"How is he here?" Thor called, pacing frantically as he waved around Surtur's sword. "How did he know where to find us? And why can we not get a break for two minutes?" With Mjolnir gone and access to the Aesir's armory, he had made the choice to get a new weapon until he had the chance to get to Nidavellir. While the sword was far from his trusty hammer, it was eternally sharp and also wreathed in hellflame, which would do quite a bit of damage to anyone unfortunate enough to meet the sharp of its blade. Loki, meanwhile, had made his own trip into the vaults, although he had not yet explained what he had gone for.

The God of Trickery hummed. "He has many resources. No doubt, monitoring energy is well within his capabilities, and Hela's death was probably more than enough to send out a signal to anyone who was looking for it."

"What sort of resources?" The blond god inquired, giving a few practice swings with the sword, appraising its balance. His nose scrunched as he stared at it, disliking it as a whole, but resigned himself to needing it.

"Any and all. Technology, magic. He's created an entire empire for himself just based on his strength and his bloodline. He was able to..." Loki licked his lips, which had suddenly become dry, "convince me to lead the strike on Midgard. He's obsessed with the Infinity Stones, and with recreating the original Infinity Gauntlet. His main mission... is to wipe out half of all life in the universe with the idea of saving the other half. If you ask me, it's far more complex than necessary, but... Well, I suppose he didn't ask me."

Thor paused in his pacing and turned to Loki with a look of confusion on his face. "Then why did you help him out?" The Asgardian stared for a few moments at his black-haired brother. "If you disagreed with him, why would you assist him? Why would you invade Midgard?"

Loki's jaw clenched. "I said he convinced me, did I not? Enough of this."

"He used the Scepter on you." It was not a question.

"Shut up!" The black-haired immortal's patience finally ran out. "He is dangerous, and he is here. That is all that's important."

Blue eyes stared, unconvinced. But, thankfully, Thor decided to not push the matter. "... Fine. What is he after? You said... the Infinity Stones? The Infinity Gauntlet? As far as I recall, we have the Gauntlet in the armory... is that what you went to go get?"

Loki shook his head, still flushed with anger. "No, you blithering fool. That Gauntlet is a cheap imitation of the myth's. More likely, he is after the Tesseract."

"That blue cube? The one from Earth? Ah, is that why he sent you to get it? Because it's an Infinity Stone?"

"More or less," the God of Mischief replied tersely. "An Infinity Stone is contained within it. And, on that subject, the Scepter contained one as well. He sent me with one to get the other, and since I failed, he was left with neither, which probably means he's eager to regain them, which could be what he's here for... Or, perhaps, he wants to eliminate me for failing. Or maybe both. Hela's conquest was far from quiet, after all, and the Mad Titan is the pragmatic type..."

Thor was poised to respond, but, instead, the palace doors banged open as the Hulk bounded in. "Hulk strong!" The green giant roared as he entered, with Valkyrie in tow.

"Welcome back, you two. Glad you could make it-" Explosions cut Loki off as the room rumbled, and the ground began to tremble.

"What the hell was that?" Valkyrie yelled out as she regained her balance.

"The start of an offensive," Loki growled out. He stared at Rose. "It'd be quite nice if she'd wake up. It'd make this a whole lot easier."

The last member of the Valkyries stared at her comatose comrade. "What happened to her? Does she have an injury?"

The black-haired God shook his head. "No, not one that I can see, at least. She seems very, very tired, though, but her pulse is strong. Her forehead is burning up, though."

Valkyrie rushed over, sliding onto the ground as she began to check Rose over. "She is burning up a little, yeah. But... the rest of her body is as cold as Hel, especially her hands. It's gotta be some supernatural sort of sickness."

"Brother..."

"What now, oaf?" Green eyes glared.

Thor was stroking his chin as he leaned on Surtur's sword. "Doesn't... this sort of seem a bit like mother's illness after she saved us from those High Elves when we were kids?"

"She saved you," Loki countered. "But yes."

"She saved both of us," Thor replied. "We both were caught behind enemy lines. And, if I recall, we both stayed by her bedside afterward." Loki glared, but the son of Odin didn't slow down. "And, didn't the court healers say it was magic sickness? Because she had used too much of her energy?"

Loki worked his jaw as he thought, eventually begrudgingly nodding his head. "You're... correct." He frowned. "That's not good. It took Mother over a week to recover from that."

"But she wasn't in the prime of her power, nor do I believe that even she was as strong as this witch seems to be," the God of Thunder countered. "If we can hold out for a few hours, she might be able to wake."

"A few hours? Brother, the city is being torn to pieces out there! Forget hours; they'll destroy the fortifications within thirty minutes!"

"And?" Valkyrie took her canteen off her hip and took a long swig. "The people are already evacuated. The city was already destroyed and on fire thanks to Hela's takeover. What do we care about this stupid chunk of rock? With enough time, it'll regenerate anyway, so long as the core isn't destroyed."

The Trickster clenched his teeth, flipping a dagger through his fingers; a nervous tic. "I wouldn't expect you to understand, given how easily you seemed to turn your back on it."

A glare was sent his way, but Thor quickly stepped in. "Enough! We can not fight amongst ourselves. We need to figure out a plan. Hulk," blue eyes turned to the green giant, "do you think you're capable of fighting again?"

The transformed Dr. Banner grinned. "Hulk is strongest! Hulk will fight anyone!"

Loki clicked his tongue contemplatively. "Do... do you think we could draw him down here, and then try to fight him? He's got quite a bit of an ego on him, although he tries hard to hide it."

"Didn't you say he was dangerous, brother?" Thor countered.

"Can't be more dangerous alone than that battleship is, and a damn bit more hittable, I reckon," Valkyrie reasoned. "I like it. Now... How do we get him to come down here?"

The God of Mischief grinned as a plan began to form itself within his mind. "Oh, well, there comes the fun part. We show him exactly... what... he... wants."

"I change my mind, this was a stupid idea," Loki shouted out behind him as he held the Tesseract out to open air. If the ship really wanted to, it could blow him to pieces right then and there, and that would be it unless he could react fast enough. And, given that lasers moved at the speed of light... he probably wouldn't be able to react fast enough.

"You're doing great!" Valkyrie responded. "Just go ahead and keep not getting murdered!"

"I'm try-" The god's retort was cut off by a beam coming down from the ship, right at Loki...

Just to land about fifteen meters away. "Loki Laufeyson..." A deep voice ground out. "Delivering the Tesseract to me? I seem to recall that it was supposed to be retrieved years ago. Six, if I remember correctly."

Loki winced through a grin. "Yeah... About that, I was thinking about a bit of a trade."

The purple-skinned alien tilted his head downwards, staring down at the Asgardian stoically. "A trade, you say? I'm curious... What would stop me from just killing you and taking that stone off of your body?"

The black-haired man made a little flourish, bringing his arms together. When he pulled them apart, the cube had disappeared. "Well, I wouldn't know personally, but I've heard that taking things out of a dead man's pocket dimension is a bit difficult."

Thanos grunted, the first show of emotion that had come from the encounter. "I see. I remember, this is why you were useful... Arrogance and tricks." When Loki didn't react to the barb, the titan sighed. waving a hand dismissively. "Fine. Speak."

The trickster's lips curled upwards. "Delightful. So, as I was saying... You can have the stone. But, before that... You give us twenty-four hours to prepare. And then, we fight. You, or one of your Order, versus one of our fighters. If our fighter wins, you let us off this planet and leave Asgard alone. If you win, our lives are yours to do with as you see fit."

The Mad Titan made a noise that sounded suspiciously akin to a laugh.

Green eyes narrowed. "Is there something funny about that?" His ego was a dangerous thing, but the connection he held to Asgard, which was usually kept under a layer of ice and contempt, had defrosted in the past two days and was rearing its head.

"No, no... Well, perhaps slightly," Thanos said, exhaling as he finished. "You seem to be under a misconception."

"A misconception?" Loki frowned. "Well, go on, then, do enlighten me."

"I don't care about your planet, if you can even call Asgard 'yours'... It means nothing to me, nor does destroying it." Thanos leaned forward towards his former underling. "And you, Loki Laufeyson... mean even less. I care not about your past, or punishing your uselessness. I care not about your future, either, nor do I care if we were to encounter again. You and your friends hold no more danger to me than a cockroach does to a tiger... You may be able to survive pretty well, but at any time... I could crush you under my foot." With frightening speed, the Mad Titan stomped, cracking the ground beneath him.

Loki opened and closed his mouth, thinking about what to say. After a few moments, he finally formulated a sentence. "Very well... So... What does that mean for our little trade?"

"It means you and your companions' lives mean nothing to me, dead or alive. Let's skip the delay; you give me the Tesseract, and I'll leave this planet and your miserable lives intact. Or, you can try to resist, and I can blow this planet's core to smithereens with you and your friends trapped on it and tear the Infinity Stone from your frozen, lifeless body." The alien's voice didn't change at all as he spoke, emotion having no place in his assertion.

"Certainly a charmer, aren't you..." Loki murmured under his breath. After only a moment, though, he nodded. "It's a deal, then." Slowly, carefully, he removed the Tesseract from his pocket dimension; the real one, not the one he had shown the Mad Titan before, and placed it on the ground before slowly walking back up the steps towards the palace.

Thanos didn't waste a moment in striding forward, picking the cube up off of the ground and crushing the outer shell with brute physical strength, leaving shards of glass and the Space Stone in his gloved hand. Again, not wasting time, he plucked the Stone out of his hand and slotted it into the Infinity Gauntlet, feeling the energy rush through him. Thanos grunted heavily, working his jaw as the energy flowed and then ebbed.

After a few moments, he spoke again. "I admit, I expected you to attempt to trick me with a fake Stone. I am a man of my word, though..." He grunted, considering his choices. "I shall leave your planet and your group alone, although I give no such assurances if we run into each other in the future. And, remember, Laufeyson..." The Mad Titan's voice gained a threatening tone. "The universe's smartest god is as little of a threat to me as its smartest human. And, trust me... I have thoroughly examined both."

Loki expected the purple-skinned giant to leave the instant that he had gotten what he had come for, but instead, the tyrant had paused after his last sentence. His nostrils flared, as if tasting the air as he looked up towards the palace. "You have something... Someone..." An odd glint entered the man's eyes, indecipherable even to the Asgardian in front of him. "She is Death."

"Hela is dead," the green-eyed god refused, taking a wary step back towards the stairs. "She was the Goddess of Death, and now she is dead." There was nothing - no one - else the Titan could mean, right?

Still, the murderer shook his head. "No, no... Death can not die." He took a single, shuddering step towards the palace.

"You gave me your word!" Loki rushed out, the words flowing out before he could stop them. He couldn't help it; the fear was a primal, innate reaction to the visage of the conqueror in front of him.

Thanos stopped, looking conflicted, and his face contorted with anger and disgust as he considered his opportunities. Eventually, he settled burning eyes on Loki, the most emotion the god had ever seen the alien display, and grit his teeth. "If I find her again, she is mine." Without another word, the Space Stone shined as a portal came into existence and Thanos stepped through it, disappearing instantly. Almost immediately after, the portal closed behind him. Loki blinked multiple times in shock, and then slowly, his knees shook before he fell down on the steps to the palace. Before his eyes, the Mad Titan's ship exited Asgard's atmosphere, leaving only fires rampaging in the city as a sign that it had been there in the first place.

And still, the words 'She is Death' echoed through his head.

She is Death.

"How did you even know that giving him it would help you?" Valkyrie asked, curious. "He could've just taken it and killed you, or continued bombarding us afterward."

Loki's mind was not on the conversation. He was ruminating, still, over the one he had had only minutes ago. As practically an aside, he explained, "Thanos is many things, but he keeps his word so long as it doesn't go against his interest, and he doesn't make deals he doesn't plan on upholding. The man views himself as a visionary, a prophet. He may not see himself as the hero, but he certainly thinks of himself as righteous. And, he is so certain of his victory that he believes he may choose the way he obtains it."

It was quiet for a few moments as the group processed the information. "So... now what?" Thor asked softly, making his way next to Loki, who was still sitting on the steps, looking up at the space the Sanctuary 2 had occupied.

The green-eyed god was silent for a few moments. "I'm not quite sure. I didn't really think that interaction would go that well, to be quite honest, despite all I said about him. We... have somehow managed to subdue Hela, and I'm pretty sure this hunk of rock is going to take months to regenerate itself back to stability, never mind how long it would take for the Bifrost to become operational again. Also, unrelated," he held a finger up, "I can not believe that you all simply left an Infinity Stone out in the open in the vaults, perfectly ready for anyone with access to grab it."

The blond man considered this. "To be fair, we're in a pocket dimension that was protected by near-immortal warriors, and it was in the heart of the palace, which is a fortress in-and-of itself. Speaking of pocket dimensions... I don't suppose that you have any more of those silly little passageways that we used last time to slip between the realms, perhaps? Because, as far as I can tell, we're currently stuck on Asgard with no ship and no Bifrost."

Loki shook his head. "All out of tricks, I'm afraid. However, I do know what we need to do, however possible; assemble some sort of group, perhaps calling together the Avengers together, in order to stop Thanos. And, to do that, we need to get to Earth."

A new voice piped up. "Well, I can tell you how we can do that," Valkyrie announced, holding up a glowing green beacon while accompanied by Dr. Banner, who appeared to have lost his hold on the Hulk form now that the battle was finished. "Hitchhike."