1.Welcome back on board
“Agent Harrison! Good to have you back.” Agent Coulson greeted me as I stepped foot on the helicarrier. ”Come on, the director is already waiting for you.” he said, gesturing towards the entrance.
I walked behind him, in silence, wondering if I made the right decision by coming here.
“Agent, nice to see you took up on my offer. What made you change your mind?” Director Fury asked as I entered the room. It was huge, even bigger than I remembered.
“What can I say, director, we lost a lot of agents in the explosion. I’d like to have a chance to avenge them myself.” I said remembering the events that took place earlier this week.
** Flashback **
“Amelia, come on, I have to go.” Tom said getting out of bed.
“Why is Coulson more important than me?” I asked giving him the “puppy eyes” I knew he couldn’t resist.
“Oh really? Duty calls baby, something is going on with the Tesseract, the director is also coming.” he said, grabbing his uniform from the closet. It was always like this. Whenever Coulson called he would run off, and I’d stay back doing basic shit.
“I should be going with you! I can’t believe my grandfather wants me in D.C today out of all the days of the week.” I threw my hands in the air, slowly getting out of bed.
“You are adorable when you are frustrated.” He said gently, grabbing my face, bringing his lips to mine. “But look at the bright side, he wants you there because he has a lead on your case .”
“Well, better be the location of that bastard.” I said, feeling my blood boil.
“Easy there, tiger. You are not going anywhere without S.T.R.I.K.E. or me, understood?” he grabbed my hands and looked deep into my eyes, concern visible on his face.
“I promise, as long as you promise me you’ll come back by Friday morning. You can’t celebrate your birthday with director Fury and Coulson.” I said, letting out a laugh. He put his hands on my hips, pulling me closer to him.
“Well Natasha might be there and Maria Hill…” he teased, smirking at me, waiting for my reaction.
“Oh is that so? Well, I’m sure Rumlow will be thrilled to have me back at the Triskelion, working with STRIKE.” I told him watching as he threw his head back laughing.
“I’ll be back in no time. Don’t you dare stay in D.C.” -he said kissing me one last time.
**End Flashback**
“Boss, they are back.” Hill said, making us turn our heads towards one of the screens.
There he was. Hands behind his back, walking towards the cage he’d be trapped in for God knows how long. His arrogant smug smile made my blood boil, my rage increasing as I watched him entering the cage, smiling at the director who was now standing in front of him, on the other side of the thick glass.
“In case it’s unclear, you try to escape, you so much as scratch that glass” ,the director started talking. He pushed some buttons making the ground beneath the cage open , ”30000 feet straight down in a steel trap. Do you get how that works? Ant, boot.” he said gesturing towards the control panel and the cage where the Asgardian was trapped.
He just laughed and took a step back.
“It’s an impressive cage.” His voice filled the speakers, making my skin crawl. “Not built I think for me,” he added. I turned my attention towards the other screen watching dr. Banner. He slowly moved his gaze down, probably knowing who it was built for.
“ Built for someone a lot stronger than you.”
“Oh I’ve heard.”, he said, looking directly into the camera that was positioned in the corner of his cage. “The mindless beast makes play; he is still a man. How desperate are you to call on such lost creatures to defend you?”
“How desperate am I?” Fury’s voice echoed through the speakers. “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.”, he said standing now in front of him. “You have made me very desperate, and you might not be glad that you did. “
“It burns you to have come so close , to have the Tesseract, to have power, unlimited power. And for what? A warm light for all mankind to share? And then to be reminded what real power is.” Loki finished having a devilish smile playing on his lips.
“He did it, right?” I asked Coulson, turning off the screen.
“He caused the explosion, yes.”, he said, moving his gaze away from mine. “Amelia, look, I -”
“Please don’t.” I pleaded, changing the subject as quickly as I could.
“I’m fine. We need to stop him, we have to find Agent Barton and Dr. Selvig as soon as possible. Any leads?”
“ Let’s go to the conference room. The director and the others are most likely waiting for us by now.”, he told me, walking out of the room we were in, heading towards the conference room.
“Thor, what's his play?” I heard a voice say as we got closer.
“He has an army, called the Chitauri. They are not of Asgard nor any world known. He means to lead them against your people. They will win him the earth, in return, I suspect, for the Tesseract.”
“An army from outer space.”
“Just like the good old day’s Captain,” Coulson told him as we entered the room.
“Everyone, allow me to introduce you to Agent Harrison, she has been studying the Tesseract with doctor Selvig. I was hoping she could join Dr. Banner and Stark to track it down.” director Fury spoke, making everyone turn their heads in our direction. ”Amelia, these are Dr.Bruce Banner , Tony Stark, Captain Steve Rogers, and Thor Odinson. The rest you are already familiar with.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you all. Should we get to work then?” I asked, looking at Stark.
“Sure, the lab is this way, kid,” Stark said, motioning towards another door. “Dr. Banner, will you join us?”
“Let me get this straight. He is building another portal. How does Selvig know how to build an intergalactic portal?”, he asked, turning towards me.
“He is an astrophysicist, he has been studying the cube since the first attack. When you came to Earth.” I said pointing at the God of Thunder standing just a few feet away from me.
“Yeah... Loki has him under some kind of spell, along with one of ours. We have to move quickly, we have Loki but they are still out there.” Natasha stated, looking up from her screen.
“Exactly. I want to know why Loki let us take him? He is not leading an army from here.” The Captain said his voice echoing through the room.
“I don’t think we should be focusing on Loki. “ Dr. Banner advised. “That guy’s brain is a bag full of cats. You could smell crazy on him.” You are not wrong, doctor. As he said this, I caught Thor taking a few steps closer to him, anger filling his blue eyes.
“Have care how you speak. Loki is beyond reason but he is of Asgard. And he is my brother.”
“He killed 80 people in two days,” Natasha said, looking at him.
“Our people! Innocent people, so as far as I’m concerned he is a psychopath that needs to be stopped. No matter what!” I exclaimed, not being able to compose myself any longer.
“Well, he is adopted,” Thor noted, giving me an apologetic look.
“I think it’s about the mechanics. Iridium. What do they need the iridium for?” Dr. Banner quickly stepped in, changing the subject. Thank God. I wasn’t in the mood for a fight with a Norse God.
“It’s a stabilizing agent,” I replied, looking at him.
“Exactly, it means the portal won’t collapse on itself,” Stark said, turning his attention towards me and the doctor.
“As it did at S.H.I.E.L.D,” I added, finally being able to have a conversation with someone. “Also it means the portal can open as wide and stay open as long as Loki wants.”
“Bingo. And the rest of the raw materials agent Barton can get his hands on pretty easily. The only major component he still needs is a power source of high-energy-density. Something to kick-start the Cube.” Stark explained while walking around, playing with the screens.
“When did you become an expert in thermonuclear astrophysics?” Hill asked, visibly annoyed with him.
“Last night. The packet. Selvig’s notes.”
“The extraction theory papers,” I said, knowing exactly what he was talking about.
“Does Loki need any particular kind of power source?” Captain Rogers asked greediness visible in his tone. Dude these guys have no patience.
“He would have to heat the Cube to a 120-million kelvin just to break through the Coulomb barrier.” Banner explained making me nod. I know where this is going...
“Unless Selvig has figured out how to stabilize the quantum tunneling effect,” Stark added, walking towards me.
“He kind of did...we did,” I said looking at him.
“Well in this case he can achieve heavy-ion fusion at any reactor on the planet.” Dr. Banner noted ,moving his gaze towards me.
“Alright kid, you convinced me. You know your way around astrophysics.” Stark said, smiling at me.
“I think you should get started on tracking the damn thing before it’s too late.” Fury snapped, making me nod and head towards the lab.
“So how did you become an agent kid? You seem kind of young for this stuff.” Stark asked, stepping in front of a monitor.
“My father was a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, after he and my mother died, my grandfather wanted me to join. So I did. I was placed at the Triskelion in D.C for 3 years, then moved to New York. I was working with Selvig from the moment he got to the base.” I replied, trying to give as much information as I could without having to answer any more questions.
“Well, you sure are something.” He gave me a smile then walked towards the scepter Loki used to control Clint and Selvig’s minds.
“Well, the gamma rays are consistent with Selvig’s reports of the Tesseract.” Dr. Banner said, moving one of his tools above the weapon.
“It could take weeks to process.” I hissed, sitting down putting my head in my hands. I was tired. I haven’t slept in days, my head was spinning, everything that was happening seemed like a bad dream.
**Flashback**
“How is work going?” I asked as I climbed into my car.
“It’s alright. The Tesseract has been misbehaving,” he said, letting out a sigh.
“You have to stay …” A deep sigh left my lips as I put my phone down, putting in an earpiece.
“I’m sorry Amy...Selvig needs me. You could come down here when you are done. He misses you, just like I do. “
“I would love to, but they want me here. It seems like the person I’m chasing is dead, so the director wants me to check a hijacking with STRIKE.” I said slowly pulling out of the garage.
“Be careful ok? I love you.”
“I love you too…”
**End Flashback**
“If we bypass their mainframe and direct route to the Homer cluster, we can clock this at around 600 teraflops,” Stark said, making some changes in the equation he made earlier.
“Well, all I packed is a toothbrush,” I told him, as I got up from my seat.
“You know what? You should come by Stark Tower sometime. Top ten floors all R&D, it’s like Candyland, you’ll love it.” he smiled.
Before I could have said anything else the doors of the lab opened.
“Amelia, a word?” Coulson asked, a concerned look on his face.
I stepped out, closing the door behind me.
“Is everything alright?”
“I wanted to ask you the same thing. We just got a call from D.C asking if you have checked in. You were ignoring the secretary’s calls.”
“Phil, I'm fine. I was ignoring his calls because it’s his fault I wasn’t there. I have nothing to say to him, so please tell him to stop trying to contact me.” I said walking away from him. I really need someplace to clear my mind.
Everything happened too fast. I didn’t have time to process what was happening, and here I am ...drowning myself in work.
“Are you alright? “ A deep husky voice brought me back to reality, making me stop in my tracks.
“Yes, thank you,” I said, turning around facing the God of Thunder himself.
“Did you lose someone important to you when the portal collapsed?” he asked, his eyes never leaving mine.
“We lost a lot of good agents because of your brother, and we will lose more if we don’t stop him,” I replied, starting to walk again. I am not in the mood for a heart-to-heart right now, and I am definitely not in the mood to have it with the brother of the monster who killed the love of my life.
“I thought I had lost him. I mourned him, and for what? Just to find out that he is plotting to take over the earth, leading an army he can’t control.” he was hurt. His words were full of pain and regret. I feel like he blamed himself for his brother’s behavior.
We made our way back to the bridge in silence.
“When I first came to Earth, Loki’s rage followed me here, and your people paid the price.” he stopped by a window.
“And now again. In my youth, I courted war -”
“War hasn’t started yet.” Fury stepped in, walking down the stairs. “You think you could make Loki tell us where the Tesseract is? “he asked.
“I do not know. Loki’s mind is far afield. It’s not just power he craves, it’s vengeance , upon me. There is no pain would prize his need from him.”
“A lot of guys think that until the pain starts,” I turned towards him.
“What are you asking me to do ?” he asked, stepping closer to me.
“We are asking, what are you prepared to do ?” Fury explained, his voice demanding.
“Loki is a prisoner,” I stated the obvious.
“Then why do I feel like he is the only person on this boat that wants to be here ?”
He was right, we have to make him talk somehow. He won’t talk to Thor, that’s for sure. It has to be someone with good skills in interrogation and manipulation.
“Director, I have an idea,” I said, making him look at me.