No One Said This Was Going To Be Perfect

Thanos Pulled An Uno Reverse Card

This was a hard chapter to write. Barely any dialogue, but I think I made it painful enough.

Enjoy and comment.

Loki POV

I looked around wildly, waiting for Thanos to appear, or for the feeling of power that the infinity stones bring with them.

"Everyone, on my position," Captain Rogers spoke into his earpiece. "We have incoming."

Wanda, Steve, Vision, and I waited there for a few moments, but nothing happened. I could only hear the wind howling, and the battle in the distance, and I could vaguely see Thor's lightning over the battlefield.

Bruce, T'Challa, Okoye, Sam, and Natasha all came running towards us, expecting someone else to be there, and relaxing when they saw we were alone. They all had a few new scars, but there was nothing that wouldn't heal in a few weeks, and despite the fact that this morning I would've killed them all in seconds, I was relieved to see them alive.

"Well," I said, daring to hope that nothing would happen. "I suppose-"

Then it happened. About fifty yards behind me, there was a blue smoke, and it grew into a portal, and then, wielding the infinity gauntlet with five infinity stones, Thanos emerged.

Wanda summoned a ball of red energy, ready to attack the titan.

Thanos looked at each of us individually, and when his gaze rested on me, he showed no hint of shock. Perhaps he knew I survived, or perhaps he had just been working on his facade between massacring worlds and torturing people.

Then I realized, right there, with the wind blowing through my hair and cape, that I was fighting with the Avengers, and I was an Avenger. In the span of a few hours, they had welcomed me into their ranks, and chosen me as one of their own. With this realization, I tilted my head up further, a small challenge to Thanos.

"Cap," Bruce started, the machine around him nodding at the titan. "That's him."

"Thanos," I added, in case it was unclear to any imbecile present.

Steve snapped his shield into place. "Eyes up. Stay sharp."

With that we charged. Thanos walked towards us slowly, surveying the battlefield in front of him with complete calmness. I wanted nothing more than to blast his stupid head off his body, but even I couldn't fight five infinity stones.

Bruce struck first, jumping at the titan, arm raised, prepared to punch, but Thanos raised the gauntlet, and the space stone, my space stone, glowed, and a similar glow encaptured Bruce and suddenly, the machine was incorporeal, and he blowed straight through the titan, and became tangible again once he was encased in a cliff.

Steve sprinted at the Mad Titan, but Thanos used the power stone to knock him away without a thought.

I cast two illusions of myself, and made my real body invisible as I teleported behind Thanos. Thanos caught one of my illusions in a chokehold, and as I was about to stab him in the back, Thanos raised the gauntlet again, and the reality stone glowed as he changed reality, and abruptly, I was in the position my illusion was, Thanos' hand around my neck. My breath was caught short, and I momentarily imagined that this was exactly what happened on the Statesman. Then the titan threw me against a tree that my head hit first, and I crumpled to the ground, barely being able to keep track of the fight.

T'Challa leaped at Thanos, suit glowing purple, arm pulled back, but the titan grabbed him by the neck. T"Challa mekely reached for the titan, though it was clear it was futile. Thanos punched the king of Wakanda to the ground.