The Before [Prequel- Part 1]

Barton Farm

~~~Catherine's pov~~~

"You sure you're okay?" Dad sat next to me on the quinjet.

After the incident when Wanda messed with my memories, Loki snapped me out of it and brought me back to the quinjet. A few minutes later, Dad came in to check on me.

"Yeah, I'm sure." I nodded.

I mean, I wasn't okay when it first happened, but thankfully, Loki pulled me out of my oncoming panic attack.

"That's good to hear. I'll be talking to Clint by the cockpit." He smiled at me before getting up and walking away.

~~~Loki's pov~~~

I wanted to talk to Catherine, but before I did, I needed to know more about whatever she meant by Hydra.

I don't know much about the organization, but from the little I do, I think it's safe to say her experience with them wasn't a pleasant one.

After trying to decide what to do for a good ten minutes, talking to her father seemed like the best way to go about it. He seemed to be the only one who knew everything about her.

"Stark, we need to talk. About Catherine." I said lowly, walking up to him on the other side of the quinjet.

He rolled his eyes before responding. "What do we need to talk about?"

"Back in the salvage yard, after Maximoff enchanted her and she woke up, she seemed terrified. The first thing she asked me was if she was back at a Hydra facility. I just want to know if something happened."

His eyes widened, clearly not expecting that, but quickly hardened. "And why exactly do you care?"

"Just a bit concerned is all. It's her first time in the field, and it seems like she might have some past trauma that's making it hard to focus. That's all." I answered casually, not revealing the real reason.

The reason being that I cared about her. That's what scared me. I don't care about anyone. It's better that way. For me and everyone else involved.

So, what made her so special? And why would this blasted feeling in my chest not let me forget it?!

"Not my place to tell you, Reindeer Games." He shrugged and went back to talking to Barton as if I wasn't there.

Well, that was just maddeningly unhelpful.

~~~Catherine's pov~~~

Would they come back for me? They couldn't. We took them out. They're gone. They are gone.

I kept repeating the same phrase over and over. I didn't realize I had started to say it out loud.

~~~Loki's pov~~~

I left Stark to talk with Barton, and decided that I had to speak with Catherine. But when I found her, she seemed to be panicking.

"Catherine, what's wrong?" I asked walking over to her quickly, noting how she was murmuring the same thing repeatedly.

"They're gone. They're gone." She repeated with a shaky voice.

This confused me. "Who? Who is gone?" The Maximoff twins? Ultron?

She looked up at me, tears falling. The sight broke my heart. "Hydra. Wanda messed with my mind and made me remember... Remember what they did." She let out an uneven breath, her hands shaking intensely.

Noticing the telltale signs of a panic attack, I sat down next to her, trying to calm her down. "You don't have to talk about if you don't want to. Just take a deep breath." I repeated the instructions my own mother would give me when I would experience similar feelings of anxiety.