The Before [Prequel- Part 1]

Wakanda

~~~Catherine's pov~~~

Our group moved forward and as we did, King T'Challa informed us of the forces we had against Thanos.

"You will have my Kingsguard, the Border Tribe, the Dora Milaje, and..." He trailed off as a new person joined us, his metal arm gleaming in the sunlight.

"And a semi-stable 100-year-old man." James smiled at us.

My face broke out into a huge smile when I saw my brother.

I missed him so much! He's been here this whole time?!

Steve smiled back at him and patted him on the back. "How've you been, Buck?"

"Not bad for...uh..." He trailed off as he locked eyes with me and smiled even wider. "Kit-Cat?"

"The one and only." I smiled back with a laugh and hugged him when he walked over to me.

"It's so good to see you again! It's been how long? One and a half-"

"Two, almost three years." I nodded, recalling the last time I had seen him during the airport fight in Germany.

"I see a lot has happened since we last talked." He was obviously referring to my seven-month pregnancy belly and the two rings on my left hand, but I just gestured to my hair with a chuckle.

"Yeah, I know. I cut my own curtain bangs and my hair grew a lot longer." I laughed. "But we definitely have to catch up after all this."

James nodded in astonishment. "Okay." Then he turned back to Steve and T'Challa and we all continued walking into the palace.

"I have told my sister about your..." T'Challa gestured to Vision and the stone in his forehead. "...unique situation. She's waiting for us in the lab. I'll take you there."

The rest of the team kept following the Wakandan king and his guards, but Loki and I stayed further behind, at the very back of the group where no one could see or hear us.

"They still think they can save him..." I murmured quietly.

Loki just continued to look ahead, but his eyes held an anxiety that I'd never seen from him before. "The sooner they figure out he's a lost cause the better."

I sighed and pulled him behind a small wall so that we could talk. "Look, I know this can't be easy..." I looked up at him sadly. "This whole thing with Thanos..."

I know what it's like to relive a trauma like that. Now, I'm not saying that the torture Hydra put me through is anywhere close to what Loki experienced, but I do understand the panic and fear of having to go through it again.

And that's all his face showed as he looked at me. Fear and panic.

He was terrified.

"Catherine, he's coming, alright? He's coming, and he knows everything. He knows about you and he knows about our daughter." Unshed tears welled up in his eyes as he spoke, and his hands were shaking as well. "And the only thing standing between him and his goal of destroying half of the entire universe is that stone." He pointed in the general direction of where Vision was with the rest of the group. "But they won't destroy it. Despite everything we've told them, they refuse to. Meaning..." He took a deep breath before finishing his sentence. "Meaning Thanos is still coming here and he could kill you."

"Loki..." Fearful tears of my own formed in my eyes at his words. I always knew there was a chance, but now it's becoming real. "Loki, look at me." I placed my hand on his cheek gently. "He won't. He won't get that stone and I assure you if he even gets close to me, I will not hesitate to shoot a hole through his head."

I swear, if that creep gets anywhere near me, I'm going to put him through a hell like he's never imagined.

Loki mirrored my actions and cupped my cheek with his own hand, which I happily leaned into. "That's what I'm worried about. He knows how much you mean to me. He knows that if he hurts you, it will destroy me. So that's what he's going to do." He looked at the ground with a shaky breath.

"And that's why I'm going to stay hidden," I spoke firmly, but assuringly. "I'll stay somewhere safe and out of the line of fire. He won't find me. I promise." With that, I placed a small kiss on his lips. "I love you."

He smiled softly at me and pressed a kiss to my forehead. "I love you too." As he spoke, he tucked a stray piece of hair behind my ear. "And you're right. He won't find you. Because I won't let him." He gently placed his hands on my baby bump and when he did, I felt the baby kick excitedly. "I won't let anything happen to either of you."

"I know you won't." I smiled back at him and kissed him again, and he wholeheartedly accepted.

~~~Loki's pov~~~

Shortly after Catherine and I talked, we met up with the others in the laboratory where King T'Challa's sister, Princess Shuri, began running diagnostics on Vision.

"Can you do it?" Wanda asked the young woman nervously after a few minutes had passed.

She nodded, much to my dismay. "Yes, but there are more than two trillion neurons here. One misalignment could cause a cascade of circuit failures." She looked at T'Challa. "It will take time, brother."

"How long?" Rogers spoke up.

"As long as you can give me." She shrugged and then alarms began ringing out through the palace.

"Something's entered the atmosphere." One of the king's guards stated as they entered the room.

Catherine looked up at me and held my hand tightly, flinching when we heard explosions from the outside world.

This is it. He's here.

"It's too late. We need to destroy the stone now." Vision said, making me breathe a sigh of relief.

Finally, someone is seeing sense.

"I agree," Catherine said quietly. "It's the safest play."

I nodded with her and Natasha sided with us, facing Rogers and Wanda with a firm expression.

"We've done all we can. If Thanos gets his hands on Vision's stone, half of the people in this room could be dead before the day is out." She stressed and I thought for a moment that they all might see reason and destroy it. 

But Wanda was still insistent. "There's still time."

Here's the thing, there really isn't.

Rogers just ignored Natasha and turned to Wanda. "Wanda, as soon as that stone's out of his head, blow it to hell." Then he turned to T'Challa. "Will you help us hold them off?"

The king nodded and reached for his radio. "Evacuate the city. Engage all defenses." And then he pointed to Rogers. "And get this man a shield."

Or a sense of logic. That might be more helpful.

"Alright, Wanda, Vision, and Catherine, you're all staying here. Loki and Nat, you're with me, Rhodey, Sam, and Bucky on defense." Rogers gave out the orders and the team started to file out of the room and onto the battlefield.

Before I could follow, I knew I had to talk to Catherine. That's why I pulled her aside to talk in private.

When we were out of sight from the others, she took in a shaking breath and looked up at me with tears in her eyes. "Please, please don't die out there." She begged me as a single tear made its way down her face.

"I won't. I'll make it back." I cupped her cheek with my hand, wiping away the tear. "But just in case..." I trailed off and kissed her deeply, holding her close to me.

"I love you." She whispered against my lips as she pulled away.

"And I love you. More than anything or anyone." I said earnestly and then crouched down to be level with her stomach and pressed a kiss to it softly. "I love you too, sweetheart," I whispered to my daughter quietly, knowing that she could most likely hear me. "And I promise, I'll be back soon."

Even if she couldn't actually hear me, I wanted her to know that I loved her. Just in case I didn't make it back to her.

Just in case I never got the chance to see her grow up...