The Girl Who Killed Half the Universe | marvel [3] ✔

ONE

CHAPTER ONE
' LITTLE ONE. '

When Thanos boarded the vessel after his troops, bodies already littered the floor, scattered like a spiral around Astrid. She stood straight and still in the centre of the chaos, fires burning around her and ash raining from the sky. Thanos' lips curled upwards, and he began towards her.

He stopped before her, but she stared through him, black eyes revealing the daze arresting her mind. His hand found her chin and moved it to make her look up at him. She limply obeyed.

"Hello, again, Little One." His thumb moved to rub a piece of dirt off her cheek, but she made no reaction to his touch.

"Hear me, and rejoice," Ebony Maw began to speak as the rest of the Black Order filed into the room. "You have had the privilege of being saved by the Great Titan. You may think this is suffering. No, it is salvation. Universal scales tip toward balance because of your sacrifice. Smile, for even in death, you have become Children of Thanos."

The Black Order turned to him as he turned to face them.

"Come, Astrid." She followed his command, stepping forward over a body to stop at his right side. "Your Field Marshal has returned."

The children stood to attention, but she didn't react to their show of respect. She didn't respond to anything.

Her magic circled a body to the side and dragged them to the centre. Loki stumbled at the sudden movement but straightened and eyed them all warily.

The side of Thanos' lips twitched. "I know what it's like to lose. To feel so desperately that you're right, yet to fail, nonetheless." His fingers hooked around Thor's breastplate and approached Loki, dragging his brother by his feet. "It's frightening, turns the legs to jelly. I ask you, to what end? Dread it. Run from it. Destiny arrives all the same. And now, it's here. Or should I say, I am."

He dropped Thor to kneel by his feet and wrapped his hand around his head. Blood dripped from the wounds Astrid had dealt, but even now, she didn't even look in their direction.

"You talk too much," Thor rasped out.

Thanos ignored him. His gaze focused on Loki. "The Tesseract, or your brother's head. I assume you have a preference."

Loki's lips pulled upwards. "Oh, I do. Kill away."

Thanos pressed the gauntlet to Thor's temple, the Power Stone glowing brightly. Thor began to scream in agony as the Stone ripped apart his head. Loki's demeanour started to melt away at his brother's torture.

"All right, stop!" he shouted, ripping his gaze away.

"We don't have the Tesseract," Thor corrected hoarsely. "It was destroyed on Asgard."

Loki stared at him before dropping his eyes to the ground. He lifted his right hand, the Tesseract revealing itself.

"You really are the worst, brother."

Loki advanced towards Thanos, but he stopped to look at Thor. "I assure you, brother, the sun will shine on us again."

Thanos tilted his head. "Your optimism is misplaced, Asgardian."

Loki pulled the Tesseract away from Thanos' reach. "Well, for one thing, I'm not Asgardian. And for another, we have the Hulk."

The beast backhanded Astrid, and she collided with the wall. Loki dived towards her, fingers finding her forehead and closing his eyes. The tips glowed green, and he glanced over his shoulder as Thanos fought the Hulk. Astrid knelt obediently in front of him, green replacing the black, for a brief moment before they flickered back to their original colour.

Black mist formed in her palms and sent Loki across the ship. She rose to her feet and approached her father but had to stop as the Bi-Frost cut her path. The Hulk disappeared in the blue light, and her gaze automatically found Heimdall.

"That was a mistake," Thanos declared, his eyes motioning for Astrid to approach.

Her footsteps were slow as she picked spaces where there were no bodies. When she reached Hiemdall, she peered down before lifting her hand. Her middle finger moved forward, her whole hand flexing as blackness shot from her palm to wrap his head.

Heimdall's back arched, and his mouth opened slightly. The black magic encircled his neck and head, and with a slight movement of Astrid's hand, a sharp snap sounded around the vessel. His lifeless body dropped to the ground, the magic slipping away.

"No!" Thor roared as she turned to move back through the bodies. "You're going to die for that!" His gaze wasn't on her but on the giant of a man.

Ebony Maw waved her hand, a makeshift gag surrounding his mouth. He placed a finger over his lips and shushed him. Astrid picked up the Tesseract and froze, the blackness in her eyes flickering. She blinked slowly but eventually turned and stopped in front of Ebony Maw.

He took the Tesseract from her and kneeled before Thanos, the blue cube aloft like an offering. "My humble personage bows before your grandeur. No other being has ever had the might, nay the nobility, to wield not two but three Infinity Stones. The universe lies within your grasp."

Thanos picked up the Tesseract and crushed it in his hand. The Space Stone was left in his palm, which he picked up, placing it in the gauntlet next to the Power Stone.

"There are two more Stones on Earth," Astrid spoke for the first time, her voice hoarse but emotionless.

"Find them, my children, and bring them to me on Titan." The Black Order lowered to their knees in front of Thanos.

"Father, we will not fail you," Proxima promised.

Loki emerged behind them. "If I might interject. If you're going to Earth, you might want a guide. I do have a bit of experience in that arena."

"If you consider failure experience," Thanos responded.

"I consider experience, experience. Almighty Thanos, I, Loki, Prince of Asgard, Odinson, the rightful King of Jotunheim, God of Mischief, do hereby pledge to you my undying fidelity."

Astrid's magic shot out before he could launch his dagger at Thanos' throat. Loki looked at her, but her eyes still looked at nothing from where she knelt.

Thanos scoffed. "Undying," he repeated. "You should choose your words more carefully." He twisted the dagger out of Loki's hand, took hold of his neck with the gauntlet and lifted him to eye level.

Astrid's eyes flickered to them, and something developed in them.

Loki struggled, kicking as Thanos' fist slowly sucked the life of him. Thanos increased the pressure on his neck.

Her fingers flickered, magic appearing.

"You will never be a god."

The black mist disappeared.

Thanos crushed Loki's neck, and he became limp in his grip. He walked over to Thor and dropped the body in front of him. "No resurrections this time." Thanos raised the gauntlet, taking the Black Order away.