The Before [Prequel- Part 1]

The Thing That Everyone Needs To Accept

~~~Catherine's pov~~~

Good news and bad news. 

Good news: Goonie just left.

Bad news: He left because Grill wanted him to go with the others on the trawler run and see if they were up to something. Which they are. So, yeah. That's really not good.

But since they left, it's just been me and Yo-Yo. Daisy found us, and we filled her in on the situation without Grill seeing. 

We told her we were going after the tablet, and she agreed to stay close by so that when we get it, we'll hand it off to her, and she can continue her search for Jemma.

"So, you got married. Want to talk about it? Girl-to-girl?" Yo-Yo asked me as we sorted more rocks.

I let out a small, tired laugh. "Sure. We have nothing else to do. What do you wanna know?"

Yo-Yo and I were never all that close, but we still talked from time to time when I was with the team a few years ago. I was glad to see her at the diner because I never properly said goodbye to her, or any of the others for that matter... 

And adding to that, the last time we talked, she asked me for relationship advice about her and Mack. I told her I was literally the worst person to talk to about this, but I didn't tell her why. 

"Well, you did marry the God of Mischief. I think the questions are pretty standard." She rolled her eyes playfully, her Hispanic accent heavy as she spoke. "Like, you do know what happened in 2012, right? I mean, of course, you do. Your father is Tony freaking Stark. But still."

And just like that, my mood went from tired and content to tired and upset. I hate it when I get asked questions like these. 

People think they know everything. That Loki started the invasion willingly. But no one knows the whole story. Not even me.

"Yes, I know what happened in 2012. I know that someone tortured Loki until he was submissive enough to be mind controlled. I also know he's so traumatized by it that he refuses to tell me who that 'someone' was. The thing that everyone needs to accept is that he had no control, and none of that was done of his own free will." I ranted lowly enough so that only the two of us could hear.

It's true. He won't tell me who. I can't even find it in his memories. 

When I ask him about it, he tells me it's in the past; and I shouldn't worry about it, but I do. What if this person is still out there? 

What if they come back?

"I'm sorry. I didn't know." Her voice was sad as she continued to throw rocks in the growing pile beside us.

"It's okay. I just really hate how everyone sees him. No one seems to care about all the good things. Just the bad." I shook my head, running my fingers over the rough, jagged surface of the rock I was holding. Sometimes even my dad is less than accepting.

"Look, if you married him, I'm sure he's a good man. You'd never go for anything less." She smiled at me, assuring me that no harm was done. "Now, what's the plan to get the tablet?"

I appreciated the change of subject.

"Well, if you use your super speed to run around a bit, Grill will think your metric is broken and remove it. When he removes it, you can use your ability to grab that tablet and get it to Daisy before you can snap back into place." I laid out the possible plan.

The unusual thing about Yo-Yo's Inhuman gift is that she doesn't just have super speed. She can run so fast that she's invisible to the eye and can run as far as she can within one heartbeat. But then she snaps back to where she started, which is helpful in times like these.

"I like it. Let's do it."