The Prince and the Sol

Chapter 28

ELIZA'S POV

Loki's arms wrap around me seconds before I hit the ground, taking the brunt of the fall himself. I land on top of him.

"Are you okay?" I whisper frantically. He doesn't move, and I instantly start freaking out, even tapping his cheek gently. Nothing. "Hey, hey, come on, Lokes, you've gotta wake up." His eyes flutter open, and I almost cry in relief.

"Hi there," he mumbles, accepting my kiss. "What happened?"

"I'm not sure exactly." I roll off of him and help him to his feet. We cling to each other, surrounded by the destruction.

"Hey, are you two okay?" Tony asks, jogging towards us. I nod. Steve walks over with a slight limp. "We messed with time. It tends to mess back. You'll see."

"Where's everyone else?" I ask worriedly.

"Not sure. Somewhere under, most likely," Tony says. They'd better be all right. We can't lose anyone else.

After a bit of walking, we find Thor watching a fixed point in the distance.

Thanos. My eyes narrow and I start forward, only to have Loki grab my arm.

"Patience, my little sol," he whispers in my ear. I roll my eyes. "We need a plan."

"What's he been doing?" Tony asks Thor, who doesn't take his eyes off of Thanos.

"Absolutely nothing."

"Where are the stones?" Steve asks.

"Somewhere under all this," Tony replies. "All I know is he doesn't have them."

"So we keep it that way," I say.

"You know it's a trap, right?" Thor asks. We all nod.

"Yeah, and I don't much care," Tony replies sarcastically.

"Good. Just so long as we are in agreement." He reaches his hands to the sky. Lighting strikes him as both Mjilonir and Stormbreaker rush to him, transforming his sweats into battle armor. He looks deadly. Loki has this soft smirk, like he's always known his brother had it in him. "Let's kill him properly this time."

The five of us walk towards him in a line, Loki and Thor on my sides. I feel Loki press a knife in my hand. I grip it tightly. Funny enough, I'm not scared at all. I'm ready to end this, so we can all go home and be happy again.

"You could not live with your own failure. And where did that bring you?" Thanos' low voice rumbles with the rhetorical question. "Back to me. 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." He looks at us all closely, perhaps trying to figure us out. After all, we are from the future.

"Yep, we're all kinds of stubborn," Tony replies, shrugging.

"I'm thankful. Because now, I know what I must do." He stands. "I will shred this universe down to its last atom." He places the golden helmet on his head. "And then, with the stones you've collected for me, create a new one. Teeming with life, but knows not what it has lost but only what it has been given. A grateful universe." Ugh, he sounds just like he did on Titan.

"Born out of blood," Steve spits.

"They'll never know it, because you won't be alive to tell them."

At this point in our careers, we've established a bit of a rhythm of battle. Tony and Thor lunge for Thanos, while Steve and Loki go for a sneakier approach. Every time one of them is thrown out of the fight, I bring them back to full health. 2014 Thanos doesn't have any idea who I am, so this works well for a little while. He doesn't understand why all of them keep getting up better than ever. Unfortunately, he learns quickly.

"Pathetic," he sneers at the others after throwing Steve to the ground. I run to him, letting life pulse from my fingertips. "Relying on one person to keep you alive. What happens when she's gone?" My head whips up from Steve's body to see a large purple hand slam me to the ground. I groan, unable to get up. Loki instantly changes course for me, but Thanos hits him in the side of the head, knocking him out instantly.

"Thor, hit me!" Tony shouts angrily. Thor lets both hammers channel energy into Tony's suit. He shoots the lightning at Thanos. Thor then throws Mjilonir at Thanos, who decides to use Tony as a human shield. Tony falls to the ground, lifeless.

"Stay down," Steve hisses at me before getting up himself. He runs to attack the Titan but is easily thrown to the side. I glance at the object sitting a few feet away from me: Mjilonir. As slowly and inconspicuously as I can, I start to crawl towards it. I have no idea if I can do anything with it, but Steve can. I know he can.

As Thanos grabs Stormbreaker from Thor, my bloodied hands grip the handle. I tug, and the hammer instantly comes up. It's weightless. I gape in amazement for a second. I'm worthy. But I'll focus on that later. "Steve," I whisper. He glances at Mjilonir, then at Thanos. I nod and toss it to him.

Steve hurls the hammer at Thanos, and it comes back to him like a boomerang. Thanos stares, and Thor just smiles at the two of us.

"I knew it!"

Thanos and Steve begin to fight one-on-one. I almost scream when a hand touches my shoulder. "Are you okay?" Loki asks.

"Yeah, I think so. You?" He nods. "Just think of the stories we'll be able to tell our daughter."

"That will certainly be an interesting conversation to have." Lightning flashes from the sky. We both take a moment to watch Steve kick Thanos' purple behind. "He's doing a good job."

"We should probably help, though."

"Right. Let's go." Just as we make it there, Thanos breaks the shield, something I considered impossible. We both work as a team, tossing knives and getting in hits, but this type of fighting is not where Loki or I shine. He knocks Loki down first, then throws me in the other direction. I land on hard ground, coughing up a bit of blood. Everything aches, but I still somehow stagger my way into a sitting-up position.

"In all my years of conquest...violence...slaughter..." Thanos begins, surveying us with distaste. "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's no way we can do this by ourselves. He's too strong and I'm losing the energy to heal. Thanos' entire army joins him. Five against thousands doesn't seem fair.

Suddenly, Steve looks around rapidly, like he's heard something. A sparking orange portal appears behind him. I hold my breath as T'Challa , Okoye, and Shuri step out. The king gives us a respectful nod. Portals begin to open everywhere. One opens behind me. Stephen is the first to levitate out.

"Need a hand?" He asks. I nod, and he pulls me up. I grin as Drax, Mantis, and Quill step out, but what really gets me is the person who swings in a second later.

I immediately throw my arms around Peter. I know we're in the middle of battle, but I've always been a hug person, and I've missed him.

"Um, hi, Eliza," He mumbles, slightly confused.

"I'm so glad you're back," I reply, stepping away to draw my knife. Any second...

We're surrounded by allies now, including Bucky, Wanda, Wong, Valkyrie, and even Pepper in her own suit. Despite my bruises and cuts, I don't think I've ever felt stronger.

"Is that everyone?" Stephen asks Wong, who gives him an exasperated look.

"What, you wanted more?" Out of nowhere, Scott appears as a giant, carrying Rocket, Rhodey, and the Hulk. Good. We could use the big guy. And he's all right, which is even better.

"AVENGERS!" Steve yells, summoning Mjilonir. I can barely hear his last word. "Assemble."

Thor lets out a battle cry, and we all run.

AAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!