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Chapter Twenty One- Think

~Nobody's POV~

"Leah, what's wrong?" Jane rushes into the small dark room where the girl normally sleeps. Leah just keeps screaming, turning over and over in her bed as she wails. "Leah!" She shakes the girl. "Leah, can you hear me?"

The door opens, letting light into the room as the tall figures of Thor and Stark hurry inside. "What's happening?" asks Thor, kneeling down alongside Jane next to the bed. "What's wrong with-"

"I don't know!" exclaims Jane, frantically shaking the girl. "I don't-"

Leah's eyes suddenly snap open and she begins to cry. "Leah!" Jane grabs the child's hand. "What's wrong?"

However, Leah cannot seem to stop crying, and her body quakes as she does so.

"Take as long as you need," says Stark, clearly not being particularly serious.

"Tony!" Thor takes Leah's other hand. "Leah, sweetheart, please stop crying and tell us what's wrong."

"Was it a bad dream?" asks Jane soothingly, then gives Tony a scathing look when he looks like he is about to interrupt.

Leah nods, her lip trembling. "It was...Mama..."

"Oh," says Jane softly. "I see."

Tony raises his eyes to the ceiling as Thor says, "Did you see the Imeldi, Leah? Were they present at all in these dreams?"

"No," Leah whispers.

"I'm out then," says Stark, although he pats Leah's shoulder in what for his is a comforting gesture. "Let me know if you find out anything." He leaves, closing the door behind him.

"Go back to sleep then," Jane smiles gently. "It's all right. You're safe."

"I want Thea," whispers Leah. "I want to talk to her."

"Maybe tomorrow," says Jane. "Go to sleep, Leah." She strokes Leah's forehead gently. "Everything will be okay... okay?"

Leah smiles ever so gently, and Thor leans down to kiss her forehead gently. "Are you coming?" he asks of Jane, who hasn't moved.

"I'll be in the lab in a little bit," says Jane quietly.

"You need your rest as well," says Thor firmly. "You may as well go to sleep t-"

"I'll be fine," says Jane, offering him a smile.

With a small smile in return, Thor looks down at Leah and says, "Sleep well, Leah. I will see you tomorrow."

"'Night," whispers Leah, whose eyelashes are already fluttering. After Thor leaves, Leah says in a small voice, "Mama used to stay up with me after I had a bad dream too."

"I know," Jane whispers, her voice thick with emotion. "I know."

~Thea's POV~

Three days later, I can hardly move, I am so sore. I have been fighting Barton, Natasha, and a few other S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, and let's just say that I am decorated in bruises and several cuts. On the bright side, I have made moderate progress, and succeeded in knocking out one of the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents. One.

I climb up the ladder one handed, holding a pack of ice to my swollen, cut cheek. It's about noon, and I'm hungry. I walk into the kitchen area across from Natasha's and my room, rummaging through some cabinets as I do so. There is nothing I find appealing, so with a groan, I just grab a granola bar and sit down at the dark table.

I whirl around scarcely after the shadow falls over me. Loki, however, easily dodges my blow. "Well that is some greeting, Thea, I must say."

"Sorry," I mutter.

"Are you?"

"No."

"Hm," says Loki with the slightest trace of amusement. He swipes my face with his thumb, but surprisingly, the gesture isn't aggressive. It's...playful, but nonetheless, I wince as he comes in contact with some of my bruises. "Got a little banged up, did we now?"

Gritting my teeth, I knock him aside and throw the remains of my granola bar in a trash can. I'm not hungry anymore.

"What happened to the Thea that tried to overpower me?" Loki says. "I don't-"

"What are you even doing here?" I snap. "Besides to mock me?"

"Nothing much beyond that."

"Argh," I say, stomping out into the greenness of the platform. The bright light hits me, and I blink a couple time as I adjust to it. When I realize that Loki is following me, I moan, "Will you just go away?"

"I'd rather not," says Loki with a bit of self-satisfaction in his voice. "Watching you try and try again to keep your temper around me is so much more interesting than sitting around a place where nobody will trust me with much of anything."

I whirl around. "And why should they trust you Loki? Give me one good reason."

"Give me one example in which I have displayed untruthful qualities."

I laugh. "You're a war criminal, Loki. I don't think I need to give you another quality, do you?"

"And yet here I am."

"What's that supposed to mean?" I ask, feeling the pit of anger growing inside me once again. I try to control it, because I know this is exactly that Loki wants. Why, I have no idea.

"Exactly what I said," says Loki. Before I can move, he has pushed me against the trunk of the tree, roughly.

"That's it," I growl, turning around and letting my anger take over. "If that's what you really want."

"Ah, there we go," says Loki as I flip around, striking him in the chest. It sends him tumbling, but only for a split second before he is on his feet once again and rushing towards me.

"What...is...the...point of all of this?" I snarl as he grabs my arms and twists them painfully behind my back.

"Oh, Thea," says Loki. "I'm only trying to help." As he holds me in that position, struggling, his hands tight around my wrists, he says, "How are you going to get out of this? In front of you is the trunk of the tree and I have immobilized you from behind." As I pant, struggling against him, trying to force my way outside of this prison, he snaps, "Think, Thea! Think!"

An idea flickers through me, and I jump up, slamming my feet in front of me into the tree then throwing myself back against Loki so that we both topple backwards and he releases me. Unlike him, who falls unceremoniously onto the ground, I flip around and land like a cat.

I run forward, kicking out at Loki, but he catches my foot and now it is I that is on the ground. I hit it hard, and it knocks the wind out of me. Loki hauls me back up before I can catch a breath and when I try to strike him, he exclaims, "You're too slow, and you're waving your fists around like a drunken soldier."

I ignore him, but once again, my punch fails to land, and he pushes me roughly away. "Oh, come on Thea! What happened to the girl who nearly knocked me out...on account of the fact that it was I that killed her brother?"

That gets me, just like I know he wanted it to.

I lunge at him, striking his chest and sending him to the floor. He's up, and I kick out again, and when he tries to grab my arm, I instead dodge his hand and reach down and then grab the dagger hanging from his side.

"Oh, darling, come now, that's cheating," smiles Loki when I raise the dagger in the air, the same dagger that had looked so pretty in my hand once upon a time. "You're not going to kill me are you?" he taunts. When I hesitate at the sincerity of his words, at the fact that I could, in fact kill him, he takes this opportunity to grab my wrist, then bends it backwards, causing me to cry out in pain. My fingers loosen and the dagger falls neatly in his palm. "Thank you."

I growl and try to grab his throat, but he pushes me against the trunk of the tree, then takes the dagger out and holds it against my neck. Panting, I glare up at his mischievous green eyes as he says, "This would now be the time to surrender."

"No," I hiss, kicking his shin, causing the dagger to slip in his hand. It turns out, however, that this was a bad idea, because the dagger arcs down, hitting my upper arm and slicing it, causing me to shriek in pain and fall to the floor. I roll around on the dusty floor, groaning in agony.

"Oh, now you've done it," I hear Loki kneel down next to me. "Let me see it, you clumsy thing."

"Me?" I say through gritted teeth as tears threaten to spill out of my eyes. "You're the one who stabbed me!"

"And you kicked my shin. Now let me see your arm, Thea, and do not make me say it again."

"I'd love to hear you try." I manage to say.

Instead of waiting for me, he grabs my arm, then pulls my other hand from it. I open my eyes as the smell of blood hits me, and I see that my upper arm is red as the liquid drips down it. "Well, all I can say is well done," says Loki sarcastically. He pulls me up, and I push him away.

"Hey!"

Loki and I turn around to see a boy about my age standing a few yards away. He's a bit tall, but he's a scrawny thing, with large, protruding ears, bright green eyes, freckles, and a cheerful smile. He has a British accent. I guess he's an intern or something, but he looks a little young for that.

"Ms. Romanoff wants to see you," the boy says, looking at me. I bite my lip as I look him up and down. "I'm to take you to her."

For some reason, at the idea of walking alone with a boy my age, I inch a little closer to Loki, as  subtly as possible. However, even though I try to act casual, he catches my movement, and I see the twinkle in his eye as he looks down at me. "Thank you, Jack," says Loki, nodding at the boy. "And while you're at it, take her to first aid. Thea's as clumsy as a Bilgesnipe."

I jerk my head to look up at him, not even paying much attention to the insult (even though I have no idea what a Bilgesnipe is). He's sending me off with this boy...this Jack... by myself? "Um, no that's okay," I stammer. "I'll just-"

"Oh no, Thea, you run along," says Loki, and I swear I can hear the satisfaction in his voice. "You'll be fine."

"Oh, I hate you," I hiss at him.

"Oh, and don't I know it," smiles Loki in an undertone, giving me a small push in Jack's general direction.

I very, very slowly drag my shoes against the ground as I hesitantly make my way towards Jack, who smiles at me without a care in the world. I don't realize how tall he is until I am right next to him- I scarcely reach his shoulder.

As Jack begins to lead me inside, I glance over at Loki and glare at him as if my eyes could shoot lasers at him. He merely smiles at me wickedly and the closed door hides him from my view.

"Why does Natasha want to see me?" I ask as Jack leads me up a flight of stairs. I think my voice is shaking, so I try to calm myself down.

"I don't really know." Jack replies as we walk down a hallway together. Thankfully, there are several agents walking around, so I'm not horribly frightened by my surroundings, but I am definitely on guard. "Actually," he whispers as he opens the door for me that leads to the hospital wing. "I might have overheard her saying to Clint-he's my uncle, in case you're curious- that she's been in contact with Tony Stark and some other bloke- I can't remember who."

"Thor?" I ask hopefully.

Jack's eyes brighten. "Yeah, that was it! But anyways, don't tell my mum- she'd have my head for spying on spies, if you know what I mean."

"Don't worry, I won't," I say as Jack rummages through some containers. "I've been caught plenty of times spying, and believe me, it's not fun."

Jack shrugs. "Maybe you're just not quiet enough. I used to be extremely loud until-"

"Or it might have had something to do with the fact that an Asgardian deity was listening and tracking my every movements." I say, trying not to snap.

Jack smiles genially. "That too. Here." He hands me some disinfectant, which I wipe across my wound, wincing as I do so. "Blimey, what happened to you anyway?"

"Loki stabbed me with a knife," I say, and when Jack looks horrified, I hastily add, "It was an accident." Jack raises his eyebrows. "Okay, fine, it was sort of my fault. I kicked his shin and it slipped."

"Oh," says Jack, looking through some other cabinets. "Loki doesn't seem particularly nice."

"He's not," I agree. "He's an annoying prick."

"Well that's not very nice," says Jack, and I'm about to snap when I realize by his smile that he is only teasing.

I shrug as sit on one of the examination tables, wiping away the majority of the blood. "I'm only being honest."

Jack closes the cabinet and hops up next to me on the table as a few agents walk by. "Emma is usually here- she's the nurse. I'm not sure why she's not. But I know how to wrap your arm, so I guess it's fine."

"Um," I say, snatching my arm away from his reach. "That's okay."

"Well you can't properly wrap it on your own," Jack says as-a-matter-of-factly. "Here, I can at least help."

"No, really, Jack, it's fine."

"But, The-" Jack stops as he looks at me. "Oh. Oh." He looks at my arm, then back into my eyes. I try to breath regularly. "It's okay." He says softly. "I'm not going to hurt you."

I squint at him, and he takes my arm. His hand is warm, and I feel tingles running up and down my skin. I put the soft square of fabric on the wound as Jack says, "Just tell me if I wrap it too tightly, 'kay?"

My lip is trembling, but I manage to keep my composure as he carefully wraps the gauze around my arm. His fingers are so gentle, I can barely feel them. I close my eyes as I feel the panic begin to rise, but I take a few deep breaths as Jack says, "It's alright, Thea. I'm almost done."

One of my eyelids half opens as Jack ties up the gauze straps neatly. "There." He smiles at me. "Ta-da."

"Um, thanks," I say, trying to remember to breath correctly. "So can we go to Natasha now? I really want to hear about-"

"Your sister," says Jack, hopping down from the table. "I know. I have a little sister too." He offers his hand, but I elect to ignore it, getting off the table myself. "She's six. Her name's Alaina." He leads me back down the hallway. "What's your sister's name?"

"You already know it." I say.

Jack looks surprised, but quickly regains his composure. "How'd you know?"

I smile without thinking about it. "Perception."

"I see," Jack smiles.

A few minutes later, Jack says, "Here we are," and opens yet another door, which I realizes leads a small control room. Inside, I see Natasha, a few agents, and (groan) Loki, most of which are on computers.

Natasha looks up when we enter. "Oh, there you are. Thank you, Jack. You can go now." She turns and says something to Loki, who has not taken his eyes off of me, or wiped off the stupid smile on his face.

Before he leaves, Jack turns to me. "You're not very good at shooting arrows, are you?"

Surprised, I turn to him. "How'd you-"

"Your wrists are all cut up from arrows you have tried to string, and your palms are rough from the bow. In short," Jack winks at me and I blink rapidly. "Perception."

"What's your point?" I ask.

"After Natasha's done with you," says Jack. "Meet me in the training fields."

"I suppose you're a good shot."

Jack shrugs. "As I said, Barton's my uncle. He's taught me a thing or two about arrows."

I hesitate. Jack seems nice enough, but...

"Thea would be happy to accept," says Loki, walking up to the pair of us. "As soon as she is done, which I expect to be soon."

Jack looks at me hopefully and I want to spit every bad name at Loki that I can think of.

"Fine," I say shortly, then offer a small smile at Jack. He walks out, whistling as the doors swish to a close. As soon as he's gone, I whirl around to Loki, "I hate you," I hiss. "I hate you, I hate you, I hate­-"

"Do you not think once is enough?" Loki asks, sneering a little. Then, he says belittlingly, "Besides... you were blushing, kitten."

Thanks for reading!!!! Please remember to vote and comment... so excited for all the reads this story is getting. Thanks!!!!!

Blue Moon Fact:

The actor who portrays Jack, Robbie Kay, is the same actor who plays Peter Pan in Once Upon a Time and the cabin boy in Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides