A New Generation, a New Villain (An Avengers Fan Fiction)

A New Generation, a New Villain - Chapter Two

All the Avengers were in the room.  Silence.  Fury entered, Agent Hill like a puppy behind him.  More silence.

"Hello, folks."  I leaned against the wall, afraid of what was coming next.  "We still haven't figured out what exactly Loki has sent, but we now have concrete evidence that that force is somewhere on this earth, very possibly in New York.  New York--and the rest of the world--is in danger again."

I held my breath as Maria began pulling up files on the screens.  The air was tense.  Everyone seemed absorbed in their own thoughts.

"Now," continued Fury, "your job is--"

He stopped abruptly.  We stared at the screen.  I gasped.  Fear seized me.

There, on the screen, was Loki's face.  I had seen it often enough.  In pictures and news footage.  I was terrified.  I had often had bad dreams about Loki--seeing him face-to-face, even if through a screen, was one of my worst nightmares.  Yet there he was.  

"Hello, S.H.I.E.L.D," he said in a curt, menacing manner.  "Yes, yes, you're all wondering where I am.  I am in the kingdom of the frost giants, where I am honored, so you should not have to worry about me this time.  Conquering Midgard should be easy enough for my son."

My mouth dropped open.  His son?

"Explain yourself, Loki."  Fury's voice was firm.

"Oh, I plan to.  I married into the frost giant race.  My son is young and full of life.  I have taught him everything he could ever wish to know and he has received amazing power from the most praised magicians in this realm."

My breath was shaky.

"My son will conquer Midgard.  Alexius and I will rule."

I slid to the floor.  Alexius!

Loki disappeared from the screen.  Everything was silent.

"How do we look for him?" asked Clint.

"We don't.  I mean, there's no way we can.  We'll just have to wait until he comes to us.  There's no way of knowing who or where he is," Natasha replied.

No one answered.  

"The only thing we know about him is that his name is Alexius," dad said.

"He'll probably take on a human form, just like Loki did," said Natasha.

"I know who he is."

All eyes turned to me.  I bit my lip and a chilling shudder came over me.  "His name is Alexius.  He's on my soccer team.  Today was the first day I've ever seen him.  He knew my name.  He knew who I was."

Of course!  How could I not have seen it?  He had the same dark hair, the same cold, evil green eyes as Loki.  It made him seem almost reptilian, I thought, chiding myself for not realizing it earlier.

Now everyone was surrounding me.

"What else did he say?" asked Dad.

"He seemed to spring up out of nowhere.  I asked him if he was new and he said yes.  I asked him what his name was.  He told me it was Alexius."  I was finding my voice.  I was spilling out information, becoming more and more terrified all the time.  "I asked if I could call him Alex and he repeated that his name was Alexius.  I introduced myself as Reni, but the last thing he said to me was, 'Your name is Florence Rogers, correct?'  I told him it was and then I started walking towards the field to start practice.  I looked around and he was gone."

Everyone was staring at me.

Now Fury spoke.  "Captain Rogers, Reni is in danger.  Apparently they're targeting her for some reason."  Fury looked at me.  "Reni, you will have to play along with the plot.  We have to set up a strategy, and we have to follow it exactly.  If something goes wrong, this Alexius could take over the world."

I shuddered.  "Yes sir."

"You're in the game now, Reni."  Fury's voice was deep and firm.  "There's no way for you to avoid it. You will pick up training along with the rest of the team."

Mom squeezed my hand.  

"Alright, everyone, get back to your business.  You guys need to be mutilating punching bags right now."  Fury left with those words, Maria behind him.

Everyone left the room and headed for different places--Tony to his tower to work on his suit, Natasha to her training room, Dad to his gym and Mom to her shooting range, and Dr. Banner to his lab.  I simply sat in the hallway, my knees pulled to my chest, thinking.  Mom and dad patted my shoulder as they passed.  Clint stopped in front of me.  "Reni, come with me."

I followed him into his training room and sat down as he began setting up targets.  "You're part of the team now, Reni.  You're not just a bystander, or an Avenger's daughter.  Do you understand that?"

I was feeling a surge of emotions; fear, excitement, anxiety, and some form of twisted happiness at the fact that I was part of the Avengers now, but I was able to give him a straight answer: "Yes, I understand."

"You've got it made."  I was amazed at how much Clint was saying to me.  "You're going to have the world at your fingertips.  Natasha and Agent Carter will teach you shooting and overall assassin skills, Tony will teach you...whatever Tony can teach you, Dr. Banner will prepare you to deal with any scientific issues this Alexius throws at you, Steve will teach you hand to hand combat, and I--" he paused, "I am going to teach you archery."

I nodded, slightly in awe.  "I'd like that."

"Good.  Let's get to work."