Above All Shadows [Loki Timetravel fic - Completed]

52. The Victor's Table

'Good luck,' Gamora said and chuckled. 'Shit. Never thought I'd be saying that to you.'

Loki muttered a few quick words of gratitude in reply and stepped away, his feet shuffling over the rough surface of the helicarrier's deck. Citing changing climatic conditions, the ship's crew had dropped the USS Gibraltar to a lower altitude. They were still well-above the ocean, but low enough that the Midgardians could suffer to be outside without resorting to cumbersome breathing apparatuses. This allowed an entire party to gather to witness their departure: Rogers, Stark, Concannon, Travers, Hill and about two dozen SHIELD agents whose faces were very familiar, but whose names Loki never bothered to learn.

'Loki!' Thor called out from the ramp up to the quinjet that would shuttle them over to the nearest patch of land available.

When Asgardians travelled, they inevitably left their mark. In light of Midgard's present precarious situation, it seemed a poor idea to allow Heimdall to burn a hole into one of the more formidable assets the Midgardians could rely on for their defence.

Eager not to anger his brother further, Loki ran across the runway and up the ramp. Not a second after he was on board, either Romanoff or Coulson closed the hatch. No doubt frustrated they couldn't do more, Romanoff had volunteered to pilot the quinjet, while Coulson had argued that, since she was still recovering, a co-pilot would be a prudent addition. However, as the quinjet's engines kicked in and it rose into the air, he climbed out of his seat, letting Romanoff work on her own.

'I can't say I'm big on this plan,' he said, moving to the back end of the fuselage. 'We've no way of verifying the accuracy of what Gamora said.'

'I know,' Loki replied.

Does the man think me daft?

In fact, Gamora was the least of Loki's anxieties. How many had there been on Titan against Thanos and still lost? How many had fought in Wakanda? Two men against the Mad Titan seemed a folly. The only consolation Loki could find was the thought that the Avengers' and the Guardians' previous failures were proof that the obvious strategy wouldn't work and they had to try something different. Thor and Loki venturing out to face Thanos head on was that alternate strategy. But Loki couldn't bring himself to embrace that notion. Loki and Brunnhilde had set out to kill Thanos once before and failed dismally.

Thor, who presently peered out the quinjet's window with his jaw tight and his shoulders squared - every inch of him the warrior-king from the sagas, was the sole reason Loki hadn't yet commandeered another of SHIELD's quinjets and fled as far as he could. Loki knew his brother. As much as Thor's temper made him insufferable to live with at times, it could also become a potent weapon.

'You've offered clemency to the Titan's daughter, have you not?' Thor said, tearing his gaze away from the window.

'We told her from the first day that we could negotiate the charges against her if she cooperated,' Coulson replied. 'We'll honour that. And if he does descend upon us... Never mind, we'll cross that bridge when we get to it.'

'I swore to protect Midgard, I intend to fulfil that oath,' Thor responded.

Loki frowned. There were so many 'what ifs' and 'what abouts' in this scenario, surely even in Thor's mind, yet none of them wanted to give discuss the possibility of failure. But this wasn't a time for cowardice. He ran the tip of his tongue over his lower lip, then spoke. 'Should Thor and I fail, it'll be up to you and your team to put together one last line of defence.'

'You and Gamora were quite emotive about how inadequate humanity -'

'When pressed against the wall, I'd take Midgardians over many other species in this universe,' Loki replied. 'The last time you and I met in the old time-line? I'd just lured Thor into that lovely cell and, with the helicarrier high in the air, sent the entire thing tumbling tens of thousands of feet to the ground. You saw what I did to my brother - a god from ancient myths - yet you just walked out and challenged me all the same. I remember you were holding this ridiculously sized gun that you didn't know how to use. Just an average, middle-aged man, but you didn't look the slightest bit afraid of me. I put the sceptre right through the chest of course, but you still managed to taunt me, saying that "I lacked conviction" and then you took a shot at me.'