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Chapter Fourteen

~Thea's POV~

Dr. Banner tries fruitlessly to tell me what Loki did. Each time, however, I either ignore his attempts or beg him to stop. Finally, he does, going back to his stupid charts.

 When Leah tries to talk to me, I ignore her bright, sad blue eyes as well, turning my back to her, closing my eyes, and leaning against the steel wall. Her pitiful prods to get me to talk to her receive no response whatsoever. Eventually, I hear her turn away. Seconds later, I hear Dr. Banner's low voice saying something to her, but I cannot understand what he is saying. I don't really care, either.

I feel not only mentally corrupted, sick, and exhausted, but also physically shaken for what Loki has done to me. I cannot seem to get my body to stop quivering, and my skin has turned clammy, but I am shivering- I now have a first hand experience as to what "cold sweat" is.

Images keep floating through my head, haunting my thoughts, and they no longer just include the sharp-fanged monsters from the attack. Now, I see darkness and moving bodies. It's all I can do to not begin to cry again. I think I've cried enough.

I'm not completely sure why Loki's threat had such an impact on me, but I do know one thing. For the first time, Loki had frightened me- really frightened me. Now, alongside with the nightmare-ish visions I have in my head, I see his cold, perceptive glare and his harsh words and actions.

What also concerns me is how he knew about his past. Loki may be brilliant, but he is no mind reader. How he found out about...certain events is startling, and how he has manipulated me is even more disturbing. What I find most alarming, however, is if Loki knows that means one of two things: he has probably told everyone on board, or someone on board- my thoughts train to Director Fury- knew and told everyone. Loki, however, is the only one who decided to use my weakness against me. Surprise, surprise.

All I want to know is what is going on. Still feeling that my limbs are weak and that I am going to fall over, I hesitantly sit up. "I'm going to the bathroom," I say, knowing full well that the shelter bathroom is under repair at this very minute.

Dr. Banner looks up and for the fleetest of seconds, he keeps eye contact with me. Then, he says casually, "It's on the second door to the left, after the first turn."

"Okay," I squeak, trying to hurry out of the room as quickly as possible. Ignoring the second door to the left after the first turn, I retrace the path that Thor and I had taken about an hour and a half ago. It takes me up onto the main level, which I do not care to be on. So, I stick to the edges of the walkway, and get up to the third level without much problems.

I soon come to an overpass, looking over a control room. The giant glass panels are sparkly clean, and only a few agents and workers mill about. I lean over the rail, where there is no glass so that I am leaning over the edge.

Immediately, I jerk back down, below the wooden panel. One quick glance had told me that Loki, Thor, Jane, and a few other people were down there. Loki and Jane's backs are to me; Loki had just come out of a side room, and I don't think Thor saw me, but I can't be sure.

A few minutes later, I hesitantly peek over the panel. I am too high up to hear, but I spot another layer of railing right below mine. A door at the end of the hallway obviously leads to it. Quickly, I move down the hallway, trying not to be seen through the glass panels, and open the door to the stairway as quietly as possible.

Sure enough, there is another layer of walkway, this time made of either solid iron or steel, with iron railings. The voices are definitely more clear as I creep along the wall. I lean down, with my ear as close to the railing as possible.

"-the Imeldi will be coming," I recognize Thor's low voice, "It is only a matter of time. Jane, please go back with the girls and Dr. Banner."

"Wait," says Jane, clearly not ready to leave. "Do we know anything about the Imeldi? I mean, besides the fact that they are from outer space and murderous and all of that."

"They are extremely intelligent," says Loki. "Their tactics of killing are often brutal but usually quick. Although, in the case of Thea and Leah, the deaths they cause can be painful and slow."

"But-"

I hear a loud bang, which I take to be the door, as someone barges into the control room. I dare a peek and see that it is Tony, with Steve at his heels.

"Loki," says Steve, almost out of breath. He must have run full tilt from somewhere. "On the day you removed the poison from Thea, how long until she would die?"

Well, look at that. I get another question answered today. I smirk, thinking about how annoyed Loki would be if he knew we were eavesdropping.

"Why do you ask?" Thor says, and I duck beneath the railing again as he turns slightly; although he is a good thirty feet below me, his body is now facing me, and I do not want to risk being caught.

"Because," says Tony in his generally calm voice, dictated by his usual snipe of an attitude. "Let's say the Imeldi purposely poisoned the girls, which we all assume they did-why would they leave them alive? But what if the poison not only could track them, but is also a timer. Like when as to-"

"As to they are going to attack," Loki finishes. "A valid point."

"Well?" asks Stark. "How much longer did she have to go?"

I lean closer, eager for this bit of information.

"Two days."

I am so surprised, I fall forward, banging my head on the iron rail. Thankfully, it is thick and does not produce a very loud noise. Unfortunately, because it is so thick, it is also quite painful. Rubbing my head, I think about what I had heard. At one point in my life, I had had two days to live. I cannot wrap my head around it.

"So if the Imeldi knew that she would die," says Steve. "And they knew when, they could easily plan when the attack would be."

"Yes," says Loki. "But Leah, on the other hand, had a week left. I suspect that originally, the Imeldi planned that Thea would have longer as well. But for whatever reason, the poison affected her much more, as was obvious. This explains why there is still that little part inside her that causes her to go rather mad when she gets pushed too far."

"Which you do nothing to help," points out Steve. I say a silent thank you to him, but keen to hear Loki's response, I put away my thoughts.

Unfortunately, Loki does not respond do Steve's comment. Instead, Tony continues on as if he had not been interrupted- I have a feeling he does that a lot. "So the best guesstimate of when the freaks are coming? One to six days?"

"Or less if the Imeldi fear that their last beacons are vanishing," adds Thor.

"So what do we do now?" asks Jane. I can just imagine her looking from one person to the other, desperate for answers.

"We wait," says Tony simply. "I doubt they can turn invisible, so at least our radars will potentially and probably be able to keep up with any impending attacks."

"Does this mean that the girls have to stay in the shelter?" asks Jane. I wonder what she had been doing here in the first place, but my best guess is that it had something to do with me.

"Yes," says Steve. "Or, at least that's what I think is best. Even if we can see the Imeldi coming, their arrival will promote plenty of chaos on board. Besides, they're safer there, and do not need to be walking around."

"It's too hectic," adds Tony. "Which basically means that for Thea, it's a gold mine. She has a nose for spying like Natasha. And besides, she's better off with her sister."

"I don't think she'll want to go anywhere," says Jane with a hard edge to her voice. "Given the way someone threatened her."

So that was why she was here. I feel partially grateful for her defense for me, but also annoyed. They all treat me like I'm Leah's age.

"I believe I already pointed out that was the exact point," says Loki smoothly. I feel anger inside me once again.

"Well I don't like your points," snaps Jane, making me feel a little better.

Steve, apparently ignoring the side squabble of Jane and Loki, says, "Tony's got a point. I wouldn't be surprised if Thea were in this room right now, listening." He laughs, apparently thinking this is funny.

Tony laughs too, "Yeah, because it's not like we would be able to tell if someone was spying on us."

I smirk.

"Oh yes. It would be rather funny if she were spying on us, would it not?" something about Loki's voice wipes the smirk off of my face.

"But as she is not," says Thor impatiently, "Let us not-"

I don't get to find out what Thor didn't want them to do, because someone grabs my shoulder and yanks me up. I feel my blood run cold.

Loki's voice is close to my ear as he whispers angrily, "Did you honestly think that you could get away with this, Thea?"

Looking down, I see that the Loki below is dissolving into pixels, and I realize that one of Loki's talents must be self-duplication. Thor, Jane, Stark, and Tony look up, and surprise is evident on their faces.

For Stark, though, it's more utter indignation. "What the hell, Thea!" he exclaims. "How do you...why....how?"

I resist the urge to say something snarky back to him, partially because Loki's grip on me has tightened and partially because I can't exactly think of anything snarky to say in a timely fashion.

"Here is your spy, Stark." Says Loki. "Who has a strong desire to go against every bit of authority."

"Just like someone I can mention," I growl.

Loki ignores me, and drags me down the stairs and into the control room- I don't even bother trying to fight him off me. That is how angry I am.

"Thea," says Thor, walking quickly up to me. I wrench myself from Loki, rubbing my arm where he had basically constricted it, and look at the floor. "What are you doing here?"

"Spying," I mutter. Then, I look up at Loki brightly. "But hey, thanks for finally telling me how much longer I had left to-"

"You found out not more than I intended you to," says Loki.

"How long did you know she was there?" demands Stark, looking at me with what I swear is a mixture of amusement and impressment.

"When I heard someone bang their head on the railing," says Loki, looking at me arrogantly- I glower at him, "It confirmed what I had suspected as soon as we had begun talking about the Imeldi."

I feel the anger growing inside me once again, but for the sake of conversation, I try to keep my temper under control.

"I've got to give you kudos, kid," says Stark, grinning at me. "I don't know how you do it, to be honest." He leans forward and playfully punches my shoulder.

I smile, somewhat bashfully, at him for the first time since I had met him. I was about to say something when Thor interrupts in a relatively exasperated voice, "Thea, you were supposed to stay in the shelter."

"Yes, Thea," says Loki, and I feel a chill run across my bones. "Did we not have a conversation about this?"

"In my defense," I croak. "The Imeldi didn't attack when I left."

"I do not think that was our agreement," says Loki, smiling at me widely. I have to look away, because the look he is giving me is creeping me out and causing my body to shake again.

"Before we say anything else," says Steve in what is obviously (at least to me) a way to save me from Loki's wrath. "Should we not tell Director Fury about this new information?"

"You do that," says Loki and I feel his eyes burning in the back of my head. "I'm taking Thea back to the shelter. It's your last chance to listen to me," he hisses at me.

I look at Thor desperately, but he nods towards Loki. Turning his blue eyes towards me, he says gently, "Please, Thea. Stay in the shelter. This will be over with soon."

"Soon?" I scoff. "Six days!"

"Six days is nothing compared to a lifetime," says Steve wisely, and I glare at him. He shrugs his shoulders at me.

Before I know it, Loki is pulling me back down the hallway. But he does not turn towards the path that leads to the shelter; instead, he walks down a corridor that grows darker by the minute. "Loki-i," I stammer. "Where are we going?"

"Did I not tell you," says Loki. "That if you did not listen to me, that-"

"No," I gasp. "No, you said you were taking me back to the shelter." I try to shake myself from his grip, but his fingers curl around my gaunt wrist like iron shackles.

"And you, like all four in there, naively believed me," says Loki, coming to a stop in front of a padlocked door.

I begin to quake. "Please," I beg. "Please, please, please don't do this to me!"

"But I already am," he says with an awful smile. Pushing me aside, he swipes his finger across the keypad so that the light goes green.

"No!" I scream, images already going through my head. "Please!"

"Unlike someone I could mention," says Loki, "I am one of my word. Apologies, dearest, but I am not changing my mind."

Grabbing my arm, he pulls me towards the door. It's pitch black in there. And small- I can feel the heat from the cramped area. It's my worst nightmare over again, and Loki knows it. I try to strike against him, beginning to cry again, but he says, "Do not fight me, Thea!"

"I will!" I shriek, my nerves shattering once and for all. "I will!"

"You will not win." His words are final and cold.

"Please! I'll stay in the shelter. I won't move a muscle during the fight! Please just don't do this!" I sob.

Loki pauses trying to drag me into the room. His green eyes swivel towards me.

"I won't," I gasp. "I won't. I swear it. You...you...you can pu-u-t me in there for a week if I do-o. Please, Loki!"

He looks at me for the longest time, and I try not to shake under his gaze. I feel the tears flowing down my cheek, sticky, as I continue to cry.

Bang. He slams the door shut. Relief flows through me like a wave and I would have leaned against the wall had Loki still not been holding on to me. "You will not move," he confirms with me. "You are much more valuable to us than you think. If you do, a week might not be long enough."

"I won't move," I promise, panting from the exertion of panic.

~Nobody's POV~

Loki leaves Thea with Dr. Banner, who has moved to what appears to be a temporary desk near the edge of the other side of the small room. Leah is sleeping a few feet from him, curled up in a blanket, her back to Thea.

He looks up at her with a small smile. "Someone certainly took a long time."

She looks at him sadly, her green eyes tired. Both of them know that Dr. Banner knew exactly what Thea had had in mind when she had left the shelter earlier. 

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BM Fact #4:

It is no coincidence that Thea and Thor, and Leah and Loki have very similar beginnings to their names. ;)