Chapter 88: The Summoning of Primarchs
"Ah, Captain America!" Raven exclaimed with obvious delight upon spotting Steve among the heroes.
Steve Rogers froze, uncertain whether to be flattered or insulted by the casual familiarity. The nickname felt strangely diminishing coming from this cosmic entity.
Tony Stark and Natasha Romanoff exchanged glances, their eyes drifting to assess Steve's posterior. After a moment's consideration, they both nodded; the moniker, while unexpected, was not entirely wrong.
"Where do these artifacts come from?" Bruce Banner stepped forward, like a scientist seeking answers. "Multiple Infinity Stones contradict everything we understand about cosmic law."
"Loki Beast," Raven began with apparent mischief, "tell them about your nightmare, how the big green one grabbed you by the ankle and used the floor to demonstrate basic percussion principles."
Banner's face flushed with embarrassment at the reminder, while Loki's expression shifted to resignation. Some humiliations, it seemed, would follow him across dimensions.
"Must we revisit that incident?" Loki asked with what remained of his dignity. "Surely there are more pressing matters at hand."
"And Stark, you—" Raven continued.
"The abundance of Infinity Stones stems from our recent encounter with the Time Variance Authority," Loki interrupted quickly, desperate to redirect the conversation before more embarrassing revelations emerged.
The Avengers exchanged confused glances. The name meant nothing to them, which was precisely what the TVA had intended.
Loki recounted their interdimensional adventure, explaining how he was captured by temporal agents and rescued by Raven's group. He spoke of the Sacred Timeline, the pruning of variant realities, and the cosmic puppet-strings that had guided their lives without their knowledge.
As the tale unfolded, Thor's expression grew sombre. The realisation that this Loki was not his brother, not the sibling who had died in his arms aboard Thanos's ship, settled over him like a weight.
This was merely another variant, a reflection of what had been lost.
"Regardless of your origin," Loki said, noting Thor's pain, "you are still my brother in all ways that matter."
Thor managed a weak smile. "And you mine, whatever timeline you call home."
Loki then gestured to the bound figure of Kang, who had remained silent throughout the explanation.
"This being created the Time Variance Authority and established what he called the Sacred Timeline," Loki continued. "Every victory, every defeat, every death and triumph, all followed his script. Any deviation would bring temporal agents to prune the timeline and restore his chosen course."
The implications hit the heroes like physical blows. Tony Stark's face went pale as it sank in.
"You're telling us that everything we've done, every choice we've made, was nothing more than following someone else's script?"
"Indeed," Loki confirmed.
Rocket Raccoon snarled at Kang with fury. "Even the ones who got dusted, that wasn't random, was it?"
Steve Rogers felt a chill as understanding dawned. "If he controlled the entire timeline, then who lived and who died was decided long before Thanos ever collected the first stone."
The revelation transformed their view entirely. The cosmic balance Thanos claimed to serve, the random selection of victims, the heroic sacrifices made to stop him, all of it had been predetermined by a being who viewed their lives as entertainment.
"I acted for the greater good," Kang protested weakly. "Allowing other possibilities would have triggered multiversal war, chaos beyond imagination."
"You manipulated the fates of trillions under the pretence of protection?" Steve's voice carried absolute condemnation.
The other Avengers closed in, their eyes blazing with fury. After fighting so long against Thanos, they had found the true architect of their suffering.
Raven watched their anger for a few moments before growing bored.
"Loki Beast," he said, tugging on one of the god's horns, "time to expand our family. Summon Russ, Angron, Dorn, and Alpharius to join their father."
Loki nodded, raising the Infinity Gauntlet and focusing his will on the cosmic artifacts. Reality bent to his command as he snapped his fingers.
The effect was immediate. A bright rift tore through the clear sky above the compound, its edges crackling with energy. The roar of struggling engines echoed from within the breach.
A battered spacecraft burst through the portal, its hull scarred by weapons fire. But the vessel was not alone; something massive was chasing it through the gap.
First came a hand that blocked out the sun, so vast that mountains would seem like pebbles in its grasp. The hand groped blindly through the rift, seeking to capture the fleeing ship.
"Celestial," Raven observed. "One of the cosmic judges. Their power can reshape or destroy entire worlds."
An equally huge head followed the hand, its features bearing the cold beauty common to the Celestial Host. The being was trying to force its way through the dimensional barrier, its cosmic bulk straining against the boundaries between realities.
"Kill it!" Raven commanded.
Loki responded instantly, snapping his fingers with the Gauntlet's power focused on spatial manipulation. The portal collapsed with surgical precision, severing the Celestial's head and arm as cleanly as a blade through silk.
The cosmic being's blood fell like red rain, each drop containing enough energy to power solar systems. The severed head hit the earth with the force of a falling mountain, its impact sending tremors through the continental shelf.
The arm followed, creating a second crater and painting the landscape in substances that predated mortal understanding.
"Loki Beast," Raven said with fake disappointment, "you've murdered a Celestial. How unfortunate."
"You ordered me to do it!" Loki protested.
"Did I? Who heard such a command? I heard no such thing," Raven replied with mock seriousness.
"You acted entirely on your own. I do hope you're prepared for the Host's inevitable vengeance."
Loki stared at his small tormentor, finally understanding that he had met his match in manipulation and compared to this entity, his reputation as the God of Mischief seemed almost quaint.
From the crashed vessel emerged a figure that commanded immediate attention. Leman Russ stood atop the ship's hull, lightning crackling around his form, not the pale imitation generated by technology, but actual celestial electricity seized from Zeus himself during their recent adventures in Omnipotence City.
"That was quite the chase," Russ called out, grinning with satisfaction. "The gods of that place do not appreciate visitors who question their authority."
Behind him came another Primarch, The Lion, bearing the marks of recent combat. Both warriors had been chased across dimensional barriers by angry deities, only to be saved by Loki's timely intervention.
"Next!" Raven announced, as if running some cosmic carnival.
Another portal opened, and Angron burst through in barely controlled fury, his chainaxes still dripping with alien blood.
"Sakaar shall know true freedom!" he roared, then paused as he took in his new surroundings.
"Send him back," Raven said quickly. "Immediately."
Before any of the other Primarchs could greet their brother, Loki reopened a portal behind Angron and shoved him back where he had come from.
The Lord of the Red Sands found himself returned to the gladiatorial world of Sakaar at the climactic moment of a slave rebellion.
His brief absence had caused panic among the revolutionaries, while their oppressor, the High Evolutionary, had begun to celebrate what seemed like divine intervention.
That celebration proved premature. Angron's return sent shockwaves through both armies, and the revolution resumed with renewed vigour. Within hours, the High Evolutionary found himself imprisoned, awaiting execution for his crimes against the enslaved population.
Back on Earth, Raven continued his summoning. Rogal Dorn appeared with the stoic bearing that had made him the Emperor's most trusted fortress-builder.
Konrad Curze followed, his midnight-clad form radiating the predatory menace that marked him as justice incarnate.
Finally came Alpharius, or perhaps Omegon, with the twin Primarchs; one could never be certain which was which.
All three bore the marks of recent combat: damaged armour, weapons stained with alien blood, faces marked by the satisfaction of duties completed. Each had their own tale of adventure across the cosmic void, but those stories would wait.
"One more summons," Raven announced. "Bring us Thanos."
The suggestion caused tension among the Avengers. After everything they had endured at the Mad Titan's hands, the prospect of facing him again awakened old traumas.
"Must we?" Loki asked nervously. "That being represents considerable danger, even when we have cosmic artifacts."
"Fear not, Loki Beast," Raven replied, channelling even more power through their psychic link. "You now possess strength sufficient to humble gods and topple empires. Thanos is merely another obstacle to overcome."
Magic surged through Loki's enhanced form like molten gold, each spell now carrying the potential to reshape continents. With such power at his command, even the Mad Titan seemed manageable.
"Very well," Loki said, raising the Gauntlet once more. "Let us summon the architect of genocide."
Reality parted like curtains, revealing a portal that dumped its contents with efficiency. Thanos tumbled through, clutching a garden squash in one hand and a farming hoe in the other.
Half his face bore the terrible burns he had sustained destroying the Infinity Stones, while his clothes spoke of a simple farm life.
The Avengers fell upon him before he could orient himself, their combined might pinning the weakened Titan to the ground.
"Don't kill the Purple Potato!" Raven called out, his voice cutting through their rage. "We have need of him alive!"
Thanos stopped struggling, recognising he couldn't resist. His eyes fixed on the Infinity Gauntlet on Loki's hand, and his expression shifted to confusion.
"Impossible," he whispered. "I destroyed them all. The stones were unmade by my own hand."
Indeed, after completing his great work, Thanos had used the stones' power one final time to ensure they could never again threaten the cosmic balance he had achieved. The process had nearly killed him, leaving him scarred and powerless on his chosen world of exile.
No one bothered to explain the truth to him. The Avengers dragged him away to join Kang in imprisonment, where perhaps the two architects of universal suffering could commiserate over their shared fate.
"Might we borrow the Gauntlet?" Steve asked, approaching Raven carefully. "There are those we would bring back to life, friends and allies, everyone lost to the snap."
"All in good time," Raven replied with a dismissive wave. "First, I must complete a task of paramount importance."
"Which is?" Steve inquired.
Raven's chest swelled with pride as he delivered his answer: "Acquiring the finest French fries and ketchup this universe has to offer! Surely you understand that such matters take precedence over mere resurrection."
________________
Want bonus chapters? You got it.
Goal: 850 – Achieved: 800 = 2 Bonus Chapters
📌 1 Power Stone on the Book Page = 100 on Chapter Pages!
!! VISIT the BOOK PAGE to donate your Power Stone.
_________________
WATCH THIS IN COMMENT---
________________
Check out more than 45+ chapters right now! 🔥
👉 patreon.com/Mr UmU
https://www.patreon.com/Mr_UmU
__________________