Make Thanos Come See Me

They stared at each other, and the air fell into an excruciating silence.

Loki's carefully planned ambush, his illusions woven from truth and lies, and his overwhelming magical assault had been nothing but a sorry farce before Russell.

A second ago, the god of Asgard had declared that he would rule Midgard and look down on all living things. Now he could hardly have looked more wretched.

The God of Mischief's pride and malice shattered under the weight of an utterly crushing difference in power.

Loki blinked stiffly. He hastily extinguished every trace of magic around him, shed his vicious arrogance, and forced a sweet, ingratiating smile onto his face.

The change was almost comically fast.

He abandoned all resistance and gave in with a light, teasing tone, true to his knack for knowing when to back down:

"Ahem. Relax. Don't do anything rash. How did you like that magic trick? I prepared it specially to welcome you."

Jean Grey's eyes gleamed with even greater amusement at that clumsy excuse.

She could not be bothered to expose him. Arms folded, she watched the god's humiliating retreat and waited for Russell to deal with him.

Russell showed no expression. He rubbed a fingertip across the Mind Scepter in his palm, its blue gem casting a faint glow over his hand.

He had no patience for Loki's nonsense. At a thought, invisible Psychic Telekinesis spread outward.

Loki instantly felt his whole body seize up. The air around him seemed to harden into steel, locking every limb in place.

An irresistible force dragged at him. He struggled with his Asgardian power and tried to break free with magic, but every effort vanished without effect.

In the next breath, the retreating Loki was yanked straight in front of Russell.

Russell raised a hand and