Thanos scowled at the imaging device that had linked his mind to the Aesir warrior's and Midgardian messenger's. It had short-circuited and was now a smoking ruin. He wondered oddly if he could remember how to fix it. He had never had trouble with the Possessor before...
But then, he had never, ever, in 4,000 years, been cast so completely out of a victim. The act was unthinkable...unprecedented. And to think, it had been accomplished by such a young pup! The worm was hardly a warrior...it couldn't be a century old yet. It was a Midgardian! And unbreachable!
That, too, was unheard of. In the few moments he, the almighty Thanos, had sparred with the Midgardian soldier, he had discovered a shocking twist to the species. Some of them were unbreachable, their minds completely closed to him: no weaknesses to exploit.
Such a thought was absurd. All living things had weakness, and it was through their weaknesses that Thanos worked best. The most delicious ones were fear and hate. The Aesir's disdain for women was strong, possibly centuries old, spawned of grief and despair untended and ignored. The Midgardian's weakness was its counterpart, though much more unrefined: a scowling dislike for the males of its species, born of betrayal and nursed on scorn and mockery. It was even more delicious flavored with the pain and fear fostered by the Aesir...
And then the soldier had to come along, and ruin all his fun!
There will be recompense for this, Thanos promised himself, and closed the lid on the Possessor. He would tend to the device later, after it had cooled off.
After he had cooled off.
Thanos turned away from his toys and walked over to his drinking cabinet. He was thirsty, after all, and could still amuse himself with the spectacle below, as the planet was pulled apart. He filled a goblet with some of the fresh Glorious Purpose-soul nectar-and drank deep, reveling in the taste of violation and despair, fear and loss, innocence and...triumph? What was that doing in there? The nectar tasted odd. But then, the Reis were an odd species. He shrugged. Who really knew what was in a soul?
His gaze fixed on the planet being carved up before him. A little more time and work, and his Chitauri would be able to move on to Midgard for its cleansing. For now, they needed time to eat, multiply, and refuel.
So did he: eating and refueling, that is. Thanos turned away from the planetary chaos beneath him and headed towards the shrine on the opposite side of the room.
Her image was there...the one he couldn't take his eyes off of. His Goddess, his Love, his reason for living...
And beneath Her...his most recent sacrifice...
The lifeless eyes were fixed on the ceiling of the shrine, and oddly enough its face was peaceful in death, almost smiling. Thanos ran a hand through its star-shine hair and looked down at the figure in front of him. How could it look so peaceful, when he had tortured it to death?
"What did you do, little Princess," he mused. "What are you up to, even now?" He glanced up at the Soul Indicator above the dead figure and frowned.
It had a negative reading. How was that even possible? He had neither shut off the machine nor drunk the Sacrifice's soul; the Collector should read something. Souls had to leave the body when the carrier died, and the Collector...
"Do you wish me to prepare your meal for you, my lord?" The Other was always ingratiating. "Or shall this one be given to the officers for their pleasure?"
Thanos thought for a moment. "This one is mine," he finally decided, "but preserve the head. I wish to make a...gift...of it."
"As you wish, my lord," the Other said, bowing.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
"So...there are rocking chairs in Asgard?"
Sauer had cried herself into exhaustion, and eventually sleep, held and rocked all the while by Loki as if she were a sobbing child. Her rest did not last long, however, and she found herself waking with her head still cradled on his chest.
"Is that really your first question?"
"Mmmm-hmmm. You seem experienced in this."
She could almost feel him smile. "Then yes, there are rocking chairs in Asgard. Some things are universally known."
Her mouth twitched with a tiny smile.
"And I raised three children."
Now that she hadn't known. What few Norse myths Sauer had read had not mentioned Loki having a family. Of course, she had spent most of her life avoiding myths and legends, preferring to focus on iron-crafting and combat tactics. Sauer tried to imagine Loki changing diapers and juggling bottles, and couldn't do it.
"Magic has many uses," he answered her unvoiced question with some amusement, "and some of them are quite practical. Besides, my children were all...housebroken...I think is your term...and weaned when they came to Asgard."
That made her chuckle. "Now I am jealous. I've changed more of my nephews' and nieces' diapers than I care to think about. Some of them would be useful as chemical weapons." She paused for a moment. "You're comfortable," she admitted.
"Say that in public and I swear I shall change you into a frog."
She frowned at that. "Does it have to be something slimy? I've never been involved in politics," she protested.
"You would prefer I transform you into a different animal?" He arched an eyebrow down at her.
"Oh, yes. A cat would be much more entertaining," she said, leaning back a little so she could look up at him. "See, Mr. Stark hates cats, but Pepper would keep me out of guilt and he would never stand up to her about it. I would have the run of the Tower and the ability to annoy Mr. Stark for the rest of my life."
Loki chuckled. "My dear, you have a wicked sense of humor."
"Sorry to disappoint you, your Majesty."
"Disappointed? Hardly. I approve," he said smiling. "I will grant you this boon. Call me 'comfortable' in public and you shall spend the rest of your days as a cat."
She looked up at him again, blinking. "You're bigger," she finally said.
"Mmmm-hmmm."
"And blue." Her forehead wrinkled. "Why are you blue?"
"I am a Frost Giant."
"What is a Frost Giant?"
A cool finger pulled her chin up so she could look at him properly. His features had not changed, but his skin was now a deep turquoise and marked with swirls of raised marks. His hair was the same-shoulder length and ebony, but his eyes were blood-red. "This is a Frost Giant."
"Oh."
"This does not frighten you?"
She frowned and looked thoughtful. "I don't have the energy to be afraid right now." She glanced up at his turquoise face again. "Should I be?"
"I am the creature Aesir mothers threaten wayward children with at night," he said with some bitterness.
"You are the Monster Under the Bed?" Sauer was incredulous.
"In Asgard, yes."
Sauer thought for a moment. "Fine," she finally declared, "if I ever go to Asgard, and find you hiding under my bed, I promise to scream like a girl. And I won't tell anybody how comfortable you are," she added, laying her head back down on his shoulder as he chuckled deeply.
"What if you found me under your bed here on Midgard?" he asked, his voice teasing.
"I would shoot you," she said in a practical tone. "But then, the same thing would happen to any man, human or Aesir, that tried such a thing. I don't discriminate." She paused. "Well, I'll make an exception for Sir Fandral. Him I'll shoot twice."
"Good girl."
Another shudder ran through her, and she closed her eyes for a moment. "He's really coming, isn't he," her voice was suddenly smaller, and resigned.
"Yes."
She paused for a moment. "I could see them: the people he was killing," she said softly.
"I know."
"They were beautiful. They were like us...but not somehow. Tiny and more numerous, and phosphorescent. There were so many," she shuddered again, and Loki stroked her hair. "And they were so beautiful...and their planet..."
"I know," he said softly. "Thanos only harvests the best the universe has to offer," he said darkly. "Those he sacrifices to his goddess. The rest he disdains."
"Do I have to live forever now?" She actually sounded worried about that, Loki thought.
"Do you not wish to? I thought most humans ran about looking for ways to conquer sickness, old age, and death."
She shook her head. "If living forever means drinking a murdered person's soul, then I gladly choose death." She shuddered again. "I would spit it out if I could, you know. I can still taste some of what he made me...drink. It was foul."
"The soul elixir that Thanos makes-he calls it 'Glorious Purpose'-must go into a physical body to have physical effects," Loki told her, slipping into his pedantic mode again. "What you...tasted...for lack of a better term...was really Thanos drinking some of that elixir. Since your essence was tied to his, you could "taste' the energy that Thanos fed upon, but since none of it actually entered your body, you received none of the 'benefits' of it. He knew you would be horrified at the prospect, so he used such an opportunity for torture."
She thought for a moment. "The last time you came to Earth...Midgard...you said you were 'burdened with glorious purpose'. You were talking about this elixir of his."
"Yes." Loki's voice had gone deep and cold. "I can still feel them within my mind, the souls he made me drink: broken and wailing for vengeance. It is indeed a burden."
Sauer shuddered again. "This guy really needs to die," she said darkly.
"Easier said than done. We will be doing well to beat him back again," Loki cautioned.
She stiffened and sat up. "No. Not good enough. We have to kill him," she said fiercely, "and we have to bring him here to do it."
Loki stopped rocking. "What do you mean?"
Sauer took a deep breath. "There was another prisoner there...some sort of...of a woman...she told me," she scowled, trying to comprehend and failing, "I don't know how she told me, but she told me how to kill Thanos." Sauer started to shake again, but this time it was from excitement. "We can do this...we can end this...but it has to be here," she insisted.
"Excellent. Ready to fight, then?" His red eyes looked both determined and amused.
"I think so," she said, sliding off of Loki's lap and standing up. "I'm not as shaky as I was before. Thank you."
"You are most welcome." He cocked an eye at the young woman, who was already heading for the door. "May I suggest clothing before you go fight the forces of evil?"
Sauer looked down. "Aaaack!" She was still wrapped in the magically-enlarged towel, and nothing else. "That...is an excellent suggestion, your Majesty," she gulped.
"Miss Sauer, within the last 120 minutes we have shared both a Jacuzzi and a shower. I think we can let go of the formalities now," the Dark Prince chided, a little playfully.
"Ohhh no," Sauer said firmly, shaking her head. "The formalities stay. I have my reputation to think about...or what's left of it. Waking up in your arms-half naked-is not helping matters, and now I've done it twice." She frowned, sorting through the clothing Pepper had lay out on the bed for her. "Of course, it won't matter what we say when we leave. Sir Fandral and Mr. Stark's minds will go straight to the gutter." She scowled at the thought, and then brightened as an idea struck her. "Unless you come up with an elaborate, juicy, scandalous tale of what we didn't do. I can't speak for Fandral, but Mr. Stark would shrug it off as..."
The Prince cut her off. "I fear that won't work, Miss Sauer. I currently cannot lie."
Her jaw dropped open. "But...but aren't you the god of lies..."
"Yes, that is one of my official titles," he ran a hand through his immaculate raven locks, frustrated. "Unfortunately, my mouth is magically bound to prevent me from speaking falsehoods. I am currently incapable of speaking lies," he admitted darkly.
"So, the truth sets you free. Hmmm, damn. Just when I need a good, scandalous, juicy lie, too. Can you write them?" She actually looked hopeful.
"Hmmm." The thought had not occurred to him. He conjured a piece of parchment and a quill and bent over the desk for a moment, scribbling. He handed the result to Sauer, frowning.
Miss Sauer and I did absolutely nothing untoward, lewd, dishonorable, licentious, or scandalous while sequestered.
"Damn and blast, no I cannot," he said, disappointed.
"Oh, erm..." was all she managed to say, turning pinker by the second. "I think I had better get dressed now," she finally choked out. She grabbed the clothing Pepper had left for her, and dashed into the bathroom.
Prince Loki shook his head, chuckling. "Maidens," he finally muttered. Waving a hand at the door locks, he exited the bedroom. Lady Sif stood there, glaring at him, while Pepper Potts just looked concerned.
"Miss Sauer will be out shortly," he informed them, "as soon as she is finished changing." He looked down at Pepper. "Have no fear for your friend. She is well."
"Thank you," Pepper said, nodding.
"Brother!" Thor called from across the suite. "Come, there is someone here who wishes to meet the Dark Prince of Asgard and Jotunheim!"
Loki scowled and looked across the room. An old man stood next to Captain Rogers, wearing elaborate white robes trimmed with gold and a similarly trimmed white pointed hat. He held what looked like a golden shepherd's crook.
"The Archbishop of the Diocese of New Jersey," Pepper murmured, "a high official in the Church Steve Rogers attends, and one of the oldest men on the planet."
"Thank you, Miss Potts," Loki said, nodding. He changed into Aesir royal attire even as he walked, black and green silks surrounding gold armor enveloping his Jotun form. He opted to leave the helmet off; they were inside, after all. He nodded to the old man. "Your Grace."