After two days of standing around and keeping an eye on the same scientists, you'd think I would have been driven mad. Listening to the scientists' conversations was actually interesting. I couldn't understand some of what they were talking about, but most of it could be comprehended. Basically, they were testing just how much energy the Tesseract gave off.
Today seemed a little different. They gave each other frantic glances, wandered to different stations in stressed gaits, and whispered with their heads close together. Something was wrong, but I couldn't figure out what. I looked toward where Clint was; maybe he had an idea. My uncle was perched in a small observation railing in the far corner of the lab. I couldn't make out his expression, but he seemed to be staring intently at the commotion below him.
My attention was drawn from Clint when a scientist hurried over to a guard near the entrance to the lab. They whispered to each other for a moment or two, and then the guard left. I tilted my head, curious as to what their secret conversation was. About five minutes later, an evacuation alarm went off. Nothing good could come from that... My fingers drew closer to the trigger on my assault rifle as I thought about why an evacuation was called.
Was the Tesseract about to explode? Maybe it was giving off fatal waves of radiation. Perhaps some enemy found the testing facility.
Movement near the entrance of the lab tore me from my distressing thoughts and made me raise my weapon. Thank God I didn't shoot, as the director of SHIELD, Nick Fury, had just walked in. He called out a name, Selvig, and was soon joined by one of the scientists. I had heard of Selvig; he was present during the whole Thor showdown in New Mexico. He allegedly knew quite a bit about the mythology behind beings like Thor. I honestly thought they were some religious stories until I heard about the New Mexico incident.
The two of them spoke for a while, and then called my uncle down. I strained my ears to hear what they were saying, but couldn't really catch anything. All three of them had conceded looks on their faces, making me a little fearful about what was going on (I was never the bravest agent, which was probably why I was still such a low-level agent).
"Doctor!" A female scientist spoke up, "Its spiking again,"
Selvig walked over to her and stared at the screen in front of them. Director Fury and Clint remained where they were, in front of the Tesseract, and continued to speak. I could hear bits and pieces of my uncle talking about the Tesseract being tampered with. Just as he finished speaking, the Tesseract let put a pulse of light. The two men immediately turned their heads toward it and watched. A buildup of anxiety formed in my stomach, fearing that they were standing too close. If that thing exploded, like I'd previously anticipated, there was no way they'd survive. It was pure energy!
The Tesseract continued to spark, making loud, high-pitched crackling noises as it did so. My entire body tensed up as it let out a larger pulse. This time causing the ground to shake. The sparks steadily got larger and louder. Everyone was completely silent as they gawked at the cube. The flickers coming from it began to spiral. It looked like a tiny blue galaxy to me. My minute trace of amusement was short-lived when a beam of light was shot from the thing that held the Tesseract. At the end of the shaft, a portal-looking thing began to form. I could make out a black background and... we're those stars?
The bottom center of the "portal" was the brightest part. It flowed lustrously against the space-like background behind it. Just as I could begin to make out a figure shape, the portal popped like a bubble, sending a surge of blazing energy everywhere. My hair flew back at the gust that went along with the flood of blue light. It was strong, but not exactly strong enough to knock someone off of their feet. A lot of the "popped bubble" got caught in the large dome of the ceiling. I watched it swirl around and catch itself. It began to build up in a bright light.
Before I could examine it further, I noticed my fellow guards move slowly forward, their guns raised.
Where the portal was, a hunched over figure kneeled on a raised platform. Their body flowed as blue smoke rolled off of them. The orange effulgence of the half-melted metal behind their front extremely dark. It was hard to make out any distinctive features until their entirely raised their head.
I began to follow the other agents' leads, but was soon paralyzed when a wicked smile appeared on the figure's face. Based on the features of the person (if that's even what they were), I could tell that they were a male. His hair fell over his shoulders, a devilish, ebony waterfall. The man's eyes were like ice, his chilled gaze raking over the assortment of people before him as he lifted himself to his feet. His body was covered in strange, elaborate clothing. A lot of it looked like it was made of some kind of armor and leather. His build was slender yet sturdy. My eyes scanned the features of his face once again—symmetrical, thin, strong.
"Sir," my absorption with the man was drawn away when Director Fury spoke up, "please put down the spear,"
For the first time, I noticed the spear in his right hand. It was garnished with a blue gem that was held between the two blades on the end. The spear's golden handle glistened when the man lifted it to give it a long glance.
A feeling of dread surged through me when he made a pushing moment with the strange weapon. A beam of light shot from it and hit into a scientist's station behind us. After that one attack, all hell broke loose. The reverberating sound of guns firing filled my ears. Flashes came from the barrels of guns as agents desperately attempted to shoot the assailant down. I, of course, found myself cowering near the back of the crowd.
The man jumped from where he was (and when I say "jump," I mean, like, seven feet in the air), and shoved the blade of the spear through an agent's chest. The bullets that hit this guy just seemed to bounce off and mildly annoy him. I watched in horror as he produced two throwing knives and chucked them at the agents on the other side of the room. Both of them fell to the ground, clutching their impaled throats.
I, being the only agent left standing, raised my gun to frantically shoot at the attacker. There was a loud boom behind me as bullets flew past my head and hit the man's chest(not really doing anything, of course, because indestructible armor apparently). This made both of us turn. My uncle held a pistol up, but quickly rolled to the side. I did the same, almost unlucky enough to get hit by a shaft of light. As I got to my feet to attempt another aggression, I came face to face with my brand new enemy.
Up close, he was taller than I had originally thought. Dark circles were painted around his malicious eyes, and I could see a small bead of sweat roll down his smooth forehead. I ended up gawking more than I wanted to and raised my weapon too late. His foot connected with my chest and sent me soaring toward the wall. My back slammed into it harshly and I could hear a horrible crack in my upper-right back. Following the noise was a harrowing pain in my shoulder and rib cage. I tried to take a deep breath, only to find that it made the strain even worse. My face contorted as I attempted to hold back a scream of agony.
My eyes opened once again to see the man standing in front of Clint, his right hand holding back my uncle's weapon. I saw his mouth move, but couldn't hear any words. My eyes grew wide when the man lifted the spear the my uncle's chest. The blood in my veins grew cold with horror, fearing that Clint was about to share the same fate as that first agent who had been attacked. I didn't know what I'd do without my uncle!
More pain shot down my back and over my ribs again when I attempted to get up. If Clint got killed and I had done nothing to help, I'd never forgive myself. Helplessly, I just continued to watch. The blade of the spear never tore through my uncle's flesh; it just rested there, against his heart and gave off a blue glow.
My uncle's body became tense, but he soon put his gun back in its holster at his hip. His eyes had turned a very unnatural, light blue. What the hell happened to him? What did that man do to him?
My inner thoughts were soon shattered when the man suddenly spoke. His voice resonated within my head. It was frictionless and strong with a hint of teasing. I have no idea why his voice bothered me so much. It was almost... transfixing... I didn't like it.
"Please don't. I still need that,"
I couldn't figure out who he had spoken to until a voice answered, "This doesn't have to get any messier," Director Fury was standing near the circular machine with a case in his hand. The Tesseract wasn't in the contraption, so that led me to assume that it was in the case.
"I've come to far for anything else," The man paused (if it was for dramatic effect, I swear to God), "I am Loki, of Asgard, and I am burdened with glorious purpose,"
The first thing that came to mind when he said his name was my high-school friend's cat (I loved that animal, but it had a tendency to scratch).
"Loki! Brother of Thor!" Selvig suddenly piped in.
The look on Loki's face was one of complete disgust. So... Thor and this guy (cat-guy) came from the same place, and , judging by the glare that was sent toward Selvig, the two of them disliked each other. Great.
"We have no quarrel with your people," Director Fury drew Loki's attention away from Selvig.
"An ant has no quarrel with a boot,"
"Are you planning to step on us?" Fury and I both had the same thought, he just had the courage to speak his mind.
Loki took a few steps away from Clint. Without him near, maybe I could get my uncle's attention. I tried to wave my left arm, but that only but more pressure on my injured shoulder. It seemed to be getting harder to breathe. As I focused on controlling my lungs, I watched the scene in front of me continue.
Thor's apparent brother was standing near Selvig now, "I stand with glad tidings... of a world made free,"
"Free from what?"
"Freedom," His answer came without hesitation. Whatever this guy was, I had to admit that he was good at speaking, "Freedom is life's greatest lie. If you can accept that," Loki suddenly turned on his heel and put the blade against Selvig's chest, "you will know peace,"
Selvig did the exact same thing Clint did. Tensed up at the touch of the blade, then relaxed after a moment. What was Loki doing to them?
"You talk about peace. I kind of think you mean the other thing," Fury had a disbelieving look on his face.
"Sir," My head turned immediately at Clint's voice. It was his, but I had trouble recognizing it. His tone had lost it's amused spark. It became monotonous, "Director Fury is stalling. He means to bury us,"
"Like the pharaohs of old," Fury lifted his chin.
"He's right," Selvig's voice sounded similar to Clint's, "the portal is collapsing in on itself. We have maybe ten minutes,"
"Well then," Loki muttered.
At his words, Clint lifted his pistol and shot the Director in the chest. The man fell backward with a grunt, dropping the case. Loki, Clint, Selvig, and some guy I didn't know the name of left the lab, taking the Tesseract with them.