Avengers: Zero to Infinity

Chapter 19

"What?!"

Thanos was in a panic as soon as he heard the news about Loki's 'death'. Not wanting to believe it, he stood up from his throne and approached the Black Order, who were talking about how the god of mischief was suddenly killed without any of them knowing.

The Black Order were discussing in front of Thanos' throne, where he was sitting. If Loki was killed by someone, that someone would become the infinity king. Thanos wanted to be the next infinity king. If Loki died naturally or by his own hand, the next infinity war would happen. The infinity war that Thanos didn't desire for.

"What happened?!" Thanos questioned his comrades. "Tell me now!"

"Lord Thanos." Ebony Maw bowed, followed by his fellow Black Member partners. "Unfortunately, S.H.I.E.L.D reported to have found the infinity king's corpse. It is unknown who killed him, unless, of course, it's you."

"It wasn't me!" Thanos shouted. "And because it isn't, that is unacceptable! The next infinity king should be me. We need to find the stones immediately. The next infinity king should be me, and no one else!"

"My lord..." Proxima Midnight hesitated to speak, but she knew that speaking to her father was the correct choice. "It is implied, though, that Loki Odinson was behind his own death."

"No way!" Thanos exclaimed. "Why would he even do that? That boy's been suicidal before, but seeing him right now in his current state of mind, that's impossible."

"My assumption is that he found out he was the infinity king and that you were planning to kill him." Corvus Glaive suggested. "Perhaps he thought that he'd rather die by his own hands than to be killed by you."

"That can't be..." Thanos panicked, in denial about what was going on. "That means the infinity war that happened all those eons ago is going to happen once again. And it's going to take decades before it finishes!"

"Not if you get all the infinity stones at once." Ebony said. "If you get all the infinity stones before they all do, you win and you become the next infinity king."

"Exactly." Cull Obsidian added. "But I think Loki sacrificed his life so that half of the universe won't perish..."

"That doesn't make any sense." Proxima Midnight responded. "People die during wars. If Loki knew that another infinity war is going to happen, he wouldn't commit suicide for the greater good. Something fishy is going on..."

"What are you all trying to say?" Corvus Glaive questioned them. "Are you saying that Loki's suicide has another meaning to it than what we all think?"

"Actually, you may be right about that." Ebony Maw added. "I think I know what you people are talking about. It's so weird how Loki Odinson went out just like that. But we all know that he's the god of mischief, trickery, and lies."

"So that means that his death was..." Proxima Midnight spoke.

"Fake." Thanos continued.

The members of the Black Order looked over at Thanos when he spoke out the word. If Loki's death was fake, then that meant good news. But at the same time, it also meant that the god of mischief is aware of their plan and is plotting something without them knowing.

"But at the same time, there's a possibility that it could be real." Thanos continued. "We need to do something about this. All of you, search for Loki Odinson. He should be meeting with his friends by now. Search throughout New York first. He might be plotting something with his those friends of his."

"We got it, father!" The members of the Black Order responded.

And so they prepared for a battle they thought was going to take place a few weeks later.