The Never-ending Chase
Chapter 6: The Never-ending Chase
She groaned when she checked the time. It was 5:00 AM and it seems there's no other way she could go back to sleep. Unless I get drunk or I'll take ZyQuil? She threw her blanket aside as she toyed with the idea, stood up, and stretched. Note to self: buy either gin or sleeping meds in case of emergency. The sun was starting to peek over the New York skyline. She raised a hand to her nape and paused when she felt her cold cuff touch her skin. Oh and now I slept with this on?
"Jarvis, good morning," she said and yawned.
"Good morning, Miss Lords."
She looked up to the ceiling as if expecting to see the AI. "I was wondering if this building has a gym."
"Are you sure you would want to work out? You have not slept for the past 36 hours and only had 1.5 hours of sleep."
"Wow, Jarvis. Don't worry I was just wondering." She walked to the window. "For future reference."
"The gym is on the 72nd floor." A hologram of the floor appeared in front of her.
The gym was complete with equipment and even a large space for sparring. Stella smiled. "Sweet."
After washing her face and changing her dress to a grey, jersey tank top, and black leggings, she walked the dim, empty halls of her floor and entered the elevator. After passing by some floors the doors opened to sprawling gym space. She took herself to a tour and stopped at the punching bag. She looked to her left where the shelves are located, walked and picked up a hand wrap, and started with it. Then she picked up two bamboo sticks the length of her swords. She hit the punching bag as if hacking someone. Satisfied, she started training.
During her second round, Stella heard the elevator's ding. She landed a kick to the bag before she faced the newcomer.
"You must be Detective Lords, ma'am?" The newcomer said.
"Yep. Good morning. And you are?" Stella picks up her towel and wipes her face.
The newcomer approached her and extended a hand. "Steve Rogers, ma'am."
She looked at his hand and then hers. "Hi, Steve. Uh, my palms are sweaty." She extended her stick instead.
Steve laughed at her gesture and shook the stick. "I heard you were here for the case?"
"Yeah. About that, what do you know about it?"
Steve walked to a bench and sat. "I did tell them to leave it in the ocean."
She blinked in confusion. “The scepter was in the ocean?”
Steve looked up at her. “No, the tesseract.”
“I’m sorry. I don’t know about this. I am only here for the scepter’s protection against Ares. Well, actually stopping Ares from taking the scepter and creating more damage.”
He straightened up. “That is odd. Fury never mentioned to you that the tesseract was missing? And is Ares who I think he is?”
“Who do you think Ares is?”
“That Greek god of war? Zeus’ son?” Stella nodded. “More gods. I thought there was only one.”
She shrugged at him apologetically. “I would expect you to tell me you saw him on the battlefield.” Steve gave her a questioning look. “He thrives in chaos. He’s in every war.”
“That sounds poetic, though.”
“No, I mean he is in the war.” Steve looked at her like he was not sure if he should laugh or not, but Stella was dead serious.
“Okay. I was frozen for a good part of my life -” He started counting with his fingers. “-Bruce is The Hulk; Thor is a god of thunder; and Loki brought aliens here on Earth, so anything is possible.”
“I’m sorry the world has evolved into this mayhem.” She chuckled.
“Don’t be, kid.” Steve smirked.
“So, going back, the tesseract, it’s missing?” She frowned. “I believe it does not concern me. What is it? The tesseract? And what is its relationship with the scepter?”
“The scepter and the tesseract work together. The scepter acts as a key to the tesseract since it’s a portal to another dimension. Loki used that to transport the Chitauri to Earth,” he explained. “If Fury signed you up to work for the scepter case, then the missing tesseract should also concern you.”
Stella returned the sticks and crossed her arms, thinking about what Steve said. Deep inside, a part of her is saying ‘holy shit what have I gotten myself into?’ but the good part of her is pushing that thought away to establish a logical perception for the case. Steve had noticed her eyes widen a bit after he told her that but he let it go. “Possibly. But Fury told me I was in here for the scepter and the disappearance of the people in Kalambaka,” she replied, trying not to be unsure of the whole operation.
“Ah, yes. That. What is the connection between the scepter and that town?”
“Ares. He attacked Loki months ago for the mind crystal. That’s what the scepter holds. Then he commanded his demigod son to destroy Kalambaka, said it’s going to be his father’s land. Why? I don’t know.” She sat next to him. “Where was the tesseract housed before it was missing?”
“In the S.H.I.E.L.D HQ. Theory is someone who is working inside stole it. It was heavily guarded so it’s someone high up in the ranks. I think Hydra is still on the run and maybe they’re the ones who stole the tesseract again.” Steve replied.
“Who’s Hydra?”
“It was the scientific branch of the Nazi government headed by Johann Schmidt, also known as the Red Skull. They used the Tesseract to create weapons of mass destruction and then later on separated from the government to start their conquest of the world. No idea why they wanted the whole world in their hands.”
That sounds like what Ares also wanted. She thought. “Where is Johann Schmidt now?”
Steve frowned and shook his head. “No idea. Off-grid?”
“So if you say this tesseract and the scepter work together, is there a possibility Ares might be after the tesseract, too?”
“Maybe you’re here for more than you expect.”
“We need to discuss this with them.”
After running back to her room to shower and get dressed, Stella quickly left her room and bumped into Loki, who was going in the opposite direction. "Oh my, I'm sorry."
"You should watch where you're going," he told her.
"Yeah I know and that I am sorry," she said over her shoulder.
"Why are you in a hurry, anyway?"
Stella turned back and pulled him by the hand. "I think you should come with me."
"Wait!" He yanked his hand from her. "I can perfectly walk on my own," he said, annoyed.
They entered the elevator and Stella was trying to stop herself from laughing over the fact that she just annoyed the god of mischief. "Is there something that you want to discuss?" Loki broke her thoughts.
She cleared her throat. "Yeah. Steve and I just had an epiphany."
Loki glanced at her over his shoulder. "Which is?"
"I'll tell you later, along with everyone."
“Why can’t you tell me right here, right now? We’re the primary players in this game, anyway,” he scoffed.
“As much as I want to break it to you as early as now, I would want to discuss it with everyone around because it looks like this concerns everyone.” She tilted her body toward him. “And I don’t want to keep on repeating myself.”
He rolled his eyes. Okay, she's getting on my nerves. He thought. If she's playing mind games I'm out. I did not have any problem when the Allfather told me to look into this case but I never imagined I was going to work with the Greek guardian like her.
They entered the lounge and everyone was there. Stella slipped into a chair next to Bruce. "So, you were gonna tell us something?" Tony asked her.
"Yeah. Steve and I were talking this morning." She clasped her hands in front of her.
"Ah. I see you were already acquainted with Capsicle." Stark added. “So what did you talk about?”
“I didn’t know the tesseract was missing until Steve told me.”
Natasha crunched her forehead. “Fury didn’t tell you? Or was it not part of your case?”
“My case was just about the town and the scepter, considering there will be another possible attack on civilians from a non-human force. Until Steve told me that the scepter and the tesseract work together. Is it true?” She gestured to Thor and Loki to confirm, not wanting to point Loki himself.
"Yes. The tesseract works as a door to the other realms, the other side of the universe. The tesseract has belonged to Asgard since time immemorial. That's why we're here, to bring it back to Asgard. The scepter, on the other hand, activates or deactivates it, aside from it being used to mentally control a victim." Loki willingly explained, making Natasha shudder at the thought of Clint's experience under the influence of the scepter.
Stella just nodded. "You said there was a possibility of an inside job within S.H.I.E.L.D." She gestured to Tony. "What’s the possibility this is connected to Ares or Hydra?”
“Hydra, highly probable. Maybe around 75%. As for Ares, I’m not sure what’s in his head.” Tony answered.
“But Ares attacked Asgard a few months back and you brought him back to Olympus, how can he steal the tesseract?” Thor inquired.
“His son admitted to us that he is one of the many demigod children who is working for him. Now, what’s the possibility of someone in S.H.I.E.L.D is working for Ares?” Stella said.
“Someone who can cover up the loss for months,” Tony said. “Then we should check who is working on the tesseract.”
“But how can you be so sure Ares is behind all these? What if it’s Hydra again? And didn't Fury tell us that he's working on the missing tesseract?” Natasha asked.
Stella rested her chin on her arm perched on her knee. “It was a hunch.” She looked down at the table. “It can be possible but the dates don’t check out. I just found out that the tesseract had a long history here on Earth, way beyond the Asgardian one.”
"Also Fury doesn't seem to know this as a possibility," Bruce added.
“It is possible,” Loki spoke and everyone looked at him. “As I said, the tesseract can open portals to the different parts of the universe. It can also be used to enter Asgard without using the Bifrost, thus Ares entering the palace undetected.”
“Like how you brought the Chitauri down here?” Natasha said.
Stella looked at Loki intently. There was a hint of remorse he was trying to conceal. There was a split second of it until he gave them a straight face. “Yes, just like how I led them here.” He sighed and faced them. “It can be possible someone was concealing the fact that the tesseract was already stolen months ago.”
A split second. That's all it takes to catch Loki off guard. But Stella was still doubtful even though Athena seems to trust him. But what if Loki was trying to change? Open yourself to every possibility. He can be a valuable asset to your mission. He's the god of deception. Athena’s words echoed in her head.
“How did you enter Asgard when Ares was there, Stella?” Bruce asked her.
“I passed through the Bifrost. I was allowed to,” she answered.
“Wait,” Steve spoke. Everyone looked at him. “How can you enter the Bifrost? Are you like them?” He pointed at Thor and Loki.
“Cap, have you read the file?” Bruce asked slowly.
Steve blinked at them. “Fury talked about this to me yesterday and I just arrived here. No file appeared on my desk. Also, no one filled me in before I met her.” Loki smirked at Stella and she replied with a twitch of her lips.
“That explains it,” Tony muttered.
“Is this my story to tell?” Stella asked them.
“Please do.” Tony placed his leg on his other leg.
“Zeus is my father and I was made Olympus’ guardian for the realms by Athena. That includes Asgard. Athena and Odin have special security relations that allowed me to enter Asgard.” Stella explained.
“The daughter of Zeus also has a seat in our war room,” Thor added. “She is our external adviser.”
Steve fell back on his chair. “So it’s your brother we’re fighting?”
“We have different mothers and he’s centuries older than me. We don’t have any concrete relationship aside from sworn enemies.” Steve was still looking flustered. “I’m sorry, Mr. Rogers. The world is a crazy place.” Stella told him.
"Stella." Tony caught her attention. "There might also be a possibility someone within Olympus is working for Ares."
She looked at him. "That's not impossible. It has been evident in our history that gods and their children can work together to wreak havoc. Ares is already using his children to work for him."
"His children working for him is already an act of treason against Olympus," Loki said.
"I hate to agree with Darth Vader but he's right," Tony said.
"Who's Darth Vader?" The Asgardian brothers muttered and Stella chuckled.
"That was a movie reference," Steve said and Natasha covered her now flushed face.
"Some dude who blew up Alderaan," Stella told them.
"Blew up with a Death Star," Steve added and Tony looked at him, impressed.
"Where is Alderaan?" Loki asked. They were already fighting back their laughter.
"We'll talk about that later," Stella said. "Going back, I would like to trace every human demigod child Ares has. Then we'll work from there." Stella retrieved a thumb drive from her pocket. "All of their names are in here. Can you trace people here, Stark?"
"Yeah. I can help you with that."
"Also," Stella paused and she looked at them, "I'm not sure if I'm authorized to work on the tesseract case. Though I would gladly want to help Asgard."
"You don't need to worry about the protocols. We'll handle that. What you need to do now is to do what you need to do." Steve told her.
“Before anything else.” Bruce started. “Who exactly is Ares? Aside from he’s the Greek god of war and Zeus’ son?”
Everyone looked at her. Stella took a moment before answering. “He answers the pleas of humans for war and chaos. He thrives on destruction.”
The meeting was adjourned. Stella went with Tony to the next floor to work on the list.
Thor approached his brother. "This Ares god seems to be working smart," he said.
"Someone seems to wish to recreate what I have done the last time," Loki replied.
"He probably has heard of you. Not a wise move."
Loki glanced at his brother. "It was not a pleasant experience, I have to say. The Chitauri were not, how do I put this…they were not easy to work with. If I had a million children then I would have probably done that."
"Loki," Thor said darkly. "You swore never to do it again."
Loki placed a hand on his brother's shoulder. "I don't even intend to have children," he said and he left.
"Does she trust us? Do you trust her?" Natasha voiced her concern to Steve and Bruce when they were out of earshot.
"I'm not sure yet. Thor seems to trust her." Bruce replied.
“I thought being frozen for 70 years was already insane,” Steve said blankly.
“Oh come on, Steve. I’m the Hulk, you fought aliens here in New York, you met Thor, who is an immortal. You’re still surprised some Greek demigods and gods walk the Earth?” Bruce asked.
“The world indeed is a crazy place.”
“So, do you trust her?” Natasha asked him again.
"Trust who?" Thor asked them as he joined.
"Detective Lords," Natasha replied.
"I know your apprehensions, Lady Romanoff. But I have seen her save my brother from the god of war and I know she means well."
"Yeah. I could see her intentions are good." Steve added.
Natasha sighed and crossed her arms. "I'll still keep an eye out."
"Jarvis, can you pull up any records for the names listed," Stella commanded and the names flashed on the glass panel in front of her shuffled and were replaced by pages and pages of profiles. "Anyone within this state?"
"I apologize, Miss Lords but I can't seem to find any data regarding that," J.A.R.V.I.S replied.
Tony and Stella looked at each other. He was a bit worried and she was frowning. I have a bad feeling about this, she thought as she pressed on one page and read it. "These are mostly birth and death certificates. Nothing else, Jarvis?"
"Nothing else," the AI replied.
"Huh. They went off the grid." Tony said while munching on his dried fruit snack. "Also, why are there only two documents per person? One birth and one death certificate? No social security numbers? No passports? Do you have one?”
She nodded. “All the papers, even a passport. But I feel like your immigration officers will come at me anytime since I entered your country undocumented.”
“Just don’t show your face to the cameras.”
Stella glanced at Tony. “That’s how it works?”
Tony smiled. “You’ll never know.”
Stella buried her face on her hands. "All the names here are dead, dammit. They're off the grid. But I wouldn’t be surprised if Ares has undocumented demigod children. That god’s not conforming to the rules."
“What do you mean?”
“Ares is the definition of chaos. Athena is a battle with a cause. Both are gods of war but he’s the brutishness of it. He is the offensive when she is on the defense.”
"Does this mean our enemy's invisible? This is like grappling in the dark.” Tony skimmed through the documents. “Can you track a person with magic?"
Stella placed her palms flat on the table and looked at him. "I haven't tried."
“Can you ask for help from Olympus?”
“If it was that easy I would’ve done it a long time ago and I wouldn’t be here.”
"So that means it’s really up to us.” Tony placed a finger on his lips, thinking. “Well, can Loki?"
"No idea. Maybe." She yawned and she felt tears fall from her eyes. "We can ask."
Tony looked at her with heavy concern in his eyes. "You should probably sleep this off for now. That was one heavy yawn," he suggested and she nodded.
"Good idea. I think I have been awake for 40 hours by now."
"Jesus, kid. Go get some rest."
"I'm not a kid, I'm 27," she called out as the elevator doors closed.