Resurrection

Chapter Eleven: Resurrection

WARNING: Whips/torture

Chapter Eleven: Resurrection

He was exhausted. Sending Hela to the Soul Stone and back was tiring. They had managed to save all of the victims of the Snap. They were currently safe in Valhalla; highly confused, but safe.

Hela said it would take a few hours to rescue the dusted Avengers and Guardians. She had ordered him to rest up until she was ready to be brought back.

Loki plopped down on the bed and laid down on his back. He stared up at the ceiling, lost in his thoughts.

He knew that he would need his strength to open the portal one more time, but he couldn't fall asleep. His mind kept wandering back to their plan. It was a risky one, to say the least. Thanos was a tough opponent; even without the gauntlet, he was powerful.

Powerful and merciless. Thanos rarely showed compassion towards anyone. It was shocking to find out that he had sacrificed his "daughter," Gamora, for the Soul Stone. She was trapped in the Stone, as well.

Loki knew that in order to wield the Soul Stone, he or anyone else would have to kill a loved one in exchange for its power. Most couldn't bring themselves to do it. Only the heartless would sacrifice a loved one for power, but even then they usually regretted it. Loki knew that if he had a chance to wield the Soul Stone, he wouldn't do it. He loved his girlfriend, kids, and brother too much to throw that away for cursed power.

The Infinity Stones were a curse. They corrupted everything they touched. Thanos could have easily made more resources instead of killing half of the population, but he was too caught up in the thirst for power and a chance to win over Hela's hand in marriage.

Not many knew about Thanos' crush. Hela kept quiet about it; so quiet that Thanos didn't know that Loki was her father. Hela hated Thanos, saying that he was 'too grabby and insane' for her liking. She never liked it when people died, but Thanos thought that the only way to appeal to her was by killing innocent people and presenting their corpses to her. Hela always ended up burying the dead victims, but she tried to play along with him and slowly talk him out of killing half the universe. Thanos obviously didn't listen and he was too stupid to realize that one should never, ever piss Hela off.

Rescuing the victims from the Soul Stone was one small way that Hela could get back at Thanos, but they were a long way away from actually defeating him.

Loki hoped that the combined forces of the Avengers, Guardians of the Galaxy, a few Asgardians, and if need be, the entire population of Valhalla, could defeat Thanos once and for all.

A knock on the door shook Loki from his thoughts. He must have drifted off because the "sun" was high in the sky. It was morning when they had sent Hela back to rescue the heroes.

Loki sat up. "Is something wrong?"

"No, but I thought you should know that the Avengers seem to be agreeing to your plan and making preparations to head to Titan," Sigyn said, leaning against the doorpost. "It's a good thing that they trust you."

"Yeah, for now," Loki scoffed.

"Well, at least until we take care of Thanos," Sigyn added. "It will be around evening when we need you to reopen the portal. Rest up."

Sigyn gently closed the door behind her, leaving Loki, once again, alone with his thoughts.

/\/\/\/\/\

Screams could be heard as the Chitauri soldier drew the whip across Loki's bare back.

"What one was that?" Thanos questioned from his spot in front of Loki.

"One hundred and ninety-six" Loki choked out. He was tied down with his stomach flat against a stone slab. His legs hung off the edge and were chained to little hooks on the ground.

"Keep track," Thanos ordered.

The Chitauri soldier let the whip hit Loki again.

"One hundred and ninety-seven," Loki mumbled, his vision was slowly starting to go black.

Whip.

"One hundred and ninety-eight."

Whip.

"One hundred and ninety-nine."

Whip.

"Two hundred."

"Good. Stop." Thanos took the whip from the soldier. The soldier bowed and exited the dark room.

Thanos moved behind Loki. Loki whimpered as a hand pushed his chest further into the Stone slab. The contact reopened wounds from the two hundred lashings on his chest.

"You are pathetic," Thanos said. "You are too stubborn to accept my offer, and here you are: tied up and bleeding. Are you sure to don't want to change your mind?"

"No" was Loki's reply.

Thanos growled and placed his hands on either side of Loki. He leaned over Loki's back and whispered in his ear.

"You made a fatal mistake, Asgardian."

Thanos, still bent over Loki, wrapped a huge hand around Loki's throat. Loki gasped as his head was jerked back and his air cut off.

"Try refusing me now."

Loki struggled to breathe. He could feel Thanos shift behind him. A sudden wave of pain rushed through his body, causing him to go limp.

"Don't forget, my pet. I. Own. You."

/\/\/\/\/\

Loki sat up and held back a scream. He could feel pain coursing through his veins. It felt like his nerves were on fire.

Loki jumped out of bed and spirited to the bathroom. He lifted up his top to find his tattoo pulsing angrily; the black ink appearing and disappearing rapidly.

"Shit," Loki cursed. He bent down to splash cool water on his face, but the pain and the heat still remained.

Loki stood back up and looked into the mirror. His skin was slowly starting to turn blue. He splashed more water onto his face, but the water instantly froze.

"My pet," Thanos' voice boomed from nowhere in particular.

How odd. Thanos wasn't here...

Loki gasped and backed against the opposite wall. He stared in horror as Thanos' face appeared in the mirror.

"Even in death you still try to betray me," Thanos growled.

"How?" Loki whispered.

"I own you, my pet. I am connected to you. I hear your thoughts. I thought that by killing you, the chance of me dying would decrease," Thanos growled. "Apparently I have made a mistake. You are much more enjoyable alive." Orange light started pouring from the mirror, turning the air hazy. The light reached toward Loki, pulling him into a tight embrace.

Loki screamed as he was enveloped in orange light. A second later, he was gone.

The only indication that someone was there was the Mark of Thanos burned into the wall.