Title: thou be once there, thou mayst never more come here

Disclaimer: not my characters

Warnings: AU during the film

Pairings: none

Rating: PG

Wordcount: 330

Point of view: third

Prompt: The Avengers, Loki & team, What if, when Thor asked Loki on the top of Stark Tower to 'stop the nonsense', he tried to halt the Chitauri invasion?


He looks at his brother, at well-meaning, ever-baffled, beloved and golden Thor, the son destined to one day be king.

No matter what Thor does, he will always find himself worthy again. He will always be able to return.

Loki fell and was lost, and has been abandoned, fit only for punishment anymore. It matters not if Thanos arrives and Midgard burns; it matters not if Thor's little band of would-be heroes succeeds or fails. Loki has nothing and no one -

... except, perhaps, Thor. Thor who has never once looked at Loki and truly seen him, Loki who has been written off as the lesser, the supplanter, the liar and betrayer.

With Thanos' gift, Loki has control of each soldier, and he looks his brother in the eye as he kills them all.

With the Tesseract, Loki can destroy the gift and be truly free.

Let Thor keep Midgard and the mortals, Asgard and the people who never accepted Loki, even when he was one of them.

Loki has been cast out, all taken from him as he fell, as he was left to whatever fate the void gave him.

"As you wish, brother," Loki murmurs, and then he takes Thor's moment of confusion to throw Thor from the building. He must get to the tesseract and be gone from this realm.

He does not look back at the destruction, at Thanos' dead army, at Thor's newest band all converging towards him.

He does not look at Thor.

Loki holds the tesseract in his hand and feels a thousand new paths open for him. He smiles at the power coursing through him, opens his eyes, and takes a step.