Chapter 22

Maria could hear herself screaming but she had no idea how on Earth to stop it. It was like her body didn't belong to her anymore. As if the blast had knocked her consciousness somewhere far, far away from the Helicarrier.

Dully, her eyes flickered around her. She was sprawled out on the floor of Thor's bedroom, while the god in question picked himself up from across the room. Her eyes rolled to the wall opposite Thor: it'd been blown completely inwards, spraying the room with metal and glass she knew must have come from the rooms between them and the explosion. They'd been lucky.

Still, she was screaming.

She glanced down at her body and her blood turned to ice as her fingers touched moisture. She clawed at her shirt frantically, the breath hitching in her throat as she scoured over her abdomen, scratched with too many little cuts to count from the splinters of wood and other such debris that had been sprayed into her.

Within seconds, Thor's bright blue eyes swamped her vision, his hand at the sides of her head holding her steady. His mouth moved but Maria couldn't hear what he was saying. The ringing in her ears was impenetrable.

Sense started to form in her head as her vision cleared slightly and she could feel her throat was hoarse. Had she stopped screaming yet? Her hands were still spread wide, her blood soaked palms hovering over her stomach. They were shaking. The blood, her had swayed slightly. Like when she got shot. She couldn't feel the pain yet, the shock numbing her feeling, but she knew it must exist, lurking in the back of her mind waiting to attack.

Suddenly, she wasn't against the wall anymore: her body was upright, her legs were running, her hand engulfed in Thor's as he led her through the chaos filled corridors to God only knew where. She didn't have the will to fight anything. She didn't remember even standing up, hardly daring to imagine how she'd have the strength to, but she had no time to wonder - the Helicarrier was under attack.

She had no doubt she was whimpering. It was a miracle, she thought, that she was even moving at all.

The only thing that made sense, as the pair raced through the corridors flurrying with armed officers moving this way and that, was the thoughts in her own head. Her panicking body didn't listen to any of them.

Her hearing span back into affect and blaring sirens and shouts engulfed her. She wanted to stop, to clamped her hands over her ears against the noise and just pretend like none of this was happening. Her knee's buckled and her hand slipped from Thor's as she fell.

This was it, she thought to herself numbly as her head hit the floor. Attackers would be on Loki's side. And if that was the case, they'd be coming after her next.

"Maria!"

All she did was blink as she felt Thor's strong arms lift her up from the floor, holding her close as he propelled them through the crowds once more. She didn't have the will to do anything. She was going to die. The thought numbed her to her very core.

She blinked slightly back to awareness slightly as Thor barged open a familiar door and spilled them into the lab - just as Stark and Roger's spilled out. Her mouth gaped at the ragged hole in the floor as Thor set her down on a table edge. She clung to it for dear life, hands trembling.

"I fear Banner has lost control." Thor growled darkly as he glanced down the chasm before returning swiftly to Maria. He clasped her face in his hands and held her still as he pressed her mouth to his in a brief, but bruising, kiss. "Maria, listen to me." he urged, frantically scraping her hair back from her pale, dirty covered face. "You are injured and it will hurt, and I am sorry but there is nothing I can do for you at this moment. I must go and help the others. Stay here, unless someone else comes in. If they do, no matter who it is - run. Do not stop running until you see me again, and I -" he fumbled slightly with his armour before pulling out a slightly crumpled red rose. "-show you this." his eyes glittered. "Do you understand?"

Maria's mouth opened numbly as tears carved tracks through the dirt in her face and gun shots sounded. "Where did you get that?" was all she could gasp.

A small smile broke through Thor's urgent demeanour, though his brow stayed lowered with intensity. "I brought it for you. The others are in the cemetery over your mother and father's graves." he breathed hurriedly. "It's Sunday."

The tears fell even thicker as Thor accounted for his morning absence and Maria buried her face in her hands.

"Maria." Thor's hand cupped her cheek and guided her back to him. "Do not stop until you see this." he held up the rose. "Loki is the master of trickery. If he breaks free he may disguise himself as anyone he wishes in order to trick you into going with him, even me. This will mark me out as not a decoy. Loki will not know it exists and you will be able to differentiate between me and an imposter. Now promise me," his eyes gleamed imploringly, begging her so hard it tugged at her soul. "Promise me you will do as I say."

Maria's jaw seemed to bob for a few moment's before words finally choked out. Her hand gripped at Thor's wrist holding his hand to her face. "Thor," she gulped weakly. "I'm sorry I-"

"Don't." he growled, his hand tightened on her cheek, making Maria tip her head back. His mouth breathed urgently over hers as she gasped, his hot breath pooling between her lips. "Don't you dare say your goodbyes Maria. I won't let you." He crashed his mouth to hers before she could say another word. He pulled away breathless. "I will aid the others then I will return for you."

Maria couldn't fight her lip quivering uncontrollably, fisting her hand in Thor's hair, the only part she could cling to with his armour coating his shirt. She pulled herself closer to him, until their bodies were flush against each other, her knees hanging off the table either side of Thor's hips. Her mouth hovered over Thor's her eyes staring deep into his. "I love you." was all she could choke out in the end, touching her forehead with his. "Whatever happens, I love you."

"And I love you." Thor moved his mouth feverishly against Maria's lapping up as much of her as he could while he had the chance. It hurt to pull himself away, but he knew he had to stop Banner. Stark and Rogers had been shouting about the engine, leaving only Agent Romanov to deal with the monster. He knew she didn't stand a chance. He was the only hope to prevent the Helicarrier from being destroyed. And then he would have to find Loki... "Just run. It will hurt but you mustn't stop. Not for anything. Just keep running until I find you again."

She nodded frantically, breathing in the scent of him one last time. Her eyes fluttered, not sure whether they wanted to stay open or to close, unsure if she could bear watching Thor leave.

In the end, she did neither: they were still fluttered half open as Thor was suddenly gone, and Maria's hands were left clutching nothing but thin air.

She screwed her eyes shut - against the blasts, the explosions, the shouts, the gun shots - and buried her face in her hands.

XXX

Maria wasn't sure how long it took her to build up the courage to peel herself from the table but it felt like a lifetime. She crept down as if the room was silent, eyes bearing into every inch of the deserted room.

Then Mjolnir crashed through the wall behind her, missing her by millimetres as she dropped to the floor, flinging her arms over her head protectively. A second crash - almost instantly following the first - announced the departure of the magic hammer and Maria shuddered a terrified breath. Her head lifted, eyes wide. He needed his hammer. She prayed it didn't mean that he was in trouble. The thought of Thor getting hurt, or worse... she was whimpering as she picked herself upright at last.

Her knees were trembling and she ran her fingers through her hair. She couldn't just sit here! Thor might be in serious danger and he expected her to just sit here? More tears spilled down her cheeks in blind fear. She wasn't special; she had no magic hammer, or impenetrable armour, or rock hard shield to protect her. She was just human.

Her eyes flickered to the door, half wanting to just run to prove she still had the strength to. She couldn't bear just waiting her, waiting for someone to walk in and try to kill her.

Then bullets sprayed up from the hole in the ground and her mind was made up for her.

She bolted out the door.

Her eyes were wide as her body obeyed Thor's most basic instruction - run. And boy did she go! The corridors all blurred into one as she ran for her life, running from the bullets, from any humanoid shape that materialised into existence. She was moving on pure instinct. For the way her mind had been so stuck earlier she was startled by how clear it was now. Snap second thoughts. Monosyllabic words. Sharp, short, swift.

She had no clue where she was going to, and she guessed that was a bad thing, but she didn't trust herself to stop. The only places she knew on the vessel were around the blast sight, where all the danger lay. She couldn't go back.

Maria glanced over her shoulder as the gun fire suddenly dulled, as if a soundproof wall had been placed between her and the chaos. She skipped to a stop, arms braced to the sides, eyes wide and scouring. Her heart thudded boldly in her chest, so loud she was sure it would give her away. This quiet was impossible; he was here.

A breath shuddered from between her lips as she backed off back the way she came with tentative steps. Yes, she thought to herself, feeling chills race up her spine alerting her that she was not alone - Loki was definitely here! He was the master of magic, her mind told her, recapping what Thor had told her. He could come out from anywhere, look like anyone. She eyed the walls themselves distrustingly. She couldn't let him get her. Once she knew his bearings - run the other way. His blood chilling promise was still fresh in her head.

Maria turned behind her - then a flash of movement over her shoulder caught her attention and she span round.

The breath died in her throat as she came face to face with the demon himself.

Her heart stopped in her chest as she came nose to nose with the god that promised her death, bumping lightly into his chest from the momentum of her turn. She staggered back instantly.

She didn't give herself time to panic before fleeing from Loki, running with everything her body had. Thor had been right; it hurt. Her body felt like it was burning, like her torso was slowly ebing torn in half. The pain had her gritting her teeth, keeping her mind mercifully clear from going into blind hysteria. Pain is better than dead, she told herself, skidding round a corner.

Suddenly, Loki was in front of her again.

Maria's mind flashed just a second before she collided with him. She jerked away instinctively, but a vice like grip closed aroud her arm and she knew she was caught, pulling her in to his as if her struggles were nothing. The breath ripped through her throat as her control was shredded, her mouth already whimpering.

Loki jerked her arm hard so her back thudded against his chest and he locked an arm around her waist, pinning her in place. She wasn't going anywhere. Her body was almost too overcome with trembling to put up a fight anymore.

Tears sprung instantly to Maria's screwed eyes, fighting desperately to avoid thinking of what she knew must be inevitably coming.

It was like Loki could read her mind: "Not yet." he crooned softly in her ear making her shiver violently. "There is something I mean to show you first."