Artemis : The Seventh Avenger ➳ Steve Rogers [1]

01 [ 01 ]

Slowly, he places a file on the edge of my bed, flipping it open before he slides it over to me.

I lean forward to get a better look at the picture in the file of a glowing blue cube.

"The Tesseract," I mutter.

Fury raises a brow at me, "I see you've been doing some digging."

"Doesn't matter." I dismissed, wanting to get some more answers, "What does this cube have to do with me?"

"It's been taken by one, Loki Odinson." He explains, "And we need your help getting it back."

"Loki Odinson," I repeat to myself, trying to recall where I've heard that name.

"The God of Mischief. Thor's Brother?" I ask and Fury simply nods in reply.

My brows drew together unconsciously, "What's an Asgardian doing on Earth?"

"That's what we're planning to find out." Fury says, "And it'll take a hell lot less time if we had you on board. S.H.I.E.L.D needs you, Agent Romanoff."

I let out a scoff, "Haven't you already recruited for the Avengers Initiative? From the looks of it, you have more than enough help. Isn't that enough?"

"We don't have you." He replies, "I'll be a fool for leaving you out. Not having you on the team would be a great loss on our part."

"Right. Unfortunately for you, flattery doesn't work very well on me." I say, fighting the urge to roll my eyes.

Fury smiles, "I know. But it's worth a shot."

"Did everyone agree?" I ask, curiosity getting the better of me.

"Yes." He answers, "So did your sister, if that's what you're really asking."

I nodded slowly. I can't believe I'm actually considering this. I knew I shouldn't be.

"Before you turn me down again," Fury sighs, "There's something you should know."

He pauses, pressing his lips together. I could see the concern in his eyes, that made my heart drop.

"Well?" I prompted, growing impatient, "Spit it out."

"It's Clint." He says, "He's been compromised."

I jump out of bed immediately, throwing a jacket on over my sleepwear.

"You should've led with that," I grumbled as I rushed around my apartment to get ready.

"That was it? That was all I had to say?" Fury throws his hands in the air.

I ignore his comment, rolling my eyes. "How?"

"Loki has him under some sort of mind-control spell. Along with Erik Selvig." He explains.

Twisting to look at Fury, I ask, "Erik Selvig. He's an astrophysicist, right?"

"He is." Fury confirms.

I stuff the last of my belongings into a duffle bag, along with a couple of weapons before zipping it up. My mind racing, trying to process all the information that was just given to me.

"What would Loki need with an astrophysicist?"

Fury shrugs, "I guess we're going to find out."

"Alright, I'm ready." I state, throwing the bag over my shoulder and heading for the door.

"Agent Romanoff, wait." Fury calls out, but I don't stop.

"Camille!" He doesn't quite yell, but it was enough to make me stop in my tracks.

"If you do this, Natasha won't be happy." He says.

I let out an exaggerated sigh, "Are you trying to dissuade me? Do you want me on your team or not?"

"Of course I do." He says, "I just want to make sure there won't be any disagreements between my team members."

"You have nothing to worry about." I reassured, "I make my own decisions, not Nat, or anyone else for that matter."

"And you're sure you'll be okay?" He asks with genuine concern, "No more night terrors or flashbacks?"

"I have that under control." I lie, reaching for the door before Fury could ask any more questions, "Now, let's get going."

He eyes me sceptically, but nods, "It's good to have you back on the team, Agent Romanoff."