Frigga and Odin bid us farewell in the morning before Thor, Veers, Gamora, Nebula, and I mount onto the Statesman for the flight to Titan. Valkyrie is staying on Asgard, but Hela has deigned to accompany us. She won't be fighting with us, however; she is only hitching a ride to Titan before carrying on with her work hunting Skrulls.

I wonder if that's what we'll be doing, too.

Hela heads off to the back, telling the five of us that she "is not your babysitter, and will not be responsible if anybody dies on this damned trip." We stand awkwardly in the living space, unsure what to do next.

"Well, boys," Nebula says, smirking at Thor and I. "Just like old times, isn't it?"

The tone instantly shifts. By just one little statement, Nebula has split us into two groups: Thor, Gamora, Nebula, and I, and Veers. The before the Contest, and the after the Contest. The four of us grew up together, two brothers and two sisters. But Veers, Veers is the outsider here, the one who divided our group.

Technically, she didn't – we only hung out as children; Gamora and I were the only ones who kept up our friendship as adults. But Veers split the two of us up, changing it into the daughters of Thanos against the sons of Odin.

"Except, the old times meant imaginary battles," Thor reminds Nebula. "We are not heading to fight an imaginary battle this time."

"That's why this time will actually be fun," Nebula purrs, cocking her head.

I glance at Veers, who is tense, her fists clenched and flickering with wispy golden light. "May I ask why you two are coming with us?" she asks, directing her question to Gamora and Nebula. "This is supposed to be a mission for the champions of the Space Games."

"And it is," Gamora returns smoothly, her voice level. "Father wants to make sure this mission goes well. He has a special target in mind for you."

I don't like the sound of that.

Veers still doesn't look convinced. I can tell she wants to say something, but she doesn't want to say it in front of the daughters of Thanos. Maybe not in front of Thor, either. She looks at me, but seems reluctant to ask to speak to me in private. So we all just stand there, until I pivot and walk away.

"Where are you going, brother?" Thor calls after me.

"Somewhere else," I state.

I end up in the large, empty chamber at the back of the ship, standing in front of the throne staring out into space. A special mission. What kind of mission could Thanos possibly have for me? What punishment is he preparing for me, even as I stand here?

"Why would Thanos send his daughter on a mission with the two of us?" Veers' voice echoes behind me after some time has passes, and I hear her soft footsteps as she approaches, arms crossed over her chest. She looks at me, her gaze narrowed. "Gamora. Don't think I don't know about her, Loki."

That was one thing I hadn't been expecting today – the jealous girlfriend routine.

"What's there to know?" I ask, glancing over at her.

"I saw, what happened when we returned, after the Contest," Veers says, staring out the window. "You sought her out, talked with her. And she stalked away from you. Because you were with me. But you didn't want to be with me, did you?"

Lies, lies, I lie all the time. I barely feel a thing when I lie. But this time, I do feel a prick of guilt, perhaps shame. I don't dwell on it long enough to accurately label it. "Veers, you think I would have done what I did for someone I cared nothing about?"

"You just didn't care enough to want to be with me," Veers accuses.

I recoil slightly. "Ouch. What you must think of me. Don't act the victim, Veers. You didn't care, either."

"I cared enough," she hisses.

"So did I," I return, and what's lie and what's truth in those three words, I can't decipher. I cared enough to concoct a scheme to keep her alive, to save her from the symbiote and from the arena. But whatever that was, it's not here anymore. Maybe it flew south for the winter, maybe it chose to die. My feelings for Veers, and hers for me, changed after our victory.

"You didn't answer my question," Veers states after a moment of silence. "Why would Thanos send Gamora, someone you do feel something for, on a mission with us, when he wants us to convince the galaxy that we love each other?"

Bargaining chip. The words come to mind like a bolt of lightning, but I don't say them aloud. "I don't know," I tell Veers instead. "We're not being filmed, so only those we fight against will see us. Perhaps it is unrelated."

"You don't believe that," she accuses.

"I don't believe in our relationship, but here we are," I snap back. "Sometimes, we don't get a choice, Veers."

"No," Veers snarls. "We do get a choice. You just made the wrong one."

If she's referring to my saving of herself from the arena, then she's absolutely correct. But there's nothing I can do to change that now. No do-overs. Just the present, and the chance to make things right with Thanos, with the universe.

But as Veers storms out of the chamber and I turn my attention back to the darkness of space as we continue toward the jump point, I again have to wonder if there is any way I can make this right. Veers and I are both alive. No matter what we say, no matter what we do, the one of us who was supposed to die in that arena still isn't dead.

Only that can right Thanos' Balance.

I summon a dagger and balance it on my finger for a moment, watching it sway from one side to the other, the way Gamora showed me all those years ago, the time I told her I didn't like balance. For a moment, the blade is fairly balanced, but then the knife wobbles and falls to the floor, and I don't bend to pick it up.

When we arrive on Titan, late in the day, Hela says goodbye at the platform. More like she waves carelessly as she walks away, not even bothering to look back, but that's about the best farewell you'll get from her. At least she left out the soul-searching questions this time.

Gamora and Nebula lead us to a designated area where we are beamed up into Thanos' ship, the Sanctuary. The other champions are already here. Steve Rogers, Wanda Maximoff, Hope Van Dyne, and Shuri Udaku wait for us in the throne room. Apart from them, the room is empty.

Steve nods to us. "Thor, Loki, Veers. Good to see you three."

No, it's not, Captain. Drop the niceties. But I give a smile and an amicable nod as Thor greets the other champions.

Gamora and Nebula stand apart from us, silent and waiting. Eventually, Thanos enters the chamber and the slight buzz of conversation dies like it was just killed. The Titan mounts his throne, sitting down in it and placing his arms firmly on the armrests, and stares down at us.

"The seven champions of the Space Games," he says, a sense of distaste in his voice. "Are you ready for your mission?"

"Yes, Lord Thanos," we all murmur.

"Good," Thanos says, lifting an eyebrow. "For tomorrow, you will depart for District 7, Sokovia. I believe Miss Maximoff is familiar with the place." He turns his gaze on Wanda, who sucked in a breath at the mention of her home. "Stuttgard, Germany, has been causing particular trouble. You will quiet the district, end their uprising." He gestures to Gamora and Nebula. "My daughters will ensure the job is done, and will report back to me."

Ah. So not a bargaining chip. A threat of a different kind, then.

But we're still bargaining, at least I am, with the Titan. My life is on the line here, perhaps the lives of others I care about. So when Thanos requests my presence, after the others are dismissed, I square my shoulders and stay, fighting to erase defiance from my face.

"I only want to say one thing to you, Asgardian," Thanos says, his eyes piercing as he looks at me. "This is your last chance, before the payment becomes blood."