Goddess of Stories | Loki & Peter

The Laufeychild

There were only two people at the border: Cull Obsidian and Proxima Midnight. Not a scouting mission then; a new tactic.

"People of Terra," Proxima greeted, "the great Thanos has a generous offer for you."

"Is that Thanos?" Peter whispered.

"Thanos is purple." Loki replied quietly. "That's Cull Obsidian."

"Do all space villains have names like that?"

Loki almost smiled despite the situation. "Just Thanos' children."

Proxima let the mutters of the group continue for a moment. "Your planet had earned Thanos' respect through its love of violence and death. He wishes to kill half of your world without bias, and so, he is willing to spare your lives for now if you give him the mind stone. If you refuse you will all die, but if you accept, some of you may survive."

"You understand," King T'Challa began, "that that's a difficult decision to make on the spot."

Proxima smiled in return. "Luckily for you, the merciful Thanos gives you a week to decide. We will return then, and if you don't give us the mind stone, we will take it from you. Don't think your shields can stop us when we possess the space stone."

Loki stepped forward to draw Proxima's attention to her. "Where's Maw, Gamora and Nebula? I thought the whole gang would be here - I'm a little disappointed, frankly."

"Busy." She replied before she grinned like a shark. "Where's your brother, Laufeyson?"

Oh. That felt like a dagger to the chest.

And they knew exactly who she was. Great.

Loki smiled. "We'll wait the week, then you can hear our answer."

She looked doubtful. "Don't try anything. You know what'll happen."

"We're taking the week." Captain Rogers said. "So, respectfully, m'am, leave this planet."

She sneered. "If you're smart, you'll take our offer." And she and Cull Obsidian teleported away.

"Well, that was anti-climactic!" Brunnhilde exclaimed before the punched Loki lightly on the shoulder. "I can't believe you didn't tell me you were Laufey's kid! Never thought that brat would settle down. You know, I can see the family resemblance - you're both pricks-"

"You can't tell Heimdall and the others. They know I'm a frost giant but not that I'm of their once-king."

The others were heading away from the border slowly, but Loki and Brunnhilde stayed in their spots. Peter stood by pretending not to listen for a moment, but eventually went away with the rest.

"Why not? And Once-King? Why did he die so soon – what happened?"

Loki took in a shaky breath. "Why do you not hate me for being a frost giant? They're our enemies."

"They're our trade partners!" Brunnhilde resorted. "Or they were until Odin decided to take over their land. Then we just took everything from them."

"They've terrorised our people since the dawn of time."

Brunnhilde looked sceptical. "We were the ones doing the terrorising. We took fish faster than they could breed and hunted animals until there was barely enough left for them to eat. We were uh, dicks? They still stayed friendly though – nice people."

"Well they didn't remain that way. When Laufey became king, he tried to take over Midgard. He and his men killed countless Asgardians."

Brunnhilde shrugged. "Kid was always talking about doing that. Said his old man didn't have the guts to do what it took to survive. They were dying out."