The Weight of the Universe | Avengers

Prologue

S P A C E

Present

"Fuck, fuck, fuck." Aurora curses and breaks out of her anxious paralysis, her eyes still attached to the anonymous warcraft as it has fired at the Statesman, the ground trembling unsteadily. Loki and Thor try to remain their balance which Aurora succeeds in it easily. The auburn-haired girl narrows her eyes, analyzing the foe's ship. "Who is this?? I've never seen such an enormous warcraft before. And why are they attacking us??"

"I don't know." Thor mutters and glares furiously at their new enemy. They were so close to peace. "We have to leave as fast as possible. No battle today. The Asgardians are civilians, without any war experience and their lives are not allowed to be at stake again."

"But Thor, this spaceship will catch up with us, the engines are bigger and more advanced than ours. Our pneumatic engines are nothing compared to their electric motors. The Statesman is not a warcraft." Aurora is too busy with coming up with a plan to notice Loki's uncharacteristic silence.

"We cannot fire back?" The king's eyes widen and Aurora shakes her head.

"No, we can't. I mean, we can try to escape but it won't work out well– " The ship is shaking again as they get hit by the warcraft's shot, this time the damage seems to be worse. The Statesman slightly loses its balance and tilts weakly to one side. An odd and noisy chattering rattles through the structure of the spaceship just like the shiver down Aurora's spine. She immediately knows what that means and her heart drops to her toes, her eyes widen. "Oh, no."

"Oh, no?" Loki repeats her words and she clenches her teeth, mentally cursing.

"That didn't sound good. Something got hit. And with something, I mean more than just the surface of the ship. It definitely affected a main engine which is why the ship is tilting to the left side." She rambles and runs with her hands through her hair, ruffling it in stress. Their escape plan has just collapsed like a house of cards.

"Can you fix it?" Thor needs to know as he comes up with a plan and for the first time, Aurora isn't confident about her engineering skills.

"I don't know, I can try though." Aurora sighs and drops her hands when Valkyrie storms into the room. The open door lets the panic-fueled screams of the Asgardians enter, as well as Korg's voice who attempts to soothe them and Hulk's roar. Thor's people have broken out into chaos and fear of the new threat.

"Your majesty, we're under attack!" Brunnhilde urges in a serious tone. "I suggest you take actions now, before the damage is too great."

"All right." Thor Odinson doesn't hesitate although he's still in need of a proper plan. With a nod, he motions his brother and his auburn-haired friend to follow him into the main deck.

"Shit. We need to contact Peter, Loki. Maybe he and the others can help. And the Nova Corps could take care of this." Aurora's plan is not stupid, yet Loki is still reluctant.

"Allow Thor to act first, then we will see." He only responds distantly and just now she catches his uneasiness. Before Aurora can approach him about this though, they arrive at the Asgardians and Thor's presence seems to slightly lessen the panic. The noise decreases to the amount that permits Asgard's King to speak.

"We're getting attacked by an unknown enemy but do not worry, I have a plan. Korg, you activate the protection shields in the cockpit. Aurora, you look for the engines, let me know if there's still a chance. Valkyrie, you lead all women, old men and children to the rear part of the ship. If the main engine is not functional, Korg will then enable the emergency system that splits the ship in two, that is how most of us escape. Loki, you hide the Hulk with an illusion, he's our secret weapon and will only attack as a last resort when it's deemed necessary. All men stay with Heimdall and I here to distract the attacker and find out their intention. I know that most of you lack of fight experience, but as your king, I ask you for help. To save what's left of Asgard."

While the folks agrees with their king, especially due to the little time there is left for a new plan, Aurora's heart races and she glances at Loki only to catch his longing gaze on her. If the engines fail, she will be separated from him.

"I'll stay here and fight by your side." Valkyrie glares at Thor, refusing to leave her king behind. "You cannot demand from me to run away."

"I'm not asking you to run away, I'm asking you to lead the Asgardians for me. They trust you and you've been out there, your experience is of advantage." He reasons and a sad smile graces his lips. "I know that you will protect them well."

His words make Brunnhilde swallow and she nods unwillingly. "Don't die."

"I'll do my best. Now leave before they are here." Thor pats her shoulder in a supportive way.

"Hulk miss angry girl." The Hulk grumbles with devastation and Valkyrie laughs, hugging her green best friend. She's almost certain that they will see each other again.

"I'll miss you, too, big guy." She now looks at Aurora and nods towards her with a reassuring expression. "I'll wait for you. Hurry with the engine."

"Will do." The words are pressed through Aurora's lips as her mind is still focused on Loki. Meanwhile everyone turns to their duties, Valkyrie gathers all people together as Thor and Heimdall collect weapons for all men, only Loki and Aurora stand face to face in a tense silence. "I won't leave you behind, Loki. I don't even wanna consider this bullshit. I won't say goodbye and– "

The Statesman gets fired at again and the ground's steadiness vanishes for several seconds. Thor yells at Aurora, the urgency growing. "Aurora! Go!"

Turning to Loki, desperation is mirrored in her blue eyes and she's not prepared to leave him. This cannot be their fate, it just can't. Loki doesn't waste any more time and cups her face with his hands, pulling her lips against his. Their kiss is urgent, needy and desperate, both feel how the other doesn't want to let go, to ever let go. Impatiently, both crave for more, more time, more luck. To Aurora's dismay, Loki already pulls back, his forehead leaned against hers.

"I'll see you there, love." His glance is intense, emerald eyes locked into blues.

"See you there, my prince." Aurora responds with a trembling voice, trying to fight the arising tears. He lets go of her and she swallows, pushing herself away to save them all.

Aurora starts running through the crowd to get to the lower floors where the engines are stationed. Although she's used to running, her heartbeat is still too fast and her mind is a whole mess as she's trying to focus on the way to the engine control room. Just when Aurora is about to reach it, already spotting the door in a close distance, the Statesman is shaking once again– and this time it feels different.

This wasn't from a military weapon, no, this shot sounded closer with less distance. The realization strikes a nerve and Aurora's eyes widen.

They are here.