Welcome Note:

Hey there! A warm welcome for new and returning readers alike to Clarity, a first-time Marvel Cinematic Universe fanfiction! I hope that you'll find it as enjoyable to read as I find it to write. If you have time, please feel free (and I would very much appreciate it) to leave behind some feedback.

Obligatory Disclaimer: I claim no ownership to any part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe; the Avengers and other such characters, places, and plots belong to Marvel Studios.

(this chapter has been edited as of June 5th, 2018)


She stood in front of the mirror and tentatively traced her reflection.

Slowly, she let the tendrils of silver slide across her irises, filling her gaze with a pearly glow. All the details around her, from the pores on her face to each strand of black hair, sharpened into startling definition.

She allowed illusionary trails of colour to form in the air, allowed them to ripple and undulate around her shoulders. With a stray line, she wove a small bird, which flew over her head before vanishing.

No matter how many times she did it, and in whose service, it still seemed unreal.

But, according to her mother, it had been her reality since birth.

She closed her eyes. When she opened them, they were once again a deep, coffee brown, and the sinuous swirls of colour were gone.


With a loud crack, the punching bag split open and flew off its chain, sand spilling over the tear in the fabric. Vanessa Liang stood from her seat and walked over to the sole occupant of the boxing gym, concerned.

"Steve, are you alright? That's the second bag you've broken today," she said mildly. "I know you're a super soldier and you don't need a break, but at least think about the gym owners."

He shook his head, breathing hard. "I've paid for all of them," he said between gasps, picking up another heavy bag from the nearby pile with ease and stringing it up. "And more for tomorrow."

Vanessa blinked twice. "You're not seriously thinking that you can go through them all, are you? It's three in the morning and the place opens at six. three hours and -" she did a quick count - "six bags means two bags per hour. This isn't taking into consideration the time it takes to clean up all the sand you spill between bags."

Steve levelled her with a look that said 'challenge accepted.' "You don't have to stay here, you know. You've done all you can to help me already, and I appreciate it. I don't need you to stay up all night and watch me punch things."

"I'm paid to do it," Vanessa said with a shrug. "And sometimes, I can't sleep, either. One of these days I might start doing this, too."

"Don't," said Steve. "It's addictive."

She smiled slightly and bent down to straighten the fallen punching bag, which was still spewing sand onto the floor. "How about a little bit of sparring? I haven't practiced in a while and you can be sure my superiors will grill me on it if they find out I'm rusty -"

Oh, speak of the devil.

Vanessa's 'internal radar,' as she liked to call it, pinged with the approach of the most superior of her superiors ー Nick Fury. She recognized the distinctive feeling that accompanied his proximity: an inexplicable quality of both safety and danger at the same time.

"Vanessa?" asked Steve. "What's the matter?"

She glanced at the doorway expectantly. "'The matter' will be here soon."

He frowned at the vague answer and proceeded to fetch a dustpan and broom to sweep up the spilled sand. Vanessa waited with bated breath for Fury to emerge from the doorway, and after a few moments, he did, looking as intimidating and imposing as ever with his eyepatch and trenchcoat.

"You were expecting me," he observed. "Did Coulson tell you I was coming?"

"No, Director," she said. "It was my sixth sense, you know."

Fury almost smiled. "Of course it was. Good evening, Captain Rogers. Trouble sleeping?"

Steve emptied the first load of sand into a trash can. "I slept for seventy years, sir. I think I've had my fill."

"Then you should be out, celebrating, seeing the world," said Fury.

Vanessa gave a huff. "That's what I've been trying to convince him of every second day for the past three months, Director. With little success, might I add."

Ever since they'd fished a frozen Captain America out of the ocean, SHIELD had been trying with futility to reintegrate the super soldier back into society. Trying to persuade him to explore the 21st century when his mind was still locked in the 20th. Trying to convince him that the demons of his past could no longer touch him when they were buried sixty-five years away.

Three months ago, Fury put Vanessa on the job. She didn't want to take any pride in it, but since her involvement they'd seen some improvement: he went to the gym a little bit less, slept a little more, was more willing to go outside, to try things. But there was one more thing necessary to his full recovery and Vanessa made sure Fury was aware of it ー an assignment.

"I went under, the world was at war," Steve was saying. "I wake up, they say we won. They didn't say what we lost."

Fury seemed to be considering his next words carefully. "We've made some mistakes along the way," he admitted. "Some very recently."

Vanessa met the look of understanding in her superior's gaze and saw a spark ignite in Steve's eyes. "You here with a mission, sir?" he asked. "Trying to get me back in the world?"

"I am," said Fury, pulling out a file from inside his trenchcoat (where did he have room for the thing?) and handing it to him. Then he looked at Vanessa. "And I daresay we'll need you in this one, too, Agent Liang."

"Me?" she asked, her heartbeat speeding up just a little bit in anticipation. "On field duty or interrogation?"

"Probably a bit of both," he replied. "I think you'll be putting those skills to use. There's a-"

"This is Hydra's secret weapon," Steve interrupted quietly. There was no mistaking the apprehension in his voice.

Fury began pacing like he tended to do every time he had explaining to do. In her time at the agency, Vanessa found it to be a common trait among all SHIELD higher-ups, actually.

"Howard Stark fished that out of the ocean when he was looking for you," he expounded. "He thought what we think; the Tesseract could be the key to unlimited sustainable energy. That's something the world sorely needs."

At this, Vanessa frowned. The words were vaguely familiar to her but only in the way that bits and pieces of snatched conversations in the corridors of the Triskelion were ー whatever they were talking about, she didn't have enough clearance to hear.

"Sir-" she began, but Fury cut across her.

"You can have a look at the files later," he said, motioning toward the manila folder Steve still held. "I don't have much time to explain right now. Oh, and your clearance has been upped to seven. Do with that what you will when you get to the Helicarrier."

She processed the abrupt influx of unexpected information silently. Clearance upped to seven. Helicarrier.

"Who took it from you?" asked Steve. He was wearing a worrying expression that Vanessa knew all too well ー a mixture of hopelessness and exasperation. He was disappointed with the world and what it had come to, how little it had changed.

"He's called Loki," Fury answered. This piqued Vanessa's interest ー she was something of a mythology buff as a child and could never dissociate the name 'Loki' with the phrase 'mother to an eight-legged horse'. After the incident in Puente Antiguo had confirmed the existence of Norse gods, she was more curious than ever.

But of course, now isn't the time to ask.

"He's not from around here. There's a lot we'll have to bring you up to speed on if you're in. The world has gotten even stranger than you already know."

Steve looked unimpressed. "At this point, I doubt anything would surprise me."

Fury wore the ghost of a smirk. "Ten bucks says you're wrong. There's a debriefing package waiting for you back at your apartment. Go with him, Liang. Like I said, we'll probably need you, too."

"Understood, Director." She slung her small backpack over her shoulder as Steve took down the punching bag.

"Coulson will pick the two of you up in a Quinjet after he's done his thing." Fury added, "Anything you can tell us about the Tesseract that we ought to know now?"

The super soldier's voice was tight when he replied, "You should have left it in the ocean."


The ringing of Vanessa's cell phone was deafening in the ensuing silence as they digested the contents of the debriefing package. The Tesseract, space portals, Norse myths coming off the page… it was a lot.

"Give me a second," she muttered, standing up and pulling her phone out of her pocket. The seal of SHIELD glowed brightly on the screen.

Incoming Call: Phil Coulson

"Vanessa Liang speaking."

"Are you and the Captain ready?" Coulson's voice crackled through the speakers. Vanessa could hear the obvious excitement in it. "I'll be over in five."

"We're ready," she said. "How did all of this happen, again? The debrief wasn't much help."

Coulson laughed. "Hang in there. I'll explain later."

"You'd better."

"Well, wait for my text."

He hung up. Vanessa put her cell phone away.

"They'll be here in five minutes," she repeated to Steve, who nodded numbly. "It's bothering you, isn't it? Did you want to talk?"

"Not really, no. What use would it be?" he asked, his voice bitter. "It's not like you can help me decide whether or not I'm disappointed in the world."

"You could let me try," she suggested, sitting back down on the small couch, which sunk even further under their combined weight. "Or what, you think I'm too young? Not experienced enough to understand how the world works yet?"

"That's not it," he said, but took it back immediately when he realized his expression must have betrayed his words. "Okay, maybe a little bit. You're eighteen, Vanessa."

"Eighteen and a psychology graduate of Columbia University and an agent of SHIELD," she added. "Fluent in four languages and a martial artist. I'm not saying these things to brag, Steve, but what would it take for you to realize that I'm able help you?"

I don't know if anyone can help me anymore.

Not when my enemy is literally the world.

Those words hovered in the air almost visibly. Vanessa took them in silently and, sensing a sort of heaviness that she had no way to clear, opted to change the subject.

"I hope we'll get to work together on this mission," she said lightly. "I'd like to see the famous Captain America in action."

Steve laughed half-heartedly. "And I bet there's more to you than just taekwondo, although you're already impressive at that."

"I'm flattered," she said with a smile. "You owe me sparring, by the way. Well, provided that the Earth survives the-"

Vanessa cut herself off in the same way she did with Fury's arrival. She sensed the energy signature of a Quinjet, and within it, Coulson's bright vitality. Unlike the cryptic energy Fury exuded, Coulson's was more like a breeze ー constantly in calm motion. Well, he was a little more agitated than normal, and it amused Vanessa to think why. "They're here. On the roof."

Steve nodded and leaped into motion immediately, grabbing a jacket and following her out the door. Her phone vibrated in her pocket as a sort of wordless confirmation. After a few flights of stairs, the two emerged on the rooftop tarmac, where a Quinjet bearing the seal of SHIELD was parked, ready. The side door slid open to reveal a beaming Phil Coulson.

"Good morning," he said happily, even though it was four a.m. and the apocalypse could be on the horizon. "Captain Rogers, Agent Liang."

"Mornin'," Vanessa greeted with a wave. The gesture turned out to be unnecessary, because at the moment, she was effectively invisible to the other agent.

She waited patiently (and quite bemusedly) as Coulson shook Steve's hand several times, whilst over-enthusiastically gushing, "It's great to meet you."

Finally, after he let Steve step into the jet, Vanessa found an opportunity to voice her issues. "Hope you have a better explanation for us, Agent Coulson, because the debriefing package looks like it was slapped together in ten minutes."

Coulson sighed. "It was. Time was a luxury we didn't have."

Vanessa gave a noncommittal sound of understanding before saying, "You had, what, five hours? We should've gotten a debrief worth twenty minutes, at least."

"Shut up and get on the jet, Liang," said Coulson, shooting her a mock glare. "You'll get the briefing as soon as we take off."


Steve's reaction to all the twenty-first century technology on the Helicarrier was like a child seeing snow for the first time and Vanessa watched the scene unfold fondly. She knew from experience, spending most of her childhood Shanghai, China, where it seldom snowed and when it did, it was limited to a few flakes here and there.

She herself was impressed with it, even after spending months in the fancy, high-tech corridors of the Triskelion.

Sadly, the moment didn't last long, because they got right down to business.

"We're sweeping every wirelessly accessible camera on the planet," Coulson was saying. "Cell phones, laptops ー if it's connected to a satellite, it's eyes and years for us."

Agent Romanoff crossed her arms. "That's still not going to find them in time."

Vanessa glanced at the SHIELD agent ー the infamous Black Widow, Natasha Romanoff. She had never met the older woman before, but she was one of the most notorious operatives in the agency and an object of much speculation among the newer recruits. Standing near her was Dr. Bruce Banner, the renowned scientist in gamma radiation, but perhaps better known as… the Hulk.

Vanessa couldn't help but be apprehensive about the doctor's involvement, and she had voiced this opinion during the briefing on the Quinjet. Coulson reassured her that the necessary precautions had been taken, but she had a sneaking suspicion that they wouldn't be enough.

"Call every lab you know," Banner was saying. As a regular human, he wasn't very fearsome or threatening, although freakishly intelligent. "Tell them to put the spectrometers on the roof and calibrate them for gamma rays. I'll rough out a tracking algorithm based on cluster recognition. At least we could rule out a few places. Do you have somewhere for me to work?"

"Agent Romanoff," said Fury. "Would you show Dr. Banner to his laboratory, please?"

She smiled and waved a hand at the doctor. "You're gonna love it, doc. We've got all the toys."

The two left. Vanessa paced the Helicarrier bridge, glancing at the array of glowing screens, all of them scouring the planet for signs of Loki. They were using satellite facial recognition and the footage salvaged from the Project PEGASUS site, which she had watched several times already.

It intrigued her, somewhat, that the man who emerged from the Tesseract portal was supposedly a mad god bent on taking over the Earth. He didn't look the part, not with those eyes, he didn't. What was his incentive? His means, aside from the Tesseract?

If they ever caught him, it would be her job to find out.

She felt Fury come up behind her. "I would take my hand off that gun, if I were you," he said, voice dripping with amusement. "Agent Whitney there thinks you might shoot him for playing Galaga on the job."

Vanessa hadn't noticed that her fingers were absently toying with the Glock resting in her thigh holster. She took her hand away from it, muttering an apology to the agent she was standing behind. "Nervous habit."

"Not a terrible one." Fury smirked. "I never thought it hurt to be a little paranoid."

She had just opened her mouth to respond when a nearby agent looked up from the screen. Vanessa recognized him as Jasper Sitwell, whom she had met very briefly once during her training days. "We got a hit. Sixty-seven percent match. Weight, crossmatch, seventy-nine percent."

Coulson seemed to materialize beside them. "Location?"

"Stuttgart, Germany," said Sitwell. "Twenty-eight, Konigstrasse. He's not exactly hiding."

"Well, Captain," said Fury, shooting a glance at Steve, who was standing off to the side. "You're up. And Liang, you're with him."