Lady Dahlia | Loki Odinson

Chapter 42 - Infinity War (Loki)

"Hear me and rejoice. You have had the privilege of being saved by the Great Titan. You may think this is suffering. No. It is salvation. Universal scales tip towards balance because of your sacrifice. Smile. For even in death, you have become Children of Thanos." Ebony Maw announces as he walks through the bodies.

Dahlia scoffs, clutching her shoulder. The gash on her arm had reopened and was bleeding along with another stab wound in her shoulder.

"I know what it's like to lose. To feel so desperately that you're right, yet to fail, nonetheless." Thanos says. He bends down and lifts Thor off the ground before moving closer to Loki, who's surrounded by the Black Order. "It's frightening. Turns the legs to jelly. But I ask you, to what end? Dread it, run from it, destiny arrives all the same. And now, it's here. Or should I say...I am."

"You talk too much." Thor tells him. Loki glances at him, silently telling him to shut up and let him handle this.

"The Tesseract. Or your brother's head. I assume you have a preference." He tells Loki, ignoring Thor.

"Oh, I do. Kill away." He lies. Thanos presses the Power Stone to Thor's temple. He screams in pain and Dahlia senses her surroundings. She spots the others not looking in her direction and begins using her magic to stop the bleeding of her arm. Loki interrupts him, hating the sound of his brother in pain. "All right, stop!"

"We don't have the Tesseract. It was destroyed on Asgard." Thor says. Loki looks away from him as he summons the Tesseract, ashamed he's let down his brother again. "You really are the worst brother."

"I assure you, brother, the sun will shine on us again." He tells him.

"Your optimism is misplaced, Asgardian." Thanos laughs.

"Well, for one thing, I'm not Asgardian. And for another...we have a Hulk." He replies. Hulk roars as he attacks Thanos. Loki dives for Thor, then quickly glances at Dahlia, not wanting to draw any attention to her but needing to see that she's all right.

Hulk quickly corners Thanos, but he grabs his wrists. Hulk grunts in confusion before Thanos attacks, knocking him back. He lifts him over his head before throwing him to the ground. Thor hits Thanos with a pipe and he kicks him backwards. Ebony Maw uses his powers to pin Thor in place.

As soon as Thanos turns away from Hulk, Dahlia starts pulling herself towards him. She muffles a cry as she moves her shoulder, the bleeding stopped but the wound not healed. She reaches him and pats his face, trying to wake him.

"No!" She yells as she and Hulk lift into the air, knowing her father is sending them away. Loki sighs, knowing she's safer away from Thanos but hating that means separating them again.

"That was a mistake." Thanos tells Heimdall. He stabs him and Thor cries out. Thanos twists the blade and Heimdall's body relaxes as the life leaves him.

"You're going to die for that." Thor threatens. Maw waves his hand, gagging him.

"My humble personage...bows before your grandeur." He tells Thanos, kneeling and holding the Tesseract out to him. Thanos removes his helmet, then armor. "No other being has ever had the might, nay, the nobility, to wield not once, but two Infinity Stones." He takes the Tesseract from Maw and holds it in his palm. "The universe lies within your grasp.

Thanos crushes the Tesseract, opening his hand to blow away the fragments until all that's left is the Space Stone. He places it in the gauntlet next to the Power Stone, groaning as he gets used to the power of two stones.

"There are two more stones on Earth. Find them, my children, and bring them to me on Titan." He announces. The others join Maw and kneel.

"Father, we will not fail you." Proxima Midnight tells him.

"If I might interject." Loki interrupts the moment. "If you're going to Earth, you might want a guide. I do have a bit of experience in that arena." He says, wanting to get closer to Thanos so he can kill him.

"If you consider failure experience." Thanos replies.

"I consider experience experience." He snaps. "Almighty Thanos...I, Loki, prince of Asgard...Odinson." He looks to Thor, trying to assure him that everything will be all right. "The rightful king of Jotunheim, god of mischief, do hereby pledge to you...my undying fidelity."

Thor moves as he watches Loki summoning his dagger, panicking as he realizes what his brother intends to do. Loki bows his head, taking a few calming breaths before aiming his dagger at Thanos' throat. Thanos stops him with the Space Stone, staring down at him.

"Undying?" He asks. He grabs Loki's arm, releasing it from the stone's power. "You should choose your words more carefully." He forces Loki's arm to the side, making him drop the knife. Thanos releases his arm as he grabs him around the neck with his other hand. Loki chokes as he's lifted off his feet, struggling to get free. Thanos looks to Thor as Loki struggles, enjoying his panic. He focuses back on Loki as he attempts to speak.

"You...will never be...a god." He tells him.

Thanos begins to use more pressure, intending to snap his neck. He stops as he notices his children placing the charges around the ship. Instead, he knocks Loki unconscious and tosses him at the feet of his brother.

He detonates the charges, teleporting himself and the Black Order off the ship before it explodes.

***

Loki wakes, unfamiliar with his surroundings. He sits up, looking around at the strangers surrounding him. He spots The Angel of Death and summons a dagger, lunging at her.

"Monster!" He hisses, ignoring the pain in his throat as he speaks, pointing his dagger at her.

"Monster? I saved your life, so if I were you, I'd lower the knife." Seraphina tells him, pointing her own blade at him.

"Saved my life?! You tried to kill me." He replies, struggling more to speak the longer he talks. He glares at her, knowing Thanos had sent her to kill him after he failed to takeover Earth. He ignores the pain throughout his body, even as his muscles begin to weaken. He knows his only priority now is getting back to his wife, and he can't let anything stop him.

"Please, if I'd really tried to kill you, you'd be dead. I let you live." She scoffs.

"You know this man?" Gamora asks.

"Yes-" She starts to say, cut off as Loki's legs begin to give out. His eyes close and he sways before Seraphina catches him. Mantis places her hand on his head, putting him back to sleep, knowing his body needs to rest.