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“LOKI! NO!” Thor yelled as Thanos brutally strangled his brother.
Thor wept as his brother’s corpse was thrown into space. They had lost, and the Mad Titan was on his way to get another stone. Their fight had been useless. All had been lost. All Thor could do was watch as the Mad Titan left. Thor was eventually left to weep alongside his few remaining citizens.
~~~~~~
A medium size, yet beat up, Asgardian vessel arrived on Earth less than two days later. Tony and the newly reformed Avengers team, minus Wanda and Vision, were there to greet them. Banner had already warned them that Thor and the remaining Asgardians were coming.
The air around everyone was solemn as they greeted the remaining Asgardians.
Steve was the first to speak to Thor.
“I’m sorry for your loss, Thor. We’ve made an arrangement with the Norwegian Government, and your people can stay at a place dubbed as New Asgard. Once we get them settled, we can discuss battle plans to take Thanos down.” Steve said as Thor cringed when he heard that dreadful name.
Thor clenched his jaw as he barely held his tears in. He soon replied with a very solemn air to his tone.
“Thank you for helping my people. The threat is very close, so we need to prioritize that first.” Thor said as Steve frowned.
“I think that we have plenty of time for you to take a break and recover for a little bit before we plan on fighting the new threat.” Steve said
Thor grimaced and said “There is no time! I failed to escape Thanos’ evil clutches, and my people, MY BROTHER, they all died at his hands. I failed them. I failed the ones whom I cared about most. I failed myself. I’m supposed to be a god, yet I couldn’t protect my people. I got us all captured when I failed to heed my brother’s advice that he was coming. I was given multiple opportunities to evade the enemy, yet I was foolish. He caught us, and I failed to escape. I failed EVERYONE! MY BROTHER'S BODY AND THE BODIES OF MY PEOPLE ARE LOST IN THE VASTNESS OF SPACE! WE MUST ACT NOW!”
Steve backed down as thunder roared all around them.
Tony stepped up and said “Okay, Pep and I’ll help settle everyone as you guys hash a few things out.”
Thor nodded solemnly as he watched Pepper and a few other people, including an unfamiliar teenager, helped pass out blankets and escort his people inside. Thor followed Steve and the others inside so that they could discuss strategies.
The meeting lasted for hours, but everyone had been called in. There were many new faces there that Thor did not have the time or patience to be introduced to. They had no idea when Thanos would actually arrive, but they had a battle plan ready.
~~~~~~
The battle began in New York only days after Thor’s arrival. Their initial battle plans had not worked out, because the attack had begun with someone who was not Thanos, and they had not anticipated that Thanos would go for the time stone before the mind stone. They were only lucky that they had already found Vision and been able to send him to Wakanda late last night before the adversary could find him. It would take them quite a while to get the stone completely out. Strange had known most of the outcomes though, so he wasn’t too very surprised when he ended up being drawn into the alien ship. He would not give up the stone until the time was right.
~~~~~~
The battle on Titan was ruthless. Stark was heavily injured, and the spider-kid was exhausted while the Guardians were all just waking back up. Quill stood to the side as he believed the loss on Titan had mostly been his own fault. None of them understood why Strange had relinquished the stone. Stark questioned his decision.
Strange held up one finger, smirked, and said “We’re in the Endgame now.”
He then grimaced as he performed a spell and opened portals that led to the Wakandan Battle field. They each looked at him with shock.
Strange groaned and said “Go now. I won’t be able to hold it for long. Wong’s helping keep it open from Wakanda at the moment.”
Everyone was startled into action as they quickly went through the portal. Spider-Man had reactivated his mask, webbed up Tony’s wound, and helped him through the portal. Tony’s armor had been well on its way to regenerating, but he wouldn’t be able to fight very much. As soon as he stepped foot on the battlefield, Wong opened another portal into the Wakandan medical center.
Tony deactivated his suit as they walked in. Spider-Man stayed with him as one of the medical assistants helped him situate Tony on one of the medical tables. The high-tech table was quickly activated and had immediately started healing Tony’s wound.
Peter withdrew his mask and marveled at the technology. He had never seen anything so advanced before. He could see to the side that the Wakandan Princess was still working on getting the stone out of Vision’s head. He could hear when Thanos’ lackeys were about to barge in, and he shouted a warning.
Shuri continued working as her guards fought the intruders. Peter saw a weakness in one of the creature’s armor and he took advantage of it. He joined the fight and activated Instant Kill mode. The aliens fought hard, but not hard enough to beat Stark and Wakandan tech. They were easily defeated, and Peter could hear Shuri let out a victorious whoop as she completely removed the stone from Vision’s head.
Wanda had been outside fighting when the large alien machines came into the battlefield, so she was unable to destroy the stone. Shuri pondered what she should do with it until Wanda was able to return. She let her technology hold it up as she heard the Dora Milaje and the Spider-kid come up to her.
The Spider-kid was fascinated and terrified of the thing, and she couldn’t blame him. Even she knew that the stones held more power than anyone should ever wield. She glanced at him and shot a brief smile as reassurance. She smiled even larger and sighed with relief when Wanda returned a few minutes later.
"Oh, Wanda! Finally! Can you destroy it right now?" Shuri said as Wanda went to reply.
Wanda was about to say that she could destroy it, but neither one of them had expected a supposedly dead God to pop into the room only seconds later.
“Hello. I’ll be taking that!” Loki said as he took the stone and put in into a fancy golden gauntlet that held the other stones.
Everyone present gasped as Loki then disappeared. None of them knew what was going on, but they heard a large blast outside. Wanda gasped as she saw a burst of red energy that looked exactly like her own magic. They had no idea what was going on down there, but they could only hope that it was something good for them.
~~~~~~
Thanos smiled as he approached the grieving girl. He quickly used the time stone and reversed the hard work that she had done. He soon crushed the android’s head and took the stone. The gauntlet was complete.
He smirked when he noticed the extremely angry god of thunder yell and begin to rush towards him. He was slightly surprised, however, when the god was stopped and held back by some invisible force.
Thanos frowned as he then heard the snide laugh of Loki. He had ordered the little god to remain within the ship. He was furious that the idiot had dared defy his orders.
“Laufeyson, how dare you defy my orders?! You will not be spared! You’ve always been a rebellious little twit!” Thanos said as he heard the laugh once again as Loki appeared directly in front of him. Thanos then noticed that the girl and the husk of the android were no longer close to him. He could not see them anywhere.
Neither of them noticed that Thor had gone still outside of the invisible barrier as the battle raged around them. Thor could hear nothing, but he could clearly see that it was his brother who stood in front of Thanos.
Loki laughed again and mocked Thanos “Foolish oaf. You thought that you could control me again! Me! The silver tongued god of mischief and lies! Ha! Never again! You are an idiotic imp at most! I’ve faced fiercer foes than you since I escaped your control. You are nothing compared to some of the horrors I saw on the planet called Sakaar. I AM LOKI! You are but an ant that will easily be squashed by my power!”
Thanos gnashed his teeth and scowled as he angrily yelled “You are the fool, Layfeyson! I wield the gauntlet and all of the stones! No one can stop me!”
Thanos then snapped, but nothing happened. The battle continued, and no one had disappeared like he had wanted. He grimaced in confusion.
“Laufeyson, what is this trickery?!” Thanos angrily shouted as Loki smirked.
Loki laughed again and took down the illusion he had used on Thaons the whole time. Thanos’ eyes widened in surprise as he realized that the gauntlet was no longer in his possession. He then saw that the gauntlet was on Loki’s arm.
“You were easy to fool after you helped me fake my death. It was so easy to catch you while you were sleeping. I easily stole the gauntlet and already acquired stones. I’ve been controlling the story ever since you destroyed my people. Oh, and it’s Friggason, not Laufeyson!” Loki said as he snapped.
Thanos had had no time to reply before he had crumbled to dust. Loki smirked as Thanos’ army was destroyed. The battle ceased, and the invisible barrier went down. He couldn’t bring his people or any of those who were already lost back, as it would destroy their timeline, but he had removed the threat. He had destroyed Thanos.
Loki then cringed as he heard his brother’s angry shout. He slowly turned around and saw Thor, who’s eyes were lit up with lightning, approaching him rapidly while he yelled.
“LOKI! YOU SON OF A BILGE-SNIPE! YOU BASTARD! YOU WERE DEAD!” Thor said as he stopped right in front of Loki.
Loki rolled his eyes and said “Well, I did say that the sun would shine on us again, brother. Oh, and technically, by definition, I am a bastard.”
Thor’s eyes widened and lost the lightning around them as he began to weep.
“Brother, when will you quit faking your death?! I shouldn’t be surprised every time you do this, but I am! You couldn’t have just told me your plan?!” Thor said as Loki gripped him in a hug.
Normally, Loki would hate hugs like this, but he really did hate that he had made his brother so miserable again.
Loki sighed as he said “I’m sorry for tricking you again, brother. I didn't mean to betray you, but I had not had the time to tell you my plan. Had I told you my plan, you would have tried to stop me anyway. I’m sorry that I couldn’t save very many of our remaining people. I’m sorry that I betrayed you again, but I had to do it so that I could go on to betray Thanos.”
Thor sobbed as he continued to hug his brother. He was barely able to get a composed sentence out of his mouth.
“I understand brother, let us rejoice. You defeated Thanos, and saved half of the Universe’s population. You are truly a hero.” Thor said as he withdrew.
Thor was entirely grateful to have his brother back, but there were many other issues to deal with. He looked around the battlefield at his comrades and noticed that many of them were rejoicing. It was only then that he heard Loki groan and lean into his side.
Thor frowned and looked over to his brother who was now breathing erratically.
“Brother! What’s wrong?” Thor said as Loki smiled weakly and held his right arm up.
“I wielded the gauntlet, and it was stronger than my protection spell. I’ve since sent the stones and gauntlet into the void, where the stones lost their power, but they were able to cause me damage before I was rid of them. My healing spells aren’t working fast enough. I’m not joking this time, Thor. I really am dying.” Loki said as Thor gritted his teeth.
Thor shook his head back and forth as he said “Never again, brother. Not on my watch. You are a hero. You will NOT die.”
Loki then yelped as Thor picked him up in a very undignified bridal carry and shot off towards the Wakandan medical ward. It had only taken them a minute to get there, as Thor had crashed through the glass instead of trying a door.
Loki sighed and said “You big oaf, you didn’t have to do that. I’d have been fine for another few minutes. It’s going to take longer than thirty minutes for the stones' power to kill me.”
Thor paid very little attention to Loki’s words as Shuri rushed up to them. He had met her earlier in the week, and she had told them that in the event of a medical emergency, her facility would be the best to go to.
“Princess, my brother used the gauntlet. Will you be able to heal him?” Thor asked as Shuri glanced at them with wide eyes.
It took Shuri quite a bit of a shock to stutter, and this definitely qualified.
“Y-yes! I can help him! Parker, I’ve shown you how to turn on the machinery I need! Do that while I move Vision with Maximoff’s help.” Shuri ordered as everyone moved to do what she had said.
Sooner rather than later, Shuri worked her magic. Hours later the procedure was done, and many more of the wounded had joined them in the medical ward. Loki’s arm was scarred, but he was fine. He had passed out, but he would live. Thor had felt an immense amount of relief when he finally realized that his brother would not leave him again.
He smiled as he looked at Loki’s unconscious and recovering form lying on the bed. His brother was back, and that was all that mattered. Well, at least until the Princess approached him again.
“Thor, he will be fine now. Our technology will ensure it. Would you like an update on the condition of your colleagues?” Shuri questioned as Thor nodded.
“Yes, please. I was not sure how well Steve fared after Thanos knocked him out.” Thor said.
Shuri nodded and said “Maximoff, Vision, Parker, Stark, Rhodes, Romanoff, my brother, Rogers, Banner, and pretty much all of the Avengers survived. The sorcerer returned to his sanctum in America shortly after the battle. Stark is on bed-rest right now due to an injury from his fight on Titan. The others are exhausted, but they are alive. Most of the fatalities came from my own people. We are greatly saddened by this, but we are also grateful because your brother saved us from experiencing a much worse tragedy. We owe our lives to him.”
Thor nodded as he teared up. His team had made it out alive, and his brother was recovering. He was thrilled. He had never thought that he would see his brother alive again.
Thor had not even noticed when the spider-child came in. He smiled at the child’s words when he spoke though.
“It’s kind of amazing that the same guy who attacked New York all those years ago just saved half of the Universe. I don’t think that people here will hate him anymore. His story will be told within our history books, and he’ll be known as our savior. He’ll be thought of as the genius mastermind who fooled Thanos. Do you know if he was fooling Thanos when he attacked New York on his behalf all those years ago?” Peter questioned as Thor smiled.
“He was under the Titan’s control at that time. He told me the story of what happened after a few events shortly before most of my people were killed. I had no idea that he was planning to fool Thanos, but I’m relieved that he did. He’s a brilliant person, and I really should have known ahead of time that he would be the one to destroy Thanos. My brother never likes to be controlled, and that’s what Thanos did. Thanos controlled him, and Loki retaliated. I know from years of experience that my brother’s retaliation is never light. We’re honestly just lucky that Loki didn’t draw Thanos’ death out. My brother got his revenge, and he saved many of us by doing it. You are right, young one, he will no longer be known as the one who nearly destroyed part of Midgard, he will be known as the savior of the Universe.” Thor said as he teared up happily.
Thor smiled as the young one nodded and went back to his mentor who was still recovering. Loki had surprised them all, and Thor couldn’t have been happier.
~~~~~~
Loki snickered as Thor lost another game to his American adversary. He had no idea why Thor even liked those things. He was honestly just glad that those games were keeping Thor from completely isolating himself.
Loki had noticed a few weeks after everything returned to relatively normal in Wakanda and the rest of the world, that Thor’s mood was becoming increasingly sour. They had finally situated their remaining people in New Asgard. Thor was being extremely moody with everyone except for Loki. Loki knew why Thor was so depressed and angry, but he was slightly disappointed at the same time.
Loki stood and ripped the game controller out of his brother’s hand. Thor shouted in anger.
“Loki, give that back!” Thor shouted as Loki snarled.
“No, brother. You need to face your grief. I know that it’s hard, but if I could do it after our mother’s death, you can do it now!” Loki said as Thor snarled.
“We lost almost all of our people! How can I grieve them all?! How can we mourn them if we cannot even give them a proper send off to Valhalla?!” Thor shouted angrily.
Loki frowned and said “Perhaps we could give them a send off. It wouldn’t be the same as it was when Asgard was whole, but it would suffice. We did lose many, but we cannot let our grief consume us.”
Thor teared up and sighed. He nodded to Loki’s words.
He tearfully said “What is your idea, brother? How can we give them a proper send off from Midgard?”
Loki smiled and said “I’ve read about a few different things that Midgardians do, and I also know that we can still do at least part of the proper send off that our people deserve. We can hold a candlelight vigil, and we can prepare boats, fill them up with a candle for each of the lost, light an arrow, and fire. Valkyrie, you, and I can fire the arrows as the rest of our people recite the ritual chants.”
Thor looked down and nodded as he said “That sounds like a good plan brother. When shall we do it?”
Loki smiled and said “I can start the preparation right now, and we can begin the rituals at sun-set. It will be solemn, but it will provide closure for all of our people that remain. I’ll let you know when everything is ready.”
Thor nodded. Loki hoped that what he had described would help his brother and their remaining people.
~~~~~~
It was soon sun-set, and Loki had everything set up. There were over ten boats for the thousands of Asgardians that had been lost. Each remaining Asgardian put memorial candles for each of their lost loved ones, and Loki made sure that there were plenty of remaining candles to represent the lost.
Once everyone had loaded their candles, the boats were released. Thor and Loki both had put many candles for those that had perished. As the ruler, Thor was the first to light his arrow. The ritual chants had begun, and once the first one ended, he released his arrow. The first boat was enveloped with fire as Thor began to weep for the lost.
Valkyrie and Loki both lit their arrows and fired. Two more boats were enveloped with fire. The process continued until the remaining boats were enveloped with fire. The chants continued as Loki summoned a ring of candles to surround the remaining population of Asgardians. He lit them with his magic.
They stayed until the boats were gone. They stayed for hours at the edge of the water. At the end of everything, each remaining Asgardian took a candle from the circle, whispered a prayer, and sat their candle in the water. The process was repeated until the water was filled with the prayers of many. Loki’s magic kept the candles afloat until they reached the area where the boats had left their sight.
It had been a very solemn event, but it had also provided closure for them all. Thor hugged Loki and thanked him.
“Thank you for suggesting this brother. It has helped us all.” Thor said tearfully as Loki nodded.
It had been a very eventful few months for them all. Loki had been declared a hero, but was luckily granted privacy. The Asgardians had finally been allowed to mourn their people, and it had not been easy, but it had been done. Things still weren’t perfect, but they were getting better, and one thing was for sure. Loki would be there for Thor no matter what happened from then on. The sun had shone on them again, and it would continue to do so.