The Before [Prequel- Part 1]

Saying Goodbyes

~~~Catherine's pov~~~

I had a half hour before I had to leave with Phil.

That didn't leave me with a whole lot of time to say goodbyes.

Dad and I agreed it would be easier to tell the team all at once to save time. So, we had 'Fury' gather them all in the foyer of the compound.

I could tell Phil was enjoying this charade way too much.

And, I mean, who can blame him? That eyepatch holds immense power.

"What's going on?" Loki asked me when he entered the room and saw the sad expression on my face.

"Well..." I didn't get a chance to explain because that was the moment Clint walked in.

"Okay, what's going on, Fury?" He asked, being the last one out of the team to enter the room.

"That's for Agent Catherine to tell you." 'Fury' gestured to me beside him.

If I wasn't so concerned about blowing his cover, I would have killed him for that.

Really? Putting all the pressure on me? So mature, Coulson.

I cleared my throat, my anxiety spiking. "So, I've been temporarily reassigned to another operation. I might be gone for a long time, depending on how long the mission takes to complete." Might as well get straight to the point.

The room stayed silent for what felt like an eternity. I didn't even have the courage to look at Loki's face as he registered what this meant.

"You're leaving?" Steve was the first to speak up.

I nodded. "But as I said, it's just temporary. I'll be back before you know it."

"When do you leave?" Nat asked. I could tell she understood. She's been transferred to more operations than anyone else on the team.

"A little under thirty minutes."

Out of everyone there, I think Natasha, Clint, and Steve understood my situation the best. Two spies and a World War Two soldier.

Wanda was quiet, and so was Pietro, but they didn't know me all too well, so that was expected.

When I finally was able to muster enough courage to face him, I saw that Loki looked neutral, but that was only because he had to. He couldn't afford to show too much emotion to the news, or they would get suspicious.

"Well, we'll miss you, kid. If you're leaving, there must be a good reason." Clint sighed and gave me a small hug, as did everyone else.

Loki however, stayed back with the Maximoffs.

Not gonna lie, it stung a bit, but I knew he had to. If he would have given me a hug, my dad and the others would be all over him for it, bombarding us with questions.

"I'll miss you guys too." I smiled at my small Avenger family. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have an extremely limited time to pack, and I need to get on that."

With that, I teleported back to my room and threw some clothes in a suitcase.

I didn't want to leave. I wanted to be here.

"I would like you to stay here as well, but it seems Agent Coulson needs you."

I jumped and turned to the familiar voice.

"Loki? What about Coulson? He died in 2012." I shook my head, returning to packing.

"I thought so too until I got a quick glimpse of 'Fury's' mind." He put air quotes around Fury's name.