Some Assembly Required
Steve squinted and blinked as he adjusted to the light streaming in from the open back of the Quinjet. Ahead of him, two immense airstrips, one oblique to the other and atop it, the space between them forming a hangar. Pilots and black-clad agents patrolled the deck, and several jets could be seen waiting to be flown. The sun glinted off the command tower, imperious, haphazardly ascending, and bristling with antennae, which connected the two runways.
Steve took a moment to take in the sight as he began walking down the ramp. Coulson put on his sunglasses and walked ahead of him. They were approached by Agent Romanoff, clad in a black jacket, and a man in a suit similar to Coulson’s with straight, black hair, the beginnings of an unkempt beard, and a long-suffering, world-weary look. He didn’t look very military- his hair was long and he kept looking around at things, as though he were trying to orient himself. The faintest confusion infiltrated his stoic expression.
“Agent Romanoff, Captain Rogers. Captain Rogers, Agent Romanoff and John Wick.” Phil said.
“Ma’am?” Rogers said. “Hi.” Romanoff replied nonchalantly. Steve made eye contact with Wick, who nodded to him.
Romanoff turned to Coulson. “They need you on the bridge,” she said, “they’re starting a face trace.”
“See you there.” he replied, walking away immediately in the direction of the massive tower.
Steve and Romanoff looked at each other, neither quite sure what to make of the other. Wick gave him a quick once-over and then began peering at the Quinjet with subdued interest.
Romanoff turned, and the two men followed her.
“There was quite the buzz around here, finding you in the ice.” she said. “I thought Coulson was gonna swoon. Did he ask you to sign his Captain America trading cards yet?”
Steve smiled. “Trading cards?” he asked, amused.
“They’re vintage. He’s very proud.” she said.
Ahead of them there was a man looking nervous and confused, standing by a jet, seemingly trying to find his way towards them. He was cut off by a pair of soldiers walking in front of him.
“Dr. Banner.” Steve called to him, recognizing him.
“Oh, hi,” he said. They approached, and shook hands. “They told me you’d be coming.”
“Word is you can find the cube.” Steve said.
“Is that the… only word on me?” Banner asked.
“Only word I care about.” Steve replied.
Banner nodded slightly, satisfied with the answer. He gestured around. “Must be strange for you, all of this.” he said.
A group of soldiers jogged by. “Well, this is actually kinda familiar.” Steve remarked.
“You know,” he said, turning to Wick, “I’m a little unfamiliar with what you do here. Coulson didn’t call you Agent Wick.”
“I don’t work for SHIELD.” Wick said.
Steve nodded. “Did they pull you out of an ice sheet too?” he said jokingly.
“I was a Marine.” he said. “I’m good at… Soldiering.” he followed up after a brief pause.
Steve glanced to Natasha. Her expression didn’t change.
He held out his hand. Wick took it.
“Always good to meet a fellow serviceman.” Steve said, slightly uncertain.
“We don’t really do the same job.” Wick said. “But it’s good to meet you. I’ve heard a lot.”
“Gentlemen,” Natasha interrupted, “you might want to step inside in a minute. It’s gonna get a little hard to breathe.”
Sirens sounded in the distance. A voice shouted “Secure the deck!” over a loudspeaker. The sound of machinery came from somewhere below them.
“Is this a submarine?” Steve asked with a hint of awe.
“Really? They want me in a submerged, pressurized metal container?” Banner said, smiling. The three walked towards the edge of the deck, Natasha smirking slightly behind them.
The water at the side of the ship roiled and shifted, making way for an ascending turbine, the chop of its blades drowning out the sounds of the deck. The carrier began lifting out of the water. Further astern, they could see another whirring rotor, and hear two others behind them. Pilots rushed about tying down jets and putting on oxygen masks.
“Oh, no, this is much worse.” Banner said, deadpan.
The full bulk of the four massive engines unveiled itself as the carrier accelerated upwards. Water cascaded from its sides as it abandoned the sea for the sky. The whir of the blades turned to a roar as they triumphed over gravity. Wick stared at the turbine and shook his head in disbelief. Steve turned back to Romanoff, who smiled.
They crossed the deck and walked through narrow hallways to the bridge, passing through a set of double doors into a massive, hemispherical room, all glass and metal and workstations, bustling with the work of commanding a vessel this size. The frontal viewport was immense, providing a clear view of the sky ahead and the clouds below. Banner found an out-of-the-way spot to examine the room, standing near Coulson, who was already present. Steve strode to the center and looked around, trying to take in everything. Wick put his back to the wall and took a subdued look at the bridge, impressed but wary.
“All engines operating,” Agent Hill said, standing above the bridge staff, “SHIELD emergency protocol 193.6 in effect. We’re at level, sir.” With these last words, she turned to the center of the room, where Fury stood, arms crossed, a few meters behind Central Officer Bradford, whose hands were on the controls of the Helicarrier.
“Good.” replied Bradford. “Execute disappearance protocol.”
“Engage retroreflection panels!” Hill shouted to the bridge. The bottom of the Helicarrier shifted in seconds to become indistinguishable from the sky above. They had blended with the air, the only evidence of the massive vessel the humming of the rotors.
“Gentlemen.” Fury said, turning around. Bradford’s eyes remained fixed ahead for a moment until an officer said “Retroreflectors engaged.” He let go of the controls slowly and turned to look at the guests on the bridge.
Fury walked directly over to Banner and shook his hand. “Thank you for coming, Doctor.” he said.
“Thanks for asking nicely.” Banner said, glancing at Agent Hill. “I’m a bit concerned about what might have happened if you’d sent Agent Romanoff.” he said jokingly. “How long am I staying?”
“As soon as we find the Tesseract, you’re free to go.” Fury said.
Bradford spoke up. “Doctor Banner, I think you’ll find that our laboratory is fully equipped. State of the art. You’ll be working with our own Doctor Moira Vahlen, do you know of her?”
Banner looked intrigued. “Yes, yes I do. Her dissertation on quantum energy containment was fascinating to read, and I cited a few of her papers in some work I was doing at the University. She’s got a reputation.” Banner shook his head and smiled. “It’s not a sterling reputation, not after Lubeck in any event, but well, her name’s known.”
“I’m aware, Dr. Banner.” Bradford said. Banner nodded, embarrassed. “Oh, of course.” he said.
“Despite SHIELD having certain misgivings about Vahlen’s style of research, her expertise is undeniable. That quantum energy containment dissertation made her the perfect candidate to study the Tesseract. You won’t have to do much explaining to her.” Bradford said.
“How are you doing so far, finding the thing?” Banner said to Fury, changing the subject.
He gestured to Agent Coulson, who stepped up to the platform and indicated a computer screen behind him. Images flashed across it- projections of cities, structures, rooms. Clint Barton’s face. The unmistakable mask of the War Machine armour. All seemed to be live. Video, or very detailed real-time projections.
“We’re sweeping every wirelessly accessible camera on the planet. Cellphones, laptops. If it’s connected to a satellite, it’s eyes and ears for us.” Coulson said.
“That’s not gonna find Loki in time.” said Romanoff, concerned.
“You have to narrow the field.” Banner said with sudden certainty. “How many spectrometers do you have access to?”
“Vahlen’s got one in her lab.” Bradford said.
“Not enough. Call every lab you know, tell them to put the spectrometers on the roof and calibrate them for gamma rays. I’ll rough out a tracking algorithm based on cluster recognition. At least we could rule out a few places.” Banner continued, speaking more quickly.
“Agent Romanoff, would you take Banner to meet his colleague? I’m sure he’d like to get to work as soon as possible.” Fury said. As Banner and Romanoff began to leave the room, Fury spoke up again. “Oh, and Central tells me Vahlen would like to meet you, Captain. She’s got something of yours.” Bradford twitched.
Steve looked intrigued. He quickly realized what Fury was talking about and turned to follow Romanoff.
“For the record,” Bradford said, addressing the bridge, “you are to refer to me as Central Officer Bradford, and not as Central.” Fury smirked. As the bridge crew returned to their work, he said to Bradford “You know everyone does it.”
“That may be so,” he said, “but I don’t appreciate it, Director. You know, in the Army-”
“They don’t have Helicarriers.” Fury said.
“The Minerva is a wonder of modern engineering, and we owe Shen and the other SHIELD personnel who helped design her a great deal, but with all due respect, Director, I worry that we might have traded shiny toys for discipline.” he said, partially in jest.
“All toys, no discipline? Just wait until you meet Stark. That’ll put things in perspective.” Fury said.
Wick glanced between them and then looked quizzically at Coulson. Coulson walked over to him, shrugged, and said “Welcome to SHIELD.” Wick shook his head. “Glad I never paid taxes.” he said. Coulson furrowed his brow. “You’re joking, right?” he said. Wick looked at him. Any humour he might have intended was well concealed. Coulson smiled uncertainly. Either the driest of wits or the most brazen of souls, he thought to himself.
Vahlen’s lab was orderly. The tables holding the various experimental setups: a petri dish labeled “XENO1”; a complex laser apparatus; and a set of computer screens with a holographic projection of the Tesseract in their midst, were each given a great deal of space, like exhibits in a museum. On a raised platform overlooking the spinal hangar bay of the Helicarrier was the most impressive object in the room- Captain America’s shield. Matt couldn’t stop glancing at it, taking in the glory of it, wondering where its owner might be.
“Did you understand all that?” Vahlen asked, snapping Matt out of his distraction. “Not quite, sorry.” he said.
“Understandable, I’ll put it in simpler terms.” she said. “You’re not giving off any energy or particles.” She paused until he nodded. “I’ll have to wait on the nerve cell tests,” she continued, Matt wincing at the memory of the nerve cell sampling procedure, “but it seems the event that gave you your powers has not resulted in large-scale change to your physiology. As for the device which you say may have granted you these abilities, there are no records of any government agency carrying out work in that area at the time you describe. I’ll ask Director Fury about that, I’m sure he’ll be interested. Based on your description, the device most likely was not a natural crystal structure. I would stop short of calling it certainly extraterrestrial in nature, but given that Asgardian physiology seems to be so close to ours,” she gestured at the petri dish, “an alien device capable of granting these capabilities to humans is…” She paused. “Just this side of the line between possible and impossible.”
“So, you believe me?” Matt said.
“Of course I do. One more question. Have you ever been a practitioner of meditation, yoga, or Eastern martial arts, or did you frequently undergo acupunctural procedures?” Vahlen said, looking studiously at a clipboard which Matt had noticed earlier was blank.
“No. I mean, I did yoga a couple times but it was just stretches and stuff.” Matt said, confused.
Vahlen looked him in the eyes for the first time in the conversation. “What you’re capable of pushes the bounds of science. If any semblance of normality ever returns to our world, you must come to my laboratory for more detailed analysis of your abilities and the mechanism by which they function. I promise you, anything I can find out from analysis of your nerve cells I will relay to you before I publish the results.” she said, her tone commanding.
“Thanks, I guess.” said Matt. He paused. “What’s Loki like? How am I supposed to stop him? Fury told me you’d met him, too.”
“I am a scientist, Mr. Garetty, not a soldier. Once the culture and analysis of the Asgardian cells I retrieved from the Tesseract chamber is complete, I may be able to tell you more.” There was a sort of detached judgement in her voice. Matt felt sorry he’d asked the question.
As Matt was about to leave, a bespectacled, unassuming man and a stunningly attractive woman entered the room. The woman immediately walked up to him and put out her hand. He took it without thinking. “Agent Natasha Romanoff. Sorry we haven’t met yet.” she said, and then turned to Vahlen.
“Vahlen, Dr. Bruce Banner.” She turned to Banner. “Banner, Matthew Garetty.”
They exchanged greetings. Vahlen didn’t see Banner offering a handshake, as she was typing on the keyboard near the virtual Tesseract rather than looking at him, and he eventually just nervously let it fall to his side and pretended it didn’t happen. He nodded to Matt, who nodded back, slightly confused, expecting manners less mild.
As soon as the introductions were complete, he found Banner and Natasha looking at him expectantly. “You want me to move something, don’t you?” he asked. Vahlen stared at him forbiddingly. “There’ll be plenty of time for that in the field.” she said.
Matt didn’t have long to be disappointed before Steve Rogers himself strode through the door. He stopped upon seeing his shield, and looked around at the room, first to Natasha, then Vahlen. “Can I have that back,” he asked, “or is it still being studied?”
Vahlen looked at Steve. “Of course.” she said, then to Matt: “Don’t just stand there. Give the man his shield.” Matt moved to pick it up, but decided to reach out and lift it from a distance, levitating it across the room as everyone but Vahlen looked on in awe, and into Steve’s hands.
“So it’s true,” Steve said, “You really have learned to do magic while I’ve been frozen.”
“Not magic, Captain Rogers, science. I think you will find this world you’ve entered has a rational explanation.” Vahlen said.
Steve nodded. “And you are?” he asked.
“Dr. Moira Vahlen,” she said, approaching him. “The world’s foremost scientist in many of the fields most directly relevant to the Avengers Initiative. I ran some tests on your shield. The metal is astonishing, absolutely incredible. Its properties, it seems, are not exaggerated from the history books. Solid vibranium is far more impressive than even the alloys we’ve been able to produce since.” She shook his hand. Banner looked slightly annoyed. He raised his hand, trying to get her attention, and failed.
“I’m glad to hear it’s not obsolete. Will you be helping Dr. Banner to find the Tesseract?” he asked.
“I think you’ll find Dr. Banner will be helping me. We are no longer peers in many of the fields he once excelled me in. Years on the run from the law does tend to weaken one’s dedication to keeping up with the latest research, isn’t that true, Dr. Banner?” As Vahlen spoke, Natasha took Matt aside for a moment, relaying some cautionary advice about Loki.
“Well, I wouldn’t quite go that far.” Banner said. “Fury brought me on for my expertise.”
“Which is why you are in this lab in the first place. Please, Doctor Banner, I’ve assembled the data I was able to collect from the Tesseract when it activated. I haven’t analyzed it yet, perhaps you might be able to recognize some patterns.” She gestured at the work station with the holographic cube. Banner walked over and started puzzling over the data on the screens.
“Interesting to hear that you’re German, er, Doctor. I’ve heard the second half of the century was kinder to your people than the first?” Steve said.
“I’m not German, Captain Rogers. That said, I was hoping you’d bring it up. I want to thank you personally for your service in the war. My grandparents were Romani. They would have been murdered by the Nazis if people like you hadn’t fought to save them. Such a valuable research opportunity as your shield belongs in a laboratory.” She paused. “But I am confident it will do more good in the hands of a hero such as yourself.”
“I was only doing my job, ma’am.” Steve said, clearly a bit surprised.
“With magnificence, Captain. Don’t short-sell yourself. Individuals as gifted as ourselves must realize our potential before we can use it.” Vahlen said, with muted excitement.
“I’m just a soldier.” Steve said. “Thanks for the shield, and good luck with your studies.” He smiled and nodded. She smiled and nodded back, with the slightest hint of disappointment in her eyes. He turned away, but she got his attention again.
“Wait.” she said. “About the shield. As I’m sure you’re aware, Captain, vibranium is capable of absorbing and reflecting massive quantities of kinetic energy from impacts. Of course you know about its effect on bullets and the like, but it should also work on Loki’s energy bursts. Furthermore, the shield should protect you from modern explosive weaponry and the repulsors in the War Machine suit Loki stole.”
“Anything else you can tell me about Loki?” Steve asked.
“I haven’t finished culturing Loki’s cells yet, but if his brother is any indication, it seems that his species is extremely strong and durable. We are not yet sure if their humanoid form is reflective of what they actually look like.” she replied.
“Space aliens using mind control, telekinesis, flying aircraft carriers, and Uncle Sam employing Swiss scientists.” Steve said, shaking his head. “The future sure is interesting.”
Vahlen smiled. “I’m not Swiss, either, Captain, but you’ve made a good guess. Keep trying if you’d like.”
“Austrian?” Steve said, smiling back. She shook her head. “I was only educated in Germany, I’m really from L-”
At that point, Banner interrupted. “Uh, excuse me.”
“What?” Vahlen said, annoyed.
“The program isn’t right. This model has to be updated now that it’s no longer in the housing. Loki doesn’t have any iridium, according to yours and Selvig’s research the energy signature will be different than it was when it was primed to activate. We can’t trace it using the model you programmed.”
Vahlen scowled. “It’s not wrong, I just haven’t written the replacement yet. Obviously I thought of that. Besides, if he’s planning to use it again he might have iridium soon. We’ll use both models.” She walked over to the console and checked the screens over furiously. Steve took a look at the shield and smiled fondly as he realized someone had had it repainted. He strapped it to his arm and walked over to Matt.
“Hey.” he said, right as Natasha had finished talking.
“Um, hi, er, hello, Captain Rogers.” Matt said, clearly surprised. “What do you want me to call you, actually, I should probably, um, establish that.”
“Just Cap is alright. Or Steve.” he said, amused.
“Sorry, Cap. It’s just a bit hard to believe it’s really you. I mean, it’s not every day you meet a historical figure. When I was a kid, I used to imagine how cool it would be to meet you.” Matt paused. “Not the first time life’s surprised me this year.”
“I know what it’s like to go from weak to strong. It’s a hard transition. All we can do is use the powers we’re given in the best way we can.” Steve said.
“I’ll try.” Matt said, nodding.
“You’ll do it.” Steve said. “That’s an order.” he said jokingly.
“I won’t let you down out there.” Matt said, smiling.
“Speaking of that, boys,” Natasha said, “Fury wants to hold a joint briefing for the team. We need to be prepped and ready to go after Loki when we find him.”
“Shouldn’t that wait until Mr. Stark gets here?” asked Steve.
“We’ve learned to pursue a… laissez-faire policy towards Stark. It’s possible he’ll get here in time. But we’re not counting on it.”
Steve looked disturbed. “Noted.” he said.
Later that night, when the briefing was finished and the team had dispersed to their quarters, Steve and Coulson stood on the almost-deserted bridge of the Helicarrier, looking out into the clouds. Central’s posture was still perfect but his stare was growing duller as he watched the view screens, waiting for a sign of Loki. It was easy for the agents at the screens to feel superfluous under his gaze.
“...I mean, if it’s not too much trouble.” Coulson said.
“No, no, it’s fine.” Steve said. “Have you got a pen?”
Coulson checked a few pockets and shook his head. “It’s a vintage set,” he said, gesturing to the cards in his hand. “It took me a couple of years to collect them all. Near mint, slight foxing around the edges, but…”
“That’s him.” Central said. His voice reverberated off the walls of the bridge and silenced all conversation. “That’s Loki.”
The agent whose screen Central’s eyes were fixed on said “Sixty-seven percent match. Weight, cross match, seventy-nine percent.”
“Location?” Central said.
“Stuttgart, Germany. 28, Konigstrasse. He’s not exactly hiding.” the agent said.
“We’ve got him. Captain, bring that man in.”
Steve nodded, glanced apologetically at Coulson, and strode towards the door. Coulson put his cards away.
Matt’s room in the Helicarrier was tiny, much smaller than his room at home. It was cold and grey. It felt like a cell. They hadn’t done much to brighten it up. It was too loud to sleep, with the footsteps through the metal hallways and the screaming of those mighty engines all around him. What was he doing here? It came as a relief when the speaker in the corner lit up and Central’s voice came through. “Mr. Garetty, get up. We found him. Hangar bay, two minutes.”
He threw off the covers like he was pushing away a venomous snake. As he got dressed, he paused, lifted his backpack off the ground, and set it back down, testing to make sure he was still something more than human. He took a deep breath, opened the door telekinetically, and walked out of the room. Trepidation and excitement dueled in his mind. He wondered if he’d feel like a hero at the end of the night.
Light flooded into the armoury as Hill entered, first from the hallway and then from the overhead fixtures. Wick stood and watched as she typed in commands on a console. He felt like half his field of vision was always blue touchscreens and black suits. At least the Continental had old-world charm. A rectangular box came up from the ground, and its lid slid apart seemingly of its own accord. Wick descended a few stairs and stood in front of it. He brought his eyes to the center.
Two Heckler and Koch P30Ls, set up just the way he liked to use them. A Kel-Tech KSG pump-action shotgun. A couple unfamiliar elliptical discs. A rifle, of a design he didn’t recognize, that looked set up to fire tranquilizer darts. A spare, pressed suit, a flak jacket, three M84 stun grenades, and a TR-1 Ultralight semi-automatic rifle.
“Like Christmas.” he said, deadpan.
“Thought you’d like them.” Hill said. “We based them on your old arsenal.”
“I’ve got bad memories of some of these guns, you know.” Wick said. He picked up one of the handguns, and looked it over before placing it in his shoulder holster. “What are these?” he asked, pointing at the discs.
“We call them taser grenades. They deliver a disabling electrical shock, attach upon impact from any angle. Stark’s armour is just about the only thing that’ll resist them.” Hill said, with a hint of pride.
“Colonel Rhodes’s armour is Stark, isn’t it?” Wick asked.
“Stark never upgraded that suit. They’ll work.” Hill said.
John looked the guns over again. “Do you think any of this can take down the…” he gestured vaguely, “Loki?”
“To be honest, we don’t know. Those darts are loaded with a tranq intended for use on the Hulk, though. Untested, but extremely potent. If anything can knock him out for questioning, it’s that.” She paused. “And if things turn bad, if anyone can kill him with these weapons, it’s you.”
Wick nodded, then said “When do we leave?”
Hill checked her watch. “Now.” she said.