Avengers: Damnation

A Chilling Confrontation

Lightning crackled across the sharp edge of Stormbreaker, flooding the divine weapon with its power. Thor stared at the blade, his thoughts fixated on the destruction and death he would soon rain down on his enemies.

And those enemies include Loki.

Could he snuff out the life of the one he had called 'brother'? He reflected on their lives up to this very moment. The way, like the roots of Yggdrasil itself, their lives had grown together and apart and then back again. On Sakaar, when their roots had been most distant, Loki had fought alongside Dean and then brought an army with him to support Thor in his battle with Hela. Following that moment, Loki had truly become a brother again. Willing to let bygones be bygones and fully embrace his family. And then he sacrificed himself in order to protect Thor.

Tears flooded the thunder god's eyes as he recollected the noble sacrifice Loki had made. How good he was, in the very end of it all.

How good he was. But that was not the same Loki.

A shift in his emotions occurred and suddenly a very harsh realization fell upon him. His Loki- his brother- was dead. And this Loki was not the same.

"Thor?" Lumen asked, moving to his husband's side as the armies of the Netherworld sharpened their weapons and polished their armor. The other heroes were scattered throughout the ranks. Nightstar and Hyperion stood at the very front of the demonic soldiers.

"I am fine, Fair One," Thor assured him.

Lumen reached up and touched the tears on Thor's cheeks. "You're crying, Boomerang," Dean whispered.

"These are the final tears I will shed for Loki. He is dead and gone. And this Loki is a shadowy derivative. That is all. A stain on my brother's memory." He stared at Stormbreaker. "And soon he will be a stain on my ax's blade."

Lumen slowly nodded. Thor would need so much love and tenderness in the aftermath of this battle. "When we finish this, I want to go away with you and the boys. Someplace beautiful and safe."

Thor smiled softly. "I would like that very much."

Strange and flamboyant clouds of purples and blacks that swirled into bizarre formations overhead.

"Are we expecting bad weather or something?" Aegis asked from beside Cap. "Does this place even have weather?"

Nightstar scanned the skies and shook his head. "Yeah, but that's pretty normal I think."

Aegis leaned into Cap. "That doesn't look normal."

"Nothing about this place is normal," Cap said with a little grin.

Aegis looked over at the assemblage of heroes and demons and a stab of realization hit him that this was something he never dreamed he would be a part of. He was standing among royalty, gods, sorcerers, and demons. He, a little mutant who'd been abandoned as a boy. Though the circumstances were dire, he couldn't suppress a strange sense of pride in himself.

"When we reach Nelvannu's Keep, he will send the entirety of his forces to meet us," Snowbird explained as she joined Thor, Lumen, and Valkyrie.

"Good," Thor grunted. "That saves me the task of hunting all of them one by one."

"He commands a host of some the darkest abominations in the multiverse," Snowbird pressed on. "And he will employ each of them if it means stalling us long enough to take the children's forms. Know that I will shed as much blood as possible," she promised. "It is my purpose."

"Mine too," Nightstar added.

"Regardless of that, I will not wait for either of you to slay Nelvannu if I can reach him first," Thor growled. "Are we riding out or not?"