, at a loss for words.

"Uh, yeah," Bruce says awkwardly. "Sorry about that."

Loki just rolls his eyes. No, he's not. "Do either of you know where Wanda Maximoff is?"

They glance at each other warily.

"What do you want with Wanda?" Steve asks.

Admittedly, that is an understandable question, but Loki is really not in the mood to deal with it, so he's less than polite when he answers, "We saved the universe together. I think that entitles me to a conversation."

Frigga sighs, clearly displeased by his lack of manners, but she doesn't tell him off for it.

"I haven't seen her in a while," Steve says. "But I'm sure she's around here somewhere."

Peter flips into view just then. "Who're we looking for?"

"Wanda Maximoff," Loki replies.

"Oh, she went that way." Peter points vaguely towards the ruins of Avengers Compound. "But it's been, like, half an hour, so I don't know if she's still over there, but I haven't seen her since then so I think she probably is because where else would she go, you know?"

Loki smiles appreciatively. "Thank you, Spider-Man," he says. "This is why you are my favorite of the Avengers."

"Oh, thank you!" Peter beams at that.

"You know," Frigga says, an amused smile on her face, "your brother is an Avenger as well."

"My point still stands," Loki says. He doesn't mean it. Thor is and always will be his favorite, even when they're fighting (as they frequently are). "Mother, could you help me get…" He looks over at the wreckage. That's going to be difficult to navigate, especially as sore as he is.

"We can try," Frigga says, but she doesn't seem any more eager to do it than he is.

"Hey, um…" Bruce shrugs awkwardly. "If you're going to be sticking around, a while back, we worked on this regeneration cradle. It could pretty much heal anything. We'd have to rebuild it, but if you want to try it out, in theory you'll be good as new."

"I don't trust theories, Banner," Loki deadpans.

"It'll work," Steve says. "We used it on Barton once. You can't even tell."

That actually sounds promising. If it's something they've used on their own, he'd like to think it will work on him. There's just one problem. "Why?"

Steve furrows his brows. "Why what?"

"Why would you go through all of that effort to help me?" Loki asks. "Is somebody else hurt? Do you plan to rebuild this cradle anyway? I don't understand."

"Well, to be fair," Bruce says, "you did help save the universe. And I was, you know, partially responsible for some of what happened to you, so…"

"New York was years ago, Loki," Steve says. "We're long past that. I can't speak for everyone, but I think most of us are ready to forgive and forget."

Loki hesitates. That just sounds wrong. They're enemies. They'd just fought each other nearly to the death mere hours ago. But in their little mortal minds, the decade he skipped truly feels like a long time; long enough that they can move past what should be unforgivable crimes.

He hasn't expected forgiveness. He hadn't even wanted it. But if they're so ready to offer it, so ready to offer their help… Maybe he should accept it. He doesn't have much left in this universe. He supposes it would be nice at least know that the Avengers aren't daydreaming about his murder. And with Asgard gone, Bruce's regeneration cradle is likely the best healing technology he can find. He can't turn that down.

"Okay," Loki says finally. "I would like to try it. But first, I want to find Wanda Maximoff."

"Be careful," Steve says. "They won't have the cradle done for a few days, minimum. If you make it worse, there's nothing we can really do for a while."

"Alright." Loki starts to turn away, and Frigga does her best to help him. But then he pauses. He glances back over his shoulder at them (as much as he can force himself to). "Thank you."

"Don't mention it," Steve says.

Bruce just nods awkwardly.

"Good luck finding Ms. Maximoff!" Peter says with a smile.

"Thank you; I imagine we'll need it," Loki replies.

And with that, Loki and Frigga are off to explore the ruins of Avengers Compound.

As they walk, Frigga says quietly, "You aren't very nice to them."

"They aren't very nice to me," Loki replies. He pauses. "Or they weren't. I suppose that's not necessarily true anymore. I hadn't expected that."

"Well, now that you know," Frigga says, "you should be nice to them, too."

Loki sighs. "I know." He didn't ask for her help just so she would lecture him about being a nice person.

Fortunately, that's the last she says about that. "Why are you looking for this Wanda Maximoff?"

"In part because I believe she may have the Infinity Stones," Loki says. "But I also worry for her. She's lost a lot." He looks over at his mother with a frown. "I just don't want her to be alone."

Frigga gives him a small smile. "You care about her."

"I do," Loki says. "I've only just met her, but I do. She's lost and she's hurt and she's all alone, and I understand that. I felt the same mere hours ago. I wouldn't wish that on her."

"So you want to help her," Frigga says. There's a twinkle of pride in her eyes that warms his heart to see.

"I want to try," Loki says. "I don't know that I can — I don't know that she'll want me to — but the least I can do is try."

They do their best to explore the ruins of the Compound by walking around it. Unfortunately, the Compound is so big and the debris has been spread so far, there really is no "around." Even making a point of staying on the outskirts of the building, they still have to walk on uneven ground, the rubble shifting beneath their feet with every step.

It's a difficult walk, but the more Loki moves around, the easier it becomes. The pain doesn't go away, but it becomes more manageable. He doesn't know if it's because he grows more accustomed to it or he just feels less stiff, but he's able to get around more. He still misses the adrenaline rush of the battle, but he'll accept any sort of relief he can get.

Just as they're about to give up, he sees her.

She must be on the complete opposite side of the building, far away from the rest of the Avengers. She sits on the ground, her back to the Compound and gazing down at her lap, where a shimmer of gold flashes in the sun.

The Gauntlet.

That's one less thing to worry about.

But the fact that Wanda has it all the way out here, alone, when she's so obviously not in a good state of mind… Well, that sounds like a recipe for disaster, and one he's not eager to face.

Loki clears his throat. "I hope you don't plan to use that again."

Wanda looks over her shoulder, and she seems to relax a little when she sees that it's just him. "No, I'm not."

"That's probably the right answer," Loki says. "Do you mind if I sit?"

Wanda just shakes her head.

Loki pauses. "Do you mind if my mother sits as well? I'm having difficulties… well, moving."

"I know."

Loki furrows his brows slightly.

"I can feel your pain," Wanda explains.

"Is that an expression of sympathy or insight into your magic?" Loki asks, though he suspects it's the latter.

"A little bit of both," she says with a small smile. "You can both sit. I don't mind."

Frigga helps her limping son over to her, and he lowers himself to the ground as carefully as he can, though not carefully enough to land without a pained groan. Frigga sits down next to him, leaving enough space not to overcrowd them but close enough to be included if they want her to be.

"Are you alright?" Loki asks. "You disappeared."

She nods. "I just wanted to be alone."

Oh.

"If you would like us to leave—"

"No, no, you can stay," Wanda assures him. "I just wanted to get away from the crowd. I don't think I can handle that right now."

"I can't blame you," Loki says. "I've grown tired of them already and they've barely spoken a word to me."

She looks down at the Gauntlet in her lap. Loki debates mentioning that the Avengers are looking for it. Now feels like the wrong time.

She looks back over at Loki. "I can't fix your injuries, but I might be able to help with the pain."

Loki furrows his brows. "I'm sorry?"

Wanda reaches out, her fingers hovering just inches away from the sides of her head. "Would you mind?"

"No, no, go ahead," Loki says. He's interested. Slightly terrified, but interested.

Wanda closes her eyes, and, after a moment of hesitation, Loki does the same. He can feel her magic creeping its way into his head, ticking every crevice of his mind. For as long as he's held the Mind Stone, he's very familiar with the feeling of it in his mind, but this… It's different this time. There's a warmth to her magic that the Mind Stone never had. It's a comforting feeling, and he revels in it.

As her magic slowly fades away, he opens his eyes. She's still looking at him, a mixture of wariness and anticipation in her gaze. It takes him a moment to figure out why.

"I feel…" Loki furrows his brows. "Fine."

She just smiles.

"Thank you," Loki says. He hasn't felt this calm and pain-free in a long time.

Frigga taps him on the shoulder, and he looks over at her, a brow raised.

"If you think you can walk now," Frigga says, "I would be happy to leave you two alone."

Loki nods. "Thor is probably looking for you." She has just come back to life. Thor probably wants to see her more than Loki does right now. He's content with his new friend.

Frigga gets up and, after bidding them goodbye and kissing her son's forehead, walks away and leaves them alone.

"I don't know how long it will last," Wanda says. "But I can do it again when the pain comes back."

"I appreciate that; thank you," Loki says. He's been saying that a lot today. It's strange. He's not used to people being nice to him like this. He'd like to return the favor if he can. "What do you plan to do now that this is over?"

Wanda shakes her head helplessly. "I don't know," she says. "I don't have much left without Vision."

Loki nods sympathetically. "Do you have someplace to go?"

She just shakes her head.

"Do you think one of the Avengers will take you in?" Loki asks. "Will you have a home with them?"

"I don't know," she admits. "I didn't end on good terms with a lot of them. I'm sure they'd let me if I asked, but I don't want to bother them, you know?"

"I don't think they'd see it as a bother," Loki says, but how should he know? The most he knows about her is what little he's seen today, and Peter's words come to mind — "She's kind of evil." He doesn't know how the Avengers feel about her. Maybe she would be a bother. At least it would give them another thing in common.

"Mm." Wanda doesn't seem overly convinced, but she doesn't try to argue.

"Or, if you'd rather…" Loki shrugs, a small smile on his face. "I hear Asgard has made a home of your planet. That's where I plan to go next. I could use some company."

Wanda's brows shoot up. "What?"

"It's your choice," Loki says. "You can go wherever you would like now. But if you truly have nowhere to be, I imagine Asgard is open to all — certainly to a hero like you."

She smiles sheepishly. "I don't know…"

"You can think about it," Loki says. "I believe I am to stay here with your friends for a short while before I go to this new Asgard. That should give you a few days to decide — and you can, of course, come later if you change your mind. It's entirely your decision."

With a small, teasing smile, she says, "You must not have a lot of friends if you're already asking me to come home with you."

He huffs, amused. "I welcome you into my home and you respond with insults."

Wanda's eyes go wide. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean—"

"I was joking," Loki assures her. "It's alright. You were right; I don't have many friends — even fewer now, I believe, than I did in the year I come from. The last decade has not been kind to my people." Not that he really liked Sif or Fandral or Volstagg or Hogun or Heimdall, but he can't say he's glad to hear that they've died.

It will be strange, an Asgard without Thor's friends. An Asgard without his father, too. An Asgard that exists outside of Asgard. He's not sure what to expect. It's everything he would have wanted a mere day ago, but with reality staring him in the face, he's not as eager to experience it.

Growing more serious, he says, "I know what it's like to be alone. I know the pain and the desperation that comes with it. I don't wish that on you."

She gives him a small smile. "I might take you up on it," she says. "I think we could both use a friend."

"I know that I could," Loki says.

Wanda just smiles.

"Now, I should probably tell you," Loki says, "the Avengers were asking about that Gauntlet. I will gladly keep its location a secret if you want me to, but…"

Wanda sighs. "We should probably go back."

Loki nods, though, honestly, he would be perfectly content to sit here as long as she wants him to.

Wanda pushes herself to her feet without a problem. For Loki, it's not quite as easy. He tries. He really does. He just can't get up.

"It hurts again," Wanda says, "doesn't it?"

Loki sighs. "Perhaps I shouldn't have let my mother leave so soon."

"I can do it again," Wanda offers. "It might last long enough to get back."

"I would very much appreciate it," Loki says.

Wanda kneels down in front of him, and he closes his eyes. This magic is better than any healing technique Asgard has ever thought up. He has a feeling he'll be just fine until the science bros rebuild the regeneration cradle.

Chapter 10

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

"And you are certain this is going to work?" Loki asks.

"One-hundred percent," Bruce assures him.

"Hey, don't doubt the genius," Tony says halfheartedly, his attention largely focused on the regeneration cradle as he makes some final adjustments – which can't be a good sign. If they're going to use it on him, he'd like to know that it's actually done.

"Is it going to hurt?" Loki asks.

"Uh…" Bruce glances at Tony, who shrugs. "Probably not?"

"It won't," Clint says. "Not worse than it does now, at least."

Loki glances up at his mother warily, and she takes his hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze. He gives her a small smile, and she returns it with one of her own.

Wanda walks up to him, peering down at him as he lies in the bed he's been stuck in near-constantly all week. "Are you ready?"

"As I'll ever be," Loki replies.

Wanda's fingers hover by the sides of his head, and he can feel her power flowing through him. That familiar warmth penetrates his mind, and he revels in it, enjoying the serenity while he can. Her magic spreads through his body, and the pain that's haunted him for months begins to fade away.

When the numbness takes complete control, he slowly sits up. This is always the difficult part, he's found: forcing himself to get up after lying motionless for hours on end. And, of course, it doesn't help to have all of the Avengers watching him right now. At least when it's just him and Wanda, he can take as long as he needs, but right now, he's uncomfortably aware that he's holding them back from what they're really waiting for.

So he doesn't take as long as he usually would to orient himself. His head is fuzzy and he can hardly feel his limbs, but he doesn't want to waste everybody else's time watching him prepare to get up, so he just goes for it.

It's a bad idea.

His vision goes dark, and Thor's hands grabbing his waist are the only things that keep him from losing his balance and falling back onto the bed. He tries blinking rapidly a few times, but that doesn't help, so he squeezes his eyes shut, trying to clear that dark fog. It usually doesn't last this long.

Bruce sucks in a breath through his teeth. "Careful," he says, much too late for it to be a genuinely useful warning. "You've been bedridden so long, you're bound to have a bit of orthostatic hypotension."

Loki slowly opens his eyes, but his vision hasn't completely cleared up yet – not enough for him to focus on anything, at least, though that might just be because of the fuzzy, tingling feeling in his head. Though he can't see the scientist, he says to the man, "Do not speak to me in words I do not know. I don't like to be reminded that I am not the smartest person in the room."

That earns a few huffs of laughter, though he's not sure who they're from. He squints a little bit as he waits for his vision to go back to normal.

"Can I help?" Wanda asks.

Loki shakes his head. Everything is still a little fuzzy, but they may be from her magic as much as it is standing up too fast. He can see clearly enough now — at least enough that he can see the regeneration cradle — so he hits Thor's hands away and crosses the room.

Bruce mutters a quiet, "Careful," as he grabs Loki by the arm, helping him into the cradle. Tony, being the ever-helpful man he is, just stands there and watches. Loki does his best not to pay him any mind.

"Hope you're not claustrophobic," Tony remarks, already shutting the top of the cradle without waiting for a response.

Loki is not, in fact, claustrophobic, nor is he afraid of the dark. With that said, lying blinded in this cradle barely big enough to fit him is not the most comforting of experiences. He closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. Maybe a week ago, he would have thought this was a trap, but, save the occasional snide remark from Tony, the Avengers have been nothing but nice to him since he dove forward in time. He has near-full confidence that this will work, and that it will work well.

Which is why, when he hears a knock on the hood of the cradle and Tony's voice asking, "You good in there?" Loki responds with, "Yes." Because he is not good in here, but he trusts that in the end, he'll be all the better for it.

"Alright," Bruce says, "activating in five, four, three, two…"

Loki can feel the moment the cradle begins working, but he can't explain how. He doesn't know what it's doing. He could never put into words how it feels. But he can feel it nonetheless, an indescribable experience of comfort and warmth (while in an uncomfortable, cold machine, which somewhat negates that).

He's not sure how long it lasts. He learned after his fall from the Bifrost that time begins to lose all meaning when left in the dark for too long. But finally, the hood of the cradle opens, and Loki takes a deep breath, reveling in the light and the fresh air.

Bruce's face pops up over his. "How you feeling?"

"Like I've had my senses stolen and then returned to me," Loki replies. "Is it done?"

"It should be," Bruce says. "Does it feel like it worked?"

Loki slowly pushes himself up, though it's immensely annoying not to be able to cross his legs as he sits up. He props himself up with his hands behind himself, and, to both his surprise and his relief, he can do it without any pain.

"It did," Wanda says, a small smile on her lips.

"Unless it's still your doing," Loki remarks. He can't rule that out; there is no more effective pain-managing treatment than Wanda Maximoff's magic.

"It's not," she says simply.

"Need a hand up?" Tony asks, already extending one to help him out.

Loki ignores that, climbing out of the regeneration cradle entirely on his own. He's hit with a wave of dizziness, but it clears up fairly quickly this time. Glancing around, he's uncomfortably aware of all the eyes on him, so he quickly shuffles across the room, rejoining Frigga and Thor to get out of the spotlight. It doesn't really work. Everybody just continues to look at him until he's mere seconds away from teleporting away somewhere just to get away from the attention.

But finally, Bruce clears his throat. "So, um… who's ready to send the Stones back?"

There's a quiet murmur of agreement, including an exasperated "Finally" from Hank Pym, and everybody funnels out the door and to the time machine outside. They all gather around in a large circle, watching as Bruce takes to manning the machine. The last one out is Tony, one helmet on his head and one in his hand as the other hand holding the Infinity Gauntlet.

Steve takes the extra helmet and slips it on, and he and Tony both activate their suits at once. Loki raises an eyebrow. He hadn't realized this was a team effort, but, then again, he supposes he shouldn't be surprised. From what little he's seen of them now and ten years ago, the Avengers seem to be inseparable.

"You ready?" Tony asks.

"I hope so," Steve replies.

Loki was fully prepared to just stand here until they return, all the Stones back where they belong, but then he has a thought.

A very interesting thought.

One he really thinks he should share.

So he raises his hand a little. "Stark."

"What?"

Loki walks up to him, once again very aware that everyone is staring at him and no more comfortable with it now than he had been the last time. Tony takes his helmet off so Loki can make out the full face of confusion he wears. It makes Loki's job a little bit easier without the helmet to block his voice.

He leans in, cups his mouth with his hands, and whispers a few words of advice in Tony's ear.

Tony pulls back, brows furrowed as he looks at the god, but slowly, he begins to nod. "You might have a point," he says slowly. "Maybe…" He glances back at Steve, who is just as confused as everybody else in the yard, then back at Loki. "We'll give it a shot."

Loki nods once. That's all he asks. He returns to his spot around the circle, and Tony and Steve step up on the landing pad. Bruce starts the countdown, and, when he hits zero, they disappear.

Immediately, Peter runs over to him. "So, what'd you say to him?"

Loki shakes his head. "It doesn't matter."

"If it doesn't matter, there's no reason you can't tell me, right?" Peter asks, bouncing his eyebrows.

Loki rolls his eyes fondly. He really does think that Peter Parker might be his favorite of the Avengers (Thor excluded, for obvious reasons). As much as he likes Wanda – and he really does – Peter's energy and his enthusiasm are unmatched. "I will tell you when they return," he says. He'd hate to get his hopes up if he's wrong.

"Aw, come on!" Peter whines. "You can tell me! I'll keep it a secret, I promise."

"Give it a minute, Spider-Man," Loki says calmly.

Wanda meets his gaze from across the circle. You really think so? she mouths.

Loki responds with a small shrug. I don't know, he mouths back, though he's sure she could read his thoughts without his lips moving.

Peter looks between the two of them. "Are you guys talking about me? 'Cause that's not even just talking behind my back; that's talking about me behind my back to my face."

Loki chuckles. "No, we are not talking about you," he assures the kid.

"Bringing them back," Bruce announces, "in five, four, three, two…"

A flash of light announces their return, and, as it fades, he's met with the familiar faces of Tony Stark, Steve Rogers…

And Natasha Romanoff.

Clint's eyes go wide, and he sucks in a sharp breath. "Nat?"

Natasha takes off her helmet, letting her red hair tumble out on her suit. She gives her friend a smile, a familiar twinkle in her eyes. "Don't tell me you thought you got rid of me."

Clint runs up, barreling into her and wrapping his arms around her. "Don't you ever, ever do that again," he murmurs.

"I'm not planning on it," she murmurs back.

Bruce looks between her and Tony and Steve in disbelief. "How did you…?"

"We used the Time Stone," Steve says. "We undid the trade: Vormir got the Soul Stone, and we got Nat back."

"Which was totally my idea," Tony adds. "One-hundred percent my idea."

Steve rolls his eyes. "It was Loki's idea."

"Okay, maybe it was Loki's idea," Tony concedes.

Peter stares up at the god in shock. "Is that what you whispered to him?"

"It might be," Loki says, but the smile on his lips confirms it.

Thor nudges his shoulder playfully. "If you'd told me a decade ago that you would one day save an Avenger…"

"If you'd told me so a week ago, I wouldn't have believed it, either," Loki admits. "But your friends have been nothing but kind to me this decade. I thought I would try to return the favor." That, and his curiosity was eating at him and he had to know if it would work.

"I can't imagine a better way to end this," Thor says.

Loki folds his arms over his chest, watching as Clint clings to his best friend as though she could disappear again at any moment. A tear slips down Natasha's cheek as she hugs him back, her head resting on top of his shoulder while his is buried in the crook of her neck.

Loki can't help but smile.

He can't imagine a better way to end this, either.

Notes:

And they all lived happily ever after. The end!

I hope you liked this! I know it took forever and a half to finish, buuuuut if you want to see what else I was working on while writing this, I have quite a few other Marvel fics of varying lengths that you'll hopefully like, too!

And a big thank you to everyone who's commented on this fic! It really does make my day to see what you guys have to say! 3

Actions

Top Bookmark Comments (146)

Kudos

janenybunny, Janchi15, darlingsallen, Iris_of_the_rainbow, bonchan, Thorins_mistress, Luner_Cyrus, HooBoyThatsALot, JennyMadison, MorganD, SilverLurker, YueRyong, antoniagreen, Turn180degrees_itsSTILLnotENOUGH, 1FicReader, roo2010, Cairarose79, patronsaintoffuck, Quicksilvermad, Arson_Nic, Weirdo_the_person, DixieWriter, Thesecretofsomething, lucelouise, Stemira, PyroAbyssMage, Llun_ar, Sarahlivingston, breepers_creepers, Sometimes_we_shine_so_very_bright, zimvxoditvbezdny, ambrand1, Mischief_Managed_02, AvadaNightmare, steverq, kbaycolt, deathclawiii, Audrey_Denise, Screamingpandas1452, FairyRave, Esperanzarebelde, frozen_delight, Loki_Tangler, hazydazy, Sinnamon_Wade, SlimeandSnakes, TerraTitan73, KishuMai, Y_Am_I_Here_Yet_Again, KilaSilvermoon, and 329 more users as well as 268 guests left kudos on this work!

Comments

Post Comment

Comment as DemonOfADiamond(Plain text with limited HTML ?)

Comment

10000 characters left

Footer

Customize

Default

Low Vision Default

Reversi

Snow Blue

About the Archive

Site Map

Diversity Statement

Terms of Service

DMCA Policy

Contact Us

Policy Questions Abuse Reports

Technical Support Feedback

Development

otwarchive v0.9.325.8

Known Issues

GPL by the OTW