I flinched violently, startled as hell as the alarm pierced into my ears. Bruce had the same reaction, albeit a little more extreme. Green veins bulged across his temple and he shuddered, and I knew he was a moment away from Hulking out.

"Calm down," I said automatically, my brain moving sluggishly as I went over all the possible reasons for the ship to be in a state of emergency. And, the only possibility my logic could accept was...Thanos.

I hated my logic that moment.

Bruce almost fell out of his chair, body convulsing and I switched my focus back to him, running a nervous hand through my hair. I really didn't know what to do. But I did know that him turning to Hulk probably wasn't ideal, until we got a grasp of what situation we were in.

"Bruce. Bruce!" I called, gripping his arm softly with the a hand. I made him look at me, trying to exude a confidence I wasn't really feeling. "It's just a silly alarm. Breathe."

It took a moment, but he did so. "Thanks," He muttered when he slumped back on the chair, looking self-conscious, and I shrugged it off, mind occupied with other things.

"I have to check what this is about," I said, the alarm starting to ring in my head. God, it was bloody loud. "Are you okay with staying-"

"I'll go with you." He said, voice wary but on guard. I nodded, and we rushed out of the room together.

People were streaming past us in the other direction with panicked faces, back to the auditorium to be with their families. The air was tense, almost brimming with a nervous energy where we knew something was going to jump out at us any moment, but didn't know what it was.

Thanos. A distant voice in the back of my mind whispered, but I ignored it, because it frankly sounded a lot like an over-dramatic teenager.

But then, I kind of was an over-dramatic teenager.

When we reached the deck-it wasn't actually the deck, but a space in the fore front of the ship with transparent windows, very much like the spaceship in that Doctor Who episode where the 9th Doctor takes Rose to see Earth get destroyed. It was a morbid comparison, and I tried not to read much into it.- Loki and Heimdall and Thor and Valkyrie were already there, peering out the window to see-

Fuck. Thanos's big bad ship.

I let out a string of Korean swearwords, and they turned around, faces all ranging from unreadable(Heimdall), anxiety(Thor), annoyed(Valkyrie), and guarded(Loki).

"That's Thanos, isn't it?" Bruce asked, his face pale, and the rest of them looked at me with carefully concealed hopeful expectations. I bit the inside of my cheek. My mind was a swirling storm of questions. I didn't understand. Why was Thanos here?

"I don't get it," I muttered, instead of an answer. "Thanos would know that the stones were destroyed. Why would he show up-" I went completely still.

"What?" Thor questioned anxiously. I didn't look at him. Everything clicked that moment. It was all so very simple. I had been bloody blind. I clenched a fist.

I was an idiot. I was a fucking idiot. I couldn't believe I had thought of myself as intelligent, when I was really the galaxy's greatest, stupidest idiot, and the fact that I couldn't think of another creative insult insulted me greater. I took a short breath and walked over to Loki and he stiffened and then sagged slightly and opened his mouth and I tilted my head.

He flinched. I figured that had to do with the murderous glint in my eyes. My knuckles were getting sore so I released the fist, and smiled brightly. Again, it didn't reach my eyes.

"I'm a fucking idiot," I said. Loki flinched again. He had always hated swearwords. That made me want to punch him, but I instead just held out a hand.

He observed the hand with a look on his face I didn't bother to read, and set down the orb that had appeared out of thin air, on my palm.

"Good," I remarked, the smile still plastered on. "The other one."

He hesitated visibly this time, parting his lips to put forward whatever argument he had formatted. I shook my head before he could. "The other one," I repeated, my voice surprisingly cold-even to me-, and he handed me the Tesseract with pursed lips.

I made them both disappear, using the trick he had taught me himself, and didn't think about that.

"Thank you," I said curtly, and then turned around to the rest. They were all watching with varying stunned expressions, Thor looking horribly confused.

"We can't let Thanos get the stones," I ignored Bruce's questioning gaze, and slide my hands inside the jacket pockets. I fidgeted with the gold ring on my finger. "And also, he will massacre half of the people on the ship."

"We have to stop him, then." Val said, crossing her arms. "We can do that."

"No you can't." I answered stiffly. "He will win, at one point or another. We need to get the people off the ship."

"There's only a couple of escape pods," Thor pointed out. "It's not even barely enough."

"How far is Earth?"

"We have hours left, and Thanos is in the way. We won't be able to make it to Earth, or any other planets."

There really was nothing different, was there? I had done nothing, even when I had known everything there was to come.

"What about-"

"You don't get to speak," I cut Loki off, refusing the urge to turn on my heels and scream at his face. "You're the reason this happened, and everyone that is going to die."

"I didn't-"

The gold ring. On my finger. "I'll make a portal," I announced, testing the weight of the slingring in my fist, and Bruce frowned.

"You can do that?"

"She can't," Loki replied before I could. He turned to me, his brows furrowed. "You can't. You won't make the distance."

"I have the power stone," I reminded him. "I could use its power."

"Your mind will-"

"Hadn't it been you, that wanted me to use the power stone?"

"With training and practice, idiot."

I ignored the strain in his voice. "I can do it. I will do it, even if I can't." I turned back to Thor. "But you guys will have to hold Thanos off until I can evacuate everyone."

"We will do that," Heimdall nodded, and looking at him made me think of something that made me feel slightly sick.

"You need to stay out of the fight," I told him, an edge of desperation in my voice, and his face morphed from confusion to understanding in one smooth movement. But, the look of determination still stayed.

"I can fight."

"But-"

"I won't argue on this with you. Every soldier knows that they might die. But they also know it is a honorable death, to die in battle." He nodded. "I will fight, for Asgard."

I looked to Thor for help but he, like an idiot, shook his head at me. A sad look was in his eyes. "We do not run from death like cowards. We will fight for Asgard."

I hated it-the bloody macho shit that didn't even matter-and I could think of a million rebuttals, but we were running out of time. And I knew, even though it was stupid as hell, it was their culture. I wouldn't be able to change his mind. "Just, just be careful," I muttered, then turned to Val. "You have to warn Earth. And I'm also not going to fight you on this, because this is important and you'll also be able to fight down there. Okay?"

Val looked slightly overwhelmed. "Yes." She said, a bit automatically. I nodded quickly.

"Good. Bruce?" He stood up straighter. I thought it was ridiculous. "Are you okay with fighting?"

"...Not really, but I'll do."

"Thank you. And Loki will help me with the portal." I nodded again. "We, apparently, have a plan. How is it?"

"Horrible." Voices said in agreement, and I surprised myself with a smile, genuine this time.

"Good plans are always horrible," I answered simply. "Shall we do a high five? A group hug? Just do nothing?"

"...What's a high five?"

"Nothing it is," I shrugged, then set my jaw in a determined look. "We will win. Or at least, we'll survive. Or, we could die, but it won't be in vain. Well, if Thanos wins, it would kind of be in vain, but still. I think I've lost track of this pep talk, but seeing how I'm the youngest person here, I think that's okay." I scowled darkly. "And will someone please shut off that goddamn alarm?"


All the people that were willing and capable of fighting were up on the deck, where the battle was about to commence any moment now. People were going to die. Heimdall was most likely going to die.

And I couldn't, and shouldn't think of any of that now.

I had to focus. The large auditorium was creepily quiet for my benefit, but that kinda made it worse, knowing those people's lives depended on this. I had to succeed in making the portal, and I had to do it now.

The orb felt heavy on one hand. On the other, the slingring.

I breathed in deeply, and succumbed to the irresistible urge that whispered for me to take the power stone.

Immediately, every doubt and worry went away.

The sensation was...sensational, to say the least. The power overwhelmed my everything and intoxication became something I could well understand that moment. I was aware of everything, from the worried Asgardians to the blood-thirsty Outriders teeming on Thanos's ship. Val and Loki beside me, and the stars surrounding our location. Everything.

And then I retracted the energy, dragging it back to me and my body, my blood churning with the power and my vision a hazy violet color. I probably had purple eyeballs. It would have creeped me out, if I wasn't so busy trying to control the Infinity stone.

I clenched my right hand, the one with the slingring on, and dug my fingernails in my palm. The sting helped me focus, and I probed the magic inside the gold ring. A copious amount, but laughable, compared to the power coursing through my veins. I would never be able to use the ring to make a portal to Earth without the power stone. Loki had been right.

But now, with the Infinity stone? Anything was possible.

I poured the power into the ring and it grew hot, burning hot on my finger. I didn't stop. The searing pain at least made me think of something else, and I was distracted from the fact that my mind was unraveling every second. Yeah, don't think of that, idiot.

And there. I instinctively knew the exact moment when I had filled enough power for the portal, and I raised my trembling hands, and concentrated on Earth. New York. The sanctum and its narrow hallways and it high wooden ceiling and-

The portal snapped into existence, fiery black, and I heard a collective gasp over the sound of my blood rushing.

"Val," I said. She looked at me, face stony. I had told her who to find, what to say, and what to do. She didn't like being the messenger, I knew. But she didn't complain. "Go."

Valkyrie nodded, took a breath and jumped through the portal. I lowered my hands, soon as she disappeared, relieved and anxious at the same time. The first part was over. The warning to Earth will arrive in time.

Now I just had to worry about the thousands of people behind me.

Where? I thought loudly, knowing that Loki would be able to hear me. He knew what I was talking about, of course. But then, as I searched my mind for a place for the Asgardian refugees, I realized I already knew the answer.

Remember this place. Home. Odin's voice echoed in both mine and Loki's head, and he gave me a curt nod, that really wasn't sharp or curt or unemotional at all. I nodded back, swallowed, and raised my arms again.

It was easier to create the portal the second time, and I watched as the Asgardians scrambled across the biggest portal I have ever made, wide enough for five people to enter at the same time.

The toll on my body was immediate, though. My skin was feverishly hot, burning up from the inside as I struggled to keep my focus on the portal. It was hard to concentrate when you could barely keep a coherent thought in your head. My mind was-my mind was cracking. My eyesight was blurry. It was hard to keep upright.

When about half of the people were through, I staggered, and the portal flickered like a candle in the wind. I immediately regained control, but my head was spinning. I would go-I would go. Insane. Yes. I would go insane, with power, this poison inside me, this parasite that was eating me from the inside. Hadn't I known this would happen? Why, why was-

A hand. On my shoulder. A wave of magic, like the sea, cool and green and deep. It washed over me and cooled my body and our magic merged together like puzzle pieces sliding together. Loki's power guided me, helping me get a finer control, and everything felt infinitely better.

And along with magic, our minds met. And I could suddenly see what he was seeing, and feel what he was feeling.

His emotions were...complicated, like a elaborate math problem I couldn't even decode. He didn't think straightforward-ly. His mind spiraled. It was very different from how I thought and felt, which should've been obvious because he was a thousand year old god with that much more experience. But still, it surprised me.

Loki kept out of my mind-I could sense his apprehension and anxiety-but I couldn't back out, too overwhelmed and too inexperienced at being a psychic, and his thoughts flashed in my brain, too fast for me to comprehend. And then suddenly I was falling, falling, falling-

The girl was singing again. I could see her lying on the couch, feet in the air, face scrunched up as she focused on a book, while singing softly at the same time. I opened my mouth to say something biting, something sharp that would make her face go dark and shut up, but I didn't. Instead, I closed my eyes and remembered a time when I was as bright as she was, confident enough to show the world myself.

The girl was different. She was...pure. A part of me wanted to stay away from her, hating her innocence, her ignorant foolishness, but a bigger voice in my head wanted...more. I wanted to stain her, to change her, to drag her down to the dirt with me until she lost her shine and her smile and-

No. This wasn't me. This was Loki's memory, Loki's memory of me. I struggled to escape and the world went black and I soared up, up, up, until I was falling again.

I ran through Asgard's vault, the orb in one hand, paying the timeless artifacts no heed until-

The Tesseract. The blue hypnotizing light drew me in and my mind spun. Regis had told me to leave the stones behind but...there was so much potential. If Thanos was truly about to attack, we needed all the weapons on hand, even if they could fall into the wrong hands.

And I knew Regis could harness the power stone. I just had to show her the way, and she would be the most powerful sorcerer the universe had ever seen, powerful enough to defeat Thanos. It seemed all very clear to me.

Somehow, the knowledge that there would be a sorcerer stronger than me didn't feel threatening like it would have, barely a month ago. Regis would hate being the most powerful sorcerer. She had the self-control I admittedly lacked, and the selflessness I didn't even bother with.

And we could rule the galaxy, with her benevolence and my malevolence and our magic, together.

Maybe it was a voice in my ear. Maybe it was what I believed in. I nevertheless took the Tesseract in one hand and I continued running, to Asgard's demise.

No no no no. Loki continued running. Not me. Not me. I breathed in sharply and again, darkness rushed over me and I focused until my head felt like it was going to burst, and opened my eyes.

I was standing in the Asgardian ship, the black portal in front of me and only a handful of people left. I turned my head faintly and saw Loki's gaze on me, our eyes locking together.

I'm sorry. I thought. No, he thought. If was hard to discern which one of our thoughts were mine. So I didn't.

I understand, We thought. I understand you. A flash of gratefulness, something that felt soothing to our jagged minds.

Thank you. We echoed, and we were alone in the auditorium and I let go of the power stone and my legs buckled and we slid down to the ground.

He released his hand on me and suddenly my mind was alone, as it had been for my whole life. But it still felt strangely...lonely and I let out a shiver, blinking back sudden tears.

Loki was looking up, and I followed his gaze and noticed it was too quiet. Much too quiet for a supposed battlefield. The fight was over, and it was obvious which side had won.

Green eyes that for once I could truly understand, pierced into mine. "What do we do?"

I breathed in deeply, filling my lungs with the reused air of the spaceship.

"We face him."


A/N: 으악 내가 제 같은 챕터이지만 와우 정말 어려워.ㅋㅋㅋㅋ 아니 내가 로맨스 쓰기 싫은데 사람들이 로맨스 쓰라고 해서 짜증나긴 한데 약간 계속 로맨스처럼 쓰게 됨ㅋㅋㅋㅋ오해의 소지를 주고 있긴하는 듯,,,그래서 내가 갑자기 자려고 누워 있는 데 이 챕터 끝에 키스 시킬까 갑자기 정말 무근본 생각을 했는 데 정말 그건 아니야 라는 생각이 다행히 좀 더 강해서 로맨스는 없는 걸롴ㅋㅋ

그래도 스토리가 더 어두워 질거야 기대해;) 그리고 로맨스를 하면 차라리-

아니야. 로맨스는 없어!