ACT II.

Fire. 

That was all that was left of the space ship we had used to escape Asgard. In our previous reality, we had managed to save it - or I guess I had managed to save it. 

In this reality, I couldn't be further off. 

"We are under assault, I repeat, we are under assault!" 

Smoke rose up from the smoldering bodies of the Asgardians we couldn't save. Half of them had been killed mercilessly, ripped apart, stabbed and burned until there was no life left in them. 

Women wearing the most beautiful gowns laid pooling in their own blood, children whose eyes would never see the light of day again and the men who had fought to protect them with their life accompanied them, their bodies littering the floor all around us. The ship had been destroyed to the point where pieces of rubble now floated through the darkness of space, only to never be seen by another being again. 

"This is not a war craft, I repeat, this is not a war craft!"

Thor and I came back in the middle of the bridge just as we could see everybody loading up the ship along with Loki - who neither of us had seen in far too long. 

The two of us had taken the places of our previous selves, who disappeared into nothing the second we landed. Several of the Asgardians looked at me funny when they saw me holding Thor's hammer - it had been broken after all - and I couldn't help but notice the glimmer in Loki's eye when he laid eyes upon the weapon in my hand, but he didn't say a word of it as we sped onto the space ship and off the planet before it would implode. Whether he knew or not was a mystery to me, but I didn't have any time to think about it.

We watched as Asgard burned to the ground before us and eventually broke into a million pieces right in front of our very eyes. It was destroyed beyond recognition, a planet I would never have the pleasure of exploring without Hela's reign. I would never get to see where Thor grew up, nor would I lay eyes on the rainbow bridge ever again. It felt strange, seeing the planet I'd only been on for such a brief amount of time crumble before me and I didn't think I would be so emotional under it, but it made my heart ache. 

Asgard was no more.

The ship that suddenly loomed up in front of us had taken us all by surprise. We'd planned to seek refuge in Midgard - as they called it - and were going to try to get help there, but we hadn't expected a ship to find us so soon after dispatching a distress call. 

Heimdall laid next to me on the ground, clutching his stomach as blood poured out of the open wound caused by one of Thanos' servants or as they called themselves - his children. His own sword stuck out of his stomach and shone brilliantly in the burning fire and I nearly vomited at the sight. 

"Rejoice!" Said one of them. His name? Ebony Maw. 

I remember watching how the outer worldly creatures took over our ship and began rounding up Asgard's citizens one by one. I watched as they took Thor, holding him down while they beat him into submission and killed his people right in front of him like it was some sort of sick, twisted game to them. 

"You have had the privilege of being saved by the great Titan," Ebony continued, "You may think this is suffering, but no! It is salvation." 

My stomach turned as the alien stepped over the lifeless bodies of people that had once been so kind and generous like they were nothing but trash, undeserving of even as much as a second glance and I had trouble keeping down whatever food was left inside my stomach. 

"The universal scales tipped towards balance because of your sacrifice!" The Voldemort looking asshole said. He pressed his long, disgusting fingers together like he was some sort of saint and stalked around the space ship like the pope himself. 

"Smile," He ran his fingers along my chin, "For even in death, you have become children of Thanos."

I offered Loki - who stood on my left - an angry glare, but didn't say anything out of fear and utter shock. Of course he was the only one of us who wasn't being held down. I don't even think they hurt him. 

"I know what it's like to lose," Thanos said, "Becoming so desperate to rise, yet to fail nonetheless."

I cried silently as he picked up an nearly unconscious Thor and began to drag him across the ship like a rag doll. I struggled against Proxima Midnight's grasp when I saw his face, caked blood and smeared ashes littering his once flawless complexion. I could tell he was struggling to breathe and immediately began to grab for Thanos' hand when he woke up. 

Oh yeah, Proxima Midnight was Thanos' best combatant. She was fast, strong and didn't give up. Her durability far outstretched mine, maybe even Thor's.

"...And now it's here. Or should I say I am here?" He finished.

The purple stone that Thanos held inside of his gauntlet glowed furiously and brighter than anything I'd ever seen before. I didn't know what it did or why he had it, but judging by what the hell the guy was saying, it couldn't be good.

I cried out when Thanos pushed Thor down on his knees and grabbed hold of his head.

"You talk too much.." Thor struggled to say. I glared at him for being such a smart-ass even in times of death, but he didn't look at me. 

"The tesseract... Or your brother's head. I assume you have a preference." Thanos told Loki, offering him a choice. 

My heart nearly exploded out of my chest when I watched Loki's face, unchanging and cold while he told Thanos the two words I most dreaded to hear come out of his serpent mouth. I think even Thanos didn't expect him to say it, but then again, Loki had never been very... predictable.

"No, I do. Kill away!" My heart sank.

I couldn't stand the sight of Thanos, a giant purple being pressing his thumb roughly into Thor's temple. The sound of his voice crying out in agonizing pain hurt me more than anything I'd ever felt before and all I wanted was for it to stop. I could hardly look at the purple light that seemed to drain the life from Thor's brain itself and the expression on his face, that face I loved so much, sent me over the edge. 

I screamed and tried to struggle my way out of its grasp, but I could hardly move an inch.

"Loki, you son of a bitch!" I yelled, "Make him stop! Please!"

I could only watch as they ripped us apart. Thor's heart ached for his people, I could feel his pain in my soul. Anger rose in my chest when I thought of him and everything that had happened to him. He'd lost not only his father and his hammer, but also his people, his planet and lastly, his brother, who had turned on him once again. He just didn't get a break. 

Proxima changed positions, shoving me towards the ground. She raised her spear and pointed it straight at my neck, while her accomplice held me down to keep me still. Tears streamed down my face and my vision blurred at the sight of the man I was in love with being tortured to death in front of my very eyes, "Loki for God's sake!" 

"Alright, stop!" A single tear fell from his left eye as the prince of Asgard yelled the words. Even he wasn't able to watch his brother suffer, no matter how happily he would take the throne of Asgard. 

Oh right. Asgard had been destroyed. 

"We don't have the tesseract," Thor spat, "It was destroyed on Asgard." 

"Loki," I urged, "Tell him we don't have it!" 

But the look on Loki's face told us otherwise. I wanted to scream again, to punch him in the face for lying once again and I would have had I not been held down. My eyes bulged when I saw Loki pull the object from his hand like it was nothing, a blue glowing crystalline containment vessel for the Space Stone that floated in his pale, shaky hand. 

"You really are the worst brother." Thor sputtered between heavy breaths. 

"I assure you brother," Loki said, "The sun will shine on us again." 

I frowned, unsure of what he meant by that, yet too consumed with worry to pay closer attention to it. All I could feel was the cold metal pressed against my neck and the scaly fingers that held onto my arms from behind me.

"Your optimism has been misplaced, Asgardian." Thanos said. 

"He's not even Asgardian." I spat angrily. 

"She's right," Loki nodded, "and besides... We have a Hulk."

Banner had turned into the Hulk again and was furiously trying to beat up the biggest of the monsters named Obsidian Cull, but even he failed miserably to create so much as a dent in the beings armor. The two of them fought briefly and Hulk managed to get a few punches in here and there, but his attempts to save us were futile. 

The other aliens made an attempt to stop him, but their leader stopped them, "Let him have his fun."

He attacked Thanos, but couldn't even get a hit in. Hulk took punch after punch until I couldn't watch it anymore. I shut my eyes, allowing more tears to escape while one of my best friends was beaten to a pulp.  Thanos lifted Hulk off the ground and threw him back down. He was unconscious.

 Thor tried to hit Thanos with a steel pipe, but it was no use. The much larger man threw him across the room, where his minion conjured an array of scrap metal and used it as restraints against the God of Thunder.

I managed to stick out my hand and yelled out as Mjolnir came flying to me. I flung myself backwards and swung hard, watching as the hammer connected with the alien's jaw. I then sent it towards the spear, which Mjölnir managed to break in half before I felt myself being grabbed once more. 

"No!" I yelled as Thanos dragged me away. 

Mjölnir fell to the ground beside Thor, where it sat waiting for my command. 

"Let go of her!" Thor yelled loudly, his voice hoarse and dangerous, laced with pain and absolute fury.

The lizard looking pope used his magic to partially subdue me, but Thanos' grip on me never weakened. 

"Allfathers," Heimdall groaned, "Let the dark magic flow through me one last time..." 

Hulk began to float up into the air as colors as bright as the rainbow began to encase him and me as well. I stretched out my hands and reached for Mjölnir, praying that its power would stop me from going through the Bifrost with Banner. 

I couldn't leave them behind. 

"Go!" Thor urged. 

"Not without you!" I yelled back, feeling tears of hopelessness once again staining my scraped cheeks. 

I watched as Thanos lifted his spear and screamed so loud I thought my vocal chords would give out when he plunged it deeply into Heimdall's chest. Thor's anguished shouts overpowered mine, he was about to lose his best friend to Thanos and there was absolutely nothing he could do to stop it. 

I knew then I had to go, because staying on this ship would only increase my chances of dying. I looked at Thor one last time, taking in his features once more - for it could be the last time I ever got to see him. 

Then, I let go.