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VALOR
xiv. BLUEBERRIES AND CONSPIRACY THEORIES
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THE NIGHT SKY EMBRACED the Helicarrier with open arms, the clouds acting as a simple pillow and blanket. The night was young as the agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Avengers busied themselves. Dr. Bruce Banner and Tony Stark could be found continuing their ongoing search for the Tesseract with Agent O'Dair by their side. She had decided to honor her superior's wishes and remain alert for any signs of the Hulk.
With steady hands and focused, but tired eyes, Dr. Banner worked hard. He was used to working late nights. He scanned Loki's scepter with a gamma-ray detection scanner before he announced, "The gamma readings are definitely consistent with Selvig's reports on the Tesseract, but it's gonna take weeks to process."
Tony Stark just barely heard Bruce's words. He was like that - always getting lost in his own mind at work. He wasn't used to... partner work, but he made an exception for the doctor. While sifting through and solving algorithms like they were children's puzzles, Tony replied, "If we bypass their mainframe and direct a reroute to the Homer cluster, we can clock this around six hundred teraflops."
The third member in the room remained silent as she sat in the middle of the room with her eyes shut. Her small body rested on a flattened forcefield, meditating peacefully. This was how she trained her powers at the end of the day. Nat always taught her to always stay sharp, to never let her guard down for a moment.
"You know," Tony began, "you should come by Stark Towers sometime. Top ten floors, all R&D. You'd love it. It's Candyland."
Eyes still shut, Riley agreed, "Uh-huh. It's Tony's way of kissing his own ass in front of all of New York."
Tony and Bruce exchanged glances before the latter declared, "You corrupted the child."
"Well, someone had to supervise her."
"I think someone needed to supervise you," sassed Riley, causing Bruce to chuckle.
Now that he had spent some time with Riley, both, on the plane and in the Helicarrier, he decided he liked the child. She was clever, intelligent, and knew a good joke or two. In return, Riley chose to trust Bruce (for the most part, at least), mostly because Tony had decided to trust him.
Besides, Riley would've exposed her cover if she pretended to be a hardass agent with Tony in the room. Everyone and their mothers knew that when Riley and Tony were together, they were absolute children.
"Well, about your offer," Bruce mentioned, "thanks, but the last time I was in New York, I kind of... broke Harlem."
Tony didn't seem to care. "Well, I promise a stress-free environment," he proclaimed. "No tension, no surprises." With that, Tony poked Bruce with a miniature electrical prod.
The buzzing of sparks caused Riley to snap her eyes open and turn her attention toward the men. Tony studied Banner carefully, searching for a Hulkish reaction. "Watch yourself, Tony," Riley threatened as Steve Rogers marched into the lab.
"Hey!" barked Steve. He approached the men with an irritated look in his azure eyes and a sense of purpose in his step. Riley dropped her forcefield, gracefully landing on her feet. "Are you nuts?"
Ignoring him, Tony said to Bruce, "You really have got a lid on it, haven't you? What's your secret? Mellow jazz? Bongo drums? A huge bag of weed?"
Steve pinched his eyebrows together and demanded, "Is everything a joke to you?"
Riley could predict Tony's response in her head. 'Funny things are,' she thought as Tony retorted, "Funny things are." Riley sat up straighter, her ego growing.
"Threatening the safety of everyone on this ship isn't funny," Steve fired back. He glanced back at Bruce, who had returned to his work. "No offense, doctor."
"It's all right," reassured Bruce, calm. "I wouldn't have come aboard if I couldn't handle pointy things."
Tony made a face as he stepped away from Bruce. "You're tiptoeing, big man," commentated Tony. "You need to strut."
"And you need to focus on the problem, Mr. Stark," Steve pointed out.
"You think I'm not?" challenged Tony, who had oddly retrieved a bag of blueberries. "Why did Fury call us now and why now? Why not before? What isn't he telling us? I can't do the equation unless I have all the variables."
'Isn't that what "solve for x" literally means though?' Riley shook her head and moved to look over Bruce's shoulder to observe the monitor. She didn't know much about astrophysics, but she knew a lot about radiation from personal experience.
Steve contemplated Tony's words. He was surprised by the thought, though he didn't let it show. "You think Fury's hiding something?" he interrogated, stoic as ever.
Tony placed his snack down to cover Riley's ears, which caused her to furrow her eyebrows. "He's a spy. Captain, he's the spy," answered Tony. "His secrets have secrets."
"I can still hear you, genius," Riley mentioned. "And I'm taking your blueberries." With that, she opened the bag and shoved a handful of them in her mouth.
"Of course, Tink, here, doesn't know a thing. That's not where he put her piece. It's chess," Tony continued before taking his food back from Riley. He nodded toward Bruce. "It's bugging him, too."
"Uh..." hesitated Bruce, bobbling his words. "I just wanna finish my work here and—"
"Doctor?" interrupted Steve. He wanted to know the truth. He wasn't used to there being a lack of trust between soldiers and their superiors.
Bruce sighed, pulling off his glasses. "A warm light for all mankind," he recited. "That was Loki's jab about the cube." He pointed to Tony. "I think that was meant for you. Even if Barton didn't tell Loki about the tower, it was still all over the news."
"The Stark Tower?" inquired Steve. "That big, ugly—" He paused when Tony shot him a look, eyebrows raised. It reminded him of Howard Stark. "—building in New York?"
Bruce nodded. "It's powered by Stark reactors, a self-sustaining energy source. That building will run itself for, what, a year?"
"That's just the prototype," chimed in Tony. "I'm kind of the only name in clean energy right now."
"Exactly," said Bruce. "So, why didn't S.H.I.E.L.D. bring him in on the Tesseract project? I mean, what are they doing in the energy business in the first place? Why does Fury have such a tight grip on the only person here with powers regarding controllable and manipulatable energy?" All eyes fell on Riley.
Riley shrugged. "Hey, that's not my only power," she argued. "I can also tell a mean Yo Mamma joke."
Steve didn't understand. "...What?"
"Well, you see, Mr. America, I'm an orphan, so no one can say anything back."
Riley was just trying to take the heat off of her superior. After all, whatever Fury had in mind for the Tesseract, it's gotta be something useful, right? Why would they have any reason to distrust him? Riley had faith in Fury.
Tony snorted rather loudly as he noted, "I should probably look into that once my decryption programmer finishes breaking into all of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s secure files."
Riley and Steve's eyes widened. "I'm sorry, did you say—?" the latter started.
"JARVIS has been running it since I hit the bridge," Tony admitted as he walked around Bruce's desk. "In a few hours, we'll know every dirty secret S.H.I.E.L.D. has ever tried to hide." He held out his bag of blueberries toward Steve. "Blueberry?"
Riley was conflicted. She was supposed to be reporting Tony for this, right? But part of her wanted to know what Fury was still hiding from her, from everyone. She was a level 7 agent, yet she still didn't know everything she was supposed to. Riley knew that. She was curious.
"Yet you're confused about why they didn't want you around?" Steve snapped. "I bet you've even brainwashed Agent O'Dair. She's your way into all the secrets, right?"
Riley's eyebrows shot upward at the accusation. "What would Fury have to hide anyway?" she demanded. "Those are serious accusations based on a hunch."
"It doesn't make sense. An intelligence organization that fears intelligence?" Tony mocked. "Historically, not awesome. They're hiding something. Even she doesn't know it."
Steve tensed. "I think Loki's trying to wind us up. This is a man who means to start a war, and if we don't stay focused, he'll succeed," he warned, trying to stay calm. "We have orders. We should follow them."
"Following's not really my style."
Steve forced a smile. "And you're all about style, aren't you?"
Tony had heard enough. "Of the people in this room, which one is; A. wearing a spangly outfit, and B. not of use?" he sharply questioned.
Before Steve could argue further, Bruce cut in, "Steve, tell me none of this smells a little funky to you?"
Riley observed Steve curiously. It was clear that he was entertaining the possibility in his mind, but—Ah, what was the point? He was a soldier, a loyal and obedient one at that. Steve shook it off and said "Just find the cube," before leaving.
Riley dropped her shoulders, relaxing just a little bit now that the arguing had ceased. It was an uncomfortable situation for her. After all, she's only ever known and trusted Fury and S.H.I.E.L.D. She abhorred the idea of not being able to trust them anymore.
Still, the idea that they were still hiding things from someone as trusted as Riley made her feel weird inside. Riley feared that Tony and Bruce might be right in the end. She wasn't sure what she'd do if S.H.I.E.L.D. was actually something other than what she thought it was.
Shaking it off, Riley exited the laboratory without another word, leaving the scientists to continue working.
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For the first time in his life, Roman had decided to mind his own business. He wasn't running toward something, nor away from anything. He was merely doing what he felt like doing when he desired at his own expense. That was how he lived his life nowadays. That was how he survived the mass destruction of Asteria. But still, things always seemed to go sprinting his way when he least expected it.
The Stellite had been in the gym, training. After just barely surviving the massacre on Asteria, Roman needed to train. If he was going to avenge his people, then he would have to train. Unfortunately for him, the equipment humans used was less than ideal, but he would do what he could with what he had. That was when Riley O'Dair went marching into the gym.
"Hey, can I ask you something?" the 11-year-old wondered.
Heavy pants left Roman's mouth. He didn't spare the child another glance as he remarked, "You just did." He grabbed the punching bag in front of him, holding it steady. "You stalking me now?"
Riley hummed. "Not exactly. I asked where the edgy teenager went, and all fingers pointed toward the gym," she revealed. Roman made a face at the use of the adjective. "You're pretty good at judging character right?"
Roman peered back at her, a shooting star going across his pupils. "What makes you think that?" he returned.
"Because you decided to help us in the end. That means you trust us, right?" she charged.
Roman's hands trailed alongside the punching bag. "Are you asking me because you want reassurance or because you want me to answer a question you're not actually asking?"
Riley hesitated, wrapping her head around the words he had spoken. Had he really figured her out just like that? "How...?"
He shrugged. "It's a talent," he mused. "So are you gonna tell me what's bothering you?"
Riley shook her head. "Uh, right," she replied. "I just had this weird conversation with Tony, Dr. Banner, and Steve, and it just... I don't know... It's got me thinking."
"That's usually what happens when you have a conversation."
Riley rolled her eyes. "Just entertain a thought for me, okay? If you were the leader of this big organization where everything is run by you, would you keep secrets from your workers?"
Without hesitation, Roman answered, "Oh, definitely."
Riley's eyes widened at his honesty. "Really?"
He nodded as he sat down on a nearby bench. Riley watched him as he explained, "On my planet, I was a soldier in Asteria's Royal Guard. We protected the planet and oversaw all security details on our King."
"...Alright." Riley nodded to show that she was following along.
"Since I was a higher ranking soldier, I knew a lot about what went on inside the castle walls. I found out a lot of shit every day, things that infuriated me," revealed Roman. "Our King was an asshole. He was selfish and only cared about the upper class. He told those in poverty we were low on food when in reality, he was keeping it from them."
Riley frowned. "That's awful," she commented.
Roman scoffed. "Trust me, I know," he muttered, his jaw clenched. "So, what I'm trying to tell you, is that I never trust whoever's in power. I've invaded planets before on behalf of Asteria, and I've never once trusted the person in charge. They're always hiding something. That's the thing about leaders. They only care about themselves."
Her gaze shifted to her hands as she began to fidget with them. "So you think Fury really is hiding something?"
"I know that guy's hiding something."
This caught Riley's attention. She perked up, turning her gaze to him. "How do you know?"
Hesitation bled through his pores. "That's enough sharing for today, kid," Roman decided. "But just know that I always know the truth about people. Make sense?"
Riley pursed her lips, unsatisfied by his reply. "No, but..." She decided to dismiss it. She wasn't going to force him into talking when she didn't have to. "What could Fury be hiding? Tony and Banner think it's got something to do with the Tesseract."
Roman unwrapped the bandages around his fists after boxing for the past few hours. "Well, that thing's obviously powerful if the war is being revolved around who has it, right?" Roman pointed out.
"Sure," she confirmed. "But Dr. Selvig said he couldn't control it. He said it's an energy source, a doorway to outer space. What more could Loki do with it other than transport aliens?"
Roman shrugged. "Figure it out."
She puffed her cheeks out, slightly annoyed. She could tell that Roman didn't like S.H.I.E.L.D. or the Avengers, but somehow, he liked Riley enough to tolerate her. That was worth something, right? She was going to use that to her advantage. Maybe Riley could convince him that the Avengers weren't so bad, after all. Riley had high hopes for Roman. Maybe when this was all over, he'd stick around New York and join the team permanently.
Riley observed as Roman cleaned up around himself, grabbing a plastic bottle of water in the process. "If I had the Tesseract and I knew I could use it for something, what would I use it for?" she asked herself.
Roman eyed her. "Are you... talking to yourself?"
"You told me to figure it out, so I am," Riley retorted. She shut her eyes and focused. "Okay, what do I know? Tessie is an energy source, and the way the war will end up is based on who has it. That means whoever has it can use it for something." She furrowed her eyebrows. "The only way to win a war is through violence or compromise, and Loki's been uncooperative." She hesitated. "So... what, Fury's trying to weaponize the Tesseract to win the war?"
Roman lowered his water bottle thoughtfully. "Not bad," he admitted. "But you guys had that thing before Loki showed up, right?"
"True," she realized while opening her eyes. "I don't remember seeing any blueprints for anything that would need to be powered by an energy source like that."
"Well, I doubt he'd show it to you if he's trying to hide it, right?" reminded Roman. "Hey, here's an idea. Maybe your boss wants to make weapons with the Tesseract."
Riley's face skewered up with confusion. "But why? I doubt the council would approve the creation of those kinds of weapons," she mumbled.
Roman shrugged. "Who knows?" Part of Riley had a feeling that Roman already knew.
Riley groaned, annoyed. Before she could get another word in, Natasha Romanoff's voice entered her earpiece, "Loki means to unleash the Hulk. Keep Banner in the lab and make sure O'Dair's on standby. I'm on my way. Send Thor and Roman, as well."
Eyebrows arched, Riley pressed a button on her earpiece. In an instant, her exterior hardened. "Roman and I are on our way," she informed. Riley looked to Roman and motioned toward the door. "Let's go."
Roman looked puzzled. He had never seen someone turn serious so quickly. "Did someone die?"
Through gritted teeth, Riley answered, "Not yet."
Roman didn't want to know what that was supposed to mean, but then again, when did he ever get what he wanted?
By the time Riley and Roman arrived at the lab, a rather furious Fury was already interrogating Tony and Bruce. From the looks of it, the two scientists had stopped working on the scepter as they were preoccupied with other matters.
"You're supposed to be locating the Tesseract," Fury sharply said to the two.
"We are," Bruce assured. "The model's locked and we're sweeping for the signature now. When we get a hit, we'll have the location within half a mile."
Roman looked around, charmed. "Huh, it's a real party in here," he mentioned. "How'd you guys know I love free entertainment?"
"And you'll get your cube back, no muss, no fuss," Tony chirped. Riley's attention was pulled by a few files appearing on Tony's monitor. He scanned them while asking the Director, "What's Phase 2, by the way?"
Clang! All heads snapped toward the entrance of the lab. Captain America stood there with tense muscles and a clenched jaw. The sound that had cut into their conversation had been brought upon by Steve loudly dropping an old HYDRA assault rifle onto the table.
"Phase 2 is S.H.I.E.L.D. uses the cube to make weapons," Steve declared. He looked to Iron Man, adding, "Sorry, the computer was moving a little slow."
"Huh," breathed Roman. He peered down at Riley, who seemed to also be somewhat surprised that their guess was accurate, "well, how about that?"
Ignoring the teenager (who was actually centuries old, but still physically a teenager), Fury tried to explain himself. "Rogers, we gathered everything related to the Tesseract. This does not mean that we're—"
"I'm sorry, Nick," loudly disrupted Tony. He turned his computer monitor to the group. Blueprints of HYDRA-based weapons were plastered across the screen. "What were you lying?"
Riley found herself walking forward to view them closer (mostly because her vision sucked, but also because she was in disbelief). She had assumed the worst, and the worst had actually come true.
"Fury, why?" demanded Riley. She looked back to her superior, utterly confused. "HYDRA are a terrorist group. Why would we make weapons based off of theirs?"
"It's more complicated than—" tried to excuse Fury, only to be interrupted by another file appearing on the monitor.
"Hey, what are these Agent O'Dair files you snuck in here?" Tony queried. He used a tone that made it sound like he already knew they were there based on reading the files earlier. "I thought files on all the agents weren't grouped with your weapons?" He opened the files, ignoring whatever bullshit had begun to spew out of Fury's mouth.
"What?" mumbled Riley. Eyebrows furrowed, she walked closer to the screen as Tony continued.
"Do you wanna explain why all of these files share the detailed process of turning an 11-year-old into a humanized weapon for the government instead of her accomplishments and training as a child agent?" Tony interrogated.
Roman's eyebrows shot upward. "Didn't see that one coming."
"Humanized weapon?" repeated Steve. He looked confused. He must've skipped over that part when he was busily fuming over the whole HYDRA weapon part. He glanced back at Fury. "She's a child!"
Riley felt her heart drop into her stomach. She ignored the bickering behind her as she skimmed her file further. Agent O'Dair... humanized weapon... was placed with the adults to test how she'd work with proper soldiers... mastering powers complete... relocation to U.S Army to be determined...
"What the hell?" were the first three words to leave the girl's mouth. She whipped her head back to Fury, who was trying to get in a word. "So that's what my training was for? That's why I was forced to start training with people who had years of training and experience on top of me? That's why I was never going to be apart of the Avengers Initiative?"
"O'Dair, your powers are extraordinary. Think about what we could accomplish in future wars in terms of defense, stealth, spying on the enemy," Fury declared.
"Yeah? Think about all the trauma you put me through just to get to where I am now!" countered Riley.
Of course, she was furious. Why wouldn't she be? She'd been through hell her entire life thinking that all of her training was because Fury and the Council believed in her. But the truth was that they didn't care about her, they cared about her powers, and they didn't care what it would take to see that she mastered them. It made Riley feel used and devalued as a human.
"I was wrong, Director," admitted Steve. "The world hasn't changed a bit."
At that moment, Thor and Natasha stepped into the lab. Natasha kept her eyes trained on Banner, who looked incredibly pissed off.
"Did you know about this?" demanded Banner.
Riley tensed at the thought that Natasha knew about this the whole time. Was that why people didn't believe in her all of those years? Did they all know that Riley was being used for what ran through her veins? Did any of them care?
Natasha remained composed. "You wanna think about removing yourself from this environment, doctor?"
"I was in Calcutta," fired back Bruce. "I was pretty well removed."
Natasha approached him as Bruce backed up. "Loki is manipulating you," she insisted.
"And you've been doing what exactly?"
"You didn't come here because I bat my eyelashes at you."
"Yes, and I'm not leaving because suddenly you get a little twitchy," Bruce remarked. He grabbed the monitor, pointing at it with his pen in an accusatory manner. "I'd like to know why S.H.I.E.L.D. is making such an effort to build weapons of mass destruction through means of the Tesseract and a literal child?"
Fury hesitated. "Because of him." He pointed his finger, all eyes landed on the silent Thor Odinson.
Thor looked stunned. Arms over his chest, he pointed at himself and asked, "Me?"
Everyone grew silent as Fury finally cleared the air. "Last year, Earth had a visitor from another planet who had a grudge match that leveled a small town. We learned that not only are we not alone, but we are hopelessly, hilariously, outgunned."
Thor felt somewhat offended at his words. "My people want nothing but peace with your planet."
'Gee, I'd say the same, but my people are all dead,' Roman thought to himself. He shrugged. It was bad timing to say out loud, even for him.
"But you're not the only people out there, are you? And you're not the only threat." Fury contended. He motioned to Roman. "Exhibit A!"
Roman didn't seem unbothered by the fact that he was being singled out. It caused him to sarcastically say, "Aw, I'm flattered, really."
"The world's filling up with people who can't be matched," Fury added. "They can't be controlled."
"Like you controlled the cube?" retorted Steve as Riley grumbled, "Like you controlled me?"
What was Riley doing? She was supposed to be supporting Fury no matter what. S.H.I.E.L.D. was her home. S.H.I.E.L.D. was all she had. Yet why did she feel so betrayed?
"Your work with the Tesseract is what drew Loki to it, and his allies," elucidated Thor. "It is the signal to all the realms that the Earth is ready for a higher form of war."
That caught everyone's attention. "A higher form?" repeated Steve.
"Hang on, a war?" Riley asked. She was quickly realizing that if there was a war, she was the only weapon the government had and was depending on. Maybe they really were hilariously outgunned, after all. "I can't fight in a war! I'm 11!"
"You forced our hand," quarreled Fury. "We had to come up with something."
"A nuclear deterrent," stated Tony. "Right, 'cause that always calms everything right down."
"Remind me again how you made your fortune, Stark?"
Steve walked forward. "I'm sure if he still made weapons, he'd be neck-deep—"
Riley scoffed. Perhaps Riley was feeling a little more defensive on Tony's behalf because at least she knew she could trust him. He was the one fighting for her truth, right?
"Well, it's not like anyone's winning any wars with an oversized frisbee," interrupted Riley.
"Hold on. How is this now about me?" demanded Tony.
"I'm sorry, isn't everything?" Steve asked.
"I thought humans were more evolved than this," said Thor.
Roman snorted. "I didn't."
"And who are you, exactly?"
"Both of you have no place to talk!" Fury declared. "You're the ones that showed up crashing into buildings and blowing stuff up!"
One by one, the heroes in the room collapsed with all kinds of arguments. The room rumbled with noise, each person's face pained with a grimace. If it wasn't clear then, it certainly was now: the Avengers was a failure waiting to happen. If they couldn't get along now, how were they supposed to win a war? Humanity was doomed.
As the team argued, they didn't notice how the blue gem on Loki's scepter had begun to glow brightly. Well, all but one happened to notice it.
Riley O'Dair felt a sharp pain burn throughout her body as the radiation in her system reacted to something. Was it in the air? Was it even in the room? Riley couldn't tell. All she knew was that it had certainly caught her off-guard, but she couldn't focus long enough to figure out what it was.
Roman noticed her sudden pained facial expression though. "What, now, kid?"
"You speak of control, yet you court chaos," boomed Thor.
"It's his M.O., isn't it?" Bruce bitterly replied. "I mean, what are we, a team? No, no, no. We're a chemical mixture that makes chaos. We're a time-bomb."
Fury, Natasha, and Riley each perked up at the man's response to the situation. Riley gritted her teeth through whatever strange sensation was rippling throughout her entire body, gathering her concentration.
"You need to step away," ordered Fury.
With an extended arm, Tony inquired, "Why shouldn't the guy let off a little steam?"
Steve shoved his arm away from him. "You know damn well why! Back off!"
"Oh, I'm starting to want you to make me."
"Guys," Riley started, her eyes falling on the scepter. The blue gem sparked.
"Big man in a suit of armor. Take that off, what are you?"
"Genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist."
Riley gritted her teeth, trying to force the ringing in her ears out. Something was making the Tesseract act up. Was it Loki? Did he have some kind of connection with it still? Riley didn't know. Before she could get any of her questions out in the midst of everyone's talking, a loud explosion sounded.
And then everything made sense. Loki wasn't the one in trouble, the one in danger due to his captivity. The Avengers were the ones in peril. Because they had led the enemy right to their base.
And somehow, that wasn't even the worst part.
The worst part was Riley O'Dair blacking out for just a few seconds, only to be awakened by the Hulk roaring in her face.
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AUTHOR'S NOTE:
hi, i just wanted to pop in and say something rly quickly lol. the reason why riley keeps reacting strangely to the tesseract is because of the whole incident in aib with the infinity stones and the gauntlet. it's foreshadow - to show that one day, she'll be strong enough to withstand the power of them in many cases (such as the events that happened in act 3 on Titan II and the end of act 3). this will continue to show throughout this book when she comes into contact with the other stones, such as the one in vision's head.
just thought i'd remind yall of that because yk, it's a detail that could be forgotten! anyways, enjoy the rest of the book! thanks for being so kind always <3