Chapter 1: Arrival of the New Enemy
Darcy groaned and muttered angrily to herself as lights flashed overhead. There had been drill after drill since the Tesseract had been brought to the facility along with Dr. Selvig and herself. She had tried to look as pitiful as possible when being separated from Jane's work, but it hadn't worked with Jane, Mr. Fury, or Dr. Selvig at all. According to her two former colleagues Selvig had 'lost' the coin toss and was the one saddled with her company for the time being. Darcy was only usually called upon during the day to run errands and so on, but she still felt terribly overused in so many ways and underappreciated in others. Of course under-appreciation was nothing new to her. Jane had never been shy about being short-tempered and sharp-tongued with her assistant, showing kindness and respect on very few occasions where it suited her to have someone agreeing with her against Selvig's theories. Selvig had been a little easier to get along with given that he didn't have the same capacity for cruel remarks out loud, but he was just as condescending if not more so to the young girl. Darcy had wondered on several occasions if eight college credits were worth this kind of negativity, but decided that it could've been much worse. As she dressed slowly, groggily, she muttered about how worth it this whole fiasco would be when she was finally a Diplomat in the United Nations from her home country to some lovely European ally like Scandinavia or Czechoslovakia. Darcy also realized that she had strange taste in cultures but reminded herself that most people did.
Suddenly the alarm switched from its usual first annoying warning tones to, "All personnel, this is a code 5, evacuate the premises immediately. This is not a drill. Proceed to your nearest designated exit. Repeat, this is a code 5. This is not a drill".
Darcy froze for a moment as she shoved a few last minute provisions into her overnight bag. A chill ran through her. This had never happened before. She wondered if this meant that something had happened with the Tesseract and her natural instincts suddenly began to ignite with concern for Selvig. She drew in a deep breath, pulling on a light cotton jacket and hurrying out the door, down several flights of stairs, and past numerous people evacuating upward as she headed towards the lab. She had only seen the lab itself on a few occasions, but the outer area was nothing new. The identification badge she wore around her neck prevented any questions being raised as she hurried forward although at this point Darcy wondered if they would've tried to stop her period in the confusion. As she reached the first set of large steel doors leading into the decontamination area that preceeded two other rooms leading into the lab, the lights flickered off. She froze as a loud explosion filled the area. Darcy felt her heart begin to race as she dropped to her knees and instinctively let out a cry. She stifled it after only a few brief moments and slowly rose. She suddenly noted that an eerie blue glow was coming from the lab, the same shade of blue and the very same cloudy hue that matched the Tesseract itself. Her heart thundered and she feared the worst for Dr. Selvig. The thing was a limitless power source and he had detected radiation from it numerous times. Darcy felt a tingling twinge in her sides as adrenaline filled her. She hurried forward, slamming through the next two sets of doors and she gasped instantly, covering her mouth in horror.
Somekind of explosion had devastated several computer stations and agents had turned their weapons towards a man kneeling several feet away from the unit holding the cube. It was glowing its normal azure, but it somehow seemed fully charged with an otherworldly electricity. She hid behind one of the walls for a moment.
"Sir, put down the spear!" Director Nick Fury suddenly shouted.
Darcy watched as the man, holding a strange scepter made of gold and sporting an odd, oval blue gem close to the very tip. The man looked down at the scepter for a moment as if confused and then delighted. In an instant, he turned and held out the spear towards the research area, firing odd blue energy that blasted into the databases and several of the researchers. Darcy screamed and stood for a moment as she heard agents open fire. Several agents screamed and collapsed with odd, thin blades in their throats or chests. The man fired the weapon again and Darcy dropped to her knees, covering her ears for a moment and closing her eyes as she panted. When she felt the vibrations of the gunfire cease, she slowly looked up. She watched from a kneeling position, having gotten a good look at Dr. Selvig who seemed unscathed, but noting that so many other people were dead. His personal assistant, a woman that Darcy knew only as Ramona, now lay unmoving and bleeding after the attack. Selvig knelt on the ground beside Ramona, clearly assessing that she was beyond his help. Darcy's heart raced furiously and she was beginning to think that she should've gone with direct protocol and evacuated with the other low-level technicians. She suddenly noticed the S.H.I.E.L.D. agent known as 'Hawkeye' attacking the man, who seemed to be hopping effortlessly from place to place dispatching attacking the agents. The girl's blood ran cold as the new stranger spoke in a soft, silky, and refined voice that Hawkeye 'had a heart'.
Darcy disagreed with that inwardly and scooted an inch closer as Hawkeye was held firmly in place by the stranger's strength. The man was slight of build, but by no means a scrawny little weakling. She felt all the blood drain from her face as the man pressed the tip of the gold and blue-gem weapon against the agent's chest. A small spume of energy emitted from the gem, passing through the tip of the scepter and sinking gently into the man's chest. Hawkeye grunted in what Darcy assumed was pain as the bluish energy filled him, travelling up the major veins and carotid arteries in his neck until the man's eyes turned wide and black and then a disturbing milky white. The stranger stared at him for a moment, searching his eyes for success which Darcy assumed meant he had just either enslaved or killed Hawkeye with one movement. The stranger grinned brightly as Hawkeye put his gun back in its holster and straightened up proudly in front of the stranger who grinned and practically broke into giddy chortling at this. He quickly turned and made his way to two other agents as Director Fury snatched the glowing Tesseract from the unit and slipped it back in his briefcase. Darcy watched the as Fury and the stranger addressed one another; the director wanted to avoid anything messier, but the stranger assured him that he had come too far for anything else. Darcy suddenly remembered that the Tesseract was a gateway to another realm which meant this man was likely from another planet or, more curiously, another dimension.
"I am Loki of Asgard, and I am burdened with glorious purpose," the stranger said. Darcy couldn't help but feel a little strange at seeing how wonderfully formed his features were from his polished, pale cheekbones and hands to the delightful green glow of his eyes.
Selvig announced from not far away that he recognized the name Loki as being the brother of Thor. Anger fully burned in the stranger's eyes at the mention of his brother. He and Fury exchanged a few more words before Loki firmly pressed the tip of the weapon into Selvig's chest and forced in another surge of energy. Darcy's heart skipped a beat as she thought about Thor returning. Then it occurred to her that his brother, obviously this stranger standing before her right now, had tried to kill Thor, destroy Puente Antigua, and had permanently injured so many people and animals. She moved past the remnants of the database network toward Fury where she knew she would have protection. She reached into her pocket and instinctively felt for her taser. To her relief it was still there and ready to dispatch this Asgardian as easily as she had incapacitated the mighty Thor. Fury noticed her and gestured towards the loading bay sternly. After a short exchange more between the two where Loki revealed that he was on earth to rule over humans deluded by freedom. Darcy waited a moment, a thousand possible outcomes going through her mind as to how best to get away. The most insane of which became the most likely to accomplish and certainly the easiest to take care of. Darcy sprinted forward as Hawkeye and Selvig explained that the area was collapsing under the surge of the Tesseract's energy. As she darted past Fury she swiftly caught hold of the handle on the briefcase, though not before Hawkeye took aim at the director on Loki's command. The trickster and his new minions suddenly noticed the flash of brown, pale ivory, shining spectacles, and terrified breathing. Darcy's hand grew damp with sweat and she was sure that her heart was pounding so hard that she was literally jostling the case just holding onto it. She raced past the group and darted out towards the waiting vehicles in the loading bay, a place she had been on only a few occasions when arriving or departing with Selvig for some outdoor examination of astronomical alignment.
"After her!" Loki shouted from behind.
Darcy heard gunfire and panted heavily as she made it out through the two sets of doors and into the parking lot. It seemed relatively abandoned for the time being and she hurried into one of the vehicles. The group accompanying Loki, who seemed to be limping slightly, suddenly appeared in the doorway. Darcy groaned. "Aw, man," she muttered, fumbling with the seatbelt. Just as she was about, she heard a loud blast and glass shattered in several directions. Darcy noted that an enormous crack had formed in the windshield along with a bullethole. She noticed that the shoulder strap on her seatbelt was dangling off to the side with a stain of blood on it. She groaned and looked down. Hawkeye had managed to shoot through the windshield and hit her seatbelt also wounding her in the process. It was odd, though, she didn't feel any pain. The alarms overhead were no longer sounding, but something told Darcy she needed to get away all the same. She grabbed hold of the wheel, turned the key, and pressed her foot to the floor on top of the gas pedal as she pulled out and away. She caught a glimpse of the man climbing into the back of a truck as Selvig and Hawkeye climbed into the adjacent truck. Darcy's eyes widened as she saw Loki lift the scepter towards her vehicle and fired a blast of bluish energy from the staff. It struck the hood just barely, mostly hitting the ground in front of her. He snarled in frustration as Darcy finally found the presence of mind to scream and flee all at once. She hurried out through the tunnel, still unsure that she would be able to get properly away, but determined to protect the cube that Jane was convinced was the key to retrieving Thor.
"Crap, crap, crap," Darcy muttered as she careened forward down the dimly lit tunnel. The tires screeched and whined alongside the engine as the truck finally exited the building and the rocks behind her as well as the gunfire mingled in a single resonating crash. She screamed as she suddenly saw several boulders and pieces of metal twisted as they rolled past her. Her heart sank all the more as the truck that was carrying Loki, Hawkeye, and Selvig pulled up alongside of her. "Dang it!" Darcy shrieked.
To her surprise, Loki didn't aim for her vehicle, but instead fired into the air and Darcy watched as a large helicopter fell from the sky some distance away, its blades digging deep and violent rifts in the ground. She screamed and turned the vehicle. As she did so, Darcy felt the vehicle collide with something large and powerful. She flew forward, held back only by the remnants of the safety belt and small airbag now deployed. She struggled to deflate the bag as her ears rang madly. In fact, at the moment she could barely see anything She quickly climbed out of the vehicle still clutching the briefcase and realized that she had collided with Hawkeye and Selvig's vehicle. They didn't seem to be inside it any longer and the stranger had obviously been thrown in the wreck. She glanced around anxiously, seeing Director Fury and two other people exiting the helicopter and looking shaken but alive. She breathed a huge sigh of relief and turned to hurry towards them, now beginning to feel the stinging of the bullet that had either embedded in or grazed her shoulder. She hesitated, now able to see the form of the fallen stranger. He laid face down, unmoving and clearly wounded judging by the pool of blood surrounding his head and chest. Against her instincts in accomplishing the agency's goals, the humanity in Darcy urged her to go and make sure the trickster was alive and able to survive as well. She groaned at the conflict, but in the end her compassion overwhelmed and took over. She sighed and slid the briefcase under the vehicle so that she could easily retrieve it. As she raced towards the trickster she noted that even now Hawkeye and Selvig were nowhere to be seen. She sighed and raced towards the fallen trickster, kneeling instantly.
"Oh man, oh man, Please don't be dead, or at least don't be all mangled and stuff."
Darcy turned him over, looking carefully over the wounds to see where the blood had come from. She saw a few tiny, tiny cuts on his face but nothing else. The pool of blood wasn't coming from any obvious wound, but there was a small bullethole in his right shoulder that mirrored her own. She leaned down and listened through the layers of thin gold, cloth, and leather for a heartbeat. Nothing. She felt a small measure of panic form within her and she hurriedly pressed two fingers against his neck and wrist with both hands. Loki had a pulse, a good strong and steady one. Darcy narrowed her eyes noting that he didn't seem to be breathing. She gently leaned forward and laid her head against his chest more firmly and placed a hand over his abdomen to feel his breaths. To her relief he seemed to be breathing fine for the moment. She sighed and leaned back, looking back at his otherwise unharmed face. Her heart sank and her eyes widened in fear and shock as she saw that his eyes were open as well. Their green glow penetrated her compassion and filled her with terror instead. Darcy hurried to stand, but was unable to move quickly enough to escape the trickster's grip. He took hold of her wrist and smirked, his fingers forming a set of four iron bands around her wrist. She grunted in pain and struggled to get free. Her heart sank even further and Darcy felt her knees buckle beneath her, causing her to kneel instinctively at the sight of Hawkeye and Selvig approaching, Selvig carrying the briefcase with the same blank expression on the agent's face.
"Well now," Loki said calmly and with a wicked smile. Darcy locked eyes with him, terror emblazoned on her features as he chuckled wickedly. "What have we here?" he said with a laugh. Darcy grunted and tried to free herself once more. He laughed more loudly, clearly amused by her attempts to escape as the other two joined them, Tesseract in tow. "Tell me, Erik Selvig, what use is this delicate little creature to me?"
"She was a friend of your brother's and an assistant to Jane, nothing important as far as being informed or skilled. She is virtually useless except perhaps as minor leverage," Selvig replied. Darcy looked back at him, his words cutting like daggers into her chest. She knew that he didn't think much of her especially not having studied what he considered 'real science'. A tear streamed down her cheek and, to her surprise, she felt the trickster's cool hand gently swipe away the tear and comfortingly stroke the side of her face. Her eyes widened all the more as his fingers trailed down her neck and down to the wound on her shoulder. It stung terribly now and she winced as his fingers softly laid against it. He drew in a deep breath and she watched as pale green light exuded from them and the stinging slowly stopped. Darcy looked down out of habit and gasped. The blood that had stained her jacket was gone as was the hole itself. She looked up at him confusion.
"You poor dear, to be so inundated by people with greater intellect and ambition," he said with a tone of pity. Darcy looked up at him trying to let anger take the place of the sudden wave of sadness that had hit her. She was probably going to die here in front of them and all they were doing was reminding her of what she had feared and been told repeatedly, she was a worthless hostage of greater minds. Loki smirked and gently moved the hand at her wrist up to her shoulder, holding her in place. "Perhaps she would be of greater use with an open mind," he remarked. "To accompany your compassionate heart." Darcy gasped and realized too late that he had raised the scepter he had used on Selvig and Hawkeye as well as the other agents and was now pressing the tip against her chest. She gasped and cried out, starting to plead with him for mercy instinctively as the gem began to glow. "There, there, young one, don't be frightened. This won't hurt a bit."
"That's not why I . . ." she began, but was cut short by the sudden cold and tightness in her chest. She gasped and leaned forward as he willed the surge of energy into her. He grinned as it began to travel up her smooth, lovely neck. "No . . ." she muttered.
"The Tesseract, several operatives of great intelligence and security," he mused. "And now a lovely, compliant little hostage that's sure to get my brother's attention as well as ensure the suffering of his beloved." Before the glow could reach fruition through the carotid arteries into Darcy's brain and heart itself, the glow suddenly began to increase in both the girl and the scepter. Loki frowned. This had never happened before. Darcy drew in a deep breath and firmly pulled away, shuddering as if beginning to have some sort of seizure. Loki looked from the girl to the scepter and narrowed his eyes. "What in the world is . . ." he began. Before he could finish, a blast threw Darcy backwards and Loki in the opposite direction. The two lay on the ground gasping with blue smoke rising from their respective wounds. Darcy wondered if the spell had worked. She didn't feel any different and none of the other enslavements had ended in an explosion. She groaned as pain took her and her pulse grew too great to ignore. She sighed and closed her eyes as she watched Hawkeye and Selvig hurry to tend to their fallen master.
Well, she thought. Even if I am to end up a hostage, at least it was on my terms, with one great big bang. Unconsciousness took her and Darcy hoped that she would awaken to better circumstances.