Alriiiiiiiight. I finally have the first chapter of the final story in the Guardians series up. We start off in the last chapter of Two Knight's Defense, this time from Belinda's POV.

Belinda woke with a piercing headache. She groaned and rolled to her side, nearly retching at the nausea that followed. It took a few minutes, but she eventually made it to standing. Her mouth felt raw, her throat burning. Every sensation was magnified to the point of pain—from the overhead lights to the press of her feet into the floor. Blearily, she peered around her, startled to find herself in what looked like a glorified jail cell. Nothing seemed to make sense to her.

Tentatively, she reached out and touched the cell wall, a golden, glinting force field of some kind. It shocked her fiercely. Drawing the singed digits into her mouth, Belinda looked outward, trying to find someone who could help. There was a guard at the door, but he didn't respond to her gestures, her calls. He stared dutifully forward, ignoring her.

Shoulders dropping, Belinda took in the rest of what she could see from her minimal vantage point. From the décor and the architecture, she deduced that she was still on Asgard—no one decorated in quite as much gold. The hall was lined with cells each way, all empty save for one. There was a tall, pale man with even paler hair staring at her with narrowed eyes. She felt her muscles tighten in fear, the sheer power radiating off him beating at her internal magical core. He was glaring at her, disgust written across the thin slant of his mouth. Behind him, a rocky horned beast lay beneath Thor's hammer. She swallowed.

The ache in her body suddenly magnified, disrupting her musings. She felt caged, restrained. Her jaw squeezed shut, skin and belly tingling with the need to get the hell out of that cell. Bodily, Belinda flung herself at the wall, taking the sharp stings unfeelingly. Rage festered inside her. Her vision went red with it. It seeped into every bone, cracking her calm and pushing her into animal madness.

Realizing that she couldn't get out, she pounded at her head, stepping to the center of the bare room and screaming. The sound that came out of her body was inhuman, tinged with a kind of power that flooded her system with adrenaline. It surged through her, lighting her nerves on fire and rounding in on itself until she was pulsing with gratification. She distantly heard the sound of a door slamming open, but she dismissed it. Something was bubbling up, taking control. Belinda didn't have the strength to fight it, her body already half at its whim. Another scream whipped through her and she dropped to the ground, her knees crying out with the force of the drop.

Distantly, she heard August cursing.

Looking up, through a red haze of power, she could see a muffled vision of her comrades. Belinda felt the power surge once more and she screamed, a pleasant release of something blowing out from her to hit hard against the walls of the cell. She sighed, shoulders sagging, before it burst back up again, ripping a yet another scream from her.

August was calling out for her.

She should answer.

Gathering her will, Belinda looked up at August, saying that it hurt. There was no other word for it, the feelings becoming too intense to handle. It was all she could piece together at the moment, her consciousness unsteady at best. As it turned out, that would be the last of the fight within her. Her eyes fell shut and scream after scream was issued forth. The red haze was taking more and more of her body, feeding off her magic and coiling tighter around her until she could do nothing but writhe in pain.

Heat and unearthly power coated her skin, swallowing down what was left of Belinda and replacing it with something otherworldly. She felt her breath coming easier after a few moments, a strange kind of calm reminding her that she was okay, that she could break this wall easily, if only she tried. Belinda rolled onto the balls of her feet, staring down her enemies with teeth bared. There were weaklings among them, easily dealt with.

But, the small one teemed with power. It was a power she recognized as connected to the power laying nearly dormant in her belly. Carefully, she unfurled it, feeling the tentative first bursts of light rolling around inside. A few more layers were peeled away, revealing quite the powerhouse within. She poked at it, curious.

Movement distracted her, the tall, pale one stepping up and inside the cell. Belinda rotated to face him, recognizing a kindred magic touching around the edges of her own. The familiar taste of it allowed her to lower her guard. She watched him remove his armor and approach, circling. Nails scraping at the floor, Belinda rounded on him, holding his eyes as he crouched.

"Easy, little one," he murmured, inching towards her, a strange duality to his voice. "I mean you no harm."

Belinda said nothing, wondering at his calm words. Shouldn't he be fleeing? Was she not powerful? Was she not mighty?

"Come, let me look at you," he continued, casual softness in his tone.

Belinda felt his magic lacing every word, wrapping around her and tugging insistently. She felt the heat of her pain fade away, replaced by a kind of warmth that meant safety. Lulled, Belinda allowed him far closer than she normally would have, imposing as he was. She hadn't been this close to a man in—well, she'd rather not think on that. His knees were pressed underneath her thighs, his hands reaching out for her jaw. The last person to do this had been her high school boyfriend, a nervous boy with quick hands that flattered her constantly. After the call came from the Guardians, she hadn't seen him again. Matter of fact, she needed to go see her family when Christmas came around next month.

Thoughts of her loved ones brought her barreling back to the present, to the magic clearly intended to keep her half drugged. Angry and snarling, she kicked out, sending the man across the room to the nearest wall, satisfied by the chunks of debris falling around him. He rose, prepared to fight.

Belinda had never believed August when she said that the draw of battle welled up inside her and became a morbid kind of pleasure—at least, she hadn't believed her up until that moment. It rose up with such ferocity that Belinda was startled for a second. And then she was sighing with pleasure. It was so good to let that power out, to feel her come into such strength so easily. She could barely hold back the smile.

They wrestled, bodies banging against one another, but Belinda wouldn't throw a punch. She wanted to wrench at him, to tear his flesh until he submitted. Power surrounded them, flying around in an unseen whirlwind. He was strong, far stronger than she anticipated. All of the power she'd felt had been banked back, ready to unleash at the slightest provocation. And damn if she wasn't provoking him.

She rolled, pulling at the hands that had captured her wrists. He was pushing power at her now, trying to draw her out…no, not trying to draw her out—he was trying to draw it out. Whatever had been given to her, he wanted it. Belinda growled, throwing out a spell without thinking. She dropped onto his body and began to tear at joints and sockets, satisfied in the little pops of cartilage and tearing sinew.

The release of such power brought her once again to the present, where she was presented with a body slowly bleeding out on the floor. In her slightly weakened state, Belinda had no warning when the power was pulled from her. It seeped out of her mouth, nose, ears, yanked by an unstoppable force. Horror filled her, body worn out from the overflowing amount of magic working its way out of her body, and Belinda began to understand exactly what had happened.

She'd killed him.

She'd killed him in anger, slicing him near in half. Belinda was straddling a body that was dying beneath her, gasping breaths pulsing near her hips.

"I didn't mean to," she said, turning to look up at Darcy.

The effervescent face was closed off, carefully neutral in the chaos.

"I didn't mean to."

She looked down at the alien being beneath her, fingers tracing the scar over one of his cheeks, "I never meant…"

And then the body began to go into the convulsions of death, nerves firing without rhyme or reason. Guilt, shame, revulsion gurgled forth. Belinda simply couldn't deal with the disgust she felt, the utter terror of having taken a life. And then, she had a thought, a tiny thought that blossomed with unrelenting hope. She could fix this. She could heal this. She'd done it so many times, practiced on injured animals at the vet's office. This wouldn't be so different.

The darkness that had been inside her seemed to have unlocked something, as her power was much more easily accessed than before. It flowed through her like so much water, rushing in waves of heat and spice. The orchid coloring that had been her trademark was tinted with gold and specks of white hot heat. It burned through the hands that pressed into still bleeding wounds, tendons flexing over torn flesh. She healed as fast as she could, realizing a second too late that he wasn't going to make it, that the deed was done. Her spell had done some intense internal damage, knocking out whole life sustaining systems.

Desperately, Belinda pushed harder, calling out to anything within this creature that still had the will to live. Deep down, she found pulse of life, not truly connected to him, but thriving nonetheless. Belinda coddled it, pulling it into herself, warming it and encouraging it to grow. She could feel its resistance, the want to settle into death with some kind of dignity. Carefully, she let it roll back inside, relieved when it took hold and the body seemed to come back to itself.

Exhausted, Belinda passed out, a complete darkness overtaking her.

She awoke with the sound of August threatening someone, which, to be honest, wasn't a bad way to wake up in light of recent events.

"And I swear to god, if anything happens to her while I'm gone, I'll go full hillbilly on your ass," August was saying.

Belinda chuckled, wincing at the way it hurt.

August was at her side almost immediately, "You're awake."

Eyes cracking open, Belinda nodded.

"Which means you ain't dyin' yet."

Taking a moment, Belinda managed to say, "Not quite."

A pause, "Good. Claire doesn't do well with team members dyin'."

"So I've heard," Belinda replied, feeling her strength slowly fading. She drifted back into unconsciousness. Her dreams were strange, dark rooms with glowing ceilings and shadowy craggy hallways. Her vision was blurry and the world kept tipping on its axis.

Belinda woke for a second time, the night sky letting her know that she'd slept the entire day away. Feeling grimy and mouth fuzzy, she climbed out of the bed and made her way to a nearby bathroom. There was no shower or bath, but she used the sink and the small packet of soap to get as clean as she could before she sat on a low bench opposite the door, out of breath. Her body didn't want to cooperate, limbs heavy. Darkness threatened the edges of her vision. It took several minutes for her to push back to standing and it was a slow walk back to the bed where she promptly passed out again.

The third time she woke in that room, her stomach loudly reminded her that she hadn't eaten in… however long she'd been there. As best she could, she asked the nurse for food, wondering where August was. Of the line of beds, Belinda's was the only one filled, hers the last in a line of ten. She managed to sit up and a short time later a bowl of hot broth was brought to her.

Gratefully, Belinda drank it down, her stomach roiling a little. She forced it into submission, head lolling back against the wall while she waited for the nausea to die down. While she was trying not to throw up, Darcy stepped into the room, August in tow. They looked at her with apprehension, and it was then that Belinda remembered what it was that she'd done.

Her head was in her hands and she was crying before she could think another thought other than she'd completely eviscerated a man at a whim. She had taken out a rage that wasn't her own on someone who hadn't done her any real harm. Belinda was shit. She was scum. She was an asswipe. She was… throwing up.

Darcy rubbed her back while August got a bucket, which really wasn't helpful since Belinda has already emptied the contents of her stomach. But still, it was the thought that counted. Unrepentantly, she used the edge of the sheet to wipe her mouth, wincing at the rawness of her lips.

"How," she began, her mouth dry, "How long have I been out?"

Darcy pushed at the rim of her glasses, as was her won't when she was nervous, "About four days."

Belinda closed her eyes, trying to recount anything she could and finding nothing. There was nothing but blackness in the last few days, a foggy notion of time passing inundated with exhaustion. Every part of her was sore, and her mind was reeling from the shock of it all. There was road kill in better shape than she was at the moment.

"You're going to be fine," August chimed in, setting the still empty bucket aside and flopping unceremoniously down in a nearby chair.

Darcy sent the smaller woman a look of censure, "She's been through a lot, August, let's try to be sensitive."

August examined her nails, "Whatever you say."

Belinda laid back on the pillows, trying to clear her head and stop the spinning of the world. She was only mildly successful, managing not to retch.

"I want to go home," she murmured, eyes closed.

Darcy shifted, "Yeah, just as soon as you can walk all the way back to Heimdall. You'll go home."

Belinda squeezed her eyes shut just a little more, feeling her head begin to pound, "Just wheel me out there."

From her right, Belinda heard August snort, "The Queen won't allow it, you know that."

Squinting at August, Belinda replied in a tone she hadn't heard since her teenage years—a scratchy, annoyed tone filled with the need to hurt, "Since when has someone wanting something ever stopped you?"

August looked just the tiniest bit stunned, her emotions cutting off so rapidly that Belinda was hardly able to catch the flinch in her expression.

"Yeah, alright."

And then Belinda was watching the back of August's head bobbing out of the room, her long hair swinging behind her.

Guilt assailed her once more. If she had the energy, Belinda would have pressed the meat of her palms against her eyes sockets to relieve the pressure.

Darcy touched her arm, "Get a little more rest, we'll talk when you're feeling better."

Belinda rested for three more days, her moods evening out and her energy steadily returning. Eventually, she was cleared by Asgard's healers, though she still got dizzy from time to time. She ate in the big hall with the rest of the citizens, though everyone seemed to give her a wide berth. And then Darcy was telling her that it was time to go, that she was returning to her home planet, and that everything would be alright.

It was a common theme of her conversations, people reassuring her that things would get back to normal, that she was fine. Belinda felt fine. Her magic was open and working, her body strong. Even the disruption of having almost killed someone seemed to be filed in the back of her mind to be examined later on some psychiatrist's couch. Her attitude was sunny, though she remained meek.

Everyone was so powerful here, and to be honest, they were powerful on Earth, too. Belinda lived with literal superheroes, with powerful players of political games, with rulers and gods, alike. She had access to the government's most sensitive files and weaponry that was still in the testing stages. It was only natural that she should be intimidated.

Claire wanted to draw her out, wanted to get her comfortable with interacting on a personal level. Camilla wanted her magic of blossom and grow. August just wanted to sometimes hang out in relative silence. But, Belinda wanted to be with her books, with the research programs, and directing things from afar. In the few times she had been allowed into a field mission, she had been so anxious that it had manifested into bodily sickness. There hadn't been many missions after she'd fainted in the air shafts of the Louvre.

Heimdall hadn't spared her a secondary glimpse as she was escorted to the bridge between worlds, the uneasiness of interplanetary travel incomparable to having a foreign, alien entity taking up residence inside her. Belinda had been filled in on the Aether, had been told that she would be okay, that there was no internal damage. She remembered the feeling it gave her, how it had seeped out of Jane's body into her own, how it had expanded inside her and drawn out her power until there was no difference between her magic and the pulse of the Aether coiled up in her body.

From there, Belinda was basically left to her own devices, the threat having been dissolved. She went to her room, sat on her couch, and stared at the floor for about an hour, somehow falling asleep. In the early morning, she awoke with a crick in her neck and her cell flashing. There were assignments waiting for her.

Was this all there was to her adventure? August had been watched for weeks after returning to the Tower. Belinda was toddled off to her room without ceremony. The thought would have irked her if her inclination to get to work hadn't kicked in so hard. She did her best to forget about her brush with evil and great power, choosing instead to complete as many assignments as possible. A few weeks were spent holed up in Shield's electronic library, a few more combing the physical books in the stacks of the basement. Belinda managed to locate two caches of enemy armories and provide enough information to avert a land war in Asia (which can never be won).

It isn't until Belinda was called to the control room that she realizes almost two months have passed since she's seen any of the other Potentials. She peers at them from behind her hair, wondering what they think of her, if they knew what she had done. Shaking her head a little, Belinda chastised herself… of course they knew. Debriefings were common and thorough in their line of work, and Belinda had been overtaken by an alien force. Though possession wasn't exactly unheard of amongst their ranks, she doubted any of them had completely lost themselves as she had.

Despite her efforts to forget, Belinda still dreamed of the red haze, of the rage. She still saw the pale man's face, his pain, as she tore into him. She still heard his ragged breaths. On the mornings she woke from those dreams, Belinda drank down a whole pot of coffee and drowned herself in seeking out the most miniscule of details. Organization and presentation of information, assembling a coherent analysis of data all helped her anxieties to calm. She could order her books by color, arrange furniture, write a million lists, and it would help her to distance herself. If she could systematize her life, maybe the chaos of her mind wouldn't be quite so bad.

Belinda's attention returned to the conversation as they were describing parts of the mission. The main crew—August, Darcy, Camilla—would enter through a portal drawn by Evan, Regina, and Belinda. They would seek out some kind of weapon and return. It was a pretty simple job, smash and grab. But, Coulson was just getting to the complicated bits. They were attempting to infiltrate the lair of a well known trafficker in magical wares… an underwater lair…in another dimension.

She watched as August fitted herself with some kind of air compressor and mask. Their friendship, if that was what Belinda could call it, had ground to a halt after the events on Asgard. Belinda couldn't tell if August was angry with her or was simply too distracted to visit as she used to. The woman's mind tended to wander and, if not kept on track, she could move from one topic to the next out of sheer curiosity. Belinda missed her presence, even though August kept thick walls between them. At least August thought more of her than to dismiss her silence as submission.

They finished suiting up and Belinda stood next to Evan while they prepared the circle. Crossing dimensions had become old had for the lot of them, but precautions were still kept. Strong protection glyphs were drawn on the ground, crystals used to stabilize the power. There were several armed agents in strategic locations about the room. All in all, they covered their bases.

Evan glanced over at her, "Haven't seen you in a while."

Belinda smiled a little, "I've been pretty busy."

His dark eyes scanned her, looking for something that Belinda couldn't name. He did not seem satisfied by his findings, "Too busy to hang out with us?"

She sighed, feeling immediately guilty. Regina, Evan, and she were not tight knit by any means, but they shared the common experience of being called into power young and trained into magic by some of the most powerful spell workers on Earth. It made for an interesting support group when none of them could speak about their lives with outsiders, even their own families.

"I'm sorry," she said, eventually.

Evan nodded and rolled a shoulder, his gaze moving to the space where the portal would be. Belinda shifted to the side, catching Regina's eye. The blonde was touching the ends of her perfectly curled hair with red tipped fingers. They were polar opposites, Regina quite capable of handling her own in any conversation, ready to smile and schmooze with the best. Belinda had a hard time with eye contact and often shunned large gatherings. There was a bubbling personality to pair with Regina's good looks and talents, her power lying in suggestion. Belinda had more than once seen Regina charm a particularly difficult salesman at the market with humor and wit. She and Evan were evenly matched.

Though Evan had shown interest in Belinda early in their escapades, she had been unable to reciprocate. They went on a few dates before she cut things off, telling Evan that she saw him more as an older brother than a boyfriend. It had been awkward for about three or four months, but soon after they were flying out to the most remote parts of the world, taking down demons and saving humanity. Holding a grudge at that point seemed pretty pointless.

Then, Evan had taken up with Regina, the pair having just celebrated their one year anniversary. Belinda had been happy for them, but she also began to feel left out. They shared jokes that she hadn't been present for, went out to events. She didn't begrudge them their relationship, they needed someone to come home to at night and to lean on when things got bad. Yet, Belinda also realized that she was quite alone now. Leaning on Evan wasn't an option anymore as she was uncomfortable inciting Regina's suspicions.

And that was when August started visiting when she wasn't at her home in the mountains. They would talk about some of the gossip going around the Tower and August would sometimes point out books or files that she could access when reading up on particular topics. Belinda would listen to August's rants about how stupid people were and try to play devil's advocate when she disagreed. There was no exchange of services in their relationship, as it was with many of the others around her. Belinda didn't have to provide August with anything other than an ear and a few words of conversation. And August never expected anything in return, never wanted her to fix something for her or look something up, mine through data for a presentation. August was fully guileless when she hung around the library with her.

Belinda pulled her bottom lip between her teeth as she watched August, Darcy, and Camilla enter the circle, goggles obscuring their expressions. Widening her stance, she squared her shoulders and set her jaw. Now was the time for work. She could think about her relationships later.

Regina started the chant, as was her way. The magic in her was strong and soon Belinda was pushed into the chant along with Evan, the waves of power compelling her. After a few rounds, she could see the air shimmer with the opening of the portal, the shape of it twisting until the space was literally ripped down the center and separated. Hot, humid wind blew back at them, an odd smell coming with it. Belinda held fast, continuing to hold the line while the portal opened wider. It pulsed a bit, but held steady.

Three people jumped right in without preamble, a soft plop sounding from the impact. Belinda kept holding the chant, her internal magic shifting aimlessly inside her. It wanted out, wanted to roll around outside her body. Nervously, Belinda reeled it in tighter, stuffing it down deep and allowing only the smallest tendril of it to seep through just to keep the chant alive. Her eyes flicked around, checking to see if anyone could see through her neutral expression to the panic inside. It seemed that she was in the clear.

Faster than she would have thought, August was rolling out of the portal, followed quickly by Darcy. They landed one on top of the other, wet and shaking. Belinda looked back to the portal, expecting to see Camilla come crawling out with a snarling expression and a curse. She didn't. The time went on, dragging Belinda's anxiety from her internal magic to fear for her teammate.

Coulson was moving quickly, "What happened?"

Darcy heaved in a breath, "Octopus."

He drew up short, "Ah, what?"

August spit out a gulp of water, "A fucking octopus. That's what she said, that's what she meant."

"I'm going to need more than that," Coulson replied, hands hanging limply at his sides.

Darcy stood and wiped the water from her face, "They have an octopus guarding the armory, Coulson. You didn't say anything about marine animal guards in the prep for this."

"Okay," Coulson said, blinking, "That is something we were unprepared for."

August snorted, "And here I thought y'all were all knowing. Listen, Camilla's got about five more minutes of air before she drowns. Can we skip the explanations and get to the saving?"

Belinda would later wonder at what, exactly, came over her, but a few seconds later she was hoisting an air tank over her shoulder and pulling goggles over her head. It wasn't until she was pushing through the portal that she figured this was a pretty stupid idea. She stopped moving, scared and stunned by the sights before her. There were all kinds of strange animals floating around, flitting between rocky outcrops. A ribbon like creature drifted around on an unseen current, its shining body reflecting prisms in the water. Placed randomly around the sea floor, were tall orbs of light that illuminated the watery world. She shivered to think of the things that escaped their glow.

Not far away were pulses of magic firing in rapid succession, Belinda caught sight of one massive arm unfurling, another wrapped around Camilla's muscular body. Her eyes widened behind the goggles, her jaw squeezing against breathalyzer in her mouth. After a few seconds, she pushed determinedly forwards, looking for some kind of way around the massive mound of flesh that was a giant octopus…or was it a squid? She shook the thought away, focusing on Camilla.

The woman was scratching at the arm holding her, throwing out spells left and right as she tried to dislodge herself from its grasp. Belinda held onto an outcrop, watching for a moment. In the dim light, she could see the shining eyes of the massive beast, the low brow giving it an edge of maliciousness. Sighting her opening, she used the edge to propel her body forward, swimming until she could get a clear shot. Then, with power that came rather easily, Belinda sent a spell that sliced both eyes wide open. The water around them filled with a dark, inky sludge, Camilla released just as she caught sight of Belinda.

The smile that would have greeted her was marred by the struggle towards freedom. They moved away from the danger, aiming for the still open portal. For a moment, Belinda thought they might be home free, that they might have escaped without the consequence of a sacrifice. She was wrong. Out of nowhere, a spell hit her hard, a strange gilled creature swimming up beside her from out of her blind spot.

Belinda flung her arms and legs out; fighting off whatever it was that caught her, the limbs encircling her wrists and legs. She was stuck, held still and trembling in the darkness. Camilla held her forearm, trying to work her fingertips beneath the bindings. Belinda tried to cry out, struck dumb by the life giving oxygen regulator still pressed between her lips. The pain was minimal, a strange pressure on her joints, but her mind kicked back to thinking about how much oxygen she had left, and panic began to set in.

Out of her periphery, Belinda found her attacker, a blue-gray eel like creature that was blowing out angry bubbles into the water. She squeezed her eyes shut and tried to pull free, wrenching her hands and ankles. It held her fast, squeezing her limbs until they cried out in distress. Something inside her calculated the amount of air she might have left with her increased heartbeat and the deep, sucking breaths she was using to increase her efforts against her opponent. Complex equations flashed through her mind, symbols that were unfamiliar slashed towards their inevitable solutions. Belinda's panic very nearly took a back seat to this strange and alien phenomenon.

Very nearly.

Her instinct towards self preservation was, thankfully, still quite strong and it whipped forth with such alacrity that Belinda reacted without thinking. Camilla had taught them spells to maim, to kill, to disarm, and to frighten. But, she hadn't taught this spell to her. Belinda would have recognized this spell, so electrifying was the feeling that launched from the middle of her chest. It spiraled outwards, zinging through the water to the eel creature, slicing its head off neatly. There was no blood, no smoke, not even a sound as it floated down to the floor.

After a moment, the muscle wrapped around her body loosened and Belinda was able to get free. Camilla had been at work while she fought off the eel, drawing the portal close enough that only a small kick of her feet pushed her forward and they were both sliding through it, taking water along with them. Belinda pulled off her mask and the oxygen tank. Beside her, Camilla gasped, her palms slapping against the floor.

"We are so fucked," she cried out.

Coulson was kneeling before them in half a second, "What happened?"

Camilla swallowed and pointed at Belinda, "She killed him."

Belinda turned her head to reply, the denial dying on her lips. Two kills—well, one and a half.

Coulson was already three steps ahead, "Killed who?"

"His son," Camilla clarified, "She killed Vogen's son."

There was a silence that confused Belinda. She looked around, wondering at the horror and resignation that was slowly creeping around the room. She leaned back onto her heels only to be hit in the head by a falling object. Groaning a little bit, she rubbed at the spot, eyes shifting to the side. The wide eyed grimace of the eel creature looked up at her, mouth pulled back in pain. Belinda closed her eyes against the vision, trying to breathe deep and smelling the slightly oily stench of death and water.

Evan raised his hands up, "Okay, so what does that mean?"

Camilla pushed to standing, running her hands through her wet hair, "It means that we need to start gathering our forces because Vogen is going to want blood."

Belinda, too, stood up and watched as Camilla checked the protection spells. She shifted to the side, thinking that maybe Camilla was being just a tad melodramatic.

A sound hiccupped behind her, a slithering appendage wrapping around her ankle. Belinda was yanked so hard that her chin clacked against the floor, her hands scrambling for purchase. Voices sound around her, but they were muffled by her own screams, the icy edge of the portal enclosing around her. Hands grasped her forearms, holding her steady. Evan's determined face looked back at her, his body angling backwards to keep her from being drawn away.

Kicking her legs out, Belinda gripped as hard as she could, willing Evan with her eyes to not let go. Shots sounded, orders yelled out. Belinda felt the collective energy of the magic workers in the room rise to new levels, Regina stepping forward into her periphery. She sent out her own magic, hoping to support Regina's spell. It built, working around her leg and ankle, expanding until the thing trying to drag her down into a watery death was ripped in half. She fell, Evan reaching around to pull her to safety.

Camilla worked to close the portal while Belinda sobbed into her hands, the others cleaning up the mess and taking away the severed head. Coulson stood not far away, giving the occasional order and surveying the damage. Everything seemed to be brought back to normal in short order, Belinda still collapsed on the floor while Evan rocked her gently.

Regina put her hands on her hips, "What the hell just happened?"

Camilla reached down and threw one of the protective stones, the sound of it shattering echoing in the room. Belinda flinched, drawing her knees up to her chest.

"God damn it," she screamed, turning to Belinda. "Do you know what you did?"

Having never seen Camilla quite so angry, Belinda pulled back further into Evan's protective circle. She kept her eyes down, her breath shuddering in her chest.

Camilla knelt near her, "Do you?"

The woman's anger melted away, leaving tears threatening to fall over the rim of her eyes. Belinda allowed herself to hold Camilla's gaze, confusion and exhaustion taking her understanding of what was going on.

"I don't," she replied eventually.

Sighing, Camilla dropped in a heap to the floor, rubbing idly at her temples, "I had it under control."

"Like hell you did," Evan retorted angrily.

Camilla's returning look was somber and pointed, "And you know because you were right there in the middle of the action."

Belinda, not really knowing why, shook her head frantically, hands reaching out to quell the argument.

"What did I do?"

There was a moment where she thought Camilla might demure, but eventually she said, "You put yourself in some real danger there. We'll need to take a field trip to see just how much."

And, there we go. Hope you like knowing what it was like to take out Malekith and then bring his ass back.