The five avengers stared in horror at the sight of their friend. Thor stood behind them, his face a blank slate and his normally bright azure blue eyes were now dull and unfocused. He raised a hand and they stared, transfixed, as his trusted hammer flew back into his outstretched palm. Seeing their horrified expressions, The Other threw its head back and laughed, "This will teach you a lesson mortal scum." The chitauri glared at them, hissing, "You will not interfere with the master's plans."

The Hulk growled, brandishing his fists, ready to attack, but Steve shouted, "Hulk stop!"

The green giant didn't heed the Captain's orders and charged forward, roaring loudly. The chitauri commander remained where it was, grinning all the while.

The Hulk brought his giant fist down –

– Only for it to be blocked by a silver hammer. The avengers watched, stunned to the spot as Thor grunted and heaved, throwing the Hulk off him. The giant didn't back down and roared, charging straight at the god. Thor roared his own battle cry and threw his hammer at his friend the weight slamming the Hulk into several buildings.

Steve was more than horrified. It was one thing for Clint to have been under control back then because he hadn't had the chance to interact with the other. But now, seeing the thunder god fall to those creatures, Steve knew that they had lost. They had underestimated the chitauri, thinking that because they had defeated them once, they could do it again. Steve realized that the avengers had gotten arrogant, thinking that they were more powerful than their opponents. They had fought, and they were outmatched by their enemies in both numbers and tactics. Now, Steve realized, they had never been in control of the situation at all, they were mere puppets dancing along to the tune the way the aliens wanted them to.

With a heavy heart, Steve closed his eyes, turning away from the battle occurring in front of him, "Retreat." He whispered, feeling his team look at him in shock, he opened hardened blue eyes, "Retreat, we need to go. Now!"

Clint cursed and slung his bow across his back sprinting across the street with Natasha at his side and Steve and Tony covering their backs. The two assassins darted into the quinjet, quickly starting up the plane as Steve tumbled into the rear, bringing his shield up to block an attack. He shouted over his shoulder, "Get us to the air now! Tony says he'll fly alongside us."

Clint nodded and buckled up, Natasha doing the same, the two assassins flicked the switch and the jet closed up, rising swiftly into the air. With a bitter taste in their mouth, the jet shot forward, away from the battle they were supposed to win, mocking laughter trailing after them.

The avengers fled the battle, their enemy triumphing over them and two of their own left behind. Steve closed his eyes and muttered a silent apology to Bruce. They couldn't bring the Hulk with them without causing mass destruction and he could only hope that the giant's rage fueled him until he could find a place to calm down, hide, and survive. They had lost Thor already, they couldn't lose Bruce as well.

"Cap?" Tony's voice came over, disbelief and hesitation coloring his tone, "What do we do now?"

Steve sighed, his shoulders slumping in defeat, "Head back to the mansion. We'll figure out a plan from there."

"Roger that."

Loki appeared in front of a huge lake in the Scottish highlands with nary a whisper, the green flash that accompanied his usual appearance and disappearance missing. He close his eyes and breathed in and out lightly, letting the fresh air seep through his body, a refreshing change from the staleness of the underground base. He opened melancholic green eyes, feeling a keen sense of loss like he never did before. The god gritted his teeth, sinking to his knees as the events played over in his mind.

He choked slightly, guilt, anger and frustration warring within him. He had been right there, he could have prevented all of this but no, he had to demonstrate his weakness and allow the chitauri to capture him and bind him like a pet dog. Loki hissed, slamming his palms onto the muddy ground in anger.

This was exactly the reason why he never got close to anyone, why he never allowed anyone in. Because when he opened up, emotional attachments would form, and it brought nothing but pain and misery.

Sentiment. Like he always told his brother.

Loki snarled, shaking his head, he shouldn't be this affected. Percy was nothing more than a friend – who was killed right before you. A keening sound escaped from his throat, and the fallen god felt unbidden tears gather in his eyes, spilling over. With no one around him now, the bottled up emotions within him could finally be released. Loki squeezed his eyes shut, several hot tears trailing down his face. He angrily wiped them away, not wanting to show any weakness even though there was no one around to judge him for it, but more just fell and replace the ones he cleaned away.

The god bowed his head and hunched over in a rare pose of submission. He knew he had failed. All of his work washed down the drain, because of his pathetic incapability of being one step ahead. What had happened to his ability to see through his enemy's plans? Where did he go wrong with figuring out the chitauri's motives? Had they not established that the chitauri were after the gem? What business did they have with Amora and why did they need her for the spell? Wasn't the Other more than enough?

So many questions and hardly any answers. Loki felt as though he had been sent on a trip through an emotional shredder and came out in pieces. He didn't know what to do now that he knew that Thanos was freed from Asgard, and he didn't know what the next step was. His plans had been all but tossed down the drain when Amora dropped the knife. He had tried to keep Thanos away from Midgard, which had succeeded for three Midgardian years, but even that had failed.

Loki hissed, gripping his head tightly, the roiling emotions swirling within him, confusing him. What was he supposed to do now? What could he do? Why should he do anything at all in the first place? He had his powers back, he didn't feel any strain on his physique when he didn't return to the Avengers, he could run and hide in the places hidden between realms and never come back. Let the Titan rampage for as long as he liked.

No. He thought vehemently, shooting down the idea as soon as it entered his head with a viciousness that surprised him. Once, maybe, he would have entertained the idea of abandoning the realms to the Mad Titan, letting them fight their losing battle while he hid amongst the Nine Realms. But now, he couldn't – wouldn't – do that. Not after having known Percy and knowing what the demigod stood for.

Loki was tired of being the so called 'bad guy'. He hated being painted as a villain and as a monster who had no sense of morality. He hated when people whispered behind his back, thinking that he could not hear their sneers and insults. He had tried to be the person they thought he was, a madman, a crazed monster who destroyed everything within its path, thinking that it would give him a sense of satisfaction at seeing their horrified faces as he tore down their families. But t did the opposite, not only did it not bring pleasure to him, it made him feel disgusted, dirty and hideous. He felt no vindictive glee when he dropped his brother from thirty thousand feet in the air. He felt no pleasure as he watched New York burn under the assault.

Loki recalled the words that Percy had spoken to him when he had taken him to Alaska, that everything was a matter of perspective. Loki had, at the time, envied Percy for being able to do what he thought was right, not subject to any stereotype that determined what he should have been. But now, kneeling on the muddy ground before a huge lake with the memories of the demigod's death avid in his mind, he realized that it wasn't because the boy had no 'shoes' to fill, but that he'd took all the facts of what he should have been – an anomaly, a loose end – and used it to create his own path in life. Loki was tired of being a monster, he didn't want to be what others thought he was, he only wanted to be his own Odin's puppet, not the monster under the bed, not even a submissive brother who followed the footsteps of his elder brother doggedly. All this while, he thought that he had been walking his own path, but now he knew that he had been subconsciously following the road that he was expected to take.

No more. He thought, grinning slightly, he would revel in the expressions of those who expected him to grovel at the feet of the Mad Titan.

Percy's voice rang in his head, Find my father.

He looked up, blinking away the tears that clouded his eyes. The god took a deep breath, steadying his unstable emotions, a purpose forming in his mind. Loki stood up carefully, his green eyes determined, treading lightly until he reached the water's edge. With only a slight hesitation, he stepped into the ice cold water, not stopping until he was at least waist-deep in. Scanning the undisturbed surface of the lake, he breathed out lightly and whispered a single magic-infused word.

"Jormungand."

At the base of the great tree, three women smiled upon the young god, quietly releasing his oath to them.

"So what's the plan now huh?"

Steve, Clint and Natasha looked up from where they were sitting as Tony emerged from his lab, having flown back into the mansion via the garage. Phil, seemingly unperturbed as usual, was grim-faced, a sight that sent alarm bells ringing in all their heads. The man always had a smile on his face, even when he had called Tony in for the avengers project when Loki arrived and even when he faced said crazed god one-on-one.

"There doesn't seem to be much that we can actually do now that they're out in the open. Not without SHIELD anyway." Agent Coulson murmured, tapping his finger lightly on his leg, a sure sign of his building anxiety. Clint snorted, crossing and uncrossing his legs alternatively. "Well," the archer said, "we need to get the hell out of here that's one."

Tony frowned, knowing that it wasn't an intentional insult but still – "Where would we go? Where can we go? Those aliens have control of SHIELD in case you forgot, and that means they know every single one of SHIELD's bases. And probably any safe houses that I have. And why would we want to run anyway?"

But the others were apparently not listening to him as Natasha pitched in, "We could try other countries perhaps? I can call in some favors."

"Whoa whoa whoa wait." Tony cut in, forcing them to turn their attention to him, "What about the people? What, we just gonna leave them hanging while those aliens take over New York again?" The genius demanded, his hazelnut eyes flashing angrily.

"There's nothing we can do Tony! Not only do they have Amora and Skurge on their side, they have that damn chitauri leader as well, Doom is probably with them too and they have Thor! There's only four of us now against all of them!" Clint shouted, throwing his hands up in the air.

Tony scoffed, "And that means we're giving up? We took down their entire army three years ago with six of us-"

"And that fight was rigged by the person who brought them in in the first place." Natasha interjected, her olive eyes boring into Tony's.

Phil raised his own opinions, "It's not that we want to abandon the people Stark, but we need to retreat and form a plan. SHIELD is under their control now and we have nothing except the clothes off our back. We don't know how far the enemy's influence stretches, we need more intel first to formulate a plan of attack."

Tony stared at the three SHIELD agents, not bothering to hide his shock and disgust. He turned to the remaining person in the room who had yet to say anything. "What about you Cap? You agree with these guys? Because in case anyone of you here forgot, Bruce is still out there.

Steve raked a hand through grimy hair, his eyes downcast. "We can't go back out there Tony." He murmured, wishing that he could go back in time to change things. He hated leaving a man behind and even if he knew that they had no way to transport the Hulk away from the battle it still cut him deeply to lose a friend.

"Excuse me?" Tony screeched, "What the hell is wrong with all of you? Bruce is our friend! How can any of you even think of leaving him behind?"

"It's not as though we want to Tony!" Clint shouted, "How the hell were we supposed to get the hulk away from the battle? He would've destroyed us!"

Tony rounded on him, lashing out at the archer, "So what? We can try can't we? Fine! Even if you don't see him as your friend, then do you really want those damn aliens to gain control of the Hulk? They've already got Thor, and Point Break's a powerhouse himself. You want them to gain control of the Hulk as well?"

"We can't risk going out there for one man-"

Tony cut Steve off with a glare that he learned from Percy - the thought of the boy causing something to wither and die in him - watching with vicious satisfaction as the pristine hero flinched back as though he was struck physically. "You-" he started, not knowing what to feel as he stared at the man his father had preached to him about and who had spent his whole life searching for. "Of all the people in this room," he said, his voice low, "I would have thought that you would agree to never leave a man behind. I mean, you went into enemy territory- alone might I add?- and came out with all the prisoners and your best friend. You didn't leave anyone behind did you? Especially not someone who is your friend. Or did I read that wrong and apparently no one outside of the kid- outside of me that actually made friends with Bruce?"

The assassins, Steve and Phil flinched minutely at his mention of their youngest member who was now lying cold on some stone slab as the aftermath of a goddamn sacrificial ritual.

He turned back to Steve, pushing the final button. "I guess even Captain America doesn't always lie on the line for people after all."

He didn't show the guilt that stabbed at him by throwing the man's words back at him but he couldn't stand it anymore. Tony turned and walked back down to his lab, while Clint called out, "Hey where're you going?"

He sneered, "I'm going to fix the suit and then I'm going after Bruce. With or without you people. You can hide here for all I care."

The avengers were divided. Tony was holed up in his lab, as he had been for the last twenty hours. Steve knew because he had asked JARVIS, who was kind enough to still talk to him and inform him of his team's whereabouts. He wanted to know if and when Tony was going out, afraid that the genius would do something rash like he was prone to.

The assassins were grouped with Phil, the three of them doing god knows what in the gym, keeping to themselves like they often did when faced with an internal crisis. Steve buried his face in his hands, uncertainty rolling through him. He didn't know what to do. Should he have stayed behind with Bruce? Should they have called the Hulk to follow them? Was Tony right in saying that they should look for their friend, or was Clint and Phil right in saying that it was too dangerous out there?

Steve was torn, he was their leader but he felt like he had made all the wrong decisions. Tony was right, he thought, I am a coward. He squeezed his eyes shut. Ever since he heard Tony scream for Percy, heard the scientist practically sob for the youngest of their family, he felt as though a bullet had torn through him. Even though the boy was a SHIELD agent and wasn't part of their specialized team, he had spent so much time with them that Steve had practically forgotten that he wasn't one of them. The kid held a special place in all of their hearts, even – dare he say it? – even Loki, the god who had surprised them all.

Steve didn't know what was wrong and what was right now, he knew that retreating was the most logical solution, he knew that leaving the Hulk behind was the most logical solution, but his heart couldn't reconcile with his mind. The super soldier sighed. Perhaps this was the chitauri's plan all along, divide and conquer, he thought bitterly, that's the saying isn't it?

Bruce was somewhere outside, somewhere in New York probably running from the aliens. Clint and Natasha were retreating into themselves, the two of them against the world. Tony was holed up in his lab like he did before the team was formed. Thor was under the chitauri's control. Loki was missing. And Percy – Percy was dead. His whole team could not have been more divided and Steve's psyche was suffering for it. He prayed that this was nothing more than a bad dream, that all that had happened was fake. But that was a sweet lie because every time he closed his eyes he saw Percy lying broken on the stone, Tony screaming in his ear.

He rubbed his eyes tiredly, plopping down on the bed, feeling all ninety plus years of his life. Tony's words to him had cut, not because they were cruel, but because they were true.

I guess not even Captain America can lay down on the line for everyone huh?

Steve closed his eyes again, sighing heavily. Bruce was Tony's best friend in the team apart from Percy, the two having connected almost immediately the first time they saw each other. To know that one of his friend was dead and the other was out there with a horde of aliens... Steve didn't want to think how terrible the other was feeling, having failed two of them at once. Steve stared at smooth ceiling, his thoughts drifting. When had he become such a coward? He had been the one to challenge Tony into lying on the line for others, when had that changed? Why was he so afraid of going out there? Was it because of the chitauri, or was it because of his own failures?

Steve grit his teeth and rolled out of bed, resolving to find Tony.

He headed down the stairs that led to the lab, the glass panels separating him from the genius that worked tirelessly in his haven, repairing his suit and adding upgrades at the same time. With a soft request to JARVIS, the AI slid the glass door open, allowing Steve to walk into the lab, admiring the various tables of experiments and half finished prototypes strewn over the lab.

If Tony heard him – he probably did, because the lab wasn't blasting music for once – he didn't give any indication of it. Steve walked closer, until he was standing right behind the genius, unsure of what to do now that he was actually here.

"Well if you're going to just stand there all day I suggest you go stand in the living room. There's more space over there."

Steve started, looking at the billionaire who hadn't even turned around. He sighed, licking his lips lightly. "Look, Tony," he said, hesitating, "You're right. I – I'm sorry."

Tony had a look of surprise on his face, "Oh wow," he mocked, "Did I just hear Captain America apologise? And actually say that I was right?" he laughed cynically, "The world's ending isn't it? JARV! Whats the condition outside, any major earthquakes or disasters?"

Steve gritted his teeth and sighed, "Tony," he tried, "I'm serious, I am sorry. You – you were right, we should never have left Bruce behind, but there wasn't any choice –"

"If you're just going to come here and say all that then you might as well get out." Tony snarled, gesturing angrily to the door, "What's the point of an apology if you're just going to insist that you're right still?"

"Tony I'm trying to apologise why are you being so difficult?"

"Me? Difficult?" he laughed, "Well maybe you should rethink your apology cause that sounded more like justification to me!"

Steve glared at Tony for a minute, before the rage drained out of him completely. He raked a hand through his hair, mentally and physically exhausted. Tony watched stiffly as Captain America shed his outer mask and revealed a weary and exhausted man beneath. Steve's shoulders slumped, and he whispered quietly, "I don't know what to do Tony. I – I'm afraid." Tony looked at him in shock, but kept quiet, understanding that the man needed to let it out. Steve kept his eyes down, a position of submission and resignation that he hadn't shown anyone since Peggy. "I'm afraid Tony. Everything is going to hell and I don't know if what I'm doing is the right thing."

Tony quietly shifted and gripped Steve by the shoulders, navigating him towards a pair of chairs that DUM-E had pushed over, the sensitive bot that he was. Steve, on his part, just kept his head down and stared at his palms as though they held the answer to his life's problems.

"I don't know if leaving Bruce behind was the right choice, I don't know where to go from here, I'm afraid that I'll play right into the chitauri's hands again and –"

"Enough." Tony interjected quietly. He hated seeing Steve like this, Captain America was supposed to be a figure of utmost confidence, he was supposed to know exactly what to do and lead in the right direction. He wasn't supposed to be sitting in the basement looking defeated. Hesitantly, Tony placed a hand on Steve's knee, "Look at me." He commanded quietly, waiting until the other had raised his head before continuing, licking his lips slightly, "I'm no leader, so I can't tell you what to do or what you're supposed to do from here. What I can tell you is that we're taking things step by step from here." He took a deep breath, "When I woke up in Afghanistan with a car battery attached to a hole in my chest, I panicked. I didn't know what to do, I only knew that I had to escape. I didn't want to build Jericho for those people, I manufactured weapons and sold them, my business wasn't starting a war. Yinsen was the one who helped me. He made me realize that I was looking too far out. First step, I had to get used to the hole in my chest. Second step, create something more portable so I can work in piece. Third step, resist the terrorists. Fourth? Build something else in secret."

He looked the captain in the eye, brown meeting blue, "Do you see where I'm going? You're looking too far out, you're wanting to get our whole team back together immediately, searching for the fastest solution to get to that point. But that goal is too far away on the horizon. Look at the little steps you can take."

Tony leaned back, drawing his arm away from Steve's knee, slightly shocked at the turn of events at having the captain listen to him instead of the other way around. "Our first step is to get Bruce back, tactically speaking, we can't afford for those assholes to get control of the Hulk can we? Second step is to find a way to knock sense into Thor, probably dropping a building on his head or something, the guy's skull is thick man!"

Steve smiled, a small one, but a genuine one nonetheless. Something in Tony lifted at seeing the cloud of depression over Steve disperse. "You're right," the other said softly, "I'm sorry, how did I ever lose hope of what we were fighting for?"

Tony grinned crookedly, "Everyone's entitled to a bout of depression someday Cap, yours just came several decades too late."

Steve shook his head amusedly, "When did you get this wise?"

"Hey!" Tony said, looking affronted, "I'll have you know that I'm first of all a genius, and I am totally capable of being wise okay, I just don't reveal all my cards at one shot. Where's the fun in that?"

Steve smiled and stood up, feeling better than he had since the battle, "Thank you Tony." He said softly.

Tony flapped an arm at him, returning to his bench to continue his work.

After a moment's hesitation, Steve followed suit, the both of them working side by side quietly as Tony explained what he was doing and Steve suggested several new ideas, offering new perspectives even though he still didn't understand the language of science.

Bruce was running for his life, as he had been for several hours now. He had shrunk down into his human form a few hours after the battle, and he had been running ever since. He didn't know how come he wasn't unconscious when he had changed back, but he wasn't about to question the sudden stroke of luck. And it was only pure luck that he had managed to get a distance away from the chitauri and Thor when he changed back. Currently, Bruce was running through buildings, sticking to the shadows and hiding in random apartments. He felt sick when he saw charred bodies strewn across some of the houses he hid in, the acrid smell of burning flesh searing his nose, but as guilty as he felt, he couldn't do anything but take advantage of the fact that they weren't going to need the clothes any longer.

Now on the second level of a random apartment in New York, he peered out the window, careful to not reveal too much of himself. He spotted the Empire State Building several blocks away, and gauged how much time it would take for him to get there. Even though vague memories of the other guy told him that he had been right outside that building when he was fighting, sometime in his fight against the god of thunder had him crashing through other blocks and ending up further away from said building. He didn't know why, but something in his head told him to get to that building, that it would mean safety from the aliens even though the logical side of his brain told him that that was just a gleaming target for said chitauri. He ducked behind the window quickly, just in time as a group of chitauri zoomed past it.

He closed his eyes as he heard their excited chatter, followed by blood-curdling screams and a series of explosions. He took a deep breath, and darted towards the fire exit at the back of the apartment, quietly crawling down the stairs. When he reached the ground, he slinked against the wall, silently regretting not having picked up some form of martial arts to protect himself in human form. He peered around the corner of the building, inching his way toward the street. Looking both sides and finding the street clear of aliens, he took the chance and sprinted across, ducking instinctively when a shot blasted the ground beside him.

Bruce risked a look back and wished he didn't, pushing his legs to carry him faster as a hoard of chitauri chased after him. He ran for his life, ducking and weaving through the streets as the structure of the Empire State Building neared. He swerved and turned into an alleyway, stopping short in horror when he realized a second too late that he had ran straight into a dead end.

He turned just as the chitauri rounded the corner, chattering excitedly as they cornered their prey. He swallowed nervously, his entire body trembling with exhaustion – it was a miracle that he had even made it this long after his transformation, dark spots dancing across his vision.

He shook his head to clear his vision, desperately wanting to pass out but the knowledge that he would never wake again prevented him from doing so. Bruce backed away until his back hit the wall, a hand gripping the brick wall beside him for balance. He glared at the group of chitauri before him, not wanting to give them the satisfaction of seeing him cower in fear. He chuckled silently, Tony had told him about what happened before Loki saved him at the base, and now Bruce was doing the same thing. Seems like Tony rubs off on me more than I thought. He thought wryly.

The chitauri raised their weapon and each of them fired a shot, Bruce flinched instinctively, raising a hand in front of him, waiting for the searing heat of plasma to brush against his arm.

But the heat never came.

The alleyway was dark, but as he lowered his arm, Bruce realized that it was far darker than it should have been. He stared in shock as a wall of pure darkness stood proudly in front of him. Bruce reached out an arm to touch the wall, but before he could brush against it, the wall collapsed, revealing a group of dead chitauri on the ground, their throats slit.

He raised his eyes, his gaze falling on a figure at the mouth of the alley. He gaped at the boy in an aviator jacket, his right hand holding a sword that was dripping with black blood.

The last thing Bruce remembered before the darkness claimed him was a pair of arms catching him as he fell and a sudden pressure on his lungs as he was transported through the shadows.

The only evidence left of a fight were the bodies of the aliens, but even then, an arrow surrounded by green flames fell onto the pile of bodies, and when the flames had finished their meal, nothing but a scorched mark remained.