ANGRBODA ※ Tony Stark [1]

15 - AS FAR AS I KNOW

AS THEY ALL TOOK their separate ways after the meeting, Angrboda walked back with Natasha to their respective rooms.

A thought nagged in the Jötnar's mind and she simply couldn't shake it off. Her discomfort was so apparent that she wondered if Natasha hadn't already noticed it.

Once they were finally out of anyone's earshot, Angrboda glanced at the other woman.

"Natasha..." she began hesitantly.

"Yes?"

"Can I ask you a question?"

"Sure Angie."

"Do you know who Pepper is?"

The Black Widow eyed her curiously but didn't stop walking. She looked back to the front, shrugging absentmindedly "Stark's assistant, as far as I know."

"As far as you know?"

"Yes. Why the question?"

Angrboda had no response to that. She felt quite ridiculous for asking but Natasha's vague answer made her even more uneasy.

"No reason."

⁂

After lunch, Angrboda went straight to the fitness room, in dire need of blowing off some steam. She had never been more thankful for her shoulder's fully recovery. It meant she could punch away at the boxing bag without a care in the world. There was nothing better to clear her mind.

Clint's words from earlier were still echoing in her mind "He's going after the things we love, isn't he? He's making it personal."

And with every punch she buried into the bag, Tony's words also came back, as awfully clear as if he had repeated them himself "If he touches a hair on Pepper's head, I swear to God..."

From all her conversations with Tony, she knew Stark Industries employed a few hundred thousand people; and those were just the executives, not counting the labor workers. So why would he say something like that about his assistant?

"As far as I know" Natasha's distant voice repeated again and again.

She punched even harder, trying to tune out all those voices. She was definitely losing her mind.

Her mitt gloves wouldn't last long if she kept hammering the bag like that but it was the least of her worries. All she could register was the alarmed looks on her teammates' faces once they realized the things and the people they loved were in jeopardy... but her, what did she have to lose?

She had originally joined Fury's team to take revenge on Loki. Sure, she didn't want to see Earth destroyed but that was mostly because it was to be her new home. Truth be told, there was nothing honorable about her motives and she knew that from the start. She had been okay with it. But as much as she reasoned with herself, it didn't stop her from feeling terribly empty.

Ironically, being detached and cold-blooded were normally things she considered to be her biggest assets. She hadn't always been like that but after experiencing the worst grief of her life on Asgard, years ago, circumstances had forced her to re-prioritize everything. After all, the things you love always end up being your greatest weakness.

But as much as she wanted to stop Loki and make him pay, she also dreaded what would happen afterwards... because afterwards, she would have no purpose left.

S.H.I.E.L.D and the Avengers had become her life since the destruction of Jötunheim. She knew nothing else on this strange planet.

It was only as she came to this realization that it suddenly dawned on her: maybe she did have a reason to fight that wasn't just about self-preservation or vengeance after all. It was the team.