Lost in Time (Loki)

23 | The Chitauri

Loki gripped my hand, leading me back into the building, where we mounted the staircase that led to Tony's landing zone. We stood at the very edge of the landing, staring out over the chaotic city, where the Chitauri had begun their terrorisation of the people. Loki—using his powers—transformed from his leather armour to his golden horns and attire.

I shook my head in amusement. "God, I hate those horns," I muttered irritatedly.

Loki turned to glance at me, dropping my hand. "Really?" I nodded with a raised eyebrow. "I thought you would like them."

Suddenly, there was a loud bang, and Loki and I both whipped our heads around, to face the direction the sound had come from. On the balcony below us, stood Thor, wielding his hammer, and displaying a very angry expression upon his face.

"Loki!" He bellowed up to us. "Turn off the Tesseract, or I'll destroy it."

"You can't," Loki grunted, gesturing to the portal. I knew he was trying to do the same thing, but I also knew his pride was too high, to admit surrender to his adoptive brother, so I let him play his game. "There is no stopping it." He pointed the scepter at Thor. "There is only the war."

"So be it," Thor muttered, as the brothers launched themselves at each other.

I knew this was more than the Tesseract. This feud was long-standing and encompassed the family drama, disagreements and quarrels that Loki and Thor had experienced over the years. So I watched from above, as the two brothers battled each other on the roof of the tower.

Loki and Thor seemed pretty equally matched, and I watched in tense silence, until a loud whirring sound screeched from behind me. I turned to face the sound, sighing in relief, when I saw the S.H.I.E.L.D. logo—clear as day—on the side of an approaching aircraft.

The vessel hovered above the fighting gods, turning to face the tower. The brothers stopped their quarrel, long enough to glance up at the ship. Loki lifted his staff, directing it at the ship and shooting a beam of deadly light towards it. I gasped in surprise, as the ship began to lower slightly, in the sky. Descending rapidly towards the ground, with orange flames billowing from the wing.

I leaned over the edge of the building, tracking the ship with my eyes, as it skidded to a rough stop on the ground, far below. I saw the occupants exit the vessel, tiny specks due to their distance. They ran away from the wreckage and stopped, looking up towards the sky, where a large shadow had plunged them into near darkness.

I looked up as well, my eyes widening like full moons in shock and terror. Through the portal, a large worm-like creature burst out into the sky. It's armour-plated back looked impenetrable and it was surrounded by more of the alien creatures. It was heading straight for the Earth, and it did not look as if it intended to stop or slow down. I watched, with bated breath, as it descended, its shadow growing larger, the closer it got. Then, suddenly, at the very last second, it pulled up, gliding through the gaps between buildings, its large fins scraping unceremoniously against the infrastructure.

"Look at this!" Thor roared, causing me to return my attention to the fighting siblings. "Look around you!" Thor was grasping Loki by the shoulders, forcing him to watch the chaos he had instigated. "You think this madness will end with your rule?"

I knew Loki did not share those views anymore—at least not to the same extent,but I also knew he would not admit that to Thor. To his brother, he was still the villain, the criminal that wanted to rule Midgard.

"It's too late," Loki gasped, much to my shock. "It's too late to stop it."

"No," Thor said determinedly. "We can, together." The two brothers stared at each other and I watched, my breath held in my throat, as I waited to see what Loki would do. Îs he really surrendering to Thor? I wondered incredulously. What happened to his ego?