Author nerd-sert

Idea synopsis:

Chapter 1 -

Blake is just your average dude living on Earth; he has type 2 autism, OCD, ADHD, lives in a crummy apartment, and works at a library. All-in-all, he's the last person anyone would suspect was destined for a glorious purpose. (Ha)

Everything was normal until scientists discovered something horrific; the sun was going out. They predicted that within twenty years, the sun would fade and leave Earth to freeze over. When they looked deeper, they found that Earth's sun wasn't alone; more suns like it were dying too.

Among all of this, Blake's sister—Madelyn—was in a state, working day and night with her fellow scientists to come up with a solution, desperate for any way to stop the inevitable.

It started when Blake visited the lab one day, completely oblivious to the situation, as they were frantically trying to find a solution before going public about it.

Blake mindlessly walked off while Madelyn was busy on call with one of her associates, only to stumble upon the readings. He noticed something that the other scientists, including Madelyn herself, wrote off as unimportant on the scans. Blake didn't fiddle with the lab's equipment normally—it wasn't his equipment after all—but curiosity and impulse won out, and he looked deeper into it.

By the time Madelyn realized what he was doing and rushed to stop him, Blake had made a very important discovery; a pattern. The suns going out all had one thing in common, and that was the catalyst that led Blake to being pulled into the situation.

Not many of the scientists were very keen on Blake being involved because of his 'issues', but it was undeniable that Blake had made an important discovery in this whole situation. So, he was brought along as an extra pair of eyes to oversee the situation.

Unlike Grace in Hail Mary, Blake wasn't allowed to participate in most of the scientific parts, unless he barged in himself when he realized there was a problem or noticed something the others didn't. Blake wasn't the 'autistic genius' stereotype by any stretch of the word; in fact, it was because of his lack of knowledge that made him better at noticing things the scientists didn't. Unencumbered by the odd social rules/politics of scientists, as well as having a completely different viewpoint.

Blake was, however, happy to help, and quickly developed a friendship with a few of the on-site people. Including an intern; Peter Parker, an astronaut; Steve Rogers, and one of Madelyn's colleagues; Bruce Banner. All this while they pieced together a plan to save the Earth and all life on it.

Ultimately, they couldn't quite figure out why that specific sun was immune to the horrific event, so they planned to send a small team f astronauts on a one-way trip to figure it out.

At first, the team consisted of four professional astronauts, affectionately referred to as the 'Fantastic Four' for their bravery and sacrifice. However, an explosion caused by a freak accident resulted in one of them; Johnny Storm, perishing. With nobody lined up to take his place, and time running out, everyone scrambled to figure out who could replace him.

...And unfortunately, there was only one person on-site that the higher-ups deemed useful AND disposable; Blake.

Blake fought hard against it, as anyone would, but stopped when his sister finally yelled at him: "Would you stop being a selfish coward for once in your life?!" A similar sentiment from his parents, who'd often call him selfish, freeloading, and lazy. Madelyn immediately apologized, explaining that she knew this wasn't fair and hated to send her baby brother away like this, but there wasn't a choice.

Blake was handed over to the other three members to prepare him, put into hibernation, and sent off.

Chapter 2 -

Things didn't go the way they planned, though. Somehow, something went wrong on the way there, and the remaining members of the 'Fantastic Four' died in hibernation, leaving Blake alone in a ship.

By the time Blake woke up and realized what happened, he felt a horrible sense of dread, regret, and hopelessness; the people who actually understood what they were doing were dead, and now the only person left has no training, no knowledge, and barely any idea what he's supposed to do.

Jumping at every shadow, Blake could almost swear he'd see someone walk around the ship, glimpses of bones, and other things.

Blake barely got the radios working, which were functional so far from Earth thanks to a scientist and engineer named Tony Stark, whom Blake didn't really get along with, in all honesty.

The first voice he heard, unsurprisingly, was Tony's, and Blake demanded to talk with Madelyn. Tony didn't relent until Blake told him in a loud, exasperated voice: "I can't put Reed Richards on because Reed Richards is dead!"

Finally, Tony put Madelyn on, and Blake had to explain to her what happened, and Madelyn felt the same hopelessness and turmoil Blake did. There were a few minutes of silence as they both realized, ultimately, sending Blake into space on this suicide mission was not only a waste of time but also condemned him to die for no reason.

After that, though, Madelyn begged Blake to try; desperate for the sacrifice to mean something and Blake tried his best. It was... very shaky at best, but it was working somewhat, at least.

B: "...Madelyn?" M: "Yes, Blake?" B: "...Do you really think I'm selfish?" M: "..."

Unfortunately, the radio's reach ended right at the cusp of the sun's orbit, turning to static and cutting out constantly; though it could still hear Blake, even if Blake couldn't hear whoever was on the other side.

That made Blake feel even worse, since Blake now was right where he needed to be, but had no way of knowing what to do next.

That was when Blake saw something; a large, white, angular thing covered in runes floating in the vacuum. Blake wasn't sure how to feel, especially when it launched a little... thing at his ship that just bounced right off. ...and a second one.

By the third one, whoever was on the other ship must've realized he couldn't grab them, so a massive bridge suddenly emerged to connect to his ship.

Blake was hesitant, but put on a spacesuit, checked everything repeatedly, neurotically, before stepping out and checking for himself.

And there they were; a large blue humanoid with bright red eyes and black hair stared back at him. Blake wasn't sure what to do or what to even think, but relaxed a little when the alien repeated one of his nervous stims back at him. They had a brief interaction where they just mirrored each other's movements before Blake finally tried to communicate properly with them.

Turns out this alien couldn't speak English, but could understand him, at least; so Blake tried sign language instead, which they could replicate. Turns out, this alien—named Loki—was sent on a similar mission from their home planet, and just like Blake, all the people on Loki's ship were dead. Unlike Blake, though, Loki actually knew what they were doing.

Blake was ecstatic, and there was a brief conversation where Blake had to explain to Loki that he was autistic and that's why he was so 'weird'. Loki, unlike some scientists from Earth, was far less judgemental and more patient.

L: "What is an autistic civilian doing in space?" B: "Uh... I don't know. I mean, I thought I knew, but... things kind of went out of control."

After a while, they broke off and went back to each other's ships, with Blake saying he'd come back when he woke up next. Blake immediately went to the radio first thing to tell whoever was on the other end that he came across an alien.

B: "I'm sure none of you believe me, but they're amazing! Kinda human-like, but with these big, beautiful red eyes and this pretty blue color in their skin. I think-... I think his ship might be made of some kind of ice? Maybe that's why they haven't gotten closer to the sun before I got here?"

Chapter 3 -

The next 'morning' when Blake woke back up, Loki was there. Blake fell out of his bed when he realized Loki was standing over him.

Loki explained that normally, the atmosphere of Blake's ship would've killed them, but his species can spread a layer of specialized ice over their bodies to keep themselves stable. This while using a machine that Loki created to translate their language somewhat into English, but also supplementing with ASL for blind spots in the machine's translations.

Blake, of course, was very interested, and while Loki explained further that his species also has a habit of watching each other sleep for safety reasons, Blake traced the ice on Loki's arm with his fingers and was more than happy to converse with them. Blake and Loki fiddled with the machine before Blake found a 'perfect voice' for Loki.

B: "...Oh, here's a good one! This is the voice of an actor from Earth; I think his name is... Tom Hiddleston?"

Loki quickly went into the intricacies of the situation with Blake, using a few helpful illusion visuals to get their point across—Blake, of course, being mesmerized by Loki being able to make illusions. Loki had already determined that the nearby planet caused the sun's survival; they just had to figure out what about it specifically.

Blake happily helped as much as he could, while the two shared stories about their home planets, their families, and other things.

B: "A brother?" L: "Yes, an older brother; Thor." B: "Oh, you're the youngest in your family?" *Loki nods* "So am I!" L: "Is that right?" B: "Yeah, I have an older sister; Madelyn. She's fantastic. She got married some time ago." L: "Ah, my brother has a mate, too. ...Come to think of it, she's a lot like you." *Loki shakes their head* "What of your parents?" B: "Ah-... I... don't really talk to my parents much. They're a little... uh..." *gestures vaguely* L: "Ah... my parents are the same way." B: "Really? Man, we're really similar!" ------ B: "A mate? ...No. Most people don't want to be mates with someone like me; too much hassle. Autism and ADHD can be... a bit of a pain in the ass." L: "Love is about sacrifice and hardship, isn't it? It sounds like the people of your planet just don't like putting in work." B: "Maybe. ...What about you? Do you have a mate?" L: "No. Most avoid me; I'm considered a..." *ASL for 'runt'.* B: "You, a runt?! How big are the rest of your people if you're considered small???" *Loki laughs.*

Loki has no spacesuit, so Blake is the one who has to go out on the ship to do repairs, but the whole time, Loki is there over the comm lines talking him through it. Every time Blake asks them to keep talking when he's scared, Loki does so without a second thought.

While they spend time together, Loki ends up absent-mindedly supporting Blake in all the blind spots he needs. Loki doesn't even think about it, really; it just comes naturally for them.

Blake eventually realized Loki was sleep-deprived, and when asked, Loki simply reminded Blake that their species watch one another sleep. Thus, Loki's species can't sleep when they're alone without being restless.

Blake offers to watch for them, and though initially hesitant, Loki returned to the tunnel, inside their ship's entry door—made of clear ice—and almost immediately fell asleep when they laid down. While Loki slept, Blake took that opportunity to doodle, ending up with a doodle of Loki themself.

When Loki woke up, Blake showed the doodle to them, which—since trees didn't exist on Loki's planet—was entirely foreign to them. Sure, they had art, but it was usually statues or engravings, not drawings. Loki was enamored, especially when they found out Blake could simply erase any mistakes.

L: "My people's art is permanent. We can't remove mistakes; we either must live with them, or start over on a new canvas." B: "...Wow. That sounds... frustrating." L: "Frustrating, yes... but more honest." B: "Yeah, but honesty isn't always a good thing, right?" L: "...Mmm... maybe."

Blake and Loki both end up talking to the radio after a while, unsure if anyone on the other end is even listening to them.

L, to the radio: "My ship, made of Jotunheim's ice, can't get close to the planet below without melting. Therefore, we must rely on Blake's ship; which, unfortunately, neither of us know how to fly." B: "I sort of know." L: "Are you confident that you could enter, then exit, the planet's atmosphere?" B: "...No." :( L: "Exactly."

It's at this point that Loki learns about the things Blake has been seeing, though Blake only mentioned it in passing. Loki immediately gets tense about it, specifically because Loki apparently has been seeing the same thing since they arrived. Though initially wrote it off as a symptom of sleep deprivation.

Neither of them is sure what that means, but something in Blake feels that it's the planet causing it. Loki is unsure, but notes Blake's suspicions.

Chapter 4 -

Loki finds out quickly that Blake was sent out here on a suicide mission, and Blake tells him that, unfortunately, there wasn't enough fuel to make a return trip to Earth. So, ultimately, Blake is resigned to potentially dying of suffocation, hunger, or other things, since he doesn't even know how the scientists planned to execute themselves.

Loki hesitates, but offers that they have enough fuel in their ship that they could give his ship enough to get back home. Blake, shocked, doesn't know what to say, but ultimately settles on a sudden hug that makes Loki wince. Though this hug is quickly returned with a smile.

Loki returns to his ship, readying for what would come next. As soon as Loki leaves, however, Blake sees it again; a silhouette passes a nearby doorway.

Blake tries to follow it, only for the ship to suddenly shift and tumble. Blake looks out a porthole window to see his ship unlatched from Loki's by accident and tumble into the planet's gravitational pull. If Blake had been in the same room before, he would've noticed what was going on and stopped it, of course.

Blake, terrified, buckled into the pilot's chair before the ship crashed into what Blake could only describe as an ocean of red liquid he couldn't quite identify.

Blake go whiplash from the impact of the ocean's surface, sank deeper and deeper, which made the metal groan around him. Blake almost thought it wouldn't hold, but thankfully, he was only on the edge of a full drop-off. The pressure was harsh here, but not bad enough to damage the ship.

Blake looked out a porthole, unsure what to do. He immediately went to the radio, hoping to get in contact with Loki, only to suddenly hear Madelyn's voice on the other side.

B: "M-Madelyn?!" M: "Blake! There you are! I was trying to get in contact with you for weeks!" B: "I- I'm sorry, th-the ship's radio must've gotten out of range or something. Uh-... fuck, so much has happened, and-... I'm stuck on a planet's ocean! W-what do I do?!" M: "An ocean...?"

Oddly enough, the ship is equipped for seafaring, using the thrusters differently, though Blake isn't sure why. He uses them to the best of his ability, trying to get to a beach or something and back to the surface. As he does so, talking to Madelyn about everything that's been happening since they last talked.

Blake sees something out the camera, but Madelyn shrugs it off. Blake doesn't, though, as he starts getting a weird feeling that makes the hair on his nape stand up.

That's when Blake comes across another ship; broken and ripped apart.

B: "...Madelyn?" M: "Yes?" B: "...Are you... sure that I'm the only person you sent out here?" M: "...Keep driving."

The sudden change in Madelyn's tone fills Blake with some anxiety. So, instead of ignoring it and continuing on like Madelyn suggested, Blake drives closer.

As Blake gets close, the ship's computers connect to it, and end up downloading something. Blake hesitates, but pulls up the audio recordings; all recorded through the radio. The recordings play, and Blake listens in horror as the people on the other side explain that life is the answer—as the bacteria in the blood of this planet's ocean is what keeps it safe, but something keeps blocking their attempts at taking some.

Madelyn's voice on the radio cuts back on and pushes Blake to ignore the message, claiming the blood should be left where it is and could be dangerous to Earth. It's at that point Blake realizes something is wrong with the voice.

B: "...Madelyn?" M: "Yes, what?" B: "...What's my last name?" M: "...The same as mine, obviously; Grahm." B: "...No, it's not."

Sure enough, as soon as Blake points that out, something happens. Suddenly, more shapes appear outside the portholes and cameras, all vaguely in the shape of humans.

They all start shoving and banging on the ship's exterior, trying to break it open, and Blake jumps to the controls, only to be stopped by two shapes - the same ones he's been seeing in the ship before.

A pair of vaguely humanoid shapes with shifting features, mimicking the voices of his parents, who immediately start on him: "Always the freeloader, you can't even save the Earth on your own, can you?!", "Selfish, taking another planet's resources, I should've raised you better than this!", "What? Running away from your parents again like a coward?!", "Thank God the social workers rescued you, right?! So far from home, and left to die?! Is that what you wanted so badly that you left us?!", "Go ahead, cut us off again after all we've done for you!", etc. These things also being repeated through the radio in Madelyn's voice.

Blake begins having a panic attack as blood pours from the radio. Flashes of his past coming to mind as he hears every little guilt-ridden internal voice repeated back at him externally in the voices of his abusers and the sister who comforted him.

Finally, he hears the emergency lights, and the ship's automated voice calls out: "Warning, warning! Damage imminent! Emergency escape protocols engaged!" The screens switch from camera views of the ship's exterior to instructions pointing to the controls behind the figures.

Finally, he screams, "I'm done being played with! By you, by those suits on Earth, by whatever creatures are on this planet! I deserve to be free!" and lunges, rams the figures, who burst on contact like water balloons, covering Blake in blood, but he doesn't stop.

Instead, Blake grabs the controls and pushes back harshly while Madelyn's voice screams through the radio static. The figures outside the ship all burst and convene on one dark figure in front of the ship, which Blake doesn't hesitate to set the ship's thrusters to full ramming speed. "Come and try, you son of a bitch!"

Chapter 5 -

With a loud, screeching cry through the radio, loud enough to make Blake's ears ring, the ship slams into the creature at full speed and emerges from the blood ocean.

The flight thrusters kick back on automatically, and the force of the impact rips the creature in two, falling back into the blood ocean before the radio dies.

Breaking the planet's atmosphere, Blake's ship stops abruptly from the sudden lack of fuel; all of Blake's fuel having been taken up by the full-thruster impact. Of course, Blake doesn't get out of this unscathed, as the sudden stop caused him to jerk forward and his head to slam into a nearby screen, breaking it.

Blake fell back and lost consciousness near-instantly.

Meanwhile, Loki witnesses Blake emerge from the planet's atmosphere, and immediately speeds his ship over and connects them again. (Insert implication that Loki had their own misadventure with silhouettes of their family)

Loki rushes aboard, calls out for Blake and looks everywhere, horrified at the state of the place, covered in blood. Then, finds Blake unconscious, bleeding from the nose and multiple cuts on his face.

Loki immediately uses their ice abilities to put the stabilizing layer of specialized ice over Blake's body, which slows Blake's bleeding and settles his vitals. Though in doing this, Loki's ice layer falls, and they start overheating.

Loki grabs Blake quickly, rushing him to the medical wing of the ship, Loki stumbles in, shoves Blake on the medical table so the on-ship medical robot can help him, and collapses to the floor as they feel their insides cooking from the heat and pressure of the ship's atmosphere.

By the time Blake wakes up again, he gets up and realizes where he is, only to see Loki beside the medical table, unconscious on the ground, with only a thin layer of their protective ice from their attempt to set it back up before passing out.

Blake immediately gets down to see them, horrified. Blake picks them up as best he can, almost dragging them onto the table—which is much too small for Loki—and begging the ship's computers to help them.

Days pass, Blake finds the blood drooling out of the radio; none of it hardening or drying at all somehow. Blake collects some of it, remembering what the radio recordings said, and analyzes it as best he can without Loki's help.

With little else to do, and not trusting the radio so close to the planet, Blake talks to Loki instead, as he watches them, still unconscious.

More days pass, and Blake is still by Loki's side, not even leaving the room anymore; doodling more as he waits for any sign that Loki is alive or dead.

Finally, after a few more days, having gone as far as he could with his research on the planet's blood, he sits doodling beside Loki again, mumbling out whatever was on his mind.

"...Do you really enjoy drawing me this much?" Blake looks up instantly and sees Loki finally awake again! Immediately, Blake drops everything and hugs them again, which Loki gladly returns without a second thought, as Blake blubbers and tears run down his face.

B: "I thought- I thought you weren't gonna come back!" L: "I wouldn't leave you alone here. I told you I'd get you home, and I intend to do just that."

Loki wipes away Blake's tears, and Blake leans into the touch without hesitation. Then, slowly, it turns into a gentle, loving kiss. "I love you." "I love you, too..."

Chapter 6 -

Once Loki is back to semi-normal, Blake shows them the progress he made; which Loki is impressed by, given Blake's lack of knowledge in this area. Loki finishes the job for him, and they successfully separate the bacteria that's been feasting on the deadly sun-eating micro-organisms.

With that, they celebrate, as they finally have what they need to save both their planets.

By the end of the celebration, Loki gives Blake a gift; a ring, which includes their iconic horned-helm symbol.

L: "On my planet, we give our mates a trinket to wear with our symbol on it; so it's easy for others to know who has our hearts." B: "Thank you. ...Um..." *He tries to think of something to give them.* "Oh, here!" *Pulls off the ring he's been wearing this whole time.* "Here. It doesn't exactly have a 'symbol' of mine, but... it has a lot of sentimental value to me."

Loki wears the ring on a chain around their neck, and the two spend one last 'night' with each other. Loki offers to let Blake see their ship, and Blake happily accepts, as Loki fills Blake's ship with enough fuel to get them back home.

Then... they say goodbye.

B, hesitating to leave: "...Do you think... we'll ever see each other again?" L, also hesitating: "I hope so. ...If we're truly meant to be, I'm sure circumstances will align for us."

They kind of linger for a bit, neither wanting to leave. Taking every tiny reason to stay just a smidge longer. Until finally, they can't put it off any longer, and they have to leave.

As soon as Blake leaves the area, he finds the radio doesn't kick back on. Assuming it was damaged and just wouldn't work again, Blake continues on. ...Until something happens.

See, the containers keeping the bacteria were made partially of Loki's ice, but as Blake continued on his trip, he realized the containers were being eaten through by the bacteria. Blake fixed it, but just as he did, he realized something: Loki's ship was made of ice.

Blake doesn't know what to do, so he just speaks his mind to the radio, hoping saying it aloud would help. And it does... as Blake realizes something.

B: "...Madelyn. ...I have enough fuel to either get me home back to you; so you don't have to feel guilty for condemning me, or to catch up with Loki; and stop them from being killed by these bacteria. ...I know you told me not to be selfish, but I think I have to be one more time. So... forgive me for that."

Blake sends all the ship's information and the bacteria samples into shuttle pods—as originally planned—on course to Earth. Then, sets his ship's course for Loki's ship coordinates.

By the time Blake gets there, Loki's ship is trashed; half of it eaten away already. Blake finds Loki at the control panel, half-conscious. Blake barely gets Loki out of there, and once back on Blake's ship, Loki's ship crumbles behind them.

Once Loki is fully aware again, they remark about the bacteria, but Blake shows one canister he kept, which can be multiplied into more easily.

L: "What about your home, Blake...?" B: "...You're my home now, love."

Epilogue -

Some time later, Blake is curled up in bed with Loki, the two snuggling happily before a knock on the door wakes them.

Thor's voice comes through the door, telling them to wake up as the castle's servants have finished preparing a breakfast feast for 'Jotunheim's saviors'. With another voice—Jane Foster—exclaiming that it's human-friendly foods, this time.

Blake and Loki share a chuckle, and Blake asks them if they'd finally explain where Jane came from. Loki nods, telling Blake as they wake and stretch that Jane randomly fell from space in an oddly shaped ship, much like Blake's own. Though it was before the suns were going out, so it wasn't like the one that Blake found on the blood planet.

As they get ready, they kiss and share another mutual 'I love you'.

Meanwhile, Blake's last message plays over the radio as Madelyn listens in; all the messages Blake and Loki made were recorded on the ship's database and sent alongside the bacteria and instructions. Madelyn, now having quit her previous career and relaxing at home, ponders what Blake must be doing right now on whatever planet 'Jotunheim' is.

Extra stuff:

I came up with this AU days ago, and I wanna draw stuff for it so badly.

I could easily make a version of this AU with a bunch of my F/Os, Starscream especially comes to mind, but idk if I'll go as in-depth as this one, lol.