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Thanos stood at the helm of The Sanctuary II, looking out at the vast expanse of space outside the window. The stars and nebulae had slowly grown brighter and more colourful as the ship slowly made its way out of the Void over the past few hours. Word had come to the Mad Titan that the Aether had found its way back to reality, that the reality stone had finally made itself apparent after its many, many centuries in hiding. And this, this was not an opportunity that presented itself often.
And so, the Black Order was making its way out of the void and into the light of Heimdall’s gaze to make their appeal- to request an audience, to make a bargain.
It was especially imperative that they get the Reality Stone when they could, as they’d just lost the Mind Stone during their attempt to secure the tesseract- Proxima Midnight had been sent to Terra to gain another stone, one already in her possession, and had come back with neither. That set them back, but they’d retrieve the stones in time. For now, the Reality Stone was of utmost importance. And one that, up until now, was going to be the hardest to get. Yet now, somewhat amusingly, it was the closest to Thanos’s grasp.
The stars slowed to a halt. They were here- at the edge of the Void. Any further, and they’d be within the great Heimdall’s gaze. Which meant it was time to switch to a smaller ship- one large enough only for himself, a small entourage, and his... leverage. Or perhaps you could call it a gift. Whatever it was, it was surely something the Asgardians couldn’t refuse.
Finally, the smaller ship landed amongst one of the many rocks of an asteroid belt, and the cortège filed out onto its surface.
“Heimdall,” Thanos’s deep voice called into the emptiness of space. It felt strange, talking to no one. A no one who he’d been cautious of for so many years. “Your gifts do not go without reputation- I know you must see me. Let us into Asgard, so we might talk.” He held up the limp offering up by it's hair. “I have something that may be of interest to you.”
A few moments passed, and Thanos wondered if he’d been heard at all- they’d only know that the Void was apparently unseeable to Heimdall’s gaze for a relatively short time, and so they didn’t know all the nuances of it; perhaps they weren’t far enough out of it- when suddenly a bright beam of colour and light descended upon them in a quick instant, and they were brought up through the stars.
- o 〇 o -
Odin, Frigga, and Thor stood in the throne room of Valaskjálf, waiting anxiously. For what, they did not know- only that Heimdall had deemed it exceptionally urgent. And that for some reason, it involved all three of them.
Time seemed to stretch out before them- growing both thick and electric- until finally, the large, intricate, golden doors opened. A tall, muscled, purple figure dressed in armour of indigo and gold walked at the front, surrounded by an small entourage of guards much shorter than him, and they were followed by a few Einherjar escorts.
They crossed the length of the great hall and stopped before the Asgardian royalty.
“Asgardians.” Thanos gave a light bow of the head. “I come to you with a bargain; a gift, even.” Odin narrowed his eyes, and the titan continued. “In exchange for the Aether- which I know has recently come into your possession, I would… return something of yours. Something that has been lost to you.” Thanos eyed those before him for a moment before reaching behind him and grabbing something, then tossing it almost carelessly onto the floor before them.
There, on the golden floor, lay a broken, blue body, covered entirely in raised designs and angry scars. A body who belonged to no other than...
“ Loki?” Frigga breathed out in horrified disbelief before rushing to the floor beside her son. Loki’s body shined in sweat and blood, and one of his ribs was poking out just barely from his far-too-thin skin. The only thing confirming that he was not in fact dead was the fact there was a shallow, laboured, barely-audible gasp every few seconds. She cradled his head in her arms and looked up at Thanos in desperation. “How is he not dead?”
“I saved him.” Thanos said, but something dark twisted behind his satisfied words.
“He... he killed himself.”
“He tried to.” Thanos spoke, “But I saved him. And he tried again, and again, and again… and I saved him. Again and again and again and again. And here he is, before you now.”
Frigga eyed him warily, shielding Loki’s body protectively.
Thanos turned his attention back unto Odin. “So, Allfather. Do we have a deal?”
Odin was still meeting Thanos's gaze. “No.”
Both Frigga and Thor looked at him in shock- even Thanos was somewhat surprised, although he shielded it far more. “Oh? And why is that?”
“Whatever you plan to do with the Aether is not worth Loki after what choices he has made. He was a danger to Asgard, as are you to the Nine Realms.” Odin had a strange voice that, despite it being warbled and often quiet-sounding (the attributes of a wise old man), was nonetheless powerful and commanding. Assured of his own wisdom, and often with its own sort of anger behind it. “The Aether belongs to Asgard; it is our duty to protect it and the Nine Realms. We cannot sacrifice that safety for that of one man- a corrupted one at that. You may take Loki back and give him what punishment his actions have earned him, if that is what ensures the security of the Aether.”
Thanos opened his mouth to reply, but was cut off by Frigga. “Man, man? Is that what Loki is to you, a man? When Thor was only a ‘boy’? When it was your actions that led to Loki’s wrongs?”
“Frigga,” Frustration seeped into Odin’s voice. “I want just as much you to save Loki, but-”
“No!” Her shout was much louder than anyone in the room anticipated. “But you don’t! You don’t care, you don’t love him! You never have!” Rage and hurt fueled her voice. “It was your own actions that drove him to suicide! And I will not- I will not - lose him again. Nor any of my children. Ever again. You took Hela from me-”
“Hela’s actions-“
“-were your actions. She became exactly what you wanted.” She continued her rant. “I thought you’d taken Thor from me, too, when you banished him to Midgard. And then Loki- he- he took him from us himself. Because of what you did . I have had to live with the pain and guilt of a dead child for years. And I will not. Lose him. Again.” She seethed, punctuating each word.
- o 〇 o -
Thor watched as the body was flung so carelessly in front of them, blue so lonely and out of place in the hall of shimmering golds; even Thanos seemed to match with his finely-crafted armour.
And then Thor’s whole world stopped when he realized whose body it was.
Loki. He’d only recognized at the same time Frigga spoke the word- that familiar, lost name- but her voice and the sound around it had already begun to fade into a hazy blur.
“I’m not your brother, I never was. ” Snippets of memories flooded Thor’s mind as he watched his brother’s limp body in his mother’s lap, as if in a trance.
“I never wanted the throne, I only ever wanted to be your equal!” The memories took over his vision now, along with his hearing.
The desperate, pained tears in Loki’s eyes as he fought Thor in the Himinbjörg.
“I could have done it father, for you! For all of us!” Desperation, pain- that’s all Loki was.
“No, Loki.” Odin spake.
“No.” Odin’s present voice mirrored the memory, and Thor shook himself from the daze in horror as he realized what was happening. Rage and horror and desperation bubbled up in Thor as his father continued to speak. So much so, that he startled when Frigga began her livid condemnations- he’d forgotten she was there. And who was Hela?
“Tell me this, Odin-” her words were dangerously low. “If this was Thor at your feet, bloodied, bruised, broken, somehow-by the grace of the Norns-back after he’d killed himself, would you refuse him? Would you hold the power of some stone over the life of your son?”
“I would do what is best for our people.” Odin said simply, hand still resting on Gungnir, and the other on the arm of his throne, but Thor’s attention kept drifting back to the Jötunn body- so small in the vastness of the room, and almost a corpse.
Frigga let out a heartless laugh. “You lie.”
Eventually, Thor couldn’t take it any longer and he, too, made his way to where Loki lie, setting Mjölnir down beside him. He reached out a hand to graze his brother’s cheek, but hesitated, scared. Loki seemed so fragile- like if Thor touched him, he would break like rotted wood. Or perhaps shatter like glass. Maybe wither away into dust lost in the wind...
“Frigga. You are being selfish.” Odin’s tone was growing frustrated and accusatory. “Your emotions are getting ahead of you, Think about the good of the people of Asgard.”
“And is Loki not of Asgard?” She countered.
“He is of Jötunnheim.”
Frigga let out a cold, heartless breath- one that seemed like she was finding some sort of confirmation in Odin’s words- before continuing. “And who took him from there? Who stole him from there?” Her voice was filled with so many emotions Thor couldn’t even name them all. “You sold me the lie that you were saving him for centuries- And you had the audacity to name him the God of Lies.”
Thor looked up from Loki and at his parents, and then to the reaction of Thanos above and behind him. The titan seemed to be watching with guarded interest, and a certain amusement could be found in his sharp eyes as the argument continued. That made Thor pull Loki closer to him, finding that his skin was just barely cooler than his- which probably wasn’t good in the slightest.
He swallowed sickly as he stared at his brother, conversation drowning out once again. He’d never seen his brother in his Jötunn form. He hadn’t even known Loki was adopted nor Jötunn at all until after his fall. And Thor was so, so used to the feelings of disgust and superiority when looking at the Jötnar that had been drilled into him over the centuries- and he hated himself for that. This was his brother. His Jötunn heritage couldn’t change that. Not that you could really see the Jotünn form at all- blood, bruises, and other smudges seemed to cover much of the azure skin, and the many scars were at times indiscernible from the natural Jötunn markings that adorned Loki.
Still only barely hearing the argument surrounding him, Thor pulled his brother closer to him (careful not to jostle the bit of bloodied bone jutting from his ribcage), only to feel something new on his brother's shoulder. Hesitantly looking at what the different texture was from, Thor’s stomach somehow dropped and twisted even further.
A brand.
A burned brand whose design was shared exactly by the crest Thanos’s guards wore on their armour.
They had done this to him. And only the Norns knew what else. And this monster had the audacity to call himself a savior?
In one fluid motion, Thor grabbed Mjölnir from where it sat, spun around, and held the hammer up at Thanos, the beginnings of electricity already starting to crackle.
In response, Thanos’s guards drew their weapons, and to that, the Einherjar drew theirs.
“Thor!” Odin shouted furiously, the ongoing argument conversation now stopped. “What do you think you’re doing?”
Thor ignored him, keeping his eyes on Thanos. “Give me one reason not to reap you where you stand.” He growled, voice dangerous and low.
Thanos let out an unbothered chuckle. “You have spirit, Asgardian. I like you.”
“Thor.” Odin’s voice was firm with rage. “Put Mjölnir down.”
Thor wanted to protest, to summon all his power and strike Thanos down where the giant titan stood, but resisted. For now.
“If I cannot kill this ‘Thanos’ where he stands right now, then give him the Aether.” Thor’s grip on Mjölnir was turning his knuckles white. “I am not letting him take Loki back.”
“Thor. Have you gone mad?” Odin spoke. “Think about what these actions would unleash. We do not know what he has in store for such an artifact. It is unquestionably beyond option.”
“Then we can ask Loki what he knows when he wakes up.” Thor still held Mjölnir up at Thanos. “But he is not leaving with that titan. And you will not allow my brother and mother’s son to be taken from us again.” He turned around to look his father in the eyes. He left no room for argument.
Odin clenched his jaw and held Thor’s gaze for a few moments before forcing himself to unwillingly relent. “Fine,” The Allfather spoke curtly. “You may have the Aether in return for Loki. Guards?”
After two Einherjar left the throne room, and after the empty, tense minutes that followed, the golden-clad guards returned with the Aether. Each had one hand on the artifact and one on their spears, and the wild red glow seemed to move within it's prison with a mind of its own. Creeping around and peaking out. Radiating with a sort of power that could be felt even without touching it.
“Thank you, Asgardians.” Thanos said with a twisted satisfaction as he accepted the Aether into his grasp. “Your deed will not go forgotten.”
“Be gone from us, titan.” Odin commanded, grip on Gungnir tight, and Thanos and his entourage began their exit.
Thor watched their every step to the towering gold doors, imagining up every way he would punish them. Perhaps Thanos would choose not to forget this exchange, perhaps he would. But one thing was certain- Thor would not forget this, he would not forget what they did. They were going to pay for what they did to Loki. And no command from the Allfather was going to stop him.