Sanctuary 2, Thanos' vessel, dwarfed the vessel carrying the Asgardian survivors.
He's come for the stone, Loki's throat tightened. We need to get them off this ship! Loki started calculating plans. He started to divide the number of survivors by the number of escape pods aboard. He headed over to console to talk with the pilots. "Send out an SOS now! Start sending people to the escape pods!" He paused. "Record the SOS, we will need more fighters."
"Loki!" Thor tried to calm him down, but he was just as afraid of what is yet to come. He stared at his brother. The anguish that Loki showed made Thor's heart squeeze in pain. His brother who was cunning and intelligent, he could get himself out of any situation, showed the same signs of not only someone who had been tortured and abused but the same look as if the torturer was back. It pained Thor. He did not know what all Loki had gone through but he knew that he did not want him to go through that again, and he did not want anyone else to suffer the same.
Blasts from the other ship started to hit them. Loki and Thor were thrown off balance. They gripped the nearest thing they could to keep them steady. The two headed out of the room to head down to the where the people were at.
Loki snagged a gladiator by the arm. He started to tell him about something. Thor ignored him and kept heading to the people. Val, Korg, Miek, and Heimdall caught up with him. They grouped up and started to create a plan. Bruce saw them passing by and saw that Loki was catching up as well.
"What's going on?" Bruce called out. He sensed there was immediate danger and saw that both Thor and Loki were on edge.
"Thanos is here," Loki spoke in anger. It was the only way to keep himself calm.
"Th-thanos?!" Bruce paused before running along with him as they tried to keep up with the rest.
"We'll need you," Loki knew how Thor's plan was going to go, but he knew Thanos and that plan wasn't going to work. Blasts kept hitting the ship. "They froze the ship and started firing upon us. Soon the life support will fail, but before that they will already be on board."
Bruce was having a hard time following, but he knew Loki wasn't lying. He wasn't threatening. This was the truth. Bruce gulped as he noticed Loki started to accumulate sweat. He followed Loki's command on staying hidden when the time called for it and only come out when he gave the signal.
The group stopped when they heard screams and firing. They ran to the open area to see soldiers from Thanos already starting the purge. The Black Order was among them. A shiver went down Loki's spine as he saw them with his own eyes. Blasts kept coming in. Explosions erupted throughout the vessel. The group started to get ready to fight, but the Black Order was there to counter.
The fight wasn't going well. Thor pushed Val, Miek, and Korg into an escape pod with the rest of the survivors. He tried to keep fighting against the Black Order. Heimdall stopped a soldier from getting the three and ended up injured. The vessel they were on started to explode from the damage it was taking on. Loki hid while trying to get others off the vessel. He noticed that they were failing at the battle. He knew they were going to fail. Loki had something up his sleeve but it was only for desperate measure. It was a rare item; he could only use this once in a while. Loki knew what needed to be done. He had that item ready. Eventually Loki had gotten caught by the Black Order.
It was time Thanos and Ebony Maw appeared on the vessel. Thanos stood in front of the giant glass while Ebony Maw walked over the corpses of the dead Asgardians as if they were fallen timber in his path, paying no mind.
"This is the Asgardian refugee vessel Statesman! We are under assault, I repeat, we are under assault. The engines are dead, life support failing! Requesting aid from any vessel within range. We are 22 jump points from Asgard. Our crew is made up of Asgardian families, we have very few soldiers here! This is NOT a war craft; I repeat this is not a war craft!" It repeated over and over on all airwaves, trying to request help.
The desperation echoed into the void of space. There was no one coming to help them, if they did it was too late; half of the population that was still on board were all dead.
Ebony Maw's voice echoed throughout the hall. He spread his arms open, giving his sermon. "Hear me, and rejoice. You have had the privilege of being saved by the Great Titan. You may think this is suffering. No, it is salvation. Universal scales tip toward balance because of your sacrifice. Smile, for even in death, you have become Children of Thanos." His speech made Loki's skin crawl, he kept himself calm as he observed Thanos. It was his nightmare all over again, however he saved his family from their clutches. He was abiding for the right time to strike. He could not let this farce go any longer.
Thanos finally turned to face Thor, who had taken a beating by the Black Order, he was laying upon the ground. "I know what it's like to lose. To feel so desperately that you're right, yet to fail, nonetheless." He picked Thor up by the breastplate. He brought Thor over to where Loki was being held by the Black Order. "It's frightening. Turns legs to jelly. I ask you, to what end? Dread it. Run from it. Destiny arrives all the same. And now, it's here. Or should I say, I AM." He clenched his hand that had the gauntlet to show Loki that he already had one stone, the power stone. His speech was not for Thor but for Loki. Thanos grabbed Thor by his head.
Thor spit out blood. "You talk too much." Thor still believed he could take Thanos.
Thanos was not dealing with Thor. He was just an obstacle, he knew the true mastermind was, Loki. "The Tesseract, or your brother's head. I assume you have a preference." Thanos knew that no matter how mischievous and spiteful Loki could be, he did have loyalty and he did care for others. He believed Loki could be a part of the Black Order one day, but that one day would be if Loki was driven to complete madness.
"Oh, I do," Loki stared Thanos straight in the eyes. "Kill away."
Thanos placed the gauntlet up to Thor's temple. He used the Power stone to torture Thor. He knew Loki wouldn't last long. Loki cringed as his brother cried out in pain. Terrible memories kept resurfacing. He couldn't keep up the stoic act any longer.
"ALRIGHT, STOP!" Loki was looking away. He could never out bluff the purple freak.
Thor spoke up from the torture. "We don't have the Tesseract; it was destroyed on Asgard." He glanced at Loki but could already see the guilt from Loki as he held up his right hand to reveal the Tesseract. "You really are the worst, brother."
Loki stared at Thor while Thanos came closer. "I assure you brother; the sun will shine on us once again."
"Your optimism is misplaced, Asgardian," Thanos countered.
"Well, for one thing I'm not Asgardian," Loki stated. "And for another, we have a Hulk."
Right on cue, the Hulk stampeded towards Thanos. Loki jumped out of the way. Hulk and Thanos started fighting. Black Dwarf wanted to help, but Ebony Maw forbade it. "Let him have his fun."
Hulk lost, like the rest to Thanos. Thor tried to help but Ebony Maw stopped him as well, binding him on his knees with scrap metal from the vessel.
Heimdall, using his last strength needed to warn Earth. "Allfathers, let the dark magic flow through me one last time." He summoned the BiFrost just in time to take the unconscious Hulk to Earth.
"That was a mistake," Thanos stabbed him in the heart.
"NOOO!" Thor screamed. "You're going to die for that!" Thor needed to end this battle now, before he loses any more than he already has. Ebony Maw placed scrap metal over his mouth to shut him up.
"Shh," he did not want Thor to ruin this moment. "My humble personage, bows before your grandeur," he got on one knee before rising again. "No other being has ever had the might, nay the nobility, to wield not one, but two Infinity Stones. The universe lies in your grasp."
Thanos retrieved the Tesseract from Ebony Maw. He crushed it in his hand to get the Time stone in its natural form, before placing it upon his gauntlet. "There are two more stones on Earth." Thanos smiled. It was coming along smoothly. "Find them, my children, and bring them to me on Titan."
Proxima Midnight was the first to speak up. "Father, we will not fail you."
Loki emerged from his hiding place. He used his rare item, it was time to strike, while it was still in effect. "If I might interject, if you're going to Earth, you might want a guide. I do have a bit of experience in that area." Loki knew this segue would belittle him. It was a failure and Thanos would never allow him back, but he needed a small distraction.
"If you consider failure an experience," Thanos knew this weasel was up to something.
"I consider experience, experience," Loki continued as he got closer to them. "Almighty Thanos. I Loki, Prince of Asgard, Odinson, the rightful King of Jotunheim, God of Mischief, do hereby pledge to you, my undying fidelity."
Thor watched Loki approach Thanos. The words Loki spoke, it seemed off. Thor noticed the dagger in his hand. His foolish brother was going to try to fight him on his own. Thor watched as Loki tried to stab Thanos but failed. It was hard for him to see the failure and to do nothing about it.
Thanos grabbed Loki by the neck. "'Undying,' you should choose your words more carefully." His grip started to tighten around his neck. Thanos watched Thor in pain as Loki tried to struggle against his grip.
"You, will never be, a god," Loki stopped struggling. His rare item was primed. Thanos snapped his neck, killing him. Loki slumped in his grip.
"No resurrections this time," Thanos let him drop as if he was rocks in his hand. He used his gauntlet to take him and the Black Order back onto his ship.
Thor was released from his metal bindings, he headed over to his dead brother. "No, Loki." Thor could no longer think straight. What could he do now? He wanted his brother to wake up, to show that it was a trick. Something. Anything. Loki's form stayed in his Asgardian self, not returning to his true Jotun form. Thor wept upon his chest. Thor had lost practically everything. How could he face himself, the surviving Asgardians- Sigyn? He wept harder. How was going to explain this to her. Loki was really alive all that time, they reconciled, then fought against one another, somewhat reconciled again, fought again, reconciled and fought against their sister, another reconcilement and was off to start a new chapter, to being dead again, but this time-this time he won't come back. Thor was trying to think of what action to take next, the vessel was damaged. There was not any rescue ship or any other flyable vessel available. He could wait for help, then go after Thanos. He lost the fight against him and the Black Order. Maybe it was all futile.
Several thoughts were still tumbling in after one another as the last part of the ship then exploded. The explosion drifted the two brothers apart. Thor was still safe inside part of the ship, while Loki was drifting off into space. Loki had grabbed a spacesuit from the vessel earlier when they were first being attacked. It activated when the ship exploded and his body started to feel the coldness from space. The Commodore picked up Loki when Thano's vessel vanished into a jump. Loki had programed the vessel to save him if something like this happened. The suit receded once Loki was in airlock. The vessel drifted amongst the debris, waiting for its pilot. Loki was still frozen in death.
Meanwhile, the Guardians of the Galaxy were jamming out to one of Peter's songs, they were on their way to where the distress signal was coming from. They were arguing about how to look when showing up to be heroes or scavengers while trying to critique Groot. When they arrived, dead humanoid bodies were floating around them within the wreckage, silencing all of their voices. It was a horrifying wreckage as they drifted through it.
"What happened?" Mantis had never seen something this mortifying of a wreckage.
"Looks like we're not getting paid," Rocket sighed. He had seen this type of wreckage before. No use getting sad over it.
Thor's body slammed into windshield. He opened his eyes to see them.
Rocket started to wave his hands. "Wipers! Wipers! Get it off!"
"Get him inside!" Peter commanded. "He could tell us what happened?"
"Or we could rob him," Rocket remarked.
"We are not going to rob him," Peter argued. "Drax, you bring him in."
"Why do I have to do the bringing?" Drax crossed his arms.
Peter tried to keep it together. "You're the strongest, he looks heavy."
"I am the strongest," Drax agreed.
"Then go and get him," Peter pointed to Thor with an open palm.
Gamora rolled her eyes as she headed to do it herself. She didn't want to hear them argue anymore. Drax decided to get him before Gamora could get the spacesuit. Drax laid him down. He was awestruck by Thor. They started to heal him as much as they could. Mantis was mostly doing the work.
"How the hell is this dude still alive?" Peter gave him a once over.
"He is not a dude," Drax pointed out. "You're a dude. This, this is a man. A handsome, muscular man." He knew it when he brought him in, he had felt the muscles.
"I'm muscular," Peter refuted.
"Who are you kidding, Quill?" Rocket interjected. "You're one sandwich away from fat."
"Yeah, right," Peter scoffed.
"It's true," Drax agreed. "You have gained a little weight." He motioned to his chin and belly.
"What?" This was the first time Peter knew of their thoughts on his body weight. He looked over to Gamora. "Gamora, do you think I'm-"
He was cut off by Mantis. "He is anxious. Angry. He feels tremendous loss and guilt." The emotions made her want to cry and feel remorse.
"It's like a pirate had a baby with an angel," Drax spoke with a soft voice.
They all kept arguing about Thor and how amazing his body was compared to rest of them. Peter had enough of this. He made Mantis wake up this god. Thor woke up in fright. He thought he had more torture to endure, as he did not know who was around him.
"Who the hell are you guys?" Thor scanned the room. He was weighing in on how he could fight them all.
"Even his voice is beautiful but also manly," Drax spoke first.
Peter had enough of it. "We're the Guardians of the Galaxy."
"The what?" Thor squinted his only good at them.
Rocket hung his head. "Oh boy."
"Where am I?" Thor started to get tense.
"You're safe," Peter tried to ease him.
"Any other survivors?" Thor hoped for some miracle. Silence was his answer. Thor hung his head.
"Who did this to you?" Peter cut to the chase.
"Let pirate angel baby recover," Drax interjected.
Peter did a double take at Drax. "Are you serious, right now?"
"He's right," Gamora agreed. She informed Thor that she was going to lead him to the shower. Thor nodded. He got up to follow her. After Gamora left him, Thor let the tears keep falling in the shower. He felt a bit better. Thor cleaned himself before getting back into his armor.
He started to explain what had happened to the vessel. Drax had given him soup. Gamora spoke about Thanos' goal. Thor knew Gamora's information about Thanos was more personal than just someone who was merely against him. He hinted about this. Drax let him know that she was the daughter of Thanos. Thor's heart squeezed. Her father killed his brother. Peter stepped in, giving the rest of the details. The two bantered a bit. Thor knew he needed to leave. He started to push buttons. He felt good enough to go after Thanos. Peter saw what was happening. The two began to argue with the others interjecting every now and then. The group split up after their banter. They spoke about the stones and what Thanos was going to do next.
Rocket, Thor, and Groot were headed Nidavellir, while Peter, Gamora, Mantis, and Drax headed to Knowhere to get to the stone before Thanos.
Back at the hidden oasis, Sigyn had woken up to wails of Vali and Nari. The side next to her was empty. The overflowing warmth she had felt was gone again. She let out a sigh. This was how it was; she could not change him or his ways, but it would be nice to have him longer than a few hours, especially how long they haven't seen one another. Sigyn headed out of the bed to feed their children. As she placed her feet on the floor and brought herself up in one swift motion, her knees gave out and she fell upon the floor. "Ack!" Her lower half was sorer than she realized. Sigyn held her breath as she pulled herself off the floor using the bed. She winced as she moved over to the cribs.
She grabbed Nari to suckle on her while Vali was holding onto his crib with one hand while the other was opening and closing. He made some sounds that seemed audible.
"Yes, yes," she smiled at him. Toys and trinkets were placed all over the place. Loki had left them something in return at least. Sigyn fed both of them, changed them into clean cloth diapers, and changed their clothes.
Nari was back in his bed staring at the golden toys dangling above him that moved in a circle with a whimsical melody that made him stare with wide eyes. Vali had stepped over to the toys that were placed on the table, trying to reach them.
"Da-da!" He tried to clasp the toy but it was too far out of reach.
Sigyn came over to him. "You want one of the toys, your father left you?" She asked him.
Vali stared at her. "Ma-ma! Waa!" He jerked his head back to the toy, making sure it didn't leave on its own. He tried again to grab it. Sigyn started to head for it, when he began to whimper.
"Does my little man want to get it himself?" She smiled at him. He bobbled his head. Sigyn picked him so that he could grab the toy. Vali snatched the toy with ease. She set him back down so he could play with it. "What kind of toy is it?" She crouched down trying not to show how sore she was. He showed it to her before playing with it again. "I see. How fascinating! Do you like the toys, father brought?" Vali bobbled his head again. "Father likes to spoil us, huh?" Vali's smile mirrored his mother's.
She left a kiss on his forehead as she left him alone to play with the toys. She got breakfast herself and started to prepare his lunch for him. Sigyn thought about how Loki acquired all of these toys. She could go through his memory that he left with her, but not yet. It would make her heart ache that much more. She missed him. Their children missed him. This whole oasis that he found and cultivated, reminded them of him all the time, but those were not enough. It would never be enough. Sigyn let out another sigh. She found herself sighing on occasion not due to the loneliness without him but that she could do nothing about it. Mischief follows the god who's over it and where mischief follows chaos isn't too far behind. Sigyn tried to sway her thoughts. She told herself that she's just being selfish but as she stared back at the two sons they had made together; she had every right.
The trinkets he gifted them were elaborate and tasteful. He brought jewelry and garments, toys and books, weapons and machines, but one item stood out the most. It was a cylinder type of gold machine. It was wide enough at the base, someone might think it was to hold fruit. It tapered in the center. She pushed a button. A small hologram of Loki was staring at her. He gazed at her with warm eyes and a heartfelt smile. His voice was even soothing. Her heart squeezed at this small version of him.
"My wife, I have left before you and our children have woken up, but I shall return," the hologram spoke to her. Vali and Nari both perked up when they heard his voice. "I know I have been away for many days and it is not right of a husband and new father to abandon his duties to his family. Asgard and its people are in trouble, as King, I cannot abandon them either. I hope you shall forgive me one day as I chose to save them when I got back from being hurled into the abyss of space." Sigyn started to waver. She wanted to stop this message but also wanted to keep hearing what he had to say. "I will come back, I will always come back to you, to my family." He winked just before the hologram disappeared.
Sigyn sat down she couldn't hold back the tears anymore. She cupped her hands over her mouth, muffling the sobs. It took a while for her to get back in routine again, during the evening she was fine. When she was done with the nightly routine with her boys, she would lay on her side of the bed, pull his pillow closer to her to take in his scent he left behind.
The next few days, her routine was going well. Nari would be napping in his basket outside while Vali crawled around the grass next to his mother. Sigyn would be taking care of the garden while the horses grazed.
It was then, she was struck by a force that made her rip out vegetables as she held onto them for support. She gasped for air, as the force struck again. Horns sounded in the distance of her mind. She checked on her children before glancing to her horses. The three stared off as they could hear the horns as well. It was one of the calls from the Valkyrie. This wasn't a battle cry, it was the call of death, that many had fallen and all sisters needed to help escort the dead. She could not leave her children, but the death toll must have been high enough that it started to jolt her into two.
Sigyn stood up to bring her children back inside the house, worried that something might happen. The horses' heads were turned in the direction of the horns. An ominous feeling crept over her. She grabbed the children and took them inside. The oasis was also warded but that ominous feeling scared her. She remembered a memory with Odin.
Sigyn was researching about all types of beings in the universe. She enjoyed reading about other types of creatures that seemed terrible but were actually good.
Odin was passing by, he stopped to see how she was doing. Sigyn noticed him. She was about to stand up and bow to him but he waved it off. "What is the young one reading?
"I am reading about the creatures that live outside our realm," Sigyn showed him a page. "What are they like?"
"They have all types of personalities just like here," Odin explained.
"Are there any scary ones that cannot be spoken about?" Sigyn asked. Her curiosity got the better of her.
Odin chuckled. "There are ones that are all powerful. Words shall not be spoken of them as they shall not enter our side of the universe. They shall stay in the shadows of nothing."
"If they are powerful, why should they stay in the shadows?" Sigyn was confused.
"There are beings more powerful then they are," Odin explained. "They shall bide their time to wait for the opportune moment to strike, but they shall keep waiting."
"Are you one who holds them back?" Sigyn guessed right. Odin nodded. "What are the scary ones like?"
"You will know when you feel it," Odin warned her. "Those like the Midgardians they may sense something is off. The other realms and Asgard could sense a bit more, but us with immense power, we will feel it in every part of our being, a warning that this being should be placed back in the darkness or better death." Sigyn stared in fear. What sort of being was this? "It is alright, Sigyn. I have taken measures that this being will not venture to our part of the universe. There are others like us who keep the being in the shadows."
This was the being that Odin warned about. She could use the portals to see what the commotion was, or head to Swan lake to ask her sisters. Sigyn looked over to her sons who were staring at one another in their chares. When the time was right to see what was going on, she would but right now, she's going to protect her world here.
Thor was on the pod with Groot and Rocket. It had mostly been silent the whole time until Groot complained about having to use the restroom.
"Tinkle in the cup," Rocket suggested. "We're not looking. What's there to see? What's a twig? Everybody's seen a twig."
Groot still didn't like it. He repeated himself.
Thor was staring out the window. "Tree, pour what's in the cup out in space, and go again in the cup."
Rocket was shock. "You speak Groot?
"Yes," Thor explained. "They taught it in Asgard. It was an elective."
Groot, "I am Groot."
"You'll know when we're there," Thor continued. "Nivadellir's forge harness the power of a blazing neutron star. It's the birthplace of my hammer. It's truly awesome." The memories and nostalgia made Thor sit down. Rocket couldn't handle seeing this being stay sad. He had the duty as captain to make him feel bit better.
He asked about his brother. Thor explained that he was dead but it wasn't the first time, however this time might be the real deal. Rocket went to the next of kin, his sister and dad. Dead as well. Rocket was hitting two for two. He asked about his mom. Also, dead. Best friend, the best friend should be alive, right? Wrong. Stabbed in the heart. This guy had it rough! Was he alright to take on this mission? Thor informed him that he could.
The two kept discussing Thor's situation. Rocket handed him an eye before they reached their destination. They started to work with the dwarf to get a new weapon.
The war was approaching on Midgard as some of the heroes in the universe was trying to prevent it. The rest of the world seemed to go by, not knowing what was going to happen next.
Loki's body came back to life. He sucked in a breath while laying on the floor. His whole body was in pain. He started to cough uncontrollably. He turned his body over only to curl into himself. His chest ached in pain. The coughing wouldn't stop. His neck hurt and his throat tingled at the pain. He moved at a slow pace to get himself into a standing position. It took him an hour to get to the captain's chair as the coughing fits would not stop. He sat down in relief only to taken over by another rage of coughing. He still looked as if he was dead. The ivory color of his flesh was blotching against the grey. It would take a while for him to revert to normal but he should be fine when he reached Thor again.
Loki reached to man the controls. His long fingers were about to push the button to get it back into regular mode. It was in power save mode he had edited. If there was a lifeform on the ship there would be oxygen and it would be on, if there was not one, then it would save on energy and oxygen and just float in space. He felt relieved that he had not actually died. The thought of leaving his family in the oasis alone, frightened him. He wanted to go back to them but first saving the universe from Thanos. That's when it happened. The snap that rippled across the universe. His coughing rage brought his hand back to him. He saw flakes of dust. He opened his eyes more to see that is was coming from him. Before he could react further, the rest of him dissipated into ash.
Sigyn was holding Nari in her arms as Vali was wanting to see his baby brother. She sat upon the floor. Nari's little arm reached out to Vali. It was adorable to see their interaction between one another. "Such caring brothers already." Vali held Nari's hand. "My sweet little gentlemen!" They both smiled. Sigyn saw the drift of small flakes. Nari's arm turned into ash. The bundle in her arms felt lighter. Her baby disappeared into ashes. Vali started to cry. "Where did Nari go?" The bundle opened to ash. Sigyn jerked to Vali. Was he able to use magic already? She was reaching for him when he disappeared into ash as well. "Vali?!" Both of her son's vanished into ash. She tried to sense with her mind where they could be at. Nothing. The horses started to neigh in frantic. She ran outside to see that Sleipnir and Bjourmi, her white winged horse was there but Villingur, her black winged horse, and the foals were missing. Ash were floating by them. She petted both of them, trying to see what happened as well. It was the same. They had disappeared.