It had been a couple of days since Fury contacted me with my next task. It was just to help guard a blue glowing cube called the Tesseract. It had been in SHIELD's possession for some time. From what I gathered; it was dangerous to touch as it shot out gamma radiation beams.
I was surprised to see my mentor Clint Barton, known as Hawkeye for his sharpshooter skills. He preferred to use a bow and arrow as his main weapon over a gun. Clint taught me archery and how to aim at a target without missing it. I got to meet his wife Laura and their two kids, Cooper and Lila countless times and I was accepted as a member of their family. I helped keep their secret as Clint didn't want his family on SHIELD's files in case any enemies found out about them.
At times, he can be such a dork. On occasions, we'd pull several pranks on the other agents, including each other and my friends. None of us dared to pull one on Fury; otherwise, he'd have our heads on that, and make us spend an entire freaking day of boot camp!
Clint and I took turns watching the cube as the scientists went about examining it. The interesting thing was that we were on the rafters. He preferred watching from a distance. I have to admit, being about several feet away was easier to see than being too close and personal.
Dr. Erik Selvig, a middle-aged astrophysicist was working alongside them. Fury had hired him to examine the Tesseract. I briefly met the astrophysicist last year while in Puente Antiguo, New Mexico. I had been assigned there when Thor's hammer Mjolnir landed in the middle of the desert causing a huge crater. I found it goofy watching the locals try to lift it like attempting to pull Excalibur from the stone, especially the part where some guy tried yanking the hammer with his truck but the bucket came off. My job was to keep an eye on things around town. However, it all changed when a giant metal being called the Destroyer arrived and demolished half of the town. I got myself directly involved in trying to get the locals evacuated and witnessed Thor taking it out for good. I was close to being hit when the Destroyer itself stopped once it saw me and moved on without hurting me.
And that was how it changed my relationship with another fellow agent, Craig Emmons who happened to be my ex-boyfriend. He was trained by my dad and had promised the latter that he'd look after me. Craig harshly got after me after he heard that I was in the center of the attack and that led to a huge argument. I dumped him figuring if he was going to continue to keep throwing abusive words at me saying I should've stood back and that I was stupid to run into the center of the battle. I haven't spoken much to him since then. Craig had been trying to talk with me, but I just ignored him and every message from him figuring he would get on my case. Craig still thought we were still together as if he was denying that we broke up.
Soon, while Clint had his turn at watching the Tesseract, I pulled out my phone and played Wordscapes. I wished I had brought my Nintendo 3DS which Vince got for me a while back when it was first released. It had Pikachu designed on it since Pokémon was one of my childhood games that I played on various game consoles from the Game Boy to the DS. I even collected the trading cards and watched the TV series. Plus, whenever there was a new Pokémon game out, I'd rush to the closest game shop and get it before it sold out. If that were the case, I'd look on eBay.
Sean too was into Pokémon. He and I would trade cards with each other and some of the kids. When we both got into the Academy, some people thought we were weird due to our geeking out over Pokémon. Peyton and Vince, we're into it as well. Nicole wasn't much of a fan but tolerated it. Craig hated Pokémon but I didn't care.
Whenever my parents were gone on a mission for some extended period and weren't back as I expected, I'd stay up late playing the Nintendo, even if it took all night. Mom and Dad would find me sleeping on the couch with one of the games playing on the screen whenever they got back.
Suddenly, the Tesseract started spiking and sending off a dangerous amount of gamma rays. I paused the game and slid my phone into my pocket as I heard an announcement for everyone to evacuate the base. My arms and legs shook a bit as my anxiety attack threatened to burst out.
"You'll right Case?" Clint asked glancing at me for a bit.
"I think so," I nodded, "Something spells both 'danger' and 'trouble' at the same time."
"I believe you."
"Talk to me Doctor," Fury called as he arrived in the underground lab, in his usual black trench leather jacket like Morpheus from The Matrix trilogy, but with the eye patch.
"Director," Selvig nodded looking up from what he had been doing.
"Is there anything we know for certain?" Fury glanced and inspected the lab.
"The Tesseract is misbehaving," Selvig approached him.
Fury had a straight face as usual. "Is that supposed to be funny?"
"No, it's not funny at all. The Tesseract is not only active...she's behaving,"
"Did you pull the plug?" Fury asked as he and Selvig went around the lab, examining the equipment.
"She's an energy source. We turn off the power; she will turn it back on. If she reaches peak level-" Selvig shook his head as he made his way to the other side of the lab.
"We prepared for this Doctor. Harnessing energy from space," Fury said cutting him off.
I found it kind of funny when Selvig referred to the Tesseract as she. Plus, I had no idea that Fury had been planning to control such a huge amount of momentum from the deep ends of space.
"But we don't have the harness. My calculations are far from complete. And she's throwing off interference, radiation. Nothing harmful, low levels of gamma radiation," Selvig looked back at Fury.
Fury then looked around the lab. "That can be harmful. Where are Agents Barton and Armstrong?"
"The Hawk and Sparrow? Up in their nest as usual," Selvig replied.
"Agents Barton and Armstrong, report," Fury spoke through the earcom.
Clint and I slid down from the rafters. He went ahead while I followed suit.
"I gave you this detail so you could keep a close eye on things," Fury said after Clint and I landed on the ground without making any noise.
"Well, I see better from a distance," Clint replied.
"Better than being too close," I muttered as I crossed my arms.
"Doctor, it's spiking again!" one of the scientists called out to Selvig.
"No one's come or gone. And Selvig's clean. No contacts, no IMs. If there was any tampering, sir, it wasn't at this end," Clint explained.
"At this end?" Fury asked blinking an eye.
"Yeah, the cube is a doorway to the other end of space, right?"
"Doors can be opened from both sides," I jumped in.
"Not yet," Selvig grumbled as he struggled to control the readings that went berserk on his computer.
After saying that, the Tesseract suddenly made a lot of noise and the building shook as if caught in a massive earthquake. The cube began glowing and gave off bits of energy, which started to swirl until a beam shot right out of it. The energy spread out like a wave and knocked things over. I adverted my eyes away from the Tesseract as that happened.
When it was all clear, a man was kneeling on the platform. I noticed that he wore some type of black armor with hints of green and gold, which made me think of something from a medieval fair, or Comic-Con. I guessed that he had to be Loki, Thor's brother. During the events last year, I did a little research on Norse mythology even though I had already learned about it back in my school years.
I also noticed Loki had raven black hair that went down to the shoulders, ending with perfect curls, and piercing green/blue eyes that could peer right into a person's soul though they looked bluer in an eerie way. And, he also held, what I thought was a spear, but was a scepter, that looked sinister. I bit down on my bottom lip as several armed men proceeded on Loki and noticed a wicked grin on his face.
"Sir, please put down the spear," Fury called.
Loki then looked towards Fury and at his scepter. Before any of us can blink, he fired a blue beam of energy at Fury. Clint leaped, pushing the Director to the ground. I dodged to the side and pulled out my firearm from its holster just in case. The energy hit one of the scientists nearby. The armed men opened fire on Loki, who then lunged off the platform and killed them all with his scepter and throwing knives. I gulped fearfully as that took place and when he shot another beam at the female scientist, killing her. Clint and some other agents fired their guns at Loki. I noticed that Clint's bullet struck the trickster in the forehead, which left a clean cut on his pale skin, but in seconds, I stared wide-eyed as it healed rapidly.
After that happened, Loki shot another beam at Fury and Clint in rage, but the two guys rolled out of the way. He then turned around and kicked an agent nearby in the gut, which sent him slamming against the wall, and dropped to the ground dead as a doornail when his spine snapped. I shuddered at the sound of it.
Clint got right back on his feet, only to see Loki standing right next to him. Just as he was about to lift his gun, the trickster grabbed his wrist and twisted it.
"You have heart," he said. He had an accent that sounded like it was British.
Suddenly, he pressed the tip of the scepter on Clint's chest, which sent blue streams into him and up his neck. His eyes turned black for a second before switching to an electric glowing blue, like the Tesseract, and then placed his gun back in the holster.
"Clint!" I gasped in shock at what just happened.
I glanced at Fury as he grabbed the Tesseract and placed it in a metal briefcase.
My boss gave me a look signaling me to stand by and be ready to take off running with the case. I nodded at him as I saw Loki place the tip of the scepter on the chest of another agent rendering the latter in his submission.
"Please don't," Loki said turning to Fury who was about to walk out of the lab with the Tesseract. "I still need that."
Fury kept his back to him as he spoke. "This doesn't have to get any messier."
Loki laughed which made my blood run cold. "Of course, it does. I've come too far for anything else." He paused as Fury turned to face him. "I am Loki, of Asgard. And I am burdened with glorious purpose."
"Loki! Brother of Thor!" Selvig said in shock.
"We have no quarrel with your people," Fury stated.
"An ant has no quarrel with a boot," Loki smiled.
"Are you planning to step on us?" Fury asked.
Loki started walking around him. "I come with glad tidings of a world made free."
"Free from what exactly?" Fury furrowed an eyebrow.
Loki chuckled. "Freedom. Freedom is life's great lie. And once you accept that, in your heart-" He paused as he turned quickly and pressed his scepter on Selvig's chest, and the same effects occurred. "You will know peace," he added.
"Yeah, you say 'peace', I kinda think you mean the other thing," Fury said sarcastically.
Clint walked over to Loki. "Sir, Director Fury is stalling. This place is about to blow and drop a hundred feet of rock on us. He means to bury us,"
That did not sound like the Clint I knew well. He sounded more hypnotized since being under Loki's control.
"Like the pharaohs of old," Fury stated.
Selvig walked over to one of the computers and checked something. "He's right. The portal is about to collapse on itself. We've got two minutes before this goes critical."
He too sounded like he was brainwashed than himself.
Loki turned to Clint. "Well then."
Without any word heard, Clint pulled out his gun and shot Fury.
My boss managed to push the briefcase in my direction despite what had happened to him.
I telekinetically pulled it towards me and grabbed it and started running for the exit. I was halfway out when another gunshot was fired, and a bullet hit my leg which sent me falling to the ground.
"Crap!" I groaned in pain and swore as I attempted to hoist myself back up when Loki approached me. Next thing, he had an expression like he had known me before.
Before I knew it, he lifted me to my feet and pulled me along with him and the now-submissive Clint, Selvig, and the other agent. My mentor snatched the case from my grip as I was led forcefully out of the lab. My heartbeat started racing and hammering against my chest and back as I felt Loki's icy cold hand and arm coil on my waistline. I was starting to go into shock as my wounded leg bled out. Clint would never hurt me like that.
Arriving at the parking garage, I saw Agent Maria Hill. She noticed Clint and Selvig commandeering one of the armored trucks. The other agent got into another vehicle.
"Who's that?" she asked seeing Loki as he lifted me and himself into the back of the truck.
"I don't know. They didn't tell me," Clint replied.
I gave Hill an expression trying to warn her to not engage the dangerous Asgardian who kept me in place as he possessed a dangerous unearthly weapon and for her to get to Fury. She could tell what I was trying to tell her without any words.
"Hill!" Fury's voice called through Hill's walkie-talkie, "Do you copy? Barton has turned! Armstrong has been caught!"
Next thing, Clint shot at her. Hill had managed to duck and cover and return fire. Loki gently pressed me down as Clint got into the driver's side of the truck and screeched out of the garage and up toward the surface. The next thing, I found myself collapsing into unconsciousness.
....
After having gotten away with the Tesseract with help from Agent Barton and Dr. Selvig who he had placed in his command, Loki turned his attention to the unconscious young woman who happened to be the spitting image of his late wife Sigyn, but with auburn hair. If he'd known of her presence as she attempted to get away with the Tesseract, he would have prevented Agent Barton from shooting her. Noticing her bleeding leg, Loki placed his hand over the wound, and a green and gold flash spread over it.
Healing her injury brought him back to the night Sigyn died when Asgard fell under attack centuries ago. She had been pregnant at the time. A member of the opposing side had stabbed her in the stomach, killing the unborn child. Finding his beloved wife dying, Loki tried to heal her. She refused to let him not wanting to strain himself from it.
Once her wound was healed Loki tucked some of her hair behind her ear feeling as if he'd been reunited with Sigyn once again. Everything was beginning to come together for him. He would have a realm to rule over and a queen at his side.