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MAL RAN her hand along the cool metal walls of the Helicarrier, wandering around the large ship. She knew most of the place inside and out, having been there so many times. Mal was still reeling from the knowledge that an alien army was threatening to attack their world. It seemed insane, and borderline impossible, but if Mal had learned anything in her sixteen years, it was that nothing is impossible. Not when Norse Gods were on the Helicarrier, and she had weird powers. Mal was pulled out of her thoughts when she realized where she had accidentally wandered to. The door to the holding room with Loki's cell stood in front of her, too inviting to resist. Against her better judgement, Mal pressed a button on the control console, the door sliding open, allowing her to walk in. The door slid shut behind her, and it felt like all of her confidence was trapped on the other side.
"The witch," Loki called, eyeing her curiously.
"Technically, I don't really do magic, so I don't think I count as a witch." Mal explained, immediately willing herself to stop talking.
"I am aware of what you can do." Loki said, a smirk slowly stretching across his face. Mal bristled, coming to a stop in front of the cell, next to the control console. The smirk didn't meet his eyes, which were a concerning kind of hollow. "I've heard a lot about you." He continued, eyes trained on every single movement Mal made. She fidgeted nervously under his gaze, shoving her hands in her jacket pockets to made her stop playing with her fingers.
"What have you heard?" Mal asked, even though she knew it was a bad idea. Loki wasn't from here, he had no ties to Earth prior to this, so how could he have possible heard anything about her? Before the god had a chance to answer, the door to the room slid open, and Natasha entered. She zeroed in on Mal immediately, stopping herself from frowning.
"You should be in the lab." Natasha said sternly, moving to stand in front of Mal. The girl frowned — no one had mentioned to her that she would be needed in the lab. "Go, now." She said, nodding towards the door. Deciding not to argue, Mal simply turned and made her way out of the room. What Loki said concerned her, but she was more worried about the way Loki seemed there but not, like he was a ghost separated from his body. Shaking the thoughts from her head, Mal decided to take the long way back to the lab. After all, she had the time.
–•–•–
Mal cursed herself for wandering for too long. By the time Natasha had sent all of them a warning through their comms, she was still on one of the upper levels of the ship.
"Loki plans to unleash the Hulk. Keep Banner in the lab." Mal spun, dodging around two agents walking down the corridor as she began to sprint towards the stairs.
"Sorry!" Mal called behind her, but didn't stop as she continued running. Nearly jumping down two flights of stairs, Mal ran down another hallway before running down the last few sets of stairs, before her eyes lingered on the lab. Slowing to a jog, Mal stood just inside the entrance, her eyes landing on Steve and Tony, the pair just barely inches away from each other, glaring angrily. Mal narrowed her eyes as Tony's mouth opened up, no doubt to spit out something venomous. She pushed her way between them, forcibly shoving them apart.
