Fixed in the Shadows

"There's something going on here," Tony says, stepping away from his computer screen. "Why did Fury bring us in now?"

"Maybe he didn't trust us. Or maybe he just wanted to keep the whole tesseract thing quiet," Steve suggests.

"Who knows what he wants to do with the tesseract," Bruce mumbles with a shrug, focused on the screen in front of him.

"I'll know soon. JARVIS has been running a virus that will soon uncover the inner secrets of SHIELD and what they want with the tesseract." Tony holds up his phone.

"Psht. Oh, please," I scoff under my breath, still typing away on my laptop.

"Excuse me, is there something you would like to say?" Tony asks, annoyed.

I look up from my computer. "You may be able to get into SHIELD's confidential files but there is one problem with your program."

"And what's that?" Tony puts his hands on his hips.

"SHIELD is going to detect that virus as soon as it hits those files. But if you're a world-class hacker like myself, you can slide right past all the detection stuff and get right to the files." I turn my computer towards the billionaire.

"You're so bad," Steve whispers to me.

"I know," I wink at him.

Bruce and Tony step away from their screens to look at mine. They both scan the page, absorbing the information.

"SHIELD is using the tesseract to build weapons of mass destruction. It's called Phase Two. They've been running the operation for quite some time now," I summarize.

"Of course," Bruce says under his breath.

"Well, this is just great!" Tony exclaims, backing away from the computer and throwing his arms up. "I'm definitely going to have a talk with Fury about this one."

"Well, I'm not sticking around for that. I'll see you guys later." I shut my laptop and put it in my messenger bag. I stand up and move towards the door.

"Do you want me to come with you?" Steve asks, standing up himself.

"No, that's okay. I'm just gonna chill. Maybe take a shower. I'll see you later." I wave and I'm out the door. "Time to say hello to Loki," I whisper to myself.

I pull out my phone. I open the blueprints to the aircraft carrier and I run a GPS program to find where the SHIELD agents are keeping Loki. I weave through corridors, hiding at any sight of a human being. I maneuver deep inside the ship.

Finally, I arrive at the cage. I shut down the cameras so the SHIELD agents do not know where I am. I see that Thor has finally left his post. He has practically not moved from this room since he arrive on the helicarrier. I move slowly toward Loki. His back is to me.

Suddenly, he turns around. "Why, hello there," he says with a sinister smile.

"Hello, Loki," I say, tilting my head back, trying to stay casual. I can't let him figure anything out. I need to keep my poker face up. I need to hide the emotion. Emotion is weakness.

"Which one are you? Ah, yes, the computer hacker. And also... the outcast." He folds his hands together. "Agent Barton showed me all of your files. You've had a very interesting past."
"I guess you could say that," I answer coolly. "I'm sure yours is just as interesting or maybe even more so. Being adopted and a frost giant and all." I cross my arms. That's a point for me.

His smile fades and his brows furrow together. I have struck a nerve. "How did you..."

"I have my ways." My eyes squint. There is silence. Finally, I say, "You're not going to win." I clear my throat. I cross my arms and walk a few feet. Casual. Yeah.

"And why is that?" Loki asks.

Silence.

Loki chuckles. "You are a very resourceful woman. I like that. Maybe I should have recruited you as well." He wags his finger at me and smiles once again. "But enough about my past. What about yours? I sense much power in you. But something... not entirely human. Are the members of your team aware of your situation?"

"Not at all. It's my business, not theirs." I cock my head back.

"What happened? What made you this way? Tell me. I'm so curious." His voice becomes slick. He takes a few steps closer to the glass.

I decide to play this out and I take a step foward. "Alright, fair enough." I clear my throat once again. "My parents died when I was eight years old. I bounced around from foster homes. Some of them were very abusive." I gesture with my hands and take a breath.

"How tragic," Loki comments with no actual remorse in his voice.

"When I was fourteen, my foster parents sold me to this man. They were meth heads that needed a fix. So this man takes me to a remote building out in the middle of nowhere. He kept me there for six months." I look down. My heart starts to pound at the memories. Sweat begins to bead on my top lip.

"What happened there?" Loki asks, fully interested.

I walk closer to Loki. "He did experiments on me." I meet Loki's eyes. "Every day for six months he did whatever he wanted. Every day for six months he raped me. Every day he played out his sick fantasies on me!" My voice grows louder, fueled by anger. "Every day for six months he beat me! Every day for six months he tortured me! He would hook me up to these machines! He sent gamma rays through my body!" I look back down at the floor. I rub my foreheard and run my fingers through my thick hair. "I don't even know what all he did to me."

"How did you escape?" Loki whispers.

I meet his eyes again. "I'll tell you how I escaped." I move closer. I'm now just inches away from the glass. In a calm voice, I tell him the rest of the story. "One day, I discovered my power. I became so full of anger. My nails grew into what looked like claws." I raise my hand, fingers curled. "I cut myself free and I jumped on top of the man." I begin yelling. "I jumped on him and I ripped him to shreds!" I start gesturing and making the movements. "Blood was flying everywhere! I just kept cutting deep into him! I wanted to make him feel all the pain he had given me! I wanted to destroy him!" My breathing has become heavy. When I look back at Loki, I see my reflection in the glass. The iris of my eyes are white.

Loki's eyes are wide in shock. His jaw drops but then he quickly closes it once he realizes it's open. He purses his lips.

My voice quiets to a whisper. "When he stopped screaming, I stood up. I stared at his lifeless body, satisfied. I then looked up and saw my reflection. I was soaked in blood. My eyes were glowing white. My brain was swimming with adrenaline. I then left him there. I left him to rot like the piece of garbage he was."

"That's a very sad story. So riveting! But..." Loki breathes.

"That story is the reason why you are going to fail. That story will be your demise." I press up against the glass and smash my fist into it.

"I don't think..." He interrupts.

"You may be powerful, but I guarantee I wield more power that you can ever imagine. And I will kill you if I have to. You will not win." I growl at him and then turn away.

I storm out of the room and get a couple feet when my knees buckle and I fall to the ground. I lean up against the wall. I blink the sweat out of my eyes. I cover my face with my hands as I begin to cry. My body trembles as I release soft sobs. I stay there until I can cry no longer. I then stand, clean myself up and return to my fellow teammates like nothing ever happened.