' would you let me, lead you even when you're blind, in the darkness?"

WANDA MAXIMOFF HAD FAMILIARISED HERSELF WITH THE usual behaviours of her team. Especially during meetings. The hushed chatter, the fingers tapping consistently against the table, the twisting pens between knuckles. It was the absentminded actions which brought grounding to the team.

This time, though, it wasn't nearly the same. The air thickened as a silence threatened to suffocate her, it was uncomfortable, it wasn't them. She watched as more people poured in, including faces of agents she didn't know. She couldn't help but wonder if they really would be that helpful, sprinting in there guns ablazing while a force of the universe threatened to lure them into their imminent death. She winced at the thought, it didn't do well to dwell on these things, she noted, turning her face away.

She considered sparking up a conversation, anything to break the silence, but eventually decided against it. The mood didn't need to be lightened this time, it was too far gone. She bit the inside of her cheek, eyes flicking across the room. They all seemed tense, the tense she was so familiar with. The tense that people would react with whenever red light emitted from her fingers. Fear. They were afraid.

Clint leaned back in his chair, one of the only movements in a seemingly still room, and met her eye. She flushed, being caught staring was incredibly far up on the list of embarrassing things to avoid. It wasn't like she'd meant to stare, anyway. Or maybe she was overthinking this and he didn't care at all. Her shoulders slumped, as she brushed away her irrational thoughts, realising her worries were of trivial things, when there was clearly a much bigger problem to assess.

Her gaze fell to her lap, as she attempted to avoid repeating the situation from earlier, but she supposed they all did have bigger things to worry about. There was rare occasions where you could catch Thor, the God of Joy, if she may call him that, looking so serious. The gravity of the situation clearly took a toll on him, along with the rest of them, and she silently wondered if she was missing something in the overall situation.

The door clicked open, and she looked up to find Fury entering, announcing his arrival with the slam of the door. She suppressed a flinch at the motion, eyes snapping up to the man. Instinctively, she averted her gaze to the person sat beside her, or who was supposed to be sat beside her, apparently.

"Where's Loki?" She asked, shattering the silence as she felt her insides cringe at the way all eyes averted to her. Well, she thought wryly, so much for not being the one to break the silence. Despite it, she wouldn't allow herself to cower under their gazes, eyes glued to the directors face. Although, she wasn't exactly sure why he would know, anyways.

"Shouldn't we be asking you that, Miss Maximoff?" He questioned back to her not unkindly. He was right, she supposed. Her eyes scanned over the room once more, it seemed everyone was there, apart from Loki-

Almost on demand, she watched a portal open behind Fury, green sparks spewing out of it, as he emerged. She tilted her head, brows furrowed in confusion as to why he couldn't act like any normal person and use the door. Surely it had been long enough for him to adapt to that part of living on earth. As soon as they came though, her queries were answered as her eyes flicked to the glowing object placed in his hand.

The Tesseract.

"We do need this, no?" He asked mockingly, dragging in the only trace of humour in a room of steeled gazes and fear. Instantly, she felt her jaw relax from where it had been clenched, relief washing through her body. The look of someone who wasn't as worried about this situation as the rest of them brought peace to the witch, maybe even hope, to a certain extent. But then again, when was he truly worried?

The look on his face when she was in the hospital flashed into her mind unbidden, and she banished it. There are exceptions to every rule, clearly.

"You've had it this whole time?" Fury snapped, waking Wanda out of her trance as she looked up to find the man squinting sceptically at Loki, who seemed like he couldn't give a care in the world. He circled the square in his hand, fingers tapping against it almost rhythmically.

"Hmm, I suppose. I left it in a dusty old box in the attic when I moved here," he replied sarcastically, and the redhead bit back a smile. Fury, however, didn't seem to find it as amusing as she did, as he shot Loki a dangerous glare, watching the God take a seat besides Wanda. He slid the stone to Fury who was stood on the opposite side, before lifting his legs to rest on the table, crossing one over the other.

Steve glared at him, but to be honest, it wasn't very intimidating. Loki, as she had shortly before, let his eyes rake over the room, before landing on a particular sorcerer. He tilted his head slightly, eyes squinting.

"Correct me if i'm wrong, but don't you usually wear the stone as a God awful piece of jewellery?" He interrogated, and Stephen scowled at him. Loki's dry humour never really impressed the man, not to mention the unspoken magic competition between the two.

"First of all, it's not jewellery, I protect it," he seethed through clenched teeth, "And it's at the sanctum guarded by the Masters, where it will remain safe."

Loki hummed, clearly not very satisfied with the response as his eyes lingered over the Wizard for a while longer, before turning back to Fury and staring at the man expectantly. Wanda felt confusion bubble up in her, wasn't he the one so stressed about this just yesterday? How had that hardened, steel gaze have melted into sarcastic comedy in less than a day? Her eyes lingered on him for a while, and she decided she didn't care if he were to catch her staring. Pursing her lips, she turned away as Fury began to speak.

"I'm sure you all understand the gravity of this situation," he began, his words clearly a jab at Loki who shot him a dazzling smile, "But we've figured out a way to retrieve two of the stones." She silently wondered how they had done it so quickly, but the thought was washed away as she berated herself for allowing her focus to waver.

"Gamora says the Mind Stone should be located on a planet called Xandar, so a group of you will be sent there, and the rest of you will be sent to retrieve the Reality Stone on Knowhere."

"Very funny, Fury," Natasha rolled her eyes, beckoning the man to reveal the actual location, but was met by a deathly serious gaze. Her brow furrowed in confusion, he was planning to send them.. to nowhere?

"The planet, its called Knowhere," Loki corrected, eyes crinkling with mirth as he saw Fury visibly grow angrier at the God. Honestly, Wanda didn't know how he found enjoyment in triggering the man so much, she herself had an irrational fear of Fury. Well, rather being kicked off the team than Fury himself, but she supposed the team wouldn't let him do that. Would they?

Nevertheless, she couldn't deny the smirk threatening at her lips everytime Fury almost exploded at the God, thriving to keep his calm demeanor, but feeling his nerves fry at the snarky comments.

"You've been split into groups by myself and our agents, I can assure you that these are an even variety of your abilities," He monologued, and Wanda felt bordem brewing up in her. She shook it off immediately, scolding herself, this wasn't the situation to be disinterested in.

"Strange, Thor, you'll be leading to find the Mind Stone. Barton, Stark, and Barnes, you will be backing them. Oh and also, Parker, you'll be going along with them, don't do anything risky, your aunt is expecting you back home."

"Cap, Romanoff, Banner, and Wilson, you're to assist Maximoff to get the reality stone. Strange, Maximoff, you'll need to use your powers for both stones, they aren't-

"Easy to touch for a mortal, I'm well aware," Stephen interrupted, growing tired at Fury's view on him, did the man really think he was lacking knowledge. He was literally the Sorcerer Supreme.

Wanda, however, did not have time to dwell on this, her mind was encircling another thought-

"I'm not overly fond of your team," a voice slithered from besides her, "But should I not have expected to be sent on this mission?"

Honestly, she was relieved he said it so she hadn't needed to. Biting the inside of her cheek, she forced the confusion off her face, she didn't care. It wasn't like she was incapable of doing it without him, he was just good moral support.

"Director, I believe my brothers abilities will be essential in this mission, it would be foolish to let them go to waste," Thor defended, and the smirk on Loki's face grew, if that was even possible.

With a sigh, Fury pinched his nose, his wrinkles deepening with exasperation. "Fine," he caved at last, "I suppose I shouldn't have to ask what team you'd like to be in?"

Loki flushed, smirk wavering as Fury sent him a victorious grin at being able to catch him off guard. As quick as it went though, it returned, "I wouldn't be so sure."

She felt a burn in her neck where she snapped around to look at him, ignoring the embarrassment crawling up her spine as she openly exposed how his words affected her. He felt guilt flood his stomach, as he realised what his words had unintentionally suggested, and hastened to rectify his mistake.

"You're assuming I want to help your team at all," he shot back, and Fury rolled his eyes, muttering something under his breath before turning to Gamora.

"You can tag along wherever you feel necessary," he said.

"We set out in an hour, suit up. And Avengers, prepare yourselves."

"If you can," she muttered under her breath.

She blew out air through her clenched teeth, hands tracing the intricate patterns imbedded on her sleeves as she attempted to soothe her spiralling thoughts. This was stupid, so stupid. It was just another mission, she would be fine, it would be fine.

With a huff, her hand went up to fluff out her hair, another wave of annoyance hitting as it just wouldn't stay. The door clicked open, and she twisted on her heel, scarlet energy unconsciously arising. Loki. She slammed the red back down.

"You look tense," he stated, an arm twisting around her waist as he spun her towards him. She shrugged her shoulders languidly, leaning into the touch.

"Mm, don't like the sound of this mission," she admitted, eyes flitting away from his as she stared somewhere behind him. "Don't know why," she added in a murmur.

His hand uncurled from her, and she tried not to feel its loss as green sparks emitted from his fingers, morphing into an object before dissipating. With a blink, she quenched the urge to roll her eyes. It was a sandwich.

"Did you want to go on an empty stomach?" He teased, and she all but ripped the food from his grasp, shaking her head in defeat as she unwrapped it. She missed the way his eyes fell to her suit, and heat rushed to his cheeks slightly, before flicking his eyes away.

Her teeth sunk into the bread, and she felt the hunger which had been unbeknownst to her satiate. She attempted a muffled 'thank you', only gaining a chuckle out of the God, who laid a delicate hand to her arm.

"I'll see you in the jet," he told her, removing the hand as she nodded at him, her hand covering her mouth as she swallowed.

"Mhm, I'll be there soon," she murmured, sending him a deadly glare as he laughed once again at her expense.

A whisp of wind swooped through her hair, sending wayward strands towards her face and obscuring her vision. Huffing, she tugged them behind her ears for the third time, trudging through the damp grass towards the jet.

She ignored how its industrial engine whirring irritated her ears, lugging a bag over her shoulder as her hands gripped the railling and she hauled herself up onto the stairs.

The wind shifted once again, and she considered using the red to tether it if it fucking moved her hair again. With a sigh, she forced herself to relax, the situation clearly struck a nerve of agitation in her, because the little things seemed to bother her to no end. Moodily, she chucked her bag into a compartment, before dropping herself into a chair just beneath it, not bothering to buckle in considering they weren't going to set out for a while.

She let a bolt of red energy burst forth from her hands, it had been clawing at her wrists, practically begging to be released. Her hands contorted as she twisted it just above her gloves, letting it weave through her fingers, wrapping around the possessively.

Sometimes, on the quiet, cold days, her roaring hatred for the red was merely a spark, sometimes she didn't think of it as a weapon. On those days, she could just watch and watch until she became lost in its entrancing spell, she'd accept it as a part of her and not want to tear it to shreds.

This was not one of these days. It slunked back down into her with a whine, as she banished it. Placing her hands on her thighs, she averted her attention to the sound of thudding up the stairs, mixed with muffled grunts. She raised an eyebrow, witnessing the sound grow louder and louder until-

Peter. With a final groan, he panted, letting go of the multiple bags he was dragging up along with him and running a hand down his face in exasperation. His eyes flitted to Wanda, and she watched his expression become sheepish as he sent her an awkward wave.

"I volunteered to bring some of the bags while they suited up, but uh- I didn't think they'd be as heavy." He laughed despite himself, and she reciprocated, walking over to help him. Reaching over, she pulled one up, startled at its weight.

"Are they bringing steel doors with them or what?" She muttered, letting a snake of red wrap around the bags, and tugging them into the jet. He thanked her with a smile, before seating himself besides her as the both of them opted to just abandon the bags in the middle of the jet, deciding that their rightful owners could deposit them where they'd please.

"Hows it going?" She asked, adjusting herself to sit more comfortably in her seat. Honestly, you'd think the avengers would have more comfortable seats for a jet they travel in almost daily. Or at least Wanda did.

"Its going," he stated dryly, and she shot him a look of understanding.

"Yeah," she breathed out, letting the conversation die out as they both sat, enjoying eachothers company. She supposed it was better than being alone, there wasn't an awkward air to it, just silence.

In the minutes following, the avengers poured in one by one, dragging their bags, scattering in seats, making hushed conversation amongst themselves. Wanda didn't feel like talking, averting all her focus on inspecting her nails as her mind drifted.

Her attention was piqued when she heard a familiar voice snark something from outside of the jet, before a blanket of green appeared in front of her, which settled into a luggage he had teleported inside the jet.

"Hello," he whispered from besides her, snickering as she yelped in surprise, gently brushing Peter besides her as she leaned in her chair. Sending him a sheepish look, she turned back to Loki, eyes squinting.

"Don't do that," she muttered, glaring at his smirk as he brushed a kiss to her knuckles.

"Sincerest apologies, darling," he teased, and she scoffed, feeling warmth settle in her stomach as she shifted towards him slightly, and his hand slid around her waist.

The last few agents entered shortly after, and Cap stood up. She could practically hear Loki rolling his eyes as the man started his famous pre-mission speech.

"We're travelling to a place in Norway as per Thor's request before we get to the planets through the Bi-freed- uh, no, the Bi-fra-" He cut himself off with an inhale. "Through a portal."

"The Bi-frost?" Loki's voice slithered with amusement, and Cap surrendered in agreement.

"Yes, that. Anyways, we're going to Knowhere first, and then Xandar. Stay  close, don't take any risks, you get hurt? Shake it off. This is important, one of the most important ones yet. We can't screw this one up."

And then, silence once again.

"Off to the Bi-freed we go," Loki muttered.

Wanda couldn't even count how many glares he gained from it.

a/n:

lmao ok so this one was longer bc i wanted to properly put more effort into it rather than the other chapters which were slightly toned down versions of my writing style

anyways, boring stuff aside, we're finally getting into the action yayyy

wattpads broken rn so idk if ur even gna see this, ill probs cry if not lols

anyways bye ily xo