The Last Shifter (a Loki romance)

Chapter 150

Loki's POV

"I love you." Arista's words were so soft that I barely picked them up, and before I could say anything in return, she snapped her fingers.

My vision went white once more, and as soon as I could see again, my eyes searched for her. As soon as I found her, I wished I'd been blinded by the flash. She'd been in horrible condition before, with blood pouring from her chest, her hair matted to her forehead by sweat, her left hand slowly burning away from the inside, and her armor dented and filthy, but now...her entire left side was horribly burned and her rings were all smoking. Blood was no longer flowing freely from the wound in her chest, but that's because she wasn't breathing.

"Arista." I collapsed beside her and lifted her carefully onto my lap. Her head lolled against my shoulder, her eyes glassy and unseeing.

"Loki." A heavy hand fell on my shoulder. It owner's voice was shaking badly, "Oh god. I am so sorry." But I couldn't process his words. I was too busy trying to make sense of the huge amount of information she'd forced into my head. Lists, chemicals, environment requirements, time periods, but there was a mental block. She was just...gone. Thanos was laughing.

"Foolish girl. After all this time. By giving her life, she allowed me the victory. Even if she undid all my work." I glanced around, and sure enough, Bucky was no longer dust. Neither was Wanda, or Sam, or the Wakandan King.

"Finally, her vile race has been eliminated."

"No." The information she'd sent clicked into place, "She was a Shifter. Her body can be rebuilt. You think she was foolish enough to fight you in her original form? The only form that makes her vulnerable to a permanent death? You are more of a fool than I ever took you for!"

"That process has been lost!"

"Wrong. She knew it well, and she has passed it to me. You have failed on all fronts. Through her, the Shifters will live on." Thanos roared in fury, but Thor yanked his new axe out of Thanos' chest and swiftly beheaded him, silencing the Mad Titan once and for all.

My battle didn't end there. While those who had heard my exchange with Thanos supported me in helping her regeneration, as soon as a golden-orange portal opened at the far end of the little clearing, shit hit the fan. The other guardians that Arista had secretly allied herself with came through, along with Stark, the kid, and Stange. Apparently, they had fought Thanos on Titan and lost.

Ironically, it was Stark, the kid, and Rhodey who tried hardest to convince us that Arista couldn't be restored. Bury her, they said. Put her to rest. She succeeded in her mission, let her go in peace. But I wouldn't let them touch her. Steve stood by my side the whole time, as did Bucky and King T'Challa.

Eventually, we'd gotten her body moved to Shuri's lab, and when I told the young genius what needed to be done, she set to work. With additional help from a reluctant Peter Parker and a brief consultation with Doctor Strange, we were able to construct a pod similar to the ones in her memories. Shuri had managed to synthesize metal similar to that of her sword to construct the pod Her body would need to be enclosed in it for ten days, at which point a portion of the lid could be replaced with a transparent material that allowed me to see her face.

Those ten days were by far the hardest. Not knowing if her body was doing if it was supposed to do, not knowing if the pod was working at all, and at the same time watching everyone around me get their loved ones back. It seemed that just the brief scare of possibly losing everyone you loved was enough to accelerate several things. The first thing Pepper had told Stark upon his return to the Compound–according to Steve according to Sam–was that she was pregnant.