ANGRBODA ※ Tony Stark [1]

18 - FENRIR

"Do you know what this is about?"

Angrboda's gaze didn't leave the message for a second, she seemed to be deep in her thoughts, a hundred miles away but ended up nodding slowly.

"It's about my brother."

⁂

"YOUR... WHAT?!"

Tony had no idea how to react but clearly, his disbelief was not the right way to go. He made eye contact with Thor who looked at him gravely, shaking his head. Unlike him, Thor seemed to know what was going on. It made Tony bite his lip, holding in the thousand questions running through his mind.

She has a brother?! Why was he learning that just now? She had told him about her family, her childhood in Asgard... but a brother was never mentioned. It made Tony wonder if he knew her as well as he thought. Or maybe he didn't know her at all.

The silence in the hall of the 38th floor seemed to weigh a ton. Fury was just as baffled as Tony but he was clearly better at internalizing it. Angie still stood quietly, staring at the message on the wall, filled with a mixture of emotions that were hard to describe.

YOU DIDN'T EVEN LOOK FOR HIS BODY.

YOUR SCARS WILL ALWAYS BEAR WITNESS.

"So what does it mean?"

Fury had finally broken the silence, ushering Angrboda out of her trance. She looked away from the carving for the first time since entering the room and turned to the Director.

Without a word and much to Fury and Tony's astonishment, she pulled up the bottom of her S.H.I.E.L.D suit, revealing a scar that extended from the side of her stomach, down to her hip. Four long gashes ran on her skin in faded red trails... almost like claw marks.

They almost choked. It was now clear which scars Loki was talking about.

"It doesn't mean anything," she dropped, putting her top back down "Loki's just provoking me."

Her tone betrayed no emotions but it didn't reflect what was on her mind at all. It felt like Loki had just twisted her insides and knocked the air out of her lungs. He would pay for this.

Tony and Fury were still oblivious. After all, Loki's jab had an old and painful backstory; one none of them knew except Thor.

Without another word, she walked out to the elevator, dead set on getting far from this atrocious reminder; the one that was on the wall, at least. She could never get away from those that scarred her body. They would always there to reminisce her guilt, her grief and the brother she once had.

⁂

Tony found her, a few hours later, sitting alone at the canteen of the Helicarrier. He had wanted to give her some space after the events of the afternoon but the confusion was killing him. He needed answers.

She was sipping on a coffee; definitely not her first one, judging by the trail of cups on the table. He walked over and sat opposite to her. She didn't budge; in fact, she barely acknowledged his presence.

Tony had no idea which angle to approach her from and so he said the first thing that came to mind:

"So..." he trailed off "You have a brother. What else don't I know about you?"