Gamora ran forward, closely followed by Quill who blasted his space gun fruitlessly, all the shots turning to bubbles with a smirk from Thanos. Strange trained his hands over the shambled remains of Drax, his face scowling in concentration, and slowly but surely the cubes mended together until Drax was lying on the ground, shaking his head in dissonance.

"What-what-"

"Let's go!" I yelled and rushed forward, Stark flying overhead and Strange levitating, his hands in front of him and making some complex move with his fingers. I knew he was staying behind, trying to protect his stone, and some part of me was relieved that he knew to keep it safe. Loki was by my side, Peter on my left, and just for that moment, I felt invincible.

Then, of course, shit went down.

Gamora swung her dagger at Thanos who didn't even bother to dodge, the knife turning to some sort of sponge mid-slash. It bounced off of Thanos's chest, and Gamora growled, dropped the useless weapon, and was flung back by Thanos's punch.

Quill roared and magical ropes wound around Thanos's legs, definitely by Strange, but the Titan just looked amused, waving a hand and simultaneously turning Quill and the ropes into two dimensional...paper. Quill fell over, looking like a twisted cartoon figure, and my heart dropped as he caught on fire from the transparent box next to him.

I heard Strange cursing, knew he was onto Quill, and nodded quickly at Peter and threw out my hands. Portals opened, one right ahead of Peter and one behind Thanos, and Peter dived through, coming out with his arms wrapped around Thanos's neck, shooting webs to cover the Infinity Gauntlet.

Stark fired his repulsors at the same moment, the fire power causing Thanos to raise his arms in front of his face, and Rogers was there in a blink, his fists driving into Thanos's stomach.

The Titan stumbled back a step, disoriented by Peter, who was trying his best to cut off his oxygen, and Loki stalked forward, his dagger again in hand, one poised to stab Thanos's chest and-

Thanos swept out his hands and red light flashed, tossing Peter and Rogers away from him, and he grabbed Loki to shield himself from Tony's repulsor. When Stark stopped, a moment too late, he threw Loki like a rag doll, directed at Tony and they both went down, a tangle of arms and legs.

I cursed wildly in Korean, blood rushing to my head and pushing back the fear that had dominated my mind before. I threw open another portal, one that landed me directly in front of Thanos, and snapped my wrist, creating the fiery whip I had used for my weapon again and again. I raised it and stroke, but the Titan moved impossibly fast, grabbing my forearm and squeezing, making me cry out in pain.

"I have things to discuss with you too, amusing child." He hummed, and I fought through the haze of pain and lashed my foot out, catching him in the thigh. He grunted, released my arm, and I kicked him again, catching in the corner of my eyes Gamora approaching Thanos from behind. I had to stall to give her tim-

He knocked me aside with a casual hand, the contact punching all the air of my lungs. I just had time to think huh that hurt before I hit one of the showcase boxes with enough strength to shatter the glass behind me.

Jarred pieces of glass rained down on me and I barely held up the air to stop it, the magic acting instinctively. My vision dimmed, and I couldn't breathe, my ribs feeling jagged, aching like hell. Broken, probably.

Darkness threatened to take over my mind and I reached out with a hand blindly, and felt glass cutting into my palm. I bit back a scream, as the flash of pain ironically cleared my sight.

(The pain means you're alive. Use it.)

I clenched a fist, the shard digging into my skin, and watched as the blood pooled below for a second, a minute, a moment I couldn't gauge how long. I could see and feel nothing but that shard of glass, my mind feeling disconnected from the chaos surrounding me. But then someone's body-Roger's- tumbled across my vision and I finally dragged my gaze upwards with some difficulty.

Thanos held Gamora by the back of her neck, hauling her forward into Quill, who was holding up the blaster with trembling hands. "-she's asked, hasn't she? Do it. Do it!"

Peter was on the ground next to them, unconscious or worse. Mantis was by Drax's side, and I noticed with a detached air that he had a metal pipe through his stomach, leaking blood. Mantis was crying.

Stark's repulsors had turned to nothing but wool gloves, and he was clutching one hand to his chest; probably broken, judging by the agony in his eyes. Feelings were coming back to me, slowly, from my toes to my legs and up, tingling, tingling, and Strange was trying to reassemble the broken pieces of Loki's body, and I could see that it wasn't going well, and there.

Rage. I focused on it, grew it, let it seep into my mind until nothing was left, and I got to my feet, everything else tuned out. I barely noticed Rogers putting a hand out in front of me, pushing me back.

"No," He got out, his eyes wrinkled with pain. "Stay-"

I flicked my hand, and magic moved as my second nature, shoving him back behind me. Anger clamped shut my mouth, and I felt like I would just shatter, if I didn't do anything.

So I did something. I strode forward, ignoring the discomfort-highly underrated- in my ribs.

(Good. Go ahead. Kill him. Do it.)

"I love you, more than anything," Gamora murmured, tears in her eyes. The whip came to life in my hands, and I prepared for my last strike, possibly my last chance at life. I poured my magic into it, from the bottom of my soul, until the air sizzled and my hand grew hot, painfully hot.

"I love you too," Quill's eyes were so sad, filled with an emotion I don't fully understand, and his fingers tightened on the trigger and I focused, knowing fully well that I only had one shot at this and-

I'm sorry, Strange's voice drummed in my mind and I faltered, and Thanos whirled around and the shot went off and Gamora collasped in her father's arms, her father, who went completely still, face frozen in time. Then-

Thanos screamed with guttural fury, the sound piercing into my ears even as Strange's words echoed around me; I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry-

What are you sorry for, I had time to think before Thanos's hand enfolded my throat and lifted me off the ground, the whip leaving my hand but never hitting the ground. I was in a daze as I choked, as if I was watching from the third-person perspective, my mind strangely calm.

(Well, you blew it. It's over then, isn't it? At least you go down fighting.)

Thanos staggered, his eyes fixed on mine filled with so much emotions for a genocidal maniac, and I was aware he is about to teleport, my senses tingling with that insufferable magic, and Rogers knocked into him, his fist connecting and then suddenly we were somewhere else.

The last thing I saw before darkness overtook my vision was Rogers, as the look of desperation disappeared and something else set in.

The last thought I remember, is that I know those eyes.

(It's the eyes devoid of hope.)