Footsteps.
Loud.
Her own feet.
Everything was so loud.
Her heartbeats.
She was sure she could hear them.
'Breathe, Snow,' she thought to herself.
Longest two-minute walk of her life.
Maybe if she thought of it differently. For example: She wasn't about to meet with the God of Mischief, from a mythical realm, all powerful and supposedly evil!
Let's say, she was at the company, about to meet with a difficult client. She could do that. Yes, she could.
"Miss White," called Phil, thankfully snapping her out of it. She turned to the agent in compliance. "You should know, Loki has one of our most trusted agents, Barton. He knows about you. Which means there's probably a high chance Loki does too," he tells.
Snow tenses at that, nodding understandingly, unsure what she ought to do with that bit of information. Should she feel threatened? Neutral?
Stopping, Snow's lost attention averts to the metallic, slide-door in front of her, two armed guards on either sides of it.
Phil turns to the key-card slot. He looks to Snow momentarily, sympathizing her probable nervousness. "You ready?" he asks, smiling warmly. Snow turns to him, slightly dazed. She smiles back and nods dismissively. How calm Phil seemed put her at ease, and she appreciated it.
"Yeah."
And at that, Coulson slides in his card,
and the door opens.
Snow swallows anxiously. She cautiously steps into the room, noting the two guards on the inside, as well as the camera stationed near the door. The others were watching eagerly.
A few more steps, and she sees it, the huge, reinforced-glass cell,
and him,
Loki,
stationed inside.
All she could see, was his back. Broad, pointed. Not as big as his brother's,
yet,
somehow,
more threatening.
The ends of his jet-black, shoulder-length hair seemed almost sharp.
The way his hands clenched behind his back.
His attire.
If Grim Reapers existed, he was sure to be one. Intimidating, was an understatement.
'Let's just get this over with,' her mind uttered hastily.
As she made her way to the front of the cell,
he smirked to himself,
knowing exactly who this was.
Loki turned slowly, causing her to freeze in place, crossing her hands over her chest as if placidly, intent on showing no fear as he gazed into her eyes with his piercing ones.
No fear.
Or, at least she tried.
"Snow, I presume," he spoke.
His voice alone, was enough to send cold shivers up her spine.
XXXXX
Meeting Room.
"Wait a second. Her first name is Snow? Snow White?!" exclaims Tony, something Nat and Bruce also found amusing.
This catches Steve's curiosity for a moment, but it quickly washes away considering the seriousness of the situation. He knew, it was a habit of the Starks to find the joke in anything. That didn't mean he liked it though.
Nick rolls his eyes at Tony. "Thank you for that, Mister Stark," he notes sarcastically as Tony grins.
XXXXX
Holding Cell
"I was hoping we would meet," says Loki.
That one statement, brought back much of Snow's welting confidence, as if reminding her who she was, what she was capable of.
She smiles slightly, earning his undivided attention. "You should be careful what you wish for," she told, making him full out grin in excitement.
Clint was vague when he spoke of her, mainly because he didn't know much, other than the fact that Fury considered her his secret weapon, earning Snow the God of Mischief's vast interest.
"So tell me, Snow," he stressed, as if challenging her by using her first name, causing her to squint her eyes suspiciously, "what will you do now?" he asked, wanting to see what all the fuss was about.
Honestly, so were the others.
Without uttering another word, Snow stepped forward, him watching her like a hawk. She climbed the few steps to the cell's door, causing the viewers, including Nick, to tense.
And, without words, she stepped through
the closed door.
Up until that very moment, the others hadn't fully believed she was anything special. Though her assumptions of their current emotions were right, it didn't fool them still. It wasn't enough.
But this?
Taking a few steps back, Loki watches with fascination as she turns to him placidly, unable to help the pride she felt for herself when she'd seen his face.
But she wasn't here to show off.
Snow strolled calmly towards him, hyper-vigilant. He stood tall as she approached him, stopping a foot off.
He knew well, he could retaliate at any moment. She was inside, nothing between them,
nothing could stop him.
If he wanted to,
he could have killed her,
just then.
But what he wanted, was to see, just what she was capable of. No harm, so long as it doesn't interfere with his plan.
She let three seconds pass, before she took action towards something he didn't expect.
She placed both her palms on his chiseled face, confusing him greatly, but the confusion quickly passed
when he felt,
an intrusion.
She felt it rush through her.
So much of it.
So much fear.
Horror.
It was awful.
So much,
it made her tear up,
before he grasped her by the throat,
and shoved her into the wall.
After being overwhelmed with his emotions, Snow's vision refocused to a wrathful Loki,
and a difficulty breathing.
"WHAT DID YOU DO?!" he shouted.
XXXXX
"Thor! Wait!" yelled Nick after the rushing-down-the-hall Thor. No more would die at the hands of his brother. His responsibility.
No more.
The others, quite concerned as well, follow Thor and Nick down the hall, all feeling that same rush of time.
Time.
"OPEN THIS DOOR!" Thor screams at the honestly frightened guard.
Nick pushes past them, and opens it indeed.
XXXXX
Coming back to her senses, Loki notes the flash of light through Snow's eyes, before he'd been pushed across the room
with an
immense
force.
The others come in hurriedly, to a much different sight of Loki on the ground and her somehow victorious.
Nick sees that Phil is standing by the control panel, debating opening it, gun aimed at the door. He panics, about to shout 'no', but Snow beats him to it.
She catches sight of them, especially Thor, who was readily swinging around his hammer. "DON'T!" she warned as Loki scuttled to his feet, looking to see several of his expected adversaries now within the room.
He turns back to Snow hastily, quite clearly readying to attack. She raises her hands in surrender hurriedly.
The tension was as thick as a fog.
"I'm not going to hurt you," she states firmly.
Still, about to retaliate, Snow's next statement strikes Loki in the chest.
"Just…
What happened to you?"
she inquires sorrowfully.
Loki's eyes go wide, a wave of fear, that godforsaken fear that comes and goes, rushing through him.
He feels broken.
Hopeless. He knows it is. All of it.
But Shh!
He could hear them!
"I…don't know…what you're talking about," he utters, as if pleading her not to ask again.
And she sees it.
It was so clear now, the horror in his eyes. His mask had fallen.
And in that moment. Snow felt something rush into her form. A sudden sense of determination she couldn't quite understand.
She stands tall. The others still wary, extremely.
Thor was furiously confused. He couldn't comprehend the unfolding scene, and needed to know what was going on. NOW!
Everyone else was just worried.
Worried he'd hurt Snow.
Worried he'd escape.
Worried.
But Snow.
She could see more. More than any of them could.
Loki…
was not the problem.
She lets her raised hands fall, nodding carefully. "Okay," she starts,
him too confused,
to comprehend.
"I…understand," she stresses, sending a minor breeze of relief through his chilled bones as she turned back and walked into the sealed door once more.
XXXXX
Ignoring the looks she was getting from everyone else, Snow rushes out of the room. It was hard to breathe suddenly.
That horror.
He was terrified.
So bad, it pained her.
Something else was going on.
The others follow, utterly perplexed. Snow seats herself on the table, accepting the glass of water being offered to her, taking a much needed sip as she felt her throat grow dry.
Tony grabs one of the adjacent seats near her. Nick too. Bruce and Nat sit as well. Steve, Thor, and Maria, stand.
"Are you alright?" Steve asks. She nods firmly in reply, hoping it didn't seem as fake as it was.
"What did you see?" Tony questions, anxiously curious.
How?
How would she explain it?
What would she say,
to make them feel what she felt?
See what she saw?
How?
Well, she would try.
"He was…
terrified…"
As expected, her reply only succeeds in confusing them further.
"What do you mean?" Thor asks hastily, hating all of this. All of it.
Hearing his voice, Snow is reminded by his presence.
Thor.
His brother.
She turns to him, rising to her feet. "Thor," she calls, earning his undivided attention. "You're his brother. Tell me. What…what happened to him?" she inquiries, those damned tears brimming her eyes once more, striking Thor with guilt.
The thought of what would cause
all that pain,
all that fear.
Just the thought,
was chilling.
At first, Thor is at loss for an answer,
then,
a thought crosses his mind,
and so,
he speaks,
as all listen.
"Loki, he…he was supposed to be dead," he starts.
Their eyes widen at that.
"And since he is with us now, I am forced to believe, that he was
…elsewhere," he resumes.
Tony scoffs at his vagueness. "Well, how long has he been 'elsewhere'?" he asks irritably, not liking the lack of knowledge on the situation.
"At least…a year," Thor replies.
"So, where's he been?" inquires Banner.
"I'm…not sure," he tells.
"That's just…perfect," sighs Tony.
Processing all the information given, each one of them attempts to make sense of it. Since Snow held knowledge of more than just his whereabouts, she was able to put two and two, and make some sense.
Some.
But better than none.
"It doesn't matter where he's been…it's what happened to him during then," Snow states warily.
"And what would that be?" Natasha asks irritably, wondering why on earth they were even having this conversation.
"Torture," utters White.
The others eye her intently, Thor's heartrate increasing by the second. "Not just physically.
Mentally
…Emotionally,"
she breathes fearfully.
"…Like…brainwash?" asks Steve.
"Brainwash? What is that?" questions a confused Thor.
"Extreme torture," answers Tony grimly, remembering a time in his life when he went through something similar, the reason for his being now. "Drives you to a point, where death, becomes better than…living the rest of your days in…intimate…pain. And
…you'd do anything
…to make it stop." he explains, painting a gruesome picture for all, zoning off a bit.
Thor's eyes go wide in fear, and a great amount of concern, as he attempted to process the information being handed to him. "Are you saying, that, this whole time, someone's been toying with my brother's mind?!"
"Okay," Fury speaks up alas, feeling as though they were getting off point. "Assuming…all of this is true," he starts, earning an intense glare from Snow and Thor that he brushed off.
Was he doubting her?
Really?
"How is it supposed to help us?" he questions intensely.
"How?" Snow asks in disbelief. "We basically just told you, that the demi-god in there, is a victim."
At that, many of them would like to disagree, but she resumes, and changes their minds. "From that, Nick, you should know that the threat, is something, or someone, much stronger.
Strong enough,
to break
the likes of him,"
she gestures to Thor, speaking firmly, with a hint of frustration as well.
And with that said, the group present, the ones with extraordinary abilities each, suddenly don't feel as confident, or as strong as they did, just a minute ago.
Their attention is then drawn to a going-out-of-his-mind Thor, storming back to the cell. To his brother.
Snow quickly steps in his path. "Thor! No," she places a firm hand on his chest, him eyeing her in confusion and slight irritation. "He was also afraid to talk. Which means,
someone must be watching him.
Someone he doesn't want to show, that we know anything," she tells.
"So, what do we do?" asks Steve.
Snow turns to Nick, expecting him to reply, but he simply eyes her expectantly, as if waiting for her to make the call.
Realizing he was being serious, Snow gulps in hesitation,
then,
decides on simply speaking her mind.
"I think…we should just find the cube. Whatever he's planning,
whatever he's being forced to do,
will come to light soon," she tells.
"So we're just supposed to wait?" Natasha asks in annoyance. There was only one person she could think about,
and it sure as hell wasn't Loki.
"We're supposed to be ready," tells Fury.
They all turned to him. Nick trusted his instinct.
He trusted them.
Whatever would happen, he knew, they could stop.
And if they couldn't.
If they failed.
They would get back up,
and try again.
That determination.
That will,
to do what was right,
he knew, was inside each and every one of them.
That's why he chose them.
That's why he trusted them.
"The cube then," uttered Steve, the others nodding along in agreement. Best plan they had so far.
Steve then furrows his eyebrows. "Loki's staff looked an awful lot like a HYDRA weapon. I guess we could start there," he says, turning to Tony, and Bruce, who nods understandingly as Tony clenches his jaw at grandpa in tights, ordering him around.
"I don't know about that, but it is powered by the cube," starts Fury. "And I'd like to know how Loki used it, to turn two of the sharpest men I know, into his
personal
flying
monkeys."
"Monkeys?" Thor asks in confusion. "I don't understand."
"I Do!" yells Steve suddenly, shocking them slightly. "I…understood that reference," he says proudly, causing Tony to roll his eyes in extreme annoyance. Steve was honestly glad Fury said something he was familiar with.
"Shall we play, doctor?" Stark asks Banner, who nods. The two head off, and the rest scatter.
Fury turns to Snow, guiding her aside. "I suppose I should thank you for your help, Miss White," he tells, smiling genuinely, her nodding dismissively. "There's a jet outside, ready to send you home, when you're ready," he tells, hoping she didn't note his ulterior motive.
Snow furrows her eyebrows at the mention of leaving, slightly surprised.
Leave?
Now?
No! There was so much going on! A lot at stake.
She couldn't just leave!
What kind of a person would she be, having seen such threats on the world, her world, with her own eyes, heard with her own ears,
felt,
and leave anyways?!
No. She was better than that.
The risks?
To hell with the risks!
This…
was war.
…And she
would fight.
"I…think I'll stick around
…till all this is over,"
she tells.
Nick breaks into an even bigger smile, as if he'd just proven himself right. She gets it. She knows where he's been trying to lure her. But it didn't matter.
She made the choice.
XXXXXXXXXX