Chapter Text
Mobius POV
Mobius was not thrilled about his assignment. They had tried so many Loki variants and one after another tricked and schemed away. Traitors, the lot of them.
The kid was their best hope after trying a variant from the battle of New York. But L.S.’s weakness was that even he couldn’t predict a rogue Loki. The kid was trying, granted. Ever since Mobius gave him a coffee machine, the kid squirreled himself away often in the library, trying to figure it all out.
Tim was logical and calculative, not making a move without surveying the entire chessboard. He wouldn’t betray the T.V.A., he was smart enough to recognize the necessity of the system after all these years.
But even the kid had tried, and failed to capture the rogue several times. It was time to bring in the last resort.
The only variant Loki that remembered Timothy.
The kid wouldn’t be pleased when he found out. Better make this good.
Loki POV
Loki first felt the ship’s presence when it was roughly half a parsec away and fear began to worm its way into his heart.
His bairn, he had to get him safe. The other Asgardians had to wait. They were oblivious to their doom and Loki wasn’t about to spread panic before it occurred.
He found Timothy, alone, in their quarters, reading a manners textbook on the floor. His boy was so, so good. Much better than Loki was at this age.
”Come boy.” Loki had whispered, gathering his boy in his green cloak and whisked him away to the smuggler’s hold only he and Thor knew about.
“But Fadir, what’s going on?” Timothy whispered back, allowing Loki to lead him deep in the ship. His steps were quick to keep up with Loki’s stride.
The smuggler's hold was in the underbelly of the ship and Loki was grateful for the distance. He opened the hatch with his sedir, one of two ways to open it and stuffed Timothy inside with haste.
The boy glared at him. Loki refused to be ruffled.
“Nevermind that. Stay here until I come back.” Loki ordered quietly, ignoring the nuisance of the voice in the back of his mind, screaming at him that he might not survive the night.
Thanos was coming.
Loki had betrayed him. Logically, it was Loki’s throat he was after.
And keeping Timothy safe was Loki’s number one priority.
“If there’s a fight, then I can-”
“Stay here and be quiet!” Loki hissed back, interrupting as he snapped at his boy. “Stay here until Uncle Thor or I retrieve you.”
“But I helped during Aunt Hela’s invasion.”
Loki sighed and looked down at his son, for quite possibly, the last time. He ran his fingers through his son’s lengthened locks and bent down, looking him in the eye as the boy sported an adorable pout.
“I know. You were a brave lad for it too. But I need you to stay and be quiet. That’s an order.”
There must have been something in Loki’s gaze that made Timothy nod and duck his head into the green leather of the cape Loki tucked around him.
“Good lad. Remember I love you.”
Alarm sparked in Timothy’s eye and his mouth opened up in shock, but whatever he was going to say was cut off as Loki slammed the door, locking it in a simple rune before running as fast as the wind back to Thor. If he died, then another sedir user needed to be able to open the hatch.
“Thor, a moment?” Loki asked, with a slight trace of alarm. The hairs on the back of his neck rose as the Sanctuary II swallowed the distance between them with alarming haste.
Thor raised an eyebrow at Loki’s frazzled appearance, but nodded and lent an ear.
“Brother! Thanos is coming!” Loki whispered fervently as his sedir was screaming at him to do something, anything but stand still as The Sanctuary II finally became visible in the window beside them.
Loki felt himself pale as the ship he had long-hoped he could forget crashed into them, right at their port. Alarms blared, causing mayhem as the people panicked. Thor and Loki pushed past the crowd and charged towards the gashing opening.
It made Loki feel marginally safer when Thor and Hulk planted themselves in front of Loki. If anyone in the nine realms could stop Thanos, it would be the beast and Loki’s brother, even though they had just faced Hela.
“Where’s the boy?” Thor whispered as they watched the walls creak, bending in front of their eyes. It was only a matter of seconds before the walls would give, showing Loki the worst fear of his life. He had hoped to outpace Thanos forever, but now, apparently, his time had run out. Time to “face the music,” as the Midgardians say.
“Safe.”
It was enough.
It had to be enough. Loki couldn’t bear to lose his son, even if it meant sacrificing his own life in the process. He’d gladly die for his bairn if it were necessary. There were plenty of people that adored Tim and any one of them would care for the boy in Loki’s place. Preferably Thor if Loki could be picky, even if his brother was an oaf, he did love Tim as a nephew.
The door splintered open and Loki tensed as the green giant launched himself towards Thanos. The two of them traded blows as they clobbered for some time, making it impossible to help without getting squashed in the mix. Loki wanted to kill Thanos for even daring to exist on the same ship as his bairn. His sedir thrummed under his skin at the thought even though he was still exhausted from Ragnarok.
He knew he was dearly outmatched when it came to the Titan. It would take more than a few hits from the Hulk to win this fight. At some point, they would need to use strategy, something the Hulk and Thor often lacked. The two were the heavy-hitters of the team, something well-proven with Ragnarok. They tended to rush into fights, unwilling or perhaps unable to slow down and think ahead. Admittably, neither were easy to take down, so the idea often worked in their favor.
But not always. Loki had to play this game correctly, lest all the important players in his life fall.
Loki faded into the recess of the walls of the ship, watching the brutal fight from the shadows as Thanos started gaining on the beast. The gauntlet had the power stone, an advancement since the last time Loki had met the monster and it wasn’t helping their odds.
Thor landed a hit on Thanos’s back with lightning, obviously wishing he still had Mjölnir on his side. Thor was still worn out from Ragnarok, Loki could see the telltale near flinches of his brother in combat and his eye loss wasn’t helping matters either. Norms forbid everyone in the family having full eyesight. Apparently it was a constant requirement for the Asgardian crown. Loki frowned at the thought, suddenly more glad than ever he wasn’t in line for the throne. Losing an eye sounded less than ideal.
It didn’t take a genius to realize they were losing. Loki had drained most of his sedir in Asgard and his stores hadn’t recovered to what he would need for a fight of this magnitude. He would have only one chance to use it, if he were lucky, and then he’d be left only with his own battle wits.
Granted, Loki was no easy combatant to beat, but the Titan? He wouldn’t stand a chance. Best to wait until he was the last resort and protector of the people. There was only one more ace still up his sleeve and he was keen to use it when the cards would be more in his favor.
Loki grimaced as Hulk buckled under a blow from Thanos’s gauntlet. He analyzed the best move to make as Thor screamed at Loki to help.
He couldn’t simply jump in, such a mistake would only guarantee their loss. Hulk and Thor would be forced to draw back their punches and become all the more careful around him, even if Thor was too short-sighted currently about the matter. Then, it would be all too easy for the Mad Titan to crush them like ants.
No, Loki only had one trick to play in this fight. He had to make it count if it came down to it.
The floor dented roughly as Thanos knocked out the Hulk, eliciting a collective gasp from the idiotic few people that stayed nearby on the ship. That wasn’t good. Expected perhaps, but certainly on the bad side of things.
Loki stepped out of the shadows just as Thanos chained Thor to the ground with the ill-used power stone. Of course his dim-witted brother managed to be captured so quickly. How disappointing.
“I know you are out there, Silver Snake. Come out before I kill your brother.” Thanos growled, stepping one foot on top of Thor’s head in a not-so-subtle threat.
Loki gritted his teeth and stepped out of the hidden place he had concealed himself. If Thanos went on a killing spree in the ship, he’d not only kill Thor, but Timothy as well. Not to mention the survivors of Ragnarok.
Time to play the game.
“Ah, do with him what you like, Master Thanos.” Loki lied through his teeth as he bowed and came forward, not paying attention to the betrayed sounding grunt from Thor’s general direction. Loki promptly ignored the sound, not daring to get anywhere close to emotional when the Mad Titan was seconds away from killing his brother.
Thanos smiled, showing off his unnerving row of white teeth.
“I had wondered how long you would hide from me, little pet.”
Loki’s spine itched at the nickname as he deftly stepped over the general disaster and debris the fight had left in its wake. Every one of his defenses screamed at him inwardly for stepping closer to the madman on purpose, but it was his only play. He had to appeal to the Titan’s superiority complex, even as loathsome the idea may be.
“I have been waiting for your return, biding my time with these fools of course.” Loki smiled, stretching his old lying ways back out as he suddenly became only a hand’s breadth away from the Titan. Thanos could kill him in a single blow and Loki was well aware of that fact.
He has one chance if he plays it right. He has no choice but to succeed.
Thanos eyed him, smiling a bit too wide to be believable as he stared down at Loki’s shorter figure. There were pity few beings that made Loki feel small, but by the Norms, Thanos was one of them.
“You have a gift for me then? To reconcile your failure over Midgard?” Thanos bellowed, quiet for him, but terrifying all the same.
“Naturally, Master Thanos.” Loki whipped the tesseract out of his pocket dimension. To the untrained eye, it would appear that he pulled it out of thin air.
“Loki, no.” Thor whimpered, barely breathing as Loki sent him a mental message to shut up. It was difficult enough tricking the Titan without Thor babbling in the corner.
Thanos reached to grab the tesseract, bending over at the perfect angle.
Loki pulled one of the few daggers he had left and struck, aiming straight for the monster’s neck. He would likely die pulling this stunt, but at the very least he could wound the beast and distract him from killing everyone on the ship.
Anything to protect his family.
The knife stopped, a mere centimeter away from Thanos’s neck. An icy blue eye stared at him before horror suddenly rushed down Loki’s figure, every hair on his body standing on end as he watched his knife struggle against the invisible hand keeping it from the mad Titan’s throat.
Thanos laughed as he struck a fist towards Loki.
Loki barely dodged, overcompensating with his last wisps of sedir reserves to move just a hair too smoothly to be normal. The oversized fist just barely scraped Loki’s jaw. If it wasn’t for the sedir, he would have been shoved to the ground with the hit. He tried to extend a hair deeper in the exhausted reserves, hoping to get just enough to make a clone.
The copy flickered, but didn’t come to fruition and Loki was trying every tactic in the book to avoid Thanos. He knew the Titan was toying with him at this point. The power stone alone could drain his life force on a whim.
Loki wanted to use the smugness of his competitor against him, but the pride was well earned considering the next stab Loki tried didn’t even cut through the monster’s skin. That knife was one of the sharpest in Loki’s reserves, known to cut even the thickest of armor weak points.
The weight in his chest grew as he felt himself tiring and the interest the Titan had in toying with Loki was dulling. The next swing of purple fist was quicker, sturdier, and Loki heaved out a gasp of pain as the Mad Titan crushed his neck with his grasp.
This was it. Loki was going to die. He could already feel his life source beginning to drain from the power stone being so close and in the hands of his capturer.
Please, please, Loki begged the Norms as his ribs were being crushed under the grip of the Titan. Please don’t let him find Timothy.
The boy would find Loki’s body when the deed was done, but Loki couldn’t handle the thought of his son suffering the same fate due to his failure to be strong all those years ago.
“Hey ugly!” Timothy boomed, as deeply as he could.
Cold dread laced over Loki’s skin at the words. By the Norms, no.
He couldn’t speak, even if Thanos’s hands weren’t ensnaring him, one at his chest and the other on his neck. If he admitted any care for the boy then Thanos would only hurt Timothy to spite him.
Please no. Please no. Please no.
Not Timothy. Anyone but him.
“Ah, so this is the boy that melted the frost of your silver tongue. I had originally planned on killing you, Snake. But I think this fate suits you better.” Thanos laughed cruelly as he dropped Loki to the floor as Timothy raced into the room.
The bruise around Loki’s neck swelled angrily as Loki forced himself onto his feet and leaned against the metal wall. He might not have much energy or sedir left, but by the Norms he was going to try to help. He had to help.
Timothy had already hit the monster with an ice blast, proving he had recovered at least somewhat from Ragnarok as Thanos easily dodged the attack.
Thanos was far too close to Timothy. The boy was quick, leaping around, avoiding hits left and right, but dread, nonetheless was pooling in Loki’s stomach as he took a moment to suck in a breath of air.
He couldn’t get to Thor and release him in time to help. The oaf was screaming at Loki to help him but Loki didn’t have the time. He pulled out the last dagger from his reservoir.
His fingers traced the sharp metal, weaving in the absolute last lock of sedir he had into the blade. Loki waited, only for a split second, when there was more than a hair’s length between Timothy and Thanos.
There was no time for perfection, not with the black and ugly fear pumping through Loki’s veins. He lunged for Thanos, sinking the enhanced blade into the beast’s shoulder, the highest point he could reach.
“You truly are desperate.” Thanos grumbled as Loki tried to distract him. His form was getting sloppy, desperate in an attempt to protect his son.
Thanos took full advantage. It was laughable how easy it was to be defeated by the beast. Loki could barely breathe through the deafening blow to his ribcage.
It was fine. It was worthwhile to die if it meant Thanos would leave Timothy alone.
Loki coughed up blood when the second and third hits landed, effectively beating him harder into the wall than Hulk had back in the Tower. He couldn’t move, couldn’t even comprehend the act of blinking as it was all he could do to force his shattered ribs to breathe. His arm was broken, as was his collarbone, and the wounds from the previous battle screamed under his skin, no longer able to hide with his natural sedir.
“My my, look at you now.” The Titan hummed darkly as Tim, oh sweet and brave Tim, tried to distract Thanos from Loki’s undeniable death with an ice blast. Thanos caught him in an instant, piercing blue eyes locking into Loki’s as he heard the boy’s ribs crunch.
It felt like a dagger to the heart, lying on the ground, unable to stop the monster from staring Loki in the eye as Thanos pushed Tim into the wall. The scream Timothy let out was a pain unlike anything Loki had heard from the boy.
“Please.” Loki whispered, vocal cords still bruised and near broken from the Titan’s hand. “Please let him go.”
Oh Norms, he was begging Thanos.
“Your battle’s not with him.” He pleaded through the pain, ignoring his own turmoil in a desperate attempt to save his son. His baby.
Thanos smiled as he loomed over Loki’s broken body, crushing Tim into the wall above him.
“Ah Snake, I think your pain is worth more to me if you lose him. You’ve caused me enough trouble over the years. It’s only fair if I return the favor.”
No No No No No No No No No No No!
“No please!” Loki begged, stretching his hand out in a pitiful plea, touching the boots that held the madman.
Thanos laughed and the horrible, heartbreaking, deafening crack of Timothy’s neck hit the air.
The air was dead silent as Thanos lifted his foot to stomp down on Loki’s hand, breaking the appendage mercilessly as Timothy’s body dropped. It made a sickening thud on the metal floor and Loki barely noticed when Thanos left. His fractured hands wrapped around his baby and he desperately searched for a heartbeat even though he knew, full well, that it wouldn’t be there.
No one spoke to him as he sobbed into Timothy’s dark hair and caressed his fading blue skin with his broken hand. The pain didn’t matter. The stolen tesseract didn’t matter.
His baby was dead.
Tim’s skin was fading to his natural, fair coloring, and the runes on his forehead marking him as Loki’s were fading. Loki couldn’t save him from death, even if he was at full strength in his sedir. Even Modir, if she was still alive, would have been unable to save him.
Deep sorrow, an agony Loki hadn’t even felt with Modir’s death, filled his heart as he wept into Tim’s soft hair. His son was so young, nothing more than a baby by Asgardian standards. His eyes were fierce, but dimming more and more as each second of the dreaded clock ticked forwards. His light, his passion was gone. His son was once so full of joy and hope. He was Loki’s son, his only family besides Thor was dead. His son-
His son had such promise, such potential.
And Thanos had ripped him away.
And in doing so, the monster had ripped out Loki’s own heart.
Loki curled Tim into him, halfway pretending he was protecting his son from any threats. His own body was well damaged, but didn’t dare resist Loki forcing himself to hold his bairn tight.
“Loki.” Thor spoke softly, almost a whisper, as he walked over, sitting down at Loki’s head.
One of the other Asgardians must have unlocked Thor. Loki thought to himself absentmindedly as his brother sat down, bones creaking as he settled on the hard, broken floor.
“It was not your fault, brother.” Thor spoke gently, reaching for Loki’s broken hand that was wrapped around Timothy’s bruised neck. Loki pulled his hand back, hissing at the sharp pain that flared under his skin.
He wrapped himself tighter around Timothy, refusing to let go even in the pain. It was all his fault, regardless of what Thor believed. Loki had worked for the Mad Titan, had attacked New York under his hand, even if it was by mind control. His actions were what brought Timothy to this fate. He may as well have killed his son himself.
“Brother, you must come to the med-bay. You are in dire need of medical attention.”
Loki curled even tighter around his boy, unable to stop himself from imagining Timothy was breathing and alive and about to wiggle out himself. Loki couldn’t let go. Tim was always the one that initiated hugs and Loki never pulled away first. He wouldn’t let himself pull away now. His heart was already weeping, broken, and dying at the fact his son was gone, dead, on the floor. He had to pretend, if even for a moment more, that Timothy was here, hugging him back, and not unable to breathe again.
“I’m not leaving him.” Loki whispered, dimly registering the tears trailing down his face. His emotions were beyond frayed, closer to being destroyed than anything else and there were tremors in every breath of air he managed to force in his lungs. His body was shaking, from both the injuries and the fact that he was lying on a metal floor.
But Loki’s comfort didn’t matter. His son was dead.
Thor looked down at him, with no short amount of sorrow.
“Then bring him with us.” Thor offered quietly, waving off the well meaning citizens that were gathering behind him.
To bring Tim with him would force Loki to look at his son’s face. It would be a somber reminder of his son’s death. There would be no more light behind his son’s eyes and Loki couldn’t bear for the moment a well-meaning nurse would pull away the dead body. He simply couldn’t allow it, his soul felt like it was dying without his child. Timothy was his life, his joy, and if Loki so much as moved one inch away, he’d be forced to see the death on his bairn’s face.
“Please,” Loki begged quietly, uncaring entirely about his reputation as the last few Asgardians left began murmuring in the background. He couldn’t leave, he couldn’t. “Please let me stay here.”
“Loki,” Thor chided softly with tears in his eyes. “You have many injuries. I cannot leave you here.”
Loki closed his eyes and snuggled his face into his son’s hair. He couldn’t look directly at his brother’s sorrow. It was too much for his heart to bear. Although the logic in the back of his head was trying to remind him of his own injuries, and that nothing could bring Timothy back, it felt impossible to move with the grief holding down his very bones.
“I’m not leaving him.” Loki repeated, sounding more resolved this time. He couldn’t accept the truth, not yet.
Then, something unexpected happened. A portal, a doorway opened, and soldiers poured out dressed in black uniforms. They swarmed Loki before he could so much as form a fist and dragged him towards the portal.
Norms what was happening now?!