A/N: Hello familiar and new faces! Welcome to In the Eye of the Storm, the sequel to Chasing the Storm. If you haven't read Chasing the Storm ( s/8744533/1/Chasing-the-Storm) I strongly urge that you do so or you will be confused with the characters and plot line of this story. That being said I decided not to use this as my project for Nanowrimo and instead decided to use original work, which is good news for you guys because I can work on this story until then. But, heads up once November hits the updates may or may not be sparse until Nano is over. In the meantime I just couldn't stay away from Hayden or Loki. So, let's get to it!
Disclaimer: I do not own anything outside of my own characters, which I should hope are fairly obvious. All rights regarding the Marvel universe belongs to Marvel, which I sadly have no affiliations with.
Chapter One
"Three may keep a secret, if two of them are dead." -Benjamin Franklin
Chanting echoed through the underground citadel. Several men and women clad in robes the color of deadly secrets bowed their head in prayer. Their voices were monotone, speaking in a foreign tongue.
A golden goblet laced with emeralds was passed around to each member filled with sacrificial blood. They brought the substance to their lips, drinking just enough that they could taste the metal liquid slide down their throats. Their voices died after they partook in the drink until the room was filled with silence.
A tall figure cloaked in a similar robe of black stood before them all. He held out his hands, a giant silver ring shaped like a serpent shined in the flickering candle light. At once the small crowd knelt to the ground, resting one hand on the cold floor while the other sat firmly on their knees. One by one they rose their heads, staring at the man before him.
"Brothers," he boomed, his voice soft and hard to hear despite the echo that filled the room, "my sisters, I welcome you to the return of the Dark Knighthood. It has been a long time since I have seen your familiar faces."
His clouded blue eyes scanned the crowd, a frown deepened in his weathered face. "It is a shame so few of you have come home. Nonetheless, it shows the true loyalty of our family."
With a long sweep of his arm he ordered the crowd to rise. In unison they stood, gathering their hands in the sleeves of their robes.
"I called this meeting," he continued, "for our secrets have been leaked. We must eradicate those who chose not to show today for it is our secrets that bond us."
A loud clanking echoed throughout the room. The members of the Dark Knighthood turned their heads at the sound. From the shadows emerged a knight in heavy armor that shined blacker than their souls against the light that spilled around them. In his hand he held a lance that looked far too heavy to hold with one hand, yet the knight swung it carelessly between his claw-like gloves.
The knight stopped before them, standing beside their leader. He turned to face them, placing the lance pointy end down on the stone floor. It echoed, reverberating through the unnerved bones of the crowd before him.
The leader of the Dark Knighthood smirked, placing his ringed hand on the man's shoulder. "I present to you, the Black Knight, our savior in this crusade."
Knock! Knock! Knock!
I snapped my eyes open. Knock! Knock! Knock! A groan slid from between my lips as I rolled over to look at the alarm clock. It changed to 4:55 meaning I still had five minutes before it went off.
The knocking persisted. With a loud huff I ripped the stiff blankets off of my legs, and walked toward the door of the hotel room. Slipping my arms through the terracotta robe that I picked off the floor near my bed, I yawned, wondering who could be at my door at so early.
In all honesty, it really shouldn't have surprised me. My fingers twisted the lock open, the door swung open as one of my partners, Agent Ward, burst inside. Without asking to come in, or a simple hello, he rushed toward the small kitchen and tossed a stack of papers onto the counter.
"Good morning to you too," I muttered under my breath, shutting the door with my heel. Scratching the top of my head I slinked into the kitchen, stifling a yawn and set to starting a pot of coffee. "What are you doing here?" I asked as I pulled out a container of some foreign brew that was stocked inside the hotel room cupboards.
Ward glazed me over with his dark brown eyes, taking note of my unkempt state. Chomping on the inside of my cheek I turned my attention on scooping out the crushed beans into a filter. Even though I hadn't been in bed long I knew I had to look like a disaster. Though, I had less time to worry about my looks as the days went on.
The alarm began to echo through the small room, reverberating off the plain white walls that were adorned in cheesy Monet knockoffs. Setting my spoon on to the counter I walked into the doorless bedroom and turned it off. I could hear Ward moving around the kitchen, rifling through papers as his fingers clanged against the fake marble top.
When I returned the coffee light shut off. I began to make myself a cup, not bothering to offer Ward any. He woke up when I still had minutes to spare. He would be lucky if I was nice to him all for the rest of the day.
Just as I began to pour some milk into my cup, Ward tossed a few stapled pieces of paper in my direction. I shut the carton closed, taking the stack of freshly printed papers into my free hand. My eyes skimmed through the numbers and phrases I did not understand resting on a familiar photo.
The man in the picture was tall, and rather lanky with stark ravenesque hair with a shining virid gaze beneath his thick, prominent brows. He was fashionably dressed in a three-piece suit lined with green and a scarf that draped around his neck.
My fingers flew to a necklace that dangled at the bone of my beating chest. The pointed tooth felt cold to my touch despite the fact that I never took it off and it always nestled underneath my tops. Ward made a grunting sound and I looked up, pulling my face into a frown.
"Hmm, just as I thought," he shook his head, then continued, "have you been working with him all this time?"
I dropped my hand from the necklace at my throat and glared. "You know that he is trapped in Asgard and that the portal to Earth has been destroyed." To avoid looking down at the photo I shoved it toward Agent Ward and scoffed, "this is the first I've heard of him being here."
Ward eyed me suspiciously, searching my face for any detection that I was lying. My arms folded against my stomach. He could look all that he wanted, he wouldn't find anything.
"So, you're telling me that your Prince is on Earth and he didn't come to see you?" I let the sting of Ward's words soak through the wound. When I said nothing he gathered his paperwork, shifting through the pages until he found an article that had been clipped from a German magazine. "You don't know anything about this then?"
I hesitated, taking the article from Ward's hands with a huff of air. Exhaling slowly my eyes dropped to the browning paper. I skimmed until I found what it was that Ward was referring to. Over 120 dead, 80 injured throughout Germany due to unseen forces of what some skeptics were calling magic. The article made no mention of who or what was the cause behind the attacks.
I pointed the fault in Ward's logic out. He snatched the crinkled article out of my hand, stating, "it's obvious who is behind the attacks. Loki arrived in Germany the same week these attacks happened. I sincerely doubt that this is a coincidence."
My throat felt scratchy, and dry. I tried to cleanse my mouth of the bitter taste that formed along my tongue but it stuck to the roof like peanut butter. Rubbing my tongue along the top of my mouth, I turned my attention to the coffee. Despite feeling uneasy under Ward's scrutinizing gaze, I knew it had to be a mistake.
Even though it felt like decades, mere months ago I was sent to Asgard, a realm of Norse Mythological God's. I was to report back to Director Fury on Earth acting as a liasion between Asgard and what they called Midgard claiming the title of an Agent of Strategic Hazard Intervention Espionage Logistics Directorate. Or, collectively known as S.H.I.E.L.D. which was an underground government organization that dealt with problems normal, every day people wouldn't normally handle. For example cleaning up the mess of an attack three years ago when a deranged god from Norse legends tried to overtake Earth with the help of an alien race.
As punishment the God of Mischief, Loki Laufeyson was drained of his powers until they were obsolete. Without his magic and the portal to Asgard that was destroyed last year he was-as far as I knew-stuck there for the time being, despite his promises to be there for me when I needed him most. I poured the steaming black liquid into the mug, and stirred vigorously with my spoon. It clanked hard against the sides as I wondered why he would be on Earth without so much as a hello. But, if he had been behind the attacks...
I could feel the color drain from my face. With trembling fingers I brought the shaky cup to my lips. The hot liquid rushed down my throat, soothing the scratchy dryness on contact. At least one thing was taken care of that morning, the next was to figure out if the man in the photo was really Loki or if it was a disguise.
Ward briefly knew of my time on Asgard. Unfortunately it was no secret that while I was there I had indulged in a love affair with Loki. Ever since he had found out he seemed suspicious of everything that went on, as if I were some how responsible. So, it stood to reason that he would instantly assume that whatever trouble Loki was about to stir up I was part of it.
But, I wasn't. I hadn't spoken to Loki since leaving Asgard. As the months turned I began to wonder if I would ever see him again. Loki had done a lot of awful things before but I refused to believe that he came to Earth to kill its inhabitants especially if his redemption meant getting his magic back.
I briefly looked up from my coffee, squirming under Ward's hard stare. "Is the stone still-"
"It's safe," Ward gruffed, though his voice had lost its rough edge. "So, if Loki got his powers back it wasn't from that."
I frowned, returning my attention to the warm mug in my shaking hands. It had been an entire season since Loki and I had talked. He seemed to be on the right path. Did he really stray so far in such a short amount of time? My brows pointed together at the stupidity of my question. I would be a fool if I believed that Loki was a perfect saint since my departure.
Still, I couldn't accept that it was him in Germany. It had to be a disguise. Last year I learned first hand all about the trickery of transformation. A power hungry sorceress by the name of Karnilla had used one of her subjects as a pawn in her games, most of which involved taking the form of Loki to play mind games with me. Even though Karnilla and her pet were dead it didn't mean that someone else wasn't capable of transformation either.
After everything that Loki and I had been through I had to believe that there was good in him. And, there was. I had seen it plenty times before. I couldn't explain my reasoning to Ward without earning eye rolls and sighs but I did point out that there was no concrete proof that it wasn't another big player taking on Loki's form.
"What better way to bring fear to the people than under the guise of someone they already fear," I muttered through sips of my cooling coffee. Ward scoffed, and all I could do was glare. He really knew how to get under my skin. "Look, I'm not saying it isn't Loki but there seems to be more proof that it's not him than there being proof that there is. Don't go pointing fingers-especially at me-when all you have are German articles and grainy photos you probably found on google maps."
Ward didn't respond, but he dropped the accusatory looks. We sat in silence while he thumbed at the folder on the counter and I sipped on the remaining contents of my drink. I was half way through fixing another cup when he dramatically sighed, and snapped his papers off the counter.
"Sorry," he mumbled, shoving the papers into the folder.
"It's fine," I replied though my tone suggested I'd much rather hit him upside the head. Shrugging I continued, "we've had a lot of stress and little sleep this past month. It was bound to lash out eventually." Tossing the cup into the sink I thought to myself, though I wish that you'd stop accusing me of every little thing and instead told Ward, "it happens sometimes."
Ward shrugged his broad shoulders, the leather of his jacket squeaked together. "I just don't understand you is all."
I glanced up at him, pursing my lips together. "What do you mean?"
"You're definitely a puzzle, Waltham," was all he replied as he turned to head for the door. Looking over his shoulder he shrugged, "hopefully you're not missing too many pieces."
I watched in stunned silence as he shut the door behind him. The nerve of that guy! How dare he accuse me of participating in delinquent activities and then to call me crazy on top of that! I was going to wring my hands around his neck. Well, I thought with dismay, if I could fit my hands around him. He was built like a god but mortal as they came.
Inhaling deeply, I turned toward the bedroom heading to the adjoint bathroom to take a much needed shower. After crawling around in a cave all day I hadn't exactly gotten all the dirt out from my hair and nails. I was so exhausted that I collapsed onto the bed the moment I arrived to the hotel. Despite the little sleep I had gotten-thank you, Ward-crawling back into bed was the last thing on mind.
My shower was quick, and I collected my damp brown hair into a firm bun. While I typically dressed in business attire the field required less heels and more combat boots. In Asgard I had no need for a uniform, but on Earth while on the field it was imperative that I dressed to be ready to climb a mountain or run from gunslinging tomb raiders at a moments notice.
Nothing but the outline of a stenciled eagle's head on the breast of my dark blue jacket gave away who we worked for. Those who knew what S.H.I.E.L.D. was recognized us right away. But, most of the world's citizens were kept in the dark about our existence no matter how many times superheroes-or supervillains-rampaged on our planet.
Before I joined S.H.I.E.L.D. I was just a college grad with a useless degree in Norse Mythology looking for work in the reaching field. S.H.I.E.L.D. approached me after the attacks in a small town in New Mexico where earth soon discovered that we were not alone. At first I had turned them down, too afraid of what joining their faction would mean for me. Not long after New Mexico, an alien race known as the Chitauri, attacked New York under the orders of Loki. It was then that I agreed to join S.H.I.E.L.D.'s ranks unknowingly aware that I would be sent to Asgard.
However, my being there was no coincidence or luck of the cards. Karnilla, the Queen of Nornheim, had specifically chosen me to be sent to Asgard as she needed a mortal to drink from a cursed spring. Once the mortal drank the waters they were under her full control. Unable to stop myself I became her puppet meant to steal a stone protected by S.H.I.E.L.D.
Once I had learned that every thing I worked for was a lie I decided to try teaching again. But, then Agent Coulson and Director Fury came to me with a secret project that I could only know about should I decide to join. I remembered standing in front of the kitchen table in my small living room in New York stating at the unopened package in my trembling hands. All my life I was scared and naive and weak but I was tired of that little girl wrapped up in her safe cocoon of unpopped bubble wrap. The moment my fingers slid across the flap and I pulled out the contents inside every bubble around me exploded, destroying any protection I had in my little world.
I was an Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D., despite my less than desirable entry into the position. For the past three months I had been pushed, shoved, threatened, shot at and at one point I had been trapped in an underground well with Agent Ward and an agent named Simmons for almost three days. It wouldn't have been so bad if Simmons wasn't a complete mess under stressful situations.
Deep down I knew I was still that scared little girl that went to Asgard as a ploy in some bigger scheme. No matter how many situations I found myself in as an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D . I still found that I was constantly doubting my abilities. It didn't help that Ward thought I was practically useless to the team. Three months of working together and he still trusted me about as far as he could throw the hammer of Thor.
Though, I never really blamed him. Ward liked to stick to the books and follow protocol. It was actually something we had in common. But, seeing as I had no formal training other than the year I took to learn some self-defense and gun classes before becoming an official agent, Ward thought of me as a liability. To him I was more work than help, especially when it came to things that revolved around Loki.
While the photo that Ward had shown to me was the first that I had seen there were hushed rumors of his handy work. Still, I refused to believe any of it on the sole purpose that Loki wanted to redeem himself. Coming to Earth to kill off a bunch of Germans wasn't exactly the way to do that, and Loki knew it wasn't. So, it stood to reason that it was someone else.
As I walked through the empty hotel halls I found myself wondering why Ward was even digging up information on Loki. While the attacks in Germany were disturbing-and no doubt agents would be sent to check it out-it wasn't our jurisdiction. Our team, which was made up of six agents-myself included-and a consultant, were sent to Europe with our only mission concerning the activities of The Black Knight.
As far as any of us knew Loki wasn't involved with The Black Knight. And, as far as I was concerned he had no reason to be. We still didn't know much about the medieval villain but we knew enough that he was involved with Arthurian mythology, no where at all connected with Loki. Ward's obsession was only going to have Fury breathing down our necks if he didn't stop focusing on Norse God's and instead focused on the reason as to why we were in a yuppie town in England.
"Ooh, you look rough," frowned Skye, the civilian consultant who Coulson recruited a few weeks before I joined the team.
I didn't know much about her other than her obsession with superheroes tended be a little creepy, and she was really-and I mean really-smart when it came to computers. For the most part we got along.
Skye was lanky and much taller than I was, hovering at least five inches. She tended to wear her long, wavy brown hair down her back but after recent events started to pull it up into a low ponytail that started at her neck. While it took me at least two cups of coffee to even process the morning Skye was always ready to go, as though her body was constantly releasing bursts of caffeine.
Adjusting the cuffs on her button-down plaid shirt, Skye added, "I saw Ward coming out of your room this morning." I groaned, tossing a glance her way. A wide smile overtook her lips and she laughed, "oh please, I don't think Ward would even know what to do with a woman. He's so..." she scrunched her nose, letting the words smother between her lips.
I tried not to laugh, but a snort made its way into the silence. "He decided to try and accuse me about Loki again."
"You mean the attacks in Germany?"
I frowned as we began to descend down the stairs. "You know about that?" Skye nodded. "I don't think it's him. It just doesn't make sense."
Skye shrugged, her hair bounced off her shoulders with each step she took. "Well, I know I don't know him like you do but I don't think it's Loki either."
A little flutter brushed against my chest. "Really?"
Skye nodded, then laughed. "I wouldn't get your hopes up on my account. I'm just a hacking consultant after all. This isn't really my world."
I sighed, stopping just before the last step. Skye turned on her heel, furrowing her thick dark brows. "I think it's safe to say that sooner or later all of this will be part of everyone's world."