Chapter 11

Lost in thought, Loki gazed out the window at the four remaining Avengers. He knew someone would die. This whole affair just seemed risky from the start, but that didn't make it any less disheartening. He didn't have any attachment to Natasha. A part of Loki was even thankful that it had been her instead of Tony. However, it still pained him to see them all so distraught. He knew what that felt like. Loki even wanted to offer them comfort but he knew it would be inappropriate to do so.

"How long do you think they'll be out there?" Nebula asked.

"As long as they need," Loki growled, glaring at her.

"Yeah, show some compassion," Rocket agreed. "They just lost one of their closest friends." Loki nodded in agreement. Nebula walked away, sitting over by the platform. Rocket glanced at Loki.

"What do you think her deal is?" He asked, pointing at her.

"No idea," Loki admitted, shrugging. "Maybe she just wants to get everyone else back as soon as possible."

Rocket shrugged. "Can't say I disagree then. The ship is so quiet without Quill and the others." Loki nodded, understanding the drastic change for him. There was a slam. Loki and Rocket glanced at the door to see the four Avengers entering the building. Bruce gestured to Rocket. "That's my cue." He stood up, rushing toward the group. Not knowing what else to do, Loki followed the group into one of the side rooms. Bruce held the Time Stone and Tesseract, Rocket held the Aether and an orb that Loki guessed was the Power Stone, and Tony held the Soul Stone and the scepter. Loki instinctively took a step away from the scepter.

"What's going on in here?" Loki asked.

"We're trying to get the stones out of these things without getting ourselves killed," Tony explained.

"I can help with that," Loki replied, stepping forward.

"Good." Bruce set the Time Stone down in a glass containment, full of little metal pickers and a gauntlet. Tony did the same with the Soul Stone and Scepter, to which Loki instinctively stepped back a bit.

"I think most of these we can just handle with this thing," Tony explained, gesturing toward the device. "Don't know about the Tesseract and Power Stone."

"The Tesseract is easy," Loki replied. "Thanos was able to get the Space Stone from it just by crushing it to pieces."

"Can you do that?" Tony asked. He was standing in front of the containment, picking the Mind Stone out of the scepter.

"I can try," Loki replied, taking the Tesseract. For a moment, he simply glanced at it. The Tesseract was the last thing he ever thought he would see again. He smashed it between his fists. Cracks began to appear in the cube before it shattered completely, the pieces scattering to the floor. Only one piece remained in his hand: the Space Stone. Loki placed it in the containment alongside the Time, Soul, and Mind Stones.

"Do you wanna try to get the Power Stone out?" Rocket asked, holding the orb in front of him. Loki nodded, taking the orb in his hands. The easy part was cracking it open like a pistachio. The hard part was the burn on his skin that followed as the Power Stone rolled into his hand. Loki gasped, jumping back. The Stone slipped out of his hand, nearly hitting the ground. Loki extended his hands, forcing the power stone to levitate just above the ground. He let out a sigh of relief.

"You okay, Lokes?" Tony asked, glancing over his shoulder. Loki nodded, carefully levitating the Power Stone into the containment. He glanced at his hand to see a dark burn mark on his palm. Tapping it caused a stinging in his whole hand. Loki clenched his jaw. All that just from holding it for a moment… Finally, Rocket readied his device above the containment.

"You might want to put a lid over that," Loki suggested. Tony shrugged, grabbing the lid and holding it above the containment. Rocket released the Aether. Tony immediately put the lid down as the Aether flowed inside.

"What the hell are we gonna do with that?" Bruce asked.

"Force it into a stone," Tony answered. Using the controls, he shoved the six metal pinchers into the Aether. It was forced into place. After a few seconds, the Aether was forced together, slowing into a more solid shape: the Reality Stone. Now all six stones laid side by side. Tony picked up all six of the stones at once, each in a different pincer, and carried them toward the gauntlet. The stones were carefully placed into the holes. Nothing happened.

"Boom!" Rocket shouted. Tony flinched, knocking into Bruce while Loki glared at Rocket. Without a word, they carried the gauntlet out into the main room where Rhodey, Steve, Clint, and Scott waited. Tony placed it down in front of them.

"Alright. The glove's ready," Rocket informed. "Question is, who's gonna snap their freaking fingers?"

"I'll do it," Loki replied, stepping forward.

Scott glanced at him, eyes wide. "What?"

"Let me see it," Loki insisted, reaching toward the gauntlet. His fingers scraped the edge before he was pushed back.

Steve blocked him with his arm. "Wait, Loki, just wait. We haven't decided who's gonna put that on yet."

Loki turned to him, glaring. "Oh I'm sorry, are you all sitting around waiting for the right opportunity?" he snarled.

"We should at least discuss it," Scott insisted.

"I don't see what there is to discuss," Loki replied. "I handled two Stones and there's only a small burn on me." Loki held up his hand, revealing the burn that was now shrinking. "I'm undoubtedly the strongest of all of you. Just let me do it."

"No." Loki glanced at Tony, his eyes wide.

"What?"

"I'm not gonna let you do this," Tony replied, staring at Loki.

"Why not?"

"Dude, you and I both know you're in no condition mentally," he insisted.

"Neither are any of you!" Loki snapped, glaring at the rest of the team. "You just lost one of your closest friends, we're all grieving over something." Everyone looked at the ground, shifting uncomfortably. Tony continued to glare Loki.

"Yeah, well the rest of us haven't attempted suicide!" he snapped, stepping closer.

"That's not what this is about!" Loki insisted.

"Isn't it?! You think that even if you die trying to do this, it won't be that big of a deal-"

"It wouldn't be!" Loki snapped, cutting his friend off. "Admit it, if I died bringing everyone back, it would mean none of you would risk losing anyone else you care about!"

"Stop acting like people don't care about you!" Loki staggered back. "Look, I know your whole family died and that's really upsetting. Trust me, I get that, but that doesn't mean no one else cares about you because believe it or not I care and the last thing I want is for you to die!" Loki stared at Tony, his eyes wide. It wasn't a surprise that Tony cared about him but the fact that he cared this much…

"Yeah, I agree," Rocket added. "Saying that no one cares about you is kinda demeaning to the ones who actually do care… which includes pretty much all of the Guardians of the Galaxy by the way." Loki glanced back at Tony.

"...You're right, I'm sorry." Loki stepped closer, wrapping his arms around his friend and pulling him close. Tony hesitated before returning the gesture.

"So if Loki doesn't do it… who should?" Steve asked. Loki and Tony backed out of their hug.

"I think it should be me," Bruce replied, raising his hand. "You saw what those stones did to Thanos. It almost killed him. None of you could survive."

"How do we know you will?" Steve asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I don't. But the radiation's mostly gamma. It's like the Hulk was made for this." Everyone nodded. Tony walked over to the gauntlet, handing it to Bruce.

"Good to go, yeah?" Tony asked.

Bruce nodded. "Let's do it."

"You remember... everyone Thanos snapped away five years ago and just bringing them back to now, today," Tony ordered. "Don't change anything from the last five years."

"Got it," Bruce murmured. Scott and Rhodey put on their masks, Steve readied his shield, Tony summoned his suit, all of them backing away. Loki summoned his armour, standing in front of Tony and holding out his arms to shield him.

"Dude, you don't have to do that," Tony insisted. Something appeared between them. Loki glanced back to see an almost holographic shield. "Come here." Loki nodded, walking over to stand next to Tony. He eventually gave in to the temptation to put his arm around him, just for good measure. Tony copied the gesture.

"Friday, do me a favor and activate protocol eight," he muttered, the mask muffling his words slightly.

"Yes boss," a disembodied voice replied. All around them, the skylights and windows closed, draining the room of all natural light.

"Everybody comes home, Bruce muttered. He began to slip his hand into the gauntlet, which increased in size as it wrapped around his enormous hand. Then it closed. Immediately, power surged through his arm, causing him to fall on his knee. He grunted in pain. Multicoloured light flashed all over his arm, radiating from the stones like lightning.

"Bruce, are you okay?!" Steve called. Bruce let out another groan.

"Talk to me, Banner," Tony added.

"I'm okay," Bruce groaned, nodding his head. "I'm okay." He struggled to move his fingers, let alone snap them as the energy surge seemed to melt away his strength. Finally, Bruce clasped his fingers together. Following the snap, was a burst of light, blinding Loki before he raised his free arm to shield it. Loki looked back at Bruce. He had flopped to the floor, the gauntlet thankfully sliding away in the process. His right arm was covered with one black burn.

"Bruce!" Steve was immediately at his side. The others gathered around him, Clint kicking the gauntlet aside.

"Don't move him," Tony ordered. Water sprayed from his fingers, onto Bruce's burned arm. Bruce held Steve's arm, panting.

"Did it work?" He asked. Loki and the others glanced out the window. Plants now decorated the outside of the building, while a chirping sound fluttered through the air. A new ringing sound joined it. Clint slowly walked toward the table, glancing at his phone. On the screen, was an incoming call from someone named Laura. Clint took the call. His eyes instantly filled with tears.

"Guys…" Scott gasped, his eyes full of awe. "I think it worked!" The victory was only able to set in for a moment before part of the building was blasted to the side. Loki immediately lunged at Tony, knocking him out of the way. More missiles rained down from the sky, causing the ground to collapse beneath them. Tony scrambled away. Sprouting the same wings from Titan, Loki grabbed Tony and took to the air. Loki pulled him closer as he winged away. The exploding building, which soon became far behind him, became quieter and quieter until it eventually stopped altogether. Only then did Loki go closer to the wreckage. Panting, he placed Tony on the ground and fell to his knees, only now noticing his pounding heart. Tony's mask disappeared. Loki glanced at his friend to see him wide-eyed and panting, with a fresh scar on his cheek.

"Are you alright?!" Loki asked, wiping away the blood.

"Physically, yeah," Tony answered. "Emotionally, no. What about you?" Loki placed his hand on his forehead, which was sweating like a river. There were some burn marks on his face.

"I'm fine," Loki replied, getting rid of his wings.

"You sure?" Tony asked. "I mean you're a frost giant and we were just in a fiery explosion."

"It'll heal quickly," Loki insisted. "I assure you, I always do." Loki and Tony both gazed at the Avengers Compound. The land where the huge building had once been was flat and charred, while specks of the compound and ground were still on fire. Loki glanced at the sky and his heart nearly exploded. Thanos's ship.

"How in the..."

"Come on," Tony grunted, struggling to his feet. "Let's go see if we can find the others." Loki nodded, trailing after his friend.

"How did Thanos get here?" Loki asked. "I killed him!"

"It must be a past version," Tony replied. "He must've found out…" Loki felt his stomach stir.

"And here I thought this shit was over," he muttered. He froze as he caught something blue out of the corner of his eye. Tony noticed it too, immediately rushing toward it. Loki trailed after him. Steve was on the ground, seemingly unconscious beside his shield. Grabbing it, Tony prodded his friend.

"Steve, come on buddy wake up." Steve stirred lightly, then pushed himself off the ground. "That's my man." He handed him the shield. "You lose this again, I'm keeping it."

"What happened?" Steve grunted, taking the shield.

"We messed with time. It tends to mess back," Tony explained. "You'll see." Loki gazed around the wreckage.

"Come on." He gestured at Tony and Steve. "He must be nearby." The two followed him, Steve readying his shield. Finally, Loki spotted the purple bastard. He was wearing his old gold armour and sitting in the rubble, a double-edged sword in the ground beside him. Loki's eyes narrowed. The three had all stopped to glare at him.

"Has he been doing nothing this whole time?" Tony asked.

"He's been waiting for us," Loki snarled, his fists clenching.

"Where are the stones?" Steve asked.

"Somewhere under all this," Tony answered, gesturing at the charred land around them. "All I know is he doesn't have them."

"So we keep it that way," Steve replied.

"You guys know it's a trap, right?" Loki asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah," Tony shrugged. "Don't much care." Loki cracked a smile.

"Good, as long as we're all in agreement." Loki summoned his daggers and helmet, glaring at Thanos. "Let's kill him properly this time." Tony and Steve nodded. The three approached him side by side, all glaring at Thanos. The titan perked up at the sight of them.

"You could not live with your own failure." Yet another monologue. The three continued to approach him, eyes narrowed. "And where did that bring you? Back to me." The group split up, circling Thanos like prey as they continued closer. "I thought by eliminating half of life, the other half would thrive. But you've shown me that's impossible and as long as there are those that remember what was, there will always be those that are unable to accept what can be. They will resist."

"Yep, we're all kinds of stubborn," Tony replied. Loki clenched his jaw. Dammit, Tony, stop being cute, this is not the time!

"I'm thankful. Because now, I know what I must do." Thanos stood up, turning away from the three. "I will shred this universe down to its last atom. And then…" Thanos put on his helmet. "With the stones, you've collected for me, create a new one. Teeming with life." He picked up his double-edged sword. "That knows not what it has lost but only what it has been given." Loki rolled his eyes. How is it even possible that you could've thought of a plan even worse than your last one?! "A grateful universe."

"Born out of blood," Steve spat.

"They'll never know it. Because you won't-" Finally, Loki snapped. Summoning the casket into his hands, he fired a blast of ice at the titan. Thanos groaned as his entire body was encased in ice. Then he froze in place. Steve gazed at him with wide eyes, but for once, Loki ignored the reaction.

"That's not going to hold him forever!" he exclaimed, summoning his daggers again. "Get ready!" Loki slid in front of them. After a few moments, the ice shattered to pieces, and a screaming Thanos emerged. He flung his sword at Loki. Ducking under the attack, Loki slipped away. His knife slid across Thanos's exposed wrist. The titan flung himself at Steve, who blocked the attack with his shield as Tony hovered above them, firing blasts at Thanos. Loki glanced at his knives. Summoning more, he threw them all at Thanos with his magic. The titan groaned as the knives pierced his skin. Summoning a sword, Loki bolted toward Thanos, aiming right for the neck. Before the impact could come, Thanos grabbed the sword, shattering it to pieces in his hand. Thanos swung his sword at Loki. He ducked, resulting in Thanos flinging Loki's helmet off his head. The attack also hit Steve, knocking him against some nearby rubble away from his shield. Loki grabbed his helmet, shoving into Thanos's arm. Thanos let out a groan, giving Tony the chance to fire at him. He was hit square in the face. Thanos's helmet was flung off too, eliciting another groan. Splitting into two, Loki's real self sneaked behind Thanos while his illusion dashed right at the mad titan from the front. Thanos flung at the illusion. However, his weapon passed right through him harmlessly. The real Loki shoved his dagger deep into the back of Thanos's head, drawing blood and a scream of pain. Loki grabbed Thanos's sword, throwing it as far as he could. In retaliation, Thanos grabbed Loki by the neck, lifting him into the air. Loki let out a cry. He flailed around to no avail, even summoning his daggers to slice at Thanos's wrists did no good.

"Tony!" He cried. Tony blasted Thanos right in his stupid face. Thanos groaned, dropping Loki. Loki immediately concealed his presence, even scrambling behind the nearest piece of rubble for extra safety. He placed his hand on his neck, panting. Every breath was a struggle, as his throat was searing with pain. Thankfully, no irreversible damage had occurred. Summoning his knives, Loki leaped back into the battle. Steve was beneath Thanos, his shield getting smashed into oblivion by Thanos's sword. Loki shoved his knife into Thanos's side. He zipped out of the way before the titan could retaliate. Steve jumped toward Thanos. His shield laid forgotten on the ground as Thanos grabbed him by the neck and threw him against the ground. Tony laid aside as well, his mask off and face covered in more scars. Loki was the only one standing. His eyes were wide as he met Thanos's gaze. Raising his hands in defeat, he kneeled beside Tony, observing his friend's wounds. Parts of his armour were cracked and scars adorned his face. Steve staggered, attempting to stand. However, he fell to the ground again, letting out a groan. Thanos gazed at them.

"In all my years of conquest…" Another goddamn monologue. "Violence… slaughter... It was never personal. But I'll tell you now... what I'm about to do to your stubborn, annoying little planet... I'm gonna enjoy it. Very, very much." There was a beam from the sky and from it, appeared a massive swath of warriors. Thanos's 'children,' the Chitauri, outriders, everyone. They marched toward the three fallen men. Steve held up the half of his shield that was left, glaring at the army. Loki's eyes widened. He made no move to join Steve, instead pulling Tony closer. Fighting now was truly a lost cause. Even the casket couldn't have that much power, not with an inexperienced Loki using it. Besides, they would probably just break out of the ice like Thanos had. At least I'll die with a friend. Loki closed his eyes, only for them to pop open again when a crackling sound filled the air.

"Cap, you hear me?" a voice asked. Loki looked around. He didn't recognize the voice but only Tony and Steve were near him. "Cap, it's Sam can you hear me?" The voice asked again. Loki glanced at the device on Steve's ear, where he now realized the voice was coming from. "On your left." Loki looked to Steve's left. A yellow portal began to form behind them, shining like a lamp in the crushing darkness. Three figures emerged from the portal. Loki didn't recognize any of them but they looked to be in armour. Steve gazed at them. Then a winged figure soared from the portal, landing in front of them. As he did, more and more of the exact portal appeared behind them, lighting up the whole battlefield. What had to be thousands of figures emerged from the portals. An entire army dressed the same as the first figures emerged, along with Doctor Strange, who descended in with orange magic flowing from his hands and his cloak ruffling in the wind. From that same portal, three familiar figures emerged. Loki's heart lit up. Quill, Mantis, and Drax all stood beside Doctor Strange, readying their respective weapons. Then another figure swung in. Peter Parker landed beside the Guardians removing his mask to gaze in awe at the scene before him. After them, came Groot, with a metal-armed man. Seemingly every hero in the universe was emerging from these portals, ready to kick Thanos's ass. Another familiar figure soared in on a pegasus. It was Valkyrie with the armies of Asgard behind her. Sif was at the forefront. Another woman landed beside them, red energy protruding from her hands. Doctor Strange's associates followed his lead. They all summoned the same orange magic from their hands. The armies just kept coming and coming, an endless swath of people with weapons or magic at the ready as they approached. Several ships emerged as well, no doubt filled with soldiers. That wasn't even all. From some wreckage, came Scott Lang, maybe seventy feet tall and in his Ant-Man suit. Tony and Loki stood up, shock and wonder filling their gazes. Scott opened his hand, revealing Rhodey, Bruce, and Rocket, their weapons and armour at the ready as they leaped to the ground. Loki summoned his daggers, jumping into a fighting position.

"AVENGERS!" Steve called. There was a long pause before he uttered the next word, "Assemble." Just like that, every human, Asgardian, or otherwise on that battlefield rushed toward Thanos. The Chitauri rushed forward as well. War cries filled the air as the space between the armies got smaller and smaller until they clashed. Loki lunged at a Chitauri. His knife slashed their face open and knocked them to the ground. Loki whipped around, immediately ready to face his next opponents. A swath of Chitauri and Outriders were rushing toward him. Summoning the casket, he aimed the icy blast at the lot of them, freezing them into place. Loki grabbed his daggers, slashing them into the ice. It shattered to pieces, along with the enemies inside. Loki's eyes widened. Holy shit. Across the battlefield, Loki spotted Mantis. He rushed toward her, immediately covering her back as he slashed a spear at another enemy. Mantis slashed at the Chitauri with her weapon. Sometimes she induced the enemies into sleep before stabbing the shit out of them.

"Loki… it is good to… see you… again," she greeted, through attacks. Loki flung a myriad of knives at three approaching outriders. They all fell to the ground.

"You too, Mantis," Loki replied. "Though preferably-" Loki whipped around as a Leviathan approached Mantis. Summoning the casket, he aimed it right at the creature, firing a frozen blast at the enemy. It took much longer but eventually, the huge thing froze and fell to the ground. The ice and its body shattered to pieces. Loki glanced at Mantis. "-we should talk more after the battle."

"Yes, I agree," Mantis replied, nodding vigorously. She had undoubtedly noticed Loki's Jotun appearance yet made no note of it, like it didn't matter. Loki was touched by that. It seemed like the only beings who did care about that were Asgardians. Loki turned back into battle, aiming the casket at more smaller warriors. Freezing them was a cinch. Lunging forward, Loki sliced his daggers through them, shattering the frozen forms.

"Yo Lokes!" a voice called. Loki glanced up to see Quill, soaring above the battle and firing at enemies high and low. "Sweet weapon!"

"Thanks!" Loki called back. Quill landed beside him, removing his mask.

"Mind if I try?" he asked, firing at something.

"You wouldn't be able to," Loki replied, also firing at approaching enemies. "It is incredibly harmful to humans."

"Welp, at least it's incredibly harmful to them too," Quill replied, shooting something. Loki cracked a smile.

"I've missed you, Quill," he admitted.

Quill smiled back. "Yeah, me too." Making the casket disappear, Loki closed the distance between him and Quill, wrapping his arms around him. Quill immediately returned the hug. After a few moments, they backed away, Quill summoning his mask. Loki summoned his wings. The two took to the air side by side, firing at enemies with their respective weapons. From the ground, a Chitauri lunged at Quill, dragging him down toward some flaming wreckage. Loki landed on the edge. Quill was already cornered against the wall by two attackers. Loki lunged toward them, shielding Quill with his wings as he sliced his knife through one the attackers. Kicking them away, Loki turned to the other one. Before he could attack, the enemy was shot right through the back, falling on top of Quill. Loki tossed the body aside. Quill stumbled to his feet, getting rid of his mask to reveal wide eyes. Loki gasped as he looked up. Gamora stood on the battlefield, a gun in hand as she glared at Quill.

"Gamora?" Gamora continued to stare at Quill, tilting her head to the side as he approached her. Quill stopped directly in front of her. "I thought I lost you." Loki stared at Gamora, raising an eyebrow. None of the previous love she had shown for Quill was shown in her expression. This wasn't the Gamora they knew. But then that meant… Quill attempted to touch her face only for her to smack his arm away.

"Don't…" Gamora kneed him in the groin. "Touch…" And again. "Me!" Quill fell to the ground on his back, groaning in pain.

"You missed the first time..." he cried. "Then you got 'em both the second time." Loki knelt beside his friend.

"Are you okay?" he asked, unable to suppress a giggle. Quill nodded. Nebula approached Gamora, standing by her sister's side.

"This is the one?" Gamora scoffed. "Seriously?"

"The choices were him, or a tree," Nebula informed, her voice flat. Loki helped Quill to his feet, his eyes sparkling with amusement.

"Who's the pale guy?" Gamora asked, pointing at Loki.

"His name's Loki," Nebula informed. "He's a… an unofficial member of the group."

"I guess you're not with Thanos then?" Loki asked. Gamora shook her head. He and Quill both sighed in relief before something shot at them. Loki grabbed Quill, moving him out of the way. The four readied their weapons, Gamora and Quill guns, Nebula a knife, and Loki the casket, before lunging at the swath of attackers. Loki froze the biggest one, swinging at the frozen form with his dagger. Nebula brawled with one, expertly blocking each attack with her knife before kicking the attacker over and stabbing it right in the chest. Gamora had her back, shooting at a few attackers as they approached. All of them fell dead. Quill took to the skies, firing at any enemies that came at them from above. Another figure zipped toward the ground, landing beside Loki.

"Tony!" he exclaimed. The two immediately had each other's backs, firing at any enemies that approached them while protecting the other. Loki was careful not to use the casket on Gamora or Nebula. He aimed it strictly at enemies who had gotten too close, slicing his spear or daggers at any other enemies. Behind him, Tony was blasting his attackers to pieces. Loki glanced at him, casting a smile. He couldn't see it, but he was pretty sure Tony smiled back through the mask. Then he blasted off. Loki summoned his wings, zipping after him. They pressed their backs against each other's again, firing wildly at any enemy in sight. Just as Loki froze a Leviathan, a flame passed by him, cinching his skin. He tapped out the flame. Glancing up at the sky, Loki saw even more flames raining down of them. Loki soared to the ground, summoning a shield above his head. His wings disappeared as well. Tony landed in front of him, ducking under the shield and removing his mask.

"Holy crap," he gasped. Tony wrapped his arm around Loki. He gazed at his friend with wide eyes before pulling him closer. The two were huddling together like penguins as shots from the sky assaulted them at every angle. Loki closed his eyes. Rubble from the shots sprayed at his face yet thankfully none of the shots directly hit the shield. After a while, the shots stopped. The skyward rubble fell back to the ground and the sky was still. Loki placed the shield aside. He and Tony stared up at the sky, confusion in their gazes. The firing had stopped completely before it continued again, this time towards the sky.

"What the hell?" Loki murmured, panting.

"Friday, what are they firing at?" Tony asked.

"Something has entered the upper atmosphere," the disembodied voice informed. A bright flash zoomed through the sky, toward Thanos's ship. However, it didn't stop. The flame collided right into the ship, cutting through it like a knife. The shots from the ship died out. Then it hit Loki exactly what that flash was.

"Carol Danvers!" he exclaimed. The woman soared through the sky, ramming through the ship a second time and coming out the other side. The ship, now on fire, descended into the water. Loki couldn't help but cheer. He and Tony both took to the skies again, soaring onto the battlefield. They landed back to back. Loki froze any enemy who dared approach, while Tony fired blasts at them. Things continued like this until a huge blast erupted out of nowhere. Loki and Tony were thrown aside. They smashed into some rubble, before falling to the ground. Loki immediately turned to Tony. His mask was gone, revealing no more injuries than there had been previously. Squinting his eyes, Loki caught sight of Thanos. His heart dropped when he noticed the gauntlet. Before he could lunge, Carol swooped in, blasting fire at his stupid head, attempting to drag the gauntlet off his closed fist. It rendered him unable to snap. However, the gauntlet remained glued to his hand even as Carol yanked at it. Summoning the casket, Loki dashed toward them. His presence was concealed so neither of them saw him coming. Before he could reach them, Thanos grabbed the Power Stone, shoving it into his free hand. With a powerful punch, Carol was knocked away. Loki lunged in, freezing Thanos into place, the Power Stone still out of the gauntlet. He raised his dagger to slice through his arm before he was grabbed by the neck. Oh no, you don't, bitch. Summoning every knife he had, Loki shot them all at Thanos with his magic, stabbing him in every place the armour didn't cover. Thanos cried out. Loki was thrown aside, slamming into some rubble before he fell to the ground. He panted, attempting to stand. However, more rubble fell on top of his legs, gluing him to the ground. Thanos placed the Power Stone in the gauntlet causing purple energy to surge through him. He groaned in pain. Out of nowhere, Tony lunged at Thanos. He grabbed the gauntlet, pulling on it with seemingly no motive to actually yank it off. What is he doing? Thanos punched Tony a few times, eventually knocking him away, the gauntlet remaining on his hand. He smirked, raising his fingers.

"I am inevitable." Loki closed his eyes, preparing for the power surge. However, it never came. A metallic clink took its place, prompting Thanos's smug look to fade and glance at the gauntlet. Loki glanced at it too, his eyes wide. The stones were gone! Loki turned to Tony, who lifted his hand to reveal the stones in his own gauntlet!

"NO! Loki cried. He struggled against the rubble to no avail. Tony glared at Thanos, the power of the stones surging through him like lightning.

"And I… am… Iron Man." Tony snapped his fingers. A bright light followed, blinding Loki for a few moments as he continued to struggle against the debris. He strained his eyes open. All around him, Thanos's army was turning to dust. Thanos himself gazed at the army with wide eyes, before sitting down and fading away himself. However, Loki paid hardly any attention to the victory. He gazed around wildly. However, Tony was nowhere to be seen in the wreckage. Finally knocking the debris aside, Loki staggered to his feet, panting as he rushed around the battlefield, looking for any sign of his friend.

"Hey... Mr. Stark?" Loki froze at the familiar voice. "Can you hear me? It's Peter. We won. Mr. Stark... We won, Mr. Stark. We won and you did it, sir. You did it." Panting, Loki continued to look around before finally seeing it: Tony, with a serious burn on his right side, and Peter and Pepper huddled around him.

"TONY!" Loki dashed toward his friend, falling in front of him. Tears poured out like rain. "Why would you do that?!" he demanded. However, there was no response. His friend didn't even look him in the eye, his gaze completely empty. "Please, Tony…" He shook him a bit. "TALK TO ME!" There was still no response, not even a blink. Loki wrapped his arms around Tony, wailing as if he had just been stabbed. "Why?… you didn't have to… please… I still need you, please… Not here… not now… you still have so much to live for…" A hand rested on his shoulder. Loki glanced up to see Pepper, her eyes gentle as she met his gaze.

"Let him go," she whispered. "Let him rest.��� Loki's eyes were wide for a moment. However, as he cast a glance at Tony, he understood. Tony doesn't want us to grieve… Loki nodded. However, he turned back to his friend, wrapped his arms around him and leaned close to his ear.

"I'm not okay… but I will be… Thank you." Leaning closer, Loki pressed his lips against Tony's cheek, allowing more tears to fall. He backed away, staggering to stand beside Peter. Seconds later, the light of Tony's arc reactor flickered off for the last time.