The Before [Prequel- Part 1]

Fear Anomalies

That's even scarier than Lash.

"What do you think it is?" I asked, speaking up for the first time in a few minutes, staring at the tear in both confusion and fear.

Whatever that thing is, it's not natural.

"I don't know." He admitted. "Alien energy maybe. The drone went offline before I could analyze it. But whatever it is, it seems that it can reach inside our minds."

Well, that's lovely.

"Yeah, well, it can do more than that. That Kree almost killed Deke." Daisy said, motioning to Deke who had sustained multiple injuries from the previous encounter.

"I don't understand how, but it seems that this dimension can take our deepest fears and it can manifest them physically," Fitz explained, not comforting us in the slightest.

"So, Kree warrior. Check." I listed the most obvious fear.

"And if that is Lash, double-check." May nodded.

Loki furrowed his brows. "What about that forest on Level 27? That can't be a fear."

He's not wrong. Who would be scared of a forest-

"You mean an overwhelming collection of branchy things with birds and bugs and the floor all covered in worms?" Deke shuddered from across the room. "Are you kidding? That's a horror show."

Question retracted.

Daisy eyed him strangely. "Okay, triple-check."

"I'm going to seal off the lower two-thirds of the Lighthouse. That's where the bulk of the phenomena is occurring." Fitz explained, pulling up the levels of the Lighthouse and closing off everything under the floor that had recently become a forest. "But it's flaring out. The fact that it's reached Level 27 as well as the supply pantry tells me it's getting worse."

"How do we stop it? Is there any way we could close off our minds so it can't manifest our fears?" I asked, internally panicking at the thought of any of my fears becoming a reality.

Hydra, Whitehall, Ultron, me losing the baby, or... Or Loki dying.

The last two are by far my worst fears and by far the hardest to think about.

"As far as I can tell, you two should be safe." Fitz gestured to me and Loki. "Your minds are far more enhanced than ours. It should be harder for it to break through and get to your fears."

His words brought some small form of comfort. Not much, but some.

"As for the rest of us, we are completely vulnerable. Although, I have a potential fix. But I don't know how to do it without one of us possibly sacrificing ourselves."

And there goes that small form of comfort.

"Well, that got dark quick," I murmured, subconsciously placing my hands on my baby bump protectively.

The rest of the team looked down at the floor solemnly, wondering who it would have to be.

"Loki Laufeyson, don't you even think about it," I said quickly, noticing how he was about to speak up and volunteer.

After a moment of tense silence, Fitz turned to Deke. "Okay, Deke-"

The man in question quickly cut him off, eyes wide. "Oh no. Me? No, no. Hell, no. I just got here. I just got to a world that's got ice cream and the sun and orange-scented stuff. So, no."

As much as I can't stand the guy, he's not wrong. But I don't think Fitz was really about to ask him to sacrifice himself.

"I'm not asking you to sacrifice yourself. I just want to borrow your belt buckle." He ran a hand over his face in annoyance. He really can't stand Deke. It's almost comical how much he gets on his nerves.