A Tale of Death and Debt ✔

Chapter 12

At that moment, a fiery gold portal appeared next to Tessa and Loki and The Ancient One emerged. "It is time."

*****

Taking each of their hands, The Ancient One portaled them into space. For a long moment, the three simply gazed into the darkness where Loki 1.0's form lay suspended amongst the stars.

Chills ran down Tessa's spine as she witnessed the eerie scene of Loki 1.0 floating in space. His mouth was ajar as if yearning for air. His eyes lifeless, with a tiny stream of water flowing from the corner of his eye. A sense of harrowing foreboding swept over Tessa. She shuddered at the thought of what was to come. Her mind ran at lightning speed, trying to piece together why she was feeling this way. She thought of the images she had seen when the Ancient One teleported her to planet Titan. Could the war and Thanos have anything to do with it?

But all she could do was stare. Stare at the crashed spaceship. Stare at the shards of glass surrounding them. Stare at the lifeless body of Loki, slowly turning blue.

It was Loki 2.0 who broke the pin drop silence. "I hope to remember," he said, glancing at Tessa.

In his eyes she read the 'you' he did not say, but meant.

Tessa smiled wryly, "Be careful what you wish for."

Tessa's Loki reached out and laid his hand on Loki 1.0's chest. The Ancient One positioned herself on his right and Tessa stood suspended on his left. Like twin stars, Tessa's eyes began to glow a brilliant blue. Across from her, the Ancient One's eyes likewise glowed gold.

The golden light glowed around The Ancient One like a majestic aura while Tessa's blue flooded the cosmos illuminating the void of space.

As the rays of blue and gold light met, they twined together, reaching around both of Loki's forms. Loki 1.0 they simply covered, while Loki 2.0 was washed through with them. Throughout it all, Tessa's eyes never left her Loki's face, and his gaze never strayed from her own. As the light grew brighter, it began absorbing him into his other form.

Tessa watched sadly as the recognition faded from Loki's face until he knew her no more. He dimmed, his second form dissolving into the streams of gold and blue light. Then he was gone.

The light faded, at last disappearing like the last shreds of fog before sunlight. Loki 2.0 remained unconscious, but his breathing was now deep and strong, as if in sleep and not in death. The Ancient One, by her power, sent him back down to Asgard where he belonged. As he shuttled down Tessa could just catch sight of the business card she gave, pinned securely under his chest plate.

There was silence for a long time, and in that time, Tessa remembered what she knew no one but her would ever know.

"You did well," the Ancient One finally said.

Silently, Tessa nodded.

She had done well.