"Gamora, come on." He pushed her hair out of her face, lightly tapping her cheeks as she was lying limp in the grass.
He looked around, holding her tighter to him, hoping to see someone, anyone who might be able to help.
"Damn," he muttered. "Well, love, we're gonna need to find someone like that child or Str-" he looked down, his breath catching in his throat when he looked down to see she was gone.
He jumped up quickly, "Oh no, no." He raised his hands above his head, gripping his hair and lightly tugging on it, "Gamora!" He yelled, looking around quickly. The more time went by, the more nervous he got.
After several minutes of calling out her name, he began to run towards the road, moving his head around violently, afraid to miss one spot she might be in.
He skidded to a stop before running across the street, just barely missing the line of a SUV flying in his direction. He stumbled a bit, wondering if it was the child or Strange, but his blood ran cold at the sound that followed.
"Isn't it nice we keep running into each other here, Odinson." Ebony Maw exclaimed, raising his hands as if he was bumping into an old friend.
Loki bared his teeth, conjuring a dagger in his hand. "Maw,"
Ebony tilted his head, a sinister smile forming. "Where is she?"
Loki looked behind him, acting confused, "I'm sorry, who?"
Ebony's smile faded into an irritated scowl, "Gamora."
Loki tapped his hand against his forehead, as if he made a stupid mistake, "Oh! Right, right. You want to find her for some reason."
"She is a traitorous wench," Ebony barked.
Loki shook his head, "Something tells me that's not why you're so desperate to find her, is it?"
Ebony set his jaw, but said nothing. Loki smirked, he had hit a nerve.
"Honestly, Maw," Loki barked, "Even in death, you're still nothing more than a pawn for Thanos' games."
Ebony balled up a fist, his anger cracking the foundation of a building behind him, "Even in death, Gamora is a threat."
"Yeah and why is that? We're all stuck in here forever. Why not come to some arrangement?" Loki asked, though part of him wanted to relish defeating Ebony in this realm. If death here is anything like what he's experienced, he was going to enjoy watching Ebony relieve a slow death.
"So diplomatic," Proxima Midnight snickered, stepping out from behind Ebony. "But that doesn't hide your treachery either," she spat, readying her spear, "You two are perfect for one another."
Loki rolled his eyes, "Well I haven't seen her." He tried to remain cool, but as two other members of the Black Order stepped forward, he set his jaw and stood on the balls of his feet, ready for a fight.
"I guess we'll have to force it out of you," the biggest of the children, Loki forgets his name, sneered.
He leaned his head to the side, cracking his neck before the impending fight. "Guess so."
They started forward, but Ebony put a finger up to them. "Search the city. She couldn't have gotten far," he ordered. "I can handle this one."
Proxima rolled her eyes, but complied. "Fine, as long as I get to drive a spear through Gamora's neck."
Ebony smiled, "Very well."
The rest of the Black Order broke off into different side streets, leaving Loki to face Ebony alone. Despite the fight being an even match, Loki still felt the hair on the back of his neck stand up.
"Asgardian, give up Gamora, and your death will be quick." Ebony offered one last time, crossing his arms over his chest and smirking.
Loki smiled in turn, changing his knife into a spear, throwing it at Ebony before he could start.
As he expected, Ebony side stepped it with ease, using the flick of his wrist to change the direction of the spear back to Loki.
Loki used his magic to create copies of himself all around the street, taking a breath and hoping Ebony won't be able to locate him. He's usually good at cloaking himself, but Ebony is one of the only people that is exceptionally better at magic than Loki himself is.
When Ebony focused on the copies running all around the street, Loki used the opportunity to run forward, drawing a dagger. He almost faltered at the memory of this sneak attack with Thanos. But this time was different. Ebony wasn't the Mad Titan, but he wasn't going to fail Gamora. Not like he failed Thor.
Just before he was close enough to plunge the dagger in Ebony's throat, some wire from power lines on either side of the road wrapped around his arms, yanking him to his knees. The fall was sudden and it broke his concentration. He was now visible to anyone who happened upon this street. Which didn't give Loki as much hope as it should've, considering no one is around.
Ebony snickered at Loki as the wire wrapped further and further up his arms, tightening so quickly Loki felt his right hand going numb. He dropped the dagger and watched as Ebony picked it up and examined it.
He let out a low whistle, "Nice craftsmanship. It seems to be her taste, if I remember correctly."
Loki bared his teeth again, trying not to the pain show. He was going to lose this one. His eyes widened as Ebony drew the dagger back. Loki used the little feeling he had in his hand left to twist his wrist, turning the dagger into a snake that bit Ebony's wrist over and over again.
Ebony fell backwards and the wires loosened their grip slightly. Loki pulled one arm free before the wire tightened again. He gritted his teeth and pulled his other arm through the tightening wires. He heard a soft pop and felt a shooting pain in his shoulder. He stumbled a bit before taking off running, cutting through an ally and using his magic to cut block the way with dumpsters and ladders from fire escapes.
He heard Ebony's voice far behind him, but he wasn't a fool. He knew Ebony could pop up anywhere. He stopped behind a phone booth, grasping his shoulder and breathing heavily. He's going to need to pop it back in, but the sound of heavy debris flying through the air and colliding with buildings made him push the pain out of his mind and keep running. He though for a moment and conjured a gun from Sakar, taking a few deep breaths before jumping out and firing towards Ebony. All the shots were easily evaded by him, but Loki threw the gun at him and smirked as it connected with the side of his head with a pained grunt.
Ebony stumbled a bit, and Loki took his chance. He used his magic to grip the phone booth, opening the swinging door on it as it flew through the air, entrapping Ebony inside of it before it landed harshly on the ground far down the road. Loki took off running down the road.
"Gamora!" He hissed as he cut through Central Park, trying to find her before the rest of them did.
As he cut through a small clearing and climbed up some bigger rocks on a hill, he felt the butt end of Promixa's spear connect with the back of his head. He tumbled down the hill, landing hard on his back. He attempted to jump back up, but she ripped a sharp piece of metal off a sign and shoved it through his calf, pinning him on the ground.
He bit the inside of his mouth, not wanting to show them any weakness.
Proxima looked down at him, smiling at the way he had been trapped like an animal. "Gamora?" She asked, her voice fierce.
Loki shook his head, "She's not here." He cursed himself for the way his voice seemed riddled with pain. Proxima rested her hand on the jagged piece of metal sticking out of his leg, "Wanna try again?"
He took a deep breath, "Haven't seen her." His voice was raspy, but his eyes were defiant. He wasn't going to let them find her, wherever she was. Loki just hoped if she ended up back here she'd run.
Her features became dark and angry as he gripped the metal and ripped it down through his leg, creating a deep slice through his calf. "Shit," he groaned, gripping his leg as blood poured through his fingers.
Proxima kicked his hand away, stepping on his fingers. He let out a sharp breath, "Why does it matter where she is? We're all dead anyways." He was amazed he could manage to get those words out relatively evenly.
Proxima growled as she lifted her spear, running the sharp edge over his cheek, a small cut formed down his face.
He grunted, biting his lip at the stinging pain.
"Last time. Where is Gamora?" Her voice was impatient, angry.
He forced a laugh, raising his hands as he sat up straighter. He had to force himself to ignore the pain in his leg, his face. "Not here," he remarked with a smirk.
"Wrong answer." She barked, drawing back her spear.
"Proxima." Ebony called from atop the hill Loki had fallen from.
Loki craned his neck to see behind him. Upon seeing Ebony Maw's satisfied face, he took a deep breath, thinking this might be his last.
Ebony climbed down slowly, rubbing his hands together menacingly. "We need him alive." He said with a smile as Proxima lowered her weapon.
Ebony used his magic to rip the piece of metal out of his leg.
"Damn it," Loki seethed as he gripped his leg. He looked around subtly, thinking this would be his last shot. While holding onto his leg, he used his free hand to push himself up. Before he could even stand, Proxima turned to face him once more and brought the side of her spear down against his jaw. Ebony shot her a look and she smiled, "What? We only need his mind alive."
He fell backwards, feeling his mouth fill up with blood.
Proxima squatted down to get as close to Loki as she could, "Perhaps you will be of some use to us," she spat in his face.
Ebony raised a hand, watching as the grass he was lying on was lifted in the air.
He took a deep breath. He needed to get away, to find Gamora. He tried to roll off to the side, but as if Ebony had read his mind, roots from the mound of earth he was on top of wrapped themselves around him, binding his arms to his sides. He winced as the roots wrapped tightly around his legs, dirt getting into the open wound down his calf.
They got out of the park and back onto a road. The walk was quiet, the only thing Loki could focus on was his hitched, uneven breath. He tried to roll over on his side in hopes to spit out some blood, but it just dribbled down the side of his jaw. Hopefully the Soul Stone won't affect his ability to heal quickly.
Unconsciousness was about to overtake him when he heard Strange's voice.
"Invading an injured man's mind? Kinda unethical don't you think?" Strange asked as they passed him. He was leaning on a street sign, arms crossed over his chest.
Ebony let out an irritated groan as he halted Loki to a stop. Proxima spun her spear around in her hand, tilting her head at Strange.
"You don't want to fight for this one," Ebony barked. "He has served Thanos."
"But he's a deserted," said the child also called Peter in the spider costume. He swung in front a nearby rooftop, landing on the side of a building about ten feet above Loki, leaning off and staring down at them. "Which means he's good in our book."
Strange's hands lit up orange as homework activated his powers. "Now," he started, "Give us that one and Gamora and we'll be on our way."
Proxima raises an eyebrow, "Well at least we can kill these two," she muttered.
Ebony smiled as he turned to look at her, "Have your fun."
Without hesitation, she launched her spear towards Strange.
Peter shot out a web, catching it in midair and struggling a bit before he maneuvered it into a nearby building.
"Wow!" Peter shouted as he bounced from building to building before landing on the road besides Strange. "That's a lot like the stuff Mr. Stark makes."
Strange smirked, "Sure is, kid."
Proxima groaned angrily before taking off running at them, Ebony stayed back, launching bricks and pieces of nearby cars at the two Avengers.
Strange used his magic to reverse the direction of the flying debris, sending it at Proxima.
Some hit her, knocking her several yards backward. She jumped up and whistled loudly, causing the two remaining fighters to stalk out of the alleyways, growling and smirking.
Peter gulped, "I guess I'll take the big guy," he muttered before casting a web and flying towards the fight.
Strange nodded, "Not exactly how I imagined death, but okay."
The smaller child of Thanos, Strange hadn't seen him before, charged at him with a knife drawn. Strange tried to form a circle to send him far away, but it wasn't working. "What the Hell?" He said aloud at his hands before barely side stepping the knife and falling back. He used his magic to grip a big piece of pavement, using it to block and pin his opponent. He jumped up, sending his cloak to bind Proxima hands together.
She fought against his red cape, crying out angrily as she tried to rip through the fabric.
Ebony rolled his eyes, barely flicking his wrist so Strange would be swallowed up by the bricks on the building beside him, much like he had done when they were in New York days ago. Strange tried to fight it, but without his ability to access magic to send the opponents away, he couldn't get free.
While Ebony was distracted by Strange, Loki managed to loosen some roots and roll off the side onto the pavement. He landed hard, but forced himself to get up and attempted to fight.
Ebony turned around quickly, but was thrown off by Peter getting a kick to the side of head. He fell over with a grunt, and Peter ran forward. He wrapped an arm around Loki's torso and used his free hand to cast a web and pull them onto a nearby fire escape.
Peter laid him against the ladder, and Loki leaned over, vomiting blood and bile on the grated ground beside them.
"Holy shit," Peter muttered, looking between the vomit and Loki quickly. "Are you alright?"
Loki forced a dry laugh, "Never better."
"Where is your friend? Maura?" Peter asked.
Loki shook his head, "Gamora. They don't have her. I don't know where she is." The panic of losing her began to set in again. He tried to stand up, but Peter put a hand to his chest to stop him. "We'll find her. Stay here. I'm Peter, or uh, Spider-Man, by the way. Good to finally meet you Loki," he shouted as he jumped over the side, casting a web and landing a kick to the bigger child
of Thanos that kind of resembled the Hulk to Loki.
The creature barely moved as he gripped Peter's (or Spider-Man, Loki guessed) ankle and slammed him into the pavement. Before he could bring down his weapon on Peter's head, the ground began to shake and shift beneath them all. Loki looked out at the city then, his eyes widening as he saw the sky getting darker and darker and the buildings seem to move as if a major earthquake was developing below them.
"What the Hell?" Ebony asked as portions of the pavement began to crack and fall apart.
A piece of the outer wall of a building beside Loki ripped out, flying into Ebony and forcing him through the next two buildings. Strange let out a low whistle as the bricks that entrapped him began to just disintegrate. He dropped to the ground, landing on his feet and brushing dust off his shoulders. He looked around, not seeing who their new ally was, but they sure were powerful.
Peter still couldn't get free of the bigger fighter's grip. It tightened around his neck. He began to weakly gasp for air and hit at his arms. Loki threw himself over the side, knocking into the fighter and freeing Peter. He rolled over and attempted to get to Loki, but Proxima threw a piece of pavement, connecting with his shoulder and knocking him off balance.
When Loki hit the ground, he coughed up more blood as he tried to steady his breathing. The fighter turned to Loki, smiling at an easy kill before drawing back his weapon. Loki shut his eyes, preparing for the end.
After a moment, he opened his eyes to see the fighter staring wide eyed at his weapon, which had also disintegrated in between his fingers.
"It's a good thing too," Gamora's voice cut through the air, deadly and strong. Loki rolled onto his stomach, lifting his head to see her standing a few feet behind him. He couldn't help but smile at her presence.
Gamora didn't look away from her opponent, "Killing him would've made me even angrier." She mumbled before running at him.
She pushed one hand off to the side, causing Loki to slide across the street into an alleyway, out of the line of fire.
The fighter gripped Gamora by her throat, but she wrapped her legs around his arm. He tried to shake her off, but she wouldn't move. He brought her face close to his to roar angrily in it. Gamora took her chance, smiling before drawing a knife out of thin air and stabbing him in the shoulder. He dropped her from his grasp and she used his moment of weakness to pull herself onto his shoulders, wrapping her legs tightly around him and snapping his neck with a simple, but strong twist of her hips.
The fighter went down. Loki had to blink several times, in awe of how someone of her size could've taken out someone the size of the Hulk in a manner or seconds.
Gamora landed into a somersault on the ground, recovering quickly and eyeing Proxima. Proxima already has eyes on Gamora and had thrown a knife from her holster. It caught Gamora in her hip and she faltered for a moment. Proxima ran forward, drawing another knife as she smiled, preparing to kill Gamora.
Gamora looked up, her eyes turning a deep rust color before putting her hand up at Proxima, "Stop!" She yelled.
Loki stumbled out of the alley to get a closer look. Even Peter and Strange stopped and were staring wide-eyed at the scene. Proxima had frozen in place. She could still move her head, and she was breathing heavily as Gamora ripped the knife out of her side with barely a wince and approached her.
"You know," Gamora said, tilting her head at Proxima, "I didn't get why you all wanted me dead so bad in here. I mean, we're all already gone. And risking so much injury to end a dead person seemed reckless." Gamora removed the knife from Proxima before releasing her. She fell to the ground and before she could lift herself, Gamora lifted her over her own head by her throat. "It's because Thanos knew who really controls the Soul Stone." Gamora stated, her tone deadly even.
"Please, s-sister." Proxima stuttered, grasping weakly at Gamora's forearm.
Gamora shook her head, "My sister isn't here." She growled before crushing Proxima's throat in her hand.
Loki tilted his head, amazed by her sudden abilities. As Proxima crumpled to the ground, her body and the bigger fighter's dissolved as if they were lost to the snap.
Gamora looked over at Loki, "Are you alright?"
Her words seemed to snap Peter and Strange out of their wide-eyed trance. They turned to Loki as well, gripping his arms as he stumbled further out into the street.
Loki attempted to nod, but the adrenaline seemed to wear off in that moment, and his leg gave out and he landed on his side on some broken up bricks and other debris.
Gamora ran forward, but stopped short at the rumbling coming from where Ebony was launched. The last member of the Black Order finally got free from beneath a car and other trash.
Gamora looked between them and back to Loki several times. "Shit," she muttered, weighing her options. She knew, even with all this power, taking out Ebony Maw would be a shot in dark. He was the one person she could never beat when she lived with Thanos.
She looked back to the two Avengers, "You two take care of Corvus," she nodded towards him as he angrily got free, stalking towards them with Proxima's spear. "I got Maw," she barked, her eyes turning rust again.
"Gamora. We should run," Loki begged, afraid of what will happen if they were able to defeat her.
Gamora looked over at Loki, sprinting towards him before Ebony could get free and back to the street.
"I'm so sorry," she said as she dropped to her knees,. She looked over his wounds, pressing his hand over his leg. He winced, but it was bleeding pretty badly.
"No need Love, they would've killed you." He muttered, "We agreed to protect each other. We're together now, and I'll be fine, but we need to go." He pleaded, trying to suppress another pained look.
Gamora noticed anyways, and shook her head. "You need to get out of here. Get someplace safe."
Loki spat out some blood beside them but still shook his head, "No, no. We made a promise. We're all we've got here." He quoted her, "We stick together."
Gamora nodded, tucking some of his sweat coated hair out of his face, "I know." She wipes some blood from the cut on his face off cheek and examined his swelling eye. "But I have to finish this, and you need help now," she said softly.
Loki shook his head, "I'm going nowhere without you."
Gamora nodded, taking his hand in hers and squeezing it. "Forgive me," she pleaded before shoving him backwards, and he fell through a crater she had formed while they were speaking.
Gamora stood up once he fell, looking down at the hazy view of where she sent Loki once he fell through. "Take care of him," she whispered before drawing the Godslayer and running back out to face Ebony Maw.
Loki landed on a metal floor with a clang. He rolled over, spitting out more blood. He looked up quickly, hitting the ground beside him in frustration. She'd sent him to some random place with no plan on how to get back to one another. "Shit," he muttered as he sat up.
He forced himself into a standing position, leaning heavily on a table for support.
"Dude," an unfamiliar voice barked from behind him, and Loki froze. "Who the Hell are you?"
Loki spun on his heel, raising his arms slowly.
Gamora's Ravager, looking much worse for wear, held his gun drawn at him.