A/N: Battle scenes, thou art a pain to write . I much prefer writing the non-fighting
"Step out with your hands up!" Iron Man warned Thanos as he hovered in midair. He had his arms outstretched and the palms of his gloves radiated a light smoke from the blast in the penthouse wall he had made.
Thanos turned to face his opponent. "You are too late-as were your friends." He made sure Iron Man was watching as he stuck the missing Infinity Gems into their rightful slots. "They are all mine!"
"Where are the other two?" Iron Man demanded.
Thanos loudly chuckled. "Disappeared… or perhaps dead. Wherever they are, they left behind exactly what I needed!" He outstretched his arm that wore the Infinity Gauntlet, aiming straight at the man of iron.
Tony readied himself for the worst, but nothing happened. "So… My turn?" He fired a blast towards Thanos, sending him back into the elevator. The elevator shook violently from the impact.
Loki tightly gripped the wire connected to the elevator in one hand while the other stayed around Natasha's waist.
Iron Man approached Thanos' collapsed form. "Glove of Wonder not working for ya, Blue Meanie?" he asked.
Before Iron Man could fire another blast, Loki kicked away the ceiling tile and jumped down.
"Shit!" Tony shouted. "Where the hell did you come from?"
Loki smirked as he helped Natasha down from atop the elevator.
"You're paying for that!" Tony warned them.
Loki ignored him as he knelt down to pull the glove from Thanos' hand. Just as he had a grip on it, Thanos punched Loki in the gut, sending him into the wall.
Natasha grabbed her gun and pointed it at Thanos.
"You deceived me one too many times!" Thanos shouted at Loki. "For this, you will die slowly!" he threatened.
Natasha fired two shots into Thanos' back.
He whirled around, his red eyes burning with rage. "You, too, will die, wench!"
Before Thanos could attack, the remaining Avengers arrived on the scene. "Better back off, buddy!" taunted Clint as he fired an arrow directly at Thanos' neck.
Thanos cried out in pain as he pulled the arrow from his neck.
Natasha took this time to reach into her jacket pocket to throw something towards Thor.
Through slitted eyes, Thanos took notice of the glimmering objects flying through the air. With one hand pressed to his bleeding neck, he charged at Thor. "The gems!" he snarled. Before Thor could grasp the flying objects, Thanos used his powers to stop them in midair.
"The hell?" Iron Man questioned.
"What are these?" growled Thanos. Frozen in midair were three coins. He whirled around to face Natasha, but she was gone.
"More tricks up your sleeve? Great," Natasha muttered sarcastically as she stood beside Loki.
"You haven't seen the full extent of my powers!" he barked.
Loki held his scepter out before him, shielding both he and Natasha. "You best hope your powers can protect you whilst cornered!"
Captain America threw his shield at Thanos' back, only to have it reflected right back. The trusty shield struck Steve right in the chest and sent him backwards, gasping for breath.
"Telekinesis?" Natasha breathed.
Thanos checked the tracking device for a reading on the real Infinity Gems. The screen displayed that they were straight ahead, hidden away in Natasha's utility belt. "So you have been holding out on me!"
As he held out his hand, Natasha removed her belt and clutched it tightly. She could already feel the pull of his powers trying to snatch it from her grip.
"You think you can resist it?" Thanos mocked. "Very well." He slowly began to close his open palm.
A scream escaped Natasha's throat as pain wracked her body. Her insides felt as though they were being compressed. She let go of the belt and collapsed to the floor, hugging her middle.
The moment her body fell to the ground, Thanos relinquished his control over her body. He summoned her belt into his hand and chuckled darkly.
"Natasha!" Loki dropped onto his knees. "Hold on-I'll get you to safety."
"I'm okay," she gasped. "It just stopped…"
Loki shot Thanos a deadly glare. "Bastard!" he snarled.
The alien creature's smile only widened. "So killing her causes you pain? Glad to know. Prepare to suffer," he warned Loki as he dug through a belt compartment for the gems.
"SMASH!" Hulk charged at Thanos and grabbed him by an arm. The green beast pulled, using all of his strength. His opponent was certainly stronger than he was.
Thor took this chance to swing Mjolnir into Thanos' spine. Hawkeye shot an arrow into each leg and Iron Man blasted a hole through the creature's chest. After a rough pull, Hulk had taken Thanos' right arm clean off.
It was now Thanos' turn to scream out in pain. The three gems fell to the floor along with his arm.
"And now for the missing piece." Loki approached Thanos who had been brought to his knees. "The Infinity Gauntlet." A dark aura seemed to emanate from him as he confronted the enemy. He deserved to die in the most painful way possible. "This will make up from our last battle!" he growled as he drove his scepter through Thanos' armor and into his chest. Captain America firmly grasped Thanos' gloved arm, allowing for Loki to easily pull the gauntlet off. Hawkeye had taken the gems from the Hulk and passed them onto Loki who began to insert them into the gauntlet.
"Good work, team," Tony commented. "Any last words, big guy?" he asked the alien.
Thanos' missing arm levitated off the ground and magically reattached itself. "Best not underestimate me just yet," he warned them.
"Loki, just kill him!" Natasha shouted.
"Stand aside," he warned his fellow Avengers.
"My body isn't as weak as you may think." Thanos pulled the arrows from his thighs and rose to his feet. "I'm immortal!"
Loki slipped the gauntlet on but could already feel Thanos' powers pulling the gauntlet off.
Thor took notice and brought his hammer down on Thanos' arm. "Shoot him, Brother!"
"Get out of the way, Thor!" Loki shouted. "You're in my way!"
"Yes," Thanos sneered. "Release me and I can regain control over what is mine!"
"Watch out, Thor!" Natasha stood beside Loki and fired an electric wave towards Thanos.
The creature doubled over, giving Loki enough time to slide the gauntlet into place. He pointed his outstretched arm towards Thanos' fallen form. Everyone backed away as a beam of light shot out from the glove's palm and into Thanos' body. The blast completely disintegrated the creature's body, leaving behind nothing but a hole through three flights of the tower.
Tony and the others peered down, both frightened and in awe of the damage the Infinity Gauntlet had caused. "You're definitely paying for all this!" Tony warned Loki.
"The last order of business," Fury announced as he stood outside in the city gathered with the Avengers. "Closing up the wormhole. Let's hope that'll kill any mother fucking Skrulls that we didn't kill already." He turned to Loki who was holding the gauntlet in his hands. "Care to do the honours?"
Loki shook his head and chuckled. "No, actually." He turned to Thor. "Take it."
Thor looked confused. "Do you not want to make the final act of destruction?"
"I believe I've destroyed enough for one day." He could feel Tony's glare upon him. "Take it to Father, will you? That's where it rightfully belongs," he added.
"Surely you will return to Asgard! Father will be delighted!" beamed Thor.
"I'd rather spend some more time on Midgard now." He gave Natasha's hand a gentle squeeze.
"If you insist, Brother."
While Thor was left to destroying the wormhole with the gauntlet, Natasha pulled Loki aside. "That was strangely kind of you," she noticed.
A devious smirk played upon his lips. "You say that as though I'm heartless."
"You saved everyone today," she continued.
"I believe it was a team effort," he winked.
She wrapped her arms around his neck. "Look at how much you've changed," she smiled. "You're sure you don't want to get some praise from Odin later?" she asked.
He shook his head. "I'd much rather take advantage of some alone time with my lovely…."
She raised a brow.
"Bride?" he asked hopefully.
"We'll discuss this later," she told him playfully. "For now…" She leaned in to place a kiss upon his lips. "I love you."
"I love you, too," he whispered back before returning the kiss. He held her in his arms and enjoyed the blissful moment. It wasn't until he felt her body stiffen that he grew concerned.
Natasha felt a cramp in her stomach and tensed up, fearing the worst. A hand brushed against the crotch of her pants, now sticky and wet. She stared at her shaky hand, praying that this was all just another nightmare. She stared up at Loki with tears already in her eyes. "Help." Her voice caught in her throat as she felt a sharp pang in her belly.
As his gaze fell upon her, the crimson smeared against her fingertips needed no explanation. Loki's eyes grew wide with fear as he heard her whimper while grabbing her middle. With his mind racing, he lifted her up into his arms and ran to the others for help. Luckily, Tony had a car ready and rushed them to the hospital.
Loki held Natasha's hand tightly between his as the doctor stepped in.
Natasha briefly glanced at Loki before meeting eyes with her doctor. She didn't want Loki to be here-she didn't want him at any of her appointments quite yet. The fear of losing the baby and having Loki there frightened her.
"Your hCG levels are perfectly normal, Ms. Romanoff. Your baby should be fine, so long as you avoid your day job," he began as he looked over his clipboard.
She breathed a sigh of relief and suddenly felt more at ease.
Loki gently squeezed her hand and smiled at her.
"Keep taking the immune suppressants and stay off your feet," the doctor continued.
"I'll try," she said with a nervous laugh.
Before the doctor could interject, Loki began to lecture her. "No! Natasha, this was one of the most frightening moments of my life!" He was practically shouting at her. "I don't care that you helped us save Midgard- you exerted yourself and look what happened! I'll have a word with the Director about—…"
"Loki," she laughed. His sudden over protectiveness was an endearing sight. "Okay. Bed rest. Got it."
Seeing that Loki had Natasha in place about her health, the doctor decided to continue. "You have an appointment in a few days, would you rather have an ultrasound done now?"
"Sure."
Loki wasn't sure of what was happening. He intently observed the doctor as he prepared Natasha for the ultrasound. He heard a noise and stared at the doctor.
"Heartbeat sounds normal," said the doctor.
So that was his child's heartbeat he was hearing?
"That's it, Loki." Natasha pointed to the black and white mesh of forms on a screen.
Loki blinked as he stared at the screen, then to her stomach as the doctor moved a wand over it. The Midgardian technology was very odd. "Is it…" The blob on the screen was his child. A piece of his own flesh and blood…
"Do you want to know the sex?"
"Sure." Natasha turned to Loki. "This will make deciding on names a lot easier," she remarked.
"It's a boy."
"Wow," she breathed. She turned to Loki and was surprised to see tears clouding his eyes.
A son. He held Natasha's hand just a little bit tighter. Reflecting upon his own upbringing, he made a promise to himself that he would never abandon his child or let any harm come to him. There would be no lies-his son would know everything, including the possibility of him being part Frost Giant. Even if he was, Loki would never look upon him as a monster…
"Loki?" smiled Natasha. "Are you okay?"
"You mentioned Alexei before," he began. "I believe that to be a rather noble sounding name…"
She stared at him, confused. "We don't need to pick a name now, just-…"
"I love you." He leaned in to kiss her. "You and our son. I'll do anything for you," he whispered.
"And that's how I know you'll make a great father," she said before kissing him.
A/N: There will be an epilogue, but other than that, this is the end. (Maybe I'll write more, but no promises) To all my reviewers, readers, followers, favers, you are all awesome and I love you!