Earthquakes are not uncommon in the Himalayas. A little shake here and a stutter there: it's all just a regular sighting to the people, but not this time.

It was almost dawn in the Himalayas and the earth rumbled ever so silently. Beneath Tirich Mir, one of the peaks of the Himalayas, cracks on the earth slowly oozed out blood red lava. The lava crawled up the mountain, tightly grasping every protruding rock it passes and hardening into crystal-like substance. It twisted and turned; even the snow and ice were no match for the liquid. The mountain did not lose its shape, but is now encased in a ruby shell, glistening as the sun rises over the range.

[=====]

A few days later, the phenomenon has attracted many visitors: mostly visitors new to the area and have heard about the mountain through television or web. There were crowds of people everywhere, including Tony and members of S.H.I.E.L.D.

Tony wore black sunglasses, but was in a casual navy blue t-shirt and light brown cargo pants so that he did not stand out from the crowd (though he wished he had worn his suit to stand out, but Pepper refused to let him do so). Shuffling along, he found himself next to a familiar figure.

"Why, hello there miss!" Tony pushed his sunglasses a little higher. "I see S.H.I.E.L.D. is quite interested in the gigantic gemstone we have here as well. I mean, who wouldn't want to dig this baby out? Maybe the Stark Tower could use some of this for a little interior designing..."

"Beat it." Natasha interrupted as she reached inside her purse for her binoculars. "We're getting the perimeters blocked off soon to investigate the mountain."

"Oh, awesome! I'll invite myself over when that happens." Tony grinned. "I mean, you wouldn't want another 'I-want-people-to-bow-down-before-me' type of guy to appear and end up taking and mind-controlling some of your folks again, would ya?"

Natasha glared back at him angrily, trying to swallow back her anger. No one should talk about being mind-controlled as a joke. Not even Stark. He straightened his face and cleared his throat uncomfortably.

"So how about a drink?" Tony suggested to slowly drift the topic away.

Lifting up the binoculars to her eyes, Natasha cooly replied, "I'm on duty". She caught notice of her partner on the other side of the crowd. Of course, he needed no binoculars to look around. Nothing out of the normal was happening around the area so far. Well, only if you consider a crystal red mountain protruding out of the scenery "normal".

Unknownst to S.H.I.E.L.D., it was not the only organization that was interested in the mountain.

/ The Illusion Gem - Prologue

[Author's Note: Haven't written anything in a long long time. Forgive me for being a bit slow with things... ^^;]