"Oh no," Loki uttered anxiously staring up at the massive ship that had just blocked their view, "...oh shit."

Clueless, Thor slowly turned to him and said, "I take it you know them." He gestured toward the window.

"It's Thanos," Loki answered, terrified.

Thor stared at him blankly. "Who?"

Loki walked backwards away from the window and beckoned Thor to follow. As they hurried down the halls of the ship, he said, "That ship belongs to the mad Titan. A genocidal man on an insane mission. The last time I saw him, he sent me to Midgard." He paused. "I attacked that planet for him and I failed him."

Thor stopped him physically and asked out of concern, "And he's ready to strike against you now after all this time?" In his mind, after everything they had just gone through together, he would do anything to protect his brother from another raging alien.

"It is not so simple," he confessed, pulling the tesseract out of his coat, "he's more so after this."

Thor stared at the tesseract, and then looked his brother over carefully. "You can never be the hero can you," he said, his anger growing, "for just this once Loki, you couldn't do one solid good thing by saving what's left of our people. You had to go and steal the tesseract to top it all off?! You couldn't let that thing be destroyed with the rest of Asgard?!"

He said, "I had no idea he would come looking for it so soon."

"I am about ready to throw you out the nearest window," Thor threatened, stepping toward him.

"Wait!" Loki begged, walking backwards away from him, "I have a plan! Alright? I've been planning for his return for years! It'll work."

"And pray tell, Loki, why does Thanos want this thing?" Thor demanded.

"To rid the universe of half of all life," he answered anxiously, "he wants to use all six infinity stones so he can do so with a little snap of his fingers." He snapped his fingers to show his point.

Thor rushed passed him toward the bridge of the ship and said, "We must force the ship to full speed and get as far away from him as possible."

"The ship can only move so fast," Loki said, running after him, "especially at over capacity as we are! I have an idea, and if it works we should all live through this endeavor. We can use the tesseract to teleport everyone safely to Midgard."

Heimdall came from around a corner and said, "My king, it appears a Titan wishes to board our vessel, and he isn't asking nicely."

"Refuse entry!" Loki commanded, even though he knew Heimdall was talking to Thor, "Everyone must leave, forthwith!"

Heimdall said, "We're already being boarded. He's already killed five people."

The three of them made it to the bridge where the majority of the Asgardians were anxiously waiting. Valkyrie stepped in front of the crowd and asked, "What's going on?"

"We don't have much time," Thor said, "apparently there's a genocidal maniac boarding out vessel to steal the space stone inside of the tesseract Loki stole from the vault."

"Loki!" Valkyrie scolded.

"Oh please this shouldn't be a surprise," Loki replied, "I've been trying to get my hands on this thing for years."

Loki prepared the tesseract and created a massive portal leading directly to an empty field in Norway. Everyone began stepping through as well organized as they could despite being a large group.

Bruce stepped away from crowd and said, "This is going to take forever even with the tesseract."

"I'm working on that," Loki replied.

Throughout the ship, he made a duplicate of it down the paths Heimdall told him Thanos and his children were marching down.

"He already holds the power stone," Heimdall said, "those tricks of yours won't fool him for long."

Thor said, turning to face the music, "Then I'll give him something real to give everyone some time."

"Thor that's suicide," Loki insisted, grabbing his arm, "Thanos is not to be trifled with. If he already has one infinity stone, he's already too powerful. You won't stop him."

Heimdall pulled out his sword and said, "Not alone he won't." Thor patted him on the back.

"You're both mad," Loki said.

"What do you say Banner," Thor asked, "ready to unleash the Hulk?" He patted him on the back.

Bruce prepared himself, "Ready." He transformed into the Hulk with ease.

"They're spliting up," Heimdall said, "Thanos and four others are now walking in separate directions to find the tesseract."

"Then we split up as well," Thor said, then turned to Valkyrie and said, "Please get everyone to safety as quickly as possible. I'll return whenever I can."

Heimdall, Hulk, Thor, and Loki split off down different paths to intercept Thanos and distract him for as long as possible. Thor came across Maw, Heimdall came across Corvus Glaive and Thanos, the Hulk found Cull Obsidian, and Loki intercepted Proxima Midnight.

Although Thor's group had the advantage of sneaking up on them, they were quickly overwhelmed by Thanos' children's abilities and powers. With Maw having telekinesis, Midnight have potent poison on her blood blades enough to kill anyone outside her species, Corvus Glaive's cunning, and Cull Obsidian's strength, the battles eventually turned one sided and Thor's group had to group back to the bridge. This eventually lead Thanos directly to the tesseract just as the last Asgardians were fleeing to safety.

After long and hard battles, everyone was injured. The Hulk took his chances with attempting to stop Thanos. The managed to get several blows in before the Hulk was defeated.

Heimdall held his bleeding injuries as he watched the destruction occur. "May the power of dark magic flow through me," he said as he used the rainbow bridge to send the Hulk to Doctor Strange.

"You'll regret doing that," Thanos threatened.

Thor jumped between them as Loki dove to protect the tesseract. Thor pushed Heimdall through the portal at that minute. Ebony Maw knocked Loki down with the ship's debris and held him down against the floor. Thanos threw Thor on the other side of him, directly in front of the portal.

"I know what it's like to lose," Thanos explained as calmly as he could, "your knees go weak, and your weight falls out from under you so you can barely stand." He stepped on Loki's back and pushed his weight down. "I will only say this nicely once, hand over the tesseract."

He closed his left fist with the power stone and directed the energy at Thor. Thor struggled to get to his feet. "I refuse." He tried to push back against the power stone's energy but it was no use.

Loki looked up at him, knowing he wouldn't be able to get away in time, he had one last idea to try. He took a deep breath and forced his magic outwards, pushing everyone backwards. Thor was shoved through the portal, the tesseract following him in, instantly closing behind him.

"Loki!" Thor shouted as he landed in Norway without him. He reached for the tesseract, desperate to get back to his brother's side. "No!"

"Don't do it, my king," Heimdall warned, grabbing him, "Loki lives. Thanos has captured him."

"My brother lives?" Thor asked, "But he's has taken down entire planets to achieve his goals. Why would he let Loki live?"

Heimdall answered, "He's going to use him against us."

Meanwhile, still on the ship, Loki was sure this was the end for him. Thanos jumped back to his feet and brought Loki onto his, forcing his arms behind his back. "Almost every part of me wants to kill you for that," he admitted, squeezing Loki's arms tighter so he couldn't escape, "I want you to know there are only two reasons you keep breathing. One, is that entire display of little tricks the entire time we've been on board has been amusing, and two, you, Loki, are still burdened with my glorious purpose."

Loki tried to pull away, but it was no use. Thanos dragged him away back onto his ship alongside his children, and then destroyed the ship with the power stone in his wake.

After Bruce landed in the sanctum sanctorum, he told Dr. Strange everything, and got him to collect Tony at once only to explain everything once again.

"We need to tell everyone we can about this," Bruce said hastily, "we can't mess around, Tony. It's only a matter of time before Thanos shows up here looking for the rest of the infinity stones."

Tony said, "Let me get this straight. You have the time stone, Vision has the mind stone, and the space stone is currently on Asgard."

"It's not on Asgard," Bruce explained, "not anymore. It's complicated but Asgard doesn't exist anymore. A giant firey hell monster exploded the whole place out of existence. We thought the tesseract, the space stone, was destroyed along with it, but apparently Loki stole it before he left."

"Loki?" Tony asked in disbelief, "Thor told us he was dead."

"Thor thought he was," Bruce explained, "but apparently he faked his death. I can't get into all of the little details of all the craziness we just went through right now. Just know the tesseract is on the ship with the Asgardians headed straight to Earth. Here." He pointed to the ground, not meaning New York specifically.

Still in shock, Tony said, "I thought Odin, the big guy up there, was taking care of the tesseract. That's why we sent Loki and Thor to space with it, instead of keeping it here with us. That was the whole point."

Bruce replied sadly, "Odin is dead."

Now feeling awkward, Tony said, "Well, then I offer Thor my condolences on his loss."

"Like I was saying, Tony," Bruce continued, "we have to get everyone in on this. Steve, Clint," he hesitated, "Nat. Vision. Wanda. Everybody. Where are they? We can't waste any time."

Tony paused and turned around to face away from him.

That was when Dr. Strange stepped forward and explained, "A lot has changed in the last few years, Dr. Banner. The United Nations brought together some accords to put superheros under government management, no more vigilante justice. But Captain America went AWOL with a few others, and no one's seen or heard from them since."

"The avengers broke up," Tony finally turned back around to face Bruce, he confessed, "I don't know where Cap is. Sorry."

"Broke up?" Bruce asked, "Like the beatles? Like a band? Tony this is way bigger than some government beaucracy problem. Do you not understand anything I just said?" He turned to Dr. Strange. "Can't you portal Steve here or something?"

"Not if I don't know where he already is," he answered.

Tony added, "I can call him. He gave me this cell phone before he disappeared off the radar." He pulled the flip phone out of his pocket he kept in case of emergencies, and this seemed like a big emergency.

Dr. Strange turned to Bruce and asked, "What exactly do you know about Thanos?"

"Not much," he confessed, "only what Loki told me right before he tried to kill us all back on the ship."

Tony stopped and asked, "We're doing all this based on his word?!" He nearly closed the flip phone in his hand right then and there. "No, I don't trust him, not for a second."

"You guys-" he started.

Dr. Strange asked, "Where is Loki now? I'd like to question him myself."

"Probably in Norway with Thor and the rest of the Asgardians if they made it there," Bruce answered, "that's where they said they were headed with the tesseract in order to keep it away from Thanos for as long as possible."

Dr. Strange shook his head. "No, he hasn't entered the Earth's atmosphere. If he did, I would know about it."

"Then ask Thor," Bruce said, confused, "he would know."

Dr. Strange created a portal to Norway where Thor was standing with the rest of Asgard. He had just finished healing himself and Heimdall. "Ah," Thor said stepping inside the portal, "Strange. Good to see you again. I'm actually in a hurry, can't stay and have a chat this time."

"Where's the tesseract?" Tony asked, hanging up his phone call with Steve, "Where's your brother?" He stopped and stared at Thor's altered appearance. Short hair, one eye, fresh from a fight. "What the hell happened to you?"

"The tesseract is here with me," Thor answered, "Loki has been captured by Thanos-an evil alien trying to kill everyone. As for what happened to me, my father died, turns out I have an older half-sister who's crazier than Loki who I had to kill, she broke my hammer, and Asgard was destroyed in Ragnarök. Any more questions?" He revealed the cube to them.

Bruce added, "Sounds like you covered everything."

"I must take leave," Thor said, turning back around to go back through the portal, only to see it was closed.

"Where are you going?" Tony asked, "If this Thanos guy is coming for the stones and wants to kill everyone, we're going to need everyone here to protect them."

Thor spun back around and said, "Exactly. I'm going to Nidavellir to create a new Thanos killing weapon, and then I'll be back in time to make sure he dies for killing off some of last surviving warriors of Asgard nevermind whatever torture he's putting Loki through. He cannot win."

Dr. Strange asked, "How do you plan on getting to wherever that is?"

Thor held up the tesseract for all of them to see. "This thing can teleport people," he replied.

"I wouldn't use that if I were you," Steve Rogers said as he walked through the portal Wong created for him, "Johan Schmid, the red skull, used it back in 1944 and got sucked into it, probably dying horrifically in the process. It's too dangerous, even for you, Thor." He looked at Wong. "Thank you. We need all hands on deck here."

Thor insisted, "I fear no danger."

"I'm not worried about that either," Dr. Strange admited, "but I say leave the tesseract on Earth in safe hands, and get to that place you said some other way. That way Thanos' only option is to come here."

Tony said, "If that one stays here, we'll have three stones here on this planet. I say we have a fighting chance, our three stones against his three."

Thor handed the tesseract over to Dr. Strange and said, "Now, if you'll finally excuse me, I have to get to Nidavellir." Dr. Strange opened a portal behind him back to Norway.

"Cap," Tony said coldly.

"Tony," he replied in the same tone.

Bruce said anxiously, "Guys, whatever happened between you two, you need to get over it now. If the universe itself coming to an end can't bring us all together, nothing ever will."

Steve didn't miss a beat. "We need a proper battlefield for all this to go down."

"No kidding," Tony said, "we can't let him bring the fight to the city again. We need a large open space-perferably not in the United States since you're still not legal. Anyone have any ideas?" He opened it up to everyone standing there.

Steve said, "I know a place. I just hope they say yes."

Tony picked up his own phone and said, "I'll bring re-enforcements."

Doctor Strange brought everyone they could contact, from Spiderman to Wanda and Natasha and everyone else they could think of to the sanctum sanctorum before heading out to Wakanda. Just when he was sure he had everyone, the lights flickered.

"What was that?" Rhodes asked, "A power surge?"

"No," Wong said, "this is magical interference coming from off world."

An entity flickered before them, slowly taking shape in the form of Loki. He was tired and dishevled in appearance.

"How did you get here without my knowing?" Dr. Strange demanded.

"Relax," he said, putting his hand up, "this is an illusion. I'm currently imprisoned on Thanos' ship, nowhere near the likes of you and your planter. Well now, it looks like all of you are here, and then some." He searched the crowd for familiar faces.

Tony asked, "Why should we trust your word?"

"I gave you the tesseract, didn't I?" Every word Loki spoke sounded as though they were painful to say.

Steve stepped up to him in front of the group and asked, "What do you have to say? You must have sent an illusion here for a reason."

"Do you want to know what you're up against?" Loki asked.

Doctor Strange said, "Of course, but if any of what you're about to tell us ends up being fiction, I'll kill you myself."

Loki smiled at him. "This is Thanos," he made an illusion appear before them all of exactly what he looked like, "when he puts all six infinity stones into his gauntlet, it will only take a snap of his fingers to give him exactly what he desires. Halving all life throughout the universe."

"Whoa," Peter whispered in fear.

Tony asked, "We're going up against this ugly purple monster?"

"There are six infinity stones," Loki explained, showing them all the different colors, "mind, power, time, space, soul, and reality. I presented you the mind stone in my sceptor when I was taking over New York. It can create energy beams and control someone's mind, as well as trapping them within their own nightmares. The power stone grants the user the ultimate power of destruction, no beings cannot hold it in their bare hands, they'll be disintigrated and die a painful horrific death. The time stone can reverse time, even bring people back to life. The space stone is the tesseract, it gives off unlimited power as a charge and can create portals and teleport anyone and anything anywhere they wish. The soul stone can corrupt a soul and bend it to another's will. The reality stone can alter reality, making you question what's real and what isn't."

Steve said, "That's a lot."

Sam asked, "How the hell are we supposed to defeat all that if he already has the power stone?"

"Together," Tony said, "right Cap?"

"Right."

Loki continued, "These are the children of Thanos. Proxima Midnight is a strong fighter but her most dangerous attribute is her blood. If you cut her and it gets on your skin, it'll melt through your bones, and you'll beg for death. She can also create weapons out of her own blood. Ebony Maw is a powerful telekinetic. Cull Obsidian is like a smart version of the Hulk."

"Excuse you?" Bruce asked, "The Hulk has already beaten you, remember?"

"And Cull Obsidian uses strategy with his strength," he replied, "and Corvus Glaive is an atomic fighter. He can regenerate from the smallest atoms to always come back for another fight. Gamora and Nebula are both hand to hand fighters with swords and knives." He made their illusions disappear.

Tony said, looking down and away from everyone, "I liked it better when we didn't know what we were going up against."

"No kidding," Natasha said, "how are we supposed to fight these people?"

"They don't know us," Steve started.

"Yeah, they kind of do," Clint interjected, "Loki here told Thanos everything about the six of us back in 2012." He stared Loki down.

Loki replied, "That I did, but you've changed since then, yes?" He looked around at them, raising his eyebrows at them.

"Thank you for the pep-talk, Loki," Doctor Strange said, "I don't know what side you're really on, or even pretending to be on, but if you do care about your life and maybe even your own people, you'll do whatever you can to slow Thanos down."

"Agreed," he replied, making his illusion disappear.

Steve said, "We better get started. We have a war to win."

Inside Thanos' ship, Loki sat forced up against a wall. With the power stone, Thanos' created a cage of energy to keep him at bay. Every movement he made, including his own breathing and blinking, the power of the stone attempted to rip him apart, molecule by molecule, making sure to hit every nerve so he would feel the most pain imaginable. It took every ounce of magic he had to keep himself together-physically. Still, even that didn't stop Loki's schemes.

He created an illusion, this time a fly, and flew through the ship to the engine room. Of course, Thanos suddenly had engine trouble on a such an important mission, slowing him down even further on his endeavor. Although, he did eventually get to a destination and left the ship.

It wasn't until Thanos returned with the soul stone, did Loki see him again, sadder than he had ever seen him before.

"What's the matter?" Loki asked, sucking his breath in pain, "The universe not bending to your will as easily as you'd hoped?"

"You'd never understand the fact that I lost my daughter," Thanos said, walking up to him, "while you might not know such pain, your soul still offers the darkness I require." He broke the power stone cage; Loki flopped onto the ground and inhaled a satisfying pain free full breath.

After taking several deep breaths in relief, he asked, "What darkness in my soul?"

Thanos forced him onto his feet by his neck and said, "I don't need to remind you of all the heinous things you've done." He activated the soul stone and covered Loki with an orange glow. "The darkest parts of your soul tell me a story, Loki. A story of the resentment of living in a shadow."

"That's no longer true," Loki croaked with Thanos still choking him.

"You only tell yourself that, so you don't think ill of the dead," he replied, "the soul stone shows me otherwise. It gives me a story full of anguish and unrequited wish fulfillment." Thanos activated the soul stone in his gauntlet, and Loki's eyes glazed over orange. Memories that used to haunt Loki resurfaced as Thanos let him drop to the floor. He added, "Let the pain from your past flow through you and fuel your hatred. It'll be of good use for me."

Several hundred years earlier, Loki remembered the day his entire family was ushered into the throne room for a momentous occasion.

"Thor," Odin said, walking down the steps from his throne, "my firstborn son. On this day, I grant you Mjolnir. The hammer that can either be used to destroy an enemy, or to build a foundation. To hold such a weapon, you must be worthy. Thor, I, Odin, the All Father of the nine realms and ruler of Asgard, deem you worthy of wielding Mjolnir." He gave the hammer to Thor with both hands.

"Thank you, Father," Thor said graciously and excitedly, "I swear to you and Mother that I will always use Mjolnir for good."

Odin replied, "Very well, my son. Henceforth, show me what you're capable of and make me proud."

Loki whispered to his mother, "What is the meaning of Father claiming Thor is worthy? Worthy of what exactly?"

Frigga replied, "That is for your father to decide. Perhaps if you practice your honestly and integrity, Loki, you too will be considered worthy to wield one of your father's weapons someday." She held his hand and patted it gently.

Outside, instead of working on his promise, Thor gathered all his friends in the courtyard of the palace and swung his new hammer around with glee.

"The All Father truly deemed you worthy, Thor?" Sif asked, "Worthy of what exactly?"

Loki added, "That's what I've been wondering myself." Sif glared at him, still angry at him for cutting her hair. He recoiled, remembering the punishment she delved out.

"All will be well, brother," Thor said, catching the hammer once again, "Father says if I twirl it around fast, and then hold on while I toss it up towards the sky, then I will fly through the air like a bird." He spun it around with his fingers.

Volstagg asked, "Is that true?"

"Show us!" Fandral demanded, "I wish to see if it's true."

"Loki," Thor said, "check for the guards. Quick! Make sure no one is coming!"

Loki looked around a pillar to see two guards walking away from them. "Coast is clear for now." He turned back to see Thor still struggling. "Make haste before they return!"

"Haste makes waste, brother," he replied, still twirling it around.

Loki looked back to see the guards turn around in unison. As he did, Thor put the strap of Mjolnir on his wrist and spun it around in the air. It spun too fast, and immediately slipped off his hand! He watched helplessly as it flew directly to the back of Loki's head and neck! He blacked out before he even hit the ground.

"Loki!" Thor screamed in horror.

The next thing Loki knew, he was lying on one of the healing tables inside the palace. His mother's hand at the back of his neck, carefully healing his open wound. "Thor, you could have killed your brother!" she said hastily.

"It was an accident!" Thor insisted, "I never meant to hurt him!"

Frigga explained, "The hammer your father gave you is a weapon, not a toy! You never should have been playing with it in the courtyard. If you want to practice using it as a weapon, you do so in the arena away from others until you master it. Understood?"

"I understand, Mother," Thor said, "will Loki be alright?"

Loki opened his eyes and felt the back of his head. He couldn't think of anything to say to his brother as he sat upright. A guard stepped inside the healing room and said, "Odin summons his wife and sons to the throne room forthwith."

They made it to the throne room together to face Odin. Thor whispered to Loki, "I apologize, Loki, I should have been more careful."

"Thor," Odin bellowed, "why is it you struck your brother down, causing him to bleed and pass out in our own garden?"

"It was an accident," Thor said, "a mistake, I swear to you Father. I did not mean for him to get injured on my behalf. I am sorry." He bowed politely to his father and hoped for forgiveness.

"Very well then," Odin said, "I hope you remember this day and this lesson well, my son."

Loki scoffed. "Father, that is all?" he asked, "I could have died!"

His father explained, "It was a thoughtless action on Thor's part, and you're alright now Loki. I believe this will only be a one-time event. If it should happen again Thor, you will no longer possess Mjolnir. You understand my words, Thor?"

"I hear you loud and clear, Father," Thor replied, then turned to Loki and gave him a smile. Loki couldn't bother to return it.