Hip hip hooray for new chapters!
I've been graced with having a few days to catch up on this story. I wrote it about six months ago, and it's exciting being able to revisit these characters. Please review and tell me what you think!
I awoke to the sound of chaos. Outside my door, I could hear people running, and my stomach lurched as if I was falling. I opened my door and saw agents flooding to the main deck. My arm reached out and grabbed one of them.
"What's going on?" I asked the short nervous man whom I happened to grab.
"Loki's minions have taken out one of our propellers. We're dropping in altitude very rapidly."
As I let go of the man, I saw a bulky man with flaxen hair take off in the opposite direction. I took off after Thor, realizing he might lead me to Loki. I didn't get very far before I was stopped.
"Where do you think you're going?" asked Coulson. I met his look with a glare and I was about to say something vulgar when he said, "you're not going alone." He tossed me the same rather large gun he was holding and we took off after Thor.
We followed him into the depths of the ship and we approached quietly, hearing Loki and Thor's conversation.
"There's only one guard," observed Coulson. "We can take him."
I nodded and with that Coulson fired his gun and we entered the room.
I immediately realized we'd interrupted something because Loki was poised over a control panel and Thor was trapped in a big glass cage. They both stopped and stared at Coulson and I poised to strike with our large guns.
"Back away from the control panel, Loki" demanded Coulson.
Loki's eyes immediately narrowed. "You."
It suddenly clicked in my head the rage Loki felt towards Coulson for keeping locked up and away from him.
"Loki, it's not his fault," I insisted, stepping in front of Coulson.
But his eyes didn't stray from Coulson and he acted like he didn't hear me. "You're the one who kept Halle from me."
Coulson pulled me back. "And you're wondering why? Look at you!"
Loki growled and I could tell he was getting angrier by the minute. His sapphire eyes flashed as he readied his gold scepter. I knew I only had one option.
"Loki, if I go with you now, will you leave and never return?" I asked. Coulson turned and gave me a look that said are you crazy?
Loki smiled, not in a warming way, but a way in which I could see the gears turning in his head. This was his plan all along, and it was playing it out perfectly. I hated being a pawn in this strange-Loki's game, after I had just fought with Steve about me taking care of myself. But maybe I couldn't take care of myself every time, and maybe I didn't need to this time, if it meant the safety of everybody aboard this ship. But what Loki didn't know, was that with every passing second he was smiling at me, I was forming a plan of my own in my head, a plan of escape.
"Of course, darling," he purred, as if he was attempting to seduce me then and there.
Slowly, I took a step forward, but Coulson stopped me. "No, she's not going."
As I turned to object, I saw Loki behind Coulson. I screamed but it was too late. He ran his scepter through Coulson's torso. Both Thor, whom I had until then forgot was in the room, and I cried in agony as Coulson fell limply to the ground.
Loki unsheathed his scepter and made a step towards me. I knew that in his mind, Coulson was but an obstacle that needed to be taken care of, a distraction in his plan that had been running smoothly until he got in the way. "Come darling," growled Loki, grabbing my arm. I froze, and my blood boiled.
"No," I spat coldly, ripping my arm from his grasp.
"Halle." He put his arm on my shoulder so softly, almost as if he hadn't just murdered someone. I slowly put one hand on his, to give the illusion of affection.
I grasped his hand on my shoulder, whipped it over my head, spun, and punched him in the face. He stumbled back a few feet, and I knew I had done damage by the way he babied his nose. I poised ready to strike. I was breathing heavy, my blood was pumping, and I was ready to do whatever it took to stop Loki. While he was regaining composure, I ran at him. But he was expecting it and blocked my series of blows with his scepter. He firmly hit my chest with the butt of his scepter and I stumbled back, gasping for air. He viciously grabbed my hair and pulled it back so my face was right in front of his.
"Halle, don't make me do this," he said, not sounding the least bit sincere. While I struggled, I caught a glimpse of his free hand unsheathing a small dagger. I could hear the muffled shouts of Thor behind me, begging his brother to stop. I tried to hit the hand that was grabbing my hair, but he only pinned me against a wall, pushing the dagger close to my throat. I closed my eyes and hoped that somehow the real Loki would show himself.
Suddenly, there was an explosion and the pressure on my neck was released. I opened my eyes to see Loki flung backwards against the control panel. His expression was one of surprise and anger, and he hit a red button on the panel with force. Right in front of me, I watched the glass case Thor was trapped in drop out of the aircraft. I stared at Loki incredulously, hoping for another fight. But instead he turned and walked out of the room.
All the cooped up emotion I had then came tumbling out, breaking harder than waves on a shore of daggers. I collapsed next to Coulson, holding his hand, reciting encouraging words. I contacted Director Fury with a shaky voice. Until Fury and the medical team arrived, I sat by Coulson and begged him through flights of tears to stay with me. I was in such a state of hysteria when Fury arrived, that he sent me with the medical team to the infirmary. As I sat in the small gray room cloaked in a shock blanket, I tried to relax my clenched muscles.
I noticed Natasha walk down the hallway and enter a room next to mine. Only then did I realize that this quarrel with Loki was much bigger than I thought; innocent people were getting involved and hurt.
As I sat taking deep breaths, I knew there was only one person in the world right now who I wanted to see. I ditched the blanket, exited my room, and took off down the hallway. When I turned the corner, that's when I saw him, and that's when the floodgates reopened.
Steve wrapped me in a warm embrace as I sputtered out apologies. He picked me up and walked me back to my room, whispering my name the whole way.
As my sobs reduced to murmurs, Steve told me what happened on his end during the attack.
"Tony was able to get the engine up and running," Steve finished. "He's not as conceited as I thought."
I smiled for a split-second. Steve kissed my forehead and got up from my bed.
"I should go talk to Stark, he seemed pretty shaken up."
"Wait, Steve," I said. "I just want to let you know that Loki's completely out of the picture for now." I took a deep breath. "I know what needs to be done for S.H.E.I.L.D., and I'm prepared to do it." Steve took my hand and squeezed it.
"I know it's hard, Rhodie. But it makes me happy to hear that." He turned to leave but suddenly stopped. "Why don't you come with me? It'll do you some good to walk around." I smiled and joined him, more than jubilant not to be lonely.
We walked down to where I saw Loki kill Coulson, which was where Tony was brooding. I didn't really know Tony Stark that well. It was rumored that he was a snarky narcissist who was also incredibly intelligent. His witty manner was not often welcomed among most of the agents, but the few times I'd heard him speak, his wisecracks made me smile.
Steve and Tony engaged in a conversation and I embarrassingly noticed that I was still wearing the sweatshirt I had thrown on when Natasha walked in my room. I was so distracted by figuring out the quickest way to change into my jumpsuit, that I wasn't paying attention to Steve and Tony's conversation until Tony exclaimed, "son of a bitch," and walked out of the room.
"So, not that I wasn't listening, but what did Stark figure out?" I asked as Steve and I walked down a hallway.
"He thinks he knows where Loki's planning to unleash his army," answered Steve. "I'm going to retrieve Natasha and go."
I stopped dead in my tracks. "You're leaving me here? Again? Steve!"
"Look what happened last time you encountered Loki. You were almost killed."
"You don't understand, it's personal now," I explained. "If I have to, I will kill him."
Steve raised and eyebrow. I tried to contort my face into a look of confidence. Honestly? Kill him? There's no way you'd be able to kill him were the thoughts I pushed into the back of my head.
"Please! I want to fight!"
He exhaled loudly. "Meet on the flight deck in ten."