WARNING: Implied torture

Chapter Twenty: Mad Titan

Something seemed off. Maybe it was because the Avengers were on an enemy ship flying towards the worst villain they had ever encountered. Or maybe it was because the normally ruined landscape of Titan was green and thriving. Or maybe it was the impending feeling of doom.

Whatever the reason, the Avengers were on edge. They were just descending to the now flourishing ground. The ship's ramp unfolded and the Avengers plus Rocket and Nebula descended. Steve looked around and glanced expectantly at Tony.

"It's not how I remember it," Tony answered the silent question.

"This is how Titan looked before it died off," Nebula said. "It's only reasonable that Thanos restored it to its former glory."

"You were here before?" Rocket asked.

"No, but he told many stories and used the Mind Stone to show Gamora and me what Titan was like. He can be very persuasive," Nebula retorted.

"Cool," Scott Lang added, grinning. He saw everyone staring at him with looks of pure annoyance. His grin faded. "Not cool…"

"Is everyone ready?" Steve asked. A tinge of nervousness in his voice betrayed his hesitation.

"Sure," Rocket said sarcastically. "I mean, what could possibly go wrong?"

Steve's mouth twitched into a frown. "The first key to victory is believing that things will go right. Failure happens when people give up."

Rocket rolled his eyes and hefted his gun over his shoulder. "Fine, Smart Ass. Let's get rolling so I can shoot that evil-doer and get my friends back."

Steve sighed and motioned for the others to follow him. In reality, he wasn't expecting to win. He had no idea where to go and he couldn't help but think that he was leading everyone to their deaths. Steve tried to shake the thoughts from his head, but they kept bouncing back, each time bringing more of their buddies.

It took nearly twenty minutes to cross the open grassy plain and into the city. Each step felt heavier as the heroes made their way into the garden.

Something was wrong. It was too quiet. Surely Thanos would've attacked them by now. Steve had a thought that they were being played; tricked by a non-present Loki who promised that he would have someone here to meet them and help fight Thanos.

Steve held up his hand to signal for the heroes to stop. He crouched behind a decorative boulder and glanced around. There was nobody in sight. The only things living were the large, colorful flowers and plants in the garden. The garden led up to a building so large that it couldn't be anything other than the 'castle' or 'headquarters.' It was quite terrifying to look at, but Steve had a feeling that the only place to go was where no one wanted to enter. Fate had a funny sense of humor this way.

Steve led the way around the pond in the middle of the garden and up the stairs to the castle. The heroes ducked behind pillars and walls before entering through the main doors. It seemed stupid and bold to walk in through the front, but Steve couldn't find any other opening and sometimes doing so was the best option. Usually, nobody expected the enemy to just stroll on in through the front doors, but it was left unlocked and unguarded. Everything seemed too easy, but at least they had the element of surprise...

What the heroes saw next shocked everyone into freezing in place.

In the middle of the grand hall, on the throne, sat Thanos. Thanos was grinning at the heroes' stupidity. A man was chained by his wrists to the ceiling. For some odd reason, the man was shirtless and was wearing only his black pants and boots. They couldn't see the person's face since the man was facing the throne, but they could tell that he was quite unnaturally muscular as any slim person his size could get. The dark look with pale skin and a muscular body was a hard look to pull off, but this man wore it perfectly. His body had no flaws, except for a dark tattoo on his left arm. It looked like the tattoo continued onto his chest, but the heroes couldn't see.

"Avengers, I knew you would come. How bold of you just to walk in here. Did you really expect me to be unprepared?" Thanos stood up and walked down the steps. He stopped by the man's side and pulled on the chains, making the man turn to face the heroes. The man grunted as his wrists were twisted and shook his long, black hair from his face.

Thor gasped in shock as he recognized the man's face. His cheeks, which were usually pale, were flushed red, but there was no other sign of the man being hurt. The tattoo did continue onto his chest, and it was even more terrifying to look at.

"Loki?!" Thor shouted and took a desperate step toward his brother.

Thanos saw this and let loose a bolt of power. The heroes were suddenly chained in place by tendrils of magic, the hand and foot cuffs pulsed an angry reddish-purple.

"Ah, ah, ah. I control everything here. What I say is law, and you are not allowed to touch my slaves." Thanos wagged his ungloved finger at Thor.

"Slave?!" Thor shouted angrily. "How dare you call my brother a slave!"

"Are you really testing my power?" Thanos questioned. He grabbed Loki by the hair and yanked his head back, winning a small cry from the Asgardian. "What should you say when people question my authority, hm, pet?"

"Go burn in Helheim, you filthy excuse for a Titan," Loki snapped.

Thanos growled and backhanded Loki across the face. Loki winced as the force shook through his body and spit out a mouthful of blood.

Thor, who was struggling against his restraints, glared at Thanos. He noticed that his brother was breathing. How odd, ghosts don't need to breathe…

Realization hit Thor like a stampede of bilgesnipes. "Loki?! You're alive?! How?!"

Thanos answered for Loki. "I brought him back to life because I thought I could use him against you."

"I'd much rather be dead," Loki retorted.

"What's the fun in that?" Thanos asked and grabbed the chain. He pushed Loki off balance. Loki stumbled, the only thing keeping him upright was the chain attached to the ceiling. As Loki struggled to regain his footing, Thanos sidled over to Nebula. He lifted Nebula's chin up to look into her face.

Nebula glared back at him, her black eyes full of anger.

"How many betrayals shall I endure before my time is over?" Thanos asked. "I thought you were on my side."

"You hurt me and killed my sister! Like hell I'm staying on your side! You will die a slow, painful death by my hand!" Nebula spit in Thanos' face. Thanos retaliated by punching Nebula, hard, in the stomach. Nebula curled in on herself, but never broke her eye contact with her 'father.'

"Betrayal. It's not uncommon amongst the unfavored child. I gave both of you a home; you had a chance at a wonderful life, and you threw it away!" Thanos stared directly at Loki and Nebula. Nebula caught Loki's eye, and the two shared a pained glance.

"What do you mean you gave him a home?" Thor asked, still pulling against his bindings.

Thanos ignored Thor's question. "He called out for you. He begged for you to come to rescue him, but you never came. What type of brother leaves his sibling behind?"

"I didn't know he was alive! If I did, you wouldn't be living!" Thor growled.

"Hm. How touching." Thanos grinned, his teeth surprisingly white. He made his way back to Loki's side. The Titan trailed a large, purple finger across Loki's cheek. Loki squeezed his eyes shut and tried to move away from the touch.

"You are sweating," Thanos pointed out. It was true. Loki was breaking out in a nervous sweat; his heart felt like it was going to burst from his chest. "I can understand why you are scared, but I promise I will go easy on you if your brother and his friends agree to cooperate."

"What the hell do you want?" Tony shouted.

"What I want is for you to leave me alone. I just saved the universe, and this is how I am treated? All I want is to live in peace."

"Like Helheim! There is no way we are leaving!" Thor snarled.

"Would you look at that?" Thanos asked Loki. Loki bit his lip again. "Your brother just gave me permission to do whatever I please."

"What?! No! That is not what I said!" Thor said.

"You are not leaving, I understand that much. By those means, I still have you under my control. You will never break those chains. How fun will it be to watch the mighty Avengers die in front of my eyes! Slowly and painfully is truly the way to go."

Thanos had moved behind Loki. The purple alien leaned over Loki's back and whispered in his ear. Loki tried to move away from the hot breath, but the chains held him in place.

"Since the Avengers will be here for a while, I say we should put on a show for them," Thanos suggested lustfully. He reached around Loki's waist and pulled a dagger from a hidden sheath attached to Loki's boot. "Such a wonderful hiding place for a weapon. Are you sure you don't want to use this against me now?"

Loki kept his mouth firmly closed. Thanos laughed and flipped the dagger before hovering it over Loki's chest, right above his heart. Thanos grinned savagely as Thor cried out. Thanos suddenly moved the tip of the blade into the middle of Loki's chest. Loki gasped as red blood trickled from the wound, but it wasn't deep. He flicked the blade into Loki's right cheek and pressed the tip of the blade against the bottom of Loki's chin, causing Loki to look up. Loki couldn't help but whimper a bit as the blade was pressed harder against his chin, drawing blood.

"Seeing you in pain is truly a wonderful experience. I must admit that it turns me on," Thanos rumbled. "It's been a long time, my pet. I say it is time to reclaim what is rightfully mine."

Thanos tucked the dagger into his belt and grabbed him by the hair, jerking his head back.

"Hm, such lovely hair. So long and so easy to tangle my fingers in," Thanos mused and gave it a quick yank for emphasis.

Loki was too scared to respond. It had been a couple of years since he had last been with Thanos, but all the memories and nightmares came rushing back. He remembered the pain and fear like it was yesterday.

Thanos trailed a finger over Loki's cheek. He moved down to Loki's chest and traced the outline of the tattoo.

"How about we get started? Let's show these pathetic little mortals how I respond to those who disobey me," Thanos growled just loud enough for the Avengers to hear.

The Avengers, mostly Thor, shouted angrily as the gravity of the situation took hold of their minds. They suddenly realized what may have gone down between the two before the New York Incident, but surely Thanos was above that?

Once again, they were wrong.

Loki's scream was terrifying as Thanos moved to hurt him.

Three painfully long hours had passed before Thanos was finished with Loki. During that time, Thor's voice had left him, mainly from shouting for Thanos to stop hurting his brother. Thanos, of course, was deaf to the Avengers' insults and pleas to stop. Clint had even joined in with all the yelling; even he couldn't stand the way the former criminal was being hurt.

Thanos finally let go of Loki and strode up to sit on his throne with a maniacal grin plastered on his face.

Loki was curled into a ball, barely conscious as his sobs racked through his body. His clothes were a tattered mess. He was free from his chains, but Loki made no move to get up. Everything hurt. Loki couldn't bring himself to think about what had happened to him in front of his brother and the stupid, freaking Avengers. Why did they have to watch? It was bad enough that Thanos even did something like that, but having the Avengers see and hear everything was unbearable. Loki was slightly thankful that the Avengers were against Thanos' deranged idea of fun, but he didn't want to look weak in front of them.

The last three hours had taken its toll on Thanos. The chains holding the heroes were losing strength. Thor managed an extremely hard tug against his bindings and promptly fell to the floor. Thor sprinted over to Loki's side and cradled his little brother in his arms. Loki continued sobbing as Thor wiped the blood from Loki's face with his cape.

"Shh. It's alright. I'm here. We're going to be okay," Thor assured, but once again, he didn't know who he was trying to console: Loki or himself.

Steve had freed himself from his restraints and was busy tugging against Tony's. Thanos was too tired to stop them. In fact, he watched the Avengers struggle with an amused smile. Clearly, the whole ordeal had shaken them to the core. Thanos chuckled quietly to himself; the Avengers were so pitiful that it was entertaining.

Tony was now free and aimed his blasters at Thanos.

"Try to do anything insane, and I'll shoot you on the spot," Tony threatened.

"Mmm, Stark. Such a pitiful threat. We all know that you can't hurt me, let alone kill me," Thanos pointed out with a tired smile.

"Want to test that?" Steve joined in, his double shields visible.

"The only one who can kill me can barely move." Thanos nodded toward Loki. "He never wanted to take over New York. He never wanted to kill thousands of innocent people, but I made him do it anyways."

"Why?" Bruce asked, who was now standing next to Steve and Tony. Rhodey, Rocket, and the others were free as well. Natasha had a hand on Nebula's shoulder, stopping the bald woman from attacking Thanos. Thor had helped Loki into his clothes, but Loki was still shaking.

"It was necessary, as was killing half the universe."

"Killing is never an option," Steve said.

"But, Captain, you will kill me if given the chance," Thanos said. "You are going against your word. Why?"

"It's necessary."

"What I did was only to ensure the prosperity of the universe. How can people live when they are slowly dying due to lack of resources?"

"You could've made more resources, instead of killing everyone!" Rocket growled.

"That would have never worked. People would still use up extra resources. No, they need to learn from their mistakes." Thanos stood up from his throne, the Mind Stone glowing yellow in the gauntlet. "Mistakes are a chance to learn. Maybe next time you will learn that you should never underestimate my power and reasoning."

Thanos descended the steps. The heroes unconsciously took a few steps back. Thor picked up Loki and dragged him away from the Titan.

"Now, Thor, that is not very nice. You should learn how to share your toys," Thanos said.

"Loki is not a toy. He is my brother and if you touch him again, I will kill you," Thor threatened, and summoned Stormbreaker. Thunder rumbled in the distance, proving his point.

"You left your brother to die. I gave him a second chance. A chance to grow and show the universe that he isn't weak. You held him back from his full potential. I saved him from death. He owes me."

"He owes you nothing," Thor spat out.

"You say magic is for women. Why don't you let him practice it? Loki is truly a gifted sorcerer, let him show you how powerful he is." Thanos aimed a beam of the Mind Stone's power at the two Asgardians. Thor ducked, but the light hit Loki. Loki gasped, his eyes flying open, but they weren't the normal green. Electric blue eyes turned to glare at Thor. Thor's eyes widen in shock, his mouth dropping open.

"The Mind Stone doesn't just control someone's mind, it opens it to new possibilities. I gave Loki a future, a future without anyone holding him back; including you."

Loki suddenly kicked Thor in the stomach. Thor doubled over and dropped his axe. Steve rushed in to help, but Loki waved his hand and Steve was frozen in a block of ice.

"Thor," Loki whispered. "My big brother. You know, I looked up to you. You were my hero. I wanted to be just like you." A reassuring smile shined down at Thor. Thor reached for his axe, but Loki kicked him again in the legs. Thor fell to his knees and looked up at Loki, his eyes pleading.

"Loki, this isn't you," Thor said.

"Of course, it isn't me!" Loki laughed. He summoned a dagger and stood twirling it in his hand. "I'm not the precious little brother you always wanted me to be. I'm not the warrior that Odin wanted me to be. I could have been something more, but you want that. It's all about you, isn't it? You are scared of what I can do. Magic is something that you don't understand, and you are scared of what you don't understand. To be honest, it's quite reasonable, but you didn't want me to become stronger than you."

"Loki, I supported you when others did not!" Thor cried, and he wasn't lying. Thor was the only one there for Loki when he was being bullied for using magic. Odin had always ignored Loki's pleas, but Thor never left Loki's side.

"You left me to die! You have no idea what I went through! Master showed me the way. He gave me a second chance. He didn't care that I was a sorcerer instead of a warrior. Instead, he gave me an opportunity to use my power for the greater good. Earth needed a ruler; who better to choose than me?" Loki questioned. He kicked Thor in the chest. Tony shot a missile at Loki, but Loki set up a forcefield around him and Thor. The Avengers stood around the forcefield, trying to break it.

"Stand up and fight, brother. You were always one who never backed down from a battle." Loki swung his dagger at Thor's throat. Thor caught Loki's wrist and stood up.

"I don't want to hurt you."

"Then you are weak."

Loki summoned a ball of energy and shoved it into Thor's chest. Thor gasped and staggered backward. Loki threw spheres of green magic at Thor. Thor used his lightning to break the globes and ducked before a dagger hit him in the head. The dagger hit the inside of the forcefield and fell to the ground.

"How is he holding this thing up and fighting Thor with magic and daggers and whatnot at the same time?" Tony gasped as he watched the two brothers duel it out. Loki had a lot of energy for someone who was just tortured and molested for three hours straight. Thor, of course, was holding back on his full power. Bolts of lightning bounced off of the forcefield, but only small strikes hit Loki.

"I have no freaking clue," Rocket replied in awe. "Looks like the dark one is going to win if the pirate angel doesn't do something."

If it was a battle of physical strength, Thor would have won. But Loki was a strategist, and he had his wits and magic to help balance out the fight.

Thor was starting to tire. He had no idea where Loki was getting all his energy from. It was probably from the Mind Stone, but Thor was too busy trying not to get stabbed to think much about it. If Loki wasn't going to listen to Thor's talking, then knocking some sense into him was the best way to go.

A hard beam of magic hit Thor in the chest. He coughed as the force sent him skidding, but he remained standing. Thor sent a small bolt of lightning at Loki. Loki paused for a few seconds as the electricity shook through his body. Loki grinned and advanced on Thor. Thor blocked the first punch, but Loki aimed a painful kick in between Thor's legs. Thor shouted in pain and fell to his knees.

"How pitiful, brother," Loki spat out the last word as if it was a curse. "I thought you were a better fighter than that."

Thor glared up at his brother. "I said I didn't want to hurt you."

Loki rolled his eyes. "You are quite amusing, aren't you." He raised his dagger and looked expectantly over at Thanos. Thanos, who was standing behind Loki, nodded back.

"Finish him," Thanos commanded.

Loki turned back to Thor. "No hard feelings. Well, actually there are. But, should you know that killing you is necessary? All I'm doing is cutting out whatever is holding me back from my full potential. This is goodbye, brother."

Loki raised the dagger even higher. Thor bowed his head, hiding his tears.

"You are still my brother. You may not feel the same way about me but you had many opportunities to kill me. Several times I could have been dead, but you never did. Deep down, there is still good in you. You saved Asgard, you saved me. If you must kill me, if it is truly what you want, then do it. But, never forget that you are my brother. And I love you."

Loki twisted the dagger in his hand so it was at a better angle. Bruce and Natasha shouted. Tony banged his armoured hand against the forcefield. The green magic wavered with the force of Tony's hits and died into green sparks.

Tears fell down Thor's cheeks, his head still bowed. Loki's eyes suddenly widened, green irises shining with tears. Loki's chest heaved and he dropped his arm down to his side.

"No," Loki whispered. He turned around to glare at Thanos. Thanos' grin quickly faded. "You made into a monster!"

"You were already a monster, my pet. I merely gave you a chance to use that against your enemies," Thanos said tiredly.

Loki turned back to look down at Thor. Thor's head was still bowed, his shoulders tense, waiting for the dagger to slice his throat.

"You...you...hurt me! Because of you, I lost everything I loved!" Loki whipped around and sliced his dagger at Thanos' throat. Thanos caught it and broke Loki's wrist. Loki yelled in pain and kicked Thanos in between the legs. Thanos grunted and grabbed Loki's right leg. In one quick movement, Thanos dislocated Loki's leg from his knee. Loki crumbled, but Thor caught him before he hit the ground.

"You dare attack me?! I am your master!" Thanos boomed.

"I serve no one, bastard," Loki snapped back. However, exhaustion and pain finally took over and he fell unconscious.