The Avengers always win.

That's what makes them so incredibly frustrating. They always win.

They are a solid team of heroes brought together by the ultimate supervillain in order to prevent the most diabolical takeover of New York in all of history.

They are—were—Earth's Mightiest Heroes. Now, they are the shattered remains of a broken team.

And Loki had never been the ultimate supervillain. Any attempt to convince himself otherwise had been nothing more than one of his infamous lies. One he could no longer force himself to believe.

Not when the true mastermind knelt before him, caught on the business end of Stormbreaker; crushed beneath Thor's mighty grip.

Five seconds. Loki had five precious seconds to savor their oncoming victory. Because the Avengers always win. The Avengers always—

When the Titan raised his fist, his gauntlet shimmered in the Wakandan sunlight, and Loki knew he'd only been fooling himself.

They all had.

Because he knew Thanos. He had been an unlucky firsthand witness to the monster's bloodthirsty capabilities.

Too late.

Ina last ditch effort, Loki summoned a dagger to his hand and threw it just as the Titan snapped his fingers…

Always too late!

… And the ground shook, jarring the trister and throwing him off balance.

"What did you do?" His brother thundered as a now exhausted-looking Thanos winced at the blade stuck in his shoulder.

A cold chill settled over Loki, morphing quickly into a numbness from which he was certain he'd never recover.

Thor kept shouting at his captive, but Loki couldn't hear him over the dull buzz invading his senses.

Too late… You're too late!

He was years too late. Too late to tell Thor about Thanos, about the Tesseract. Too late to align his own interests with the right side at last.

Too late, too late!

In seconds, the Titan was gone, disappearing into a portal before anyone could stop him. Though, it wasn't as if anyone was truly trying. Not anymore.

Not now… Now that it's too late.

The Avengers always win. Loki knew this from experience. Always.

And you've always been destined to lose.

Even with the aid of so many heroes Loki had never heard of before—even with an army of cunning Wakandan warriors…

We still lost.

You still lost.

Because yes, the Avengers have been known to win their many battles, but Loki hadn't a single victory to call his own. Even after fighting on the winning side, he still lost.

Face it, Thanos was the only one destined to win this battle.

Everyone knew it.

Only, deep down, Loki had let himself hope. He'd entertained a flicker of hope that maybe, just maybe, they could defeat him. Together—maybe—they could win.

But Earth's Mightiest Heroes had been split down the middle. They weren't ready for Thanos' attack. They didn't have all the information they needed beforehand, did they?

Shut up…

Oh, but it's true, isn't it? a voice taunted from the back of his mind. You knew. Years before this moment, you knew. And now—

And now, what?

Loki didn't know. He didn't know anything anymore. He didn't know what to think about a world where the heroes lost and the villains reigned triumphant.

That's because it's not supposed to be that way. It's not—

"Where'd he go?" The Captain's tone was strained, uncertain as he stepped back into the scene.

Loki fixed his gaze on his brother before realizing it hadn't ever left in the first place.

Loki tried to swallow, but his breath hitched and he nearly choked. Something was about to happen and the waiting was killing him. Slowly, painfully. Why wouldn't it just happen already, for goodness sakes!

"Thor?" Captain America pressed, glancing at the thunder god as he fought to catch his breath.

For the briefest of moments, Thor met his gaze.

Then, he turned to Loki.

Oh, no…

Never. Never in all his years had Loki ever seen his older brother look so lost. Thor was an idiot, of course, but he was also a king. Not only that, he was the elder brother.

He was supposed to know what to do.

The connection severed when Thor shifted his gaze to the ground.

"Where'd he go?" The righteous Captain was still pressing the issue, but Loki couldn't find the energy to blame him.

He couldn't find the energy to blame anyone.

There isn't anyone to blame. Not here. Not anymore.

Because Thanos had escaped.

Licking his lips, Loki forced himself to speak. "He's gone. He…" What?

He won.

"Steve…?" Barnes' voice cut through the stillness and the second Loki spun around, he wished he hadn't.

Four seconds. In the span of four seconds, America's friend was reduced to nothing more than a pile of dust.

What…?

One by one, they fell. There was no rhyme or reason to any of it. Some stayed, some disappeared. There could be a chance the snap wasn't permanent, but knowing Thanos, Loki didn't have high hopes.

He didn't have any hope left, actually.

Thanos had done it. He won. What hope was there?

"Thor." The name slipped off his tongue on a heavy breath as he forced his feet to unroot; forced his legs to run.

People were disappearing—people were dying. And there was no telling who might be next.

Even after he clasped his hand around his brother's, Loki didn't feel safe.

Any minute… Any second now. One of them was going to die. That's just how things worked.

And it was probably going to be him.

It's always me. Why stop the pattern now?

"Thor!" He searched his brother's eyes for a sign, for a flicker of life. For a hero.

Thor's lips moved, but no sound came out.

Something… Say something!

"What do you want me to say?"

No… That was in the past. Even then, in that dingy little dungeon, he'd been trying his best to make Thor stay.

Now, one or both of them were about to be lost forever. No…

Loki squeezed his brother's hand until he was sure it would snap right in half… and eventually, Thor squeezed back.

Swallowing hard, Loki surveyed the damage. Dust… Thick chunks of dust littered the ground. Everyone had lost someone. Cries of despair… of unspeakable pain and heartache pierced the air.

But I'm still here. How was he still here?

And Thor… Thor's still here, too.

Loki sucked in a breath. "Thor…?"

They were still here. Still breathing. Still alive.

In the past, Loki had always been the one to die. The Avengers were the heroes; he was the villain. Life had never given him the chance to stick around in the aftermath and fix things.

But now… Now, he was the survivor. He was the one left behind in the wake of tragedy.

Now… Tightening his grip, Loki focused on breathing. Inhale, exhale. Inhale—

Now, he was alive.

And he didn't have the slightest idea what to do next.