Meant To Be (Loki x reader)

Chapter seventy three - Gamora

Thanos didn't arrive for another half an hour. You had a plan; it was a very loose plan, but a plan all the same.

The second Strange spotted the portal forming he signalled abruptly, and the rest of you fled to the positions you'd agreed on. Loki's hold on your arm was almost painful as Thanos appeared through the portal conjured by the Space stone. You didn't say anything, shifting backwards slightly where you were crouched amongst the wreckage of the ship you'd arrived in, pressing yourself against Loki's side.

Strange was sitting casually on the plaza steps, observing Thanos as the portal he'd arrived through closed behind him.

"Oh, yeah. You're much more of a 'Thanos'." Strange remarked casually. You couldn't believe how calm he was, sitting before the mad Titan in possession of the one thing he was prepared to do anything to get his hands on.

"I take it that Maw is dead. This day extracts a heavy toll. Still, he accomplished his mission." Thanos spoke. His voice was eerily calm. You shifted further towards Loki, whose fingers were now digging into your arm.

"You may regret that. He brought you face to face with the Master of the Mystic Arts." Strange told him. You made eye contact with Peter, who was hidden behind Strange on the other side of the plaza. His face was filled with badly disguised fear. You winked at him and he gave you an unconvincing smile and a shaky thumbs up.

"And where do you think he brought you?" Thanos asked, looking around. Finally, Loki's grip on your arm became too much and you moved your hand to brush against his.

Lokes.

He released your arm and took your hand instead.

Sorry.

"Let me guess. Your home?" Strange asked.

Thanos smiled. It was a bizarre and unnerving sight to behold.

"It was. And it was beautiful." he said reminiscently, raising the hand which was encased in the gauntlet and curling it into a fist, activating what you assumed was the Reality stone to show Strange his home planet before it had been destroyed. The buildings were suddenly intact, the lawns green, the ponds filled with water; citizens strolling carefree around the plaza. The starfish-like structures hovered in the air, connected to ground-based buildings by glowing beams of energy.

"Titan was like most planets. Too many mouths, and not enough to go around. And when we faced extinction, I offered a solution." Thanos explained.

"Genocide." Strange said pleasantly.

"But at random, dispassionate, fair to rich and poor alike. They called me a madman. And what I predicted came to pass." Thanos replied, lowering his fist. The Reality stone stopped glowing and the illusion faded to re-reveal the true, abysmal state of Titan.

"Congratulations, you're a prophet." Strange said sarcastically.

"Oh, don't piss him off." you whispered, knowing that he couldn't hear you.

"I'm a survivor." Thanos stated.

"Who wants to murder trillions." Strange retorted.

"With all six stones, I could simply snap my fingers, and they would all cease to exist. I call that mercy." Thanos told him.

Strange stood up, "And then what?"

Loki squeezed your hand; you turned to look at him and then followed his gaze up to where Tony was hurtling through the sky towards Thanos bearing a huge chunk of wreckage.

"I finally rest, and watch the sun rise on a grateful universe. The hardest choices require the strongest wills."

Strange summoned his magic, donning a fighting stance.