-Broadcast-
The transmission crackled through the void of space, desperate and urgent.
"This is the Asgardian refugee ship Statesman! We are under attack! I repeat! We are under attack! Our engines are destroyed, life support failing! Requesting immediate assistance! We are twenty-two jump points from Asgard!"
The voice strained with panic as explosions echoed in the background.
"This is a refugee vessel! Our crew are Asgardian civilians! We have very few soldiers! This is not a warship! I repeat, this is not a warship!"
The distress call echoed as the image emerged - the massive Sanctuary II unleashing devastating firepower upon the Statesman. Brilliant energy blasts tore through the darkness, each impact sending shockwaves across the refugee ship's hull. The vessel shuddered violently, debris scattering into space.
Inside the ravaged spacecraft, bodies lay strewn across the blood-stained floor. Heimdall collapsed against a support beam, his hand pressed against a severe wound in his abdomen. Dark blood seeped through his fingers, his breathing shallow and labored. His golden eyes tracked Ebony Maw as the alien strode past him. Heimdall's muscles tensed, attempting to rise, but his body refused. The injury was too severe.
"Hear me, and rejoice!" Ebony Maw proclaimed, his voice unnervingly calm as he walked through the carnage. His elongated fingers gestured expressively. "You have had the privilege of being saved by the Great Titan. You may think this is suffering. No. It is salvation."
He gazed down at the lifeless faces surrounding him. Most of the refugees had already fallen, their eyes staring at nothing.
"The universal scales tip toward balance because of your sacrifice. Smile, for even in death, you have become children of Thanos."
Ebony Maw took his position behind Thanos. Black Dwarf stood like a mountain of muscle and armor. Corvus Glaive and Proxima Midnight prowled through the wreckage, searching for survivors. Supergiant was noticeably absent from their ranks.
Thor had not surrendered without a fight. During the initial attack, he had managed to eliminate one of the Black Order, costing Thanos one of his most trusted warriors.
Loki stood among the survivors, his sharp eyes following Ebony Maw before shifting to the figure that dominated the room.
Thanos stood at the viewport, his massive form in golden armor silhouetted against the starlight. He gazed outward at the Sanctuary II with calm satisfaction. At his feet lay Thor, crumpled and broken, his armor scorched and face bloodied.
Thanos glanced down at the defeated Asgardian without malice, simply with the certainty of one who has already won. He took measured steps backward.
"I know what it's like to lose," Thanos began, his deep voice resonating through the chamber. "To feel so desperately that you're right, yet to fail nonetheless."
He bent down and grasped Thor by the collar, lifting him effortlessly. Thor's hands scrabbled uselessly against the iron grip.
"It's frightening. Turns the legs to jelly. I ask you, to what end? Dread it. Run from it. Destiny arrives all the same."
Thanos walked toward Loki while carrying Thor. He raised his left arm, revealing the Infinity Gauntlet with the Power Stone pulsing with purple luminescence.
"And now, it's here. Or should I say... I am."
Thanos forced Thor downward to his knees before Loki. Blood dripped from Thor's mouth. Despite his broken body, defiance burned in his eyes.
"You talk too much," Thor rasped.
Thanos's attention shifted entirely to Loki.
"The Tesseract, or your brother's head. I assume you have a preference."
Corvus Glaive grinned cruelly. Proxima Midnight raised her spear, aimed at Loki's back.
Thanos moved the Infinity Gauntlet closer to Thor's head, the Power Stone's glow intensifying.
"I think you know what the right choice is."
Loki straightened, assuming cold indifference.
"I really think you should choose your words more carefully," Loki replied dismissively. "Kill away."
Thanos's eyes narrowed. Without hesitation, he pressed the Power Stone against Thor's temple.
Purple energy exploded across Thor's skull. The God of Thunder's body went rigid, his back arching as an agonized scream tore from his throat. The Power Stone systematically destroyed him from within, his veins glowing purple beneath his skin.
Loki's composure cracked, his eyes widening as Thor's screams echoed through the chamber. His breathing quickened.
"All right, stop!" The words burst desperately from Loki's lips. "STOP!"
Thanos withdrew the gauntlet. Thor collapsed forward, gasping, smoke rising from his temple.
Loki closed his eyes briefly, his jaw clenched. Resignation flickered across his face.
Thanos smiled with satisfaction.
"We don't have the Tesseract," Loki said, voice carefully controlled. He avoided Thor's gaze. "It was destroyed on Asgard."
Even as he spoke, Loki raised his hand. Reality shimmered, and with a blue glow, the Tesseract materialized in his grasp.
Thanos's smile widened with genuine pleasure.
-Real World-
"The Power Stone... How did this thing end up in Thanos' hands?" Tony frowned. He remembered clearly that in the sky, Star-Lord gave the Power Stone to Nova Prime on Xandar for safekeeping.
But now the Power Stone appeared in Thanos's Infinity Gauntlet, which made him wonder if something had happened to Xandar.
He turned his head to look at Star-Lord. Star-Lord noticed his gaze and looked back at him. Then the two of them nodded imperceptibly, understanding that the other was thinking the same thing as they did.
Star-Lord took out his communicator and tried to contact Xandar, but Xandar was still in a state of social collapse after being attacked by Thanos, and the communication system was also destroyed, so Star-Lord could not get through Rhomann Dey's communicator.
Nor did they know that Rhomann Dey had sacrificed himself to protect Nova Supreme.
The more Star-Lord thought about it, the more uneasy he became, because Rhomann Dey would not ignore his calls.
He had no choice but to contact Yondu and his crew who had already left Earth and ask him to go to Xandar to check the situation.
Yondu and his crew were traveling with a group of gladiators including Korg. He felt that these guys were quite to his liking and planned to recruit them to become his new crew.
Although Yondu was a little unhappy when he received the call, he still planned to go to Xandar to see the situation.
But in fact, Captain Ael sent people to warn Star-Lord and his group, but it happened that at that time they followed the Avengers to Sakaar and then to Asgard.
The two sides missed each other so perfectly that Star-Lord and others didn't know that Xandar had been attacked until this moment.
-Broadcast-
Thor lifted his head, his bruised face turning toward Loki with profound betrayal in his eye.
"You really are the worst brother," Thor said hoarsely.
Loki's grip on the Tesseract tightened. He took a slow breath, then took two steps forward, the Tesseract held before him. His eyes flicked briefly to Thor.
"I assure you, brother," Loki said quietly. "The sun will shine on us again."
Thanos chuckled, dark and knowing.
"Your optimism is misplaced, Asgardian."
Loki straightened, lowering the hand holding the Tesseract. His green eyes locked onto Thanos.
"Well, for one thing, I'm not Asgardian."
He paused, then his voice rose suddenly.
"And for another... WE HAVE A HULK!"