(A/N- Alright, snorlabxja and Darkness_is_safety kinda hit the nail on the head with their predictions for this chapter. Well, actually this chapter AND the next one as well. That's all I'm gonna say. So, um, good job guys! 😁)
~~~Catherine's pov~~~
"It's our fears come to life."
That sentence made a lot of sense, considering what had been happening around here recently.
Let me explain.
After Loki explained the current situation to me, we joined up with the team to assess the damages.
As it turns out, the result of three monoliths exploding wasn't exactly what we had theorized. And trust me, we definitely hadn't taken a full-blown forest appearing on one of the lower levels of the Lighthouse into consideration at all.
Yeah, you read that right. A forest somehow replaced a level of an underground base. A forest with a sky and hundred-foot-tall trees!
Don't ask me how it's possible. I really don't know.
And on top of that, when Daisy and Deke had gone to the supply pantry to grab some stuff for Yo-Yo, they were attacked by a Kree soldier. Only, it wasn't a Kree soldier.
As soon as Daisy shot it with her gun, it turned into vapor and disappeared.
Fitz had been running tests on the now decimated level of the Lighthouse where the bomb had been set off, and his theory was, "It's our fears come to life."
Because that makes total sense.
After a moment of perplexed silence, May finally decided to clarify. "What the hell are you talking about, Fitz? What fear?"
"I'm still trying to piece it all together. But here. Watch this." He pressed a button on the keyboard connected to the large monitor and a grainy image of... Dr. Garner appeared. Well, actually Lash.
"It's low quality, 'cause it was all I could salvage from the drone I sent down there." Fitz continued as everyone stared at the screen.
May was the most shell-shocked out of everyone, seeing as how Dr. Garner was her ex-husband. "This can't be."
Phil looked at the young Scottish scientist, needing a further explanation. "Fitz?"
"I think that when the monoliths exploded, they tore open something that I can only describe as a fear dimension. And it's leaking out." He pressed another button on the console and a new image filled the screen.
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.
"Oh."
"It creates an applied gravity field. And I was hoping there was enough Gravitonium, with some modifications, to create a perpetual force that can stitch together the tear in space-time." Fitz elaborated, holding his hand out.
Deke just nodded and placed the anti-gravity belt buckle in his waiting hand. And even though he wasn't saying anything, I could tell he was relieved to not have to sacrifice himself again.
"As I said, there is a catch. One of us is going to have to carry this device down and activate it. And that person may get sucked into another dimension or killed by a manifestation of fear."
Awesome.
So, we have the solution, and the materials to achieve said solution, but we have to potentially sacrifice someone in order for the solution to work.
I was about to suggest a possible way to get around losing someone, but Phil spoke up before I could even get a word out.
"That's a risk I'll have to take." And with that, as if what he said was no big deal, he walked out of the room, leaving the rest of us dumbfounded.
"Uh, so, no." I shook my head and started after him, but Daisy held me back.
"We'll talk some sense into him. You should get some rest. Like Jemma said, you don't need the stress." She told me as Fitz, Deke, and May trailed after him. Mack, Yo-Yo, and Jemma were not present for obvious reasons.
I furrowed my brows as I realized what she said. "Wait, I never told you about that..."
She shrugged. "Jemma tells me everything. She also told me to make sure you don't overexert yourself while she's taking care of Yo-Yo. Which I intend to follow through on." And then she followed the others out, leaving me alone with my husband.
"For once, it seems like she and I are on the same page," Loki commented, walking over to stand by me.
"If that page says anything about me taking any more naps, I'll have to disagree." I crossed my arms over my chest and raised a brow at him. "Because last time I took your advice on that, multiple team members almost died."
He sighed with a small chuckle. "You don't have to sleep, but resting wouldn't be the worst idea."
I was about to protest again when Jemma radioed in.
"Catherine, could you go down to the supply pantry and get me some fresh rolls of bandages for Yo-Yo? The infirmary is out."
Perfect.
"Alright, I'm on it." I smiled, happy to be able to do something other than continuously rest and nap.
Only later would I regret my joy.
~
Loki stayed in the command center while I went to the supply pantry, saying he was going to keep an eye out for any new fear anomalies on the security cameras.
I'm glad Jemma finally gave me something to do. Even if that something is only getting fresh bandages, I'm happy to be moving around.
"Bandages, bandages, bandages..." I murmured to myself as I scanned the shelving of the supply pantry. "Ah, there we go." I smiled as I grabbed two large rolls of bandages from the shelf.
Just as I was about to grab a third, I heard someone enter the room behind me.
My guard having been up due to all the fear anomalies, I quickly turned and got out the dagger that Loki had given me.
Thankfully, I didn't have to use it, seeing as I recognized the raven-haired god standing in the doorway.
I breathed a sigh of relief, sheathing the weapon. "Loki, you scared me." I chuckled, picking up the bandages I had dropped with great difficulty.
I thought it was odd that he was just standing there and didn't try to help. He usually jumped to help me with even the tiniest thing.
I looked over at him and noted how he was just standing there and not saying anything, not moving, just staring at me.
Okay, this is getting weird.
"Hello? Earth to Loki? What are you..." I trailed off when I realized his eyes weren't their usual green. They were blue. Bright, electric, blue.
"Shit."
I started to back away from him, unsure of the situation and what was happening. He then made two daggers appear and my heart dropped.
This can't be happening.
He stalked closer to me, and my heart raced faster with every footfall.
I raised my hands above my head, racking my brain on what I should do in this situation. Some part of me said to just kill him. He was only a fear anomaly, nothing more. But at the same time, I knew it was possible for the mind control to be triggered and reactivated, even after all this time. This could actually be Loki.
That was not a risk I was willing to take.
I knew that if this was really Loki, and the mind control had been reactivated, some part of him was still conscious. Meaning he could see and hear everything around him, he just couldn't control his actions.
Maybe I could get through to him...
"Loki, I don't know if this is you or it's just a fear anomaly. If this is really you, I need some kind of sign." I pleaded, trying to hide my overwhelming fear.
I didn't get a response. Instead, he used his magic to pin me against the wall, at least fifteen feet off the ground.
I cried out in pain as my back collided with the hard concrete wall, a sharp pain shooting through my spine as a result.
Not good. Not good.
With tears in my fear-filled eyes, I looked at my assailant only to see that he wore no ring on his left hand.
It was a fear anomaly.
Which I suppose was a good and bad thing. Good, because that meant Loki's mind control hadn't been triggered. Bad, because I was probably about to die.
The anomaly continued forward, and just as it made it a foot in front of me, my real husband ran in.
Thank God!
"Loki!" I cried out to him, my voice tight with pain as the anomaly kept using its magic to force me harder against the wall.
Everything following that happened so fast, I'm not sure I can keep it all straight.
The anomaly had turned to Loki, and as it did so, the magic keeping me pinned against the wall disappeared and I fell fifteen feet to the ground, crying out in pain when I felt a sharp, stabbing sensation in my stomach.
~~~Loki's pov~~~
Why wouldn't it be this specific anomaly? I should have known it would show up sooner or later.
I suppose it is a semi-accurate depiction of my greatest fear. Not fully, though.
As I thought this, however, my double grinned ominously and let out a laugh. "Do you think I don't know your greatest fear? I am you! And I will make your fear a reality, starting with them!" It punctuated its sentence by gesturing to Catherine, who was on the ground a few feet away, tears running down her face as she held her stomach in pain.
My heart hammered inside my chest as I fully grasped what was happening. What I had done.
Without a moment's hesitation, I conjured up my dagger and drove it into the heart of the anomaly, leaving it to turn to vapor and disappear.
Once I was sure the anomaly was gone, I ran over to Catherine, panic taking over when I noticed a dark red stain bleeding through her clothes.
~~~Catherine's pov~~~
The relief I felt when Loki ran over to me was masked and almost entirely replaced by my fear that something had happened to the baby as a result of my fall.
"Loki, something's really wrong..." My tone was filled with sheer terror when I realized that I couldn't feel the baby moving anymore.
I couldn't hear his response as a blood chilling feeling crept over me and I promptly blacked out.
(A/N- Alright, I'm just gonna take a poll here. Should I update the sequel again after this chapter, or continue with this? I'll be asking this at the end of every chapter, btw.)