Chapter 30

A white light flashed in my eyes and I inhaled hard as my world came into view. The other Loki dropped his hand and crossed his arms as he smirked at me. He nodded to the ground below me but I clenched my jaw and shook my head no.

"Were you not paying attention?" The other Loki chuckled as he looked over at the cage.

"I was." I whispered.

"Pile behind Thor!" I yelled out. The guys didn't bother questioning me and quickly lined up behind Thor, who crossed his arms as he raised a brow. The other Loki lost his smirk and clenched his jaw as he looked over at me.

"You'll kill an Avenger every time I refuse to open the gate. The only Avenger you have sight of is Thor. So do it, Loki. Kill him." I taunted the God.

"You think I won't slaughter my own brother??" The other Loki laughed as he looked back at the cage. He lost his smile and his chest harshly went up and down as he considered his options.

"I know you won't." I argued.

"Lady Alex is right, Loki. Even a God like you didn't have the heart to kill me." My Loki said as he smirked. I raised a brow at the name Loki used for me but before my own realization could set in, a bright green aura flooded Loki as he transformed into Thor. The Thor in the cage transformed into my Loki and the other Avengers stood next to him with smirks on their faces.

"What?" The other Loki harshly said as he frantically looked between the two Gods.

"I went through the minds of your men we captured in Mexico. Luckily for us, they happened to be from the first universe you took over. I followed them through your take over of other universes and noticed something. You slaughtered all of the heroes you came across, all except for one. Our brother always lived. He was placed in a different dungeon in each universe, but ultimately kept alive." My Loki shrugged.

"Loki told us the truth before we got here. He knew you'd make him spill the beans to divide us." Tony added as he crossed his arms.

"No way." I laughed a little as I stared at my Loki. 

"So, we did the ol' switcheroo and you fell for it." Bucky laughed a bit as he crossed his arms too. Thor knelt down and placed his hand on the ground as he called upon his hammer. It crashed through the small devices the other Loki put up and disabled the electric cage around the others. Peter took off towards the Guardians and the others towards us.

"I will not be defeated!" The other Loki screamed out. His eyes turned a dark green as he stared into my own. I felt stiff and my whole body froze in place. The other Loki smirked as he lifted his hand, mine followed. He gripped his hand into a fist and mine did the same. He was possessing me and I couldn't stop him.

"Alex??" My Loki asked as the others gathered around the other Loki, apart from Peter, who was trying to free the Guardians. The other Loki threw his fist down towards the ground and a large stalactite came crashing down to the ground like a meteor. It didn't even crack the cave ground but it distracted the others. 

"No!" Loki yelled out as he darted towards us. The other Loki and I both disappeared and reappeared underground. I felt the heat from the middle of the world and Loki smirked as he stared at the large beats chained to the wall by blood red crystal chains. It stood at least 15 feet tall, it's white skin looked like stone and it's bright red eyes stared at us. It looked human, but also animal. It had no hair on its humanoid naked body, but had 4 arms and at the end of each arm was a large claw like hand with 7 talons attacked to each one.

"Svanhild, my beautiful monster." The other Loki whispered. I could hear the others trying to break the ground above us.

"It is no use, it is sealed by an old spell." Thor's muffled voice said.

"Then how the hell did they get in?!" Bucky asked him.

"She is the elements this world is made of....meaning she can bypass the spell and locked earth and get underground." My Loki explained.

"Like with our Father's locked room. No one could enter it because it was spell locked for only Odin himself. But Alex walked right in." Thor added, giving the group more understanding of the situation.

"Svanhild! I am here to release you unto not just this lousy world, but the whole universe. You shall server me and I will let you destroy as many worlds as you wish!" The other Loki offered the being. I fought his control, pushing him out of my head but it was no use, he pushed back.

"Du er en Gud..."

"You are a God..."  The deep voice rattled our surroundings. I realized I could understand what he was saying, not because I knew the language, but because this Loki did. He was possessing me but we were connected both ways.

"I am. Your God." Loki smirked. He lifted his hand up, mine followed, and he gripped the crystal chain, causing mine to do the same. He yanked the chain from the wall and freed one of the arms.

"Stop it!" I screamed in my head. 

"Shut up." Loki harshly screamed back at me. I closed my eyes as he gripped the second chain and thought about how I could break free from him. But his thoughts and mine were connected, so he already knew what I was planning.

"Don't bother trying." He chuckled. I suddenly remembered a silly thing I used to do in elementary school. I had teacher who would always know what you were thinking and it got to the point where I believed she could read thoughts. So, I started screaming as loud as I could in my head to see if she reached. She never did, obviously, but it could work for Loki since he really can read minds. I mentally inhaled and let out the highest pitch screech I could. The other Loki flinched and snapped his attention to me, dropping our hands.

"Silence!!!" He screamed out. I continued screeching as loud as I mentally could and the other Loki tightly shut his eyes as he shook his head, trying to regain control.

"I will kill you if you do not stop!" He screamed as his eyes flew open and he glared at me. If he killed me then he couldn't release Svanhild, meaning he failed. I'd die for my universe and I think he realized that since I kept screaming. 

"Fine! I warned you!" He screamed out as he reached into his pocket and pulled out the remote. He furrowed his brows and clicked it, sending a wave of electrical heat through my veins. The other Loki tensed up and his grip on my mind released as we both fell to the small cliff edge below us. I hit my head hard enough to knock me out for a few seconds.

When I came too, I groaned and touched the back of my bloody head, wincing when I touched the gash I had gotten from the fall. I slowly rolled over on my side and then pushed myself up to a sitting position. I felt so nauseous and dizzy but I knew I had to get out before the other Loki woke up. I slowly got to my feet and glanced over to my left where he was laying. He was still unconscious.

"Idiot." I whispered as I looked away and over to Svanhild. The monster was staring at us and breathing heavily as his free arm pulled on the chain that held his upper left arm to the cave. I reached my shaky hand out and pulled the crystal chain off of the ground and towards his free hand. He grabbed the chain and yanked it out of the wall, securing his freedom even more.

"Oh fuck." My voice trembled as pain took over my body. I inhaled and swallowed as I looked back over at the other Loki. I spotted the remote to the device in my spine sitting next to his left hand. I licked my lips and glanced over at Svanhild one last time before quickly limping towards the other Loki. I bent to grab the remote but his hand wrapped around it before I could. He chuckled as he looked up at me and I clenched my jaw as I weighed my options. I swiftly lifted my foot as high as I could and dropped it down on the remote in the other Loki's palm. The remote smashed and some plastic pieces pierced his skin, drawing blood. He yelled out in pain and I pushed myself off of the ground and into the air.

Svanhild began rocking the entire cave as he pulled at his restraints. His red eyes glued to me the whole time. I bolted up through the ground and to the surface where the others were.

"Alex!" My Loki yelled out. My feet touched the ground but I fell to my hands and knees as aching washed over me. I clenched my jaw, wiped the tears from my eyes and pushed everyone's helping hands away as I got back to my feet.

"Where is he?" Tony asked me. The ground below us began to shake and rocks above us fell, smashing into tiny pieces when they hit the ground.

"He managed to release one of Svanhild's arms." I quickly said as I directed the falling rocks away from us.

"He-" I was going to tell them that Svanhild was trying to break his others arms free, but the other Loki appearing by the entrance stopped me. He looked bad, but I know I felt worse.

Tony blasted the spot above the entrance, flooding the cave with rocks. Peter threw some web balls at him but the other Loki dodged them as he sprinted away from the entrance. I wondered why he didn't just teleport out of the cave and I wasn't the only one.

"Why doesn't he just leave?" Steve asked as he threw his shield at the false God. It hit him in the side and he smashed against the side of the cave before falling to his knees. 

"This cave is protected by sacred runes that stop magic. We can use our magic inside the rune protection, but we can't use them to get out. We can use our magic outside too, but not to get in." Loki explained as the other Loki quickly got to his feet and threw a dagger towards us. Peter countered them with webs, stopping the dagger from hitting me. Another earthquake hit us and I knew it was Svanhild trying to break free again.

"How did you get in as Thor then?" I asked as I crossed my arms.

"I didn't. We came in as ourselves. When his attention was on you for a brief moment, I changed us." Loki replied, smirking a little. The other Loki threw another dagger at us and this time Bucky pushed me to the side and shot it before it reached us, the magic dagger exploded.

"Just give up, Loki." Thor called out as the false God clenched his jaw and stared at me. He tore his eyes from mine and they landed on my Loki and a devilish smile spread across his face. He disappeared and reappeared by my Loki, grabbing his arm. They both disappeared and reappeared behind all of us.

"Let me go." My Loki said as he pulled away. The other Loki's clothing changed from his black cloak to a uniform that matched my Loki's uniform. He lost his black nail polish and long nails and his dim eyes turned bright green.

"No." I whispered. The other Loki smirked and smoke suddenly filled the cave around us. I threw my arms out and forced the smoke away from us and out threw the small cracks in the walls but it was too late. The two Loki's laid on the ground, both with bloody noses and both looking confused. They stood up and I felt my heartbeat quicken as I tried to figure out which one was my Loki.

"Alex." The Loki to my left called out in a desperate plea. I wanted to believe that was mine but the second Loki called out in the same manor. I couldn't trust either of them.

"Which one is the real Loki?" Steve asked as he and the others stood in a line next to me, blocking the Loki's from leaving.

"I-I don't know." I admitted. The ground began to shake again and another large rock broke free from the ceiling and fell towards us. Peter threw out a web and caught it, saving us.

"Alex, it's me. I'm the real Loki." The Loki to the right begged.

"Okay, none of that crappy movie bullshit." Tony scoffed as he crossed his arms.

"How do we figure out which is which?" Bucky asked as he raised a brow. I threw both of my hands out and brought up two large spiked rocks from the ground, aiming one at each Loki. We couldn't let the false one go free. We had to keep them here until we truly figured out who was our Loki.

"I don't know." I replied.

"What of that device that stopped your powers?" Thor asked me. 

"Brilliant idea big guy." Tony nodded as he turned and walked back over to the spot I was being held in. He picked up the collar but it suddenly disappeared from his hands, as did the ones around the Guardian's necks.

"Shit." Tony sighed as he walked back over to us and crossed his arms.

"Alex, please. I'm not the false God." The Loki on the right said as he took a step towards us. I inched the spiked rocks closer to them, telling him to stay put.

"How do I know that? Huh? How do I know you're the real Loki?" I asked him, raising a brow. Both Loki's stayed silent for a moment and then the one on the right looked over at me and smiled a little.

"I could kiss you and then you'd know how real I am." He replied. I clenched my jaw as those words sat with me. 

"Ew, dude." Star Lord cringed. I motioned for the others to back up a little and crowd around me, so we could talk this through. I still kept the rocks aimed at the Loki's though.

"That's exactly what he said to me the night before the other Loki tried to take us. But the other Loki was there, he could have heard Loki say that to me. He could be reading my mind and telling me things I want to hear and I wouldn't even know it." I whispered as I glanced over at the two Gods. More shaking rattled the cave and Bucky pulled me towards him to avoid another falling rock.

"You gotta ask them something that only our Loki would know." Peter replied. It was comforting to hear him say "our" Loki and not just Loki.

"Even if she did, the false Loki could read her mind and give her answers." Thor argued.

"So, one of us can ask him something." Bucky suggested.

"No, he can read all of our minds." Gamora argued as she crossed her arms.

"This ain't what I signed up for when becoming a Guardian." Rocket sighed.

"No matter what we say, the other Loki will know the answer." Tony added, ignoring the small creature. As I stared at the two Loki's and thought about the answer the one on the right gave me, the rest of our conversation from that night played in my head and I suddenly realized what I had to do.

"Loki." I called out as I moved towards them, breaking the circle. The others followed and both Loki's looked over at me, the one on the left crossing his arms.

"I'm going to ask you both a question and I want you to answer at the same time." I announced. 

"This is ridiculous, Alex. Can't you tell I'm the real Loki?" The one on the right asked me.

"If you're the real one, then you'll have no problem answering this question." I shrugged. A small part of me believed it wasn't the Loki on the right. He seemed too...annoyed by this, like we were wasting his time.

"Ask." The one on the left said.

"Alright." I nodded.

"The night after we first met.." I began remembering the events of that night exactly how they played out. I knew the other Loki would have to pick my mind to find the answer since he wasn't around when this happened.

"When you flew me up into the air and you made beautiful flowers out of the water around us..." I continued, forcing my mind and heart to remember this next part wrong.

"What did you do after I said 'wow'?" I asked. I swallowed hard and the Loki on the right smirked as he dropped his crossed arms. The Loki on the left furrowed his brows and crossed his arms as he opened his mouth to answer, but the other Loki beat him to it.

"I kissed you." He replied.

"I let the water return to the lake and took us back down." The Loki on the left answered. The Loki on the right furrowed his brows as he looked over at the other Loki and I clenched my jaw as I squeezed my right hand into a fist, sending the spiked rock into the chest of the Loki on the right. A dim green aura fell over him and he turned back into the other Loki.

"W-Wha-" The other Loki choked out as blood began to trickle from his mouth and chest. He fell to his knees but the rock stopped him from falling further. I dropped the other rock and ran to Loki, throwing my arms around him and crying a little. He wrapped his arms around me as tightly as he could and I buried my face into the crook of his neck.

"I...will not...be...defeated." The other Loki choked out. I pulled away from my Loki as the other one threw a dagger towards us. My Loki pushed me out of the way and I stumbled and hit the ground as the dagger pierced his chest.

"NOO!" I screamed out. My Loki clenched his jaw and let out a small groan as he fell to his knees. Thor and I both rushed over to Loki as he fell on his side, his left hand gripping the dagger still in him. Thor helped his brother lay on his back and gently moved his hand from his wound.

"H-He's going to be okay right?" I asked Thor as tears streamed down my face.

"He can heal himself. He should be okay, yeah?" Peter asked as he and the others crowded around us, Peter and Bucky kneeling next to me.

"T-This wound was caused by a dagger made of the same magic Loki uses. I-It's powerful.." Thor furrowed his brows in worry as he examined the damage done to his brother. The cave began to shake, this time worse than all the other times, and a rock smashed the ground behind us.

"Okay, we gotta go." Tony said as he motioned for the others to leave and then blasted the entrance clear of debris. Everyone began to leave the cave but once Loki was on his feet again he pulled away from Thor and and inhaled hard as he closed his eyes and crunched his brows.

"Brother?" Thor asked as he reached out for Loki again.

"No. Svanhild is free. I promised father he would not escape." He said as he breathing quickened and he opened his eyes. 

"W-What do you mean?" I asked him. I felt a sharp pain in my side and grabbed it with my left hand as I winced a little.

"Get her to safety." Loki softly said as he looked away from me and over to his brother. I felt Thor's hands push under my armpits and he gripped me as he pulled me backwards. 

"No!" I yelled as I tried to pull away. Loki stumbled towards the center of the room and as his blood trickled out and on the runes, causing them to light up in a faint white color.

"Stop it!" I screamed when I realized what he was doing. He was giving his life to trap Svanhild back where he belongs. I pulled and pulled but Thor yanked me back as he walked backwards towards the door.

"Let me go!!" I screamed as tears poured down my face. Loki fell to his knees and the shaking worsened, knocking Thor and I on our asses. I quickly got up and slipped out of Thor's grip and ran towards Loki. Loki threw his weak hand out towards me, telling me to stop but I didn't.

"Alex!" Bucky yelled out from the entrance. I stopped running and looked back at him as I wiped the tears from my face. He motioned for me to follow, his eyes were desperate for me to listen.

"I can't." I whispered. I looked back at Loki and ran as Thor ran towards me. I threw my arm back, sending large waves of rocks towards Thor. They knocked him back towards the entrance and I fell to my knees with Loki. More than half of the runes were lit up by now and he was pale as a ghost. My stomach turned as the sight of him so near death burnt into my memory. I gently took his face in my hands and he begged me to leave.

"I can't." I whispered.

*Third Person POV.*

Alex stared into her ex lover's green eyes and clenched her jaw, trying to stop herself from crying as she watched them turn dull. Rocks came falling from the ceiling over them and she waved her hand in the air, sending them away from the pair and into the walls. Thor stood outside of the rune circle, he dared not enter a sacred area like that.

"We have to go, Lady Alex!" Thor begged her. 

"Take him." She said, her voice cracking.

"I cannot. Loki promised father he would keep Svanhild here. He promised the beast would stay locked up." Thor softly argued.

"Then I will take his place!" She cried out as she looked back at her God, her tears clouding her eyes.

"He's almost gone, Alex, I can't lose you too!" Tony shouted out to the pair as he navigated his way back through the shaking cave. He stumbled into Thor and the God helped steady the billionaire as they both looked at the crying girl. Alex felt Loki go dead weight in her arms as he slumped forward and closed his eyes. Grief overtook every fiber in her body and she screamed out in pain as she held him close to her. Tony and Thor both took a step back as the rocks around them began to lift into the air around the rune circle. Alex opened her eyes and Tony gasped a little when he saw that they were pure white. Her screaming stopped as she inhaled hard and buried her face into the crook of Loki's neck, her eyes returning to their brown color. 

Loki's blood slowly trickled to the last two runes and Alex clenched her jaw as she watched it. Her eyes went wide as Loki weakly inhaled, telling her he was still alive. She stood up and pulled the barely alive God to his feet and turned towards the other two.

"Alex." Tony warned as he watched them. She took a step forward and the ground shook, causing her to stumble forward and fall with Loki. He groaned and she smashed her angry fist against the ground as she laid there with Loki half on her. She inhaled and looked over at Tony, her angry brown eyes turning soft and apologetic as she bit her bottom lip.

"What ever you're planning, don't!" Tony yelled at her. Alex fell through the floor, leaving Loki alone. She fell all the way to the cage of the beast and came face to face with Svanhild himself. He was completely free but continuously fighting off blood red crystal chains that were coming out of the ground above them. Alex threw her hands out and the walls around Svanhild shifted and closed in on the beast. He charged Alex, tearing off the chains around his lower left wrist as he let out a deep beastly roar.

"Fuck you!!!" She screamed back at him. He pushed through the walls and Alex closed her eyes and clenched her jaw and fists as she screamed again. The walls completely closed around Svanhild and he let out a terrifying roar again. Alex slowly opened her eyes and saw that he was just a few feet from her, breathing hard as he glared at her. She floated in the air and kept her fists tightly closed, keeping him in place.

A small, faint white orb floated out from the walls around Svanhild and towards Alex. She felt no fear as she watched it stop in front of her. The orb slowly flew around her head and then her hands, like it was examining her. It stopped in front of her face once again and she furrowed her brows as she curiously watched the orb. It suddenly flew at her and her head fell back as her eyes turned bright blue for a moment. The orb entered her body and attached itself to her very soul.

"Alex." The words came from Alex, but it was the deep voice of a man and not her own.

"Aksel." Her voice responded. The life essence of the great warrior and God descendant, Aksel, was trapped here with Svanhild, keeping the chains around the beast. When he sacrificed himself to the Old Gods, they used his blood to form the chains and set his soul as the guardian. When the other Loki freed the beast, Aksel's soul was torn from his guarding post and left here. He found Alex and infused himself with her, helping her keep Svanhild at bay.

"Lady Alex??" Thor yelled out. She could hear the others rushing in above her and crowding around the place she left Loki. The shaking had stopped, she and the soul of Aksel had trapped Svanhild.

"What's going on?" Tony asked as he looked over at Thor. Thor furrowed his brows and the white glowing runes slowly faded away, telling him Svanhild was trapped once again.

"She did it, she trapped him and saved Loki's life." Thor softly replied. Tony clenched his jaw and felt the tears building up as he stared at the spot where Alex last was. The thought of losing her again was tearing him up inside.

"Loki isn't looking so good." Peter said as he knelt down by the God and took his pulse. He and Bucky lifted Loki to his feet and his black hair fell over his face as his weak body slumped in their arms. 

"We must leave." Thor nodded. They all took one last look at the ritual area and heartbreak fell over the group knowing Alex was down there with the beast, keeping him trapped.

"Come." Thor softly said. He and the others slowly exited the cave, leaving behind the body of the other Loki and their own teammate underground. They all knew this wasn't the end of it, they would find a way to get Alex out of there.

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