Beginning

7.

Fury and Loki had a conversation. The Avengers listened from the computer room. Lavinia and Bella stood away from the group, talking.

"So you knew, this whole time that I was your sister. Is that why you've been so protective of me?" Bella asked.

"That and because you have a special power, Bella. It'll be helpful for the future, but it'll mean you are in danger with anyone who would use this power for evil. Including our father", Lavinia explained.

"I don't understand. Why did he give me up?"

"It wasn't him. I...I was 5 years old. You were only 3. I thought it would be a good idea to explore the forest. We ran into some monsters in the forest so we ran. But then you went into a cave and disappeared. You must have teleported to Midgard. I thought you dead. I blamed myself", Lavinia explained.

Tears went down her face. "I couldn't protect you, Bella. I wanted to be the best sister I could be", Lavinia said. Bella wrapped her arms around her.

"I forgive you", Bella said. After they hugged each other, Bella and Lavinia walked towards the adults.

"He really grows on you, doesn't he?"Bruce asked.

"Loki's gonna drag this out. So Thor, what's his play?" Steve asked.

"He has an army called the Chitauri. They're 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", Thor explained.

"An army from outer space", Steve said.

"So he's building another portal. That's what he needs Eric Selvig for",Bruce said.

"Selvig?" Thor asked.

"He's an astrophysicist".

"He's a friend".

"Loki has him under some kind of spell, along with one of our", Natasha said. Bella looked down at the ground.

"I want to know why Loki let us take him. He's not leading an army from in here", Steve said.

"I don't think we should be focused on Loki. That guy's brain is a bag full of cats. You could smell crazy on him",Bruce said. Lavinia glared at him.

"Have care how you speak. Loki is beyond reason, but he is of Asgard. And he is my brother", Thor said.

"He killed 80 people in two days",Natasha said.

"He's adopted", Thor said.

"You two are his daughters. Do you know what he might be planning?"Steve asked.

"No clue", Lavinia said.

"I think it's about the mechanics. Iridium. What do they need the iridium for?" Bruce asked.

"It's a stabilizing agent", Tony says as he, Zephrine and Coulson enter the room.

"It means that the portal won't collapse on itself like it did in S.H.I.E.L.D", Zephrine explained.

"No hard feelings, Point break. You've got a mean swing", Tony says to Thor.

"Also, it means  that the portal can open as wide and stay open as long as Loki wants", Zephrine said.

"That man is playing gallaga. Thought we wouldn't notice, but we did", Tony said. Bella looked at the agent who was playing gallaga.

"Hey, get back to work!" Bella shouted.

Tony covered one eye as he looks at the computer. "How does Fury even see these?" Tony asked.

"He turns", Maria Hill said.

"Sounds exhausting", Zephrine said.

"Yeah, it does", Tony said in agreement. "The rest of the raw materials, Agent Barton can get his hands on pretty easily. Only major components, he needs a power source. A high energy, density that can kick start the cube".

"When did you become an expert in thermonuclear astrophysics?" Maria Hill asks.

"Last night. The packet, Selvig's notes, The Extraction Theory papers, Am I the only one who did the reading?" Zephrine cleared her throat. "Are we the only ones who did the reading?"

"Does Loki need a particular power source?" Steve asks.

"He's got to heat the cube to a hundred and twenty million Kelvin to break through the coulomb barrier",Bruce explains.

"Unless Selvig has figured out how to stabilize the quantum tunnel effect".

"Well, if he could do that, he could achieve heavy Ion Fusion at any reactor on the planet".

"Finally, someone who speaks English", Tony says.

"English?" Bella, Lavinia and Zephrine said in unison.

"Is that what just happened?" Steve asks. Bella nodded.

"It's nice to meet you, Dr Banner. Your work on anti-electron is unparallel. I'm a huge fan of the way you loose control and turn into an enormous green rage monster", Tony says.

"Dad!" Zephrine shouted. "Ignore that last one, Bruce". Bruce nodded.

"Dr. Banner is only here to track the cube. I was hoping you might join him", Fury said as he came into the room.

"Let's start with that stick of his. It may be magical, but it works an awful lot like a hydra weapon", Steve says.

"I don't know about that, but it is powered by the cube. And I'd like to know how Loki used it to turn two of the sharpest men I know into his personal flying monkeys", Fury says.

Thor and Lavinia looked confused. "Monkeys? I don't understand", Thor says.

"I do!" Steve says. "I understood that reference".

They all looked at Bella, who was standing in front of the computer as she covered one of her eyes. "Nicky, how do you turn?" She asked.

"Bella, don't call me 'Nicky' ever again", Fury said.

Bella ignored him. She tilted her head to one side. Then, to the other. "You're right. This is exhausting", Bella said.

Lavinia and Zephrine did the same thing. "How do you do this?" Lavinia asked.

Fury didn't answer. "Shall we play, Doctor?" Tony asked Bruce.

"This way, Sir", Bruce said. They walked out of the room.