Gentle Heart

“You think this is a good idea? I mean look at her, doesn’t seem like she’ll hurt a fly.”

“Shut up, Clint. Focus on the mission and stop staring at her.”

Talen felt uncomfortable as the two agents were muttering back and forth about her, it was a bit odd how the male was giving her a friendly look while his female companion was taking her a little more serious. The pink haired goddess tried to focus on what was ahead instead of what was going on at the moment. Fiddling with her fingers, her mind wandered off thinking of her barn and how much she missed it.

She missed her horses and she missed Ralph… Talen hoped that he was still there despite her being absent, but knowing her employee, he probably had called the police on her disappearance. A sigh left her lips as her grey eyes glanced up to see the man called Hawkeye catch her staring at him.

He smirked; a blush stained her cheeks as she avoided his gaze. Talen closed her eyes as she thought, Thor. Where are you? At this moment she wouldn’t mind his thunderous ways and how he just barges in without a thought. The image of having him barge in was dwindling as they rode farther away from the facility she was held captive for countless days. She had no idea how many days she was held within the custody of S.H.I.E.L.D.

To break the silence between her and the agents, she asked a simple question, “What’s does the mission entail?”

The red head quirked a brow at the shy goddess, “I would think Fury shared the details with you already.”

Talen shook her head, “No, he hasn’t. It would be great if I knew what I was heading into instead of going in there blindly and have a higher probability of blowing the mission.”

Natasha pursed her lips; she knew she couldn’t trust a demi-god from another world despite the footage she has seen with this woman being around Thor. Black Widow knew some of the goddess’ capabilities and she knew she was capable of more. The way Talen carried herself when she fought against Thor and the agents was hesitance and tension within her body that didn’t allow her to flow as smoothly as she would have if she was naturally in combat.

“We are to retrieve a specific item.”

“What kind of item?” Talen furrowed her brows in question.

“A necklace.” The pink haired goddess didn’t like how they kept things vague, not giving her too much information as if she would turn against them. When was there going to be a point where they trusted her? Wasn’t this the whole point on going on this mission? To gain their trust?

So far it wasn’t working so well. Talen kept silent as she wondered what kind of necklace that can hold such significance that all three of them had to go retrieve it. It had to be special, that’s for sure. The power that it withheld is unsure until she sees the piece itself. When the car halted suddenly, she lifted her head up. “We’re here.” Clint muttered, “Come on pinky, you too.”

Talen uttered something in confusion as she climbed out of the car to see they were in the middle of nowhere, her grey orbs scanned the area as she heard Natasha step out of the car. Closing the door behind her, the vehicle soon left them there. She was so caught up in staring at the night sky that she didn’t realize that the two agents were already walking away.

When she saw they were taking steps further away from her, she jogged to bridge the gap before she followed close behind them.

“Clint.”

Clint went on ahead as he stepped closer to the facility they were hundred feet away from. Talen felt a tight grip on her upper arm, wincing at the roughness, she heard Natasha mutter, “Let’s go.” Being pulled in front of the red head, Talen continued to walk cooperatively as they went around the area before picking a window.

Talen watched Natasha grab a few things from her belt, it was tedious in her eyes how many things humans needed in order to accomplish certain goals. Instead of waiting, Talen thought she would be kind and jump to the appropriate window and slide it open. When she was just about to ask if she needed help, Natasha pulled herself up with a rope to the window.

The goddess waited for Natasha from the inside, looking around to see that the facility was filled with ancient artifacts. In utter confusion, she asked, “Are we supposed to be here?”

“We never are.”

Nerves started to increase in the pit of her stomach as she trailed behind Natasha; there were no alarm systems as they walked to each section. Her thoughts went to Clint; it would make sense as to why they weren’t surrounded by police dogs and probably the SWAT team if she didn’t know any better. Every single item that was neatly tucked away in bullet proof glass looked valuable in some way.

Talen nervously looked around before she saw Natasha stop in front of a certain item, when she peered down at the item, through the thick glass, her eyes widened. “How? When did this get here?” She was puzzled, how did this necklace get here?

Talen jumped at the sudden sound, her eyes expressed shock as Natasha put several bullet holes into the thick glass. She noticed that it didn’t make a dent in the shield and glanced at Talen wondering if she was going to do anything, “Well? Aren’t you going to help me?”

“This isn’t right. Stealing from this facility…”

“It’s not theirs. If I remember correctly it belongs to one of your people.” Natasha was right, but it still felt wrong stealing from someone that found it. It wasn’t like the necklace could create any harm by being put on display, only when it was activated it can cause real damage. Staring at the small silver necklace, she shook her head in defiance.

“If you really want Fury’s trust and your weapon back I suggest you break the glass.” The red head had other ways of breaking it herself, but she wanted to see if the goddess was really on their side. This was only a test, to see if she really was trustworthy like Thor had told Fury and the rest of them countless times. Watching Talen become conflicted within herself made her a bit irritated; the goddess truly was too gentle.

Natasha inhaled deeply through her nostrils muttering she didn’t have any time to deal with this before she cocked the gun and aimed it at Talen’s temple. “If you really want to be on my good side, then you will take the necklace.” She didn’t hesitate to use brute force and seeing that Talen was getting a bit nervous didn’t stir any sympathetic feelings towards her.

Talen tried to remain calm as she talked herself through it, scouring the area for something to help break the glass; she found a rod that was similar to hers in height, but not as thick or powerful as her own. Getting a good grip on the rod that was on display, she took a strong swing at the glass which left a large crack. After a few more swings, the necklace was now free to grab. Just when Talen was about to grab it, the Earth rumbled underneath her knocking her off balance.

Holding onto the wall, she looked around before her eyes were met with a few grotesque like creatures. The creatures looked like lizards with intricate armor while wielding axes and swords as their weapons. A few stuck out there tongue before making a clicking sound. The few that were standing there parted to reveal a larger lizard stepping forward with a grin on its face.

“It would be wise if you stepped away from the necklace.”

Talen pursed her lips as she looked at the ring leader, taking a quick peek at the necklace, “No.” Snatching the necklace, she jumped in the air and kicked one of the creatures that charged at her. Gun shots rung every two seconds while Talen tried to keep the lizards at bay; holding the necklace in her hand she came face to face with the leader as both of her hands shot out in front of her to keep his claws from piercing her chest.

Pushing the creature back, the lizard king chuckled, “You are no match for me, Talen.”

The pink haired goddess looked at the creature in shock, wondering how he knew her name. From the thousands of mythical creatures she has met, there were only a handful of creatures that she encountered that looked like them. Gritting her teeth, she gave her body leverage, lifting her leg up and adding force to her kick, pushing the lizard king away from her.

When Talen heard a hissing sound, she turned around to see Natasha’s arm slashed from one of the lizards. Right when she was going to aid to her, an arrow wedged into the skull of the creature before it collapsed, and relief struck her when she saw Clint barging in to help the two out.

Talen let out a screech as sudden burning crawled up her lower back, touching the tender skin, she grimaced at the flesh wound she now had. Turning around to face her opponent, she tucked the necklace into her pocket before dodging the attack of the lizard before punching it downward. The lizard’s face and skull slammed into the ground with a sickening thud.

She wanted to let out a sigh of relief, but something was constricting her to do so. Her mouth suddenly filled with blood as she was staring into the golden eyes of the lizard king. His claw dug deep into her torso as he grinned in victory, “You have nothing to say, little girl?” She gurgled out blood in response.

The deep chuckle soon vanished when the bloody goddess took out the necklace from her pocket as she continued to murmur a chant while holding the pendant. “What are you doing?!” he hissed. The lizard king tried to stop whatever she was doing, but he was burned from trying to touch her hand, his bloody hand held onto his burned one as everyone was blinded by a white flash of light.

All of the creatures decayed before the bright light faded leaving Talen on the floor unconscious. Clint and Natasha scanned the perimeter cautiously. “What the hell happened?” Clint muttered.

As they inched closer to the unconscious goddess, they caught something silver in the middle of her chest that looked similar to the pendant they were trying to obtain. “I don’t know.” Natasha mumbled, “But I hope she has an explanation for this.”