A beaming smile spreads over my face. "Yes!", I scream and punch into the air.
Loki's powers flow around me and in a millisecond, the Avengers are thrown back by the sheer force of the green light. As I sit up, I see Black Widow rolling over the sidewalk, Iron Man crashes into a wall roughly three meters above the ground on the other side of the street and Thor flies right through Loki into the rear of the next car. He leaves a thor-shaped dent in the trunk, groans and tries to get out.
I look back at Loki to congratulate him, but he has already turned around to run down the street.
"Loki?", I ask, slightly worried. I jump off the hood and feel everyone of my bones hurting. "Hey Loki, wait!"
But as I look over my shoulder, I see the reason he is running.
"SMASH!", roars the Hulk and battles his way in our direction. The people that still stumble across this street scatter quickly and scream.
"Oh shit!", I screech and duck behind a car.
I was right in time. A shield whirrs through the air where my head was a moment before. I look up, and to top it all, Captain America runs past me and Hawkeye jumps from roof to roof, firing arrows in Loki's direction.
The other Avengers already started running after Loki and I follow.
Thirty meters in front of me, I see him getting surrounded, but instead of being scared, he straightens himself to his full height.
I hear his voice deep and sharp through all the turmoil. "Hey children, you want to play?"
I never thought Loki could become more attractive, but this sentence makes me want to marry him on the spot. Unfortunately, he is occupied with fighting the Avengers.
The fight that explodes now is looking like a crazed firework. The illusion of fog shoots out of the ground and Loki's green magic shines creepily through it. He has his daggers, they reflect the sun whenever he swings them, and Thor's blue lightning just adds to the show. Hawkeye's arrows change through magic into feathers and birds that fly away without causing harm. Captain America and Thor throw shield and hammer after Loki, but he ducks and winds himself around them like a green golden snake. With a green glow he changes his form, and now he is a snake, trapping Black Widow in his grasp. But before he can squeeze too hard, she draws a knife. The only one missing now is the Hulk and me.
I stand at the side and try to find a moment to help Loki, but it all happens way too fast. Additionally, there is Iron Man, who is firing his laser beams at Loki and sometimes at me to keep me away from the fight. So I confine myself to cheer for Loki.
"Yes!", I scream. "End them! You can do it!"
Whenever Iron Man understands some of the words I am speaking, he throws a weird look at me. Meaning he visibly inclines his head, I can't see through his helmet. What I also notice is that this is the only reaction I am getting. Since Loki freed me from the Avengers, it is like I vanished into thin air. He doesn't look at me, doesn't check if I am alright (I mean, one of these blasts could have hit me) or pay me any sort of attention. I stop yelling for a good ten seconds and see that he's not even turning around. I mean I could have been seriously hurt.
I am close to shaking that feeling off, but then a sentence he said came to my mind.
Don't be sure. Don't ever be sure.
I hesitate. Could it be? Could the unspeakable happen and he just used me to get his powers back? Does he not care anymore?
But he told you that he wont leave you, a voice in my head says.
He is the god of lies, the other one says.
"Loki?", I call. "Hey - Loki, hey! Look at me!"
But he doesn't turn around. He is too busy laughing at his brother missing him with the hammer again.
When did it ever end well when somebody trusted Loki?
My throat seems to close with the sudden urge to cry.
Then a noise from behind distracts me. A crash and a roar, resounding in the empty street full of concrete chunks and broken cars. I jump around and see the Hulk throwing away a car he has been playing with and storming to Loki. My instincts and my love for Loki that suddenly shoots up inside me take over and I place myself in his path.
"Not today, you big oaf!" I do it like I did with Black Widow and explode the tar under his feet, but the Hulk doesn't care. I try to make the illusion of an empty street, but it flickers and dies. Eventually, he just thrusts me out of the way and I can barely prevent myself from getting smashed into the wall of the next building.
Now Loki sees the problem and turns around. He shimmers green and twenty, no thirty Loki's pop up around him. The Hulk hollers frustratedly and picks up one Loki to throw him away. As I see him flying over the rooftops I really hope that one isn't the real one.
With a magic blast, the Avengers get thrown away, except the Hulk and Hawkeye who puts a new arrow on the bowstring and aims at Loki from the roof of a nearby car.
The Hulk still picks up Loki's, and suddenly all the other Loki's vanish. Anxiously, I watch the Hulk shake the now single Loki triumphantly.
Then, Hawkeye lets go of the bowstring. The arrow flings forward, and like in slowmotion, it moves through the air and pierces right into Loki's chest.
All the air leaves my lungs as I gasp and stare at the scene in shock. Everyone seems to freeze, and Loki looks down at the arrow. He takes the shaft and tries to pull, but it is no use. The arrow doesn't move. Loki's hand goes limp. And his head drops onto his chest.
"No!", I scream into the sudden silence. "No!"
Black Widow exchanges a look with Captain America and Iron Man opens his helmet. Even the Hulk shakes Loki a little.
"No Loki?", he roars quietly.
"No!", I scream, I don't care if anybody looks at me or fights me. I want to fight them all, even if I die trying. "Loki ..." My voice breaks. I stumble in his direction.
Iron Man turns and now I am looking in the face of Tony Stark. "Look", he begins. "I don't know what he has told you. Why you fight for him. But he has manipulated you. Just ..." He sighs. "Sit down. We will help you."
"No", I say. This stupid word, coming out of my mouth like the tears falling from my eyes. "You don't understand. You don't understand anything!" The last words I scream again. Then, as I can no longer bear looking at the Avengers, I turn around and run. Down the street, over the sidewalk, and around the corner.
Then I almost ran into a tall, raven-haired person. He grabs me by my wrists and looks into my face.
Loki, is the only thought crossing my mind. A mix of happiness, sadness and surprise spreads over my face.
"(Y/n), I am not dead", he says and he smiles brightly. His voice feels incredibly good. Dark, rough, velvety ... loki-like. "I didn't betray you. I am back. Hey, it's all -"
But I slap him across the face. "YOU DARE TO PLAY DEAD AGAIN?!"
The happy look becomes a shocked expression. He holds his cheek. "I am sorry, I - I l-"
I interrupt him again. This time I smash my lips against his, muffling all sound. Loki seems to forget how to function, then he wraps his arms around my waist and pulls me closer. After a few seconds we break the kiss and look into each others eyes.
I raise a finger. "Never play dead again. Promise."
"I ... I promise", Loki says tenderly. "I didn't want to hurt you."
I throw him a warning look that he reciprocates like a schoolboy who didn't do his homework.
I sigh. "I am so glad you are alive. I ... you mean so much to me." I pause. "What happened with the stone?"
"I had to leave it there to make my death more realistic", Loki states, still with that ashamed expression, but with a hint of mischief sparkling in his eyes. "I couldn't have brought it out of there."
I sigh again. "Seems like we have to get it back."
"Yes", Loki responds. "But I would say we can take a few days off before that. To concentrate on us, shall we?"
I smile and nod. "This is a great idea."
We begin to walk back to our hotel through the empty streets.
"Seems like we are the new villain duo, hm?", I ask.
"Yes", Loki answers with that mischievous glimmer in his eyes. "Damn right we are."

The end