Infinity | Loki [Book Three]

Chapter One

I twirled my ring around my finger nervously as the shouts grew louder, closing in around me. The demanding voices weren't directed at me, but they were deafening all the same.

"People will not trust us without a queen!"

"Kings without queens are not kind rulers! History has shown that!"

"No, Thor, your mother is only a temporary substitute, as someone must hold the title. A queen is needed!"

Poor Thor. Him, Loki, and I had been attending a council meeting when this unfortunate topic arose, making him more and more uncomfortable by the second.

"At least your brother, Loki, with all his faults, will be married in a matter of months. You would do well to do the same."

"I'm not sure how that is relevant--" Loki started.

"My life is my business," Thor said. His voice was not loud but still firm, effectively silencing the arguing council. "Years are short and our lives are long. Just as wars require time to win, so does a heart. I do not believe in rushing such a permanent thing."

"When did he get so wise and formal?" I whispered to Loki among the mutters of the council.

"Kingship demands much from everyone," he replied. "Children become adults; silly become serious. Ruling a kingdom comes with a price. This is part of that."

"--attacked the planet Xandar," Heimdall was saying when I turned back to the conversation. "Almost the entire population was murdered."

"Do we know who did this?" Thor questioned.

"I was unable to see, but there have been rumors."

"Rumors of what?"

"A rogue Titan," Heimdall said. "The last survivor of his people. He wants justice against the entire world for the death of his kind."

"Why would he attack Xandar?" I interjected. "If he wants revenge against the entire universe, he would do well to avoid such a highly monitored area. None of us or our connections knew about him before, but now this Titan may be an enemy of Asgard and all its allies."

"Did he take anything from the planet?" Loki asked Heimdall.

"So much of the planet was reduced to smithereens," he said. "It is impossible to tell what, if anything, was taken."

"Where is his army?" I asked.

"We don't know that he used an army," a council member said.

"In order to reduce a planet to smithereens," I explained, "he either has a huge army or some untold weapon that we should start preparing against."

"We are not at war with him yet."

"Armies can be destroyed, leading to a loss of both materials and confidence. If he has an army, we need to destroy it, which is easier than the alternative," Loki said. "A weapon of that power could give him the idea to come after Asgard as a show of power and to eliminate an enemy before we have time to prepare."

"What makes you think he can attack Asgard?" the same council member asked.

"He destroyed Xandar too quick for them to call for help," I replied so Loki didn't have to. "Xandar is a formidable force. He had a plan that allowed for every possible variable, including Heimdall's sight. If he were to successfully attack Asgard, which it appears he can, it would both eliminate us as a threat and send a message to the rest of the universe."

"What would he gain by attacking Asgard otherwise?" Thor asked. "He would lose an enemy, but what could he use against the next opponent?"

"Fear is a powerful force. But physically, Asgard's vault has many weapons," I said. "He could be after any number of them."

"The Eternal Flame, the Casket of Ancient Winters, the Tessara..." Loki started, then coughed, drowning out his last example. "You get the idea."

"The Titan will most likely want the Eternal Flame," I covered, although I was confused as to what the importance of the Cube was. "With the right tools, one can raise the dead using the Eternal Flame."

"Increase security around the vault," Thor said. "Until we know he is an enemy, we will proceed as though he is not. Council dismissed."

Once we were out of earshot of the other Asgardians, I turned to Loki. "What happened?" I asked.

"What happened at the meeting? You were there."

"No. What happened that made you hate this Titan enough to want to kill him, to know him well enough to predict his next move, and fear him enough to not trust the Council with a vital piece of information involving the Tesseract?"

"Can you read minds now?" Loki asked.

I smiled. "Just yours."

"This story is not a short one."

"I have time."

Loki sighed. "So do I, I suppose."

By this time, we were already on one of the balconies of the palace. We sat down in chairs that faced slightly towards each other.

"It began when I fell from the Rainbow Bridge," Loki started. "I was captured by his ship just after I lost sight of Asgard. Illusions and lies were to no avail; he knew exactly who I was. He had been watching and planning for a long time. He knew my weaknesses and how to get inside my head. He-- I tried to stay strong, but..." Loki shook his head a little and returned to the story.

"From there it wasn't hard for him to take control of my mind and convince the darkest part of me that power and death were what I wanted. He promised me Midgard and an army with which to destroy it. He asked only one thing in return: a glowing, blue power source. To my twisted eyes, it seemed fair, maybe even better for me than him.

"I wish I could say it was a blur, but I remember every second, every horrible thing I did. Every sleepless hour was filled with death and terrible evil. I regret every action I took and the dark happiness I felt through it all.

"His quest failed, luckily. His control over me was taken away, but the memories weren't. The last thing he said to me before I left for Midgard was 'I am the one who put the Scepter in your hand, and I am the one who can take it away. I can take everything from you. I am Thanos.'"

"Thanos?" I whispered.

"One of the few things I fear."

"Loki--"

"Don't tell me that it's going to be okay because it probably won't be."

"I wasn't going to," I said, twirling my ring. "I was going to say that I'm here for you if you need me."

He reached over the arms of the chairs and took my hand, stopping my nervous ring-twirling. "I always need you."