Wow! This story is getting a good bit of attention and I really, truly appreciate that! I'm glad there are people that are enjoying my writing and my OC. It makes me really excited to update, particularly this chapter where we do get to see Thor and Valentina interact.
Wolf: Thank you so much! As we know what happens to Phil in this film, it's going to be very hard on Valentina. And I do plan on adding a bit into her friendship with Bruce. Hope you enjoy this chapter!
As always, I don't own anything in this story except Valentina, and please enjoy this long chapter!
Chapter Three
"I'm not overly fond of what follows."
Before any of us could register what was happening, another man dressed in old armor and a long cape was opening the ramp and stepping into the jet. He grabbed Loki by the throat and flied out, leaving us all dumbstruck. It was Tony that spoke first, breaking the silence.
"Now there's that guy."
"Another Asgardian?" Natasha's words snapped me back into reality, and I immediately pulled my boots back on and started stretching my arms.
"Think the guy's a friendly?" Steve's words were so old fashioned that I couldn't help but smile at his words, giving my head a brief shake before I started to get serious.
"Doesn't matter, Cap. If he frees Loki or kills him, the Tesseract's lost. We can't afford that." I spoke as I felt the familiar pain in body, especially in my arms and legs as I shifted myself into an owl. Transforming into animals wasn't really my favorite thing, but the situation at hand definitely called for it. With that I was diving from the jet, taking a deep breath toward the cliff where Loki and Thor were perched. As I was about to land, Tony swept Thor away and onto the forest ground, leaving me with Rudolf.
A few feet away from a soft landing, I transformed back into a human form, landing swiftly on my feet and standing to face Loki. The man didn't even move, he simply sat, laughing and watching the fight unfold beneath him. Taking the bait, I walked to stand beside him and glanced at him before speaking.
"I find it humorous that you and your…team…think you will be able to stop me and my purpose. How could you hope to fight me when all you're doing thus far is fighting yourselves?"
I pondered his question for a moment, breathing inwardly as the truth of his question set in. Loki, insane as he was, was right. All we had done this far was fight. Even Steve and I hadn't really worked together; I had only worked to save him from Loki's wrath. I glanced at Loki, letting a breath fall from my lips before I decided to reply.
"You may be right as of now. And from up here, looking at them, you would guess that we will never become a team and you will be able to get away with whatever you have planned for the Earth. But I can promise you that even with how we look now, you will lose. You have nothing here to fight for, and we have everything. Our homes, our loved ones, ourselves, everything. And at the end of the day, that willingness and need to fight to protect what is important to us will overpower your petty whims."
"You speak delightfully, Valentina. And you are capable of so very much. You would, even with your species, make a great Queen. Perhaps I will consider that during my war."
With the eyeroll of the century, I kicked Loki's legs out from under him, sending him tumbling down the cliff in a ball of black and green. Smirking, I transformed again and dove down the cliff, shifting back as he reached the bottom so I could reach down and pull him up by his collar. Dragging him behind me, I came to stand in a clearing that had been created when Thor's hammer collided with the Captain's shield. The three men were still standing there, arguing, and after a minute I couldn't take their immaturity anymore.
"HEY. If the three so-called men who are standing in front of me could stop acting like CHILDREN for one moment and turn their attention to me, that would be fantastic!" Slowly, three pairs of eyes fell onto me and their faces dropped from anger to fear. I knew that when I was feeling intense anger, my eyes shone red, and now was more than likely not an exception. "While the three of you decided to have a testosterone match, Loki here could have escaped YET AGAIN and left us with even LESS time to fix the mess we are currently supposed to be fixing! Now, I suggest marching back to the jet, staying AWAY from each other and not ONE SINGLE WORD to be spoken the ENTIRE way back. If you disobey that order, you will be sorry. Now, move out soldiers!"
The three men continued to stand in their places, and with another shout of 'now' on my part, they scrambled to pick up their belongings and move back to the quinjet, myself following behind whilst pushing Loki forward. The entire jet ride back was completely silent, and I smirked to myself knowing the effect I had on the men.
I had taken it upon myself to transform into a guard so I could escort Loki into the glass prison that had, initially, been designed for Bruce. I uncuffed the man and pushed him forward, the door closing as Fury began to speak. I stood in my position, a smirk plastered on my lips. After Fury closed the hatch, I shifted back into the form Loki had earlier seen me in, the same smirk still on my lips. With a graceful motion toward Loki, I declared he was the ant, and Director Fury was the boot.
"It's an impressive cage. Not built, I think, for me."
"Built for something a lot stronger than you." Fury, don't give into him…
"Oh, I've heard. The mindless beast, makes play he's still a man. How desperate are you, that you call upon such lost creatures to defend you? The best you've got is in this room, with me."
"Bruce Banner is not a mindless beast and he is more of a man than you could ever hope to be, Loki." It was the first time I had addressed him by name, and his head snapped toward me, a sickly smile growing on his lips.
"How desperate am I? You threaten my world with war. You steal a force you can't hope to control. You talk about peace and you kill cause it's fun. You have made me very desperate. You might not be glad that you did."
"Ooh. It burns you to have come so close. To have the Tessaract, to have power, unlimited power. And for what? A warm light for all mankind to share, and then to be reminded what real power is."
"Well, you let us know if Real Power wants a magazine or something." Fury and I took that as our exit. Going our separate ways at the end of the hall, I made my way to where the Avengers had been watching the interrogation, entering as Bruce insulted Loki.
"Have care of how you speak. Loki is beyond reason, but he is of Asgard, and he is my brother." Thor spoke behind a mask, attempting to hide the deep emotion he was feeling toward his brother, and I cocked my head to the side in interest. I walked forward, dropping into a chair next to Bruce.
"He killed eighty people in two days."
"…he's adopted."
"Iridium, what did they need the Iridium for?" Bruce was trying to deflect the attention off of Thor and Natasha, and I patted his arm gently in a soft thank you.
"It's a stabilizing agent." Tony walked in with Phil, who I instantly stood up to walk toward, feeling relief wash over me at the sight of my dearest friend. "Means the portal won't collapse on itself, like it did at SHIELD. No hard feelings, Point Break. You've got a mean swing."
Tony patted Thor on his…well, his admittedly large bicep and I rolled my eyes at his antics before hugging Phil quickly. Tony would, of course, continue.
"Also, it means the portal can stay open as long as Loki wants. Raise the mid-mast, ship the top sails. That man is playing GALAGA! Thought we wouldn't notice, but we did." Tony covered one eye, to mimic Fury and attempted to look around. "How does Fury do this?"
"He turns." Agent Hill snapped at him, and I couldn't help the grimace that came over my face. Agent Hill was definitely not my favorite person on the ship. She was always so serious, and so boring. And she didn't like that I was allowed on the team, after breaking into SHIELD.
"Well, that sounds exhausting. The rest of the raw materials, Agent Barton can get his hands on pretty easily. Only major component he still needs is a power source. A high energy density, something to kick start the cube."
"When did you become an expert in thermonuclear astrophysics?" Ugh, Hill again…
"Last night. The packet, Selvig's notes, the Extraction Theory papers. Am I the only one who did the reading?"
"Does Loki need any particular kind of power source?" There we go Steve, reel them back in.
"He's got to heat the cube to a hundred and twenty million Kelvin just to break through the Coulomb barrier." Bruce spoke, and I at least understood what he was talking about. So did Tony, it seemed.
"Unless Selvig has figured out how to stabilize the quantum tunneling effect."
"Well, if he could do that he could achieve Heavy Ion Fusion at any reactor on the planet."
It was me who spoke last, and everyone in the room turned to look at me, shock written on their faces. I smirked a bit, enjoying that no one had expected any sort of intelligence from me. Tony and Bruce were instantly at my sides, pulling me forward with them. Tony patted the two of us on the back, before continuing, "Finally, people who speak English."
"Is that what just happened?" Everyone ignored Steve as the three of us shook hands, Tony clearly focused on Bruce.
"It's good to meet you, Dr. Banner. Your work on anti-electron collisions is unparalleled. And I'm a huge fan of the way you lose control and turn into an enormous green rage monster."
I had elected not to spend time in the labs with Tony and Bruce, instead staying behind where I was comfortable. I was high up on the bridge, sitting where Clint normally would have, watching as we passed through the clouds. Even with my fear of heights, I was more comfortable in my current position, and anxiety did not take over me. There were more pressing matters to worry over at the present.
"Lady Valentina. What troubles you so that you hide away from your friends?" I glanced up at Thor, moving over slightly so the massive man could take his place next to me. He did, and my body language relaxed at the warmth I couldn't help but feel pass between us. His blue eyes turned down toward me, concern now masking his features. "You have many worries in your heart."
"I do. I have many worries. I worry for my friends, and for this team. I worry that we're not the people SHIELD thought we were, and that we won't be able to stop Loki in time. I worry about the fate of this world."
"But you do not worry for yourself?"
I shook my head, refusing to look up into his gorgeous features, my breathing becoming increasingly heavier as I finally felt the anxiety setting in. "I never worry about myself. It's not my place to. I am merely one small part in the bigger picture. If I have to die to save this world, then it's what needs to happen. I won't be selfish enough to try to save myself at the cost of thousands of others. I'll die a noble death, I suppose. It would be better than living with guilt."
I was practically burning under Thor's gaze now, and I had to turn my head and look up to meet his eyes. Our eyes locked, and for once I couldn't tell the emotions he was trying to hide behind his eyes. His lips twitched into a smile, and I couldn't help but smile back up at the man before me. His hand gently reached down to mine, and as his hand shocked mine I let a laugh fall from my lips. His smile grew more at that, but faltered before turning into a joyous laugh as I absorbed his power and shocked him back gently.
"You are very unique, Lady Valentina. You have a wonderful spirit living inside of you. My mother would take pleasure in meeting you. Your magic is delightful to watch."
"Already asking me to meet your parents? At least take me on a date first, Sir Thor." My tone, though supposed to be mocking, could not cover up the seriousness of my words. Thor smiled, and after a moment it softened into something much more than a smile. I was suddenly aware that he was painfully close to me; so close that I could feel his warm breath washing over my face. I exhaled myself, realizing that the build up of anxiety I had earlier been feeling had subsided before this man. Whispering barely loud enough for him to hear, I questioned what we were doing, not knowing who I was really asking.
His hand fully engulfed mine then. His strong, tanned hand wrapped itself entirely over my pale, slender hand and his head dropped to mine. He stopped, taking a second to run his eyes over my face, before I jumped to my feet, grabbing my hand out of his grasp. I felt the springing of tears at the corner of my eyes, and all I could do was shake my head. Thor stood, making to move toward me and my feet took a step backward without me having to even think about it. My eyes reached his again, and the confused look in his eyes almost broke me down right there. But I had to be the strong one. I had to put the seriousness to an end.
"Thor…we can't do this. I can't do this. Not with a war threatening to begin at anytime. It wouldn't be right."
"It was of my opinion that before a war began was the perfect time for such emotions to be displayed, Lady Valentina. You are a strong warrior, and you are beautiful. You are noble, and when I heard you command the Captain of all things America and the Man of Iron along with myself…I felt something for you in that clearing. Your voice held such passion, and such courage. I still feel what I felt then when you speak."
"Thor…listen, I…" Coulson was then speaking in my earpiece, asking me to bring Thor to the labs, interrupting what would have been the worst explanation of why I wouldn't let Thor get close to me. I nodded, replying that I would escort him before taking a deep breath. "Your presence is required in the labs, Prince Thor."
When the engine blew, I knew that I needed to get to Loki. I shifted into a perfect replication of Thor, and sprinted the entire way to the glass prison. As soon as I reached the detention center, I could see Loki escaping. I screamed no, a charged at him, only to move straight through him. The Loki I had charged at dissipated into nothing, and the real Loki came out from behind the cell door, which closed. On me. I was locked in the prison.
Loki had locked me in the prison, thinking I was Thor.
"Are you ever not going to fall for that?"
My eyes widened and frantically searched around the prison, looking for someway to escape. But there was none. Of course there would be none, it was meant to keep the other guy, the Hulk, contained.
"The humans think us immortal. Should we test that?" Loki's smile was sickening, but he was quickly distracted as his soldier fell down, hard. Phil stood there, holding what I knew to be a Phase 2 weapon prototype.
"Move away, please." Loki slowly stepped away from the switch, and Phil glanced at me. From the look in his eyes, I could tell that he knew it was not the real Thor in the prison. Phil knew it was me, his best friend, trapped in the prison. He took a step to the side, standing between the prison and Loki. "You like this? We started working on the prototype after you sent the Destroyer. Even I don't know what it does. Do you wanna find out?"
Phil gasped, and my world came crashing down around me. Phil was impaled through the heart by Loki, the real Loki, who was standing behind him. A scream escaped my lips, and tears fell down my face as I looked in Phil's eyes as he slumped down the wall. I held my hand up to the glass and screamed again, no, this couldn't be happening. But it was happening. Phil used what was left of his strength to mouth to me to "be good", and before I could register what was happening the prison was beginning to drop. With me in it.
And with the last glance at Loki, I shifted back to my true form and screamed.