New Partners

That chance meeting became their routine. Every morning, Loki had breakfast with Brunnhilde, then wondered four blocks down from their hostel to the rehabilitation complex. Nebula was always there before him, working through her warm-up exercises in the centre of the training hall. The practise dummy, on the other hand, stood in the corner, unused.

This morning too, Loki was the last to arrive. He hung back, watching Nebula's meticulous movements. They were as precise as on any other day, but they lacked the free-flowing grace Loki had observed previously. The line of Nebula's shoulders was stiffer than it should have been. Loki considered simply asking what was bothering her, but Nebula disliked interruptions in the middle of an exercise and she was so flighty about personal matters, he feared an overly forward question would undermine their fragile friendship.

Loki, instead, slipped off his outer layers of garments and put on a thin shirt he didn't mind staining with his sweat. As he folded his street clothes in a neat pile, he realised the rhythmic shuffle of Nebula's feet shifting over the matted area had seized. He glanced around to find Nebula staring at him.

She averted her gaze. 'Good morning. I was wondering if I could ask you for a favour.'

'Depends on the favour,' Loki replied. He had three double entendres ready to go, but kept them to himself. Nebula hadn't responded well the last time he had tried one on her.

'How good are you with a sword? Would you mind if we train with swords today? My sister is due to return shortly and I need to be ready for her.'

'Planning an assassination?' Loki asked.

Nebula frowned for a moment, then rolled her eyes. 'We always spar and she favours the sword. So, Baugi, you don't mind?'

'Hardly. I could use some practice with a sword myself.'

'Ok, good. I picked up a few that looked about the right size,' Nebula said, pointing towards the large duffel bag she had left by the door to the hall.

Inside were half a dozen different swords of various lengths and blade widths. All had blunt edges, but anyone on a receiving end of a strike from these would earn a sizable welt nevertheless. Loki examined the swords one by one, checking the centre of balance and how the grip sat in his hand. None of them were perfect. He settled for one that distinctly reminded him of Fandral's rapier. It had a nice grip — not so new that the leather was slippery and not old enough for the leather to have started to break down.

'Are you going to warm up?' Nebula asked as Loki took position opposite her. She had asked him the same question practically every morning so far.

Loki flashed a smile. 'You just want to watch me sweat.'

'You aren't as handsome or charming as you think you are.'

'But you do think I am just a little bit handsome? And charming?'

Nebula shook her head, not meeting his eyes. 'Stop fishing for compliments and hit me already.'

Loki let out a mock scoff, then sank onto the intimately familiar warrior's stance and brought up his sword. Their first drill was nothing more than what a child in their first year of training would do. They took turns making the different common cuts and thrusts until they were satisfied with each one. Nebula had no tolerance for imperfection.

They then both moved a step back, changing the distance between them and went through their repertoire of swings and cuts. Then they altered their starting position again. It was a painfully repetitive exercise, but it reinforced the fundamentals of good technique. Thor had also claimed on more than one occasion that these sorts of exercises relaxed him. Loki settled for acclimatising to the unfamiliar weapon in his hand.

A quarter of an hour later, once they had worked through the basics, the drills became more engaging. Loki and Nebula tried out different blocks and feints. Sweat beaded on Loki's forehead and their thrusts were now accompanied by stoic grunts.

Ignoring the burning muscle in his left shoulder, Loki made a low-line attack. Nebula blocked him, but Loki could feel the give in the contact between their blades. He pushed forward until his sword tapped against Nebula's hip bone.

Loki pulled his sword back and straightened up. 'Your block here comes down at the wrong angle.'

'Yeah, I picked up on that,' Nebula said. 'I don't need commentary from you.'

And so it begins.

'Let's try again then.' Loki sighed.

They went through the same exchange four more times and Loki was the victor after each one. Nebula did adjust the position of her sword with each attempt, but she clearly didn't understand what part of her movement her mistake lay in and groped about blindly for a solution. This was her answer to every weak-point in her technique.

'Nebula,' Loki tried again, 'let me show you.'

'As I said before, I don't need your commentary.'

'Really? Are you enjoying the bruises you're accumulating?'

'Let's just go again,' Nebula snarled.

'Look, I'm not your sister,' Loki said. He tried to keep his frustration from seeping into his words, but failed. He had been bottling up his frustration for days already. 'Whatever there is between the two of you, I don't particularly care. I'm here because I thought we might help each other in training together, but if you're not interested in what I have to say, you might as well go train with the dummy.'

Nebula drew back. 'I'm sorry. I didn't mean to offend you, I'm frustrated with myself, that's all.'

'How about a water break?' Loki said through gritted teeth.

Nebula nodded and strode off towards the door, where she slid to the floor beside her duffel bag. Loki gulped down half the water he had brought with him, then after a hesitation, sat down on the floor next to Nebula.

'Your training partner is not your enemy,' he said. 'My old sword-master used to say that sort of thing a lot. He believed training isn't about beating your partner to a pulp; it's about finding the weaknesses and working together to turn them into strengths.

'Unfortunately, it took me way too long to understand what he meant. I was always competitive, desperate to win every single sparring bout and every single drill. My partners existed to be beaten, until no one wanted to train with me anymore. So I came to class determined to be the best and soon enough, I was the worst in our training group.'

'You don't seem so bad to me. Your cohort must've been something to behold,' Nebula replied.

Loki flipped his half-empty water bottle, letting it spin twice in the air before he caught it. 'My brother possesses so much natural talent, it's maddening. The others, not so much. The difference was — my brother is a more generous person than I am and he wanted his friends to get better too, so he was free with his help. The others followed suit. Their training looked little different to children at play. They'd laugh, they'd try out all sorts of ridiculous moves and they'd throw out ideas on how to do something. Yet in what looked like nonsense, they learned what worked and what didn't. And they also learned how to trust each other. Now that they are adults, they make a formidable team on the battlefield.'

'But not you.' Nebula rested her head against the wall and palpated the edge of a cybernetic implant in the side of her knee. 'Can't have been a pleasant experience to struggle with through those lessons and to be left out of their happy group.'

It discomforted Loki how much Nebula had guessed from the few scraps of detail Loki had shared from his childhood. But perhaps perceptiveness was a talent common in lonely children — those who watched from the sidelines saw more than those caught up in the furore of the action.

'I made their life as miserable as my own,' Loki said. 'I had a foul temper when I lost and I learned other ways to victory. At least, with some maturity and perseverance, I did figure out some things on my own about how to win a fight.'

Nebula offered him a knowing smile, then sighed. 'When it came to our lessons, it was never friendly between my sister and me. I can't even think of a time when such a thing was suggested to us. Our trainers, our father always pitted us against each other.'

'Well, I don't see your sister here. Or your father. Or your trainers. So forget about them.' Loki climbed to his feet and extended his hand out to Nebula. 'Come on, we have work to do. That block won't fix itself.'

A hand rested on Loki's shoulder.

'How do you fare, good man?' Ebony Maw asked. His silky voice sent shivers up Loki's spine. 'So many new faces since I last walked along the tables of this hall. The Great Titan will be pleased how many pilgrims answer his call.'

Loki turned to face the Maw and peered up at the man's cold eyes. 'My companion and I are grateful for the Titan's generosity in providing meals for visitors to his domain.'

'The Great Titan is always generous.' Ebony Maw's nose flared slightly as if it offended him to even contemplate any alternative. 'I will be at the Gathering tonight. Your companion and you will attend, won't you?'

'I wouldn't dream of missing it.'

Ebony Maw smiled and withdrew his hand. He moved further down the long table, stopping to converse with anyone that caught his eye, but even once he had made all the way to the other end of the hall, Loki still felt the pressure of the Maw's fingers on the skin of his shoulder. He had been ravenous when he walked into the mess hall, now the sight of his food sent his stomach protesting.

'Who is he?' Brunnhilde asked between bites of her own dinner. Although she continued eating, she kept one hand close to the knife strapped to her thigh. 'He seems friendly.'

'That's Ebony Maw. He is the Titan's first lieutenant,' replied the woman sitting opposite Loki and Brunnhilde.

Brunnhilde nodded. 'I've heard much about him. He's not quite what I imagined.'

'He's supposed to spend most of his time by his master's side,' Loki said, doing his best to keep his tone casual. The woman opposite them was an Other — a rare specimen of her species. Only one out of every fifty-thousand Chitauri wasn't wired into the Chitauri hive mind. Loki didn't relish talking to one of her kind any more than he would have relished the company of Thanos himself. 'If Ebony Maw is here, does that mean Thanos too is on Theta-Three?'

'I'm not one to know such things,' the Other answered.

Loki sighed and forced himself to return to his meal. He wasn't hungry now, but he might well be by the time the evening was over. Ebony Maw's love for the sound of his voice was second only to his love for Thanos himself. And distribution of food was tightly controlled in the Sanctuary. Loki and Brunnhilde had made numerous enquires — the Titan's mess halls were the only sure way the common populace could acquire food.

By the time he finished his oily noodles and the unidentifiable protein supplement on his plate, the tables of the mess hall had emptied. The vast majority of those who had been in uniforms had left — this wasn't their time. The Gatherings, as Thanos' loyalists called them, catered specifically to the newcomers.

They took place daily. Loki had managed to skip a few, feigning ill-health or exhaustion, but he didn't dare make it a habit. Informers and opportunists abounded in the Sanctuary. Someone was bound to take issue if he seemingly idled about, not participating in the usual rites of the pilgrims. And now that Ebony Maw had singled him out — there was absolutely no question of not attending. The Maw would notice his absence.

At some sign known only to him, Ebony Maw strode up to the raised stage at the far end of the hall and clapped his hands three times. 'My friends, let us gather!'

He lifted the long tables and shifted them to the edges of the hall, leaving a large open space before the stage. The newcomers, nearly three dozen of them in all, gathered in a semi-circle before him. It was a motley crew. Some young and wrapped in rags, some carrying the scars of long experience and the wealth of more fortunate times in the lives. Loki found himself a place off to the side and in the second row. Brunnhilde remained by his right shoulder.

'I rejoice,' Ebony Maw said. Although he didn't raise his voice, his words commanded the room. 'There are so many new faces before me today. So many have already heard the Great Titan's call and with each new day, more answer.'

He clasped his hands together and walked down the steps in front of the stage. He seemed to make a survey of those gathered before him, before settling his gaze on one particularly ragged creature.

'Agullo, are you not? You have travelled far to reach us. What drew you here?'

The Agullo, a foot shorter than Ebony Maw, took half a step back. 'I-I disgraced my family and myself, only death might atone my sins. But it is said that those who are loyal to the Titan's cause might yet find salvation.'

'What you heard is true.'

'How do I… I mean, I have nothing to offer other than myself,' the Agullo said. Loki shifted an inch to the left so he could get a better look. He didn't know much about Agullo physiology, but to Loki he looked very young. 'I can work. I'll work very hard…'

Ebony Maw cupped the Agullo's cheek, then drew his hand up to the top of the Agullo's head. 'Do not fret. Here we are all Children of Thanos and with every step we make, the universe tips closer to balance. Your days of darkness and indignity lie behind you. Salvation will be yours.'

Beside Loki, Brunnhilde pursed her lips. Loki wondered if she too felt the crawl of Ebony Maw's power through the room. It was subtle magic that whispered of hope, safety and comfort. Loki's own magic, recognising an old foe, recoiled within him and energy pulsed through his body. Loki grit his teeth and forced his defences to quieten. He was too slow.

Ebony Maw's eyes locked on Loki and he cocked his head as he spoke, 'Some of you will have trepidations. It is only natural. I encourage you to surrender them and embrace the destiny that awaits you.'

Conscious that any reaction was likely to betray him, Loki forced himself to remain impassive, but his heart thumped. He could spin the finest lies in the entire history of the universe and it would change nothing. The contents of his mind could condemn them all.

I have to… I don't even know what. There's got to be some solution here.

After Ebony Maw had finished his preaching and dismissed his audience, neither Brunnhilde nor Loki were in the mood for conversation. They walked back to their hostel, then climbed the steep stairs up to the second floor in silence.

Brunnhilde threw open the door, revealing the disarray of their living area. Loki didn't want to be known for having money to throw about, so he had chosen this small and rather dingy suite with a single bedroom. Brunnhilde slept on a mattress that folded down from the wall in the living area. As his bodyguard, she was his first line of defence against anything that might burst through the door.

She didn't think it necessary to maintain her part of the suite to a presentable standard. Loki had initially made comment about it, but had surrendered on the issue in the past week. It wasn't worth the argument and a small a part of him that had been steeped in courtly manners, did find their sleeping arrangements unpalatable. Charade or no, Thor would no doubt have surrendered the bedroom to the Valkyrie.

Loki's sense of chivalry, on the other hand, didn't extend past taking the cap off a bottle before he passed it to Brunnhilde.

She accepted it, but then simply held it in her hands and sighed. 'This place is messed up.'

'This is worse than my father suspected,' Loki said. He stacked up Brunnhilde's cast-off clothing until there was enough space on the lounge for him to sit. Still unnerved by Ebony Maw's magicry, he searched for something more palatable to focus on. 'Did you learn anything useful today?'

'While I learned a great deal about the factories, I'm not sure how useful that knowledge is. There is a great deal being constructed — ships, artillery, armour, weapons, but nothing points to a particular strategy or target.'

The question of what Thanos' next target of attack would be had consumed Brunnhilde's thoughts in recent days. The preparations were impossible to miss, but no one seemed to know their purpose. For Loki, that question was unimportant — as long as Thanos lived, all inhabited planets were under threat, but he let Brunnhilde burrow further into this tangent in hope that she would strike upon something useful to Loki as well.

'This mission might take longer than five weeks,' Loki said.

'So I surmised.'

'I'll compensate you fairly once we are done here and return to Sakaar.'

Brunnhilde nodded, seemingly hardly registering his words, then asked, 'How goes your training?'

I haven't had so many bruises on me since that green beast on Midgard.

'Tiring,' Loki answered. 'I haven't trained so many hours a day or for so many days in a row in a very long time.'

'And the princess?'

Loki rolled his shoulders, trying to loosen the muscles. 'She's no princess.'

'As good as.' Brunnhilde took a swig from the bottle. 'Have you slept with her yet?'

A sexual relationship with Nebula had been his first thought. That was far from his preferred strategy to obtain what he wanted, but there were times when such measures were necessary. Nebula wasn't one of these, however. The longer he spent around her, the clearer it became.

'She needs a friend, more than anything else,' Loki replied. 'I can be that friend.'

Brunnhilde cast him an incredulous look.