___________________________________________

different men the night before, but was the first one out of bed. She had planned to talk to Steve before training that day.

"Steve," She called once she saw him in the dining area.

"Alex, are you feeling better?"

"It doesn't matter. I wanted to apologize for my behavior yesterday, it was out of line--"

"No, I should be the one apologizing. I didn't understand the depth of what you're going through, which is on me. I know what it's like to lose someone you love, so I should've been more understanding. Also, you were right. You're a person, not just a fighting machine."

She smiled. "Thank you. And no, I didn't need to be so dramatic."

"Eh, free entertainment." Steve gestured to the seat next to him. "Sit with me."

She sat down with her plate of eggs and bacon, happy to have the company. Wanda eventually joined them, not eating due to her nerves. The three chatted about anything but what was going on. Alex then began to zone out, their words becoming muffled. She thought about her encounter with Loki, and his words.

Sooner than you think, my love.

He had frustrated her completely. His arrogance and lack of remorse for his actions infuriated Alex, and she wanted so badly to wipe the smirk off his face. But, there was a tiny part of her that longed to see him again.

"Alex, did you hear me?"

"Hm?" Alex snapped out of her thoughts.

"Shuri wants to see us in the laboratory."

"Oh," She realized they were standing, so she stood herself.

Alex followed Steve, Wanda, Natasha and Bruce into the lab where Shuri worked on Vision. They all hoped they would be hearing some good news. She had been working nonstop, but Vision's structure had begun to be more complicated than she thought.

Once they entered the lab, they saw Shuri hard at work, and T'Challa observing with his main guard Okoye.

"Something's entered the atmosphere." Okoye spoke once they entered the room.

"Hey, Cap, we got a situation here." Sam said over the intercom system. He, Bucky, and Rhodey were suiting up outside.

The defense shield over Wakanda destroyed one of the alien vessels that slammed into the field at full attack acceleration.

"God, I love this place." Bucky was heard.

"Yeah, don't start celebrating yet, guys. We got more incoming outside the dome." There was Rhodey.

Ship landings came crashing down into the atmosphere, destroying acres of forest. The lab had large windows where they could see all of the damage being done, making Steve and T'Challa exchange a look of concern.

"It's too late," Vision struggled to sit up on the table. "We need to destroy the stones."

"Vision, get your ass back on the table,"

"We will hold them off," T'Challa, Okoye, and his guards headed for the door.

"Wanda, as soon as the stone's out of his head, you blow it to hell."

"I will." She nodded.

"Evacuate the city. Engage all defense procedures." T'Challa ordered, then stopped and turned to Steve. "And get this man a shield."

They all began to leave the room, but Steve quickly stopped Alex.

"I'm sorry to do this, but you need to stay up here. That stone needs to be protected at all costs."

"Steve, no--"

"It's not up for debate. If things get bad, I'll contact you. Please, just have T'Challa put you in a hidden room."

She paused, then nodded. He was right. Her being out there put the stone at risk, and that was something they could not afford.

"But when I come out there, Loki's mine." She gritted her teeth.

"Wouldn't want anyone else to deal with him."

"Please, be safe. All of you." She spoke into her radio.

Steve ran out of the room with Nat at his heel. T'Challa walked over, gesturing for her to follow him. She obliged, letting him lead her to the heavily guarded weapon room. The guards were outside, leaving her alone to her nerves.

Everyone else on defense traveled to the outskirts of the city on aircrafts. With the exception of Bruce, who had suited up in a large version of Tony's armor to compensate for the 'big guy' not wanting to come out.

"How we looking, Bruce?" Nat said. Alex could hear all of the radio conversation to keep up with the fight, since she couldn't see outside.

Alex paced nervously, looking around at the weapons. She had suited up herself, and added the technology Shuri gave her. She wasn't very familiar with it, but she knew when the time came, she could wing it. Maybe.

Time passed slowly, and Alex hung on to the team's every word. She almost jumped out of her suit when she heard T'Challa's words.

"We open the barrier."

"I'm sorry, did he just say to open the barrier?" She spoke up.

"Trust him, Alex." Steve's voice calmed her.

"How much longer, Shuri?" T'Challa called.

"Trying." She responded.

"You might want to pick up the pace."

Alex tapped her foot, waiting for their word. She assumed fighting had begun, because no one said a word. Then, suddenly, she saw him.

Right in front of her.

"Told you I'd be back soon." He spoke.

She stood up straight, cracking her knuckles. She turned off her radio, not wanting anyone to hear their conversation.

"Well, you are a man of your word, aren't you?" She spit viciously.

"Quite testy today, are we?"

"I guess I'm just hurt, you know?" She cocked her head sassily. "Man says he loves you, but the whole thing was a lie."

"You're so intuitive, Alexandra. Always have been. But, I suppose, not intuitive enough to see I'm actually here," His smirk was engrained in her brain.

She furrowed her brows, walking over slowly. She couldn't tell if this was another one of his tricks to mess with her mind. He was an insanely good liar. Once she was right in front of him, she wanted to reach out and see if he was telling the truth, but she was stuck like cement.

"It's a nice hiding place, but you can't hide from me. I'll always find you."

He reached out his hand to slowly graze her face.

And she felt it.

Suddenly, anger bubbled up in her, and she reached back and delivered the hardest punch she had ever thrown. A crack was heard as her fist made contact with his jaw, and he stumbled backward. He laughed, straightening himself.

"There's that fire I always loved."

"You asshole,"

She lunged forward, pushing him to the ground. She went to punch him again, but he caught her fist. He was too quick to push her off of him, before she could do any draining. She blew her hair out of her face, quickly picking herself up off the ground.

They stood before each other, fists up as they danced around. She made the first move, kicking him square in the stomach. He grabbed her foot, however, and twisted it so she'd stumble. While on her back, she swept his ankles. He fell, directly on top of her.

"You know what I did was for you, right?" He whispered. She was taken aback, breathing heavily as his body was pressed to hers.

"What?" She huffed.

"How I missed this position," He smirked.

She rolled her eyes, kneeing him in the groin. The second she thought she knew what was going on in his head, he switched it up. As he doubled over in pain, she stood up, holding her hand out.

"I could kill you," She spat. "I could."

"But you couldn't." He was still on the ground. "Deep down, you don't want me dead."

"I did. When you joined Thanos up there on that ship, I did."

"I never got a chance to explain myself."

"What does that even mean, Loki?"

"I had a reason," He spoke. "For joining him,"

"I can't trust a word you say. I never could."

"I could tell Thanos exactly where you are right now." He spoke. "Lead him to the stone, and he'll kill you in the process."

"Why don't you, then?!" She yelled.

He shook his head, falling silent. "Do you trust that I love you?"

Alex paused. She looked down at him, his eyes piercing into hers. He never broke the stare, and her chest heaved as she kept it as well. The intensity of his stare almost made her blush and fall all over again. She reminded herself of everything he had done, and snapped out of it.

"No."

She drained him of his energy, and she wanted to keep going. She wanted to drain every last bit until there was nothing left. His eyes fell heavy as he lost his energy, and she gritted her teeth as she continued. His eyes still stayed on her, fighting to stay awake.

Then, she released her hand.

He fell limp against the floor, and her eyes widened. Had she done it? Had she killed him? Her body took her over to him, and she knelt next to him. She brushed the hair out of his eyes, and they were shut. However, his chest slowly rose and fell. She let out a breath of relief, and looked at him in his peaceful state.

"Oh, Loki," She whispered. "I hate that I still--"

"Alex!" Steve yelled into her intercom system.

She quickly turned hers back on, standing up. She left Loki's body limp on the floor.

"Yes?"

"Thor is here. Get down here, we need you."

__________________________________________________

𝚠𝚘𝚠𝚒𝚎 𝚠𝚊𝚜𝚗'𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚏𝚞𝚗 0.o

𝚕𝚎𝚊𝚟𝚎 𝚊 𝚟𝚘𝚝𝚎 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚊 𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚝 𝚒 𝚕𝚘𝚟𝚎 𝚢'𝚊𝚕𝚕