The Titan

Chapter Six - Lost Creatures

The conference room was near silent save for the light hum of the helicarrier and the chatter of the control room that sat below. Natahsa, Maria, Thor, Bruce, Steve, and Freydis all sat around a circular table, everyone watching as Fury sauntered toward where Loki was locked in a containment unit. Everyone was still in their suits except Tony and Bruce. Freydis sat in a chair beside Natasha with her knees pulled up to her chest, her hazel eyes glued to the screen as she watched Fury stare down Loki. Fury had locked him in the container that they had used to hold Freydis when they first rescued her, when she was feral. Her powers were useless in the pressurized container, she couldn't make a spark let alone teleport out or crush it with her mind. She shuddered at the memories, her chest squeezing tightly at the mere thought of being locked inside with no escape.

"In case it's unclear, if you try to escape, if you so much as scratch that glass," Fury spoke as he opened the trap door beneath the container, air rushing into the metal-lined room, "it's thirty thousand feet straight down in a steel trap. You get how that works?" Loki chuckled as he paced around the container, a crooked smirk plastered to his face.

"It's an impressive cage," he sighed as he shrugged his shoulders, "not built, I think, for me." Freydis felt her palms begin to sweat, she shakily rubbed them on the pants of her suit.

"Built for something a lot stronger than you," Fury snapped back.

"Oh I've heard," Loki purred as he turned to face the camera that was in the cage, "it was built for your pet monster, the little girl. A mindless, ruthless killer. Your Titan." Freydis closed her eyes, knowing that he was just trying to get under her skin. Steve moved to stand behind Freydis, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder. Natasha grasped Freydis's hand in her own, giving it a tight squeeze. Freydis sucked on her teeth, no one beside Natasha and Fury needed to know anything more about her. Not about who she was, what she has done, nothing.

"That's not you," Natasha whispered, "not anymore." Freydis nodded sadly, keeping her eyes glued to the video feed. Loki turned his attention back to Fury.

"Then you brought it here to hold your precious doctor. A rage filled beast that makes play that he's still a man." Banner looked down from the screen. "How desperate are you?" Loki seethed, "that you call on such lost creatures to defend you?" Freydis looked to Bruce, her face nearly seeping in a deep sympathetic expression. Steve took a deep breath before spinning Freydis's chair around, pulling her up from where she had been sitting and wrapping her in his arms, the assassin tensed up before slowly melting into the hug. Her arms wrapped around his torso and she pushed her face into his chest. The echoes of men screaming seemed to reverberate through her mind, the sight of mangled bodies she had contorted haunting her. Freydis gritted her teeth, holding back tears as her mind berated her. Steve reminded her so much of Bucky, she closed her eyes and tightly held onto him, imagining that it was her brother holding her so protectively. Part of her wanted to vomit at the feeling of being so vulnerable but another part of her enjoyed the feeling of being small, the feeling of being protected, safe.

She was safe.

Freydis repeated it in her mind like a mantra.

"How desperate am I?" Fury asked in a calm tone, "You threaten my world with war. You steal a force you can't hope to control. You talk about peace, and you kill because it's fun. You have made me very desperate. You might not be glad that you did." Freydis turned her head to watch the feed, still holding onto Steve. He rubbed her back gently as he held her close. She absentmindedly shook, her mind taking her back to being trapped in that container. Screaming to be let out, screaming because she had traded one cage for another. She had screamed and cried and yelled until she physically could not make a noise anymore. It had taken weeks before she regained her voice. Freydis's jaw clenched, her eyes void of any light.