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“You should,” Loki says, vanishing the crystal. Thor wonders if the thing really existed or was just another one of his brother’s uncanny illusions. “Tell your friends about us. Tell them what fate awaits them, should they dare accost Asgard, even now.” The Ravager grins.
“Now, I don’t know if you’ll be wanting me to do that, highness,” He says. “See, I’ve heard a bit of a rumor floating ‘round. A bounty. For a dark haired sorcerer, ‘bout fittin’ your description. And the one offerin’ isn’t one to cross.” Thor feels a flash of anger. Loki has gone very still and very pale at his side.
“Take the prisoner away!” Heimdall booms. The young soldiers drag the Ravager back. “He was bluffing.”
“Perhaps,” Loki says simply, stepping off the raised platform.
“They have chocolate!” Bruce exclaims. “Real fucking chocolate, oh my God. I never had a sweet tooth before, but months in space just eating dry rations and drinking that godawful liquor…”
“The liquor’s not that bad,” The Valkyrie protests, casting a glance around the crowded market.
“Don’t get too excited, Bruce,” Loki says pragmatically. “I doubt it’s in our budget.”
“A very fair price,” The stall owner remarks. “I purchased it wholesale from traders from the Andromeda galaxy.”
“Besides, brother,” Thor claps him on the shoulder. “Don’t tell me you wouldn’t enjoy a treat. We’ve had nothing sweet in three months.”
“And we could-” Bruce doesn’t get the chance to finish his sentence. There is a sound, a loud twanging, and then Loki finds himself flat on his back, tackled down by the Valkyrie. There is an arrow, a thick black bolt faintly smoking with grey, sticking out of the post, right where his shoulder had been a moment before.
The market erupts into chaos.
Vendors rapidly close up shop and take cover as the crowd flees in a panic. Thor steps in front of the three of them. Loki moves to rise but the Valkyrie pushes him back down.
“Don’t!” She snarls. “Stay down. Bruce-”
“Fine,” He’s crouched next to the stall, green tinging his throat. He forces a deep breath, wrenched out of his calming rhythm by the sound of another bolt whistling towards them. Thor knocks it out of the air with his sword.
“Ravagers!” The merchant that had been speaking to hissings. “Get out! If they are after you, I want none of your business!”
“Quickly, Loki,” Thor says. “Get us back to the Ark-” But before Loki envelop them in his magic, the market stall explodes.
The Valkyrie keeps her grip on him as they roll with the concussive force. He manages to conjure a shield, catching as much of them as possible in its protective field. They finally come to a stop, stunned and panting, a ways from where they started.
Loki struggles to disentangle himself from the Valkyrie.
“Stand down,” A rough voice drawls. “And we’ll let all y’all live. We just want that what we came for, and we’ll be on our way.” The Ravager captain is tall and heavily scarred, with matted black hair. Thor gets to his feet, wiping blood and dirt from his cheek.
“And what did you come for?”
“One of your party will fetch a pretty price. Pretty big bounty on ‘is head, and the one that called it means business.” The Ravager’s eyes land on Loki and he grins. His teeth are rotten and yellow. Thunder booms in the distance, the storm growing.
“I think you’ll find collecting on your bounty to be more challenging that you imagine,” Loki says, finally rising to his feet, assisting the Valkyrie up as well. “How many do you count?” He whispers.
“At least thirty, fuck, these Ravager crews come big.”
“We’re surrounded, we need a distraction-” Before Thor finishes speaking, a very familiar roar erupts from the marketplace, snapping all of their attention to the market. The Hulk bursts through the ruined stalls, roaring in fury. And attacks the Ravager horde.
“I suppose that’s a sufficient distraction,” Loki cries as the fight begins in earnest. Thunder sounds in the distance.
“Shut up, lackey!” The Valkyrie cries. “And stick close to me.” Loki laughs.
“You believe I will let them take me that easily,” He says as he drives his knife into a Ravager’s throat. “I can take care of myself.”
“Just stay close, idiot!” She shouts over the sound of the fight.
“Keep the sorcerer alive!” The captain cries. “Thanos wants the bastard alive.” Loki grimaces, and tosses a curse in the direction of the captain for good measure. He stabs blindly backward, sinking a knife between the ribs of a Ravager who thinks to try and grab him.
They are vastly outnumbered, but far from outgunned, so the fight drags, almost tedious in its ease. Until one Ravager catches him behind the legs with a baton that sends paralyzing shocks through his magic. A rough hand grabs his arm as his muscles spasm-
The Valkyrie drives her sword through the Ravager’s skull.
“Watch it!” She dives back into the fray, shaking her head. “Take care of yourself, my ass.”
“I had it-” But his protest is cut off but another ambush, three this time, one wielding a gun that his magic just barely blocks. When they’re gone, more take their place, driving a wedge between Loki and the Valkyrie. He hears the boom of thunder and the roar of the Hulk but does not see either his brother or the beast.
For all their cunning and force, the three Asgardians and the great green monster, they underestimated the Ravagers’ strategic skills and Loki only realizes when it is too late. They are gifted hunters, and they have played their strategy well. The noise of the fight and the rest of the market gradually fade away as he’s pushed back, away from the others. They’ve separated him from his companions, drawn their prey away from those that may protect him. They need now just to subdue him, then they can bring him to Thanos and collect their money. He needs to end this, and quickly.
He summons illusions as a feint, and attacks from the core of the doubles. His own form, duplicated over and over, cackles at the terrified faces of the Ravagers. It takes a few minutes, and there are some close calls, but he managed to incapacitate them all. They all fall by the edge of his knife or the light of his magic. Then he stands, catching his breath and healing his few minor wounds, in the center of their corpses.
“Nicely done,” A voice says from behind him. A familiar voice, one he has heard over and over again in his nightmares. He turns and confirms his horrified suspicions.
Gamora, daughter of Thanos, stands, watching.
His heart seems to stop.
“So Thanos saw fit to send you after me,” He says, teeth nearly chattering. “I suppose I should be honored. Or perhaps these bounty hunters displeased your father?”
“He is not my father,” Gamora says icily.
“Well. Whatever you’d like to call him.” He tightens his fist around the knife in his hand. I can take her, he thinks. I’m not wounded and bound and alone anymore, she’s just one more assassin, well trained, but the others will be looking for me. He quickly calculates how long it would take them to reach him, how quickly he could send an illusionary message. Not fast enough, not against her. His heart pounds with sick fear. How long could it take them to find him? And if other Children are here with her? He thinks that he would stand a better chance if he could just stop the well of panic that clouds his mind.
“I’m not here for you,” She says, calm. The ultimate predator, she always remained so unnervingly calm. He squeezes the knife to try and stop the tremor in his hand. “A coincidence. I didn’t even think you were still alive. Thanos doesn’t usually leave failure unpunished. And there were rumors Asgard was out for your head too.”
“Asgard and I have made our peace,” He responds. “And Thanos apparently has some use for me. Wants me alive, according to these brutes.”
“Huh. That explains why they didn’t just blow the planet. He probably promised to pay them double if you were returned alive.”
“What, so he could just torture me to death? I thought he was too busy with his grand quest.”
“I don’t know.”
“How could you not know, you’re his favorite-”
“I left Thanos. Three years ago.”
“You expect me to believe-”
“I don’t care what you believe. It is the truth. I hate Thanos, I hate what he has done, what he made me do. His insane plan to…to cleanse the universe. He’s mad.” He cannot detect any trace of a lie in her voice. Thunder rolls in the distance, a subtle reminder that his brother is close. Loki’s heartbeat slows minutely, his stance softening but remaining ready. “He took me from my home and killed my people, and tortured me, and called me his daughter and had me murder for him. But…I left. That’s all I can say.”
Just then, before Loki can say anything in response to that, a man comes into the clearing.
“Shhhiii-it, what a mess,” He whistles. “Damn, these assholes sure had it coming, taking a bounty from Thanos of all people.” Loki tenses, holding his knife at the ready and preparing his magic to strike. The newcomer raises his hands in defense. “Whoops. Don’t worry, man, we’re not with them. We’re not going to hurt you. If you just put the knife down-”
“Peter, it’s okay,” Gamora says. It’s not that she thinks Loki won’t attack her; it’s that she thinks she’ll deserve it. Loki can see it in her eyes. That is enough to convince him to relax, minutely, lowering the knife but not putting it away.
“You two know each other?” This ‘Peter’ says, glancing back and forth between them.
“We’ve met,” Loki says. “Not in ideal circumstances.”
“Uh huh. And that’s tied to why this crew decided to attack four travelers?”
“Yes,” Gamora says plainly. “He was held as a prisoner of Thanos when I was still on Sanctuary.” Loki flinches. “Look. There’s nothing else I can do to make up for what I’ve done, except say that I’m sorry. And promise you that we will not lead you back to Thanos.”
“We’ll tell the Ravagers to lay off,” Peter says. “They owe me one. And there’s a code. We may be thieves and thugs, but I don’t think Stakar would much like hearing that some of the Ravagers are in the business of selling people, to Thanos ‘specially.” Loki realizes they’re both wearing Ravager flames, not a typical design, but they have to be affiliated somehow. “You all won’t have any more trouble from them.” Loki nods shortly.
“Alright.”
Peter gives him a little bit of a salute and turns, heading back towards their ship. Gamora lingers. “I say this not as an excuse, but an explanation and a promise,” She says. “I was a little girl when Thanos took me. I watched him murder my people, watched him torture and kill other children. I thought only about survival, never the people I was hurting. I am trying to change. And I swear, I will give my life to stop Thanos from hurting people like you, or my sister, or all the others. You have no reason to believe me, but I swear. I will bring an end to him, or die trying.” She turns to go without waiting for his response, following her affable partner back towards the docking bay.
“Gamora,” He calls, stopping her. She looks back towards him. “Was it true? What you said about going to Asgard?”
“I have never been to Asgard in my life,” She says. “I have never laid eyes on the golden realm, or its king. I was lying.” She turns her back to him and walks away.
He could kill her now, while her back is turned. Send a single knife into the base of her skull, obliterating the brainstem. She would be dead in an instant, and he would have his revenge for what she made him suffer-
He watches until they are out of sight and then collapses to all fours, breathing heavily and suppressing the urge to vomit. The release of adrenaline leaves him shaky and exhausted. This is how Thor and the Valkyrie find him, minutes later.
“I…am…fine,” He chokes out around gasping breaths as Thor frantically prods at him, seeking the source of his pain. Loki ineffectively tries to bat him away. “Uninjured. Just-” He cuts off with a gasp. “Need to…” Breathe, but it’s hard to finish the sentence with his lungs held in vice like they were. Slowly, he catches his breath and manages to explain.
“And you’re sure they were telling the truth?” The Valkyrie asks. Thor’s hand is solid on his back, rubbing a soft circle. “Or do we need to plan for more Ravager attacks?” He shakes his head.
“I know not their influence within the Ravagers but…I at least believe Gamora when she says that she has turned from Thanos.” Loki lifts his head and sits back. “That is how he…collects allies. He takes them either as children and molds them through pain and training, or he wears them down, shatters their defenses…”
“Okay,” Thor cuts him off. “Okay. Let’s find Banner - or the Hulk, rather - and go back to the ship before the blame for this destruction falls on us.”
They make haste in their departure and have to explain their lack of supplies to Heimdall. They program a new destination and Loki tries to rid himself of the jittery nerves that have plagued him since Gamora first appeared. He finally lies down in the dark of their room, alone, and tries to sleep.
It doesn’t work and he tosses and turns until Thor crawls between the covers and Valkyrie flops lengthwise on the other, having evidently failed to get Bruce back from the Hulk.
“Thor?” He whispers once his brother is settled.
“You’re still awake?”
“I cannot fall asleep.”
“Is it about her?” His silence is enough of an answer. “You won’t have to worry about her. You’re not alone anymore. We will protect you.”
“It’s just…” Loki shivers. “It’s not like she was the worst. Far from it. She was never…never one for torture.” Thor stills, tensing. “But she…she is the one who first brought me to Thanos, after the Chitauri had gone bored with me. At least that is what they told me. I now suspect Thanos knew the entire time, and simply waited until he believed I was sufficiently…primed for his influence.” Even without seeing him, Loki can feel the protective, tense fury rolling off of Thor. He almost stops, but he has to know. “I saw her a few times after that. Once…once I almost escaped. She dragged me back before Thanos and he-” Loki shudders.
“We don’t have to do this,” Thor whispers. “You can stop.”
“No. There’s something I have to know. Once she…she said,” He swallows. “Thanos told me that shortly after I arrived on Sanctuary, he had sent her to Asgard. To tell them that I had survived the Void, but was injured, and they should come collect me. She said that…that they said there was no second prince of Asgard and refused-” Thor sits straight up, turning on the light.
“Hey, what’s goin’ on?” Comes the Valkyrie’s groggy slur. “Shut the damn light off.”
“Loki,” Thor says, entirely ignoring her. “You believed her?”
“Of course I believed her,” He sits up as well. “I had no reason to not believe her. It’s not like I left Asgard on good terms.”
“I mourned you. That entire year, I mourned. The grief never faded, not for a moment. Mother never did, but only because she never gave up searching for you with her magic. She did not believe you were dead, and she would spend days at a time, not sleeping, barely eating, searching for you in the Void. Father-”
“Odin was such an ass,” The Valkyrie groans.
“Father had his flaws,” Thor says diplomatically. “But he did love you. And he would not have just abandoned you to Thanos.”
“And even if he didn’t love you anymore,” The Valkyrie rolls over. “Don’t look at me like that, Thor, clearly neither of us can believe in your father’s love as easily as you can. Even if he was the cold bastard that the two of us think, if she had shown up on Asgard, boasting about how the Mad Titan Thanos held the second prince, he would have brought the entire might of Asgard down on him just to prove that they had the strength to do it. You are a thousand years old, Loki. Everyone in the galaxy knew there was a second prince. I knew there was a second prince and I spent the last thousand years trying to pretend Asgard didn’t exist. No, Thanos could not be allowed to go around bragging that they’d captured Asgardian royalty. That would undermine Odin’s power, erode some of the façade of Asgard’s strength.” She yawns. “I do agree with Thor - a little. I think he loved you, in his own selfish way. In either case, he would not have allowed Thanos to keep you.”
“You’re right,” Loki says quietly. “And I think I knew then too. But I always doubted, just a little.” He takes a deep breath. “She never went to Asgard. She was lying.”
“Yes,” Thor says. The Valkyrie rolls out of bed, getting unsteadily to her feet.
“Well, it doesn’t look like any of us are actually going to get any sleep and I need a drink. Coming?”
Gamora hadn’t said anything since they took off. Peter keeps glancing in the direction of her quarters, but the door remains stubbornly shut to him.
“What happened?” Drax asks when they returned and Gamora shouted at him to start the engines.
“I’ll explain later,” Peter had said. “Just get us in the air.”
“Who did you two piss off?”
“No one,” Peter grumbled back. “Just don’t want to take the fall for some true assholes.” They took off, and Gamora shut herself up in her room. Peter had looked back though. Watched the clearing where the Ravager bodies lay, as the man Gamora had apparently known collapsed to his knees, was joined by two others bending over him. Now, staring out into the stars, Peter thinks of how fucking terrified that guy had looked of Gamora.
“Call Stakar,” Peter says.
“Why?” Rocket says. “Are you ever going to explain what the hell that was?”
“The Ravagers are taking bounties from Thanos.”
“What!” Drax roars.
“Stakar will not be pleased with this,” Mantis says.
“Just get Stakar on the comms.” Peter doesn’t wait. He goes to check on Gamora.
“Go away, Peter,” She says when he enters the room.
“You okay?”
“Fine, I am only…” She clears her throat and stands. “I am concerned about Thanos. I don’t know what he could want with Loki alive, what he is scheming-”
“Come on, Gamora. We knew all of that already. Thanos is dangerous.”
“And if he has started actively searching for what he wants,” Gamora crosses her arms across her chest. “He sent Loki to retrieve the Tesseract - the Space Stone. With the Mind Stone. Loki never returned, as far as Thanos knew he was taken back to Asgard, the stones with him. He was enraged that they had been defeated so easily, vowed revenge. If he thinks Loki might lead him to the lost stones-”
“What can we do about it? We’ll tell Stakar, he’ll get the Ravager’s off Thanos’s payroll. Have you heard from Nebula?” Gamora sighs.
“Yes, she is fine. Her cover holds. Peter,” She looks at him, her voice dropping to a whisper. “I’ve done terrible things.”
“Yeah,” He shrugs. “We’ve all done terrible things.”
“You don’t understand-”
“I can take a guess.” She steps back from him. “Come on, Gamora. I - we all knew about your past. It doesn’t matter anymore.”
“And of the people, strung across the galaxy, for whom it does matter? People who fear me or loathe me, or mourn because of-”
“Gamora.”
“The only thing that will make anything worthwhile, is if we defeat Thanos.” There’s silence between them for a moment, then Rocket’s voice.
“Yo, I got Stakar on the comms, Quill! You wanna come explain what the hell is going on?”
“Step one,” Peter says quietly. “Is telling the Ravagers to back off. Right?” He holds out his hand and she takes it and they go to face the Ravagers as a team.