The night and following day pass uneventfully. When I have trouble sleeping, I head out to the balcony for some fresh air, avoiding Nebula in the living space. Training is uneventful – Veers and I both practice our own skills, strive to pick up others, and observe the other champions. And they're all watching us.

There's talking between the champions, and joking and laughing, which only highlights the disadvantage Veers and I have with being the most recent champions. Which only strengthens my resolve not to take on any allies, aside from possibly Hank Pym, Hope Van Dyne, and Peggy Carter. This time, it will just be Veers and I – up until it isn't.

On the last day of training, there is friendly conversation about the upcoming assessment, with none of the tension from the previous year. We all already have our signature skills – there's not much we can do that the Children of Thanos aren't already aware of from our individual games. But one by one, we're called in anyway.

I'm last to go. When I walk into the room, the Children of Thanos all seem unnaturally on edge. Nick Fury is staring down at the center of the chamber, his face set and unreadable. Beside him, stands his assistant, a woman dressed in a black, sleeveless business dress, hair perfectly combed back into a bun. I follow their gazes but see nothing.

What did Veers do?

"Loki Odinson," Fury intones, no indication that his mind was just elsewhere. "You may begin your demonstration."

I don't even bother to acknowledge his words. Remembering the reactions the last time I was here, I decide I want that again – their fear, their unease. I want them to feel my power, in the only way I can make them feel it.

A story surfaces and I smile grimly, striding to the center of the stage, to stand exactly where Fury's gaze had been fixated a moment before. Allowing the smile to remain on my lips, I lift my hands and conjure an illusion.

I construct it so that I disappear, allowing the cliff to take all their focus. I raise it up, allowing the drop to be obvious, creating two pillars of stone on the top of the cliff, lifting up to frame the circular area between them and the edge clearly. Once I have the setting, then I go in for the finale.

An illusion of Thanos appears between the pillars on top of the cliff, larger than life and completely menacing. He's dressed in his golden armor, with the gauntlet...but only three of the Infinity Stones. Mind, Time, and Power.

I hear the collective gasp from the Children of Thanos and my smile widens. Perfect. I have their full and undivided attention. Now to finish. I create a second figure, this one much smaller than the one of Thanos, dressed in the green and black battle suit of Starforce and with brown hair cut short. It's the best depiction I can make of Mar-Vell, who helped Thanos in his quest for the Infinity Stones by betraying Ronan and the rest of her people.

Holding the illusion for a moment, to make sure the Children of Thanos see it, I then manipulate the scene to drive my point home. My illusion of Thanos grabs Mar-Vell, who tries to escape his grip but cannot. She cannot run from her destiny.

Which is to be thrown off the cliff in order for Thanos to gain the Soul Stone.

Which my illusion then does.

Complete silence blankets the chamber as Mar-Vell falls to her death. The message is clear: loyalty to Thanos does not end well. Then I replay the scene, except this time I substitute the Collector in for Mar-Vell, with the same result.

I reveal myself, standing beside my creation and staring up defiantly at the Children of Thanos before focusing my gaze on Nick Fury. Then I turn and leave without saying a word.

Stalking back to the elevators, I head up to Asgard's floor, unable to help a start at seeing Nebula suspended in the center of the living area. I go to my room and shower and change before heading back out for dinner.

Almost the entire team has assembled at the table, the prep teams the only people absent. I take my seat and glance at Veers, who has changed into a dark Asgardian tunic, similar to the one I'm wearing now. Irritation prickles in my mind, but I push it away. Veers and I do need to present a united front, at least for now.

There's silence for a minute as we all start eating, Erik and Darcy glancing at us curiously as Hela and Valkyrie ignore the rest of us. Jane surveys the rest of the table, as Veers and I do not offer up any conversational starters, and takes a breath before choosing to speak.

"How did the evaluation go today?"

The two of us look at each other again, and I see a slight smirk touch the corners of Veers' mouth. But then she changes the expression to a grimace. "I don't think they liked it."

"They weren't impressed?" Darcy asks incredulously. "How could they not be?"

"I didn't say they weren't impressed," Veers corrects. "I said they didn't like it. Two very different reactions."

"What did you do?" Valkyrie asks, a touch of resignation to her voice.

"Instead of using my photon blasts on the dummies, I used them on the glass wall separating the Children of Thanos from the champions."

I look at her, the respect I had gained for her in our first Contest blossoming again in my chest. So I wasn't the only one who wanted to anger them. Meanwhile, she's gained the attention of everyone else at the table as well.

"Explain, Veers," Hela requests, leaning back in her chair.

"They've all seen my powers before – no need to give them the standard demonstration. So I flew up to their display cage and fired some photon beams at the glass – to give them an up-close and personal show. Don't worry, I didn't do any damage. Just startled them a bit."

I laugh. "They must think Asgard is out to get them, between your display and what I did."

Hela lifts an eyebrow. "And what did you do, brother?"

"I used an illusion to show Thanos killing the Collector." I decide not to mention Mar-Vell, since I'm technically not supposed to know about that and it would raise more questions that I want to field at this point.

Jane, Darcy, and Erik all stare at me with open mouths, while a slow smile spreads across Veers' face, one she then tries to stifle to no effect. Valkyrie just looks at me, the typical grim resignation of her expression falling away to show her features fixed in a look of startled realization, a horror creeping into her eyes that she conceals quickly by lifting her beer bottle to take a long drink from it.

And Hela...my sister has a light in her eyes, one that is frightening and encouraging all at once. Her smile is not the relieved one of Veers, realizing she is still very much in sync with her ally, but a conspiratorial one. But I am not a fellow conspirator – rather, I am the conspiracy, the thing to be admired for its complex daring.

But in the end, just a plan. An object with a purpose, but nothing beyond that.

The thought chills me, but I am not given time to dwell on it. "I bet the Children of Thanos aren't thrilled," my sister comments. "You two are certainly taking the allies thing to the next level. I'm impressed."

"Hela!" Jane chides. "They threatened the Children of Thanos! Veers directly attacked them and Loki insinuated their loyalty would get them killed! How is that impressive? This was a deliberate snub against Thanos' representatives!"

"Jane, calm down," Erik says quietly, his expression troubled. "They're already going back into the arena. What they did today doesn't change that outcome."

"But they made it worse," Jane argues. "They could have just showed off their skills, as I'm sure everyone else did, and left it at that, but they didn't."

"And now it's done," Erik finishes. "For good or ill. So let it be."

Jane presses her lips together firmly, looking unhappy, but she does drop the issue.

After finishing dinner, we move into the living area to find out the scores, not that it really matters at this point. There are no unknowns, champion-wise, this year. The scores are just custom this year.

Luis runs through the champions, starting with Wakanda as usual. Most of the champions score relatively high, in the eight to ten range, although some do score lower, such as Annie Weying and both champions from Vanaheim. Hank Pym and Peggy Carter both score elevens, which Hela and Valkyrie both stiffen at. Another way for Thanos to place a distinct target on the Avengers' backs.

Then it gets to Asgard. And both Veers and I score a twelve.

An even bigger target on our backs.

Nobody has much to say, for they all know the twelve is not a good score this time around. Veers and I are dismissed to our rooms, and we head down the hallway in silence.

When we reach my door, Veers stops, placing her hand on my arm. "Loki, can we talk for a moment?"

I hesitate a moment, then nod. "All right." We enter my room and I close the door behind us before crossing my arms. "What about?"

Veers crosses to the window looking down over Titan. "We're going to need our final decision on allies."

"Aside from Pym, Van Dyne, and maybe Carter, I care not for the rest," I tell her, walking over to the bed and sitting down on the edge. Veers glances back at me.

"How about just us? No allies. Nobody else to worry about. Just to the two of us, until the end."

I lift an eyebrow at her. "I know you know this, but we can't both win this time."

"I know," Veers says. "But maybe one of us can."

My lips twist. I really want to win – in fact, I'm determined to win, to get back to Gamora, but I also know that me and Gamora is a pipe dream that I'll in all probability never see. I'd do better to accept that, but half of me still cannot. "Perhaps."

Veers turns, heads over to the bed and easily climbs onto it, sitting on her knees looking at me. "So can we agree? No allies?"

"No allies," I agree quietly. "We'll do this together."

"And may the best one win." She takes my hand, squeezes it, and I squeeze back.

Although silence falls, Veers is reluctant to leave, and we both end up falling asleep on my bed – which scandalizes the hell out of Jane when she knocks on the door to wake us up in the morning, even though we were just sleeping. After composing herself, she tells us that she, Hela, and Valkyrie decided that we don't need any training before the interviews tomorrow.

"Although I did find you a token, Veers." Jane holds out a pair of Asgardian sigils, used to secure the cloak to the breastplate. An engraving of the Yggdrasil tree is etched into the golden metal. "These can go on the shoulders of your arena outfit."

Veers takes them, glancing at me. I nod slightly. "Thank you, Jane," the Kree says. "They'll work perfectly."

We decide to spend the rest of the day on the balcony, taking out some food and drinks and trying to enjoy the last day. Tomorrow will be filled with interview prep and stress, and then the Infinity Endeavor beginning the day after. We talk about our first meeting here, but very few of our memories are not clouded by the coming threat.

I can't help but be reminded of my last day with Gamora, lying on the shore by the lake, and I have to resist the urge to draw her dagger from my belt and finger the ruby-encrusted hilt, the perfectly balanced weapon. Whatever it takes. Can I do it all over again, just to see her again and not truly have her?

What else is there left to do?

If I re-establish the Balance, Thanos may actually just let me live. Maybe. And then...and then what? There is no life for Gamora and me in this timeline.

But still...I don't want Thanos to win. So whatever it takes.

Even if that means Balance.