Here's the next chapter! It's sort of a filler, but also sort of important... I guess it's an inbetweener.

Chapter Twenty Two: Will You Help Me?

~Thea's POV~

"Are you going to contact Thor?" I demand to Natasha as soon as Jack leaves the room. "Or Stark? Or is-"

"Patience, patience, Thea," says Loki admonishingly.

I ignore him. "What-"

I hear Thor laugh, but looking around, cannot find him. Then, I see him, illuminated by the screen, his face lit up though the pixels make his figure dissolved a little bit. "Oh Thea, I see the rainforest hasn't changed you one bit."

I cross my arms. "Where's Leah?" In the background, I can see a lab, and I'm pretty sure Stark is in the background. Sure enough, seconds later, he gives a hearty wave in my direction. I do not wave back.

Thor laughs again. "Hold on." He beckons to the right, smiles, and then my heart leaps as Thor picks up my sister and holds her up so I can see. "There. Are you satisfied?"

"Leah!" I exclaim, running forward as if that could possibly bring her any closer to me. "Leah! Are you okay?"

"Yeah!" says Leah, but I see a trace of fatigue in her eyes. "Where are you?"

"I don't really know." I say. "In the rainforest, I guess. How about you?" I cross my fingers that  will be able to pin point where-

"I'm in the mountains," says Leah. "I don't know where. But it's cold. I don't know. Maybe Germ-"

"Sh," says Thor, smiling at her and moving some of her hair from her face. "Remember what I told you."

Leah's mouth forms an O as she looks at him. "Oh. Right." She turns to me and says proudly. "I'm not allowed to say where I am."

"Why not?" I ask innocently. "I mean-"

Thor answers instead of my sister. "Thea." He says warningly. I cross my arms, and he continues, "You know why-"

"Fine," I mutter, not wanting to get into this right now.

"But it's been fun," says Leah cheerfully. She smiles, which instantly makes me feel a little bit better. "Jane is teaching me astir-astri-astron-"

"Astronomy," corrects Thor.

Leah nods. "Right. Astronomy. But it's really fun. I'm learning about the stars and all the planets. Thea, do you think Pluto is a planet?"

"Yes," I say. "Of course it is."

"Well apparently it's not. But it's still my favorite planet." Says Leah staunchly. "How about you? You look awful and all bruised up. Is Loki being mean to you again?"

"Loki is standing right here and can hear every word you're saying," says Loki, his eyebrows raised. Leah looks horrified. She's never him-then again, who does- and I'm pretty sure she's afraid of him.

Interrupting Leah, who still looks frightened, I say "I'm fine." deciding not to tell her I've been learning how to fight and kill. It will only make her worry more.

Thor smiles. "Leah, go find Jane. I wish to speak with Thea alone."

"Bye Thea," says Leah in a tiny voice, looking sad.

Hoping to cheer her up, I say, "I'll talk to you soon, 'kay, Leah? Keep up with your... astronomy." My voice tightens. I wonder when I will see her next. If I will ever see her again. I shake my head, trying to clear those thoughts from my head. I stare at the space in front of me, trying to focus on anything but my little sister walking away from the screen. I hear a door close and then I finally look up.

"I'm not sure if I should tell you this, Thea," says Thor, clearly hesitating.

"Then by all means, tell me." I say.

Thor sighs. "Actually, there are two things. One is about Leah." He pauses. "She is having a hard time sleeping. She wakes in the dead of the night, screaming and crying."

"What?" I gasp. "What's wrong?"

"Does she have glimpses of the Imeldi?" asks Loki, walking up from behind me.

Thor shakes his head. "No. Jane and I have asked her over and over. She claims that her dreams are about your parents."

I try to keep my breathing regular. "Is she okay? Does she get any sleep? Does-"

"She seems to be fine otherwise." He smiles. "She asks questions almost more than you do, and has a fascination for the world around her. She sleeps, but it is restless. Lately, she has gotten better, but I still worry."

"What else did you want to tell me?" I ask, my voice shaking.

Thor glances at Loki, who has a stormy expression on his face. Something tells me that Loki does not want me to hear what Thor is about to say. "There is an army of Imeldi near your camp. They are stationary, but desire one thing."

"Me." I say, trying to keep calm. "Why don't they attack?"

"Because they are weak," says Thor. "Your forces decimated about half their camp and then surrounded it."

"So they're captured?" I say, with a relative amount of relief.

"Virtually. But Thea, I must warn you. The heads of S.H.I.E.L.D. have desire to use the Imeldi's interest in you to their advantage."

"Meaning," I say, "They're going to use me as bait."

"In a sense."

"Well it doesn't make sense." I say. "Why would they do that? What could I possibly do?"

"The Imeldi want you in their possession. S.H.I.E.L.D. seems to be willing to take any necessary means to discover the Imeldi's true purpose."

"Let me get this straight," I say. "S.H.I.E.L.D. wants to turn me over to the Imeldi in exchange for information."

"Yes."

I pause, then ask a question I already know the answer to. "Why don't they want Leah?"

"Thor," says Loki warningly, but I push him, willing him to shut up. Natasha looks up from one of the computer screens, one eyebrow raised.

Thankfully, Thor continues as if Loki weren't even there. "They do want her."

"Wh-"

"But Jane, Stark, and myself are keeping her safe. As long as we are around, they will do her no harm."

"You won't always be around though."

"Yes, Thea, we will. Now as for you, Agent Romanoff, Barton, and Loki will be looking after you. We do not know yet S.H.I.E.L.D.'s next actions, But I urge you- do not go looking for the Imeldi."

"Why would I go looking for them?" I demand.

From behind me, Loki scoffs.

Thor smiles gently. "I think we all know the answer to that. Now listen carefully. S.H.I.E.L.D. agents will be arriving at your camp within two days. Barton and Loki will hide you."

"Thor," I say tiredly. "If government agents want me, there won't be anywhere they can't find me."

Thor looks like he's about to say something compassionate, something that would help me feel better- in essence, a lie. But then, shaking his head, he says, "Thea, we will do all we can. You  must keep a level head, though."

Loki speaks before I can say anything else.

"Thea, I would appreciate it if you ran along to your date." He ignores my protests that it is not a date and says, "I need to speak to my brother without any more idiotic interruptions."

In lieu with the fact that I need Loki on my side as much as possible, I say with as much graciousness I can muster, "Of course." I high tail it out of there without another word. As I look back, I see Loki squinting at me suspiciously. Thinking I might have over done it, I say in a sarcastic tone, "Your majesty."  Loki seems to accept this farewell and turns away. Heaving a sigh of relief, I close the door tightly.

For my plan to work, I need an ally. And I'm pretty sure I know exactly where to get one.

*

As I expected, Jack is waiting for me by the archery fields, already with two bows and dozens of arrows scattered about on the ground. "Hi!" he says with one of his charming smiles. "Loki was right- that didn't really take long."

"Don't count on him being right most of the time," I say rigidly.

Jack laughs. "All right. Are you ready?"

"Yeah," I say, picking up the other bow, the one that he is not holding. "So, um," I choose my words carefully. "Why do you want to help me, exactly?"

Jack shrugs. "You seem nice and you look lonely. Besides," he smiles guiltily. "I could use a friend too."

"Well thanks," I say honestly.

"Okay," says Jack. "To business. Take your stance."

"My what?"

"Your archery stance, silly."

"Oh right." My entire being is quivering with impatience, but I ignore it. I pull my bow back and reach for the arrow that Jack offers. I focus on the bulls-eye thirty meters or so away from me.

"Bring your shoulder down a little," says Jack.

I do it. It makes me feel looser.

"And use your mouth as an anchor." I hear Jack walk around me and put his hand on my shoulder. I tense up. "Relax. Pretend you're made of liquid. But not too liquid-y. Okay...Aim and... release."

With a swish, the arrow goes flying through the air. It doesn't exactly hit the bulls-eye, but at least it hits the target. I smile. "Wow."

"Feel better?" he asks, clearly pleased with himself.

"Yeah."

"Okay, now watch me," he says. With trained precision, he moves his arm back, nocks an arrow in his bow and looses the arrow. It lands with a precise swick on the bulls-eye. He looks at me cockily. "How was that?"

I cross my arms. "Your uncle is Hawkeye. It's genetic, I'm sure. Or sheer dumb luck."

"Oh, you're just saying that 'cause you're jealous," he teases.

"Am not."

"Are so."

"Am not."

"Am so."

"That reminds me, why do you have a British accent and Barton doesn't?"

"You're changing the subject because you know you've lost," he taunts, but it's not a mean taunt. It's both of us enjoying the banter.

"The question still stands."

"Well if you must know," says Jack. "My mum is British. I was born and raised there for most of my life."

"Oh." I say innocently. "Okay, my turn to hit the bulls-eye."

"You mean your turn to try to hit the bulls-eye." Jack corrects.

I ignore him and notch another arrow.

*

As it turns out, I do not hit the bulls-eye, but I never really expected to. Jack is nice the entire time, though, and offers his help continuously. My best shot has the arrow landing on two rings outside the bulls-eye, but I'm still relatively satisfied.

Jack, as it turns out, likes heights almost as much as his uncle. After we're done, we raid the kitchen for some snacks-mostly sweets- and then climb to the top of the Nest. We sit down at the edge of a small wooden platform, our legs dangling over the sides, under the ropes.

"So," says Jack. "Where are you from?"

"New York," I say. "I lived there..." I hesitate.

"Until the Imeldi?" he asks quietly.

I nod, not trusting myself to speak.

"Well," he says. "I'm from Britain."

I offer a tiny smile, "I rather figured that."

"Well, you know, I could be from Scotland. Or-"

"You have a British accent, not a Scottish one," I point out.

Jack nudges me. "Well then, Miss Know-It-All.'

I smile.

We sit there in silence for a few minutes. Then, I take a deep breath. "Jack, are you willing to help me with something big?"

"Well of course," says Jack easily.

"Okay." I take another breath, knowing that I am putting all of my trust in a boy I have just met today. "So here's the thing."

"The Imeldi are after you, I know."

"S.H.I.E.L.D. agents are willing to exchange me for information."

Jack looks indignant. "Those crack-headed-"

"Jack," I say. He calms down a little. "But here's the thing. Apparently they're going to try to hide me. Not S.H.I.E.L.D. Barton. Natasha. Loki."

"I hate Loki."

"I feel you." I crack my knuckles. "Problem is, if they don't find me, then they will take Leah instead."

"So you're going to give yourself up to S.H.I.E.L.D.?" asks Jack, looking concerned.

"No. I'm going to give myself up to the Imeldi.'

Jack looks horrified.

"Bloody hell, Thea, are you crazy!?" he whisper-shouts.

"No. Even if S.H.I.E.L.D. takes me, I don't have a guarantee that they will give me to the Imeldi. But if the Imeldi don't have me, they will try to take Leah."

"Why do they want you in the first place?"

"I don't know," I say exasperatedly.

Jack furrows his brow. "So basically, you want me to help you sneak out of the camp and get you to the Imeldi."

I twist my hands to try to stop the shaking. "Yes."

Jack grimaces. "You're completely mental."

"I'm doing it for Leah," I whisper. "Please, Jack, I need your help. I can't ask anyone else." I try to keep the begging out of my voice.

"But..." Jack pretends to look sulky. "You're my only friend."

I nudge him. "Don't be silly, you'll find more. Besides, I don't plan on dying."

"You're giving yourself up to the Imeldi."

"I'm a good fighter," I say confidently.

"Not so good with arrows."

"I could knock you out if I wanted to," I point out.

"But you don't want to." He smiles, but it's a sad smile. He sighs. "Fine. I'll help you. When is this going down?"

"Really?!" I try to keep the volume of my squeal to the minimum.

He shrugs. "Sure, why not. I can piss off Loki anyway."

"Why do you hate him so much?" I ask. "I mean, I totally understand, but-"

"Why do you hate him?" he asks, his eyes troubled. I decide not to ask any more questions. Besides, Jack hurries on, "So when is this happening?"

"Tomorrow morning."

He cracks his knuckles. "Perfect."

"And you won't tell anyone?" I confirm.

He smiles. "No. I have a little sister, too, remember?"

I smile too, "Thank you," I whisper.

"Any time."

~Nobody's POV~

"Are you a fool?" Loki hisses at Thor. "Telling Thea that... you know what she'll do now, don't you?"

"Yes, I do," says Thor.

Loki is livid. "So you're willing to sacrifice the sister you care for less so that-"

"How dare you!" snarls Thor. Barton walks forward and puts a hand on Loki's shoulder. "I care for them equally, and you know this, brother."

"You've just dangled a suicide mission in front of her nose!" Loki says. "How is that compassion?"

"Thea will try to give herself up to the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents." Says Thor. "And you mustn't let her."

Loki rolls his eyes. "Well thank you for your clarity, brother, it's most inciteful."

"She knows of the S.H.I.E.L.D. base some miles from where you are, does she not?" asks Thor, directing his question to Barton.

"Yes. I made certain of that when I was training her today."

"That's where she will try to go. The S.H.I.E.L.D. agents will be prepared to search your camp. No matter where you hide Thea in the camp, they will find her."

"I seem to be missing your point to all of this," says Loki cooly.

Thor smiles. "If you hide Thea in the camp, they will find her."

"Brother, that is not clear at a-" Loki stops, then stares at the pixelated image of his brother. Thor raises his eyebrows.

"Oh." says Loki.

Hiiii! So what do you think is going to happen? Clearly there are flaws in both Thor's plan and Thea's plan... How do you like Jack? Let me know what you think!

Thanks for reading!
Sierra