Verity lay on top of her bed. All the lights were out and Verity was fully clothed. She was mentally counting down the minutes to midnight.
All good plans happen at midnight. Ok Ver, let's go over this one last time.
The plan was simple. At midnight, Verity would be in the Communications room, do her thing and give Loki the signal. Loki had assured her that he would take care of everything else. All she had to do after giving the signal is get out of the building. It sounded easy but Verity was still nervous. Loki had told her to leave everything behind so Verity had changed into her favourite clothes: black jeans, purple American football top and black leather jacket with black military boots. Whilst planning her outfit, Verity realised most of her wardrobe was black or purple.
Verity chewed her lip and looked at her phone. The time illuminated was 11:49. Verity stood up and put her phone in her jacket pocket, and gently thumbed a vial that was already secreted in her pocket. Patting her other pocket to make sure she had everything she needed, Verity walked to the door without turning on any light. She slowly opened the door and peeked out into the corridor.
Nothing!
Verity sighed with relief and slipped into the dark silent corridor. She retraced her steps back to the Communications room and was surprised to see no S.H.I.E.L.D agents keeping guard outside. Half expecting a trap from behind the door, Verity gingerly opened it into the Communications Room. Verity poked her head in. There was one agent watching the monitor which was showing an image of Loki sleeping. Palming the vial from her pocket, Verity crept into the room. Her motions caught the attention of the agent who was keeping watch. He spun round in his chair.
"Agent Barton, I didn't mean to disturb you" squeaked Verity, quickly sliding the vial back into her pocket. This was going to take a little finesse.
"Never heard of knocking" smirked Barton mimicking Verity's words from earlier.
"Didn't think it was necessary"
"Didn't think anyone would be here more like?"
Verity shrugged in answer and sat beside Hawkeye. She leaned on the desk and pretended to study the monitor. Verity took note of the cup of coffee next to Hawkeye. The vial felt heavy in her pocket.
"So how is our prisoner?" asked Verity
"Up to something"
Verity's stomach somersaulted.
"What makes you think that?"
"Loki is always up to something"
Verity tried to remain calm and flashed a smile to Hawkeye.
Verity glanced at the clock. 11:58. it's Showtime!
Reaching for the control panel to change the camera angle, Verity's arm knocked over the cup of coffee all over Hawkeye causing both of them to jump up.
"Shit. Fuck! Agent Barton, I'm so sorry. I am such a klutz" Verity tried to clean up the mess using bits of paper which were lying around.
"It's cool." Hawkeye seized Verity's arm as she tried to use the bits of paper to mop up his wet trousers. "Don't worry about it. It'll dry".
Hawkeye looked at the state of his clothes and laughed.
"I am sorry. I'll go get you another cup of coffee" offered Verity.
"Seriously, it's ok. I'll just go and mop myself up".
Hawkeye walked out of the Communications room, his legs apart which made Verity think of John Wayne's walk. As soon as the door closed behind him, Verity spun on her heel to face the monitor and started typing ferociously on the keyboard, entering commands at lightning speed. Smiling, Verity hit the enter key, saying a silent prayer in her head that the plan would work. Now just to give the signal.
Verity toggled the joystick which controlled the main camera. Verity looked at the monitor and noticed Loki hadn't moved. If her commands had worked the monitor would be showing a constant loop of Loki apparently sleeping. Verity studied the image on screen to see if any movement gave the game away. Hopefully Loki had seen the signal. Verity chewed her lip.
What if he didn't see the signal?
Verity's hand was about to reach towards the joystick again when Loki's words rang through her head. Only move it once. Trust me I'll see it. Just move it and get out of there. Don't hang around.
Hoping Loki knew what he was doing; Verity quickly picked up the scattered pieces of paper and placed them in a pile on the desk. Verity opened the door and bumped into Hawkeye, nearly knocking over another cup of coffee.
"Woah! We really need to get you a hazard light" mocked Hawkeye
"Sorry. I think it's best if I just head back to my room before I set this place on fire or something" laughed Verity despite the butterflies in her stomach.
Stopping the urge to look back at the monitor to check, Verity ran from the room before Hawkeye could say anything. Hawkeye shook his head as he contemplated the whirlwind that is Verity Willis.
XOXOXO
Verity ran around the corner. Stopping, Verity closed her eyes and pulled a mental image of the layout of the compound to the forefront of her mind. After her declaration to Loki that they were going to save the world, Verity had wasted no time studying the blueprints to the compound. Verity was a little shocked that the Avengers hadn't monitored her movements or at least made it difficult for her to access a computer. Ever since Verity was a small kid, she always preferred computers to people. By the time she was 12, Verity was writing code that would flummox even the most experienced programmers. People always underestimated Verity's abilities, even the Avengers.
More fool them!
Verity recalled her steps that would take her to the meeting point with Loki. Verity yanked her phone out of her pocket and pulled up camera footage which gave her a live feed of every inch of the compound. Swiping the images, Verity checked her planned route to ensure she would have no further surprises. Satisfied that the coast was clear, Verity moved quickly. She held her breath praying that her movements would not set off some silent alarm. Verity was fully aware that the compound was designed by Tony Stark so wouldn't be surprised if there were secret motion detectors hidden all over the place ready to catch her out.
Verity reached the outer door which was locked tight. A security panel glared red in the darkness. Verity pulled her phone from her jacket and removed a thin wire from the other pocket. Using the wire, Verity hooked her phone to the panel and tapped the panel. Suddenly her phone lit up and numbers started scrambling as the program she installed earlier in her phone searched for right code.
"C'mon, C'mon already" muttered Verity under her breath as she tapped her foot impatiently.
As if prompted by Verity, the numbers locked into place and the security panel changed to green, bleeping to Verity to indicate that it was open.
Verity yanked open the door spirited up the stairs to the roof. Verity whisked open the second door causing the cold air to blast her face and the wind whip at her hair. Verity pulled her leather jacket together and zipped it up.
"Loki?" whispered Verity shutting the door behind her.
No answer.
Verity walked to the middle of the roof, the gravel crunched under her boots. Verity scanned around searching for the mischievous god.
"Loki!" Verity said, this time a little louder.
"You called?"
Verity jumped as Loki appeared in front of her.
"Jesus H Christ!" You nearly scared me half to death" said Verity as she punched Loki in the arm.
Loki arched his eyebrow and rubbed the spot Verity's fist had hit.
"Are you done?"
Verity breathed out trying to calm her racing heart.
"No thanks to you"
"Good, now we need to go" Loki turned and started heading to the edge.
"Go? Go where? We're on a roof" said Verity slightly exasperated. She followed Loki to the flat edge and looked over into a pit of black darkness.
"What exactly is your plan?"
Before Loki could answer the door behind them slammed open revealing Thor.
"LOKI!" bellowed the God of Thunder
"Fuck" muttered Verity.
"Brother, glad you could join us!" quipped Loki.
Thor charged towards them. Verity instinctively took a step back but her foot slipped causing her to stumble. Her heart plummeted as Verity felt herself falling backwards off the roof. Loki grabbed her wrist and twisted Verity towards him like a matador twirling his cape at an oncoming bull. Loki's swift action caused Thor to crash past them and fall. Loki looked over Verity's shoulder.
"Dear me, I hope he's ok?" mocked Loki. Verity gave a nervous laugh in response.
Suddenly Thor flew past them as he used Mjolner to guide him back onto the roof. As he landed, Thor grabbed Loki by his lapels and dragged him back towards the roof door.
"Stop it. Let him go!" Verity tried to slow Thor down by grabbing his other arm. Verity's attempts were futile and only managed to get herself dragged along behind them.
"ENOUGH" roared Thor as he threw Verity's arm from his causing her to fall back into a heap. Thor, still holding on to Loki, turned to face Verity.
"You will receive your punishment in due time" spat Thor
"Now brother, Verity was merely placed under my spell" reasoned Loki
"Don't lie Loki" stated Verity as she stood up and dusted down her hair and clothes. Her left hip smarted and her hands screamed in pain, but Verity ignored the pain and squared up to Thor for the second time in two days.
"I knew what I was doing and I would do it again"
"Then you are a blind fool" answered Thor
"No Thor, the only blind fool here is you" Verity pointed to Loki who appeared amused at the exchange between Verity and his brother.
"He is our only chance to stop Thanos. You need to dump some fucking hormones and get over yourself. I know you don't trust Loki but by not listening to me, you are making a big mistake"
Unexpectedly a bright light surrounded the three of them and Verity closed her eyes against it. Verity felt her body being stretched and hurled through the air at lightning speed. Verity wanted to scream but her voice gave way. As soon as the sensation happened it was over. Verity felt herself impact with hard ground. She took a few seconds to allow her stomach to catch up before opening her eyes. The first thing she focused on confused her. It appeared to be a giant of a man dressed head to toe in gold. As he looked at her, Verity noticed his eyes. It appeared as if the whole universe were reflected in him. When he spoke, his voice was deep.
"Welcome to Asgard".