Chapter 13
Act 5, scene 3
Warning. A rather emotional Death and strong use of violence and threats.
Maxine' eyes where fixed on the giant stood across the room from her and his demented looking followers. Her breathing was heavy as she watched the destruction he'd caused and how powerful he was over Thor. She stood next to Loki who was also in shock of what had happened. Dead bodies littered around where they stood, the ship running thick with the blood of the Asgardians that had their lives taken from them. Heimdall had managed to get some of them off the ship before he was injured but the rest where killed.
Her body was shaking violently but at the same time she felt numb, like this was the end of the line for all of them. She snapped out of her thoughts when she felt the warm presence of Loki' fingers locking in with hers. He pulled her toward him gently snaking his arm around her waist. He pressed his lips to her ears but never took his eyes of the Titan who was speaking to Thor.
"Listen to me" He began whispering against her skin. A lump formed in her throat, she heard the fear in his voice. Loki squeezed her tight trying to reassure her sensing her fear. He swallowed hard before speaking "When Heimdall opens the Bi-Frost you run towards it, if something happens to the ship you won't survive" Loki whispered quickly keeping a death grip on her.
"Are you going to come as well?" She whispered back turning her head up to look at him, Loki looked down at her his lip turned up into a forced smile to reassure her.
"Of course my love" He lied knowing full well he couldn't leave Thor and Heimdall alone with the mad Titan. Maxine nodded slowly at him understanding his instructions. He took a shaky breath and gently let go of her hand, her eyes watched his leave hers as he stepped forward to approach the giant brute in front of him.
Thor groaned in pain as he was now restrained in scrap metal from the ship, his face was bleeding heavily and his breathing was jagged "We don't have the tesseract it was destroyed on Asgard" blood dripped from his lips as he spoke.
"Wait" Loki called grabbing the attention of the purple Titan who was about to strike his brother again.
Loki held out his hand and the blue cube appeared it in, Maxine took a shaky breath and watched Loki hoping his plan would work.
"You really are the worst brother" Thor spat, Loki looked at Thor with sorry eyes, he knew Thor would never forgive him for this, but he also knew there was no other way.
"The sun will shine on us again brother" Loki promised with a teary sheen coating his eyes. He turned back to Thanos and held out the Tesseract in his hand. Thanos let out a low grunt and smiled.
Loki quickly pulled the tesseract back before he could take it, Thanos smiled and looked up to Loki. Loki felt like his stomach was in knots, he was sweating and trying his absolute best not to shake or stutter his words, he wanted his last moments to be confident and heroic. "On the condition you let them go" Loki added narrowing his eyes at the mad Titan.
The children of Thanos laughed but Loki didn't take his eyes of Thanos' for one second, something Thanos deep down respected.
"And if I saw no?" Thanos asked knowing full well he wasn't going to let everyone survive, half of them had to die.
"Then I guess I'll have to go with plan B" Loki said with a nod. "Heimdall now" Loki shouted turning toward the gatekeeper of Asgard who was led on the floor injured. As Loki turned Thanos saw his opportunity to snatch the tesseract from the god. Loki jumped back slightly but smiled knowing at least Maxine and the innocent Dr Banner would be safe from Thanos.
With the Bi frost opened and closed Loki smiled to himself knowing at least now she was away from here. Alone on earth but at least with the avengers he knew she would have a shot at surviving. He knew Heimdall would of sent her somewhere safe with people that could protect her.
"Plan B" Thanos said lowly when the Bi Frost had closed up and Loki stood smirking at the Titan.
Loki smiled smugly at the Titan. "A contingency in case you didn't want to agree" He said using his usual cocky attitude.
Suddenly one of the children of Thanos drove a sword through Heimdall heart, Loki closed his eyes and cringed at the death as Thor screamed.
"You'll die for that" Thor screamed, suddenly scrap metal covered his mouth enabling him to speak further. Loki looked at the ground and let out a little sigh, he was thankful for Heimdall sacrifice.
"Two left" Loki whispered to himself now knowing it was only him and his brother left on the ship. He knew he had to protect Thor, no matter what Loki did from no he knew if Thor was around he could save Maxine and eventually Loki.
"Let my brother go and I will pledge to you my undying fidelity, I have been to earth before I know how it all works. I can help you execute your vision for the universe" Loki lied smoothly hoping the Titan would fall for his betrayal to his brother.
Thanos smiled at the God and Loki smiled back under the impression he would agree to the terms. Thanos' eyes flicked over to the back of the room. "And what of the girl?" He asked in a low voice.
Loki' eyes shot open and he spun around on his heels and Maxine stood at the back of the ship, her cheeks stained in tears and her lips pressed tightly together to avoid a sob. Loki' eyes softened at the realization she hadn't left when he told her to. His heart could of burst into a million pieces seeing her stood surrounded by the horror.
"Maxine" He whispered, he felt the lump form in his throat. Never in his life had he felt so powerless, he knew there was no way he could protect her and her being here meant only one thing. Her death.
"Something wrong with Plan B?" Thanos mocked. Loki stared into Maxine's eyes, he knew she knew also she was going to die. She looked petrified, without speaking Loki could understand what she was thinking, and he loved her too and would do anything to protect her.
Loki slowly turned back to Thanos and shot him a smile. Thor' eyes widened in confusion at what his brother would do next.
"New plan. Let my brother go and take her" Loki said slowly, he heard a shriek from Maxine and Thor screaming through the dirty metal that was covering his mouth. He knew even if she was on the side of Thanos that Thor would eventually save her. He looked over at Thor and forced a smile, Thor stared back in disbelief as tears rolled down his cheeks watching his younger brother sacrifice himself for the two of them.
"No Loki" Maxine screamed protesting, she would never go with him she'd rather die. Unfortunately for her Loki would rather she lived even if it meant being on the side of the mad Titan. One of the children of Thanos grabbed her and covered her mouth with his hand so the others could speak without her cry being heard. Loki cringed at the view but knew it was necessary for her survival.
"And you, go of lies. What happens to you?" Thanos asked amused at the deal Loki proposed.
Loki blinked away the urge to cry and straightened his posture he forced the lump in his throat to go away and looked up at the titan and smiled. "Death" Loki said confidently nodding his head. He ignored the muffled screams coming from behind him and clenched his teeth together nodding again to avoid crying himself.
"So brave" Thanos mocked.
"Someone once told me love was the reason" Loki' voice faltered slightly towards the end of his sentence, for a moment he smiled when he remembered Maxine and himself sitting on the grass in the gardens of Asgard as she lectured him about Romeo and Juliet for the seventh time that day, oh what he'd give to go back to that time.
He snapped out of his memory and looked back towards Thanos. He couldn't bring himself to turn to face Maxine but he could hear her, her screams of protest, her failed attempts of fighting free. H knew if he looked at her he would break, and that's not how he wanted to be remembered. Thanos stood smiling at Loki not at all touched by what what happening, a truly evil Titan set on a dark path.
Loki looked down to the floor and began to recite Romeo' closing words before he chose to take the poison to end his life for Juliet. Thanos being the poison.
"Come, bitter conduct, come, unsavory guide, Thou desperate pilot, now at once run on The dashing rocks thy sea-sick weary bark. Here's to my love" Loki said just loud enough for her to be able to hear.
Maxine' fought with all her strength but the mutant like creature holding her was far to powerful. She saw Loki from the back take another step closer to Thanos, she screamed and her eyes darted the room frantically in the hopes Thor would somehow break free and save them. When she looked over at Thor her heart sank into her stomach. His shoulders rising and falling quickly as he silently sobbed with his eyes closed not wanting to witness the murder of his brother. She knew at that point all hope was gone.
"It's a lovely gesture" Thanos said softly mocking Loki for his deceleration of love toward his wife.
"But my army is loyal, and she is only loyal to you" As he spoke he reached out and grabbed Loki by the neck effortlessly raising him from the ground. Loki' hands went to his neck in an attempt to pry him off, tears began to fall from his eyes realizing she would die too, no more hope.
"No resurrections this time" Thanos grunted.
"You'll never be a god" Loki spat, as he said that Thanos applied pressure to his neck snapping it. Maxine' legs went from under her and the creature let go allowing her to fall violently to the floor. She let out a blood curling scream as the Titan threw her husband to the ground.
Thanos gathered his children around him and added the blue stone to his gauntlet. He took one last look around at the destruction he'd caused and smiled leaving the ship and taking his people with him. When they left the restraints fell from Thor. Maxine crawled across the blood soaked floor to Loki' side.
"Loki" she cried laying her head on his lifeless chest. Thor crawled over to the other side of him, he took his brother by the hand and knelt next to his dead body. His mind was swaying in shock he heard the explosions happening around him but had no fight left in him. With his other hand he placed it on Maxine' shoulder who was lead on his brother sobbing.
"My brother was brave, and that is because of you. He loved you more than anything" Thor said weakly to her as he squeezed her shoulder. The real problem set in, once the ship exploded Thor knew Maxine would die and there was nothing he could do. He didn't know even if he'd survive. "Maxine the ship-" he cut himself off as the lump formed in his throat.
"I knew that when I chose not to go through the Bi Frost" She whispered raising her head slightly to look at Loki. "I couldn't leave him" she whispered as her tears dropped from her face onto her lover.
Thor nodded and sat back letting go of her. The woman was powerful and moving even Thor himself couldn't help but cry for her love towards Loki. She was the bravest woman he'd ever met and it was only now he realized that.
"He was lucky to have you, we all where" Thor whispered nodding to himself, one last deceleration of love before the impending doom.
"I love you Thor, you are my brother now and I his wife" She whispered, Thor smiled even though he was unknowing of the marriage between the two he felt the same, she was his sister, the wife of his brother. Something about the sentiment felt right, a bitter sweet moment.
Maxine lent down and kissed Loki on the cheek, she pressed her forehead against his and ran her hand through his hair. He was still warm, she forced a small smile as she her fingers brushed through his hair, it felt the same as always. The smell of his spiced aroma assaulted her senses bringing her more comfort the the fact she was about to die. She slowly lead beside him resting her head against him and her hand over his chest.
She pressed one more kiss to his cheek and closed her eyes as she heard the rumbles of the explosions getting closer. "Yea, noise? Then I'll be brief. O happy dagger, This is thy sheath; there rust, and let me die" she whispered, finishing the story between them. Seconds later the explosion ripped through the ship killing her instantly.
END OF FILE
Maxine sat with her head in her hands sobbing at what she'd witnessed. The bitter sweet romantic death of the lovers. She knew it had not actually happened and that is not how Loki' had died but something about it resonated with her, she knew it was true all of it. She knew she would not of left that ship and happily died along side him. She knew Loki would pass her off to the bad man if it meant her survival. For the first time today she realized it was real.
She heard the door open behind her and Mobius' foot steps. Maxine quickly wiped her tears and stood up from the chair turning to face the agent. "You fucking bastard" She screamed.
Mobius raised his hands "Maxine" He began calmly.
She was livid, not at him personally but at the situation. It had just occurred to her he was telling the truth, Loki could be alive, and with everything else she'd just witnessed her head was a mess. "Why would you fucking show me that" She screeched as she paced around the room. Mobius watched as she walked over to the projected and kicked it off the table sending it crashing to the ground.
She took a deep breath and turned to face him, the look in her eye was somewhere between murderous and heart broken. "Is that it, is that how I was supposed to die?" she shouted with tears in her eyes.
Mobius calmly approached the table and set him tempad down on it, little did Maxine know he was usuing this as a tactic to show he could be trusted. "That is what would of happened if you both had stayed on the path and not messed around with time" He nodded.
She clenched her teeth together and kicked the table again in anger. "So even if I had stayed on the path and followed time as soon as I get the love of my life he is taken from me in an instant" She ranted. She turned to Mobius and her mouth twisted up. "I ought to end you life right now you bastard" She screamed pointing at him with both hands in the shackles.
Mobius sighed "I had to show you, you didn't understand until now" He explained calmly. Maxine slowly walked back to the table and sat down at her chair, her head falling into her hands again. At first Mobius assumed she was crying "You're laughing?" He asked in an unsure voice.
Maxine lifted her head and tried to contain her laughter. She looked like a woman gone mad Mobius noted. "Pretty ironic isn't it" she began with a harrowing smile on her face.
"I do all this to try and find him and bring him back and that is what was waiting for us. Death" She stopped smiling on the last word, that's when she realized what her fate was "Maxine and Loki, destined to be apart forever" she whispered.
"I told you he is alive, and we have him here" Mobius said revealing they'd finally caught Loki. He expected her to jump up and demand to see him but she stayed seated and slowly shook her head.
"I don't believe you. It's another trick" She said trying her hardest to convince herself.
"You know that this is real Maxine. Look at you, admit it to yourself" He said pointing to her, she didn't need a mirror to know she was a complete mess, her eyes swollen from crying, her hair a mess on her head everything from her appearance to how she was feeling was shitty.
"I want to see him" she snapped.
"You can soon" He told her.
"Why not now?" she argued.
"He has to watch his tape" "Soon I promise but before you do you need to know somethings" Mobius told her as he sat down in the chair across from her.
Maxine listened closely as Mobius explained that the Loki' they had was her Loki but from the battle of New York. For Loki it had only been a few weeks since he'd last seen Maxine but for Maxine it was much longer. Maxine had fought for years to find a way to bring him back but Loki was still on the come down from loosing his battle in New York.
Emotionally she'd grown and gone through trauma he'd not yet experienced. Maxine frowned as she listened not fully understanding how it was all possible.
"So he isn't my Loki?" She asked in a heart broken voice.
"He is, you've just been through a lot more than him. He is the same person that you remember. If anything you're not his Maxine anymore. You are the one that has changed and you need to remember that if we are going to work together" Mobius explained.
"And what if we don't want to work for you?" Maxine asked. She was hoping there was a version of this where her and Loki could just take each other by the hand and run away together. Mobius stayed silent and she realized it would never be that easy. "We die" She deadpanned answering her own question, Mobius' gaze softened, he felt pity on the girl.
Maxine shook her head. "Is it mine and Loki' destiny to die when we are finally together?" She asked in a quite voice. Mobius was taken off guard, he didn't want to straight up answer her, but it seemed that was the truth. His silence was enough for her, she looked down at her hands they where resting on the table in front of her and nodded as another tear fell from her eye.
"I want to see him" She said again, Mobius nodded and rose from the table. Even knowing together they die and the fact she still wanted to see him amazed Mobius, he'd never seen love like it in all of time, it was truly spectacular. Mobius silently left the room leaving a traumatized and nervous Maxine waiting to be reunited with her lost lover.
