Seven more to go.
-Raggs
"The damage done in one year can sometimes take ten or twenty years to repair." ─ Chinua Achebe
Clint rocked back and forth, lightly squeezing Nat's hand. It had been only ten minutes since she had gone under, and Clint was already worrying. Her fingers twitched every few minutes, and at one point her entire body jerked as though she had been run into, but she was otherwise completely still. Her breath and heart had slowed to the point that Clint had to watch the monitor to convince himself she was in fact still alive.
"Hey, she'll be fine," Tony said softly from his spot at a nearby table. "She can handle it, Clint."
"I know,"Clint nodded, pressing his lips together. He couldn't help but be reminded of a young girl, barely sixteen, aiming her gun at his head, staring him down as he held a drawn arrow to her throat. "I know."
Natasha reached forward warily, lightly brushing her fingers on the arm of the golden throne. She traced the shallow grooves, trying to find a pattern in the markings, but to no avail. She frowned then, noticing the slightest bit of weight on her hand; not enough to keep her from fighting, but enough to notice. She shook her hand but the weight did not disappear. Narrowing her eyes, she looked back up at the throne.
Natasha gasped, stumbling backwards. The room was once again occupied. An old man with a scraggly white beard rest upon the large throne, Thor and Loki's mother standing beside him. Natasha followed the man's one-eyed gaze and saw the same young boys sitting cross-legged in front of the throne, looking up at who Natasha figured was their father.
The two boys looked to be about eight and eleven. Loki fiddled with the hem of his dark shirt, staring up bright eyed at their father. Thor sat up straight, trying not to fidget. Looking back at Frigga and their father, she could see his mouth was moving. He made large gestures as he spoke, clearly telling the boys a great tale.
Yet there was no sound. The man spoke, the woman laughed, and the boys rocked in their seats. Natasha heard nothing but footsteps.
Oh.
Natasha turned, silently cursing when she remembered she had no weapon. Something moved in the shadows, a tall figure.
Loki. Natasha furrowed her brow, cautiously stepping forward. The light around her began to fade as she walked, but she found that she could not stop. And then it was dark around her. Empty.
Loki stepped out, slouching slightly, and wringing his hands. He would not meet her eyes.
"Loki," Natasha said quietly, tentatively reaching forward. His head snapped up, and she jumped back. He rushed forward, roughly grabbing her shoulders. Red lines paved their way across his skin, vibrant and glowing.
"Natasha, Natasha run."
Clint was vaguely aware of his face slowly sliding down the metal side of Natasha's chair. Someone tapped his shoulder lightly, and he grunted, smacking his lips as he turned around. Tony kneeled beside Clint and raised his right hand to his mouth, repeating a small motion several times. Clint nodded, slowly standing and reluctantly letting go of Natasha's hand.
Clint followed Tony out of the lab, nodding to Thor and Bruce as the pair entered, taking their shift. "What're we having?" Clint asked, looking back at where Natasha and Loki lay.
"Uh, I think some pasta. Just leftovers. Didn't have, uh," Tony sighed, rubbing his eyes with the heel of his hands, "time to make anything new."
"Sounds good," Clint replied, pressing the elevator button.
Tony and Clint ate in silence, staring blankly at the counter.
"How was she when I was asleep?" Clint finally asked.
Tony thought for a moment. "Good. They were both stable the whole time."
Clint nodded. "That's good," he said softly.
Thor sat with his feet pressed against Natasha's chair and his back against Loki's. He listened to Loki's faint breath and watched as Natasha twitched.
"Bruce?"
"Mm?" Bruce looked up at Thor over the top of his glasses.
Thor hesitated, glancing at his hands. "How is he?"
Bruce pulled Loki's monitoring screen closer to him. "Fine. Stable," Bruce replied, smiling lightly at Thor.
"Thank you," Thor smiled weakly back.
Natasha threw herself back against the nearest tree. The hulking gray creature sped past her, roaring as it threw a teenaged Thor with its horns. Loki shouted across the field, tossing a short sword at the beast. The monster screeched, snapping its attention over to the younger prince. Fear registered in Loki's green eyes, and he stumbled backward, grasping at the air behind him as he ran.
"Loki!" Thor shouted, drawing his sword. Natasha had a small flash of confusion, wondering why he didn't have Mjölnir, but the thought was quickly dismissed with concern for young Loki. He was running backwards, firing green magic at the creature's eyes. It roared furiously, shaking its head as it ran.
Natasha looked around the field, searching for anything. Blinking, she remembered the short sword Loki had thrown. Scrambling forward, she grabbed the hilt and stood shakily.
Thor caught up to her. "Sif! Come at it from the side, Fandral will help Loki and I'll come in from behind," he said, running forward and waving one of the young men over to him as he ran. Natasha blinked, momentarily confused, before she remembered the names Thor has mentioned. Sif. Right. She paused, twirling the sword's handle. I must be taking her place in the memory.
Natasha nodded, readying the sword in her hands. She shouted, running forward. Loki danced past her, yelling as the tip of the monster's spindly horns hooked into his shoulder. He let out a strangled sob as the monster threw him to the side.
"Hey!" Natasha shouted. She waved the sword, catching the sunlight. Turning to her, it snarled, reaching forward with its large paws. She swung the sword at it, slicing it's forearm just as it's paw came down on her right shoulder. Natasha hit the ground instantly, gasping as she held her shoulder. With a whimper, she tried to move it back into place, sobbing quietly as pain shot through her.
She saw the monster's paw raise once more, and wondered briefly if Loki's friend Sif died in this encounter, and if she would too. The beast's paw suddenly jerked to the side, and it's body followed suit. Looking up, pained tears welling in her eyes, Natasha saw two boys atop the beast. Thor and Loki pulled their sword and knife out of the animal's ribs, and it wheezed quietly before becoming still and silent.
With her left hand, Natasha wiped the tears away, wincing when Loki walked forward, lightly placing his hand on the injury. He furrowed his brow in concentration, and his hand slowly gave off a bright glow. Natasha bit back a scream as her shoulder was shot back into place with a crunch, and then the pain faded.
"Better?" Loki asked, leaning down to meet her eyes.
"Yeah," Natasha panted, blinking.
And then it was empty.
Loki, a teen with bright eyes and a healthy complexion, still stood in front of her in the darkness. His hand was still rested upon her shoulder, but he no longer looked at her kindly. Loki seemed to wobble slowly back and forth, staring at her with now dark eyes. He squinted, tilting his head.
"You shouldn't… Be here. No one's supposed to be here but me."
"What?" Natasha asked, taking a step back.
"You need to go, you need to get out of here. They're killing me and they'll kill you. That's why they're here."
Natasha shook her head, stammering. "What are you talking about?" Loki began to step away, shaking his head slowly. "Loki, wait! Loki, take me to them, or it, or something! I need to get it out of you… Please," Natasha bit her lip to keep it from quivering. "Loki, please."
Loki shook his head, concern in his eyes. "Natasha, you need to get out of here. I don't want you hurt. Please."
She swallowed, blinking rapidly. "Don't you want us to save you?"
He stared at her for a moment as if considering. "No," he finally said. "No, I don't think I do. I don't want to die anymore, it's… Not ideal," he said quietly, meeting her eyes for a moment, "but I don't think I would mind it at this point."
Natasha whimpered, staring at him. "Loki, we can get you out of this, just ─ urgh!"
Loki's head snapped forward, red coursing across his pale skin. He lunged at Natasha, pushing her into the emptiness. They fell, and Natasha scrambled for the sword she had gotten in the memory. Whirling around to face the poison-Loki, the two stared at each other as the red consumed him, seeming to turn him into a silhouette of red energy, the lines and patterns turning white.
The two continued to fall, the poison-Loki blocking Natasha's sword swipes. Suddenly, the two hit solid ground. The stumbled as they stood, and Natasha risked looking away from the poison to see where they were. She was taken aback for a moment.
"What?" She muttered, lowering her sword without realizing it. The helicarrier? Why─
The poison lunged at her, and Natasha sidestepped, slashing at it. He howled, clutching his stomach. No blood came out, only a gaping hole was left in the poison's "abdomen." It reached forward, knocking the sword from her hand, and Natasha shrieked. Red lines pulsed from where it had hit her.
Slashing at her again, the poison seemed to hit the edge of the memory, tearing a hole in the wall of the helicarrier. Natasha knelt down and grabbed the sword, quickly backing up against the glass container where Loki had been held when she interrogated him all those years ago. Behind her, the memory of Loki sat in the center of the container. Natasha slashed again at the poison as it advanced towards her.
Natasha ─ or rather, the memory of Natasha ─ entered the room then. She strode forward, walking right through present-Natasha and the poison.
Knowing all too well how this scene went, Natasha turned her attention back to the poison, which was still thrashing violently. But it stopped. Natasha took this moment to swipe her sword at it, The poison grinned at her sickeningly. It raised it's glowing red hand and slashed downward. Natasha shrieked, jumping backward, and the poison laughed. She risked glancing to her side, and saw a tear. Through the tear was the emptiness, and around her the memory began to replay her entry. Her walking up to Loki and smirking confidently.
And then she fell through the tear.