The Favour

chapter 19

"Are you sure? " Loki asks.

"Yes I'm sure reindeer games" Tony responds rather exasperatedly, " the tracker said she was here."

"Why would she be on midgard?" Loki asks again.

"You said HYDRA  was working with laufey. Maybe they dropped her here."

"So in one week,  there was no trace of her and now suddenly you find her?  That too on midgard? "

"Why do you care?  She is not your friend right? "

"I did not mean that. "

"Right. You also didn't mean to flatten Manhattan. You didn't mean to kill people. Well they're dead and Manhattan is scarred. Nothing changed just cause  you didn't mean it. Get over yourself."

He kept quiet. He knew Tony was right. The past week had been torture. He hadn't slept for more than a few hours, which had also been plagued with nightmares. He hadn't eaten well either. The others had boycotted him. Thor sympathized with him, but he knew it was his own Fault.

"We'll  go" Natasha says, "even if it is a trap at least we'll know if she's.. "

"She will be fine! " lokis snaps, earning a glare from Natasha.

That night they all got ready. Weapons were distributed and even Loki got a gun. They set out for the site where they thought Beth would be.

The metal disc that Bruce had placed in her could be tracked and although they hadn't been able to track it for a week,  it suddenly showed up on their radar. The trip was silent, no one spoke. When the plane reached above the target they all got ready to rappel down.

"Brother, if we do find lady Annabeth, you will treat her with the respect she deserves."

Loki kept quiet and nodded  his head. He was hoping that he would find her. He would make it up to her and tell her of what a fool he'd  been. Everything would be fine then.

They all entered the building. It was empty, there were barely lights. It looked like an abandoned warehouse. As he walked they saw a cloth over a box like structure. It was a big box. Lokis heart beat faster. He walked toward the box and pulled off the cloth. Beth was there tied up, gagged and bleeding. She looked so pale and sickly that he didn't realize what she was trying to tell them. Then her eyes went wide  and she screamed, her screams muffled by the rag in her mouth. Something hit Loki on the head and everything went black. The last thing he saw was her in that cramped up box screaming.

--------------------------------------------

"Brother? Are you awake? " thors voice boomed out.

Loki opened his eyes slowly and looked around. They all  were in a glass room. It had a common wall with another room. he got up and saw that Beth was in that room. She had leaned her head on the dividing glass and was asleep. He got up and ran at the glass.

"Beth?  Beth?  You're alive."

She woke up with a start and stared at him. She looked sad.
He stared at her. She was pale, there were scars on her face and hands. She was wearing nothing but a white sports bra and shorts. Her ribs could be seen. There were some large scars on her stomach, shoulders and legs. Yet after all that, she still looked so pretty.

"Beth?  Speak to me love. I need you to talk please."

She bent her head down. And a tear fell from her eyes.

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean it. I was scared of committing  and I ruined the best thing that had happened to me. Please talk. Say some stupid, irrelevant thing that makes no sense, ramble on about anything. I will never tell you to shut up again."