Beyla ~ (Loki)

31.

I sit alone in the chair facing away from everyone. The bug-looking one walks over, a shy smile on her lips. "Hello." I flick her a glance before looking away, "please leave me alone." She places her hand on my arm taking a deep breath. "I'm sorry... loss is a great emotion." I rip my arm away from her grasp, "what did you just do?" Drax stands behind her, "Mantis can read emotions." He draws near, "I lost my wife and daughter to Thanos." I spin in the chair, "I'm not looking for sympathy."

The group lands in Knowhere, in search of Thanos.
We enter the collector's collection room, which is in ruin. Thanos is threatening the Collector while we hide behind the rubble.

"Everyone in the Galaxy knows you'd sell your brother if you thought it would add the slightest trinket to your pathetic collection. I know you have the Reality Stone. Giving it to me will spare you a great deal of suffering."

"I told you. I sold it. Why would I lie?"

"I imagine it's like breathing for you."
"Like suicide."
"So you do understand. Not even you would surrender something so precious." "I didn't know what it was." "Then you're more of a fool than I took you for. Last chance, Tivan. Where's the Stone?"

Like an idiot, Drax storms to Thanos. I swing a pipe over his head knocking him out and allowing Gamora the chance to attack. She stabbed him twice, seemingly killing him.

Why was this easy?

"Why? Why you? Daughter?" he falls, holding his hand out to her, blood pooling out from his neck wound. Gamora breaks down in tears.

Suddenly, Thanos' disembodied voice fills the room, and the scene disappears- everything is leveled, and Thanos is more than alive. He has the reality stone and the infinity gauntlet. Thanos takes Gamora in his arms. Quill walks forward, gun raised, "Let her go, Grimace!"

I stand in hiding. For whatever reason, I'm not sure. The stories Loki would whisper in the night of the torture Thanos would bestow upon him kept my feet glued. Thanos teleports him and Gamora away.

~

Tracking down the ship wasn't difficult either. It was set course without any cloaking protection. Quill rolls a grenade in the control room, as it blasts, Star-Lord, Drax, and Mantis appear in the doorway. Drax is tackled by a red velvet blanket. I stop in my tracks seeing the man of iron blasting at the enemy. Tony fires at the flying Star-Lord as a spider boy extends his spider legs and jumps at him, but Star-Lord throws an electric cord that wraps around Parker sending him to the ground.

Drax lays on the ground struggling with the Cloak of Levitation, "Die, blanket of death!" I stand in view just watching the scene play out. Iron Man pulls free of the magnet. They pull weapons on each other. Star-Lord has spider boy in a headlock, while Iron Man stands over Drax with a gun, and Doctor Strange stands ready near Mantis.

Quill takes off his helmet, "Everybody stay where you are. Chill F out." He directs his eyes to Tony. "I'm gonna ask you this one time. Where's Gamora?" Tony powers down his helmet revealing his face. "Yeah, I'll do you one better. Who'sGamora?" Drax grunts from under Tony's hold, "I'll do you one better! Why is Gamora?" "Tell me where the girl is, or I swear to you, I'm gonna French fry this little freak," Quill says as he presses his blaster to the kid's head. "Whoa! No, you're not." I jump down making a loud clang on the metal grate. Tony looks at me in shock. "Beyla? What are you doing? Where have you been?" Quill aims his blaster at me, "You traitor! I knew there was something fishy about you!" I raise my hands ready to release the dangers of the stingers. Tony angers quickly, "You shoot my girl, I blast him. Let's go!" Tony extends his nanotech gunpoint down to Draw. "Do it, Quill! I can take it." Mantis yells in shock, "No he can't take it!" Dr. Stange agrees, "She's right. You can't."

Quill looks off with a smug smile, "Oh yeah? You don't wanna tell me where she is? That's fine. I'll kill all four of you and beat it out of Thanos myself." I huff at the idiot.

Strang huffs, "Wait, what, Thanos? All right, let me ask you this one time. What master do you serve?" Quill furrows his brows, "What master do I serve? What am I supposed to say? "Jesus"?" Tony lowers his blaster, "You're from Earth?" "I'm not from Earth. I'm from Missouri." I throw my hands down, "That's on Earth!"

The spiderling speaks in a soft voice, almost fit for a kid. "So, you're not with Thanos?" "With Thanos? No, I'm here to kill Thanos. He took my girl- Wait, who are you?" The Spiderling removes his nanotech mask revealing his boyish features. "We're the Avengers, man."

Mantis nods, "You're the ones Thor told us about." Tony tosses his hands "You know Thor?" "He left me with them. He's gone to get a new hammer."

As the group calms Tony drags me into the quiet. "Where have you been?" I cross my arms. "Loki was alive. He tricked Thor into thinking he died, again." "Where is he now?" I look away shuttering. The cracking of his neck, the sound, replying in my head. "Thanos... He..." Tony pulls me into a hug. "We've going to stop him. We're set course for Titan." I shake my head, "Tony. I can't bring myself to fight him. I'll freeze."

"Mr. Stark! This is wild! I'm sorry I should've- Hi, I'm Peter." The kid stops as he sees me. "Hello, Peter. Beyla, Goddess of Bees." "Bees?" Peter takes his hand away quickly rubbing the skin up and down his suit, "I'm allergic to bees."

~

On Titan, the entire gravity tilt is off. Mantis jumps in the low gravity as Tony gathers a plan. "He's coming to us. We'll use it. All right, I have a plan. Or at least the beginnings of one. It's pretty simple. We draw him in, pin him down, get what we need. Definitely don't wanna dance with this guy. We just need the gauntlet." Drax yawns as Tony explains.

I glare at him, "Are you seriously yawning?" "In the middle of this, while I'm breaking it down? Huh? Did you hear what I said?" Drax looks over, not noticing Tony. "I stopped listening after you said, We need a plan." I place my hand on my head. "This is helpless."

Tony stands for a moment with an expression of hopelessness. "Alright, just get over her, please. Mr. Lord, can you get your folks to circle up?" Quill scoffs, "Star-Lord is fine." He motions to Drax and Mantis over.
"We gotta coalesce. 'Cause if all we come at him with is a plucky attitude.."

"Dude, don't call us plucky. We don't know what it means. Alright, we're optimistic, yes. I like your plan. Except it sucks, so let me do the plans and that way it might be really good."
"Tell him about the dance-off to save the universe." "What dance-off?"
"It's nothing." Quill pushes the subject off.
Peter entertains the conversation, "Like in Footloose, the movie?"
Quill gasps excitedly, "Exactly like Footloose. Is it still the greatest movie in history?" "It never was."

Tony strikes, "We're getting no help from Flash Gordon here." "That's a compliment. Don't forget, I'm half-human. So that 50% of me that's stupid... That's 100% you." I bring my hands on my head, "Oh my gods, just shut up."

"Excuse me, but...Does your friend often do that?" Mantis averts her attention to Dr. Stange. Sitting cross-legged, his hands poised in a mystic gesture with the Time Stone suspended between them. His eyes are closed, and his head is jerking rapidly from side to side. I walk closer with Tony by my side. "Strange, we alright?" Strange seems to snap out of it as he starts forward, letting out a cry of shock. I grab his shoulder looking into his eyes. "What'd you see?" He shutters his breath. "I went forward in time to view alternate futures. To see all the possible outcomes of the coming conflict."

"How did you see?" "14,000,605." Tony looks down in preparation, "How many did we win?" Strange pauses a while before answering, "One."