"Okay Chris, you're not gonna like this, but…I'm gonna have to call Natasha in," Coulson told Christie that same evening. She was stood there beside him, flicking through a floating holographic information tablet in the crowded Helicarrier's logistics centre.
"You do that," Christie muttered back distractedly. "Make sure you tell her that I'm here, too. I'm sure she'll be overjoyed." Coulson grimaced and dialled Natasha's number, taking a sharp breath in through his teeth before speaking. Whilst he got busy with threatening whoever was holding her hostage over the line, Christie focussed all her attention on the database in front of her. She thickly swallowed her tears as she remembered the times she had once shared with Loki, the same Loki that S.H.I.E.L.D now held high alert, whilst trying not to embarrass herself by crying in front of all her co-workers. She could barely believe that this was happening. It had all happened so fast, she didn't even have the time to process it.
Then faintly, in the background, she overheard Coulson arguing with Natasha over the phone, causing her to snap out of her daze. Natasha could be as stubborn as her sometimes, and she knew that all too well. She rolled her eyes at all the constant back and forth between them and hissed at Coulson, "Tell her about Barton!" Coulson clicked his fingers at her and did exactly that. (It was a good click, though - so Christie let him have it.)
"Natasha... Barton's been compromised."
Christie overheard a few moments of silence before Natasha put him on hold, leading her to nod to herself in accomplishment.
"Told ya - she'll do anything for the guy," she murmured under her breath, whilst Coulson patiently waited for Romanoff's return.
"Ooh, somebody sounds a little bitter," he muttered back cheekily, earning himself the evil eyes from Christie.
"Not bitter - I just know my arch nemesis," she drawled with a roll of her eyes. "A little too well sometimes."
"I'm glad, cos you're the one picking her up." Christie swore under her breath and stamped her foot with a grunt.
"God, Coulson - why me?"
"Because I need you to! Who knows - you two might even sort out your issues."
"That's bloody unlikely," Christie muttered under her breath.
…
Christie pulled up outside the abandoned warehouse that Natasha was due to be coming out of any moment. She didn't particularly want to see her again as they were anything but friends anymore, and they truthfully did a lot better when they were apart. A few short seconds after Christie pulled up, Natasha scurried out of the closest exit and shoved herself into the car, without even looking at who the driver was. When she finally glanced across to see that it was Christie, she rolled her eyes and threw her head back dramatically. "Great," she grunted as she slammed the car door shut.
"Just get your bloody seatbelt on," Christie grumbled in annoyance as she sped away. Natasha strapped herself in and leant her throbbing head against the cool glass of the car window, catching her breath for a few quiet minutes before speaking up again.
"So, where the hell have you been?" she hummed.
"Away," Christie answered shortly with her cold grey eyes focussed firmly on the road ahead.
"Yeah, I gathered that," Natasha rolled her own eyes, "I mean whereabouts?"
"Somewhere in the universe."
"Really? It's been a year and you're still choosing to be difficult?" Natasha rolled her eyes dryly. "Hang it up, Darmer."
"I'm not being difficult, Romanoff," Christie muttered, taking a sharp left as she drove in the direction of where the jet was awaiting takeoff to their next location. "I was in Asgard - AKA, not in this universe. Keep up."
"You were where?" Natasha frowned. She was beginning to think that Christie was genuinely losing the plot.
"Catch up on all that the paperwork and you'll see," Christie yawned as they pulled up to the airport. "What have you been doing?"
"Well, before I was pulled from this mission I was working with Stark, and let me tell you - never again," Natasha fluttered her pretty long eyelashes in disgust. Christie smirked to herself. She'd worked with Tony before too, but unlike Natasha, she quite enjoyed it.
He was a lot of fun.
"Sad to say, but I don't think you have a choice in the matter. Fury's confirmed it after eighty S.H.I.E.L.D members fell - Phase 1 is officially a go," she informed Natasha, causing her to swear under her breath in Russian. She then turned to face Christie properly as the car came to a halt.
"Are we really in that much of a situation here?" she asked, swiftly taking her seatbelt off.
"You didn't just hear me say 80 members? Yeah, we really are. Where are we headed now, by the way? Coulson is forever forgetting to tell me the finer details," Christie sighed, taking her seatbelt off too.
"We are going to India to pick up a certain someone," Natasha answered whilst swinging her slender legs out of the car.
"That someone being who, exactly?"
"Banner."
Christie's heart plummeted.
"Banner. You want me to help you get The Hulk. Have you and Coulson bumped heads or what?" Christie exclaimed as Natasha reached over to fetch her duffel bag from the backseat.
"Well it wasn't up to me if that's what you're thinking," Natasha scoffed, slamming the car door shut and scurrying across the small runway.
"Oh noooo, I was thinking more along the lines of… 'what if this big green monster man kills me?' To be fair - it's not like I have much to live for," Christie mumbled to herself, following Natasha's steps with her eyes trained on the tarmac beneath her feet.
"Okay I don't know what you mean by that, but I have noticed that you're like, twenty times more miserable and sarcastic than usual - as if that were even possible," Natasha observed as she began climbing the steps of the jet.
"It's a long story," Christie winced as they stepped onto the aircraft together. Beautiful interior, little information database devices everywhere - when S.H.I.E.L.D did things, they didn't do them by halves.
"Well? Hit me with it. We've got a flight to India - it's not exactly round the corner, despite the speed on these things," Natasha nodded smoothly once she had settled herself in one of the cool cream leather seats. Christie sniffed and sat down in the one opposite her, running her fingers through her hair again and drawing her knees to her chest so that she could rest her chin on them.
"Honestly…I would rather not get into it right now. It's still a bit fresh," she responded quietly.
"Hm. That's fine. Coulson's already given me the gist of it," Natasha dismissed as she lifted a bottle of water to her lips and took a sip, raising a perfectly arched eyebrow as she did so.
"Yeah, I thought as much," Christie grumbled unsurprisingly.
"Well it was just a brief summary," Natasha shrugged. She paused for a second to glance out of the window as the plane began to take off. "Did you really love this guy?" she finally asked, cutting though the silence like a hot knife in butter.
"Excuse me?" Christie spluttered. She even tucked her hair behind both ears to make sure she heard her correctly. "What did you-"
"Loki. The God of Mischief. The bastard causing all this sh*t. Did you love him?" Natasha repeated in the exact same bland tone. Christie took a few moments to reply. She had faced so much emotional neglect in her childhood that the concept of love was almost completely lost on her growing up. In order to feel love, you had to feel in general - and that is something that she had only recently grown accustomed to.
But the more time she had spent with Loki, the harder she found it to cope when she wasn't with him. Their time in Asgard was short but blissful - they understood each other, they confided in each other and they adored each other and every little thing the other one did. Flaws and all.
So…what was that, if not love?
"Yeah…I did," Christie finally answered shakily, her heart racing at her vulnerably honest admission.
Then Natasha just had to take it elsewhere.
"How are you gonna watch him die?"
Christie blinked at the question.
"I'm sorry?"
"Well we catch him, and you know we will, how are you gonna see him die? You know how this stuff goes more than anyone. You've prepped yourself for that, right?"
"I…well…I mean bloody hell, Natasha! That's the most brutal you've been in a while. I mean, I once said I'd rather Loki stayed dead than come back evil," Christie pointed out with a heavy heart. But then her stomach clenched at the idea of Loki potentially leaving her - forever this time - and she hated it. Especially after laying eyes on him again. "I mean, they might not decide to kill him. Maybe Heimdall will tell Thor what's happening, then he can come and-"
"I have no idea who Heimdall is but you're definitely being naive now, Darmer," Natasha scoffed, completely oblivious to what this conversation was doing to Christie. "He's got one of our own under his spell. He's not getting away with it. If they don't kill him, I might just do it my damn self."
…
Once Natasha had convinced Banner to come along, all three of them made their way back to the Helicarrier, which was currently stationed in the middle of the sea. Christie hadn't spoken for most of the journey - all she could do was think about Natasha's words. What would happen if she had to stop her team from neutralising Loki? Would she get kicked out of S.H.I.E.L.D, too?
"Captain," Natasha nodded a greeting at Steve Rogers himself, who was standing opposite her whilst taking in his surroundings in awe.
"Agent," he responded with a polite nod, before noticing the white haired delicate faced woman standing next to her. "Agent," he gave a polite nod to her also.
"Captain," Christie hummed back, crossing her arms to keep the chill from hitting her exposed chest area. "Enjoying the view?" Steve just sucked a harsh breath in and nodded whilst Banner approached the small group again, shaking his head in utter disbelief.
"Greaaaaaat, a pressurised air container - awesome!" he mused sarcastically, causing Natasha to raise her eyebrows and for Christie to smirk slightly - for what felt like the first time in a long time.
"Gentlemen? You may wanna step inside, it's gonna get a little hard to breathe," Natasha told them with a little smile. Steve and Bruce blinked and took an obedient step back, just before the helicarrier suddenly began to lift into the air whilst gaining walls all of a sudden, locking them in.
"And it has walls!" Christie hummed to Bruce cheekily.
"Have they forgotten who the hell I am?" he muttered to her as he squinted at the sights around him.
"Ah you'll be fine, Doc," Christie tutted quietly, nudging his arm. "Just stay happy. You know - keep it zen."
"Easier said than done, Agent Darmer," Bruce shrugged back.
"You're telling me! Here, follow us," Christie told them both, tapping Steve's broad shoulder as well. "We'll show you to where you're staying." They all made their way down the winding steel steps that led the men into the control room. There stood Fury in his usual spot, surrounded by a series of high tech glass tablets with numerous other agents working frantically around him.
"Ah! Dr Banner, it's a pleasure to meet you," Fury nodded, shaking his hand firmly.
"Thanks…pleasure to be here," Banner replied uncertainly. Coulson was physically stood beside Fury, but was by no means in the conversation. He found himself staring at Christie instead who was crouched over a monitor with one of the S.H.I.E.L.D agents with an anxious look plastered onto her face. Coulson made his way over to her and tapped her on the shoulder.
"You miss him don't you?" he asked her softly, crouching down beside her.
"More than anything - and the real him, not whatever the hell that is on the screen," Christie replied, running another nervous hand through her hair. She couldn't seem to stop doing it - her nerves were building without stopping. "But what the hell can I do about it? Absolutely nothing." Coulson heard the levels of brokenness heightening in her voice, and felt his own heart get heavier for her.
"Just don't give up too soo-"
"SIR. WE HAVE A CROSS MATCH!" the agent they were behind suddenly shouted, evidently extremely proud of himself. Fury rushed over and peered at the screen as the image of Loki came up, resolution getting sharper by the millisecond.
Christie felt her heart violently shudder and she suddenly gained the overwhelming urge to throw up again.
"Cap, you're up," Fury told Steve, who clenched his jaw and nodded in solid confirmation. "Darmer, you're in the plane with Romanoff."
"NO!" Coulson and Natasha shouted at the exact same time. Fury looked taken aback and blinked his one good eye at them as Christie dropped her gaze to the floor in utter embarrassment. Half the control room were now staring over at them, taken aback by the sudden noise that had just emitted from that area.
"Excuse me?"
"Sir, with all due respect, I don't think that's the best idea at this moment in time," Coulson quickly rephrased with his hands risen to show there was no intended rebellion in his rushed response. "I think it's best to wait until he's firmly locked down until he sees her again, I really do. And even then, only if you think it's completely necessary."
"Exactly. He's already got Clint under his spell. We don't need another one gone - least of all the one that knows him the best out of all of us," Natasha inputted seriously, shooting Christie what appeared to be a brief look of comfort from where she stood.
"Fine, since you both feel so strongly about this; Romanoff you go with Cap alone," Fury said briskly before walking away. Natasha followed and pulled Steve away with her, leaving just Coulson and Christie left staring at each other.
"W-why did you guys do that?" Christie managed to choke out. Despite her anger, her hands were beginning to shake even though they were balled into tight fists - and not out of frustration.
"I could see that you're not ready to face him again and clearly Romanoff could see it too," Coulson answered simply. "Are you okay? You're shaking like a leaf, Chris."
"Y-yeah, I'm….absolutely fine," Christie nodded, shaking off the horrific feeling of paralysing fear she had somehow just experienced at the sight of Loki alone.