Chapter 6

The change in air pressure inside her head was the thing that startled Rebecca, causing her to wake up. Blinking, she looked down and realised she had been strapped into a seat, the straps pulled tight across her, crushing her tied arms still stuck behind her. Breathing deeply, she looked around her, and saw the SHIELD agents where also strapped in, again their eyes were blue and unblinking. Looking around, it looked like she was inside some sort of vehicle, a very powerful one, judging by the noise of it. Breathing heavily, she continued to look around, trying to figure out where she was.

"Good. You're awake". Her eyes immediately shot in the direction of the voice. It was Hawkeye, stood leaning against what looked like a set of large doors. Had he been watching her the whole time, she thought, staring at him challengingly. "Why did you drug me? You could have killed me!", she shot at him, remembering that it was him who put her to sleep in the first place. "You weren't cooperating, plus I don't travel well with awkward passengers", he sneered at her, coming over towards her, fixing her with a piercing stare. She gulped, pushing herself further back into the seat as he approached, stopping in front of her. She glanced around, realising that Loki still wasn't there, so whatever Barton was going to do to her, he wouldn't be there to stop him this time. Now trying to calm herself down, she glanced back up at him. "So, what are you doing now? You got what you wanted back in Stuttgart. Surely your job is done now". He looked down at her, before a small smile crossed his lips. "Let's play a game shall we? You answer my questions, and I'll answer yours", he said darkly, leaning down to her. Rebecca gulped, sensing that he had darker intentions on his mind. "I told you, I don't remember", she whispered pleadingly to him, her eyes wide in fear. "We'll see about that", he said threateningly.

Hawkeye reached down, and pulled at the straps keeping her secured in her seat, freeing her. He grabbed hold of her arm and pulled her up, dragging her towards the doors near the back of the vehicle. "I don't understand; where are we? What are you doing?", she asked panicking as she stumbled along, feeling her legs give way underneath her. They reached the doors, and Hawkeye hit one of the buttons on the control panel on the wall alongside. The drop doors opened, revealing the sky, several thousand feet up. Rebecca screamed in terror as Hawkeye dragged her towards the edge. "Does this answer your question", he shouted at her, pushing her forward so she stood at the edge. "Yes! Yes", she screamed, frantically trying to back away as the wind whipped around her, but Hawkeye kept his hold firm. He spun her around, letting her face him, a terrified look in her eyes. "I'll ask you again, where is the ring?", he asked threateningly, pushing her backwards, forcing her to lean out over the edge. "I don't know! I can't remember!", she pleadingly screamed at him, her terrified eyes full of tears. "Why did you pick it up if you knew it wasn't yours?", he asked her, pushing her back even further. "I don't know. I didn't know it was his. I just found it. I didn't know!", she screamed terrified, frantically trying to push back against Hawkeye as he continued to push her towards the edge. Hawkeye smirked; his blank blue eyes fixed onto hers, as he tightened his hold on her arm and forcefully shoved her. Rebecca, taken aback, screamed in terror as she now found herself leaning alarming over the edge, her feet pressed right against the edge. "Please, stop!", she pleaded at him, her eyes filled with tears as the wind whipped around her as she frantically tried to lean back into safety. "No. Now answer the question!", he said forcefully, pushing her again, this time causing one of her feet to slip off the edge, making her cry out in terror. "Why you? What makes you so special? Why does he try to protect you? Why do you prefer him and do as he says? Tell me!", he yelled at her. Rebecca glanced down at the several thousand foot drop below her, and closed her eyes, not wanting to look anymore. With a tear running down her cheek, terrified that she was about to die, she whispered "Because I care about him".

For several seconds she stood there, precariously balanced over the edge, listening to the sound of the jet engines and wind spinning around her, fearing Hawkeye would let go of her and send her falling to her death. She was therefore surprised when she felt him pull her back inside, grabbing onto her and throwing her back towards her seat. Collapsing onto the floor in a heap, she curled herself up and cried in relief, thankful that she was still alive. After several minutes of emptying her heart out, she sniffled, and pushed herself back up; only to find Hawkeye towering over her, bow in hand. "What are you going to do?", she asked weakly. "Our target is the SHIELD helicarrier; their main base of operations. We're going to hit the Avengers right where they live", he said bluntly looking down at her, his blue eyes fixed on hers. She stared back at him, confused. "Who are the Avengers, I've never heard of them? Are they like another division of your SHIELD, like the CIA?". He smirked at her. "No. They are an elite team of people brought together to fight for the protection of this planet. They consist of various skilled people, such as Captain America, Thor, Iron Man, The Hulk, The Black Widow, as well as myself. Well, not anymore." Rebecca just stared back at him, dumfounded. She'd heard stories about all of them, but never believed that they actually existed. "But... they're really powerful people, you can't do that", she said shocked, unable to believe what she was hearing. "Yes, we can. There is no stopping us".

Without saying another word, Hawkeye turned and headed back towards the open cargo bay doors, and unsheathed an arrow from his quiver that he wore on his back. Sitting and watching in horror, she watched him draw back his bow and stare at the large helicarrier which emerged from the side into view. The jet they were travelling in flew back around, pulling up alongside it, flying level. Hawkeye adjusted his aim, and then released it, sending the arrow flying, it somehow curving in the wind, towards the base. Realising she had been watching opened mouthed, Rebecca promptly closed it, before asking, "Is that it? One little arrow." Hawkeye merely turned to look at her, a sly smile creeping across his face as he raised his arm so she could clearly see his bow. On it were a few small buttons, one of which his finger hovered over, before pressing it down. Suddenly, the side of the base exploded, sending bits of engine and debris plummeting down to the earth. Gobsmacked, Rebecca looked back at Hawkeye who was already arming himself, as well as all the other agents who had now gotten themselves out of their seats, with guns. The jet flew back around before landing swiftly on top of the helicarrier, and the agents start to pile themselves off the jet. Rebecca, thinking she should follow them, tried to get up, but a hand grabbed her from behind, throwing her down into one of the vacant seats. "You're not going anywhere", Barton said, fastening her down into the seat, pulling the seat straps tight around her. "Please, I've told you everything just let me- ". She was cut short in her sentence, as Barton pulled out a cloth from his pocket and swiftly tied it around her mouth, gagging her. Through her muffled cries she attempted to break free, kicking out at him from where she now sat. Fed up with her, Barton sharply slapped her across the face, causing her nose to bleed. "No one will come to save you, as they will be too busy saving themselves" he said coolly, walking away, leaving her. Through her pain-filled tears and muffled pleas, she watched Barton and the SHEILD agents stride off, and disappear out of view.

Rebecca tried desperately to try and free herself, but with her hands still pinned and tied behind her back it was pointless. No matter how loud she tried to scream to call out to someone, anyone for help, it ended up being no louder than a muffled whimper. Exhausted, she slumped back, trying to keep her head tilted up to allow her to breathe as the blood continued to flow from her nose. She knew she was in deep trouble now, and there was no possible way she could get out of it. She worried about the Avengers, and hoped that they didn't get hurt, or worse, killed. She closed her eyes, and wished that Loki was here with her, as he was the only person who seemed to have given her any comfort during her captivity. She didn't know what happened to him, or why he ended up being left behind, but she hoped that he was safe. Although she hated his evil side, his possessed nature when he was following orders; when he wasn't like that, he was actually alright. She even felt sorry for him. She knew what it was like not to be loved, for people to expect you to behave a certain way, not to be different. She'd meant what she'd said; she did care about him, strangely.

Suddenly, gunshots were being fired close by, outside the jet. Snapped out of her thoughts, Rebecca tried screaming for help again, thinking it might be someone coming to help her. The gunshots stop abruptly; the footsteps of someone approaching however get louder. Looking back towards the bay doors, she strained to see the figure approaching in the distance, and struggled to make them out through the burning smoke. Her hearts stops; It was Loki. Rebecca sighed in relief, thrilled to see he was still alive, and coming back to her. He boarded the jet, sceptre in hand, and sat down opposite her, his eyes full of rage. "Let's go", he commanded towards the pilot, and soon the doors shut, and the jet took off. She looked over at him; her eyes mixed with fear and relief. She noticed however, that his eyes where still tinted blue, staring straight ahead, so she knew not to speak to him yet. She glanced down at his sceptre, and froze in horror. Its bladed tip was dripping in blood. She must have gasped aloud, as Loki's eyes shot up at her. She watched, frozen in horror, daring not to even breathe, as his eyes lost their blueness, and returned back to their deep green colour.

"Oh my god, what did they do to you!", he said alarmed, suddenly snapping back into the real world, tossing his sceptre down and rushing over to her. Rebecca burst into tears, being so overwhelmed and thankful that he wasn't going to harm her. Loki immediately untied her gag, throwing it aside, kneeling down in front of her, gently placing both hands on her cheeks, looking up into her eyes. She looked back into his sorrowful eyes, "I'm sorry. They wanted to know where your ring was, but I couldn't remember. Then they left you behind, and they nearly killed me, and I thought that you'd been-". She chocked up, unable to finish her sentence, looking away from him. "I'm sorry", he said quietly. He reached down and released her from the seat, before gently lowering her down onto his lap, cradling her against his chest as she wept. She looked up at him, smiling weakly, "Thank you". "Stay still", he said softly to her, gently placing one hand onto her nose, the other very carefully onto the cut on her neck. She felt her body suddenly fill with coldness under his touch, but then it suddenly grew into a hot burning sensation, causing her to gasp. He immediately took his hands away. "I'm sorry. I was only healing you", he said, slightly alarmed at her reaction. Rebecca felt different; the pain she'd had before had gone. "Thank you", she said thankfully, collapsing into Loki's chest. He gently put his arm around her. "It's ok. But I promise you, no one else will hurt you again", he whispered into her ear, as she wept herself to sleep.

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