Trying to get my dedication working.... wink wink to a certain someone :-) 

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~Sierra

Chapter Eight

I skip dinner, making up the excuse that I had already eaten, electing instead to pace around the ship. When I get to lap four, Tony sticks his head out of his office and says, "Hey kid, get in here for a few minutes will you?"

I want to protest, but I don't, ignoring the stinging pain on my collar bone. "What?" I ask, walking into the lab. Dr. Banner isn't here, but Steve is. He seems to be inspecting some sort of metal beam.

Tony doesn't reply; he just begins touching thin air. A screen appears with what seems to be a blue print.

"Well?" I ask, trying not to look mildly interested in what he's doing. "What did you want?"

He glances at me, nonplussed. "Nothing. I was just getting tired of you watching you walk in circles."

I blink at him.

"Problem?" he asks, walking over to Steve and grabbing a wrench from the table. As he walks past me, he lightly nudges my arm with the wrench. "Stop looking like a statue. It's disturbing."

"So you called me in here for nothing." I say dully.

Tony pretends to consider this for a couple seconds, swinging the wrench around in a circle. "Yeah, pretty much." He replies.

"Okay..." I say. "You're weird, and I'm leaving."

"Excuse me, did my ears deceive me?"

"No." I say, then walk out of the room.

"I'm not weird, kid!"

I ignore him, although I can't help but smile wryly.

The sun has set, and the ship, although still plenty staffed, isn't that crowded- I only pass a few crew members on my way up a flight of stairs and down a long hallway.

However, as I approach the stairs that lead to the control room downstairs, I hear Fury yelling something to someone. Not wanting to cross paths with the S.H.I.E.L.D director, I sidestep. Instead of walking downstairs, I open a side door that leads to another hallway.

This hallway isn't crowded either. Actually, only one crew member walks past me as I carefully close the door. Clearly, this isn't a very busy area; it just has some stacked crates, and at the end of the hall, I see a door that leads out of the hallway. There are a couple other, smaller doors on the walls, which I assume are for storage.

Once again, Fury's loud voice disturbs the peace, and I head for the door at the end of the hall. But first, my ears prick up as I hear movement behind me.

Whirling around, I groan. Loki is standing there, with his hands behind his back. "Will everyone stop bothering me?" I moan, not really to anyone, mostly at the ceiling.

"Apparently not," comes Loki's unapologetic reply.

"Go...away..." I say, glancing at the door, which looks even more wonderful now, even though I have no idea where it leads. Since I'm near the control room though, I venture that it has something to do with machinery.

"I'd rather not,"

"The world doesn't run on your command," I say, beginning to edge towards the door. "I think you might have learned that last time you were here."

Loki raises his eyebrow, then says, "Of course, you are correct, although I must say-"

"I don't care what you have to say, Loki," I snap.

"Really?" Loki asks, his hands still behind his back, which is beginning to make me nervous. "Although, I shouldn't say I am surprised. You generally don't seem to care what other people have to say."

"Okay," I say, leaning to the side slowly, trying to see what Loki is holding. He doesn't even seem to notice that I'm attempting to look behind him- except for the fact that he leans against the door jamb. My anger directed to him is temporarilg lifted by curiousity.

His green eyes meet mine, and they are cool and calculating.

"Well whatever," I say, then begin to walk down the hallway, because I am not getting a good feeling. At all.

"Thea, I would rather you stay here, please," comes Loki's annoying voice.

I don't even turn around. "Well I would rather not, and seeing as this is me we are talking about, I think I can make my own decision, thanks."

I hear movement behind me, but for once, I am too slow to react. I feel his hand on my arm, pulling me and then pushing me to the floor. Now my instincts kick in, and I lash out at him, not even knowing where I am striking. Apparently it doesn't matter, because I find myself immobile within three seconds.

Then I realize that's because there are two other pair of hands on me. It's Natasha and Tony.

Oh god.

"No!" I yell, desperately trying to get away. "I don't want to right-"

Too late, and a sense of sheer panic overtakes me, causing my arms to shake. Tony says something to Loki, but I don't hear a thing.

 Natasha gently pushes my head to the side.

I feel a hand near my neck.

Loki brings his other hand out from behind his back. I feel dizzy- it's a needle. Sickeningly sharp. It shines in the bright lights.

I struggle, but Tony holds my torso down, and Natasha says something in a frightened tone, and I begin to cry. I think I might faint.

Loki says something back to Natasha, but I literally have lost my sense of hearing in my state of blind panic. "Please..." I beg, but my voice is choked and I honestly don't think anyone has heard me.

And then I feel Loki's fingers brush my scar. Tony says something else, looking annoyed. I can't imagine why. Maybe it's because he got his work interrupted. Or something to do with Natasha, who looking stressed enough to pass out. Or maybe-

Pain.

Searing white pain.

I can't feel anything else except for the horrible sear through my body. Someone is ripping my neck out. I can't breathe! I can't do anything!

Except scream as the pain flows through me. I buck my legs, but someone holds them down.

No.

Pain. Excruciating. I can't feel anything. My vision blurs so that the people hovering over me are indistinguishable from each other. I feel liquid on my cheeks. Tears, most likely. Maybe-

I scream again, and again and again. It hurts, it hurts! I try to get away, to get away from this, but I can't. I can't move and I can't breathe, and oh god, I'm going to die.

The area near my collarbone is on fire as if I am being burned alive.

Flames. Ow-pain-ow-oh lord, help me and-

I scream.

I grapple with my hands, trying to get up to the area to try to soothe it, but a cold hand takes it. Thin fingers. Natasha. Not being able to do anything else, I squeeze her hand tightly, still crying. I'm probably cutting off her circula-

The pain hikes, and I shriek in agony, over and over again.

I hear someone shouting. Is someone shouting? Maybe not.

My shrieks echo through the hallway and I try to arch my back off the ground, to at least be able to move a little to ease my pain, but hands keep me down. Why can't I move?! I'm trapped. Horrifyingly trapped and I want out. I want out.

My throat begins to burn. My voice wavers as I scream again.

Visions go through my head. Red. Then bright blue. Then...

Screaming, I see the razor sharp teeth in front of me, hovering over me, smiling sickeningly. I kick my leg up, panicking and am surprised that I can actually move it. I hit something, and then someone grabs my leg and pushes it down.

More shouts. I don't care what they are saying. I just want to be out of this hell hole.

Someone pushes my head back farther, and I feel two hands on my neck- one cold and one warm. The cold one pushes my hair to the side, I think. The warm one pulls my neck up slightly, then angles it to the side so that I am facing the other way. No.

I scream again, and begin to shriek things that I cannot begin to fathom what I am saying. My body is shaking and my shrieks echo through the hallway, ringing painfully in my ears.

I feel a weight off my neck.

Red.

Red.

Pain.

I scream so loudly, I can't hear myself think.

Teeth, and I kick again.

My vision begins to re-focus. Maybe that's a good sign. Maybe-

Searing, hot, white pain. I scream again.

And then nothing.

I'm numb and my eyes shutter closed, then pop open.

I'm panting. My body is quivering out of control. I realize that I somewhere in the process, I had let go of Natasha's hand. I don't remember doing that.

I hear my name, but I can't seem to remember how to react to that.

"Thea!"

My eyes avert to my right. It's Tony.

"Wha-" I cough. I can't talk.

"Hey, kid, it's going to be okay. Can you hear me?"

He waves his hand in front of me. Natasha hits it.

"Ye...s..." I stammer.

Tony wraps his arms around my torso and lifts me into a sitting position, supporting me from behind me because I can't seem to get my body to work right now.

Then, I see Loki. He's in front of me, looking at my collarbone and saying something to Natasha. "Thea," he says calmly. "Can you hear me?"

"Yes." I say, my voice not much clearer.

"Does your scar hurt?"

I think that's what he said.

"I don't.... know..." I say, which is the truth. I can't feel anything.

"Thea," says Loki, more firmly. "Listen to me. Does. Your. Scar. Hurt?"

"No?" I guess.

He presses the area on my collarbone. "There. Does it hurt?"

"Nooo...." I say.

Loki sighs, taking his finger away. "Good. Tony, take her upstairs. Natasha, get her to sleep. I'm going to go see Leah and make sure everything..."

I ignore the rest of whatever Loki says next and instead look at Natasha. She is... crying. I never thought I'd see her cry. Ever.

"Nat...asha..." mutter.

Her eyes dart to me. "Yes? Thea, what is it?"

"Nothing," I mutter and then my world goes black.

PS. This was a particularly hard chapter to write. I hope I did well. 
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