The Dark Antihero | Avengers: Endgame [6]

Chapter 16

Darkness. That's what filled my senses. I couldn't hear, see, or feel anything. The burning sensation had faded away. I looked around, at least I think I did, to see more black.

So this is what death is like. A void of nothingness. It was oddly peaceful. I wonder what's happened to Steve and the others. They're mourning, probably.

Mourning those they lost. Who we lost. The fallen. Those needed to be Avenged. Do you hear that Steve?

Natasha? Bruce? Tony? Rhodey? Thor?

Avenge the fallen. If you can kill Thanos, do it. You owe to everyone who's not in that room to try. To those you lost during Thanos' quest. To everyone who lost something during Thanos' quest.

I wonder who's left. If all life forms were included. If Hanna made it. If Onyx made it. I hope Andrew didn't, that ass doesn't deserve it.

I closed my eyes, picturing my home. It appeared in amazing detail. Hanna was sat on the couch, Onyx's head was on her lap. Her favorite show was playing on the TV. Onyx's tail was frozen in the middle of her wagging her tail, Hanna laughing and her eyes gleaming.

Then it resumed, and I watched, helpless, as they turned to dust in my mind's eye. I felt the cracks in my heart grow bigger. I opened my eyes, to see a swirling orange plain. It looked like the soul stone, always moving and living. All around, I saw the other fallen.

Bucky, Groot, Sam, T'Challa, Ch'tasi, Shuri, and Wanda were among the people I saw. There were even people I didn't recognize, like a green-skinned woman, a girl with a pair of antenna, a broad-shouldered green man with red tattoos, the blue woman, a small girl with brown hair, a tall lanky girl, a man in a red cloak, a woman wearing something similar to Steve, a woman in a wheelchair, and a boy with brown hair and what looked like to be an Iron Spider-Man suit. "Tanya?" I couldn't believe it. It couldn't be them, could it? I turned, and my suspicions were confirmed.

"Loki," I breathed. "What happened? Why are you here?" He asked, walking over to me. I didn't want to believe it was him, so I reached towards his face. When my fingers brushed against his cheek, I let my hand drop to my side. It was him. There was no doubt about it.

Thor was telling the truth, which I hated at the moment. I suppressed a sigh. "Thanos...Thanos did exactly what he said he would do. He wiped out half of all life. I just happened to be on the losing side of the population," I said. "I tried to stop him," He said. "With what?" I asked.

"A dagger," He admitted. "I'm sure that went extremely well, considering you're down here," I said, crossing my arms. "And what did you do?" He replied. "I attacked him with one of my knives, but I phased through him and got myself killed," I said. "Who's left?" He asked.

"I don't know. Judging by who's down here and who's not down here, only a few heroes survived. Steve, Natasha, Bruce, Okoye, Rhodey, the talking Raccoon, Clint, Ellie, and my dad," I said. "You found your father?" He asked. "Well, he found me," I said. "Who is he?" He asked. "You're probably gonna be mad," I said.

"I promise I won't be mad," He said. "Tony," I said. "Who?" He asked. "Tony Stark. Iron Man," I elaborated. "What?" He asked, surprised.

"I was just as surprised when I found out, but I can't be mad at him," I said. "What? Why? He abandoned you as a child," He said. "No, he didn't. He had no idea, said so himself. He told me he regretted not finding out sooner. I can't blame him for something he had no control over. He didn't know, my mom never told him. She didn't have the chance before Malekith slit her throat," I spat the name out like poison. "Our list of similarities growers longer by the minute," He said.

A thought struck me. "Odin said he found you in a temple, right?" I asked. "Yes, I believe so," He said. "Then the list grows longer still," I said. He looked confused, so I elaborated.

"A temple is a sacred place for anyone who sets foot there. So, while you were in the temple, you were protected. When Odin 'saved' you, he was kidnapping you," I explained. "That adds yet another lie to the list of lies that man has told me," He growled. "We have too many lists," I observed. "How about we steer away from our pasts and onto a more pressing matter? Where is Thanos now?" He asked. "We don't know. He just opened a portal and fell through after he snapped his fingers," I said.

"So he could be anywhere," He concluded. "Yep. 'I call that mercy.' Mercy, my ass," I muttered. "What are you talking about?" He asked. "Thanos said 'I call that mercy' when describing his act, which is a bunch of shit. It hurts when you're turning into dust. Then it plunges you into a pit blacker than darkness. Then you come here," I said. "And where is here?" He asked.

"The soul world," I said. "That explains nothing," Loki said. "We're in the soul stone, which is called the soul world. It's where a person's soul goes when they die," I explained. "You know a lot about the stones for only having encountered one," He said. "I've encountered all six. Plus, as I constantly have to remind you, I was raised in a lab, had a lot of free time, and an equal amount of books," I said.

We fell silent, and I hung my head. "I didn't want to believe it," I muttered. "Believe what?" He asked. "Believe that you had died...again. After the first time, I was broken. Then seeing you again, alive, stung even more. I couldn't even say your name. And knowing that you're dead only deepens the cracks in my heart," I admitted. "I thought you hated me," He said, his brows knitted, and I chuckled.

"I could never hate you. You were the first person to ever give a shit about me,"